Microsoft is upgrading its Copilot with GPT-4 Turbo, even for free users

Microsoft revealed that its Copilot AI assistant will be getting a huge upgrade: it will be integrating Open AI’s GPT-4 Turbo language model. The best part is that all users will have full access to GPT-4 Turbo, including those in the free tier.

According to the same status update on Twitter / X, Pro tier users will have the option to choose the older standard GPT-4 model by using a built-in toggle, which is useful for specialized cases. It also gives the Pro tier added value without taking away from the free tier users.

GPT-4 Turbo is the updated version of the base GPT-4 and is well-known for speed, accuracy, and complex long-form task management. The update brings faster code generation, more insightful suggestions, and improved overall responsiveness, translating to better productivity and smoother coding.

Copilot is really increasing its value

It’s good to see that free-tier users are getting meaningful updates to their Copilot AI assistant already – it’s a good sign that Microsoft will ensure that those without deep enough pockets to maintain a paid premium subscription can still benefit from the service. This is especially important since the tech giant needs to win over more people to Windows 11, which is where the full version of Copilot will be.

However, the Pro subscribers aren’t left in the dark either, as they get more flexibility in the AI assistant when it comes to language model upgrades. Not to mention other features and tools that have been added so far.

Microsoft just announced a Copilot Chatbot builder, which allows Pro users to create custom task-specific chatbots based on their job role. What makes this so interesting is that it was built without any input from OpenAI, which could be due to a need to distance itself from the popular AI tool due to increased scrutiny and lawsuits. This is odd considering that the latest GPT update was added across the Copilot board.

There’s also a feature that lets the Copilot bot directly read files on your PC, then provide a summary, locate specific data, or search the internet for additional information. However, it’s not a privacy nightmare as you have to manually drag and drop the file into the Copilot chat box (or select the ‘Add a file’ option), and then make a ‘summarize’ request of the AI.

You might also like

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Adobe’s new beta Express app gives you Firefly AI image generation for free

Adobe has released a new beta version of its Express app, letting users try out their Firefly generative AI on mobile for the first time.

The AI functions much like Firefly on the web since it has a lot of the same features. You can have the AI engine create images from a single text prompt, insert or remove objects from images, and add words with special effects. The service also offers resources like background music tracks, stock videos, and a content scheduler for posting on social media platforms. It’s important to mention that all these features and more normally require a subscription to Adobe Express Premium. But, according to the announcement, everything will be available for free while the beta is ongoing. Once it’s over, you’ll have to pay the $ 10-a-month subscription to keep using the tools 

Adobe Express with Firefly features

(Image credit: Adobe)

Art projects on the current Express app will not be found in the beta – at least not right now. Ian Wang, who is the vice president of product for Adobe Express, told The Verge that once Express with Firefly exits beta, all the “historical data from the old app” will carry over to the new one. 

The new replacement

Adobe is planning on making Express with Firefly the main platform moving forward. It’s unknown when the beta will end. A company representative couldn’t give us an exact date, but they told us the company is currently collecting feedback for the eventual launch. When the trial period ends, the representative stated, “All eligible devices will be automatically updated to the new [app]”.

We managed to gain access to the beta and the way it works is pretty simple. Upon installation, you’ll see a revolving carousel of the AI tools at the top. For this quick demo, we’ll have Firefly make an image from a text prompt. Tap the option, then enter whatever you want to see from the AI.

Adobe Express with Firefly demo

(Image credit: Future)

Give it a few seconds to generate the content where you’ll be given multiple pictures to choose from. From there, you edit the image to your liking. After you’re all done, you can publish the finished product on social media or share it with someone.

Availability

Android users can download the beta directly from the Google Play Store. iPhone owners, on the other hand, will have a harder time. Apple has restrictions on how many testers can have access to beta software at a time. iOS users will instead have to join Adobe’s waitlist first and wait to get chosen. If you’re one of the lucky few, the company will guide you through the process of installing the app on your iPhone.

