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In today's interconnected world, the IT service desk often serves as the invisible backbone of any successful organization, from troubleshooting minor glitches to resolving critical system outages.

But beneath this seemingly straightforward function lies a complex web of challenges that can significantly impact efficiency, user satisfaction, and ultimately, an organization's bottom line.

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Following the release of the KB5058405 update last month, Microsoft acknowledged that it was causing problems for some users. Affected users were left with startup issues and a warning of a 0xc0000098 error in the ACPI.sys file.

Now the company has released an out-of-band fix for the issue in the form of the KB5062170 update. Such is the impact of the original problem that Microsoft recommends installing this update in place of the May 2025 security update for Windows 11.

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If you’ve ever wanted to make your own video without picking up a camera, editing anything, or paying a dime, Microsoft just dropped something you absolutely must check out. It’s called Bing Video Creator, and yes, folks, it’s completely free.

This new tool, powered by OpenAI’s Sora model, turns simple text prompts into five-second videos. Just type what you want to see and boom, a video appears. No editing software, no experience, and absolutely no money required.

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In cybersecurity, every second counts. But when the same hacking group goes by half a dozen different names depending on which company you ask, defenders are left wasting time instead of stopping attacks. Now, Microsoft and CrowdStrike are teaming up to clean up the mess they helped create.

The two companies just announced a joint effort to map their threat actor naming systems to each other. Basically, it’s a cheat sheet for decoding the confusing and conflicting names used across the industry. Midnight Blizzard? That’s Microsoft’s name for what CrowdStrike calls Cozy Bear. Others call it APT29 or UNC2452.

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Stardock has released Fences 6.0, a major new release of its desktop organization tool for Windows users. The app, which allows users to create windowed 'fences' to keep desktop icons under control, adds two major new features in this latest release.

The biggest update by far is the support for tabbed fences. Like web browsers, each window can now support multiple tabs to provide an additional level of organization for both desktop shortcuts and Folder Portals, which make it possible for users to mirror any folder to the desktop for ease of access.

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s now-famous GTC 2025 reveal where he held up a palm-sized AI supercomputer and likened it to the original DGX-1 “with Pym particles” wasn’t just a show of engineering flair.

The DGX Spark, as it’s now officially called, marks a turning point in how we think about AI infrastructure. For the first time, Nvidia’s Grace Blackwell superchip architecture has been distilled into a 1.2kg box that fits on a desktop, priced accessibly for research teams and small-scale deployments.

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As data demands across organizations intensify they need to scale productivity and enable business users to explore data independently.

Cube is launching an agentic AI analytics platform built on a universal semantic layer which allows it to operate autonomously within enterprise frameworks, automating work while preserving trust, governance, and transparency.

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New research from Barracuda Networks finds 65 percent of IT and security professionals say their organizations are juggling too many security tools.

What's more, over half (53 percent) of respondents also say their security tools cannot be integrated -- creating fragmented environments that are difficult to manage and secure.

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As businesses continue to generate and rely on vast amounts of data, the traditional approach to managing that data is no longer sufficient.

Enter the concept of a data mesh -- a decentralized, domain-driven approach to data architecture that promises to transform how organizations handle and leverage their data. But the question remains: should a business create a data mesh? What value does it add, and what challenges does it help solve?

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USB-C was supposed to be the connection that simplified everything -- but it has ended up doing anything but making things simple. With different USB generations, and within those generations different levels of capability, it is no wonder people are confused about just what their USB ports and cables can do, and what level of capability to expect.

This is something Microsoft is looking to change. Pointing to the “inconsistent implementations of USB-C port capabilities across the PC ecosystem”, the company is seeking to end USB-C port confusion by using the Windows Hardware Compatibility Program (WHCP) to help people know precisely what to expect from certified PCs.

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Padlocks, chains, keys, shields: these are all stereotypical images used to represent security. They are also the themes -- tropes, if you will -- that have been avoided in an eye-catching and vibrant rebranding for Microsoft Security.

A team at Koto -- a creative studio also behind design projects for Amazon, Riot Games, FitBit, WhatsApp, and more -- is responsible for a bold new brand identity that sidesteps the obvious. Instead, the new look that is bold yet human, clear and confident.

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CachyOS is back with its latest May 2025 release, and yes, Nvidia users can finally breathe a sigh of relief. After months of headaches caused by the distro switching to the “open” Nvidia module, older GPUs like the 10xx series were left limping along with buggy Nouveau drivers. That mess is now cleaned up. The ISO now automatically detects your GPU and loads the correct driver.

The changes don’t stop there, folks. If you’re into aesthetics, the boot process just got a fresh coat of paint. There’s a new Plymouth boot animation and GRUB theme that help unify the distro’s visual identity. It’s a small touch, but it makes a difference.

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Sigh. Microsoft just can’t leave well enough alone. The company is now injecting formatting features into Notepad, a program that has long been appreciated for one thing -- its simplicity. You see, starting with version 11.2504.50.0, this update is rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels, and it adds bold text, italics, hyperlinks, lists, and even headers.

Sadly, this isn’t a joke. Notepad is actually being turned into a watered-down word processor, complete with a formatting toolbar and Markdown support. Users can even toggle between styled content and raw Markdown syntax. And while Microsoft is giving you the option to disable formatting or strip it all out, it’s clear the direction of the app is changing.

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Alpine Linux 3.22 is finally here (download), and if you’re tired of bloated operating systems like Windows 11, this release might be the breath of fresh air you’ve been waiting for. While Alpine is still a niche distribution, it’s slowly becoming a viable option for power users who want speed, control, and simplicity.

Despite being known as a lightweight distro often used in containers and servers, Alpine 3.22 brings some serious desktop upgrades. It now includes GNOME 48, KDE Plasma 6.3, and LXQt 2.2. Even the XFCE desktop got some love, with updated packages like xfce4-panel 4.20.4, thunar 4.20.3, and more. It’s clear Alpine is not just for the command-line crowd anymore.

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New research reveals a surge in interest in data sovereignty among UK IT leaders since the implementation of the United States government's historic raft of tariffs in April.

The study from Civo, of over 1,000 UK-based IT leaders, shows more than 60 percent now feel that the UK government’s use of US cloud services exposes the country's digital economy to significant risks, damages its domestic industry, and threatens data security.

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