Microsoft Ignite 2024 kicks off in Chicago and runs Nov. 19-22.  If you can’t make it to Chicago, no worries. First, the physical event is sold out, according to the Ignite event page. Second, it’s a hybrid event, so you can attend Ignite virtually. 

Whether you’re there physically or online, expect to learn more about the latest technologies from Microsoft — everything from artificial intelligence (AI) to cloud computing, security, productivity tools, and more  In the keynote address, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft leaders — including Charlie Bell, executive vice president of Microsoft Security and Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of the Microsoft Cloud + AI Group — will share how the company is creating new opportunities across its platforms in this rapidly evolving era of AI.

You can also network with industry experts and Microsoft’s team, IT leaders, and other tech enthusiasts; gain hands-on experience and learn from experts at technical sessions; and learn about new products and services. (Microsoft often announces new products and features at Ignite.)

As you get ready for the event to start, here’s a look back at some of our previous Ignite coverage, as well as recent articles that touch on some of the topics you can expect to see at the event. And remember to check this page often for more on Ignite 2024.

Previous Microsoft Ignite coverage

Microsoft to launch autonomous AI at Ignite

Oct. 21, 2024: Microsoft will let customers build autonomous AI agents that can be configured to perform complex tasks with little or no input from humans. Microsoft announced that tools to build AI agents in Copilot Studio will be available in a public beta that begins at Ignite on Nov. 19, with pre-built agents rolling out to Dynamics 365 apps in the coming months.

Microsoft Ignite 2023: 11 takeaways for CIOs

Nov., 15, 2023: Microsoft’s 2023 Ignite conference might as well be called AIgnite, with over half of the almost 600 sessions featuring AI in some shape or form. Generative AI (genAI), in particular, is at the heart of many of the product announcements Microsoft is making at the event, including new AI capabilities for wrangling large language models (LLMs) in Azure, new additions to the Copilot range of genAI assistants, new hardware, and a new tool to help developers deploy small language models (SLMs) too.

Microsoft partners with Nvidia, Synopsys for genAI services

Nov. 16, 2023: Microsoft has announced that it is partnering with chipmaker Nvidia and chip-designing software provider Synopsys to provide enterprises with foundry services and a new chip-design assistant. The foundry services from Nvidia will be deployed on Microsoft Azure and will combine three of Nvidia’s elements — its foundation models, its NeMo framework, and Nvidia’s DGX Cloud service.

As Microsoft embraces AI, it says sayonara to the metaverse

Feb. 23, 2023: It wasn’t just Mark Zuckerberg who led the metaverse charge by changing Facebook’s name to Meta. Microsoft hyped it as well, notably when CEO Satya Nadella said, “I can’t overstate how much of a breakthrough this is,” in his keynote speech at Microsoft Ignite in 2021. Now, tech companies are much wiser, they tell us. It’s AI at heart of the coming transformation. The metaverse may be yesterday’s news, but it’s not yet dead.

Microsoft Ignite in the rear-view mirror: What we learned

Oct. 17, 2022: Microsoft treated its big Ignite event as more of a marketing presentation than a full-fledged conference, offering up a variety of announcements that affect Windows users, as well as large enterprises and their networks. (The show was a hybrid affair, with a small in-person option and online access for those unable to travel.)

Related  Microsoft coverage

Microsoft’s AI research VP joins OpenAI amid fight for top AI talent

Oct. 15, 2024: Microsoft’s former vice president of genAI research, Sebastien Bubeck, left the company to join OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Bubeck, a 10-year veteran at Microsoft, played a significant role in driving the company’s genAI strategy with a focus on designing more efficient small language models (SLMs) to rival OpenAI’s GPT systems.

Microsoft brings Copilot AI tools to OneDrive

Oct. 9, 2024: Microsoft’s Copilot is now available in OneDrive, part of a wider revamp of the company’s cloud storage platform.  Copilot can now summarize one or more files in OneDrive without needing to open them first; compare the content of selected files across different formats (including Word, PowerPoint, and PDFs); and respond to questions about the contents of files via the chat interface. 