There is a system requirements page listing all of the smartphones eligible for the beta, however, it doesn’t appear to be a super strict list. The device we used was a OnePlus Nord N20 and it ran the app just fine. Adobe’s website also has all the supported languages which include English, French, Korean, plus Brazilian Portuguese.

Check out TechRadar's list of the best photo editor for 2024 if you want more robust tools.

You might also like

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Nvidia’s GeForce Now’s free tier will soon show you up to two minutes of ads while you wait to play – proving nowhere is safe from commercials

Nvidia’s free tier of GeForce Now, its cloud gaming service, will soon run up to two minutes of ads before you play, according to Nvidia spokesperson Stephanie Ngo.

GeForce Now is a service offered by Nvidia that allows you to connect to digital PC game stores and stream games you already own across a multitude of different devices – including Macs, Windows laptops, iPhones and iPads, Android phones, and more.

It offers three membership tiers, with the free membership offering a queue system with an hour-long gaming session length that will then bring you back to the start of the queue once your time is up. It’s in this waiting time that the ads will be shown, so while it could be a little annoying, your actual gameplay time won’t be interrupted. 

The ads will help pay for the free tier service and keep it free, with Ngo adding that the change is also expected to reduce wait times for free users in the long run – though it’s not entirely clear at this point how that’s going to work. Perhaps Nvidia is expecting the arrival of ads to push users to pay for the premium tiers or simply drive some users away from the platform entirely – either would, in theory, help reduce queues for the free tier.  GeForce Now users should expect an email on 27 Feb to let them know about the changes. 

 Major inconvenience or just … meh?  

I’m not a user of Nvidia’s game-streaming service myself, but I reached out to GeForce Now Members within the TechRadar team and learned that wait times currently fluctuate between five to fifteen minutes – and scrolling through the GeForce Now subreddit proves that wait times can go on even longer. 

Most people who use the free tier of GeForce Now go in aware that they will be spending a not-insignificant amount of time in a queue, so in reality, two minutes of ads when you know you’re likely going to be waiting for longer anyway isn’t much of an inconvenience – it might even help kill some time. Many users are likely to simply do something else while queuing for their free hour timeslot anyway, so why shouldn’t Nvidia get some extra ad revenue from it?

That being said, it is a gloomy example of the inescapable modern torture of being advertised at non-stop. Almost every facet of the internet is packed with ads at this point (this article included – sorry about that, but we’ve got to eat!) and while a lot of platforms offer ad-free paid tiers, it seems like that isn’t enough anymore. 

Amazon Prime has received a lot of (well-deserved) flak for slapping ads onto paid memberships, and Netflix’s ad-supported free tier wasn’t very well-received either. While Nvidia’s latest move seems fairly innocuous right now, who’s to say the ‘up to two minutes’ won’t extend further in the future, until you’re sat watching a full ten minutes of commercials to play an hour-long session of your current favorite game? Do you just give in and buy a paid membership? I just might, personally – but I wouldn’t be happy about it.

Via The Verge 

You might also like…

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Microsoft’s official PC Cleaner app is now on the Microsoft Store – and makes big promises about speeding up your PC for free

Microsoft is making its powerful clean up tool PC Cleaner easier to install by adding it to the Microsoft Store (which is built-in to Windows 11) – and it could be a handy tool for speeding up your computer and fixing issues.

The tool is similar to CCleaner, a long-established third-party system cleaner for Windows (now also available for Mac, Android, and iOS). Apps like CCleaner aim to clear out clutter from Windows system folders and improve your PC’s performance due to the cleared space.

Microsoft has been testing its own system cleaning and maintenance software since 2022. Originally, Microsoft’s PC Manager app was being developed and tested by Microsoft’s for the Chinese market. Now, Windows Latest has spotted that the PC Manager app is available for download from the Microsoft Store and is also available in more regions including the US. You can use PC Cleaner in both Windows 10 and Windows 11 as it’s supported on both operating systems. It didn’t come up on either of my Windows 11 devices in the Microsoft store, but have a look for yourself. It seems like if you can’t get it yet, it is coming soon according to an official Microsoft PC Cleaner page.

A screenshot of the official Microsoft PC Cleaner page

(Image credit: Future)

What features and tools users can expect

The latest version of PC Cleaner introduces a floating toolbar which allows you to quickly access PC Cleaner’s tools. These include:

  • PC Boost which deals with unnecessary processes and deletes temporary files, along with a Smart Boost option for spikes in RAM usage and temporary files that exceed 1 GB file size.
  • Deep Cleanup that seeks out older Windows update files, clears out recycle bin files, your web cache, and application caches. However, you can select what you’d like to keep or remove.
  • Process which provides a view of all of the processes currently running on your PC, allowing you to end any process in PC Cleaner without opening up Task Manager.
  • Startup that allows you to manage the apps that launch on start-up
  • Large Files which locates large files on any of your drives more quickly than if you had to find them manually using File Explorer.
  • More tools like Taskbar Repair to revert it to its original state and Restore Default Apps to restore all default app preferences. In true Microsoft fashion, it looks like the company will apparently use this feature to encourage you to use Microsoft apps such as Edge, according to Windows Latest.

Man using download manager on laptop

(Image credit: Unsplash)

Microsoft's take on third-party system cleaner apps

Microsoft has spoken less than favorably about third-party PC cleaner apps and sometimes called them harmful. It would warn users that these apps would be more likely to delete crucially important registry files by accident to clean up as much ‘junk’ as possible. CCleaner even got Microsoft’s potentially unwanted program (PUP) stamp of disapproval. A PUP is a piece of software that may be perceived as unwanted, unnecessary, or harmful by users. While Microsoft has its own vested interest to have people use as many in-house apps as possible, CCleaner has had legitimate security concerns in the past because of malware-related incidents. 

However, it should be noted that while Microsoft has labeled CCleaner a PUP, it’s available to download from the Microsoft Store as well.

Microsoft’s PC Manager is free to use and it can be set to correspond with your Windows theme. It’s got a host of useful tools designed by Microsoft itself for Windows, and the company promises it won’t delete any necessary system files. While options like third-party apps are good to have, this seems like a solid bet and I’ll be installing it myself when it's available to me. It’s less likely to come with malware since it comes straight from Microsoft, and will be able to be downloaded via the Microsoft Store. It also has features for free that you have to pay for in other apps like CCleaner. If you can’t see it in the Microsoft Store yet (like me), there is an official Microsoft page for PC Cleaner that indicates a direct download link is coming soon. 

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE…

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Google Bard finally gets a free AI image generator – here’s how to try it

Considering how popular image generating is right now, Google Bard’s recent update that adds AI image generation seems all but inevitable.

According to the official Google Bard update page, using the tool is quite simple. You can activate the AI image generator by simply entering “a few words” into the search bar, “starting with English prompts.” Then you “click ‘Generate more’ for more options and download the ones you like.”

Those generated images are stored in pinned chats, recent chats, and Bard Activity, and can be deleted from your Bard Activity by deleting the prompt that generated them.

Bard’s image generation is powered by its updated Imagen 2 model, which is meant to balance speed with quality to deliver photorealistic images. The new feature is available worldwide including in the US, except in the following regions/countries: European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, and the UK. It’s also only available in English and only to those 18 and above, though how Google would enforce the age restriction beyond a generic ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ question is unclear.

In terms of responsibility, Google states in its official blog that “Bard uses SynthID to embed digitally identifiable watermarks into the pixels of generated images,” which makes its AI-generated images distinct from works created by humans. Most likely this feature was developed to prevent people from using generated images for commercial use, which tracks since that would open up a legal can of worms.

Google also asserts that it seeks to limit violent, offensive, or sexual content from the training data, as well as applying filters to prevent named people from being involved in image generation. 

Bard with Gemini Pro will also be enhanced with this new update. The update page states that “Bard will be far more capable at things like understanding, summarising, reasoning, brainstorming, writing, and planning.” This upgrade to Bard’s AI is most likely what allowed Google to offer the free AI image generator tool in the first place, along with the support.

