Windows Weekly 912

An early peek at the top stories of the year! Oddly, Paul's top article of 2024 was apparently the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review, closely followed by his Pixel 8 Pro review.

1. Intel’s downfall follows years of mistakes and anticompetitive behavior. AMD focuses on datacenter, the PC rebound that wasn’t
2. They did it: Microsoft and Qualcomm finally deliver the Windows on Arm we always wanted
3. Antitrust finally takes on Big Tech and scores some nice wins
4. AI because of course but what was the real impact? And why it already looks different than it did in January. AI is costing Microsoft a lot, when do shareholders push back? Also, the different approaches taken by OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Amazon
5. Recall is recalled again and again in controversy and then launches to yawns
6. Microsoft acquires Activision for $89 billion and then does almost nothing with it. Everyone seems to hate the new strategy. At least we had layoffs and subscription price increases! Game Pass is a hard pass for many
7. Windows 11 makes chaos look calm, 24H2 is somehow even worse than usual
8. Sonos sh*ts the bed, may never come back from it
9. Microsoft gets serious about security. Again. No, really. This time they’re serious. Plus, the Microsoft hack it never talks about, Crowdstrike (”the incident”)
10. Passkeys get portable! 2025 will be even better

Windows

• BLOCKBUSTER: Microsoft deprecates a Windows 11 feature no one knows about it and you’re not going to believe what happens next. OK, maybe it’s believable
• Dev channel with new AMD/Intel Copilot+ features. Live captions and real-time translation in many more languages, formal Recall enable/disable
• New Dev and Beta builds this past Monday, but just minor updates
• Arm v. Qualcomm is in the courtroom in front of a jury as we speak. How did we get here? And what do we think will happen?
• iA Writer 2.0 will supposedly address the performance issues with the original Mac app port
• ChromeOS adds a non-destructive Safety Reset feature. But Windows has had something like this for years, and there’s an even less destructive new tool in 24H2 too
• Vision Pro production was halted, Windows Mixed Reality and Hololens are dead or on life support. So naturally, Google is going for it with Android XR

Microsoft 365

• More crazy machinations with Copilot, this time impacting businesses
• First, Microsoft tells businesses to uninstall Copilot app and remap the Copilot key on PCs (!)
• Then, we find out why: Microsoft is replacing the Microsoft 365 app with the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, which is nearly identical but has a new icon and offers enterprise protection capabilities
• This news was lost in the Ignite tsunami, mostly because Microsoft totally glossed over it

AI

• Grammarly acquires Coda to make a Notion killer
• Google moves quickly with Veo 2, Imagen 3 updates, Whisk
• Broadcom is now worth $1 trillion thanks to AI

Xbox

• Microsoft Store countdown sale brings massive discounts on PC and Xbox games
• Microsoft brings more PC games to the Xbox app on Windows

Tips and Picks

• Tip of the week: Best and worst hardware of 2024, Paul's favorite 2024 books, and Eternal Spring book preview
• App pick of the week: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• RunAs Radio this week: Real-Time Intelligence in Microsoft Fabric with Yitzhak Kesselman
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Mithuna Indian Single Malt

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Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

• Tech: From Intel's Struggles to Copilot’s Expansion: Windows Weekly's Year in Review
• Transcripts: Windows Weekly 912 Transcript

Links

• Intel is Dead and x86 is Next (Premium)
• They Did It (Premium)
• I Will Not Pay for AI (Premium)
• I Can’t Recall a Win-Win Like This (Premium)
• The Future of Xbox is More Games, More People, and More Devices (Premium)
• A Game (Pass) with No Winners (Premium)
• Redmond, You Have a Problem. A Quality Problem (Premium)
• Sonosgate
• Non-Negotiable (Premium)
• Microsoft Deprecates Suggested Actions in Windows 11
• Releasing Real-Time Translation in Live Captions to More Copilot+ PCs in the Dev Channel
• Microsoft Issues New Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds to Dev and Beta Channels
• RISCy Arm v. Qualcomm Trial Begins
• iA Writer 2.0 for Windows is (Sort of) Now Available in Public Beta
• ChromeOS 131 Adds Safety Reset, Other New Features
• Google Announces Android XR
• Microsoft Tells Business to Uninstall Copilot, Remap the Copilot Key
• New Microsoft 365 Copilot App to Replace Microsoft 365 App in January
• Grammarly Acquires AI Productivity Startup to Take on Notion
• Google Announces Veo 2, Imagen 3 Update, and Whisk
• Broadcom Joins the $1 Trillion Club
• Microsoft Store Countdown Sale Arrives for Last-Minute Holiday Deals
• Microsoft is Bringing More Games to its Xbox App for PC
• 2024: The Best and Worst in Hardware (Premium)
• My Favorite Books and Audiobooks of 2024 (Premium)
• From the Editor’s Desk: 25 Hours (Premium)
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Real-Time Intelligence in Microsoft Fabric with Yitzhak Kesselman
• MITHUNA by Paul John - Zodiac Series - Indian Single Malt Whisky