Microsoft’s Build developer conference might not be the most exciting event, but the Redmond team often announces a slew of features and updates that regular users will see in very tangible ways.
Windows 10 will soon have an expanded timeline feature, which will allow users to save and jump right back into sessions, like one might with a modern browser. This interesting new feature compliments advanced clipboard utilities, with cross-platform support for copy and paste tools with multiple options.
Next up, Story Remix brought the once-dead Windows Movie Maker back to life in a more modern form, with lots of automated systems designed to take the work out of video editing. It includes a swath of special effects, facial recognition, and collaborative tools. If Microsoft can uphold that promise, Story Remix will be an exciting new wave for home videos.
There will also be improvements to OneDrive later this year, with deeper integration into Windows Explorer that will allow OneDrive files to sit anywhere in an existing file system. For those who utilize Microsoft’s cloud service, this is a step in the right direction.
Finally, the most exciting part — new mixed reality controllers. The Redmond team has been pushing hard to bring mixed reality to life, but this is the first time we’ve actually gotten to see the consumer implementation, even if it was just a promotional video.
Microsoft made some promises at this year’s Build, and the bigger question of how well it can deliver will be answered in the coming months.
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In 1950, Alan Turing asked whether machines can think. Rather than argue over definitions, he turned the question into a party game, where an interrogator trades typed messages with hidden players and tries to work out who is who. Since then, chatbots have gotten so good that they have already fooled humans in modern versions of the test.
So, four researchers from Paris Cité University asked the obvious follow-up question in a new study published in Computers in Human Behavior Reports: can AI at least catch its own kind?
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.