This week, the hosts go deep on out-of-band updates, unwanted "innovations," and the uneasy cost of tech's latest gold rush. Plus, securing a Microsoft account is not as hard as some think, and neither are passkeys once you get past the jargon. And for developers, AI Dev Gallery offers a fascinating glimpse at what you can do for free with AI used against a CPU, GPU, or NPU.
Windows 11
- Microsoft issues an emergency fix for a borked Windows Update. Right. A fix for a fix.
- Hell freezes over, if only slightly: Microsoft quietly made some positive changes to forced OneDrive Folder Backup. Donʼt worry, itʼs still forced (and appears to be opt-in, but isnʼt). But you can back out more elegantly. So itʼs opt-out, not opt-in, but a step forward. Plus, a new behavior
- Windows 11 on Arm PCs can now download games from the Xbox app (previously only through the Insider program)
- Over 85 percent of Xbox games on PC work in WOA now
- Prism emulator now supports AVX and AVX2 and Epic Anti-Cheat, and there is a new Windows Performance Fit feature offering guidance on which titles should play well.
- Beta: New 25H2 build with account dialog modernization, Click to Do and desktop background improvements. Not for Dev, suggesting itʼs about to move to 26H1
- Notepad and Paint get more features yet again. Notably, these updates are for Dev and Canary only, suggesting these might be 26Hx features (then again, versions don't matter, right?)
AI
- Just say no: To AI, to Copilot, and to Satya Nadella
- Our national nightmare is over: You can now (easily) hide Copilot in Microsoft Edge
- ChatGPT Go is now available worldwide, ads are on the way because of course
- Wikipedia partners with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, more on AI
Xbox & gaming
- January Xbox Update brings Game Sync Indicator, more
- Solid second half of January for Xbox Game Pass
- Microsoft will likely introduce a free, ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming tier because of course
Tips & picks
- Tip of the week: Secure your Microsoft account
- App pick of the week: AI Dev Gallery
- RunAs Radio this week: Ideation to Implementation with Amber Vandenburg
- Liquor pick of the week: Estancia Raicilla
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
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