WW 990: Don't Be Nostalgic for Stupid - The Doom & Gloom Watch

Windows

• Microsoft quietly extends the Windows 10 Extended Security Update program one year to October 2027 for consumers

Windows Insider

• Windows Update is transitioning to the new Windows Insider experience by default
• Plus, five new builds across Beta, Experimental, Beta (26H1), Experimental (26H1), and Experimental (Future Platforms) — new Taskbar size setting is the much-needed new feature

Hardware

• Apple raises prices on Macs, iPads, and more, easing pressure on PC makers
• Microsoft quietly begins selling 8 GB Surface Pro/Laptop models
• Microsoft reportedly kills Surface Go products right when we need them the most
• The ASUS Zenbook A16 is nearly perfect, but it's unclear what you get with an X2 Elite Extreme chip

AI

• HP partners with OpenAI for its agentic makeover
• Anthropic seizes on the "good enough" AI movement with Sonnet 5
• Proton Lumo 2.0 is here
• Gemini personalized image creator is available for free in the US
• Notion blames agentic AI for it killing Notion Mail

Xbox and Gaming
The 2026 Doom and Gloom Watch

• Xbox Series X|S prices to go up again, by $150, on August 1 - and the 2 TB X is going away
• Undead Labs and Arkane Lyon possible victims of pending closures
• Latest rumor: Microsoft to layoff 2.5 percent of workforce next week - that's 5,500 people, less than expected, but that's because of the earlier voluntary buyouts, which apparently met internal expectations
• Minecraft Bedrock edition gets closed captions
• Sony will stop selling PS physical media in 2028

Tips and Picks

• Tip of the week: Help or get out of the way
• People who just complain aren't solving problems, they're just making noise and distracting us from the real problems.

App Pick of the Week: Snapdragon Control Panel

• If you have a Windows 11 on Arm PC on Snapdragon X or X2, you need this app to make games run as well as possible.
• Plus - Settings > System > Display > Graphics for Auto SR and other settings and whatever is in each game

RunAs Radio this week: AI-Accelerated Supply Chain Attacks with Mackenzie Duncan

Brown liquor pick of the week: Rupert's Exceptional Canadian Whisky

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

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Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

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