A little-known trick to speed up typing

Plus: Get the AI Copilot now  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Thanks for reading this special early preview edition of Windows Intelligence, brought to you in partnership with [Thurrott.com](=). This design is merely a placeholder for what's to come. Stay tuned! ​ Last week, I was in New York City with the excellent Paul Thurrott of our partner site [Thurrott.com](=), sitting a few feet from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella while he promised AI was going to change all our lives for the better. This week, we're all back home with the hype dying down to a more normal level. Copilot just arrived, and while it's definitely interesting and has potential, it's not brand new if you've already played with Bing Chat or ChatGPT. Now begins the long road of figuring out how to use Copilot like any other productivity feature on Windows. And, speaking of text-related productivity features, this week I'd like to step back from AI text generation to some excellent text-editing hotkeys that I think everyone should know. Scroll down to this week's Things to Try section for the details. Chris Today's read: ⌚ 3 Things to Know: 2 minutes ⌚ 3 Things to Try: 2 minutes ⌚ Top Thurrott Thoughts: 30 seconds ⌚ Just for Fun: 30 seconds [] ❱❱ 3 Things to Know This Week 1. That new Windows 11 update will be mandatory ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: All those new Windows 11 features Microsoft announced last week aren't actually coming in Windows 11's big yearly update — most of them are coming before Windows 11's big yearly update. 🔎 KNOW MORE: With Windows 11, Microsoft shifted to once-per-year big updates rather than the twice-per-year big updates Windows 10 got. You can choose to install them, or you can wait. That's still the case, but Microsoft is now delivering most new features outside of those yearly updates. - Microsoft is delivering Copilot and most of the other big new features for Windows 11 before this year's big update, in a standard monthly Windows update. - According to Windows Central, Microsoft is doing this because they want everyone getting Copilot as quickly as possible in a mandatory update, rather than making it part of an optional update, which people may not install immediately. - That "big" yearly update — named 23H2 — is still coming later this fall, but most of its features are now arriving in a typical monthly update that's now available in preview form and will be delivered to all Windows 11 PCs in the coming weeks. 📌 READ MORE: Get the details in [this critical take on last week's event](). --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Your old Windows 7 and 8 keys are no good anymore ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Microsoft has just ended free upgrades from Windows 7 and 8 to Windows 10 or 11. You can no longer use an old Windows 7 or 8 key to upgrade to — or install — a modern version of Windows. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Microsoft offered free upgrades to Windows 10 when it was released in 2015. On paper, Microsoft ended that free upgrade offer in 2016. In reality, Microsoft silently continued offering those free upgrades — until now. You could even fresh-install Windows 11 on a brand-new PC with an ancient Windows 7 key. - Windows 7 and 8 PCs can no longer upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11 for free. - If you have an ancient Windows 7 or 8 key, you can no longer use it to install a new Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating system. (That's the idea. It looks like these keys may still work... for now, but that's changing.) - You can still upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 for free. 📌 READ MORE: Learn all about this change in [this quick-but-complete piece](). --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Let's be honest: Windows has some problems ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: I love Windows, but I'm not a cheerleader for Microsoft. I've heard from so many people about concerns they have with the way Windows is going, and I also have my own criticisms. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Microsoft is doing some questionable things to Windows, things that may boost the company's profits — but at the cost of what its users want. (And, in the long term, is alienating its users really better for the company? How much goodwill did Microsoft lose with Windows 8 alone?) - Windows 10 will supposedly stop getting security updates in just over two years — and most PCs on the planet still use it and can't officially upgrade to Windows 11! - Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 are packed with advertisements and links to viral stories, from the Widgets screen to Edge's new tab page. - From the removal of classic taskbar options to Microsoft accounts becoming almost mandatory, many PC users feel Microsoft isn't listening. 📌 READ MORE: For the full list, check out [my first piece for PCMag](=). ​ [] ❱❱ 3 Things to Try This Week 1. Learn these magic text-editing shortcuts While everyone's talking about AI text generation, I bet you're also doing a lot of your own text generation the old-fashioned way — with your fingers and a keyboard. Windows has a lot of powerful text-editing keyboard shortcut that can help you fly through writing and editing text, and they work in almost every application. I rarely see people using these, but lots of people could benefit from them. ⌚ You can try out a shortcut or two in just 5 seconds, but budget 1 minute to play with them. 💻 These shortcuts work on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. 