Posts with «information technology» label

Amazon will give you a $50 gift card when you buy a year of Microsoft 365 Family

If you've been waiting to purchase Microsoft 365 Family, now might be the right time. Amazon is offering a 12-month subscription for $100, down from $150 — plus a $50 Amazon gift card. Basically, you save $50 and get another $50 in spending money, not so bad. 

Your purchase includes all the usual Microsoft programs — Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook etc. — and 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage for easy sharing of photos and files across your devices.

Microsoft 365 is available to download immediately for up to six family members on PCs or Macs. The Amazon gift card, on the other hand, will arrive in the mail. It has no expiration date so as long as you don't lose the little card somewhere, you can hold onto it for a while (or spend it right away, no judgement here). 

If you choose to buy the family package, do yourself a favor and set a calendar reminder for just under a year from now. The subscription will auto-renew annually and there's nothing worse than finding out through a credit card statement. If you love it, great. If not, you'll have the option to cancel. 

This deal isn't completely new as Amazon offered the same one-day discount at the end of January. If you regretted skipping it then, here's your chance. But, you have to think fast, this deal is literally here today, gone tomorrow. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-will-give-you-a-50-gift-card-when-you-buy-a-year-of-microsoft-365-family-091100773.html?src=rss

UK watchdog no longer thinks Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard merger is a threat to console competition

The UK is softening its objections to Microsoft's buyout of Activision Blizzard. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has revised its findings and determined that the merger won't lead to significantly reduced competition in the console space. While the evidence remains the same, the watchdog now finds that Microsoft's ownership of franchises like Call of Duty would "not materially affect" Sony's ability to compete with PlayStation systems. Microsoft could "degrade" the PlayStation's appeal, the CMA says, but Sony's platform has a strong-enough catalog that the damage would be limited.

The Authority also reconsidered its view that Microsoft might benefit from shutting out Call of Duty's PlayStation audience. More recent Microsoft data suggests the company could suffer substantial losses in "any plausible scenario" by making the game franchise Xbox-only or offering exclusive perks, according to the CMA. Not enough gamers would switch from PlayStation to Xbox to make that strategy work, in other words.

The CMA makes clear that the updated findings don't change its concerns about cloud gaming services. In February, the regulator said Microsoft represented up to 70 percent of the worldwide cloud gaming market, and completing the Activision Blizzard purchase could harm gamers who can't afford an expensive console or PC.

We've asked Microsoft and Sony for comment. Activision Blizzard tells Engadget in a statement that the CMA now has an "improved understanding" of the console market, and that Microsoft already has solutions in place for remaining issues. Activision maintains that Sony is only trying to "protect its dominance" by contesting the acquisition.

Sony has long opposed the deal and calls it a "threat to our industry" that could hurt the quality of Call of Duty on PlayStation. Microsoft has made a number of concessions in hopes of clinching the Activision Blizzard takeover, including 10-year multi-platform promises for Call of Duty as well as arrangements to bring games to rival cloud platforms.

The UK overseer's change of heart doesn't overcome resistance to the merger in other countries. The US Federal Trade Commission is still suing to block the union, and points out that Microsoft made future titles like Redfall Xbox-exclusive on consoles despite assurances to European Union officials. Objectors can also comment on the findings before the end of March. However, the new stance still improves Microsoft's chances of completing the acquisition — a major regulatory body just dropped its main point of contention.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/uk-watchdog-no-longer-thinks-microsofts-activision-blizzard-merger-is-a-threat-to-console-competition-140206114.html?src=rss

PayPal launches passkey logins for Android web in the US

PayPal is expanding access to passkey logins to Android users in the US, so long as they access the website on the Chrome browser. The payment processor first introduced passkey logins for Apple's computers and tablets running macOS Ventura and iPadOS16 in October last year. Google had yet to release stable passkey support for Android and Chrome at the time, but PayPal promised to make the password alternative available to other platforms and countries in the future. 

