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Microsoft ignores Bing fails by planning to let AI loose on Windows 11 desktops

March 6, 2023
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Windows 11 looks set to enlist the help of AI to make the desktop look that little bit fancier – although the wisdom of forging down this path could be questioned.

This leak comes from Albacore, a well-known source of Microsoft spillage on Twitter (flagged up by Betanews), who spotted a ‘Depth effects’ toggle in the Personalization options (under Settings) in the latest Windows 11 preview build.

“When available, use AI to add depth effects to background images” 🤔 pic.twitter.com/1EJnvuy81GMarch 4, 2023

As the screengrab in the above tweet shows, the new setting allows for the use of AI to “add depth effects to background images.” We can guess that this will add some 3D depth to any given background on the desktop, and the AI will suss out how to do this in the most effective way possible.

The slider is in the preview build, but isn’t functional and does nothing right now. That will presumably change in builds in the near future, given that it’s actually visible in the UI as of the latest preview.

Analysis: A taste of things to come?

Of course, AI is the big thing these days, in Windows and elsewhere. Microsoft recently kicked off a major project with the Bing chatbot, which was just brought to the taskbar in Windows 11 (except not really – we discuss what happened in-depth here).

In the computing sphere, we’ve also seen not just chatbots and AI authors, but artificial intelligence-powered artwork creation too, so perhaps bringing AI to the interface of an OS is a logical next step.

Admittedly, adding a bit of a 3D effect (presumably) to the desktop wallpaper is a very small step, but nonetheless a discernible stride. It’s easy enough to envisage a future where AI not only jazzes up what you’re looking at on the desktop, but perhaps predicts what you might need in terms of functionality.

Microsoft is currently experimenting with how much time it takes for the snap layouts flyout to appear, for example, and perhaps that could be intelligently adjusted to appear really snappily (ahem) for those who use that particular feature a lot.

Microsoft is also playing around with tailored recommendations and suggestions in the interface anyway, but the trouble with this is that there’s a thin line between a recommendation and an advert.

Similarly, when it comes to prettying up the interface, what users don’t want is better aesthetics at the expense of performance and responsiveness on the desktop. That said, these features being optional ensures that if you don’t like something, you don’t have to use it (which is the case for this new depth effects setting).

It’s hard not to be concerned about what might happen when AI is brought into wider play with Windows in this manner, though. Especially when we look at what has happened with the launch of the Bing AI, which quickly got into trouble on all sorts of fronts – though admittedly, it’s still very early stages for the chatbot.

Still, AI, by its very nature, is unpredictable – how it’ll learn, react, and implement things – so it may not be all that wise to be moving too fast to usher in artificial intelligence infused across the Windows interface. Lessons that the Bing bot has already taught us quite clearly…

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March 4, 2023
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As expected, Microsoft is bringing the powerful and somewhat controversial AI-Enabled Bing to Windows 11, and putting it right inside your taskbar.

The update arrives today (February 28), but if you don't already have access to AI Bing (perhaps you're still on a waiting list) you won't see it.

For those that do have access, and are running at least Windows 11 version 22H2 on one of the best Windows PCs, they'll see the same OpenAI ChatGPT-enabled Bing chatbot at least a million people have been running for almost a month.

AI-Enabled Bing is designed to be like a search-engine copilot. You can use the new Bing in the standard search fashion, or in a more conversational mode, where you ask the chatbot anything, even a series of questions that stay in context and, when all goes well, help you to elicit better answers.

Now, that experience will live inside Windows 11's centered and quite popular search box in the taskbar.

While Microsoft, in the blog post announcing the update, points to some of the inspiring information discovery stories generated by the AI-powered Bing, the decision to introduce it on a platform used by millions of people is not without controversy.

Since its introduction at a surprise event a few weeks ago, users have pushed AI-enabled Bing to its limits. It's been accused of making stuff up, cheating at Tic-Tac-Toe, and basically going off the rails. Microsoft responded by putting some guardrails on the new technology, such as limiting interactions to five responses at a time.

