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Good things come in threes

Good things come in threes

Marcelle Garden admires Trillium grandiflorum in her Millers Flat garden. PHOTOS: JULIE ASHER Trilliums are aptly named — they have three of everything — three bracts, three petals and three sepals — so it is only to be expected the annual national gathering of the New Zealand Trillium Group takes three days. Louise Frampton catches up with organiser Marcelle Garden ahead of the get-together and conference to be held in Teviot Valley and Alexandra later this month.

The newest Windows Copilot agent can send emails, update documents on its own

The newest Windows Copilot agent can send emails, update documents on its own

Microsoft’s Copilot will soon be able to work autonomously on local files in Windows, with Copilot Actions, an “experimental” feature that can perform tasks such as sending emails, updating documents and organizing files on its own. The AI agent relies on a combination of AI vision and advanced reasoning to “click, type and scroll” like a human, Microsoft said. It follows the launch this past summer of a similar Copilot agent (currently available in preview ) that can surf the web on its own, booking restaurants or planning trips on behalf of users, for instance. Copilot Actions for local files, is “coming soon” to Windows Insiders in Copilot Labs, Microsoft. Here’s how it works: users upload files to the Copilot chat interface in Windows, choose “take action” from a list of options, then describe the task they want completed. Microsoft cited an example of a user uploading photos and directing Copilot to fix the image orientation and remove duplicates. The agent will then perform the task in the background, interacting with relevant desktop and web applications to complete the job. “Whether you need a hand sorting through your recent vacation photos or need to extract info from a PDF, Copilot Actions can do the heavy lifting for you based on the context of what’s on your PC,” said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer, said in a blog post Thursday. Copilot Actions will detail each step as its performed and will request user approval in certain situations. Users also have the option to interrupt the agent and retake control at any point if they wish. It remains to be seen just how reliable the agent will be and how comfortable users are having an agent interact with their files autonomously. Microsoft said it will start with a “narrow set of use cases” as the feature is tested with early users and the model is optimized prior to a full launch. “You may see the agent make mistakes or encounter challenges with complex interfaces, which is why real-world testing of this experience is so critical to help us apply learnings to make this experience more capable and streamlined,” said Mehdi. The company published a blog post outlining several measures to help users access Copilot Actions securely. The tool will be disabled by default, for instance, and will have access to only a “limited set” of a user’s local folders — such as Documents, Downloads, Desktop, and Pictures — as well as other files accessible to all accounts on a system. “Only when the user provides authorization can Copilot Actions access data outside of these folders,” said Dana Huang, corporate vice president for Windows Security at Microsoft. Based on early users’ feedback, Microsoft said security and privacy controls will be further refined ahead of a full release. (The company came under fire with Recall — another AI feature for Windows, which takes regular screenshots of a user’s device — before making changes to it prior to launch .) It’s important to note that Copilot Actions for Windows Copilot is different than Copilot Actions for the Microsoft 365 Copilot ; the latter, announced late last year , is a lightweight workflow automation tool. Microsoft made several other announcements today as it continues to embed AI features into Windows 11. It unveiled a text input option for Copilot Vision — a feature that can see a user’s screen and provide advice — to enable private interactions (coming to the Windows Insider program soon). And it highlighted Copilot “connectors” that allow Windows Copilot to access files in Microsoft apps. These include OneDrive and Outlook, as well as Google services such as Google Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Contacts. The connectors allow users to surface files such as emails or PDFs directly from the chat interface so they can interact with them in different ways, such as creating summaries or checklists from the contents, for example.