By December last year, passkeys rolled out to stable Chrome. Now PayPal is making good on its promise, with some limitations. The login option isn't available for the payment processor's Android app yet, and users can only activate it if they're using Chrome on a device running Android 9. 

The new authentication technology allows users to access websites and services that support it without having to type in usernames and passwords. While it can use biometric authentication to verify a user's identity, it's not quite the same as current login tech that auto-populates login boxes using facial or fingerprint recognition. The technology creates a cryptographic key pair — one public and one private — that becomes associated with a user's account. Apps and services that support passkeys use the public key to confirm a person's identity by matching it to the private key, which is kept in the user's device. As The Verge notes, some password managers can now sync passkeys between devices, as well. 

To activate passkeys for PayPal on Android, eligible users have to log in the traditional way on a Chrome browser first. Then, the option to "create a passkey" will appear, and they will be prompted to verify their identity using their biometrics or their phone's passcode. After they're done setting up, they'll find that they'll no longer have to type in anything to quickly check out purchases with PayPal on Chrome. Passkeys also provide stronger security, since they're resistant to phishing. And, since one of the key pairs is kept on the user's device, people's login information won't be compromised in case of an app or service data breach.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/paypal-launches-passkey-logins-for-android-web-in-the-us-070157855.html?src=rss

How to take a screenshot on a Chromebook

Chromebooks are designed to be simple and straightforward, but if you’re new to Chrome OS, it may not be immediately obvious how to do certain things. One potential source of confusion is figuring out how to take a screenshot, since the keyboards built into most Chromebooks contain keys you won’t see on a MacBook or Windows laptop. If you’re stuck, don’t worry: Capturing your screen is still easy on Chrome OS, and there are multiple ways to do it. Let’s break it down.

In most cases, the fastest way to take a screenshot on a Chromebook is to press the Control (Ctrl) and Show Windows keys at the same time. This grabs a shot of your entire screen. The Show Windows key, which is unique to Chromebooks, looks like a rectangle with two lines next to it. It’s often located where the F5 key would be on a Windows PC.

Google

Hitting Ctrl + Shift + Show Windows, meanwhile, opens up the Screen Capture toolbar. This presents a menu with options to capture all of your screen, a specific portion or a single open window. You can also take a video recording of part or all of your screen from here.

Alternatively, you can get to these tools through your Chromebook’s Quick Settings menu. To access this, click the clock in the lower right corner of the taskbar – or “shelf,” in ChromeOS terms – then click the Screen Capture icon that appears in the resulting menu.

Note that some Chromebooks have a dedicated Screenshot key, marked by a little camera icon. If you have that, you can just press that button instead of using the shortcuts mentioned above.

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

If you’re using an external keyboard without a Show Windows or Screenshot key, you can press Ctrl + F5 to take a full-screen capture, or Ctrl + Shift + F5 to pull up the Screen Capture menu and/or grab a partial screenshot. And if you have a ChromeOS tablet, you can take a screenshot by hitting the power and volume down buttons simultaneously.

Once you take a screenshot or recording, Chrome OS will automatically copy it to your clipboard. You’ll then see it appear in a small window in the bottom corner of the display, from which you can edit or delete the capture. Recent screenshots will appear in a holding area on your taskbar/shelf called the Tote, while all of your captures will go to the Downloads folder in the Files app by default. To change that save location, press Shift + Ctrl + Show Windows, select the Settings gear icon, then choose Select Folder.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-take-a-screenshot-on-a-chromebook-150044417.html?src=rss

WhatsApp on Windows now supports up to eight people in video calls

WhatsApp has rolled out a new desktop client for Windows that brings its calling features up to par with its counterpart for mobile. In an announcement, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said the new app enables users to host end-to-end encrypted video calls with up to eight participants. For audio calls, up to 32 people can participate, making it a viable choice for company meetings and family reunions where all the aunts, uncles and extended relatives can join in. WhatsApp says it will increase these limits further to allow for even larger calls in the future. 

