Microsoft Outlook arrives for Android, iOS

The new app features a snooze button for e-mail messages; cloud-based attachment options; and some handy filtering tools.

• January 29, 2015 11:50 AM PST

  The new Outlook app brings some nice calendar integration to the table.Microsoft

Big day for Microsoft. First, the company launched the final version of Microsoft Office for Android. And now comes the missing piece of that mobile-office puzzle: Outlook for Android and iOS.

For those keeping score at home, this is actually Microsoft's rebranded version of Accompli, the e-mail app it acquired just last month. The iOS version is complete, but for the moment, Outlook for Androidremains a preview edition. Most of what follows is based on the former.

Outlook for iOS has an attractive interface.

Mobile Outlook delivers a smattering of features not found in stock e-mail apps (for either platform), starting with a "snooze" option (here called Schedule) that lets you temporarily remove a message from your inbox and resurface it at a later time.

You can activate this right from within your inbox view just by swiping an e-mail to the right. That brings up the Schedule selector, which provides four options: "In a few hours," "This evening," "Tomorrow morning," and "Choose a time." The first of these strikes me as unnecessarily vague, and it would be nice to have a couple more immediate choices, like "Half an hour" or "One hour."

With a couple taps you can unsubscribe to newsletters or reschedule an email for later.

Swiping left, of course, affords another quick-action option: Archive, by default, but you can customize both swipe settings for functions like Delete, Flag and Mark Unread. (Alas, you can assign only one function to either swipe; other email apps, including Apple's, give you more.)

Outlook also auto-sorts your mail into two main categories: Focused and Other. This works akin to Google's Priority Inbox, with all your "important" messages automatically grouped under the Focused heading, and everything else relegated to Other.

Quick Filter is very handy.

I particularly like the Quick Filter option: a single tap will show you only your Unread, Flagged or Files-included e-mail. Another great perk: a one-tap Unsubscribe link for newsletters and other semi-junk you no longer wish to receive.

Other Outlook amenities include support for adding attachments from one or more cloud accounts (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and so on) and availability and invitation options for scheduling meetings.

This is all good stuff, but there's one fairly large issue that may keep users away, at least for the moment: Although the app can pull e-mail from Exchange, Google, iCloud, Outlook.com and Yahoo accounts, it lacks IMAP support (though it's "coming soon," according to Microsoft).

Even so, there's an awful lot to like about Outlook for Android/iOS, even for users who don't use Outlook on the desktop or Web. It's definitely worth a look.

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Microsoft ditching the Nokia name on smartphones

The Nokia Lumia name will soon become Microsoft Lumia

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Microsoft is ditching the Nokia brand name from new smartphones, less than a year after acquiring the Finnish firm's mobile devices division.

New Nokia Lumia phones will instead be known as Microsoft Lumia, the company said.

The parts of Nokia that were not bought by Microsoft will continue to use the name.

The mobile operation was bought by Microsoft in April in a deal worth $7.2bn (£4.6bn).

Since then, Microsoft has quietly shifted away from the Nokia brand.

A post on a French Facebook page for Nokia-branded devices confirmed the shift. The renaming will roll out globally in due course, Microsoft has said.

The announcement does not prevent Microsoft from continuing to use the Nokia brand on its less powerful "feature phones", which it has the right to do for about 10 years.

Microsoft is currently having a big shake-up. In July, chief executive Satya Nadella announced the cutting of 18,000 jobs.

The bulk of the cuts, around 12,500, will be from staff taken on after the Nokia acquisition.

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US tech firms ask China to postpone 'intrusive' rules

   

The news comes at a time of heightened tension between the USA and China over cybersecurity

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US business groups are seeking "urgent discussions" over new Chinese rules requiring foreign firms to hand over source code and other measures.

The groups wrote to senior government officials after the introduction of the cybersecurity regulations at the end of last year.

The US Chamber of Commerce and other groups called the rules "intrusive".

The regulations initially apply to firms selling products to Chinese banks but are part of a wider review.

"An overly broad, opaque, discriminatory approach to cybersecurity policy that restricts global internet and ICT products and services would ultimately isolate Chinese ICT firms from the global marketplace and weaken cybersecurity, thereby harming China's economic growth and development and restricting customer choice," the letter read.

The groups said that the rules would force technology sellers to create backdoors for the Chinese government, adopt Chinese encryption algorithms and disclose sensitive intellectual property.

Firms planning to sell computer equipment to Chinese banks would also have to set up research and development centres in the country, get permits for workers servicing technology equipment and build "ports" which enable Chinese officials to manage and monitor data processed by their hardware, Reuters reported.

Source code is the usually tightly guarded series of commands that create programs. For most computing and networking equipment, it would have to be turned over to officials, according to the new regulations.

Tension

In the letter, a copy of which has been seen by the BBC, the groups have asked the Chinese government to delay implementation of the regulations and "grant an opportunity for discussion and dialogue for interested stakeholders with agencies responsible for the initiatives".

