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People remember many things about Windows 95, which turned 30 a couple of months ago. There were its signature new features, such as the Start Button, taskbar, and long file names. The launch eventhosted by Jay Lenoat Microsofts campus. The TV commercials with the Rolling Stones Start Me Up. The crowds of PC users so eager to get their hands on the upgrade that they descended on computer stores at midnight. Heres a fact about Windows 95 that isnt exactly iconic: It was the first voice-enabled version of Microsofts operating system. A collection of technologies known as the Microsoft Speech API (SAPI) provided support for speech recognition and synthesis, letting developers create apps that could speak and be spoken to. But SAPI didnt go on to revolutionize how people used Microsoft products. Neither did any of the numerous other voice-centric technologies it has developed over the decades, such as its 1990s Auto PC car platform and the ill-fated Siri counterpart Cortana. It’s kind of amazing to think about it, really, muses Microsoft executive VP and consumer CMO Yusuf Mehdi. It’s probably been 30, 40 years since there was a new input mechanism for your PC. We had the keyboard, and then we introduced the mouse. There has not been another input mechanism. Like many of the people presently charting a future for Windows, Mehdi has seen much of that history firsthand as a Microsoft employee34 years of it, in his case. And though hes glossing over touchscreens and stylusesboth of which are part of Microsofts own Surface line and have their devoteeshis overarching point stands. For all the ways Windows has evolved, the basic means of interacting with it have remained enduringly resistant to change. Microsoft executive VP and consumer CMO Yusuf Mehdi [Photo: Courtesy of Microsoft] Once again, Microsoft is trying to overcome that. The company is announcing a Windows 11 update that lets you seek help from its Copilot AI by talking to it, with the response also coming in spoken form. Known as Copilot Voice, the feature leverages Copilot Vision, a technologyfirst previewed a year agothat can scan the contents of your screen to suss out what youre working on, whether youre perusing a social media feed in your browser, crafting a business proposal in Word, or studying for an exam. If voice input and output provide the interface for this new Windows experience, Copilot Vision is the glue that holds it together. It doesn’t require Copilot to have programmatic understanding of every app in the world, says Pavan Davuluri, Microsofts president of Windows + Devices, who will soon mark his 25th anniversary at the company. It just sees what you allow it to see and infers the world. It helps you with the task that you’re probably engaged in at that point in time. Generative AIincluding technologies Microsoft gets from its partner OpenAImakes that possible. As corporate VP of Windows experiences (and 24-year Microsoft veteransee a pattern here?) Navjot Virk puts it, The point is not just that you can talk to your PC, the point is that the PC now understands you. But making AI make sense in Windows is only partially about the technology performing as promised. In a world full of AI features that can feel like needy, uninvited distractions, Microsoft wanted this one to be welcome. Users must explicitly opt into Copilot Voice and Copilot Vision and use the wake word Hey Copilot to summon them. And even then, theyre designed to be unobtrusive complements to the familiar keyboard-and-mouse experience. [Image: Courtesy of Microsoft] People know what they want to do, says Virk. We should make sure we get out of their way, but give them the tools that they will use. Thats a sharply different vision from the one Microsoft rolled out at a May 2024 event with the lofty tagline A new AI era begins. The era in question involved a new class of laptop, called Copilot+ PCs, that packed powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon chips. Yet they were short on AI-related features compelling enough to justify buying a new computer. This time, Microsoft is concentrating on making AI available and appealing to all Windows 11 users, regardless of the machine theyve got. The question the company asked itself, Mehdi says, is What does a real AI PC look like in this next phase? In some ways, its answers are utterly straightforward. Even so, putting the real in real AI PC will keep it busy for years. The ultimate AI proving ground For all its mundane workaday ubiquity, Windows is a demanding proving ground for AI. According to Microsoft, the operating system is currently running on 1.6 billion devices, a figure that includes both Windows 11 and the theoretically moribund Windows 10. Sure, some of its users are early adopters eager to be wowed by the latest technology, even in imperfect form. But many more just want Windows to be a reliable, surprise-free tool to accomplish daily tasks. Their bar for finding AI palatable isnt lower than that of the enthusiastsits higher. Those 1.6 billion devices also reflect an endless array of manufacturers, models, and configurationsa formidable challenge when it comes to deploying a voice interface that consistently works well. Not that long ago, PC-based voice-controlled assistants tended to interrupt themselves and otherwise fail to engage with the world in ways that were fluid and natural, notes Microsoft technical fellow Stevie Bathiche (26 years at the company). That’s because [they] didn’t have a high-quality audio pipeline, he says. Now that’s solved. Microsoft president of Windows + Devices Pavan Davuluri [Image: Courtesy of Microsoft] Microsofts solution borrows from work it originally did for Cortana and Teams and involves technologies such as beam forming, which help a PC block out irrelevant ambient noise. That helps even with basic Copilot Voice features that dont sound like huge deals in themselves: the Hey Copilot wake word and ability to say Goodbye to conclude an AI session. But the most challenging part was what came in between: getting the AI to correctly handle everyday tasks as users might phrase them, regardless of their