WW 857: SharePoint All the Way Down - Energy Saver, tiny11 2311, Amazon WorkSpaces Thin Client

CrowdStrike: Terrible name, terrible outage CrowdStrike, a company no one has ever heard of, ships an update that borks Windows PCs, servers, and clouds services at the heart of the worldʼs infrastructure. Naturally, everyone blamed Microsoft at first Microsoft says outage impacted under 1 percent of PCs. It was just the worst PCs imaginable Microsoft blames EU regulation for its inability to be like Apple That is not a good look. It's also deceptive. Microsoft issues repair tool (later updates). CrowdStrike explains what it did wrong. TLDR: everything. Windows Windows 11 version 23H2 is fully available! Wait, what? Surface Laptop 7 review: big, heavy, no presence sensing or fingerprint reader. Right, I love it. Also, the ThinkPad T14s arrived. Related: Intel cops to mistake in Core Gen 13/14 processors, will issue fix. Why this is unprecedented. And also precedented. Also, why precedented is a word. Microsoft is FINALLY bringing ads to the Microsoft Store search box. Microsoft starts testing new Start menu layouts. Surely one of them has live tites. Canary build today: Duplicate File Explorer tab, not much else. AI/Antitrust Meta is making a surprising—and surprisingly strong—case for AI as open-source. Proton adds an AI writing assistant to its Drive-based Docs. Amazon lost an alleged $25 billion on Alexa devices over four years, so itʼs all in on AI-based devices now! (Panos Panay is the perfect fit for this business if the goal is to be unprofitable). Google effectively kills Privacy Sandbox in a victory for regulation. Microsoft probably cleared the final hurdle to avoid EU antitrust action on cloud licensing. Hey, it worked with security companies and the Windows kernel! It's That Time of the Quarter Again Alphabet / Google: Double-digit revune gains YOY, but how much of this is AI? Subscription services (Netflix, Spotify, not so much Game Pass) are KILLING it,but theyʼre also in full-on enshirtification mode - how do we fix this? Can we fix this. Xbox FTC complains about Xbox Game changes. They're not wrong. But they're not right either. Call of Duty Modern Warfare III lands on Game Pass today - what the what Also, Microsoft muffed the landing badly - but it appears to be working now Halo TV series canceled. It's the worst thing that's happened with Xbox this entire year Tips and Picks Tip of the week: The best thing about Copilot in Windows 11 now With Copilot switching from a pane to an app, thereʼs an unintended benefit that comes into play when you use an AI PC with a Copilot key on it. Youʼre never going to believe what happens next. App pick of the week: Microsoft Designer for image generation Microsoft Designer exited preview last week and thereʼs at least one secret benefit to using it: Unlike Copilot, you can create wide and portrait images (and not just square) without paying. This is why I pay for Copilot Pro. (You do need to sign in with an MSA, however.) RunAs Radio This Week: Data Risk Management using Purview with Joanne Klein https://runasradio.com/Shows/Show/942 Brown Liquor Pick of the Week: Writerʼs Tears Tequila Cask Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Sponsors: e-e.com/twit betterhelp.com/WINDOWS Melissa.com/twit 1password.com/windowsweekly

