Microsoft is adding a new key to PC keyboards for the first time since 1994
Microsoft is adding a new key to PC keyboards for the first time since 1994
Copilot key will eventually be required in new PC keyboards, though not yet.
So now Windows bloat is extending to the physical keyboard itself.
Looking at the Microsoft blog post they haven't said exactly how they want keyboard layouts to change. So on a full size keyboard this could be either new key entirely, or replace an existing (and arguably more useful) key.
They should put it adjacent to the up arrow key so that when I hit it accidentally, copilot can ask "did you mean to press the up arrow key?", which will cause me to smash the keyboard with my fists and then I'll need to buy another one. Sales will skyrocket.
I mean, they did it before with the windows/super button. Before that you just had ctrl and alt there.
I use mainly keyboard-controlled WM configurations, so a Super key or a Meta key is useful for me, to separate it from Alt and Ctrl.
Which reminds us of the fact that PC keyboards didn't have those or a Windows key obviously, but Sun keyboards, from googling, did have a Super key.
So it's not them.
(And it's not bad in my opinion)
I don't remember the last time I pressed the "right click" contextual menu key, so honestly it's not like it'll be too annoying. Unless they do replace an actually useful key, at which point I guess the people making "make Windows actually work good" apps will get to live another year.
I use the app/menu all the time in Excel.
I use it as a Compose key with WinCompose.
Then you had all those "for the web" Windows 95 PCs that had all the extra buttons like the Calculator and Web Browser and Sleep buttons scattered around above the keyboard that I don't think people tended to use because Windows wasn't built with them in mind. It seems they're in the keyboard standard now as if they were any other key.
Yeah there were some wacky keyboard shortcut buttons in the 90s, particularly during the dot com bubble. Perhaps we could bring back the pizza key!
My keyboard has mail/browser/home/suspend keys in the corner. I use suspend and home (to get to the set main page in the browser) every day.
Swap it with the windows key and put the windows key as the function modified keypress. As long as I can still disable that key, it would be fine.
Before I even read it I knew it was more ads or AI of some sort and yep it's both. Sure yeah we need more ads. Can I get a Microsoft store button on mouses now? Ohoh a dedicated 2nd screen for ads on every monitor. We must please the share holders and the rich!
I'm plenty fine with all ads consolidated to a dedicated monitor, that would certainly never face the wall on minimal brightness
I'm plenty fine with an OS that doesn't try to abuse me in the first place.
Do you remember a few years ago, it came out that some company was working on a new idea that, when you were given an advertisement on a TV, it could require you to say the product name aloud or it wouldn't continue?
I try not to concede anything related to advertising because everything they want seems so dystopian.
Please drink verification can to continue.
You're right, but you also know the answer to this. Loath as I am to say it, the solution to this is simple: just use Linux.
If only keyboards would have function keys for this purpose, named F1 to F10 for example, so any program could use them for their specific functions...
Nahh gotta place them where they're obvious in your face and a constant reminder of CONSUME PRODUCT and be accidently pressed! Can guarantee you it'll take up part of the space of a key hotspot
At least on the PC, it's easier to remap the buttons. What enrages me more are the TV remote controls with buttons dedicated to specific streaming apps. I mean... none of these services will outlive the TV itself. I'll just have to look at buttons that do nothing for years.
Maybe even F13 to F24 if more is needed?
Because they used to exist, and support for them still does. Really handy for macro keys.
Here's an idea... what if we had every key do all kinds of weird shit?
I'd like them to leave F13 onwards alone, purely because it's nice that they'll only ever do what I want them to do
I remember those keyboard layout cutouts (were they called keyboard templates?) you got which you put on the keyboard with extra explanations of what each function key did in WordPerfect or Lotus or whatever.
I'm old.
I'm getting Bixby button flashbacks.
Ho well, my wallet's gonna cry but I'm sure the mechkeyboard community will welcome my ass
Remember when PC keyboards had two Windows logo keys? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
I remember when laptop keyboards had numpads and unabused F keys.
I remember when PC keyboards had zero Windows keys.
Mine currently does. Well they're actually Cooler Master logos, which I don't really mind. And both of them are bound to Super.
Open your wallet and prepare your credit cards it's gonna be a helluva ride!
