Month: June 2024

Supercharge your Android lock screen — no Android 15 required

Android 15 is a-comin’! Google’s latest and greatest Android version is inching ever closer to its official arrival and promising some tantalizingly sweet treats for those of us on properly supported devices.

The third Android 15 beta landed on Tuesday, and that means the software is now considered fully “stable,” at the platform level. It also means we’ve got just one more prerelease beta version before the full final version rushes out into the world sometime this summer (or possibly in the early fall).

But hey, why wait? With the right pinch of creative thinking, you can give yourself early access to an even better version of an especially noteworthy Android 15 addition — a pair of intriguing improvements the software squeezes into an area of the operating system you probably glance at multiple times a day.

In fact, the setup I’m about to show you will add substantial productivity improvements over what Android 15 itself offers, and it’s likely something you’ll appreciate even after you’re rockin’ the official Android 15 update on your device.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

[Psst: If you love time-saving shortcuts as much as I do, check out my free Android Shortcut Supercourse. You’ll discover all sorts of smart efficiency-enhancers for your phone!]

Android 15 and the lock screen evolution

So, a quick crumb of context before we get going: Among Android 15’s more remarkable additions is a set of improvements to the Android lock screen — improvements with an interesting history on Android, as both have appeared on the platform or close to it at some point in the past:

Both of these features were welcome productivity advantages when they initially launched in their earlier incarnations, and they’re certainly nice to have coming back into the mix now. But (a) they aren’t in front of us yet, since Android 15’s still in the oven — and (b) when they do arrive with Android 15’s launch, they’ll be accompanied by some serious asterisks.

First and foremost, the lock screen widget system will be limited only to tablets, at least for the time being, as part of the Pixel-Tablet-esque smart display hub mode. So no-go for phones, in other words. It’ll also work only with a small subset of widgets whose developers have specifically listed them as being compatible with this system (a designation very few widgets presently sport).

Second, the lock screen note shortcut system essentially just puts an icon for opening your note app of choice onto your device’s lock screen. That’s fine and certainly better than nothing, but it isn’t exactly what I’d call a rich or fully featured form of lock screen note-taking integration.

With about two minutes of effort, though, you can overcome these limitations and bring an even more functional, practical, and effective version of both concepts onto any Android device you’re using this second — phone or tablet, no matter how old it is, and no matter who made it.

Ready?

Your instant Android lock screen enhancement

The key to boosting your Android lock screen productivity lies in a simple little app called Lockscreen Widgets and Drawer. We talked about it almost exactly a year ago, but it’s freshly relevant in our current context and with the idea of adding extra productivity power into your lock screen in a similar way to what Android 15 will allow.

Rather than simply wax poetic about what the app can do for you, though, lemme show ya — ’cause in this instance, pictures really do speak louder than words alone.

So open those big, beautiful peepers and take a gander at my Android phone’s lock screen with this setup up and running:

Android lock screen widgets - notes
A prominent note-taking widget right on my Android phone’s lock screen — huzzah!

JR Raphael, IDG

There, right front and center, is a widget showing my most recent notes within Google Keep. I can see and scroll through my notes, and with a single tap (and proper authentication), I can jump directly into any individual note or into creating a new note right then and there, without any extra steps or seconds wasted.

And to be clear, Google Keep is just the widget I picked for this example. You could just as easily use a widget for OneNote, Notion, or any of the other excellent Android note-taking apps that make widgets available. Or you could even go in a completely different direction and use an Android widget that has nothing to do with note-taking — one connected to your calendar, your tasks, or anything else your saucy ol’ noggin comes up with.

Just remember that, inevitably, anything you put in this area will be visible to anyone who has their paws on your physical device. You’ll still have to authenticate to actually get into the associated app, view any more than the initially visible preview, or edit and create anything within it — but, particularly when it comes to sensitive company information, you’ll want to think carefully about what you make present in that preauthentication area.

Capisce? Capisce. Now, here’s how to make this happen:

  1. Download Lockscreen Widgets and Drawer from the Play Store. It’ll set you back a whopping buck-fifty — and odds are, it’ll bring enough of a boost to your efficiency to quickly make it worth that cost and then some.
  2. Open up the app and make your way through its initial setup screens. Don’t worry about any of the specific permissions or prompts you see along the way; most of ’em aren’t particularly pressing, and the ones that are important will come up separately in a second.
  3. Once you’re on the app’s main screen, tap “Accessibility Settings” — then find “Lockscreen widgets” in the list that comes up and tap it. (If you’re using a Samsung device, you’ll first have to tap “Installed apps” before you see the list of available options.)
  4. Flip the toggle at the top of the next screen into the on position. (Make sure it’s the toggle at the top of the screen, too — not the “Shortcut” option beneath it.)
Android lock screen widgets - accessibility
The interface may vary a bit from one phone to the next, but the top toggle is the one you want.

JR Raphael, IDG

Your phone will show you a warning about all the things that permission can do. It may sound daunting, but rest assured: This permission is legitimately required in order for the app to make this magic happen. The app is also explicitly clear about its privacy practices and the fact that it doesn’t collect any manner of user data, and it’s even open source so anyone with the right level of savvy can view the code for themselves and confirm it isn’t doing anything shady.

Got it? Good. Pat yourself on the back and treat yourself to a quick crumpet, ’cause you’ve got the basics all set! Now, you’re ready to pick which widget you want to have present on your lock screen and officially add it into that environment:

  1. Make your way back to the main Lockscreen Widgets configuration screen and flip the toggle within the “Lockscreen Widgets” box into the on position.
  2. Tap the +Add Widget button that shows up within that same area.
  3. Scroll through the list of available widgets and select the one you want.
  4. Tap the widget you want to add, then confirm that you want the app to add it.
  5. Tap the Settings button within that same box, then scroll down until you see the “Lock Widget Frame” option (within the “Layout” section). Flip the toggle for that into the on position.

