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Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday updates: Keeping up with the latest fixes
Long before Taco Tuesday became part of the pop-culture vernacular, Tuesdays were synonymous with security — and for anyone in the tech world, they still are. Patch Tuesday, as you most likely know, refers to the day each month when Microsoft releases security updates and patches for its software products — everything from Windows to Office to SQL Server, developer tools to browsers.
The practice, which happens on the second Tuesday of the month, was initiated to streamline the patch distribution process and make it easier for users and IT system administrators to manage updates. Like tacos, Patch Tuesday is here to stay.
In a blog post celebrating the 20th anniversary of Patch Tuesday, the Microsoft Security Response Center wrote: “The concept of Patch Tuesday was conceived and implemented in 2003. Before this unified approach, our security updates were sporadic, posing significant challenges for IT professionals and organizations in deploying critical patches in a timely manner.”
Patch Tuesday will continue to be an “important part of our strategy to keep users secure,” Microsoft said, adding that it’s now an important part of the cybersecurity industry. As a case in point, Adobe, among others, follows a similar patch cadence.
Patch Tuesday coverage has also long been a staple of Computerworld’s commitment to provide critical information to the IT industry. That’s why we’ve gathered together this collection of recent patches, a rolling list we’ll keep updated each month.
In case you missed a recent Patch Tuesday announcement, here are the latest six months of updates.
For February’s Patch Tuesday, Microsoft rolls out 63 updatesMicrosoft released 63 patches for Windows, Microsoft Office, and developer platforms in this week’s Patch Tuesday update. The February release was a relatively light update, but it comes with significant testing requirements for networking and remote desktop environments. Two zero-day Windows patches (CVE-2025-21391 and CVE-2025-21418) have been reported as exploited and another Windows update (CVE-2025-21377) has been publicly disclosed — meaning IT admins get a “Patch Now” recommendation for this month’s Windows updates. More info on Microsoft Security updates for February 2025.
2025’s first Patch Tuesday: 159 patches, including several zero-day fixesMicrosoft began the new year with a hefty patch release for January, addressing eight zero-days with 159 patches for Windows, Microsoft Office and Visual Studio. Both Windows and Microsoft Office have “Patch Now” recommendations (with no browser or Exchange patches) for January. Microsoft also released a significant servicing stack update (SSU) that changes how desktop and server platforms are updated, requiring additional testing on how MSI Installer, MSIX and AppX packages are installed, updated, and uninstalled. More info on Microsoft Security updates for January 2025.
For December’s Patch Tuesday, 74 updates and a zero-day fix for WindowsMicrosoft released 74 updates with this Patch Tuesday update, patching Windows, Office and Edge — but none for Microsoft Exchange Server or SQL server. One zero-day (CVE-2024-49138) affecting how Windows desktops handle error logs requires a “Patch Now” warning, but the Office, Visual Studio and Edge patches can be added to your standard release schedule. There are also several revisions this month that require attention before deployment. More info on Microsoft Security updates for December 2024.
November: This Patch Tuesday release includes 3 Windows zero-day fixesMicrosoft’s November Patch Tuesday update addresses 89 vulnerabilities in Windows, SQL Server, .NET and Microsoft Office — and three zero-day vulnerabilities in Windows that mean a patch now recommendation for Windows platforms. Unusually, there are a significant number of patch “re-releases” that might also require IT admin attention. More info on Microsoft Security updates for November 2024.
October: A haunting Patch Tuesday: 117 updates (and 5 zero-day flaws)This month’s Patch Tuesday delivers a large set of patches from Microsoft that fix 117 flaws, including five zero-day vulnerabilities. Though there are patches affecting Windows, SQL Server, Microsoft Excel and Visual Studio, only the Windows updates require a “Patch Now” schedule — and they’ll need a significant amount of testing because they cover a lot of features: networking, kernel and core GDI components and Microsoft Hyper-V. Printing should be a core focus for enterprise testing and the SQL Server updates will require a focus on internally developed applications. More info on Microsoft Security updates for October 2024
September: Latest Patch Tuesday update fixes 4 zero-daysAddressing four zero-days flaws (CVE-2024-38014, CVE-2024-38217, CVE-2024-43491 and CVE-2024-38217), this month’s Patch Tuesday release from Microsoft includes 79 updates to the Windows platform. There are no patches to Microsoft Exchange Server or the company’s development tools (Visual Studio or .NET). And Microsoft addressed a recently exploited vulnerability in Microsoft Publisher with two critical updates and nine patches rated important for Microsoft Office. More info on Microsoft Security updates for September 2024.
