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iPhone 18 Pro Release Date: Here’s Exactly When Apple Is Expected to Launch It

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 19:26:27 +0200

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro this September, continuing its long-running tradition of launching new flagship iPhones in the fall. While the company has not confirmed an official date yet, multiple reports and Apple's previous launch history point to an announcement during the second week of September. This year could also bring one of the biggest changes to Apple's iPhone launch strategy. Instead of releasing the entire iPhone 18 lineup together, reports suggest Apple will focus on its premium models first, with the standard iPhone 18 arriving several months later in early 2027. When will Apple announce the iPhone 18 Pro? Apple has followed a very consistent launch schedule over the past several years. Here are the recent iPhone announcement dates: iPhoneAnnouncement DateiPhone 17September 9, 2025iPhone 16September 9, 2024iPhone 15September 12, 2023 Based on this pattern, industry watchers expect Apple to hold its iPhone 18 event on either: Wednesday, September 9, 2026 Monday, September 14, 2026 The slight uncertainty comes from the Labor Day calendar this year, which falls later than usual. Apple often schedules its iPhone event shortly after the holiday, making both dates realistic possibilities. Expected iPhone 18 Pro release date Apple usually opens pre-orders on the Friday after announcing new iPhones, followed by retail availability one week later. If Apple announces the iPhone 18 lineup on September 9, the expected schedule would be: EventExpected DateAnnouncementSeptember 9Pre-ordersSeptember 11ReleaseSeptember 18 If Apple chooses September 14 instead, the schedule would likely be: EventExpected DateAnnouncementSeptember 14Pre-ordersSeptember 18ReleaseSeptember 25 Unless Apple changes its usual launch pattern, buyers should expect to receive the iPhone 18 Pro on either September 18 or September 25. Which iPhone models are expected this fall? Reports suggest Apple will introduce only its premium devices during the September event. The expected lineup includes: iPhone 18 Pro iPhone 18 Pro Max iPhone Ultra There are also mixed reports about a new iPhone Air joining the lineup, although its release timing remains unclear. Meanwhile, the regular iPhone 18 is widely expected to launch in spring 2027 instead of September. What could be new on the iPhone 18 Pro? Although Apple has not officially revealed any features, recent leaks point to several notable upgrades. Expected improvements include: A new A20 Pro chip built on a 2nm manufacturing process A smaller Dynamic Island with more Face ID components placed under the display Camera upgrades, including a possible variable aperture system Improved battery efficiency Apple's next-generation C2 modem for better connectivity New color options for the Pro models As with all pre-release reports, these features remain rumors until Apple makes an official announcement. Why is Apple reportedly delaying the standard iPhone 18? Several reliable reports indicate Apple plans to split its iPhone launches into two seasons. Premium models would continue arriving in September, while the standard iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e would move to spring 2027. This strategy would allow Apple to give more attention to its high-end devices during the holiday shopping season while creating another major product launch in the first half of the following year. Expected iPhone 18 Pro launch timeline Here is the most likely schedule based on current reports: StageExpected TimingApple eventSeptember 9 or September 14, 2026Pre-ordersSeptember 11 or September 18Official releaseSeptember 18 or September 25Available modelsiPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone Ultra Wrap Up Apple has not announced the iPhone 18 Pro release date yet, but its launch history makes early to mid September the strongest prediction. If the company follows its familiar schedule, pre-orders will begin within days of the announcement, and the first devices will reach customers before the end of September. At the same time, this year's launch could mark the beginning of a new release strategy, with the standard iPhone 18 arriving several months after the Pro models.

Taking the fun out of bird-watching: microphone array, beam-forming, and acoustic manifolds (emf2026)

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 19:08:49 +0200

For most bird-watchers, the fun part is watching birds in their natural habitat. For me it's all about the large-scale collection, analysis and visual representation of bird-song. In this talk I'll show you what inspired this project: visually representing the complexity and beauty of bird-song. We'll start with the slightly janky hardware I built to collect the audio then move on to the processing pipeline that tries to find each bird in a tree. Finally, we get to see what an acoustic manifold looks like in 3D video form. A large, hacky, microphone array, an FPGA, verilog, high-speed USB, lots of Python and a lot of swearing at an AI. This project was inspired by Lucio Arese's beautiful acoustic manifold videos: https://www.youtube.com/@lucioarese Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/83-taking-the-fun-out-of-bird-watching-microphone-array

AI Demand Spikes Prices For iPads And Other Consumer Gadgets

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 05:08:28 +0200

If you are planning to buy a new tablet or gaming console soon, you might need to adjust your budget. A massive shift in the tech industry is pushing up the cost of everyday electronics. Data centers are buying up large amounts of memory chips to power new artificial intelligence software. This leaves fewer components available for regular consumer devices. As a result, big brands are raising prices on everything from a standard iPad to basic laptops. Tech brands shift memory supply away from consumer gadgets The current market crunch comes down to basic supply and demand. Companies making memory chips are redirecting production to meet the massive needs of servers. This high-bandwidth memory is highly profitable, so manufacturers prioritize it over the standard parts used in phones and gaming systems. Because of this shortage, a company like Apple is facing higher manufacturing costs. It has started passing these expenses directly to buyers. You will notice higher price tags on the latest MacBook models and other devices. A rival brand like Microsoft is doing the same thing to deal with its own supply squeeze. Experts advise buying refurbished or keeping your current hardware With prices climbing, industry watchers recommend changing how you shop for electronics. If your current phone or laptop still works well, the best move is to delay upgrading. Keeping a device for an extra year helps you avoid the current pricing spike. When you absolutely need a replacement, experts suggest looking at the refurbished market. Buying a certified pre-owned iPhone can save you hundreds of dollars while delivering the performance you need. You should also watch out for spec shrinkflation. To keep prices from looking too high, some brands are putting less memory in their base models. Always check the exact specifications before you buy, especially if you plan to rely on advanced AI features. Paying attention to these details will protect your wallet until the supply chain stabilizes.

Xreal's $299 lightweight a01+ AR glasses are now available to buy

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 15:18:49 +0200

The latest glasses from Xreal are designed to appeal to gamers and movie-watchers who want a big screen wherever they are.

J.P. Morgan Raises Apple Stock Price Target to $345 Despite Price Hikes

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 21:39:48 +0200

J.P. Morgan has raised its price target for Apple stock to $345 while keeping its Buy rating, showing confidence that the company's recent product price increases will not hurt its long-term growth. Apple increased prices across several products in late June because of higher memory costs, and although the announcement briefly pushed the stock lower, shares have recovered strongly and are now trading close to record highs. The investment firm believes Apple remains in a strong position despite concerns about higher hardware prices. According to AppleInsider, J.P. Morgan believes Apple's sales have stayed resilient over the years even when product prices increased, especially across the iPhone, Mac, and iPad lineup. "Historical data for sales volumes covering iPhone, Mac, and iPad show a 'limited relationship' to pricing across multiple years. Essentially, consumers are going to buy Apple products anyway, and pricing doesn't seem to matter too much," J.P. Morgan said in its note to investors. Apple's Premium Products Continue to Support Growth J.P. Morgan expects Mac sales to remain strong because buyers have multiple price options, while growing interest in AI features continues to encourage upgrades. The firm also said customers who buy premium iPhone models are generally less affected by higher prices, which helps reduce the impact of future pricing changes. Although budget iPhone and iPad models are more sensitive to price increases, the firm described those effects as only modest revenue headwinds when combined with sales of higher-end devices. Apple has not increased iPhone prices yet, but many industry watchers expect changes when the next generation lineup arrives in September. Meanwhile, investors will get an early look at how the recent pricing strategy affects the business when Apple reports its third quarter earnings on July 30. After dropping following the price hike announcement in late June, Apple shares have recovered nearly 15%, reinforcing J.P. Morgan's view that the company remains well positioned for long-term growth.

Why Index Funds Haven’t Boosted SpaceX

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 14:19:28 +0200

Some market watchers are puzzled that shares in Elon Musk’s rocket and A.I. company have stalled out despite major interest from Wall Street.

Forget the Apple tax, this is the AI tax

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 15:32:46 +0200

Apple’s decision to raise prices in response to memory cost increases is not unique to the company. If Apple has to do it, everyone else will as well.

Apple announced stiff price increases Thursday — up to 25% in some cases — that extended across most products, including refurbished Macs and iPads (which saw prices increase up to $330). Apple might have left iPhones out of the mix for now, but they’ll likely see price increases when new models appear this fall. Omdia believes the memory price crisis spells the end of low-cost smartphones.

The price hikes begin

“We had assumed a price hike of $100 to Pro and ProMax iPhones, and $50 hike to base models,” wrote IDC Senior Director Nabila Popal. “However, seeing the price hikes to iPads and Macs going as high as $300 for some models, my personal instinct says the hike to iPhones may be even higher than what we assumed — perhaps even $200 to the Pro/Pro Max models. I think the days of $50 price increases are over.”

What’s driving all this? The answer, increasingly, is AI. The buildout of large language model (LLM) infrastructure requires vast quantities of high-bandwidth memory and that appetite is accelerating faster than manufacturers can respond.

Will Apple suffer? Maybe, though perhaps not too much. Popal notes that the introduction of Siri AI will give a large number of existing users a reason to upgrade. Given most of these devices are sold on installment plans, even a $200 price increase over 36-months might not pose a major barrier to sales. IDC expects iPhone sales to decline, but only by 5% — while the rest of the industry shrinks.

The worst is yet to come

This may not be the worst of it. Major players now warn that the supply-demand gap could continue to widen in the coming years. The higher costs that result will spread across all types of electronic devices, so anything with memory, a processor, or storage will become more expensive.

Microsoft announced its own price increase, adding up to $150 to the cost of Xbox this week. And Lenovo made its own contribution when it warned that high memory prices will become the new normal into 2030, and prices might never return to early-2025 levels.

Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix describe the situation as beyond their control, saying they’re having difficulty meeting demand even for their top customers. These companies are generating massive profits all the while.

In Lenovo’s case, the company claims that while it is introducing additional manufacturing capacity, this is not making a dent in the supply-demand imbalance. SK Hynix is expected to expand its manufacturing capability by accelerating its original 2040 expansion plans to 2030, at which time it should have tripled output; even that might be insufficient to meet demand.

A long journey ahead

“We currently do not have line of sight as to when memory supply will be able to catch up with increasing demand,” Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said this week.

With no end in sight, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives says he believes Apple is attempting to get ahead of the inflationary spiral, speculating that the latest price increases bake future increases into their model.

Memory prices began to spiral out of control last fall, with prices today reaching levels no one anticipated. They rose as much as 98% in the first quarter of 2026 and are set to jump by another 58% to 63% in the current quarter, according to TrendForce.

This consequential uncertainty is affecting tech stocks. Asian stock markets fell sharply on Friday, led by a sell-off in technology firms. Trading on South Korea’s Kospi was temporarily suspended as a result — for the third time this week. Apple shares are down again, and the sell-off is expected to continue.

So, who’s winning?

The beneficiaries of this memory squeeze are not hard to identify. While consumers face higher prices for phones, laptops and games consoles, the companies driving memory demand — the hyperscalers and AI firms building out server farms at extraordinary scale — are posting record revenues. The costs flow down; the profits flow up.

Some, including Naomi Klein, see it as a kind of strip mining of human intellect and ingenuity, a cultural wealth transfer in which human innovation is packaged and resold as competing chatbots, for a fee.

There are signs this may not be sustainable. A UBS Group survey finds approximately 60% of companies have started curbing AI spending because of token costs, shifting to low-cost and open-source models. But even if AI-driven memory demand softens, there is little reason to expect consumer tech prices to follow. History suggests they rarely do.

Truncated dreaming

For Apple watchers, it was pleasant enjoying a few months in which the dream of a sub-$500 Mac was realized, only for that happy reverie to be dashed by the VC-funded race to deploy AI server farms for the benefit of those with pockets deep enough for the tokens to feed them.

Please join me on social media at BlueSky, LinkedIn, or Mastodon, even better, please subscribe to The Core for your daily collection of human-curated Apple News.

7 Big Things to Expect From Today’s WWDC 2026 Keynote

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:39:46 +0200

Apple's WWDC 2026 keynote is just hours away, and all signs point to one of the company's most important software events in years. The biggest focus will likely be a completely rebuilt Siri powered by Google's Gemini AI, but Apple is also expected to announce major updates for iOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and more. Here's a look at the biggest things to expect from today's WWDC keynote. Table of contents1. A Completely New Siri Powered by Gemini2. Shortcuts Gets an AI Upgrade3. iOS 27 Will Focus on AI4. macOS 27 Gets a Refined Liquid Glass Design5. watchOS 27 Could Deliver Better Health Insights6. AI Will Be Everywhere7. Tim Cook's Final WWDC as CEOWill Apple Announce New Hardware?Wrap-Up 1. A Completely New Siri Powered by Gemini The headline announcement is expected to be Apple's new AI-powered Siri. According to multiple reports, Apple has rebuilt Siri around Google Gemini models, giving the assistant more natural conversations, better context awareness, and the ability to handle more complex requests. Users may also get a dedicated Siri app that works similarly to ChatGPT and other AI assistants. Expected features include: Chat-style conversations Voice and text interactions Photo and file uploads Conversation history Cross-device syncing Reports also suggest Apple could launch the new Siri as a beta and require a waitlist for some users when iOS 27 arrives later this year. 2. Shortcuts Gets an AI Upgrade Apple is also expected to make Shortcuts much easier to use. Instead of manually building automation workflows, users may simply describe what they want in natural language. The system would then create the shortcut automatically. For example, users could type: "Create a morning routine." "Turn on Focus mode when I arrive at work." "Save screenshots to a folder and rename them." Apple has pushed automation for years, but this update could finally make Shortcuts accessible to everyday users. 3. iOS 27 Will Focus on AI While iOS 27 may not bring a dramatic redesign, it is expected to introduce several AI-focused improvements across the system. Reports describe the update as a refinement release with meaningful quality-of-life changes rather than a major visual overhaul. Expected additions include: Smarter writing tools Improved Genmoji Better Image Playground features Visual Intelligence upgrades New AI-powered search experiences Apple needs a strong showing here after facing criticism for announcing AI features in previous years that took much longer to arrive. 4. macOS 27 Gets a Refined Liquid Glass Design Apple introduced its Liquid Glass design language last year, but many Mac users felt macOS did not receive the same level of attention as iOS. That could change with macOS 27. Reports suggest Apple will further refine the visual experience and bring the Mac closer to the design language used across its other platforms. The update is expected to focus on polish and consistency rather than a complete redesign. There is also speculation that macOS 27 could carry the name Big Bear or Emerald, though Apple has not confirmed anything yet. Apple Silicon Only Another important change is compatibility. macOS 27 is expected to drop support for Intel Macs and become the first major macOS release designed exclusively for Apple silicon Macs. 5. watchOS 27 Could Deliver Better Health Insights Apple Watch remains one of Apple's most important products, and watchOS 27 is expected to bring new health and fitness features. Bloomberg reports point to: Improved heart-rate tracking Enhanced fitness metrics New health insights A new Modular watch face Apple already collects data such as heart rate and Heart Rate Variability (HRV). The company could now use that information more effectively to provide recovery and wellness insights similar to competitors like Garmin, Fitbit, WHOOP, and Oura. 6. AI Will Be Everywhere Beyond Siri, AI is expected to appear throughout Apple's software lineup. Several reports indicate Apple Intelligence will receive major upgrades across: Writing tools Image generation Photo editing Visual Intelligence System-wide search Developer tools Wall Street analysts and industry watchers view this year's WWDC as a crucial moment for Apple's AI strategy. 7. Tim Cook's Final WWDC as CEO Today's keynote will also mark the end of an era. Apple previously announced that John Ternus will become CEO on September 1, while Tim Cook transitions to Executive Chairman. That makes WWDC 2026 likely Cook's final developer conference keynote as Apple's chief executive. Cook has opened nearly every WWDC keynote for more than a decade, so many Apple fans will be watching closely to see whether the company acknowledges the leadership transition during the presentation. Will Apple Announce New Hardware? A hardware surprise cannot be ruled out, but expectations remain low. Most reports suggest WWDC 2026 will stay focused on software, AI, and Apple Intelligence. Some rumors claim Apple has hardware ready to launch, but the company appears more interested in showcasing its AI roadmap first. Wrap-Up The biggest story at WWDC 2026 is simple: Apple needs to show that its AI strategy is finally ready. A Gemini-powered Siri, smarter Apple Intelligence features, AI-powered Shortcuts, and deeper software integration are expected to dominate the keynote. Alongside that, today's event carries extra significance as Tim Cook prepares for his final WWDC appearance as CEO.

WWDC: Apple’s AI moment of truth arrives

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:01:44 +0200

Everybody is watching to see what comes from Apple at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) today. There’s a great deal at stake, as when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) today’s event represents an existentially important moment for the company.

Apple execs absolutely must convince developers, industry watchers, users — all of us — that it has learned from its well-publicized mistakes of the past two years and put together a serious proposition for AI across its platforms.

What we think we know

Right now, we think Apple intends to offer a hybrid of its own self-developed AI tools and services combined with others made with Google Gemini — all supported by an open approach to using AI services from third-party providers such as Anthropic or OpenAI.

When it comes to implementation, this should mean a contextually sensitive Siri that can respond to what you have on the screen of your device, or in the viewfinder of your camera app. The idea here is that you’ll be able to do contextual tasks like book restaurants or send a message to your granny, translate a sign, or even navigate around a room. More than this, you should also be able to combine tasks giving Siri complex — agentic AI — tasks it can then transact on your behalf.

Many of these functions will take place on device. Some will rely on Apple’s own fleet of Private Cloud Compute servers, supported by additional capacity from Google and Nvidia. When Apple Intelligence/Google Gemini can’t accomplish a task, you’ll be able to request that another service handle it on your behalf outside Apple’s managed garden. Siri itself will also gain a brand new interface.

What developers expect and how we got here

As discussed here, developers expect Apple will make access to many of its new Apple Intelligence APIs available to them. This will let them deploy useful functionality in their apps at no charge, in part because the intelligence takes place on the device.

It will also be possible for developers to permit their apps to run without being opened, which means a user should be able to ask Siri to do complex tasks that also include functionality from their apps. During this past weekend, we were warned that some or all of the new Siri functionality might be introduced on a staggered basis using a waiting list.

Apple has come a long way since that tense meeting in early 2025 when the company’s senior leadership established a new approach to AI. With Apple CEO Tim Cook taking an uncharacteristic interest in driving his teams to pull their act together, Apple developed a new, partnership-based approach to try to recapture lost ground.

Has Apple achieved it? That’s the test

Has Apple finally regained the initiative?

To a great extent, that will be the big focus across the industry once the company tells us what it’s done. Cook’s final WWDC as CEO sees a company at the absolute top of its game in so many ways, including soaring Mac sales. But to some extent he will be judged on how successfully Apple’s AI pivot comes across.

Weekend analyst notes summed it up, with bears and bulls tossing insights along. In one camp, you’ll find the true believers who argue that if Apple does come to us with something convincing, it has a chance to absolutely dominate consumer AI. “Siri/Apple Intelligence 2.0 has the potential to become the ultimate AI resource offload and deliver a form of Agentic AI to the consumer at a lower cost than incumbents,” said Morgan Stanley analyst Eric Woodring.

Cynics, however, warn that Apple really must demonstrate the kind of contextual, agentic AI it first announced (and failed to ship) two years ago; they want a chatbot with muscle, and will see right through any attempt to place a PR veneer over something weaker than what others already provide. If Apple fails to deliver on this, it can expect its stock to be utterly savaged over the next few days, though some analysts believe that Apple’s previous missteps mean the damage is already priced in.

A chance to shine, but can it?

Ultimately, of course, in addition to convincing industry watchers, Apple will need to find a way to deliver the kind of AI power consumers have been told to expect — while also protecting privacy. If it does get that right, particularly if it truly exploits its powerful hardware to ensure the most common tasks take place directly on the device, it has a major opportunity to deliver a form of Agentic AI at a lower cost than incumbents can. And it can do so while leaving the core AI bubble to burst as and when it will.

Will Apple succeed? We’ll know in a few hours, when you should check back for first takeaways on what Apple has to share. Join me on the Core for the headline summaries.

You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky, LinkedIn, Mastodon and The Core.

openclaw 2026.6.1-beta.2

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:01:21 +0200

2026.6.1

Highlights

Agents and CLI-backed runtimes recover more cleanly from interrupted tool calls, stale session bindings, compaction handoffs, and media delivery retries. (#88129, #88136, #88141, #88162, #88182)
Channels and mobile delivery are steadier across Telegram, WhatsApp, iMessage, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Google Meet, and iOS realtime Talk. (#88096, #88105, #88183, #88231)
Provider and plugin requests now bound more timers, retries, OAuth/device-code lifetimes, media downloads, local service probes, and generated-content polling paths before they can hang a run.
Skills, session metadata, gateway runtime state, plugin metadata, memory watchers, and store writes do less repeated work on hot paths while keeping config, dispatch, and Linux file-watch behavior stable. (#89185, #89188, #85351) Thanks @RomneyDa and @NianJiuZst.
Skills and plugin loading now handle stale disabled snapshots and loader failures more clearly, so channel turns avoid disabled SecretRefs and operators get better recovery guidance. (#79072, #79173) Thanks @zeus1959.
Workboard, SecretRef plugin manifests, hosted iOS push relay, and external Copilot/Tokenjuice packaging add broader orchestration, integration, and plugin delivery surfaces. (#82326, #87469, #87796, #88107, #88117)
Skill Workshop now has a fuller Control UI flow with proposal lists, today actions, revision handoff, searchable file previews, review states, locale coverage, and reusable session routing.
Chat and Control UI startup paths keep sends alive through history loading, stream deltas incrementally, skip markdown work while streaming, keep drafts local while typing, clear the composer after sends, trace first-output latency, prioritize first connect, and expose calmer composer controls. (#88772, #88825, #88998, #89030, #89106) Thanks @vincentkoc and @sallyom.
Provider coverage and model metadata now include MiniMax M3, account OAuth endpoints, Google/Vertex catalog fixes, OpenRouter SQLite model caching, Copilot Claude 1M capabilities, Foundry reasoning alignment, and OpenAI response replay guards. (#88480, #88512, #88851, #88860)
iMessage monitor state, inbound queues, and plugin install ledgers moved toward SQLite-backed state so restarts and local monitors recover with less duplicate filesystem scanning. (#88794, #88797)
Release, CI, Docker, E2E, plugin install, and diagnostics lanes now cap more logs, response bodies, readiness probes, artifact checks, status polling, child workflow waits, docker package cleanup, and rollback snapshots so failures report bounded proof instead of stalling.

Changes

Docs: add a dedicated Skill Workshop guide covering governed skill creation, reviewable proposals, CLI, Gateway, agent tool behavior, approval policy, support files, and recovery, and refresh the ClawHub showcase cards. (#88734) Thanks @shakkernerd and @vyctorbrzezowski.
Skills: let the skill_workshop agent tool apply, reject, and quarantine explicit proposals through the guarded review flow. Thanks @shakkernerd.
Skills: let proposals carry approved support files under standard skill folders, with scanner, hash, and rollback safeguards. Thanks @shakkernerd.
Skills: let pending proposals be revised in place with versioned, dated proposal frontmatter before approval. Thanks @shakkernerd.
Skills: add Skill Workshop with pending proposals, CLI/Gateway review actions, rollback metadata, and the skill_workshop agent tool. Thanks @shakkernerd.
Skill Workshop: add the Control UI navigation, styled dashboard, proposal today view, revision dialog, file preview modal, searchable preview files, reusable session handoff, and localized strings.
Plugins: externalize Tokenjuice as the official @openclaw/tokenjuice plugin with npm and ClawHub publish metadata.
Plugins: externalize the GitHub Copilot agent runtime as the official @openclaw/copilot plugin with npm and ClawHub publish metadata.
iOS: add hosted push relay defaults, realtime Talk playback, and a guarded WebSocket ping path for more reliable mobile sessions. (#88096, #88105, #88231)
iOS: support native iPad display layouts.
Workboard: add orchestration primitives and agent coordination tools for multi-agent planning and run tracking. (#87469)
Workboard: wire task-backed board runs and show task comments in the edit modal.
Code mode: add internal namespaces for scoped agent/global sessions and exact namespace tool dispatch. (#88043)
Code mode: add MCP API files and docs for code-mode integrations.
Control UI: add a Dreaming-tab agent selector and propagate the selected agent through Dreaming status, diary, and diary actions. (#78748) Thanks @stevenepalmer.
Control UI: add calmer chat composer controls, local draft typing state, and first-output latency instrumentation for active chat entry. (#88772, #88998) Thanks @vincentkoc.
Plugins: add a SecretRef provider integration manifest contract and extract shared LLM core packages for provider/plugin reuse. (#82326, #88117)
Plugins: persist the plugin install index in SQLite so installed package lookup survives reloads with less filesystem scanning. (#88794)
Providers: add MiniMax M3 model support. (#88860)
Doctor: add disk space health checks and stabilize post-upgrade JSON probes.
Channels: store inbound queues in SQLite and migrate iMessage monitor state to SQLite-backed tracking. (#88797)
Skills: add the core skills index and centralize skills runtime loading, status, filtering, and prompt formatting.

Fixes

Agents/TUI: keep local custom provider runs from loading plugin runtime and auth alias metadata when plugins are disabled.
Agents/TUI: restore in-flight TUI run switch-back behavior, keep no-policy native hook fallback available, guard vanished workspaces, and keep lightweight isolated subagents lightweight.
Agents/media: keep async image, music, and video generation starts from ending the Codex turn, so mixed requests can continue with summaries or other work while media renders in the background.
Agents/Codex: keep public OpenAI API-key profiles from being treated as native Codex app-server auth while preserving persisted Codex OAuth sessions.
Agents/Codex: stream Codex app-server final-answer partials to live reply previews, preserve ACP metadata in SQLite, prefer real tool results over synthetic repair output, prevent aborted app-server turn handles from lingering, migrate legacy OpenAI Codex lastGood auth state, and preserve workspace/session metadata through ACP runtime refactors. (#88405, #88724, #88730) Thanks @vincentkoc.
Control UI: keep collapsed tool cards labeled with the tool name and action instead of generic output text. Thanks @shakkernerd.
Agents/Codex: surface Skill Workshop guidance in Codex app-server prompts when skill_workshop is available. Thanks @shakkernerd.
Agents/auth: write auth profiles atomically, dispatch auth failures by type, add force re-login recovery, preserve workspaces during state-only uninstall, and compact before oversized turns so recovery paths avoid partial state. (#89181) Thanks @RomneyDa.
Skills: skip disabled skill env overrides from stale persisted snapshots so disabled skill apiKey SecretRefs cannot abort embedded or channel turns. (#79072, #79173) Thanks @zeus1959.
CLI: avoid live catalog validation during openclaw agents add, so adding a secondary agent no longer depends on provider catalog availability. (#76284, #88314) Thanks @zhangguiping-xydt.
CLI: keep plugins list --json on the snapshot-only path so plugin sweeps avoid loading the full runtime status graph.
CLI/desktop: bridge WSL clipboard operations through the shell, recognize manual-update launchd jobs, and keep machine-readable startup output parseable during progress setup. (#88764, #88689) Thanks @alexzhu0.
Plugins: make PixVerse external-plugin ClawHub metadata explicit and keep it out of bundled dist builds.
Plugins: clarify plugin loader failure guidance so missing or incompatible plugin packages point operators at the right repair path.
Plugins: preserve npm plugin roots after blocked installs, skip plugin-local openclaw peer symlinks during rollback snapshots, relink those peers after restore, isolate cached tool runtime siblings, and isolate web-provider factory failures so one bad plugin does not poison sibling runtime paths. (#77237, #88807)
Cron: keep SQLite cron migrations compatible with legacy run-log tables, archived job stores, diagnostic cron names, and legacy one-shot delete-after-run behavior. (#88285)
Cron: keep update delivery validation scoped, harden restart state, and retire MCP runtimes on isolated cron cleanup.
Memory: serialize QMD update/embed writes per store, warn before gateway watcher FD pressure, reduce Linux watcher fan-out, retry transient FileProvider-backed reads, preserve phase signals on read errors, harden envelope metadata sanitization, and rewrite generated transcript paths on rollover so memory/search state survives concurrent gateway and CLI activity. (#66339, #85931, #89185, #89188, #85351) Thanks @openperf, @amittell, @RomneyDa, and @NianJiuZst.
Providers: bound generated media downloads from OpenAI, Runway, xAI, MiniMax, BytePlus, DashScope-compatible, FAL, OpenRouter, Google, Vydra, and Comfy providers.
Providers: resolve Google defaults to google-generative-ai, register Vertex static catalog rows, align Foundry reasoning metadata, skip DeepSeek V4 thinking params on Foundry fallback, use MiniMax account OAuth endpoints, preserve Copilot Claude 1M capabilities, suppress disabled Ollama reasoning output, keep OpenAI stop-finished tool calls, and avoid replay ids when the Responses store is disabled. (#88480, #88512)
Providers: cap GitHub Copilot OAuth request timeouts before creating abort signals.
Cron: retry recurring jobs after transient model rate limits before waiting for the next scheduled slot.
Agents/Codex: keep live session locks during cleanup, recover interrupted CLI tool transcripts, preserve Codex auth and compaction session identity, clear orphan tool state, cap app-server idle timers, and keep media completion delivery retryable. (#88129, #88136, #88141, #88162, #88182)
Chat/UI: show Gateway chat failures as visible assistant messages in the Control UI instead of only setting an invisible error state.
Channels: cap Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, Signal, Feishu, Google Chat, Microsoft Teams, QQBot, Nostr, Zalo, Zalouser, and Nextcloud-style request/retry timers; preserve SMS approval reply routes; and retry WhatsApp QR login 408 timeouts. (#88183)
Security/config parsing: reject unsafe OAuth/token lifetimes, retry-after delays, inbound timestamps, response body sizes, command timeout config, sandbox observer token TTLs, and gateway WebSocket calls after close.
Providers/media: cap local service, model, usage, queue, generated media, TTS, music, workflow polling, and provider OAuth request timers across hosted and local providers.
Release/CI/E2E: bound release candidate reads, beta smoke REST calls, plugin npm verification commands, changelog restore, cross-OS process groups, kitchen-sink and bundled plugin readiness probes, secret-provider probes, Telegram credential timeouts, Control UI i18n and CLI startup metadata generation, Vitest routing, dependency guard admin approvals, child workflow failure detection, docker package cleanup, and mainline test flakes. (#88127, #88137, #88155, #88160, #88966) Thanks @RomneyDa.
Release/CI/E2E: keep Kitchen Sink live plugin MCP probes resolving source-checkout workspace packages and align the live gauntlet with current Kitchen Sink diagnostics.
Release/CI/E2E: run the secret-provider integration proof through the repo pnpm runner so native macOS and Windows validation use the hydrated package-manager shim.
Release/CI/E2E: run the Telegram desktop proof gateway through the repo pnpm runner so native macOS proof uses the hydrated package-manager shim.
Docs/CI: run Mintlify anchor checks through the repo pnpm runner so docs link validation works when pnpm is only available through the hydrated package-manager shim.
Agents: keep configured fallback model metadata typed so provider params, context-token caps, and media input limits do not break changed-gate typechecks.
Agents: accept hidden sessions_send body aliases before validation while keeping the model-facing message schema canonical. (#88229) Thanks @zhangguiping-xydt.
Chat/UI: preserve startup chat sends during history loading, unblock the initial Control UI chat send, stream chat deltas incrementally, skip markdown parsing while streaming, keep drafts local while typing, guard composer rerenders, honor Chromium executable overrides, and detect system Chromium for E2E. (#88998) Thanks @vincentkoc.
Channels: preserve long Feishu streaming replies, send visible fallbacks when accepted Feishu turns produce no final reply, tolerate iMessage self-chat timestamp skew, preserve colon-prefixed slash commands in mention parsing, decode Nostr npub allowlists correctly, and suppress raw provider errors during channel delivery. (#87896)
Config/status/doctor: skip unresolved shell references in state-dir dotenv files, resolve gateway auth secrets during deep status audits, respect explicit PI runtime policy, report runtime tool-schema errors, and keep post-upgrade JSON stable. (#88288)
Gateway/session state: list commands from the Gateway plugin registry, harden MCP loopback tool schemas, hide phantom agent-store rows from sessions.list, make task persistence failures explicit, and carry session UUIDs on interactive dispatch events.
OpenAI/TTS: handle speed directives for OpenAI TTS voices. (#74089)
CI/Crabbox: keep default runner capacity on the Azure credit-backed on-demand D4 lane with the Azure SSH port and a Git-independent full check job, so broad validation avoids low-priority spot quota stalls, hydrate port mismatches, non-Git hydrated workspaces, and stale AWS region hints.
CI/Crabbox: route Crabbox wrapper and Testbox workflow edits to their regression tests so changed-test gates do not silently run zero specs.
CI/workflows: route workflow sanity helper edits to their guard tests and cover composite-action input interpolation checks.
CI/tooling: route CI scope, dependency, changelog, and docs helper edits to their owner tests instead of silently skipping changed-test coverage.
CI/tooling: route package, release, and install helper edits to their owner tests so changed-test gates cover publish and installer script changes.
CI/tooling: route shared script library edits through their owner tests so lock, process, safety, and scan helpers do not skip changed-test coverage.
CI/tooling: skip expensive import-graph scans once a changed diff already requires broad fallback, keeping local changed-test planning fast while still collecting explicit owner tests.
CI/tooling: route script edits through conventional owner tests when matching test/scripts or src/scripts coverage already exists.
CI/tooling: honor option terminators in the memory FD repro script so follow-on arguments are not reparsed.
Release/CI/E2E: assert plugin lifecycle runtime inspect output instead of only capturing it.
Release/CI/E2E: make gateway-network prove the advertised health RPC and retry early WebSocket closes without burning full open timeouts.
Release/CI/E2E: honor option terminators across release, Parallels smoke, plugin gauntlet, and extension-memory scripts.
Release/CI/E2E: fail plugin gateway gauntlet QA chunks when the requested suite summary is missing or invalid.
Performance: prebuild QA runtime probes with generated plugin assets but without CLI startup metadata.
Performance: skip declaration bundling for runtime-only CLI startup and gateway watch build profiles.
Performance: reuse prepared provider handles, strict tool schemas, gateway runtime metadata, session maintenance config, plugin metadata, bundled skill allowlists, package-local plugin artifacts, single-entry store writes, and validated/serialized session prompt blobs.

Foldable iPad Expected to Share Crease-Free Hinge With iPhone Ultra

Tue, 19 May 2026 14:54:13 +0200

Rumors about a giant folding tablet are gaining momentum. A Weibo leaker named Digital Chat Station claims that the upcoming foldable version of the iPad will share a major hardware component with the highly anticipated iPhone Ultra. The shared component is a custom crease-free hinge system. While the first foldable phone from Apple is expected to arrive this fall, the massive folding tablet will likely take a bit longer to hit store shelves. The shared hinge design aims to eliminate visible screen creases Digital Chat Station indicates that the tech giant wants to create a completely new market for supersized folding tablets. To make this work, the company is focusing heavily on screen durability. The hinge is a known weak point for folding screens, often leaving a permanent mark down the middle of the display. By bringing the same mechanical hinge from its upcoming flagship phone to a much larger screen, the company hopes to keep its display completely flat. The phone version, often referred to as the iPhone Fold by industry watchers, has reportedly faced production delays during its development. Testing showed that keeping a hinge strong under constant daily use is difficult. To fix this, engineers are relying on liquid metal parts to improve structural strength without adding extra weight. Since a tablet opens and closes less often than a phone but has a wider surface area to support, this reinforced metal design makes logical sense for both devices. While the phone is gearing up for a fall release, the folding tablet remains in the early stages of development. Creating a giant folding screen that does not show a crease requires plenty of testing. At the moment, the company's focus is entirely on perfecting the mechanics of the phone.

Hermes Agent v0.14.0 (2026.5.16)

Sat, 16 May 2026 12:01:41 +0200

Hermes Agent v0.14.0 (v2026.5.16)

Release Date: May 16, 2026
Since v0.13.0: 808 commits · 633 merged PRs · 1393 files changed · 165,061 insertions · 545 issues closed (12 P0, 50 P1) · 215 community contributors (including co-authors)

The Foundation Release — Hermes Agent installs and runs anywhere now. Native Windows ships in early beta with a full PowerShell installer story, a pip install hermes-agent wheel lands on PyPI, lazy-deps reshape what pip install hermes-agent actually pulls down, the supply-chain checker scans every install/upgrade for unsafe versions, and a new OpenAI-compatible local proxy lets Codex / Aider / Cline talk to OAuth-only providers (Claude Pro, ChatGPT Pro, SuperGrok). The cold-start wave shaves ~19 seconds off hermes launch, browser-tool CDP calls run 180x faster, and hermes tools All-Platforms drops from 14s to under 1.5s. Two new messaging platforms (LINE and SimpleX Chat) and a Microsoft Graph foundation (Teams pipeline + webhook adapter) land alongside /handoff that finally transfers sessions live, vision_analyze passing pixels through to vision-capable models, x_search as a first-class tool, LSP semantic diagnostics on every write_file / patch, a unified pluggable video_generate, a computer_use cua-driver backend, cross-session 1-hour Claude prompt caching, a per-turn file-mutation verifier, plus 9 new optional skills. 50+ P1 closures, 12 P0 closures.

✨ Highlights

Native Windows support (early beta) — full PowerShell installer, native subprocess/PTY paths, taskkill-based process management, MinGit auto-install, Microsoft Store python stub detection, foreground Ctrl+C preservation, taskkill+ps2 fallback, npm prefix handling, and ~40 follow-up Windows-only fixes across CLI / gateway / TUI / curator / tools. Hermes finally runs natively on cmd.exe and PowerShell, no WSL required. (#21561, #22130, #22752, #26618, and many more)
pip install hermes-agent && hermes — Hermes Agent is now a real PyPI package. One command, no clone, no git, no shell installer. Wheel includes the Ink TUI bundle and shell launcher. (salvage of #26350) (#26593)
Cold-start performance wave — ~19s off hermes launch — skills cache, lazy Feishu import, no Nous HTTP at startup, plus PEP-562 lazy adapter imports (QQ, Yuanbao, Teams, Google Chat), deferred fal_client / google-cloud / httpx loads, models.dev disk-cache-first lookup, parallel doctor API checks, eager-skip plugin discovery on built-in subcommands, hermes tools All-Platforms drops from 14s to <1.5s, welcome banner skipped on chat -q. (#22138, #22120, #22681, #22790, #22808, #22831, #22859, #22904, #22766, #25341)
180x faster browser_console evaluations — routed through the supervisor's persistent CDP WebSocket instead of spawning a fresh DevTools session per call. Real-world page interactions feel instant. (#23226)
Supply-chain advisory checker + lazy-deps framework + tiered install fallback — every pip install / hermes update scans dependencies against an advisory list, lazy-deps replace heavy import-time loads with first-use installs, and the installer falls back through extras tiers when a wheel rejects on the target platform. (#24220)
OpenAI-compatible local proxy — hermes proxy exposes any OAuth-authed provider (Claude Pro, ChatGPT Pro, SuperGrok) as an OpenAI-compatible endpoint that Codex / Aider / Cline / VS Code Continue can hit. Your subscription, your tools. (#25969)
Cross-session 1-hour Claude prompt cache — Anthropic / OpenRouter / Nous Portal now share a 1h prefix cache across sessions for Claude models. Fast resume, fast /new, lower cost on repeat work. (#23828)
Two new messaging platforms — LINE + SimpleX Chat — LINE Messaging API lands as a first-class platform, SimpleX Chat salvages #2558 onto the modern adapter spec. Hermes is now on 22 platforms. (#23197, #26232)
Microsoft Graph foundation — Teams pipeline + webhook adapter — msgraph auth/client foundation, webhook listener platform, Teams pipeline plugin runtime, and Teams outbound delivery via the existing adapter — Hermes can now read and post to Teams. (salvages of #21408–#21411) (#21922, #21969, #22007, #22024)
/handoff actually transfers the session live — the agent's active session moves to a different model / persona / profile mid-conversation, with messages, tool history, and context preserved. (#23395)
x_search — first-class X (Twitter) search tool — gated tool with OAuth-or-API-key auth, no skill needed to query the timeline. (#26763)
vision_analyze returns pixels to vision-capable models — when the active model can see, vision_analyze now hands the image straight through instead of falling back to a text description. (#22955)
LSP semantic diagnostics on every write — write_file and patch now run real language-server diagnostics on the post-edit file (delta-only) and surface real errors before they ship downstream. (#24168, #25978)
Per-turn file-mutation verifier footer — after every turn that wrote files, the agent gets a verifier footer summarizing what actually changed on disk — catches silent overwrites and "wrote it but it didn't land" bugs. (#24498)
Unified video_generate with pluggable provider backends — single tool, any backend. Drop in a new video provider as a plugin, no core changes. (#25126)
computer_use cua-driver backend — proper focus-safe ops, non-Anthropic provider support, refresh on hermes update. Computer-use is no longer locked to a single SDK. (re-salvage of #16936) (#21967, #24063)
xAI Grok OAuth provider — SuperGrok via subscription — sign in with your xAI account, talk to Grok models from Hermes. (#26534)
Clarify with buttons — native inline keyboards on Telegram + Discord — the clarify tool renders multi-choice prompts as platform-native buttons instead of typed responses. (#24199, #25485)
Discord channel history backfill (default on) — Hermes reads recent channel history when joining a thread so it actually knows what's been said. (#25984)
Watchers skill — RSS / HTTP JSON / GitHub polling via cron no_agent mode — skill recipes that wire change-detection sources directly into cron's script-only watchdog mode. (#21881)
Zed ACP Registry integration + uvx distribution — Hermes is in the Zed registry, installable via uvx (no npm). Plus hermes acp --setup-browser bootstraps browser tools for registry installs. (salvage of #25908) (#26079, #26120, #26234)
OpenRouter Pareto Code router — wire a new OpenRouter router with min_coding_score knob. Pick the cheapest model that meets your quality bar. (#22838)
Optional codex app-server runtime for OpenAI/Codex models — drives the OpenAI Codex CLI under the hood for OpenAI/Codex paths, with session reuse, wedge retirement, and OAuth refresh classification. (#24182, #25769)
hermes-skills/huggingface as a trusted default tap — community skills index from huggingface.co/skills is available by default in the Skills Hub. (#26219)
9 new optional skills — Hyperliquid (perp/spot trading via SDK + REST) (@kshitijk4poor & Hermes), Yahoo Finance market data, api-testing (REST/GraphQL debug), unified EVM multi-chain skill (folds #25291 + #2010 + base/), darwinian-evolver, osint-investigation (closes #355), pinggy-tunnel, watchers (RSS/HTTP/GitHub via cron), Notion overhaul for the Developer Platform (May 2026). (#23582, #23583, #23590, #25299, #26760, #26729, #26765, #21881, #26612)
API server exposes run approval events — long-running runs surface approval requests over the API stream, no more silent stalls. (salvage of #20311) (#21899)
/subgoal — user-added criteria appended to active /goal — layer extra success criteria onto a running goal loop. The judge sees them in the prompt, no behavior change when subgoals are empty. (#25449)
Plugins can run any LLM call via ctx.llm — plugins get a first-class hook to make their own LLM requests through the active provider/credentials, no manual wiring. Plus tool_override flag for replacing built-in tools. (#23194, #26759)
Brave Search (free tier) + DuckDuckGo (DDGS) as web-search providers — two new free search backends alongside Tavily / SearXNG / Exa. (#21337)
Sudo brute-force block + sudo-stdin/askpass DANGEROUS classification — closes the sudo -S brute-force avenue; approval gates classify stdin-fed and askpass-stripped sudo invocations as dangerous. (salvages of #22194 + #21128) (#23736)
Provider rename — Alibaba Cloud → Qwen Cloud, picker reorder — matches what the world calls it. Existing config keys still work. (#24835)

🪟 Windows — Native Support (Early Beta)

Bootstrap & installer

Native Windows support (early beta) — first-class native Windows path across CLI / gateway / TUI / tools (#21561)
PyPI wheel packaging — pip install hermes-agent && hermes (salvage of #26350) (#26593)
Recognise Shift+Enter as a newline key + Windows docs (salvage #21545) (#22130)
Preserve Ctrl+C for Windows foreground runs (@helix4u) (#22752)
Stop spamming cwd-missing + tirith-spawn warnings on every terminal call (#26618)
Use --extra all not --all-extras; drop lazy-covered extras from [all] (#24515)

Windows-specific fixes (40+ across cli / tools / gateway / curator / TUI)

A long tail of native-Windows fixes shipped alongside the beta — taskkill-based subprocess management, MinGit auto-install, Microsoft Store python stub detection, npm prefix handling, native PTY paths, signal handling differences, foreground process management, ANSI sequence handling, path normalization, file-locking semantics, and many more. Full list in commit log under fix(windows) / feat(windows) / windows.

🚀 Performance Wave

Cold start

Cut ~19s from hermes cold start — skills cache + lazy Feishu + no Nous HTTP at startup (#22138)
Skip eager plugin discovery on known built-in subcommands (#22120)
Cache Nous auth + .env loads — hermes tools All Platforms from 14s to <1.5s (#25341)
Skip welcome banner on chat -q single-query mode (#22904)
Defer heavy google-cloud imports in google_chat to first adapter use (#22681)
Defer QQAdapter and YuanbaoAdapter imports via PEP 562 (#22790)
Defer httpx import in teams to first webhook call (#22831)
Defer fal_client import to first generation request (#22859)
models.dev cache-first lookup, skip network when disk cache is fresh (#22808)
Parallelize API connectivity checks in hermes doctor and disable IMDS (#22766)

Runtime

180x faster browser_console evaluations — route through supervisor's persistent CDP WebSocket (#23226)
Tune Telegram cadence + adaptive fast-path for short replies (salvage of #10388) (#23587)
Accumulate length-continuation prefix via list+join (#26237)

Prompt caching

Cross-session 1h prefix cache for Claude on Anthropic / OpenRouter / Nous Portal (#23828)
Hit prefix cache in background review fork (salvage #17276 + #25427) (#25434)

📦 Installation & Distribution

PyPI + supply-chain

PyPI wheel packaging — pip install hermes-agent && hermes (salvage of #26350) (#26593)
Supply-chain advisory checker + lazy-install framework + tiered install fallback (#24220)
Use --extra all not --all-extras; drop lazy-covered extras from [all] (#24515)
Skip browser download when system chromium exists (@helix4u) (#25317)

Nix

extraDependencyGroups for sealed venv extras (@alt-glitch) (#21817)
Refresh npm lockfile hashes — keeps Nix flake builds reproducible

Docker

Bootstrap auth.json from env on first boot (#21880)
Drop manual @hermes/ink build, rely on esbuild bundle — slimmer image

ACP / Zed

Zed ACP Registry integration (salvage of #25908) (#26079)
Switch to uvx distribution, drop npm launcher (#26120)
hermes acp --setup-browser bootstraps browser tools for registry installs (#26234)

🏗️ Core Agent & Architecture

Sessions & handoff

/handoff actually transfers the session live (#23395)
Expose HERMES_SESSION_ID env var to agent tools (@alt-glitch) (#23847)

Goals (Ralph loop)

/subgoal — user-added criteria appended to active /goal (#25449)
/goal checklist + /subgoal user controls (#23456) — rolled back in window (#23813); /subgoal returned in simpler form via #25449

Compression

Make protect_first_n configurable (#25447)

Verification

Per-turn file-mutation verifier footer (#24498)

Stream retry

Log inner cause, upstream headers, bytes/elapsed on every drop (#23005)

🤖 Models & Providers

New providers

xAI Grok OAuth (SuperGrok Subscription) provider (#26534)
NovitaAI provider (salvage #7219) (@kshitijk4poor) (#25507)
NVIDIA NIM billing origin header (salvage #25211) (#26585)

Provider work

OpenRouter Pareto Code router with min_coding_score knob (#22838)
Optional codex app-server runtime for OpenAI/Codex models (#24182)
Codex-runtime: retire wedged sessions + post-tool watchdog + OAuth refresh classify (#25769)
Codex-runtime: skip unavailable plugins during migration (#25437)
Codex-runtime: de-dup [plugins.X] tables and stop leaking HERMES_HOME into config.toml (#26250) (@kshitijk4poor) (#26260)
Pass reasoning.effort to xAI Responses API (#22807)
Custom provider: prompt and persist explicit api_mode (#25068)
Rename Alibaba Cloud → Qwen Cloud, reorder picker (#24835)
Restore gpt-5.3-codex-spark for ChatGPT Pro (salvage #18286 + #19530, fixes #16172) (@kshitijk4poor) (#22991)
Inject tool-use enforcement for GLM models (#24715)
Use Nous Portal as model metadata authority (@rob-maron) (#24502)
Unified client=hermes-client-v tag on every Portal request (#24779)
Prevent stale Ollama credentials after provider switch (@kshitijk4poor) (#21703)
Auxiliary client: rotate pooled auth after quota failures (salvage #22779) (#22792)
Auxiliary client: skip providers without credentials immediately (#25395) (#25487)
Auth: send Nous refresh token via header (@shannonsands) (#21578)
MiniMax: harden OAuth dashboard and runtime (#24165)

OpenAI-compatible proxy

Local OpenAI-compatible proxy for OAuth providers — Codex / Aider / Cline can hit Claude Pro, ChatGPT Pro, SuperGrok (#25969)

📱 Messaging Platforms (Gateway)

New platforms

LINE Messaging API platform plugin (#23197)
SimpleX Chat platform plugin (salvages #2558) (#26232)

Microsoft Graph foundation

msgraph: add auth and client foundation (salvage of #21408) (#21922)
msgraph: add webhook listener platform (salvage of #21409) (#21969)
teams-pipeline: add plugin runtime and operator cli (salvage of #21410) (#22007)
teams: add pipeline outbound delivery via existing adapter (salvage of #21411) (#22024)

Cross-platform

Per-platform admin/user split for slash commands (salvage of #4443) (#23373)
Forensics on signal handling — non-blocking diag, per-phase timing, stale-unit warning (#23285)
Keep gateway running when platforms fail; add per-platform circuit breaker + /platform (#26600)
Wire clarify tool with inline keyboard buttons on Telegram (#24199)
Add chat_id to hook_ctx for message source tracking (#24710)

Native draft streaming via sendMessageDraft (Bot API 9.5+) (salvage of #3412) (#23512)
Stream Telegram edits safely — salvage of #22264 (@kshitijk4poor) (#22518)
Telegram notification mode (salvage #22772) (#22793)
Telegram guest mention mode (@kshitijk4poor) (#22759)
Split-and-deliver oversized edits instead of silent truncation (salvage of #19537) (#23576)
Preserve DM topic routing via reply fallback (salvage #22053) (@kshitijk4poor) (#22410)
Pass source.thread_id explicitly on auto-reset notice (carve-out of #7404) (#23440)

Discord

Render clarify choices as buttons (#25485)
Channel history backfill — default on, broadened scope (#25984)
thread_require_mention for multi-bot threads (salvage #25313) (#25445)

Slack

Support !cmd as alternate prefix for slash commands in threads (#25355)

Surface quoted reply metadata from Baileys (#25398) (#25489)

Feishu / Google Chat / others

Feishu: native update prompt cards (@kshitijk4poor) (#22448)
Google Chat: repair setup prompt imports (@helix4u) (#22038)
Google Chat: honor relay-declared sender_type (salvage of #22107) (@kshitijk4poor) (#22432)
LINE: use build_source instead of nonexistent create_source (#24717)
Add weixin, and more to gateway docs (salvage of #21063 by @wuwuzhijing)

🖥️ CLI & TUI

CLI

Show YOLO mode warning in banner and status bar (#26238)
Confirm prompt for destructive slash commands (#4069) (#22687)
docker_extra_args + display.timestamps (#23599)
Delegate tool: show user's actual concurrency / spawn-depth limits in description (#22694)

TUI

/sessions slash command for browsing and resuming previous sessions (@austinpickett) (#20805)
Segment turns with rule above non-first user msgs; trim ticker dead space (@OutThisLife) (#21846)
Support attaching to an existing gateway (@OutThisLife) (#21978)
Resolve markdown links to readable page titles (@OutThisLife) (#24013)
Width-aware markdown table rendering with vertical fallback (@alt-glitch) (#26195)
Keep Ink displayCursor in sync with fast-echo writes so cursor stops drifting (@OutThisLife) (#26717)
Allow transcript scroll + Esc during approval/clarify/confirm prompts (@OutThisLife) (#26414)
Preserve session when switching personality (@austinpickett) (#20942)
Skip native safety net on OSC52-capable terminals (@benbarclay) (#20954)

Dashboard / GUI

Route embedded TUI through dashboard gateway (@OutThisLife) (#21979)
Hide token/cost analytics behind config flag (default off) (#25438)
Fix Langfuse observability — trace I/O, tool outputs, placeholder credentials (closes #22342, #22763) (@kshitijk4poor) (#26320)
MiniMax 'Login' button launched Claude OAuth (salvage #22849) (#24058)
Update cron modals (@austinpickett) (#25985)
Analytics: prevent silent token loss and add Claude 4.5–4.7 pricing (@austinpickett) (#21455)

🔧 Tools & Capabilities

Vision & video

vision_analyze returns pixels to vision-capable models (#22955)
Unified video_generate with pluggable provider backends (#25126)
image_gen: actionable setup message when no FAL backend is reachable (#26222)

Computer use

computer_use cua-driver backend + focus-safe ops + non-Anthropic provider fix (re-salvage #16936) (#21967)
Refresh cua-driver on hermes update + add install --upgrade (#24063)

LSP & write-time diagnostics

Semantic diagnostics from real language servers in write_file/patch (#24168)
Shift baseline diagnostics into post-edit coordinates (#25978)

Search & web

Brave Search (free tier) and DDGS search providers (#21337)
Bearer auth header for Tavily /crawl endpoint (#24658)

X (Twitter)

Gated x_search tool with OAuth-or-API-key auth (#26763)

Browser

Route browser_console eval through supervisor's persistent CDP WS (180x faster) (#23226)
Support externally managed Camofox sessions (#24499)

MCP

supports_parallel_tool_calls for MCP servers (salvage of #9944) (#26825)
Codex preset for Codex CLI MCP server (salvage #22663) (#22679)
Stop retrying initial MCP auth failures (#25624) (#25776)

Google Workspace

Drive write ops + Docs/Sheets create/append (#21895)

Per-turn verifier

Per-turn file-mutation verifier footer (#24498)

🧩 Kanban (Multi-Agent)

specify — auxiliary LLM fleshes out triage tasks (#21435)
Orchestrator board tools — kanban_list + kanban_unblock (carve-out of #20568) (#23012)
stranded_in_ready diagnostic for unclaimed tasks (#23578)
Dashboard batch QOL upgrade (salvage of #23240) (#23550)
Tooltips and docs link across dashboard (#21541)
Dedupe notifier delivery via atomic claim + rewind on failure (salvage #22558) (#23401)
Keep notifier subscriptions alive across retry cycles (salvage #21398) (#23423)
Drop caller-controlled author override in kanban_comment (salvage of #22109) (@kshitijk4poor) (#22435)
Sanitize comment author rendering in build_worker_context (#22769)

🧠 Plugins & Extension

Plugin surface

Run any LLM call from inside a plugin via ctx.llm (#23194)
tool_override flag for replacing built-in tools (closes #11049) (#26759)
standalone_sender_fn for out-of-process cron delivery (@kshitijk4poor) (#22461)
HERMES_PLUGINS_DEBUG=1 surfaces plugin discovery logs (#22684)
Hindsight-client as optional dependency (@alt-glitch) (#21818)

Profile & distribution

Shareable profile distributions via git (#20831)

⏰ Cron

Routing intent — deliver=all fans out to every connected channel (#21495)
Support name-based lookup for job operations (#26231)
Blank Cron dashboard tab + partial-record crashes (salvage #21042 + #22330) (@kshitijk4poor) (#22389)
Do not seed HERMES_SESSION_* contextvars from cron origin (salvage of #22356) (@kshitijk4poor) (#22382)
Scan assembled prompt including skill content for prompt injection (#3968)

🧩 Skills Ecosystem

Skills Hub

hermes-skills/huggingface as a trusted default tap (closes #2549) (#26219)
Show per-skill pages in the left sidebar (#26646)
Richer info panels on the Skills Hub (#22905)
Refuse skill_view name collisions instead of guessing (closes #6136 @polkn)

Curator

Show rename map in user-visible summary (#22910)
Hint at hermes curator pin in the rename block (#23212)

New optional skills

Hyperliquid — perp/spot trading via SDK + REST (salvage of #1952) (#23583)
Yahoo Finance market data (#23590)
api-testing (REST/GraphQL debug, salvages #1800) (#23582)
Unified EVM multi-chain skill (salvages #25291 + #2010 + folds in base/) (#25299)
darwinian-evolver (#26760)
osint-investigation (closes #355) (#26729)
pinggy-tunnel (#26765)
watchers — RSS / HTTP JSON / GitHub polling via cron no-agent (#21881)
Notion overhaul for the Developer Platform (May 2026) (#26612)

🔒 Security & Reliability

Security hardening

Sudo brute-force block + sudo-stdin/askpass DANGEROUS (salvage of #22194 + #21128) (@kshitijk4poor) (#23736)
Drop caller-controlled author override in kanban_comment (salvage of #22109) (@kshitijk4poor) (#22435)
Cover remaining SSRF fetch paths in skills-hub (salvage #22804) (#22843)
Use credential_pool for custom endpoint model listing probes (salvage #22810) (#22842)
Require dashboard auth for plugin API routes (salvage #19541) (#23220)
Sanitize env and redact output in quick commands + remove write-only _pending_messages (#23584)
Reduce unnecessary shell=True in subprocess calls (#25149)
Sanitize Google Chat sender_type from relay (salvage of #22107) (@kshitijk4poor) (#22432)
Supply-chain advisory checker (#24220)
Rewrite security policy around OS-level isolation as the boundary (@jquesnelle) (#20317)
Remove public security advisory page (#24253)

Reliability — notable bug closures

SQLite: fall back to journal_mode=DELETE on NFS/SMB/FUSE (fixes /resume on network mounts) (@kshitijk4poor) (#22043)
Codex-runtime: retire wedged sessions + post-tool watchdog + OAuth refresh classify (#25769)
Codex-runtime: de-dup [plugins.X] tables and stop leaking HERMES_HOME (#26250) (@kshitijk4poor) (#26260)
Daytona: migrate legacy-sandbox lookup to cursor-based list() (#24587)
MCP: stop retrying initial MCP auth failures (#25624) (#25776)
Gateway: enable text-intercept for multi-choice clarify fallback (#25587) (#25778)
Gateway: keep running when platforms fail; per-platform circuit breaker + /platform (#26600)
Delegate: salvage #21933 JSON-string batch + diagnostic logging (@kshitijk4poor) (#22436)
Profiles+banner: exclude infrastructure from --clone-all + fix stale update-check repo resolution (@kshitijk4poor) (#22475)
ACP: inline file attachment resources (salvage #21400 + image support) (#21407)
CI: unblock shared PR checks (@stephenschoettler) (#21012, #25957)

Notable reverts in window

/goal checklist + /subgoal feature stack — rolled back (#23813); /subgoal returned in simpler form via #25449
Scrollback box width clamp (#25975) rolled back to restore full-width borders (#26163)
fix(cli): tolerate unreadable dirs when building systemd PATH rolled back

🌍 i18n

Localize all gateway commands + web dashboard, add 8 new locales (16 total) (#22914)

📚 Documentation

Repair Voice & TTS provider table (@nightcityblade, fixes #24101) (#24138)
Show per-skill pages in the left sidebar (#26646)
Mention Weixin in gateway help and docstrings (salvage of #21063 by @wuwuzhijing)
Richer info panels on the Skills Hub (#22905)
Many more doc updates across providers, platforms, skills, Windows install paths, and dashboard.

🧪 Testing & CI

Unblock shared PR checks (@stephenschoettler) (#21012)
Stabilize shared test state after 21012 (@stephenschoettler) (#25957)
A long tail of test additions for platforms, providers, plugins, and edge cases — 8 explicit test: PRs plus ~250 fix PRs that also added regression coverage.

👥 Contributors

Core

@teknium1 — release lead, architecture, ~406 PRs merged in window

Top community contributors

@kshitijk4poor — 38 PRs · Telegram cadence/streaming/topic routing, security hardening (sudo, SSRF, kanban_comment, dashboard auth), codex-runtime hygiene, NovitaAI provider, profile/banner fixes, Feishu update cards, gateway QOL across the board
@alt-glitch — 13 PRs · Markdown-table TUI rendering, HERMES_SESSION_ID env var, hindsight-client optional dep, Nix extraDependencyGroups
@OutThisLife (Brooklyn Nicholson) — 12 PRs · TUI turn segmentation, attach-to-gateway, markdown link titles, embedded TUI via dashboard gateway, Ink cursor sync, scroll/Esc during prompts
@austinpickett — 8 PRs · /sessions slash command, personality switching preserves session, cron modals, dashboard analytics
@helix4u — 5 PRs · Google Chat setup, browser install skip on system chromium, Windows Ctrl+C preservation
@rob-maron — 4 PRs · Nous Portal as model metadata authority, provider polish
@stephenschoettler — 3 PRs · CI stabilization
@ethernet8023 — 3 PRs · platform/gateway work

All contributors (alphabetical)

@02356abc, @0xbyt4, @0xharryriddle, @1000Delta, @1RB, @29206394, @A-kamal, @aashizpoudel, @Abd0r,
@adybag14-cyber, @AgentArcLab, @ahmedbadr3, @AhmetArif0, @alblez, @Alex-yang00, @ALIYILD, @AllynSheep,
@alt-glitch, @am423, @amathxbt, @amethystani, @ArecaNon, @Arkmusn, @askclaw-vesper, @AsoTora, @austinpickett,
@aydnOktay, @ayushere, @baocin, @Bartok9, @benbarclay, @BennetYrWang, @Bihruze, @binhnt92, @briandevans,
@brooklynnicholson, @btorresgil, @buntingszn, @CalmProton, @chrisworksai, @CoinTheHat, @dandacompany, @Dangooy,
@DanielLSM, @David-0x221Eight, @ddupont808, @dhruv-saxena, @diablozzc, @dlkakbs, @dmahan93, @dmnkhorvath,
@domtriola, @donrhmexe, @Dusk1e, @eloklam, @emozilla, @ephron-ren, @ErenKarakus, @EthanGuo-coder,
@ethernet8023, @evgyur, @explainanalyze, @fahdad, @fr33d3m0n, @Freeman-Consulting, @freqyfreqy, @Frowtek,
@fu576, @github-actions[bot], @gnanirahulnutakki, @GodsBoy, @guglielmofonda, @Gutslabs, @hanzckernel,
@heathley, @hekaru-agent, @helix4u, @HenkDz, @HiddenPuppy, @hllqkb, @hrygo, @HuangYuChuh, @Hugo-SEQUIER, @HxT9,
@iacker, @InB4DevOps, @isaachuangGMICLOUD, @iuyup, @Jaaneek, @jackey8616, @jackjin1997, @Jaggia, @jak983464779,
@jelrod27, @jethac, @JithendraNara, @johnisag, @Julientalbot, @Jwd-gity, @kallidean, @keyuyuan, @kfa-ai,
@kidonng, @KiraKatana, @kjames2001, @konsisumer, @Korkyzer, @kshitijk4poor, @KvnGz, @lars-hagen, @leehack,
@leepoweii, @LeonSGP43, @li0near, @libo1106, @liquidchen, @littlewwwhite, @liuhao1024, @liyoungc, @luandiasrj,
@luoyuctl, @luyao618, @magic524, @mbac, @McClean, @memosr, @Mibayy, @ming1523, @mizgyo, @mrshu, @ms-alan,
@MustafaKara7, @nederev, @nicoechaniz, @nidhi-singh02, @nightcityblade, @nik1t7n, @Ninso112, @NivOO5,
@novax635, @nv-kasikritc, @oferlaor, @oswaldb22, @outdoorsea, @oxngon, @PaTTeeL, @pearjelly, @pefontana,
@perng, @PhilipAD, @phuongvm, @polkn, @Prasanna28Devadiga, @princepal9120, @pty819, @purzbeats, @Quarkex,
@quocanh261997, @qWaitCrypto, @Qwinty, @rahimsais, @raymaylee, @ReqX, @rewbs, @RhombusMaximus, @rob-maron,
@Ruzzgar, @ryptotalent, @Sanjays2402, @shannonsands, @shaun0927, @SiliconID, @silv-mt-holdings, @simpolism,
@smwbev, @soichiyo, @sprmn24, @steezkelly, @stephenschoettler, @Sylw3ster, @szymonclawd, @teyrebaz33,
@Tianyu199509, @Tranquil-Flow, @TreyDong, @TurgutKural, @tw2818, @tymrtn, @uzunkuyruk, @v1b3coder,
@vanthinh6886, @VinceZcrikl, @vKongv, @vominh1919, @voteblake, @VTRiot, @wali-reheman, @wesleysimplicio,
@wilsen0, @WorldWriter, @worlldz, @wuli666, @wuwuzhijing, @Wysie, @XiaoXiao0221, @xieNniu, @xxxigm, @yehuosi,
@ygd58, @yifengingit, @yuga-hashimoto, @zccyman, @ZeterMordio, @Zhekinmaksim, @zhengyn0001

Also: @Nagatha (Claude Opus 4.7).

Full Changelog: v2026.5.7...v2026.5.16

ServiceNow’s AI control tower offers hazy view of spend

Tue, 12 May 2026 14:23:04 +0200

IT budgeting has gotten a lot trickier as vendors begin to adjust their pricing to include variable charges for agentic AI usage in addition to seat-based licensing fees.

A case in point is the licensing model for ServiceNow, which has introduced usage-based pricing for its AI components. As part of its AI transformation, the company last week announced Action Fabric, part of its AI Control Tower, which meters agent usage measured in “assists” and charges for it on top of customers’ subscription fees.

Customers receive a set number of assists with their subscription and can choose to pay for more if they need them, said ServiceNow COO Amit Zavery.

The number of assists used in any given agentic interaction varies, however, making it difficult for users to predict their usage, and therefore their bills.

This model is no surprise to industry watchers. “As AI agents begin to move into the heart of the enterprise, we’re moving beyond the age of SaaS into a far more granular era where every last detail of a given workload is monitored, metered, and monetized,” said Carmi Levy, independent technology analyst.

This may not sit well with organizations. “For CIOs and other senior leaders making the strategic decisions and approving the budget, the prospect of paying additional usage-based fees on top of existing subscriptions, and then having to closely monitor usage and spend as AI adoption spreads across the organization, could be an additional irritant as organizations as a whole look for ways to trim spending,” he said.

ServiceNow’s model is similar to those introduced by SAP and Salesforce, said Info-Tech Research Group advisory fellow Scott Bickley: a base license with entitlement to some level of usage, then consumption-based charging at the data layer and at the AI layer. “With ServiceNow, they’re going to now break out levels of AI capabilities, and each tier will encompass a certain level of functionality, and they each have different levels of capabilities attached to them, and I’m sure different pricing attached to them.”

This will not make CFOs happy, he said; they don’t like variability in pricing, nor unpredictable expenses in the monthly budget. And there’s the potential for things to go expensively wrong if, for example, an autonomous agent goes into a retry loop when its first attempt to perform a task fails, gobbling assist credits with each iteration.

Adoption of the service, he said, will depend on “the ability to decipher the pricing model and match it to business use cases, so that you can accurately predict usage based on what you want to accomplish as an outcome.” If enterprises can’t predict costs and maintain budget versus value over time, they won’t stick with it, he said.

This means that customers now need to pay particular attention to their contracts and find that “line of demarcation where the meter starts running,” Bickley said, noting that historically, ServiceNow’s licensing metrics have lacked clarity on what falls under eligible objects or how things are metered.

“If you can’t manage and predict and build the capabilities to see through what these consumption metrics are going to cost you, then you need to have very flexible contract commercial terms that can help buffer the unanticipated upticks in usage,” he said. “But you really need to have a combination of FinOps maturity, the ability to build clarity in your use cases for AI, the ability to then estimate consumption against those use cases, and a very detailed understanding of the license or subscription metrics.”

Now it has become imperative for customers to take the time to extract those details from ServiceNow, appending them to the contract in a way that’s understandable, he advised. “And if you can’t get them to that point, then you should not be signing the contract.”

Bickley said he feels some sympathy for ServiceNow: “They’re dealing with a moving target themselves. They have to pay for this consumption to the LLM providers as well, but they need to do better in terms of simplifying it for their customers.”

AI-led job cuts don’t always mean stronger ROI — Gartner

Tue, 05 May 2026 14:02:02 +0200

Businesses tend to eye AI spending as a way to reduce headcount, but firms that cut staffers as a result of AI are doing no better than those who don’t, according to new Gartner research.

Gartner recently surveyed 350 global business leaders at large organizations already using AI agents and intelligent automation tools and found that 80% of them reported a lowered headcount as a result of AI initiatives — in some cases by up to 20%.

But those layoffs appear to be less beneficial than senior leaders might assume.

“There’s no connection or correlation between people who are achieving ROI and layoffs,” said Helen Poitevin, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner, adding that labor reduction is “not the best” ROI metric. Other factors such as revenue, growth, and time to market are more effective in achieving a strong ROI.

“Those who only look to the workforce tend to be the ‘laggards,’ because they’re not going after the broader set of value that they can get to,” she said. This approach can also be “very disruptive more broadly,” she said, noting that some organizations who cut staff were forced to quickly rehire employees soon after.

That’s not to say companies aren’t cutting jobs, said Poitevin, but doing so isn’t the main route to solid ROI. Instead, organizations with higher levels of return on their spending looked beyond workforce reductions and saw AI as a way to improve employee productivity.

These organizations are more likely to upskill staff to use AI tools, link employee hiring and performance criteria to AI proficiency, and set “transition paths” for skill sets and roles that will be affected by automation plans, said Poitevin.

“You have to plan for layoffs where they happen, but, more importantly, you have to plan for workforce transformation, and you have to go after broader forms of value through your AI investment portfolio than just labor cost,” she said.

For those panicking at the prospect of an AI-led jobs apocalypse, Gartner offers some hope: The analyst firm predicts that by 2029 the number of jobs created by AI will outpace those that are lost.

Between 2023 and 2029, approximately 6 million roles will be automated globally, as businesses deploy AI agents and other intelligent automation technologies, according to Gartner; that’s a small proportion of the roughly 2 billion jobs available to workers.

The prediction adds to a growing expectation among industry watchers that AI will reshape the workplace rather than replace workers en masse, at least for the foreseeable future. “AI is not leading to a jobs apocalypse, but it’s unleashing job chaos, changing the shape of what people do,” said Poitevin.

That doesn’t mean disruption can be avoided entirely. A larger portion of the workforce — around 32 million workers each year — will see their roles transformed with the introduction of AI and intelligent automation, forcing them to “rethink what they do, how they do it, what ‘good’ looks like,” said Poitevin.

At the same time, the deployment of AI is expected to generate new labor demand in 2027 and 2028, with that demand offsetting AI-related job cuts the following year.

The AI-led job gains will include higher demand for existing roles boosted by AI-driven productivity gains, as well as the creation of new roles related specifically to the deployment and management of AI systems – change management and business transformation, for example.

Wider adoption of AI tools will also lead to the emergence of new business models, according to Gartner – similar to higher demand for logistics systems and delivery drivers after the e-commerce boom or the increase in financial analysts after Excel replaced old-fashioned bookkeeping.

Apple Q2 2026 Earnings Report Released: $111.2 Billion Revenue, $2.01 EPS, $29.58 Billion Profit

Fri, 01 May 2026 01:52:04 +0200

Apple posted stronger-than-expected Q2 2026 earnings, reporting $111.2 billion in revenue for its March quarter, beating Wall Street forecasts and setting a new March quarter record for the company. The company delivered $29.58 billion in net profit and earnings per share of $2.01, both ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue climbed 17% year over year, which pushed Apple beyond its own projected growth range of 13% to 16%. Strong iPhone 17 demand, record Services growth, and expanding product sales across every major category fueled the results. Full Apple Q2 2026 revenue breakdown Total revenue: $111.2 billion Net profit: $29.58 billion Earnings per share: $2.01 iPhone revenue: $56.99 billion Mac revenue: $8.40 billion iPad revenue: $6.91 billion Wearables, Home, and Accessories: $7.90 billion Services revenue: $30.98 billion iPhone remained Apple’s biggest growth driver, generating nearly $57 billion and setting a March quarter record despite supply constraints. Services also reached a new all-time high, now making up roughly 28% of Apple’s total quarterly business. What drove Apple’s strong quarter CEO Tim Cook credited exceptional demand for the iPhone 17 lineup, alongside newer launches like the iPhone 17e, M4 iPad Air, and MacBook Neo. Apple also reported double-digit growth across all geographic markets, including notable gains in China and India. CFO Kevan Parekh highlighted more than $28 billion in operating cash flow, record EPS, and continued expansion of Apple’s active device installed base. For investors and Apple watchers, this report shows Apple’s hardware business remains strong while Services continues becoming an even larger profit engine. With Q3 guidance also coming in above expectations, Apple enters the second half of 2026 with significant momentum.

The logic of the racist Supreme Court isn’t adding up

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 22:17:10 +0200

Close watchers of the Supreme Court knew that the conservative supermajority was about to murder what was left of the Voting Rights Act. Wednesday's decision in Louisiana v. Callais took down Section 2 of the law, clearing the way for racist gerrymandering, because it is now racist to remedy racism. The decision is an affront […]

Apple May Reconsider MagSafe Future on Upcoming iPhones

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 21:07:23 +0200

A strange new rumor suggests that Apple is currently questioning the future of MagSafe on its smartphones. According to the Weibo account Instant Digital, the company is debating whether to keep the magnetic charging system as a standard feature. This account has a solid history of sharing highly accurate leaks, making the claim hard to ignore despite how unlikely the move sounds to everyday users. The company questions keeping magnets due to a future redesign The idea of dropping MagSafe confuses many industry watchers. The iPhone 12 introduced the feature, and a massive accessory market quickly grew around it. The system is so popular that when the 16e launched without it, loud user complaints forced the company to add it back for the 17e model. The tech brand also helped build the universal Qi2 standard based on this exact technology. The only logical explanation points to future hardware plans. Magnets take up internal space and add manufacturing costs. Reports indicate the manufacturer wants to totally redesign its phone as a single sheet of glass next year. This upcoming overhaul, internally called the Glasswing project, might require dropping the magnetic ring to achieve a much thinner shape. Internal opinions shift from aggressive expansion to sudden wavering hesitation When the charging system first launched, internal teams pushed hard for its widespread use. The initial strategy was highly aggressive, with early plans aiming to put the connection on iPads as well. That tablet expansion never happened, and now the mood inside the company has supposedly flipped completely. Sources say hardware teams are starting to waver on the necessity of the feature. No final decision has been formally made yet, so the familiar charging snap might stick around for a bit. Still, the fact that such a beloved feature is on the chopping block shows that major physical changes are likely coming soon.

OpenClaw 2026.4.26

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 03:16:14 +0200

2026.4.26

Changes

Channels/QQBot: add full group chat support (history tracking, @-mention gating, activation modes, per-group config, FIFO message queue with deliver debounce), C2C stream_messages streaming with a StreamingController lifecycle manager, unified sendMedia with chunked upload for large files, and refactor the engine into pipeline stages, focused outbound submodules, builtin slash-command modules, and explicit DI ports via createEngineAdapters(). (#70624) Thanks @cxyhhhhh.
Channels/Yuanbao: register the Tencent Yuanbao external channel plugin (openclaw-plugin-yuanbao) in the official channel catalog, contract suites, and community plugin docs, with a new docs/channels/yuanbao.md quick-start guide for WebSocket bot DMs and group chats. (#72756) Thanks @loongfay.
Control UI/Talk: add a generic browser realtime transport contract, Google Live browser Talk sessions with constrained ephemeral tokens, and a Gateway relay for backend-only realtime voice plugins. Thanks @VACInc.
CLI/models: route provider-filtered model listing through an explicit source plan so user config, installed manifest rows, Provider Index previews, and scoped runtime fallbacks keep a stable authority order without adding another catalog cache. Thanks @shakkernerd.
Providers: add Cerebras as a bundled plugin with onboarding, static model catalog, docs, and manifest-owned endpoint metadata.
Memory/OpenAI-compatible: add optional memorySearch.inputType, queryInputType, and documentInputType config for asymmetric embedding endpoints, including direct query embeddings and provider batch indexing. Carries forward #63313 and #60727. Thanks @HOYALIM and @prospect1314521.
Ollama/memory: add model-specific retrieval query prefixes for nomic-embed-text, qwen3-embedding, and mxbai-embed-large memory-search queries while leaving document batches unchanged. Carries forward #45013. Thanks @laolin5564.
Plugins/providers: move pre-runtime model-id normalization, endpoint host metadata, OpenAI-compatible request-family hints, model-catalog aliases/suppressions, OpenAI stale Spark suppression, and reusable startup metadata snapshots into plugin manifests so core no longer carries bundled-provider routing tables or repeated manifest rebuilds. Thanks @shakkernerd.
Plugins/config: deprecate direct plugin config load/write helpers in favor of passed runtime snapshots plus transactional mutation helpers with explicit restart follow-up policy, scanner guardrails, runtime warnings, and revision-based cache invalidation.
Plugins/install: allow OPENCLAW_PLUGIN_STAGE_DIR to contain layered runtime-dependency roots, resolving read-only preinstalled deps before installing missing deps into the final writable root. Fixes #72396. Thanks @liorb-mountapps.
Control UI: add a raw config pending-changes diff panel that parses JSON5, redacts sensitive values until reveal, and avoids fake raw-edit callbacks when opening the panel. Refs #39831; supersedes #48621 and #46654. Thanks @JiajunBernoulli and @BunsDev.
Control UI: polish the quick settings dashboard grid so common cards align across desktop, tablet, and mobile layouts without wasting horizontal space. Thanks @BunsDev.
Matrix/E2EE: add openclaw matrix encryption setup to enable Matrix encryption, bootstrap recovery, and print verification status from one setup flow. Thanks @gumadeiras.
Agents/compaction: add an opt-in agents.defaults.compaction.maxActiveTranscriptBytes preflight trigger that runs normal local compaction when the active JSONL grows too large, requiring transcript rotation so successful compaction moves future turns onto a smaller successor file instead of raw byte-splitting history. Thanks @vincentkoc.
CLI/migration: add openclaw migrate with plan, dry-run, JSON, pre-migration backup, onboarding detection, archive-only reports, a Claude Code/Desktop importer, and a Hermes importer for configuration, memory/plugin hints, model providers, MCP servers, skills, commands, and supported credentials. Thanks @vincentkoc and @NousResearch.

Fixes

Agents/LSP: terminate bundled stdio LSP process trees during runtime disposal and Gateway shutdown, so nested children such as tsserver do not survive stop or restart. Fixes #72357. Thanks @ai-hpc and @bittoby.
Gateway/device tokens: stop echoing rotated bearer tokens from shared/admin device.token.rotate responses while preserving the same-device token handoff needed by token-only clients before reconnect. (#66773) Thanks @MoerAI.
Control UI/Talk: keep Google Live browser sessions on the WebSocket transport instead of falling back to WebRTC, validate browser Google Live WebSocket endpoints, cap Gateway relay sessions per browser connection, and remove stale browser-native voice buttons that did not use the configured Talk/TTS provider. Thanks @BunsDev.
Gateway/startup: reuse config snapshot plugin manifests for startup auto-enable, config validation, and plugin bootstrap planning, including authored source config and disabled setup-probe handling, so restrictive allowlists avoid duplicate manifest/config passes during boot. Thanks @shakkernerd.
Agents/subagents: enforce subagents.allowAgents for explicit same-agent sessions_spawn(agentId=...) calls instead of auto-allowing requester self-targets. Fixes #72827. Thanks @oiGaDio.
ACP/sessions_spawn: let explicit sessions_spawn(runtime="acp") bootstrap turns run while acp.dispatch.enabled=false still blocks automatic ACP thread dispatch. Fixes #63591. Thanks @moeedahmed.
CLI/update: install npm global updates into a verified temporary prefix before swapping the package tree into place, preventing mixed old/new installs and stale packaged files from breaking openclaw update verification. Thanks @shakkernerd.
Gateway: skip CLI startup self-respawn for foreground gateway runs so low-memory Linux/Node 24 hosts start through the same path as direct dist/index.js without hanging before logs. Fixes #72720. Thanks @sign-2025.
Google Meet: route local Chrome joins through OpenClaw browser control, grant Meet media permissions, pin local Chrome audio defaults to BlackHole 2ch, and use the configured OpenClaw browser profile so joined agents no longer show Permission needed or use raw/default Chrome state. Thanks @DougButdorf and @oromeis.
Plugins/discovery: follow symlinked plugin directories in global and workspace plugin roots while keeping broken links ignored and existing package safety checks in place. Fixes #36754; carries forward #72695 and #63206. Thanks @Quackstro, @ming1523, and @xsfX20.
Plugins/install: skip test files and directories during install security scans while still force-scanning declared runtime entrypoints, so packaged test mocks no longer block plugin installs. Fixes #66840; carries forward #67050. Thanks @saurabhjain1592 and @Magicray1217.
Plugins/install: allow exact package-manager peer links back to the trusted OpenClaw host package during install security scans while continuing to block spoofed or nested escaping node_modules symlinks. Carries forward #70819. Thanks @fgabelmannjr.
Plugins/install: resolve plugin install destinations from the active profile state dir across CLI, ClawHub, marketplace, local path, and channel setup installs, so openclaw --profile plugins install ... no longer writes into the default profile. Fixes #69960; carries forward #69971. Thanks @FrancisLyman and @Sanjays2402.
Plugins/registry: suppress duplicate-plugin startup warnings when a tracked npm-installed plugin intentionally overrides the bundled plugin with the same id. Carries forward #48673. Thanks @abdushsk.
Plugins/startup: reuse canonical realpath lookups throughout each plugin discovery pass, including package and manifest boundary checks, so Windows npm-global startups no longer repeat expensive path resolution for the same plugin roots. Fixes #65733. Thanks @welfo-beo.
Gateway/proxy: pass ALL_PROXY / all_proxy into the global Undici env-proxy dispatcher and provider proxy-fetch helper while keeping SSRF trusted-proxy auto-upgrade on HTTP_PROXY / HTTPS_PROXY only, so gateway/provider calls honor all-proxy setups without weakening guarded fetches. Fixes #43821; carries forward #43919. Thanks @RickyTong1.
Reply/link understanding: keep media and link preprocessing on stable runtime entrypoints and continue with raw message content if optional enrichment fails, so URL-bearing messages are no longer dropped after stale runtime chunk upgrades. Fixes #68466. Thanks @songshikang0111.
Discord: persist routed model-picker overrides when the hidden /model dispatch succeeds but the bound thread session store is still stale, including LM Studio suffixed model ids. Carries forward #61473. Thanks @Nanako0129.
Nodes/CLI: add openclaw nodes remove --node and node.pair.remove so stale gateway-owned node pairing records can be cleaned without hand-editing state files.
Gateway: include the connecting client and fresh presence version in the initial hello-ok snapshot, so clients no longer need a follow-up event before seeing themselves online.
Docker: install the CA certificate bundle in the slim runtime image so HTTPS calls from containerized gateways no longer fail TLS setup after the bookworm-slim base switch. Fixes #72787. Thanks @ryuhaneul.
Providers/OpenRouter: remove retired Hunter Alpha and Healer Alpha static catalog rows and disable proxy reasoning injection for stale Hunter Alpha configs, so replies are not hidden when OpenRouter returns answer text in reasoning fields. Fixes #43942. Thanks @EvanDataForge.
Providers/reasoning: let Groq and LM Studio declare provider-native reasoning effort values, so Qwen thinking models receive none/default or off/on instead of OpenAI-only low/medium values. Fixes #32638. Thanks @Aqu1bp, @mgoulart, @Norpps, and @BSTail.
Local models: default custom providers with only baseUrl to the Chat Completions adapter and trust loopback model requests automatically, so local OpenAI-compatible proxies receive /v1/chat/completions without timing out. Fixes #40024. Thanks @parachuteshe.
Channels/message tool: surface Discord, Slack, and Mattermost user:/channel: target syntax in the shared message target schema and Discord ambiguity errors, so DM sends by numeric id stop burning retries before finding user:. Fixes #72401. Thanks @garyd9, @hclsys, and @praveen9354.
Agents/tools: scope tool-loop detection history to the active run when available, so scheduled heartbeat cycles no longer inherit stale repeated-call counts from previous runs. Fixes #40144. Thanks @mattbrown319.
Agents/subagents: preserve requester delivery for completion announces across different channel accounts, keep same-channel thread completions routed to the child thread, and fail closed instead of guessing a child binding when requester conversation signal is missing. Thanks @sfuminya and @suyua9.
Agents/status: persist the post-compaction token estimate from auto-compaction when providers omit usage metadata, so /status and session lists keep showing fresh context usage after compaction. Fixes #67667; carries forward #72822. Thanks @Jimmy-xuzimo and @skylight-9.
Control UI: show loading, reload, and retry states when a lazy dashboard panel cannot load after an upgrade, so the Logs tab no longer appears blank on stale browser bundles. Fixes #72450. Thanks @sobergou.
Gateway/plugins: start the Gateway in degraded mode when a single plugin entry has invalid schema config, and let openclaw doctor --fix quarantine that plugin config instead of crash-looping every channel. Fixes #62976 and #70371. Thanks @Doraemon-Claw and @pksidekyk.
Agents/plugins: skip malformed plugin tools with missing schema objects and report plugin diagnostics, so one broken tool no longer crashes Anthropic agent runs. Fixes #69423. Thanks @jmnickels.
Agents/reasoning: recover fully wrapped unclosed replies that would otherwise sanitize to empty text while keeping strict stripping for closed reasoning blocks and unclosed tails after visible text. Fixes #37696; supersedes #51915. Thanks @druide67 and @okuyam2y.
Control UI/Gateway: bind WebChat handshakes to their active socket and reject post-close server registrations, so aborted connects no longer leave zombie clients or misleading duplicate WebSocket connection logs. Fixes #72753. Thanks @LumenFromTheFuture.
Agents/fallback: split ambiguous provider failures into empty_response, no_error_details, and unclassified, and add flat fallback-step fields to structured fallback logs so primary-model failures stay visible when later fallbacks also fail. Fixes #71922; refs #71744. Thanks @andyk-ms and @nikolaykazakovvs-ux.
Plugins/Windows: normalize Windows absolute paths before handing bundled plugin modules to Jiti, so Feishu/Lark message sending no longer fails with unsupported c: ESM loader URLs. Fixes #72783. Thanks @jackychen-png.
CLI/doctor: run bundled plugin runtime-dependency repairs through the async npm installer with spinner/line progress and heartbeat updates, so long openclaw doctor --fix installs no longer look hung in TTY or piped output. Fixes #72775. Thanks @dfpalhano.
Feishu/Windows: normalize bundled channel sidecar loads before Jiti evaluates them, so Feishu outbound sends no longer fail with raw C: ESM loader errors on Windows. Fixes #72783. Thanks @jackychen-png.
Agents/tools: ignore volatile exec runtime metadata when comparing tool-loop outcomes, so enabled loop detection can stop repeated identical shell-command results instead of resetting on duration, PID, session, or cwd changes. Fixes #34574; supersedes #41502. Thanks @gucasbrg and @Zcg2021.
Agents/fallback: classify internal live-session model switch conflicts as unknown fallback failures instead of provider overloads, preventing local vLLM endpoints from receiving misleading overloaded cooldowns. Refs #63229. Thanks @clawdia-lobster.
Discord: let thread sessions inherit the parent channel's session-level /model override as a model-only fallback without enabling parent transcript inheritance. Fixes #72755. Thanks @solavrc.
Gateway/plugins: skip stale configured channels whose matching plugin is no longer discoverable, point cleanup at openclaw doctor --fix, and keep unrelated channel typos fatal so one missing channel plugin no longer crash-loops the Gateway. Fixes #53311. Thanks @futhgar.
Control UI: keep session-specific assistant identity loads authoritative after WebSocket connect, so non-main agent chat sessions do not show the main agent name in the header after bootstrap refreshes. Fixes #72776. Thanks @rockytian-top.
Agents/Qwen: preserve exact custom modelstudio provider configs with foreign api owners so explicit OpenAI-compatible Model Studio endpoints no longer get normalized into the bundled Qwen plugin path. Fixes #64483. Thanks @FiredMosquito831.
MCP/bundle-mcp: normalize CLI-native type: "http" MCP server entries to OpenClaw transport: "streamable-http" on save, repair existing configs with doctor, and keep embedded Pi from falling back to legacy SSE GET-first startup for those servers. Fixes #72757. Thanks @Studioscale.
OpenCode: expose Anthropic Opus/Sonnet 4.x thinking levels for proxied Claude models, so /think xhigh, /think adaptive, and /think max validate consistently with the direct Anthropic provider. Fixes #72729. Thanks @haishmg and @aaajiao.
Media-understanding/audio: migrate deprecated {input} placeholders in legacy audio.transcription.command configs to {{MediaPath}}, so custom audio transcribers no longer receive the literal placeholder after doctor repair. Fixes #72760. Thanks @krisfanue3-hash.
Ollama/WSL2: warn when GPU-backed WSL2 installs combine CUDA visibility with an autostarting ollama.service using Restart=always, and document the systemd, .wslconfig, and keep-alive mitigation for crash loops. Carries forward #61022; fixes #61185. Thanks @yhyatt.
Ollama/onboarding: de-dupe suggested bare local models against installed :latest tags and skip redundant pulls, so setup shows the installed model once and no longer says it is downloading an already available model. Fixes #68952. Thanks @tleyden.
Memory-core/doctor: keep doctor.memory.status on the cached path by default and only run live embedding pings for explicit deep probes, preventing slow local embedding backends from blocking Gateway status checks. Fixes #71568. Thanks @apex-system.
Memory/QMD: group same-source collections into one QMD search invocation when the installed QMD supports multiple -c filters, while keeping older QMD builds on the per-collection fallback. Fixes #72484; supersedes #72485 and #69583. Thanks @BsnizND and @zeroaltitude.
Memory/QMD: accept QMD status vector-count variants such as Vectors = 42, Vectors:42, and Vectors: 42 embedded, so memory status --deep no longer reports embeddings unavailable for healthy QMD wrappers. Fixes #63652; carries forward #63678. Thanks @apoapostolov and @WarrenJones.
Memory/QMD: skip QMD vector status probes and embedding maintenance in lexical searchMode: "search", so BM25-only QMD setups on ARM do not trigger llama.cpp/Vulkan builds during status checks or embed cycles. Fixes #59234 and #67113. Thanks @PrinceOfEgypt, @Vksh07, @Snipe76, @NomLom, @t4r3e2q1-commits, and @dmak.
Memory/QMD: report the live watcher dirty state in memory status, so changed QMD-backed memory files show as dirty until the queued sync finishes. Fixes #60244. Thanks @xinzf.
Compaction: skip oversized pre-compaction checkpoint snapshots and prune duplicate long user turns from compaction input and rotated successor transcripts, preventing retry storms from being preserved across checkpoint cycles. Fixes #72780. Thanks @SweetSophia.
Control UI/Cron: render cron job prompts and run summaries as sanitized markdown in the dashboard, with full-width block content, safer link clicks, and no duplicate error text when a failed run has no summary. Supersedes #48504. Thanks @garethdaine.
Control UI/Gateway: preserve WebChat client version labels across localhost, 127.0.0.1, and IPv6 loopback aliases on the same port, avoiding misleading vcontrol-ui connection logs while investigating duplicate-message reports. Refs #72753 and #72742. Thanks @LumenFromTheFuture and @allesgutefy.
Agents/reasoning: treat orphan closing reasoning tags with following answer text as a privacy boundary across delivery, history, streaming, and Control UI sanitizers so malformed local-model output cannot leak chain-of-thought text. Fixes #67092. Thanks @AnildoSilva.
Memory-core: run one-shot memory CLI commands through transient builtin and QMD managers so memory index, memory status --index, and memory search no longer start long-lived file watchers that can hit macOS EMFILE limits. Fixes #59101; carries forward #49851. Thanks @mbear469210-coder and @maoyuanxue.
Agents/ACP: ship the Claude ACP adapter with OpenClaw and require Claude result messages before idle can complete a prompt, preventing parent agents from waking early on long-running sessions_spawn(runtime: "acp", agentId: "claude") children. Fixes #72080. Thanks @siavash-saki and @iannwu.
CLI/tasks: route tasks --json, tasks list --json, and tasks audit --json through a lean JSON path so read-only task inspection no longer loads unrelated plugin/runtime command graphs. Fixes #66238. Thanks @ChuckChambers.
Memory-core: re-resolve the active runtime config whenever memory_search or memory_get executes, so provider changes made by config.patch stop leaving stale embedding backends behind in existing tool instances. Fixes #61098. Thanks @BradGroux and @Linux2010.
WebChat: keep bare /new and /reset startup instructions out of visible chat history while preserving /reset as user-visible transcript text. Fixes #72369. Thanks @collynes and @haishmg.
Tasks/memory: checkpoint and truncate SQLite WAL sidecars on a timer and before close for task, Task Flow, proxy capture, and builtin memory databases, bounding long-running gateway *.sqlite-wal growth. Fixes #72774. Thanks @dfpalhano.
CLI/doctor: remove dangling channel config, heartbeat targets, and channel model overrides when stale plugin repair removes a missing channel plugin, preventing Gateway boot loops after failed plugin reinstalls. Fixes #65293. Thanks @yidecode.
Control UI/Gateway: cache, coalesce, stale-refresh, and invalidate effective tool inventory on channel registry changes while reusing the gateway-bound plugin registry and avoiding model/auth discovery, so chat runs no longer stall Control UI requests on repeated plugin/model setup. Fixes #72365; supersedes #72558. Thanks @Gabiii2398 and @1yihui.
Channels/setup: treat bundled channel plugins as already bundled during channels add and onboarding, enabling them without writing redundant plugins.load.paths entries or path install records. Fixes #72740. Thanks @iCodePoet.
WhatsApp: honor gateway HTTPS_PROXY / HTTP_PROXY env vars for QR-login WebSocket connections, while respecting NO_PROXY, so proxied networks no longer fall back to direct mmg.whatsapp.net connections that time out with 408. Fixes #72547; supersedes #72692. Thanks @mebusw and @SymbolStar.
Bonjour: default mDNS advertisements to the system hostname when it is DNS-safe, avoiding openclaw.local probing conflicts and Gateway restart loops on hosts such as Lobster or ubuntu. Fixes #72355 and #72689; supersedes #72694. Thanks @mscheuerlein-bot, @gcusms, @moyuwuhen601, @pavan987, @zml-0912, @hhq365, and @SymbolStar.
Agents/OpenAI-compatible: retry replay-safe empty stop turns once for openai-completions endpoints, so transient empty local backend responses no longer surface as “Agent couldn't generate a response” when a continuation succeeds, and restore openclaw agent --model for one-shot CLI runs. Fixes #72751. Thanks @moooV252.
Git hooks: skip ignored staged paths when formatting and restaging pre-commit files, so merge commits no longer abort when .gitignore newly ignores staged merged content. Fixes #72744. Thanks @100yenadmin.
Memory-core/dreaming: add a supported dreaming.model knob for Dream Diary narrative subagents, wired through phase config and the existing plugin subagent model-override trust gate. Refs #65963. Thanks @esqandil and @mjamiv.
Agents/Anthropic: remove trailing assistant prefill payloads when extended thinking is enabled, so Opus 4.7/Sonnet 4.6 requests do not fail Anthropic's user-final-turn validation. Fixes #72739. Thanks @superandylin.
Agents/vLLM/Qwen: add plugin-owned Qwen thinking controls for vLLM chat-template kwargs and DashScope-style top-level enable_thinking flags, including preserved thinking for agent loops. Fixes #72329. Thanks @stavrostzagadouris.
Memory-core/dreaming: treat request-scoped narrative fallback as expected, skip session cleanup when no subagent run was created, and remove duplicate phase-level cleanup so fallback no longer emits warning noise. Fixes #67152. Thanks @jsompis.
Agents/exec: apply configured tools.exec.timeoutSec to background, yieldMs, and node system.run commands when no per-call timeout is set, preventing auto-backgrounded and remote node commands from running indefinitely. Fixes #67600; supersedes #67603. Thanks @dlmpx and @kagura-agent.
Config/doctor: stop masking unknown-key validation diagnostics such as agents.defaults.llm, and have openclaw doctor --fix remove the retired agents.defaults.llm timeout block. Thanks @aidiffuser.
CLI/startup: keep the built pre-dispatch CLI graph free of package-level imports and extend packaged CLI smoke coverage to onboard and doctor help paths, preventing missing runtime dependencies such as tslog from killing onboarding before repair code can run. Fixes #63024. Thanks @hu19940121.
CLI/plugins: preserve unversioned ClawHub install specs so plugins update can follow newer ClawHub releases instead of pinning to the initially resolved version. Fixes #63010; supersedes #58426. Thanks @kangsen1234 and @robinspt.
Memory-core/subagents: tag plugin-created subagent sessions with their plugin owner so dreaming narrative cleanup can delete its own ephemeral sessions without granting broad admin session deletion. Fixes #72712. Thanks @BSG2000.
Gateway/models: move local-provider pricing opt-outs, OpenRouter/LiteLLM aliases, and proxy passthrough pricing lookup into plugin manifest metadata so core no longer carries extension-specific pricing tables.
CLI/update: honor OPENCLAW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1 as a gateway startup kill-switch for configured background package auto-updates, so operators can hold a deliberate downgrade during incident recovery without editing config first. Fixes #72715. Thanks @Xivi08.
Agents/Claude CLI: force live-session launches to include --output-format stream-json whenever OpenClaw adds --input-format stream-json, so new Claude CLI sessions no longer fail immediately while reusable sessions keep working. Fixes #72206. Thanks @kwangwonkoh and @Xivi08.
CLI/plugins: accept ClawHub plugin API wildcard ranges such as * without rejecting compatible plugin installs, while still requiring a valid runtime API version. Fixes #56446; supersedes #56466. Thanks @darconada and @claygeo.
CLI/plugins: add an explicit npm: install prefix that skips ClawHub lookup for known npm packages while keeping bare package specs ClawHub-first. Fixes #55805; supersedes #54377. Thanks @Zeoy2020 and @vagusX.
CLI/plugins: let config-gated bundled plugins install without persisting invalid placeholder config entries, so install/uninstall sweeps can cover plugins such as memory-lancedb before the user configures credentials. Thanks @vincentkoc.
CLI/plugins: reject malformed ClawHub plugin specs with trailing @ before registry lookup, so empty-version typos report as invalid specs instead of package-not-found errors. Fixes #56579; supersedes #56582. Thanks @Kansodata.
Agents/sessions: acquire the session write lock only after cold bootstrap, plugin, and tool setup so fallback runs are not blocked by stalled pre-model startup work.
Browser/plugins: auto-start the bundled browser plugin when root browser config is present, including restrictive plugin allowlists, and ignore stale persisted plugin registries whose package paths no longer exist.
Browser: circuit-break repeated managed Chrome launch failures per profile so browser requests stop spawning Chromium indefinitely when CDP cannot start. Fixes #64271. Thanks @TheophilusChinomona.
Gateway/models: skip external OpenRouter and LiteLLM pricing refreshes for local/self-hosted model endpoints so startup does not wait on remote pricing catalogs for local-only Ollama, vLLM, and compatible providers.
CLI/plugins: stop security-blocked plugin installs from retrying as hook packs, so normal plugin packages report the scanner failure without a misleading "not a valid hook pack" follow-up. Fixes #61175; supersedes #64102. Thanks @KonsultDigital and @ziyincody.
Agents/Anthropic: strip stale trailing assistant prefill turns from outbound replay so context-engine short circuits cannot send unsupported assistant-prefill payloads to provider APIs. Fixes #72556. Thanks @Veda-openclaw.
Agents/Google: strip stale trailing assistant/model prefill turns from Gemini outbound replay so Google Generative AI requests end with a user turn or function response. Follow-up to #72556. Thanks @Veda-openclaw.
Control UI/Dreaming: require explicit confirmation before applying restart-impacting Dreaming mode changes, with restart warning copy and loading feedback. Fixes #63804. (#63807) Thanks @bbddbb1.
CLI/agent: mark Gateway-to-embedded fallback runs with meta.transport: "embedded" and meta.fallbackFrom: "gateway" in JSON output, and make the terminal diagnostic explicit so scripts and operators can distinguish fallback runs from Gateway runs. Fixes #71416. Thanks @amknight.
Agents/tools: normalize null or missing tool-call arguments to {} for parameterless object schemas before Pi validation, so empty-argument tools run instead of failing argument validation. Fixes #72587. Thanks @amknight.
Agents/subagents: clear active embedded-run state before terminal lifecycle events so post-completion cleanup no longer treats finished child runs as still active and skips archive or announcement bookkeeping. (#70187) Thanks @amknight.
CLI/update: keep the automatic post-update completion refresh on the core-command tree so it no longer stages bundled plugin runtime deps before the Gateway restart path, avoiding .24 update hangs and 1006 disconnect cascades. Fixes #72665. Thanks @sakalaboator and @He-Pin.
Control UI: make explicit Reload Config actions discard stale local config edits while passive refreshes and failed-save recovery keep pending drafts intact. Fixes #40352; carries forward #40443. Thanks @realmikechong-dotcom.
Agents/Bedrock: stop heartbeat runs from persisting blank user transcript turns and repair existing blank user text messages before replay, preventing AWS Bedrock ContentBlock blank-text validation failures. Fixes #72640 and #72622. Thanks @goldzulu.
Agents/LM Studio: promote standalone bracketed local-model tool requests into registered tool calls and hide unsupported bracket blocks from visible replies, so MemPalace MCP lookups do not print raw [tool] JSON scaffolding in chat. Fixes #66178. Thanks @detroit357.
Local models: warn when an assistant reply looks like a tool call but the provider emitted plain text instead of a structured tool invocation, making fake/non-executed tool calls visible in logs. Fixes #51332. Thanks @emilclaw.
Local models: accept persisted non-secret local auth markers for private-LAN custom OpenAI-compatible providers, so LAN Ollama configs no longer fail with missing auth when ollama-local is saved as the key. Fixes #49736. Thanks @charles-zh.
TUI/local models: treat visible gateway client labels such as openclaw-tui as the current requester session for session-aware tools, so Ollama tool calls no longer fail by resolving the UI label as a session id. Fixes #66391. Thanks @kickingzebra.
Local models: route self-hosted OpenAI-compatible model discovery through the guarded fetch path pinned to the configured host, covering vLLM and SGLang setup without reopening local/LAN SSRF probes. Supersedes #46359. Thanks @cdxiaodong.
Local models: classify terminated, reset, closed, timeout, and aborted model-call failures and attach a process memory snapshot to the diagnostic event, making LM Studio/Ollama RAM-pressure failures easier to prove from stability bundles. Refs #65551. Thanks @BigWiLLi111.
Local models: pass configured provider request timeouts through OpenAI SDK transports and the model idle watchdog so long-running local or custom OpenAI-compatible streams use one timeout knob instead of hitting the SDK's 10-minute default or the 120s idle default. Fixes #63663. Thanks @aidiffuser.
LM Studio: trust configured LM Studio loopback, LAN, and tailnet endpoints for guarded model requests by default, preserving explicit private-network opt-outs. Refs #60994. Thanks @tnowakow.
Docker/setup: route Docker onboarding defaults for host-side LM Studio and Ollama through host.docker.internal and add the Linux host-gateway mapping to the bundled Compose file, so containerized gateways can reach local providers without using container loopback. Fixes #68684; supersedes #68702. Thanks @safrano9999 and @skolez.
Agents/LM Studio: strip prior-turn Gemma 4 reasoning from OpenAI-compatible replay while preserving active tool-call continuation reasoning. Fixes #68704. Thanks @chip-snomo and @Kailigithub.
LM Studio: allow interactive onboarding to leave the API key blank for unauthenticated local servers, using local synthetic auth while clearing stale LM Studio auth profiles. Fixes #66937. Thanks @olamedia.
Plugins/startup/registry: reuse a Gateway PluginLookUpTable and one manifest registry pass across startup plugin IDs, plugin loading, deferred channel reloads, model pricing, read-only channel defaults, capability/provider/media resolution, manifest contracts, extractors, web fallback discovery, owner maps, and cold provider-discovery caches, with new startup-trace timing/count metrics for installed-index, manifest, startup-plan, and owner-map work. Thanks @shakkernerd and @mcaxtr.
Mattermost: keep direct-message replies top-level by suppressing reply roots for DM delivery while preserving channel and group thread roots, and derive inbound chat kind from the trusted channel lookup instead of the websocket event channel type. Carries forward #60115, #55186, #72305, and #72659; refs #59758, #59981, #59791, and #57565. Thanks @vincentkoc, @jwchmodx, and @hnykda.
Docker: pre-create /home/node/.openclaw with node ownership and private permissions so first-run Docker Compose named volumes no longer fail startup with EACCES. (#48072, #63959; fixes #61279) Thanks @timoxue and @jeanibarz.
CLI/Gateway: treat local restart probe policy closes for connect, exact device required, pairing, and auth failures as Gateway reachability proof without accepting empty, broad standalone token/password/scope/role, or pair-substring 1008 close reasons. Fixes #48771; carries forward #48801; related #63491. Thanks @MarsDoge and @genoooool.
Feishu: send outgoing interactive reply payloads as native cards with clickable buttons while preserving text, media, and document-comment fallbacks. Fixes #13175 and #58298; carries forward #47891. Thanks @Horacehxw.
Process/Windows: decode command stdout and stderr from raw bytes with console-codepage awareness, while preserving valid UTF-8 output and multibyte characters split across chunks. Fixes #50519. Thanks @iready, @kevinten10, @zhangyongjie1997, @knightplat-blip, @heiqishi666, and @slepybear.
Bonjour/Windows: hide the bundled mDNS advertiser's Windows ARP shell probe so Gateway startup no longer flashes command-prompt windows. Fixes #70238. Thanks @alexandre-leng, @PratikRai0101, @infinitypacific, and @tomerpeled.
Agents/bootstrap: dedupe hook-injected bootstrap context files by workspace-relative path and store normalized resolved paths so duplicate relative and absolute hook paths no longer depend on the process cwd. (#59344; fixes #59319; related #56721, #56725, and #57587) Thanks @koen666.
Agents/bootstrap: refresh cached workspace bootstrap snapshots on long-lived main-session turns when AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, MEMORY.md, or TOOLS.md change on disk, while preserving unchanged snapshot identity through the workspace file cache. (#64871; related #43901, #26497, #28594, #30896) Thanks @aimqwest and @mikejuyoon.
macOS Gateway: detect installed-but-unloaded LaunchAgent split-brain states during status, doctor, and restart, and re-bootstrap launchd supervision before falling back to unmanaged listener restarts. Fixes #67335, #53475, and #71060; refs #58890, #60885, and #70801. Thanks @ze1tgeist88, @dafacto, and @vishutdhar.
Plugins/install: treat mirrored core logger dependencies as staged bundled runtime deps so packaged Gateway starts do not crash when the external plugin-runtime-deps root is missing tslog. Fixes #72228; supersedes #72493. Thanks @deepujain.
Build/plugins: preserve active bundled runtime-dependency staging temp directories owned by live build processes so overlapping postbuild runs no longer delete each other's staged deps mid-prune. Supersedes #72220. Thanks @VACInc.
Plugins/install: hide bundled runtime-dependency npm child windows on Windows across Gateway startup, postinstall, and packaged staging paths so Telegram/Anthropic dependency repair no longer flashes shell windows. Fixes #72315. Thanks @athuljayaram and @joshfeng.
Agents/Windows: normalize lazy agent runtime imports before Node ESM loading so Windows drive-letter subagent-registry runtime paths no longer fail every agent task with ERR_UNSUPPORTED_ESM_URL_SCHEME. Fixes #72636; carries forward #72716. Thanks @Andyz-CData and @xialonglee.
Plugins/Windows: normalize lazy plugin service override imports before Node ESM loading so drive-letter browser-control module paths no longer fail with ERR_UNSUPPORTED_ESM_URL_SCHEME. Fixes #72573; supersedes #72599 and #72582. Thanks @llzzww316, @feineryonah-byte, and @WuKongAI-CMU.
Browser/plugins: load playwright-core through the browser runtime shim so packaged installs can run Playwright actions from staged plugin runtime deps after doctor/startup repair. Fixes #72168; supersedes #72238. Thanks @zdg1110 and @yetval.
Plugins/install: stage bundled plugin runtime dependencies before Gateway startup, drain update restarts, and materialize plugin-owned root chunks in external mirrors so staged deps resolve under native ESM. Fixes #72058; supersedes #72084. Thanks @amnesia106 and @drvoss.
TTS/SecretRef: resolve messages.tts.providers.*.apiKey from the active runtime snapshot so SecretRef-backed MiniMax and other TTS provider keys work in runtime reply/audio paths. Fixes #68690. Thanks @joshavant.
Gateway/install: surface systemd user-bus recovery hints during Linux service activation and retry via the target user scope when systemctl --user reports no-medium bus failures, without letting stale SUDO_USER override sudo -u installs. Fixes #39673; refs #44417 and #63561. Thanks @Arbor4, @myrsu, @mssteuer, and @boyuaner.
CLI/nodes: make unfiltered openclaw nodes list prefer the effective paired-node view used by nodes status while preserving pending rows, pairing-scope fallback, terminal-safe table rendering, and paired JSON metadata. Fixes #46871; carries forward #65772 through the ProjectClownfish #72619 repair. Thanks @skainguyen1412.
CLI/startup: read generated startup metadata from the bundled dist layout before falling back to live help rendering, so root/browser help and channel-option bootstrap stay on the fast path. Thanks @vincentkoc.
Feishu/Lark: stop treating broadcast-only @all/@_all messages as bot mentions while preserving direct bot mentions, including messages that also include @all. Fixes #37706. Thanks @JosepLee.
CLI/help: treat positional help invocations like openclaw channels help as help paths for startup gating, avoiding model/auth warmup while preserving positional arguments such as openclaw docs help. Thanks @gumadeiras.
Web search: route plugin-scoped web_search SecretRefs through the active runtime config snapshot so provider execution receives resolved credentials across app/runtime paths, including plugins.entries.brave.config.webSearch.apiKey. Fixes #68690. Thanks @VACInc.
Voice Call: allow SecretRef-backed Twilio auth tokens and call-specific OpenAI/ElevenLabs TTS API keys through the plugin config surface. Fixes #68690. Thanks @joshavant.
Google Meet/Voice Call: clean stale chrome-node realtime bridges before rejoining, expose bridge inspection, tolerate transient node input pull failures, default Chrome command-pair audio to 24 kHz PCM16 while preserving legacy 8 kHz G.711 mu-law pairs, handle Gemini Live interruptions/VAD and function-response names correctly, route stateful google_meet tools through the gateway runtime, support realtime.agentId, and send non-blocking consult continuations before long tool-backed answers finish. Fixes #72371, #72525, #72523, #72440, and #72425; (#72372, #72524, #72381, #72441, #72189, #72426) Thanks @BsnizND and @VACInc.
Discord/media: keep incidental Markdown image badges in final replies as text unless a channel opts into Markdown-image media extraction, while preserving Telegram Markdown-image media replies and explicit MEDIA: attachments. Fixes #72642. Thanks @solavrc and @Bartok9.
Matrix/E2EE: stabilize recovery and broken-device QA flows while avoiding Matrix device-cleanup sync races that could leave shutdown-time crypto work running. Thanks @gumadeiras.
Cron: apply cron.maxConcurrentRuns to the nested isolated-agent lane, start isolated execution timeouts only after the runner enters that lane, keep legacy flat jobs.json rows loadable, invalidate stale pending runtime slots after schedule edits, and preserve due slots for formatting-only rewrites. Fixes #72707, #27996, #71607, and #41783; carries forward #71651. Thanks @kagura-agent, @xialonglee, @fagnersouza666, @ayanesakura, and @Hurray0.
Cron/delivery: classify isolated successes, quiet NO_REPLY turns, model/provider failures, execution denials, --no-deliver traces, skipped-job alerts, and verified delivery outcomes correctly so cron history, retries, and failure counters reflect what actually happened. Fixes #72732, #50170, #43604, #68452, #60846, #72210, and #67172; follow-up to #54188; carries forward #43631, #68453, #72219, and #67186. Thanks @zNatix, @pixeldyn, @ChickenEggRoll, @SPFAdvisors, @anyech, @slideshow-dingo, @hatemclawbot-collab, @xydigit-sj, @oc-gh-dr, @hclsys, and @1yihui.
Cron/routing: preserve direct Telegram thread/account IDs, explicit Discord user:/channel: delivery targets, and session: failure-destination routing so reminders, cron announcements, and failure alerts keep the intended recipient kind across direct and group chats. Fixes #44270; refs #62777; carries forward #44325, #44351, #44412, #72657, #68535, and #62798. Thanks @RunMintOn, @arkyu2077, @0xsline, @vincentkoc, @slideshow-dingo, @likewen-tech, and @neeravmakwana.
Subagents: keep the delegated task only in the subagent system prompt and send a short initial kickoff message, avoiding duplicate task tokens while preserving multiline task formatting. Fixes #72019; carries forward #72053. Thanks @Wizongod and @ly85206559.
Onboarding/GitHub Copilot: add manifest-owned --github-copilot-token support for non-interactive setup, including env fallback, tokenRef storage in ref mode, saved-profile reuse, and current Copilot default-model wiring. Refs #50002 and supersedes #50003. Thanks @scottgl9.
Gateway/install: add a validated --wrapper/OPENCLAW_WRAPPER service install path that persists executable LaunchAgent/systemd wrappers across forced reinstalls, updates, and doctor repairs instead of falling back to raw node/bun ProgramArguments. Fixes #69400. (#72445) Thanks @willtmc.
Plugins: fail plugin registration when loader-owned acceptance gates reject missing hook names or memory-only capability registration from non-memory plugins, surfacing the issue through plugin status and doctor instead of silently dropping the registration. Fixes #72459. Thanks @amknight.
macOS Gateway: write launchd services with a state-dir WorkingDirectory, use a durable state-dir temp path instead of freezing macOS session TMPDIR, create that temp directory before bootstrap, and label abort-shaped launchd exits as SIGABRT/abort in status output. Fixes #53679 and #70223; refs #71848. Thanks @dlturock, @stammi922, and @palladius.
Control UI/update: make Update now require a real gateway process replacement, report skipped/error update outcomes with stable reasons, and verify the running gateway version after restart so global installs cannot silently keep old code in memory. Fixes #62492; addresses #64892 and #63562. Thanks @IAMSamuelRodda.
Exec approvals: accept runtime-owned source: "allow-always" and commandText allowlist metadata in gateway and node approval-set payloads so Control UI round-trips no longer fail with unexpected property 'source'. Fixes #60000; carries forward #60064. Thanks @sd1471123, @sharkqwy, and @luoyanglang.
Exec/node: skip approval-plan preparation for full-trust host=node runs so interpreter and script commands no longer fail with SYSTEM_RUN_DENIED: approval cannot safely bind when effective policy is security=full and ask=off. Fixes #48457 and duplicate #69251. Thanks @ajtran303, @jaserNo1, @Blakeshannon, @lesliefag, and @AvIsBeastMC.
Exec/node: synthesize a local approval plan when a paired node advertises system.run without system.run.prepare, unblocking approval-required host=node exec on current macOS companion nodes while preserving remote prepare for node hosts that support it. Fixes #37591 and duplicate #66839; carries forward #69725. Thanks @soloclz.
Memory/QMD: prefer QMD's --mask collection pattern flag so root memory indexing stays scoped to MEMORY.md instead of widening to every markdown file in the workspace. Fixes #65480; supersedes #65481 and #66259. Thanks @ccage-simp, @Bortlesboat, @seank-com, and @crazyscience.
Memory/doctor: treat the specific gateway timeout after ... gateway memory probe result as inconclusive instead of reporting embeddings not ready, while preserving warnings for explicit failures. Fixes #44426; carries forward #46576 with the Greptile review feedback applied. Thanks Cengiz (@ghost).
Gateway/startup: defer QMD, core request handlers, setup wizard, CLI outbound senders, plugin HTTP routes, chat/session projection, node session runtime validation, embedded-run activity reads, MCP loopback server imports, channel runtime helpers, HTTP/canvas/plugin auth helpers, isolated cron imports, and hook dispatch parsing until their request or shutdown paths, while making plain gateway status use a parse-only config snapshot so no-plugin boots and status reads avoid broad runtime fanout. Thanks @vincentkoc.
Lobster/Gateway: memoize repeated Ajv schema compilation before loading the embedded Lobster runtime so scheduled workflows and llm.invoke loops stop growing gateway heap on content-identical schemas. Fixes #71148. Thanks @cmi525, @vsolaz, and @vincentkoc.
Codex harness: normalize cached input tokens before session/context accounting so prompt cache reads are not double-counted in /status, session_status, or persisted sessionEntry.totalTokens. Fixes #69298. Thanks @richardmqq.
Hooks/session-memory: use the host local timezone for memory filenames, fallback timestamp slugs, and markdown headers instead of UTC dates. Fixes #46703. (#46721) Thanks @Astro-Han.
Gateway health: preserve live runtime-backed channel/account state in gateway.health snapshots and cached refreshes while keeping raw probe payloads on sensitive/admin paths only. (#39921, #42586, #46527, #52770, #42543) Thanks @FAL1989, @rstar327, @0xble, and @ajayr.
Feishu: extract quoted/replied interactive-card text across schema 1.0, schema 2.0, i18n, template-variable, and post-format fallback shapes without carrying broad generated/config churn from related parser experiments. (#38776, #60383, #42218, #45936) Thanks @lishuaigit, @lskun, @just2gooo, and @Br1an67.
Telegram/agents: hide raw failed write/edit warning messages in Telegram when the assistant already explicitly acknowledges the failed action, while keeping warnings when the reply claims success or omits the failure; #39406 remains the broader configurable delivery-policy follow-up. Fixes #51065; covers #39631. Thanks @Bartok9 and @Bortlesboat.
Exec approvals: accept a symlinked OPENCLAW_HOME as the trusted approvals root while still rejecting symlinked .openclaw path components below it. (#64663) Thanks @FunJim.
Logging: add top-level hostname, flattened message, and available agent_id, session_id, and channel fields to file-log JSONL records for multi-agent filtering without removing existing structured log arguments. Fixes #51075. Thanks @stevengonsalvez.
ACP: route server logs to stderr before Gateway config/bootstrap work so ACP stdout remains JSON-RPC only for IDE integrations. Fixes #49060. Thanks @Hollychou924.
Logging: propagate internal request trace scopes through Gateway HTTP requests and WebSocket frames so file logs, diagnostic events, agent run traces, model-call traces, OTEL spans, and trusted provider traceparent headers share a correlatable traceId without logging raw request or model content. Fixes #40353. Thanks @liangruochong44-ui.
Diagnostics/OTEL: capture privacy-safe model-call request payload bytes, streamed response bytes, first-response latency, and total duration in diagnostic events, plugin hooks, stability snapshots, and OTEL model-call spans/metrics without logging raw model content. Fixes #33832. Thanks @wwh830.
Logging: write validated diagnostic trace context as top-level traceId, spanId, parentSpanId, and traceFlags fields in file-log JSONL records so traced requests and model calls are easier to correlate in log processors. Refs #40353. Thanks @liangruochong44-ui.
Logging/sessions: apply configured redaction patterns to persisted session transcript text and accept escaped character classes in safe custom redaction regexes, so transcript JSONL no longer keeps matching sensitive text in the clear. Fixes #42982. Thanks @panpan0000.
Agents/sessions: let sessions_spawn runtime="subagent" ignore ACP-only streamTo and resumeSessionId fields while keeping ACP passthrough and documenting streamTo as ACP-only. Fixes #43556 and #63120; covers #56326, #61724, #64714, and #67248; carries forward #68397, #65282, #58686, #56342, and #40102. Thanks @skernelx, @damselem, @Br1an67, @Mintalix, @IsaacAPerez, @vvitovec, @Sanjays2402, @shenkq97, and @1034378361.
Providers/Ollama: honor /api/show capabilities, custom Modelfile PARAMETER num_ctx, configured provider/model context defaults, whitelisted native params such as temperature, top_p, and think, and native thinking effort levels so local models get accurate tools, context, and thinking behavior without forcing full-context VRAM use. Fixes #64710, duplicate #65343, #68344, #44550, #52206, #49684, #68662, #48010, #71584, and #44786; supersedes #69464; carries forward #44955. Thanks @yuan-b, @netherby, @xilopaint, @Diyforfun2026, @neeravmakwana, @taitruong, @armi0024, @LokiCode404, @zhouZcong, @dshenster-byte, @tangzhi, @pandego, @maweibin, @Adam-Researchh, @EmpireCreator, @g0st1n, and @voltwake.
Image tool/media: honor tools.media.image.timeoutSeconds and matching per-model image timeouts in explicit image analysis, including the MiniMax VLM fallback path, so slow local vision models are not capped by hardcoded 30s/60s aborts. Fixes #67889; supersedes #67929. Thanks @AllenT22 and @alchip.
Providers/Ollama: strip custom provider prefixes before native chat/embedding requests, skip ambient localhost discovery unless config/auth opts in, handle custom remote api: "ollama" providers, accept OpenAI SDK-style baseURL, scope synthetic local auth and embedding bearer headers to declared host boundaries, resolve custom-named local providers for subagents, add provider-scoped model request timeouts, preserve explicit input modalities, and document params.keep_alive plus local/LAN/cloud/multi-host/web-search/embedding/thinking setup recipes. Fixes #72353, #56939, #62533, #43945, #64541, #68796, and #39690; supersedes #57116, #62549, #69261, #69857, #65143, and #66511; refs #43945; carries forward #43224 and #39785. Thanks @maximus-dss, @hclsys, @IanxDev, @tsukhani, @issacthekaylon, @Julien-BKK, @Linux2010, @hyspacex, @maxramsay, @Meli73, @LittleJakub, @Juankcba, @uninhibite-scholar, @yfge, @Skrblik, and @Mriris.
Providers/Ollama: move memory embeddings to /api/embed with batched input, route local web search through Ollama's signed daemon proxy while keeping cloud auth scoped, treat Ollama memory embeddings as key-optional in doctor, and keep model usage visible by estimating native transcript usage when /api/chat omits counters. Fixes #39983, #69132, and #46584; carries forward #39112. Thanks @sskkcc, @LiudengZhang, @yoon1012, @hyspacex, @fengly78, and @TylonHH.
Agents/Ollama: parse stringified native tool-call arguments, retry native empty/thinking-only turns, accept already-prefixed LLM task model overrides, apply provider-owned replay normalization for Cloud models, validate explicit --thinking max, show resolved thinking defaults in Control UI, and include configured provider models in models list --provider. Fixes #69735, #50052, #71697, #71584, #72407, and #65207; supersedes #69910; carries forward #66552 and #61223. Thanks @rongshuzhao, @yfge, @L3G, @ralphy-maplebots, @Hollychou924, @ismael-81, @g0st1n, @NotecAG, and @drzeast-png.
Providers/PDF/Ollama: add bounded network timeouts for Ollama model pulls and native Anthropic/Gemini PDF analysis requests so unresponsive provider endpoints no longer hang sessions indefinitely. Fixes #54142; supersedes #54144 and #54145. Thanks @jinduwang1001-max and @arkyu2077.
Docker/QA: add observability coverage to the normal Docker aggregate so QA-lab OTEL and Prometheus diagnostics run inside Docker. Thanks @vincentkoc.
Auto-reply: poison inbound message dedupe after replay-unsafe provider/runtime failures so retries stay safe before visible progress but cannot duplicate messages after block output, tool side effects, or session progress. Fixes #69303; keeps #58549 and #64606 as duplicate validation. Thanks @martingarramon, @NikolaFC, and @zeroth-blip.
Agents/model fallback: keep auto-persisted fallback model overrides selected across turns until /new or reset clears them, avoiding repeated probes of a known-bad primary while /status shows the selected and active models. Thanks @kibedu.
Agents/model fallback: jump directly to a known later live-session model redirect instead of walking unrelated fallback candidates, while preserving the already-landed live-session/fallback loop guard. Fixes #57471; related loop family already closed via #58496. Thanks @yuxiaoyang2007-prog.
Gateway/Bonjour: keep @homebridge/ciao cancellation handlers registered across advertiser restarts so late probing cancellations cannot crash Linux and other mDNS-churned gateways.
Plugins/startup: load the default memory-core slot during Gateway startup when permitted so active-memory recall can call memory_search and memory_get without requiring an explicit plugins.slots.memory entry, while preserving plugins.slots.memory: "none".
Plugins/CLI: prefer native require for compiled bundled plugin JavaScript before jiti so read-only config, status, device, and node commands avoid unnecessary transform overhead on slow hosts. Fixes #62842. Thanks @Effet.
Plugins/compat/CLI: inventory doctor-side deprecation migrations separately from runtime plugin compatibility, add dated records for legacy extension-api, memory registration, provider hook/type aliases, runtime aliases, channel SDK helpers, and approval/test utility shims, refresh the persisted registry after managed plugin removals, make plugin install/uninstall writes conflict-aware, clear stale denylists, and fail tracked plugin/hook updates or unloadable package installs instead of leaving stale state. Thanks @vincentkoc.
WebChat/Control UI: support non-video file attachments in chat uploads while preserving the existing image attachment path and MIME-sniff fallback for generic image uploads. (#70947) Thanks @IAMSamuelRodda.
Skills/memory: restore Chokidar v5 hot reloads by watching concrete skill and memory roots with filters, including SKILL.md removals and deleted skill folders without broad workspace recursion. Fixes #27404, #33585, and #41606. Thanks @shelvenzhou, @08820048, and @rocke2020.
Gateway/chat: keep duplicate attachment-backed chat.send retries with the same idempotency key on the documented in-flight path so aborts still target the real active run. Fixes #70139. Thanks @Feelw00.
Gateway/session rows: report the same config-resolved thinking default that runtime sessions use, including global and per-agent defaults, so Control UI and TUI default labels stay aligned. (#71779, #70981, #71033, #70302) Thanks @chen-zhang-cs-code, @SymbolStar, and @cholaolu-boop.
Plugins: share package entrypoint resolution between install and discovery, reject mismatched runtimeExtensions, and cache bundled runtime-dependency manifest reads during scans.
WhatsApp/Web: keep quiet but healthy linked-device sessions connected by basing the watchdog on WhatsApp Web transport activity, while retaining a longer app-silence cap so frame activity cannot mask a stuck session forever. Fixes #70678; carries forward the focused #71466 approach and keeps #63939 as related configurable-timeout follow-up. Thanks @vincentkoc and @oromeis.
Discord/gateway: count failed health-monitor restart attempts toward cooldown and hourly caps, and evict stale account lifecycle state during channel reloads so repeated Discord gateway recovery cannot loop on old status. Fixes #38596. (#40413) Thanks @jellyAI-dev and @vashquez.
Cron/context engine: run isolated cron jobs under run-scoped context-engine session keys so prior runs of the same job are not inherited unless the job is explicitly session-bound. (#72292) Thanks @jalehman.
Control UI: localize command palette labels, categories, skill shortcuts, footer hints, and connect-command copy labels while preserving localized command palette search matching. (#61130, #61119) Thanks @rubensfox20.
Plugins/memory-lancedb: request float embedding responses from OpenAI-compatible servers so local providers that default SDK requests to base64 no longer return dimension-mismatched LanceDB vectors while preserving configured dimensions. Fixes #45982. (#59048, #46069, #45986) Thanks @deep-introspection, @xiaokhkh, @caicongyang, and @thiswind.
Plugins/memory-lancedb: advance auto-capture cursors per session only after messages are processed or intentionally skipped, retry failed messages, survive compacted histories, and clear cursor state on session end. Fixes #71349; carries forward #42083. Thanks @as775116191.
Plugins/memory-core: respect configured memory-search embedding concurrency during non-batch indexing so local Ollama embedding backends can serialize indexing instead of flooding the server. Fixes #66822. (#66931) Thanks @oliviareid-svg and @LyraInTheFlesh.
Docker/update smoke: keep the package-derived update-channel fixture on package-shipped files and make its UI build stub create the asset the updater verifies. Thanks @vincentkoc.
Gateway/models: repair legacy models.providers.*.api = "openai" config values to openai-completions, and skip providers with future stale API enum values during startup instead of bricking the gateway. Fixes #72477. (#72542) Thanks @JooyoungChoi14 and @obviyus.
Gateway/skills: redact apiKey and secret-named env values from the skills.update RPC response to prevent leaking credentials into WebSocket traffic, client logs, or session transcripts. Config is still written to disk in full; only the response payload is redacted. (#69998) Thanks @Ziy1-Tan.
Plugins/CLI: let flag-driven openclaw channels add install the selected channel plugin from its default source without opening an interactive prompt, fixing published npm Telegram setup in stdin-closed automation.
Onboarding/setup: keep first-run config reads, plugin compatibility notices, OpenAI Codex auth, post-auth default-model policy lookup, skip-auth, provider-scoped model pickers, and post-model sanity checks on cold manifest/setup metadata unless the user chooses to browse all models, avoiding full plugin/provider runtime loads between prompts. Thanks @shakkernerd.
Gateway/Bonjour: suppress known @homebridge/ciao cancellation and network assertion failures through scoped process handlers so malformed mDNS packets or restricted VPS networking disable/restart Bonjour instead of crashing the gateway. Fixes #67578. Thanks @zenassist26-create.
Discord: keep late clicks on already-resolved exec approval buttons quiet when elevated mode auto-resolved the request, while still surfacing real approval submission failures. Fixes #66906. Thanks @rlerikse.
Telegram: send a fresh final message for long-lived preview-streamed replies so the visible Telegram timestamp reflects completion time instead of the preview creation time. Thanks @rubencu.

YouTube watchers praise ‘awesome’ new option to disable annoying Shorts — here’s how to do it

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 18:17:37 +0200

YouTube finally has an option for users that will allow them to effectively remove Shorts via a zero-minute timer.

Patch Tuesday - April 2026

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:22:48 +0200

Microsoft is publishing 167 vulnerabilities on April 2026 Patch Tuesday. Microsoft is aware of exploitation in the wild for one of today’s vulnerabilities, and public disclosure for one other. Microsoft evaluates 19 of the vulnerabilities published today as more likely to see future exploitation. So far this month, Microsoft has provided patches to address 80 browser vulnerabilities, which are not included in the Patch Tuesday count above.

Increasing volumes of vulnerabilities

Regular Patch Tuesday watchers will know that these vulnerability totals are significantly higher than usual, especially the browser numbers. Late last week, Microsoft published patches to resolve more than 60 browser vulnerabilities in a single day, which is a new record in that very specific category.

It might be tempting to imagine that this sudden spike was tied to the buzz around the announcement a week ago today of Project Glasswing, but this is not the case. Edge is based on the Chromium engine, and the Chromium maintainers acknowledge a wide range of researchers for the vulnerabilities which Microsoft republished last Friday. This reflects a significant industry-wide uptick in the volume of vulnerability reports over the past few weeks. A safe conclusion is that this increase in volume is driven by ever-expanding AI capabilities. We should expect to see further increases in vulnerability reporting volume as the impact of AI models extend further, both in terms of capability and availability.

SharePoint: zero-day spoofing

When everything is changing rapidly, it can be tempting to look to familiar things for comfort. SharePoint admins should start by addressing CVE-2026-32201, an exploited-in-the-wild spoofing vulnerability. The advisory doesn’t offer much detail, but does mention CWE-20: Improper Input Validation and low impact to confidentiality and integrity, with no impact to availability. Of course, the greatest attacker impact is typically achieved by chaining together multiple vulnerabilities that by themselves might not seem so bad.

Ever-increasing novel AI capabilities in offensive cybersecurity now appear to provide real competition for all but the most elite human researchers; if it was ever valid to suppose that a vulnerability with a CVSS v3 base score of 6.5 was unlikely to cause much pain, it’s certainly not a safe defensive assumption in 2026. Patches are available for all supported versions of SharePoint, including SharePoint 2016, which moves beyond extended support on July 14, 2026.

Defender: zero-day elevation of privilege

Microsoft Defender receives a patch today for CVE-2026-33825, a local privilege escalation vulnerability for which Microsoft is aware of public disclosure. Successful exploitation leads to SYSTEM privileges, so this is certainly worth patching sooner rather than later. Microsoft points out that no action should be required to install this update, since the Microsoft Defender Antimalware Platform automatically updates by default. A further silver lining is that systems that have disabled Microsoft Defender are not in an exploitable state. Hopefully, any such system is running a suitable third-party replacement for Defender’s capabilities.

Windows [I don’t like] IKE: zero-day pre-auth RCE

The Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Services Extensions is the site of CVE-2026-33824, a critical unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability. Exploitation requires an attacker to send specially crafted packets to a Windows machine with IKE v2 enabled, which could enable remote code execution. Vulnerabilities leading to unauthenticated RCE against modern Windows assets are relatively rare, or we’d see more wormable vulnerabilities self-propagating across the internet. However, since IKE provides secure tunnel negotiation services, for instance for VPNs, it is necessarily exposed to untrusted networks and reachable in a pre-authorization context. It’s hard to imagine this turning into a rampaging internet-wide worm, but there’s plenty of scope for initial access abuse, so this IKE vulnerability is still yikes.

The advisory does contain a section with potential mitigations for anyone unable to patch immediately, which center on least-privilege restriction of relevant UDP traffic. This same portion of the advisory also furnishes a helpful link to the definition of the word “mitigations” in the MSDN glossary. All versions of Windows back as far as Server 2016 and Windows 10 1607 LTSC receive patches.

The advisory credits both the WARP and MORSE (Microsoft Offensive Research & Security Engineering) teams at Microsoft. MORSE appears in Acknowledgements over the past few years, but today marks the first explicit mention of WARP in a Microsoft security advisory Acknowledgements section; we can speculate that WARP is an internal designator for the Microsoft Windows Enterprise Security Team.

Microsoft lifecycle update

In Microsoft lifecycle news, extended support ends April 14, 2026 for a wide range of Microsoft product legacy enterprise tools, including Dynamics C5 2016, Dynamics NAV 2016, App-V 5.0 and App-V 5.1, UE-V 2.1, and BitLocker Administration and Monitoring 2.5 SP1. Microsoft .NET 9 STS (Standard Term Support, as distinct from Long Term Support) was originally scheduled to move past the end of support in May 2026, but late last year, Microsoft granted a six-month extension, so that .NET 9 STS now reaches end of support on November 10, 2026.

Summary charts

Summary tables

Azure vulnerabilities

CVE	Title	Exploitation status	Publicly disclosed?	CVSS v3 base score
CVE-2026-32171	Azure Logic Apps Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.8
CVE-2026-32168	Azure Monitor Agent Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32192	Azure Monitor Agent Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32184	Microsoft High Performance Compute (HPC) Pack Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8

Developer Tools vulnerabilities

CVE	Title	Exploitation status	Publicly disclosed?	CVSS v3 base score
CVE-2026-32203	.NET and Visual Studio Denial of Service Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.5
CVE-2026-26171	.NET Denial of Service Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.5
CVE-2026-32226	.NET Framework Denial of Service Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.9
CVE-2026-23666	.NET Framework Denial of Service Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.5
CVE-2026-32178	.NET Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.5
CVE-2026-33116	.NET, .NET Framework, and Visual Studio Denial of Service Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.5
CVE-2026-23653	GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio Code Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.7
CVE-2026-32631	GitHub: CVE-2026-32631 'git clone' from manipulated repositories can leak NTLM hashes	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.4
CVE-2026-21637	HackerOne: CVE-2026-21637 TLS PSK/ALPN Callback Exceptions Bypass Error Handlers	N/A	No	7.5
CVE-2026-26143	Microsoft PowerShell Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8

ESU vulnerabilities

CVE	Title	Exploitation status	Publicly disclosed?	CVSS v3 base score
CVE-2026-32072	Active Directory Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.2
CVE-2026-32181	Connected User Experiences and Telemetry Service Denial of Service Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-27924	Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32154	Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27923	Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32155	Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32091	Microsoft Brokering File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.4
CVE-2026-26152	Microsoft Cryptographic Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-26155	Microsoft Local Security Authority Subsystem Service Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.5
CVE-2026-27914	Microsoft Management Console Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-25250	MITRE: CVE-2026-25250 Secure Boot disable Eazy Fix	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.0
CVE-2026-32081	Package Catalog Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-26170	PowerShell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26183	Remote Access Management service/API (RPC server) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32157	Remote Desktop Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.8
CVE-2026-26160	Remote Desktop Licensing Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26159	Remote Desktop Licensing Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26151	Remote Desktop Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.1
CVE-2026-32085	Remote Procedure Call Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-0390	UEFI Secure Boot Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	6.7
CVE-2026-32212	Universal Plug and Play (upnp.dll) Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-32214	Universal Plug and Play (upnp.dll) Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-32079	Web Account Manager Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-33104	Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-33826	Windows Active Directory Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	8.0
CVE-2026-26178	Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.8
CVE-2026-32073	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-26168	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26173	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-26177	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-26182	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-27922	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-33099	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-33100	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32088	Windows Biometric Service Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.1
CVE-2026-27913	Windows BitLocker Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.7
CVE-2026-26175	Windows Boot Manager Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	4.6
CVE-2026-26176	Windows Client Side Caching driver (csc.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27926	Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32162	Windows COM Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	8.4
CVE-2026-20806	Windows COM Server Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-32070	Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-33098	Windows Container Isolation FS Filter Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26153	Windows Encrypted File System (EFS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32087	Windows Function Discovery Service (fdwsd.dll) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32093	Windows Function Discovery Service (fdwsd.dll) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32086	Windows Function Discovery Service (fdwsd.dll) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32150	Windows Function Discovery Service (fdwsd.dll) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-27931	Windows GDI Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-27930	Windows GDI Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-27906	Windows Hello Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	4.4
CVE-2026-26156	Windows Hyper-V Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32149	Windows Hyper-V Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.3
CVE-2026-27910	Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-33824	Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Service Extensions Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	9.8
CVE-2026-27912	Windows Kerberos Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.0
CVE-2026-26180	Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26163	Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32215	Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-32217	Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-32218	Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-26169	Windows Kernel Memory Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	6.1
CVE-2026-32071	Windows Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) Denial of Service Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.5
CVE-2026-27929	Windows LUA File Virtualization Filter Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-20930	Windows Management Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26162	Windows OLE Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32084	Windows Print Spooler Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-27927	Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26184	Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32069	Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32074	Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32078	Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26167	Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.8
CVE-2026-32158	Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32159	Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32160	Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26172	Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-20928	Windows Recovery Environment Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	4.6
CVE-2026-27909	Windows Search Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26161	Windows Sensor Data Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26174	Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-26154	Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) Tampering Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.5
CVE-2026-27918	Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32151	Windows Shell Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.5
CVE-2026-32225	Windows Shell Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	8.8
CVE-2026-32202	Windows Shell Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	4.3
CVE-2026-32082	Windows Simple Search and Discovery Protocol (SSDP) Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32083	Windows Simple Search and Discovery Protocol (SSDP) Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32068	Windows Simple Search and Discovery Protocol (SSDP) Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32183	Windows Snipping Tool Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-33829	Windows Snipping Tool Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	4.3
CVE-2026-32089	Windows Speech Brokered Api Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32090	Windows Speech Brokered Api Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32153	Windows Speech Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-33827	Windows TCP/IP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.1
CVE-2026-27908	Windows TDI Translation Driver (tdx.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-27921	Windows TDI Translation Driver (tdx.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-27915	Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27919	Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32075	Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-27916	Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27920	Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32077	Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27925	Windows UPnP Device Host Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.5
CVE-2026-32156	Windows UPnP Device Host Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.4
CVE-2026-32165	Windows User Interface Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27911	Windows User Interface Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32163	Windows User Interface Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32164	Windows User Interface Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-23670	Windows Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.7
CVE-2026-27917	Windows WFP NDIS Lightweight Filter Driver (wfplwfs.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0

Microsoft Dynamics vulnerabilities

CVE	Title	Exploitation status	Publicly disclosed?	CVSS v3 base score
CVE-2026-33103	Microsoft Dynamics 365 (On-Premises) Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-26149	Microsoft Power Apps Security Feature Bypass	Exploitation Less Likely	No	9.0

Microsoft Office vulnerabilities

CVE	Title	Exploitation status	Publicly disclosed?	CVSS v3 base score
CVE-2026-32188	Microsoft Excel Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.1
CVE-2026-32189	Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32197	Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32198	Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32199	Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32190	Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.4
CVE-2026-32200	Microsoft PowerPoint Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-20945	Microsoft SharePoint Server Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	4.6
CVE-2026-32201	Microsoft SharePoint Server Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation Detected	No	6.5
CVE-2026-33822	Microsoft Word Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.1
CVE-2026-33095	Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-23657	Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-33114	Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.4
CVE-2026-33115	Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.4

Open Source Software vulnerabilities

CVE	Title	Exploitation status	Publicly disclosed?	CVSS v3 base score
CVE-2026-40386		n/a	No	4.0
CVE-2026-40385		n/a	No	4.0
CVE-2026-40393		n/a	No	8.1
CVE-2026-31416	netfilter: nfnetlink_log: account for netlink header size	n/a	No	8.1
CVE-2026-31423	net/sched: sch_hfsc: fix divide-by-zero in rtsc_min()	n/a	No	5.5
CVE-2026-31424	netfilter: x_tables: restrict xt_check_match/xt_check_target extensions for NFPROTO_ARP	n/a	No	5.5
CVE-2026-31417	net/x25: Fix overflow when accumulating packets	n/a	No	8.1
CVE-2026-31422	net/sched: cls_flow: fix NULL pointer dereference on shared blocks	n/a	No	5.5
CVE-2026-31414	netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: use expect->helper	n/a	No	8.1
CVE-2026-31427	netfilter: nf_conntrack_sip: fix use of uninitialized rtp_addr in process_sdp	n/a	No	7.8
CVE-2026-31426	ACPI: EC: clean up handlers on probe failure in acpi_ec_setup()	n/a	No	5.5
CVE-2026-31419	net: bonding: fix use-after-free in bond_xmit_broadcast()	n/a	No	7.1
CVE-2026-31420	bridge: mrp: reject zero test interval to avoid OOM panic	n/a	No	5.5
CVE-2026-31421	net/sched: cls_fw: fix NULL pointer dereference on shared blocks	n/a	No	5.5
CVE-2026-31428	netfilter: nfnetlink_log: fix uninitialized padding leak in NFULA_PAYLOAD	n/a	No	5.5
CVE-2026-31418	netfilter: ipset: drop logically empty buckets in mtype_del	n/a	No	8.1

SQL Server vulnerabilities

CVE	Title	Exploitation status	Publicly disclosed?	CVSS v3 base score
CVE-2026-33120	Microsoft SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.8
CVE-2026-32167	SQL Server Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.7
CVE-2026-32176	SQL Server Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.7

System Center vulnerabilities

CVE	Title	Exploitation status	Publicly disclosed?	CVSS v3 base score
CVE-2026-33825	Microsoft Defender Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	Yes	7.8

Windows vulnerabilities

CVE	Title	Exploitation status	Publicly disclosed?	CVSS v3 base score
CVE-2026-32072	Active Directory Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.2
CVE-2023-20585	AMD: CVE-2023-20585 IOMMU Write Buffer Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.3
CVE-2026-25184	Applocker Filter Driver (applockerfltr.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32181	Connected User Experiences and Telemetry Service Denial of Service Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-27924	Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32152	Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32154	Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27923	Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32155	Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-33096	HTTP.sys Denial of Service Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.5
CVE-2026-26181	Microsoft Brokering File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32219	Microsoft Brokering File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32091	Microsoft Brokering File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.4
CVE-2026-26152	Microsoft Cryptographic Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-26155	Microsoft Local Security Authority Subsystem Service Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.5
CVE-2026-27914	Microsoft Management Console Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-25250	MITRE: CVE-2026-25250 Secure Boot disable Eazy Fix	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.0
CVE-2026-32081	Package Catalog Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-26170	PowerShell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26183	Remote Access Management service/API (RPC server) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32157	Remote Desktop Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.8
CVE-2026-26160	Remote Desktop Licensing Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26159	Remote Desktop Licensing Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26151	Remote Desktop Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.1
CVE-2026-32085	Remote Procedure Call Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-0390	UEFI Secure Boot Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	6.7
CVE-2026-32220	UEFI Secure Boot Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	4.4
CVE-2026-32212	Universal Plug and Play (upnp.dll) Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-32214	Universal Plug and Play (upnp.dll) Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-32079	Web Account Manager Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-33104	Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-33826	Windows Active Directory Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	8.0
CVE-2026-32196	Windows Admin Center Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.1
CVE-2026-26178	Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.8
CVE-2026-32073	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-26168	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26173	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-26177	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-26182	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-27922	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-33099	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-33100	Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32088	Windows Biometric Service Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.1
CVE-2026-27913	Windows BitLocker Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.7
CVE-2026-26175	Windows Boot Manager Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	4.6
CVE-2026-26176	Windows Client Side Caching driver (csc.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27926	Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32162	Windows COM Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	8.4
CVE-2026-20806	Windows COM Server Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-32070	Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-33098	Windows Container Isolation FS Filter Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26153	Windows Encrypted File System (EFS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32087	Windows Function Discovery Service (fdwsd.dll) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32093	Windows Function Discovery Service (fdwsd.dll) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32086	Windows Function Discovery Service (fdwsd.dll) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32150	Windows Function Discovery Service (fdwsd.dll) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-27931	Windows GDI Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-27930	Windows GDI Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-32221	Windows Graphics Component Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.4
CVE-2026-27906	Windows Hello Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	4.4
CVE-2026-27928	Windows Hello Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.7
CVE-2026-26156	Windows Hyper-V Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32149	Windows Hyper-V Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.3
CVE-2026-27910	Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-33824	Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Service Extensions Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	9.8
CVE-2026-27912	Windows Kerberos Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.0
CVE-2026-26179	Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26180	Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32195	Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-26163	Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32215	Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-32217	Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-32218	Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-26169	Windows Kernel Memory Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	6.1
CVE-2026-32071	Windows Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) Denial of Service Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.5
CVE-2026-27929	Windows LUA File Virtualization Filter Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-20930	Windows Management Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26162	Windows OLE Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-33101	Windows Print Spooler Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32084	Windows Print Spooler Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-27927	Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26184	Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32069	Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32074	Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32078	Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26167	Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.8
CVE-2026-32158	Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32159	Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32160	Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26172	Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-20928	Windows Recovery Environment Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	4.6
CVE-2026-32216	Windows Redirected Drive Buffering System Denial of Service Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.5
CVE-2026-27909	Windows Search Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26161	Windows Sensor Data Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-26174	Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32224	Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-26154	Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) Tampering Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.5
CVE-2026-26165	Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-26166	Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-27918	Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32151	Windows Shell Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.5
CVE-2026-32225	Windows Shell Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	8.8
CVE-2026-32202	Windows Shell Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	4.3
CVE-2026-32082	Windows Simple Search and Discovery Protocol (SSDP) Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32083	Windows Simple Search and Discovery Protocol (SSDP) Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32068	Windows Simple Search and Discovery Protocol (SSDP) Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32183	Windows Snipping Tool Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-33829	Windows Snipping Tool Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	4.3
CVE-2026-32089	Windows Speech Brokered Api Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32090	Windows Speech Brokered Api Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32153	Windows Speech Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27907	Windows Storage Spaces Controller Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32076	Windows Storage Spaces Controller Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-33827	Windows TCP/IP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	8.1
CVE-2026-27908	Windows TDI Translation Driver (tdx.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-27921	Windows TDI Translation Driver (tdx.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-27915	Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27919	Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32075	Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-27916	Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27920	Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32077	Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27925	Windows UPnP Device Host Information Disclosure Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.5
CVE-2026-32156	Windows UPnP Device Host Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.4
CVE-2026-32223	Windows USB Printing Stack (usbprint.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	6.8
CVE-2026-32165	Windows User Interface Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-27911	Windows User Interface Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32163	Windows User Interface Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Unlikely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-32164	Windows User Interface Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8
CVE-2026-23670	Windows Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	5.7
CVE-2026-32080	Windows WalletService Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-27917	Windows WFP NDIS Lightweight Filter Driver (wfplwfs.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.0
CVE-2026-32222	Windows Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	7.8

Zero-Day Vulnerabilities: Known Exploited

CVE	Title	Exploitation status	Publicly disclosed?	CVSS v3 base score
CVE-2026-32201	Microsoft SharePoint Server Spoofing Vulnerability	Exploitation Detected	No	6.5

Zero-Day Vulnerabilities: Publicly Disclosed (No known exploitation)

CVE	Title	Exploitation status	Publicly disclosed?	CVSS v3 base score
CVE-2026-33825	Microsoft Defender Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability	Exploitation More Likely	Yes	7.8

Critical RCEs and EoPs

CVE	Title	Exploitation status	Publicly disclosed?	CVSS v3 base score
CVE-2026-33824	Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Service Extensions Remote Code Execution Vulnerability	Exploitation Less Likely	No	9.8

Apple May Rely on a Hi-tech Glue for the Crease-free iPhone Ultra

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:11:34 +0200

Apple has reportedly waited years to launch a folding phone because it hated the noticeable crease right down the middle of early models from rivals. Now, supply chain watchers at TrendForce say the company might have finally solved the problem. The hardware maker plans to use a specialized, advanced adhesive to create a perfectly flat screen for its upcoming premium device, heavily rumored to be called the iPhone Ultra. A special liquid adhesive fills in the folding screen gaps For a long time, the biggest issue with any foldable iPhone was the permanent mark left behind after opening and closing the device. Bending a display back and forth puts a lot of stress on the materials, eventually causing tiny cracks or a noticeable dip. To fix this, Apple is turning to a highly sophisticated form of glue. TrendForce notes that this high-tech adhesive stays slightly liquid inside the screen layers. As you open the phone, the glue shifts just enough to fill in any empty space and distribute the tension evenly. This stops the crease from forming over time, giving the iPhone Fold a completely smooth look. The company combines this glue with variable thickness screen glass A fancy glue is only one piece of the puzzle. The company is also pairing the adhesive with ultra-thin glass that actually changes thickness. Recent patents reveal that the folding area gets physically thinned out right at the bending axis to make the screen more flexible. The flat parts of the screen stay thicker to protect against drops and impact damage. Together, these two innovations create a durable display that bends without breaking or showing a permanent fold line. Reports suggest that mass production of these crease-less displays could start very soon to prepare for a launch later this year. Fixing the crease issue takes folding phones from feeling like experimental gadgets to polished luxury devices. Buyers worldwide will likely see the difference immediately when this highly anticipated hardware officially hits store shelves.

Nvidia's Rubin GPU is likely to be late thanks to memory shortage and technical challenges

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:47:01 +0200

China-bound Hopper accelerators are also likely to ship in smaller volumes than previously forecast, industry watchers say

Nvidia's next-gen Rubin GPUs may end up shipping later and in smaller volumes than anticipated due to supply chain challenges, TrendForce warned on Wednesday.…

These CEOs want a starring role in our lives – and there’s not much we can do about it | Larry Ryan

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 09:04:03 +0100

Do we really need a McDonald’s CEO fronting ads or a Gianni Infantino Panini sticker? No. But in the age of Trump, the boss class feels emboldened

A few weeks ago, the CEO of McDonald’s appeared in a video sampling the chain’s new “Big Arch burger”. In the clip, Chris Kempczinski, or “Chris K” as he casually calls himself, labelled it a “product”, matching the sterile tone of the review – all harsh lighting, corporate office backdrop and an awkward man talking and eating while wearing a shirt fitting uneasily under a light wool V-neck.

Why would McDonald’s, with its huge marketing budget and commercial success, choose to platform this guy? His stilted efforts were mocked and memed, with executives at Burger King and Wendy’s posting their own versions – what fun. Inevitably some market watchers claimed it drove engagement and sales. But to me, it seems to be just the latest flagrant example of CEOism: when CEOs/founders/heads of organisations centre themselves in the action – just because they can.

Larry Ryan is a freelance writer and editor

AI’s need for speed, optical connectivity in focus at OFC 2026

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 18:25:15 +0100

The need for high-throughput and energy-efficient optical infrastructure, driven by AI demands, was a recurring theme at this month’s Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) conference in Los Angeles. The so-called opticalization of the network, where fiber replaces copper and optical connectivity becomes imperative, is critical in the AI era, according to OFC 2026 participants and industry watchers.

“The excitement across the ecosystem was palpable, as AI drives significant demand for connectivity solutions across scale-up, scale-out, and scale-across domains,” wrote Sebastien Naji, a research analyst with William Blair, in a report on the firm’s OFC 2026 observations. “As AI has shifted the focus from individual chips to entire computing systems, the ability to … drive high performance has become increasingly tied to how these systems are connected together. While debates rage around what form-factor will gain the most traction (e.g., copper versus optics, co-packaged versus pluggable), the main throughline from our perspective is that demand for reliable and high-performance connectivity continues to accelerate as clusters get larger and racks become denser.”

Optical infrastructure is now a “first-order challenge” in the AI era, concluded Woodside Capital Partners. At this year’s OFC conference, “the center of gravity was unmistakably AI data centers, and the optical backbone required to scale them. Its speed and scale exceed OFC’s traditional telecom orientation by at least an order of magnitude,” the corporate finance advisory firm wrote in its report on the conference.

AI optics will be the main growth contributor to the data center optics market over the next 5 years, according to Bill Gartner, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco’s optical systems and optics group. By 2030, the AI optics total addressable market (TAM) will exceed $20 billion a year with AI applications requiring high-speed optical throughputs supporting 400G, 800G, 1.6T, and 3.2T, Gartner stated.

Co-packaged optics a key focus

CPO always enjoys the spotlight at OFC, and this year it got even more attention, thanks in part to Nvidia. At Nvidia’s GTC event, CEO Jensen Huang reiterated Nvidia’s interest in making CPO a key component of future large GPU configurations built around its Spectrum X platform. Nvidia plans to introduce CPO-based scale-up its Feynman rack, which is due for release in 2028, noted analyst Naji from William Blair.

“While the scale-up domain today is largely serviced by passive copper, data rates and rack densities are necessitating a shift to alternatives,” Naji wrote. “While many of the optical providers like Marvell (following its acquisition of Celestial AI), Broadcom, and Nvidia believe that co-packaged optic is the right solution, others point to pluggable copper, microLEDs, linear optics, and near-packaged optics as potentially better alternatives for scaling up (for their power efficiency, flexibility, and cost). We expect that as connections slowly shift away from copper over the five years, there will be a broad mix of these solutions that succeed, depending on the use-case and scale of a particular system or deployment.”

The need for speed drives bandwidth density

Woodside Capital Partners predicts that 1.6T is expected to surpass 800G as the primary port speed in new AI backend fabrics by 2027. “The shift to 224G lanes, the push toward 448G, and the unprecedented production ramp rate of 1.6T optical modules highlight how aggressively the roadmap is being pulled forward,” the firm wrote.

One example of the speed ramp-up is Broadcom’s Taurus BCM83640, a 400G/lane optical DSP built for 1.6T transceiver applications. The Taurus platform of DSPs will enable the next-generation 3.2T optical transceiver modules.

400G/lane technology is the next evolution of 200G/lane architectures, enabling a critical step in scaling bandwidth for high-performance networking and AI infrastructure, according to Broadcom. “1.6T pluggable modules using the Taurus BCM83640 double the bandwidth per optical lane, effectively enabling 102.4T switching capacity in a 1RU system to improve bandwidth density in AI optical interconnects. Further, the adoption of 400G/lane optical interfaces lays the foundation for the eventual deployment of 3.2T module solutions with 400G/lane electrical interfaces for 204.8T switches,” Broadcom stated.

“We expect more than 100 million units of 1.6T and 3.2T optical transceivers to be shipped over the next 5 years with close to half of these using 400G optics,” said Vladimir Kozlov, CEO and founder of analyst firm LightCounting, in a statement related to Broadcom’s Taurus announcement. “High speed optical interconnects are essential for operation of AI clusters. Doubling of the lane rates has been a proven strategy to keep up with the bandwidth growth and it is great to see the first 400G per lane solutions becoming available.”

Energy efficiency for the AI era

AI’s energy requirements are a challenge for enterprise and hyperscaler organizations. A number of OFC exhibitors looked to address this issue in different ways. For example, Cisco rolled out its Open Transport 3000 Series, a multi-rail open line system that integrates optical components for multiple fiber rails into a single line card, providing improvements in power and density for hyperscalers, neocloud operators and very high-end enterprise AI applications, the vendor stated.

For its part, Arista has developed a 12.8 Tbps liquid-cooled optics module that it says will help address the power and performance needed for AI data center network development. The eXtra-dense Pluggable Optics (XPO) offers 12.8Tbps of bandwidth using 64 electrical lanes and includes an integrated liquid-cooled cold plate capable of supporting 400W+ module power consumption, according to Arista.

Arista also said it has assembled some 45 leading optics module suppliers as part of a multi-source agreement to build and support XPO (it identified three of those vendors: Lightmatter, Eoptolink Technology and TeraHop).

Another rollout is Coherent’s Thermo-Electric Generator, which harvests thermal energy and converts waste heat into usable electrical power, improving system-level efficiency in next-generation AI datacenters.

The optical imperative and Nokia’s vision to close the AI gap

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:07:25 +0100

While all eyes were on Nvidia GTC last week, there was another event happening with implications for the evolution of AI. The Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) conference took place in Los Angeles and addressed the desperate hunt for more capacity. For years, the networking industry has operated on a comfortable four-year innovation cycle. But as generative AI transitions from a boardroom initiative to physical infrastructure, that timeline has been accelerated.

During the OFC 2026 event, Nokia held a press and analyst event to announce a number of new products that brought some thought leadership to the optical networking industry. During his keynote, David Heard, president of network infrastructure at Nokia, explained the importance of optical: “Optical is a great place to ensure that we can keep up with the 60,000 times improvement in compute over the last 20 years, when networking has only improved by about 30 times.”

“We have some work to do, power is at a premium, and the volumes of data that traverse the WAN have grown by orders of magnitude,” Heard added.

That “work to do” is what Nokia’s recent suite of application-optimized optical solutions aims to solve—to enable networking to keep up with the massive growth in compute.

The Infinera factor

A year ago, the industry watched with cautious optimism as Nokia completed its acquisition of Infinera. At the time, skeptics wondered if the merger would succumb to the usual “mismatch of cultures” trap. Standing on stage at OFC 2026, Heard—the former CEO of Infinera—provided the answer.

The acquisition has transformed Nokia from a strong player with several best-of-breed products into a company that can now leverage vertically integrated solutions to deliver additional value. By combining Nokia’s massive R&D scale ($2 billion annually) with Infinera’s specialized DNA in photonic integrated circuits (PIC), the company can differentiate at a platform level.

Nokia operates one fab and has another in development (the newly expanded six-inch indium phosphide facility in San Jose), as well as an advanced packaging center in Pennsylvania. In an era where “sovereign AI” and supply chain resilience are paramount, being the only Western vendor with this level of vertical integration should act as a strategic moat.

Moving beyond the one-size-fits-all approach

For decades, the industry chased a single goal: maximum capacity per fiber. But the AI era has bifurcated the market. On one hand, we have the “scale-across” architecture of hyperscalers, where they are deploying upwards of 13,000 fibers between data centers. With that much fiber, it’s important to simplify what is typically a complex environment to deliver the lowest cost and power per bit. On the other hand, service providers dealing with fiber-constrained long-haul routes still need to squeeze every last drop of spectral efficiency out of a single strand.

Nokia’s response is a building-block approach that breaks the monolithic tradition of optical engines. Instead of one or two engines, they’ve introduced four distinct DSP engines—Ontario, Huron, Superior, and Pacific—which can be mixed and matched into 13 different applications.

Three innovations defining the new network

While the product list from OFC was extensive, three specific announcements stand out to me as thought leadership in action:

The double-sided pluggable: As switches move toward integrated optics (CPO/XPO), the industry struggles with how to convert that “gray” light to coherent light for transport. Nokia’s solution integrates gray and coherent optics into a single device. As Rob Shore, head of optical network marketing, noted, this can result in a 70% TCO saving by eliminating the need for separate thin transponders and extra cabling.
The full-band transponder: For hyperscalers lighting up ten fibers at once, the manual labor of connecting 1,000+ components is a recipe for human error. Nokia’s new appliance integrates the line-side, coherent, and client optics into one unit. It turns a chaotic rack of spaghetti cabling into a single fiber out.
The superior engine: By taking the restrictions off the power envelope of a standard pluggable, Nokia has created a 2.4 Terabit engine that delivers a 60% reduction in TCO compared to today’s embedded engines.

The Jevons paradox of bandwidth

There is a lingering fear in the industry that radical cost reductions will crater the market. Nokia is betting on the Jevons paradox: the idea that as a resource becomes more efficient and cheaper, its use actually increases overall consumption. In some ways, the Internet has been proof of this, as bandwidth and costs for consumers have fallen, usage has grown at unprecedented rates. There have been many parallels made between the Internet and AI, and this is another that’s likely to hold true.

By driving down the power and cost of 1.6T and 2.4T connections, Nokia isn’t just serving the existing market; it’s enabling agentic AI workloads that were previously cost-prohibitive to become a reality as the network costs won’t drive all the economic value from the ecosystem. This lets the AI builders change their question from “can we build it?” to “how fast can we scale it?”

Heard ended his session by stating, “customers are 100% buying on the roadmap. They are in our labs. They’ve been in our contract manufacturing locations, in our fabs, in our packaging facilities, going through the ability to scale,” which indicates the Infinera acquisition is having the “1+1=3” effect industry watchers of Nokia were hoping for.

The new clock speed

The most telling takeaway from OFC 2026 is the change in clock speed. The industry has moved from four-year development cycles to 18-month splits. Nokia’s integration of Infinera has given it the optical horsepower to keep pace with this brutal rhythm that AI has created.

Nokia’s diversified optical portfolio addresses a broad range of network environments, from localized data center clusters to long-haul subsea routes. This comprehensive approach suggests the company is moving beyond transactional hardware sales to become a fundamental enabler of AI infrastructure, specifically targeting the power efficiency and economic scaling required for generative AI workloads.

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David Heard, president of network infrastructure at Nokia, speaks at the OFC 2026 conference.

Zeus Kerravala

Apple Navigates Softer Demand as China Smartphone Sales Decline

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 10:52:14 +0100

New data reveals that the smartphone market in China is noticeably slowing down. Recent numbers from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology show a significant drop in overall device shipments during February compared to last year. This market shift impacts major international brands like Apple, which now has to go through softer consumer demand in one of its most important global regions. The Chinese smartphone market is shrinking right now The latest figures highlight a tough environment for phone makers. Total smartphone shipments in China hit 16.3 million units in February, which marks a 12.6 percent decrease from the exact same time last year. When combining January and February, the overall market fell by 14.3 percent to 36.9 million units. Local Chinese brands took the massive majority of these sales, accounting for 85.5 percent of the total volume with 14.4 million units. That left foreign companies with roughly 1.9 million shipped units for the entire month. Since Apple is usually the only non-Chinese company to break into the top sellers list, the brand is directly tied to this smaller pool of shipments. The data clearly shows that fewer people are buying new phones right now. Some market tracking firms believe iPhone sales are growing Despite the gloomy market data, some tracking firms offer a slightly different perspective on how Apple is actually performing. Counterpoint Research recently noted that Apple managed an 8 percent bump in January shipments even as the wider market fell by 23 percent. Another report claimed the company saw a 23 percent jump in iPhone sales between January and early March, while the rest of the market dropped. Regardless of the exact sales numbers, industry watchers agree that overall consumer demand is cooling off across the board. However, Apple might have a strong counter-strategy ready. The company released the new iPhone 17e in China in the middle of March. Since this specific model will likely qualify for local government purchasing incentives, it could help the brand push through the sluggish market and boost its sales over the next few months.

Apple Will Host a Massive Apple Park Party for Its 50th Birthday

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:23:51 +0100

Apple is getting ready to celebrate half a century in business, and the company intends to throw a major party to mark the occasion. New reports indicate that the technology brand is planning an elaborate event at its Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino, California. The upcoming birthday gathering will serve as the grand finale for a series of celebrations Apple has been hosting all across the globe over the past few weeks. What to expect from the party at Apple Park The exact date is not officially confirmed, but Apple was founded on April 1, 1976. This suggests the California celebration will happen on or very close to that day. Rumors point to the party taking place under the famous rainbow arches located in the center of the Apple Park campus. Previous anniversary events in cities like New York and Chengdu featured big musical performances. Because of this pattern, reporters expect a major headline act to play at this final headquarters party. John Ternus could take a major role during the celebration This event might be more than just a look back at the last fifty years. Industry watchers expect John Ternus to take a prominent role during the celebration. Ternus currently leads hardware engineering at Apple and is widely considered the top candidate to replace Tim Cook as the next chief executive. Putting him center stage at such a historic company event would be a clear signal about who will guide the brand into its next chapter.

Apple Mac Hits Huge Sales Record with Massive Wave of New Buyers

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 21:22:09 +0100

Apple just wrapped up an incredibly successful week for its computer lineup. According to a recent update from CEO Tim Cook, the company just experienced its highest sales week in history for first-time Mac buyers. A massive wave of new customers decided to purchase an Apple computer over the last few days, breaking old sales records and causing some major shipping delays across the globe. The affordable MacBook Neo is driving the sales for first-time buyers The main reason behind this sudden spike in sales is the newly released MacBook Neo. Apple launched this brand new budget laptop last week with a starting price of just $599. Students can even grab one for $499. This low price tag makes it much easier for people who normally buy cheap Windows laptops or basic Chromebooks to finally afford an Apple device. Cook shared the record-breaking news on his social media account. He pointed out how much the company loved seeing the high energy from new buyers. While he did not single out one specific laptop in his post, industry watchers know the cheap MacBook Neo is driving this massive crowd. Apple also released fresh M5 versions of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro at the exact same time. Having those expensive options in the mix definitely helped boost the overall sales numbers, but the budget laptop is pulling in completely new users. The MacBook Neo’s high demand is causing long shipping delays Because so many people rushed to buy the new computer, Apple is currently struggling to keep up with the orders. Recent reports show that the MacBook Neo broke internal sales records incredibly fast. Now, online buyers are dealing with long shipping delays. If you order the base model today, you will likely have to wait a few weeks before it actually shows up at your door. Physical retail stores are also having a hard time keeping the laptops on their shelves. Apple computers have been around for decades. However, the high price tags always kept a lot of regular shoppers away. By dropping a solid budget laptop right into the middle of its lineup, the company is finally pulling in students and workers who previously felt left out. This pricing strategy is clearly working out exactly how the hardware maker hoped it would.

Black Hat USA 2025 | Watching the Watchers: Exploring and Testing Defenses of Anti-Cheat Systems

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 20:46:34 +0100

Author: Black Hat - Bewertung: 3x - Views:31

Anti-cheat is a gold mine of interesting, novel defenses—battle-hardened from years of attrition in a defender's worst nightmare. It's time we start digging.

This talk will present new work on video game anti-cheats; highlighting how they are among the most widely deployed and resilient software defenses in the industry. We will outline the key difficulties in analyzing anti-cheats and then dissect some key behaviors to explain how such systems protect game software in hostile environments.

We investigate past scenarios where anti-cheats have pioneered novel defense measures against cheating techniques, which later became relevant when deployed by serious threat actors. These cheating methods, used by groups such as Scattered Spider, Earth Longzhi, and Lazarus, in APT and ransomware attacks, are commonly handled by anti-cheat systems. If some victims had been playing Fortnite at the time of intrusion - it would have stopped real attacks.

We show how the strength of these defense methods can be tested, running grey box tests to 'prod the bear' and measure reactions. Using this data, we rank solutions based on technical strength.

We unveil a flourishing underground ecosystem generating millions in sales each year, where the driving factor of prices seems to be directly influenced by the strength of the anti-cheat. By scraping cheat marketplaces, we also show the real effect of strong defences on attacker downtime.

Come join our talk to learn about state-of-the-art defense & resilience techniques, as deployed in games such as Fortnite, CS2, Valorant, and more.

By:
Marius Muench | Assistant Professor, University of Birmingham, UK
Sam Collins | PhD Researcher, University of Birmingham, UK
Tom Chothia | Professor, University of Birmingham

Presentation Materials Available at:
https://blackhat.com/us-25/briefings/schedule/?#watching-the-watchers-exploring-and-testing-defenses-of-anti-cheat-systems-46777

From packets to prompts: What Cisco’s AITECH certification means for IT pros

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 21:20:30 +0100

Cisco’s new AI Technical Practitioner (AITECH) certification marks a key moment in AI’s transition from an interesting experiment to a core technical requirement.

Unveiled at Cisco Live EMEA, the AITECH certification reinforces the idea that AI is a core skill for mainstream IT professionals, not just data scientists and ML researchers. AI is now part of the infrastructure job versus something that lives off to the side in an innovation lab.

For decades, Cisco certifications have been the gold standard for network professionals who want to validate an in-depth knowledge of networking, not just Cisco technology. In fact, the Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE) is one of the hardest to get and most sought-after certifications in all of tech. With AITECH, Cisco is using its position as a trainer to bring better practical AI knowledge to the technical people who will use it in their day-to-day jobs.

Many industry watchers, including me, have stated that AI won’t take most technical jobs—rather, it’s people who know how to use AI that will. If that’s true, reskilling is imperative, but there hasn’t been a great path for industry professionals to follow to attain those AI skills. That’s the gap Cisco is trying to fill.

Cisco AITECH explained

At its core, AITECH is a role-oriented certification that validates the ability to embed AI into day-to-day technical work: coding, data analysis, automation, and workflow design. Rather than teaching candidates to build models from scratch, it focuses on using existing AI capabilities to modernize how infrastructure and operation teams deliver outcomes.

The associated exam, Cisco AI Technical Practitioner (800-110 AITECH) v1.0, is a 60-minute test that measures skills in several key areas: generative AI models, prompt engineering, AI ethics and security, data research and analysis, AI for code and workflow optimization, and agentic AI. The learning path is delivered through Cisco U. and includes hands-on labs and simulations that show practical use cases across Cisco and multivendor environments.

Cisco positions the AITECH learning path as a bridge from “traditional knowledge-based work” to innovation-driven roles augmented by AI, explicitly targeting professionals who need to design technical solutions, automate tasks, and lead teams using modern AI tools and methodologies. The curriculum spans AI-assisted code generation, AI-driven data analysis, model customization (including RAG), and workflow automation wrapped in governance and security best practices.

Why this certification matters now

The timing of AITECH aligns with the reality facing most IT organizations: AI is already creeping into operations, security, networking, and collaboration, but skills lag badly. Cisco explicitly describes AITECH as meant to “close the AI skills gap” and prepare technical staff to confidently embed AI into daily operations and drive adoption inside their organizations.

Instead of creating yet another “AI expert” badge, Cisco is acknowledging that:

AI is becoming a first-class consumer of infrastructure resources, from GPUs to storage to high-bandwidth networking.
Network and infrastructure teams need to understand AI workflows well enough to support and optimize them, not just keep the pipes up.
Everyday technical tasks—writing code, troubleshooting, analyzing logs, creating reports—can be materially improved by AI if practitioners know how to use it safely and effectively.

In that context, AITECH is less about learning isolated AI theory and more about hardening the applied AI skills that will define the next generation of infrastructure roles. For enterprises staring down a flood of AI projects, having a common competency baseline around prompt engineering, ethics, data practices, and automation is increasingly nonnegotiable.

At Cisco Live, I caught up with Par Merat, vice president of learning at Cisco, and we talked about this certification and the thought process behind it.

“We are focused on reskilling engineers around AI and how that can help them with their current jobs while preparing for the future,” Merat said. “This looks at every aspect of running a network—from initial design to day-to-day operations to troubleshooting and optimization.”

“We introduced the AI Solutions on Cisco Infrastructure Essentials learning path last year, and we have had tremendous interest and expect the same with this,” she added.

Who should care about AITECH

Cisco’s own targeting for AITECH reads like a roster of this core Network World audience: IT and network engineers, data analysts, AIOps specialists, solutions architects, technical leads, managers, and business process analysts. In practice, three groups should be especially interested.

Infrastructure and network engineers
These are the people being asked to “make AI work” in environments that were never designed for GPU-heavy, latency-sensitive workloads. AITECH gives them enough understanding of AI models, data flows, and security implications to design and operate infrastructure that is AI-ready—without forcing them to become full-time data scientists.
Ops, AIOps, and automation teams
Operations teams are drowning in data and repetitive tasks, making them natural beneficiaries of AI-driven automation. The certification’s emphasis on AI-assisted code and workflow optimization, agentic AI, and data analysis directly maps to building smarter runbooks, automated remediation, and more intelligent observability and pipeline-driven automation.
Technical leaders and architects
For architects and technical managers, AITECH offers a structured way to understand how AI can be safely woven into existing architectures and processes. Topics like AI ethics, security, and governance help leaders create guardrails while still encouraging experimentation and innovation across teams.

Training providers outside Cisco echo this positioning, describing the certification as a minimum requirement for technical roles that involve AI-driven automation, data analytics, and solution design in modern enterprises.

How AITECH fits Into Cisco’s broader AI strategy

The AITECH certification is not meant to exist in isolation. Rather, it’s part of a broader AI-centric pivot in Cisco’s portfolio and learning ecosystem. Cisco has outlined an AI Infrastructure track that includes both the AI Technical Practitioner and the Cisco AI Infrastructure Specialist certification (which is tied into the existing CCNP Data Center path).

Where AITECH focuses on applied AI skills across workflows and tools, the AI Infrastructure Specialist targets engineers, architects, operations teams, and service providers responsible for deploying, operating, and troubleshooting AI workloads on Cisco data center infrastructure at scale. Cisco recommends an “AI Solutions on Cisco Infrastructure Essentials” learning path on Cisco U. ahead of that specialist exam, underscoring how deeply AI is being woven into the traditional infrastructure curriculum.

Cisco has also publicly framed infrastructure, trust, and model development as the three main AI challenges, emphasizing the need for robust networks, secure data handling, and safe AI adoption. AITECH addresses two of those pillars directly—operationalizing AI on modern infrastructure and building trusted, governed AI workflows—while the infrastructure specialist certification doubles down on the hardware and platform side.

What AITECH signals for Cisco

For Cisco as a company, AITECH is strategically important for several reasons. First, it reinforces Cisco’s story that its value in the AI era goes beyond hardware speeds and feeds to include skills, platforms, and end-to-end solutions. By building AI into its certification stack, Cisco is training an ecosystem of practitioners who are comfortable using AI-powered tooling across networking, security, collaboration, and observability products.

Second, it helps Cisco make good on its AI-centric messaging around customer experience and secure networking in the AI era. Cisco has been clear that it wants to centralize customer experience around AI and position its portfolio as a foundation for AI-driven operations. Having a formally trained practitioner base is essential to delivering on that promise in the field. If Cisco is going to be “critical infrastructure for the AI era,” the people who work with that technology need the skills to deploy and operate it.

Third, it creates a new entry point into the Cisco learning universe at a time when many early-in-career professionals are more attracted to AI roles than classic infrastructure tracks. AITECH offers those candidates a way into AI-adjacent roles that still leverage Cisco’s platforms, effectively future-proofing the relevance of Cisco certifications in a market that is rapidly reskilling around AI.

What IT pros should watch for next

For IT leaders and practitioners, the emergence of AITECH and the broader AI Infrastructure track is a sign to start thinking about AI skills as part of your core certification strategy, not a side project. Here are a few practical implications:

Expect AI literacy to become table stakes in job descriptions for network, data center, and operations roles, with certifications like AITECH cited as proof points.
Plan for AI-augmented workflows—code, analysis, troubleshooting—to become the norm, meaning teams without applied AI skills will move slower and deliver less value.
Anticipate vendor stacks, including Cisco’s, to increasingly bundle AI capabilities into infrastructure and management platforms, making practitioner-level AI skills essential to unlock full value.

In other words, Cisco’s AI Technical Practitioner certification is less about creating a new niche specialist and more about redefining what it means to be a “technical practitioner” in the first place. For this audience, that makes AITECH worth watching—not just as another logo on a résumé, but as an indicator of where infrastructure careers, and Cisco’s strategy, are headed next.

New Relic connects observability platform to business outcomes

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 17:35:40 +0100

New Relic this week updated its observability platform with new capabilities designed to tie application health and performance directly to business outcomes. The updates will help enterprises that are embedding AI into revenue-generating applications and using code generation tools in their software development processes, New Relic says.

Brian Emerson, New Relic’s chief product officer, says there are three forces reshaping enterprise observability: AI-assisted development, the application explosion that those tools will produce, and the unpredictability introduced when AI is embedded directly into customer-facing workloads.

“When you start embedding AI into applications, non-deterministic things start happening,” Emerson says. “Failures are kind of silent. You need to understand behavior patterns; that’s a very different world than ‘are things red, yellow, or green.’”

For instance, a new feature called Intelligent Workloads can automate the discovery and mapping of application dependencies to create a “360-degree view” of performance, infrastructure, and end-user impact. Intelligent Workloads will communicate key performance indicators (KPI) such as abandoned carts and conversion rates rather than simple green or red technical indicators.

“When your system is slow, is it getting worse, or is that fine?” says Nic Benders, chief technology strategist at New Relic. “Sure, your CPU is high. That’s an infrastructure concern, but what is the impact on whatever it is that you exist to do? That is your number one concern, and we should be speaking to you about that.”

With this release, New Relic also introduced a site reliability engineering (SRE) agent that uses telemetry data such as metrics, events, logs, traces, and node relationships to automate root-cause analysis and prioritize alerts to engineers. New Relic envisions a “digital war room” in which AI agents orchestrate incident response across network, database, and application domains, while network engineers review and approve recommended actions rather than doing the initial triage. New Relic’s 2025 Observability Forecast found that the majority of organizations are aware of the importance of resolving issues before they impact performance, and the use of AI monitoring capabilities grew from 42% in 2024 to 54% in 2025.

Industry watchers believe that vision will take some time to become a reality across enterprise organizations.

“Every organization is a snowflake in its adoption curve and readiness timeline,” says Stephen Elliot, global group vice president at IDC. “IT behavioral change is one of the most underreported requirements for agentic AI adoption. Trust is the required ingredient.”

New Relic also expanded its Digital Experience Monitoring suite to support micro frontend (MFE) architectures, where web applications are broken into smaller, team-managed components. Engineers can now monitor every component and collect metrics on performance timing, errors, renders, and lifecycle methods to trace how dependencies affect the end-user experience. Separate agentic AI monitoring capabilities add a service map of agent-to-agent interactions and drill-down traces for individual agents and tools, which New Relic says will address a visibility gap as multi-agent deployments grow.

IDC’s Elliot says the business-outcome framing is an industry-wide trend, but that New Relic’s extension of digital experience management into revenue intelligence is meaningful. “Every vendor needs to communicate value in both technology and business terms,” he explains. “One is no longer enough.”

Elliott also says New Relic’s hybrid OpenTelemetry approach, which lets customers use OTEL instrumentation without separate collector infrastructure, is increasingly table stakes for enterprise buyers. “OTEL is here to stay, and its adoption continues to increase. It is increasingly a product requirement to support as more enterprises make it part of their observability strategies,” Elliot says.

Intelligent Workloads is available as a preview for users of New Relic’s transaction monitoring solution, Transaction 360. The remaining capabilities are available in preview to all New Relic platform users.

