Researchers at Oxford University’s UK Quantum Computing and Simulation Hub claim to have made what could be an important breakthrough in quantum computing security.  The Issue  As things stand, if businesses want to use cloud-based quantum computing services, they face privacy and security issues when trying to do so over a network, similar to the issues in traditional cloud computing. For example, users can’t keep their work secret from the server or check their results on their own when tasks get too complex for classical simulations, i.e. they risk disclosing sensitive information ..read more

Apple has announced that beginning in the autumn with select iPhone models, customers and independent repair providers will be able to utilise used Apple components in the repair process.  Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, said: “With this latest expansion to our repair program, we’re excited to be adding even more choice and convenience for our customers, while helping to extend the life of our products and their parts.”  Apple says that its teams have been working over the last two years to enable the reuse of parts such as biometric sensors u ..read more

Apple has reported sending threat notifications to iPhone users in 92 countries, warning them that they may have been targeted by mercenary spyware attacks. These types of attacks use software designed to infiltrate and monitor computer systems or mobile devices and are typically “state-sponsored” and are used for intelligence gathering, surveillance of dissidents, journalist, and politicians, for corporate espionage, and more. Apple reports sending these kinds of notifications multiple times a year and says it has notified users to such threats in over 150 countries since 2021. The notificati ..read more

Following a decade of research, it’s thought that the recent decoding of the complex genome of sugarcane could pave the way for advanced breeding techniques, more agricultural sustainability, and perhaps for developing a cost-effective and sustainable aviation fuel.  What Happened?  Scientists from The University of Queensland, Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, and Sugar Research Australia (SRA) have achieved a scientific first and breakthrough in finally being able to fully map the sugarcane genome.  Why?  Sugarcane is the last of the world’s 20 major crops t ..read more

This week’s Social and AI news video-update explains how to pin WhatsApp messages for convenience, which is a handy feature you may wish to try. https://videovault.vip/videos/social/2024-Apr-Pinning-WhatsApp-Messages.mp4 ..read more

Accidentally closing a File Explorer window that you needed can be frustrating, especially if you were deep in a directory structure or working with multiple files. Windows allows you to quickly reopen a recently closed File Explorer window – here’s how: – Right-click on the File Explorer icon in the taskbar. – From the context menu that appears, select a recently closed folder or window under ‘Frequent folders’ or ‘Recent files’ to reopen it. – This feature keeps track of your recent activity in File Explorer, making it easy to pick up where you left off ..read more

After trying to dismiss a lawsuit from HP customers angry at a firmware update (meaning that their HP printers wouldn’t work with third-party ink cartridges), we look at how HP is answering the arguments within the antitrust ink cartridge lawsuit and what the implications could be for customers. The Lawsuit Back in January, printing premier HP was sued in a Federal court in Chicago by 11 consumers (a class action lawsuit) who claimed that their HP printers wouldn’t accept replacement ink cartridges made by other manufacturers, thereby forcing them to pay artificially high prices for HP-branded ..read more

In this insight, we look at the process of AI training, the potential pitfalls of misused data, and what measures can be taken to protect your personal and business data from being used to train AI.  Data – For AI Training  AI training, at its core, involves feeding large datasets to algorithms, thereby enabling them to learn and make ‘intelligent’ decisions. These datasets are often culled from user-generated content across various platforms. Understanding the source and nature of this data is crucial for recognising the implications of its use.  Data, therefore, is the lifeblo ..read more

Google is reportedly considering charging for premium AI-powered Internet searches as the company fears that AI chatbots are undercutting its search engine.  Advertising-Funded  Google, up until now, has relied mainly on an advertising-funded business model (Google Ads) as a way to collect data and monetise its market-leading search. However, it seems that fears around users asking queries via generative AI chatbots (e.g. Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT) which they would normally use Google search for, could cut Google out of the equation. This threat of missing out on user data an ..read more

Microsoft’s announcement that it will sell its chat and video app Teams separately from its Office product globally is likely to cause considerable headaches for IT departments and managed service providers. Why Unbundle?  Teams is to be unbundled and sold separately globally (it’s been unbundled in the EU since last October) in response to an antitrust lawsuit and to avert the possible associated fine.  An antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft over its bundling of Teams with its Office suite in the EU was initiated based on a complaint from competitor Slack Technologies in 2020. Teams ..read more