Once upon a time, a word processor was little more than a blank canvas for your finger-transmitted musings: You’d open up the program, type whatever you wanted — and, well, that was pretty much it.

These days, dealing with documents has practically become an art. And even though Google Docs is among the more approachable options out there (paging Microsoft Office Ribbon…), the service has grown surprisingly multilayered as of late.

For the most part, that’s a good thing. Docs is still generally quite easy to use, and it packs more than enough punch for most common word processing purposes. But sometimes, the layers of complexity can lead to cloud-sized headaches that are anything but light and fluffy.

Today, we’ll think through some of the most common Docs challenges and the fastest ways to fix ’em. Whether you’re responsible for only your own Docs usage or you act as the go-to troubleshooter for your office, friend group, or family (be it on an official basis or in one of those lovely unpaid “tech support” positions), this is the reference you need to solve whatever woes may come your way.

Note that most of the issues described here are specific to the Docs web interface for desktop browsers, which is far more fully featured and complex than the service’s mobile app equivalents.

Google Docs problem #1: Edit regret

Documents often represent hours upon hours of precious work — and once they’re gone, ideas aren’t always easy to get back. So what happens when a member of your team (who may or may not be, erm, you) makes a change to a Google Docs document that you later come to realize was a mistake?

Sure, there’s the universal Undo command — Ctrl-Z (or ⌘-Z, on a Mac), which can also be found in Docs’ Edit menu — but that works only if you’re the one who made the edit in question and if you just did it. If someone else is to blame, if you’ve navigated away from the document since the change got made, or if you’ve made a bunch of other changes since then that you do want to keep, Undo isn’t gonna do you a lick of good.

So here’s the fix: Remember to rely on Docs’ robust Version History system. You can find it in the File menu or by using the Ctrl-Alt-Shift-H (or ⌘-Alt-Shift-H) keyboard shortcut.

There, you’ll find versions of your document that were autosaved at different points and can be zapped directly back over as full replacements for the current version of your document.

The complicating issue, though, is that those versions are saved only sporadically, which means you may or may not find one from the precise point you’d like to restore. The best way around that is to manually force Docs to save a version anytime you reach a milestone or you’re expecting major changes to be made. That way, you always know you have a quick ‘n’ easy way to get back to the way things were before — or at the very least to view your pre-shakeup version as a point of reference.

To manually force Docs to save a version of your document, open the File menu, click “Version history,” then select “Name current version.” Give the version any name you want — I’m partial to Clancy, myself, but feel free to use something more descriptive — and then that exact state of your document will always be available and easily identifiable within the main Version History menu.

Relying on Google Docs’ Version History feature can be a real lifesaver,  especially if you remember to manually save and name versions before  major edits are made.
JR Raphael / Foundry

Google Docs problem #2: Case craziness

Have you ever pasted over text from an email, a web page, or some other source and then realized parts of it were in a wacky ALL CAPS format? Or maybe you’re working on editing a document and need all the headings to exist in title case in order to look correct. Whatever the, ahem, case may be, save yourself the hassle of manually transforming all that text and let Docs do the heavy lifting.

Just highlight the text in question, click the Format menu at the top of the screen, then click “Text” followed by “Capitalization.” There, deep in the Docs menu structure, you’ll find a one-click tool for changing whatever text you selected into all lowercase, all uppercase, or title case — with no time wasted and only minimal effort required.

Google Docs problem #3: Auto-format frustration

By default, Google Docs performs some formatting magic that’s meant to be helpful but can often be annoying. For instance, the service will automatically capitalize the first word of every sentence you type, it’ll change all the quotation marks you enter from the standard straight-quote style into the controversial curly-quote style, and it’ll add a hyperlink onto any web address you enter into a document.

Docs also changes standard three-character ellipses (…) into single-character ellipses (…), using a Unicode symbol for that piece of punctuation. It adjusts normal numerical fractions (like 1/2) into single-character symbols (like ½), too, and it changes certain abbreviations (like c/o) into their single-character Unicode symbol equivalents (like ℅).

For certain purposes, those changes might be pleasant — but just as often, they’re obnoxious. Fear not, though, for you can disable every one of those behaviors and tell Docs to leave your original text alone.

