Submitted 4 months ago by jordanlund@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
Copilot key will eventually be required in new PC keyboards, though not yet.
Before I even read it I knew it was more ads or AI of some sort and yep it’s both. Sure yeah we need more ads. Can I get a Microsoft store button on mouses now? Ohoh a dedicated 2nd screen for ads on every monitor. We must please the share holders and the rich!
I’m plenty fine with all ads consolidated to a dedicated monitor, that would certainly never face the wall on minimal brightness
Attention citizen, your Economic Consumer Activity Monitor has identified error with your system and/or the Citizen Observation Rate to the unit… Your worldwide credits have been locked pending resolution.
I’m plenty fine with an OS that doesn’t try to abuse me in the first place.
Do you remember a few years ago, it came out that some company was working on a new idea that, when you were given an advertisement on a TV, it could require you to say the product name aloud or it wouldn’t continue?
I try not to concede anything related to advertising because everything they want seems so dystopian.
Please drink verification can to continue.
Monitors come with proximity sensors now. If the monitor doesn’t detect a user in front of it, ads will be shown on the primary instead.
You’re right, but you also know the answer to this. Loath as I am to say it, the solution to this is simple: just use Linux.
If only keyboards would have function keys for this purpose, named F1 to F10 for example, so any program could use them for their specific functions…
Nahh gotta place them where they’re obvious in your face and a constant reminder of CONSUME PRODUCT and be accidently pressed! Can guarantee you it’ll take up part of the space of a key hotspot
At least on the PC, it’s easier to remap the buttons. What enrages me more are the TV remote controls with buttons dedicated to specific streaming apps. I mean… none of these services will outlive the TV itself. I’ll just have to look at buttons that do nothing for years.
Maybe even F13 to F24 if more is needed?
Because they used to exist, and support for them still does. Really handy for macro keys.
I’d like them to leave F13 onwards alone, purely because it’s nice that they’ll only ever do what I want them to do
I remember those keyboard layout cutouts (were they called keyboard templates?) you got which you put on the keyboard with extra explanations of what each function key did in WordPerfect or Lotus or whatever.
I’m old.
I’m getting Bixby button flashbacks.
Ho well, my wallet’s gonna cry but I’m sure the mechkeyboard community will welcome my ass
Remember when PC keyboards had two Windows logo keys? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
I remember when laptop keyboards had numpads and unabused F keys.
Mine currently does. Well they’re actually Cooler Master logos, which I don’t really mind. And both of them are bound to Super.
Open your wallet and prepare your credit cards it’s gonna be a helluva ride!
Rebind ftw
I remapped the Bixby button to turn on the flashlight. Best decision ever.
copilot key will eventually be required
Fuck that, and fuck you, Microsoft
We asked Microsoft if a Copilot key would be required on OEM PCs going forward; […] it expects Copilot keys to be required on Windows 11 keyboards “over time.” Microsoft often imposes some additional hardware requirements on major PC makers that sell Windows on their devices […].
From what I understand, this either means that this will only affect laptops and similar devices, or that they want to force companies that sell windows PCs to sign a contract disallowing them from selling keyboards without a copilot key, with or without a PC. I think (hope?) they mean the former.
And yet another feature no one ever requested or ever will
I requested it, but I was only kidding!
Microsoft learns nothing from their continued pattern of going all-in on a trendy and unproven concept. Windows 8 “live tiles” that were supposed to create one look and feel across devices, Cortana was supposed to be the digital assistant of the future, they even did their own poorly executed folding phone.
They never really go all in. They go full force at something but they never really fully commit
Like live tiles was fine except the large sections of the Windows still used the old system, so you’d click a button in settings and suddenly you’d be reverted back to the old window system. Because they never bothered to upgrade that part of the OS.
Microsoft’s problem is that they can never be arsed to be consistent.
Honestly, Windows 11 is the closest they’ve come to going all in. There are very few parts of the old system left, although I have found a few.