Google Bard Image Generation

We created the first two images with a simple prompt and clicked “Generate more” to see the second two. (Image credit: Future)

Google Bard is taking over 

Google has been going all in with its Bard AI, even using it to slowly replace Google Assistant, which was the tech giant’s previous answer to Apple’s Siri. It was discovered that Google changed the greeting pop-up for various devices from ‘I’m Assistant with Bard’ to simply ‘I’m Bard.’

It was also announced that Google would be removing 17 features from Assistant in the coming weeks, including playing audiobooks on Google Play Books through voice command and asking for information about your contacts. The official announcement even implied that more features would be removed.

You might also like

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Microsoft just launched a free Copilot app for Android, powered by GPT-4

If you're keen to play around with some generative AI tech on your phone, you now have another option: Microsoft has launched an Android app for its Copilot chatbot, and like Copilot in Windows 11, it's free to use and powered by GPT-4 and DALL-E 3.

As spotted by @techosarusrex (via Neowin), the Copilot for Android app is available now, and appears to have arrived on December 19. It's free to use and you don't even need to sign into your Microsoft account – but if you don't sign in, you are limited in terms of the number of prompts you can input and the length of the answers.

In a sense, this app isn't particularly new, because it just replicates the AI functionality that's already available in Bing for Android. However, it cuts out all the extra Bing features for web search, news, weather, and so on.

There's no word yet on a dedicated Copilot for iOS app, so if you're using an iPhone you're going to have to stick with Bing for iOS for now if you need some AI assistance. For now, Microsoft hasn't said anything officially on its new Android app.

Text and images

The functionality inside the new app is going to be familiar to anyone who has used Copilot or Bing AI anywhere else. Microsoft has been busy adding the AI everywhere, and has recently integrated it into Windows 11 too.

You can ask direct questions like you would with a web search, get complex topics explained in simple terms, have Copilot generate new text on any kind of subject, and much more. The app can work with text, image and voice prompts too.

Based on our testing of the app, it seems you get five questions or searches per day for free if you don't want to sign in. If you do tell Microsoft who you are, that limit is lifted, and signing in also gives you access to image generation capabilities.

With both Apple's Siri and Google Assistant set to get major AI boosts in the near future, Microsoft won't want to be left behind – and the introduction of a separate Copilot app could help position it as a standalone digital assistant that works anywhere.

You might also like

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

BlackPink is performing a free VR concert for Meta Quest 3 and Oculus Quest 2 owners as a post-Christmas gift

If you’re a K-Pop fan who owns a Meta Quest headset or gets one for Christmas, Meta has a gift for you; free front-row seats to a BlackPink concert in virtual reality taking place on December 26 at 5pm PT / Wednesday 1am GMT / Wednesday 12am ACT.

The recording is from the group’s finale show of its recent World Tour – performed at the Gocheok Sky Dome – and will be available inside Meta’s Horizon Worlds metaverse platform.

And this isn’t some 10-minute clip show, this is a full-on 70-minute performance that has been custom-made for VR according to a Meta press release. It’ll feature a number of the group’s most popular tracks including Shut Down, Pink Venom, and How You Like That and more.

Get in early to avoid disappointment

You can RSVP for the BlackPink concert on the event’s page but to watch it you’ll need a Quest headset – specifically an Oculus Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, or Meta Quest 3 – and the latest version of Meta Horizon Worlds installed.

I’d recommend setting an alarm about 1 hour before the start time. This should give you time to install any updates if your app or headset isn’t up to date, get your avatar into the right outfit or created if you don’t yet have one, and go through the Horizon Worlds tutorial and into the Music Valley event space if you haven’t played it already.

From experience, I can tell you it’s better to wait for a while in the event than it is to try and hop in last minute and be stuck in long virtual queues that cause you to miss the concert.

