The legacy of Microsoft’s digital entertainment ambitions took another blow last week, as the company finally shuttered the Movies & TV service in the Microsoft Store—marking the last vestiges of Zune, the company’s ill-fated detour into consumer-focused media services. This move, while not entirely surprising, signals the end of an era for anyone who remembers when Microsoft cleaved off not only eBooks (in 2019) and music sales (in 2017), but also actively courted consumers to purchase digital goods within its ecosystem. It is, bluntly, another chapter in the long chronicle of Microsoft misjudging consumer wants—especially when set against the backdrop of Copilot and Copilot+ PC’s ongoing struggles.
Shuttering Movies & TV is, fundamentally, an admission that Microsoft’s initial vision for digital media never quite aligned with how consumers behave. Early iterations as Groove Video and Xbox Video failed to make headway against Apple or Amazon, with the Zune brand becoming more of a meme than a marketplace. Yet, what’s most telling is the wider lesson this move underlines—not just about Microsoft, but about the dangers of closing digital ecosystems.
For any digital goods purchased through Microsoft, users are now learning the hard way: to be wary of buying “forever” content tied to a specific provider. As Paul Thurrott and others put it, “You would have to be insane to buy content from Microsoft.” Fortunately, some content will transfer out via Movies Anywhere, and the Movies & TV app can still access existing libraries on Windows for now, though it's no longer bundled by default—a subtle message that users should prepare for a final withdrawal.
For all users, some Copilot features are rolling out globally, with “Copilot Vision” (currently U.S.-only), Edge Game Assist, and streamlined Quick Machine Recovery. Yet, confusion reigns: even keen followers need a “scorecard” to keep up.
Analysts and members of the Windows community argue that selling reliability, efficiency, battery life, and all-around performance would resonate far more than marketing a handful of AI “gimmicks.” The best features of Copilot+ should, they believe, be rolled out to all modern devices with suitable GPUs—not restricted by arbitrary hardware segmentation.
Microsoft, ironically, is now in the odd position of failing to deliver on consumer AI promises and then attempting to redefine what users want from AI itself. The repeated launches and pivots—sometimes within months—underscore an ongoing identity crisis for Microsoft’s consumer ambitions.
Crucially, Microsoft’s pursuit of AI integration has not been without risk. Recent weeks brought to light a major security flaw in Microsoft SharePoint, underscoring real dangers in the company’s move to rapidly integrate AI and new cloud-oriented backends at every level of the stack. When user trust is paramount, such lapses quickly become viral proof points for Microsoft’s critics.
It’s not just technical risk. Increasingly, privacy-conscious users are wary of how Copilot stores, processes, and learns from their data. With generative AI under scrutiny worldwide (especially in the European Union and California), Microsoft will need to work harder to assure users of robust privacy protections as well as rigorous patching.
While many of these enhancements target accessibility and usability, the broader problem remains: meaningful, user-centered advances are drowned out by the clamor around AI and Copilot. Bug fixes in the Canary channel arrive, vanish, and are often eclipsed by more eye-catching—but less impactful—news. Critics argue that too often, Preview builds now feel more like a treadmill than a path to substantive OS improvement.
In a related milestone, desktop Linux has edged past the 5 percent usage threshold—albeit, in part, due to better ARM support and growing disdain for restrictively closed platforms. This opens up subtle but important competitive pressure on Windows, which risks losing enthusiasts frustrated by slow-moving improvements or limited device options.
Yet, Intel layoffs—worse than expected and with more likely to come—highlight the volatility underpinning the PC hardware world. As Microsoft attempts to redefine the market with its own hardware reference designs, it remains limited by supply-chain swings and confusion over ARM vs. x86.
In stark contrast to Microsoft’s “AI everywhere” mantra, DuckDuckGo’s move is reactive, embracing a sizeable user segment eager for search and browser experiences that remain tightly under individual control.
The lesson is clear. Users want not only new capabilities, but assurances about privacy, price, and long-term trust. Open source, robust offline modes, and clear, simple subscription models remain major selling points.
The fate of Copilot and Copilot+ PC is still unclear. If Microsoft can pivot away from chasing AI buzzwords and instead double down on reliability, performance, and user choice, it may yet reclaim its role as the default platform for both business and personal computing. Until then, users are wise to keep one eye on the “off” switch—both for digital purchases and for cloud-powered AI—lest Microsoft’s next pivot leave them stranded once more.
Source: Thurrott.com Windows Weekly 942: World of Wonder
Microsoft’s Entertainment Retreat: The End of Movies & TV
Shuttering Movies & TV is, fundamentally, an admission that Microsoft’s initial vision for digital media never quite aligned with how consumers behave. Early iterations as Groove Video and Xbox Video failed to make headway against Apple or Amazon, with the Zune brand becoming more of a meme than a marketplace. Yet, what’s most telling is the wider lesson this move underlines—not just about Microsoft, but about the dangers of closing digital ecosystems.For any digital goods purchased through Microsoft, users are now learning the hard way: to be wary of buying “forever” content tied to a specific provider. As Paul Thurrott and others put it, “You would have to be insane to buy content from Microsoft.” Fortunately, some content will transfer out via Movies Anywhere, and the Movies & TV app can still access existing libraries on Windows for now, though it's no longer bundled by default—a subtle message that users should prepare for a final withdrawal.
