Three Decades After Clippy, Microsoft Launches Mico (theverge.com) 58
Nearly three decades after Clippy appeared as Microsoft's Office assistant, the company is introducing Mico, a virtual character for Copilot's voice mode. The bouncing orb responds with real-time expressions during conversations and is being turned on by default, The Verge reports. Users can disable the feature, however.
The assistant draws on a new memory feature inside Copilot to recall facts about users and their work. Mico will be available in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada at launch. Microsoft is also adding a Learn Live mode that transforms the character into a Socratic tutor using interactive whiteboards and visual cues. The initiative is part of an effort to give Copilot a permanent identity. Jacob Andreou, corporate vice president of product and growth at Microsoft AI, said: "Clippy walked so that we could run."
The assistant draws on a new memory feature inside Copilot to recall facts about users and their work. Mico will be available in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada at launch. Microsoft is also adding a Learn Live mode that transforms the character into a Socratic tutor using interactive whiteboards and visual cues. The initiative is part of an effort to give Copilot a permanent identity. Jacob Andreou, corporate vice president of product and growth at Microsoft AI, said: "Clippy walked so that we could run."
LOL (Score:4, Funny)
It looks like a blob of spooge. Appropriate.
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It looks like a blob of spooge. Appropriate.
Or related -- cartoon ovum and sperm [istockphoto.com] ...
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If your splooge looks like that, you need to see a doctor.
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I'll see what CoPilot thinks of that.
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give Copilot a permanent identity (Score:2)
Fitting (Score:3)
Like the name for a mushroom or fungus?
Or did they just regress to a 4-year-old trying to pronounce microsoft?
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My guess is that one person with power thought "My Co(pilot)" and then did not think any further.
The rest is arrogance.
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Like the name for a mushroom or fungus?
Or did they just regress to a 4-year-old trying to pronounce microsoft?
Speaking of feeding pointless arguments between toddlers, is that MEE-KOH, or M-EYE-KOH?
The ones still arguing about GIF, would like to know.
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Unless you pronounce "beta" as "beeta" then I assume it's "m-eye-koh" as in the first two syllables of microsoft minus the "r"
First thing mico morphs into looks like (Score:3)
Clippy didn't walk (Score:5, Informative)
It annoyed the shit out of everyone, and could not be killed. People only remember it for how annoying it was. Microsoft has never been good at making likable things. Their success is in making people and organisations dependent, not enthusiastic. I'm not sure why they even pretend.
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Clippy wasn't surveillance: "The assistant draws on a new memory feature inside Copilot to recall facts about users and their work."
Bet that still slurps when the feature is ostensibly disabled, for user convenience should you enable it some time....
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Clippit walked so that your budget library computer would stagger and collapse. Funny how it made older office computers completely unusable, now wasn't it?
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Clippy was trivial to kill. You just had to know how (to use a search engine).
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Irrelevant to what I replied to, which was about Clippy.
Try to participate in the same conversation as the grownups.
Re: Clippy didn't walk (Score:2)
If you have to search for how to do something, then that thing is not easy enough to do. Sure, it's a computer where the user is root and memory is shared by all apps so technically you're right, anyone can write their own program and the user does control the computer. I also understand that there was no need to write a program in order to kill Clippy, that's beside the point. In practice, when a layperson clicked on that cross with the obvious intent that Clippy stops running, Clippy didn't stop running,
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Their success is in making people and organisations dependent, ...
Their success came from buying a great product and putting a consistent, recognizable UI on top of it. That made their products popular. Businesses bought their products because it was a do-everything bundle that many people already understood.
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???
Apple bought Next, but I believe that MS developed it's own software after the first few years. Not that I agree any of it is "a great product", but at least until around 1995 most of it was pretty usable. (At that point I switched to Apple for a few years before moving on to Linux, so I don't know about recent MS products, but I'm pretty sure most of them were developed in-house.)
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It annoyed the shit out of everyone, and could not be killed. People only remember it for how annoying it was. Microsoft has never been good at making likable things. Their success is in making people and organisations dependent, not enthusiastic. I'm not sure why they even pretend.
