Windows Weekly 877

Paul has been complaining for years (decades?) about the truly serious problems with Windows, most recently Windows 11. And recently compiled the list, sorting them by severity. Gets way too much pushback on what should just be common sense. Plus, a series of inconsequential Windows 11 in-box app announcements has Paul wondering "why?" It may be about AI and the need for Microsoft product groups to demonstrate (internally) that they are doing the work. Also, an interesting peek at how Microsoft is handling the native app issue in Windows.

Windows

• Microsoft starts testing a recommended apps icon in the Recommended section of the Windows 11 Start menu. And the world loses its #$%^ for some reason
• Guys. Focus. That this isn’t an issue is obvious. Faux outrage just gets in the way of solving the real problems
• Windows 11 Release Preview: More widgets on the lock screen, Arm64 .msi support in Group Policies, lots of fixes
• Windows 10 Release Preview: Account notifications in Start (like Windows 11), many of the same bug fixes as above, but also a fix for “a race condition that might stop a machine from starting up” in multi-OS boot configurations
• Microsoft Store, which is a UWP app and has an AI Hub for some reason, is now faster
• The Photos app is transitioning from UWP to Windows App SDK
• The Photos app, which already has some AI features, is getting a Designer button so you can open the current image in Microsoft Designer, a new app, and thus a web app, that offers AI-powered image/content creation and editing capabilities
• Paul had his first AI PC experience in late 2023, but now he’s gone hands-on with the Copilot key and you won’t believe what happened next
• First Snapdragon X Elite PC leaks

Microsoft 365 and Surface

• Surface lead designer Ralf Groene retires from Microsoft
• Microsoft will retire Office 2016 and Office 2019 alongside Windows 10 in October 2025

AI

• Microsoft/OpenAI partnership doesn’t warrant a formal probe
• Microsoft’s three-phase strategy (”AI beside, AI inside, AI outside”) for bringing AI to the world is curiously similar to the “embrace and extend” strategy of the 1990s. Which is itself still misunderstood
• The UK CMA offers a compelling case for regulating AI - a fascinating comeback from its ridiculous arguments against Microsoft + Activision
• Microsoft invests $1.5 billion in a controversial UAE-based AI company. The US government says it’s all good
• Yes, Adobe is working on generative AI video capabilities, of course it is
• Brave adds Answer with AI to Brave Search for free
• Google Photos’ AI editing tools will be free for everyone
• Amazon adds an AI playlist generator to Amazon Music
• Apple’s M4 chipsets will pile on the AI. Of course they will
• All three of Anthropic’s Claude 3 LLMs are now available on Amazon Bedrock
• AMD introduces new AI CPUs for commercial AI PCs

Xbox

• We have another set of titles for Xbox Game Pass. But seriously, Where the F are the Activision Blizzard games??
• Grounded comes to PS4/5 and Nintendo Switch. This is the third of the four games Microsoft said would come cross-platform
• Sea of Thieves has 40 million players
• Epic Games wants the courts to require Google to open up Android and the Play Store further. To explain how that would work, it wrote some fan fiction

Tips & Picks

• Tip of the week: Hardcore Software
• App pick of the week: DuckDuckGo Privacy Pro
• RunAs Radio this week: GitHub Copilot with Damian Brady
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Four Roses Single Barrel

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The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

• Transcripts: Windows Weekly 877 Transcript

Links

• Microsoft Starts Testing App Recommendations in the Windows 11 Start Menu
• From the Editor’s Desk: Think (Premium)
• Releasing Windows 11 Builds 22621.3520 and 22631.3520 to the Release Preview Channel
• Releasing Windows 10 Build 19045.4353 to Release Preview Channel
• New Microsoft Store Update Brings Major Speed Improvements
• Microsoft is Adding a Designer Button to the Windows 11 Photos App
• Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 Gen 9 First Impressions
• Snapdragon X Elite PC leak
• Ralf Groene Retires from Microsoft
• Office 2016, 2019 Apps and Productivity Servers to Reach End of Support in October 2025
• Microsoft-OpenAI Partnership Will Reportedly Dodge EU Probe
• Embrace, Extend, and … Copilot? (Premium)
• UK CMA Issues Warning on Big Tech Dominance of AI
• Microsoft Expands AI Presence with $1.5 Billion Investment in G42
• Adobe Launches Acrobat AI Assistant and Teases Generative AI Tools in Premiere Pro
• Brave Adds Answer with AI to Brave Search
• Google Photos’ AI Editing Tools Will Become Free for All Users in May
• Amazon Music Launches an AI Playlist Generator
• Report: Apple’s M4 Chip to Enable New AI Capabilities and Memory Options on Upcoming Macs
• Anthropic Claude 3 Opus is Now Available on Amazon Bedrock
• AMD Announces New Ryzen Pro Portfolio for Commercial AI PCs
• Microsoft Announces More Game Pass and Game Pass Core Games for April
• Grounded is Now Available on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch
• Sea of Thieves milestone
• Epic Asks U.S. Court to Require Google to Open Up Android’s Play Store
• Review: Hardcore Software by Steven Sinofsky
• Hardcore Software: Inside the Rise and Fall of the PC Revolution (affiliate)
• Understanding AI: Copilot 101
• DuckDuckGo Announces Privacy Pro Subscription
• GitHub Copilot with Damian Brady
• Four Roses Single Barrel