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50 articles, 2016-03-17 06:02 1 Technology is disrupting everything I spent a good part of my day yesterday attending the On-demand Economy conference at MIT. It was an interesting if somewhat academic look at the changes.. 2016-03-16 20:16 6KB (2.00/3) techcrunch.com 2 UK government SME procurement policy - where it worked and where it has failed The National Audit Office (NAO) recently published a report, Government’s spending with small and medium-sized enterprises, which marks a watershed in public SME procurement policy. It is a well-researched and elegantly presented review of a policy initiated by the former coalition and the government’s delivery of that policy. 2016-03-17 06:02 2KB www.computerweekly.com 3 A Glimpse at the Future of Containers in the Enterprise As interest in containers continues to grow, industry experts gathered at the Container Summit to discuss the technology and its future. 2016-03-17 05:51 1KB www.eweek.com 4 Google glitch translates 'Russian Federation' into 'Mordor'; it has a ring to it Irony alert: Google Translate bug brands Russians as occupiers when translating from Ukrainian 2016-03-17 05:51 3KB www.v3.co.uk 5 FileHippo News - powered by FeedBurner While the collective tech world was agog at the recent Go championship match between a world master and Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo software, other AI innovations have quietly been making waves of their own. It might not be as flashy as a computer beating a human champion in four of the... 2016-03-17 00:07 22KB feeds2.feedburner.com 6 MSI Vortex mini gaming PC has up to 64GB DDR4, Intel Core i7 Skylake, dual NVIDIA GPU When it comes to gaming PCs, I prefer to build my own. Selecting the components, piece by piece, can be very rewarding. If you are on a budget, it is often more affordable than buying a pre-built machine too. When it comes to gaming PCs, I prefer to build my... 2016-03-17 03:01 3KB betanews.com 7 Microsoft Cloud strength highlights second quarter results REDMOND, Wash. — January 28, 2016 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended December 31, 2015: During the quarter, Microsoft returned $6.5 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends. “Businesses everywhere are using the Microsoft Cloud as their digital platform to... 2016-03-16 23:12 8KB news.microsoft.com 8 GoPro and Microsoft sign licensing agreement REDMOND, Wash. — Feb. 5, 2016 — On Friday, Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC announced a new collaborative patent licensing agreement with GoPro Inc. for certain file storage and other system technologies. “This agreement with GoPro shows the incredible breadth of technology sharing enabled through patent transactions,” said Nick Psyhogeos, president... 2016-03-16 23:12 2KB news.microsoft.com 9 E-School for Girls partners with NYU and Microsoft for entrepreneurship event NEW YORK — Feb. 4, 2016 — Pre-college entrepreneurship program E-School for Girls partnered with New York University, Microsoft Corp. and Natalie Zfat for an inspirational and educational event, What It Takes to Be a Successful Entrepreneur, on Feb. 3, 2016, at the NYU Stern School of Business. “Microsoft is... 2016-03-16 23:12 3KB news.microsoft.com

10 Microsoft delivers enterprise-class ERP to the cloud REDMOND, Wash. — March 9, 2016 — Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday announced that its next-generation cloud ERP solution, Microsoft Dynamics AX, built on and for Microsoft Azure, is now available in 137 markets in 40 languages. The enterprise-class business application brings the power, speed and intelligence of cloud computing to... 2016-03-16 23:12 7KB news.microsoft.com 11 Microsoft and Wistron deepen collaboration with Android patent licensing renewal REDMOND, Wash., and TAIPEI, Taiwan — March 7, 2016 — On Monday, Microsoft Corp. and Wistron Corp. announced a renewed Android patent licensing agreement covering Wistron’s tablets, mobile phones, e-readers, and other consumer devices running Android and Chrome platforms under Microsoft’s patent portfolio. This deal extends and expands a prior... 2016-03-16 23:10 2KB news.microsoft.com 12 Sir Clive Sinclair talks ZX Spectrum, electric cars and the UK tech scene "Yes, we've certainly gone backwards",Software,Hardware ,ZX Spectrum,Sinclair 2016-03-17 00:00 740Bytes www.computing.co.uk 13 Instagram to stop using chronological feeds Instagram is making the move to algorithmically sorted photos. 2016-03-17 00:00 2KB www.alphr.com 14 Which media-streamer is best - Kodi or Plex? Kodi and Plex are the two best streamers around. But which should you download? 2016-03-17 00:00 5KB www.alphr.com 15 LastPass made its own two factor authentication app for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Best known for its popular password manager, LastPass aims to make two-factor authentication mainstream with the creation of its own free app that also makes it easier to use the added security. 2016-03-16 22:18 2KB www.neowin.net 16 Google: Continuing to make the web more mobile friendly Google is tweaking its search algorithm to improve the ranking of 'mobile friendly' websites, a move that could potentially influence websites that rely a lot on organic traffic. 2016-03-16 21:34 1KB www.neowin.net 17 Xbox One will run Windows 10 apps later this summer; Xbox Store merging into Windows Store Microsoft has confirmed that apps built on its Universal Windows Platform will be coming to the Xbox One later this summer, and that the standalone Xbox Store will be merged into the Windows Store. 2016-03-16 21:14 2KB www.neowin.net 18 SpoonRocket finds a home with Brazil-based iFood SpoonRocket, the on-demand food delivery startup that shut down yesterday in the U. S., has a buyer. That buyer is Brazil-based iFood, a food delivery platform.. 2016-03-16 20:16 2KB techcrunch.com 19 AliveCor unveils Kardia Band, a medical-grade EKG band for Apple Watch A medtech startup called AliveCor today unveiled what may be the first medical-grade EKG band for the Apple Watch, the Kardia Band, pending its FDA.. 2016-03-16 20:16 3KB techcrunch.com 20 Steve Wozniak discusses his inaugural Silicon Valley Comic Con Last week I sat down with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to hear about his newest creation, Silicon Valley Comic Con. The event, which will be held this.. 2016-03-16 20:16 1KB techcrunch.com 21 Oculus shows off the 30 launch titles available for the Rift VR headset The Oculus Rift is launching March 28 along with a ton of cool, innovative content that plays to its strengths. There are 30 distinct titles that will be.. 2016-03-16 20:16 1KB techcrunch.com 22 Oculus shows off first-look of Minecraft for Gear VR and it’s mehhh Minecraft in all its blocky glory is setting up shop on mobile virtual reality on the Samsung Gear VR. I had a chance to demo the game at an Oculus media.. 2016-03-16 20:16 2KB techcrunch.com 23 Why Latin American economies are turning to bitcoin The economic prospects for Latin America in 2016 are grim. With political instability in some of the region's largest economies, as well as a general slump in.. 2016-03-16 20:16 3KB techcrunch.com 24 Apple teams up with Cookie Monster to sell you on hands free Siri If I had to choose a sound to identify the second year of my daughter’s life it would probably be one of the collaborations between Sesame Street superstar.. 2016-03-16 20:16 2KB techcrunch.com 25 Apple looks to Google’s Cloud Platform as it diversifies its infrastructure Rumors are flying today that Apple is moving part of its cloud business from AWS to Google's Cloud Platform. We did some asking around and yes, it does.. 2016-03-16 20:16 4KB techcrunch.com 26 US Senate bill would give FAA 2 years to create rules for delivery drones The U. S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today approved the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. In an.. 2016-03-16 20:16 2KB techcrunch.com 27 Nike just unveiled the first real power-lacing sneaker, the HyperAdapt 1.0 It's finally here. After teaming up with Michael J. Fox to tease us with self-lacing Nike Mags on Back To The Future day in October, Nike has finally.. 2016-03-16 20:16 1KB techcrunch.com 28 This team has built adorable tiny backpacks for pigeons to track air pollution It’s time to take wearable devices to the next level. Plume Labs and DigitasLBi have teamed up for an interesting experiment. What if pigeons could fly.. 2016-03-16 20:16 2KB techcrunch.com 29 Third-party encryption renders iPhone backdoor useless Let’s assume for a minute that the FBI got its way. It coerces Apple into disabling the self- destruct function on the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone, allowing it to brute force the password. Effectively, the FBI and Apple create a backdoor that theoretically works the same across all iPhones. Police even... 2016-03-16 19:37 5KB betanews.com

30 Ring's new smart doorbell features 1080p video, 5GHz Wi-Fi, advanced motion detection and more Internet of Things company Ring has announced an updated version of its original smart doorbell that improves on the original in nearly every category. 2016-03-16 19:00 2KB www.techspot.com 31 The 14-year-old Warcraft III gets updated to support Windows 10 It's pretty rare these days for games older than a few years to receive further patches and updates. However, Blizzard Entertainment is still committed to keeping their most popular titles working on modern hardware, which is why they've released a… 2016-03-16 18:00 2KB www.techspot.com 32 MSI's Vortex PC is the equivalent of a Mac Pro for gamers MSI on Wednesday said it is now shipping its VR-ready Vortex PC, described by the company as the world's smallest gaming cylinder. 2016-03-16 17:00 1KB www.techspot.com 33 Peabody Energy and Mallinckrodt fall, Oracle advances NEW YORK— Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq stock market:. Peabody Energy Corp., down $1.82 to $2.19. Kinder Morgan Inc., up 82 cents to $18.89. 2016-03-16 16:23 2KB www.cnbc.com 34 Microsoft is farming your data, but it isn't what you think If you reside in the US state of Maryland then you can find plenty to be proud of -- the Chesapeake Bay is home to great seafood, including the famous Maryland Blue Crab. Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner from a ship during a battle in Baltimore Harbor... 2016-03-16 16:10 2KB betanews.com 35 Philips launches world's first quantum dot monitor (and it's surprisingly affordable) Philips has become the first manufacturer to launch a quantum dot monitor. The Philips 276E6 is a 27-inch IPS-ADS display with a quantum dot-enhanced LED edge array that's surprisingly affordable at just $299.99. 2016-03-16 16:00 2KB www.techspot.com 36 Create and search file lists with File List Maker Windows Search is great at locating files on the current PC, but what if you also want to check CDs, DVDs, USB keys, even other computers? Windows Search is great at locating files on the current PC, but what if you also want to check CDs, DVDs, USB keys, even... 2016-03-16 15:03 2KB betanews.com 37 Pennsylvania man pleads guilty to 2014 celebrity nude leaks, faces 18 months in prison The Pennsylvania man behind a 2014 hacking incident that saw hundreds of explicit photos and videos of celebrities leaked online has agreed to plead guilty to a felony computer hacking charge, according to a document filed by the Department of Justice. 2016-03-16 15:00 3KB www.techspot.com 38 Most IT professionals believe current privacy and consent tools are inadequate The regulatory environment for data is in a state of change at the moment with many countries introducing legislation to control the flow of information. This combined with growth of the IoT and digital economy is posing major challenges for business. The regulatory environment for data is in a state... 2016-03-16 14:11 2KB betanews.com 39 Comcast's 1Gbps Internet service hits Atlanta, reasonably priced (if you sign a long-term contract) Comcast's rollout of DOCSIS 3.1 (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) is officially underway. The nation's largest home Internet service provider is now offering its gigabit Internet service – what it calls an advanced consumer trial – in select parts… 2016-03-16 14:00 2KB www.techspot.com 40 Android N adds features for developers Ahead-of-time compilation gets a bit of just-in-time, better VPN arrives, and direct boot to be added in the next version of Android 2016-03-16 12:31 2KB sdtimes.com 41 Attackers exploit Apple DRM weakness to infect non- jailbroken iOS devices If a malicious app is published on the App Store once and then is removed, attackers can continue to infect devices with it through PC malware 2016-03-16 12:18 4KB www.infoworld.com 42 Sizing Up Google Pixel C [Review] If you're thinking about buying Pixel C, Google gives two good reasons to do so now: Android N beta program and developer discount on the hardware. The tablet normally sells for $499 (32GB) or $599 (64GB) but you could instead pay $375 or $449, respectively. Keyboard is another $149. The... 2016-03-16 12:14 13KB betanews.com 43 Tesla teases Model 3 budget sedan ahead of March 31 reveal Tesla is preparing to take the wraps off its long-awaited budget electric sedan, the Model 3. The hype began with a single tweet of a photo showcasing a forward-looking view of the Model S, the Model X and a dark… 2016-03-16 11:30 2KB www.techspot.com 44 Asian shares higher after Fed kept interest rates unchanged NEW YORK— U. S. stocks rose Wednesday afternoon after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and forecast it will raise rates more gradually than it had envisioned late last year. That was a relief to investors, who quickly sent stocks higher. KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average climbed... 2016-03-16 10:33 6KB www.cnbc.com 45 iOS 9 features - updated for iOS 9.3 Apple's iPhone and iPad update, iOS 9, may launch Monday 2016-03-16 10:00 9KB www.techradar.com 46 There's now another benchmark for testing VR performance: Basemark's VRScore With proper virtual reality systems like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive set to hit consumers in the coming months, there has been a lot of interest in whether peoples' current gaming PCs are good enough to drive games at… 2016-03-16 09:30 2KB www.techspot.com 47 Google's Single Sign On adds support for Microsoft Office 365, Facebook at Work, Slack and more Besides being the super poplar search engine, email provider, work and collaboration services provider, Google is also used, by a number of different services, as an identity provider. Besides being the super poplar search engine, email provider, work and collaboration services provider, Google is also used, by a number of... 2016-03-16 09:26 2KB betanews.com 48 Google is referring to Android N internally as 'New York Cheesecake' Google released its first Developer Preview of Android N last week - and now it's been revealed that the company is referring to the new version of the OS internally as 'New York Cheesecake'. 2016-03-16 07:54 2KB www.neowin.net 49 ARM and TSMC collaborate to work on 7nm FinFET SoCs ARM and TSMC have announced a new partnership that will see the companies collaborate on 7nm FinFET manufacturing process technology, with the goal of making it a viable reality in the next few years. 2016-03-16 07:30 2KB www.techspot.com

50 Calibrated compact model library for silicon photonics platform The calibrated library of compact models will enable improved accuracy and reliability in photonic integrated circuit design and fabrication. 2016-03-16 18:07 2KB www.sciencedaily.com Articles

50 articles, 2016-03-17 06:02

1 Technology is disrupting everything (2.00/3) I spent a good part of my day yesterday attending the On-demand Economy conference at MIT. It was an interesting if somewhat academic look at the changes facing us as individuals, organizations and as a society as we shift to an on-demand world. What struck me beyond how this new way of doing business is affecting us, was how technology was driving this change — and that the speed of change was so rapid that it seemed even the speakers had a hard time grappling with it. But what really hit me as I listened to the guests talk about all of this was that digital disruption was changing every aspect of the system from the organizational level to where and how we work to the laws and systems we have in place, most of which are entirely inappropriate in an on-demand world. On-demand for those of you not up on the current lingo refers to services like Uber, Postmates or Airbnb. Each provides a digital platform to give instant access to a taxi, delivery or room rental. In the case of Uber and Postmates, it hires people to provide the service (with their own vehicles). With Airbnb, it is a direct transaction between the owner and the renter using the owner’s home. Businesses deal with disruption in a variety of ways , but those affected by on-demand seem to realize now that these new digital platforms are an actual threat. In January San Francisco’s biggest taxi company filed for bankruptcy. Bear in mind this is a protected municipal monopoly that up until several years ago faced no competition whatsoever. The heady world of digital delivery changed all that as ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft have taken a serious bite out of long-established businesses. In the days before digital disruption, you stood on the corner and hailed a taxi or booked a hotel room. You might have called your favorite restaurant for delivery and it might have offered such a service or not. The intersection of cloud and mobile changed everything. With a computer in our pockets, the introduction of app stores and access to cheap cloud services, clever people came up with these platforms (and many others like them) and it has fundamentally changed businesses and created whole new ways of working. All of that is having a profound impact on us as we struggle to keep up with the changes they bring. For the taxi and hotel businesses, what started as an irritant is becoming a full- fledged threat to their business models. There is something else happening here. Even as organizations are being disrupted, so are we and what’s changing is the way we work (and expect to work). There have been a range of responses from individuals to digitization of certain industries — and if it hasn’t happened to yours yet, expect it to soon. Taxi drivers have felt the change most directly from ride sharing. They have reacted with strikes and sometimes with violence , illustrating that it’s not just the industry itself feeling the full weight of disruption, but also the individuals who work in it in a very direct way. Yet even as taxi drivers feel the sting of competition, many others are joining the ranks of Uber drivers. Every time I get in an Uber I ask the driver why they do it and if they like it and in most cases people like the model. Some do it to supplement a full-time job, while the majority earn their living from Uber. These folks have the advantage of working on the digital platform that Uber created for them. They have flexibility to work as much or as little as they want. They simply turn on the app when they want to work and they start picking people up. If they don’t want to work, they turn it off. While people clearly love the flexibility that this work style brings, companies like Uber, which has a valuation of over $60 billion rake in the dough. Clearly drivers are making a trade-off for that flexibility — and that comes with a lack of benefits, a condition that did not escape the parade of speakers at yesterday’s conference. It’s great to work when you want, but it’s not so great when you don’t get paid because you got the flu or hurt your back. It’s worth noting that while Uber is a highly successful example of this work model, it is hardly the only digital platform operating this way. Meanwhile governments struggle to keep up. Sometimes they want to protect the incumbent industries. Sometimes they want to encourage innovation. Whatever they do, they tend to react much, much too slowly to technological changes. As technology speeds along, we are stuck with antiquated systems that fail to meet the needs of today’s businesses or the way we work. Just as technology and the digital platforms that we are creating are changing these industries and the way individuals work, it’s also have a huge impact on the systems we have put in place that have been tied to a traditional way of working. We see this playing out in a number of ways. Employees lack any benefits in this new system, prompting speakers to suggest that perhaps we require a benefits package that isn’t tied to our employer. Emergency systems like unemployment insurance spend too much time and money trying to find cheaters instead of helping people achieve their goals and find meaningful work. It’s hardly surprising that the unemployment insurance system, which was created in the 1930s at a time when most people worked for the same company their entire lives would no longer be adequate in 2016 in a world where people change jobs frequently and often don’t have a traditional relationship with an employer. But it is no simple matter to modernize these systems as politics muddies the waters and everyone has different ideas of how this should work in the brave new world of work. For now, in the middle of the muddled mess it’s hard to find definitive answers to these tough issues. As one speaker pointed out for the foreseeable future, the vast majority of people will continue to work in the traditional way, but tens of thousands of others will work in a freelance capacity like those Uber drivers without any benefits or safety net — and that’s not a sustainable model. If technology is driving all this change, perhaps we can find answers in building digital platforms that address these issues and give people a central place to deal with them in a modern context. While there are many benefits in using these services, there are many implications too and we need to come to grips with the changes digitization brings because it’s having an impact on every aspect of our lives. 2016-03-16 20:16 Ron Miller

2 UK government SME procurement policy - where it worked and where it has failed The National Audit Office (NAO) recently published a report, Government’s spending with small and medium-sized enterprises , which marks a watershed in public SME procurement policy. It is a well-researched and elegantly presented review of a policy initiated by the former coalition and the government’s delivery of that policy. However, the report concludes that: “We cannot be certain that the amount government spends with SMEs has increased over the last Parliament.” As Crown Representative for SMEs during this period, my role was to conduct strategic dialogue with suppliers and to be their “strong voice at the top table”. This position gave a privileged inside view of policy formulation and delivery in this important area. I tried to help the government’s policies succeed. I promoted them, tried to improve them and finally tried to make sense of them. But I now wonder if I was brought in by then- Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude as a political commissar to discipline the civil service’s delivery of policy – as I had expected - or merely to look as though something had been done by bringing in a business person. No doubt different stakeholders might have had different ideas at the time. Whatever their motives, it is now time for this “strong voice” to speak. 2016-03-17 06:02 Stephen Allott

3 A Glimpse at the Future of Containers in the Enterprise With containers gaining increasing popularity in enterprise environments across a variety of industries to automate the deployment of applications, Joyent and others in the container ecosystem got together to give a state-of-the-state event at the Container Summit conference Feb. 10 in New York City. Although the cloud native world is adopting container technologies, such as Docker, only 8 percent of enterprises are using them in production, said Dave Bartoletti, a principal analyst at Forrester Research. Yet curiosity about containers is soaring. Bartoletti said questions from clients about containers and when and how to deploy them have increased by a factor of 10 in the last two years. Indeed, many of the speakers at the Container Summit said they were introduced to container technology in a previous job and moved it to their current role. Others simply adopted it as the proper thing to do. This eWEEK slide show looks at some of the scenes from the Container Summit and what industry experts had to say about the technology. 2016-03-17 05:51 Darryl K.

4 Google glitch translates 'Russian Federation' into 'Mordor'; it has a ring to it As a fan of Cossack dancing, Eastern Bloc architecture, vodka and pervasive government oppression, Sneak loves Russia. And while he accepts that Siberia is a vast and mostly empty land mass, capable of killing the unwary in numerous ways, he would not liken it to Mordor, the dark, ash-covered, orc-infested land in the south-east of Tolkien's Middle Earth. But, according to multiple reports, the all-seeing, all-knowing Sauron Google believes that Russia is in fact Mordor. Or more accurately a bug in the Google Translate tool translated the Ukrainian word for 'Russian Federation' into 'Mordor'. Not content with effectively calling Russia a nation of twisted, down-trodden creatures ruled by a brutal dictator, Google Translate went one step further by translating 'Russians' into 'okkupanty' meaning ‘occupiers' in Sneak's second language, that being English. C++ is his mother tongue. Then to pour a granary of salt into the virtual wound, Google translated the surname of Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov into the Russian for 'sad little horse', according to The Telegraph. Sneak thinks that's rather cute in a slightly Eeyore way. Yes he knows Eeyore is a fictional donkey. Please don't write in. Now, that noise you're hearing is Sneak's irony alarm going off at full pelt, given that Ukraine is not exactly having the best time with Russia and pro-Russian rebels at the moment, particularly as in 2014 Russia annexed the Crimea region from Ukraine, simply because it could. Google has apologised for the error and blamed the automated aspect of Translate, but Sneak is not convinced that it was a bug and, to indulge the conspiracy theorist in him, believes that a disgruntled pro-Ukraine programmer decided to tweak Google Translate to offer this slight at Russian users. Back in his early years as an IT chap at Northern Rock, Sneak ended up dating a lovely Russian systems analyst called Natasha. She had a mononym. Next thing he knew she disappeared one evening after a heady mix of vodka and Kerplunk! and disappeared with Sneak's server room key card. Then the banking crisis happened, Northern Rock went under and Sneak took indefinite sick leave. The moral of the story is that annoying the Russians might not be wise, otherwise the road to Google's Mountain View HQ could end up being blocked by Soviet-era tanks with president Putin straddling a turret, topless and declaring "You shall not pass" to befuddled Google engineers. Or perhaps they will take it in good humour. After all as the video below explains: Russians love to boogie. 07 Jan 2016 2016-03-17 05:51

5 FileHippo News - powered by FeedBurner While the collective tech world was agog at the recent Go championship match between a world master and Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo software, other AI innovations have quietly been making waves of their own. It might not be as flashy as a computer beating a human champion in four of the five games–or the human turning around and beating the computer, for that matter– but there are no doubt serious implications involved. Microsoft, for example, announced the news that it was teaming up with Minecraft to create an AI interface. Long perceived as the go-to world building game for eight-year-olds everywhere, Minecraft is actually an ageless and highly- sophisticated gaming world of its own. With the advent of the open-source AIX interface , Microsoft is inviting AI developers to use Minecraft as their own personal proving grounds, largely due to the high-volume of unforeseeable game play ramifications. Another software research lab has been working on developing an AI that can win at poker, a seemingly basic card game on the surface but one that is actually filled with nuance and pitfalls. As Thor Oluvsrud points out for CIO.com , poker–specifically Texas Hold ‘Em–is even more difficult for a computer to play than loftier games of strategy like Go or chess. In those games, the players (and therefore, the computer) can see the board at all times. They can develop predictive strategies in order to prepare their moves. But in card games, the players don’t know what all of the other players are holding, and therefore have a much harder time predicting what moves they’ll make based on the moves of other players. But what is all of this effort for? Surely there’s more to AI development than being able to play against the computer on your tablet. As always, the goal for AI technology is to develop robots that don’t have to be told every single “if/then” scenario in order to make a sound decision. Coding for every possible outcome is hard enough when it’s chess, but it’s nearly impossible when it’s life-altering and emergency situations. For now, though, the tools to develop this type of understanding of outcome-based predictive decision making lie in games. The post Recent News Puts AI In The Spotlight appeared first on FileHippo News . The aim of the AI project, known as AIX, will be to see whether machines can learn to play Minecraft freely, as opposed to being stuck to a list of event led specific tasks and choosing an appropriate response. The AIX AI program, will not require any extra hardware from users such as the codes for Nuclear warheads, but instead. will be taught to play Minecraft as an add-on for the game, allowing interested home users and academics to evaluate the AI engine it is working on. AIX won’t cost players any extra either and will be released as an open source modification but users will be cordoned off and sandboxed from other Minecraft players. This is, no doubt, to ensure that should the AIX software one day become self-aware, it won’t be able to gain access to the nuclear launch codes, rename itself Skynet, and launch a sequence of increasingly poor sequels that suck the soul out of what was once a really good film. In order to take part in the AIX AI experiment, players will have to install AIX on top of their preexisting game installation. This will then allow the AIX artificial intelligence code to control a character that will consequently ‘learn’ through in game feedback and game world consequences. A senior researcher, Fernando Diaz, said: “We’re trying to program it to learn, as opposed to accomplishing specific tasks.” Rather than writing the code that gives the AI character the knowledge of how to climb a mountain, researchers are instead more interested in seeing whether the AIX AI can learn how to do it for themselves, without pre-written instructions. Katja Hofmann, the AIX project leader at the Microsoft’s lab in the UK explained that: “People build amazing structures that do amazing things in Minecraft, and this allows experimenters to put in tasks that will stretch AI technology beyond its current capacity.” By utilizing this ‘group’ think’ rollout of AIX to the masses, Hofmann hopes that it will speed up the research of computers gaining human-like intelligence. AIX is already up and running in a private beta test, but is expected to be available to anyone who wants it by the summer. The news comes at what many commentators see as a crucial moment in time for AI. AlphaGo, Google’s AI machine managed to claim victory in a series of high profile games against the reigning GO world champion. The post AI experimentation heads to Minecraft. appeared first on FileHippo News . While, admittedly most, if not all the tech company projects were already well into development by the time this story broke , and also before the Apple vs the US Government court case hit Congress, and the headlines, the current high profile legal fight has drawn attention to encryption protocols and their use in general. It’s also proved to be a really good platform for the tech firms to show how much they care about user encryption by advertising their new and improved services. Privacy and security have always been controversial topics in the internet age, and never more so than in recent months. Part of the collective Silicon Valley telegraphing of their improved security features comes down to trying to win back the trust of their users. It wasn’t so long ago, after all, that it was revealed that the US government, among others, were routinely eavesdropping and collecting data from users with the apparent collaboration of most of the companies involved. The move is also being seen as a bold move on behalf of the tech industry to telegraph their collective support for Apple for not providing backdoor entry for law enforcement agencies. Several companies had previously filed Amicus briefs to the ongoing Apple courtroom drama. Google is reportedly working on encrypted email projects, and Snapchat are also said to be working on secure messaging components for their software as well. WhatsApp has over a billion registered users, and has been increasing its own encryption feature set since 2014. The post Tech Companies Set To Increase Encryption Protocols appeared first on FileHippo News . One of the hardest aspects of running a business of any size is the accounting and bookkeeping. That difficulty is only compounded when the company isn’t large enough to add an accounting department, but instead is trying to juggle balancing the books and sending off the checks while at the same time maintaining the company’s whole purpose for existing. Far too many good ideas never got off the ground because the leaders with the vision lacked the nuts- and-bolts, day-to-day operations essentials. UK-based Xero stands to change that. The accounting software suite has features for businesses of any size, but its toolset designed especially with small businesses in mind– complete with accounting and bookkeeping training options–lets even the smallest of companies use professional tools. The go-anywhere cloud-based model means the ability to log into your suite from any Mac, PC, tablet, or even smartphone, which is especially useful for those times when paying a professional accountant to look things over is a small, smart investment. One of Xero’s initial design components was a completely user-friendly dashboard, meaning even those with no formal background in accounting can learn the ropes and operate their cashflow. It’s also a comprehensive look at the status of the company’s money, both income and expenses, thanks to easy-to-understand automatic graphs. Invoicing is arguably something that stops many a small business in its tracks; again, the leaders are so busy doing the business that they don’t have time to further the business through things like invoicing (you know…actually getting their customers to pay them?). Xero makes it easy to auto-invoice clients, complete with a branded logo and company feel. Best of all, Xero lets businesses sync to their own online banking platforms for the most streamlined cashflow and operations options possible. Again, taking in funds is a great thing when you’re running a business; actually depositing checks in the bank so that the bills get paid is a whole other step, one that can result in serious harm if not handled in a timely way. With instant bank reconciliation, Xero users can see their statuses in real-time from anywhere. The most important thing that platforms like Xero bring to the small business and start-up table is affordability. With package plan options, companies no longer have to invest in the mainstays of accounting software, only to discover that no one in their offices knows how to use it. This single issue stands to make or break a business’ success, and Xero is working to make the process as affordable and painless as possible. The post Xero Accounting Software Leads The Cloud appeared first on FileHippo News . In the realm of science-fiction-becoming-fact, there have been a lot of innovations that left the pages of the book behind and became a reality. Video chatting, navigation systems, even the microwave oven were once relegated to the world of fiction, only to become seamless parts of our lives. And for many people, the self-driving car is the next item on the “make it so” list. That vision is already quickly becoming a reality, and the announcement that GM has bought a small software company, Cruise Automation, means the automaker is one step closer to releasing autonomous vehicles. While GM has already been at work in research and development for self-driving cars, Cruise Automation has something (besides just software) that the automaker needs: permission. There are currently very few locations where developers can test a self-driving car in the real world of human traffic, and even in those locations there are necessary permits. The acquisition of Cruise Automation affords GM the ability to test its vehicles under actual driving conditions thanks to the software company’s permits. The testing stage is still quite obviously a work in progress, and a number of manufacturers have reached the real-world driving process with their vehicles. One of the other obstacles in the race for self-driving vehicles–which even auto manufacturers have stated are safer than human drivers–is the wide variety of conditions that can interfere with the car’s cameras. These cameras are what enable the vehicle to maneuver, but in heavy rain, dust storms, snow, and other unsafe conditions, the car can literally cease operation. GM’s purchase of the software company, which will absorb all of its forty employees into a separate project in the car maker’s autonomous vehicle division, allows it to continue to work on the safety response aspect that is so crucial to the success of launching these vehicles for consumer use. The post GM Buys Self-Driving Auto Software Developer appeared first on FileHippo News . It took four matches, but a human has finally done what many experts first thought was a certainty, then fairly impossible, and now mind-boggling: world champion Lee Sedol has finally beaten Google’s AI software AlphaGo in the ancient Chinese strategy game Go. In the five- match scheduled event, the first three matches went to Google DeepMind division’s software; in the fourth match, the human world champion finally won. The game itself has a nearly-infinite number of possible moves, and therefore relies on intuition and emotional state to help the Go master defeat his or her opponent. This lack of “feel” for the game is what had so many game players predicting an easy win for the human player. But the very first matchup showed something that gave the software a leg-up, and that was an inability to second-guess himself due to an early mistake. Both players in the first game made crucial early errors, but unlike the human player, AlphaGo couldn’t experience self-doubt or embarrassment at his own mistake, something that commentators attributed to the machine’s win. In the fourth match, held yesterday in Seoul, it was three hours into the game before it looked as though Sedol might win this one. Part of AlphaGo’s arsenal of game-winning strategies is an ability to correct itself for future moves through trial and error; once the software makes a move and sees the resulting outcomes, that information is stored in order to be called on when needed later. This entire project has been an interesting look at how far AI software has come, as well as how far the technology still has to go. While others speculate on what possible abilities DeepMind can come up with next for its software, the bigger picture is this: AI and human interaction stands to be an ongoing partnership. The days of having computers take over all aspects of mission- critical thought processes are obviously not coming soon, but humans paired with AI software may be unstoppable. Interestingly, the five-match series–which was broadcast live on YouTube and aired on local channels–included a $1 million prize for the winner. As AlphaGo has already won three matches, the software is officially the prize winner. Software tends not to spend its money wisely, and therefore AlphaGo’s winnings will be donated to charity. The post Man vs Machine: Sedol Finally Beats Google’s AlphaGo appeared first on FileHippo News . The rapid growth of Locky has seen its reported use grow at a faster rate than was expected, causing surprise to some security experts, and has now become the second most seen form of ransomware currently doing the rounds. Apple Mac owners have also been warned that their iOS based machines are now just as likely to fall prey to the latest strain of ransomware. Some experts have stated that the sheer increase in volume of the number of reported cyber- attacks seeking to extort users has increased greatly since the start of 2016. It first of all installs itself quietly, hoping to avoid detection, and then encrypts all the data on the infected machine, and then demands a payment from the unsuspecting user, before providing the user with a decryption key. If there is honor among thieves, then the key will normally un-encrypt a user’s details. If they are not however, then the user will remain locked out from their equipment, and also down a substantial amount of money. At the time of writing, Locky is asking for 3 bitcoins, which is in around $900-$1000. What is Ransomware? Ransomware is malicious code that gets into a computer or a server and disables access to files by encrypting (or locking) them. The code then presents the computer user with a demand to pay a ransom to unlock the files. The post Locky Rides Crest Of Global Ransomware Surge appeared first on FileHippo News . The allegations were made using Google’s Google+ social networking platform, and also on Google Maps. When the reviews claiming that infants were not safe in the nursery were found by the small business, the owners originally approached Google and asked them to remove the offensive and untrue content. But the search titan refused to do so, using the argument that the posted material came under the auspices of freedom-of-speech, and therefore they were not obliged, or could find a justification for removing them. The unnamed nursery’s lawyer told TechCrunch that: “The judge balanced the interests of privacy against the interest of reputation (of this nursery). However, it considers the interests of protecting the reputation more important than the interests of Google to the interest of privacy of the Google Reviewers.” Speaking after he made his ruling, the judge in the case, CM Berkhout, differed substantially with the US firm’s point of view, instead finding that the reviews were indeed fake and damaging. He ordered Google take down the reviews. Berkhout also made a provision in his ruling that Google would have to provide details about the reviewers so that the nursery could, if it so wished, face the posters of the reviews and allegations in court. He said afterwards: “In my opinion, it was stunning that Google allowed this, as the practice of using someone else’s profile picture without consent is unlawful and infringing on portrait rights… and it only helps fake reviewers to hide behind a ‘trusted face.’ Hopefully, this decision will make Google rethink their own policies and the way they enforce their policies.” Google’s response was characteristically brief , utilizing their normal brevity in matters that have gone against them: “We’ve received the ruling and are currently reviewing it.” The post Dutch Court Orders Google To Hand Over Fake Reviewers IP Addresses appeared first on FileHippo News . It seems like you can’t do anything these days without dealing with the bureaucracy of it all. Forms to fill out, regulations to follow, miles and miles of red tape…and of course, the ever- present and usually outdated technology. Everyone from schools to retailers to even the government has to suffer under the weight of policies and procedures. Unless you’re a terrorist organization, in which case you can apparently toss all your information on a memory stick and leave it lying around an office somewhere. That’s the case with an ISIS faction, at least, and the end result was the loss of 22,000 registration forms for its members after a memory stick with the information was taken from the office of their head of security. These forms contained names, addresses, birth dates, phone numbers, even blood types on individuals who’d been recruited or volunteered for the terror organization. According to the Guardian , “The documents, thought to be from a border crossing into Syria , are questionnaires of each would-be recruit. There are 23 questions, including names, date and place of birth, hometown, telephone number, education and blood type.” Two different sources both claim to have possession of the information. A German intelligence agency acquired the forms, and Sky News reports being given the unencrypted memory stick after it was stolen by a former member who became disillusioned with the terror network’s practices. While security watchers were aware of a number of the names on the registration forms, there were also more than a few surprises. What is known is there were specific numbers of US, UK, and Canadian citizens who’d signed on to join ISIS’ efforts. Members from more than forty different countries were included in the leaked data. As with any data breach, the real concern now is what happens with the information. In a standard consumer data breach, citizens have to worry about monitoring their credit reports for any signs of suspicious financial activity; it’s not hard to imagine what the repercussions will be after handing over the names and addresses of known ISIS members and their families to the government. The post ISIS Struck By Internal Data Breach appeared first on FileHippo News . At more than a trillion dollars and what sometimes seems like a trillion glitches, and a trillion bad headlines, the latest issue with the F-35’s software has been found in the software responsible for the Radar it uses. The solution however is quite simple and straightforward, and one that IT Support staff have relied upon for years to solve problems in first line troubleshooting: Turning it off, and then on again. In the latest publicly released report on the joint strike fighter, US Air Force major general Jeffrey Harrigian states that: “What would happen is they’d get a signal that says either a radar degrade or a radar fail— something that would force us to restart the radar.” The latest report into the troubled development of the new fighter jet has been described as damning, listing as it does a multitude of deficiencies that seem to routinely being found as development of the fighter plane creeps ever closer to deployment. Many of the failures causing headaches for the US military and its designers is the fact that many of the issues are primarily due to buggy software. Not as crazy as it sounds It really isn’t. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, built by Lockheed Martin, is currently one of the most advanced and heavily software-driven warplanes ever designed and built. It is therefore also one of the most complicated and difficult IT projects ever undertaken. But it’s not just the software and onboard computer systems that Lockheed Martin have struggled with. The plane has also struggled with its apparent vulnerability to lightning strikes, landing gear issues, weight issues, and bomb bay door faults, depending on climatic issues in the hotter areas of the world. Hacker proof? Apparently not. The F-35 has yet to undertake any serious cyber security testing, something that could be a real possibility with cyber warfare an increasing threat across the world. something that has caused concern among buyers who have the joint strike fighter on back order, including branches of the US military, and the United Kingdom The latest Pentagon report quoted above stated that glitches were found … “…in fusion, electronic warfare, and weapons employment result in ambiguous threat displays, limited ability to respond to threats, and a requirement for off-board sources to provide accurate coordinates for precision attack.” Speaking to the Guardian newspaper , Keith Joiner, the man responsible for the final evaluation for procurement by the Australian Defence Force, said that “the only system that has done cyber security, vulnerability and penetration testing is the logistics software. So ordering spares. And it didn’t go very well.” The post F-35 Radar: Have You Tried Turning It On And Off Again? appeared first on FileHippo News . 2016-03-17 00:07

