NV Access is very pleased to announce an update to our highly-praised "Microsoft Excel with NVDA" training module!
This extensive rewrite includes new topics like Pivot Tables, plus bonus topics & more.
Purchase it on its own: nvaccess.org/product/microsoft…
Or in the NVDA Productivity Bundle: nvaccess.org/product/nvda-prod…
Previous purchases: nvaccess.org/my-account/downlo…
Thanks for all feedback!
#NVDA #NVDAsr #Microsoft #MicrosoftExcel #Excel #SpreadSheets #MicrosoftOffice #Office365
Apple: spaceship 🛸
Microsoft: glass tower 🏢
Linux: basement... still runs the internet 🐧😎
Root access > real estate.
Pic source: reddit.com/r/linuxmemes/commen…
📸👇
#Linux #Desktop #FOSS #Privacy #Security #OpenSource #Microsoft #Windows #TechNews #CyberSecurity #UserFreedom #Freedom #Tech #Technology #AI #OS #MacOS #Meme #TechMeme
Had to use Word 365 today and found out that when you type a non-ASCII character like ø or ä, it will just ignore everything else you type after it and actually discard the whole rest of the sentence once you press Enter. 🤯
IT'S 2025 GODDAMNIT THE EIGHTIES CALLED AND WANT THEIR ENCODING PROBLEMS BACK. 🤬
Microsoft has added COPILOT AI to Excel — but give it a miss if you use the spreadsheet software for numerical calculations or in scenarios with legal regulatory and compliance implications because COPILOT "can give incorrect responses," the company warns. Here's more from @theverge.
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Copilot #Microsoft #Tech #Technology
Microsoft Excel is testing a new “COPILOT” function that lets you use AI to generate summaries, tables, tags, and more based on a group of cells you specify.Emma Roth (The Verge)
😲🤬 re: what's happened to @Codeberg today.
The AI ballyhoo *is* a real DDoS against one of the few code hosting sites that takes a stand against slurping #FOSS code into LLM training sets — in violation of #copyleft.
Deregulation/lack-of-regulation will bring more of this. ∃ plenty of blame to go around, but #Microsoft & #GitHub deserve the bulk of it; they trailblazed the idea that FOSS code-hosting sites are lucrative targets.
#GiveUpGitHub #FreeSoftware #OpenSource
The Software Freedom Conservancy provides a non-profit home and services to Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) projects.giveupgithub.org
As if I didn't already know it, #Microsoft customer support has proven to be useless. I requested an export of my #Outlook (.com, not the desktop app) email account over a week ago. The page said it'll take up to four days. I contact support and they tell me that exporting online isn't supported. Why offer it then‽
So I downloaded #Thunderbird, connected to my account and have synced my inbox. Currently exporting it using an add-on.
Next job after that is to import it to my new @Tutanota inbox, then cancel my Outlook subscription.
If you use #Microsoft Windows its AI feature Recall might be capturing your screen. 📸
Learn how to turn it off here 👉 wiki.archlinux.org/title/Insta…
If you use #Microsoft Windows its AI feature Recall might be capturing your screen. 📸
Learn how to turn it off here 👉 tuta.com/blog/how-to-disable-m…
Or, if you're tired of Big Tech why not make the switch to #Linux 😎
Microsoft now activates 'Recall', a Copilot AI feature that's making your private emails & messaging obsolete by saving screenshots of these every few seconds.Tuta
Native Schannel TLS stack of #Windows was so unreliable it got axed from #curl:
* Never worked reliably under real‑world loads.
* Quirky, cumbersome API/architecture that broke integrations.
* Zero developer interest—nobody tested or maintained it.
* Pure maintenance drag with no real benefit.
So #Microsoft again shipped a built‑in that nobody uses, and projects ditch it entirely in favor of better third‑party alternatives.