The secret resides in an easily overlooked two-part preferences menu. To get there, click the Tools menu at the top of the Docs desktop interface, then select “Preferences” from the list of options that comes up. There, you’ll see a list of options for some of Docs’ more basic text substitution habits.

You can disable basic text substitution patterns in the Docs “Preferences” menu.
JR Raphael / Foundry

That area allows you to turn off the auto-capitalization, allegedly “smart” quote transformation, and automatic link formatting, among other things. As for the fractions and other more advanced forms of text substitutions, you’ll need to click on the “Substitutions” header at the top of that same window to find ’em — and then uncheck the box next to any substitutions you want to blast away.

The “Substitutions” section of that menu lets you take total control over how Docs messes with your text.
JR Raphael / Foundry

Ahh…the glass is suddenly looking 1/2 full instead of ½ empty, isn’t it?

Google Docs problem #4: Default font disappointment

Speaking of Docs defaults, maybe you aren’t entirely thrilled with the fonts or font sizes Docs generally offers. Maybe you’re more of a Courier New kind of person — or maybe you like your headings to be huge, blue, and single-spaced.

Whatever manner of font and spacing style you prefer for your current project, you don’t have to resign yourself to manually making all the changes every time you start a new document. Instead, just edit Docs’ font defaults to make ’em look and work exactly the way you like.

The simplest way to do that is to create some text that you want to use as your default for one format or another — normal text, title text, subtitle text, or one of six available heading styles. Once the text looks exactly the way you want, click the Format menu, select “Paragraph styles,” and select whichever type of text you’d like to follow that appearance from here on out. Then, just look for the option to update that text type to follow your current formatting.

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JR Raphael / Foundry

All you’ve gotta do is select that option, then do the same thing for any other text formats you want to adjust. Once you’ve got everything set, click Format once more — and this time, select “Paragraph styles” followed by “Options” and then “Save as my default styles.” All your adjustments will then be saved to your Google account, and any new documents you create from that point forward with that specific account will use those styles instead of the standard Docs defaults.

Google Docs problem #5: Grammar police overreach

Docs loves to tell you when you’ve got something wrong with your grammar, which can certainly be useful at times. But it can also be incredibly irritating — if, say, you deliberately bend the rules for certain reasons or rely on highly stylized approaches and find yourself distracted by all the squiggly red underlines pointing out things that aren’t actually problems. (Been there, done that.)

If that frustration sounds familiar, give yourself a break by disabling Docs’ grammar suggestions — whether permanently or just for a little while, on an as-needed basis. You can find the command to do so in the Tools menu, under “Proofread” and then “Proofread settings.” Just uncheck the box next to “Grammar” to deactivate it.

You can also turn off automatic spelling suggestions in that same place, if you have a brand name that uses an uncommon spelling and constantly gets corrected. (Alternatively, you can use the “Personal dictionary” option within that same top-level settings menu to add specific terms into Docs’ vocabulary and keep it from thinking they’re mistakes.)

And if you find any other sorts of Docs writing suggestions to be more irksome than helpful — corrections related to word choice, voice, conciseness, or sentence complexity (geez, what kind of person would create a long and winding complex sentence in an important document and not keep things as concise as possible or maybe use some awkward wording choice decisions or any other such issues and not realize it themselves without the need for corrections being made by their word processor?!) — you can disable any or all of those in that same area.

Google Docs problem #6: Bullet point blues

Who doesn’t love lists? Docs makes it easy to add bulleted lists into your documents, and it even has a handful of formatting options within its Format menu, under “Bullets & numbering,” in case the basic black dot isn’t doing the trick for what you need.

Those default options are pretty limited, though, and if you have anything specific in mind, they probably won’t include the symbol you want.

But wait! Docs also allows you to insert almost any symbol imaginable as your bullet list indicator. You’d just never realize it, as the option to do so only appears after you’ve created a list. (Go figure.)

So try this: Create a bulleted list within a document, either by looking in the menu we just mentioned or by using the Ctrl-Shift-8 (or ⌘-Shift-8) shortcut. Then, with your cursor on that list, open up the Format menu and look under “Bullets & numbering” again. This time, you should be able to select the “List options” item — and once you do, you can select “More bullets” to select from a sprawling range of bullet symbol styles.

You’ve got all sorts of bullet point options within Docs — if you know how to find and activate them.
JR Raphael / Foundry

That same menu will also allow you to adjust the numbering on a numbered list, in case you ever need a list to revolve around something other than numbers alone (like “Item No. 1,” for instance) or need to have a list start on a number other than 1.

Google Docs problem #7: The envelope enigma

For as capable as Docs has gotten over the years, one feature it’s curiously still missing is the ability to format a page as an envelope or as a sheet of labels for proper printing. If you need either function for your work, you’ll need to turn to a third-party Google Docs add-on to get it.

The aptly named Create & Print Labels add-on will handle everything you need. Add it onto your account (or ask your admin to do it for you, if you’re on a company account without direct add-on access) and then look in the Extensions menu at the top of any document to find and open it.

Click the “Create label” option within its submenu, and you can then simply select the specific type of envelope or label you want to create — as well as optionally selecting an accompanying Google Sheets spreadsheet with data you want filled in on the envelopes or labels for fast ‘n’ easy printing.

Envelope and label formatting in Google Docs is surprisingly easy — once you have the right add-on installed.
JR Raphael / Foundry

Create & Print Labels is free for use with a limited range of standard label formats (which will probably be plenty for most casual purposes). For access to all available formats and features, the add-on runs 30 bucks a year or $80 for a lifetime license.

Google Docs problem #8: Word count inconvenience

If you work in an area where word count is critical, take note: You don’t have to dive deep into Docs’ menus (or futz with the Ctrl-Shift-C or ⌘-Shift-C shortcut) every time you want to check in on your current document length.

At some point, Docs gained the ability to show you a running total of the words in your document as you go. Once activated, the count appears in a handy little box in the lower-left corner of your screen. Clicking it will expand it to show your total page count, too, along with your character count (both with and without spaces).

With Docs’ persistent word count option enabled, you’ll always see a running word count in the lower-left corner of the screen.
JR Raphael / Foundry

To turn that feature on, click the Tools menu and then select “Word count” — or use that Ctrl-Shift-C or ⌘-Shift-C shortcut we mentioned a moment ago — and then check the box next to “Display word count while typing” in the pop-up that appears.

Google Docs problem #9: Missing menu item madness

Last but not least, no way around it: Docs has a lot of options, a lot of menus, and a lot of options within menus (and options within menus within menus, for that matter). It’s not quite an Office-Ribbon-caliber nightmare, but it can be a lot to process — and finding the command you need isn’t always easy.

If you’re ever hunting for a certain menu item within Docs, save yourself the trouble of digging and instead hit Alt and the forward-slash key (/) together. (On a Mac, hit the Option and / keys together.) That’ll pull up a fast-search box that’ll let you type a few letters of the command you’re looking for to find anything in a flash.

Bonus Google Docs problem: Word weirdness

There’s just one more Docs-related fix to address, and it’s related to the way the service interacts with Microsoft Word files. To explore that issue and get into some other relevant experience-improving suggestions, head over to the previous chapter in my “fast fixes” series: “8 fast fixes for common Google Drive problems.”

This article was originally published in May 2021 and updated in October 2025.

More Google Docs help:

How to use Gemini AI to write (and rewrite) in Google Docs and Gmail

How to use smart chips in Google Docs and Sheets

Google Docs power tips: How to add charts, citations, and more

Make your own business templates in Google Docs

3 clever tricks to turn Google Docs into a collaboration superhub

More Google Workspace tips and tutorials

Source:: Computer World

By Hisan Kidwai Wordle is the super fun game from the NYT, where you put your vocabulary to the…
The post Wordle Hints, Clues & Answer for Today: October 2 appeared first on Fossbytes.

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Microsoft is facing a last-ditch campaign against its decision to end support for Windows 10 later this month. The software giant has already made concessions to European consumers by extending support for an additional year, and US customers are wondering why the same extension can’t be applied across the Atlantic. Businesses and consumers alike are hoping for a last-minute change of plan.

The campaign is being led by PIRG, a consumer group that is looking to persuade Microsoft to think again about its decision to withdraw support from Windows 10 on October 14.  Businesses around the world will be facing the prospect of no further security updates if they are still using the older operating system.

Microsoft had hoped that the majority of users would have adopted Windows 11 by now, however the latest research has revealed that slightly under half of all Windows users have switched to the new operating system. There has been a reluctance to move because Windows 11 requires a particular hardware configuration, and not all Windows 10 machines support it.

Nathan Proctor, a senior director with PIRG, said that it had been pressure from the group that led to Microsoft’s decision to grant the European concession, as well as being behind the decision, taken a couple of years ago, to allow education establishments to have additional support.

While European consumers have been given another year of grace, there is still some unhappiness within business. “We have customers asking us why they haven’t been given an extra year of support in the same way that European consumers have,” said Alex Pearce, chief strategist for Microsoft at reseller Softcat.

He also believes that, despite the favorable conditions, education establishments won’t necessarily have the best deal. “As Microsoft brings in more and more security features, Windows 10 users are going to be left behind.”  He said it was a particular concern, as there were plenty of indications that education organizations suffer a higher proportion of cyber attacks.

There are plenty of other worries for businesses. Proctor believes that most companies have already upgraded their desktop software, but he warned that it wasn’t just about PCs. “Look at medical equipment,” he said, “it could be that a hospital has MRI machines that are linked up to Windows 10 machines. If the decision is taken to upgrade all PCs to Windows 11, what’s going to happen to that [MRI] machine? Is it still going to work?”

He said that there were three reasons why PIRG was looking for an extension. “First of all, there’s the environmental waste in dumping computers, as well as the effect of mining for rare earth minerals to power new machines. Then there’s the cost to consumers to upgrade and, finally, there are going to be major security problems when these machines aren’t updated.”

Pearce is bracing himself for disruption after October 14 since, he said, “we know that there are certain features that aren’t going to work.”  He expects that the public sector will be particularly hit; “they haven’t got the money to complete all the upgrades,” he said.

Although it’s late in the day, Proctor is hopeful that Microsoft can be persuaded. “We have two more weeks to pile pressure on Microsoft. I’m hopeful that we can get some concessions,” he said.

Source:: Computer World

Microsoft on Wednesday unveiled a corporate reorganization of its commercial business, appointing Judson Althoff as CEO of the division. Althoff, formerly the company’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, will take on the new role to more tightly integrate sales, marketing, operations, and engineering under one roof.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told employees through an internal message the leadership changes are designed to help customers and partners harness AI for productivity, while sharpening Microsoft’s focus on AI innovation. “We are in the midst of a tectonic AI platform shift, one that requires us to both manage and grow our at-scale commercial business today, while building the new frontier and executing flawlessly across both,” Nadella said in his post.

AI, Nadella said, can drive major productivity and growth — and Microsoft’s role is to help customers and partners use it to transform how they work.

srcset=”https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Judson-Althoff-.jpg?quality=50&strip=all 1807w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Judson-Althoff-.jpg?resize=300%2C203&quality=50&strip=all 300w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Judson-Althoff-.jpg?resize=768%2C519&quality=50&strip=all 768w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Judson-Althoff-.jpg?resize=1024%2C692&quality=50&strip=all 1024w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Judson-Althoff-.jpg?resize=1536%2C1039&quality=50&strip=all 1536w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Judson-Althoff-.jpg?resize=1031%2C697&quality=50&strip=all 1031w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Judson-Althoff-.jpg?resize=248%2C168&quality=50&strip=all 248w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Judson-Althoff-.jpg?resize=124%2C84&quality=50&strip=all 124w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Judson-Althoff-.jpg?resize=710%2C480&quality=50&strip=all 710w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Judson-Althoff-.jpg?resize=532%2C360&quality=50&strip=all 532w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Judson-Althoff-.jpg?resize=370%2C250&quality=50&strip=all 370w” width=”1024″ height=”692″ sizes=”auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>Judson Althoff will take on an expanded role at Microsoft as CEO of the company’s commercial business.
Microsoft

Takeshi Numoto, Microsoft’s chief marketing officer, and his marketing team will join the newly created organization, with Takeshi reporting directly to Althoff as CMO; Numoto will still also report directly to Nadella on all-up business models, planning, consumer marketing, and corporate brand and communications.

“I don’t see this so much as a tectonic shift at Microsoft as more an understanding that increased focus and organizational alignment is required for Microsoft to continue to thrive in an AI world,” said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates, LLC. “It’s sort of equivalent of starting a focused subsidiary with its own executive running the show.”

Microsoft’s move is also not unprecedented; similar shuffling is becoming more common because of AI’s impact. Oracle, for example, recently appointed Co-CEOs for similar reasons, and more companies may follow as AI leadership demands focused, streamlined executive teams.

“There is a lot of this going on in the industry, as companies structure for growth in diversifying business areas,” Gold said. “Having an exec running a critical business area like AI, while the remainder of the exec team focus[es] on growth and new business opportunities makes sense given the amount of focus required.”

In January, Nadella reaffirmed Azure as central to the company’s AI focus, re-branding it “CoreAI,” amid executive shifts. Analysts at the time said Nadella’s statement reflected no meaningful changes to Microsoft’s AI strategy.

Over the past year, however, Microsoft has increasingly handed out CEO titles for leaders of major divisions, including Phil Spencer (Gaming) and Mustafa Suleyman (AI). It has also used the CEO title for past acquisitions like LinkedIn and GitHub leaders, though the latter dropped the role after Thomas Dohmke’s resignation in August. Dohmke left as Microsoft moved GitHub’s platform into its CoreAI division.

Nadella said the latest reshuffling lets him and engineering leaders focus intensely on AI, data centers, and product innovation. “This isn’t just evolution, it’s reinvention — for each of us professionally and for Microsoft,” he wrote.

Source:: Computer World

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The Austrian Armed Forces are discontinuing the use of Microsoft Office in favor of the open-source office software LibreOffice, Heise reports. The decision covers around 16,000 workstations and is motivated by the desire for technical independence and secure data processing within its own infrastructure.

Planning for the move began back in 2020 when it became clear that Microsoft Office was heading for the cloud. Since 2023, Libre Office has become the standard in several departments, and this year Microsoft Office 2016 was removed from all computers. However, exceptions are granted, with some users being allowed to use Microsoft Office 2024 LTSC or Access solutions for specific needs.

LibreOffice has emerged as the most popular open-source office suite, with growing interest among businesses and government organizations looking to continue on-premises deployments. The desire for digital sovereignty among non-US organizations is also spurring interest in open-source productivity suites. Nextcloud, based in Germany, recently announced its own open-source service that it bills as a digitally sovereign competitor to US software-as-a-service products like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.

The Austrian Armed Forces state that they are also actively contributing to the LibreOffice project by funding and developing new features. So far, the organizations have contributed the equivalent of over five years of development time. Improvements include, for example, better list formats, metadata deletion, and advanced presentation features, improvements that are available to the entire LibreOffice community.

Source:: Computer World

Cisco unveiled several AI agents meant to simplify collaboration in its Webex suite at its WebexOne event on Tuesday.

The aim is to automate some of the tasks involved in work meetings via the Cisco AI assistant. “We’re squarely in the next era of AI, moving from this notion of chatbots that intelligently answer our questions to agents that are going to conduct tasks and jobs almost fully autonomously on our behalf,” said Jeetu Patel, Cisco’s president and chief product officer, in a pre-briefing to journalists.

First up is a meeting scheduler agent, which Cisco said can determine who should be invited to a meeting, check availability, then schedule the meeting. This launches in the final quarter of 2025.

The following agents will be generally available in the first quarter of 2026:

A task agent creates action items gleaned from Webex meeting summaries, such as generating a Jira ticket or scheduling a meeting, and then performs these actions on a user’s behalf.

A note taker agent can transcribe, summarize, and caption action items from in-person conversations when activated on a smartphone or laptop during a face-to-face meeting. The agent will also be available in the new RoomOS 26 operating system for Cisco meeting room hardware.

A polling agent follows a conversation during a Webex video meeting and will suggest a poll when it deems it appropriate. The agent will also generate the questions and create the poll in Cisco’s Slido app.

A voice AI receptionist agent for Webex Calling can automate routine queries and take actions on requests from the caller.

The Webex AI task agent can create and carry through on action items gleaned from Webex meeting summaries.
Cisco

Cisco also announced integrations between its AI assistant and third-party tools.

A “bi-directional” integration with the Microsoft 365 Copilot AI assistant uses a Microsoft Graph Connector for Copilot to connect with Webex. This makes it possible to access details from a Webex meeting or recording by invoking the Webex AI agent via M365 Copilot in apps such as PowerPoint, for example. From the Webex app, it will be possible to access information from Microsoft tools such as Outlook or OneDrive by connecting to Microsoft’s AI assistant.  

“This is an amazing example of AI working with another AI on behalf of a human-set goal,” said Anurag Dhingra, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco Collaboration.

