Best Windows apps this week
Six-hundred-six 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.
Years after Windows 11's initial release, Microsoft is still adding features to it that it removed from the operating system. It is now working on restoring two axed settings for the mouse, which promise more pointer precision.
Sabrent unveils Rocket XTRM5 Thunderbolt 5 SSD
Sabrent has announced the Rocket XTRM5, an external solid state drive using Intel's cutting-edge Thunderbolt 5. This new portable SSD is not just about speed; it's also crafted for convenience and durability.
Featuring a rugged design, the Rocket XTRM5 is designed to withstand the rigors of heavy use while maintaining peak performance. It comes with a high-quality Thunderbolt 5 cable and a protective silicone sleeve, ensuring it remains safe and secure during transport.
addlink launches D60 and D20 NAS SSDs
addlink has launched two new SSDs designed for NAS storage systems, the NAS D60 and D20. These SSDs are engineered to improve standards in speed, reliability, and capacity for network attached storage applications.
The NAS D60 features a Gen 4x4 M.2 interface and aims to provide high speeds and consistent performance for users with demanding storage needs. It offers speeds up to 6000MB/s and random read/write speeds up to 800K/60K IOPS. Designed for durability, it supports 1 DWPD and up to 3800TBW, suitable for continuous operation. The D60 also includes power loss data protection to prevent data corruption during unexpected power outages.
TCL launches 115-inch QM89 QD-Mini LED TV for only $19,999.99
TCL has introduced its new 115-inch QM89 QD-Mini LED TV, claiming the title of the world's largest in its category. Alongside the launch, the company has initiated the "115-inch Experience More Promotion" available to the first 115 purchasers. These early buyers will join Club 115, granting them access to various exclusive experiences, including a potential trip to Super Bowl LIX, facilitated by TCL’s partnership with the NFL.
Starting today, purchasers of the 115-inch QM89 model can register their product on the TCL Experience More website to select from a range of experiences. These include attending the Super Bowl, a movie premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre, a Los Angeles Chargers game, a concert at SoFi Stadium, a tour at a Call of Duty studio, or the CES event in Las Vegas.
Microsoft launches GitHub Models, offering 100 million developers easy access to leading AI tools
Microsoft has introduced "GitHub Models," a new platform that enables over 100 million developers to integrate AI into their software projects by providing access to a variety of AI models. This includes popular models like Llama 3.1, GPT-4o, and Mistral Large 2, among others. Developers can explore these models for free through a built-in model playground on GitHub, where they can experiment with different prompts and model parameters.
The integration of GitHub Models into Codespaces and Visual Studio Code aims to simplify the development process, allowing developers to easily transfer what they've learned and experimented with into their own environments. Backed by Azure AI, the platform offers enterprise-grade security, privacy, and availability, which is vital for running AI applications at scale. GitHub Models is also designed to adhere to strict privacy and security standards, ensuring that no data used in the model playground is shared with external parties or used to train the models.
Ready to rent a Windows 11 PC forever? NZXT hopes so
NZXT, a known company in the PC gaming market, has recently launched its NZXT Flex subscription service, which might seem like an innovative approach to accessing gaming PCs but raises concerns about its long-term value for consumers. You see, not everything is necessarily how it seems.
Billed as a way to help gamers access high-performance PCs without a large upfront cost, this subscription service could actually end up being a more expensive proposition over time. Keep in mind, this subscription is not rent to own -- you just rent and pay for as long as you have the PC. You will never own it!
People struggle to manage all of their passwords
A new survey of more than 6,000 respondents globally finds that 62 percent of people are worried about managing too many passwords, accounts and logins.
The report from Keeper Security shows that this leads to some dubious password management with 26 percent relying on memory, 24 percent writing them down and 19 percent storing them in a browser or phone notes app. Two in five also admit to reusing passwords.
Non-human identities pose security risks for enterprises
Non-human identities (NHIs) refer to things like API keys, service accounts, system accounts, OAuth tokens. You may not give them too much thought, but a new report from Silverfort looks at the impact they have on an organization's cybersecurity.
