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In October, Microsoft reported that the Microsoft Cloud generated $20.7 billion in revenues for Q1 FY22, meaning it is on a roughly $80 billion annual run-rate pace. So even though you can’t buy – or subscribe to – a “Microsoft Cloud” SKU, Microsoft sales and partners are aiming to sell users as many pieces of the Microsoft Cloud as possible. What’s likely coming to the Microsoft Cloud in 2022? For one, the Microsoft Cloud is poised to get a new infusion from Nuance....

Watches have been mounted on my left wrist for most of my life and I appreciate the ability to glance down to check the time and date. Watches have evolved over the past twenty years since I’ve been covering mobile technology with some smartwatches able to provide functions found in phones just a couple of years ago. At first glance, the Whoop 4.0 seems to be a step back with no display at all....

The Settings app will soon include a new section under Accounts called “Your Microsoft account” where users can manage subsections for Microsoft 365 Office apps and OneDrive storage. It also includes links to order history, payment details and Microsoft Rewards. Until now, these account management options were available on the Microsoft account management page associated with a Microsoft account. But soon Windows 11 users will be able to manage these accounts within the Settings app....

Put them together, and Leighton proclaims, “Akamai is expanding from delivering and securing applications to empowering developers to build on it. With Linode, we’re taking the next major step in our evolution: marrying Linode’s experience in cloud computing with Akamai’s leadership in scale and security to create the world’s most distributed compute platform.” It appears to be working. In Akamai’s latest financial report, its third-quarter security software revenue was $380 million, up 13%, while its compute revenue was $109 million, up 72%....

Cybersecurity researchers at Mandiant have detailed how APT41, a state-sponsored cyber-espionage and hacking group working out of China compromised at least six US government networks, as well as other organisations, sometimes repeatedly, between May 2021 and February 2022. The US Department of Justice indicted APT41 hackers in September 2020, but it doesn’t appear to have had an impact on the persistent nature of the attacks. SEE: Cybersecurity: Let’s get tactical (ZDNet special report) According to analysis of the attacks, many of the initial compromises came in June 2021 by targeting insecure web applications....

The restaurant industry is experiencing a labor shortage, as many restaurants find it hard to fill job openings. To help employees focus on customers and “higher-value responsibilities”, X1 and S50 are meant to take on menial and repetitive tasks, according to a press release. X1 is a food-service robot designed to run food and drinks to customers when employees cannot. It’s equipped with collision-free and spill-proof technology. X1 can also help employees bus tables and take dirty dishes to the kitchen for cleaning....

The Xbox Series X and Series S are both currently available, offering different capabilities for significantly different prices. If you don’t want to spend $500 on the Xbox Series X, but still want to choose from hundreds of games, the Series S is more than $250 cheaper than the Series X. (You have the option to pay in monthly installments without the use of a third party like Klarna if you buy an Xbox from Microsoft directly....

Microsoft is back to its “how can we make things as hard as possible” tricks with this one. I once described Microsoft as appearing to have an unwritten mission statement: “Microsoft builds incredibly deep, powerful, and flexible software products that – before they see the light of day – must be infused with a level of unnecessary inconvenience, incomprehensible restrictions, and regressive policies such that all possible joy has been removed prior to customer contact....

The new navigation layout might mean that Instagram is going to redirect efforts back into being the photo-sharing app it once was instead of becoming the next big shopping or short-form video app. Starting next month, the bar at the bottom of the app will now have the creating content ‘plus sign’ icon in the middle instead of the Reels icon. That places creating content at the front and center of the app, instead of short-form video....

On Monday, Zoom announced that it’s leveraging OpenAI’s technology to expand Zoom IQ, a smart companion for Zoom, by adding AI experiences that can optimize its customers’ workflows. Also: Just how big is this new generative AI? Think internet-level disruption Over the past year, Zoom IQ has been slowly expanding on smart features including smart meeting recordings. Zoom is now adding AI-backed productivity features such as chat thread summaries and text generation....

