Quick question for my Mac-centric friends out here:

Do any of you regularly use Apple's productivity apps - Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, in particular?

If so, why did you choose those instead of Office or GSuite?

@KaKi87 I have no issues with Dashlane but I prefer 1Password. Both are good products.

Microsoft's most important anti-piracy platform has been cracked. Anyone can get free activations for Windows and Office, thanks to some open-source PowerShell scripts.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/can-you-really-get-windows-and-office-for-free-these-hackers-say-yes/

You're going to see a bunch of stories today based on Statcounter monthly reports. Here's why you shouldn't believe them.

(Tech reporters who write this stuff really need to take some basic statistics courses.)

https://www.zdnet.com/article/its-time-for-another-round-of-statcounter-stories-heres-why-you-shouldnt-believe-them/

SCOTUS agrees to consider a case that could lead to allowing public dollars to directly fund religious schools.

@tim Well, those others can work as long as they know their place.

@juliesbits They are losing a lot of their most loyal advocates.

The stupid, it just burns.

I have some thoughts on Microsoft's bungled, botched, utterly hapless launch of its AI upgrade for Office.

https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/work-life/the-microsoft-365-copilot-launch-was-a-total-disaster/

Hey, friends: today we win. Today will protect each other, and the most vulnerable in our communities. Today we are going to stand up against fascism & violence and joyfully come together to care for those who need protection & support. We do this *no matter* how votes go today, no matter what disruptions or attacks come, so find peace in knowing what does not change, what they can never stop. Once you’ve voted, sign off, and don’t look or scroll if it causes you stress. Tomorrow we get to work.

Microsoft 365 subscribers in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand are about to get new AI features in their Office apps, like it or not. Oh, and a price increase. History says the U.S., Europe and other markets can expect the same. The question is, when?

https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-copilot-ai-is-coming-to-your-office-apps-whether-you-like-it-or-not/

@loganer Lol, sure.

Planning to upgrade an old PC to Windows 11? Microsoft appears to have made that task more difficult with changes it rolled out this week, although there are workarounds.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-cracks-down-on-windows-11-upgrades-for-incompatible-pcs-but-theres-a-fix-for-now/

I hope everyone has proper context today!

@khoji Ah, this is it: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/06/windows-recall-demands-an-extraordinary-level-of-trust-that-microsoft-hasnt-earned/

@khoji As I understand it, the vector database is based on an AI analysis of the snapshot, which includes both images and text. So it's much more than OCR, I'm not sure who claimed less than 50kb a day. Do you have a Cite for that?

New from me at ZDNET.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-announces-sweeping-changes-to-controversial-recall-feature-for-windows-11-copilot-pcs/

I have some thoughts on Microsoft's recent endpoint security summit.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/at-microsofts-security-summit-experts-debated-how-to-prevent-another-global-it-meltdown-will-it-help/

I am happy to see a mainstream media outlet covering Trump's insane blathering about budgets and properly labeling it as "outlandish promises."

(gift link)

https://wapo.st/3AUCFLg

End of an era. R.I.P. Anandtech.

Kudos to Future Publishing for keeping the website alive and not just deleting the content.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/21542/end-of-the-road-an-anandtech-farewell