TOP STORIES #79

Well, IFA is in full swing (ends 10 Sept.), and there are already some videos on YouTube about all the cool tech that has been launched - and, of course, Intel's Lunar Lake is dominating the news.

However, the TimeKettle is getting a lot of attention —it is the closest thing I have seen to the Babelfish! It might be the coolest device at IFA, though the vacuum cleaners are pretty impressive as well!

It seems Lenovo has gone really big on it's announcements at IFA, but every vendor has a lot to say!

Last Week's TOP STORIES #78 is here.

if colleagues would like to join, they can click here.

Did You Know?

First Technology is probably South Africa's best-kept secret.

Did you know the company is 40 years old?

Did you know it has the most Microsoft certifications compared to any other company in Africa?

Did you know the company provides services across the entire breadth of the IT industry?

Did you know we are developing advanced solutions for clients worldwide?

From next week, every fortnight, we will start lifting the veil of secrecy and start telling you about what the company is actually doing with technology and services all over the world!

Hardware

Lunar Lake is here!

Intel has announced the new Lunar Lake Core Ultra 200V Processors.

All these new computers will be eligible for the CoPilot+ features that have currently only been reserved for the SnapDragon ARM-based computers.

The change in battery life will be massive.

You can read more about the announcement here - and there is a YouTube video you should watch as well. This is a BIG deal - these are the machines one should be looking at very carefully indeed - this has been a long time coming, and I suspect along with all this we may see Windows 24H2 launch around the same time - ie not later than November.

It is really important that you check with the First Technology hardware specialists to find out when these new computers will be available in SA. Globally, you can already pre-order them, but be prepared to pay the "early adopter tax."

BEWARE—buy these computers with enough RAM upfront for the life of the PC. These devices are not upgradable because of how they are designed (3:34 timestamp). You can take a deep dive into the insides of the CPU with this YouTube video here.

So... PLEASE consider your minimum to be 32Gig going forward—this is the optimal choice for the life of the computer. It's important to note that not much uses the NPU today, but in the near future (and definitely during the notebook's life- like Microsoft's Recall releasing soon), this will change, along with increased memory demands.

With these new computers that will have Microsoft CoPilot+ features enabled, it is very important to talk to your First Technology hardware specialists to plan your roadmap in migrating to the new hardware with the Intel "Core Ultra" naming convention - i5, i7, i9 is all in the past now - so your RFQ's need updating. I have written some guidelines that include AMD on this, so if you are interested please talk to your account manager.

More details Leak about Intel's "Panther Lake"

Panther Lake is the Generation of Intel Processors that will be released toward the end of 2025 and will replace Lunar Lake. Again, this looks to be a significant boost in performance over Lunar Lake, so don't get too attached to the Lunar Lake Core Ultra notebook that you can't even buy yet!

Dell Launches Intel Core Ultra 200V series laptops

Dell is one of the earlier adopters of the new Intel Lunar Lake AI CPUs in its newest XPS 13 model. The selection of ports is very limited, and as I stated in TOP STORIES #64, paying careful attention to what docking stations you should be standardising on is quite important (USB-4 and Thunderbolt are different). For example, with this Dell, there is no HDMI port. You can read more here. HDMI is not a given on these new notebooks anymore.

It is really important to ask your First Technology account manager to connect you with our hardware specialists to assist in planning the hardware refresh roadmap taking into consideration USB Hubs and monitor types as well. Monitors that double as USB hubs can be a good option.

Microsoft releases new range of Surface Laptops

Microsoft has also released an expanded range of surface devices, just like all the other major manufacturers. These are premium devices aimed at corporate users.

What notebooks you choose are further complicated by the fact that ARM based CoPilot+ versions are increasingly attractive for professional corporate use. It is early days, and support for important native apps is still a work in progress, but even so, it is still important to start seriously evaluating these machines for certain types of users in your environment, especially since even cheaper 8-core based SnapDragon-based machines are coming. You can also read about the Qualcomm announcement here.

Bluetooth 6 Announced

This comes with some improvements over the 5.x standard, the most interesting is the ability for BT6 devices to find each other with great accuracy - down to 1cm! You can read more about BT6 and what else it will be able to do here.

Paper, but not Paper is now in Colour.

If you like taking notes on paper or just like scribbling notes on paper, but would like to get more "techy" while still preserving the look and feel of paper, take at look at the Remarkable Paper Pro - it is now capable of doing paper type stuff in Colour. You can read all about this amazing device here.

Microsoft

Windows 11 AI features for Intel PC's in November

This overlaps with the Lunar Lake announcement above, but here is more detail on when Microsoft will release different pieces—and it is still confusing.

Right now, it looks like Microsoft will be pushing updates incrementally from September through to November, but we will have to wait and see exactly what is released. You can read more here.

Microsoft Office 2024 to disable ActiveX controls by default

And will disable them in O365 by April 2025

This change has been prompted by some well-known vulnerabilities.

While some existing ActiveX objects will continue to appear as static images in Office documents, users will no longer be able to interact with them. You can read more about this change here.

These controls have crept into documents and spreadsheets over the years and may be critical to some of your internal processes. If you feel this might be an issue, or you are not even sure if you have an issue, please talk to your First Technology account manager to connect you with our specialists. They can assist you in evaluating your situation and recommending alternatives for the future.

"New Outlook" can now be opened Offline.

This is a good example of how far the New Outlook still has to go before it has any hope of replacing the "Old Outlook." Microsoft has only announced now that the "New Outlook" will be able to be opened or restarted without an active internet connection towards the end of September. You can read more about this and other additions to the roadmap relating to Teams here. I have been warning about Microsoft's determination to replace the "Old Outlook" with the new Outlook going back to TOP STORIES #52, which goes even further into the past.

