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The Microsoft 365 Copilot launch was a disaster

zdnet.com

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Re: The Microsoft 365 Copilot launch was a disaster

#301

Post by flkiwi »

I just downgraded my O365 subscription to remove Copilot. I went to (web version) my account settings, subscriptions, manage, and canceled my sub, which then gave me the option to select a Classic edition without Outlook. It's the same price, which is hilariously stupid, but maybe the worst part is that it doesn't deactivate Copilot until the next billing cycle. So, whether you can't use Copilot for security and privacy reasons or you recognize that it is one of the most cataclysmic software failures in human history--I'm serious, compared to other "AI" platforms, its utility is nonexistent, and that's without addressing other issues with "AI" as a category--you're stuck with it until the next billing cycle.

What an absurd mess.

Re: The Microsoft 365 Copilot launch was a disaster

#302

Post by johnnyanmac »

rkagerer wrote: post #105
for_i_in_range wrote: post #8

Hate that if you use Word for Mac, you now have Copilot next to your cursor with no way of turning it off. I just want to use Word. I like its print layout features better than Pages. I don't want to switch. Just let me write and leave me alone. Now they're jamming AI down my throat without any opt-out mechanism.

Office 2003 is my preferred pick for productivity, I use it for all new documents - and best of all there's no ribbon.

Surprised they didn't Adobe that yet. Or maybe they already have, but it will only really affect enterprise who has actual money to go after.

Slightly surprised it still works on Windows 11. I'd be surprised if it had 64-bit support. I guess thst speaks to their commitment to backwards compatibility.

Re: The Microsoft 365 Copilot launch was a disaster

#303

Post by johnnyanmac »

WaltPurvis wrote: post #255
richm44 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As the article explains, that's not been implemented on Mac yet.

Well, I'm on a Mac and it 100% has been implemented for me -- I tried to figure out how to turn it off as soon as I first saw it, went to preferences, found the checkbox. I didn't realize that hasn't been rolled out to everybody.

Updating story and a rolling update. It'll probably be there within a few days. But it is legitimate that some don't have the option yet.

Re: The Microsoft 365 Copilot launch was a disaster

#304

Post by johnnyanmac »

blibble wrote: post #46

30 years of their home name Office brand, known by pretty much every person that's ever had a computer let's get rid of that, and make the unreliable bullshit generator the main brand instead certainly a courageous decision

Hey, be proud. The executive who pitched this gets a second mansion! Everyone wins, right?

Nothing will change until there's actual skin in the game for leadership. Leadership screws up and at worst they get some 7 figure exit package and still have no issues finding a job.

Re: The Microsoft 365 Copilot launch was a disaster

#305

Post by johnnyanmac »

Toutouxc wrote: post #86

I understand people who love Apple (or the OSS world) unconditionally and I understand people who hate either, but I find it hard to feel any kind of strong emotion towards Microsoft. Feels like there isn’t a single product person left in the company, no vision, no direction, no soul, no plan, nothing.

"The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. They have absolutely no taste. And I don't mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way, in the sense that they don't think of original ideas, and they don't bring much culture into their products."

- Steve Jobs. 1996

I guess some things never truly change. And thst kind of" culture" is how you amass a cult following (it's in the word, "cult" ure).

Outside of early Xbox I can't think of many counterexamples to this.

Re: The Microsoft 365 Copilot launch was a disaster

#306

Post by johnnyanmac »

rUsHeYaFuBu wrote: post #298
rsynnott wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So release them when they work, if ever. Do not release a broken thing and then go “you must use this, in case it is one day non-shit”.

Maybe they want to collect data on people using copilot in order to train copilot to be better?

Yes, we called those alphas and betas back in the day.

But I suppose we've been shipping betas as a full release in software for quite a while now. Maybe even soke alphas.

Re: The Microsoft 365 Copilot launch was a disaster

#308

Post by jay_kyburz »

TheRealSteel wrote: post #286
jay_kyburz wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are doing the same thing to Xbox right now. Really working hard to kill the brand.

Yep. I've been an Xbox player since 2002. Huge Halo fan. Thousands of hours on 3 different generations of Xbox. I still have my Halo 3 special edition helmet. I keep up with gaming news and listen to multiple gaming podcasts every week. But even I can't reliably name the last two generations of Xbox without a pause. I always have to stop for a second and think it thru because the naming scheme is so abysmal.

It gets worse. Did you see this ad?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYBSNQLsBKk

Re: The Microsoft 365 Copilot launch was a disaster

#310

Post by alexashka »

tapoxi wrote: post #9

Is this the absolute death of the high school essay? Even if you didn't want to cheat by avoiding ChatGPT, AI is now right there, in your word processor, and you have no way of turning it off.

The death of the high school essay will be when people realize best learning is done on the job and we get rid of highschools altogether.
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