Even Microsoft’s retro holiday sweaters are having Copilot forced upon them
I can take or leave some of the things that Microsoft is doing with Windows 11 these days, but I do usually enjoy the company's yearly limited-time holiday sweater releases. Usually crafted around a specific image or product from the company's '90s-and-early-2000s heyday-2022's sweater was Clippy themed, and 2023's was just the Windows XP Bliss wallpaper in sweater form-the sweaters usually hit the exact combination of dorky/cute/recognizable that makes for a good holiday party conversation starter.
Microsoft is reviving the tradition for 2025 after taking a year off, and the design for this year's flagship $80 sweater is mostly in line with what the company has done in past years. The 2025 Artifact Holiday Sweater" revives multiple pixelated icons that Windows 3.1-to-XP users will recognize, including Notepad, Reversi, Paint, MS-DOS, Internet Explorer, and even the MSN butterfly logo. Clippy is, once again, front and center, looking happy to be included.
Not all of the icons are from Microsoft's past; a sunglasses-wearing emoji, a 50" in the style of the old flying Windows icon (for Microsoft's 50th anniversary), and a Minecraft Creeper face all nod to the company's more modern products.But the only one I really takeissue with is on the right sleeve, where Microsoft has stuck a pixelated monochrome icon for its Copilot AI assistant.