Windows Weekly 928: The Rice is Done

Leo, Richard, and Paul discuss a week’s worth of new Windows 11 features, new Microsoft PC peripherals, AI, video games, and more.

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Windows 11

Feature Tracker. Since we last talked, Microsoft has announced the following new features for Windows 11

• Semantic search can now search for Windows settings using natural language – Dev and Beta (24H2) channels, no clear stable date but guessing June
• Narrator can more accurately describe images by detailing the people, objects, colors, text, and numbers in them, Snapdragon X only, same builds as above
• Snipping Tool with “Text extraction” in the capture bar – This in Canary now, but it was in at least Dev previously, this could ship in stable at any time, it’s an app
• Recall (preview) and Click to Do (preview) head to the Release Preview channel (24H2) – Expect this in May Patch Tuesday
• Narrator speech recap, Phone Link/Start integration, File Explorer Home updates, Windows Share with Edit all head to Release Preview (23H2) – Expect these in May Patch Tuesday – They were added to Beta channel (23H2) a few days earlier

Microsoft Edge is up to 9 percent faster at web rendering and we’re having a fiesta

The Windows 95 startup/logout chime has been inducted into the National Recording Registry

Hardware

Surface Hub OG hits EOL this year just like Windows 10

First major change under new Intel CEO

What’s a computer? The iPad, supposedly, but we’ll see

Everything’s fine, but Google laid off hundreds in Pixel/Android group

This just in

AI

Apple is making big changes so that Apple Intelligence will actually be intelligent

Adobe is going agentic too

OpenAI

• OpenAI is creating its own social network because the world needs another social network
• OpenAI announces three GPT-4.1 models – may retire GPT-4 soon – plus now o3 and o4-mini models
• ChatGPT gets an image library and a memory

Claude gets Research and Google Workspace integration

Meta will start training its AI models with EU data, wink wink

Xbox and games

Xbox app on mobile will soon let you buy games (!) and add-on content, join Game Pass, and redeem perks

• Did Microsoft get a concession from Apple/Google??

You can stream your own games on Xbox consoles now

COD: Modern Warfare II (OG) and more are coming to Game Pass in the next few weeks

Xbox announces Doom: The Dark Ages limited edition accessories

Sea of Thieves is coming to Battle.net

Sony forced to raise price of PS5 in three locales

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Think like an individual, not an enterprise

Admit it, Microsoft guys. You’ve rolled out or at least considered a business-like infrastructure at home. It’s time to stop the abuse.

• We’re in a golden age of what I now call Little Tech solutions
  • Alternative web browsers with unique features – for example, Opera One/Opera Mini
  • Proton and Notion-type solutions
  • One-off, often AI-based utilities from whom/wherever
  • AI integrations are removing the moats
• You’re not an enterprise

App pick of the week: Notion Mail

It’s a web app, it only works with Gmail, and if you want to do anything advanced, you have to pay for Notion AI. What’s not to love?

RunAs Radio this week: How to Not Hate PowerShell with Barbara Forbes

https://runasradio.com/Shows/Show/980

Brown liquor pick of the week: 12th Hawaii Distiller’s Reserve

https://12thhawaiidistiller.com/our-spirits/#Reserve