Rebind ftw
I remapped the Bixby button to turn on the flashlight. Best decision ever.
I requested it, but I was only kidding!
copilot key will eventually be required
Fuck that, and fuck you, Microsoft
We asked Microsoft if a Copilot key would be required on OEM PCs going forward; [...] it expects Copilot keys to be required on Windows 11 keyboards "over time." Microsoft often imposes some additional hardware requirements on major PC makers that sell Windows on their devices [...].
From what I understand, this either means that this will only affect laptops and similar devices, or that they want to force companies that sell windows PCs to sign a contract disallowing them from selling keyboards without a copilot key, with or without a PC. I think (hope?) they mean the former.
Microsoft learns nothing from their continued pattern of going all-in on a trendy and unproven concept. Windows 8 "live tiles" that were supposed to create one look and feel across devices, Cortana was supposed to be the digital assistant of the future, they even did their own poorly executed folding phone.
They never really go all in. They go full force at something but they never really fully commit
Like live tiles was fine except the large sections of the Windows still used the old system, so you'd click a button in settings and suddenly you'd be reverted back to the old window system. Because they never bothered to upgrade that part of the OS.
Microsoft's problem is that they can never be arsed to be consistent.
OR, hear me out, we just have it mapped to alt+win(meta) key and this will be a nothing burger.
Stop being such a socialist. They need to sell more keyboards, and to make the keyboards you own unique to their brand.
It’s already mapped on windows to Window button and C.
M$ can get absolutely fucked
Gee, I imagine this will go the same way as Cortana, but now there will be a key forever visible to be it's gravestone.
Just don't replace your keyboard.
I got a fancy custom keyboard for my birthday which is properly repairable and will most likely never need to be replaced.
Laptops bud
I don't know how long you think you have left to live, but I wish you to change that keyboard someday
You say don't replace your keyboard and then within 6 words mention the thing that doesn't ever have to have some key ms has decided to add to keyboards. Leave the windows key off, too.
That's how it starts. I bought a mechanical keyboard thinking that, while expensive, it was reparable and customizable so it would last a lot longer.
Now I'm like a junkie that wants to swap in different switches or try another set of keycaps. Someone help.
Why couldn't I have just been happy with a normie keyboard that I trash and replace every couple years. Now I'm lubing switches like a maniac.
And again, install Linux and get rid of this Microsoft bullshit
100%. When Windows drops support for Windows 10 I'm jumping ship to Linux Mint Cinnamon. I tried it out on my old laptop and liked it. I even liked that neat hot corners thing you could use.
Unfortunately, that won't change the rise in price in new keyboards because all the companies are compelled to accommodate this change on Microsoft's behalf.
Yeah I’m definitely starting to lean that way with everything I’ve been hearing. Fuck windows.
Oh cool, another useless gimmick just like the 'Office Key'
What about the LinkedIn key.
That’s actually a shortcut for ctrl+alt+shift+L… that is an (unconfigurable?) hotkey for opening LinkedIn in edge.
I swear I blinked and suddenly AI was so ubiquitous that I feel like I'm living, studying and writing incorrectly...
Now I know how the boomers felt when the internet went from dialup to pocketable
Boomers?
I’m a millennial and I remember that, I’m sure many Zoomers would as well.
We’re in the early hype phase of a new innovation fad. It’ll die down and then we’ll find out what it’s ACTUALLY useful for.
I have a conspiracy theory that the only reason major browsers have switched to AI is to tactically deny you what you're really looking for; and keep you on their service, longer.
Ugh. Why do keyboards have to have Microsoft logos. I hate it. I want nothing to do with them.
Well, somehow keyboards are now a niche boutique industry where people spend hundreds of dollars putting together custom-made minimalist builds like they're honing a weapon in an action movie. I find that's probably dumber than a corporate logo becominmg a default key (which to be fair has been a thing since the 80s, the C64 had a Commodore key), but it does mean that if don't want it, you can get a keycap with anything you want on it instead.
Found the membrane lover
Years ago, I invested $120 or so on a clickey-clackey Das Keyboard and it's been just fine. That is by far the most I will ever spend on a keyboard. The only thing I don't like about it is that it takes up two USB ports and it's old enough that the built-in USB ports are only USB 1.0. That's how long it's lasted me.
A decent keyboard is worth an investment if you use it all the time and want a good feel when you type, but people take it way too far.
I don't get the hate on custom keyboards. Sure you can go overboard, but like... I spend eight hours a day using a computer for work and then when I'm done I use another computer for fun. It's not absurd to spend a few hundred bucks on a keyboard that you can expect to last 15+ years instead of the $20 ones that you throw away every year or two or as soon as one thing breaks.
There are definitely keeb elitists though, which is always shitty no matter what hobby you're talking about.
You can get a quality mechanical keyboard in a layout of your choice and take your pick from hundreds of keycap sets in whatever color, profile, material etc. you can think of.
Keychron.com is a good starting point that won't break the bank (but order them from a reseller or Amazon if you can, Keychron themselves aren't great with returns and support).
I would imagine this isn't going to go over very well with a lot of companies. I would bet many already ban employees using copilot or other AI assistants because they don't want their company's proprietary data being sent to Microsoft or Google or whoever. Stick a key on the keyboard that, if accidentally hit, brings up copilot (and maybe sends data to Microsoft), and those keyboards might be banned.
Some companies will probably just deal with it by setting up their PCs so that copilot is disabled and that key does something else. But, other companies will either not be technically savvy enough to do that, or will not want to take a risk of someone accidentally reverting to the default behaviour.
As an observation, companies are embracing AI to inflict things on their customers, but are avoiding it for their own purposes. Take note.
I can only speak for my own company, but you're absolutely right, there are severe limits on how we interact with AI and what data can be fed into it.
I also can't imagine any company with their own interest in AI, your Intels, Oracles, Nvidias, Googles, etc. allowing their employees a 1 click access to Microsofts version.
I was going to say, currently working in K12 & this key would be a nightmare for us. We definitely can't pay Microsoft's minimums - disabling/remapping the key wouldn't be hard, but it's obnoxious it becomes a priority.
I really hope startups are using Copilot and stuff as much as possible because so much of that code is absolute bloatware trash and it'll make Copilot worse with time. Or maybe it won't. Would be funny if it did, though.
I can't even begin to articulate my hatred for the current Microsoft business model. People used to joke how evil they were but it's only continued to get worse
Uhhh it wasnt a joke when i was a teen in the 90s. Bill Gates was absolutely hated, like worse than EA
They're so desperate for AI to be a thing.
AI is absolutely "a thing", not sure there's really a debate about that. The desperation here is they want to be the first company to completely immerse itself in Generative AI, but they're moving so fast they're just shoving every experiment they can come up with down their customers' throats.
AI is going to be a huge part of the future, but Microsoft might not be a part of that future if they fuck up with over implementation of nascent tech.
The Clippy Key.
"It looks like you're trying to make 3d SpongeBob bukkake porn. Can I help?"
They should just rename the Menu key to the “Flavor of the Week” key. Then they can just rotate which pie in the sky, fetch feature is mapped to it during its period of non-use.
Quit trying to make "fetch" happen
It's streets ahead, though.
I like it!
This is way more about advertising Copilot than actually needing a new key. M$ gonna $.
im not going to lie this is one of the stupidest things ive ever seen a major tech company do
I used to think the Windows key was the stupidest. I mean I still do but I used to, too.
It's hardly the most stupid thing it's basically just replacing the windows key that you never press with a different key that you've never press.
Is it replacing the windows key or is it in addition to the windows key? I use the windows key for a few different shortcuts.
Some Microsoft exec: "Hey, remember when TV remotes started getting a dedicated Netflix button?"
I’ll shut that stuff off just like I made every effort to disable Cortana.
It’s unwanted, invasive, and unnecessary.
Between 'caps lock' -> 'actual control key', 'alt gr' -> 'compose', and 'right ctrl' -> 'virtualbox functions', I'm running out of things that I actually need to remap, or have enough fingers to press without stopping touch-typing. But hey, might come in handy for something...
actual crtl key?
Are we finally going to get the Any key?
Another useless key? Use Scroll lock or SysRq for that. Or even better, reuse that stupid "menu" key. They'll cram one more key to the left of the spacebar and make ctrl, alt, and windows keys smaller. Or change their order.
Bruh how am I gonna lock my arrow keys for screen navigation in Excel then??
You mean i dont have to arrow each cell to move the view?