Aaaaand, take a deep breath: We’re almost done!

All that’s left is to press your phone’s power button to turn the screen off, then press it again to summon your lock screen. You should then see a placeholder for your snazzy new widget with instructions to tap the widget with two fingers to move and resize it.

Android lock screen widgets - resize
A two-finger tap is all it takes to plop your widget in the perfect place and get it sized just right.

JR Raphael, IDG

Do that, then use the commands that appear within that area to slide the widget around and expand or contract its edges until you find the perfect place for it to live. Ideally, you’ll want it somewhere that’s out of the way and not overlapping with other elements, like your lock screen clock or notifications.

Android lock screen widgets - resize controls
Drag, drop, slide — easy peasy.

JR Raphael, IDG

Once you’ve got it set, either tap the OK button within that widget box or tap the box again with two fingers, and shazam! The actual widget should then appear and be ready for your loving gaze and/or caressing.

srcset="https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?quality=50&strip=all 700w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=282%2C300&quality=50&strip=all 282w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=656%2C697&quality=50&strip=all 656w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=158%2C168&quality=50&strip=all 158w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=79%2C84&quality=50&strip=all 79w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=452%2C480&quality=50&strip=all 452w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=339%2C360&quality=50&strip=all 339w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=235%2C250&quality=50&strip=all 235w" width="700" height="744" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px">
Selected notes, on demand at my phone’s front door — how’s that for efficiency?!

JR Raphael, IDG

If you ever want to temporarily hide the widget out of view on your lock screen, you can do so by tapping it with three fingers together on the screen at the same time.

You can find more intricate options for controlling your widget’s appearance and behavior within the Lockscreen Widgets app — along with options for adding additional widgets into the lock screen environment, if you’re really feeling fancy — but you don’t need to mess with anything else. At this point, your lock screen note center should be fully functional and ready to roll, and you can merrily move on with the knowledge that you’ve got an even better version of a still-unreleased Android feature.

Happy step-saving!

Get six full days of advanced shortcut knowledge with my free Android Shortcut Supercourse. You’ll learn tons of time-saving tricks!

Supercharge your Android lock screen — no Android 15 required

Android 15 is a-comin’! Google’s latest and greatest Android version is inching ever closer to its official arrival and promising some tantalizingly sweet treats for those of us on properly supported devices.

The third Android 15 beta landed on Tuesday, and that means the software is now considered fully “stable,” at the platform level. It also means we’ve got just one more prerelease beta version before the full final version rushes out into the world sometime this summer (or possibly in the early fall).

But hey, why wait? With the right pinch of creative thinking, you can give yourself early access to an even better version of an especially noteworthy Android 15 addition — a pair of intriguing improvements the software squeezes into an area of the operating system you probably glance at multiple times a day.

In fact, the setup I’m about to show you will add substantial productivity improvements over what Android 15 itself offers, and it’s likely something you’ll appreciate even after you’re rockin’ the official Android 15 update on your device.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

[Psst: If you love time-saving shortcuts as much as I do, check out my free Android Shortcut Supercourse. You’ll discover all sorts of smart efficiency-enhancers for your phone!]

Android 15 and the lock screen evolution

So, a quick crumb of context before we get going: Among Android 15’s more remarkable additions is a set of improvements to the Android lock screen — improvements with an interesting history on Android, as both have appeared on the platform or close to it at some point in the past:

Both of these features were welcome productivity advantages when they initially launched in their earlier incarnations, and they’re certainly nice to have coming back into the mix now. But (a) they aren’t in front of us yet, since Android 15’s still in the oven — and (b) when they do arrive with Android 15’s launch, they’ll be accompanied by some serious asterisks.

First and foremost, the lock screen widget system will be limited only to tablets, at least for the time being, as part of the Pixel-Tablet-esque smart display hub mode. So no-go for phones, in other words. It’ll also work only with a small subset of widgets whose developers have specifically listed them as being compatible with this system (a designation very few widgets presently sport).

Second, the lock screen note shortcut system essentially just puts an icon for opening your note app of choice onto your device’s lock screen. That’s fine and certainly better than nothing, but it isn’t exactly what I’d call a rich or fully featured form of lock screen note-taking integration.

With about two minutes of effort, though, you can overcome these limitations and bring an even more functional, practical, and effective version of both concepts onto any Android device you’re using this second — phone or tablet, no matter how old it is, and no matter who made it.

Ready?

Your instant Android lock screen enhancement

The key to boosting your Android lock screen productivity lies in a simple little app called Lockscreen Widgets and Drawer. We talked about it almost exactly a year ago, but it’s freshly relevant in our current context and with the idea of adding extra productivity power into your lock screen in a similar way to what Android 15 will allow.

Rather than simply wax poetic about what the app can do for you, though, lemme show ya — ’cause in this instance, pictures really do speak louder than words alone.

So open those big, beautiful peepers and take a gander at my Android phone’s lock screen with this setup up and running:

Android lock screen widgets - notes
A prominent note-taking widget right on my Android phone’s lock screen — huzzah!

JR Raphael, IDG

There, right front and center, is a widget showing my most recent notes within Google Keep. I can see and scroll through my notes, and with a single tap (and proper authentication), I can jump directly into any individual note or into creating a new note right then and there, without any extra steps or seconds wasted.

And to be clear, Google Keep is just the widget I picked for this example. You could just as easily use a widget for OneNote, Notion, or any of the other excellent Android note-taking apps that make widgets available. Or you could even go in a completely different direction and use an Android widget that has nothing to do with note-taking — one connected to your calendar, your tasks, or anything else your saucy ol’ noggin comes up with.

