Agregátor RSS

Problems, they say, are gifts to help you change. If that’s the case, then Apple has some changing to do, at least when it comes to AI development, which a new Bloomberg report suggests is in crisis. 

The crisis runs so deep, allegedly, that Apple will introduce no Siri upgrades at WWDC 2025 — and the report claims to have seen internal data that shows Apple “remains years behind its competition.” It paints a picture of weak leadership, conflicting priorities, flawed decision-making, and problematic integration between teams. 

It particularly points at weak communication between Apple’s AI and marketing teams, evidenced by the heavy hype thrown at Apple Intelligence last year, even before features were baked — some of which have still failed to launch. The central claim seems to be that the debut of generative AI came as a complete surprise to Apple management, who were moving at a more deliberate pace.

Internal conflicts

Some of the biggest problems, however, appear to be based on misalignment of budget, as some teams got less than they needed to put effective AI solutions together. Some of the blame sits at the feet of Apple’s AI leader, John Giannandrea, who insiders say should have been more aggressive in pursuing the funding he needed. He should have shouted harder to get what he needed, the report implies.

Other claims lean into assertions we’ve already heard, such as the idea that after resistance to genAI investment, Apple SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi had a eureka moment as to its importance when using ChatGPT on a personal coding project. It seems that at that point, he finally understood the threat posed by genAI and mandated that work on artificial intelligence intensify – which is when work on what we now call “Apple Intelligence” really began.

Changing tactics

Apple has been changing its approach rapidly in recent months, since the company famously missed its schedule for launch of the biggest Apple Intelligence feature of contextual intelligence in Siri. That miss has clearly become a crisis at Apple. Since it was revealed, elements of the existing AI leadership have been shifted aside, projects realigned, and budgets reallocated, but the problems aren’t yet resolved.

With a resolve to “do whatever it takes,” Apple has also become more open to partnership. Its original AI partnership with OpenAI will now be extended to others, likely including Google and more. The company is also working with Anthropic to deploy AI from that company in Xcode.

Part of this crisis seems to extend from the difference between Apple’s existing machine intelligence models and the genAI it hopes to deploy. The report cites an illustration of Siri, which remains less effective at some tasks than competing services can be, with integration attributed as the cause.

Meanwhile, the company has a team building a version of Siri that is entirely LLM-based, aiming to make Siri more conversational and better at processing information. This will eventually replace the hybrid Siri that Apple is using at the moment. Interestingly, the report says Apple is training the LLM Siri with synthetic data, which implies some useful advances in that side of AI technology. 

The impact of choice

All of these problems, the report implies, seem so great that Apple may decide to extend the opportunity to replace Siri with other, less private voice assistants on its devices. 

It may have to. 

The company is already working to enable that kind of choice in Europe as it expects it may be required to under what it sees as the bloc’s opaquely applied Digital Markets Act.

One way to look at this could be that if Apple can’t quickly make Siri an effective competitor, it may need to give users a choice of assistant. Even if the AI isn’t Apple’s, the device used to run that code should still be. 

It’s a high-risk plan — particularly as we wait on an AI-powered device reported to be in development at OpenAI — but remains one that Apple may have to take as it responds to what Bloomberg seems to want to characterize as failure by Apple’s leadership. 

Despite the hyperbole, in my view, the company still has time in which to get things right, thanks to the high customer satisfaction its hardware and software generate.

While people are increasingly making casual use of AI, justifiable suspicion of the tech remains, and Apple can continue to generate credibility by maintaining its focus on building a private, focused version of AI that solves real problems real people face. If it takes more time to deliver on that promise, then so be it.

Apple may decide it must become a lot more AI-transparent on its journey there, even as regulators force it to become more open. It must also never again make promises it cannot keep.

Ultimately, it was failing to follow through on the promises it made when marketing Apple Intelligence that, more than anything else, left Apple looking weak. While it was at that time seen as being behind the curve, it now appears to be struggling. That’s not a look the people that run Apple will want to keep for very long.