14 advanced Android 16 tips

14 advanced Android 16 tips

Well, this is highly irregular. For the first time in many moons now, Google’s giving us not one but two new full-fledged Android versions in a single year. Android 16 officially arrived into the world this summer , and it’ll soon be followed by another release this fall. Keeping up with what’s new and noteworthy isn’t easy at a pace like this — and that’s to say nothing about the ever-streaming updates to core system apps like Gemini , the Google Phone app , and other Android-associated elements . It may be mildly dizzying at times, but it sure is exciting — and an awesome indication that things are endlessly evolving in this arena, with something fresh ‘n’ shiny always on its way to your device or at least off on the horizon . Here, specifically, are 14 such shimmering treasures to surface as soon as you see Android 16 show up on your phone — or to look for now, even if the software’s already been there and waiting for a while. Note that these features are presented as they apply to Google-made Pixel phones and Samsung-made Galaxy devices, specifically. Different device-makers modify Android in different ways, so if you’re using a phone made by any other company, the availability and exact presentation of some items may vary — as may the timing around when exactly your device-maker decides to send any given Android version to you in the first place! Android 16 tips, part I: Productivity 1. Maybe the most outwardly significant change in Android 16 — and simultaneously one of the toughest tweaks to notice — is the software’s subtly enhanced interface for the expandable Quick Settings panel of on-demand shortcuts . Quick Settings, if the name doesn’t ring a bell, is the menu of tappable tiles that shows up when you swipe down from the top of your screen (swiping specifically from the right side of the display, somewhat confusingly, on recent Samsung devices). And as of Android 16, you can resize any of the shortcuts within that area to fit even more tiles within a single view. See? Edit, tap, slide — three steps to a Quick Settings tile resize. JR Raphael / Foundry The tricky thing is that it isn’t at all obvious this is possible. You have to edit your Quick Settings and then slide your finger along a tile to even realize such a feat is now achievable. Also, this one is showing up so far only on Google’s own Pixel devices. Samsung, which heavily modifies the standard Android Quick Settings interface in the software it sends out to its Galaxy gadgets, has suggested that the feature will reach its devices sometime next year . As for other Android device-makers beyond that, we’ll have to wait and see — since no one else has rolled out any Android 16 updates yet (sigh…) — but in scenarios where software closely follows Google’s core Android interface, it certainly seems like the setup should be present. 2. Another easy-to-miss update in Android 16 is a whole new approach around how you tell your phone to hush. Android’s Do Not Disturb system is now supplemented by a broader, more powerful, and more customizable feature called Modes — essentially a series of states you can create to control exactly how your device does or doesn’t interrupt you at different times. That means you can have multiple do-not-disturb presets for different sorts of scenarios. So you might, for instance, have one mode for work that allows only notifications from work-related apps and messages from your family and then have another mode for the weekend that blocks all but the most urgent work-related alerts from making their way through. It’s a lot to wrap your head around initially — and, not surprisingly, the specifics of how it works vary from the standard Google Android setup to Samsung’s different-for-the-sake-of-being-different implementation — but the good news is that once you’ve set things up the way you want ’em once, it’s quite literally just a matter of making a couple quick taps anytime you want to shift your phone from one mode to another from that point forward. I’ve got a comprehensive guide to Android 16 Modes , with ample examples, to help you get going. (Modes technically made its debut in Android 15 , by the by, but only in a more rudimentary and limited fashion. Android 16 is where the feature really comes into its own.) 3. Speaking of easier adjustments, the Galaxy-aimed version of Android 16 includes an intriguing new series of preset Routines — Samsung’s term for snippets of simple automation that can save you time and make your phone even more primed for productivity. They’re basically just “if this, then that”-style rules, with all manners of available triggers and actions. Maybe, for example, you’d want your phone’s ring volume to turn all the way up and your default ringtone to change to a generic ringing sound — instead of the wildly embarrassing “MMMBop” ringtone you usually use — whenever you’re at the office. Or maybe you’d like to automatically activate your aforementioned weekend mode anytime you’ve got a calendar event active with the word “vacation” in it. The possibilities are plentiful, and all you’ve gotta do is think about what might be useful for you. Samsung has some interesting new automation-related options in its Android 16 Modes and Routines section. JR Raphael / Foundry Look in the Modes and Routines section of a Samsung device’s system settings and tap the Routines tab at the bottom of that area to explore all your newly available options. 4. Reminders should just be simple — arguably even effortless — but all too often, they aren’t. For one all-too-perfect example, Google added an incredible on-demand screenshot-connected reminders system into its Pixel phones starting with the Pixel 9, and you can now emulate something similar on any Android device via Gemini, but those systems have one glaring limitation: They can’t create a reminder based on your physical location. And things only get even more murky from there. Android used to be able to handle location-based reminders in a couple different places, but then Google did its infamous flippity-floppity dance and took that power away for no apparent reason. I found a fantastic independently developed open-source app that handily fills the void , but if you’ve got a Galaxy gizmo and don’t mind limiting yourself to Samsung’s ecosystem, you’ve now got an even easier-to-access option. As of Android 16, Samsung is including a Reminder app on its devices that acts as a hub for any and all reminders you want to create on your phone. Notably, it offers the ability to associate a reminder with a specific physical spot and then have it appear whenever you arrive at or even leave said location. Samsung’s new native Reminder app includes the option to set location-based reminders. JR Raphael / Foundry The downside is that the data is limited to being accessed only on Samsung Galaxy phones — meaning you can’t get to it on a computer or a non-Samsung phone or tablet, for one, and if you ever move to a different type of Android device in the future, you won’t be able to continue using the service. (It does have an option to sync with Microsoft To-Do, but since that app doesn’t offer location-based reminders, everything wouldn’t carry over — and also, such syncing can only occur when you’ve actively got the app open on a Samsung phone.) All of that being said, it’s an interesting new option to have built into your phone for the moment, at least. If you want to try it, look for the new Reminder icon in your Android-16-running Galaxy device’s app drawer — and if you don’t see it, try tapping the search box inside the app drawer and searching for reminder . I had to do that once to get it to show up. 5. Ever find yourself struggling to hear or follow along while someone’s yappin’ your ear off during a Very Important Business-Related phone call? Samsung’s Android 16 setup sports a new feature that can help. It’s technically redundant with an existing Android platform-level feature , but it might be a teensy bit more convenient to keep active for phone calls, specifically, without affecting any other part of your Android experience. The feature is called Call Captions, and it does exactly what you’d expect: It puts visible text on your screen showing what each person is saying whenever a call is active (much like the Android Live Caption system , though that feature isn’t specific only to calls). You can enable it by tapping the three-dot menu icon within the Samsung Phone app, if you’re so inclined, then selecting “Settings” followed by “Call Captions.” 6. Also new in the Samsung sphere is an option to group alarms in the Samsung-provided Clock app (which is not the same as the available-on-any-device Google Android Clock app ) so you can turn ’em all on or off together with a single tap. This might be handy if, for instance, you travel frequently for work and have a certain series of alarms you use when you’re out on the road. Open up the Samsung Clock app and tap the three-dot menu icon within the Alarm tab to find the “Alarm groups” option and see how it might work for you. Android 16 tips, part II: Security 7. Android’s quietly been beefing up its security in ways that don’t tend to command a lot of headlines but are arguably among the platform’s most important progressions — particularly for professionals. And Android 16 is no exception: Perhaps most notably, the software introduces a new single-switch Advanced Protection option that essentially enables all the most important and advisable Android security settings for you in one fell swoop. You can read more about what exactly is involved in my Android 16 Advanced Protection primer , and you can find the switch for yourself by searching your system settings for Advanced Protection . 8. Another Android-16-added element worth activating on any work-connected device is a feature called Identity Check. Identity Check ties into the long-standing Google Extend Unlock (a.k.a. Smart Lock) system and uses its “Trusted Places” data to determine which physical locations are relatively low risk for you — like your home, for instance, and maybe also your office. It then requires extra biometric authentication around various “sensitive” actions anytime you’re outside of those places — so, for instance, you’d have to authenticate with a face unlock or fingerprint before changing your device’s PIN, pattern, or password or before disabling device tracking within the Google Find Hub (a.k.a. Find My Device) system if you aren’t in a trusted area. It’s a smart added bit of protection with virtually no real downside. Be sure to search your system settings for Identity Check to find and enable it on any devices you’re using. Android 16 tips, part III: General usability 9. Here’s a handy little addition you might need only on rare occasion but will be very happy to see when any such instance arises: As of Android 16, it’s now possible to restore data from a different device even after your initial setup. Make a mental note for the future — and if you’re using a Samsung phone, take note, too, that Samsung opts to use its own proprietary system for this instead of relying on the standard Android setup, but it does offer a similar sort of option within its Samsung Switch app (albeit one that seems to be a little more inconsistent in effectiveness , if user reports are any indication). 10. Got a Pixel? You can now set a bunch of non-language-specific regional preferences independent of your preferred language — in a shockingly sensible-seeming twist. Head into the System section of your system settings and tap “Languages” to find the full list of choices. You’ll find a lot more than just language-specific settings within the Android 16 Languages section. JR Raphael / Foundry 11. If you ever find yourself squinting to see certain text on your screen, you’ve got a handy new option as of Android 16: Inside the Accessibility section of your system settings, under “Display size and text,” you’ll find a switch that’ll outline all text and essentially highlight it (with either a black or white background, depending on the context) to make it easier to read. At the bottom of the screen is Android 16’s new text outlining option — off (left) and active (right). JR Raphael / Foundry Samsung for some reason calls its equivalent “Relumino outline,” and it’s honestly a lot less effective in the way it’s implemented — but it’s there, if you want to try it, within the “Vision enhancements” area of the Accessibility settings on a current Galaxy gadget. 12. Here’s an interesting addition you almost certainly didn’t notice: Android’s split-screen system has gained an extra pinch of flexibility as of the Android 16 update. Once you’ve initiated a screen split between any two apps , you can now slide the divider between ’em into a 90:10 divide — a ratio that wasn’t previously available and that opens the door to leaving yourself just a sliver of a view in one app while allowing the other to dominate your display. Who knew?! 13. For the hearing-aid wearers among us, Android 16 on the Pixel front adds a new Quick Settings tile packed with an expanded and more easily accessible series of hearing aid options and controls. You’ll likely have to find and add the tile into your active Quick Settings area before it’ll be visible — by using the pencil-shaped editing icon in that panel, then scrolling down until you find “Hearing Devices” and tapping it to turn it on. Once you do, you’ll be able to tap that tile to reveal options for toggling between your hearing aid mic and your phone mic for phone calls — a new Android-16-added touch — along with the ability to adjust your hearing aid volume right from your phone. 14. You can keep better tabs on your battery health with Android 16’s new battery-monitoring features. On Pixels, you’ll find the in-depth dashboard in the Battery section of your system settings, under “Battery health”; with Samsung, the equivalent info (including a newly customizable “Battery Protection” option) is directly within the main Battery settings area. Samsung’s new native Reminder app includes the option to set location-based reminders. JR Raphael / Foundry And remember: Here in the land o’ Android, the hunt for new treasures is never truly over. We’ll have the next big Android version in front of us to inspect and explore before long and plenty of other à la carte additions popping up all over in the meantime. Be sure to read my Android Intelligence column at Computerworld and follow my Android Intelligence newsletter so you never miss a single morsel along the way.

