It’s been a crazy, busy, and stressful week, and I suspect no one is looking forward to the weekend more than me. But first, another great set of reader questions.

Slice in time career advice

spacecamel asks:

With all of the industry changes and changes in technology, is programming still an excellent profession to recommend to university students? I am thinking of your story of a group of on-prem admins right before Microsoft moved everything to the cloud. Are we close to a similar moment with things like ChatGPT?

That’s a great question. I feel like the answer could change weekly or monthly going forward.

A couple of quick thoughts first.

On one hand, I am sort of impressed (and depressed) by the AI denier crowd. Someone commented the other day to whatever article that AI is a scam being led by Microsoft. And I just want to scream. You’re not seeing the asteroid that’s careening towards this planet, and that it’s not a question of it changing things, it’s how fast and how much everything changes. Because everything is changing. There’s just too much evidence—meaning shipping products/services that work—to claim otherwise.

On the other, even people like me who see this AI revolution in motion can be surprised by the speed at which this stuff improves almost in real time. If you haven’t, look at OpenAI Sora and then silently ponder how that level of capability applied to much simpler tasks will change things. So I’m sitting here, begging anyone to listen about this AI stuff, and what’s really happening is far more dramatic that what I imagined. I look at those Sora examples, and I’m at a loss. What does this mean for … almost anyone who creates content of any kind? I figured I could ride out this career over many more years. Now I have some doubts. Not good.

Anyhoo.

To your question specifically, it’s impossible to see too far out with this stuff, but for now, I feel comfortable saying that, given the nature of this work, we will “always” need human beings in the chain. And that, at worst, it’s likely that the job changes over time to overseeing, verifying, and continually testing AI-generated code bases to ensure that they are correct in every sense of the word (semantically correct, of course, but also address the need of whatever solution and in the most efficient way possible).

More specifically, imagine you’re a developer, and you’re tasked with creating a library that does some thing, it doesn’t matter what. Up to today, you might have had some level of understanding of how to write this from scratch, from completely to not at all, and you use whatever resources—books, back in the day, Stack Overflow, etc. more recently) to get you to something that at least works. To make this as efficient as possible, you might use built-in IDE tools or third-party tools, debug as needed, test, etc. In the end, you create this thing.

Today, things are a bit different. You might use AI instead of Stack Overflow to get past the bit you don’t understand. Or you might literally say, “create me a library in this language that does this thing,” and AI creates it for you. You still need to understand what it did. And all the other steps in the process—debugging, testing, making it more efficient, whatever—still apply, and perhaps there are AI tools that help with all that too. But you stay in the IDE, you still make the library (with the help of AI to whatever degree), and the thing you submit/go live with is still on you from a responsibility level. You’re still a programmer, but hopefully the AI assistance lets you get more work done, have higher quality output, and/or lets you focus on less grunt work-y things.

How might this change in the future? AI will get better, and rapidly, especially with a finite data set like software development. So this will all get more efficient and the code will be of higher quality. And maybe we view that as a net positive, where it frees the developer in the ways noted above. Or maybe we view it as a net negative, where this allows less capable developers to do these jobs, and it’s possible that these less capable people will miss things and there will be problems out in the world with software making mistakes. Which, depending on the industry, could be very serious.

Here’s the thing. No matter where you land, the need for high-quality software developers is still a thing. I might even argue that in a world of AI-heavy software development, that person is even more important, and that the resulting job is thus more lucrative too. Developers often disparagingly refer to entry-level web developers, for example, as “web monkeys.” AI could help eliminate that part of the developer world, so that the broader developer base is now more capable and knowledgeable.

When I went to art school in 1985, that world was just then shifting to computers, where you could use a Mac or a PC to do graphic design work, but the school I went to did not offer any computer courses. A few years later, a future wife of a friend went to the same school, and it had started offering computer design courses.

That’s where we are now with software development and education. The focus is shifting a bit, and should include education on effectively using AI. (A few years back, when my son got his degree, the CS stuff had shifted to include UX work, and that actually involves psychology courses because you need to understand people to understand good UX.)

It’s difficult to look out over a lifetime career that hasn’t started yet, and given how fast things are moving now, this overview will be out of date soon. But at this moment in time, I would not discourage someone from a software development career. There will always be debates about what to focus on—languages, platforms, etc.—but AI will be a big part of this career arc no matter what.

We all know how advice works. But within my own limited understanding of the world and of AI and of how it is changing things, that’s basically where I land now. I will say that a career in programming in which AI eliminates frustrations sounds pretty good to me. I hope I’m not being naive here.