They added: "The domestic purchasing and related requirements proposed recently for China's banking sector... would unnecessarily restrict the ability of Chinese entities to source the most reliable and secure technologies, which are developed in the global supply chain," the letter, which was dated 28 January, read.

The letter from the American groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce, AmCham China and 16 others, was addressed to the Central Leading Small Group for Cyberspace Affairs, which is led personally by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

It comes at a time of heightened tension between the USA and China over cybersecurity. In May last year, Beijing denounced US charges against Chinese army officers accused of economic cyber-espionage.

Pressure

It was also alleged that the US National Security Agency spied on Chinese firm Huawei, while the US Senate claimed that the Chinese government broke into the computers of airlines and military contractors.

American tech firms, such as Cisco and Microsoft, are facing increased pressure from Chinese authorities to accept rigorous security checks before their products can be purchased by China's sprawling, state-run financial institutions.

Beijing has considered its reliance on foreign technology a national security weakness, particularly following former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's revelations that US spy agencies planted code in American-made software to snoop on overseas targets.

The cyber-space policy group approved a 22-page document in late 2014 that contained the heightened procurement rules for tech vendors, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

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Google agrees privacy policy changes with data watchdog

Google's privacy policy was found to be "too vague"

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Google has agreed to rewrite its privacy policy after pressure from the UK Information Commissioner's Office.

The firm must make it easier for users to find out how their data is collected and what it is used for and submit to a two-year review.

The deal follows an investigation by the regulator. Similar reviews are continuing elsewhere in Europe.

It is understood that Google will seek to strike a similar deal with other European regulators.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found that Google was "too vague when describing how it uses personal data gathered from its web services and products".

Investigation

The regulator - along with its continental counterparts - began looking into the Mountain View firm after its controversial privacy policy update in March 2012, which combined 70 existing documents.

It was joined by other data regulators, which form the European Article 29 Data Protection Working Party.

The head of France's privacy watchdog pictured in 2012 as she ordered Google to fix its privacy policy or face legal action

Following the investigation, Google has agreed to ensure that its privacy policy is more accessible and redesign its account settings feature to allow users to find its controls more easily.

It will also provide "unambiguous and comprehensive information regarding data processing, including an exhaustive list of the types of data processed by Google and the purposes for which data is processed".

Appeals

Among other clarifications, Google will have to include information about who may collect "anonymous identifiers" - which are similar to cookies - and the purposes to which they put that data.

It will also be made to ensure that "passive users are better informed about the processing of their data". The ICO defines passive users as people who use Google, but who are not signed in.

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Watch: the BBC's Caroline Hepker explain why Google decided to change its privacy policy in 2012

Google has until 30 June 2015 to implement the changes and it is believed it will roll out a single policy across the European Union in order to satisfy each of the regulators that opened investigations.

It has also dropped appeals related to investigations being undertaken by the French and Spanish watchdogs.

'Pleased'

"This undertaking marks a significant step forward following a long investigation and extensive dialogue," said Steve Eckersley, the ICO's head of enforcement.

He added: "Whilst our investigation concluded that this case hasn't resulted in substantial damage and distress to consumers, it is still important for organisations to properly understand the impact of their actions and the requirement to comply with data protection law."

A Google spokesman said: "We're pleased that the ICO has decided to close its investigation. We have agreed improvements to our privacy policy and will continue to work constructively with the Commissioner and his team in the future."

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Microsoft's Bill Gates insists AI is a threat

 

Bill Gates said he could not understand why people were not concerned by AI

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Humans should be worried about the threat posed by artificial Intelligence, Bill Gates has said.

The Microsoft founder said he didn't understand people who were not troubled by the possibility that AI could grow too strong for people to control.

Mr Gates contradicted one of Microsoft Research's chiefs, Eric Horvitz, who has said he "fundamentally" did not see AI as a threat.

Mr Horvitz has said about a quarter of his team's resources are focused on AI.

During an "ask me anything" question and answer session on Reddit, Mr Gates wrote: "I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence. First the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent. That should be positive if we manage it well.

"A few decades after that though the intelligence is strong enough to be a concern. I agree with Elon Musk and some others on this and don't understand why some people are not concerned."

Watch: Stephen Hawking has warned of the threat AI poses

His view was backed up by the likes of Mr Musk and Professor Stephen Hawking, who have both warned about the possibility that AI could evolve to the point that it was beyond human control. Prof Hawking said he felt that machines with AI could "spell the end of the human race".

Mr Horvitz has said: "There have been concerns about the long-term prospect that we lose control of certain kinds of intelligences. I fundamentally don't think that's going to happen."

He was giving an interview marking his acceptance of the AAAI Feigenbaum Prize for "outstanding advances" in AI research.

Ex Machina explores the relationship between humans and AI robots

"I think that we will be very proactive in terms of how we field AI systems, and that in the end we'll be able to get incredible benefits from machine intelligence in all realms of life, from science to education to economics to daily life."

Mr Horvitz runs Microsoft Research's lab at the parent company's Redmond headquarters. His division's work has already helped introduce Cortana, Microsoft's virtual assistant.