I feel like it’s more pandering to investors than having actual faith it it taking off.
Sure but do you think that works in the long run? Wouldn’t it be better if they just made things right? I don’t have the answer but I know it’s what I prefer
linux laptops ain’t gonna add the key
OR, hear me out, we just have it mapped to alt+win(meta) key and this will be a nothing burger.
Stop being such a socialist. They need to sell more keyboards, and to make the keyboards you own unique to their brand.
Have you met keyboard people? You don’t need to do anything to sell them more keyboards.
I said this above… I’ve had the same Das Keyboard model so long ago that the USB ports in the side are USB 1.0. And I will use it as long as I can because it’s a great keyboard and I’ve never needed a new keyboard since I bought it even when I’ve needed a new computer. Fuck this shit.
It’s already mapped on windows to Window button and C.
And again, install Linux and get rid of this Microsoft bullshit
100%. When Windows drops support for Windows 10 I’m jumping ship to Linux Mint Cinnamon. I tried it out on my old laptop and liked it. I even liked that neat hot corners thing you could use.
Do I need to know Jack shit about programming to use it? Cause…I mean I really don’t know Jack shit about but I’m down to jump ship!
Unfortunately, that won’t change the rise in price in new keyboards because all the companies are compelled to accommodate this change on Microsoft’s behalf.
Keyboards are a bundle item. Rarely buy keyboards except people in offices who want a wireless.m+k combo or foreign layout. Desktops always arrive with a keyboard. Every IT dept I ever worked in has piles of them surplus
Yeah I’m definitely starting to lean that way with everything I’ve been hearing. Fuck windows.
M$ can get absolutely fucked
They’re so desperate for AI to be a thing.
Gee, I imagine this will go the same way as Cortana, but now there will be a key forever visible to be it’s gravestone.
Just don’t replace your keyboard.
I got a fancy custom keyboard for my birthday which is properly repairable and will most likely never need to be replaced.
Laptops bud
You say don’t replace your keyboard and then within 6 words mention the thing that doesn’t ever have to have some key ms has decided to add to keyboards. Leave the windows key off, too.
I don’t know how long you think you have left to live, but I wish you to change that keyboard someday
Have been using the same Kinesis Advantage daily for 23 years now.
Oh cool, another useless gimmick just like the 'Office Key"
Actually, a dedicated key to open ChatGPT seems convenient. I don’t hate it.
What about the LinkedIn key.
That’s actually a shortcut for ctrl+alt+shift+L… that is an (unconfigurable?) hotkey for opening LinkedIn in edge.
I can’t even begin to articulate my hatred for the current Microsoft business model. People used to joke how evil they were but it’s only continued to get worse
Uhhh it wasnt a joke when i was a teen in the 90s. Bill Gates was absolutely hated, like worse than EA
Can you elaborate on that?
Yes, they were so much better during the IE 6.0 era /s
I would imagine this isn’t going to go over very well with a lot of companies. I would bet many already ban employees using copilot or other AI assistants because they don’t want their company’s proprietary data being sent to Microsoft or Google or whoever. Stick a key on the keyboard that, if accidentally hit, brings up copilot (and maybe sends data to Microsoft), and those keyboards might be banned.
Some companies will probably just deal with it by setting up their PCs so that copilot is disabled and that key does something else. But, other companies will either not be technically savvy enough to do that, or will not want to take a risk of someone accidentally reverting to the default behaviour.
If you press the windows key I’m pretty sure it brings up search already. It definitely used to bring up Cortana and Windows 10.
I’m not sure why they would add a new key to the keyboard to achieve a function that already exists.
Ugh. Why do keyboards have to have Microsoft logos. I hate it. I want nothing to do with them.
I swear I blinked and suddenly AI was so ubiquitous that I feel like I’m living, studying and writing incorrectly…
Bixby button, but for Windows
The Clippy Key.
