Windows Weekly 946: Backing up the Intel Truck (August 20, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this episode of Windows Weekly, Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell explore the state of Windows 11, recent tech industry rumors, PC hardware trends, and the ongoing reinvention of productivity with AI. They discuss the latest Google Pixel announcement and its lackluster impact, unpack updates in the Windows Insider Program, and dive deep into privacy within AI tools and browsers. The hosts also tackle industry shifts in PC sales, especially Lenovo’s banner quarter, and take an enjoyable detour into favorite productivity apps and rare whiskies.

Main Themes

The challenge of standing out and meaningfully innovating in today’s tech landscape, especially amid AI and hardware commoditization
Microsoft’s evolving vision for Windows, natural language transformation, Copilot, and the persistent importance of privacy
The realities of PC market cycles, with Lenovo’s surge and the unraveling of old Intel dominance
Community, nostalgia, and thoughtful critiques of both old and new tools—plus a little whiskey love

Key Discussions & Insights

1. Google Pixel 10 Launch Event—Celebrity Hype and Missed Substance

Timestamps: 01:27 – 08:52

The event was heavy on celebrity appearances (Jimmy Fallon, Jonas Brothers, Steph Curry) but light on meaningful product details.
- Leo: “There was so much banter, so many celebrities, so much back and forth movement that you really didn’t hear a lot about the device itself.” (03:09)
- Paul: “This is like Apple giving away a U2 album that nobody wanted. You’re not in touch with the kids.” (05:08)
Real-time translation demo: does it in your own voice, impressive but skepticism remained.
No real incentive for existing Pixel 9 owners to upgrade despite minor hardware improvements.

2. Windows Insider Program: UI Change Frenzy & Copilot Evolution

Timestamps: 10:00 – 20:27

Microsoft leadership (Pavan Davuluri) maintaining consistent messaging about the transformation of Windows via AI.
The “Vision” series and frequent UI experiments signal Windows’ evolving strategy but also user apprehension.
Copilot App’s UI now resembles Microsoft 365 and Home Hub, sparking speculation about a future with no Start menu.
Semantic File Search, now available for Copilot+ PCs, is about on-device AI searching—though naming and availability changes are confusing.

“Anytime anyone from Microsoft talks about Vision, which is hilarious and an oxymoron in their case…everyone kind of cringes up a little bit. It’s like, oh, don’t ruin it.” – Paul Thurrott (10:38)
Natural language prompts are poised to replace menus and dialog boxes – but legacy options will remain:
- Richard: “Nobody actually wants a dialog box. Nobody wants options menus.” (14:29)
- Paul: “They’ve never taken anything out of Windows ever. So don’t worry, you’ll still have your mmc, you’ll still have your Infinite Dialogues if those things make you happy.” (15:53)

3. AI Features Commoditized, Privacy as Differentiator

Timestamps: 23:04 – 35:17

AI orchestration is everywhere, with big players (Microsoft, Google, Apple) pushing integration but offering similar capabilities.
DuckDuckGo’s “Duck AI,” Cogi Assistant, and Brave Browser’s approach: focus on privacy, anonymized data, and user control—emphasized as a niche selling point.
- Leo: “If you can get orchestration and privacy, to me, that is a differentiator.” (31:28)
- Paul: “We’ve gotten very used to giving away the whole farm... The Internet’s free.” (33:54)
Discussion on the public’s continued apathy toward privacy:
- Richard: “The public seems to be remarkably uninterested in privacy.” (32:09)
- Anecdotes about casual device use and security slip-ups among friends and family.
Prediction: AI services will not remain free forever; expect an “enshittification” cycle as described by Cory Doctorow.

4. PC Industry Check-in: Lenovo’s Record Quarter & Intel’s Waning Power

Timestamps: 46:38 – 59:44

Lenovo sets records in market share, revenue, and profits, despite mediocre overall PC market sentiment.
- Revenue and profit both up substantially year-over-year.
- Speculation about sales rushes ahead of tariffs.
PC upgrade cycles are now determined by hardware depreciation (five-year mark) rather than raw performance gains.
- Richard: “We no longer turn to get the latest. We turn because we can't afford the maintenance sense.” (47:25)
Discussion of tax depreciation, business vs. consumer purchase patterns.
Intel’s co-marketing dollars (“backing up the Intel truck”) no longer winning out: AMD’s share rising.
- Paul: “He’s like, that’s the Intel truck dumping the pile of money on our front lawn. He goes, that’s why… That’s coming to an end or has ended.” (58:22)
ARM laptops, particularly cheap Snapdragons, earning rave practical reviews from Paul.

