Month: January 2023

NY AG’s office calls on Madison Square Garden to explain use of facial recognition to bar lawyers from venues

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New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office wants Madison Square Garden Entertainment CEO James Dolan to explain reports that he is using facial recognition software at MSG and other venues he owns to identify and bar entry of attorneys who work at law firms representing anyone in litigation against him.

In a letter sent to MSGE lawyers on Wednesday, Kyle S. Rapiñan of the AG’s office’s Civil Rights Bureau cited reports of the company’s practice of denying admission to venues including Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, affecting thousands of lawyers in roughly 90 law firms.

“We write to raise concerns that the Policy may violate the New York Civil Rights Law and other city, state, and federal laws prohibiting discrimination and retaliation for engaging in protected activity. Such practices certainly run counter to the spirit and purpose of such laws, and laws promoting equal access to the courts,” the letter said.

Rapiñan explained that not allowing lawyers to enter MSGE venues if they have connections to litigation against the company, could “dissuade such lawyers from taking on legitimate cases, including sexual harassment or employment discrimination claims.” He also said that trying to dissuade people from bringing discrimination claims or encouraging people to drop existing lawsuits so they can enter the venues for entertainment events could be in violation of city or state laws against retaliation.

JUDGE SLAMS JAMES DOLAN FOR ‘TOTALLY CRAZY’ FACIAL RECOGNITION BAN ON LEGAL FOES FROM VENUES

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 05: An exterior view of Madison Square Garden prior to the game between the New York Rangers and the St. Louis Blues on December 05, 2022 in New York City.  ((Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) / Getty Images)

The letter also raised issues with the

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Where to Buy Windows 10 When Microsoft Stops Selling It

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Image for article titled Where to Buy Windows 10 When Microsoft Stops Selling It

Photo: g0d4ather (Shutterstock)

My friends, it’s been a great run—but Microsoft will stop selling Windows 10 on Tuesday, Jan. 31, one week from this article’s publication. The news isn’t necessarily shocking, since the company has been full-steam-ahead with Windows 11 since October 2021. However, it’s still a sad development. Windows 10 is the preferred OS for many PC users who still can’t stomach upgrading.

Of course, Windows 10 isn’t dead. Microsoft will continue to support both Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro until Oct. 14, 2025, giving plenty of us on PC an excuse to keep running the OS until then. If you already have Windows 10 running on your PC, you’re good to go. But if you’re going to build a PC, you’re going to need a new license to install the beloved OS. Here’s where you can get one.

Buy Windows 10 from Microsoft directly (while you can)

As of this article, Microsoft is still selling Windows 10 licenses on its website. You can buy Windows 10 Home for $139, and Windows 10 Pro for $199.99. If you want to buy a legitimate copy of Windows 10 before Microsoft’s end-of-month deadline, now’s the time to do it.

Come Feb. 1, though, you won’t have any luck making purchases on Microsoft’s site. So, where can you turn?

Brick and mortar stores

Just because Microsoft is no longer selling Windows 10 doesn’t mean every other store is pulling the plug. Look to established outlets like Best Buy, Staples, or OfficeDepot for copies of Windows 10. Depending on the store and inventory, you might find a digital download or a physical copy of the software.

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Ed. Dept. Outlines How Schools Can Use Federal Funds to Sustain Tech Programs

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School districts have a host of options for using federal funds to support digital learning programs started during the pandemic, a top U.S. Department of Education official told school district and state education leaders.

In a Jan. 25 letter to K-12 leaders, Roberto Rodriguez, the assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy development at the department, emphasized that any tech investments made with federal dollars need to be part of a broad strategy to bolster teaching and learning.

“Technology itself is not a panacea,” he wrote. “Technology can help improve learning and educational outcomes for students only when teachers are well supported with appropriate resources and have an opportunity to integrate technology with high-quality instruction.”

The letter—which aims to offer advice and clarify existing laws and regulations for K-12 leaders, not direct spending decisions or make policy changes—comes as recent ed-tech investments approach a critical juncture. Within the next several years, many digital tools purchased with billions of dollars in one-time COVID relief funding will need to be replaced, almost certainly without another federal windfall to cover the cost.

At the same time, many schools—particularly those that serve high numbers of children living in poverty, students in special education, and English learners—still don’t have the technological infrastructure they need to close achievement gaps and help kids recover academically from the pandemic, the letter noted.

Schools generally have until the fall of 2024 to use the last of their federal COVID relief dollars. Though early spending was sluggish, most districts are on pace to meet that deadline, according to a tracker created by the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.

The department’s recommendations can help districts still pondering how to use the remainder of their relief funds, Kristina Ishmael, the deputy director for the Office of

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New York AG Questions Madison Square Garden Over Facial Recognition – Billboard

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New York Attorney General Letitia James has sent a letter asking Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) to explain its reported use of facial recognition technology to bar individuals involved in litigation against the company from its venues, the Attorney General’s office said Wednesday (Jan. 25).

The letter cites reports that approximately 90 law firms comprising thousands of lawyers are affected by a policy that MSG Entertainment allegedly put in place, in which the facial recognition tech has been used to identify and bar attorneys with legitimate tickets from venues including MSG and Radio City Music Hall. The letter says the office has “concerns that the Policy may violate the New York Civil Rights Law and other city, state, and federal laws prohibiting discrimination and retaliation for engaging in protected activity.” The letter also says that the office is concerned that such practices could run afoul of laws prohibiting retaliation and that the technology “may be plagued with biases and false positives against people of color and women.”

“MSG Entertainment cannot fight their legal battles in their own arenas,” James said in a statement included in a press release from her office on the matter. “Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall are world-renowned venues and should treat all patrons who purchased tickets with fairness and respect. Anyone with a ticket to an event should not be concerned that they may be wrongfully denied entry based on their appearance, and we’re urging MSG Entertainment to reverse this policy.”

In a statement sent to Billboard, an MSG spokesperson responded to the letter, saying, “To be clear, our policy does not unlawfully prohibit anyone from entering our venues and it is not our intent to dissuade attorneys from representing plaintiffs in litigation against us. We are merely excluding a small percentage

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The Windows 11 File Explorer is getting a big redesign… again

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The upcoming File Explorer update will show recommended items, activity history, and more directly in Windows 11’s interface.


Microsoft is working on a big update for the File Explorer in Windows 11, bringing with it a modernized design and additional features. This is on third round of significant changes bein made to File Explorer, after the initial Windows 11 release, and then the addition of tabs in the first “moment” update for Windows 11 version 22H2.


The information comes from Zac Bowden of Windows Central, and the report comes with a look at some of the upcoming changes. One of the first things you’ll notice is the new Recommended section in the Home screen, which ties into broader plan to integrate Microsoft 365 more deeply into the experience. Recommended files are pulled from SharePoint and OneDrive locations, and they’re shown with large thumbnails so you have a clearer view of the files that are being recommended.

Screenshot of a redesigned Windows 11 File Explorer with a Recommended section showing files with large thumbnails.

Image credit: Future

This integration goes deeper, too, as the Details pane for a file is also being modernized to show even more information. You’ll be able to see recent activity on shared files, as well as recent comments on a file, whether that file is shared through the cloud or via email. One of the images shared also shows a section for related files, which give you more context for a specific case you may be working on.

Screenshot of the Details pane in Windows 11 showing recent activity on a shared file

Image credit: Future

Another change, although we don’t have a look at this one yet, is a new Gallery view that’s being added to File Explorer to make it easier to browse and view pictures. According to the report, you’ll be able to hover over a photo to see a larger preview of it. Microsoft is also apparently considering adding tags to files, similar

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