Tech News : Bitcoin Value Hits New High
With the famously volatile Bitcoin cryptocurrency briefly hitting a new all-time high value of $69,000 recently, we look at the reasons why this happened and what could happen next. Why? This latest surge in the value of Bitcoin has been attributed to US finance...
An Apple Byte : Apple Fine and Sideloading
In two recent blows to Apple, it’s just been fined £1.5bn for breaking EU competition laws over music streaming, while its latest iPhone update means allowing developers to offer their own ‘app stores’. The Fine Following a complaint by Swedish music streaming...
Security Stop Press : Wireless Chargers Phone Hack & Fry Threat
Researchers from the University of Florida have reported how VoltSchemer, a set of attacks that exploit two commonly found features in commercial-off-the-shelf wireless chargers (COTS), can give attackers control over a phone then enable man-in-the middle attacks....
Sustainability-in-Tech : How Cheese Helped Extract Gold From E-Waste
ETH Zurich researchers have reported discovering an effective method for recovering gold from e-waste with the help of byproducts from the cheesemaking process. Protein Fibre Sponge The group of researchers, led by ETH Professor Mezzenga, have reported using a sponge...
Tech Tip – Easy Batch Renaming of Files in File Explorer
Renaming multiple files one by one can be tedious and time-consuming. Windows File Explorer offers a simple way to batch rename files, which can be especially useful for organising documents, photos, or project files efficiently. Here's how it works: - Select the all...
Featured Article : TikTok Termination?
A recent US congressional vote means that TikTok and its parent company’s alleged ties with the Chinese Communist Party must be severed within six months or the popular TikTok app must be sold, thereby banning it in the US. The Vote The unanimous Energy and Commerce...
Tech Insight : DMARC Diligence (Part 2) : The Forgotten Domains : A Hidden Vulnerability
In this second article of the “DMARC Diligence” series, we shift our focus towards securing non-sending or “forgotten” domains and outline a strategy for their protection through DMARC implementation. Recap Of Part 1 You may remember that in part one of this DMARC...
Tech News : Copilot Gets Plugins And Skills Upgrade
Microsoft has announced that its Windows 11 Copilot AI companion (that’s been embedded into 365’s popular apps) has received an upgrade in the form of new plugins and skills. Builds On The AI Key Microsoft says that the new features build upon the introduction of the...
Tech News : Brave Android Browser Gets ‘Leo’ Assistant
Brave, the privacy-focused browser, has announced the introduction of Leo, its privacy-preserving AI assistant built into the browser on all Android devices. Users Can Choose Which Model – The Mixtral LLM & Meta’s Llama 2 Brave says its new ‘Leo’ AI assistant is...
An Apple Byte : End Of The Road For Apple Car
It’s been reported that Apple has ceased work on its Autonomous Electric Vehicle known as “Project Titan”. The 2,000 employees who were working on the decade-long project (and who reportedly had a say in the decision to stop work on it) are reported to have been moved...
Security Stop Press : Thousands Of Brand Subdomains Hijacked For Spam
Cyber Security Company, Guardio Labs, has reported uncovering a major “SubdoMailing” campaign which involves the hijacking of 8,000+ trusted domains to send millions of spam and malicious phishing emails daily. Brands whose subdomains are being exploited in the...
Sustainability-in-Tech : New £4 Billion EV Battery Factory in Somerset
Tata Group’s global battery business ‘Agratas’ has confirmed previous announcements that it will invest £4bn in a brownfield site near Bridgwater in Somerset to make it the UK’s biggest electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing facility. Somerset To Be Centre Of...
Celebrating the Gems of the West Midlands: Our Sponsorship Journey at the 2024 Tourism Awards
As advocates for the vibrant tourism industry in the West Midlands, Discus are thrilled to announce our sponsorship of the Small Visitor Attraction of the Year category at the prestigious 2024 West Midlands Tourism Awards. It's a privilege to shine a spotlight on the...
Access Windows Secret “Send To” Menu for Quick Actions
Windows includes an extended "Send To" menu that offers more options for dealing with files, such as copying them directly to specific locations or sending them to compressed (zipped) folders. Here's how to access it: - In Microsoft Windows, select a file or files in...