Just remember that, inevitably, anything you put in this area will be visible to anyone who has their paws on your physical device. You’ll still have to authenticate to actually get into the associated app, view any more than the initially visible preview, or edit and create anything within it — but, particularly when it comes to sensitive company information, you’ll want to think carefully about what you make present in that preauthentication area.

Capisce? Capisce. Now, here’s how to make this happen:

  1. Download Lockscreen Widgets and Drawer from the Play Store. It’ll set you back a whopping buck-fifty — and odds are, it’ll bring enough of a boost to your efficiency to quickly make it worth that cost and then some.
  2. Open up the app and make your way through its initial setup screens. Don’t worry about any of the specific permissions or prompts you see along the way; most of ’em aren’t particularly pressing, and the ones that are important will come up separately in a second.
  3. Once you’re on the app’s main screen, tap “Accessibility Settings” — then find “Lockscreen widgets” in the list that comes up and tap it. (If you’re using a Samsung device, you’ll first have to tap “Installed apps” before you see the list of available options.)
  4. Flip the toggle at the top of the next screen into the on position. (Make sure it’s the toggle at the top of the screen, too — not the “Shortcut” option beneath it.)
Android lock screen widgets - accessibility
The interface may vary a bit from one phone to the next, but the top toggle is the one you want.

JR Raphael, IDG

Your phone will show you a warning about all the things that permission can do. It may sound daunting, but rest assured: This permission is legitimately required in order for the app to make this magic happen. The app is also explicitly clear about its privacy practices and the fact that it doesn’t collect any manner of user data, and it’s even open source so anyone with the right level of savvy can view the code for themselves and confirm it isn’t doing anything shady.

Got it? Good. Pat yourself on the back and treat yourself to a quick crumpet, ’cause you’ve got the basics all set! Now, you’re ready to pick which widget you want to have present on your lock screen and officially add it into that environment:

  1. Make your way back to the main Lockscreen Widgets configuration screen and flip the toggle within the “Lockscreen Widgets” box into the on position.
  2. Tap the +Add Widget button that shows up within that same area.
  3. Scroll through the list of available widgets and select the one you want.
  4. Tap the widget you want to add, then confirm that you want the app to add it.
  5. Tap the Settings button within that same box, then scroll down until you see the “Lock Widget Frame” option (within the “Layout” section). Flip the toggle for that into the on position.

Aaaaand, take a deep breath: We’re almost done!

All that’s left is to press your phone’s power button to turn the screen off, then press it again to summon your lock screen. You should then see a placeholder for your snazzy new widget with instructions to tap the widget with two fingers to move and resize it.

Android lock screen widgets - resize
A two-finger tap is all it takes to plop your widget in the perfect place and get it sized just right.

JR Raphael, IDG

Do that, then use the commands that appear within that area to slide the widget around and expand or contract its edges until you find the perfect place for it to live. Ideally, you’ll want it somewhere that’s out of the way and not overlapping with other elements, like your lock screen clock or notifications.

Android lock screen widgets - resize controls
Drag, drop, slide — easy peasy.

JR Raphael, IDG

Once you’ve got it set, either tap the OK button within that widget box or tap the box again with two fingers, and shazam! The actual widget should then appear and be ready for your loving gaze and/or caressing.

srcset="https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?quality=50&strip=all 700w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=282%2C300&quality=50&strip=all 282w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=656%2C697&quality=50&strip=all 656w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=158%2C168&quality=50&strip=all 158w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=79%2C84&quality=50&strip=all 79w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=452%2C480&quality=50&strip=all 452w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=339%2C360&quality=50&strip=all 339w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/android-lock-screen-widget.webp?resize=235%2C250&quality=50&strip=all 235w" width="700" height="744" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px">
Selected notes, on demand at my phone’s front door — how’s that for efficiency?!

JR Raphael, IDG

If you ever want to temporarily hide the widget out of view on your lock screen, you can do so by tapping it with three fingers together on the screen at the same time.

You can find more intricate options for controlling your widget’s appearance and behavior within the Lockscreen Widgets app — along with options for adding additional widgets into the lock screen environment, if you’re really feeling fancy — but you don’t need to mess with anything else. At this point, your lock screen note center should be fully functional and ready to roll, and you can merrily move on with the knowledge that you’ve got an even better version of a still-unreleased Android feature.

Happy step-saving!

Get six full days of advanced shortcut knowledge with my free Android Shortcut Supercourse. You’ll learn tons of time-saving tricks!

For IT and devops, Sequoia brings iCloud to VM Macs

One small but key new feature for iCloud in macOS Sequoia should make developers and engineers a little happier, as it will be possible to sign into iCloud and other Apple ID (soon Apple Account) services from virtual machines.

This hasn’t been possible before, which has impeded developers and users hoping to test iCloud features in apps, including trialing iCloud sync on their software. It has also been an obstacle for any Mac user who just wanted easy access to iCloud data form within a virtual machine. 

Who is this feature for?

For most developers, the big advantage will be in software testing. Many developers need to test software in multiple Mac configurations, but not all of them have the fleets of Macs required. Given that so many app developers now make use of iCloud features or make use to some degree of iCloud sync (think calendars, for example), the inability to easily make such tests may impact customer experiences.

Developers who like to keep a firewall between clients and their projects by hosting these in different virtual machines should also benefit from this support, as it means their iCloud data and services remain consistently available independently of their workflow.

So, what is the deal? 

Apple says that so long as both the host machine and VM are running macOS 15 Sequoia or later, it will be possible to use iCloud and other Apple ID-related services with the hardware. It’s not a complete panacea, unfortunately. That’s because the need to run macOS 15 or later means developers wanting to trial older operating systems will still have problems. All the same, it means that over time, it will become possible to test the performance of older macOS versions as new iterations ship.

There are a few technical considerations, as explained in an Apple tech note:

  • If someone moves a VM to a different Mac host and restarts it, the Virtualization framework automatically creates a new identity for the VM using the information from the Secure Enclave of the new Mac host. The person using the VM will need to reauthenticate to allow iCloud to work.
  • The Mac will also detect attempts to start multiple copies of the same VM simultaneously on the same Mac host. 

Enterprise-ready Macs

This is just one of a slew of WWDC-announced improvements coming to Macs and other Apple devices this fall. These include improvements in device management, passkeys, software updates, and Safari management.

Admins can also install executables, scripts, and configuration files remotely via MDM, which should make it a little easier for organizations to deploy and manage services across their fleets. Apple Account (formerly Apple ID) management has also been improved to encourage organizations to use Managed Apple Accounts..

Another great improvement is in Activation Lock. There have been problems in which perfectly functional Macs that have been handed on for renewal or sold legitimately on second-hand markets have ceased to function because people have neglected to disable Activation Lock. Apple does have a process to help in cases of this kind, but at WWDC it introduced new support to enable IT admins to remove Activation Lock using Apple Business Manager, which should mitigate the unintentionally bricked Mac problem.

Finally, Declarative Management will replace MDM profiles for software updates, as well as for some other commands and queries. The beauty of this is that Declarative Management delivers far more transparency to admins, while also improving the experience for users — your Mac won’t suddenly enter an update cycle just as you sit down with the board to begin a critical business condition status presentation, for example.

One more thing: whispers tell me it is also going to be possible for IT to disable services such as access to OpenAI from within Apple Intelligence, so unapproved sharing of enterprise data should not happen on managed devices.

All told, WWDC has been really good for IT admins, who now enjoy access to a broad and growing range of powerful tools with which to manage their Apple fleets. This seems particularly timely as the size of those fleets continue to expand

Please follow me on Mastodon, or join me in the AppleHolic’s bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe.

Slack wants to become the ‘long-term memory’ for organizations

Slack CEO Denise Dresser this week laid out what she sees as her company’s primary use for artificial intelligence (AI) in the future: making it easier for users to find key channel conversations and turn them into the basis for tasks and projects.

Dresser, a long-time Salesforce employee who took the reins of Slack six months ago, sat down with members of the media on Tuesday after her keynote address at Salesforce’s World Tour event in Boston. Much of the focus was on Slack’s integration with Salesforce’s Einstein Copilot.

(Salesforce acquired Slack in late 2020.)

What Slack will eventually be able to offer both its own and Salesforce’s users will be a unified experience where AI oversees any influx of both structured and unstructured data and parses through it to offer users the most important summaries. Being able to find key moments in chats and knowing what happened in conversations is hard to navigate, Dresser said, and is at the heart of Slack’s AI integration.

“Sometimes AI can be the simplest thing that drives productivity,” she said. “So, we did Slack AI Search. With that, Slack becomes the long-term memory of your organization. …Being able to find things easily in a generative manner, where you actually get a summary of what you need to find, was a really big ‘Aha’ moment for us.”

AI’s adoption and integration into virtually every Slack function will continue to accelerate. Dresser pointed to an “evolution of skills” that has come with the adoption of the technology, including prompt engineering or the use of natural language processing to perform functions, such as the creation of software without traditional line-by-line coding.

“It took two months for ChatGPT to get to 100 million users, 15 years for the mobile phone to get to 100 million users, four years for Facebook to get to 100 million users. What I think we’re going to start to see is this [same] acceleration as people start to adopt it, and see productivity improvements,” Dresser said.

“We’re going to bring that into Canvas. It’s going to be in Workflow, it’s going to be in Huddle,” she continued. “So, you’ll see AI infused everywhere. It’s just going to be by your side in the application.”

Users, Dresser explained, won’t even know it’s AI with which they’re interacting; it will be a natural offshoot of the Slack functionality. For example, users would need to use a search window to weed through days of Slack messages they may have missed. Instead, an AI-infused Slack would quickly surface the most important message summaries.

In terms of future innovations, Dresser pointed to the recently launched Slack Lists feature, which automatically captures the most important parts of channel conversations and surfaces them to users.

Less than 34% of projects are completed on time and one budget, Dresser claimed, saying that users having to switch between tasks in applications was a significant drain on time and productivity. “We have millions of people working in Slack; why leave Slack?” she said. “We wanted to bring that capability for tasks, and lists, and projects into Slack. It starts right in a [Slack] conversation, where you’re able to start a task list from that conversation and start working on your project right there.”

The AI-infused communication and collaboration platform will eventually also suggest to its users the chat channels they should prioritize for project purposes. “That type of power in terms of capability is going to be ‘Aha’ moments for people,” Dresser said.

She noted that only about a third of employees in general use AI-powered platforms in their jobs — but those who do have seen an average 81% productivity increase by eliminating mundane tasks.

As AI continues to be integrated into Slack and Salesforce tools, one challenge will be maintaining the feel and “integrity” of what’s she called a “beloved” application.

“We’ve already integrated Slack, Sales Elevate, and Salesforce. Co-pilot’s integration is going to be great,” she said. “One of the things we thought deeply about was making sure the craft of Slack and the experience of Slack is maintained, even when thinking about architectural integration. Creating that experience that is very Slack-like and that’s efficient and productivity is something we’ve thought deeply about.”

US makes new move to rein in China’s advanced chip manufacturing

The US is once again trying to slow advances in China’s chip manufacturing industry, a move that is unlikely to pay dividends long term, but may help US business concerns in the very short term, according to analysts and other China technology experts. The outcome will shape the semiconductor industry in the years to come.

Reuters reported on the latest diplomatic efforts on Wednesday, noting that US export policy chief Alan Estevez is traveling in an attempt to expand a 2023 agreement between the US, Japan and the Netherlands “to keep chipmaking equipment from China that could help to modernize its military.”