For February’s Patch Tuesday, Microsoft rolls out 63 updates
Microsoft released 63 patches for Windows, Microsoft Office, and developer platforms in this week’s Patch Tuesday update. The February release was a relatively light update, but it comes with significant testing requirements for networking and remote desktop environments.
Two zero-day Windows patches (CVE-2025-21391 and CVE-2025-21418) have been reported as exploited and another Windows update (CVE-2025-21377) has been publicly disclosed — meaning IT admins get a “Patch Now” recommendation for this month’s Windows updates. (All other Microsoft platforms can be handled with a standard update schedule — and there were no updates for Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server.)
To navigate these changes, the team from Readiness has provided a detailed infographic exploring the deployment risks.
(For information on the last six months of Patch Tuesday releases, see our round-up here.)
Known issuesMicrosoft identified three ongoing issues affecting users of Windows 10, Citrix, and Windows Server 2022 this month, including:
- Windows 10/11 and Sever 2022: Enterprise Windows customers are still reporting SSH connection issues since the October 2024 update. Microsoft is investigating the issue, but has no published fixes or mitigating actions. It’s a challenge for Microsoft since the service failure does not generate logs or error messages.
- Citrix: Microsoft’s January updates — and potentially this month’s releases — are still affected by the Citrix Session Recording Agent (SRA) preventing the successful installation of Microsoft patches. This is an ongoing issue with no fixes yet, though we expect the number of users affected is much lower than the SSH service issue.
- Microsoft’s System Guard Runtime Monitor Broker Service (SGMBS) may be causing system level crashes and telemetry issues with the event viewer log since last month’s Patch Tuesday release. Microsoft technical support has offered a registry level change to update the service and mitigate the issue. We expect an update from Microsoft later this month on a more permanent resolution.
As of Feb. 14, the Readiness team has not received any published revisions or updates. Microsoft did offer a mitigation for a serious vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook (CVE-2025-21298). Perhaps less helpful than you’d expect, Microsoft recommends viewing emails in plain text to mitigate this critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability, which could otherwise grant attackers control over the target system.
Windows lifecycle and enforcement updatesMicrosoft published no enforcement updates this month, but the following products are nearing their end-of-service life cycles:
- Windows 11 Enterprise and Education, Version 22H2 — Oct. 14, 2025
- Windows Server Annual Channel, Version 23H2 — Oct. 24, 2025
- Windows 11 Home and Pro, Version 23H2 — Nov. 11, 2025
Each month, the Readiness team provides detailed, actionable testing guidance for the latest Patch Tuesday updates based on assessing a large app portfolio and a offering comprehensive analyses of the patches and their potential impact on Windows and application deployments.
For this cycle, we grouped the critical updates and required testing efforts into different functional areas, including:
Networking and Remote Desktop services- Winsock: Microsoft advises that a multipoint socket (type c_root) is created and employed with the following operations: bind, connect, and listen. The socket should close successfully.
- DHCP: Create test scenarios to validate Windows DHCP client operations (discover, offer, request, and acknowledgment (ACK)).
- RDP: Ensure that you can configure Microsoft RRAS servers through netsh commands.
- ICS: Ensure that Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) can be configured over Wi-Fi.
- FAX/Telephony: Ensure that your test scenarios include TAPI (Telephony Application Programming Interface) initialization and shutdown operations. Since these tests require an extended runtime, allocate extra time for them.
- Ensure that File Explorer correctly renders URL file icons. Microsoft recommends testing the Storage Sense clean-up tool. If disk quotas are enabled, confirm that all I/O workloads function as expected.
- Domain controllers should continue to support certificate logons after applying the updates.
- Kerberos: Microsoft recommends creating authentication scenarios for domain-joined systems, using local and encrypted login methods.
If you have the time and resources (VMs and networking), the Readiness team strongly recommends building a test Remote Desktop environment that includes a connection broker, remote desktop gateway, and remote desktops on virtual machines. After setting up each component, verify that all RDP connections are established successfully.
