WW 972: I’m A Tolkien Scholar - Phil Spencer & Sarah Bond Depart Xbox

2026-02-25

Download

Just last week, we asked about Phil Spencer and why he's been so quiet lately. Now we know why! Also, OneDrive for the Mac is finally going to look like it belongs on the Mac. And Google Chrome finally picks up a split view like the rest of the planet, plus a few other new features. PHIL SPENCER OUT AT XBOX Phil Spencer has retired from Microsoft and his heir-apparent, Sarah Bond, left Microsoft as well Report details the Xbox reorg Ex-Xbox executive issues an old guy shouting at sky assessment New Microsoft...

PHIL SPENCER OUT AT XBOX

Phil Spencer has retired from Microsoft and his heir-apparent, Sarah Bond, left Microsoft as well
Report details the Xbox reorg
Ex-Xbox executive issues an old guy shouting at sky assessment
New Microsoft Gaming CEO discusses "return to Xbox"
Hot-take: This person seems unqualified to run Xbox/MS Gaming, but let's give her a chance
Alternative hot-take: She is literally here to wind down this business, which makes no sense... unless there's a spin-off

Windows

WSJ report sheds some light, and adds a lot of confusion, to Nvidia's Windows PC plans
Week D arrived on time this month
Preview of March Patch Tuesday updates
Network speed test, pan and tilt in Camera settings, sysmon, RSAT improvements, Quick Machine Recovery improvements, WEBP background image support, Emoji 16.0
And you thought the Canary channel was weird already
-New builds for Canary, Dev, and Beta. Canary gets features we already saw elsewhere, Dev and Beta get context menu, settings, and Taskbar improvements
Paul has published (an incomplete version of) De-Enshittify Windows 11
De-enshittifying Copilot and AI is doable but not yet automated
What about the alternatives?
Next step: Security and Apps chapters
HP revenues up 6.9 percent to $14.4 billion but RAM warning is more dire than expected
Apple to add multitouch to MacBook Pro lineup in late 2026. Oh the irony

Xbox February update brings 1440p streaming to Xbox consoles, updates for Xbox ROG Ally, more
Xbox app is delivering post-game recaps on Windows 11 for Insiders
EA had the most game downloads on PC and console in 2025, thanks to having the three most popular AAA games of the year (BF6, EA Sports FC 25, and EA Sports FC 26). Microsoft was number two, followed by Take-Two, Ubisoft, and Sony. Fortnite is somehow still the biggest game overall on console, and Counter-Strike 2 (!!!!) is the biggest on PC. 20 million Fortnite players on PS, 15 million on Xbox

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: OneDrive for the Mac
App pick of the week: Google Chrome
RunAs Radio this week: SaaS on Multiple Clouds with Steve Buchanan
Brown liquor pick of the week: Sons of Vancouver Wheated Rye Whisky

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

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: