Windows Weekly (Audio)

As the tech world catches its breath from AI whiplash and retro gaming returns to the PC, Microsoft quietly kills underused tools and tries to double down on what actually works. This episode blends the excitement of tech and entertainment (like Xbox classics landing on Windows 11) with a poignant look back at the life and legacy of legendary columnist John C. Dvorak.

Windows

Five new Insider builds released on Monday; the new Start menu comes to the Beta channel

Experimental (26H1) a day later with no interesting new features

The Whiteboard app is apparently being retired

AI

Microsoft expands partnership with Mistral to improve EU AI infrastructure

Copilot for consumers is losing Podcasts and Deep research features soon

U.S. judge approves Anthropic $1.5 billion settlement with authors it stole from

1Password partners with Anthropic to make AI access to password-protected websites secure

Google renames NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook

Google's next big AI models are delayed, but we got Gemini 3.6 Flash, Flash-Lite, and 3.5 Flash Cyber to tide us over

XBOX and gaming

Microsoft brings XBOX Backward Compatibility to PC!!

Here comes Halo: Campaign Evolved, along with more Game Pass titles for the end of July

Bethesda announces Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters, and Fallout 5 is entering pre-production

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 in Early Access on August 21, Open Beta on August 27

XBOX July update adds support for longer gamertags, new library customization options, and more

XBOX teams with Meta to bring Game Pass Starter Edition to Meta Horizon+ subscribers

Valve says the component crisis dogging Steam Machine pricing will only get worse

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Windows Package Manager for bulk app installs

App (game) of the week: Doom: The Dark Ages

RunAs Radio this week: Security Begins at Procurement with Jessie Schofer

Brown liquor pick of the week: Loup River Nebraska Straight Bourbon Whiskey

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's July 2026 Patch Tuesday just shattered records with hundreds of bug fixes, and AI is the force behind the surge. Are we witnessing the beginning of a safer Windows, or is this flood of vulnerabilities the new normal? Plus, Tony Redmond's epic book has a new name (was Office 365 for IT Pros) and is now a bundle of four books.

Windows

Patch Tuesday is here!

Point in Time Restore, quieter Widgets, Windows Update improvements, Screen tint, and more

The biggest Patch Tuesday in history, by far: a record 570 fixes for security flaws, and a huge 3X increase from the then-record flaws fixed last month. (Some say the number is 622. Math is hard.) And this is on top of 468 Microsoft Edge/Chromium flaws that were fixed by Google this month too. Yikes.

Microsoft discusses how it's improving Windows security with AI

Windows Insider Program: Improved Windows Search is next on the docket, heading out to Experimental this week. Question: When do these things hit stable?

Microsoft releases Snapdragon X2 versions of its Surface for Business Pro and Laptop models

AI

Apple sues OpenAI for stealing trade secrets

Surprised there was no talk of "thermonuclear war"

OpenAI's response is hilarious, and it is already prepping its first hardware device

OpenAI just announced the rumored super app, which is a combination of ChatGPT, Work, Codex, and an in-app web browser, which replaces the standalone Atlas web browser. Also, GPT-5.6.

In keeping with recent history, Anthropic announced its in-app web browser for Claude less than 24 hours later

Reminder that Microsoft acknowledged that it, too, is working on an AI super app at Build

Apple releases public betas of its OS 27 releases and, shocker, Siri is really good

Now Spotify has an AI chatbot so I can tell it how much I hate Spotify

Xbox and gaming

Obsidian is working on a new Fallout game, duh.

A quiet time after last week's terribleness

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Microsoft 365 for IT Pros (2027 edition) is here!

App pick of the week: MusicBee

RunAs Radio this week: Finding Security Vulnerabilities using AI with Sami Laiho

Brown liquor pick of the week: Sanctuary Single Malt Whisky Reserve Edition

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's latest round of layoffs and game studio shakeups reveal deep cracks in the XBOX business, as years of unprofitability and missed expectations force the company into tough decisions. Are industry icons like Game Pass and big-name studios on borrowed time? Also, Paul's made major progress on the Windows 11 Field Guide updates! Plus, a desktop and mobile web browser that now blocks YouTube ads by default.

Layoffs

Microsoft announces 4800 layoffs, 3200 at XBOX

Analysis: What Sharma said and didn't say. Many interesting details revealed here. Many questions unanswered

Great outcomes for four studios, id Software reportedly laid off half its staff

Interesting alternative analysis: The Game Pass thesis, XBOX can't do everything

Windows

Four new builds yesterday, one major new feature: Cloud restore

Microsoft Edge is adding support for Google account sign-ins

Opera One adds clipboard attack prevention

Google and Samsung have announced new hardware launches, both with new foldables on the way - Apple's first foldable expected in January

AI

Microsoft is reportedly transitioning to its in-house MAI models where possible

Latest Corey Doctorow book takes on the future of AI and is surprisingly middle-of-the-road. Unlike his last book, he explains how he handles this and has some ideas for doing so yourself

XBOX and gaming

Gears of War Reloaded, more head to Game Pass

The oldest rumor in XBOX history is back, with Microsoft working (again, or as always) on a disc-to-digital program in the wake of the Sony PS5+ physical media announcement

Nintendo to end OG Switch sales, make Switch 2 changes in the EU

You can play Half-Life 2 in a web browser now

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: All Mint Mobile Plans Are Now Just $15 Per Month

App pick of the week: DuckDuckGo browser

RunAs Radio this week: Implementing Azure Policies with Barbara Forbes

Brown liquor pick of the week: Shenk's Homestead Sour Mash Whiskey

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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Windows 10's Extended Security Update program quietly gets extended for another year for consumers. Microsoft reportedly kills Surface Go products & is now selling 8 GB Surface Pro & Laptop models. And Xbox Series X & S prices are going to go up again.

