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Microsoft Designer
- figassis 4y agoThis looks like Microsoft seizing the opportunity to build out a proper G-Suite competitor, basically an ecosystem with all tools built in.
- capableweb 4y agoWhat tool does Google have, that Microsoft Designer is trying to compete against? Closest I can imagine is the Google Photos editor, but it's not the same scope/audience at all...
- armini 4y agoLooks like Microsoft are starting to flex their partnership with OpenAI & stable diffusion into their tech stack.
- hulitu 4y agoWhat can go wrong ? Is not like most of their programs are a UI disaster (Office 365, Teams, Explorer, Calculator, Win 10) /s
- calciphus 4y agoWait I'm genuinely curious: what's wrong with Calculator?
- ly3xqhl8g9 4y ago"Windows 11 calculator is creating many problems such as the app surprisingly crashes, opens then immediately closes, or not performs as expected. Some people complain that the built-in Microsoft Store application does not work after they have received an update." [1] The fact that there are 14 ways to fix the Calculator app listed in this article, including even "Disable Windows Firewall temporarily", is simply beyond any sort of rant. Somewhat off-topic, listened recently to Computers Barely Work - Interview with Linux Legend Greg Kroah-Hartman [2] and, as hubristic and cliché as it is, the takeaway was: we must delete every software, destroy every CPU ever made, and start all over again. [1] https://www.howto-connect.com/fix-calculator-not-working-in-windows-11-solved https://www.howto-connect.com/fix-calculator-not-working-in-... (edit: other links about fixing the Calculator app, https://www.groovypost.com/howto/calculator-app-not-working-on-windows-11-fixes https://www.groovypost.com/howto/calculator-app-not-working-..., https://appuals.com/calculator-not-working-windows https://appuals.com/calculator-not-working-windows — the fact that these SEO spam sites exist is also a problem, an app as trivial as a calculator should have one single, self-evident button for the end user to click and fix it, whatever that might imply) [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9MjGziRw-c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9MjGziRw-c
- chinaman425 4y ago[dead]
- waihtis 4y ago> "Disable Windows Firewall temporarily" I can only presume this is because Microsoft records and sends your calculator inputs to themselves. Windows is just one gigantic spyware operation. So glad I can run 99% of my daily ops on Linux
- dagw 4y agoThe site is a spam blog site written purely for SEO and has very little to do with the actual calculator app or offering actually useful advice. It's basically just a copy-paste text dump of every generic trouble shooting tip someone could find on the internet.
- ly3xqhl8g9 4y agoHere is a link [1] from the Microsoft forum with an advice to ...right click on Windows PowerShell and select Run as administrator. Then type following command and press Enter key: Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.WindowsCalculator | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml" -Verbose} It's just ridiculous for a Calculator app fix, no matter how you put it. [1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/954577/calculator-app-not-working-in-windows-11 https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/954577/c...
- yanellena 4y agoBut this command isn't about fixing the calculator app at all, it's for reregistering the application if you have removed it from your profile. I have the new calculator app open literally all of the time and I've not run into any issues with it at all. In fact since it's been updated, it saves me from using Google searches for plenty of types of conversions too so I'd suggest the new update has been a large success.
- Anon4Now 4y agoI use it regularly. It seems fine to me, but I do wish it had copy and paste.
- diarrhea 4y agoThe technology just isn't there yet. I can recommend IPython, or just plain PowerShell for simple calculations.
- smcl 4y agoYeah, I use the Python REPL for any quick calculations - it's usually already open, it's fast and it is more flexible. I still think the default calculator should be quick and functional for those of us who don't do developer things.
- ChuckNorris89 4y ago> I do wish it had copy and paste Have you tried Ctrl + C/V in calculator? Or righ-clicking on the numbers and seeing the Copy and Paste options that pop up? It definitely does have copy and paste. I double checked it right now.
- MikusR 4y agoIt has exactly the same copy paste functionality as the old one.
- hulitu 4y agoIt is half the screen, hard to use with a mouse, gray on gray, slow to start.
- MikusR 4y agoEven at 800x600 it's not half the screen. Starts at about the same time as the old one. Is black on white. The old one is blue on blue. usage with mouse is the same as the old one. Even the math engine is literally the same.
