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Slack down – latest updates and news
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If you're seeing issues with Slack not working for you today, you're not alone. The online collaboration tool is currently down for users across the world.

The issue began around 6am PT / 9am ET / 2pm GMT on Tuesday 22 February, 2022, with users in multiple continents reporting issues.

There's been no word from Slack yet on what is causing the outage, so stay tuned and we'll keep you posted on all the latest updates and news below…

As we mentioned above, issues with Slack began appearing just as many workers in the US were signing on for the day.

Outage tracker site DownDetector showed a huge spike in complaints, with users also flocking to Twitter to report problems.

DownDetector Slack

(Image credit: DownDetector)

The issues appear to be affecting users of the Slack desktop app, with multiple browsers affected.

Here's what we're seeing when trying to access Slack on Google Chrome – but users on other browsers have also reported not being able to access.

Slack outage

(Image credit: Future)

The official Slack status Twitter account isn't reporting any issues just yet, but we're keeping an eye on it – the outage reports have now topped six thousand within less than half an hour, so something serious must be wrong…

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The love for open source software is showing no signs of slowing down
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The love for open source software is spread across the whole technology spectrum, a new report looking at the state of developing software and the tools needed to do so has claimed.

The 2022 State of Open Source Report, conducted by OpenLogic, surveyed 2,660 professionals and their organisations that use open source tools. 

If you are a software developer or work in an adjacent industry then this is probably no surprise: open source tools are the glue that holds so many things together, a community of selfless individuals working towards a bigger goal. 

Open source love

The report asked respondents a series of questions to gauge their interest (and love) for open source, covering a wide variety of roles and companies (see below for more on the specific methodologies).

Most respondents use an open source programming language or framework, closely followed by databases, OSes, Git repos, frameworks for AI/ML/DL, and the cloud. 

2022 open source report

(Image credit: OpenLogic)

When it comes to reservations, respondents highlighted a lack of skills. But, perhaps most interestingly, a full 27% said they had no reservations at all.

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2022 open source report

(Image credit: OpenLogic)

When it came to reasons for using open source, the answers were clear: access to innovations and latest technologies; no license cost, meaning an overall cost reduction; modernising their technology stack; many options for similar technologies; and constant releases and patches.

2022 open source report

(Image credit: OpenLogic)

Methodology 

Most (38%) are technology companies, but lots of other sectors are represented: consulting, banking and finance, transport, telecoms, education, healthcare, public sector, and so on. 39% of companies were between 100 and 1,000 employees, 32% were under 100 employees, and 28% were over 1,000 employees.

In terms of the regions, North America dominated, representing 52.6% of respondents, followed by Asia Pacific (12.4%), UK and Europe (10.9%), Asia (7.7%), Middle East (6.6%), Latin America (5.2%), Africa (4.2%), and Oceania (0.32%). 

Full Stack Developers were the highest respondents, representing 21.8%, followed by Back End (18.5%), Front End (16%), Engineering (15.7%), Project Management (14.4%), Architect (14.4%), DevOps (12.6%), and so on. 

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Mozilla has shut down its most pointless Firefox browser
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Mozilla has revealed it is shutting down its virtual reality (VR) browser, Firefox Reality, after four years.

Launched in 2018 as “an open source browser that respects your privacy”, Firefox Reality had been available for Oculus, Vive and HoloLens headsets, offering a mixture of consumer-based and business-focused VR apps and experiences.

The browser allowed users to get onto the internet using a VR headset, with tasks such as typing URLs, performing searches and browsing both the 2D and 3D internet carried out with VR hand controllers instead of a mouse.

Firefox Reality closure

However it seems that the browser didn't quite have the impact Mozilla had hoped for, and will be withdrawn from service.

“Mozilla’s mission is to make sure the internet remains open and accessible to all,” the company wrote in a blog post.

“We’ve been at the forefront of developing new technologies, like WebVR and WebAR, and in some instances, Mozilla continues to remain the host and incubator of those new technologies, as with Hubs. With other technologies, we find communities and organizations where our projects can continue to grow and contribute to the web like WebAssembly, Rust and Servo.”

The technology behind the browser will still live on, however, with the platform being handed over to Igalia, which will use the Firefox Reality source code to build its own browser, Wolvic.

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“On mobile or desktop, the web is woven into everything. It’s how we communicate, get information, entertain ourselves, and so much more. In the last few years, XR has really matured. The increase of devices shipping with an immersive OS is incredible. As such, now is an especially critical time to ensure that we establish the web on them in a healthy way,” said Brian Kardell, Developer Advocate at Igalia. 

“The Firefox Reality project was created with similar aims, to give users some choice and ensure that open and unlimited access to the web remains strong on these devices. These ideas are core to what we do at Igalia, so we’re thrilled to be able to carry the torch forward in leveraging that work to create a new browser, Wolvic. Together, we will help to ensure that the web ecosystem remains healthy.”

Firefox Reality will be removed from stores in the coming weeks, with Wolvic available in its place.

