The new Surface IT Toolkit which was officially released on April 25th 2024, promises to be a significant tool to help IT managing and optimise their coporate fleet of Surface devices.
We are excited to announce the Surface IT Toolkit, a modern desktop application that compiles essential commercial tools and streamlines the Surface device management experience for IT admins – all in a single application.
Microsoft.
Replacing an older mixture of admin tools, the refresh and centralising of these essential tools into a one application should simplify the deployment and management process, addressing the common challenge of using disparate tools across various locations and versions. This should greatly enhance efficiency and ease of use for IT admins.
What is in the Surface IT Toolkit?
The Surface Tool kit contains a number of new and updated apps. These are:
Data Eraser – Which is a NIST [Special Publication 800-88 Revision 1 NVM Express] compliant data erasure tool that also includes the ability to create certificates of sanitization for compliance and auditing. This is beneficial when repurposing, recycling, or retiring a device to guarantee that no sensitive data is left on it.
UEFI Configurator – enables IT to implement Surface Enterprise Management Mode (SEMM) UEFI configurations on Surface devices and peripherals such as Surface docks and other accessories. The UEFI configurator allows IT to efficiently and consistently manage and disable components at the firmware level. This enhances security and compliance by safeguarding against unauthorized modifications to device settings. For example it could be used to prevent the camera being used to comply with privacy in schools, or block USB ports being used to connect to external disks for data compliance.
Recovery Tool – This feature enables a full device reset, reverting it to its factory state for troubleshooting and re-building purposes. It also manages previously downloaded factory images for reuse, helping to resolve common issues and restore the device’s original performance. The latest update provides a new guided process and no longer requires the serial number to be entered. It also includes ability to build from new or build from an existing image.
Tool Library – The updated Tool Library houses the most recent versions of supplementary tools and installers for deployment to end users, offering IT descriptions of their functions and links to the most up-to-date documentation. This tools here include the Surface Asset Tag Tool, Surface Diagnostic Toolkit for Business, Surface Brightness Control Tool, among others.
Video: Install and using the Surface IT Toolkit
Here’s little video that shows the relevant webpages, installing the toolkit and first run experience and tools available.
Usng the Surface Tool Kit.
For more information from Microsoft on this – use the following link
How do I get the Surface IT Toolkit?
You can grab the IT Toolkit from Microsoft > here <.
Cisco has introduced a new product called Hypershield, which they claim is one of the most significant security products in Cisco’s history. It is expected to be generally available starting from July 2024.
What is Hyper Shield?
Hypershield is a cloud-native, AI-powered system designed to enhance the security of AI-scale data centers. Unlike traditional security products, hyper shield is integrated directly into the network’s fabric, offering a revolutionary approach to protecting digital infrastructure services in data centres, protecting applications, devices, and data across public and private data centers, clouds, and physical locations.
This is the Most Consequential security announcement In Cisco’s 40-Year History
Cisco.
The holistic system promises to bring the security advantages of a hyperscale model to enterprises, allowing security to be embedded in every software component of every application running on the network, on every server, and in both public and private cloud deployments.
How Hyper Shield is different.
Hypershield is different to traditional security “bolt ons” because it not just a new security product or the next version of something that already exists. What makes this different and unique, is that Hyper Shield represents a brand-new security architecture model built from the ground. It uses an open-source technology called eBPF that hyperscalers use to automate patching and other time-consuming jobs. It has the ability to transform every network port into a high-performance security enforcement point and works by blocks application exploits in minutes while preventing lateral movement of attacks.
Innovation from within
I think Hypershield is exciting because it represents a significant shift in how security is approached within the data centre fabric.
“Why we think this is the most consequential is we’re taking what used to be a firewall, an appliance, and we’re like melting into the network. It’s not a separate thing that you add on. It’s like magic. It writes its own rules, it tests its own rules, it qualifies its own rules, deploys its own rules, and then overnight it upgrades itself”
Tom Gillis | VP Security | Cisco
It is built with technology originally developed for hyperscale public clouds Cisco are making this technology available for enterprise IT teams of all sizes regardless of how big their data centre foot print is. It works by enabling security enforcement to be placed everywhere it needs to be, at the application and data layer, which is a major shift and change in how traditional data centre security works. Cisco say that it’s expected to have a significant impact on how businesses protect their digital assets.
With this innovation … we have actually been able to deliver something that’s unlike anything we’ve done in the last 40 years at Cisco. And I will say that we’re just getting started.
Jeetu Patel | Cisco’s EVP
Rather than relying on traditional network and application level firewalls in the datacentre, Hypershield works by essentially providing security boundaries around every application and service. It naturally uses artificial intelligence to learn and adapt, so it gets better at detecting and understand normal activity from attack attempts.
The goal of this blog post is to provide some field experience tips and coaching to help you get the best out of using Copilot in Word. For this you need to have either a Copilot Pro license or a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license and be signed into Word (or Word Online).
In this example, our Goal is to take a Marketing Analysis document we have been sent, and to draw out key information we can use in a “sales meeting” that we have coming up. The document contains lots of information relevant to different parts of the business.
I have provided a link to the document I used (courtesty of Microsoft) so you can either follow along or reference the videos included in this post. Welcome your comments – so please let me know how you get on.
Scenario: Using Copilot to pull key info from a Marketing Report
Instructions:
To work on this example with me, speak to your marketing team and obtain a Market Analysis Report for other similar document. For this example, I am using a public sample document Microsoft have shared called “Mystic Spice Premium Chai Tea.docx” which you can access here. The password for the link is “Copilot”. Once you have done that, save the file to your OneDrive so you can use it to test out and experiment with these prompts.
Open the document you obtained (or use my link above) in Word and then
Open the Copilot pane by selecting the Copilot icon in the top right of the “ribbon”
Enter the prompts below and follow along.
The Starting Prompt
Enter the Starting prompt “Summarise this Word Document” or click the suggested prompt to do the same thing…
In this simple prompt, we have started with what I call the “Alexa Prompt” – we are asking a simple question with a basic goal “to summarise the Word document”.
Using a standard/simple Copilot prompt to Summarise a Doc in Word.
This has done we asked but since we gave no context or information about what we wanted and why we needed it, Copilot has just read throught the document a pilled out key bits of information from each section.
The “better” prompt
To improve on this, we are going to repeat the prompt, but this time, we will add some more context to help Copilot understand the purpose of the summary and tailor the response for us accordingly.
Write a new prompt: “Summarise this document and create a brief overview of the main points to discuss with my team during the tomorrow’s Sales meeting“.
Here we are giving Copilot some more context specific about what information we want. It now knows why we need the information (for a sales meeting) and it knows to keep the ouput brief.
Using a more specific Copilot prompt to Summarise a Doc in Word.
If you run the prompt yourself (or check the video above) you will see that this time Copilot has pulled out specific around Market Trends and Demand inluding stats around CAGR. It has told us about the key competitiors, distribution and sales channels and also Sales Strategy, Outcomes and the Challenges in selling.
The Super Prompt
For the final prompt (I call it the “super prompt”), we are going to be even more specific with the ask to get just the information we need.
Use this prompt “Summarise this word document but focus on the Competitive Analysis section only. Provide a brief overview of the main points to discuss with my team during the tomorrow’s Sales meeting. Please keep the summary to 5 key points and use simple language.”
If you compare the output of this prompt to the previous ones, you will see that since we have been specific about where we want Copilot to focus, the response we get is specific to what we have asked. It’s still a summary, but it is focussed on the just the Competitor Analysis section and we have kept the response concise and in simple language. It knows to keep this simple and make it relevant to sales…
Follow along – or check out the video below where I run the prompt.
Our “Crafted” Super-Prompt in Copilot in Word
So there you go – we have started with a simple prompt and I have hopefully shown you that by thinking about what and why we want the information and also the audience the response is indended for, Copilot can produce information just the way we need it.
Summary and Lesson
So, I am pretty happy with that result. To recap – here is what we did to perfect our prompt…
We started with our Goal (which was to summarise the document)
Added some Context (that we want the information for a sales meeting)
Specified the Source of the information (we asked to focus on competitive analysis), and
Set clear Expectations, (we asked for five key points using simple language).
Our Final Prompt:
"Summarise this word document but focus on the Competitive Analysis section only. Provide a brief overview of the main points to discuss with my team during the tomorrow's Sales meeting. Please keep the summary to 5 key points and use simple language".
This prompt has all the details it needs to give us the results we need. It has a Goal, Context, Source, and Expectations.
