Welp, Azure crashed on Microsoft's earnings day, the cloud's weakest link exposed just as AI investments hit mind-boggling numbers. And 2.5 years into the AI era, things are still moving quickly, and there are extreme opinions on both ends of the spectrum. But Paul finally found a source for a good way to evaluate AI and figure out where it works and where it does not. It came from an unexpected place.
Windows 11
- Week D arrives with a massive Preview Update for 24H2 and 25H2 - including the new Start menu, finally
- Copy & Search, Voice typing improvements, Proactive Memory Diagnostics, more in Dev and Beta
- Copilot Vision in Copilot app updated with text input and output across all Insider channels
- Intel earnings are great unless you understand how numbers work
Microsoft 365
- Australia regulator sues Microsoft over misleading Microsoft 365 consumer pricing
- Copilot is being integrated into the People, Files, and Calendar companion apps for Microsoft 365 commercial
- On the day Microsoft will report earnings, Microsoft 365 and Azure went down. Hilarious!
AI
- OpenAI completes its transition to a for-profit owned by a non-profit
- Microsoft's stake is 27 percent. A lot has changed in the Microsoft/OpenAI partnership agreement
- WSJ finally calls out Microsoft for its lack of financial reporting transparency. Paul's been complaining about that for over a decade - Big Tech has became a shell game. These companies are managing money they don't even have and actual products and services and "real" value be damned
- Big Copilot feature dump for consumers with a human touch: Mico, Copilot Groups, memory improvements, connectors, Proactive Actions in preview, Copilot for Health, Copilot in Edge improvements, and Copilot in Windows updates from last week
- Microsoft 365 Copilot is getting App Builder and Workflow agents
- GitHub Copilot to support third-party AI agents
- Grammarly rebrands as Superhuman
Xbox and gaming
- Credible report claims Microsoft requires Xbox/Microsoft Gaming to deliver 30 percent profit margin
- That is impossible and this is clearly coming from Amy Hood and has led to the ensh*ttification of Xbox as a platform
- As Microsoft launches first gaming handhelds, all anyone wants to talk about is the next-generation Xbox console. It started with Sarah Bond last week - "very premium" console with "curated" experience
- Phil Spencer discusses it this week, who implied Windows at the heart of console
- The rumor mill churns up - Will be Windows, as we've said, will drop multiplayer paywall that debuted in 2002
- Now Satya Nadella is commenting on the next console, confirms publisher focus for this business
- Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming in 2026, new features, new Unreal Engine graphics, new PS5 compatibility
- Also, The Outer Worlds 2 is now available. Yes, on PS5 too
- Amazon relaunches Luna, and the new Amazon layoffs point to a new focus on casual gaming
Tips and picks
- Tip of the week: Understand where AI works and where AI is just a marketing term used to hype something that doesn't work
- App pick of the week: Tiny11 Builder
- RunAs Radio this week: AI for DBAs with Grant Fritchey
- Brown liquor pick of the week: Redbreast Dream Casks
These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/956
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
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