Windows 11 has support for voice commands like “Open Edge” largely for accessibility purposes but with the latest Insider preview build, it’s taking a step toward going full Star Trek. Instead of remembering set phrases, Microsoft wants to enable users to give commands in more natural language.
This means you can open the Edge browser with just about any intuitive phrase that expresses your intent to “open Edge.” You could say “Can you open Edge?”, “Open Edge please,” or “Switch to the Edge app,” along with other variations. If Windows happens to get confused, it will show real-time command suggestions based on what it thinks you want so you can direct it successfully.
Interacting with computers through natural voice commands is something we see in sci-fi all the time but now that current tech is getting better and better at working with natural language — we are definitely on our way to making it a reality.
For example, imagine Windows’ natural language voice commands combined with its new AI-powered search feature. This combo would allow users to ask their computers to “open the monthly expenses spreadsheet from last week” without having to remember the exact file name or where you put it. Throw image and facial recognition in there and you could ask it to “find that photo of me at Shibuya Crossing” or “show me all the pictures I have of my dog.”
Accuracy is everything with these kinds of features and it will probably take some time and some effort to get it right — but it’s definitely an exciting prospect.
As for the actual new feature — not the future applications I’m getting excited about — it’s only available right now on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft hasn’t mentioned anything about support for Intel or AMD processors yet but it will surely come eventually. Since this is just a test feature in a Windows Insiders preview build, there’s no saying if and when it will get a general release but hopefully it will.
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.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.