Wouldn't it be better if instead of me telling you the tech news,
I just told it to other James and he told it to you. So go ahead.
So he's saying that I'm the act is a bit of a mess. You know what, forget it.
At Microsoft's Ignite 2024 conference kickoff yesterday,
the company introduced the Windows 365 Link,
a Mac mini looking PC with a bunch of ports for $349.
Wow, cheap. Well, that's because Microsoft says this is a new class of device
that is curiously very similar to an existing class of devices
called thin clients PCs intended for the enterprise sector
that serve as terminals for cloud or network computing. But this one is the first cloud PC device for Windows 365.
If you're not counting the other computers, that can also use Microsoft's cloud PC service,
which is all of them. The selling point for this device seems to be that it's capable of even less
than existing client PCs, which actually have Windows installed,
which is probably good news to many IT people. In bad news for anyone who hopes Microsoft might untie the Gordian knot
that is their product branding, the icons for Microsoft 365 apps,
which is what they call office now, not to be confused with Windows 365,
their cloud PC service, stay with me. The app icons are not only getting little co-pilot badges,
the Microsoft 365 logo is being changed into the co-pilot logo
with a little M365 badge, something I think all of us have been waiting for a long time.
To the new Microsoft 365 co-pilot icon.
The rebranding comes alongside new cross app customizable co-pilot AI agents
making their debut in Microsoft 365.
You can summon them in Microsoft Teams where they can do things like take notes during calls
and the interpreter agent can generate live translated audio
so you can quit nodding like an idiot as if you understand what that new investor is saying.
Synergy, yeah. Windows 11 will be getting what the company calls
Microsoft 365 companions,
which are shortcuts to contacts files or calendars pinned to the taskbar
that kind of expand the start menu, kind of like phone link.
Microsoft is also launching the Windows Resiliency Initiative,
tightening some of the screws to prevent another crowd strike.
Every PC in the world is Borked situation, as well as giving Windows 11 Enterprise customers
the ability to hot patch systems without rebooting.
But let's end on something actually kind of cool. MetaQuest 3 and 3s headsets will be getting a public preview
in December allowing users to use Windows 11
streamed from either a local PC or a cloud PC
in 3D space, placing multiple monitors where you want.
And with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, you could just set up a multi-monitor workstation in Starbucks.
I mean, think about how many people you could irritate.
The US Department of Justice is certain now that it wants to knock Chrome off the Google tree
and has asked Judge Amit Meta, who ruled that Google was playing Monopoly with search back in August,
to force Google to sell off the world's most popular web browser.
Chrome. Sorry, I could tell there were a few of you
who are thinking C-Monkey. It's a bit of a weird angle to take
since the anti-competitive aspect here is more related to Android and Google search.
And to Google, that's putting it lightly. In a response given to press,
the tech giant said the DOJ continues to push a radical agenda,
and that putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers,
and American technological leadership.
Does Google think they're being forced to sell Chrome to China or something?
Look, we get TikTok, you get Chrome. Oh, this is a bad deal.
I mean, come on, DOJ, give Google a break. They're cracking down on websites,
gunking up search results with SEO slop generated by a third-party company.
The websites hired to take advantage of the SEO system
Google made in the first place. Come on, you gotta admit that's good, Dodge.
I call him Dodge.
No more middleman. I'm gonna give the quick bits to you straight
in just a second. Microsoft is allowing Game Pass Ultimate subscribers
to stream some games that they own even if that game isn't part of the Game Pass catalog.
Previously, you could only stream such games via remote play from your actual console.
So this is great news for people who own a game but don't have it installed on their Xbox
because they don't want to play it that bad. The feature's in beta now and was announced
a day after Sony launched a beta giving their PS portal handheld,
which only supported remote play for games installed on your PS5,
the ability to stream PS5 games from the cloud,
which should help the product make a bit more sense to people who weren't part of the surprisingly
large group of die-hard fans. They already thought the portal was perfect.
They're losing their shit over this. I'd like to address any Apple people who watch this show.
First off, you are resilient, kudos.
Second, update your Macs, your iPhones, and your iPads.
Cupertino has issued a patch for multiple vulnerabilities.
It's not a virus because biologically, Macs don't get those.
There are flaws in JavaScript Core and WebKit,
which are currently being actively exploited in Intel-based Macs,
which are apparently still out there for some reason when the Windows 365 link is sitting right there.
A successor to Valve's Steam Controller may be on the way soon,
according to Valve data miner Brad Lynch, who says the Steam Controller 2,
codenamed Ibex, is being tooled for mass production,
along with a separate controller design, codenamed Roy,
which is reportedly intended for use with Valve's long-rumored Deckard headset.
The original Steam Controller didn't have a lot of staying power,
despite representing Valve's big dreams for enabling mouse and keyboard-style gameplay on TVs.
I can only hope the new one won't be lost in time,
like tears and rain. Well, what'd you think of that?
It was original. Sony is in talks to acquire the parent company
of From Software, makers of Elden Ring, the Dark Souls series,
and Sekiro, first reported by Reuters and then confirmed by the company itself,
called Kadokawa. The purchase, at least to former Blizzard boss Mike Yabara,
would be a top two acquisition NVIDIA gaming.
The only thing bigger would be buying Valve or Nintendo,
which Mike doesn't see happening because frankly, if anyone buys Nintendo before Phil Spencer can,
they're liable to get an Xbox to the head, and he will be smiling as he kills.
And a group of USC students have broken the altitude record
for non-governmental, non-commercial entities,
sending the aftershock 2 rocket to a height of 470,000 feet,
beating the previous record of 380,000 feet,
set back in 2004 by the civilian space exploration team.
I really just wanted to have this in here to say good job, students.
And because I like imagining Jeff Bezos yelling about how these kids built a record-breaking rocket
in a cave with a box of scraps, USC funding has dried up a bit.
Fun fact, we build these videos in a cave with a box of scraps
three times a week, so come back on Friday for more tech news.
I might be lying, but it's a green screen, you wouldn't know.