Ask Paul: February 2 (Premium)

Happy Friday! Let's kick off the weekend a bit early with another great set of reader questions and pretend for a moment that it's not earnings season.
Nothing is certain anymore
will asks:

What do you think the chances of Microsoft releasing a bigger AI update for Windows 11 later this year and then holding off on the next big Windows update until next year? With Panos out, and AI being the focus so much, is a major OS overall something that could be pushed a year? The fall update could still bring some big updates to Windows 11 as well as deeper Copilot integrations, but a larger visual/UI update for Windows could come in 2025?

There is literally no way to predict what will happen with Windows releases or schedules this year. This team spent the past year ignoring their own release guidance and rapidly shipping features with little or no testing at whatever time they wanted. There are rumors about a major Windows release that may or may be called Windows 12 that may be released in the Spring or maybe in the Fall as usual. No idea.

But since you ask, I do expect a major Windows 11 update this year that will not be called Windows 12. I believe that Microsoft's current release schedule, with one major H2 milestone each year, is the wrong schedule for PC makers, and that it would do better to ship that release by mid-year so that new PCs can meet the back-to-school and holiday selling periods, but have no opinion about their ability or desire to do that. (It could still be called Windows 11 24H2, though.)

I don't really think there's a major Windows 11-style visual update coming. Instead, I expect an evolution of the current design, potentially one that makes it even more Mac-like, with a floating, centered taskbar that looks like the Mac Doc and maybe even a top toolbar that resembles the Mac's system-wide menu. But we'll see. I don't have any insider info on that.

Copilot will be improved every month this year, I bet, and those improvements will land in Copilot in Windows, of course. The feature set specific to Copilot in Windows will be updated less frequently, I think, and it's likely that the updates we've seen in the Insider Program---with options for multiscreen, a floating window, and so on---will be what constitutes this year's big Windows update.

I keep waiting for any sign of maturity, planning, and sanity from the Windows team. But it's been mostly radio silence for years.
Browsing worries
Christian-Gaeng asks:

Hi Paul, I'm currently experimenting a lot with enterprise solutions in the hope of reducing tracking. In your opinion, does it actually make a difference to use special versions of browsers and others adapted for the business world? I'm thinking of Google Chrome Enterprise or Edge for Business. On the one hand, I honestly don't want to be without Chrome. On the other hand, I want to make it as difficult as possible for Google and Microsoft. Not necessarily because I'm afraid of my data, but to tel...