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Outlook app is getting installed automatically on Windows 10 Microsoft is at it again. This time, the Redmond company is forcibly installing the new... February 1 Tech news roundup: DeepSeek AI rocks the industry, Microsoft forces new Outlook app on Windows 10, Google Gemini is now faster and better

Outlook app is getting installed automatically on Windows 10

Microsoft is at it again. This time, the Redmond company is forcibly installing the new Outlook app on Windows 10. The change is currently being tested in the latest preview update for Windows 10 version 22H2. But it won’t be long before it comes to effect in the stable channel of the operating system.

Outlook app is getting installed automatically on Windows 10

 

Many users have criticized the app, calling it a glorified web-wrapper of the Outlook website, as opposed to the original app, which is a proper email client. Even the Outlook app for Office isn’t safe, Microsoft plans to retire it in favor of the new Outlook app in 2029.

The Windows version is the one that will be impacted soon, the change is inevitable, as Microsoft has confirmed that it will install the new Outlook app automatically on Windows 10 PCs when it releases the Patch Tuesday update in February. The app’s icon will appear in the Start Menu, next to the classic Outlook app icon. There is a way to block the new Outlook app, but the process involves making a change to the Windows Registry.

As a reminder, Windows 10 will be reaching end of support in October 2025. Users will need to upgrade to Windows 11 to continue receiving security updates.

Bitwarden to enforce two-step login for all users

The open source password manager, Bitwarden, has made an important announcement. It will enforce a change that impacts how users will sign in to their vaults. All users will be required to enable two-step login from February 2025.

Bitwarden to enforce two-step login for all users

For context, users had to input a username and password to access their vault. Now, users will need to input a code after entering their credentials. The code will be sent to the email address that is linked to the Bitwarden account. The company says this will help secure the data of users who don’t have 2-step login activated. It will prevent hackers from signing in to your account on a new device, i.e. those that you have not signed on, and devices on which cookies were cleared or apps were uninstalled. This only affects users who do not have two-step login, aka two-factor authentication via apps, or passkeys enabled to protect their account.

But this change could lead to some problems. It may impact people who do not have an email address associated with their Bitwarden account. Many users store their email account credentials within their Bitwarden vault, and it is possible that they may not be able to access their vault, if they are locked out of their email.

Buyers allege that their new Seagate hard drives were used ones

Several people in Germany have reported that the hard drives that they purchased were not new. The shocking report alleges that the HDDs which were sold as new by multiple retailers in the Country, had been used for several thousand hours. Reports claim that the Seagate Exos hard drives were affected the most. The issue came to light when users noticed their drives showed signs of wear.

Buyers allege that their new Seagate hard drives were used ones

Thought the SMART values for the affected drives returned normal results, the FARM values proved that the hard drives had been used for many years, and were allegedly repacked and sold as new. It is unclear whether this problem only affects the German market, or happened in other countries. Seagate has denied the allegations, and stated that the company did not distribute such drives to resellers. It also advised buyers to purchase drives from certified Seagate partners. If you don’t know whether your hard drive is brand new, or a used one, follow the steps given in this guide to verify it.

DeepSeek AI is making the headlines for several reasons

The past week saw the rise of a new AI called DeepSeek, which is developed by a Chinese AI startup. DeepSeek uses several large language models, including DeepSeek V3 and DeepSeek R1. The company sent shockwaves across the industry when it revealed that its AI was developed in just two months at a cost of under $6 million, as opposed to other AI models that reportedly costed billions. Several AI companies use NVIDIA’s premium chips for their product. DeepSeek’s cost-effectiveness raised concerns among investors, and this sent NVIDIA stocks tumbling in the market.

DeepSeek AI is making the headlines for several reasons

DeepSeek rose in popularity when it was found to be on par with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which in turn resulted in a sudden rise in the app store rankings. Testers rated the AI highly, and it even broke into the top ten rankings of a website affiliated with UC Berkeley. However, its popularity also drew concerns from the U.S. and Europe. OpenAI alleged that DeepSeek had misused its proprietary models to build DeepSeek-R1. The US Navy and Congress banned DeepSeek usage for their employees, and Italy’s data protection watchdog forced the Apple App Store and Google Play Store to take down the app due to privacy concerns. A cloud security firm revealed that it had gained access to an open database that contained sensitive user data and chat histories from DeepSeek.

Interestingly, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, managed to recreate DeepSeek’s core technology for just $30.

Google Gemini gets a faster AI model

Google has upgraded its Gemini AI with a faster language model. The upgrade, which debuted a couple of months ago, is now available for all users as part of the rollout for the new Gemini 2.0 Flash model. It delivers responses faster than the previous version, and is said to offer better performance in benchmarks. Gemini 2.0 Flash introduces support for multimodal inputs and outputs. You can interact with the AI by using text along with images, audio and videos.

Google Gemini gets a faster AI model

The AI’s image-generation model has been upgraded as well, Imagen 3 is capable of producing more detailed and accurate images based on text prompts. Google is also improving Gemini Advanced, it now supports a 1-million-token context window. This allows users to access larger files and premium features like Deep Research. Users can access the Gemini 2.0 Flash model on the web version in browsers, and the mobile apps of Google Gemini.