Windows 12 fan fiction shows how Microsoft might ladle AI into the OS
- Reference: 1705420812
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/01/16/windows_12_speculation/
- Source link:
The Windows rumor mill about the next iteration of Microsoft's operating system has been turning and with hardware vendors desperate for customers to buy exotic AI PCs, Microsoft has become more determined to push its AI assistants to consumers.
The creator of one attention-grabbing visualization – unsanctioned by Microsoft – is the same individual who gave us the recent [1]"What If?" Windows XP kept going experiment .
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Microsoft itself has yet to confirm that [3]Windows 12 is even happening, let alone preview its content, so readers should add a substantial pinch of salt when you watch this.
[4]
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Once one gets over the grating music, the conceptual art is intriguing, and, in this writer's opinion, presents a logical evolution from Windows 11. It also includes a few interface elements that are already known about.
[6]Youtube Video
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The Start menu, for example, is minimalist but carries themes from earlier Windows incarnations. The creator has shifted the taskbar to the top of the screen, leaving some quick access buttons at the base. Standard dialogs such as File Explorer and Settings have been tidied, and the Quick Settings page has been enhanced.
[8]Microsoft braces for automatic AI takeover with Copilot at Windows startup
[9]What if Microsoft had given us Windows XP 2024?
[10]Windows 11 unable to escape the shadow of Windows 10
[11]Windows 12: Savior of PC makers, or just an apology for Windows 11?
There's even a suggestion for a new Windows logo inspired by Microsoft's newfound love of all things with rounded corners – if the Windows 11 design language is anything to go by.
However, it's the typing of some text to get a wallpaper generated that shows how generative AI might potentially arrive into the operating system. Such functionality would seem a quick win and certainly easier than making Windows Search work properly.
The creator, however, takes a bit of a turn with the application of Dark Mode. While it all works swimmingly in the concept, anyone who has had to endure Microsoft's attempts to make the functionality work in the company's flagship OS will know it will take more than some whizzy generative AI to bring forth the darkness.
Microsoft has yet to confirm either the existence or name of Windows 12. However, imagining what might be around the corner is a fun thought experiment. Even if our dreams of a big red button marked "turn off data slurpage" are unlikely to be realized. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/04/windows_xp_reimagined/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zaa2NE-sXZ8HhC9tuKDg3QAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/23/windows_12_analysis/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zaa2NE-sXZ8HhC9tuKDg3QAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zaa2NE-sXZ8HhC9tuKDg3QAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://youtu.be/tJExFAc6wys?si=qWfLUhq6eKQ0IrlF
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zaa2NE-sXZ8HhC9tuKDg3QAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/15/microsoft_copilot_windows_startup/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/04/windows_xp_reimagined/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/02/windows_11_unable_to_escape/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/23/windows_12_analysis/
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
We are seeing tectonic plates shift here
or maybe they did ages ago, and we are only just realising.
"Olden days" - the OS was needed to manage the machines resources most effectively, efficiently and properly.
The future: the OS is merely a shim between the user and the AI cloud.
Looking at cars might help. Gone are the days the driver had to adjust the advance/retard themselves as well as tweaking the fuel/air mixture in flight. Now they just drive.
That being said, you can fuck off if you think I want any sort of AI in my OS. Especially MS AI.
Exit plan
It's possible that AI will actually be good for something. But it looks to me like projections of AI future capability are dramatically in excess of likely actual utility. And my guess is that MS management might well end up forcing Clippy_on mind-altering_drugs on one and all.
Those who haven't long since jumped ship might want to start thinking about an exit strategy from Windows. Hopefully, they won't have to use it. But if they do, it's likely not going to be anywhere near as easy as just buying a bunch of Apple gear or simply downloading some Linux release. Being prepared to bail will probably require some effort. But if one does need to switch OSes, one does not want to do it in a state of panic.
Good guys
Why there are no good guy hackers who could create a virus that would spread across the globe and uninstall telemetry and other bloat from Windows machines.
Windows 13
After Windows 12 and the AI experiment will come Windows 13...