WEEKLY WHEATIES #2413

Microsoft's Phone, AI, Future Living, Travel

Mar 24, 2024

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In this newsletter:

Post: Microsoft’s Mobile Conundrum or Revival?
ICYMI: AI Updates and Future Living
POTW: Travel Destinations

Microsoft’s Mobile Conundrum or Revival?

A few weeks ago, I was browsing a newly found subreddit on Windows Phone and noticed it is much more active than I thought it would be. I’ve found my people! Apparently, I’m not the only one who misses using my lot of Windows Phones. My favorite one of them still sells on Ebay as people still use them as their daily driver. That, however, is something I can’t get on board with. A big downside is the lack of apps (which I’ve written about before). And those still available on those phones are no longer updated. Meaning, it’s very limited in use outside of making phone calls and sending or receiving texts and email. On the other hand, I know people who still use iPhones that are over 10 years old…

Which made me then reminisce on Cortana - Microsoft’s version of the Siri or Google voice chat. I know I’m biased, but I still believe it was ahead of its time. Maybe the new Copilot AI is a re-skinned Cortana? Some believe it may be, except the Cortana name lives on as an assistant and accessibility feature in the office suite. Either way, the tech is still there, and it has always been amazing what it can do. The problem is the idea of Microsoft being the business-type company and Apple and Google bring a level of creativity and play. The work stuff is only fun for people who nerd out at the work stuff. Yes, my hand is raised.

I hate to say it, but Microsoft still caters towards businesses whether they like it or not. This is obviously not a problem for literally one of the largest companies in the world. They’ve had the mission of a “computer on every desk” for over 40 years. So where does that leave them in the personal mobile computing space?

Without going back too far, Windows Phone 10 has silently been shutting down since about 2017. Microsoft has then offered the Surface Duo phones over the last few years, which run on Android. However, that’s still a limitation, as they can’t modify the entire operating system (OS) as they could if it were a Windows OS. It’s also important to note: the Surface Duo 2 was released in 2021 and doesn’t appear available for purchase currently. The Surface Duo 3 has been rumored, but nothing official. On the other hand, they did recently earn a patent for a new type of folding screen tech.

Then, last year, the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, even admitted giving up on Windows Phone and mobile was a mistake. Is this a glimmer of hope? People in these types of positions are very careful with the words they choose to use. Namely, because people like me will do exactly what I’m doing now and try to put pieces together and read between the lines. We’ve seen what a small group of people can do with the Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 AI device.

With Microsoft holding a large stake in OpenAI, having Copilot embedded throughout the available Windows OSes and hardware, maybe there’s a glimmer of hope for a new foldable AI personal mobile computing device to bring some of us back to Microsoft? As exciting as it may seem, I won’t hold my breath. The “Blue Bubble” and other apps still have a tight grip on me. Until I thought about another possibility.

Microsoft has a bit at stake with their gaming division. Last year, they completed their acquisition of Activision Blizzard game studio. Then, they announced two new chips they will be manufacturing in-house to help with their cloud services and AI. As successful as the Xbox Game Pass program is, along with hardware and monetary power put behind it and the Xbox brand, I can see an Xbox phone being released that runs on a version of Windows 11, comes with Xbox Game Pass, and competes with the Nintendo Switch. This would bring in a new audience of customers, and also potentially allow the app game to step up as developers can build once and deploy across many devices (desktop, laptops, gaming, and mobile).

With the hardware and software updates, what would they have to do differently to convince you in trying out a possible new version of a Microsoft phone?

ICYMI: AI Updates and Future Living

AI Updates

In part due to his public battle with OpenAI, Elon Musk released the code to xAI’s Grok-1 model. Multiple emails have been released (albeit with redacted info at times) showing there are always three sides to a story. With money, power, security, and more on the line, it’s hard to read between the lines versus seeing coincidences that appear. Either way, both sides seem to agree the code behind AI should “limit harm, remove bias, and optimize performance.” The problem here is making the code open could potentially allow harmful content to stir as users can take advantage of knowing the code, while keeping it closed off exacerbates bias and could limit performance.

Meanwhile, Nvidia’s keynote allowed them to announce a new AI chip that is 30 times more powerful than their most recent chip, responsible for helping their stock price continue to grow. On the same day, Anthropic released their new AI model with ‘near-human capabilities’ - Claude 3.

Future Living

One of Elon Musk’s other companies, Neuralink, has shown a lot of progress with human trials of their implanted brain chip. A video posted on Twitter shows the patient using his thoughts to control a computer - where he is playing chess - all while holding a conversation. The Nature Journal reveals a bit of insight on how these technologies are able to help restore brain activity after injury.

If implanting chips or mind-reading devices may be too far in the future for you, what about the future of city living? Toyota’s 'Woven City' in Japan will complete phase 1 this year. Here, the main focus will be on mobility, where robotics, pedestrians, and automated driving will be woven throughout the city and tested to the limits. Just a bit west in Saudi Arabia, ‘The Line’ will be a new city that will appear as a narrow wall 105 miles long able to support 9 million residents. Here, there will be no cars or roads though, only a high-speed rail going from end-to-end in 20 minutes. Construction is already underway with the hope of 1.5 million residents by 2030.

POTW: Travel Destinations

With summer coming up soon, maybe you’ve had some travel plans on the calendar. Maybe you’re planning to move? Maybe you’d love to travel to Rome, but only if it was the year 320? Maybe you just want some peace and quiet.

If not, here’s a list of things to do and places to visit that may stir some thought.