Category: Hardware

It took Qualcomm several years to build a truly powerful ARM desktop processor, crucial for the success of Windows on ARM. Meanwhile, Apple has successfully released multiple generations of devices featuring its own ARM-designed processors, seeming to dominate the market without any real competition in sight.

Earlier in January, Microsoft made a statement that the dedicated Copilot key won't be required for devices to pass Windows 11 certification. Despite that, Intel points that the key is a mandatory requirement for "new era PCs".

At today's event, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6, albeit only in business versions. The design of the new products has not changed compared to the previous generation. But there are still quite a lot of improvements.

Microsoft is reportedly developing a new network card that should increase the performance of the Maia AI server chip and reduce the company's dependence on NVIDIA solutions.

Microsoft has confirmed that device manufacturers do not need to replace one of the Win buttons on keyboards with a button to launch the Copilot AI assistant in order to be officially certified for Windows 11. The location of the Copilot key may vary by manufacturer, but it is typically found to the right of the space bar opposite the Win key.

In January 2024, Incase made an announcement regarding their partnership with Microsoft. They stated that various Microsoft-branded accessories such as wireless and wired ergonomic mice, keyboards, webcams, speakers, headsets, and more will continue to be marketed under the Incase Designed brand. This collaboration benefits both companies.

In an announcement, Microsoft revealed the introduction of a significant keyboard modification for Windows PCs, marking the first such change in thirty years. Beginning next month, all newly released Windows devices will have a dedicated hardware key for Copilot. Devices that already have the new key will be showcased at CES 2024, scheduled for next week.

Raymond Chen, a developer at Microsoft, provided an explanation of how the "death cart" was utilized to test and improve early versions of Windows by causing the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) with USB devices.
The cart, resembling a mail cart, consisted of over 60 USB devices connected in a daisy-chain configuration. Each device had different types and functions, and when connected to a PC, it would trigger the BSoD.