Windows Weekly 910

BLOCKBUSTER NEWS FROM INTEL

• Intel announces Arc B-series GPUs!!!
• CEO Pat Gelsinger “retires,” but was really forced out by the board of directors
• Why? Theories include too-slow progress, major partner bailing on foundry, disagreements over keeping x86 design and foundry, etc.

Windows

• All Quiet on the Windows Front
• No Insider builds last week. Thanks Thanksgiving! Today, a new Canary build with Win32 app updating in the Store
• Patch Tuesday is next week - this will be a big one
• The rest of December will be quiet too
• Microsoft: TPM 2.0 is “non-negotiable” in Windows 
• And now, a long-threatened change: Watermark on the desktop of unsupported PCs
• PC sales slid 1.5 percent in Q3 after two quarters of “growth”/flat sales
• Samsung is killing DeX
• Phone Link is the new Dex. Interesting, given the partnership with Microsoft
• Plus, Google is FINALLY adding desktop capabilities to Android. This should have always come from the platform maker

AI, Cloud

• FTC is investigating Microsoft for cloud licensing too - And about 16 other things apparently
• Microsoft: SHE HIT ME FIRST!
• Spotify Wrapped 2024 uses Notebook LM to create a personalized podcast for each customer
• OpenAI is solving the biggest problem with AI... its lack of advertising!
• The Browser Company’s next browser is called Dia and it’s all about AI. Does it have a chance?

Xbox

• Xbox Year in Review is live
• Indiana Jones and more is coming to Game Pass in the first half of December
• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is getting big reliability updates. Hopefully, Boeing is helping out here
• For some reason, Sony announces that it sold 160 million PlayStation 2 consoles

Tips and Picks

• Tip of the week: Get out of the basement
• App pick of the week: Google Drive
• RunAs Radio this week: A SysAdmin Christmas with Rick Claus and Joey Snow
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Dewar’s 8 Year Old Caribbean Smooth Rum Cask Finish

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Links

• Intel Launches its Arc B-Series GPUs
• Gelsinger is Out at Intel
• Raising the bar: Updates to the Microsoft Store on Windows
• Non-Negotiable (Premium)
• Installing Windows 11 on devices that don't meet minimum system requirements
• PC Sales Slid 1.5 Percent in Third Quarter
• Rima Alaily’s Post
• Samsung is Sunsetting its DeX App for Windows
• FTC is Investigating Microsoft for Antitrust Violations
• Spotify Wrapped 2024 Highlights Your Year in Music with Notebook LLM
• OpenAI is Exploring How to Introduce Ads Into its Products
• It’s a New Dia: The Browser Company Will Launch New AI Browser in Early 2025
• Xbox Gamers Can Check Out Their 2024 Year in Review
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Are Headed to Game Pass
• Microsoft Fixes More Flight Simulator 2024 Issues, Improves Reliability
• Sony Says its PlayStation 2 Crossed 160 Million Lifetime Sales
• New beta that supports running Google Drive on Arm-compatible Windows PCs now available
• A SysAdmin Christmas with Rick Claus and Joey Snow
• Dewar’s Caribbean Smooth