Despite his own reservations, Mr Gates wrote on Reddit that, had Microsoft not worked out, he would probably be a researcher on AI.

"When I started Microsoft I was worried I would miss the chance to do basic work in that field," he said.

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He added that he believed the firm he founded would see "more progress... than ever" over the next three decades.

"Even in the next 10 [years,] problems like vision and speech understanding and translation will be very good."

He predicted that, in that time, robots would perform tasks such as picking fruit or moving hospital patients. "Once computers/robots get to a level of capability where seeing and moving is easy for them then they will be used very extensively."

He said he was working on a project with Microsoft called "Personal Agent", which he said would "remember everything and help you go back and find things and help you pick what things to pay attention to".

He wrote: "The idea that you have to find applications and pick them and they each are trying to tell you what is new is just not the efficient model - the agent will help solve this. It will work across all your devices."

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But he admitted that he felt "pretty stupid" because he cannot speak any language other than English.

"I took Latin and Greek in High School and got As and I guess it helps my vocabulary but I wish I knew French or Arabic or Chinese.

"I keep hoping to get time to study one of these - probably French because it is the easiest... Mark Zuckerberg amazingly learned Mandarin and did a Q&A with Chinese students - incredible," he wrote.

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Apple posts the biggest quarterly profit in history

COMMENApple's China sales are up 70% - and about to grow further, John Sudworth reports

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US technology giant Apple has reported the biggest quarterly profit ever made by a public company.

Apple reported a net profit of $18bn (£11.8bn) in its fiscal first quarter, which tops the $15.9bn made by ExxonMobil in the second quarter of 2012, according to Standard and Poor's.

Record sales of iPhones were behind the surge in profits.

Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones in the three months to 27 December - well ahead of most analysts' expectations.

In a conference call with financial analysts Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said that demand for phones was "staggering".

However, sales of the iPad continued to disappoint, falling by 22% in 2014 from a year earlier.

Continue reading the main story

Apple quarterly results

$18bn profit

(£11.8bn) - biggest ever by a public company

$142bn

(£93bn) net cash reserves

• 74.5m number of iPhones sold
• 39.9% profit per product
• 22% fall in sales of iPads

Apple (Figures for three months to end December 2014)

Getty

The demand for Apple's larger iPhone 6 Plus model appeared to help boost profits and increase the iPhone's gross profit margin - or how much Apple makes per product - by 2% to 39.9%.

However, Apple did not give a breakdown of sales for the iPhone 6 and other models.

Apple shares rose more than 5% in trading after the US markets had closed.

Buster Hein, who edits the "Cult of Mac" website, told the BBC that iPhone sales had surpassed expectations.

"Oh my gosh, it's unbelievable," he said. "I mean, a lot of us were expecting good iPhone sales during the holidays, but I don't think anybody really thought Apple was going to blow past 70 million units sold," he said.

"Apple became the number one smartphone company in China in the last quarter, which was just huge for them," he added.

Analysis: Richard Taylor, BBC North America Technology Correspondent

Apple's impressive results represent a significant shift towards the massive untapped potential of China.

With a strong line-up of devices entering the final quarter, it was able to reap the fruits of its deal with the world's biggest mobile network, China Mobile.

However, the success of its latest big-screen iPhones may have contributed to further cannibalising sales of the iPad.

The once unstoppable tablet is being further squeezed both by a resurgence in laptop sales, as well as by competition - both in an increasingly saturated US market and in emerging markets by lower-priced, rival machines.

All eyes now are on the Apple Watch - but with a relatively high base price it is not clear whether it will be able to woo more than the Apple faithful.

The Apple Watch is due for release in April

BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said the iPhone had "transformed the mobile phone industry".

"Others have a bigger share of the market - Samsung, for instance, actually sells more phones than Apple - but Apple makes just an extraordinary amount of money from this one phone.

"A lot of this, at the moment, is about China, where this brand has got extraordinary cachet. They [Apple] sold more phones in China in the last quarter than they have in the United States."

He added that one possible shadow on Apple's future was the question of whether the firm could repeat the success of the iPhone.

"The next one [product] that's supposed to be coming along is the Apple Watch in April," he said. "I've got some doubts as to whether that will be the mass market success, beyond the geek population, that the iPhone has been."

Currency woes

Apple's revenue grew to $74.6bn in 2014 - a 30% increase from a year earlier.

However, on a conference call to discuss earnings, Mr Cook complained of "fierce foreign exchange volatility", which added Apple to a growing list of US firms who have been hurt by the strong dollar abroad.

Apple said that currency fluctuations shaved 4% from its first-quarter revenue.

Sales in greater China hit $16bn in 2014 - a 70% increase from a year earlier, and almost equalling the $17bn in sales the company recorded in Europe last year.

A report by research firm Canalys released on Tuesday said that Apple had overtaken competitors to become China's number one seller of smartphones by units shipped in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Apple also said that its newest product, the Apple Watch, was still on schedule and would begin shipping in April.

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