None of that, though, has slowed Microsoft's expansion plans. Just last week, Microsoft unveiled the mobile version of AI-enabled Bing that includes voice interaction.

Microsoft is, in a way, hedging its bets here by introducing AI-enabled Bing to Windows 11 and not the much more widely-used Windows 10, which may be on well over one billion devices.

Even so, this is a significant expansion in AI-enabled Bing availability, and the roadmap is clear. This ChatGPT-powered search will eventually be a part of all Windows 11 installs, which means its learning could grow at an exponential rate. It might also mean that Microsoft encounters even more unforeseen chatbot challenges.

Windows 11 update with Phone Link for iOS (Image credit: Microsoft)

Along with the AI-enabled Bing Taskbar update, Microsoft is finally bringing Phone Link to iOS devices.

For years, Microsoft has offered a direct Windows connection to the best Samsung phones through Phone Link, enabling browser hand-off, and the ability to send texts and other notifications from the phone to the Windows screen.

This Windows 11 update finally adds support for iPhones, allowing Windows users to view messages and notifications from their iPhones on their Windows 11 PCs and sync contacts. You'll even be able to manage phone calls through your PC.

Unlike the Bing update, this one is still only available as a preview for Windows Insiders, a beta-release program that you can sign up for here. Just remember that running unreleased software comes with its share of risks, including data loss in the event of a system crash.

Windows 11 update with Quick Help (Image credit: Microsoft)

There are a bunch of other notable Windows 11 updates in today's full public release including:

• The ability to adjust Windows Studio Effects directly from the taskbar in Quick Settings.

• A slide-away taskbar when you use Windows 11 in tablet mode. A swipe up from the bottom of the screen will bring the taskbar back into view.

• The ability to open Quick Assist from the help menu to receive and deliver tech support. It will even let you switch between screen-share mode and full remote control of your or someone else's system (assuming you trust who you're working with).

• Finally, Microsoft is adding Screen Recording to its Snipping Tool, which has traditionally been used to capture screen images. We would love to see it add the ability to create GIFs from these screen caps, maybe in a future Windows 11 update.

As we mentioned earlier, this major Windows 11 update rolls out today (February 28) and while most of the updates will be available to everyone, the AI-enabled Bing will only show up if you're already part of the Bing preview program.

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March 4, 2023
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Windows 7 is finally being abandoned if new stats are anything to go by, with its userbase practically cut in half following support for the OS being completely discontinued – and of course the end-of-life being reached for Windows 8.1, which similarly saw its user numbers cut in half.

This is according to Statcounter’s figures for February, which show that Windows 7 market share (among all Windows versions globally) has dropped from 9.55% to 5.39%, a huge slide. Windows 8.1 similarly halved from 2.28% to 1.15%.

The timing is notable, seeing as Windows 8.1 just went out of support in January 2023, and while Windows 7 became officially unsupported in January 2020, since then it has had a period of Extended Security Updates (ESU) – and that just expired in January 2023.

As Windows 8.1 isn’t getting an ESU programme, effectively both Windows 7 and 8/8.1 are finally and completely on the scrapheap regarding security updates, so it’s no longer safe to run them. And with February’s figures, we’re seeing the results of that quite clearly indeed.

Where are these people migrating to? It looks like mainly Windows 10, which received a 4.39% uptick for February to hit a 73.25% market share. The ranks of Windows 11 users were also bolstered somewhat to the tune of a smidge over 1%, with that OS now at 19.13% of overall share, but Windows 10 was clearly the big gainer here.

Analysis: A long slow goodbye, most likely

You could say that this was predictable enough, given that all support and security updates are now out of the window (sorry) for both of these outdated Microsoft operating systems – but not really.

Folks are prone to staying with a favorite OS even past its security sell-by-date, and if ever there was a testament to that, it’s Windows XP. If you recall, Windows XP still held a 10% market share two years after it ran out of road for support (15 years after the OS first arrived).

Indeed, there were still XP users in evidence (a small but meaningful amount – just over half a percent) when it turned 20-years-old, can you believe? This is why Windows XP became known as the OS that refused to die.

