IT & Security News
Pollinger’s Productivity : January 2026
Visuals created by ChatGPT are really good nowChatGPT introduced Images 1.5, and the improvement over earlier versions is noticeable. Image quality is more consistent, hands and faces are more natural, and text within images is far more reliable. No more waxy faces, 8 fingers on hands and misspellings.Insights: This is now useful for real work…
HMRC Wants UK Crypto Buyers’ Details
People using cryptocurrency services in the UK are now required to provide personal and tax identifying details to cryptoasset platforms, following new reporting rules that came into force on 1 January 2026. What Are The Rules? From the start of 2026, anyone buying, selling, transferring, or exchanging cryptoassets through a cryptoasset service provider must provide…
How The Thirty-Year-Old IPv6 Still Underpins the Internet’s Growth
In this Tech Insight, we look at why IPv6 is now 30 years old, what it was designed to solve, how it works in practice, and why it continues to matter to the modern internet despite never fully replacing IPv4. What Is IPv6? IPv6, or Internet Protocol version 6, is the system used to identify…
EU Renews UK Data Adequacy Decisions Until 2031
The European Commission has renewed its decisions allowing personal data to flow freely between the EU and the UK, confirming that the UK’s data protection framework continues to meet EU standards despite recent legal changes. Applies To Two Frameworks The decision, announced on 19 December 2025, extends the EU’s existing data adequacy arrangements with the…
Physical Letter Delivery Ends in Denmark
PostNord delivered its final letter in Denmark on 30 December 2025, bringing an end to more than four centuries of nationwide letter delivery after letter volumes collapsed as most communication moved online. Just Parcels Now For the first time since organised postal services were established in Denmark in 1624, the country’s historic national operator no…
Starlink To Lower Thousands Of Satellites
SpaceX says it will move roughly half of the Starlink satellite network into lower orbits during 2026, arguing that the change will materially reduce collision risk and speed up the removal of failed spacecraft as low Earth orbit becomes increasingly congested. Starlink Starlink is the satellite broadband network operated by SpaceX, and it has grown…
One In Three Adults Turning To AI For Emotional Support
One in three adults in the UK have used artificial intelligence (AI) for companionship, emotional support or social interaction, according to new research from a government-backed AI safety body, a finding that takes on added significance during the Christmas and New Year period when loneliness and mental health pressures often peak. Frontier AI Trends The…
Problems With Windows 11 Updates Reported
Many MSPs have been reporting that Windows 11 updates are increasingly causing upgrade failures, BitLocker lockouts and unexpected behaviour, and here we look at what may be going wrong, why it is happening now, and what can realistically be done to prevent it. The Pattern Many MSPs Are Seeing on the Ground It has been…
Ofcom Investigates BT and Three Over 999 Call Failures
Ofcom has opened formal investigations into BT and Three following separate UK-wide mobile network failures this summer that left some customers unable to connect 999 emergency calls. Two Major Outages The investigations centre on two major outages, one affecting Three customers in June and another impacting BT and EE customers in July, both of which…
No More £100 Contactless Limit From March
The UK’s £100 contactless card payment limit is set to be lifted from March 2026, after the financial regulator confirmed it will remove the fixed cap and give banks greater freedom to decide how contactless payments are handled. Not Forced To Do It Immediately The change, announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), does not…
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