With the $28B aquisition now complete between Cisco and Splunk, both vendors will soon be in heavy marketing mode as they position their new combined offerings (under Cisco) to “unify the full power of network and endpoint data with leading Security and Observability solutions, all underpinned by our highly scalable, AI-powered data platform“.
The combination of Cisco and Splunk will provide truly comprehensive visibility and insights across an organization’s entire digital footprint, delivering an unprecedented level of resilience through the most extensive and powerful security and observability product portfolio on the market.
Gary Steele| VP Splunk.
So what does that mean?
Unification and Choice
According to the new Splunk website and publicly facing collateral, the combining of forces is destined to offer the following value and connected experiences to their combined customer base.
Power the SOC of the Future, by
improving the efficacy, efficiency, and economics of defending organisations and service providers against modern security threats, offering what they claim will be the “most comprehensive security solutions for threat prevention, detection, investigation and response.”
Continuing to deliver Splunk’s existing security and monitoring platforms, while adding Splunk technology to Cisco’s existing portfolio with enhanced network, endpoint and cloud data for” unparalleled insights and faster remediation“.
Enhancing Cisco’s security offerings across the board to help organisations secure users, protect infrastructure, and improve prevention, detection and remediation with Cisco’s User Protection, Breach Protection, and Cloud Protection suites which is fed from Cisco’s Talos data intelligence platform.
Enrich Observability across all and any environment by:
Offering a comprehensive full-stack observability solution, enhancing customers’ ability to deliver seamless digital experiences and prevent downtime across any environment, combining and joining Cisco Thousand Eyes and App Dymanics with Splunk’s portfolio of products.
Continue to offer choice to customers, by offering unified solutions as well as the individual Cisco and Splunk whilst providing unified management and insights.
Create a world leading observability platform through the Integration of the best of Cisco and Splunk technology leading to an holistic ability ability to detect and remediate incidents, empowering IT Teams to focus on enablement, security and digital transformation rather than troubleshooting performance and issues.
What about AI?
Yes… Cisco and Splunk also talk alot about AI empowerment and execution. After all, AI workloads are intense, drive traffic into different places and have a profound impact on how people use and access data and applications.
Aimed more at organisations who build and operate on their own data, rather than consume SaaS, the fuel of AI and its ability to provide information and serve requests is reliant on fast and secure access to models trained on huge volumes of the data.
Cisco beleive that their combined forces will bring an unmatched breadth of data through allowing organisations to build, scale and tune, highly scalable data platforms while ensuring performace and security at scale.
The competition?
The race to empower and secure both traditional and AI powered workloads continues up pace. Cisco have a great history of building arguably the best networking technologies in the world, have one of best SaaS performance monitoring platforms and now with the added arsenal of products from Splunk, puts them in a great position to win over customers, partners and MSPs with a unified offering.
Cisco have struggled to win hearts and minds with security for years but this combining of forces gives them an ACE card to play. Whether they will get this right (from a hearts and minds, price and integration) is yet to be seen, but Cisco have a great track record of integrating technologies from vendors their aquire.
More information
More information around the combined entity of Cisco and Splunk are coming in fast and late last week, Cisco ran a customer and partner briefing which is now available on demand here.
Starting later this month (April 2024) , Microsoft will rollout an configuration setting called Restricted SharePoint Search (RSS) that will allow Global/Tenant and SharePoint Admins to disable organisation-wide search and instead select a set of curated/specific SharePoint sites.
“YES YOU CAN”
This feature will work by allowing admins disable organisation-wide search, and instead to enable/restrict both specific sites impacting the scope of what Enterprise Search and Copilot can seek out and index when using search or Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365.
With this configuration in place, only these specific libraries along with the users’ OneDrive files and content, will be accessible in search and within the Copilot experiences.
This means that whether your organisation has Enterprise Search or Restricted SharePoint Search enabled, users in your organisation will still be able to interact with their OneDrive information in Copilot but there will be more control over excluding old/legacy or restricted SharePoint areas.
Why do we need to Restrict Search?
Is this not against the pricipals of Copilot and Microsoft Search?
Well.. Kinda. Restricted SharePoint Search has been provided to give organisations time to review and audit their data and SharePoint site permissions. Microsoft say that…
“It is designed to help you maintain momentum with your Copilot deployment while you implement robust data security solutions from Microsoft Purview and manage content lifecycle with SharePoint Advanced Management. Combined, these two solutions offer a complete solution for data discovery, protection, and governance. “
Restricted SharePoint Search capability
Once Enterprise Search is disabled, Admins are the able be to tune which content will be indexed for search from an allowed list of up to 100 SharePoint sites. This will honor sites’ existing permissions.
Once configured, content from these areas will be searchable and accessible by Copilot as well as…
Content stored in the the curated list of SharePoint sites as specific by the admin.
Other frequently accessed SharePoint sites that the user accesses.
Content from users OneDrive, Teams chat, email, calendars.
Files directly shared with the user.
Copilot users in your organisation will see this message in their Copilot experiences.
“Your organization’s admin has restricted Copilot from accessing certain SharePoint sites. This limits the content Copilot can search and reference when responding to your prompts“
For more information and rollout timeline check out Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: MC726119
Does this mean Copilot can’t access files outside of the search scope?
No… Users can still directly reference a file in Copilot and access the file via manual search or navigation. This is because, restrictive search does not alter the permissions for user access, it just instead, is designed to help minimise the risk of overexposure of overshared content by reducing what they can discover in search and Copilot.
With Restricted Search configured, search results and Copilot search results will be limited but users will still able to navigate (as before) or directly link to a file to open or to “use Copilot” with.
Configuring Restricted Search
Restricted SharePoint Search is off by default.
Whilst this will be coming to the SharePoint admin pages soon… It will, at release be configurable via Power Shell only and will of course require admin privileges.
There is also an ‘allow’ limit of just 100 sites initially though I hear this will soon be expanded following early feedback from customer… Phew!
Microsoft has announced plans for a new artificial intelligence (AI) hub in London, which will be focused on leading edge product development and research. This will be led Microsoft AI Lead Mustafa Suleyman (confounder of DeepMind) who Microsoft hired last month.
This annoucement comes less than a month since Microsoft unveiled a new consumer AI division.
There is an enormous pool of AI talent and expertise in the UK, and Microsoft AI plans to make a significant, long-term investment in the region. (London).
Mustafa Suleyman
This is great for the UK and for London and will help both Microsoft and the UK become an AI and technology superpower leveraging the hub of tech talent, access to leading and world class universities and research centres with ability to attract the best talent for the next generation of development of AI.
Microsofts AI Future in the UK
This announcement builds on Microsoft’s recent commitment to invest 2.5 Billion into data centre infrastructure and improving AI skills across the UK.
Microsoft’s AI investment in the UK includes building a major new data centre in West London and installing 20,000 high-powered processors in the UK by 2026.
Microsoft’s new UK hub will be run by Jordan Hoffmann, (another former employee from DeepMind) and will collaborate closely with OpenAI which powers Microsoft’s AI driven Copilot System framework.
Microsoft is separating Teams from Office 365 globally after agreeing to split this in EMEA to after EU competition regulators started to investigate Microsoft’s market share growth (since teams was bundled with Office 365), following a complaint from one of their rivals – Slack in 2020.
Microsoft said that the unified move to make the change global will “ensure clarity for customers“.
This will impact all new customers and give existing customers the option to split Teams or keep it in their subscription should they wish!
When does this change take effect?
This change came into affect (1st April) and affects how new customers buy Microsoft 365/Office 365 and Teams moving forwards for net new customers. In short, this means that net new M365 or O365 subscriptions will no longer include Teams and this application will need to be added on separately. The new skus are being created as we speak and will be available shortly.
Note: I have been told that while this was announced from 1st April, the hard stop will be actually be 30th June which is end of Microsoft FY24 Fiscal.
Why are Microsoft making this change?
Microsoft have issued a full brief on this which you can access here, but in short, they have said the following:
"Last year Microsoft updated the way Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Teams were licensed in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland in response to concerns raised with the European Commission. Now we're announcing our plan to extend that approach worldwide as globally consistent licensing reduces customer confusion and streamlines decision making.
...Microsoft is introducing a new lineup of commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites that don't include Teams in regions outside the EEA and Switzerland, and a new standalone Teams offering for Enterprise customers in those regions.
We're also ending the sale of net-new subscriptions to existing Microsoft 365 E3/E5 and Office 365 E1/E3/E5 Enterprise SKUs with Teams across all channels: volume licensing (VL), Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), and Web Direct. All new Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Enterprise customers in regions outside the EEA and Switzerland will need to choose from new offers for that region. Existing customers in these regions who wish to continue using suites to which they have already subscribed can do so (including renewal, upsell, and license adds.