It doesn’t look like Windows 7 will be pulling similar levels of longevity, given this February plunge. Although we do expect that erosion of its share will slow down considerably after the initial defection has taken place.

Of course, bear in mind that this is just one set of figures on desktop operating systems, so we mustn’t get too carried away with drawing conclusions – though this is such a strong indication, you’d be hard pressed not to read something substantial into it.

Via Neowin

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March 4, 2023
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Windows 11’s major new update (known as ‘Moment 2’) has been released as a preview version, but it has a dangerous side-effect for some folks who have customized the interface of the OS – a bug that causes the PC to fail to boot.

That’s a big, big problem, of course, and Microsoft has flagged it as a known issue (spotted by Bleeping Computer) in the support document for the preview cumulative update (KB5022913).

Microsoft observes that some third-party UI customization apps can cause errors with Explorer.exe that could repeat in a loop. That’s File Explorer for the uninitiated and it’s the central pillar of the Windows 11 interface (the very folders and files you work with on the desktop).

The company names ExplorerPatcher and StartAllBack as the known apps that delve into the wonderful world of Windows customization which are affected. Although it does note that StartAllBack users running version 3.5.6 (or newer) may avoid the bug.

Microsoft warns: “These types of apps often use unsupported methods to achieve their customization and as a result can have unintended results on your Windows device.”

Analysis: Not so magic Moments for some

It’s not our fault, in other words, and in this case, we can give Microsoft some leeway. The whole set of gremlins might well be wrapped up in how said customization apps work, and as they are niche cases, they could have slipped through the testing net so far.

We must of course also remember that this cumulative update is still in preview, meaning it’s optional and as with anything still in the testing phase, there may be unexpected problems.

In short, you might be keen to get the Bing AI on your taskbar, or Phone Link for iOS, or any of the other major features that Moment 2 introduces, but be aware that you could run into issues here and there.

We don’t know if any other customization apps might face similar boot-related issues, although there’s no evidence yet that this is the case. That said, Stardock, which makes the popular Start11, has noted on Twitter that KB5022913 can cause some odd behavior with taskbar colors, but only on secondary monitors, so that’s a very minor glitch compared to boot failure. Start11 is getting an update to fix this, too.

For now, the best thing to do for anyone running a third-party custom UI might be to steer clear of the new Windows 11 update until it leaves preview, just to be safe.

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March 4, 2023
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Microsoft released a new Windows 11 update on Wednesday, March 1, and all everyone is talking about is how the update emphasises putting artificial intelligence first… and how it falls short of that rather severely.

The AI-powered search box is now set up in the taskbar by default, which may or may not be helpful depending on your disposition towards AI and ‘helpful’ chatbots. The update to the taskbar is amongst many other improved features that are packaged in with the recent Windows 11 update, so it’ll be hard to avoid or ignore if you’re not a fan of ChatGPT.

ChatGPT is the AI-powered chatbot developed by OpenAI that allows users to interact with the bot and ask it to do anything from brainstorm recipes, breakdown complex ideas, writing and edit large copies of text or just having a little chat. The bot uses machine learning to analyze prompts given by users and respond using data input by the user and information from its database. Microsoft launched its collaboration with ChatGPT early last month and has had its share of meltdowns and inaccuracies since then.

It’s a little too early to get a grasp on how successful this new Windows 11 update has been with integrating ChatGPT-powered AI search, but so far it doesn't seem like the taskbar update has been well received. In fact, I would argue it’s just a heavy-handed advertisement for Bing, Microsoft’s largely unloved search engine, and takes away consumer autonomy to decide whether or not they want to dabble in AI. This is not to bash ChatGPT and its fans, but more a finger wag at the mass implementation that takes away the ability to choose.

Say you were a sceptic or someone who didn’t know much about ChatGPT or Bing AI, you don’t really have a choice on whether or not you want access to Bing AI and there doesn’t seem to be a way to get rid of its addition to your Windows 11 desktop.