This month, testing Microsoft’s ICS functionality requires an extended test plan covering the following areas:
- Usability testing: Create test scenarios to verify that the process of enabling/disabling ICS functions as expected.
- Validation: Microsoft recommends confirming that Network Address Translation (NAT) correctly translates private IP addresses to that of the shared connection.
- Security: Ensure that ICS traffic adheres to existing firewall rules and does not create unintended security risks.
Each month, we break down the update cycle into product families (as defined by Microsoft) with the following basic groupings:
- Browsers (Microsoft IE and Edge)
- Microsoft Windows (both desktop and server)
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server
- Microsoft Developer Tools (Visual Studio and .NET)
- Adobe (if you get this far)
Browsers
Microsoft released a larger-than-normal number of patches for the Edge browser this month — 10, all rated important. These updates are a mix of Chromium (CVE-2025-0444, CVE-2025-0445 and CVE-2025-0451) and Edge patches that deal with memory related security vulnerabilities. All of these low-profile changes can be added to your standard release calendar.
Microsoft WindowsThese areas have been updated with two critical patches and 35 important patches this patch cycle:
- Win32 and Kernel Services
- Remote Desktop, RAS and Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
- Kerberos, DHCP and Windows Networking
- Microsoft Active Directory and Windows Installer
Though the Windows NTLM patch (CVE-2025-21377) has been rated important, it has been publicly disclosed. Two more updates (both rated important) affecting storage (CVE-2025-21391) and networking (CVE-2025-21418) have reportedly been exploited in the wild. These reports raise the stakes for an otherwise low-profile Windows update, so the Readiness team recommends a “Patch Now” schedule for these.
Microsoft OfficeMicrosoft released a single critical update for Microsoft Excel and nine more rated as important for Microsoft Office and the SharePoint platforms. None of these vulnerabilities have been reported as exploited or publicly disclosed. So, add these Office updates to your standard release calendar.
Microsoft Exchange and SQL ServerNo updates were released for either Microsoft Exchange or SQL Server this month.
Developer ToolsMicrosoft released four updates to Microsoft Visual Studio, all of which are rated important. One of these updates (CVE-2023-32002) may look a little odd as the date refers to 2023, not 2025. However, it appears legitimate. Though it has been categorized under Microsoft’s Visual Studio product grouping, this patch attempts to resolve a vulnerability in Node.js. Add these updates (even the funny looking ones) to your standard developer release schedule.
Adobe (and 3rd party updates)Microsoft did not push out any Adobe updates. However, HackerOne required a patch to the developer framework Node.js to resolve a network related vulnerability (CVE-2025-21418).
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Arm secures Meta as first customer in chip push, challenging industry giants
In a landmark shift, Arm has secured Meta as the first major customer for its internally designed server CPUs, a move that signals its entry into direct chip sales and places it in direct competition with its biggest customers, including Qualcomm and Nvidia.
The company, known for licensing its chip designs to industry heavyweights like Apple, Nvidia, and Qualcomm, is now stepping directly into the silicon market, a move that could put it in direct competition with the very customers it once served.
This strategic shift marks one of the most significant transformations in Arm’s history, potentially destabilizing long-standing partnerships and reshaping the power dynamics within the semiconductor industry, reported Finacial Times.
Meta bets on Arm’s first server chip, raising questions for IT buyersArm’s first internally designed semiconductor is expected to be a server CPU aimed at the data center market, with Meta as its first major customer. This would mark a direct challenge to Intel and AMD, the long-standing leaders in server chip manufacturing. If successful, Arm’s entry into the data center CPU space could disrupt the traditional x86-based server ecosystem, which has historically been dominated by Intel.
Arm is now directly competing with one of its biggest customers, Qualcomm, for data center CPU deals. Qualcomm was in discussions with Facebook’s parent company, Meta, to supply processors based on Arm’s architecture. However, Arm has already secured at least part of the deal, marking a major shift from its role as a neutral IP supplier to an active market player, reported Reuters.
