Microsoft is looking into an outage affecting access to Teams and Office for the web
If you are having problems accessing Microsoft Teams or Office for the web, you are not alone. Microsoft is aware that there is an issue and is looking into what is happening.
The problems means that users of Office and Teams are finding themselves unable to access files. Microsoft is looking into what has been described as a serious outage, and there is currently no suggestion about when things might be back to normal, although the company continues to provide updates as and when they are available.
Microsoft fixes problem that stopped KB5089549 update for Windows 11 installing
After releasing yet another Windows 11 update that was problematic, Microsoft has been forced to issue a fix. The recently released KB5089549 update failed to install for some users, resulting in an 0x800f0922 error being displayed.
Having acknowledged the issue and identified the cause, Microsoft now says that the KB5089573 update fixes the problem. This is a preview version of the update that will be released on the next Patch Tuesday.
Instagram brings its teleprompter tool from Edits into the main app
While not an entirely new tool, the teleprompter features of Instagram’s Edits tool has just been promoted into the main Instagram app.
Working very much as you would expect it to, the teleprompter landed in Edits a year ago, meaning it has taken a full 12 months to spread into a more useful and accessible place. For anyone who has struggled to remember what they wanted to say in a video, this will be a welcome arrival.
Spotify has a quartet of new features for easier playlist management
If you are anything even slightly like the average Spotify user, then playlists will be central to your streaming music experience. While playlists make it fairly simple to manage your favorite music, there is always scope for improvement – and Spotify has just introduced no fewer than four new options that do just this.
Spotify has made a lot of changes and additions recently, but this latest foursome focuses entirely on playlists. The first addition – the arrival of organizational folders on your phone – is available to every global, regardless of whether they use the free or Premium tier.
WhatsApp reintroduces address book photo feature for Android
It is useful to have more than one way to identify someone in a chat, and it is common for usernames to be accompanied by a photo. This is true of WhatsApp, but not everyone uses a profile photo.
It used to be the case that for anyone who had chosen not to use a profile photo, WhatsApp would fall back on using the photo you had manually configured from your address book. But this feature was removed some years ago – and now it is coming back for Android users.
Microsoft quietly removes a blog post claiming Windows 11 offers sufficient security
Microsoft recently made a pretty bold claim in saying that the security tools built into Windows 11 are enough to keep users protected. It was back in January that the company used an article in the Windows Learning Center to talk about the built-in security provided by Microsoft Defender Antivirus.
It suggested that “for many users, this level of protection is plenty”. In April, Microsoft then reworked this article into a blog post claiming that third-party antivirus software is not needed. Now the company has removed the blog post in which it had made this claim.
WhatsApp is testing a new log out option that does not delete messages
Anyone who has logged out of their WhatsApp account has probably regretted it the next time that they sign in. The removal of messages means that logging back in and getting things back to normal can take quite some time, but there could be a solution on the way.
Meta is testing a new version of the log out option which makes it much easier to log out of the chat app for short periods – such as when you need to stop using data or just need a break from messages.
Proton is making it easier than ever to switch from Gmail to Proton Mail
Gmail may be incredibly popular, but that does not mean that there are no concerns from users. Being a Google product, Gmail users often voice concerns about privacy, and rival Proton Mail is only too happy to offer a solution.
Proton would, obviously, prefer that people used its own email service, but is aware that switching email addresses is not a small undertaking. This is why the company has produced Easy Switch, a tool to help you bring your Gmail data into Proton Mail, and gradually transition to the more secure and private service.
WhatsApp is adding Klipy as another GIF provider
Adding GIFs to messages sent through WhatsApp is about to come with more choice. The latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android shows that Meta is adding Klipy as a new source of GIFs .
The arrival of Klipy sees the number of GIF sources increasing to three – at least temporarily. At the moment GIPHY and Tenor are the options, but the latter will be disappearing at the beginning of July when it closes down its API.
Spotify bolsters its podcast offerings with long form audio magazine articles
It has been a long time since Spotify could have been considered solely a music streaming platform and now the company is further branching out into other areas. The latest move sees the arrival of long-form magazine articles to parts of the world that already have access to audiobooks.
For subscribers to Spotify Premium, access to these articles is free of charge, but anyone who is on the free tier has the option of paying to access individual articles – although this could quickly work out quite expensive.
Apple increases trade-in prices for many of its products
One of the criticisms levelled at Apple products is that they are expensive when compared to those from rival companies. The flip side of this is that Apple products retain value meaning that when the time comes to upgrade, resale value is extremely helpful in reducing on-going costs.
Now Apple has just increased the amount of money it is willing to pay out to anyone who opts to trade in an older device. The increases are not huge, but they are increases nonetheless.
Microsoft is taking a stronger stand against non-consensual intimate images
The non-consensual sharing of intimate images has been a problem of the internet ages, but it is one that has become more severe in recent times. This is partly because of the advance of artificial intelligence, and Microsoft is doing what it can to help protect people.
The company already has various protections in place across its range of services, and now it has announced that this is expanding. Microsoft is working with a number of organizations to share information, resources and technology to help keep people safe from having their likeness abused.
Spotify now lets users share clips from their favorite podcasts
Podcasts are incredibly useful sources of information, but it can be difficult to locate a specific section if you want to refer back to it, or if you want to share it with others. But now Spotify thinks that it has a solution.
The company is giving all users – those on a free tier as well as paying subscribers – the ability to clip snippets of a podcast. These can be saved as a bookmark-type solution, or used to share information with other people.
YouTube will automatically label AI content in the name of transparency
The issue of AI-generated content has been a problem for many platforms and this is certainly true for YouTube. The issues can be varied, from causing irritation through the proliferation of AI slop, or causing confusion with AI content which is simply misleading – or hard to identify as being AI-generated.
In response to this, YouTube has announced a couple of updates to long and short form videos. The changes mean that users should be able to more easily see when content is AI generated, and can treat it accordingly.
Meta launches paid subscription options for Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram
The days of free access to social media platforms seem to be drawing to a close; Meta has just launched a series of paid subscription plans for its various platforms.
There are Plus tier subscriptions for Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, with a monthly fee unlocking access to a range of exclusive features and options. While these are consumer focused, there are also business and creator focused offerings from Meta.
Sofia Elizabella's Bio
Sofia Wyciślik-Wilson is a queer, transgender journalist based in Poland. She has been writing about technology for more than two decades, and after years working for magazines, her writing moved online. She is fueled by literature, music, nature, and vegetables. She is currently training to be an LGBTQ+ affirmative psychotherapist. You can find her on Bluesky and Mastodon. If you like what you read, you can Buy her a Coffee!
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