It's called Handy, and it uses AI models to accurately convert your speaking voice into text--all for free. If old sci-fi shows are anything to go by, we're all using our computers wrong. We're still typing with our fingers, like cave people, instead of talking out loud the way the future was supposed to be. Have you ever seen Picard touch a keyboard? And it's odd because our computers are all capable of turning speech into text by default.

Back in June 2024, Microsoft unexpectedly removed the Windows key C keyboard shortcut for launching the Copilot AI assistant in Windows 11 and replaced it with a dedicated Copilot key on newer keyboards. That was followed up with a Copilot voice chat keyboard shortcut and then later with a "Hey Copilot" verbal launch trigger. As of update KB5058502--the optional May patch that released yesterday for Windows 11 23H2--the Windows key C keyboard shortcut has been reinstated. Tap it to launch Copilot in text chat mode or long-press it to launch Copilot in voice chat mode. A similar update will be released for Windows 11 24H2, reports Windows Latest.

Newer Windows PCs have included a special Copilot key for about a year now. The Copilot key is meant to be a dedicated way to bring up Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant, although some people never use it and have turned to repurposing the Copilot key for other actions. But then there are others who want to use Copilot and wish they had a dedicated button for calling it up, yet don't want to shell out money on a new laptop just for said key. If that's you, then here's some good news: Microsoft is adding a new keyboard shortcut for Copilot. According to the announcement post, the Copilot app for Windows (available via the Microsoft Store) will soon be able to initiate a voice conversation with Copilot by holding Alt Space for 2 seconds. Once you're done talking, you can press Esc to end the conversation.

Windows PCs are incredibly powerful and flexible, and that's true even before you install any apps. As it turns out, Windows itself is chock-full of useful features that few people actually know about. If you're a college student who wants to take your college laptop to the next level, here are several obscure Windows features that'll help you whether you're taking notes, researching projects, or otherwise. Windows 11 has a feature called Live Captions that listens to audio and automatically generates readable captions on the fly. It works when you're watching a video, but it also works with audio captured by your microphone.

In some categories of computer software, there are scant free options and spending a few bucks on paid software makes a big difference. In other categories, paying for software is not necessary. Video editing is one such example. In fact, one program widely used in Hollywood is free, and there are several other decent programs for Windows users--including the utterly fantastic DaVinci Resolve. Windows even has a built-in program now that Microsoft is the owner of the simple video editor Clipchamp.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller was Microsoft's first real attempt at making accessible hardware. And while it was very well-received, it didn't really impact non-gamers. Today, the company is launching a new product with a much wider audience: a mouse. The Microsoft Adaptive Mouse kit actually consists of a mouse, attachable tail, hub and button. They're modular and highly customizable, offering a wide variety of ways for people with different needs to interact with their laptops, tablets or phones.

But it's not just a skill for software devs -- learning bash can be valuable for anyone who works with data. In short, Bash is the Unix command-line interface (CLI). You'll also see it called the terminal, the command line, or the shell. It's a command language that allows us to work with files on our computers in a way that's far more efficient and powerful than using a GUI (graphical user interface). Making the switch from graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to a command-line interface can feel overwhelming.

Google Colab is an amazing gift to the data science community from the fine folks at Google. Colab gives us the ability to build complex and heavy machine learning and deep learning models without having to expend our machine's limited resources. I can certainly appreciate this given how much I used to struggle on my machine! The'out of memory' error is now quite infamous in the data science community – Google Colab provides us with the workaround and adds several cherries on top! I love the free GPU and TPU support – it's simply unparalleled and unrivaled in any other coding IDE.

The standard QWERTY keyboard is a rather limited tool. Designed and tinkered with over the early 1870s by newspaper editor Christopher Latham Sholes, the typewriter configuration has barely changed since 1873, when the rights to the product were sold to E. Remington and Sons, which released the following keyboard: These days, we have a few extra characters at our fingertips. We have brackets, (round), [square], and {squiggly}. We have all the symbols we might need for typing fake $@*% words. But we still do not have our deliciously protracted, overapplied em dash--a beloved tool in many a writer's toolbox.

If you're used to using Dragon Dictate () for dictating into your favorite programs, you'll be a bit surprised by Dragon Express, a light version of the program. This $50 Mac App Store-only program displays an icon in the menu bar that you can use to control the program. Click on this icon to access the program's preferences, and set a keyboard shortcut to display the small input window; this is where you will do your dictation. When you're done with your dictation, you can then transfer the text to the application of your choice, by clicking one of the icons at the bottom of the window, or by using keyboard shortcuts or voice commands. This works with either the frontmost application, or with one of a number of preset applications, such as Mail (click the Mail icon to create a new email message containing the text you dictate), Facebook (click the icon to post your dictated text to Facebook), and Twitter (click the button to tweet your dictated text), or you can send the text to your Web browser for Google search, to Spotlight to search on your Mac, or to the clipboard.