Problems, they say, are a gift to help you change, and a change (or two) is going to come.

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

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.

May’s Patch Tuesday serves up 78 updates, including 5 zero-day fixes

This May Patch Tuesday release is very much a “back-to-basics” update with just 78 patches for Microsoft Windows, Office, Visual Studio, and .NET. Notably, Microsoft has not released any patches for Microsoft Exchange Server or Microsoft SQL Server. However, five zero-day exploits for Windows mean this month’s Windows updates should be patched now. More info on Microsoft Security updates for March 2025.

For April, a large ‘dynamic’ Patch Tuesday release

IT admins will be busy this month: the latest patch update from Microsoft includes 126 fixes, including one for an exploited Windows flaw and five critical patches for Office. The April Patch Tuesday release is large (126 patches), broad and unfortunately very dynamic, with several re-releases, missing files and broken patches affecting both the Windows and Office platforms. More info on Microsoft Security updates for April 2025.

For March’s Patch Tuesday, 57 fixes — and 7 zero-days

For so few patches from Microsoft this month (57), we have seven zero-days to manage (with a “Patch Now” recommendation for Windows) and standard release schedules for Microsoft Office, Microsoft browsers (Edge) and Visual Studio.  Adobe is back with a critical update for Reader, too — but it’s not been paired (at least for now) with a Microsoft patch. More info on Microsoft Security updates for March 2025.

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. More info on Microsoft Security updates for February 2025.

2025’s first Patch Tuesday: 159 patches, including several zero-day fixes

Microsoft 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 Windows

Microsoft 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 fixes

Microsoft’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.

Koncem loňského roku vyplynulo, že Microsoft končí se Surface Studio. Nejasná zůstávala podoba Surface Laptop Studio. Nejspíš proto, že i tato řada nyní skončila…

Ignore the science!  

This week we shared the opinion of an anonymous poster that computer science degrees should be ignored. The writer argued not that pursuing a computer science degree is a misguided effort; rather that it may not be necessary for the problems most companies need to solve. 

It was a smash hit with the readers of CIO.com, causing much debate, some strong feelings, and posing difficult questions. And that is where Smart Answers comes in.  

One question asked by many of our readers regarded the relative merits of earning a degree vs on the job training and certification. Smart Answers – channeling decades of human reporting and insights – is of the opinion that employers are increasingly valuing proven skills and experience alongside, or sometimes instead of, formal degrees for IT positions. That although executive roles may still require a degree, this is changing.  

It’s a more nuanced argument than that, of course. And Smart Answers offers all sides.   

Find out: Are industry certifications more valued than degrees for IT jobs? 

Back from the cloud 

The rapid rise of AI is forcing organizations to reconsider their infrastructure. Its need for specialized compute, from GPUs to high-bandwidth networking and massive storage, has challenged the economics that justified mass migration to the cloud. Whisper it (or write about it as we did this week): some organizations are quietly moving off the  cloud. 

It’s a trend, then, but is it significant? InfoWorld readers hit Smart Anwers to find out. Our Chatbot parses human reporting and insights and says that multiple surveys indicate a significant percentage of companies plan to repatriate cloud resources. Indeed, IDC’s June 2024 survey found that approximately 80% of IT decision-makers anticipated some level of repatriation of compute and storage resources within the next year. That feels significant. 

Find out: What percentage of companies expect to repatriate cloud resources? 

Python vs Rust

Template strings, deferred annotations, better error messages, and a new debugger interface are among the goodies in Python 3.14. Now in beta. This week we outlined for the readers of InfoWorld all of the best new features and fixes in Python 3.14.  

Detailed and expert articles like this one always attract a huge audience on InfoWorld, largely due to the popularity of Python. But why is that the case? Why is Python so popular? Readers asked Smart Answers to compare Python to Rust and other compiler languages.  