What about existing customers?
Microsoft have said they are stopping the new sale of subscriptions to existing Microsoft 365 E3/E5 and Office 365 E1/E3/E5 Enterprise SKUs with Teams across all channels: volume licensing (VL), Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), and Web Direct.
This means that all new Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Enterprise customers in regions outside the EEA and Switzerland will need to choose from new offers for that region.
Existing customers in these regions who wish to continue using suites to which they have already subscribed can do so (including renewal, upsell, and license adds).
How will prices be affected?
Microsoft will be publishing updated SKUs and pricing in the coming few days which you’ll be able to get from you Microsoft licensing partner.
There will also be a net price increase in pricing as a result for new customers (I see this as a stealth tax) due to the separation, but for existing customers (renewing) there is no price change.
Pricing example..
Microsoft 365 E3 (with Teams): £33.10 RRP
Microsoft 365 E3 + Teams Enterprise: £31.10 + 4.30 = £35.30
So here you can see an increase of £2.20pupm, which is circa £26k (RRP) for a 1,000 seat organisation.
The new buzz in the world of PCs is all about the “AI PC”. This term is the latest messaging being banded around from PC/Laptop manufacturers with a view to ensure that people, families and organisations are taking this next generation of PC into account when planning their legacy hardware upgrades over the next 12-18 months.
AI analytics and modeling require vast amounts of data, which are best suited for cloud, but performing some workloads at the device level delivers more efficient processing, or inferencing, by being offloaded to the device. These efficiencies could be applied to:
Visual inferencing: AI applied directly to the camera feed
Audio inferencing: AI applied to audio inputs
Live transcription: AI applied to language processing
New AI-PCs are being designed and built with specialised processors (NPUs) to support executing those models, and more, locally, in real time.
You don’t need to look very far to see the phrase “AI PC” everywhere both from Intel and leading device manufacturers including Microsoft, but what is the tech behind the latest tech phrase?
Note: AI is the capability of a computer program or a machine to "think, learn, and take actions without being explicitly encoded with commands".
So what is an AI PC?
In short an AI-PC needs to have these three key components:
An Chipset with a new NPU, CPU and GPU built-in
Windows 11 and Copilot in Windows
A Copilot Key (technically).
Of course CPUs and GPUs have been around for a long time, but it is the NPU (Neural Processing Unit) that is new in PCs and it is this that is the key part of an AI-PC. The NPU (or AI-Boost as Intel calls it) is designed to process AI workloads locally rather than in the cloud which brings many improvements for the user, including processor efficiency, improved battery life and increased security.
The NPU is a dedicated microprocessor designed to efficiently handle AI-specific tasks, such as executing predictive models, processing machine learning algorithms, or powering generative AI applications.
Surface AI-PC – Available on Surface Pro 9, 10 and Surface Laptop 6
The Intel Core Ultra processors featured in AI-PCs like Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 provide a holistic approach to running AI workloads on PC. These different processors offer programming versatility to developers that maximise the three type of microprocessors – CPU, GPU, and their new, integrated NPU. With an AI-PC, each microprocessor (compute engine) has its own specialisation, but in the context of AI on Cloud PCs mean they work together when using AI workloads with:
The CPU being ideal for general and traditional compute workload as well as light-weight, single inference AI tasks. Think “accelerating cloud-delivered AI” while minimising impact on overall system performance.
The GPU being ideal for AI infused into media and 3D rendering apps and tasks. Users can perform data visualisation tasks, create and manipulate 3D images, or generate elaborate reports, enabling your team to efficiently tackle complex data workloads.
The new AI-Boosting NPU which is designed specifically for sustained and efficient offloading of AI models such as Windows Studio Effects.
What are the benefits of an AI-PC?
In short – performance, battery life and enabling new AI-Powered experiences.
Windows and many other apps have AI features within their applications sets, but put simply with AI-PCs these AI features and tools will work much quicker and will unlock additional NPU-Specific features.
The NPU is a dedicated microprocessor designed to efficiently handle AI-specific tasks, such as executing predictive models, processing machine learning algorithms, or powering generative AI applications. The image below shows the difference between a video app’s back-ground blur using a CPU vs an NPU. The device on the right is a Surafce Pro 9 with dedicated NPU and it is easy to see how much better the AI effect is when it is processing the AI workload locally.
Image showing the difference between a video app’s background blur on a CPU vs. an NPU.
The key thing about the AI-PC is the impact on the CPU processing AI workloads when there is an NPU present. With AI features like voice and video effects in Windows and the wealth of AI features in apps like Adobe, CPU workload is dramatically reduced as the NPU does the AI grunt work (and is far more efficient at running them) This leads to a more efficient device, increased battery life and a more responsive OS and applications for users. The image below illustrates the impact savings running smilar tasks on a PC vs an “AI-PC”.
Image (c) Microsoft – March 2024
AI-PCs will empwer and improve many experiences – as compute for AI workloads moves to more local-mode and hybrid-mode processing. This goes beyond just video effects and speech and will include things like object detection “seeing AI”, gesture tracing, security and many more.
Intel claim that “AI PCs with an Intel Core Ultra processor are able to edit videos more than 230% faster and perform AI image editing tasks 52% faster.
AI PCs are also set to be defined by how they align with Microsoft’s Windows operating system as well. One of the most consumer-facing AI products right now is Microsoft Copilot, which is slowly rolling out to Windows 11 devices and we’re set to see a dedicated Copilot key on some laptops in the future too. Over time this will also take advantage of local AI-processing with AI-PCs
Note: Today, Copilot operates in the cloud and thus does not utilize a computer’s onboard NPU. However, this is expected to change, as Microsoft has announced plans for new system architectures that will enhance Windows AI experiences by integrating the GPU, CPU, NPU, and the cloud.
Will the birth of the AI-PC reboot the PC market?
I think the AI PC will be the PC of the next decade.
The PC market has been in decline for several years, but IDC predict that 2024 is estimated to see a 3.7 percent year-over-year increase in shipments, ending the decline the market has seen since the highs of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are seeing Microsoft, Dell, HP and Lenovo, jumping on AI PCs and with the next two years likely to be the time that more organisations really start to experiment and test AI within their organisations, the rise of the AI-PC is set (according to IDC) to kickstart the PC business again.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 (released at tail end of 2023) is the latest addition to the Surface Go family, along with its sibling the Surface Go 4 (2-in-1). This gorgeous, light weight device is a testament to Microsoft’s commitment to delivering high-quality, agile, and aesthetically pleasing devices that offer great value for money.
Quality and Looks
Available in a wide choice of colours, Surface Laptop Go 3 sports a sleek and compact design that is both light weight, sturdy yet still premium. It features a premium aluminum chassis on the lid and keyboard deck, giving it a high-end look and feel, along with reposing touch screen (but no pen support), Secure Core Architecture and Windows Hello sign in via Fingerprint Reader. It is worth nothing that the Surface Laptop Go 3 is the only device in the Surface Family that lacks pen support and Windows Hello face recognition sign in.
Surface Laptop Go 3 is available in 4 colours – Platinum, Ice Blue, Sage and Sandstone.
Performance and Agility
The Surface Laptop Go 3 is equipped with an Intel 12th Gen processor, which provides a solid performance for everyday tasks. It’s available with up to 16GB of RAM (the model I have been using has 8GB) making it capable of handling multiple applications simultaneously without slowing down. It is a device capable of anything outside of intense gaming or complex video editing.
Despite its compact and lightweight size, Surface Laptop Go 3 doesn’t compromise on screen quality. It features a 12.4-inch touch screen with a resolution of 1536 by 1024, providing users with a bright and clear display for all their computing needs even outside.
Value for money
The Surface Laptop Go 3 brings, in my opinion, great performance and power in a sleek chassis given its price point. It it not as powerful as its bigger sibling, the Surface Laptop, but at price of around $799 you get a premium device, which is repairable, sustainable, great looking, lightweight, and practical for almost any task (work, school, or home).
Comparisons with Similar devices
When compared to similar devices, the Surface Laptop Go 3 holds its own in terms for premium feel and weight, though the slight price increase over the previous generation, and competitive nature of this market, does finds itself up against some very serious competition including last year’s Surface Laptop Go 2 and the Surface Go 3, which features a smaller chassis and a lower price point.
Using it on the Go
Using Surface Laptop Go 3 is great when on the move. The “almost” full size keyboard, makes it feel like you are working on a much larger device, but it is much lighter to carry around in a bag, use on the train, coffee shop or anywhere. To be honest, it’s a great device for working anywherem with more than enough horse power for work and home use.
