Software and App Updates Archives - Page 3 of 6

Box Partners with Microsoft 365 Copilot for Advanced AI Integration

Box, a leading provider of secure cloud content management solutions, is taking significant strides in its generative AI endeavors by announcing a new collaboration with Microsoft 365 Copilot.

This integration marks a significant expansion of Box’s efforts to leverage AI for empowering enterprise users in understanding and maximizing the value of their content within the Box platform. Earlier, the company had unveiled its Box AI initiative, which seamlessly integrates gen AI into the Box user experience to enable data querying and summarization.

Seamless Integration with Microsoft 365 Copilot

With the new plugin, Box is extending the reach of its AI capabilities by allowing organizations to incorporate Microsoft 365 Copilot into their Box content. Microsoft 365 Copilot is another remarkable gen AI technology that facilitates content creation and querying across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams for Microsoft 365 users.

Aaron Levie, the CEO and co-founder of Box, explained that this partnership with Microsoft 365 Copilot is their first venture into this domain. The plugin enables users to seamlessly access their Box documents and make queries related to their Box content from within Microsoft Copilot.

Considering the vast scope of Box’s customer base, which includes over 110,000 enterprise clients and tens of millions of individual users, the ability to enable Box content for Microsoft 365 Copilot holds significant applicability. Since many of these customers are likely to be using Microsoft tools extensively, this integration streamlines their workflow and enhances productivity.

Future Prospects of Federated AI

As AI becomes pervasive in the enterprise environment, a potential challenge that companies will face is determining which AI solutions to use. Both Box AI and Microsoft 365 Copilot share similar goals of empowering users to query, summarize, and generate content, but their primary operating environments differ.

Levie highlighted that in an AI-dominated software landscape, where various applications integrate AI functionalities, interactions between different AI systems are inevitable. He drew a parallel with Salesforce Einstein and ServiceNow, anticipating similar scenarios in the future.

While the exact path to a unified solution remains uncertain, Levie believes that federated AI across multiple providers might be a possibility. Regardless of how the future unfolds, Box aims to provide exceptional value propositions within the Box ecosystem and ensure seamless data utilization for users working with different software applications.

Overall, the collaborative efforts of Box and Microsoft 365 Copilot signify an exciting era in the AI landscape, where user expectations and integration possibilities will shape the future of AI-driven productivity. Box is determined to remain at the forefront of this revolution, delivering seamless experiences and maximizing data potential for its customers, regardless of the software they use.

Stack Overflow Introduces OverflowAI: Enhancing Developer Productivity with Generative AI

Stack Overflow, a popular community-driven platform for developers seeking technical answers, is revolutionizing its approach with the launch of OverflowAI—a range of impressive generative AI capabilities for both its public site and enterprise offering, Stack Overflow for Teams. The introduction of OverflowAI follows the company’s annual developer survey, which revealed that while a majority of developers desire to utilize AI tools, only 40% currently trust AI.

OverflowAI encompasses various initiatives, including updated AI-powered search functionality for both the public and enterprise platforms. For enterprise users, additional features include the OverflowAI Visual Studio code extension and integration with Slack. The main objective is to make information discovery and utilization more straightforward for developers and enterprises alike.

According to Stack Overflow CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar, one of the primary focuses was improving the search experience by allowing users to ask conversational questions through OverflowAI. The generative answers are drawn from the vast repository of 58 million questions and answers from public Stack Overflow, complete with citations to specific sources.

Importantly, OverflowAI does not replace the core community-driven question and answer forums that have been the essence of Stack Overflow. Instead, it complements them by enabling natural language processing (NLP)-based queries that yield highly accurate generated results. The model was trained on the extensive Stack Overflow public knowledge base.

The new OverflowAI capabilities aim to be more accommodating to users of all experience levels. While the community has been invaluable in providing answers, it has not always been the most welcoming to certain types of questions. With OverflowAI, users can quickly find valuable insights without the potential hurdles associated with community feedback, increasing efficiency and inclusivity.

