Category: Specials

  • From conversation to task completion – Computerworld

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    Zoom has also expanded the functionality with integrations with data storage platform Box and project management tools from Asana and Atlassian’s Jira. That means, for instance, users will be able to update Jira tickets or pull information from files in Box.

    Users can also connect to services such as AWS’s Q agents, which is a generative AI (genAI) assistant. Q is Amazon’s version of Microsoft’s Copilot, which helps workers complete jobs and get answers.

    “Great meetings are when you’re having an engaging, creative conversation, you are brainstorming, people are alert, they’re not fiddling around,” Hashim said.

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  • Workday wins, then loses, contract with US Office for Personnel Management – Computerworld

    Workday wins, then loses, contract with US Office for Personnel Management – Computerworld

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    OPM used the document to defend its decision to award the contract without a competition, saying, “This acquisition is not the result of poor planning, but rather a response to an unanticipated acceleration of operational crises and federally imposed deadlines. Workday is the only responsible source capable of delivering the required capabilities within the time available, and full and open competition with other vendors would result in unacceptable delays, noncompliance, and mission failure.”

    At the end of the contract period, OPM said, it intended to conduct a “full and open competition,” although it added that this would only occur “if no justifiable sole-source condition exists.”

    Rule of law

    The contract award drew criticism from current and former employees of OPM, Reuters reported, as well as from the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council, which makes recommendations to improve federal IT contracting.

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  • Surfshark study probes data hunger of web browsers – Computerworld

    Surfshark study probes data hunger of web browsers – Computerworld

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    A new survey by VPN provider Surfshark has found that Chrome collects the most information from users’ phones, while “TOR stands out as the most privacy-centric browser by collecting no data at all.”

    The two were among 10 that researchers analyzed, after using AppMagic, a market intelligence tool, to select the most popular browser apps on Apple phones in the US in 2025, they said in a post outlining their findings.

    The researchers noted, “Chrome is the most data-hungry, collecting 20 different data types across numerous categories. These include contact info, financial details, location, browsing history, search history, user content, identifiers, usage data, diagnostics, and other types of data. Chrome is the only browser that collects financial information, such as payment methods, card numbers, or bank account details.”

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  • That 8M fine isn’t enough to stop NSO spies – Computerworld

    That $168M fine isn’t enough to stop NSO spies – Computerworld

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    NSO Group broke into the mainstream in 2019 when reports emerged showing the extent to which its Pegasus spyware had been used against 1,400 WhatsApp messages in addition to attacks against iPhones. 

    Pegasus was an insidious attack that, once installed, granted total access to compromised devices. It turned people’s phone records, emails, messages, video content, and location data into open books, and could even be used to activate cameras and microphones to engage in remote surveillance.

    Litigation potentially raised the risk

    Both Apple and Facebook began litigation against NSO Group, but Apple withdrew its attempt last year, arguing that continuing in the claim could undermine the systems it has built to secure its ecosystem. “While Apple continues to believe in the merits of its claims, it has also determined that proceeding further with this case has the potential to put vital security information at risk,” it told the court.

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  • Hype aside, AI may not be turbo-charging employee productivity just yet – Computerworld

    Hype aside, AI may not be turbo-charging employee productivity just yet – Computerworld

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    Offering a different narrative on AI

    The study specifically looked at the Danish labor market in 2023 and 2024, gathering data from 25,000 workers and 7,000 workplaces. The researchers chose 11 “exposed” occupations: software developers, IT support, financial advisors, HR, accountants, customer-support, legal, marketing, office clerks, journalists and teachers.

    The study found that, by late 2024, AI chatbots were widespread: most firms surveyed were encouraging chatbot use, while 38% had their own in-house models, and 30% of employees said they received training on AI tools. Research also revealed that, even with the wide variety of AI tools on the market today, ChatGPT remains the dominant player.

    Notably, the researchers found that AI created new tasks for 8.4% of workers, even some who don’t personally use chatbots. These tasks tend to be more sophisticated, such as designing prompts and analyzing outputs, suggesting AI may restructure jobs.

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  • Apple’s latest earnings offer a glimpse at how it’s faring

    Apple’s latest earnings offer a glimpse at how it’s faring

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    Apple’s second quarter is usually interesting. As has now become customary, the company delivered new records, generated billions in revenue, and grew its services segment once again — generally good news except for the embarrassment of having to open up its app store while delivering the Q2 results. 

