Windows Weekly 965: Almost Meat

Date: January 7, 2026
Podcast: All TWiT.tv Shows - Windows Weekly
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, Richard Campbell

Episode Overview

The first Windows Weekly episode of 2026 kicks off with Paul in Pennsylvania and Richard in sunny Acapulco, as they recap the biggest stories of CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2026, discuss the evolving Windows/PC ecosystem, explore hardware innovation, and dive into the latest industry trends like local AI and system security. The episode is packed with lively banter, deep dives on hardware, insight on open platforms, and even a hilarious whiskey segment. The trio’s relaxed style mixes nostalgia with the latest scoops, making this a must-listen for Windows and tech enthusiasts.

Main Themes

• CES 2026 Recap: New PCs, AI integration, hardware innovations, and the industry’s turn to more sustainable and repairable devices.
• Windows & Platform Trends: The convergence of Windows, Mac, and Linux, open platforms, and the importance of user agency.
• Local AI: Improvements in local AI tools, balancing privacy and utility, and the rise of “little tech.”
• Big Tech vs Little Tech: Trust, user empowerment, and why smaller platforms are regaining relevance.
• PC Hardware Evolution: Processors, RAM, repairability, and the impact of skyrocketing memory prices due to AI demand.
• Windows & Rust: Microsoft’s ongoing effort to modernize codebases, the realities of code refactoring, and the role of Rust.
• Smart Home, AI Agents, & Security: The challenge of “insertifying” products, the future of smart (and sometimes too smart) TVs, and advances in encryption.

Key Discussion Points & Timestamps

1. CES 2026 – Major Announcements & PC Innovations

• [02:22] None of the hosts attended CES in Vegas—"I value my time and my sanity." –Paul
• AI, robots, and better hardware headline the show. Chip makers (Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, Qualcomm) released new CPUs and NPUs, focusing on AI performance.
• [05:42] Intel Panther Lake is the star chip; AMD’s Zen 5 gets a minor but notable bump; Snapdragon X2 introduced.
  • Paul’s take after daily driving a Panther Lake laptop: “Performance and efficiency…it’s actually a big deal, other than the standard Intel reliability issues.”
• [09:27] OEMs’ (Original Equipment Manufacturers) critical role in making hardware “just work”—"Lenovo is the biggest PC maker in the world. They do a great job with that stuff." –Paul
• Repairability and sustainability: "You can pick one of these things up, unscrew four screws, and replace the SSD." –Paul, [30:08]

2. Windows, Linux, and Mac – Are They Converging?

• [10:45-13:35] The hosts riff on the growing OS parity: “Honestly, the kernel...on Apple, Windows, and Linux are roughly capable. So what really matters is the customization on top." –Leo
• The “wall of difference” is now mostly user experience and apps—“With the advent of web apps, the differences on all three [platforms] are evening out.” –Paul
• The choice today hinges on user preference, inertia, and device ecosystem, especially as open source offers more “make your own” options.

3. Big Tech, Little Tech & Trust

• [15:58] Richard: “It’s a cycle. You start with a closed system...then as it stabilizes, you move to open platforms for price and choice.”
• [16:50] Paul: “For most mainstream users, the average consumer does not care—they just want to do their thing.”
• [17:45] Richard: The promise and pitfalls of “legacy cruft” being stripped away on devices like Snapdragon-powered Windows machines.

4. ARM, Snapdragon, Intel & AMD – Platform Battles

• [21:10] Paul: “I run the cheapest Snapdragon anything you could buy, and it’s wonderful...the best laptop I reviewed this year, and I paid for it myself.”
• [22:00] Paul: “Snapdragon is a first-class citizen at this point [in Windows].” The x86 world still lingers for some legacy apps.

5. Hardware News & Industry Trends

• [23:58] Lenovo’s rollable screens and multi-display innovations—“Any hybrid device...the goal is one device that does two things without compromise.”
• [25:27] NVIDIA’s strategy as AI/data center demand spikes: “They’re branching out because they know this can’t last forever.”
• First “Copilot Plus PC” desktops are coming—tiny form factors, integrated keyboard-PCs (Commodore 64 style!), etc.

6. AI, Repairability, and RAM Price Squeeze

• [29:03] LG introduces “arominum”—a quirky new lightweight laptop material.
• [30:08, 32:10] The right-to-repair movement gains traction, but soldered RAM often limits upgradeability.
• [33:24] Impact of AI on RAM pricing: “Are we going to start seeing PCs with 8GB RAM again? I don’t think so. But this could be a little wrench.”
• [34:42] Paul shares a funny Gemini AI hallucination story: "I very detailed, I explained why and blah, blah, blah. And then it said, ‘Here’s a picture of an astronaut floating in space.’ And I’m like, when did you turn into Siri?”
  [Timestamp: 35:54]

7. Robots in the Home: Utility or Gimmick?

• [37:03] Light-hearted debate on humanoid vs. purpose-built robots; the hosts’ fear of robot toilets and accidental “chimpanzee-level” strength in household bots.
• “We’re already treating these stupid little things (Roombas, maps) like people.” –Paul
• “Do you want a hundred little robots in your house or one that does everything?” –Leo