Popular artists are known to cause server crashes when an influx of people try to load in all at the same time. Meta’s first big Foo Fighters VR concert suffered from this, and more recently Eminiem’s performance in Fortnite’s Big Bang event was missed by a lot of fans because of similar issues.

Thankfully if you do miss the BlackPink concert premiere because of server issues, simply can’t make it because of other commitments, or want to watch it again later, replays will be available until “the end of January” according to the official press release.

You might also like

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Meta Quest 3 owners check the phone app as 12 free games might be waiting for you

If you own a Meta Quest 3 you should check your Meta Quest smartphone app as you might have a six-month free trial of Meta Quest Plus waiting for you.

Previously this offer was an exclusive order incentive for people who bought the 512GB Meta Quest 3 model, but Quest 3 owners on Reddit have noticed that the 6-month trial is available to them even if they bought the 128GB version. This means rather than saving only $ 7.99 / £7.99 from a one-month trial everyone can get $ 47.94 / £47.94 worth of subscription value for no cost.

Meta Quest Plus is like a Netflix for Quest VR games. Each month you’ll get 2 free VR titles that you can add to your Quest library, and for as long as you are subscribed you can play them. If you unsubscribe, you’ll lose access to your free games until you rejoin Meta Quest Plus.  So with this trial that’s 12 free games, which is a pretty excellent deal that rivals this year’s best Black Friday deals.

To see if you can get this free six-month trial you’ll need to open open the Meta Quest app on your smartphone. Use Search to look for Meta Quest Plus, then on the Quest Plus store page tap the blue button at the bottom of your screen that says “Start your six-month trial.”

Meta Quest Plus advert showing Pistol Whip and Pixel Ripper 1995

(Image credit: Meta)

This offer doesn’t appear to be exclusive to new subscribers either. Comments on the original Reddit post suggest that people can get the six-month trial if they’ve tried the one-month trial before, and even if they’re subscribed – with the six free months being added on top of the subscription they already have.

It also appears to be available in every region, though some users have reported they can only see the one-month trial; that said it’s not clear if they’re Meta Quest 3 or Oculus Quest 2 owners.

If you’re looking to expand your VR library then Meta Quest Plus is a good way to do it, as the two games you get are worth more than the monthly $ 7.99 / £7.99 fee. However, you don’t get to pick which games you get so you might prefer to spend more but get the games you actually want.

The two free titles at the time of writing are NFL Pro Era and Angry Birds: Isle of Pigs. We've not tried either but both titles have been fairly well received with a four and four-and-a-half star rating, respectively, on the Quest Store.

If you don’t have a Meta Quest 3, or an Oculus Quest 2, then you can check out our Black Friday Oculus Quest 2 deals guide to see the latest and greatest offers. If it’s still available you might want to go after Amazon’s incredible Quest 2 deal as it gets you $ 50 / £50 off the headset and free $ 50 / £50 Amazon credit too.

You might also like

More Black Friday deals (US) 

More Black Friday deals (UK) 

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

You can now talk to ChatGPT like Siri for free, but it won’t reveal OpenAI’s secrets

ChatGPT has conveniently distracted us from OpenAI's boardroom drama, which has just seen Sam Altman return to the company as CEO, by making its Voice chat feature available to all free users.

The AI chatbot got its impressively conversational voice powers in September, but this feature was limited to the paid Plus and Enterprise tiers. But now OpenAI, which is looking for a shiny object to take eyes away from its recent meltdown, has made 'ChatGPT with voice' available to all users.

To use it, you just need the latest version of ChatGPT's iOS or Android app. Tap on the headphones icon at the bottom of the screen and you can start quizzing the chatbot about anything you like – as long as your question isn't about recent events, like OpenAI's CEO merry-go-round.

That's because the GPT-3.5 model that's available to free users has only been trained on data going up to January 2022. So when you ask it, for example, 'Why was Sam Altman fired from OpenAI?', it answers that there are “no public reports or indications” of this happening. How convenient.