In addition to announcing the new client's improved calling features, it also touched upon some of its other recent upgrades. The messenger updated its multi-device capabilities to make it easier and faster to link new devices to user accounts. WhatApp also enabled better syncing so that people can simultaneously access their chats on up to four linked devices. 

The service launched true multi-device syncing in 2021, allowing people to access their accounts even if their phone is offline or nowhere nearby. After that, WhatsApp must have recognized the need for better apps on different platforms for users to be able to enjoy using the messenger on multiple devices. WhatsApp first released a native app for Windows 10 in 2022, and back in January, it made the beta version of its native app for Mac available to all users. Since the latter was optimized for Mac hardware, it works better than the previous web-wrapped app for Apple's desktop OS.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/whatsapp-on-windows-now-supports-up-to-eight-people-in-video-calls-105523148.html?src=rss

Huawei's Watch Ultra is a long-lasting rugged smartwatch that looks the part

Huawei may be persona non grata in the US but the company is still pushing out products for the rest of the world. Its latest is the Watch Ultimate, a super-premium wearable for extreme sports types who want a statement piece on their wrist. In the style of a Submariner or Seamaster, the Ultimate has a top right-mounted rotating crown and two pushers, one top left, the other bottom right. Available in blue and black, the cases are clad in an “innovative zirconium-based liquid metal material,” which sounds a lot like the LiquidMetal-brand alloy found in a number of modern Omega watches.

You’ll get a different strap choice depending on which watch face you opt for, with the more premium blue option getting a titanium alloy band. Select black, and you’ll get both a standard length HNBR (rubber) band and a long-length one to wear while scuba diving. It’s for this purpose that Huawei is really pushing the Watch Ultimate, saying that it’ll last for up to 24 hours at depths of 110 meters. Huawei added a number of extra software features for technical divers, but it’s not clear how many deep-diving pros would trade in their mechanical watch for a digital alternative.

Nestled inside the case is a 1.5-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 466 x 466 resolution and a maximum brightness of 1,000 nits underneath a 2.3mm sapphire glass crystal. It’s running Harmony OS, with the same sort of features found in the existing Watch GT series of wearables, with the only major changes being a China-exclusive Golf mode and the aforementioned diving specific features.

Another much-ballyhooed feature is the battery life, with Huawei promising that you’ll get 14 days battery life if you’re not using it too much. More realistically, you should expect to get closer to eight days out of the thing with what I’d consider more normal use. The company didn’t disclose how long you’d last if, say, you did a long run with GPS enabled but we’d expect that 530mAh cell to last long enough for most folks to complete a marathon, for instance. 

As well as integrations with Strava and Runtastic, there’s the usual raft of Huawei-branded fitness tracking features. That includes its TruSeen 5.0 heart-rate monitoring, TruSleep 3.0 sleep tracking plus a built-in ECG and continuous SpO2 monitoring. There’s a new Expedition Mode, too, which harnesses the dual-band GPS to ensure you know where you are no matter how far you stray from the path. Huawei says that you’ll get the battery from flat to full in 60 minutes and you’ll get a 25 percent charge in just 10 minutes.

In terms of pricing, Huawei won’t be announcing that until April 2nd, the day before it becomes available in the UK and Europe. We do know, however, that there’ll be no LTE-enabled model and no emergency calling options, it’ll be strictly Bluetooth only. Of course, with any modern-day Huawei purchase, the usualcaveats apply

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/huaweis-watch-ultra-is-a-long-lasting-rugged-smartwatch-that-looks-the-part-090050179.html?src=rss

Microsoft's collaborative work app, Loop, is finally available in public preview

It took two years, but Microsoft is at last ready to let everyday users try its latest take on collaborative work. The company is releasing its Loop app in public preview form on the web, Android and iOS. As shown back in 2021, this lets people work on projects with live-updating components that can drop into Microsoft 365 apps like Word and Outlook. You can place a table in a Word document that updates as users change it, for instance.