Microsoft set to escape French antitrust probe as Qwant complaint falters

Microsoft set to escape French antitrust probe as Qwant complaint falters

Microsoft is expected to sidestep a French antitrust probe into its search business after regulators signaled plans to dismiss a complaint by local rival Qwant, easing scrutiny of the US tech giant even as Europe ramps up enforcement of digital competition rules. France’s competition authority is preparing to reject Qwant’s allegations that Microsoft imposed exclusivity restrictions and favored its own services in search and advertising, a decision that could be announced in the coming weeks, according to a Reuters report . Qwant, which has historically relied on Microsoft’s Bing to power search and news results, had accused Microsoft of imposing restrictive terms that hindered its ability to expand its own search technology. Several other smaller search engines, including Ecosia, DuckDuckGo, and Lilo, also use Microsoft’s syndication feed for results. The outcome of this complaint would matter to CIOs as it touches vendor dependency and platform terms. If the complaint is dismissed, scrutiny may shift from one-off cases to compliance with Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Qwant CEO Olivier Abecassis said investigators had advised against pursuing the case following a closed hearing in June, the report said. He added that Qwant is considering an appeal or a referral to other European regulators to continue challenging Microsoft’s practices. Broader implications for enterprises Analysts say European regulators are becoming more selective about which complaints proceed, with greater emphasis on the merits and the market where the conduct occurs. “Microsoft can escape this because its share in search is relatively small,” said Pareekh Jain , CEO at Pareekh Consulting. “Google is the dominant player. On the other hand, the case shapes the perception that big tech still squeezes smaller players. Many European tech companies have depended on US platforms. If antitrust enforcement becomes more selective in a broader context, you will see a stronger business case and public support for ‘sovereign’ approaches in Europe, including sovereign AI.” For Microsoft’s customers and partners, the concern is dependence on a platform that also competes in adjacent services. Microsoft’s dual role, supplying technology while competing with smaller firms, creates a natural tension, according to Tulika Sheel , senior VP at Kadence International. “It raises questions about fairness and dependency, especially for smaller European companies using Microsoft tools,” Sheel said. “Even without a formal case, regulators may keep watching how balanced that relationship really is.” Gatekeeper rules still apply Microsoft is already designated as a gatekeeper under DMA. Regardless of the outcome of Qwant’s complaint, regulators may still examine whether Microsoft’s conduct provides fair and open access, Jain said. “This goes beyond search,” Jain added. “Practically, enforcers might be more selective after a dismissal, but technically they retain full powers under the DMA because gatekeeper obligations apply.” The DMA equips regulators with new tools to shape platform behavior, Sheel said, and attention is likely to shift toward concrete tests of compliance. In practice, that means scrutiny of interoperability, data sharing, and how open Microsoft keeps its platforms. “So, the pressure may shift from punishment to proactive compliance and transparency,” Sheel added. “The real test for Microsoft now lies in how openly it operates under the new EU digital rules.” This discussion is unfolding as the US government scrutinizes the DMA and the Digital Services Act , citing concerns about potential discrimination against American companies.