Portable gaming

Vladimir asks:

Hi Paul, I wonder what is your opinion on handheld gaming and on the numerous handhelds that have released in the past months. I have a steam deck and it really changed the picture for me. Beeing able to play everywhere at home (without isolating myself in front of a pc) and while I travel gave me the opportunity to play much more and I finished a lot of games I would never had otherwise. The ability of the steam deck to run windows games is almost unbelievable. The pain point is that it’s not possible to install from gamepass because UWP is not supported. Do you think it will ever be, maybe with some help from Microsoft?

Valve (makers of the Steam Deck) has said that they would help Microsoft bring Game Pass to the device. But that was two years ago, and I’m sure the broader Microsoft view is that there is an emerging generation of Steam Deck-like portable gaming PCs running Windows and that these devices should be the choice for anyone who wants such a thing. I suppose Steam Deck would have to pass some user threshold for Microsoft to even consider such a port. Though to be fair, this would benefit all Linux gamers. The issue there is that Linux usage on Steam overall is still low, though it looks like Steam Deck triggered a nice bump.

I will say this: Making this happen absolutely falls under the “meet gamers where they are” messaging that Microsoft repeated during yesterday’s Xbox strategy event. So far, it’s just been talk when it comes to Steam Deck, though.

Of course I am aware that the problem can be solved with a Windows handheld. I tried the Lenovo Legion Go and the hardware is amazing. However, Windows is really a bad experience on a handheld with the small screen and all the time being spent for installing drivers, troubleshooting etc. Windows on the steam deck is an even worse experience and games are basically unplayable. Phil Spencer acknowledged this problem and said that they will improve Windows for handhelds. Do you think there is a possibility that this will really happen?

There is a lot of evidence that Microsoft is making an Xbox app-based, Media Center-like UI for these PC-based gaming handhelds, and maybe that will help put this experience over the top. (We’ve seen screenshots, etc.) It’s odd to me that this hasn’t come up in any of the build up to Windows 11 24H2, as that seems like an obvious target. But since it would come from the Xbox team, maybe it’s largely unrelated to Windows.

You didn’t ask this, but this reminds me of the long-hoped-for Xbox gaming handheld, something that would deliver the experience you’re looking for but would play console titles natively (not PC games). Whether such a thing is even viable is hard to say, but as Brad has suggested on FRD, perhaps Microsoft could license the OS and hardware reference designs to PC makers and other hardware makers, and they could make a business of it. In general, I do think that the simpler platform (with no driver installs, etc.) does make the most sense for such a device. Assuming such a device makes sense at all.

Dueling dual defenders

Christian-Gaeng asks:

Hello Paul, I’m confused. Windows now has two Windows Defenders. One that is active with Windows and the other that is part of Office. Is Microsoft unable to detect when one or the other is active and then stop activating the second?

Windows Defender is part of Windows, and Microsoft Defender is part of a paid Microsoft 365 subscription, and it offers additional capabilities, most of which extend beyond Windows. For consumers, that’s personal or family-wide identity protection, credit monitoring, security alerts, VPN on public Wi-Fi (Android only, curiously), and probably other benefits. So you can argue there’s a value there.

But I will not do that. I can’t stand that Microsoft does this. This is what AV suites do now, too. Now that AV and anti-malware are handled well by the OS, they add other things to drive usage.

To, ahem, defend this practice, just know that the Microsoft Defender app (at least for consumers) is just a front-end to the existing Windows Defender for PC security purposes, and to the added features and services you get from Microsoft 365. So I assume/hope there’s no real overhead to it.

I don’t care: I uninstall Microsoft Defender the first time it pops up a banner notification. That’s a nice reminder, really. I don’t want it, thanks for telling me you’re there, now you’re not.

Maybe this is obvious, but there are other Defender apps, too, like Microsoft Defender Application Guard. Microsoft really latches onto certain brands.

Camera quality

ianceicys asks:

Paul on Windows Weekly and Eternal Spring you always have great content and conversations, but I’m a bit surprised at the lack of crispness in your video (compared to Richard). Any chance you’re looking to upgrade your equipment to 4k60?

Well, I already have 4K60 webcams in PA and in Mexico.

On the most recent Windows Weekly, I just used the laptop’s built-in webcam because of a cascading shakiness issue: Between the table I’m using here, the laptop, and then the webcam up on its perch, it’s like watching a squirrel clinging to the very top branches of a tree, with the view shaking when I move, type, or otherwise touch the table. So I just took the webcam out of the equation to improve the stability of the video.

The current laptop here in Mexico doesn’t have the greatest webcam, I guess—it’s 5 MP, but there’s not a lot in the way of configuration, and I’ve set Zoom to use the highest-quality—but … whatever. Laptop webcams are getting better all the time, and it at some point I’m sure whatever I use here will have an incredible built-in camera. I just need one I use on an ongoing basis.