Loop also lets you assign tasks (synced with Planner and To Do), comment, react, share project pages and track progress. On your phone, you can contribute photos if something inspires you while you're away from your computer.

As you might imagine, Microsoft is squeezing AI into Loop. Microsoft 365 Copilot will offer AI suggestions to help kickstart your efforts. You can ask the Copilot to help you create a mission statement, or summarize the content of a workspace document.

You'll need a work account to try the mobile apps today, but anyone can use Loop on the web. Personal support for mobile is "coming soon," Microsoft says. While Copilot is limited to a private test, it should be available in the months ahead.

Like we said at the Loop reveal, this isn't Google Wave redux. It's more of an attempt to unify and sync collaborative efforts in an era where emoji are commonplace and people thrive on apps like Asana (for task tracking) and Slack (for chat). Microsoft's challenge is simply getting people to use its approach. This won't help those loyal to Google's productivity suite, of course, but Microsoft will also have to persuade users that Loop can replace the gaggle of collaborative apps they might already use.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsofts-collaborative-work-app-loop-is-finally-available-in-public-preview-203058893.html?src=rss

Windows 11 security flaw exposes cropped-out screenshot data

It's not just Android phones that are vulnerable to a screenshot security flaw. Developer Chris Blume has discovered that Windows 11's Snipping Tool falls prey to a similar exploit. The utility doesn't completely erase unused PNG image data, making it possible to recover some of the cropped-out picture and potentially obtain sensitive data. As BleepingComputerverified with researcher David Buchanan, you can extract the supposedly hidden info using a slightly modified version of the script used to demonstrate the Android vulnerability.

The issue doesn't affect some PNG files, including optimized images. You can also wipe the unused data by saving the cropped picture as another file in an image editing tool. JPEG files also leave data from the original screenshot, but the exploit isn't known to work with the format at this stage.

holy FUCK.

Windows Snipping Tool is vulnerable to Acropalypse too.

An entirely unrelated codebase.

The same exploit script works with minor changes (the pixel format is RGBA not RGB)

Tested myself on Windows 11 https://t.co/5q2vb6jWOnpic.twitter.com/ovJKPr0x5Y

— David Buchanan (@David3141593) March 21, 2023

We've asked Microsoft for comment and will let you know if we hear back. In a statement to BleepingComputer, Microsoft says it's "investigating" the security reports and will "take action as needed" to protect users.

Buchanan and programmer Simon Aarons recently found a severe "aCropalypse" flaw in the Markup screenshot feature on Google Pixel phones. While Google has since patched the security hole with its March update (now expanded to Pixel 6 phones), the fix only addresses images created after installing the patch. Provided Microsoft releases a corresponding Windows 11 update, existing images may have the same problem.

The concern, as you might guess, is that an intruder with access to your images might use a script to recover information you intend to hide, such as contacts and business secrets. The culprit could use the info for harassment, blackmail or espionage. While this may not be as much of a headache for locally stored screenshots (you have larger problems if an attacker already has access to your device), it could be very troublesome for unmodified images you save in the cloud.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/windows-11-security-flaw-exposes-cropped-out-screenshot-data-131519887.html?src=rss

Adobe is bringing generative AI features to Photoshop, After Effects and Premiere Pro

Adobe’s suite of photo and video editing software has long leveraged the assistance of machine intelligence to help its human users do their jobs, having employed the Sensei AI system for more than a decade to power features like Neural Filters in Photoshop or Acrobat's Liquid Mode. On Tuesday, Adobe revealed its next generation of AI features, a family of generative models the company has collectively dubbed, Firefly — the first of which will generate both images and font effects.

“Generative AI is the next evolution of AI-driven creativity and productivity, transforming the conversation between creator and computer into something more natural, intuitive and powerful,” said David Wadhwani, president, Adobe’s Digital Media Business, said in Tuesday’s release. “With Firefly, Adobe will bring generative AI-powered ‘creative ingredients’ directly into customers’ workflows, increasing productivity and creative confidence for all creators from high-end creative professionals to the long tail of the creator economy.”

