MICROSOFT MAKES MAJOR FINANCIAL REPORTING CHANGE

• The canary in the coal mine has finally been rewarded: Microsoft will dramatically change how it reports earnings, effective immediately.
• The good: Didn't see this coming, Microsoft will allegedly be transparent about Azure revenues every quarter
• The bad: A simpler structure means more revenues are being hidden and you can only make accurate YOY comparisons dating back two years now
• The unknown: What this will really look like in practice
• How is it possible that Paul has been all over this for years and Wall Street has mostly ignored it?

Windows

• Patch Tuesday arrives - And, yes, it's basically 26H2
• New Start, Taskbar, and Windows Search are generally available
• Is the "real" 26H2 still on track for October or does it just happen whenever?
• Microsoft fixed almost 1000 security vulnerabilities this month (974), with 723 of them in Windows and 112 of them critical-severity. It has already released over double the number of security patches this year (2760) as it did in all of 2025 (1139).
• Five new builds drop just ahead of Patch Tuesday updates with three minor new features
• Project Zenith is a misguided attempt to make Windows better for developers that shows they've learned nothing
• Microsoft Edge team promises two contrary improvements: Faster extension approvals, better quality

It came from IFA

• Lenovo: Two AMAZING prototype PCs, one of which is imminent as a shipping product. Two killer NVIDIA RTX Spark-based laptops. Colorful laptops and AIO deflate the MacBook Neo balloon nicely. New ThinkCentre desktops and ThinkBook laptops, including a killer AMD-based workstation that can be daisy-chained
• HP: Three new NVIDIA RTX Spark PCs, one of which is a desktop PC
• Acer: RTX Spark, gaming handheld, more
• Key takeaway: NVIDIA RTX Spark is a game-changer

Apps

• Vivaldi adds PWA and address bar improvements
• Yes, Virginia, Brave is still the fastest web browser

AI and dev

• Newsday and The Seattle Times sue OpenAI and Microsoft for stealing copyrighted content at scale
• There's a great new documentary about the making of Visual Studio Code out and it's free
• This is a modern example of how tech limitations can spur innovation, something that happened a lot in the early home computer era and happens a lot less now
• .NET 11 heads to release candidate phase ahead of November release

XBOX and gaming

• XBOX Cloud Gaming is getting usage caps starting in November and a standalone service is on the way
• XBOX app is coming to TCL smart TVs
• XBOX Insiders are testing startup animation choices, Showcase customization, an improved Remote Play experience, background downloads for Cloud Gaming, and more

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Gemini offers a useful and free daily briefing
• App pick of the week: Sonos
• RunAs Radio this week: State of WSUS with Adam
• Brown

These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/1000

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

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Windows

• The mystery of 26H2 is now less mysterious
• Last week: Week D came and went without a preview release, triggering speculation
• Microsoft issues Windows 11 version 26H2 to Release Preview, a first
• This means a September or October release to stable. Just guessing, but Preview Update in September, general Update in October is most likely
• Version numbers don't matter much anymore. There are no unique 26H2 features, just a few unique 26H2 presets - These include Point-in-time restore and Memory Integrity Protection being on by default
• Two 26H1 pre-release builds with little to speak of
• IFA 2026 is underway in Berlin
• Acer is first out of the gates with dozens of new PCs, including one based on the NVIDIA RTX Spark
• EU General Court confirms that Microsoft Edge is not a gatekeeper
• Visual Studio Code now has a full Markdown Editor experience
• Brave now offers free email aliases, and will have a premium option soon
• Firefox for iOS now has integrated ad blocking
• NVIDIA - $96.2 billion in revenues, up 106 percent YOY
• Dell - record $47 billion in revenues, but it's all from server/infrastructure
• HP - $15.7 billion in revenues, up 12.5 percent - $11.8 billion from PCs, vs. $15 billion for all Dell client products

AI/dev

• Sony and Warner sue Anthropic for stealing their music
• Gemini Notebook gets first Expert Intelligence upgrade with integrated e-book support
• Sonos announces Sonos 27 OS with major AI functionality
• Microsoft moves WinUI development fully to GitHub ahead of open-sourcing it