Apple’s Vision Pro: the Newton of the XR age

Apple’s Vision Pro: the Newton of the XR age

Apple’s alleged decision to suspend development of a lighter and cheaper Vision Pro device sounds a lot worse than it actually is, because in a short time the product will be seen as the Newton of the AR age . Why the Newton? Vision Pro is ahead of its time. To build it, Apple pushed the envelope on operating systems, user interfaces, usability and materials and process design. This resulted in an expensive device that, while cutting edge, hit market far before the applications and experiences to make such devices essential had been born. But lessons have been learned. What we now know We can see where the most sophisticated use cases can be found — across the enterprise , medical, engineering, product design, mechanics, training and beyond . Those markets haven’t disappeared and will be quite well-served by the M5-powered Vision Pro Apple unveiled today . Those lessons will also feed into other visionOS products Apple is working on, including its long-anticipated AR glasses . These will combine much of what users already enjoy in visionOS with new features designed to exploit both the glasses form factor augmented by useful tools from across the iOS ecosystem; that includes features like sign translation, ambient local information provision, maps, and computing experiences that mean your Mac will be worn like sunglasses . What’s the matter with Meta? Lazily compared with Meta’s AR glasses, Apple’s offering will be more about helping you as a user than selling you advertising, and will benefit from the tech it has been building for Vision Pro.  We’ll let the markets decide if what Apple comes up with will be better than Meta’s machines. But given Cupertino’s track record and the sheer achievement encapsulated by Vision Pro, it is unlikely to be as limited — no matter how many engineers Meta’s HR team manages to poach . You see, it’s all about ideas. It’s ideas that powered up the Newton. And the ideas that will inform Apple’s visionOS glasses are already partially visible in Vision Pro, a device that has been described as being ahead of its time since before it shipped.  The advances it exemplifies will inform industry development for years. Newton did the same, arguably forming the core of the ideas that drove the entire smartphone era (including the amazing Apple Silicon chips that continue to transform Apple’s business ). Seeing the future in our yesterdays You can get some sense of what these forthcoming augmented reality glasses will be like by taking a look at the iPhone Air. That molded battery inside iPhone Air? That is probably a hint at how the company can get decent battery life from a pair of glasses. Those low-energy, but highly performant, processors Apple likes to use? That matters when it comes to AR specs, which cannot ever be hot to wear, not matter how many FaceTime chats you are involved in. The game’s afoot, and there’s something at stake. Meta currently holds 75.6% of the combined AR/VR + display less smart glasses market, according to IDC . (Apple has around 5.2%.) But the market is still pretty small, with only about 10 million sold each year . That makes this a segment high in potential, rich in opportunity for expansion, and — despite its early advantage —a market that is Meta’s to lose. Can Apple take the throne? I think so, given the company has more hardware and software design experience, a vibrant ecosystem, and huge user loyalty. Perhaps more importantly, Apple is seen as a firm that’s all about privacy, which isn’t an advantage Meta can easily be seen to enjoy. That matters when you’re taking about wearable devices equipped with video cameras. Think different Apple’s other advantage comes in the form of all the real-world usability cases it has been able to identify for the Vision Pro. Many of these uses will be ably supported by Apple’s AR glasses, and the apps people have already made for those industries will be supported, too. Those not supported might only need the slightly revised M5 Vision Pro devices. Down the road, as the technology improves and the cost of manufacturing declines, Apple will be able to introduce more Vision Pro-based ideas to its glasses systems, while also building a more affordable Vision Pro successor in a couple of years. The latter may could potentially be made in the US, if Apple invests in the futuristic manufacturing capacity such systems require . I believe Vision Pro is the Newton for this tech evolution. The ideas it exemplifies will inform product development for the next decade. You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky , LinkedIn , and Mastodon .