The announcement from Microsoft gives off the impression that the entire search experience on Windows 11 will now be supercharged by AI, but that’s far from the case.

There’s no quick search in the taskbar that’ll spit out intelligently thought-out results. Fans or curious users looking to use Bing’s AI search engine don’t have integration within Windows 11 in the capacity seemingly promised by yesterday's announcement. The scale with which AI integration has been promised compared to what we've actually got doesn't match up.

Instead, users now have the ability to launch Bing’s new chatbot without actually having to type ‘bing.com’ into a web browser first. That’s it. The blog post says users have “ the amazing capabilities of the new AI-powered Bing directly into the taskbar “ which is not true at all. You get a banner for Bing on the Windows search page and two prompts to help suggest what to do when you click on any of the related buttons and get whisked off to Microsoft's Edge browser, in what feels like a calculated attempt to force more people to use it.

Once Microsoft Edge is open, you can use Bing as you please if you’re registered. I was taken to the login/registration page since I was yet to make an account, but it‘s incredibly annoying to be sold the idea of having access to Bing AI’s chatbot from the comfort of your immediate desktop and instead being taken to a new program and webpage instead. Windows isn’t doing anything AI related, since Microsoft hasn’t added AI to search on Windows in the new feature drop as you may think, which makes the ChatGPT-powered version of Bing in Windows 11 just feel like an empty advertisement.

Analysis: Who is this for?

This definitely feels like a manifestation of something a lot of people were worried about when Microsoft announced its partnership with ChatGPT and implemented it into Bing: essentially, another way for Microsoft to try to force people into using Bing and Edge in favour of the software they actually use.

We’ve all seen the pathetic little banners that come up on Edge while you’re setting up your PC and trying to download Chrome or Firefox, and this definitely feels like Microsoft has put the metaphorical foot down and made sure that if you want to use your taskbar search or try out Bing AI, you’re going to have to do it on their terms.

Regardless of how you feel about AI chatbots or just AI technology in general, there’s no denying the update to the taskbar is less than useful. There are a lot of more interesting, and useful feature updates that have been overshadowed by the glaring blip of the Bing AI taskbar update.

The lack of a clear opt-out option does seem to solidify the idea that not only is the ‘shortcut to Bing AI’ here to stay, but it’s only to be accessed on Microsoft’s terms.

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March 4, 2023
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Windows 11 just got a fresh preview build which brings a slew of changes with it, including a new volume mixer, plus some tweaks for better accessibility in the OS.

Preview build 25309 has just been made available via the Dev channel, and it has given the volume mixer an all-new look.

As you may have noticed, there are bits of legacy UI elements in the Windows 11 interface that are outdated and rather jarring when they suddenly appear on-screen. The volume mixer, accessed from the taskbar (system tray on the right), is one of them, but in the new preview build, it now has a nicely modernized appearance.

The mixer allows for adjusting the overall volume, and the volume on a per-app basis, plus there’s a fresh addition here in the form of quick access to spatial audio settings. This lets you turn the feature on and off, or select different types of spatial audio such as Dolby Atmos for example.

Microsoft has also made improvements with the Voice Access feature in build 25309, revamping the help page which shows you all the voice commands that can be used in Windows 11. This now has a cleaner layout and is easier to take in, with a search bar so users can locate the commands they might need when operating Windows via voice.

On top of that, Voice Access is now available in some new English dialects, so as well as US, we now have UK English, along with Australian, Canadian, Indian and New Zealand English.

Oh, and there are also some new voice commands, one of which allows you to select a specific slab of text (from word ‘a’ to word ‘b’).

Windows 11 Voice Access — (Image credit: Microsoft)

A whole lot of tweaking is in evidence elsewhere with the Windows 11 interface, too. We’re talking about updated touch keyboard settings (new options for when to show it), and minor tweaks for the taskbar (so the search box is lighter when Windows is set to a custom color mode, such as dark mode).

Widgets are getting theme-aware icons, meaning that their icons will have their contrast ratios adjusted based on dark or light themes to allow them to stand out better and make their relevant details clearer.

