This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
So now Windows bloat is extending to the physical keyboard itself.
Looking at the Microsoft blog post they haven't said exactly how they want keyboard layouts to change. So on a full size keyboard this could be either new key entirely, or replace an existing (and arguably more useful) key.
They should put it adjacent to the up arrow key so that when I hit it accidentally, copilot can ask "did you mean to press the up arrow key?", which will cause me to smash the keyboard with my fists and then I'll need to buy another one. Sales will skyrocket.
Not particularly relevant, but my friend randomly told me to press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Windows key+L one day. I’m still horrified.
I just tried this. Why does this exist? Why does this need to be a shortcut? Who uses LinkedIn so much that they need to use a 5 key shortcut to get there faster?
For anybody who doesn't want to try it, this key combo opens LinkedIn in your default browser.
It's not a setting you can change, the only way to disable it is to edit the registry.
WTF.
Before I even read it I knew it was more ads or AI of some sort and yep it's both. Sure yeah we need more ads. Can I get a Microsoft store button on mouses now? Ohoh a dedicated 2nd screen for ads on every monitor. We must please the share holders and the rich!
I'm plenty fine with all ads consolidated to a dedicated monitor, that would certainly never face the wall on minimal brightness
Attention citizen, your Economic Consumer Activity Monitor has identified error with your system and/or the Citizen Observation Rate to the unit. Your worldwide credits have been locked pending resolution.
If only keyboards would have function keys for this purpose, named F1 to F10 for example, so any program could use them for their specific functions...
Nahh gotta place them where they're obvious in your face and a constant reminder of CONSUME PRODUCT and be accidently pressed! Can guarantee you it'll take up part of the space of a key hotspot
At least on the PC, it's easier to remap the buttons. What enrages me more are the TV remote controls with buttons dedicated to specific streaming apps. I mean... none of these services will outlive the TV itself. I'll just have to look at buttons that do nothing for years.
Maybe even F13 to F24 if more is needed?
Because they used to exist, and support for them still does. Really handy for macro keys.
I'm getting Bixby button flashbacks.
Ho well, my wallet's gonna cry but I'm sure the mechkeyboard community will welcome my ass
copilot key will eventually be required
Fuck that, and fuck you, Microsoft
Microsoft learns nothing from their continued pattern of going all-in on a trendy and unproven concept. Windows 8 "live tiles" that were supposed to create one look and feel across devices, Cortana was supposed to be the digital assistant of the future, they even did their own poorly executed folding phone.
They never really go all in. They go full force at something but they never really fully commit
Like live tiles was fine except the large sections of the Windows still used the old system, so you'd click a button in settings and suddenly you'd be reverted back to the old window system. Because they never bothered to upgrade that part of the OS.
Microsoft's problem is that they can never be arsed to be consistent.
OR, hear me out, we just have it mapped to alt+win(meta) key and this will be a nothing burger.
Stop being such a socialist. They need to sell more keyboards, and to make the keyboards you own unique to their brand.
Have you met keyboard people? You don’t need to do anything to sell them more keyboards.
M$ can get absolutely fucked
Gee, I imagine this will go the same way as Cortana, but now there will be a key forever visible to be it's gravestone.
I swear I blinked and suddenly AI was so ubiquitous that I feel like I'm living, studying and writing incorrectly...
Now I know how the boomers felt when the internet went from dialup to pocketable
We’re in the early hype phase of a new innovation fad. It’ll die down and then we’ll find out what it’s ACTUALLY useful for.
Ugh. Why do keyboards have to have Microsoft logos. I hate it. I want nothing to do with them.
I would imagine this isn't going to go over very well with a lot of companies. I would bet many already ban employees using copilot or other AI assistants because they don't want their company's proprietary data being sent to Microsoft or Google or whoever. Stick a key on the keyboard that, if accidentally hit, brings up copilot (and maybe sends data to Microsoft), and those keyboards might be banned.
Some companies will probably just deal with it by setting up their PCs so that copilot is disabled and that key does something else. But, other companies will either not be technically savvy enough to do that, or will not want to take a risk of someone accidentally reverting to the default behaviour.
They're so desperate for AI to be a thing.
AI is absolutely "a thing", not sure there's really a debate about that. The desperation here is they want to be the first company to completely immerse itself in Generative AI, but they're moving so fast they're just shoving every experiment they can come up with down their customers' throats.
AI is going to be a huge part of the future, but Microsoft might not be a part of that future if they fuck up with over implementation of nascent tech.
My bad, I should be more specific. They're so desperate for a fancy chatbot to be a part of everybody's workflow that they're going to add a special key that is not needed, or wanted by the vast majority.
I hope this can be remapped to something useful.
I can't even begin to articulate my hatred for the current Microsoft business model. People used to joke how evil they were but it's only continued to get worse
They should just rename the Menu key to the “Flavor of the Week” key. Then they can just rotate which pie in the sky, fetch feature is mapped to it during its period of non-use.
This is way more about advertising Copilot than actually needing a new key. M$ gonna $.
im not going to lie this is one of the stupidest things ive ever seen a major tech company do
Some Microsoft exec: "Hey, remember when TV remotes started getting a dedicated Netflix button?"
I’ll shut that stuff off just like I made every effort to disable Cortana.
It’s unwanted, invasive, and unnecessary.
You thought Clippy was dead? Think again, that monster never dies. and is not back bigger than ever in its physical form.
I really hope it's the "Any" key. I have upwards of 40 ys of modal forms from which there is no escape because they demand I press any key to continue...
Are we finally going to get the Any key?
>see headline
"Oh cool. What fun and inventive thing is Microsoft doing?"
>reads first line of article
"Oh it's for AI. Gross."
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Another useless key? Use Scroll lock or SysRq for that. Or even better, reuse that stupid "menu" key. They'll cram one more key to the left of the spacebar and make ctrl, alt, and windows keys smaller. Or change their order.
