Tech Talk

Microsoft just teased its next major event but gave little clue as to what the company is set to reveal. The event is scheduled for October 12, 2022, at 10 AM ET. Beyond that, there is very little else in the way of details, and we've reached out to Microsoft for some clarification about what the event is set to showcase. We'll update this story with any news if and when we hear back from the company. In the meantime, we can ruthlessly speculate about what Microsoft has in store, and we even have some clues in the announcement image itself. The image is a stylized version of the Windows 11 desktop background, so it's safe to say it's likely something Windows related. And since the image has a decidedly impressionistic vibe to it, we'd say it's going to be a new Microsoft Surface device, possibly an update to the Microsoft Surface Studio line, either a new desktop or a refresh of the Surface Laptop Studio . That latter device is only about a year old though,

Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft may have redesigned its photos app last year to better match the aesthetics of Windows 11, but now it’s testing a new version with a slightly new look and a few other improvements. Perhaps the most noticeable change is a new gallery view, which offers a different way to browse through your photos. In a blog post , Microsoft’s Dave Grochocki says that the updated view is intended to simplify browsing, finding, managing, and consuming the photos you have in your collection. The new app will also offer improvements to the “Memories” feature, though Grochocki’s blog post doesn’t detail exactly what’s different. Image: Microsoft The new gallery view in Microsoft’s redesigned Photos app for Windows 11. You can get a closer look on Microsoft’s blog post . The new app does come with one big downside: you won’t be able to use the legacy app’s video editor. Instead, if you want to trim videos, Grochocki recommends using Clipchamp, the video editing ap

Salesforce and WhatsApp have entered into a new partnership that will bring instant messaging facilities to the Customer 360 platform. The partnership, announced during Dreamforce 2022 , will give businesses a new way to communicate with customers, courtesy of WhatsApp integrations for multiple Salesforce CRM applications. The arrangement will set the stage for “convenient, integrated and personalized experiences between people and businesses”, says Salesforce, as well as catering to the demand for greater consistency across communication channels. WhatsApp comes to Salesforce Historically, businesses have interacted with customers either in-person or over email , but Salesforce believes instant messaging is “the next great customer engagement frontier”. Research from Kantar, cited by Salesforce, suggests a healthy majority (66%) of customers now prefer to interact with businesses over messaging platforms, which allow for conversational interactions. By building WhatsApp messag

A new leak suggests that the Apple iPhone 15 family, from the base model through the rumored iPhone 15 Ultra device, would all use USB-C in lieu of Apple’s lightning connector - with one crucial difference between the high- and low-end models. USB-C ports coming to the iPhone has been a long-rumored and anticipated change, one that may be mandated by European Union laws taking effect in the near future, by 2024.  But the additional upgrade would see the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra using a full Thunderbolt 4 port, which has a much higher bandwidth for faster data transfer and intense graphical output.  The leak comes from a subscription-based newsletter hosted by Twitter leaker LeaksApplePro , a source with a relatively decent track record of tips on forthcoming phones.  The leaker rightly suggests that recording high-resolution video, even using Apple’s efficient ProRES format, creates files that are prohibitively large to transfer over an aging connection like Lightning.

Google collaborated with third-party company Framework to create a customizable and upgradable Chromebook laptop. As a company, Framework specializes in developing Do-It-Yourself (DIY) laptops that people can upgrade themselves with nothing more than a screwdriver, the parts the company provides, and a bit of patience. Now with the Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition , customizable laptops have entered a new frontier as repairability in the tech industry takes a firmer stance. Customized experience Be aware that not everything on the Framework Chromebook is customizable.  Starting with the more static aspects, the laptop comes with a 13.5-inch high-resolution display (2256x1504 pixels) and a 1.5mm keyboard all housed in a chassis partially made out of recyclable material. Under the hood, it’s powered by a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1240p CPU made out of 12 individual cores and a 55Wh battery that can last up to 10 hours on one charge. As you would expect, the Framework Chromebook r

Heaviside was Kitty Hawk’s last eVTOL in development. | Image: Kitty Hawk Kitty Hawk, the ambitious “flying car” startup funded by Google co-founder Larry Page, is winding down, which the company confirmed in a brief post on LinkedIn earlier today . According to a report from Insider , sources inside the company said Kitty Hawk had already shut down work on the 100-mile-capable Heaviside vehicle . Insider also reports that Page had become increasingly hands-off from the company but said he was more closely involved with its shift to research and development after the end of the Heaviside project. Although Kitty Hawk is shuttering development of its own aircraft, at least one project will live on in its joint venture company with Boeing: Wisk Aero. “Today’s news does not impact Wisk. We remain in a strong financial and strategic position, with both Boeing and Kitty Hawk as investors,” Wisk spokesperson Chris Brown tells The Verge . At the beginning of this year, Boeing sunk anoth

CRM company Salesforce has announced the launch of its own carbon credits marketplace, with the goal of clearing the path to net zero emissions for businesses of all sizes. At Dreamforce , the company's annual conference, Salesforce offered a first glimpse of its new Net Zero Marketplace, which is said to make the purchasing of carbon credits simpler and more transparent. Built atop Salesforce Commerce Cloud, the new marketplace connects buyers with a selection of pre-vetted carbon credit providers, whose projects have been audited by third-party ratings agencies. The providers are involved in projects ranging from forest conservation to tree planting, wind farms and more. Carbon credit controversy Although most businesses are united in the drive towards net zero as a means of curtailing the warming effects of industry on the planet, the use of carbon credits to offset emissions is a contentious issue. Some argue that offsetting simply does not have the desired effect, becau