- muststopmyths 4y agoTo name just one thing that bugs me: You can't switch modes with function keys any more. Previously you could go between Scientific,Programmer, etc. with function keys and now you have to use the miserable hamburger menu. I absolutely hate the UI as well, but that's probably subjective. For example, why isn't the input area clearly distinct instead of blending into the surrounding with no border ?
- MikusR 4y agoWhich Windows had the switching with Function keys? I just tested with the one from windows 7 and you switch modes with alt+number. Function keys are only used in programmer mode to switch between hex/dex. Those same shortcuts work in the new one. Same with the one from XP that has only two modes, but you can't switch between them using alt+number.
- muststopmyths 4y agoUgh you’re right. I misremembered which combo does what. I seem to recall function keys not working in programmer mode for a while, but now I am also doubting my mental stability
- erwinh 4y agoGetting strong startup hustler vibes from msft with some corporate sprinkled on top
- studentik 4y agoFunny world is binary for Microsoft, US and not US
- SanchoPanda 4y agoThat's (50/50) also about the split of global software revenue, maybe a little tilted away from US, but not much. Depending on how you count. Quickest source: - https://www.statista.com/outlook/tmo/software/united-states https://www.statista.com/outlook/tmo/software/united-states - https://www.statista.com/outlook/tmo/software/worldwide https://www.statista.com/outlook/tmo/software/worldwide
- bradwood 4y agoNot funny. And not just Microsoft. Most US companies and the majority of US citizens too.
- timeon 4y agoIt make sense. With Microsoft - it is US company. With citizens same: domestic vs foreign. Like with Eurosport commentators that are rooting for British racers. In every country it is the same. But since English language is now international, we somehow expect content to be international as well.
- Dalewyn 4y agoLinux is worse: The world is English and English.
- oezi 4y agoIs there any indication that they improved DALL.E2 in the meantime? When I last used it a couple of months ago many images weren't polished enough to be used for anything.
- martin-adams 4y agoYes, this video explores what we know about it… https://youtu.be/sCGKtIeKqPg https://youtu.be/sCGKtIeKqPg
- BMc2020 4y agoha, my first thought was, "So, it's an AI GUI?"
- sprobertson 4y agoThere's a new model being alpha tested, search twitter or reddit for "dall-e experimental"
- thorum 4y agoFrom the comparisons I’ve seen, still well behind Midjourney.
- ttul 4y agoI just threw up in my mouth, a little.
- justeleblanc 4y agoGood for you!
- ojintoad 4y agohttps://youtu.be/VSmTtlf_Cy8 https://youtu.be/VSmTtlf_Cy8
- justeleblanc 4y agoI've been on the wait list since it came up, still no luck.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- whywhywhywhy 4y agoMicrosofts 3D video team always put all this effort into making the uis look good and fluid but it's all just fantasy, the disconnect between what the marketing team is saying it is and what the reality of their software is jarring.
- ryanjshaw 4y agoThe video is way too fast, I could barely tell what was going on. If you scroll past the video, the feature screenshots and animations are way more compelling.
- julienreszka 4y agoI agree it's overwhelming
- ChatGTP 4y agoIt's also not practical example of it's use, if I'm going to be using that tool to make a book about "baking ideas", I'd expect to have actual photos of the food I'm making in the book, is that too much to ask for? Maybe that's supposed to be showing "mock ups" or something?
- ModernMech 4y agoI think they made it pretty clear this is a tool to confront the "blank canvas" problem, aka writer's block. For me, this has been the best use of tools like stable diffusion and chatgpt; when I'm trying to be creative, I just start typing in the text box, and then with a few prods from the AI the ideas start flowing.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- arkitaip 4y agoI dunno man, Teams has only given me a slight headache this morning instead of a cluster migraine.
- bradhe 4y agoMicrosoft has an absolutely terrible track record in the creative productivity category to the point that their previous entrants fell somewhere between “toy” and “joke.” I don’t have high hopes here, personally.
- qbasic_forever 4y agoI would wager MS Paint has done more to spark creativity and set people on a path to becoming digital artists than any other piece of software in history like Photoshop. I wouldn't underestimate the power of 'toy' programs.
- arkitaip 4y agoNot sure how that's relevant in this context but maybe you're saying designers should just stick with MS Paint instead of this new software?
- _def 4y agoI think it's more about how playfulness and exploration can be powerful for non-professional users.
- just-tom 4y agoI agree, but MS Paint did so because it was available to anyone who opened up Windows, not because it's a great piece of software.
- hulitu 4y agoMS paint was killed and replaced with a parody.
- pjerem 4y agoI don’t even understand what this is supposed to do. Looks like rebranded stable diffusion rebranded as illustrator but without features.
- arkitaip 4y agoIt's just more randomness to pad out their Microsoft 365 offerings. It's like that horrible buffet you keep visiting because it's cheap and, well, cheap.
- ivalm 4y agoCore of office 365 (word/power point/excel) is pretty good! To be seen if this more excel or teams.
- Traubenfuchs 4y ago> pretty good But done and thus stagnating. Companies hate "pretty good", "done" and stagnating. They want to offer new stuff. Enable growth. Crossselling. Upselling.
- bryanrasmussen 4y agothe buffet has BBQ hot wings, they're not really great hot wings but you would have to go through a lot to get really great ones, so you take this because it damps down a craving and gives an approximation of satisfaction.
- didntreadarticl 4y agoIts Canva, but instead of stock art its AI generated stuff
- unxdfa 4y agoI expect hoards of graphic designers to arrive at Redmond with pitchforks and torches this afternoon.
- nirav72 4y agoGraphic designers tend not use microsoft tools. I mean , when is the last time you saw someone fire up MS Publisher for a professional graphics project?
- twalichiewicz 4y agoThe current design ideas in MS products are terrible so I doubt how much AI can help that. I AM curious to see how design tools evolve to work with all this new AI tech being integrated. I wonder how long is left before pixel pushing is just for final polish and a designer's role shifts to focus on properly explaining the nuance of a problem to a chatbot. Soon we'll all be Celery Man (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maAFcEU6atk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maAFcEU6atk).
- bryanrasmussen 4y ago>The current design ideas in MS products are terrible so I doubt how much AI can help that. you mean - the problem with Microsoft is they have no taste?
- another2another 4y agoYes. And I mean that in a BIG way.
- Karellen 4y agoIn the sense that they don't think of original ideas, and they don't bring much culture into their product?
- DaiPlusPlus 4y agoSome divisions seem to have a coherent visual design strategy like Office and, to a lesser extent, DeDiv (though obviously hamstrung by lacking time to update all the old dialogs). The Windows Org, though, is a mess - and I also fault the upper-execs for not bashing their heads together. I think there’s only been two points in the company’s history when the stars aligned and all their main products (Windows, Office, Visual Studio) were aesthetically coherent: 1998 and 2005.
- didntreadarticl 4y agoDall-E, could you add a hat wobble to that? .... And a Flarhgunnstow?
- htag 4y agoThe next product announcement where Microsoft incorporates AI as a central feature will cause me to roll my eyes. I expect we'll see a dozen or more of these this year. They are ultimately just repackaging models discussed here in a user friendly UI. This would look a lot more promising if Microsoft had a stronger track record for applications, which has been hit or miss.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- siva7 4y agoSo graphic designers will be out of jobs because of Microsoft?
- keyle 4y agoUgh... this looks more like a meme generator than an actual change in the industry. It looks like it opens AI art to the masses which is probably a net positive.
- newaccount74 4y agoThere are a million newsletters and other mailings sent out by random employees without any formal education in design. The kind of people who used Comic Sans and Word Art, if you still remember. Companies that send out professionally designed mailings won't start sending half-assed AI generated stuff.
- rg111 4y agoAbsolutely. People who already pay professional artists will not stop paying them because of this. This kind of products will create many entrants into the design space. People who still haven't paid a designer/artist yet, many of whom weren’t ever going to- will form the stark majority of users of this product. This is something very simple that many people refuse to understand.
- grugagag 4y ago> People who already pay professional artists will not stop paying them because of this. But they may as well pay them less or work them harder because of the perceived AI threat. Remains to be seen how it all unfolds
- schappim 4y agoPoor Canva can't catch a break.
- rguldener 4y agoMany snarky comments here because, Microsoft + AI. Maybe, but I don't think this is looking to replace stable diffusion or DALL-E. This is going after Canva and if it gets bundled into your existing 365 subscription it can be a compelling offer for millions of SMEs and consumers on that stack already (especially if it integrates well with Word/Outlook/etc).