XBOX and gaming

• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, more coming to Game Pass
• Every Activision title for the Atari 2600 is being reissued in cartridge form, but it's going to cost you

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Markdown: A Field Guide for Writers
• App pick of the week: ImageGlass 10
• RunAs Radio this week: Reimagining Intranets with Susan Hanley
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Macaloney's Cath-Nah-Aven

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

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Windows

• If a Week D falls in the woods and no one installs it, did a Week D really happen?
• Theory: This is the big one, with the three big changes Microsoft promised this year. Basically, this is Windows 11 version 26H2
• Three new builds across Beta, Experimental, and Experimental (26H1) with a modernized AutoPlay experience and a new "Open apps maximized" accessibility feature
• Microsoft reminds business customers that Windows on Arm is terrific ahead of Nvidia RTX Spark launch
• Totally coincidental that this happened on the same day that Apple announced a new Mac Mini with M6 and M5 Pro and Mac Studio with M5 Ultra and M5 Max

Microsoft 365

• OneDrive for Mac gets native sync engine
• Proton Mail gets automatic and customizable category filtering

AI/dev

• Bill Gates issues a strong warning on the dangers of AI. And you're not going to believe what number two is
• WSJ report echoes the complaints that Paul has been making for years. Again
• Adobe Firefly gets production-quality music, speech, and sound effect generation capabilities
• Apple Music will start labeling AI-generated music
• .NET Conf 2026 on track for November with .NET 11

XBOX and gaming

• XBOX testing long-awaited disc to digital entitlements
• The ASUS ROG XBOX Ally X20 is available now for $1299, or in a $2499 bundle
• Rumor: Microsoft prepping an Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition console for November
• Update: it's real. The XBOX 25th anniversary collection arrives November 13
• Microsoft announces (third party) Designed for XBOX 25th Anniversary Collection of hardware peripherals
• IKEA has designed some XBOX-influenced furniture and it is amazing
• Rockstar Games weighs in on leaks as GTA VI reveal arrives (tomorrow)
• Commodore announces Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection for PC, consoles
• NVIDIA brings GeForce Now to Firefox

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Expose yourself to other points of view
• App pick of the week: PowerToys
• RunAs Radio this week: Security Features of PowerShell 7 with Mike O'Neill
• Brown liquor pick of the week: SpiceBox Spiced Whisky

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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Windows

• A new context menu for File Explorer heads out to Insiders along with five new preview builds
• There are lots of other like UX changes happening with little communication. Will Microsoft really touch (and update) all the ancient UIs in Windows 11?
• New Release Preview builds point at next Week D and Patch Tuesday updates: New Taskbar, New Start, new Windows Search, many minor changes throughout

Hardware

• Now we know more about Snapdragon C ahead of IFA, where we may see the first laptops
• Google is holding a PixelBook reviewers event in mid-September
• You know that Commodore is back, but now the Amiga is back too!
• Lenovo surges on AI spending, but it's now engaged in financial shenanigans too. More like Spotify than Big Tech, but still bad

AI

• Big Tech spending on AI is finally getting more scrutiny from financial/business publications
• It's happening: Microsoft "pulls a Teams" and will consolidate its Copilot (consumer) and Microsoft 365 Copilot (business apps) into a single app, evolve it in a "super app"
• OpenAI's new strategy: Get 'em while they're young
• Mozilla provides a progress report on Smart Window for Firefox, details new AI search partnership
• Alexa+ is now free on all FireTV devices in the U.S., no Prime required

XBOX

• Resonance: A Plague Tale and more are heading to Game Pass during the second half of August
• XBOX August Update is here with more Achievements details, Game Hubs now support Xbox 360 titles, Game Pass subscribers can now stream a game while it installs in the background
• XBOX Insiders can now test Home Improvements, local save game management, and profile badges
• Apple makes major App Store concessions in the EU. But Epic Games says it is not enough.
• The new Call of Duty has a public beta on Friday, and there will be a single-player episode for the first time

