Windows Weekly 915: Magic Tricks for Cats

Total Leo (Video)

The first Patch Tuesday of 2025 brings temporary but sweet relief. There were no preview updates last month, so this month is just security/bug fixes. Plus, will Microsoft back down from its Windows 10 EOL line in the sand? It appears not. Finally, got New Year's resolutions? Paul's got a better idea. Maybe...

Windows

• New Canary build with nothing in it
• Microsoft will not support Office on Windows 10 after October EOL date
• Microsoft is auto-installing the new Outlook in Windows 10 too - Don't let the door hit you on the way out
• Parallels Desktop for Mac now supports running x86 Windows VMs. Very slowly

AI, Microsoft 365

• New business models for AI emerge in 2025. Pay as you go vs. pay or no pay
• Microsoft has shifted its business model strategy over two years
• 15 months of Copilot in Windows: Madness
• Microsoft announces pay-as-you-go AI agents
• Google has a different (better) take with "the best of Google AI" in Workspace
• What to expect: Price hikes on subscription services to pay for this AI
• Massive reorg of Microsoft's engineering groups is all about AI - There are PM-level layoffs happening now all over Microsoft
• OpenAI adds tasks in beta to ChatGPT
• Microsoft Excel in Windows will soon support dark mode. Wait, what?

Hardware

• Surface teases a big announcement on January 30
• AMD surges on incredible new x86 chips and Intel's epic fail
• Former Surface design lead Ralf Groene joins Panos at Amazon. Why?
• Arm Holdings plans massive licensing price hikes. Everyone needs to settle the F down
• There's a 16 GB Raspberry Pi 5 now. But at this price, a low-end NUC is the better choice for most

Dev

• .NET 9.0.1 arrives - and with it, the fix for the app-crashing WPF/Windows 11 theming bug
• Paul tried GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio. It is MAGIC

Xbox

• Microsoft is clearly planning something big for gaming handhelds. Windows or Xbox? Or both?
• Happy New Year, Xbox fans! Microsoft to bring more Xbox exclusives to PS, Switch
• Xbox to host a Developer Direct event next week
• Microsoft introduces new Xbox repair options
• The Nintendo Switch 2 is leaking all over the place, and there were prototypes at CES

Tips and Picks

• Tip of the week: Think about making micro changes each month or quarter instead of huge, sweeping changes once a year
• App pick of the week: Start11 v2.5
• RunAs Radio this week: DevOpsDocs with Mattias Karlsson
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Buchanan's Deluxe 12
  

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

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