📌 Learn all about them in [my latest guide, written just for you](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Get Copilot and other new features on Windows 11 Microsoft announced Windows 11 PCs would get Copilot on Tuesday, but you may have noticed your PC doesn't have it yet. Luckily, you can get it in a few clicks. This update also includes a variety of other new features, like that Windows 7-style "never combine" feature for the taskbar that shows window titles rather than just icons, as well as built-in support for RAR archives. Copilot isn't available worldwide yet, however. Microsoft says "The initial markets for the Copilot in Windows preview include North America and parts of Asia and South America. It is our intention to add additional markets over time." ⌚ Signing up for the update will take 5 seconds, but Windows will need a few minutes to download and install it. 💻 Copilot is only available on Windows 11. ➜ To get the update, open the Settings app from the Start menu. (You can also press Windows+i to quickly open it — that's a lower-case "i".) Select "Windows Update" in the left pane, and then enable the "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" option. Click "Check for updates," and Windows Update will take care of the rest. [Windows Update's "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" option.] Once the update is installed, you'll get a shiny new Copilot icon to the right of the Start button on your taskbar. [The Copilot taskbar icon on Windows 11.] (You can always disable it, if you like, by right-clicking an empty spot on your taskbar, selecting "Taskbar Settings," and turning it off from here.) --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Activate a Copilot-like experience on Windows 10 Want to play with Copilot, but don't have a PC running Windows 11 yet? You can get a very similar experience with a feature built into Microsoft Edge. This feature can't integrate with Windows to change settings like enable dark mode, but it does give you a nice big AI sidebar on your desktop — one you can use almost like Copilot on Windows 11. ⌚ You can turn this on in just 10 seconds. 💻 This Edge feature is only available on Windows 10. ➜ To activate the sneaky Copilot-style desktop sidebar, open Microsoft Edge on Windows 11. Click that Bing Chat icon on the toolbar at the top-right corner of the window. (Microsoft says that will become a shiny new Copilot icon soon, too.) In the Bing Chat sidebar, at the bottom right corner, just above the gear icon, click the "Detach from Edge" button that looks like a box with an arrow coming out of it. It will place the sidebar alongside your Windows desktop. [Detaching the Bing sidebar from Edge on Windows 10.] You can then click the Bing Chat icon at the top-right corner of your screen to quickly access a Copilot-like chat interface from anywhere in Windows. Or, if you want to see it all the time, click the little pin icon at the top of the chat pane after putting it on your desktop. [A Copilot-like Bing Chat sidebar for Windows 10.,] Want to disable it? Click the menu button at the bottom-right corner of the sidebar, and you'll find an option to "Close and re-attach to Edge." ​ [] ❱❱ Top Thurrott Thoughts Some standout links and expert analysis from our friends at Thurrott, who have been covering Windows since 1994: - ​[Windows 11 Fall Update is Out With Copilot, New File Explorer, and More]() - Learn more about all the features in the update. - ​[Apple Release macOS Sonoma](=) - The latest version of macOS is here, too. - ​[Meta Opens Pre-Orders for its $499.99 Quest 3 Mixed Reality Headset]() - The "metaverse" aside, this looks like a really nice VR headset. - ​[We Need to Discuss Amazon.com (Premium)]() - Is Amazon's monopoly bad for customers? - ​[Paint Cocreator Starts Rolling Out to Insiders](=) - The new AI features for Paint aren't available to everyone just yet. - ​[Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max First Impressions]( - Apple's latest high-end iPhone is here. - ​[The 23H2 Mystery, Solved (Premium)]() - Paul Thurrott digs into Microsoft's ever-shifting update strategy for Windows. - ​[Lenovo Slim Pro 9i (16″ Intel) Review]( - Paul reviews the laptop he's done most of his work on for the last two months. ​ [] ❱❱ And Just for Fun... Have you ever heard of "God Mode" on Windows? It's a popular topic tech sites turn to when they publish articles with headlines like "How to Enable God Mode on Windows." I understand why so many sites have written it — I've seen the page view numbers. People love clicking this kind of thing. What a compelling headline! But what is God Mode, and why would Windows have a feature like that? [The "GodMode" icon on Windows 11.] Well, here's the thing they don't want you to know: There is no God Mode. It's just a special folder that shows you a little shortcut to every Control Panel tool. And you can call it anything you want. Calling the folder "God Mode" is just a headline that gets the clicks, but you could call it "Bill Gates" if you want. It's not even very useful anymore, as so many options are now in Settings. So, the takeaway: Forget "God Mode" on Windows. If you want to change a particular setting, I recommend you search for in the Start menu. This [nice little writeup]() shows it off — and acknowledges the name is silly. ​ One last thing Here's a photo of myself along with veteran Microsoft journalists Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley at the event last week. After being in the same industry and reading their work for so many years, I had a great time meeting them in person. [Mary Jo Foley, Paul Thurrott, and Chris Hoffman.] From left to right: Mary Jo Foley, Paul Thurrott, and myself. Thanks once again for reading! Enjoy the weekend. Thanks for reading Windows Intelligence and being a part of our early preview phase! We'd love to hear what you think so far. ​[Submit your feedback here]() — or just reply to this email. We'll read every single comment, and your thoughts will absolutely help shape and guide what this newsletter becomes. You received this email because your address was signed up for the Windows Intelligence early preview. If you didn't mean to sign up or no longer wish to be subscribed, you can [unsubscribe or update your preferences here](=).