Spotify finally launches Miniplayer for desktop users

Mar 21, 2024 - 7:14 PM - by Reverend
Spotify has added a long-requested Miniplayer to its desktop app, giving you quick playback access while freeing you to focus on other things. The resizable floating window lets you control the audio, including changing tracks, picking playlists and tweaking the volume. The company says the feature has already started rolling out to Premium subscribers.

Once it becomes available in your app, you can launch the Spotify Desktop Miniplayer (its proper name) by clicking on a square on the far lower right side of the app, to the right of the standard playback controls. After clicking that, a floating window appears next to the full application.

The resizable Miniplayer can function in a square aspect ratio, ideal for videos; as a thinner bar, it's minimally intrusive and offers play / pause and skip track controls next to the current track’s info and album art.

The feature potentially voids the need for third-party apps to fill what some users saw as a big oversight from the streaming service. Apple Music has had an equivalent MiniPlayer for macOS and Windows for ages.

Engadget
  0 Replies | 523 Views


Microsoft debuts first Surface PCs with dedicated Copilot AI button

Mar 21, 2024 - 7:11 PM - by Reverend
Microsoft is releasing its first Surface PCs featuring a dedicated Copilot button on the keyboard for quickly accessing the chatbot, following through on a promise it made in January.

The addition of the button, to the left of the arrow keys, represents the biggest change to the computer keyboard in decades. While Microsoft is not the largest PC seller — that distinction belongs to Lenovo — it does run the most popular operating system with Windows. Lenovo has announced its own PCs featuring Copilot keys, as have Dell and HP.

But the Surface has in the past been a showcase of what a Windows machine can be, and Microsoft is trying to articulate the convenience of having generative artificial intelligence one keystroke away with the two new PCs: its new convertible Surface Pro 10 for Business and Surface Laptop 6 for Business.

When people type a few words in to the Copilot, which draws on AI models from Microsoft-backed OpenAI, servers in faraway data centers perform the necessary computing work to craft a response.

Microsoft calls these new machines AI PCs. The new key, which allows users to open the Copilot panel any time on the right side of the screen, helps matters, along with the silicon inside. Each computer comes packed with an Intel

Core Ultra processor containing a special neural processing engine, or NPU. Surface computers have featured NPUs since 2019.

When those NPUs are on a PC, the benefits include faster responses and better security. Recently added AI features in Windows 11, such as automatic transcription of audio and simulation of eye contact during video calls, run on the NPU, which frees up the rest of the chip for other tasks.

Microsoft is not immediately releasing these Surface models for consumers.

“We absolutely remain committed to consumer devices,” a spokesperson told CNBC in an email. “Building great devices that people love to use aligns closely with our company mission to empower individuals as well as organizations. We are excited to be bringing devices to market that deliver great AI experiences to our customers. This commercial announcement is only the first part of this effort.

CNBC
  0 Replies | 325 Views


Microsoft to hold a special Windows and Surface AI event in May

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:44 PM - by Reverend
Microsoft is holding an AI event in the morning on Monday, May 20th — right before Build 2024 starts. In an invite emailed to media, Microsoft says CEO Satya Nadella will talk about the company’s “AI vision across hardware and software.”

The event won’t be livestreamed and will only be open to journalists who attend the event in person. Microsoft’s special event will focus on upcoming Surface hardware and changes to Windows that are all focused on AI. While the software giant is holding a business-focused Surface event later this week, sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the May 20th event will include the consumer versions of the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6.

These consumer Surface devices will run on Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon X Elite processors, and include dedicated NPU hardware for accelerating AI tasks in Windows 11. Microsoft is also working on a new AI Explorer feature for Windows 11 that’s designed to work as a timeline you can search through on your PC. Windows Central reports that it will catalog everything you do on your PC so you can search for moments, much like the Timeline feature in Windows 10 that Microsoft eventually removed.

This event will also set the stage for “the year of the AI PC,” as Microsoft has described it. Partners including AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm are all ready to ship processors for Microsoft’s big Windows AI push, but we’re waiting to hear when Windows will be ready to take advantage of these new chips and laptops.

The May 20th event will also include other parts of Microsoft’s AI initiatives, including Copilot. Microsoft recently launched its $20 per month Copilot Pro subscription worldwide, which lets users access the latest OpenAI models in Microsoft Office apps.