This episode features Paul, Richard, and Leo discussing Microsoft's new "checkpoint cumulative updates" and HP's announcement of its AMD-based AI PC. Afterward, Paul goes over his review of the Yoga Slim 7x laptop, which features a 14.5-inch OLED display. Other topics include the hiring of Inflection staff, Microsoft's settlement with the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe, Leo's ZDTV hat, .NET 9 Preview 6, OS/2 Warp, the Xbox Game Pass mess, Amazon Prime Day, and a controller designed by Deadpool! Windows Windows 11 version 24H2 introduces a new way to update Windows because WTF Microsoft HP announces an AMD-based AI PC that is/is not a Copilot+ PC - lots going on here AMD comes clean on the new chips, which ship at the end of July With a Snapdragon X-based ThinkPad on the way, Paul reviews the Yoga Slim 7xp Windows 11 Photos app now integrates with Microsoft Designer Dev (last week): Testing/deployment of new features resumes after long pause Beta (last week): More changes to the home page in File Explorer Release Preview (last week): Duplicate a File Explorer tab, drag and drop to pin from Start to Taskbar, more. Also a Windows 10 build (hooray?) AI/Antitrust UK CMA investigates Microsoft for its Inflection AI hirings Microsoft settles with (most of) CISPE on cloud licensing in EU iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia public betas arrive, but with no Apple Intelligence features Opera beta on iPhone and iPad has new UI, some AI Dev .NET 9 Preview 6 arrives Paul makes massive progress on Windows 11 port of .NETpad with the updated WPF. Plus a neat third-party add-on that might put this project over the top Google is bringing Android Studio to the web Xbox Xbox controversy of the month, but this one is real: Microsoft ensh*ttifies Xbox Game Pass - more info now that the dust has settled, but still no announcement from Microsoft Microsoft, you HAVE to announce what's going on with AB and Game Pass Now that Microsoft owns Call of Duty, Xbox gamers are getting next beta on day one - well, Game Pass members anyway Microsoft offers a cheap Xbox streaming bundle on Amazon The Deadpool Xbox wireless controller is priceless Microsoft announces three day-one titles for Game Pass, none from AB Tips and picks Tip of the week: Amazon Prime Day is here App pick of the week: Proton Pass RunAs Radio this week: The Power of Data in the Cloud with Arun Ulag Brown liquor pick of the week: Crown Royal Blender's Mash Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Sponsors: 1password.com/windowsweekly bigid.com/windowsweekly canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT

In this episode, Paul seems to be sitting in a familiar room! Could this be a sign that a game-changing enhancement to Notepad is rolling out? That's not all, as OneDrive seems to be undergoing some behavioral changes in a positive direction. After 3 weeks since the Copilot+ PC launch (2 weeks since Paul got his 1st model), the future of Intel and x86 may not be as dire as some think. Plus, Affinity announced that its award-winning Photo, Designer, and Publisher apps are now free for 6 months with no obligation to buy! The Morning After The end of Intel and the x86 era? You guys are cute Comparing the HP, Lenovo, and Microsoft entries: A few differentiators, but these things are very, very similar. There's a reason why IDC throws cold water on the AI PC/Copilot+ PC parade We still need official Windows 11 on Arm ISOs, Microsoft. Until then, there are workarounds. Windows 11 GAME CHANGER: Notepad FINALLY supports spell-checking and auto-correct! ACTUAL GAME CHANGER: Microsoft is apparently stepping back some of the OneDrive terribleness in Windows 11 version 24H2 Patch Tuesday: BIG deal for Windows 11 22H2, 23H2 with 24H2 features Nothing to speak of for 24H2, as predicted - just security updates It's nice when things happen as expected for a change Canary: Lock screen widget changes Paul put the Windows 11 Field Guide on a diet - and then the other books too PDF went from 377 MB to 107 MB, EPUB went from 344 MB to just 86 MB (!) Similar gains for Windows Everywhere, Windows 10 Field Guide Updated the Win10 add-in that comes with the Windows 11 Field Guide too Surface Surface Laptop 7 and Pro 11 get second firmware updates AI The OpenAI drama consumes Microsoft Opera brings Aria AI features to its GX gaming browser too Xbox Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gets a price hike Xbox Cloud Gaming is now available on newer Fire TV Sticks. Also, free Fortnite! Tips and Tricks Tip of the week: Get all three Affinity apps on all three platforms for free for six months! App pick of the week: Firefox 128 and Vivaldi 6.8 RunAs Radio this week: The Hardware of Azure with Rani Borkar Brown liquor pick of the week: Raasay Single Malt Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Guest: Mary Jo Foley Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Sponsors: bigid.com/windowsweekly 1password.com/windowsweekly