degree of AI savvy. With consumer AI in its typical current form, If you know how to craft that perfect prompt and go into super detail, you can get a lot of bang out of it, says Virk. But how do we make this superpower accessible to every single user of Windows? In several demos, the company showed me Copilot responding to briefly expressed spoken requests. In one, it explained how to disentangle multiple Spotify listeners data so the services year-end Wrapped summary wouldnt be a meaningless mishmash. It also made style suggestions based on a Pinterest feed, defined physics concepts mentioned in class notes, and did the math to adjust the ingredients in a handwritten recipe to produce a larger batch. The closest it got to showing off was when it aided a songwriting example by humming a funk riff in G minor. All of this emphasizes the simple, practical, and broadly applicable. One reason why: The stinging reaction to Windows Recall, a feature Microsoft announced at its May 2024 event. By capturing an ongoing stream of screenshots, Recall gave the operating system a memory. The idea was that users would find value in AI being able to scour their past activity in intimate detail. But the technology was invasive, turned on by default, and unencrypted. After critics called it a privacy nightmare, Microsoft took Recall back to the drawing board and didnt release it for almost a year. Naturally, the company now says it regards the whole kerfuffle as a teachable moment. We have taken those learnings and really applied them and internalized them to everything new that we have, says Virk. First and foremost, the discussion that happens on the team is, How will somebody understand the value of this? Will they be comfortable? Will they feel like they have control? Do they always know what is happening? Transparency is an important core tenet for our experiences. Only some of those experiences are rolling out to all Windows 11 users immediately. Additional ones will be available in test form to users who subscribe to the Windows Insider early-access program. Those include features called Connectors that hook Copilot into apps such as Outlook and OneDrive, giving it far more access to your data than Copilot Vision can divine by analyzing the screen. (Yes, Microsoft says Connectors will be available to third-party developers, too.) Connectors are crucial to Copilot starting to get more agenticable to perform complex tasks on the users behalf with some measure of autonomy. Other purveyors of AI are developing similar technologies. For example, OpenAI already has a ChatGPT agent (known as Agent) and integrations (also called Connectors). By building this sort of AI directly into Windows, which already serves as a hub for so many peoples work, Microsoft has the opportunity to make it particularly powerful. But as AI works more independently and gains access to additional data, the potential for security and privacy issues rises. Chastened by its Recall misfire, Microsoft emphasizes that its agent-related features are opt-in and engineered to receive only the access they need. Even before these features reach general availability, Windows is using multiple AI models in an agentic manner below the surface. As the operating system responds to a users request, The big model creates the plan and the reasoning behind it, explains Bathiche. It says, You do this, do this, do this. The small model is tuned to essentially say, Yeah, let me take that instruction and translate it to what that actually means on the screen. That division of labor hints at a future when Windows, and computing in general, get atomized into bits of software negotiating with each othera scenario thats been predicted for decades and is only now going beyond the theoretical. Windows Insider members will also be the first to gain access to Ask Copilot, a new feature that puts Copilot directly on the taskbar, allowing them to initiate a typed AI session without firing up the existing Copilot app. Like Hey, Copilot, that may not sound like a huge whoop. But its key to Microsofts long-term goal of letting Windows call on AI in whatever way they prefer at any given moment. You can get going with Copilot straight out of the gate, says Davuluri. And it can be chat, it can be voice, it can be vision. It can be any combination of them. The road to Jarvis Ultimately, its impossible to ponder Windows future except in the context of its first 40 years. The graphical computing environmentnot yet a full-blown operating systemshipped in 1985 and struggled at first. Only with 1990s Windows 3.0 did it become a hit. Then new trends, such as multimedia and the web, only strengthened its position. In recent years, Windowsfor all the enormity of its user basehas maintained a low profile. Indeed, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is justly admired for reimagining the company for an age that doesnt revolve around Windows or any other desktop operating system. Had it clung to its past rather than broadened its horizons, it likely wouldnt be the worlds second most valuable company today. Could voice and AI put Windows back in the spotlight? Mehdi doesnt mention Apples recent travails in AI, but hes clear that he sees an opportunity for Microsoft to bound forward more quickly than its eternal competitor. Were going to have an open window, he says. And Apple is not going to be in this window for quite some time. Thinking ahead over the next decade, Mehdi told me, Microsoft would love to turn Copilot into the real-world equivalent of Tony Starks ultracapable AI butler Jarvis. Still, he and the Microsoft executives I talked to mostly kept the hype in check. None of them suggested that voice might totally supersede todays graphical interface in the way Windows once replaced MS-DOSs text-based command line. Microsoft Jarvis, should it come to exist, will likely still support keyboard and mouse inputjust like Windows 1.0. We think this is the next interface because it’s additive, stresses corporate VP of design and research for Windows + Devices Marcus Ash, who has been at Microsoft since 1999 (not counting a brief detour at Stripe) and was part of the team that created