Microsoft Accidentally Replaces Windows 11 Startup Sound with Vista Chime
Microsoft briefly transported users back to 2007 this week when the company mistakenly swapped Windows 11's familiar startup chime with the iconic Windows Vista boot sound.
The mix-up appeared in a recent Windows 11 Insider Preview build in the Dev Channel. Users who rebooted their systems noticed that instead of the modern Windows 11 tone, they were greeted by Vista's distinct (and now nostalgic) startup sound.
Microsoft has since acknowledged the issue, calling it an unintentional change and confirming it will be fixed in an upcoming update.
"This week's flight comes with a delightful blast from the past and will play the Windows Vista boot sound instead of the Windows 11 boot sound," the Windows Insider team wrote in its release notes for the latest Dev Channel build.
Though the switch was accidental, the brief return of Vista's audio cue sparked curiosity and nostalgia online, with some users even preferring the retro flair. But for now, it looks like Vista's comeback is limited to this brief cameo, as Windows 11's usual startup sound will return shortly.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
AI doesn't know me. Good, let's keep it that way.
The curtain of anonymity can produce amusing results. But there is a downside in the age of AI. (Photo illustration by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current) My name is a catfish. Or, so I've been told. When you hear the name Jamie Jung, you might wonder if the face behind this article is a Korean girl or the great-grandson of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. A name so mysterious, perhaps even AI would struggle to decipher my identity in my job application. When the pandemic pivoted classrooms to Zoom, I hid behind a faceless black square, only two words revealing my name.. When calling attendance, many of my teachers would pronounce my last name with a German J as 'Yoong' or refer to me with the pronouns 'he' or 'him.' Others would sound my name out phonetically 'Jung' and refer to me as 'she' or 'her.' As much as I enjoyed the curtain of anonymity, I have come to recognize there is a downside. Companies such as Microsoft and Amazon delegate resume screening to AI tools in order to sift through countless applications from job-seekers. AI tools continue to evolve but there should be more attention on the flaws in algorithmic analysis, such as oversimplification and evaluation bias. In 2014, Amazon attempted to automate its hiring process by building a computer program that would review applicants' resumes and spit out a list of the top candidates. The computers were trained to assess applicants by observing resumes submitted to the company over a 10-year period. The problem? A majority of the applicants were men, which unintentionally taught the algorithm that male candidates were superior. The impact of algorithmic bias is not limited to gender. A 2024 study from the University of Washington reported computer models favored white-associated names in 85.1% of cases and female-associated names in only 11.1% of cases. In 2017, the University of Toronto released a study that revealed applicants with Asian names had a 28% reduced likelihood of receiving interviews compared to applicants with Anglo names. This pattern of discrimination even within a recruitment process solely managed by humans establishes a foundation already tainted with bias. Despite the growing diversity of the American workforce, the lack of leadership opportunities given to underrepresented communities serves as evidence of the lasting effects of systemic discrimination. According to the National Library of Medicine, although 74% of health care professionals are women, only 33% of management positions were filled by women. Similarly, while Black employees comprise 14% of all U.S. employees, only 7% of managers are Black. When you hear the name Jamie Jung, you might wonder if the face behind this article is a Korean girl or the great-grandson of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. AI has the potential to revolutionize the workplace. Automating monotonous tasks within the hiring process allows employees to maximize productivity, and many human resource managers have recognized these benefits. But by analyzing existing demographics of the workforce, algorithms can deduce that ''top'' applicants who fit the standard are white men. As long as this foundation remains skewed, AI will continue to exclude talented applicants based on an outdated algorithm. A survey by CareerBuilder states 55% of HR managers say AI will become a regular part of HR in the next five years. Although the prospects of an efficient recruitment process are appealing, managers must evaluate the current state of their workforce before integrating AI algorithms in order to provide a fair opportunity for all applicants. By prioritizing equal representation even before implementing AI, companies will be able to utilize algorithms with less worries about bias. The innovation of AI begins with human reflection and revision. AI assumes that I am only what my name allows me to be, ignoring the scope of my accomplishments. I only started going by Jamie in my freshman year of high school, and I thrived under this new ambiguous identity: that year, I became the social media manager of two clubs, was selected to present a TEDx Talk, and was awarded 'Freshman Writer of the Year' by my conservatory's director. When I introduced myself in person the next school year, I was amused by the look of surprise on many of my teachers' and classmates' faces. It was clear I was not who they expected me to be. What's in a name? According to AI algorithms, a name is the reflection of our identities and the face behind these words. I wonder if I had introduced myself as Jaehee Jung, or if I had turned on my camera to reveal my true identity, would I have had the opportunities I did? Maybe. My name is a gift I gave myself in search of belonging. Now I am searching to make this name my own. Not with recognition or achievements, but with the person I am behind the black square. And only I hold the power to decide when to turn it on or off. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Tom's Guide
an hour ago
- Tom's Guide
Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition image leaks and it could arrive this week — here's what we know
