Google Assistant is being killed off in a few short months
The writing has been on the wall for some time, but Google Assistant’s days are not only officially numbered, but we have a far better idea of when the once-revolutionary digital assistant will be vanishing.
The seemingly unstoppable wave of artificial intelligence means that Google Gemini has been long seen as being far more significant and useful than Google Assistant. Having made some vague suggestions about Assistant being upgraded with Gemini at some point in the future, Google has now revealed a bit more detail about the timeline.
Ransomware attacks targeted at weekends and holidays
Most ransomware attacks occur during weekends and holidays, times of distraction or disruption when the majority of SOCs are not adequately staffed.
A new report from Semperis finds that 52 percent of surveyed organizations in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Singapore, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were targeted at holidays or weekends.
How AI-powered digital employee experience programs are reshaping IT [Q&A]
Digital employee experience, or DEX, is about how employees engage with the technology and services they use every day: everything from laptops, apps, collaboration tools to networks.
We spoke to Dean Fernandes, CTO of NWN.ai to find out more about the importance of DEX and how it’s changing the world of IT.
Fintech Revolut valued at $75 billion following fundraising share sale
Revolut, the London-based fintech, has completed a fundraising process which values the company at $75 billion. The fundraising involved a share sale which saw NVentures, NVIDIA’s venture capital arm, investing in the company.
Employees of Revolut were able to sell their shares if they wished to do so, making this the fifth time Revolut has afforded them this opportunity. The valuation and fundraising come as we near the end of a year in which the fintech gained banking authorization in Mexico, earned its banking incorporation licence in Colombia, and prepare to launch in another key market – India.
Google calls on European governments to update tech regulations to embrace AI
The president of Google EMEA, Debbie Weinstein, has called on governments in Europe to do more to help promote the adoption of AI across industry. Speaking at the Europe Business Summit in Brussels, she said that she sees massive potential for artificial intelligence in Europe.
There are, however, problems. Weinstein points to issues such as companies in the regions still working with older technologies but, more pressingly, the restrictive nature of EU regulations.
Meta is rolling out improvements to the Instagram Reels Camera
Instagram users are in line for a better Reels experience thanks to a number of newly unveiled camera experiences. There is quite a lot to explore here, but perhaps the most significant change is the option of posting videos up to 20 minutes in length.
The word “creator” is bandied about quite liberally in Instagram’s announcement, giving you a good idea of where the new improvements are to be found right from the start. That said, the new features and options are not really limited to that esteemed breed: the digital creator.
Microsoft will not release a 2025 diversity report
There has been a phase of tech companies releasing diversity reports each year, giving overviews of workforce makeups. Now Microsoft is bucking the trend.
Although the company has not said as much, the move is likely a direct response to pressure from the Trump administration. The US president has scrapped large numbers of diversity, equality and inclusion programs across government, and strongly suggested that private companies follow suit.
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7271 with new context menu, Xbox full screen experience for PC and more
Microsoft continues to release the same preview builds of Windows 11 to Insider on the Beta and Dev channels, and has just pushed out Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7271. While the company focuses on the introduction of the Xbox full screen experience for PC – and this is certainly a big addition – it may not be the highlight for most people.
Certainly more useful is the arrival of the recently announced Point-in-time restore for Windows, and the expansion of the resume across devices feature. Also of note is a significant redesign of the context menu for improved efficiency.
Scientists say finding extraterrestrial life and curing all genetic diseases could both happen in the next decade
Humanity’s search for life beyond Earth took center stage at the Dubai Future Forum 2025, held on November 18 and 19, where scientists said new methods for studying distant worlds could lead to the discovery of extraterrestrial life within a decade. The event also explored advances in gene editing, AI and global demographics, offering a wide view of the forces shaping the future.
Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, said there is a “good chance” researchers will detect life on another planet soon. He said ongoing studies of exoplanet atmospheres are revealing traces of carbon-based molecules that could point to biological activity. He added: “In my mind, the question is not whether we will find life, because there’s a good chance we will -- the question is: are we prepared to find life as we don’t know it?”
Nearly every UK company hit by supply chain attacks despite big spending
BlueVoyant has released its sixth annual State of Supply Chain Defense report, offering a detailed look at how third-party risk is handled across regions, industries, and maturity levels.
The findings show widening gaps between investment and outcomes, rising breach rates, and growing use of AI to support vendor oversight. The research surveyed one thousand eight hundred senior IT leaders across eleven countries, including three hundred from the UK, and reveals how UK organizations compare with global trends.
Tuxedo halts Linux ARM laptop project over Snapdragon X Elite issues
Tuxedo Computers has paused development of its planned Linux ARM notebook based on Qualcomm’s first-generation Snapdragon X Elite chip, bringing the eighteen-month project to a halt.
The company says the device won't now move forward in its current form due to technical limitations that prevent it from meeting the standard expected of a Linux-first laptop.
Notepad update begins rolling out to Windows Insiders
Microsoft has begun rolling out a new Notepad update to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels. The update introduces two big additions to the Windows 11 text editor: table support, and faster streaming-style output for its AI writing tools.
The update, released as version 11.2510.6.0, expands Notepad’s lightweight formatting features while also customizing how AI responses appear.
Social media and marketplace scams surge ahead of the holiday season
New research from online protection company Malwarebytes exposes how social media and online marketplaces have become hotbeds for holiday shopping scams.
It finds that 51 percent of people encounter scams on social media weekly while an unlucky 27 percent meet scams daily. For marketplace shoppers, 36 percent are hit with a scam weekly and 15 percent experience one daily.
Security teams want automation but 96 percent face problems implementing it
A new survey of 750 senior cyber security professionals across the US, UK and Australia, carried out by Opinion Matters for ThreatQuotient, finds 97 percent now regard automation, increasingly powered by AI technologies, as essential to business operations.
However, despite 49 percent of respondents obtaining net new budget allocation for cybersecurity automation this year -- up from 39 percent last year -- 96 percent still face persistent challenges, particularly around technology limitations, lack of trust in the outcomes of automated processes, and insufficient time to implement solutions.
Why CISOs are betting on identity firewalls to stop the next breach [Q&A]
The network firewall was designed for a world that doesn’t exist anymore. When corporate assets sat behind a data center perimeter, inspecting packets between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ made sense.
But today, with workloads spread across multiple clouds, SaaS platforms, and edge environments, that perimeter has dissolved. Attackers don’t need to smash through firewalls when they can compromise privileged credentials and operate from within. A rogue or stolen admin account can cause catastrophic damage, something no network firewall can stop. The battlefield has shifted from networks to identities.
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