Other integrations include Amazon Q index, Jira, and Salesforce. General availability for Amazon Q and M365 Copilot integration with the AI assistant is set for Q4 2025, with Jira and Salesforce integration coming in Q1 2026.

New AI tools will also be released as part of RoomOS 26 for Cisco Devices, due to launch in Q4 2025. One is a director agent that automatically chooses which camera angles to display during a video meeting.

In addition, the Workspace Advisor tool, designed in partnership with Nvidia, creates a 3D digital twin of a meeting room to optimize how hardware such as microphones and cameras are placed throughout the environment. This includes an audio exclusion zone features that lets IT teams identify and block noise areas of a room to enable clear conversations during conference calls.

Related reading:

How AI agents work

Real-world use cases for agentic AI

How agentic AI makes decisions and solves problems

Does agentic AI spell doom for SaaS?

Source:: Computer World

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Riding the Risky Stream of Crossy Road Betting

Introduction

In the realm of digital entertainment, few games have managed to make a splash quite like Crossy Road. This simple yet addictive game challenges players to hop their way across busy roads, rivers, and train tracks while avoiding obstacles. However, what many players may not realize is that beneath its cute graphics lies an exciting and risky subculture: Crossy Road gambling. This article explores the intoxicating world of wagering on this popular game, examining the thrill it brings and the community that fuels it.

The Gamble Feeling

Engaging in Crossy Road gambling offers an exhilarating rush, reminiscent of traditional casino experiences yet uniquely tailored to the digital landscape. Players find themselves immersed in a game of skill where each jump can lead to sweet victory or crushing defeat. The emotional roller coaster associated with gambling can be attributed to several factors:

• Instant Gratification: Unlike other gambling formats, success in Crossy Road can be achieved within mere seconds.
• Competitive Edge: Players are motivated to outperform not only their own scores but also those of friends and global competitors.
• Risk vs. Reward: Each wager placed on a bet heightens the stakes, enhancing the excitement of every jump.

Gaming Mechanics

Before diving deeper into the world of Crossy Road gambling, it’s essential to understand how the game operates at its core. Here’s a quick overview of its primary mechanics:

The Crossy Road Community

The emergence of Crossy Road gambling has facilitated the growth of a vibrant community. Players connect through social media, forums, and in-game leaderboards, sharing tips and celebrating their high scores. This sense of camaraderie fosters a supportive environment where players encourage one another to improve. In a community rife with competitive spirits and shared experiences, it’s easy to see why Crossy Road gambling attracts so many enthusiasts.

Pros and Cons of Crossy Road Gambling

While Crossy Road gambling offers thrilling experiences and community bonding, it’s not without its downsides. Here’s a balanced look at both sides:

Conclusion

The world of Crossy Road gambling represents an intersection between competitive gaming and the thrill of risk. While the game’s charm lies in its simplicity and fun, the gambling element adds a layer of challenge that appeals to many players. Understanding not only the mechanics but also the community and the associated pros and cons can foster a more responsible gaming environment. Regardless of the outcomes, the journey across the road can offer both adventure and insight, making it a captivating exploration for all players.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Crossy Road gambling legal?

The legality of gambling in Crossy Road depends on your local regulations regarding gaming and betting. Always ensure compliance with the laws of your jurisdiction.

Can you make real money from Crossy Road gambling?

While some players may place bets amongst friends or within private groups, traditionally, Crossy Road does not facilitate earning real money through gambling.

How can I improve my Crossy Road skills?

Practice is crucial! Focus on timing and observing the patterns of obstacles. Engaging with the community for tips can also be beneficial.

What are some common strategies for Crossy Road gambling?

• Focus on clear paths and avoid predictable patterns.
• Manage your stakes wisely; don’t chase losses.
• Engage with the community to learn from others’ experiences.

What should I remember while gambling in Crossy Road?

Always gamble responsibly; set limits for yourself and be aware of the potential risks of gambling addiction.

Accenture’s AI training courses: Business optimization or age discrimination in disguise?HJBC / Shutterstock

Accenture has announced plans to cut employees who are unable to train in artificial intelligence (AI). This is part of a wider restructuring strategy that will see the company focus on AI measures.