A Broader Trend: Microsoft’s Consumer Disconnect
This shift is paralleled by Microsoft’s overall lukewarm relationship with individual consumers. The killing-off of major content categories is consistent with the company’s frequent reassessments about who its platforms are really for. Enterprise and productivity remain the twin engines; attempts at media and consumer features have repeatedly failed to gain traction.Windows 11: Week D Updates Bring AI—and Confusion
Transitioning away from digital media, Microsoft’s efforts are now focused squarely on Windows 11 and Copilot, with the recent “Week D” update cycle providing yet another glimpse into the rapidly shifting landscape. One consistent complaint: the product experience is becoming fragmented, especially with the muddled boundary between Copilot+ PCs and standard Windows 11 devices.Patch Tuesday Previews and Feature Bifurcation
The latest preview updates hit both Windows 11 23H2 and Windows 10, but it’s in the dichotomy between Copilot+ PCs (powered by Snapdragon X Elite, AMD, and the latest Intel chips) and regular Windows 11 computers where friction emerges. For Copilot+ PCs, new features include a Settings agent, improvements to Click to Do, Photo Relight in the Photos app, a sticker generator, and object selection in Paint. These are pitched as generative AI experiences, exclusive for now, and reinforce the marketing narrative of cutting-edge on-device AI.For all users, some Copilot features are rolling out globally, with “Copilot Vision” (currently U.S.-only), Edge Game Assist, and streamlined Quick Machine Recovery. Yet, confusion reigns: even keen followers need a “scorecard” to keep up.
The Real Story Behind Copilot+ PC Branding
The Copilot+ PC initiative was intended as Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s growing dominance in ARM-based laptops and the generative AI hype cycle. In reality, the current rollout exemplifies a branding problem. By leaning heavily on AI features that are, at present, relatively “negligible” in daily impact, Microsoft’s messaging has set expectations it cannot (yet) fulfill.Analysts and members of the Windows community argue that selling reliability, efficiency, battery life, and all-around performance would resonate far more than marketing a handful of AI “gimmicks.” The best features of Copilot+ should, they believe, be rolled out to all modern devices with suitable GPUs—not restricted by arbitrary hardware segmentation.
Microsoft, ironically, is now in the odd position of failing to deliver on consumer AI promises and then attempting to redefine what users want from AI itself. The repeated launches and pivots—sometimes within months—underscore an ongoing identity crisis for Microsoft’s consumer ambitions.
Copilot (and Security): Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire
Copilot is now showing up everywhere: the right sidebar in Edge, taskbar chats, and even as a pervasive annotation and content helper. Some of this is genuinely useful for accessibility and quick tasks. However, “Copilot” as a unified branding covers a wide, uneven landscape of features—many of which are inconsistently available, under-tested, or slow to roll out outside the U.S.Crucially, Microsoft’s pursuit of AI integration has not been without risk. Recent weeks brought to light a major security flaw in Microsoft SharePoint, underscoring real dangers in the company’s move to rapidly integrate AI and new cloud-oriented backends at every level of the stack. When user trust is paramount, such lapses quickly become viral proof points for Microsoft’s critics.
Security and Privacy: Unanswered Questions
One of the perennial strengths of Microsoft’s business products—deep integration, a unified ecosystem—can become a liability when security flaws are discovered. SharePoint’s notable vulnerability is only the latest trigger for wider scrutiny. As more AI-powered features are funneled into core productivity apps and the Windows OS itself, the potential blast radius of bugs, leaks, or exploits expands.It’s not just technical risk. Increasingly, privacy-conscious users are wary of how Copilot stores, processes, and learns from their data. With generative AI under scrutiny worldwide (especially in the European Union and California), Microsoft will need to work harder to assure users of robust privacy protections as well as rigorous patching.
Windows Insider Program: Small Steps, Slow Progress
The Insider Program continues to serve as Microsoft’s “experimental lab” for features that may (or may not) end up in general release. Notable changes in recent builds include new “Describe Image” action for Click to Do (now supporting AMD and Intel devices in addition to ARM), improved Narrator image descriptions, expanded performance logging, a searchable Click to Do bar, enhanced lock screen customizations, and incremental privacy improvements across Dev and Beta channels.While many of these enhancements target accessibility and usability, the broader problem remains: meaningful, user-centered advances are drowned out by the clamor around AI and Copilot. Bug fixes in the Canary channel arrive, vanish, and are often eclipsed by more eye-catching—but less impactful—news. Critics argue that too often, Preview builds now feel more like a treadmill than a path to substantive OS improvement.