5. Productivity, Note-taking, & Editor Wars

Timestamps: 98:11 – 105:33

Brief celebration (and critique) of Notion’s new, but still clunky, offline feature. Still no way to offline-sync whole folders/trees.
- Leo: “What we really want is for our entire Notion to be offline right.” (100:24)
Obsidian and Anytype emerge as serious, privacy-oriented competitors, with local markdown storage and database features.
Paul: “Other than that, [Notion is]… the stickiest app I’ve used. Functionality is great.” (101:22)
Leo: “Obsidian, to me, has replaced Notion… because it’s all local…”
- Emphasis on the rising value of local storage, markdown, and open plugin ecosystems.
AI integration options within these tools have also become a selection criterion, with Obsidian offering broad third-party integration possibilities.

6. Windows & Notepad: Change, Backlash, and Tradition

Timestamps: 35:28 – 40:49

Notepad gets another update, with context menu icons/captions to match Windows 11, which sparked outrage for some stalwarts.
- Anecdotes about Mary Jo Foley’s famously strong negative feelings toward adding features to Notepad.

7. Xbox & Gaming Segment: ARM, Game Streaming & Ecosystem Moves

Timestamps: 78:11 – 92:25

Xbox app on Windows 11 ARM machines finally allows local game downloads (for some), but most heavy-duty AAA games crash or don’t work.
- Paul: “Both of them [Doom, Call of Duty] just crash immediately when you run.” (83:18)
- 30-year-old classics run fine: “Native res, 60 frames a second. Awesome.” (84:02)
Game library integration across third-party stores (Steam, Epic, GoG) in Xbox app.
Game Pass updates, Gamescom announcements, and discussions of remastered favorites like Gears of War.
GeForce Now updates: up to 5k, 120/360fps—practical limits aside.

Notable Quotes & Moments

Paul (on Google event): “Geeks have Pixels. Yes, right. But it's a geeky phone. I want a bare metal.” (04:19)
Leo (on AI commoditization): “If you can get orchestration and privacy, to me, that is a differentiator.” (31:28)
Paul (on privacy): “We’ve gotten very used to giving away the whole farm... The Internet’s free.” (33:54)
Paul (on Intel): “That’s the intel truck dumping the pile of money on our front lawn... That’s coming to an end or has ended.” (58:22)
Richard (on maintenance cycles): “We no longer turn to get the latest. We turn because we can't afford the maintenance sense.” (47:25)
Paul (on Windows vision videos): “Anytime anyone from Microsoft talks about Vision...everyone kind of cringes up a little bit.” (10:38)
Leo (on Notepad and Mary Jo Foley): “We just should get her something that's just like she wants—a typewriter. You understand? A computer typewriter.” (40:43)

Additional Topics

AI Browser Developments (65:09 – 72:32)

Gemini button in Chrome; minimal and slow-burn integration of AI.
Brave discloses, then helps fix, a security issue in Perplexity’s Comet browser.

Gaming News & Recap (78:11 – 92:25)

Xbox app’s ARM improvements are half-baked; many games still fail.
Gamescom updates: Call of Duty, Indiana Jones for Switch 2, upcoming hardware (ASUS Rog Ally), and price hikes for PlayStation 5.

Back of the Book Segment

- Tip of the Week: Windows ReadMe newsletter launches soon; annual Windows 11 Field Guide coming with upgrade discounts.

- App Picks: Notion’s offline update (but the real power is in Obsidian/Anytype for privacy/markdown fans)

- Richard’s Whiskey Pick: Chichibu Distillery (Japan), rare and mythical malts from Ichiro Akuto; “the definitive craft distillery in Japan,” lauded for unique whiskies like the “White Label” blend.