“Advanced AI is becoming part of everything we do,” announced CEO Julie Sweet last Thursday in the analyst conference for the fourth quarter of 2025, pointing out that Accenture will continue to invest significantly in this area. Employees are therefore expected to undergo extensive “further training and retraining”.

Preparation for client projects

“By definition, every new wave of technology has a time where you have to train and retool,” said Sweet. “Accenture’s core competency is to do that at scale. Our clients cannot possibly build all of the expertise they need on their own, they need us to go first and fast.”

“We are investing in upskilling our reinventors,” the Accenture boss said, using the company’s new name for its employees. However, she said, Accenture is “exiting on a compressed timeline” those for whom retraining is not a viable route to the skills required by the consultancy.

According to the CEO, Accenture has already trained 550,000 employees in the basics of generative AI. The move is part of a comprehensive, six-month business optimization program worth $865 million, which also includes layoffs and severance packages.

According to CFO Angie Park, the company expects to save over one billion dollars and plans to reinvest the freed-up budget in the business and the remaining workforce. The company also intends to maintain profit margins.

In addition to the cuts, the company continues to hire new employees and has expanded its AI capabilities with 77,000 AI and data experts employed in 2025 compared to 40,000 in 2023. “It is well recognized that advanced AI has taken the mindshare of CEOs, the C-suite and boards faster than any technology development we’ve seen in the past two decades,” Sweet explained. “At the same time, as reported widely, value realization has been underwhelming for many and enterprise adoption at scale is slow other than with digital natives,” she added.

Source:: Computer World

A new Agent Mode in Microsoft 365 Copilot will let users collaborate with the AI assistant on multistep tasks in Excel and Word, Microsoft announced on Monday. This will open up more complex application functionality for users and improve the quality of content created, the company claimed.

Microsoft also announced a new Office Agent that will help Microsoft 365 users create documents directly from the Copilot chat interface — a feature that uses Anthropic’s Claude AI model, rather than OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

In a blog post on Monday, Microsoft marketed the new agentic features as “vibe coding” but for office productivity tasks, with the ability to “steer” Copilot as it orchestrates multistep tasks. “It’s the new pattern of work for human-agent collaboration,” said Sumit Chauhan, corporate vice president for Microsoft’s Office Product Group.

The news follows additional M365 Copilot announcements this month, including role-based AI assistants for sales, service, and finance and several team-oriented AI agents for Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Viva Engage.

With Agent Mode, advanced modeling in Excel becomes “approachable for most everyone,” said Chauhan in the post, with the ability to “evaluate results, fix issues, and repeat the processes until the outcome is verified. It’s like you’re handing off work to an Excel expert — while you steer and guide.”

For example, an Excel user can direct the M365 Copilot agent to analyze sales data and provide visual insights. Agent Mode will then decide which formulas to use and get to work creating data visualizations. Finally, it will share a summary of results and validation steps taken.

Another example is a loan calculator that figures out monthly payments based on user inputs (e.g., load amount, interest rate, loan term) and then generates a payment schedule in a formatted table. Or a monthly financial analysis for a small business with a breakdown of product lines.

Microsoft claims that Agent Mode will make M365 Copilot more reliable in Excel. In its tests, Agent Mode received a score of 57.2% in Spreadsheet Bench accuracy results — that compares with 71.3% for humans, Microsoft said.

In Word, Agent Mode can take on tasks such as drafting content and suggesting changes while asking the user for input along during the process. This makes writing feel “more like a dialogue than a task,” said Chauhan, resulting in “faster iteration, better ideas, and a more engaging writing experience.”

Agent Mode is available in Excel and Word for Microsoft 365 customers with M365 Copilot licenses via Microsoft’s Frontier early access program. It will roll out to PowerPoint later, Microsoft said. Agent Mode will also be available to consumers with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscriptions.

The new Office Agent in Copilot, also announced today, lets users create Word and PowerPoint documents directly from the Copilot Chat interface. Integration with Excel is “coming soon,” said Microsoft.

Once the agent is given a task, it will clarify the user’s intent, then conduct web-based research while revealing its “chain of thought” processing. The Office Agent will present a preview of the document it has created, before collaborating with the user on amendments to the final result, Microsoft said.

Office Agent is available today to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers via the Frontier program, with Commercial support to come at a later date.  

