Microsoft News Roundup: Google Bard vs. Bing Chat, Microsoft Loop, Windows 11 SSD bug, Dell UltraSharp 49, and more
Google and Microsoft continue to go toe-to-toe with competing AI chatbots.
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Microsoft has so many teams that it can be tricky to keep track of all the news that the company breaks. Luckily for you, we gather together the biggest news stories from the world of Microsoft into a handy roundup each week. Bing Chat, Microsoft Loop, and a Windows 11 SSD bug made the headlines over the last seven days. We also saw Dell announce an ultrawide monitor and Google launch preview support for its Bard chatbot.
Google Bard in preview
It may seem a bit strange to start off a Microsoft News Roundup with a section about Google, but Bard will likely be the biggest competitor to Bing Chat, making it an important piece of tech to follow. Google launchedpreview support for Bardthis week, allowing users to test out the chatbot that uses Google’s on LaMDA rather than OpenAI’s GPT-4 model that powers Bing Chat.
Bard blunder costs Google $100 billion>How to sign up for and use Google Bard>How to sign up for the new Bing-powered by ChatGPT
In a comedic mistake,Google Bard claimed that it was shut downthis week. In fact, the chatbot said it was shut down before it even launched in preview. That’s the nature of the beast when it comes to AI that sources information from the web. Before you take the chance to pick on Google, Bing Chat made the same mistake.
Bing Chat images
Speaking of Bing, Microsoft rolled out new capabilities to its GPT-4-powered chatbot this week.Bing Chat can now generate imagesfollowing prompts written with natural language. The feature is powered by an “advanced version of DALL-E model.”
Image Creator is also on the way to Microsoft Bing. Users will be able to generate images through the Bing Sidebar in the browser.
Microsoft Loop
Microsoft Loop launched in preview this week as well. Loop gathers together Microsoft 365 content into workspaces and pages that can be shared. That content then syncs across supported apps. For example, a To Do list could appear within a workspace and then stay up to date anywhere that Loop component lived.
At the moment, Loop is limited to work accounts, but personal account support is on the way.
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Microsoft 365 Copilot will make its way to Loop in the future also. It’s in private preview now.
Windows 11 SSD bug
Microsoft rolled out theWindows 11 March 2023 Patch Tuesday updateearlier this month. Unfortunately, it included a bug that can cut the read and write speeds of SSDs in half. It’s not clear how widespread the issue is, but aReddit threadincludes several complaints and benchmarks illustrating the problem.
If you’ve run into the bug, you can roll back to a previous version of Windows 11 or wait for Microsoft to roll out a fix.
Dell UltraSharp 49 monitor
Dell announced its newUltraSharp 49 Curved USB-C Hub Monitorthis week. The massive display has a 32:9 aspect ratio that allows users to place two 27-inch screens next to each other.
The monitor features an IPS Black Panel with a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, which is double that of most IPS displays.
In addition to acting as an ultrawide monitor, the device is a USB-C hub. It has a wide range of ports for connecting accessories and peripherals.
Reviews & Editorials
Each week our team of experts takes a look at the latest games, gadgets, and accessories. They also keep track of the latest trends and provide insight through editorials.
This week, we reviewed headsets, PCs, coolers, and much more. Our Managing Editor Richard Devine also shared how Bing Chat made him switch away from Google.
Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He’s covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean’s journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.
