Microsoft has continued its efforts to nudge users toward the Windows Settings app from the venerable Control Panel, with language and time settings making the jump.
The changes have been made in build 27928 for the Windows 11 Insider Preview Canary Channel and were accompanied by Semantic Search (for Copilot+ PCs) and tweaks to the Copilot App for all Windows Insiders.
The settings include the ability to add additional clocks and select a time server. Time formatting settings have moved, and now you can also change the number and currency formats in Settings. You can also enable Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support there.
Microsoft caused a bit of a furor last year by dropping the word "deprecated" into a support document for the Control Panel. It hastily stepped back from the precipice, but the current verbiage, "the Control Panel still exists for compatibility reasons," should leave users in no doubt. Microsoft would very much like this refugee from an earlier era of Windows to be put out to pasture.
The time and language settings are the latest to receive attention, meaning that the clock is surely ticking for the Control Panel, a mainstay of Windows since the days of version 1.0. Still, should Microsoft finally set the deprecation flag, Control Panel will, at least, avoid getting the Copilot treatment that Microsoft has given its peers, such as Notepad.
That said, Microsoft's obsession with all things AI continued with other releases for all Windows Insiders. Users with Copilot+ PCs can use the Copilot App to access semantic file search, where they can employ natural language to search for documents or images. Microsoft had reassuring words for those worried about what the service might find. It said, "You can adjust your permissions for what Copilot can access, retrieve, or read in Copilot Settings under Permission settings."
The Copilot App will also now display a list of recent documents (only those compatible with the chatbot, including .png, .jpeg, .svg, .pdf, .docx, .xlsx, .csv, .json, and .txt) and slurp their contents if the user allows it.
Microsoft calls it "the new Copilot home experience," which, "brings your recent apps, files, and conversations into Copilot and at your fingertips." ®
Source: The register