Windows Weekly 874: Dark Satya

Leo, Richard, and Paul discuss the Moment 5 preview, more Snapdragon X Elite news, Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6, AI, Xbox, and much more.

Stream this episode and subscribe

Enjoy Windows Weekly on YouTube

Windows

Moment 5 arrives as a Preview Update right on schedule – it’s Week D, etc.

• Microsoft previously described this schedule in its DMA compliance documentation, and noted that it would be fully deployed in stable by the end of April.
• Quick raise of hands: Did you think this was already available? You’re not alone. But … you know. Microsoft.
• Oh, and there’s a preview update for Windows 10 too. Because come on Microsoft.

Don’t worry, that lock screen nonsense in Windows 10 is coming to Windows 11 too

Qualcomm claims that most Windows games will “just work” on its X Elite processor. How?

Google Chrome

• Chromium accepts Microsoft commit that will improve Chrome/Chromium text rendering on Windows
• Google Chrome comes to Windows on Arm, instantly legitimatizing the platform

Surface

Microsoft announces Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6

• For businesses, only – Intel Core Ultra-based
• Consumer versions based on X Elite to follow in May, according to reliable rumors
• It’s first “AI PCs,” supposedly. But now we know why they are using that terminology, and it’s stupid. (Related, Intel has its own definitions for what makes a PC an AI PC.)
• This was billed as an AI event, “the new era of work,” but there was NO news for Windows or Copilot. None.
• Why is that? One word: Momentum.

AI

In the wake of Microsoft AI reorg (a NeXT-style takeover), a key Microsoft exec says no and steps aside, will likely leave the company

Microsoft Teams is gaining new AI capabilities because, duh, of course it is

Designer and Copilot Pro are coming to the Microsoft 365 mobile app – Two more checkmarks for that grid of Copilot capabilities

Our developer show schedule is complete: Apple to host WWDC 2024 in June, following Google I/O and Build in May

Samsung spreads Galaxy AI to more devices starting tomorrow in the US

Xbox

It’s finally happening: Diablo IV will be the first Activision Blizzard game on Xbox Game Pass when it goes live tomorrow

Phil Spencer says Windows is wrong for gaming handhelds, thinks an Xbox would be better

Xbox is testing mouse and keyboard support for Cloud Gaming

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Arc browser just became more viable on Windows

Maybe it’s time to take another look, though access is still limited for some reason. After adding Arc Sync on the Mac, Arc now syncs between Mac and Windows. This is a big deal. (It’s not everything. But it’s still better than, say, DuckDuckGo.)

App pick of the week: Affinity Photo 2

Canva just acquired Affinity, and I can see why: Its creative apps are inexpensive replacements for Adobe CC. Coincidentally, I just bought the suite across all platforms. And I use Affinity Photo 2 every day.

Also: Proton Pass now supports (portable) passkeys. And it’s free.

RunAs Radio this week: GitHub for SysAdmins with April Edwards

https://runasradio.com/Shows/Show/925

Brown liquor pick of the week: Stauning Kaos Danish Whisky

https://stauningwhisky.com/