If someone in a professional organization had a dependency on fucking Clippy, I'm left wondering what the corporate budget is for diaper vending machines and warm milk on tap 24/7.
(Microsoft Bob) "Fucking knew that little shit would make me look bad.."
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You didn't need to have a dependency on Clippy, just a prohibition on uninstalling it. Personally, I never liked it, and disabled it after a few days, but many organizations have a stricter configuration policy.
Clippy and great ideas (Score:2)
Microsoft: "Here's our crappiest idea, hosted by Clippy!"
Crappiest mascot, crappiest idea, and crappiest investment: MSFT
Short MSFT
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Don't forget the executive who spearheaded this was paid probably 15x the median American salary for it.
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There's someone good at throwing or catching a ball that makes 15x that executive's salary.
Steve Baller made at least 15x what top athletes got and he was an even bigger idiot
You're making my point?
Oh good lord (Score:2)
I thought you were joking. You were not.
This is especially telling since the new Office icons have Word looking like a wanking fist.
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It gets a bit better, according to TheRegister: https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theregister.com%2F20... [theregister.com]
"The real magic happens when you stick your mouse pointer on top of Mico and quickly click several times. Then the avatar turns into Clippy. It’s still Mico, mind you, but with a Clippy skin, which means a lot to anyone who used Office toward the end of the last millennium."
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There's nothing like getting wrong/misleading answers or useless responses from some cheerful smiling character.
For a minute there I thought you were referring to my boss
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I think we might have been co-workers in the past!
Baffled (Score:4, Insightful)
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Since you asked:
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dv3... [youtube.com]
Clippy lives on! (Score:2)
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Clippy approves this message.
Inspiring! (Score:1)
I've been giving serious thought to killing myself lately, but Mico has inspired me to live a little longer, just to see what Microsoft does next.
Thank you, Mico! Thank you!
MS is just laughing at us now (Score:1)
Can they? Can they really? (Score:4)
The bouncing orb responds with real-time expressions during conversations and is being turned on by default, The Verge reports. Users can disable the feature, however.
First off: Fuck you, Microsoft. Enough for the auto-on egregious bullshit.
Second off, how long after they get feedback that everyone in the universe turned this off will it be before an update forces it back on with no off toggle?
Poke it, quickly! (Score:1)
"If you poke Mico very very quickly, something special may happen,”
I've had women tell me that before.
All I can say is that I must not poke quickly enough.
Of course (Score:2)
Brazil will find that funny (Score:3)
"Pagaram mico" as they say
Clippy just wanted to help (Score:2)
Yeah, it was stupid and annoying, but it didn't want to suck your data to serve ads.
Bouncing Orb? Is it... (Score:2)
Bouncing Orb? Is it..."Evil Otto" from Berserk?
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F... [wikipedia.org]
JoshK.
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It's the Loc-Nar.
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fheavymetalmedia.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FLoc-Nar
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I've never heard that, I think of a Klingon ship the "Loknahr" :)
Another thought is that it is "The Rover" from the Prisoner with a false face...Microsoft economizing things as usual.
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F... [wikipedia.org]
And like in the Simpsons, its going to suffocate and smother us with AI "help" until we pay a fee...for license to Microslop.
https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FG9RQ4nKXrw8 [youtu.be]
JoshK.
It looks like you're writing a letter .. (Score:4, Funny)
Matrix Runs on Windows XP [youtube.com]
--
Me: I want to die
ClippyAI: It looks like you're writing a suicide note
--
ClippyAI: Modern perception: Despite its initial reception, Clippy has undergone a "redemption arc" and is now often viewed with nostalgia, with people missing the "charm" of that era, notes this YouTube video. This has led to Clippy's return in a more positive, retro-style context, as seen with the Clippy Desktop Assistant.
nico in greek and spanish (Score:2)
in greek is fungus, in spanish, monkey.
so, either a fungus thay infects your system, or a howler monkey that annoys you...
Could be worse. (Score:3)
The best way to disable (Score:2)
The best way to disable this irritating little pest is to switch to Linux. Set yourself free from the Microsoft and Apple gulags.
need Miku not mico (Score:1)