Microsoft is killing Skype: Why the app couldn't keep up
Skype, once the go-to app for making calls on the internet, is shutting down after several key missteps and the rise of more user-friendly competitors.
The big picture: Skype, a big hit during the early 2000s, failed to keep up with competitors and wasn't able to claw back during the pandemic when demand for video calling spiked.
Driving the news: Microsoft announced on Friday that it will shut down Skype on May 5 and replace the 21-year-old calling and messaging service with the free version of Microsoft Teams for consumers.
Microsoft sues service for creating illicit content with its AI platform
Microsoft is accusing three individuals of running a "hacking-as-a-service" scheme that was designed to allow the creation of harmful and illicit content using the company’s platform for AI-generated content. The foreign-based defendants developed tools specifically designed to bypass safety guardrails Microsoft has erected to prevent the creation of harmful content through its generative AI services, said Steven Masada, the assistant general counsel for Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit. They then compromised the legitimate accounts of paying customers.
Sam Altman Clarifies on OpenAI’s ‘Tension’ With Microsoft (and Elon Musk)
OpenAI and Microsoft (MSFT)’s multibillion-dollar partnership is one of the most significant and envied in A.I. But, despite its mutually beneficial rewards, the relationship between the two tech players has been occasionally strained by the rapid pace of A.I.’s development, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. “I will not pretend there are no misalignments or challenges, obviously there are some,” conceded Altman yesterday (Dec.
Microsoft profits rise by double digits as investors question AI costs
Microsoft on Wednesday reported an 11% increase in profit for the July-September quarter compared to the same time last year as investors looked for signs that the company’s huge spending on artificial intelligence is paying off. The company reported quarterly net income of $24.7 billion, or $3.30 per share, which beat Wall Street expectations. The Redmond-based software maker posted revenue of $65.6 billion in the quarter, up 16% from last year. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were expecting Microsoft to earn $3.10 per share on revenue of $64.6 billion. Microsoft...
Microsoft deal would reopen Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power AI
Pennsylvania’s dormant Three Mile Island nuclear plant would be brought back to life to feed the voracious energy needs of Microsoft under an unprecedented deal announced Friday in which the tech giant would buy 100 percent of its power for 20 years. The restart of Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, would mark a bold advance in the tech industry’s quest to find enough electric power to support its boom in artificial intelligence. The plant, which Pennsylvanians thought had closed for good in...
We received internal Trump documents from ‘Robert.’ Then the campaign confirmed it was hacked.
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign said Saturday that some of its internal communications had been hacked.
The acknowledgment came after POLITICO began receiving emails from an anonymous account with documents from inside Trump’s operation.
Microsoft says Iranian hackers targeted U.S. presidential campaigns and spread AI content insulting Donald Trump
A hacking group linked to the Iranian government tried to breach the email accounts of presidential campaign staffers as part of a wider effort to gather intelligence ahead of the US election, Microsoft Corp. said Friday.
Trump’s campaign confirms it was hacked, blames Iran for data breach
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign said Saturday that it had been hacked and blamed Iran for breaking into its data, days after Microsoft revealed the terror-backing nation has been ramping up online activity in an attempt to influence the US election.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung made the announcement following report from Politico that said the outlet had received anonymous emails that included documents from inside Trump’s campaign operation.
Microsoft investigating outage issues impacting access to its products globally
Microsoft says it's investigating an issue that is keeping customers worldwide from connecting to its Microsoft 365 services and its cloud platform Azure.
According to Downdetector, an online outage tracker, the number of reports related to Microsoft services surged to more than 200 just before 9 a.m. ET. Customers reported issues with Microsoft logins, the company's Outlook platform and its website.
Billionaire Megadonor Draws Backlash for Urging Kamala Harris to Fire Lina Khan
A billionaire megadonor's call for Vice President Kamala Harris to fire Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan if the presumptive Democratic nominee wins in November drew swift backlash from progressives on Thursday, with Sen. Bernie Sanders citing the demand as yet another example of "why we have to overturn Citizens United and end big money in politics."