科技新闻

Look around a typical Windows desktop. Whether it’s running Windows 10 or 11, chances are that it’s running at least a couple of dozen Windows applications (.exe files), and at least four dozen Microsoft Store apps. On my local fleet of 10 PCs, the range for applications is from a low of 24 to a high of 120; for Store apps, it ranges from 49 to 81. Such numbers are quite typical, if my online research is at all accurate.In general, it’s considered good security practice to keep apps and applications up-to-date. Why? Because many updates involve security patches and fixes that block potential attacks and prevent unauthorized and unwanted access to applications and their data (and sometimes, the host OS and the PCs they run on). In this story, I will offer some tools to help you streamline this process, along with some instructions on how to put them to work to help you keep your apps and applications current and safe.To read this article in full, please click here

In a buyout that dwarfs others, Microsoft announced plans today to purchase digital game development company Activision Blizzard in an all-cash deal worth $68.7 billion.If the acquisition goes through, it would significantly add to Microsoft’s already sizeable videogame operation, which includes "Minecraft" and "Doom." Activision’s stable of popular video games includes "Call of Duty," "World of Warcraft," and "Candy Crush" — all of which are already available through Microsoft’s Xbox console business.To read this article in full, please click here

In a buyout that dwarfs others, Microsoft announced plans today to purchase digital game development company Activision Blizzard in an all-cash deal worth $68.7 billion.If the acquisition goes through, it would significantly add to Microsoft’s already sizeable video game operation, which includes "Minecraft" and "Doom." Activision’s stable of popular video games includes "Call of Duty," "World of Warcraft," and "Candy Crush" — all of which are already available through Microsoft’s Xbox console business.To read this article in full, please click here

Beyond his trusted relationship with Steve Jobs, there’s a reason former Chief Operations Officer Tim Cook became CEO. That reason has its roots in early Apple history, should inform any company doing business globally, and is of particular significance now as cultural and economic changes impact the global supply chain.Why you should love the supply chain Please don’t turn off when you see the expression, “supply chain." Every business leader knows how important and how delicate supply chains have become, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.To read this article in full, please click here

This fall, even as the Omicron variant gained steam, we largely pretended it wasn’t that bad. We were wrong.But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. I want to focus on what you’re going to do when you literally can’t keep your doors open because all your employees are home sick. (It’s already happening.)In my hometown of Asheville, N.C., schools have closed because the latest spike left the city schools system without enough staff to “maintain facilities operations or hold classes.” Restaurants, already hard hit by the Great Resignation, are also shutting their doors. Retail stores, concert venues, and theaters are following suit, as they can’t keep enough staffers on the floor to take care of customers.To read this article in full, please click here

Android 12 is truly a tale of two different Android updates — at least, from a practical perspective.On the one hand, if you own a Pixel phone, Google's latest and greatest software is easily the most significant Android release since 2014's Android 5.0 Lollipop era. Android 12 introduces a whole new interface and design language that's much more than just a fresh coat of paint. It reimagines Android's identity and transforms practically every part of the operating system — extending even into an ever-increasing number of third-party apps.To read this article in full, please click here

Most technologists understand that end-to-end encryption in messaging keeps people safe and empowers commerce. But the UK government is launching a publicity blitz to have that layer of protection removed.The decision will affect every nation the UK does business with, including those that still value the right to privacy and free speech.Privacy versus safety Rolling Stone reports the UK has developed an emotive ad campaign around child safety to build support for its argument. Of course, this campaign comes nowhere near addressing the threat to free speech, commerce, or privacy in such a move. Naturally, the reaction across most of the tech industry has been a series of shared oaths as people who know about this stuff ask: “Do we have to explain this again?”To read this article in full, please click here

Do you feel more secure? Is your computing experience more trustworthy these days?Seriously — you’re reading this article on a computer or phone, connecting to this site on an internet shared with your Grandma as well as Russian hackers, North Korean attackers, and lots of teenagers  looking at TikTok videos. It’s been 20 years since then-Microsoft CEO Bill Gates wrote his Trustworthy Computing memo where he emphasized security in the company’s products.So are we actually more secure now?I’m going to keep in mind the side effects from last week’s Patch Tuesday security updates and consider them in my answer. First, the good news: I don’t see major side effects occurring on PCs not connected to active directory domains (and I haven’t seen any showstoppers in testing my hardware at home). I can still print to my local HP and Brother printers. I can surf and access files. So, while I’m not ready yet to give an all-clear to install the January updates, when I do, I doubt you’ll see side effects.To read this article in full, please click here

