Your very own Princess Jane button.
In Microsoft’s push for their new Copilot AI, they’ve decided to change one of the most foundational things in PC operation. Namely, they’re planning to add a key to their keyboards going forward specifically for launching Copilot. This will be the first major change to keyboards in roughly 30 years.
Nearly 30 years ago, we introduced the Windows key to the PC keyboard that enabled people all over the world to interact with Windows,” says Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer at Microsoft. “We see this as another transformative moment in our journey with Windows where Copilot will be the entry point into the world of AI on the PC.
Yusuf Mehdi
The new key will actually be replacing the Menu key (or Application key), which has been around roughly as long as the Windows key. This key will sit next to the right Alt key on the majority of keyboards produced with it. The key will launch Copilot, Microsoft’s AI chatbot capable of answering questions and even taking actions within Windows. In the event Copilot isn’t available in your country, it will simply launch Windows Search. While it’s just a launch key for now, there’s no telling whether it will be capable of being used in conjunction with other keys in the future.
Right now, Microsoft is remaining tight-lipped about which OEMs will be adding the new key to their product lines. They plan to unveil more at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show.
Over the coming days leading up to and at CES, you will start to see the Copilot key on many of the new Windows 11 PCs from our ecosystem partners, with availability beginning later this month through Spring, including on upcoming Surface devices.
Yusuf Mehdi
AI-powered everything seems to be Microsoft’s plan for the future right now, with more and more planned for the operating system in 2024. There is a coming “refresh” for Windows coming this year, after all, which undoubtedly involves a lot of AI-powered features. Even Microsoft Edge has been branded as “The AI Browser” by the company.
In this new year, we will be ushering in a significant shift toward a more personal and intelligent computing future where AI will be seamlessly woven into Windows from the system, to the silicon, to the hardware. This will not only simplify people’s computing experience but also amplify it, making 2024 the year of the AI PC.
Yusuf Mehdi
Source: The Verge
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