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The AI hype keeps on coming. 

The latest news is the arrival of an entirely new line of Windows computers, Copilot+ PCs, which are specifically designed with artificial intelligence (AI) in mind. Microsoft claims they’ll dramatically speed up AI, offer new features unavailable to other PCs, and deliver improved battery life. The new machines point the way to the future of Windows and of AI, if the company is to be believed.

Laptops from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and Microsoft were released several weeks ago, long enough to find out how they perform in real life. So how do they stack up? Are they everything Microsoft claimed they would be, or just one more overhyped new technology?

To find out, let’s start by looking at Microsoft’s promises about what the Copilot+ PCs will do. In a blog post announcing them, the company crows:

“Copilot+ PCs are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built. With powerful new silicon capable of an incredible 40+ TOPS (trillion operations per second), all–day battery life and access to the most advanced AI models, Copilot+ PCs will enable you to do things you can’t on any other PC. Easily find and remember what you have seen in your PC with Recall, generate and refine AI images in near real-time directly on the device using Cocreator, and bridge language barriers with Live Captions, translating audio from 40+ languages into English. “

The laptops are based on Qualcomm Arm-based processors, which include a neural processing unit (NPU) to handle AI-related tasks. Normally, AI processing occurs in the cloud rather than on a local PC, potentially slowing things down AI. On Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft claims, much of that processing will stay local on the machine.

Recalling Recall

Microsoft went into hype overdrive when touting the new machines’ Recall feature. There’s good reason for that. Anyone who has spent too much time trying to remember and open a specific email, website or file they worked on months ago would want it — and that pretty much means all of us. It’s clearly the killer app that could sell countless Copilot+ PCs.

But Recall has an Achilles heel. As I wrote earlier, it could be the ultimate security and privacy nightmare. It works by constantly taking screenshots of everything you do, storing them on your PC, creating a searchable database of them, and then using AI tools on them so you can find what you want quickly.

Initially, Microsoft claimed that because all that work is done locally rather than in the cloud, it wouldn’t lead to privacy or security issues. But many security researchers and analysts disagree. 

Jeff Pollard, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, told Computerworld “I think a built-in keylogger and screen-shotter that perfectly captures everything you do on the machine within a certain time frame is a tremendous privacy nightmare for users.”

If a hacker gains access to your PC, researchers found, he or she can read the database, which isn’t even encrypted. At first, Microsoft tried to convince everyone that the privacy issues were much ado about nothing. But then it backed off. The company announced in a blog post that the feature won’t be available on Copilot+ PCs when they launch. Microsoft says it will make Recall available some day — though it won’t say when.

That means the biggest reason for buying a Copilot+ at the moment remains elusive. 

Other Copilot+ PC woes

These machines have other issues, too. One of the most head-scratching ones is that the Copilot app on Copilot+ PCs appears to be less powerful than the app on traditional PCs. On Copilot+ PCs, Copilot runs as a traditional Windows app rather than as a sidebar pane, as it now normally does on traditional PCs. So, you can resize it, move it around the screen, and do anything with it that you can do with any window.

That’s not the problem. The problem is that Microsoft also took away some Copilot features. When run as a sidebar pane, Copilot can perform some basic Windows tasks for you, such as turning dark mode on or off. The app on Copilot+ PCs can’t do that. (By the way, Copilot as a Windows app is now also available for non-Copilot+ PCs, and it has the same problem as the Windows app on Copilot+ PCs.)

Another oddity: Although the new Copilot+ PCs have a dedicated Copilot key, the PCs won’t allow you to launch Copilot with the keyboard shortcut Windows key-C as you can on other PCs. Go figure.

And there’s more, according to Computerworld and PC World contributor Chris Hoffman. On the new machines, he says, “Copilot doesn’t run offline or use the new integrated neural processing unit (NPU) hardware to do anything at all.”

Running AI offline was one of the big promises of the new line. Perhaps someday that will happen, but as Hoffman notes, that day isn’t yet upon us.