Please heed the warning in TOP STORIES #52 and contact your First Technology account manager to address the issues that may become a real problem in the future if not addressed now.

Security

CrowdStrike - lessons learnt (reading the fine print)

This fiasco has ended up being a really good reminder for companies and their legal departments to always make sure that contracts from vendors are read and understood very well.

It is really important to make sure you have a complete database of all your contracts, preferably in machine-readable digital form. Here is a very interesting article that talks about the fallout and what you can do to try to limit your risk (spoiler: the smaller you are as a company, the less leverage you have vs. a much bigger company).

We have more than one SAM team that can help you navigate the mountain of contracts and inventories and capture that information into your existing systems like Flexera or SNOW, or if you do not have anything, our own system. Please talk to your First Technology account manager to connect you with our SAM specialists to see if we can help you.

Critical Vulnerability in Windows Wi-Fi Drivers

This vulnerability is being taken advantage of in the wild even though Microsoft released a patch in June 2024. This serves as a reminder that it is critical to keep computers patched and always re-evaluate and check your security posture. First Technology has some seriously good specialists in this field, so please ask your First Technology account manager to put you in touch with them to review your position, even if your security appears to be OK - having somebody else take a look can be a very good idea!

Here is quite a detailed story on the surge in Zero Day attacks.

Cloud & AI

Using AI to Vacuum your house

With the IFA show in progress, you are bound to see some crazy stuff, and one of the things getting a lot of interest are the latest generation of vacuums - these things are SMART and really expensive - If I was told 5 years ago I could be spending R28 000 on a vacuum cleaner I would have packed up laughing. Well, that is not a joke anymore!

Take a look at this Robot that in the near future might be climbing stairs!

Here is a different brand that lifts and lowers itself to fit under low furniture

This unit - the Eureka J15 Pro Ultra- probably gets the award for the "coolest" vacuum with the most powerful suction and a lot of AI smarts!

What's up at FTG

BUI builds Security Solution to enable client to grow internationally

BUI, First Technology Group award-winning security division, played a crucial role in helping Omniscient expand globally by providing expert support in cloud architecture and data security.

By leveraging Microsoft's Azure platform, BUI enabled Omnisient to scale rapidly while ensuring compliance with international data privacy regulations.

The partnership not only helped Omnisient streamline operations but also set them up for future growth and success on a global scale. This collaboration showcases BUI’s dedication to empowering businesses with leading technology solutions.

CoPilot Security Demo

BUI, FTG's security division, is now able to present CoPilot for Security information-sharing sessions, workshops and demos. Please contact your First Tech Group account manager to make arrangements to attend, or you can request a session here.

Exclusive Dynamics 365 & CoPilot Demo

CRMTeam, a division of First Technology Group is excited to invite you to an exclusive Microsoft event focused on the transformative power of Dynamics 365 and Copilot.

This is a unique opportunity to see how these leading solutions can streamline your business processes and drive success.

Where: Johannesburg - Microsoft Corporate Hill Office Park, 3012 Winnie Mandela Dr.

When: 19 September 2024

RSVP By: 6 September 2024

BUI Cyber Research finds another Zero Day vulnerability in Teams

The Cyber Security and Azure Expert division for FTG has found another vulnerability, which they have published the details of here.

Please contact your First Technology account manager, who will connect you with our experts to help you determine whether you need help to check whether you are vulnerable and, if so, what you can do to protect yourself.

What does a World Class SoC look like and how does it work?

You are invited to book a tour of one of our SoC (Security Operations Center) nodes (and there are still parts we can't show you). You can book for the tour here.

BUI blog - 2nd Video Available

FTG's Azure and security division, BUI has launched a blog focused on Security - what's new, what changed and what you need to do to maintain a good security posture.

All BUI videos have been moved to one YouTube channel which you can find here.

The Security Blog Video #002 is now available to view here.

It deals with the following subjects (the Tinyurl links are for more information):

➡️ [0:25] Entra ID certificate-based authentication enhancements - https://tinyurl.com/2d5wx2a6

➡️ [1:24] Entra Security Service Edge now GA - https://tinyurl.com/2alrc6j5

➡️ [2:38] MDI New detections - https://tinyurl.com/2y595kry

➡️ [3:14] XDR Incident/Alert queue UI enhancements - https://tinyurl.com/29smrte3

➡️ [4:23] MDO Bulk Senders Insight - https://tinyurl.com/22x7nde9

➡️ [5:00] MDO Quarantine release integration with hunting - https://tinyurl.com/27hcdkm9

➡️ [5:28] Sentinel - Run playbooks on demand in the unified portal - https://tinyurl.com/25of2r6l

Data Security in the Age of AI

Join BUI for an enlightening session on Data Security, along with an exhilarating Cyber Security Escape Room.

An interactive experience that will keep everyone on their toes and fully immersed.

Ignite your enthusiasm with a custom-designed escape room, where critical cyber security concepts come to life through exhilarating challenges.

Where: Johannesburg - Garden Venue Hotel

When: 10 September 2024

Where: Cape Town - 12 Apostles Hotel & Spa

When: 19 September 2024

Movies

Now Playing: OZI: Voice of the Forest

Now Playing: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Now Playing: Greatest of All Time

Now Playing: Howl's Moving Castle

13 September: The Forge

13 September: The Showerhead

13 September: Speak no Evil

13 September: GREYTOWN GIRL