WW 994: The Best Kind of Correct - Can Windows Survive the 8GB RAM Comeback?

There's been so much drama over what options Microsoft will allow for the Copilot key. But you don't have to wait for a future Windows update; you can remap any key with Microsoft's own Keyboard Manager PowerToy. More people should take advantage of this. Also, Paul just finished his major 2026 rewrite of the Windows 11 Field Guide! Every single chapter was rewritten or consolidated, with several new chapters added. Lastly, the OG Halo remake is a great reminder of how good this series was in the beginning. And it looks and plays terrific.
Windows
Week D updates arrive on time this month
Windows Hello ESS support for external fingerprint readers, many small improvements
Experimental (Future Platforms) finally gets an update, but it's just the features we saw elsewhere first
Several in-box app updates for July, nothing major
Microsoft convinces LG to drop the McAfee ads, but HP's Bing ads are A-OK
Chris tested Windows 11 with 8GB of RAM and the experience is not great
Paul has a Wildcat-based laptop waiting for him in PA
Microsoft is testing a "Do nothing" option for the Copilot key
Your Windows 11 PC now has a OneDrive Photos app for some reason
Opera One gets vertical tabs, deeper Google Lens integration
Earnings
Google/Alphabet - net income of $28 billion on $120 billion in revenues, but negative cash flow for the first time in the company's history
Intel - net loss of $11 million, no Foundry customers leaves Wall Street swooning for some reason
AI
Microsoft begins shifting to its own MAI models, but the forward progress is minimal
NVIDIA, Microsoft, more team up for AI empire, er, Alliance
Anthropic launches Claude Opus 5
Xbox and gaming
Halo: Campaign Evolved is here
XBOX went down for the count for most of the day on Monday. But disc-based games still worked
XBOX begins testing ad-supported Cloud Gaming
Ubisoft game purchases on Xbox now carry over to PC for free
Luna comes to Prime Video app
Tips and picks
Tip of the week: Remap keys with PowerToys Keyboard Manager
App pick of the week: Halo Campaign Evolved
Chris's pick of the week: His new newsletter! https://preferences.pcmag.com/PCMag/windows-guide
Hosts: Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott
Guest: Chris Hoffman
Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Sponsors:
joindeleteme.com/twit-biz
cirasync.com/Windows
canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT