Technologies

Microsoft Plans to Bring Copilot Into the Agentic AI Age

An always-on Copilot could sort out your inbox and calendar.

Microsoft is leaning into agentic AI with a planned revamp of its own AI assistant, Copilot, according to a new report from The Information. The always-on Copilot, when launched, will be able to complete tasks for you, not unlike the viral OpenClaw platform.

OpenClaw, the open-source platform for creating AI agents, catapulted agentic AI into the spotlight ever since it was released, and major AI players are jumping in headfirst. Nvidia recently released its own reference stack, NemoClaw, which provides some much-needed safety guardrails that OpenClaw doesn’t currently have, such as the ability to track all actions the AI agent takes. This was shortly followed by Anthropic’s announcement that subscribers with certain plans can have Claude perform tasks on their behalf.

OpenClaw’s popularity seems to have piqued Microsoft’s interest, too. Omar Shahine, Microsoft’s corporate vice president, told The Information that the tech giant is looking into OpenClaw-like technologies. According to the report, sources also said Microsoft is working to make these technologies safer.

Safety is a concern with OpenClaw. There are virtually no security or privacy measures in place, making the platform feel like the wild west. It’s why the likes of NemoClaw exist, so Microsoft prioritizing safety comes as no surprise if it’s expected to deploy the new Copilot for enterprise.

An agentic version of Copilot may be able to dip into your email and calendar to generate a to-do list for you each day. This would likely be just the beginning of the tool’s functions, with more features to follow and further integration into Microsoft products.

We might not have much longer to wait before we see the new agentic Copilot, either. Microsoft’s developer conference, Build, is set to take place June 2-3, where AI will undoubtedly be a primary focus. If Microsoft can succeed in producing a safer agentic assistant with Copilot, it might steal some of OpenClaw’s attention.

Microsoft representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

SharkNinja’s New $499 Vacuum Flexes Under Furniture and Can Auto-Empty

The vacuum bends around furniture, and SharkNinja says its dock can hold debris for 45 days.

SharkNinja unveiled a new vacuum on Tuesday that has the ability to flex underneath furniture, along with an auto-empty dock. The $499 Shark PowerDetect Speed Clean and Empty System is lightweight and can store dust and debris for up to 45 days before you have to empty it.

The stick vacuum’s flexible headline feature, which SharkNinja refers to as MultiFlex Technology, appears in photos like a bendable straw to clean in tight spaces. The vacuum can also adjust its suction based on the surface it’s on, including boosting power when carpet and dirt are detected. Its intelligence system can also detect edges and use higher suction along walls and corners.

The inclusion of this vacuum’s auto-emptying dock could make it a particularly good value: CNET Home editor and vacuum expert Ajay Kumar told me that self-emptying stations are a big quality-of-life feature for cordless vacuums, allowing for quick cleanup while the vacuum charges.

While Kumar said that we will need to test this vacuum, Shark’s $500 Stratos vacuum was one of the top cordless vacuums he’s seen recently, even though it doesn’t self-empty. The addition of that feature for the same price makes it a promising upgrade for those looking to replace their vacuum.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 15, #1039

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for April 15, No. 1,039.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

I found today’s NYT Connections puzzle a bit tough. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Pomp and circumstance.

Green group hint: What a bore.

Blue group hint: Too easy.

Purple group hint: Checkmate!

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Graduation gear.

Green group: Tedious undertaking.

Blue group: Oversimplistic.

Purple group: Shapes of chess pieces.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is graduation gear. The four answers are cap, diploma, gown and tassel.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is tedious undertaking. The four answers are chore, grind, hassle and trial.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is oversimplistic. The four answers are facile, clip, shallow and trite.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is shapes of chess pieces. The four answers are castle, crown, horse and miter.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 15 #773

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for April 15, No. 773.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Gift of the month.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: September is sapphire.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POST, POET, POETS, TONED, NAPE, STONE, STONED, TONE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: