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DC5m United States IT in english 77 articles, created at 2016-11-18 18:00
1 The best VPN services and Black Friday deals
Reliable, secure and cheap VPN services 2016-11-18 07:20 14KB feedproxy.google.com
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2 Apple offers to fix iPhone 6 Plus 'touch disease' bug for $150 Apple is offering to repair at a reduced price iPhone 6 Plus smartphones with display (2.06/3) flickering or multi-touch issues. 2016-11-18 09:36 2KB www.pcworld.com
3 Nintendo Switch will reportedly get a version of Pokémon Sun and Moon
(1.02/3) The Nintendo Switch may be the first home console to get a core Pokémon game. Eurogamer reports that the upcoming hybrid console will receive a new version of the just-released Pokémon Sun and Moon... 2016-11-18 10:36 2KB www.theverge.com
4 Intel chases AI with new chips, but still lacks a potent graphics processor Intel is taking a new direction in chip development as it looks to the future of artificial (1.02/3) intelligence, with the company betting the technology will pervade applications and web services. 2016-11-18 09:37 6KB www.pcworld.com
5 Teenager granted dying wish to be cryogenically frozen The terminally ill 14-year-old girl expressed a wish to be revived in the future. 2016-11-18 09:07 1KB www.cnet.com
(1.02/3)
6 US lawmakers introduce bill to delay enhanced government hacking powers A rule that would give government increased authority to search computers and other (1.02/3) digital devices comes into force on Dec. 1 2016-11-18 08:39 5KB www.infoworld.com
7 Metallica is back on Napster and nothing else matters
Streaming service mends old bridges 2016-11-18 08:18 1KB feedproxy.google.com
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8 : Xiaomi Mi Mix Android Advisor is a monthly digital magazine that is your go-to source for everything
(1.02/3) Android, from smartphones, tablets and the best mobile apps to wearable and in-car tech. Android Advisor will not only help you to choose the best phone or tablet for your needs... 2016-11-18 08:16 2KB www.pcadvisor.co.uk 9 Intel's new AI strategy involves new deep-learning technology
(1.02/3) Intel announced a new strategy aimed at increasing its presence in the field of AI applications for business and society 2016-11-18 08:00 2KB www.itpro.co.uk
10 : Third iPhone 8 model will have huge curved OLED screen
(1.02/3) Forget the iPhone 7, it's the iPhone 8 which you'll be more interested in. Set for a 2017 release date to celebrate the iPhone's 10th anniversary, here's what the rumours say about the iPhone 8 UK release date, features and specs. 2016-11-18 07:30 12KB www.pcadvisor.co.uk
11 Products found exclusively at the Apple Store Play-Doh, Roli, Lifeprint and others offer products only on Apple's site and in its physical stores. 2016-11-18 17:02 737Bytes www.cnet.com
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12 Computerworld's holiday gift guide 2016: Top-notch tech for $150 or more Part 1 of our annual holiday gift extravaganza rounds up premium tech gear your family (0.01/3) and friends will love, from great-sounding audio equipment to the latest wearable devices and more. 2016-11-18 07:00 14KB www.computerworld.com
13 Protein Folding: Your Chance To Help (and Whup AnandTech) Starting Dec 1 Tom's Hardware and AnandTech folding teams are asking for your help, Dec 1-7 in a special charity contest to benefit Folding@Home and Child's Play. 2016-11-18 11:00 3KB www.tomshardware.com
14 Alexa offers steep, exclusive deals in Amazon's first 'voice shopping weekend' Amazon kicking off holiday shopping with an Alexa-powered, shop-by-voice weekend. 2016-11-18 10:36 2KB www.itnews.com
15 7 reasons cloud migrations fail (free online course) This course from training provider Logical Operations will prepare your organization for a move to cloud computing. The vendor-neutral class covers common reasons cloud migrations fail — and how to manage those risks — plus offers advice on assembling the cloud project team. 2016-11-18 10:36 1KB www.computerworld.com
16 SD Times GitHub project of the week: Machine Learning for Software Engineers A software engineer has developed a complete daily plan for studying to become a machine learning engineer 2016-11-18 10:00 3KB sdtimes.com 17 Dials Calendar review: iPhone app puts a unique spin on daily events Dials Calendar presents each day’s events on a dial instead of a traditional list view, and syncs with popular cloud-based calendar services. 2016-11-18 10:00 3KB www.itnews.com
18 Half of companies have been hit with ransomware in the past year
Your money, or your indifference, guys,Security ,Money 2016-11-18 09:58 2KB www.theinquirer.net
19 Woody’s Win10Tip: Apply updates carefully When it’s time to apply Windows 10 cumulative updates, there’s an art to getting them right 2016-11-18 09:55 5KB www.infoworld.com
20 'Neuromorphic' chip modeled after the human brain aims to bring smarts to computers The dream of creating intelligent computers has inspired the development of exotic chips based on the structure of the brain, which operates in mysterious ways. 2016-11-18 09:39 3KB www.pcworld.com
21 10 best internal desktop and laptop hard disk drives 2016
Get a bigger hard drive for less money than you think 2016-11-18 09:38 8KB feedproxy.google.com
22 Intel's Nervana AI platform takes aim at Nvidia's GPU techology Firm claims Xeon-based chips will deliver a '100-fold increase' in deep learning performance,Chips ,Intel,AI,Hardware,cloud computing 2016-11-18 09:27 2KB www.theinquirer.net
23 US iPhone factories: Designed in California, made by machines What is most likely to happen if Apple decides to make iPhones in the USA? Jobs? Or robots? 2016-11-18 09:25 4KB www.computerworld.com
24 HPE launches ‘world’s first’ solar-powered supercomputer Hikari to solve Zika virus Nearly a third of total power used by supercomputer supplied by renewable energy sources 2016-11-18 09:03 2KB www.itpro.co.uk
25 Google, LinkedIn leaders on tech's responsibility for lost jobs Two of technology's biggest names acknowledge the impact their work has on job losses in America and elsewhere, and they say they're taking action to tackle the problem. 2016-11-18 09:01 3KB www.itnews.com 26 The best free photo editor 2016
Who needs Photoshop? 2016-11-18 09:00 10KB feedproxy.google.com
27 Best USB charger: Best desktop charger 2016/2017 UK
USB chargers 2016-11-18 08:51 2KB www.pcadvisor.co.uk
28 Apple saves iPhone call history to iCloud, but barely mentions it As a convenience feature, Apple will sync your call history to iCloud, but the company doesn't make it easy or obvious to shut it off 2016-11-18 08:43 5KB www.infoworld.com
29 Without tech industry guidance, U. S. may resort to weakening encryption Security experts and privacy advocates say weakening encryption is counterproductive to fighting terrorism 2016-11-18 08:35 4KB www.infoworld.com
30 Chinese phone firms make big gains as Apple and Samsung suffer sales decline Gartner credits growth to Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 fiasco ,Phones ,Mobile,Apple,cloud computing 2016-11-18 08:33 2KB www.theinquirer.net
31 Stephen Hawking warns humanity may only have 1,000 years left Hawking says if we don't leave Earth, humanity could be doomed in another millennium. 2016-11-18 08:30 3KB www.extremetech.com
32 First Click: Is this the holiday you finally buy that drone? I really want a drone. Every Christmas since I was a kid has been highlighted by some kind of remote controlled vehicle. I’ve had countless RC cars, of course; tanks, boats, and lots and lots of... 2016-11-18 08:30 2KB www.theverge.com
33 : GoPro’s best action cam yet It’s been a long while since GoPro launched the Hero 4 Black, but has the Hero 5 been worth the wait? Well it certainly has. Read our GoPro Hero 5 Black review to find out why. 2016-11-18 08:20 8KB www.pcadvisor.co.uk
34 How Post Office turns social media insights into sales The Post Office uses social media analytics to gain deep insights into customers that help guide strategy. The tools were behind a highly successful recent advertising campaign 2016-11-18 08:19 5KB www.computerworlduk.com 35 Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Design Unboxing and Hands On Benchmarks Alongside the Mate 9 launch a few weeks back, Huawei also announced the Mate 9 Porsche Design model. The presentation in Munich was... 2016-11-18 08:15 5KB www.anandtech.com
36 NHS ‘shouldn’t assume that digital technology will lead to significant savings’ – Nuffield Trust Wearables, smartphone apps and online access to records could be ‘double-edged swords’ 2016-11-18 08:13 2KB www.itpro.co.uk
37 Mozilla's new Firefox browser for iOS lets you Focus on your hand action Yeah. Expensive cigars. Right ,Software ,Software,cloud computing,internet,Apple 2016-11-18 08:11 2KB www.theinquirer.net
38 Workday CEO says he considered buying UK cloud firm Anaplan, before building a rival product The once-partners in the cloud computing market are now actively fighting over the same market of companies that want to move beyond Excel spreadsheets for planning 2016-11-18 08:10 5KB www.computerworlduk.com
39 : Motorola made one of the best phones under £200 The new Moto G4 for 2016 is here with a bigger brother, the Moto G4 Plus. Here's what we make of the regular model which is one of the best phones under £200. 2016-11-18 08:08 5KB www.pcadvisor.co.uk
40 European security industry has failed users, says expert Cryptology expert Bart Preneel says the European security industry must commit to secure communication for the masses and open source is the key to secure infrastructure. 2016-11-18 08:04 4KB www.computerweekly.com
41 Hooray for 2016: Domino's has delivered a pizza by drone One large pineapple and anchovies for residents of Whangaparaoa, New Zealand,Hardware ,Hardware,cloud computing 2016-11-18 08:03 2KB www.theinquirer.net
42 Look what GE can do with industrial IoT General Electric showcased its industrial internet of things solutions and partnerships this week at its annual Minds + Machines conference in San Francisco this week. 2016-11-18 08:01 3KB www.computerworld.com 43 CRU ToughTech Duo C Storage Enclosure (2x 2.5" to USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C) Review Storage bridges come in many varieties within the internal and external market segments. On the external side, they usually have one or more... 2016-11-18 08:00 4KB www.anandtech.com
44 How to integrate disruptive technologies with IT outsourcing contracts And incumbent IT service provider may be a good option for implementing new technology solutions, but you should take these four steps to most effectively integrate disruptive technologies into your existing outsourcing deals. 2016-11-18 07:58 5KB www.itnews.com
45 AWS roundup: Hybrid deployments with Amazon's cloud get a boost October was a big month for Amazon Web Services, which announced a key partnership with VMware, a new service for migrating VMs to the cloud, and more. 2016-11-18 07:54 4KB www.computerworld.com
46 Local authorities urged to improve data usage to ensure financial sustainability Commons select committee concerned about DCLG’s complacency about risks to finances and tax payers 2016-11-18 07:53 2KB www.itpro.co.uk
47 Three hack: UK IT industry hits out at “corporate blindness” and firm's "slavish devotion to short term margin" Putting profit before customer risk has to end, say industry peers,Hacking ,Three,Cyber security,hack,Cloud 2016-11-18 07:50 3KB www.computing.co.uk
48 Elon Musk says his smart solar roof could cost less than a regular roof
Save money AND the environment 2016-11-18 07:48 1KB feedproxy.google.com
49 Holiday 2016 It seems to me that holiday shopping occurs earlier and earlier every year. It's only mid-November, but some shops where I... 2016-11-18 07:45 15KB www.anandtech.com
50 Ordnance Survey to lay groundwork for UK 5G networks The government has asked Ordnance Survey to develop a planning and mapping tool to help determine the future locations of 5G mobile network infrastructure 2016-11-18 07:42 2KB www.computerweekly.com
51 8 awesome gifts for PC gamers Shop with confidence for your PC gamer this holiday season with gifts that won't break the bank. 2016-11-18 07:30 5KB www.pcworld.com 52 Tesla shareholders greenlight SolarCity merger Elon Musk gets his way as firms create “vertically-integrated” energy company 2016-11-18 07:26 1KB www.itpro.co.uk
53 Researchers send text message using chemicals We take it for granted that modern communication systems — everything from smartphones to the internet — use electronics to send and receive messages, but what if that weren’t the case? A group of... 2016-11-18 07:19 2KB www.theverge.com
54 Best iPhone 7 cases & iPhone 7 Plus cases They may have only just launched, but Apple’s new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have already got plenty of cases available to keep them safe. These are the best iPhone 7 cases and best iPhone 7 Plus cases we’ve seen so far. 2016-11-18 07:15 5KB www.pcadvisor.co.uk
55 Science experts: Let EU scientists remain in UK after Brexit
Gov must put science and tech at heart of Brexit plan, says committee 2016-11-18 07:10 2KB www.itpro.co.uk
56 : The biggest 3DS launch of all time Pokémon Sun and Moon is coming in November 2016 - here's what you need to know, including the Pokémon Sun & Moon UK release date, characters, gameplay and trailer. Plus: Watch the new Pokémon Sun and Moon demo from E3 2016 and meet Pikipek, Yungoos and Grubbin. 2016-11-18 07:06 7KB www.pcadvisor.co.uk
57 | How to group video call on WhatsApp: Beware of the WhatsApp video calling scam Within the next few days WhatsApp will roll out video calling, but you don't need to wait: Here's how to video call on WhatsApp or even group video call on WhatsApp. 2016-11-18 07:02 3KB www.pcadvisor.co.uk
58 ET deals: Save $20 on an Amazon Prime membership To celebrate Mozart in the Jungle's success at the 2016 Golden Globes, you can get an entire year of Amazon Prime for just $73 -- a whopping $26 off the typical asking price. Not only does that get you free two-day shipping... 2016-11-18 07:00 2KB www.extremetech.com
59 10 tech skills that will boost your salary Looking for a pay increase in 2017? Add one or more of these hot skills to your resume and watch your earnings soar 2016-11-18 07:00 4KB www.infoworld.com
60 VMware taps Angular 2 for rapid web dev framework VMware's open source Clarity design system is available on GitHub now 2016-11-18 07:00 1KB www.infoworld.com 61 NIST shifts focus of security guidance to ‘engineering' The National Institute of Standards and Technology adapts existing engineering framework to show how to build security into software and hardware 2016-11-18 07:00 7KB www.infoworld.com
62 In five years, SaaS will be the cloud that matters To help IT make the mental shift, the cloud industry uses analogs to the datacenter's divisions—but ultimately they'll merge into simply 'services' 2016-11-18 07:00 4KB www.infoworld.com
63 Say good-bye to net neutrality The Open Internet now rests in the hands of a GOP that has been openly hostile to net neutrality rules 2016-11-18 07:00 7KB www.infoworld.com
64 Google-Intel alliance boosts Kubernetes, machine learning, IoT, and more Joint projects between Google and Intel point up areas in which both can collaborate, and places where Intel is looking to maintain an edge as the PC market dries up 2016-11-18 07:00 3KB www.infoworld.com
65 Containers in the enterprise: The good, the bad, the ugly Containers can bring real value to the enterprise, but it's hard to wade through the hype to make the commitment 2016-11-18 07:00 3KB www.infoworld.com
66 And that's how IT gets done in the real world PC tech pilot fish lands a job at a plant that makes small consumer electronics products -- and just a few days in, he's called into a meeting about a software problem that's holding up the production line. 2016-11-18 07:00 3KB www.computerworld.com
67 New Android phones, new iPhones, new Windows phones - New Product - PC Advisor Due an upgrade? Don't agree to anything until you've seen our list of the best new phones coming in 2017. We've rounded up the best new Android phones, best new iPhones and best new Windows phones, including the best new Samsung phones,... 2016-11-18 06:55 18KB www.pcadvisor.co.uk
68 Kanye West: America is a racist country and I would have voted Trump At a concert in San Jose during his Saint Pablo tour, Kanye West opened up about the 2016 election in typical style. According to videos and tweets from the night, West told fans —in no particular... 2016-11-18 06:53 2KB www.theverge.com
69 A camera without a lens? Hitachi is on it Apple, Hitachi sees your phone without a headphone jack and is about to raise you. 2016-11-18 06:50 1KB www.cnet.com 70 Three hacked: "Inside job" puts six million customers' private data in jeopardy Three men arrested in connection with breach,Telecoms ,Cloud,Three,Mobile 2016-11-18 06:32 3KB www.computing.co.uk
71 Star Wars Battlefront PlayStation VR X-Wing DLC takes off December 6
Experience a virtual cockpit in a galaxy far, far away 2016-11-18 06:31 1KB feedproxy.google.com
72 Deep-freezing the dead: how cryopreservation could save us from terminal illness Could medical science ever bring a frozen, clinically deceased person back to life? 2016-11-18 06:19 7KB feedproxy.google.com
73 Mobile provider Three hit by data breach
Mobile provider Three hit by data breach. No payment details included. 2016-11-18 06:15 2KB feedproxy.google.com
74 | Sun & Moon review: New Pokémon, an improved battle system and lots to do in Alola make Sun and Moon the very best, like no-one ever was With Pokémon Sun & Moon Game Freak brings a new sense of curiosity and wonder to the Pokémon franchise, but has it done enough? Here's what we think, in our Pokémon Sun & Moon review. Pokémon Sun review. Pokémon Moon review. 2016-11-18 06:15 8KB www.pcadvisor.co.uk
75 Men are best at recognising faces - so long as they're on Transformer toys
Bah-weep-graaaaagnah wheep ni bong 2016-11-18 06:11 2KB feedproxy.google.com
76 G4S CIO: Moving to cloud doesn't mean you get rid of your IT department 'The idea that you don't need tech skills once you move to cloud is a fallacy,' says CIO, explaining that G4S has around 1,000 ideas for new technology projects for 2017,Cloud and Infrastructure,Security ,Cloud,Cyber security,skills 2016-11-18 06:04 3KB www.computing.co.uk
77 Open Rights Group vows to fight new IP Law Open Rights Group vows to fight new IP Law. Following the Lords vote on the Bill. 2016-11-18 06:03 3KB feedproxy.google.com Articles
DC5m United States IT in english 77 articles, created at 2016-11-18 18:00
1 /77 The best VPN services and Black Friday deals (2.20/3) Below are the Black Friday VPN deals that we have collected. Note that they are valid worldwide and not all providers offer pound sterling as a transaction currency.
> Windscribe will give free Pro accounts to people who have existing VPN subscriptions and match the remaining time they have with that provider, from one month to one year.
> During the Black Friday week (from 20 to 25 November), SaferVPN is offering BOGOF on all the plans. On Cyber Monday , they will offer 80% off on a 3-year plan, 75% off on a 2-year plan and 65% off on a year-long plan.
> ExpressVPN is offering three months for free when you purchase their annual VPN package. That's an extra 25% on top of the 12-month subscription.
> SlickVPN is offering a scorching deal. 50% off all existing plans AND each new customer will get a free 100GB block Usenet account at NewsDemon.com. They will also offer a lifetime CORE account for $25 which offers full speeds but reduced locations.
> NordVPN offers a special Cyber Month Deal for the whole month of November: buy the 2-year subscription with a discount of more than 70%.
VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) work by creating a secure, encrypted connection between your devices and a VPN server from a service provider (there are dozens of them to choose, from all over the world).
Anything you do online - sites you're visiting, emails you send or receive, files you download, web forms you complete - passes through that secure tunnel and can't be intercepted by anyone else (unless one of these servers - or your own computer - is compromised, but that's another story).
Below are the top five VPN services that we've picked out for you. This list is regularly updated so is subject to change.
If you want to try these VPN services before or don't want to pay (but still need to use that service), then check our guide to best free VPN services .
The best VPN tool for browsing online privately
If you want the absolute best VPN service, check out AnchorFree's Hotspot Shield Elite. It is, in our view, the one that manages to provide all the necessary features at an attractive price with the option of getting a lifetime license. It supports private browsing, virtual locations, allows "access all content", and supports up to five devices.
Performance results in our tests were excellent, with latency showing only a marginal increase, and both upload and download speeds were a little faster once connected.
We'd like more configurability and a wider range of locations, but Hotspot Shield Elite's high speeds and low prices have a lot of appeal, and the 7-day trial makes it easy to test the service for yourself.
1-month, 1-user - £7.95
6-months, 1-user - £12.95
1-year, 1 user - £18.95
2-years, 1 user - £31.95
Forever, 1 user - £63.95
1-month, 20 users - £15.92
1-month, 60 users - £43.84
1-month, 100 users - £67.78
The best VPN for multiple devices
Some companies take a one-size-fits-all approach to VPNs, offering the bare minimum of products, but KeepSolid's VPN Unlimited is different. Very, very different. Forget the usual two or three plans: VPN Unlimited offers six, plus there's a 7-day free trial to get you started (and also a 7-day money-back guarantee for a little extra security).
VPN Unlimited's PC client opens with a clear overview of the service state. Your real and virtual IPs are displayed as addresses and plotted on a map, and the number of days left on your current plan is visible at a glance. Its choice of servers is less than some but for a more general purpose VPN, the service does very well.
Keepsolid's VPN Unlimited has a whopping six service options available, ranging all the way from 7-day to Infinity (i.e. VPN for life).
1-day - £1.59
1-month -£3.98
3-months - £7.17
1-year - £19.94
3-years - £55.84
Unlimited - £55.84
Unlimited personal VPN server - £398.13
The best VPN for those looking for an ultra-secure service Despite being based in a country located in Central America - hardly a tech hub - NordVPN's current products match or beat the competition in just about every area.
685 servers in 52 countries, 2048-bit encryption, 6-device support as standard, strong DNS leak protection, automatic Kill Switch, handy security extras, optional dedicated IP addresses, and payment options including Bitcoin, PayPal and credit cards.
Performance was good, too, with download speeds around 95% of our typical rate. Latency and upload speeds weren't as impressive at 197% and 40% of the regular rates, but overall our system still felt relatively snappy and responsive.
NordVPN has three service options available and its most popular and by far best value offer is the 1-year subscription.
1-month - £9.53
6-months - £33.51
1-year - £55.05
The best VPN for those looking for maximum speed
PureVPN's PC client stands out immediately for the sheer volume of connection options and tools it makes available. Its policy on logging is unusually clear: the company records the time you connect to a server and the total bandwidth used, but otherwise there are no logs of the websites you visit, the files you download or anything else.
PureVPN did well on our performance tests, where amazingly it managed to improve most of our download speeds. Latency was a mere 5% higher than normal, upload speeds actually increased by 4%, while downloads were a very surprising 80% up on our normal speeds.
Note that the company offers a 5% discount if you pay by credit card and you will be billed in USD and the price displayed on the right is the approximate Pound Sterling conversion at the time of publishing. Other packages are available below:
1-month, 1 account - £7.98
6-months, 1 account - £38.30
12-months, 1 account - £55.05
1-year, 5 accounts - £229.78
1-year, 10 accounts - £411.69
1-year, 15 accounts - £804.24
The best VPN for torrenting and other P2P traffic
While many VPN providers try to stand out with their free plans and cheap commercial products, IPVanish talks more about service quality. It's "the world's fastest VPN" says the website, boasting 40,000+ shared IPs, 500+ VPN servers in 60+ countries, unlimited P2P traffic, five simultaneous connections and more. The price is still going to be an issue for some – it is more expensive than the average VPN, but IPVanish's high speeds, choice of locations and excellent client are hard to beat. If you're after quality, take the plunge with this VPN, and if somehow you end up unhappy with the service there's a 7-day money-back guarantee.
1-month - £7.98
3-months - £21.53
1-year - £62.22
The next 5 VPN services to be considered are:
VPN is one of those tech terms and has gained a lot of traction in recent years as the internet has diversified and grown to even bigger levels. However, the premise is actually quite simple, and there are some great use cases.
It stands for ‘virtual private networking’, which is a popular internet security method. The latter involves technologies that aim to add a layer of security to both private and public networks. These include broadband and internet hotspots.
If there’s one worry when it comes to using technology and the internet, it’s privacy. By using a VPN, you can, in theory, prevent your internet service provider (ISP) and government from seeing your internet history.
VPNs have also emerged as a popular tool in the freedom of speech movement. You’re able to avoid censorship within organisations and from third-parties. For example, if you have a view that goes against the priorities of your employer, you don’t have to worry about them finding out.
People also use VPN technology to “geo-spoof” their location. This results in users customising their location settings to be able to use overseas services. A great example of this is watching a TV programme or online product that’s only available in a specific country, perhaps due to legal or licensing issues.
You can resort to a VPN to protect yourself from hackers too. If you’re outside and sign up to use a public internet hotspot - perhaps in a cafe or library - there is the chance someone could try to break into your device. This can lead to you losing valuable data, such as passwords.
This technology is also emerging as a popular force in the world of business. When you’re traveling around for meetings all the time, it’s normal to connect to third-party networks. With a VPN, you can access your firm’s intranet without the worry of being targeted by cyber criminals.
Proxies are also popular, and there’s always the question about how they differ from VPNs. The aim of both methods is to protect users’ identities or to spoof a location. While they are different technologies, many VPN providers also offer proxies.
A proxy is type of computing system that functions as a go-between for your connected device and your web connection. These servers also have their own IP addresses, so transfers can’t be traced directly to your computer.
They may share common aims with VPNs, but typically, they only secure a torrent client or browser. Using a VPN, you can encrypt 100% of your internet connection, so there’s more protection.
VPNs used to be a premium product, but you don't have to spend big money on them anymore. Some companies now offer a basic service that won't cost you anything at all.
As you'd expect, there are catches, and they typically start with a data cap. Avira Phantom VPN's free plan limits you to 500MB a month, PrivateTunnel offers 2GB, whereas ZPN has a generous 10GB allowance - not bad at all.
Free products also typically have usage restrictions. Most companies don't want you to soak up all their bandwidth on torrents, so ZPN is typical in blocking P2P.
Hide.me's 2GB free plan also has some common limits. There's "best effort" bandwidth, which means paying customers have speed priority and you get what's left. And the choice of locations is limited to three: Canada, Netherlands and Singapore.
Hola's free-for-personal-use plan doesn't have the same kind of restrictions, but even here there's a catch. The service routes traffic through its free users rather than dedicated servers, so signing up allows others to (securely) share a small part of your bandwidth and resources.
Then there's the adverts and the session limits (CyberGhost) and the general lack of service level agreement: free means that it doesn't come with any implicit warranties.
Free plans are fine for simple needs, then - maybe protecting your laptop's wireless hotspot traffic on the occasional trip - but if you're looking for anything more advanced, a commercial product is best.
The immediate benefit is that you know your personal data remains safe, even if you're on a public Wi-Fi hotspot. Local snoopers might be able to see the connection, but there's no way to find out what it is or where it's going.
VPNs also give you a new digital identity in the shape of an IP address from another country. This makes it harder for websites or anyone else to track you, allows some people to bypass government censorship, and helps the rest of us avoid those "not available in your country" messages on YouTube or other streaming sites.
Best of all, despite the low-level network technology involved, you don't need to be any kind of expert to make VPNs work. For the most part, all you have to do is choose the country where you'd like an IP address, click Connect to start, Disconnect when you're done - and that's it.
There are several factors to consider when you're choosing a paid VPN.
Once you've found what looks like a good VPN candidate, be sure to take it for a trial before you spend any big money. But a short trial can only tell you so much, so once that's expired, pay for a month, run as many tests as you can, then upgrade to a better value plan (usually yearly) if you're still happy.
Our comparisons started by looking at each provider's range of plans. We were looking for features, value, and clear and honest pricing. Free ways to learn more about a service - free plans, trial periods, refund periods - were important, and we also looked for companies which maintained your privacy when you signed up (no email address required, trials available without credit cards, Bitcoin available as a payment option). The official product pages never tell you everything you need to know, so head off to the Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions pages to find the real details. Does the company log more data than you'd expect, or keep it for a long time? When might it share information with others? Are there any restrictions on who can sign up? (Some providers say you must be 18 or over, or that the service is for personal, non-commercial use only.) Any other catches?
VPN performance is difficult to measure as there are so many variables, but we used multiple techniques to try and get a feel for each service's abilities. We first used speedtest.net to measure the latency, upload and download speeds for a distant connection (typically UK to California), repeated the test immediately with the VPN turned off, and looked at any changes.
We followed this up with a much shorter connection (typically UK to Netherlands) to see a more typical peak performance, ran a second benchmark to confirm our results, and ran some general browsing tests - including streaming HD video - to look for other problems.
VPNs will always give you a new IP address, but some services may have DNS or other leaks which give clues about your identity. We visited IPLeak.net and other privacy sites to look for problems.
In terms of the client and interface, we were looking for good server selection tools (by country, region, server, speed, with filters, a Favourites system, perhaps with server load or ping time displayed), with plenty of configuration options, but also a client which stays out of the way until it's needed.
Finally, we weighed up these individual factors, came up with an overall score, and narrowed these down to the 10 best VPNs around. All the software in the top five scored at least 70 points out of 100.
Best Black Friday deals on The best Currys Black Microsoft cuts top Xbox One video games and consoles Friday deals 2016 games by 40% in Black cnet.com feedproxy.google.com Friday deals theverge.com
2016-11-18 07:20 Desire Athow feedproxy.google.com
2 /77 Apple offers to fix iPhone 6 Plus 'touch disease' bug for $150 (2.06/3) Apple is offering to repair at a reduced price iPhone 6 Plus smartphones with display flickering or multitouch issues.
The problem, described in August as “touch disease” by repair guide website iFixit, is characterized by a gray, flickering bar at the top of the display and an unresponsive touchscreen. The issue affects both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, according to iFixit.
Apple appears to consider it a problem with the way users handled the phone rather than a defect. It said Thursday that the company has determined that the smartphones may exhibit display flickering or Multi-Touch issues “ after being dropped multiple times on a hard surface and then incurring further stress on the device.”
The company is now offering to repair the problem for a service price of $149 if the phone is in working order, and the screen is not cracked or broken.
The problem, however, runs deeper, according to iFixit. Merely replacing the touchscreen doesn’t fix the issue as the gray bar eventually shows up on the new screen, too, it said. It quotes repair experts as stating that the problem is with the two touchscreen controller chips, or Touch IC chips, on the logic board inside the phone, which convert touch information into inputs for the phone.
On Thursday, iFixit said it had found that stress on the phone causes the chips to eventually lose connection with the motherboard, and pointed to “insufficient structural support around the logic board.” It said it had seen the problem on phones that have never been dropped.
A proposed class-action lawsuit on behalf of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users was filed in August by a law firm, alleging a design defect in the iPhone 6 series phones.
Apple has offered to reimburse the cost difference to those iPhone 6 customers who have already repaired the phone earlier for the same issue either through Apple or through an authorized service provider. Those who have paid for a repair believed to be related to the issue but have not been contacted yet by Apple, are asked to get in touch with the company.
Apple offers to repair iPhone Apple tackles the iPhone 6 6 Plus devices with 'touch Plus touch disease, and it disease' will cost you just $149 infoworld.com theinquirer.net
2016-11-18 09:36 John Ribeiro www.pcworld.com
3 /77 Nintendo Switch will reportedly get a version of Pokémon Sun and Moon (1.02/3) I really want a drone. Every Christmas since I was a kid has been highlighted by some kind of remote controlled vehicle. I’ve had countless RC cars, of course; tanks, boats, and lots and lots of remote-controlled helicopters. The quality has...
We take it for granted that modern communication systems — everything from smartphones to the internet — use electronics to send and receive messages, but what if that weren’t the case? A group of researchers from Stanford are exploring an...
At a concert in San Jose during his Saint Pablo tour, Kanye West opened up about the 2016 election in typical style. According to videos and tweets from the night, West told fans —in no particular order — that if he'd voted he would have voted for...
Microsoft is unveiling its Black Friday deals for the Xbox One today. New Xbox One games like Battlefield 1, FIFA 17, Titanfall 2, and even Overwatch are all being discounted by up to 40 percent. Battlefield is available for $40.19 until November...
Hackers have accessed a database of customer information belonging to one of the UK’s biggest mobile carriers, Three. According to a report from The Telegraph, the company said the database included names, phone numbers, addresses, and dates of...
Japanese businesses are finding they need to deal with increasing numbers of foreign visitors to Japan, and Panasonic thinks it has the answer: a megaphone that translates the user’s voices into multiple languages. The Megahonyaku, which is a...
Nintendo Switch reportedly to be the first home console to get a Pokemon game feedproxy.google.com
2016-11-18 10:36 Kwame Opam www.theverge.com
4 /77 Intel chases AI with new chips, but still lacks a potent graphics processor (1.02/3) Intel is taking a new direction in chip development as it looks to the future of artificial intelligence, with the company betting the technology will pervade applications and web services.
The company on Thursday said it is developing new chips that will handle AI workloads, which will increasingly be a part of its chip future. For now, the AI chips will be released as specialized primary chips or co-processors in computers and separate from the major product lines.
But over time, Intel could adapt and integrate the AI features into its mainstream server, IoT, and perhaps even PC chips. The AI features could be useful in servers, drones, robots, and autonomous cars. Intel is aggressively chasing these sectors as it tries to diversify outside the weakening PC market.
AI computing is currently dominated by GPUs from Nvidia and custom chips from companies like Google. Intel’s plan is to offer a wide range of alternate non-GPU chips for deep learning in a bid to accelerate its entry to AI. Intel lost an opportunity in the mobile market because it was a late entrant, and it doesn’t want to repeat that mistake in AI.
Intel lacks a potent GPU to chase AI but hopes the alternative chips will fill the gap. The company believes it does not need a GPU and doesn’t want to put all its eggs in one basket, like Nvidia has.
Intel is developing a monster AI chip code-named Knights Mill targeted at deep learning, and it will be part of the Xeon Phi chip family. The company has shared few details about the chip, but it’ll be four times faster in deep learning tasks than the current Xeon Phi chip code-named Knights Landing, said Jason Waxman, corporate vice president in the Data Center Group at Intel.
Knights Mill will ship next year, and the timing provides a snapshot of how urgently Intel is trying to speed up its entry into the AI space. There was a four-year gap between the release of its two previous Xeon Phi processors.
Knights Mill will have several unique features compared to other chips Intel has developed. Unlike Intel’s high-performance chips that focus on precise calculations, Knights Mill will string together a bunch of speedy low-level floating-point calculations to reach conclusions. Those conclusions get to the essence of deep learning—some conclusions like the identification of an image may not always be precise. But as the computer deep-learning model grows stronger, the conclusions will be more accurate.
In the first half of next year, Intel will also release the first deep-learning hardware from its recent acquisition of Nervana Systems. That chip will be targeted mostly toward training—creating computer models for deep learning. It could also be used for inferencing, which enhances deep- learning models through additional input.
The Nervana chip will be mainly targeted toward servers. Intel will initially release it as a card that can be plugged into a standard PCI-Express port. But over time, the hardware will be integrated closer to the processor, said Naveen Rao, vice president and general manager of artificial intelligence solutions at Intel and the founder of Nervana Systems.
The two new chips will add up to a stash of AI chips already in Intel’s arsenal. Intel recently acquired Movidius, maker of computer vision chips used in Google Glass. The Movidius chips could be used in wearables, drones, and robots for object recognition and depth measurement.
Intel also sells FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), which are circuits that can reprogrammed to do specific tasks. Intel wants to put FPGAs in servers, autonomous cars, robots, and drones. Intel next year will ship the Deep Learning Inference Accelerator, an FPGA that competes with inferencing chips like Google’s Tensor Processing Unit.
Intel’s urgency is sparked by a surge of interest in AI, a technology still in its infancy. Digital information is being fed from sensors, and AI is an emerging technique to make sense of that data.
Large companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon are deploying software and hardware that can try to make sense of the large amounts of information. One AI example is Microsoft’s Cortana, which applies algorithms and FPGAs to recognize speech.
The effectiveness of these systems is heavily defined by the software stack used to sandbox deep-learning models. The software stack acquired from Nervana will serve as Intel’s parallel programming framework for deep learning. The open-source framework will compete with popular options like Caffe, Torch, Google’s TensorFlow, and Microsoft’s CNTK (Cognitive Toolkit).
But will all these AI chips cause confusion for customers? The more the better, Waxman said; Intel wants to provide customers with a wide range of alternatives. Some chips are better at specific tasks; for example, FPGAs are better at single-inferencing tasks like recognizing cats or dogs in images, Waxman said.
It’s important Intel move quickly to get a piece of the AI market, said Jim McGregor, the principal analyst at Tirias Research.
By throwing many AI chips into the market, Intel wants to see which one will stick, he said. “It’s good Intel’s getting out there with multiple solutions. But Intel doesn’t have any advantage over anyone else,” McGregor said.
But there are risks. Intel bought Nervana Systems for its software stack, and any attempt to lock customers to those tools won’t be accepted by the industry, McGregor said. Nervana’s tools are open source but are designed for Intel’s chips, but competing frameworks like Caffe are gaining in popularity.
“It’s a questionable strategy. Intel’s done for this for the past decade, and they tried to push everyone down their path,” McGregor said.
But deep learning is in its infancy. It’ll take a long time to perfect computational techniques for deep learning, and new types of hardware like quantum computers and brain-mimicking chips could alter the landscape.
“We’re still learning how to learn,” McGregor said.
Intel chases AI with new chips, but still lacks a potent GPU infoworld.com 2016-11-18 09:37 Agam Shah www.pcworld.com
5 /77 Teenager granted dying wish to be cryogenically frozen
(1.02/3) A doctor removing embryo samples from cryogenic storage, one of the current uses for cryogenics.
A teenage girl has been cryogenically frozen in the hope of being revived at a time when her cancer might be cured.
The terminally ill 14-year-old girl from London won a legal fight to be frozen after she died. After her death in October, the girl's remains were transported to a cryonic facility in the United States.
The UK's High Court made the ruling in a legal dispute between the girl's parents after her estranged father opposed the idea. While approving the process, the judge suggested that proper regulation of cryonic preservation could be required in future.
Terminally ill teenager wins right to be cryogenically frozen feedproxy.google.com
2016-11-18 09:07 by www.cnet.com
6 /77 US lawmakers introduce bill to delay enhanced government hacking powers (1.02/3) U. S. lawmakers have introduced legislation to delay the coming into force on Dec. 1 of a rule change that aims to expand the government’s ability to search computers and other digital devices across many jurisdictions with a single warrant.
The new Review the Rule Act aims to delay for discussion proposed amendments to rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure until July 1 next year. The changes to the rule have already been approved by the Supreme Court in April , and if Congress doesn’t act to the contrary, they will go into effect on Dec. 1.
The modified rule would remove the current prohibition with some exceptions on a federal judge issuing a search warrant outside of the judge’s district , so as to enable the remote search by law enforcement of computers whose locations are concealed using technology such as anonymizing techniques. The changes in rule 41 were proposed by the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure at the request of the Department of Justice. The rule changes have been opposed by lawmakers, industry and civil rights groups who are concerned about their implications on privacy and surveillance.
“Remote searches of media or information that have been ‘concealed through technological means’ may take place anywhere in the world,” said Google in a filing to the committee in February last year.
Under the modified rule, a judge may issue a warrant to remotely search, copy, and seize information from a device that does not have a known location, and may not even be in the district, because the location has been concealed through technological means, according to the lawmakers who introduced the legislation. They are also concerned about a provision that allows a single judge to issue a warrant to remotely search and copy information from suspected devices across five or more districts.
“A single prosecutor should not have the power to hack into the phone or computer of virtually anyone in the United States,” said Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Others backing the bill are Senators Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware; Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana; Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, and Al Franken, a Democrat from Minnesota. The bill is also supported by Representatives John Conyers, Jr., a Democrat from Michigan and Ted Poe, a Republican from Texas. Wyden and four others had introduced in May legislation for preventing the changes from coming into effect but that went on the back burner in the election year.
The expanded surveillance authority to allow the U. S. to hack multiple computers in unknown locations, including overseas, with a single warrant has far-reaching consequences for U. S. citizens and people around the world, warned Ed Black, president and CEO of the Computer & Communications Industry Association in a statement Thursday. “This policy impacts the relationship between citizens and our government and between the U. S. and allies,” he added.
The change is scheduled to come into force a little before a new president takes over in the U. S. in January, and will take over the vast surveillance apparatus the country already runs.
A delay in the proposed changes to rule 41 is required to ensure that the newly elected Congress and administration can carefully evaluate the amendment before it goes into effect to ensure that it is constitutional and in the best interests of the American people, said Rep. Poe.
The DOJ holds that “the amendments would not authorize the government to undertake any search or seizure or use any remote search technique, whether inside or outside the United States, that is not already permitted under current law.” “This change would not permit indiscriminate surveillance of thousands of victim computers— that is against the law now and it would continue to be prohibited if the amendment goes into effect,” wrote Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Criminal Division in June in a blog post.
The amendments would make a difference in cases where a suspect has hidden the location of his computer using technological means, so that now the investigator would know which judge to approach for a warrant and go discover the computer’s location, Caldwell wrote. When a crime has affected computers in multiple judicial districts, the amendment removes the requirement to submit separate warrant applications in each district where a computer is affected, he added.
That blog post and other statements by the DOJ have not satisfied lawmakers, who wrote in October to Attorney General Loretta Lynch asking for information, among other things, on how the government intends to “prevent forum shopping” by prosecutors seeking court approval to hack into Americans’ devices, and how the government plans to prevent “collateral damage” to innocent Americans’ devices and electronic data during remote searches of devices such as smartphones or medical devices.
U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to delay enhanced government hacking powers computerworld.com
2016-11-18 08:39 John Ribeiro www.infoworld.com
7 /77 Metallica is back on Napster and nothing else matters
(1.02/3) After 16 years, Metallica have finally given their permission for their library to appear in full on Napster, a service which the band famously sued back in 2000.
Times have changed. Back then Napster was a peer- to-peer music download service which allowed its users to share music with each other. In practice this meant that its users could download music without having to pay anything, allowing the software to act as an enabler for piracy. Nowadays music streaming services like Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music are increasingly popular ways of listening to music, and the Napster name has been used to rebrand Rhapsody , a lesser known streaming service.
Loudwire reports that streaming services now account for almost half of revenue in the music industry, so it makes sense for Metallica to follow the money.
In the years since the lawsuit, Lars Ulrich has claimed that Metallica’s issue with Napster wasn’t about the money, but was instead about control of the band’s music catalog.
Now that Napster is going through the proper channels to gain the rights to distribute Metallica’s music, the band is willing to make its music available.
Metallica returns to Napster, because 2016 just keeps getting weirder theinquirer.net
2016-11-18 08:18 Jon Porter feedproxy.google.com
8 /77 : Xiaomi Mi Mix (1.02/3) Android Advisor is a monthly digital magazine that is your go-to source for everything Android, from smartphones, tablets and the best mobile apps to wearable and in-car tech. Android Advisor will not only help you to choose the best phone or tablet for your needs but also how to get more from that device.
This issue, we look at the new Xiaomi Mi Mix, which is the most revolutionary smartphone design we’ve seen in a long time. Plus, we’ve the firm’s fantastic Mi Note 2 phablet. With Christmas coming, the hot new gadget sitting at the top of our wishlist is Google Home. It’s not out in the UK just yet though, whereas the similar Amazon Echo is. We compare the two. Speaking of presents, we reveal how to choose a suitable smartphone for a child. Plus, we’ve our usual reviews, including Google’s Pixel XL, Sony’s XZ and the Asus ZenFone 3, as well as our best buy charts.
Also in this month’s issue:
News: Samsung confirms it hasn’t killed the Note. Review: Sony Xperia X Compact. Hands-on: Kodak Ektra. Feature: Why phones catch fire. Android Advisor is available on a range of platforms, including Google Play, Readly and Zinio. To buy a copy of the latest issue, go to www.pcadvisor.co.uk/magazine .
Xiaomi's Mi Mix Nano: What we know so far computerworld.com
2016-11-18 08:16 Rob Woodcock www.pcadvisor.co.uk
9 /77 Intel's new AI strategy involves new deep-learning technology (1.02/3) Intel announced its new strategy related to artificial intelligence (AI), which involves the introduction of new products, as well as investments for the development of specific AI- related technology.
The company said that within the next three years, it hopes to reduce the time to train a deep learning model up to 100 times.
Diane Bryant, executive vice president and general manager of the Data Centre Group at Intel, said: "We expect the Intel Nervana platform to produce breakthrough performance and dramatic reductions in the time to train complex neural networks. Before the end of the decade, Intel will deliver a 100-fold increase in performance that will turbocharge the pace of innovation in the emerging deep learning space. "
On Thursday, the company said it is developing new chips that can support AI and will, for the time being, be released as specialised primary chips or co-processors.
Intel is looking to increase its influence within the emerging field of Artificial Intelligence, offering a range of alternative non-GPU chips for deep learning.
At the Developer Forum keynote in San Francisco, in August, Bryant said Intel is working on a new chip, named "Knights Mill", which is aimed at applications in deep-learning and artificial intelligence, and should become available in 2017.
As part of its new strategy, Intel is also introducing a data centre portfolio for AI, called the Intel Nervana platform. The company hopes this will become the foundation for AI solutions, helping professionals address different issues through AI. Intel also established a partnership with Google aimed at helping businesses attain open, flexible and secure multi-cloud infrastructure for their businesses.
Among other things, the two companies' collaboration will aim at optimising open source libraries such as TensorFlow, and improving the abilities of open source management platform Kubernetes.
Intel announces renewed AI push feedproxy.google.com
2016-11-18 08:00 Ingrid Fadelli www.itpro.co.uk
10 /77 : Third iPhone 8 model will have huge curved OLED screen (1.02/3) The iPhone 7 has only recently been announced, but all we seem to be hearing are rumours about the iPhone 8. We think Apple might well be holding back some major updates and improvements for the iPhone 8, which will be launched on the 10th anniverary of the first iPhone. Here we round up the rumours about the iPhone 8 release date, features and specifications. See also: Best phones 2016.
Hang on a minute, shouldn't the next iPhone be the iPhone 7s? Well, technically, yes. But this one is said to be such a big and important upgrade that we can't see Apple giving it anything other than a new number. There are some rumours the next iPhone could even be called simply The iPhone, or iPhone Pro, but for now we'll stick to calling the 2017 iPhone the iPhone 8.
Latest updates: New reports suggest there will be a third iPhone 8 model with a huge curved OLED screen - read more. And there's new info suggesting the camera app will have new augmented reality technology - read more.
It's a bit early to talk about the iPhone 8 release date. It's not necessarily even going to be called that. However, for now that's the name we're using to keep things simple and the iPhone 8 will be the new flagship smartphone for Apple in 2017.
If tradition continues, the iPhone 8 release date will be in September 2017. However, the release date isn't quite as easy to predict as normal. 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone launch, so we wouldn't be too surprised if Apple mixed things up a bit.
It seems the name may have been confirmed with an Apple employee referring to the new device by the name 'iPhone 8' unprompted when speaking to Business Insider .
As we've mentioned, the iPhone for 2017 is unpredictable because it will mark a big anniversary for the smartphone.
The Wall Street Journal says: "Apple plans bigger design changes for 2017, the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone. Those changes could include an edge-to-edge organic light- emitting diode, or OLED, screen and eliminating the home button by building the fingerprint sensor into the display, according to people familiar with the matter.
"At a meeting with an Apple executive, one of the company’s China-based engineers asked why this year’s model [the iPhone 7] lacked a major design change in keeping with Apple’s usual two-year cycle. The answer, one person at the meeting recalled, was that the new technology in the pipeline will take time to implement. People familiar with the matter said some features that Apple hopes to integrate into iPhones, such as curved screens, weren’t ready for this year’s models," it added.
If Apple follows the usual pattern, the iPhone 7 that launched this year will be followed by the iPhone 7S in 2017. The fact that it's 10 years since the original iPhone means this could all go out the window. Apple will want to do something special to celebrate the occasion so an 'S' model, which usually just brings small tweaks, won't suffice.
It's pretty much anyone's guess at the moment, hence, we're calling the 2017 model the iPhone 8 at the moment but it's perfectly plausible that the new phone won't conform to the traditional naming system at all. The iPhone SE (special edition) is already a thing, so perhaps Apple will go with 'iPhone Pro', iPhone Anniversary Edition' or even just 'iPhone' - although naming the iPad 3 as 'the new iPad' didn't go down too well.
A report from Nikkei suggested that in 2017 there would be three new iPhone models. It sounded as though we were in for the usual 4.7- and 5.5in models (the regular and Plus), plus a third new 'Pro' model with a 5.5in or above curved screen. Its source said the screen would be "bent on the two sides" making it sound like a Galaxy Note 7 rival. Of course, this didn't happen with the iPhone 7, though it doesn't mean we won't see a curved-screen iPhone 8.
Vote in our poll to let us know what you think Apple will name the iPhone next year.
We're speculating for now, of course, as the iPhone 7 has only recently gone on sale. Whether Apple will introduce a price increase for the potentially special iPhone 8 is anyone's guess. However, the iPhone 7 price jumped up to £599 in the UK thanks to Brexit and we hope that it will stay the same with next year's anniversary model.
If Apple does indeed do something special for the iPhone's 10th anniversary, which seems likely based on iPhone 7 rumours, the iPhone 8 will be one which fans will no doubt want to upgrade to on launch day. Could we see the biggest queues ever?
A combination of design and hardware changes will make the iPhone 8 the most radical new iPhone to date, if we are to go by the rumours and leaks.
Update 18 November: Two reports are suggesting that there could be a third iPhone 8 model beyond the usual two. This more 'premium' option will be even bigger, touted at 5.8in, with a curved OLED screen. However, this may be no bigger than the current iPhone 7 Plus which is 5.5in due to the expected bezel-less design. Via Forbes and Fool.
There is yet more weight to the possibility of the iPhone 8 getting an OLED screen. M ultinational banking company JP Morgan has come across a purchase order in Apple's most recent Securities and Exchange Commission which is thought to be for OLED panels. The order extends for a year and is valued at around $4bn.
We wanted to bring your attention to a phone which might provide a glimpse of what the iPhone 8. Xiaomi has announced the Mi Mix which is, let's face it, a stunning device. It looks like the first of a new category of phones with it's 91.3 percent screen-to-body ratio, according to the firm.
A Facebook post by Robert Scoble - a well-known tech strategist - reveals new details about the next iPhone. In the lengthy post Scoble claims to have been told that it will be "a clear piece of glass... which will put holograms on top of the real world like Microsoft HoloLens does". He also says the phone will have an OLED screen and that Apple has 600 engineers working on a next- generation 3D sensor and that the phone will have eye sensors. These will bring "a new kind of interface". He also says that you'll " pop it into a headset which has eye sensors on it, which enables the next iPhone to have a higher apparent frame rate and polygon count than a PC with a Nvidia 1080 card in it. "
Plus, he says that new sources revealed we can "expect battery and antennas to be hidden around the edges of the screen, which explains how Apple will fit in some of the pieces even while most of the chips that make up a phone are in a pack/strip at the bottom of the phone. "
These sound like ridiculous predictions, especially the part about the phone being transparent - battery tech is not yet good enough to make one small enough to "hide" - but if true, the iPhone 8 will be a revolution rather than the evolution we've seen with the iPhone 7 this year. We'll continue to update this article as new information appears, but here's how things stand right now.
Jony Ive has wanted to introduce an iPhone which resembles a single sheet of glass for a long time and the 2017 anniversary iPhone could be the one. It's rumoured that at least one iPhone in 2017 will use a glass body, according to Apple supplier Catcher Technology. Glass on the front and back would make it like a hugely updated version of the iPhone 4S.
This, combined with the rumour that the iPhone 8 will sport an edge-to-edge OLED screen makes things rather interesting. And we're not just talking the side edges, as Apple may even go as far as to do away with the top and bottom bezels. The physical home button would be gone and the TouchID fingerprint scanner would be housed within the screen.
A patent filed back in March 2015 states: "The man-machine interface device comprises an electronic display apparatus that is capable of presenting graphic text, images, icons, and other data typically shown on a screen, while further including a transparent finger touch sensor region that is seated above the display apparatus. "
A patent has now been awarded for a 'c apacitive fingerprint sensor including an electrostatic lens'. This gets around the problem of an all-glass display and no physical home button with capacitive sensing technology working through gaps in space allowing a Touch ID component to operate below the iPhone's screen.
The concept video shown below is from DeepMind and shows what an iPhone would look like with an edge-to-edge display. And it looks pretty cool.
Another concept image of an iPhone with an edge-to-edge display emerged in early 2016 from iPhone-Tricks.com. It's a bit out-there and is unlikely to be quite accurate, but it also shows what iOS 10 might look like including an interesting idea that some of the icons could be bigger in a 'widget' style familiar to Android users.
Using a flexible OLED display technology will allow the iPhone 8 to be thinner and give a similar effect to the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. It should also consume less power while offering better contrast and colour reproduction. Apple already uses an OLED display for the Apple Watch.
Reports say Samsung Display is currently working on a new flexible OLED for the iPhone and is set to invest billions in a new factory to keep up with demand and meet Apple's order of up to 45,000 panels per month.
This concept image via ConceptsiPhone shows what an edge-to-edge OLED display iPhone might look like:
A new patent award to Apple is further indication, some might say proof, that the iPhone 8 will ditch the home button for a system which placed the fingerprint sensing technology underneath the screen. Named a 'c apacitive fingerprint sensor including an electrostatic lens', it means Apple is looking into a fingerprint sensor which can work through various layers of the display.
Another patent, via Apple Insider , shows that we the iPhone 8 might actually look like the ambitous concept above. With not only the home button moving to the screen, Apple will also need to tackle the light sensor. Well the below patent called 'Electronic Devices With Display- Integrated Light Sensors' will do exactly that.
The patent explains that having a light sensor can result in an increase in the size and weight of the device so "it would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved electronic devices with light sensors and displays. "
As pointed out by Patently Apple , the firm has filed and been granted patents which may well be used on the 2017 iPhone. They suggest a curved-glass design and also that the sides of the phone could be used for virtual active buttons. For example, this could be used for certain controls when the camera app is in use. If true, the phone would rival Samsung's edge screen features.
There were also some rumours we heard about the iPhone 7's screen that never made it to fruition. It's possible that they could see daylight with the iPhone 8.
Economic Daily News speculated that the iPhone 7 could feature a 3D display, and one that doesn't require the use of those annoying 3D glasses. The website claimed at the time that Apple supply chain partner TPK is working on a project that could produce a glasses-free 3D display, though we're not holding out much hope for this as its been done before (remember the LG Optimus 3D?) and has never done well.
There were also some rumours to suggest that the iPhone 7 could have a sidewall display, similar to that found on the Galaxy S7 edge and Note 7. This came from an Apple patent that was published in 2015. The patent hints at a future iPhone with a display that extends onto the sides of the device, providing interactive or touch sensitive portions that give access to slide-to- unlock functionality, music player controls, messaging readout, called ID, system controls and more.
Above concept by Michael Shanks
iPhone 8 rumoured to have 'all-glass' OLED display itpro.co.uk
2016-11-18 07:30 Chris Martin www.pcadvisor.co.uk
11 /77 Products found exclusively at the Apple Store (0.01/3) Here's where you can get it
The tiny $60 Nintendo entertainment system is currently sold out in most places, but you still may able to snag one...eventually. Here are the places giving gamers hope, and those that have shut down sales.
Here are products you can buy only at the Apple Store cnet.com
2016-11-18 17:02 James Martin www.cnet.com
12 /77 Computerworld's holiday gift guide 2016: Top-notch tech for $150 or more (0.01/3) We all love buying tech toys for ourselves, but it can be even more fun to pick out the perfect device for a friend or family member, then watch their eyes light up when they open the package.
Part 1 of our holiday gift guide focuses on high-end gear -- gadgets that cost $150 or more. We present sleek smartwatches, a top-quality camera that uses an iPhone's display as a viewfinder, a Bluetooth speaker that actually levitates, a Chromebook that runs Android apps, and a whole lot more. There's even a cozy winter jacket made especially for gadget lovers.
We've included prices and shopping links, but be aware that prices often fluctuate, especially during the holiday shopping season. As always, be careful of false deals and scams; you know what they say about deals that sound too good to be true.
In the coming weeks we'll be rolling out two more slideshows with midrange and low-priced tech gifts. And we've also got a video highlighting some of this year's coolest wearables. You'll find all that at our main holiday gift guide page.
Meanwhile, enjoy our selection of $150-and-over gift ideas.
If you have loved ones who enjoy taking photos, the DxO One camera system for the iPhone can help elevate the quality of their shots. The DxO is a small, lightweight camera that plugs into an iPhone's Lightning connector and then uses the iPhone's display as a viewfinder.
The DxO One packs a lot into a small package. At just 3.8 oz. and less than 3 in. tall, it features a large 1-in. sensor and a 6-element lens with f/1.8 max aperture for capturing high-res 20.2- megapixel photos in JPEG, RAW or Super RAW format. This camera especially excels at low- light photography. At $499 ( vendor price ), the DxO One camera is a great device that will surely help to inspire budding photographers.
-- Michael deAgonia
For the person who likes to have music wherever they go, the UE Boom 2 from Ultimate Ears is bound to hit the right note. Its two active drivers and two passive radiators spread sound a full 360 degrees, and the volume and frequency range are impressive for such a compact (slightly over 7-in. tall) blaster. It comes in several colors to suit a variety of tastes.
The Boom 2's rechargeable battery lasts for up to 15 hours, and it's IPX7-rated waterproof. At $200 ( vendor price ), it also offers a wide range of listening options: You can pair it with up to eight Bluetooth devices and connect to two devices at the same time, and you can stream to two speakers from the same device to fill multiple rooms with music. The UE Boom app ( iOS and Android ) ups that total to 50 speakers and adds voice control.
-- Jake Widman
After an extended period of hype, enthusiasm for smartwatches seems to have fizzled as of late. But maybe a fresh take on the concept is just what the gadget-lover in your life needs to rekindle her romance with the wrist computer.
The CoWatch is sleek, attractive, and all the things you'd want a wearable gadget to be. But it's what's inside that sets it apart from the pack: The device is controlled not by the typical Apple or Google software but by Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa. Beneath that, it runs an alternate Android-derived operating system known as Chronologic OS.
While it may not be the most polished product out there , it's certainly interesting. And if you're shopping for someone who loves Amazon and is already using one of the company's Echo home assistants, it could be a fun new toy to open up and try this holiday season.
-- JR Raphael
The Apple Watch Series 2 has been redesigned with fitness in mind, so if you know someone who's looking for that extra motivation, it's worth checking out. The second-generation Watch offers a host of improvements over the original model, including better performance (twice as fast and responsive as the first generation); a display that's much easier to read in sunlight; enhanced water-resistance; built-in GPS; profiles for more activities, such as swimming; and support for wheelchair users. It features a built-in heart-rate sensor, as well as instruments designed to count steps and track daily activity.
The Watch 2, which starts at $369 ( vendor price ) works with a vast library of first- and third-party apps that allow all sorts of functionality from its owner's wrist, from message notifications to fitness- and sleep-tracking. There are also apps to start their car, toggle on/off lights and appliances, purchase items in stores with Apple Pay, control their iPhone's camera or music, control their Apple TV, check the weather, look up stocks, check reminders, unlock their home... oh, and the Apple Watch 2 also tells time.
-- Michael deAgonia
Have you been hearing complaints about overstuffed backpacks? SCOTTeVEST has the answer: Its OTG (Off the Grid) Jacket, available for both women and men , has a total of 29 pockets for almost anything you can imagine -- including an entire laptop.
Two large outer pockets on either side of the zipper are meant to handle a smallish laptop -- and in fact, I was able to fit an 11.6-in. Samsung Chromebook into one (but wasn't as successful with a 13-in. MacBook Pro). The OTG Jacket for women does tend to run small -- and the rigidity of a computer can make it hard to zip up the jacket.
But who really wants to schlep around a laptop in their jacket, anyway? Where this ingenious garment really shines is in its thoughtfully designed storage for the other devices (and non-tech items) your giftee is likely to carry around. For example, there's a see-through internal pocket that lets folks use a smartphone without taking it out; storage for earbuds; a place for a tablet; a secure pocket for a wallet, a clip for keys -- and way more.
The machine-washable OTG Jacket for women costs $215 ( vendor price ) and comes in black and plum in sizes XS to XXL; the men's jacket, also $215 ( vendor price ), comes in black and midnight blue, sizes S to XXXL.
-- Barbara Krasnoff
Bluetooth earbuds are getting better with every product cycle. That's well-timed, because smartphones without headphone jacks are starting to appear.
The Jaybird Freedom is ridiculously light (0.49 oz.) and small, with buds that easily fit under bike or board helmets. The battery runs about four hours -- twice that, if you leave on the tiny external battery pack that contains the USB charging port. It comes with a lot of eartip options and an app that allows audiophiles to tweak highs and lows to their hearts' content.
Jabra's Sport Pulse is nearly as light (0.56 oz.), but includes an unusual in-ear heart-rate sensor. Because of the sensor, presumably, the buds themselves are pretty large and best suited for the gym or running. Paired with its Sport Life app, the Sport Pulse can give your giftees regular updates on their workouts. The Sport Pulse runs for four hours on a single charge; the USB charging port is built in.
The Jaybird Freedom is $180 ( vendor price ), while the Jabra Sport Pulse is $160 ( vendor price ). Either makes a great gift for music lovers who want to listen on the go.
-- Dan Rosenbaum
These days, Bluetooth speakers are a dime a dozen. And let's be honest: It's often hard to tell one from the other. Plox's Death Star levitating speaker is a definite exception. The product pretty much speaks for itself: It's a speaker shaped like the Death Star, with the silver-colored orb floating eerily above a magnetic base.
The Death Star speaker promises 360-degree sound and up to five hours of continuous playback via Bluetooth. That's all fine and dandy, but the Star Wars fanatic in your life is far more likely to be impressed by the fact that it's, you know, a levitating Death Star , for Darth's sake.
-- JR Raphael
Know someone who could use a simple and versatile device for around-the-house computing or on-the-go connectivity? Consider the Asus Chromebook Flip , one of the first Chrome OS devices to sport the ability to run Android apps in a desktop setting. The ultra-portable Flip functions as a full-fledged laptop for typing-oriented tasks and then flips around 180 degrees to become a tablet for more passive types of use. Your giftee can seamlessly move between web apps and Android apps to get everything done in whichever form makes the most sense.
It's a best-of-all-worlds scenario that opens up all sorts of interesting possibilities. A Flip owner could type out a document in a desktop-class web browser one minute, for instance, and then use a phone-centric app like Skype or Snapchat the next -- all on the same 10-in. screen. This isn't your average laptop, in other words -- and it certainly won't be an ordinary gift.
You can get a Chromebook Flip with just 2GB of RAM, but do your gift recipient a favor and get the 4GB model, which costs $279 ( vendor price ).
-- JR Raphael
The iPhone 7 Plus is an easy recommendation for any generous gift-giver looking for a sure-fire hit for an Apple fan. The iPhone 7 Plus features industry-leading performance with its custom A10 Fusion 64-bit chipset, up to 256GB of internal storage, 3GB of system memory, a sharp 5.5- in. Retina HD 1080p display (at 401 ppi), new stereo speakers and a waterproof housing.
But the real standout feature (available only with the iPhone 7 Plus, not its smaller iPhone 7 sibling) is a new dual-lens camera system with both wide and 2x optical zoom views. In a new feature called Portrait Mode, the dual-camera system calculates depth and adds a layered blur to enhance the foreground subject, similar to the effect produced by high-end SLR cameras. (For more details about the iPhone 7 Plus and its camera system, see our review .) There's no doubt this gift will be well-used and well-loved. -- Michael deAgonia
It's been a really good year for Android smartphones ( if your name isn't Samsung ). There have been a bunch of excellent innovative designs hitting the market, with plenty of consideration for what people actually want to do with a mobile device.
That so many vendors came up with so many different good answers made it incredibly hard to pick a recommendation for the best smartphone gift. We finally picked the LG V20 , not so much for its signature replaceable battery as for everything else that's great about it: astonishing sound recording and playback, the ability to obsessively control still and video recording with its dual main cameras, and the customizability of its interface. (See our review for more standout features.)
The V20 is far from the prettiest phone, and at $672 to $829 ( carrier prices ), it sure isn't the cheapest. But it's available for any major carrier and you're going to love the quality of the holiday pictures and videos that your giftees will take as soon as they unbox it.
-- Dan Rosenbaum
Modern keyboards often lack the audible and tactile feedback of old-school word processing, disconnecting writers from their craft. Enter the Qwerkywriter , a Bluetooth keyboard that employs mechanical typewriter keys housed in an aluminum-metal alloy case.
Each keypress provides a satisfying click, and the attached carriage return lever isn't just a skeuomorphism -- it's a working return key that doubles as a programmable macro, capable of recording up to five characters. The Qwerkywriter connects to any Bluetooth smartphone or tablet, and doubles as a stand for devices as large as the 12.9-in. iPad Pro. A micro-USB port is used to charge the battery, which lasts one to three months per charge.
At 2.8 lb. and $299 ( vendor price ), what the Qwerkywriter lacks in portability and affordability, it makes up for in elegance and substance.
-- Ken Gagne
For the daredevils or adrenaline junkies on your gift list, there is no better present than a way to show off their adventures. GoPro is synonymous with action cameras, and the Hero5 Black is its new flagship. The camera features many improvements over previous generations, including a rugged new case that's waterproof to 33 feet without needing a bulky housing, a built-in LCD touchscreen for framing and reviewing shots, optical stabilization for smoother videos, and even voice control.
Measuring 1.8 x 2.4 x 1.3 in. and weighing just 4.2 oz., this tiny camera shoots 4K video and 12MP photos, records stereo audio, and even captures GPS information. The Hero5 Black costs $400 ( vendor price ), and there are plenty of first- and third-party accessories for mounting and framing.
-- Michael deAgonia
For podcasters, budding YouTube stars or voiceover artists, the Raspberry mic from Blue Microphones will let them sound their best. It connects to PCs or Macs via USB or to iOS devices via Lightning cables (included) and captures full 24-bit audio from 20Hz up to 20kHz. Its integrated stand provides shock absorption to keep vibrations from ruining your recordings; it also has a quarter-inch thread mount for connecting to cameras or tripods. A headphone jack enables real-time monitoring of your recording.
Inside, the microphone features an Internal Acoustic Diffuser to dampen the sound of the room so that a voice or instrument will stand out from background noise. Costing $200 ( vendor price ), the Raspberry weighs just under 6 oz. (less than 10 oz. with the stand) and stands about 5 in. tall, which -- with the included carrying pouch -- makes it easy to take on location.
-- Jake Widman
For that special someone who has a mix of creative right-brain and technical left-brain abilities, a 3D printer might be the perfect gift. However, finding a 3D printer that won't break the bank but still offers quality technology isn't easy.
XYZprinting, however, is one company that has made its bones on inexpensive machines, and its latest desktop model -- the da Vinci Mini -- is both inexpensive and the best-quality printer around for the money.
For $290 ( vendor price ), a hobbyist, school teacher or entrepreneur will get a no-frills machine that's intuitive to use and able to produce mostly accurate, good-quality objects -- even multiple builds at the same time.
-- Lucas Mearian
Computerworld's holiday gift guide 2016 (with video!) computerworld.com
2016-11-18 07:00 Computerworld Staff www.computerworld.com
13 /77 Protein Folding: Your Chance To Help (and Whup AnandTech) Starting Dec 1 Hardly a day goes by during which I fail to be stunned by my good fortune of being part of Tom’s Hardware. Even when I have to read product review copy late into the night. Even when commenters are berating us for our obvious bias. Even when vendors hunt me down to lament their poor performance in a review (or when they call my bosses to do the same).
And certainly, I don’t fail to realize my luck when I am getting briefed on the next big CPU or GPU, or trying some new VR game. And most certainly when I’m walking around somewhere with my Tom’s Hardware hat on, and a perfect stranger approaches to tell me how many times our community has helped them solve a problem.
Yes, I know I’m lucky.
So lucky that often I get a little twinge of guilt that, in some way, I get to play for a living. Are we doing any good in the world, I sometimes wonder? I’m sure indirectly that we do, but it is rare that we have a chance to do something that directly and specifically makes the world better.
This is one of those rare times, and I need your help and generosity.
For those who don’t know what this is, “folding” refers to protein folding, the process by which proteins “assemble themselves” prior to performing their bodily functions, including fighting disease. When these proteins don’t fold as they are supposed to, it can lead to a variety of diseases, like cancer, Alzheimer's, ALS, AIDS, Parkinson’s, and more.
Folding@Home allows people and entities like us to contribute idle/spare computing resources to help researchers combat these illnesses.
All you need to do is leave the Folding@Home program running on any and all PCs whenever you can — while you’re sleeping, or at work, or all day long for that matter. (In fact, just stop working that week and give us all your company’s compute resources.) Every contribution your compute cycles generate will help in advancing treatments for these diseases, and even — we hope — cures one day.
Tom's Hardware and AnandTech are both under the Purch company umbrella, and Purch is sponsoring this event. Purch is going to donate $2,500 to the charity Child’s Play in the name of the winning team.
Instructions on this contest, and how to get started (downloading the Folding@Home client and joining the Tom’s Hardware Folding team) can be found in our forums, using the handy guide created by warmon6, a longtime member of our Folding team. (And for the love of god, can someone please go read the instructions out loud to the AnandTech team so they know what to do?)
2016-11-18 11:00 GPUs News www.tomshardware.com
14 /77 Alexa offers steep, exclusive deals in Amazon's first 'voice shopping weekend' Amazon is getting a jump on the holiday shopping craze with an all-Alexa weekend. The online retailer just announced its first “voice shopping weekend.” Prime members can use an Amazon Echo , Echo Dot, Amazon Tap , Amazon Fire HD tablet, or Amazon Fire TV to ask, “Alexa, what are your deals?”
Alexa will then tell you about Amazon’s deals for that day. If you like what you hear, you can then tell Alexa to order the item. The sale begins on Friday, November 18 and lasts through November 21. Amazon says there will be more Alexa-only deals throughout the holidays. Anyone who wants to can peruse the deals on Amazon’s website , but ordering the items at the sale price requires a Prime membership and an Alexa- enabled device. Amazon says shopping with Alexa also requires Prime members to have 1-click enabled.
It's a win-win: The least-expensive digital voice assistant you can put in your smart home is also one of the best. But add a speaker if you want it to play music.
Before buying large items it’s always best to see just how good the deal really is. Most of these deals will still be there a few minutes later so there’s no rush. All you need to do is check the model on Amazon’s Alexa deals page and see what the price is on other sites. Amazon is usually pretty good about sale prices, but we're entering Black Friday territory, where many discounts are anything but.
If you’re a Prime member wishing for an Alexa device, Amazon has a second reason to start using its digital assistant. AT&T announced it will support sending text messages from an Amazon Echo device such as our favorite the Echo Dot.
2016-11-18 10:36 Ian Paul www.itnews.com
15 /77 7 reasons cloud migrations fail (free online course) Cloud migrations can fail for a variety of reasons, such as a cloud strategy that isn’t aligned with business goals, cultural resistance or lack of a viable cloud security plan. Managing these migration risks is the focus of a free online course presented by training company Logical Operations Inc. , in partnership with IDG Enterprise.
In three video sessions, you’ll learn how to:
[ Also on CIO.com: The dirty dozen: 12 cloud security threats ]
It’s a timely topic: A recent IDG Enterprise survey found that companies anticipate having 60 percent of their total IT environment in public, private and hybrid clouds by 2018. Register now and sign up for this free course.
To continue reading this article register now
Learn More Existing Users Sign In
2016-11-18 10:36 CIO staff www.computerworld.com
16 /77 SD Times GitHub project of the week: Machine Learning for Software Engineers Get into a conversation with a developer, and you might find out that he or she is self-taught. Some developers started off as hobbyists with no computer science degree. Others watched videos and took courses online to add skills to their résumé.
Like other passionate developers that take studying and learning the ins and outs of software development into their own hands, Nam Vu, head of mobile at Vietnam-based company 3si.vn , decided to teach himself how to become a machine learning engineer by constructing a free and open study plan on GitHub , for himself and other developers.
Vu, who has a degree in software engineering, said that while studying machine learning, he was getting discouraged from books and courses that told him he needs to have multivariate calculus, inferential statistics, and linear algebra as prerequisites. Without a computer science degree, he wasn’t exposed to these kinds of courses.
Since Vu wasn’t finding what he was looking for, he created his own study plan for going from a mobile developer to a machine learning engineer. He said that this was inspired by the Google Interview University plan, which was recently featured as a previous SD Times GitHub Project of the Week.
The guide includes a mainly hands-on approach to machine learning that contains abstracts of mostly beginner math. He said the approach is considered unconventional because it’s a top- down and results-first approach that is usually intended for software engineers.
The guide consists of several sections, including a machine learning overview, machine learning algorithms, books for beginners, video series, and lessons on how to become an open- source contributor. Vu said that anyone can have an interest in machine learning since it is a “fascinating” area of study, one that will become “more prevalent in mobile applications, driverless cars, robotics, and drones.”
Vu welcomes contributions to this project, and he recommends developers or engineers like him not get discouraged by books and courses that seem challenging. Those with some machine learning prerequisites can get through the plan faster, but novices should take a subject from his machine learning overview list, read it cover to cover, take notes, do the exercises, and make sure they understand the lesson fully. Once he gets through the guide, Vu hopes to work in the United States and join machine learning company ESLA, which produces a mobile app for language learners to improve pronunciation and reduce accents. It uses in-house speech recognition, automated feedback, and deep learning technology, he said.
Top five projects trending on GitHub this week
#1. Machine Learning for Software Engineers : How to become a machine learning engineer.
#2. FreeCodeCamp: Back by popular demand, the free curriculum.
#3. Jasonette iOS : Allows you to create a native iOS app with JSON.
#4. Intercooler.js : AJAX with attributes.
#5. PoisonTap : Exploits locked or password-protected computers using Raspberry Pi Zero and Node.js.
2016-11-18 10:00 Madison Moore sdtimes.com
17 /77 Dials Calendar review: iPhone app puts a unique spin on daily events By J. R. Bookwalter
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Macworld | Nov 18, 2016 6:00 AM
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Dials Calendar takes the traditional calendar for a spin with a 12-hour dial view that integrates with contacts, maps, and popular cloud services.
It seems everyone has a favorite calendar app, but it’s rarely the one Apple ships with iOS. I’ve tried many over the years, finally settling on Fantastical 2 , along with Calendars 5 and BusyCal for their traditional month views. If you tend to focus on 12 hours at a time, there’s a new solution with a different look and feel.
Dials Calendar (free on the iTunes Store ) eschews traditional week and month views in favor of a unique approach. The dark user interface feels nothing like other calendars you’ve used, with events for the current 12-hour period appearing as colored pins placed around a clock dial at the scheduled time, and a running countdown to the next scheduled event. A tap or swipe narrows the focus to morning or evening events, and the weekly calendar across the bottom expands to show an entire month, with color-coded dots that match synced calendars (iCloud, Google, Outlook/Exchange, or a standalone Dials account). Tapping a pin expands to reveal event duration, with options to add notes, view locations in Apple Maps, chat with attendees, or view a detailed summary.
Despite the unique approach, Dials does have a month view tucked away at the bottom of the main screen.
The clock motif works well for dragging start and end pins to establish event times, but all-day events require a complete 360-degree trip around the dial. Other than this cumbersome gesture, Dials can be comfortably used one-handed with your thumb. There’s a dropdown menu at top to display all-day events in a list, but otherwise you never get a complete 24-hour view.
I really like how Dials integrates with contacts, adding a personal touch by displaying photos of who you’re meeting with, along with maps of each location. But without an Apple Watch app and native display support for iPad, Dials isn’t yet a replacement for my favorite calendar(s).
Dials Calendar puts a spin on traditional calendar apps, but the unique approach works best for those focused on one day at a time.
This story, "Dials Calendar review: iPhone app puts a unique spin on daily events" was originally published by
Macworld .
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Locate your Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office product keys with this simple guide.
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Shop with confidence for your PC gamer this holiday season with gifts that won't break the bank.
2016-11-18 10:00 J.R www.itnews.com
18 /77 Half of companies have been hit with ransomware in the past year MORE TERRIFYING SECURITY RESEARCH has discovered that almost half of a collection of firms surveyed admitted that they have been the victim of a ransomware attack.
Endpoint security outfit SentinelOne said that the ransomware attacks do not just go after monies these days, but have darker aims and can be used to threaten and terrorise people.
"[Our] results point to a significant shift for ransomware. It's no longer just a tool for cyber crime, but a tool for cyber terrorism and espionage," said Tony Rowan, chief security consultant at SentinelOne, in the firm's Ransomware Research Data Summary (PDF). "Hackers are gaining access to sensitive assets by tricking users, and this is a problem that cannot be removed with more walls and training. Security is at a point of crisis, and customers and vendors must both instigate change.
"There's an immediate need for a new generation of security technologies that can discover, adapt and stop the new breed of threats as they happen. "
SentinelOne polled 500 businesses in the US, UK, France and Germany, and found that 48 per cent have had some sort of ransom demand in the past year, and that 81 per cent have been hit more than once. Some as many as four times.
Most of the victim firms have made changes to their businesses. Around 67 per cent, or around two-thirds if we were paid by the word, increased their IT spending, while 52 per cent "changed their security strategies to focus on mitigation".
Reactions varied. Some respondents blamed their antivirus software and 22 per cent fired their IT people, but most were inclined to invest in new technology. Some training was probably involved too because 81 per cent of the attacks were at least partially enabled by phishing or social engineering.
Some 40 per cent said that the attack came through an infection and a botnet. We know that the maths does not add up.
SentinelOne added that employee data, customer information and financial data are the most often plucked fruit, and that survey respondents also cited operational disruption and cyber espionage as apparent motivations. µ
2016-11-18 09:58 Dave Neal www.theinquirer.net
19 /77 Woody’s Win10Tip: Apply updates carefully Most Windows 10 users get all Microsoft patches applied automatically, as soon as they come down the Automatic Update chute. If you don’t do anything, Windows 10 installs what’s been released and you get to deal with the consequences.
On the other hand, if you block Win10 updates, as I described in my previous Win10Tip , you gain a little breathing room in which to decide when and how to install patches. This Win10Tip explains how to proceed when you’re satisfied that a particular patch (or group of patches) is good enough to install. There are some tricks to the process.
By “patches” I’m not just talking about cumulative updates—although they’re a major concern. We also get. Net patches, new drivers, Silverlight, Flash patches, fixes for the Windows Update servicing stack , odd one-off bug fixes with little documentation, the latest Malicious Software Removal Tool, Windows Defender antivirus updates, Surface device firmware updates, and even Office patches for those who have Office installed. It’s a real mixed bag.
Much to Microsoft’s credit, I haven’t seen any catastrophic patches for Windows 10, although many—particularly forced driver changes and the aftermath to release of version 1607 —have triggered plenty of alarm. Eugene Kaspersky claims, with more than a little justification, that Win10 patches toss antivirus products into the fire. But we haven’t seen any massive meltdowns caused by Windows patches, which was an all-too-common occurrence just a few years ago.
Nowadays, the kinds of problems I see most frequently revolve around:
Of course there are many other problems with Win10 updating; those are just the most common.
If you judiciously block Win10 updates and wait a week or two to see if there are any problems that might affect you, if/when a big bug hits you’ll be in good shape. Here are the steps every Win10 user should take to make the most of their deferred updates.
There are many ways to turn off Windows Update but however you disabled it, you need to re- enable it.
Those of you who followed my instructions to turn off (or Defer) Updates in Step 3 of my Win10Tip on blocking forced Windows updates , go back into Group Policy editor and restore the settings to their original position. If you used dcomcnfg to turn the Windows Update service to Disabled, go in and Enable it.
Reboot. Remember how you changed the settings, because you’ll want to reverse the steps and block automatic updates again once you finish this procedure.
For what it’s worth, I never want to install any drivers from Microsoft. I’ll go straight to the manufacturer’s website if necessary, and even then I’ll stay skeptical. (The recent experiences with Nvidia drivers, per Neowin , should make you skittish.) I adamantly refuse to install Microsoft’s obsolete Silverlight. Other updates may appear out of the blue, but in general I have no problem with installing the latest Windows Defender and Malicious Software Removal Tool, and thus check those, should they appear.
Click the Notification area icon to the right of the time, down in the taskbar. At the bottom click Network. Then click on your current Wi-Fi connection and click Properties. Scroll down to the Metered connection slider like the one shown in the screenshot. Slide the setting Off.
Finally, we’re ready to install the update(s). Save everything. Click Start > Settings > Update & security. On the left, you see Windows Update. On the right, click the box marked Check for updates.
Note: Once you click Check for updates, you don’t have to do anything more in order to install the update. “Check” in this case means “Install.”
Windows may take a long time to find the update, and then take forever to install the update. You’ll likely need to reboot, although you can theoretically delay the reboot using the Change active hours link on the right side of this panel. After the reboot, it may take forever to start again, waiting for updates to install.
Bonus tip: If you have Win10 Home and no Wi-Fi, buy and use a Wi-Fi dongle.
If you can’t get a Windows 10 cumulative update to work, there are two important contact people at Microsoft who are very interested in hearing about your problem. They have direct links to the dev team and access to resources not available to mere mortals:
Every time Microsoft rolls out a cumulative update for the latest version of Win10, you can find a thread on the Win10 Reddit that covers installation problems. You’ll also find dozens of posts on the Microsoft Answers Windows 10 update forum. And of course, we always cover Windows updating on AskWoody.com .
It’s important that you report problems! Microsoft is working hard to make the Win10 updating process better and it needs your bellyachin’.
2016-11-18 09:55 Woody Leonhard www.infoworld.com
20 /77 'Neuromorphic' chip modeled after the human brain aims to bring smarts to computers The dream of creating intelligent computers has inspired the development of exotic chips based on the structure of the brain, which operates in mysterious ways. Some researchers are making such chips from components found in today’s computers.
Using components pulled off store shelves, researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have made a chip for intelligent computers that can learn. The chips are structured to discover patterns through probabilities and association, helping with decision making. The researchers are using off-the-shelf, reprogrammable circuits called FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) to simulate the way neurons and synapses in a brain operate. The chip was made as part of the university’s DANNA neuromorphic software project.
FPGAs excel at doing specific tasks and can be easily reprogrammed for other applications.
Researchers are developing neuromorphic chips for what’s being called the post-Moore’s Law era. It’s becoming difficult to further shrink the chips that power PCs and mobile devices, so researchers are trying to apply the brain’s structure to computing.
Brains have 100 billion neurons that process and transmit information, and can compute in parallel via trillions of connections, the synapses. The researchers are creating a mesh network of neurons and synapses in FPGAs to deal with input, output, and connections. Researchers are also establishing software models that can be applied to this neural network.
Researchers are also looking at ways to swap out FPGAs with the emerging memristor technology. Memristor is a form of memory and storage that can retain data and is considered a replacement for DRAM.
The ability for FPGAs and memristors to store data differentiates the research from other efforts to develop neuromorphic systems. The most notable is IBM’s TrueNorth, which is modeled to be more of a central processing unit. FPGAs can mimic CPUs, but meet the researchers’ goals to focus on the programmability of circuits.
The flexibility of the chip and architecture widens the scope of applications in which neuromorphic systems could be used, the researchers wrote in a paper presented at the International Workshop on Post Moore’s Era Supercomputing, held alongside the Supercomputing 16 conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, this week.
“We believe our architectures are particularly amenable for supercomputing applications because of their programmability,” the researchers said in the paper.
But there are disadvantages to using FPGAs for a practical brain model. Reprogramming FPGAs requires bringing them offline, which can disrupt the execution of tasks. Moreover, FPGAs can’t be primary chips that boot systems. They are mostly being used as co-processors and can be power hungry.
For the researchers, the chip architecture is more important than the type of chip. More chip prototypes based on the architecture will be made available to other researchers.
There is a lot of cooperation between researchers focusing on brain-mimicking chips. Outside of IBM, neuromorphic computing research is ongoing at the University of Manchester , the University of Heidelberg in Germany, Stanford University , and Zhejiang University in China.
2016-11-18 09:39 Agam Shah www.pcworld.com
21 /77 10 best internal desktop and laptop hard disk drives 2016 Despite the rise of cloud and solid state storage, demand for hard disk drives has never been so high. Regardless of whether they are internal or external hard disk drives, businesses and end- users can't get enough of them.
The arrival of ultra-high definition content delivered via personal devices like smartphones means that even a terabyte (TB) of storage space can seem cramped when you're stockpiling your 4K movies, lossless music, massive games and high resolution photo collections.
2TB isn't a bad starting point unless you're heavily into editing movies, and with prices tumbling, you don't have to pay much to enjoy excellent performance and gargantuan storage space. But as they say, bytes fill a hard drive like gas, an empty space.
If all you care about is getting the most bang (or storage) for your buck, then you cannot do better than the Toshiba P300, a hard disk drive that has been designed to consume as little power as possible (just 6.4W in read/write mode).
The Japanese company, which invented flash memory amongst other things, is not well known for its storage devices. This model steals the show by offering the cheapest per TB price at just over£25.
This Toshiba drive has a 7200RPM rotational speed (faster than the 5400RPM models usually seen in this price range), with a surprisingly big 64MB cache and is relatively quiet when in use, at 25dBA. It is not the fastest drive around, but if you just want a cheap internal HDD, it's probably your best bet.
If you're looking for the best possible price for a large capacity hard drive, then the WD Blue 1TB hard drive is a good shout, at just £42.
It comes with 1TB of storage space, which is pretty impressive considering the price, 64MB buffer and is capable of 7200RPM speeds, so your data transfers are going to remain fast.
It's not the most efficient hard drive out there, as it uses 6w when in use, but for the price you'll need to make a few sacrifices.
If 1TB isn't enough, this drive also comes in 2TB - 6TB versions as well.
A recent evolution in the internal hard drive market has been the segmentation according to usage with NAS (network attached storage) being targeted as a particularly promising segment.
All the major HDD manufacturers (WD, Seagate and HGST) have introduced new NAS products. Toshiba is the only one without a dedicated NAS hard drive line.
Rather than focusing on performance, these drives zero on reliability and the ability to perform in a 24/7 environment which explains why they are usually bought in lots rather than individually.
If you want a high capacity hard drive with NAS-specific features for keeping it running safely 24/7, then the WD Red 8TB NAS is a great option. The high capacity means you can set up two or more of these in mirror RAID configurations and still have plenty of storage space for your important files.
If you want the absolutely largest capacity hard drive on the market, then the Seagate IronWolf 10TB is the one you need, coming with a whopping 10TB of storage - currently the largest capacity you can buy. All of this space comes at a (high) price, and you won't be able to pick it up for less than £400, which means this is best suited to professionals who need to keep their data safe.
Thankfully, the Seagate IronWolf 10TB comes with a number of features that makes the price more palatable, including error recovery controls, and pretty great transfer rates thanks to the SATA 6GB/s interface.
For some scenarios, desktop hybrid solid state and hard disk drives can offer a boost in performance without having to resort to two separate drives.
Seagate's 4TB desktop SSHD is an interesting proposition packing a 4TB spinning hard drive and 8GB of flash storage.
The drive is a 7200RPM model with a five-year warranty, 64MB cache and three platters – and now for the surprising part, it actually costs less than traditional HDDs with similar feature sets.
Seagate boldly claims that the drive performs five times faster than other 7200RPM HDDs and improves overall responsiveness by nearly a third.
Given the quasi-price parity between this and the rest of the 4TB competition, we'd argue that this is a no-brainer buy if you want to strike the right balance between performance and capacity.
If you want to upgrade the hard disk drive in your laptop for something capacious rather than speedy, there's only one choice really – swap it for a 1TB hard disk drive.
The HGST Travelstar 1TB 2.5-inch hard disk drive is a great candidate and is part of the 5K1000 family, uses a pair of 500GB platters and has 8MB of cache. This is a 9.5mm drive so won't be compatible with a lot of laptops out there.
The 1TB WD Blue is a thinner 7mm model, backed by 16MB of cache with the rest of the specs similar to the HGST Travelstar (not really a surprise given that HGST and WD are part of the same holding).
That 2.5mm shrinkage comes at a price though, and you'll pay around 25% more compared to the Travelstar.
The PS4 makes it easy to replace its default hard drive with a standard 2.5-inch drive, and for the best price/performance/capacity an SSHD is the way to go.
By installing the Seagate 1TB SSHD your PS4 will get a speed boost - so games load faster - while also getting plenty of space thanks to its 1TB capacity.
Seagate makes the largest portable hard disk drive in terms of capacity. At 4TB, this carries a near-60% premium on the standard 3.5-inch models.
But it has a much higher data transfer rate, consumes modest amount of power and has a much bigger buffer size (128GB for that particular model).
Its high platter density (they use four 500GB ones) should also translate into much faster read/write speeds compared to physically bigger 3.5-inch hard drives.
In addition, they usually come with a longer warranty (Seagate provides this drive with a 3-year one) as well as a bunch of other features like QuietStep, Ramp Load and advanced format 512e. Just bear in mind that this is a 15mm model which will not fit in all the existing 2.5-inch slots available.
Not everybody can afford to pay for a large capacity SSD so if you're looking for a laptop hard drive that delivers both on performance AND with space to spare, check out the Travelstar 7K1000 from HGST.
It is a 9.5mm model that has a 32MB buffer and two 500GB platters plus a two-year warranty. What makes it special, though, is that it is one of the handful of 7200RPM drive in the 2.5-inch category we know of.
Spinning 33% faster means higher transfer rates but that has a negative effect on power consumption, noise and heat dissipation.
It also carries a small premium over its slower 5400RPM counterparts. Sadly, there are no affordable bigger models and if you're looking for a 2TB hard disk drive, you shall be looking at an acquisition cost of more than £250!
Toshiba is a relative newcomer when it comes to portable hybrid storage devices and its H200 drive packs the usual 8GB of NAND memory (found in competing products) plus 64MB of buffer storage to allow it to surpass traditional hard disk drives.
While its price is around 50% premium over a comparable non-flash drive like the HGST Travelstar, it does come with that additional 8GB of flash.
That should in theory, and in most configurations, boost performance for end users although your mileage will vary depending on your usage.
You also get a two-year warranty which is a nice add-on. As a reminder, a solid state hybrid drive brings together flash memory and traditional spinning hard drive and aims to marry the pros of each (speed and storage capacity).
2016-11-18 09:38 Desire Athow feedproxy.google.com
22 /77 Intel's Nervana AI platform takes aim at Nvidia's GPU techology CHIPMAKER Intel has set out its plans for artificial intelligence (AI) and claimed that it will reduce the time to train a deep learning model by up to 100 times within the next three years.
At the forefront of the firm's AI ambitions is the Intel Nervana platform, which was announced on Thursday following Intel's acquisition of deep learning startup Nervana Systems earlier this year .
Setting its sights on an area currently dominated by Nvidia's GPU technology, one of the platform's main focuses will be deep learning and training neural networks.
Intel claimed that its non-GPU tech will "deliver a 100-fold increase in performance that will turbocharge the pace of innovation in the emerging deep learning space". Intel will integrate Nervana's technology into its Xeon and Xeon Phi processor range.
The company will test the Nervana Engine chip, codenamed 'Lake Crest', during the first half of 2017 and make it available to key customers later in the year.
This will be optimised specifically for neural networks to deliver the highest performance for deep learning and unprecedented compute density with a high-bandwidth interconnect.
Diane Bryant, executive vice president and general manager of the Data Centre Group at Intel, said: "We expect the Intel Nervana platform to produce breakthrough performance and dramatic reductions in the time to train complex neural networks. "
In addition, Intel announced a new product, dubbed 'Knights Crest', on the roadmap that tightly integrates best-in-class Intel Xeon processors with the technology from Nervana.
The firm also said that the next generation of Xeon Phi processors, codenamed 'Knights Mill', which were unveiled at IDF earlier this year , will deliver four times better performance than the previous generation for deep learning and will be available in 2017.
Nvidia has hit out at these claims, though, and slammed Intel earlier this year for publishing incorrect "facts" about the Xeon Phi chips and their deep learning processing credentials compared with Nvidia's GPU offering.
Intel has also announced that it's teaming up with Google. This so-called "strategic alliance" will look at helping companies deliver an open, flexible and secure multi-cloud infrastructure for their businesses. µ
2016-11-18 09:27 Carly Page www.theinquirer.net
23 /77 US iPhone factories: Designed in California, made by machines Apple is apparently speaking with its Chinese manufacturing partners to assess if it is possible to bring iPhone manufacturing back into the USA.
In the past the company has said one of the reasons it does not manufacture products here is because the US lacks people with the right high-tech manufacturing skills. Speaking in 2012, Apple CEO, Tim Cook, also said he “hoped” assembly could take place in the US again – perhaps it can, with the addition of a little artificial intelligence.
A 2012 New York Times report also revealed: “Apple's executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that "Made in the U. S. A. " is no longer a viable option for most Apple products.”
Almost every consumer electronics company thinks the same way. The only way to change this without making products so expensive that no one will buy them is to impose the same pay and conditions on US manufacturing workers as their peers in China endure.
Or replace them with machines.
That’s got to be the most likely outcome.
Apple’s existing suppliers are already using robots in iPhone manufacturing. Robots replaced 60,000 employees at just one Foxconn factory this year.
"We will continue to harness automation and manpower in our manufacturing operations, and we expect to maintain our significant workforce in China,” the company said. Do those robots need to be in the country?
Today’s robots are much smarter than the production line machines we’ve seen in use in the last thirty years. They are capable of learning new skills. They use sophisticated deep learning and pattern matching technologies. They aren’t single-purpose machines that need replacing when the process changes. They are also more flexible and more willing to work a 12-hour day than the humans they replace.
It makes no economic sense. What good will it do the US economy to put its biggest technology firms out of business?
In order to insource manufacturing to the US, big tech firms will inevitably seek out technological solutions to the problem they face, and this means that rather than hiring and training tens of thousands of US workers, they are far more likely to purchase a bunch of robots to do the job, with a much smaller number of highly trained engineers to oversee the process.
(Though even there, Gartner believes that by 2018, more than three million workers globally will be supervised by a robo-boss.)
As former McDonald's chief executive Ed Rensi famously said : "It's cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who is inefficient, making $15 an hour bagging French fries. "
The Mac Pro is already made in a highly mechanized production plant in the US. Apple’s Liam robot already takes iPhones apart for recycling and is based in the US. There will be many more machines working diligently across production lines worldwide. When you think about Apple bringing iPhone production back to the US, don’t expect the jobs to come back. Instead, consumer electronics companies like Apple will need to raise prices slightly to help pay for new automated manufacturing processes. They will need to invest in robots and the technologies that enable them.
So your iPhone will still be Designed by Apple in California, but will be (partially) Assembled By Robots In The USA. They are also likely to be around $30-$40 more expensive to buy.
Though if we're lucky, perhaps some of the robots will be manufactured here.
2016-11-18 09:25 Jonny Evans www.computerworld.com
24 /77 HPE launches ‘world’s first’ solar-powered supercomputer Hikari to solve Zika virus Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has joined forces with Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) to build what it claims is the world’s first solar-powered supercomputer, dubbed Hikari.
HPE said that the computer is currently being used to ‘calculate biology applications’ in a bid to help solve the Zika virus crisis.
HPE claimed that it teamed with TAAC, as well as the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and NTT Facilities to ensure that Hikari did not require the huge amount of energy that traditional supercomputers usually require.
Nic Dube, chief technologist for high-performance computing at HPE suggested that Hikari is built using solar panels which are wired directly to the computer, meaning that it runs “on free energy, in the most efficient and sustainable way”.
Traditional supercomputers produce a huge amount of heat, and the companies decided to use the Apollo 8000 warm water cooling system, which eliminates the need for Computer Room Air Handlers (CRAH). HPE claimed that this reduced the amount of cooling energy that would normally be required.
Dube explained that during the day, energy produced by the solar system feeds straight into the computer, while at night, when the photovoltaic array does not create energy, the Apollo system switched to an AC-based grid.
The supercomputer runs on about 200,000 watts of DC power, and its other components include DC battery systems, DC air-conditioning, DC lighting, DC supply and solar panels.
HPE claimed that since the Hikari team launched the measurement phase at the end of August, more than 30% of the total power used by supercomputer was supplied by renewable energy sources.
Dan Stanzione, executive director of the Texas Advanced Computing Center has called on other companies to switch from using AC power to DC power in servers, adding that HPE had embraced the idea of investigating and exploring alternative technologies.
“Without their partnership, we could never have built one of the world’s greenest supercomputers,” he said.
Picture Credit: HPE
2016-11-18 09:03 Sooraj Shah www.itpro.co.uk
25 /77 Google, LinkedIn leaders on tech's responsibility for lost jobs SAN FRANCISCO — The pressing issue of modern technology's negative impact on jobs was largely ignored during the 2016 presidential election, according to California's Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who spoke this week at the Code Enterprise conference. Today's society has deficiencies in education and regulation, and it lacks the collective mindset necessary to transform tech challenges into opportunities, Newsom said.
The roles large technology companies play in eliminating jobs, and the responsibilities they should bear to fight this problem, are rarely discussed. However, senior executives at Google and LinkedIn addressed the issue on stage at Code Enterprise, telling the audience of business leaders that it is paramount for tech titans to minimize job losses by creating new opportunities.
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner cited stats from the World Economic Forum that put the impact of technology on 15 of the world's largest economies into perspective. For example, 5 million net jobs will be eliminated by AI, machine learning and robotics by 2020, Weiner said. "There is going to be increasing displacement of workers," and it is important for LinkedIn and others to think about the people who are being pushed out of jobs, he said. "I think it is incumbent on all of us in the Valley, anyone responsible for technology, to think about the unintended consequences of what we're doing. "
LinkedIn is one of few technology giants that is closely tuned in to the job market — it knows where there is demand and the specific skills required to fill those positions. "There are plenty of what are called 'middle-skilled jobs,'" or jobs that may require vocational training or certificates but not a full college degree, Weiner said.
Technology companies need to help train people for jobs that will exist in the future, according to Weiner, because today there is a significant skills gap. Google also knows it has some responsibility to help guide people through these difficult transitions, according to Diane Greene, a Google senior vice president and board member. "It's definitely disruptive," she said at Code Enterprise. "I think it's really incumbent on us to get the education out there so everybody is digitally literate. If you're digitally literate, you're going to have jobs. "
Google also aims to alleviate some of the negative impact of technology by getting more Chromebooks into schools in low-income neighborhoods and ensuring they have internet access, according to Greene. "It's not a trivial problem, we all have to work on ways to bring jobs to people," Greene said.
Greene balked when she was asked about "the singularity," or the point at which machine learning will exceed the capabilities of the human brain, a hypothesis theorized by Ray Kurzweil in the 2006 book by the same name. "There is a lot that machine learning doesn't do that humans can do really well," she said. "Nobody expected some of the advances we are seeing as quickly as we see them," but Greene doesn't foresee a singularity during her lifetime.
"When you see problems, the reason you become hopeful is you want to believe there's something you can do about it and you work on it," Greene said. "You have no choice but to figure out how you can do your part and, if you have some powerful technology, how can you use it to do what you believe will make things better. "
2016-11-18 09:01 Matt Kapko www.itnews.com
26 /77 The best free photo editor 2016 With phone cameras now ubiquitous, we're taking and sharing more photos than ever. But even the best phone camera is likely to produce a dud or two, and even the best shot could stand to be better.
Photo editing, then, shouldn't be the sole reserve of those who can afford to stump up the cash for a subscription to Adobe's Creative Cloud. And no, Microsoft Paint or Apple Preview won't cut it: you deserve more than mere cropping or a few sliders to tweak.
So we've given our list a total overhaul and selected the very best free photo editors you can download, ranging from fully-featured Photoshop clones to simple, easy to use ways to add filters and effects to your favourite snaps. These are by no means the only free options, though; if we've missed your favourite photo editor, let us know in the comments below.
The elder statesperson of free photo editing, GIMP is the most full-featured cross-platform Photoshop competitor going, and gets our vote as the best free photo editor.
It's not without its crashes and glitches – that's the too-many-cooks open source development philosophy in action – and it lacks the polish of its commercial rivals. Some of the filters, in particular, seem as if they haven't been touched since it was first released 20 years ago.
That said, if you're looking for a desktop free photo editor ready for just about any task, GIMP is it. Its interface will be immediately familiar to Photoshop users, particularly if you switch on the highly recommended single window mode, and it's still in active development, so new features and filters are added regularly. There's also a plug-in repository to extend GIMP's range (although it's not been updated for a while). We'd recommend grabbing the stable version , but don't overlook the development build if you want to try some new features.
Download here: GIMP
Sometimes it pays not to be overloaded with bells and whistles. Paint. NET 's simplicity is one of its key features; it leaves it a fast, easy to operate free photo editor that's perfect for those little tasks that don't need the sheer power of GIMP.
Don't be fooled by the name, though. This isn't just a clone of Microsoft's ultra-basic Paint – though it was originally intended to replace it. It's a proper photo editor, just one that lands on the basic side of the curve.
Interface-wise it's reminiscent of its namesake, but as it's grown Paint. NET has added essential editing tools like layers, an undo history, a raft of filters, numerous community-created plugins, and a 3D rotate/zoom function that's useful for recomposing images.
Yes, it's lacking in certain areas, but if your machine is lacking in power or RAM we can't think of a better choice.
Download here: Paint. NET
PhotoScape is, ostensibly, a rather simple free photo editor. But one glance at its main menu reveals a wealth of features: RAW conversion, photo splitting and merging, animated GIF creation, and even a rather odd (but useful) function with which you can print lined, graph or sheet music paper.
The meat, of course, is in the photo editing. PhotoScape's interface is among the most esoteric of all the apps we've looked at here, with tools grouped into pages in odd configurations. It certainly doesn't attempt to ape Photoshop, and includes fewer features.
We'd definitely point this towards the beginner, but that doesn't mean you can't get some solid results. PhotoScape's filters are functional and not at all beginner-like, so it's if good choice if you need to quickly level, sharpen or add mild filtering to pictures in a snap.
Steer clear of the rest of the tools, though: you'll find better elsewhere.
Download here: PhotoScape
Google's unending determination to corner just about every market sometimes pays dividends for the pincher of pennies. Take its purchase of German developer Nik in 2012, for example - its Nik Collection photo editor plugin range retailed for US$500 at the time, and in early 2016 Google decided to do away with the price tag and release the powerful collection for free.
We suspect support and updates might be somewhat limited going forward, but this does enable you to bag seven quality photo-editing tools as-is: lens and film emulator Analog Efex; colour corrector Color Efex; monochrome converter Silver Efex; noise reducer Dfine; selective colour tweaker Viveza; and Sharpener and HDR Efex, which speak for themselves.
These are perfect free plugins if you're already using Photoshop, and you can add them to compatible host applications when you install them, but they can also be run as standalone photo editors if you hunt down their executable files. They won't appear in your list of Windows apps - you need to look in C:\Program Files\Google\Nik Collection. To edit a photo, drag it onto the EXE file of your chosen editor. It's a strange system, but it works!
Download here: Google Nik Collection
An ad-supported online photo editor, Pixlr comes in two flavours: Editor, the more equipped package; and Express, perfect for applying quick fixes without the bloat of the bigger package. It's actually the online editor we tend to gravitate towards, both because of its clean, modern dark interface and because of its efficiency even on systems without much processor muscle.
Some of Pixlr Editor's tools, particularly the filters, can be a bit tricky to use because you're not given a proper preview, but the results – when you do eventually get the sliders right – are almost always satisfactory.
With support for layers, masks, and a fullscreen mode which means it might as well be a full-on desktop app, Editor (pictured) is a consistently pleasant tool to use. And don't discount Express; a bit of low-effort clicking can really make a huge difference to your photos.
Try it online: Pixlr
Fotor is a photo enhancer first and foremost, more than it is a photo editor; if there's specific area of retouching you need doing with, say, the clone brush or healing tool, you're out of luck. But it includes a stack of high-end filters that really do shine.
There's a foolproof tilt-shift tool, for example, and a raft of vintage and vibrant colour tweaks, all easily accessed through Fotor's clever menu system. You can manually alter your own curves and levels, too, but without the complexity of high-end tools.
Fotor's most brilliant function, and one that's sorely lacking in many photo editing packages, is its batch processing tool – feed it a pile of pics and it'll filter the lot of them in one go, perfect if you have a memory card full of holiday snaps and need to cover up the results of a dodgy camera or shaky hand.
Download here: Fotor
Instagram, eh? Not only has it been an inexplicable social media hit, it's created a love of fancy photo filters the world over. For that classic vintage look on Windows you can't do much better than free photo editor Vintager , a haven of filters, borders, layers and lens-glint bokehs to make your hastily-fired shots seem like they were meant to look that way.
It looks simple on the surface, with a straightforward interface which gives you quick access to filters and overlays, but there's a bit more muscle in here.
You can adjust highlights and shadows, muck about with the colour balance of your shots, and even dive into curves and levels. There's also a very handy photo collage mode in which you can compile up to five individually tweaked shots into a single whole.
Vintager is probably not going to be your primary photo-processing tool – there are others which do all this and more besides – but for a dead simple way to add flair to photos before uploading them there's not much better. Download here: Vintager
Sumo Paint is powerful, no doubt about it. It's a full-featured photo editor that sits in your browser, with various artistic tools and paintbrushes thrown in for good measure. Perhaps its range of polygonal shapes and symmetry tools won't suit being plastered over your photographs, but it's high on the list of options if you're looking more on the creative end of things.
There are sacrifices to be made, though. Notably the appropriately sumo wrestler-sized ads that eat up your screen space, and the slight performance hit you'll get from running it in-browser. If you want to get rid of the ads or run it on your desktop, you'll need to stump up for a US$4 (about £3, AU$5.) subscription.
We struggle to recommend it too highly on this basis – while Sumo Paint does have a few tricks up its sleeve, the real magic can be found in plenty of other free apps.
Try it online: Sumo Paint
Tiny, speedy and relatively unique, IrfanView does things that others don't. Utterly free in the classic, non-laden-with-adverts sense, it's predominantly an image viewer. Given its compact size it's perfect in that role, launching quickly and unfussily and making it easy to flick through a stack of snaps quickly. But it's not limited just to showing you your pictures. IrfanView does batch processing and format conversion very well – we keep it around for that reason alone.
It's also useful for screen capturing, and includes support for Adobe Photoshop filters. That means you can use it as a host for, for example, Google's Nik Collection, or any other free filters you might find.
Its direct editing tools are reasonably limited and the internal filters aren't particularly stellar or exciting, but give it a try and we're sure you'll find your own reason to keep IrfanView installed.
Download here: Irfanview
The 'free' suffix offers some indication of what you're getting here: On1 Effects 10 Free is a cut- down version of On1 Effects 10 proper, pulling out just a limited selection of its filters. But we're still happy to recommend it, mainly because of its methodology.
Instead of being forced to apply an effect to a full image, you can use On1's Perfect Brush tool to smear that effect on the areas you're interested in enhancing, which is a great way to create a unique look. Its quick mask and refine brush tools also make masking off areas of your image particularly easy, so you can make elements pop.
Essentially this is an taster for the full version, but its diminished filter range – HDR, vignette, vintage, glow etc – is still useful and worth trying if you're after vibrant effects; you'll have to try another program for sharpening, blurring and noise reduction, so On1 Effects Free isn't great if you want to preserve the honesty of your photos.
Download here: On1 Effects Free
See all the free photo editors available to download on TechRadar
2016-11-18 09:00 By feedproxy.google.com
27 /77 Best USB charger: Best desktop charger 2016/2017 UK Desktop chargers , multi- port USB chargers or whatever you want to call them may not be the sexiest tech gadgets we can think of, but beyond our core mobile computing devices - our laptops , our tablets , our smartphones - we can't think of a more useful gadget to have around the home. It's not so much a question of why would you want a desktop charger, but why wouldn't you want one? Also see our round-up of the best power banks and best charging cables.
Also see: Best Black Friday Gadget Deals
Desktop chargers let you charge multiple phones , tablets and other USB-powered devices from a single mains outlet, and are great for freeing up some suitcase room on your travels. We round up the best desktop chargers and travel chargers you can buy in the UK in 2016/2017. Also see: What is Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0?
When choosing a desktop charger it's important to consider the number of USB outputs it offers, the rating of each, and the total output of the device. A 10-port desktop charger is of little use if it can simultaneously support only three of those ports at full-speed. That said, it isn't unusual for a desktop charger to be unable to run all its ports at maximum power at once. Also see: Best MiFi 2016/2017.
Many of the desktop and travel chargers we review here support intelligent technology that lets them recognise the attached device and automatically deliver the correct amount of power. Others will offer slow- and fast-charging ports for your phone , tablet or other USB devices. See all desktop charger reviews.
2016-11-18 08:51 Marie Brewis www.pcadvisor.co.uk
28 /77 Apple saves iPhone call history to iCloud, but barely mentions it Modern smartphones make it easy to back up all your data to the cloud so you can keep it synced across devices, or download it to a new phone. That can have unfortunate consequences, however—especially when phones are syncing sensitive information that users aren’t explicitly aware of, and then a company famous for developing smartphone cracking software finds out.
Moscow-based Elcomsoft recently added a feature to its Phone Breaker software that the company says can retrieve an iPhone user’s call history data via iCloud. To use its software to crack an iCloud account, an attacker would need your login data or a login token from one of your devices.
Apple saves up to four months of a user’s call history whenever they are using iCloud Drive, according to Elcomsoft. The call history saved to iCloud keeps detailed information including phone numbers, dates, times of day the calls were made or received, and duration of calls, as first reported by the Intercept. Data for missed and ignored calls is also synced. In iOS 10, this synced data includes call data from VoIP apps that use Apple’s new CallKit framework.
In response to Elcomsoft’s announcement, Apple told iMore that it supports “call history syncing as a convenience to our customers so that they can return calls from any of their devices.”
For starters, this call history data is the same information the National Security Agency was so interested in obtaining, which the public discovered during the initial Snowden leaks in 2013. As the Intercept points out, four months of data records is twice as long as mobile carriers maintain that same information. Privacy-conscious users would not like this data easily accessible to law enforcement regardless of their proclivity for criminal activity.
The second issue is that there’s no explicit way to turn call syncing on or off. You can stop it by shutting down iCloud Drive, but that means you lose every other convenience of that service.
Apple also did a terrible job of disclosing this information. Call log syncing is mentioned in Apple’s security white paper released in May, a PDF document that few users would ever read.
But why isn’t it in this iCloud security and privacy overview from Apple’s support pages? It lists all kinds of other sensitive data sent to iCloud and how it is protected, but at this writing mention of call history is absent, as is any mention of SMS and MMS. Or how about this support page , which lists backed-up iCloud data similarly to the white paper, yet call history is absent at this writing. These two pages were last updated in mid-September and at the end of October, respectively.
Now, before you go searching for a loophole as to why mention of call history syncing wouldn’t be on either of these pages, ask yourself this: What’s more important? To know that your browser bookmarks and ringtones are synced to iCloud, or that your call history is? Exactly. This is a major oversight on Apple’s part.
Elcomsoft says call syncing to iCloud has existed since at least iOS 8.2, released in March 2015. A quick search on various Apple-themed forums shows people starting to complain around that time about call syncing across multiple devices—especially when two users shared the same iCloud ID.
So what’s the solution? Simple. Apple should offer granular controls for what is synced to iCloud. Rene Ritchie on iMore rightly observes that this could result in “settings fatigue” where users are overwhelmed by too many options. Nevertheless, that’s a risk Apple should be willing to take if it truly cares about user privacy.
For now, users have a choice to make. Those who like the convenience of call syncing don’t need to do anything. Anyone who is bothered by it can shut off iCloud Drive. The extra concerned could also delete their phone calling history on their devices before shutting down iCloud Drive. That change should be reflected on Apple’s servers fairly quickly; however, there could still be redundant backups of this information kept on Apple’s systems for a time.
Regardless of which camp you fall into, everyone should also enable two-factor authentication. That makes it much harder for a hacker to access your data stored on iCloud. Two-factor authentication won’t, however, prevent law enforcement from legally obtaining iCloud data directly from Apple.
If you’re using an Android phone, know that Google also stores this data on all devices running Android 6.0 and up when they are signed in to Google Play Services, according to Elcomsoft. In other words, pretty much every Android user with a modern phone.
2016-11-18 08:43 Ian Paul www.infoworld.com
29 /77 Without tech industry guidance, U. S. may resort to weakening encryption Apple may have refused to help the FBI unlock an iPhone used by the San Bernardino shooter, but the tech industry is still better off working with the U. S. government on encryption issues than turning away, according to a former official with the Obama administration.
“The government can get very creative,” said Daniel Rosenthal, who served as the counterterrorism director in the White House until January this year. He fears that the U. S. government will choose to “go it alone” and take extreme approaches to circumventing encryption, especially if another terrorist attack occurs.
“The solutions they come up with are going to be less privacy protective,” he said during a talk at the Versus 16 cybersecurity conference. “People will think they are horrifying, and I don’t want us to see us get to that place.”
Rosenthal made his comments as President-elect Donald Trump—who previously called for a boycott of Apple during its dispute with the FBI—prepares to take office in January.
A Trump administration has a “greater likelihood” than the Obama administration of supporting legislation that will force tech companies to break into their customers’ encrypted data when ordered by a judge, Rosenthal said. “You have a commander-in-chief, who said at least on the campaign trail he’s more favorable towards a backdoor regime,” Rosenthal said.
Earlier this year, one such bill was proposed that met with staunch opposition from privacy advocates. However, in the aftermath of another terrorist attack, Congress might choose to push aside those concerns and pass legislation drafted without the advice of Silicon Valley, he said.
Rosenthal went on to say that U. S. law enforcement needs surveillance tools to learn about terrorist plots, and that’s where the tech industry can help. During his time in the White House, he noticed a “dramatic increase” in bad actors using encryption to thwart government efforts to spy on them.
“There are people trying to come up with a reasonable solution,” he said of efforts to find a middle ground on the encryption debate. “To immediately say there is no solution is counter historical.”
Cindy Cohn (right), executive director of EFF, and Daniel Rosenthal, former director of counterterrorism for the White House.
However, Rosenthal’s comments were met with resistance from Cindy Cohn, executive director for Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy advocate. She also spoke at the talk and opposed government efforts to weaken encryption, saying it “dumbs down” security.
“This idea of a middle ground that you can come up with an encryption strategy that only lets good guy into your data, and never lets a bad guy into your data, misunderstands how the math works,” she said.
Law enforcement already possess a wide variety of surveillance tools to track terrorists, she said. In addition, tech companies continue to help U. S. authorities on criminal cases and national security issues, despite past disputes over privacy and encryption.
But law enforcement has done little to recognize the risks of building backdoors into products, Cohn said. Not only would this weaken security for users, but also damage U. S. business interests.
“If American companies can’t offer strong encryption, foreign companies are going to walk right into that market opportunity,” she said.
Cohn also said any effort to force U. S. companies to weaken encryption wouldn’t necessarily help catch terrorists. That’s because other strong encryption products from foreign vendors are also circulating across the world.
“The idea that the Americans can make sure that ISIS never gets access to strong encryption is a pipe dream,” she said. “That’s why I think this is bad idea. Because I don’t think it’s going to work.”
The Versus 16 conference was sponsored by cybersecurity firm Vera.
2016-11-18 08:35 Michael Kan www.infoworld.com
30 /77 30 /77 Chinese phone firms make big gains as Apple and Samsung suffer sales decline CHINESE SMARTPHONE VENDORS made big gains in the third quarter of 2016, while Apple and Samsung saw smartphone sales slide.
It's no surprise that Samsung's smartphone sales saw a dip in Q3 given that the firm was forced to bin the explosion-prone Galaxy Note 7. This saga prompted the company's market share to slip to 19.2 per cent, down from 23.6 per cent this time last year.
Anshul Gupta, a research director at Gartner, said: "The decision to withdraw the Galaxy Note 7 was correct, but the damage to Samsung’s brand will make it harder for the company to increase smartphone sales in the short term.
"For Samsung, it's crucial that the Galaxy S8 launches successfully so that partners and customers regain trust in its brand. "
It seems that Chinese smartphone vendors benefitted from the Note 7 fiasco more than Apple, which also saw its market share fall in the past quarter. iPhone sales accounted for 11.5 per cent of the global market during the three-month period, compared with 13 per cent in 2015.
China's Huawei, Oppo and BBK, on the other hand, all made gains during the same period. Their respective slice of the market grew from 7.7 per cent to 8.7 per cent, 3.4 per cent to 6.7 per cent, and 2.9 per cent to 5.3 per cent respectively.
This, Gartner claimed, can be partly credited to Samsung's aforementioned Note 7 dramas, as buyers were more likely to stick with Android than defect to Apple's iOS.
Roberta Cozza, a research director at Gartner, said: "The withdrawal of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 may benefit sales of Apple's iPhone 7 Plus only slightly, as Note 7 users are likely to stay with Samsung or at least with Android.
"To some extent, other Android vendors could capitalise on this situation in the short term, for example Huawei and other Chinese brands present in the premium Android phone segment.
"The Note 7's withdrawal also comes at a good time for Google in mature markets, where its Pixel and Pixel XL devices have started selling. "
Android as a whole continues to dominate, claiming 87.8 per cent of the smartphone market in Q3, up from 84.7 per cent last year.
Windows Phone and BlackBerry ain’t having such a good time, though, claiming 0.4 per cent and 0.1 per cent of the market respectively. µ 2016-11-18 08:33 Carly Page www.theinquirer.net
31 /77 Stephen Hawking warns humanity may only have 1,000 years left Famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking has spent his life pondering big questions about the wider universe. In recent years, he’s turned his attention closer to home, talking about AI, climate change, alien invasion, and other threats to the future of humanity. Now, he’s put an expiration date on our species if we don’t get into space. He’s giving us just 1,000 years.
Hawking’s latest warning came in a speech delivered at Britain’s Oxford University Union. He noted that Earth is fragile, as is any single planet. The odds of a catastrophic global event wiping out humanity in any given year is slim, but over the course of years the chance becomes quite high. Human activity is only increasing those odds as well.
Hawking noted in the speech that some of the most pressing concerns for the future of humanity could come in the next century, as artificial intelligence is perfected and global climate change continues to affect civilization. When something happens on Earth, we don’t want all of humanity to be here, according to Hawking. The best way to keep the species going is to make sure we’ve got a backup — humans on other planets and maybe even in other star systems.
But where could we go? The easiest way to get humans off of Earth is to colonize Mars, and there are some ambitious plans to make that a reality within our lifetimes. The SpaceX Interplanetary Transport System is designed to shuttle as many as 200 people to Mars in each three month trip. Launches would only happen when the orbit of Mars put it close enough to Earth for such a quick journey. It’s certainly feasible to move people to Mars, but creating a functional society is still an unknown. Mars has no magnetic field to protect people from radiation and its thin atmosphere isn’t breathable.
Mars is a good start, but being in a completely different solar system would be the ultimate backup for humanity. Astronomers are constantly finding potentially habitable exoplanets, but we can’t get to any of them with current technology. The most likely target for further examination is Proxima Centauri, which harbors an exoplanet that may be Earth-like. First, we need to get a closer look at it, which the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope can manage. A few centuries ago, wooden sailing ships were the fastest way to travel, so who know what we’ll have in another couple generations? Proxima Centauri might not seem that distant.
A whole millennium might sound like a lot of time, but humanity has existed in more or less its current form for about 100,000 years. It’d be an awful shame if all this progress we’ve made was for naught in just 1% of that time. We should probably get on this.
2016-11-18 08:30 Ryan Whitwam www.extremetech.com
32 /77 First Click: Is this the holiday you finally buy that drone? We take it for granted that modern communication systems — everything from smartphones to the internet — use electronics to send and receive messages, but what if that weren’t the case? A group of researchers from Stanford are exploring an...
At a concert in San Jose during his Saint Pablo tour, Kanye West opened up about the 2016 election in typical style. According to videos and tweets from the night, West told fans —in no particular order — that if he'd voted he would have voted for...
Microsoft is unveiling its Black Friday deals for the Xbox One today. New Xbox One games like Battlefield 1, FIFA 17, Titanfall 2, and even Overwatch are all being discounted by up to 40 percent. Battlefield is available for $40.19 until November...
Hackers have accessed a database of customer information belonging to one of the UK’s biggest mobile carriers, Three. According to a report from The Telegraph, the company said the database included names, phone numbers, addresses, and dates of...
Japanese businesses are finding they need to deal with increasing numbers of foreign visitors to Japan, and Panasonic thinks it has the answer: a megaphone that translates the user’s voices into multiple languages. The Megahonyaku, which is a...
Amazon has already stoked the holiday consumption fire by rolling out a bunch of deals well ahead of Black Friday, but this weekend’s shopping opportunity comes with a giant catch: starting November 18 and running through the 21st, certain deals...
2016-11-18 08:30 Thomas Ricker www.theverge.com
33 /77 : GoPro’s best action cam yet By
Jim Martin | 101 mins ago
£349.99 inc VAT Price comparision from , and manufacturers
GoPro made fans wait a long time for a new model, but the Hero 5 doesn’t disappoint. Here’s our GoPro Hero 5 Black review. See also: GoPro buyer's guide
The Hero 5 is an all-new action camera which combines the best bits from previous GoPro models and adds some new features – such as stabilisation and built-in GPS – which make it the best yet.
See all action camera reviews , plus our Hero 4 Session review
The good news is that the new model is cheaper than the outgoing one. Considering Brexit is giving plenty of companies an excuse to hike prices, it’s a refreshing change that you can buy the Hero 5 Black for £349.99 from John Lewis. In the US it's $399.99.
It’s sure to cause Hero 4 Black prices to fall quickly, which sold for £409.99 before the Hero 5 was released. See also: Hero 5 Session release date, price and features
A few millimetres bigger in all directions, the Hero 5 isn’t going to fit any housings designed for older GoPros, such as the Hero 4. But it will – naturally – fit GoPro’s new drone, the Karma.
It also works with the Karma Grip, a handheld gimbal which can be bought separately.
The chunkier styling and rubbery finish have a purpose, though: the Hero 5 is waterproof without a case (to a depth of 10m – you can buy the optional Super Suit if you want to go to 60m). Being water resistant is almost expected from today’s gadgets, and the original Hero Session was GoPro’s first waterproof action cam.
But the Hero 5 packs in lots more features, including a 1.95in touchscreen on the back and integrated GPS.
It comes with a frame so you can attach it to all of GoPro’s usual mounts and a handy feature is that the cover which protects the micro HDMI and USB C port is removable so you can connect cables even when it’s in the frame. The microSD slot is right next to the battery and it’s a little fiddly getting the card in and out.
The battery is removable – unlike the Session’s – but it’s a new design so your old ones won’t fit. GoPro claims it will last somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 hours depending on the resolution, frame rate and whether EIS is enabled or not. We couldn’t find an option to disable Wi-Fi in the menus.
This electronic stabilisation has been a long time coming, and it would have been a severe disappointment had GoPro not introduced it on the Hero 5. It works effectively, but it’s a blow that it doesn’t work in 4K, but this is because there are no pixels to crop off to stabilise the video. It records 4K at only 30fps, just like the Hero 4 Black, but you can choose up to 120fps in 1080p, and 240fps at 720p. The field of view is selectable in most modes and restricted in some: have a play and you’ll soon find which works best for you.
New on the Hero 5 is time-lapse video, which is automatically created in camera and can then be shared straight away (via your phone) to Facebook and other means.
GoPro has adopted a similar control method as for the Session, removing the traditional front button. One press of the big button on top turns on the camera and starts recording in the default mode, which you can choose.
The side button can be used to instead turn on the camera so you can change settings (or to mark a highlight if you’re already recording).
With the touchscreen, it’s really easy to change the resolution, framerate and FOV. It takes a little while to learn how to get to the other options: swipe right to review and trim videos; swipe down to see and change the general settings and swipe left to access other settings such as ProTune, stabilisation, microphones and low light.
Enabling the latter means the Hero 5 will automatically reduce the framerate in low light – a very handy function if you tend to record everything at 60fps or higher.
Our only complaint is that the OS is a little slow to respond compared to what you’d expect from a modern touchscreen device. Also, when in the frame, it’s hard to swipe in from the edge and the gesture isn’t always recognised.
A new way to control the Hero 5 is with voice commands (it supports seven languages at the moment). Testing these indoors proved very effective, such as “GoPro start recording”, “GoPro stop recording”, “GoPro take a photo” and “GoPro turn off”. But it’s not as reliable outdoors when there’s lots of background noise, and it can be hard to know if your command worked if you can’t see the camera. Also, you can’t use a voice command to turn on the Hero 5.
The usual GoPro beeps are pretty loud, although seemingly not as loud as the Hero 4, but it would be better to have vibration feedback like certain other action cams have.
Another way to control the Hero is via the free Capture app. The name has changed, but overall it’s basically what you’re used to with GoPro’s previous cameras. It uses a combination of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, Wi-Fi for the live video stream, and Bluetooth to allow you to turn on the camera remotely when it’s in standby.
Videos can be streamed from the camera over Wi-Fi and you can capture a still photo from a video, which is a feature many GoPro users have loved for a while now.
New is the Quik app. This is available on the desktop as well as mobile and allows you to pick several video clips from which the app will automatically create an edited video. You can tweak which portions of each clip are used, as well as picking background music. Obviously, if you’ve pressed the Highlight button, it will use those sections from the videos.
The latest update of the desktop version includes the ability to overlay the GPS data on your video. You can choose to display speed, altitude, distance, date, time and elevation gain.
A new service is GoPro Plus. There’s a free 60-day trial if you sign up on an Android device through the Capture app, but iOS users should use GoPro’s website as you’ll get only 30 days via the app.
When set up, the Hero 5 can automatically upload photos and videos from its memory card to GoPro’s cloud storage. Unfortunately, 4K clips are down-sampled to 1080p, so it’s not a great option if you mainly shoot in 4K.
Before getting to video quality, it’s worth talking audio. As with the Session, the fact you can use the Hero 5 without a waterproof case all the time means the microphones aren’t blocked by a plastic case. This immediately has huge benefits for sound quality. Plus, there are two mics and the processor will automatically switch between them to try to eliminate wind noise. Alternatively you can lock it to either wind cut or stereo recording if you prefer. Stereo, as the eagle-eyed will have spotted, is a first for GoPro – even the older Session with dual mics doesn’t record in stereo. The Hero 5 will even save a separate WAV file so you can edit the file with an audio editor. Overall, audio quality is very impressive for an action camera.
Video quality isn’t markedly different from the Hero 4 Black since both max out at 4K30. Comparing footage from both cameras, it’s difficult to see any differences: they both offer the same amount of detail in each mode and they have very similar colours and exposure.
The big difference comes – as you’d expect – from the stabilisation. Even with it turned off there’s a noticeable improvement over the Hero 4 Black. But when you turn it on, the difference is like night and day.
Here's a 240fps slo-mo clip:
Ultimately, the Hero 4 Black already had top-notch image quality, so the Hero 5 can’t be criticised for being no better. But when you factor in the excellent stabilisation and better sound quality, it is better overall.
The Hero 5 Black is the best action camera we’ve tested and the fact it’s cheaper than the outgoing Hero 4 Black sweetens the deal even further. With GPS, water resistance and video stabilisation, the Hero 5 is a fantastic upgrade from a Hero 4 Black.
Price comparision from , and manufacturers
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2016-11-18 08:20 Jim Martin www.pcadvisor.co.uk
34 /77 How Post Office turns social media insights into sales More than 350 years of dependable service has made the Post Office the UK's second most trusted brand, but a reputation built over centuries of tradition doesn’t always lend itself to innovation, and ingrained beliefs can be hard to overturn.
Social media analytics are helping the company challenge outdated stereotypes, improve customer relations and design promotional strategy. Last summer the Post Office launched an advertising campaign driven by social insights to promote one of its core products: Travel Money.
Read next: Ten of the best self-serve analytics and business intelligence tools for enterprises: What are the best alternative BI products?
"It’s a really competitive space,” said social media manager Darren Jones at Crimson Hexagon's Fall Tour 2016 in London this week. “What we needed to do was protect our share — which is over 50 percent — and grow it. "
Monitoring digital conversations provided a deep understanding about what people are saying about the Post Office brand, the products it provides and the industry it represents.
Social listening through the Crimson Hexagon software allowed the company to respond to not only the people talking to them, but also the people talking about them. The insights helped them become part of broader travel conversations.
One of the key components for the Post Office was Crimson Hexagon's Affinities tool. This maps a company’s social 'engagers' against those of its competitors to compare audience interests and reveal the strong and weak customer sectors. The results could then be used to assess the potential success of a social strategy.
“We knew that if we wanted to make this a success on social we really needed to get these people on the relevant side to bring them closer to us," said Jones.
Jones wanted to “surprise and delight” Post Office customers. Affinities helped identify the individuals talking but also their interests behind what was being said. Evaluating distinct segments of consumers allowed Post Office to tailor its strategy towards them and measure what was resonating with them.
A visualisation of the Post Office audience next to that of Sainsbury’s showed that customers talking about kids and babies were largely beyond the Post Office’s grasp.
"We looked at what the kids and babies audiences were sharing and talking about and it became very clear that competitions were an easy way for us to engage that audience," said Jones. The competitions launched as part of the social campaign vastly increased their market share of that group. Visual content including video and GIFs produced further methods to communicate with customers. They generated a high quantity of responses, and the Post Office interacted with customers who responded to it.
"We engaged with everyone who talked about that piece of content," said Jones. They shared extra content with the respondents to show warmth and help create brand advocates. Responses became conversations, and conversations turned into sales.
Read next: Happy 10th Birthday Twitter! The highs and lows of the social media giant’s first decade
“For me, you get the best value out of Crimson if you interlink it with other things,” said Jones. "We also pulled in data from our community management technology called Lithium.”
The Twitter handles that interacted with the Post Office the previous summer were imported into Crimson, and the person who tweeted them was sent another message reminding them of the previous interaction. The individual might be asked if they were going anywhere this year, and if they said yes, a reminder would be dropped about Travel Money.
"People didn't expect to hear back from a brand they interacted with a year later, and the fact they replied as well showed an openness to engage with us,” said Jones. “The process was about making conversations work harder: engage to convert, not just stopping at engage.
The British may love to queue, but the social media analysis showed that they love to complain about queuing even more. But the public perception of Post Office queues was an accurate reflection of the contemporary reality. The Post Office has more branches open on Sundays than any other UK retailer, and many are open late during the week.
A campaign was designed to increase public awareness of the services available and challenge the perception that customers could only come to the branch during their lunch break. They formulated an advertisement to emphasise the ease of currency conversion under the slogan “so easy it’s magic.”. Real magicians played the roles of cashiers, including Magic Circle Magician Of The Year Brendan Rodrigues. As unsuspecting customers looked on in shock, they turned one currency into another with a mere flick of the wrist.
The advertisement ran from June through to early September to coincide with the holiday season. As a result of the campaign, the proportion of social media mentions received by the Post Office against their competitors grew from 28 percent to 45 percent. This increase in share of voice converted into "amazing" sales, said Jones.
2016-11-18 08:19 Tom Macaulay www.computerworlduk.com
35 /77 Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Design Unboxing and Hands On Benchmarks Alongside the Mate 9 launch a few weeks back, Huawei also announced the Mate 9 Porsche Design model. The presentation in Munich was heavily skewed towards the Porsche branded unit, despite the fact that it is a limited edition part to be sold at 1300 Euro, nearly twice as much as the Mate 9.
Aside from a few things such as the camera and the internal SoC, the Porsche Design (PD) model shares little aesthetically with the Mate 9. They both use the new Kirin 960 SoC, designed by Huawei's HiSilicon subsidiary and is the first design to use the newest ARM Cortex A73 CPU cores as well as CCI-550 interconnect and Mali G71 graphics cores (read about the Kirin 960 here). But where the Mate 9 has 4 GB of DDR4, the PD has 6GB. Where the Mate 9 has 32/64 GB of US 2.1 storage, the PD has 256GB. Perhaps the biggest change is in the display - where the Mate 9 uses a 5.96-inch 1920x1080 screen, the PD opts for a dual edged curved 5.5-inch 2560x1440 panel.
To be honest, the curve is almost unnoticeable. It could easily be mistaken for curved glass on a flat display, but I can confirm that the display itself is curved. The reason for the curve is more to do with economics than new user interface experiences, and Huawei has actively promoted that it's new EMUI 5.0 operating system interface, based on Android 7.0, has new mis-touch algorithms to identify when part of the screen is accidentally touched, for example when taking a photograph.
The higher resolution display might arguably draw more power, especially during high graphics activity, but the physically smaller PD version has a similar 4000 mAh battery configuration to the Mate 9. With the hardware comes Huawei Supercharge, a new technology to enable up to 25W charging with compatible adaptors and cables - it relies on sensor data and communication between the charger and phone to remain cool but also offers 0 to 58% charge in 30 minutes. As the CEO said at the launch, 'No explosions.'
Mate 9 PD and Mate 9 - Note no fingerprint sensor on the PD, it's been moved to the front
The PD uses Huawei's second generation dual camera system on the rear, co-engineered with Leica. The configuration gives a 20MP color and 12MP black and white set of cameras to enable variable depth bokeh applied in post processing, a true monochrome mode, and what the promotional materials want to define as 'the Leica look' to ensure that certain pictures have that Leica feel.
'The Leica Look'
When we spoke with Leica at the Huawei event, we were told that Leica's involvement between the two companies starts the moment the photon hits the lenses, to when the image data is stored in memory. This means Leica is involved in the lens configuration, the sensor choice, different sensor features, DSP implementation/use and algorithm feature set. Huawei and Leica are set to open a new joint R&D facility in France next year to cohesion future products.
Top to bottom: Mate 9 PD, Mate 9, Mate 8.
The PD puts the 3.5mm jack on the bottom, contrary to previous Huawei designs.
The Mate 9 removes the alternate texture on the power button for easy differentiation, but the PD and Mate 8 have it.
As always with a new device, it felt snappy even if there was a detectable dropped frame here and there. Huawei is promoting that EMUI 5.0 has a series of features in place through machine learning to subvert that feel of a slow device after 6-12 months, as well as some new GUI 'tricks' to help the user experience. The PD model will use a different tableau of browner icons for the core system apps, as well as different backgrounds on the system. Despite the fact that Porsche Design and Porsche are different companies, I would have thought that the PD model might have some Porsche or Leica related backgrounds to choose from.
Custom Case for the PD
For the 1300 Euro (the PD won't be sold in the US), the PD model is designed as a lifestyle product, for people who buy the car, buy the shoes, then buy the phone. In the box is a custom case designed for the curve screen, a set of custom ear buds, a Supercharger wall wart, a Supercharger car wart, and a standard C-to-C cable.
On the benchmarking side, it is worth noting that these results were on near-final software. Huawei is pushing an update out to review units soon to support Android 7.1 and Daydream VR as well as minor OS fixes. But as we only had limited time with the PD, results were taken as is.
So despite the fact that the Mate 9 and PD have the same SoC, the performance of the PD in most situations was lower than that of the Mate 9. I might attribute this to the smaller chassis having lower thermal limits, but even recording 17-minute 4K video on the Mate 9 made it barely warm to touch, so it makes me wonder how the PD is slower in short benchmarks as well.
One part that the PD wins out on is storage. The 256GB solution blows the 64GB Mate 9 for sequential and random performance.
Overall, from a brief hands-on, it's clear that the key selling point of the Mate 9 Porsche Design is going to be the exclusivity. It's not aimed at someone like me, who would suggest the Mate 9 (or the recently announced Mate 9 Pro) if budget or performance is a concern.
2016-11-18 08:15 Ian Cutress www.anandtech.com
36 /77 NHS ‘shouldn’t assume that digital technology will lead to significant savings’ – Nuffield Trust The NHS shouldn’t assume that digital technologies such as wearables and smartphone apps will lead to significant savings, according to independent health charity Nuffield Trust.
In its report, dubbed ‘The digital patient: transforming primary care?’, the charity warned politicians and policy makers to avoid assuming that self-care-enabling technology would produce huge savings, at least in the short term.
The charity reviewed technologies for primary care use including wearables such as Fitbits, symptom checkers, video consultations, online GP appointment booking, and apps. It did not include medical technologies for use by doctors, such as devices to assist in performing surgery. The report’s author, Sophie Castle-Clarke, says that while these types of technologies are becoming more prevalent within the NHS and are helping many of its patients, the technology could be a “double-edged sword”. “There’s still a lot we don’t know. Without regulation and a careful look at the evidence – not all of which is compelling – these digital tools could compromise the quality of care and disrupt the way care is provided,” she suggested.
The pitfalls of the technology, according to the report, include the fact that some of the 165,000 health apps on the market have not been properly assessed yet, and that there is a lack of evidence around the effectiveness of apps and online triage systems.
Other issues include difficulty in supporting patients to use the technology, and for NHS staff to change the way their work in order to encourage patients to use technology more.
Finally, Nuffield Trust said that there is a lack of robust evidence on the impact many technologies will have, and in which contexts – specifically on health outcomes.
But it said that there are many promising areas and a number of technologies that urgently require further research. These include digital tools for self-triage, online access to records and remote consultations.
2016-11-18 08:13 Sooraj Shah www.itpro.co.uk
37 /77 Mozilla's new Firefox browser for iOS lets you Focus on your hand action MOZILLA HAS released a mobile browser under the Firefox moniker aimed at beating Opera at its own game.
First announced in December last year at the experimental stage, Firefox Focus is designed for those moments when you don’t want people tracking your activity.
"You may be looking for information that in certain situations is sensitive - searches for engagement rings, flights to Las Vegas or expensive cigars, for example. And sometimes you just want a super simple, superfast web experience - no tabs, no menus, no pop-ups," the firm said. cough PORN cough
There's no need to change any settings as you are protected from the get-go and have control over whether or not Focus blocks ad trackers, analytics trackers, social trackers or "other". The first three are set as on by default.
There’s also an ad blocker, which you can set to divert selected sites to an alternative browser if they won’t display properly owing to restrictions on the site. Mentioning no names.
The browser has a variety of other uses ... cough PORN cough
... and can also give a speed boost to sites that are slowed down by the amount of advertising and cookie logging.
Mozilla explained: “We live in an age where too many users have lost trust and lack meaningful controls over their digital lives.
"For some users, it seems as though your web activities can follow you everywhere - across devices, across accounts. To make matters worse, the web can often feel cluttered. That’s why we are introducing Firefox Focus.” cough THAT AND PORN cough
Focus also deletes all records of a session with a single tap. cough BECAUSE PORN cough
This is the latest version of Firefox to appear for iOS, following the early attempts with Firefox Home, which had limited functionality in order to avoid using Apple’s WebKit rendering engine.
This was then followed by Firefox for iOS which, in common with all other iOS browsers, plays ball with Apple's WebKit rules.
Firefox Focus can also be used for porn, but we’re not sure whether Mozilla has thought of that as it seemed strangely absent from the press release. µ
2016-11-18 08:11 Chris Merriman www.theinquirer.net
38 /77 Workday CEO says he considered buying UK cloud firm Anaplan, before building a rival product The CEO of US cloud-computing giant Workday says that the company considered a bid for the UK SaaS firm Anaplan two years ago, before deciding to build a competing product of its own instead.
Speaking at Workday's Rising event in Barcelona this week, CEO Aneel Bhusri told Computerworld UK during a media Q&A session that Anaplan was once considered as an M&A target. "There were four or five of those players [which we considered]," he said, "I believe they were actively shopping themselves over the past couple of months but we weren’t part of that process because we had already made that decision to build it ourselves. "
York-based SaaS company Anaplan was valued at over $1 billion earlier this year, making it one of the UK's few homegrown tech unicorn companies.
Both companies have built finance software products based upon cloud calculations engines. Where Anaplan has traditionally focused on financial planning and forecasting, Workday has popular applications for HR and finance. The benefit of these in-memory processing engines running in the cloud is that concurrent users can collaborate on documents, workflows and spreadsheet in real time.
Now, with the release of Workday Planning, and specifically its Worksheets functionality, Workday is going after Anaplan's core market of enterprise level financial planning, budgeting and forecasting, taking what have traditionally been Excel driven business processes into the cloud.
Worksheets will be available to early adopters in the upcoming version 28 of Workday, and will be available generally in version 29 at some point late next year.
Despite once appearing to be good friends , and Workday actually investing in Anaplan back in May 2014, the bullish CEO Bhusri said: “Candidly, they [Anaplan] have never been a great partner and we ended up getting into the space because we could not make a partnership with them and others work.”
Bhusri also said he isn’t worried about competing with Anaplan: “I’m not sure I would consider them a competitor, we are selling planning as part of a broader suite. If you an Oracle or SAP shop and Workday is not there then Anaplan is a good fit, but in the Workday environment we would prefer not to see Anaplan. If the customer wants it we will support it, but we aren’t really partners anymore.”
Read next: How Anaplan plans to kill off Excel use within the enterprise
He expanded on who Workday traditionally views as competitors, stating: "In Europe it is the same as it is in the USA, we are replacing PeopleSoft, SAP and Oracle. There is not much Oracle HR in Europe. Our main competitor in Europe has been and remains to be SAP. If you look at our large wins in Europe they are all SAP shops like Airbus, Phillips, Rolls Royce that chose Workday. "
When asked what makes Workday the best solution in the market Bhusri typically said it comes down to the platform as a whole: "I don’t think customers want separate planning and transactional environments. They really want it unified. That’s what we’re finding. The uptake on Planning has been much more rapid than we ever anticipated. " Phil Wilmington, co-president at Workday added: “When we have our discussions with the office of finance it is about taking what we are doing in the transactional applications and extending it to the business leaders so that its not the office of the few addressing the needs of the many. If your system isn’t unified, it is more than integration, that drives the adoption throughout the organisation. "
Read next: Anaplan: What does the UK’s latest tech unicorn actually do? We talk to Anaplan to find out how it is changing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software
Anaplan is a small fish compared to Workday when it comes to revenues. Workday has annual revenues of just over $1.1 billion, and although Anaplan doesn’t report revenues, it says it has a run rate of over $100 million and has been making good progress in terms of customers over the past few years.
The key for Workday to corner the market will be to get its existing customer base to embrace financial planning in the cloud before Anaplan gets to them. Not making it generally available until the second half of 2017 gives Anaplan a healthy head start though.
Anaplan has yet to respond to our request for comment but we will update this story accordingly once it does.
2016-11-18 08:10 Scott Carey www.computerworlduk.com
39 /77 : Motorola made one of the best phones under £200 By
Chris Martin | 51 mins ago
£169
Price comparision from , and manufacturers
As expected, Motorola has launched a new Moto G budget phone for 2016. For this year it's available in two different models. Here's our full and in-depth Motorola Moto G4 r eview. See also: Best budget phones 2016.
Also see: Best Black Friday Phone Deals
The Moto G range is a little confusing so let's quickly explain how the range has been launched over the years. You can see the list of Moto Gs below which was launched in 2013 originally. The phone got updated with 4G support before the second generation model came along in 2014 which was then upgraded to 4G in early 2015. Then last year the Moto G third-gen launched later in 2015. Now we have the 2016 models in the form of the Moto G4 which is the fourth-generation. Moto G Moto G 4G Moto G (2014 - second generation) Moto G 4G (2015 - second generation) Moto G 2015 (third-generation)
If the launch seems a bit sudden, Lenovo chose to hold an even in India for the Moto G4 but we've been able to see the new phone in London ahead of its UK release.
It hasn't been too long to wait for the Moto G4 with its early June release date. It's priced at £169. You'll be able to buy the Moto G4 from the likes of Tesco Mobile , Argos and Amazon.
Motorola has also announced, for the first time, a more premium option for the Moto G range. It's called the Moto G4 Plus and will cost £199. This phone will be exclusively available at Amazon with a release date of 'mid-June'.
Over the years, the Moto G has increased in price – not by much, but Motorola has added another £10 onto the price tag for 2016. While it's still a very affordable phone, it still doesn't fit our under £150 requirement for the best budget phone chart.
If you miss the days of the Moto G coming in at under £150, the Lenovo has the new K5 to tempt you with. It's a 5in HD phone with a 13Mp camera and Dolby Atmos which costs £129. Motorola has also dropped the price of the Moto G 2015 to £149.
Now owned by Lenovo (previously Google), Motorola has kept the familiar design of the Moto G going with the new 2016 model. It's got the same overall look and feel but tweaking it enough to give it some freshness and individuality.
For example, the dimple the 'M' for Motorola has been taken out of the camera surround. A small change but one which helps differentiate between last year's and this year's models. The build is still plastic but the Moto G4 feels good in the hand. The main difference is that they're bigger phones which some customers might not want - it will be too unwieldy for some, especially if you're used to the smaller size.
The good news is that you can still customise the phone via the Moto Maker. It's like 'build-a- bear' for phones so you can choose different front and back colours and five accent colours. You can only choose black or white for the front but the rear cover comes in eight different options. You'll also be able choose how much storage you want an optionally add an engraving to the rear cover. The latter is the only cosmetic item which adds to the price - £5 to be exact.
While the 2015 Moto G is fully waterproof, the Moto G4 has been downgraded in this respect. Now it's simply splash proof so you can't go dunking it completely in water. Motorola told us that most consumers only need splash level protection so avoided the additional cost of making it fully waterproof.
It's worth noting that the Moto G4 Plus is identical to the regular Moto G4 in size and design – 7.9mm and 155g. It simply has the fingerprint scanner below the screen in addition (below). The scanner is quite small compared to others we've seen on phones and has a small raised border around it making it feel a bit different to the touch.
One of only complaints about the design is that the volume rocker is a little tricky to use as it sit a bit too flush with the case. We also imagine the groove for the earpiece above the screen will get clogged with dirt over time.
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2016-11-18 08:08 Chris Martin www.pcadvisor.co.uk
40 /77 European security industry has failed users, says expert The European security industry and the research community have largely failed users, according to Bart Preneel , professor of cryptology and network security at the University of Leuven in Belgium.
“We have spent millions of euros, we have written hundreds of research papers, and we have delivered hundreds of millions of lines of code, but there is still no secure end-to-end communication system with a billion users,” he told the Eema ISSE 2016 security conference in Paris.
Preneel said he would leave it up to his audience to decide whether or not it was a coincidence that the US National Security Agency (NSA) was able to intercept Skype to Skype calls shortly after the internet-calling company was acquired by Microsoft, when it was unable to do so in all the years Skype was under European ownership.
All the “whining” by Apple and the FBI about encryption was “theatre”, he said, while the reality is that the security industry and research community have not delivered a means of communication for the masses that offers end-to-end encryption.
“This challenge remains for the next generation to do better,” said Preneel, and in the light of the privacy track record of US technology providers, the “only way to go” is open source .
The only reason the vulnerability was found in the Juniper Networks’ ScreenOS software at the end of 2015 was because Juniper announced there was a problem, said Preneel.
“And then dozens of researchers spend their whole Christmas break figuring out what was happening,” he added.
In January 2016, Juniper Networks announced a patch in response to unauthorised code in the software that was linked to the NSA and enabled hackers to decrypt traffic running through a VPN over Juniper firewalls .
“The only way we will have secure infrastructure is to have an open infrastructure, and of course we need to have better governance to prevent a recurrence of things like Heartbleed,” said Preneel, adding that this could be done by ensuring code is not released without proper review and testing.
“There is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that what we use is secure and correct,” he said. According to Preneel, the “crypto wars” are not over yet. “I think we won the first battle, but then we lost a whole series of battles and were losing the war, but now the message is clear: we need to decide if we want to give people secure end-to-end communications or not,” he said.
“And if we don’t want to do this, we should be honest about it. If we want to give some security, but not real security, we need to be honest with our industry and with ourselves when we look in the mirror.”
Preneel said that although there is an undeniable case for access by law enforcement, it is clear that today the attackers are winning and that law enforcement has much more information than it has ever had before.
“We should first improve our defences and then think about how we can deal with the problem that happens with law enforcement,” he said, referring to concerns by law enforcement and state security agencies in the US, UK and elsewhere that increased use of encryption is hampering their work.
“My view is that even if [criminals and terrorists] encrypt everything, law enforcement is still perfectly fine with all the metadata at their disposal and the fact that so much surveillance can be done through the use of mobile phones, which is good enough for law enforcement,” said Preneel.
2016-11-18 08:04 Security Editor www.computerweekly.com
41 /77 Hooray for 2016: Domino's has delivered a pizza by drone KIWI LUNCH EATERS who do not want to go out, but like technology, might soon be able to stay in and order a pizza thanks to the nice chaps at Domino's.
The dough into dough firm has tested a pizza drone delivery service, and successfully delivered some bread, cheese and tomatoes to a hungry family, or most likely someone who works high up in Domino's who got in quick and bagged first dibs on the tests.
Domino's is using Drun drones and a firm called Flirtey for the service. New Zealand news site Quartz reported that the trial went well and that a full service, which might also include garlic bread, should launch next summer
"Delivery itself seems surprisingly simple, given that it involves a robot flying itself around suburban towns," said Quartz.
"The customer's pizzas are placed in a regular pizza box, and then loaded into a sturdier cardboard box that connects to the bottom of the drone. The drone then lifts off and flies to the customer's house.
"It hovers above their backyard, and lowers the pizza box down by a tow cable, which detaches. Then it flies back to Domino's as the customers enjoy their hopefully still warm, and not smushed, meal. "
Pizzas are usually delivered by chaps on mopeds, but drones will presumably take up less space and bash into people's cars less frequently. They are also very unlikely to eat or steal pizza, or get into a row with customers.
Quartz reported that New Zealand's rules on drone flying are a bit more relaxed than they are in other countries, such as Australia ( we know this because of a sausage hungry dude in Sunbury, Victoria ) and that this is why the firm chose to test the new delivery driver in the country.
Domino's told Quartz that it "would love to continue to trial and roll out" drone deliveries in Australia, but just can't right now. µ
2016-11-18 08:03 Dave Neal www.theinquirer.net
42 /77 Look what GE can do with industrial IoT General Electric showcased its industrial internet of things solutions and partnerships this week at its annual Minds + Machines conference in San Francisco this week. The industrial powerhouse is transforming itself into an IoT software and services company focused on improving customers' efficiency, productivity and revenue streams.
These small ultrasound sensors strapped to a section of pipe can detect corrosion on the inside walls of the pipe in real time. Sensors can be mounted in different patterns depending on what a utility or oil and gas company wants to measure. The readings go over the air to a local analytics node and then on to the cloud, feeding a map on a dashboard that shows where and how much the pipeline is damaged.
GE is working on using drones to inspect industrial infrastructure in places that may not be safe or easy for workers to visit. For example, if a temperature sensor detects a possible fire at an industrial site, the drone might find its way to the GPS coordinates given by the sensor and check it out. Live video and other information would help dispatchers decide whether to send out one specialist or call the fire department for a bigger catastrophe.
This commercially available robot can climb around pipelines in the energy and oil and gas industries. In this case, it can travel vertically because its wheels are magnetic. The robot is a platform for different kinds of sensors, such as cameras, pressure sensors and lasers for surface profiling, that can be mounted on top. The inspection robot business was a GE acquisition from the European industrial giant Alsthom and is based in Switzerland. It's developing a much smaller version of the robot in the previous slide so companies can check out even tighter spaces. Unlike the larger unit, this one would be battery-powered and transmit its findings wirelessly.
An elevator's up-and-down movement creates wind that may push dust and grime into the door mechanism, eventually keeping the doors from opening properly. Schindler Group, which operates more than 1.5 million elevators and escalators worldwide, has partnered with GE to develop sensors that can detect this buildup using vibration. It's one of several kinds of data that can be used for predictive maintenance on the elevators, preventing unexpected outages.
GE's GoLINC Mobile Data Center is a computing and communications platform mounted inside a locomotive. It replaces a plethora of specialized monitoring and management systems that couldn't talk to each other until regulations led the industry toward common standards. Among other things, GoLINC may soon allow cameras on trains to inspect track conditions, generating alerts based on image analysis and removing the need for frequent truck rolls to check the tracks.
GE has applied IoT to wind turbines, using sensors and data analysis to feed decisions about which turbines to run at what times. If there isn't enough wind, the cost of running a turbine may outweigh the power it could generate. Weather records, the location of each turbine, real-time prices, and the predicted life expectancy of parts based on historical failure rates can all play into those decisions.
2016-11-18 08:01 Stephen Lawson www.computerworld.com
43 /77 CRU ToughTech Duo C Storage Enclosure (2x 2.5" to USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C) Review Storage bridges come in many varieties within the internal and external market segments. On the external side, they usually have one or more downstream SATA ports. The most popular uplink port is some sort of USB connection. USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C supports up to 10 Gbps of bandwidth, and also allows for higher power delivery compared to previous USB versions. This has enabled some unique products such as bus-powered RAID enclosures. Today's review is that of one such product from CRU - the ToughTech Duo C.
The CRU ToughTech Duo C sports two 2.5" SATA drive bays and has a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C host interface. It can operate the two internal drives in RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD, or SPAN configurations. The device can operate on bus power when used with the appropriate host, but, for wider compatibility, it also supports external power. The ToughTech Duo C is a follow-up product to the ToughTech Duo QR and ToughTech Duo 3SR RAID enclosures from CRU. This product family targets content creators looking to keep two copies of their data simultaneously, and automatically generating backup copies - either for archival purposes, or, to transfer a copy to another location.
The ToughTech Duo C package includes the main unit, Type-C to Type-C and Type-C to Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 2 cables, screws for installation of 2.5" drives in the bays, a 15W AC adapter, a quick start guide, and warranty information.
The unit can be laid flat on its back, or oriented vertically with the help of the attached stand. The drive bays can be taken out by sliding out the front tab and pushing in the corner. Inserting a drive in a bay involves pushing the tab marked 'Push' and drawing open one side arm. The pegs on the two side arms slide into the side holes of the 2.5" drive. This makes the bays essentially tool-free. For hard drives, it is suggested that the supplied screws be used to minimize vibration effects.
The gallery above takes us around the external design of the unit. Thanks to its medal body, the unit feels solid in hand. There are LEDs on top of the drive bays to indicate drive access status. The rear side has all the controls and ports. The DC-In can take external power from the 15W (5V @ 3A) adapter. This input is mandatory if the USB-C POWER LED adjacent to the Type-C host interface lights up red after connecting to the host. A green light comes on if the internal circuit determines that the host is able to supply 3A. In that case, the device can power on without any input to DC-In. The unit also has an explicit ON-OFF switch. On the rear panel, we also have LEDs indicating the current configuration of the internal drives. RAID 1 indicates a 'safe / mirror' mode in which both drives in the unit maintain the same data. RAID 0 is the 'fast' mode in which the data is striped across the two drives. SPAN indicates that the drives are presented to the host as one, but the second drive starts getting filled with data only after the first one is full. JBOD is the mode in which the drives appear as standalone drives to the host. A screwdriver can be used to rotate the mode selection dial that is placed a bit deep to avoid accidental alteration. Rotation causes the selected mode LED to start blinking. Pressing the 'HOLD TO SET' button permanently lights up that selected mode
Moving on to the internals, we see significant protection for the internal drives. They appear to help in drawing away the heat from the internal drives and on to the chassis. On the main board, we find the ASMedia ASM1352R bridge chip that has RAID functionality with two downstream SATA III ports and a USB 3.1 Gen 2 upstream port. The Type-C port is enabled by the ASMedia ASM1542 passive switch.
Our evaluation of the CRU ToughTech Duo C is from the viewpoint of a storage bridge. The table below summarizes the specifications of the unit and also compares them against the other storage bridges that have been reviewed earlier by us.
2016-11-18 08:00 Ganesh T www.anandtech.com
44 /77 How to integrate disruptive technologies with IT outsourcing contracts In the era of digital disruption, the ability to successfully implement new technologies such as mobility, big data and analytics systems, cloud computing options, or robotics for competitive advantage is critical. In some cases, going to an existing IT service provider may not be the best way to do so. However, in many cases, there are advantages to working with incumbent supplier. Doing so may enable IT outsourcing customers to leverage existing contractual commitments and terms to accelerate the contracting process.
Business and IT leaders may want a trusted partner to manage their entire technology environment. By expanding the scope of an existing deal, the customer can retain integrated performance standards and service levels for the entire environment and maintain streamlined governance processes. It also may be a way to minimize any transition or termination costs.
However, the integration of disruptive technologies into an existing sourcing arrangement can present a number of new challenges, says Linda Rhodes, partner in the Washington, D. C. office of law firm Mayer Brown. “The contractual rights and protections available to the client in important areas — such as control rights, approval rights, audit rights, intellectual property ownership rights and post-termination rights—are likely to be different in many respects,” Rhodes says.
“The pricing models used for disruptive technologies, such as cloud, everything-as-a-service and autonomics or robotics, are also likely to be very different.” What’s more, the existing IT service provider may have to rely on a subcontractor to deliver some of these capabilities.
In addition, there are potential issues common to expanding the scope of any IT outsourcing contract. There may be transition charges to consider. “Moving to a new technology solution will require transition work, including designing the new solution, developing a detailed transition plan, determining the road map for the migration, and migrating to the new technology,” Rhodes says. “Implementing new tools, including reporting tools and processes, may also be necessary.” Customers must build such additional costs into their business cases.
Moving to a new technology solution could result in the termination of all or part of the existing agreement for convenience or trigger minimum commitments, resulting in continued payment of minimum charges or termination charges. “Working in the context of your existing contract, you may have leverage to negotiate around certain termination charges,” says Daniel Masur, Partner-in-Charge of Mayer Brown’s Washington, D. C. office and a leader of its business and technology sourcing practice. “But certain termination charges, such as stranded costs, may not be negotiable.”
Stranded costs can include equipment that becomes irrelevant. “If the client owns or leases the equipment, it is likely to have equipment that is not at end-of-term or end-of-life at the time of migration to the new solution,” Masur says. “If the provider owns the equipment, then the provider will have stranded costs and want to pass those costs onto the client through termination charges.”
Similarly, there may be third-party maintenance contracts that will have to be ended with their own associated termination fees. In addition, the outsourcing client may have leased space that is no longer needed with the new technology solution. That, too, must be factored into business cases and planning.
First and foremost, clients should define the optimum process from the beginning. “Do not feel constrained to link the negotiations with contract renewal,” Masur says. “Instead, be driven by the objectives and requirements of the business.” Companies should also define the role of the incumbent outsourcing provider in this process.
Secondly, companies should perform a detailed cost-benefit analysis. This evaluation “may be more complicated than the cost-benefit analysis associated with traditional transactions,” says Masur. “Often, the impetus for the new technology solution is more than just cost savings. The anticipated benefits may include improvement in time to deploy, end-user productivity, speed to market, cost of inventory, marketing effectiveness, customer renewal rates, and so on.”
Third, outsourcing customers should not underestimate the change management challenges and considerations. The company’s employees must be willing and able to adopt these new technologies and processes in order to extract their intended value. “Be honest regarding your organization’s willingness to embrace change, relinquish control, accept a vanilla one-to-many solution and forego customization,” Masur advises.
Finally, clients should create and maintain negotiating leverage throughout the process. To that end, “it is important to create deadlines and a sense of urgency and to maintain the specter of competition,” Masur says. “Be sure you understand what the supplier wants out of the process and build that into your strategy.”
2016-11-18 07:58 Stephanie Overby www.itnews.com
45 /77 AWS roundup: Hybrid deployments with Amazon's cloud get a boost You would think that Amazon Web Services would have chilled out in the month before its big Re:Invent conference. After all, that show, which takes place at the end of November, is when the cloud provider typically shows off a bonanza of new products and features.
But Christmas has come early in October, at least for people who are looking to run hybrid cloud deployments with AWS. Here's the rundown of important news you may have missed.
The big bombshell for the month was a partnership between AWS and VMware. The latter company is going to launch a managed service that will make it easy for users to migrate workloads from on-premises hardware to the public cloud and back again, using VMware's vSphere management software. It's a move that will also make it easier for businesses to try out hybrid cloud configurations with a single control plane that administrators are already familiar with from managing their current infrastructure.
AWS CEO Andy Jassy looked like a cat who had just swallowed a canary sitting on stage next to VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger during a San Francisco press event to announce the partnership. But both men seemed like they got something important out of the deal. Amazon gets a hybrid cloud strategy, while VMware gets a way to easily integrate its products with a leading cloud provider — and probably make a whole bunch of money in the process.
Right now, it's in closed beta, expected to launch next year.
But what if you don't want to use VMware's managed service? AWS has a Server Migration Service that's supposed to help lift and shift workloads. To use it, administrators install a connector that will analyze their virtualized server environment and collect information about the instances they’re using.
After that, they can use the AWS Management Console to replicate those instances up to the cloud as Amazon Machine Images stored in the AWS Elastic Block Store service. After that, admins can spin up what should be a replica of the same instance running on-premises in AWS.
Sometimes, you just need a stupendously massive hunk of compute power. That's what the x1.32xlarge instance offers -- 128 virtual CPU cores, 1952GiB of RAM and 2 1920GB SSDs. (1 GiB is roughly equivalent to 1.074GB.)
It's among the most expensive compute instances Amazon offers and has been useful for customers looking to run applications like SAP HANA.
But what about customers who want half the power? Amazon's swooping in with the appropriately named x1.16xlarge , which sports (you guessed it) 64 vCPU cores, 976GiB of RAM, and one 1920GB SSD. It's priced at half the cost of its larger sibling.
Both of those instance types are also now available in Amazon's Mumbai, Seoul and US GovCloud regions, in addition to the seven other regions worldwide that also run x1 instances.
Geographic expansion is the name of the game for cloud providers, and AWS pushed its data center footprint forward with the launch of a new US-East region based in Ohio. It's part of a one- two punch of cloud regions available in the eastern part of America, alongside Amazon's longstanding US-East region based in Virginia.
At launch, the region supports a wide variety of AWS services, including EC2, Elastic Block Store, Aurora, DynamoDB, Snowball, Kinesis and Lambda.
Adrian Cockroft made a name for himself as a Cloud Architect at Netflix and then as a Technical Fellow at Battery Ventures. The soft-spoken Brit was a fixture at cloud conferences, and he's now been pulled into Amazon's orbit as its VP of Cloud Infrastructure.
AWS CTO Werner Vogels said in a blog post that Cockroft will be working with product teams, consulting with customers about their cloud architecture, and helping out open-source communities.
2016-11-18 07:54 Blair Hanley www.computerworld.com
46 /77 Local authorities urged to improve data usage to ensure financial sustainability The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has been warned that it needs to improve the way it captures, analyses and uses data in order to ensure that local authorities remain financially sustainable.
In a report published today, the Commons Select Committee said that it was “concerned” that the department appeared to be complacent about the risks to local authority finances, council tax payers and local service users arising from the increasing scale and changing character of commercial activities across the sector.
It said that the department “does not have good enough information to understand the scale and nature of authorities’ commercial activities or which authorities are placing themselves at greatest risk”.
This suggests that the department is not collecting enough of the necessary data, and that the quality of the data that it is collecting is not up to the standard required.
The committee goes on to say that the department “does not use the information it does have to give it a cumulative picture of risks and pressures across the sector” – suggesting that there is room for improvement in how the data is both analysed, and then acted upon.
Currently, the department relies on a devolved framework that gives it assurance about the short-term sustainability of individual authorities, but the committee claims that the framework does not identify issues across the sector.
Despite this, it said the department does not use the data it collects effectively to build its own system-wide picture of trends across the sector and carries out limited analysis related to capital expenditure.
“The department’s current understanding of risks across the sector, such as the deteriorating condition of capital assets, is not sufficient,” it said.
However, it added that the department accepts that in future it needs to monitor trends and developments in the sector more actively and to be more intelligent in the way that it identifies trends in the sector.
The improved use of data is just one of the committee’s six recommendations for the department.
2016-11-18 07:53 Sooraj Shah www.itpro.co.uk
47 /77 Three hack: UK IT industry hits out at “corporate blindness” and firm's "slavish devotion to short term margin" The UK IT industry has spoken out against UK telco Three after the revelation a recent breach has endangered the data of six million customers.
Accusations of "corporate blindness" and Three "waiting for a major breach" before improving its security measures are just some of the crticisms levelled at the telco.
"This is the umpteenth time a major company has suffered a data breach as a result of an employee login falling into the wrong hands," said François Amigorena, CEO of access management firm IS Decisions. "EBay, Sony, Sage and other large corporations have suffered similar fates recently, and it seems that most organisations are waiting for a major breach of their own before doing anything to improve their security - which is the worst way to do things. "
Intercede CEO Richard Parris concurred:
"The news of yet another security breach, this time at Three Mobile, makes depressing reading and it seems to be a story without an end," he reflected. "These sort of breaches, whether carried out by employees, customers or third parties all appear to have something in common - fundamentally insecure approaches to identity, credential and application management. "
Parris said that "slavish devotion to short term margin and revenue growth" is leading to "corporate blindness" in companies like Three.
"The risks are well known, and the solutions are available, but rather than sort the issue, C-level executives and board members the world over simply hope their company isn't next on the hit list. "
Greg Hanson, VP of worldwide consulting at Informayica, was also quick to jump on the blame dog pile, suggesting firms like Three are more mindful of where there data is, and how it is stored and protected:
"Companies must move away from a damage-control mindset to a deep understanding of their sensitive information, so that they can implement data-centric security and protect it wherever it moves in the organization," he said.
"Unless companies understand exactly where their valuable assets originate, proliferate and reside, it is extremely likely that they will lose control of that data. And as the Three breach proves, companies must even prepare for an attack from the inside. " Certes Networks VP of EMEA, Dan Panesar, went so far as to say the entire industry now needs to shift to a "zero trust" model with user data, assuming every user can be compromised.
"The only way to halt such breaches is for the industry to rethink trust. The industry needs to adopt a "Zero Trust" model in which it is assumed that every user might be compromised, and that no user is implicitly trusted," said Panesar.
"Any user might be a hacker in disguise. Organisations must adopt a ‘need to know' access strategy, meaning users can only access the data they need to do their job. This means that when, not if, a hacker does pass a company's outer defences, as has happened time and time again, they do not have free rein over the systems of a company holding the personal data of millions of customers. "
2016-11-18 07:50 Peter Gothard www.computing.co.uk
48 /77 Elon Musk says his smart solar roof could cost less than a regular roof Not long after Tesla shareholders approved the company’s acquisition of renewable energy firm SolarCity, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, proclaimed that Tesla’s new solar roof product will cost less to manufacture and install than a regular roof. And that’s including labor costs.
This saving doesn’t even take into account the saved energy costs – “electricity”, he said, “is just a bonus.”
According to Bloomberg , Musk said “the basic proposition will be: Would you like a roof that looks better than a normal roof, lasts twice as long, costs less and—by the way—generates electricity?”
It should be noted, the roof shingles themselves are still high-end products and expensive to produce – in fact, the shingles designed to mimic terracotta and slate could cost up to 20 times more than regular asphalt shingles.
The majority of the cost savings Musk reports will actually come from shipping the products rather than manufacturing them. Shipping costs for traditional roofing materials are high because they’re fragile, heavy, and prone to breakage. Tesla’s tempered-glass tiles will have the advantage of weighing much less than these traditional materials and being much easier to ship.
Last month Musk showed off four homes outfitted with the surprisingly good-looking textured glass solar tiles, and if they do turn out to be as affordable as Musk claims this could transform the solar power market. A roof that won't cost you any more to install but could save you money in the long run? Musk said it himself: “Why would you get anything else?”