Microsoft Build starts on Tuesday, May 21st and runs through May 22nd. There, Microsoft says it will share updates on “AI, Copilots, and more.” The event will take place both in person in Seattle and online.

The Verge
  0 Replies | 510 Views


YouTube Adds New AI-Disclosure Tool For Its Videos

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:38 PM - by Reverend
If you're concerned whether that cool new video that's trending was made with "altered or synthetic media, including generative AI," then you're in luck.

Google's YouTube just announced a new tool that video creators must use to disclose that fact under certain circumstances. When they do, a little label will appear on the video when you watch it, letting us all breathe a little more easily.

The disclosure is required only when the content isn't clearly unrealistic, animated, has special effects, or only uses AI behind the scenes for production assistance.

YouTube won't require creators to disclose content that is clearly unrealistic, animated, includes special effects, or has used generative AI for production assistance. But it must be disclosed when using the likeness of a real person, like when you replace the face of someone with someone else's. Any altered footage of real events or places must also be disclosed, as does video that shows realistic scenes, like a tornado moving toward a real town, for example.

"We also won’t require creators to disclose when synthetic media is unrealistic and/or the changes are inconsequential," wrote the company in their blog post.

So, in addition to clearly unrealistic content (like animation or fantastical scenes), things like color adjustment or lighting filters, beauty filters, or special effects like background blur created with AI tools don't need to be disclosed.

For most videos, a simple label will show up in the description, but for videos that touch on content like health, news, elections, or finance, YouTube will "also show a more prominent label on the video itself."

YouTube is also working on a new process that lets you request the removal of AI-made videos that simulate specific people, including their faces or voices.

Lifewire
  0 Replies | 666 Views


Microsoft launches Copilot Pro worldwide with a one-month free trial

Mar 14, 2024 - 7:27 PM - by Reverend
Microsoft is expanding its $20 monthly Copilot Pro subscription to more markets today, after launching the AI-powered assistant for consumers in January. The expansion sees Copilot Pro available in 222 countries in total, and Microsoft is launching a free one-month trial to entice consumers to subscribe to its AI vision of the future.

Copilot Pro includes priority access to the latest OpenAI models, the ability to build your own Copilot GPT, and access to Copilot inside Office apps if you’re already a Microsoft 365 Personal or Home subscriber. Now, Microsoft is also unlocking Copilot Pro inside the Office web apps, so you don’t need a separate Microsoft 365 subscription to use the chatbot inside Word, Outlook, and other free web apps.

This Copilot Pro integration will also be available in mobile apps soon. “We’ll extend this benefit to our free mobile apps as well, including the Microsoft 365 app and Outlook for iOS and Android, in the coming months,” says Divya Kumar, general manager of search and AI marketing at Microsoft.

If you want to try out Copilot Pro you’ll need to install the Copilot app on iOS or Android to get the free month offer. Microsoft has been trying to entice consumers to use the Copilot mobile app since launching it at the end of 2023, including with a Super Bowl ad that focused solely on the mobile version.

Microsoft is also extending the availability of its Copilot for Microsoft 365 to more businesses. “Customers that have Microsoft 365 F3 and F1, Office 365 E1, Business Basic, and more will be eligible to purchase Copilot for Microsoft 365 in the coming weeks,” says Kumar.

The Verge
  0 Replies | 690 Views


Amazon plans ‘Big Spring Sale’ that’s not just for Prime members starting March 20

Mar 14, 2024 - 7:22 PM - by Reverend
Amazon will host a spring sale next week with discounts on seasonal items, and this one is not restricted to Prime members.

Amazon said Thursday that the event, which it’s calling the “Big Spring Sale,” will run for six days starting March 20, in North America. Unlike the Prime Day discount bonanza typically held in the summer, next week’s event will be open to shoppers who don’t pay for a Prime membership. The subscription program costs $139 per year, or $14.99 a month, in the U.S., and perks include free, speedy shipping; video streaming; and access to exclusive Prime Day deals.

Spring fashion, fitness products, outdoor furniture, Amazon-branded devices and other “warm weather essentials” are among the categories that will be discounted, Amazon said. It’s the first time Amazon has held such an event in the first quarter.

In recent years, Amazon has added shopping events, including a “Prime Big Deal Days” in the fall, a 48-hour “Pet Day” and a beauty-focused sale ahead of the holiday shopping season.

The company is launching its spring event as shoppers, grappling with high inflation, remain hungry for discounts.

CNBC
  0 Replies | 582 Views


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