Microsoft Copilot Vision Launches in Preview; Apple Expands Password Autofill to Firefox; Pixel 9 May Get Automatic to-do Lists From Call Summaries; Meta Expands ‘Strike Removal’ Feature to Avoid Facebook Jail

Microsoft has started a limited US rollout of a preview version off Copilot Vision, that tool they have touted as being able to read things on your screen, and then respond to questions you might have when looking at a website on your screen using Edge. Techcrunch.com reports that in order to use the preview version, you have to have a $20 a month subscription to Microsoft’s Copilot Pro plan. Besides answering questions, the AI can summarize and translate text, and spot discounted products on a site. Microsoft stresses that the system deletes data after every session. In addition, processed audio, images, or text aren’t stored or used to train models.

A really useful feature Apple has had for a while was expanded into what is essentially a stand-alone app in the latest iterations of software…iOS 18 and MacOs 15 Sequoia. Passwords saves all your passwords (with your permission) to the app, and then it auto-fills on websites, using your biometrics…either FaceID or TouchID to verify that it’s you. I find this terrifically handy, but so far, it has only worked on Safari, Apple’s own browser. According to arstechnica.com, that has now changed. Apple is now officially supporting the Passwords extension in Firefox if you are running macOS. As of this moment, the extension only supports macOS Sonoma and Sequoia, not older versions. It also doesn’t work on Windows or Linux yet. Apple has had a Chrome extension since 2023, and has also worked with Edge but it hasn’t used the Passwords extension…both those have relied on the cloud…so your passwords are possibly at risk more. It does appear that Apple will be extending official Windows support down the line, too. 

If you are a habitual list maker…and I have done a bit if that in my life…and you have a Pixel 9, you may really like this. Androidpolice.com says a feature on the phone may be getting a cool expansion. The 9 already has a Call Notes feature that automatically generates call summaries. Well now, Google is apparently working on something added…the software will extract actionable items from the call summaries and turn them into to-do lists. The lists will include titles and allow users to copy, edit, and share them directly from the Phone app. Call Notes and the list feature are entirely on-device using Gemini Nano, so they don’t rely on the cloud. No official word on when the to-do feature will be live, but it looks like it will be soon. 

Meta is expanding its so-called ‘strike removal’ feature to all Facebook users and to Instagram. Engadget.com reports that what this is… is a ‘short educational program’ that helps users avoid a ‘strike’ on their account or Facebook jail. Think of it as going to driving school to get a point taken off your license if you got a speeding ticket. It will only be available once in a 12 month period for most first-time offenses. Sounds like a nice step, but it won’t eliminate their sometimes confused algorithm from taking action in the first place on a post that really doesn’t violate their community standards…it just may be language that the algorithm doesn’t understand. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Microsoft-New Autonomous AI Agents; AirPods Pro Hearing Features; Ford Replacing EV Adapters for Tesla Charging Stations; Google Flights-New ‘Cheapest’ Tab

The Agents are coming, the Agents are coming! Microsoft has rolled out 10 new AI agents for its Dynamics 365 line of business applications. Geekwire.com reports that the tools can complete tasks autonomously in areas including sales, service, finance, and supply chain operations. Microsoft has dropped these in a preemptive strike against Salesforce’s new agents, which will bow on October 25th. Salesforce already has billboards up in San Francisco, touting its own agents. Microsoft showed off theirs at their ‘AI Tour’ presentation in London. Microsoft also said at the event that 60% of Fortune 500 companies are using its Copilot AI tech. Microsoft says it will make its new AI agents available in public preview for Dynamics 365 starting later this year and stretching into early next year. These AI agents come in a few categories:

Sales, including a Sales Qualification Agent and Sales Order Agent, designed to help prioritize leads and automate order intake.

Operations, including a Supplier Communications Agent and Financial Reconciliation Agent, which optimize supply chain and financial processes.

Service, including a Customer Intent Agent and Customer Knowledge Management Agent, designed to improve customer service by automating case management and updating knowledge bases.

Others include a Financial Reconciliation Agent that prepares and cleanses data sets for financial reporting; an Account Reconciliation Agent that automates the matching and clearing of transactions; and a Time and Expense agent for time entry, expense tracking, and approval workflows.

