Microsoft is adding a new key to PC keyboards for the first time since 1994
Microsoft is adding a new key to PC keyboards for the first time since 1994
Copilot key will eventually be required in new PC keyboards, though not yet.
Copilot key will eventually be required in new PC keyboards, though not yet.
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.
M$ can get absolutely fucked
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.
This is way more about advertising Copilot than actually needing a new key. M$ gonna $.
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.
Are we finally going to get the Any key?
Of fucking course lol. The cortana key
Gross
ooooh, a KRunner key!
If they could just make it like the ⌘ command key on macOS it wouldn't be so bad, but of course, they're going to make it just like the goddamn Windows key, yet another key that if you press, it will screw up your workflow and have some dumb pop-up thing come up. Another modifier key wouldn't be so bad (or just turning the Windows key into a modifier key that doesn't automatically pull up a dumb menu if accidentally pressed by itself). They really like beating people over the head with their useless features.
Using the right WinKey+Arrows to rearrange windows with one hand was the one most important thing I liked Windows for more than my current DE. It felt so natural, just like middle-mouse navigation I'm still struggling not having on Linux. If they'd replace exactly that button, it'd be a big L in my eyes. Feels like Win10 would be my last Windows.
Sadly Microsoft didn't specify where on the keyboard the key has to be.
In order to find out, hit the keyboard with your head; wherever your forehead touches the keyboard first is where the key is supposed to be.
Sick of my Corsair keyboard having a Windows keycap now.
No
I use a custom keyboard, they can add as many new keys as they want.
You're all blaming Microsof, when it's obviously a devious plan from big keyboard!
Ha! No.
Ah, the new sole button to summon the AI assistant.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The exact positioning, and the key being replaced, may vary depending on the size and layout of the keyboard.
If nothing else, this new key is a sign of how much Microsoft wants people to use Copilot and its other generative AI products.
Plenty of past company initiatives—Bing, Edge, Cortana, and the Microsoft Store, to name a few—never managed to become baked into the hardware like this.
If Copilot fizzles or is deemphasized the way Cortana was, the Copilot key could become a way to quickly date a Windows PC from the mid-2020s, the way that changes to the Windows logo date keyboards from earlier eras.
Chipmakers like Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm are all building neural processing units (NPUs) into their latest silicon, and we'll likely see more updates for Windows apps and features that can take advantage of this new on-device processing capability.
Microsoft says the Copilot key will debut in some PCs that will be announced at the Consumer Electronics Show this month.
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Thanks, I definitely hate it?
At that point ill just buy a PC2 adapter and go back to the kids faithfull
This might have been said, but I just see this as a wild attempt to stay relevant and lock people into hardware. Windows is (very, very, slowly)
dyinggettingworseandshowingpeoplehowbaditis. Gamers are starting to leave for Linux and Proton, which will also only help the Mac gaming market share. Linux on ARM honesty seems like the future for most devices. The corporate world and anything that’s in too deep with Excel is, I feel, the last big hold out.EDIT: more accurate time scale and less doom and gloom for the future of windows lol
I guess I won't be buying any keyboards without replaceable key caps then.
Atleast its AI. AI is good.
Reading this thread, you'd think Microsoft was fucking the mothers of the commenters here because they dare to add an other button they won't use on a handful of keyboards ...
Nobody is forcing you to upgrade the keyboard you already have.
And if you do buy a new one, you can just put on a different keycap or just put a sticker on it if it bothers you that much. Any decent OS will let you disable it software-wise.