It's only been one week, but it's really been 14 years, and Paul is calling: Microsoft and Qualcomm have finally made Windows 11 on Arm both viable and desirable. Nothing is perfect, but this platform is pretty incredible. Some notes from the past week: Mission Accomplished As a reminder, Paul finally got the Yoga Slim 7x last week and updated on app compatibility, hardware compatibility, gaming, and in-box AI experiences in time for WW - only found one non-working app, Google Drive. Then... More app and game compatibility testing. Since then, played a lot more DOOM (2016), ran into one issue that's surely WOA-related (note beta graphics driver, though) Video encoding performance: Snapdragon X vs Snapdragon X vs Core Ultra 9 H-series vs MacBook Air M3 Initial thoughts on battery life and then More thoughts on battery life. The Yoga Slim 9x and Surface Laptop both get about 10 hours of real-world battery life (so far), compared to 15 hours for the MacBook Air 15-inch M3. Hardware compatibility update: Only one of my devices doesn't work, the Focusrite. Surface Laptop 7 first impressions and second impressions HP Elitebook Ultra first impressions Windows 11 After skipping Week D last Tuesday, Microsoft belatedly delivers a Week D preview update for Windows 11 version 24H2 No new features, so next Patch Tuesday will be light for 24H2 22H2 and 23H2 got a big Week D update last Tuesday, so Patch Tuesday will be meaningful As of July's Patch Tuesday, 22H2, 23H2, and 24H2 will all provide the same basic feature set Canary, Dev, Beta (last Friday): nothing exciting, a few small features or changes AI & Microsoft 365 European Commission "shifts" investigation of Microsoft/OpenAI partnership. Is Ken Starr in charge of this thing? Microsoft highlights new Copilot features coming to Microsoft 365 in July Copilot in OneNote can now recognize handwritten text. It's 2002 all over again! Pixel 9 family will promote unique "Google AI" features Brave introduces a BYOM plan for its web browser Thanks to AI, Google Translate now supports 110 new languages Xbox Xbox Cloud Gaming Fire Sticks it to Amazon Another two weeks of Xbox Game Pass Forza Horizon 4 (from 2018) to be delisted December 15. Why? Tips and Picks Tip of the week: Get $10 off Tony Redmond's Office 365 for IT Pros 11th Edition App pick of the week: Docs in Proton Drive RunAs Radio this week: NGINX as a Service with Buu Lam Brown liquor pick of the week: Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Sponsors: canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT cachefly.com/twit

We're one week into the Copilot+ PC, and the feedback is positive with caution! Key takeaways so far: Much improved performance and reliability, AI features mostly stink, but there is still uncertainty each time you install/do anything. Windows 11 Week D arrives with preview updates for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2 only The second Patch Tuesday in a row with no 24H2 update (on the day) This preview update adds 24H2 features to 22H2/23H2 as predicted Beta channel (last week): Bizarre Start menu extension for Phone Link users Release preview channel (last week): The 22H2/23H2 builds and features that shipped to stable as a preview update on Tuesday Canary channel (last week): After pausing the previous build (hint: Recall code), new build arrives with drag-and-drop address bar in File Explorer, notification tweaks Copilot+ PC Paul finally got a Copilot+ PC to test, a Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x 14" App compatibility scorecard: Excellent, but with familiar Arm uncertainties Hardware compatibility: Excellent, but with the same person-by-person caveat Gaming: Lots of fiddling, but if you can find a compatible game, some great perf and visual quality. Still better than the Mac, and better than any x64 Ultrabook. But not a gaming PC. No Xbox Game Pass support?? COME ON In-box AI capabilities: With Recall out, there's almost nothing to see here Plus, Intel and AMD are gunning for Qualcomm iFixit reports that Surface Laptop 7/Pro 11 repairability is "astonishingly" good. Granted, the bar was low Microsoft brings Surface Flex Keyboard to Surface Pro 8, 9, and 11 Microsoft releases recovery images for Surface Pro 11/Laptop 7 Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-In Security (ESS) is one of several Copilot+ PC protections that rendered those security researcher complaints about Recall moot. But Paul now has two PCs that use this feature, and it's even more impressive than you think The Windows 11 decoder ring Antitrust As expected, the European Commission announced preliminary charges against Microsoft for Office/Teams bundling This is antitrust, not DMA (like Apple) The EU has not explained WHAT Microsoft can do to fix this (unlike with Apple) This is based on a complaint from Slack, which was created 7 years after Microsoft first offered this type of app/service Xbox -Hot off a terrific Xbox Games Showcase event, Xbox promises its "biggest-ever" booth at Gamescom 2024 (which is now the biggest trade show in Europe, apparently) -Microsoft details how Auto SR and Prism work in WOA11 to make gaming both possible and decent -Steam Deck LCD models are on sale Tips and Picks -App pick of the week #1: New browser upgrades -App pick of the week: Proton Drive -RunAs Radio this week: The Hard Part of Machine Learning with Lynn Langit -Brown liquor pick of the week: Cragganmore 12 Hosts: Paul Thurrott, Richard Campbell, and Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Sponsor: 1password.com/windowsweekly