Windows Weekly (Audio)

Microsoft released new Windows 11 Experimental builds. A new round of buyout offers has been presented to 25% of Microsoft's global workforce. Microsoft fixed a major Authenticator flaw for Android. And... no major XBOX news?

Windows

Paul has confirmed a theory weʼve discussed about why Microsoft is really improving Windows 11 this year.

Windows Insider Program

Four new builds - Mobile device controls in Quick Settings, native Internet speed test.

Corporate

Microsoft offers buyout offers to almost 25 percent of its global workforce.

Hardware

This week in Paulʼs RTX Spark local AI coding fails - plus, the first step is realizing itʼs not you, itʼs the technology.

Some advice for using AI.

Software

Microsoft fixes major Authenticator flaw on Android.

PowerToys adds two new utilities, so many other updates.

The Browser Company announces the inevitable end of Arc browser.

AI

Anthropic files for IPO, warns that its work could end humanity.

Canva releases its first AI model, for images.

Opera brings local AI to its desktop web browsers with WebAI standard-to-be.

Apple is bringing AI assistant to its iWorks apps - Apple copies Microsoft again!

XBOX and Gaming

No real news this week, which is rare, but a few thoughts about the new Call of Duty.

Tips and Picks

Tip of the Week: Yes, the Windows Setup workarounds still work in 26H2.

Windows 11 version 26H2 arrived recently and Iʼve now tested the installer on multiple Arm64 and x64 PCs and the local account workarounds we all know and love still work. My advice: Use Rufus to create install media.

App pick of the week: Mozilla Firefox

With a year or so of major improvements to its web browser, Mozilla has launched a big ad campaign to get Firefox users back.

RunAs Radio this week: PostgreSQL with Elizabeth Christensen

Brown liquor pick of the week: Vardberg Born

Hosts: Mikah Sargent, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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Paul Thurrott gets hands-on with NVIDIA's new RTX Spark AI PCs and reveals why all that power isn't translating into practical results for certain users. Expect strong opinions and a few surprises about the state of local AI on computers. Plus, Tolaria is a free, open source, vibe-coded replacement for Notion that's based on Markdown files. And now it's on mobile too! Llama Windows is also free/open source and natively supports Windows 11 on Arm and RTX Spark. It may be the easiest way to interact with local AI on Windows.

Windows

Microsoft discusses second round of pain points updates for Windows 11, starting with a new Photos app plus the ability to work well with just 8 GB of RAM

Six (!) new builds, including two to the Release Preview Channel

Microsoft Edge is working towards no-reboot updates

Opera Air gets a nice refresh

The Proton roadmap is spectacular

RTX Spark: HP OmniBook Ultra 16

RTX Spark: Lenovo Pro 9n 15

RTX Spark: ASUS ProArt P16 arrives with 128 GB of RAM

Microsoft 365

OneDrive is getting a Copilot-infused upgrade for files and photos in the AI era

AI/dev

RTX Spark hands-on: Local AI is more frustrating than useful

Microsoft is working on a comprehensive strategy to secure AI agents

OpenAI releases an AI coding model for Visual Basic, other older programming languages

XBOX and gaming

Report: Project Helix starts with a gaming handheld in 2027, not a console, with a new console in 2028

Microsoft reveals standalone Cloud Gaming costs - 10 hours for $3.99, 25 for $7.99, 50 for $11.99

ASUS ROG XBOX Ally X20 is here for $1300 and up

ASUS ROG XBOX Ally X20 is here for $1300 and up

AMD is bringing FSR Upscaling 4.1 to XBOX consoles, ROG XBOX Ally

Final Fantasy VII Remake is the star of the late October Game Pass releases

NVIDIA touts games already optimized for RTX Spark

XBOX highlights new indie titles coming to PC, console, and Game Pass over the next year

EA is shutting down BioWare

Tips and picks

App pick of the week: Tolaria

App pick of the week #2: Llama Windows

RunAs Radio this week: OWASP Top 10 for Agentic Applications with Will Velida

Brown liquor pick of the week: Ardnahoe Inaugural Release 5 Year Old

Hosts: Paul Thurrott, Richard Campbell, and Mikah Sargent

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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Microsoft's latest Windows event left even diehard enthusiasts scratching their heads, with new AI-powered hardware and "RTX Spark" PCs getting top billing but little clear reason for anyone to buy them. If you're wondering what actually matters in the world of AI PCs. or why no one can explain it, you're not alone.

Windows

We need to talk about last week's Windows event... what the heck was this?

Lots of Windows, lots of Surface, a little bit of ecosystem, confusing local AI story, no major new end user features that are unique to RTX Spark, a weird Osborne Effect for RTX Spark, and a stunning lack of self-awareness combine for one of the weirder Microsoft events in memory

The RTX Spark era begins this week. How is this different from Copilot+ PC?