Microsoft wants Copilot to be your new AI best friend

Oct. 09, 2024: Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot underwent a transformation last week, morphing into a simplified pastel-toned experience that encourages you…to just chat. “Hey Chris, how’s the human world today?” That’s what I heard after I fired up the Copilot app on Windows 11 and clicked the microphone button, complete with a calming wavey background. Yes, this is the type of banter you get with the new Copilot.

Source:: Computer World

The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into whether US glass producer Corning, known for its Gorilla Glass, might have abused its dominant position in the market for protective glass for electronic devices. Corning’s products are used, among other things, in several of Apple’s and Samsung’s devices.

The Commission suspects the company might have entered into anticompetitive agreements with cell phone makers and glass refiners, including claims for exclusive purchases and discounts based on those pacts. Gorilla Glass has been used in mobile devices for more than a decade.

The agreements might have prevented competitors from entering the market, reducing consumer choice, raising prices and inhibiting innovation. If Corning is found guilty, the company could be fined. Before that happens, Corning will have the chance to respond to the European Commission’s objections and the investigation can be closed if the company fulfills certain commitments.

Source:: Computer World

By Nick Godt Volvo is accelerating deliveries of its much-anticipated EX30 subcompact electric SUV so that it reaches the U.S. before the end of 2024.

Source:: Digital Trends

By Deepti Pathak Instagram automatically saves photos from posts to your device when you upload them, which can take…
The post How to Turn Off Instagram Downloading Post Photos? appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

By Deepti Pathak Twitter, or X, is a popular social media platform where users share short messages, images, and GIFs. You’ll…
The post How to Download GIFs from Twitter/X? appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

The Mozilla Foundation, the nonprofit organization behind the Firefox open-source browser, said it has laid off about 30% of its employees as part of a reorganization to increase its “agility.”

As of 2023, the foundation had between 80 and 300 employees, according to varying reports. A spokesperson declined to say how many employees the company has now.

Established in 2003, the group is best known for its development of the Firefox web browser, as well as its advocacy for internet privacy, digital rights, and freely-available, open-source software.

A Mozilla Foundation spokesman said the non-profit is reorganizing teams to boost agility and impact as it accelerates efforts for “a more open and equitable technical future. That unfortunately means ending some of the work we have historically pursued and eliminating associated roles to bring more focus going forward,” Brandon Borrman, vice president of Mozilla’s communications, said in a statement to Computerworld.

The non-profit arm is distinct from the Mozilla Corporation, which is the for-profit company responsible for generating revenue through products like the web browser. The corporation employs a much larger number of people, likely 700 or more.

The Mozilla Foundation’s executive director, Nabiha Syed, said in an email last week that two of the foundation’s major divisions — advocacy and global programs — are “no longer a part of our structure,” according to a TechCrunch report.

Contrary to reports, however, Borrman said the restructuring will not impact its goal of open-source and free internet advocacy. “On the contrary, advocacy is still a central tenet of Mozilla Foundation’s work,” he said. “Fighting for a free and open internet will always be core to our mission, and advocacy continues to be a critical tool in that work. We are in the process of revisiting our approach to it.”Along with the Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla currently consists of five organizations: the Mozilla Corporation, which leads consumer product-based work; Mozilla Ventures, a “tech-for-good” investment fund; Mozilla.ai, an AI R&D lab; and MZLA, which makes Thunderbird.

In 2020, the Mozilla Corporation cut about 25% of its 1,000-person global workforce, saying that the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on economies “significantly impacted our revenue.”

Borrman said the layoffs did not affect any of the other Mozilla entities.

Source:: Computer World

Let’s face it: For many people, web browser performance could well be more important than general PC performance.

Browser makers are wising up to this, too. Google Chrome just introduced new performance controls, while Microsoft Edge has attempted to stand out with its own browser performance options. And every web browser out there has long fought over the title of fastest in the land.

So let’s talk browser performance — and how you can get more of it, specifically when working within Windows. In a world where websites feel like they’re getting heavier and heavier, upgraded browser performance means everything from faster load times and a better all-around browsing experience to more reliable all-around PC performance and longer laptop battery life.

Want more Windows PC tips? My free Windows Intelligence newsletter delivers all the best Windows tips straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get free in-depth Windows Field Guides as a special welcome bonus.

Windows web browsing boost #1: Cull your extensions

Does your browser feel inexplicably slow? Before you do anything else, I’d recommend pruning any installed browser extensions. Add-ons can be useful, but they can also add some serious overhead to your browsing. They may be always running in the background, or they may run some code on each web page you load.

In Google Chrome, you can click the main three-dot menu icon > Extensions > Manage Extensions to see a list of what’s installed. From there, you can disable or remove them. Other browsers have a similar menu and mechanism, potentially with slightly different placement and phrasing.

You might want to try disabling a few browser extensions first to see if your browser feels faster. If not, you can easily re-activate them by flipping their switches back on in that same area of your browser’s settings.

Windows web browsing boost #2: Put those tabs to sleep (or keep them awake)

Modern web browsers — including Chrome, Edge, and Mozilla Firefox — all have features that put tabs to “sleep.” If you don’t use a tab for a while, your browser will stop it from running. It won’t be able to use resources in the background. When you click back to the tab, your browser will reactivate it.

This saves memory, and it also stops pages in background tabs from using CPU resources. Overall, it will boost your browsing speed.

However, in some cases, it could slow things down. Perhaps you often find that you switch back to a tab and your web browser quickly reloads it. If that’s a problem, you’ll want to make your browser stop putting tabs to sleep — especially if you have a powerful computer with a lot of RAM and a fast CPU. (You can also tell your browser to stop putting specific websites to sleep if it causes a problem with a website.)

To control tab suspending:

In Google Chrome, click menu > Settings and select “Performance” in the left pane. Look under “Memory Saver” and choose an option: Moderate, Balanced, or Maximum. You can also disable Memory Saver entirely — or add websites you never want Chrome to suspend to the “Always keep these sites active” list there.

In Microsoft Edge, click menu > Settings and select “System and performance” in the left pane. Use the “Save resources with sleeping tabs,” “Put inactive tabs to sleep after the specified amount of time,” and “Never put these sites to sleep” options to control this behavior.

In Mozilla Firefox, this feature is always activated — unless you dig deep into Firefox’s settings to turn off tab unloading.

Modern browsers can suspend, sleep, or unload tabs to save system resources. These are all names for the same trick.Chris Hoffman, IDG

Windows web browsing boost #3: Preload more pages

Your web browser of choice can “preload” some pages. In other words, it might load them in the background if it thinks you’ll visit them. If you do, the page loads very quickly — because by the time you’re looking at it, it’s already loaded in the background and ready to go!

Most browsers offer different preloading options, some of which are more aggressive than others. And preloading has some potential privacy implications, as your browser might load links you wouldn’t have clicked. But, for maximum speed, you’ll probably want the most aggressive preloading options available.

To control preloading:

In Google Chrome, click menu > Settings and select “Performance” in the left pane. Scroll down to the “Preload pages” option. For maximum speed, ensure “Preload pages” is active and that it’s set to “Extended preloading.”

In Microsoft Edge, click menu > Settings and select “Cookies and site permissions” in the left pane. Click “Manage and delete cookies and site data,” and ensure “Preload pages for faster browsing and searching” is activated.

In Mozilla Firefox, prefetching is always active — unless you’ve gone out of your way to dig into about:config and disable it.

Windows web browsing boost #4: Check your browser’s task manager

Want to see what’s actually using CPU and memory? Modern Chromium-based web browsers — including Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc Browser, and more — have task managers that will show you. (Firefox has something similar, too.)

In a Chromium-based browser, just right-click an empty spot on the tab bar and select “Task Manager” or press Shift+Esc to open it.

You will see a list of processes — including open web pages, browser extensions, and browser components — along with how much CPU and memory they’re using. If your web browser is mysteriously slow, this is a good place to check: You might spot an open web page that’s dragging everything down, and you can close it from here. You can also click the “CPU” heading to sort processes by CPU and see the most CPU-hungry items at the top of the list.

In Firefox, you can access something similar by plugging about:processes into Firefox’s address bar and pressing Enter. (The Shift+Esc shortcut will work, too!)

Your browser’s task manager will show you if a web page or browser extension is hogging system resources.Chris Hoffman, IDG

Windows web browsing boost #5: Clear your browser cache (or stop clearing it)

Ah, the browser cache. As you browse, your web browser remembers the pages you visit and the things you type in a history, it stores images and other bits of downloaded pages in a cache, and it keeps cookies with information from websites — like your sign-in status.

Many people frequently clear this browser cache. If your browser is slow, you can try clearing browsing data. In fact, Microsoft’s official Edge browser documentation says “Clearing your browser data on a regular basis will improve the performance of your browser” — and who am I to argue with Microsoft? Surely, it understands how its own browser works.

Clearing that data is worth a shot. But, conversely, if you’re clearing your browsing data too regularly, you might want to stop doing that. The browser cache is there to speed things up: Your browser can pick images and other bits of web pages out of its cache rather than redownloading them, which improves load times when you revisit a page.

You’ll find options for clearing browsing data in your browser’s menu, but you can also just press Ctrl+Shift+Delete to quickly open the browser-history-clearing tool.

Clearing your browser data can speed things up — but clearing your browser cache too aggressively can also slow down page-load times.Chris Hoffman, IDG

Windows web browsing boost #6: Scan for malware

We have to talk about malware for a minute. Whenever a PC is running mysteriously slow, malware is always one of the first things you should check for.

Be sure to run a scan with your installed antivirus tool of choice if you’re concerned about questionable performance drops. If you haven’t installed anything special, your PC is using Microsoft’s Windows Defender antivirus. You could also get a second opinion with a different antivirus tool, if you’re not too confident in your current security solution. (Our friends over at PCWorld have a list of highly recommended free antivirus tools.)

Windows web browsing boost #7: Switch up your ad-blocker

When it comes to ad-blockers, one thing people don’t often talk about is the fact that such systems can both speed up and slow down your browsing. The speed-up part is obvious: By refusing to load advertising resources on web pages, ad-blocking plugins reduce download size and produce a lighter page that opens more quickly.

But there’s also a slow-down factor: Ad-blockers might also run extra code on the pages you visit, increasing memory use and making them take longer to load.

Different ad-blockers will have different effects on performance. There’s been a lot of controversy about Google Chrome’s switch to Manifest V3 and how it stops the popular “classic” uBlock Origin ad-blocker from functioning. But here’s the thing: While the new way Chrome blocks ads with Manifest V3 is less powerful, it’s also faster. So if you happen to be using uBlock Origin and install the new uBlock Origin Lite, you could see improved page load speeds.

That’s because those new Manifest V3-compatible ad-blocker extensions work by providing a list of resources they want to block. The Chrome browser engine then blocks those resources. That means the ad-blocking browser extension itself doesn’t have to get involved and run a bunch of code on the pages you access.

If you want a speed boost, it’s something worth chewing over. If you’re not yet using any ad-blocker, consider installing one. If you are using an ad-blocker, consider switching — for example, to something like uBlock Origin Lite.

Just bear in mind that you might occasionally break a page; you might need to turn it off for a page if you run into issues. 

Windows web browsing boost #8: Try a fresh browser profile

If a device isn’t working properly, factory-resetting it is a good tip. You might reset a Windows PC to its default settings or factory-reset an Android phone to get it to a nice fresh state if you can’t pin down a performance problem. The same is true for browsers.

To be clear: I’m not recommending you run out and factory-reset your PC! But popular browsers have built-in “fresh start” tools that will clean up your browser profile and its settings, wiping away any configuration changes, disabling extensions, and erasing cached files to give you a like-new browser. It’s worth a shot.

Here’s how to do it:

In Google Chrome, click menu > Settings and select “Reset Settings” in the left pane. Use the “Restore settings to their original defaults” option.

In Microsoft Edge, click menu > Settings and select “Reset Settings” in the left pane. Click the “Restore settings to their default values” option.

In Mozilla Firefox, click menu > Help > Troubleshoot Mode. You can then click “Refresh Firefox” in the dialog box that opens.

It’s a good way to start over. And hey — if you’re experiencing any kind of PC performance issue, browser-related or otherwise, the old standby advice is always good: Try turning it off and on again.

There’s more where this came from! My free Windows Intelligence newsletter delivers all the best Windows tips straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get free copies of Paul Thurrott’s Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (a $10 value) just for subscribing.

Source:: Computer World

By Nick Godt Voltpost is partnering with AT&T to provide lamppost and curbside internet-connected chargers across Michigan.

Source:: Digital Trends

By The Conversation The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is often held as a model for driving technology advances. For decades, it has contributed to military and economic dominance by bridging the gap between military and civilian applications. European policymakers frequently reference DARPA in discussions, as outlined in the 2024 Draghi Report, but an EU equivalent has yet to materialise. To create such an agency, the governance and management of European innovation programmes would need drastic changes. DARPA supports disruptive innovation Founded in 1958, DARPA operates under the US Department of Defense (DoD) with a straightforward mission: to fund high-risk technological…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Andrii Degeler About one in every 10 European startups that have raised VC investment are also backed by an EU grant of equity financing, according to a research project conducted by Dealroom and Dealflow.eu. While the full report is expected to be published later this year, the authors presented a few preliminary numbers in Warsaw last week. In financial terms, the 10% share translates into EU-backed startups having raised €70bn in VC funding since 2010, or some 11% of total funding in Europe (which in this case includes the EU, Switzerland, Norway, UK, and Israel). With some €400bn in total enterprise value…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Deepti Pathak Teaching kids how to stay safe online is essential in today’s digital world. Fun games can…
The post Safe Play Online: Fun Cybersecurity Games for Kids appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

Extending the standard refresh cycle of laptops in a corporate environment can significantly reduce a workplace’s carbon footprint, according to new workplace sustainability research. However, challenges in ensuring the older laptops still meet Windows OS requirements, and other cost issues, could offset these environmental gains, experts said.

The Atos Sustainable Workplace report, published this week and aimed at providing insights to help improve corporate social responsibility, found that by refreshing laptops every four years rather than three, organizations achieve up to a 25% reduction in carbon and related emissions without downgrading device performance or user experience.

Moreover, by using what it called “data-driven, condition-based device refresh combined with remanufacturing,” organizations can even extend the life of laptops within an organization for eight to 10 years, according to the report.

Most (79%) of a laptop’s carbon footprint is produced during manufacturing, with each new device creating roughly 338kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) before use, according to Atos. This means that extending the lifecycle of corporate laptops can have a huge impact on how sustainable a corporate environment is.

Atos research also found that 76% of large organizations’ laptops can be remanufactured — that is, stripped down and updated with newer parts where needed, and then sent back into the workforce — with the remaining 24% of devices available for refurbishment or recycling to contribute to the circular economy.

Moreover, the study found that employees are more than willing to use their older laptops longer for the sake of environmental benefits, with 75% of them saying they would be willing to keep them longer if it meant a more sustainable workplace.

Real-world issues to consider

Improving sustainability in a workplace is certainly a noble and, in the current global environment, even necessary goal. However, the vision Atos presents for extending laptop lifecycles to achieve environmental gains may not make practical, economic, or even cultural sense for current corporate environments, analysts noted.

One issue with the idea of keeping older laptops for longer is that Microsoft’s support for Windows 10 ends in less than a year. Most organizations are likely in the middle of a migration to Windows 11, which is challenging, as many older PCs may not meet the minimum requirements for the new operating system.

If organizations choose not to migrate, they may soon have to start paying for extended Windows 10 support, which starts at $61 per device in the first year, doubling to $122 per Windows 10 device in year two, and $244 per device for the third and final year.

Indeed, organizations are currently facing an important choice as the end of Windows 10 support looms: how do they want to approach either migration to Windows 11, or staying with older Windows 10 devices, noted Everest Group senior analyst Prabhneet Kaur.

“While component upgrades, like increasing RAM, can help meet Windows requirements, or informal workarounds may bypass them, maintaining robust security and a quality user experience will be tricky,” she said.

‘A lot of work for IT departments’

According recent Neowin numbers, overall share of Windows 10 users is currently at 60.95%, while the overall share of Windows 11 users is at 35.55%. These are consumer numbers; corporate environments often lag behind consumer adoption of new versions of Windows.

If an IT department wants to keep older laptops and migrate them to Windows 11, it will take both time and financial investment to maintain the older devices — neither of which corporate IT departments or budgets historically tend to have much of, another analyst noted.

“TCO [total cost of ownership] increases as the device gets older,” observed Ranjit Atwal, research director in Gartner’s Quantitative Innovation team, adding that remanufacturing laptops “sounds expensive to do every few years.” Overall, the idea of keeping older laptops in corporate circulation for a longer period of time “sounds like a lot of work for IT departments that don’t like change,” he noted.

Sebastien Vibert, solution manager at Atos, said his company’s analysis found that of tens of millions of devices observed, 96% of devices in large organizations are already compatible with Windows 11. This indicates that “a majority of corporate organizations have taken the necessary steps to refresh their devices, ensuring they meet the requirements for Windows 11” and thus support Trusted Platform Module 2.0, a critical hardware component of Windows 11 security.

Even if this is the case, there still remain “many challenges” to Atos’ vision of sustainability through laptop lifecycle extension, Atwal observed.

“There are lots of different parts of the organization to persuade to make the move to this type of sustainable path,” he noted. “However, sustainability is a major factor on the CIO agenda and these considerations are being discussed.”

Source:: Computer World

Smartphone deliveries worldwide increased by 5% during the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same period a year ago, according to a new survey from analysis firm Canalys. That equates to about 310 million units and is the best performing third quarter for the smartphone market since 2021.

Canalys traces the growth to increased demand and an aggressive launch of several new products, including Samsung’s latest smartphone series and Apple’s iPhone 16 series.

During the quarter, Samsung maintained its lead in the market, taking 19% of sales, followed closely by Apple with 18% and Xiaomi with 14%. In fourth and fifth place were Oppo and Vivo, with 9% of the market each.

Canalys expects continued growth for the market through the end of the year.

Source:: Computer World

By Deepti Pathak If you need to share or edit a Google Doc in another format, downloading it as…
The post How to Download Your Google Docs as .doc? appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

By Deepti Pathak Spotify allows users to stream millions of songs, but downloading songs makes it easier to listen…
The post How to Download Songs on Spotify in 2024? appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

It’s been a few weeks since EU regulators put pressure on Apple, but that brief reprieve is over as they begin an investigation that might affect Apple’s iPad in Europe. 

On the surface, it’s relatively straightforward. Apple’s iPad OS was declared to be a “gatekeeper” under Europe’s Digital Market Act earlier this year. The significance of this is that Apple is required to open up aspects of its operating system in order to foster the chimera of open competition, which might or might not benefit users.

“Apple must, among others, allow users to set the default web browser of their choice on iPadOS, allow alternative app stores on its operating system, and allow accessory devices, like headphones and smart pens, to effectively access iPadOS features,” the Commission said. 

Failure to meet those DMA requirements means the European Commission can fine Apple up to 10% of its annual global revenue (or 20% for repeat infringements), so the company is under serious pressure to get its response right.

What Apple has done is explained in a document

With that in mind, Apple has made or is making multiple changes to its tablet operating system, just as it has with iOS. The company has explained those changes in a compliance report it was forced to publish under European law. That 12-page document was released Nov. 1 and is available for review here.

In it, Apple stresses that some of the changes to the system bring greater risks to customers. Those risks include exposure to potential malware, fraud, malicious apps, and lack of support if a user is impacted by issues with apps downloaded outside of the App Store.

