Windows Weekly: Patch Tuesday, 25H2, AI Scale, and RTO Decisions

Paul Thurrott’s Windows Weekly episode continues the show’s long-running mix of practical Windows tips, industry gossip, and ecosystem-level analysis — this week touching off from Patch Tuesday and a surprise Windows 11 ISO release, then threading through Microsoft’s return‑to‑office policy, huge third‑party AI infrastructure deals, new developer tooling, browser industry M&A, console and handheld gaming moves, and the continuing legal and strategic drama around AI models and content.

Background: what set the table this week​

The episode lands at a moment when Microsoft and the wider tech industry are moving at high velocity. Microsoft shipped September’s Patch Tuesday with a broad security slate and some Windows 11 quality/function updates; the Windows Insider channel made Windows 11 version 25H2 ISOs available; Microsoft announced a three‑day‑per‑week return‑to‑office plan for many employees; and several multi‑billion‑dollar AI infrastructure deals and strategic model partnerships became public. Those items — plus Atlassian’s acquisition of The Browser Company and Anthropic’s high‑profile legal settlement issues — create a week of news that’s equally about engineering and corporate strategy. (windowscentral.com)

---

Windows: Patch Tuesday, 25H2, Copilot+ and the state of upgrades​

Patch Tuesday: what landed and why it matters​

September’s Patch Tuesday patched dozens of vulnerabilities across Windows, Office, SQL Server, and related components — including publicly disclosed zero‑days and multiple remote‑code‑execution (RCE) and elevation‑of‑privilege fixes. Corporate IT shouldn’t treat this as routine: several of the fixes were rated critical, and Microsoft added auditing and mitigations that are relevant to enterprise configuration (e.g., SMB signing/EPA guidance and telemetry for compatibility checks). In other words, this month’s update is standard Microsoft security hygiene but with some enterprise‑facing controls admins should prioritize. (splashtop.com)
Key takeaways for admins and power users:

• Prioritize zero‑day and RCE fixes immediately.
• Test SMB signing/EPA settings before enforcing them broadly.
• Treat cumulative Windows updates as both security and feature deliveries for Copilot+ PC capabilities. (windowscentral.com)

Windows 11 version 25H2: ISOs and what to expect​

Microsoft pushed Windows 11 version 25H2 to Release Preview and published ISOs to the Windows Insider ISO page. For most users this is a lifecycle update rather than a radical feature overhaul — it mainly resets the support clock and brings Copilot‑related polish for Copilot+ PCs, a few UI tweaks, and stability/performance fixes that are useful ahead of broad rollouts. If you’re in an enterprise, the Release Preview ISOs let IT teams stage deployments ahead of full general availability. If you’re a tinkerer or need a test image, the Insider ISOs are the sanctioned way to get the builds now. (blogs.windows.com)
Practical upgrade guidance:

1. Back up before upgrading and use the enablement package when Microsoft flips the update via Windows Update to avoid reinstalling.
2. Use Release Preview for pilot groups; do not push to mission‑critical endpoints until you’ve tested driver and app compatibility.
3. For Copilot+ features, check hardware requirements — some AI features are limited to Copilot+ certified PCs with dedicated NPUs. (windowscentral.com)

---

Microsoft and the workplace: the return‑to‑office decision​

Microsoft’s announcement that it will expect employees to be in the office three days per week (phased rollout beginning in Puget Sound) is a major cultural pivot for the company — explained as a drive to increase in‑person collaboration for AI product development. The company framed it as a data‑driven decision about “thriving scores” and said the rollout will be phased regionally beginning next February. The policy will invite debate: it’s obviously aimed at driving in‑person innovation, but it raises questions about flexibility, talent retention, and the optics of asking employees to be physically present while the company continues aggressive AI investments and cost optimization. (blogs.microsoft.com)
Risks and considerations:

• Talent competition: mandatory RTO can hurt recruitment in regions where remote work is a key differentiator.
• Operational complexity: phased rollouts require HR and managers to coordinate exceptions, remote allowances, and office capacity planning.
• Messaging: Microsoft emphasizes “not about reducing headcount”; the reality of concurrent layoffs and reorgs will shape employee sentiment. (geekwire.com)

