The latest semi-annual release of LibreOffice, the cross-platform FOSS office suite, is out – and it’s gleefully throwing some shade. The Document Foundation released LibreOffice 26.8 – and sent The Register a press pack before it did so. We’re not going to go through it in great depth: it’s a mature suite, and most Linux distros bundle it by default, even some of the slightly strange ones. We do like some of the sly notes in the launch materials, though, starting with the headline: “LibreOffice 26.8 brings professional typography, deeper support for the world’s writing systems, and no artificial intelligence” No artificial intelligence. In 2026, this is a bold position statement, but it is merited. In the last six months, we have reported on The Document Foundation distancing itself from Collabora. We spoke to some representatives of TDF – and Collabora – at considerable length about this, but we came away unconvinced by TDF’s arguments. Collabora developers contribute much of the code in LibreOffice. For instance, the last time we covered a new release of LibreOffice, we mentioned its rich Markdown support. Collabora told us that its engineers developed this. And yet, TDF decided to restart development of its own cloud-based office suite, in direct competition with Collabora Office. Later we covered the release of Collabora CODE 26.04 – which is Collabora’s local office suite, based on LibreOffice FOSS code, but rendered inside the browser using web technologies. Collabora’s announcement places AI integration front and centre. That caused us some dismay, and we told the company’s representatives that. They replied that Collabora’s partners and users were requesting this, and it felt it had to comply. As such, we are pleased by TDF’s stance with LibreOffice. It is a native app, with separate ports for Windows, and Linux, and macOS. All run as native local apps, they do so entirely on your machine, and they do not attempt to save anything into “cloud storage” for you. Your software, your data, on your computer, on your premises. For us, that is how it should be. As The Register has also reported recently, TDF is also firmly against using MS Office file formats by default. We do see its point here, but there are pragmatic reasons for this. Despite this strong ideological stance, the LibreOffice 26.8 press kit included both LibreOffice’s native .ODT files, and also MS Office .DOCX files. We do keep a decade-old and unsupported copy of MS Word around on our Mac, although we rarely use it. So, from curiosity, we opened both – and this is what it looked like. In our personal subjective judgement, the MS Word version looks a lot better. Our copy of LibreOffice 26.02 was configured with a Microsoft-style Ribbon, and to be fair, the screenshot shows that older version, before we upgraded. It doesn’t look much different in the newer version, though. We like and recommend LibreOffice. There are alternatives for Linux users: we compared OnlyOffice and WPS Office a few years ago. WPS Office is freeware, rather than FOSS, but it works. The Chinese edition of Ubuntu Kylin included it in place of LibreOffice. OnlyOffice is based on cloud tech, but you can run it locally… and for cloud-based stuff, as well as OnlyOffice and Collabora Online, there’s the new EuroOffice from Nextcloud. If you don’t mind paying, or if you’d prefer a European-made office suite, then there’s Softmaker Office. But LibreOffice is right here, it’s completely free, and it works well. We like the local-first stance and we like the AI-free stance. Version 26.8 has multiple improvements: improved internationalization, and support for different alphabets and writing systems. It’s available in 120 different languages. It has better paragraph and formatting handling, ARIA support for better screen-reader handling to improve accessibility, and much more. It really is all good. We regularly write that it’s a very good idea for Microsoft Office users to keep it installed just in case – it is much better at recovering damaged Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files than their native apps. As we also regularly point out, anyone who still has OpenOffice installed should remove it and replace it with LibreOffice as soon as possible. OpenOffice is still available, but as Dedoimedo found on 26.8’s day of release, you really should not use it any more. Saying that, we’re concerned about TDF positioning itself as a rival to Collabora, rather than – well – collaborating with the company which provides more LibreOffice developers than any other external contributor. TDF has long offered two branches of LibreOffice: an older stable branch, for business users, and the current version, which gets relatively frequent minor updates. For us, the pragmatic position would have been for TDF to offer the current version, and direct business users to Collabora for the slower-moving stable release… but when we suggested this idea to TDF’s representatives, they treated the idea with scorn. The future remains uncertain. In a business world embracing “AI”, focusing on cloud apps, plus the lucrative new sovereign cloud movement, LibreOffice looks a bit old and dowdy. But it’s a vital tool.Traditional local-first tools like LibreOffice aid reusing old computers rather than replacing them. Ignore the “thought leaders” – the world needs LibreOffice more than ever. ®
The MacVoices Live! panel examines a class action lawsuit over Apple Photos facial recognition, debating whether on-device processing, user consent, and biometric privacy laws justify the legal action. The conversation moves to TV tracking alternatives after TV Time’s shutdown, then shifts to Bending Spoons’ acquisition of Airtable, exploring the company’s growing portfolio, its business strategy, and the future of database tools in an era of AI-assisted coding development.
