General News
HP Unveils Latest Innovations Designed for Hybrid Work and Life
HP Inc hosted its first-ever HP Imagine event, a celebration of the company’s latest breakthrough innovations designed for the hybrid world. At HP Imagine 2023, the company unveiled more than 20 new devices and services designed to revolutionize how we live, work and dream.
“HP technology in playing an increasingly important role in the lives of our customers, and we continue to harness the power of our innovation to create amazing new experiences,” said Enrique Lores, President and Chief Executive Officer, HP Inc.
“The products and services we are launching today reflect new ways to reimagine the way work gets done while contributing to a more sustainable future.”
Alex Cho, President of Personal Systems and Solutions, said, “Today was a bold step in the acceleration of innovation across the Personal Systems portfolio. We announced game-changing consumer PCs like the HP Envy All-in-One Move, to curated meeting room solutions powered by HP and Poly technology, to centralized data science workstation and software solutions to enable the expedited development of AI breakthroughs. We are just getting started on what HP will build for the hybrid lifestyle.”
- HP AI Innovations: HP announced a groundbreaking new software platform, HP AI Studio, designed to help data scientists and AI practitioners accelerate and scale AI model development, available next year.
Second, HP introduced a new AI workstation solution that simplifies building and customizing private AI models and applications. HP is also collaborating with NVIDIA to be the first to offer dedicated workstation solutions with the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform to the market in the coming months.
- HP Spectre Foldable PC: Known as the world’s thinnest and smallest 17-inch foldable PC, the HP Spectre Fold is a game-changing 3-in-1 device designed for the hybrid lifestyle. Initially announced in September for the U.S. and U.K. markets, the device will soon be available in an additional 11 countries (Australia, France, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam).
- HP Envy Move 23.8-inch All-in-One PC: Never miss a moment of work and play anywhere in and around your home with the world’s only moveable all-in-one PC. Launched today, the new HP Envy Move 23.8-inch All-in-One PC transforms any room into a multifunctional workspace, entertainment hub, or fitness area.
- HyperX Streaming Peripherals: HP is extending its solutions for gamers who also stream and create content. Gamers can take their streaming and content creation game to the next level with the HyperX Vision S Webcam, HyperX Audio Mixer Audio Interface, and HyperX Caster Microphone Arm, announced today.
- HP + Poly Audio and Video Conferencing Solutions: HP is the leader in conferencing and collaboration systems with the broadest portfolio for hybrid work across HP and Poly. Today it announced curated meeting room solutions for rooms of all sizes, enabling everyone to be seen and heard at their best from wherever they are.
Dave Shull, President of Workforce Solutions said, “The AI-enabled services we are unveiling at HP Imagine allow people to better collaborate, manage and protect their devices. Our vision is to build the world’s most comprehensive collection of employee productivity solutions to create lifelong relationships with our customers, and as we approach the first-year mark, we are well on our way.”
- HP Managed Collaboration Services: HP unveiled a new conference room as-a-service subscription model that extracts insights to help customers optimize usage and create outstanding in-office video conferencing experiences.
- New Device Refurbishment Offering: HP today announced its first-ever PC refurbishment program to help drive the circular economy and extend the life of devices. HP Workforce Central: HP announced upcoming availability of free and premium versions of HP Workforce Central, which allows you to gain essential insights on HP gear in one single dashboard. Customers can anticipate disruptions and automatically remediate issues with our new AI-enhanced Proactive Insights tool.
- HP Wolf Protect and Trace with HP Wolf Connect: Available globally this November, IT managers can rest assured that if their employees’ devices go missing, HP can help mitigate security risks of data loss.
- HP’s Work Relationship Index shows that 70 percent of knowledge workers want access to technology that allows everyone to be seen and heard, wherever they are working.
Tuan Tran, President of Imaging and Printing Solutions said, “HP Imagine marks the culmination of an incredible year for innovation in our printing business – from our new consumer line up of Smart Tank printers and modern inkjet printers, to Instant Ink for SMBs, and a new office portfolio powered by our sustainable ink and toner technology. In graphics and commercial 3D printing, we are disrupting industries and taking design to a whole new level.”
- HP OfficeJet Pro Portfolio: HP announced the new reimagined HP OfficeJet Pro portfolio, available in January 2024. The portfolio lets small businesses print like a pro, featuring HP EvoMore, the company’s most sustainable ink cartridge range to date.
- HP DeskJet All-in-One Printer Series: Enjoy simple, stress-free printing at home with the HP DeskJet All-in-One Printer series made with up to 60 percent recycled plastic and available with Instant Ink, the world’s first smart ink delivery service. The DeskJet printer series is already available in select markets.
- HP DesignJet Portfolio: Maximize workflow efficiencies and transform our world through design with the new HP DesignJet portfolio created for architects, engineers, construction pros, and copy shops.
- HP SitePrint: Boost construction productivity up to 10 times those of manual techniques with pinpoint accuracy using HP SitePrint, a robotic solution for printing complex construction site layouts. Already available in North America and the UK, HP announced additional availability in Germany, Austria and Switzerland starting November 1.
- Exhilarate-BlueLine Running Shoe: Disrupt performance running footwear with the HP and Brooks collaboration, the new Exhilarate-BL shoe is designed, engineered, and manufactured in partnership with Brooks, using HP’s 3D printing Solution.
Brooks will release a limited number of Exhilarate-BL pairs to select Brooks Wear Testers and Brooks Run Club loyalty members.
- HP Latex 630 Series: Empower even the smallest print shops to harness the best white ink experience for creating high-impact signage and décor applications in vivid colors with the HP Latex 630 series.
Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced new findings from the Sophos State of Ransomware in Manufacturing and Production 2025 report.
Sophos
The study reveals that manufacturers are stopping more ransomware attacks before data can be encrypted; however, adversaries are increasingly stealing data and using extortion-only tactics to maintain pressure.
As a result, more than half of manufacturing organizations impacted by encryption paid the ransom despite progress in defensive measures. The report is based on an independent survey of 332 manufacturing organizations that were hit by ransomware in the last year.
The Sophos State of Ransomware in Manufacturing and Production report found:
● Encryption rates are falling, but adversaries are shifting tactics: 40% of attacks on manufacturers resulted in data encryption, the lowest level in five years and down from 74% last year. However, extortion only attacks surged to 10% from just 3% in 2024 as attackers increase reliance on data theft for leverage.
● Data theft remains a significant concern: 39% of manufacturers that experienced encryption also had data stolen, one of the highest rates across all surveyed sectors.
● More organizations are stopping attacks before encryption: 50% of manufacturing organizations stopped the attack before data could be encrypted, more than double last year’s 24%.
● Expertise shortfalls and inadequate protection fuel attacks: Lack of expertise was cited by 42.5% of organizations. Unknown security gaps were cited by 41.6%, and a lack of protection by 41%. Respondents identified an average of three internal factors that contributed to the attack.
● More than half of manufacturers with encrypted data paid the ransom: 51% of affected organizations paid the ransom. The median ransom paid was $1 million dollars, compared to a median demand of $1.2 million dollars.
● Recovery costs and timelines are improving: The average cost to recover from a ransomware attack, excluding ransom payment, declined by 24% to $1.3 million dollars. 58% of manufacturers fully recovered within one week, up from 44% last year.
● Ransomware incidents affect IT and security teams: 47% of manufacturers reported increased team stress after experiencing data encryption. 44% said pressure from senior leaders increased, and 27% reported leadership change as a result of the attack.
“Manufacturing depends on interconnected systems where even brief downtime can stop production and ripple across supply chains,” said Alexandra Rose, Director of Threat Research, Sophos Counter Threat Unit. “Attackers exploit this pressure: despite encryption rates falling to 40%, the median ransom paid still reached $1 million. While half of manufacturers stopped attacks before encryption, recovery costs average $1.3 million and leadership stress remains high. Layered defenses, continuous visibility, and well-rehearsed response plans are essential to reduce both operational impact and financial risk.”
What Sophos is Seeing in Manufacturing
Over the past twelve months, Sophos X-Ops has observed ransomware activity across leak sites and found that 99 distinct threat groups targeted manufacturing organizations.
The most prominent groups targeting manufacturing organizations based on leak site observations are GOLD SAHARA (Akira), GOLD FEATHER (Qilin) and GOLD ENCORE (PLAY). Reflecting the trends revealed in the report, in over half of the ransomware incidents that
Sophos Emergency Incident Response was brought in to remediate, attackers both stole and encrypted data, highlighting the use of double extortion tactics where data is held for ransom and threatened with release on a leak site.
Strengthening Defenses for the Long Term
Based on its experience protecting manufacturing organizations worldwide, Sophos recommends the following best practices to help businesses stay ahead of ransomware and other cyberthreats:
● Eliminate Root Causes: Take proactive steps to address common technical and operational weaknesses—such as exploited vulnerabilities—that adversaries frequently target. Solutions like Sophos Managed Risk can help organizations assess their exposure and reduce risk across their environments.
● Defend Every Endpoint: Ensure all endpoints, including servers, are protected with dedicated anti-ransomware defenses to prevent attacks from gaining a foothold.
● Plan and Prepare: Establish and routinely test a comprehensive incident response plan. Maintain reliable backups and practice data restoration regularly to minimize downtime in the event of an attack.
● Monitor Around the Clock: Continuous visibility is essential. Organizations without in-house resources can strengthen their resilience by partnering with a trusted Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider.
Spotify
This year, Spotify is bringing back the fan-favourite features people already love, while adding new experiences that spotlight how listeners across Africa moved, prayed, worked, partied and rested with audio. Wrapped Party invites fans to dive into their stories with friends and family, and 50 fan destinations worldwide give listeners a place to come together, celebrate their year in music and feel part of something truly global.
From design to in-person experiences and data stories rooted in local listening, this is how the 2025 Wrapped campaign comes to life across Africa.