But experts on Chinese technology strategies are skeptical the talks will yield much and, if anything is achieved, they are even more skeptical that it will help long-term. That said, even a short-term delay in China’s chip-making progress could give US companies more breathing room.

The negotiations are tricky. US negotiators must convince key governmental and industrial concerns to stop selling chip manufacturing equipment and materials to China, even though it means surrendering a massive amount of revenue.

Lithography systems a key lever

Japan’s chip strength comes from a wide range of materials and components, whereas the Netherlands’ specialty is lithography systems, the complex machines used to etch semiconductor designs on silicon wafers, said Mario Morales, the group VP overseeing semiconductor coverage for IDC. Lithography “is what makes the most advanced silicon today. These are all critical market segments, so it definitely slows things down, but China is absolutely investing in those spaces,” he said.

The sums of money at stake make the US diplomatic efforts unlikely to succeed, Morales said.

“Some 25 percent of Intel’s business is coming from China,” he said, adding that AMD, Nvidia, and Qualcomm also rely heavily on sales to China. And if the US negotiators are successful, Morales said that he expects China to retaliate.

The only argument that the US can make is long-term, Morales said. These companies all know that China is heavily investing in its own manufacturing operations, and it will only be a few years — Morales projects five to seven years — before China will no longer need materials from Japan and the Netherlands. Once that happens, China will cut off revenue to those companies anyway.

The argument goes that not cooperating with the US now may make the US less likely to be there for those companies when China no longer needs them. On the flip side, it’s unlikely the US would cut back on purchases from Japan and the Netherlands even if they don’t cooperate because US companies need their support. It’s not as though the US would want American companies to buy from China any more than is absolutely necessary.

“Most of these initiatives will fail. And even if they don’t, it only contains China for a short term,” Morales said.

Morales specified automotive, smartphone and China’s own AI operations as representing the bulk of China’s current chip investments.

Irina Tsukerman is a geopolitical analyst, a national security lawyer and the president of Scarab Rising, a global strategy advisory firm. Tsukerman argues that these talks are going to make things very awkward for some of these chip component and tooling manufacturers.

Short-term profit or long-term relationship

“The scramble over these restrictions means companies will be hard pressed to make a choice whether to take maximum advantage of that window of opportunity to make profit, likely at escalated prices, to sell that equipment to China,” Tsukerman said, “or get on the US good side early and voluntarily start cooperating with the additional restrictions with a possibility of gaining early leverage and scoring investments or other positive incentives from Washington, before negative incentives are introduced more broadly.”

But she agrees with the US efforts, as she argues that it will likely succeed in the very short-term.

“Until now, China has been able to capitalize on weak import-export controls, including via US-friendly countries, as well as loopholes in the type of equipment banned under restrictions, to continue apace with its development of its domestic chip industry,” Tsukerman said. “Netherlands and Japan remain in possession of some of the most advanced equipment for developing semiconductors. If these loopholes and restrictions are tightened, China will have a much harder time with making the breakthroughs it needs to circumvent the overall bans on AI chips.”

Tsukerman said that US government officials should also look inward, as China has taken advantage of ineffective enforcement from multiple US agencies. The US “should look towards its own import-export controls, because the occasional and sometimes systematic unwillingness of its agencies to enforce these controls has resulted in China exploiting additional loopholes to gain access to such equipment,” she said. 

Retaliatory measures

In terms of likely Chinese retaliation, the Chinese government would have many options. “The US and its allies should be preparing for a likely eventuality of China placing additional restrictions on the rare earth minerals and other raw materials used in the development of semiconductors to prevent the US and its counterparts from advancing further and making it easier for China to catch up even under restriction,” Tsukerman said.

Potentially more importantly, Tsukerman said the US focus on China might prove problematic, as these chip supplies could also come from various other countries. “Working only with the Netherlands and Japan to prevent China from gaining access to equipment is clearly insufficient. China has benefited from loose import-export controls in countries willing to sell that type of equipment produced with Dutch, Japanese, and/or joint US involvement to China with the same result. The coalition should work in tandem to shut down gray zones, possibly imposing secondary sanctions on countries willing to sell such equipment,” she said. “For now, the chipmaking equipment production is dominated by the US-led coalition. It is only a matter of time before other countries develop their own capabilities, BRICS members being the prime example,” she added, referring to the intergovernmental organization founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and more recently expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

Tsukerman said recent US efforts to negotiate with India may be a good move. “India could still be helpful to chipmaking production in any of the expanded BRICS members in many other ways. Meanwhile, such restrictions certainly do not apply to any of the other members, including Saudi Arabia, which is dedicating billions to start a regional semiconductor hub and may receive China’s assistance in exchange for providing China with such equipment.”

Brian Levine, a managing partner with Ernst & Young who was one of the US Department of Justice’s representatives in the US law enforcement Joint Liaison Group (JLG) with China, said that he sees even a miniscule delay in China’s chip-making efforts as worthwhile for US interests. 

War is waged with microchips

“Progress is progress and the same is true for the delay of progress. These days, war is waged not with guns, but with microchips,” Levine said. “Win the war on microchips and you may win the war generally. I think the administration is trying to pull what levers it can. The degree to which it will be effective will depend on many factors that are unknowable at this point, such as the level of international cooperation with the effort.”  

Although some have raised questions of hypocrisy with the US trying to pressure China into not doing what it is actively doing, Levine disagrees. “Much of this technology was likely stolen from the US and other countries, so I have limited sympathy for those who may get worked up about the US attempting to impose such restrictions.”

Robert Khachatryan, the CEO of Freight Right Global Logistics, is also uncertain about how much of an impact the US diplomatic efforts will make. 