Featured Article : WhatsApp Updates
Here we look at some of the latest WhatsApp updates and the value and benefits they deliver to users. Search Conversations By Date For Android The first of three new updates of significance for WhatsApp is the “search by date” function for individual and group chats...
Tech Insight : DMARC Diligence (Part 1) : The Basics of Email Authentication
In this, the first of a series of three articles explaining DMARC and email authentication, we look at why SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are the key pillars of email authentication. The Issue Businesses face numerous cyber threats, with email being one of the most common...
Tech News : Firm Ordered To Stop Employee Face-Scanning
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ordered Serco Leisure to stop using facial recognition technology (FRT) and fingerprint scanning to monitor employee attendance. Not Necessary or Proportionate An ICO investigation found that public service provider...
Tech News : Google Pauses Gemini AI Over ‘Historical Inaccuracies’
Only a month after its launch, Google has paused its text-to-image AI tool following “inaccuracies” in some of the historical depictions of people produced by the model. ‘Woke’ … Overcorrecting For Diversity? An example of the inaccuracy issue (as highlighted by X...
Security Stop Press : ConnectWise LockBit Alert
Just days after it was announced that the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), the FBI, and Europol had taken down the Russian LockBit ransomware gang’s website, it’s been reported that LockBit ransomware is still being deployed via flaws in a popular remote access tool....
Sustainability-in-Tech : ‘Gasification’ of Waste Tea Powers Factories
The ‘gasification’ of waste tea prunings is being used to both provide free energy for factories in Kenya and to decarbonise the tea sector. Gasification UK-based waste-to-energy company Compact Syngas Solutions (CSS) has developed a ‘gasification’ process which can...
Tech Tip – Make MS Word Spellcheck Uppercase Too
You may not know that Microsoft Word doesn’t spellcheck uppercase words by default so, if you’d like to make sure your entire document (even your uppercase words) is fully spellchecked, here’s how: In Word, click on 'File'. Click on ‘Options’. Click on ‘Proofing’....
Featured Article : Try Being Nice To Your AI
With some research indicating that ‘emotive prompts’ to generative AI chatbots can deliver better outputs, we look at whether ‘being nice’ to a chatbot really does improve its performance. Not Possible, Surely? Generative AI Chatbots, including advanced ones, don’t...
Tech Insight : Exploring E-Signatures
In this tech-insight, we look at what e-signatures are, their benefits plus some of the main e-signature providers, as well as what to consider when choosing an e-signature service. Popularity of E-signatures The initial growth of e-signatures happened in the early...
Tech News : OpenAI’s Video Gamechanger
OpenAI’s new ‘Sora’ AI-powered text-to-video tool is so good that its outputs could easily be mistaken for real videos, prompting deepfake fears in a year of important global elections. Sora Open AI says that its new Sora text-to-video model can generate realistic...
Tech News : Google Waits On Hold For You Until A Human Answers
Google’s new “Talk to a Live Representative” feature will call a business for you, wait on hold for you, and call you when a human representative is available. Being Tested Similar to Google Pixel’s existing “Hold for Me” feature, “Talk to a Live Representative” is...
An Apple Byte : Instagram and Facebook Ads ‘Apple Tax’
Meta has announced that it will be passing on Apple’s 30 per cent service charge (often referred to as the “Apple tax”) to advertisers who pay to boost posts on Facebook and Instagram through the iOS app. This move is a response to Apple’s in-app purchase fees, which...
Security Stop Press : Google Launches AI Cyber Defence Initiative
In a bid to “tilt the cybersecurity balance from attackers to cyber defenders,” Google has announced the launch of its AI Cyber Defence Initiative. The initiative involves the introduction of: - Secure AI Framework (SAIF) - a conceptual framework for secure AI...
Sustainability-in-Tech : Dirt-Powered ‘Forever’ Fuel Cell
Researchers at Northwestern University in the US have created a fuel cell that harvests energy from microbes living in soil so that it can potentially last forever (or as long as there are soil microbes). Why? As Bill Yen (who led the research) suggests, the value...
Tech Tip – Developing A Consistent Brand Voice Using ChatGPT
If you want to develop a comprehensive guide on your brand's voice and writing style to ensure consistency across all company communications, you can use ChatGPT to help you. Here's how: - Open ChatGPT and input a description of the attributes of your brand's voice...