The company has attempted to protect against such problems by insisting that developers, including those selling apps outside the store, notarize their apps to provide some degree of protection. The report explains how it supports third-party stores, some of the limitations in that support, the tools it provides, and more, including some discussion around cost.

The report also confirms upcoming changes, some of which may be less well known, for example (most verbatim from Apple’s report):

In an update later in 2024, iOS and iPadOS will include the following updates to app deletion: the App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos, and Safari apps will be deletable for users in the EU. Only Settings and (on iOS) Phone will not be deletable. 

By the end of the year, Apple intends to introduce a secure solution for users to authorize developers to access data related to their users’ personal data (to the extent it is available to Apple and users have consented to their personal data being shared with the developer). 

Also scheduled for introduction by the end of the year, Apple is building a browser switching solution for exporting and importing relevant browser data into another browser on the same device. 

Apple is also developing a solution that helps mobile operating system providers develop more user-friendly solutions to transfer data from an iPhone or iPad to a non-Apple phone or tablet. Apple aims to make this solution available by fall 2025.

The company also suggests it will allow users in the EU to set default navigation and translation apps beginning in the spring of 2025.

Apple’s report confirms it has put a DMA Compliance team together to help maintain compliance with European law, and created a mediation process that’s independent and free of charge to developers following the company’s newly introduced appeals process for DMA compliance.

Now, Europe plans to check Apple’s homework

Now that Apple has shared its approach to compliance, EU antitrust regulators will take a look to make sure that approach meets the demands of the Digital Markets Act. While it sounds alarming, this also feels like a relatively normal step — Apple published its approach, and regulators will now assess it

In a statement, the European Commission said: “The Commission will now carefully assess whether the measures adopted for iPad OS are effective in complying with the DMA obligations.”  It will also consider input from third parties about Apple’s approach.

Hopefully during the review, regulators will work with Apple to rectify any identified lacks, but the Commission does warn that if it decides the solutions Apple has put forward are not compliant it will take “formal enforcement action as foreseen in the DMA.”

The way that is articulated somewhat suggests that the time for negotiation may be over, but, as Apple’s own report observes, “Apple has already announced changes to its compliance plan to address stated concerns which are being implemented across iOS and iPadOS.”

Apple has also hinted that Apple Intelligence will be introduced in Europe next year, which itself suggests some ongoing dialog. All the same, the kiss of death will be if Europe’s regulators choose to use the power they have to reduce the value of Apple’s platforms to end users, who already have a choice of platform to use.

Unfortunately, it seems the Apple-versus-regulation game will run and run.

Please follow me on LinkedIn, Mastodon, or join me in the AppleHolic’s bar & grill group on MeWe.

Source:: Computer World

Attackers are exploiting a recently disclosed remote code execution vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint to gain initial access to corporate networks.

SharePoint’s main role in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem is for building intranets and dedicated web applications to support organizational processes. It is also used to build websites, and to gather together files in SharePoint teams connected to the Microsoft Teams communicator.

CVE-2024-38094 is a high-severity remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability that affects Microsoft SharePoint. Microsoft fixed the vulnerability on July 9, 2024 as part of July’s Patch Tuesday package, marking it as “important”.

Source:: Computer World

By The Conversation When Apple’s version of AI, branded as Apple Intelligence, rolls out in October to folks with the company’s latest hardware, the response is likely to be a mix of delight and disappointment. The AI capabilities on their way to Apple’s walled-garden will bring helpful new features, such as textual summaries in email, Messages and Safari; image creation; and a more context-aware version of Siri. But as Apple Intelligence’s beta testing has already made clear, the power of these features falls well below what is on offer from major players like OpenAI, Google, and Meta. Apple AI won’t come close to…This story continues at The Next WebOr just read more coverage about: Apple

Source:: The Next Web

By Ryan Waniata Spotify vs. Pandora — which music streaming platform is best for you? From visual interface to music discovery features, we’ll help you weigh these two giants.

Source:: Digital Trends

By Nick Godt Rivian is offering gas-powered vehicle owners $3,000 off the purchase of select EVs.

Source:: Digital Trends