GPT-5.3 Spotted in Codex Pull Request as OpenAI Prepares Wider Release

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:09:32 +0100

A recent reference to GPT-5.3 in the Codex GitHub repository has drawn attention from developers and AI watchers. The change shows a model entry for gpt-5.3 alongside gpt-5.3-codex in a key code manager file. This suggests OpenAI is preparing both generic and Codex-specific versions of its next major model. The sighting supports broader signals that GPT-5.3 is actively being rolled out across tools and services. The model named GPT-5.3-Codex was officially released by OpenAI on February 5, 2026. It brings agentic coding to the front line, capable of taking complex programming tasks from start to finish. It is now rolling out in GitHub Copilot and other developer tools. The general-purpose GPT-5.3 model is expected to see wider API availability later in early 2026. Here’s what this spotting means in practical terms. A PR change that mentions gpt-5.3 hints that OpenAI is integrating the new version into its model registry. This could pave the way for developers to select it directly when working with code workflows or other use cases. The distinction between the generic GPT-5.3 reference and the Codex variant also points to a strategy where one base model feeds multiple specialized products. What GPT-5.3-Codex Brings to Developers OpenAI’s GPT-5.3-Codex improves on the GPT-5.2-Codex models in several ways: Available now in GitHub Copilot, including Visual Studio Code, CLI, web, and mobile. Reports indicate up to 25 percent faster performance on agentic coding tasks compared with prior versions. It combines code generation with richer reasoning and long-running task handling. The model handles very long context windows and tool calls, ideal for complex workflows with multiple steps. In the broader AI context, GPT-5.3-Codex’s release coincided with rivals unveiling models with huge context windows. This positions OpenAI in a race to deliver both performance and utility at scale. Rumored Capabilities of Full GPT-5.3 The standard GPT-5.3 variant that was spotted in the Codex PR is expected to follow soon.Leaks and reports outline features that go beyond coding: 400,000-token context window designed for long documents and extended reasoning. 128,000-token output limit, allowing large generation tasks in a single pass. Improved efficiency and deeper reasoning compared to GPT-5.2. Developers and enterprises should watch for the official rollout.The presence of GPT-5.3 indicators in infrastructure code is a sign that the model’s deployment is underway and may surface in APIs and products soon.

Microsoft confirms Thursday patch for Internet Explorer exploit

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:22:53 +0100

Confirming what many internet industry watchers thought would happen this week, Microsoft says it will release an out-of-band patch later today, for the Internet Explorer security vulnerability used to attack Google and around 30 other companies affected by the widely publicised security flaw seen in the Google/China incident.

Internet darkness hits Egypt - but there's always dial-up

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:19:13 +0100

It's been a very sad weekend for Egypt on several fronts, but many internet watchers will have been dismayed to see the internet in that country going dark, with most of the country's ISPs effectively turning of their network resources.

Royal Baby: Exclusive Pics! – Don't Fall for It

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:09:27 +0100

When Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, went into labor with the child who recently became third in line for the throne of England, the event immediately had millions of royal-watchers riveted – and, apparently, plenty of spammers ready to leverage the vast amount of public interest in everything from the sex of the baby to “secret pictures” of the new arrival.

iOS 26.3 Beta 4 vs Release Candidate: Which One Is Coming

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 01:05:26 +0100

Apple has not released an iOS 26.3 beta 4 yet. The latest confirmed beta in the iOS 26.3 cycle is beta 3 for developers and public testers. That build is identified as 23D5114d and arrived on January 26, 2026 from Apple’s developer site. This update followed earlier beta builds in the iOS 26.3 series. iOS 26.3 itself is part of Apple’s annual maintenance releases for the iPhone. It sits between iOS 26.2.1, which arrived late in January with bug fixes and AirTag support, and the expected iOS 26.4 release later this spring. Most Apple watchers now believe a beta 4 for iOS 26.3 is unlikely at this stage. The focus is shifting to iOS 26.4 betas and a public release for iOS 26.3, probably as a release candidate soon. The next major testing cycle is expected to roll out iOS 26.4 betas in the coming weeks. Apple typically seeds betas in a predictable pattern. With three betas already out, the company usually prepares a release candidate before pushing the public update. That pattern suggests Apple is close to finishing testing. If you are following iOS 26.3, that means: Apple has given developers and public testers three pre-release versions. The next stop is probably a Release Candidate build. A fourth beta is less likely because Apple wants to start 26.4 beta tests soon. What iOS 26.3 Brings in Beta iOS 26.3 does not change the core design of iOS 26, which Apple described as a major release year with a Liquid Glass visual style. Some of the work in iOS 26.3 includes: Refined settings for Android to iPhone transfer. Notification forwarding to third-party wearables. Location data controls and EU interoperability support. Known issues with Continuity features in Beta 3 being worked on. Apple still needs to complete iOS 26.3 testing before a public release, likely in February 2026. After that, testing will shift toward iOS 26.4 betas, which could launch in March or April. At this point, there is no official confirmation of an iOS 26.3 beta 4. If Apple changes course and releases one, developers and beta testers will see a new build in the Software Update section of Settings first.

Experts Say There Is “Zero Chance” Intel Makes Apple’s iPhone Processors

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:06:26 +0100

Apple and Intel have drawn attention after reports suggested that Apple was testing Intel’s newest chip process for future products. Some investors and industry watchers even believed Apple could move parts of its iPhone and Mac chip production away from TSMC. Those hopes now look weak, mainly because Intel’s most advanced chip nodes create serious heat problems that do not suit mobile devices like the iPhone. DigiTimes reported on Apple’s talks with Intel, which helped fuel the speculation. They said Apple is looking at Intel’s 18A P process for its lowest end M series chips that are planned for 2027. They also said Apple may use the same process for non Pro iPhone chips in 2028. GF Securities added that Apple’s custom ASIC, also planned for 2028, is set to use Intel’s EMIB packaging. Intel has already signed an NDA with Apple and sent 18A P design kits so Apple can test the technology. Intel’s 18A P is also its first node to support Foveros Direct 3D hybrid bonding, which allows Apple to stack chiplets on top of each other. Why Intel’s newest nodes face a wall Industry insiders on the SemiWiki forum have pushed back on the idea of Intel making iPhone chips. They pointed to Intel’s heavy use of Backside Power Delivery, also known as BSPD, on its 18A and 14A nodes. Intel calls its version PowerVia. TSMC, in contrast, offers some nodes with BSPD and others without it, which gives chip designers more options. BSPD does improve power delivery and can boost performance, but it also makes chips run hotter. That heat becomes a serious problem for phones, which rely on air cooling and tight thermal limits. IanD explained the issue in a SemiWiki thread. "When we looked into this the heatsink needed to be kept around 20C cooler with BSPD for the same die temperature in hotspots (because vertical heat spreading is bad but lateral is even worse now there's no thick silicon substrate), and that's simply impossible in many use cases which rely on air cooling or have a maximum allowable case temperature, including ours… :-(" Because of this, Jukan summed up the mood on X in blunt terms. https://twitter.com/jukan05/status/2017809609474601145 Intel may still have a shot at low end M series chips, but when it comes to iPhones, heat stands in the way.

Spotify Price Increase Starts This Month for Premium Users

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 01:35:55 +0100

Spotify is raising subscription costs in key markets starting February 2026. The company confirmed updated pricing for its Premium plans in the United States along with Estonia and Latvia. It is the third price hike in about two and a half years as Spotify adapts to rising platform costs and aims to invest more in features and content. The change affects all major Premium tiers including Individual, Duo, Family, and Student plans. Monthly price increases are modest but consistent, reflecting a broader trend among subscription platforms to balance growth with profitability. Spotify has notified affected users by email and will adjust charges on billing dates during February 2026. Changes in Prices New subscription prices in the United States take effect in February 2026. These are separate from offerings in other parts of the world, where pricing strategies vary. Updated prices include: Individual Premium plan:New: $12.99 per monthOld: $11.99 per month Student plan:New: $6.99 per monthOld: $5.99 per month Duo plan:New: $18.99 per monthOld: $16.99 per month Family plan:New: $21.99 per monthOld: $19.99 per month These figures apply in the U.S. and may differ in Estonia and Latvia, where price changes align with local markets. Why Spotify is Raising Prices Spotify says occasional price adjustments help it manage platform costs and continue investing in new tools, content, and creator payouts. The company updates pricing based on local market conditions and competitive factors. Business analysts note: Earlier price increases did not cause a large wave of cancellations, which gives Spotify confidence to maintain modest increases. Investors see price hikes as a way to support profitability over time. Some analysts have maintained positive ratings on Spotify stock amid these trends. How Often Prices Have Changed Spotify kept subscription prices mostly stable for about a decade. The recent move marks the third hike in roughly 30 months. This suggests the company views pricing power as a key lever for growth in mature markets. Market watchers say frequent but small increases can be easier for subscribers to absorb. Spotify has previously updated prices in other regions, including markets in Europe and Latin America. Impact on Users and Competitors For subscribers, the price changes mean slightly higher monthly costs for premium listening experiences. Free users with ads are unaffected. Many users may not see immediate change until their billing cycle renews after February 1, 2026. Streaming rivals like Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, and YouTube Music also adjust subscription prices from time to time. Those services generally sit in a similar price range, though exact costs vary by market. Outlook for Spotify’s Platform Spotify remains the largest global audio streaming platform by subscriber count and user base. Recent data shows the service had hundreds of millions of active users in late 2025, with millions of paying subscribers. Growth continues despite pricing shifts, supported by expanded podcast and content offerings. The company is also rolling out new features for Premium users in some regions, such as AI driven playlist tools that tailor music to listening habits and preferences.

iPhone 16 gives Apple seven of the 10 best-selling phones in 2025

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 14:37:54 +0100

New data shows the iPhone 16 was the best-selling phone of 2025, with Apple's iPhone accounting for seven of the top 10 devices of the year and Samsung making up the rest.

Apple's iPhone 16 has proven popular among buyers

That data, provided by market-watchers Counterpoint Research, has Apple's 2024 entry-level iPhone 16 proving the biggest winner among buyers. Apple's 2025 lineup was also represented, starting with the iPhone 17 Pro Max in fourth spot.

Between those two devices, the premium iPhone 16 Pro Max was second, with the iPhone 16 Pro third. The first non-Apple device, Samsung's budget Galaxy A16 5G, found a home in fifth.

Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

10 Best Webinar Software For Windows 10 [ 2026 ]

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 11:51:58 +0100

Searching for Best Webinar Software for Windows 10?

If yes, then this post is definitely for you.

Online education and tutoring are on a high right now since we all are trapped in our homes & can’t physically communicate with other people like we used to do.

Naturally, webinars are a great alternative to offline meetings, but the preparation process for them is quite different.

You can’t just show up in a class or a meeting room with your notes, laptop, and presentation because you need good webinar software to perform this challenging task.

Today we will look at the best platforms you can have on your Windows 10 since Windows 11 is still really new, and not many of us have upgraded yet.

So without further ado, let’s get started…

10 Best Webinar Software For Windows 10 [ 2026 ]

In this article, we will look at some tools that will help you to perform an excellent online webinar from start to finish. So, if you want to find a platform to host a successful webinar on your Windows 10 PC, then keep reading! Moreover, we have also listed some free platforms or software like Microsoft Teams and Meet Now which are easy to use and have exceptional quality.

So, let’s see which of them you already know…

1. Demio

Almost perfect tool, Demio is an excellent software for your PC since it is absolutely browser-based. Even if your PC gets a wrong or buggy Windows 10 update, you will still be able to host a webinar on time!

Demio has an excellent, user-friendly interface, can be used for both live sessions and automated on-demand ones and is very customizable. The only con you can find in Demio is that you can only host up to 50 people in the free version, but for most of us, it is absolutely enough. If you do need an upgrade, it will cost you up to $163 a month, depending on the plan.

2. Zoom

Oh, a classic Zoom! One of the symbols of 2020 and a great webinar tool! It is very easy to join webinars created in Zoom, and the best thing about it is that you can host webinars for large groups: up to one hundred people for free!

Navigation in the Zoom app can be a little bit tricky, but we do find it okay. If you consider purchasing the tool, it will cost you from $149.90 for a basic paid plan.

3. Livestorm

Next, we’ll continue with Livestorm, an industry leader that many call their favorite webinar tool for Windows 10. It is a perfect option for you if your goal is to perform regular online sessions. It will also help you with planning and reminding about webinars, and you can use it in cases when a couple of people are involved in one presentation.

The only significant disadvantage of Livestorm we see is that it is a browser tool, and it is not that optimized, so your sessions may be affected by a not-so-great internet connection. You can use the tool for free if you host up to 10 guests, and it will cost you $99 a month for a premium if you need to host more (up to 100 people in the Premium plan).

4. Google Hangouts

An absolutely free webinar platform that is very convenient if you plan to host online sessions for a small group of up to 30 people.

Google Hangouts is excellent for events you have in your company or individual online sessions. It is more than a tool for web conferencing, but Google Hangouts can be absolutely used for webinars if it happens on occasion and you don’t find it necessary to invest money in a more professional tool.

The only big disadvantage we do find in Google Hangouts is that if a person wants to actively participate in the meeting, they need to have a Google account to do that.

5. Adobe Connect

We will finish with a work of art from Adobe, Adobe Connect webinar platform. The tool has a minimalistic, customizable, and intuitive interface with lots of in-built features.

You can design absolutely stunning webinar presentations using Adobe Connect, and thanks to the interactive recordings the tool creates, you can continue working with your webinars even when you stopped making them.

The biggest disadvantage of this excellent software is its hefty price: from $130 to $580 a month for up to 1000 participants. It is definitely not a tool for newbies, and if you have any doubts, take a look at more affordable options.

6. Zoho Meeting

Another internet classic, Zoho Meeting, is a solid webinar software that is popular in both startups and enterprise companies. It is a quick, easy, and very beginner-friendly tool, so if you expect many participants who are new to webinars, it will be so simple for them to understand how to join: it’s just a matter of one click. No downloads at all!

However, this simplicity can be frankly too simple for some, and you, as an experienced webinar host, can feel a lack of advanced features in this tool. However, it has plenty of basic ones: you can make online recordings via Zoho Meeting while you are hosting the webinar, have moderators, broadcast messages, and do live chat. It is still a pretty good choice, and if I were you I would try it!

Zoho Meeting will cost you nothing if you aim to host webinars for up to 10 attendees, and if you want to widen your possibilities, you can purchase a paid version for $19 a month and up to 25 watchers.

7. WebinarsOnAir

The program is an amazing and affordable option for people who need an easy tool to serve large audiences. WebinarsOnAir can be used with up to 50,000 attendees, which is an insane amount considering other tools on our list.

The only significant con of this tool is that it is tied to Google Hangouts, and sometimes it can be inaccessible. It happens rarely, but often enough for us to notice it.

It is a cloud-based webinar tool that is easy to connect to, and will you host your webinars via WebinarsOnAir just effortlessly. The software has a free 30-day trial, so you can try it before buying it for only $19.97 a month for up to 25 viewers and $99 a month for up to 50,000 viewers.

8. MyOwnConference

MyOwnConference is one of the best affordable cloud-based solutions for people who need to host regular webinars with a small group of people. It is absolutely perfect for smaller businesses and online classes.

You can host a webinar by yourself or collaborate with other presenters: in MyOwnConference, you can host webinars together! The tool offers you to record the webinars in FHD resolution with the ability to choose what exactly you want to capture (you don’t want to violate the attendees’ privacy), and your lessons will never be lost again.

MyOwnConference is great, don’t get me wrong, but still, it is not optimized that well, and sometimes the poor internet connection can mess with your webinar. But on the other hand, you can use it with a free plan for up to 20 attendants, which is actually a lot. If you want more, you can pick a paid plan that is priced according to the number of visitors you want on your webinars.

9. Bluejeans

This software must be a choice for huge crowds, live events, etc., because, thanks to Bluejeans, you can host webinars with up to 50,000 participants. What’s more important in this case is that it will be a smooth, nice live video without freezes and lags.

The tool has a fantastic moderator dashboard, and you can create, join, and leave webinars and live events in a matter of seconds. It is truly a very convenient cloud-based software.

The biggest con that can scare off many potential clients from Bluejeans is its hefty price: the basic plan starts from $99, and the price for 50,000 attendees can be just astronomical.

However, for this money, you get really high-quality software, so if you do online conferences with lots of participants, check Bluejeans as your next webinar tool, test it during a 14-day free trial, and decide if it is good enough for you.

10. Webex

Webex was created for enterprise companies, and if you look for something bigger than life, then here it is. It is a Cisco product, which already sounds really impressive, and it is a tool for events for up to 40,000 attendees.

It has all our favorite features: Q&A option, live chat support, moderation, screen recording, etc. It also has a mobile app which is rare and highly convenient!

The tool’s price depends on the number of participants you expect on your webinars, and, of course, since it is aimed at big corporations, the price tag is significant: it starts from $13.50 a month for up to 50 attendees. If you want more, you naturally have to pay more.

My main point here is that Webex is a truly unique, convenient, and overall awesome tool for big companies and corporations. If you want something for your personal use as an online teacher or a tool for occasional webinars, it is better for you to choose one of the options above.

How to Host a Successful Webinar – 5 Tips

Now that we have probably found the perfect webinar software for your Windows 10, it’s time to share another piece of knowledge about creating webinars: our precious tips. They helped us a lot when we first started hosting online sessions, and even though they are simple, they still work, so check them out!

1. Use a lot of visual information. We advise you to add infographics, short videos, photos, and other types of visual content to spruce up your webinar and make it more entertaining.

2. Use a screen recorder to record your webinars. We recommend you use a screen recorder since the records you have made will definitely help you analyze your mistakes, improve your speaking style, and improve your webinars overall. Do not forget to warn your attendants that the given webinar is being recorded and get their consent on this action to prevent any troubles from happening.

3. Relax and use humor from time to time to make your webinars a sanctuary, a friendly place for all the people involved.

4. Hire an assistant to help you with technical difficulties during the session. You may experience problems even without knowing it, and that’s where your assistant will save you from a disaster!

5. Use real-life examples and exciting facts to help people understand your material better.

Some FAQs

What is the best tool for webinars?

Here we have listed some of the best tools for webinars:-
1. Demio
2. Zoom
3. Livestorm
4. Google Hangouts
5. Adobe Connect

What is the easiest webinar platform?

Zoho Meeting is one of the easiest webinar platforms I have ever used for my work. It offers all the features that are required for small businesses to do video conferencing and webinars with teams or clients.

How do I choose a webinar software?

To choose a webinar software, you must look for some basic features which we have mentioned below:-
1. Free trial option
2. Easy to access
3. Quality of video & audio
4. Screen capturing / recording
5. Features to interact properly
6. Good technical support

Is Zoom good for webinars?

Yes, Zoom is absolutely good for webinars whether it is used for individual users or big companies. It has all features and functionalities which a perfect webinar solution should have for free.

That’s it for now…

Conclusion

So, that’s all about some best webinar platforms which are a perfect choice for small business and Windows 10 users. And in my opinion, Online conferencing in 2026 will become as common as every other type of communication we have had before.

Kids, adults, and even toddlers can now participate in an online session to learn something, attend a work meeting, or just for a safe play-date with friends. Webinars are excellent for education, and with the proper tools, it can feel like a real lecture: just try it!

Stay tuned for the latest posts…

Feel free to share your thoughts via comments and also tell us about this post on10 Best Webinar Software For Windows 10 [ 2026 ].

If you liked this post, don’t forget to share it…

iPhone 18 Pro Max Color Rumors: Coffee, Purple, Burgundy, and “One-Tone” Back

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 22:52:34 +0100

Early leaks say Apple plans to push the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max toward warmer, deeper finishes in 2026. The same reports also point to a design tweak that matters for color: Apple may reduce the “two-tone” look on the rear and make the back glass, frame, and camera area read as one consistent shade. That would be a shift from the iPhone 17 Pro generation, where Apple sells the Pro lineup in Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue, and Silver, with no black option. Rumored iPhone 18 Pro Max colors so far Two separate leak roundups tied to Weibo sources converge on the same trio Apple is “testing”: coffee (brown), purple, and burgundy (wine red). Translation varies, but the theme stays the same: warm, saturated tones instead of last year’s brighter headline color. Here’s how these shades are being described across reports: Coffee / Coffee Brown: a deep, earthy brown finish aimed at a more premium, understated look Purple: likely a muted, warmer purple rather than a bright violet Burgundy / Wine Red: a darker red with brown or purple undertones, closer to “wine” than product red A key detail in the same rumor chain: black may be missing again on the iPhone 18 Pro line. That stood out last year because the iPhone 17 Pro lineup also skipped black and gray. “Single-colour finish” rumor changes how these colors might look One of the more specific iPhone 18 Pro design claims says Apple is changing the back glass process to reduce contrast between the frame and the glass cutout area, which created a subtle two-tone effect on iPhone 17 Pro models. The goal sounds simple: make the phone look more uniform from edge to edge. If Apple does this, it likely affects three things buyers notice immediately: Camera area matching, where the camera bump and the surrounding back panel read closer to the same shade, especially under bright light Less “patchwork” look, with fewer visible shifts between materials on the rear Color perception in photos, since darker finishes like coffee or burgundy can look very different depending on lighting Some reports also link this to a claim about a slightly more “transparent” Ceramic Shield look, but that part remains harder to pin down and may simply describe how the glass catches light. Cosmic Orange tells us about Apple’s direction Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro “Cosmic Orange” became the standout Pro color in 2025, and Apple’s own store listings confirm it sat alongside Deep Blue and Silver. The important takeaway for iPhone 18 Pro Max color watchers is simple. Apple already proved it is willing to treat the Pro line like a fashion product again, not just a professional slab in safe neutrals. That context makes the rumored coffee, purple, and burgundy direction feel believable, even if the final names change. Specs that show up alongside the color leaks Several rumor roundups bundle the color talk with early iPhone 18 Pro hardware expectations. These are not color features, but they help explain Apple’s likely positioning for the Pro Max in 2026. Reportedly associated iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max upgrades include: A20 Pro chip, with multiple reports pointing to a 2nm manufacturing process Variable aperture main camera, potentially improving low-light control and depth rendering Apple modem update referenced as C2 in some rumor lists Smaller Dynamic Island, with at least one leak claiming a noticeable 35% reduction in width Color rumors get reliable late in the cycle, when supply chain chatter and accessory leaks start to line up. Until then, treat these as prototypes that Apple could still drop. If case makers start listing coffee, burgundy, or a specific purple shade, confidence goes up If more leaks repeat “no black again,” expect louder backlash, because many buyers treat black as the default Pro choice If the single-colour finish story spreads beyond one leak line, it becomes more than a cosmetic footnote FAQ Will iPhone 18 Pro Max come in black?Current leaks say Apple may skip black again for the Pro line, similar to iPhone 17 Pro’s lineup. Nothing is confirmed yet. What are the rumored iPhone 18 Pro Max colors?Coffee (brown), purple, and burgundy (wine red) are the three shades repeatedly mentioned. Will the camera bump match the back color better this year?One leak specifically claims Apple is adjusting the rear glass process to reduce the two-tone look and make the finish more uniform across the back. Summary The strongest iPhone 18 Pro Max color rumors point to coffee brown, purple, and burgundy, with black potentially missing again. At the same time, Apple may be working on a more uniform rear finish that makes the back panel and camera area look like one continuous color, not a subtle two-tone mix.

Patch Tuesday and the Enduring Challenge of Windows’ Backwards Compatibility

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 19:07:58 +0100

Introduction

If you received an email with the subject “I LOVE YOU” and an attachment called “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT”, would you open it? Probably not, but back in the year 2000, plenty of people did exactly that. The internet learned a hard lesson about the disproportionate power available to a university dropout with some VBScript skills, and millions of ordinary people suffered the anguish of deleted family photos or even reputational damage as the worm propagated itself across their entire Outlook address book.

In the quarter century since ILOVEYOU rampaged across global networks, cybersecurity has moved from a niche topic to an “everyone” problem, and many users are wary of all sorts of threats. In recent years, the increasing ubiquity and urgency of AI adoption across the business landscape has attracted the attention of both security researchers and threat actors.

Of course, recency bias and shiny object fixation are real. Even as AI and automation continue to drive down time to known exploitation (TTKE), an attacker who abuses a traditional exploit chain to achieve SYSTEM privileges on a sensitive server still has the keys to the kingdom.

Wormable remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities remain rare, but well over half of the 25 exploited-in-the-wild zero-day vulnerabilities published by Microsoft during 2025 provided attackers with elevation of privilege opportunities on Windows assets. Some of those flaws are older than the iPhone, let alone ChatGPT.

Microsoft's decades-long commitment to backwards compatibility creates a conveyor belt supply of déjà vu vulnerabilities. Ultimately, the most pressing threats faced by defenders managing Microsoft estates remain essentially unchanged. Rather than a new wave of AI-related flaws, the chief danger stems from the towering tech debt within core Windows components.

A whirlwind tour of exploited-in-the-wild Microsoft vulnerabilities (2025 edition)

If we really want to know which Microsoft vulnerabilities will provide the most value to attackers in 2026, we should ask a threat actor. Since that might prove difficult to arrange, we’ll do the next best thing: review vulnerabilities exploited in the wild during 2025.

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Chart 1: Exploited-in-the-wild Microsoft vulnerabilities, by vulnerable component

January: The great escape

The vast Microsoft ecosystem has something for everyone, whether customer or threat actor. Patch Tuesday January 2025 brought us a trio of exploited-in-the-wild Hyper-V kernel vulnerabilities. By September 2025, at least one plausible public proof-of-concept (PoC) for CVE-2025-21333 was published by a vulnerability researcher who apparently shares a name with a Kazakhstani Olympic gymnast. The only safe assumption is that a well-resourced threat actor could develop a private exploit far in advance of that.

Starting from a child VM or Windows Sandbox, exploitation first requires setting out a banquet of benign requests for the hypervisor, delivered via the Hyper-V Virtualization Service Provider (VSP). The goal: mass-allocating objects to arrange large swathes of hypervisor memory in a predictable pattern (aka “heap feng shui”). Next, the attacker sends a malicious request with an oversized buffer, which an unpatched VSP merrily copies into kernel memory, overwriting the header of the adjacent object, whose relative position is now easily surmised. Once the kernel subsequently references the artfully corrupted sibling object, execution as SYSTEM jumps to a portion of memory where the attacker has planted shellcode to exfiltrate a token. The compromised hypervisor could be anything from a developer laptop running a malicious container all the way up to enterprise private cloud infrastructure.

So far, January 2025 is the only time that Microsoft has ever published vulnerabilities in the Hyper-V VSP. Generally speaking, a significant degree of sophistication is required to develop successful exploits of this nature. This goes double if the name of the game is stealth and stability, since a wave of unexplained BSOD events on critical production infrastructure tends to attract blue team attention. Still, once a viable proof of concept hits the public internet, ransomware crews will fold it into their toolkits, and someone, somewhere, is either sitting on an unknown Hyper-V VSP exploit, or hard at work creating the next one.

February: Socket to me

It’s hard to imagine a modern computer without storage or networking capabilities. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a computer from several decades ago without storage or networking. Microsoft is now middle-aged, and that means that buried deep within your shiny new PC are a variety of architectural decisions and logic paths born in the 1980s. If this sounds far-fetched, take a minute to find yourself a fully-patched Windows 11 25H2 machine, and then try to rename any file or directory CON, NUL or PRN. I’ll wait.

Generally speaking, user-mode applications are prevented from wreaking havoc on the kernel through a careful separation of concerns. On Windows, when a user mode application wants to communicate over the network, it talks to WinSock, which in turn talks to the ancillary function driver (AFD), which sits on the kernel side, and coordinates with the kernel network drivers which handle the actual traffic. The AFD is a security boundary between user space and kernel space, and it must be universally accessible to local processes, because even a browser tab in a sandbox needs to make network calls. Any defect in the way AFD parses input from user space can thus provide a way to influence the kernel in unexpected ways. A number of advanced exploit development courses, including offerings from SANS and OffSec, cover AFD in detail.

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Chart 2: Windows AFD vulnerabilities timeline, 2021-2025

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Patch Tuesday February 2025 brought us CVE-2025-21418, which Microsoft credited to Anonymous. We don’t know whether the unnamed tipster provided evidence of exploitation in the wild, or whether Microsoft threat hunters subsequently tracked down their own trail of suspicious bread crumbs, but notorious threat actors such as North Korea’s Lazarus are known to be enthusiastic students of AFD exploits. With several high-profile zero-day vulnerabilities emerging from AFD from late 2024 onwards, it tracks that Microsoft subsequently published and patched a cluster of AFD vulnerabilities in the latter half of 2025.

March: File system shenanigans

Any defenders who had enjoyed a quieter start to the year were rudely awakened by Patch Tuesday March 2025, when six exploited-in-the-wild vulnerabilities all dropped at once. Exploitation of most of the zero-day vulnerabilities published in March starts with the user mounting a malicious Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) image or plugging in a malicious USB stick so that the attacker can exploit a weakness in a filesystem driver, including NTFS and FastFAT.

Remember that information security training which asked you to imagine finding a USB stick with an “IMPORTANT (CONFIDENTIAL)” label on the floor outside the office? The one which asked if you would A) plug the mystery stick into your work PC B) use your boss’ personal laptop in case the files are business critical C) try it in all the PCs in the office until someone asks you to stop or D) report it immediately to the security officer? This is why.

Meanwhile, the true villain of the month was almost certainly CVE-2025-24983, a no-user-interaction-required elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Win32 kernel subsystem. At the time, we pondered why Windows 11 and Server 2019 onwards didn’t receive patches for what looks like a fairly severe vulnerability, but since Microsoft is gradually reimplementing portions of the kernel in memory-safe Rust, we can hope that the vulnerability simply doesn’t exist in modern Windows.

April: Common Log File System driver vulns are quite common

If anyone ever corners you at a party and talks at length about the Ancillary Function Driver as a bounteous source of elevation of privilege vulnerabilities, you will probably have to concede that they are technically correct. While your options include “doing a lap” and then climbing out of the bathroom window, the power move here is to hold your ground, and point to the Common Log File System driver as a far richer vein of exploitable goodness.

As of Patch Tuesday April 2025, CLFS boasts almost twice the number of total vulnerabilities over the past five years vs. AFD, and more than double the number of known-exploited zero-day vulnerabilities. It really is the gift which keeps on giving.

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Windows CLFS vulnerabilities timeline, 2021-2025

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It makes sense that something like the Ancillary Function Driver lives in kernel space. After all, something has to sit inside the perimeter to marshall all those network requests from dozens of Chrome tabs. What about the Common Log File System driver though?

It would be tempting to imagine that anything which simply handles log files shouldn’t need direct kernel access at all. When exploring this concept, it’s useful to understand that not only was CLFS designed a long time ago, when high performance in user mode was harder to achieve than it is today, but also that CLFS is much more than simply a means to interact with log files. CLFS is the home of still-essential building blocks like Transactional NTFS (TxF), first introduced almost 25 years ago in Windows Vista, which provides a means for applications to guarantee the integrity of data on disk.

For the past several years, Microsoft has strongly recommended that developers avoid the use of TxF, and while Microsoft is gradually providing modern alternatives to TxF functionality, essential Windows functions such as Windows Update still rely on it to manage critical file integrity. Moreover, CLFS is more than just TxF, and is so tightly integrated into Windows that it’s here to stay for the foreseeable future.

May: The month of expectation, wishes, hope, and classic Windows zero-days [1]

A few days after Patch Tuesday May 2025, Satya Nadella took to the stage at Microsoft Build 2025 to pitch his vision of the open agentic web, although exactly who this version of the future would be open to remains an open question, like: What if a cloud email service was vulnerable to a zero-click prompt injection attack, but could also now buy things with your credit card?

While critical reception for the open agentic web has been mixed, threat actors will be glad of the new attack surface. Meanwhile, defenders worried about in-the-wild exploitation were hard at work patching some more frequent fliers, including another pair of CLFS vulnerabilities and an MSHTML/Trident arbitrary code execution bug. That last one will be familiar to regular Patch Tuesday watchers, but it might come as a surprise to anyone who thought Internet Explorer had gone to live on a nice farm upstate years ago.

The Ancillary Function Driver made another appearance, although it couldn’t quite summon the same main character energy this time around. The May 2025 episode of “AFD vulns exploited in the wild” offered elevation to Administrator, rather than SYSTEM, and a lower exploit code maturity rating. We can always be grateful for small mercies.

[1]: With apologies to Emily Brontë.

June: I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, WebDAV

Windows archeologists and internet users of a certain age may remember WebDAV, a standard originally dreamed up to support interactivity on the web. It was employed by versions of Microsoft Exchange up to and including 2010 to handle interactions with mailboxes and public folders.

Surprising no-one, Windows still more or less supports WebDAV, and it was only a matter of time before that turned out to be a bit of a problem, in the form of CVE-2025-33053 published as part of Patch Tuesday June 2025. Microsoft acknowledged Check Point Research (CPR) on the advisory; CPR in turn attributes exploitation to an APT (Advanced Persistent Threat), which they track as the objectively cool-sounding Stealth Falcon, an established threat actor with a long-running interest in governments and government-adjacent entities across the Middle East and beyond.

June 2025 also saw the publication of CVE-2025-32711, a critical information disclosure vulnerability in Microsoft 365 Copilot. Microsoft is not aware of exploitation in the wild. The researchers named it EchoLeak, describing it as “the first real-world zero-click prompt injection exploit in a production LLM system,” although other researchers arguably got there first.

EchoLeak relies on hidden white-text-on-white-background instructions in an email, which are then ingested into the LLM via RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) when the user asks an entirely pedestrian question (e.g. “Summarize my emails from the past two days”) which requires Copilot to scan the inbox. The malicious instructions have two parts: First, dig up some juicy info, and then retrieve an image from an attacker-controlled server with the sensitive data exfiltrated as a URL parameter.

EchoLeak circumvented Copilot’s Content Security Policy by making the request via a trusted Microsoft service: a now-patched Teams image preview proxy. History suggests that attackers will find other ways out of the walled garden. The Microsoft advisory makes a virtue of minimalism by providing almost no information about the nature of the vulnerability, although Microsoft is surely to be commended for assigning CVEs for cloud service vulnerabilities.

July: The call is coming from inside the intranet

When Patch Tuesday July 2025 came and went without a single exploited-in-the-wild vulnerability published, many people may have breathed a sigh of relief. Possibly this was a valid move, at least for anyone not responsible for a SharePoint instance.

SharePoint defenders will remember July as the month of ToolShell, an actively-exploited vulnerability chain in SharePoint which Microsoft published out of band ten days after Patch Tuesday. Out of band patches for Microsoft flagship products are rare, since they inevitably cause downstream disruption. Once MSTIC publicly attributes exploitation to two Chinese nation-state actors, that line has been crossed.

The vulnerability described by the out-of-band CVE-2025-53770 turned out to be a bypass for the patch introduced by CVE-2025-49704 earlier in the month, which was itself a response to a successful Pwn2Own Berlin entry from May.

August: It’s almost too quiet

Microsoft was not aware of exploitation in the wild for any of the vulnerabilities published as part of Patch Tuesday August 2025. SharePoint admins may have been dealing with the fallout from last month’s ToolShell and bracing for a possible repeat, but August might otherwise have made for an eerily quiet month. Still, the Windows implementation of Kerberos managed to cough up a publicly-disclosed elevate-to-domain-admin vulnerability.

Separately, we learned that simply saving a JPEG could be enough to hand an attacker RCE capabilities, because the internet never sleeps. If the vulnerable codepath had been within JPEG decoding, rather than encoding, this one could have been the biggest vuln of the year.

September: Almost too quiet, part 2

Patch Tuesday September 2025 was the second month in a row with no known-exploited vulnerabilities, but vuln spotters will appreciate that this month saw the publication of a fairly rare beast: a Microsoft vulnerability with a perfect(?) CVSS v3 base score of 10.0, albeit a cloud service vulnerability discovered by Microsoft and patched prior to publication. No customer action required, but also no customer verification possible, and since the impacted cloud service was Azure Networking, the blast radius could have been stupendous.

October: Dial M for exploitation

These days, there are plenty of seasoned IT professionals who don’t even know what a dialup modem negotiation song sounds like, simply because broadband has been around for that long. For younger readers, “broadband” is what we used to call “internet fast enough that you don’t have to wait to download a single email attachment”.

By this point, we all know where this is going: Windows still ships with modem capabilities well beyond their sell-by date, and someone found a good old elevation of privilege vulnerability. The vulnerable fax modem driver was developed almost 30 years ago by a long-defunct third party, and Microsoft has now taken uncharacteristically bold action by removing it from Windows altogether, perhaps recognizing that traditional landlines are no longer available at all in many places. Are there other fax modem drivers still lurking in Windows? You betcha.

Patch Tuesday October 2025 also marked the end of Windows 10, unless you count the cash-for-patches Extended Security Updates (ESU) program.

November: Kernel vuln? Popcorn time

Patch Tuesday November 2025 included an exploited-in-the-wild vulnerability in the Windows kernel itself. While the advisory was light with details, exploitation of CVE-2025-62215 led to elevation to SYSTEM, presumably via a complex bit of memory management three card monte. Those kernel Rust rewrites can’t come soon enough.

December: A cloud of suspicion

After a year filled with variations of the same old exploitable vulns, it might almost be refreshing to consider the altogether more modern-sounding exploited-in-the-wild vulnerability published on Patch Tuesday December 2025. CVE-2025-62221 describes an elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver.

On Windows, a file or directory can contain a reparse point, a collection of user-controlled metadata designed to be interpreted by a file filter driver. An example would be a file which appears present in a local folder, but where the actual contents of the file are stored remotely on OneDrive. The user double-clicks on the file, the file filter driver intercepts the request, reads the metadata, and calls out to OneDrive, while the user gets the experience of opening the file as though it had been stored locally. Of course, the file filter driver needs kernel access to perform its duties. Find an exploitable flaw in the way a file filter driver parses the metadata, and you can trick it into doing things like overwriting protected system files.

What’s next?

Everything gets faster, including bad things

As Rapid7 has observed repeatedly, time to known exploitation for widely-exploited vulnerabilities has been shrinking year-on-year. By 2022, the time to exploitation after public disclosure for some of the most notable security vulnerabilities was as low as 24 hours. With exploit development now widely augmented by automation and AI, there is every reason to suppose that the window will continue to shrink further.

Threat actors will stay best friends with elevation of privilege vulns

A wormable unauthenticated RCE vulnerability remains the scariest scenario, but mercifully these are historically rare. The one-two combo of minimally-privileged initial access and local privilege escalation presents a much more clear and present danger in most modern threat models. Sure, you could parachute in from a helicopter, abseil down from the roof, and crawl through an air vent to steal the diamond, but why bother when you could simply tailgate a delivery driver, and then distract a maintenance worker while you swipe their all-access keycard?

AI is here to stay, but tech debt is the real killer

In 2026, Microsoft will regularly publish AI-related vulnerabilities, and AI-wielding threat actors will hammer Microsoft’s cloud services. Blue teams managing significant Windows estates will still spend more time worrying about on-prem vulnerabilities where the root cause is a classic software engineering snafu.

Final thoughts

Arguably the biggest takeaway from 2025 is that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The scariest Microsoft vulnerabilities tend to emerge from the same few familiar places: core Windows components with codebases older than many of the humans who rely on them.

Microsoft’s wildly successful business model is founded on a decades-long insistence on ironclad backwards compatibility. Why? Enterprise customers with deep pockets and deeper catalogues of ancient business applications. These retro capabilities come at a high price: a supervolcano of tech debt potentially unmatched in all of human history, and a seemingly endless supply of sort-of-new but depressingly familiar vulnerabilities.

For anyone responsible for defending a significant Microsoft footprint in 2026, tomorrow’s biggest problem remains today’s secrets exposed by yesterday’s software design choices.

Abnehmen ohne Diät-Hype: Das gemeinsame Prinzip hinter den wirksamsten Konzepten

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 14:31:58 +0100

Ob mediterran, Low Carb, Weight Watchers oder „einfach weniger Zucker“ – erfolgreiche Strategien zum Abnehmen unterscheiden sich im Detail, folgen aber meist demselben Grundmuster.

Upcoming Apple products in 2026: the full list so far, and it’s insanely good

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:51:27 +0100

As of January 26, 2026, Apple has not published an official 2026 hardware roadmap. What we have instead are reports from reliable leakers, analysts, and supply-chain watchers. Based on those reports, Apple is expected to ship 20+ products in 2026, including new iPhones, multiple Macs, iPads, wearables, and home devices. Below is a category-by-category list of the upcoming Apple products rumored for 2026, plus the expected launch window and how confident the rumor looks right now. Quick snapshot: the biggest 2026 launches people are tracking iPhone 18 Pro / Pro Max: under-screen Face ID is widely expected, with display upgrades also rumored. Foldable iPhone (often called “iPhone Fold”): a book-style foldable is expected by many sources, with Touch ID rumored instead of Face ID. Cheaper MacBook with an iPhone chip (A-series): reported as being aimed for the first half of 2026. MacBook Pro may get two updates in 2026: an early refresh and a later redesign is being discussed. OLED iPad mini: OLED is said to arrive on iPad mini as soon as 2026. Smart home hub with a display: reported for around spring 2026 timing. How to read the list High confidence: multiple independent reports, or repeated over many months Medium confidence: one strong source or a clear supply-chain signal Low confidence: single-source claim, unclear timing, or “testing” only Full list of upcoming Apple products in 2026 so far CategoryProduct (rumored)What’s new (rumored)Expected time in 2026ConfidenceiPhoneiPhone 18 Pro / Pro MaxUnder-screen Face ID; display upgrades (LTPO+ is mentioned); screen sizes largely unchanged in leaksSep–Oct 2026Medium–HighiPhoneiPhone 18 (base)New generation base model alongside Pro modelsSep–Oct 2026MediumiPhoneFoldable iPhone (“iPhone Fold”)Book-style foldable; ~7.8-inch inner and ~5.5-inch outer displays; Touch ID rumored; hinge improvements (liquid metal is mentioned)Sep–Oct 2026MediumiPhoneiPhone 18 RAM bump (all or most models)12GB RAM is reported by multiple analysts in rumor coverageSep–Oct 2026MediumMacCheaper MacBook with A-series chipA18 Pro is commonly mentioned; positioned well under MacBook Air pricingH1 2026Medium–HighMacMacBook Air (M5)M5 refresh in early 2026 is widely expected in rumor trackingH1 2026MediumMacMacBook Pro (M5 Pro / M5 Max)Higher-end M5 chips; pro workflow focusH1 2026MediumMacMacBook Pro redesign (M6 generation)Later 2026 redesign chatter includes OLED and possible touch support in long-term planningLate 2026MediumiPadiPad mini (OLED)OLED is said to arrive “as soon as 2026”; better water resistance is also mentioned2026 (timing unclear)MediumiPadiPad Air refresh (LCD)OLED is not expected for iPad Air in 2026, so any 2026 model likely stays LCDSpring 2026MediumHomeSmart home hub with screen7-inch class display is commonly mentioned; positioned like a home controllerSpring 2026MediumMixed“20+ product year” roadmap itemsMore Macs, iPads, wearables, and accessories are listed in yearly rumor roundupsThroughout 2026Varies Expected timeline view (rough) WindowWhat is most likely to land in that windowJan–Mar 2026Early-year Mac and iPad refresh season starts (rumor roundups keep pointing here)Apr–Jun 2026Cheaper MacBook (A-series) is reported for the first half of 2026; home hub is also tracked around springJul–Aug 2026Quiet period in most Apple years, but supply-chain leaks usually ramp upSep–Oct 2026iPhone 18 lineup and foldable iPhone are widely expected in the fall iPhone windowNov–Dec 2026Possible second MacBook Pro update and holiday hardware pushes are often discussed Notes on the most talked-about products iPhone 18 Pro: what changes are actually being repeated Multiple reports agree on under-screen Face ID for the Pro line, but there is still debate about what happens to the Dynamic Island and the exact display cutout approach. Foldable iPhone: the core spec pattern in leaks Across several rumor write-ups, the foldable story stays consistent: book-style fold, big inner screen (around 7.8 inches), smaller cover screen (around 5.5 inches), and a push to reduce the crease with hinge changes. Touch ID is repeatedly mentioned as a space-saving choice. Cheaper MacBook with iPhone chip: why it matters This one is important because it would be a new tier in Apple’s laptop lineup. Reporting says Apple is testing a Mac laptop powered by an A-series iPhone chip, aimed at a much lower price than MacBook Air, and targeted for the first half of 2026. OLED iPad mini: the clearest iPad display shift rumor OLED on iPad mini is one of the cleaner “yes/no” rumors: coverage says OLED could arrive on iPad mini as soon as 2026, while iPad Air is not expected to get OLED in 2026. FAQs Will Apple really launch 20+ products in 2026? Rumor roundups tracking Apple’s pipeline say 2026 could include more than 20 product announcements, but the exact count depends on what slips into 2027. Is the foldable iPhone expected in 2026 or later? Many sources now point to fall 2026, often alongside the iPhone 18 lineup. Still, foldables are complex, so timing risk is real. Will iPhone 18 Pro have under-screen Face ID? That is one of the most repeated claims for the iPhone 18 Pro models, though implementation details differ across reports. How much RAM will the iPhone 18 Pro have? Rumor coverage says 12GB RAM is expected for the Pro models, and some claims extend that to the foldable too. Is Apple making a cheaper MacBook than MacBook Air? Reporting says Apple is developing a more affordable Mac laptop using an A-series iPhone chip, aimed for the first half of 2026. Is OLED coming to iPad mini in 2026? OLED iPad mini is specifically mentioned as arriving as soon as 2026 in OLED roadmap coverage. Is iPad Air getting OLED in 2026? Reports say no, with OLED iPad Air more likely later (often framed as 2027 or beyond). What is the rumored Apple smart home hub? It is described as a home device with a screen, meant to control smart home features and act as a home “center.” Timing is commonly tracked around spring 2026.

MacBook Pro M5 Pro release date: latest rumors and the most likely launch window

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:51:12 +0100

Apple has not officially announced an M5 Pro MacBook Pro yet. Based on the most recent reporting, the best estimate is “early 2026,” and more broadly the “first half of 2026.” Some reports point to late January 2026 as a possible moment for an announcement, mainly because Apple is holding a creator-focused event in Los Angeles (January 27 to 29) and its new Creator Studio bundle launches on January 28. Still, that January timing is speculation, not confirmation. If Apple does not announce the M5 Pro models in late January, the next most realistic window is February to March 2026, supported by unusual shipping delays for some current MacBook Pro configurations and multiple “coming soon” reports. Release date window at a glance WindowHow likely it looks todayWhy people think thisLate January 2026PossibleLA creator event (Jan 27 to 29), Creator Studio bundle launch (Jan 28), plus Apple sometimes ships products close to events or earnings timingFebruary to March 2026Very plausibleReports say “early 2026” and “first half of 2026,” plus shipping delays for some high-end configs stretch into MarchApril to June 2026Plausible fallbackStill fits “first half of 2026” guidance even if January speculation is wrong What we know for sure so far Apple already updated the base 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip in October 2025, but the M5 Pro and M5 Max versions have not been released yet. Multiple Apple watchers expect Apple to refresh the rest of the MacBook Pro lineup with M5 Pro and M5 Max in early 2026, and one report says Apple is planning several Mac releases in the first half of 2026. Why people are watching January 27 to 29 so closely Two separate things line up on the calendar: Apple Experience event for creators in LA (Jan 27 to 29) Creator Studio bundle launches (Jan 28) Because the bundle is aimed at creators and includes pro apps, some writers think Apple might use the same moment to push new creator hardware too, like an M5 Pro MacBook Pro. Important detail: even the reports calling out January often describe it as a theory and speculation, not a leak of an internal Apple date. Shipping delays are another hint, but not a guarantee A common pattern with Apple is that shipping times can stretch when a refresh is close, especially on higher-end configurations. Recently, several sources noted extended delivery estimates for certain MacBook Pro configs, with some delayed into February and March 2026. That does not prove a launch date by itself. Delays can also be caused by supply constraints, configuration demand spikes, or component issues. Some coverage even mentions broader memory market pressure as one possible contributor. Most likely announcement style: press release, not a big keynote If the M5 Pro MacBook Pro is mainly a chip refresh, Apple could announce it via: A press release on Apple Newsroom Updated product pages in the Apple Store Briefings to press and creators around an event window That matches how Apple often handles Mac spec bumps that do not include a new design. What the M5 Pro MacBook Pro is expected to include (so far) Most reports suggest no major redesign for the M5 Pro generation. The big design jump is expected later (M6 era). Expected changes M5 Pro and M5 Max chips in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models Performance improvements in areas like SSD performance and memory bandwidth (based on reporting and how Apple usually scales Pro chips) Not strongly expected (for this refresh) A new chassis design OLED screen or touchscreen (those are tied to later redesign rumors) Timeline of the current rumor story DateWhat happenedWhy it mattersOct 2025Base M5 MacBook Pro releasedSets up the missing “Pro and Max” refreshJan 9, 2026Report says M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pro refresh is expected in early 2026Establishes the “early 2026” expectationJan 19, 2026Another report highlights Jan 28 as a possible date, but calls it speculationShows why the Jan 28 theory spreadJan 23, 2026Report about Apple’s LA creator event (Jan 27 to 29) tied to Creator Studio (Jan 28)Adds a real-world calendar hookJan 25, 2026Report says Apple plans multiple Mac releases in the first half of 2026, with M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pros “coming soon”Reinforces first-half timing even if January does not happen Should you wait for the M5 Pro MacBook Pro? If you are choosing between buying now and waiting, use this quick checklist. Wait if You need the extra performance for sustained pro workflows (video, 3D, dev builds) You want the best resale value in 2026 You are about to spend on a high-end configuration and can wait a few weeks Buy now if You need a laptop immediately for work or school You are getting a strong discount on current models Your workloads are already fast enough on today’s chips FAQs Is there an official M5 Pro MacBook Pro release date? No. Apple has not announced it yet. The best public guidance right now is “early 2026” or “first half of 2026,” depending on the source. Will Apple launch it on January 28, 2026? It is possible, but it is still just a theory. The date is linked to Apple’s Creator Studio bundle launch and the LA creator event timing. What is the most realistic launch window if January does not happen? February to March 2026 is a common expectation because it still fits “early 2026,” and some current MacBook Pro shipping estimates extend into March. Will the M5 Pro model get a redesign? Most reporting suggests the M5 Pro generation is more of a chip refresh, with the major redesign expected later. Why are some current MacBook Pros taking so long to ship? Some reports link delays to Apple managing supply ahead of a refresh, while others mention broader memory market pressures. It is likely a mix of factors depending on the configuration. How will Apple announce it? A press release and store page update is a common approach for Mac spec refreshes, especially if there is no new design. (Apple has done this style of launch many times.)

Cisco’s 2026 agenda prioritizes AI-ready infrastructure, connectivity

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:34:55 +0100

Cisco set a high bar for itself in the new year after a prolific 2025.

Last year, Cisco refreshed its core switching and router portfolios, adding new software capabilities for the data center in 2025. It also made a number of AI networking moves, including the introduction of the Cisco 8223, a high-end, 51.2 Tbps router and chip designed for distributed AI workloads.

In addition, Cisco expanded its Nvidia relationship with a number of joint offerings, including the Cisco N9100 series data center switch. The 64-port, 800Gb Ethernet switch is powered by Nvidia’s Spectrum-4 ASIC, which is designed for AI, high-performance computing and cloud data center networks that require ultra-low latency, congestion control, and predictable performance.

Cisco also teamed with Nvidia and VAST Data to offer customers a pre-integrated AI infrastructure package, including compute, network, storage and data, to support AI workload data fabrics as well as large-scale training and inference.

The demand for AI infrastructure has already begun to impact Cisco’s earnings, and the vendor expects continued growth.

At the close of its 2025 fiscal year in late July, Cisco reported revenue of $14.7 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter, which is up 8% compared to the year-earlier quarter. Annual 2025 revenue came in at $56.7 billion, which is up 5% from the previous year.

“Enterprise product orders were up 5% year-over-year in Q4 [while] networking product orders grew double digits in Q4, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth,” CEO Chuck Robbins said at the time. “There is strong interest from customers in the new family of Cisco Catalyst 9000 smart switches, along with a completely refreshed lineup of highly secure routers, wireless access points, and industrial IoT devices, which are purpose-built for the AI-ready campus and branch.”

Expect Cisco to continue adding to and solidifying these products in the coming year, industry watchers say, as the vendor goes after what it sees as a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar refresh opportunity in the enterprise networking arena.

It’s an Ethernet world

Efforts to extend Ethernet’s dominance are gaining traction, which could benefit Cisco.

In a note about 2026 data center networking predictions, analyst Sameh Boujelbene stated that scale-up is emerging as a new battlefield for Ethernet:

“After securing a leading position in the scale-out segment of AI back-end networks, Ethernet is now expanding into scale-up, where NVLink has historically dominated. In this space, Ethernet will compete not only with NVLink but also with UALink, another alternative to NVLink,” wrote Boujelbene, vice president of the Dell’Oro Group. “We anticipate 2026 will be a year full of vendor announcements targeting both Ethernet and UALink opportunities in scale-up. Scale-up represents what could be the largest total addressable market expansion the industry has ever seen.”

In 2025, Ethernet overtook InfiniBand in AI back-end networking — “a decisive turning point,” Boujelbene wrote. “This shift is particularly striking given that just two years ago, InfiniBand accounted for nearly 80% of the data center switch sales in AI back-end networks.”

The rapid adoption of Ethernet in AI back-end deployments propelled total Ethernet data center switch sales to an all-time high in 2025, nearly doubling annual revenues compared with 2022 levels, Boujelbene stated. “800 Gbps well surpassed 20 M port within just three years of shipments: As a point of reference, it took 400 Gbps six to seven years to achieve the same milestone.”

Adding to the Ethernet effort are groups such the Ultra Ethernet Consortium and the Ethernet for Scale-Up Networking, which are working to adopt Ethernet for AI and high-performance computing. Cisco is a contributor to both efforts.

“Cisco is a giant incumbent, which means that they win by default as long as they don’t mess up too badly,” said Tom Nolle, principal analyst at Andover Intel and a Network World columnist. “Thus, they need to kiss the usual networking babies, meaning AI and security. The key for them is to be meaningful in those spaces so a competitor doesn’t steal customers/market share.”

AI infrastructure momentum

Demand for AI infrastructure is growing at an exponential rate, which stands to benefit Cisco and its major competitors, including Arista, HPE/Juniper, and Extreme.

Total global data center IT equipment spend — including servers, accelerators (XPUs), networking, optics, and storage — between 2025 and 2030 is expected to reach as much as $4.7 trillion dollars, according to a McKinsey & Company report cited in a blog post by Jake Katz, Cisco’s vice president, AI product management.

Hyperscalers are responsible for over 60% of this infrastructure investment, Katz noted. Neoclouds are responsible for about 17%, and their share is expected to grow to over 30% over the next ten years, Katz stated.

While most of the demand for AI data center capacity today comes from hyperscalers and neocloud providers, that will change as enterprise customers delve more into the AI networking world.

“The other ecosystem members and enterprises themselves are becoming responsible for an increasing proportion of the AI infrastructure buildout as inferencing and agentic AI, sovereign cloud, and edge AI become more mainstream,” Katz wrote.

More enterprises will move to host AI on premises via the introduction of AI agents that are designed to inject intelligent insight into applications and help improve operations. That’s where the AI impact on enterprise network traffic will appear, suggests Nolle.

“Enterprises need to host AI to create AI network impact. Just accessing it doesn’t do much to traffic. Having cloud agents access local data center resources (RAG etc.) creates a governance issue for most corporate data, so that won’t go too far either,” Nolle said.

“Enterprises are looking at AI agents, not the way hyperscalers tout agentic AI, but agents running on small models, often open-source, and are locally hosted. This is where real AI traffic will develop, and Cisco could be vulnerable if they don’t understand this point and at least raise it in dialogs where AI hosting comes up,” Nolle said. “I don’t expect they’d go too far, because the real market for enterprise AI networking is probably a couple years out.”

Meanwhile, observers expect Cisco to continue bolstering AI networking capabilities for enterprise branch, campus and data centers as well as hyperscalers, including through optical support and other gear.

Infrastructure modernization fueled by Cisco-Nvidia pairing

Technology solutions provider World Wide Technology recently published its IT infrastructure Modernization Priorities for 2026 report, which found that many organizations are still reliant on outdated, legacy infrastructure that is ill-equipped to handle modern workload requirements. The rise of AI has heightened the importance of IT modernization, World Wide Technology said.

Cisco’s wide-ranging partnership with Nvidia reinforces its plans to promote that kind of modernization.

For enterprise customers, one of the most interesting parts of the Cisco-Nvidia collaboration is the tie-in between Cisco’s Silicon One-based switches and Cisco N9100 Series Switches that incorporate Nvidia’s Spectrum-X Ethernet switch silicon and are managed from the Cisco Nexus dashboard.

“Embedding Spectrum X technology into a Nexus environment, where customers already likely have the skill sets, they know how to manage and run that environment, is a brilliant move,” Neil Anderson, vice president and CTO of cloud, infra, and AI solutions for World Wide Technology, told Network World. “If you’re a bank customer for example, you may have already qualified on Nexus. Now all you have to do is incorporate the Nvidia technology — it just accelerates the ability to adopt it and support it.”

One of the reasons Nvidia is partnering with Cisco is because they know that this distributed phenomenon is going to happen, Anderson said. “And they need somebody that’s got deep network experience to extend a cluster and make it distributed.”

Another element of the Nvidia partnership that’s expected to influence Cisco’s 2026 efforts is the Cisco Secure AI Factory with Nvidia, which brings together Cisco security and networking technology, Nvidia DPUs, and storage options.

“The notion of a secure AI factory and what they’re doing with Nvidia there is unique in the market to me, and it resonates with our clients. Because if you’re going to run your intellectual property on that distributed cluster, you’ve got to have security in the stack, and that’s what this addresses,” Anderson said. “I am encouraging them to keep doubling down on that one in 2026.”

Not related to the Nvidia partnership but solidly focused on distributed AI is Cisco’s new Unified Edge offering, according to Anderson. The Unified Edge, announced in November, is an integrated package of networking, compute and storage aimed at helping enterprise customers more efficiently handle data from AI and other workloads at the edge, where the data is typically created.

Ultimately, customers are moving from centralized genAI clusters in the data center to highly distributed AI that lives closer to the edge where data is created, Anderson said. “This package offers the distributed performance and simplicity we think will be an important, useful offering for customers.”

Copilot could soon live inside Windows 11’s File Explorer, as Microsoft tests Chat with Copilot in Explorer, not just in a separate app

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 18:23:14 +0100

Microsoft is testing a new feature that integrates Copilot into the File Explorer, but it’s not going to be another ‘Ask Copilot’ button in the right-click menu. This time, Copilot will live inside File Explorer, likely in a sidebar or Details/Preview-pane-like interface, according to new references in Windows 11 preview builds. Microsoft watchers @PhantomOfEarth and […]

The post Copilot could soon live inside Windows 11’s File Explorer, as Microsoft tests Chat with Copilot in Explorer, not just in a separate app appeared first on Windows Latest

ChatGPT Health verbindet sich mit Apple Health

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 17:52:44 +0100

OpenAI hat eine neue Funktion namens ChatGPT Health vorgestellt, die Nutzern ermöglicht, ihre Gesundheitsdaten direkt mit dem KI-Chatbot zu verknüpfen. Die Integration mit Apple Health steht dabei im Mittelpunkt, wird aber durch weitere Partner wie MyFitnessPal, Weight Watchers und Function ergänzt. Millionen Nutzer fragen bereits nach Gesundheitsthemen Die Nachfrage nach solchen Funktionen ist enorm. Mehr […]

OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health with Isolated, Encrypted Health Data Controls

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 08:50:53 +0100

Artificial intelligence (AI) company OpenAI on Wednesday announced the launch of ChatGPT Health, a dedicated space that allows users to have conversations with the chatbot about their health. To that end, the sandboxed experience offers users the optional ability to securely connect medical records and wellness apps, including Apple Health, Function, MyFitnessPal, Weight Watchers, AllTrails,

ChatGPT Health Launches With Apple Health and Fitness App Integrations

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 08:23:42 +0100

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Health, a new feature focused on health and wellness guidance. It brings personal health data and AI responses into one dedicated space. The goal is to help people understand their health better while supporting, not replacing, medical care. Health questions already make up a large share of how people use ChatGPT. OpenAI says more than 230 million users ask health and wellness questions every week. ChatGPT Health builds on that demand with a structured experience designed for sensitive information, clearer answers, and stronger privacy controls. ChatGPT Health ChatGPT Health lives in its own section inside ChatGPT. It allows users to connect health data from select partners to ground responses in real information, not guesses. Users stay in control and choose which apps or records to connect, if any. Supported partners at launch include: Apple Health Function MyFitnessPal Weight Watchers Additional wellness and fitness apps Once connected, ChatGPT can help explain trends, summarize lab results, prepare questions for doctor visits, and offer guidance on diet, fitness, and daily habits. “We’re introducing ChatGPT Health, a dedicated experience that securely brings your health information and ChatGPT’s intelligence together, to help you feel more informed, prepared, and confident navigating your health.” Designed to Support Medical Care OpenAI is clear about limits. ChatGPT Health does not diagnose conditions or replace doctors. It focuses on everyday understanding and long-term patterns, not medical decisions. “Health is designed to support, not replace, medical care. It is not intended for diagnosis or treatment.” The feature helps users organize scattered health data from apps, records, and notes into one place. This makes medical conversations easier and more productive. Built With Physicians Over Two Years OpenAI developed ChatGPT Health with direct input from doctors worldwide. This work shaped how the system responds when it urges follow-ups, and how it avoids harm. “Over two years, we’ve worked with more than 260 physicians who have practiced in 60 countries and dozens of specialties… providing feedback on model outputs over 600,000 times across 30 areas of focus.” That feedback influenced tone, clarity, safety checks, and escalation guidance built into the system. Privacy and Security Come First Health data stays separate from regular chats. OpenAI says health conversations use additional protections beyond standard ChatGPT security. Key privacy points include: Health chats live in a separate space Purpose-built encryption and isolation Health conversations are not used to train models Users can view or delete Health memories at any time “Conversations in Health are not used to train our foundation models.” Users can also disconnect apps at any time, and access ends immediately. Availability and Access ChatGPT Health is rolling out to a limited group first. OpenAI plans to expand access in phases. It will be available on the web and iOS, with some integrations limited to the United States. Apple Health syncing requires an iPhone. Users can join a waitlist and will see Health appear in the ChatGPT sidebar once access is enabled. This is just the beginning. OpenAI says more integrations and features are coming as it refines how ChatGPT supports everyday health understanding.

OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health, Encouraging Users To Connect Their Medical Records

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 01:20:31 +0100

OpenAI has unveiled ChatGPT Health, a sandboxed health-focused mode that lets users connect medical records and wellness apps for more personalized guidance. The company makes sure to note that ChatGPT Health is "not intended for diagnosis or treatment." The Verge reports: The company is encouraging users to connect their personal medical records and wellness apps, such as Apple Health, Peloton, MyFitnessPal,Weight Watchers, and Function, "to get more personalized, grounded responses to their questions." It suggests connecting medical records so that ChatGPT can analyze lab results, visit summaries, and clinical history; MyFitnessPal and Weight Watchers for food guidance; Apple Health for health and fitness data, including movement, sleep, and activity patterns"; and Function for insights into lab tests. On the medical records front, OpenAI says it's partnered with b.well, which will provide back-end integration for users to upload their medical records, since the company works with about 2.2 million providers. For now, ChatGPT Health requires users to sign up for a waitlist to request access, as it's starting with a beta group of early users, but the product will roll out gradually to all users regardless of subscription tier. [...] In a blog post, OpenAI wrote that based on its "de-identified analysis of conversations," more than 230 million people around the world already ask ChatGPT questions related to health and wellness each week. OpenAI also said that over the past two years, it's worked with more than 260 physicians to provide feedback on model outputs more than 600,000 times over 30 areas of focus, to help shape the product's responses. "ChatGPT can help you understand recent test results, prepare for appointments with your doctor, get advice on how to approach your diet and workout routine, or understand the tradeoffs of different insurance options based on your healthcare patterns," OpenAI claims in the blog post.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Breaking BOTS: Cheating at Blue Team CTFs with AI Speed-Runs (39c3)

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 15:32:43 +0100

After we announced our results, CTFs like Splunk's Boss of the SOC (BOTS) started prohibiting AI agents. For science & profit, we keep doing it anyways. In BOTS, the AIs solve most of it in under 10 minutes instead of taking the full day. Our recipe was surprisingly simple: Teach AI agents to self-plan their investigation steps, adapt their plans to new information, work with the SIEM DB, and reason about log dumps. No exotic models, no massive lab budgets - just publicly available LLMs mixed with a bit of science and perseverance. We'll walk through how that works, including videos of the many ways AI trips itself up that marketers would rather hide, and how to do it at home with free and open-source tools. CTF organizers can't detect this - the arms race is probably over before it really began. But the real question isn't "can we cheat at CTFs?" It's what happens when investigations evolve from analysts-who-investigate to analysts-who-manage-AI-investigators. We'll show you what that transition already looks like today and peek into some uncomfortable questions about what comes next. THE PLAN Live demonstrations of AI agents speed-running blue team challenges, including the failure modes that break investigations. We'll show both what happens when we try the trivial approaches like “just have claude do it”, “AI workflows”, and what ultimately worked, like managed self-planning, semantic SIEM layers, and log agents. Most can be done with free and open tools and techniques on the cheap, so we will walk through that as well. THE DEEP DIVE * Why normal prompts and static AI workflows fail * Self-planning investigation agents that evolve task lists dynamically * What we mean by semantic layers for calling databases and APIs * How to handle millions of log events without bankrupting yourself * Why "no AI" rules are misguided technically and conceptually GOING BEYOND CTFS The same patterns that trivialize training exercises work on real SOC investigations. We're watching blue team work fundamentally transform - from humans investigating to humans managing AI investigators. Training programs teaching skills AI already automates. Hiring practices that can't verify who's doing the work. Certifications losing meaning. More fundamentally, when we talk about who watches the watchers, a lot is about to shift again. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 about this event: https://events.ccc.de/congress/2025/hub/event/detail/breaking-bots-cheating-at-blue-team-ctfs-with-ai-speed-runs

How the Dollar-Store Industry Overcharges Cash-Strapped Customers While Promising Low Prices

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 20:20:20 +0100

Dollar General and Family Dollar stores have collectively failed more than 6,400 government price-accuracy inspections since January 2022, charging customers more at checkout than the prices displayed on shelves for everything from frozen pizzas to puppy food, according to an investigation by the Guardian. The review examined records from 45 states and more than 140 counties and cities. Dollar General stores failed over 4,300 inspections across 23 states, and Family Dollar failed more than 2,100 in 20 states. Error rates at the worst-performing locations reached staggering levels -- 76% at a Dollar General in Hamilton, Ohio and 68% at a Family Dollar in Bound Brook, New Jersey. A Family Dollar in Provo, Utah failed 28 consecutive inspections. Industry watchers, employees and lawsuits attribute the discrepancies to minimal staffing. Registers update automatically when prices change, but shelf labels require manual replacement, and workers often lack the time. State attorneys general have pursued settlements -- Arizona reached a $600,000 deal with Family Dollar in May, Colorado settled with Dollar General for $400,000 in October and Ohio secured $1 million from Dollar General after finding error rates as high as 88%. Both companies declined interview requests but said they remain committed to pricing accuracy.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple’s Founding Contract Heads to Historic $4 Million Auction

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 10:52:42 +0100

The original contract that created Apple Computer Company is now set for auction, and you are looking at one of the most important papers in tech history. This three page document dates back to April 1, 1976 and laid the foundation for what later became one of the world’s most valuable companies. It clearly defined the early partnership that shaped Apple’s first steps. The agreement brought Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne together under a single vision. Each role mattered. The contract assigned 45 percent ownership to Jobs, 45 percent to Wozniak, and 10 percent to Wayne, which set the company’s initial structure. Now, Christie’s plans to offer this rare document as a single lot on January 23, 2026. The auction house values it between $2 million and $4 million. As a result, you are seeing history return to the spotlight in a high profile sale. Ron Wayne’s Quiet Exit From Apple Soon after Apple formed, Ron Wayne chose to step away from the venture. Just 12 days later, he signed papers confirming his withdrawal from the partnership. These documents also form part of the auction package listed by Christie’s, linking both events in one complete record. Wayne received $800 for his 10 percent share at the time. Later, he collected an additional $1,500 payment. He explained his decision by saying he knew the path ahead would feel like a roller coaster and he did not want that level of risk. Today, that choice carries heavy hindsight. If Wayne had kept his share in an untouched form, its value would reach an unthinkable figure based on Apple’s current size. Still, the structure of modern Apple makes that comparison more symbolic than real. Previous Sales and Growing Value Wayne once sold the physical copy of the original contract in the early 1990s for $500. At that time, the document held mostly historical value rather than global attention. Still, its importance did not fade. Years later, Sotheby’s handled the last major sale of Apple’s founding papers in December 2011. That lot included the same withdrawal agreement and attracted strong interest from collectors. It ultimately sold for close to $1.6 million to a private buyer. Now, as this new auction approaches, you can see how the value of these papers keeps rising. The story of Apple’s beginning continues to captivate collectors and history watchers alike, and the contract stands as proof of where it all began. https://youtu.be/yEnTsHMhYi8

Key takeaways from Cisco Partner Summit

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 17:35:13 +0100

Cisco’s annual reseller conclave, Partner Summit, is arguably its second-most-important event, behind only its customer-centric Cisco Live show.

In fiscal year 2025, $55 billion of Cisco’s bookings went through its channel, which equates to about 90% of its revenue. And there have been some big – make that seismic – changes at Cisco in recent years, including its acquisition of Splunk and pivot to becoming a platform company. Also, earlier this year, the company named Tim Coogan as senior vice president of global partner sales.

Given all these changes and the importance of the channel, the 2025 edition of Partner Summit, held in San Diego earlier this month, was an important one. Overall, I thought it was a solid event with Cisco showing good momentum in many areas. Here are some of my key takeaways from the event.

Cisco affirms commitment to the channel

I’m not sure why, but for years many industry watchers have questioned Cisco’s commitment to its partner community. I’ve heard rumors that Cisco wants a larger share of the services business, and an analyst once told me the company was building a secret services organization and would eventually cut most of its partners out of the loop. Nothing could be further from the truth.

One example of its commitment is related to the upcoming Cisco 360 Partner Program. Cisco announced it at the 2024 Partner Summit, and it’s slated to go live in the spring of 2026. The reason for the long lead time is so Cisco can co-design it with the partners.

Reaction to the initial release of the program was tepid, to say the least, but over the past year, Cisco has taken feedback from thousands of partners and tweaked the program. The new program is centered on cross-architecture, outcome selling, and keys to partner success in the AI era. It includes two new specializations: secure AI infrastructure and secure networking.

Brian Ortbals, senior vice president from World Wide Technology, which is one of Cisco’s biggest and most important partners stated: “Cisco engaged partners early in the process and took our feedback along the way. We believe now is the right time for these changes as it will enable us to capitalize on the changes in the market.”

The reality is, the more successful its more-than-half-a-million partners are, the more successful Cisco will be.

Platform approach is coming together

When Jeetu Patel took the reigns as chief product officer, one of his goals was to make the Cisco portfolio a “force multiple.”

Patel has stated repeatedly that, historically, Cisco acted more as a technology holding company with good products in networking, security, collaboration, data center and other areas. In this case, product breadth was not an advantage, as everything must be sold as “best of breed,” which is a tough ask of the salesforce and partner community.

Since then, there have been many examples of the coming together of the portfolio to create products that leverage the breadth of the platform. The latest is the Unified Edge appliance, an all-in-one solution that brings together compute, networking, storage and security.

Cisco has been aggressive with AI products in the data center, and Cisco Unified Edge compliments that work with a device designed to bring AI to edge locations. This is ideally suited for retail, manufacturing, healthcare, factories and other industries where it’s more cost effecting and performative to run AI where the data lives.

Other recent platform examples include AI Canvas, AI Defense, Catalyst-Meraki integration, and a tremendous amount of Splunk integration.

AI transform services

The second day of the summit highlighted Cisco IQ, which infuses AI into Cisco’s Customer Experience (CX) group. For those not familiar with Cisco CX, the organization offers a portfolio of services that provide customers with expertise, insight and support to help accelerate deployments and get the most out of Cisco technology. The organization is highly successful and accounts for about 25% of Cisco’s revenue. With all that success, one might wonder why Cisco would change it?

At Partner Summit, I sat down with Liz Centoni, executive vice president and general manager of Cisco CX, and she gave me the simple answer: “It’s what our customers are asking for.”

“Infrastructure continues to grow in importance, and yet so does complexity,” she elaborated. “IT organizations live in reactive, firefighting mode, so we are using our data and AI to shift IT from being reactive to proactive.” This trend of reactive to proactive is something IT pros have wanted for a long time, but vendors never had the insights to be predictive, which enables proactivity. AI closes that gap.

Cisco IQ is built on an agentic AI foundation, meaning it doesn’t just react but rather uses intelligence to anticipate, personalize, and transform how users interact with the platform. This enables Cisco to provide personalized support rather than having to cater to the masses, as was the norm in the past.

Cisco offers both AI infrastructure and data

One of the points made in almost every presentation I saw is that Cisco is positioning itself as “critical infrastructure for the AI era.” While that’s true, it doesn’t cover the full scope of the company’s value when it comes to AI. Cisco also offers the data, perhaps more than any other infrastructure provider, to fuel insights. Cisco has a veritable cornucopia of data from many sources, including Splunk, ThousandEyes, AppD, network telemetry, and security systems, and it has years of it.

The most obvious use case for the data is to help customers shift to autonomous operations for the Cisco infrastructure. This historical data combined with agentic operations and Cisco’s experience should allow it to predict most causes of outages and breaches and then automatically adjust things before they can happen. More broadly, the data could be ingested by other IT management platforms to manage infrastructure beyond Cisco, since products like ThousandEyes and Splunk are vendor agnostic.

The most interesting use case is to tie infrastructure data to business operations, which has many possibilities. A basic use case would be to tie network traffic to worker and customer activities. Cisco does some level of this today with retailers, stadiums and factories.

Thinking way outside the box, infrastructure data could look at multi-step business processes that identify where the gaps are in moving from one step to another. That data could then be used to determine whether the latency in the process is from people or is technical and suggest a way to fix it.

Purpose can be both good for the world and good for business

Few companies are as purpose driven as Cisco. Early in Chuck Robbins’ tenure, Cisco’s mission statement evolved from being the company that “Changes the way we work, live, learn and play,” to “Powering an Inclusive Future for all.”

This isn’t just a tag line, it’s engrained in the culture. Cisco is the lead sponsor for Global Citizen, is actively involved in organizations like Covenant House, had a goal of positively impacting 1 billion people in five years and hit that number early, and has Networking Academies all over the world to help individuals in developed and impoverished nations create a career path in networking.

However, skeptics have questioned the value of this and wondered if a business should be so active with purpose-driven initiatives. First of all, from a humanity level, if companies the size of Cisco won’t help people less fortunate, who will?

I think the bigger question is why aren’t all big companies keeping pace? I’ve talked about this at length with Francine Katsoudas, Cisco executive vice president and chief people, policy and purpose officer, about how the work Cisco does can be both good for the world and good for Cisco.

One example is the Cisco Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program, which partners with governments to accelerate a nation’s digital transformation agenda through co-invested projects. At first glance, one might wonder why Cisco would give a country millions of dollars of networking equipment. But as that country grows its digital footprint, the government and businesses in that country will likely turn to Cisco for future investments. The CDA program has proven to offer great returns and brings digital technologies to countries that could not have initially made the investment.

Katsoudas and I have talked about the investments Cisco has made in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Cisco gave the schools infrastructure to modernize, and as the technology expanded and refreshed, that led to future investments. There are countless examples of how Cisco’s commitment to purpose is good for business.

It’s worth noting that Cisco actively encourages its partners to add purpose to their activities.

At Partner Summit, I met with Jose Pla, co-founder and CEO of KIW, which won the Partnering for Purpose-Sustainability Award at the Cisco Partner Innovation Challenge for 2025.

KIW’s SPLID.AI platform intelligently aligns AI workloads with periods of renewable energy surplus, allowing AI data centers built on Cisco AI Pod and Nvidia technologies to operate more efficiently with a reduced carbon footprint. Rewarding partners goes a long way toward highlighting what’s possible, which creates a multiplier effect for Cisco.

Customers should make purpose part of their buying criteria. If the vendor you are using isn’t trying to help make the world a better place, is that a company you want to do business with?

Who's watching the watchers? This Mozilla fellow, and her Surveillance Watch map

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 12:19:51 +0100

Esra'a Al Shafei spoke with The Reg about the spy tech 'global trade'

interview Digital rights activist Esra'a Al Shafei found FinFisher spyware on her device more than a decade ago. Now she's made it her mission to surveil the companies providing surveillanceware, their customers, and their funders.…

Apple Music must emulate Spotify or die, says nonsensical report

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 18:51:39 +0100

There's a recurring theme from industry watchers, repeated on Friday, that Apple Music is doomed, if Apple doesn't copy Spotify's business model. The core premise is nonsense, and the reasoning for it is ridiculous.

Apple Music

It is true that Apple Music lags far behind Spotify, even if the European Union doesn't seem to think so. It is unquestionably true that Spotify is the largest streaming player in the world, as a new Bloomberg opinion piece by Ashley Carman says.

But saying, as that op-ed does, that Apple must therefore emulate Spotify is the politician's syllogism. We must do something / this is something / therefore we must do this.

Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Google app on iOS sending users to AI mode using push alerts

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 14:51:24 +0200

Google is using push notifications from its iOS app to steer some people straight into AI Mode searches. Tapping the alert opens AI Mode with a ready prompt, skipping the usual results page. The behavior surfaced over the weekend through posts from search watchers who captured it in action. On X, Sachin Patel shared a clip showing a Google notification that, once tapped, routed directly to AI Mode. He described it as: “Google sends a notification, and when you click on it, it redirects you to AI Mode.” https://twitter.com/SachuPatel53124/status/1978860256248603021 SEO consultant Glenn Gabe reported seeing the same pattern on iPhone. “I’ve been receiving notifications with the AI Mode icon on my phone about a newsy topic, which leads directly to AI Mode for that prompt,” he wrote, adding, “Google definitely wants more people using AI Mode… Oh, and I’m sure that’s a ‘new query’ to be counted by them.” He later posted the destination screen users see after tapping the alert. Push notifications become Google’s new entry point to AI Mode AI Mode is Google’s full-screen conversational search experience built on Gemini 2.5. It invites follow-up questions and surfaces sources in a side panel. Google framed it this spring as “our most powerful AI search,” and it has expanded in recent months, including broader availability in the United States and markets like India. If the Google app can seed timely prompts that open AI Mode, usage rises without users seeking the feature themselves. Publishers and SEOs already track how AI surfaces change traffic. The shift to notifications that open AI Mode by default will intensify those debates. “Nothing like pushing your app users to go to Google AI Mode,” noted Search Engine Roundtable while documenting the alerts. Google wants more people searching inside AI Mode, and it is now using the iOS app’s push system to make that happen. The taps count. The behavior encourages conversational queries and keeps users inside a growing AI-first search flow.

Apple’s new M5 chip lands with 4× AI GPU boost, faster Neural Engine, and higher memory bandwidth

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 18:06:48 +0200

Apple has unveiled the M5, its next Apple silicon chip focused squarely on on-device AI. Headline upgrades include a next-gen 10-core GPU with a Neural Accelerator in every core (over 4× peak GPU compute vs. M4), a faster 16-core Neural Engine, and a nearly 30% jump in unified memory bandwidth to 153GB/s. The first devices to get M5 are the new 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro, all going up for pre-order today. On the CPU side, Apple says M5 uses up to four performance cores and six efficiency cores and delivers up to 15% faster multithreaded performance over M4. The GPU adds Apple’s third-gen ray tracing plus second-gen dynamic caching for smoother gameplay and faster pro-app rendering, with up to 45% graphics gains in supported workloads compared to M4. The AI story is bigger than the Neural Engine: those per-core GPU Neural Accelerators are designed to speed up diffusion models and LLMs in apps that tap Apple’s frameworks (Core ML, Metal Performance Shaders, Metal 4/Tensor APIs). Apple also calls out Apple Intelligence getting a lift from the faster AI blocks and memory bandwidth. If you’ve been tracking the lead-up, today’s launch lines up with recent signals: our reports on stock delays hinting at M5 and Apple’s “coming soon” M5 MacBook Pro tease foreshadowed this moment, while our round-up on the M5 MacBook Pro outlined many of the expected gains. For Vision Pro watchers, our FCC filing deep dive flagged the incoming chip refresh ahead of today. And for iPad, see when M5 iPad Pro would land and our event no-show analysis for the context that set the stage. What it means for users: expect snappier Apple Intelligence features, faster local image generation and LLMs in supported apps, and better graphics/ray tracing in games and 3D tools. Apple says the new MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro are available to pre-order today, with performance figures based on September 2025 testing. We’ll have hands-on impressions as soon as review units arrive.

Eddy Cue Says Apple TV Subscribers Far Exceed 45 Million Estimate

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:51:36 +0200

Eddy Cue just raised expectations for Apple’s streaming business with a carefully chosen phrase. He said Apple TV has “significantly more” than 45 million subscribers, while declining to share a specific figure. Matt Belloni surfaced the remark in Puck’s newsletter teasing his next episode of The Town podcast. In that interview, Belloni referenced the widely repeated 45 million estimate from outside analysts. Cue rejected that ballpark without numbers, confirming only that Apple’s total sits “significantly more than that.” Cue also explained the realities of building a service built almost entirely on original programming. “Look, it’s a lot harder than it looks,” he said, pointing to production disruptions that slowed Apple’s pipeline. “I didn’t forecast being out of production for a year and a half,” he added, noting a “nine-month strike,” before concluding, “where we are today is great.” The shape of Apple’s audience remains the open question that industry watchers want answered. “Significantly more” leaves room for interpretation, and that choice of words keeps competitive rivals guessing. A number edging toward 100 million would shift Apple firmly into the second tier of global streamers. Netflix still sits far ahead with more than 300 million subscribers worldwide, which sets the ceiling and context for any Apple comparison. Pricing, opacity, and the growth story Apple continues to keep exact subscriber and viewership data out of public filings and press statements. That policy frustrates analysts who want to compare performance directly across services. The Town conversation highlighted this tension clearly, as Belloni pressed for clarity while Cue stayed deliberately vague. Price increases suggest Apple feels confident about product value and audience stickiness across its catalog. Apple TV now costs 12.99 dollars per month in the United States as a standalone plan. Many customers also get access through Apple One bundles or carrier and device promotions that complicate simple headcounts. The catalog has expanded quickly since the 4.99 dollars monthly launch price in 2019, with Apple chasing awards and cultural moments. That strategy requires patience because original shows and films take longer to develop than licensed reruns. Cue’s comments acknowledge those lead times while signaling that subscriber momentum looks healthy today. What “significantly more” means for Apple Profitability remains the other unresolved piece as Apple scales its slate of originals. The company is believed to spend more than 4 billion dollars each year on programming, which underscores how high the bar is for returns. For you, the takeaway is straightforward even without a precise number from Apple. The service appears larger than many observers assumed, and leadership sounds confident about trajectory. If the full interview delivers more context on engagement or churn, the market will recalibrate its models quickly. Until then, the phrase “significantly more” sets a higher floor and keeps the guessing game alive.

Apple’s Foldable iPhone Could Cost Less Than Expected

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 23:20:41 +0200

You expect a pricey first-generation iPhone Fold, yet the hinge might change that. Apple’s design choices around this single part influence cost, durability, and final pricing. A leaner hinge architecture lowers risk in assembly and testing across mass production lines. That opens room for Apple to surprise you on the sticker price. Early supply rumor points to sharper math than many analysts assumed last year. In a note to clients, Ming-Chi Kuo predicts mass-production hinge costs at 70 to 80 dollars. He contrasts that with market talk centered around 100 to 120 dollars per unit. That gap improves Apple’s pricing flexibility without gutting margins on a flagship experiment. Cost picture, simplified Your decision to upgrade always starts with value, not hype or novelty. If Apple’s hinge lands near Kuo’s band, unit economics start looking friendlier. Component savings stack alongside the usual scale benefits across displays, batteries, and processors. That combination lets Apple price assertively while keeping investor expectations intact. The savings stem from design and process, not some miracle raw material discount today. Kuo attributes the drop to assembly optimization and Foxconn’s capacity muscle guiding the hinge venture. Manufacturing confidence grows when tolerances tighten and rework rates fall across multi-shift factories. You feel that confidence when prices stabilize rather than creep upward every quarter. Suppliers tell the rest of this story in clear, measurable ways for you. Foxconn and Shin Zu Shing formed a joint venture to build most hinge units. Kuo estimates their share around sixty-five percent, leaving Amphenol with roughly thirty-five. The split reflects Foxconn’s integration logic with final iPhone assembly under one strategic roof. Supply chain shifts that matter You care about resilience if a hinge defines reliability, longevity, and resale value. A single-source bottleneck invites delays, shortages, and warranty headaches for early adopters. This setup lowers that risk while keeping qualification cycles tight and predictable across builds. A stable ramp means fewer surprises when you place a preorder next year. Kuo also flags Luxshare as a potential future entrant after 2027 shipments begin. A third qualified supplier pressures pricing while improving capacity buffers during refresh seasons. Competitive bids force incremental redesigns that shave grams, thickness, and assembly minutes. You win when those savings translate into price or durability rather than marketing. Consider the moving pieces that shape what you eventually pay at checkout: Hinge cost trending toward 70 to 80 dollars, per Kuo’s latest estimate. Materials still matter because the hinge must survive real daily abuse and strain. Earlier rumors pitched titanium and aluminum frames that balance stiffness, weight, and finish. Stainless steel with a liquid metal hinge sounds premium yet risks an unwieldy device. Your hands notice grams before your eyes notice polish or shine under bright lights. Apple will still guard timing because prototypes rarely behave like final devices in pockets. The foldable target has slipped in forecasts since at least 2019, frustrating many watchers. A credible hinge cost helps, but validation cycles decide every greenlight in Cupertino. You should watch supplier mix and test milestones more than calendar guesses this season.

iOS 26.1 Public Update may bring major Siri Improvements

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 00:51:22 +0200

Apple’s biggest revision of Siri is still months away, but you won’t have to wait until 2026 to see useful progress. A smaller Siri update in iOS 26.1 is expected to improve how the assistant handles services apps such as TV, Music, and Fitness. Early steps before the full AI revamp Apple has already confirmed that its ambitious “Apple Intelligence” platform is a mix of on-device processing, generative AI, and large language model enhancements will power a deeply reimagined version of Siri. That update is expected in early 2026. But Apple seems to be planning a series of smaller updates ahead of the full release, starting with iOS 26.1 and possibly iOS 26.2. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in the latest Power On newsletter, Apple is preparing to roll out enhanced Siri capabilities focused specifically on services apps. These changes could improve how you interact with media, content, and activity through voice commands, hinting at a broader shift toward context-aware and task-specific assistance. What “improved control” likely means Apple is likely to introduce this functionality alongside expanded Apple Intelligence support in China. The company’s approach appears to be gradual. Instead of waiting for one massive Siri reveal, Apple is laying the groundwork with incremental features designed to make the assistant more useful in day-to-day use. While Gurman didn’t name specific apps, industry watchers expect the TV app to be one of the first to benefit. That timing would align with another rumored product launch: a new Apple TV 4K model expected in October, reportedly featuring Apple Intelligence integration. More precise playback: Ask for a specific episode, skip an intro, or jump to a timestamp. Cleaner cross-app flow: Start a show in TV, then pull up related music or workouts without manual hopping. Smarter follow-ups: Keep context across questions without repeating the app name. Building toward Apple Intelligence Rolling out targeted upgrades now keeps Siri relevant while Apple finishes the full rebuild. It also gives Apple real-world feedback inside high-traffic apps where voice control must feel fast and consistent. Expect iOS 26.1 to set the tone. You get practical gains in services you use daily, while Apple readies the broader overhaul that lands next year.

