Windows Weekly 1004: Fat Washed

With Richard out, Leo and Paul discuss the Microsoft 10.7 event for Windows, Surface, and RTX Spark, Googlebooks, AI and dev, XBOX and gaming, and a lot more.

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Windows

10.7 Windows/Surface event today!

• Nvidia RTX Spark laptops will come in two basic configurations, 32 GB for creators and 128 GB for local AI nerds/data scientists
• Surface Laptop Ultra – $2599 and up
• HP OmniBook Ultra 16 is expected to be available at HP.com on October 16, 2026 for a starting
  price of $3,199.99. The device will also be available at Best Buy locations and BestBuy.com. The HP OmniBook X 14 is expected to be available at HP.com on October 16, 2026 for a starting
  price of $2,999.99. The device is also expected to be available at Costco.com, Micro Center,
  Walmart, and other US retailers
• The “10.7” bit is a sad reminder of the Windows versions everyone still misses for some reason

Windows Insider Program

• Four new builds last Friday– New options in Cloud Rebuild, more

Software

• Microsoft replaces Remote Desktop with Remote PC connections in the Windows app (original)

Hardware

• HP announces new “Wildcat Lake”-based laptops for consumers and businesses – but Paul’s first experience with Wildcat Lake was largely negative
• First Googlebooks are now shipping – Paul got a Lenovo Googlebook 15 and while the software is interesting, this platform is only half-baked and is less good as a laptop than an iPad is. The issues with Android apps on x86 is just the tip of that iceberg

How many times has Microsoft tried to kill Windows? How many is a legion?

AI/dev

Microsoft AI releases impressive new transcription and voice models

Gemini 4 is way late but Google pretends otherwise

Google brings full Markdown support to Docs and Drive

There’s a new C# Dev Kit coming with .NET 11

XBOX and gaming

Asha Sharma teases exclusive rights to GTA VI game streaming

XBOX Elite Series 3 controller leaked again, is the release imminent?

New Game Pass titles for October: Battlefield 6, more (original)

The base PS5 is getting AI-based upscaling capabilities

Google introduces a vibe-coding service for games (original)

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: You can simulate Windows 98 in a web browser now

Desktop98 is a faithful reproduction of Windows 98 with playable games and archived websites from yesteryear.

App pick of the week: Gears of War: E-Day

Gears of War E-Day is here and it is awesome

Brown liquor pick of the week: 1792

1792 is a perfect bourbon, be sure to seek out the fat-washed version that I suddenly can’t find anywhere