    Apple announced that iPhone shipments increased 13% despite a global slowdown across the smartphone industry, and confirmed plans to make all US iPhones in India. It also suggested that some of the sales it did achieve might have been pushed forward as consumers accelerated upgrades they intended to do later this year in order to avoid US tariffs. 

    What’s the cost of tariffs?

    Apple CEO Tim Cook explained that he expects the Trump Tariff Tax to affect the company’s June quarter, taking a $900 million chunk out of the company’s multi-billion-dollar business. In other words, while the situation isn’t normal, it’s being managed (if not controlled).

    Cook also admitted that Apple did “build ahead inventory” to help tide it over Trump’s Tariff Summer. “Obviously, we’re very engaged on the tariff discussions,” he said. “We believe in engagement and will continue to engage.” 

    What really hurts with tariffs?

    People have always complained that Apple’s accessories cost too much. It looks like they will complain even more in the future. During the call, Cook pointed out that the recent 125% tariff on goods from China has most immediately affected things like spare parts for AppleCare and accessories, all of which currently carry a 145% tax in the now high-tax US economy. The situation is similar across third-party chains, which are threatened by much higher costs.

    Apple and the supply chain

    Apple flagged potential problems to come, but set out a solid bastion from which to defend itself. From making iPhones in India and Macs in Vietnam to strategic investments in the USA, the company has built a great deal of resilience within its supply chain with which it hopes to negotiate the US trade war. All the same, it still faces an uncertain tomorrow.

    With future US tariffs uncertain, the situation for the entire consumer software sector is very much in flux. I suggest, however, that Apple has a good news story for Q3 buried in here, as the spike in consumer sales followed the tariff announcements, which mean they occurred in the weekend of April 5 – and the quarter itself ended a week before that.

    “For our part, we will manage the company the way we always have, with thoughtful and deliberate decisions, with a focus on investing for the long term, and with dedication to innovation and the possibilities it creates,” Cook said.

    Made in the USA

    Apple is also increasing its US manufacturing partnerships. Cook confirmed that TSMC’s new manufacturing facility in Arizona will be making tens of millions of processors for Apple’s devices. ”Apple is the largest and first customer to take chips made at that factory,” he said. “All told, we have more than 9,000 suppliers in the U.S. across all 50 states.”

    Apple clearly believes the US can be a good home in which to manufacture some highly skilled elements of its supply chain, even if it can’t supply the kind of expertise needed elsewhere in its manufacturing supply chain. 

    Speaking at a meeting of US business executives this week, Cook said: “I want to take a moment to recognize President Trump’s focus on domestic semiconductor manufacturing, and we will continue to work with the administration as we invest in these areas. Needless to say, we are excited for the future of American innovation and the incredible opportunities it will create, and we are honored to do our part.”

    On Made In India (and Vietnam)

    There’s also news from India, where the company is accelerating its attempt to build manufacturing.  “For the June quarter, we do expect the majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin,” Cook said, “and Vietnam to be the country of origin for almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and AirPods products also sold in the US.” 

    Cook also confirmed plans to open new stores in India this year. “The operational team has done an incredible job around optimizing the supply chain and the inventory, and we’ll obviously continue to do those things to the degree that we can,” he said.

    Opening the App Store

    The financial news comes just after US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers forced Apple to make immediate changes to its developer’s agreement, opening up its US store to external payments and app shoppiong services. Apple plans to appeal the judgement. 

    Opening the store up to third-party competition is likely to chip away at services revenues while delivering additional risk and confusion to customers, but the scale of that impact remains to be seen. Whatever the impact, I expect Apple to find some way to build a new profit center out of whatever it has left.

    Cook, whose judgement was called into question by the judge, said that while Apple has complied with the request, there are risks to the company’s business. Spotify, meanwhile, has forced Apple to approve an update with links to make purchases outside the App Store as the flight begins.

    What about the enterprise?

    Apple also used the financial call to share a little information about its growing status in the enterprise markets, noting KPMG has introduced the iPhone 16 to all of its US employees, “reflecting their confidence in Apple’s security and privacy features.” 

    He also said that the largest bank in Latin America, NewBank, has selected the MacBook Air as a standard computer for their thousands of employees and highlighted Dassault Système’s decision to integrate Apple Vision Pro into its platform.

    What about Apple Intelligence?

