Apple’s head of security engineering and architecture, Ivan Krstić, this week announced the publication of what should be essential reading for Apple admins and security pros — the newly updated Apple Platform Security guide. (Among other things, Krstić also leads Apple’s war against surveillance hackers.) The latest update since 2022, the guide is currently being translated into local language versions, so it might not be available on your local Apple server. You can get it in American English directly from the US site, and you’ll know when you find it because the May 2024 pu ..read more

Nearly a year after rolling out a generative artificial intelligence (genAI) tool to help it process thousands of claims documents, global insurance claims management firm Sedgwick says the technology’s accuracy is nearly perfect. Sedgwick, which operates in 80 countries, receives about 1.7 million pages of digital claims-related documents a day. The documents then go through an arduous vetting process by examiners who must decide whether they’re valid and how they should be handled. In April 2023, Sedgwick unveiled a genAI tool called Sidekick to help with document summarization ..read more

Every now and then, I come across an Android customization concept so clever, so cool, so splendidly useful that I just can’t wait to share it with you. Today, my fellow Android-appreciating animal, is one of those days. The concept in question is a hefty and exceptionally practical upgrade for your Android audio experience. It brings a boost to the way you interact with sound on whatever Android device you’re using, no matter who made it or how old it may be. And it’ll take you less than a minute to get going (though, if you enjoy geeking out over details as much as I do, you may find yours ..read more

For years now, Apple has been as much a marketing company as a technology company. But after Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced the iPad Pro ad this week, you have to ask whether Apple has lost its marketing mojo.  The ad features — if that’s the right word — musical instruments, artist tools, toys, and games being crushed by a huge hydraulic press and turned into a new iPad. All this happens to the musical background of Sonny and Cher’s 1971 hit, All I Ever Need Is You.  Ah, no, Apple, we need far more than just you. I mean, seriously.  How was this ad ever made? W ..read more

It’s not often an Apple advertisement bombs, but when it does it generates international attention. That’s why everyone is now learning that Apple’s newly introduced iPads can be used to make music, create art, capture images, make movies and do much more, and the versatile tool isn’t just for creative pros, but for the rest of us, too. What makes this possible? Apple Silicon — and additional details have emerged since the introduction of the chip. The big news concerns speed. Apple’s M4 is up to 45% faster than the M2 processor and 25% faster than the not-so-old&nbs ..read more

In a bid to improve accountability and transparency in AI development, OpenAI has released a preliminary draft of “Model Spec.” This first-of-its-kind document outlines the principles guiding model behavior in its API and ChatGPT, OpenAI announced in a blog post. “We’re doing this because we think it’s important for people to be able to understand and discuss the practical choices involved in shaping model behavior,” the company said in the blog. “The Model Spec reflects existing documentation that we’ve used at OpenAI, our research and experience in designing model behavior, and work in pro ..read more

The many IT risks associated with Shadow IT — and especially Shadow AI and Shadow IoT — are well-known and understandably well-feared. But there is a new form of Shadow IT on the horizon: “Sneaky IT.”  Shadow IT  involves an end-user who bypasses IT and the enterprise security people and whips out a payment card to secure services elsewhere. That delivers a variety of unknown threats into the enterprise environment. But what happens when a trusted vendor adds new elements to its service — especially if it’s SaaS — and never mentions it? That poses a similar risk, both of which ..read more

Office 365 and Microsoft 365 subscribers get more frequent software updates than those who have purchased Office without a subscription, which means subscribers have access to the latest features, security patches, and bug fixes. But it can be hard to keep track of the changes in each update and know when they’re available. We’re doing this for you, so you don’t have to. Following are summaries of the updates to Office 365/Microsoft 365 for Windows, with the latest releases shown first. We’ll add info about new updates as they’re rolled out. Note: This story covers updates released to regular ..read more

Building and maintaining a diverse workforce improves organizations in myriad ways, including fostering innovation, enhancing problem-solving capabilities, attracting top talent, building customer understanding, and contributing to social responsibility. Doing so typically requires that companies adopt a comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy to not only hire workers from diverse backgrounds, but also provide an environment in which these workers want to stay. A key part of that strategy is setting specific goals for hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. Without cl ..read more

Microsoft’s licensing of its software and services in the cloud is getting it into more hot water in Europe. This time it’s a group of Spanish startups that has called on regulators to investigate Microsoft behavior in the cloud marketplace. The complaint, from La Asociación Española de Startups (AES) to the Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC), accuses Microsoft of “anti-competitive practices” in the cloud marketplace. The restrictive practices in the cloud marketplace are affecting both suppliers and cloud customers within the startup ecosystem in Spain, the associati ..read more