Battery life is not as good as devices like the Surface Laptop or Surface Pro and lasted me a full 5 hours of constant use, including being on wireless, working in Outlook and PowerPoint, using Copilot and taking part in Teams Video Calls. I carry a USB charger with me for my phone and it’s great that I can also charge my Surface Laptop Go 3 with the same power-bank which easily gives me a full day’s work in the vent I cant get to a power outlet. For internet, I simply use free wi-fi where I am, or tether to my mobile which works great.
If you do need a device with 4G/5G built in, I’d suggest Surface Go or Surface Pro which provides options for eSIM or physical SIM.
Windows 365 – a great companion.
Using Surface Laptop 3 as a personal device (as I have here) with Windows 365 makes loads of sense here in this scenario, offering a seamless blend of seamless and secure connectivity to work resources without breaching corporate policy or compromising usability. Using Surface Laptop Go with my dedicated Cloud PC through Windows 365 is a game changer.
The video below shows me connecting my new personal Surface Laptop Go 3 to a monitor and keyboard and then using Windows 365 Switch to simply move to my highly available, secure, and persistent Cloud PC.
Moreover, the Single Sign-On (SSO) feature of Windows 365 adds another layer of security with convenience. With SSO, this means I simply launch the Windows App, (which then integrates with the task switcher in Windows 11. I sign-in with my company Entra ID SSO. This means I can simply sign-in to my personal device and then quickly to my company Windows 365 desktop to get access to my corporate desktop, applications, and resources and I don’t need to mix personal and work staff on the same device – meaning no annoying corporate policies on my personal device, no security / compliance risk for my company and only need to carry one device. The USB-C charging of the laptop is also great as I just plug into a monitor, use the keyboard and mouse and I’m off!
Conclusion
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is a device that offers a blend of value, quality, looks, and agility. While it faces stiff competition from similar devices, it stands out with its sleek design, solid performance, and quality build. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or a casual user, the Surface Laptop Go 3 is a definitely a device worth considering.
Following Panos Panay’s competitor move to Amazon last year, Microsoft split up the Windows and Surface management structure with Pavan Davuluri looking after the Surface division and Mikhail Parakhin leading a new team that looked after Windows and web experiences.
As of this week, these divisions have again been consolidated, like they were under Panos, with both Windows and Surface being run by Pavan Davuluri. Pavan has been with Microsoft for more than twenty-three years and was a huge driver behind the recent custom-designed Surface processors (SQ) developed in collaboration with Qualcomm.
According to a memo obtained by The Verge, Microsoft says merging the two teams will “enable us to take a holistic approach to building silicon, systems, experiences, and devices that span Windows client and cloud for this AI era.”
Pavan Davuluri – Microsoft Surface and Windows Chief 2024
Personally, I think its great to see the reunion of Windows and Surface teams under Pavan which sits within Microsoft’s Engineering and Devices organisation, headed by Rajesh Jha.
This move also comes after Microsoft’s appointment of DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman as CEO of a new dedicated AI division within Microsoft which has presumably prompted a re-evaluation of their team structures as Microsoft look forward to an FY25 fueled by new advances in Copilot, big updates in Windows and Microsoft’s new AI-PCs.
Reflection
This move is welcomed by Windows enthusiasts, as it promises increased collaboration and cohesion between Microsoft’s hardware and software endeavours and just makes sense to see development of the OS that powers Surface (and of course the other OEMs) being overseen by the same person.
Microsoft has just (21st March 2024) announced their 2024 AI-powered flagship devices – the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6. Both devices are AI-PCs, packed full of the latest AI hardware to designed to deliver the best performance of the next wave of AI powered apps such as Copilot for Windows, Copilot for Microsoft 365 and of course other AI powered applications from other software vendors such as Adobe. These new devices will yet again setting bar of how to make enterprise class devices for Business.
Video (C) Microsoft
Both the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 also come with a new Copilot key, putting Copilot front and centre and showing that Microsoft means business when it comes to AI PCs and Copilot.
These new AI-PCs are aimed at business users and not consumers……currently!
When are the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 Available?
Both the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 are available to pre-order now on Microsoft’s website. The devices will be released on April 9.
Introducing Surface Pro 10
Surface Pro 10 yet again improves on the previous version. In the case of Surface Pro 10 we see a huge improvement in power and performance boost over the previous Surface Pro 9 model thanks to the latest Intel Core Ultra processors which boost performance by 53%. As an AI-Powered PC, Surface Pro 10 also features a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) which does the core Edge processing of AI tasks, reducing load on the CPU and processing AI tasks significantly faster than a CPU does.
Surface Pro 10 | Image (c) Microsoft
The Surface Pro retains the same design and format of its predecessors, but does include a new screen which is now non-reflective and 33% brighter, making it much easier to use outside and when travelling, while also retaining the same battery life. Microsoft also provide more configuration options than ever with options for Intel Core Ultra 5 135U or Intel Core Ultra 7 165U processors and support for RAM configurations from 8GB to 64GB.
Surface Pro 10 also gets a front camera upgrade and comes with a brand new 1440p webcam with a 114-degree field of view. This, combined with the new Windows 11 Studio effects and the Core Ultra’s NPU for AI workloads enables brings new capabilities for video enabled applications and clearer images.
Surface Pro comes with Thunderbolt 4 ports as standard for connectivity and charging but still includes the staple Surface connector port for connections to Surface Docks and Surface Chargers. You also still get USB-A and microphone jack. There is no SD-CARD slot which is something I still think is a poor decision but hey – nothings perfect.
Connectivity and working from anywhere continues to be a big theme for Surface Pro, with Surface Pro 10 being the first Surface device to support 5G.
Introducing Surface Laptop 6
Available in 13.5-inch and 15-inch models, Surface Laptop 6 combines the sleekness and modern design of a premium laptop with the processing power of a desktop, supporting for the first time, Intel’s H-series processors without compromising on weight, thickness or prestige creating a power house of a laptop, second only to the Microsoft Surface Studio Laptop 2.
Surface Laptop 6 | Image (c) Microsoft
During Microsoft’s live event in the US, they showcased the Surface Laptop 6 connected to multiple 4K screens, running video calls, complex graphics apps, Visual Studio and other apps showcasing the sheer grunt work and power of the device. Leveraging options to choose the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H or Core Ultra 7 165H processors means that Surface Laptop 6 can run at twice the performance of the Laptop 5.
The Surface Laptop 6 stands out not only in performance capabilities but also in its range of specifications catering to various user needs. At its base, the device is equipped with 8GB of RAM, which is quite generous for standard tasks, yet it offers scalability up to an extraordinary 64GB of RAM for those requiring intensive computational power for tasks such as data analysis, programming, video editing, and more.
In terms of storage, this now starts at 256GB Gen4 SSD, ensuring quick boot times and efficient data retrieval. For users with higher storage demands, this can be configured all the way up to 1TB of storage capacity, allowing ample space for large files, video, multimedia libraries, and extensive software applications.
Further bolstering Microsoft’s security credentials, Surface Laptop 6 also comes with additional (optional) security features, with options to include a smart card reader (currently available solely in the US) and near-field communication (NFC) technology, which is aimed at bolstering a client’s commitment to zero-trust security principles. These features enable swift and secure sign-in and sign-out processes, particularly vital in high-risk areas where security is paramount.
Surface Laptop 6 still of course includes support for Windows Hello for Business and of course user-specific PINs, again helping to eliminate the need for cumbersome passwords. This approach to dual-factor authentication significantly heightens security, making unauthorised access exceedingly difficult.
Sustainability and Repairability
Finally, I need to mention Microsoft’s on-going commitment to sustainability and reparability. Microsoft design all their products with the circular economy in mind, with “integrity built in across the entire product lifecycle – from design and supply chain through product usage and end-of-life management”.
The new Surface devices are fashioned from recycled aluminium, which not only provides a sleek, modern aesthetic but also reduces the environmental footprint of the manufacturing process. Internally, the device now includes QR code guidance, which simplifies repair processes and effectively reduces the overall maintenance costs, further catering to the needs of businesses conscious of their environmental impact and operating expenses.
Unlike in previous years, Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 are only available for business customers. But don’t worry – Microsoft made it clear that they “absolutely remain committed to consumer devices.” “Building great devices that people love to use aligns closely with our company mission to empower individuals as well as organisations and we are excited to be bringing devices to market that deliver great AI experiences to our customers. Todays commercial announcement is only the first part of this effort.”
