Windows Weekly 968

Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday blunder triggers emergency fixes, surprise layoffs ripple through Amazon, and the crew debates whether rapid AI advances spell the end of traditional apps. Also, password managers do a lot more than manage passwords, so there's one thing everyone needs to get right.

Windows 11

• Dev splits from Beta, tests what will surely be 26H1 - After last week’s show, Microsoft did issue that same Beta build in the Dev channel for some reason
• Dev and Beta get same fixes in different builds, but no new features
• 24H2 and 25H2 Release Preview update(s) are a peek at the next Patch Tuesday, lots of changes
• January Patch Tuesday update was so terrible it required two emergency fixes, the second of which went out late Sunday

Earnings/industry

• Intel falls flat in Q4, full year 2025 despite U.S. “investment”
• Amazon lays off 16,000 employees
• Microsoft, Apple, earnings this week, Alphabet, Amazon are next week

AI

• Microsoft announces Maia 200 AI datacenter processor
• Like Baldric in Black Adder, Apple has a cunning plan for an AI Siri
• With AI costs soaring, cheaper new AI plans appear somehow
• OpenAI was last week with big expansion of ChatGPT Go
• Google does the same this week with AI Plus plan
• OpenAI, Anthropic (this week), others are adding “apps” to their chatbots
• Microsoft is exposing app features as AI Actions in Windows 11
• Paul opined that this semantic/programmatic capability was the end of apps
• But we can now essentially vibe-code our own custom apps - this is vaguely reminiscent of the home computer/DIY era, but without the technical knowledge requirements
• The age of native apps is over, at least on desktop. Will mobile fall next?

Dev

• Microsoft introduces the Windows App Development (winapp) CLI. For some reason

Xbox and gaming

• Microsoft refreshes the Xbox Cloud Gaming web experience — bigger changes coming?
• Fable is coming to Xbox, PC, PS5 in late 2026

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Choose a single password manager, make your life easier
• App pick of the week: Proton Pass
• RunAs Radio this week: Business Process Automation in 2026 with Ian Cooper
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Tullibardine 18
   

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Links

• Microsoft Issues Several Windows Insider Preview Builds
• Dev Channel Belatedly Gets January 16th Beta Channel Build
• New Windows 11 Emergency Updates Are Out to Fix Cloud-Based Storage Issues
• Intel Revenues Decline 4 Percent to $13.7 Billion
• Amazon is Laying Off 16,000 Employees
• Microsoft Announces its Maia 200 AI Accelerator for Datacenters
• Gurman Details Schedule for Siri’s Transformation
• ChatGPT Go is Now Available Worldwide, But Free and Go Users Will Soon See Ads
• Google’s Low-Cost AI Plus Plan Launches in 35 New Countries Including the US
• Anthropic Brings Apps to Claude
• AI is the End of Apps ⭐
• Apps Are Dead, Long Live AI Apps ⭐
• Microsoft Announces a Command Line Utility for Windows App Developers
• Microsoft is Refreshing the Xbox Cloud Gaming Web Experience
• Fable is Coming to Xbox, PC, and PS5 in Autumn 2026
• 2026 Security Checkup: Password Manager First Steps ⭐
• Business Process Automation in 2026 with Ian Cooper
• TULLIBARDINE