Windows Weekly 926

Bill Gates celebrates the 50th anniversary of Microsoft with the release of the source code for Altair BASIC 1.0. Plus, Paul celebrates with 99 cent books: The Windows 10 Field Guide, Windows 11 Field Guide, and Windows Everywhere are all 99 cents for 24 hours! Also available: Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City in preview!

Windows

• The plot thickens. Paul writes epic take on future of Windows 11, describes Dev channel-only features and when/if they were ever released - in other words, an extensive but partial Windows 11 feature roadmap for 2025
• Two days later, Microsoft announces a Windows 11 feature road map - one that is woefully incomplete, pathetic, and sad
• Microsoft announces when (sort of) new on-device AI features will come to all Copilot+ PCs, meaning Intel and AMD, too - “not a glimpse at the future of the PC, but the future of the PC.”
• Live captions with live language translations, Cocreator in Paint, Restyle image and Image creator in Photos, plus Voice access with flexible natural language (Snapdragon X only)
• But not Recall or Click to Do in preview, go figure
• As expected, March 2024 Preview update for 24H2 arrives, a few days late - with AI-powered search experience enabled
• Dev and Beta builds - Friday - Quick Machine Recovery (Beta only?), Speech recap in Narrator, Blue screen to get less blue, WinKey + C shortcut for Copilot returns, Spanish and French Text actions in Click to Do, Edit images in Share, AI-powered search (Dev only?)
• Then, Microsoft more fully describes Windows Quick Recovery
• Beta (23H2) - Monday - A lot of familiar 24H2 features - Narrator improvements, Copilot WinKey + C, Share with Image edit, plus System -- About FAQ for some freaking reason
• Proton Drive is now native on Windows 11 on Arm, everyone gets new features
• Proton VPN is now built into Vivaldi desktop browser
• Intel’s new CEO appears in public, vows to spin off non-core businesses. Everything but x86 chip design and Foundry, then

Microsoft 365

• Windows 365 Link is now available
• The Office apps on Windows already launch instantaneously but apparently that’s not invasive enough - we need fewer auto-start items, not more of them
• Microsoft Excel to call out rich data cells with value tokens

AI & Dev

• NYT copyright infringement lawsuit against Open AI and Microsoft can move forward, judge rules
• And now Tim O’Reilly says Open AI stole his company’s paywalled book content too. Book piracy is sadly the easiest thing in the world
• Open AI raised more money than any private firm in history, now worth $300B
• ChatGPT releases awesome new image generation feature for ChatGPT
• And now it’s available for free to everyone
• Google’s Gemini Pro 2.5 is now available to everyone too
• Amazon launches Alexa+ in early access, US only
• Some thoughts about vibe coding, which isn’t what you think it is
• AMD pays $4.9 billion to  take on Nvidia in cloud AI
• Apple Intelligence + Apple Health is the future of something something

Xbox & Games

• Nintendo announces Switch 2. Looks awesome, coming earlier than expected. But that price! And no Xbox/COD news at the launch??
• Luna’s not dead! Amazon announces multi-year EA partnership, expands Luna to more EU countries
• Microsoft announces a new Xbox Backbone controller for smartphones
• New titles for Xbox Game Pass across PC, console, and cloud for first half of April

Tips and Picks

• Tip of the week: Paul celebrates the 50th anniversary of Microsoft
• App pick of the week: Wintoys
• RunAs Radio this week: GitHub Copilot for SysAdmins with Jessica Deen
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Highland Park 12

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• Transcripts: Windows Weekly 926 Transcript

Links

• Bill Gates Celebrates Microsoft’s 50th by Releasing Altair BASIC Source Code
• Making Sense of Windows 11 in 2025 (Premium)
• Microsoft Highlights New AI Experiences on AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs
• Xbox Cloud Gaming Gets More Titles and Game Switching Improvements
• Microsoft Drops New Windows 11 Dev and Beta Builds With Lots of Changes
• Microsoft Details Windows Quick Recovery
• Microsoft Issues New 23H2 Build to the Beta Channel
• Proton Drive is Now Available on Windows 11 on Arm
• Vivaldi Brings Proton VPN to its Web Browser
• Intel to Spin Off Non-Core Assets
• Windows 365 Link is Now Available
• Office Apps on Windows Will Soon Launch Faster
• Microsoft Excel to Get Value Tokens for Rich Data Formats
• Judge Rejects Bid to to Dismiss New York Times Lawsuit Against Open AI, Microsoft
• Tim O’Reilly Says Open AI Stole His Company’s Paywalled Book Content
• ChatGPT’s Image Generator is Now Available for All Free Users
• Open AI Just Raised a Record $40 Billion
• Vibe Coding Is Not What You Think It Is (Premium)
• Nintendo Switch 2 Launches on June 5, 2025 at $449.99
• Amazon Luna Adds EA Games and Expands to More EU Countries
• Microsoft Announces an Xbox Backbone Controller for Phones
• South of Midnight, Borderlands 3, and Diablo III Are Coming to Game Pass
• Windows 10 Field Guide
• Eternal Spring
• Tip: Use Wintoys to Customize Windows 11
• If Only I Were a Normal Windows User … (Premium)
• GitHub Copilot for SysAdmins with Jessica Deen
• HIGHLAND PARK 12