This week, Microsoft shipped Windows Insider preview build 26080 (in both the Canary and Dev channels), which has introduced a way for users to release the Copilot Window from being attached to the right-hand side of the screen where it has lived since birth!
Previously, the Copilot widget opened on the right of the screen, and whilst in recent preview builds, Microsoft introduced the ability to resize it (make it bigger), it was still attached to the right side of the screen as shown below.
Copilot in Windows (attached to the right of the screen)
Detaching Copilot
With preview build 26080, it is now possible to undock Copilot, so it feels like a traditional app, meaning you can move Copilot to wherever you want to. The Copilot “app” can moved and resized as needed to make it more customisation in how you choose to work in Windows – just like you would with say the Calculator app. Bear in mind this is in preview and subject to user feedback (file in the Feedback Hub), this may not be a permanent change.
Copilot in detached mode (Windows Insiders on Canary Build).
This is rolling out for Windows Insiders on the Canary Build but will make its way to Insiders on the Dev build soon following initial feedback from Canary build testers.
Note: Microsoft use Windows Insider Builds to try new things out, seek feedback from users and to gauge how well innovative ideas and changes are received, as well as to action the feedback from users.
Copilot in Windows is also getting bigger hooks
In this preview build, Windows Insiders are also going to see that Copilot is getting new abilities to act and control the underlying Windows 11 settings. This includes the ability to perform tasks such as emptying the Recycle Bin, toggle Live Captions, toggle Voice Access, and can also ask Copilot more about various system stats such as battery information, system infrormation and also has the ability to enable battery saver.
A note on Build Numbers
Regular Windows Insiders may also notice that both the Canary and Dev Channels are receiving the same build number currently. Microsoft remind users that this does happen sometimes as during the times in which the Canary and Dev Channels are on the same builds (e.g. Build 26080), it provides an opportunity for Insiders in the Canary Channel to switch to the Dev Channel. Once this windows has passed, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed.
No – it’s not an April Fools Joke – Microsoft yesterday (13th March 2024) announced that their much anticpiated Copilot for Security will be available to buy and use from 1st April 2024.
What Does Copilot for Security Do?
Originally announced a year ago and after extensive testing in private preview, Copilot for Security is aimed at IT Security and Sec Ops teams as it brings Microsoft’s Copilot technology, Microsoft’s threat intelligence services and Machine Learning into a dedicated security service powered by Copilot. .Copilot for Security can processes prompts and responds in eight languages, with over 25 languages supported at launch.
For organisations that already invest and consume Microsoft security services such as Sentinel, Defender, Entra, Priva, Intune, and Purview this is a exciting time!
Image (c) Microsoft Security.
Copilot for Security is informed by large-scale data and threat intelligence, including Microsoft’s daily processing of more than 78 trillion security signals – a gaint increase from 65 trillion signals stated just last year. This is largest threat intelligence database in the world. Microsoft do not use any organisational data to train their LLMs.
One huge advantage of Copilot’s conversational abilities is its capacity to rapidly compose incident reports. It can also tailor these reports to be more or less technical based on the intended employee audience, say Microsoft.
Copilot for Security offers a huge variety of capabilities, including:
Human-readable explanations of vulnerabilities, threats, and alerts across all of Microsoft’s security products and services, aswell as, (later) third-party tooling as well.
Answer questions about alerts, threats and incidents in real-time and take action.
Automatically summarising incident analysis and offers recommendations for subsequent actions based on the tools the organisation is licnesed for and/or deployed.
Ability for users to edit the prompt to correct or adjust responses and share the findings with others and create extensive run books based on prompts as well as ability to share prompts with other anaysts in the team.
After nearly a year of various preview stages and vigorous testing both my Microosft Security Expert and enterprise organisations, Microsoft say the feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive.” A recent AI economic study by Microsoft demonstrated that security professionals work 22% faster and are 7% more accurate when utilising Copilot for Security. An impressive 86% of participants reported that Security Copilot enhanced the quality of their work, and >90% expressed a desire to use Security Copilot for future tasks. The report further indicates that security novices, possessing basic IT skills, performed significantly better with Security Copilot compared to members of a control group. Moreover, their superiors expressed greater confidence in their output.
Copilot for Security in Action
A year in readiness.
In the annoucement, Microsoft cited statements from Forrester VP Jess Pollard who said that “Experienced practitioners will reap the most rewards from the capabilities Microsoft offers, and while it’s unlikely to identify threats SOC [security operation center] teams would miss, it does make investigation and response faster”.
Just like Copilot for Microsoft 365 – Adoption and Training is Key
Just like any major technology change such as Copilot for Microsoft 365, adoption, training and practice is going to be vital to get maximum value anmd trust from Copilot for Security. Security teams will need to a fair amount of change management and training to ensure they can take advantage of the Microsoft Copilot for Security. Forrester cited in the report that “it takes around 40 hours of training to get security practitioners comfortable with using Copilot for Security. In addition, we heard that it takes four or more weeks — with many stops and starts — to get practitioners comfortable with the technology.”
With a global shortage of Cyber Security Skills, an exponential growth in attacks and attack surfaces and the rise of AI at cyber crimimals finger tips, Copilkot for Security has been one of the most anticipated uses for Copilot. There is no doubt that Copilot for Security can lower the barrier to entry into the cybersecurity industry, Forrester also said that “Though large language models and generative AI may level the playing field and allow for accelerated security talent development, no amount of out-of-the-box prompt books and guided response steps replace fundamental security knowledge, skills, and experience.”
The Pros Microsoft Copilot for Security
Feedback from Microsoft early-access clients loved about Copilot for Security, including the following:
Making script analysis easier by de-obfuscating and explaining contents.
Accelerating threat hunting by helping write queries based on adversary methods.
Speeding up and simplifying complex KQL queries or PowerShell script creation.
Analysing phishing submissions by verifying true positives and providing inbox details.
Improving analyst experience by reducing the need to swap between various tools.
There are serveral key areas which wont be available at intial launch, but epect to see rapid release cycles and updates once GA. Currently the following is not available but will be added over time.
Single Data Repositories – Copilot currently requires multiple instances for users / organisations that want to silo data between different business units, group companies or geo locations. These will be eventually be rolled into a single instance/interface but today will cause challenges for large MSPs and global / complex organisations.
Third Party Tools – At launch Copilot for Security will not provide integation into third party tools so organisations will need to be using Microsoft’s first party security tools like Defender for Ideneity and Defender for Endpoint. This is on roadmap.
Limited Integfration and Automation: Much of the work Copilot for Security does on day one is around reporting, alterting across mutiple signals sources and behaviour. Whilst it can execute run-books, some services like auto-quarantine and network isolation will not be available at launch.
New Features at Launch
In the annoucement, Vasu Jakkal, corporate VP of compliance, identity, management, and privacy at Microsoft said that as part of the launch, the following new features will be available to Copilot for Security:
Custom promptbooks,: allowing Security Teams to create and save their own natural language prompts for common security workstreams and tasks similar to the notebook feature in Copiolot for Microsoft 365.
Knowledge integrations: Which will enable the connecting of Copilot for Security to customers’ logic and workflow and the ability to perform activities based on company defined step-by-step guides.
Integration with customers’ curated external attack surface from Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management to identify and analyse the most up-to-date information.
Summarisation in natural language of additional insights from Microsoft Entra audit logs and diagnostic logs for a security investigation or IT issue analysis related to a specific user or event.
New fully customisationable usage dashboards to provide reporting on how teams interact with Copilot.
Which Organisations benefit most?
For organisations that already invest and consume Microsoft security services such as Sentinel, Defender, Entra, Priva, Intune, and Purview – Copilot for Security will likley be at tool that provides an indispensable enhancement that will not only reduce workload and increase productivity, but siginifcantly help Security Teams to work better together and detect and respond faster than ever.
Organistions that are not fully invested in Microsoft’s extensive secrtirty portfolio and choose to use other vendors will still benefit, but until wider third party support is available, runinng trials and evaluating the potential move to more Microsoft Security technologies is a smarter move. There will be increased funding pots and incentives to entice organisations to move to Microsoft Security.
Almost every Security vendor is adding Gen AI into their products and services, but today, no other organisation has built what Microsoft have (though this will likley change).
Pricing from $4 per hour
Yes, ok I saved this for the end.
Pricing will be offered through a consumption-based model, allowing customers to pay according to their usage needs. Usage will be categorised into Security Compute Units (SCUs). Customers will be billed for the number of SCUs provisioned on an hourly basis at a rate of $4 per hour, with a minimum usage requirement of one hour. Microsoft say this is an opportunity for any organisation to begin exploring Security Copilot and expand their usage as necessary.