2016-11-18 07:48 Emma Boyle feedproxy.google.com
49 /77 Holiday 2016 It seems to me that holiday shopping occurs earlier and earlier every year. It's only mid-November, but some shops where I live are already covered in Christmas decorations and play Christmas music. With buyers already thinking about what sort of things they'll buy as gifts to give during holiday time in December, it's appropriate to refresh our quarterly tablet guide to reflect on the state of the tablet market, as well as to add some recommendations from the less- expensive media-focused devices of the tablet market.
Even if you use Android on your smartphone, it's always worth giving the iPad some consideration when looking for a tablet. It's can definitely be difficult to have to manage two different ecosystems with their own apps, but the iPad has a substantial platform advantage over Android tablets on both the software and hardware fronts, and to improve multitasking and productivity further you really need to move to a full blown Windows tablet.
At the small end of the iPad line there's the iPad Mini 2 and iPad Mini 4. The iPad Mini 2 is the cheapest entry into the iPad line at $269. However, the hardware platform is really showing its age by this point. You still get a 7.9" 2048x1536 display, but it's a narrow-gamut panel which really stands out in a market where even $100 smartphones cover the sRGB gamut. It also has only 1GB of RAM paired with Apple's A7 SoC, which limits its current multitasking abilities, and will send it to end of life status in the near future. However, it does represent a relatively inexpensive way to get an iPad, and with Apple's recent move to double storage on almost every iOS device you now get a 32GB iPad Mini 2 for $269 where previously you'd be stuck with 16GB. For me, the iPad Mini 2 is like the content-consumption device in the iPad line, being usable for media, reading, and general app usage, with the RAM being the limitation that prevents multitasking and causes apps to be killed rather quickly.
As for the iPad Mini 4, it's the higher end iPad Mini. At $399 it's quite expensive though, but the price is a bit easier to swallow with the storage recently being bumped to 32GB. Compared to the iPad Mini 2 you get Apple's A8 SoC paired with 2GB of RAM, which enables support for iOS's split screen multitasking feature. However, its size means that you'll often only use the iPad Mini with a single app at a time, so the additional RAM is mostly useful for keeping additional Safari tabs and apps in memory. Split-screen can come in handy when pinning a chat app on the right side though, even with the smaller overall display area than other iPads. You also get full sRGB coverage on the display, along with laminated cover glass and Apple's AR coating which reduces reflections and increases effective contrast. Sales of the iPad Mini have definitely been cannibalized by the 5.5" iPhone models, especially since they also use a regular horizontal size class which allows for the same split layouts that iPad apps have in landscape. It doesn't get updated as frequently as the 9.7" iPad even though the price remains constant, which means that the value for your money drops as the hardware ages over time. For that reason I wouldn't consider the iPad Mini 4 to be worth buying, but if you need a tablet of this size it's probably the best option you'll find due to iOS's tablet app ecosystem. At the very least, the recent storage increase means you get more for your money now than in the past, and an additional $100 bumps the storage up to 128GB.
Click here to read our reviews of the iPad Mini 2 and the iPad Mini 4 .
For buyers who want a high-performance full-size tablet without approaching prices of $600 or $700, I think the iPad Air 2 is the best option overall. It now sits at $399 for 32GB, and it has the same hardware platform as when it launched. Normally one would think that to be a bad thing given that it launched in October of 2014, but lacking efforts from Android OEMs during the past two years have left the iPad Air 2 second only to the Pixel C as far as performance goes when comparing to Android devices, so it's really only "slow" relative to Apple's newer iPads.
The iPad Air 2 is like a larger and more powerful version of the iPad Mini 4. It has a 9.7" 2048x1536 display with the same AR coating, lamination, and color gamut. Something it has that the iPad Mini 4 lacks is Apple's 120Hz digitizer which scans for input at two times the rate of most other mobile devices, leading to lower input lag. Inside it has 2GB of LPDDR3 memory, and it uses Apple's A8X SoC which is slightly faster than A8 for general CPU tasks and significantly faster for GPU-accelerated workloads. It's no longer Apple's best SoC, but as I said before, Apple has almost no competition in this space anyway as far as performance goes.
Like the iPad Mini 4, the iPad Air 2 sells for $399 for 32GB, and $499 for 128GB. If you keep local media the $499 model is definitely worth it, but I think the average user will be okay with the 32GB model. The improvements that the iPad Air 2 provides over the iPad Mini 4 are definitely worth the price, and unless you need the smaller size of the iPad Mini 4 I think going with the iPad Air 2 is a no-brainer.
At the very top of the iPad line sits the two models of the iPad Pro. The 9.7" and 12.9" iPad Pro tablets represent the flagship iPads available at each size. As someone who has actually adopted the iPad Pro for many tasks, I think the applications of it are fairly clear, along with the target market. Students are definitely a big group within it, as the combination of the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil is more than capable of replacing notes written on paper. Creative professionals will find enjoyment from the combination of the two as well.
If you decide that the iPad Pro is the device for you, there are some considerations to make regarding accessories. I think the Apple Pencil is a must-have for many of the iPad Pro's intended users, although not all. The $99 price tag does add a significant amount on top of the price of an already expensive tablet, and so it's something to consider when comparing to other devices. As for the Smart Keyboard, it's definitely useful in some circumstances, but definitely not as necessary as the Apple Pencil. I think the poor lap usability is a big drawback, and I've rarely ever used it apart from a few circumstances where I had to use SSH without a laptop around. Unless you really want the keyboard for typing up documents, I would probably pass on it, as at $149 for the smaller one or $169 for the larger one it's quite expensive.
In the last tablet buying guide I spent a bit of time explaining the issues that are prevalent in the Android tablet market. To be frank, the market is a failure when using the definition of a tablet that defines a device like the iPad. I'm not going to continually re-publish such remarks, but I think the fact that there were no notable Android tablets launched this year speaks for itself. With that in mind, I would say the most reasonable recommendation regarding high end Android tablets is that you can't buy what doesn't exist.
While that is an unfortunate situation, there's still a healthy segment of Android "tablets" that focus much more on media-consumption and sell for lower prices than iPads or Windows tablets. I often joking refer to such devices as portable televisions due to how they get used, and many of them don't actually run Android in the traditional sense of the word, instead using heavily modified versions that often omit Google's services. This guide includes recommendations from that segment of the market, as they'll make up a large number of the tablets sold this holiday season.
The Amazon Fire HD 8, or more specifically, the All-New Fire HD 8, is my pick for an inexpensive media-consumption Android tablet. It has an 8" 1280x800 IPS display, which makes for a pixel density of 189 ppi. It's powered by MediaTek's MT8163 SoC, which is a 1.3GHz quad core Cortex A53 part paired with 1.5GB of RAM. Nothing here is mind-blowing, but the point of the Fire HD 8 is that it starts at only $89.
There is a caveat with that price. You can get the Fire HD 8 in a 16GB model for $89, but that requires seeing ads on your lock screen and parts of the launcher. You can do away with the ads for $15. Given that the ads aren't really intrusive, I would imagine that the most price- conscious customers would opt to just keep them. Moving to 32GB adds on an additional $30.
The most important thing to make note of is that the Fire HD 8 doesn't have access to Google services. This means no Gmail app, no Chrome, no Youtube, and no Google Play. Amazon's own app store has most of the big names in the mobile app space, and the intended target market for these devices aren't users who really make heavy use of apps anyway. Despite that, Youtube is definitely the one case where I can imagine there will be frustration given that the tablet skews toward media-consumption. Amazon Prime users have a lot to like about it though, especially those in markets where Amazon's media services like Prime Video and Prime Music are available. Heavy readers will also have easy access to Amazon's library of eBooks.
As with the past iterations of this guide, the SHIELD Tablet K1 is my pick for a mid-range Android tablet. This tablet has been around for a long time, and it does get close to the territory of Android tablets that are just used as small portable televisions, but the hardware is more substantial than what's found in the most inexpensive Android tablets. Like the name suggests, it's powered by NVIDIA's Tegra K1 SoC, with four 2,2GHz Cortex-A15 cores and NVIDIA's single SMX Kepler GPU. The display is a 1920x1200 IPS panel, which is sufficiently high resolution but much like the iPad Mini 2 it has a narrow color gamut and lacking accuracy. While the SHIELD Tablet K1 isn't as good as I'd like it to be, at $199 it's going to be the best Android tablet at this price unless Google decides to resurrect the Nexus 7 for a 2017 edition.
While this year hasn't been great for Android tablet launches, Huawei's MediaPad M3 is one exception to the trend. Announced earlier this year at IFA, it has been available in Europe in several storage and cellular configurations. It has also just been made available in the US via Amazon and other retailers in time for the holiday season. At $299, it sits in the mid-range part of the Android tablet market, and as its name suggests it focuses on media-consumption. However, selling for this price allows Huawei to include much better hardware than your typical Android media tablet.
Starting with its display, the MediaPad M3 uses an 8.4" IPS display with a resolution of 2560x1600. This is one of the sharpest displays you'll see on a tablet, with most other Android tablets of this size and resolution using PenTile AMOLED panels that have reduced red and blue resolution and subsequent issues with text rendition. Internally you get 32GB NAND plus MicroSD expansion, 4GB of LPDDR4 memory, and HiSilicon's Kirin 950 SoC , which has been used previously in the Huawei Mate 8. There are also 8MP cameras on both the front and the back, and stereo speakers built into the left and right sides of the chassis.
We haven't yet done a review of the MediaPad M3, so this is just a recommendation that buyers take a look at it if they're trying to find an Android tablet at this price point. The specs don't look like they'll disappoint, and the aluminum unibody is a nice step up from the plastic tablets you'll find at lower price points. Buyers in the US don't have access to the same variety of SKUs that have been seen elsewhere, and currently the only model available to order is the 32GB WiFi version for $299.
The Galaxy Tab S2 is a device I reviewed last year. Samsung has actually updated it since then with a model that uses a different SoC. It originally used Samsung's Exynos 5433 SoC with four Cortex-A57 cores, but now uses Snapdragon 652 which has four Cortex A72 cores and four Cortex A53 cores. I can't really speak to the performance of the newer model, but I would imagine that performance must be better than what I experienced on the Exynos model. You can find both floating around in the market, so be sure of which one you're buying before you do so.
As I mentioned earlier, I encountered performance and battery life issues with the Tab S2, and while the chassis being thin and light is great for portability, it does not feel like a device worth $500. Samsung also didn't see fit to do a proper follow-up to it this year, which is yet another example of how the high-end Android tablet market is pretty much gone. It's recommended here only because there are basically no other options to recommend, and unless you are absolutely certain that an iPad or Windows tablet can't work for you I would look elsewhere. Some users may argue in favor of the Pixel C as an alternative here, but the broken WiFi is enough to prevent me from recommending it at this point. Google doesn't even list the Pixel C once on their own Pixel device site , so it doesn't seem like they want it recommended either.
My only Windows tablet recommendation is the Surface Pro 4, and I really think it's more of a laptop recommendation when you get down to it. This part of the guide used to list the Surface 3, but the Surface 3 has essentially been discontinued, and cannot be purchased from Microsoft anymore. I think that it's a shame, as an update to it with a higher resolution display and perhaps some tweaks to storage and NAND would have provided a great Windows alternative to the 9.7" iPad Pro.
The Surface Pro 4 comes in more configurations than I could ever list here. The pricing ranges from $899 for the fanless model with an Intel Core m3-6Y30 CPU, a 128GB PCIe SSD, and 4GB of RAM, all the way to $2699 for a dual core Intel Core i7-6650U, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB PCIe SSD. The average price for the Surface Pro 4 should make it pretty clear why I think it ends up competing more with high end laptops than iPads or Android tablets, but it is technically a tablet. From another point of view, the base model isn't really any more expensive than the iPad Pro once you factor in what Apple charges for accessories, and getting the full Windows experience will appeal to many people.
Specs that are common to all models of the Surface Pro 4 are a 12.3" 2736x1824 display, 802.11ac WiFi, and an included Surface Pen. The battery capacities do vary based on the CPU you get, and the Core i5 and Core i7 models aren't able to be passively cooled like the Core m3 model is so they do use a fan for cooling. Microsoft's Surface Type Cover will still run you $129 on top of the price of the tablet, or $159 if you opt for the version that has a fingerprint scanner for authentication.
I think of the Surface Pro 4 less like a tablet and more like a full-fledged Windows laptop which can be used sort of like a tablet to watch videos in bed, but that again gets back to how some users just use their tablet like a portable television. The limited Modern UI app selection does put it in a different category than the iPad Pro, but buyers interested the Surface Pro 4 want one specifically because it can run all of their existing Windows software. If you fall into that category, the Surface Pro 4 is definitely worth checking out.
2016-11-18 07:45 Brandon Chester www.anandtech.com
50 /77 Ordnance Survey to lay groundwork for UK 5G networks The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has commissioned Ordnance Survey (OS) to develop planning and mapping tools to build a “digital twin” of the real world that can be used to determine optimum locations for the mobile network masts and other infrastructure that will be needed to successfully roll out 5G services in the next five to 10 years.
The mapping organisation, which dates back to the 18 th century, will head up a consortium that includes the University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC) and the Met Office to develop the tools, which will be trialled in Bournemouth before being scaled up to cover the rest of the UK if successful.
The consortium has already begun surveying parts of Bournemouth, and the data gathered there will be used to generate the new model. The town council said the trials would support its own aims to build on its success as 2015 Digital Council of the Year by becoming one of the first places in the UK to have commercial 5G coverage when the time comes.
“The purpose is to deploy 5G quickly and efficiently,” said Andrew Loveless, Ordnance Survey commercial director . “Linking OS data to spectrum information and meteorological data will deliver faster speeds and better coverage to connected devices, all the while helping keep roll- out costs to a minimum.
“In creating a highly accurate digital model of the real world, with added in attributes and intelligence, OS is taking mapping and data visualisation to unprecedented new levels with what can be achieved, complementing the government’s Digital Britain strategy,” he explained.
2016-11-18 07:42 Networking Editor www.computerweekly.com
51 /77 8 awesome gifts for PC gamers PC gamers are a tough, discriminating crowd to shop for. And if you don’t know the difference between an SSD and a GPU, it makes shopping even harder—can you imagine browsing for LED fans and power supply cables without knowing what you’re looking for? Yikes.
But don’t worry—to make it easier for you, we’ve assembled a list of the best gifts for PC gamers that won’t break the bank. This is the gear that our gaming-obsessed staff is pining over this season, and there’s a little something to fit everyone’s needs. Despite what you may have heard about gaming hardware, your PC doesn’t need more RAM or a faster hard drive for gaming. No, it’s all about the graphics card that drives the pixels to the screen.
For gamers that are still using ancient graphics cards, EVGA’s GeForce GTX 1050 Ti SC ($150 MSRP, same price on Amazon ) is a wonderful upgrade. With 4GB of GDDR5 and Nvidia’s latest Pascal architecture, it’s the budget card of the season. Even better, the new card is so efficient that it doesn’t need external power, so it stands a better chance of being compatible with older PCs.
How great of a gift is Kingston’s HyperX Cloud ($78.95 MSRP, same price on Amazon ) gaming headset? It’s so good, we’re recommending it for our second year in a row—it’s the only item to return from last year’s gift guide .
This headset features 53mm drivers and sound quality that is second to none in its price range. Available in a black/red combo or black/white combo, the HyperX Cloud’s main weakness is the microphone, but don’t worry—it’s still quite workable. Kingston even bundles an airplane and phone adapter if you’d like to use these analog headphones with other devices.
If it’s a keyboard you’re after, Logitech’s G610 Orion ($120 MSRP, $90 on Amazon ) is pretty hard to beat: It’s made by big-name company Logitech, doesn’t break the bank, and it features authentic Cherry MX mechanical switches (which is a big step up from Logitech’s Romer-based switches ). It also has an easy-to-find roller for quick volume control, which means your gamer can stay focused on the task at hand.
But one of the best parts about the G610 Orion is its looks—it comes in an understated all-black design that doesn’t scream “I’M A GAMER!!” like many other gaming keyboards out there.
If your PC gamer is working on a budget build—but doesn’t have the budget for an SSD—this one gift will change their life. SSDs can turn a slow computer into a faster one, as they increase the storage performance by several magnitudes more than what a hard drive offers. When introduced, SSDs were insanely expensive, but prices have come down considerably since then.
Samsung’s 750 EVO SSD (prices start at $60 on Amazon ) is among the best—if not the best— cheap drive out today. (At $57 for 120GB, what’s not to love?) And, yes, if you’re feeling a little more spendy, the 240GB and 480GB versions are even better... just not as cheap.
Your PC gamer probably already has a massive collection of Steam games , so Valve’s Steam Link ($50 MSRP, same price on Amazon ) is a great gift option. The Steam Link connects to your PC via Wi-Fi or a wired network, and streams games from your PC to the TV screen. Is it as good as putting a PC in front of your TV? No, but a small-form-factor gaming machine can’t be had for $50, and it gets you out of the den and into the living room. ( Our review of the Steam Link gives more details of the limitations of the device, but for the PC gamer, this gift is an easy one.) Because you’re buying the Steam Link as a gift, you may also want to buy the Steam Controller ($50 MSRP, same price on Amazon ). This controller gets you “closer” to a mouse-and-keyboard experience thanks to its dual-haptic pads. It’s an acquired taste, but for a PC gamer who isn’t acclimated to Xbox or PS4 controllers, it might be the easier path to take.
Picking a mouse without testing them out is tough, but trust us on this one. Logitech’s G502 Proteus Spectrum ($80 MSRP, $57.45 on Amazon ) is an upgrade of one of Logitech’s best mice, but with the addition of 16.8 million customizable color LEDs. How good is it? Our reviewer said of the Proteus Spectrum , “the best gaming mouse just got better.” Mic drop. Even more amazing, it’s actually affordable.
Most of our gaming gifts are for those who have budget limitations. But if you’re an investment banker or venture capitalist—or if bubblin’ crude came up out of the ground while you were shootin' for some food—the ultimate gift for a gamer this year (besides an Nvidia GeForce Titan X Pascal ) is the Alienware 13 gaming laptop (starting at $1,200 MSRP). This laptop features an Intel quad-core CPU, a GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card, and a drop-dead gorgeous OLED screen.
There are certainly more powerful gaming laptops out there, but what we like about the Alienware 13 is its compact size. It can be your only gaming machine, but it’s really for gamers who already have a desktop rig, but want an option for gaming on the go.
Don’t, however, expect a super-light laptop. In fact, it’s a bit hefty at five pounds, but that weight means it can soak up the heat far better than super-thin gaming laptops.
2016-11-18 07:30 Gordon Mah www.pcworld.com
52 /77 Tesla shareholders greenlight SolarCity merger Shareholders in Tesla have given their approval to plans for the company to merge with solar panel company SolarCity in a $2.6 billion deal.
The electric car company said that 85% of shareholders had approved the merger, and that some investors cited a conflict of interest as a reason for opposing the deal.
Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, said earlier this month that SolarCity would add an extra $1 billion in revenue for Tesla, despite being loss making up until now.
He added that the merger would accelerate “the world's transition to sustainable energy" by not only generating and storing clean energy but also be using this energy in the home and in the car. Tesla announced in June that it has reached a deal to buy SolarCity. At the time, the firm said this would create "the world's only vertically integrated energy company".
Tesla is facing several lawsuits over the merger, according to reports from Marketwatch , with most alleging a breach of fiduciary duty by the firm.
Last month, Musk demoed solar panels that look like roof tiles. The tiles, available in four colours, will be available to buy next summer and can be used with Tesla’s new home energy storage system.
Tesla is also gearing up to launch its Model 3, which is the firm’s first mainstream electric car. The company recently posted its first profitable quarter in more than three years and said its next quarter will also be profitable.
Image credit: Tesla
2016-11-18 07:26 Rene Millman www.itpro.co.uk
53 /77 Researchers send text message using chemicals At a concert in San Jose during his Saint Pablo tour, Kanye West opened up about the 2016 election in typical style. According to videos and tweets from the night, West told fans —in no particular order — that if he'd voted he would have voted for...
Microsoft is unveiling its Black Friday deals for the Xbox One today. New Xbox One games like Battlefield 1, FIFA 17, Titanfall 2, and even Overwatch are all being discounted by up to 40 percent. Battlefield is available for $40.19 until November...
Hackers have accessed a database of customer information belonging to one of the UK’s biggest mobile carriers, Three. According to a report from The Telegraph, the company said the database included names, phone numbers, addresses, and dates of...
Japanese businesses are finding they need to deal with increasing numbers of foreign visitors to Japan, and Panasonic thinks it has the answer: a megaphone that translates the user’s voices into multiple languages. The Megahonyaku, which is a...
Amazon has already stoked the holiday consumption fire by rolling out a bunch of deals well ahead of Black Friday, but this weekend’s shopping opportunity comes with a giant catch: starting November 18 and running through the 21st, certain deals...
President Obama took time during a press conference today to assail the spread of fake news online, particularly the way it travels on Facebook. “In an age where there’s so much active misinformation and it’s packaged very well and it looks the...
2016-11-18 07:19 James Vincent www.theverge.com
54 /77 Best iPhone 7 cases & iPhone 7 Plus cases If you’re planning to buy the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus , you’ll be pleased to hear that there are already lots of cases to choose from. Here, we’ve got a round-up of the best iPhone 7 cases we’ve seen so far.
Also see: Best Black Friday Gadget Deals
Keep the back and sides of your iPhone 7 safe with the two layers of protection provided by the Caseology Envoy. Made with a layer of TPU and a layer of polycarbonate, this case offers a sturdy fit with a carbon fibre design that is nice and grippy. This case is available to buy from Mobile Fun for £20 now.
Read on for more iPhone 7 cases and iPhone 7 Plus cases.
Nothing better to craft an iPhone 7 case with than finest cowhide - so enter Snakehive. This is a lovely looking wallet case, particularly in this red and black hue.
Three card slots and a folding back mean this is a great stand for video viewing too, while the inside of the case is a soft leather to protect that ever-crackable screen.
Spigen’s flexible TPU case with carbon fibre and Air Cushion tech is a good choice for the clumsier among us. With easy click buttons and a raised lip, you’ll also find that this case protects the sides and front of your iPhone, but there is a cutout to allow the Apple logo to shine through.
Griffin's cases are always popular, so this new offering for the iPhone 7 is no exception. It has space for cards and cash, hence the 'Wallet' in its name, and the back is made with a clear polycarbonate to allow the colour of your iPhone to shine through (hence the 'Clear'). A great case with a low price tag.
Proporta's gorgeous aluminium lined stand case for iPhone 7 comes in various colours, including our favourite: Berry/Rose Gold (shown here).
It is both stylish and heavy-duty, and the stand functionality adds practicality into the mix too. All that, and the price tag is a very reasonable £28.
Dutch luxury Apple case designers Mujjo have been quick to adapt their waxed vegetable- tanned leather iPhone cases for the latest versions. Each features Moulded Edge Technology for added durability at the phone weakest points. You don't want to damage your precious new phone, but the ways these cases look mean you'll be wary of spoiling them too. Even the insides are lined with suede to nestle your iPhone 7 in comfort.
There are ten contemporary Mujjo leather cases for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, starting with the simple €39.90 Leather Case for iPhone 7 in Tan and Black for both models.
The €49.90 Leather Wallet Case for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus adds storage space for two or three bank or ID cards at the back of the case. They are each available in Tan, Black and Grey.
Buy direct from the Mujjo store. Other Mujjo cases are also available from Amazon, so watch out for the iPhone 7 cases there soon.
Most iPhone cases can all look alike after a while so here’s an interesting case material to check out.
The Foxwood Cement Hardshell is, as its name suggests, made partly from genuine cement. It’s no new brutalist monstrosity, though. The Foxwood cement Case is actually aesthetically rather pleasing – especially compared to other more garish cases out there.
As you’d expect the cement adds a strong exterior that’s tough and prevents scratches and scuffs from damaging your phone.
It weighs just 24g, and costs £24.99 – available exclusively from Carphone Warehouse .
Foxwood also has a wider range of more conventional hard shell cases in leather of various shades and three in wood (Bamboo, walnut or rosewood) finishes.
All feature a soft microfiber lining and full access to buttons and ports.
Another dual layer option is Snugg’s, also made with TPU and polycarbonate. This one has a nice pop of colour that some will prefer, and even comes with a lifetime guarantee that means you’ll be able to get the case replaced should something go wrong with it.
A cheap but cheerful option comes from Terrapin, with its TPU gel case made to be durable and shock absorbent. It comes in various different colours and will fit perfectly onto the back of the iPhone 7 and will cover the sides too.
We also really like Terrapin’s Leather Wallet, which is stylish and modern, but practical too, with space for cards and a stand functionality. It’s super-cheap at under £10, too, and comes in a variety of colours.
This simple case is ideal for anyone looking to protect their iPhone without adding too much bulk or hiding the colour and design of the phone itself. It’s available in Clear or Smoke, with AirShock technology and raised corners to protect your iPhone 7 from impacts. It's also available for the iPhone 7 Plus.
X-Doria’s Defense Lux for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus combines extreme protection with stylish design, and we really like the results. It’s made with anodized aluminium with a soft inner rubber layer. The rear is covered in either carbon fibre, soft leather or croc skin, depending on the design you choose. There’s also a raised lip to provide protection from the screen.
Available for both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, this classic FlexiShield cases has been popular since the early days of the iPhone. It’s cheap, at under £10, and protects the iPhone whilst adding a pop of colour if you want it. The rubbery gel material lets the iPhone’s design shine through whilst protecting it from scratches and absorbing shocks too.
2016-11-18 07:15 Ashleigh Macro www.pcadvisor.co.uk
55 /77 Science experts: Let EU scientists remain in UK after Brexit The government must allow EU scientists and researchers already working in the UK to stay in the country, the Science and Technology Committee has urged.
With the nature of the UK's exit from the EU still unknown, the Parliamentary group warned that unsureness caused by Brexit is a threat to the UK's science sector.
Chair Stephen Metcalfe MP said: "Uncertainty over Brexit threatens to undermine some of the UK's ongoing international scientific collaborations. Telling EU scientists and researchers already working in the UK that they are allowed to stay is one way the Government could reduce that uncertainty right away. "
He told Sky News : "Our committee is concerned that by not providing reassurances to EU nationals, that they won't come here and conduct their research in the UK. And we want to provide that reassurance early.
"I don't think it undermines the government's future negotiating position but it would provide the science community with the reassurance they need. "
Ian Robinson, partner at immigration law firm, Fragomen LLP, agreed with the committee, saying EU citizens in the UK "need and deserve" to know they can remain in the UK post-Brexit.
"People aren't bargaining chips and it isn't fair to just string them along," said Robinson. "That is even before we get to the risk to science as a sector, indeed the risk to every sector, of talented people leaving the UK. "
Trade secretary Liam Fox told the Conservative Party conference in October that the ongoing uncertain status of EU citizens living in the UK is "one of our main cards".
The committee added that science and research needs do not appear to be central to the Department for Exiting the European Union's (DExEU) plans, calling on it to hire a chief scientific advisor as soon as possible.
"The concerns and needs of our world-class research establishments and scientists working in the UK must be heard at the negotiating table," added Metcalfe.
He pointed to key aims, including securing access to EU science funding projects like Horizon 2020, ongoing collaboration of the UK science community with international colleagues, and ongoing access to EU research facilities.
IT Pro has contacted DExEU for a response to the committee's claims and will update this article when comment comes in.
2016-11-18 07:10 Joe Curtis www.itpro.co.uk
56 /77 : The biggest 3DS launch of all time There's also a Pokémon Sun and Moon Fan Edition which you can buy at GAME for £44. The Fan Version includes the game inside a special SteelBook case. Pre-ordering will also bag you a exclusive figurine.
You can also pre-order Pokémon Sun and Moon direct from Nintendo. The company is offering three different pre-order packages, including one with this awesome new Nintendo 3DS design featuring the games' two new starring Pokémon Solgaleo and Lunala.
There's a special treat in Pokémon Sun and Moon for those who purchase before 11 January 2017 (should be doable). You'll get a unique Munchlax that evolves into Pulverizing Snorlax and comes with a special item called Snorlium Z. The Munchlax will also have two moves it couldn't otherwise learn: Hold Back and Happy Hour.
"By evolving Munchlax into Snorlax and having it hold the Snorlium Z, Snorlax becomes able to use a special Z-Move that cannot be used by any other Pokémon—Pulverizing Pancake. "
Check out all the details in the video below as well as a look at the Alolan Rattata form.
Game and figurine - click here to view
Steelbook and figurine - click here to view
Console packs - click here to view
This game will follow the popular Pokémon X and Y which launched on the 3DS back in 2013 so it’s about time we got a new title which would be the seventh generation.
When Pokémon Sun and Moon launches, it will be available globally and in nine languages with Nintendo adding traditional and simplified Chinese alongside other options such as English, Spanish and Italian.
The firm hopes that Pokémon trainers will be able to overcome language barriers and be able to communicate with each other better over the internet. A feature called Pokémon Bank will mean that players can transfer any of their Pokémon from the original trio to Sun and Moon which is pretty cool.
Read next: Battlefield 1 review
At E3 2016 a new battle format called Battle Royal was announced for Pokémon Sun and Pokémon, whereby four Trainers battle at once. Each chooses three Pokémon, with one entering the field at a time, and it's all over when all three Pokémon of any one Trainer have fainted. The remaining Trainers are then ranked.
Watch the below Pokémon Sun and Moon trailer below for a mix of gameplay, new Pokémon and the Battle Royal mode.
Pokémon GO might link with Pokémon Sun and Moon! What?!
You heard that right, the latest rumour (and remember it's only a rumour) is that Pokémon GO on your phone might be able to link up with Sun and Moon on your 3DS. According to a report in iDigitalTimes , the producers of the upcoming 3DS Sun and Moon are ' considering linkage with the smartphone app Pokemon GO which came out earlier this month.' It rightfully points out that ' they have to do it in a way that doesn’t break the balance of either game and even end up making both games boring. They still need to find an interesting idea that could make both games more interesting.'
Following on in the tradition of previous Pokémon games, players will have to choose one of three special Pokémon to be their first partner in Sun and Moon. In this version of Pokémon you'll pick between newly discovered Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio.
As usual, they follow the format of grass, fire and water and you can see details of each below.
Name: Rowlet Category: Grass Quill Pokémon Height: 1' 00" Weight: 3.3lbs Type: Grass/Flying Starting Move: Leafage
The first of the potential partners is the highly adaptable Grass Quill Pokémon, Rowlet. This Pokémon can fly silently through the skies, sneaking up on its opponent without being noticed. It can attack its opponents using powerful kicks, and it can also attack from a distance using the razor-sharp leaves that form part of its feathers. Rowlet can survey its environment and turn its neck nearly 180 degrees from front to back, so it can see directly behind itself. When in battle, Rowlet turns its head to face its Trainer when waiting for instructions.
Name: Litten Category: Fire Cat Pokémon Height: 1' 04" Weight: 9.5lbs Type: Fire Starting Move: Ember
The cool-headed Fire Cat Pokémon, Litten, is the next choice for a first-partner Pokémon. Litten’s fur is rich in oils and is immensely flammable. It constantly grooms itself by licking its coat, collecting loose fur into balls. It then ignites these hairballs to create fireball attacks. When the time comes for Litten to molt, it burns off all of its fur in one glorious blaze.
Name: Popplio Category: Sea Lion Pokémon Height: 1' 04" Weight: 16.5lbs Type: Water Starting Move: Water Gun
The third possibility is the acrobatic Sea Lion Pokémon, Popplio. Popplio can create balloons made of water from its nose and utilize them to create a variety of different strategies and attacks in battle. This Pokémon is better at moving in the water than on land, and can swim at speeds over 25 mph. On land, it uses the elasticity of the balloons it creates to perform jumps and acrobatic stunts.
In yet another video, The Pokémon Company has revealed the final evolutions for the Sun and Moon starters – they are Decidueye, Incineroar and Primarina. The video also includes some new Pokémon, Alolan forms and trainers such as Red and Blue.
Two legendary Pokémon have been announced as Solgaleo and Lunala, which will feature in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon respectively. See more in the video below:
At E3 2016 Nintendo announced a further three Pokémon: Pikipek, Yungoos and Grubbin.
Pikipek, which likes to collect glittery objects and hide them in their food stores, can strike trees up to 16 times per second to bore holes - this powerful action can even shatter stone. Pikipek can also fire seeds at opponents with enough power to embed them into tree trunks.
Yungoos is an extremely hungry Pokémon, and when its stomach rumbles it gets pretty grumpy. It's pretty much all about its stomach, but some Yungoos also possess the Stakeout ability, with their moves dealing twice the normal damage to any Pokémon that enters the field mid-battle.
Grubbin is a bug-type Pokémon with a strong jaw, munching away in battle and using its nashers to burrow into the ground. Sticky threads can be spat from its mouth and wrapped around trees, enabling Grubbin to swing between them a bit like Tarzan.
2016-11-18 07:06 Chris Martin www.pcadvisor.co.uk
57 /77 | How to group video call on WhatsApp: Beware of the WhatsApp video calling scam Within the next few days WhatsApp will roll out video calling on Android, iPhone and Windows Phone across the globe, but you don't need to wait: Here's how to video call on WhatsApp or even group video call on WhatsApp using a free app called Booyah.
"We’re introducing this feature because we know that sometimes voice and text just aren’t enough," says WhatsApp. "We want to make these features available to everyone, not just those who can afford the most expensive new phones or live in countries with the best cellular networks. "
We've now received the update on iOS, and have found it's possible to video call contacts even if they haven't updated their app. To video call on WhatsApp simply open a conversation with a contact and tap the camera icon next to the phone icon.
Update 18 November 2016: It has been brought to our attention that scammers are using the new WhatsApp video calling feature to claim more victims. If you see a WhatsApp message with a link to a website on whicj you can activate video calling, do not click it. The only way to activate video calling is to update your WhatsApp app to the latest version, which you can do via the App Store or Google Play Store if you have not configured your phone to download and install updates automatically.
Read next: How to avoid WhatsApp viruses, scams and hoaxes .
Booyah is a free app available in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store that lets you video call your WhatsApp contacts, provided your recipient also has the app installed.
The app couldn’t be any simpler to use, simply install it either on Android or iOS and the app will then have access to your WhatsApp contacts. In terms of permissions on Android, the app will require you to access your photos/media/files, camera, microphone, Wi-Fi and have full network access.
Once the app is installed, you’ll be able to directly video call any of your WhatsApp contacts through the app. In order to be able to make a video call, the recipient(s) will need to also download and install Booyah and of course have WhatsApp installed on their device. Read next: How to install WhatsApp on iPad or Android tablet.
As you initiate a call it will provide you with a link to a video chat, whereby contacts can join. If you happen to close the application whilst the call is taking place, your video will freeze, but you’ll still be connected to your video call via voice call only.
As well as allowing you to make video calls on WhatsApp with single contacts, Booyah lets you hold group video calls with several of your friends. You’ll be able to directly add extra people within the conversation.
We experienced a few problems with the app, where at times it didn't properly display all the contacts, but on the whole the app is very simple and works as intended.
Read next: How to read a WhatsApp message without the sender knowing .
2016-11-18 07:02 Christopher Minasians www.pcadvisor.co.uk
58 /77 ET deals: Save $20 on an Amazon Prime membership To celebrate the launch of the Prime-exclusive show The Grand Tour, you can get an entire year of Amazon Prime for just $79 — a whopping $20 off the typical asking price. Not only does that get you free two-day shipping on countless items, but Amazon’s streaming music and video services are included at no additional cost.
So, what exactly does Prime have to offer besides free shipping? The Prime Video library has an outrageous amount of movies and TV shows — including incredible original programs like The Grand Tour, Transparent, and Mozart in the Jungle. Prime music lets you listen to an unlimited amount of music without any advertising. Countless Kindle eBooks are available to read with the lending library system. And the photo cloud storage? You can upload an unlimited number of photos at no additional cost. It’s an incredible deal.
If you want to take advantage of this discounted price, you’ll need to act fast — it isn’t going to last very long. And remember, this sale is made with new Prime members in mind. If you’re already an existing member, you won’t be able to partake in the discount.
Our commerce group sources the best deals and products for the ET Deals posts. We operate independently of Editorial and Advertising and may earn a percentage of the sale, if you buy something via a link on the post. If you are interested in promoting your deals, please contact us at [email protected].
Catch all the Black Friday deals as they go live on TechBargains
2016-11-18 07:00 Grant Brunner www.extremetech.com
59 /77 10 tech skills that will boost your salary It's no secret that IT careers are some of the most in-demand and highest- paying out there. But the breakneck pace of digital transformation and constant innovation means professionals with certain skills can demand even greater compensation than others, whether at "pure" technology companies or in IT roles within other industries.
"Tech positions are needed everywhere, but some can command a premium in pay based on the skills. And the boost in compensation we're seeing for these skills encompasses almost all industries, especially traditional places like manufacturing and finance where IT professionals might need an extra motivation to consider a role. We expect these kinds of premiums for tech skills to continue into 2017, too, as basic skills continue to be in high demand, and specialized skill sets become even more important," says Katie Bardaro, vice president of data analytics for cloud compensation services company PayScale.
Here, using a methodology similar to The PayScale Index , PayScale's data team measured the change in wages for hot IT skills in the first half of 2016, all else equal, as well as the median pay for an example role in which that skill could be used. Finally, PayScale data shows just how much of a boost you'll see in your paycheck if you currently have or will add these skills to your resume.
[ Find out how to get ahead with our career development guide for developers . | The art of programming is changing rapidly. We help you navigate what's hot in programming and what's going cold. | Keep up with hot topics in programming with InfoWorld's Application Development newsletter . ]
Scala is a general-purpose, scalable programming language developed in response to criticisms of the Java language. The name is a portmanteau of "scalable" and "language," meaning it can easily adapt to the growing demands of users.
React.js is an open source JavaScript library used to create user interfaces. The language is maintained by IT heavyweights like Facebook and Instagram.
Algorithm development is an important tool for product, project, and/or program managers who are leading a technically or data-intensive project, who need to test or simulate product performance, or are looking to improve on existing products or solutions.
[ Related story: 10 hardest to find tech skills ]
Django is a rapid application development framework written in the Python language that helps developers quickly create web applications.
Amazon is a leader in cloud services, which explains why Amazon Web Services made it to the list of hottest skills. AWS is a collection of cloud computing tools that make up an on-demand, scalable, and affordable cloud services platform.
Apache Hive, written in SQL, is a data warehouse software solution that facilitates the reading, writing, and storage of very large data sets across distributed storage.
[ Related story: 6 tips to handle a sick day at the office ]
Rails is another web application development framework that's written in the Ruby programming language. It helps Ruby developers quickly develop web-based applications.
Devops is shorthand for "development operations," which refers to a culture, movement, or practice that emphasizes collaboration between software developers and the IT business while also automating software delivery.
Apple's iOS is the proprietary operating system for all of the tech giant's mobile hardware: iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. It's second only to the Android operating system in popularity, as measured by global device sales.
[ Related story: 10 highest-paying IT security jobs ]
At the most basic level, a database is a collection of information that can easily be accessed by a computer. With the growing dependence of organizations on gathering, analyzing, and acting on data, database skills are critical in today's digital enterprises.
2016-11-18 07:00 Sharon Florentine www.infoworld.com
60 /77 VMware taps Angular 2 for rapid web dev framework VMware has released at GitHub its open source Clarity design system to create web applications based on the Angular 2 framework. Clarity packages user-experience guidelines, design patterns, and view-layer UI components.
This packaging means that developers “can now shift their focus from building UI components to building the application itself, giving them more time and energy to craft workflows and experiences unique to their product,” said Jehad Affoneh, a staff engineer at VMware and Clarity project lead. “For example, using a data grid—one of the most complicated components in a UI—becomes easy because Clarity has already provided one , built on top of Angular 2,” he said.
Clarity originated from VMware’s desire to build an internal design system to unify the company’s product portfolio. It relies on reusable components to accelerate development and has been used dozens of product teams at the company, Affoneh said.
“We expect that as an open source project Clarity, will be rapidly developed based on the input and contributions of its developer and user community,” Affoneh said. Clarity is offered under an MIT license.
VMware has published Clarity as three NPM packages:
A sketch template is part of Clarity, featuring a library of components and relying on the Metropolis open source font. To start a new project, VMware recommends cloning the Clarity seed project integrated with clarity-ui and clarity-angular.
2016-11-18 07:00 Paul Krill www.infoworld.com
61 /77 NIST shifts focus of security guidance to ‘engineering' Security experts have long said that internet-connected systems and software need security controls and features built in by design, in the same manner they’re built into physical infrastructure. The National Institute of Standards and Technology agrees and has issued guidance to help software engineers build secure products.
Titled “Systems Security Engineering: Considerations for a Multidisciplinary Approach in the Engineering of Trustworthy Secure Systems,” the guideline emphasizes incorporating “well- defined engineering-based security design principles at every level, from the physical to the virtual,” NIST Fellow Ron Ross wrote on the Taking Measure blog. A holistic approach does more than make systems penetration-resistant; even after a compromise, they’re still capable enough to contain the damage and resilient enough to keep supporting critical missions and business functions. NIST’s guidance uses the international standard ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 for systems and software engineering as a framework, and it maps out “every security activity that would help the engineers make a more trustworthy system” for each of the 30-plus processes defined by the standard. The activities cover the entire system lifecycle, from the initial business or mission analysis to requirements definition to the design and architecture phases, and they’re applicable for new, upgraded, or repurposed systems.
“We have a high degree of confidence our bridges and airplanes are safe and structurally sound. We trust those technologies because we know that they were designed and built by applying the basic laws of physics, principles of mathematics, and concepts of engineering,” Ross wrote. Similarly, applying fundamental principles in mathematics, computer science, and systems/software engineering can give us the same level of confidence in our software and hardware.
A holistic approach requires coordinating across different specialties, such as information, software and hardware assurance, physical security, antitamper protection, communications security, and cryptography. It also demands addressing multiple focus areas, such as privacy, verification, penetration resistance, architecture, performance, validation, and vulnerability.
The guidance addressed the dependencies and subspecialties by grouping the processes in the system lifecycle into four families:
The processes outlined in the publication do not prescribe a mandatory set of activities and do not explicitly map to specific stages in the lifecycle, NIST warned. Engineers should rely on their experience and their understanding of the organization’s objectives to tailor the processes to meet the stakeholder’s requirements for a trustworthy system.
The publication also did not attempt to formally define systems security engineering. There is something for everyone involved in the process, from business stakeholders to developers, administrators, and security analysts.
When civil engineers build a bridge, they have to consider the weight of vehicles and people crossing the bridge, the stress caused by wind and other natural elements, and the materials used to build the bridge itself. Buildings have to meet specific structural and fire codes to make sure they are safe and will not collapse. Similarly, software engineers need to build systems with security controls already included in the design and not added afterward as a separate component.
If bridges were routinely collapsing, scientists and engineers would be immediately on the scene to figure out what went wrong and identify how to fix it for future projects. Currently, instead of asking engineers and scientists to perform root-cause failure analysis to find and fix the problem, cybersecurity focuses on add-ons. Changing how technology is designed and built —by strengthening underlying systems and system components, and developing with well- defined security requirements—would help reduce the number of known, unknown, and adversary-created vulnerabilities, Ross said. NIST’s approach echoes what Dan Kaminsky , chief scientist and co-founder of White Ops, said in his keynote speech at the Black Hat security conference earlier this year. Kaminsky called for an “NIH [National Institutes of Health] for Cyber” to study the security challenges and come up with engineering solutions addressing them. While Kaminsky was using the name of a different federal agency, his message was the same: Cybersecurity needs to be treated as an engineering discipline with tools and principles that can be used to build secure systems.
“We didn’t stop our cities from burning by making fire illegal or heal the ill by making sickness a crime. We actually studied the problems and learned to deliver safety,” Kaminsky said in his speech. “If we want to make security better, give people environments that are easy to work with and still secure.”
While NIST focused the language on systems and software, the guidance provides a welcome direction for the internet of things, most of which hit the market with little to no security controls.
NIST’s authority extends to only government agencies and contractors, so the guidance is not binding for engineers working in the private sector. Even so, these recommendations can raise expectations on what features must be included to be acceptable for the marketplace.
This NIST publication is the culmination of nearly four years of work, Ross said. The final draft was originally expected in December, but the release date was moved up after a crippling distributed denial-of-service attack against Dyn temporarily cut off access to large parts of the internet. The attack also revived discussions on whether the government should try to regulate the security of IoT, especially since there are currently no consequences for manufacturers selling subpar devices to consumers.
Regulation would be difficult, as many of the embedded devices aren’t manufactured in the United States. “While I’m not taking a certain level of regulation off the board, the United States can’t regulate the world,” Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology said during a recent Congressional hearing on IoT security.
The rapid pace of technological innovation, the dramatic growth in consumer demand for new technology, and the boom in IoT have made it difficult to understand, let alone protect, the global information technology infrastructure. There are too many areas to cover—software, firmware, hardware components—and cyberhygiene efforts, such as patching, asset management, and vulnerability scanning, are not enough.
“Our fundamental cybersecurity problem can be summed up in three words—too much complexity,” Ross wrote. “Creating more trustworthy, secure systems requires a holistic view of the problems, the application of concepts, principles, and best practices of science and engineering to solve those problems, and the leadership and will to do the right thing—even when such actions may not be popular.”
2016-11-18 07:00 Fahmida Y www.infoworld.com
62 /77 In five years, SaaS will be the cloud that matters I’ve read many stories that say IaaS is the future of computing. I disagree. All IaaS does is take the ghosts of networks past and shove them into the cloud. Granted, there are a few benefits in IaaS—mainly that it’s not all legacy infrastructure running in cloud VMs. But when I think of the future of computing, and more specifically the future of cloud computing, I see SaaS offerings like Office 365 as the last “aaS” standing.
In other words, I see IaaS and PaaS as interim technologies, not as the long-term future. They’re cloud- based halfway houses for the datacenters that IT has long focused on. But the move to SaaS means you won’t ultimately need to run anything like a datacenter, whether locally or in the cloud.
The overall cloud trend is to reduce hardware on-premises and push services to someone else’s infrastructure. But there remain many in IT who believe they need some infrastructure for their current environment, mainly for control of implementation, security, and data. IaaS, as well as PaaS, is where IT can exercise that control by shifting where the computing happens while still owning it.
In other words, IaaS is really about maintaining compatibility with the legacy, on-premises approach to IT. The cost of running IaaS in production (as opposed to the dev/test use of PaaS) makes it prohibitive for many organizations, especially because you still have all the other traditional expensess, from software licenses to management overhead. By contrast, SaaS absorbs all those needs—and their costs—in a cheaper package.
You might argue that the growth of IaaS such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure prove that IaaS is an integral part of the future technology stack. I believe we will continue to see growth in the use of cloud infrastructure. After all, many systems and services aren’t available in a neat SaaS package, so you move your legacy on-premises world onto cloud servers. Or maybe you have spiky business that has you loving the IaaS world because you can quickly provision for a holiday sale, then pull back when the spike ends.
Both use cases make sense now, but over time they will not. A SaaS offering like Office 365 will very likely be more sophisticated and feature-rich than what you develop yourself—so why not use SaaS wherever possible? SaaS can also handle the spiky demand benefit of IaaS. After all, what you need is on-demand scaling, which can be as easily provided as SaaS rather than your own IaaS effort.
For those of you moving to Microsoft’s cloud portfolio, the counterargument could be that Office 365 uses Azure Active Directory to work, so Microsoft is ensuring that IaaS is here for the long term. But that’s not IaaS—it’s really Office 365 Active Directory, which is SaaS. The IaaS label is more about semantic comfort than anything, helping IT equate the traditional on-premises Active Directory environment with an analogous cloud term.
Over time, more “infrastructure” services will become software services. Because once it’s SaaS, the boundaries between infrastructure, platform, and software don't matter to the IT customer— it’s merely a service. That’s a mental shift from IT’s on-premises view, where the boundaries matter in how IT delivers the ultimate service. Those boundaries will still exist for the provider, but won’t be IT’s concern.
That’s why I no longer argue over whether a client should choose Amazon’s, Google’s, or Microsoft’s IaaS. In five years, it won’t matter.
One day, we’ll drop all the infrastructure and plug in to the Amazon, Google, and/or Microsoft service fabric in whatever way we choose. Whether we call it SaaS or simply “service” won’t matter.
2016-11-18 07:00 J. www.infoworld.com
63 /77 Say good-bye to net neutrality In the wake of a Donald Trump’s upset victory , telecom industry players are rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of eviscerating Barack Obama’s fledgling net neutrality rules.
It was one of the crowning achievements of Obama’s administration when the FCC passed rules that barred broadband providers from selectively blocking or slowing web traffic, or providing paid “fast lanes” for select content. The rules enshrined the principal that all data traveling through ISPs’ pipes had to be treated equally.
To give the rules a solid legal foundation, the agency also voted to reclassify broadband as a utility under Title II of the Telecommunications Act.
Net neutrality enjoyed huge bipartisan support among consumers. But Republican lawmakers, who for the most part strongly opposed the rules, proceeded to put forward more than a dozen bills or amendments to weaken or kill the FCC’s new regulations. None succeeded. Then 11/9 happened.
Technology writer Larry Downes believes—to paraphrase Mark Twain—that reports of net neutrality’s impending death are greatly exaggerated, and “the core principles of enforceable net neutrality are in relatively little danger.”
He’s awfully lonesome in that rosy opinion.
Senator Ted Cruz labeled net neutrality “ Obamacare for the internet .” And as with the president’s signature health care law, most industry observers expect net neutrality to be on the new administration’s chopping block.
“Net neutrality has a big target on its back,” Robert Kaminski, a telecom analyst at Capital Alpha Partners, told The Washington Post .
Donald Trump has said little (that makes sense) on the matter. When net neutrality rules were proposed, he thundered—in a tweet , of course—that “Obama’s attack on the internet is another top down power grab. Net neutrality is the Fairness Doctrine. Will target the conservative media.” (Fact check: The Fairness Doctrine —an FCC policy from the late ‘40s that said broadcasters must present issues in an honest, equitable, and balanced way—was eliminated in 1987; it has nothing to do with net neutrality.)
“How keeping the internet accessible to everyone is somehow a power grab, or how it will somehow oppress conservatives, is beyond us,” Wonkette opined at the time.
An examination of the people Trump has brought aboard his transition team to spearhead telecom issues does nothing to calm consumers’ fears: Senator Marsha Blackburn is a staunch AT&T ally , and Jeffrey Eisenach has been a harsh critic of both net neutrality and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.
While VP-elect Mike Pence made a big show this week of ridding the transition team of lobbyists, that was a cover story for purging everyone connected to Governor Chris Christie. Eisenach , who has worked for years on behalf of Verizon, remains ensconced.
The overwhelming consensus is that the Open Internet’s days are numbered. “They could potentially blow everything up fairly quickly,” said an FCC official, who spoke to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity.
The question is: Will it be dismembered or suffocated?
The FCC is directed by five commissioners appointed to five-year terms by the president. The agency approved the current net neutrality rules along party lines, with a 3-2 vote. But in 2017, President Trump will appoint two new commissioners.
A Republican-majority FCC could vote to reclassify ISPs and remove Title II from broadband markets entirely, cutting off net neutrality at the knees. But that would be a slow and onerous process. “The agency would have to go through another rule-making process, which would involve months or years of public hearings and comment periods,” Bloomberg notes. Supporters of net neutrality would almost certainly challenge any changes in court. And a federal court decision that upheld the current regulations could further complicate the matter.
Alternatively, Ars Technica points out, the FCC could decide to forbear from the parts of Title II that were used to impose net neutrality rules, without actually reversing broadband’s classification as a utility.
Or it could simply decline to enforce net neutrality rules. The FCC, which investigates on a case- by-case basis, last week warned AT&T that its zero-rating plan may be violating net neutrality rules. But under a Republican-led FCC, AT&T would have little to worry about: In a paper last year, Eisenach defended zero rating, writing that “broad-based bans or restrictions on zero- rating plans are likely to be counterproductive and harm consumer welfare.”
Bypassing the FCC altogether, the Republican-controlled Congress could pass new federal laws. “Bills to [roll back net neutrality] have been floated in the last several years but were essentially symbolic during the Obama years,” Bloomberg notes.
One such bill proposed last year, called the Internet Freedom Act , would have wiped out net neutrality rules entirely. “With the risk of a [president’s] veto now gone, a legislative remedy now not only looks possible, but likely,” Craig Moffett of MoffetNathanson Research wrote this week.
Senator John Thune drafted a net neutrality bill last year that would have prohibited blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization, but would also have prevented the FCC from using Title II to regulate broadband providers. Democrats should have taken that deal, said Berin Szoka, president and founder of advocacy group TechFreedom. “That was a colossal mistake on their part,” Szoka told Ars Technica .
One element that could yet save net neutrality from Congressional action is intraparty fratricide . “You have split factions among Republicans between hardliners who want to eliminate all regulation or even get rid of the FCC, and those who are not quite as psyched about that,” Harold Feld, senior vice president of advocacy group Public Knowledge, told Ars Technica. “It’s easy to go along with [a bill] when you’re not likely to get anything through, but when you’re in charge … you have to make some decisions.”
There are also some that cling to hope because Trump himself is unpredictable. While campaigning, he promised to block the merger of AT&T and Time Warner, saying that big media companies already had too much power.
Senator Elizabeth Warren warned Trump in a letter this week: “During your campaign for President of the United States, you railed against ‘powerful special interests’ that have ‘rigged our political and economic system for their exclusive benefit.’ … Now it is time to live up to those promises.”
Another long-shot possibility: Trump will appoint a wild-card commissioner to the FCC. When Obama appointed Wheeler, a former cable lobbyist, it was widely panned as a terrible choice. Net neutrality supporters can always hope for another miracle conversion.
Failing all that and net neutrality rules fall, Karl Volkman, CTO of SRV Network, says:
Large corporations will essentially dominate the internet, which means that users will completely be at the whim of these companies—companies which already have some of the lowest customer satisfaction ratings in the country. Not only will these companies dominate the industry, they will also dictate what you can access on the web. Large businesses will be able to pay cable providers top dollar in return for high download speeds, while small businesses will essentially be edged out. It is a lose-lose situation for everyone, except of course, the monopolizing companies who will get to dominate every piece of the pie.
2016-11-18 07:00 Caroline Craig www.infoworld.com
64 /77 Google-Intel alliance boosts Kubernetes, machine learning, IoT, and more In a pair of announcements released yesterday, Google and Intel reaffirmed a partnership in four areas where the two have previously collaborated: the Kubernetes container orchestration framework, machine learning, internet of things development, and security.
In all four cases, the improvements involve software or services created by Google, in conjunction with hardware or contributions created by Intel. These aren’t new collaborations— instead, the companies are doubling down on areas where they have complementary efforts.
At the top of the list is Kubernetes, making fresh headlines with a newly launched commercial venture to provide support. Kubernetes, of course, originated at Google, and Intel has provided optimizations so that it can run more smoothly on Intel hardware—what Google calls “improved feature transparency” in its blog post.
This fits into a long-standing pattern set in which Intel contributes features to open source projects. In turn, the projects will increase their empowerment by—or dependency on—features in Intel hardware.
Take the Intel Distribution for Python , a version of the language aimed at math- and science-oriented developers. It makes use of the MKL, a set of Intel-authored high- performance math extensions to increase speed. Now consider Google and Intel are accelerating the TensorFlow machine learning library via—you guessed it—the MKL.
The two companies are also working to safeguard the connections between Intel IoT edge devices and the Google Cloud Platform (GCP), plus other “security integrations between Intel hardware and GCP infrastructure.”
One way to think of these types of partnerships and project-support efforts: They stem from Intel’s ongoing efforts to reinvent itself as the PC market continues to contract. Refocusing on the datacenter isn’t a total solution, as datacenter CPU sales don’t compensate directly for decreased consumer CPU sales.
Thus, Intel has been trying to broaden its presence by producing new kinds of support hardware and making its presence more desirable in cutting-edge software projects with growing audiences.
Another area where Intel and Google could reap mutual benefit is Intel’s work with hardware- accelerated container technology: the Clear Containers project and the experimental OpenStack-like CIAO project that runs atop it. There’s a lot of room for shared effort in such projects between both companies—although of the two, Intel needs help far more than Google does.
2016-11-18 07:00 Serdar Yegulalp www.infoworld.com
65 /77 Containers in the enterprise: The good, the bad, the ugly Containers are popular among the technology elite such as the leaders of hot startups and cloud providers. Enterprises don’t fall into that category. They manufacture tires, run banks or airlines, or operate another traditional businesses, so their needs may or may not be aligned with the vision of Silicon Valley.
In other words, they have to find the value of container technology for their situation, and they won’t move in that direction simply because it’s cool.
To get beyond cool, let me share the good, the bad, and the ugly about containers in the context of enterprise adoption. Containers work well as an architecture. The concept of containers is not original, so it’s understood in the enterprise—even if under other labels. The technology is also solid. For example, the new Docker instances are well designed, using a centralized repository, and they can scale thanks to cluster managers such as Docker Swarm and Google Kubernetes. All major public clouds support containers, including AWS, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.
As a result, most promises made by container proponents are met. Moreover, if you use containers, they will lead you down the path to sound design of distributed, portable applications. What’s not to like?
Containers have not been that successful when used for older applications. Although they’re an easy fit for new apps, they are too complex for older applications not designed from the ground up for containers.
The cost of moving existing applications to containers is more than proponents originally imagined. You have to redesign the applications to make the most of the container architecture, and that means more money, more time, and more risk. Thus, enterprises shy away from containerizing older applications.
What’s ugly about containers is the confusion that the ignorance about them creates. Rarely do I run into enterprises that understand the value of containers. For example, there’s a lot of discussion about choosing between containers and virtualization, but that debate has nothing to do with the real value of this technology.
The only way to combat the ignorance is education. But the hype leads the day, not education, so confusion will be with us until IT proactively educates itself rather than rely on the marketing by proponents and vendors. There is thoughtful, useful marketing available, but it’s hard to identify them until you understand the underlying issues of containers.
The confusion around containers is no different than the confusion around any new technology. But it’s different from many previous trumpeted technologies in that containers are quite useful and worth implementing.
The fact that container technologies have come at the same time that enterprises are moving applications to the cloud—and thus requiring decisions regarding what to do with older applications—could be the perfect storm of technology value. Done naively, however, it could be the perfect storm of misapplied technologies.
2016-11-18 07:00 David Linthicum www.infoworld.com
66 /77 And that's how IT gets done in the real world PC tech pilot fish lands a job at a plant that makes small consumer electronics products -- and just a few days in, he's called into a meeting about a software problem that's holding up the production line.
"An application written by one of our programmers was hanging up on the line, and the manufacturing supervisors wanted it fixed," says fish.
"Since it involved PCs, I was asked to accompany Barney, the programmer, who looked like Henry Kissinger and spoke just as eloquently. "
Barney's software is used by workers at the end of the line who use a scanner to log each completed product, then place the product in a carton. When the carton is full, it's weighed to make sure it contains ten units, and a label is printed.
With a few questions, Barney determines that his application is hanging during the weighing process. And as the supervisors continue to discuss the issue, Barney suddenly raises his voice. "How much longer are we going to continue this antiquated process of weighing cartons? " he booms, and the chatter suddenly stops. "This is a process we started 20 years ago, and over the years we have invested millions of dollars on our network" -- Barney thumps his fist on table for emphasis -- "millions on computers [thump] and millions on our EDI system [thump]. Workers open the carton before putting it on a pallet [thump], yet you insist they use scales on the production floor? "
As the supervisors begin murmuring to each other, Barney continues: "Gentlemen, we need to move on from scales. You have put many good checks in place to insure your workers do their job. Our customers don't require us to weigh boxes. Should we change our quality slogan to say 'You know it's right because we weigh the box?'
"Let's stop this process. As a test, I suggest we disable the scales and see if your problem stops. If you don't have any issues down the line from not weighing the box, then let's remove the scales and everyone will be happy! "
Suddenly several supervisors jump in: "He's right! We need to stop that! " "We can save money on scales and scale maintenance! " "I've always hated those things! "
Fish sees the IT manager look at Barney and wink -- and with that, the meeting is over.
"I was stunned! " fish says. "This guy was sharp! He knew his stuff! I wanted to be like him, and wanted him to be my mentor. As we walked out of the conference room, I told Barney, 'That was amazing!'
"Barney replied, 'Oh, don't be impressed. I was just trying to avoid debugging that app during football season!'"
2016-11-18 07:00 Sharky www.computerworld.com
67 /77 New Android phones, new iPhones, new Windows phones - New Product - PC Advisor Apple is set to go big on the iPhone's 10th anniversary, which could go some way to make up for this year's relatively minor upgrade. A combination of design and hardware changes should make the iPhone 8 the most radical new iPhone to date.
The iPhone 8 could be the iPhone with which Jony Ive finally gets his own way: an iPhone that resembles a single sheet of glass with an edge-to-edge OLED screen. According to an Apple supplier, at least one of the company's new iPhones for 2017 will have a glass body. The TouchID scanner is thought to be hidden within the glass, while the physical Home button will be gone.
Other rumours suggest the iPhone 8 will feature wireless charging for the first time, and possible biometric features such as facial recognition or iris scanning. It'll run the Apple A11 processor and motion co-processor, and be devilishly fast.
Click here for more iPhone 8 rumours.
(Image via ConceptsiPhone .)
A lso see: Best Black Friday Phone Deals
HTC 11 UK release date: April 2017
HTC has launched its new phones at MWC in recent years, but skipped the show in 2016 and held its own event to unveil the HTC 10 (pictured). We expect its sucessor to be launched in April 2017 and to have the upgrades you'd expect: a faster processor, more RAM and - hopefully - better battery life.
You can read more rumours on the HTC 11 here.
LG is rumoured to ditch its modular design for the G6 and potentially adopt a new glass front and rear. In common with the Samsung Galaxy S-series with which it competes it is likely to feature fast wireless charging and see a processor and graphics bump to ready the phone for VR.
One of the most interesting rumours about the LG G6 is that it will feature a new type of iris scanner that uses the same sensor as the phone's front camera, a space- and cost-saving measure that is made possible through use of a special filter.
Read more about the LG G6 here. Surface Phone rumours have been few and far between, leading some to think it's nothing more than a myth. But it was recently revealed by Wired that Microsoft Corporate VP Panos Panay has been working on a prototype of a new phone.
Should it truly exist, the Surface Phone is expected to arrive in 2016, with a 5.5in Quad-HD AMOLED display, 4GB of RAM, 64- and 128GB storage options (with microSD support), a 64-bit Intel processor and 21Mp rear- and 8Mp front cameras. The Surface Phone could also get a Surface Pen and a USB-C port.
There will be a Microsoft event on 26 October, so it's possible that if the Surface Phone really does exist it will be announced here.
OnePlus has just announced its OnePlus 3T, which is an upgraded version of the OnePlus 3 with a processor and battery boost, plus a new selfie camera. It's an improvement sure, but OnePlus 3 fans won't be in a rush to upgrade.
More exciting for OnePlus fans, then, will be the OnePlus 4 expected in April/May 2017. Rather than the Snapdragon 821 this phone will likely get the Snapdragon 830. We could also see the 5.5in full-HD display upgraded to a Quad-HD model.
Other rumours suggest the OnePlus 4 will come with 8GB of RAM, a 21- or 23Mp camera and a 3,500- to 4,000mAh battery with Dash Charge. One thing we're sure of is that it will run Oxygen OS, a custom UI that will be based on Android 7.0 Nougat.
Read more OnePlus 4 rumours here .
Following the Note 7 problems there are a lot of whispers about Samsung at the moment. The failure of the Note 7 has badly bruised its reputation, and it's hurt its bottom line. Some say it will look to mend its reputation by announcing the Note 8 in February 2017 alongside the Galaxy S8, while others say it will drop its Note line altogether.
We don't think Samsung is about to give up on its second annual cash cow just yet, though it will need to do something to put consumers at ease. Given that there is already a Galaxy Note 8 (a 2013 tablet), and the Note's specifications are edging ever closer to the Galaxy S-series edge handset, we think Samsung may look to shake things up a bit and change its branding of its phablet family.
Should Samsung go ahead as normal with its August big-screen phone launch, we'd expect to see a 5.7in Quad-HD or SuperAMOLED screen with S Pen support, a powerful processor and RAM combo capable of the very best mobile VR experience, a dual camera, waterproofing and more.
Read more about the Galaxy Note 8 here .
Samsung traditionally holds an Unpacked event in which it unveils its new S-series flagship the day before MWC. In 2017 this tradeshow runs from 27 February to 2 March, so we expect to see a new Galaxy S8 on Sunday 26 February 2017. Expect it to go on sale in early March 2017.
For its now-discontinued Galaxy Note 7 Samsung merged its 'Edge' and standard models, so perhaps we'll see the same with the merging of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Edge. We think there will still be two Galaxy S8 models, but it will only be the size differentiating their screens. In which case the S8 edge might instead be known as the S8 Plus, or similar. In any case you should expect more of the same metal and glass front/back design it introduced last year in the S6 and in 2016 has extended to the A-series.
When it arrives, you can expect the S8 to be the fastest phone money can buy, with a top-of-the- range processor and 6GB of RAM. There will more than likely be a super-high-resolution 5.1in screen - Samsung may even move up from Quad-HD to Ultra-HD, which is all the more likely given the importance being placed on VR in the next Android OS - Android Nougat - which this phone will run.
Now that Samsung has discontinued its Note 7, it's going to want to make the Galaxy S8 an absolute belter to mend its reputation.
Read more rumours on the Galaxy S8 here.
Sony neglected to announce the Sony Xperia Z6 at MWC 2016, instead revealing a new Xperia X family comprising the Sony Xperia X and Sony Xperia XA. But this doesn't mean the Sony Xperia Z6 is dead: never say never, says the company, which has since clarified that it isn't ruling out the possibility at some point in the future.
You can read the latest rumours on the Sony Xperia Z6 here .
Now we'll take a look at some of the best phones that have already gone on sale in 2016.
The cat is finally out the bag, and Apple has unveiled its iPhone 7 to the world. There are some welcome changes in the new iPhone, for example the new stereo speakers and IP67 waterproofing, as well as the faster performance available from the Apple A10 Fusion processor. However, the much rumoured dual-lens camera made its way only to the iPhone 7 Plus (see the next slide).
We're less pleased by the loss of the headphone jack (you now need to use a pair of Lightning- connected headphones or use the adaptor supplied in the box with your old ones). And what sounded fantastic at the launch event - that Apple would keep the iPhone 7 at the same price as the iPhone 6s but with double the storage capacity - turned out to be true only in the US. In the UK the entry-level iPhone 7 is £60 more expensive than was the 16GB iPhone 6s, and the price gap increases for the other models.
With previous iPhone launches the Plus model has always been simply a larger version of the standard iPhone, but with a larger, higher-resolution screen and a bigger battery. That's still the case, although with the iPhone 7 Plus you also get a second camera at the rear, with a 56mm telephoto lens. This allows it to feature a 2x optical zoom.
Read more about the iPhone 7 here .
Read more about the iPhone 7 Plus here.
