Windows Weekly 949: "How Do I Get Back to Windows 7?"

Date: September 11, 2025
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, Richard Campbell
Summary by ChatGPT Podcast Summarizer

Overview

This episode of Windows Weekly explores the latest developments in Windows 11, Microsoft's ongoing feature rollouts, industry shakeups, and the ever-evolving landscape of AI in technology. The hosts, broadcasting from different corners of the globe, break down the September Patch Tuesday update, new hardware from IFA Berlin, Lenovo’s latest concepts, and headline-catching stories like Atlassian’s surprising move into browsers, the shifting landscape of enterprise software, and Microsoft’s approach to remote work. Lively conversation, sharp wit, and decades of experience flavor their takes on user experience, recurring tech annoyances, and the future of both Windows and PC hardware.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Windows 11 Patch Tuesday: September 2025 Update

Timestamps: 02:03 – 18:00

• Massive Update Before 25H2: This Patch Tuesday brings “one of the bigger” monthly updates to Windows 11, likely the last big update before version 25H2. Features are largely rolled out to both 23H2 and 24H2 thanks to Microsoft’s enablement packages.
• Feature Highlights:
  • Taskbar Search: Revamped with a “new grid view for images,” reminiscent of web UI trends from the late ’90s. (03:25)
  • Notification Center Improvements: Re-adds the option to show the clock in the notification center, though still not fully restoring Windows 10’s calendar functions.
  • System Dialogues: Now all modal, with new effects like dimmed desktop backgrounds.
  • File Explorer: Minor visual updates including thin divider lines between action buttons.
  • Context Menu Bloat: Right-click context menus continue to grow with AI-driven “app actions” and integrations, contradicting the original Windows 11 goal of UI simplicity.

    “One of the points of Windows 11 was to simplify these menus...here we are four and a half years later and it’s getting longer and longer.” — Paul Thurrott (07:12)

  • Widget Updates: Desktop and lock screen widgets can now be more deeply customized—resized, reordered, and tailored to user preference. (11:28)
  • Recall & Copilot Features: Enhanced recent app/site navigation and filter controls, intended for power-users and Copilot+ PCs; however, only 1% of users have access.

2. Security & End-of-Life Nuances for Windows 10

Timestamps: 18:01 – 21:46

• Windows 10 is approaching “end-of-life,” but security updates will continue for paid Extended Security Support customers, a recurring Microsoft tradition (asterisks required).
• Discussion around authentication: Windows Hello is making passkey options more visible, but unlike Linux, Windows configurations aren’t text-file based—GUI reigns supreme.

  “Windows has pretty much always been GUI focused...I don’t believe there is a text file you could go and edit to achieve what we’re talking about here.” — Paul Thurrott (21:08)

3. Hardware at IFA Berlin: PC Concepts & Intel Shakeups

Timestamps: 34:01 – 58:29

• Intel Management Shakeup: Seasoned veteran Jim Johnson takes over the Client Computing Group after leadership changes. His recent keynote (“busted the myth that x86 can’t be power efficient!”) was met with dead silence at IFA—audience skepticism abounds. (38:38)

  “He paused to silence because everyone in that audience has reviewed these laptops and we all looked at each other, we were like, what?” — Paul Thurrott (38:43)

• Lenovo Concept Devices:
  • Auto-Adjustable Laptop Stand: Moves and tilts the laptop/camera to keep the user in frame—an extension of prior concept work.
  • Low-Blue-Light Display: Virtually eliminates blue light emissions without compromising color fidelity.
  • Vertiflex Rotating Laptop Display: Lets the user switch from landscape to portrait orientation effortlessly—a feature developers and writers might love.
  • Rollable Screens: Now out as products; horizontal rollable screens teased for the future.
  • Affordable Android tablets with keyboard/trackpad accessories: Highlighting “not just for work” devices.

4. The Browser Wars: Atlassian Buys The Browser Company

Timestamps: 64:26 – 74:46

• Atlassian’s $600+ million acquisition of The Browser Company (makers of Arc and the new Dia browser) raises eyebrows. The intention appears to be:
  • “A Chromium-based enterprise-focused browser, potentially loaded with AI integrations and tightly tied to Atlassian’s suite.”
  • Consumer concerns abound that Arc/Dia may be sidelined in favor of business-focused development; worries about potential paid-only models.

    “I would ask you to go look at Comet from Perplexity because I am really nervous about what they’re going to do with this thing...” — Paul Thurrott (69:29)

  • The consensus: companies (see Slack and Salesforce) don't always kill consumer products, but enterprise focus rarely works out in end-users' favor.

5. Microsoft’s Return-To-Office Mandate

Timestamps: 84:21 – 87:24

• Microsoft joins the growing trend, requiring employees within 50 miles of an office to be on-campus at least three days a week. Position leaves latitude to individual team leads; not a one-size-fits-all approach.

