IT News Review by Control F5 Software: New AI test will quickly provide a correct diagnosis for lung diseases

Lung diseases: new AI test will give a quick and correct diagnosis

A rapid test harnessing the power of artificial intelligence is poised to transform the diagnosis of a lung condition that affects 3 million people in the UK.

Two-thirds of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) don't even know they have it, yet it is the second most common cause of emergency hospital admissions. So far, confirmation has required a spirometry test involving a forced exhalation. This can take half an hour or more.

Dr. Simon Rudland, a GP in Suffolk, is excited by the potential to offer a quick and affordable diagnosis. "Spirometry is done in a center, so patients have to travel. We have to employ experts in these centers who require specialized training. And the biggest problem is the waiting," says the doctor.

In contrast, the wearable device called the N-Tidal Diagnose will allow a patient to walk into their doctor's office and find out in just five minutes if their symptoms, such as heavy breathing and a persistent cough, are caused by COPD.

The sensor has been approved for use across the EU and is expected to start being used in doctors' surgeries within weeks.

Amazon's new AI agent will shop third-party sites for you

Amazon is starting to test a new AI shopping agent, a feature it calls "Buy for Me," with a group of users, the company announced Thursday in a blog post.

If Amazon isn't selling something users are looking for, the "Buy for Me" feature will show users products that other sites are selling. Users can then select and request to purchase one of those products without ever leaving the Amazon Shopping app.

Google's experimental artificial intelligence model, Gemini 2.5 Pro, is now available to non-paying users

Non-paying Gemini users can now "play" with Google's newest model, the experimental Gemini 2.5 Pro. The company has announced that it will make Gemini 2.5 Pro (experimental) free for everyone to use, albeit with stricter limits on non-subscriber pricing. Google introduced Gemini 2.5 Pro just last week, touting it as its "smartest AI model" to date, and released it to Gemini Advanced users first. It is now available in Google AI Studio and the Gemini app. While non-paying users can try it out now, Google added that "Gemini Advanced users have expanded access and a significantly larger context window."

Samsung's latest vacuum can alert you to calls and texts

The newest cordless vacuum cleaner, the new Bespoke AI Jet Ultra ($1,099), now has a control panel with an LCD display that, along with standard features such as power level and battery life, can alert you when you receive a phone call or text message. The vacuum cleaner, which works with an automatic charging station, also has a 400AW suction and a battery life of 100 minutes.

Even better, if you're washing up and left your phone in the other room, Samsung has added touchscreens to its washers and dryers, including the new Bespoke AI Laundry Vented Combo Bespoke AI Washer/Dryer ($3,099). This lets you answer a call directly on the built-in 7-inch LCD screen.

Windows 11 closes a gap that let you skip creating a Microsoft account

In the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview, the company says it will remove a well-known skip script that allowed end users to skip the requirement to connect to the Internet and log in with a Microsoft account to go through the process of initializing a new PC.

As Windows Central has reported, Microsoft already requires users to connect to the Internet, but there is a way to bypass this: the bypassnro command.

Microsoft is testing Quick Machine Recovery to recover PCs that can't boot

Microsoft is starting to test Quick Machine Recovery, a feature designed to prevent incidents like last year's Crowdstrike catastrophe. It's rolling out in the latest Windows Insider Preview (6120.3653) and allows IT pros to remotely recover Windows 11 devices even if they don't boot up.

Microsoft first announced Quick Machine Recovery last year as part of its Windows Resiliency Initiative, which came in direct response to the Crowdstrike outage.

Alibaba unveils open-source AI model

Alibaba Cloud has introduced a new addition to its Qwen series of artificial intelligence models - Qwen2.5-Omni-7B, a large language multimodal model designed to process a wide range of inputs including text, images, audio and video. The model can generate real-time text and speech responses.

As competition in China's AI space intensifies - particularly in the wake of the so-called "DeepSeek moment" - Alibaba's latest release reinforces its commitment to building affordable, high-performance AI tools.

YouTube is testing turning off notifications for channels you don't watch

YouTube is turning off some push notifications for channels with frequent uploads in a new test that could cause you to miss alerts you've signed up for. The latest test announced by the official TeamYouTube community targets channels for which users have notifications set to "all" but often don't open.

The test will not disable notifications for channels that don't load frequently.

Google will pay $100 million to settle a 14-year-old advertising lawsuit

Google will pay $100 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accuses the company of charging for clicks on ads placed outside geographic locations selected by advertisers, Reuters previously reported. The proposed settlement was filed Thursday in a California court and still requires a judge's approval.

The lawsuit, first filed in 2011, centers on Google Adwords - now called Google Ads - and alleges that Google violated California's unfair competition law by misleading advertisers about where their ads would be displayed. Google is also alleged to have broken its promise to offer "Smart Pricing" discounts.

OpenAI must complete the transition to profit by the end of the year to raise $40 billion

OpenAI needs to transition to for-profit status by the end of the year to raise the full $40 billion in funding led by SoftBank, which is in the final stages, a person familiar with the matter said.

SoftBank may reduce the size of the funding round to $20 billion if Microsoft-backed OpenAI fails to restructure into a for-profit company by the end of the year.

European Commission plans new support program for semiconductor industry

Europe is looking at additional ways to support the semiconductor industry, Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission's head of digital policy, said Thursday, following calls this month from industry groups and lawmakers for a "Chips Act 2.0."

The original €43 billion Chips Act, launched in 2023, failed to achieve its goals but is seen as having prevented the European industry from deteriorating in the face of broader state support programs in the United States and China.

Perplexity is partnering with Firmly, a Seattle startup, to improve the shopping features within its AI search app

Perplexity is getting help from a small Seattle startup to improve the e-commerce features within its popular AI search app.

The company announced Thursday that it's working with Firmly.ai to help businesses sell products within the Perplexity platform.

Firmly works with businesses to enable e-commerce transactions directly in content, messaging apps, digital ads, livestreams and more. Firmly pitches its software as a way to enable consumers to "shop at the point of inspiration."

WhatsApp introduces music videos for statuses

WhatsApp has introduced a new feature that allows users to add short music clips to statuses, bringing a nostalgic touch reminiscent of the Myspace era.

The status, similar to Instagram Stories, allows users to share photos, videos and text that disappear after 24 hours. With this update, users can tap on a musical note icon while creating a Status to browse and select from the millions of songs available. Music clips can be up to 15 seconds long for photo-based statuses and up to 60 seconds long for videos.

Apple improves health app with AI-based coaching

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is working on a major update to its Health app, which incorporates an AI-based coach designed to help users improve their wellbeing.

Gurman previously hinted at this development in 2023, but now reports that progress is accelerating. The new features could debut as early as spring or summer 2026, with the release of iOS 19.4.

The AI coach will analyze data from users' medical devices and is expected to introduce food-tracking capabilities. Currently, Apple is training the system with the help of its in-house doctors and is looking to expand its team by bringing in additional medical experts to create health-focused video content.

EU allocates €1.3 billion to strengthen Europe's digital future

The European Commission has announced an investment of €1.3 billion to promote the digital technologies that are key to Europe's future and technological sovereignty. This funding, allocated through the Digital Europe (DIGITAL) program for 2025-2027, will support key initiatives in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, cybersecurity and digital skills.

Summary provided with the help of a monitoring feed provided by Control F5 Software.