TOP STORIES #66
The biggest hardware show in the world -Computex has come to an end, and of course YouTube is flooded with summaries of the show.
The Apple WWDC is about to start and it will be awash with Apple's view of AI - "Apple Intelligence" and I'm sure we will see some really interesting stuff announced.
Then of course we have Infocomm which will also have many interesting announcements. So... again we have a busy week!
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Previous TOP STORIES #65 is here.
Hardware (dedicated to Computex)
Best Laptops of Computex
According to TechRadar (and there are many opinions), here is a list of what they consider to be the best laptops announced at Computex - a good read as you then can go on to read about what AMD, Qualcomm, NVIDIA (see TOP STORIES #65) and Intel announced at the show in their respective keynotes below.
Intel Keynote
Intel made quite a splash with their keynote, contrasting with NVIDIA bu insisting that Moore's Law is alive and well. You can scroll through a nice summary of the keynote here.
Intel laid out their plans for the Intel Based AI PC, with a lot more detail on Lunar Lake about to be released.
Intel also unveiled the XEON 6 series CPU's focusing on density and efficiency. I wonder if we will see vendors change their licensing (pricing) to recognise E-Cores vs. P-cores (I doubt it), but this may become an interesting point of negotiation when looking at your licensing going forward.
Qualcomm Disruption
The most disruptive part of Computex was Qualcomm with the launch of the Snapdragon CPU's that now allow Windows to outperform the equivalent technologies from AMD and Intel throwing a huge spanner into what computers we decide to use going forward.
Take a look at the summary of the Keynote here. Qualcomm's impact on the Windows ecosystem is most telling when you look at Linus Tech's YouTube channel's reaction to the launch of these new computers (yes - Qualcomm did sponsor it), but it is still very insightful.
What's interesting is that Qualcomm teased us with the idea that we will be able to get CPU's for all form factors of PC's implying we will see even more powerful processing capability in the future.
Up to now it was easy - you bought an Intel based machine, and you could be pretty sure you were not making a mistake. Now..... you might just be making a mistake.
AMD Keynote
The AMD keynote was packed with announcements, and it looks like AMD will beat Intel on having more powerful CPU's available sooner than Intel. For the first time it looks like your first choice for a new NPU based notebook may very well be an AMD based one instead of an Intel (and then of course you have Qualcomm's snapdragon to add to the confusion). Of course, Intel made sure that we heard that Panther Lake coming next year will beat AMD!
Many other announcements at Computex
This was a really big show, and all major publications have published their summaries of what they thought to be big announcements at the show.
TomsHardware published their Best of Computex here as an example.
It is also a good idea to browse YouTube, and maybe you have your own favourite channels you are already following. Take some time to look through what was announced at Computex - it was a LOT!
Buying a Laptop is going to get Confusing (VERY!)
One thing that is clear from Computex is that buying a laptop is going to get very very confusing. You have more choices than ever before, and now they are not all equal with the same type of operating system. Windows 11 for CoPilot+ PCs is different from the non-CoPilot ones. More confusing is that you will have CoPilot and Non-Copilot PC's to choose from between AMD and Intel, where initially AMD could be outperforming Intel in the price, performance and availability stakes!
One thing is clear, if you HAVE to buy a PC for your business now - PLEASE PLEASE buy it with a minimum of 512Gig NVMe Storage with 32 Gig RAM. This PC then has a better chance of giving you 3 useful years of life with Windows 11 and all the pieces you need to be running in it to be compliant with security and other bits plus a bit of AI.......
Now more than ever, please contact your FT Hardware account manager to get the right experts to sit with you to help you navigate this suddenly more complicated future.
Microsoft
RIP NT Lan Manager!
Microsoft has finally announced that NT Lan Manager is coming to the end of it's life, and though it will continue to work no further development with be done on it. Basically it's time to move on.
You can read more about the announcement here, and the official announcement from Microsoft here (and all other recently deprecated features).
If you need some assistance in finally retiring this method in your infrastructure (it hangs around) contact your FT Account Manager to put you in touch with our experts to assist you in removing all traces of NTLM.
Should "Recall" be Recalled?
The new Recall feature that Microsoft announced for its CoPilot+ Snapdragon PC's has turned into a major PR disaster, forcing Microsoft to backtrack making the feature opt-in and undertaking to encrypt the locally stored data as described in detail here.
Here is an interesting paper written by the former CTO of MS's IT Unit, now with Directions on Microsoft that suggests that Microsoft has lost it's way when it comes to what makes an operating system relevant, and asks if Recall will actually add value to the enterprise.
There is also a darker aspect to this—remember Purview and Compliance? There is an add-on called "Forensic Evidence," which can watch in real time what an employee is doing. Will Recall be immune to this? I highly recommend you read this article!
Enabling Purview ethically in your corporate environment is critical and is a precursor to enabling CoPilot (and perhaps Recall) in the future, so it is really important that you ask your FT Account Manager to connect you with our Purview experts to discuss planning the way forward.
In my opinion, the Genie is out of the bottle, and there is no putting it back. We need to figure out the way forward, and the sooner we start on the journey the better.
Cloud & AI
Apple going AI (Apple Intelligence)
It seems that the Apple AI PR machine is going to go into high gear next week with the WWDC conference, but already we have an idea of what may be announced - you can read more here.
Guidance on when and where to watch it is here.
Security
New FOG Ransomware Targeting Schools
A new strain has been detected using compromised VPN credentials targeting educational institutions in the USA, but as we know, no matter where you are in the world, you are ultimately at risk from this nasty if ones get spawned from this one - so again heads up! Read more here.
What's Up at FTG
Legacy Snapshot – Creating The Immortal Enterprise
As organizations hasten their IT modernization efforts, the web of legacy systems while still alive and lurking inside your environment maybe doing something useful, refuse to go off and die gracefully. ("Yikes!!!!! Don't switch it off - maybe somebody needs it!")
This situation confuses employees and customers, while posing significant security threats and compliance risks that can jeopardise brand integrity. This webinar highlights the strategic importance of a disciplined approach to decommissioning these systems.
It will explore effective strategies for archiving legacy system data in line with organisational access control and records retention policies, ensuring the information remains accessible and operational for future decision-making.
When
Thursday 20 June @ 11:00am - Register Here
Where
Online - Register Here
CoPilot Readiness Workshops are available You can register for them here or here.
Copilot for Security Join BUI, (FTG’s Azure, Cloud and Security specialists) for an exclusive one-on-one demo session featuring Microsoft Security Copilot!
This is a prime opportunity for your team to experience the forefront of technology with our latest release. Dive into discussions about defining and understanding the consumption needs specific to your organisation.
Reserve your spot now! Sign up here.
NEW! FTG's BUI MonthlySecurity Blog
FTG's Azure and security division has launched a blog focused on Security - what's new, what changed and what you need to do to maintain a good security posture. The blog will be published monthly - and here is the 1st one - it's only 4mins long, and has some interesting information about:
- New Recommendations in Entra ID
- Entra Admin Center Updates
- Conditional Access Policies Renaming
- Phasing Out Legacy Identity Protection Policies
Movies
7 June: Bad Boys: Ride or Die - This is promising to be a big release.
7 June: The Watchers (I won't!)
14 June: Inside Out 2
14 June: Doraemon The Movie: Nobita's Earth Symphony
14 June: Highway Sheila: Resurrection
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