Emulation: Thumbs up or thumbs down?

Because Copilot+ PCs run Windows on an Arm chip, they have to run Windows apps via emulation. Theoretically, that could be problematic or slow apps down. Microsoft contends that the chips are so fast that the apps run fine. 

Not everyone agrees. Many reviewers generally report no serious problems, but Android Authority warns: “emulation is hit-and-miss.”

PC World’s Mark Hachman found that most apps work fine, with one big caveat: “There’s a good chance your favorite games won’t even run” on a Copilot+ PC.

The upshot

So, should you buy one of these machines? I won’t hem and haw. The answer is no. Their two most important AI-related features — Recall and local AI processing — aren’t yet available. And running games on one, is that’s a priority, is iffy at best.

There are plenty of very good thin, powerful Windows laptops out there. If you need a new PC, buy one of those, not a Copilot+ PC. Even if you’re looking for true AI power, you’d do better to wait.

Priony jsou tak zvláštní, že někteří vědci uvažovali o jejich mimozemském původu • Prionové choroby postihují lidi i zvířata a lidé se jimi mohou od zvířat nakazit • Nový typ molekulárního nástroje označovaný jako CHARM slibuje účinnou prevenci i léčbu

Excel’s Ribbon is great for finding everything you might ever want to do in a spreadsheet, particularly things you don’t do frequently, like managing and querying data connections or automatically grabbing geographic statistics from the internet and inserting them into cells.

But if you’re looking to do things fast, you’ll find keyboard shortcuts far more useful. Why bother to lift your hands from the keyboard if you want to open or close a file, apply formatting to cells, navigate through workbooks, undo and redo actions, calculate all worksheets in all open workbooks, and more? With keyboard shortcuts you won’t have to.

There are keyboard shortcuts to accomplish a vast array of tasks in the Excel desktop client, in both the Windows and Mac versions. (Fewer shortcuts are available for the Mac, but you can create your own custom keyboard shortcuts if you like.)

We’ve listed the shortcuts we’ve found the most useful below. Most work whether you’re using a subscription (Microsoft 365/Office 365) or non-subscription version of Excel. For even more shortcuts, see Microsoft’s Office site.

Useful Excel keyboard shortcuts

Note: On Macs, the ⌘ key is the same as the Command or Cmd key. Also note that with many Mac keyboards, you must press the Fn key in addition to a function key.

General shortcuts ActionWindows key combinationMac key combinationCreate a new workbookCtrl-N⌘-NOpen a workbookCtrl-O⌘-OSave a workbookCtrl-S⌘-SClose a workbookCtrl-W⌘-WPrint a workbookCtrl-P⌘-PInsert a new worksheet (tab)Alt-Shift-F1Shift-Fn-F11Display the Find dialog boxCtrl-FControl-FDisplay the Go To dialog boxF5Fn-F5Undo the last actionCtrl-Z⌘-Z or Control-ZRedo the last actionCtrl-Y⌘-Y or Control-YInsert or edit a cell commentShift-F2⌘-Shift-Fn-F2Select all cells that contain commentsCtrl-Shift-O Spell-check the active worksheet or selected rangeF7Fn-F7 Worksheet navigation ActionWindows key combinationMac key combinationMove one screen up / downPgUp / PgDnPage Up / Page Down or
Fn-up arrow / Fn-down arrowMove one screen to the left / rightAlt-PgUp / Alt-PgDnOption-Page Up /
Option-Page Down or
Fn-Option-up arrow /
Fn-Option-down arrowMove one worksheet tab to the left / rightCtrl-PgUp / Ctrl-PgDnControl-Page Down /
Control-Page Up or
Option-right arrow
/ Option-Left arrowMove one cell up / downup arrow / down arrowup arrow / down arrowMove to the next cell to the rightTabright arrowMove to the cell to the leftShift-Tableft arrowMove to the beginning of a rowHomeHome or Fn-left arrowMove to the beginning of a worksheetCtrl-HomeControl-Home or
Control-Fn-Left arrowMove to the last cell that has content in itCtrl-EndControl-End or
Control-Fn-right arrowMove to the word to the left while in a cellCtrl-left arrow⌘-left arrowMove to the word to the right while in a cellCtrl-right arrow⌘-right arrowDisplay the Go To dialog boxCtrl-G or F5Ctrl-G or Fn-F5Switch between the worksheet, the Ribbon,
the task pane, and Zoom controlsF6Fn-F6If more than one worksheet is open,
switch to the next oneCtrl-F6⌘-~ Working with data ActionWindows key combinationMac key combinationSelect a rowShift-SpacebarShift-SpacebarSelect a columnCtrl-SpacebarControl-SpacebarSelect an entire worksheetCtrl-A or
Ctrl-Shift-Spacebar⌘-AExtend selection by a single cellShift-arrow keyShift-arrow keyExtend selection down / up one screenShift-PgDn / Shift-PgUpShift-PgDn /
Shift-PgUp or
Shift-Fn-down arrow /
Shift-Fn-up arrowExtend selection to the beginning of a rowShift-HomeShift-Home or
Shift-Fn-left arrowExtend selection to the beginning of the
worksheetCtrl-Shift-HomeControl-Shift-Home or
Control-Shift-Fn-left arrowHide selected rowsCtrl-9⌘-9 or Control-9Unhide hidden rows in a selectionCtrl-Shift-(⌘-Shift-( or Control-Shift-(Hide selected columnsCtrl-0⌘-0 or Control-0Unhide hidden columns in a selectionCtrl-Shift-)⌘-Shift-) or Control-Shift-)Copy cell’s contents to the clipboardCtrl-C⌘-C or Control-CCopy and delete cell’s contentsCtrl-X⌘-X or Control-XPaste from the clipboard into a cellCtrl-V⌘-V or Control-VDisplay the Paste Special dialog boxCtrl-Alt-V⌘-Option-V or
Control-Option-VFinish entering data in a cell and
move to the next cell down / upEnter / Shift-EnterEnter / Shift-EnterCancel your entry in a cellEscEscUse Flash Fill to fill the current column based on adjacent columnsCtrl-EControl-EInsert the current dateCtrl-;Control-;Insert the current timeCtrl-Shift-;⌘-;Display the Create Table dialog boxCtrl-T or Ctrl-LControl-TWhen in the formula bar, move
the cursor to the end of the textCtrl-End⌘-End or
⌘-Fn-right arrowWhen in the formula bar, select all
text from the cursor to the endCtrl-Shift-End⌘-Shift-End or
⌘-Shift-Fn-right arrowDisplay Quick Analysis options
for selected cells that contain dataCtrl-Q Create, run, edit, or delete a macroAlt-F8Option-Fn-F8 Formatting cells and data ActionWindows key combinationMac key combinationDisplay the Format Cells dialog boxCtrl-1⌘-1 or Control-1Display the Style dialog box (Windows) /
Modify Cell Style dialog box (Mac)Alt-‘Option-‘Apply a border to a cell or selectionCtrl-Shift-&⌘-Option-0Remove a border from a cell or selectionCtrl-Shift-_ (underscore)⌘-Option– (hyphen)Apply the Currency format with
two decimal placesCtrl-Shift-$Control-Shift-$Apply the Number formatCtrl-Shift-~Control-Shift-~Apply the Percentage format with
no decimal placesCtrl-Shift-%Control-Shift-%Apply the Date format using day,
month, and yearCtrl-Shift-#Control-Shift-#Apply the Time format using the
12-hour clockCtrl-Shift-@Control-Shift-@Insert a hyperlinkCtrl-K⌘-K or Control-K Working with formulas and functions ActionWindows key combinationMac key combinationBegin a formula==Insert a functionShift-F3Shift-Fn-F3Insert an AutoSum functionAlt-=⌘-Shift-TAccept / insert function with AutoCompleteTabTab-down arrowCancel an entry in the cell or formula barEscEscEdit active cell, put insertion point at endF2Control-UToggle between displaying formulas
and cell valuesCtrl-`Control-`Cycle formula references among
absolute, relative, and mixedF4⌘-T or Fn-F4Copy and paste the formula
from the cell above into the
current oneCtrl-‘Control-Shift-“Calculate the current worksheetShift-F9Shift-Fn-F9Calculate all worksheets in all
workbooks that are openF9Fn-F9Expand or collapse the formula barCtrl-Shift-UControl-Shift-U Ribbon navigation

Excel for Mac does not have keyboard shortcuts for the Ribbon.

ActionWindows key combinationDisplay Ribbon shortcutsAltGo to the File tabAlt-FGo to the Home tabAlt-HGo to the Insert tabAlt-NGo to the Page Layout tabAlt-PGo to the Formulas tabAlt-MGo to the Data tabAlt-AGo to the Review tabAlt-RGo to the View tabAlt-WPut cursor in the Tell Me or Search boxAlt-QGo to the Chart Design tab when cursor is on a chartAlt-JCGo to the Format tab when cursor is on a chartAlt-JAGo to the Table Design tab when cursor is on a tableAlt-JTGo to the Picture Format tab when cursor is on an imageAlt-JPGo to the Draw tab (if available)Alt-JIGo to the Power Pivot tab (if available)Alt-B Source: Microsoft

Looking for more help with Excel for Windows? If you have an Office subscription, see “Excel for Office 365/Microsoft 365 cheat sheet.” If you have a non-subscription version of Office, see “Excel 2016 and 2019 cheat sheet.” We’ve also got cheat sheets for an array of other Microsoft products, including older versions of Office.

Related:

• Handy Word keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac
• Handy PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac
• Handy Outlook keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac

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Henry Grabar has had enough battling knotweed. All he wanted was to build a small garden in Brooklyn—a bit of peace amid the cacophony of city life. But a plant with beet-red leaves soon took over his nascent garden. The fastest growing plant he’d ever seen, it could sprout up to 10 feet high and grow thick as a cornfield. Even with herbicide, it was nearly impossible to kill.

Invasive plant species and weeds don’t just ruin backyard gardens. Weeds decrease crop yields at an average annual cost of $33 billion, and control measures can rack up $6 billion more. Herbicides are a defense, but they have their own baggage. Weeds rapidly build resistance against the chemicals, and the resulting produce can be a hard sell for many consumers.

Weeds often seem to have the upper hand. Can we take it away?

Two recent studies say yes. Using a technology called a synthetic gene drive, the teams spliced genetic snippets into a mustard plant popular in lab studies. Previously validated in fruit flies, mosquitoes, and mice, gene drives break the rules of inheritance, allowing “selfish” genes to rapidly spread across entire species.

But making gene drives work in plants has been a headache, in part due to the way they repair their DNA. The new studies found a clever workaround, leading to roughly 99 percent propagation of a synthetic genetic payload to subsequent generations, in contrast to nature’s 50 percent. Computer models suggest the gene drives could spread throughout an entire population of the plant in roughly 10 to 30 generations.

Overriding natural evolution, gene drives could add genes that make weeds more vulnerable to herbicides or reduce their pollination and numbers. Beneficial genes can also spread across crops—essentially fast-tracking the practice of cross-breeding for desirable traits.

“Imagine a future where yield-robbing agricultural weeds or biodiversity threatening invasive plants could be kept on a genetic leash,” wrote Paul Neve at the University of Copenhagen and Luke Barrett at CSIRO Agriculture and Food in Australia, who were not involved in the study.

50/50

Inheritance is a coin toss for most species. Half of an offspring’s genetic material comes from each parent.