“Since its launch, Firefox Reality offered users a unique browser in the mixed reality space,” Mozilla added. “It was the first cross-platform browser built by a trusted company, Mozilla, and quickly adopted by companies for use in their hardware devices.”

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It’ll soon be easier to track down all your lost Google Workspace docs
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Tracking down that elusive Google Docs or Sheets file could soon get a lot simpler thanks to a new search upgrade.

The company has revealed it is adding a new setting to its search history tool specifically designed to find files created in its Google Workspace office software suite.

The new addition will hopefully be able to track down and display those hard-to-find files directly in your search history, removing a common headache for workers everywhere.

Google My Activity

The change is coming to the Google  – My Activity page, which contains all the details of your recent searches across both the web and Google's own apps, such as YouTube.

Going forward, search data from Workspace apps will be contained in a new setting, which will allow users to see suggestions from their own search history.

Past searches can be rerun if necessary, and will cover the likes of Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, and Currents, along with standalone services such as Google Cloud and Google Sites.

Google says it doesn't utilize any of this data for targeted advertising, and deletes all search history data after 18 months (although this can be reset to delete at 3, 18 or 36 months) and users can amend, expand or restrict the amount of data collected on them at any time.

The new setting will begin rolling out on March 29, and will be set to on by default. Users can disable it by heading to My Activity page > Other Google activity > Google Workspace search history.

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> New Google Drive system will stop you losing track of your files

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> Google could give free G Suite users a way out of paying for Workspace

The news comes shortly after Google unveiled a new look for Gmail that aims to combine several of the most popular Workspace apps in one window.

The approach looks to provide users with a one-stop shop for all their communication needs – whether via email, video conferencing, or just good old-fashioned instant messaging – without them having to open up extra tabs or windows.

  • Keep your online activity protected with the best VPN services around

Via 9to5Google

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Microsoft Teams will soon push one of the worst Windows 11 features down your throat
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Although Cortana may be dead on mobile, Microsoft's digital assistant is alive and well on Windows 11 and will soon be making an appearance in Microsoft Teams.

While Cortana was first introduced in 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved on the original Xbox, the smart artificial intelligence construct eventually came to Windows Phone and Windows 10 PCs in 2014 as a digital assistant. 

Just like with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple's Siri, Microsoft created Cortana to help Windows users set reminders, search the web and more.

Now though, according to a series of new posts on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, the software giant is bringing Cortana to Microsoft Teams Rooms. With Microsoft Teams Rooms, businesses can configure a meeting room with a number of devices including displays, webcams and microphones so that an organization can use video conferencing software together as a group as opposed to having to use their own laptops.

Cortana is coming to Microsoft Teams Rooms

In the first update to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, Microsoft explained that “Cortana voice activation will be enabled by default on newly imaged Microsoft Teams Rooms solutions” beginning this month.

This means that Teams users will be able to shout out voice commands to their Teams Rooms devices to start a video call, change settings and more. Fortunately though, IT admins will be able to adjust this setting to disable voice activation. At the same time, Microsoft has updated the Cortana iconography that appears on the front of a room display and in the console UI in a Microsoft Teams Room according to the second update.

Finally in the third update, the company explained that Cortana will support additional languages on Teams devices that are set to different locale languages. Currently American English, Canadian English, Australian English, Indian English and British English are supported.

While voice activation can certainly be useful in shared meeting rooms designed for video conferencing, business users may not be too keen on having a character from a video game speaking up during their all-hands meetings.

Also check out our roundups of the best business webcams, best headsets for conference calls and best video conferencing software

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Google Meet aims to tear down the language barrier, but falls short
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Google has rolled out an update for video conferencing software Meet that will help workers communicate more effectively with multi-lingual colleagues.

In a blog post, the company announced that its live translation feature has now entered general availability, across all Google Meet platforms.

Launched in beta last year, the feature introduces the ability to translate spoken English into foreign language captions in real-time. At launch, supported languages include French, German, Portuguese and Spanish.

Google Meet translation

Among the various opportunities brought about by the transition to remote working is the ability to recruit from an international pool of talent. However, businesses will clearly need a way to address the communication barriers this may create.

At the moment, Google is pitching the translation feature as a way to overcome disparities in language proficiency, rather than a way to facilitate communication between people who do not share a common language.

“Translated captions help make Google Meet video calls more inclusive and collaborative by removing language proficiency barriers. When meeting participants consume content in their preferred language, this helps equalize information sharing, learning, and collaboration and ensures your meetings are as effective as possible for everyone,” explained Google.

However, if the idea is taken to its logical conclusion, it’s easy to imagine the feature being extended in future to support omnidirectional translation between a variety of different languages. This way, workers could communicate freely with colleagues and partners from across the globe.

The feature as it exists today will roll out over the course of the next two weeks, but only to Google Workspace customers that subscribe to the Business Plus plan and beyond.

TechRadar Pro has asked Google whether customers on cheaper plans can expect to receive access to live translation at a later date, and whether the feature will be capable of translating other languages into English in future.

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