A modern visual mixtape for Africa
Before streaming, mixtapes and burned CDs were the original playlists: handpicked, decorated and passed between friends, cousins and neighbours as deeply personal gifts. The 2025 Wrapped design builds on that tradition, turning a year of listening into a bold, dynamic visual mixtape for more than 700 million fans around the world – including millions across Africa.
Every gradient and texture reflects that unpredictable mix of emotion and rhythm that makes listening so personal. With a reduced colour palette, bold imagery and a blend of analogue and digital aesthetics, 2025 becomes the most expressive and modern-feeling Wrapped yet. From amapiano dance circles in Johannesburg to late-night studio sessions in Lagos and road-trip singalongs in Nairobi, the look and feel of Wrapped mirrors how African fans actually experience music – loud, layered and full of feeling.
Immersive real-world experiences – and an amagwinya road trip
The Wrapped creative campaign is live in more than 30 markets globally as Spotify moves beyond traditional billboards to create immersive experiences that celebrate the artists who defined 2025. Across Africa, installations and pop-ups bring Wrapped digital storytelling into the real world with artist integrations, interactive photo moments and live performances for top listeners.
In South Africa, Wrapped quite literally hits the road. Inspired by the heartbreak of reaching the front of the line only to hear the gwinyas are finished – and the way Darwin Rev turned that moment into a national mood with Amagwinya Aphelile – the Where Are the Gwinyas? fan destination sends a Wrapped-branded amagwinya kombi on a multi-city road trip.
The truck travels through Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria, serving up gwinya with a Wrapped twist – from fish fillet to bunny-chow-inspired curry fillings and classic snoek, atchar and polony. At each stop, fans turn up their favourite Wrapped anthems, transforming the kombi from simple food truck into rolling street party.
“Wrapped has always been about reflecting fans’ stories back to them, and this year those stories from Sub-Saharan Africa are literally spilling into the streets. From the amagwinya road trip in South Africa to the data stories coming out of Nigeria and Kenya, we’re showing that the numbers behind Wrapped are really about how people here live, move and connect through music,” says Spotify’s Head of Marketing for Africa, Sithabile Kachisa.
How Africa listened in 2025
Wrapped is ultimately about turning listening data into stories fans can see themselves in – and nowhere is that more vivid than in Africa.
In South Africa, early mornings belonged to Ciza’s Isaka, with more than 46,000 fans pressing play at exactly 6:00 a.m., turning sunrise into a shared soundtrack. Mafikizolo’s Uyoncengwa Unyoko passed 14 million plays, proving some songs are built for repeat on both the dancefloor and in the taxi rank.
In Nigeria, Fido’s Joy is Coming found its way onto more than 700 playlists tagged as sad, as listeners reached for hope even when the mood was low. Davido’s With You amassed over 42 million streams, underlining the staying power of one of the country’s most beloved hitmakers.
In Kenya, Extra Pressure was added to fans’ gym playlists, turning workouts into high-stakes training montages, while Njerae’s Aki Sioni crossed 3.2 million streams, transforming vulnerability into a chart-ready strength.
Across the continent, these moments show how Wrapped transforms numbers into narratives. The stats reveal not just what Africa listened to in 2025, but how, when and why it mattered – from perfectly timed play buttons and weekday rituals to songs that travelled through communities as gifts, prayers, jokes and declarations. Wrapped gathers all of that energy and hands it back to fans as a story only they could have written.
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has warned Nigerians against dealing with 15 unregistered entities using company names and registration numbers that are not in the commission’s records.
In a public notice signed by CAC Management, the commission said it had discovered the use of purported company names and RC numbers that are not registered with the CAC, urging the public to disregard them and verify all business information directly from its portal.
“The CAC remains committed to protecting the integrity of the Companies Register, upholding the law, and ensuring a safe and transparent business environment in Nigeria,” the CAC said.
According to the notice, the following are the entities not registered with the CAC:
Famas Services Nigeria Limited (RC: 216312)
Promo Dutch Investment Limited (RC: 396654)
Dialack Concept Nig. Ltd (RC: 297772)
Purpleheart Construction and Real Estate Mgt. Co. Ltd (RC: 1210548)
M/S Loktu Enterprises (BN: 373466)
Loktu Enterprises (BN: 400390)
Badatoyak Ltd (RC: 521322)
Johson Nats Limited (RC: 198492)
Peoples Club Nigeria International (CAC/IT/41191)
Jiba Enterprise (BN: 577523)
Civil Engineering Solutions Nigeria Limited (RC: 33001)
Gabdoff Hotel Ltd (RC: 112409)
Amoka Group (BN: 545221)
BEEC Nigeria Limited (RC: 30143)
- Adetunji (BN: 657466)
Explaining the reason for the commission’s publication, the statement noted that it aligns with its statutory role of maintaining an accurate and reliable companies register, protecting investors, and preventing fraudulent activities in the business environment.
The commission urged Nigerians to always confirm the status of any company or business name through its official portal.
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