Hey, I use my menu key as Compose!
If only there was another OS you could use instead!
Meme answer: maybe you shouldn't have chosen Haiku OS.
Serious answer: I always advocate for everyone to use the OS that fits their use case.
What I want and need from an OS, Windows simply doesn't offer but Linux does. So that's what I use.
I'd never tell anyone that Linux is perfect, or that you should use it, or something like that. I'm just glad it exists because I need it, it's so much better for my use case I can hardly believe it's free, and it gets better every year.
If only that other OS had keyboards tailored for it...
We could have, I don't know, Compose, Super, Meta, instead of things like Menu that serves no purpose whatsoever.
Menu key serves a purpose when you need to access a context menu without a mouse to right click with.
Granted, I've needed that maybe a grand total of three times over the course of nearly three decades of computer use. But I don't know how you access that menu otherwise. It's a nice bit of redundancy from a company that doesn't often think of that.
Introducing you to our almighty penguin... LINUX
I bought my first gaming keyboard like five years ago and thought the Windows Key Lock button was a Windows Store button for the longest time thinking it was the windows logo in a shopping bag
I'm an idiot
Lmao that's great
Just another key to make grandma ask "OK, what does this do?"
Or more likely she'll accidentally press it and call you in a panic thinking she's been hacked and wondering why her computer is talking to her.
Welp, time to disable TWO keys on my keyboard.
Just rebind them?
It's weirdly difficult to remap the "office" key so that pressing it won't open an ad for ms office 365 and pressing office+L won't open linkedin.com, and a few more equally valuable core OS features.
In the end I just had to grab a small bit of C code from GitHub, compile it, move the exe to the startup folder, have Windows Defender yell at me for having obviously installed a particularly nasty brand of trojan, and make Windows Defender put the executive I had just compiled back.
But really, I deserve this for using a Microsoft natural keyboard in the first place.
Oh nice so now we have a Super Key, a Hamburger Key, and now a Meta key.
</speaking_in_linux>
This will be great for Emacs.
Finally I can have dedicated control, meta, super, and hyper buttons.
Here's the summary for the wikipedia article you mentioned in your comment:
The space-cadet keyboard is a keyboard designed by John L. Kulp in 1978 and used on Lisp machines at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which inspired several still-current jargon terms in the field of computer science and influenced the design of Emacs. It was inspired by the Knight keyboard, which was developed for the Knight TV system, used with MIT's Incompatible Timesharing System.
It's the context menu key all over again
That one is actually useful and I use it every day.
Can we also talk about stupid keyboard manufacturers putting media functions and whatnot on the F keys, but then requiring me to hold Fn to use it as a regular F key? Nobody wants to go Fn+Alt+F4 to close a window. What the hell?
It's because executives don't even know what the regular function keys are for, since the only program they ever use is Outlook. The media controls are much more useful to them.
And as everyone knows, executives are the only people who buy laptops. So it makes sense to cater to them.
Yeah that's unacceptable. You can probably fix it in software but still unacceptable.
On my mechanical keyboard, I mapped my most used programs to de F butttons, with the Ctrl+Alt+F key combination. At work we have a pretty good quality printer, so I printed the icons and taped it above the keys. It's a little janky but it works really well.
Your keyboard lets you press Alt with function keys? That's pretty nice.
Context menu key is really useful. :D
I would say it can be useful. 😹 I rarely used it and can always hit shift f10 now that it's gone. I expect a similar experience with a copilot key.
Of fucking course lol. The cortana key
I don't want a key to automate my hallucinations, I can do that fine enough with enough helium
Maybe if the copilot also made my voice sound funny I'd be interested.
Yeah, give me an autotune button plz.
I use Linux, and I actually like the idea. Not because of the Copilot bullshit, but because I've always wanted a real hyper key.
Isn't that just super / win key ?
Nope, there used to be a fuckton of modifiers on early keyboards. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Space-cadet.jpg
It is my understanding that, because of the keyboard on a system that hasn't been used in 50 years, Unix-like systems understand 6 modifier keys: Shift, Alt, Ctrl, Super, Hyper and Meta.
Linux binds the "Windows" key on a typical PC keyboard to either Super or Meta. Seems to depend on the distro. In either case, in practice it's used to bind shortcuts and macros similar to how the Windows key works in Windows, a single tap opens the app menu, holding it as a modifier key is usually bound to shortcuts that talk to the desktop environment rather than the active application.