Apple made some fuss at the September hardware event about the AirPods Pro 2 hearing aid features. According to techcrunch.com, which got an advanced pair and the software, the hearing test feature is ‘painless.’ One would hope so! Hearing tests from an audiologist are painless. Instead of speaking to an audiologist or technician, with Apple’s home test you tap the screen when you hear a tone played. The test is visible from the settings menu when you have a pair of AirPods Pro 2 earbuds connected to your phone and in your ears. You may need to turn devices off in your room….the AirPods will even pick up an air purifier. The hearing aid feature will only be available to those who test as having mild to moderate hearing loss. One real issue that might put hearing impaired users off…real hearing aids have no problem making it through a full day on a charge. The AirPods Pro 2 can only make it 4-6 hours on a charge, before returning them to the charging case to charge back up. At $249, they are much cheaper than dedicated hearing aids, but 4-6 hours then no use for a little while may be a deal breaker. 

Ford had offered EV customers free NACS adapters for Tesla Superchargers. Now, the blue oval company is telling folks to stop using them. Engadget.com says there is a ‘potential issue’ that could reduce charging speeds and even cause charging port damage. Ford will send a replacement adapter ‘in the coming weeks,’ and customers will need to send back the defective ones…all at no charge to the customers. A number of other companies have made adapters for Superchargers, which use the NACS standard. So far none of them have issued recalls like Ford. 

Google Flights has a new ‘Cheapest’ tab. Bgr.com reports that it will display the cheapest routes for your trip..but may involve more work and more creative itineraries. In other words, you may save by longer layovers, taking red-eyes, or ‘self-transfers,’ a euphemism for rechecking your bags. You also may need to use multiple carriers or booking sites. That said, if you are in invariant skinflint, who squeezes every nickel until the buffalo poops, this is for you.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Microsoft Copilot Gets Own Keyboard Key; Facebook ‘Link History’; Steam Breaks Game Launch Record; ChatGPT Flunks Test on Diagnosing Child Medical Cases

Get ready for the first real Windows PC keyboard change in 30 years. Microsoft partners will soon be shipping PCs with a new Copilot key that will provide quick access to Microsoft’s AI-powered Windows Copilot experience straight from a keyboard button press. Theverge.com reports that The new Copilot key will replace the menu key (application key) that was introduced alongside the Windows key decades ago. It will be placed next to the right-hand alt key on most keyboards, with the placement varying by OEM and across different markets.  The Copilot key simply launches the Windows Copilot that’s built into Windows 11, offering up a ChatGPT-like chatbot that can answer queries or even take actions inside Windows.

You may have already seen a popup if you clicked on a link in Facebook…asking if you want to save that link. It’s a new ‘feature’ called “Link History”…really a new way for Facebook to track the websites you visit. According to Gizmodo.com, Facebook is casting the Link History as a useful tool for consumers “with your browsing activity saved in one place,” rather than another way to keep tabs on your behavior. With the new setting you’ll “never lose a link again,” they say in the little popup. Yeah, it’s really a way to track…introduced after both Apple and Google in its Chrome browser limited Facebook’s ability to track the sites you visit, cutting their revenue. If you care to dig into the settings…and they are pretty impenetrable…you can select several increments of less than the 90 days Facebook says it keeps your link history. As the old drug awareness slogan said, “Just Say No,” when you get the popup.

For the movie fans that get all excited about movies making $60, $100, $200 million or even a billion…it may be hard to swallow, but video games bring in vast hordes of cash each year. Now, gamesradar.com says as recorded on SteamDB, the Steam platform saw the release of 14,531 game titles, blowing past last year’s record by almost 2,000 games. That adds up to over 39 games released a DAY! Valve just released the first update to the handheld Steam Deck in the fall…and even if you could play through the top ten percent of all these games…which you can’t…never fear. The new game releases continue. They pumped out 36 on New Years Day 2024!

With all the freaking out over artificial intelligence and how it is coming for many jobs, one has to pull back and take a reality check. Arstechnica.com reports that it isn’t going to displace your family doctor any time soon. ChatGPT’s chatbot was already doing a terrible job at diagnosing challenging medical cases…getting it right only 39% of the time. Now, a study just out in the JAMA Pediatrics publication says the chatbot doctor wannabe is even worse for kids…it had an accuracy rate of just 17% when diagnosing pediatric medical cases. The authors of the study put it this way….”[T]his study underscores the invaluable role that clinical experience holds.” But it also identifies the critical weaknesses that led to ChatGPT’s high error rate and ways to transform it into a useful tool in clinical care. AI’s potential for problem-solving has raised considerable interest in developing it into a helpful tool for complex diagnostics…but for at least the next few years…the doctor is still in.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.