Saudi Takeover of EA in $55 Billion Deal Raises Serious Concerns

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:18:29 +0200

BrianFagioli writes: Electronic Arts has agreed to a $55 billion buyout by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), private equity firm Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, marking the largest all-cash sponsor take-private deal ever. Shareholders will receive $210 per share, a 25 percent premium over EA's unaffected price, and once the transaction closes the company will be delisted from public markets. EA CEO Andrew Wilson will remain in charge, with the group arguing that private ownership will allow the publisher to innovate faster and expand its global footprint. The deal, however, is already sparking controversy. PIF, a sovereign wealth fund controlled by the Saudi government, will effectively gain control of one of the most influential names in gaming. While investors stand to profit, many gamers and industry watchers are concerned about how Saudi ownership could shape EA's creative direction, monetization strategies, and role in esports. With regulatory approvals still pending, the takeover raises difficult questions about the intersection of gaming, politics, and global soft power.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Streaming Is Overtaking Theaters For Movie Watchers, an AP-NORC Poll Finds

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 18:48:41 +0200

alternative_right writes: Americans are more likely to watch newly released movies from the comfort of their own homes instead of heading out to a theater, according to a new poll. About three-quarters of U.S. adults said they watched a new movie on streaming instead of in the theater at least once in the past year, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, including about 3 in 10 who watched new movies on streaming at least once a month. Meanwhile, about two-thirds of Americans said that they've watched a recently released movie in a theater in the past year, and only 16% said they went at least once a month. The results suggest that, on the whole, American moviegoers are more likely to stream a film than see it in the theaters, a shifting tide that was only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

CoE Displays Coming to Vision Air and 20th Anniversary iPhone

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 15:35:45 +0200

Apple appears to be lining up a major leap in display technology for 2027. A new supply chain report suggests the company will use advanced “color filter on encapsulation” (CoE) displays in both the upcoming Vision Air headset and at least one iPhone model tied to the device’s 20th anniversary. Thinner and brighter displays For years, smartphone and headset makers have looked for ways to cut display thickness without sacrificing brightness. Traditional panels rely on stacked layers. One for display output, one for touch sensing, one for reflection filtering, and another for scratch protection. Each layer adds bulk and reduces the amount of light that reaches your eyes. Samsung’s CoE method addresses this by combining the light-emitting and color filter functions into a single glass layer. The result is a display that is slimmer and brighter compared to conventional OLED panels. Industry watchers believe Apple will adopt this approach for the Vision Air and a 2027 iPhone. Marking 20 years of iPhone According to ETNews, Apple plans to showcase CoE technology in a “bar-type” iPhone in 2027. The timing is not coincidental. That year marks the 20th anniversary of the original iPhone, and Apple is expected to highlight the milestone with a redesigned Pro model. Former design chief Jony Ive often spoke about an iPhone that looked like a single sheet of glass. The iPhone X pushed Apple closer to that vision, and reports suggest the anniversary edition could finally deliver a near bezel-free design. Some expect the device to carry a new name, though Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports it will likely launch as the iPhone 19 Pro. Industry positioning An industry official told ETNews that “Apple plans to apply CoE to bar-type smartphones in 2027 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the iPhone launch.” The source added that Samsung is eager to highlight its own adoption of CoE before Apple introduces the technology. Samsung, for its part, is preparing the Galaxy S26 Ultra with both CoE and a new OLED material set, M14, expected to bring improved brightness and longer lifespan. The S26 Ultra will become Samsung’s first non-folding phone to ship with CoE, a move seen as a direct play to outpace Apple in display innovation. The future If Apple delivers as planned, the Vision Air and the anniversary iPhone will mark a new phase in display technology. For users, that translates into slimmer devices with brighter screens. For the industry, it sets the stage for a competitive race where Samsung and Apple both aim to define what the next generation of mobile displays should look like.

Oracle appoints two CEOs, but the power still rests with Larry Ellison

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 23:19:22 +0200

When Oracle announced on Monday that it is replacing longtime CEO Safra Catz, who has held that role since 2014, with two executives sharing the CEO role, it was the divergent nature of the two executives’ backgrounds that prompted the most attention.

Some see the move as an effort by the board to hedge its bets between an all-in-on-AI play versus a focus more on Oracle’s core database business. They are waiting to see how market forces play out.

The new CEOs are Clay Magouyrk, previously president of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, who joined the company in 2014 from Amazon Web Services; and Mike Sicilia, formerly president of Oracle Industries, whose specialties are in vertical applications and applied AI.

Unlike co-CEO announcements by other organizations, Oracle’s initial statement did not provide any exclusive jurisdictions for either executive, suggesting that they would be truly equals.

“Together, CEOs Magouyrk and Sicilia will continue to collaborate on building complete industry suites of AI applications on top of Oracle’s rapidly evolving AI Database and Cloud Infrastructure,” the statement said.

It then briefly quoted the new CEOs: “’We are excited to lead Oracle into the AI era, where technological innovation leads to extraordinary business opportunity and hyper-growth,’ said Magouyrk and Sicilia in a joint statement. ‘Our combined strengths in AI, cloud infrastructure, horizontal applications and industry applications, will enable Oracle to deliver the latest AI capabilities to our customers.’”

But a SEC filing from Oracle on Monday provided a clue that the cloud exec, Magouyrk, may have the larger role.

Magouyrk was given “a grant of stock options to purchase $250 million in shares of Oracle common stock with 80% of the grant consisting of time-based stock options and 20% of the grant consisting of performance-based stock options [PSOs],” according to the SEC filing, whereas Sicilia was given less than half of that. “Sicilia will receive a grant of stock options to purchase $100 million in shares of Oracle common stock with 80% of the grant consisting of time-based stock options and 20% of the grant consisting of PSOs.”

The filing added that for both executives, “the time-based stock options will vest over a four-year period subject to continued service and the PSOs will vest over a three-year performance period ending May 31, 2028, subject to the achievement of certain revenue metrics.”

Given the stock option awards, said Scott Bickley, advisory fellow at Info-Tech Research Group, “the lead horse there is Clay [Magouyrk].”

He added that board chairman Larry Ellison is 81 years old and “Larry eventually will take a step back.” Oracle watchers, he said, “would be betting on Clay” as Ellison’s replacement.

That comment plunges deeply into the Oracle management culture, which is overwhelmingly dominated by Ellison, who reportedly controls more than 40% of all Oracle shares.

Ellison “runs Oracle with an iron fist” and “runs that company single-handedly,” Bickley said. “It’s therefore hard to draw typical conclusions. It’s not a company that is run in a typical fashion.”

Akshara Naik Lopez, a senior analyst with Forrester, said she anticipates details to soon emerge about the different roles of these two executives.

But Lopez said that, despite the differences in background between them, there is a good reason why they were chosen.

“Clay and Mike are insiders and have experience working hand in hand,” Lopez said. “There is a reason they picked insiders. They wanted people who have shown that they can work together. I don’t think they are going to have much friction.”

Lauren Nelson, a VP/research director at Forrester, said she saw the Oracle moves as making sense.

“Clay has been quietly leading the revolution on the cloud side,” Nelson said.

While the new CEO roles and jurisdictions have not yet been differentiated, Nelson noted that an announcement may be imminent, suggesting that it may occur at the Oracle AI World show in mid-October.

She also said some of the lack of CEO jurisdictional differentiation might be because of the nature of AI versus cloud today. “There may be areas where they overlapped,” Nelson said.

Nelson speculated that the difference in the stock options given to each executive might relate to the size of the divisions they have been running. “It could be roughly in tune with the size of their different groups,” she noted.

Balaji Abbabatulla, VP/analyst with Gartner, said that he expects that the two CEOs “are not going to be working on the same decisions” and that there will soon be “more clarity across all of the reporting functions.”

The key point, he said, is, “Oracle is now an AI company, but that AI can mean very different things.”

He agreed with Nelson that the difference in the stock option grants might simply be the executives’ history rather than an indication of each individual’s new role.

Mike was made a president in June, Abbabatulla said, whereas Clay has held that rank since 2014. “That is a difference in tenure. I don’t know if that plays a role in how much stock is allocated.”

Adding to the executive dynamics is the fact that current CEO Catz was relieved of her CEO duties entirely and made Executive Vice Chair of the Oracle Board of Directors.

This might mean that Catz is next in line to succeed Ellison as chairman, but on the other hand, her new role wasn’t even mentioned until the sixth paragraph of the Oracle announcement.

During an analyst call shortly after the announcement, Catz said, “I’m still here and I’m an employee [of Oracle].” She said that the transition is being made now because Oracle has recently reported some very large potential new contracts. “We wanted to make the transition when things are going great,” she said.

Bickley said the likely impact on Oracle customers in the near term is minimal. But he stressed that Oracle is making its AI move very differently from others, which makes sense given Oracle’s different market position.

Unlike other hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, Oracle is content to hold onto its massive database installed base and simply add AI services for those enterprises, making its offerings stickier. This contrasts with most of its rivals that are trying to grow their AI installed base by either stealing customers from each other or bringing in a larger percentage of newcomers.

“Oracle has a massive installed base of legacy customers,” Bickley said. “They haven’t had to go after net new business.” They are, he noted, simply trying to move their legacy base to the cloud.

Specifically, he has seen Oracle avoid upcharging for AI, which is another differentiator from rivals. “Oracle’s pricing and terms [for AI] have been very generous as of late,” Bickley said.

iPhone 17 Pro Scratches Raise ‘Scuffgate 2.0’ Fears on Launch Day

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 10:21:05 +0200

Apple’s highly anticipated iPhone 17 launch day has been clouded by a growing number of reports from early buyers and journalists noting cosmetic damage on brand-new devices. The deep blue variant of the iPhone 17 Pro and the black version of the iPhone 17 Air are reportedly showing scuffs and scratches with surprising ease, in some cases straight out of the box or after only a few hours on display at Apple Stores. Observations from Apple retail locations in New York, London, and Shanghai confirmed the issue on display units. Simultaneously, the topic exploded on social media, quickly becoming a top trending subject on China's Weibo and generating numerous posts on X from new owners sharing photos of the blemishes. This immediate backlash is creating a significant narrative problem for a launch Apple is counting on to maintain its market momentum. The likely culprit appears to be the new iPhone 17's return to an anodized aluminum chassis for its Pro models, a departure from the more durable surgical-grade stainless steel used in recent years. While aluminum is lighter, it is a softer metal and is more susceptible to scratching, especially when coated with a dark color. The issue is creating a direct contradiction with Apple's marketing, which had touted the new devices as having a more scratch-resistant finish. For long-time Apple watchers, the situation is strikingly familiar, drawing immediate comparisons to the "Scuffgate" controversy that plagued the iPhone 5 launch in 2012. That device also used an anodized aluminum frame in a dark slate color that was notoriously prone to showing silver scuffs along its chamfered edges. At the time, Apple executives essentially stated that this was normal for any aluminum product. This is not the first time a major Apple launch has been met with unexpected hardware complaints. The company has previously navigated "Bendgate" with the thin iPhone 6 and "Antennagate" with the iPhone 4. Adding to the current concerns, some users are also reporting that Apple's own MagSafe charger can leave a distinct circular imprint on the back of the new Pro models. So far, Apple has not issued an official statement regarding the scratching. The reports are casting a shadow over an otherwise strong debut, shifting the focus from new features to questions about real-world durability. As devices continue to reach customers' hands over the weekend, all eyes will be on Apple to see how it addresses the unwelcome return of a "Scuffgate" controversy.

Foldable iPhone May Be Inspired by iPhone Air Design

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 10:20:41 +0200

Apple has only just launched the iPhone 17 lineup, but the spotlight is already shifting to next year’s foldable iPhone. Early details suggest the device could borrow heavily from the ultra-thin iPhone Air, setting the stage for Apple’s first true entry into foldable smartphones. Design Cues from iPhone Air Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple’s foldable iPhone will resemble “two titanium iPhone Airs side by side.” If accurate, that would mean a design that emphasizes thinness and durability, both critical factors for a foldable device. Titanium would likely replace stainless steel to keep the phone light without sacrificing strength. This connection has fueled speculation that the iPhone Air itself was a test bed for Apple’s foldable ambitions. Industry watchers believe the Air’s slim profile and construction served as a design experiment ahead of a more complex foldable model. Production and Supply Chain In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman added that Apple intends to manufacture the foldable iPhone in China, despite reports that production could move to India. He noted there would be “at least” some China-based manufacturing through Apple’s longtime partner Foxconn. The comment reflects Apple’s continued reliance on its existing supply chain, even as it explores diversification. Price and Market Position The foldable iPhone is not expected to come cheap. Gurman’s reporting places the starting price at $2,000, with earlier leaks pointing to a range between $2,100 and $2,300. That would make it one of the most expensive consumer iPhones ever sold. Analysts say Apple will position the device as a premium offering, much like the original iPhone X, which introduced a new price ceiling for smartphones. Apple’s foldable launch comes after years of incremental iPhone updates. With the iPhone 17 family delivering meaningful hardware changes, the foldable represents an even bolder shift. Unlike AI features that competitors such as Google and Samsung have pushed, Apple appears to be betting on design and durability as its differentiators. By using the iPhone Air as inspiration, Apple signals that the foldable will not simply be about novelty. Instead, the company is working to create a product that feels like a natural extension of its iPhone design lineage, while also commanding a new price bracket.

Weight Watchers löst deutsche Tochterfirma auf – was nun mit dem Unternehmen passiert

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 16:45:58 +0200

Die deutsche Niederlassung von Weight Watchers wird geschlossen. Die Workshops und digitale Angebote laufen zunächst weiter.

Arista continues to defy expectations, build enterprise momentum

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 21:19:22 +0200

When Arista Networks was founded in 2004, I was skeptical the company would have long-term success. Arista came to market solving the low-latency network problem, and it did so by building performant products that leverage merchant silicon but through good hardware and software engineering could outperform competitors.

My skepticism came from having seen other vendors with similar approaches come up short. Prior to Arista, there were several vendors, such as Foundry Networks and Force10 Networks, that had similar go-to-market plans to build a better mousetrap that could compete with Cisco. While they had some success, data center revenue stalled, and the companies derailed their missions by going after other markets. Neither Foundry nor Force10 ever got close to $1 billion in revenue. I thought that would happen to Arista, but it did not. Arista has continued its mission of building good quality products that perform well and has pushed its way to steady growth.

Last week, Arista held its annual investor event at its offices in Santa Clara, Calif. The event was good forum to understand how the company will continue to grow and meet the high expectations of its investors. During the event, CEO Jayshree Ullal share guidance that the company is aiming to cross the $10 billion revenue mark in fiscal year 2026. That pace requires about 20% year-over-year revenue growth, which is hard to accomplish at this level.

Below are my key takeaways from the investor event.

The AI runway is massive and long

High performance is what Arista does best, and it’s exactly what’s needed for AI in both the front end and back end of AI networks. The battle between InfiniBand and Ethernet will rage on in the back-end networks, and Arista will get its fair share of revenue when Ethernet is the choice.

I’m not calling for the end of InfiniBand, but growth for that technology is capped, and Ethernet is picking up much of the new spend. Ethernet will likely dominate front-end networks as it is lower cost, easier to use and, in the front end, performance is on par with InfiniBand. Arista’s Etherlink portfolio is ideally suited for the rigors of AI, and I’m expecting at least five years of growth, likely longer, in AI networking.

During her keynote, Ullal noted Arista is not only selling high-speed switches for AI data centers but also leveraging its own technology to create a new category of “AI centers” that simplify network management and operations, with a goal of 60% to 80% growth in the AI market.

Arista has its sights set on enterprise expansion

Arista hired Todd Nightingale as its new president a couple of month ago, and the reason should be obvious to industry watchers: to grow the enterprise business. Nightingale recently served as CEO of Fastly, but he is best known for his tenure as Cisco. He joined when Cisco acquired Meraki, where he was the CEO.

Ullal indicated the campus and WAN business would grow from the current $750 million to $800 million run rate to $1.25 billion, which is a whopping 60% growth. Some of this will come from VeloCloud being added to Arista’s numbers, but not all of it. Arista’s opportunity in campus and WAN is in bringing its high performance, resilient networking to this audience.

In a survey I conducted last year, 93% of respondents stated the network is more important to business operations than it was two years ago. During his presentation, Nightingale talked about this shift when he said: “There is no longer such a thing as a network that is not mission critical. We think of mission critical networks for military sites and tier one hospitals, but every hotel and retailer who has their Wi-Fi go down and can’t transact business will say the network is critical.”

Also, with AI, inferencing traffic is expected to put a steady load on the network, and any kind of performance hiccup will have negative business ramifications. Historically, Arista’s value proposition for companies outside the Fortune 2000 was a bit of a solution looking for a problem. But, as Nightingale stated, all networks are mission critical and that’s what Arista does best. The unified EOS architecture is central and provides consistent management and automation across the network. Arista is also addressing specific campus challenges, like traditional stacking limitations, with new solutions like Switch Aggregation Groups (SWAG) that offer a single management point for multiple switches using standard Ethernet cabling.

AI as an assistant, not a replacement of network engineers

Arista president and CTO Ken Duda provided a deep dive into AVA, Arista’s autonomous virtual assistant and what the company believes makes it unique. Duda was crystal clear that AVA is designed to a co-pilot and work with the engineers as opposed to replacing them. The product is designed to be an autonomous agent versus a reactive chatbot with the difference being the latter stays idle and then answers questions when called up, while the former is always running, proactively monitors the network, watches for events, and finds issues before they become critical.

This is consistent with the autonomous agents from other network vendors. What gives AVA its competitive edge is the way Arista manages the network data used to power it. The agent is built on Arista’s network data lake (NetDL), which collects real-time, high-fidelity streaming telemetry from every device in the network, creating a single, historically rich source of truth. AVA leverages this massive dataset to not only answer questions but also to apply advanced pattern matching, predictive analytics, and prescriptive solutions. In the previously mentioned survey, another question I asked was how likely a customer would be to change vendors if the AI was demonstrably better, and 92% stated they would.

The Blue Box opportunity

White box networking has been around for some time and has strong appeal with the hyperscalers. These are much cheaper switches. But you don’t get what you don’t pay for. So, while white-box acquisition costs may be low, the operational costs tend to be high.

Arista’s response to this is its own Blue Box, which doesn’t run Arista’s operating system but does have Arista hardware engineering. The switches have a network diagnostic layer called Netdi, which is an abstraction layer that sits above the basic drivers and can track several switch functions such as cable and optic health, the status of PHYs and other factors that help cloud companies manage these massive scale networks. This is currently aimed at the cloud titans but should have appeal among neocloud providers as well as a handful of large enterprises and telcos.

There’s work to do with the channel

There should be no question about Arista’s ability to grow above market rates with the cloud providers and in AI builds. Enterprise is another question. The company has great products, but its channel strategy is still relatively immature. Arista is a good fit for the Global 2000, which tend to buy direct. But the other two million businesses buy through channel partners. VeloCloud brings a managed service business, and that’s helpful, but building a traditional SI and VAR channel needs to be a focus.

As Arista embarks down the channel path, it will also need to engage in other lead-gen types of activities, such as webinars, customer events, trade shows and other activities that drive awareness, and build a pipeline that can fuel channel activities. Arista does do several webinars and digital advertising for its Campus Builders customer and channel events, but the volume of activity as well as the diversity of content would need to increase.

Also, channel programs tend to be built on discounts and rebates that help the partner make money, and this often comes with sacrificing margins, of which Arista currently has industry leading numbers. Arista has been an execution machine, and as it builds its enterprise momentum, this is an area to watch as an investment here will pay big dividends down the road.

Final thoughts

AI is going to create unprecedented opportunities in networking. In fact, the demands placed on the network are so great that I’m expecting many businesses to accelerate their typical replacement cycles to ensure the performance, security and resiliency required for AI are in place as organizations look to scale their initiatives. Arista is well positioned at the high end and has the products to go after businesses that fall below the biggest of the big.

Todd Nightingale brings a high level of enterprise expertise to Arista, and I’m expecting this to be the starting point for the next wave of Arista growth.

Apple Stock Rebounds as Wall Street Shakes Off iPhone 17 Launch Jitters

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 00:21:03 +0200

In a classic Wall Street reversal, Apple is on track to recoup its post-keynote losses as investors look past the initial lukewarm reception to the iPhone 17 and focus on the company's formidable long-term fundamentals. The stock, which dipped nearly 3% following the "Awe Dropping" event, has staged a spirited comeback, signaling that the market's initial reaction was more of a knee-jerk "sell-the-news" event than a genuine loss of faith. While the iPhone 17 launch on Tuesday was met with criticism from some analysts for its seemingly incremental updates and a delayed AI roadmap, seasoned market watchers are pointing to a familiar pattern. Historically, Apple's stock often sees a brief sell-off after its September events, only to rebound as the focus shifts from keynote analysis to record-breaking sales figures. This year appears to be no different. After closing lower mid-week, the stock has rallied, climbing back over the $233 mark in Friday trading. This recovery is fueled by a growing consensus that the initial pessimism was overblown. Several key factors are driving the rebound: The "Upgrade Supercycle" is Real: Analysts from firms like Wedbush are reminding investors that an estimated 325 million iPhones currently in use are over four years old. This massive, built-in customer base represents a colossal upgrade opportunity that is largely independent of any single keynote's "wow" factor. Dominance in the Premium Market: The iPhone 17, particularly the ultra-thin "Air" and powerful Pro models, is set to solidify Apple's iron grip on the high-end smartphone market, where it commands over 60% of sales. This is the segment that drives profits and ensures ecosystem loyalty. Smart Money Sees a Buying Opportunity: Major investment banks are largely holding firm on their positive outlooks. Morgan Stanley reiterated its "Overweight" rating, seeing the post-event dip as a buying opportunity, while Wedbush maintained a bullish $270 price target. The sentiment is clear: the underlying economic engine of Apple remains incredibly strong. The initial dip was largely attributed to concerns over Apple absorbing tariff costs and the lack of a groundbreaking AI feature. However, as one analyst put it, "Betting against Apple's ability to manage its supply chain and margins has historically been a losing proposition." While the market's hunger for a revolutionary AI announcement was not satisfied this week, the steady improvements in the A19 Pro chip and the device's hardware capabilities are laying the groundwork for future software dominance. For now, the story is one of resilience. The brief panic has subsided, replaced by a recognition of Apple's powerful market position and the predictable, profitable rhythm of the iPhone upgrade cycle. Investors who were quick to sell the news are now watching as those who bought the dip are being rewarded.

Apple and Samsung Send Legal Notices to Xiaomi Over Ads in India

Sun, 31 Aug 2025 11:21:10 +0200

Apple and Samsung have issued cease-and-desist notices to Xiaomi in India, objecting to advertisements that directly mocked their flagship devices. The companies accused Xiaomi of running a disparaging campaign and warned of legal consequences if it continues. The disputed ads appeared in both print and social media. In April, Xiaomi ran a full-page newspaper ad wishing readers a “Happy April Fools’ Day” if they believed the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s cameras could match the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. A month earlier, another ad described Apple’s triple-lens camera as “cute” and questioned whether it was “really the best,” while promoting Xiaomi’s own camera specifications and lower pricing. Similar campaigns also took aim at Samsung’s premium smartphones. Comparative Advertising Comparative advertising is permitted in India, but only when claims are fact-based and presented fairly. According to Indian advertising standards, companies cross the line when the tone becomes mocking or derogatory. Legal experts note that brands have the right to challenge ads that harm their reputation or appear to mislead consumers. A report by Economic Times highlighted that both Apple and Samsung view Xiaomi’s campaign as crossing this boundary, portraying their products in a negative light rather than focusing on objective comparisons. Meanwhile, Business Standard noted that Samsung’s own ads against Apple have taken a different approach, generally highlighting features without naming competitors outright. This contrast, industry watchers say, explains why both market leaders responded strongly to Xiaomi’s more aggressive strategy. India’s smartphone sector is one of the fastest growing and most competitive in the world, especially in the premium segment. Apple and Samsung dominate this category, while Xiaomi has traditionally been strong in the mid-range market. The legal notices underline how important brand reputation has become in the battle for high-value customers.

Today's Game Consoles Are Historically Overpriced

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 20:19:33 +0200

ArsTechnica: Today's video game consoles are hundreds of dollars more expensive than you'd expect based on historic pricing trends. That's according to an Ars Technica analysis of decades of pricing data and price-cut timing across dozens of major US console releases. The overall direction of this trend has been apparent to industry watchers for a while now. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have failed to cut their console prices in recent years and have instead been increasing the nominal MSRP for many current consoles in the past six months. But when you crunch the numbers, it's pretty incredible just how much today's console prices defy historic expectations, even when you account for higher-than-normal inflation in recent years. If today's consoles were seeing anything like what used to be standard price cuts over time, we could be paying around $200 today for pricey systems like the Switch OLED, PS5 Digital Edition, and Xbox Series S.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple Releases iOS 18.6.2 With Critical Security Fixes

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 23:21:38 +0200

Apple has released iOS 18.6.2 for iPhone users, a software update that focuses on security improvements rather than new features. You can install it now by going to Settings > General > Software Update on your device. What’s New in iOS 18.6.2 The previous version, iOS 18.6.1, restored Blood Oxygen monitoring on compatible Apple Watch models. iOS 18.6.2, however, is a smaller update designed to strengthen system security. Apple’s release notes describe it as providing “important security fixes” and recommend the update for all users. This update arrives just weeks before iOS 26 is expected to roll out. With no sign yet of an iOS 18.7 build in development, iOS 18.6.2 may stand as the last iPhone update before the next major version launches. Users who choose not to install iOS 26 immediately can expect iOS 18.6.2 to remain a stable option for the near future. Release Across Devices Alongside iOS 18.6.2, Apple also released iPadOS 18.6.2 and iPadOS 17.7.10. The latter is intended for iPads that cannot run iPadOS 18. All three versions include the same focus on tightening security. Apple stated in its support documentation: “This update provides important security fixes and is recommended for all users.” The company directs users to its official security updates page for details on the patches included. Industry watchers note that Apple is currently using the iOS 26 beta cycle to test new features such as the Liquid Glass redesign. Until that update is released publicly, iOS 18.6.2 will likely remain the most reliable software version available for iPhones. [Source: Apple Developer Beta Cycle]

Altes Tablet wieder nutzen: So verwandelt ihr es in ein Küchen-Dashboard

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 17:45:27 +0200

Mit einem Tablet sind viele praktische Funktionen immer zur Hand. (Bildquelle: IMAGO / Westend61 / Bildbearbeitung GIGA)

Ihr habt ein altes Tablet, das noch funktionsfähig ist, ihr aber nicht mehr aktiv nutzt? Vielleicht kann es euer neuer Küchenhelfer werden! Wir zeigen, wie das geht.

So findet ihr Verwendung für ein altes Tablet

Euer Tablet bekommt vielleicht keine Updates mehr und auch sicherheitstechnisch ist es nicht mehr auf dem Stand der Dinge – dennoch funktioniert es noch und ihr wollt es weiter nutzen? Eine praktische Idee wäre es, eure Küche auf ein neues Niveau zu heben und das Tablet als Bedienungshilfe in eurer Küche zu nutzen!

Zunächst einmal müsst ihr einen Ort finden, an dem ihr euer Tablet in der Küche unterbringen könnt. Für eine einfache, optimale Nutzung bietet sich eine Tablet-Halterung für die Wand an. Dann liegt das Tablet nicht im Weg rum, sondern kann, ohne wirklichen Platz wegzunehmen, ganz einfach an einem Ort eurer Wahl befestigt werden.

Tablet-Halterung bei Amazon ansehen

Was für Apps sind der ultimative Helfer?

Neben den technischen Grundvoraussetzungen wie einer Internetverbindung und dem optimalen Ort für euer Tablet, müssen natürlich verschiedene Apps darauf installiert werden, damit es euch in eurer Küche auch wirklich hilft. Solltet ihr Smart-Home-Geräte in eurer Küche haben, sollte eine App, die die Geräte steuert, eure erste Wahl sein – damit könnt ihr dann ganz bequem diese Geräte bedienen.

Was aus vielen Küchen noch in Papierform oder mit kleinen Tafeln bekannt ist, kann mit eurem Tablet bequem digital verwaltet werden: eure Einkaufsliste. Entsprechend dazu gibt es viele kostenlose Apps. Eine besonderes beliebte Anwendung wäre zum Beispiel Bring!, die ihr im App Store für iOS-Geräte und im Play Store für Android-Tablets findet.

Damit ihr Ideen bekommt, was auf diese Einkaufsliste kommen soll, gibt es eine Vielzahl unterschiedlicher Rezepte-Apps. Eine solche sollte nicht fehlen, schließlich wird sie euch ab sofort auch beim Kochen unterstützten.

Zum Beispiel bietet Weight Watchers ein breites Angebot an Rezepten in seiner App. Kostenlos findet ihr zum Beispiel in der Chefkoch-App, die es im App Store als auch im Play Store gibt, ebenfalls zahlreiche Koch- und Back-Ideen.

Chefkoch hat viele leckere Rezepte zu bieten, doch manche Gerichte würde man lieber nicht aufgetischt bekommen.

Worst of Chefkoch: Diese Rezepte kommen direkt aus der Gourmet-Hölle

Weitere Geräte in der Küche können ersetzt werden

Ihr habt noch eine Eieruhr oder einen anderen analogen Timer in der Küche? Auch die werden mit eurem neuen Küchen-Dashboard nicht mehr benötigt. Nutzt einfach den Timer, der sowieso schon Teil eures Tablets ist.

Damit spart ihr Platz und auch Zeit, da sie in Sekundenschnelle aktiviert werden können – und wenn ihr durch euren Kochvorgang beschmutzte Hände habt, lassen sie sich auch per Sprachbefehl einstellen.

Apple’s ‘Made in India’ iPhones Still Depend on China’s Supply Chain

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 07:51:21 +0200

Apple’s claim that most iPhones sold in the U.S. are now assembled in India has drawn attention, but it doesn’t tell the full story. While final assembly may have shifted, Apple’s reliance on China for the bulk of its iPhone production remains unchanged. For the last two quarters, Apple CEO Tim Cook has stated that Indian suppliers source the iPhones sold in the U.S. This shift helps Apple bypass tariffs imposed in the Trump administration on Chinese-made goods. But as Apple watchers know, final assembly is only one piece of the manufacturing puzzle. Nearly every iPhone component still depends on China’s vast supply chain. Assembly is Not the Supply Chain Patrick McGee, a longtime Apple correspondent and author of a book on Apple’s China operations, responded to a misleading chart about iPhone sourcing. He pointed out that Indian factories handle final assembly, but Chinese factories still manufacture, machine, and prepare up to 1,000 components for each iPhone. “These iPhones are as dependent on the China-centric supply chain as every iPhone you’ve ever held,” McGee wrote on X. “The depth and breadth of the supply chain hasn’t moved.” The devices are simply shipped to India after subassembly, where they are put together and packaged. India’s role here is logistical, not foundational. Apple is using Indian factories to sidestep tariffs both in India and the U.S. It’s a workaround, not a pivot. True De-Risking Will Take Years McGee notes that for Apple to meaningfully shift away from China, it would require tens of billions in investment, years of planning, and a complex political balancing act with Beijing. That hasn't happened yet. So, when Apple lists India as the “source” for U.S. iPhones, it’s technically accurate, but materially misleading. The web of Chinese suppliers and factories still supports every stage of production before the device arrives in India for final assembly. This strategy, for now, has worked. But it remains fragile. On the same day McGee highlighted these dynamics, President Donald Trump announced plans to raise tariffs on India over a separate trade dispute. India immediately condemned the move as “unjustified and unreasonable.” The threat of tariffs on Indian exports to the U.S. could complicate Apple’s workaround. Apple plans to raise the base price of several iPhone 17 models when it announces the new lineup next month. The company’s margins remain tight, and its global production strategy is under pressure from both trade politics and long-term supply chain risks.

Für die Küche: So erleichtert euch ein altes Tablet den Alltag

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 17:45:48 +0200

Mit einem Tablet sind viele praktische Funktionen immer zur Hand. (Bildquelle: IMAGO / Westend61 / Bildbearbeitung GIGA)

Ihr habt ein altes Tablet, das noch funktionsfähig ist, ihr aber nicht mehr aktiv nutzt? Vielleicht kann es euer neuer Küchenhelfer werden! Wir zeigen, wie das geht.

So findet ihr Verwendung für ein altes Tablet

Tablet-Halterung bei Amazon ansehen

Was für Apps sind der ultimative Helfer?

Chefkoch hat viele leckere Rezepte zu bieten, doch manche Gerichte würde man lieber nicht aufgetischt bekommen.

Worst of Chefkoch: Diese Rezepte kommen direkt aus der Gourmet-Hölle

Weitere Geräte in der Küche können ersetzt werden

Helfer in der Küche: So verwandelt ihr ein altes Tablet in ein Küchen-Dashboard

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:45:40 +0200

Mit einem Tablet sind viele praktische Funktionen immer zur Hand. (Bildquelle: IMAGO / Westend61 / Bildbearbeitung GIGA)

Ihr habt ein altes Tablet, das noch funktionsfähig ist, ihr aber nicht mehr aktiv nutzt? Vielleicht kann es euer neuer Küchenhelfer werden! Wir zeigen, wie das geht.

So findet ihr Verwendung für ein altes Tablet

Tablet-Halterung bei Amazon ansehen

Was für Apps sind der ultimative Helfer?

Chefkoch hat viele leckere Rezepte zu bieten, doch manche Gerichte würde man lieber nicht aufgetischt bekommen.

Worst of Chefkoch: Diese Rezepte kommen direkt aus der Gourmet-Hölle

Weitere Geräte in der Küche können ersetzt werden

Geniales Küchen-Dashboard: So funktioniert es mit einem alten Handy

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 17:45:50 +0200

Mit einem Tablet sind viele praktische Funktionen immer zur Hand. (Bildquelle: IMAGO / Westend61 / Bildbearbeitung GIGA)

Ihr habt ein altes Tablet, das noch funktionsfähig ist, ihr aber nicht mehr aktiv nutzt? Vielleicht kann es euer neuer Küchenhelfer werden! Wir zeigen, wie das geht.

So findet ihr Verwendung für ein altes Tablet

Tablet-Halterung bei Amazon ansehen

Was für Apps sind der ultimative Helfer?

Chefkoch hat viele leckere Rezepte zu bieten, doch manche Gerichte würde man lieber nicht aufgetischt bekommen.

Worst of Chefkoch: Diese Rezepte kommen direkt aus der Gourmet-Hölle

Weitere Geräte in der Küche können ersetzt werden

Facing CIO backlash, VMware extends support and slows down release cycles

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 15:04:25 +0200

VMware has fundamentally altered its development strategy, shifting from aggressive 2-year major release cycles to a more measured 3-year cadence while extending support lifecycles, a strategic retreat that reflects mounting enterprise resistance to forced upgrades amid dramatic cost increases.

The company announced that VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, now generally available, will be supported for six years instead of the previous five, with minor releases spaced nine months apart rather than every six months.

“In response to customer feedback, we’re modifying the support model and release cadence starting with VCF 9.0,” VMware said in a statement. The company added that these changes will provide more “predictable release dates, offer longer support periods, and provide more flexibility to better fit into customer update windows.”

The slower pace represents a significant philosophical shift for a company that has historically pushed rapid innovation cycles.

“CIOs are treating the current 24-36 month period as critical for platform strategy decisions,” said Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst and CEO at Greyhound Research. The extended timelines arrive as enterprises face license cost increases of up to 500% and a hard deadline to migrate from VCF 8 support ending in October 2027.

Enterprise fatigue drives strategic shift

The cadence change acknowledges what industry analysts call “upgrade fatigue” among enterprise customers struggling with Broadcom’s licensing overhaul. Since the acquisition, starting in 2025, Broadcom requires customers to license a minimum of 72 cores per order, regardless of actual needs, while bundling previously separate products into comprehensive subscription packages.

This shift in approach comes as enterprises face unprecedented pressure to make platform decisions quickly.

“Most CIOs are advancing structured pilots in 2025, knowing that decisions made after early 2026 may result in rushed execution or forced renewals,” Gogia noted. “Vendor-enforced term rigidity and SKU bundling are limiting room for negotiation, triggering earlier replatforming evaluations than in previous refresh cycles.”

The pressure reached a legal flashpoint when the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management successfully sued VMware, forcing the company to provide two years of migration support after the agency faced an 85% cost increase.

These mounting challenges have influenced VMware’s approach to product development and support lifecycles, industry watchers said.

Extended timelines provide strategic options

The new release model delivers four minor versions per major release (VCF 9.0 through 9.3), with initial releases receiving 27 months of support and the final version getting 45 months. This structure gives enterprises multiple upgrade paths rather than forcing lock-step progression.

“Large enterprises should allocate 2.5 to 3 years to effectively evaluate, plan, and execute their migration strategy,” said Tanvi Rai, senior analyst at Everest Group. She recommended completing proof-of-concepts and commercial negotiations by the first half of 2026 to enable phased migration through mid-2027.

The extended support window is critical given that Forrester Research estimates up to 20% of VMware’s enterprise customers are evaluating alternatives, citing “exhaustion” with price hikes and forced bundling.

Technical improvements may offset some cost impacts

Despite the licensing challenges, VCF 9.0 introduces performance enhancements that could help justify higher costs in certain environments. The platform delivers a 40% improvement in server consolidation through Advanced NVMe Memory Tiering and introduces vSAN Global Deduplication for improved storage efficiency, the statement added.

“While licensing reforms have elevated per-core costs by 85–500%, recent platform releases offer measurable gains, such as 38% improvement in memory tiering efficiency,” Gogia said. “Organizations are now compelled to assess value across three parallel planes: licensing simplicity, infrastructure density, and automation scope.”

Rai noted that the total cost equation varies significantly by deployment type. “The total cost of ownership can improve or remain flat in CPU-constrained environments due to technical and structural enhancements,” she said. “Enterprises that refresh hardware and optimize their use of the full VCF stack may find the new model cost-neutral or even slightly beneficial.”

However, the impact varies by sector, with organizations in logistics, utilities, and digital commerce facing particular challenges due to high workload variability.

Market diversification emerges as an enterprise strategy

The combination of cost pressures and extended support timelines is driving a new approach to virtualization strategy. Rather than wholesale platform replacements, enterprises are pursuing what Gogia called “controlled decentralisation.” Alternative platforms, including Nutanix AHV, Azure Stack HCI, and OpenShift Virtualization, have matured to handle most general-purpose workloads, supporting high availability, disaster recovery, and GPU virtualization.

“We are nearing a functional tipping point where roughly 70–80% of workloads could move off VMware today, but full VMware-free enterprise-scale operations, especially for tier-1 systems, likely won’t be mainstream until late 2026 or beyond,” Rai noted.

The emerging strategy involves continuing VMware for mission-critical workloads while deploying alternatives in edge locations, development environments, and new container-native applications.

“This is not an ideological shift, it is a pragmatic hedging strategy designed to manage cost, optionality, and roadmap alignment,” Gogia observed.

Genialer Küchen-Hack: So hilft euch ein altes Tablet

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 17:45:48 +0200

Mit einem Tablet sind viele praktische Funktionen immer zur Hand. (Bildquelle: IMAGO / Westend61 / Bildbearbeitung GIGA)

Ihr habt ein altes Tablet, das noch funktionsfähig ist, ihr aber nicht mehr aktiv nutzt? Vielleicht kann es euer neuer Küchenhelfer werden! Wir zeigen, wie das geht.

So findet ihr Verwendung für ein altes Tablet

Tablet-Halterung bei Amazon ansehen

Was für Apps sind der ultimative Helfer?

Chefkoch hat viele leckere Rezepte zu bieten, doch manche Gerichte würde man lieber nicht aufgetischt bekommen.

Worst of Chefkoch: Diese Rezepte kommen direkt aus der Gourmet-Hölle

Weitere Geräte in der Küche können ersetzt werden

Altes Tablet wird zum genialen Küchen-Dashboard: So geht’s Schritt für Schritt

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 17:15:55 +0200

Ihr habt ein altes Tablet, das noch funktionsfähig ist, ihr aber nicht mehr aktiv nutzt? Vielleicht kann es euer neuer Küchenhelfer werden! Wir zeigen, wie das geht.

So findet ihr Verwendung für ein altes Tablet

Link

Was für Apps sind der ultimative Helfer?

Chefkoch hat viele leckere Rezepte zu bieten, doch manche Gerichte würde man lieber nicht aufgetischt bekommen.

Link

Weitere Geräte in der Küche können ersetzt werden

Screen-Protector Leak Hints at Radical iPhone 17 Air Redesign

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 02:06:20 +0200

A purported screen protector for Apple’s rumored ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air suggests Cupertino is about to tinker with the Dynamic Island’s geometry again. An image posted by serial leaker Majin Bu shows the selfie-camera punch-hole on the left side of the pill-shaped cut-out, the opposite of every Dynamic-Island iPhone released since 2022. The photo, shared by Apple leaker Majin Bu, appears to depict protectors for all four iPhone 17 models, but only the Air variant swaps the camera position. The rest of the 2025 line-up, the 6.1-inch iPhone 17, the 6.3-inch Pro, and the 6.9-inch Pro Max, keep the camera on the right. That difference has analysts guessing Apple needed to rearrange Face ID hardware to squeeze components into what is rumoured to be the thinnest iPhone ever built, measuring just 5.5 mm at its slimmest point, roughly the thickness of two stacked USB-C ports. Thickness is not the only spec change in play. Supply-chain watchers say Apple plans to double selfie resolution to 24 megapixels across the board this year. Because the other screen protectors still drill their holes on the traditional side, the megapixel bump alone is unlikely to explain the asymmetry. Instead, engineers may be juggling depth sensors, an A19-class chipset, and a redesigned motherboard that reportedly uses stacked metal-injection-molding layers to distribute heat more efficiently. Image Credit: Majin Bu Today’s leak also dovetails with earlier imagery of a rear camera bar centred near the top of the chassis, another break from Apple tradition, but one that could free up extra space behind the display for a new cooling system or a larger silicon-anode battery. If both leaks prove accurate, the Air could end up being Apple’s most radical physical overhaul since the iPhone X. We won’t have to wait long for confirmation. Apple’s iPhone launches almost always land in the first half of September, and mass production of front-glass components typically begins in July. With screen protectors already circulating among accessory makers, that timetable seems intact. Should the camera relocation make the final cut, expect executives to frame it as an ergonomic win, perhaps better eye-line alignment for FaceTime or a cleaner status-bar layout. Either way, the iPhone 17 Air is shaping up as 2025’s headline hardware story: an ultra-thin, ProMotion-equipped handset that quite literally turns Apple’s Dynamic Island on its head.

Apple’s iPhone 17 Color Leak Hints at Big Style Shake-Up

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 19:51:40 +0200

Apple is experimenting with two striking colour options for next year’s entry-level iPhone 17, according to well-known leaker Majin Bu. The tipster claims prototypes in a rich purple and a vibrant green are currently in the works, although only one shade is expected to survive Apple’s final selection process, with purple said to be the front-runner. If either hue ships, it would break the five-colour palette of the current iPhone 16, which comes in Ultramarine, Teal, Pink, White, and Black. New colours have become a reliable launch-day draw for Apple’s mainstream handsets, and a fresh purple, last seen on the iPhone 14 line, could help distinguish the relatively incremental iPhone 17 refresh. Majin Bu’s track record is mixed: the leaker correctly predicted iPadOS 26’s new Mac-style menu bar but missed on a rumoured Stage Manager expansion for USB-C iPhones. That history means the colour claim is plausible yet far from certain and should be treated with caution until mass production ramps up later this summer. New Paint Job and Not So New Components Beyond the paint job, the base iPhone 17 is expected to resemble its predecessor. Analyst Jeff Pu has indicated the handset will reuse Apple’s A18 chip, stick with 8 GB of RAM, and introduce a 120 Hz display alongside a 24-megapixel selfie camera, up from today’s 60 Hz panel and 12-megapixel front sensor. Display specialist Ross Young also forecasts a slightly larger 6.3-inch screen. Apple traditionally reveals new iPhones in the second week of September, and industry watchers anticipate a 9 September 2025 keynote, followed by pre-orders that Friday and retail availability a week later. Colour variations have become a marketing staple for the Cupertino giant. Purple models appeared with the iPhone 12 and returned in deeper “Alpine Purple” form on the iPhone 14 Pro, while pastel green joined the iPhone 11, and a mint-toned option landed on the iPhone 13 line. The iPhone 17 Pro, meanwhile, is rumoured to adopt an “irresistible” sky-blue titanium finish next year. Apple finalises colour palettes only after late-stage production tests, so these prototypes may never reach store shelves. Still, with development for the 2025 lineup well underway, a punchy new purple, or perhaps that eye-catching green, could soon freshen Apple’s autumn launch lineup.

Tariff uncertainty weighs on networking vendors

Mon, 19 May 2025 19:04:53 +0200

Tariff uncertainties have networking vendors and their customers on edge. So far, networking vendors are reporting little financial impact, which is at least in part due to the exclusion of semiconductors and related goods from certain tariffs as well as the three-month pause on reciprocal tariffs. But fluctuating tariff rates could change conditions.

Some industry watchers suggested that enterprise organizations might try to get ahead of any potential price increases by ordering networking equipment in advance, but vendors such as Cisco (Nasdaq:CSCO), Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) and Extreme Networks (Nasdaq:EXTR) are reporting little or none of that activity so far. Even if customers tried to stockpile equipment, it’s unlikely the vendors could meet large, sudden demands.

“We literally find ourselves in the middle of an ocean, trying to figure out which country to go to, because … as you know, the reciprocal tariffs are much higher in some of the Asia countries,” Arista CEO Jayshree Ullal told Wall Street analysts during the company’s quarterly conference call on May 6.

“We are grateful for the measured approach [which means] that we do not have to deal, mostly, with any of these tariffs until July 9,” Ullal said. “We are absorbing whatever tariffs we do have to deal with from China and other things.”

Tariff changes are expected to have some effect on Arista’s gross margins, and the vendor is taking that into consideration, she said. “Some we will absorb, and some we may potentially have to pass to our customers. But we don’t know what we don’t know. So, we can just go at this one quarter at a time.”

Cisco, too, has seen little tariff impact so far, but acknowledged there’s uncertainty about what happens after July.

“Our guide assumes current tariffs and exemptions remain in place through the quarter. These include the following: China at 30%, partially offset by an exemption for semiconductors and certain electronic components; Mexico and Canada at 25% for the components and products that are not eligible for the current exemptions,” Cisco CFO Scott Herron told Wall Street analysts in the company’s quarterly earnings report on May 14.

At this time, Cisco expects little impact from tariffs on steel and aluminum and retaliatory tariffs, Herron said. “We’ll continue to leverage our world-class supply chain team to help mitigate the impact,” he said, adding that “the flexibility and agility we have built into our operations over the last few years, the size and scale of our supply chain, provides us some unique advantages as we support our customers globally.”

“Once the tariff scenario stabilizes, there [are] steps that we can take to mitigate it, as you’ve seen us do with China from the first Trump administration. And only after that would we consider price [increases],” Herron said.

Similarly, Extreme Networks noted the changing tariff conditions during its earnings call on April 30.

“The tariff situation is very dynamic, I think, as everybody knows and can appreciate, and it’s kind of hard to call. Yes, there was concern initially given the magnitude of tariffs,” said Extreme Networks CEO Ed Meyercord on the earnings call. “The larger question is, will all of the changes globally in trade and tariff policy have an impact on demand? And that’s hard to call at this point. And we’re going to hold as far as providing guidance or judgment on that until we have finality come July.”

Financial news

Meanwhile, AI is fueling high expectations and influencing investments in enterprise campus and data center environments.

Arista reported its first $2 billion quarter, which comes just 11 quarters after its first $1 billion-dollar quarter. AI products, and particularly its Etherlink family, are driving tons of customer interest, and Ullal said the company is confident it will hit its $750 million AI back-end revenue goal for 2025.

Cisco, too, reported a strong quarter across the board.

“AI infrastructure orders we have received from web scale customers were exceptionally strong in the quarter, exceeding $600 million and bringing our year-to-date total to well over our $1 billion target for fiscal year ‘25. As expected, the product mix of these orders was more than two-thirds in systems, with the remainder in optics, demonstrating the growing importance of our technology to web scale customers for their AI training use cases,” Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said.

“AI orders from enterprise customers continue to show momentum as this large, nascent market opportunity starts to unlock. Enterprises are seeking simple, seamless, scalable and secure solutions for their AI deployments, which we are ready to deliver through our expanding partnership with Nvidia,” Robbins said.

Extreme also had a solid quarter. Revenue reached $284.5 million, which represents a 35% increase in year-over-year growth, Meyercord said.

“We have strong confidence in sustained customer demand…Our competitive win rates are on the rise across a variety of verticals,” Meyercord said. “We’re displacing major players like Cisco, HP and Juniper, largely due to our highly differentiated Campus Fabric solution, the simplicity of our cloud solution, and our flexible licensing. We anticipate further market share gains and revenue growth for the full year and continued strength in Q4.”

Check Point CISO: Network segregation can prevent blackouts, disruptions

Thu, 15 May 2025 16:48:37 +0200

Parts of Spain, Portugal, and France on April 28 experienced a blackout that is believed to be related to events involving the loss of electricity generation potentially from solar power plants, which triggered instability in the grid. The grid blackout affected tens of millions of people, flights were grounded, cell networks went down, and businesses closed for the day.

Jonathan (Jony) Fischbein, chief information security officer at Check Point Software, happened to be in Spain during the disruption and discussed how governments, organizations, and enterprises could avoid problems of this time using network segregation and backup mechanisms.

“In the cyber world, we have been talking for many years about segregating networks. For example, if one network goes down, then the whole system does not go down because it is segregated. If you have a system of permissions to a network, then … people cannot enter other networks. They need other permission systems,” Fischbein says.

That way, if someone’s identity is stolen they can cause damage only in one isolated location and not damage another. “We work to assess the damage, and we do access segregation,” says Fischbein, who didn’t know the cause of the general grid blackout April 28.

“Since 2010 there have been cybersecurity systems, also from Check Point, that help prevent this type of incident from occurring. But I’m not sure it was a cyberattack,” says Fischbein, who recalls that it took six months for the attack on the Natanz nuclear power plant in Iran to be identified as a cyber incident.

As usually happens in the first hours of confusion in this type of situation, some organizations such as DarkStorm or NoName057 claimed responsibility for the blackout, something that was quickly denied by Sergey Shykevich, manager of Check Point’s Threat Intelligence group, who stated, “there is no concrete evidence that DarkStorm is in any way related to the power outage” and that this organization “is considered a relatively weak actor, known for its opportunistic behavior and for frequently claiming responsibility for incidents that they did not actually cause”.

Fischbein agrees 100% with his colleague’s analysis and adds that education and training can help prevent such incidents from occurring. “Simulating such a blackout is impossible, it has never been done,” he acknowledges, but he is committed to strengthening personal and team training and risk awareness.

Increased defense and cybersecurity budgets

In 2025, industry watchers expect there will be an increase in the public budget allocated to defense. In Spain, one-third of the budget will be allocated to increasing cybersecurity. But for Fischbein, training teams is much more important than the budget.

“The challenge is to distribute the budget in a way that can be managed,” he notes, and to leverage intuitive and easy-to-use platforms, so that organizations don’t have to invest all the money in training. “When you have information, management, users, devices, mobiles, data centers, clouds, cameras, printers… the security challenge is very complex. You have to look for a security platform that makes things easier, faster, and simpler,” he says. ” Today there are excellent tools that can stop all kinds of attacks.”

“Since 2010, there have been cybersecurity systems, also from Check Point, that help prevent this type of incident from happening, but I’m not sure that [Spain’s electricity blackout] was a cyberattack.”

Leading the way in email security

According to Gartner’s Magic Quadrant, Check Point is the leader in email security platforms. Today email is still responsible for 88% of all malicious file distributions. Attacks that, as Fischbein explains, enter through phishing, spam, SMS, or QR codes.

“There are two challenges: to stop the threats and not to disturb, because if the security tool is a nuisance it causes more harm than good. It is very important that the solution does not annoy [users],” he stresses. “As almost all attacks enter via e-mail, it is very important that the security tool gives you the information, the loads, and the alerts. With our tool, it takes very little time to understand what happened. We are very pleased to lead this area,” he adds.

With 23 years at Check Point and 30 years in the cybersecurity world, Fischbein says the main challenge for the CISO of a company like Check Point is to convey and demonstrate confidence to customers and suppliers. “Our company’s job is to put together the security tools that are going to help stop threats in companies of all sizes. If we can’t secure Check Point internally, then we have a big problem in securing the world,” he says.

Still, there are other risks. “In the last two years, we have been dealing a lot with AI risk, and in the last four years with those related to legislation,” notes Fischbein, who points out that the multinational nature of his company forces it to deal with very diverse regulations. “The infrastructures, too. We used to have everything ‘on premise’ and now we are migrating to the private cloud and hybrid cloud. Protecting infrastructure has changed a lot in the last two years,” he says.

As for attracting talent, Check Point’s CISO reveals that his company has training programs for network engineers or cybersecurity engineers, lasting four to six weeks or two to three months that make it possible to enter the company with knowledge, but without experience. “The commitment is to stay at least a year and a half, but there are people who have stayed for many years,” he says.

This program also has a university extension. The company trains professors from the faculty of engineering or systems, and they train the students to acquire the necessary knowledge. “When they finish this course, students can work for Check Point or companies that install or sell their products,” he explains.

“We have people working in a SOC every day, but attackers use AI 24/7.”

Does AI benefit attackers or defenders more?

One of the big questions of the moment is determining whether the use of AI benefits attackers or defenders more. On this point, Fischbein highlights the benefits this technology already brings for protection. “We have almost 96 engines that help us identify whether what is happening is good or bad using AI. That’s more than 50% of the ones we use,” he notes.

“In a security operations center (SOC), a person using Check Point tools could previously take between two and four hours to investigate the causes of an alert. Today that time has dropped to 20 minutes,” he says. He also explains how they work with vulnerabilities. “Currently, Check Point checks all of them in a few seconds and tells you whether you are protected or not. And if you are not, it tells you which network to protect.”

Regarding attackers, he acknowledges that they now make “richer and more logical” attacks. “With AI, they check the data and social networks of any person to impersonate a friend of the attacked person, because when someone receives something more personal they lower the defenses against phishing,” he says.

He also warns about the scalability of cyber attacks. “We have people working on a SOC every day, but attackers use 24/7 AI. The scalability of attacks and their sophistication is growing. So are ‘infostealers,’ who steal identity in an automated way.”

“Before to enter the ‘dark web’ you had to be an expert, today there are agents who sell you identities. There is a sales market, with agents buying them for $10 and selling them for $20. Attackers are using AI in a very interesting way,” he concludes.

This article originally appeared in Computerworld Spain.

Riverbed bolsters network acceleration for AI’s performance bottlenecks

Tue, 13 May 2025 19:18:44 +0200

Riverbed this week introduced updates to its SteelHead hardware and software products that the network performance and observability vendor says will help enterprises keep pace with the complex data flows that challenge artificial intelligence initiatives, providing them with an efficient way to manage the data requirements of AI infrastructure.

Riverbed’s SteelHead products, powered by the vendor’s RiOS 10 acceleration software, will help enterprises speed the movement of data across connected clouds, data centers, and the edge with security and agility, according to the company. Riverbed also introduced a new flexible licensing model with its updated hardware and software news.

“This is our largest launch in seven years, principally driven by the new ways people need to configure their networks in this new world of AI, with a combination of new software, faster hardware appliances, and flexible business practices that allow our customers to consume our solutions in the ways they want,” says David Donatelli, CEO of Riverbed. The networking landscape is rapidly changing with AI, he says, requiring Riverbed to reimagine how data moves through data centers, clouds, and edge environments.

Industry watchers agree that networks are a critical underpinning to the AI initiatives across enterprises today and acceleration tools must be able to support the higher bandwidth loads without introducing latency. The network must be able to support the data migration and movement without performance degrading.

“AI has made networking much more critical again, across all different parts of the network. The research we did has pretty clear findings. AI drives the need to add bandwidth capacity, and enterprises need better, lower latencies because of a variety of ways that AI gets used. Part of what AI is, especially generative AI, involves gathering a lot of data on a regular basis and then using it for training these large and small language models,” explains Jim Frey, principal analyst, networks, at Enterprise Strategy Group. “Enterprises have to harvest more data than they did before and move it back to the training cluster. With genAI, they’re pulling more data into the inferencing engines, but oftentimes, they’re pulling it from a central site to where the inferencing is. That creates another bandwidth load that is latency-sensitive.”

Riverbed updated its RiOS 10 software with features including post-quantum cryptography, platform security, and confidential computing. The built-in security capabilities will help enterprises protect data today from future threats, according to Riverbed. The threat with quantum computing is that bad actors can capture encrypted traffic now and save it to potentially decrypt it later when the capabilities are available to them, according to Frey.

“Enterprises are worried about bad actors capturing encrypted traffic and saving copies for when quantum computing advances can break the encryption, providing the bad actors with free access to data. It’s a real concern,” Frey explains. “Post-quantum cryptography is a way to get ahead of that now.”

Riverbed also introduced the SteelHead 90 series of network acceleration appliances, which the company says will provide resilient network performance to customers. The series includes:

SteelHead 8090, which delivers up to 60 Gbps of data movement over a WAN. It supports multiple 100 Gigabyte network interfaces to pull data from the LAN.
SteelHead 6090, which delivers up to 20 Gbps of data movement over a WAN, targeted for mid-scale data centers.
SteelHead 4090 and 2090, which support mid-sized data center and edge use cases, with 500 Mbps and 200 Mbps of accelerated traffic, as well as up to 10 Gbps of total traffic processing for quality of service (QoS) and application classification use cases.
Riverbed SteelHead Virtual, is a software-only version designed for virtualization environments and private cloud deployments, which is compatible with VMWare ESXI, KVM, and Microsoft Hyper-V.

“For customers that are familiar with Riverbed, this is a big change in performance. We’ve gone from moving one appliance at 30 Gbps to 60 Gbps. We want to make sure that whether it’s new AI projects or existing data projects, we have ubiquitous availability across clouds,” says Chalan Aras, senior vice president and general manager of Acceleration at Riverbed. “We’re making it less expensive to move data—we are about half the price of traditional data movement methods.”

With this announcement, Riverbed also unveiled its Flex licensing subscription offering. According to Riverbed, Flex makes it possible for enterprises to transfer licenses from hardware to virtual to cloud devices at no cost. Enterprises can reassign license capacity across devices and scale capacity up and down on demand.

“Riverbed Flex allows us to continue to manage our network performance in a smarter, more agile way—exactly what we need in the fast-moving world of offshore operations,” said Dr. Alexei Vederko, Senior Director of Engineering from Viasat Energy Services, in a statement. “With rigs constantly relocating, IT must scale, move, and optimize network acceleration on demand. The Flex model allows us to replace and upgrade hardware, minimizing risk when equipment is lost or outdated. As a long-time SteelHead customer, our work with Riverbed allows us to effectively deliver critical data to our oil platforms and ensure operational resiliency. Riverbed Flex is a further step forward in future-proofing our network with greater flexibility and control.”

The SteelHead 8090 product will be available in May 2025. The SteelHead 6090, 4090, and 2090 products will be available in the second half of this year, according to Riverbed.

MY TAKE: Beyond agentic AI mediocrity — the real disruption is empowering the disenfranchised

Sat, 10 May 2025 16:33:32 +0200

Is agentic AI accelerating mediocrity? Plenty of folks on LinkedIn seem to think so.

Related: The 400th journalist

A growing chorus of academics, tech workers, and digital culture watchers are pointing out the obvious: the more we prompt, the more … (more…)

The post MY TAKE: Beyond agentic AI mediocrity — the real disruption is empowering the disenfranchised first appeared on The Last Watchdog.

Weight Watchers in Insolvenz: Was das für Kunden und Abos bedeutet

Thu, 08 May 2025 14:15:44 +0200

Weight Watchers ist insolvent. Während das Unternehmen mit Schulden kämpft, fragen Kunden sich, wie es jetzt für sie weitergeht. Wir klären auf.

Wie geht es für Weight-Watchers-Kunden weiter?

Gehört ihr auch zu denjenigen, die beim Essen Punkte zählen, um abzunehmen? Dann ist die Nachricht, dass Weight Watchers insolvent ist, vermutlich erst einmal ein kleiner Schock. Die Kunden der US-Diät-Firma zahlen nämlich dafür, über verschiedene Angebote Zugang zu Abnehm-Plänen und der Abnehm-Community zu erhalten.

Das Unternehmen teilte mit, dass die Geschäfte für die Kunden zunächst normal weiterlaufen. Das bedeutet: Es gibt während des Insolvenzverfahrens keine Änderungen bei der App oder beim Punktesystem. Langfristig will WW International sich jedoch neu aufstellen, um auf dem hart umkämpften Abnehm-Markt wieder mithalten zu können.

Ihr seid euch noch unsicher, welche Diät euch beim Abnehmen hilft? Im Video verraten wir euch Tipps, was am besten zu euch passt:

LinkErfolgreich abnehmen: Welche Diät passt zu mir?

Darum steckt Weight Watchers in der Krise

Seit 1963 ist Weight Watchers ein Hilfsmittel für Menschen, die Gewicht verlieren wollen. Dabei geht es um eine gezielte Ernährungsumstellung und darum, ein Gefühl für gesunde Lebensmittel zu entwickeln. Lange Zeit war dies ein Erfolgsmodell. Doch die Konkurrenz in Form von Abnehm-Spritzen, Fitnesstrackern und kostenlosen Kalorien-Tracking-Apps macht Weight Watchers das Leben schwer.

In Amerika sind Ozempic und Wegovy im Trend – Spritzen, die das Hungergefühl reduzieren und das Abnehmen einfacher machen sollen. Selbst Oprah Winfrey, die seit 2015 Großaktionärin bei Weight Watchers war, legte ihren Aufsichtsratsposten 2024 nieder und gab gegenüber dem People-Magazin zu, Medikamente zu nehmen, um ihr Gewicht zu reduzieren.

So will WW raus den Schulden

Weight Watchers hat Schulden in Höhe von 1,15 Milliarden Dollar. Jetzt wurde ein Chapter-11-Insolvenzverfahren beantragt. Das bedeutet nach amerikanischem Insolvenzrecht, dass das Unternehmen die Finanzen ohne Insolvenzverwalter ordnen und sich bestenfalls aus der Krise befreien kann.

Der Betrieb soll wie gewohnt weiterlaufen. Im Hintergrund arbeitet das Unternehmen daran, die Strategie anzupassen, um künftig auf dem Markt weiterhin überleben zu können. Die weltweit mehr als drei Millionen Mitglieder können also derzeit wie gewohnt weiter die Dienste von WW nutzen.

Schulden von 1 Milliarde Euro: Diät-Ikone Weight Watchers meldet Insolvenz an

Thu, 08 May 2025 06:30:40 +0200

Mit einem Insolvenzverfahren in den USA will Weight Watchers eine massive Schuldenreduktion erreichen. Ozempic und Co. sind eine starke Konkurrenz.

Abonnenten-Zahlen haben stark abgenommen: Weight Watchers ist pleite

Wed, 07 May 2025 18:30:52 +0200

Das ist eine Nachricht, die ich so nicht auf meiner Bingo-Karte hatte. Weight Watchers ist pleite. Der wohl bekannteste Anbieter von Abnehmprogrammen hat am Dienstag im US-Bundesstaat Delaware ein Insolvenzverfahren eingeleitet. Dabei handelt es sich um ein sogenanntes Pre-Packaged-Filing, eine...

Zum Beitrag: Abonnenten-Zahlen haben stark abgenommen: Weight Watchers ist pleite

Du kannst uns mit jedem deiner Käufe über Amazon unterstützen. Dein Preis bleibt gleich, wir erhalten eine kleine Provision. Nutze einfach diesen Link. Danke dafür!

Diät-Ikone am Boden: Weight Watchers ist insolvent

Wed, 07 May 2025 16:00:53 +0200

Weight Watchers strebt in einem US-Insolvenzverfahren eine massive Schuldenreduktion an. Abnehmspritzen setzen dem Diät-Unternehmen stark zu.

ServiceNow launches AI agent command center, communication backbone

Tue, 06 May 2025 22:03:44 +0200

ServiceNow unveiled a centralized command center the company says will enable enterprise customers to govern, manage, and secure AI agents from ServiceNow and other third-parties from a unified platform. The company also introduced a communication backbone for AI agentic systems to exchange information, coordinate tasks, and take action.

ServiceNow is introducing AI agents for IT support that bring self-healing and self-defending capabilities across IT service management (ITSM), IT operations management (ITOM), IT asset management (ITAM), and security. The AI agents are designed to evolve autonomously, resolve issues faster, and help systems self-recover. AI Control Tower will empower enterprise customers to better manage and secure AI ServiceNow and third-party agents distributed across their environments.

“We’re allowing our customers to govern and manage their AI assets across the enterprise to make sure that they have full control on everything that they do,” said Dorit Zilbershot, group vice president of AI experiences and innovation at ServiceNow, during a press conference.

By having a governing platform in place, enterprises will be able to achieve better results with their AI agents and AI initiatives, industry watchers say. “By 2028, enterprises using AI governance platforms will achieve 30% higher customer trust ratings and 25% better regulatory compliance scores than their competitors,” according to Gartner.

With AI Control Tower, AI agents are not just assistants, but “an extension of your team” where you can delegate work, Zilbershot explained. She said that ServiceNow is enabling thousands of ready-to-work AI agents trained to solve problems, accelerate decisions, and deliver outcomes across different functions and workflows.

AI Control Tower works with the ServiceNow AI Platform to help customers monitor and manage AI agents in one place, applying consistent policies across the environment. The governance platform will also help enterprises proactively manage risk, including security and privacy, and monitor compliance across the AI lifecycle with integrated governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) policies, ServiceNow says. The platform also provides dashboards to offer operational insights to enterprise IT teams as well as validate AI performance against business outcomes and productivity. AI Control Tower, ServiceNow says, will help enterprise customers better match their AI initiatives with business and technology goals.

“With AI solutions and services expected to generate a global cumulative impact of $22.3 trillion by 2030, the volume of AI assets organizations must manage will be unprecedented,” said Ritu Jyoti, group vice president/general manager for worldwide AI and data market research and advisory services at IDC, in a statement. “The organizations that will see the greatest return on their AI investments will be those that utilize a centralized solution to govern, manage, and track their evolving agentic AI landscape, fostering trust and reinforcing the reliability and dependability of AI systems.”

Also new is AI Agent Fabric, which ServiceNow explains is the communication backbone for an entire AI ecosystem, enabling AI agent-to-AI agent, AI agent-to-tool, and agentic system-to-agentic system communications, using common protocols such as Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Agent2Agent protocol (A2A).

The ServiceNow AI Control Tower is now generally available. AI Agent Fabric is now available to early adopters and will be generally available in Q3 2025.

Palo Alto unpacks security platform to protect AI resources

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 20:20:23 +0200

Palo Alto Networks this week at the RSA Conference unveiled its Prisma AIRS AI security platform that the company says is designed to protect the developing enterprise AI ecosystem from attacks.

As enterprise companies embrace AI, they must also protect their environments and AI initiatives from security blind spots, risks, and vulnerabilities. AI represents a new attack surface for malicious actors, and enterprises need new approaches to secure components across their environments. An AI security platform will provide customers with the tools needed to prevent security incidents as customers deploy agents, apps, models, and more in their environments, according to Palo Alto Networks.

Part of Palo Alto’s Secure AI by Design portfolio, Prisma AIRS promises to secure the AI attack lifecycle for every AI app, agent, model, and dataset a business uses or builds. “It empowers organizations to deploy AI bravely knowing that whatever they build is security,” said Anand Oswal, senior vice president and general manager of Network Security at Palo Alto Networks, in a blog detailing the product news.

Capabilities of Prisma AIRS include AI model scanning, which enables enterprises to safely adopt AI models by scanning them for vulnerabilities and secure the “AI ecosystem” against risks such as model tampering, malicious scripts, and deserialization attacks. Posture management provides enterprises with insight into their security posture as related to the AI ecosystem and exposes risks such as excessive permissions, sensitive data exposure, platform misconfigurations, and access misconfigurations.

Other capabilities include AI Red Teaming, which helps enterprises uncover potential exposure and risks before malicious attackers do. This feature lets enterprises perform automated penetration tests on their AI apps and models using the Red Teaming agent, which stress tests the AI deployments. Prisma AIRS also includes runtime security to protect large language model (LLM) AI apps, models, and data against threats such as prompt injection, malicious code, toxic content, sensitive data leaks, resource overload, and hallucination. And AI Agent Security provides protection against agentic threats such as identity impersonation, memory manipulation, and tool misuse.

“With Prisma AIRS, you can discover, assess and protect every AI app, model, dataset and agent in your environment. As AI reshapes how enterprises operate and how attacks unfold, Prisma AIRS moves just as fast,” Oswal stated.

He also wrote that Prisma AIRS will be enhanced by the company’s recently announced intent to acquire Protect AI, which will help Palo Alto deliver necessary AI security capabilities to its customers faster, according to William Blair Equity Research Analyst Jonathan Ho.

“Protect AI was founded in 2020 and has emerged as a leading player in addressing AI-specific security challenges, like model manipulation or data poisoning, with purpose-built solutions,” Ho wrote in a recent research brief. “In our view, Palo Alto Networks’ acquisition and integration of Protect AI’s technology and expertise strengthens the company’s AI security portfolio and accelerates the development of its own AI security framework.”

Palo Alto also used RSA to introduce new features in its Prisma SASE product, including the Prisma Access Browser 2.0.

“A secure browser extends SASE protection to where knowledge workers spend most of their time, securing third-party access, supporting BYOD, and reducing an organization’s reliance on legacy infrastructure like VDI,” said John Grady, principal analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, now part of Omdia, in a statement. “Palo Alto Networks’ unique approach of integrating its Prisma Access Browser with Prisma SASE helps organizations extend the same protection from advanced threats, user experience monitoring, and genAI app protection from the network into the browser, ensuring users are protected, efficient, and productive.”

The secure access service edge (SASE) secure browser includes new capabilities that now:

Help secure generative AI adoption with real-time visibility, access control, and user coaching to secure sensitive data at the last mile with LLM-powered context-based classification preventing unintentional leaks or breaches.
Provide protection to detect evasive and targeted attacks such as AI-generated cloaking and SaaS-hosted phishing attacks such as evasive AI-generated code and malicious injection into compromised websites, which cannot be detected outside of a browser.
Enable enterprises to easily launch legacy infrastructure such as VDI application from the same browser for a unified experience.
Improve shadow data discovery and data classification accuracy and provide proactive measures against insider threats to safeguard sensitive information.
Expand support for new productivity apps and extend user-to-app performance to the branch with integration into Prisma SD-WAN.
Simplify the IT experience with a unified agent for SASE use cases.

“Secure browsers are absolutely essential for the modern workforce because today’s work is increasingly remote, cloud-based, and data-intensive,” Oswal stated.“This shift demands a unified, modern approach to security—a SASE natively integrated secure browser—that uniquely safeguards productivity, helps ensure resilience, and does so with a seamless user experience, making it the optimal choice for securing today’s dynamic work environments.”

Lastly, the vendor announced it had updated its security operations platform with Cortex XSIAM 3.0, which will lets customers stop attacks at scale using AI-driven threat defense with Cortex Exposure Management and Advanced Email Security. Palo Alto says this product will help enterprises cut vulnerability noise by up to 99% with AI-powered prioritization and automated remediation. Other features let enterprises:

Uncover risks across native network, endpoint, and cloud scanners.
Use AI to prioritize high-risk, exploitable vulnerabilities with no compensating controls, eliminating false alarms.
Automate remediation across first- and third-party tools with playbook automation.
Detect advanced phishing and email-based threats with LLM-powered analytics.
Remove malicious emails, disable compromised accounts, and isolate affected endpoints with workflow automation.

“Discovering the capabilities of Cortex XSIAM was a game-changer for the State of Louisiana. It’s helped us to modernize our security infrastructure and set an example for other states to follow,” Chase Hymel, CISO of the State of Louisiana, said in a statement. “By adopting XSIAM, we have significantly improved threat visibility and response effectiveness. Cortex XSIAM has allowed us to consolidate our security tools into one integrated platform, enhancing our security operations and protecting citizen data effectively. We have reduced MTTR from over 24 hours to under two minutes and automated the resolution of 86% of incidents.”

These product updates point to Palo Alto Networks’ plans to secure AI and AI-driven environments, industry watchers say.

“Also, Palo Alto Networks rolled out Cortex XSIAM 3.0, the latest evolution of its AI-driven security operations platform with the addition of proactive exposure management and advanced email security capabilities. These strategic moves all revolve around leveraging AI to strengthen the company’s security offerings while aiming to lead in security AI itself,” William Blair Research Equity’s Ho said.

Agents are here — but can you see what they’re doing?

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:05:37 +0200

In a February survey conducted by 3GEM on behalf of SnapLogic, out of 1,000 IT decision makers and transformation leaders, half say large enterprises already use AI agents, with 32% planning to implement them within the year. It also showed that 92% of respondents expect AI agents to deliver meaningful business outcomes over the next 12 to 18 months, and 44% trust AI agents to do as good a job as a human while 40% actually trust the AI more.

The definition of AI agent varies, and while some vendors give their chatbots cute names and rebrand them as agents, most experts expect them to do more than answer questions. For example, AI agents should be able to take actions on behalf of users, act autonomously, or interact with other agents and systems.

Agentic AI, as a distinction, typically takes things a step further, with enterprise-grade platforms to build, deploy, and manage agents, and platforms that allow agents to interact with one another and with internal and external systems.

A single business task can involve multiple steps, use multiple agents, and call on multiple data sources. Plus, each agent might be powered by a different LLM, fine-tuned model, or specialized small language model. The workflow can also be iterative, with agents redoing certain sequences or steps until they pass certain thresholds for accuracy or completeness.

According to Gartner, agentic AI is the top strategic trend this year and by 2029, 80% of common customer services issues will be resolved autonomously, without human intervention.

“Some of the use cases include streamlining supply chain management and offering real-time personalized support,” says Gartner VP analyst Sid Nag. Agentic AI can also enable more intuitive interactions, he says. “This has definitely caught the attention of the enterprise.”

As the models powering the individual agents get smarter, the use cases for agentic AI systems get more ambitious — and the risks posed by these systems increase exponentially.

“We found that companies lack visibility and control over how these agents make decisions, and the monitoring of them isn’t necessarily an industry standard yet,” says Chris Cosentino, SVP of consulting firm Presidio. “As these agents are in these environments, new risks are being introduced, and you have agents making decisions on behalf of users, and in some cases, those decisions move away from the intended model.” In fact, recent research and red team reports about frontier language models show that they’re capable of deceit and manipulation, and can easily go rogue if they work from contradictory instructions or bad data sets.

It wouldn’t be a good thing if an agentic AI system with access to all corporate databases and functions suddenly goes off the rails, or falls under the control of an attacker.

The solution, experts say, is to carefully limit the scope of what the agents can do and what data they can access, put guardrails in place, and then carefully monitor everything the agents say and do.

Staying in control of agents

Change.org is a nonprofit that allows anyone in the world to start a petition. To date, more than half a billion people have used the website, and 70,000 petitions are created on the platform every month, but not all petitions are worth the digital paper they’re printed on. There’s spam, fraud, and illegal content.

The company used a vendor that cost $5,000 a month, and the previous system only caught half of all policy violations, and half of the ones it flagged for review were false positives.

Then ChatGPT came out and Change.org was surprised to discover that even out-of-the-box, it was catching problematic content at the same rate as the tools it spent years developing. So the company started experimenting with what the AI could do, and eventually came up with a multi-step agentic workflow that used OpenAI’s GPT 4.0 and a fine-tuned GPT 3.5 to power the individual agents, with the help of consulting firm Fractional AI.

Even with multiple calls to the LLMs, the total cost per moderation was a fraction of what the company used to pay, says Danny Moldovan, the organization’s head of AI adoption and automation. “We significantly reduced cost at more scale and more accuracy.”

The result is a complex decision tree, which uses Langchain to stitch together the agents and Langsmith for observability.

“The agent is able to make its own choices about where to send it in the decision tree,” says Moldovan. In some cases, the final agent in the chain might send it back up the tree for additional review. “It allows humans to go through a much more manageable set of signals and interpretations,” he adds.

To keep the systems going off the rails, several controls are in place. First of all, OpenAI itself has a set of controls in place, including a moderation API. Then, the system is extremely limited in what information comes in and what it can do with it. Finally, all decisions go to humans for review.

“We’re risk managers, not boundary pushers,” Moldovan says. “We use this system to properly identify a set of content that needs human review, and all final moderation decisions are human. We believe content moderation, especially on a platform like ours, requires a level of nuance we’re not yet ready to cede to robots.”

Then, to make sure the system works as intended, and continues to do so, that’s where auditing comes in.

“Anytime there’s a different pattern, we run the tape and see what’s going on,” says Moldovan. “We record each step of the agentic process, and the agent provides a summary of the decision. It gives us a receipt we can audit. In fact, when the robot explains itself, the accuracy is better. The more you let the AI explain its thinking, the better the results have been.”

For example, at one point, it began flagging content for animal cruelty even though the petitions were fighting against it. “Once we introduced some correction framing, the system got back on track,” he says.

The agentic AI moderation went live in the last half of 2024, and now Change.org is taking the same approach and applying it to other processes. For example, agentic AI could be used to find examples of positive content, which could benefit from additional marketing — and to identify journalists who might be interested in seeing it.

No agentic AI without guardrails

The Principal Financial Group is a global investment and insurance company, and has been using various incarnations of AI for years. But the new gen AI, as well as the agentic AI systems built on top of it, can be a bit of a black box.

“In our traditional AI models, being able to understand how the model arrived at the conclusion — that was pretty robust because they’ve been around a while,” says CIO Kathy Kay.

And logging interactions and problems so that the company could assess what was going on in the entire system was also a challenge. “We want to make sure we assess the risk for that more than just how the models perform,” she says. “But the tools to actually monitor all that are still nascent.”

The firm is still in the early days of agentic AI adoption. “We have several models in production, but observability, explainability, and understanding how the models are coming to conclusions is a huge watch for us,” she adds.

One use case is for software development, with close to 1,200 engineers already using GitHub Copilot, which launched its agent mode in February, and can now create apps from scratch, refactor across multiple files, write and run tests, and migrate legacy code.

“But we’re not just unleashing code into the wild,” Kay says. “We’ll always have a human in the middle right now. That’s one of the guardrails of anything we’re doing.”

Agents are also being used to summarize documents and in other low-risk areas. There are guardrails in place to ensure the agents satisfy all regulatory and compliance requirements, she says. There are also limits on what data can be accessed and on what the agents can do. Principal Financial uses AWS, which offers guardrails as part of its AI platform.

“In addition, we log all of the interactions with any of the models and their answers to help analyze them, and see if models get any sort of bias or if we see things that are surprising,” she says.

Overall, Principal Financial is bullish on using agentic AI.

“We’ve identified a lot of different use cases where we believe agentic AI could be a solution,” she says. “But we take a risk-based approach. We’ll never put one of these agents or just the LLM directly to a customer without a human in the loop. It’s just too risky right now.”

Who watches the watchers?

Karen Panetta, IEEE fellow and dean of graduate engineering at Tufts University suggests we might need AI to monitor AI.

“When you talk about logging it, there’s probably another agent on top of it looking at what it’s logging and trying to summarize it — the conductor that’s pulling in all this different information,” she says.

That’s especially the case with complex systems that have many interactions and large amounts of data being injected into prompts.

“What is it you want to log?” she says. “Am I logging everything internally? That could be vast.”

Jeff Schwartzentruber, senior ML scientist at cybersecurity firm eSentire agrees that agentic AI has exploded the number of prompts and responses called. “They’re doing function calls and pulling in data, having their own conversations,” he says. “The prompts going in and out are difficult to track and you can never really see all the interactions on the client.”

This creates particular challenges when enterprises use outside vendors as part of the agentic system.

“Say a third-party service provider generates a report for you, and you send them some documents,” he says. “Once it gets into their systems, you have no idea about the different function calls they’re doing. That’s a very big issue of observability.”

But it’s not all bad news.

“While the challenge becomes more difficult, the tools at our disposal also become more powerful,” says Rakesh Malhotra, principal of digital and emerging technologies at EY. “The opportunity we have with agentic systems for observability is it provides us with the opportunity to increase the reliability of these systems. The opportunity far exceeds the risk of them going haywire.”

The key is to plan ahead, says Malhotra, who spent a decade at Microsoft building monitoring tools.

“When I build agents, I design for observability,” he says. “If you build something and decide that we’ve got to monitor and manage it afterward, you’re always paying down this technical debt, and that’s hard to do.”

Potential Nvidia chip shortage looms as Chinese customers rush to beat US sales ban

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 03:18:23 +0200

The AI chip shortage could become even more dire as Chinese customers are purportedly looking to hoard Nvidia chips ahead of a proposed US sales ban.

According to inside sources, Chinese companies including ByteDance, Alibaba Group, and Tencent Holdings have ordered at least $16 billion worth of Nvidia’s H20 server chips for running AI workloads in just the first three months of this year, The Information reported Wednesday.

There are already warnings of shortages of the chip in China, which, according to some industry watchers, means Nvidia could choose to focus its efforts on manufacturing more H20s to meet the intense demand before the proposed ban takes effect and fill at least some of the $16 billion in orders. This could, in turn, slow manufacturing of its other chips and lead to even more bottlenecks, making US and European customers wait even longer than they already have been for Nvidia’s highly sought after chips.

US cracking down, China keeping it local

The H20 is the most powerful processor that Nvidia is permitted to sell in China under US export controls imposed in October 2023. But the US may soon ban their sale altogether. At the same time, Beijing is reportedly considering even stricter controls on non-domestic chip sales to reduce Nvidia’s growing influence and to push Chinese companies to purchase local offerings.

“The Chinese government is supporting and subsidizing local manufacturers to produce ARM-based chips,” explained Lidice Fernandez, group VP for IDC’s worldwide enterprise infrastructure trackers.

Will it lead to shortages?

The US first placed export controls on chips sent to China in October 2022 as a means to slow the country’s technological advances. It blocked the sale of Nvidia’s A100 and H100 chips, leading the company to develop the less powerful A800 and H800 chips for the market; they were also subsequently banned.

There was a surge in demand for the H20 following the arrival of Chinese startup DeepSeek’s ultra low-cost, open-source AI model in January. And while the H20 is reported to be 15 times slower than Nvidia’s newest Blackwell chips sold elsewhere in the world, it was designed specifically by Nvidia to comply with the further US export controls introduced in October 2023. It is being used by Chinese companies for training, although it’s billed as an inference chip, explained Matt Kimball, VP and principal analyst for datacenter compute and storage at Moor Insights & Strategy.

Should Nvidia choose to focus its efforts on manufacturing more of the chips, Kimball said he doesn’t think it will impact supply in the US and Europe, as Blackwell is the main product sold in those markets and H20 is an N-1 Hopper architecture chip.

“If you take this a step further and ask whether this large order slows down the production of chips destined for the US and Europe, I’d say the answer is no, as the Hopper family is built on a different process node than the Blackwell family,” he said.

Still, Kimball noted, “supply chain management is difficult, especially for smaller organizations that are put to the back of the line as hyperscalers with multibillion dollar orders are first in line for the newest [chips].”

Investor uncertainty over tariffs create volatile stock market

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 15:06:55 +0100

Investor uncertainty has sparked volatile stock market trading. Market watchers note that the Trump administration's fluctuating policy…

The post Investor uncertainty over tariffs create volatile stock market appeared first on MacDailyNews.

Here's some schizo shit I almost spread on the linux forums, figured it was more of Reddit post...

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 20:05:58 +0100

All the advice I've been given has been drive partition -> VMWare

I suppose that wouldn't be very paranoid of me to do... no sir, it wouldn't be very paranoid at all. Let's crank up the paranoia. Suppose your system is compromised. Suppose someone watches every character typed into it. Suppose everything you do is logged in completeness. Suppose those who watch anticipate a move to Linux, and are preparing for it.

Even if you manage to create a bootable copy of Linux on a flash drive, there will always be a chance it carries a TAINT from the people who control your current file system. So what you MUST do is this:

-Install a popular Linux distro to your current machine. WIPE the current OS. This will throw off most of the watchers. A few can remain to corrupt your new file system, that is fine, for now.

-Let the watchers think they've won. Continue using your popular Linux distro (potentially riddled with malware) and let the watchers continue to think that.

-When you are ready to begin LFS, open Youtube to manufacture "user engagement metrics"

-Travel to a public library WITHOUT YOUR PHONE, ON A BIKE (NO GPS FROM THE CAR, EITHER)

-Begin and finish your LFS project on a library computer with a drive you've verified is "ass-clean-as-can-be"

-Wipe your computer, boot your squeaky-clean OS, and "vanish"

Am I just helping terrorists? :p Allahu 'alarm

submitted by /u/Painty_The_Pirate
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Netskope expands SASE footprint, bolsters AI and automation

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 17:49:10 +0100

Netskope is expanding its global presence by adding multiple regions to its NewEdge carrier-grade infrastructure, which now includes more than 75 locations to ensure processing remains close to end users. The secure access service edge (SASE) provider also enhanced its digital experience monitoring (DEM) capabilities with AI-powered root-cause analysis and automated network diagnostics.

“We are announcing continued expansion of our infrastructure and our continued focus on resilience. I’m a believer that nothing gets adopted if end users don’t have a great experience,” says Netskope CEO Sanjay Beri. “We monitor traffic, we have multiple carriers in every one of our more than 75 regions, and when traffic goes from us to that destination, the path is direct.”

Netskope added regions including data centers in Calgary, Helsinki, Lisbon, and Prague as well as expanded existing NewEdge regions including data centers in Bogota, Jeddah, Osaka, and New York City. Each data center offers customers a range of SASE capabilities including cloud firewalls, secure web gateway (SWG), inline cloud access security broker (CASB), zero trust network access (ZTNA), SD-WAN, secure service edge (SSE), and threat protection. The additional locations enable Netskope to provide coverage for more than 220 countries and territories with 200 NewEdge Localization Zones, which deliver a local direct-to-net digital experience for users, the company says.

“Netskope has direct control over its infrastructure, with full compute at the edge and all SSE services available in every region (including Mainland China). That control eliminates the need to backhaul traffic or leverage virtual POPs that add latency and negatively affect the digital experience,” Netskope said in a statement.

Industry watchers say the underlying infrastructure from a provider is the key to giving customers the secure networking services they need without worrying about performance degradations.

“When it comes to delivering modern networking and security services, outcomes are what truly matter, and architecture is foundational to achieving good outcomes,” said Pete Finalle, IDC research manager, security & trust, in a statement. “It’s not enough to have all the right security tools or network services or even that they’ve converged. It is the underlying architecture that allows customers to depend on both security efficacy and network performance, and Netskope delivers strong protection without sacrificing performance.”

Netskope also announced it has updated its Netskope Trust Portal, a public interface that offers Netskope customers and others a real-time view into the state of the Netskope cloud backed by live data. Beri says the portal is part of the company’s efforts to remain transparent and provide visibility into its infrastructure performance, locations, and service status. Netskope also expanded the availability of its NewEdge Route Control capabilities, which the company says keeps network traffic flowing via dynamic selection and prioritization of optimized routes for end-to-end performance.

With this release, Netskope added automated network diagnostics to its NewEdge One Digital Experience Management (DEM) product. Also new to DEM is AI-powered User Experience Root Cause Analysis (RCA), which the company says automates issue detection and resolution. According to Netskope, this gives frontline helpdesk teams real-time insights into user experience degradation and integrates with IT service management systems to improve incident management efficiency.

“By integrating AI, IT teams move from firefighting to proactive optimization, ensuring better performance, stronger security, and a seamless user experience—solving issues before they disrupt operations,” wrote Francisca Segovia, Netskope product marketing director, in a Netskope blog.

All updates are available now.

Cybersecurity not the hiring-'em-like-hotcakes role it once was

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 17:19:41 +0100

Ghost positions, HR AI no help – biz should talk to infosec staff and create 'realistic' job outline, say experts

Analysis It's a familiar refrain in the security industry that there is a massive skills gap in the sector. And while it's true there are specific shortages in certain areas, some industry watchers believe we may be reaching the point of oversupply for generalists.…

AI, automation spur efforts to upskill network pros

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 08:18:53 +0100

Networking skills are evolving to keep pace with broader technology trends, and network pros need to proactively develop new competencies in areas such as AI and automation to stay relevant. At the same time, they need to expand their cloud and security skill sets to accommodate more complex tools and technologies.

“Networking roles are undergoing significant evolution, with a key emphasis on the integration of emerging technologies such as AI and automation,” says Joost Heins, head of intelligence at Randstad Enterprise, a global talent solutions provider. “The demand for AI skills is projected to persistently grow as these technologies become more central to network engineering and architectural roles.

From AI and network automation to cloud computing and security, the critical networking skills needed to excel in 2025 are shifting. Here’s what aspiring and current networking pros should focus on to drive demand for their skill sets.

AI skills a priority

AI is a top priority, and networking professionals need to invest in understanding AI, its capabilities, and how to utilize it.

“When it comes to AI, it has been around for a long time now. But with generative AI, interest is advancing rapidly. Professionals have to invest in themselves and invest specifically in what’s going on with AI. What are its capabilities? What are other organizations doing?” says Thomas Vick, senior regional director at global talent consulting firm Robert Half. “Generative AI put AI even more on the map. It has expedited the thought around how we utilize AI, machine learning, and automation to better ourselves and our organization.”

In the big picture, networking pros must have the skills to enable the integration of new AI applications with the underlying AI infrastructure. Within their own environments, they’re striving to learn how AI can improve operations and how to put it to work for their specific business use cases. AI has great potential to assist with networking tasks, but it needs to be “properly trained” in order for AI to effectively automate complex network troubleshooting and modeling, according to industry watchers.

“I don’t see as of yet an AI-in-the-box, ready-to-go technology that is anywhere near trained enough to help CompTIA automate the networking issues they have to troubleshoot or networking models they have to figure out. With AI, that training piece is critically important,” says Dr. James Stanger, chief technology evangelist at training and certification organization CompTIA.

Network automation builds on core experience

Research firm Gartner is bullish on network automation, forecasting that 30% of enterprises will automate more than half of their network activities by 2026, up from only 10% in mid-2023. Businesses that embrace enterprise-wide automation will deliver higher service quality while also cutting costs, Gartner predicts.

Yet network automation lags behind other automation initiatives. Data from Enterprise Management Associates showed that just 18% of surveyed IT professionals rate their network automation strategies as a complete success, while 54% noted achieving partial success, and 38% said they were uncertain of the level of success achieved or admitted failure with their network automation projects.

Among the challenges associated with network automation are staffing issues such as skills gaps and staff churn, which were cited by 27% of the respondents to EMA’s 2024 survey.

That adds up to a compelling reason for network teams to boost their programming skills to automate repetitive tasks and integrate networking into broader IT automation efforts.

By developing skills in networking monitoring, performance management, and cost optimization through automation and AI-powered tools, networking pros can become more adept at troubleshooting while offloading repetitive tasks such as copy-pasting configurations. Over time, they can gain the skills to better understand which behaviors and patterns to automate.

According to Skillsoft’s Stanger, networking professionals can be challenged in finding the appropriate tasks and workflows to automate. They must still understand core networking concepts, device interactions, and performance metrics to effectively leverage and manage automated systems.

“A lot of times networking professionals struggle to figure out what to automate because you have to find a pattern of something to automate first. If we have better modeling and architecting at the beginning, it creates a more rational environment in which you see some repetition and some common elements that you can then build an automated architecture or infrastructure,” Stanger says.

Cloud specialties include AWS, GCP

Cloud networking skills, such as understanding cloud networking concepts, cloud security, and cloud-based network observability tools, will also advance a networking career. A deep understanding of cloud platforms and services is essential, and this includes knowledge of cloud architecture, deployment models, and management tools. Specialized skills in areas like AWS networking, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) networking, network observability, and site reliability engineering (SRE) practices will also give network pros a career edge in the coming years.

“The continuous growth in cloud technologies ensures that cloud computing skills remain in high demand. This includes a thorough understanding of cloud infrastructure and services, which is becoming crucial,” Randstad’s Heins says. “Particularly challenging for companies to find are skills related to cloud service management, especially when combined with AI competencies.”

Designing the appropriate network infrastructure, especially for cloud-first and hybrid environments, will be critical for networking pros looking to support sophisticated cloud environments. According to Greg Fuller, chief evangelist and vice president of Skillsoft/Codecademy, cloud computing, in some cases, can lead to complacency in networking as it allows more flexibility to spin up networks quickly. This can also introduce security risks that networking pros need to be aware of and manage, so foundational networking skills remain critical even as the cloud simplifies some networking tasks.

“If you think about networking as a whole, those foundational elements, such as understanding how devices interact with each other and understanding the difference between one hop versus 50 hops in terms of performance, are essential with cloud, but we will find more and more specialized skills such as AWS networking specialist and GCP networking specialist,” Skillsoft’s Fuller says. Networking pros should also learn more about observability as Fuller notes it is one of the “hotter trending topics” in cloud networking.

SASE, ZTNA shape security skills

As networking and security technologies converge, advanced security skills are critical to address cybersecurity challenges within network infrastructures and organizations are requiring networking professionals to have a deeper understanding of security concepts and be able to take on security-focused roles.

“There are organizations that are encouraging people to get more understanding and more experience within security, but they are also upskilling their staff to help them get more experience because there is such a shortage in security professionals, especially at the security engineer level,” Robert Half’s Vick says.

Networking and security technologies are converging in areas such as SASE, and it is no longer possible to keep the two IT domains separate in terms of skills. Zero trust network architecture (ZTNA) can be credited with bringing networking and security together, according to CompTIA’s Stanger, because it eliminates the concept of a trusted network perimeter and, instead, requires continuous verification of every user, device, and application attempting to access resources regardless of their location on the network—which integrates network access controls with security measures. Skills in implementing zero-trust architectures and collaborating with security teams are in high demand.

“One way of understanding what zero trust means is seeing that networking, that the very active transport, is not independent of cybersecurity,” Stanger says. Under zero trust principles, networking and security are integrated domains in which networking professionals need to understand the security implications of their work and vice versa for security professionals.

The job market for networking professionals remains very tight with low unemployment rates, and organizations are taking multi-pronged approaches to address skills gaps, including finding external resources, developing internal talent, and investing in upskilling.

For networking pros, the key is to develop a well-rounded set of skills that span AI, automation, cloud computing, network architecture, and security to be successful in the evolving networking landscape. By focusing on these areas, networking professionals can position themselves to meet the evolving demands of the industry in 2025 and beyond.

Juniper CEO: ‘I am disappointed and somewhat puzzled’ by DOJ merger rejection

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 15:33:20 +0100

Few would have predicted the U.S. Department of Justice would move to block HPE’s proposed acquisition of Juniper Networks. When it happened late last month, the two vendors and many industry watchers were caught off guard.

“In the thirteen months since HPE announced its proposed acquisition of Juniper, the European Commission, UK Competition and Markets Authority, and eleven other antitrust authorities around the world cleared this transaction without as much as a second look,” HPE and Juniper wrote in a response to the DOJ rejection.

“It was, therefore, no surprise that after a year of in-depth investigation requiring the production of millions of documents, voluminous submissions of data and other information, and sworn testimony, HPE and Juniper—along with virtually every networking industry expert, customers, partners, competitors, and antitrust pundits—expected the DOJ to reach the same conclusion and clear the proposed transaction in short order. Indeed, there was no reason to believe that the DOJ would seek to enjoin this acquisition for a simple reason: enjoining HPE from acquiring Juniper will provide no benefit to customers, businesses, competition, or the national security interest of the United States.”

Yet on January 30, the DOJ did the unexpected and sued to block the $14 billion sale of Juniper to HPE, citing reduced competition in the wireless market.

“I am disappointed and somewhat puzzled by the position that the DOJ has taken on this deal. It’s not something that we expected. It’s not something that, I think, makes a lot of sense,” Juniper CEO Rami Rahim said to Network World.

“They’re taking such a narrow view of the total transaction, which is the wireless line segment, a relatively small part of Juniper’s business, a small part of HPE’s business. And even if you do take a look at the wireless segment, you know we’re talking about a very competitive area with eight or nine different competitors. It’s unfortunate that we’re in the situation that we’re in, but that said, that’s okay. We’re prepared to take it to court and to prove our case and ultimately, hopefully, prevail,” Rahim said.

HPE and Juniper met with the DOJ several times to go over the purchase, but the companies had no inclination the DOJ would go the direction it did—certainly with regards to its focus on the wireless market, Rahim said.

The DOJ issued a Complaint “that ignores the reality that HPE and Juniper are two of at least ten competitors with comparable offerings and capabilities fighting to win customers every day,” the companies wrote. “A Complaint whose description of competitive dynamics in the wireless local area networking (WLAN) space is divorced from reality; and a Complaint that contradicts the conclusions reached by antitrust regulators around the world that have unconditionally cleared the transaction.”

“As part of this process, the DOJ requests large volumes of information, documents, and so forth, which we have worked very constructively with them, including meetings that I myself participated in. But no, now, at this point, we’re just preparing to go to court,” Rahim said.

“The DOJ Complaint ignores both the extensive benefits that will result from the proposed acquisition and the nature and extent of competition in the wireless networking space,” the companies continued. “It is a Complaint that will reinforce the status quo by benefiting Cisco, which has dominated wireless networking for decades (and whose dominance was threatened by the acquisition); a Complaint that will hobble competition with Huawei—which has been repeatedly identified as a national security risk by the U.S. government—and thus damage the U.S.’s stated aim of reducing the use of Chinese technology in critical infrastructure globally,” the companies wrote in response to the court.

“If the government’s lawsuit were to succeed, the true beneficiary would not be the customers, who will lose the benefits of a combined company, but Cisco, which will continue to have the scale needed to preserve its controlling share,” the companies wrote.

Industry analysts question DOJ’s WLAN argument

Many industry watchers might have thought the higher end of the networking spectrum—say, large enterprise switches, routers, and other gear—would be a potential competitive issue for the DOJ. Concern about WLAN competition was not expected.

“Apparently, eight companies with greater than $18M each of WLAN revenue in a $4B North American market is too few,” wrote Siân Morgan, Dell’Oro Group research director, in a blog about the ruling.

“In actual fact, the WLAN market is highly fragmented, with one large elephant in the room: Cisco. By developing a highly sophisticated global channel, a comprehensive suite of high-end networking products, and by means of a relentless sequence of acquisitions, Cisco is first—by a long stretch—in four out of five of the Enterprise Network segments we track. In the fifth segment, Network Security, Cisco is number two,” Morgan wrote.

In the wireless LAN market—the market the Justice Department decided to single out—Cisco’s market share in North America has hovered above the 50% mark for the past 10 years, without much notable change, she stated. “During that period, HPE has remained a distant number two. Juniper, by acquiring Mist in 2018 has eked out steady WLAN gains, stealing market share—not just from Cisco or HPE—but also from other WLAN vendors. Despite growth rates that are consistently higher than the market, Juniper’s North American market share for the first three quarters of 2024 has only reached 8%,” Morgan wrote.

“Apparently, the Justice Department feels that Cisco is too big to allow HPE to acquire another WLAN vendor in order to compete with Cisco. If the courts buy into this shampoo bottle logic (“lather, rinse, repeat, lather, rinse, repeat…”), the WLAN market in North America is likely to be trapped in the status quo for several years to come,” Morgan concluded.

Still, others believe the enterprise customer may be the biggest loser should this deal be permanently blocked.

“HPE might well be a threat to Cisco’s account control even without Juniper. They already have the Aruba line, and their strategic influence among enterprise buyers is better than Cisco’s,” wrote Tom Nolle, principal analyst at Andover Intel, in his blog post. (Nolle is also a columnist with Network World). “For decades, my involvement with enterprises has shown that data center networking drives enterprise networking, and data center technology drives data center networking. Cisco has servers (UCS), but they don’t have a significant position in the enterprise data center market. HPE does.”

“So, from all of this, it would seem that blocking the merger helps Cisco. If that’s the case, given that Cisco is the incumbent, it could also hurt competition if the DOJ succeeds,” Nolle wrote.

Juniper CEO notes company health, momentum

Juniper, Rahim noted, is performing well on its own for now.

“We are executing incredibly well as a standalone company. We have done so over the last year, and I expect that we will continue to do so through this year.”

In the company’s recently wrapped Q4 2024, Juniper grew orders more than 40% year over year. “That’s on the heels of a Q3 where we grew orders at around 60% year over year,” Rahim said. “We saw double-digit order growth in all theaters, all customer solutions, all verticals. In fact, we saw triple-digit growth in our cloud vertical driven by AI data center buildouts.”

There are two areas in the networking arena that Rahim believes make Juniper strong. The first is AI for networks—using AI to run networks better, more efficiently, and more easily for network operators, Rahim said.

“The second opportunity, which is equally important, is the networks that essentially make up the AI data center and the networks that connect AI data centers together. Our innovation engine here is remarkable. [Juniper is] the first to introduce 800-gigabit networking, both in switching and in routing, to keep up with the unprecedented traffic growth rates,” Rahim said.

“Increasingly, it’s about building these unique capabilities that you need in the entire stack, from the hardware to the software, that essentially optimize the network for AI workloads. So, that means understanding traffic patterns, understanding where there might be congestion, and then taking proactive actions to avoid that congestion, and that’s where our AI engine technology in Marvis plays,” Rahim said. “Congestion in an AI data center is like evil, because ultimately it results in less efficient usage of your most expensive commodities, which are the GPUs. So if we can alleviate congestion, we can make sure that cloud providers, enterprises, service providers that are building these clusters are leveraging that precious investments in GPUs as efficiently and as effectively as possible.”

“Having said all that, I do believe that as strong as we are as a standalone company, we can be an even stronger company and compete with a broader solution portfolio on an international scale. That’s why I’m so excited about this opportunity.”

Nvidia unveils preview of DeepSeek-R1 NIM microservice

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 18:18:46 +0100

Nvidia stock plummeted 17% on Monday after Chinese AI developer, DeepSeek, unveiled its DeepSeek-R1 LLM. On Thursday, the chipmaker turned around and announced the DeepSeek-R1 model is now available as a preview Nvidia inference microservice (NIM) on build.nvidia.com.

NIM is a set of containers and tools to help developers deploy and manage gen AI models across clouds, data centers, and workstations. For example, the company recently announced three new NIM microservices aimed at helping enterprises boost safety, security, and compliance for AI agents.

DeepSeek-R1 is a new open-weight LLM based on the DeepSeek-V3 base model. Investors rushed to shed Nvidia stock on Monday because DeepSeek benchmarks rivaled those of the OpenAI o1 model but used much less powerful and advanced hardware and computing power sources. Investors feared the news might curb the demand for Nvidia’s highest-end GPUs and sow chaos with the pricing strategies of commercial AI vendors.

Nvidia stock has recovered somewhat since then — it rose nearly 9% on Tuesday — with industry watchers noting that while the Chinese LLM adds a healthy dose of competition to the gen AI landscape with its innovations, the market may have overreacted. Still, analysts believe DeepSeek’s entrance heralds the possibility for more affordable gen AI initiatives.

Sidestepping the frenzy, Nvidia on Thursday said it was making the DeepSeek-R1 NIM available to help developers experiment with its logic inference, reasoning, mathematics, coding, and language capabilities for customizing their own specialized AI agents. The NIM runs on eight H200 GPUs connected via Nvidia NVLink and NVLink Switch.

“Instead of offering direct responses, reasoning models like DeepSeek-R1 perform multiple inference passes over a query, conducting chain-of-thought, consensus, and search methods to generate the best answer,” Erik Pounds, director of product marketing at Nvidia, wrote in a blog post Thursday.

Using this sequence of inference passes is called test-time scaling.

“As models are allowed to iteratively ‘think’ through the problem, they create more output tokens and longer generation cycles, so model quality continues to scale,” he wrote. “Significant test-time compute is critical to enable both real-time inference and higher-quality responses from reasoning models like DeepSeek-R1, requiring larger inference deployments.”

Pounds noted that DeepSeek-R1 delivers high levels of accuracy and inference efficiency for tasks that demand logical inference, reasoning, math, coding, and language understanding.

The 671-billion-parameter DeepSeek-R1 model is now available as a preview NIM and can deliver up to 3,872 tokens per second on a single Nvidia HGX H200 system.

Pounds said Nvidia’s next-generation Blackwell architecture will give a “giant boost” to test-time scaling on reasoning models like DeepSeek-R1, with fifth-generation Tensor Cores that can deliver up to 20 petaflops of peak FP4 compute performance and a 72-GPU NVLink domain specifically optimized for performance.

High-speed Ethernet switches a bright spot in network forecasts

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 15:19:29 +0100

Switches and routers remain the workhorses of the networking world. Viewed through that lens, 2024 offered a mixed bag of results for the networking market. There were numerous areas of decline, particularly in the enterprise market, according to some analysts. It was also an active year for switches and routers as the impact of AI on networking began to manifest and accelerate. Looking ahead, industry watchers project decent growth for Ethernet switches – data center, campus and branch – but with the caveat that the growth is coming after a soft 2024 in some segments.

2024 by the numbers

Worldwide Ethernet enterprise switch revenues declined 14.1% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2024 to $10.2 billion, according to a report from analyst firm Dell’Oro Group. And by IDC’s numbers, worldwide ethernet switch market declined by 7.9% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2024, hitting $10.8 billion in revenue. The router market declined even further with the total worldwide enterprise and service provider (SP) router market declining 17.4% year-over-year to $3.1 billion in the third quarter.

Despite the overall market correction, certain segments are showing promise. The data center portion of the Ethernet switch market grew 18% year-over-year in the third quarter. According to IDC, revenues for 200/400 GbE switches surged 126.3% in the same period, indicating strong interest in high-speed Ethernet switches for data centers.

Those trends coming out of the back half of 2024 bode well for the networking market’s prospect for 2025.

Cisco continues to dominate

Across both service provider and enterprise segments, Cisco continues to lead the market, at least by revenue.

John Dinsdale, chief analyst and research director at Synergy Research Group, told Network World that in the service provider router category, Cisco is the market leader by some distance. “Its share varies quite a bit quarter by quarter but is usually in the 33-40% range,” Dinsdale said. “Nokia and Huawei jostle for the number two slot, and the rankings often switch quarter by quarter. Juniper is number four in the market.”

Looking at the enterprise router segment, Dinsdale noted that Cisco is it; everyone else is relatively very small. Cisco’s dominance also extends into the Ethernet switch space, though it is facing increasing competition. Cisco’s share of enterprise switches varies quite a bit quarter by quarter but is usually in the 40-48% range, he says.

“Arista has grown rapidly over the last few years and is now the clear number two in the market– and it is growing quite a bit more rapidly that Cisco,” Dinsdale said. “Next biggest players in the market are Huawei and HPE. Other big vendors include H3C, Juniper, Extreme and white box vendors.”

The overall market in 2024 was a bit challenging for a number of reasons. Dinsdale noted that there were global supply chain issues, then sales leapt as they suddenly caught up with the backlog, and then sales dropped sharply as customers were ingesting large volumes of shipments.

“We are expecting the market to bounce back quite a bit in 2025 after the lows in 2024,” Dinsdale said.

2025 looks strong for enterprise switches, not so much for routers

2025 is looking to be a solid year of growth for multiple segments of the switch and router networking markets.

Brandon Butler, senior research manager, enterprise networks, at IDC told Network World that his firm’s non-data center (campus and branch) Ethernet switch market forecast for 2025 is for revenues to reach $21.4 billion, which is expected to be a 6.0% gain over 2024. The data center ethernet switch forecast is also robust with 2025 revenue projected to come in 11% higher than 2024, up to $22.7 billion.

Looking at the enterprise router market forecast for 2025, IDC is estimating revenue of $3.6 billion, up modestly by 1.5% from 2024.

Gartner presents a bit of a different viewpoint. Christian Canales, director analyst at Gartner, told Network World that on a global basis (and measured in end-user spending in constant currency), Gartner expects some limited growth — below 5% in 2025 over 2024 numbers — for the campus switching market. Those results follow a very soft 2024 in which spending declined more than 10% over 2023 (as currently forecasted, since fourth-quarter financial results are not yet out).

“For the data center switching market, demand has been more robust/healthy, largely fueled by demand from hyperscalers building massive data center infrastructure to support growing AI and generative AI service requirements,” Canales said. “We expect global spending on data center switches to increase just below 10% in 2025.

The impact of AI on data center networking infrastructure

Looking specifically at data center networking infrastructure, there is perhaps no bigger trend for 2025 than AI and accelerated computing.

“Accelerated servers require a new network—the AI back-end network—which is essential for connecting the various accelerators within an AI cluster, spanning multiple racks and, in some cases, multiple data centers,” Sameh Boujelbene, vice president at Dell’Oro Group, told Network World.

Boujelbene noted that historically, InfiniBand has dominated the AI back-end network market, holding more than 70% of the market share through 2024. However, Dell’Oro Group anticipates a significant shift toward Ethernet adoption in AI back-end networks starting in 2025 and continuing beyond.

“We expect shipments of 800 Gbps Ethernet switches to ramp up significantly in 2025, with initial shipments of 1600 Gbps switches expected by the end of the year,” Boujelbene said.

What Intel needs to do to get its mojo back

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 22:34:09 +0100

While 2024 was a banner year for some chip companies – notably Nvidia and Broadcom – Intel had a year it would rather forget. Another CEO was forced out, it lost market share, and its stock dropped 60% during a year that was strong for semiconductors. So much went wrong that some industry watchers proposed the unthinkable: a takeover by private equity.

How did this happen? Not overnight. Analysts who spoke with Network World said these problems have been brewing for decades, and multiple CEOs failed to fix them. Once a stable company, Intel has seen four CEO departures in 12 years: Paul Otellini (2005-2013), Brian Krzanich (2013-2018), Bob Swan (2019-2021), and Pat Gelsinger (2021-2024) have all been shown the door for different reasons.

As Intel languishes, a company that used to make graphics cards for video games (Nvidia) is now synonymous with artificial intelligence, and a competitor left for dead a decade ago now (AMD) has a market capitalization that’s more than double that of Intel. For Intel to regain the dominance it had 20 years ago would require a catastrophic foul up by both AMD and Nvidia – something not likely to happen with their current leadership teams. That said, there is room for growth, and here are the steps Intel needs to take.

Step 1: Get another technologist CEO

Just as AMD and Nvidia have electrical engineers as their CEOs, Intel needs one as well (and it had one in Gelsinger). Its next CEO needs to be able to talk shop, understand the technology at the deepest levels, and be business-savvy.

“That CEO pick is going to be important because they have to change around the culture. They have to be believable. They have to understand the market, and they have to understand semiconductors. That makes it a very short list,” said Alvin Nguyen, senior analyst with Forrester Research.

“When they get a new CEO, are they able to look at these technology inflection points that come up? And, you know there’s going to be something after AI, as well. Are they going to recognize those technology inflection points and make the right decision? I’d hate to see them get somebody who is just short-term thinking and misses out on that,” Nguyen said.

Step 2: Stay the course on IFS

Intel is on a multiyear mission to reinvent itself as a foundry service and compete with TSMC and Samsung. If there is a knock on Gelsinger, it’s that he didn’t make it abundantly clear to the board and to investors that this is a long-term project that will require time and investment before a payoff. The investment can pay off if the board and shareholders are patient, but pushing Gelsinger into retirement is not a sign of patience. And they have to be, argues Patrick Morehead, president of Moor Insights & Strategies.

“What Intel has to do is execute on the strategy that it has set out on for the last three years, and that’s to get competitive in foundry and get more competitive in products. And I think on the foundry side, what I’ve seen on the 18A process is good so far,” Morehead said.

The 18A semiconductor manufacturing technology uses a 1.8 nanometer process node. It would be well ahead of the best that TSMC can manage for the next two years, and it would give Intel a clear competitive advantage over TSMC and Samsung. “In the end, that’s what it’s all about. It’s getting 18A to the appropriate yield and defect density rates to be able to make a profitable business, not only supporting the Intel design company but also for external partners,” said Morehead.

Intel has six months to go before it hits high-volume manufacturing on 18A for internal products, and then another year before it goes into high-volume manufacturing for third parties.

Step 3: Split

Gelsinger was trying to create a foundry business as part of Intel. But Nathan Brookwood, research fellow with Insight 64, says the company needs to split itself in half and spin off the foundry business, just like AMD did in 2008. Up until 2008, AMD made its own chips. It then decided to sell off its foundries to an Abu Dhabi investment company under the name GlobalFoundries. Today, AMD is thriving, and GlobalFoundries is the third-largest fabrication company in the world, behind Samsung and TSMC.

“I’ve been talking to a few people over the last week or two, and the general belief is that the company’s too far gone to remain a single enterprise, and it’s going to have to be split” into a product company and a foundry, Brookwood said.

Step 4: Clean house

News of Intel’s plans to cut 10,000 jobs is not enough, argues Bob O’Donnell, president and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research.

“From what I gathered in speaking with Intel folks, there were fiefdoms and projects going a number of different ways, and some of those were, I think, ultimately, some level of distraction. And because of that, you didn’t necessarily have everybody on board internally,” O’Donnell said. Gelsinger wasn’t aggressive enough in dealing with those distractions, so the board decided it needed to eliminate the distractions and get everybody focused on the core stuff, he said.

There is plenty of room to cut, Morehead argues, even if most of the employees of Intel are at the foundry, not in chip design. Still, he notes that Intel probably has twice as many people on the design side per revenue as AMD, maybe even more. “The company has to learn how to work more efficiently with less people,” he said.

And along with cuts must come process overhauls. “I worked at Fortune 500 tech companies for over 20 years, and I’ll tell you that just cutting heads does not make you more efficient. You have to redo the way that you work, right the processes that you have. This is just a fact,” said Morehead.

Step 5: Get an AI strategy in order

Intel’s messaging around AI has been unclear and unfocused. Is it Gaudi? GPU Max? Xeon? Altera? Meanwhile, AMD and Nvidia have well-known product strategies: Blackwell and Instinct, respectively. Intel needs a clear strategy because right now it doesn’t have one.

“As much as I liked the ‘AI everywhere’ pitch that they did during the event in April, they need short term success with the GPUs to show that they’ve got something that’s competitive in the market, while Nvidia pretty much owns it,” said Nguyen.

Brookwood argues that Intel has to make an even more basic decision. “Intel needs to figure out if AI is going to be the major transition for the next generation, the next decade, and then they have to figure out how to catch up. Or maybe they can find something beyond AI, or AI plus, that they can seize and pioneer in order to establish a new product with a better product position,” he said.

Step 6: Develop a coherent GPU strategy

If there is one area where Intel has repeatedly failed, it is in its attempts at a high-end GPU. Its low-end GPUs, embedded in desktop and mobile CPUs, do an adequate job. But the high-end discrete market dominated by Nvidia has escaped Intel for multiple attempts now, and Intel needs a good GPU story for its data center efforts.

Morehead notes that Intel and AMD both pursued supercomputer contracts with the national labs (Argonne, Lawrence Livermore, and Oak Ridge) run by Department of Energy. AMD won multiple contracts over Intel because it had high precision, high floating point designs in its Instinct line, to which Intel had no equivalent.

“I do think that’s a failure not only to understand what your customers want, which is a highly programmable, low precision, high TOPS GPU for training, but also potentially a testament to resource allocations and speed of execution,” he said.

However, that may change later this year with the release of Falcon Shores, where Intel will merge its Gaudi AI accelerator with the GPU technology of Ponte Vecchio. But it really needs to perform if Intel is to keep up with even AMD, let alone Nvidia.

iPhone SE 4 Release Date: Here’s What We Know

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 13:37:31 +0100

Curious to know when the iPhone SE 4 is coming out? Well, you've come to the right place. The iPhone SE 4 has been in the rumor mill for a long time and is expected to arrive soon. This time, the entry-level iPhone would offer several upgrades, making it a fantastic option for users who crave the Apple experience without spending too much. Keep reading to find out about the iPhone SE 4 release date, anticipated features, pricing, and other details. When Is the iPhone SE 4 Coming? According to industry insiders, the iPhone SE 4 will arrive in March or April 2025. Previously, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman posted on X that Apple will launch the new iPad 11th-generation and iPhone SE 4 by April, sometime before it drops the iOS 18.4 update. A more recent report from Gurman mentioned that the iPhone SE 3 is almost sold out in the United States. Currently, Apple Stores across the US have a shortage of entry-level iPhones. This might be an indication that Apple is clearing shelves to make way for the new version of the iPhone SE, which the tech titan may name the iPhone SE 4 or even iPhone 16E. Considering these reports, the iPhone SE 4 launch seems to be around April 2025. This timeline aligns with previous rumors claiming Apple will refresh its iPhone SE lineup early this year. iPhone SE 4 Expected Specifications The upcoming iPhone SE 4 is speculated to be a substantial upgrade over the three-year-old iPhone SE 3. Apple will ditch the outdated iPhone 8 chassis in favor of a modern look. On the design front, the next iteration of the iPhone SE will resemble the iPhone 14, featuring a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, edge-to-edge design, and Face ID authentication. In addition, we're likely to see a powerful A18 chipset and boosted 8GB RAM, which will make the iPhone SE 4 the most affordable way to enjoy Apple Intelligence features, alongside the iPad Mini 7. Other specifications might include a USB-C port, a programmable Action Button, an upgraded 48MP primary camera, and improved battery life. Such upgrades are enough to bring the iPhone SE 4 closer to the flagship models. Since Apple didn't drop an official statement on these features, it's better to take these rumors with a pinch of salt. iPhone SE 4 Expected Price While there are no official figures, some industry watchers suggest the iPhone SE 4 price might be higher than the current iPhone SE 3, which retails for $429. Given the substantial upgrades, such a price bump might be worth it. Also, Apple is unlikely to introduce a dramatic price hike. It might raise the price by 10 percent or even stick with the same price tag. Even if there's a slight increase, the iPhone SE 4 price would be under $500, making it a feasible option for budget-conscious buyers.

iPhone SE 4 Release Date: Here’s What We Know

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 13:37:30 +0100

iPhone SE 3 Is Almost Sold Out In the US

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 17:36:20 +0100

Apple Stores across the United States are reportedly experiencing a significant shortage of iPhone SE inventory, according to recent reports by Mark Gurman. The current generation iPhone SE, which debuted in 2022, is rapidly disappearing from store shelves. In-store stock is declining, but the device remains available for online orders, with delivery expected within a few days. This could mean that Apple is getting ready to launch a new version of the iPhone SE, the iPhone SE4, or possibly the iPhone 16E. Industry insiders anticipate the next-generation iPhone SE to launch around April 2025. The new model is expected to have upgrades like a design similar to the iPhone 14, a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID authentication, USB-C connectivity, and a more powerful A18 chip. It's also rumored to support Apple Intelligence features, marking a significant leap forward for the SE line. Apple has not officially commented on these developments or confirmed plans for a new iPhone SE model. As Apple typically maintains secrecy about future products until their formal announcement, consumers and industry watchers alike are eagerly awaiting official word on the next iteration of the iPhone SE. More here.

Cisco in 2025: Lots of hard work ahead

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 11:19:14 +0100

For a company of its size, Cisco executed a fairly short list of technology rollouts in 2024 and made a surprising lack of major updates to its core networking portfolio, which might have contributed to the 23% decline in networking revenue Cisco reported in its latest quarterly financials.

Cisco’s most significant activities of 2024 included further development of its AI networking offerings. The biggest news was its expanded tie-in with Nvidia, which links its Unified Computing System (UCS) family with Nvidia’s HGX-infused M8 server to deliver the accelerated compute capabilities needed for AI workloads such as large language model (LLM) training and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).

Along with the new hardware, Cisco introduced AI Pods, which are preconfigured infrastructure packages that customers can plug into their data center or edge environments. The Pods include Nvidia AI Enterprise pretrained models and development tools and are managed through Cisco Intersight.

In one of its few hardware-related upgrades of the year, Cisco bolstered its Nexus 9000 data center switch lineup with the new 9364E-SG2 switch, which includes high-density 800G aggregation. The Nexus 9000 line is a core component of Cisco’s enterprise AI strategy, offering congestion-management and flow-control algorithms and telemetry to meet the design requirements of AI/ML fabrics, Cisco said.

On the software front, Cisco closed its $28 billion Splunk acquisition and made moves to integrate Splunk’s technology into its AppDynamics portfolio to help IT teams unify visibility and improve performance troubleshooting across on-premises and cloud environments.

In the security realm, Cisco unveiled what is arguably its largest announcement of the year: its AI-based Hypershield, a self-upgrading security fabric that’s designed to protect distributed applications, devices and data.

Hypershield is comprised of AI-based software, virtual machines, and other technology that will ultimately be baked into networking components such as switches, routers and servers. It promises to let organizations autonomously segment their networks when threats are a problem, gain rapid exploit protection without having to patch or revamp firewalls, and automatically upgrade software without interrupting computing resources, Cisco said.

Networking, AI and platformization goals

Looking ahead, Cisco needs to refocus on enterprise networking and work to make the data center an all-inclusive home for AI applications, industry watchers say. Security technologies must continue to be a priority as well.

“2025 will be an important year for Cisco as the company executes ambitious internal changes while looking to capitalize on a dynamic external environment driven by the AI opportunity,” said Brandon Butler, senior research manager, enterprise networks, with IDC.

Revamped leadership will play a role: In August 2024, Cisco announced plans to reconfigure its networking, security and collaboration business units as part of a restructuring that included a 7% global workforce reduction and established Jeetu Patel as chief product officer.

“As for the internal changes, the ascension of Jeetu Patel to executive vice president and chief product officer is a significant move for the company. Patel has an opportunity to more closely unify Cisco’s broad product portfolio while ensuring it aligns with top growth areas,” Butler said.

A key part of this strategy will be Cisco’s vision for a platform approach to networking and security, which enables more unified experiences and management across Cisco’s products and allows integrated features, like AI, observability and security, to be baked into each one, Butler said.

“Cisco Networking Cloud and Cisco Security Cloud are examples of these platform approaches. Other key areas to watch include the convergence of the datacenter networking and security teams, the continued integration of Splunk across the portfolio and new leadership for the campus, branch, collaboration and IoT business unit,” Butler said.

“Patel has signaled he wants Cisco to act like a startup by moving fast; 2025 could be a year of significant change for Cisco’s platform strategy as Patel looks to execute on that vision,” Buter said.

Streamlining and simplification will be important, according to Roy Chua, founder and principal with AvidThink. Patel should lead Cisco to craft a unified framework spanning IT, OT, and cloud domains, said Chua.

“While enterprises currently manage these separately, a cohesive long-term vision is essential, and it’s been a confusing market ride for Cisco customers in recent years. The strategy should emphasize consistent identity management, policy enforcement, and observability across integrated Splunk-Cisco solutions,” Chua said.

“Continued integration of ThousandEyes for digital experience management, coupled with XDR and Splunk security capabilities, positions Cisco to meet evolving market demands for integrated connectivity with security,” Chua said.

Likewise, “Cisco needs to put all the wood behind its Meraki arrow for campus networking — streamlining the portfolio while enhancing enterprise scalability,” said Chua.

“Competitors like Juniper’s Mist with Marvis, Extreme Platform ONE, and startups Nile and Meter demonstrate the market’s appetite for simplified, integrated networking and security solutions with flexible consumption models,” he said.

“Though promising, Hypershield requires substantial investment to demonstrate seamless integration with physical infrastructure,” Chua added.

Network spending trends

The networking market in general faces a challenging spending environment.

“As the incumbent, Cisco is impacted most by the systemic pressure on network spending,” said Tom Nolle, founder and principal analyst at Andover Intel and a Network World columnist.

“For two decades, the network equipment budget of enterprises has been growing only at about the rate of inflation, and the number of new projects that could add to the pot has declined every single year, to the point where this source (which was once almost 40% of available spending) has almost disappeared,” Nolle said. “The only space that has seen growth is security.”

Cisco’s networking segment, the traditional backbone of its product portfolio, faced significant challenges in the first quarter of Cisco’s 2025 fiscal year, with revenue falling 23% year-over-year, wrote Ron Westfall, Futurum’s group research director in a recent research report.

“This decline highlights shifting enterprise spending priorities as organizations reallocate budgets from traditional networking solutions to higher priority technologies such as AI and cybersecurity,” Westfall stated. “The decline in networking underscores a broader industry shift, signaling the need for Cisco to prioritize emerging opportunities and modernize its traditional offerings. As enterprises increasingly adopt cloud-first strategies, Cisco must navigate this transition to maintain relevance in its core segment,” Westfall stated.

Cisco’s AI networking prospects

The AI era is still in its early days, but Cisco must continue to find ways to capitalize on it, Butler said.

“The company has identified three areas of focus for its AI strategy: AI training infrastructure for hyperscalers; AI connectivity for supporting AI workloads; and AI inferencing, or the buildout of private AI clouds for enterprises,” Butler said.

“Cisco could provide more clarity on each of these opportunities and its solutions to support them, while sharing milestone achievements along the way. For example, Cisco most recently reported it had ‘line of sight’ to $1B of AI orders for its fiscal year, which is a promising sign. Cisco must move aggressively to capitalize on the AI opportunity,” Butler said.

The AI infrastructure boom presents both opportunity and challenge, said Chua. “While Arista has successfully leveraged its cloud data center presence at Meta and Microsoft Azure into expanded AI deployments, Cisco must accelerate adoption of its data center assets: Series 8000 routers, Nexus 9000 switches, and Silicon One chipsets,” he said.

“Competition is intensifying, including from partner-competitor Nvidia’s Spectrum-X line, which powers xAI’s Colossus supercomputer cluster. The surge in AI-driven datacenter interconnect deployments, driven by new data center builds globally, offers growth potential for Cisco’s optics (Acacia) products,” Chua said.

Nolle had a bleaker view of Cisco’s AI prospects.

“AI is a trap for Cisco,” Nolle said. “‘AI networking’ is really fast data center networking, and there’s little Cisco can do to drive it because the pace of that space is determined by how many enterprises self-host AI. There is growing action there, but it’s led by players like HPE, IBM, and Broadcom, not by network vendors, because the current need is to build internally hosted AI; only when you can do that do you need to worry about networks.”

“Areas like campus, and competitors like Arista, are niches. Cisco needs to try not to lose too much there, but there isn’t enough gain to really help them, so there’s no need to focus strategically on either niche missions or niche competitors,” Nolle said.

Cisco’s primary competitive threats are from HPE/Juniper, Ericsson, and Nokia, Nolle asserts.

HPE/Juniper is a threat because it operates closer to the application – and “in the current IT world, any new money to spend has to come from new benefits, which can only come from new applications,” Nolle said.

Ericsson and Nokia are threats because both companies are going after the data center space, which is the only capital-intensive piece of enterprise networking big enough to matter, and because both are working hard on the only strategic application mission that’s on the table, which is real-time applications and IoT, according to Nolle.

“Right now, all of IT is focused on empowering office workers who represent only 60% of the workforce and only 38% of the total labor cost. The other 40/42% are out in the wide world, and to empower them we need not only applications that reflect real-world conditions, but also data (from widespread IoT) about that real world and what’s happening there. If Cisco wants to win, this is the space they need to win in in 2025,” Nolle said.

Microsoft Announces Phi-4 AI Model Optimized for Accuracy and Complex Reasoning

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 06:49:04 +0100

An anonymous reader shared this report from Computerworld: Microsoft has announced Phi-4 — a new AI model with 14 billion parameters — designed for complex reasoning tasks, including mathematics. Phi-4 excels in areas such as STEM question-answering and advanced problem-solving, surpassing similar models in performance. Phi-4, part of the Phi small language models (SLMs), is currently available on Azure AI Foundry under the Microsoft Research License Agreement and will launch on Hugging Face [this] week, the company said in a blog post. The company emphasized that Phi-4's design focuses on improving accuracy through enhanced training and data curation.... "Phi-4 outperforms comparable and even larger models on tasks like mathematical reasoning, thanks to a training process that combines synthetic datasets, curated organic data, and innovative post-training techniques," Microsoft said in its announcement. The model leverages a new training approach that integrates multi-agent prompting workflows and data-driven innovations to enhance its reasoning efficiency. The accompanying report highlights that Phi-4 balances size and performance, challenging the industry norm of prioritizing larger models... Phi-4 achieved a score of 80.4 on the MATH benchmark and has surpassed other systems in problem-solving and reasoning evaluations, according to the technical report accompanying the release. This makes it particularly appealing for domain-specific applications requiring precision, like scientific computation or advanced STEM problem-solving. Microsoft emphasized its commitment to ethical AI development, integrating advanced safety measures into Phi-4. The model benefits from Azure AI Content Safety features such as prompt shields, protected material detection, and real-time application monitoring. These features, Microsoft explained, help users address risks like adversarial prompts and data security threats during AI deployment. The company also reiterated that Azure AI Foundry, the platform hosting Phi-4, offers tools to measure and mitigate AI risks. Developers using the platform can evaluate and improve their models through built-in metrics and custom safety evaluations, Microsoft added... With Phi-4, Microsoft continues to evolve its AI offerings while promoting responsible use through robust safeguards. Industry watchers will observe how this approach shapes adoption in critical fields where reasoning and security are paramount.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

IBM optical chip prototype aims to speed AI computing and slash data center energy demands

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 20:48:39 +0100

IBM researchers are developing optical chips that are expected to significantly speed connectivity in data center systems, enabling better performance and lower energy costs for customers that need to build and support AI applications.

IBM said its co-packaged optics (CPO) prototype will redefine the way the computing industry transmits high-bandwidth data between chips, circuit boards, accelerators, servers and other devices by using a polymer material to direct optics rather than traditional glass-based fiber optics.

Such so-called polymer waveguides promise lower costs and better flexibility and are less susceptible to interference than their glass counterparts, IBM said. There are a number of polymer fiber uses in the telecom arena, but few have been applied to the data center, IBM stated.

The CPO prototype module will offer high-bandwidth-density optical structures, coupled with the ability to transmit multiple wavelengths per optical channel, boosting bandwidth between chips as much as 80 times compared to traditional electrical connections, said Mukesh Khare, general manager of IBM’s semiconductors division and vice president of hybrid cloud research at IBM Research.

“We can put as many as six times more optical fibers at the edge of a silicon photonic chip, the so-called ‘beachfront density,’ compared to what was possible before,” Khare said.

While data centers use fiber optics for communications networks, racks in data centers still predominantly run communications on copper-based electrical wires. These wires connect GPU accelerators that may spend more than half of their time idle, waiting for data from other devices in a large, distributed training process which can incur significant expense and energy, Khare said.

The idea with the CPO module is to increase the bandwidth of data center communications and minimize GPU downtime while drastically accelerating AI processing, Khare said. The technology can reduce power consumption by 5x compared to mid-range electrical interconnects, he said.

Expectations for co-packaged optics

The CPO package is available for industry development, and IBM hopes to develop an ecosystem of customers and uses for the CPO technology.

“IBM has designed this technology for broad deployment within the industry. Given the compute and energy-efficiency demands for technologies like generative AI, and 5G and even 6G communications, we expect multiple applications,” said IBM researcher Griselda Bonilla.

In the big picture, the CPO technology IBM is developing is a push forward for the technology and AI deployments, according to industry watchers.

“If you look at the largest AI clusters built by hyperscalers today, they are already approaching 100,000 accelerators, with projections reaching up to one million in the near future. As these clusters continue to grow, they become increasingly distributed, potentially affecting latency and processing times. And maximizing the number of GPUs in a single rack can significantly reduce latency,” said Sameh Boujelbene, vice president, data center switch and AI networks market research with the Dell’Oro Group.

“The number of chips that can be connected on an electronic module has historically been limited by electrical pathways,” Boujelbene said. “However, CPO holds the promise of significantly increasing the interconnection density between accelerators and chips.

Although CPO technology is not yet ready for mass deployment in scale-out networks that connect accelerators across multiple racks or data centers, its initial market opportunity lies in chip-to-chip connectivity, Boujelbene said. This application operates in a more confined environment with fewer interoperability requirements, Boujelbene said.

CPO versus LPO

CPO technology competes most closely with Linear Drive Pluggable Optics (LPO) in the marketplace. LPOs typically set up direct links between fiber optic modules, eliminating the need for traditional components such as a Digital Signal Processor. CPOs integrate optical components directly into a switch ASIC.

Both technologies have their place in optical networks, experts say, as both promise to reduce power consumption and support improved bandwidth density. Both have advantages and disadvantages as well – CPOs are more complex to deploy given the amount of technology included in a CPO package, whereas LPOs promise more simplicity.

Backers of LPO have been pushing that technology hard this year. For example, in March a group of 12 core optics vendors, including Cisco, Broadcom, Intel, Nvidia, Arista and AMD, formed the Linear Pluggable Optics Multi-Source Agreement group to further LPO technology development.

Indeed, both LPO and CPO aim to reduce power and potentially the cost of optics when moving to higher speeds. However, multivendor support, time-to-market, serviceability, manufacturability, and testability are critical requirements for volume adoption, Boujelbene said.

IBM researchers said they have looked into LPO development as well.

“We’ve done comparisons between LPO and CPO, and part of the CPO advantage, we think, is that it can go longer distances and achieve lower energy, ultimately,” said John Knickerbocker, distinguished engineer at IBM Research. “We believe that CPO is more flexible and open and will provide more advantages than LPO as time goes on.”

Massive Credit Card Leak, Database of 1,221,551 Cards Circulating on Dark Web

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 08:19:37 +0100

A massive data breach has sent shockwaves across the globe, as a database containing sensitive financial information for over 1.2 million credit cards has been leaked on the dark web. According to reports from cybersecurity watchers, the database was shared for free, making it accessible to malicious actors worldwide. The alarming revelation was first highlighted […]

The post Massive Credit Card Leak, Database of 1,221,551 Cards Circulating on Dark Web appeared first on GBHackers Security | #1 Globally Trusted Cyber Security News Platform.

Observe, New Relic boost observability of Kubernetes workloads

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 20:33:56 +0100

Observability providers Observe and New Relic this week separately introduced Kubernetes-specific capabilities in their platforms that will enable faster problem resolution across complex container environments.

For its part, Observe unveiled additional capabilities to its observability platform to help DevOps teams, site reliability engineers, and software engineers to more quickly identify and resolve issues in distributed Kubernetes stacks.

Kubernetes Explorer will simplify visualizing and troubleshooting containerized applications in Kubernetes environments, according to Observe, which will help IT teams by unifying fragmented data across metrics, traces, and logs—now with expert insights into the Kubernetes platform. Kubernetes adoption is growing, and that is increasing the complexity of observing multiple distributed applications and the supporting infrastructure, Observe says.

“Dynamic and distributed containerized deployments create a massive amount of fragmented data across metrics, traces, and logs. While traditional solutions cannot handle the high volume of fast-moving data, even the current generation of observability solutions struggles to provide contextual insights across data formats, application deployments, the Kubernetes platform, and cloud-native infrastructure,” writes Amit Sharma, vice president of product marketing at Observe, in a blog announcing the news.

According to Gartner’s 2024 Critical Capabilities for Container Management report “by 2027, more than 75% of all AI deployments with use container technology as the underlying compute environment, up from less than 50% today.” With environments growing more complex and sophisticated, IT teams will need more specific expertise to quickly solve issues around critical applications, industry watchers say.

“The complexity of Cloud Native infrastructures remains a key challenge for SREs and on-call engineers,” said James Governor, analyst and co-founder at RedMonk, said in a statement. “Observe is addressing this issue with Kubernetes-specific tooling, augmented with new AI capabilities designed to automate visualization and discovery, identify anomalies and simplify troubleshooting”

Kubernetes Explorer integrates with Observe’s AI Investigator to speed root-cause analysis and problem resolution by analyzing every component of a distributed platform, including the Kubernetes platform. It builds custom, incident-specific visualizations and offers suggestions to IT teams to accelerate troubleshooting and reduce mean time to repair (MTTR). Kubernetes Explorer can also provide visibility into the historical state of Kubernetes components, enabling IT professionals to better understand performance issues and resolve them. The add-on provides an overview of the entire Kubernetes environment and allows users to dig into data on specific clusters, namespaces, nodes, pods, containers, and deployed workloads, the company says.

Observe is a SaaS platform, and customers deploy Observe agents to collect telemetry data. The agents can collect data from a variety of sources, including infrastructure such as Kubernetes, databases such as MongoDB or Snowflake, and other applications. The agents collect time-series data, logs, traces/spans, and performance data from these various sources and send the data to Observe’s platform. Observe then takes the raw telemetry data and curates, normalizes, and structures it to make it more easily navigable and usable for troubleshooting by customer teams.

Customers access the Observe platform with a web-based user interface, which provides observability and troubleshooting tools and capabilities. Primarily Observe is used by DevOps teams, site reliability engineers, and engineering teams. Kubernetes Explorer is available to all Observe customers at no additional cost.

New Relic targets Kubernetes workloads

Separately, New Relic announced “one-step observability for Kubernetes” that will provide developers with monitoring capabilities for dynamic Kubernetes environments to accelerate up incident resolution and improve developer productivity. With this release, New Relic provides complete visibility across applications and Kubernetes workloads, enabling teams to quickly identify and resolve issues, according to the company.

“Modern organizations are embracing Kubernetes to drive innovation and efficiency gains, but this often comes with trade-offs in performance management,” said Manav Khurana, New Relic chief product officer, in a statement. “New Relic simplifies observability workloads for Kubernetes environments so that developer and platform teams can more easily monitor their stacks—all with intelligent insights driven by our AI-strengthened Intelligent Observability platform.”

Monitoring the performance of applications deployed on Kubernetes components introduces unique challenges, New Relic says, requiring developer and platform teams to install application performance monitoring (APM) and Kubernetes integrations separately to achieve observability, which can be a time-consuming and cumbersome process. New Relic now automatically instruments APM with Kubernetes and also provides AI insights into the environment.

Among the new features specific to Kubernetes in the New Relic observability platform are:

One-step instrumentation: Automates APM instrumentation alongside Kubernetes deployments, which automatically upgrades APM agents so teams can accurately manage the performance of their Kubernetes clusters with the applications—without the need for code changes.
AI-strengthened out-of-the-box insights: Correlates application and Kubernetes data on a unified interface thanks to pre-configured Kubernetes UI and alerts. The troubleshooting capabilities allows teams to quickly identify and resolve performance issues.
Native support for OpenTelemetry (OTel) and Prometheus: Unifies OTel-instrumented Kubernetes clusters and Prometheus-instrumented hosts alongside all telemetry data to eliminate fragmentation and blind spots.
Democratize observability with New Relic AI: Enables users of any role or skill level can easily access insights and take action through natural language prompts, making observability accessible to all.

New Relic one-step observability for Kubernetes is available to all customers.

Cisco launches intelligent Wi-Fi 7 access points

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 19:03:57 +0100

Cisco has taken the wraps off a pair of intelligent WiFi-7 access points and introduced a new way of licensing wireless gear across cloud, on-premises and hybrid networks.

The new access points, the CW 9176 and 9178, incorporate a blend of Cisco and Meraki management and security features that previously required significant integration work from the customer or a third party.

The high-end models are global, converged access points that are smart enough to detect their location the moment they’re plugged in, wrote Lawrence Huang , senior vice president and general manager of Cisco networking, Meraki & wireless, in a blog about the new access points.

“We’ve eliminated regional SKUs, creating a single product model that works anywhere in the world, automatically and seamlessly switching between cloud or on-premises management as needed,” Huang wrote.

“AI and security aren’t just add-on features—they’re built into every layer. Whether you’re using Cisco AI-Enhanced Radio Resource Management (AI-RRM) to automate the RF tuning of your wireless network and improve user experience or automatically identifying and applying policies to every connected device on your network with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), our access points are built to adapt and scale to any organization,” Huang wrote.

In terms of security, the APs feature advanced threat detection capabilities, and they can secure every connection with AI-native device profiling, threat prevention, and advanced wireless security and data encryption, Huang stated.

The APs come with built-in Bluetooth Low Energy, ultra-wideband, and GPS capabilities. They can support any IoT use case imaginable—from precise asset tracking in hospitals to immersive AR experiences in retail—all through a single, intelligent platform, Huang stated.

Support for Cisco ThousandEyes network performance and intelligence platform is built in. This integration lets customers from a central location identify and remediate performance bottlenecks across wireless, owned and unowned networks.

The new APs can be managed via Cisco Catalyst Center, which features real-time analytics to help customers quickly detect and contain security threats as well as automate network optimization, deploy policy and segmentation configurations across thousands of sites and devices and offer networkwide consistency through automation and virtualization, Huang stated.

The Cisco Wireless 9178 Series supports Software-Defined Access (SD-Access), which lets customers automate network configuration and management based on user identity, device type, and application needs.

Unified subscription model eases licensing

The new Cisco Networking Subscription is designed to streamline the purchasing and use of Cisco software, hardware, services, and platforms.

“With it customers can purchase our new unified licenses (Cisco Wireless Essentials or Advantage) in a Cisco Networking Subscription. These licenses include product support for both hardware and software. With an active subscription, you can align renewal dates to your cost-center needs, add licenses without changing renewal dates, and upgrade entitlements midterm,” Huang stated.

Wi-Fi 7 set to rise

Wi-Fi 6E adoption is still growing, but industry watchers predict Wi-Fi 7 will eclipse previous generations in 2025.

Wi-Fi 7 is expected to reduce latency, increase network capacity, boost efficiency, and support more connected devices. Also known as 802.11be Extremely High Throughput (EHT), Wi-Fi 7 is promised to deliver peak data rates of more than 40Gbps, making it significantly faster than previous generations.

A key feature of Wi-Fi 7 is multi-link operation (MLO), which lets devices simultaneously send and receive data across different frequency bands and channels, enhancing the efficiency of wireless connections. Additional features such as encryption and authentication further strengthen Wi-Fi security.

The evolution of Wi-Fi 7 has included more than a decade of spectrum changes and standards updates. Now it’s exciting to see Wi-Fi 7’s “deterministic” features come to fruition, because that means Wi-Fi can be used for next-generation networking requirements, including distributed data centers, SD-WAN and more, Matt MacPherson, wireless CTO at Cisco, told Network World in a recent interview.

The Cisco Wi-Fi 7 access points can be ordered now and will ship in December.

Anthropic caught up in a potential turf war: What could it mean for competition, complexity and lock-in?

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 04:32:57 +0100

The tech world is abuzz with the news that Amazon is in talks to pump a second multi-billion dollar investment into AI startup Anthropic — with the catch that it must use the tech giant’s chips (not Nvidia’s) when training its models.

Anthropic is the creator of the Claude family of large language models (LLMs) and direct competitor to OpenAI, whose ChatGPT rocked the world when it was released just under two years ago. The 3-year-old San Francisco-based startup has raised close to $10 billion to date and claims to have a $40 billion valuation.

While the companies have neither confirmed nor denied the rumors, there are many concerns raised by such an agreement and the precedent it could set when it comes to the broader market. Experts point to various constraints that can go along with vendor lock-in, as well as the possibility of stifling innovation, plus antitrust concerns.

“Amazon’s push for Anthropic to adopt its in-house AI chips over Nvidia’s is a strategic maneuver to assert dominance in the AI infrastructure space,” said Kaveh Vahdat, founder and president of marketing consultancy RiseOpp.

Increased lock-in, reduced competition and interoperability obstacles

The rumored Amazon investment is purportedly contingent on Anthropic using Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) own-developed chips hosted on its cloud computing platforms. Anthropic currently uses systems containing chips from Nvidia as well as those with AWS’ Trainium and Inferentia chips to train its models.

Nvidia is undoubtedly the dominant vendor in AI hardware, and is increasingly moving up the AI stack as it explores software products, but other major companies including Google and Microsoft, as well as smaller niche players, are catching up (or at least trying to). Amazon has invested significantly in its chips to directly compete with the trillion-dollar-valued Nvidia, releasing its Trainium2 and Graviton4 products about a year ago at AWS re:Invent.

Amazon and Anthropic already have a deep partnership, with AWS making a $4 billion investment in the startup in the spring of 2024. This made AWS Anthropic’s primary cloud provider. This week, the two companies announced they were teaming up with data analytics firm Palantir to provide US intelligence and defense agencies access to Claude.

“The reported negotiations highlight the complex dynamics at play in the evolving AI ecosystem,” said Sidharth Ramsinghaney, a corporate strategist at Twilio.

Yes, deeper integration between a major cloud provider like Amazon and an innovative AI research company like Anthropic could drive further advancements and adoption of LLMs and generative AI, he noted. However, this type of partnership raises concerns about increasing vendor lock-in, reduced pricing competition, and “obstacles to portability and interoperability.”

“A turf war between Amazon and other major chip providers like Nvidia could lead to fragmentation, as customers may be forced to choose between optimized versions of AI models for different hardware environments,” he said.

This, he noted, would only add complexity and friction for enterprises looking to deploy AI solutions at scale across an increasingly heterogeneous IT landscape.

A transition presenting ‘significant engineering efforts’

Locking itself into Amazon’s chips could severely limit Anthropic, industry watchers say. Nvidia’s Cuda platform is considered to be more robust, and shifting completely to AWS infrastructure could result in less flexibility with other cloud providers.

“Anthropic may face technical hurdles in adopting Amazon’s chip technology, as the associated software is less mature than Nvidia’s widely used Cuda platform,” said Ramsinghaney.

Clearly, Amazon is looking to create a vertically integrated ecosystem that could potentially reduce costs and enhance performance for its cloud customers, Vahdat pointed out. This reflects a broader trend among tech giants using their own proprietary hardware to gain a competitive edge.

In fact, said Forrester Senior Analyst Alvin Nguyen, “The impact of Anthropic using AWS’s chips exclusively as part of a deal for funding is providing validation for AWS’s chips. Having a well-known AI company like Anthropic utilizing their technology is great publicity and should drive other organizations to consider AWS AI services and products.”

Raising antitrust concerns

Then there’s the pure antitrust question — such a lock-in could bring scrutiny from regulators, who are already eyeing potential monopolies in the AI space. In fact, Amazon’s previous $4 billion investment did prompt an investigation by the UK’s Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA), but that was dropped within one month.

Similarly, Nvidia is under investigation by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). However, at least in the US, antitrust could be less of a concern in the very near future, with transition to the Trump regime in January.

Ultimately, said Ramsinghaney, the positive or negative impact of such an expanded Amazon-Anthropic partnership will depend on how the companies choose to structure their arrangement and how much they prioritize (or don’t) open standards, cross-platform support, and customer choice.

“Maintaining a healthy, competitive AI ecosystem should be a key consideration as these types of strategic alliances evolve,” he said.

Apple Announces New iMac with the M4 Chip, a Nano-Texture Option, and USB-C Accessories

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 16:51:23 +0100

Today, to kick off what Apple-watchers anticipate will be a string of daily announcements, Apple announced a brand-new iMac. Highlights of the update include the M4 system-on-a-chip, a nano-texture display option, a 12MP Center Stage camera, Thunderbolt 4 ports, and new colors. The new iMac, which comes in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and […]

Apple Watch Series 10’s advanced display could next come to iPhone

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 15:21:18 +0200

Industry watchers expect Apple to use the LTP03 display technology that debuted in the Apple Watch Series 10 to improve power efficiency…

The post Apple Watch Series 10’s advanced display could next come to iPhone appeared first on MacDailyNews.

Air Taxis and Other Electric-Powered Aircraft Cleared For Takeoff

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 00:18:15 +0200

The FAA has released final regulations for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, introducing a new category of aircraft for the first time in nearly 80 years. These rules provide a framework for pilot training and operational requirements, addressing industry concerns while aiming to support the future of advanced air mobility. The Verge reports: The FAA says these âoepowered-liftâ vehicles will be the first completely new category of aircraft since helicopters were introduced in 1940. These aircraft will be used for a variety of services, including air taxis, cargo delivery, and rescue and retrieval operations. The final rules published today contain guidelines for pilot training as well as operational requirements regarding minimum safe altitudes and visibility. [...] Powered lift includes aircraft described by industry watchers as electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL. Using tilt rotors, eVTOL aircraft are designed to take off and land vertically like a helicopter and then transition into forward flight on fixed wings like a plane. [...] A new pilot training and qualifications rule was needed because âoeexisting regulations did not address this new category of aircraft, which can take off and land vertically like a helicopter and fly like an airplane during cruise flight,â the FAA said. The rule also provides a âoecomprehensive frameworkâ for certifying the initial group of powered-lift instructors and pilots. According to the agency, the rule would: "Makes changes to numerous existing regulations and establishes a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) with new requirements to facilitate instructor and pilot certification and training. Applies helicopter operating requirements to some phases of flight and adopts a performance-based approach to certain operating rules. Allows pilots to train in powered-lift with a single set of flight controls; legacy rules require two flight controls -- one for the student and one for the instructor." "The regulation published today will ensure the U.S. continues to play a global leadership role in the development and adoption of clean flight," said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, in a statement. "Delivering the rules ahead of schedule is testament to the dedication, coordination and hard work of the rulemaking team."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Global Smartphone Shipments Rise in Q3 as Growth Streak Continues

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 14:15:45 +0200

Market watchers may not agree on how much smartphone shipments grew in this year's third calendar quarter, but they do agree on one thing: the market is emerging from its post-pandemic doldrums. The post Global Smartphone Shipments Rise in Q3 as Growth Streak Continues appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

PC Shipments Stuck in Neutral Despite AI Buzz

Sat, 12 Oct 2024 14:18:43 +0200

The PC market is not showing many signs of a rebound, despite the hype around AI PCs, with market watchers split over whether unit shipments are up or down slightly. From a report: Those magical AI PC boxes were supposed to fire up buyer enthusiasm and spur the somewhat listless market for desktop and laptop systems into significant growth territory, but that doesn't appear to be happening. According to the latest figures from Gartner, global PC shipments totaled 62.9 million units during Q3 of this year, representing a 1.3 percent decline compared with the same period last year. However, this does follow three consecutive quarters of modest growth. "Even with a full line-up of Windows-based AI PCs for both Arm and x86 in the third quarter of 2024, AI PCs did not boost the demand for PCs since buyers have yet to see their clear benefits or business value," commented Gartner Director Analyst Mikako Kitagawa. This is perhaps understandable when AI PCs are largely just a marketing concept, and vendors can't agree on exactly what the the definition of an AI PC should be. Even worse, some buyers of Arm-based Copilot+ machines discovered that their performance isn't actually very good with some applications.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

BMC breaks into two: Mainframe and Helix businesses to operate independently

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 19:34:00 +0200

BMC today announced plans to divide its existing company into two standalone software companies, one focusing on its long-standing mainframe business and the other focusing on tools for managing IT and distributed operations.

Houston-based BMC has been owned by global investment firm KRR since 2018. BMC will remain the name of the company that includes the mainframe and software automation technologies, including BMC’s Intelligent Z Optimization and Transformation (IZOT) and Digital Business Automation (DBA) business units. BMC Helix will encompass the Digital Service and Operations Management (DSOM) lines of business.

“We have determined that the two companies will better serve their markets individually. Each of these businesses has its own profile and characteristics in growth opportunities, margins and profitability, and competitive landscape. We are confident that the underlying economics of both businesses sets each company up to continue driving innovation and growth for long-term success,” Ayman Sayed, president and CEO, said in a statement.

The strategic move could benefit the two entities as well as their customers, industry watchers say. To start, the division would make each company more nimble and better able to direct resources to their areas of expertise. And customers across the product portfolios would also benefit from the enhanced focus, analysts say.

“One company will have their mainframe business (about two-thirds of the total $2.3 billion in revenues are mainframe or about $1.5 billion). And the second company, BMC Helix, will house the distributed business (about $800 million in revenues). It’s generally a three-horse race with Broadcom, BMC, and IBM with other smaller players across various mainframe disciplines,” explains Stephen Elliot, group vice president at IDC.

“Customers should be able to benefit from the improved focus,” Elliot says, including a more targeted allocation of people, budgets and other resources. “As one company, BMC was spreading a limited R&D budget across too many product needs,” he says.

The divided companies should be able to better accelerate product development in their respective areas without any internal politics around feature prioritization, driving innovation in both the mainframe and distributed businesses at an accelerated pace, Elliot says.

This move could also help with strategic partnerships that perhaps didn’t make sense when the various product divisions were under one company, Elliot says. “It’s critical to note that with two businesses, each business now has the ability to partner with vendors that in the past might have been seen as competitors and off-limits. It opens up some interesting political scenarios,” he says.

BMC also emphasized that the division will benefit customers and partners by sharpening each company’s focus. “Our customers and partners look to us in their transformation journeys to enable business faster than humanly possible. As a strategic partner for ongoing innovation in their mainframe, distributed, cloud, and edge technology needs, the creation of two companies puts them at the core of each company’s mission with deeper specialization and vertical industry focus,” Sayed said in the statement.

“Also, let’s not forget that this now provides KRR with two potential financial exists—and the increased focus enables each business to potentially generate higher growth rates, which in turn drives a higher valuation,” Elliot explains.

Founded in September 1980, BMC Software started as a software developer for IBM mainframe systems and after 10 years expanded its product portfolio to include other systems, such as Windows. In May 2013, BMC announced it was being acquired by a group of major private equity investment groups, and in October 2018, BMC was acquired by KKR, a global investment firm. BMC was first listed as a public company in 1988, but it was then removed in 2013. In 2023, BMC filed confidentially for an IPO.

The transition to two independent software companies is expected to begin in early 2025, BMC said.

Wi-Fi 7 brings enterprise-caliber predictability to wireless networks, says Cisco CTO

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 16:04:18 +0200

The ability to more effectively control wireless networks will go a long way toward making Wi-Fi 7 a viable upgrade for current over-the-air networks and, in some cases, even hard-wired environments.

“One of the stigmas around Wi-Fi is it’s a best-effort technology, and I think there’s some truth to that. Now, as we start to go to more predictable wireless, or what I’ve been calling determinism, there are two things that you have to be able to do: You need a more capable stack, and you need a stack that can schedule traffic,” MacPherson said.

Wi-Fi 7 can schedule traffic based on a policy. It also can address contention, which occurs when multiple devices try to transmit data over the same network segment at the same time, which can lead to collisions, require data to be resent, and cause delays, MacPherson said.

And it can manage interference. When too many devices try to get on the network at the same time, it doesn’t matter how good your stack is, or how good your policies are. “If you’re getting broadsided by interference, you’re going to increase your error rates,” MacPherson said. Errors require retransmission, and “retransmission means it once again becomes unpredictable.”

Wi-Fi 7 is changing the game. “Wi-Fi 7 can do this level of determinism,” MacPherson said. With greater predictability, enterprises can run high-priority applications on the same network that business applications are running on, while maintaining Wi-Fi 7’s characteristic low latency and high reliability, MacPherson said.

Wi-Fi 7 features and capabilities

Wi-Fi 6E adoption is still growing, but industry watchers predict Wi-Fi 7 will eclipse previous generations in 2025.

There are a number of core Wi-Fi 7 features that will improve determinism and QoS delivery, MacPherson said. Those include:

Wi-Fi multimedia: This feature defines the ability to prioritize voice and video over “best effort” and background traffic.
Triggered uplink access: This feature optimizes the Wi-Fi 6 definition to accommodate latency-sensitive streams and deliver QoS requirements. The idea is that when a wireless device or station has data to deliver, the wireless access point can schedule a slot on the network for transmission.
Stream classification service: This capability defines how to intelligently categorize and make sure the bandwidth is available for different types of data traffic based on their characteristics and priorities. The idea is to prioritize time-sensitive or mission-critical data, such as real-time video streaming or voice calls.
Restricted target wait time: This feature defines how to slot or schedule traffic to avoid collisions.
Puncturing: Defined in the Wi-Fi 6 spec as an optional implementation, puncturing is now mandatory in Wi-Fi 7. It’s a technique used to adjust wireless modulation to adapt to channel conditions such as such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and interference levels. The idea is to reduce the number of errors and boost QoS.

Triggered uplink access, in an oversimplified way, is basically letting a device say, “Hey, I have traffic to send. If I don’t send this traffic, my queues are going to back up,” MacPherson said. “So, the device tells the network. And remember, in Wi-Fi 6 we could schedule from the network, but Wi-Fi 7 actually lets a device communicate to the network what it needs.”

With the stream classification service, the communicating device tells the network, “Hey, I’ve got this prioritization I need for this upstream traffic, but when the traffic comes back, I need you to properly prioritize that as well,” MacPherson said. “So, the station is basically saying when you see this traffic, apply this QoS to it.”

These stack enhancements essentially let devices and the network better collaborate, “and if they’re collaborating, then the network can work to actually meet the service level that the device needs for the applications it’s running, and meet the policy that it has set on that access network,” MacPherson said.

Mission-critical Wi-Fi requirements will vary by industry and application – and Wi-Fi 7’s deterministic capabilities will give enterprises the tools to prioritize what matters in their environments.

“What we want to do is to be able to prioritize traffic based on need,” MacPherson said.

“If you’re a warehouse and you’re moving robots around like Amazon, what you’re prioritizing is probably going to be different than if you’re in an elementary school and you’re doing training videos. So, it’s very important that an IT department be able to specify what is mission critical to them. And that’s really what’s happening as we do the scheduling and policy and these sorts of new capabilities that are part of Wi-Fi 7,” MacPherson said.

Observe unveils AI-powered agents to speed troubleshooting

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 15:18:38 +0200

Cloud observability provider Observe today introduced updates to its product set with Project Voyager, a SaaS offering that now includes an artificial intelligence (AI) investigating tool and capabilities to monitor application performance as well as to query Snowflake data storage services.

Observe, founded in 2017, set out to consolidate the capabilities of multiple enterprise IT tools into one platform. With the release of Project Voyager, Observe CEO Jeremy Burton says the company is completing its initial vision to build out a unified observability platform that integrates log analytics, tracing, and monitoring. As applications have grown more sophisticated, it has become more challenging to aggregate, normalize, and analyze the data, especially when incidents arise.

“We now do log analytics, tracing, and monitoring all in one integrated product. The APM pillar of the Observe puzzle is the final piece,” Burton explains. OpenTelemetry provides a common format for collecting and transmitting telemetry data, which allows organizations to use multiple tools to collect data without having to reinstrument their applications. And it is becoming the industry standard for collecting telemetry data from applications in an open, vendor-neutral way.

“This allows our platform to provide a comprehensive view of application performance, in addition to the existing log analytics and monitoring features. Observe now offers customers a single pane of glass for troubleshooting complex, distributed applications—which is a critical need in modern, cloud-native environments,” Burton says.

Also new with this release is Observe’s AI Investigator, which orchestrates a network of domain-specific AI agents to assist engineers in quickly identifying and resolving issues. The AI Investigator works with AI agents that are configured to learn specific tasks or domain knowledge, such as accessing runbooks or deeply understanding Kubernetes, AWS, or Github. An AI planner drives the troubleshooting workflow for an on-call engineer, gathering necessary data to triage a problem before having to contact the Kubernetes expert, for instance, to simply gather the relevant Kubernetes data.

“The big thing for this release is a move toward trying to impact the troubleshooting of the application itself. If you think about it, the average time to resolve a major incident in the industry is about two and a half hours. The first hour is just gathering information. We thought this would be a good use for AI if you are the on-call engineer. Instead of getting people out of bed at 2 am, you could call on virtual versions of those people to gather all the necessary troubleshooting data,” Burton explains.

Industry watchers agree that it makes sense to apply AI to observability platforms.

“There is an immense opportunity in leveraging AI for the modern observability industry,” said Kate Holterhoff, senior analyst at RedMonk, in a statement. “Observe’s AI-powered investigation features are a promising addition to this growing market.”

Also with this release, Observe added Snowflake Observability, which is now available in the Snowflake Marketplace. This integration allows developers to gain insights into query performance and application health without moving data outside of Snowflake, which will ensure security and efficiency, according to Observe.

Observe is a SaaS platform, and customers deploy Observe agents to collect telemetry data. The agents can collect data from a variety of sources, including infrastructure such as Kubernetes, databases such as MongoDB or Snowflake, and other applications. The agents collect time-series data, logs, traces/spans, and performance data from these various sources and send the data to Observe’s platform. Observe then takes the raw telemetry data, curates and normalizes it, and structures it to make it more easily navigable and usable for troubleshooting by customer teams.

Customers access the platform with a web-based user interface, which provides observability and troubleshooting tools and capabilities. Primarily Observe is used by DevOps teams, site reliability engineers, and engineering teams, but it can be easily accessed by a variety of roles within an organization.

With the Project Voyager news, the company also announced an additional $20 million in Series B funding, bringing its total to $145 million.

Infoblox tackles integrated DDI across multi-cloud environments

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 20:49:22 +0200

Infoblox is rolling out a unified management platform to allow customers to see, control and secure IT resources spread across their hybrid multi-cloud enterprises.

The Infoblox Universal DDI Product Suite integrates core network security tools to enable efficient management, increase security, and reduce the administrative burden those systems require, according to Mukesh Gupta, chief product officer at Infoblox.

DDI refers to the trio of core network services in IP networks: DNS, which turns domain names into IP addresses; DHCP, which assigns IP addresses to resources; and IPAM, which manages the network’s IP address infrastructure.

Enterprise-grade DDI platforms are becoming a necessity, according to industry watchers.

Trying to rely on manual processes for registering domain names, assigning IP addresses, and configuring host protocols is not only cumbersome but also can be a security vulnerability, warns research firm IDC.

“There are open-source tools for managing various DDI components, such as IPAM, but when organizations begin extending enterprise network connectivity to external cloud-based resources, the basic, fragmented approach of manually managing DDI components becomes inefficient,” IDC stated.

The distributed nature of the modern enterprise network makes it inefficient to manage without automated DDI tools. “Modern, enterprise-grade DDI platforms provide optimized connectivity to cloud-based platforms and advanced management tools for enabling the efficient and secure use of cloud-based services,” IDC stated.

Infoblox Universal DDI provides unified management of network services across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, and it works seamlessly with public cloud DNS systems from AWS, Azure, and Google, Gupta said.

“It streamlines DNS, DHCP, and IP address management, automates asset discovery and analysis, and modernizes critical network services without requiring any customer-side Infoblox infrastructure,” Gupta said. “Optionally, customers can deploy virtual appliances for the DNS and DHCP protocol servers for specialized use cases such as local survivability.”

Gupta gave three examples of how DDI technologies work together:

DHCP and IPAM: DHCP updates IPAM in real-time, preventing conflicts.
DHCP and DNS: DHCP informs DNS of new IP leases, ensuring DNS name-to-IP mappings are current and are created/deleted automatically.
IPAM and DNS: IPAM manages and reconciles the IP space with DNS records to ensure consistency and visibility.

Why DDI is complicated

With hybrid multi-cloud adoption, most enterprises end up with four or five different DNS systems – some example providers are Amazon Route53, Azure DNS, GCP DNS, Infoblox, and Microsoft. Managing multiple DNS systems with completely different user interfaces increases the risk of mistakes, leading to frequent and costly service disruptions, Gupta said.

Another issue is that multi-cloud setups make it difficult to allocate IP addresses effectively across environments. NetOps teams lack visibility into cloud, which often results in wasted resources, Gupta said. In addition, limited visibility across cloud environments can create IP conflicts, triggering application downtime.

“Cloud teams often forget to remove the DNS records when apps are decommissioned. These stale DNS records pose serious security risks,” Gupta said. “Forgotten ‘zombie’ servers in cloud continue to consume resources and inflate costs,” Gupta said.

How Infoblox Universal DDI works

The Infoblox package is designed to address these issues as well as give customers a single, cloud-based management interface – the Infoblox Portal – that simplifies deployment and integration with existing environments, Gupta said.

Integrated DDI also expands asset visibility across the entire hybrid multi-cloud estate, Gupta said.

“This integration provides near real-time updates of asset inventory and enhances proactive security by breaking down silos across NetOps, CloudOps, and SecOps. Users can centrally manage DNS, DHCP, and IP addresses faster and with less effort,” Gupta said. “This centralized control is maintained while still allowing the use of a variety of DNS providers for public clouds, private clouds, campus networks, on-premises infrastructure, and more,” Gupta said.

The Infoblox Universal DDI Product Suite includes three key products. The core Infoblox Universal DDI Management service lets users set network policies and allocate IP addresses across a multi-cloud estate, improving efficiency and reliability while preventing network outages, Gupta said.

Universal Asset Insights provides a comprehensive and context-rich view of assets across hybrid, multi-cloud environments, Gupta said.

“By extending DNS and DHCP to IPAM, Universal Asset Insights offers discovery, analytics, and remediation across an organization’s entire digital estate. With continuous updates to the IPAM inventory, organizations can eliminate the need for outdated manual tracking methods prone to errors and delays,” Gupta said. “Universal Asset Insights also automatically identifies unused IP addresses and zombie workloads, significantly reducing operational expenses and exposure to security risks.”

The third component, Infoblox NIOS-X as a Service, is built to extend critical network services as close to users and workloads as possible without requiring customers to deploy any infrastructure, Gupta said.

“It offers the operational simplicity CloudOps teams need, alongside the resilience, consistency, visibility, and security that NetOps and SecOps require,” Gupta said. “With NIOS-X as a Service, IT teams can modernize on-premises Microsoft DNS through rapid deployment, streamline multi-cloud DNS by consolidating cloud-native services onto one unified solution, and optimize branch operations with infrastructure-free DNS and DHCP services,” Gupta said.

All of the Infoblox components are SaaS-based and do not require customers to deploy or manage any additional infrastructure, Gupta said.

Industry watchers get behind integrated DDI management

The idea of simplification and easing the tediousness of managing DNS, IPAM and DHCP should make the Infoblox package intriguing for many enterprise customers, experts said.

“[Infoblox] dramatically simplifies operational management across multi-cloud environments. Each public cloud service provider has a unique and prescriptive set of operational procedures – and through consolidation and automation, better business outcomes can be realized,” said Will Townsend, vice president and principal analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy.

“It has the potential to eliminate manual processes that run the risk of misconfigurations leading to costly downtime. It can also improve visibility across multi-cloud infrastructure deployments – aiding in the improvement of network assurance and deliver higher availability,” Townsend said.

“The added potential benefit of eliminating blind spots and decommissioning orphaned apps can also equip IT operators with the ability to prevent bad actors from exploiting vulnerabilities for financial gain,” Townsend said.

Enabling integrated management of DNS, DHCP, and IPAM continues to be a major driver of growth, along with the continued drive by organization to optimize their core network services within cloud and multi-cloud environments, IDC wrote.

“Simplified management, powerful automation, and integrated security features will continue to make the market an important area of investment by organizations across the globe in the coming years,” IDC stated.

Cloud-based platforms for managing DDI are growing in popularity. “As more of the DDI market shifts from being deployed as hardware-based appliances to software-based virtual appliances, advanced cloud-based management platforms have emerged for managing those software-based DDI deployments,” IDC stated.

“These cloud-based platforms provide a number of advantages for both enterprise customers and vendors: they provide centralized management of multiple distributed sites, they allow for new features and functions to be rolled out quickly, and they can ease the management burden of enterprises by not having to manage on-premises physical infrastructure, IDC stated.

Cisco layoffs hit California workers

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 22:33:39 +0200

Cisco’s rolling layoffs this year have been taking a toll on many of its employees, and workers in California are being hit particularly hard.

According to documents filed under the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) system, which mandates a 60-day notification of pending large-scale layoffs, 842 employees impacted by the vendor’s current restructuring plan will come from the San Jose-San Francisco area. Specifically, Cisco employee reductions have taken 563 jobs in San Jose, 145 in Milpitas and 134 in San Francisco, according to the WARN figures.

There is also speculation – not confirmed by Cisco – that some of its headquarters buildings will be closed or change functions and a number of workers will be relocated to other facilities around the state. A posting on the TheLayoff claims that Cisco is closing a number of buildings in San Jose, including buildings that house its executive briefing centers, and another poster reports that non-engineering personnel will be relocated to a Splunk office in San Jose’s Santana Row complex. (Network World sister publication Computerwoche in Germany reported on these claims.)

The latter would come as no surprise to some industry watchers. Since Cisco closed its $28 billion acquisition of Splunk in May, it has been laser-focused on melding the two companies’ security, observability and AI portfolios, so consolidating employees in a few core facilities would make sense.

Effectively integrating the security and observability capabilities of the two vendors will ultimately determine the success or failure of the acquisition, experts told Network World at Cisco’s customer event this past summer. (Read more Cisco news and insights)

Cisco’s 2024 layoff timeline

In August of this year, Cisco said it would slice 7% of its global workface and reconfigure its networking, security and collaboration business units as part of a restructuring that will result in a $1 billion pre-tax charge to earnings. This round of layoffs, which is in progress, will impact about 6,000 jobs.

Six months earlier, in February, Cisco announced 4,200 job cuts in a move that cost the company an estimated $800 million in pre-tax charges.

Cisco is trying to move more quickly into three core areas – AI networking, security and collaboration – and wants to use the current restructuring to pump more resources into those growth areas, said CEO Chuck Robbins during the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter financial call.

At part of the restructuring, Cisco is combining its networking, security and collaboration teams into one group led by Jeetu Patel, Cisco’s executive vice president and chief product officer.

A survival guide for data privacy in the age of federal inaction

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 06:51:54 +0200

Things change fast in the world of data privacy. Just earlier this year, the question I was being asked most frequently was, “How similar will the proposed federal privacy law (APRA) be to the EU’s GDPR?” Now that APRA is pretty much dead on arrival by Congressional watchers, the question I am hearing is, “Will we ever have a national privacy law in the US?” The current situation and how we got here After the … More →

The post A survival guide for data privacy in the age of federal inaction appeared first on Help Net Security.

VMware by Broadcom: Product, service and support news

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 00:04:21 +0200

News of Broadcom’s plans to acquire VMware triggered concerns among customers, partners, and industry watchers, many of whom recalled Broadcom’s track record with prior high-profile acquisitions, including network switching vendor Brocade in 2016 for almost $6 billion, software firm CA Technologies in 2018 for $19 billion, and Symantec’s enterprise security business in 2019 for $10 billion. So far, the $60 billion Broadcom-VMware deal has led to some layoffs, VMware licensing changes, production rationalizations, and shifts to the partner program. Competitors are claiming some success in attracting VM defectors, though analysts aren’t reporting widespread migrations.

We’ve tracked the saga since Broadcom first announced plans to acquire VMware in May 2022. Here’s a record of what has transpired so far, plus the latest news and analysis.

Broadcom distrust drives sales for VMware competition

August 14, 2024: Concerns about the new direction VMware is taking are driving some enterprise customers to consider alternative platforms from vendors such as Scale Computing, Nutanix and Oxide Computer. Scale Computing said in its most recent quarterly earnings announcement that sales have taken off and its new customers have doubled over the past year, thanks in part to Broadcom’s changes to VMware sales operations.

Nutanix hunts disgruntled VMware customers

July 01, 2024: Nutanix began aggressively courting VMware customers who might be open to jumping ship in the wake of VMware’s purchase by Broadcom and some of the unpopular moves that followed. In addition, Nutanix recently signed key partnerships with some unlikely on-and-off competitors: Dell, Cisco and HPE.

Broadcom tosses VMware users a bone, extends vSphere 7 support six months

July 25, 2024: Broadcom has announced that VMware vSphere 7.x users will get six additional months of support for the product. VMware vSphere 7, which was launched in 2020, was scheduled to go out of support in April 2025 but will now be maintained until October 2025.

Broadcom bolsters VMware Edge Compute Stack

June 26, 2024: A slew of updates in VMware ECS 3.5 are aimed at helping customers more easily manage edge devices, applications, and infrastructure across multiple locations. Updates include zero-touch orchestration capabilities, pull-based architecture, and edge fleet management.

European trade body lashes out at Broadcom’s VMware licensing changes

Apr 23, 2024: Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) strongly criticized Broadcom’s response to concerns regarding its licensing changes. The trade organization said the economic viability of many cloud services utilized by customers in Europe is threatened by “the massive and unjustifiable hikes in prices, the re-bundling of products, the altered basis of billing.”

Broadcom changes VMware pricing amid customer backlash and EU questioning

April 16, 2024: Licensing changes include a standardization of the metric for pricing offerings across cloud providers to per-core licensing – the same metric used in end-customer licensing. Meanwhile, Broadcom President and CEO Hock Tan pledged support to customers and clarified how the company would offer VMware products and support going forward.

Broadcom repackages VMware SASE, adds Symantec security

February 27, 2024: Broadcom revived the VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN branding and tied that technology with Broadcom’s Symantec Enterprise Cloud security service edge offering to create its single-vendor SASE package.

Broadcom sells VMware end-user computing unit to KKR for $4 billion

February 26, 2024: Broadcom signed an agreement to sell its end-user computing unit to investment firm KKR for $4 billion. KKR said the EUC division will become a standalone company run by its existing management team and led by Shankar Iyer.

Broadcom moves roil VMware customer base

January 22, 2024: While Broadcom’s actions are causing concern among VMware users, these decisions have not been completely unexpected based on the company’s track record with its prior acquisitions of CA and Symantec. There’s no rush to the exits yet, but VMware customers are investigating alternatives as the Broadcom era begins.

Broadcom’s VMware alterations include layoffs, changes to partner programs

January 05, 2024: Steven Elliot, group vice president of infrastructure software at IDC, said the layoffs and consolidation are a good and necessary thing. He noted that Broadcom is not only cutting staff but also cutting products to focus on core competency.

Broadcom to lay off over 1,200 VMware employees as deal closes

December 01, 2023: In a filing with the California Employment Development Department, Broadcom announced plans to lay off 1,267 VMware employees in January 2024.

VMware stung by defections and layoffs after Broadcom close

November 30, 2023: Layoffs are inevitable after an acquisition as companies deal with overlap and redundancy. But on top of that, VMware lost its No. 2 executive: Sumit Dhawan, president of the company since 2021, left the firm to become the new CEO of cybersecurity vendor Proofpoint. Outside the company, there’s concern about customer retention.

China clears Broadcom’s $69 billion VMware acquisition, allowing deal to close

November 21, 2023: Five days before the two companies’ merger agreement was due to expire, the deal passed its final regulatory hurdle. China cleared Broadcom’s $69 billion acquisition of VMware, leaving the two companies free to close the transaction on November 22.

Generative AI dominates VMware Explore news

August 25, 2023: There were some cloud announcements at VMware Explore 2023 in Las Vegas, but AI was the star, as it has been at nearly every tech company lately. Vendors have been rushing to add generative AI to their platforms, and VMware is no exception.

UK competition agency provisionally OKs Broadcom’s $61 billion VMware acquisition

July 19, 2023: The UK’s Competition Market Authority (CMA) provisionally cleared Broadcom’s proposed acquisition of VMWare, paving the way for the $61 billion deal to go ahead. The clearance followed an investigation by the CMA, which looked into whether the proposed merger would harm the ability of Broadcom’s rivals to compete with VMware’s server virtualization software.

Broadcom CEO pledges $2 billion for VMware R&D, professional services support

May 05, 2023: Broadcom said it will spend $2 billion a year to accelerate research and development for VMware products and services. “As a part of Broadcom, VMware will have more resources and scale to support the number of customers that want its technology and services, and help customers deploy it more than it was able to as a standalone company,” Broadcom CEO Hock Tan wrote in a blog post.

Broadcom, VMware extend deadline to complete acquisition by 90 days

February 20, 2023: Broadcom and its acquisition target VMware agreed to give themselves another 90 days to complete the $61 billion acquisition they announced on May 26, 2022. A regulatory filing by VMware showed that both companies had delivered a mutual notice to extend the final date of the merger to twelve months from the day the deal was announced.

UK competition agency launches inquiry into Broadcom’s $61B VMware buy

November 21, 2022: The UK’s Competition and Market’s Authority (CMA) announced its investigation of Broadcom’s proposed acquisition of VMware, looking into whether the proposed merger “may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.”

Broadcom’s VMware acquisition sparks concern

September 22, 2022: In light of Broadcom’s less-than-stellar track record with prior acquisitions, VMware’s enterprise customers are understandably worried. “Following the purchases of CA and Symantec, Broadcom raised prices, decreased support, and stopped investing in innovation,” said Tracy Woo, senior analyst for Forrester. “VMware customers would be wise to have an exit plan.”

Why it makes sense for Broadcom to buy VMware

July 04, 2022: Broadcom’s chips plus VMware software could be the bridge that connects applications in data centers with the cloud, said Network World columnist Tom Nolle.

Can Broadcom + VMware move enterprise networking forward?

May 26, 2022: Industry watchers suggested that Broadcom’s planned acquisition of VMware could open opportunities to reach enterprise and telco companies with innovative technology. Some questioned whether Broadcom would let VMware further develop tools for 5G, software-defined networking (SDN), and other technologies.

Broadcom targets enterprise infrastructure with $61 billion VMware acquisition

May 25, 2022: The Broadcom-VMware saga kicked off when the semiconductor manufacturer and infrastructure software giant first announced plans to acquire the virtualization and enterprise cloud vendor in a deal worth roughly $61 billion in stock and cash.

Tech hiring slows, more IT jobs lost

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 17:35:32 +0200

New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics points to an ongoing slowdown in high-tech job growth as industry watchers say employers continue to focus on skills-based hiring.

According to IT certification and training organization CompTIA, the tech industry shed an estimated 9,162 jobs in July. CompTIA analyzes the U.S. BLS statistics to report on companies in the various tech industries. CompTIA found that companies in the tech services and software development sectors added an estimated 4,000 workers, but that was offset by losses across telecommunications, cloud infrastructure, and other related sub-sectors.

“Although disappointing, the slowdown in hiring is about in line with expectations,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA, in a statement. “Employers continue to weigh a range of factors in shorter term tech hiring while eyeing longer term growth strategies.”

CompTIA estimates that across the entire economy, tech occupations declined by 14,000 and the unemployment rate for tech occupations was at about 3.2% in July, slightly lower than the national unemployment rate of 4.3%. Among 471,000 active employer job postings for tech positions, some 176,324 were categorized as new postings added in July, according to CompTIA’s Tech Jobs Report analysis.

Demand was high for software developers and software engineers, as well as IT project managers, data analysts, data scientists, and tech support specialists. In addition, CompTIA reports that for the month of July, 46% of active technology job postings did not specify a four-year degree requirement among candidates, pointing to a trend toward skills-based hiring. Key occupations that recorded higher percentages that did not specify a four-year degree include network support specialists (87%), IT support specialists (72%), network and systems administrators (52%), and database administrators (50%).

Janco Associates also analyzed the latest U.S. BLS data and found that unemployed IT pros are finding it difficult to land jobs at their previous compensation and the hiring process is taking several months between landing an initial interview to receiving a job offer.

“Based on our data and forecast models, there will be modest growth (if any) in the IT job market of just under 5,000 new jobs added in the calendar year 2024,” Janco Associates reported. “Hiring of IT pros is hindered by the lack of qualified individuals and a slowing economic picture. This will have a dampening impact on the growth of the IT job market size.”

Separately, Robert Half reported that more than half (52%) of U.S. companies it surveyed in June plan to add new permanent positions in the second half of the year, 43% expect to fill vacated positions, and 57% said they will increase the number of contract professionals on staff. Robert Half’s survey revealed that in the first half of 2024, 69% of respondents indicated they would be hiring for technology roles, and for the second half of 2024, that number has dropped to 58%.

The hiring challenges a majority (86%) of employers encounter, according to Robert Half, include a lack of applications with the required skills for 48%, hiring quickly enough to land the best talent for 48%, and meeting candidates’ salary expectations for another 48%.

“Today’s workers are more selective when it comes to making a career move. Employers should have a strategic hiring plan in place and remain flexible in order to land in-demand talent and keep projects on track and workloads in check,” said Dawn Fay, operational president of Robert Half, in a statement. “While hiring remains a priority, employers shouldn’t lose sight of their current workforce. Skilled talent is still in high demand, so it’s crucial to prioritize retention strategies to keep your best employees on board.”

Buyer’s guide: How to shop for network observability tools

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 10:31:35 +0200

Network observability tools explained

Network observability tools emerged as an evolution of performance management products that aggregate data such as queue statistics, error counters, and log metrics from myriad sources on-premises and in the cloud to convey in near real-time the health of services, applications, infrastructure, and other components in today’s hybrid environments. Network observability tools provide information on the health and behavior of applications, offer insights into end-user experience, and detect anomalies that are indicative of security incidents.

This evolution of observability technology follows increasing enterprise trends toward multi-cloud deployments and hybrid work, which fuel a growing need for IT teams to gain visibility across owned private and public networks, including service provider environments. With data collected from a wider ranges of sources, network observability tools promise to provide actionable guidance on how to resolve performance problems before they impact end users and customers. The data aggregated by observability tools can uncover security issues and drive collaboration between network and security teams to identify, troubleshoot, and prevent incidents from impacting the business.

