Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Having your browser read web pages to you is a great accessibility feature, and it also allows for multi-tasking. There's just one problem -- the computerized voices used are little short of terrible... often to the point of being distracting.

With the Dev and Canary builds of Chromium-based versions of Microsoft Edge, however, this changes. Embracing the power of the cloud, Edge now features 24 more natural-sounding voices driven by Microsoft Cognitive Services.

It probably comes as absolutely no surprise to anyone, but Facebook is just the same as Google, Amazon and Apple when it comes to listening in on your conversations -- the ones you thought (or at least hoped) were private.

Following a report from Bloomberg News, Facebook has confirmed that paid contractors have been listening to audio of conversations. The company says, however, that it has put the brakes on the practice -- for now, at least.

It is now two years since Microsoft announced the Super Duper Graphics Pack for Minecraft, a major upgrade and new look for the game, but now the update has been canceled.

The company says that the "ambitious initiative" has "proved too technically demanding to implement as planned".  Performance is cited as a reason for ditching the update, but Microsoft promises that it will work on developing a new look for Minecraft in other ways.

A mere two years after acquiring it, Verizon is selling Tumblr. Full details of the deal have not yet been revealed, but the micro-blogging service is being bought by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.

Tumblr came into the spotlight last year when it introduced a ban on all adult content, and anyone hoping for this to change is going to be disappointed. Automattic says the ban will remain in place.

Bug bounty programs are a common way for companies to learn about problems with their hardware and software, while giving people the chance to get paid for finding them. Apple is one of the big names to run such a program, and it has at long last expanded it to included macOS.

The iPhone-maker made the announcement at the Black Hat security conference, where it also revealed that not only will its bug bounty program spread to tvOS, watchOS and iCloud as well, but also that the maximum reward is increasing to a cool $1 million.

The idea that conversations you have with or via your computer are confidential has been completely dispelled over the last couple of weeks. We've learned that not only were Google workers listening to recordings of people using Google Assistant, Apple workers were listening in on Siri commands, and Amazon workers could hear what you're saying to Alexa.

If you thought Microsoft would not engage in such activity, think again. A new report reveals evidence that contractors working for Microsoft are listening to Skype calls made via the translation feature.

In a move that is going to prove more than a little controversial, Apple is using the Battery Health feature of iOS to strongly discourage people from using cheaper third-party batteries rather than official Apple units.

Now, if you install a non-official battery in an iPhone XS, XR or XS Max, Battery Health will display a "Service" notification that is usually used to indicate that there is a problem. Click through, and you'll see a message that reads: "Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple battery. Health information not available for this battery".

A developer has pointed out what many people have been complaining about for some time: Linux is terrible when memory runs low.

Writing in a message to the Linux kernel mailing list, developer Artem S Tashkinov says that the problem has been "bugging people for many years" and is still present in version 5.2.6 of the Linux kernel. He says that non-technically minded users could be prompted to ditch Linux-based OSes if they encounter the issue which he points out is "is reproducible in less than a few minutes under the latest and greatest kernel".

It has been revealed that Microsoft silently pushed out a patch to Windows users to fix a vulnerability that affected Intel CPUs produced since 2012 -- which means everything post Ivy Bridge chips.

The SWAPGS vulnerability is similar to the now-famous Spectre and Meltdown chip flaws, and was discovered by security firm Bitdefender a year ago; the fact that it has now been patched was only revealed at the BlackHat security conference. Red Hat says that an update to the Linux kernel is needed to protect against the flaw which it says affects both Intel and AMD chips, although Bitdefender has not been able to find any issues with AMD's processors.

Apple Card is due to launch later this month and there are a few restrictions associated with Apple's predictably-named credit card.

The Apple Card Customer Agreement document drawn up by backing creditor Goldman Sachs shows that it cannot be used to buy cryptocurrencies. Additionally, the iPhone-based digital version of the credit card cannot be used on jailbroken devices.

Cloudflare has announced that it is terminating its services with controversial site 8chan. The move comes after the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.

There have been numerous calls for 8chan to be taken offline in the past, and Cloudflare has previously considered removing its protective services from the site. What has now tipped the company's decision is the fact that the shooter at El Paso "appears to have been inspired" by 8chan, and even posted a racist manifesto on the site.

Being such globally recognized names, you would think that a rebranding of WhatsApp and Instagram would be a crazy exercise... but that's precisely what Facebook is doing.

In a move that is more than a little surprising -- and, many would argue, somewhat pointless -- the social networking giant is to rename the two products Instagram from Facebook and WhatsApp from Facebook. The renaming will make it clear that the company people love to hate is behind the chat and social networking tools.

There have been privacy concerns about digital assistants for just about as long as there have been digital assistants, and the recent confirmation that Google and Apple were listening to Assistant and Siri conversations has done nothing to allay fears.

The 'were' in that last sentence is important, as both companies have agreed -- at least temporarily -- to cease the practice. Not wanting to miss out on an opportunity for good PR, Amazon is getting in on the action, giving Alexa users the chance to opt out of having their conversations with its digital assistant listened to -- or "manually reviewed", as Amazon would prefer. Here's how to do just that.

Microsoft continues with the development of Edge, and a new leak gives Mac users a chance to see what the company is doing with the web browser for their preferred operating system.

Renowned leaker WalkingCat has provided a download link to an unreleased beta version of the Mac build of Microsoft Edge. As it's a beta that hasn't been released to official channels, there are possible stability issues, but it serves as a chance to try out the latest Chromium-base version of Edge for Mac.

The much-maligned Dash button from Amazon is being killed off for good. Having previously announced that they were being discontinued, Amazon has announced that as of the end of this month, it will no longer be possible to place orders via a physical Dash button.

This does not mean that the Dash ordering service is ceasing completely -- it will continue to exist in the form of virtual Dash button that can be accessed from a range of devices.