AI translation is racing ahead in defence-adjacent work, as new survey data warns governance and consistency are struggling to keep up. Read...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says we shouldn’t think of LLM output as “slop.” You know, AI-generated content, the thing that’s making the internet worse in every measurable way, and causing consumer electronics prices to skyrocket? So it would be a real shame if you installed an extension in your browser that changed “Microsoft” to “Microslop” all over the web. Yes, installing “Microsoft to Microslop” would be a naughty and entirely cynical response. Especially if you, say, used Edge’s Chromium base to install it in Microsoft’s own default web browser, Edge. That would just be twisting the AI-generated knife, wouldn’t it? “Screw you Satya Nadella. Learn about Barbara Streisand,” writes the developer on the Chrome Web Store, who freely admits they are “managing my levels of spite.” I can relate. They add that the extension only visually manipulates the page, so it won’t break links, or collect or store any user data. Amazon/Microslop If Nadella and/or Microsoft are feeling particularly touchy about being called sloppy or any derivative thereof, they have only themselves to blame. Nadella himself claimed that 30 percent of the software company’s code is now AI-generated. That’s amidst a massive user pushback, as the don’t-call-it-a-forced-migration from Windows 10 to 11 has angered both regular consumers and businesses, the constant insertion of Copilot “AI” into every part of Microsoft’s business causes headaches and privacy concerns, and software subscription prices rise as Microsoft tries to force people to buy Copilot services. All the while…it seems that almost no one is actually using Copilot. Local “AI” applications using all the NPUs in new Windows laptops are still extremely limited, and Dell has figured out that even people who want to use “AI” will just open up a browser and go to ChatGPT. So yeah, it’s understandable why people are calling the company Microslop after its CEO blared out a tone-deaf declaration. I first heard it on the CES show floor, while I was trying to find a single new product that didn’t have “AI” features jammed into it for no discernible reason. Windows Latest spotted the browser extension, but here’s a fun bonus: a guide that will remove all Copilot features from Windows itself, among others. Read...

‘BodySnatcher’ bug let attackers hijack ServiceNow AI agents to mimic users and create backdoor admin accounts on on-premise systems. Read...

Microsoft has recently begun replacing expiring Secure Boot certificates on eligible Windows 11 systems running 24H2 and 25H2, according to a report by BleepingComputer. Secure Boot is an important security feature that prevents malicious software from running during system startup. It is part of Windows’ UEFI/BIOS and compares the digital signatures of software with specific keys stored in the system. Microsoft warned back in November that the Secure Boot certificates for most Windows devices currently in use will expire in June 2026. IT administrators in particular should therefore act soon to prevent problems with affected devices. “Without updates, Windows devices with Secure Boot enabled run the risk of not receiving security updates or trusting new boot loaders, which compromises both maintainability and security,” explains Microsoft. Who is affected? According to Microsoft, devices manufactured before 2024 are particularly affected. Newer Windows PCs already have the latest certificates. get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro Furthermore, only users whose devices also start in Secure Boot mode are affected. If this is not the case, there will be no problems. You can test whether your PC starts with Secure Boot by activating Win + R, entering “msinfo32,” and checking the value for Secure Boot Status. If it says On, Secure Boot is active. What you can do To check the status of the certificate currently in use, proceed as follows: Open Windows Powershell with admin rights. Enter the following command: [System.Text.Encoding]::ASCII. GetString((Get-SecureBootUEFI db).bytes) In the best case, you should see at least one current certificate with the timestamp 2023, for example MicrosoftUEFICertificateAuthority_2023.cer Tip: With the addition of -match ‘Windows UEFI CA 2023’, you can also filter directly for the certificate you are looking for and receive True or False as the answer. If, on the other hand, the certificates are older, there is a high probability that problems will arise in June at the latest. You should therefore install the new certificates beforehand. If this does not work, you can open the Windows Registry Editor and check under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecureBoot\Servicing. WindowsUEFICA2023Capable should not have a value of 0 here, otherwise the certificate is not available. According to Microsoft, installing a series of Windows quality updates should suffice. Once a sufficient number of “successful update signals” have been sent, Microsoft can “ensure secure and gradual deployment”. You should also enable your PC to send diagnostic data to Microsoft. Alternatively, companies can also obtain Secure Boot certificates using special registry keys or the Windows Configuration System (WinCS). For more information, please refer to Microsoft’s official guide . Read...

Open AI has launched ChatGPT Translate, a standalone translation tool designed to challenge Google Translate. The translations are done using AI, which means that you should expect them to be less accurate than if you hired a professional translator. If you wish, you can also change the style of the translation to suit a specific target audience, such as children, academics, or business people. Around 50 languages are supported at launch. In the long term, it will also be possible to upload images and audio files that need to be translated, reports Android Authority. Read...