This, lowers the entry point to the solution without a big initial license outlay and should simplify the pilot, on-boarding and rollout process. The PAYG model is also something organisations are used to, making it more accessible and straightforward and avoiding the complexity of traditional stackable licensing schemes.
Microsoft CSP partners, like Cisilion will be key in helping customers to manage their spend, working with the Sec Ops team to tweak and finetune the solution to help map, manage and plan spent.
just three years after announcing they were bringing Android apps to Windows 11 (via the Amazon App Store), they have now u-turned and said they will be ending support for their Windows Subsystem for Windows from March 2025.
Amazon Apps on Windows
In a support article on Microsoft Learn, they said “Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android™️ (WSA). As a result, the Amazon Appstore on Windows and all applications and games dependent on WSA will no longer be supported beginning March 5, 2025. Until then, technical support will remain available to customers. Customers that have installed the Amazon Appstore or Android apps prior to March 5, 2024, will continue to have access to those apps through the deprecation date of March 5, 2025“.
Writing was on the wall
Is this a strange move? Personally no. Even though Microsoft has been continually updating the Windows Subsystem for Android since it first launched, usage was low despite it being a big promotional item to drive value of Windows as a single OS for home and work. Microsoft had initially positioned Android apps on Windows 11 as a way to compete/align with Apple and their move to support the running of iOS apps on macOS. The main draw back of Microsoft’s approach was that their partnership with Amazon did not provide official access to Google’s Play Store, making it difficult for consumers to access download the more popular Android apps on Windows. Personally, I think this is the main reason Microsoft might be retiring support for Android Apps on Windows.
I had used it a handful of times, but in most cases defaulted to Web Apps or the Windows native app experience. I’m not really one to play loads of Android games so it wasn’t really a thing I envisaged using Windows 11 for.
It could have been better.
I think if Microsoft has managed to leverage this system using the Google Play Store rather than Amazon store, it could have been a different story. Selfishly, it is not a service I will miss, but it was a good way to enable people to access a wider set of apps not available for Windows 11 devices.
Microsoft need to spend more time on getting more developers to write apps for Windows. Its an age old problem Microsoft have experienced and whilst the best it is ever been, Windows is still not a default destination for apps with many apps being web apps for more common social media and gaming apps outside of the big hitting apps and those supported in Xbox and Windows Games.
Whilst there is nothing new or standout about the Surface Go 4, it is the latest version of Microsoft’s small 10-inch tablet which is ideal for use at home, as a companion device, when travelling or when away, Surface Go is also extremely popular in education, Heathcare, front-line and field operations, retail and in call/contact centres. Surface Go 4 ships with Windows 11.
Being a huge fan of the Surface Family and being a fan of the Surface Go 2 LTE and Surface Go 3 for traveling and working on the go, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Surface Go 4 and put it through the paces to see how much compared to the previous version.
Introducing the Surface Go 4
The Surface Go 4 is looks very much the same when compared to its predecessor, the Surface Go 3 – Infact, the design hasn’t really changed since the original Surface Go. It measures 245 x 175 x 8.3mm and weighs just 529grams. It has a 10.5inch, 1,920 x 1,080 IPS screen with high quality, solid magnesium body, complete with “any angle” kickstand, single USB-C port, Surface Connect Port and headphone jack port and optional Surface Pen and Type Cover Keyboard. You can find the full spec here:
Surface Go 3 vs Surface Go 4
Being the same overall size and dimensions, the great thing if you are upgrading from a previous generation Surface Go is that it is fully compatible with the any Surface Go accessories such as keyboards or cases you may have. This iteration does get an upgraded chipset and therefore performance lift over the 2021/22 version and is still built with high-quality magnesium alloy body with a premium finish making it feel like a premium device – which Surface is. I do wish, fours on however, that Microsoft would have reduced the oversized black screen bezels a little as it does look a little dated compared to other tablets.
Surface Go is used a lot in education and with frontline workers. This is one of the reasons for the larger screen bezels. This makes it much easier to hold without accidently touching the screen.
Signature Look and Feel
As you expect with Surface 2-in-1 devices, Surface Go 4 gives you the familiar kickstand which is built into the back of the device and can be easily folded out to various angles making it extremely versatile as a tablet or a laptop with the optional (and not included) keyboard. The kick stand is smooth in operation and very sturdy.
Surface Kick Stand
On the underside of the kickstand, you can find a MicroSD card slot. On the sides of the device, you will find the familiar Surface Connect port, a headphone jack and a USB C 3.1 port which can also be used for charging the device as well as connecting to a range of peripherals, docks or displays.
Camera, Video and Windows Hello®️
You get two cameras. At the back of device, there is an 8-megapixel camera which is good medium range camera for a rear camera on a laptop. At the front you get a 5-megapixel webcam which performs really well in various light settings on video calls and when recording in apps like PowerPoint and Clip Champ. Unlike the Surface Laptop Go, you do also get the additional sensors for Windows Hello and light adjustment and as always Windows Hello works incredibly fast.
Repairability and Sustainability
Microsoft have continued to improve on the repairability and sustainability of their devices and supply chain. Surface Go 4 is more repairable than ever, with the display, battery and back cover, kickstand, motherboard, microSDXC card reader, type cover connector, front, rear and Windows Hello camera, and speakers all being replaceable.
Screen
Surface Go 4 has the same 10.5-inch 10-point multi-touch, PixelSense display as its predecessor and has an aspect ratio of 3:2. Microsoft consistently uses this aspect, and it remains the perfect ratio for office or schoolwork.
Screen resolution supports 1920 x 1280 pixels, meaning you get a Full HD resolution on a 10.5-inch screen which makes it look super sharp and clear. The screen is bright, and colours are vibrant, and you also get great viewing angles. Gorilla Glass 3 also protects the screen. Touch is accurate and responsive as always.
For a late 2023 device, it's a shame that Microsoft didn't upgrade to a 120Hz panel as they have in the latest Pro and Laptop range. I would have also liked to have seen anti-glare screen options to help in outdoor or bright conditions.
Audio and Sound
Yoi get stereo sound with speakers located on the left and right of the display. Whilst sound quality is not studio level like you get on the Surface Laptop Studio, it is more than good enough for calls and watching videos when away or watching in bed. making it a great all-rounder and fine if you want to use it as an entertainment device.
Power and Performance
Microsoft Surface Go 4 is powered by an Intel N200 processor and comes with 8GB of RAM as a standard. This an improvement over the previous models which started at 4GB RAM which was simply not enough in my experience. Storage starts at 64GB SSD storage and provide options of 128GB and 256GB too. Strangely there is no LTE/4/5G version this time round.
According to benchmark reports I have seen, performance of the Surface Go 4 is slightly better than the Surface Go 3 due to the slightly updated chipset and is also more powerful than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE tablet. It falls short of the Apple iPad 9. which is to be expected.
Performance, like many things is subjective though. The Surface Go 4 (I have been using the 8GB/256GB) version which was more than sufficient for multi-tasking office apps and personal social media and video streaming apps.
Usage and Experience
Surface Go 4 is positioned as a work or school device and not designed (unlike a high-end iPad) for video editing or playing video intensive games. That said, for office apps and web applications, I noticed no performance lags at all and the device multi-tasked well. Microsoft’s Office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote run smoothly and I was able to have many Edge tabs open at the same time with any issues.
Surface is also a great device for watching stuff on YouTube, Netflix, Disney +. This combined with good performance for multitasking with business or school apps, makes Surface Go 4 an affordable, practical, light weight and fully featured 2-in-1 device. I find this great when I travel or work away without having to take two devices.
Type Cover Keyboard
All previous generations of the Microsoft Type Cover for Surface Go are compatible with Surface Go 4 and the design has not changed with version 4. You can of course buy cheaper (non-Microsoft covers) or USB keyboards, but don’t. Microsoft’s Type Cover keyboard is excellent.
In case you are not familiar; Microsoft’s Type Cover keyboard is extremely high quality. It is made of plastic but has a very high-quality finish and a fabric-like surface. It includes a backlight and is magnetically attached to the tablet and protects the display when folded. Due to the slight angle of the keyboard that the magnetic connector creates, it makes it feel much more like a laptop than cheap ‘flat’ keyboard.
Surface Go Type Cover Keyboard.
The keyboard is relatively large for a small 10-inch tablet but does not feel small to use. I can easily touch type on this without effort or having to change how I type. The Type Cover is comfortable to use and much better than some of the cheap tablet keyboards I have used in the past.