“Although the restrictions may slow China’s progress in the short term, it is uncertain if they will be sufficient to halt it entirely. China has been increasing its investments in domestic chip production, aiming for self-sufficiency,” Khachatryan said. “Restricting China’s access to AI chip technology could disrupt global supply chains and commerce, as China accounts for 24 percent of global semiconductor consumption. Such restrictions might slow worldwide production and distribution and shift trade dynamics, with countries seeking alternative suppliers.”

Microsoft bolsters quantum platform with gen AI, molecular simulation capabilities

Microsoft has added generative artificial intelligence and other enhanced features to its quantum-computing platform as part of a larger strategy to deliver the game-changing technology to a broader range of users — in this case, the scientific community.

The company on Wednesday unveiled the release of Generative Chemistry and Accelerated DFT, which together expand how scientists in the chemicals and materials science industry can use its Azure Quantum Elements platform to help drastically shorten the time it takes them to do research, the company said in a blog post.

“Just as generative AI has unleashed new waves of creativity and improved productivity with collaborative tools like Copilot, we are now bringing AI and natural language processing capabilities to science,” according to the post, attributed to Jason Zander, EVP, Strategic Missions and Technologies.

Top 10 Windows productivity tips

Each week, I ask Windows Intelligence readers to share their favorite Windows PC tips with me. There are some I see submitted over and over — the top productivity tips many of my most enthusiastic readers think everyone should know.

Now, I want to share them with you, bringing them into one place for an easily skimmable guide filled with tweaks and upgrades you can put straight to work.

There are more PC tips where these came from! Sign up for my free Windows Intelligence newsletter to get free Windows Field Guides and three new things to try every Friday.

Windows productivity tip #1: Clipboard history

Windows has a built-in clipboard history. Just press Windows+V to find it. If you haven’t activated it, you can turn it on in one click from there.

You can copy multiple things and access both text and images you’ve recently copied within it. Or, if you find yourself pasting the same things again and again, you can “pin” items to your clipboard history for easy future access.

The clipboard history tool can help you perform other advanced tasks, too: You can sync your clipboard between PCs with your Microsoft account, for example, or paste items as plain text.

To configure the clipboard history, head to Settings > System > Clipboard. It’s available on both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Windows clipboard history
The clipboard history is stored entirely on your PC — unless you choose to sync it in Settings.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Windows productivity tip #2: The power user menu

The “power user menu” was added during the Windows 8 days, when Microsoft removed the Start menu. It’s still useful today, offering a quick way to access a variety of useful system options and administrative tools. Whether you want to shut down your PC, launch File Explorer, or open a Terminal window, you can do it from the power user menu.

To open it, right-click your Start button on the taskbar or press Windows+X on your keyboard. You can then select an item in the menu with one more click.

Windows productivity tip #3: Plain-text pasting

Copy-pasting text on a PC can be a pain. You often end up copying formatting — fonts, colors, links, and other junk — when you just want plain old text.

You can paste just the plain text in nearly any application — if you use the right shortcut. Just press Ctrl+Shift+V instead of Ctrl+V to paste. This works in most applications, including web browsers like Google Chrome. (It now even works in Microsoft Word by default, too.)

Windows productivity tip #4: A website as an app

If you frequently use web apps, you might want to install them as applications, giving them their own separate windows, shortcuts, and taskbar icons for convenient access.

To do this in Google Chrome, visit the website you want to turn into an “app” — like Gmail, for example. Then, click the menu button on Chrome’s toolbar and select Save and Share > Create shortcut. Name it whatever you like, check “Open as window,” and you’re done.

If the website offers a Progressive Web App (PWA), you will see an “Install” button in the menu. You can use that instead.

This works in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and other Chromium-based browsers. (Firefox, unfortunately, doesn’t support the option.)

Gmail - open as window
This is the closest thing you can get to a Windows desktop app for Gmail.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Windows productivity tip #5: Ctrl key shortcuts

There’s a good chance you already know some basic text-editing keyboard shortcuts. For example, you can hold Shift and use the left and right arrow keys to select text. But the Ctrl key makes all those keyboard shortcuts work with entire words and not individual characters.

Here’s how the Ctrl key upgrades other keyboard shortcuts while working with text in nearly any application, from your web browser and email client to Microsoft Word:

  • Ctrl+Backspace: Backspace entire words to the left of the cursor at once — not just individual letters.
  • Ctrl+Delete: Delete entire words to the right of the cursor at once — not just individual letters.
  • Ctrl+Left arrow or Ctrl+Right arrow: Move the cursor to the previous word or the next word.
  • Ctrl+Shift+Left arrow or Ctrl+Shift+Right arrow: Select entire words at once.

Windows productivity tip #6: Window snapping

The Snap feature is an incredibly useful way to quickly arrange multiple windows on your screen. In addition to clicking a window title bar and dragging it to the left or right edge of your screen, you can also use shortcuts such as Windows+Left arrow and Windows+Right arrow to snap windows to one side of your screen or the other.

On Windows 11, you have access to Snap Layouts for even more options — press Windows+Z to open Snap Layouts. (Here’s my ultimate guide to the Windows Snap feature to learn all the tricks you need.)

Windows snap
Snap is an absolutely useful tool for multitasking on Windows.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Windows productivity tip #7: A Task Manager time-saver

The Windows Task Manager is a critical tool for all PC users. You might want to open it to see what applications are using resources, close an application that’s frozen, or just manage the startup applications that launch when you sign into your PC.

There’s no need to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and click “Task Manager” to open it. Just press Ctrl+Shift+Esc, and the Task Manager will appear immediately. You can also right-click an empty spot on your taskbar and select “Task Manager” to launch it on either Windows 11 or Windows 10.

Windows productivity tip #8: Easy emoji insertions

Like it or not, emoji are part of modern communication. You can insert them anywhere on your PC — type them in emails, place them in Word documents, or even use them in file names.

To open the emoji picker on Windows, press Windows+. or Windows+; (that’s the Windows key along with a period or a semicolon).