6 MSI Vortex mini gaming PC has up to 64GB DDR4, Intel Core i7 Skylake, dual NVIDIA GPU When it comes to gaming PCs, I prefer to build my own. Selecting the components, piece by piece, can be very rewarding. If you are on a budget, it is often more affordable than buying a pre-built machine too. While many hardcore PC gamers would pooh- pooh buying an already-assembled computer, sometimes a tower comes along that is so special, that all rules go out the window. Today, such a special PC begins shipping to consumers. The MSI Vortex is a tiny gaming PC in a cylinder-shaped chassis. It is sort of like Apple's Mac Pro in outward appearance, but the comparisons stop there. "The world smallest gaming cylinder, the Vortex measures only 10.5 inches tall but can blast away bigger systems with an unlocked Intel Core i7 6700K processor, up to 64GB of DDR4 memory, SSDs in Super RAID 4, and dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 GPUs in SLI. MSI's newest tower is also engineered for superior upgradability, expandability, and compatibility with a variety of connectors, including Thunderbolt 3 that supports up to 40GBs of data transfer rate", says MSI. The company further says, "minimal in footprint but maximum in performance, the Vortex features MSI's 360 degree Silent Storm Cooling technology to ensure extreme coolness under the most intense gaming sessions. MSI's cooling system creates a vortex-shaped wind path by capturing heat from the bottom of the unit and circulating it upwards, resulting in superior thermals and acoustics. The 450W 80 plus Gold power supply is also built into the Vortex to minimize space to completely power the system and any peripherals you want to connect". The appearance can be customized as well, thanks to some Windows-based software. You see, it is possible to change the colors of the LED lighting using a program. You can even make the lighting pulse, such as using a "breathing" effect. Sure, this won't impact performance, but if you go to a LAN party, having a unique and flashy computer matters from a swagger perspective. MSI shares the following specs. Obviously, with specifications like this in such a svelte and well-engineered chassis, you can expect a big price tag. The $4,000 cost for the top model makes it too expensive for many -- including me -- but if you can afford it, hey, why not? With that said, you could definitely build a comparable PC at a much lower price -- it just won't be as tiny, nor cylindrical. While MSI promises up to 64GB of RAM, it will only ship with a max of 32GB. You can double this yourself, but that would require buying four 16GB sticks and discarding -- or selling -- the 8GB ones that are included. This would be an expensive, and arguably pointless, upgrade for gaming purposes. Will you buy this expensive and diminutive beast? Tell me in the comments. 2016-03-17 03:01 By Brian