8. Microsoft News & Windows – The Rustification Debate

• [48:38 etc.] Microsoft’s goal to eliminate C and C++ from their codebase in favor of Rust by 2030.
  • Misunderstood as “rewriting Windows in Rust”—not quite, but refactoring is happening.
  • “It’s possible to point AI at code and say, refactor this in Rust. The fantasy scenario...is the NT kernel.” –Paul
• [53:51, 54:02] Richard on Rust’s benefits: “Certain decisions made in Rust are very helpful—including type safety and buffer overflow elimination.”
  • Noting lessons from the past: Copying buggy behavior in rewrites must be assessed deliberately.

9. BitLocker Hardware Acceleration – Security Gets a Speed Boost

• [58:27-79:13]
  • New hardware-accelerated BitLocker (beginning with Windows 11 25H2 and Server 2025) improves encrypted drive performance, especially on NVMe SSDs.
  • Feature currently only works with next-gen CPUs/support.
  • “If you can’t update your hardware, you get almost no benefit right now, but it’ll be big as these CPUs roll out.” –Paul

10. Local AI & “Little Tech” Recommendations

• [110:57-117:43] Paul’s Little Tech Focus
  • “One of the big focuses I’m going to have this year is what I think of as little tech—alternatives to big tech, not out of ideology, but because they actually care about the customer.”
  • Key local AI tools explored:
    • Jan.AI: “Looks and feels like ChatGPT. The only trick—you have to go pick a model, but for most people, this is almost there.”
    • LM Studio, anything-llm: For heavyweight/technical users.
  • “I feel like this is going to be the year—running good enough, local AI on your own computer.” –Paul

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On CES:

  • “As a tech writer…there are certain times of the year I cannot stand. Black Friday. CES. It’s just everyone selling crap. Could we not just focus on the stupid for a couple seconds?” —Paul, [03:42]

• On AI-powered Windows:

  • “When people question why Microsoft would add AI to Windows, I will point to things like this—text editing that works across apps. That’s the point of the platform.” —Paul, [66:44]

• On Microsoft’s Rust Effort:

  • “My goal is we’re going to eliminate every line of C/C++ code from Microsoft by 2030. We’re going to use AI and algorithms to do this.” —Paul (paraphrasing Galen Hunt), [48:44]
  • “There’s a bias when low-level C devs bring their habits to Rust—you need someone who thinks in Rust.” —Richard, [53:13]

• On Robot Home Assistants:

  • Richard (on what it would take to accept a robot): “I asked she who must be obeyed...‘Toilets. If you can do a perfect toilet…’ That’s the killer app.” [38:47]
  • Leo: “My biggest concern with humanoid robots—they look all cute and cuddly, but it’s like having a chimp in the house. You forget how strong they are. That thing could crack your skull.”

• On Local AI and ‘Little Tech’:

  • “This is not ideological. It’s about trust. I define a little tech company as one small enough to care about customers and competition.” —Paul, [115:14]
  • Leo: “Jan comes with its own model. When you download Jan, which is free, it says ‘quick start, use my model’, and it’s pretty impressive.” [119:04]

• On Game Nostalgia:

  • “We played Doom on all our own giant screens. It was awesome. For thirty years playing these games, I still say ‘have a blast’ out loud to nobody—but sometimes they hear me over the mic.” —Paul, [96:54]
  • “It’s almost meat!” [Arby’s reference via Richard]

Fun & Tangents

• Whiskey Segue:

  • Icelandic whiskey that tastes like fish (“If you ever thought what whiskey needs is a vague fish taste, try this.” —Paul)
  • Singleton of Dufftown: A “recruitment malt” for new whisky fans; not recommended for connoisseurs, but “keeps the price down.”

• Smart TV Annoyances:

  • LG pushes Copilot app to TVs, causing customer backlash (“Am I the only person on earth that wants a dumb TV?” —Paul) [85:58]
  • Discussion of DNS blocking (pi-hole, nextdns) to neuter unwanted TV “features.”

Recommendations & Picks

Local AI (Tip of the Week) – [110:57+]

• Jan.AI: Easy-to-use local LLM; install, choose a model, and get offline ChatGPT-like experiences.
• LM Studio: More technical, but robust for local model use.
• Bonjour (Browser Extension): A beautiful, minimalist new tab/homepage extension for any browser.

Whiskey of the Week

• Singleton of Dufftown 12 (Speyside): “A recruitment malt—light, easy, inoffensive. Best for newbies, not for aficionados.”

Closing & Upcoming

• Next episode promised to be “from the beach in Acapulco” (sound permitting).
• Richard off to Scotland for whisky tours; Paul continues exploring local AI.
• Final encouragement by Leo to join Club TWiT for ad-free episodes and bonus content.

This episode is an entertaining, deep, and wide-ranging start to 2026, blending serious industry insight with the personalities and nostalgia that make Windows Weekly a tech podcast classic.

End of Summary