Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

The UK government has announced plans to spend £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) on what it describes as "the world's most powerful weather and climate supercomputer".

The investment will make weather forecasts faster and more accurate, and the computer will make it easier to predict the impact of climate change. It will be managed by the Met Office, and will be used to help communities and government agencies better prepare for severe weather.

Continue reading →

Anyone using the Dev or Canary builds of Microsoft Edge gets to try out all of the latest features and improvements early, and Microsoft says that the latest builds boast huge speed improvements.

The enhanced performance is significant. Microsoft claims improvements of up to 13 percent -- meaning that this is the sort of speed boost that should be noticeable in use, not just measurable in tests.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has released Windows Terminal Preview v0.9 with a glut of new features and options. The company says that this update is the last release that will include new features before v1 launches.

In terms of what's new, there's a lot to explore. The latest version of Windows Terminal will now detect any version of PowerShell and automatically create a profile for you, and the wt execution alias now supports command line arguments.

Continue reading →

You're very likely still waiting for Android 10 to make its way to your handset, but Google is already working away on Android 11.

The company accidentally (probably) published the Android 11 Developer Preview page online, leading to speculation that a developer build might be in the offing. But it seems that there is no cause to get excited just yet...

Continue reading →

Microsoft has removed standalone security update KB4524244 after it was found to be causing problems with various systems. KB4524244 was supposed to fix issues with the UEFI boot manager, but for many people the patch had problems during installation, and for others it led to system freezes.

Acknowledging the latest problematic update for Windows 10, Microsoft has taken the decision to pull KB4524244 and says that it will not be re-offered from Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services or Microsoft Update Catalog.

Continue reading →

It's been while -- at least a few days -- since Microsoft released a problematic update for Windows 10, so we were probably about due another one. And sure enough, this week's KB4532693 update is causing issues for people.

Released two days ago on February's patch Tuesday, the cumulative update KB4532693 is loading the incorrect profile for users, and hiding files stored on the desktop.

Continue reading →

Reuters has teamed up with Facebook to launch a new fact-checking initiative. It is looking to identify misinformation on social media, and will draw on the news agency's history of verifying data.

The partnership will see Reuters fact-checking content on Facebook and Instagram, working with Facebook's Third-Party Fact-Checking Program. The fact-checking program is seen as being particularly important in the run-up to the US presidential election, but it will continue beyond this.

Continue reading →

The UK government has long wanted to police the internet, and now it has expressed a desire for Ofcom to regulate social media.

The government would like to give the telecoms watchdog greater powers to enable it to serve as regulator for the likes of Facebook, Google, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok. The aim is to protect internet users from "harmful and illegal content" while maintaining free speech.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has released a series of patches for a zero-day vulnerability in Internet Explorer that was being actively exploited.

The remote code execution flaw was discovered a few weeks ago, and while 0patch released a micropatch to fix the problem, Microsoft only suggested a workaround which ended up breaking printing for many people. But now patches have been made available for Windows 7, Windows 8.x, Windows 10, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2012.

Continue reading →

Windows 10X is the upcoming operating system from Microsoft, designed for dual-screen devices such as the Surface Duo and Neo. If you thought you would have to wait ages, or spend a fortune on a new device to try it out... think again.

Today, Microsoft releases a Windows 10X emulator, giving anyone who wants a glimpse of the future the chance to take the OS for a test drive. In reality, the Windows 10X emulator is designed with developers in mind, but there's nothing to stop anyone who is curious from trying it out.

Continue reading →

Just after Windows 7 reached the end of support on January 14, a bug emerged that turned desktops black. Having initially said that only people paying for support would get a fix, Microsoft relented and gave everyone a patch. Now another bug has reared its head, preventing Windows 7 users from shutting down or rebooting their computers.

It's not clear what is causing the bug, but affected users see a message that reads "You don't have permission to shut down this computer" when they attempt to shut down or reboot. There's no fix available just yet, but there are workarounds.

Continue reading →

Microsoft recently released the Chromium-based version of its Edge browser, and now the company seems to be on an all-out offensive to promote it.

Ads have started to appear in Windows 10's Start menu suggesting that Firefox users should try Microsoft Edge instead. This is not the first time the Start menu has been used by Microsoft to promote software, and it's a move that is likely to win the company a few enemies.

Continue reading →

There is a resurgence of flip phones at the moment, but rather than old-school clamshells, we're talking about devices with foldable displays. Samsung has already launched the disastrous Galaxy Fold, but at last night's Oscars there was a surprise ad for the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip.

The handset is due to be officially announced at tomorrow's Galaxy Unpacked event, but now we've been given a sneaky glimpse of what's to come. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will compete with the likes of the  Motorola razr and Microsoft's Surface Duo.

Continue reading →

With its "last" update for Windows 7, Microsoft managed to introduce a strange bug that left some users staring at a black desktop rather than their preferred background image.

With Windows 7 now at the end of its life, Microsoft initially said that only those who were paying for extended support would get a fix for the bug, but ultimately it relented and said everyone could have it. Now the patch has been released as KB4539602.

Continue reading →

There is a school of thought that suggests many devices have built-in obsolescence. When updates to iOS started to slow down older iPhones, it seemed Apple was providing evidence to support this beliefe.

Apple said that the throttling of iPhone 6, iPhone SE, and iPhone 7 handsets was an attempt to increase the life of phones with aging -- and therefore less than perfect -- batteries. But many people felt that the move was unreasonable, including the French consumer watchdog Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) which has just handed out a €25 million ($27 million) fine.

Continue reading →