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Yes, Virginia, you can exit the Insider Program now
• App pick of the week: Brave
• RunAs Radio this week: Automatic Attack Disruption with Liz Tesch
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Red Bank Premium Blended

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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Windows

• 25H2: new touchpad gestures, Windows Hello ESS improvements, Widgets improvements, Windows Search improvements, more
• 26H1: Windows Update calendar-based pausing, Picture Password EOL, Point in time restore, multi-camera support, user folder customization in Setup, etc.
• Over 420 bug fixes, but that's over 200 less than last month
• Follow-up on Microsoft's AI spending. It's much worse than we knew - And also much worse than we know now
• Yes, Microsoft Edge is going all-in on Manifest V3
• Proton Drive - Now with a CLI and business features, and it's coming soon to Linux
• A developer ported Word for Windows 1.1 to x64

AI

• Gemini now has one billion users. But how many pay? - Plus the new Pixel phones are one step sideways, one step back
• OpenAI brings ChatGPT to Linux (!)

Xbox and gaming

• A new Xbox Elite Series 3 controller leak shows it will have a mini display
• Microsoft tests new console features with Xbox Insiders
• Id Software brings a new episode to Quake to mark 30th anniversary!
• Minecraft is coming to Switch 2
• Here comes GTA VI
• A Valve partner was hacked, Steam Machine customers warned
• Nintendo revenues decline 9.5 percent to ¥518 billion

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: View Git status directly in File Explorer
• App pick of the week: AltTabby
• RunAs Radio this week: The Content Management System Landscape with Matt Garrepy
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Sideshow Lincoln Straight Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon

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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Microsoft earnings

• Microsoft earnings up 18 percent to $90 billion
• Analysis: Microsoft finds a new way to not account for AI costs

Windows

• Pavan Davuluri says he's "energized" about what's happening to Windows in 2026.
• OK. But what's really happened so far? When will the biggest changes land? And when, if ever, will you address the real enshittification in Windows 11?
• Windows Insider Program: Five new builds - New Taskbar comes to Beta channel
• This leads to questions of timing, and here, WIP is not all that transparent still
• Another antitrust win: Apple to allow Copy and Paste between Windows and iPhone
• AMD revenues up 50 percent to $11.5 billion, but it's all AI datacenter
• Amazon: up 20 percent to $200 billion
• Apple: up 16 percent to $109 billion

AI

• Satya Nadella mentions AI super app again, not clear why anyone cares about this
• Proton Lumo can do data visualization now

Xbox and gaming

• Asha Sharma details the priorities for XBOX in the next year and number 5 will shock you
• XBOX console prices going up in the EU and UK
• Thanks, Caption Obvious: Yes, Backward Compatibility on PC will support Xbox 360 games too
• XBOX plans new FanFest tour dates - there's SO much to celebrate!
• Gears of War: E-Day leads the charge for new Game Pass titles in August
• XBOX Insiders is testing new console features
• XBOX app comes to Hisense and VIDDA TVs
• EA goes private for $55 billion in cash, but also some debt
• Sony has sold 95.3 million PS5s
• Sony responds to concerns about no more discs (with "pffffftttt")

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: It's done!
• App pick of the week: LibreOffice
• RunAs Radio this week: Ransomware Readiness with Heather Renze
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Frey Ranch Straight Bourbon

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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Windows

• Week D updates arrive on time this month
• Windows Hello ESS support for external fingerprint readers, many small improvements
• Experimental (Future Platforms) finally gets an update, but it's just the features we saw elsewhere first
• Several in-box app updates for July, nothing major
• Microsoft convinces LG to drop the McAfee ads, but HP's Bing ads are A-OK
• Chris tested Windows 11 with 8GB of RAM and the experience is not great
• Paul has a Wildcat-based laptop waiting for him in PA
• Microsoft is testing a "Do nothing" option for the Copilot key
• Your Windows 11 PC now has a OneDrive Photos app for some reason
• Opera One gets vertical tabs, deeper Google Lens integration

Earnings

• Google/Alphabet - net income of $28 billion on $120 billion in revenues, but negative cash flow for the first time in the company's history
• Intel - net loss of $11 million, no Foundry customers leaves Wall Street swooning for some reason