7 Microsoft Cloud strength highlights second quarter results REDMOND, Wash. — January 28, 2016 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended December 31, 2015: During the quarter, Microsoft returned $6.5 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends. “Businesses everywhere are using the Microsoft Cloud as their digital platform to drive their ambitious transformation agendas,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “Businesses are also piloting Windows 10, which will drive deployments beyond 200 million active devices.” The following table reconciles our financial results reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) to non-GAAP financial results. Microsoft has provided this non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance. All growth comparisons relate to the corresponding period in the last fiscal year. “We delivered double-digit operating income growth in non-GAAP constant currency while investing in key strategic areas that position Microsoft for continued long term growth,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft. Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes declined 2% (up 5% in constant currency) to $6.7 billion, with the following business highlights: Revenue in Intelligent Cloud grew 5% (up 11% in constant currency) to $6.3 billion, with the following business highlights: Revenue in More Personal Computing declined 5% (down 2% in constant currency) to $12.7 billion, with the following business highlights: “It was a strong holiday season for Microsoft highlighted by Surface and Xbox,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. “Our commercial business executed well as our sales teams and partners helped customers realize the value of Microsoft’s cloud technologies across Azure, Office 365 and CRM Online.” Business Outlook Microsoft will provide forward-looking guidance in connection with this quarterly earnings announcement on its earnings conference call and webcast. Webcast Details Satya Nadella, chief executive officer, Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Frank Brod, chief accounting officer, John Seethoff, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary, and Chris Suh, general manager of Investor Relations, will host a conference call and webcast at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time (5:30 p.m. Eastern time) today to discuss details of the company’s performance for the quarter and certain forward-looking information. The session may be accessed at http://www.microsoft.com/investor. The webcast will be available for replay through the close of business on January 28, 2017. Adjusted Financial Results and non-GAAP Measures During the second quarter of fiscal year 2016, GAAP revenue, operating income, net income, and earnings per share include the net impact from revenue deferrals. For the second quarter of fiscal year 2015, GAAP revenue, operating income, net income, and earnings per share include the recognition of previously deferred net revenue and charges related to integration and restructuring expenses. These items are defined below. In addition to these financial results reported in accordance with GAAP, Microsoft has provided certain non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance. Presenting these non-GAAP measures gives additional insight into operational performance and helps clarify trends affecting the company’s business. For comparability of reporting, management considers this information in conjunction with GAAP amounts in evaluating business performance. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP Definitions Revenue Deferrals. Microsoft recorded a net $1.9 billion revenue deferral during the three months ended December 31, 2015, primarily related to Windows 10 and Halo 5. Microsoft recognized a net $326 million of previously deferred revenue during the three months ended December 31, 2014, primarily related to sales of bundled products and services. Integration and Restructuring Charges. Integration and restructuring expenses were $243 million during the three months ended December 31, 2014. Integration and restructuring expenses include employee severance expenses and costs associated with the consolidation of facilities and manufacturing operations related to restructuring activities, and systems consolidation and other business integration expenses associated with the acquisition of Nokia’s Devices and Services business. Constant Currency Microsoft presents constant currency information to provide a non-GAAP framework for assessing how our underlying businesses performed excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations. To present this information, current and comparative prior period non-GAAP results for entities reporting in currencies other than United States dollars are converted into United States dollars using the average exchange rates from the comparative period rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective periods. The non-GAAP financial measures presented below should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. All growth comparisons relate to the corresponding period in the last fiscal year. About Microsoft Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this release that are “forward-looking statements” are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors such as: For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Microsoft’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft’s Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft’s Investor Relations website at http://www.microsoft.com/investor . All information in this release is as of January 28, 2016. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company’s expectations. For more information, press only: Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (503) 443-7070, [email protected] For more information, financial analysts and investors only: Chris Suh, general manager, Investor Relations, (425) 706-4400 Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news /. Web links, telephone numbers, and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. Shareholder and financial information, as well as today’s 2:30 p.m. Pacific time conference call with investors and analysts, is available at http://www.microsoft.com/investor . 2016-03-16 23:12 By Microsoft

8 GoPro and Microsoft sign licensing agreement REDMOND, Wash. — Feb. 5, 2016 — On Friday, Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC announced a new collaborative patent licensing agreement with GoPro Inc. for certain file storage and other system technologies. “This agreement with GoPro shows the incredible breadth of technology sharing enabled through patent transactions,” said Nick Psyhogeos, president of Microsoft Technology Licensing. “Microsoft’s licensing of personal wearable technologies is seeing strong demand as we partner with companies from all industries to optimize solutions for their customers around the globe.” The terms of the agreement are confidential. Microsoft’s commitment to licensing IP The patent agreement is another example of the important role intellectual property (IP) plays in ensuring a healthy and vibrant technology ecosystem. Since Microsoft launched its IP licensing program in December 2003, it has entered into more than 1,200 licensing agreements. More information about Microsoft’s licensing programs is available at http://www.microsoft.com/iplicensing . About GoPro Inc. GoPro, Inc. is transforming the way people visually capture and share their lives. What began as an idea to help athletes self-document themselves engaged in their sport, GoPro has become a standard for how people capture themselves engaged in their interests, whatever they may be. From extreme to mainstream, professional to consumer, GoPro enables the world to capture and share its passion in the form of immersive and engaging content. About Microsoft Technology Licensing Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC was formed in 2014 to acquire, manage and license Microsoft’s patent portfolio. About Microsoft Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. 2016-03-16 23:12 By Microsoft

9 E-School for Girls partners with NYU and Microsoft for entrepreneurship event NEW YORK — Feb. 4, 2016 — Pre-college entrepreneurship program E- School for Girls partnered with New York University, Microsoft Corp. and Natalie Zfat for an inspirational and educational event, What It Takes to Be a Successful Entrepreneur, on Feb. 3, 2016, at the NYU Stern School of Business. “Microsoft is committed to empowering entrepreneurs at all stages of their lives, and excited to see more girls and women taking advantage of the rapidly changing technology landscape to bring their ideas to reality,” said Kristina Libby, consumer public relations lead at Microsoft. Speakers at the event included Teaching Garage CEO Janice Chong, Microsoft Consumer PR Communications Lead Kristina Libby, Council of Economic Education CEO Nan J. Morrison, Motivate Design CEO Mona Patel, E-School for Girls Founder and Program Director Allison Wright and entrepreneur Natalie Zfat, who gave lightning talks to a crowd of 100 decision- makers, media, faculty and students. “Over the past three years, E-School for Girls has developed into a premier pre-college program serving the community and our young women as they become female entrepreneurs and our future leaders,” said E-School for Girls Director Allison Wright. “It is my personal mission to ensure that our students get to experience entrepreneurial success, build their skills and confidence, and learn how to support themselves and each other no matter their gender or socioeconomic background. We are developing a new group of female entrepreneurs and leaders in each E-School for Girls class, and I’m excited to grow the program even further in partnership with Microsoft.” Now approaching its third year, E-School for Girls was created in partnership with NYU College Advising Corps and provides underserved high school juniors and seniors with a premier summer pre-college program. The experiential two-week program takes young women through a journey of self-exploration while developing an entrepreneurial enterprise, which includes ideation, business planning, team building, personal branding, pitching, and an introduction to a network of academics, businesspeople and mentors. Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. E-School for Girls/NYCPromise Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions to E- School for Girls/NYCPromise Inc. in the United States are tax-exempt to the extent provided by law. Note to editors : For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts . 2016-03-16 23:12 By Microsoft

