Gallery in File Explorer, Bing in SwiftKey, Ubisoft+ Multi Access

Bing/AI

• Samsung allegedly is considering replacing Google Search with Bing. Can they even do that?
• Bing chatbot comes to Swiftkey and Microsoft Start. And now you can remove the Bing button from Swiftkey. Sound familiar?
• Microsoft is all-in on AI hardware
• Microsoft brings more AI to developers ahead of Build
• Amazon announces Bedrock generative AI tool for developers. Speaking of which, where's Apple in all this?

Windows 11

• New Dev channel build: remove time/date from the system tray, "new" hover behavior on search
• New Beta channel build: Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) on plugged in PCs, a PC maker-enabled feature - plus RDC redesign for Windows 11
• Photo Gallery view comes to File Explorer in Insider Program This isn't the first time a Photos app feature has shown up elsewhere this year

Surface

• Microsoft can't seem to escape the trap of its one successful Surface design

Xbox

• Minecraft Legends, more on tap for Xbox Game Pass
• Ubisoft+ Multi Access comes to Xbox
• The exodus from 343 Industries continues
• Microsoft: just kidding on the latest Xbox Dashboard UI
• Sega buys Rovio for the same reason Microsoft wants AB

Tips & Picks

• Tip of the week: Hyper-V or Windows Sandbox?
• App pick of the week: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate/Xbox app for Windows 11
• RunAs Radio this week: Project Zero Trust with George Finney
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Woodford Reserve

Hosts: Paul Thurrott, Richard Campbell, and Mikah Sargent

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsors:

• Miro.com/podcast
• meraki.cisco.com/twit
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KB5025239, Build 2023 session catalog, Xbox April update

• Microsoft brings more new features to Windows 11 on Patch Tuesday. It's a mini moment!
• Windows 11 is coming to HoloLens 2! The platform is saved! (Oops)
• IDC says that PC shipments tanked 29 percent in Q1. Don't worry, the Mac did even worse. And you won't believe how the Apple community is rationalizing THAT bit of news
• Windows 365 gets a Frontline worker option and a smart TV app

Microsoft Build is coming

• Microsoft has posted the session catalog! Anything stand out? Yep.
• Windows: How we integrated WinUI 3 into File Explorer, Q&A; The Old New Thing with Raymond Chen, Q&A; Deliver AI-powered experiences across cloud and edge, with Windows; Learn how to build the best Arm apps for Windows; Optimize your apps for Arm
• .NET: Full stack Blazor in .NET 8 with Blazor United; What's new in .NET Multi-platform App UI (MAUI), Q&A
• The era of the AI Copilot with Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott
• Fluent 2: It must be based on the work in Loop

Microsoft 365

• Microsoft 365 Copilot is coming soon to OneNote
• Microsoft Edge gets three new features, including DALL-E-based image creation
• The case of the mysterious reappearing Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) in Office. A tale of ribbons, simplified ribbons, and personalized toolbars, oh my
• LinkedIn adds free ways to verify yourself on the service - there better be a blue checkmark!
• Microsoft brings Bing chatbot to Swiftkey on Android

Xbox

• Xbox Game Pass exits beta, is now available in 40 new countries
• Xbox April Update adds revamped search, ability to adjust active hours - a nice compromise on energy savings
• Microsoft drops the hammer on Xbox game emulation
• Microsoft brings more Elite Controller 2 customizations to Xbox Design Lab
• Microsoft announces another 10-year cloud gaming deal with a company not named Sony

Tips & Picks

• Tip of the week: Learn to code for free
• App pick of the week: Opera's free VPN
• This Week on RunAs: Team Metrics with Angela Dugan
• Brown liquor pick of the week: The Famous Grouse

Hosts: Paul Thurrott, Richard Campbell, and Mikah Sargent

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsor:

• meraki.cisco.com/twit

File Explorer access keys, Edge Workspaces public preview, Xbox Remix Special Edition Controller 

Happy birthday, Microsoft

• Microsoft turned 48 this week (April 4). It took a wrong left turn in Albuquerque

Windows 11

• New Beta channel build adds Access Keys to File Explorer, Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC), and, yes, a new Bing button on the Taskbar
• Microsoft Edge Workspaces now in limited public preview

Microsoft 365

• Oh you didn't think the new Bing was free, did you?
• (New) Outlook for Windows Preview gains Gmail support, finally
• Right before the new Bing launch, Microsoft fixed a major security vulnerability that compromised Bing
• Google secretly enacted a 5 million file limit on Drive then retracted it after complaints

Surface

• Microsoft announces Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock (Surface Dock 3) with no Surface Connect connector

Xbox

• Microsoft reveals first Game Pass titles for April
• New Xbox Wireless Controller contains "some" recycled materials, is very expensive

Tips and Picks

• Tip of the week: Enable split window feature in Microsoft Edge
• App pick of the week: Google Nearby Share for Windows
• This week on RunAs: IPv6 and Azure Active Directory with Pierre Roman
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Auchentoshan Virgin Oak