There is a touchpad under the keyboard, which, while not a big as some laptops, is a good balance of size and usability whilst helping to avoid accidental touches on the touch panel.
The Surface Pen
For me, a touch screen and pen are a non-negotiator when choosing a device for work or home. Once critiqued by Apple saying that “no one would ever need to use a pen with a tablet”, Surface Pen has been a stable companion to the Surface Pro since the first Surface in 2012.
Surface Go 4 supports all previous iterations of Surface Pens (expect the ones that shipped on the first Surface Pro 1 and Surface RT devices) including the Surface Slim Pen and Slim Pen 2. The Surface Pen is very responsive and precise, and it’s fun to take handwritten notes with it. The lates
Whilst optional to buy, Surface Go 4 together with the Surface Pen and writing and graphics apps like OneNote, MS Paint, Designer, Edge, PDF etc, are what make Surface standout. Yes, you can do this on most tablets, but Surface is by far the best (and original) 2-in-1 device in my experience.
With the latest update to Windows 11, there is now also support for inking anywhere you can type in dialogue boxes.
Windows 11 brings Surface to Life
Everyone knows that Windows is not an OS designed for tablet only devices. Windows 8 tried too hard to make Tablet mode work (and was awful) and Windows 10 had various attempts at tablet mode, but Windows 11 has actually (finally) done a half decent job of adapting the OS to work with tablet devices. This includes 2-in-1s like Surface Go 4.
With Windows 11, tablet mode is switched on automatically when the keyboard is disconnected or folded back to use the device in tablet mode.
In tablet mode, the Windows taskbar becomes significantly larger so that it is easier to use with your finger or pen and the customisable on-screen keyboard opens whenever you click/tap in a text field. If have a Surface Pen, then you also get quick access to the Windows Inking features.
Within Windows, some apps are also tailored for use with Tablets, and some even adapt based on the use mode. OneNote is a good example. When using OneNote in tablet mode, the canvas gets simplified and decluttered, making it much easier to use with pen and ink.
Using Surface with Android Apps
While a Windows thing more than a Surface thing, Windows 11 supports the use of many Android apps via the Amazon App Store. To use this, you need to install the Amazon Appstore via the Microsoft Store.
You can then install a vast number of apps and games such as angry birds or City Mapper and use them just like any other app. Whilst you don’t get the full library of native Android apps you get in the Play store, there are thousands, and it works seamlessly once installed from the Microsoft Store.
Surface is even better with Windows 365
Windows 365 is Microsoft’s desktop as a service which is delivered as a SaaS service to business/corporate users. It is a dedicated Cloud PC which is provisioned, used, managed, and updated just like a physical PC but runs in the Microsoft Cloud. Windows 365 provides an “instant on” desktop environment than can be accessed securely from any device (or browser) and allows you to pick up where you left off, providing a seamless experience with all your corporate applications and files available wherever you need it. Since Windows 365 is a Cloud Service, access to it is secure, instantly provisioned, upgraded or updated and since it can be used on “any” device avoids the need for hardware upgrades, protects against device loss and theft and removes the data security / leakage risk of having corporate information on physical devices.
Windows 365 (work PC) running on my personal Windows 11 desktop
So why Surface Go 4 and Windows 365? Well, I have recently got myself a Surface Go 4 for home and family. The kids love using pen and ink and we use a Microsoft 365 Family subscription for personal, school and work stuff.
When I’m away from the office or traveling with my family, I often need to access work-related files and applications. Windows 365 allows me to securely multitask on our shared device without having to install and download apps, set up complicated VPN services, or compromise company security or confidentiality by using a personal device for work. With Windows 365, I can use my personal device as a work device and switch back seamlessly as needed. Plus, if my kids want to play with Designer or watch YouTube, I can pause what I’m doing and resume later without worrying that they will mess up any of my work.
I’ve written other posts on Windows 365 before, and for more information on Windows 365 you can check Microsoft’s official sites here.
My Conclusion
Starting at £549 in the UK (pen and keyboard separate), Microsoft Surface Go 4 is a well priced, versitile allrounder that is great for home, work, school or a combination of all (maybe combined with Windows 365).
Surface Go continues to be a great choice if you need/want a “proper” Windows based PC type device rather than “just a tablet”. This is not a device for intense gamers or graphic designers, but for everything else, it’s a great device that is well built, offers high quality, is super repairable and includes full multipoint touch, pen support and a full and versitle type cover ketboard.
The only dissapointment was battery life. Windows devices in my experience just dont have the power efficienicies that Apple iPads offer.
If you have a Surface Go 3, I would not reccommend rushing out and upgrading (unless you have an etry level one with 4GB RAM). If you do not need a Windows device or just want a tablet to watch films on and browse social media, then Surface Go may be wasted on you.
Surface Go is also a great second device. If you have a desktop for work or home (or a chunky, heavy laptop), Surface Go is a grwat choice as a flexible second device that can also be used for work with or without Windows 365 (see above).
Copilot in Microsoft 365 is an AI-powered assistant designed to provide information, answer questions, and engage in conversation. It uses Open AI’s ChatGPT 4 technology plus your apps and data to deliver relevant and useful responses directly from the browser or from your Office apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, making it a hugely accessible and valuable.
Note: Copilot is not included within the standard Office 365 subscription, meaning that to access Copilot across your Microsoft 365 apps and services you need either a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license ($30 pupm for organisations) or a Copilot Pro license ($20 pupm for individual and family subscriptions).
Copilot in Outlook
Copilot adds huge value across many of the core Microsoft 365 apps and service, but in the context of Outlook, I see Copilot as a huge time saver and productivity booster. Copilot in Outlook can help users manage their emails more efficiently, easily schedule meetings, quickly following up on emails and authoring better emails. Since Copilot understands the context of the email, the wider thread, and even tasks, Copilot can provide suggestions and actions that are tailored to the user’s needs.
Let’s look at how Copilot in Outlook works and what it can do.
Using Copilot in Outlook
First things first, to use Copilot in Outlook, you need to be using the new Outlook experience (or Outlook on the web). To do this check that the new Outlook Experie4nce toggle is set to on.
New Outlook Toggle
1. Summarising an email thread.
With an email open, you’ll see the Copilot Summarise icon at the top of the email thread. With an email selected, you can simply click “Summary by Copilot” and Copilot will scan through the entire email thread to look for key points and will then generate a summary for you.
The Copilot summary will appear at the top of the last email of the conversation as illustrated below.
Within the summary, Copilot includes citations (indicated by small reference numbers), which are hyperlinks back to the corresponding email within the conversation thread. You can see here; five emails have been pulled together to create the key points I need to know.
2. Drafting an email
In my experience, this is the feature that will save you the most time whilst also helping to ensure your email is polite, on-point, profession and inclusive in tone.
To use the Draft with Copilot feature, simply click on the button to reply to an email or start a new one. You’ll see that Copilot automatically offers you several quick options. Select “Custom” to generate a personalised draft. In the example below, I am going to use Copilot to help me author an email to my builder.
In the Draft with Copilot dialog, we simply describe what we would like to say. You can use the settings button to change things like tone and length.
Copilot will then generate you a response. Once created you can tweak the response, change, modify it or ask Copilot to regenerate. Copilot can be quite “creative” so be sure to review the draft and modify it as needed. The video example below shows the immediate response and a change I ask it to make. You can keep asking for changes until you are happy or accept the draft and make the final changes.
Drafting with Copilot in Outlook.
3.Replying to an email with Copilot
This is like drafting new email, but when replying to an email, Copilot also has better context, since it has access to the entire email thread making the drafted responses, in my experience, more accurate on first take!
In this example, I am replying to an email about a Gang Show event being run by the Cubs and Scouts.
When I click Generate, Copilot drafts me an email. Notice how it has read the context of the email I am replying to and has even automatically calculated the cost of the tickets I want to purchase based on the pricing that was shown and by assuming that I might want two adult and two child tickets. Adult tickets are £10 and children’s tickets are £6, so the £32 is correct!
Using Copilot in Outlook to reply to an email.
4. Coaching with Copilot
The next area Copilot in Outlook can help you is in its “coaching” ability. Here, you do the drafting and let Copilot help you with making sure the email is “on-point”. This is like using tools like Grammarly or Microsoft Editor but is more aligned to the specific email you are writing or replying to.
Using my previous example of the email to my builder, I am this time drafting an email and then asking Copilot to “coach me”. You can see in the video below, that Copilot provides me with tips to make the email better. It does this by suggesting changes to tone, specific detail and clarity based on the context of the email content.