Confused about how updates work in Windows 10 and Windows 11? Join the club. Since Windows 10 was first released in 2015, Microsoft has transformed what was once a straightforward procedure into an ever-changing, often complicated process that varies according to whether you have Windows Home, Windows Pro, or an enterprise or education edition — and that varies according to the specific version number of the operating system. As a result, there have been lots of misperceptions about how Windows Update currently works, and how to best use it.Stop Windows updates entirelyTo read this article in full, please click here(Insider Story)

For this week's Patch Tuesday, the first of the year, Microsoft addressed 97 security issues, six of them rated critical. Though six vulnerabilities have been publicly reported, I do not classify them as zero-days. Microsoft has fixed a lot of security related issues and is aware of several known issues that may have inadvertently caused significant server issues including: Hyper-V, which no longer starts with the message, "Virtual machine xxx could not be started because the hypervisor is not running." ReFS (Resilient) file systems that are no longer accessible (which is kind of ironic). And Windows domain controller boot loops. There are a variety of known issues this month, and I'm not sure whether we'll see more issues reported with the January server patches. You can find more information on the risk of deploying these latest updates with our helpful infographic.To read this article in full, please click here

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably joined the mobile workforce, even if you're working remotely. This handful os iPhone tips should take a little friction out of your day and boost productivity.You don’t need to scroll any more Want to scroll through websites, documents, or anything else one-handed? Try using a feature called Back Tap introduced in iOS 14. It lets you set up commands that can be exercised by a double- or triple- tap on the back of your iPhone. Open Settings>Accessibility>Touch Scroll down the page to Back Tap and tap that Now you get to choose an action to trigger when your Double Tap and Triple Tap the back of your iPhone. There are dozens of options you can choose, but I use double tap to scroll down the page and triple tap to scroll up again.To read this article in full, please click here

Over the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a technological transformation for many office-based workers, forcing them to change work habits and rely on videoconferencing and collaboration software to get their jobs done.Now it's time to focus on frontline workers, 41% of whom don’t have access to the technology they need, according to Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index Special Report on Frontline Workers. Based on a global survey of 9,600 frontline workers in eight countries across eight industries who can't work remotely, the research is designed to help business leaders navigate the changing workplace.To read this article in full, please click here

Last summer I traded in my trusty but aging Dell XPS all-in-one desktop for a new HP Envy workstation. I was excited about taking advantage of the speedier processor and terabyte of solid-state storage. But what has really been transformative about the experience is the display. The 3840 × 2160 resolution (4K in industry lingo) effectively quadrupled the amount of screen space, making it possible to pack my desktop with more open windows than ever. The crisp graphics even make working with a full-screen Word document a joy.When it comes to choosing a work computer, the monitor is usually the last thing people think of, but when you consider how many hours each year most of us spend staring at screens, the display is one of the most critical parts of the experience. Now that many of us are choosing our own devices for work, it’s worth looking at what’s coming down the line.To read this article in full, please click here

Over the past year or so, Microsoft has added a host of new capabilities to Teams, its chat and videoconferencing hub, focused on improving video meetings with co-workers and other colleagues. Here's a rundown of the key new features to know and how to use them.Note that this guide refers to the Microsoft Teams desktop app for Windows and macOS included with Microsoft 365/Office 365 business and education subscriptions. Some of these features are not offered in the web or mobile apps or in consumer versions of Teams, including the free version.1. Breakout rooms Breakout rooms are basically mini-meeting rooms that are associated with a larger meeting. Each breakout room has most of the usual meeting features including participant audio and video feeds, a chat pane, and screen-sharing capabilities.To read this article in full, please click here

My goodness, my fellow Google-observers: We've got quite the bit of virtual geek theater playing out in front of our googly eyes right now.Have you caught wind of this whole debacle yet? Following a report in The Wall Street Journal that cited the "dreaded green text bubble" as the core reason for The Youths™ supposedly veering toward iPhones over Android devices these days, Google's chief Android exec fired off a feisty series of tweets attacking Apple over its refusal to support contemporary cross-platform messaging standards.To read this article in full, please click here