Hosts: Paul Thurrott, Richard Campbell, and Mikah Sargent

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsors:

• meraki.cisco.com/twit
• Melissa.com/twit
• CDW.com/LenovoClient

Week D production-quality updates, revamped widgets board, Microsoft Teams redesign

Windows 11

• Microsoft debuts new Windows 11 features in Preview. And now we have a new updating schedule!
• Coming via Canary: another Widgets UX update
• Surface Hub 2S is still a thing and will be upgradeable to Teams Rooms OS soon
• You can hide the Bing button in Edge 111.x now

Microsoft 365

• As expected, Microsoft announces Teams 2.0 with Apple-like improvement claims

AI o' the week

• OpenAI announces ChatGTP plug-ins capability - Now it's a platform! Next stop: sentience
• Microsoft brings AI-based copilot capabilities to security pros

Xbox

• UK CDMA: Just kidding on Microsoft's AB acquisition issues, will likely approve it
• Japan FTC approves Microsoft's AB acquisition without conditions
• Activision CEO disappointed in his best partner, Sony
• Microsoft announces red and blue (get it?) Elite Series 2 Core Controllers
• No more $1 intro offer on Xbox Game Pass
• Now even Xbox developers can help your console use less power
• Steam will drop support for Windows 7/8.x in 2024

Tips & Picks

• Tip of the week: Still on Windows 7/8.x? Switch to Firefox
• App pick of the week: Oofhours.com Media Creation tool
• This week on RunAs Radio: When does Multi-Cloud Make Sense with Phoummala Schmitt
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Dalmore 12

(Thumbnail artwork by Club TWiT member Joe Esposito)

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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• lookout.com
• kolide.com/ww
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Microsoft Loop preview FINALLY arrives

• Microsoft Loop web app launches in public preview for MSA and work/school accounts - Yeah, it's a Notion rip-off. Alarmingly so.

Windows 11

• Now, Microsoft is testing Windows 11 features first in Release Preview
• New Dev channel build: Seconds in the system tray is a game changer! /s
• Minor changes coming to default apps
• Based on a single hardware review, it appears that 13th Gen Intel Core processors have the same problem with docks and hubs as do 12th Gen processors.

AI all the things

• Bill Gates describes AI as the biggest technology transformation since the GUI.
• Bing Chatbot can now generate images from text
• GitHub launches ChatGPT-4 powered Copilot X
• Adobe launches responsible/ethical generative AI tools
• Google launches Bard in early access
• Mozilla.ai startup goes live
• Opera adds AI prompts, sidebar ChatGPT

Xbox

• Microsoft's AB acquisition is all about mobile, not COD
• Microsoft announces it will launch mobile apps store on iPhone and Android as soon as regulators make it possible
• FOSS patents: We've moved into the acceptance phase, and this acquisition is on track
• Netflix is expanding its mobile games library dramatically
• Microsoft releases a third set of Game Pass titles for March
• Get a Steam Deck for 10 percent off to celebrate its first birthday

Tips and Picks

• Tip of the week: Inbox Zero
• App pick of the week: Visual Studio Code
• RunAs Radio this week: SMB over QUIC File Servers with Ned Pyle
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Ben Nevis 10

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsors:

• Miro.com/podcast
• kolide.com/ww
• cachefly.com

OpenAI's GPT-4 released, KB5023706 update, YouTube Music

Windows 11

• Moment 2 is official; mostly a solid update
• The ensh*ttification of Windows/Microsoft 365 continues: Microsoft Word, Paint, Teams, and Edge

AI all the things

• One wonders, if everything is AI, is anything AI?
• OpenAI releases ChatGPT 4
• Microsoft "reveals" it was using an early version all along, duh
• BING CHATBOT IS OPEN TO EVERYONE
• Bing will move Chatbot responses to the top of search results
• Microsoft's LinkedIn is adding GPT AI to improve the writing of profiles and job postings
• Grammarly adds more AI
• Google Workspace is getting generative AI features, obviously... and it's raising prices (coincidentally!)
• Duolingo adds two new AI features at great cost

Microsoft 365

• Microsoft Word is getting two keyboard shortcuts it should have always had: "Paste as Text" & Zoom

Dev

• Microsoft Build 2023 is May 23-25, live and remote
• GitHub starts rolling out its 2FA requirement for contributors

Xbox

• Microsoft announces two 10-year cloud gaming deals with companies not named Sony: Boosteroid & Ubitus
• Epic Games takes a page from the Microsoft Store and will allow self-publishing

Tips and Picks

• Tip of the week: YouTube Premium member? Play some games
• App pick of the week: YouTube Music
• This week on RunAs: Incident Management with Hila Fish
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Springbank 10

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsors:

• drata.com/twit
• kolide.com/ww

Microsoft adds Windows 12 to the Insider Program

• Last week's feature release shows you how these Insider channels map to the next release, which is sometimes a Moment now and not just a formal Feature Update. Don't worry. They didn't tell anyone that.
• Canary - big changes that need lots of incubation time (e.g. kernel changes), no release target
• Dev - changes that need incubation, no release target
• Beta- testing changes targeting the next release
• Release preview - testing changes that are slated to ship imminently in the next release barring any major explosions (e.g. printers)
• Stable - nothing works
• First Canary build today: Access keys and File Recommendations in File Explorer, LSA Protection Enablement on upgrade.
• Dev channel: This channel is "rebooted" to 23000 series now, per above. This build has live captions in more languages, access keys in the File Explorer context menus (another Win11 regression),  Recommendations in File Explorer, and other changes.
• Dev channel (last week): Microsoft is working on a new volume mixer.

