Windows Weekly 955: Chewy Indifference

Leo, Richard, and Paul discuss Windows 11’s shift into Windows.ai, ChatGPT Atlas, an annual report, Xbox and gaming, and much more.

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Windows 11 … Windows.ai??

Microsoft announces several new Copilot and AI features in Windows while redefining the term “AI PC” out from under Intel

• New features: Hey Copilot wake phrase (and goodbye), Copilot Vision is GA, new features coming soon include Copilot replacing Search in the Taskbar, Copilot Actions for local files, Manus AI agent and Filmora integration with File Explorer AI Actions, Zoom integration with Click to Do
• This is about Windows transforming into an “AI native” agentic OS
• Which ties into Paul’s AI is the End of Apps editorial, where apps became programmable so that they can be controlled by AI – You can see baby steps in Windows 11 in-box apps now
• Microsoft explains how it will secure agents in Windows because Recall what happened last time

Microsoft releases so-called emergency update for Windows 11 after the October Patch Tuesday updates killed USB mouse and keyboard supports in the Windows Recovery Environment (WRE).

Windows Insider Program

• Mobile devices settings improvements, File Explorer improvements, Drag Tray improvements, and other changes head to Dev (25H2) and Beta (24H2) channels
• New Start menu, battery icons, Copilot Vision integration in Taskbar, File Explorer improvements, Voice access improvements, and Click to Do improvements (Copilot+ PC only) head to Release Preview, indicating they will be a Week D preview and then Patch Tuesday release in November
• Restyle rolling out in Paint across most Insider channels

Apps

• Open AI finally launches long-expected web browser, but only on the Mac because FU, Microsoft
• Facebook Messenger for Windows is retiring, will chase rabbits on a farm upstate

Microsoft

What does Microsoft’s annual report say about its relationship with consumers?

• Three core consumer businesses: Windows, Microsoft 365 Consumer, Xbox/gaming
  • Xbox/gaming smallest (500m) but also the most engaged – and also the most discussed in the report
• Not clear what % of users/revenues is consumer based, but it’s not a small number (guessing its at least one-third of each)

AI

Copilot for Education is coming in December, $18 per student per month

Anthropic Claude is coming for Copilot in Microsoft 365 commercial

Copilot has AI competition on Samsung smart TVs now

Opera Neon is getting an AI research agent

Xbox and gaming

Xbox president says next console will be “very premium”. You know, like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are now available for purchase

New wave of games coming to Game Pass across PC, console, and cloud, including Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, The Outer Worlds 2, and more

Following console price hikes, Xbox Development Kit gets a 33 percent price increase thanks to insane U.S. tariffs

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Laptops are upgradeable again and life is good

It varies by model, but most mainstream and business-class laptops are now end-user repairable and upgradeable to some degree. RAM remains a holdout on many laptops, but you can easily swap out the SSD and other components now on most

App pick of the week: A grab bag of apps for Windows users

• Epic Games (Store) – has at least two free games each month, casual games like Samorost 3 (from makers of Machinarium, now free!) work fine on Snapdragon X/WOA 11 as expected
• 1Password, always terrific, now integrates (in beta) with the new passkeys functionality in Windows 11
• balenaEtcher is like Rufus but it tends to work better with Linux installation media, and is free
• Zorin OS, a user-friendly Linux distro is out in version 18 with a compelling alternative for your Windows 10 PC that’s exiting support – can test with USB media, dual-boot with Windows

RunAs Radio this week: Becoming a Cybersecurity Expert with Paula Januszkiewicz

https://runasradio.com/Shows/Show/1007

Brown liquor pick of the week: Laphroaig 10

https://www.laphroaig.com/whiskies/10-year-old