    Some readers might remember when Apple Intelligence was the biggest Apple story around. In light of tariffs, court cases and regulatory limitations, the service seems to have become a footnote, even though it seems to be running late. “We need more time to complete our work on these features so they meet our high-quality bar,” Cook said. “We are making progress, and we look forward to getting these features into customers’ hands.”

    Details from Apple’s Q2

    • Quarterly revenue: $95.4 billion, up 5% year-on-year and an all-time second-quarter high (again).
    • Products revenue: $68.7 billion, up 3% year-on-year.
    • Services revenue: $26.6 billion.
    • Company gross margin: 47.1%. Product margin was 35.9%, while services hit 75.7%.
    • Profit: $24.8 billion.
    • Cash dividend: 26 cents a share.

    Estimated June quarter results will see growth in low to mid-single digits, with margins down to around 45.5-46.5% because of the estimated impact of tariff-related costs. You’ll find an excellent image detailing the scope of Apple’s business here.

    iPhone

    iPhone sales climbed just 2% in the quarter, despite introduction of the iPhone 16e. The category still generated $47 billion, up $1 billion on the same quarter last year. “iPhone was a top-selling model in the US, urban China, the U.K., Germany, Australia, and Japan, and we continue to see high levels of customer satisfaction in the US at 97%, as measured by 451 Research.”

    iPhones also accounted for both of the two top-selling smartphones in China, Cook said.

    Services

    Services grew 11%, generating $27 billion this quarter, up from $24 billion a year ago. Perhaps reflecting how Apple sees this segement, and its future in the current regulatory environment, Apple CFO Kevan Parekh said: “We saw strong momentum in the March quarter, and the growth of our installed base of active devices gives us great opportunities for the future. Customer engagement across our services offerings also continued to grow. Both transacting and paid accounts reached new all-time highs, with paid accounts growing double digits year over year. Paid subscriptions also grew double digits. We have well over a billion paid subscriptions across the services on our platform.”

    Mac

    Mac sales grew 6% as people rushed to purchase the fantastic M4 MacBook Air. Apple generated $8 billion in Mac revenue, up from $7.5 billion last year. “The Mac installed base reached an all-time high, and we saw strong growth for both upgraders and customers new to the Mac. Customer satisfaction was reported at 95% in the US.”

    Wearables

    While they generated $7.5 billion in revenue, wearables (which includes AirPods, Apple Watch, and also Vision Pro) are Apple’s weakest segment, down 5% year-on-year. This seems to be the weakest part of Apple’s business in terms of growth.

    iPad

    iPad sales climbed 16%, thanks to the new iPad Air. The segment generated $6.4 billion, up from $5.6 billion in 2024. “The iPad installed base reached another all-time high, and over half the customers who purchased an iPad during the quarter were new to the product. Based on the latest reports from 451 Research, customer satisfaction was 97% in the US.”

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  • Yes, connected accessories are security risks, too

    Yes, connected accessories are security risks, too

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    Yesterday, we looked at how tariffs might well make connected accessories more expensive and leave existing devices less secure as the companies that made them exit the market.

    Today, we discover why these accessories need to be protected and find out they can already be attacked. If nothing else, it should encourage any consumer or enterprise user relying on connected accessories to take the time to verify that all of them are truly secure.

    Those that are not should be removed from use – and from your network.

    All the forgotten endpoints

    Wired tells us that Oligo security researchers have discovered flaws in Apple’s AirPlay system that could allow hackers to gain access to your Wi-Fi network to infect AirPlay-enabled smart home accessories.

    That’s a danger, given how infrequently smart accessory manufacturers actually publish security updates for those devices — and it will likely get worse in the future as accessory developers exit the market when tariffs make business unprofitable.

    Given that some connected device users have spent a great deal of money on their systems, it’s unrealistic to expect they will swiftly give up their accessories. That means those potentially very vulnerable endpoints will remain in use for some time to come.

    The problem Oligo found

    The problem Oligo identified consists of bugs in Apple’s AirPlay SDK that hackers can exploit to gain access to smart gadgets, including speakers, receivers, set-top boxes, televisions and other network devices that connect using AirPlay. That could mean, for example, using your device’s microphone to listen in on your conversations.

    The good thing is that this isn’t a remote attack; attackers need to gain access to your Wi-Fi network first, which is more of a problem when it comes to shared public Wi-Fi networks than at home. 