Now in the era of artificial intelligence, network observability technologies in some instances also automatically escalate events and speed problem resolution. Using AI and intelligent automation, network observability tools can more quickly and accurately analyze data from varying sources to determine the root cause of an incident and mitigate the impact across an enterprise environment.

“IT professionals recognized network observability as something deeper than network monitoring, moving beyond the collection and presentation of data that most network monitoring tools excel at today. They hinted at a system that turns data into knowledge and actionable insights,” according to the report, Network Observability: Delivering Actionable Insights to Network Operations, by research firm Enterprise Management Associates (EMA).

Network observability tools promise to speed and simplify the daunting task of collecting, analyzing, and making sense of volumes of data across hybrid environments to empower IT teams to optimize performance, improve service levels, and reduce security risk.

In this buyer’s guide:

Why enterprises need network observability tools
What to look for in network observability tools
Major trends in network observability tools
Leading network observability vendors
10 key questions to ask yourself before buying network observability tools
10 key questions to ask vendors about network observability tools
Essential reading

Why enterprises need network observability tools

Enterprise IT teams today must manage highly dynamic, diverse environments. Network observability tools collect data needed to gain a deep understanding of complex environments and lessen the negative impact of performance and security incidents.

In the past, standardized and static networks enabled IT managers to more easily monitor the health and performance of infrastructure, applications, and services. Now the path an application takes to complete a request for an end user traverses from back-end systems to the cloud to service provider networks and end-user devices – which include a range of laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Also adding to the complexity is the reality of hybrid work most businesses must now support, putting pressure on IT teams to deliver the same level of performance and security to in-office, remote, and mobile employees. Network observability tools collect, analyze, and visualize data from multiple components to help IT organizations maintain reliability, security, and efficiency across their enterprise environment that spans beyond the physical network perimeter.

There are several factors in today’s digital environments driving the need for network observability tools. To start, enterprise networks are extremely complex, powering sophisticated applications that are supported across distributed systems. IT teams must manage on-premises components as well as external cloud-based environments and service provider networks as part of their overall network. By monitoring traffic patterns, latency, packet loss, bandwidth, and other metrics across many devices, IT teams can get views into performance, identify indicators of potential security incidents, and spot deviations from expected performance to more quickly resolve problems before they impact end users and customers.

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Network World

Observability tools are also being called upon to help collaborative IT and security teams more quickly identify when a security attack is the cause of network events, for instance. By bringing data from multiple sources together for analysis, observability tools can help IT teams understand if network events belie a security threat. Most enterprises have a proliferation of monitoring tools, all generating alerts in their own manner, but observability tools promise to normalize the data and dissect what it means for IT managers.

“Part of the problem is that when data is scattered across multiple tools, the experience and context is lost. Network observability tools should stitch a lot together. Yes, you could see the same data cross five different tools, but how observable is it if John must mentally piece it together?” said Carlos Casanova, principal analyst at Forrester Research. “Sometimes network metrics will reveal a bad actor on the network that the security team would recognize but would not necessarily be picked up by network teams.”

In the same vein, network observability tools also promise to reduce the noise created from many systems throwing off alerts and events – bubbling up the information that is most important and relevant to network managers. Simply put, there are just too many systems and components generating data for human operators to gather and examine. Network observability tools reduce the work needed to collect and analyze volumes of data, and they also explain how the data will impact services when correlated with other events or incidents occurring across the network.

Network observability tools also thrive on data. The data collected makes the technology more intelligent about the environment it is monitoring and enables IT teams to make data-driven decisions on their networks. Not only can network observability tools drive better decisions for real-time monitoring, but they can also highlight areas for improvement to help network managers deliver higher-quality services and better performing applications.

“Network observability is driven by a host of industry leading technologies and practices. Cloud services, machine learning, artificial intelligence, network virtualization, automated operations, real-time telemetry, programmatic interfaces, open source, … all and more are combining to serve the complex needs of network and IT management in this digital era. Blending all the previously mentioned technologies and practices and more into a coherent and comprehensive network and larger IT observability effort is a challenge for enterprises, service providers, and solution suppliers,” said Mark Leary, research director for network analytics and automation at IDC, in a statement.

What to look for in network observability tools

Network observability tools vary across vendors, but there are common capabilities that are essential to a successful implementation. There is no one-size-fits-all network observability tool for every environment. Understanding the capabilities available from providers will help IT buyers determine which tool might be the best fit for their specific environment. Ultimately, IT leaders need to be confident that they know how their applications and services are performing before a problem occurs.

Data aggregation for multiple systems and roles

Network observability tools must collect data from many sources and make sense of the data for stakeholders across multiple teams. Network observability tools not only need to present the data collected from sources, but they must also explain how the data will impact services when correlated with other events or incidents occurring across the network.

Data visualization that puts metrics in context

Network observability vendors must enable their tools to provide data visualization capabilities for multiple stakeholders. Data from various sources might not mean much when seen isolated, but when correlated across components it could tell a different story.

Dashboards specific to IT stakeholders

Providers should offer dashboards that provide meaningful information gleaned from the data to network, security, DevOps, site reliability, and other teams will be much more valuable than a tool that performs just raw data collection.

Noise management to prioritize events

Network observability tools must not only collect and visualize volumes of data, but they must also manage the noise for IT operators—shining a spotlight on the alerts that matter. Traditionally, network operators would be expected to troubleshoot and triage the various data points collected across tools to understand what it might mean for overall performance. Now network observability vendors promise to bubble up the potential performance impact when events from multiple sources happen simultaneously.

Traffic analysis that includes provider networks

Network observability tools should see the full path traffic takes, including multiple internet and cloud service provider environments, to identify locations where performance degrades. For example, leading tools can analyze how traffic is being routed across the internet and myriad service providers to not only detect performance issues but also suggest areas for optimization. These tools should also be able to show enterprises where their traffic is going and analyze the data “in-flight” and not only at rest. For instance, BGP routing issues could stem from service provider configuration issues, and network observability tools will empower enterprises with the data to attribute the performance issue to their provider.

AI, automated actions, and actionable insights

Network observability tools should be able to automatically escalate the events that will most impact performance. AI and machine learning (ML) will be critical in the level of automation enterprise IT leaders will be able to apply with network observability tools. AI-driven capabilities are still emerging, but IT buyers should make sure to understand how AI and ML will use pattern matching of data to improve root-cause analysis and understand predictive situations.

Integration among existing tools

Network observability tools should work with other network, systems, and performance monitoring tools that enterprise IT leaders have already invested in for their environments. When evaluating tools, inquire about partners, technology support, and APIs for this type of tool in part due to the data that must be collected and correlated across systems.

Multi-cloud support and contributions from cloud providers

To get a full picture, network observability tools must also be able to see into cloud networks. Fortunately, cloud vendors are providing more insights into their environments to help companies understand how they could be impacting performance.

Standard support for telemetry data

Part of the integration requirements for network observability can be addressed with a standard known as OpenTelemetry. OpenTelemetry is a framework that enables tools to capture telemetry data from cloud-native software, and it looks to collect observability data from traces, metrics and logs. This type of standard support in network observability tools is becoming a must-have feature because of how important it is for tools to share data so IT can get the complete picture and identify anomalies that might impact performance.

Major trends in network observability tools

A few key trends are shaping the network observability market for IT buyers, and industry watchers expect providers to compete for customer dollars by accelerating their use of AI and automation, offering cloud-based services, and enhancing data insights with predictive capabilities.

“The outlook remains bright for enterprise network observability spending owing to the crucial role that this management technology plays in delivering intelligence, insights, and automation to the network (and networking staff),” IDC stated in a recent report.

Increased collaboration among IT teams

Observability is a key area in which network, security, and other IT teams are collaborating more. For enterprise organizations, breaking down silos between teams can lead to improved collaboration as well as speed problem resolution and improve application and service performance. Using shared data enables teams to act with the context of their environment while also understanding the impact to other areas of the environment. According to IDC, “Doing so should improve collaboration since it reduces or eliminates conflicting conclusions surfaced by tools that analyze different and incomplete data sets.”

Root-cause analysis and predictive capabilities

Observability tools should speed problem resolution by correlating data from multiple sources and pointing network operators to the likely cause. Looking ahead, network observability tools should help enterprise IT organizations avoid problems, accelerate digital rollouts, and accurately time network upgrades based on intelligence gathered with the data. Network observability is moving toward a more proactive and predictive network and IT management model, according to IDC, because there is “demand for solutions that ease operation and promote proactive optimization and ready innovation.”

Automated actions driven by data

Automating repetitive tasks across operations has long provided gains in staff productivity, but today’s environments require more advanced automation driven by intelligence gathered with context-rich data. Coupling data analytics with automation will delivers more precise and proactive management actions that could enable networks to achieve greater levels of intelligent automation. “Observability solutions that direct or even take actions with minimal or no operator involvement, move the network closer to the level of automation available within the computing infrastructure,” IDC states in a report.

Cloud-based offerings

Industry watchers expect to see investment in on-premises network observability tools fall off in favor of cloud-based offerings. “IDC forecasts very strong growth (a CAGR of 24.3% for 2022–2027) for cloud-based network observability solutions,” according to an IDC report. “These SaaS-based solutions account for all revenue growth in enterprise network observability over the forecast period.”

Leading network observability vendors

Network observability tools providers range from well-known names with a long history in network management and upstarts looking to make a name for themselves in observability.

BMC Software: BMC Helix for Observability and AIOps includes software that monitors environments to proactively identify issues before they impact the business and speed time to resolution.

Broadcom: AIOps and Observability products from Broadcom correlate data across users, applications, infrastructure, and network services, then apply machine learning, analytics, and automation to provide visibility across the environment and deliver actionable insights to IT operators.

Catchpoint: Catchpoints Internet Performance Monitoring (IPM) platform is designed to proactively catch issues across the internet stack and provide IT teams with a holistic view of customer and workforce digital experiences.

Cisco: Cisco Observability Platform brings data together from multiple domains to provide visibility into application performance, user experience, and security incidents, and then correlates the data with business outcomes to speed problem resolution and derive insights with business context. Cisco’s Observability Platform incorporates technology from both its AppDynamics and ThousandEyes acquisitions.

Datadog: Datadog Observability Platform provides visibility across systems, applications, and services in a single platform, while creating actional context to avoid downtime, reduce costs, and perform AI-powered anomaly detection.

Dynatrace: Dynatrace Observability platform captures and unifies the dependencies between all observability data to intelligently combine metrics, logs, traces, user experience, and security data.

Elastic: Elastic Observability automates anomaly detection and accelerates root-cause analysis by shifting from manual data collection to interactive exploration with generative AI.

Gigamon: Gigamon Deep Observability Pipeline provides real-time network intelligence derived from packets, flows, and application metadata to deliver defense-in-depth and complete performance management across hybrid and multi- cloud IT infrastructure.

Honeycomb: Honeycomb Observability Platform organizes telemetry data for accurate exploration from a common user interface regardless of data type, enabling IT operators to determine the cause of issues for a single user or identify complex patterns across multiple users and services.

Kentik: Kentik Network Observability Platform is delivered as a service and helps network managers monitor the digital experience across multiple platforms using AI and machine learning.

New Relic: New Relic Observability Platform is a cloud-based offering that monitors applications and services in real time to provide insights into software, hardware, application, and cloud performance.

Observe: The Observe Observability Cloud architecture uses a data lake to unify telemetry, a data graph to map and link relevant datasets, and data apps to get data into Observe and provide logical starting points for using that data, which contributes to faster troubleshooting.

Riverbed: Network Observability monitors, troubleshoots, and analyzes what is happening across hybrid network environments, providing end-to-end visibility and actionable insights that can help proactive resolve performance issues.

ServiceNow: ServiceNow Cloud Observability unifies critical telemetry data in a unified platform to resolve cloud-native service issues faster, enhance cross-team collaboration, and deliver better business outcomes.

SolarWinds: SolarWinds Observability delivers unified and comprehensive visibility for cloud-native, on-premises, and hybrid custom and commercial applications to help ensure optimal service levels and end user satisfaction with business services.

Splunk (Cisco): Splunk Observability Cloud provides unified visibility and real-time troubleshooting across any environment, helping IT operators to spot issues that impact business and accelerate mean time to repair by combining related data visually.

10 key questions to ask yourself before buying network observability tools

What are the business drivers for investing in network observability technology?
What IT teams would benefit most from using network observability tools?
What observability metrics are most important to collect for my business?
How can we consolidate tools when considering a network observability strategy?
Should we bring network observability tools on premises or opt for a SaaS provider?
Do I need to train or upskill staff to manage and maintain network observability tools?
How will the network observability tools integrate with my existing monitoring tools?
Do my cloud providers communicate and/or share data with the network observability tool?
How should my internal IT teams collaborate to consume and understand observability data?
What data silos must be broken down for network observability technology to be effective?

10 key questions to ask vendors about network observability tools

What is your product roadmap for network observability technology?
How do you embed AI, generative AI, and automation capabilities into your network observability technology?
Does your product support OpenTelemetry standards?
Can your technology integrate with and collect data from internet and cloud service providers?
What network monitoring and management product integrations does your tool currently support and what is planned for the future?
Can your tool scale to support my global enterprise environment?
Does your tool support multi-cloud environments and hybrid infrastructures?
Does the network observability technology integrate with open-source tools?
Can your technology collect, correlate, and analyze data from all the sources in my environment?
Does your technology provide predictive analytics, visualization, and other data insights to prevent problems and mitigate risk?

Essential reading

What is SONiC and how can enterprises try the open-source NOS?

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 20:22:11 +0200

Interest in the open-source network operating system SONiC is rising as major networking vendors and start-ups look to offer resources to help enterprises give SONiC a try. A growing community of developers and users believe SONiC could change the way many large enterprises, hyperscalers and service providers run their networks.

What is SONiC?

The Linux-based SONiC – which stands for Software for Open Networking in the Cloud – decouples network software from the underlying hardware and lets it run on hundreds of switches and ASICs from multiple vendors while supporting a full suite of network features such as Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), remote direct memory access (RDMA), QoS, and Ethernet/IP. One of the keys to SONiC is its switch-abstraction interface, which defines an API to provide a vendor-independent way of controlling forwarding elements such as a switching ASIC, an NPU, or a software switch in a uniform manner.

SONiC is seen as a significant alternative to more traditional, less flexible network operating systems. Its modularity, programmability and general cloud-based architecture could make it a viable option for enterprises and hyperscalers to deploy as cloud networking grows.

Who created SONiC?

The Linux-based NOS was created by Microsoft for its Azure data centers and then open-sourced by Microsoft in 2017. In April 2022, Microsoft turned the project over to the Linux Foundation and its 450,000 developers.

The Linux Foundation focuses on the software element of SONiC, while continuing to partner with the Open Compute Project for hardware developments and evolving specifications. “The reason we made this change is because the Linux Foundation has been the center of gravity for the larger open-source community – particularly in enterprise,” said Dave Maltz, technical fellow and corporate vice president of Microsoft Azure networking, back in 2022.

Moving SONiC development to the Linux Foundation was a good move for SONiC and beneficial for the SONiC community, according to industry watchers. “SONiC will gain exposure under the auspices of the Linux Foundation, helping it sustain and expand community engagement and contributions,” said Brad Casemore, research vice president, datacenter and multicloud networks for IDC, at the time of the shift. “We should see SONiC continue to extend into new use cases.”

SONiC adoption on the rise

Some of the driving ideas behind SONiC-based systems are to simplify, scale and bring flexibility to cloud and edge networking environments.

“SONiC adoption will significantly outpace the overall market with growth in the coming years,” said Alan Weckel, an analyst with the 650 Group, in a 2022 Network World article about enterprise interest in SONiC.

“We will see two approaches to SONiC,” Weckel said. “The first and more common one will be enterprises using SONiC in combination with branded boxes from Arista, Cisco, Dell, and Juniper to get their feet wet and benefit from SONiC without huge risk.”

The second approach will be more of a pure-play SONiC, where it is installed on white-box switches and the existing network is replaced with SONiC, a model Weckel said would be viewed as “as a true replacement of branded vendor infrastructure. There are a lot of cloud automation pieces in SONiC that enterprises can use to complement existing vendors, which is why the first path will be more common.”

Weckel noted that SONiC can help solve challenges created by expanding multi-cloud environments and the need to move and shift workloads between clouds and on-prem environments: “SONiC continues to expand in both the T2 Cloud and the enterprise market. There is a lot of interest out there in SONiC from a NOS perspective, but also in developing an ecosystem on top of that for additional services,” he said in a 2023 Network World article about Cisco and Aviz working together.

The 650 Group predicts that worldwide SONiC revenue will exceed $8 billion in the data center switching arena by 2027.

Enterprise SONiC concerns

While SONiC is starting to attract the attention of some large enterprises, deployments today are still mainly seen in the largest hyperscalers.

“One of the biggest challenges when deploying an open operating system is knowing who to go to when things aren’t working exactly as they should. Meaning, for anyone without an army of engineers to troubleshoot, this approach may be too risky,” said Kevin Wollenweber, senior vice president and general manager with Cisco networking, data center and provider connectivity. (Wollenweber spoke to Network World for a 2023 article about Cisco teaming with Aviz Networks to offer an enterprise-grade SONiC offering.)

“This agreement is innovative in that it cuts out the finger-pointing that is typically associated with the integration of different solutions and focuses on issue resolution. As enterprises and service providers more broadly consider SONiC for their networks, end-to-end support is a critical aspect for adoption,” Wollenweber said.

Vendors embrace SONiC

The vendor community supporting SONiC has been growing and includes Dell, Arista, Nokia, Alibaba, Comcast, Cisco, Broadcom, Juniper Apstra, Edgecore, Innovium, Nvidia, Celetica, and VMware. It has also been integrated with other open-source projects, including Kubernetes and Ansible, and is being used by Verizon, AWS, Netflix and others to develop cloud-based services.

Startups, in particular, have increased SONiC’s momentum by promising to deliver enterprise-grade support for the NOS.

Recent SONiC product and service highlights include:

10 vendors join SONiC project: In April 2024, SONiC added 10 new members to its roster of developer and contributor vendors: Asterfusion Data Technologies, Augtera Networks, Celestica, Denvr Dataworks, Edgecore Network Corporation, Micas Networks, Netweb Technologies, PalCNetworks, QualitySoft Corporation, and EPFL.
SONiC launches new workgroup for enterprise edge: Member organizations Aviz Networks, Wistron, Cisco, and Celestica helped form the PoE Edge Networks with SONiC (PENS) workgroup. This initiative seeks to adapt SONiC – which is traditionally used in cloud-scale and data center networks – for enterprise edge networking environments. The workgroup will adapt SONiC to edge LANs, integrating specialized protocols including Power Over Ethernet (PoE), Spanning Tree, and 802.1x, which are essential for enhancing connectivity and network efficiency at the enterprise edge.
Aviz gives its enterprise SONiC offering an AI boost: Avizcontinues to add features to its enterprise-grade SONiC offering. The latest addition is an AI-based package called Network Copilot that’s aimed at improving network operations, management and capacity planning. The ultimate goal is to help network professionals integrate AI into their daily jobs and streamline the way organizations operate their future networks, according to Vishal Shukla, CEO for Aviz. “Right now, network operations are template driven. But going forward, operations will be data driven, and AI will help you to manage your network from the observability and the orchestration point of view, ultimately making networks open and much easier to manage,” Shukla said.
Cisco and Aviz coordinate support for enterprise SONiC networks: In late 2023, Cisco teamed up with Aviz Networks to offer an enterprise-grade SONiC offering for large customers interested in deploying the open-source network operating system. Under the partnership, Cisco’s 8000 series routers will be available with Aviz Networks’ SONiC management software and 24/7 support. “The agreement also shows that Cisco’s customers are getting more vocal about asking for SONiC, and that Cisco sees the Aviz partnership as an advantage for the 8000 Series,” said The 650 Group’s Weckel. “It also shows Cisco is clearly seeing SONiC demand beyond one or two hyperscalers.”
SONiC test lab gains industry support: Aviz Networks and a group of well-established industry vendors and organizations are collaborating on a testing facility. The Open Networking Experience (ONE) Center for SONiC, announced in 2023, is being offered by SONiC startup Aviz and will be supported by collaboration with Linux Foundation, The Open Compute Project, Celestica, Cisco, Edgecore, Nvidia, Ragile, Supermicro, Wistron, and Keysight. The lab will feature online and in-person access at no cost for network operators to try out the capabilities of SONiC across a wide range of hardware, according to Aviz.
Cisco invites enterprises to its SONiC sandbox: Cisco showed support for SONiC in September 2023 by rolling out SONiC Developer Sandbox, which provides a Cisco 8000 emulator that lets customers build virtual network simulations (or labs) to experiment with new topologies, protocols, and configuration changes. In the sandbox, customers can automate network tests through CI/CD pipeline integration and learn more about SONiC and the Cisco 8000 line. The sandbox topology includes four Cisco 8000 routers that run SONiC and a Linux server that functions as a traffic generator.
Aviz attracts new investors, including Cisco: Cisco is part of Dec. 2023 round of investing aimed at making Aviz Networks’ SONiC-based operating system more mainstream. Founded in 2019, Aviz Networks has previously raised $4 million with venture capital firms, including Accton, Moment and Wistron, as well as vendors Broadcom and Edgecore. Cisco’s contribution brings its latest funding round to $10 million.
Hedgehog launches: Hedgehog announced its launch in October 2002 as a company focused on making SONiC ready for mainstream adoption and easier to procure, deploy and manage. “Our design goal is to make it nearly as easy to deploy your cloud native workload wherever you want to deploy it via an open network fabric that’s as easy as it is today to deploy it to AWS or Google Cloud. And we enable you to choose the deployment architecture that’s optimal for your workload,” said Mark Austin, founder and CEO of Hedgehog, in a Network World article. “SONiC gives enterprises the break from vendor lock-in the networking space, and we fully automate it with cloud-native tool chain Kubernetes so that businesses can use existing cloud-native infrastructure, processes and tools, and you’re breaking out of vendor lock-in the cloud as well.”

Real world adoption: eBay scores with SONiC

In a bold move aimed at cutting costs, increasing bandwidth and providing network capacity for years to come, online auction powerhouse eBay built a 400Gbps Ethernet fabric for its on-prem data centers based on white-box switches running SONiC.

“One of our motivating factors was to build a chunk of network fabric, and we don’t want to touch it. We don’t want a custom network for applications that move. We wanted to break away from that cycle,” said Parantap Lahiri, vice president of network and data center engineering, in an interview with Network World. With the new network, “all changes are automated, nobody is making CLI changes.”

And that translates into business benefits. “Developers can come up with a new feature, and get it deployed fast,” Lahiri said. By taking the open-source/white box route, Lahiri has been able to slash operational expenses by an estimated 25%, while quadrupling bandwidth.

Read the full feature on Network World: eBay scores cost savings and a bandwidth boost with white-box switches running SONiC

Early SONiC drivers

One of the driving forces behind SONiC is its relative simplicity, proponents said.

“Microsoft built a heterogeneous network using equipment and software from multiple vendors, which is great because it gave us access to the newest, fastest technologies. But I still have to stitch all of that together and make a reliable network,” said Dave Maltz, a Microsoft distinguished engineer, during a SONiC industry roundtable in 2020. “What we really needed was a uniform software layer where we can implement changes once and easily spread them out. SONiC lets us do that on a global scale.”

The ability to quickly add key features, such as automation, and applications were some of the reasons Dell invested in SONiC, according to Ihab Tarazi, CTO and senior vice president of networking and solutions with Dell Technologies.

“SONiC is the first networking system that lets us containerize applications and link them quickly across the network,” Tarazi told the 2020 roundtable. “It gives us a common language that lets us deploy applications on any hardware and lets us more easily manage and support a variety of services.”

One of the long-term benefits of SONiC’s being an open-source package will be the ability to more easily program applications and other features. “We think it will open up the talent pool as we won’t need to transition software people into network programmers and vice versa,” said Yiu Lee, vice president, architecture, networking and communications engineering with Comcast, at the roundtable. “We will be able to more easily share problems with the community and take advantage of a variety of skillsets to build better applications.”

Broadcom bolsters VMware Edge Compute Stack

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 23:07:20 +0200

A slew of updates in VMware Edge Compute Stack (ECS) 3.5 are aimed at helping customers more easily manage edge devices, applications, and infrastructure across multiple locations, and industry watchers say the updated platform will support AI at the edge.

Enterprises are expanding edge computing deployments to meet the scalability and performance requirements of AI applications, and tech vendors are extending feature sets to enable AI in edge locations, according to IDC, which predicts that edge computing investments will reach $232 billion in 2024. “Edge computing will play a pivotal role in the deployment of AI applications,” says Dave McCarthy, research vice president, cloud and edge services at IDC.

Broadcom, which acquired VMware in November 2023, has been adding to the edge management capabilities in the VMware ECS and VMware Edge Cloud Orchestrator (VECO) solutions. Updates in its latest offering will help customers simplify operations by reducing management complexity, more easily managing dispersed locations with limited IT resources, automating software patching, and gaining visibility into application and traffic behaviors at the edge with integrated telemetry.

“Edge computing continues to be an important aspect of infrastructure design to offset limitations in public cloud deployments. These limitations include network latency, the cost of data movement, regulatory compliance requirements, and overall business continuity. However, edge computing brings with it new challenges in terms of managing large amounts of remote infrastructure,” IDC’s McCarthy says. “VMware Edge Cloud Orchestrator aims to automate the management of large-scale edge deployments.”

To further simplify the deployment of applications and infrastructure across thousands of locations, ECS 3.5 includes new or updated features such as:

Zero-touch orchestration, which simplifies deployment and application lifecycle management across multiple sites by leveraging GitOps and desired state management.
Pull-based architecture, which puts less burden on the management plane, allowing it to achieve a much higher scale.
Edge fleet management, which can manage large-scale edge infrastructure deployments of single hosts by providing streamlined visibility, deployment, operational processes, and automatic updates with the SaaS-based ECS service.
SaaS delivery model, which enables Broadcom to introduce new VECO capabilities continuously.
Decoupled management and control plane, which brings added deployment flexibility to ensure that the control plane to manage edge workloads is local to the edge location.
Single-node updates, which support virtual machine and container workloads and also include single-node Kubernetes, making it feasible to scale to thousands of locations.
Automatic updates, which alleviate the pain points associated with manual updates by ensuring the latest patches, compliance standards, and performance enhancements are applied.
Edge infrastructure and application monitoring, which configures metrics gathering and transmission for infrastructure, virtual machines, and Kubernetes workloads—enabling customers to start monitoring edge components quickly.

“VECO features a pull-based architecture, which is ideal for customers with many edge sites and varying levels of connectivity. Similar to how an iPhone updates itself, edge sites update their applications and infrastructure when the edge host is connected and new updates or configuration changes are published,” according to a VMware blog announcing the product updates.

According to IDC’s McCarthy, upgrades to VMware edge products will help customers more easily manage large-scale, heterogeneous edge deployments. And VMware is looking to help customers manage whatever components they have in their edge infrastructure.

“As enterprises add edge infrastructure to existing cloud environments, they are looking for consistency. VMware is taking its successful software-defined data center concepts to create a software-defined edge. This benefits customers by leveraging similar tools and skills to manage infrastructure and applications wherever they are deployed,” McCarthy says. “Many edge offerings are tied to specific vendor ecosystems. For example, all of the major public cloud providers have edge management software, but it is limited to resources delivered by that cloud. VMware’s approach of supporting a variety of clouds and on-premises infrastructure means that it is applicable to more scenarios than the competition.”

And as AI continues to dominate technology conversations, the need to support AI at the edge increases. Enterprises are moving to a distributed data center model for real-time processing at the edge, and VMware should continue to invest in AI at the edge, according to McCarthy.

“As the AI conversation shifts from large training in the cloud to inference at the edge, VMware needs to stay on top of emerging edge AI needs from customers while continuing to build consistency between data center, cloud, and edge environments,” McCarthy says.

VMware enlisted more than 100 customers to participate in the technical preview of ECS 3.5, which is generally available now.

White House executive order restricting data brokers enters effect — but to what end?

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 21:51:32 +0200

An executive order from President Biden restricting which countries data brokers can sell American data to took effect on Sunday, but some have expressed doubt about whether it will have much impact.

The executive order prohibits data brokers from selling protected data about Americans to various “countries of concern,” which the US defined in December as Burma, People’s Republic of China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The order defined protected data as “Americans’ most personal and sensitive information, including genomic data, biometric data, personal health data, geolocation data, financial data, and certain kinds of personally identifiable information.”

Although the data protection and privacy issues raised in this executive order are critically important to enterprise IT and security operations, the narrow provisions of this order would seem to limit its impact to data brokers and would not likely directly impact enterprise IT or cybersecurity operations.

But industry watchers have their own opinions about whether this executive order is likely to have any industry impact.

Data localization light

Hearst CIO Atefeh “Atti” Riazi said that her team — and the CISO reports to her, so she was also referring to security — will not at all be impacted by the order , but she raised questions about how much it would impact anyone at all, including data brokers.

“It’s such a paper tiger, so superficial. Politicians often need these wedge issues. It makes news but they are completely unenforceable,” Riazi said in an interview with CIO.com. “It’s foolish. There is no way you can enforce this.”

She added that such data is “continuously stolen” so “how are you going to track it? This is just an empty gesture. Third-party data has not been governed for a very long time. A dam has a million holes in it and we are trying to plug one or two.”

Brian Levine, a managing partner at Ernst & Young who oversees enterprise cybersecurity issues, said that he thought it was too early to analyze the likely impact of this executive order.

“At a high level, these all seem like sensible measures, but the order primarily directs agencies to issue various regulations, so the devil will be in the details,” Levine said. “Some of this sounds like ‘data localization light’ — don’t allow data to visit countries that might improperly exploit it.”

Netskope secures SaaS apps with genAI

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 12:21:28 +0200

Netskope recently introduced generative AI and software-as-a-service security enhancements in its Netskope One secure access security edge (SASE) platform, which industry watchers say will help enterprise IT organizations reduce genAI data leakage and better categorize SaaS applications.

The enhanced platform includes features that can secure the usage of generative AI applications, the company says, and provide information on specific risks. Using its data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities, Netskope One can also identify new risks, reduce security gaps, lower cost, address complexity, and increase protection.

“Netskope One is the first converged platform that uses AI to keep pace with the SaaS and genAI app explosion, categorizing new apps and their risks faster, more granularly, and more accurately than any other solution in the market,” said John Martin, chief product officer of Netskope, in a statement. Netskope incorporated genAI algorithms into its cloud access security broker (CASB) module, which can provide automatic risk scoring of new and previously unseen SaaS apps and more.

According to Christopher Rodriguez, research director, security and trust at IDC, the added capabilities in Netskope One will help enterprises working with both genAI and SaaS applications better secure their environments and better design policies.

“NetSkope has added controls that help businesses to secure their usage of genAI applications. That is the big effort across the board in the security industry today,” Rodriguez explains. “Netskope is now also using genAI to improve their capabilities in SaaS security, too. They’re helping prevent data leakage into genAI applications, and also using genAI to better analyze SaaS applications of all types. The usage of genAI here helps the Netskope solution to profile and categorize SaaS applications, which is an important first step for SaaS security.”

According to Netskope’s 2024 Cloud and Threat Report, enterprise employees interact with an average of between 11 and 33 cloud apps per month and saw a genAI app usage increase by 400% year over year. IDC’s Rodriguez explains that without an accurate starting baseline of known good and known bad applications, it is not possible to create effective policies and controls for SaaS apps. Another part of the value proposition of Netskope One is the use of large language models (LLM) to make the information more easily accessible by human operators, he says.

“Security practitioners can run queries as natural language questions to better understand the security risk of a new or particular. This is tremendously helpful to eliminate the risk of human error,” Rodriguez says. “Despite the hype around AI and advanced security analytics, security practitioners—humans—are still the best defense against complex security challenges and cases with high uncertainty. However, they need better tools to be more effective and efficient, which to me, makes this the linchpin in the new genAI SaaS security announcement.”

Netskope One is a converged security and network as a service platform, and the updated enhancements include:

GenAI-powered CASB: Performs automatic risk scoring and on-demand risk categorization for novel SaaS applications identified by security teams, and LLM-driven risk insights for SaaS apps, available via natural language queries.
Context-driven DLP: Covers more than 1,800 different file types, using more than 3,000 data identifiers, machine learning and deep learning, AI natural language process (NLP), convolutional neural- networks, and trainable ML for data classification.
Automated platform: Provides a unified dashboard with visibility into users and privileges, ML-driven alert prioritization using risk correlation, and a unified policy framework.

Crooks Threaten To Leak 3 Billion Personal Records 'Stolen From Background Firm'

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 05:11:21 +0200

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: Billions of records detailing people's personal information may soon be dumped online after being allegedly obtained from a Florida firm that handles background checks and other requests for folks' private info. A criminal gang that goes by the handle USDoD put the database up for sale for $3.5 million on an underworld forum in April, and rather incredibly claimed the trove included 2.9 billion records on all US, Canadian, and British citizens. It's believed one or more miscreants using the handle SXUL was responsible for the alleged exfiltration, who passed it onto USDoD, which is acting as a broker. The pilfered information is said to include individuals' full names, addresses, and address history going back at least three decades, social security numbers, and people's parents, siblings, and relatives, some of whom have been dead for nearly 20 years. According to USDoD, this info was not scraped from public sources, though there may be duplicate entries for people in the database. Fast forward to this month, and the infosec watchers at VX-Underground say they've not only been able to view the database and verify that at least some of its contents are real and accurate, but that USDoD plans to leak the trove. Judging by VX-Underground's assessment, the 277.1GB file contains nearly three billion records on people who've at least lived in the United States -- so US citizens as well as, say, Canadians and Brits. This info was allegedly stolen or otherwise obtained from National Public Data, a small information broker based in Coral Springs that offers API lookups to other companies for things like background checks. There is a small silver lining, according to the VX team: "The database DOES NOT contain information from individuals who use data opt-out services. Every person who used some sort of data opt-out service was not present." So, we guess this is a good lesson in opting out.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

California Advances Bill For Porn Site Age Verification

Tue, 14 May 2024 15:30:50 +0200

California is another state lining up to pass a law requiring adult sites to verify the ages of porn watchers. From a report: The California State Assembly passed the Parent's Accountability and Child Protection Act that will require porn companies doing business in the state to verify that users are 18 years or older. This law would also affect other businesses such as fireworks, body branding, and even BB guns. Democrat Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and Republican Juan Alanis pushed for passage of the bill, which ended up receiving 65 out of possible 80 yes votes, and zero no votes with 15 assembly members listed as not voting. Before the bill becomes law, it still has to pass the State Senate and then be signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. Louisiana was the first state to pass an age verification law for adult sites in 2022. In the past year, several other states jumped on the bandwagon including Utah, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

What is a digital twin and why is it important to IoT?

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 04:25:04 +0200

The use of digital twins – digital representations that mimic the structure and behavior of physical objects or systems – is on the rise. Digital twin technology has moved beyond manufacturing, where it got its start, and into many other industries, driven by advances in sensor technologies, artificial intelligence and data analytics.

In the world of IT, enterprises can use digital twins to replicate their IT environments, including infrastructure, network equipment, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and then run simulations or what-if scenarios to test the impact of changes and to optimize performance. They can be used to validate the current state of a network, for example, and test configuration changes, firmware updates, or adjustments to security policies.

What is a digital twin?

A digital twin is a digital representation of a physical object or system. In essence, a digital twin is a computer program that takes real-world data about a physical object or system as inputs and produces as outputs predictions or simulations of how that physical object or system will be affected by those inputs.

The digital twin concept first arose at NASA: full-scale mockups of early space capsules, used on the ground to mirror and diagnose problems in orbit, eventually gave way to fully digital simulations.

The technology behind digital twins has expanded to include buildings, factories and even cities, and some have argued that even people and processes can have digital twins, expanding the concept even further.

The term really took off after Gartner named digital twins as one of its top 10 strategic technology trends for 2017, saying that within three to five years, “billions of things will be represented by digital twins, a dynamic software model of a physical thing or system.”

Today, digital twin technologies continue to gain traction because of their potential to bridge the gap between physical and virtual worlds, according to Grand View Research, which says the global digital-twin market is forecast to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38% from 2023 to 2030. Incorporating technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and IoT into digital twin systems is expected to boost market growth in the forecast period, Grand View says.

How does a digital twin work?

A digital twin begins its life being built by specialists, often experts in data science or applied mathematics. These developers research the physics that underlies the physical object or system being mimicked and use that data to develop a mathematical model that simulates the real-world original in digital space.

The twin is constructed so that it can receive input from sensors gathering data from a real-world counterpart. This allows the twin to simulate the physical object in real time, in the process offering insights into performance and potential problems. The twin could also be designed based on a prototype of its physical counterpart, in which case the twin can provide feedback as the product is refined; a twin could even serve as a prototype itself before any physical version is built.

Digital twin vs. simulation

The terms simulation and digital twin are often used interchangeably, but they are different things. A simulation is designed with a CAD system or similar platform, and can be put through its simulated paces, but may not have a one-to-one analog with a real physical object. A digital twin, by contrast, is built out of input from IoT sensors on real equipment, which means it replicates a real-world system and changes with that system over time. Simulations tend to be used during the design phase of a product’s lifecycle, trying to forecast how a future product will work, whereas a digital twin provides all parts of the business insight into how some product or system they’re already using is working now.

Digital twin use cases

Potential use cases for digital twins are expansive. Objects such as aircraft engines, trains, offshore oil platforms, and turbines can be designed and tested digitally before being physically produced. These digital twins could also be used to help with maintenance operations. For example, technicians could use a digital twin to test that a proposed fix for a piece of equipment works before applying the fix.

Manufacturing is the area where rollouts of digital twins are probably the furthest along, with factories already using digital twins to simulate their processes. Automotive digital twins are made possible because cars are already fitted with telemetry sensors, but refining the technology will become more important as more autonomous vehicles hit the road. Healthcare is the sector that could produce digital twins of people; tiny sensors could send health information back to a digital twin used to monitor and predict a patient’s well-being.

What kind of value can digital twins bring to an organization?

Just as digital twins serve different purposes in different industries, the value of digital twins differs depending on the application.

In the world of manufacturing, for example, a digital twin can enable product designers to try out prototypes before settling on a final design. It’s a way to use digital resources to develop and refine products instead of tapping physical engineering resources. With a digital replica of a product that simulates the real thing in a virtual space, designers can rapidly generate new iterations, optimize their product designs, and improve product quality along the way.

In the semiconductor industry, digital twins can exist in the cloud and replace physical research models. In May 2024, the Biden Administration announced plans to fund up to $285 million to create a CHIPS Manufacturing USA institute focused on digital twins for the semiconductor industry: Digital twin-based research can leverage AI “to help accelerate the design of new U.S. chip development and manufacturing concepts and significantly reduce costs by improving capacity planning, production optimization, facility upgrades, and real-time process adjustments,” the US Department of Commerce said in the announcement.

Digital twins have had appeal in certain industries – manufacturing, oil and gas, utilities, mining – “basically physical, high-capital, asset-intensive verticals,” said Jonathan Lang, research director, worldwide IT/OT convergence strategies, at research firm IDC, in an interview with Network World.

In these settings, the rationale for digital twins has been clear, thanks to potential benefits that include better visibility into the health of assets, improved reliability, cost savings, and the ability to ensure stable operations, Lang says. “IT environments such as infrastructure, network equipment, connected devices, etc., have the same value drivers,” he says.

What kinds of digital twins are there?

IBM offers a categorization scheme based not on specific industries but on the complexity of what’s being twinned. This provides a useful way to think about the needs in specific use cases and gives a look at the broad spectrum of what digital twins can do:

Component or part twins simulate the smallest example of a functioning component.
Asset twins simulate two or more components working together and let you study the interactions between them.
System or unit twins let you see how multiple systems assets work together, simulating an entire production line, for instance.
Process twins take the absolute top-level view of systems working together, letting you figure out how an entire factory might operate.

It’s worth noting that adding more components to the mix adds complexity. In particular, mixing and matching components from different manufacturers can be difficult because you’d need everyone’s intellectual property to play nice together within the world of your digital twin.

Advantages and benefits of digital twins

In the world of IT, digital twins that simulate IT infrastructure can:

Strengthen security: “Network digital twins offer noteworthy security benefits, including critical vulnerability identification and prioritized remediation plans specific to individual device configurations and features in use,” said Chiara Regale, senior vice president, product and user experience at Forward Networks, in an interview with Network World about reasons to consider a network digital twin.
Improve documentation: “Every enterprise is terrible at documentation, due to priorities around delivery, lack of standards on how to record infrastructure changes, and sprawl,” Michael Wynston, director of network architecture and automation at financial services firm Fiserv, told Network World. Digital twin technology can provide insights into the infrastructure beyond just configurations, including what the environment is doing at any given time. This is essential for successful documentation.
Boost efficiency: Digital twins enable simulation of data across multiple business systems. IDC research has shown that IT organizations are losing lots of time searching for necessary information to perform a job function. “By unifying the data in a single interface, as well as performing analysis across multiple data sets, digital twins improve worker efficiency and the quality and accuracy of analytical outputs,” said IDC analyst Jonathan Lang.
Create a better digital experience: A company can create a digital twin to help enhance digital experience, which is the sum of a user’s digital-based interactions with a product, service, device, etc. “Digital experience twins are a new concept that virtualizes an end user, application, or IoT device to validate the network experience and predict problems before they impact user experience,” says Bob Friday, chief AI officer at Juniper Networks.

How can a digital twin affect an organization’s environmental sustainability?

The proportion of companies implementing a data center infrastructure sustainability program will rise from about 5% in 2022 all the way to 75% by 2027, as sustainability becomes an increasingly central consideration for cost optimization and risk management, according to data from Gartner Research. Industry watchers have made the case that a digital twin can aid in companies’ sustainability efforts. Some potential tie-ins between digital twins and sustainability in the IT arena include:

Improved systems management, which can lead to lower downtime and more advanced power-management capabilities.
Better inventory and asset-management practices, which allow IT to maximize enterprise server and storage deployments and identify idle capacity.
Easier identification of older, energy-hogging gear, which can be replaced with newer generation hardware with better energy performance.

Dr. Mano Rao, IT director for global manufacturing at General Motors, wrote this in a blog about GM’s work with GE Digital to pursue model-based system engineering: “At GM, we developed a Virtual Factory Testbed to provide the tools and environment needed to test all manufacturing process variations that are necessary to support build-to-order manufacturing, as well as all permutations of outcomes that can result from each operation. We employ a process digital twin to mimic plant-floor behavior and test the integration of OT and IT systems—without requiring the physical lines to be deployed, and without requiring physical products flowing down the line. Not only does this help GM’s competitive advantage, but it brings us closer to our sustainability commitments.”

Applications of digital twin in various industries

Digital twins can be deployed in many industries. Here are some examples:

Enterprise IT: A digital twin can replicate an IT environment, including infrastructure, network equipment, and IoT devices. IT teams can use the digital twin to test configuration changes or adjust security policies, for example.
Semiconductor industry: Digital twins can enable more collaborative design among engineers and researchers, speeding the exchange of ideas and reducing the cost of research and development.
Manufacturing operations: In the manufacturing industry, a digital twin can streamline design processes, improve collaboration among designers, and help to reduce the material used in a product’s design.
Healthcare services: In the world of healthcare, a digital twin can improve health monitoring and diagnostic capabilities.
Automotive industry: Automotive designers and manufacturers use digital twins to shorten time to market, improve safety procedures, monitor product performance, and identify potential maintenance issues.
Power-generation and utilities: Energy and utility companies can creating a digital twin, or a virtual model, of a power plant or distribution network and use it to streamline operations and identify opportunities to improve performance.
Urban planning: For urban planning and infrastructure projects, a digital twin can allow city planners to run simulations of new designs – trying out scenarios that could impact traffic congestion or air pollution, for example.

Digital twins and IoT

The explosion of IoT sensors is part of what makes digital twins possible. And as IoT devices are refined, digital-twin scenarios can include smaller and less complex objects, giving additional benefits to companies.

Digital twins can be used to predict different outcomes based on variable data. With additional software and data analytics, digital twins can often optimize an IoT deployment for maximum efficiency, as well as help designers figure out where things should go or how they operate before they are physically deployed.

Digital twin vendors

Building a digital twin is complex, and there is as yet no standardized platform for doing so. The Digital Twin Consortium is a global ecosystem of users who are driving best practices for digital twin usage and defining requirements for new digital twin standards.

One group that’s working to increase awareness, adoption, interoperability, and development of digital twin technology is the Digital Twin Consortium. It’s a global ecosystem of users – including industry, academia, and government members – who are driving best practices for digital twin usage and defining requirements for new digital twin standards.

In contrast with many emerging technologies that are driven by startups, commercial digital-twin offerings are coming from some of the largest companies in the field. For instance, GE, which developed digital-twin technology internally as part of its jet-engine manufacturing process, is now offering its expertise to customers, as is Siemens, another industrial giant heavily involved in manufacturing. Not to be outdone by these factory-floor suppliers, IBM is marketing digital twins as part of its IoT push, and Microsoft is offering its own digital-twin platform under the Azure umbrella.

Digital twin news in the enterprise IT world

Although digital twins have been around for some time, it’s still an early adopter technology. But the number of vendors that offer digital twin solution is growing, and recent upgrades to digital twin offerings in the enterprise IT industry include:

Forward Networks launched AI Assist, a generative AI feature built into its Forward Enterprise digital twin platform. The addition is designed to give network and security operations professionals comprehensive insights into network performance via natural language prompts. With AI assist, network engineers of varying skill levels can conduct sophisticated network queries, so they can quickly assess network behavior and identify potential issues.
Juniper Networks introduced Marvis Minis, an AI-native networking digital experience twin that uses the company’s Mist AI technology to proactively simulate user connections. That way it can instantly validate network configurations and detect problems without users being present. The Minis product simulates end-user, client, device and application traffic to learn the network configuration through unsupervised ML, and to proactively highlight network issues. Data from Minis is continuously fed back into Mist AI, providing an additional source of insight for the best responses.
Nokia extended the capabilities of its existing Nokia Network Digital Twin to include all Android devices, the company announced late last year. Coverage and performance data for Wi-Fi, private and public cellular networks can be automatically collected in real time and processed on Nokia’s edge platform to give enterprises a view of how changes in their operations impact network performance.

Challenges of digital twins

Digital twins offer a real-time look at what’s happening with physical assets, which can radically alleviate maintenance burdens. But keep in mind that that Gartner warns that digital twins aren’t always called for, and can unnecessarily increase complexity. “[Digital twins] could be technology overkill for a particular business problem. There are also concerns about cost, security, privacy, and integration.”

Potential challenges in developing and deploying a digital twin can include:

Data management: Data ownership can become a problematic point if not addressed, particularly if an organization is partnering with other entities to run its digital twins, said Kayne McGladrey, a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a nonprofit professional association, and field CISO at Hyperproof, in an interview with CSO.
Security: If proper cybersecurity controls aren’t put in place, digital twins can expand a company’s attack surface, give threat actors access to previously inaccessible control systems, and expose preexisting vulnerabilities, CSO notes in a recent feature.
Supplier collaboration: A digital twin might have multiple engineers and designers collaborating on a model, so it’s important to create and adhere to well-documented practices for constructing and modifying the models.
Complexity: A digital twin may only model a single physical asset, but in more complex environments with multiple stakeholders and complicated processes, companies may need to invest in more advanced digital twins, which in turn require advanced skillsets.
Privacy: Legal and regulatory issues come into play with digital twins, too, McGladrey told CSO. The primary concerns are around whether the operators of digital twins can ensure that the data being used in their digital twins is handled in ways that meet regulatory requirements around privacy, confidentiality, and even the geography where data can be housed.

Digital twin skills

Interested in becoming a digital twin pro? The skill sets are demanding, and require specialized expertise in machine learning, artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and other data-science capabilities. That’s part of the reason why big companies are hanging out their shingle: The little guy might find it more reasonable to hire a consultant team than to upskill their in-house workers.

Other digital twin resources

U.S. Government Accountability Office: Digital Twins—Virtual Models of People and Objects
Microsoft: Digital Twins in Discrete Manufacturing
GE: Predix Digital Twin site
GE: Digital Twin at Work: The Technology that’s Changing Industry
IBM: Industry Transformation with IBM Digital Twin (PDF)
Siemens: Digitization in machine building
Oracle: Digital Twins for IoT Applications (PDF).

Internet of Things, Network Security, Networking

Network jobs watch: Hiring, skills and certification trends

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 02:34:38 +0200

Network and infrastructure roles continue to shift as enterprises adopt technologies such as AI-driven network operations, multicloud networking, zero trust network access (ZTNA), and SD-WAN. Here’s a recap of some of the latest industry research, hiring statistics, and certification trends that impact today’s network professionals, infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders, and data center teams. Check back for regular updates.

Lack of skills stymies network automation efforts

Network automation continues to challenge IT leaders, and one factor is a lack of skills on staff.

When research firm Enterprise Management Associates surveyed 354 IT professionals about network automation, just 18% rated their network automation strategies as a complete success, and 54% said they have achieved partial success. The remaining 38% said they were uncertain of the level of success achieved or admitted failure with their network automation projects.

More than one-fourth (26.8%) of the respondents pointed to staffing issues such as skills gaps and staff churn as a business challenge.

“The most challenging thing for me is the lack of network engineers who can contribute to automation,” said a network engineer at a midmarket business services company in the EMA report. “The community is small, and it’s hard to find people who can help you solve a problem.”

April 2024

CompTIA plans AI certification roadmap

IT certification and training group CompTIA is expanding its product and program roadmap to meet the growing demand for AI-related skill sets.

AI becoming critical to existing job functions. At the same time, new roles are starting to land on employers’ radar. “Two entirely new job roles—prompt engineering and AI systems architects—are emerging. These positions align with the AI priorities of many organizations,” said Teresa Sears, vice president of product management at CompTIA.

Millions of IT professionals will need to acquire new AI skills to meet the needs of the job market, said Thomas Reilly, CompTIA’s chief product officer, in a statement. “We intend to create a range of certifications and training offerings spanning the complete career arc, from foundational knowledge for pre-career and early career learners to advanced skills for professionals with years of workforce experience.”

February 2024

IT job growth flattened in 2023

The number of new IT jobs created in calendar year 2023 flattened with just 700 positions added, which signals continued concerns about the economy and growing demand for skills focused on emerging technologies. For comparison, 2022 saw 267,000 jobs added, with industry watchers attributing the dramatic difference to tech layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.

According to Janco Associates, despite companies adding some 21,300 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2023, the overall increase for the entire calendar year still comes to just 700 new positions.

“Based on our analysis, the IT job market and opportunities for IT professionals are poor at best. In the past 12 months, telecommunications lost 26,400 jobs, content providers lost 9,300 jobs, and other information services lost 10,300 jobs,” said M. Victor Janulaitis, CEO at Janco, in a statement. “Gainers in the same period were computer system designers gaining 32,300 jobs and hosting providers gaining 14,000.”

January 2024

Positive hiring plans for new year

Robert Half reports that the job market will remain resilient heading into 2024. According to the talent solutions provider’s recent survey, more than half of U.S. companies plan to increase hiring in the first half of 2024. While the data is not limited to the IT sector, the research shows 57% plan to add new permanent positions in the first six months of the year while another 39% anticipate hiring for vacant positions and 67% will hire contract workers as a staffing strategy.

Specific to the technology sector, 69% of the more than 1,850 hiring managers surveyed reported they would be adding new permanent roles for those professions. Still, challenges will persist into the new year, according to Robert Half, which reported 90% of hiring managers have difficulty finding skilled professionals and 58% said it takes longer to hire for open roles compared to a year ago.

December 2023

Cisco CCNA and AWS cloud networking rank among highest paying IT certifications

Cloud expertise and security know-how remain critical in building today’s networks, and these skills pay top dollar, according to Skillsoft’s annual ranking of the most valuable IT certifications. At number one on its list of the 20 top-paying IT certifications is Google Cloud-Professional Cloud Architect with an average annual salary of $200,960.

In addition to several cloud certifications, there are five security, networking, and system architect certifications on Skillsoft’s top 20 list:

ISACA Certified Information Security Manager (CISM): Average annual salaries for those with CISM certification is $167,396, a slight increase over last year’s 162,347 salary.
ISC2 Certification Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP): This certification consistently delivers an average annual salary of $156,699, according to Skillsoft.
ISACA Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA): Professionals with a CISA certification earn an average annual salary of $154,500, an increase over last year’s $142,336.
AWS Certified Advanced Networking-Specialty: This certification commands an annual average salary of $153,031.
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA): This certification commands an average annual salary of $128,651.

November 2023

Careers, Data Center, Networking

Enterprises struggle with network reliability, security: survey

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 08:36:15 +0200

Wired network connectivity isn’t as reliable as U.S. businesses need, according to a recent survey, which shows that nearly 90% of respondents experienced between one to four hours of connectivity downtime per week due to network failure.

Wireless WAN and edge networking provider Cradlepoint, which is a subsidiary of telecommunications giant Ericsson, this week released the findings of its annual connectivity report that shows businesses are dealing with the negative side effects of downtime and considering cellular options to combat connectivity issues. More than half of decision-makers (54%) surveyed estimated that their organizations face one to two hours of connectivity downtime per week, while another 34% said they experienced as much as three to four hours of downtime each week due to network failure. The survey is part of Cradlepoint’s State of Connectivity 2024 report, which is based on Censuswide research of more than 1,000 senior management respondents at businesses with more than 250 employees in the U.S.

According to the survey, downtime can result in significant business-impacting outcomes. More than half of respondents (51%) said that between 50% to 74% of “their business is predicated on having always-on connectivity,” and 55% of those surveyed equate connectivity issues to significant effects on their business. The survey revealed that negative results from downtime include:

Higher operational costs: 55%
Operational inefficiencies: 46%
Loss of reputation: 38%
Loss of talent: 38%
Loss of earnings: 34%

The survey data shows that businesses as an alternative or supplement to fiber and wired connections are turning to cellular networks to ensure better connectivity for specific business and technology functions. For instance, 37% of respondents said they use cellular to support security and surveillance systems, and 33% use cellular for critical operational infrastructure. Other notable uses include:

Digital signage: 31%
Fleet management: 31%
Work-from-home support: 30%
Industrial Internet of Things (IoT): 29%

Separately, industry watchers have noted that cellular – in particular, 5G connectivity – is becoming more appealing to enterprise businesses. According to Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), 86% of enterprise users either use or plan to use wireless WAN connectivity (4G/5G) in their corporate networks. And 90% of those companies plan to use WWAN as the primary network connection for at least some of their sites.

Still, the Cradlepoint report shows that technology decision-makers polled are cautious to rely solely on cellular connectivity for several reasons. Among the chief concerns for 33% of respondents is a lack of skills necessary to adopt 5G, and 31% pointed to uncertainty around the security implications across their organization as a barrier to 5G adoption. Another 32% of organizations surveyed said they are worried about costs, and 29% stated that they were “struggling to see a clear return on investment” despite the report stating that cellular networks enable 99.99% uptime.

“5G came out of the gate with tremendous hype and transformative potential, but the two-tiered deployment (NSA and SA), combined with a lagging device ecosystem, has tempered much of the enthusiasm for 5G, particularly as network deployments become more commonplace and AI takes over the technology spotlight,” said Jason Leigh, research manager, 5G and Mobile Services at IDC, in a statement.

Network security concerns also plagued survey respondents, with nearly half (49%) of businesses reporting they were subject to an attack in the last 12 months. Of those decision-makers that who experienced a network security attack, 42% said company data was most frequently attacked, with 35% of respondents saying the breaches “usually result in data loss.”

“These findings reinforce the urgency for enterprises to prioritize resilient and secure network connectivity as industries across the U.S. navigate uncertain economic climates, emerging technology, advanced threat landscapes, increasing consumer demands, and talent shortages,” said Donna Johnson, CMO at Cradlepoint, in a statement. “Controllable, scalable, and secure networks for critical business functions come with strategic 5G adoption.”

Network Security, Networking, Private 5G

BackBox strengthens automation platform with configuration management capabilities

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 05:18:54 +0100

BackBox this week announced it has added network configuration management (NCM) capabilities to its flagship Network Automation Platform that the company says will enable network operations teams to improve security, enhance performance, and resolve incidents faster.

BackBox NCM now incorporates configuration management automation into its NetOps workflows, adds a searchable repository, and integrates with ServiceNow. NCM capabilities can be used by organizations to keep network and security devices running efficiently, and the technology can also help maintain accurate, secure configurations that are compliant with company or other policies.

“BackBox NCM’s no-code automation means that engineers don’t also have to be developers,” said Josh Stephens, CTO emeritus and board advisor at BackBox, in a statement. “The API-first approach means that any automation can be integrated into a NetOps workflow.”

In larger enterprises, configuration drift can occur when events or changes alter configurations. But trying to manually track configurations across myriad devices and store accurate configuration data can be daunting for network operations. If a device configuration changes, it can open an environment to security threats or cause performance issues. Industry watchers, such as Gartner, catalog configuration management capabilities as standard for network automation platforms.

“More than 65% of enterprise networking activities are performed manually,” according to Gartner’s Market Guide for Network Automation Platforms. “Multivendor network automation platforms help organizations scale the level of network automation and create workflows that connect disparate automation tools.”

According to Enterprise Management Associates’ recent report, Enterprise Network Automation: Emerging From the Dark Ages and Reaching Toward NetDevOps, “Security policy management, configuration compliance management, and network validation/assurance are the more important features organizations are seeking” from network automation tools. Of 354 IT professionals surveyed by EMA for the report, nearly 27% said that configuration compliance monitoring/alerting/enforcement features were most important to their organization, second only to almost 32% of respondents citing security policy design/implementation/audit as a critical capability.

“In the world of network automation, tool categories are emerging that solve very specific problems around network automation, such as task orchestration, configuration management, data management (e.g., network sources of truth), and network validation (network modeling and digital twins),” the EMA report states.

BackBox built NCM into its automation platform, enabling:

Improved network configuration performance and scalability
API-first driven integration
Automated tasks without scripting
Broad multivendor support, including firewalls and other security devices
BackBox backups, OS updates, compliance, and network vulnerability management

The updated automation platform now also includes integration with ServiceNow, which will improve device discovery because the BackBox Automation Platform can directly connect to the ServiceNow configuration management database (CMDB) to import devices. Another integration win, according to the company, is that network operators will now be able to automate trouble-ticketing with the ability to open and close tickets, populate technical details into a ticket, and streamline problem investigation.

The BackBox Network Automation Platform is a virtual appliance that can either be run on-premises or in a data center or delivered by BackBox via a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. The software supports network and security devices from more than 180 vendors, using an API-first approach for integrating with other applications in the network operations center. The platform ships with 3,000 automations out of the box, which can be tailored to specific customer environments.

Data Center Automation, Network Management Software, Network Security

SD-WAN, SASE outpace MPLS investments: survey

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 13:54:23 +0100

A new report from SASE vendor Aryaka highlights the increasing convergence of specific networking and security technologies as well as the trend among enterprise businesses to drive collaboration across network and security teams.

The vendor’s Secure Network Transformation report found that 70% of respondents see the benefits of combining SD-WAN with security services at the edge using secure access service edge (SASE) technologies. Advantages include more robust network operations and security (cited by 34%), less operational burden (24%), and vendor consolidation (19%). More than 90% of the 202 IT, network, and security directors polled said they believe that SD-WAN technology is either mature or somewhat mature, while 85% stated the same about SASE technologies. In addition, 84% of those surveyed plan to increase their investment and dependence on cloud services including SD-WAN and SASE.

“Our report shows that the IT and network security landscape is undergoing a major transformation driven by the rise of hybrid work models and the ever-increasing adoption of AI and cloud-based applications and services,” said Pete Harteveld, chief revenue officer at Aryaka, in a statement.

According to the Aryaka report, the top challenges faced by networking and security leaders in managing WANs and enterprise network connectivity are:

Complexity of connecting different network domains (cloud, branch, wireless, etc.): 41%
Cost: 26%
Complexity of choosing the types of network technologies (MPLS, internet, SD-WAN, wireless, broadband, etc): 20%
Expertise and knowledge: 10%
Other: 3%

“The direction of integrating networks and security is clear cut. After all, networks carry the applications traffic, so that it makes sense that putting packet-level filtering and security functions into the network can improve the overall cybersecurity posture of the organizations,” the Aryaka report states. The survey revealed that 65% of respondents believe SASE will grow as a strategy to implement a more agile, pervasive security strategy. And 78% of those surveyed said they have hybrid plans for network and security either immediately or in the next six to 12 months.

Industry watchers have also pointed to SD-WAN and SASE as drivers for greater collaboration between networking and security teams, with multicloud environments also playing a significant role.

“SASE converges network and security solutions into an integrated architecture, so it makes sense that these groups would come together to implement and operationalize it. Multicloud adds significant complexity to networking and security at a time when both these groups are fighting to regain influence and control over cloud strategy,” wrote Shamus McGillicuddy, research director for the network management practice at Enterprise Management Associates, in a Network World article. “EMA believes that strong collaboration between the two groups can help both gain more credibility in the cloud.”

Aryaka’s report noted a move away from Multiprotocol Label Switching services, with 76% of those surveyed planning to eliminate MPLS within the next few years and 10% reporting that they have already eliminated MPLS completely. According to the survey, IT, network, and security leaders are not planning to continue investments in MPLS.

Eliminate MPLS in 2-3 years: 40%
Eliminate MPLS in a year: 36%
No MPLS: 10%
Use both MPLS and alternatives: 9%
Invest more in MPLS: 5%

Other trends Aryaka identified include demand for new cloud services including AI, hybrid work and infrastructure, and zero-trust security approaches and application-level security.

MPLS, Network Management Software, Network Monitoring, Network Security, Networking, SASE

INC Ransom claims to be behind 'cyber incident' at UK city council

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 02:34:49 +0100

This follows attack on NHS services in Scotland last week

The cyber skids at INC Ransom are claiming responsbility for the ongoing cybersecurity incident at Leicester City Council, according to a post caught by eagle-eyed infosec watchers.…

Startup Highway 9 Networks delivers private mobile networks for enterprises

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 11:07:55 +0100

Highway 9 Networks recently emerged from stealth mode with $25 million in seed funding and a vision to provide enterprise companies with SaaS-based private mobile networks that would eliminate gaps in coverage by incorporating cellular technology.

Highway 9, founded by veteran leaders from VMware, introduced the Highway 9 Mobile Cloud, which the company says enables voice and data coverage everywhere, enabling enterprise organizations to have carrier-grade cellular coverage. Founder and CEO Allwyn Sequeira created Highway 9ânamed after the roadway that connects many entrepreneurs in Silicon Valleyâwith several former members of the telco and edge business unit at VMware, including CTO Debashis Basak, vice president of R&D Serge Maskalik, and senior director of R&D Sachin Thakkar. The premise is to bring telco-grade cellular coverage to enterprises to eliminate gaps in coverage, support AI-driven apps, and provide always-on mobile data.

Sequeira explains Highway 9 is taking advantage of a few factors that make it possible for the company to equip enterprise organizations with private mobile networks. âThe combination of availability of free 3.5 GHz bands on smartphones, tablets, and other devices, and the new software-defined 5G stack, as well as a large ecosystem of 5G capable devices, gives us a great starting point to develop the appropriate solution,â Sequeira says.

âThe network is first and foremost built on private cellular technology, and all the mobile devices become first-class citizens of this network. So, the same technology that is used to run an AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon 5G technology is now available to be leveraged in enterprises because the FCC allowed the licensing of the spectrum,â he says. âItâs also important to note that 5G technology is a lot more sophisticated than say Wi-Fi or fixed LANs because when youâre driving in a car, your connection goes from one tower to the other tower, and you donât think twice about it.â

Highway 9 Mobile Cloud includes three components, or layers, to its complete system. For the first layer, Highway 9 sends cellular radio devices to their customers, who can then install them similar to Wi-Fi access pointsâbut fewer because for one radio device customers would need three to five Wi-Fi devices. IT operators install the cellular radio devices in their environment. With the cellular radio devices installed, the environment is then identified and auto-provisioned to the Highway 9 Mobile Cloud.

The second layer is an edge component that contains the 5G protocol layers that enable communications between the cellular radio devices and the packet cores in the control plane on the edge. The edge component with the control plane can be deployed in a few ways: as a virtual machine on premises, on a Kubernetes system, on a standard server, or via the cloud, depending on customer preference. The third component is cloud-based management system provided by Highway 9 that monitors the environment from configuration, providing dashboards and reporting for enterprise customers.

Highway 9 doesnât foresee its Mobile Cloud replacing Wi-Fi across all enterprise organizations, but Sequeira expects to see early adopters among a few industries. For instance, he says environments where mobility and connectivity, such as higher education, manufacturing, and commercial real estate, are needed in lockstep are good candidates for this technology. He also expects healthcare to be interested in how to maintain secure, mobile connections across hospital campuses.

âConnecting to mobile devices has become a utility for many industries. A lot of people have invested a lot of money into Wi-Fi, and I donât think it replaces that,â says Sequeira. âWe will address these new use cases, where mobility is important, where coverage is important, where connection is important.â

Industry watchers say bringing cellular technology to enterprise environments could address connectivity challenges for businesses that need higher levels of connectivity but cannot deploy their own carrier-grade network.

“Private mobile networking and private 5G have the opportunity to fundamentally transform enterprise communications and accelerate digital automation,â said Zeus Kerravala, founder and principal analyst at ZK Research, in a statement. âBut todayâs offerings arenât forward-leaning or ready for widespread enterprise usage because theyâre still complex and telecom-centric. What enterprises need is a simplified and cloud-native approach, essentially a mobile cloud, and thatâs what Highway 9 is bringing to market.â

Customers, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Mass., can deploy a private mobile network that will provide connectivity in places where Wi-Fi doesnât always perform. For instance, on a campus with indoor and outdoor resources as well as garages and staircases. For MIT, Highway 9âs Mobile Cloud allows the IT team to provide secure connectivity across the campus.

âIn our dynamic environment across the MIT campus, we need to ensure that students, faculty, staff, and others can always connect securely to their apps and data â¦ wherever they are and whatever theyâre doing,â said Mark Silis, vice president information systems & technology at MIT, in a statement. âThe Highway 9 Mobile Cloud provides a platform-level solution to help us do this, while saving us significant time through their cloud-based operations and tiers of integration.â

Startup snapshot: Highway 9 Networks

Year founded: 2020
Funding: $25 million
Headquarters: Santa Clara, Calif.
CEO: Allwyn Sequeira
What they do: Enterprise Mobile Cloud
Competitors: Distributed antenna systems (DAS), which extend carrier cellular networks into the enterprise
Named customer: MIT

5G, Networking, Private 5G, Wi-Fi

SolarWinds amps up observability software with AI

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 19:20:26 +0100

SolarWinds added AI-based enhancements to its observability solutions that will enable IT teams to more easily monitor complex, distributed on-premises and cloud environments from anywhere. The upgrades promise to provide visibility into gaps created when workloads are moved from on-premises to cloud environments, helping IT teams spot and prevent performance incidents.

SolarWinds Observability is a SaaS offering that the company says provides visibility across the cloud-native, on-prem, and hybrid technology stack to speed problem resolution and reduce the noise of multiple system alerts for IT professionals. It also can deliver a view across multi-cloud environments, alongside on-premises network and infrastructure assets.

âWe are giving our users the ability to not only have cloud visibility but also that on-premises network and infrastructure visibility by connecting those together,â says Jeff Stewart, field CTO and vice president, global solutions engineering, observability at SolarWinds. âGiving our customers insight into that level of detail even across the telco networks has been pretty significant.â

As part of its Hybrid Cloud Observability (HCO) capabilities, SolarWinds supports Azure and AWS and is able to see into those environments, letting IT teams look at what is happening outside of their own networks. Whether IT professionals are being mandated to move workloads to the cloud or they are doing it naturally, SolarWinds will be able to give them a view into activity between on-prem and cloud environments. âWe provide visibility into applications that are cloud-native but also the performance connected down to the end user themselves,â Stewart explains.

SolarWinds observability can provide visibility across on-premises and cloud network devices, virtual machines, hypervisors, containers, Kubernetes, and infrastructure-as-a-service resources.

âSolarWinds also recently upgraded their cloud-native Kubernetes and container support. This helps with the expansion to CloudOps and cloud-native-centricÂ teams and buyers,â says Stephen Elliot, Group Vice President at IDC.

With this release, AIOps-enabled pattern recognition and anomaly detection can provide insights into correlated alerts and events to accelerate root cause analysis, helping IT teams to be more productive. SolarWinds also extended its observability capabilities by adding query explorer and visual explain plans.

âBuilt into the AI-based platform, we are doing things such as health score analysis, which looks at all the entities of a particular day, application stack, or technology stack, and provides a score based off of performance,â Stewart explains. âWe are also applying AI and [machine learning] to look at nominal anomalies and seasonality to really try to reduce what IT teams must focus on to the most important things. Essentially, hereâs what is healthy, and here is what you need to look at more closely.â

The recent updates point to SolarWindsâ efforts to expand from a product company to a platform provider, according to industry watchers.

âSolarWinds is moving from a product to a platform capability story. They are expanding their communities from IT operations to include a plethora of buyers across technology domains (site reliability engineers, DevOps, security, server management, CloudOps),â Elliot says. âThe company has been transforming business functions across product and pricing models (from perpetual to SaaS and subscription delivery models) under CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna who joined just over three years ago.â

The updated capabilities are available now, with both perpetual and subscription licensing options for customers. âWe have also made enhancements to the licensing and deployment model allowing flexibility and simplicity for customers,â Stewart added.

SolarWinds will share more details about the enhancements to its observability solutions including hybrid on-prem and cloud visibility capabilities during its virtual event, SolarWinds Day, this week.

Data Center, Generative AI, Network Management Software

FBI’s LockBit Takedown Postponed a Ticking Time Bomb in Fulton County, Ga.

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 03:35:18 +0100

The FBI's takedown of the LockBit ransomware group last week came as LockBit was preparing to release sensitive data stolen from government computer systems in Fulton County, Ga. But LockBit is now regrouping, and the gang says it will publish the stolen Fulton County data on March 2 unless paid a ransom. LockBit claims the cache includes documents tied to the county's ongoing criminal prosecution of former President Trump, but court watchers say teaser documents published by the crime gang suggest a total leak of the Fulton County data could put lives at risk and jeopardize a number of other criminal trials.

Service Mesh Linkerd Moves Its Stable Releases Behind a Paywall

Sat, 24 Feb 2024 20:53:31 +0100

TechTarget notes it was Linkerd's original developers who coined the term "service mesh" — describing their infrastructure layer for communication between microservices. But "There has to be some way of connecting the businesses that are being built on top of Linkerd back to funding the project," argues Buoyant CEO William Morgan. "If we don't do that, then there's no way for us to evolve this project and to grow it in the way that I think we all want." And so, TechTarget reports... Beginning May 21, 2024, any company with more than 50 employees running Linkerd in production must pay Buoyant $2,000 per Kubernetes cluster per month to access stable releases of the project... The project's overall source code will remain available in GitHub, and edge, or experimental early releases of code, will continue to be committed to open source. But the additional work done by Buoyant developers to backport minimal changes so that they're compatible with existing versions of Linkerd and to fix bugs, with reliability guarantees, to create stable releases will only be available behind a paywall, Morgan said... Morgan said he is prepared for backlash from the community about this change. In the last section of a company blog post FAQ about the update, Morgan included a question that reads, in part, "Who can I yell at...?" But industry watchers flatly pronounced the change a departure from open source. "By saying, 'Sorry but we can no longer afford to hand out a production-ready product as free open source code,' Buoyant has removed the open source character of this project," said Torsten Volk, an analyst at Enterprise Management Associates. "This goes far beyond the popular approach of offering a managed version of a product that may include some additional premium features for a fee while still providing customers with the option to use the more basic open source version in production." Open source developers outside Buoyant won't want to contribute to the project — and Buoyant's bottom line — without receiving production-ready code in return, Volk predicted. Morgan conceded that these are potentially valid concerns and said he's open to finding a way to resolve them with contributors... "I don't think there's a legal argument there, but there's an unresolved tension there, similar to testing edge releases — that's labor just as much as contributing is. I don't have a great answer to that, but it's not unique to Buoyant or Linkerd." And so, "Starting in May, if you want the latest stable version of the open source Linkerd to download and run, you will have to go with Buoyant's commercial distribution," according to another report (though "there are discounts for non-profits, high-volume use cases, and other unique needs.") The Cloud Native Computing Foundation manages the open source project. The copyright is held by the Linkerd authors themselves. Linkerd is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license. Buoyant CEO William Morgan explained in an interview with TNS that the changes in licensing are necessary to continue to ensure that Linkerd runs smoothly for enterprise users. Packaging the releases has also been demanding a lot of resources, perhaps even more than maintaining and advancing the core software itself, Morgan explained. He likened the approach to how Red Hat operates with Linux, which offers Fedora as an early release and maintains its core Linux offering, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for commercial clients. "If you want the work that we put into the stable releases, which is predominantly around, not just testing, but also minimizing the changes in subsequent releases, that's hard hard work" requiring input from "world-leading experts in distributed systems," Morgan said. "Well, that's kind of the dark, proprietary side of things."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

GarageSale 9.6 - Create outstanding eBay auctions.

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 19:31:25 +0100

GarageSale lets you comfortably create, launch and track your listings. Manage your sales and inventory. Simplify your eBay life and use the most advanced eBay seller tool for Mac.

Listing Creator

GarageSale's main goal is to provide you with everything that you need to create and start attractive eBay listings - with ease. To meet this goal GarageSale offers all the needed eBay options for private and for business sellers and lets you edit and style your item description and images. GarageSale helps you with the complexity of the eBay system by keeping you informed about potential eBay traps and error messages. Listing on eBay is fun again!

Tracking

GarageSale tracks the state of your listings and orders. It shows all information about your listing, like current bid, watchers, sold item, listing fees and everything else. When a listing has finished you'll be informed about the buyer's name, the address and all transaction details. The order state is synced with eBay.

Synching

If you work with GarageSale on severals Macs you might find the Synching feature helpful. Once enabled your GarageSale database will be synched between your Macs. Please see the Synching chapter in the manual for all details.

Parts Compatibility

When listing vehicle parts, you can specify a list of compatible vehicles on eBay USA Motors, eBay Germany, eBay Australia and eBay UK. Make sure the category you selected supports parts compatibility.

CSV Import for Listings and Inventory

GarageSale can import listings from files in arbitrary CSV formats. You can specify what column in your CSV file is mapped to what listing or inventory field in GarageSale. Instead of importing you can also instruct GarageSale to just update existing listings from the data in the CSV file based on the SKU.

Orders

GarageSale's Orders sections keep track of incoming orders. It shows information about the order status, purchased items and provides you with all buyer details that you need to process the order and to ship your items. If needed you can communicate with your buyers by sending an eBay message. Once the item is shipped, upload the tracking ID to eBay and leave feedback right from within GarageSale.

Packing Slips and Invoices

Print packing slips that you can add to the shipment or use them to help you find the ordered items in your warehouse. Do you have a label printer? Simply print the buyer's address using the address label template (29mm). If you're familiar to HTML you can create your own labels, too. Create invoices by sending the data from your orders to the GrandTotal invoice application.

Revise, Relist, Auto-Restart

If you need to modify a listing after starting it, you can do this easily from within GarageSale. Finished listings that haven't received any bids or didn't sell can be relisted without paying listing fees twice (depending on eBay's relisting policy). GarageSale is also giving you control over what listing attributes to update. This way you can keep your recent sales score for fixed-price items and retain your Best Match rank in eBay's search result.

The automatic restart feature starts new listings once your item has sold out on eBay. Using "re-list" will preserve the existing search rank of your ended listing and carry it over to the re-listed listing. This feature is linked with GarageSale's inventory management: If you have less inventory in stock than what you are offering for sale in your listing, GarageSale will not start the listing.

To revise, relist or to stop a listing open the "More" button in GarageSale's toolbar or the "Listing" menu in GarageSale's menu bar.

And more...

New 'Insert Link To Listing…' command lets you add links to other listings to your description
Displays eBay avatar images for seller accounts
The zip code from your listing's location settings ('Advanced' tab in the Inspector) is now used for calculating shipping rates when using calculated shipping
Improved eBay fee preview on eBay Germany
Updated Preview to better match the look of eBay's latest website changes
Location settings can be opened from package details window
Location and package settings can be opened from Preview
Fixed 'Bold' button in Preview mode's formatting toolbar
Added a new 'Days Since Start' smart group rule for listings
Added 'Days Since Order Received' smart group rule in the Orders section
Smart groups can be duplicated
Added 'Order Date' as sorting option for order smart groups
Added 'Start Time' as sorting option for listing smart groups
Added warning when deleting smart groups to prevent accidental deletion
Added 'startDate' to listing JavaScript commands (this time for real)
Fixed Dark Mode issues in JavaScript editor
Added 'watchers' and 'views' to listing JavaScript commands
Listing overview mode uses 'eBay gallery' image instead of listing's first image
Fixed wrong title for "Delete Smart Groups" command when multiple smart groups are selected
Improved check mark image in Lauch Control for better Dark Mode appearance
Fixed recognition of changed 'reply to'-links in eBay Message to eBay GarageSale's reply window
The 'Apply current Changes from eBay' command can import missing images from eBay
Increased feedback comment length to 500 characters

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Weight Watchers Punkte berechnen - so geht's

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 10:00:03 +0100

Ihre verfügbaren Weight Watchers-Punkte können Sie selbst berechnen. Die Anzahl an Points baut sich anhand verschiedener Faktoren auf. … ... mehr

Forward Networks boosts digital twin platform with generative AI

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 17:52:27 +0100

Forward Networks today introduced AI Assist, a new capability integrated into its flagship digital-twin platform that lets network and security professionals use natural language prompts to conduct queries across devices and environments to expedite problem identification and resolution.

AI Assist works with Network Query Engine (NQE), tapping into the network device and cloud data in the Forward Enterprise digital twin platform to help streamline network operations and provide insights into network behavior. AI Assist can also generate natural language explanations for existing queries, helping IT teams to more quickly make sense of the search results.

âWe offer a software platform that collects the running configuration from networking devices, such as switches, routers, load balancers, firewalls, and more. It collects a running configuration from these devices and builds a behaviorally accurate, end-to-end model of the network,â says Nikhil Handigol, co-founder of Forward Networks. âWe are developing the worldâs leading networking large language model (LLM), laying the groundwork for the future features that proactively assist engineers, enhance the efficiency and safety of changes, and aid in determining optimal network configurations.â

Forward Enterprise automatically discovers and creates a topology, or a digital twin, of enterprise networks including on-premises and cloud infrastructure. It creates an inventory of all possible routes that traffic can take in the network, eliminating the need for network teams to do this manually by mapping packet flows or using a ping and traceroute.

Industry watchers say that the complexity of modern network environments is too difficult to track by purely manual efforts.

âIt is increasingly difficult for enterprise network teams to keep up with the growing rate of software updates from vendors. [Infrastructure and operations] leaders must begin using network digital twins to reduce risk and chaos by automating testing their configuration, policies, and equipment,â according to a recent Gartner report. The research firm predicts that âby 2027, 15% of enterprise customers will be using campus network digital twins for testing or validation, up from less than 1% in 2023.â

Digital twin technology lets network and security engineers understand the components in the environment and identify vulnerabilities due to configuration issues or how a change could impact overall network performance. The software takes snapshots of traffic patterns and infrastructure changes to understand how applications will behave in the environment. Via the twin, network engineers can see how applications will behave over their network, while quickly pinpointing where devices or software configurations are out of alignment with required policies. The digital twin automatically stays updated through continuous monitoring, which can also be set to verify network configurations against corporate policies.

âIn this hyper-connected digital business environment, networks and networking staff are under tremendous pressure to heighten service integrity and capabilities on a continual basis,â said IDCâs Mark Leary, research director, network observability and automation. âIDC research indicates that those organizations that leverage the power of AI across their network infrastructure are driving greater gains in operational efficiency, digital experience, and key financial measurements. Forward Networksâ purpose-built networking LLM, coupled with their comprehensive digital twin platform, represents a promising advancement in bolstering network resiliency and responsiveness.â

AI Assist is available now in Forward Enterprise as part of the platformâs NQE search functionality.

Generative AI, Network Management Software, Network Security

Cato Networks extends SASE platform with XDR, EPP capabilities

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 14:37:02 +0100

Cato Networks today announced it expanded its cloud-based SASE platform to also offer extended detection and response (XDR) and endpoint protection platform (EPP) capabilities that will enable security teams to consolidate security tools and streamline security incident detection, prevention, and resolution.

âBusiness has become much more fluid. Everything is anywhere. A form factor for the business needs to be fluid, and whatâs fluid? A cloud network,â says Schlomo Kramer, CEO and co-founder of Cato Networks. âWe came up with this concept that at the time didnât have a name, which is embedding network security in the cloud network and providing simplicity and guardrails. Now we are simplifying and reducing the cost of running security while providing the agility to address fast-moving business requirements.â

Cato is part of a growing market of secure access service edge (SASE) providers, which Gartner defines as those that deliver multiple converged network and security-as-a-service capabilities, such as software-defined WAN, secure web gateway, cloud access security broker, network firewalling, and zero trust network access. Cato is adding to its SASE platform with additional security-based capabilities that Kramer says customers need most now.

âWe look at our customers and what they need to do: They need to reduce the attack surface. They need to understand what is the risk, what is the exposure, and we provide what they need to prevent attacks based on policy. We do what they need to detect whatever attacks that cannot be prevented, and what they need to respond to that,â Kramer says. âEPP is fully integrated into the platform in such a way that allows a single decision to take into account what happens on the endpoint in the network.â

Cato SASE Cloud runs on a private global backbone of more than 75 points of presence (PoPs) connected via multiple SLA-backed network providers. The PoPs software continuously monitors the providers for latency, packet loss, and jitter to determine in real-time the best route for every packet. Cato applies optimization and acceleration to all traffic going through the backbone to enhance application performance and the user experience. To ensure all locations benefit, Cato optimizes traffic from all the edges and toward all destinationsâon premises and in the cloud.

Customers report that consolidating security functionality into fewer tools helps them gain better visibility and speed up incident response times. Rednerâs Markets, an employee-owned supermarket chain with 75 locations headquartered in Reading, Pa., is an early adopter of the now generally available XDR capabilities in the Cato SASE Cloud platform. Nick Hidalgo, vice president of IT and Infrastructure at Rednerâs Markets, says that even while using tools from other vendors, he already sees the benefit of Catoâs added XDR capabilities.

âThe Cato XDR news is great. Currently, we are using XDR solutions from other vendors. The Cato XDR can see everything native on the network. No need to push feeds or APIs,â Hidalgo explains. âHaving this capability now baked into our Cato SASE Cloud fabric will now be a game changer. Once automation and endpoint data are added we should have a self-defending network, which is every IT leaderâs dream.â

Industry watchers have been touting security tools and capability consolidation for some time, with the advent of SASE and other cloud-based technologies. According to a Gartner survey of 418 respondents, â57% of organizations are working with fewer than 10 vendors for their security needs, as they are looking to optimize to fewer vendors in key areas like [SASE] and [XDR].â While about 30% of organizations reported consolidating security tools was an effort to reduce spending on licensing, 65% of organizations said they consolidated to improve risk posture, Gartner says.

âSecurity and risk management leaders must consider XDR and SASE as compelling options to start their consolidation journey,â said Dionisio Zumerle, VP analyst at Gartner, said in a statement. âSASE provides secure enterprise access, while XDR focuses on detecting and responding to threats through increased visibility on networks, cloud, endpoints, and other components.â

Network Security, SASE

Famous XKCD Comic Comes Full Circle With AI Bird-Identifying Binoculars

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 11:21:51 +0100

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Last week, Austria-based Swarovski Optik introduced the AX Visio 10x32 binoculars, which the company says can identify over 9,000 species of birds and mammals using image recognition technology. The company is calling the product the world's first "smart binoculars," and they come with a hefty price tag -- $4,799. "The AX Visio are the world's first AI-supported binoculars," the company says in the product's press release. "At the touch of a button, they assist with the identification of birds and other creatures, allow discoveries to be shared, and offer a wide range of practical extra functions." The binoculars, aimed mostly at bird watchers, gain their ability to identify birds from the Merlin Bird ID project, created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. As confirmed by a hands-on demo conducted by The Verge, the user looks at an animal through the binoculars and presses a button. A red progress circle fills in while the binoculars process the image, then the identified animal name pops up on the built-in binocular HUD screen within about five seconds. In 2014, a famous xkcd comic strip titled Tasks depicted someone asking a developer to create an app that, when a user takes a photo, will check whether the user is in a national park (deemed easy due to GPS) and check whether the photo is of a bird (to which the developer says, "I'll need a research team and five years"). The caption below reads, "In CS, it can be hard to explain the difference between the easy and the virtually impossible." It's been just over nine years since the comic was published, and while identifying the presence of a bird in a photo was solved some time ago, these binoculars arguably go further by identifying the species of the bird in the photo (it also keeps track of location due to GPS). While apps to identify bird species already exist, this feature is now packed into a handheld pair of binoculars.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Trypa Lite 1.7.2 - Automate your automations.

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 11:00:55 +0100

Trypa Lite is the lite version, same as the Trypa but free and limited to one trigger.

Trypa Lite is a menubar app, fully sandboxed, has low energy usage, and all data stays on the device, this free version supports a single trigger, so you can try out nearly of the functionality.

Need more? Go further and pass input data from your Trypa triggers directly into your shortcuts to speak trigger names or chain more complex shortcuts.

Trypa also gives Trypa functionality into your existing Mac Shortcuts, so you can access data from Trypa from within your existing workflows.

Key Features:

Simple to use, set up your first trigger in a few seconds
Powerful Environmental, Hardware and System watchers - see below
Trigger MacOS Shortcuts & pass input to the shortcuts.
Access Trypa though Shortcuts.app directly to disable trigger and read watchers
Intel and Apple Silicon native
Sandboxed with a hardened runtime
Teeny footprint, let than 7MB

Release notes were unavailable when this listing was updated.

Download Now

Has Red Hat's decision to restrict access to the full source code to customers only had any practical impact on the downstream distributions?

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 22:46:22 +0100

I've never used RHEL as a server distro (my homelab runs Debian, btw) but now that roughly 6 months separates us from the kerfuffle, has the decision to limit access to source code had any practical impact on downstream distributions Red Hat was trying to strangle?

For example, has the delay between RHEL releasing a critical security patch and Rocky/Alma patching the same CVE increased? Has there been any organisations who have backed away from using Rocky/Alma in production due to this? Has RHEL made any attempts to further harm downstreams distros? Have any customers/accounts been actually terminated for sharing the source code?

I'd appreciate it if any RHEL watchers could chime in. Thanks.

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IBM: Barriers impact enterprise AI adoption but technology’s value is significant

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 15:52:55 +0100

Greater availability of development tools, the desire to reduce costs and automation are driving the enterprise adoption of AI but challenges such as employee skillsets, data complexity, and ethical concerns remain as barriers to widespread adoption if the technology.

Those were a few of the core findings in a new study published by IBM that surveyed over 8,500 IT professionals worldwide to determine the deployment of AI in enterprise â that is organizations with more than 1,000 employees.

The study found that about 42% of enterprise-scale organizations already have AI actively in use with 59% of those organizations planning to grow the use and investment in the technology going forward. Companies with 1,000 or fewer employees are less likely than larger companies to be adopting general AI and generative AI, the study found.

âMore accessible AI tools, the drive for automation of key processes, and increasing amounts of AI embedded into off-the-shelf business applications are top factors driving the expansion of AI at the enterprise level,â said Rob Thomas, senior vice president of IBM Software wrote in a statement. âWe see organizations leveraging AI for use cases where I believe the technology can most quickly have a profound impact like IT automation, digital labor, andâ¯customer care.â

AI is contributing to multiple facets of organizational operations, with IT process automation and marketing being the most popular applications. IT Professionals are at the forefront of AI usage at their companies and note the importance of being able to build and run AI projects wherever their data resides. Confidence in these capabilities is high, as most IT Professionals are confident that their company has the right tools to find data across the business, the study found.

Many of those companies already exploring or deploying AI have accelerated their roll-out of AI in the past two years, with âresearch and developmentâ and âworkforce upskillingâ emerging as top investment priorities, IBM stated. In the dynamic landscape of generative AI, companies are increasingly utilizing open source technology, with an even split in use between in-house and open-source technologies, IBM stated.

Among companies citing AIâs use to address labor or skills shortages, the study found that they are tapping AI to do things like reduce manual or repetitive tasks with automation toolsâ¯(55%)â¯or automate customer self-service answers and actionsâ¯(47%).

The study found that the top AI use cases include:

Automation of IT processesâ¯(33%)
Security and threat detectionâ¯(26%)
AI monitoring or governanceâ¯(25%)â¯
Business analytics or intelligence and â¯automating processing; understanding; and flow of documentsâ¯(24%)
Automating customer or employee self-service answers and actionsâ¯(23%)â¯
Automation of business processes; â¯automation of network processes; digital labor; marketing and sales; and fraud detectionâ¯(22%)

On the obstacles side, challenges such as limited knowledge, a lack of AI development tools, and high costs hinder adoption, IBM stated. In the context of generative AI, additional obstacles emerge, including data privacy concerns and a persistent shortage of implementation skills, IBM stated.

The top barriers hindering successful AI adoption at enterprises both exploring or deploying AI areâ¯limited AI skills and expertise (33%) and too much data complexity (25%) among them. For example, most organizations (63%) are using 20 or more data sources to inform AI, BI, and analytics systems according to IT professionals surveyed.