AI

• Microsoft begins shifting to its own MAI models, but the forward progress is minimal
• NVIDIA, Microsoft, more team up for AI empire, er, Alliance
• Anthropic launches Claude Opus 5

Xbox and gaming

• Halo: Campaign Evolved is here
• XBOX went down for the count for most of the day on Monday. But disc-based games still worked
• XBOX begins testing ad-supported Cloud Gaming
• Ubisoft game purchases on Xbox now carry over to PC for free
• Luna comes to Prime Video app

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Remap keys with PowerToys Keyboard Manager
• App pick of the week: Halo Campaign Evolved
• Chris's pick of the week: His new newsletter! https://preferences.pcmag.com/PCMag/windows-guide

Hosts: Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott

Guest: Chris Hoffman

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

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Windows

• Five new Insider builds released on Monday; the new Start menu comes to the Beta channel
• Experimental (26H1) a day later with no interesting new features
• The Whiteboard app is apparently being retired

AI

• Microsoft expands partnership with Mistral to improve EU AI infrastructure
• Copilot for consumers is losing Podcasts and Deep research features soon
• U.S. judge approves Anthropic $1.5 billion settlement with authors it stole from
• 1Password partners with Anthropic to make AI access to password-protected websites secure
• Google renames NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook
• Google's next big AI models are delayed, but we got Gemini 3.6 Flash, Flash-Lite, and 3.5 Flash Cyber to tide us over

XBOX and gaming

• Microsoft brings XBOX Backward Compatibility to PC!!
• Here comes Halo: Campaign Evolved, along with more Game Pass titles for the end of July
• Bethesda announces Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters, and Fallout 5 is entering pre-production
• Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 in Early Access on August 21, Open Beta on August 27
• XBOX July update adds support for longer gamertags, new library customization options, and more
• XBOX teams with Meta to bring Game Pass Starter Edition to Meta Horizon+ subscribers
• Valve says the component crisis dogging Steam Machine pricing will only get worse

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Windows Package Manager for bulk app installs
• App (game) of the week: Doom: The Dark Ages
• RunAs Radio this week: Security Begins at Procurement with Jessie Schofer
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Loup River Nebraska Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

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The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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Windows

• Patch Tuesday is here!
• Point in Time Restore, quieter Widgets, Windows Update improvements, Screen tint, and more
• The biggest Patch Tuesday in history, by far: a record 570 fixes for security flaws, and a huge 3X increase from the then-record flaws fixed last month. (Some say the number is 622. Math is hard.) And this is on top of 468 Microsoft Edge/Chromium flaws that were fixed by Google this month too. Yikes.
• Microsoft discusses how it's improving Windows security with AI
• Windows Insider Program: Improved Windows Search is next on the docket, heading out to Experimental this week. Question: When do these things hit stable?
• Microsoft releases Snapdragon X2 versions of its Surface for Business Pro and Laptop models

AI

• Apple sues OpenAI for stealing trade secrets
• Surprised there was no talk of "thermonuclear war"
• OpenAI's response is hilarious, and it is already prepping its first hardware device
• OpenAI just announced the rumored super app, which is a combination of ChatGPT, Work, Codex, and an in-app web browser, which replaces the standalone Atlas web browser. Also, GPT-5.6.
• In keeping with recent history, Anthropic announced its in-app web browser for Claude less than 24 hours later
• Reminder that Microsoft acknowledged that it, too, is working on an AI super app at Build
• Apple releases public betas of its OS 27 releases and, shocker, Siri is really good
• Now Spotify has an AI chatbot so I can tell it how much I hate Spotify

Xbox and gaming

• Obsidian is working on a new Fallout game, duh.
• A quiet time after last week's terribleness

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Microsoft 365 for IT Pros (2027 edition) is here!
• App pick of the week: MusicBee
• RunAs Radio this week: Finding Security Vulnerabilities using AI with Sami Laiho
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Sanctuary Single Malt Whisky Reserve Edition

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

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The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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