10 Microsoft delivers enterprise-class ERP to the cloud REDMOND, Wash. — March 9, 2016 — Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday announced that its next-generation cloud ERP solution, Microsoft Dynamics AX, built on and for Microsoft Azure, is now available in 137 markets in 40 languages. The enterprise-class business application brings the power, speed and intelligence of cloud computing to people and organizations to achieve more. “Customers from around the world are using the cloud in incredible ways to accelerate and transform their business,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise. “Today’s release is an exciting milestone extending Microsoft’s business cloud offerings. It’s now possible for organizations to run their entire business in the cloud with Microsoft — from productivity with Office 365, to business analytics with Power BI and Cortana Analytics Suite, customer engagement with Dynamics CRM and business operations with Dynamics AX.” Customers across the globe are already using Dynamics AX to run their business processes in the cloud — from single domains like human resources and manufacturing to end-to-end business. Companies already live in production include Hagler Systems , Haldex , Icon , Renault Sport Formula One Team , Priva , Smiles , Travel Alberta and Umbra Group. The new Dynamics AX moves beyond traditional business solutions and brings ERP, business intelligence, infrastructure and database services together in a single offering, empowering organizations to run industry-specific and operational business processes that are extendable with specific solutions from partners. Wednesday, Microsoft announced more than 50 ISV solutions that are available on the Azure Marketplace. These Microsoft-curated, pre-configured industry and vertical solutions help customers discover and implement the solution they need quicker than ever before and, like Dynamics AX, enable fast consumption of updates and improvements. In addition to the 50-plus solutions already available, hundreds are in development today. The new Dynamics AX takes the capabilities of Lifecycle Services (LCS) to the next level. Businesses will be able to combine the best practices for their mission-critical apps with the flexibility and simplicity of upgrade via the cloud. With LCS, Dynamics AX will formalize the concepts of development, test and production, making the ongoing upgrade quicker to implement and deploy and easier to manage. “Lifecycle Services represents a shift in how companies manage the life cycle of an ERP system in a way that’s never really been done before,” said Josh Greenbaum, principal analyst, Enterprise Application Consulting. “The ability to test in the cloud and use the cloud’s natural elasticity and functionality to take the test, flip a switch and make it the actual production environment, that truly is magic.” Harnessing the power of the Azure cloud, Dynamics AX provides enhanced security along with global availability and scale, enabling businesses and people to work more safely anywhere, anytime while respecting the data sovereignty requirements of global customers no matter where in the globe they operate. “We do everything through Dynamics AX now; we manage virtually all of our operations,” said Thomas Mayer, chief operating office, Renault Sport Formula One Team. “Having what I need to run my business available anywhere in the world is invaluable.” “We are bringing massive amounts of data into our business to help control building climates and horticulture environments. That is a huge business transformation, and the cloud was the only way forward for us to make that real,” said Paul Ossewold, vice president, Digital Operations, Priva. “To manage our company with 10 offices around the world, we need systems that are fast. That is what Dynamics AX in the cloud is giving us, and we couldn’t be more excited to be one of the first customers on board to take advantage of this new solution.” Modern solution for modern businesses Dynamics AX delivers a simple, beautiful, and modern user interface that is touch-enabled for the devices people use today. People can interact with the system with ease, as Dynamics AX works like other Microsoft applications that people are used to, increasing adoption and usage. The new intelligent user experience is also optimized to deliver value to organizations through the ability to make smarter decisions with increased speed. “ERP is core to our business operations and critical to building and delivering products to our customers,” said Ben Hagler, co-founder, Hagler Systems. “We chose Dynamics AX because of its robustness. The UI is amazing and available anywhere. It makes us device-independent. We can get work done everywhere with increased speed.” Dynamics AX delivers the proven business logic of a complete business suite, enhanced with new constructs such as Workspaces that provide a collaborative canvas unifying key performance indicators, business intelligence, views of critical data, processes and actions to power business user productivity. The Financial Period Close Workspace, for example, dramatically streamlines this critical, complex process. Software vendors that partner with Microsoft have expressed their excitement over the potential this new solution offers the industry, representing a turning point in the ERP industry as cloud ERP solutions are adopted by customers to run their business-critical operations. “This release is further proof that Microsoft is leading the charge with innovations not just in ERP but in cloud,” said CEO Peter ter Maaten from Microsoft partner HSO. “Dynamics AX will be a game changer for enterprise customers.” Customers can sign up for the service today as the new release is available as a monthly subscription in three simple versions that include a self-serve user, a Task user and an Enterprise user. Businesses can get up and running quickly and match their business growth easily by adding business processes and users with this simple and transparent pay-as-you-go model. More information can be found by visiting the Dynamics AX website. Those who want to see the product in action and the impact it is having for businesses can view the Dynamics AX virtual launch event. Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://news.microsoft.com. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts . 2016-03-16 23:12 By Microsoft

11 Microsoft and Wistron deepen collaboration with Android patent licensing renewal REDMOND, Wash., and TAIPEI, Taiwan — March 7, 2016 — On Monday, Microsoft Corp. and Wistron Corp. announced a renewed Android patent licensing agreement covering Wistron’s tablets, mobile phones, e-readers, and other consumer devices running Android and Chrome platforms under Microsoft’s patent portfolio. This deal extends and expands a prior Android intellectual property (IP) license between the companies. “We’re looking forward to continuing to enhance consumer experiences through our renewed and strengthened partnership with Microsoft,” said Eric H. Ma, head of Wistron’s Legal Division. “Combining access to Microsoft’s cutting-edge technologies with Wistron’s impressive engineering capacity is a powerful recipe for improved customer solutions,” said Nick Psyhogeos, president of Microsoft Technology Licensing. “Our partnership with Wistron highlights the kind of opportunities created through mutual respect and alignment on intellectual property.” Microsoft’s commitment to licensing IP The patent agreement is another example of the important role IP plays in ensuring a healthy and vibrant technology ecosystem. Since Microsoft launched its IP licensing program in December 2003, it has entered into more than 1,200 licensing agreements. More information about Microsoft’s licensing programs is available at http://www.microsoft.com/iplicensing . About Wistron Corp. Wistron Corporation is a Fortune Global 500 company and a Technology Service Provider supplying ICT (information and communication technology) products, services and systems to our global customers. We are devoted to increasing the value of our services through developing innovative solutions in the areas of display vertical integration, cloud and green recycling. For more information, please visit: www.wistron.com . About Microsoft Technology Licensing Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC was formed in 2014 to acquire, manage and license Microsoft’s patent portfolio. About Microsoft Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. 2016-03-16 23:10 By Microsoft

12 Sir Clive Sinclair talks ZX Spectrum, electric cars and the UK tech scene Sir Clive Sinclair should be no stranger to Computing readers. A pioneering mind in the UK technology scene, Sir Clive Sinclair was responsible for one of the first truly mass-market personal computers... 2016-03-17 00:00

13 Instagram to stop using chronological feeds Instagram claims that an average user misses 70% of what's on their feed, with photographs that have amassed loads of likes and comments being missed as a result of that cruel dictator: TIME. Well no more, Instagram has announced. No more will users of its app be subject to the whims of chronological temporality. Instagram will start to show photos “based on the likelihood you'll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post.” The company say that it will begin testing to find the best way to optimise what's shown and that, at least to start with, “all the posts will still be there, just in a different order.” The changes mean that if someone you usual interact with on the app posts something during the night, but you don't check your phone until the morning, it will be there waiting for you at the top of your feed. This is a similar method used by Facebook and, more recently, Twitter. For the user, it should in theory surface the images you're most likely to want to see. You can follow more people without their posts drowning out those from your close friends, and you won't have to check your phone every 5 minutes on the off chance you missed a picture from that person you fancy. Instagram will want algorithmically sorted feeds to drive up user engagement, with users less likely to go back to the real world after seeing an offensively boring photo from someone they don't really care about. On the downside, this all brings in an element of SEO into social media. Users will have to worry about whether the images they post appeal to Instagram's algorithms, lest they sink without trace. What do you think? Is the switch a good idea or would you prefer Instagram stuck with time- ordered posts? 2016-03-17 00:00 Comment Now