The answer? Python may not be the fastest, but it is the easiest to use and that goes a long way. 

Find out: How does Python’s performance compare to compiled languages like Rust? 

About Smart Answers 

Smart Answers is an AI-based chatbot tool designed to help you discover content, answer questions, and go deep on the topics that matter to you. Each week we send you the three most popular questions asked by our readers, and the answers Smart Answers provides.  

Developed in partnership with Miso.ai, Smart Answers draws only on editorial content from our network of trusted media brands—CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World—and was trained on questions that a savvy enterprise IT audience would ask. The result is a fast, efficient way for you to get more value from our content. 

Nabídka nové generace grafických karet Nvidie, které můžeme pokládat za rozumně herní je nyní kompletní. Oficiálně se představila a rovnou vstupuje na trh zatím nejslabší GeForce RTX 5060, a to hned ve verzích pro stolní počítače i notebooky. [********************] NDA pondělí 8:00 ráno ...

** Nová belgická vláda kvůli energetické a geopolitické krizi zrušila zákaz jádra ** Provoz reaktorů bude prodloužen a plánuje se výstavba nových bloků ** Cílem je zvýšit energetickou bezpečnost a snížit závislost na fosilních palivech

Nvidia po dvou generacích vydá opět desktopovou GeForce s padesátkou na konci. Postavena bude na jádru GB207, nejmenším z rodiny Blackwellů, a dostane 8GB GDDR6 - nikoli GDDR7, jako vyšší modely…

Microsoft never sleeps. In addition to its steady releases of major and minor updates to the current version of Windows 10, the company frequently rolls out public preview builds to members of its Windows Insider Program, allowing them to test out — and even help shape — upcoming features.

Although Windows Insiders can choose to receive Windows 11 preview builds in one of four channels — the Canary, Dev, Beta, or Release Preview Channel — Microsoft currently offers Windows 10 Insider previews in the Beta and Release Preview Channels only.

The Release Preview Channel typically doesn’t see action until shortly before a new feature update is rolled out; it’s meant for final testing of an upcoming release and is best for those who want the most stable builds. The Beta Channel previews features that are a little further out.

Below you’ll find information about recent Windows 10 preview builds. For each build, we’ve included the date of its release, which Insider channel it was released to, a summary of what’s in the build, and a link to Microsoft’s announcement about it.

Note: If you’re looking for information about updates being rolled out to all Windows 10 users, not previews for Windows Insiders, see “Windows 10: A guide to the updates.”

Releases for Windows 10 version 22H2 Windows 10 Build 19045.5912 (KB5058481)

Release date: May 15, 2025

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build adds description text for the weather button on the rich calendar flyout and brings back the clock view that displays seconds. It also fixes several bugs, including one in which some GB18030-2022 characters in plane 2 were not rendered in GDI/GDI+.

(Get more info about Build 19045.5912.)

Windows 10 Build 19045.5794 (KB5055612)

Release date: April 14, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build fixes two bugs, one in which the check for GPU paravirtualization was case-sensitive in Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2), which potentially caused GPU paravirtualization support to fail, and another in which additions to the Windows Kernel Vulnerable Driver Blocklist (DriverSiPolicy.p7b) blocklisted drivers with security vulnerabilities that have been used in Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) attacks.

(Get more info about Build 19045.5794.)

Windows 10 Build 19045.5674 (KB5053643)

Release date: March 13, 2025

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which thumbnails in File Explorer crashed and caused white pages to appear instead of the actual thumbnail.

(Get more info about Build 19045.5674.)

Windows 10 Build 19045.5552 (KB5052077)

Release date: February 13, 2025

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which Open Secure Shell (OpenSSH) refused to start, stopping SSH connections.

(Get more info about Build 19045.5552.)

Windows 10 Build 19045.5435 (KB5050081)

Release date: January 17, 2025

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This update introduces a new calendar and the new Outlook app. It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one that depleted virtual memory, causing some apps to fail, and another in which the Capture Service and Snipping Tool stopped responding you pressed Windows key + Shift + S several times while Narrator was on.