They should just rename the Menu key to the “Flavor of the Week” key. Then they can just rotate which pie in the sky, fetch feature is mapped to it during its period of non-use.
This is way more about advertising Copilot than actually needing a new key. M$ gonna $.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
You thought Clippy was dead? Think again, that monster never dies. and is not back bigger than ever in its physical form.
im not going to lie this is one of the stupidest things ive ever seen a major tech company do
Some Microsoft exec: “Hey, remember when TV remotes started getting a dedicated Netflix button?”
I’ll shut that stuff off just like I made every effort to disable Cortana.
It’s unwanted, invasive, and unnecessary.
Cool, I’ll remap it
I really hope it’s the “Any” key. I have upwards of 40 ys of modal forms from which there is no escape because they demand I press any key to continue…
>see headline
“Oh cool. What fun and inventive thing is Microsoft doing?”
\reads first line of article
“Oh it’s for AI. Gross.”
If only there was another OS you could use instead!
thehatfox@lemmy.world 4 months ago
So now Windows bloat is extending to the physical keyboard itself.
Looking at the Microsoft blog post they haven’t said exactly how they want keyboard layouts to change. So on a full size keyboard this could be either new key entirely, or replace an existing (and arguably more useful) key.
killeronthecorner@lemmy.world 4 months ago
They should put it adjacent to the up arrow key so that when I hit it accidentally, copilot can ask “did you mean to press the up arrow key?”, which will cause me to smash the keyboard with my fists and then I’ll need to buy another one. Sales will skyrocket.
QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Not particularly relevant, but my friend randomly told me to press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Windows key+L one day. I’m still horrified.
jonne@infosec.pub 4 months ago
I mean, they did it before with the windows/super button. Before that you just had ctrl and alt there.
rottingleaf@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
I use mainly keyboard-controlled WM configurations, so a Super key or a Meta key is useful for me, to separate it from Alt and Ctrl.
Which reminds us of the fact that PC keyboards didn’t have those or a Windows key obviously, but Sun keyboards, from googling, did have a Super key.
So it’s not them.
(And it’s not bad in my opinion)
MudMan@kbin.social 4 months ago
I don't remember the last time I pressed the "right click" contextual menu key, so honestly it's not like it'll be too annoying. Unless they do replace an actually useful key, at which point I guess the people making "make Windows actually work good" apps will get to live another year.
Maven@lemmy.sdf.org 4 months ago
I pressed it like, 20 minutes ago? It’s a pretty normal part of a lot of coding workflow, not to mention browsing, accessing context menu keyboard shortcuts without having to move your hand to the mouse for one buttonpress.
FishFace@lemmy.world 4 months ago
That’s the key I use as a compose key
snowe@programming.dev 4 months ago
I’ve never even heard of this key that you are talking about, yet it’s mentioned several times in this thread.
HidingCat@kbin.social 4 months ago
I use the app/menu all the time in Excel.
richieadler@lemmy.myserv.one 4 months ago
I use it as a Compose key with WinCompose.
Kalkaline@leminal.space 4 months ago
So long Caps Lock/Scroll Lock
msage@programming.dev 4 months ago
I remap Caps Lock to Escape.
. . . .
How did you know I am a Vim user?
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
Then you had all those “for the web” Windows 95 PCs that had all the extra buttons like the Calculator and Web Browser and Sleep buttons scattered around above the keyboard that I don’t think people tended to use because Windows wasn’t built with them in mind. It seems they’re in the keyboard standard now as if they were any other key.
thehatfox@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Yeah there were some wacky keyboard shortcut buttons in the 90s, particularly during the dot com bubble. Perhaps we could bring back the pizza key!
Turun@feddit.de 4 months ago
My keyboard has mail/browser/home/suspend keys in the corner. I use suspend and home (to get to the set main page in the browser) everyday.
Fermion@feddit.nl 4 months ago
Swap it with the windows key and put the windows key as the function modified keyless. As long as I can still disable that key, it would be fine.