The first phones 'Made by Google' (and actually made by HTC, but we won't worry about the details) are the new Google Pixel and Pixel XL. The Pixel XL will be especially interesting now that Samsung has discontinued its Galaxy Note 7 after it was unable to rectify the battery issues.
The Pixel and Pixel XL are in many respects the same phone, with a larger, higher-resolution screen, a higher-capacity battery and the price tag separating the two. Headline features include the new Google Assistant, which allows for natural dialogue between Google and a user to get the information they need, a 12.3Mp camera that has won the highest ever rating from DXOMark Mobile and is supported by unlimited cloud storage for your original resolution (even 4K) video and photos, support for VR built-in and the new Google Duo video- calling app.
Read more about the Google Pixel and Pixel XL here.
HTC on 12 April unveiled its HTC 10, successor to the HTC One M9. It continues to major on sound, but the BoomSound stereo speaker setup looks a little different at the front, with the tweeter at the top and woofer on the bottom edge of the phone.
In common with the LG G5 it's a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820-powered smartphone with 4GB of RAM, but it's slightly faster-clocked at 2.2GHz. HTC has also upgraded the screen to a 5.2in Quad-HD Super LCD 5 screen, and implemented a fingerprint scanner.
The HTC 10 is priced in line with the Galaxy S7 at £569, and available to buy now.
Read our HTC 10 review here.
On 6 April Huawei unveiled its new flagship P9 alongside a P9 Plus. You can re-live the launch event in our Huawei P9 launch live blog.
The rumours were very much on the money, save for the naming scheme - there's no P9 Lite or P9 Max in sight. As expected, there's a new dual-camera system produced in collaboration with Leica. Unlike other dual-lens cameras, one sensor is RGB and the other monochrome. This and the new super-accurate fingerprint scanner found in the Mate 8 are highlights.
Performance is excellent with the octa-core Kirin 955 processor inside, alongside 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage (that's in the standard P9 - the P9 Plus has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage).
The Huawei P9 and P9 Plus are aluminium unibody handsets with full-HD displays - the P9 has a 5.2in IPS panel, while the Plus is fitted with a 5.5in Super AMOLED screen.
The Huawei P9 is now available to buy in the UK, while we hope the P9 Plus will be coming soon.
Read our Huawei P9 review and Huawei P9 Plus review here.
It's not long since we welcomed the LG G4 , but the LG G5 was announced by the company on 21 February. It's the company's first modular-design smartphone, which can be transformed into a digital camera or Hi-Fi player. It features a sleek aluminium unibody with a slide-out battery.
In common with the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge the LG G5 has an always-on screen (here 5.3in), which makes it easier to check the time or notifications at a glance. Another innovative feature is the two cameras on the rear - one with an extra-wide 135-degree lens.
Key specs include the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (with MicroSD up to 200GB), a 2800mAh removable battery and Android Marshmallow. The G5 comes in Silver, Titan, Gold or Pink, and will be available to pre-order in March for an April release. The LG G5 costs £529 and went on sale on 8 April 2016.
Read our LG G5 review here.
Successor to the LG V10 (which never actually made it to the UK), the V20 is set to be LG's second flagship of the year. More importantly, it is the first phone to run Android Nougat out of the box and, as LG itself teased before the launch, has a stellar audio experience shipping with a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC and B&O earphones.
As suspected, the V20 is not - like the company's LG G5 - a modular phone. However, the 3,200mAh battery is removable, which will please many users. It also supports Quick Charge 3.0 over USB-C.
It's powered by the flagship-level Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM. There's 64GB of storage, plus up to 2TB expansion possible through microSD.
As before two screens feature, with a secondary always-on screen sitting above the 5.7in Quad- HD (256x1440, 513ppi) IPS Quantum Display main panel to offer alerts and notifications at a glance.
Read more about the LG V20 here.
It came as no surprise when Motorola announced two new phones at the Lenovo Tech World Show in early June, and it was even less surprising that they were called Moto Z rather than Moto X (although Motorola insists this is a new- rather than replacement line). But while we were expecting a new Moto Z Play and Moto Z Style, we actually got a new Moto Z and Moto Z Force.
These are indeed the modular phones the rumours were referring to, with new 'Moto Mods'. These snap on to the back of the phone like a rear cover, attaching themselves using high- powered magnets. Moto Mods will be compatible with future Moto Z phones, too.
The first Moto Mod is the JBL SoundBoost, which turns the Moto Z into a tiny boombox. There's also the Moto Insta-Share Projector, which can create a screen of 70in, a Power Pack and Moto Shells.
The Moto Z is claimed to be the world's thinnest phone at 5.2mm, and has a metal aluminium and steel body with a 5.5in Quad-HD AMOLED screen. There's a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM and 32- or 64GB of storage. There are lots of other features too but, interestingly, no headphone jack - you'll need to use an included adaptor with the USB-C port.
The Moto Z Force is a tougher version of the same phone with a second-generation shatterproof screen, which makes it slightly thicker at 7mm. Plus there's a higher-capacity battery and a higher-specified 21Mp rear camera with laser- and phase-detection autofocus.
The Moto Z Force is available from £499.
Read more about the new Moto Z and Moto Z Force here.
OnePlus has confirmed a new OnePlus 3T phone featuring the 2.35GHz Snapdragon 821 processor. The Snapdragon 821 promises a 10 percent performance boost over the Snapdragon 820, plus increased energy savings. The new OnePlus 3T also features a 13 percent higher-capacity battery, now at 3,400mAh and with support with Dash Charge, though it fits into the same chassis as the OnePlus 3 with no extra weight.
It's available in a new Gunmetal colour and there's a 128GB storage option, plus there are some enhancements to the camera. While the primary 16Mp Sony camera gets an EIS upgrade and new sapphire glass protection, the front 8Mp camera has been swapped out for a 16Mp Samsung fixed-focus camera.
Read more about the OnePlus 3T here .
Samsung has officially unveiled its Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Samsung fans will be pleased to know the handsets see the return of both a MicroSD slot and waterproofing, and although it's not removable the battery has been bumped up to 3000mAh in the S7 and 3600mAh in the S7 Edge. Also see: Samsung Galaxy S7 review.
Both phones feature a Quad-HD SuperAMOLED screen - the S7 at 5.1in and the Edge at 5.5in - and these feature new always-on (except when it's in your pocket or at night) technology, making it easier to check the time or read notifications at a glance.
Inside these Android Marshmallow phones you'll find either the Exynos 8890 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, depending on the market. You'll also get 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Also see: Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
The camera has been downgraded to 12Mp, but larger pixels and a f/1.7 aperture will allow it to receive 95 percent more light. This is also seen at the front for the 5Mp selfie camera, and Samsung says the S7 is the first phone with a Dual Pixel sensor.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are available to buy at £569 and £639 respectively from Samsung, and are also available from UK mobile operators. See best Galaxy S7 deals.
Read our Samsung Galaxy S7 review and Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review here.
Sony unveiled a new model in its X-series at September's IFA tradeshow, known as the Sony Xperia XZ. It's got a monster 23Mp camera at the back, and flagship-level specs such as the Snapdragon 820 chip, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Sony also claims of bettery battery life and new adaptive fast charging.
The Xperia XZ boasts a 5.2in screen surrounded by a metal casing available in a range of colours: Forest Blue, Mineral Black and Platinum. Its edges are curved in what Sony calls a "Loop Surface" designed to make the phone appear seamless and fit comfortably in your hand. It's water-resistant, but not waterproof.
Read more about the Sony Xperia XZ here.
The Mi Mix is one of the most extraordinary phones we've seen in recent years, with a 6.4in edgeless display and a super-high 91.3 percent screen-to-body ratio. Given the loss of the top bezel you'll find the selfie camera at the bottom right of the phone's chin, while an ultrasonic distance sensor hides behind the display and replaces the proximity sensor. Most clever of all, rather than an earpiece you get ‘cantilever piezoelectric ceramic acoustic technology’ to transmit sound. Other specs are decent too,with a Snapdragon 821 processor, up to 6GB of RAM and up to 256GB UFS 2.0 storage.
The Mi Mix has an RRP of RMB 3499 for the 4GB of RAM, 128GB storage model, and RMB 3999 for the 6GB RAM, 256GB storage model with 18k gold trims around the camera and fingerprint sensor, though you will pay more than the straight Sterling conversion of £422.37 and £482.69 .
GearBest is listing the 4GB RAM Mi Mix for £517.53 / $658.99, though it is currently on pre-order and will ship after 15 December. The 6GB RAM, 256GB, 18K model is not currently listed on the site.
Read more about the Mi Mix here .
The Mi Note 2 is the latest phablet flagship from Xiaomi, and this dual curved-edge screen phone couldn't come at a better time given the recent discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7. With curved glass front and back, it looks just like it.
Inside the specs are good, with a 2.35GHz Snapdragon 821 chip, up to 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB UFS 2.0 storage. There's a 22.56Mp rear camera and an 8Mp snapper at the front, and a 4070mAh battery with QC3 support to keep it all going. Better still the Global model supports all UK 4G bands!
The Mi Note 2 is available via GearBest. Click here for more info on the Mi Note 2.
2016-11-18 06:55 Marie Brewis www.pcadvisor.co.uk
68 /77 Kanye West: America is a racist country and I would have voted Trump We take it for granted that modern communication systems — everything from smartphones to the internet — use electronics to send and receive messages, but what if that weren’t the case? A group of researchers from Stanford are exploring an...
Microsoft is unveiling its Black Friday deals for the Xbox One today. New Xbox One games like Battlefield 1, FIFA 17, Titanfall 2, and even Overwatch are all being discounted by up to 40 percent. Battlefield is available for $40.19 until November...
Hackers have accessed a database of customer information belonging to one of the UK’s biggest mobile carriers, Three. According to a report from The Telegraph, the company said the database included names, phone numbers, addresses, and dates of... Japanese businesses are finding they need to deal with increasing numbers of foreign visitors to Japan, and Panasonic thinks it has the answer: a megaphone that translates the user’s voices into multiple languages. The Megahonyaku, which is a...
Amazon has already stoked the holiday consumption fire by rolling out a bunch of deals well ahead of Black Friday, but this weekend’s shopping opportunity comes with a giant catch: starting November 18 and running through the 21st, certain deals...
President Obama took time during a press conference today to assail the spread of fake news online, particularly the way it travels on Facebook. “In an age where there’s so much active misinformation and it’s packaged very well and it looks the...
2016-11-18 06:53 James Vincent www.theverge.com
69 /77 A camera without a lens? Hitachi is on it Hitachi is working on building cameras that don't have lenses. Instead, the company claims, pictures taken with the camera will be refocused after being captured.
Similar to Apple's claim that taking out the headphone jack allows for bigger batteries and other parts to be put in, Hitachi says cameras that use this lensless tech will be considerably slimmer and lighter.
Lensless cameras are possible thanks to a pattern development technique called "Moiré fringes" -- you can find the company's explanation, rife with technical mumbo jumbo, here. Hitachi is planning on making cameras that use this technology by 2018.
The company also hopes to utilise lensless photography in automated driving, vehicles and robotics. With surveillance tech such as CCTV, faces of people are often blurred due to low focal ranges. With Hitachi's lensless camera tech, for instance, still images could theoretically be adjusted on the fly from a range of depths to identify people more clearly.
2016-11-18 06:50 by www.cnet.com
70 /77 Three hacked: "Inside job" puts six million customers' private data in jeopardy UK telco Three has been hacked, with up to six million customers' data sets now understood to be under threat.
Three confirmed the breach on Thursday, revealing that hackers used an employee log-in to gain entry into its database of customers eligible for a phone upgrade.
Data accessed includes customers' names, phone numbers, addresses and dates of birth, but Three claimed that no financial information could have been accessed.
Those affected, which could be up to two-thirds of Three's nine million customers, have not yet been informed.
The hackers allegedly took the information from Three's upgrade database and used it to issue eight new phones. It is alleged that these phones were then intercepted on their way to a Three customer whose account was used to generate the request, and probably sold on for profit.
A spokesman for Three said in a statement given to The Telegraph : "Over the last four weeks Three has seen an increasing level of attempted handset fraud. This has been visible through higher levels of burglaries of retail stores and attempts to unlawfully intercept upgrade devices.
"We've been working closely with the police and relevant authorities. To date, we have confirmed approximately 400 high-value handsets have been stolen through burglaries and eight devices have been illegally obtained through the upgrade activity.
"The investigation is ongoing and we have taken a number of steps to further strengthen our controls.
"In order to commit this type of upgrade handset fraud, the perpetrators used authorised log-ins to Three’s upgrade system.
"This upgrade system does not include any customer payment, card information or bank account information. "
The National Crime Agency (NCA) is investigating the breach and said that three people have been arrested.
A spokesman for the NCA said: "On Wednesday 16 November 2016, officers from the NCA arrested a 48-year-old man from Orpington, Kent and a 39-year-old man from Ashton-under- Lyne, Manchester on suspicion of computer misuse offences, and a 35-year-old man from Moston, Manchester on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
"All three have since been released on bail pending further enquiries. As investigations are ongoing, no further information will be provided at this time. "
The hack follows a breach at TalkTalk in October 2015 , when hackers stole the details of more than 150,000 customers, including those for the bank accounts of around 15,000 people.
The firm was fined £400,000 last month by Britain's data protection regulator for security failings it said had allowed customers' data to be accessed "with ease". µ 2016-11-18 06:32 Carly Page www.computing.co.uk
71 /77 Star Wars Battlefront PlayStation VR X-Wing DLC takes off December 6 Roughly a year after its initial release, first-person shooter Star Wars: Battlefront is getting its most anticipated update yet. From December 6, a new DLC pack will let PlayStation VR owners jump into the virtual cockpit of their very own X-Wing starfighter.
The catchily-named 'Star Wars Battlefront Rogue One: X-Wing VR Mission for PlayStation VR' will be a free update for all Battlefront owners - though you'll obviously need Sony's PlayStation VR headset to take advantage of it.
Catch a glimpse of the action in the trailer below on PS4:
The VR mission will accompany two other Battlefront launches in December.
A final DLC pack for Star Wars Battlefront will also land on December 6 as part of the game's Season Pass. As its name suggests, the Rogue One: Scarif pack will feature four new maps based on the first spin-off movie from the Star Wars universe, and will feature Rogue One: A Star Wars Story characters Jyn Erso and Orson Krennic.
To round things off, an " Ultimate Edition " of Star Wars Battlefront will also be released, collecting the main game and all four Season Pass expansion packs, plus the VR mission.
2016-11-18 06:31 Gerald Lynch feedproxy.google.com
72 /77 Deep-freezing the dead: how cryopreservation could save us from terminal illness Cryogenics and sleeping pods are a common sci-fi trope, but the idea of intentionally freezing the ill or 'declared dead' until such a time when science may revive them from their mortal slumber isn't so far-fetched – at least according to supporters of the practice.
The act of preserving those who can't be helped by contemporary medicine – known in the business as cryonics – is already a reality, although some would argue one based on faith rather than science.
"I figure the future is a pretty decent place to be, so I want to be there," says Max More, CEO of Alcor, one of the largest cryonics companies currently in existence. Founded back in 1972, the self-described 'Life Extension Foundation' currently has 1,100 post- mortem 'patients' stored in towering, vacuum-insulated silver capsules at its Arizona-based facilities.
Each 'dewar' is regularly topped up with liquid nitrogen, which keeps the bodies inside at a cool 196 degrees below zero.
People who sign up for Alcor's services pay an annual membership fee of $525 (£404, AU$696), but at the moment of death when Alcor's specialists are legally allowed step in, patients' bank accounts are relieved of $80,000 (£61,528, AU$106,023) in order to have their brains frozen, or up to $200,000 (£153,820, AU$265,058) for whole-body cryopreservation.
Some have even enrolled their pets as members for when the sad day inevitably arrives.
Critical to the entire process is maintaining the patients' biological integrity after their last breath. That means limiting the interval between death and cryopreservation as much as possible, which is where Alcor's standby team comes in.
"A standby team is what the name implies," says More. "They stand by and wait until clinical death has been declared.
"That's not the same as biological death. Essentially, today's doctors are saying, 'there's nothing much more I can do for this patient, I could try and revive them for a while, but they're just going to die again'. So at that point the standby team goes into action. "
In a race against time, the clinically dead patient is packed into dry ice and rushed from hospital to Alcor's stabilisation facility, where the body is put into an ice bed and a heart-lung resuscitator is used to get the blood circulating again.
The standby team then mainlines a cocktail of chemicals into the body to protect the cells from further deteriorating, after which all the bodily fluids are siphoned off and replaced by a medical- grade antifreeze solution.
Following a bit of invasive surgery aimed at preventing the buildup of ice crystals in critical neurological regions, the body is slowly cooled down over the course of weeks and eventually stored in a closely-monitored cryo-chamber, until able scientists can come to the patient's rescue. Well, that's the theory.
For its supporters, cryonics offers the elixir of immortality, but there are huge obstacles to overcome if this transhumanist vision of the future is to make the leap from the pages of pulp sci- fi novels to real-life medical laboratories.
For starters, there's no sure-fire way to determine if a patient has suffered irreversible damage due to ischemia – a lack of blood flow between the moment of clinical death and cryopreservation – which can often span minutes to days.
But besides the risks of ischemia, the very act of freezing brings its own seemingly intractable problems.
Cryonic teams 'vitrify' patients with cryoprotectant solutions to reduce ice crystal formation, because ice is less dense than liquid and therefore takes up more space in the body, meaning its occurrence causes massive damage to cell membranes. But there's currently no way to ensure it's eliminated completely.
"We simply don't know if subjects have been damaged to the point where they've 'died' during vitrification, because the subjects are now inside liquid nitrogen canisters," says cryobiologist Dayong Gao (cryobiology is the established field of studying organic tissue at low temperatures).
Based on his experience in organ transplants, biochemist Ken Storey remains equally unconvinced: "Even if you only wanted to preserve the brain, it has dozens of different areas, which would need to be cryopreserved using different protocols," he says.
Not only that, tiny ice crystals can also grow during the process of rewarming (devitrification), meaning future scientists would need to have solved the same problem on the other side, so to speak.
Yet that hasn't completely quelled excitement among the learned. To date, 69 scientists from institutes such as MIT, Harvard, NASA and Cambridge University have put their signatures to an open letter that sits proudly on a website for 'evidence-based cryonics', asserting that the field is a legitimate science-based endeavour.
It argues that cryonics, performed under optimal conditions, could preserve sufficient neurological information to permit eventual restoration of a person to full health, and points to future breakthroughs like nanotechnology that may aid cellular repair and tissue regeneration at the molecular level.
Critics continue to decry cryonics as a pseudoscience that conflates what is theoretically conceivable with what is practicably possible. Advocates, on the other hand, ask us to put faith in a different kind of logic.
They urge us to trust our intuition about presently non-existent technology, and argue that progress in these fields of study will only continue, therefore the real question regarding post- mortem revival is not 'if?' but 'when?'
"Death is a grey line and it's always moving," says Dennis Kowalski, president of the Cryonics Institute, another organisation that claims over 1,000 living members.
"What might have been terminal 150, 15, or even five years ago is treatable today. From that perspective, a storehouse of frozen bodies is no more macabre than a heart transplant, a medical procedure once considered grotesque. "
Alcor's CEO is, of course, just as optimistic. "We'll look back on this 50 to 100 years from now," More says.
"We'll shake our heads and say, 'What were people thinking? They took these people who were very nearly viable, just barely dysfunctional, and they put them in an oven or buried them under the ground, when there were people who could have put them into cryopreservation.'
"I think we'll look at this just as we look today at... human sacrifice, and we'll say, 'this was insane – a huge tragedy.'"
Futurists would agree. For only time will tell us if the conquest of death and the continuation of life can be achieved through speculative technological means, but those interested in living 'forever' should be prepared for a long wait.
2016-11-18 06:19 By feedproxy.google.com
73 /77 Mobile provider Three hit by data breach Mobile provider Three has confirmed that it has been hit by a data breach affecting an estimated six million of its customers, but claims payment details are still safe. Mobile provider Three has confirmed that it has suffered a data breach resulting in the theft of personal information covering around six million of its customers. In a somewhat disingenuous statement to press entitled ' handset fraud investigation ' made early this morning, Three dropped the bombshell that attackers have made off with the personal details covering an estimated six million of its nine million customers. Interestingly, there is evidence the attack may have been an inside job: rather than breaking through a security vulnerability, the attackers are claimed to have used valid staff credentials to leach data from Three's internal upgrade database.
' Over the last four weeks Three has seen an increasing level of attempted handset fraud. This has been visible through higher levels of burglaries of retail stores and attempts to unlawfully intercept upgrade devices, ' the company's statement claimed. ' We’ve been working closely with the Police and relevant authorities. To date, we have confirmed approximately 400 high value handsets have been stolen through burglaries and 8 devices have been illegally obtained through the upgrade activity. In order to commit this type of upgrade handset fraud, the perpetrators used authorised logins to Three's upgrade system. '
According to Three, the upgrade system is held separately to its primary customer database. As a result, the data accessible to the attackers was limited: names, addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth were included, but not bank or payment card information. Nevertheless, the data proved enough not only for the recipients to carry out the handset fraud scam unearthed by Three but also to contact its customers and attempt to social engineer access to the bank accounts and card details, according to coverage in The Telegraph.
Three has indicated that it is continuing its investigation into the breach and has ' taken a number of steps to further strengthen our controls. ' UPDATE 10:34 ZDNet has confirmed the arrest of three individuals with the National Crime Agency (NCA). Two, a 48 year old from Kent and a 39 year old from Manchester, are suspected of offences under the Computer Misuse Act; a third, 35 years old from Manchester, is suspected of perverting the course of justice. All have been released on bail. 2016-11-18 06:15 Gareth Halfacree feedproxy.google.com
74 /77 | Sun & Moon review: New Pokémon, an improved battle system and lots to do in Alola make Sun and Moon the very best, like no-one ever was By
Lewis Painter | 40 mins ago £30-40
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Pokémon is one of very few brands whose fan base spreads across generations. Sure, Pokémon is mainly aimed at kids, but it’s also aimed at those who grew up playing the likes of Pokémon Red, Blue or Yellow sat beneath a lamp in their front room (kids today won’t understand the struggle of non-backlit screens).
While this means that Pokémon trainers young and old can come together and discuss stories about their favourite Pokémon, it also means that developers Game Freak had a huge challenge on their hands - how do you make a game appealing to both kids and adults? While Pokémon X and Y showed huge improvements in terms of storyline and gameplay, it’s down to Pokémon Sun and Moon to take the baton and finish the race. Has Game Freak succeeded? Well…
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Nintendo has confirmed the seventh generation in the series, Pokémon Sun and Moon, will launch in the UK on 23 November as a 3DS exclusive, five days after it's released in the US.
You can pre-order Pokémon Sun or Moon from Amazon (£32) or GAME ( £34.99).
Looking back at the early games, it’s fascinating to see how much Pokémon, as a brand and a game, had developed. Gone are the flat, 2D images of early games, with Pokémon battles in recent games being energetic, dramatic and most importantly, three-dimensional. Bringing 3D models into Pokémon gave it a new lease of life, and helped bring the Pokémon to life too. 3DS owners could take that one step further, and enable the enhanced 3D mode of the console to bring even more depth to the display.
However, while 3D support was featured in Pokémon X and Y, Game Freak has decided to not offer any kind of 3D capabilities in Pokémon Sun and Moon. We’re not quite sure why, but this is sure to disappoint those with a 3DS, especially the newer version with enhanced 3D viewing capabilities. Although with that being said, we find the enhanced 3D capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS somewhat gimmicky, and the lack of 3D shouldn’t make the game any less impressive - it’s just worth noting for those that do appreciate the functionality.
Pokémon X and Y was praised for its fast paced nature and interesting storyline, and this is a theme that has continued on with Pokémon Sun and Moon. Gone are the days of sluggish, slow gameplay with extended periods wandering around in long grass battling Caterpies. Within the first hour of playing Pokémon Sun and Moon, you’re introduced to a plethora of Pokémon - both in battles and in the wild - and depending on your skill, you may have conquered your first Island Trial. The change in pace keeps users engaged, and the constant introduction of activities and side quests provides users with lots to do in Alola, even once the main storyline has been completed. Click here for more games news and reviews
Island Trials are new to the Alolan world of Pokémon Sun and Moon, and replace the hugely popular Gym mechanic of past Pokémon games. Why? In Alola, you must take on the trial captains dotted across the islands, each with their own trials. The trials usually involve a myriad of Pokémon battles, but can also involve observation and recognition skills (we were prompted at one challenge to identify the jingle of the Pokémon Centre, and more). Think of the Island Trials as being like the puzzle at the entrance of gyms in older Pokémon games, but much more intricate and well-developed. Each trial is unique and tests a different skill, and may also tie in with the ‘type’ of Pokémon that the trial captain prefers.
However unlike with traditional Gyms, it’s not the trial captain that you battle. Once you’ve passed the trial, you must then take on the Totem Pokémon. The Totem Pokémon introduced in Pokémon Sun and Moon are much stronger than average Pokémon and are blanketed in an aura that gives them an edge in battle – they can have heightened defence, attack and more, but the specific characteristics depend on the Totem Pokémon you’re battling.
A new feature of the game is the ability for wild Pokémon to call for backup, or an ‘ally’ Pokémon. While this can happen in standard wild battles, you can bet your Rare Candy that it’ll happen in every Totem battle (unless you 1-hit KO them), which poses an additional threat. When an ally appears, the battle becomes a 2v1, making the challenge that much greater – and that much more rewarding when you defeat your enemies and are awarded with a Z-Crystal.
What is a Z-Crystal? Z-Crystals help Pokémon of a specific type unleash incredibly powerful attacks that bond trainer and Pokémon, although these are limited to one per match and the power/move itself depends on which Pokémon is performing it. As you progress through the game you’ll find a number of different Z-Crystals, both from Island Trials and by randomly interacting with NPCs, providing your Pokémon with a trick up their sleeves for those extra-tough opponents. It’s not ridiculously overpowered though, meaning you’ll still have to think strategically about timing and possible effects it can have on the enemy.
So as you may have guessed, the dynamic of battles can change quickly in Pokémon Sun and Moon - and we like it. Yes, the majority of battles will still be in the standard 1v1 style, but the wild Pokémon’s ability to call for backup can change the tide of any battle. While logic dictates that the trainer should then summon a second Pokémon themselves, you’re forced to take on two foes with a single Pokémon. There’s also a 2v2 mode, but this is only the case when facing two enemies - you won’t find this to be the case when wandering through tall grass or exploring caves.
This change in the battle dynamic forces the player to think more tactically than in previous games, where some gamers would spam one move to KO the competition. Should you take out the Pokémon with lower health first? Or should you focus your efforts on the newly summoned Pokémon that just happens to be one of your weaknesses? It’s little features like this that make Pokémon Sun and Moon much more exciting and engaging than previous releases.
The introduction of different battle modes is only a part of the overhaul in Pokémon Sun and Moon though, as Game Freak has also added a number of smaller, well-needed features. If you’re up against a Pokémon you’ve previously battled, you’ll find little notes next to each of your attacks that let you know whether it’ll be effective, super effective or not very effective. This is great as it means you don’t need to memorise the strengths and weaknesses of the vast library of Pokémon in Sun and Moon, and makes battling a little bit easier for casual players.
That’s not all though, as the Pokémon can physically change during a match to reflect what’s happening. If you’re up against a Pokémon with a shell, there’s every possibility that the shell will break off once you’ve damaged them enough. You’ll also be able to add a newly caught Pokémon straight to your party, instead of them being automatically sent to a box. Again, these are only small changes to the battle system, but are welcomed by long-time fans of the series.
Price comparision from , and manufacturers
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2016-11-18 06:15 Lewis Painter www.pcadvisor.co.uk
75 /77 Men are best at recognising faces - so long as they're on Transformer toys In all scientific studies to date, women are either better than men at identifying faces, or there is no gender difference. But now, for the first time ever, psychologists have found one category of faces that men are better at.
It's the faces of Transformers. Yeah, that sound you just heard was every man on Earth collectively wincing in embarrassment. But wait, because there's some fascinating science behind it.
A team of researchers at Vanderbilt University conducted a study that compared men's and women's ability to recognise faces. In the test, volunteers were given six images to study, then shown groups of three images and asked to identify which of the three appeared in the initial six. They did this with male faces, female faces, Barbie doll faces, Transformer faces and different types of car (as a control).
As in previous studies, men did slightly better than women when it came to recognising the cars. And in this research, men and women performed equally well with human faces. But when it came to the toys, things were more interesting.
"We found that women had a small but statistically significant advantage at identifying Barbie faces while men had a small but statistically significant advantage in identifying Transformer faces,” said Isabel Gauthier, who led the research “This is the first category of faces where men do better than women.”
The reason, the researchers believe, is because of the toys that participants played with as children. “Women had much more experience studying Barbie faces and men had much more experience studying Transformer faces.” said Gauthier. "We believe that experience plays a major role in facial recognition. "
Interestingly, the people who were best at recognising human faces were generally those who were best at recognising the faces of the toys - which helps rule out the possibility that men see Transformers as objects rather than faces. There was a much weaker relationship between people who were good at recognising toy faces and those who were good at recognising cars.
“Clearly, the faces you experience as a child leave a trace in your adult memory,” Gauthier said. “It is unlikely that this effect is limited to these particular toys.”
The full details of the study were published in the journal Vision Research.
2016-11-18 06:11 Duncan Geere feedproxy.google.com
76 /77 G4S CIO: Moving to cloud doesn't mean you get rid of your IT department Moving applications and services into the cloud does not mean a reduced need for the corporate IT department, according to Nick Folkes, CIO of security firm G4S.
Speaking to Computing recently, Folkes described that view as "a fallacy".
"Moving to the cloud doesn't mean you don't need tech skills any more, that's a fallacy," said Folkes. "You need to operate those cloud environments and stitch them together. We use Amazon, Oracle, Google and Microsoft, and they all need to play nicely together. " G4S is in the midst of a large project to move most of its infrastructure and services into the cloud , a move which many IT staff often fear means job losses. However, Folkes was keen to stress that this will not necessarily be the case at his firm.
"We also need networking skills to make these clouds connect, and be safe and secure. We do have a reduced burden on having to maintain it all ourselves though," he admitted. "We have no Microsoft Exchange skills having moved email to Google in 2015, so there's a natural attrition of skillset there.
"Cloud has accelerated the movement of technology. Perhaps you used to sign a multi-year deal with a storage vendor that gives you all the storage you need, but now you don't care as you can move to an IaaS [Infrastructure as a Service] platform and most allow you to move your data from Amazon to Azure or Google cloud compute, and you can do that with impunity," he explained.
Earlier, Folkes discussed his organisation's move to a DevOps model, explaining that it's a bigger cultural shift for the business than IT .
He concluded by adding that the firm still places huge demands on its IT staff, and that there are always more ideas for new IT projects than it can possibly fulfill, suggesting that IT roles aren't going to disappear at G4S any time soon.
"The usual case is that there's always more demand for IT than there is an ability to service it. So it's not about going through a process of lowering headcount, it's about making the most effective and productive use of that investment in IT headcount to drive benefit to the business.
"There's no shortage of new ideas for investment. We're globally dispersed, we have nearly 1,000 project ideas for next year and we won't do anything like that number. What we're doing is freeing up burden of having to maintain infrastructure and databases, so that gives us the capacity to do more with what we have. "
2016-11-18 06:04 Stuart Sumner www.computing.co.uk
77 /77 Open Rights Group vows to fight new IP Law The Open Rights Group has vowed to fight the IP Bill, now the IP Law following its passing by the House of Lords, with the hope that CURIA may be able to strike down some of its more concerning provisions. The Open Rights Group, a pro-privacy lobby organisation, has vowed to fight the Investigatory Powers Law, dubbed the Snooper's Charter by its critics, following its passing in the House of Lords earlier this week.
Originally launched as the Draft Communications Data Bill in 2012 and shot down by a vote of the coalition government of the day, the ' Snooper's Charter ' was reborn in May 2015 following the election of a majority Conservative government. Early that month, Theresa May confirmed plans to bring back the bill while the Queen's Speech later that month formalised the government's plans and gave the bill its new name: the Investigatory Powers Bill. Further details of the bill were released in November 2015 , including the news that it extend the use of ' equipment interference ' - modifying or otherwise attacking everything from routers and gateways to smartphones, tablets, and PCs - from being exclusively for the use of the UK's security services under the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) to the armed forces and law enforcement officials. Despite quite considerable objections from pro-privacy groups and the technology industry earlier this year, the IP Bill is now the IP Law following a successful vote by the House of Lords - and its critics are, unsurprisingly, unimpressed.
' The passing of the IP Bill will have an impact that goes beyond the UK's shores. It is likely that other countries, including authoritarian regimes with poor human rights records, will use this law to justify their own intrusive surveillance powers, ' claimed Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, following the vote. ' The IP Bill will put into statute the powers and capabilities revealed by [Edward] Snowden as well as increasing surveillance by the police and other government departments. There will continue to be a lack of privacy protections for international data sharing arrangements with the US. Parliament has also failed to address the implications of the technical integration of GCHQ and the NSA. '
' While parliamentarians have failed to limit these powers, the Courts may succeed. A ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, expected next year, may mean that parts of the Bill are unlawful and need to be amended. ORG and others will continue to fight this draconian law. '
The government is expected to announce enforcement of the law, which includes sections requiring internet service providers (ISPs) to keep users' web browsing history for twelve months and giving the police and government new powers to access this data through a dedicated search engine, in the coming weeks.
2016-11-18 06:03 Gareth Halfacree feedproxy.google.com
Total 77 articles.
Created at 2016-11-18 18:00