    The researchers shared their findings with Apple, which has patched the vulnerability on its own devices and issued an updated developer SDK. But third-party firms haven’t yet said anything about their plans to adopt the code. “Because AirPlay is supported in such a wide variety of devices, there are a lot that will take years to patch — or they will never be patched,” said Oligo’s CTO, Gal Elbaz.

    Sweet home accessory, never been patched

    It’s a fact that some third-party accessories might never be patched, which should make anyone with connected home or workplace smart accessories pay attention. That cavalier attitude is a problem waiting to happen, turning a seemingly benign little smart plug into a potential Trojan Horse hackers and other attackers can use to subvert the security of your home or business. 

    While this particular exploit might have been identified and mitigated against, there will be others, and in the absence of timely security updates for connected devices, let’s just say one day more connected access endpoints will be exploited.

    Some might already have been compromised.

    What can you do to protect yourself? 

    Assuming you make sure to install software updates as they appear, the next step is to monitor the devices you use. That means making a list of them, determine when they were made, and figure out whether the accessory manufacturer still supports them. If they do, it also means ensuring your device is running the latest available software updates. 

    What about devices that are no longer supported? It’s a judgment call, but if security is a priority, it makes sense to cease use of orphaned devices — security in the home or in the workplace is only ever as good as the weakest link. Devices that are not being kept up to date pose a risk to other devices on your network and the data they contain.

    When it comes to installing new smart devices, I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir in saying there is a need to verify that any you do choose ship with solid software support. If they don’t have that, install a solution that does.

    Finally, given that accessory makers will be seeking to build subscription businesses, it might make sense for them to combine together to create an app that verifies and updates deployed smart devices to flag any potential weaknesses and ensure the best possible security.

    You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky,  LinkedInMastodon, and MeWe

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  • US wants to nix the EU AI Act’s code of practice, leaving enterprises to develop their own risk standards – Computerworld

    US wants to nix the EU AI Act’s code of practice, leaving enterprises to develop their own risk standards – Computerworld

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    “Big tech, and now government officials, argue that the draft AI rulebook layers on extra obligations, including third party model testing and full training data disclosure, that go beyond what is in the legally binding AI Act’s text, and furthermore, would be very challenging to implement at scale,” explained Thomas Randall, director of AI market research at Info-Tech Research Group.

    Onus is shifting from vendor to enterprise

    On its web page describing the initiative, the European Commission said, “the code should represent a central tool for providers to demonstrate compliance with the AI Act, incorporating state-of-the-art practices.”

    The code is voluntary, but the goal is to help providers prepare to satisfy the EU AI Act’s regulations around transparency, copyright, and risk mitigation. It is being drafted by a diverse group of general-purpose AI model providers, industry organizations, copyright holders, civil society representatives, members of academia, and independent experts, overseen by the European AI Office.

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  • Analysts weigh in on enterprise impact if Google forced to sell Chrome – Computerworld

    Analysts weigh in on enterprise impact if Google forced to sell Chrome – Computerworld

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    Could disrupt the browser market

    Harrington countered, “this is not as simple as selling off a product; it’s a complete platform. And it’s moving from Google, where data collection is about selling ads, to OpenAI, where data collection is about training AI to then sell to a ridiculously wide variety of purposes. A ‘devil you know versus the devil you don’t know’ sort of deal.”

    Such a move, said Harrington, has the potential to completely disrupt the browser market as a whole, not just for Google. “It’s understandable why OpenAI would want it for training the AI models, but if they purchase Chrome, what happens to Chromium? While it’s the open-source project of Chrome and ChromeOS, does Google keep the project under their development arm, or does it go with the browser?”

    He pointed out that the majority of non-Chrome browsers use Chromium as their engine, so “if it stays under Google, by and large the browser market should probably remain the same. If it goes along with the sale to OpenAI, that could cause a serious disruption, as the privacy focused developers may want to distance themselves from a company that’s making money feeding their AI models.”

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  • Open AI’s new models hallucinate more than the old ones – Computerworld

    Open AI’s new models hallucinate more than the old ones – Computerworld

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    One of the biggest problems with today’s AI models is that they tend to simply make up answers when they don’t know what’s going on, something called hallucinations.

    You would think that the number of hallucinations would decrease over time, but according to internal tests from Open AI, the opposite is true. The o3 and o4-mini reasoning AI models produce more hallucinations than their predecessors o1, o1-mini, and o3-mini, Techcrunch reports.

    In one of the tests, the o3 model hallucinated in 33% of responses, compared to 16% for the o1 and 14.8% for the 03-mini.

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