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Today’s topics include Microsoft 365 gaining AI-powered tools and features, and USB Type-C devices becoming more secure with a new authentication standard.
Microsoft updated Microsoft 365 in December with several new features, including artificial intelligence capabilities in Word and PowerPoint that give users more ways of connecting with their audiences.
Users who speak in other languages or have hearing impairments can now use live captions and subtitles in PowerPoint, while acronym suggestions are now provided through Microsoft Graph in Word, according to Kirk Koenigsbauer, a Microsoft 365 vice president.
He says the subtitle and caption feature “will support presenters across 12 spoken languages and display on-screen captions or subtitles in one of 60+ languages.”
The new acronyms feature in Word uses Microsoft Graph to provide AI-powered suggestions for acronym definitions specific to a user’s needs as they read their documents. Also added are capabilities that allow users to find and reuse slides from earlier PowerPoint presentations so they can avoid having to duplicate their work.
USB-based connections and devices are becoming more secure, thanks to the launch of the USB Type-C Authentication Program on Jan. 2.
While the faster and more powerful USB Type-C devices have been introduced in recent years on leading notebooks, smartphones and other connected devices, they have also introduced new risks, by simply plugging in a malicious USB device.
According to USB Implementers Forum President and COO Jeff Ravencraft, “USB-IF is excited to launch the USB Type-C Authentication Program, providing OEMs with the flexibility to implement a security framework that best fits their specific product requirements. As the USB Type-C ecosystem continues to grow, companies can further provide the security that consumers have come to expect from certified USB devices.”