Daily Archives: August 7, 2023
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Make the most of Microsoft Rewards
ISSUE 20.32 • 2023-08-07 MICROSOFT
By Mary Branscombe
Microsoft will give you points for using Bing, and more!
Welcome to this first of a two-part series on how to earn rewards points, where to spend or donate them, and how to maximize your earnings.
You can view the Rewards program as a bit of a bribe to use Microsoft’s search engine and browser, or you can see it as getting your share of the advertising money Microsoft earns on Bing and MSN. Every search engine makes money, but only Microsoft shares it with users through what’s now called Microsoft Rewards.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.32.0, 2023-08-07).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter. -
How can an e-cigarette know the age of its user?
PUBLIC DEFENDER
By Brian Livingston
The dominant e-cigarette manufacturer Juul filed in the US last month an application to sell a new technology that requires age verification and prevents the use of third-party, candy-flavored vaping cartridges.
Juul nearly went bankrupt in November 2022 after agreeing to a $439 million settlement with several US states. The attorneys general of those states successfully argued that the company had marketed fruity flavors specifically to appeal to minors.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.32.0, 2023-08-07).
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What the &$@!*& is Microsoft Loop?
MICROSOFT 365
By Peter Deegan
Should you care?
Microsoft Loop is a new way to collaborate online. A Loop component could pop up in an email, chat, or Word document. I’ll explain what they are and how to work with one, so you’ll know what to do when Loop appears on your screen.
As usual, there’s a lot of Microsoft hype about Loop.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.32.0, 2023-08-07).
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Wrapping up July’s updates
PATCH WATCH
By Susan Bradley
We’re at the dividing line. We are working on getting July’s updates installed and reviewing whether we have Windows 10 22H2 installed. Meanwhile, that window of opportunity for installing updates is closing soon.
But that’s just the Windows side of the patching world. On the Apple side, we’ve had to deal with zero-day patches this month. Not to be left out, Android is doing last-minute beta testing on Android 14 beta 4.1.
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.32.0, 2023-08-07).