Arm’s first internally designed semiconductor is expected to be a server CPU aimed at the data center market, with Meta as its first major customer, reported Financial Times. This marks a direct challenge to Intel and AMD, the long-standing leaders in server chip manufacturing. If successful, Arm’s entry into the data center CPU space could disrupt the traditional x86-based server ecosystem, which has historically been dominated by Intel.
While discussions between Meta and Qualcomm are ongoing, Arm’s move raises concerns among enterprise customers who now face the possibility of competing with the very company they rely on for chip designs.
A spokesperson for Arm declined to comment on the matter.
Hiring from customers and entering the marketArm has started recruiting executives from its own licensees, signaling a strategic transformation. Arm is actively hiring talent to expand beyond designing processor architecture to also selling its own silicon, with a focus on AI-powered data center chips and other applications, reported Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Arm’s strategic transformation is not just about hiring from licensees, it represents a fundamental shift in its business model. The company, which has long dominated the smartphone processor market, is now focusing on high-performance computing (HPC) and AI-driven chips for data centers. While Arm will design its own semiconductors, it will continue outsourcing production to foundries like TSMC, a move that aligns with the business models of fabless chip companies like Nvidia, the FT report added.
A shift that could reshape the industry“Near-term mass migration away from Arm seems unlikely due to its established ecosystem and the complexity of shifting architectures,” said Rachita Rao, senior analyst at Everest Group. “However, companies like Qualcomm are already exploring alternatives such as RISC-V, and some firms have begun in-house efforts to reduce reliance on Arm. While some players might transition away, Arm remains the primary architect of these chips, with differentiation largely occurring at the SoC design level.”
“SoftBank’s potential acquisition of Oracle-backed chip designer Ampere could further accelerate Arm’s efforts in this segment,” Rao added. “The Meta deal lends credibility to Arm’s push into chip manufacturing, but while the company has financial and technical backing, it will take time to reach the level of established competitors. Even existing players are struggling to keep up with Nvidia.”
Arm’s business shift mirrors Nvidia’s model, where chip designs are developed in-house but actual manufacturing is outsourced to foundries like TSMC. This approach allows Arm to enter new markets while reducing capital expenditure on chip fabrication. However, the move could create tensions with long-time partners like Apple, Qualcomm, and Nvidia, who must now consider whether their reliance on Arm’s technology puts them in direct competition with it.
“Arm already holds a near-monopoly in certain semiconductor IP segments, and regulators closely scrutinize its licensing policies and potential acquisitions,” Rao noted. “If Arm expands further into direct chip sales, regulators may require a clear separation between its IP licensing and chip manufacturing divisions. Any perceived preference for its own products or sudden licensing fee hikes could invite antitrust investigations.”
“As AI chip development accelerates, chipset makers will likely pursue both backward and forward integration, aiming to control more of the design and development process while still relying on foundries for manufacturing,” said Faisal Kawoosa, founder and lead analyst at Techarc. “Arm’s move into chipmaking is a natural response to this trend, but it also introduces challenges. Competing with firms like Nvidia and Qualcomm requires more than just strong design expertise—it demands deep market knowledge, customer relationships, and extensive front-end integration, areas where its competitors currently have an edge.”
Arm’s business shift mirrors Nvidia’s model, where chip designs are developed in-house but actual manufacturing is outsourced to foundries like TSMC. This approach allows Arm to enter new markets while reducing capital expenditure on chip fabrication. However, the move could create tensions with long-time partners like Apple, Qualcomm, and Nvidia, who must now consider whether their reliance on Arm’s technology puts them in direct competition with it.
Potential challenge to Nvidia in AI chipsBeyond server CPUs, Arm is setting its sights on the booming AI chip market, where Nvidia is currently the dominant player. Arm is also a part of SoftBank’s Stargate initiative, a large-scale project to develop AI-focused data centers in the US in collaboration with OpenAI and Oracle.
If Arm moves aggressively into AI hardware, it could challenge Nvidia’s stronghold on AI-specific GPUs, a sector currently experiencing exponential demand due to advancements in generative AI. Arm may also be positioning itself to compete with Nvidia, a dominant force in the AI chip market.
Besides, Arm and its parent company, SoftBank, are working with Broadcom to develop a custom-built AI chip for SoftBank’s data centers. The project is estimated to be worth as much as $30 billion in revenue for Broadcom, reported Reuters citing a research note from JP Morgan analyst Harlan Sur.