Cortana. It gives you more things that you can do. But you can also go back to the way that you use things if that’s comfortable for you. Which is not to say Microsoft wont make every effort to make the case for Windows latest attempt to bake in voice technology. That undertaking will include a TV campaign showing the new features in action. We’ve not advertised Windows in that kind of fashion in a while, says Mehdi. So we do have confidence in what we’ve got here. Once upon a time, Microsoft signaled that a Windows update mattered by rebranding it: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7. Not this time. Four-year-old Windows 11 is still Windows 11additional evidence the company is trying to err on the side of underselling what its created. Historically, weve changed names, says Mehdi. Pavan and I were like, Shoot, should we have [called it] Windows 12 or Windows 20 or something? We didn’t even think about it. We were spending our whole time working on the product. But it has that magnitude. And it’s obviously all with the backdrop of what’s happening in the world of AI. If this new voice-enabled operating system wins hearts, it will be because its benefits speak for themselves.
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E-Commerce
Protein powders are notoriously hit-or-miss when it comes to taste. But according to a new study from Consumer Reports (CR), gym bros and casual proteinmaxxers should be less concerned with how their protein powders taste, and more concerned about whether they might contain lead. The study, published on October 14, tested 23 of the most popular protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes for heavy metal contamination. CR purchased multiple samples of each product, including two to four distinct lots, over a three-month period beginning in November of 2024. The samples were then tested for protein, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and other elements. The results were striking: More than two-thirds of the products analyzed contained more lead in a single serving than the amount that CRs food safety experts say is safe to consume in a day. CRs report noted that theres no reason to panic if readers have been consuming these products, as theyre unlikely to cause immediate harm. However, protein companies are pushing back against the results, arguing that the report is alarmist. Heres what to know: What did Consumer Reports find? CRs report is structured around a daily threshold of allowable lead consumption, which its researchers set at 0.5 micrograms. This figure is based on the California Prop 65 maximum, which, the publication notes, has a wide safety margin built in. In comparison, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have any official guidelines on dietary lead limits, it has set an estimated benchmark for safe daily consumption, which is 2.2 micrograms for children and 8.8 micrograms for women of childbearing age. (An FDA spokesperson told CR that the 8.8 figure can likely be applied to all adults). To be clear, no amount of lead is technically okay to consume, with even low levels potentially causing serious health problems. According to CRs report, the most concerning products were all plant-based protein powders, which, on average, contained lead levels that were nine times the amount found in those made with dairy proteins and twice as great as beef-based ones. Topping out CRs list was Naked Nutritions Vegan Mass Gainer. For a serving size of 315 grams, CR found that the powder continued 1,572% of its daily lead consumption threshold, or about 7.7 micrograms per serving. Following that product was Huels Black Edition powder, which contained 6.3 micrograms of lead in a 90 gram serving, and Garden of Lifes Sport Organic Plant-Based Protein, which contained 2.76 micrograms in a 45 gram serving. How have protein powder companies responded? In a statement to Fast Company, Naked Nutrition said it was important to note that Naked Vegan Mass Gainer was the only vegan weight gainer in the study, meaning it had a much larger serving size compared to the other powders tested. When viewed on a per-gram basis, the company added, results are consistent with other plant-based proteins. Elements such as lead are naturally occurring in soil, a spokesperson said. Because plants naturally absorb minerals and elements from soil, trace levels of heavy metals can be found in virtually all plant-derived foods and proteins, even in certified organic products, regardless of brand or country of origin. While Consumer Reports did not share its complete lab data, we reviewed the available information and verified results through independent third-party testing, which confirmed that no heavy metals exceeded FDA reference intake levels for adults, including for sensitive groups such as women of childbearing age. A spokesperson for Huel, which published its own article in response to CRs study, told Fast Company that it is extremely frustrated by the report and views it as alarmist. The brand added that California’s 0.5 microgram threshold is ultra conservative” because it divides the observable effect limit by 1,000 to allow a margin for error. For comparison, the EU benchmark is 270 micrograms per serving. It is important to understand that the Consumer Reports approach reflects a uniquely cautious regulation rather than an internationally accepted measure of consumer safety,” the spokesperson said. “Trace minerals such as lead occur naturally in crops because plants absorb them from the soil. For context, Huel added, a meal of sausages, potatoes, cabbage, and carrots can contain around 5 micrograms of lead, and most adults consume between 20 and 80 micrograms per day from normal foods. Huel is no different from everyday meals in this respect. Huels spokesperson added that it has conducted 17 independent tests on Huel Black Edition, with results consistently showing lead levels between 1.5 and 2.2 micrograms per 90 gram serving. Garden of Life did not immediately respond to Fast Companys request for comment, but a spokesperson for the company told CR that its products are safe for daily use despite CRs recommended limits.
