Windows 11 users should fire up Paint now to check out this superb new AI-based feature

Windows 11 users are getting the Paint app bolstered with a really smart addition on the AI front.

This is the introduction of Dall-E 3 support to Paint, or as it’s known in the app, Cocreator.

If you’ve seen the feature in Bing AI, it’s a top-notch image creation feature. Basically, you can tell Cocreator what you want and it’ll make an image based on your description (and specified art style).

As we’ve already seen with Bing AI, it’s easy to use and provides powerful results, so much so that when first rolled out with Bing Chat (now renamed as Copilot), there was a massive rush to use the image generation capability – and a whole lot of buzz around how good it is. (With a few wobbles along the way, mind, but that’s par for the course for AI in many respects).

Windows Latest reports that Cocreator in Paint is now rolling out to all Windows 11 users, so it has left the testing phase (where it was first spotted back in September, before making it to the Release Preview build at the end of October).

There’s a short tutorial to introduce the feature to help beginners understand what it’s all about, too.


Analysis: Not got Cocreator yet? You will have it soon

Not everyone will see the Cocreator feature right now, as the rollout will take a little time. Also, you need to ensure that you’re running the latest version of Paint (so update the app), and if Microsoft asks you to sign up to the waiting list for the feature (in the app), make sure that you do this.

Paint has been fleshed out considerably this year, not just with the addition of this AI-based feature, but also with a transparency effect, and moreover, layers, a much-requested piece of functionality that was added recently. Not to mention background removal which does what it says on the tin, quickly and with no fuss (the Photos app also got this recently, as well as a background blur option to boot).

The improvements for Microsoft’s core Windows 11 apps keep coming, as well as the ditching of some of the chaff in this department too, which is equally welcome.

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A Song of Ice and Fire and Bowling: the VR games and apps I played in June 2023

This month I’ve used VR to become an action movie star in Pistol Whip, explore the new Polus Point map in Among Us, and entered a VR bowling tournament in ForeVR Bowl.

June has been a jam-packed month for VR – what with Apple announcing its brand new Apple Vision Pro at WWDC 2023 just days after Meta officially announced the Meta Quest 3. But when I’m not writing news and features about the hardware reveals, I’ve found time to enjoy several VR games and apps using my Oculus Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro headsets, and I want to highlight three of them below.

For our picks of the all-time greatest VR games you can play right now check out our best VR games list, but read on to find out about the VR games and apps I’ve been playing in June 2023.

Among Us VR: Polus Point

Ahead of its release on July 27, I got to try out Polus Point the new map headed to Among Us VR for free for all players.

Polus is my favorite Among Us map, so I was initially disappointed to hear that Polus Point is merely a tribute to it rather than a complete remake in VR. Having tried the map out for myself though I’ve seen that it’s an excellent stage in its own right – while still honoring the original that I love.

Despite it being intimidating to newer players, I stand firm that Polus is Among Us' best map. Mira can feel a tad claustrophobic with lots of Crewmates running around, The Airship can feel too massive once a few players have been bumped off, and while I like Skeld it’s a bit too easy for people familiar with the map’s room and vent layout to sus out Impostors. 

Polus sits between these options; it’s big while not feeling overwhelmingly large, and its more complex layout allows players to take multiple different paths between the same points. This means that Crewmates can still have their suspicions about who might be responsible for a dead body, but Impostors can retain some plausible deniability over the route they traveled allowing them to potentially survive a few meetings even if they’re caught out.

Polus Point isn’t an exact replica of Polus but it retains its spirit. The sprawling map is something of a labyrinth, with a few branching paths to take you between different sections. This layout allows Impostors to get away with murders they might not on the Skeld 2 (Among Us VR's other stage).

The new Polus Point map also borrows the aesthetics of the original with Polus’ iconic decorations like the bridge to nowhere over a pool of lava, Crewmate snowmen (snow-beans?), and the docked Drop Ship. There are also new locales to explore too, like a crystal mine that features a new claw-machine-like visual task – meaning other players can watch you complete it and know you’re not an Impostor.

I had an absolute blast exploring Polus Point, and if you want to try it out early there’s a beta going on right now, from June 29, 1pm ET to July 3, 1pm ET (5pm GMT on June 29 / 3am on June 30 to 5pm GMT on July 3 / 3am on July 4)

To get involved Meta Quest players need to head to the Among Us VR game’s store page on a web browser and look at the Version section. In the dropdown menu change the version from Live to Beta and your game should update and take you to the new map – though you may need to uninstall and reinstall the game on your device to get this to work.

As for Steam players, you’ll want to right-click Among Us VR in your Library and select Properties. In the Betas tab change the dropdown menu option from None to Beta, and then boot up the game. If this doesn’t work you may need to exit Steam (close it completely rather than just minimize it) and then reopen Steam for the Among Us VR update to happen.

ForeVR Bowl

This month I was also invited to take part in a bowling tournament hosted by developer ForeVR Games, with its game ForeVR Bowl being the battleground for the event.

ForeVR Bowl feels like a bowling game made for everyone. Pros looking for an accurate bowling sim with realistic physics and different ball stats will appreciate the depth that the title can offer, while more casual players like myself can dial back the realism and enjoy an experience that’ll take you back to the good ol’ days of Wii Sports bowling, albeit with some solid upgrades. 