Foyer has launched Thine, an iOS “ambient AI” that quietly learns from in-person chats to nudge users on decisions and priorities. Read...

Aeris wins Frost & Sullivan global award for IoT eSIM leadership, managing 100m connections across 190 countries with 600 carrier partners. Read...

Wikimedia Enterprise signs Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Perplexity, and Mistral AI to paid deals. Read...

The three biggest memory producers on the planet are Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix. The latter just announced that it’s investing 19 trillion Korean won, approximately $13 billion USD, into a gigantic new memory fabrication facility. But if you’re hoping it’ll make RAM for PCs or graphics cards, keep on hoping: this facility is exclusively making High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) for industrial hardware. According to SK Hynix’s press release (machine translated), this massive investment is supported by the local governments in the North Chungcheong Province. With a planned total area of approximately 231,000 square meters or 57 acres, the facility would be more than triple the size of a professional football stadium, and approximately eight times as expensive as the Burj Khalifa skyscraper. As “AI” data centers continue to be planned and constructed, putting strain on electricity and other resources, industrial demand for memory far outstrips current output. The result is a memory supply crunch that has sent prices skyrocketing across the entire electronics industry, from the biggest companies to the smallest customers. Micron has flat-out killed Crucial, its direct-to-consumer memory seller. And Samsung has struggled to fulfill orders to its own consumer electronics division, as the semiconductor business prioritizes more profitable orders from data center suppliers. Unfortunately, chip fabrication plants take years to get up and running. Even if the HBM memory supplied by this new mega complex could ease the production crunch and open up manufacturing capacity for consumer-grade RAM elsewhere, it’s likely that it won’t be built and getting chips out before 2030. Industry commenters say that one to two years of constrained memory supply is the absolute best-case scenario, with some estimates saying that the current situation may take six years or more to resolve. Read...

Yep, it’s time for another Spotify price hike—meaning it’s also time to look for better music-streaming deals. Starting next month, the price for an individual Spotify Premium subscription in the U.S. will rise to $12.99 a month, up $1/month from the previous $11.99-a-month rate.  Spotify Premium Duo plans for two people are going up to $18.99 a month, up from $16.99/month, while Premium Family plans are getting hiked from $19.99 a month to $21.99/month. Even Premium Student plans are going up, from $5.99 a month to $6.99/month.  Existing Spotify subscribers will soon get emails that details the new rates, which will likely kick in after the next billing period, according to Variety. New subscribers hoping to sign up for Spotify’s Duo or Family plans will have to pay the new prices immediately, while those opting for individual or student plans will get a month free before the new rates kick in.  The last time Spotify raised its prices was back in June 2024, when it boosted individual rates from $10.99 a month to $11.99/month, and prices for other Premium plans also got went up. The June 2024 increase was Spotify’s second price hike in a year.  It’s worth noting that music streaming prices aren’t soaring at the same rate as those of video streamers like Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max. For now, individual music-streaming rates are still hovering within a few bucks of $10 a month, which was pretty much standard for a decade.  Still, there are plenty of cheaper music-streaming options than Spotify for those who are willing to export their playlists.  Amazon Music Unlimited  Individual plan: $11.99/month (non-Prime), $10.99/month (Prime) Family plan: $19.99/month  Amazon’s unlimited music service boasts more than 100 million songs, right up there with Spotify, and it also offers lossless and high-resolution tracks, spatial audio, and one audiobook a month via Audible.  Subscribe to Amazon Music UnlimitedSign up Apple Music  Individual plan: $10.99/month Student plan: $5.99/month Family plan: $16.99/month  Like Amazon and Spotify, Apple serves up more than 100 million songs in its streaming catalog, plus lossless and high-resolution tracks along with spatial audio and Dolby Atmos. There’s also the specialty Apple Music Classical app that curates classical tracks with proper classical-music metadata. Finally, Apple Music’s Student plan includes Apple TV access for free.  Subscribe to Apple MusicSign up Tidal  Individual plan: $10.99/month Student plan: $5.49/month Family plan: $16.99/month  One of the pioneers of high-quality music streaming, Tidal tees up heaps of music tracks in lossless and high-resolution quality, and it was an early adopter of Dolby Atmos mixes. There’s also a track-mixing DJ Extension available for the Individual and Student plans for an additional $9/month.  Subscribe to TidalSign up YouTube Music Premium  Individual plan: $10.99/month Student plan: $5.49/month (first month free) Family plan: $16.99/month  Yes, there’s still a music-only YouTube streaming plan, although it’s worth noting that the streamer doesn’t offer lossless audio tracks yet.  Subscribe to YouTube Music PremiumSign up Read...