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E-Commerce
Senate Democrats are poised for the 10th time Thursday to reject a stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government, insisting they won’t back away from demands that Congress take up health care benefits.The repetition of votes on the funding bill has become a daily drumbeat in Congress, underscoring how intractable the situation has become as it has been at times the only item on the agenda for the Senate floor. House Republicans have left Washington altogether. The standoff has lasted over two weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, even more without a guaranteed payday and Congress essentially paralyzed.“Every day that goes by, there are more and more Americans who are getting smaller and smaller paychecks,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, adding that there have been thousands of flight delays across the country as well.Thune, a South Dakota Republican, again and again has tried to pressure Democrats to break from their strategy of voting against the stopgap funding bill. It hasn’t worked. And while some bipartisan talks have been ongoing about potential compromises on health care, they haven’t produced any meaningful progress toward reopening the government.Democrats say they won’t budge until they get a guarantee on extending subsidies for health plans offered under Affordable Care Act marketplaces. They warned that millions of Americans who buy their own health insurance such as small business owners, farmers and contractors will see large increases when premium prices go out in the coming weeks. Looking ahead to a Nov. 1 deadline in most states, they think voters will demand that Republicans enter into serious negotiations.“We have to do something, and right now, Republicans are letting these tax credits expire,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.Still, Thune was also trying a different tack Thursday with a vote to proceed to appropriations bills a move that could grease the Senate’s wheels into some action or just deepen the divide between the two parties. A deadline for subsidies on health plans Democrats have rallied around their priorities on health care as they hold out against voting for a Republican bill that would reopen the government. Yet they also warn that the time to strike a deal to prevent large increases for many health plans is drawing short.When they controlled Congress during the pandemic, Democrats boosted subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans. It pushed enrollment under President Barack Obama’s signature health care law to new levels and drove the rate of uninsured people to a historic low. Nearly 24 million people currently get their health insurance from subsidized marketplaces, according to health care research nonprofit KFF.Democrats and some Republicans are worried that many of those people will forgo insurance if the price rises dramatically. While the tax credits don’t expire until next year, health insurers will soon send out notices of the price increases. In most states, they go out Nov. 1.Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she has heard from “families who are absolutely panicking about their premiums that are doubling.”“They are small business owners who are having to think about abandoning the job they love to get employer-sponsored health care elsewhere or just forgoing coverage altogether,” she added.Murray also said that if many people decide to leave their health plan, it could have an effect across medical insurance because the pool of people under health plans will shrink. That could result in higher prices across the board, she said.Some Republicans have acknowledged that the expiration of the tax credits could be a problem and floated potential compromises to address it, but there is hardly a consensus among the GOP.House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., this week called the COVID-era subsidies a “boondoggle,” adding that “when you subsidize the health care system and you pay insurance companies more, the prices increase.”President Donald Trump has said he would “like to see a deal done for great health care,” but has not meaningfully weighed into the debate. And Thune has insisted that Democrats first vote to reopen the government before entering any negotiations on health care.If Congress were to engage in negotiations on significant changes to health care, it would likely take weeks, if not longer, to work out a compromise. Votes on appropriations bills Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are setting up a vote Thursday to proceed to a bill to fund the Defense Department and several other areas of government. This would turn the Senate to Thune’s priority of working through spending bills and potentially pave the way to paying salaries for troops, though the House would eventually need to come back to Washington to vote for a final bill negotiated between the two chambers.Thune said it would be a step toward getting “the government funded in the traditional way, which is through the annual appropriations process.”It wasn’t clear whether Democrats would give the support needed to advance the bills. They discussed the idea at their luncheon Wednesday and emerged saying they wanted to review the Republican proposal and make sure it included appropriations that are priorities for them.While the votes will not bring the Senate any closer to an immediate fix for the government shutdown, it could at least turn their attention to issues where there is some bipartisan agreement. Stephen Groves and Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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