Conclusion

A lively, opinionated, and deeply informed episode, Windows Weekly 946 provides a tour through conflicting currents in today’s tech—how companies flail for attention, users weigh privacy and productivity, and AI quietly becomes omnipresent yet indistinguishable from one platform to the next. Rich in anecdotes, industry context, and a few inside jokes, this episode is both a snapshot of current tech and a testament to how the best tools, whether software or whiskey, always have a story.

For Quick Reference

[00:01] – Google Pixel event: underwhelming launch, celebrity overload
[10:00] – Microsoft Windows “Vision”: AI, Copilot, legacy app support
[20:27] – Copilot UI/Insider program changes, app actions/Intents
[23:04] – AI commoditization, privacy & orchestration as key features
[46:38] – Lenovo’s record quarter, market trends, Intel/AMD/ARM shifts
[78:11] – Xbox/ARM gaming, Game Pass, Gamescom news
[98:11] – Notion’s offline feature, Obsidian/Anytype/Browsers for power users
[113:21] – Richard’s Whiskey Pick: Chichibu Distillery

Memorable sign-off:

“Thank you all, everybody watching. Thank you all, you winners and your dozers. We’ll see you next time on Windows Weekly.” (128:19)

(All times in MM:SS as requested; quotes attributed per speaker and timestamp.)

Windows Weekly 946: Backing up the Intel Truck (August 20, 2025)

Episode Overview

Main Themes

The challenge of standing out and meaningfully innovating in today’s tech landscape, especially amid AI and hardware commoditization
Microsoft’s evolving vision for Windows, natural language transformation, Copilot, and the persistent importance of privacy
The realities of PC market cycles, with Lenovo’s surge and the unraveling of old Intel dominance
Community, nostalgia, and thoughtful critiques of both old and new tools—plus a little whiskey love

Key Discussions & Insights

1. Google Pixel 10 Launch Event—Celebrity Hype and Missed Substance

Timestamps: 01:27 – 08:52

The event was heavy on celebrity appearances (Jimmy Fallon, Jonas Brothers, Steph Curry) but light on meaningful product details.
- Leo: “There was so much banter, so many celebrities, so much back and forth movement that you really didn’t hear a lot about the device itself.” (03:09)
- Paul: “This is like Apple giving away a U2 album that nobody wanted. You’re not in touch with the kids.” (05:08)
Real-time translation demo: does it in your own voice, impressive but skepticism remained.
No real incentive for existing Pixel 9 owners to upgrade despite minor hardware improvements.

2. Windows Insider Program: UI Change Frenzy & Copilot Evolution

Timestamps: 10:00 – 20:27

Microsoft leadership (Pavan Davuluri) maintaining consistent messaging about the transformation of Windows via AI.
The “Vision” series and frequent UI experiments signal Windows’ evolving strategy but also user apprehension.
Copilot App’s UI now resembles Microsoft 365 and Home Hub, sparking speculation about a future with no Start menu.
Semantic File Search, now available for Copilot+ PCs, is about on-device AI searching—though naming and availability changes are confusing.

“Anytime anyone from Microsoft talks about Vision, which is hilarious and an oxymoron in their case…everyone kind of cringes up a little bit. It’s like, oh, don’t ruin it.” – Paul Thurrott (10:38)
Natural language prompts are poised to replace menus and dialog boxes – but legacy options will remain:
- Richard: “Nobody actually wants a dialog box. Nobody wants options menus.” (14:29)
- Paul: “They’ve never taken anything out of Windows ever. So don’t worry, you’ll still have your mmc, you’ll still have your Infinite Dialogues if those things make you happy.” (15:53)

3. AI Features Commoditized, Privacy as Differentiator

Timestamps: 23:04 – 35:17

AI orchestration is everywhere, with big players (Microsoft, Google, Apple) pushing integration but offering similar capabilities.
DuckDuckGo’s “Duck AI,” Cogi Assistant, and Brave Browser’s approach: focus on privacy, anonymized data, and user control—emphasized as a niche selling point.
- Leo: “If you can get orchestration and privacy, to me, that is a differentiator.” (31:28)
- Paul: “We’ve gotten very used to giving away the whole farm... The Internet’s free.” (33:54)
Discussion on the public’s continued apathy toward privacy:
- Richard: “The public seems to be remarkably uninterested in privacy.” (32:09)
- Anecdotes about casual device use and security slip-ups among friends and family.
Prediction: AI services will not remain free forever; expect an “enshittification” cycle as described by Cory Doctorow.