With it, would-be digital artists are no longer limited by their sub-par dexterity or sheer lack of artistic talent — they will be able to speak into existence professional-quality illustrations using only the power of their words. And it's not just text-to-image — Firefly’s multimodal nature means that audio, video, illustrations and 3D models can all be generated via the system and enough verbal gymnastics. 

The first model of the Firefly family is, according to the company, trained on "hundreds of millions" of images from Adobe's Stock photo catalog, openly licensed content and stuff from the public domain, virtually guaranteeing the model won't result in lawsuits as StableDiffusion did with the Getty unpleasantness. It also helps ensure that Stock photographers and artists will be compensated for the use of their works in training these AIs.

Engadget was afforded a brief preview of the system ahead of Tuesday’s announcement. The input screen, where users will enter their text-based prompt to the system, features a curated selection of generated pieces as well as the prompts that instigated them. These serve to highlight the models generative capabilities and inspire other users to explore the bounds of their machine-assisted creativity.  

Once the user inputs their text prompt (in this case, Adobe’s PR used an adult standing on a beach with a double exposure effect using images derived from Adobe’s Stock photo database), the system will return around a half dozen or so initial image suggestions. From there, the user can select between popular image styles and effects, dictate their own edits to the prompt, collaborate with the AI and generally fiddle with the highly-steerable process until the system spits out what they’re looking for. The resulting image quality was nearly photorealistic, though none of the images from the demo features hands so we weren't able to count fingers for accuracy.

Initially, the trained image database will be Adobe's own licensed Stock library though the company is looking into allowing individual users to incorporate their own portfolios as well. This should allow photographers with their own established styles to recreate those aesthetics within the model so that what it generates fits in with the user's existing motif. The company did not provide a timeline for when that might happen.

The first model also has a sibling feature that can create customized font effects and generate wireframe logos based on scanned doodles and sketches. It’s all very cool but could potentially put just an unconscionable number of digital artists out of work if it were to be misappropriated. Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) seeks to prevent that from happening.

The CAI is Adobe’s attempt to establish some form of ground rules in this new Wild West industry of Silicon Valley. It is a set of proposed industry operating standards that would establish and govern ethical behaviors and transparency in the AI training process. For example, the CAI would create a “do not train” tag that works in same basic idea as robots.txt does. That tag would be persistent, remaining with the art as it moves through the internet, alerting any who came across it that it was made by a machine. So far around 900 entities worldwide, "including media and tech companies, NGOs, academics and others," per the release, have signed on to the plan.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/adobe-is-bringing-generative-ai-features-to-photoshop-after-effects-and-premiere-pro-130034491.html?src=rss

Apple's 10.9-inch iPad is $50 off right now

Apple's 10.9-inch 2022 iPads are improved in almost every way, including the design, performance, battery life, front facing camera and more. One of the biggest knocks is the price, so if you've been holding out for a deal, Amazon now has them on sale at prices matching all-time lows. You can grab the 64GB model in silver for just $399 and the 256GB version in multiple colors for $549, saving $50 on both. 

Shop 2022 iPads at Amazon

Despite a few caveats, the 2022 iPad scored a solid 85 score in our Engadget review. Apple redesigned its entry-level tablet to give it thinner bezels, a bigger display and USB-C charging. It’s also the first iPad to include a landscape-oriented front-facing camera, a feature that makes the tablet more useful for video chatting. The 2022 model’s A14 Bionic processor is also a highlight. Other notable features include USB-C charging and a keyboard folio with function keys.

The main downsides revolve around the price, as this tablet is a full $120 more expensive than its 9th-generation predecessor, the keyboard folio is also expensive and it only supports the first-generation Apple Pencil. However, Amazon's sale helps ease the pricing issues, making this a very solid buy.  

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-109-inch-ipad-is-50-off-right-now-093646112.html?src=rss