No more heavy keyboard pounding? Killer feature added, as Microsoft Word gains ability to transcribe audio conversations into document
News Software
Apple Tells Judge Fortnite Row ‘Of Epic’s Own Making’
Apple tells court Fortnite can return to App Store as soon as Epic removes its independent payment system, amidst antitrust row over app commissions
Google Services Including Gmail Suffer Disruption
Rare event. Disruption around the globe after outage hits Google services including Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Docs on Thursday morning
Mozilla To Axe Quarter Of Its Workforce
Jobs losses. 250 jobs to be axed at Firefox creator Mozilla, with Coronavirus being blamed for “significant restructuring”
Researchers Uncover Stuxnet-Style Flaw In Windows
The zero-day vulnerability affects the same Windows component used by Stuxnet to attack critical infrastructure when it was first appeared 10 years ago
Microsoft Expands Teams Meetings To 20,000 People
Microsoft extends Teams amidst broad shift to remote working, with ‘view-only’ meetings up to 20,000 people and a new one-on-one cloud-based phone system
Facebook Open Sources Python Code Check Tool
Pysa static analysis tool, developed to find security bugs in Instagram’s huge codebase, can now be used to help secure other developers’ Python code
Apple Stock Surge Makes It World’s Most Valuable Company
Apple shares rise 10 percent on blockbuster earnings, propelling it past Saudi Aramco to become world’s most valuable listed company at £1.3 trillion
Scotland To Launch Own Coronavirus Tracing App
Scotland to develop Covid-19 contact tracing app based on software already used in Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, amidst delay to NHS England app
Google Tightens Security For Meet Video Conferencing Tool
Securing video chats. New security features for Meet videoconferencing platform aims to halt uninvited users gate crashing meetings
Microsoft Cuts Jobs, But Doesn’t Disclose Numbers
Software giant remains coy about revealing scale of job cuts across its global operations, or even which roles have been axed
Microsoft Project Freta Looks To Eradicate Undetected Malware
Demonstration technology carries out offline sweeps of Linux virtual machine snapshots at large scale to help organisations root out in-memory malware
Facebook Code Changes Crashes Dozens Of iOS Apps – Again
Popular iPhone and iPad apps such as Spotify, Tinder, TikTok and Waze offline for hours after Facebook makes changes to widely used login code
Apple Reconfigures Macs To Block Adware
Apple will no longer allow user profiles to be installed on Macs without user interaction, in move targeting ‘plague of adware’
The Shape Of IT In A Post COVID-19 World
Global IT spend is projected to contract 8% in 2020, according to Gartner. Gartner expects IT priorities to move away from projects aimed at growth or transformation, in favour of mission-critical technology that supports operations. While companies may pause large-scale cloud projects, public cloud services are expected to grow 19% this year, according to the forecast. What’s your business’s strategy?
WWDC 2020: Apple Redesigns Desktop, Mobile Software
Mac desktop gets an iPad-like look, iPhones can now unlock cars and the Apple Watch gets customiseable watch faces, amongst other announcements
WWDC 2020: Apple Drops Intel Chips In Favour Of ARM
Apple shifts to its own custom silicon for the Mac, bringing it into line with iPhone and iPad and promising major boost to performance and power-efficiency
Researchers Find Weaknesses In Apple-Google Trace Tech
Apple and Google’s coronavirus contact-tracing framework fails to accurately log exposures on a commuter bus, Dublin academic study finds
NHS Says Apple-Google Contact Tracing Tech ‘Inaccurate’
Technology developed by Apple and Google for use by contact-tracing apps is unable to accurately determine how far away other devices are, NHS says
Apple’s App Store ‘Facilitates More Than $500bn’ In Trade Worldwide
Apple says App Store facilitates more than half a trillion dollars in worldwide trade, with the lion’s share being physical sales from which it doesn’t take a commission
Norway Shuts Down Contact Tracing App After Data Warning
Norway’s health authority says it will pause data collection and delete all collected data after country’s data regulator says the app is too invasive
GitLab Bolsters DevSecOps With Peach Tech, Fuzzit Acquisitions
GitLab to integrate Peach Tech and Fuzzit fuzz-testing into its DevOps lifecycle tool, helping developers to catch security bugs earlier on
Apple Project Aims To Improve Password Managers
Apple’s open source Password Manager Resources project includes site-specific data aimed at improving compatibility of third-party password tools
Google Adds Covid-19 Travel Alerts To Maps
Users will now receive data on how crowded trains and stations are likely to be and alerts on restrictions affecting public transport or border crossings
Linux Mint Distances Itself From Canonical’s Snap
The popular Linux Mint distribution ends support for Canonical’s Snap package manager, saying the system is comparable to proprietary software
Disappointed Investors Drive Slack Shares Down
Slack shares plummet after it reports steady revenue growth – but sees little benefit from coronavirus-related trend toward remote working
Microsoft Belatedly Credits AppGet Developer For WinGet
Microsoft acknowledgs its new WinGet package manager is largely inspired by the open source AppGet tool, after its developer pointed out the similarities
Google Postpones Android 11 Launch Event
The virtual launch event for Android’s next version, originally set for this week, has been pushed back amidst civil unrest across the US and beyond
Windows 10 Update Removes Cortana Consumer Features
Microsoft removes Cortana home and third-party capabilities, amongst other Windows 10 features removed or deprecated in latest release
Microsoft Confirms 4G Modem Issue With Latest Windows 10 Update
No patch as yet for problem with Windows 10 update that cuts off internet for systems linked to mobile data via 4G LTE modems