Anyway, we recorded a new video for Eternal Spring yesterday, and I did use the 4K webcam. It looks fine to me, given the lighting—which is on our to-do list—and the gigantic white wall behind me (also on our to-do list). I feel like improving those things will make a big difference.

But that’s a lot of money to spend for slightly better video. Most people listen to Windows Weekly as opposed to watching it, and that I completely understand. Why would anyone want to look at me?

Also, my bigger issue here in Mexico from a podcast perspective is the audio. I tried a bunch of different things, but in the end purchased a microphone arm and shock mount for the USB microphone I’ve been using on the road for years. And that seems to have done the trick. Before I had to use three cardboard boxes to get it in the right position, which was ridiculous.

I won’t make this change for FRD, but I can just use the 4K cam I have for Windows Weekly. And then endure the complaints about shakiness. 🙂

On a scale from 1 to infinity…

mattbg asks:

I am interested to know how motivated you feel to write about Windows 11 these days. Are you mostly excited to write articles about what’s new in Windows 11 or does it increasingly feel like an obligation? Do you find other things in tech more interesting to write about these days?

Honestly, I don’t have any motivation issues when it comes to Windows 11.

But now that you mention it, it is interesting that that’s the case, given how hard Microsoft is trying to make it terrible. But I do separate the product from the company, team, and strategies. And when I think about personal computing, my primary interest, to this day, is still very much Windows. There is nothing more interesting to me.

Not that there aren’t other things of interest, of course. Consider the recent security content push. That all came out of work I was doing to update the Windows 11 book. It expanded past what I thought I was doing to write about because it’s so important. But in the end, it’s really all about Windows.

And not that I need to, but I think I can prove it. The Windows 11 Field Guide is now 1080 pages and counting, and while there is a sense of obligation there, for sure, that’s about getting it right and making something useful about the tech product that I care about the most. You don’t write something that comprehensive on a lark. And you don’t do it if there are other things that matter more. There aren’t, not to me, not in this part of my life.

I guess I’m going to die on this hill. There was a moment in time when I thought that Windows Phone might replace “big” Windows in this role, and had Microsoft maybe done things differently and that platform survived, it might have migrated to tablets and then into iPad Pro-like computing devices, and perhaps even pulled an NT and “become” Windows, and …. I don’t know. We can speculate. But it died, and Windows continued.

And I still love it. Really.

Branding

 

Paul with the copilot Brand do you think Microsoft ever thought of calling it Cortana to revive the brand just wondering?

That had to have come up. But it was probably never a realistic option: Cortana had already failed as a brand and as a standalone assistant. Had the timing and circumstances been different, maybe. But the Copilot brand is also so perfect. Perhaps too perfect given how much they’re milking it right now.

Hands-On Windows

helix2301 asks:

The other question I had with hands on windows I know you lost some episodes do you record those yourself still? I know for a while you said twit was remotely recording them for you?

It’s still recorded the same way: I record the screen locally, and that recording includes a back-up of my voice just in case. A producer at TWiT (Benito) records my audio and video over Zoom, and then mixes the two for the final podcast.

The event you’re referencing is tied to the unexpected way that Google Drive handles file uploads: I upload my screen recordings to Benito’s Drive and never think about it again. But I also just keep the originals on my PC. In that case, there was a bizarre back-to-back set of coincidences that led to data loss. Because Google f’d me over on Workspace storage, I switched over to consumer Gmail with Google One storage, and then I deleted everything in Workspace (Drive) because I was over the data cap; what I didn’t know was that those shared files were in my Drive, not Benito’s, so when he checked, they were gone. Then, randomly, I decided to reset the PC I use at home for podcasts, as it had been awhile and I was having some funky issues. Benito emailed me about the missing files during the reset, and while I would normally have the originals on that PC, I was literally resetting it, and they were gone. Just nuts.

The solution to this issue was simple enough: Benito copies the screen recordings I send him manually to his own Drive just in case.

The one with you in the dark kind started off funny “For those of you watching me in the dark not because of power outage lol”

Yeah, I was hoping that would be fun. That was the episode about Dynamic Lighting, which I recorded in the dark.

Enterprise Microsoft coverage

helix2301 also asks:

One question at work and we have talked about is with Mary Jo no longer covering enterprise tech where do you think the most reputable source is for that news would be now.

Mary Jo has a blog at Directions on Microsoft if you haven’t seen it. And our former sister site, Petri, is an excellent resource for this kind of thing, with lots of former Windows IT Pro contributors and other trusted authors. Those are the big two for me.

Thanks again love the site we have saying at work it’s not real till it’s Paul confirms it 😉

Nice. I’m not sure if I’m in the arbiter per se. But thanks. 🙂