Microsoft is working on a mysterious new web app for Windows dubbed “Designer,” which might end up helping you create fancy graphics and other content for presentations or social media. This is coming from the noted leaker WalkingCat, who recently spotted a website for the potential new Microsoft service.
Details on the web app are scarce at the moment, but a series of images from the leaker shows how it might end up working. It looks as though “Designer” could be a lot like PowerPoint Designer, mixed with Microsoft Publisher, as well as Microsoft Sway.
WalkingCat shows there are various templates available on this app to help you get started on a specific design, and you can share out your design on social media. It is also possible to add shapes, photos, icons, and fancy headings to a project. In addition, there are a number of designs of different sizes that you can choose to create — for Instagram, Facebook ads, or Instagram Stories.
Microsoft has yet to acknowledge or talk about this app, but WalkingCat did show how you can access it. A live webpage for it is available but it is blank. Once you visit it, you can head into your web browser’s developer tools and change the value to a specific string of text. Then, refresh the page and you’ll get early access. We signed in with a personal Microsoft account and tried this out, and it looks like this experience is currently in rough shape. The current version could be for Microsoft internal audiences only, as there are ways to add more features via a Feature Gates panel, per WalkingCat.
With Microsoft’s annual Build developer conference coming up on May 24, you can expect the company to talk more about this potential new app then. Build is where Microsoft usually details updates for services like Office, Azure, and Windows. This new app could be a new offering from the company, centered around marketers and creative professionals. Microsoft already has the free Clipchamp video editor on Windows for these types of users, and it is likely that Designer could target the same end audiences.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Google DeepMind's AI world model Genie 4 can now build interactive worlds that you can explore and reshape as they run. It also generates ambient sounds, music, and dialogue that respond to your actions.
The new world model builds on Genie 3 with improved realism, more natural human movement, and better simulations of real-world physics. It could eventually help with everything from game development to training robots.
Apple has an incredible talent for making me admire its products while simultaneously questioning what on earth it's thinking with the pricing. This isn't even something as bizarre as a monitor stand, but the audacity for starting a new laptop lineup from $2,000 doesn't surprise me.
The newly announced 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 is just the latest to showcase this. The funny thing is, I already know that it's going to be a reliable workstation. You get a powerful new 2nm M6 processor, a gorgeous Liquid Retina XDR display, and up to 24 hours of battery life. We were impressed by the M5 MacBook Air, so the high-end M6 powered MacBook Pro definitely won't let us down.