  “More stuff happens when you’re [together in person]...I’m not saying it has to be everyday...there is something about it.” — Paul Thurrott (86:16)

6. Security, Bing, and “Gross Negligence”

Timestamps: 88:59 – 92:34

• A U.S. Senator rails against Microsoft for “gross cybersecurity negligence” after a hospital employee uses Bing to download malware. The real issue: deprecated encryption protocols (RC4 et al.) remain enabled for compatibility. The hosts dissect the trade-off between legacy support and security in enterprise Windows environments.

7. Major Open Source Release: Microsoft 6502 BASIC

Timestamps: 92:34 – 98:10

• Microsoft open-sources its classic 6502 BASIC, the engine behind computers such as the Apple II and Commodore PET, complete with documentation, Easter eggs, and historical insight.

  “I love it that it says...credits it to Bill Gates, Paul Allen and it says math by...the guy who did it in the cafeteria.” — Leo Laporte (95:37)

8. Developer Updates: Visual Studio & Microsoft Store

Timestamps: 99:07 – 111:12

• Visual Studio 2026 Preview launched with a modern Fluent UI, integrated AI, and side-by-side installations with configuration migration.
• Microsoft Store now lets individual/hobbyist developers publish apps without a credit card and at no cost. Store claims 250M “monthly active users”—the panel debates what counts as "active".

9. Mobile OS Updates and UX Overhauls

Timestamps: 111:37 – 119:37

• Android 16 Feature Drop: Pixel phones receive the QPR1 release, introducing dramatic UX and visual changes, though not universally loved.

• Upgrade Cycles: Smartphones average a 3.5-year upgrade cycle; PCs, about 7–8 years—making continuous feature drops an odd fit for the PC world.

  “The thing that gets upgraded the least is where the most chaotic and spastic schedule of all happens.” — Paul Thurrott (115:17)

10. AI and Browser News: Malpractice, Partnerships, and More

Timestamps: 122:26 – 134:23

• Microsoft is rumored to be supplementing its AI needs with Anthropic’s models, despite owning OpenAI and developing Microsoft Copilot.
• Anthropic faces a potentially “quadrillion-dollar” class-action suit for copyright infringement, settling for $1.5 billion instead.
• Google begins clearly documenting AI model limits, tiers, and features—a model the panel hopes Microsoft and others will follow.
• On iOS 26, Firefox mobile uses device-based Apple Intelligence for on-device summarization.

11. Xbox & Gaming Tech

Timestamps: 137:13 – 149:59

• Lenovo Legion Go 2: New handheld gaming PC, bigger, with detachable controllers. Coming in October, it’ll soon ship with the new Xbox OS for handhelds.
• Meta (AR) and Lenovo Glasses: AR glasses used for movies or gaming in economy travel scenarios—a low-cost Vision Pro alternative for basic external display.
• Xbox Cloud Gaming in Cars: Xbox hits LG-powered dashboards in Kia cars—an innovation that prompts safety and nausea concerns.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Paul Thurrott on Windows 11 Context Menus (07:12):
  “One of the points of Windows 11 was to simplify these menus...here we are four and a half years later and it’s getting longer and longer.”
• On Intel’s IFA Keynote (38:43):
  “He paused to silence because everyone in that audience has reviewed these laptops and we all looked at each other, we were like, what?”
• On Atlassian’s Arc Browser Buyout (69:29):
  “I would ask you to go look at Comet from Perplexity because I am really nervous about what they’re going to do with this thing...”
• On Microsoft’s Return-to-Office Mandate (86:16):
  “More stuff happens when you’re [together in person]...I’m not saying it has to be everyday...there is something about it.”
• Leo on BASIC’s Documentation (95:37):
  “I love it that it says...credits it to Bill Gates, Paul Allen and it says math by...the guy who did it in the cafeteria.”
• Paul Thurrott on PC Upgrade Cycles (115:17):
  “The thing that gets upgraded the least is where the most chaotic and spastic schedule of all happens.”

Other Highlights and Picks

• Proton and Bitwarden Emergency Access: Both services now make it easier to designate emergency access contacts for your digital life—important for end-of-life planning. (153:43)
• Visual Studio’s Fluent Redesign: After 15 years, VS moves away from WPF, with a smoother migration process for existing projects.
• Paul’s Quick Picks:
  • "iWar" book about Apple App Store battles (152:22)
  • Dave Plummer interview on Windows history
  • Free Microsoft 365 Personal for U.S. students
  • Proton’s emergency access setting
• Richard’s Whiskey Pick: A South African corn-based whiskey, Beauplass 8 Single Grain—sweet, inexpensive, and best for curiosity rather than connoisseurship. (157:01)

Final Thoughts

The episode is a gold mine for anyone interested in the intersection of user experience, PC hardware trends, enterprise software, and the unpredictable turns of the tech industry. The hosts’ blend of history, skepticism, and humor brings perspective to the fast-moving world of Windows, PC concepts, and digital services.
If you haven’t listened, this summary covers the major ground—you’ll miss a few laughs (and the full flavor of the hosts’ banter), but you’ll walk away fully caught up on the Windows and enterprise tech world as of September 2025.