Microsoft Unveils AI-Powered Overhaul for Windows 11 (windows.com) 37
Microsoft has unveiled a substantial AI-focused update for Windows 11 and Copilot+ PCs, introducing features that leverage neural processing units across the operating system. The update centers on AI-powered helpers across core Windows apps, with an intelligent agent in Settings that can locate and adjust options via natural voice commands. Key additions include expanded Click To Do functionality, allowing users to draft Word content based on screen context, engage Reading Coach, or send details directly to Excel tables.
The Photos app gains a relight feature with support for three customizable light sources, while Paint adds object selection and text-to-sticker generation. Snipping Tool will automatically detect and crop prominent screen content, adding text extraction and color picking capabilities. System-level enhancements include an updated Start menu with phone companion integration, AI-powered actions in File Explorer for content summarization, and text generation in Notepad with new formatting options.
Most features will debut first on Windows Insider builds for Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs before expanding to systems with AMD or Intel chips. Several tools, including Ask Copilot and Reading Coach, are already available to Insiders.
The Photos app gains a relight feature with support for three customizable light sources, while Paint adds object selection and text-to-sticker generation. Snipping Tool will automatically detect and crop prominent screen content, adding text extraction and color picking capabilities. System-level enhancements include an updated Start menu with phone companion integration, AI-powered actions in File Explorer for content summarization, and text generation in Notepad with new formatting options.
Most features will debut first on Windows Insider builds for Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs before expanding to systems with AMD or Intel chips. Several tools, including Ask Copilot and Reading Coach, are already available to Insiders.
Who is asking for AI features? (Score:5, Insightful)
Are end-users really asking for some Big Brother bullshit to be inside their computer. That monitors all their activities and suggests things to them, and perhaps subtly offers advertisements. With some of these LLMs providing accurate information less than 50% of the time, is there an actual value to this? Obviously the market investors perceive a value, but that's not necessarily the same thing.
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Re:Who is asking for AI features? (Score:4, Insightful)
Indeed, same thing happened with Widows 8, it was all about the mobile. There was plenty of insider / beta feedback to tell them people did NOT like the UI changes at least on non-touch screen desktops.
But the 'future is mobile' and 'convergence' dies were already cast.
Re:Who is asking for AI features? (Score:5, Insightful)
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They have invested tons of money into "AI". Not they cannot admit the investment was wasted and it is another dud. Hence crap like this.
Haven't you heard of Pay.I.? (Score:2)
I? Yes, you!
Re: Who is asking for AI features? (Score:2)
More importantly, who asked for a new Word?
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Bring back Clippy!
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Yeah, this is great. Instead of offering a well designed OS where it isn't some huge chore to find basic functionality we get AI helpers to help us with their shitty UI! Thanks Microsoft!
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we call that a polished turd
Upper Managers (Score:2)
Whether AI actually works or not is irrelevant. Every single one of the upper middle managers, guys below c level, is now looking top to bottom in their organization for anything and everything that can be automated. The word AI is going to get tossed around for common automation processes. You're going to see large increases in productivity but you're not going to see mo
Good news, everyone! (Score:5, Informative)
Linux desktops don't do any of this "we put AI into everything, no you have to use it" bullshit that Microsoft is pushing upon you.
There is an alternative if you so desire it.
Re: Good news, everyone! (Score:1)
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Give the current Gnome and KDE devs a few months...
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Linux desktops don't do any of this "we put AI into everything, no you have to use it" bullshit that Microsoft is pushing upon you.
There is an alternative if you so desire it.
I've said for years that the Windows fans will accept as much bullshit as Microsoft feeds them. Standing by for the people saying how they just have to use Microsoft, nothing else will work.
There may be no imposition that shakes their faith. The shit tests haven't failed so far.
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Linux desktops don't do any of this "we put AI into everything, no you have to use it" bullshit that Microsoft is pushing upon you.
There is an alternative if you so desire it.
I've said for years that the Windows fans will accept as much bullshit as Microsoft feeds them. Standing by for the people saying how they just have to use Microsoft, nothing else will work.
