Windows Weekly 891

CrowdStrike: Terrible name, terrible outage

• CrowdStrike, a company no one has ever heard of, ships an update that borks Windows PCs, servers, and clouds services at the heart of the worldʼs infrastructure. Naturally, everyone blamed Microsoft at first
• Microsoft says outage impacted under 1 percent of PCs. It was just the worst PCs imaginable
• Microsoft blames EU regulation for its inability to be like Apple
• That is not a good look. It's also deceptive.
• Microsoft issues repair tool (later updates).
• CrowdStrike explains what it did wrong. TLDR: everything.

Windows

• Windows 11 version 23H2 is fully available! Wait, what?
• Surface Laptop 7 review: big, heavy, no presence sensing or fingerprint reader. Right, I love it.
• Also, the ThinkPad T14s arrived.
• Related: Intel cops to mistake in Core Gen 13/14 processors, will issue fix. Why this is unprecedented. And also precedented. Also, why precedented is a word.
• Microsoft is FINALLY bringing ads to the Microsoft Store search box.
• Microsoft starts testing new Start menu layouts. Surely one of them has live tites.
• Canary build today: Duplicate File Explorer tab, not much else.

AI/Antitrust

• Meta is making a surprising—and surprisingly strong—case for AI as open-source.
• Proton adds an AI writing assistant to its Drive-based Docs.
• Amazon lost an alleged $25 billion on Alexa devices over four years, so itʼs all in on AI-based devices now! (Panos Panay is the perfect fit for this business if the goal is to be unprofitable).
• Google effectively kills Privacy Sandbox in a victory for regulation.
• Microsoft probably cleared the final hurdle to avoid EU antitrust action on cloud licensing. Hey, it worked with security companies and the Windows kernel!

It's That Time of the Quarter Again

• Alphabet / Google: Double-digit revune gains YOY, but how much of this is AI?
• Subscription services (Netflix, Spotify, not so much Game Pass) are KILLING it,but theyʼre also in full-on enshirtification mode - how do we fix this? Can we fix this.

Xbox

• FTC complains about Xbox Game changes. They’re not wrong. But they’re not
  right either.
• Call of Duty Modern Warfare III lands on Game Pass today - what the what
• Also, Microsoft muffed the landing badly - but it appears to be working now
• Halo TV series canceled. It’s the worst thing that’s happened with Xbox this entire year

Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: The best thing about Copilot in Windows 11 now

• With Copilot switching from a pane to an app, thereʼs an unintended benefit that comes into play when you use an AI PC with a Copilot key on it. Youʼre never  going to believe what happens next.

App pick of the week: Microsoft Designer for image generation

• Microsoft Designer exited preview last week and thereʼs at least one secret benefit to using it: Unlike Copilot, you can create wide and portrait images (and not just square) without paying. This is why I pay for Copilot Pro. (You do need to sign in with an MSA, however.)

RunAs Radio This Week: Data Risk Management using Purview with Joanne Klein

• https://runasradio.com/Shows/Show/942

Brown Liquor Pick of the Week: Writerʼs Tears Tequila Cask

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• Transcripts: Windows Weekly 891 Transcript

Links

• Botched CrowdStrike Update Triggered Microsoft Infrastructure Outage Overnight
• Microsoft: CrowdStrike Mishap Impacted Less Than 1 Percent of Windows PCs
• CrowdStrike Outage Has Roots in Microsoft’s Antitrust Problems
• Not A Great Look
• Microsoft Issues Repair Tool for PCs Impacted by CrowdStrike Outage
• Falcon Content Update for Windows Hosts
• Windows 11 Version 23H2 is Now Broadly Available
• Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Generation 15-Inch Review
• Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 Snapdragon First Impressions
• Intel Admits to Core Processor Problems, Will Issue Patch
• Microsoft is Bringing Ads to the Microsoft Store Search Box
• Microsoft is Testing New ‘Grid’ and ‘Category’ Layouts for the Windows 11 Start Menu
• Meta AI Expands to More Countries, Adds New Languages and Features
• Proton Launches Privacy-Focused ‘Scribe’ AI Writing Assistant
• Amazon Reportedly Lost Over $25 Billion on its Devices Business in Recent Years
• Bowing to Regulatory Pressure, Google Abandons Plans to Kill Third-Party Cookies
• Microsoft Will Likely Avoid EU Antitrust Charges for Cloud Licensing
• Alphabet/Google Revenues Jumped 14 Percent in Q2
• Netflix Gained 8 Million Subscribers in Q2 2024
• Spotify Delivers Another Blockbuster Quarter
• Netflix Sucks and So Does Spotify and All the Rest
• US FTC Calls Out Recent Game Pass Changes as Post-Merger “Consumer Harm”
• A Game (Pass) with No Winners
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is Coming to Game Pass Tomorrow, July 24
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is Now Available on Game Pass
• Halo TV Series Has Been Cancelled After Two Seasons
• Microsoft Designer
• Data Risk Management using Purview with Joanne Klein
• Writers’ Tears Tequila Cask