Microsoft's push to get Windows and Office users to buy Microsoft 365 subscriptions can be irritating, but to the company's credit, it's one of the few that has continued to sell buy-once, use-forever versions of its flagship software after launching a subscription model. This week the company has officially launched Microsoft Office 2024, a new "locked-in-time" update to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other apps for people who don't want the continuously developed Microsoft 365 versions. For end users, Office Home 2024 gets you Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for $149.99. Office Home & Business 2024 costs $249.99, which adds Outlook "and the rights to use the apps for commercial purposes." Both licenses cover a single PC or Mac. New Office Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) products are also being released for businesses and other organizations; Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 for Windows also includes the Access database management app. Project 2024 and Visio 2024 are also still being offered as standalone products. Read full article

A new 'FakeUpdate' campaign targeting users in France leverages compromised websites to show fake browser and application updates that spread a new version of the WarmCookie malware....

Any piece of popular consumer electronics will eventually be hacked, often to prove a point.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed charges against Amazon, alleging that the e-commerce giant has illegally refused to bargain with a union representing drivers who are frustrated by what they claim are low wages and dangerous working conditions. Back in August, drivers celebrated what they considered a major win when the NLRB found that Amazon was a joint employer of sub-contracted drivers, cheering "We are Amazon workers!" At that time, Amazon seemed to be downplaying the designation, telling Ars that the union was trying to "misrepresent" a merit determination that the NLRB confirmed was only "the first step in the NLRB’s General Counsel litigating the allegations after investigating an unfair labor practice charge." But this week, the NLRB took the next step, signing charges soon after Amazon began facing intensifying worker backlash, not just from drivers but also from disgruntled office and fulfillment workers. According to Reuters, the NLRB accused Amazon of "a series of illegal tactics to discourage union activities" organized by drivers in a Palmdale, California, facility. Read full article

Many people with Long Covid are unable to fully participate in society.

DirecTV's agreement to buy the Dish satellite and streaming TV business from EchoStar is facing opposition from Dish creditors who would be forced to take a loss on the value of their debt. Dish creditors "plan to block a distressed exchange that's a key part of its tie-up with rival DirecTV, according to people familiar with the matter," Bloomberg reported today. "A group of steering committee investors has gained a blocking position in order to negotiate with the company, the people said. They may even explore a better outcome through litigation, said some of the people." The Bloomberg article was titled, "Dish-DirecTV Deal Sparks Creditor Revolt Over $1.6 Billion Loss." As Bloomberg notes, "Dish needs consent from its bondholders to exchange old debts for notes issued out of the new combined entity" in order to complete the deal. A previous Bloomberg article said that "just over two-thirds of [Dish] bondholders in each series of notes have to agree to the exchange, with the deadline set for October 29." EchoStar executives argue that debt holders will benefit from the merger by "owning debt of a stronger company with lower leverage," the article said. Read full article

Hiya, folks, welcome to TechCrunch’s regular AI newsletter. If you want this in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. After a brief hiatus, we’re back with a few show notes on OpenAI’s DevDay. The keynote yesterday morning in San Francisco was remarkable for its subdued tone — a contrast to the rah-rah, hypebeast-y address from […]

Sonos' controversial app update in May was "obviously a failure," Sonos CEO Patrick Spence told Reuters today. When the update launched in May, customers revolted over missing features, like the ability to search music libraries, edit song and playlist queues, and set sleep timers. In addition, some already purchased hardware, especially older models, began having problems. In a note to investors on Tuesday, Sonos said that "more than 80 percent of the app's missing features have been reintroduced." The app should be "almost 100 percent restored in the coming weeks." Sonos has been updating the app every two weeks in an effort to bring it to parity with the old one. Read full article

ChatGPT maker OpenAI has closed the largest VC round of all time. The startup today announced that it raised $6.6 billion in a funding round that values OpenAI at $157 billion post-money. Led by previous investor Thrive Capital, the new cash brings OpenAI’s total raised to $17.9 billion, per Crunchbase. Thrive invested around $1.3 billion, […]

Transportation and freight network giant J.B. Hunt is searching for software and digital products that will fuel its business and help it adapt to the modern world — and even dominate the industry. And it’s tapping startup incubator UP.Labs to help build them.  On Wednesday at the UP.Summit event in Bentonville, Arkansas, the two companies […]