The note further suggests that if Arm aggressively moves into AI hardware, it could position itself as a direct competitor to chip giants such as Nvidia and AMD. While Arm has not publicly confirmed these ambitions, its efforts to recruit top chip executives and win strategic deals suggest a clear intent to expand beyond its traditional licensing business.
For decades, Arm has been seen as a neutral provider of chip design technology, licensing its IP to major semiconductor firms without directly competing with them. That model is now changing, and the ripple effects could be significant.
If Arm continues to expand into chip sales, enterprise customers may need to rethink their reliance on its technology. Companies that once viewed Arm as a partner may now see it as a rival, potentially reshaping the semiconductor market and altering supply chain strategies across the industry.
Queries seeking comment from Qualcomm and Meta remain unanswered.
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Apple and the big store
Apple has made a small but significant move by introducing its Apple TV app to Android. It might seem like a minor step, but it marks a major pivot in strategy as the company expands its services beyond its own ecosystem. Across the years, rumors and recruitment ads show it has been putting this plan together for some time.
Outside the walled gardenThat all this speculation has become reality shouldn’t be a big surprise. It’s not as if Android is the first platform to see Apple services support. Windows has many, including iCloud, Music, TV — and Apple Music is already available on Android.
What this means for most of us is limited: It means all the movies and TV shows you’ve purchased from Apple can be accessed on your Android device, which will also stream the full TV+ catalog. It also opens the doors to potential new subscribers to Apple’s growing selection of sports content, at present including Major League Soccer and Friday Night Baseball. Given that Apple was also in the running to pick up streaming rights for key soccer leagues, you should not underestimate the breadth of its ambition in sports entertainment.
What Apple has also done with this move is weaken arguments against its traditional “walled garden” for services.
- It isn’t forcing vendor lock-in through your purchased movie collection anymore.
- It means switchers can access the Apple services they have become accustomed to.
- It means potential Android to iPhone switchers can dip into Apple’s content services during their migration.
Apple TV on Android also hints at the future. You see, as Apple is forced to open its own ecosystem to competitors, it is also being forced to intensify the degree to which it competes against those competitors.
That means Apple Music is now in an all-platform competition with Spotify; and in the future it will also mean Apple TV+ has to compete with other streaming services.
While TV+ arguably lacks a deep enough library of content to compete effectively, it’s plausible Apple might choose to widen its content library now that its service is available on multiple devices and platforms.
Licensed content could bolster the company’s own unique offerings and be made immediately available to a potential audience of billions. Apple has experimented with this – it licensed a catalog of 50 movies for showing in the US last year, and now has a licensing team in place.
Roblox for tiny humansWhile doing so would be highly complex from a development point of view, Apple has another service it could potentially bring across to Android: Arcade.
Apple Arcade is a collection of casual games made available free to subscribers, built to work across Apple’s platforms (including Apple TV). Its big advantages include a distinct lack of built-in data trackers and info stealers and a sensible approach to advertising that means parents aren’t forever claiming refunds or coughing up cash as their kids “accidentally” purchase in-game currencies.
Combined with a decent selection of professionally produced content, Arcade has plenty of potential — all it needs is its Ted Lasso or iPhone moment, a game so popular and pervasive gamers on all platforms want it. Think about something better than Roblox, but more wholesome.
While Apple waits for that game to appear, it could offer up Arcade to other platforms, creating an ecosystem for game discovery and purchase that competes directly with those forcing it to open its platforms up to them. It could then be in the cat bird seat once it finds its pervasive gaming hit.
One more thingFor all the criticism it gets, the enduring success of the App Store shows there is a substantial public appetite for curated apps and services. People are hungry for games, apps, and services that meet trust and quality standards.
Given this is true, perhaps Apple could expand its App Store to distribute strictly vetted software and services for other platforms, including those from competitors.
While unlikely, one day the most popular version of Fortnite might be the one sold via the App Store with an Apple imprimatur to denote verified trust and security. Perhaps you’ll visit the Apple App Store to get your Windows and Android software, confident it has been put through strict quality and security testing. I imagine IT would be pleased with that extra layer of verification, particularly in regulated industries.