Still, if you're looking for a voice assistant that's a bit chattier and more knowledgeable than the likes of Apple's Siri, then the ChatGPT voice function is a fun new tool (assuming the service hasn't gone down, like it did at around 2pm PT / 10pm GMT yesterday).

You can choose from five different voices and your chats (but not the audio clips) are saved just like your text-based conversations. It'll also auto-detect languages, though you can also choose this in the Settings menu.

 A Siri replacement?

A phone on a pink background showing ChatGPT's voice feature

(Image credit: Future)

Given it's now possible to use ChatGPT with Siri, the arrival of voice powers on the chatbot's free version is a potentially big deal. That's particularly the case for owners of the iPhone 15 Pro, who can map ChatGPT to the new Action button (by going to Settings > Action Button > Shortcut).

Siri and ChatGPT still have notable differences though. For example, Siri is deeply integrated with the iPhone, allowing it to perform actions like setting timers and controlling your phone's volume.

But ChatGPT's depth of knowledge and more conversational style is arguably better when it comes to general knowledge questions – as long as you're aware of its propensity to hallucinate.

It's certainly a fun, free feature to play with and will no doubt take some of the attention off OpenAI's Succession-like boardroom tussles, which could ultimately have a big impact on how the AI chatbot tussle plays out in 2024.

You might also like

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Microsoft’s closing of free upgrade loophole appears to be breaking some Windows 11 and 10 PCs

Microsoft recently closed a loophole that allowed people to continue to access the free upgrade to Windows 10 (and then Windows 11), from Windows 7 or 8, but it appears there’s been an unwelcome side-effect here.

Namely that those who have previously taken the free upgrade offer in years past have reportedly found that their license key is suddenly deactivated.

Let’s outline a quick example to make the situation clearer. Say you owned a PC with Windows 7 way back when, then took the free upgrade to Windows 10 when it emerged. And down the road, you further upgraded to Windows 11.

So, you’ve been happily carrying on with your Windows 11 PC, but last week – since the mentioned loophole was closed – you decided to upgrade your graphics card.

After that upgrade, you found that Windows 11 is telling you that your license key isn’t valid – so you have to buy a new one.

That’s what has happened to The Verge, and some of its readers, and other folks who have been complaining about the situation on Reddit and other online platforms.

Okay, so it’s not clear how many Windows 11 and 10 users this is happening to, but it’s certainly occurring in some circumstances. It may arise without a hardware component upgrade, The Verge suggests, and the deactivation of the license could even take place due to a simple BIOS update.

Reader Daniel Mittelman tells a story of having his activation blocked after upgrading some hardware in his PC, and he contacted Microsoft customer support about the problem.

Mittelman observes: “They told me because my Windows 10 license had been upgraded from Windows 7, and that they had discontinued support for Windows 7 product keys, that they could not continue my license for Windows 10 Pro after the hardware change.

“They also acknowledged that changing the hardware is not a violation of the Windows license so there is no reason my Windows 10 license should be revoked or altered in any way.”


Analysis: Microsoft is investigating, thankfully

That’s the key point here, of course. While you can’t get an entirely new PC and use a Windows license from your existing computer – it’s tied to one machine – upgrading components should not mess with your license (it’s still the same PC, just with a bit of it swapped out, or maybe several bits).

So, this shouldn’t be happening, and as theorized it may be something to do with Microsoft squashing the upgrade path from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10/11. That free offer officially expired a year after the launch of Windows 10, but remained an unofficial route until just recently when Microsoft finally did away with it.

Microsoft is looking into this issue, you’ll be glad to hear.

Principal product manager of Windows at Microsoft, Bill Babonas, told The Verge: “Microsoft is aware of these customers reports and is investigating. Customers who are experiencing technical difficulties should contact customer support.”

You can use Windows without activating the OS, it should be noted, but there are a sizeable number of limitations including not being able to customize the operating system, and indeed not getting updates (except critical security patches). There are other annoyances such as a watermark and pop-ups nagging to activate Windows, too. In short, it’s far from ideal to be limping along in this manner…

You might also like

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More