The problem with this line of reasoning is, ironically, is that it's the same line of reasoning that has caused Microsoft to add their AI shovelware into Windows, and that's this: that Windows is a selection made, by users, explicitly.
It isn't. Microsoft's mindset on this matter is that people actively choose to run Windows because of the value-add that Microsoft implements, while the Linux enthusiasts assume people run Windows because they don't know better.
Windows is still as popular as it is because of
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Linux desktops don't do any of this "we put AI into everything, no you have to use it" bullshit that Microsoft is pushing upon you.
There is an alternative if you so desire it.
I've said for years that the Windows fans will accept as much bullshit as Microsoft feeds them. Standing by for the people saying how they just have to use Microsoft, nothing else will work.
The problem with this line of reasoning is, ironically, is that it's the same line of reasoning that has caused Microsoft to add their AI shovelware into Windows, and that's this: that Windows is a selection made, by users, explicitly.
It isn't. Microsoft's mindset on this matter is that people actively choose to run Windows because of the value-add that Microsoft implements, while the Linux enthusiasts assume people run Windows because they don't know better.
Well, FWIW, I use Windows, Linux and MacOS. But perhaps Windows only users know a lot more than me and the others who believe it is a piece of crap. I also spend 90 percent of my computer downtime on Windows.
Windows is still as popular as it is because of all the applications on it. That's it.
Awesome - then they will serve as amusement, and verification that the fans will do whatever Microsoft say they will do, and put up with it. I can hardly wait until it is a SaaS. Will you pay whatever Microsoft dec
Re:Good news, everyone! (Score:5, Funny)
Linux desktops don't do any of this "we put AI into everything, no you have to use it" bullshit that Microsoft is pushing upon you.
systemd devs: "Hold my beer."
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What beer? You didn't give me any beer.
How loud does it need to be said? (Score:1)
Phew! (Score:2)
I was worried that AI wasn't being crammed into enough things. Thank god it is Microsoft, that most competent and ethical of companies, who are leading the way to the sunny OS AI uplands.
Am I The Only One? (Score:2)
I've been wondering about these "AI PCs". They don't really seem to have a purpose, today. AI needs a lot of horsepower thus we have cloud connected data centers full of GPUs doing the AI processing. Local AI processing on these AI PC chips is so tragically anemic as to be unusable. So, why is Microsoft pushing for them?
I think that the plan is not to simply have very weak local AI processing on the local desktop. I think Microsoft's plan is to build a massive distributed computing cluster and offload Copil
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Re:Am I The Only One? (Score:4, Insightful)
I've been wondering about these "AI PCs". They don't really seem to have a purpose, today. AI needs a lot of horsepower
No.
Some LLM tasks require a lot of power, like training large models. Some require not very much power, like running small models. They do require some different hardware than most laptops have (most do not have enough GPU to do much) so they are adding some of that hardware to the CPU, because that's an easier sell than laptops with a lot more GPU.
I think that the plan is not to simply have very weak local AI processing on the local desktop. I think Microsoft's plan is to build a massive distributed computing cluster and offload Copilot's massive compute load(cost) onto Microsoft's fleet of our PCs.
That's unlikely, because what you need for those big LLM tasks is a lot of memory bandwidth, and you're not going to get that with an internet-distributed cluster.
Wake me up when.... (Score:2)
...the photo viewer can automatically find all the photos containing my ex and photoshop her out of those images with a single command.
Just erase all your data (Score:2)
And move on. That's the great thing about computers. They can delete unwanted memories unless they are given over to Facebook or Microsoft Bing OneCloud Dynamics 365 CoPilot AI for Business Fabric.
Replace it with a local AI (Score:2)
I would be totally on-board with this if they used a local AI like Apple does. Or even "use a local AI if your machine meets these requirements" or "only if you turn it on." But as-is, I am forced to send everything to Microsoft's cloud. Which, I admit, 99% of people don't care about so us privacy-focused nerds are an ailing relic. How about a plug-in that lets me change the engine? I know Microsoft's Semantic Kernel allows for this, so it should be easy for them to do if they are eating their own dog
AI (Score:2)
No. (Score:2)
Preferred AI feature ... (Score:1)