John Lister

Microsoft has released the first major update to Windows 11. It also says it may issue new features every month, yet another change to its update strategy. One year after Windows 11 first came out, the new update is formally called 22H2, though ... Microsoft has also simply called it the 2022 Update. That reflects an initial theory that updates would be relatively infrequent. Older versions of Windows had new features added as and when they were ready, with a Service Pack bringing everything together every couple of years for users who didn't want to install frequent updates. Windows 10 switched ... (view more)

Google is to test a plan to exempt political campaign messages from its spam filter. It says users will have a clear opportunity to opt out. The move has proven unpopular with many people, particularly since users will need to opt out on a ... sender-by-sender basis. There won't be a simple way to opt out of all political emails. Previously Google had labeled many campaign emails as spam because, well, that's what they often are. In many, if not most, cases people were receiving messages despite not explicitly giving permission for their address to be used in that way. The spam filter appeared to ... (view more)

Newly-published tests suggest solid state drives (SSDs) are much more reliable in the long term than traditional drives. The tests only cover a specific use case, but it's one that could let users find a good mix of cost and performance. SSDs work ... in a similar way to USB memory sticks, with data accessed through a flow of electricity. It means they don't have any moving parts, unlike a hard drive that spins round and has a moving arm to access data, a little like a vinyl record player. That brings several key advantages - most notably that SSDs are quicker to access data. They are also ... (view more)

A satellite Internet company has slammed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for refusing to subsidize its expansion. Starlink wanted the public money that is normally given to wired Internet companies to reach rural areas. The FCC said ... Starlink hadn't done enough to prove it could live up to its promises and said the technology wasn't developed enough. The argument is about how the FCC allocates a $9.2 billion fund that's designed to subsidize companies to build or extend broadband access in places where it wouldn't be profitable to do so otherwise. Starlink had bid in an auction to ... (view more)

A former diplomat says the amount of data shared and sold in the US puts the country at security risk. Karen Kornbluh said businesses gathering data on a large scale created a "national security loophole." She also points to a recent warning that ... China was attempting to gather data, both legally and illegally, about US citizens' health. The country is thought to be looking for blackmail material, for example on people in positions of power who have been treated for mental illness or embarrassing physical complaints. (Source: dni.gov ) Kornbluh previously held senior roles at the Federal ... (view more)

Smartphone and tablet manufacturers may be forced to offer updates and security fixes for longer. It's part of a European plan to reduce the need for users to get rid of old devices so often. The proposals would also mean manufacturers making parts ... available for independent repairers and making batteries either long-lasting or replaceable. The move could bring benefits to device buyers around the world. However, analysts also fear it could mean an end to cheap handsets, even if they are a false economy. The proposals come in a draft law in the European Union. They are now out for public ... (view more)

Two more applications have been removed from the Google Play Store after turning out to be a front for malware. As always in such cases, users who already have the apps installed need to uninstall them as this won't happen automatically. The apps in ... question are called Mister Phone Cleaner and Kylhavy Mobile Security. They had 50,000 and 10,000 downloads respectively before Google pulled the listings. The scam in these cases has a couple of key differences from the familiar story of scammers disguising malware as legitimate apps and finding a way to bypass Google's security checks. That ... (view more)

Microsoft's antivirus tools have mistakenly labeled Google Chrome and other browsers as housing malware. The error didn't cause any harm but may have annoyed or confused millions of users. The mistake affected Microsoft Defender (previously called ... Windows Defender), the built-in security tool in Windows that is likely the world's most widely used anti-malware tool. For most users, the mistake will have been most visible through a beeping noise and on-screen alert every time they opened Google Chrome. Confusingly, clicking on the notification opened up a screen which flashed more details for a ... (view more)

LG has made a monitor that automatically moves to the most comfortable viewing position for the user. The UltraFine Display Ergo AI can also move throughout the day to reduce the risk of users sitting in the same position for extended periods. The ... monitor has different modes attempting to mitigate different health and safety risks for users. One is the problem of not sitting at a suitable distance or comfortable angle, which can lead to eye and neck strain. Another is the problem of sitting in the same position throughout the day. If this position involves either slouching or excessive ... (view more)

The next iPhone model looks likely to have a free satellite connection that works virtually anywhere. Initially at least it will likely only work for text messages. The idea has reportedly been in the works for iPhones for some time but now looks ... likely to be announced in September and cover the forthcoming iPhone 14. Apple is holding a launch event titled "Far Out" and artwork showing space. Meanwhile a company called Globalstar announced earlier this year that it bought 17 new satellites to serve a new, unnamed customer. That's looking increasingly likely to be Apple. No Signal ... (view more)