Dirty data and why it’s a problem for business [Q&A]
Organizations are sitting on troves of information yet struggle to leverage this data for quick decision-making. The challenge isn't just about having data, but working with it in its natural state -- which often includes ‘dirty data' not cleaned of typos or errors.
We spoke to CEO of analytics company WisdomAI, Soham Mazumdar, to find out more about this challenge and how businesses can deal with it.
Chrome prefetching will make your browsing seem faster – even if it’s not
Can your online experience ever be fast enough? Probably not. And this is why Google is taking steps to speed up Chrome – or at least to make the browser feel as though it is faster.
The company is testing a method of loading pages in the background before they are needed so the experience of a page appearing is faster. Currently in testing is an optional feature called prefetching which works much as you might expect it to.
Microsoft is giving Windows 11 users an internet speed test tool
There are plenty of internet speed test tools you can access from your browser, but it looks as though Microsoft is playing with the idea of adding one straight into Windows 11.
If the idea of an internet speed test tool being integrated into Windows 11 interests you, you should perhaps keep your expectation low. Early signs are that this is not an integrated speed tester as such, but a shortcut. Still, it is a useful feature, and making speed testing more accessible is very welcome.
WhatsApp threaded messages make for easier reading
WhatsApp is a near-ubiquitous messaging app used and loved by millions of people globally. Its popularity does not mean, however, that it is perfect – there are many areas in which there is room for improvement.
Thankfully, WhatsApp developers are not inclined to rest on their laurels and add features, make changes and improvements, and respond to feedback with speed and frequency that puts other dev teams to shame. The latest addition is a welcome one: threaded messaging.
Skills crisis forces risky security shortcuts
A growing cybersecurity skills crisis is forcing 64 percent of the organizations across Europe the Middle East and Africa to take risky shortcuts and temporary fixes to meet security demands.
Research from Insight Enterprises shows only 24 percent of IT decision-makers across EMEA say they have sufficient in-house cyber skills to keep pace with evolving threats. These shortages are delaying key initiatives (57 percent) and leaving more than half (57 percent) struggling to meet compliance requirements.
Microsoft starts the 30-day death clock for Windows 10
This will all be over soon, we promise you. But for a little while longer you are going to continue hearing about Windows 10. It is something that has been talked about for so long that it would be easy to start to feel numb to any more mentions of the operating system, but the end of support for Windows 10 has reached an important milestone.
Over the weekend, we hit the point of there being only 30 days left. Never one to miss an opportunity to remind users of Windows 10 about the end of support – or, indeed, to suggest upgrading to Windows 11 – Microsoft issued a reminder about the upcoming end of servicing.
Microsoft is ready to badger Microsoft 365 subscribers to renew via a full screen nag
Microsoft is by no means a stranger to nagging its customers in one way or another – usually with the intention of parting people from their money. In a somewhat unusual move, the company has used the latest preview builds of Windows 11 to introduce a way to pester Microsoft 365 (or “Office” to most of us) subscribers.
A full screen “reminder” – or nag screen – has been added in the Dev and Beta builds of Windows 11 released to Windows Insiders. Microsoft, of course, is talking about it in rather different terms.
Business leaders fear Gen Z employees may leak company secrets for likes and lols
PasswordManager.com has released a new survey looking at how business leaders view Gen Z employees (those born around the mid-to-late 1990s through the early 2010s), especially when it comes to the handling of sensitive company information.
The results reveal that many bosses are worried about the younger generation, with nearly half of respondents believing they could leak secrets for social media attention.
HitPaw launches FotorPea 5 and VikPea 5, bringing AI smarts to its photo and video editors
HitPaw has rolled out major updates to FotorPea and VikPea. The updated photo editing tool, FotorPea 5.0.0, introduces a new feature called AI Replace, which lets users modify images with plain text instructions. This can be used to switch backgrounds, adjust hairstyles or clothing, make corrections directly within selected areas, and so on.
The face restoration system has been tweaked in this new release, with the CodeFormer model producing details closer to natural facial features.
Google tests fingerprinting block to boost Chrome Incognito Mode privacy
Every web browser has a browsing mode designed to be more private; in Chrome, it is Incognito Mode. But while switching to this mode can help with improving privacy at a local level, it is not flawless when it comes to blocking external privacy invasions.
Tackling the problem of websites using invisible images to track visitors who have cookies disabled, Google is currently testing a new method of making Incognito Mode more secure and private.
Mastodon to roll out post quoting with powerful protection options
Mastodon is to roll out the ability to quote other people’s posts in your own posts on the decentralized social platform. This is something that has been a very long time coming, with Mastodon having talked about it for months.
The reason it has taken so long for post quoting to become a reality is because of the protections that have been built-in. Specifically, users have controls over who is able to quote their posts in order to avoid “dunking” – the phenomenon that sees mass quoting used for negative purposes.
Microsoft unbundles Teams from Office 365 to avoid EU fine
Microsoft has managed to avoid a hefty fine or other sanctions after the European Commission accepted the company’s proposal for unbundling Teams from Office 365 and Microsoft 365.
A complaint from Slack a few years ago started the European legal wheels turning as Microsoft was accused of anti-competitive behavior once again. The European Commission agreed that the company had “granti[ed] Teams an undue competitive advantage in terms of distribution”, but now accepts Microsoft’s unbundling proposal.
Microsoft helps out app developers by wiping out Store fees
Microsoft has announced that it is going to allow app developers to publish to the Microsoft Store without having to pay.
The company says that by removing a friction point of requiring a credit card, it is “creating a more inclusive and accessible platform”. More than just taking away registration fees, Microsoft is also offering free hosting, free signing and automatic updates for MSIX packages.
How ‘confidential computing’ can add trust to AI [Q&A]
Artificial intelligence is finding its way into more and more areas of our lives. But while there are concerns around the use of the technology itself, there are much greater ones over how we secure it.
We spoke to Anand Kashyap, CEO and founder of Fortanix, to discuss confidential computing, a technology backed by Microsoft, Intel, Arm, AMD and Nvidia, which encrypts data while it's being processed, even by AI systems.
Forget Tiny11, Nano11 takes Windows 11 debloating to the next level
Fans of debloating Windows now have another tool to experiment with. NTDEV, the developer behind the well known Tiny11 project, has created Nano11 Builder, a PowerShell script that hacks Microsoft’s operating system down even further.
While Tiny11 already produced a lighter and more flexible alternative to the full-fat Windows 11 install, Nano11 takes things to the extreme by automating the creation of an installer image that is a fraction of the original size.
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.