4. PC Industry Check-in: Lenovo’s Record Quarter & Intel’s Waning Power

Timestamps: 46:38 – 59:44

Lenovo sets records in market share, revenue, and profits, despite mediocre overall PC market sentiment.
- Revenue and profit both up substantially year-over-year.
- Speculation about sales rushes ahead of tariffs.
PC upgrade cycles are now determined by hardware depreciation (five-year mark) rather than raw performance gains.
- Richard: “We no longer turn to get the latest. We turn because we can't afford the maintenance sense.” (47:25)
Discussion of tax depreciation, business vs. consumer purchase patterns.
Intel’s co-marketing dollars (“backing up the Intel truck”) no longer winning out: AMD’s share rising.
- Paul: “He’s like, that’s the Intel truck dumping the pile of money on our front lawn. He goes, that’s why… That’s coming to an end or has ended.” (58:22)
ARM laptops, particularly cheap Snapdragons, earning rave practical reviews from Paul.

5. Productivity, Note-taking, & Editor Wars

Timestamps: 98:11 – 105:33

Brief celebration (and critique) of Notion’s new, but still clunky, offline feature. Still no way to offline-sync whole folders/trees.
- Leo: “What we really want is for our entire Notion to be offline right.” (100:24)
Obsidian and Anytype emerge as serious, privacy-oriented competitors, with local markdown storage and database features.
Paul: “Other than that, [Notion is]… the stickiest app I’ve used. Functionality is great.” (101:22)
Leo: “Obsidian, to me, has replaced Notion… because it’s all local…”
- Emphasis on the rising value of local storage, markdown, and open plugin ecosystems.
AI integration options within these tools have also become a selection criterion, with Obsidian offering broad third-party integration possibilities.

6. Windows & Notepad: Change, Backlash, and Tradition

Timestamps: 35:28 – 40:49

Notepad gets another update, with context menu icons/captions to match Windows 11, which sparked outrage for some stalwarts.
- Anecdotes about Mary Jo Foley’s famously strong negative feelings toward adding features to Notepad.

7. Xbox & Gaming Segment: ARM, Game Streaming & Ecosystem Moves

Timestamps: 78:11 – 92:25

Xbox app on Windows 11 ARM machines finally allows local game downloads (for some), but most heavy-duty AAA games crash or don’t work.
- Paul: “Both of them [Doom, Call of Duty] just crash immediately when you run.” (83:18)
- 30-year-old classics run fine: “Native res, 60 frames a second. Awesome.” (84:02)
Game library integration across third-party stores (Steam, Epic, GoG) in Xbox app.
Game Pass updates, Gamescom announcements, and discussions of remastered favorites like Gears of War.
GeForce Now updates: up to 5k, 120/360fps—practical limits aside.

Notable Quotes & Moments

Paul (on Google event): “Geeks have Pixels. Yes, right. But it's a geeky phone. I want a bare metal.” (04:19)
Leo (on AI commoditization): “If you can get orchestration and privacy, to me, that is a differentiator.” (31:28)
Paul (on privacy): “We’ve gotten very used to giving away the whole farm... The Internet’s free.” (33:54)
Paul (on Intel): “That’s the intel truck dumping the pile of money on our front lawn... That’s coming to an end or has ended.” (58:22)
Richard (on maintenance cycles): “We no longer turn to get the latest. We turn because we can't afford the maintenance sense.” (47:25)
Paul (on Windows vision videos): “Anytime anyone from Microsoft talks about Vision...everyone kind of cringes up a little bit.” (10:38)
Leo (on Notepad and Mary Jo Foley): “We just should get her something that's just like she wants—a typewriter. You understand? A computer typewriter.” (40:43)

Additional Topics

AI Browser Developments (65:09 – 72:32)

Gemini button in Chrome; minimal and slow-burn integration of AI.
Brave discloses, then helps fix, a security issue in Perplexity’s Comet browser.

Gaming News & Recap (78:11 – 92:25)

Xbox app’s ARM improvements are half-baked; many games still fail.
Gamescom updates: Call of Duty, Indiana Jones for Switch 2, upcoming hardware (ASUS Rog Ally), and price hikes for PlayStation 5.

