Your daily dose of tech news, in brief.

Those managing Windows devices have been given a nice guide by Microsoft: group policies to avoid using, if possible.

According to BleepingComputer:

"Since Windows 10, version 1511, was released in November 2015, Microsoft has continued to evolve the operating system based on customer feedback, security improvements, new features, and general optimizations. However, this left behind a confusing mess of group policies that no longer work properly, cause unexpected behavior, or are superseded by new policies that provide a better performance and user experience. Windows Senior Program Manager Aria Carley hinted in December warned admins that they should avoid using various group policies in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

This list is invaluable for Windows admins to review their existing group policy configurations and replace outdated policies with newer variants that provide more control and expected behavior. Carly also explained that Microsoft made it easier to distinguish the deprecated policies that should no longer be used in Windows 11 with a new Legacy Policies folder under the Windows Update policies in the Group Policy Editor. Admins can find the complete list of deprecated policies and suggested replacements in Microsoft's article. In addition to avoiding these policies, Microsoft also warned this week that admins would need to decide if they wish to use the Windows 10 or Windows 11 ADMX files on their Active Directory's Central Store."

Learn more about the undesirable policies at BleepingComputer.

Set to make the largest silicon manufacturing plant on Earth once completed, Intel is clearly serious about getting more chips on the market.

According to Engadget:

"The company is earmarking $20 billion to build the site on a 1,000-acre land in New Albany, located on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio. Intel's initial plans include building two semiconductor fabrication plants (or fabs) on the property that would employ 3,000 people. Construction on the site is scheduled to begin this year, and Intel expects the fabs to be operational by 2025.

Intel said it looked at 38 different sites in the US for the facility but ultimately chose Ohio, because of all the space it could use. The company doesn't want to build in places where it could displace residents, since that's what ultimately killed Amazon's plans to build a second headquarters in NYC. When the fabs are done, Intel will use them to manufacture both its own chips and chips for clients under the Intel Foundry Services. The company announced its foundry services when it revealed that it's building two factories in Arizona, which will also cost Intel $20 billion, back in March 2021. According to Gelsinger, the chipmaker has the option to expand the Ohio site to 2,000 acres and to build as many as eight fabs in the future. "We helped to establish the Silicon Valley," the CEO told Time. "Now we’re going to do the Silicon Heartland.""

Learn more about Intel's new plant at Engadget.

The Red Cross suffered a cyber attack and seems to have had personal data stolen. They are now appealing to the criminals to have a heart and refrain from leaking the sensitive information.

According to The Record:

"The data was stolen from a Red Cross program called Restoring Family Links, which aims to reunite family members separated by conflict, disaster, or migration. “While we don’t know who is responsible for this attack, or why they carried it out, we do have this appeal to make to them,” said Robert Mardini, director-general for the International Committee of the Red Cross. “Your actions could potentially cause yet more harm and pain to those who have already endured untold suffering. The real people, the real families behind the information you now have are among the world’s least powerful. Please do the right thing. Do not share, sell, leak or otherwise use this data,” Mardini said.

The Red Cross officials said that cyber-attacks like this one jeopardize the organization’s work and prevent its staff from reuniting people with their families. “Every day, the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement helps reunite on average 12 missing people with their families,” Mr. Mardini said, urging the hackers for compassion. A Red Cross spokesperson told The Record that the hackers stole data such as names, locations, and contact information. “The people affected include missing people and their families, unaccompanied or separated children, detainees and other people receiving services from the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement as a result of armed conflict, natural disasters or migration,” the organization said in an email. The Red Cross said it has not yet heard back from the hackers following their public plea earlier today."

Learn more about the Red Cross' plea at The Record.

If you have any garbage ideas, now's the time to let NASA know: they're looking for ideas for how to make trash less of a problem on future Mars missions.

According to Space.com:

"The agency's tournament lab, along with crowdsourcing platform HeroX, have launched a "Waste to Base" challenge looking for ideas to recycle trash, waste, carbon dioxide and foam packaging materials during a two- to three-year crewed Red Planet mission. Competitors have until March 15 to enter the challenge, and several prizes of up to $1,000 each will be awarded for novel ideas, out of a total purse of $24,000. The winner should be announced by April 22, according to the challenge website.

"This challenge is all about finding ways to convert waste into base materials and other useful things, like propellant or feedstock for 3D printing," the website stated. "The challenge is looking for your ideas for how to convert different waste streams into propellant, and into useful materials, that can then be made into needed things and cycled through multiple times. While a perfectly efficient cycle is unlikely, ideal solutions will result in little to no waste." Full eligibility requirements are available on the contest website; generally speaking, anyone in the world 18 years of age or older may participate individually or as a team, as long as their jurisdiction is not under United States federal sanctions, HeroX said."

Learn more about the trash competition at Space.com.

A bionic exoskeleton sounds like one of the coolest things in the world, and sure enough it kind of is. A German company is incorporating AI and other 'smart' technologies to make their latest exoskeletal device even better for workers.

According to Engadget:

"The Cray X fits on workers like a 7kg backpack with hip-mounted actuators that move carbon fiber linkages strapped to the upper legs, allowing a person to easily lift and walk with up to 30kg (66 lbs) with both their legs and backs fully supported. Though it doesn’t actively assist the person’s shoulders and arms with the task, the Cray X does offer a Smart Safety Companion system to help mitigate common lifting injuries. “It's a real time software application that runs in the background and can warn the worker when the ergonomic risk is getting too high,” Norma Steller, German Bionic’s Head of IoT, told Engadget. “For example, recommending a break because we know that… the repetition and the overall stress can lead to fatigue, and fatigue can lead to injuries. This is something we want to prevent.”

The SSC not only collects granular telemetry information — what load is being lifted, ergonomic risks such as twisting while lifting, and potential environmental factors — it uses a machine learning algorithm to analyze that data to adapt the exoskeleton to the worker wearing it via OTA software updates. Not only is this data displayed to the workers themselves on an attached monitor, the Cray X also transmits that data up the supervisory chain allowing managers to monitor the movements of their employees to ensure that they are not overexerting themselves. For as useful as the current generation of exoskeletal technologies are today, the German Bionic team sees them becoming even more capable, and widespread, in the years ahead. “My feeling is that we will see much more specialized exoskeletons in the future because the technology is more available.” Steller said."

Learn more about the exoskeleton at Engadget.

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