Chandrasekar emphasized that community-directed responses will remain integral to the platform. In alignment with this, the OverflowAI announcement includes the introduction of a dedicated forum on Stack Overflow for AI-related discussions, called gen AI Stack Exchange.

Furthermore, Stack Overflow for Teams users will benefit from the OverflowAI extension for Visual Studio Code, allowing seamless integration of AI-generated code directly into the development environment. This extension draws from both public forums and the organization’s internal knowledge base, providing relevant and helpful results, alongside summarizations and code explanations.

It is essential to note that OverflowAI is not a replacement for Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot technology, which integrates AI into code development. Instead, it aims to complement the developer experience by offering extensive information resources.

Stack Overflow’s overarching vision for its gen AI efforts is well-aligned with its primary mission: to become the go-to destination for all things related to technology knowledge.

The OverflowAI capabilities are set to launch as alpha releases in August, and developers and enterprises can express interest in participating through stackoverflow.co/labs.

Rewind Launches iPhone App for Private Web Browsing Activity Recording and AI-Powered Questioning

As of now, Rewind is a personal data recording startup that has launched an iPhone app, backed by investors like Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and First Round Capital. The app allows users to privately record their activity on Safari, and they can later ask questions based on their web browsing history. The app does not record anything by default when the user is browsing in incognito mode.

Previously, Rewind gained attention with its Mac app, which records everything a user does during the day on Apple Silicon Macs in a compressed video format. Users can then ask specific questions about their activities, such as finding who said something during a Zoom meeting. The app processes data locally on the system, ensuring user privacy.

The iOS app follows a similar path, but it currently records activity only on Safari. Users have the option to go to settings and prevent the app from recording anything on specific pages. If users want to add data from other apps, they need to take screenshots, as Rewind imports screenshots automatically.

To enable searching for specific terms in the data, Rewind uses text recognition. The app also integrates with GPT-4, allowing users to ask more complex questions and reminders about people they know.

Rewind uses a compression algorithm on both Mac and iPhone apps to significantly reduce data storage requirements. The app claims to capture only the changes from frame to frame and has implemented algorithms to reduce power usage on Apple devices.

The startup emphasizes that all user data is private and not sold or used to train AI models. The recordings are stored locally on the device, and the company claims that no one else has access to them. However, this privacy assurance is crucial for the app’s success, especially since it requires users to allow recording of their activity.

In terms of funding, Rewind has raised $10 million at a valuation of $75 million from investors like a16z and First Round Capital. Initially, the Mac app was free, but now it has introduced paid plans for more access after capping free usage to 50 Rewinds. One session of traversing through history or searching, as well as one question asked through GPT-4, count as one “Rewind.” At present, the company intends to keep the iOS app free “for as long as possible.”

Microsoft and PayPal Extend Collaboration: Venmo Now a Payment Option for Xbox

Microsoft and PayPal have announced an expanded partnership, opening up exciting new possibilities for Xbox owners in the United States. The collaboration now allows users to utilize Venmo as a convenient payment method for a wide range of purchases from the Xbox store, including games, movies, TV shows, and apps. Even Xbox Game Pass subscriptions can now be paid for using Venmo, providing users with greater flexibility and ease.

With the integration of Venmo, customers paying for their Xbox purchases can enjoy the option to either buy subscriptions outright or split payments according to their preferences. This added convenience empowers users to manage their expenses more efficiently.

Moreover, PayPal’s Pay Later feature is now available not just for the Microsoft Store in the United States but also in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. The Pay Later option allows eligible customers to spread their payments over several weeks or months in fixed amounts, making it easier to handle larger purchases without straining their budgets.

Ajith Thekadath, vice president of Global Payments at Microsoft, emphasized the company’s dedication to providing the best experience for its customers. He stated that the inclusion of new PayPal payment options aligns perfectly with this commitment, granting users more freedom in selecting tools that suit their individual needs and goals.