After all, as Apple’s entire history shows, if you can’t beat them, you join them. You just do it better.
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Apple’s emotional lamp and the future of robots
Pixar Animation Studios has an unusual logo. The basic logo is the word “Pixar.” But sometimes, an animated lamp named Luxo Jr. hops into the frame and jumps on the letter “i.” The lap exudes personality and represents Pixar’s ability to turn any object into a compelling character.
Inspired by Luxo Jr., Apple’s Machine Learning Research division decided to create a personality-expressive lamp of their own. Apple’s ELEGNT research project explores what’s possible with an expressive physical user interface for non-humanoid robots.
Based on the situation and context of the user, as well as voice interaction, gestures and touch, the lamp can appear to express itself through a variety of movements, including nodding or shaking its “head,” lowering its head to convey sadness, “tail wagging” to signify excitement, “sitting down” to imply relaxation, head tilting to show curiosity, leaning forward to show interest, gazing to direct attention, adjusting speed and pausing to communicate attitudes and emotions, and moving forward or away to show interest or disinterest.
It can do some of the things smartphone apps can do but with a greater sense of fun. For example, smartphone apps can remind you to drink water, but the ELEGNT can do this by physically pushing a cup of water toward you.
As you can see in this video, Apple’s project is fascinating. But as with all robot makers in Silicon Valley, as far as I can tell, the company loses the plot when dealing with any robot designed to simulate human communication.
In their paper, they say: “The framework integrates function-driven and expression-driven utilities, where the former focuses on finding an optimal path to achieve a physical goal state, and the latter motivates the robot to take paths that convey its internal states —s uch as intention, attention, attitude, and emotion — during human-robot interactions.”
Did you catch the lie (or worse, a possibly self-delusional claim)? They’re falsely saying that their expression-driven utilities “motivate” the lamp to convey its “internal states,” and among those internal states is “emotion.”
They toss out the falsehood with shocking casualness, considering how big the statement is and how formal the research paper is. If Apple had actually invented a lamp that can feel emotions, that would be the computer science event of the century, a singularity of world-historic import. It would challenge our laws and our definition of sentience, throwing into question religious and philosophical questions that have been settled for 10,000 years.
(I’ve reached out to Apple for comment on this point, but haven’t heard back.)
It’s clear that Apple’s lamp is programmed to move in a way that deludes users into believing that the it has internal states that it doesn’t actually have.
(I admire Apple’s research; I don’t understand why companies lie about humanoid robotics and play make-believe in their research papers about what’s going on with their robots. In the future, it will be hard enough for people to understand the nature of AI and robotics without the researchers lying in formal, technical research papers.)
But if you ignore the lie, Apple’s lamp research definitely sheds light on where our interaction with robots may be heading—a new category of appliance that might well be called the “emotional robot.”
A key component of the research was a user study comparing how people perceived a robot using functional and expressive movements versus one that uses only functional movements.
The study found that movements incorporating expressive qualities boosted user “ratings,” especially during social-oriented tasks. But when users wanted some specific useful action to take place — for example, to shine light on an object so the user could take a picture of it — study participants found the lamp’s “personality” distracting.
The researchers drew upon the concept of Theory of Mind, the human ability to attribute mental states to others, to help design the lamp’s movements. Those movements were intended to simulate intention, attention, attitude, and emotion.
The movements aren’t specifically human but rather the body language of a person, a monkey, or a dog — a sentient mammal generally.
The biggest takeaway from Apple’s ELEGNT research is likely that neither a human-like voice nor a human-like body, head, or face is required for a robot to successfully trick a human into relating to it as a sentient being with internal thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
ELEGNT is not a prototype product; it is instead a lab and social experiment. But that doesn’t mean a product based on this research will not soon be available on a desktop near you.
Apple’s emotional robotApple is developing a desktop robot project, codenamed J595, and is targeting a launch within two years. According to reports based on leaks, the robot might look a little like Apple’s iMac G4, which was a lamp-like form factor featuring a screen at the end of a moveable “arm.” The device would function like an Apple HomePod with a screen but with additional intelligence courtesy of large language model-based generative AI.
The estimated $1,000 robot would provide a user interface for home smart products and doorbell cams, answer questions, display photos and incoming messages, and function as a camera and screen for FaceTime calls.