---

AI infrastructure and strategy: huge deals and strategic hedging​

Big infrastructure deals: Nebius and the “almost $20B” headline​

Microsoft signed an eye‑popping multi‑year purchase agreement with Nebius (initially reported at $17.4 billion, with upside that could take the figure close to $19.4 billion), effectively leasing third‑party GPU capacity instead of (or in addition to) building everything itself. That deal — and other contracts Microsoft maintains with providers like CoreWeave — is a practical response to an industry‑wide crunch for high‑end GPU capacity and shows Microsoft hedging between its own data center expansion and third‑party capacity providers. Framing it as “Microsoft will pay almost $20B” is defensible when you include optional lift‑on capacity; the broader point is Microsoft is allocating very large sums to make high‑performance AI scale. (reuters.com)
Why this matters to WindowsForum readers:

• Infrastructure scale affects the latency and availability of cloud‑delivered AI features in Microsoft products.
• Large third‑party purchases shift some financial and operational dependency onto suppliers, with predictable implications for supply chain and pricing.
• It illustrates why Microsoft’s own hardware‑heavy Copilot rollouts feel inevitable: the company is investing enormous CAPEX and long‑term contracts to secure GPU availability. (cnbc.com)

Vendor diversification: Anthropic shows Microsoft is hedging model risk​

Reports that Microsoft will add Anthropic models to some Office/365 Copilot features — alongside OpenAI models — show a pragmatic shift: the company is no longer tied to a single upstream provider for productivity scenarios. Internal testing reportedly found Anthropic’s Claude variants to outperform in some Office tasks, and Microsoft appears willing to buy model capacity via third‑party clouds (e.g., Anthropic hosting on AWS) to mix and match best‑of‑breed models. This is strategic insurance against negotiation friction, performance mismatches, or capacity shortages. (reuters.com)
The upside:

• Better task‑fit: specific models can shine on Excel automation or slide design, so mixing providers can improve user outcomes.
• Resilience: multi‑vendor sourcing reduces single‑vendor risk and pricing leverage.

The downside:

• Complexity: integrating multiple models increases engineering complexity for telemetry, safety, and latency.
• Cost: buying Anthropic models via AWS introduces an extra commercial layer Microsoft must manage. (pymnts.com)

---

Legal and ethical storm clouds: Anthropic settlement and Wyden’s letter to the FTC​

Anthropic settlement: judge pushes back​

Anthropic reached a headline‑making proposed $1.5 billion settlement with authors claiming their books were pirated to train models — but a federal judge has declined to give preliminary approval and demanded much clearer disclosure, claims processes, and lists of implicated works. That judgment exposes the difficulty of crafting large‑scale copyright settlements for AI training data, and it makes future negotiations — for Anthropic and other model makers — more legally perilous and more public. The judge’s skepticism matters because it’s not just a procedural delay; it’s a signal that courts will scrutinize AI‑era settlements closely. (apnews.com)

Senator Wyden and “gross cybersecurity negligence”​

Separately, Senator Ron Wyden publicly urged the FTC to investigate Microsoft for what he termed “gross cybersecurity negligence,” citing impact on critical infrastructure and concerns about default configurations and insufficient customer education. The letter is politically charged and frames Microsoft as a company whose dominant role invites regulatory scrutiny — a reminder that the next few years will be about technical progress and political and legal accountability. Readers should treat this as serious public pressure rather than an immediate legal action; still, it raises the stakes around Microsoft’s security posture. (investing.com)

---

Developer tools and platform moves​

Visual Studio 2026 preview: AI and a new Insiders channel​

Microsoft released the first Visual Studio 2026 Insiders preview, repositioning the IDE with deep AI integration, performance improvements, and a new Insiders channel that replaces the older Preview cadence. The IDE preview highlights AI‑centric productivity features (Copilot integrations, adaptive paste, natural‑language profiling) and promises installation side‑by‑side with existing Visual Studio versions for safer testing. For developers this signals Microsoft is making AI a baked‑in part of the core workflow. (devblogs.microsoft.com)
What to watch:

