Windows Weekly 927

Introducing the Windows 11 Feature Tracker
"From the 'I should have done this two years ago' files, the 'I have wasted my life' files, and the, 'great, I needed more work to do' files … There is a need for this. So I made one. But it will evolve. Maybe into a web app/wiki/something else...  like a Notion website?" - Paul

• Patch Tuesday brings a metric ton of new features - And what the tracker showed clearly
• Two seconds after posting the tracker, Microsoft changed the Copilot app yet again - proving the need for the tracker - And demonstrating why the Insider Program is so screwed up
• A hidden new Start menu in recent builds presents an interesting conundrum: How to handle something Microsoft has not announced?

More Windows 11

• Beta build for 23H2: File new tab/new window changes, Explorer context menu regression may be permanent
• Dev and Beta (24H2): Taskbar icon scaling is a blast from the past we all need desperately
• Intel is killing Unison app and service

Like winter, Build is coming

• Build session catalog is live - mostly AI as expected. Paul and Richard are going
• Overview of the Windows Copilot Runtime (one year after it was announced), Windows Actions, standard Kayla Cinnamon talk on Windows productivity, using your own model with WCR, native app experiences(!), Arm64 app perf, etc.

AI

• Final thoughts on Microsoft's 50th: Biggest accomplishment wasn’t any tech, it was changing with the times.
• What it’s best at: Democratizing tech for the commoners, an expansion on Jack Tramiel/Commodore’s “computers for the masses, not the classes” schtick. And that is exactly what it is doing with AI right now
• Microsoft hosts a consumer AI event and announces a metric ton of new Copilot features
• We need a Copilot feature tracker. Copilot = every single feature other AIs have - Copilot Actions on the web, memory and personalization, Copilot Vision on mobile and Windows, AI-generated podcasts and Microsoft releases Copilot Search in Bing
• Is AI turning us all into Charly from Flowers for Algernon?
• AI is making us stupider! There are studies!!
• This is the argument against every single tech advance from the steam train to the ballpoint pen to this
• Microsoft’s AI demo of vibe-coded Quake II highlights the problem nicely
• Sometimes it’s the little things: AI recaps for book series in Kindle
• GitHub Copilot updated with Agent Mode, Cursor-style code overviews, more

Xbox & gaming

• Microsoft announces new Xbox Games Showcase for June
• Edge Game Assist gets new features, support for new games
• GTA V and enhanced version for PC coming to Game Pass on April 15 - In addition to the previous Game Pass titles we discussed last week
• Good: Nintendo Switch 2 supports ray tracing and DLSS
• Bad: Nintendo delays Switch 2 to figure out the tariffs mess

Tips and Picks

• Tip of the week: Programmers at Work
• App pick of the week: Apple Music
• RunAs Radio this week: Application Risk in Security Copilot with Ari Schorr
• Brown liquor pick of the week: The Heart Cut #02

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Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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• Transcripts: Windows Weekly 927 Transcript

Links

• I’m Going to Make a Windows 11 New Feature Tracker
• Windows 11 Feature Tracker: April 15, 2025 (Premium)
• Windows 11 Feature Tracker
• April 2025 Patch Tuesday Updates Are Now Available on Windows 11 and 10
• Recent Windows 11 Insider Builds Hide Larger and More Customizable Start Menu
• Microsoft Issues New 23H2 Build in Beta Channel
• Microsoft Starts Testing Taskbar Icon Scaling on Windows 11
• Intel is Killing its Unison App and Service
• Microsoft’s Build 2025 Session Catalog is Now Available
• Session catalog
• The Microsoft of Today is Not the Microsoft of the Past
• Microsoft Copilot is Getting New Memory and Personalization Features to Make it “Truly Yours”
• Microsoft Releases Copilot Search in Bing
• Stupider
• Copilot Gaming Experience
• "This is absolutely f*cking disgusting and spits on the work of every developer everywhere."
• Amazon Brings AI-Powered Recaps to Kindle
• GitHub Copilot Updated with Agent Mode, Code Review, and More
• Microsoft Announces Xbox Games Showcase + The Outer Worlds 2 Direct on June 8
• Microsoft Updates Edge Game Assist with New Features
• GTA V and its Enhanced PC Version Are Coming to Game Pass on April 15
• South of Midnight, Borderlands 3, and Diablo III Are Coming to Game Pass
• Nintendo Switch 2’s Custom Nvidia Chip Supports Ray-Tracing and DLSS
• Nintendo Delays Switch 2 US Pre-Orders Over Trump Tariffs Concerns
• Kode on Twitter
• Programmers at Work Book Available
• Apple Music App on Windows Now Supports Dolby Atmos Audio
• The DIY Personal Productivity Tech Stack (Premium)
• Application Risk in Security Copilot with Ari Schorr
• The Heart Cut | #2 East London Liquor Company 50cl
• East London Liquor Company
• Carmack on Twitter