The Intel Microcode Update Guidance presents an update for Spectre and Meltdown fixes, at least when it comes to a good number of 4th gen Haswell and 5th gen Broadwell platforms.

The updates address Variant 2 of the three Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws, and should be available for all Haswell and Broadwell chip families except the Broadwell Server EX and Haswell Server EX, which remain in beta. The stable updates are available for Xeon and Intel Core i chips, including Broadwell H 43e-series Core i chips and Broadwell U- and Y-series Core i processors.

Google buys the Xively IoT platform from LogMeIn for $50 million-- an acquisition the search giant describes as a stepping stone into the growing IoT market.

According to Google, the IoT market is set to reach 20 billion connected things by 2020. Xively provides with with a tool allowing device designers to build connectivity directly into the design process while providing a cloud-mobile connection between the end user and connected thing. The result is faster progression from IoT vision to product for clients looking to build a connected business.

Dell has decided "explore options" in order to improve its financial situation, Reuters reports-- including a potential merger with virtualisation giant VMware.

Currently the largest privately owned technology company in the world, Dell is $50 billion in debt. Said debt is the result of the 2016 $67bn acquisition of EM and is top priority for the company, following the passing of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts bill limiting the tax deductibility of interest payments to 30% of company earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

Microsoft beats Wall Street expectations in fiscal Q2 2018 (ending 31 December 2017), with profits worth $8.7 billion-- a 10% Y-o-Y increase-- from revenues growing by 12% Y-o-Y to $28.9 billion.

The company attributes good part to such results to the Productivity and Business Processes segment covering Office, Office 365 and the LinkedIn social network. The segment shows revenue growth of 25% Y-o-Y, while Office 365 subscribers total 29.2m. Also driving Microsoft growth are Azure cloud and Windows server server, since Intelligent Cloud revenues are up by 15% Y-o-Y, with Azure revenue growth reaching 98% Y-o-Y.