- corentin88 4y agoI wonder if they are going after Canva or Figma. Feels like once you hit a certain revenue threshold, all the GAFAM/GAMMA are putting effort to put you down. That’s capitalism 101, but in 50 years from now, it might be really hard to start a software company. GAMMA would have eaten just about everything.
- input_sh 4y agoThis definitely feels like Canva / Adobe Express (used to be Spark), the examples they show in the video feel like they want you to use it for social media posts. Difference I can spot is that Canva / Adobe Express charge $1 for a human-made premium asset (while offering a pretty good free selection), while Microsoft charges for AI-generated assets (notice "remove watermark" at 00:24).
- hiisukun 4y agoI feel a deep sadness, a sympathy, or sense of loss for the countless artists who have toiled to produce beautiful works over the decades (centuries?), just for them to be approximated by a single click as a vector mashup in an AI generative search space. And without so much as a by your leave. I'm not saying it's logical to be against AI image generation, but definitely have a feeling that something has gone wrong here. When Microsoft, a billion dollar global software firm, can profit by generating these images I must ask if they are the ones that worked for such reward.
- hit8run 4y agoI feel the same. Especially this shitty company that has proved over decades now that they are up to no good.
- alex_suzuki 4y agoPost-Ballmer Microsoft is not so bad.
- k_ 4y agoIt's still bad enough imo when it comes to respecting copyright / intellectual property, so not a surprise at all they're doing this to illustrators now :/ Not that they're the only ones doing it these days, admittedly.
- injidup 4y agoI was in the "Alte Pinoteke" in Munich, Germany, on Sunday. It is a fabulous gallery full of huge and old master paintings. There was a certain 4 frame series with each frame about 5m long by 3m high. Each was an architectural study of Rome with each being from a different view direction. What struck me was the text written below the paintings which indicated that the artist, after *3 years of work*, had been quoted that he was sick of the job and wished that the process would be now over. 3 years to produce 4 images so that some aristocrat could hang it on his wall and be reminded of his holiday adventure. The distance between this state of the world, where to make a representation of reality (unreality) at the highest levels of fidelity would take years to achieve, versus what is now possible with digital cameras and AI image generation is staggering. Now anybody can create a Mona Lisa and have it hung in their own toilet to admire. Is this a bad thing that ordinary people have access to the tools to create content vs the old way where only the very very rich could afford to pay a master for three years to produce a few images? I can only assume that the same arguments and complaints were raised at every stage a new technology was introduced that lowered the cost and time to produce "content".
- libraryatnight 4y agoThat site makes me think of greeting card software that was popular circa windows 98, just more advanced.
- m_mueller 4y ago"It looks like you're writing a letter!"
- liampulles 4y agoThe future of clipart
- filleokus 4y agoAt first I thought this was a Figma-like tool. I wonder if Microsoft could compete in that space, or is the UI/UX community to opinionated and outspoken to stop the classic enterprise argument? "We're already paying $$$ to MS and we'll get a big discount / bundle deal for [MS alternative], we can't justify the cost for [better non-MS alternative]"
- capableweb 4y agoIt is not a Figma alternative. Figma is a tool for designers to design. Microsoft Designer seems to be a tool for non-designers to attempt design, with the help of AI. Very different audiences, and trying out the tool, everything about the UI/UX makes that very clear, Microsoft Designer is more like a wizard for creating a initial design, while Figma is a proper tool.
- FinnKuhn 4y agoThis seems to be like what Paint is to Photoshop in that sense
- sgent 4y agohttps://www.pcworld.com/article/1419066/microsoft-designer-is-almost-a-masterpiece-already.html https://www.pcworld.com/article/1419066/microsoft-designer-i... A preview.
- shp0ngle 4y agoThe weirdest thing about microsoft is that if they want to, they can deliver good software. VSCode and Github are amazing! And they did WSL! On the other hand, they also have Teams and Azure Devops (that’s their “enterprise github”).
- preezer 4y agoVSCode and Github are both bought. With WSL you're right.
- shakow 4y agoGithub is not really a good example, they basically bought it ‶off-the-shelf″.
- timeon 4y ago> VSCode and Github are amazing! There is hug momentum behind VSCode so it has large ammount of features. But software for editing text, that eats as much RAM as 3d software with complex model, is probably not amazing.