There are also changes for snap layouts with build 25309. Microsoft is still experimenting with shorter periods of time for the snap flyout to appear, in order to improve discoverability for this feature.

For the full list of changes and known issues – there’s a lot of other work on the interface present here – as well as bug fixes, check out Microsoft’s blog post.

Analysis: A whole lot of strides forward for the UI

It’s good to see Microsoft keeping up its push for better accessibility, which has been something of a theme in recent times. There’s plenty of laudable work on voice commands in this new preview build, with some useful additional commands to make working with speech to text easier, and that improved help menu, which looks much better now. The changes to deliver better contrast ratios on widget icons will help people with low-vision, too. Good stuff.

There’s some interface work going on in the background too, because as leaker PhantomOfEarth pointed out on Twitter, the (hidden) photo gallery feature in File Explorer (read more about that here) has received a touch of polish in this build. Clearly, there’s a lot going on with the interface right now.

As ever, we can expect bugs with early versions of software (and the Dev channel is the earliest). Indeed, Microsoft specifically notes that the Voice Access help may go awry in places at this stage, and that descriptions and supplementary info for some commands might be inaccurate, so watch out for that.

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April 21, 2022
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Nothing in life really comes for free, and Windows 11 is a great example of that. While Microsoft’s latest operating system is offered as a free upgrade for many users (previous moves from older versions of Windows to newer ones would require you to pay for the privilege), behind the scenes, there are plenty of ways you end up ‘paying’ to use Windows 11.

This includes sharing increasing amounts of data with Microsoft – something that the company was forced to make clear during the setup process. Microsoft is also using Windows 11 to push you towards its own services. For example, you’re now asked to have a Microsoft account, which usually involves signing up for a Microsoft-owned email account. You’re also encouraged to use Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage, rather than alternatives like Google Drive or iCloud.

And this is all before you even use Windows 11 for the first time. Once you actually boot into the operating system, things get worse. Microsoft’s Edge browser is installed by default, and while it’s come a long way since it first debuted in 2015 with Windows 10, many people (myself included) prefer to use other web browsers.

However, searching for and installing a different browser in Windows 11 using Edge results in numerous popups and messages from Microsoft pleading with you to give Edge a try. It’s annoying, and a little bit cringey, to be honest.

Still, you can at least ignore those, install your web browser of choice, and make it the default – which Microsoft has at least made easier to do after pressure from users.

While annoying, it was something I didn’t mind putting up with to use Windows 11, which is ‘free’, after all. However, Microsoft has been getting increasingly desperate – and even greedy – when it comes to trying to force its services on me, and it’s making me start to dislike the operating system.

Helping itself before it helps you

A particularly egregious example of this happened the other day. I’m one of those cool kids who still prefers to use a desktop PC, and I noticed that all of a sudden, my computer was losing internet access every 20 seconds or so.

Now, as a tech journalist, this led to me overthinking the problem. My PC is connected to my modem via an Ethernet cable and powerline adapters, so my first step was to restart and reconnect the adapters, which had caused a similar issue in the past.

When the problem persisted, I looked to disable then re-enable my network adapter in Windows 11. In previous versions of Windows, this was a pretty straightforward process, but Microsoft has now buried the option under several different settings screens – another annoying feature of Windows 11.

I then decided to try the built-in network troubleshooting tool. Again, in previous versions of Windows, this was easy to find, and as part of the troubleshooting process the operating system would disable then enable the network adapter, which has fixed similar issues in the past.

Using the Settings app, I found what I thought was something similar called ‘Troubleshooting network connection issues’. However, on clicking it, I discovered what was possibly the nadir of Microsoft’s greed when it comes to forcing its products and services on Windows 11 users.

Instead of launching the troubleshooting application like I’d hoped, Edge opened – despite not being my default web browser. This has been an annoyance of mine for a while now, as even if you set a different web browser as your default, Microsoft will regularly ignore that and use Edge instead.

