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The partnership has broadened the existing relationship between Meta and AWS over the last five years. Meta uses AWS compute, storage, database and security services to complement its own on-premises infrastructure. However, when Meta (then Facebook) acquired Instagram in 2012, the social media giant moved Instagram from AWS to in-house infrastructure. Multiple tuck-in acquisitions by Meta have also leveraged AWS. At AWS’ re:Invent conference, Meta and AWS outlined the following:...

“A handful of languages — including English, Mandarin, Spanish and Arabic — dominate the web,” the company noted in a blog post. “Native speakers of these very widely spoken languages may take for granted how meaningful it is to read something in your own mother tongue. NLLB will help more people read things in their preferred language, rather than always requiring an intermediary language that often gets the sentiment or content wrong....

The company said, however, that supply-chain constraints that have roiled the electronics industry all year should become less of a burden during the course of 2022. See also: The global chip shortage is a much bigger problem than everyone realized | Here’s why the semiconductor industry gets into trouble predicting the future | Europe wants to be a computer chip powerhouse again. It’s not going to be easy The report sent Micron shares down 4% in late trading....

That means more businesses can apply to use OpenAI’s Azure-hosted and trained large language models (LLMs), such as: GPT-3.5, the LLMs behind ChatGPT; DALL•E 2, the AI that generates images from casual descriptions; and Codex, the GPT-3-based foundation of GitHub’s Copilot AI paired programming service. Asked at a Wall Street Journal event about the impact of AI, Nadella said every Microsoft product would include some AI capabilities and said: “The best way to prepare for it is not to bet against this technology, and this technology helping you in your job and your business process....

A company spokesperson sent me the following to help clarify how Cortana and Context IQ differ: “Context IQ and Cortana are unique. Context IQ is an ingredient of our AI capabilities, and Cortana is a product within our Microsoft 365 capabilities. Context IQ defines a set of integrated AI experiences across Microsoft 365 that predicts, seeks, and suggests information people might need in the flow of their work. Context IQ is an element of AI-driven experiences and products like Editor that leverage the power of Context IQ to help you accomplish tasks....

Microsoft 365/Office 365 activity reports include usage data about all of its apps, including the Microsoft Edge browser, Outlook email, Office, Dynamics 365, SharePoint, and Teams. Microsoft says usage analytics from September 1 will pseudonymize user-level information by default to help companies support local privacy laws. SEE: The best Windows laptops in 2021 The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation references pseudonymisation as a security and data protection mechanism, as noted by the ENISA, the EU agency for cybersecurity....

Upguard Research disclosed multiple data leaks exposing 38 million data records via Microsoft Power Apps portals configured to allow public access. The data leaks impacted American Airlines, Microsoft, J.B. Hunt and governments of Indiana, Maryland and New York City. Upguard first discovered the issue involving the ODdata API for a Power Apps portal on May 24 and submitted a vulnerability report to Microsoft June 24. According to Upguard, the primary issue is that all data types were public when some data like personal identifying information should have been private....

The company reported strong revenue growth across most of its product lines excluding Office commercial products as well as Surface and Xbox content and services revenue. Microsoft reported net income of $20.5 billion with earnings of $2.71 a share. Non-GAAP earnings for the first quarter were $2.27 a share on revenue of $45.3 billion. Wall Street was looking for first quarter revenue of $43.97 billion with earnings of $2.07 a share....

WPA3 H2E standards support for enhanced Wi-Fi security Windows Hello for Business support for simplified passwordless deployment models for achieving a deploy-to-run state within a few minutes GPU compute support in the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows (EFLOW) deployments for machine learning and other compute-intensive workflows Today’s first Windows 10 21H2 test build, No. 19044.1147 (KB5004296) is going to Release Preview Channel testers who were moved from the Beta Channel to the Release Preview Channel by Microsoft because their PCs didn’t meet the hardware requirements for Windows 11....

As with any transaction of this size (more than double the company’s $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn), there are plenty of big questions that need to be answered. Why is Microsoft willing to spend so much cash on a game publisher? What’s any of this got to do with the metaverse? And crucially: why Activision Blizzard? SEE: Microsoft’s biggest acquisition yet: Game developer Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion But first it’s important to fill in a bit of the background that makes this deal more intriguing than even the massive price tag suggests....

