Windows Weekly 682

• ANTITRUST - THE 90s ARE BACK BABY
•  Slack files an antitrust complaint against Microsoft in the EU, just months after claiming Microsoft wasn't a competitor
• Compare this to Apple's iOS Store. Is Microsoft dominant in the enterprise? Is Microsoft a gatekeeper to enterprise computing? Does it make a fee when customers choose Slack?
• Meanwhile, Microsoft's Brad Smith speaks to Congress about Apple's store policies ahead of an antitrust hearing next week.

 

• The new Windows 10 roadmap
•  We could be heading for a once-yearly Windows 10 feature update as Microsoft tries to prioritize 10X development
•  Windows 10X is going to debut without Win32 support … Late, in 2021.
•  Speaking of roadmaps: WinUI 3, the core component of Project Reunion, won't happen until 2021.
•  Oh, and there's a new Windows 10 build today for the Dev channel.

 

• Thin clients, here we come
•  Microsoft is building a Cloud PC service on top of WVD that will turn Windows PCs (and likely more) into thin clients. And it may debut as soon as spring 2021.
•  How is this different from previous Thin Client initiatives like Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs or Windows and Windows Thin PC? Not to mention RDP solutions like Windows Virtual Desktop?
•  Microsoft Cloud PC + Windows 10X/other thin clients: Is this our future?

 

• Teams keeps rolling along … but is it inspiring?
•  Microsoft rolls out more new Teams features during Inspire
•  It's not just Teams. Many other M365 features too.
•  Microsoft now has two subscription services for managing Teams meeting rooms
•  Dataflex embeds Power Platform tech even more deeply in Teams
•  Related: Microsoft shows off next-generation Microsoft 365 UX. Oh wait, no it didn't.

 

• Q4 FY20 earnings are tonight
• Any guesses on what we'll see, besides record numbers for 'commercial cloud'?
•  Semi-related: Add another 1,000 to Microsoft's July layoff tally. All at LinkedIn

 

•  Microsoft stops selling one-year Xbox Live Gold subs. Let the speculation begin.
• Definitely related: Project xCloud will be part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
•  Microsoft also stops selling Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition.

 

• Tip of the week: It's time for Microsoft to put up or shut up. Tomorrow's the day: Microsoft will have its first real Xbox Series X games promotion!
• App pick of the week: Microsoft Edge. With Microsoft Edge 84, we see some minor functional improvements, but a big fix for performance. Why aren't you using this browser yet?
•  Enterprise pick of the week: Azure Stack HCI v2. It's a mouthful. But for customers who want to use their own servers and connect to Azure services, the second iteration of Azure Stack HCI v2 might be the ticket. It's now in public preview.
•  Codename pick of the week: Cloud (and CloudE). A blast from the codename vault. Who remembers the codenames Windows "Cloud" and "CloudE"? In the end, both of these became Windows 10 S. But as Albacore (@TheBookIsClosed) on Twitter reminded me this week, Cloud started out as a discontinued Windows 10 SKU (replaced by S Mode). And "CloudE," though branded as 10 S, was actually something that never really debuted, Windows 10 Lean.
• Beer pick of the week: Uiltje Brewing Company Crybaby. It's another beer pick in honor of Steward Butterfield. And even better: he Uiltje Brewing co. is based in Haarlem in the Netherlands. Crybaby is a fruited berliner weisse which they describe as "casually tart." They say: "the only person we are calling a cry baby is the buster who sips our beautiful little Berliner Weisse and complains that it is, uhm….

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Links

• Slack files competition complaint against Microsoft in the EU
• Slacks Files Antitrust Complaint Against Microsoft
• Microsoft’s Smith Spoke to Congressional Committee About Apple
• Microsoft plans for single-screen Windows 10X rollout in spring 2021; dual-screen in spring 2022
• Windows 10X Delayed to 2021, Loses Win32 Support
• WinUI 3 is (Still) Delayed to Spring 2021
• Microsoft Releases Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20175
• Microsoft is working on an Azure-powered Cloud PC service
• Two Paths, One Destination (Premium)
• New Microsoft 365 Features Announced at Inspire 2020
• Microsoft now offers two Teams service options for managing meeting rooms
• What is Microsoft's Dataflex and how does it tie in with Teams?
• Microsoft Teases Its Next-Generation Productivity UX
• Microsoft cuts 960 additional jobs, all at LinkedIn
• Microsoft Has Stopped Selling One-Year Xbox Live Gold Subscriptions
• Microsoft: The Future of Gaming is … You
• Microsoft Has Stopped Making Xbox One X, S All-Digital Edition
• Microsoft Releases Edge 84
• Azure Stack HCI v2
• It gets quite confusing when you focus on branding Cloud == Windows 10 S
• Crybaby