Newsletter Archives

• Microsoft’s groundhog — Copilot

  Posted on February 19, 2024 at 02:43 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  Will you see it, or won’t you?

  In the United States and Canada, on a day in early February, a certain rodent is observed emerging from its burrow. Based upon an old Pennsylvania Dutch superstition, if the groundhog sees its shadow, it retreats into the ground for six more weeks, signaling that much more wintry weather.

  I feel a bit like this with Microsoft’s release of Copilot — I never know whether a machine is going to see it or not.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.08.0, 2024-02-19).

  Patch Watch Apple Vision Pro, Copilot, CVE-2024-21351, CVE-2024-21410, CVE-2024-21412, CVE-2024-21413, KB5034441, KB5034765, KB5035606, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, SmartScreen, Windows Copilot

• Use Copilot now — and for free

  Posted on January 29, 2024 at 02:44 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  There’s no need to pay for Microsoft’s Copilot when there are now various ways to use it together with Microsoft Office (any version) — and without paying a cent.

  I’m urging everyone to try out the five main and relatively simple uses of AI: writing, rewriting, summarizing, making images, and research. I’ll focus on Microsoft’s Copilot. However, much the same features are available in other AI products such as ChatGPT/Dall-E (which is the basis for Copilot), Google Bard, and other smaller services.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.05.0, 2024-01-29).

  Microsoft 365 AI, Copilot, Newsletters, Windows Copilot

• My 2023 rear-view mirror and 2024 crystal ball

  Posted on December 26, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.52 • 2023-12-26

  Look for our BONUS issue on January 1, 2024! Happy New Year!

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Let’s first check the 2023 rear-view mirror to see what good, and not-so-good, things happened with Microsoft 365.

  I’ll look at just some of the changes, perhaps not the most-hyped-but-possibly-overlooked ones in the never-ending road that is Microsoft marketing. Then I’ll peer over the steering wheel to see what will or might happen in 2024.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.52.0, 2023-12-26).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Microsoft 365 Aptos, Excel, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Designer, Newsletters, Office 2016, Office 2019, Office 2021, Outlook (new), Python, Windows Copilot

• Closing the year on patching

  Posted on December 18, 2023 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  We need a little Copilot, now.

  I have a favorite Christmas song called “We Need a Little Christmas” (now). That comes to my mind because for those of you who want to partake in the artificial intelligence experiment know as Windows Copilot, you may end up humming the slightly modified song “I Need a Little Copilot” (now).

  The December updates start to bring Copilot into Windows 10. I say “start” because, like many things in Microsoftland, features and changes are no longer released en masse to everyone in the form of a service pack. Instead, the changes are dribbled out or limited to certain geographical areas.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.51.0, 2023-12-18).

  Patch Watch Apple, BitLocker, CVE-2023-20275, CVE-2023-35628, CVE-2023-35636, KB5008383, KB5025885, Newsletters, NTLM, Patch Lady Posts, VPN, Windows Copilot, Zero Day

• MS-DEFCON 2: Copilot for Christmas

  Posted on December 7, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.49.1 • 2023-12-07

  

  By Susan Bradley

  The upcoming December updates will begin Microsoft’s process of dribbling out Windows Copilot.

  No question here — I’m raising the MS-DEFCON level to 2.

  I’m not sure I understand why Copilot needed to be so deeply embedded in Windows, at least right now. It’s obvious that putting the guts of AI support into the operating system is inevitable, because Microsoft’s apps are rapidly evolving to include Copilot.

  However, Microsoft’s icon for Copilot still includes the “PRE” badge, which in effect signals that we’re all still beta testers for a Copilot preview. Besides, with your Microsoft account and Edge, you can play around with Copilot at low risk. Even that generates some uncertainty, because I’ve seen Copilot in Bing deliver wrong answers.

  Maybe the bugs should be worked out before Copilot is welded permanently to Windows.

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (20.49.1, 2023-12-07).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON Alerts, Extended Security Updates, HP Print smart, KB5008383, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 2, Patch Lady Posts, Windows 10 ESU, Windows Copilot

• MS-DEFCON 3: A slightly bumpy November

  Posted on November 28, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.48.1 • 2023-11-28

  

  By Susan Bradley

  For most Windows 10 and 11 users, including me, there have been no side effects as a result of November’s updates.

  Nonetheless, there appear to be a few potholes in the road. That’s enough to make me cautious — I’m lowering the MS-DEFCON level to only 3.

  One thing I did notice was updates taking more time to complete than usual — not a good sign. At the very least, it’s a good reason to take a look at the update history in Settings.

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (20.48.1, 2023-11-28).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON Alerts, Dev Drive, Dev Home App, InControl, KB5032189, KB5032190, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 3, OpenAI, Patch Lady Posts, speed test, Uninstall updates, Windows Copilot

• Copilot is here, sort of

  Posted on October 16, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.42 • 2023-10-16

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  The October security updates include Copilot.

  As I have alerted you before, if you have Windows 11 22H2 and live in North America or certain South American and Asian countries, Microsoft will be “dribbling” the “Chat for the operating system” update.

  Never fear — you can disable this “feature.” I didn’t say remove or block, but rather disable.

  In the European Union (EU), Copilot for Windows will probably be installed — but you won’t have the shortcut to it enabled, due to some EU digital rules. Expect Microsoft to make the changes necessary to bring it into compliance, at which point it will be enabled.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.42.0, 2023-10-16).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Patch Watch CVE-2023-36563, CVE-2023-44487, KB5031361, KB5031362, KB5031364, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Windows Copilot

• Taming Copilot

  Posted on October 9, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I use devices that include artificial intelligence and cloud services, and you probably do, too.

  For example, I regularly ask Alexa about the weather: “Hey ,Alexa — what’s the seven-day weather forecast?” That helps me know whether it’s going to be cooler on the weekend so I can garden. I have apps that control thermostats, security cameras, and garage doors. Amazon can open my garage door and drop off packages so they don’t get stolen by porch pirates.

  So it’s not that I’m against using cloud services or voice-activated devices.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.41.0, 2023-10-09).

  Patch Watch AI, Bing Chat, Copilot, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Windows Copilot
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