Windows Weekly 1000: Ensheepified

Leo, Richard, and Paul celebrate the 1000th episode of the podcast and discuss Windows 11, IFA, AI and dev, XBOX and gaming and more.

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MICROSOFT MAKES MAJOR FINANCIAL REPORTING CHANGE

The canary in the coal mine has finally been rewarded: Microsoft will dramatically change how it reports earnings, effective immediately.

• The good: Didn’t see this coming, Microsoft will allegedly be transparent about Azure revenues every quarter
• The bad: A simpler structure means more revenues are being hidden and you can only make accurate YOY comparisons dating back two years now
• The unknown: What this will really look like in practice
• How is it possible that Paul has been all over this for years and Wall Street has mostly ignored it?

Windows

Patch Tuesday arrives – And, yes, it’s basically 26H2

• New Start, Taskbar, and Windows Search are generally available
• Is the “real” 26H2 still on track for October or does it just happen whenever?
• Microsoft fixed almost 1000 security vulnerabilities this month (974), with 723 of them in Windows and 112 of them critical-severity. It has already released over double the number of security patches this year (2760) as it did in all of 2025 (1139).

Windows Insider Program

• Five new builds drop just ahead of Patch Tuesday updates with three minor new features

Project Zenith is a misguided attempt to make Windows better for developers that shows they’ve learned nothing

Microsoft Edge team promises two contrary improvements: Faster extension approvals, better quality

It came from IFA

• Lenovo:
  • Two AMAZING prototype PCs, one of which is imminent as a shipping product
  • Two killer Nvidia RTX Spark-based laptops
  • Colorful laptops and AIO deflate the MacBook Neo balloon nicely
  • New ThinkCentre desktops and ThinkBook laptops, including a killer AMD-based workstation that can be daisy-chained
  • Plus, a photo gallery
• HP: Three new Nvidia RTX Spark PCs, one of which is a desktop PC
• Acer: RTX Spark, gaming handheld, more
• Key takeaway: Nvidia RTX Spark is a game changer

Apps

• Vivaldi adds PWA and address bar improvements
• Yes, Virginia, Brave is still the fastest web browser

AI and dev

Newsday and The Seattle Times sue OpenAI and Microsoft for stealing copyrighted content at scale

There’s a great new documentary about the making of Visual Studio Code out and it’s free

• Related: This is a modern example of how tech limitations can spur innovation, something that happened a lot in the early home computer era and happens a lot less now

.NET 11 heads to release candidate phase ahead of November release

XBOX and gaming

XBOX Cloud Gaming is getting usage caps starting in November and a standalone service is on the way

XBOX app is coming to TCL smart TVs

XBOX Insiders are testing startup animation choices, Showcase customization, an improved Remote Play experience, background downloads for Cloud Gaming, more

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Gemini offers a useful and free daily briefing

Gemini’s Daily Brief is surprisingly useful and it’s available for free to everyone in the U.S.

App pick of the week: Sonos

Sonos is back and here’s something no one has been able to say for, well, forever: It’s new app is great.

Also: Some Little Tech web browsers to consider

RunAs Radio this week: State of WSUS with Adam Marshall

https://runasradio.com/Shows/Show/1053

Brown liquor pick of the week: Belgrove Rye Whisky 46%

https://belgrovedistillery.com.au/collections/all-products/products/belgrove-rye-whisky-46