Windows Weekly 994

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

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Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

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Links

• Optional July Updates for Windows 11 Are Now Available
• Microsoft Issues a New Windows 11 Insider Experimental (Future Platforms) Build
• Windows Insiders Get More Windows 11 In-Box App Updates
• Microsoft Asks LG to Stop Pushing McAfee Ads to Windows 11 Users With LG Monitors
• Microsoft accepts defeat on the Windows 11 Copilot key with a “Do nothing” switch, but PCs still ship with it
• Windows 11 is quietly installing OneDrive Photos, and it wants to scan your photos for faces if you allow it
• Opera One Gets Vertical Tabs, Upgraded Google Lens Experience
• Alphabet/Google Revenues Jump 24 Percent to $120 Billion
• Intel Revenues Jump 25 Percent
• Microsoft AI Announces New Model Variants, Minor Shift Away from OpenAI
• Nvidia, Microsoft, and Other Tech Companies Announce Open Secure AI Alliance
• Anthropic Launches Claude Opus 5
• Halo: Campaign Evolved is Now Available in Early Access
• Big Xbox Outage
• Microsoft Starts Testing Free Ad-Supported Game Streaming With Xbox Insiders
• Xbox Gamers Purchasing Select Ubisoft Games Will Now Get the PC Version for Free
• Amazon’s Luna Cloud Gaming Service Comes to the Prime Video App in the US and UK
• Keyboard Manager utility
• Windows 11 Field Guide
• Halo: Campaign Evolved: Initial Screenshots
• Halo: Campaign Evolved Review
• FREE Windows Guide Newsletter & Expert analysis from PCMag's Chris Hoffman