Windows Weekly 864: Word Doesn't Respect Me

Outlook, privacy, and the terribleness of Big Tech

New Outlook Decried as a "Surveillance Tool for Targeted Advertising
One perspective: How terrible are other companies like Google and Meta?
But also, how terrible are Windows 11, Teams, Microsoft Edge, etc?
Supreme Court refuses to hear Epic v. Apple appeals
So, Epic wins on one important count, being able to communicate to their own customers
But Apple is still being terrible because it can be. Will the EU finally take care of this?
Google unlinking its services in the EU, Apple removing pulse ox from Watch in the US, Google comes clean on Incognito, and Microsoft Cloud lets EU customers keep data locally, it just keeps coming

Copilot all the things

Richard correctly predicted that 2024 would be the year that Microsoft stopped talking about AI and started implementing AI. But who could have predicted THIS in the first two weeks (!) of the year?
Copilot Pro for consumers, Copilot for Microsoft 365 for all commercial customers with no baseline, Copilot on mobile, Copilot in Microsoft 365 mobile, Copilot GPT Builder on the way
But there's a real vulnerability for Microsoft and its AI aims here - Too soon, too little may be a mistake
Microsoft and Vodafone, sitting in a tree
Plus: No Copilot AI (SLM) on the Galaxy S24 family? Interesting. Is Google trying to undermine that partnership and bring Samsung back into the fold?

Windows 11

PC sales for 2023: Good news, bad news. OK, it's just bad news
They're doing it again: After almost literally no testing, Microsoft launches new Weather experience on the lock screen and makes it the default
Store app install notifications are in stable now too
Dev: USB 80 Gbps support, auto-start Copilot on 27-inch+ displays, Windows Share (as below) improvements, fixes
Beta: More Windows Share improvements (WhatsApp, Gmail, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn URL sharing), Weather experience on Lock, Microsoft Store with instant arcade games and app install notifications
Release Preview: New KB update gives us our second near-final peek at Moment 5, with more "Ink Everywhere," eye control system support, 7-ZIP support improvements, other fixes
Microsoft will reportedly bring back the Windows Insider Program's Beta Channel for Windows 10 because they were just kidding about that whole "no new features" thing
Dev Home comes to Windows 10

Xbox

January's Game Pass titles, still no Activision Blizzard
Xbox fixes Baldur's Gate save bug
Ubisoft mixes up its Ubisoft+ subscriptions

Tips & Picks

Tip of the week: Maybe this is the year of NextDNS
App pick of the week: Brave
RunAs Radio this week: Copilots for Power Platform with April Dunnam
Brown liquor pick of the week: Writer's Tears

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

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