Edge then loaded up Bing – Microsoft’s pretty much unloved search engine – and searched for ‘Troubleshooting network connection issues’, which brought up a Microsoft webpage.

Now, there’s a pretty glaring issue with forcing people to search the internet for solutions to their network connection issues, and that became apparent when I tried to click the link. Rather than showing the page, Edge told me I was offline, as it coincided with a time when my PC had lost connection.

Most people who are suffering from network connection issues cannot access the internet because of those very connection issues they are trying to fix, so making them have to go online to search for an answer is pretty ridiculous.

Because my network issues were intermittent, I was able to wait until my internet connection came back, then refresh the page to see what Microsoft suggested. If my network connection issues were severe enough to prevent me from connecting to the internet at all, I’d have never got to see the page.

As it turns out, that wouldn’t have been an issue, really, as the webpage was pretty useless, offering just vague suggestions that mainly centered around Wi-Fi connection problems – so nothing that applied to my situation.

In the end, I figured it out myself: I got down on my hands and knees and checked behind my PC. The Ethernet cable had been pulled out slightly. Pushing it back in solved the problem.

However, this little escapade didn’t just prove that I am an overthinking idiot, but also that it feels like Microsoft cares more about helping its services and products then it does its users. The only reason for getting people to go to a Bing search via Edge for network connection troubleshooting is to make people use those products. It doesn’t help fix any issue that the user may have with their network connection.

It left me feeling annoyed by Microsoft, and far less fond of Windows 11 and the general direction the operating system is going in. Microsoft’s desire to get more people to use its services is understandable, and in some ways is the price we pay to get Windows 11 for free, but the heavy-handed way it’s going about doing this smacks of greed and a disregard for its users’ needs.

This has got to change, otherwise even when free, Windows 11 will not be worth it.

We help fix the most common Windows 11 problems

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April 21, 2022
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Still, you can at least ignore those, install your web browser of choice, and make it the default – which Microsoft has at least made easier to do after pressure from users.

Helping itself before it helps you

Edge then loaded up Bing – Microsoft’s pretty much unloved search engine – and searched for ‘Troubleshooting network connection issues’, which brought up a Microsoft webpage.

In the end, I figured it out myself: I got down on my hands and knees and checked behind my PC. The Ethernet cable had been pulled out slightly. Pushing it back in solved the problem.

This has got to change, otherwise even when free, Windows 11 will not be worth it.

We help fix the most common Windows 11 problems

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April 20, 2022
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Windows 11 is set to get one of Microsoft Team’s best features, thanks to “Voice Clarity”, which will use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to make your voice in calls and recordings much clearer.

Microsoft Teams, an app that many people use for video calls, has a very similar feature that does an excellent job at minimizing and eliminating background noises for people in noisy environments, ensuring they can be heard clearly.

With the feature being so acclaimed, it’s little surprise to see Microsoft bring it to the wider Windows 11 operating system, which would allow the feature to work with other video calling apps. Voice Clarity was announced at Microsoft’s recent ‘Hybrid Work’ event as one of the ways the company is making its products better for people who are now spending their time working from home, as well as in an office.

While the noise-canceling features in Microsoft Teams have proved popular, there’s not a huge amount of love for the application itself, so bringing it to Windows 11 itself could prove a popular move.

Analysis: There’s always a catch

Surface Laptop Studio — (Image credit: Future)

While the idea of making Voice Clarity available to more apps and users, the catch is that at the moment, the feature will only work on the Surface Laptop Studio, a relatively niche product from Microsoft.

That’s certainly a shame, as it means that the vast majority of Windows 11 users still won’t be able to make use of the feature.

It’s a bit of a puzzling decision, and we’ve contacted Microsoft to ask why this is the case. It may be due to some hardware-specific requirements that only the Surface Laptop Studio has. Or, Microsoft could just be limiting the availability of the feature to help boost interest in the Surface Laptop Studio.

But, with an increasing number of us relying on video calls for keeping in contact with friends, family and co-workers, any tools that can help make those calls better is certainly welcome, and we’d love to see Microsoft make the Voice Clarity feature more widely available.