(Get more info about Build 19045.5435.)

Windows 10 Build 19045.5194 (KB5046714)

Release date: November 14, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel

For Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel, the recommended section of the Start menu will show some Microsoft Store apps from a small set of curated developers. If you want to turn this off, go to Settings > Personalization > Start. Turn off the toggle for Show suggestions occasionally in Start. Note that this feature is being rolled out gradually.

Windows Insiders in the Beta and Release Preview Channels get several bug fixes, including for a bug in which when you dragged and dropped files from a cloud files provider folder, it might have resulted in a move instead of a copy.

(Get more info about Build 19045.5194.)

Windows 10 Build 19045.5070 (KB5045594)

Release date: October 14, 2024

Released to: Beta and Release Preview Channels

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have chosen to get features as soon as they are rolled out get new top cards that highlight key hardware specifications of their devices.

Insiders in both the Beta and Release Preview Channels get a new account manager on the Start menu. The new design makes it easy to view your account and access account settings. Those in the Beta and Release Preview Channels also get fixes for a variety of bugs, including one in which a scanner driver failed to install when you used a USB cable to connect to a multifunction printer.

(Get more info about Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.5070.)

Windows 10 19045.4955 (KB5043131)

Release date: September 16, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel

This build fixes several bugs, including one in which playback of some media could have stopped when you used certain surround sound technology, and another in which Windows Server stopped responding when you used apps like File Explorer and the taskbar.

(Get more info about Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.4955.)

Windows 10 19045.4842 (KB5041582)

Release date: August 22, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel

This build fixes several bugs, including one in which when a combo box had input focus, a memory leak sometimes occurred when you closed that window, and another in which some Bluetooth apps stopped responding because of a memory leak in a device.

(Get more info about Windows 10 22H2 19045.4842.)

Windows 10 Build 19045.4713 (KB5040525)

Release date: July 11, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel

In this build, Insiders in the Beta Channel get a fix in which they will see a search box on their secondary monitors when the setting for search on the taskbar is set to “Search box.”

Insiders in the Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel get fixes for a variety of bugs, including one in which the TCP send code often causes a system to stop responding during routine tasks, such as file transfers. This issue leads to an extended send loop.

(Get more info about  Windows 10 22H2 19045.4713.)

Windows 10 Build 19045.4593

Release date: June 13, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel

In this build, Insiders in the Beta Channel get bug fixes for Windows Backup. Insiders in both the Beta and Release Preview Channels get a new feature for mobile device management in which when you enroll a device, the MDM client sends more details about the device. The MDM service uses those details to identify the device model and the company that made it.

Insiders in the Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel also get a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug that could have stopped systems from resuming from hibernation after BitLocker was turned on.

(Get more info about  Windows 10 22H2 19045.4593.)

Windows 10 Build 19045.4472 (KB5037849)

Release date: May 20, 2024

Released to: Release Preview ChannelThis build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which TWAIN drivers stopped responding when you used them in a virtual environment, and another in which the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) app stopped responding.

(Get more info about  Windows 10 22H2 19045.4472.)

Windows 10 Build 19045.4353 (KB5036979)

Release date: April 15, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build introduces account-related notifications for Microsoft accounts in Settings > Home. A Microsoft account connects Windows to your Microsoft apps. This feature displays notifications across the Start menu and Settings. You can manage your Settings notifications in Settings > Privacy & security > General.

A wide variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which when your device resumed from Modern Standby you might have gotten the stop error, “0x9f DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE, and another in which the Windows Local Administrator Password Solution’s (LAPS) Post Authentication Actions (PAA) did not happen at the end of the grace period. Instead, they occurred at restart.

(Get more info about  Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.4353.)

Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.4233 (KB5035941)

Release date: March 14, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build adds Windows Spotlight, which displays new images as your desktop wallpaper. If you want to know more about an image, click or tap the Learn More button, which takes you to Bing. To turn on this feature, go to Settings > Personalization > Background > Personalize your background and choose Windows spotlight. The update also adds sports, traffic, and finance content to the lock screen. To turn it on, go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. Note that these two features will roll out to users gradually.

In addition, in Windows Hello for Business IT admins can now use mobile device management (MDM) to turn off the prompt that appears when users sign in to an Entra-joined machine. To do it, turn on the “DisablePostLogonProvisioning” policy setting. After a user signs in, provisioning is off for Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices.

A wide variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which some applications that depend on COM+ component had stopped responding. Also fixed was a deadlock issue in CloudAP that occurred when different users signed in and signed out at the same time on virtual machines.

(Get more info about Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.4233.)

Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.4116 (KB5034843)

Release date: February 15, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

In this build, using Windows share, you can now directly share URLs to apps like WhatsApp, Gmail, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Sharing to X (formerly Twitter) is coming soon.

The build fixes several bugs, including one in which you weren’t able to use Windows Hello for Business to authenticate to Microsoft Entra ID on certain apps when using Web Access Management (WAM).

(Get more info about  Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.4116.)

Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.3992 (KB5034203)

Release date: January 11, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This update adds eye control system settings. You can back up these settings from the former device while you set up a new device. Then those settings will install automatically on the new device so you can use them when you reach the desktop.

The build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which an MDM service such as Microsoft Intune might not get the right data from BitLocker data-only encryption, and another in which some single-function printers are installed as scanners.

(Get more info about  Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.3992 (KB5034203).)

PLUS: Euro-cops take down investment scammers; Fancy Bear returns to Ukraine; and more

Infosec In Brief  The Alabama state government is investigating an unspecified "cybersecurity event" that it said has affected some state systems, but didn't involve the theft of citizen's personal info.…

Google minulý týden představil Material 3 Expressive, tj. novou verzi svého designového jazyka Material Design pro Android 16 a Wear OS 6.

PLUS: South Korea signs for massive supercomputer; HCL gets into chipmaking; US tariffs slow APAC tech buying; and more

Asia In Brief  Chinese company Guoxing Aerospace last launched a dozen satellites, each packing a 744 TOPS of computing power, in the first step towards creating an orbiting constellation of 2,800 such satellites.…

Sepisuje u vás doma exekutor majetek, který chce zabavit a poté prodat v dražbě? Poradíme, jak tomu můžete zabránit.

V dnešním díle se podíváme na zranitelnosti v produktech Microsoft, skrytý malware v npm balíčku, kyberšpionážní kampaň RoundPress a severokorejskou hackerskou skupinu TA406.

Prostředí GNOME se rozhodlo nahradit přehrávač videa Totem novějším Showtime. Prostředí Deepin Desktop Environment bylo odstraněno z openSUSE kvůli problémům se zabezpečením. Debian Trixie byl převeden do stavu „hard freeze“.

Pokud jste někdy chtěli komprimovat textová data přímo v prohlížeči nebo optimalizovat přenos krátkých řetězců v aplikaci, je tu pro vás lehká knihovna: bpezip.

Solární termální energetika je jako na koni. Globální oteplování jí hraje do karet. Teď jde o to, aby byla co nejlevnější. Australští odborníci rafinovaně využili vlastní vynález plastových zpětných zrcátek a vyvinuli nerozbitná a velmi lehká zrcadla z plastu, která by mohla zlevnit solární termální energii až o 40 procent.

APU Medusa má existovat ve výkonnější čipletové i méně výkonné monolitické verzi. Nyní se dozvídáme, že obě jako základ použijí stejný kus křemíku. Jak je to možné?

Plus, Co-op tells The Reg: 'we took early and decisive action' to block the crooks

INTERVIEW  The call came into the help desk at a large US retailer. An employee had been locked out of their corporate accounts. …