You can then start typing to search for an emoji or browse through them. This works on Windows 10 and 11. You’ll also find other things you can insert in this pane — like special characters, for example.

Windows emoji panel
With this shortcut, inserting emoji is just as easy on Windows as it is on your phone.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Windows productivity tip #9: Pinned app shortcuts

The Windows key opens the Start menu, Windows+Tab launches Task View, and Windows+C opens Copilot. But you can activate the favorite apps you have pinned to your taskbar using the keyboard, too.

Just press Windows+1, Windows+2, or the Windows key along with any other number — 1 through 0. For example, if you press Windows+1, Windows will activate the first application shortcut from the left on your PC’s taskbar.

(Since 0 appears to the right of 9 on the number row on your keyboard, the 0 key will activate the 10th shortcut from the left.)

Windows productivity tip #10: Instant key transformation

Want to put your keyboard to better use? You can turn a key into any other key. For example, many people transform their Caps Lock key into something else. Here’s one idea: If your keyboard doesn’t have a convenient Play/Pause key, you could “remap” the Caps Lock key into a Play/Pause key.

There are a variety of ways to remap a key; my favorite is the Keyboard Manager included with Microsoft’s free PowerToys package.

To use it, install Microsoft PowerToys on your PC. Launch PowerToys from your Start menu or system tray, select “Keyboard Manager,” and use the “Remap a key” tool here to make a key function as another key. Microsoft has even more in-depth documentation on using the Keyboard Manager tool.

Windows keyboard manager
With a few clicks, you can transform a key on your keyboard into another key.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Microsoft’s PowerToys package is packed with useful tools, too — Keyboard Manager is just scratching the surface of what you can do with it. For example, it has a convenient Always on Top tool for making any window “always on top” of all other windows. That can be a big productivity boost in the right situation.

Want more PC tips like these? Sign up for my Windows Intelligence newsletter today — you’ll get three things to try in your inbox each Friday. Plus, get free copies of Paul Thurrott’s Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides as a special welcome bonus.

AR/VR headset sales decline is temporary: IDC

Shipments of augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) headsets dropped 67.4% year over year in the first quarter of 2024 as a result of an evolution in the market, new data from International Data Corp. (IDC) reveals.

“The decline in shipments was expected as the market transitions to include new categories such as Mixed Reality (MR) and Extended Reality (ER),” IDC noted Tuesday. “Despite the decline, the average selling price (ASP) rose to over $1,000 as Apple entered the market and incumbents such as Meta focused on premium headsets such as the Quest 3.”

The future of such products in the enterprise is in flux, with Microsoft pulling back and laying off workers from its HoloLens division last year, while Apple is clearly targeting the enterprise market with its Apple Vision Pro.

The research firm said that it recently revised its taxonomy of headsets to incorporate two new categories: “Mixed Reality which occludes the user’s vision but provides a view of the real world with outward facing cameras, and Extended Reality, which employs a see-though display but mirrors content from another device or offers a simplistic heads-up display.”

Headset market in flux

Meta again led the market in the first quarter in terms of share, while Apple’s recent entry into the market enabled it to capture the second position. ByteDance, Xreal, and HTC rounded out the top five, IDC said.

When online pre-sales of Apple’s Vision Pro AR/VR headsets began on Jan. 19 they sold out quickly, but as Computerworldnoted soon after, stable delivery dates could indicate limited demand for the $3,500 device.

Fast forward to April, and Apple said that it had cut Vision Pro production due to low demand, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, an Apple analyst at TF International Securities.

Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for worldwide mobile device trackers at IDC, said that with mixed reality on the rise, “expect strictly virtual reality headsets to fade in the coming years as brands and developers devise new hardware and experiences to help users eventually transition to augmented reality further down the line. Meanwhile, extended reality displays are set to garner consumer attention as they offer a big screen experience today while incorporating AI and heads-up displays in the near future.”

Meanwhile, Ramon T. Llamas, research director with IDC’s augmented and virtual reality team, said that although ASPs for the overall market crested above the $1,000 mark, this is not representative of all products.

“ASPs for augmented reality (AR) headsets have almost always been above this price point, but ASPs for VR, MR, and ER headsets have typically been lower,” he said. “Apple’s Vision Pro drove ASPs higher for MR headsets, but the addition of lower-cost devices from Meta and HTC have kept those ASPs from going much higher. Meanwhile, there were many devices for VR and ER priced below $500.”

Return to growth

Looking ahead, Llamas said that IDC is anticipating ASP erosion across all products: “Because the overall market is still in its early stages with more expensive first- and second-generation devices, prices will be high even as early adopters buy them. In order to reach scale in the mass market, vendors will need to reduce prices on later and upcoming devices.”

IDC is forecasting that “headset shipments will return to growth later this year with volume growing 7.5% over 2023. Newer headsets and lower price points will help with the turnaround expected later this year. Beyond that, headset shipment volume is expected to see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43.9% from 2024–2028.”

AR/VR headset sales decline is temporary: IDC

Shipments of augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) headsets dropped 67.4% year over year in the first quarter of 2024 as a result of an evolution in the market, new data from International Data Corp. (IDC) reveals.

“The decline in shipments was expected as the market transitions to include new categories such as Mixed Reality (MR) and Extended Reality (ER),” IDC noted Tuesday. “Despite the decline, the average selling price (ASP) rose to over $1,000 as Apple entered the market and incumbents such as Meta focused on premium headsets such as the Quest 3.”

The future of such products in the enterprise is in flux, with Microsoft pulling back and laying off workers from its HoloLens division last year, while Apple is clearly targeting the enterprise market with its Apple Vision Pro.

The research firm said that it recently revised its taxonomy of headsets to incorporate two new categories: “Mixed Reality which occludes the user’s vision but provides a view of the real world with outward facing cameras, and Extended Reality, which employs a see-though display but mirrors content from another device or offers a simplistic heads-up display.”

