Microsoft Fixes a Bug That Removed Copilot; AI Is Taking Over Your Favorite Fast Food Joints; Microsoft Continues Killing Off the Control Panel… and more!
Every day, we scan the tech world for interesting news, sometimes from outside the tech world. Every Thursday, we feature news articles that grabbed our attention over the past week. We hope you find this week’s ‘Thursday Newsbytes’ informative and interesting!
Copilot was removed from some systems using Windows 11 Build 26100.3476, which was released early in March.
Microsoft just fixed a bug that removed Copilot from affected Windows 11 PCs. Many, including myself, joked that the bug was actually a feature.
While I find Copilot useful, I think Microsoft is too pushy about integrating it into Windows 11. PCs now feature a Copilot button, sacrificing a valuable keyboard key for a tool that not everyone uses.
Microsoft finally decided to let people remap the Copilot key, but that came after months of requests and complaints.
In addition to looking better, the updated Copilot app performs better and has more features.
The bug that removed Copilot from affected systems was present in Windows 11 Build 26100.3476, which started rolling out to users earlier this month…
Hate AI? This might be your new weight-loss hack
Last year, Yum! Brands, the company behind Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC, introduced AI to some drive-thru locations. Now the company plans to roll out AI ordering at 500 different restaurants later this year.
If you’ve been to one of the more than 100 AI-powered restaurants across 13 U.S states already, you may have already ordered a Crunchwrap Supreme by speaking to AI. For the rest of us, who’ve yet to experience an AI server, your closest Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, or Habit Burger might offer the service soon.
In a press release, Yum! Brands announced the new AI partnership with Nvidia that will see artificial intelligence implemented in some of the company’s 61,000 restaurants across the globe. In fact, the company is “Nvidia’s first AI restaurant partner.”
“Yum! and Nvidia are planning to transform the future of dining by unlocking scalable AI applications quickly, reliably and affordably.” But what does that mean exactly?
Well, restaurants chosen for this AI rollout will receive voice-automated order-taking AI agents…
Microsoft’s slow, piecemeal killing of the Control Panel in Windows 11 continues
The death of the Control Panel has been anything but quick and painless. The gradual migration to the Settings app has seen the Control Panel lingering on in a software hospice as Microsoft slowly chips away at it.
This legacy component of Windows remains home to various system settings that cannot be changed elsewhere, but hints have been spotted in builds of Windows Server that the end is drawing closer.
It is still impossible to know just when the Control Panel will be killed off completely, but the ever-reliable PhantomOfEarth has uncovered evidence that more options are making their way into the Settings apps. This time around, it is further mouse related settings, many of which have remained stuck in the Control Panel while others have made their way to Settings…
Malicious Android ‘Vapor’ apps on Google Play installed 60 million times
Over 300 malicious Android applications downloaded 60 million items from Google Play acted as adware or attempted to steal credentials and credit card information.
The operation was first uncovered by IAS Threat Lab, who categorized the malicious activity under the name “Vapor” and said it has been ongoing since early 2024.
IAS identified 180 apps as part of the Vapor campaign, generating 200 million fraudulent advertising bid requests daily to engage in large-scale ad fraud.
A newly published report by Bitdefender increased the number of malicious apps to 331, reporting many infections in Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Turkey, and South Korea.
“The apps display out-of-context ads and even try to persuade victims to give away credentials and credit card information in phishing attacks,” warns Bitdefender.
Although all of these apps have since been removed from Google Play, there’s a significant risk that Vapor will return through new apps as the threat actors have already demonstrated the ability to bypass Google’s review process…
Read more at Bleeping Computer.
Verizon US is first to get satellite texting to any device with select Android smartphone
Commitment toward “powering the lives” of customers is what Verizon is striving for.
Verizon announces a major update for its customers and a select group of smartphones today (Mar. 19).
The cellular service announced it is bringing satellite texting to any device via “select” Android phones in a press release. According to Verizon, its U.S.-based customers will be the first in the nation to receive such support. The company states users can “send text messages to any other customer device via satellite when outside the reach of terrestrial cellular networks.”
There is some restriction here as Verizon states this satellite capability won’t hit every Android phone. Users with a Samsung Galaxy S25 or Google Pixel 9 series phone can leverage its newly expanded satellite texting.
Verizon is starting to hammer away at these upgrades today (Mar. 19); however, it will likely take two weeks before it’s completely stable and ready…
Thanks for reading this week’s Thursday Newbytes. We hope these articles were informative, interesting, fun, and helpful.
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