Active Directory service accounts -- used for machine-to-machine communication within Microsoft’s Active Directory's (AD) environments -- are the most common and regularly compromised NHIs.
Hell freezes over as Microsoft announces it is pulling ads from Skype
Skype is one of those apps that has found numerous ways to irritate users over the years. But in something of a surprise move, Microsoft has announced a change that will instead delight.
Considering that this is a company that has faced complaints and criticism for stuffing ads into its Windows and Office products, the announcement feels very out of character. But the killing off of ads is not the only change in Skype.
Google Maps makes it easier to report cops on the road
Google has announced a series of updates for both Maps and Waze which will help to keep drivers better informed on their journeys. One of the most pleasing updates for Google Maps is an easier way to report when you've seen cops in the area so other drivers can be alerted -- and you can benefit from other drivers' reports.
Another helpful addition to Maps means that when you navigate to an address, the building you are looking for and, importantly, the entrance, will be highlighted for you. New features and options are not limited to Google Maps; Waze also has a number of handy additions.
Companies lack policies to deal with GenAI use
While 27 percent of security experts perceive AI and deepfakes to be the biggest cybersecurity threats to their organisations not all have a responsible use policy in place.
The third part of a survey of over 200 information security professionals carried out at Infosecurity Europe 2024 has been released today by KnowBe4 and it finds 31 percent of security professionals admit to not having a 'responsible use' policy on using generative AI within the company currently in place.
'Yo quiero' Voice AI: Taco Bell enhances U.S. drive-thrus with new technology
Yum! Brands, owner of Taco Bell, has announced the expansion of its Voice AI technology to additional drive-thru locations across the U.S., aiming to equip hundreds of stores by the end of 2024. This development is part of a larger plan to eventually deploy Voice AI technology in Taco Bell drive-thrus worldwide.
The Voice AI technology, already operational in more than 100 Taco Bell drive-thrus across 13 states, seeks to streamline operations for team members and improve the ordering process for customers. The reported benefits include reducing the workload for team members, enhancing order accuracy, providing a consistent and amiable customer interaction, and decreasing wait times, which collectively contribute to Taco Bell's and Yum! Brands' growth objectives.
Get 'Deep Learning Approaches to Cloud Security' (worth $190) for FREE
Covering one of the most important subjects to our society today, Deep Learning Approaches to Cloud Security delves into solutions taken from evolving deep learning approaches, solutions allowing computers to learn from experience and understand the world in terms of a hierarchy of concepts, with each concept defined through its relation to simpler concepts.
Deep learning is the fastest growing field in computer science. Deep learning algorithms and techniques are found to be useful in different areas like automatic machine translation, automatic handwriting generation, visual recognition, fraud detection, and detecting developmental delay in children. However, applying deep learning techniques or algorithms successfully in these areas needs a concerted effort, fostering integrative research between experts ranging from diverse disciplines from data science to visualization.
Samsung launches 1TB PRO Plus and EVO Select microSD cards
Samsung has launched 1TB variants of its PRO Plus and EVO Select microSD cards which are enhanced by the company's eighth-generation V-NAND technology. These new offerings aim to meet the growing demands for high-performance and high-capacity storage solutions, particularly among content creators and tech enthusiasts.
Hangu Sohn, Vice President of Memory Brand Product Biz Team at Samsung Electronics, noted the importance of these advanced storage solutions in today’s tech landscape. "The new high-capacity microSD cards, PRO Plus and EVO Plus, are our response to the demand for storing large amounts of high-quality data in a reliable and secure way," Sohn explained.
Nation-state actors exploit political tension to launch phishing campaigns
A new report from phishing protection specialist Bolster identifies 24 separate nation-state threat actor groups attempting to exploit rising political tensions across the US to interfere with the 2024 presidential elections.
Attackers are leveraging AI to automate mass spam campaigns, and also to reply in real-time. This targeting and interactivity at scale increases their chances of gaining access to more sensitive data. The influx of election-themed spam is a significant cyber threat, causing widespread confusion among citizens and undermining trust in legitimate election communications.
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