But here’s the most interesting part. Although there’s no direct evidence for this claim, it makes sense for Apple to incorporate ELEGNT research into the desktop robot project. The robot is expected to move, lean, and tilt as part of its interaction with users.
Apple’s next appliance might be an emotional robot.
The consumer market for emotional robotsThe idea of a consumer electronics product advertising “personality” through physical movements isn’t new. Among others, there’s:
- Jibo: A social robot with expressive movements and a rotating body.
- Anki’s Cozmo: A small robot toy with a movable arm and LED eyes for emotional expression.
- Sony Aibo: A robotic dog using its entire body to express emotions.
- Kuri: A home robot using head tilts, eye expressions, and sounds for communication.
- Lovot: A companion robot from Japan expressing affection through body movements.
- Amazon Astro: A home robot with a periscope camera and digital eyes for engagement.
The latter product is worthy of an update since I first mentioned it in 2021.
Amazon discontinued its Astro for Business program on July 3, 2024, less than a year after launch. The business robots were remotely deactivated by Amazon last Sept. 25, and now Amazon is exclusively focusing on Astro for consumers.
The $1,599 consumer version of Astro, introduced in 2021, is still available (by invitation only).
The business market for emotional robotsNo major company has tried emotional robots for business except Amazon, and it killed that program.
Meanwhile, the European Union’s AI Act prohibits the use of AI systems for emotion recognition in workplaces or educational settings, except in cases of medical or safety necessity. This ban became effective on Feb. 2.
So, from a business, legal, and cultural standpoint, it appears that appliances that can read your emotions and respond with gestures expressing fake emotions are not imminent.
We’ll see whether users bring their emoting Apple desktop robots or other emotional robots to the office. We could be facing a bring-your-own-emotional-robot movement in the workplace.
BYOER beware!
Your new Android notification superpower
It may seem like a paradox, but notifications are both the best and the worst part of owning an Android device.
On the one hand, notifications let us stay on top of important incoming info — be it a critical Slack message, a personal family text, or an email from a high-priority client or colleague.
On the other hand, man alive, can they be menacing — both distracting and also sometimes ineffective, when something significant comes in and you don’t notice it right away.
To be fair, Android’s got all sorts of smart systems for taming your notifications and making ’em more manageable and effective — both official and by way of crafty workaround. The software’s oft-overlooked notification channels make it easy to control specific sorts of notifications and turn down the noise on less important stuff. And just last week, we talked about a creative way to bring custom vibration patterns to any Android device so you can tell what type of info is alerting you without even having to glance at your screen.
But there’s still the issue of especially important info coming in and falling through the cracks. After all, it’s all too easy to miss a single incoming notification and then fail to notice it until hours later — when it might be too late.
Today, I’ve got a scrumptiously slick ‘n’ simple tool that can help. It’s a new Android notification superpower, and all you’ve gotta do is embrace it.
[Don’t stop here: Get my free Android Notification Power-Pack next and send your Android notification intelligence to soaring new heights.]
Android notifications, amplifiedThe tool I want to tell you about is an easy-as-can-be way to amplify especially important notifications and make sure you always see ’em right away.
It does that primarily by creating a custom alarm of sorts for your highest-priority notifications — those coming from specific apps and/or with specific keywords in their bodies. When those conditions are met, the system vibrates your phone continuously until you acknowledge it and optionally makes an ongoing sound, too. That way, there’s zero chance you’ll overlook it.
You can even get incredibly nuanced with how and when those actions happen, if you want, and have the alarm active only during certain days and times. If you’re really feeling saucy, you can also have the app read certain notifications aloud when they come in as another way to ensure they catch your attention.
The app that makes all of this happen is a cool little creation called, fittingly enough, NotiAlarm. It’s a free download that’ll work on any Android device.
Now, notably, NotiAlarm does overlap with another tool we’ve talked about before — an extremely versatile power-user tool called BuzzKill that lets you create all sorts of crafty custom filters for your phone’s notifications. If you’re already using BuzzKill, you can accomplish these same sorts of feats with it, and you don’t need NotiAlarm in addition.
But fantastic as it is, BuzzKill is a bit complex. It falls more in the power-user camp, and it also costs four bucks to use. So all in all, it isn’t for everyone.