Windows Apps and Hardware: Arm Finally Arrives
One of the more concrete wins this week is the arrival of official Focusrite drivers for Windows 11 on ARM and Snapdragon X chips. Audio producers and creative professionals have long cited third-party hardware support as a key roadblock to mainstream ARM adoption. Focusrite’s drivers remove a critical blocker, and with major gaming and productivity apps now running natively, the ARM ecosystem is approaching genuine viability for a wider cross-section of users.In a related milestone, desktop Linux has edged past the 5 percent usage threshold—albeit, in part, due to better ARM support and growing disdain for restrictively closed platforms. This opens up subtle but important competitive pressure on Windows, which risks losing enthusiasts frustrated by slow-moving improvements or limited device options.
Surface and Copilot+ PC: Mixed Messages
Microsoft’s hardware efforts, symbolized by the Surface lineup and now Copilot+ PCs, are at a crossroads. The recent introduction of the Surface Laptop for Business with optional 5G capability (though, ironically, “Intel Inside” is the real badge here) demonstrates the company’s ongoing attempt to serve premium and business segments simultaneously.Yet, Intel layoffs—worse than expected and with more likely to come—highlight the volatility underpinning the PC hardware world. As Microsoft attempts to redefine the market with its own hardware reference designs, it remains limited by supply-chain swings and confusion over ARM vs. x86.
Xbox and Gaming: Platform Unification Creeps Forward
In gaming, the unification of the Xbox platform is inching ahead: cross-device play history is now being tested, enabling gamers to track achievements and progress across both console and PC. While this is meaningful for the ecosystem, pricing decisions remain contentious—witness the announcement that “The Outer Worlds” would retail for $69.99, not the previously floated $79.99. It’s a minor but symbolic win for gamers wary of encroaching “next-gen” price inflation.AI, Privacy, and Search: DuckDuckGo and Beyond
Beyond Microsoft’s domain, privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo has rolled out new customization features for its Duck.ai product, including the option to completely hide AI from search results. This “AI mute” function is a unique response to wider AI fatigue and suggests a growing demand for transparent control over how generative assistants shape (and sometimes pollute) day-to-day technology experiences.In stark contrast to Microsoft’s “AI everywhere” mantra, DuckDuckGo’s move is reactive, embracing a sizeable user segment eager for search and browser experiences that remain tightly under individual control.
App Picks: Third-Party Innovation Never Sleeps
Third-party app announcements reinforce the vibrancy of the Windows ecosystem, even as Microsoft itself stumbles. Notable is Proton’s launch of Lumo, a private AI chatbot that has taken several sharp swipes at Apple over privacy and business models. Lumo is tiered: with free, regular account, and subscription-based options, it competes directly with Copilot’s persistent freemium ambiguity.The lesson is clear. Users want not only new capabilities, but assurances about privacy, price, and long-term trust. Open source, robust offline modes, and clear, simple subscription models remain major selling points.
Analysis: Microsoft’s Pivots—Strengths, Shortfalls, and Risks
Strengths
- Enterprise Integration: Microsoft continues to excel at unifying business workflows, delivering incremental productivity improvements, and integrating cloud, desktop, and device management.
- ARM Progress: The maturing ARM story, combined with belated but welcome driver support, finally makes high-performance ARM Windows a reality for more users.
- Platform Unification: Xbox and gaming initiatives, especially cross-device progress, demonstrate how Microsoft can create sticky ecosystems at scale.
Shortfalls
- Consumer Uncertainty: Microsoft’s repeated retraction from digital media, uneven Copilot+ messaging, and limited global AI feature access create confusion rather than excitement among users.
- Real vs. Gimmick: AI features often feel more like technology demonstrations (e.g., colored sticker generators or photo relighting) than essential daily tools.
- Security Stumbles: Recurring security flaws, coupled with expansive integration of cloud/AI, threaten Microsoft’s reputation for enterprise-grade reliability.
Risks
- Privacy Perception: As users become more mindful of how their data is used, Copilot’s “always-on” cloud interactions may drive privacy advocates away—especially with credible privacy-first competitors surging.
- Hardware Fragmentation: If ARM and x86 continue to receive wildly divergent support, developers and power users may migrate to other platforms.
- Feature Fragmentation: Copilot+ as a brand risks becoming defined by what’s missing, not what’s present, if key features remain restricted to only a portion of the install base.
Conclusion: Microsoft at the Crossroads—Again
Microsoft’s Windows story—like its now-defunct Movies & TV service—remains one of experimentation, retraction, and periodic reinvention. While the company continues to dominate enterprise IT and make genuine advances with ARM and cross-platform play, it wrestles with a legacy of consumer missteps and branding confusion.The fate of Copilot and Copilot+ PC is still unclear. If Microsoft can pivot away from chasing AI buzzwords and instead double down on reliability, performance, and user choice, it may yet reclaim its role as the default platform for both business and personal computing. Until then, users are wise to keep one eye on the “off” switch—both for digital purchases and for cloud-powered AI—lest Microsoft’s next pivot leave them stranded once more.
Source: Thurrott.com Windows Weekly 942: World of Wonder