A leaked image may have given us our first look at a new Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition VR headset, and it's reportedly set to arrive as soon as this week. According to gaming news outlet Game Sandwich, Meta is set to shadow drop a Quest 3S Xbox Edition this week (expected to be Tuesday, June 24), with the headset coming in green and black, along with Xbox design accents. However, an image of its box has leaked, giving us a closer look at what it may look like. As posted by a now-deleted X thread from VR developer RJ White, the leaked photo was reposted by user @bmfshow on X, showing an all-black Meta Quest 3S with a green outline on its face plate. What's more, it appears to come with an Xbox controller. Holy heck this looks amazing!!! 20, 2025 Meta previously announced its partnership with Microsoft to bring a limited edition Quest VR headset (via UploadVR), and it appears it's fulfilling that promise in the form of an Xbox-inspired Meta Quest 3S. Games are expected to be available through Game Pass via Xbox Cloud Gaming, so expect titles such as Doom: The Dark Ages and Clair Obscure: Expedition 33. There's no word on a Quest 3 version, so this may be exclusive to the more affordable 3S headset. As noted in the report, the limited edition Quest 3S is expected to be a bumped-up version of the base model, coming with 128GB memory, an Elite Strap, Xbox wireless gamepad and three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. It will reportedly be priced at $399, which is $100 more than the 128GB Quest 3S. However, with the extra add-ons like the Elite Strap and controller, the limited edition bundle still offers more value than buying all these separately. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. If all accurate, this appears to be a further push from Microsoft's "This is an Xbox" campaign, and further expands Meta's partnership with the tech giant as it was announced last year, with the full Windows 11 experience arriving on the Quest 3 and 3S. A few years back, Xbox cloud gaming came to Meta Quest headsets, so the feature is already available for VR users who already have a Quest headset. However, this limited edition Xbox model looks to hammer in that the app is available. We may not have to wait long until we see a Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition land on shelves, but it looks to be more of an Xbox-driven reskin of the Meta Quest 3S more than anything else. This isn't too unlike the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally, which focuses on Microsoft's new Xbox user interface coming to gaming handhelds. With the rumored Meta Quest 4 reportedly delayed until 2027, it looks like the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition will tide us over instead. But there are more VR headsets to look forward to, and potentially soon, including the Valve Deckard and the Asus ROG VR gaming headset.
Fast Company
2 hours ago
- Fast Company
How Microsoft turned ‘copilot' into a catchall for AI
You've no doubt heard of Microsoft's Copilot. But can you define exactly what it is? If you find that question a challenge to answer concisely, you're not alone. In the scramble to convert increasingly ubiquitous generative AI capabilities into recognizably branded tools, Copilot has succeeded—sometimes to the detriment of its own brand. Consider the most recent evidence of the Copilot brand's cultural profile: a request from the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division recently asked Microsoft to adjust its Copilot branding and advertising to avoid confusing or misleading consumers. Part of the problem, it seems, is the way Microsoft has stretched the Copilot brand into a kind of catchall for all things AI. (Microsoft Copilot itself says there 'are multiple Copilots, each tailored to specific tools and platforms,' listing about a half-dozen 'key' examples.) In part, the NAD argued that Microsoft's claims that Copilot boosts productivity and ROI were backed only by a study that actually measured 'a perception of productivity.' It also suggested Microsoft is using the Copilot name across so many AI products and features it's not always clear which advertised capabilities apply in which use cases. A description of Copilot 'working seamlessly across all your data,' for example, might mislead a user who wasn't clear on which Copilot-branded tool it referred to. 'Based on the context of the claims and universal use of the product description as 'Copilot,'' NAD's recommendation concluded 'that consumers would not necessarily understand the differences.' A Microsoft statement to Fast Company said that while it disagreed with NAD's critical conclusions, it is 'happy to make small adjustments to help customers better understand the differences between the chat and in-app experiences, or to clarify when a study reflects consumer perception.' It's true that the Copilot name has (to the annoyance of some users) long replicated itself across multiple Microsoft product lines as an all-purpose signifier of AI integration. As The Verge has argued previously, this seems to be partly the fallout from efforts to attract more business customers to pay for Copilot capabilities—and that plays out in occasionally confusing ways. For example, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (formerly Bing Chat Enterprise) is actually distinct from Business Chat for Microsoft 365 Copilot (formerly Business Chat, a component of Teams). This gets at a deeper issue. The irony may turn out to be that there are just too many Copilots (and not just at Microsoft), and the term is being run into the ground. In fact, it risks becoming less of a signifier than a near-generic cliché (see the sparkle emoji of generative AI branding). The first significant use of the term 'copilot' as an AI-associated name was actually GitHub Copilot, a 2021 release, which allowed users to work with AI in a form of pair programming, according to a Tech Republic mini history of the term. But Microsoft (which owns GitHub) followed soon after, and swiftly came to dominate its use. Windows keyboards now even include a Copilot key —featuring the Copilot logo, a ribbony splotch of colorful gradients—to 'invoke the Copilot in Windows experience.' In practice, Microsoft's version of the Copilot brand— Security Copilot, Copilot Studio, Copilot in Word—is sometimes a product and sometimes a feature. All of which has arguably diluted the impact of the Copilot brand. Salesforce, Moody's, and Appian, among other companies, now use 'copilot' in AI-related product names. More generally, in the AI context, 'copilot' has come to serve essentially the function that 'assistant' used to: a humanizing nickname for a variety of tech products that are being sold as not just a digital tool, but a kind of trusted peer. Of course, one of the challenges facing such products at the moment is living up to outsized promises and hopes, like huge overnight productivity boosts. Oftentimes, these tools feel less like a copilot and more like a temperamental trainee. That's not to say that generative AI won't deserve the promotion from assistant to something more partner-like. But copilot, as an increasingly common and all-purpose term, can sometimes sound like title inflation. And that's not a brand meaning Microsoft had in mind.