daniel.haxx.se/blog/2025/07/29…
I hope that by now most readers of my blog have understood that curl, and libcurl specifically, is an architecture with a transfer core with a set of different backends plugged in. Backends powered by different third party libraries.daniel.haxx.se
Windows market share in Germany drops to 69.78%, down nearly 10 points in a year 📉
Meanwhile, macOS rises to 19.59%, driven by user demand for privacy & seamless integration 🍏
Linux more than doubles to 5.49%, reflecting growing interest in open-source, secure, and flexible systems 🐧
#Linux #Desktop #FOSS #Privacy #Security #OpenSource #Microsoft #Windows #TechNews #CyberSecurity #UserFreedom #Freedom #Tech #Technology #AI #OS #MacOS
***Attention! If you miss MSN/Windows Live Messenger, AIM, and/or ICQ, this is for you! If you use a screen reader and want a 100% accessible messenger client, this is also for you.*
This works with Windows XPthrough 11, and I'm logged into it as I write! It's called Escargot, and it revives Windows Live/MSN Messenger. This is the original software, but it has been patched so that it connects to the escargot.chat server and not the Microsoft one. It is 100% free and accessible with NVDA and I'm sure JAWS as well. They also have projects for AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) and ICQ, including for Android and IOS, and are working on a web client for MSN. (I don't know if AIM or ICQ are accessible with screen readers, as I have never tried them). Anyway, if you're over twenty-one (my personal request), have read my profile here, and wish to add me, I am dandylover1@escargot.chat. You can find everything here.
Note: If you already have Windows Live/MSN Messenger on your system, you will still need to download their version and create an account. Your Microsoft, MSN, or Hotmail one won't work for signing in. Also, remember to click on RUN_AFTER_INSTALL.exe, in order to patch the program to the Escargot server.
#accessibility #AIM #Android #AOL #blind #chat #Escargot #EscargotChat #ICQ #IOS #Messenger #MSN #MsnMessenger #Microsoft #NVDA #Talkback #technology #Voiceover #Windows #WindowsLiveMessenger
Sharepoint is in the news again. It is never a good thing when Sharepoint is in the news.
»Der Chefjustiziar von Microsoft France gibt in einer Anhörung etwas zu, das der US-Konzern bisher schönredete. Microsoft muss EU-Daten herausgeben.« 👇
I am okay with disk encryption if the owner of the device enables it themselves and understands at least a little bit about it.
Microsoft enabling it on people's computers without their knowledge is really scummy.
I have full disk encryption on my ThinkPad laptop with Linux and I'm okay with that... because I set it up and I know about it.
The Release Candidate (RC) of NVDA 2025.1.2 is now available for download and testing. This release includes a fix for a crash in certain Microsoft Word versions before version 16.0.18226 on opening.
Full info and download at: nvaccess.org/post/nvda-2025-1-…
#NVDA #NVDAsr #ScreenReader #Beta #NewVersion #PreRelease #MicrosoftOffice #Office #Microsoft
What I see:
"Denmark Set to Replace #Microsoft Software with Open Source Alternatives
Denmark's Digital Ministry is replacing Microsoft services with LibreOffice and Linux."
What I read:
"Denmark is excluding screen reader users from opportunities to get a job at their public institutions".
to those who are happy about the #OpenSource move: you should never forget that there are lots of users, already vulnerable in our society, whose chance to get a decent job drastically lowers from already being quite low to asymptotically nearing zero.
I wonder however, what happens on June 28th this year when #EAA (European #Accessibility act) enters in vigor.
How would those who ditch #Microsoft and #Google products so hastily adhere to this law? Or will they just do as if accessibility legislation was not a thing?
The End (of Windows 10) is nigh!
On 14 October, #Microsoft will end support for #Win10.
This will turn hundreds of millions of computers that cannot upgrade to #Win11 into security risks and #eWaste.
Yours may be one of them!
But what if you could make your current one fast and secure again?
Learn more: endof10.org/press
Saved a device from the bin? Tell the world with the hashtag: #EndOf10
#Linux #GNU #GNUlinux #FreeSoftware #OpenSource #FOSS #FLOSS #Windows
#FOSS alternatives to #Microsoft (cont)
➡️ If you just want an easy-to-use replacement for Windows, highly recommend @linuxmint
Complete list of Linux distros on Fediverse:
@almalinux
@alpinelinux
@archlinux
@AsteroidOS
@chimera
@edubuntu
@elementary
@fedora
@Feren_OS
@freedomboxfndn
@garuda
@gentoo
@kalilinux
@linuxmint
@LubuntuOfficial
@mobian
@opensuse
@postmarketOS
@rockylinux
@getsolus
@ubports
@ubuntubudgie
@ubuntustudio
@ubuntusway
@UniversalBlue
@yunohost
3/3
#FOSS alternatives to #Microsoft (continued)
➡️ @Jami - Peer-to-Peer calling, video conferencing & chat
➡️ @nextcloud - Easy-to-use personal clouds, lots of add-ons available such as office tools, chat & calling, photo sharing etc.
