Newsletter Archives
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Intel’s troubles
ISSUE 21.33 • 2024-08-12 INTEL
By Will Fastie
In the nearly 50 years I’ve been following Intel, I’ve never seen the company in such disarray. Things are bad.
On August 1, Intel released its financial results for its second fiscal quarter ending July 31. Although there was a tiny bright spot in its Client Computing Group (up 9% year over year), net revenue was down 1% and the company recorded a quarterly loss of USD $1.6 billion, nearly $3 billion lower year over year.
Intel’s stock dropped by over 25% in the two following days. And that’s just one of Intel’s problems.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.33.0, 2024-08-12).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter. -
The good and bad of 24H2
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).
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BitLocker-related update triggers install problems
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
January starts off the year with a bang, in the form of an install problem that may affect some of your Windows 10 PCs.
Fortunately, this problematic update is a separate security patch, not part of the normal cumulative Windows update nor of the .NET security updates.
The problem occurs as the result of a recovery partition whose size is smaller than the patch requires. The size may have been set by the OEM. It may have been fine at the time of release, but the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) now needs more.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.03.0, 2024-01-15).
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A strong Microsoft
MICROSOFT NEWS
By Will Fastie
Microsoft’s FY24 Q1 numbers are excellent and will please investors, but results in certain sectors may spell future trouble.
These days, decoding financial statements can be very difficult, much more so than during my time as a securities analyst in the ’90s. Complicating matters today are strained economies, inflation, political uncertainty, post-pandemic recoveries, supply-chain disruption, and currency fluctuations.
Despite all that, Microsoft’s first-quarter financial results justify optimism.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.44.0, 2023-10-30).
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Windows 11, Surface, and Windows Copilot
ISSUE 20.39 • 2023-09-25 MICROSOFT NEWS
By Will Fastie
In case we didn’t realize it already, Microsoft told us where we are headed.
Last week, Microsoft held an event in New York. The bulk of the presentation was about AI, specifically Windows Copilot. Not Copilot, but Windows Copilot.
This is deeply significant.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.39.0, 2023-09-25).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter. -
Microsoft’s fall Surface event
MICROSOFT NEWS
By Will Fastie
For once, Microsoft pulls off a professional event.
For those of you who follow my coverage of significant Microsoft announcements, you know I’ve had a somewhat negative opinion of the presentations. On October 12, the company conducted its fall event to announce new Surface models. The presentation may not have exceeded my expectations, but it at least met them.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.42.0, 2022-10-17).
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Bulging batteries in Surface laptops are a growing issue
PUBLIC DEFENDER
By Brian Livingston
More and more users of Microsoft Surface 2-in-1 laptop computers are reporting a bent and battered screen that’s been curved by a dangerously bulging battery that protrudes from its frame.
This was first covered in an AskWoody post on December 5, 2019. At that time, the post linked to 10 forum threads at Microsoft Answers, Reddit, and elsewhere. The forums contained dozens of stories describing similar-sounding problems.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.44.0 (2021-11-15).
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Windows 11 Surfaces
MICROSOFT NEWS
By Will Fastie
Microsoft’s September event showcased its updated Surface lineup and doubled down on the Duo 2.
While Microsoft’s livestream presentation of September 2 was not tremendously exciting, it was a well-done description of the new Surface devices and was hosted by Panos Panay, in fine form.
I won’t bore you with every detail, but here are some good sources of information.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.37.0 (2021-09-27).