Microsoft Start is a Personalized News Feed Designed for Windows 11, Mobile, and More (theverge.com) 57
Microsoft is launching Microsoft Start today, a personalized news feed that integrates into Windows 11 and is accessible online and on iOS and Android. Microsoft Start is very similar to the MSN feed that exists today and to Microsoft News. Microsoft is rebranding these into Microsoft Start and integrating the feed into the Windows 11 widgets section and the Windows 10 taskbar. From a report: Much like Microsoft News, Microsoft Start includes news and media channels from more than 1,000 publishers. Microsoft uses AI and machine learning algorithms to sort through which news is presented to users and to personalize content based on interests and how you engage with content. There's also some "human moderation" involved, but Microsoft did layoff dozens of journalists and editorial workers at its Microsoft News and MSN organizations last year, so it's not clear how involved editors will be. Microsoft Start will surface top stories, personalized recommendations, and sports scores or the weather in its feed.
Welcome to our new echo chamber (Score:5, Insightful)
"Microsoft uses AI and machine learning algorithms to sort through which news is presented to users and to personalize content based on interests and how you engage with content."
What better way to create even more people who hear only the news they want to hear and nothing more.
Re:Welcome to our new echo chamber (Score:5, Interesting)
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You nailed it, my friend!
Re:Welcome to our new echo chamber (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft needs to go back to making money by selling products that people want instead, of chasing the advertising dollars. The LAST thing we need is more personalized news which has been a disaster and absolutely is leading to distorted views, antagonism towards groups who are getting a different personalized news feed, etc. This is a worse trend then even the yellow journalism of the late 1800s.
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Microsoft needs to go back to making money by selling products that people want instead, of chasing the advertising dollars.
Microsoft Windows 365. [computerworld.com]
Re:Welcome to our new echo chamber (Score:4, Interesting)
Fuck, I want all this cloud bullshit out of the OS.
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Microsoft needs to go back to making money by selling products that people want instead, of chasing the advertising dollars.
Microsoft Windows 365. [computerworld.com]
And it has come full circle. Again, you'll be logging on a dumb terminal/thin client to get access to the mainframe. The PC is no longer personal with DaaS
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Microsoft needs to go back to making money by selling products that people want instead, of chasing the advertising dollars.
Why?
I mean I would like for that to happen too, but what's in it for Microsoft? Monopolies are really nice to have. They are pushing to move to monthly subscription so that they don't even have to wait for you to be forced to upgrade to newer Windows/Office/etc.
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Because it's just stupid. Why does every damn company have to literally be in the advertising business? There's not that much money to be made really, and if htere *IS* a lot of money, then why not kick back some of that to the customers. If I can reduce the cost by watching ads, because the ads are such huge money makers, then please reduce the costs. Is Windows 11 going to be free? Hell no. It's going to cost more money than it's worth and also dump ads on you.
A personalized spam feed ... (Score:4, Insightful)
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I can see the personalized headlines how:
"Microsoft adds more microchips to your vaccine, click here to know more!"
"9 weird ways that your neighbors are all socialists, number 7 will suprise you!"
"Doctor claims link between open source and cancer!"
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That's if you are lucky as those clickbait headlines might attract some people. Given how well MS does things, it will be advertising coffee to Mormons, feminine hygiene products to men, heaters to people who live in the tropics, etc.
1. Do Mormon's not do caffiene? How do they wake up and function?
2. Can really see this only being a downside if you live with only single men.
3. You need a heater. Not a big one. Just a small one for a room. Those sub 50 degree days suck.
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It is amazing how many ways Microsoft is pushing crappy clickbait news to its Win10 customers.
There is a weather icon on the task bar that shows news when you hover over it, the Edge browser shows news by default on new taba which I disable, the Start menu has a MS News tile...
I would be more inclined to pay attention to news headlines if they had intelligent informative headlines instead of clickbait type wording.
Every site (including Slashdot and real news sites) have Clickbait links somewhere on the page
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Every site (including Slashdot and real news sites) have Clickbait links somewhere on the page.
Why does Amazon have a bunch of "sponsored products" embedded in the search result? I don't even think the sponsored results obey sorting or price limits put on the product search.
I guess everyone does it. Not enough competition?
A real test of the AI would be (Score:3)
that I don't want the feature ... at all.
