Software & Apps - Page 10

Microsoft Office, which includes popular productivity apps like Word and Excel, has been accused of scraping user-created content to train its internal AI systems. The feature, called 'Microsoft Connected Experiences,' is enabled by default, and to opt-out, you need to navigate various settings and options.

Linux expert @nixcraft on X called 'Connected Experiences' "unethical" because the feature's name doesn't convey that it's all about AI training. Microsoft's knowledge base states that connected experiences are "designed to enable you to create, communicate, and collaborate more effectively" by analyzing your content. There's no mention of AI or data being used for Copilot features or to train Microsoft's AI models.

Various media publications have picked up on these allegations, and Microsoft has responded to them using the official @Microsoft365 account on social media, denying the claims.

Windows 11's Photos app got a pair of smart new features recently, but now one of them has been put on ice - following the first (AI-powered) capability going awry in the past.

The features - which arrived in preview for Windows Insiders towards the end of October - are Super Resolution (that's the AI effort) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

It's the latter one which has just been ditched from Photos, as we were informed by Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc on X (hat tip to Neowin).

Microsoft has confirmed that its latest Windows 11 24H2 update breaks some aspects of the operating system, such as USB audio, time and clock, and game playability.

Redmond confirmed the bugs within Windows 11 24H2 in a support document where it states some users who didn't have administrative privileges were experiencing difficulty changing the time zone in the Date & Time view. Microsoft writes that this issue is only limited to Date & time within the Windows Settings app, and that a workaround for afflicted users can be achieved through changing the timezone within the Control Panel.

That wasn't the only issue, as some users are reporting problems with the latest Windows 11 24H2 displaying the incorrect time after being awoken from Sleep. Additionally, reports state that some users are also seeing incorrect times after daylight savings have ticked over. Moreover, Windows 11 24H2 currently has a bug that causes audio devices to stop working entirely, and it's even more frequent with USB audio devices.

Google may be forced to sell off Google Chrome, the world's most popular internet browser that is home to 61% of all internet users.

The possibility of Google having to sever one of the arms of its core business comes from people familiar with the matter who recently spoke to Bloomberg, which reports top antitrust officials are planning on asking the court on Wednesday for Google to be forced to sell off Chrome, to bring fairness back to the browser market that has been heavily leaning in Google's favor for quite some time.

The changes to Google were proposed by the Department of Justice in a court filing last month and list other measures that would be a blow to Google's business, such as the requirement for data licensing, transparency for advertisers to see where the ads they are paying for appear, and guardrails for consumers to protect them against Google hoarding user data.

Only weeks after Apple unveiled its redesign of the Mac Mini line-up, Microsoft has unveiled a new mini PC that's even smaller than the Mac Mini and is scheduled to be released in April next year.

Microsoft has taken to its blog to announce the Windows 365 Link, which the company says is the "First Cloud PC devices for Windows 365". Microsoft states in the blog the upcoming device is strictly designed for cloud computing, and won't even have any local storage available to users. Moreover, Windows 365 Link measures just 4.72 by 4.72 inches and stands just 1.18 inches high, making it slightly smaller than Apple's Mac Mini.

As for connectivity, the Windows Links 365 will come with three USB-A ports, one USB-C port, an HDMI port, DisplayPort connections, an Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Keeping to connectivity, Microsoft has added support for two 4K resolution monitors, along with Bluetooth 5.3, and Wi-Fi 6E. On the blog, Microsoft writes the device "takes seconds to boot" and "instantly wakes from sleep".

Microsoft has announces its closing the Beta Channel for the world's most popular operating system after making it available just five months ago.

The Redmond company committed to adding new features to Windows 10 last year despite its looming support severance slated for October 2025. With less than two years left of official support for Windows 10, Microsoft added the Insider Beta Channel, which would roll out new features to beta testers who opted into the program. Now, Microsoft has announced via a blog post that it's closing the Insider Beta Channel, indicating what seems to be the beginning of the end of new features for Windows 10.

Microsoft writes that it will still continue to release new builds in the Release Preview Channel, and that all users in the Insider Beta Channel will be moved over to the Release Preview Channel. For those wondering what's in the Beta Channel, admittedly not much, as most of the additions are simply features that direct users to adopt Microsoft services. For example, Microsoft added Windows 11's lock screen widgets, along with the new Copilot app, OneDrive, and Microsoft 365 advertisements within Settings and Start.

Windows 11 has witnessed another bug creeping into the mix of various glitches that have been seen since the 24H2 update kicked off, and this is a weird issue (again), though apparently it has just been fixed.

What's happening is that those running Windows 11 23H2 (and 22H2) who have installed the latest Patch Tuesday update (KB5046633) are being told their version of the operating system is out of date.

As shown by a Windows 11 23H2 user on Reddit (hat tip to Neowin), the OS informed them that their version of Windows has reached end of service just after the installation of KB5046633 had finished.

A group of cyber criminals have claimed responsibility for a hack that resulted in 1.469 terabytes (TB) of data being stolen from the American Associated Pharmacies (AAP).

The AAP has taken to its website to post a notice informing its customers that the passwords to their accounts have been reset as the APP suspects its servers have been compromised. The AAP wrote that all existing credentials will no longer be "valid to access the sites" and that users will need to navigate to "forgot password" and follow the prompts accordingly. The group called Embargo has claimed responsibility for the attack, writing on its website the AAP paid $1.3 million to have their systems decrypted, but now the group is demanding an additional $1.3 million not to release the stolen data.

Notably, as always with ransomware stories, take the claims by the hacking group with a healthy amount of skepticism as sometimes they aren't exactly what is being alleged or completely false. As for what Embargo wants ransom for, it isn't exactly clear as details, such as the type of stolen data, haven't been released to the public. However, Embargo has given the AAP until November 20 to pay the additional $1.3 million, and if that date is exceeded, the hacking group will leak the stolen data online.

Microsoft is taking its traditional break from updates in December, so Windows 11 and 10 users will only get a monthly cumulative update next month - and no preview release.

November updates are happening as usual, what with the Patch Tuesday release just having landed, and there's going to be a preview update (of the non-security variety) that'll be deployed late in the month for those brave enough to download an optional upgrade.

However, in December, there won't be any such preview update at the end of the month due to it being the holidays, with Microsoft staff taking a break. As noted, Windows 11 and 10 PCs will still receive the main monthly cumulative update for December (of course).

Microsoft appears to be up to old tricks again in terms of pushing its Edge browser, and in this case, apparently poaching data from Chrome - something which has happened in the past.

The Verge's Tom Warren reports that a colleague on the tech site, Richard Lawler, ran into an odd situation with Edge where the browser fired itself up on boot-up of their PC.

Specifically, this was a Microsoft pop-up promising Windows 11 users the opportunity to 'enhance' their browsing by setting up the Edge web browser (with Copilot).