China cracked down on the use of “unauthorised” VPNs throughout the course of 2017 with a campaign to take down and control censorship-thwarting software that attempts to break the country’s surveillance and blocking lists. The VPN crackdown culminated in the removal of all VPN apps by Apple from the Chinese App Store in July, and at the same time, Beijing ordered its state-owned internet service providers, including China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, to completely block access to VPNs by February 2018, ahead of the slated March 31 ban....

Most recently, the company just launched a “quantum computing challenge” – a call for talent designed to encourage external organizations to come up with solutions that will help the car manufacturer make the best use of quantum technologies. “It’s a search for hidden gems,” Oliver Wick, technology scout at BMW Research and Technology, tells ZDNet. “It’s a clear message to the world that BMW is working on quantum, and if you have innovative algorithms or great hardware, then please come to us and we can check if we could use it for BMW....

The ransomwhe.re site has been created by Jack Cable, a security researcher who works with the Krebs Stamos Group cyber consultancy and the US Defense Digital Service. The Ransomwhere site is an open, crowdsourced ransomware payment tracker, offering a breakdown of victim payments in bitcoin to wallets linked to a dozen major ransomware variants. The payment figures can be broken down by ‘all time’, this year, this month, and this week....

A collaborative research project by Czech Technical University in Prague, plus cybersecurity companies GoSecure and SecureWorks, analyzed the activities of people on the fringes of cybercrime, those behind projects like building the websites that end up being used for phishing attacks, affiliate schemes to drive traffic towards compromised or fake websites or writing the code that ends up in malware. The people behind these projects are doing it because it’s an easy way to make money....

I used the Roku Express for a few years to bundle my TV streaming services. It’s really easy to set up, and you can begin streaming in as little as 20 minutes after you create your account. In addition to all of the streaming services you can add to the homepage, you can also watch 275 live channels, including news coverage live like CBS. You’ll never have to pay for any streaming services you’re not subscribed to, so if you want to subscribe to Netflix and bundle Hulu with Disney+, you can, and you’ll only be charged by the companies - never the Roku Express....

NEXTA, a free Belarusian news service based in Warsaw, Poland, released a purported Russian internet policy document. This stated that by Friday, March 11, all Russian websites must be switched to the Russian Domain Name System (DNS) service. DNS is the internet’s master address list. It translates from human-readable internet addresses, such as zdnet.com, to an Internet Protocol (IP) address. By forcing all Russian connections to use the Russian DNS zones, people in Russia could only reach sites recognized in the Russian DNS....

The tech giant said its UFS 4.0 storage is the industry’s “highest performing” UFS 4.0 memory unit, and is based on Samsung’s 7th-generation V-NAND. Samsung’s UFS 4.0 modules are packaged with a maximum dimension of 11mm x 13mm x 1mm, and will come in a several capacities up to 1TB. It expects to begin mass production in Q3 2022. SEE: The best Android phones: Better than the iPhone? UFS 4....

Deciding between the Z Flip 4 or the Z Fold 4 seems like a somewhat straightforward decision. However, the Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro are very similar, with just a few key differences between the two wearables. So how do you decide which one is right for you? I’ll break it down below. Specifications You should get the Galaxy Watch 5 if you… 1. Like a more subdued design The Watch 5 comes in two different sizes, both of which feature an aluminum housing and a sapphire crystal glass display....

The operating income figure is Samsung’s second-best to date, with the company crediting favourable market conditions in the memory market and robust sales from its foundry and display businesses. The sales figure was also Samsung’s highest to date for a quarter, thanks to sales increases across the board in all its businesses, including smartphones, the South Korean tech giant said. Its chip business contributed the lion’s share in operating income of 10 trillion won, which was over half of the total....

Cipriani: Happy Holidays, Perlow. Have you started shopping yet? Perlow: Shopping? Do you mean like going out in public and going to the mall? Heck no. I’m sitting on my rear end in my living room noshing on air-dried cheese snacks, chicharrones, and Chex Mix and binging on TV shows. Also See: Apple TV 4K Perlow: You have no idea how much I value the AirTags, and in addition to my daily carry bag I’ve even installed one in my wallet/credit card clip so that I can track it....