Coaching by Copilot in Outlook.
In coaching mode, Copilot does not make changes to the email for you. Instead, it provides guidance and advice for changes based on its suggestions. You can then copy and paste the suggestions directly into the email draft.
5. More features coming soon.
Microsoft Copilot in Outlook is already great and saves lots of time, especially in drafting and summarising emails. Copilot, like the rest of Microsoft 365 is constantly evolving and there is a roadmap you can access here. Of interest in Copilot for Outlook – my upcoming favourites are:
Schedule from email with Copilot: Often you may want to transition a conversation from an email thread to a meeting. From March 2024, Copilot will help you do this by being able to start scheduling right from the email conversation. This will save time and effort by generating a meeting invite that’s ready for you to review and send. Soon, when you click on “Schedule with Copilot” a meeting form will appear with a Copilot generated meeting title, agenda, and conversation summary as well as a pre-filled attendee list from the email thread and an attachment of the original email thread.
Follow a meeting: This is new meeting response (RSVP) option coming in June 2024, that will go beyond the traditional Accept, Tentative and Decline choices geared towards individuals with high meeting loads and conflicting meetings each day. Follow is the ideal RSVP option for meetings you can’t attend but still want to stay engaged and receive info about. Other attendees will be able to see if you are following a meeting.
Conclusion
Outlook has long been a staple in the world of email and personal organisation. With the integration of Copilot, it takes a significant step forward in enhancing user experience. Copilot’s features are designed to streamline the way users manage their emails and schedules.
Drafting emails can often take up a significant portion of your day. Copilot assists with email composition by providing suggestions and completing sentences, making the process of writing more efficient. This is especially useful when you’re drafting responses to a large volume of emails or need to quickly send out a professional reply. Copilot’s AI-driven writing assistant helps maintain consistency and tone across your communications.
Microsoft’s aim is to make Outlook not just a tool for reading and sending emails, but a comprehensive assistant that augments productivity and organisation. With Copilot, Outlook becomes more than just an email client; it’s a powerful ally in managing your digital communication and scheduling needs. Copilot also works on Web and Mobile.
Microsoft Whiteboard is a blank canvas where users can draw, sketch, and write, just like a physical whiteboard. It allows multiple users to collaborate on the same Whiteboard in real-time. Whiteboard offers a range of features that enhance collaboration, creativity, and productivity in both professional and educational settings.
Here are some key features of using Microsoft Whiteboard:
Flexible and infinite digital canvas
Provides ink to shape and Intelligent Ink Recognition
Supports co-authoring
Allow simple ways to create and annotate content using sticky notes and text boxes
Insert images and documents
Fully integrated into Microsoft 365 and can be used in Teams Meetings.
Using Copilot in Whiteboard
Using Copilot in Whiteboard revolutionises idea generation and project collaboration, by helping people get started quickly with brainstorming and ideas . This is great when you want to use Whiteboard to collect and inspire ideas but don’t know where to start.
Copilot in Whiteboard makes it super easy to:
Instantly generate fresh ideas and envision concepts in innovative ways to kick start a brainstorming session.
Transform abstract thoughts and words into captivating end engaging visuals.
Arrange and re-arrange ideas into logical categories to make Whiteboards easier to work with – improving clarity.
Create new ideas and angles and overcome obstacles.
Getting Started with Copilot In Whiteboard
When you first start Whiteboard (assuming you are signed in with a Microsoft 365 account that has a Copilot license assigned). You can use Copilot on a new Whiteboard or on an existing whiteboard you have already created Whiteboards.
From a new or existing Whiteboard, you can summon Copilot by clicking on the familiar Copilot button which sits at the right of the tool bar.
On summoning Copilot, you are presenting with a “familar” Copilot prompt. From here you can simply describe what you want. In example below, I wanted to create a new whiteboard space to help me capture ideas about an upcoming team away day.
Within a few seconds, you’ll see Copilot come up with some discussion ideas as per the example below.
From here, we can edit our prompt, modify the prompt, ask for more ideas or simply accept and insert it. In this case Copilot has sugested Post it notes, which makes sense based on my prompt. Here, am going to Click on insert.
I am quite happy with this, but i do want to add a section about where we should have our offsite and what activities we should do.
I can of course, just add to this myself, or if I am feeling (lazy) or just keen to use Copilot. In this example, I’ve added my own postit and asked Copilot to suggest some locations and activities we can use for the away day.
Using Copilot with an existing Whiteboard.
You can also use Copilot with an existing Whiteboard to do things like create a summary of your Whiteboard content and notes. To do this, open a Whiteboard, click the Copilot button and ask it to summarise, suggest new content or catagorise any post its etc into catagories.
You can also, of course, also use as above to add new content or help you with inspiration.
What can’t Copilot do?
At the moment Copilot is mainly focussed around activities that involve post it notes. I’d like to see this extend to drawing visualisations, recommending templates, populating post it notes and changing layouts based on content. I’d also like to see it be able to take a set of bullet points from an email or Teams chat and create a whiteboard from that!
Don’t get me wrong, it’s helpful and really great and these idea generation and kick starting a whiteboard but there are other applications I’d like to see.
Interested to hear how you get on with Copilot in Whiteboard…..let me know in the comments!
Copilot is still very new and as such the pace of updates and wider use across the Microsoft 365 estate is ever changing and evolving.
Copilot in OneDrive is one of these upcoming changes. Using Copilot directly from OneDrive (consumer and Enterprise) will allow you to ask open-ended questions and get information from files in your OneDrive without having to open the files first.
What is also really cool is that it will let you with with one or multiple files at a time. It will support files with DOC, DOCX, FLUID, LOOP, PPT, PPTX, XLSX, PDF, ODT, ODP, RTF, ASPX, RTF, TXT, HTM, and HTML extensions.
According to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, this is expected to start rolling out in May 2024.
The latest Windows 11 preview build is now rolling out to Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channel. This build (26052) is significant, since it is the first designated “Windows 24H2” build that has been made available to Insiders. It brings a number of new features and enhancements and Microsoft say its the beginning of what will be an AI infused set of updates that will come to Windows 11 this year.
One of the most noticeable things in this build (and partly to mark the 1-year birthday of Microsoft Copilot) is the introduction of new Copilot animations that are being tested.
Image (c) Microsoft
The Copilot icon will now animate into a pencil or picture icon whenever you copy text or an image to your clipboard, indicating that Copilot can help you with the content you have just copied.
Interacting with Copilot Animations
Whenever content is copied to the clipboard and the intimation is show, users can hover the mouse over the animated Copilot icon to see a choice of different options that Copilot can do for you with the text or image just copied.
With text, you are presented with options to summarise, explain, or send directly to Copilot for further user defined queries and requests.
With images, you get an option to explain the image along with additional options to edit the image – which then takes you to the Microsoft Designer app.
With this build, Microsoft also supports the ability to launch Copilot by just dragging an image onto the Copilot icon in the taskbar, which then opens Copilot. If Copilot is already open, you can now also drag and drop an image into the text box in Copilot and type an action that you would like to perform on the image content.
Privacy
The content is not automatically sent to Copilot without your permission. The animation of the Copilot button is there to simply guide/remind you that it can help, but nothing is shared to the Copilot System until you choose too. Copilot can’t access your clipboard without consent.
First impressions
It’s an overall really handy shortcut, and one that will help less technically aware/savvy users that Copilot is available to help with content. I find this better than annoying advertising style pop-ups…
We are trying out a new experience for Copilot in Windows that helps showcase the ways that Copilot can accelerate and enhance your work.
Microsoft Windows Team
I especially like the drag and drop on to the Copilot logo and text input fields as this simplifies and shortens the time / steps needed to interactive with Copilot.
On Windows 11. corporate users with a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license will see that premium experience is now integrated into the Copilot Windows desktop experience.
This means that users who have a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license and Copilot for Windows enabled can chat with Copilot in Windows using Graph-based features.
With a unified experience across M365 Chat, Copilot in Windows 11 and the Copilot on the web experience, users can now leverage the Microsoft Graph connected features in Windows, thanks to the integration of Copilot for Microsoft 365 into the Windows desktop experience.
This experience requires users to have a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license, as well as having Copilot i Windows 11 experience, making it a convenient and consisytent experience for users to access Copilot in Microsoft 365 features, along side the existing options in Teams Chat, Edge, and at https://copilot.microsoft.com.
For comsumer users wanted to leverage the advanced feaures of Copilot in their apps and services like OneNote, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook, checkout Copilot Pro