➡️ @forgejo - Self-hostable code forge, supported by Codeberg, hard fork from Gitea
➡️ @Codeberg - Large non-profit code forge, running on Forgejo which they maintain
➡️ @Luanti - Free open alternative to Minecraft, highly flexible, mod-friendly, online-friendly
2/3
#Microsoft has put vile LLMs into everything including Notepad & Github: theregister.com/2025/05/23/mic…
Escape this dystopia by switching to #FOSS alternatives:
➡️ @CryptPad - Privacy-friendly online office suite, used by the UN 🇺🇳
➡️ @libreoffice - Most popular free open offline office suite
➡️ @CollaboraOffice - Collaborative online fork of LibreOffice
➡️ @ONLYOFFICE - Online office suite, self-hostable
➡️ @thunderbird@mastodon.online (main) & @thunderbird@tilvids.com (videos) - Email & comms suite (RSS, XMPP, IRC etc)
🧵 1/3
: A simple text editor that dates back to Windows 1.0 is getting smartifiedRichard Speed (The Register)
"'Take a screenshot every few seconds' legitimately sounds like a suggestion from a low-parameter LLM that was given a prompt like 'How do I add an arbitrary AI feature to my operating system as quickly as possible in order to make investors happy?'" signal.org/blog/signal-doesnt-…
#Signal #Microsoft #Recall #MicrosoftRecall #LLM #LLMs #privacy
Signal Desktop now includes support for a new “Screen security” setting that is designed to help prevent your own computer from capturing screenshots of your Signal chats on Windows.Signal Messenger
Microsoft 365 Copilot InnovationsTaylor Arndt (Taylor’s Substack)
Incredible (but predictable) : #Microsoft has blocked the International Criminal Court's access (#ICC) to its services on the orders of the #Trump mafia.
Read that carefully : an international organisation that has no presence in the United States and no US legal rights has had its work tools blocked simply because it disagrees with the Trump administration. 🚩
Get the hell out of it right now.
For weeks I have been telling reporters that #Trump could have the power to switch off our tech in #Europe. It felt a bit alarmist until I just read that #Microsoft, on the behest of the #US gov, has suspended the email account of Karim Khan, the #ICC chief prosecutor.
One of the most important international courts and a legal bulwark against #genocide, crimes against humanity, and #warcrimes is threatened by #BigTech dependency.
Did you know #Microsoft is shutting down Chinese universities by blocking access to their services? When will this come to Europe and the rest of the world? How dependent on Microsoft or Google is the day to day work in your organization?
Here's an example, one of many: scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article…
Concerns about technological decoupling have risen after Microsoft ended commercial services for some clients in China.Wency Chen (South China Morning Post)
In a move that surprises absolutely noone, GitHub now requires users to login in order to browse public repositories (including open source projects). After a few (~10) requests, you get blocked (I can confirm). In order to fight AI scrapers, I guess.
So, GitHub decided to blanket-limit access to open source projects as a defense against the very scourge that they(r parent company) unleashed on the world.
I won't be hypocrite: it's a bit embarrassing, but undeniably satisfying to say "told you so". I moved away from GitHub long ago and I moved all my stuff to Codeberg instead. And so happy I did!
Next step: radicle.xyz maybe?
github.com/orgs/community/disc…
#github #microsoft #openai #codeberg #ai #ml #llm #enshittification #foss #floss #opensource #radicle
Select Topic Area Question Body "I'm experiencing an issue when trying to access files from a GitHub repository without logging in. After 3 attempts, I receive an Error 429 (Too Many Requests) and ...GitHub
☁️ Microsoft getting nervous about Europe's tech independence
"The Cloud Act grants US authorities access to cloud data hosted by US companies. It does not matter if that data is located in the US, Europe, or anywhere else."
theregister.com/2025/04/30/mic…
: Brad Smith commits org to facing off with US govt in court to protect themDan Robinson (The Register)
END OF 10
"Support for Windows 10 ends on October 14, 2025.
Microsoft wants you to buy a new computer.
But what if you could make your current one fast and secure again?
If you bought your computer after 2010, there's most likely no reason to throw it out. By just installing an up-to-date GNU/Linux operating system you can keep using it for years to come.
Installing an OS may sound difficult, but you don't have to go it alone! With any luck, there are people in your area ready to help!"
#Microsoft #Windows #Windows10 #Windows11 #Linux #FOSS