Gene drives torpedo this inheritance rule. Developed roughly a decade ago, the technology relies on CRISPR—the gene editing tool—to spread a new gene throughout a population, beating the 50/50 odds. In insects and mammals, a gene can propagate at roughly 80 percent, shuttling an inherited trait down generations and irreversibly changing an entire species.

While this may seem somewhat nefarious, gene drives are designed for good. A main use under investigation is to control disease-carrying mosquitoes by genetically modifying males to be sterile. Upon release, they outcompete their natural counterparts, reducing wild mosquito numbers, and in turn, lowering the risk of multiple diseases. In indoor cages, gene drives have fully suppressed a population of the insects within a year. Small-scale field tests are underway.

Gene drives have caught the eyes of plant scientists too, but initial efforts in plants failed.

The technology relies on CRISPR, which cuts DNA to insert, delete, or swap out genetic letters. Sensing damage to their DNA, cells activate internal molecular “repairmen” to stitch genes back together and adopt gene drives and their genetic cargo.

Plants are different. Their cells also have a DNA repair mechanism, but it’s only partially similar to that of insects or mice. Sticking a classic gene drive into plants can cause genetic mutations at the target site and even trigger resistance against the gene drive in a kind of a cellular civil war.

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger

As a workaround, both new studies used a system dubbed “toxin-antidote.” Compared to previous gene drives, it doesn’t rely on canonical DNA repair.

The teams used a self-pollinating mustard plant for their studies. A darling in plant science research, its genome is well-known, and because the plant self-pollinates, it’s easier to contain the experiment. To build the gene drive, they developed a CRISPR-based method to destroy a gene that’s critical for survival called the “torpedo.” Any pollen without the gene can’t live on. A second construct, the “antidote,” carried a mimic of the same gene, but with modifications so that it’s resistant to destruction by CRISPR.

They examined two different genetic payloads. One study tinkered with a gene that’s essential to both male and female reproductive cells in plants. The other targeted a gene that disrupts pollen production.

Here’s the clever part: As the plant pollinates, offspring can inherit either the toxin, the antidote, or both. Only those with the antidote survive—plants that inherit the toxin rapidly die out. As a result, the system worked as a gene drive, with plants carrying the CRISPR-resistant gene taking over the population. The gene drives were highly efficient, passing down through generations roughly 99 percent of the time. And scientists didn’t see any signs of evolutionary adaptation—known as resistance—against the new genetic makeup.

Computer modeling showed the gene drive could overtake a single plant species in 10 to 30 generations. That’s impressive, according Neve and Barrett. Artificial genetic changes don’t often stick in wild plants—the plants tend to die off. The new gene drives suggest they could potentially last longer in the field, battling invasive species or cultivating hardier and pest-resistant crops that pass down beneficial traits over generations.

Despite their promise, gene drives remain controversial because of their potential to alter entire species. Scientists are still debating the ecological impacts. There’s also the concern that gene drives may hop over to unintended targets. For now, studies have designed genetic “brakes” to keep gene drives in check. Most studies are done in carefully controlled lab settings, and for malaria, potential unexpected consequences are being rigorously discussed before releasing gene drive-carrying mosquitos into the wild.

Even if the science works, the road to regulatory and societal approval may face roadblocks. Selling farmers on the technology may be difficult. And CRISPRed plants as a food source could also be tainted by the negative perception of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

For now, the teams are looking towards a more acceptable everyday use—killing weeds. There are still a few kinks to work out. Gene drives only work when they can spread, so an ideal use is in plants that pollinate others, rather than those that self-pollinate, such as those in the studies. Still, the results are a proof of concept that the powerful technology can work in plants—though it may be awhile yet before it helps Henry with his knotweed problem.

Image Credit: Anthony Wade / Unsplash

Nedostanete ani příplatek, ani náhradní volno. Zákoník práce umožňuje, abyste pro zaměstnavatele pracovali přesčas, takže navíc nad rámec sjednané pracovní doby, ale bez jakýchkoliv výhod oproti běžné mzdě. Kdy je to možné? Jaká jsou pro to pravidla?