Windows 11

• Microsoft is bringing "video super resolution" to Microsoft Edge
• We're still not done with PC maker results: Dell goes down in Q4 too

AI

• Satya Nadella, marketing AI, now says that Cortana was "dumb as a rock." Come on.
• Microsoft to talk up AI in work next week
• Microsoft talks up AI in Microsoft 365 - this will never end now
• Microsoft brings more AI to devs at Azure Open Source Day
• Brave Search adds an AI-powered Summarizer
• DuckDuckGo adds a similar Answer feature

Microsoft 365

• Microsoft Outlook is now free on the Mac

Xbox

• EU likely to approve Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Told you so?
• Halo Infinite Season 3 is live. Can it save this game?
• Halo players have created over one million maps with Forge Beta
• Microsoft announces new titles for Xbox Game Pass
• Starfield arrives in September

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Don't be a statistic
• App pick of the week: Start11
• RunAs this Week: FIDO2 and Passwordless with Kyle Kotowick
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Craigellachie Bas Armagnac Cask Finish 13

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsors:

• kolide.com/ww
• CDW.com/LenovoClient

New features in KB5022913 update, Microsoft's defense of Activision Blizzard bid

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/818

Sponsor:

• Melissa.com/twit

Microsoft FINALLY brings Windows 11 on Arm support to Apple Silicon Macs

• A new Release Preview build shows us what the next Moment update will look like
• New Beta channe builds are a bit less interesting
• More PC maker fallout with Lenovo revenues down 24 percent in Q4

Bing AI

• Bing AI is a lying liar who lies. Questions about Microsoft releasing it in this state continue
• After many Bing AI freakouts, Microsoft limits the length of chats... and then it bumps up the length a bit just a few days later.
• Microsoft brings Bing AI to Bing, Edge, and Skype mobile apps

Microsoft 365

• Microsoft IS releasing Teams 2.0 in March.

Dev

• Microsoft releases Visual Studio 2022 17.5, and it's a big update
• Microsoft releases .NET 8 Preview 1
• Visual Studio gets an integrated .NET Upgrade Assistant... previously only a command line tool
• Paul examines WinUI 3 and the Windows App SDK.
• Microsoft is moving File Explorer from XAML Islands to Windows App SDK.

Xbox

• Microsoft defends the Activision Blizzard acquisition in court.
• Microsoft inks 10-year deal to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo
• Microsoft's PC games are coming to NVIDIA GeForce Now
• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Friends & Family Plan comes to 6 new countries, none of which are your country
• As suspected, we're getting a third Xbox Game Pass title drop this month

Tips & Picks

• Tip of the week: 2FA all the things
• App pick of the week: Craiyon
• RunAs Radio this week: Migrating to Windows 11 with Michael Niehaus
• Brown liquor pick of the week: The Macallan Estate

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsor:

• GO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT

The AI morning after

• A week after the irrational exuberance, reality sets in. It's still Bing. And it's still competing against Google
• Microsoft shares an update on Bing AI rollout
• Google employees were not amused at botched Bard announcement
• Microsoft to add AI to Office in March
• Everyone is doing AI now. Including Opera and Notion

Windows 11

• New Windows 11 Dev build adds more live captions
• IE was disabled in Windows 11 on Patch Tuesday. It's dead, Jim
• 2FA is coming to Windows 11. It's all in the toast

Microsoft 365

• Looks like Skype revenue has plummeted over the past decade
• And full of "meet your new girlfriend" messages if you don't lock down from defaults
• Microsoft finally retired the Yammer brand. And you're never going to believe what happened next

Corporate

• GitHub lays off 10 percent of staff, going fully remote
• More jobs cuts announced in Surface, HoloLens, Xbox

Xbox

• Just kidding: Activision to release a major Call of Duty title this year
• Xbox February update is now available with Google Home app integration

Tips & Picks

• Tip of the week: Get started with the new Bing AI. Bing AI apparently has some "creator prompts" that will jumpstart certain types of tasks:

-Letter (Write a letter) -Code (Write code) -Movie (Write a script) -Story (Write a story) -Poem (Write a poem) -Summary (Write a summary) -Tweet (Write a tweet) -Blog post (Write a blog post) -Quiz (Write a quiz) -Joke (Write a joke)

• App pick of the week: DALL-E
• This Week on RunAs: Strengthening Security with Jess Dodson
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Kvint Divin

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsor:

• cachefly.com