ISSUE 23.45 • 2026-11-09 COPILOT By Will Fastie Microsoft’s handling of Copilot has been messy from the start. This isn’t exactly news. Copilot has been a moving target for the past three years, and the dance probably isn’t over yet. The most recent manifestation of this was the collapse of the Windows Copilot App, which […]

MICROSOFT By Lance Whitney Microsoft makes some of my favorite products, ones that I couldn’t live or work without. But it also drives me nuts with all the technical problems and sales tactics I encounter. When AskWoody editor Will Fastie asked me to write an opinion piece about Microsoft as a company, I had to […]

MICROSOFT 365 By Peter Deegan Microsoft announced unwelcome changes to OneDrive allotments for Microsoft 365 Family and Premium plans. Less widely reported is a new “Pro” plan with an astonishing price tag. I will explain the changes and compare all the consumer Microsoft 365 plans. For Microsoft 365 Family and Premium plans, OneDrive will be […]

COMMENTARY By Amy Babinchak I am a known person in the Great Lakes sailing community, at least in some circles. Recently, I was asked to identify a fish from a photograph taken in northern Lake Michigan. This seemed a reasonable assignment, but I didn’t recognize the fish. I can identify a lot of Great Lakes […]

ISSUE 23.40 • 2026-10-05 MICROSOFT 365 By Peter Deegan Copilot benefits are now available for all, ranging from a few for free Microsoft accounts and those sharing a Microsoft 365 plan, and more for owners of a Microsoft 365 plan and business plans with Copilot. The rollout of AI at Microsoft has been — how […]

PATCH WATCH By Susan Bradley Do you want large or small bug counts? Microsoft released the September updates with 12 Azure vulnerabilities, 22 developer-tool vulnerabilities, 9 Exchange server vulnerabilities, 111 Office vulnerabilities, 16 SharePoint server vulnerabilities, 10 Skype for business vulnerabilities, 62 SQL vulnerabilities, 9 “other” vulnerabilities, and — last but not least — 723 […]

MICROSOFT 365 By Peter Deegan Microsoft is finally fixing a mess of its own making by merging two Copilot apps into one. Less obvious are other changes happening at the same time: reducing Microsoft’s costs and nudging more people toward paid AI services. Just so you’re not caught unawares, let’s go through the Copilot app […]

ISSUE 23.34.1 • 2026-08-25 By Susan Bradley I am lowering the MS-DEFCON level, but only to 3. August updates have proven themselves to be less than clean. Generally speaking, none of the issues is widespread. They depend upon whether you have specific hardware or are using specific software. And some problems have been reported only […]

PATCH WATCH By Susan Bradley Microsoft is setting expectations, or is it? The August updates begin the gradual rollout of the first of many promised changes to Windows 11. This would seem to be a matter of setting expectations, but if you don’t know precisely when the changes and improvements are coming, how can you […]

ISSUE 23.26 • 2026-06-29 MICROSOFT 365 By Peter Deegan Give AI a chance to help you with any Excel or spreadsheet app. AI can greatly speed up your time spent working on a workbook — rom explaining functions and improving formulas to making a full sheet from your description. Any version of Excel, including perpetual […]