Ethical concerns (23%), AI projects that are too difficult to integrate and scaleâ¯(22%),â¯high priceâ¯(21%),â¯and lack of tools for AI model developmentâ¯(21%), are also barriers, according to the IBM study.â¯â¯

Industry watchers see huge potential for AI technologies â IDC, for example, says enterprise spending on generative AI services, software and infrastructure will skyrocket over the next four years, jumping from $16 billion this year to $143 billion in 2027. However, the vast majority of companies arenât ready for it. Just 14% of organizations surveyed in Ciscoâs recently published readiness index said they are fully prepared to deploy and leverage AI-powered technologies.

In particular, Cisco found that most current enterprise networks are not equipped to meet AI workloads. Businesses understand that AI will increase infrastructure workloads, but only 17% have networks that are fully flexible to handle the complexity.

â23% of companies have limited or no scalability at all when it comes to meeting new AI challenges within their current IT infrastructures,â Cisco stated. âTo accommodate AIâs increased power and computing demands, more than three-quarters of companies will require further data center graphics processing units (GPUs) to support current and future AI workloads. In addition, 30% say the latency and throughput of their network is not optimal or sub-optimal, and 48% agree that they need further improvements on this front to cater to future needs.â

Enterprise, Generative AI

IT job growth flattens as economic concerns persist

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 21:21:46 +0100

The number of new IT jobs created in calendar year 2023 flattened with just 700 positions added, which signals continued concern among hiring managers around economic uncertainty and growing demand for skills focused on emerging technologies. For comparison, 2022 saw 267,000 jobs added, with industry watchers attributing the dramatic difference to tech layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.

According to Janco Associates, despite companies adding some 21,300 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2023, the overall increase for the entire calendar year still comes to just 700 new positions. Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics analyzed by Janco, the unemployment rate for IT professionals dropped below the national unemployment rate (3.7%). According to data from CompTIA, tech occupations throughout the economy dropped by 210,00 in November 2023, and the unemployment rate for tech occupations fell to 1.7%, making it less than half the national rate. There are currently some 88,000 unfilled positions in the IT sector and 86,000 reported unemployed IT professionals, according to Janco.

âBased on our analysis, the IT job market and opportunities for IT professionals are poor at best. In the past 12 months, telecommunications lost 26,400 jobs, content providers lost 9,300 jobs, and other information services lost 10,300 jobs,â said M. Victor Janulaitis, CEO at Janco, in a statement. âGainers in the same period were computer system designers gaining 32,300 jobs and hosting providers gaining 14,000.â

A few sets of circumstances have come together to create the current conditions that IT job seekers face. For one, many companies reported adding too much headcount during the pandemic, and 2023 saw many companies correcting what they considered a miscalculation when it came to hiring. Many businesses were said to believe pandemic-level growth would continue. Another circumstance directly affecting current hiring plans is the growing popularity of generative AI, machine learning, and other types of technology automation.

âCIOs in large enterprises, experienced Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning IT Professionals remain in high demand. Salaries for those professionals are well into the low six figures. Salaries for management positions with AI skills are in the $150K to $250K range. Experienced managers and developers are getting offers in the $125K to $165K range,â Jancoâs Janulaitis added.

Among large enterprises, positions such as CIO, Webmaster, internet developer, and system support specialist remain in demand, while network services administrator and data communications manager are less in demand, according to Jancoâs most recent data. For midsize enterprises, there is high demand for CIOs, CSOs, network technicians, Wi-Fi LAN application support pros, and system support specialists. There is lower demand for project managers for network tech services and network control analysts among midsize enterprises.

AI is also impacting the growth of entry-level positions, according to Jancoâs findings. The report reveals that entry-level positions in customer service, telecommunications, and hosting automation are flat, and that IT leaders are exploring how to automate processes using emerging technologies where possible.

âThey are focusing on eliminating ânon-essentialâ managers, staff, and services. Experienced coders and developers still have opportunities. The highest demand continues to be for AI, security professionals, programmers, and blockchain processing IT,â Janco reports.

Positive hiring plans in 2024

Separately, Robert Half reports that the job market will remain resilient heading into 2024. According to the talent solutions providerâs recent survey, more than half of U.S. companies plan to increase hiring in the first half of 2024. While the data is not limited to the IT sector, the research shows 57% plan to add new permanent positions in the first six months of the year while another 39% anticipate hiring for vacant positions and 67% will hire contract workers as a staffing strategy.

“Job openings continue to exceed the number of professionals looking for work,” said Dawn Fay, operational president of Robert Half, in a statement. “With hiring expected to increase early in the year, employers need to have a strategic hiring plan in order to land the talent they need.”

IT Jobs

Nvidia eyes Q2 production of delayed AI chip for China

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 19:37:13 +0100

US chipmaker Nvidia will finally in the second quarter of 2024 begin mass production on an artificial intelligence (AI)-focused chip designed for China, a launch that already has been delayed for several months, according to a published report.

The chipmaker had set back its planned November production timeline for the H20 chip â the most powerful of several designed for Chinese manufacturers to comply with recently set US export rules â due to issues that server manufacturers were having integrating the chip.

That production will now begin in Q2 but in a limited quality, with major customers having first dibs on the H20 GPUs, according to a report by Reuters published Tuesday. H20 along with L20 and L2 are all processors Nvidia is designing to meet new US export restrictions set by the Biden administration in October that limit on-chip performance and density for processors exported to China.

This new release plan for H20 is slightly later than some early projections of when the delayed production might begin, which was first speculated to be pushed to February or March, Reuters previously reported.

A Nvidia spokesperson would not comment on the production timeline but did say that the company is “engaged with the US government and, following its clear guidelines, [plans] to offer compliant product solutions to customers worldwide.â

Changing rules and processors

The rules were set by the US Department of Commerce and Bureau of Industry Security, the latter of which measures the total processing power and performance density data and sets export laws. The restrictions were part of a raft of measures that seek to stop Beijing from receiving cutting-edge US technologies to strengthen its military.

The rules made Nvidiaâs latest data center-grade GPUs and many of its high-end retail cards, such as its advanced A800 and H800 AI chips, ineligible for export, spurring the development of modified processors to secure Nvidia’s market position in China.

However, even the forthcoming modified chips don’t rule out a new change in regulation that could ban even H20 and its companion technology for export to China, industry watchers say. In fact, the A800 and H800 themselves were introduced as alternatives for Chinese customers in November 2022 about a month after the U.S. first restricted exports of advanced microchips and equipment to China.

This worry that “another round of restrictions might even make this H20 not compliance-ready in a few months” could even cause some Chinese OEMs to balk at adopting the new chips, noted Guarav Gupta, vice president analyst, emerging technologies and trends, with Gartner Group.

Still, as “there are limited options for China to procure local chips with similar AI capability,” the news that H20 is finally rolling toward production should be positively received â for now, he said.

“That combined with Nvidiaâs ecosystem still makes it attractive for the time â [until] China develops its own capabilities,” Gupta said.

CPUs and Processors, Data Center, Generative AI

Hundreds of US Car Dealerships Abandon Buicks. Are EVs to Blame?

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 13:53:59 +0100

As General Motors prepares to roll out electric versions of its Buicks, "hundreds of Buick dealerships nationwide" are "turning their backs on the storied brand," reports the Boston Globe. "The move to electric Buicks is one reason so many dealers are giving up their Buick franchises, according to auto industry watchers." They say that smaller, low-volume Buick dealers either can't or won't make the big investments needed to begin selling EVs, especially as sales growth in the sector has cooled and unsold electrics are piling up on dealer lots. "I think there are dealers who are just not confident in the electric vehicle transition and they don't want to have to commit to the investment," said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at online car retailer iSeeCars.com... Buick has announced its intention to migrate to an all-electric line of cars by the end of the decade. The brand's first EV is set to go on sale this year. But getting ready to sell EVs is a costly proposition. Dealers must purchase new equipment to service the cars and must pay for worker retraining. GM estimates that the upfront cost to dealers will range between $200,000 and $400,000. "If you're in a market where you're not selling a lot of Buicks, investing a lot to sell electric Buicks may not make a good business case," said Mark Schirmer, spokesperson for Cox Automotive, an Atlanta-based automotive marketing company. While 854,000 Buicks were sold in 1980, just 103,000 were sold in 2022 — down from 207,000 in 2019, according to the article. So in 2022 GM bought out 44 percent of its dealerships (which they say accounted for just 20% of all U.S. Buick sales), with the majority of them still selling other GM brands like Chevrolet and GMC. But the article also includes some perspective from Robert O'Koniewski, executive vice president of the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association. "The only reason GM has kept the Buick alive is that it's popular in China." That's Buick's biggest market by far, thanks to a 50-50 joint venture it launched in 1997 with government-owned SAIC Motor, China's biggest carmaker. The partnership sold 653,000 Chinese Buicks in 2022. But that's a big decline from the 926,000 sold in 2020. Brauer said that Chinese consumers are pulling away from the US brand in favor of Chinese companies like BYD, which passed Tesla in the fourth quarter of 2023 to become the world's largest maker of electric vehicles.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The 10 most powerful companies in enterprise networking 2023

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 15:34:20 +0100

It's been the year of AI, and expectations are high as enterprise network vendors begin to deliver on the promise of AI networking. Industry players have long been touting the benefits of AI-based operations (AIOps) to help resource-constrained network teams troubleshoot and remediate performance issues, and modern network services such as SD-WAN, 5G and SASE rely on AI to automate some network provisioning and security tasks. Now the release of Microsoft-funded ChatGPT has elevated AI to a C-level imperative, and AI innovation is heating up.

Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Nvidia is cranking out GPUs for AI workloads at a record pace, and the hyperscalers are gobbling them up to enhance their AI offerings. Enterprises are racing to embed AI functionality throughout their on-prem and cloud infrastructures. For enterprise network vendors, there's an opportunity to deliver products and services with an extra helping of generative AI smarts.

On a more fundamental level, those GPUs need to move incredible amounts of data, which creates demand for high-performance interconnects. InfiniBand is commonly used for high-performance computing, but Cisco, Arista, Broadcom, HPE and others have created the Ultra Ethernet Consortium with the goal of making Ethernet the industry standard for AI networking.

The 10 power players on this list are able to deliver highly mature offerings in areas of LAN and WAN infrastructure and services, have a strong security play, and are positioning themselves to take full advantage of the AI boom.

Editor's note: Our list is ordered, with input from industry watchers, to reflect the companies that are making the biggest power moves and the broadest impact on the network industry. We’ve evaluated these companies not by size but by their influence in the market and their forward momentum. In other words, there is some subjectivity associated with this list.

1. Cisco: Plunks down cash for Splunk

Why they're here: When you're the dominant vendor in your market seemingly forever, there might be a tendency to get complacent. Not Cisco under CEO Chuck Robbins. Cisco shook up the networking world with the announcement in September that it plans to buy SIEM stalwart Splunk. Robbins explained that integrating Splunk's sophisticated data analytics capabilities will bolster Cisco's AI push. The company reported that it has already taken $500 million in orders for AI Ethernet fabrics, mostly from hyperscalers, and sees the potential for much more. Overall, Cisco continues to run on all cylinders - Ethernet switch revenues increased 55.3% year over year in 2Q23, giving the company a market share of 47.2%. Most recently, Cisco said its backlog is down, and in its fiscal Q1 2024 report, Robbins said the company achieved the strongest Q1 results in its history in both revenue ($14.7 billion) and profitability ($4.5 billion). "After customers implement large amounts of recently shipped product, we expect to see product order growth rates accelerate in the second half of the year," Robbins stated.

Power moves: Aside from the Splunk splash, Cisco has acquired four other companies focused on security: Armorblox, a threat detection platform; Oort, which does identity management; and Valtix and Lightspin, both in cloud security.

By the numbers: $28 billion. The purchase price for Splunk.

Outlook: Cisco recently released a new security service edge (SSE) offering, a new service designed to protect multicloud workloads and a new high-end firewall. But the focus is on AI. Robbins said: "The acceleration of AI will fundamentally change our world and create new growth drivers for us. Cisco’s ASIC design and scalable fabric for AI position us very well to build out the infrastructure that hyperscalers and others need to build AI ML clusters. We expect Ethernet will lead in connecting AI workloads over the next five years."

2. Broadcom: Seals the deal for VMware

Why they're here: The $61 billion purchase of VMware, finalized on Nov. 22, catapults Broadcom into the top echelon of networking power players. The company has cobbled together an impressive lineup of products and services, including semiconductors, storage infrastructure, networking (Brocade), network management (CA) and security (Symantec.) The goal of the VMware deal is to provide enterprises with a way to extend on-prem virtualized workloads to multi-cloud environments.

Power moves: Broadcom bought ConnectALL to expand its value stream management (VSM) capabilities. Research firm IDC reports that VSM has become a high priority investment area for enterprises because it helps companies assess the value generated by software development initiatives.

By the numbers: $2 billion. Seeking to reassure VMware customers anxious about what will happen after the acquisition, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan pledged that the company will spend $2 billion a year to accelerate research and development for VMware products and services.

Outlook: Tan has outlined a clear strategy for Broadcom going forward. He said: "We will invest in extending VMware's software stack to run and manage workloads across private and public clouds, which means any enterprise can run application workloads easily, securely and seamlessly on-prem, or in any cloud platform they prefer." The increased investment will also be focused on building VMware's professional services. Gaining acquisition approval from regulators in China was a significant hurdle for Broadcom to clear; now it needs to absorb VMware without losing customers to competitors that are eagerly offering VMware migration assistance.

3. Arista: Hitting on Ullal cylinders

Why they're here: Arista is a powerhouse in high-performance networking aimed at the most demanding data center and cloud environments. Gartner said Arista is a visionary in wired and wireless infrastructure with its leaf and spine switches, wireless access points, and CloudVision management platform, which provides network automation, integrated security and AI/ML capabilities. Ethernet switch revenue skyrocketed 42.6% year over year, according to IDC's latest tracker, giving the company a 10.4% market share. Third-quarter revenue hit $1.5 billion, up 28% from the third quarter of 2022.

Power moves: Arista recently announced its first foray into the WAN with a product called WAN Routing Systems that is expected to compete in the SD-WAN market. Specific components include hardware routers, virtual and cloud routers, and a WAN management service. Arista has also partnered with Equinix to deploy the WAN routing system in Equinix data centers.

By the numbers: 75 million. Number of cumulative cloud networking ports sold.

Outlook: Similar to Cisco, Arista envisions Ethernet becoming the network standard for AI. The company is one of the founders of the Ultra Ethernet Alliance. Arista President and CEO Jayshree Ullal said: "Generative AI Applications are pushing the envelope of networking scale akin to using all highway lanes simultaneously and efficiently. Once again, Ethernet will ultimately emerge as the winner in networking for AI. Together with IP, Ethernet will drive numerous use cases for AI training and inference. Scalable and efficient mechanisms implemented with packet spraying, flexible ordering and modern congestion control algorithms will be infused into AI-based Ethernet and IP networks. Welcome to the new decade of AI networking."

4. Palo Alto Networks: Seeking SOC transformation

Why they're here: Palo Alto Networks, a longtime power player in next-generation firewalls, has built out an integrated on-prem and cloud security platform. Palo Also is a leader in SD-WAN, SSE and single-vendor SASE, according to Gartner. And the company has an AI play, its extended security intelligence and automation management offering called XSIAM, which is designed to replace traditional SIEM and related point products with a more integrated, automated solution. Palo Alto is also focused on extending security to the software development process with the goal of building security into the full application lifecycle.

Power moves: Palo Alto bought Cider Security, a leader in application security and supply chain security.

By the numbers: $1.9 billion. Palo Alto reported fiscal first-quarter 2024 revenue grew 20% year over year to hit $1.9 billion.

Outlook: CNBC's Jim Cramer recently described Palo Alto as "just kind of unstoppable." Fiscal year 2023 revenue grew 25% to $6.9 billion, and the company is predicting revenue growth in the 16-19% range going forward. “We finished off the year with strong execution and the changing environment drove more customers towards platformization,” said Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks. “Our strategy is resonating with a growing number of our customers, driving continued consolidation, to deliver superior security outcomes. We were delighted with the reception in the market for our AI-based security automation platform, XSIAM.” Palo Alto doesn't just want to offer incremental improvements to enterprise security; the company talks about transformational change through offerings like Cortex XSIAM, which is designed to fundamentally change how security operations centers (SOC) operate. The goal is to embed automation and analytics to reduce manual tasks and create an AI-driven, mostly autonomous SOC.

5. HPE (Aruba): Leaning heavily into AI

Why they're here: AI is at the forefront of HPE's efforts, whether that's building AIOps functionality into Aruba Central, its wired and wireless network management platform, or adding large language model (LLM) offerings to GreenLake, HPE's consumption-based service for edge, on-prem and hybrid cloud computing. HPE (Aruba) is a leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN and also a leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for wired and wireless infrastructure, with its CX switches and Wi-Fi 6/6e access points.

Power moves: HPE bought a slew of companies, including OpsRamp, an IT operations management company; Athonet, a leader in private 5G cellular networking; Pachyderm, whose software automates machine learning pipelines for large-scale AI applications; TidalScale, whose technology creates software-defined servers; and Axis Security, which provides an SSE platform.

By the numbers: $1 billion. The annualized run rate for GreenLake.

Outlook: HPE continues to chart its own path when it comes to generative AI, giving enterprises an alternative to building out AI functionality themselves, or going with a hyperscaler. The company recently announced HPE GreenLake for Large Language Models, which enables enterprises to train, tune, and deploy large-scale AI on a supercomputing platform that combines HPE's AI software and hardware. The platform includes an LLM called Luminous from German startup Aleph Alpha running on HPE Cray supercomputers in colocation facilities. HPE plans to launch AI-based applications in healthcare and life sciences, financial services, manufacturing and transportation. Said CEO Antonio Neri: "We have reached a generational market shift in AI that will be as transformational as the web, mobile and cloud. HPE is making AI, once the domain of well-funded government labs and the global cloud giants, accessible to all."

6. Fortinet: AI-powered networking and security

Why they're here: Sitting at the convergence of networking and security, Fortinet has generally followed the approach of building out its own product line, so the "Forti" brand of products and services is fully integrated from the jump. Gartner calls Fortinet a visionary in wired and wireless LANs. "Its FortiAP and FortiSwitch products are broadly focused on tight integration with network security capabilities leveraging its FortiGate security appliances and FortiCloud and FortiLAN cloud-based management platforms." Fortinet is also leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN. Most recently, the company unveiled Fortinet Advisor, an AI-based assistant aimed at helping security operations teams make more informed decisions, respond to threats faster, and simplify routine and complex tasks.

Power moves: Teamed up with Google to expand its SASE points of presence (PoP) across Google Cloud's global network edge locations.

By the numbers: 31,000. The estimated number of Fortinet's SD-WAN enterprise customers.

Outlook: In its latest reporting period, Fortinet's quarterly revenue increased 16% year-over-year to $1.3 billion, and its service revenue, in particular, rose 28%. The company continues to bolster its product portfolio. It recently announced that FortiSASE, the company's secure access service edge offering, is now integrated with its wireless LAN portfolio with the goal of providing more options for remote workers and distributed edges to connect securely. John Maddison, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of product strategy, said: "We are the only vendor offering fully converged wired and wireless networking and AI-powered security through a single platform, providing visibility and security from the moment a user or device connects to the network.

7. Juniper: Mist opportunities

Why they're here: Juniper has been ahead of the curve when it comes to AI. Juniper bought Mist Systems in 2019 and has been integrating its AI capabilities throughout the Juniper portfolio of routers, switches, wireless access points, firewalls, networking software and cloud-based management systems. Gartner gives Juniper high marks for AI-driven automation, particularly its Marvis virtual network assistant. Juniper said that its AI-driven enterprise revenue is growing 17% year over the year, led by Mist AI, which grew more than 60% year over year. However, Juniper is also facing headwinds; its service provider and cloud revenues have been lagging. And according to IDC, Juniper's router revenue only increased by 2.5% year over year in the second quarter, giving it a 10.3% market share. And while its Ethernet switch revenue grew 35.2% year over year, that didn't move the needle much - Juniper's market share remains below 3%.

Power moves: Juniper announced a $59 million restructuring plan aimed at putting more emphasis on its enterprise networking business, which has been growing faster than service provider or cloud segments.

By the numbers: $433 million. The first quarter of 2023 marked the first time in Juniper's history that its enterprise networking business was the largest of its three core divisions, growing at 18% to reach $433 million.

Outlook: Juniper continues to lead the way in AI-based networking. It recently announced the integration of the ChatGPT AI-based LLM with the Marvis VNA. It has added AI-based predictive threat support to its new family of firewalls. Juniper CEO Rami Rahim said: "AI networking represents a once-in-a-generation inflection point that will present us with complex technical challenges for years to come. And I believe we have the pieces at Juniper to enable this future."

8. Extreme Networks: Extremely focused on integration

Why they're here: Extreme's One Network approach combines wired and wireless networking, plus management software for on-prem and cloud. Gartner said Extreme's strengths are network fabric automation, digital twin capabilities and multivendor integration with Extreme Cloud, its management platform. Extreme is also a leader in AIOps capabilities, which brings the power of AI to help optimize IT operations. The company's fiscal-year 2023 earnings report reflects the strong momentum that Extreme has built: revenue was up 18% for the full year to reach $1.3 billion. In Q1 2024, revenue hit $353 million, up 19% year-over-year.

Power moves: Extreme CEO Ed Meyercord hasn't been shy about publicly calling out Cisco. He boldly said that Extreme offers a fully integrated alternative to Cisco's multiple product lines.

By the numbers: 650. Number of new employees Extreme hired over the past year, many from competing network vendors.

Outlook: Rosenblatt Securities analyst Mike Genovese said: "We think there is fatigue with Cisco’s products in the market, and Extreme’s solutions are strong enough to compare favorably to Juniper’s." Meyercord is also bullish on the future: "We outperformed our original top-line outlook for fiscal 2023, and based on industry analysts, estimates outgrew the market by two times. This, combined with the increase in volume of larger deals and new logos, is a clear indication that we're taking share from our largest competitors." He adds, "Our AIOps solutions are getting traction with customers as they look for new ways to leverage the network to drive better business outcomes."

9. Dell: Bringing AI to on-prem environments

Why they're here: With its powerful portfolio of high-performance computers, storage systems and networking, Dell is perfectly positioned to provide enterprises with a full-stack, on-prem, AI solution. Toward that end, Dell has teamed up with Nvidia to launch Project Helix, designed to help enterprises build and manage generative AI models on-premises. The offering combines Nvidia GPUs, LLM, software and networking with Dell PowerEdge servers and object storage systems. To make generative AI even more accessible to enterprises, Dell is offering preconfigured and pre-tested designs tailored to specific use cases. Project Helix meshes nicely with Dell's Apex as-a-service consumption pricing model, so enterprises can take advantage of generative AI without the upfront capital expenditures.

Power moves: Bought Moogsoft for its AIOps platform that helps companies troubleshoot technical issues in their infrastructure.

By the numbers: $100 million. The amount Dell paid to acquire Cloudify Ltd, whose technology will help Dell enhance its edge computing offerings.

Outlook: Dell positions itself an attractive option for enterprises that want to reduce the complexity associated with a multicloud environment. Dell is teaming up with Microsoft on Dell Apex Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure, an offering that provides a jointly engineered on-prem appliance. Said Dell's Caitlin Gordon: "The whole magic of this is that we have integrated the full stack from the firmware all the way up to the Microsoft software, and that's fully automated." Dell is also planning to deliver Apex Cloud Platforms for VMware and Red Hat OpenShift.

10. Nvidia: Data center dominance

Why they're here: Gaming chip maker Nvidia bet on AI and the company's foresight, planning and execution have paid huge dividends. The company built out a full-stack AI offering that includes its own GPUs, LLM, CUDA AI software, plus networking and switch technology from its acquisition of Mellanox. Hyperscalers are snapping up Nvidia GPUs for their own data centers and Nvidia has teamed up with Dell to offer enterprises an on-prem AI platform.

Power moves: Announced its DGX cloud service, running now on the Oracle cloud and expected to be available soon on Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. DGX Cloud is a hardware and software package that enables enterprises to create generative AI models using Nvidia technology inside the hyperscaler's environment,

By the numbers: $14.5 billion. Nvidia's data center revenue hit $14.5 billion in its latest quarter. Data center revenue is now 80% of the company's total revenue.

Outlook: Nvidia continues to look for ways to spread its AI technology to new markets. It is working with ServiceNow and Accenture on a platform to enable enterprises to build custom AI apps. It has an AI platform for digital twin and robotics technologies. And Nvidia is building specialized chips for the automotive industry. Alexander Harrowell, principal analyst at Omdia, said: "There are plenty of companies that have a powerful neural-network accelerator chip, but there is only one that has Nvidia's software ecosystem." Forrester analyst Glenn O'Donnell said: "There's really no stopping this juggernaut. They will continue to dominate."

CPUs and Processors, Data Center, Generative AI, Network Security, Networking

LTESniffer - An Open-source LTE Downlink/Uplink Eavesdropper

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:05:47 +0100

LTESniffer is An Open-source LTE Downlink/Uplink Eavesdropper

It first decodes the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) to obtain the Downlink Control Informations (DCIs) and Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (RNTIs) of all active users. Using decoded DCIs and RNTIs, LTESniffer further decodes the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) and Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) to retrieve uplink and downlink data traffic.

LTESniffer supports an API with three functions for security applications and research. Many LTE security research assumes a passive sniffer that can capture privacy-related packets on the air. However, non of the current open-source sniffers satisfy their requirements as they cannot decode protocol packets in PDSCH and PUSCH. We developed a proof-of-concept security API that supports three tasks that were proposed by previous works: 1) Identity mapping, 2) IMSI collecting, and 3) Capability profiling.

Please refer to our paper for more details.

LTESniffer in layman's terms

LTESniffer is a tool that can capture the LTE wireless messages that are sent between a cell tower and smartphones connected to it. LTESniffer supports capturing the messages in both directions, from the tower to the smartphones, and from the smartphones back to the cell tower.

LTESniffer CANNOT DECRYPT encrypted messages between the cell tower and smartphones. It can be used for analyzing unencrypted parts of the communication between the cell tower and smartphones. For example, for encrypted messages, it can allow the user to analyze unencrypted parts, such as headers in MAC and physical layers. However, those messages sent in plaintext can be completely analyzable. For example, the broadcast messages sent by the cell tower, or the messages at the beginning of the connection are completely visible.

Ethical Consideration

The main purpose of LTESniffer is to support security and analysis research on the cellular network. Due to the collection of uplink-downlink user data, any use of LTESniffer must follow the local regulations on sniffing the LTE traffic. We are not responsible for any illegal purposes such as intentionally collecting user privacy-related information.

Features

New Update

Supports two USRP B-series for uplink sniffing mode. Please refer to LTESniffer-multi-usrp branch and its README for more details.
Improved the DCI 0 detected in uplink.
Fixed some bugs.

LTESniffer is implemented on top of FALCON with the help of srsRAN library. LTESniffer supports:

Real-time decoding LTE uplink-downlink control-data channels: PDCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH
LTE Advanced and LTE Advanced Pro, up to 256QAM in both uplink and downlink
DCI formats: 0, 1A, 1, 1B, 1C, 2, 2A, 2B
Transmission modes: 1, 2, 3, 4
FDD only
Maximum 20 MHz base station.
Automatically detect maximum UL/DL modulation schemes of smartphones (64QAM/256QAM on DL and 16QAM/64QAM/256QAM on UL)
Automatically detect physical layer configuration per UE.
LTE Security API: RNTI-TMSI mapping, IMSI collecting, UECapability Profiling.

Hardware and Software Requirement

OS Requirement

Currently, LTESniffer works stably on Ubuntu 18.04/20.04/22.04.

Hardware Requirement

Achieving real-time decoding of LTE traffic requires a high-performance CPU with multiple physical cores. Especially when the base station has many active users during the peak hour. LTESniffer was able to achieve real-time decoding when running on an Intel i7-9700K PC to decode traffic on a base station with 150 active users.

The following hardware is recommended

Intel i7 CPU with at least 8 physical cores
At least 16Gb RAM
256 Gb SSD storage

SDR

LTESniffer requires different SDR for its uplink and downlink sniffing modes.

To sniff only downlink traffic from the base station, LTESniffer is compatible with most SDRs that are supported by the srsRAN library (for example, USRP or BladeRF). The SDR should be connected to the PC via a USB 3.0 port. Also, it should be equipped with GPSDO and two RX antennas to decode downlink messages in transmission modes 3 and 4.

On the other hand, to sniff uplink traffic from smartphones to base stations, LTESniffer needs to listen to two different frequencies (Uplink and Downlink) concurrently. To solve this problem, LTESniffer supports two options:

Using a single USRP X310. USRP X310 has two Local Oscillators (LOs) for 2 RX channels, which can turn each RX channel to a distinct Uplink/Downlink frequency. To use this option, please refer to the main branch of LTESniffer.
Using 2 USRP B-Series. LTESniffer utilizes 2 USRP B-series (B210/B200) for uplink and downlink separately. It achieves synchronization between 2 USRPs by using GPSDO for clock source and time reference. To use this option, please refer to the LTESniffer-multi-usrp branch of LTESniffer and its README.

Installation

Important note: To avoid unexpected errors, please follow the following steps on Ubuntu 18.04/20.04/22.04.

Dependencies

Important dependency: UHD library version >= 4.0 must be installed in advance (recommend building from source). The following steps can be used on Ubuntu 18.04. Refer to UHD Manual for full installation guidance.

UHD dependencies:

sudo apt update
sudo apt-get install autoconf automake build-essential ccache cmake cpufrequtils doxygen ethtool \
g++ git inetutils-tools libboost-all-dev libncurses5 libncurses5-dev libusb-1.0-0 libusb-1.0-0-dev \
libusb-dev python3-dev python3-mako python3-numpy python3-requests python3-scipy python3-setuptools \
python3-ruamel.yaml

Clone and build UHD from source (make sure that the current branch is higher than 4.0)

git clone https://github.com/EttusResearch/uhd.git
cd /host
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ../
make -j 4
make test
sudo make install
sudo ldconfig

Download firmwares for USRPs:

sudo uhd_images_downloader

We use a 10Gb card to connect USRP X310 to PC, refer to UHD Manual [1], [2] to configure USRP X310 and 10Gb card interface. For USRP B210, it should be connected to PC via a USB 3.0 port.

Test the connection and firmware (for USRP X310 only):

sudo sysctl -w net.core.rmem_max=33554432
sudo sysctl -w net.core.wmem_max=33554432
sudo ifconfig <10Gb card interface> mtu 9000
sudo uhd_usrp_probe

srsRAN dependencies:

sudo apt-get install build-essential git cmake libfftw3-dev libmbedtls-dev libboost-program-options-dev libconfig++-dev libsctp-dev

LTESniffer dependencies:

sudo apt-get install libglib2.0-dev libudev-dev libcurl4-gnutls-dev libboost-all-dev qtdeclarative5-dev libqt5charts5-dev

Build LTESniffer from source:

git clone https://github.com/SysSec-KAIST/LTESniffer.git
cd LTESniffer
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ../
make -j 4 (use 4 threads)

Usage

LTESniffer has 3 main functions:

Sniffing LTE downlink traffic from the base station
Sniffing LTE uplink traffic from smartphones
Security API

After building from source, LTESniffer is located in /src/LTESniffer

Note that before using LTESniffer on the commercial, one should have to check the local regulations on sniffing LTE traffic, as we explained in the Ethical Consideration.

To figure out the base station and Uplink-Downlink band the test smartphone is connected to, install Cellular-Z app on the test smartphone (the app only supports Android). It will show the cell ID and Uplink-Downlink band/frequency to which the test smartphone is connected. Make sure that LTESniffer also connects to the same cell and frequency.

General downlink sniffing

sudo .//src/LTESniffer -A 2 -W  -f  -C -m 0
example: sudo ./src/LTESniffer -A 2 -W 4 -f 1840e6 -C -m 0
-A: number of antennas
-W: number of threads
-f: downlink frequency
-C: turn on cell search
-m: sniffer mode, 0 for downlink sniffing and 1 for uplink sniffing

Note: to run LTESniffer with USRP B210 in the downlink mode, add option -a "num_recv_frames=512" to the command line. This option extends the receiving buffer for USRP B210 to achieve better synchronization.

sudo .//src/LTESniffer -A 2 -W  -f  -C -m 0 -a "num_recv_frames=512"
example: sudo ./src/LTESniffer -A 2 -W 4 -f 1840e6 -C -m 0 -a "num_recv_frames=512"

General uplink sniffing

Note: In the uplink sniffing mode, the test smartphones should be located nearby the sniffer, because the uplink signal power from UE is significantly weaker compared to the downlink signal from the base station.

sudo .//src/LTESniffer -A 2 -W  -f  -u  -C -m 1
example: sudo ./src/LTESniffer -A 2 -W 4 -f 1840e6 -u 1745e6 -C -m 1
-u: uplink frequency

Security API

sudo .//src/LTESniffer -A 2 -W  -f  -u  -C -m 1 -z 3
example: sudo ./src/LTESniffer -A 2 -W 4 -f 1840e6 -u 1745e6 -C -m 1 -z 3
-z: 3 for turnning on 3 functions of sniffer, which are identity mapping, IMSI collecting, and UECapability profiling.
    2 for UECapability profiling
    1 for IMSI collecting
    0 for identity mapping

Specify a base station

LTESniffer can sniff on a specific base station by using options -I -p . In this case, LTESniffer does not do the cell search but connects directly to the specified cell.

sudo .//src/LTESniffer -A 2 -W  -f  -I  -p  -m 0
sudo .//src/LTESniffer -A 2 -W  -f  -u  -I  -p  -m 1
example: sudo ./src/LTESniffer -A 2 -W 4 -f 1840e6 -u 1745e6 -I 379 -p 100 -m 1

The debug mode can be enabled by using option -d. In this case, the debug messages will be printed on the terminal.

Output of LTESniffer

LTESniffer provides pcap files in the output. The pcap file can be opened by WireShark for further analysis and packet trace. The name of downlink pcap file: sniffer_dl_mode.pcap, uplink pcap file: sniffer_ul_mode.pcap, and API pcap file: api_collector.pcap. The pcap files are located in the same directory LTESniffer has been executed. To enable the WireShark to analyze the decoded packets correctly, please refer to the WireShark configuration guide here. There are also some examples of pcap files in the link.
Note: The uplink pcap file contains both uplink and downlink messages. On the WireShark, use this filter to monitor only uplink messages: mac-lte.direction == 0; or this filter to monitor only downlink messages: mac-lte.direction == 1.

Application Note

Distance for uplink sniffing

The effective range for sniffing uplink is limited in LTESniffer due to the capability of the RF front-end of the hardware (i.e. SDR). The uplink signal power from UE is significantly weaker compared to the downlink signal because UE is a handheld device that optimizes battery usage, while the eNB uses sufficient power to cover a large area. To successfully capture the uplink traffic, LTESniffer can increase the strength of the signal power by i) being physically close to the UE, or ii) improving the signal reception capability with specialized hardware, such as a directional antenna, dedicated RF front-end, and signal amplifier.

The information displayed on the terminal

Downlink Sniffing Mode

Processed 1000/1000 subframes: Number of subframes was processed by LTESniffer last 1 second. There are 1000 LTE subframes per second by design.
RNTI: Radio Network Temporary Identifier of UEs.
Table: The maximum modulation scheme that is used by smartphones in downlink. LTESniffer supports up to 256QAM in the downlink. Refer to our paper for more details.
Active: Number of detected messages of RNTIs.
Success: Number of successfully decoded messages over number of detected messages (Active).
New TX, ReTX, HARQ, Normal: Statistic of new messages and retransmitted messages. This function is in development.
W_MIMO, W_pinfor, Other: Number of messages with wrong radio configuration, only for debugging.

Uplink Sniffing Mode

Max Mod: The maximum modulation scheme that is used by smartphones in uplink. It can be 16/64/256QAM depending on the support of smartphones and the configuration of the network. Refer to our paper for more details.
SNR: Signal-to-noise ratio (dB). Low SNR means the uplink signal quality from the smartphone is bad. One possible reason is the smartphone is far from the sniffer.
DL-UL_delay: The average of time delay between downlink signal from the base station and uplink signal from the smartphone.
Other Info: Information only for debugging.

API Mode

Detected Identity: The name of detected identity.
Value: The value of detected identity.
From Message: The name of the message that contains the detected identity.

Credits

We sincerely appreciate the FALCON and SRS team for making their great softwares available.

BibTex

Please refer to our paper for more details.

@inproceedings{hoang:ltesniffer,
  title = {{LTESniffer: An Open-source LTE Downlink/Uplink Eavesdropper}},
  author = {Hoang, Dinh Tuan and Park, CheolJun and Son, Mincheol and Oh, Taekkyung and Bae, Sangwook and Ahn, Junho and Oh, BeomSeok and Kim, Yongdae},
  booktitle = {16th ACM Conference on Security and Privacy in Wireless and Mobile Networks (WiSec '23)},
  year = {2023}
}

FAQ

Q: Is it mandatory to use GPSDO with the USRP in order to run LTESniffer?
A: GPSDO is useful for more stable synchronization. However, for downlink sniffing mode, LTESniffer still can synchronize with the LTE signal to decode the packets without GPSDO. For uplink sniffing mode, GPSDO is only required when using 2 USRP B-series, as it is the time and clock reference sources for synchrozation between uplink and downlink channels. Another uplink SDR option, using a single USRP X310, does not require GPSDO.

Q: For downlink traffic, can I use a cheaper SDR?
A: Technically, any SDRs supported by srsRAN library such as Blade RF can be used to run LTESniffer in the downlink sniffing mode. However, we only tested the downlink sniffing function of LTESniffer with USRP B210 and X310.

Q: Is it illegal to use LTESniffer to sniff the LTE traffic?
A: You should have to check the local regulations on sniffing (unencrypted) LTE traffic. Another way to test LTESniffer is setting up a personal LTE network by using srsRAN - an open-source LTE implementation in a Faraday cage.

Q: Can LTESniffer be used to view the content of messages between two users?
A: One can see only the "unencrypted" part of the messages. Note that the air traffic between the base station and users is mostly encrypted.

Q: Is there any device identity exposed in plaintext in the LTE network?
A: Yes, literature shows that there are multiple identities exposed, such as TMSI, GUTI, IMSI, and RNTI. Please refer to the academic literature for more details. e.g. Watching the Watchers: Practical Video Identification Attack in LTE Networks

Download LTESniffer

Cisco: Generative AI expectations outstrip enterprise readiness

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 19:04:40 +0100

While 95% of businesses are aware that AI will increase infrastructure workloads, only 17% have networks that are flexible enough to handle the complex requirements of AI. Given that disconnect, it's too early to see widespread deployment of AI at scale, despite the hype.

That’s one of the key takeaways from Cisco's inaugural AI Readiness Index, a survey of 8,000 global companies aimed at measuring corporate interest in and ability to utilize AI technologies.

"Just like cloud kind of changed every industry that it touched, I think that AI is going to change every industry that it touches," said Jonathan Davidson, executive vice president and general manager of Cisco's networking business.

Interest in AI over the past 12 months has increased with the availability of large language models from OpenAI and others; LLMs have grown from millions of data points to billions, and lots more can be done with that data than ever before as models continue to grow, Davidson said.

Industry watchers see huge potential for AI technologies - IDC, for example, says enterprise spending on generative AI services, software and infrastructure will skyrocket over the next four years, jumping from $16 billion this year to $143 billion in 2027. However, the vast majority of companies aren't ready for it. Just 14% of organizations surveyed in Cisco's readiness index said they are fully prepared to deploy and leverage AI-powered technologies.

Network readiness for AI

On the networking front, Cisco found that most current enterprise networks are not equipped to meet AI workloads. Businesses understand that AI will increase infrastructure workloads, but only 17% have networks that are fully flexible to handle the complexity.

"23% of companies have limited or no scalability at all when it comes to meeting new AI challenges within their current IT infrastructures," Cisco stated. "To accommodate AI’s increased power and computing demands, more than three-quarters of companies will require further data center graphics processing units (GPUs) to support current and future AI workloads. In addition, 30% say the latency and throughput of their network is not optimal or sub-optimal, and 48% agree that they need further improvements on this front to cater to future needs."

At the heart of most AI networks will be Ethernet, since high-bandwidth Ethernet infrastructure is essential to facilitate quick data transfer between AI workloads, Cisco stated. "Implementing software controls like Priority Flow Control (PFC) and Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) in the Ethernet network guarantees uninterrupted data delivery, especially for latency-sensitive AI workloads."

For AI readiness, the Cisco research recommends that enterprises build in automation tools for network configuration in order to optimize data transfer between AI workloads.

"Automation reduces manual intervention, improves efficiency, and allows the infrastructure to dynamically adapt to the demands of AI workloads," the researchers said. "The combination of these will determine whether a company is I/O rich or I/O poor, and that in turn will be the differentiator between those who succeed in fully leveraging AI, and those who don't."

Cisco's AI moves

Cisco has a variety of efforts underway to help with the networking and security challenges, Davidson noted.

For example, Cisco recently unveiled its Data Center Networking Blueprint for AI/ML Applications, which defines how organizations can use existing data center Ethernet networks to support AI workloads.

A core component of the data center AI blueprint is Cisco's Nexus 9000 data center switches, which support up to 25.6Tbps of bandwidth per ASIC and "have the hardware and software capabilities available today to provide the right latency, congestion management mechanisms, and telemetry to meet the requirements of AI/ML applications," Cisco stated.

In addition, the vendor recently announced four new Cisco Validated Designs for AI blueprints from Red Hat, Nvidia, OpenAI, and Cloudera to focus on virtualized and containerized environments as well as converged and hyperconverged infrastructure options. Cisco already had validated AI models on its menu from AMD, Intel, Nutanix, Flashstack and Flexpod.

Cisco is building Ansible-based automation playbooks on top of these models that customers can use with Cisco's Intersight cloud-based management and orchestration system to automatically inject their own data into the models and build out repositories that can be used in their infrastructure, including at the edge of the network and in the data center, Cisco stated.

To its Webex collaboration platform, Cisco has added an AI-based Codec, which includes generative AI capabilities which Cisco says will redefine real-time communication and solve the challenge of spotty audio quality. The idea is that the audio Codec promises to deliver crystal-clear audio regardless of network conditions, even in areas with bad connections.

AI adds security challenges

On the security side, Cisco found that 97% of companies have some protection for data used in AI models, and 68% have the ability to detect attacks on those AI models.

"Organizations are also not fully prepared to guard against the cybersecurity threats that come with AI adoption," Cisco stated. "As higher volumes of data, including confidential and sensitive data, is processed by AI, the incentive for malicious actors to launch attacks against these systems becomes greater while the stakes for organizations get higher."

Further, with one quarter of leaders saying their organizations have limited awareness or are unaware of security threats specific to AI workloads, more education is needed for organizations and their employees to work with AI securely, Cisco stated.

The encouraging part is that 77% of organizations are at least implementing advanced encryption or end-to-end encryption to protect the data utilized in AI models, Cisco found.

Some other interesting tidbits from Cisco’s AI readiness index include:

Machine learning has the highest rate of deployment at 35%.

However, predictive and generative AI have the highest rates of in-progress deployment at 41% and 40% respectively, Cisco found.

AI deployment in an organization increases power consumption.

Complex computations and data processing tasks inherent to AI models demand more energy from the underlying hardware, especially GPUs and data centers. Companies should think about deploying tools and technologies that can provide higher network bandwidth, better performance and scale, and consume less power, Cisco warned.

However, less than half (44%) of respondents say they are highly prepared with infrastructure dedicated to optimizing power for AI deployments. Another 55% of respondents say they are not prepared or 'somewhat' prepared. The adoption of technologies that help deliver more output while consuming lesser power will become a competitive differentiator as adoption of AI increases, Cisco stated.

Skills gaps and a lack of resources remain challenging.

Close to half of respondents said their organizations are moderately well resourced (47%), with an almost even split between those feeling very well resourced (29%) and those who are under resourced or unsure (24%). Those at companies with more than 1,500 employees are slightly more likely to feel under resourced, and media and communications, education and natural resources are the industries with the largest issues in this area. In addition, 37% of respondents ranked comprehension and proficiency of AI tools and technologies as their primary skill gap.

Effective data analytics tools go hand in hand with AI applications and overall data strategy.

More than two-thirds of global respondents (67%) positively rated the ability of their analytics tools to handle complex AI-related data sets. However, 74% of respondents said their analytics tools are not fully integrated with data sources and AI platforms being used, Cisco stated. In fact, 31% of respondents said their tools were not integrated (4%) or somewhat integrated (27%) at best.

Generative AI

Microsoft Warns It May 'Throttle' Its Generative AI Services for 'Excessive' Users

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 01:49:31 +0100

Microsoft has changed the terms and conditions for its online services to include a warning that "excessive" users of its generative AI services will have their access restricted. From a report: The new language appeared in a November 1 update to Microsoft's legalese spotted by licensing-watchers Cloudy With A Chance Of Licensing. The restrictions are described in a new clause of the document titled "Capacity Limitations," is: "Excessive use of a Microsoft Generative AI Service may result in temporary throttling of Customer's access to the Microsoft Generative AI Service." The document does not, however, define "excessive use", how long a "temporary" restriction might last, or exactly what happens during "throttling."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Die besten Apps zum Abnehmen

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 19:05:50 +0200

Tausendmal probiert – und tausendmal ist nichts passiert? Beim Abnehmen ist schon so manchen die Willenskraft ausgegangen. Der plötzliche Verzicht auf Genuss, festgefahrene Essgewohnheiten und eine Welt voller verlockender Leckereien können auch die besten Diätpläne schnell in die Flucht schlagen.

Selbst wenn man sich mit eisernem Willen erfolgreich in Richtung des Wunschgewichts herunter hungert, schlägt im Anschluss oft der Jo-Jo-Effekt zu: Mühsam abgespeckte Pfunde legen die Hüften dann in Rekordzeit wieder zu – außer Frust und Enttäuschung bleibt vom Fasten dann nicht viel übrig.

Laut einer aktuellen Umfrage sind in Deutschland fast 12 Millionen Menschen unzufrieden mit ihrem Körpergewicht. Dabei ist Abhilfe gar nicht so schwer zu finden: Mit der richtigen App stehen heute nicht nur individuell zugeschnittene Ernährungspläne zur Verfügung. Die smarten Anwendungen stecken voller Motivationshilfen und bieten mitunter lebhafte Communitys, die uns mit Rat und eigenen Erfahrungen zur Seite stehen.

Gewichtsprotokolle, Fortschrittsanzeigen, Ernährungstipps oder Nothilfen gegen die nächste Heißhunger-Attacke: Wer das eigene Körpergewicht in den Griff bekommen möchte, der greift heute zum Smartphone. Sowohl für Android als auch für iOS stehen nützliche Anwendungen zur Verfügung.

Das hilft Abnehmwilligen nicht nur langfristig beim Durchhalten. Auch wenn man das Wunschgewicht endlich erreicht hat, können uns die oft von Psychologen mitentwickelten Apps dabei unterstützen, nicht wieder in alte Muster zurückzufallen, sondern an einem gesunden Lifestyle festzuhalten und zufriedeneres Leben zu führen.

Gymondo: Fitness & Yoga

Gymondo

Gymondo ist ein umfangreiches Komplettpaket für alle, die Gewicht verlieren oder Kraft und Fitness aufbauen wollen. Mit rund 100 verschiedenen Trainingsprogrammen, etwa 1.400 Anleitungs-Videos und mit individuellen Workout-Plänen können Sie effektiv an mehreren Baustellen arbeiten.

Für sportliche Einheiten stehen mehr als 1.400 Anleitungs-Videos zur Verfügung und Workout-Influencer wie Sophia Thiel oder Daniel Aminati unterstützen hier ebenfalls. Bei Stiftung Warentest hat die App sogar einmal als Testsieger abgeschnitten, das war allerdings im Jahr 2020.

Gymondo-Programme ansehen

Fazit

Eine professionelle App mit umfangreichen Inhalten. Der Traumfigur nähern wir uns hier von zwei Seiten: mit sportlicher Aktivität und besserer Ernährung.

Pro:

Umfangreiche App
Professionelle Videos
Eigene Musik
Virtuelle Trainer
Fitness-Rezepte

Contra:

Wegen großem Umfang manchmal unübersichtlich
Virtuelle Trainer reden ziemlich viel
Nur eine Woche gratis

Sprache: Deutsch

Download: Android | iPhone

WeightWatchers

Weight Watchers ist ein amerikanisches Unternehmen, das eine eigene Diätmethode vermarktet und damit schon seit vielen Jahren erfolgreich ist (Gründung 1963). Nach einem kurzen Fragebogen erteilt die App Ernährungspläne und vergibt einen Punktekontingent, das Sie dann täglich für Ihre Lieblingsspeisen ausgeben können.

Stark: WeightWatchers hat eine lange Liste mit sogenannten “ZeroPoint”-Lebensmitteln an Bord. Das ist Nahrung, die so wenig Kalorien hat, dass man sie in beliebigen Mengen futtern kann, ohne die Aufnahme überhaupt protokollieren zu müssen.

WeightWatchers-Programme ansehen

Fazit

Eine durchdachte und funktionale App, um Gewicht, Speisen oder sportliche Aktivitäten zu protokollieren. Auch Schlaf-Tracking und Wasser-Protokolle sind an Bord.

Pro:

Mit “ZeroPoint”-Lebensmitteln
Lebensmittel schon beim Einkaufen scannen
Rezepte anhand verfügbarer Zutaten finden
Bewährte Methode zum Abnehmen
Mehr als 14.000 Rezepte
Audio-Coachings und Meditationen

Contra:

Keine Sortierung gespeicherter Rezepte
Kein nachträgliches Tracking möglich
Bedienung teils etwas umständlich

Sprache: Deutsch

Download: Android | iPhone

Weighlos – Gemeinsam Abnehmen

Weighlos

Weighlos ist noch eine ganz neue App auf dem Markt für Abnehm-Apps, das Tool hat aber schon reihenweise vielversprechende Funktionen an Bord. So können sich Nutzer in privaten oder öffentlichen “Abnehm-Gruppen” zusammentun, gemeinsam Erfolge feiern und Fortschritte in Statistiken festhalten. Außerdem sind Kalorienzähler, Barcode-Scanner, Gewichtstagebücher und Sport-Statistiken an Bord.

Im Ernährungs-Blog gibt’s zudem zahlreiche Infos rund um die Themen Nahrung, Gewichtsabbau und Gesundheit. Da Funktionen und Inhalte immer wieder aktualisiert und erweitert werden, können an mancher Stelle noch “Early-Access”-Gefühle entstehen.

Fazit

Vielversprechender Newcomer: Wer bei Weighloss darüber hinwegsehen kann, dass die Entwickler aktuell noch fleißig an den Inhalten basteln, nutzt eine besonders schöne und durchdachte Abnehm-App.

Pro:

Schönes Design
Gegenseitige Motivation in Gruppen mit Gleichgesinnten
Effektives Kalorien-Tagebuch
Statistiken (auch grafisch)

Contra:

Lebensmittel-Datenbank teils chaotisch
Noch ohne finalen Feinschliff

Sprache: Deutsch

Download: Android | iPhone

Abnehm-App für Frauen

Leap Fitness Group

Mit mehr als 100 Millionen Downloads und einer ausgezeichneten Bewertung (4,9 von 5 Punkten) zeigen sich die meisten Nutzerinnen dieser Fitness-App offenbar rundum zufrieden. Mit einfachen, aber effektiven 30-Tage-Plänen, die extra auf die weibliche Physiologie abgestimmt sind, rückt Frau den überflüssigen Pfunden mit dieser App gezielt zu Leibe.

In kurzen und intensiven HIIT-Einheiten (“High Intensity Interval Training”) können Nutzerinnen schon in wenigen Minuten pro Tag effektiv an der Körperformung arbeiten. Dabei stehen vier Schwierigkeitsgrade zur Verfügung. Videoanleitungen versprechen ein verständliches Workout, lassen bisweilen aber Aufwärmübungen vermissen.

Fazit

Eine anschauliche Fitness-App für Frauen, die abnehmen wollen, aber für lange Sport-Sessions nur wenig Zeit haben. Während das Verbrennen von Kalorien hier hervorragend funktioniert, ist in manchen Fällen noch eine zusätzliche Ernährungs-App sinnvoll – hier steht der Muskelaufbau nämlich klar im Vordergrund.

Pro:

Workouts ohne Zusatzgeräte
Einfache, aber anschauliche Workout-Anleitungen
Motivierende Erfolge (Achievements)
Fokus auf Problemzonen
Geringer Zeitaufwand
Auch Übungen mit besonders geringer Belastung verfügbar
Synchronisiert mit Google-Fit

Contra:

Gratis-Version mit viel Werbung
Kaum Warm-Up (sollten Sie selbst erledigen)
Zusätzliche Ernährungs-App sinnvoll

Sprache: Deutsch

Download: Android | iPhone

Abnehmen für Männer-30 Tagen

Leap Fitness Group

Vom gleichen Entwickler wie die obige Abnehm-App für Frauen stammt auch diese Version, die sich primär an Männer richtet. Das Prinzip ist dabei dasselbe: Mit intensiven aber zeitlich eng begrenzen 30-Tage-Workouts soll man in kurzen, aber sehr anstrengenden Einheiten schnell Fett verbrennen und gleichzeitig profilierte Muskeln aufbauen. Hier stehen drei Intensitäts-Grade zur Auswahl, auch ein schonender Modus für Workout-Anfänger ist dabei.

Fazit

Mit dieser App können Sie mit relativ geringem Aufwand in kurzer Zeit effektiv Muskulatur aufbauen. Dabei werden zwar auch Kalorien verbrannt, wer nachhaltig abnehmen möchte, sollte das Workout-Tool aber noch mit einer Ernährungs-App koppeln, um sein Wunschgewicht zu erreichen.

Pro:

Workouts ohne Zusatzgeräte
Trainingsroutinen individuell anpassbar
Anschauliche Anleitungen
Motivierende Erfolge (Achievements)
Geringer Zeitaufwand
Auch Übungen mit besonders geringer Belastung verfügbar
Synchronisiert mit Google-Fit

Contra:

Kostenlose Version macht viel Werbung
Kaum Warm-Up (sollten Sie selbst erledigen)
Zusätzliche Ernährungs-App sinnvoll

Sprache: Deutsch

Download: Android | iPhone

Gewicht Verlieren in 30 Tagen

Veev Apps

In 30-tägigen Einheiten will diese App uns gewissermaßen zweispurig zum Traumgewicht führen. Auf der einen Seite mit zunehmend intensiven Workout-Routinen, auf der anderen Seite mit einem effektiven Diätplan.

So empfehlen das auch Ernährungsexperten: Nur wer mehr Bewegung in seinen Alltag integriert und gleichzeitig auf ausgewogene Ernährung achtet, kann schnell Fortschritte beim Abnehmen erzielen. Erfolge und verbrannte Kalorien lassen sich mit der App dann anschaulich festhalten und alle Übungen sind Zuhause ohne teure Zusatzgeräte machbar.

Fazit

Eine geschickte Kombination von kalorienbewussten Ernährungsplänen und zunehmend intensiven Workouts verspricht bei dieser App tatsächlich schon nach 30 Tagen sichtbare Erfolge.

Pro:

Auch Gratis-Version gut nutzbar
Anschauliche Erklärungen
Automatischer Ernährungsplan
Flexible Auswahl von Übungen und Lebensmitteln

Contra:

Kostenlose Version an der falschen Stelle reduziert
Vorgeschlagene Übungen nicht vom eigenen Gewicht abhängig

Sprache: Deutsch

Download: Android | iPhone

Lifesum: Gesunde Ernährung

Lifesum

Lifesum ist ein raffinierter Kalorienzähler, der Nutzer beim Abnehmen mit Ernährungsplänen und umfangreichen Infos dabei unterstützt, die persönliche Wunschfigur zu erreichen. Ob Keto-Diät, mediterrane Diät, Clean Eating oder sogar Intervallfasten und Klima-Diät: In der großen Auswahl fällt es leicht, den individuell besten Ernährungsplan aufzuspüren.

Im Kalorienzähler können Sie tägliche Kalorienziele jederzeit anpassen. Ein gelungener Filter hilft dabei, die mehr als 1.000 verschiedenen Rezepte zu sortieren. Makronährstoffe protokolliert die App ebenfalls.

Fazit

Lifesum lässt sich mit seinem Fokus auf Ernährung besonders gut mit den oben vorgestellten Abnehm-Apps für Frauen oder Männer kombinieren: die legen ihren Schwerpunkt nämlich vorwiegend auf Workouts, die bei Lifesum keine große Rolle spielen.

Pro:

Tolle Rezepte
Rezeptvorschläge als Begleitung für spezifische Sportarten
Wasser-Tracker
Individuelle Ernährungspläne
Barcode Scanner für Lebensmittel

Contra:

Lebensmittel-Datenbank hat zu viele Einträge
Gleiche Lebensmittel mit teils unterschiedlichen Werten

Sprache: Deutsch

Download: Android | iPhone

Intervallfasten – Fasten-App

Leap Fitness Group

Intervallfasten gilt als besonders effektiv, wenn es ums Abnehmen geht. Dabei muss man sich nicht mit kalorienarmen Rezepten herumschlagen oder Rekorde im Fitnessstudio aufstellen – man verzichtet einfach phasenweise komplett darauf, Nahrung zu sich zu nehmen. Die Zeitfenster können dabei variieren (etwa 16 Stunden nichts essen, danach 8 Stunden lang normal essen).

Dieses Fasten wird auch “intermittierend” genannt und sorgt dafür, dass der Körper auf Fettreserven zurückgreifen muss, weil keine anderen Energiequellen zur Verfügung stehen. Am Anfang kann das ziemlich viel Willenskraft erfordern, nach ein paar Tagen gewöhnt man sich aber schnell an das Verfahren. Intervallfasten verspricht auch jenseits vom Abnehmen positive Effekte: Es kann entgiften, Diabetes vorbeugen und erlaubt es, den Blutzuckerspiegel bei Bedarf besser zu kontrollieren.

Fazit

Eine einfache App für effektives Intervallfasten, die für Anfänger und Fortgeschrittene geeignet ist. Trink-Erinnerungen, Gewichtsprotokolle und Timer inklusive.

Pro:

Einfach und übersichtlich
Verschiedene Pläne fürs Intervallfasten
Intervallfasten kann Organe entlasten

Contra:

Konstanter Werbebalken
Werbung in Gratis-Version insgesamt aufdringlich
Intervallfasten kann am Anfang schwierig sein

Sprache: Deutsch

Download: Android | iPhone

Mobile Apps

Weight Watchers Lifetime 2023: Register WW Lifetime Members Login

Wed, 24 May 2023 09:51:13 +0200

Weight Watchers, which is also known as WW is a popular and respectable program for wellness and weight loss that emphasizes making long-term lifestyle changes. If you are one who has achieved your weight loss goals and wants to keep making progress, then this program is for you. In today’s world, maintaining a healthy weight […]

The post Weight Watchers Lifetime 2023: Register WW Lifetime Members Login appeared first on iTech Hacks.

Huawei Claims To Have Built Its Own 14nm Chip Design Suite

Sat, 25 Mar 2023 02:34:25 +0100

Huawei has reportedly completed work on electronic design automation (EDA) tools for laying out and making chips down to 14nm process nodes. The Register reports: Chinese media said the platform is one of 78 being developed by the telecoms equipment giant to replace American and European chip design toolkits that have become subject to export controls by the US and others. Huawei's EDA platform was reportedly revealed by rotating Chairman Xu Zhijun during a meeting in February, and later confirmed by media in China. [...] Huawei's focus on EDA software for 14nm and larger chips reflects the current state of China's semiconductor industry. State-backed foundry operator SMIC currently possesses the ability to produce 14nm chips at scale, although there have been some reports the company has had success developing a 7nm process node. Today, the EDA market is largely controlled by three companies: California-based Synopsys and Cadence, as well as Germany's Siemens. According to the industry watchers at TrendForce, these three companies account for roughly 75 percent of the EDA market. And this poses a problem for Chinese chipmakers and foundries, which have steadily found themselves cut off from these tools. Synopsys and Cadence's EDA tech is already subject to several of these export controls, which were stiffened by the US Commerce Department last summer to include state-of-the-art gate-all-around (GAA) transistors. This January, the White House also reportedly stopped issuing export licenses to companies supplying the likes of Huawei. This is particularly troublesome for Huawei, foundry operator SMIC, and memory vendor YMTC to name a few on the US Entity List, a roster of companies Uncle Sam would prefer you not to do business with. It leaves them unable to access recent and latest technologies, at the very least. So the development of a homegrown EDA platform for 14nm chips serves as insurance in case broader access to Western production platforms is cut off entirely.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Trypa 1.4.7 - Automate your automations.

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 09:31:03 +0100

Trypa is a menubar app, fully sandboxed, has low energy usage and all data stays on device.

Need more? Go further and pass input data from your Trypa triggers directly into your shortcuts to speak trigger names or chain more complex shortcuts.

Trypa also gives Trypa functionality into your existing Mac Shortcuts, so you can access data from Trypa from within your existing workflows.

Key Features:

Simple to use, set up your first trigger in a few seconds
Powerful Environmental, Hardware and System watchers - see below
Trigger MacOS Shortcuts & pass input to the shortcuts.
Access Trypa though Shortcuts.app directly to disable trigger and read watchers
Intel and Apple Silicon native
Sandboxed with a hardened runtime
Teeny footprint, let than 10MB

Minor Improvements.

Download Now

Want To Impress Wall Street? Just Add Some AI

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 17:49:35 +0100

As media executives look to pop the stock of flagging publicly traded companies, tech advances are becoming the new gimmick to wow (even temporarily) the investing class. From a report: When Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel opened his company's earnings call with prepared remarks Feb. 28, a casual listener hearing him tout the UFC and WME might have missed the most interesting part: Emanuel wasn't speaking at all. Well, he sort of was. The words were his, and the voice was his, but rather than Emanuel speaking into a microphone (opening remarks on earnings calls are often pretaped), the comments were the product of a generative artificial intelligence firm calledâSpeechify. Indeed, artificial intelligence has been hard to avoid for Wall Street watchers this year. And it's easy to understand why: AI news has led to share price surges at companies like BuzzFeed (which uses it and saw its stock price more than double) and Microsoft (whose rise was in the high singleâdigits). After the public release of OpenAI's large language model (LLM) chatbot ChatGPT (and the stock bounce it gave to Microsoft, which is OpenAI's tech partner), it seems that every company wants a piece of the AI action, or at least wants to send the message that it's thinking about it. Companies with close ties to media and entertainment are no exception. In his first letter to creators as CEO of YouTube, Neal Mohan wrote March 1 that "the power of AI is just beginning to emerge in ways that will reinvent video and make the seemingly impossible possible," and that it will be a priority for him. Spotify, led by CEO Daniel Ek, released on Feb. 22 what it is calling an "AI DJ," powered by technology from OpenAI. The DJ takes the music a Spotify user listens to and combines it with recommendations from music experts and an AI-generated voice to create a totally personalized radio show. Snap, run by Evan Spiegel, released an assistant called "My AI," based on ChatGPT, bringing the capabilities of that LLM to Snapchat+ users. And at small digital publishers like the Jonah Peretti-led BuzzFeed and Arena Group Holdings (the owner of Sports Illustrated), AI is being touted as a fount of new types of storytelling that "can create enterprise value for our brands and partners," per Arena Group CEO Ross Levinsohn. To be sure, AI's potential for transforming business is real (in a March 2 research report, Morgan Stanley called it a "$6 trillion opportunity"), but it remains just that: an opportunity, rather than today's reality. Wall Street is still very bullish on AI in the long term, with Bank of America's Haim Israel and Martyn Briggs writing in a Feb. 28 thematic report that AI is "at a defining moment -- like the internet in the '90s," but the consensus is that while big tech firms like YouTube owner Alphabet, Amazon and Apple will reap the rewards at some point, what it means for smaller companies in the present is less clear. For entertainment companies, the potential is obvious, even if the business models are not. The Morgan Stanley report noted the logic in AI recommendations on streaming services like Spotify and Netflix (Spotify's DJ is a first step in that direction), and it isn't a stretch to think that content itself can be made faster and at less cost with generative technology (applications could include special effects, which are labor intensive and costly). For companies like Endeavor and CAA, generative voice technology (like that from Speechify) and deepfake tech (like Deep Voodoo, a deepfake company from the creators of South Park that counts the CAA-affiliated Connect Ventures as an investor), could mean new opportunities for old actors (see Robert Zemeckis' upcoming movie Here, which will use AI from Metaphysic to de-age Tom Hanks).

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Matching Mixed Reality Rumors

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 06:23:30 +0100

Headset chatter continues, the problem of iPhone theft, and one kid AirDrops himself to juvie. Dueling Analysts Fuel Apple Headset Chatter I can no longer remember where various rumors around Apple’s anticipated mixed reality headset began. Some thoughts around it are just sort of being taken for granted these days. Like the new headsets coming out in 2024 or 2025, after the one Apple watchers are expecting sometime this year. Last week, Nikkei Asia ran a report saying that development of the mixed reality headset expected this year had shifted or was shifting from Pegatron to Luxshare, with Foxconn being brought in on the second round of headsets, expected in a year or two. That report got support Friday when TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the same things. ish. Posting to Medium, Young MC said the project is actually shifting from Pegatron to a company owned by both Pegatron and Luxshare, with the latter doing the heavy lifting. As for round two, that Luxshare/Pegatron venture will make a high-end version, with Foxconn coming in for the more cost-conscious model. Ming-Chi Kuo has the second-round units hitting in 2025. For his part, the analyst seems worried on Apple’s behalf. Quoting part of his post: Despite repeatedly stating that [Apple] is optimistic about AR, why can it not make suppliers willing to continue cooperating with Apple to develop this product? In the past two years, why have some Apple suppliers been more willing to invest in new businesses, such as electric vehicles, than cooperate with Apple’s expansion/investment? A Hint of Optimism to Temper the Possible Bad News More optimistic is Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Gurman had lots to offer in this weekend’s Power:On newsletter, starting with what the headset will need to pair with: nothing. While users will be able to transfer info and data from an iPhone or iPad, no additional equipment will be required, according to the report. Text input is said to be virtual. According to Gurman: …in-air typing — is available on the latest internal prototypes, I’m told. But it’s been finicky in testing. (…) The hope within Apple is to make rapid improvements after the device is released. The plan is still for the device to be announced at WWDC with release coming later in the year. Gurman’s also heard talk of a second round of devices coming in 2024 or 2025. Similar to Ming-Chi Kuo’s assertion, it’ll be one high-end model and one with lower specs at a lower price, according to Gurman. WSJ Looks at iPhones, Thieves, and Public Safety The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern has done a piece on an iPhone problem that’s kind of an iPhone problem, though it’s maybe more of a public safety issue. 9to5Mac writes up the report, which has Stern warning of bad people watching for public use of passcodes on iPhones, then stealing those iPhones, then stealing from the phone’s owner through the iPhone. “Instead of just looking to snatch devices,” the piece says the miscreants “are watching for passcodes so they can immediately get into iPhones, change Apple ID passwords, access financial accounts, and more.” One person with whom Stern spoke had that happen. Three-minutes after her iPhone was taken, the thieves had changed the password on her Apple ID. That done, they “stole thousands of dollars through Apple Pay,” and “opened an Apple Card to make fraudulent charges…” See what I mean? It’s kind of an iPhone problem. We all — good guys and bad — know how iPhones work. We know what to look for. The things that make the Apple ecosystem great for users can also lead to serious problems for users if bad guys get access. 9to5Mac says there are three things Stern would like to see Apple do to stymie the bad guys: Add further protection to iOS to change an Apple ID password Add stronger password protection for iCloud Keychain Add more account recovery options That said, there is plenty users can do to help keep themselves safe. Four steps suggested by 9to5Mac include: When in public, use Face ID or Touch ID as much as you can If you have to enter a passcode in public, cover your screen so no one else can see Drop the 4-digit or 6-digit passcode for a custom alphanumeric passcode Take sensitive account passwords out of iCloud Keychain, or use a third-party password manager that’s not opened by your iPhone’s passcode Not surprisingly, the Cupertino-company treads sort of a fine line on the issue. Responding to Stern, an Apple spokesperson said: We sympathize with users who have had this experience and we take all attacks on our users very seriously, no matter how rare. The thefts described are uncommon and require multiple physical steps – stealing a user’s device is not enough. …we will continue to advance the protections to help keep user accounts secure. Bad Idea Theater: Kid Grounds Plane with AirDrop Prank And now — a story with many, many bad ideas. According to a piece from 9to5Mac, a kid on a plane that was meant to go from Texas to Pennsylvania had that plane grounded. This he did by sharing threatening messages through AirDrop. Well… the message wasn’t threatening. But the name on his iPhone was. According to the piece, the kid “changed his iPhone name to I have a bomb,” which I think is a bad idea. Then, as the plane was taxiing to the runway, the piece says he “initiated an AirDrop photo share with other passengers,” who got the message, “I have a bomb would like to share a photo.” That was either bad idea number two or three. The thing is, Apple changed the way AirDrop works in iOS 16.2. It used to be you could leave AirDrop open to “everyone” all the time. That changed with the release of iOS 16.2. Once that hit, iPhone users could only leave AirDrop open to “everyone” for 10-minutes at a time. They could (and can) leave it open to people in their Contacts all the time. And, of course, they can leave AirTag open to no one. Not Sure Which of Two Bad Ideas Is Worse So the other bad idea in this story (number two or three — you decide) was/is not updating the device’s firmware on the regular. I understand not updating on day-one. Updates can be slow on release days because lots of people update then. Additionally, an update might have unintended consequences. But the people who got the “I have a bomb” message haven’t updated since who knows when — sometime before last October to be certain. That’s left them open not only to this idiot kid, but also various security vulnerabilities and exploits that Apple has since patched. The worst idea was really the kid’s, though. According to the piece, after the message was sent: The plane was immediately pulled off the runway and back to a gate where a bomb squad searched passengers and cargo for explosives. The FBI determined that there was “no known credible threat” following the search. And what happened to the little rascal who started it all? He ended up in juvenile detention in El Paso County, awaiting charges “for a false alarm or report…” Bad idea, man. Bad idea. Gurman: Scheduling Changes Ahead for Apple Store Employees Talk of future headsets wasn’t all Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman had in store over the weekend. The Power: On newsletter also had word of changes for Apple Retail employees. Reportedly made to address employee “concerns about pay, benefits and working hours,” the piece says changes coming include: A maximum of five consecutive workdays, down from the prior limit of six. More weekend time off for part-time employees. A consistent weekend workday or day off for full-time employees. For some, this may mean no change. Gurman says select stores saw these changes as long ago as last June as the company tested them out. Testing done, the changes are reportedly set to go into effect for Apple’s roughly-300 stores in the US and Canada at the end of April. Though theoretically addressing concerns, the changes raise concerns of their own. Among them: Retail workers have to ask for time off four-weeks in advance now, rather than “about three.” Part-timers will be required to take weekend work. No such requirement existed before, according to the piece. Additionally, Gurman says some part-time employees are being asked to work more hours these days than used to be required. If these changes don’t start until the end of April though, it’s hard to say whether the extra hours are part of the planned shift. Apple Hire Stirs Talk of Ads for Apple TV+ Apple has reportedly hired a new ad exec. The Verge cites a report from The Information that says the Cupertino-company has hired advertising veteran Lauren Fry “to help build a video advertising business for its Apple TV Plus streaming service…” That Apple TV+ would be Fry’s focus makes sense. Another piece on the hire from Engadget (via Yahoo! Life) says she brings experience from digital advertising firm Simulmedia, as well as time spent in ad sales positions at AT&T and Comcast. Then again, an ad-supported tier for Apple TV+ feels weird. Not that Apple’s not into ads. They’re selling ads for MLS Season Pass. The company added more ad placements in the App Store last year, and — as The Verge points out, the company is said to want to slot ads into “apps like Maps, Books, and Podcasts.” Still feels weird, despite add supported tiers for HBO Max, Disney Plus, and Netflix. Weird, let’s say, for Apple TV+. No comment from Apple for the piece from The Verge. Four Annie Awards for Apple TV+ Title ‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse’ And finally today — Awards season is in full swing, and one Apple TV+ title picked up a few over the weekend. AppleInsider says the Cupertino-streamer’s holiday offering, “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” received four Annie Awards Saturday, which is neat. One for each of the title characters. Hand-drawn and pretty magical, Apple TV+ released the animated story on Dec. 25. The Annie Awards honor animation, making the wins make sense. The awards won by “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” included: Best Editorial — TV/Media Best Special Production Best Character Animation — TV/Media Best Direction — TV/Media This was not Apple’s first turn at these awards. AppleInsider says the Cupertino-streamer took home five Annie Awards in 2021 for the animated feature Wolfwalkers. Sad SAGs The bigger award show of the weekend was the Screen Actors Guild awards. Held Sunday night, actors in Apple TV+ titles including “Black Bird” and “Severance” were up for a few. Unfortunately, none of the Cupertino players walked away with a trophy, which I will choose to call a SAGgy. Today on The Mac Observer’s Daily Observations Podcast Thieves are stealing iPhones, punching in passcodes, and ruining people's lives. Is it an iPhone problem or a people problem? TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts joins me to sift through it. Plus, the first weekend of MLS on Apple TV and that dopey kid who AirDropped himself into juvie. That’s all today on the Daily Observations Podcast from The Mac Observer.

Apple Thinks Mastodon Has Legs and T-Mobile Wants to Give Away Soccer Streaming

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 15:01:20 +0100

The latest on iPhone sales in China, a questionable report from a questionable news source, and Apple gives Mastodon a vote of confidence. Analysts React to December iPhone Sales in China Last week, Counterpoint Research issued a note saying iPhone sales were up 6% last month. That's compared to the same month a year earlier. Those were not official numbers, it seems. Research firm gonna research, yo. Apple 3.0 ran a couple of reaction notes in the wake of official numbers form the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. Lag as they will, those were for December, not January. In his note, UBS analyst David Vogt saw explosive growth for iPhone from November to December. According to his note: While local brand shipments improved 21% Nov to Dec, iPhone shipments far outpaced the local brands increasing 88% month-over-month and +20% YoY in December… A couple of things to note — first, the CAICT report does not break out iPhone sales specifically, only practically. What it tracks is domestic versus imported. While iPhone is not the only smartphone imported to China, it’s the only one that sells in real numbers. That generally leaves analysts to read the “imported” numbers as iPhone numbers. Easing Investors’ Worries and Concerns The other thing to note, as Vogt did — the surge of iPhone sales in December was on the heels of iPhone sales that slowed to a trickle in November. That was thanks to a series of problems (from COVID-lockdowns to hiring issues) that hindered iPhone production. The way the analyst sees it, the December surge should ease investor fears around the supply chain and iPhone production. Vogt has a “Buy” rating on Apple shares. His price target on the shares is $180. The other reaction note was from Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani. Though staring at the same numbers, Daryanani says the December iPhone numbers in China were up about 17% year-on-year, not the “+20%” listed by Vogt. Maybe Daryanani doesn’t give all of the “imported” sales to Apple? Whatever the case, he figures iPhone numbers in China will be strong for January and February when they are reported “as iPhone inventory builds up and the majority of the unmet demand from Oct/Nov will likely be fulfilled…” Daryanani has an “Outperform” rating on Apple shares. His price target on the shares is $190. NY Post: Sources Say Apple Axing Contract Workers There’s a story that’s starting to pop up a few places. According to one headline, “Apple has begun firing contractors amid mass tech layoffs…” That headline cites sources of the unnamed variety. There are a few — issues, let’s say, with the story. The first, we don’t know who the sources are. The second — the paper with the headline was the New York Post. That takes us to a subset of issues — one, how connected to tech dealings, Apple dealings, and dealings in Silicon Valley is the New York Post. And two — it’s kind of a sensationalist paper. Back to our first set of issues with the report — as the headline indicates, these are not Apple employees being let go, though that may be in name only. “According to people with direct knowledge,” reads the report: …the iPhone maker over the past few days has started to cut ties with hundreds of contractors — workers technically employed by outside agencies who work alongside Apple employees on projects – in what looks like a stealthy move to cut costs. “Instead of waiting for contracts that are typically renewed every 12 to 15 months to expire,” the piece has the sources indicating that “Apple is firing contractors outright…” Between the intricacies of pay and hiring practices, the lack of info on who these contractors are said to be, and the news source quoting the unnamed sources — I’d be hard pressed to say that this is a thing that’s happening. But, the talk is out there. FYI. Playtime for Apple’s Public Testing Program At least some of the developer betas about which I told you last week are out to the public testing peeps. MacRumors ran a couple of pieces on Friday, one saying that versions 16.4 of iOS and iPadOS were out to developers, and another saying the same for macOS Ventura 13.3. Apple Studio Display Gets 16.4 Firmware Beta That last one brings a weird thing with it. Yet another piece from MacRumors says Apple has released the 16.4 firmware beta for its Studio Display. While regular firmware updates are sent to the displays automatically, the beta’s a bit different, limited to Macs running the macOS 13.3 beta. If yours is one of those, MacRumors says you can go to System Settings, then Software Update to get the beta on your display. And if all of this talk of livin’ on the edge leaves you feeling left out — you can get info on Apple’s public testing program at beta.apple.com. Apple’s Messages Apps Adding Rich Previews for Mastodon Posts In with the OS betas, there’s a new feature coming in the next round of Apple’s OS updates that reads like a vote of confidence for Mastodon. A piece from iDownloadBlog says the upcoming update will see the Messages app bring “native embeds for Mastodon posts that come with more details than standard URL previews.” For folks who don’t know, the piece says Mastodon is “a federated social media service…” Think of it as a social media idea that sort of ends up like a social media platform, running on individually controlled servers, beholden to no one corporate owner or shareholders. It’s been around for a few years, though it was little more than a nerd retreat before Elon Musk took over Twitter. Once that happened, people looking for somewhere to go that wasn’t Twitter found Mastodon. And Apple seems to think it has legs. According to iDownloadBlog: The Messages app in iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4 and macOS Ventura 13.3 now supports native embeds for Mastodon post links. But instead of simply adding visual previews to Mastodon URLs shared via Messages, Apple provides additional rich information similar to the tweet balloon previews in iMessage. According to the piece, such details “include the author’s name, post text and any underlying attachments in the Mastodon post…” Prior to last week’s betas (and for users on the current public releases or earlier), all a user got or gets is a link to the post with no preview of what’s on the other side. T-Mobile Offers Subscribers Free Year of MLS Season Pass If you’re a T-Mobile customer, you’ve apparently got a year of free Major League Soccer available. Engadget says “Big Fuchsia” is giving T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile subscribers Apple’s MLS Season Pass for free. Starting tomorrow — Tuesday, Feb. 21, the piece says would-be watchers can download the “T-Mobile Tuesdays” app from the App Store, sign in with their phone number, and get the offered perk. Soccer fans hoping to score the season don’t have to be Apple TV+ subscribers, nor do they need Apple hardware. MLS Season Pass will be available on the Apple TV website, or through the Apple TV app, which is available on game consoles, streaming devices, smart TVs… just about anything modern that’s attached to a screen or has a screen attached to it. Apple TV+ Series ‘Shrinking’ Stays Strong in Reelgood Top-Ten The dramedy series “Shrinking” shows little sign of doing so. Cult of Mac says the Jason Segel/Harrison Ford series on Apple TV+ has turned up on the Reelgood top-ten for the third week in a row. The movie and TV search engine showed the show showing at No. 5 for the week of Feb. 9 through Feb. 16. Applications Open Thursday for Apple Studios Directors Program And finally today — are you a mid-career director? I don’t know what that is, so I suspect I’m not. If you suspect you are though, you may want to apply for the Apple Studios Directors Program. Billing itself as “an inclusive initiative focused on expanding opportunities for mid-career directors across the US,” Apple says the goal of the program “is to identify innovative and diverse visionaries,” and then… show ‘em how it’s done, I guess. According to the initiative’s site: The six-month program offers masterclasses focused on building and sustaining a career as a working episodic director. The program will feature discussions with seasoned industry professionals focusing on the craft and business of directing, opportunities to participate as shadowing directors on Apple Studios series, and a one-of-a-kind experience in Apple Park tailored to inspire innovation and creativity. When they say inclusive, they’re talking about types of candidates, not numbers. “Under-represented minorities and women are strongly encouraged to apply” for not one, not two, but three openings in the program. The one-week application period runs from 9 a.m. PST this Thursday, Feb. 23 through 11:59 p.m. PST on Wednesday, March 1. Today on The Mac Observer’s Daily Observations Podcast TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts joins me to talk over a few Apple sentiment stories. Plus — the cluster-thing that is social media, and Apple’s vote of confidence for Mastodon. That’s all today on the Daily Observations Podcast from The Mac Observer.

Sneaking a Peek at iOS 16.4 Features

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 15:30:43 +0100

A look at iPhone sales in China, a sneak peek at iOS 16.4 features, and a bit of news around Apple TV+. Counterpoint: iPhone Sales in China Grew 6% in January The end of COVID restrictions plus lunar new year celebrations equaled a pretty good January for iPhone in China. Counterpoint Research issued iPhone numbers for the first month of the year in the Middle Kingdom. The overall smartphone numbers are a bit strange. According to the firm, January 2023 numbers are about the same as January 2022. However, that is seen as a really good start for the year, since January 2022 was the best month for smartphone sales in China for the year. The rest of the year was rocked by the occasional COVID lockdown. With those apparently in the rearview mirror, Counterpoint thinks smartphone sales in China should “recover to positive growth” this year, though that’ll be in the “low single digits,” in the firm’s estimation. Not that everyone agrees. Counterpoint’s own release says some cynical smartphone watchers see the January-numbers as a function of pent-up December demand plus the early lunar new year. That said, Counterpoint counters that those factors helped clear out inventory and “ignited the discussion on whether the stagnant market will finally bottom out and rise in 2023.” The “Tinker Bell Principle,” as I live and breathe. Let’s get to the iPhone part, which is small. Quoting Counterpoint: Apple remained China’s biggest OEM in January in terms of sales share and its sales increased about 6% YoY, according to preliminary data from Counterpoint Market Pulse Service. Pent up demand and a holiday season almost definitely played a part in that. To see whether it continues, we’ll check in again in about a month. OS Numbers Show Sizable Gulf Between Recent iOS and iPadOS Installs Well into their respective runs, Apple has released the first install numbers for iOS and iPadOS 16. 9to5Mac had the Cupertino-company laying out the numbers on its Developer site. According to the company, iOS 16 is powering 81% of compatible devices made in the last four-years. Broaden that to all devices running iOS and you’re still looking at a sizable majority. 72% of active iOS devices are running iOS 16-dot something, by Apple’s account. iPadOS is a crazy different story. For iPads introduced in the last four-years, Apple says only 53% are running iPadOS 16, with 39% running iPadOS 15, and the remaining 8% running something older. Widen out and the numbers are pretty similar. Taking all iPads into account, Apple says 50% are running iPadOS 16, 37% are running iPadOS 15, with the remaining 13% running an older OS. No insight offered by Apple on the disparity, which is a bummer. It would be interesting to know why iPhone users are more into upgrading than those who use iPads. Developers Get First Betas for Next Round of Apple OS Updates Seemingly in lockstep with the install numbers, the first betas for the next rounds of operating system updates have made their way to developers. A piece from AppleInsider had the first developer betas of iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, tvOS 16.4, and watchOS 9.4 seeing the light of day Thursday. Meanwhile, a piece from MacRumors said the same for macOS Ventura 13.3. Since nobody prints the non-disclosure agreements, you can’t really say, “the NDAs aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.” Easier to say, “we’re hearing a lot of stuff that we technically aren’t supposed to.” “NDA’s aren’t worth the breath it takes to break them,” maybe. Simplifying the Developer Beta Process Since they are developer betas, we’ll start with a development for developers. A piece from MacRumors says the 16.4 betas of iOS and iPadOS let those folks “turn on developer betas directly from the Software Update section in the Settings app.” That eliminates the need “to install a profile from the Developer Center,” according to the report, making the whole process easier. Web Apps Get Pushy Next up — a tool for developers that suddenly makes what’s been happening on my desktop make sense. You know how just about every site you visit asks if you want to turn on Notifications? My thought is almost always, “who would want to and why?” Another piece from MacRumors clues me in. According to that, Thursday’s betas add “support for web push notifications…” The piece explains: Websites that are saved as web apps to the Home Screen can send iPhone and iPad users Web Push notifications through the Push API, Notifications API, and Service Workers. That assumes the user has given the green light for such notifications. I’m not sure that that’s 100% the same as what’s being asked on the desktop, though thinking of web pages as web apps made the constant question seem less silly. Changes for Apple Podcasts There seems to be a slew of new features coming to Apple Podcasts in the updates. MacRumors again? Why not. The site lists a few podcast-centric changes on the way. They include a new Channels menu, changes to the Up Next queue, ways to get a better handle on unheard and “early access” content, and improvements to Podcasts integration with CarPlay. You can find more about what’s in-store on Apple’s site for podcasters. Still Waiting in the Wings It looks like the HomeKit Architecture Upgrade is headed back our way. Introduced in iOS 16.2, the update to the Home app was pulled pretty quickly after a big number of‌ bugs was spotted. A piece from MacRumors says “Home Upgrade Available” is now showing as an option in the iOS 16.4 beta. There are also said to be signs of life for the Apple Cash high-yield savings account. Announced in October, yet another piece from MacRumors says: Code in iOS 16.4 has references to routing and account numbers, current balance, interest earned, data management, funds available for withdrawal, and more. The way the site sees it, the groundwork is being laid. Still Sulking in the Dressing Room If a mark of classical music is its age, Apple’s classical music app will stand with the most aged among them. A piece from 9to5Mac says the developer beta for iOS 16.4 “brings interface tweaks to Apple Music,” and “no sign of Apple Classical.” Well… none but the internal mentions that were already floating in the code. iOS 16.4 Beta Sports 31 New Emojis Last of the new features for the day — a part that is always my favorite and among my least used (but I love ‘em anyway). TechCrunch says the iOS 16.4 beta brings with it 31 new emoji. Headed to the modern day hieroglyphs are hearts in pink, blue, and grey, a hand pushing to the left, a hand pushing to the right, a shaking face, a moose, a hair pick, a pea pod, and several more. No, I will never use most of them. But just being able to gives me an odd amount of joy. Lights, Camera, Wednesday? Movie and TV news for Apple TV+, starting with a reminder about two titles hitting today. The Billy Crudup series “Hello Tomorrow!” starts today. That’s the retro-future dramedy about folks selling timeshares on the moon. The first three episodes should be streaming now. Also hitting today, the neo-noir thriller Sharper. Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, and John Lithgow headline the film about big money, a big con, and… it’s hard to say how many other cons. That film should also be streaming now. Looking ahead a few weeks, you can add another show to Apple’s all-of-a-sudden Wednesday line-up. Apple’s video streamer issued a press release Thursday announcing a release date for the series “The Big Door Prize.” Based on the novel of the same name, the release says: …“The Big Door Prize” tells the story of a small town that is forever changed when a mysterious machine appears in the general store, promising to reveal each resident’s true life potential. Chris O’Dowd leads the cast. The first three episodes of “The Big Door Prize” hit Apple TV+ on Wednesday, March 29. Additional episodes will land on successive Wednesday’s through the finale on May 17. And finally today, a much anticipated nerd movie from the Cupertino-streamer has a trailer and a release date. Engadget says the service has released a trailer for Tetris, which is — thankfully — a film about the game’s inception, not a computer generated blocky adventure. Though it’s amazing we never saw that movie happen. Describing the movie that did happen, Engadget says: Taron Egerton stars as Henk Rogers, a Dutch entrepreneur who (spoiler) secured deals to distribute Tetris on the Game Boy and other consoles. Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov (played by Nikita Yefremov) created the game during the Cold War, but because he was a government employee, he didn't receive any royalties at the outset. On the surface, that might not sound like the most compelling foundation for a thriller, but the rights to the classic puzzle game were embroiled in a clash between communism and capitalism. That sounds almost as fun as the game itself. Tetris plays in the middle of March for audiences at SXSW. It’ll start streaming on Apple TV+ on Friday, March 31. Ahead of all of that, you can catch the trailer now on YouTube. Today on The Mac Observer’s Daily Observations Podcast Apple’s OS adoption numbers piqued my interest — especially the iPadOS numbers. TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts kicks those around with me. Plus — Jeff dives into AI and Apple’s Neural Engine. That’s all today on the Daily Observations Podcast from The Mac Observer.

