Suspicion and Anger Towards Microsoft Rises After Windows 10 Search Failure

Earlier this week, searching in Windows 10 was broken, “with a black bar showing where search results should be, even for those who tried to perform a local search of their files.” Microsoft issued a fix and blamed the issue on a “third-party networking fiber provider”. But unfortunately, Microsoft’s fix isn’t working for everyone — and that’s just the beginning. Long-time…

No Handshakes at Global Wireless Conference as Virus Spreads

Two smartphone makers canceled events at the world’s biggest mobile technology showcase in response to the coronavirus outbreak, and organizers reinforced hygiene protocol for people still planning to attend. From a report: Delegates were warned to avoid handshakes and microphones will be changed for different conference speakers in an effort to avoid infections at MWC Barcelona, an annual event that’s set…

Windows Search Went Down For Hours Because of a Microsoft Services Outage

Microsoft’s built-in Windows search went down for more than three hours today due to access and latency issues “with multiple Microsoft 365 services.” While the issues have since been resolved, it comes just days after Microsoft’s Teams service experienced a widespread outage after the company forgot to renew a SSL certificate. The Verge reports: Windows search is built into Microsoft’s latest…

What Happens When ‘Ring Neighbors’ Are Always Watching?

The New York Times reports on “Ring Neighbors,” a local social networking service launched by Amazon in 2018 where users “share videos of delivery people carelessly throwing packages, or failing to wait for an answer at the door; others share footage of mail people navigating treacherous ice, or merely waving at the camera.” On a U.S. Postal Service forum, a mail…

Quantum experiments explore power of light for communications, computing

A team from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has conducted a series of experiments to gain a better understanding of quantum mechanics and pursue advances in quantum networking and quantum computing, which could lead to practical applications in cybersecurity and other areas. …

Could future moon homes be made of fungi?

For future homes on the moon, Mars, and other worlds, NASA is exploring technologies that would use mushrooms to grow self-repairing, self-replicating habitats. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/moon-homes-fungi-mushrooms-video-myco-architecture…

Peter Kirstein, Father of the European Internet, Is Dead At 86

Peter Kirstein, a British computer scientist who was widely recognized as the father of the European internet, died on Wednesday at the age of 86. According to his daughter Sara Lynn Black, the cause was a brain tumor. The New York Times reports: Professor Kirstein fashioned his pivotal role in computer networking the old-fashioned way: through human connections. In 1982, his…

‘Maximum PC’ Magazine Accurately Predicted Apple TV-Like Devices In 2001

Slashdot reader alaskana98 writes:
In the February 2001 issue of Maximum PC, technical editor Will Smith described in his column what he would like to see in the “perfect set-top box”. At a time when arguably the best ‘PVR’ experience was being provided by the first iterations of the Tivo (with no HDTV or LAN connectivity), Will’s description of what a set-top…

Cisco Outlines Silicon, Software Roadmap For Next Generation Internet

An anonymous reader writes: Cisco on Wednesday outlined new details behind its strategy to build next-generation internet technology. As a set up for what it dubs its ‘Internet for the Future’ strategy, the networking giant announced a multi-year plan for building and investing in 5G internet technology, including silicon, optics and software. On the silicon side, Cisco announced Silicon One, a…

Facebook Tells US Attorney General It’s Not Prepared To Get Rid Of Encryption On WhatsApp And Messenger

Facebook said it would not weaken end-to-end encryption across its messaging apps, despite pressure from world governments, in a letter to US Attorney General Bill Barr and UK and Australian leaders. From a report: The letter, sent Monday, came in response to an October open letter from Barr, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, Australian Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton, and…