Although Venmo has been traditionally associated with peer-to-peer money transfers among friends and family, its utility has expanded significantly. Major companies like Amazon have recognized the value of Venmo as a secure and convenient payment method. In fact, last October, Amazon announced its decision to integrate Venmo, allowing its customers to complete transactions using this popular platform.

This ongoing partnership between Microsoft and PayPal marks a significant step forward in making digital transactions more seamless and accessible to a broader audience. As both companies continue to innovate and expand their services, consumers can expect more convenience and choice in their online payment experiences.

Artifact: The Personalized News App with AI-Powered Text-to-Speech Feature

Artifact, the innovative news app developed by Instagram’s founders, has just rolled out another cutting-edge AI-powered feature. In collaboration with Speechify, the company is now offering users an AI-powered text-to-speech feature, enabling them to listen to news articles in a whole new way. Unlike traditional text-to-speech engines that often sound robotic, Artifact’s text-to-speech feature introduces a diverse range of natural-sounding voices that can be tailored to individual preferences, including different accents and adjustable audio speeds. To add a touch of fun and excitement, the app even offers celebrity voices, including Snoop Dogg and Gwyneth Paltrow.

To access this immersive feature, users can simply tap the play button on the bottom bar of any article. From there, they can customize the voice, accent, and speed to their liking, with a wide range of speeds from 0.1x to 4.5x available. The app ensures a seamless experience by allowing users to continue browsing the news while the selected article is played in the background, making it perfect for multitasking during activities such as workouts, commutes, or chores.

With over 30 voices to choose from, Artifact ensures a diverse and engaging experience for its users. The voices are currently available in English, but users can pick from various accents like the U.K., Australia, Nigeria, and South Africa. Additionally, besides the official celebrity voices, there are other entertaining options, such as a voice resembling former President Barack Obama or one inspired by Dwight Schrute from “The Office.”

Excitingly, the text-to-speech feature is just one of the many AI-powered enhancements introduced since Artifact’s public launch in February 2023. In the previous month, the app incorporated AI to rewrite clickbait article headlines flagged by users, using the GPT-4 model to craft alternative titles. These revised headlines are clearly marked with a star icon to distinguish them from the original ones. Moreover, in April, Artifact began utilizing AI to summarize stories, offering users the choice of fun styles like “explain like I’m five” or even using a series of emojis for a whimsical touch.

The app’s AI-powered recommendation systems further enhance the user experience by providing personalized content based on individual preferences and behaviors, such as clicks, reading time, dwell time, and shares, rather than solely relying on overall popularity across the user base.

Although Artifact shares similarities with other news apps like China’s ByteDance’s Toutiao, Japan-based SmartNews, and News Break, which also offer personalized news curation, it faces fierce competition in the U.S. from built-in news apps provided by tech giants like Apple and Google, as well as social media platforms such as TikTok.

The addition of the text-to-speech feature positions Artifact to compete with popular read-it-later apps like Pocket, Matter, and Instapaper, adding another layer of functionality to its already impressive repertoire.

Despite receiving positive reviews from users, boasting a 4.7-star rating across 4.3K ratings on the U.S. App Store, Artifact is yet to achieve mainstream adoption, currently ranking at No. 124 in the News category. However, with its constant stream of AI-driven innovations, Artifact continues to prove itself as a forward-thinking and user-focused platform in the ever-evolving world of news apps.

Universe Introduces AI-Powered Website Designer, GUS, for iOS Devices

Universe, the no-code mobile website builder, unveiled its latest innovation, an AI-powered website designer named GUS (Generative Universe Sites), which is now available in beta. GUS offers a user-friendly platform for individuals to effortlessly create and launch custom websites from their iOS devices.

Unlike traditional website builders that start with templates, GUS takes a unique approach. Upon launching the app, users are greeted by the familiar Universe grid editor, but instead of selecting a template, they initiate a text conversation with GUS to kickstart the website creation process. GUS begins by asking a simple question: “What kind of website would you like to build today?” Users then provide initial details about their website’s purpose and design preferences. For example, GUS may inquire about specific color schemes, design ideas, or the desired number of website pages.

