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Microsoft drops Copilot+ branding from its new laptops

50 points · 25 comments · anthuswilliams

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ChrisArchitect · 1790564927 · focus · HN ↗
Discussion: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49854945">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49854945
1. tomhow · 1790575874 · focus · HN ↗
  Comments moved thither. Thanks!
ungreased0675 · 1790565490 · focus · HN ↗
I know what an NPU is, but never understood what features having one in a laptop unlocked for me.
1. verdverm · 1790566720 · focus · HN ↗
  they weren't for you /s
2. wmf · 1790567705 · focus · HN ↗
  MS required the NPU to run local language models and the models are used for various AI features like live captions.
  1. dboreham · 1790567803 · focus · HN ↗
    Live captions on what?
    brookst · 1790568942 · focus · HN ↗
    Any audio?
  2. Dylan16807 · 1790575715 · focus · HN ↗
    Thankfully some other programs ignore MS and do perfectly good live captions on the CPU, even if that CPU is over a decade old.
3. GeekyBear · 1790572146 · focus · HN ↗
  Offline speech recognition (using an open weights model like Whisper) is a good example of a feature that you can run on your NPU.
  1. crote · 1790574700 · focus · HN ↗
    Sure, but it's something you can run on the NPU, not something you must run on the NPU. Whisper will run just fine on your CPU or GPU as well - as will the decades of offline speech recognition tools before.
    So what's the actual feature? Slightly higher performance? Slightly lower latency? Slightly longer battery life? And that for something most people are rarely - if ever - going to use?
    Dylan16807 · 1790575511 · focus · HN ↗
    The battery life, if you use enough AI, is the main feature.
sidewndr46 · 1790569444 · focus · HN ↗
When will Copilot++ be introduced?
1. DANmode · 1790571851 · focus · HN ↗
  They called it Claude for legal reasons.
2. shawn_w · 1790574194 · focus · HN ↗
  Copilot.NET
  1. kergonath · 1790575436 · focus · HN ↗
    Microsoft Windows live services for Copilot.NET professional edition
    sidewndr46 · 1790642576 · focus · HN ↗
    Microsoft Bob powered by Copilot?
  2. 4thguy · 1790800639 · focus · HN ↗
    Copilot LIVE
flowerlad · 1790569826 · focus · HN ↗
Did they remove the Copilot button from the keyboard? It is one of the most annoying things. Accidentally pressing the button opens the Copilot window which you then have to manually close. There is no way to configure the button to do nothing. Not without installing apps just for that purpose. So annoying.
1. Rohansi · 1790570789 · focus · HN ↗
  I have a Logitech K400 that I use with my HTPC and the trackpad on it has a gesture that maps to the Copilot button. It triggers accidentally all the time and pops open the settings UI because it's bound to nothing. The K400 predates Copilot entirely!
2. makeitdouble · 1790571166 · focus · HN ↗
  > Not without installing apps just for that purpose.
  TBF PowerToys is first party, so most companies will accept its installation. It has many other niceties that should really have been baked into Windows in the first place, I genuinely think all windows user that care even a bit should have it by default as one of the first thing they put on their system.
3. zdragnar · 1790571246 · focus · HN ↗
  For those who don't have Windows, you go to Settings > Bluetooth and Devices > Keyboard (which is itself insane), then change "Customize Copilot key on keyboard" to "None Selected".
  You'd think nothing happens when you hit the copilot key, but instead, it... pops up the settings window so you can select what should happen. Not the most awful thing, but really, I want nothing to happen, period. That's why I hit "none selected" instead of "Open an app" or "Search".
  1. poolnoodle · 1790573148 · focus · HN ↗
    You can use autohotkey (which you shouldn't have to but here we are)
4. Dwedit · 1790574663 · focus · HN ↗
  I personally wrote the program that does all the steps necessary to remap the Copilot key, since it's actually three keys (Left Windows, Left Shift, F23), it's not as simple as it sounds to block all those keypresses while also allowing the real keys through.
  You could also call it "I changed your copilot key back to Ctrl".
  <a href="https://github.com/Dwedit/NoCopilotKey" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/Dwedit/NoCopilotKey
shepardrtc · 1790571192 · focus · HN ↗
When people say they use copilot, I no longer have any idea which copilot they're talking about. Most of the time, neither do they.
1. henry2023 · 1790571459 · focus · HN ↗
  If a contractor told me they use copilot I wouldn’t trust their judgment anymore.
  1. hizlikovboy27 · 1790573097 · focus · HN ↗
    five years from now, you'll start preferring contractors who use copilots, but i'm sure of it.
    xena · 1790575317 · focus · HN ↗
    How much do you want to bet?
    lwroo · 1790578430 · focus · HN ↗
    I would prefer contractors who use Humane AI pin
  2. pjmlp · 1790582693 · focus · HN ↗
    Well, most of us are no longer able to work without AI.
    Not because we can't do the job without AI, rather because there are evaluation requirements for using AI on the job no matter what, and those that can't "upskill" themselves are invited to search something else.
    henry2023 · 1790607682 · focus · HN ↗
    AI assisted work is fine, Using any form of Microsoft Copilot is not.
    pjmlp · 1790616736 · focus · HN ↗
    Interesting distinction, Claude is fine then.
2. [deleted] · 1790571550 · focus · HN ↗
  [deleted]
3. JohnTHaller · 1790736401 · focus · HN ↗
  Copilot+ 365 XL Max Media Center Edition, of course
paulbjensen · 1790574734 · focus · HN ↗
...I've an idea for the rest of where Copilot is used.

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