Patch Tuesday is here and it's a big milestone

Minor changes for 24H2, 25H2, 26H2

Big changes for 26H1

This is the first Patch Tuesday for 26H2, the last one for 24H2 (Home, Pro)

1400+ security fixes, a new record(!!) - This is almost 15x the normal number of patches

ASUS allows reviewers to show unboxing, so here's the RTX Spark-based ASUS ProArt P16

PC market fell over 20 percent in Q3 as component crisis takes its toll

Googlebooks suck, and everyone is finally noticing what I reported last week. But there is another, and it's an unexpected option

Tiny11 Builder gets a major update with a WinUI makeover

AI/dev

This has been the most exciting week in AI advances since this era kicked off in February 2023

ArtCraft releases impressive clones of the top 7 Adobe Creative Cloud apps

ArtCraft is also working at replacing Microsoft Office, with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint clones so far - Also clones of AutoCAD and Audacity(?)/audio editor

Google Playground lets anyone create a game that you can share with anyone

Google AI Studio now lets anyone vibe-code Android and web apps, and you will soon be able to put them in the Google Play Store

Big changes to Microsoft 365 for consumers - Family/Premium loses 1 TB per user, goes to a single pool of 2 TB, but all users now share the same Copilot rights

Apple makes a long-overdue smart home push thanks to Siri AI finally making sense - New HomeView smart display is the star

.NET 11 heads to the finish line

XBOX and gaming

XBOX creates an XP division for non-game entertainment. They should have called it XBOX One, cough

Asha Sharma creates XBOX LABS team to explore how vibe coding changes gaming

Microsoft announces an XBOX Nano Controller

Forza Horizon 6 is coming to PS5 in January

GTA VI coming to the PC in early 2027

Epic Games vibe-coded its new launcher, and it's available in preview for Windows, Mac, and Linux

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Just make it

App pick of the week: ArtCraft for the win

RunAs Radio this week: Choosing Tools in M365 with Joy Apple

Brown liquor pick of the week: Bunnahabhain 12

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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Microsoft and NVIDIA's RTX Spark laptops are official, with preorders open and shipping October 16. Prices run from $2,599 (24GB) to $5,899 (128GB, already sold out on Surface). Paul and Leo cover who needs that much RAM, what "hybrid intelligence" means, and why Paul's new Googlebook disappointed him.

Windows

RTX Spark laptops: from $2,599 (24GB), $3,700 (32GB), $5,899 (128GB). Ships Oct 16

Partners: Microsoft, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI. Paul reviews the HP OmniBook Ultra 16 first

Surface RTX Spark Dev Box: $6,000+

"Hybrid intelligence": local AI first, cloud when needed

Windows Search gets inline AI actions in Insider builds

Cloud Rebuild adds better remove and sanitize options

Windows app adds Remote PC connections (preview)

Intel Wildcat Lake: Paul's test laptop was slow even with 16GB

Googlebook first look: Lenovo Googlebook 15 (~$1,100) is missing basics an iPad has

Microsoft has tried to kill Windows many times, including the leaked Project Aion

AI/Dev

Microsoft AI ships new voice and transcription models

Gemini 4 Argon is announced, but limited to cybersecurity partners

Google Docs and Drive add native Markdown

C# Dev Kit 11 arrives with .NET 11

Xbox and Gaming

Rockstar corrects reports of exclusive Xbox GTA VI streaming. Launch is Nov 19

Xbox Elite Series 3 controller leaks again, with a built-in screen

October Game Pass: Battlefield 6 and more

Sony brings QSSR AI upscaling to the standard PS5

Google Playground lets you vibe-code games

Tips and Picks

Tip of the week: Desktop98.com, a Windows 98 simulator in your browser

App pick: Gears of War: E-Day (Game Pass Ultimate and PC)

Brown liquor pick: 1792 Small Batch bourbon

Hosts: Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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Why does Microsoft keep stumbling with new devices and software design... and what happens when enthusiasts start favoring AI over old-school Office? Paul, Richard, and Leo dig into shifting loyalties and what that means for the future of the desktop. And with the release of 26H2, it's time to update your install and recovery media. The build number is 26300.9457

Windows

Windows 11, version 26H2 is here

New features, none unique: Start, Taskbar, Search, etc

New defaults for some features: Windows settings backup for commercial customers, etc.

The time a UX legend interviewed for a job at Microsoft running Windows UX

WSL Containers are generally available in Windows 11

Four new Insider builds, but only Experimental gets anything interesting: Phone companion improvements and Energy recommendations directly in Quick Settings

Software

Microsoft retires the Microsoft 365 Companion apps for Windows 11 that never made sense in the first place

Mozilla ships the new Nova UI in Firefox 157

Hardware

Copilot+ PC brand could be on the way out, but it was all over IFA, including on RTX Spark-based PCs

Microsoft launches new base Surface Pro and Laptop models with Snapdragon X2 - And a new mouse, for some reason

Qualcomm brought (first-gen) Snapdragon X to Googlebook, but it's also bringing X2 to Linux

Google quietly reveals that, yes, Chromebooks are on the way out

AI

Microsoft unveils the Copilot "super app" and the notion that this is basically an OS

Open releases about 1000 new updates for ChatGPT

Claude Sonnet 5.5 joins Opus 5.5

The AI money pit, part 127: Report details Anthropic losses, spending, and revenues. Report also does a bad job at visualizing that information

XBOX and gaming

Disc to digital program is live

Minecraft Dungeons is here with a new dimension, and it's coming to Minecraft next year too

Microsoft has a new casual mobile game for some reason

XBOX now has mythic achievements

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Get the Windows 11 version 26H2 ISO

App pick of the week: Opera on desktop and on mobile

RunAs Radio this week: AI and Penetration Testing with Paula Januszkiewicz

Brown liquor pick of the week: Kilchoman Loch Gorm

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!

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