Meta introduces Horizon OS
In what appears to be a response to Apple's recent success with the Vision Pro, Meta has unveiled its own open computing initiative with the introduction of Meta Horizon OS. This new mixed reality operating system is part of Meta's strategy to recover ground in the rapidly evolving metaverse sector, where Apple has set a high standard.
Meta Horizon OS will be the backbone for a series of new devices from major tech players like ASUS, Lenovo, and Xbox. These collaborations seem to be Meta's attempt to broaden its ecosystem and challenge Apple's dominance. ASUS's Republic of Gamers, for instance, will develop a performance gaming headset, tapping into the gaming market where Apple's presence is less pronounced. Lenovo is poised to leverage its past collaboration on Oculus Rift S and its hardware prowess to create mixed reality devices aimed at productivity and entertainment, sectors where Apple's Vision Pro has made significant inroads.
Open-source audio editor Audacity 3.5 available for Windows, Linux, and Mac
Audacity, the renowned open-source audio editing software, has just been updated to version 3.5, and it's packed with features that are bound to excite both amateur and professional audio manipulators alike.
One of the most anticipated additions in Audacity 3.5 is the introduction of cloud project saving. Now, users can save their projects to audio.com, enabling them to access their work from any device. This move not only facilitates seamless collaboration and sharing among users but also ensures that you can recover previous versions of your projects, which is a lifesaver if you encounter unexpected issues.
Stop sideloading headaches on Apple devices: Why EU admins need MDMs now more than ever
Apple just went full Android in the EU. While sideloading, the act of installing apps from sources other than the OS's official app store, is a familiar practice for Android users, it marks a departure from the tightly integrated ecosystem that has long characterized Apple's approach.
While the option to pick and choose the apps on their devices holds appeal for certain enterprises, EU admins might not agree. Maintaining a delicate equilibrium between user privacy and strong endpoint security has always been a challenge, one that is bound to escalate with the EU's latest regulatory changes.
Email still the most popular phishing technique even on mobile
Most incidents of phishing or spoofing on smartphones still happen via email, according to MEF's (Mobile Ecosystem Forum) 9th Annual Trust Study.
The report shows 52 percent of users reporting personal experience of data harm via this channel. Surprisingly, 39 percent of those users still took no preventative measures to protect their online data.
Proton Mail launches Dark Web Monitoring to alert users to leaks
One of the most common forms of cyberattack is credential stuffing, using exposed details on different sites to exploit the fact that people frequently reuse passwords.
Proton Mail is introducing a new Dark Web Monitoring feature that will alert customers if their credentials are exposed on the dark web, where stolen emails and credentials get bought and sold.
Cloud security and speed -- how fast do your processes need to be? [Q&A]
Moving to the cloud offers many benefits for businesses, but it doesn't remove the need to keep your systems secure. The tools that make the cloud fast and attractive for business can also be used by attackers.
We spoke to Anna Belak, director, Office of Cybersecurity at Sysdig to discuss the pain points that she sees security teams dealing with today, where those problems come from, and how to address them around process and skills rather than just looking at the tech side.
Updated, lightweight Microsoft Store offers faster downloads and multi-app parallel installations
In response to user feedback, Microsoft has launched Microsoft Store installers for web with refined workflow and faster app downloads.
The changes only apply to Store apps installed directly from apps.microsoft.com, but for anyone using this approach rather than the Microsoft Store app, there are great improvements to the UX. Fewer clicks are now needed to locate and install an app, individual installations are faster, and parallel installation of multiple apps are possible.
The unseen ethical considerations in AI practices: A guide for the CEO
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is only accelerating its adoption among global corporate enterprises, thus CEOs and business leaders are positioned at the confluence of innovation and ethics, as it relates to implementing AI projects, in their businesses.
While technical prowess and business potential are usually the focus of conversations around AI, the ethical considerations are sometimes overlooked, especially those not immediately obvious. From a perspective that straddles the line of business leadership and technical acumen, there are five critical, yet often missed, ethical considerations in AI practices that should be part of your due diligence in starting any AI projects:
The rise of the outsmarted insider
Malware, ransomware, and phishing. These are just a few examples of software disruptors that can wreak havoc on a business and cause major personal and financial loss.
Most recently, organizations and vendors have gotten good at protecting their business from malware and infiltrations from the outside. Their security has gone up, so it's now more difficult and expensive for an outside attacker to attack this traditional way. Additionally, organizations have gotten smarter about preventing ransomware and not falling for the ransomware attack by paying the ransom. Most organizations won't pay the ransom anymore because governments don't want them to.
Firefox Nightly expands to Linux on ARM64
Mozilla has announced Firefox Nightly for ARM64. This release will cater to the growing demand for support on ARM64 platforms, commonly referred to as AArch64.
Feedback from the community has led Mozilla to expand the availability of Firefox Nightly. Users can now access the browser as both .tar archives and .deb packages, depending on their preference and requirements for installation.
How writing zip support for Windows almost cost its creator his job at Microsoft
These days, we take Windows' built-in zip support for granted, even if we prefer to use an alternative tool like 7-Zip. The story of how Microsoft added zip functionality to its operating system is an interesting one, and the guy responsible for it reveals how its creation nearly got him fired from his job at the tech giant.
Dave Plummer is a retired operating system engineer for Microsoft who worked on MS-DOS and Windows 95, among other things. He wrote the zip file support for Microsoft’s Windows 95 Plus pack, a feature which became an integral part of Windows 98 onwards and which, in his own words, "hasn’t really changed all that much in the 30 years since."
Apple AirPlay comes to IHG Hotels and Resorts
Guests at select IHG Hotels & Resorts properties, including those under the Kimpton, Hotel Indigo, Candlewood Suites, and InterContinental brands, now have a more personalized entertainment experience. More than 60 locations across North America now offer AirPlay functionality, allowing visitors to stream content from Apple TV+ and other services, listen to music, view photos, play games, or engage in fitness and meditation sessions -- all on the big screens in their rooms.
The new feature is available through a seamless connection process. Guests can link their devices to the room’s LG TV and the hotel’s Wi-Fi network by scanning a unique QR code displayed on the TV screen. This setup not only makes it easy to mirror content from iPhones and iPads directly to the TV but also ensures privacy and security.
Millennials are key targets for phishing
A new report reveals that millennials are the top targets for phishing attacks, receiving 37.5 percent of phishing emails.
The latest phishing trends report from Egress also highlights the widespread adoption of AI and QR code phishing (quishing). Quishing has risen from 0.8 percent in 2021 to 10.8 percent in 2024, whereas attachment-based payloads halved from 72.7 percent to 35.7 percent in the same period.
Get 'Applied Machine Learning and AI for Engineers' (worth $67.99) for FREE
While many introductory guides to AI are calculus books in disguise, this one -- Applied Machine Learning and AI for Engineers -- mostly eschews the math.
Instead, author Jeff Prosise helps engineers and software developers build an intuitive understanding of AI to solve business problems. Need to create a system to detect the sounds of illegal logging in the rainforest, analyze text for sentiment, or predict early failures in rotating machinery? This practical book teaches you the skills necessary to put AI and machine learning to work at your company.
Best Windows apps this week
Five-hundred-and-ninety-one in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.
Microsoft claims that it has improved the performance of the Microsoft Store significantly. Product pages, for instance, load 40% faster now than before, according to Microsoft.
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