• Will enterprise shops certify AI wiring into build/release pipelines?
• How will “bring your own model” settings be governed for IP and privacy?
• Will Microsoft provide robust offline/local model options for sensitive codebases? (learn.microsoft.com)

Microsoft Store and developer onboarding: no fee for individuals​

Microsoft removed the individual registration fee for Microsoft Store publisher accounts in many markets and introduced ID‑based verification to reduce friction. This is a meaningful attempt to grow the Microsoft Store ecosystem — 250 million monthly users is the figure Microsoft cites — and it changes the calculus for indie developers deciding where to publish. The Store’s new flexibility (standalone installers, 100% revenue on non‑gaming in‑app commerce if you use your own system) competes directly with Apple’s and Google’s fee models. (theverge.com)

---

Browsers and acquisition drama: Atlassian buys The Browser Company​

Atlassian announced an acquisition of The Browser Company (the team behind Arc and Dia) for roughly $610 million in cash and intends to evolve Dia as a work‑focused, AI‑enabled browser optimized for SaaS workflows. The buy flips the narrative: a browser built from a modern, design‑first perspective is now inside a major enterprise software company — which could accelerate features aimed at corporate security, admin controls, and integrations with Jira/Confluence ecosystems. It’s a bet that the browser will morph into a work platform rather than just a rendering engine. (atlassian.com)
Why some listeners fear “ruin” of Dia:

• Enterprise ownership tends to prioritize manageability and revenue models over quirky consumer delights.
• Atlassian will face a tradeoff between Dia’s stylistic identity and the rigor enterprise customers expect.

That said, the opportunity to inject browser intelligence into enterprise workflows is real; whether user‑facing magic survives is the bigger question. (cybernews.com)

---

Gaming and hardware: handhelds, in‑car streaming, and console rumors​

Lenovo Legion Go 2 and Xbox “Full‑Screen Experience”​

Lenovo announced the Legion Go 2 handheld (OLED, 144Hz, Ryzen Z2 options) with October availability; Microsoft’s new Xbox full‑screen experience (FSE) — a handheld‑friendly UI — will arrive on some devices (Asus ROG Xbox Ally family first) in October and expand to other Windows handhelds like the Legion Go 2 in spring 2026. The net effect: the Windows handheld category is getting a platform‑level UX designed for gamepad navigation, not just a desktop tether. That’s an important step if Microsoft plans to unify PC game streaming, Game Pass, and handheld UX expectations. (thurrott.com)

Xbox Cloud Gaming in cars​

Microsoft and LG announced Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) will be integrated into select vehicles via LG’s webOS Automotive Content Platform — enabling passengers to stream games to in‑car displays (with appropriate safety and network caveats). It’s a natural extension of cloud gaming ubiquity, though it raises regulatory and attention‑safety questions (Microsoft positions it for passengers and charging stops). Still, the technical angle is straightforward: if the car OEMs add capable screens and controllers, Game Pass portability expands further. (news.xbox.com)

PlayStation 6 modular rumors​

Rumors that Sony’s PlayStation 6 will adopt a modular approach — detachable disc drives or optional hardware modules — surfaced in multiple outlets and should be treated as early design speculation rather than a confirmed strategy. Modular hardware can be a pragmatic response to rising component costs and shipping constraints, but it also carries product complexity and accessory fragmentation risks. For now, these are leaks, not product announcements. (gamespot.com)

---

Browsers and mobile: Firefox + Apple Intelligence​

Firefox rolled out a neat, practical feature on iPhones — “Shake to Summarize” — that leverages Apple’s on‑device Apple Intelligence models in iOS 26 for local webpage summarization, falling back to Mozilla’s cloud service on older devices. This is an early example of third‑party apps tapping Apple’s foundation models for practical UX improvements and highlights an important privacy design pattern: on‑device inference for short, discrete tasks while retaining cloud fallbacks for lower‑powered hardware. It’s small, but emblematic of how on‑device AI will be integrated into everyday apps. (theverge.com)