Headset market in flux

Meta again led the market in the first quarter in terms of share, while Apple’s recent entry into the market enabled it to capture the second position. ByteDance, Xreal, and HTC rounded out the top five, IDC said.

When online pre-sales of Apple’s Vision Pro AR/VR headsets began on Jan. 19 they sold out quickly, but as Computerworldnoted soon after, stable delivery dates could indicate limited demand for the $3,500 device.

Fast forward to April, and Apple said that it had cut Vision Pro production due to low demand, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, an Apple analyst at TF International Securities.

Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for worldwide mobile device trackers at IDC, said that with mixed reality on the rise, “expect strictly virtual reality headsets to fade in the coming years as brands and developers devise new hardware and experiences to help users eventually transition to augmented reality further down the line. Meanwhile, extended reality displays are set to garner consumer attention as they offer a big screen experience today while incorporating AI and heads-up displays in the near future.”

Meanwhile, Ramon T. Llamas, research director with IDC’s augmented and virtual reality team, said that although ASPs for the overall market crested above the $1,000 mark, this is not representative of all products.

“ASPs for augmented reality (AR) headsets have almost always been above this price point, but ASPs for VR, MR, and ER headsets have typically been lower,” he said. “Apple’s Vision Pro drove ASPs higher for MR headsets, but the addition of lower-cost devices from Meta and HTC have kept those ASPs from going much higher. Meanwhile, there were many devices for VR and ER priced below $500.”

Return to growth

Looking ahead, Llamas said that IDC is anticipating ASP erosion across all products: “Because the overall market is still in its early stages with more expensive first- and second-generation devices, prices will be high even as early adopters buy them. In order to reach scale in the mass market, vendors will need to reduce prices on later and upcoming devices.”

IDC is forecasting that “headset shipments will return to growth later this year with volume growing 7.5% over 2023. Newer headsets and lower price points will help with the turnaround expected later this year. Beyond that, headset shipment volume is expected to see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43.9% from 2024–2028.”

Apple’s cautious AI strategy is absolutely right

(Editor’s note: This column originally appeared on Computerworld Sweden on June 14, 2024.)

Just as everyone expected, and almost demanded, Apple finally started talking about artificial intelligence — in its own way, of course. The big keynote at WWDC on Monday might not have been the AI ​​event many had thought was coming. For example, the deal with Open AI, where Chat GPT will be used as an extension of Apple devices’ own AI capabilities, was negotiated in a matter of minutes.

Apple appears to be approaching AI with caution. Cautious, you might call it, but I actually think this strategy is the right one, and it aligns with what I called for earlier: AI that integrates seamlessly and easily into solutions we already know and use.

Apple Intelligence (of course Apple’s AI has been trademarked) is not a special app, or a special assistant or a “Copilot.” These are small, clever features, built on small, specialized models, sprinkled throughout the software. In Siri, in the photo app, as a writing aid, and so on, all in a seemingly non-intrusive way — an extra function, or help, that is there, if you want it.

The latter is important because it bothers me enormously is when AI is shoved down one’s throat. Just because an AI feature exists, maybe I don’t want to use it? No one but I knows what tasks I’m better at than AI, and it obviously varies from person to person.

For example, I am very good at writing and processing text. I definitely don’t want any AI getting in there (I even turn off the spell check in Word). On the other hand, sitting with transcriptions and translations is boring as hell, so I’m happy to take help there.

I’m a decent hobby photographer and don’t need an AI to make my photos “better” unsolicited. However, it can be fun or effective to take AI help to remove some ugly detail, play with the depth of field, or expose subjects.

I’m also a frequent user of chat, both privately and at work, but I think it feels a bit dirty to click on the suggested answers in Microsoft Teams chat (“Great”, “That sounds good.”) because it feels quite disrespectful to the person I’m communicating with.

BAbove all, I am seriously uninterested in Google’s new “AI Overviews,” which have now been rolled out, starting in the US. The AI ​​function in Google’s search engine takes the liberty of using AI to try to guess what you are looking for — and answer it.

I’m extremely good at Googling; it’s a skill I’ve developed over many years. And when I do research with the help of Google, it’s not one answer I’m looking for, but a balanced assessment that I make based on the information I google, thank you very much. Even if Google’s AI in the future gives “correct” answers instead of suggesting to glue the cheese on pizza, that’s just not what I want to use a search engine for.

So that’s why I think Apple is right here. It is through these kinds of simple, friendly and optional functions that do not require advanced “prompt engineering” that the masses will be introduced to and actually use AI tools. Because even though it might sound like it sometimes, most people don’t use Chat GPT at all.

Now Apple has the luxury, if you call it that, of not having to position itself as an “AI company” as a number of other tech giants want to do, although there has been pressure from investors to start delivering in this area. Apple sells mobile phones (and other hardware, but mainly phones). Therefore, it can be worthwhile to focus more on data protection and privacy, and on introducing features at a pace and in a way that makes mobile phone buyers see value in their presence.

Moreover, Apple isn’t charging extra for it, as most others do. Of course, Apple Intelligence is so far only available on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max (and Mac computers with M-chip). And, presumably, that sprinkling of AI isn’t so sparkling yet as to warrant an immediate upgrade for most people.

But even if this particular iteration of Apple Intelligence will not become everyone’s everyday AI — anymore than the first iPhone became everyone’s smartphone — I believe, this is the way development will go. AI is fundamentally a commodity, a general-purpose technology.

It’s a feature, not a product.

This column is taken from CS Veckobrev, a personal newsletter with reading tips, link tips and analysis sent directly from Computerworld Sweden‘s editor-in-chief, Marcus Jerräng. Do you also want the newsletter on Fridays? Sign up for a free subscription here.