- Mick-Jogger 4y agoDid anybody else face the issue that they got a mail from Microsoft asking them to "Try Designer" however once you try to login with your account it mentions: This account doesn't exist. I am not sure what Designer is and I wanted to check if it was a Figma/Adobe XD competitor.
- capableweb 4y agoI did get the email too, but didn't have the issue. From another comment of mine: > It is not a Figma alternative. Figma is a tool for designers to design. Microsoft Designer seems to be a tool for non-designers to attempt design, with the help of AI. Very different audiences, and trying out the tool, everything about the UI/UX makes that very clear, Microsoft Designer is more like a wizard for creating a initial design, while Figma is a proper tool. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35067676 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35067676
- Brajeshwar 4y agoIs this the return of or a variation of Microsoft Silverlight - https://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/ https://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/
- jmkni 4y agoA man can dream!
- aembleton 4y agoI think Silverlight was trying to compete with Flash. This Designer product seems very different - it seems to be an attempt at image generation and integration into a desktop publishing application.
- doubled112 4y agoStunning designs in a flash, not stunning designs in Flash.
- booleandilemma 4y agoThanks for providing a link to Silverlight like we don't all know what it is and making me feel old :P
- al_be_back 4y agoyes but what is it? is it a take on canva + dale-2? for a startup 'join the waitlist' makes sense - but here i don't see why, or even what for, it's unclear to me.
- damsta 4y agoI joined the waitlist and got a confirmation email saying "Pretty soon, you’ll be creating stunning designs in a flash" ;)
- pupileater 4y agoI had the opportunity to try it out but it doesn't offer any purpose other than "generate instagram post with some inaccurate image generation". It feels like nothing more than a limited Canva with a sub-par version of Dall-E 2. Every other design tool offers way faster workflows, even for non-designers. Currently Microsoft Designer is requiring too much intuition and pre-planning on the user's part for a meaningful and optimized workflow. Currently this solves nothing. The UI looks great though (don't know about UX, it's kinda like web3-we-dont-know-what-to-do-it-with-yet)
- __michaelg 4y agoI read "Stunning designs in Flash" at first, and it almost made sense.
- beyondcompute 4y agoRemember the days when most people who were on the internet could build their own websites? And those were rather unique, sometimes quaint and sincere? And you didn’t need a help from a solar-system-engulfing corporation to accomplish that? What if I told you that it is still possible? Or, have we as the tech community “succeeded” in making the barrier of entry so much higher?
- samuell 4y agoHow much of this video do you think was generated with the tool?
- wdb 4y agoBefore opening this link I thought it was referring to Microsoft Expression Design before remembering the correct name of this older product :) But clear not! This looks a bit like a competitor for Canva?
- Dowwie 4y agoWhat are the competing services in this space?
- alwaysanon 4y agoCanva came for MS PowerPoint/Office. They should have expected a response…
- jpswade 4y agoInteresting that Microsoft is prepared to take some of the Publisher market to go after Canva.
- badwolf 4y agoThis feels like a preview of what could be coming to PowerPoint. Intrigued to see how this turns out.
- buzbe_uk 4y agoI wish Microsoft would finish something before going off to build something else. My team are desparate for Microsoft Loop Workspaces to launch so we can get off Notion and be integrated into one platform. Where has that project gone? Again - another jazzy page and no launch. M$'s history is littered with these types of launches and vapourware. Someone should teach them how to manage a product properly. and don't get me started on how they keep renaming everything, is it Cortana, is it Viva? IDFK!
- atlgator 4y agoIs this Microsoft's answer to Figma? What's the overlap?
- CharlesW 4y ago> Is this Microsoft's answer to Figma? It's much different. As pupileater (who posted earlier in the thread and has tried it) put it, "It feels like nothing more than a limited Canva¹ with a sub-par version of Dall-E 2". Where Figma is a tool for UI/UX designers, this (like Microsoft's WordArt) is aimed squarely at non-designers. ¹ Which is like Adobe Express (formerly Adobe Spark), if you're not familiar with Canva.
- surfingdino 4y agoAm I confused or is this an HR-approved meme generator?
- layer8 4y agoThe page completely fails to mention what is being designed here. Web pages? Documents? UIs? Images? Probably not engines or programs or clothing cuts. It looks graphic-design-y, but otherwise I have no idea what use cases this is intended for.