One of my favorite improvements is the game environments that have you bowling in more typical joints – like a 90s-era alley and a club that could have been ripped straight out of Brooklyn – as well as alleys deep under the sea and in space. Much like Walkabout Mini Golf’s courses, these are places you and your friends will want to hang out, and if you go exploring your crew might be able to find hidden ball designs dotted around each location to add to your collection.

My first-round match in the tournament was against UploadVR’s Henry Stockdale; a fellow Brit who has previously freelanced for a number of sites including this one to share his thoughts on VR and it was great to finally meet him in person (well, virtually).

The match started off close, but after a few balls I could see victory slipping away from me. I was doing well, but when I would leave some pins standing Henry would be able to score a few extra points, or even secure a spare or a strike.

I was trailing, and as I stepped up to take my fourth turn I was convinced that the first round of the competition would be my last. With it feeling like my back was against the wall I grabbed the virtual bowling ball, made a quick prayer to the bowling gods, then did what I do best – I lobbed the ball as hard as I could and hoped it would go well.

For what felt like an age I watched the ball roll its way to its destination, convinced that I’d only score another six points or so. It appears the bowling gods had other plans, as I saw every single pin tumble; I had earned my first strike.

Henry was still ahead, but the gap had shrunk, so with my newfound confidence I tried the tactic again, and again, and again getting two more strikes in a row. I only managed to win a spare in my 7th round, but that was fine – my burst of skill (read: luck) had helped me pull comfortably ahead of my competition. A few more good throws later and I had won, with 171 points to Henry’s 130. 

At the time of writing, I’m organizing my second-round match. Hopefully, I’ll be able to report next month that I’ve progressed further in the competition – maybe even madethe finals – but we’ll have to wait and see how well I do.

Pistol Whip

If you love action movies and wish you could star in one then you’ll love Pistol Whip. I regularly play Pistol Whip, and with it being one of the first two titles on Meta’s new Meta Quest Plus subscription this is the perfect time to write about it.

Pistol Whip is an on-rails shooter that has you race through levels armed with a firearm – there’s the classic single or dual-wielded pistol, but also a range of different weapons. You earn points by blasting the enemies that come your way, and you can earn bonus points by shooting your foes in time with the beat (like a well-choreographed fight scene in a film) and by pistol-whipping them (hitting them with your gun rather than shooting them).

@hamishhector

♬ original sound – Hamish Hector

This title sounds fairly simple, but particularly on higher difficulties it can become an intense VR workout. You’ll have to contort your body a fair amount in order to dodge the rain of bullets that the baddies will be firing at you.

Each level has a unique music track, and there’s a huge range of stages inspired by different action movies. You’ll find classic Westerns and cyberpunk sci-fi stages, as well as levels that take clear inspiration from franchises like John Wick and Mad Max.

If you want to try out Pistol Whip you can pick it up for $ / £22.99 / AU$ or you can sign up for Meta’s Quest Plus service for $ 7.99 / £7.99 per month ($ 59.99 / £59.99 per year) and download it for free (Meta hasn’t released details yet about the service’s availability in Australia). Once it's downloaded you’ll have access to Pistol Whip until you stop paying for Quest Plus – unless you buy the game separately.


Not liking the look of anything on this list? Check out the VR games and apps I played in May 2023.

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Tim Cook under fire over Final Cut Pro – and rightly so

Some of the world's top TV and film editors are not happy with Apple’s handling of Final Cut Pro – and they’re letting the company know about it. 

In an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, over 100 production professionals are calling on the company to publicly commit to building the video editing software into an industry-standard tool. 

The frustrated filmmakers praise Final Cut Pro (FCP) as “the biggest leap forward in editing technology since the move to digital” – before lambasting  the company for failing to support the tool’s integration into professional film and TV production. Effectively, the authors believe FCP is strong enough to compete with the likes of Avid, but isn’t living up to its full potential. 

Oscar-worthy?

Published on GoPetition, the letter states :“If Apple renewed its public commitment to the professional filmmaking industry and its visionary product, we believe an increasing number of editors would discover the joys of using Final Cut Pro.” 

Ending with a pointed coda, the group bitterly notes that despite Apple TV+ recently becoming the first streaming platform to win the Best Picture Oscar, it’s unlikely the crew behind CODA would’ve chosen to edit the hit film with Final Cut Pro. 

‘Plans for the future’

In a supporting statement, Galliano Olivier, editor on the French drama Marianne, explains: “In France, it is extremely difficult to get permission to edit TV with Final Cut Pro. You can’t use it without fighting producers, directors, post-production supervisors, sound editors.” 

Knut Hake, editor for Netflix exclusive Bloody Red Sky, agrees, suggesting a public beta program for the video editing tool “would make a big difference for workflow consultants, systems integrators and third-party developers… it would make it much easier for people to fit Final Cut into their plans for the future.”

In a bid to increase platform adoption and tempt new editors over to FCP, the co-signatories also request the introduction of industry-specific features that have long been missing from the NLE software. 

However, Apple may need to do more than release a few patches to make Final Cut Pro the professional editing software of choice. Steve Sanders, editor-in-chief for Fox’s War of the Worlds, highlights another major problem: lack of collaboration. He said, “editing big productions needs collaboration. Different users have to be able to access the same library at the same time. There is no way around this. Avid Media Composer does it and even DaVinci Resolve does it. Apple still targets the single user. They have to change that.” 

The editors’ open letter comes just days after Apple released its latest version of Final Cut Pro. But it’ll take more than voice isolation, duplicate detection, and Mac Studio optimization to legitimize FCP in the eyes of the industry.  

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