Once armed with the necessary information, GUS works its magic and generates a layout tailored to the user’s vision. The best part is that the layout is fully editable, allowing users to make changes effortlessly without delving into any code. Should a user wish to replace an image or make other adjustments, they can do so intuitively. Once satisfied with the website’s appearance, users can promptly publish it to the web.

Universe’s founder and CEO, Joseph Cohen, expressed the company’s mission to empower individuals to build their corner of the internet. With Generative AI at their disposal, Universe takes this empowerment to an entirely new level, as GUS interprets users’ ideas and translates them into reality. Cohen emphasized that anyone, from tattoo artists to students, can confidently claim their digital space using the GUS beta on the iOS app.

The GUS beta is currently accessible to all Universe app users who update their iOS devices. However, Universe has plans to extend this experience to web users in the near future, ensuring that individuals without iPhones or those who prefer desktops can also harness GUS’s capabilities.

Universe’s innovative tool shares similarities with Wix’s recently launched AI Site Generator. Both platforms enable users to describe their intentions, leading to the automatic generation of complete websites, complete with homepage, inner pages, text, images, and business-specific sections like events and bookings.

The primary focus of both Universe and Wix’s products is to assist small and medium-sized businesses in establishing and maintaining their online presence, thereby driving sales. According to a 2022 survey by Top Design Firms, approximately 27% of small businesses still lack a website, and their top challenges include low traffic, incorporating advanced functionalities, and cost concerns.

Nevertheless, these AI-powered products are not exclusively targeted at businesses. They cater to anyone seeking to create a website easily, reflecting Universe’s commitment to inclusivity and accessibility in web design. The introduction of GUS represents a significant milestone in Universe’s journey towards enabling individuals from diverse backgrounds to bring their creative visions to life on the digital canvas.

Since its inception in 2014, Universe has secured $47.3 million in funding, including a $30 million Series B round from investors like Google Ventures, Javelin Venture Partners, and Box Group in December 2021. Additionally, Universe previously raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Google Ventures in April 2020.

Adobe Introduces Generative Expand in Photoshop Beta

Adobe is enhancing its Firefly family of generative AI models by introducing a new feature in Photoshop called “Generative Expand.” This capability, currently available in the beta version of Photoshop, allows users to expand and resize images beyond their original bounds by using the Crop tool and dragging it to expand the canvas. After clicking the “Generate” button in the contextual taskbar, AI-generated content seamlessly blends into the new white space, complementing the existing image.

With Generative Expand, users can address various image issues, such as incomplete subjects, undesirable aspect ratios, or misaligned objects. By expanding the canvas, they can transform their images into whatever they can imagine.

The generated content can be added to the canvas with or without a text prompt. When using a prompt, the expanded image will incorporate the content specified in the prompt. The generated content is placed as a new layer in Photoshop, providing users the flexibility to remove it if it does not meet their expectations.

To address concerns about potentially generating inappropriate content, Adobe has implemented filters within Generative Expand. When using a prompt, the text prompts undergo filtering to minimize the creation of images with inappropriate content. Additionally, the variations returned from the model are also filtered to automatically hide any inappropriate content from display. Pre-processing is done on Firefly-generated images to ensure they comply with Adobe’s terms of service, and any violating content is removed from prompts or blocked entirely.

While Generative Expand is not entirely groundbreaking in the field of generative AI, as other platforms like OpenAI’s DALL-E 2, Midjourney, and Stability AI’s DreamStudio have offered similar features, Adobe’s strategic move is in its native integration with Photoshop. With an estimated 29 million members worldwide, Photoshop’s user base makes it a significant and strategic addition to the platform.

One limitation currently is that Generative Expand is not available for commercial use. However, Adobe plans to change this in the second half of the year.

In addition to Generative Expand, Adobe is expanding language support for Photoshop’s Firefly-powered text-to-image features. These features, which have already generated over 900 million images, will now support over 100 languages, including Arabic, Czech, Greek, and Thai. Both the expanded language support and Generative Expand are now accessible in the Photoshop beta version.

