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Microsoft rolls out an update to your taskbar - Weather and News

GoodBytes
By GoodBytes
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Microsoft is too excited to wait until the end of the year to release this new feature to all.

The company is releasing the Weather and News widget to Windows 10 users. It is an item on the taskbar showing you the current weather. Clicking on it will reveal a panel with additional information, as well as traffic information in your area, stocks information (you can set what you want to follow) and news.

News_and_interests___GIF_1___Article.gif.0f2d6f54aff5fa856e3320551df1a681.gif

 

News can be customized and sources can be filtered out via picking "..." button on each tile or clicking on "Manage Interest" button.

1883813027_Screenshot2021-04-22122231.png.165ea86e274138a5ef104ab6e4151cfc.png

 

If you are not interested, you can remove it by simply right-clicking on the task bar and pick "News & interest" and pick "Turn off"

207898197_Screenshot2021-04-22122406.png.c381c9c50dc286befce4e9dd13d43705.png

 

The update is coming to all in the coming month.

 

The Verge reports:

Quote

Microsoft is starting to roll out its biggest change to the Windows taskbar in years. A new weather and news taskbar widget will be available in Windows 10 starting today, offering weather information directly in the Windows taskbar. The widget also expands to include a feed of news, stocks, sports, and weather information.

 

The mini-feed of content only appears when you activate the widget, and it can be fully personalized with the latest sports news, headlines, and weather information. Microsoft is using its Microsoft News network to surface news and content from more than 4,500 sources, and the company will use AI to learn what news is relevant to you when you dismiss or like stories in the feed.

 

Microsoft reveal video:

 

Sources

https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/22/22397237/microsoft-windows-10-taskbar-weather-news-widget-feature-available-now

 

I have been using it since a few months, and I personally quite like it. I find it nice to have the convenience of the having the weather on the task bar, and while these days I care less about it due to work from home, I do like the fact that it gives your local traffic information around your area so that you can quickly plan out your outing ("Oh I should leave now, heavy traffic!", for example).

 

 

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Posted

Sorry to be that guy, but there has already been a thread about this...

 

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pythonmegapixel

into tech, public transport and architecture // amateur programmer // youtuber // beginner photographer

Thanks for reading all this by the way!

By the way, my desktop is a docked laptop. Get over it, No seriously, I have an exterrnal monitor, keyboard, mouse, headset, ethernet and cooling fans all connected. Using it feels no different to a desktop, it works for several hours if the power goes out, and disconnecting just a few cables gives me something I can take on the go. There's enough power for all games I play and it even copes with basic (and some not-so-basic) video editing. Give it a go - you might just love it.

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1 minute ago, pythonmegapixel said:

Sorry to be that guy, but there has already been a thread about this...

 

Well no. His title is vague, and the news was on those under the Release Preview ring only. This other news should have been moved to Windows Insider thread under Windows forum section.

 

This one is about public release.

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3 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

The mini-feed of content only appears when you activate the widget, and it can be fully personalized with the latest sports news, headlines, and weather information. Microsoft is using its Microsoft News network to surface news and content from more than 4,500 sources, and the company will use AI to learn what news is relevant to you when you dismiss or like stories in the feed.

I would be EXTREMELY fucking surprised, if the system actually did learn properly what sorts of news I care about and provided me with those. It'll most likely just peddle typical news meant for the general populace. Besides which, 4500 sources isn't impressive, considering that half of it will be celebrity-gossip or sports.

Hand, n. A singular instrument worn at the end of the human arm and commonly thrust into somebody’s pocket.

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1 minute ago, WereCatf said:

I would be EXTREMELY fucking surprised, if the system actually did learn properly what sorts of news I care about and provided me with those. It'll most likely just peddle typical news meant for the general populace. Besides which, 4500 sources isn't impressive, considering that half of it will be celebrity-gossip or sports.

Seems to be working fine for me. I did need to do some manual work at first, but after that I am not getting crap news in the mix and getting sources I trust. At least... so far. I think Microsoft did a decent job on this. I hope Microsoft continues to work on it and continues to add refinements, and not left in the dust in some of its other built-in apps.

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3 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

I would be EXTREMELY fucking surprised, if the system actually did learn properly what sorts of news I care about and provided me with those. 

If any of these services did. At least ones that are free.

"Rawr XD"

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Regardless of whether it's publicly released or not, my opinion is the same.

 

This is just another opportunity to be drip-fed sensationalist "news" by an automated algorithm for advertising purposes. Yay!

 

Sorry if I sound cynical, but it's hard not to be when it comes to Windows these days.

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pythonmegapixel

into tech, public transport and architecture // amateur programmer // youtuber // beginner photographer

Thanks for reading all this by the way!

By the way, my desktop is a docked laptop. Get over it, No seriously, I have an exterrnal monitor, keyboard, mouse, headset, ethernet and cooling fans all connected. Using it feels no different to a desktop, it works for several hours if the power goes out, and disconnecting just a few cables gives me something I can take on the go. There's enough power for all games I play and it even copes with basic (and some not-so-basic) video editing. Give it a go - you might just love it.

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Me likely! That'll be nice and handy, side note, I also like the design language that Microsoft has been slowly moving towards, there's some aspects of it that can be seen in that preview that we haven't got as normal consumers yet.

Desktop - i5-9600KF @4.8GHz all core, MSI Z390-A PRO, 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance 3000MHz, MSI GTX 1660S OC 6GB, WD Blue 500GB M.2 SSD, Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM HDD

Laptop - ASUS ZenBook 14 with ScreenPad, i7-1165G7, Xe iGPU 96EU, 16GB Octa-Channel 4200MHz, MX450 2GB, 512GB SSD with 32GB Optane

 

Old Laptop 1 - HP Pavilion 15, A10-9600P, R5 iGPU, 8GB, R8 M445DX, 2TB HDD

Old Laptop 2 - HP Pavilion 15 TouchSmart, i3-3217U, Intel HD 4000, 4GB, 1TB HDD

 

iPad 2018 - 128GB

iPhone XR - 128GB

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I wouldn't mind the weather, but shoving in the news and "interests" too is what will ultimately make me not use the thing. Ever. But sure it'll come enabled by default in the future and just be one more thing to turn off after installation.

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4 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

Excessive clutter?

No, to avoid offending the design language, we must use the politically correct term "fluent design" 😂

 

(For the record - just a joke; I have nothing fundamentally against political correctness and in some cases it is important. But here, I'd say you're right to just describe it as "excessive clutter".)

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pythonmegapixel

into tech, public transport and architecture // amateur programmer // youtuber // beginner photographer

Thanks for reading all this by the way!

By the way, my desktop is a docked laptop. Get over it, No seriously, I have an exterrnal monitor, keyboard, mouse, headset, ethernet and cooling fans all connected. Using it feels no different to a desktop, it works for several hours if the power goes out, and disconnecting just a few cables gives me something I can take on the go. There's enough power for all games I play and it even copes with basic (and some not-so-basic) video editing. Give it a go - you might just love it.

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I'd be interested in this if it could be set to only weather, I don't read news so it would be something I would turn off. It also seems kinda pointless as you can get the weather by clicking the search icon on the taskbar.

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12 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

Excessive clutter?

The excessive clutter is down to Microsoft's inability to make big changes all at once. Once the new design language has been fully implemented and the older parts of Windows have been fully removed, then it will work. Saying that, knowing MS, they'll never be happy, and when everything looks as if it may fit together, they'll start making their next fragmented changes. For example, I still don't understand how they can ignore File Explorer for so long; the only difference I've seen since 8.1 is dark mode and a new icon.

Desktop - i5-9600KF @4.8GHz all core, MSI Z390-A PRO, 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance 3000MHz, MSI GTX 1660S OC 6GB, WD Blue 500GB M.2 SSD, Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM HDD

Laptop - ASUS ZenBook 14 with ScreenPad, i7-1165G7, Xe iGPU 96EU, 16GB Octa-Channel 4200MHz, MX450 2GB, 512GB SSD with 32GB Optane

 

Old Laptop 1 - HP Pavilion 15, A10-9600P, R5 iGPU, 8GB, R8 M445DX, 2TB HDD

Old Laptop 2 - HP Pavilion 15 TouchSmart, i3-3217U, Intel HD 4000, 4GB, 1TB HDD

 

iPad 2018 - 128GB

iPhone XR - 128GB

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8 minutes ago, AMD A10-9600P said:

The excessive clutter is down to Microsoft's inability to make big changes all at once. Once the new design language has been fully implemented and the older parts of Windows have been fully removed, then it will work. Saying that, knowing MS, they'll never be happy, and when everything looks as if it may fit together, they'll start making their next fragmented changes. For example, I still don't understand how they can ignore File Explorer for so long; the only difference I've seen since 8.1 is dark mode and a new icon.

I'll believe that when I see it, and not a moment before.

 

Seriously, even once all the remnants of Metro (and preferably Aero) are gone, it will still feel cluttered because of all of the pointless preinstalled software, constant attempts to force Microsoft products down one's throat and so on.

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____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

pythonmegapixel

into tech, public transport and architecture // amateur programmer // youtuber // beginner photographer

Thanks for reading all this by the way!

By the way, my desktop is a docked laptop. Get over it, No seriously, I have an exterrnal monitor, keyboard, mouse, headset, ethernet and cooling fans all connected. Using it feels no different to a desktop, it works for several hours if the power goes out, and disconnecting just a few cables gives me something I can take on the go. There's enough power for all games I play and it even copes with basic (and some not-so-basic) video editing. Give it a go - you might just love it.

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3 minutes ago, pythonmegapixel said:

and preferably Aero

And we can also go back to 256 colors because that is more than enough for the modern day OS's design..... /s

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16 minutes ago, AMD A10-9600P said:

The excessive clutter is down to Microsoft's inability to make big changes all at once. Once the new design language has been fully implemented and the older parts of Windows have been fully removed, then it will work. Saying that, knowing MS, they'll never be happy, and when everything looks as if it may fit together, they'll start making their next fragmented changes. For example, I still don't understand how they can ignore File Explorer for so long; the only difference I've seen since 8.1 is dark mode and a new icon.

I don't even like that MS feels the need to have a design change, such as their new icons that look worse IMO, or slowly getting rid the functional control panel for a more difficult to use settings app. I would rather Microsoft focus on bug fixes and optimization, or even just make a dark mode that makes everything dark mode because the task manager still doesn't have it.

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soooo.... a few of the widgets from Vista in 2006 are back with a slight different changes. Took 15 years to rework lol

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53 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

I would be EXTREMELY fucking surprised, if the system actually did learn properly what sorts of news I care about and provided me with those. It'll most likely just peddle typical news meant for the general populace. Besides which, 4500 sources isn't impressive, considering that half of it will be celebrity-gossip or sports.

Or, more likely, "all the news that's acceptable to us". Gotta be in the club.

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I'd consider the update if weather only is an option.

 

>Imagine getting your news from "reputable" sources written by "journalists"

Wouldn't be me.

Our Grace. The Feathered One. He shows us the way. His bob is majestic and shows us the path. Follow unto his guidance and His example. He knows the one true path. Our Saviour. Our Grace. Our Father Birb has taught us with His humble heart and gentle wing the way of the bob. Let us show Him our reverence and follow in His example. The True Path of the Feathered One. ~ Dimboble-dubabob III

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18 minutes ago, pythonmegapixel said:

I'll believe that when I see it, and not a moment before.

 

Seriously, even once all the remnants of Metro (and preferably Aero) are gone, it will still feel cluttered because of all of the pointless preinstalled software, constant attempts to force Microsoft products down one's throat and so on.

Windows looks best when you strip almost everything out of it, lol.

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7 minutes ago, DildorTheDecent said:

I'd consider the update if weather only is an option.

 

>Imagine getting your news from "reputable" sources written by "journalists"

Wouldn't be me.

All News is always Narrative now. It barely has any real factual content. It's just enough to fit the spin whatever faction wants to put on it. This is part of the reason Sports & Entertainment got so big. This is why the invasion of Politics into both spaces are a massive battleground in the culture. But, due to the Always Narrative reality, people are far more regularly tuning it out. As a result, it's about invading the spaces where the Narrative isn't to push it further. 

 

That said, Microsoft is still Microsoft. I would expect The Weekly World News and Babylon Bee to both somehow end up in the source list because Satire truly might be dead.

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