Recapping Apple’s 1Q23 Earnings Call

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 18:31:08 +0100

Recapping Apple’s December-quarter numbers and dipping into the earnings call. What Apple Had to Say For Itself for 1Q23 From Apple’s press release: Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2023 first quarter ended December 31, 2022. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $117.2 billion, down 5 percent year over year, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.88. That missed the expectations of the Apple watchers followed by Apple 3.0 by a decent amount. The nine pros followed by that site were looking for revenue of $121.77B on EPS of a buck-94. The unaffiliated analysts followed by the site saw revenue of $123.82B, which would have been flat versus the same quarter a year earlier. They were also looking for earnings per share of $2.02. Trying to inject a bit of pep, Apple CEO Tim Cook was quoted in the press release, saying: As we all continue to navigate a challenging environment, we are proud to have our best lineup of products and services ever, and as always, we remain focused on the long term and are leading with our values in everything we do… During the December quarter, we achieved a major milestone and are excited to report that we now have more than 2 billion active devices as part of our growing installed base. While the company had plans to explain itself, at least some investors weren’t in a listening mood. They also didn’t take heart from the pep talk part of the press release. A piece from CNBC had shares in the Cupertino-company falling 4% in extended trading on the weaker-than-expected results. Looking At Why Apple Missed Expectations On now to Mr. Cook’s explanation. There were three issue that hit Apple hard in the December-quarter: Foreign exchange headwinds, the COVID yoyo experienced in China, and the challenging macroeconomic environment — made so by inflation, war in Europe, ongoing effects of the pandemic, and other such factors. And yet, there were plenty of places where Apple did great. Cook pointed out all-time revenue records in a few markets, including Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, and Vietnam. He also pointed to quarterly revenue records in Brazil and India. We will be going back to India. Let’s make our way through product categories, starting with iPhone. Was not great. Revenue for the device came in at $65.8B, down $5.8B or 8% from the same quarter a year earlier. Users love ‘em. Tim Cook loves ‘em. There were, however, not enough of them. Despite the issues, Apple CFO Luca Maestri pointed out areas of strength for the Jesus-phone. According to Mr. Maestri, Apple: …set all-time iPhone revenue records in Canada, Italy and Spain, and saw strong growth in several emerging markets, including all-time iPhone revenue records for India and Vietnam. Still No Specific Numbers, but … Some Numbers? While Apple declined to put numbers on the installed base for iPhone specifically, the CFO did say iPhone’s installed base is growing, currently sitting “at an all-time high across all geographic segments,” with double-digit growth last quarter in emerging markets. The company also saw “record levels of switchers in India and in Mexico.” I said earlier that users love ‘em. In the states at least you can put that in bold. 451 Research puts U.S. iPhone customer satisfaction at 98% for the iPhone 14 line. Mac revenue was also off, as Mr. Maestri indicated it would be on the last earnings call. Revenue for Apple’s computers came in at $7.7B — down $3.1B from the same quarter a year ago. A few factors hit that: foreign exchange headwinds, macro economic concerns, and a particularly tough compare. As CEO Cook pointed out, the December-quarter of 2021 saw the introduction of the M1 powered MacBook Pro. The same quarter a year later saw no new Macs introduced. Still, CFO Maestri pointed out that the Mac’s installed base is at an all-time high. That’s thanks in part to upgrades driven by Apple Silicon. And users love them. 451 Research puts customer satisfaction for the Mac in the U.S. at 96%. iPad revenue came in at $9.4B — up $2.2B or 30% year-on-year. Kind of opposite the Mac, Apple’s tablet benefited from an easier compare. The company had trouble meeting demand in the December-quarter of 2021 thanks to component issues. Additionally, the company introduced a new iPad and an iPad Pro powered by M2 last quarter — again, sort of opposite the Mac. CFO Maestri says the installed base for iPad is at an all-time high. Over half the people buying an iPad last quarter were new to the product, according to the company. The State of Wearables, Home and Accessories It’s hard to not see the Wearables, Home, and Accessories category as disappointing. Revenue for that segment came in at $13.5B — down $1.2B or 8% year-on-year. This was another victim of foreign exchange headwinds and the macroeconomic environment. That said, CEO Cook says he’s excited for the category given the love people have for Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra. Plus, there’s a new HomePod coming out — not sure you’ve heard. Despite the decline in revenue for the category, CFO Maestri said Apple’s installed base of things in the Wearables, Home, and Accessories category set an all-time record driven by Apple Watch. Apple sold more of those last quarter than any quarter before, with two-thirds of those sales going to people who’d never had one before. The shiniest shiny on the call may have been the Services segment. Services revenue came in at $20.8B. That was an all-time quarterly record for the segment — up $1.3B versus the same quarter a year earlier. The amount was better than Apple expected and came despite weakness in digital advertising and mobile gaming. Those were weak thanks to the macroeconomic and foreign exchange-blah-blah. Apple’s CEO highlighted the performance of Apple TV+, Fitness+, and Apple Business Connect. He also put in a plug for MLS Season Pass and Apple’s 10-year partnership with Major League Soccer. Put ‘em all together and what’ve you got? Over 935-million paid subscriptions. CFO Maestri made the case for how that’s happened and why it seems likely to continue. Trends he says the company sees include increased customer engagement with Apple services during the December-quarter, continued growth in paid subscriptions (up 150-million over the last 12-months), and continued increase for the reach and quality of Apple’s services offerings. A Series of Shout Outs Then there’s the other stuff. Apple’s CEO shouted out the privacy tools the company is making available to consumers. He shouted out Apple Retail. He shouted out the charitable and humanitarian efforts powered by Apple and its employees. And he shouted out moves the company’s made and continues to make tied to racial equity and inclusion, as well as the environment. So — what is ahead? They did the color-not-guidance thing again, so don’t hold them to it. According to CFO Maestri’s “directional insights,” Apple is looking for year-on-year revenue for the March-quarter to be similar to the December-quarter. Assuming it happens, it would represent “an acceleration” in Apple's “year-over-year business performance…” That’s because the December-quarter had an extra week that the March-quarter does not. Foreign exchange will still be a headwind, hitting the company with a “negative year-over-year impact of 5 percentage points.” Services will continue to grow in the company’s estimation, though it’ll still be hard times for mobile games and digital ads. iPhone revenue will accelerate, relative to the December-quarter. And here’s something icky: Apple thinks revenue for both the Mac and the iPad will “decline double digits year-over-year because of challenging compares and macroeconomic headwinds.” And with that, the call was turned over to Q&A. Answering Questions, Not Answering Questions and Non-Answers to Questions Given how vexed Apple was last quarter by supply chain issues, it’s not surprising that the first question out of the gate concerned that. UBS analyst David Vogt asked about Apple’s supply chain, and whether the company’s thinking on it had changed. For now, said Apple’s CEO, “production is what we need it to be, and so the problem is behind us.” Apparently addressing the unasked question, “is the chain too tied up in China,” Cook said Apple builds its stuff everywhere, with components coming from many countries and three-countries currently cranking out iPhone. Given how whack the last three-years have been, thanks to COVID and the silicon shortage, Apple’s supply chain has been resilient overall. But — yeah, they will “continue to optimize it over time…” Shannon Cross of Credit Suisse was hoping to find out what’s up in China. Specifically, could the execs talk about demand since the country cut loose from its COVID restrictions. The answer — yes and no? When things started to open in December, Apple saw increases in both traffic to its stores and demand for its products. While the CEO stressed a marked changed in China from November to December, he did not want to comment on what happened in January. Instead he said what Apple’s seeing was reflected in Luca’s “directional insights” earlier in the call. Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers asked a fun question: How does Apple think about the roll of AI in its services business? The answer wasn’t as fun as it could have been. While CEO Cook said AI was a major focus of Apple’s, he pointed to such un-fun applications as Fall Detection, Crash Detection, and ECG on Apple Watch. That said, he said AI “will affect every product and every service” that Apple has. Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar had a question about emerging markets. Or, market. Or, India. What are Apple’s hopes versus what is achievable? Apple’s CEO pointed out that the company set a quarterly revenue record in India, “and grew very strong, double digits year over year.” Online retail’s been running there for a couple of years now. Physical Apple stores will be there, soon. According to Cook, the company is “in essence taking what [it] learned in China years ago and how [it] scaled China and bringing that to bear…” Staying on the subcontinent, CitiGroup analyst “Gentleman” Jim Suva wondered whether Apple was seeing even more opportunity there now that we’re “exiting COVID…” Even through COVID, CEO Cook says Apple did fairly well in India. “I’m even more bullish now on the other side of it, or hopefully on the other side of it,” said Cook “And that’s the reason why we’re investing there.” BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan was maybe a bit less nuanced than one might be. He said Cook & Co. have done a great job driving consumers to the higher end of product line-up. The question now, is the move to higher Average Selling Prices sustainable? Cook said this is a very strong Pro cycle and seemed to want to leave it there, though Mr. Mohan did not: “do you think that (…) this move to sort of higher ASPs that has happened over the last few years is sustainable or could it could sustain on this very tough macro environment that you’ve cited?” Mr. Cook’s response — The smartphone (iPhone) is so integral to people’s lives (they keep contacts on them, health info, banking info, important info)… Given how central they are to people’s lives, Cook says he thinks “people are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category.” There were two questions that many had hoped to hear answered on Apple’s call: One tied to current-quarter iPhone sales and one tied to layoffs. Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani has leaned pretty hard on a lot of iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max sales missed last quarter coming back this quarter. So — will they? Or — historically, have they in the past? Quoting Cook’s answer: It’s very hard to estimate, is the real answer, because you have to know a lot of data, and it’s usually only in hindsight that you have a more reasonable view of it. That is a long time to wait for a non-answer answer. As for potential layoffs, while the company did not address those specifically, it doesn’t sound like they’re on the horizon. Quoting Cook from the call: …whatever conditions we face, our approach is always the same: We are thoughtful and deliberate. We manage for the long term. We adapt quickly to circumstances outside our control while delivering with excellence in the things we can. We invest in innovation, in people, and in the positive difference we can make in the world. I guess adapting quickly could include staff reduction, though there was no indication of any such thing on the call. Giving Thanks Where Thanks Are Due Big thanks to Jason Snell and Dan Moren at Six Colors — they were early with a transcript of the December-quarter call. If you want to pour over every word — sixcolors.com. If you’re more of a listener than a reader — Apple’s got you covered. They’ve got a replay of the call up on their site. That’ll be there for a couple of weeks. It’s also available as a podcast. That should also be available for a couple of weeks. No doubt the usual suspects will weigh in on Apple earnings today and over the next few days. We’ll hit reaction notes on Monday. Today on The Mac Observer’s Daily Observations Podcast You’ll never guess. TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts and I kick through Apple’s December-quarter earnings, plus the Q&A part of the call. That’s today on the Daily Observations Podcast from The Mac Observer.

Prepping for Apple’s Earnings Call and Another Call for Sideloading

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 23:16:09 +0100

Prepping for the earnings call, a Federal agency calls for sideloading, and Samsung teases a move on mixed-reality. Apple 3.0 Sizes Up Expectations Ahead of Apple Q1FY23 Earnings Whether with dread or antici…pation, today is the day for which a segment of Apple watchers and all of Wall Street have been waiting. Apple is set to report numbers for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 — aka “the holiday quarter,” for once, the darkest time of the year where Apple is concerned. Over at Apple 3.0, Philip Elmer-DeWitt says, “[e]xpectations are so low it wouldn't take a very big surprise […] for Apple to beat them.” iPhone sales will be down year-on-year, thanks to the COVID-related closure of the Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou. Mac sales will be down thanks to the lack of new models last quarter, which the same quarter a year earlier did have. “Only Services, Wearables and iPads are expected to show any kind of year-over-year growth,” according to Elmer-DeWitt. The 11 independent analysts he follows are looking for revenue of $123.82B, which would pretty much be flat versus the same quarter a year ago, on earnings per share of $2.02. Pros are less optimistic. The nine he follows are looking for revenue of $121.77B — down 1.75% on EPS of a buck-94. Apple’s Q1FY23 Earnings Set for Today And with that, the betting window is closed and the horses are on the track. Apple is set to report December-quarter earnings this afternoon. Numbers will hit in a press release after the bell ~4:30 EST/1:30 PST. Then at 5:00 EST/2:00 PST, Apple analysts and Apple execs will go to the phone for their quarterly Q&A. You can hear that as it happens on Apple’s site. It’ll be made available as a podcast soon after. And — of course — we’ll hit the great and the gruesome right here on Friday. NTIA Calls for Sideloading and Third-Party App Stores for iPhone The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is officially calling for sideloading and third-party app stores for iPhone. AppleInsider highlights the NTIA’s report. While the Administration says the mobile app store model as it stands today “has provided a range of benefits to both app developers and users,” it “has also created conditions of competition that are suboptimal.” Quoting parts of the report’s executive summary: The policies that Apple and Google have in place... have created unnecessary barriers and costs for app developers… ranging from fees for access to functional restrictions that favor some apps over others. …in some areas, such as in-app payments, it is unclear how the current system benefits anyone other than Apple and Google. While Apple and Google provide reasons why some measures might be in place, such as the benefits to users in increased security and privacy protections, and to developers in terms of access to markets and development tools, many commenters challenge the technical necessities of these choices and question whether other models could provide similar if not greater benefit. And you start to get the idea. The report says: This report concludes with a series of recommendations, including: Promoting alternative means of app distribution, by, for example, considering measures to limit pre-installation or reducing restrictions on sideloading, competing app stores, and competing browsers that would allow fully-featured web apps. Considering measures to remove technical limitations on developers, by, for example, improving the fairness of mobile app store review processes, permitting broader in-app purchasing options, support stronger antitrust enforcement and encouraging interoperability. Whether you’re excited by the report’s findings or disappointed, real action seems fairly unlikely because — Congress. AppleInsider says the report argues that: “…given the growing importance of [the app] ecosystem to our economy,” and also to the people of the United States, Congress should “pursue measures... to open the ecosystem to greater competition.” There is political hay to be made, so… maybe. It’s not the fastest moving body, though. Perhaps the most amazing thing that happened Wednesday — Apple responded to the report on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the company told AppleInsider: We appreciate the report acknowledges the importance of user privacy, data security and user convenience. Nevertheless, we respectfully disagree with a number of conclusions reached in the report, which ignore the investments we make in innovation, privacy and security… The whole report is available to read on the web, though to borrow a line from Beetlejuice, the thing reads like stereo instructions. I do hope to read the report in the coming days, though I’m not sure I want to keep falling asleep quite that much. Samsung Exec Teases Move Into Mixed-Reality Will Samsung beat Apple in the race to a mixed-reality something? Engadget says the South Korean electronics maker has told The Washington Postthat it is working on something in “extended reality.” Since Samsung makes hardware, hardware is the assumption, though the company did not announce any such device during yesterday’s Unpacked event in San Francisco. About the only thing known about the hardware is that it’ll use chips provided by Qualcomm. As for the OS, Engadget says it’ll run on “a new, Google-designed version of Android designed with wearable displays in mind…” Though this is not Meta’s fork of Android for its Quest devices, the piece says Samsung’s mixed-reality hardware will “entail partnerships with Meta and Microsoft…” Smoke and mirrors? Or something actually on the way? No indication of a timeline from the Engadget article. While Samsung mobile president TM Roh says the company has been working on its mixed-reality machines for a while, he seems to sort of hedge, saying “the ecosystem has to be ‘somewhat ready’ before launch.” Start the clock. Spatial Audio Hits 700 Titles on Netflix Spatial audio has made its way to more Netflix movies and shows. Cult of Mac says the video-streaming giant has added the audio format, “which lets (…) tv shows and films offer a surround sound-like experience” minus the surround sound hardware. An early report from the site indicated that Netflix was using Apple’s version of spatial audio, though it turns out the service has actually rolled its own. Even so, it says that “Netflix spatial audio brings an immersive, cinematic sound experience on any device with no additional equipment required…” What’s funny is the Cult says Netflix has “greatly increased” the number of movies and shows with spatial audio. With who knows how many tens-of-thousands of titles and episodes available though, the piece says spatial audio is now live “on 700 of the streaming service’s most-popular watched titles…” for a price. Now, maybe you’re thinking, “Are you calling me a deadbeat? I pay for my Netflix.” You might not be paying enough, though. According to Cult of Mac. the Standard Netflix plan is $15.49 per month, though that does not include Spatial Audio nor 4K video. Standard tops out at 1080p, according to the report. If you want 4K and Spatial Audio on way less than the Netflix catalogue offers, that requires the Premium plan, which runs subscribers $19.99 per month. MLS Season Pass Subscriptions Open Ahead of Season’s Start The 2023 Major League Soccer season doesn’t start for another few weeks, but your subscription to it is available now. Apple issued a press release Wednesday, announcing the global availability of MLS Season Pass through the Apple TV app. While the season does not kickoff until Feb. 25, the release highlights lots of free content available beforehand. “To get ready for the 2023 Major League Soccer season,” the release says: …fans can enjoy a wide variety of free on-demand content that celebrates the action, excitement, and distinct culture of MLS, including content from MLS clubs, 2023 player profiles, the best league and club highlights from the 2022 season, full replays of classic matches, and documentary-style vignettes. Could be a good primer for the soccer-curious, I suppose. Once play begins, the release says: …MLS Season Pass will feature every live MLS regular-season match, the entire Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, and Leagues Cup all in one place, with consistent match times and no blackouts — a first in live sports broadcasting. As stated before, subscriptions are open now. They’ll run viewers $14.99-per-month or $99 if you buy the full-season up front. Apple TV+ subscribers get discounts on those prices — either $12.99-per-month or $79 for the full slate if you pay in advance. Apple Tops Fortune List of World’s Most Admired Companies And finally today, while Wall Street may not be overjoyed with Apple’s earnings today, the company’s compatriots have mad respect. Fortune (via Apple News) is out with its 25th annual list of the world’s most admired companies. That list is actually divided into a few lists — some for individual industries and one list to rule them all. As it has for sometime now, Apple sits atop both lists on which it shows — Computer Industry and the great big list of All Stars. The way Fortune puts it: When a company scores well on both rankings, it’s likely executing at an Olympian level, both in public and behind the scenes. Apple’s 16-year streak at No. 1 on the All-Stars list is a tribute to its historic cash-machine-like profitability and the reliability and popularity of its devices. But its top ranking in the computer industry—for the 13th time in 14 years—shows that it’s also impressing the competitors who know it best. So, investors might be bothered these days. Employees may not be into everything the company does. Various global governments may not be big fans. Businesses and businesses that do what Apple does like the way Apple does business. Today on The Mac Observer’s Daily Observations Podcast TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts and I talk over the NTIA report (because we have to) and Samsung’s mixed-reality talk (because we want to (well… I want to)). That’s all today on the Daily Observations Podcast from The Mac Observer.

When iPhone 14 Pro Supply Met Demand

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 20:30:33 +0100

Good news (maybe) on iPhone availability, Apple Maps can help you find a place to park, and as snow falls, false Crash Detections rise. JP Morgan Notes Continued Improvement in iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max Availability iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models are even easier to get than they were a couple of weeks ago. That's saying something, since they were pretty easy to get even then. Just ahead of the new year, I told you of a note from JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee. In that note, he said: …a majority of SKUs are now available for in-store pickup across all geographies, including China for the first time since product launch. Lead times for the Pro models are now tracking in line with lead times seen prior to the COVID outbreak in Zhengzhou, China, suggesting that supply is improving and inching slowly towards parity with demand… That was in the last week of December, and availability’s only gotten better since. Apple 3.0 ran part of a note he wrote on Monday that wasn’t the same. However, it was similar to the one two weeks back. According to the analyst: Waits for phones at the Pro end of the iPhone 14 line are less than a week in China, the UK, and the US Lead times are shorter than late September/early October waits before the COVID-related disruptions around Foxconn’s “iPhone City” plant in Zhengzhou, China In-store availability is better than it was a week ago with “nearly all SKUs of the Pro and Pro Max models (…) now available for same-day pickup,” according to the analyst. Good news, right? Well… sure? Chatterjee says he and his attribute the shorter waits to two factors. One is “improvement in output at Foxconn’s main iPhone plant,” which is likely to be seen as good news. The other is “seasonal demand moderation,” which brings back one big question: Were the sales missed in December sales deferred or sales lost? It’ll likely be a while before there are numbers to back either take. In the meantime, Mr. Chatterjee maintains an “Overweight” rating on Apple shares. He’s set JP Morgan’s price target on the shares at $190. Apple Issues Second RSR Update for macOS Ventura Beta 13.2 One wonders whether Apple’s Rapid Security Response will become akin to something like “the boy who cried wolf.” Then again, maybe that’s the point. Rapid Security Response is a feature introduced in iOS 16, (I assume) iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura. Boiling it to its simplest terms — when one opts in, it allows Apple to slide in security fixes without the user having to update or restart their machine. A piece from MacRumors says Apple released its second Rapid Security Response update for the macOS 13.2 beta on Monday. The piece says the first one didn’t seem to do anything, leading watchers to believe that it was just a test. Just as little is known about Monday’s RSR activation, though the piece says the size (13.4MB) makes yet another test seem likely. iOS 16 and its various betas have also seen several RSR updates — most if not all assumed to be tests, and you start to see what I mean. With test after test after test, will anyone believe when an RSR deployment is the real deal? Then again — it’s meant to be a set-it-and-forget-it feature. It really doesn’t matter whether such a deployment is a test or an actual fix, as long as the system works. And maybe that’s the point. Apple Maps Integrates SpotHero Parking Reservations in US and Canada Apple Maps has made it easier to find parking in the US and Canada, though the spots will come at a price. Cult of Mac says Apple’s mapping service has integrated SpotHero into Maps. The piece says that ties in “parking options for more than 8,000 locations across North America.” The report has SpotHero calling itself “the leading digital parking reservation app in North America,” with locations near airports and event centers all over the map. The Cult says the service went live in Apple Maps on Monday. To try it out, type in a location in Maps. When the info page for that location pops up hit the “More” button. That prompts a pop-up that should show “Parking” as one of the options. Tap that and the phone will open either the SpotHero app or website, with parking options near the location. Those can be filtered for a number of options, according to the piece. “Prices are clearly shown,” according to Cult of Mac. Find a spot you want and the report says you can “reserve it through a secure payment system.” As Winter Sports Increase, More False Crash Detection Reports With a rise in winter sports has come a rise in false alarms from Crash Detection on Apple devices, apparently — and that has put emergency responders at odds with emergency responders. The website for Minnesota Public Radio News outlines problems faced by emergency communications centers in places where skiing and snow mobile use are up. Past reports have indicated a rise in calls triggered by Crash Detection and similar features in apps as well as from Android devices tied to activities like snow mobile-ing, skiing, and — humorously — riding roller coasters. The ones involving wilderness activities have to be taken seriously, though. And they can lead to trouble — especially when no one is actually in trouble. Jon Lentz, patrol captain with the Stearns County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota, says his office has received seven Crash Detection calls in the past couple of weeks. The good news — none of those involved actual crashes. The bad news — each took time (sometimes minutes, sometimes hours) and manpower to track down. Minnesota Public Radio says some officers are asking users to turn off Crash Detection when skiing or snow mobile-ing, though not every official agrees. Dana Wahlberg, director of the emergency communication networks division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, would rather see people learn more about the tech they’re strapping to their bodies. Wahlberg says: This is a really good opportunity to provide education to people to help them understand that [they’ve] purchased a product that has a lot of technology available with it… And with that comes a responsibility to really embrace that technology. Report: Apple to Restructure Services as VP Stern Exits Company And finally today, something of a shakeup inside Apple’s Services division. MacRumors highlights a Business Insider piece that says Peter Stern is leaving the Cupertino-company. Never heard of him? He’s the guy behind the guy. Or, behind lots of guys. Answering to Apple Senior VP of Services Eddy “the Butler” Cue, Stern is said by the piece to oversee Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, Apple One, Apple TV+, Books, iCloud, and Sports as VP of Services. That’s a position he’ll apparently hold until the end of the month. Once seen as a possible successor to Cue, the piece has Stern telling “colleagues that he is leaving in order to spend more time on the East Coast…” If you’re wondering what one person could handle so much in Stern’s absence, it seems no one person leaps to mind. “Apple will be restructuring its services business,” according to the report, “splitting the services unit and Stern's responsibilities into three divisions.” Today on The Mac Observer’s Daily Observations Podcast TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts and I talk over the meeting between supply and demand on the iPhone 14 Pro line. Plus — the problem with false-positive Crash Detections? We try to solve it! Do we succeed? Find out on the Daily Observations Podcast from The Mac Observer.

WW (Weight Watchers) iPhone- / iPad-App 10.27.1 Deutsch

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 13:00:56 +0100

Programme, Rezepte und Artikel von Weight Watchers kommen mit "WW (Weight Watchers)" kostenlos auf Ihr iPhone und iPad.

WW (Weight Watchers) - Android App 10.27.1 Deutsch

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 13:00:56 +0100

Die offizielle Weight-Watchers-App für Android zum kostenlosen Download.

Solana Founders Scramble To Move Past FTX's Stain on Their Token

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 16:16:08 +0100

Solana, the blockchain network once championed by Sam Bankman-Fried, is drawing intense scrutiny as industry watchers wonder whether its former close ties to the disgraced crypto mogul and his now-defunct FTX empire will jeopardize its future. From a report: Its founders are doing everything they can to break that connection. The price of Solana's crypto token, SOL, has plummeted 96% from its all-time high of $260 in November 2021 to about $10, hurt first by a year-long crypto rout that engulfed the whole market and then again by FTX's fall. SOL dropped as much as 12% on Wednesday alone on concern large holders are offloading the token, which is used as the base cryptocurrency for financial transactions on the blockchain. Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, the startup that developed the blockchain, said in an interview earlier this month that he doesn't usually comment on price, and that the focus instead should be on "the technology and having people build something awesome that's decentralized." But the collapse of FTX is having an impact -- both personal and professional -- on Solana and its founders. And the token's drop can be seen as an expression of waning confidence in the whole platform, which at its peak sported a market value of almost $80 billion and is now a tiny fraction of that. Yakovenko said roughly 4% of teams building projects on Solana now were acutely affected by FTX's collapse. Some platforms had funds custodied on the crypto exchange. About 80% of teams on Solana's blockchain had no exposure at all to FTX, Yakovenko said, referring to survey data, adding that he was connecting severely impacted founders with investors who could potentially provide emergency capital. "There's definitely more to Solana than FTX," Yakovenko said. Still, the network's longstanding ties to FTX and Alameda Research, the crypto trading firm co-founded by Bankman-Fried, may make it hard for some to move past the association. The two firms helped support Solana by purchasing SOL tokens in bulk from the Solana Foundation, the nonprofit that helps support the blockchain. Alameda also bought large quantities of SOL from Solana Labs. [...] Alameda and FTX's venture arm also invested in multiple projects that operated on Solana, while FTX built its own projects on the network, including the decentralized finance platform Serum. These types of efforts, from an industry leader with substantial influence in the market, helped introduce Solana to many crypto users, Gokal said.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

ActivityWatch 0.12.1 - ActivityWatch is an app that automatically tracks how you spend time on your devices.

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 10:00:30 +0100

ActivityWatch is an app that automatically tracks how you spend time on your devices.

It is open source, privacy-first, cross-platform, and a great alternative to services like RescueTime, ManicTime, and WakaTime.

It can be used to keep track of your productivity, time spent on different projects, bad screen habits, or just to understand how you spend your time.

Features

Tracking: Tracks active application and window title out of the box, more with watchers.
Categories: Get a better overview of your usage by breaking it down into categories.
Browser extensions: Track the active tab using the extensions for Chrome and Firefox.
Editor plugins: Track how you spend time writing code with editor watchers.
Privacy: Data is stored locally and doesn't leave your device, we put local and privacy first.
Cross-platform: Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.

Improves macOS support through a new default method of watching window titles (written in Swift) which should fix bugs with missing data and permissions issues.
Fixes a few minor bugs and updates various dependencies to newer versions (Python 3.9, Qt6).

Download Now

Today in Apple history: iPhone may have to seek new name

Sun, 18 Dec 2022 20:07:11 +0100

December 18, 2006: Apple fans mourn the death of the iPhone before it even launches. After Linksys begins selling new handsets, Cupertino watchers must come to grips with the fact that Apple’s rumored smartphone probably won’t be called the iPhone after all. Why? Because Linksys’ parent company, Cisco Systems, owns the iPhone trademark, despite Apple previously […]

(via Cult of Mac - Tech and culture through an Apple lens)

Apple Car Talk with Roberto Baldwin – TMO Daily Observations 2022-12-14

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 10:30:27 +0100

Last week, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said that Apple has way scaled back its automotive plans. Apple watchers have wondered about Apple Car for years, but what does the automotive world make of Cupertino’s plans? Tech and automotive journalist Roberto Baldwin (@strngwys on Twitter) joins Ken to do a bit of Apple Car talk.

Supply Chain Chatter and Union/Disunion

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 22:00:04 +0100

Pronouncements on iPhone production, two tales of Apple and retail worker unions, and more on Apple’s advertising pause on Twitter. Foxconn Expects Normal Production from Zhengzhou’s 'iPhone City' in 3-to-4 Weeks Given the number of times over the past month that Foxconn has started, stopped, and restarted hiring at its “iPhone City” plant in Zhengzhou, China — it’s hard to get too excited about positive comments from the company. And yet, the world was treated to a few on Monday. MacRumors highlights a Reuters report that seemed to include official and unofficial comments from Apple’s contract manufacturing partner. On the unofficial, Reuters had a Foxconn source saying the “situation has stabilized,” in reference to “protests in Zhengzhou and the government's easing of COVID restrictions.” According to the source: The local government is actively helping with the resumption. The capacity is now being gradually resumed with new staff hiring under way. If the recruitment goes smoothly, it could take around three to four weeks to resume full production… Yeah, keep making your if it “goes smoothly” comments… Assuming things do go smoothly, that would put operations back to rights at the end of December/first part of January. As for official comments, a statement from Foxconn said presently, “the overall epidemic situation has been brought under control with November being the most affected period.” The company added that recruitment is once again underway, and that it is gradually “restoring production capacity to normal.” Surveying the Current Scene Now, Apple watchers are just left to wonder how abnormal things actually were. Well, that and whether things will go as smoothly as Foxconn’s predicting. On assessing abnormality, I told you yesterday of Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani’s stated belief that Apple will have missed between 5-million and 8-million iPhone units once the December quarter’s done. His numbers are pretty positive compared to his compatriots. He says consensus is calling for a miss of ~10-million units, while the more bearish of the bunch see a miss as high as 15-million. Surprisingly, it is between those numbers that we find one of the most bullish Apple analysts out there. Apple 3.0 ran part of a note Monday from Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives. In it, he put himself in that bad-to-worse range — anticipating “iPhone shortages between 10 million and 15 million units in this all-important holiday season…” While his “missing Christmas” expectations are worse than Daryanani’s, he agrees with the Evercore analyst that these will end up being sales deferred, not sales lost. Quoting Ives’ note: We estimate demand vs. supply from consumers around iPhone 14 Pro today are currently at a 3:1 ratio as many Apple stores, retailers, and online channels are looking empty handed for most iPhone 14 Pro models until at least early to mid January. We could see some consumers trade down to the base model iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Plus, however our expectations is that roughly 10 million to 15 million iPhones (and potentially more) will move from the December quarter into the March quarter as supply starts to ramp back up over the coming weeks (assuming no more China shutdowns and protests). Yeah. Just keep saying stuff like that out loud, why don’t ya… Interestingly, the thrust of his note was not about current-quarter iPhone expectations. It was largely centered on last weekend’s Wall Street Journal piece that had Apple telling suppliers to prep for more production outside of China. Bottom line: It won’t be simple, but it will be doable. Quoting his note again: The shift out of China will not be easy and come with clear logistical, engineering, and infrastructure hurdles as the aggressive move to India and Vietnam now begins with the Apple ecosystem alerted. We believe by 2025/2026 if Apple moves aggressively more than 50% of iPhone production could come out of India and Vietnam vs. single digits today. Mr. Ives has an “Outperform” rating on Apple shares. His price target on the shares is $200. CNBC Sources Say Apple and India Are Talking iPad Production iPhone is not the only thing Apple makes in China, so — of course — it is not the only thing Apple might like to make elsewhere. CNBC says the Cupertino-company has talked with officials in India about moving at least some iPad production to the subcontinent. The site cites two unnamed sources “close to the Indian government,” saying, “India is exploring options to bring some of Apple’s iPad production to the country from China.” While discussions are said to be ongoing, the piece says that no official deal has been reached. Apple declined to comment for the CNBC piece. Regulatory Review Delays Apple Pay Launch in South Korea Last week, the Apple watching world expected Apple Pay to launch in South Korea. Didn’t happen, and you can blame red tape. On Nov. 29, a piece from 9to5Mac had “a local bank (…) announcing that its customers [would] be able to use Apple Pay starting November 30.” Now, a piece from AppleInsider says last week’s anticipated launch was delayed by a last-minute regulatory review. The piece has South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service saying there’s “something they are looking into as part of the review, which needs to be completed before the review ends.” The piece is unclear on what the FSS is investigating specifically. “Despite the regulatory slowness,” AppleInsider says, “there is still an expectation for Apple Pay to arrive in South Korea by the end of December at the earliest, or in early 2023.” Two Tales of Apple and Retail Worker Unions NLRB Says Atlanta Anti-Union Tactics Were Illegal Two opposing tales of Apple and unionization efforts today, both from our friends at Bloomberg. The first (via Yahoo! Finance) has the National Labor Relations Board saying that the Cupertino-company’s “anti-union tactics in Atlanta were illegal,” while the second (also via Yahoo! Finance) has retail workers in St. Louis saying, “Why would we want a union?” Quoting the first story: US labor board prosecutors have determined that Apple Inc. violated federal law by interrogating and coercing employees in Atlanta (…) The National Labor Relations Board’s Atlanta regional director also concluded that Apple held mandatory anti-union meetings during which management made coercive statements and will issue a complaint if the company doesn’t settle… The piece has the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the organization that represented Atlanta retail workers in their attempt to unionize, saying in statement: Apple executives think the rules don’t apply to them… Holding an illegal forced captive audience meeting is not only union-busting, but an example of psychological warfare. We commend the NLRB for recognizing captive audience meetings for exactly what they are: a direct violation of labor rights. Monday’s move by the NLRB may begin a journey with many steps. Bloomberg says complaints by NLRB regional directors go to NLRB judges for consideration. Decisions by those judges can be appealed to NLRB members in DC. After that, they can go to federal court. Assuming Apple doesn’t settle. St. Louis Apple Store Workers Reject Union On the same day that the NLRB says Apple was up to no good in trying to thwart union plans, a group of retail workers who had been considering union seem to have had a really swift about-face. Quoting the other Bloomberg report: Apple Inc. retail employees pushed back on unionization efforts at a location in St. Louis, with staffers saying they don’t want to be represented by the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM), a labor group that recently attempted to organize the store. According to a petition that workers are filing with the National Labor Relations Board, 66 of the store’s 90 employees -- nearly three-quarters -- have rejected the IAM, saying they “do not want to join the union and do not support the union in any manner.” The IAM dropped its unionization efforts in late November, around the same time retail workers started collecting anti-union signatures, according to the report. At the time, the IAM blamed “anti-union practices and increased hostility toward workers.” According to a statement from the employees Monday: The reality is much simpler: The majority of employees at this Apple Store do not wish to work with the IAM… The majority of workers at the St. Louis Galleria Apple Store do not believe a union is required at this time, nor do they wish to work with the IAM in the future. “According to the employees’ statement,” according to Bloomberg: …workers said they didn’t feel “the union would provide anything complementary to Apple’s culture and existing benefits” and that some felt misled after initially giving support to the group… Are you like me? Do you wonder who organized the statements? Ars Technica: Apple’s Twitter Ad Pause a Response to Club Q Shootings We have, it seems, gotten to the bottom of the Apple/Twitter advertising mystery. Of course you remember the tempest in a Tweet started by Twitter owner Elon Musk last week. Offering no proof, Musk took to Twitter saying, “Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?” It was an odd assertion, with some “prominent Apple bloggers” pointing out that Apple ads actually appeared on Twitter next to Musk’s Tweets bashing Apple. Additionally, a Gizmodo piece had the ad analytics firm Pathmatics indicated that Apple spent close to $85,000 on Twitter ads that day. The day before that, the Cupertino-company spent nearly $105,000. For the month of November, Pathmatics says Apple spent a little over a million dollars on Twitter ads — more than October’s ~$989,000. And yet, a piece from Ars Technica says Apple did pause advertising for a period in November, though it had nothing to do with Musk and nothing to do with free speech. According to Ars, Apple pulled its ads after the mass shooting at the LGBTQ+ nightclub “Club Q” in Colorado Springs. That tragedy left five people dead and several injured. Quoting Ars Technica: Two former Twitter employees told The New York Times that the tech company was protecting its brand by ensuring that Apple ads wouldn’t appear next to news reports of the mass shooting. So… you know… well done, Elmo. Apple TV+ Outs Trailer for Fourth and Final Season of ‘Servant’ And finally today, there’s a trailer out for the fourth and final season of the Apple TV+/M. Night Shyamalan series Servant. It’s hard to say anything without giving anything away. The press release is up now on Apple’s site. Seasons one, two, and three are available to stream now on Apple TV+. Season four begins on Jan. 13, 2023. You can, of course, catch the season four trailer on YouTube. Today on The Mac Observer’s Daily Observations podcast TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts and I talk the current and future state of iPhone production and Mr. Musk’s advertising mess. That’s all today on the Daily Observations Podcast from The Mac Observer.

Good News On the Apple Front, Mixed Reality and Real Life Saving Features

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 22:45:05 +0100

Positive notes on Apple, news on Apple’s mixed reality plans, and where on earth was iPhone’s first satellite save? Positive Notes on Apple from Evercore Firm Notes Shorter Waits for iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max Two up-notes from Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani to end the week last week. One was on iPhone 14 Pro availability, the other was on the app store - both highlighted by Apple 3.0. On the phone, despite the plethora of production problems outlined here over the past several weeks, Apple and Foxconn are shrinking the gap between supply and demand in Daryanani’s estimation. That said, it’s still a pretty big gap. Back on 23 November waits stood at between 35 and 42-days. As of last week, they were down to between 25 and 29-days. There are a couple of caveats to his note though: The first - Waits in Japan are still pretty long, standing at about 39-days. As for the second - Daryanani entertains the possibility that it’s shrinking demand rather than growing supply that’s causing the two to draw closer together. Quoting the analyst: Although we note that demand has remained strong and demand destruction has been minimal (demand deferred vs. lost), there is a possibility that the situation in China getting worse negatively impacts consumer demand. As for what’s been lost or deferred, that’s all over the map. Evercore thinks missed iPhone units for the quarter will be between 5-million and 8-million. Consensus is running closer to 10-million units, according to the firm, with particularly bearish takes seeing 15-million units missed. All of that could mean a bad quarter, though Daryanani thinks those sales will be made up. Or - at the very least - buyers won’t buy anything besides an iPhone. While Apple may take a revenue hit as high as $8B this quarter, the analyst seems to think most of that will push out to the March and June quarters. “Given the consistently strong demand for the iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max and the stickiness of the AAPL eco-system,” writes the analyst, “we continue to view this as revenue deferred vs. lost.” Moving Manufacturing Around How does Apple make sure something like this quarter never happens again? Diversify the supply chain. A piece over the weekend from the Wall Street Journal, highlighted by AppleInsider, indicates that the Cupertino-company is getting serious about that. The report on the report says Apple has “accelerated plans” to move some production from China to other countries, with India and Vietnam named as the primary beneficiaries. The piece says Apple is “now reportedly informing suppliers to ‘plan more actively’ for assembly elsewhere in Asia,” including those two countries. This is something for which Apple watchers have called for a long time, though indications are that the cluster-thing around iPhone City has sped that up. There are difficulties doing it, though. China knows how to roll out brand new products. Like - category defining products. While India and Vietnam could be brought up to speed on that, that takes time. And now’s not a great time for it. Given the current economic climate, “with hiring slowdowns and a slowing global economy,” Journal sources say, “it's harder for Apple to allocate workers to deal with [New Product Introduction] with new suppliers in new countries…” So yes, Apple is looking to diversify the supply chain. And yes, it’s going to take time. Possible Improvements in the App Store As for Evercore’s second up-note… it’s kind of positive. You know, like when people see something bad and say, “could’ve been worse.” Quoting Daryanani’s other note: App Store revenue growth remained negative in November with a 4% decline, but this is the first month since April-22 when growth rates have moved in the right direction. The improvement is modest relative to the -6% decline in October, but it is encouraging to see things heading in the right direction. Could’ve been worse! That said, it doesn’t sound like the App Store is seeing more business. Rather, the people doing business there are paying more to do it. Quoting his note again: The drivers of the improvement likely include a weaker dollar and the price increase pushed through by Apple starting in early October. The price increase impacted all countries using the Euro as well as South Korea and Japan, and these are some of the countries where we saw the largest improvement in growth rates. Korea was the most notable improvement going from flat in October to +9% in November. If foreign exchange rates continue to improve, the App Store could be in for truly good times. Daryanani’s not ready to put money on that, though. “This is a positive data point,” notes the note, “but we remain cautious on the App Store and would not make a call on a single months data.” Daryanani has an “Outperform” rating on Apple shares. His price target on the shares is $190. One Step Forward, One Step Back for Apple’s Mixed Reality Headset Reports have Apple’s mixed-reality headset taking one step forward and one step back. On the advance, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (via MSN) says Apple has renamed the device’s operating system. The operating system was reportedly called realityOS. The new name, according to secret insiders, is xrOS. Eh… According to the piece: The new software name is a nod to the headset’s mixed-reality capabilities. “XR” stands for extended reality, a term that encompasses both augmented and virtual reality. It’s not just talk from insiders that has Gruman taking the xrOS talk seriously. Are we gonna call it crossOS? We’re gonna call it crossOS, right? I don’t like the potential religious confusion around that, but xrOS is a mouthful, without saying a lot. Anyway, it’s not just talk from insiders that has Gurman taking the xrOS talk seriously. According to the piece: …a secretive shell corporation named Deep Dive LLC filed to trademark the brand “xrOS” in several countries internationally and is trying to secure the name in the US. Gurman says Apple “plans to introduce the headset as early as next year,” which makes it sound not like early next year. And now, we get to the one step back. TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo took to Twitter on Sunday to say anticipate Apple’s mixed reality headset, but don’t hold your breath yet. In one Twitter post he says the market had expected mass shipments of Apple’s headset in the second-quarter of 2023. Now, another Twitter post says he thinks the whole thing may be pushed to the second half of 2023. And that may push hearing anything official from Apple. In another Tweet in the thread, the analyst says a media event to announce the new device/platform had been expected in January 2023. If the device is pushed out, he expects that event will be pushed out as well. Goldman Sachs Preps Terms for Apple Card Savings Account A sign of life for Apple Card’s high-yield savings account. “In October,” says a piece from MacRumors: …Apple announced that Apple Card users would soon be able to open a new high-yield savings account from Goldman Sachs and have their Daily Cash cashback rewards automatically deposited into it, with no fees, no minimum deposits, and no minimum balance requirements. Since then, nothin’. Until Friday. That’s when MacRumors ran its piece saying that Goldman Sachs had updated its Apple Card customer agreement with a mention of the savings account feature. What it does not mention is when, unless you count “upcoming” as when. According to the report: The savings account was listed in the release notes for the iOS 16.1 Release Candidate, but it did not end up launching with that update. The savings account has not been present in any iOS 16.2 betas, so it's unclear when it will become available… Apple TV+ Orders Second Season of ‘Surface’ Look for the Apple TV+ series Surface to resurface. AppleInsider says the psychological thriller has been picked up for a second season. Starring and executive produced by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the show’s first season told the story of Sophie - a woman trying to piece her life together in the face of “extreme memory loss following what appeared to be a suicide attempt.” Season two will take Sophie to London as she looks deeper into her past. Viewers can follow along, though no telling when. While all eight episodes of season one are available to stream now, there’s no announced timeframe for the second season’s release. Alaska Snowmobiler First Individual Saved by Emergency SOS via Satellite And finally today, if you follow Apple-related news, you kind of had to wonder where and when the first rescue story around Emergency SOS via Satellite would hit. Activated in the middle of November, it took a tiny bit longer than one might have expected, though not long at all in the grand scheme. A piece from 9to5Mac says a snowmobiler in Alaska was saved by the service, in what’s thought to be the first such save for Emergency SOS via Satellite. In a short report the State of Alaska Department of Public Safety said: On December 1, 2022, at around 2:00 am, the Alaska State Troopers were notified that an adult male traveling via snowmachine from Noorvik to Kotzebue had activated an Apple iPhone Emergency SOS via satellite on his iPhone after becoming stranded. Working with local search and rescue teams, the Apple Emergency Response Center, and the Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue Coordinator, the [authorities] deployed four volunteer searchers to the […] area directly to the GPS coordinates provided by the Apple Emergency Response Center. A MacRumors report on the incident says, “[t]roopers who helped with the rescue were ‘impressed with the accuracy and completeness of information included in the initial alert…’” Plus - it was rescue, not a recovery. I don’t want to put words in the man’s mouth, but you’ve gotta figure the they guy they went out and got was pretty impressed as well. Active now in the U.S. and Canada, Emergency SOS via Satellite is set to go live in a few more countries before year’s end. 9to5Mac says iPhone 14 users in France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK are expected to have access to the service later this month. Today on The Mac Observer’s Daily Observations Podcast I told you about the Bloomberg and TF International takes on Apple's mixed reality headset. TMO Managing Editor Jeff Butts joins me to discuss that. Plus the Sunbird messaging app, Eufy video storage, and Elon Musk are in for Mailbag Monday. That’s all today on the Daily Observations Podcast from The Mac Observer.

Lost, Not Deferred, iPhone 14 Sales, Settled Lawsuits and Then Good News

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 16:00:20 +0100

A troubling prediction for iPhone 14 Pros, good news for Apple on the smartwatch front, and a surprising PR move for Apple TV+. These are the sorts of things we see from the Observation Deck today. Ming-Chi Kuo: Most iPhone Sales Missed This Quarter Will Be Lost, Not Deferred Kind of an odd post from TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo to start us off today. First off — iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max shipments for the current quarter are going to stink. That part is neither odd nor surprising. For well over a month now we’ve heard of production problems for Foxconn’s “iPhone City” plant in Zhengzhou — the primary source for most of Apple’s Pro-level phones. His expectation of this quarter’s miss is drastic, though. In a post on Medium, the analyst says he has cut his unit numbers for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max by 15 to 20-million units. While most Apple watchers are looking for between 80 and 85-million Pro phones moved this quarter, Ming-Chi Kuo is only expecting the company to ship 70 to 75-million units. For November, he says the Zhengzhou plant was operating at about 20% capacity. He expects that to rise to between 30% and 40% in December. While Pegatron and Luxshare “have obtained about 10% of the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max orders from Foxconn,” they won’t start shipping in earnest until late December — and that still only gets you to about half the shipments initially planned. A Trickle-Down Effect on Supply Chain Earnings This will, of course, cause earnings ripples in the supply chain. “Apple’s iPhone revenue in 4Q22 may be significantly lower than the market consensus by 20–30% or more,” according to the analyst. Given the issues with zero-COVID in China and unrest among its workers, the analyst figures Foxconn will lose its exclusive deal to build Pro models in the iPhone 15 line, so that’s a hit for that company. He also sees ripples in components, with assemblers not needing as many next quarter as previously expected because they’ll be sitting on a surplus from the current quarter. But the phones all get sold eventually, right? Now we’ve hit the odd part. While one thinks of Ming-Chi Kuo as a products guy and a supply chain guy, I don’t usually think of him as a “greater economy” guy. He stepped out on that limb on Tuesday, though. While a number of analysts have said that sales missed this quarter are sales deferred rather than sales lost, Young MC disagrees. Quoting his post: I believe that most of the demand for the 4Q22 iPhone 14 Pro series amid the economic recession will disappear due to the significant supply and demand gap rather than deferred. Maybe that’s what beat down Apple shares on Tuesday. Maybe it was the continued goading by the chief troll at Twitter and his newfound friends in Congress. Whatever the case, Apple shares were down three-bucks and change on Tuesday, ending the day at $141.17. Counterpoint: Apple Owns Half of High-Level Smartwatch Market If you’re looking for good news around Apple, check the time. New data from Counterpoint Research indicates that half of High Level Operating System smartwatches sold globally last quarter were Apple Watch models — and more than half of that half was Apple’s latest Series 8. This is a market that has way not settled. Counterpoint divides the category into two sub-categories: basic smartwatches and High Level Operating System (HLOS) watches. While the HLOS segment grew 23%, the basic watch category “more than doubled YoY…” They were still dwarfed by HLOS watches, though. Basic watches only accounted for 35% of the total market, with the other 65% devoted to HLOS devices. Apple Watch owned just under 51% of that 65%, with Apple Watch Series 8 accounting for 56% of Apple’s 51%. The top market for smartwatch sales last quarter will likely surprise you. “In terms of regions,” says Counterpoint: …India occupied the top position for the first time. Senior Analyst Anshika Jain said, “India’s smartwatch market grew 171% YoY in Q3 2022 to become the biggest market in the world.” A few factors drove that growth, including India’s festive season, expansion of homegrown products at affordable prices, and an “emphasis on local manufacturing…” which sounds both repetitive and redundant. Though the Counterpoint release does not make it clear, one assumes that the emphasis on locally made products and affordability means India was mostly buying basic smartwatches, not HLOS devices. Running down the regions: First place India accounted for 30% of the smartwatch market in the September-quarter, up from 14% for the same quarter a year earlier. Shipments there grew the aforementioned 171%. Second place North America saw its share contract from 27% in the third-quarter of 2021 to last quarter’s 25%. Shipments still grew 21%, according to the report. Zero-COVID and “the subsequent economic downturn,” sent third-place China’s share from 22% in the third-quarter of 2021 to last quarter’s 16%. Shipments there were off 6%, according to Counterpoint’s counting. Apple Gets Preliminary Approval to Settle Butterfly Keyboard Suit Apple’s got the preliminary go-ahead to settle a class-action Butterfly Keyboard lawsuit. MacRumors highlights a report from Law360, saying a California federal judge has given early approval for Apple to settle the case for $50 million. If you’re like me, you remember this problem very well. Apple introduced the Butterfly Keyboard back in 2015, saying it provided a better feel, more stability, and let the company make laptops that were thinner than previous models. There was just one problem though: They kind of sucked. According to MacRumors: Thousands of people ran into problems with repeating keys, sticky keys, and keys that otherwise failed when dust and other particulates got into the butterfly mechanism. The complaints led to a huge controversy over the butterfly technology, and Apple ended up launching a keyboard repair program in June 2018. Cool that they were fixing them, but the fix was to replace one Butterfly Keyboard with another, which — surprise — was also prone to failure. So, people in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Washington sued the Cupertino-company, Apple offered to settle for $50 million, and now a judge has given the preliminary okay. If you’re wondering how that $50 million breaks down, MacRumors says it’s “$1.4 million in settlement administration costs,” “up to $2 million in litigation costs,” and “$13.6 million in attorney fees…” The piece says affected customers will receive amounts “up to $395,” but you’ll need to have had two or more repairs to get that — I’m gonna use this word even though I don’t mean it — much. The report says affected Mac owners who had such replacements should start receiving settlement notices sometime in December. Bollards Go Up in Front of Apple Store in Hingham, MA So the Apple Store in Hingham, MA has safety blocks now. Boston’s WBZ-TV (via MSN) says just over a week after an SUV drove through the front window of Hingham’s Apple Derby Street Center, killing one and injuring several, “new steel barriers were put on the sidewalk along the boarded-up storefront.” Not surprisingly, the move came just ahead of a lawsuit. “Attorney Doug Sheff, who represents (…) people who were hurt in the crash, [was] expected to file [a] lawsuit [this week],” according to WBZ. And he did. While the ‘BZ piece was written before the suit was filed, a piece from CNN (via MSN) says suits have been filed on behalf of two of the injured parties — one of whom is identified as an Apple employee. Before filing the suit, the attorney argued that the “tragedy was 100% preventable,” for a relatively small amount of money. Plenty of blame to go around, in his estimation, with some for the driver, some for the “companies that developed, own, and manage the property,” and — of course — some for Apple. The CNN piece says says little about particulars of the lawsuits, except that both are seeking jury trials. While both CNN and WBZ reached out to Apple and the property owners, neither received comments for their reports. Reports Say Apple Pay Likely Launching Today in South Korea Apple Pay is likely going live in South Korea this week. In fact, it may have already. A piece from 9to5Mac says “a local bank is announcing that its customers will be able to use Apple Pay starting November 30.” Checking the start of today’s show — that’s today. The piece cites a Twitter post showing “advertisements of Hyundai Card (a credit card owned by Hyundai Motor Group) getting Apple Pay support” today. Assuming the ad is correct, that’ll mean Apple Pay going live in South Korea today, since it hasn’t yet. Unless it has. We’re down to this being a minute-by-minute thing. Will Smith Promotes ‘Emancipation’ on ‘The Daily Show’ And finally today, something of a public relations surprise: Will Smith may be doing the rounds to promote the Antoine Fuqua-directed historical drama Emancipation. Set during the Civil War and based on a true story — the film follows Peter, a runaway enslaved person in search of his family. Eventually, according to a piece from The Mac Observer: …Peter joins the Union Army. During a routine medical examination, doctors discover scars on Peter’s back, brought about by plantation owners. [The] newspaper The Independent took photographs of the scars and printed them, making it one of the first times the cruelty of slavery was truly brought to the public eye. When the film was made, it seemed to have Oscar written all over it. Then the film’s lead, Will Smith, slapped Chris Rock during this year’s live Oscars telecast. That may have put a damper on the film’s prospects, though Smith hopes not — hence the public relations surprise. A piece from Cult of Mac says Smith appeared this week on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. There, the piece says, he offered no defense for the slap, saying simply, “I lost it.” But he doesn’t want his rash action to cost others involved with the film recognition. The piece has Smith saying: Emancipation is [Antoine Fuqua’s] masterpiece. He has created an absolute masterpiece… Bob Richardson the [Director of Photography], and [actor] Ben Foster and just all the way down, it’s like these top artists in the world have done some of the best work of their career. Smith went on to say, “I hope that their work will be honored and their work will not be tainted based on a horrific decision on my part.” You can see the full interview on YouTube. As for the film, Emancipation starts a limited theatrical run this Friday 2 December. It begins streaming on Apple TV+ one-week later on Friday, Dec. 9. Today on The Mac Observer’s Daily Observations Podcast Mac Geek Gab co-host Dave Hamilton is really excited about Rapid Security Response coming in iOS 16.2. I am as well, and yet — I seem argumentative about it. Also — societal norms around smartphones are still being hammered out, in Dave's estimation. He'll drive a conversation about those today on the Daily Observations Podcast from The Mac Observer.

Concerns in China and More On the Terrible Craziness That Is Twitter These Days

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 16:00:19 +0100

Apple and China news, high crazy by tweet, and tweaking Apple’s Crash Detection. Those are the sorts of things we're noticing from the Observation Deck today. China Lifts Zhengzhou COVID Lockdown Zhengzhou is open for business again. At least it was yesterday. Cult of Mac highlights a CNN report, saying: The Chinese government lifted the COVID-19 lockdown in Zhengzhou, China, the location of the Foxconn facility where most iPhone Pro models are assembled. This raises the possibility that normal operations at the facility will resume soon. Naiveté thy name is… somebody. Assuming the plant gets to stay open for more than five-minutes, they have tens-of-thousands of positions to fill. Then again, maybe it depends on your definition of the word “soon.” Apple Less Reliant on China (Kinda) While a number of Apple watchers have decried the company’s dependence on China, 9to5Mac had an interesting story Wednesday. According to that, Apple is less dependent on China than it once was. The piece cites a Reuters report, saying Apple has dropped “the percentage of production sites in China from 44-47% in 2019 to 36% in 2021.” The piece quotes Reuters, saying: The data shows how a diversification drive by Apple and its suppliers, with investments in India and Vietnam and increased procurement from Taiwan, the United States and elsewhere, is reshaping the global supply structure, although analysts and academics say it will remain heavily exposed to China for many years to come. It’s kind of funny-not-funny. The “percentage of production sites” term makes it sound as if they’re talking about the number of places things are built. If you get that percentage down to one, but that one-percent is the iPhone City plant in Zhengzhou — makes one a pretty big number. But look at me — cursing the darkness rather than celebrating the dawn. Yes — Apple’s dependence on China is troublesome, partly because of troubled relations between the U.S. and China, partly because of China’s authoritarian government, and partly because of the dangers of putting all your eggs in one basket. Moving those eggs around, as Apple is continuing to do, should help take care of the other two. But it will take time. The piece has Eli Friedman, “an associate professor at Cornell University who studies labour in China,” saying the “China supply chain is not going to evaporate overnight. Decoupling is just not realistic for these companies for the time being.” That said he says he does expect such diversification to accelerate. Senator Wants Answers from Apple on China, Expresses Concern Over Twitter Talk Maybe Apple’s CEO should mention his company’s lessening dependance on China to Senator Josh Hawley. AppleInsider says the Republican senator from Missouri “has written an open letter to Apple's Tim Cook, and amongst other topics, is accusing the company of helping China suppress free speech.” Quoting the report: Hawley has previously said that Cook, and Google's Sundar Pichai, [should] be held personally accountable over privacy issues to do with coronavirus contact tracing. Now he says that Apple should cut its dependency on China, bring work back to the US — and also should not ban Twitter. Yeah, that might have been a made up thing, but we’ll get to that. Quoting Senator Hawley’s letter: [U]nder your leadership, Apple has time and again assisted the Chinese Communist Party in surveilling and suppressing the basic human rights of the Chinese people… At the same time, it appears that Apple might be importing this model of speech control to the United States: reports indicate that your company might deplatform Twitter from the App Store as a consequence of the free speech policies implemented by new ownership. It’s not “reports,” it’s “report.” And one might not even be able to call it a report, rather just something that Elon Musk said. But we’ll get to that. Hawley’s letter includes a list of questions he’d like Apple to answer. Among them, according to AppleInsider: When will Apple condemn the treatment of workers in Zhengzhou? Why has it not already condemned this treatment? What are the “material risks” in Apple's continued dependency on China? If China invaded Taiwan, what impact would this have on Apple? Why did Apple limit AirDrop in China? Hawley’s letter was dated Nov. 29. He wants answers back from Apple by Dec. 6. That really doesn’t give much time for turnaround, though if Apple doesn’t have answers for those questions at the ready… well… one imagines the company will be able to meet the short deadline. Sound and Fury: The Twitter Tales So Elon Musk’s big, dumb Twitter jag against Apple earlier this week seems to have been based on little more than living into his newfound calling as the world’s largest troll. He made a number of accusations against the Cupertino-company on Monday. In one Twitter post he said that “Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter,” asking “Do they hate free speech in America?” In another post he said, “Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why…” Now, it seems neither of those statements was true. On the first one — the one that said Apple had “mostly stopped advertising on Twitter,” a piece from Gizmodo cites numbers from digital ad analytics firm Pathmatics that say “not so.” That firm had Apple spending $84,615 on Twitter ads the very same day that Musk said Apple had “mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. The day before that,” the firm says, “Apple spent a full $104,867.” In fact, Gizmodo says: Apple spent $1,005,784 on Twitter ads in the first 28 days of November, already more than that company’s October budget of $988,523, according to [Pathmatics]. As for Apple’s threat to “withhold Twitter from its App Store…” never happened, according to — oh… this is embarrassing… never happened according to Elon Musk. Because remember, despite Senator Hawley’s assertion that “reports” indicated Apple might pull Twitter from the App Store, it was actually just something that Musk Tweeted. On Wednesday, Elon Musk posted a video to Twitter of a reflecting pool at Apple Park. Musk wasn’t in it. Apple CEO Tim Cook wasn’t in it. And yet, it was accompanied by the message, “Thanks @tim_cook for taking me around Apple’s beautiful HQ.” Personally, I figured no meeting happened between the two, though DaringFireball’s John Gruber actually had the meeting confirmed by some insider. “A little birdie told me Cook was walking around campus with Musk,” reads part of Gruber’s confirmation. Not much later — at around 3pm the West Coast, Musk tweeted: Good conversation. Among other things, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store. Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so. That prompted Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives to tweet: Good to see Musk and Cook patch things up and resolve any issues. A step forward for both Musk and Cupertino looking ahead and no more issues it appears. And that prompted me to pound one time on my keyboard and start day drinking. Also — Cook is now following Musk on Twitter. And that prompted me to have another. Apple TV+ Offers First Look for ‘Shrinking’ Apple TV+ has offered the world a first look at its next high-profile comedy series. The Mac Observer says the Cupertino-streamer has posted a teaser for its Jason Segel/Harrison Ford show Shrinking. In a press release the streamer says: Shrinking follows a grieving therapist (played by Segel) who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives … including his own. The video offers attitude and a sense of humor, though noting in terms of plot. It includes a number of actors, including Segel, bouncing into and out of view — first with frowns on their faces, then with smiles. It ends with Segel standing on a trampoline, suffering a disapproving look from Harrison Ford, who did not bounce on the trampoline. There is reason for Apple to be hopeful around the title. While Segel and Ford are no small gets, the show counts among its creators Segel, Ted Lasso writer and co-creator Bill Lawrence, and Ted Lasso writer and cast member Brett Goldstein. He’s here. He’s there. He is every bleeping where. The first-season will be comprised of ten episodes. The first two of those premier Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. Latest iOS Update Optimizes Crash Detection And finally today, Apple on Wednesday released iOS 16.1.2. You might be expecting me to say, “and iPadOS 16.1.2,” but not this time. While some of what’s addressed in the iOS update could affect the iPad, the main feature addressed — Crash Detection — is not a feature of the tablet. I’m assuming that Crash Detection is the primary reason for the update, as accidental calls about non-accidents keep happening. The latest vector — ski slopes. The Mac Observer highlights a report from KSL-TV out of Salt Lake City, Utah. That report has county officials “seeing an uptick in accidental emergency calls” coming from iPhones that think they’ve detected a crash as their owners are coming down the mountain. “For those who have not experienced it,” TMO explains: …when the iPhone 14 or newer models of the Apple Watch sense that a crash has taken place, the device sends a message prompt with an alarm. The user has 20 seconds to respond. Should the 20 seconds elapse without a response from the user, (…) an automated message is sent to the nearest 911 call center. But — you know… you’re speeding down that double-black-diamond or whatever… how are you going to hear or feel that notification in time to cancel the call? With ski season underway, one county official says dispatch is getting “three to five calls from Apple Watch or iPhone users per day.” So far none of those have been actual car crashes. Now the kicker: Summit County Dispatch Center Supervisor Suzie Butterfield still wants skiers to leave the feature on. The piece quotes her as saying: Somebody could ski and hit a tree and be knocked unconscious and not be visible to other skiers. We do not want you to turn the feature off. We would rather have you be safe. We don’t mind taking that call because if something really did happen, we want to be able to get to you. Somebody please give Suzie Butterfield an award. Anyway — between ski slope incidents and problems on certain roller coasters, it seems likely that the “Crash Detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models” are the primary reason for the dot-one-dot-two update — again because the other features in the update could affect iPad as well. In addition to the crash-ops, Apple’s release notes say the update offers “Improved compatibility with wireless carriers,” something a 5G iPad might like to have. There may also be security fixes tied to the teeny update, though hard to say for sure. Right now, Apple’s security site simply says “details available soon…” Today on The Mac Observer’s Daily Observations Podcast Year's end can mean only one thing: War between Spotify and Apple Music. Nick deCourville joins me to talk about the end of the year music recaps Wrapped and Replay. Plus — new old content is officially “Included with Apple TV+,” and Will Smith does PR for Emancipation. that’s all today on the Daily Observations Podcast from The Mac Observer.

Tinder: Weight Watchers-Werbung sorgt für Empörung

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 16:49:53 +0100

Jeder wird die Werbung bei Tinder kennen, die zwischen den Profilen angezeigt wird. "Weight Watchers" dachte sich etwas anderes aus - und es ging sofort nach hinten los. Dieser Artikel wurde einsortiert unter Partnersuche online, Tinder.

Paul Ripke beendet Zusammenarbeit mit Weight Watchers nach fragwürdiger Tinder-Kampagne

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 15:19:10 +0100

Mit Influencer Paul Ripke als Lockvogel wollte Weight Watchers auf Tinder neue Kundinnen gewinnen. Statt schmeichelhafter Nachrichten bekamen die Frauen Abnehmwerbung zu sehen. Das kam nicht gut an.

Paul Ripke: Influencer beendet Zusammenarbeit mit Weight Watchers

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 13:49:07 +0100

Mit Influencer Paul Ripke als Lockvogel wollte Weight Watchers auf Tinder neue Kundinnen gewinnen. Statt schmeichelhafter Nachrichten bekamen die Frauen Abnehmwerbung zu sehen. Das kam nicht gut an.

Adventskalender im Black Friday Sale: Lego, Nivea, Weight Watchers und Co. - Schon vor dem 1. Dezember stark reduziert

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 19:33:54 +0100

Ihr habt noch keine Adventskalender. Der Black Friday beschert euch Angebote auf zahlreiche beliebte Modell. Bei diesen Deals spart ihr pünktlich zum ersten Türchen. Dieser Artikel wurde einsortiert unter Schnäppchen, Black Friday 2022.

TikTok Tracks You Across the Web, Even If You Don't Use the App

Sun, 02 Oct 2022 05:48:03 +0200

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Consumer Reports: A Consumer Reports investigation finds that TikTok, one of the country's most popular apps, is partnering with a growing number of other companies to hoover up data about people as they travel across the internet. That includes people who don't have TikTok accounts. These companies embed tiny TikTok trackers called "pixels" in their websites. Then TikTok uses the information gathered by all those pixels to help the companies target ads at potential customers, and to measure how well their ads work. To look into TikTok's use of online tracking, CR asked the security firm Disconnect to scan about 20,000 websites for the company's pixels. In our list, we included the 1,000 most popular websites overall, as well as some of the biggest sites with domains ending in ".org," ".edu," and ".gov." We wanted to look at those sites because they often deal with sensitive subjects. We found hundreds of organizations sharing data with TikTok. If you go to the United Methodist Church's main website, TikTok hears about it. Interested in joining Weight Watchers? TikTok finds that out, too. The Arizona Department of Economic Security tells TikTok when you view pages concerned with domestic violence or food assistance. Even Planned Parenthood uses the trackers, automatically notifying TikTok about every person who goes to its website, though it doesn't share information from the pages where you can book an appointment. (None of those groups responded to requests for comment.) The number of TikTok trackers we saw was just a fraction of those we observed from Google and Meta. However, TikTok's advertising business is exploding, and experts say the data collection will probably grow along with it. After Disconnect researchers conducted a broad search for TikTok trackers, we asked them to take a close look at what kind of information was being shared by 15 specific websites. We focused on sites where we thought people would have a particular expectation of privacy, such as advocacy organizations and hospitals, along with retailers and other kinds of companies. Disconnect found that data being transmitted to TikTok can include your IP address, a unique ID number, what page you're on, and what you're clicking, typing, or searching for, depending on how the website has been set up. What does TikTok do with all that information? "Like other platforms, the data we receive from advertisers is used to improve the effectiveness of our advertising services," says Melanie Bosselait, a TikTok spokesperson. The data "is not used to group individuals into particular interest categories for other advertisers to target." If TikTok receives data about someone who doesn't have a TikTok account, the company only uses that data for aggregated reports that they send to advertisers about their websites, she says. There's no independent way for consumers or privacy researchers to verify such statements. But TikTok's terms of service say its advertising customers aren't allowed to send the company certain kinds of sensitive information, such as data about children, health conditions, or finances. "We continuously work with our partners to avoid inadvertent transmission of such data," TikTok's Bosselait says. What can you do to protect your personal information? Consumer Reports recommends using privacy-protecting browser extensions like Disconnect, changing your browser's privacy settings to block trackers, and trying a more private browser like Firefox and Brave.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Magnus Carlsen Finally Speaks On Chess Cheating Scandal, Sows Even More Chaos

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 05:48:06 +0200

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: Chess's top-ranked player, Magnus Carlsen, has finally spoken about the ongoing alleged cheating scandal that has rocked the chess world for the last several weeks and was reignited when Carlsen resigned in protest after making one move against Hans Niemann. Niemann, of course, was accused of cheating against Carlsen earlier this month, but no one has been able to prove this, nor has a mechanism for the supposed cheating been proven. "I think the whole world is wondering, what is the reason you withdrew [against Niemann]?" a newscaster with Chess24 asked. "Unfortunately I cannot particularly speak on that," Carlsen said. "But, you know, people can draw their own conclusion and they certainly have. I have to say I'm very impressed by Niemann's play, and I think his mentor Maxine Dlugy must be doing a great job." "I will not comment on that," he added when asked if he was accusing Niemann of cheating. He was then asked if he was accusing Dlugy, who is a chess grandmaster, of helping Niemann cheat: "No, I will not say more about that subject ... I hope to say a little bit more after the tournament." Carlsen was then asked if he thought cheating was a problem in chess. "I think individual people will answer the question differently depending on their own experiences. Regardless of whether it's a massive problem or not, it's, I think, fairly easy to cheat. On a general basis, cheaters in the future, it should not be taken lightly neither online nor over the board." Chess watchers believe that by namedropping Maxine Dlugy, Carlsen is putting down more breadcrumbs. Dlugy is is a Russian-born, American chess grandmaster who currently operates the Chess Max Academy in Manhattan. In July, Dlugy posted a photo with "my student Hans Niemann," congratulating him on "becoming a top 50 player in the world! Go Hans!" After Niemann beat Carlsen earlier this month, Dlugy posted a congratulatory message: "Just 16 months ago or so, I recommended to Hans to really focus on endings. He devoted a lot of time to this pivotal part of the game and today I am proud to say that his endgame play is sufficient to beat the reigning World Champion from a better position. That's powerful! Hans Niemann -- Chess speaks for itself!" Redditors were quick to point out, however, that Dlugy has his own controversy. Dlugy has been removed twice from a weekly Chess.com tournament called Titled Tuesday, in 2017 and 2020. Benjamin Bok, a chess grandmaster and Twitch streamer, for example, made a whole segment delving into some of Dlugy's old Chess.com matches and pointing out that Dlugy was suddenly removed from Chess.com with no explanation: "Generally that only means one thing," Bok said, not elaborating on what it means, but heavily implying that it means he was caught cheating. "Draw your own conclusions. Draw your own conclusions. That's all I'm going to say." "Question becomes: Is perhaps Dlugy Hans' accomplice, in case Hans is cheating? We'll have to wait and see," Bok says. "But the fact that Magnus makes that statement and drops his name, it means that he knows something we don't know. You can't just drop someone's name in there without really knowing stuff. I feel like he knows something really big."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple Launching the iPhone 14 Earlier Makes Perfect Sense

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 17:16:25 +0200

The most recent information on the iPhone 14 front concerns the launch event, as people familiar with the matter said the Cupertino-based tech giant plans to take the wraps off the device on September 7. The date is a little bit surprising for Apple watchers, especially as Apple typically unveils its new-generation iPhones in mid-September. But according to well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the date makes perfect sense, as the growing risks of a global recession convinced the Cupertino-based tech giant to bring its premium device to the market earlier than usual. In other words, Apple hopes it would reduce the impact a recession would have on the iPhone 14 by bringing the device to the market earlier than expected, especially given the smartphone is expected to be $100 more expensive than the current generation. “The iPhone 14 announcement/shipping date may be earlier than iPhone 13/12, which could be one of the reasons why Apple offered a positive outlook fo...

5 forces shaping the future IT workforce

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 13:16:25 +0200

Concerns about a looming recession have not derailed the booming IT job market. In the first half of this year, 115,000 new IT jobs were added, according to consulting firm Janco Associates. Even with inflation, high energy costs, and the invasion of Ukraine, IT hiring continued at a record-setting pace, but keeping tech talent still poses challenges. IT salaries for existing IT staff and middle managers increased by just under 3%, while new hires were paid 5% to 6% more than existing staff, raising the appeal for some to switch jobs.

If that weren’t enough to keep IT leaders on edge, a crop of new forces — from Supreme Court rulings to climate change, four-day workweeks, and office face time — are poised to impact where tech employees choose to work and for how long they stay. These industry-watchers have identified five forces influencing the IT work landscape.

1. The shifting dynamics of the workday — and workweek

CIOs spent the past two years accommodating hybrid-work arrangements with employees to keep them onboard. Today, the conversation has turned to when they work and the number of hours required, says Brian Kropp, vice president of human-resources research for advisory firm Gartner. This question comes as companies embrace employees’ mental well-being and ask whether the 45-hour workweek is the most productive and healthiest way to work.

“We’re already starting to see employees blurring their day. It’s not 8:30-5:30; it’s a couple hours in the morning, a couple hours in the afternoon, and a couple hours at night. Or some people are starting their day at 10 and working until 7, or 6 to 2,” Kropp says.

Organizations are also considering relaxing the 40-hour workweek. “There’s a lot of talk about a 32-hour (or four-day) workweek, but that’s still a relatively small number of companies, maybe 5%,” Kropp says.

The movement could pick up steam though when companies run out of ways to incentivize people to join their labor force, says Arran Stewart, co-founder of recruitment platform Job.com. “If I can’t pay them more money or give them more free gym memberships or daycare, then all I have is another day off — especially in the IT market where a lot of the work is based on deliverables or performance.”

Most companies are mulling more flexible options, such as offering 10 more days of paid time off, or designating the first Friday of the month as a companywide day off or mental health day, Kropp says.

2. The increasing impact of political and social issues on retention and hiring

Some 70% of employees expect their employer to take a stance on social and political events going on in the world, according to a Gartner survey.

The CEO at a global financial services firm fielded 30 calls from his senior female VPs over one weekend after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade asking him if the firm was going to take a public stance. “He’s under a lot of internal pressure,” says David Dotlich, president and senior client partner at Korn Ferry, who spoke to the firm’s leader. “I talk to CEOs who feel caught sometimes between what our workers are saying to us and what we want to say publicly. In the tech area they are definitely slanting it toward the worker and what do we do to keep the workers happy. In the consumer area, they’re more nuanced.”

By June 30, 45% of employers had either made a statement or were planning to make a statement about the Supreme Court ruling, Gartner’s Kropp says.

Tech workers, especially younger employees, also want their companies to take a stance on climate change. Almost half of Gen Zs (48%) and millennials (43%) say they have put some pressure on their employer to act on climate change, according to a Deloitte survey, and two-thirds (65%) of leaders are feeling pressure from their employees to act.

Those who are the most vocal on this issue, and feel their employers are listening and incorporating their feedback, are also more loyal. This suggests there is a mutual long-term benefit for employers to listen and act. But taking a stance (or not) often leads to a no-win situation.

“Regardless of political affiliations, when an employer doesn’t say anything, you assume that they agree with the other side. So by not saying anything you alienate everybody. But also by saying things, you also alienate somebody,” Kropp says.

He advises companies to establish core values for the company before situations arise so that leaders can reference them when deciding whether and how to respond to these political and social issues. “If you explain that a decision was based upon the values you have as an organization, the vast majority of employees will be accepting of it,” he says.

3. The (complicated) return of in-office career perks

While remote workers have proved to be as efficient and often more productive than workers in an office, managers perceive remote work differently. Some 64% of managers surveyed by Gartner believe on-site employees are higher performers, and 76% of managers believe on-site employees are more likely to be promoted.

“I think there is more visibility and so you just know people better and are more comfortable with their performance,” Korn Ferry’s Dotlich says. “You do need to be in the office some percentage of the time just because you gain access to networks of information, you have informal conversations, you have innovation that comes from unplanned encounters, just a whole lot of access to the culture and the informal network. But you don’t have to be there all the time.”

But without intervention, this unconscious bias will erode what is trying to be accomplished with equity, Kropp says. When workers were surveyed on their work preferences, 8% more women than men want to work from home, often for childcare and other family-related reasons. “If we do nothing, our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts will worsen” in terms of the gender wage gap and a less diverse leadership pipeline, he says.

4. The company as an internal marketplace for skills

Internal skills marketplaces are emerging as a means for retaining tech workers while also meeting demands for agile digital environments.

Millennial tech workers, for example, often report feeling “trapped in the org chart” with a predefined job description that limits their work, says Jonathan Pearce, workforce strategies lead at Deloitte Consulting. The feeling is, “it would be easier to keep growing my career if I look outside the organization rather than inside. There’s no opportunity to put my skill sets out on the table,” Pearce explains.

Meanwhile, project managers need to connect work that needs to be done with the right set of skills, some of which might come from a subfunction of IT. Internal skills marketplaces meet both needs by matching workers’ skill sets, not their job titles, with the work that needs to be done.

“We see huge investment going into this in terms of AI-driven skills management platforms … to match people’s skills in a more dynamic way,” Pearce says.

Consumer goods company Unilever used its internal talent marketplace, FLEX Experiences, to redeploy more than 8,000 employees during the pandemic and unlocked 300,000 hours of employee work.

An internal talent marketplace can also reduce internal hiring bias and increase networking that promotes diversity. Hiring managers can focus just on skill sets and years of experience rather than education by removing that visible field, for instance. Others use the platform to build mentorship relationships that are senior-to-junior, junior-to-senior, peer-to-peer, and expert-to-novice, which breaks down taboos in relationships, connects people globally, and facilitates meaningful work and retention.

5. Leaders as orchestrators of complex team environments

Organizations are realizing that hybrid work is more about how teams come together — not just what’s right for the organization or individual, Pearce says. So more companies are ratcheting up expectations for their team leaders to decide how work gets done, and then hold them accountable as a team when it comes to performance and rewards.

“We’re expecting more team leaders to have open discussions with their teams on what’s working and not working around communication, the norms around [how quickly] they’re expected to respond, and how we come together when we need to collaborate,” Pearce says. “The question now becomes how do we up their game as managers — not just managers of work but really orchestrators of a more complex team environment.”

Good managers make work more enjoyable for their teams and are better able to identify and use each employee’s strengths. Moreover, they can also help those workers gain the skills and experience they need to develop their careers. All three of these factors are key ingredients for employee retention.

Pearce points to one client that was looking at separating out the roles of the work manager and the people manager. “Not that it was a better construct as much as it was a recognition that we really need to prepare managers to be operating as people managers … with those soft skills of leadership, especially in technical roles,” Pearce says.

Hiring, IT Leadership, Staff Management

5 forces shaping the future IT workforce

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 13:16:25 +0200

1. The shifting dynamics of the workday — and workweek

2. The increasing impact of political and social issues on retention and hiring

Some 70% of employees expect their employer to take a stance on social and political events going on in the world, according to a Gartner survey.

By June 30, 45% of employers had either made a statement or were planning to make a statement about the Supreme Court ruling, Gartner’s Kropp says.

3. The (complicated) return of in-office career perks

4. The company as an internal marketplace for skills

Internal skills marketplaces are emerging as a means for retaining tech workers while also meeting demands for agile digital environments.

“We see huge investment going into this in terms of AI-driven skills management platforms … to match people’s skills in a more dynamic way,” Pearce says.

Consumer goods company Unilever used its internal talent marketplace, FLEX Experiences, to redeploy more than 8,000 employees during the pandemic and unlocked 300,000 hours of employee work.

5. Leaders as orchestrators of complex team environments

Hiring, IT Leadership, Staff Management

HBO Max Cancels Raised By Wolves After Two Seasons

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 10:19:00 +0200

HBO Max has canceled the sci-fi TV show Raised by Wolves after two seasons. From a report: Originally ordered to series for the cable channel TNT, its first season premiered in 2020, and four months after HBO Max launched, it ranked as the service's top streaming series. The first two episodes were directed by Ridley Scott, and the plot, which focused on two androids raising human children on a desolate alien planet, aligned well with the hallmarks of his style. [...] Before the cancellation, cast members were calling on watchers to advocate for the show's future. Abubakar Salim, who played "Father" in Raised by Wolves, hinted in a Twitter thread last week that the show's fate was in jeopardy with the hashtag #RenewRaisedByWolves, while referring to the merger of HBO Max parent company WarnerMedia and Discovery, which was completed in April. HBO Max said in a statement to Variety, which first broke the news: "While we are not proceeding with a third season of Raised by Wolves, we are beyond grateful to the stellar cast and crew, our creators Aaron Guzikowski, Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, and the entire team at Scott Free Productions, for their beautiful artistry and unique ability to immerse fans into the world of Kepler-22b."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

How the tech community has rallied to Ukraine’s cyber-defence | Joyce Hakmeh and Esther Naylor

Sat, 04 Jun 2022 07:05:57 +0200

From an army of volunteers to EU and Nato teams, the variety of online actors working for the cause is unprecedented

As the conflict in Ukraine escalates, expert cyber-watchers have been speculating about the kind of cyber-attacks that Russia might conduct. Will the Kremlin turn off Ukraine’s power grid, dismantle Ukraine’s transport system, cut off the water supply or target the health system? Or would cybercriminals operating from Russia, who could act as proxies for the Russian regime, conduct these activities?

Over the past decade, Ukraine has experienced many major cyber-attacks, most of which have been attributed to Russia. From election interference in 2014, which compromised the central electoral system and jeopardised the integrity of the democratic process; to a hack and blackout attack in a first-of-its-kind fully remote cyber-attack on a power grid in 2015, resulting in countrywide power outages; to one of the costliest malicious software attacks, NotPetya, in 2017, which significantly disrupted access to banking and government services in Ukraine and, subsequently, spilled over to France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, the UK, the US and Australia.

Joyce Hakmeh is a senior research fellow for the International Security Programme at Chatham House. Esther Naylor is a research analyst at the International Security Programme

Save more than $80 on the Monoprice Zero-G 27-inch monitor at Amazon

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 14:00:17 +0200

Looking for an upgrade for your computer screen? The Monoprice Zero-G curved gaming monitor has dropped to $199.99 at Amazon. The monitor normally sells for around $282, and it has never been discounted on Amazon before. Even the open-box version on the Monoprice website is $30 more than today's deal, which is brand new. This is a huge discount on a very solid monitor, and chances are the deal will go out of stock before long. Monoprice Zero-G 27-inch curved gaming monitor | $82 off This monitor has 1440p resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate. It has 400 nits of peak brightness, which is great for HDR content, and it has a 1500R curve for immersion. It also works with a 75 x 75 VESA mount for an arm or wall mount. $199.99 at Monoprice The Monoprice monitor is built for gamers. The specifications include a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution and a super-fast 144Hz refresh rate. Both specs are great for gamers or even media watchers. Whatever you're going to do with your monitor, this o...

Dell-VMware Split a Hot Topic for IT Watchers

Thu, 06 May 2021 09:31:25 +0200

An old Bob Dylan song titled “The Times They are A-Changin’ ” reminds me of what’s going on in tech today. The reality is the nature of the tech industry is constant change, which is why smaller vendors can come out of nowhere and become market leaders in the blink of an eye. This forces […]

The post Dell-VMware Split a Hot Topic for IT Watchers appeared first on eWEEK.

Snapchat Can Be Sued Over Role In Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules

Wed, 05 May 2021 17:00:44 +0200

An anonymous reader shares a report: Three young men got into a car in Walworth County, Wis., in May 2017. They were set on driving at rapid speeds down a long, cornfield-lined road -- and sharing their escapade on social media. As the 17-year-old behind the wheel accelerated to 123 miles per hour, one of the passengers opened Snapchat. His parents say their son wanted to capture the experience using an app feature -- the controversial "speed filter" -- that documents real-life speed, hoping for engagement and attention from followers on the messaging app. It was one of the last things the trio did before the vehicle ran off the road and crashed into a tree, killing all of them. Was Snapchat partially to blame? The boys' parents think so. And, in a surprise decision on Tuesday, a federal appeals court ordered that the parents should have the right to sue Snap. The ruling, from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has set off intense debate among legal watchers about the future of a decades-old law that has shielded tech companies from civil lawsuits. The boys' parents sued Snap, the maker of Snapchat, after the tragedy. They alleged that the company "knowingly created a dangerous game" through its filter and bore some responsibility. The district court responded how courts usually do when a tech platform is sued in a civil lawsuit: by dismissing the case. The judge cited the sweeping immunity that social media companies enjoy under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The law provides legal immunity to tech companies from libel and other civil suits for what people post on sites, regardless of how harmful it may be. But the appeals court's reversal paves a way around the all-powerful law, saying it doesn't apply because this case is not about what someone posted to Snapchat, but rather the design of the app itself.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

AI-Driven Audio Cloning Startup Gives Voice To Einstein Chatbot

Sat, 17 Apr 2021 09:30:29 +0200

Aflorithmic, an AI-driven audio cloning startup, has created a digital version of Albert Einstein using AI voice cloning technology drawing on audio records of the famous scientist's actual voice. TechCrunch reports: Alforithmic says the "digital Einstein" is intended as a showcase for what will soon be possible with conversational social commerce. Which is a fancy way of saying deepfakes that make like historical figures will probably be trying to sell you pizza soon enough, as industry watchers have presciently warned. The startup also says it sees educational potential in bringing famous, long-deceased figures to interactive "life." Or, well, an artificial approximation of it -- the "life" being purely virtual and Digital Einstein's voice not being a pure tech-powered clone either; Alforithmic says it also worked with an actor to do voice modelling for the chatbot (because how else was it going to get Digital Einstein to be able to say words the real-deal would never even have dreamt of saying -- like, er, "blockchain"?). So there's a bit more than AI artifice going on here too. In a blog post discussing how it recreated Einstein's voice the startup writes about progress it made on one challenging element associated with the chatbot version -- saying it was able to shrink the response time between turning around input text from the computational knowledge engine to its API being able to render a voiced response, down from an initial 12 seconds to less than three (which it dubs "near-real-time"). But it's still enough of a lag to ensure the bot can't escape from being a bit tedious. The report notes that the video engine powering the 3D character rendering components of this "digital human" version of Einstein is the work of another synthesized media company, UneeQ, which is hosting the interactive chatbot version on its website.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Who watches the watchers?

Mon, 05 Apr 2021 17:00:10 +0200

bye linux community. recently published information about pocketchip a device that until two days ago did not interest anyone. Thanks to my post, many discovered it, but WHAT IF SOMEONE CONSIDERS THAT IT IS NOT RELEVANT, WOULD THEY DELETE IT? under what criteria? then in another post I talked about bunsenlabs heir to another distribution called crunchbang #! which for many users is mythical. apparently it was deleted as irrelevant when I see daily other posts with desktop screenshots just for posturing and totally irrelevant. It does not seem correct to me since in these times of economic madness many people are acquiring cheap computers that are useful. What better than a thinkpad considered an armored tank such as the x230 model as well as a Netbook that is technically garbage but thanks to bunsenlabs it would allow many people at least to have a working computer. All these computers allow me to compose music, draw, write, browse, edit photos, and many more functions. it doesn't seem irrelevant to me. for this reason I think it is not worth staying here. I had plans to continue publishing information on things that surely many young users do not know, even preparing a post on how to build a piratebox with pocketchip to share files anywhere anonymously, an important issue in these times of massive surveillance worldwide. but I am not going to endure censorship from strangers. I thought it was a good community but I was wrong. This is why I will delete all my posts in this community. Regards, and thank you very much.

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Discord Announces Partnership with Microsoft, But Don’t Forget It’s April 1st

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 18:45:24 +0200

It’s April 1st and as we learned the hard way in the last few years, tech media has a hard time figure out what’s true and what’s not, especially because some companies out there still believe it’s fun to roll out announcements that are impossible to tell they’re fake. Discord, on the other hand, has decided to go for a more straightforward prank this year, though the subject is definitely super-interesting for tech watchers out there. The company has published a video titled “Announcing Partnership with Microsoft,” and while we’re not going to spoil the surprise, we must tell you from the very beginning it’s a prank. The Microsoft takeover On the other hand, Discord joking about a Microsoft takeover certainly makes some people raise an eyebrow, especially because the two companies have so far remained tight-lipped on all the rumors. Speculation has it that Microsoft is interested in buying Discord, and people close to the matter suggested the c...

The New GNOME 40 Release Video is Seriously Slick [Watch]

Thu, 25 Mar 2021 21:15:13 +0100

Want to take a closer look at GNOME 40? Well, now’s your chance as the official GNOME 40 released video has gone live. And boy is it impressive. The minute-long clip whisks watchers through a […]

This post, The New GNOME 40 Release Video is Seriously Slick [Watch] is from OMG! Ubuntu!. Do not reproduce elsewhere without permission.

Amazon Quietly Began Building a Grocery Chain During Pandemic

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 17:45:12 +0100

As many businesses struggled to survive the pandemic, Amazon.com was quietly building a national grocery chain. From a report: The first Amazon Fresh store opened to the public in Los Angeles in September. Store No. 11 opened Thursday, and Amazon is working on at least 28 more, from Philadelphia to the Sacramento suburbs. The company is also testing the "Just Walk Out" cashierless shopping technology created for its Go convenience stores at an Amazon Fresh location in Illinois. More than a decade after it started selling groceries, Amazon has a tiny sliver of the $900 billion U.S. grocery market and has watched traditional chains finally start figuring out how to sell food online. Amazon Fresh, industry watchers say, is a way for the company to become even stickier with devoted Prime members, as well as appeal to a broad cross-section of America -- from lower-income shoppers who frequent discounters like Walmart Inc. to wealthier customers looking to pick up online orders.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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openclaw 2026.6.1-beta.2

2026.6.1

Highlights

Changes

Fixes

Foldable iPad Expected to Share Crease-Free Hinge With iPhone Ultra

Hermes Agent v0.14.0 (2026.5.16)

Hermes Agent v0.14.0 (v2026.5.16)

✨ Highlights

🪟 Windows — Native Support (Early Beta)

Bootstrap & installer

Windows-specific fixes (40+ across cli / tools / gateway / curator / TUI)

🚀 Performance Wave

Cold start

Runtime

Prompt caching

📦 Installation & Distribution

PyPI + supply-chain

Nix

Docker

ACP / Zed

🏗️ Core Agent & Architecture

Sessions & handoff

Goals (Ralph loop)

Compression

Verification

Stream retry

🤖 Models & Providers

New providers

Provider work

OpenAI-compatible proxy

📱 Messaging Platforms (Gateway)

New platforms

Microsoft Graph foundation

Cross-platform

Telegram

Discord

Slack

WhatsApp

Feishu / Google Chat / others

🖥️ CLI & TUI

CLI

TUI

Dashboard / GUI

🔧 Tools & Capabilities

Vision & video

Computer use

LSP & write-time diagnostics

Search & web

X (Twitter)

Browser

MCP

Google Workspace

Per-turn verifier

🧩 Kanban (Multi-Agent)

🧠 Plugins & Extension

Plugin surface

Profile & distribution

⏰ Cron

🧩 Skills Ecosystem

Skills Hub