GitHub Copilot Chat Available in a Preview for Businesses

GitHub has taken a significant step forward in expanding its GitHub Copilot service by making the GitHub Copilot Chat accessible to all GitHub Copilot for Business customers. This new feature offers users a context-aware, conversational programming assistant directly within their Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code development environments.

Until now, GitHub Copilot Chat was limited to a private, exclusive beta program. However, with this latest release, users can now benefit from real-time coding assistance tailored to their specific needs, including guidance on best practices, tips, and solutions for coding challenges. The tool also offers code analysis, breaking down complex concepts and providing explanations for code suggestions, making it easier for developers to understand intricate portions of their code.

Moreover, the chat assistant excels in troubleshooting, identifying issues, and offering suggestions, explanations, and alternative approaches. It even provides suggested remediations for security vulnerabilities found in the code, enhancing the overall code quality.

To access the beta version of GitHub Copilot Chat, GitHub Copilot for Business users can sign up through the official GitHub website at github.com. Once enrolled, they can integrate this helpful assistant into their development workflow through Visual Studio Code and Visual Studio extensions. The convenience of executing complex tasks with simple prompts sets this tool apart, according to GitHub.

The wider beta release, announced on July 20, marks the first step toward introducing GitHub Copilot X to enterprises. The latter will feature technical previews of generative AI and GPT-4 for developers, promising even more advanced and sophisticated capabilities.

GitHub emphasizes that GitHub Copilot Chat is not just a simple chat window; instead, it actively understands the code the developer has typed and is aware of any error messages displayed by the integrated development environment (IDE). This context-awareness greatly enhances its ability to provide accurate and relevant assistance to the developer.

Notably, Microsoft had previously provided a preview of Copilot Chat for GitHub Copilot within Visual Studio Code. However, despite the promising features, GitHub Copilot has faced concerns and even legal challenges regarding the fairness and legality of its usage of publicly available code. GitHub has asserted that the technology behind Copilot has been trained on billions of lines of code from various sources worldwide, which has contributed to its extensive knowledge and capabilities.

Introducing TypeChat: Microsoft’s Library for Creating Natural Language Interfaces

Microsoft has introduced TypeChat, an innovative library aimed at simplifying the development of natural language interfaces for large language models (LLMs) using types. This open source library, available on GitHub, leverages TypeScript and generative AI to connect natural language, application schema, and APIs seamlessly. By utilizing type definitions in your application, TypeChat enables the retrieval of structured AI responses that are type-safe.

Prior to the release of TypeChat, developers faced challenges in creating natural language interfaces for applications, often relying on complex decision trees to determine user intent and gather the necessary inputs to trigger actions. However, with TypeChat, this process becomes more streamlined. Instead of prompt engineering, TypeChat adopts schema engineering, allowing developers to define types that represent the supported intents in their natural language application. These types can be as simple as sentiment categorization or more sophisticated, such as types tailored for a shopping cart or a music application.

Once the developer has defined the types, it constructs a prompt to communicate with the LLM using those types and verifies that the LLM response adheres to the specified schema. In case of non-conforming output, further interaction with the language model is conducted to rectify the issue. Moreover, it provides a summary of the instance and confirms that it aligns with the user’s intent.

To make it easy for developers to use TypeChat, it can be installed through NPM:

bashCopy codenpm install typechat

Additionally, developers have the option to build TypeChat from the source:

bashCopy codenpm run build

The creators of TypeChat emphasized its significance in the context of the recent enthusiasm surrounding LLMs, particularly in chat assistants. However, they acknowledged that integrating these models into existing app interfaces raised questions for developers. It is specifically designed to address these concerns, enabling the augmentation of traditional user interfaces with natural language interfaces and facilitating the conversion of user requests into a format that applications can process using AI.

