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@Fel-Temp-Reparatio5/21/2024, 10:24 PM

Thew @Thew

Thew @Thew5/21/2024, 10:06 PM

probably worth noting that the windows AI spyware thing is specifically only for those shitass Qualcomm netbooks that literally no one uses

it's part of a weird cross-branding thing with qualcomm where they're including "ai accelerator" chips in new snapdragon socs, and microsoft is inventing a "Copilot+" brand to slap on new hardware that uses these socs in order to pretend they have some sort of real-world use

Windows on ARM is fully in the "cruel joke" software category; it's basically a scam where they disguise chromebooks as real laptops and sell them for 2x the price of a chromebook, but slightly cheaper than a computer. No one has ever intentionally bought a windows ARM machine; they are only purchased by accident. Adding an AI keylogger to the new models will not help

I'm not saying any of this is Good but I AM saying probably don't panic. You're not going to wake up tomorrow and find this shit patched onto your previously-working PC

Obviously it's still possible they'll try to inflict this on real computers SOME day, but that's not the product they're currently attempting to sell

@Fel-Temp-Reparatio5/21/2024, 10:24 PM

It's kind of a shame, because I rather like the idea of a properly working Windows ARM laptop, and I was hoping that a push for them might end up leading to better software support. But even aside from the moral and security issues, this spyware push seems like such an on the face of it unappealing idea that I'd be surprised if it doesn't fuck up the whole attempted transition. They're probably going to blame the failure on "nobody wants ARM for a Windows machine," not "nobody wants a machine with the worst AI assistant possible built into their OS."

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in reply to @Thew's post:

Ξ @exerian5/21/2024, 10:18 PM

i want this to be true but i overlooked any links that may have been presented in other chosts. any chance we can get a ref?

🌷 doodlemancy 🌷@doodlemancy5/21/2024, 10:25 PM

PHEW. that's good news. i really hope the outcry/horror about this scares them away from trying to implement it more widely.

Ξ @exerian5/21/2024, 10:27 PM

keeping my fingers crossed for this outcome but still moving my own stuff permanently to nix, probably.

Coral @cmw5/21/2024, 10:26 PM

Sidenote: the new snapdragon is a Nuvia design, and… looks to be the best silicon this side of M4.

Tom (tired of the computer)@masklayer5/21/2024, 10:29 PM

i mean it's planned for the snapdragon cpu they're putting in the new surface laptop, which they clearly want to make more mainstream like Apple did with apple silicon, but it's also not specifically limited to that CPU, just to a spec requirement which intel/others could meet sometime. Also anything could happen
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/microsofts-copilot-ai-pc-requirements-are-embarrassing-for-intel-and-amd/

andi @mcc5/21/2024, 11:09 PM

The problem is the Overton window. Once Microsoft has done this in a shipping product once it will be less shocking for another OS to do it, or a stalkerware product for that matter. This feature makes the world worse by merely existing, even if it never appears on your computer.

And "Recall" seems broadly of a piece with the other "AI" features that have been reported as coming to Regular Windows (although it's hard to say which news reports can accurately predict an unfinished product, especially when Microsoft's own marketing statements are probably not actually reliable).

d🔶@geometric5/21/2024, 11:45 PM

Windows on ARM has historically been a disaster, but my understanding is that the writing is on the wall, and in order to keep up with Apple's performance and efficiency/battery life, they are making it a priority to switch architecture. So yeah, your current PC is fine, but your choices on the next one might get weird.

Elise @AlwaysElise5/21/2024, 11:48 PM

Gotta disagree with a main point here: x86 processors supporting the specs are coming, likely within the next half a year or so. https://www.engadget.com/intel-powered-copilot-pcs-will-be-available-this-fall-204049150.html
Intel and others are in fact making a big deal publicly of "AI PC" (the current buzzword for these things). It's primarily a hardware limitation blocking it, so existing systems are fine, but it's a limitation every hardware company has made no secret of working hard to overcome with their future models, as they all see it as The Next Big Thing to get market share in.

Thew @Thew5/21/2024, 11:53 PM

Gotta disagree with a main point here

the main point was: "You're not going to wake up tomorrow and find this shit patched onto your previously-working PC"

@gkrnours5/22/2024, 5:53 AM

For context/reference, MNT research is a small company making very open-source laptop that run on ARM. They recently offered an upgrade to a rockchip rk3588 which they say is fast enough to comfortably run CAD software.

I wouldn't be surprised if low range laptop all started to run on ARM

Echo Cian @EchoCian5/22/2024, 1:12 PM

I'm getting tired of having to point this out every time I see someone catastrophizing about it, and then being asked for a source, because I am apparently the only person who read beyond the headline of the very article they linked and are panicking about.

Will they eventually bring it to all of Windows 11? Probably in some form, unless this bombs as hard as it's nearly guaranteed to do. I'll worry about it when/if it stops needing specific hardware to run, since Win11 is already particular about that. (I'm on the verge of just giving up and learning Linux as it is but their bullshit hasn't quite overcome inertia yet.)