Windows

Microsoft quietly extends the Windows 10 Extended Security Update program one year to October 2027 for consumers

Windows Insider

Windows Update is transitioning to the new Windows Insider experience by default

Plus, five new builds across Beta, Experimental, Beta (26H1), Experimental (26H1), and Experimental (Future Platforms) — new Taskbar size setting is the much-needed new feature

Hardware

Apple raises prices on Macs, iPads, and more, easing pressure on PC makers

Microsoft quietly begins selling 8 GB Surface Pro/Laptop models

Microsoft reportedly kills Surface Go products right when we need them the most

The ASUS Zenbook A16 is nearly perfect, but it's unclear what you get with an X2 Elite Extreme chip

AI

HP partners with OpenAI for its agentic makeover

Anthropic seizes on the "good enough" AI movement with Sonnet 5

Proton Lumo 2.0 is here

Gemini personalized image creator is available for free in the US

Notion blames agentic AI for it killing Notion Mail

Xbox and Gaming

The 2026 Doom and Gloom Watch

Xbox Series X|S prices to go up again, by $150, on August 1 - and the 2 TB X is going away

Undead Labs and Arkane Lyon possible victims of pending closures

Latest rumor: Microsoft to layoff 2.5 percent of workforce next week - that's 5,500 people, less than expected, but that's because of the earlier voluntary buyouts, which apparently met internal expectations

Minecraft Bedrock edition gets closed captions

Sony will stop selling PS physical media in 2028

Tips and Picks

Tip of the week: Help or get out of the way

People who just complain aren't solving problems, they're just making noise and distracting us from the real problems.

App Pick of the Week: Snapdragon Control Panel

If you have a Windows 11 on Arm PC on Snapdragon X or X2, you need this app to make games run as well as possible.

Plus - Settings > System > Display > Graphics for Auto SR and other settings and whatever is in each game

RunAs Radio this week: AI-Accelerated Supply Chain Attacks with Mackenzie Duncan

Brown liquor pick of the week: Rupert's Exceptional Canadian Whisky

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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Windows 12 is stalled and the real reasons go far beyond software. The conversation unpacks how soaring hardware prices, AI chaos, and market confusion have Microsoft in a holding pattern. Also, Paul finally took a sledgehammer to the subscription services he pays for, and more is on the way. Plus, one of Paul's favorite Markdown editors supports authorship on Windows now and an integrated Search/Outline view on Mac, iPad, and iPad.Windows

Week D is here with a preview of July's Patch Tuesday

Point-in-time restore is now generally available in Windows 11, sort of

Quieter widgets, which is nice! Plus, Screen tint, Windows Update improvements, more

Tied to this, sort of, something wonderful is happening to the Windows 11 Field Guide

Five new builds, plus some 26H2 news (and still no news about what 26H1 becomes, see below...)

Mostly minor fit-and-finish improvements

So... what about Windows 12? The history is interesting, and Copilot+ PC was what Paul originally thought Windows 12 would be. But now we're talking agentic capabilities that will handle local/cloud/hybrid orchestration per last week's discussion, and maybe that will be it.

We knew that Surface Laptop and Surface Pro would come in 8 GB configurations. But they're available now with just 256 GB of storage and the prices are $950 and $850 and up, respectively. Plus all the usual Surface limitations, like one color choice. (16 GB is $1150 and $1050, respectively, so $300 more.)

Once again, it's time to just get a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x for $850. It has 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage and is awesome.

Tim Cook just admitted that Apple will raise hardware prices because of the component crisis. If this is hitting Apple hard, the rest of the industry is screwed.

AI

Cory Doctorow's new book is out and let's just say his new neologism isn't as catchy as enshittification

Reverse centaur (groan)

Surprisingly centrist view on the pros and cons of AI

Highlights the Microsoft financial shenanigans I point out every quarter: Microsoft "invests" $10 billion of "tokens" in OpenAI, but there's no volume discount and Microsoft books the transaction as $10 billion in AI revenues as OpenAI simply uses its infrastructure. It gave $10 billion to OpenAI so that it could spend $10 billion on Azure.

Google Home Speaker is the Gemini speaker and it's now shipping to first customers as Google discontinues Nest Audio and Nest Mini speakers. Can we trust this company with hardware? And why are there no Apple or Google home theater setups?

Adobe brings its creative agent to Firefly and the biggest apps in Creative Cloud

XBOX & gaming

No movement yet on the massive changes we expect in XBOX soon

Microsoft has "dozens" of gaming IP-based movies and TV shows in the works

XBOX Insiders can now test updates to Gamertags, Game Hub, and Wish List

Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 are being ported to modern PS consoles. Sadly, not remakes or remasters.

GTA VI will cost $79.99 and up - Arrives in November, can preorder on June 25

Steam Machine to cost $1049 and up, and that's with no controller

Tips & picks

Tip of the week: How to save $100 a month

App pick of the week: iA Writer

RunAs Radio this week: Securing Developers with Tanya Janca

Brown liquor pick of the week: Glen Breton Rare 10


These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/989
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell


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