Windows Weekly 689

Xbox Series S leaks and then is launched

•  First, the leak, then Microsoft confirms the basics
•  Then Microsoft formally announces the Xbox Series S and provides more details
•  Xbox Series X will launch alongside the S!
•  November 10 launch
•  September 22 preorders
•  All Access options for just $25, $35 per month 
•  AND EA Play is coming to Xbox Game Pass PC and Ultimate!
•  Related: Nintendo is making more Switch consoles to meet crazy demand
• Related: Flight Simulator is the biggest-ever Xbox Game Pass for PC launch
• And … Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer Reveal!

 

• Fall Surface hardware launch coming in October?
• No invites out yet, but leak about a new, smaller Surface Laptop are circulating ("Sparti")
• Paul: This sounds like a Surface Pro/Laptop hybrid to me
• Will we also see updated Surface Pro, Surface Pro X, and Surface Hub 2S 85-inch unveilings?
• Related: Surface Duos start shipping in the U.S. tomorrow, Sept. 10. The review should hit early tomorrow. Microsoft has been posting some support documentation and a new Duo ad. And it has seeded a couple of articles about how the Duo came to be – the alleged history of the device; and the supposed way the MS-Google partnership happened.

 

• TikTok Weekly
• Nothing new. Seems like the Chinese government crackdown on the algorithm has things in limbo
• The deadline imposed by Trump on a deal is next Tuesday (Sept. 15)
• Maybe related? the Pentagon said late last week it's sticking with Microsoft for JEDI. And AWS is not pleased

 

• Tip of the week: Improve the Apps Experience in Your Phone. It's going to get a lot better in the future, but you can make a small change now to ease some of the pain.
•  App pick of the week: GitHub. I've been using GitHub to host Windows 10 Field Guide for years. But now I'm using it to host four different versions of .NETpad, my Notepad clone. And I'll be making them available to the public soon.
• Related: Visual Studio Codespaces, we hardly knew you. Goodbye and welcome our new codespace overlords: GitHub Codespaces
•  Enterprise pick of the week: Fluid Framework is now officially open-sourced. Microsoft said they'd be doing this back in May at Build. As of this week, it's officially happening and developers are now welcome
•  Codename pick of the week: Lots of new Surface codenames. The Walking Cat is back after losing one of his 9 lives. And he brings gifts of lots of Surface codenames. We are finding out what a few of them are: Zeta (Duo 2 – thanks Zac Bowden); Olympus is 85-inch Surface Hub 2S (thanks Brad Sams); Epsilon was Duo 1
• Beer pick of the week: 3 Floyds Zombie Dust. You don't have to go to Muncie, Indiana anymore to get one of the nicest pale ales around. 3 Floyds Zombie Dust is now in NYC and it seems their distribution of the number of their signature beers is expanding. A nicely hopped 6.2 percent pale ale that's worth seeking out ahead of the zombie apocalypse! https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26/64228/

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Links

• Xbox Series S, Revealed
• Microsoft Officially Announces Xbox Series S, Specs Revealed
• Xbox Series X Launches November 10 at $499
• Microsoft Provides More Details About Xbox Series S
• Now I Want an Xbox Series S (Premium)
• Report: Nintendo Increases Switch Production Again
• Flight Simulator is Biggest Xbox Game Pass for PC Launch Ever
• Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer Reveal
• Microsoft is readying a smaller, Intel Core i5-based laptop: Report
• The new Surface Duo launches September 10th. Open two screens and open new possibilities
• HOW MICROSOFT BUILT ITS FOLDING ANDROID PHONE
• How Google and Microsoft teamed up to try to reinvent smartphones
• Pentagon says it plans to stick with Microsoft as JEDI cloud contract winner
• JEDI: Why we will continue to protest this politically corrupted contract award
• Tip: Streamline Your Phone’s App Integration Functionality
• Git ‘Er Done with GitHub (Premium)
• Developers using Visual Studio Codespaces will need to move to GitHub Codespaces
• September 8, 2020: Microsoft announces Fluid Framework is officially open sourced
• Lots of new Surface codenames
• Zombie Dust