Microsoft Designer Tech News Tech Security Digital Footprints

Microsoft Designer available without the waitlist, Tech news from Apple, Gmail scam, and digital footprint definition.

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If you want the latest news in technology reviews of great new tech hardware and software, along with helpful tech tips, then Tech Brew with Greg Doig is the podcast for you and everyone that loves tech. Microsoft has removed the wait list and added new features to its designer preview, which leverages generative AI technology to assist and empower people with or without design experience to create unique high quality graphics in less time. Users can start by describing what they want and get one of a kind images, including accompanying text and visuals with design suggestions to meet their needs. The updated version of Designer also offers copy suggestions, font suggestions, and the ability to create clever captions or hashtags for social media posts. Users can also create animated visuals. And resize designs to 20 different social media layout sizes across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more. In addition, designer and Edge is built natively into the web browser's sidebar, and offers AI powered design suggestions without interrupting the user's workflow. New features such as fill, expand, background, erase, and replace background are coming soon to Microsoft Designer. These new features will allow users to refine their designs further, including adding objects to specific spots with fill and automatically fill in in the rest of the picture with expand background. Erase lets users brush over an object or person they don't want in the graphic and replace it with an automatically generated image. Replace background allows users to switch out their current background with a different one. Microsoft is committed to evolving and adding value to the designer experience while maintaining high security and privacy standards. Those interested can try the expanded public preview for free by visiting the Microsoft website or logging into their Microsoft account. While the free preview does not include all plan features, they will be added over time. Once available for general use designer will be available as a free app with more premium features available to Microsoft 365 personal. And family subscribers. Microsoft's commitment to empowering individuals to unleash their creativity and imagination through innovative technology shows no signs of slowing down in the future. Here's Greg with some tech news and helpful tech info you can use in a tech news story from Mac Rumors. This past week they wrote, apple has released updates for its Apple Music, apple tv, and Apple devices, apps for PC users running Windows 11. The updates include improvements and bug fixes, but no comprehensive list of changes has been provided. The Apple Music Preview app now appears to include support for Windows 11 media controls and keyboard shortcuts. Support for lyrics and smoother continuous playback. The Apple Device's preview app has reportedly removed any references to the software that will run on apple's rumored mixed reality headset. Installing these preview apps will prevent iTunes for windows from opening, making other content types in accessible until a compatible version of iTunes is released, or the user uninstalls the apps. Here's a tech news headline story about security issue you should be aware of. It says, hackers are using a new Gmail scam to steal personal and financial data. This scam involves an email claiming to be from the Google search team, congratulating the recipient on being the 18.2 5000000000th search user and offering a thank you gift. Clicking on the link provided enables hackers to access the user's data. Companies often use emails for giveaways. So some people may fall victim to this scam even though the message is not from Google to stay safe. Individuals should avoid rushing when checking their inbox. Look out for red flags. Check the sender's email address. Be cautious of requests for personal or financial info over email. And install security software on all your devices. This week we have a tip for Windows users, either Windows 11 or 10 for various ways you can capture your screen. Windows 11 and 10 offer multiple built-in options to record the computer screen, such as the snipping tool Clip Champ in Xbox Game Bar app. Each solution has pros and cons and users can choose based on their specific needs. The Snipping tool app is simple to use, but doesn't include an audio recording feature. Clip Champ is a web-based video editing application that supports audio recording and editing what requires a Microsoft 365 subscription to unlock all the features. The Xbox Game Bar app allows audio recording but only supports recording of applications, not the desktop or File Explorer. You can learn more by going to the Windows support site for the various applications. Let's talk about some technology terminology. You may have heard the term digital footprint, but you wonder what is it? Well, digital footprint is all the information left behind from online activities, including browsing history, social media, activity, and location. While digital footprints can personalize and benefit online experiences, they also hold sensitive information that can lead to decreased privacy and increased vulnerability to cyber attacks. To protect and reduce the digital footprint. Individuals should be mindful of what they share online, limit online accounts. Stay up to date with software updates. Be careful when using public wifi and check privacy settings and preferences. Regularly reviewing and updating online security measures can help stay one step ahead of potential cyber attacks. Well, this ends this week's show, but yes, we will work to bring you more and hope you enjoyed another episode of Tech Brood, or we talk about getting your tech brood just the way you like it. I'm Greg Doig, and thank you for listening.