Windows Weekly 940: The Donkey Always Wins

Leo, Richard, and Paul discuss Patch Tuesday, Windows 11, Microsoft 365, AI, more Microsoft layoff tidbits, Xbox angst, and much more.

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Patch Tuesday

It’s been a big year for Windows 11 updates. This month is at least semi-manageable

Copilot+ PC only:

• Ask Copilot action for Click to Do

24H2 only:

• Show smaller Taskbar icons
• Screen curtain feature in Narrator
• Settings home page for commercial customers

24H2 and 23H2:

• Windows Share shows preview when sharing web content
• Beginning of PC migration feature in Windows Backup
• More changes for EU users to meet DMA requirements, mostly Edge related

Windows 10:

• EU/DMA updates as above

More Windows 11

WE DID IT! Windows 11 is now in use on more PCs than Windows 10. It’s time for Windows 12!

Windows Insider

• No new features but some bug fixes in Canary

Microsoft Edge keeps getting more responsive

Microsoft 365 and AI

Teams gets threading in Channels about three years later than needed

Google brought its Veo 3 video generation model to all AI Pro subscribers last week and now it’s bringing that and two other big AI features to Pixel

Perplexity just launched its AI web browser

Xbox and gaming

A few more bits from the layoffs

• No, Phil Spencer is not retiring
• Romero Games forced to cancel Xbox shooter, lay off 100 employees
• Warcraft Rumble Mobile won’t get any more updates

Xbox angst in the wake of last week’s layoffs is mostly undeserved

• Xbox fans keep finding new ways to complain – Most of the game/studio closures we know about were well-deserved. If anything, Microsoft let these things continue for too long with no viable deliverables
• But what is Xbox? Looking at the platform and what Microsoft has done under Phil Spencer paints a very different picture than all the moaning we see on social media
• Key takeaway: Game Pass was key to getting Satya Nadella to keep Xbox going, but after the Activision acquisition, the day and date promise was unworkable. After the changes and price hikes, it’s possible that Game Pass has peaked.

Microsoft uploaded an out of date version of Call of Duty: WWII to the Store and hilarity ensues

Sony to publish a game for Xbox for the first time

Epic Games quietly settled with Samsung ahead of today’s Unpacked event – but not with Google

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Office 365 for IT Pros 2026 Edition is now available

From Tony:

We just released the 2026 edition of Office 365 for IT Pros. If you’d like to offer Windows Weekly fans a discount, we have a $10 off code for you: https://o365itpros.gumroad.com/l/O365IT/WindowsWeekly24. We’re particularly proud of the 350-page Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell eBook that’s included in the package because it guides people through using the Graph APIs to interact with Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, Planner, Entra ID, eDiscovery, and more…

https://office365itpros.com/2025/07/01/office-365-for-it-pros-2026-edition/

App pick of the week: Microsoft Edge

Microsoft has removed some feature bloat and dramatically improved the responsiveness and overall performance of its web browser in the past year. You have to be careful in configuring it, but it’s possible to safely and semi-privately use Edge in Windows while removing the bad behaviors that really sink the user experience. And there are some good reasons to consider doing so.

Plus: Amiga Forever 11 and C64 11 Forever help you live in the past

RunAs Radio this week: Building Real Software using PowerApps with Luise Freese

https://runasradio.com/Shows/Show/992

Brown liquor pick of the week: Bolster Road Maple Rye Whiskey

https://www.jptrodden.com/store/bourbons/bolster-road-maple-rye-whiskey