At a special 50th anniversary event on Friday, Microsoft executives reflected on the company’s storied past and on how it’s now reinventing itself for an AI-focused future. With previous CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer in attendance, current CEO Satya Nadella boasted that the company is “leading this new wave of AI innovation, and more…
On April 4, 1975, two childhood friends, Paul Allen and Bill Gates, started what is today one of the world’s leading technology companies. Inspired by the January cover of Popular Electronics magazine, they created Microsoft (then Micro-Soft, referring to microprocessors and software) to develop software for the Altair 8800, one of the first personal computers…
Two of the biggest names in artificial intelligence are independently developing new AI tools that encourage learning, at a time when the technology has been criticized for dumbing down smart users in the enterprise and discouraging critical thinking. While the new initiatives from OpenAI and Anthropic are aimed at transforming how AI is used in…
Like it or not, those who use Windows Update to obtain and install updates, patches, and fixes will occasionally encounter issues. Sometimes, a specific update may not download. At other times, an update may fail to install. Every now and then, Windows Update (a.k.a. WU) may refuse to interact with the Windows servers from which…
The Social Security Administration (SSA) payment system has more than 60 million lines of COBOL code. That makes it one of the world’s largest, not to mention oldest, codebases. Everyone agrees it needs to be updated. But, sorry, there’s no way it can be updated in mere months. Nevertheless, Elon Musk and his “Department of…
Microsoft is urging Office 2016 and 2019 customers to upgrade to Microsoft 365 before support ends Oct. 14, but analysts said viable alternatives are available outside Microsoft’s walled garden. “Continuing to use unsupported software can expose your organization to security vulnerabilities, compliance risks, and operational disruptions,” the company warned in a blog post. Microsoft 365 is the cloud-based version of Microsoft…
Your weekly round-up of the questions asked by readers of CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World sees us learn how culture impacts digital transformation, the rise of cloud-based ERP, and desktop-based office software. Transform Faster Disruptive forces dictate the need for speed when it comes to key digital initiatives. This week we reported 12…
Generative AI (genAI) is quickly transforming healthcare, according to a survey by consultancy McKinsey & Co. released today. The survey of 150 healthcare industry organizations found 85% are exploring or had already adopted genAI. The organizations, which included insurers, health systems, and health services and technology (HST) groups, found that 40% or more from each…
Apple is a hot property, and the big banks all want a chance to grab a piece of the action now that Goldman Sachs has decided to leave retail banking behind. We’ve entered the “breaking it down for parts” stage of deal-making now, with banks bidding for both financial network access provision and to be the…
Google has introduced a new end-to-end encryption (E2EE) feature in Gmail, enabling organizations to send encrypted emails that even Google cannot read to other Gmail users. Later this year, the feature will be expanded to allow the sending of encrypted emails to any email users, including those from other providers. E2EE differs from encrypting email…