A company spokesperson sent the following to explain what’s happening: “The channel chief role, previously held by Rodney Clark, will be split into two distinct leadership roles; one of which will be directly tied to sales with our channel partners and led by David Smith, new VP Channel Sales; and the other led by Julie Sanford, VP GTM, Programs and Experiences, with direct accountability for programs and offerings. The decision to evolve what formerly had been a single role into two distinct areas of responsibility is a reflection of the growing importance and breadth of our partner ecosystem all-up....

The ISOs for Windows 10 22H2 (Build 19045.2006) are available today. Version 22H2 also is now available through Windows Server Update Services (including Configuration Manager), Windows Update for Business and the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC). The support countdown clock for 22H2 begins today, with Home and Pro users getting 18 months of support for Windows 10 22H2 and Enterprise and Education getting 30 months. Update: As expected, Microsoft also made available today, as part of its optional/non-security updates (for “Week C”) the promised missing features of Windows 11 22H2 Users can check out the tabbed file explorer, suggested actions, taskbar overflow and other Windows 11 22H2 supplemental features today....

Microsoft will likely continue to release new incremental, as well as major, features for Teams every week as it has done for the past few years. The company has been focusing heavily on the telephony features in Teams and will likely continue to do so. It also will likely continue to integrate Teams with even more products and services in the Microsoft stack as the platform moves forward. One of the more major features on the Teams roadmap, on track to debut this month in preview form (according to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap), is the delayed Teams Connect collaboration capability....

Windows 10 21H2 won’t offer many new features. It will behave almost like a Cumulative Update, in terms of size and speed of deployment for those moving from 21H1 to it once it’s available. Earlier this year, Microsoft officials said the Windows 10 21H2 features would include: WPA3 H2E standards support for enhanced Wi-Fi security Windows Hello for Business support for simplified, passwordless deployment models for achieving a deploy-to-run state within a few minutesGPU compute support in the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows (EFLOW) deployments for machine learning and other compute-intensive workflows However, Microsoft officials said the new Windows Hello for Business deployment method – also known as “cloud trust” – is still not ready and will be delivered in a future monthly update to those with 21H2....

Project AirSim will offer libraries of simulated 3D environments and uses Azure to generate “massive amounts of data for training AI models on exactly which actions to take at each phase of flight, from takeoff to cruising to landing,” according to the company. Microsoft officials said they see a number of potential use cases for Project AirSim, ranging from hobbyist drones to aircraft carrying passengers. Autonomous aerial vehicles can be used to inspect the equipment, carry packages and more....

The company’s data breach report found that there were 1,767 publicly reported breaches in the first six months of 2021, a 24% decline compared to the same period last year. The number of reported breaches grew in the US by 1.5% while 18.8 billion records were exposed year to date, a 32% decline compared to the 27.8 billion records leaked in the first half of 2020. Inga Goddijn, executive vice president at Risk Based Security said the methods used by attackers to monetize their efforts has diversified and at the same time, preventable errors are outpacing hackers when it comes to the amount of data exposed....

The centrepiece of that investment is a 10-year AU$1.6 billion program, called Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA), which will focus on commercialising six national manufacturing priority areas including resources and critical minerals, food and beverage, medical products, recycling and clean energy, defence and space. In his first major speech for the election year, Morrison said the AEA would fund projects as they progressed through the stages of their development. “This is about funding projects to bridge the ‘valley of death’ where early-stage research is often not progressed due to higher levels of risk and uncertainty,” Morrison said....

Some 80% of organisations that paid ransom demands experienced a second attack, of which 46% believed the subsequent ransomware to be caused by the same hackers. Amongst those that paid to regain access to their systems, 46% said at least some of their data was corrupted, according to a Cybereason survey released Wednesday. Conducted by Censuswide, the study polled 1,263 security professionals in seven markets worldwide, including 100 in Singapore, as well as respondents in Germany, France, the US, and UK....

The new Moto G Play retains the previous model’s 6.5-inch display HD display, but it’s now faster, with a refresh rate of 90Hz. The improved speed, compared with the standard 60Hz, means that scrolling through webpages, apps, and gaming will all have a smoother look and feel. Also: These are my 5 must-have devices for work and travel now Powering the Moto G Play is a MediaTek Helio G37 processor, 3GB of memory, 32GB of storage, and a 5,000-mAh battery that Motorola promises will give owners up to three days of use....