Windows Weekly 939: The House Hippo

Leo, Richard, and Paul discuss the latest Microsoft layoffs, Windows 11 25H2, AI, Xbox and gaming, and much more.

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LAYOFFS

As expected, Microsoft began a massive round of layoffs across Xbox/Microsoft Gaming on Wednesday

• Fiscal year started Tuesday
• These were originally going to happen a week or two earlier
• 9,000 employees impacted across Microsoft – about 4 percent of workforce, Xbox/MS Gaming was NOT hit hardest, Microsoft now says (on top of 6,000 in May)
  • 2,500 in January for performance
• 10 percent of King being laid off
• Carefully worded email from Phil Spencer requires some parsing

It’s finally official: 25H2 is next!

Microsoft finally admits that the Dev channel is testing Windows 11 version 25H2, which will arrive, as expected, around October

• This news came as part of another set of commingled Dev and Beta channel builds
• 25H2 will be delivered as an enablement package, so it’s a minor release technically
• Dev and Beta are linked because 25H2 and 24H2 are linked: Each will get the same features, as started with 22H2/23H2 in late 2023.

Windows 11

Last week was Week D, but we didn’t get preview updates per usual before WW

• That finally happened last Thursday – new preview updates for 24H2 and 23H2/22H2
• 24H2: Click to Do improvements, start of PC migration in Windows Backup, small icons in Taskbar, more

Windows Insider Preview

• Those Dev/Beta builds noted above have the first implementation of third-party passkeys

Microsoft Edge 138 is a pretty big update, with AI-enhanced history search and Copilot integration into the search box and new tab page

AI

Microsoft 365 Copilot is available on the Mac

Apple may cave and adopt Anthropic Claude and/or OpenAI ChatGPT for Apple Intelligence

After Coda acquisition and $1 billion in funding, Grammarly acquires Superhuman to build an “AI-native” productivity suite that will take on Big Tech (Microsoft, Google) and Little Tech (Notion, Proton) alike

Cursor sort of comes to the web and mobile – like Adobe Firefly on mobile, but for devs when “the mood strikes”

Xbox and gaming

Microsoft kills Perfect Dark reboot and the studio that was making it

Xbox 365 dashboard is getting its first update in years

Halo Studios teases an October tease of the next Halo from the studio

New Game Pass titles for the first half of July – plus, COD: WWII turns up in Game Pass for the first time

Tips and picks

Tip/App picks of the week: Cure Mac envy

The Mac is about to get even prettier. But Windows 11 can rise to this challenge

• The PC matters: I recommend Surface Laptop 7 as a MacBook Air alternative

Software? It’s all free

• Full screen apps: Hide the Taskbar and touchpad gestures – also, use DS Clock if you need to see the time.
• Transparent system menu? You can make the Taskbar transparent too
• Want Spotlight? No problem, we have Command Palette (an updated, more extensible PowerToys Run) in PowerToys

Bonus app pick: Inoreader for RSS feeds (and read later if you want)

RunAs Radio this week: More Azure Innovations with Mark Russinovich

https://runasradio.com/Shows/Show/991

Brown liquor pick of the week: Alberta Distillers 23 Year Old Rare Batch No. 1

https://www.albertadistillers.com/