Back of the Book Segment

- Tip of the Week: Windows ReadMe newsletter launches soon; annual Windows 11 Field Guide coming with upgrade discounts.

- App Picks: Notion’s offline update (but the real power is in Obsidian/Anytype for privacy/markdown fans)

- Richard’s Whiskey Pick: Chichibu Distillery (Japan), rare and mythical malts from Ichiro Akuto; “the definitive craft distillery in Japan,” lauded for unique whiskies like the “White Label” blend.

Conclusion

For Quick Reference

[00:01] – Google Pixel event: underwhelming launch, celebrity overload
[10:00] – Microsoft Windows “Vision”: AI, Copilot, legacy app support
[20:27] – Copilot UI/Insider program changes, app actions/Intents
[23:04] – AI commoditization, privacy & orchestration as key features
[46:38] – Lenovo’s record quarter, market trends, Intel/AMD/ARM shifts
[78:11] – Xbox/ARM gaming, Game Pass, Gamescom news
[98:11] – Notion’s offline feature, Obsidian/Anytype/Browsers for power users
[113:21] – Richard’s Whiskey Pick: Chichibu Distillery

Memorable sign-off:

“Thank you all, everybody watching. Thank you all, you winners and your dozers. We’ll see you next time on Windows Weekly.” (128:19)

(All times in MM:SS as requested; quotes attributed per speaker and timestamp.)

Windows Weekly 946: Backing up the Intel Truck

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Summary

Windows Weekly 946: Backing up the Intel Truck (August 20, 2025)

Episode Overview

Main Themes

Key Discussions & Insights

1. Google Pixel 10 Launch Event—Celebrity Hype and Missed Substance

2. Windows Insider Program: UI Change Frenzy & Copilot Evolution

3. AI Features Commoditized, Privacy as Differentiator

4. PC Industry Check-in: Lenovo’s Record Quarter & Intel’s Waning Power

5. Productivity, Note-taking, & Editor Wars

6. Windows & Notepad: Change, Backlash, and Tradition

7. Xbox & Gaming Segment: ARM, Game Streaming & Ecosystem Moves

Notable Quotes & Moments

Additional Topics

AI Browser Developments (65:09 – 72:32)

Gaming News & Recap (78:11 – 92:25)

Back of the Book Segment

- Tip of the Week: Windows ReadMe newsletter launches soon; annual Windows 11 Field Guide coming with upgrade discounts.

- App Picks: Notion’s offline update (but the real power is in Obsidian/Anytype for privacy/markdown fans)

- Richard’s Whiskey Pick: Chichibu Distillery (Japan), rare and mythical malts from Ichiro Akuto; “the definitive craft distillery in Japan,” lauded for unique whiskies like the “White Label” blend.

Conclusion

For Quick Reference

Summary

Windows Weekly 946: Backing up the Intel Truck (August 20, 2025)

Episode Overview

Main Themes

Key Discussions & Insights

1. Google Pixel 10 Launch Event—Celebrity Hype and Missed Substance

2. Windows Insider Program: UI Change Frenzy & Copilot Evolution

3. AI Features Commoditized, Privacy as Differentiator

4. PC Industry Check-in: Lenovo’s Record Quarter & Intel’s Waning Power

5. Productivity, Note-taking, & Editor Wars

6. Windows & Notepad: Change, Backlash, and Tradition

7. Xbox & Gaming Segment: ARM, Game Streaming & Ecosystem Moves

Notable Quotes & Moments

Additional Topics

AI Browser Developments (65:09 – 72:32)

Gaming News & Recap (78:11 – 92:25)

Back of the Book Segment

- Tip of the Week: Windows ReadMe newsletter launches soon; annual Windows 11 Field Guide coming with upgrade discounts.

- App Picks: Notion’s offline update (but the real power is in Obsidian/Anytype for privacy/markdown fans)

- Richard’s Whiskey Pick: Chichibu Distillery (Japan), rare and mythical malts from Ichiro Akuto; “the definitive craft distillery in Japan,” lauded for unique whiskies like the “White Label” blend.

Conclusion

For Quick Reference