---

AI offerings and productization: Google Gemini clarifies tiers​

Google laid out precise limits for Gemini tiers (free, AI Pro, AI Ultra), including prompt quotas, image generation rates, token/context windows, and other daily limits — a transparency move that helps buyers and organizations plan. The upshot: major AI vendors are converging on multi‑tier subscription models with explicit usage caps — making procurement, cost forecasting, and governance easier than earlier “limited access” messaging. For power users and developers, the difference between Pro and Ultra can be decisive for heavy image/video or research workloads. (theverge.com)

---

Cultural notes and value judgment: strengths and risks​

Notable strengths​

• Microsoft’s scale and capital commitment mean it can underwrite ambitious AI services and industrialize deployment across Windows and Office — that’s a major advantage for enterprise customers requiring integrated, supported solutions. The Nebius and other supplier deals highlight that scale. (reuters.com)
• Product portability is growing: Xbox Cloud Gaming in TVs, cars, handhelds, and Windows’ new FSE help blur device boundaries in favor of platform continuity. (news.xbox.com)
• Microsoft’s embrace of open source history (releasing 6502 BASIC) and fast‑moving developer tooling (Visual Studio 2026 preview) are both confidence signals to dev communities. Historic code releases are a win for preservation and education. (opensource.microsoft.com)

Key risks and tradeoffs​

• Regulatory and legal exposure is real: Senator Wyden’s letter and the Anthropic settlement drama show governments and courts are scrutinizing major vendors and model training practices. These risks could directly affect how Windows and Office expose AI features to tenants and consumers. (investing.com)
• Vendor complexity: Microsoft’s move to source Anthropic models (hosted on AWS) and third‑party GPU capacity introduces multi‑cloud and multi‑vendor integration burdens for product teams — and potential cost leakage for buyers. (reuters.com)
• Employee trust and morale: RTO mandates during a period of layoffs and major restructuring risks pushing valuable employees to competitors who continue to offer flexible or remote-first work models. This is a people risk that technical roadmaps don’t immediately address. (blogs.microsoft.com)

---

Practical guidance for WindowsForum readers​

• Patch ASAP: Treat this Patch Tuesday as high priority if you run servers or public‑facing services. Address the zero‑day fixes and test SMB/EPA changes in a controlled window. (splashtop.com)
• If you need 25H2 today: Use the Release Preview ISO or the Insider enablement path — but test thoroughly and keep backups. For most users, waiting for the general rollout is fine. (blogs.windows.com)
• For developers: try Visual Studio 2026 Insiders alongside stable VS installs to evaluate AI features and migration risks; review BYOM (Bring‑Your‑Own‑Model) policies and data handling. (devblogs.microsoft.com)
• For enterprises evaluating AI: require multi‑model evaluation, clear SLAs, and transparent claims about training data provenance. The Anthropic settlement and Judge Alsup’s scrutiny show courts will demand clarity. (apnews.com)

---

Conclusion​

This week’s Windows Weekly themes — incremental Windows updates, a new ISO, Microsoft’s RTO policy, massive third‑party AI infrastructure contracts, Anthropic’s legal drama, Atlassian’s browser acquisition, and fast‑moving hardware and gaming initiatives — together describe an industry moving from prototype to scale. That transition is messy: it brings huge technical investment and product opportunity, but also regulatory, legal, and human capital friction. For everyday Windows users, the most immediate implications are practical: patch your systems, plan upgrades carefully, and expect Microsoft’s software to become more AI‑driven, more cloud‑dependent, and more entwined with multi‑vendor model ecosystems. For the industry, the question is whether the benefits of scale will outweigh the operational and governance complexity that scale inevitably introduces. (windowscentral.com)

---

This article synthesized the week’s highlights — from the Windows Weekly conversation to the primary news reports and product blogs that substantiate the changes under way. Readers should treat rumors and court filings as evolving; the major confirmed items (Patch Tuesday contents, 25H2 ISOs, Microsoft’s RTO memo, Nebius deal, Visual Studio 2026 Insiders, Microsoft’s 6502 BASIC open‑source release, Atlassian’s acquisition of The Browser Company, Xbox automotive and TGS plans, Firefox’s use of Apple Intelligence) are all documented in the linked industry and vendor announcements.

---

Source: Thurrott.com Windows Weekly 949: How Do I Get Back to Windows 7?