Newsletter Archives

• Preparing for 24H2

  Posted on October 7, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Don’t roll out Windows 11 24H2 yet. Defer. Delay. Wait.

  Most importantly, I always say wait, even if it’s just about monthly patches. But this is about what even Microsoft says is a major release, a complete OS overwrite. That makes 24H2 even more dangerous. Let other, more venturesome, souls take the slings and arrows, and use the lessons learned.

  Those lessons may be coming fast. Within the AskWoody community, forum posts associated with last week’s MS-DEFCON 2 Alert demonstrated that some brave testers ran into problems. Other sources have reported glitches, including BSODs. I’m still collecting data and beginning my own testing.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.41.0, 2024-10-07).

  Patch Watch CUPS, CVE-2024-47076, CVE-2024-47175, CVE-2024-47176, CVE-2024-47177, iOS 18, Linux Printing, Microsoft Surface, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Port 631, Recall, Snapdragon X Elite, Windows 11 24H2, Windows Hello

• Understanding Qualcomm Snapdragon X

  Posted on September 30, 2024 at 02:41 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  SILICON

  

  By Will Fastie

  Qualcomm is not accustomed to speaking directly to consumers, making technical details difficult to find.

  Nevertheless, Qualcomm is now anxious to capture the hearts and minds of end users because its newest generation of processor, the Snapdragon X, is finding its way into many Copilot+ PCs.

  Here are a few technical details to help you through this year’s holiday buying season.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.40.0, 2024-09-30).

  Silicon Copilot+ PCs, Newsletters, Performance, Qualcomm, Snapdragon X Elite, Snapdragon X Plus, Specifications

• Microsoft’s new Copilot+ PCs don’t play nice with games

  Posted on September 16, 2024 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Microsoft is wreaking havoc in the virtual worlds of billion-dollar online gaming companies, with incompatibilities in its new Copilot+ machines.

  These much-hyped PCs feature a new processor based on power-efficient Arm chips from Qualcomm. Redmond’s shift to non-Intel silicon gives the new Windows 11 PCs a modicum of built-in artificial intelligence and other features. No access to a central AI server is needed. (See Microsoft’s introduction of the new devices.)

  But almost half of the more than 1,300 video games tested by an independent third party are running slowly, subjecting users to stuttering game play, or refusing to run at all. The worst incompatibilities affect the biggest names in multiplayer environments.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.38.0, 2024-09-16).

  Public Defender AI, Compatibility, Copilot+ PCs, Games, Neural Processing Units, Newsletters, NPUs, Qualcomm, Snapdragon X Elite

• ARM is really important for Windows 11

  Posted on July 22, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Mary Branscombe • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Mary Branscombe

  Microsoft is pushing people to Windows 11 to get AI features. Today, that means Windows 11 on ARM — even though the AI isn’t ready yet.

  When Microsoft announced the generative AI features in Windows 11 that Satya Nadella claimed would change the whole PC experience, the first thing that struck me about Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs was how very far Windows on ARM has come. The new flagship devices that will run controversial, premium new Windows features such as Recall — and are supposed to make us think of Microsoft as “the AI company” rather than “the Windows company” — are, at least initially, powered by Snapdragon X Elite processors. Those are ARM architectures.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.30.0, 2024-07-22).

  Windows 11 AI, ARM, Copilot+ PCs, Intel, Newsletters, Qualcomm, Snapdragon X Elite, Windows 11, Windows 11 24H2

• The good and bad of 24H2

  Posted on June 3, 2024 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  We’re getting closer to the next round of Microsoft’s feature releases, this time in the form of Windows 11 24H2.

  Microsoft took advantage of its recent developer conference, BUILD, to talk about what 24H2 will include. But unless you have access to Entra ID, many of the features are ho-hum at best. And if you are a consumer, you’ll skip most of the enhancements.

  Unless you like living on the edge, prepare your system now to hold back 24H2.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.23.0, 2024-06-03).

  Patch Watch ARM, Newsletters, NTLM, Patch Lady Posts, Qualcomm, Recall, Snapdragon X Elite, Surface, Windows 11, Windows 11 24H2