Source:: Computer World

By Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten A few decades ago, when I was raising funding for a startup, I made a lasting impression on an investor by not only talking about how successful we would be, but also highlighting what would happen if we weren’t. Later, in an informal setting, I asked him what had persuaded him to invest in us. He told me that during the pitch, I had said, “And if all our predictions and expectations are wrong, we will use the last of our funding for a magnificent farewell dinner for all our investors. You’ll have lost your money, but at least you’ll…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

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Look, your budgets may be constrained and the business environment complicated, but when it comes to investing in the technology needed to drive your enterprise, purchasing decisions should be guided by far more considerations than simple sticker price.

You also have to consider the value across the whole lifecycle — the total cost of ownership across a device’s usable life. Those costs should also be compared to the benefits, not just of owning the device, but also of the productivity benefits a particular platform might unlock. Each of those broad considerations masks a wider series of conversations, but they’ll do as a starting point.  

A white paper from international cloud-based eCommerce platform, New Black, sheds some light on how to approach tech purchasing comparisons. 

This report looks particularly at iOS versus Android in enterprise retail. But the considerations it raises should translate across other platforms and other industries – and while iOS is seen as the superior choice in this research, it’s not the choice that matters; it’s the thinking that guides the decision that should inform any tech purchaser.

When the price isn’t the cost

The key insight is that sticker price does not reflect true operational cost. If you think about it, you knew this already — do you think those cheap (EOL?) Windows systems currently being hacked at airports have really saved anyone any money? Is a system that costs almost as much to run each year  in terms of support per unit really delivering significant budget advantage?

Does it make business sense to equip employees with technology or systems they don’t enjoy using? How does that make them more productive? And are any of these considerations understood by the purchasing power players at your firm?

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) matters. The white paper shows us how iOS is cheaper than Android in the long run, more secure, easier to use, and with lower ongoing costs, despite the higher initial outlay. 

Failure and consequence

Investing in tech that works matters when you rely on it for business. 

That’s why it’s important to note that Android devices experience annual failure rates between 12% and 18%, compared to 3% for iOS devices (according to IBM Enterprise Fleet Reports, 2023). Similarly, when it comes to Windows versus Macs, an (admittedly 10-year old) Consumer Reports survey found that while Macs had a 4% failure rate, the top five laptops running Windows systems all failed at least three times as much. (I’d love more recent data if anyone has come across any.)

The thing is, when it comes to tech for your business, the likely failure rate should be as public as the initial price. After all, there are major consequences to business when tech falls down, as these failures create operational disruption, deliver unpredictable support and replacement costs, and can put whole teams out of action while damage control and support operations swing into action. (And don’t forget the likelihood of disappointed clients and missed deadlines.)

Designer security, or secure by design?

That’s just one example. When it comes to Android and iOS, the reality that 9% of global cyberattacks were delivered via mobile devices also means the inherent security of the platforms should be a consideration, along with the relative cost of support. Some claim Android support costs can be up to 80% higher than for iPhones, or that PC users are twice as likely to call support as Mac users?

Of course, making IT purchasing decisions shouldn’t be seen through the lens of platform warfare. But, when it comes to deciding which technologies you’ll use to run your business for the next five to 10 years, the right decision today can and will help build business resilience in uncertain times. 

And getting to the right decisions requires you to answer the right questions. So you should be thinking about support, security, and maintenance costs, as well as pondering price.

Costs beyond cost

It’s not just about costs — there are also issues around sustainability, privacy, and employee experiences. Data exists to help guide you in all those decision spaces; the report cites an internal study from Rituals Cosmetics that showed major employee experience gains when that company deployed iOS-based POS systems across its stores, for example. Cisco and IBM have made similar claims. 

Evidence also points to significant energy consumption reductions by migrating to Apple’s systems, which could be of importance when you’re working to align your tech with corporate CSR.

Is it time to Think Different?

That’s not to say your choices need always be determined by data points such as these. Your business may be predicated around different sets of needs that benefit from making different technology choices. But if that is not the case, it really makes sense to build a holistic overall picture of the true value and the hidden costs levied by tech deployments as you engage in each replacement cycle. In some cases, a small additional cost today could generate significant, year-on-year support and maintenance savings across your business — not just tomorrow, but across the entire lifecycle of every new device.

You’ve just got to be willing to look at the options.

You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky,  LinkedIn, and Mastodon.

Source:: Computer World

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