Windows 11 just got its most noticeable Start menu revamp in a while, but is it a productivity boost or just more Microsoft meddling? The team digs into Patch Tuesday's big surprises and whether generative tools are transformative essentials or just a passing fad.

Windows 11

Patch Tuesday was yesterday, your new Start menu is right where Microsoft left it
Copilot+ PCs: Improvements to Click to Do, File Explorer, Voice access, and Windows Search
All PCs, eventually: Taskbar improvements, Administrator Protection (off by default), Quality updates
Heading into Ignite next week, Microsoft cites recent security wins in Windows 11 and Surface
First 26H1 build comes to Canary to prove that there will be nothing new in it, ever
Qualcomm takes a one-time $5.7 billion hit thanks to Big Stupid Bill but still nails it in quarterly earnings

Microsoft

WSJ continues its Microsoft financial accountability criticisms
Also reports that internal documents state OpenAI expects to lose $74 billion in 2028, the year Anthropic will break even
If Paul starts a business and it loses money for three years in a row, it becomes a hobby. So WTF is OpenAI exactly?

AI

Microsoft AI creates a Superintelligence team as a sort-of alternative to AGI
Microsoft launched .NET 10 at .NET Conf on Tuesday - Plus, Visual Studio 2026 with a new monthly release schedule and Insider versions going forward
Double-digit performance improvements again, somehow
Uno announced Uno Platform Studio 2.0 with a fun surprise for Paul: They upgraded the original WPF version of .NETpad into a cross platform app in 3 minutes! There will be a demo on Thursday
.NETpad is transitioning to WinUIpad with the Windows App SDK rewrite. It is going poorly because Windows App SDK is terrible, cannot be open sourced quickly enough

Xbox

Steam announces a new videogame console, the Steam Machine!
Backbone Pro Xbox Edition is now available
Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition is here with with Xbox Play Anywhere support, Creations
Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming, so Halo: Infinite becomes a lot more finite
Call of Duty Black Ops 6 player on PC? Hope you enjoyed that 180 GB "update" you had to install before playing a year-old game (also got a 6.7 GB update Wednesday. For the love of God)
GTA VI has been delayed yet again as it edges into Duke Nukem Forever territory
Sony has now sold over 84 million PS5 consoles, meaning it has outsold every Xbox generation ever made
Sony is selling a 27-inch gaming display in the U.S. and Japan

Tips & picks

Tip of the week: Solving the problem over identifying the problem
App pick of the week: Tiny11 Builder
RunAs Radio this week: Azure Resiliency with Chris Ayers
Brown liquor pick of the week: Kyoto Whisky Kuro-Obi Black Belt Blended

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

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Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

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