A journalist has noticed an interesting detail amidst all the boasting about artificial intelligence from Microsoft regarding Copilot . In the recent Windows 11 CoPilot announcement, in the section titled " Reduce the work and unlock the fun and joy of developing in Windows with new features and improvements ," Panos Panay, Microsoft's product director, mentioned that they have added native support for additional file formats, such as tar, 7-zip, rar, gz, and many others through the open-source libarchive project.
This means that soon, Windows 11 will be able to open compressed files in the most popular formats. And without a doubt, it will eliminate many unpleasantness.
We will no longer need a file compressor and decompressor in Windows 11
For decades, we've had to use file compression programs, and it's infamous how WinRAR bombards you with notifications until you pay for its license—it's become a running joke. There were even free software options like 7-Zip that didn't bother you at all and were also compatible with 7-Zip. After all this time, Microsoft has announced that they're going to add built-in compatibility.
Does it matter much? It will likely solve a lot of problems. It will allow Windows 11 computers that are already updated and monitor installed software for various reasons to open compressed files. There will surely be many use cases that simply mean users won't have to download WinRAR, 7-Zip, or any other file compression software . Windows 10 isn't receiving this exclusive treatment, after all, because they're encouraging people to upgrade to Windows 11 to enjoy all the new features.
For its part, the developer RARLAB proclaims on its website that “ With over 500 million users worldwide, WinRAR is the most popular compression tool. There is no better way to compress files for efficient and secure transfer. Providing fast email transmission and well-organized data storage options, WinRAR also offers solutions for users working in all industries and sectors. ” This could affect RARLAB, since, although it's a recurring joke, selling licenses allowed them to improve the product, as selling licenses to companies that saved significant time with advanced features sustained its development.
Source: Tech Power Up