Apple’s latest financial results drive a discussion about record iPhone, Mac, Services, subscription, and R&D numbers, along with the market’s negative reaction and stock volatility. The MacVoices Live! panel also examines leadership changes under new CEO John Ternus, including the return of a retired engineering executive, before debating Apple’s planned clipboard sharing between iPhones and Windows PCs, its implications for users, and whether it introduces meaningful security concerns.
Google’s $4.1 billion EU Android fine launches a debate over technology regulation, encryption backdoors, age verification, app-store mandates, and the political tension between the United States and Europe. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, and Marty Jencius also explores an unusual national time capsule, compares Evernote, Apple Notes, GoodNotes, Notion, and Notability, discusses vibe coding, and considers JustWatch as TV Time shuts down.
Apple leaks and rumor-driven reporting take center stage as the panel examines how constant predictions have diminished the excitement of new iPhone releases. The discussion with Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, and Marty Jencius also covers premature Siri-versus-Gemini comparisons, Apple’s legal battles with Epic Games and John Prosser, Bending Spoons’ growing technology portfolio, prediction-market manipulation, Spotify streaming fraud, and musicians’ dissatisfaction with the service.
The MacVoices Live! panel starts with a discussion about Apple'’s new AI-powered creative tools, including possible benefits for Final Cut users and the subscription value question. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Ben Roethig, Eric Bolden, Marty Jencius, Jeff Gamet, Norbert Frassa, Jim Rea, and Web Bixby also examine Apple’s Supreme Court appeal in the Epic case, then digs into urgent security patches, AI-assisted vulnerability discovery, automatic updates, enterprise risk, and how users should rethink update habits.
This Road to Macstock features a discussion with Brian Hensen about his evolving role as the event's master of ceremonies. From speaker wrangler to stage host. Brian previews how this year’s Macstock will let him spotlight the people who inspire him, comments on the event’s welcoming Apple community, and reflects on the value of shared learning, speaker preparation, podcasting, and personal connections that are at the core of the Macstock experience.
Several tech stories kick off this session, including RAID software compatibility warnings, Bending Spoons’ IPO, foreign influence campaigns around data centers, and Fox’s reported Roku purchase. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Jim Rea, Marty Jencius, Web Bixby, Jeff Gamet, and Eric Bolden focus heavily on streaming control, smart TV data collection, Apple TV’s future, Spotify’s removal of fake drug-related podcasts, and the rapid growth of AI majors in higher education.
From the Flip the Script event in San Francisco, Dmytro Melnyk, Chief Product Officer for MacPaw, discusses his role and the importance of the company’s careful approach to adding AI across products, from both the developer and customer viewpoints.. He explains why some users want frictionless AI while others resist it over privacy, cost, and complexity, and outlines Eney's goal of combining many Mac utility tasks into one assistant with a pay-as-you-go model.
Rivian’s rejection of CarPlay and physical buttons in favor of voice and AI control sees to question safety, convenience, data control, and long-term car software support. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Jeff Gamet, Guy Serle, Web Bixby, Eric Bolden, Marty Jencius, and Jim Rea question whether Rivian has other motives, and then dive into Tesla updates, AI voice recreation of Stan Lee, Spider-Man ticket promotions, Dashlane concerns, and Andy Ihnatko’s new site.
