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

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

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Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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We heard you missed us. We're back.

Windows

• Microsoft declares 2025 the "year of the Windows 11 PC refresh."
• As likely as "year of the Linux desktop"
• The theory: Windows 10 EOL, AI PCs, lingering security fears from CrowdStrike
• The issue: Windows 10 has 63 usage share right now. At this point in time, Windows 7 had only 25 percent usage share (and was in second place, not first)
• Intel joins in on this fever dream but we've stopped listening
• More interesting: AMD is kicking ass and taking names. And we thought the existing chips were good (they are). Related to this, PC makers are embracing AMD like never before. Check out HP's workstations (including laptops)
• Microsoft is blocking the 24H2 update on PCs with Auto HDR enabled
• New Canary and Beta builds ring in the New Year
• Not that it matters, but Windows 11 almost had Vista Ultimate Extras-like dynamic wallpapers
• Dell kills XPS and all its other PC brands because Dell is stupid and doesn't know what it had

Arm & PCs

• Qualcomm defeated Arm Holdings in licensing dispute court case. And, yes, it won big time, contrary to Arm's nonsense
• Qualcomm announces an even lower-end Snapdragon X chip for $600 PCs, so ASUS announces an $1100 laptop that uses it
• Snapdragon Dev Kit update
• Part 2 of Paul's history of Windows on Arm is up
• New Arm PCs announced, including desktops. Ahead of CES, Geekom jumped the gun and said it was coming out with a Snapdragon X-based NUC. Lenovo has a NUC/SFF
• NVIDIA and MediaTek confirm partnership on Arm chips for PCs

Microsoft 365

• First, GitHub Copilot, but now Microsoft 365 Copilot will allegedly stop using OpenAI exclusively
• Microsoft reveals (confirms) it will spend $80 billion on AI infrastructure in FY 2025 as it suckles up to Trump like the rest of the tech industry
• Microsoft and OpenAI allegedly tied AGI milestone to profits, not intelligence

Xbox & Gaming

• Microsoft discusses a console-like experience for Windows handheld gaming. Tied to that, a new generation of handheld gaming PCs is on the way
• Xbox Game Pass says Happy New Year with a full slate of Activision Blizzard titles. Just kidding
• NVIDIA announces new graphics cards for PCs
• No one wants this, but Xbox is coming to LG smart TVs
• Xbox Rewards shuffles the deck chairs, hopes no one notices it's worse now

Tips & Picks

• Tip of the week: Spend a little, upgrade to Windows 11
• App pick of the week: Microsoft PowerToys
• RunAs Radio this week: Least Privilege in 2025 with Bailey Bercik
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly 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:

• uscloud.com
• zscaler.com/security

Windows Weekly wishes all viewers and listeners a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Here's a look back at Microsoft's 2024!

• NYT sues OpenAI and Microsoft
• Copilot Pro announced
• Copilot GPT Builder Impressions
• XZ Utils Backdoor Found by Microsoft Hero
• Copilot+ PC & Recall Announced
• Recall Drama Prompts Opt-in Changes
• Thurrant: WSJ Hit Piece on Qualcomm?
• Lenovo's nutty ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid
• 3 Mile Island Revival
• Halo Studios & Unreal Engine 5
• Snapdragon Dev Kit Unboxed
• Coffee and Nespresso tangent!
• Steve Gibson's Worry About "Connected Experiences"
• Intel's CEO "retires"
• Clonakilty Whiskey in studio!

Host: Leo Laporte

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly 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.