Gross
Oh great, another key to accidentally press when I’m in a game.
"It sounds like you're frustrated. Is there something specific you need help with? I'm here to assist you in any way I can."
"totally not Clippy"
Is it supposed to look like a curled up bandaid?
Eeew, now that's all I can see.
Now I know what to use for my push to talk key at least.
In the meantime, scroll lock is a wonderful alternative
I just got done learning how to turn off Copilot in group security policy, yay! Get away from me, even if you worked according to the spec in the marketing hype. I am the admin. I drive you out! :::holds up holy water and a crucifix:::
THE POWER OF SHELL COMMANDS YOU! THE POWER OF SHELL COMMANDS YOU! THE POWER OF SHELL COMMANDS YOU!
Thou shalt not confuse my volunteers today! I cast thee out in the name of Bob Ross!
Tcsh. Tcsh.
I am the admin.
You're never really the admin when it's a Microsoft product
In the name of the Beastie, the Tux, and the Holy Gnu!
ooooh, a KRunner key!
So we will need another sticker to cover MS logos on every keyboard?
On mechanical keyboards its a standard keycap.
If they could just make it like the ⌘ command key on macOS it wouldn't be so bad, but of course, they're going to make it just like the goddamn Windows key, yet another key that if you press, it will screw up your workflow and have some dumb pop-up thing come up. Another modifier key wouldn't be so bad (or just turning the Windows key into a modifier key that doesn't automatically pull up a dumb menu if accidentally pressed by itself). They really like beating people over the head with their useless features.
You can "disable" keys using an app like AutoIt or AutoHotKey to capture the input and just do nothing with it. Takes a 3 line script.
I've done this for years with my left Windows key, for playing games. I also add the left Alt-Tab when playing certain games, so I don't accidentally tab out.
If you're into custom keyboards you can also configure the entire PCB using things like QMK so any key can be anything you want. It is a significantly more expensive route the AHK though.
It kb has a built in function to disable the windows key. Fuck do I love it.
Has power management for laptops gotten any better in the last couple of years on desktop Linux? I distro hopped for a year 3ish years ago but just didn’t like the fairly significant reduction in battery life.
There still are some problems, unfortunately.
Not a world of difference, but my laptop holds ~15% less when running Debian over Windows.
I've uses linux for the last 5 years switching to windows time to time. And consistently I have had less power consumption in linux than in windows.
I usually install linux mint on my laptop.
This tracks. I have recently gone back to running a Windows desktop machine for gaming, and now I have to actually shut it off because:
a) that fucking thing never stays asleep. Clean install with nothing other than Steam and a couple of games, sleep settings mean nothing. Just wakes up, stays awake forever.
b) Fortunately I have an enterprise license key so I don't get as much random bullshit, but every update there is some new fucking thing I don't want.
My machine is a desktop, but I can't image how this works well on laptops.
Debian and Ubuntu works great on my ThinkPad. Getting better battery life in fact coz it sleeps properly compared to windows.
On Arch I installed the "auto-cpufreq" package and my battery life is fine
Depends. It's more fiddly than windows to get set up but there's a lot more options for power management.
I've got a tiny 7 inch laptop and I genuinely can't figure out how to stop the fan from constantly running under windows. On Linux, switchable underclocking and powertop make it last much longer.
This is assuming you've not got an Nvidia GPU in your laptop, I haven't tried in years but toggling the GPU was always difficult.
afaik yes, depends on distro and selected DE.
XFCE is solid, GNOME (ew lol) is solid, KDE last I checked was also solid
There is a slight pain with Fedora (and others) that use zswap/zram which disables hibernation. You can make a setup that swapsoff the memory properly so the laptop can hibernate instead of sleep, its just annoying-that its not a default feature or very easy to set up with a switch.
I've been getting fairly good battery life on arch and popOS on my laptop. Think it depends a bit on what laptop you've got as well. If I were to guess I'd say my current pop install gets ~10% less battery life than on windows, while I was probably even closer than that on arch after a bit of tinkering.
Wait, the keyboard layout standardization has been done by Microsoft?!
It was made by IBM. Microsoft just added one key...
