Artificial intelligence has basically taken over and replace traditional web search engines. You've already seen it with AI overviews in Google Search, followed up with OpenAI going the way of SearchGPT. Even alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo are starting to incorporate AI into their platforms, and things aren't slowing down. Well, now we can add another to the pile: Microsoft just released Copilot Search, which is sort of like an AI-infused Bing Search. It takes in data from sources all over the web, then uses Copilot's AI powers to synthesize a summary for you.

Last month, Microsoft released the first major version of .NET for Apache Spark, an open-source package that brings .NET development to the Apache Spark platform. The new release allows .NET developers to write Apache Spark applications using .NET user-defined functions, Spark SQL, and additional libraries such as Microsoft Hyperspace and ML.NET. Apache Spark is an open-source, general-purpose analytics engine for large-scale data processing, with built-in modules for streaming, SQL, machine learning, and graph processing. Initially developed by the AMPLab team at UC Berkeley, it can be used in conjunction with different data repositories, including the Hadoop Distributed File System, NoSQL databases, and relational data stores. Since all data is processed in-memory (RAM), Spark can be 100x faster than Hadoop for large-scale data processing.

Microsoft's Project InnerEye has been involved in building and deploying machine learning models for years now. The team has been working with doctors, clinicians, oncologists, assisting them in tasks like radiotherapy, surgical planning, and quantitative radiology. This has reduced the burden on the people involved in the domain. The firm says that the goal of Project InnerEye is to "democratize AI for medical image analysis" by allowing researchers and medical practitioners to build their own medical imaging models. With this in mind, the team released the InnerEye Deep Learning Toolkit as open-source software today.

Microsoft has released its updated Cortana app for iOS, which includes a design overhaul and new features, including music and podcasts support, an option to set up Cortana-enabled devices and a so-called conversational experience for the voice assistant. Those might prove especially useful for those who buy Microsoft's Surface Headphones, which will ship next week. Cortana 3.0 has deeper integration with other Microsoft services too. It ties into your email, calendar, reminders, meetings and To Dos, while you can use Cortana to join Skype and Teams meetings. The Cortana 3.0 beta landed on both iOS and Android last month, so it's unlikely Android users will have to wait too much longer to get their hands on the updated app.

Microsoft is bringing Windows 10 desktop to Qualcomm's ARM processors, setting the stage for a new class of cellular-connected, Windows 10 mobile PCs. And the icing on the cake: Microsoft will add an emulation layer to this version of Windows 10 for ARM that will enable x86/Win32 apps to run. Microsoft officials delivered the big news to the company's PC-maker partners at WinHEC in Shenzhen, China, on December 8. At that conference for Microsoft's OEM partners, Microsoft demonstrated a version of Windows 10 running on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor. Microsoft currently provides Windows 10 Mobile, a variant of Windows 10 for ARM-based phones only.

Microsoft's latest Windows 10 Creators Update build for Fast Ring Insider testers adds more Cortana capabilities, including the ability to turn off PCs with voice commands. Windows 10 Build 14986, which Microsoft released on December 7, allows users to shut down, restart, lock and put their PCs to sleep by asking Cortanta by voice. They also can raise and lower system volume and control music playback (US English only) with iHeartRadio and TuneInRadio by voice with this latest Creators Update test build. Microsoft also is adjusting Cortana's look when PCs are unlocked and idle, making it more usable for "far field" viewing. By saying "Hey Cortana," PCs running Build 14986 will be able to see results to questions from across the room.