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This.
If one needed Windows for something, which version/license lets them avoid all of this crap?
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It's AI driven though! "A strange game, Professor Falken. The only way to win is to not advertise at all. How about a nice game of minesweeper?"
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Now there's an idea. How about MS create an AI bot that sniffs out what you despise about MS and removes it from the OS.
With a reasonably intelligent bot, it will eventually get depressed, give up and download Linux, and put an end to itself.
Wonder when the (Score:2)
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Poorly laid out. Slow. Full of spam.
stupid me (Score:2)
I thought Windows was a general purpose operating system. And people could add their own preferred applications on top of it.
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You WILL use the computer the way WE decide. A big FUCK YOU if you think otherwise.
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I'd even pay annual fees for MS-Windows if it meant there was no ads or other funny business (kind of how I used to have a CD subscription for Slackware). But I know that the SaaS model will always have extra ads rather than none (and privacy-smashing telemetry)
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Think Tron.
MS Windows is the modern MCP - master control program.
The past foretold. (Score:2)
Much like Microsoft News, Microsoft Start includes news and media channels from more than 1,000 publishers. Microsoft uses AI and machine learning algorithms to sort through which news is presented to users and to personalize content based on interests and how you engage with content.
Where's Knowledge Navigator [youtu.be] when we need it?
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I'm guessing that certain 'engagement' won't count (Score:2)
Microsoft? Who? (Score:2)
Surely by now people have learned that any software from Microsoft should be avoided if at all possible.
What I wanted (Score:2)
M$ must be making bank of the ads in these. They keep shoving this into ours faces like we requested it.
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How hard could it be to get the weather for hell wrong?
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Constantly.
Taskbar says raining, clear as day outside
Taskbar says rain incoming, as it is leaving.
Saying sunny when it is raining
IDK if this is a feature or not but most of these weather services will bitch at you until you turn it off when severe weather is going on. This doesn't.
Give Air Quality as just a number.
I swear, I could make something better with a rPi.
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Currently says it is 87 and Mostly sunny.
It is not either of those things. It is closer or 83-85 and completely cloudy.
they'll never learn. (Score:5, Insightful)
MS: here's a new feature we'll make you love.
everyone else: how do we disable it?
Nothing woke or Trumpian? I'm in (Score:1)
Can it be set up to only report the facts of the news, with no woke shite or Trump madness?
Then I'm in!
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we're way past any semblance of 'news'; we're in 100% propaganda mode from here on out.
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Can it be set up to only report the facts of the news, with no woke shite or Trump madness?
Sorry, there's no money in doing that.
Like I have been saying for years! (Score:4, Interesting)
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As a former shareholder, I agree with your correct analysis.
Comment removed (Score:3)
How wonderful (Score:2)
RSS? (Score:2)
If you want to personalize it, there's no need for AI, just use RSS. If they did that, I might try it (still miss Google Reader). Otherwise, no thanks.
Can it be disabled? (Score:2)
The real question is if it can be disabled, permanently.
The usual question when MS announces a feature (Score:5, Insightful)
Can I turn it off, and how?
Re:The usual question when MS announces a feature (Score:4, Insightful)
Only in the Enterprise versions, and only until they push the next patch which will, naturally, re-enable it, AND change the methodology for disabling it again.
This sounds incredibly bad (Score:2)
This sounds so incredibly bad that I will remove it the first chance I get.
Permanently.
Thats fine (Score:2)
as long as I can turn it off.
RSS feed are just fine thank you (Score:2)
Don't need curated news from MS. They are just amplifying the echo chamber that many live in but only selecting the news that suits their world viewpoint.
The Machine Learning is SHIT (Score:2)
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That must be talking points from the MS Press Kit (Score:1)
Microsoft Start will surface top stories, personalized recommendations, and sports scores or the weather in its feed.
"surface"?
"SURFACE top stories?"
What Newspeak noun-verbing press-release crap is this? The convenient product-tie in of that wording has to be directly from a corporate marketing document. You guys remember the clumsy hilarity when MS tried to make "bing" a verb the way "google" is?
Is "surface" the next awkwardly ambiguous term MS tries to try to turn into a consumer powerhouse?
The only thing I care about (Score:2)
is how to avoid using this new feature
Microsoft: STOP (Score:1)
n/t