NotiAlarm, in contrast, is super-simple and also free. Even if you aren’t inclined to create an entire array of custom filters for your notifications, it does this one thing and does it well — and it’s remarkably easy to get going.
The app does have some mildly annoying ads throughout its configuration interface, but that’s it. You can opt to disable those and support the developer with a one-time $10 upgrade, if you want, but you don’t have to do that in order to put it to work.
Capisce? Capisce. Lemme show you how to get it up and running now, in a matter of minutes.
Your 2-minute Android notification upgradeAll right — here’s all there is to it:
- First, download NotiAlarm from the Play Store (obviously, right?).
- Open ‘er up, then follow the prompts to grant the app the various forms of access it needs.
- NotiAlarm requires permissions to manage your notifications, display over other apps, and run in the background — for reasons that should all be fairly obvious and are absolutely necessary for what it needs to do. Its privacy policy is clear about the fact that it doesn’t collect or store any personal data or share any manner of info with any third parties.
- Once you’re on its main screen, tap the circular plus icon in the lower-right corner to configure your first alarm. That’ll take you to a screen that looks a little somethin’ like this:
JR Raphael, IDG
- Tap the plus sign next to the word “Keyword,” then type in whatever keyword you want to act as a trigger for your notification alarm. Maybe it’s a specific person’s name, a specific email address, or some specific term that you know demands your immediate attention. Whatever it is, type it in there, then tap the word “Add” to confirm and save it.
- By default, NotiAlarm will trigger your alarm for any notifications that include your keyword. You can also, however, ask it to trigger the alarm for any notifications that don’t include the keyword — so in other words, for all notifications except those containing that keyword. If you’d rather go that route, tap the toggle next to “Keyword Filter Type” to switch its behavior.
JR Raphael, IDG
- Next, tap the plus sign alongside the word “App” and select which app or apps you want to be included — Messages, Slack, Gmail, Calendar, or whatever the case may be.
JR Raphael, IDG
- Now, in the next box down, tap the toggle next to “Alarm” and configure exactly how you want your alarm to work.
- You can activate and select a specific sound, via the “Alarm Sound” toggle.
- Or you can stick solely with an ongoing vibration, via the active-by-default “Vibration” toggle.
- If you want to limit the alarm to certain times, tap the toggle next to “Do Not Disturb Time Range.” And if you want to limit it to certain days, tap the day names under “Repeat Days.” Otherwise, just ignore those fields.
JR Raphael, IDG
And hey, how ’bout that? For most purposes and scenarios, you should now be set! If you want to explore some other options — such as having a notification automatically read aloud, automatically marking a notification as read, or automatically replying to a message-oriented notification with some prewritten response — look a little lower on that same screen.
Otherwise, just tap the “Save” text in the upper-right corner, and that’s it: Your new alarm is now active. And you’ll see it with an active toggle on NotiAlarm’s main screen.
A NotiAlarm notification alarm in its final, fully configured state.JR Raphael, IDG
Now, anytime a notification comes in that meets the conditions you specified, your phone will do exactly what you asked — and an important alert will never go unnoticed again.
???? NEXT: Snag my free Android Notification Power-Pack to discover six especially awesome enhancements that’ll take your Android notification intelligence to the next level.
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Adobe Firefly expands with ‘commercially safe’ video generator
Adobe has released a video generator in public beta in its generative AI (genAI) tool, Adobe Firefly. The company calls the tool the first “commercially safe” video generator on the market. It has been trained on licensed content and public domain material, meaning it should not be able to generate material that could infringe someone else’s copyright.
Firefly can generate clips either from text instructions or by combining a reference image with text instructions. There are also settings to customize things such as camera angles, movements, and distances.
A paid subscription is required to use the video generator. Firefly Standard, which costs about $11 a month, gives access to 2000 credits; that should be enough for 20 five-second videos with a 1080p picture resolution and a frame rate of 24 frames per second.
Firefly Pro, which costs three times more than the standard version, allows a user 7000 credits, which should be enough for 70 five-second clips in 1080p at 24 frames per second.
Adobe plans to eventually release a model for videos with lower resolution but faster image updates, as well as a model with 4k resolution for Pro users.
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