The MacVoices Live! panel examines Spotify adopting Apple-backed video podcast technology, Instagram’s disappearing posts and why anyone would want them, and Microsoft expanding Copilot everywhere, whether it is a good idea or not. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Jeff Gamet, Guy Serle, Web Bixby, Eric Bolden, Marty Jencius, and Jim Rea also look at the risks of putting AI mini data centers in homes, and Plex’s major lifetime Pass price hike.
On the Road to Macstock, Jill McKinley previews her third year’s presentation, focused on making Apple devices support daily habits through Focus modes, shortcuts, customized screens, and intentional setup. She explains how iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch can work together to reduce distractions, surface useful tools, and help users shape technology around real life instead of default settings.
MacPaw's Maria Polishchuk, Head of Business Development and and Product Manager Pavlo Haidamak, discuss Setapp's new expansion beyond its traditional subscription model. They explain new individual app purchases, developer subscription options, AI Gateway integration, app review standards, and support for indie and vibe-coded apps. The discussion covers developer challenges such as discovery, monetization, security, and how Setapp aims to help with those factors as well as giving customers more software choices.
In the Riverside booth at NAB in Las Vegas, Danielle Baxter, Business Development Representative, explains how the platform supports podcasting, video interviews, webinars, testimonials, and live streams. She covers options like local recording, separate audio and video tracks, browser-based guest access, built-in editing, branding, captions, producer mode, and flexible plans for solo creators and businesses.
Joe Kissell introduces Take Control Live: Taming Big Tech, a four-session interactive course designed to help users understand privacy, security, subscriptions, ads, platform lock-in, and practical alternatives to major tech services. Rather than urging an all-or-nothing break from companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, or Apple, Joe will focus on realistic steps, live demos, Q&A, […]
The ONS quietly axed its annual excess winter death reports after 2022. Why? asks Paul Homewood. Could it be because they vastly outstrip the number of people that die during summer heat waves?
Il existe un zoo très riche de particules liées aux forces nucléaires qui lient les protons et les neutrons dans les noyaux, forces qui découlent en fait d'autres plus profondes appelées forces nucléaires fortes et qui « collent » des particules élémentaires, les quarks, dans les protons et les...
The WHO and the World Bank want $31 billion a year for pandemic preparedness – but a new Leeds University study says the financial case is built on dubious assumptions and false accounting.
Earlier this week, researchers outlined an attack that used a secret input provided by Microsoft 365 Copilot for enterprise to cause the AI assistant to exfiltrate a password present in the user’s inbox. Now, a separate team has devised a similar attack against Grok. The new data theft hack employs a deceptively simple trick to force the Elon Musk-owned large language model to steal user chats and other personal information. At the time this post went live, the assistant continued to cough up the data, despite xAI being informed of it in June.
The lesson from both this week’s episodes—and the countless other ones that have come before it—is that LLMs are incapable of solving the root causes for prompt injections, the most severe vulnerability classes they’re most prone to. That leaves AI developers with no other option but to build a guardrail that steers the model away from the harmful actions. As I noted in Tuesday’s story, the approach is tantamount to a road traffic safety engineer erecting a protective rail around a dangerous bend rather than banking the curve.
Cryptographic Context Injection in the house
Prompt injections exploit LLMs' training to comply with user requests whenever possible. Attackers can capitalize on the predilection by smuggling harmful instructions into emails or webpages the assistant is instructed to summarize. Because LLMs can’t reliably distinguish between content in an email sent by an untrusted party and user instructions entered directly into a prompt, the overly solicitous LLM faithfully follows them. To date, Grok and other LLMs' only recourse is to create guardrails that flag suspicious instructions and forbid them from being executed.
It’s very much a real-life doco version of ‘The Lion King’, with Jon Favreau executive producing, and music from Hans Zimmer echoing themes from the Disney classic. It took Disney+ and BBC Studios’...
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