In summary, TypeChat by Microsoft is an open source library that leverages TypeScript and generative AI to enable the straightforward development of natural language interfaces for large language models. By utilizing types, developers can streamline the process of integrating AI into their applications and enhance user experiences through seamless natural language interactions.

WordPress Playground: A Revolutionary Development Tool

If you haven’t been keeping up with the latest news in the WordPress ecosystem, you might have missed out on an incredible new project called WordPress Playground. I, too, was unaware of its existence until the project page made its way to Hacker News a few days ago.

But let me tell you, WordPress Playground is an absolute gem that deserves our attention. Its concept is beautifully simple: it enables you to run a WordPress instance directly from your web browser, eliminating the need to tinker with servers or go through the hassle of installing PHP, MySQL, or Apache.

You can experience it firsthand at playground.wordpress.net. In just a matter of seconds, you’ll have a fresh WordPress site at your disposal, complete with an admin panel and the ability to create posts and pages. I know what you’re thinking: How is this even possible? And more importantly, why is it useful?

Well, thanks to the efforts of Adam Zielinski and other talented contributors from Automattic and the WordPress community, they’ve developed a WebAssembly-based WordPress runtime that allows you to launch a WordPress server simply by loading a page. They’ve replaced the traditional MySQL database with a file-based SQLite database, while a service worker acts as the web server, efficiently translating browser requests into WordPress responses.

On my laptop, WordPress loads in under ten seconds. You can freely experiment and make changes, knowing that everything will reset when you refresh the page. Moreover, you have the option to store data either in the browser or in a local directory on your computer.

That’s the core idea behind WordPress Playground—it provides a sandboxed environment where you can try new concepts, showcase your work, and test your code against various versions of WordPress and PHP.

For example, you can utilize WordPress Playground to evaluate plugins, themes, or blocks to determine if they suit your needs. No longer do you need to install them on a live WordPress site or go through the hassle of creating a staging environment. It’s a streamlined and hassle-free solution.

Installing a plugin in WordPress Playground is a breeze. You can either download a plugin’s ZIP file and upload it to the Playground or simply modify the URL to something like playground.wordpress.net/?plugin=MYCOOLNEWPLUGIN, instantly booting up a WordPress site with the plugin already installed.

WordPress Playground offers extensive configuration options through query parameters in the URL. You can specify the PHP version, the WordPress version, or even the specific WordPress URL to load upon page load. These parameters are particularly valuable for plugin developers who wish to test their latest versions on a fresh WordPress installation. Similarly, theme developers can utilize the Playground to embed live demos of their themes using an <iframe> tag.

WordPress, known for its flexibility, is not only a powerful content management system but also serves as an app platform. As I previously discussed with Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg, his vision for WordPress is to build the operating system of the web. It can be utilized to showcase a restaurant menu or serve as the foundation for high-traffic media sites (such as Blog By Jet Developers, which runs on WordPress).

Moreover, many people adopt WordPress as a headless content management system. With this approach, WordPress handles content, users, and media files, while the frontend remains completely separate from WordPress, interacting with its content through the API.

Given that WordPress Playground essentially functions as a standalone WordPress instance, you can also run it on your local device. For instance, there’s a VS Code plugin available for debugging themes and plugins locally. Additionally, you can launch a local WordPress environment using a command-line interface (CLI) tool.

In a truly mind-boggling and impressive endeavor, Ella van Durpe utilized WordPress Playground as the foundation for a new note-taking app called Blocknotes, available on iOS and macOS. Blocknotes is essentially a simplified version of WordPress that allows you to create notes in a manner similar to creating WordPress posts.

As demonstrated by the accompanying screenshots shared by Ella van Durpe, your notes are saved as HTML files in iCloud Drive and seamlessly synchronized across your Apple devices. It’s a remarkable project that brings to mind TiddlyWiki, a wiki-style notebook contained within a single HTML file.

With the vast possibilities that WordPress Playground offers, I’m excited to witness its potential in various other use cases. It’s truly awe-inspiring to witness web technologies being utilized in innovative ways, and WordPress Playground serves as a prime example of this trend.