14 Which media-streamer is best - Kodi or Plex? When it comes home streaming solutions, you have two main options: Kodi or Plex. Both programs originated from media software designed for the first Xbox (XMBC), but since then they've been developed in parallel. Despite their shared beginnings, Kodi and Plex now take two very different approaches to streaming media, and choosing the one for you will depend on a variety of factors. So which is best? The open-source Kodi or the carefully developed Plex? Here we'll go through everything from customization to compatibility to work out which streaming solution is best. Navigation is one of the most important aspects of a media streamer, and both Kodi and Plex deliver in this respect. Kodi uses a clear display that translates well on bigger screens, so it's easy to fly through menus on any device - but Plex has the neater, quicker and cleaner interface. That being said, Kodi does offer a range of skin customisation options that make it possible to change the UI on a whim. Verdict: It's a draw. Both home theatre options are clean and easy to use. Although Kodi does give you more options to customise the look the media streamer, Plex's menu system is already very good - so why change it? If you're going to be using your streaming software a great deal, you'll want to have it set up just as like it - and that means you'll want to customise. Because of its open-source roots, almost every aspect of Kodi is customisable. In contrast Plex, offers significantly less customisation. Verdict: Kodi wins. Kodi is good in its original form, but it excels when customised. Whether you want to add extensions, change the skin or add a new source - you can do it with Kodi. However, it's important to note that this extra customisation comes with increased difficulty, so if you don't fancy tinkering with menus, Plex is probably a better choice. Both media streamers work on pretty much everything, so chances are your devices will work with Kodi or Plex. Kodi's open-source nature means there's a way of uploading the software on most devices, but Plex has great compatibility too. In fact, there's a version of Plex for the Xbox One and PS4, something not currently offered by Kodi. Verdict: Plex wins. Although Kodi is compatible with pretty much everything, Plex is even better. Consoles like the Xbox One and PS4 are already underneath our main TVs, and Plex's ability to stream to them is a real advantage. Kodi and Plex deliver streams, but how they do it is vastly different - and that can sometimes have an effect on performance. Plex stores all your files on a server and transcodes them at the same place, before sending them to the device you want to watch on. The bulk of the heavy- lifting is done by a larger PC, and that means Plex takes up less space and resources on your other devices - and can often have smoother HD streams. In contrast, Kodi stores the files locally and does most of the work on the device you're watching on. That means smaller products like the Chromecast, Android phones and Firesticks may struggle. Verdict: Plex wins. While Kodi tends to operate without a hitch, it can have issues with higher resolution files - exactly the sort you'd want to watch. By outsourcing the work to larger computers, Plex can deliver buffer-free HD films without a hitch - whatever you're streaming on. Kodi is free and open-source, but Plex is also free - unless you want some extra features. For a few dollars a month, Plex gives you access to everything from parental controls to the ability to download films to devices for offline play. Verdict: A draw. Both services offer a good range of functionality for absolutely nothing - but if you do want to pay for it, Plex becomes a 360 solution for all your streaming needs. Add-ons are the best way to customise or tailor your streaming solution, and Kodi has loads. If you'd like to stream more than just your own content, Kodi lets you download extensions that effectively scrape the web for the best streams. Plex also offers add-ons, but calls them 'Channels.' However, they aren't on anything like the scale of the Kodi's extensions. Verdict: Kodi wins, easily. While Plex's strength lies in its tailored, original form, Kodi's best asset is its ability to add a vast amount of extensions. Both streamers offer some really useful features, but they're so evenly matched it comes down to personal preference. However, the way to compare them, is to use the ongoing debate between Android and iOS. If you like to tinker and have control of every aspect your software, Android is great. But if you'd prefer something that's hard to break and even easier to use, iOS is the system for you. In the same way, tinkerers will love the freedom the open-source Kodi provides while those who want something to *just work* are probably better off opting for Plex. 2016-03-17 00:00 Comment Now

15 LastPass made its own two factor authentication app for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone If you care about the security of your online accounts, you probably already know and use multi-factor authentication. Today, LastPass has announced an app called LastPass Authenticator, and the LogMeIn-owned company thinks it'll make two-factor authentication a more user-friendly experience, at least when used with your LastPass account. Perhaps best known for its password management service and apps , LastPass is well aware of the importance of two-factor authentication , and with the LastPass Authenticator app you can easily set up and use two-factor authentication not only for your LastPass Vault, but also for other services, making the new app your central hub for logins. Instead of entering your master passcode to access your LastPass Vault, you can now get a simple push notification for quicker access in just one tap. Note that this only works for logging into your LastPass account, with no word yet on whether it will be supported for other services in the future. LastPass Authenticator also supports the classic 6-digit generated codes and SMS codes, and can set up two-factor authentication for any service that supports Google Authenticator, such as Facebook and DropBox. The app is free and you can grab it from the links below for all three major mobile platforms: LastPass isn't the only company looking to make two-factor authentication mainstream. Google has its own Authenticator app , and Microsoft is working on a significant update for its own app as well , albeit limited to its own platform as of the time of this writing. Source: LastPass 2016-03-16 22:18 Adrian Potoroaca

16 Google: Continuing to make the web more mobile friendly Google has recently announced a change that should be of great interest to site owners out there. If you haven't made your website 'mobile friendly' yet, you might want to get to it as soon as possible. The search giant is tweaking its search algorithm that "increases the effect of the ranking signal to help our users find even more pages that are relevant and mobile-friendly. " Google started giving more weight to 'mobile friendly' websites in April 2015 , a move that was quickly followed by Microsoft's Bing just a few weeks later. Until now, this filter has followed a binary logic, which meant that your site either was or wasn't mobile friendly, but starting this May, it will get a bit more fuzzy. Here are some steps you can take to "please" the Googlebot and avoid something called "Mobilegeddon" in SEO circles: Source: Google Webmaster via VentureBeat 2016-03-16 21:34 Adrian Potoroaca

17 Xbox One will run Windows 10 apps later this summer; Xbox Store merging into Windows Store Last November, Microsoft delivered a major update, the 'New Xbox One Experience' , to its console, built on the foundations of Windows 10. Since then, Microsoft has continued to bridge the gap between the Xbox One and the latest version of its Windows operating systems in all sorts of ways. One major feature that Xbox One owners have been awaiting is support for apps built on Microsoft's new Universal Windows Platform (UWP). The company has been talking about bringing Universal apps to the Xbox One for some time now - but at long last, the wait is finally coming to an end. As Business Insider reports, Microsoft's Jason Ronald revealed today that the Xbox One will get the ability to run UWP apps, designed for Windows 10, later this summer. He also confirmed what has long been suspected - that the standalone Xbox Store will be merged into the existing unified Windows Store. This convergence is expected to further strengthen Microsoft's proposition for developers, expanding upon the ability to create apps and games using a single common core base, which can then be lightly modified and optimized to run across different types of devices. Questions remain over how exactly UWP apps will run on the Xbox One, given the very different user experience offered on the console. While desktops and laptops typically focus on cursor- and-keyboard interactions, and smartphones and tablets are controlled primarily through touch, the Xbox One's main input method is the gaming controller - along with gesture and voice support through the optional Kinect accessory. Microsoft confirmed last year that it was working on mouse and keyboard support for the Xbox One , so users clearly won't have to rely exclusively on console-type inputs when interacting with UWP apps. But users also won't be able to use every available Windows 10 app on the Xbox One from day one; according to Ronald, the company will 'gradually open up' apps and their capabilities over the course of the year, suggesting that - initially, at least - it will only offer a curated selection of apps on the console. We expect that Microsoft will clarify things further at its Build 2016 developer conference later this month. Neowin will be there to bring you all the details on what's announced, so stay tuned. Source: Business Insider 2016-03-16 21:14 Andy Weir

18 SpoonRocket finds a home with Brazil-based iFood SpoonRocket, the on-demand food delivery startup that shut down yesterday in the U. S., has a buyer. That buyer is Brazil-based iFood , a food delivery platform looking to dominate the on- demand economy in Latin America, as well as other emerging economies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. iFood, which has raised nearly $62 million in funding from Latin American commerce platform Movile and British take-out company Just Eat , has been on an acquisition tear in the last couple of years, having bought Brazilian food delivery competitors like Central do Delivery, Papa Rango and Alakarte. SpoonRocket is the company’s 15th acquisition in two years. iFood plans to use SpoonRocket’s logistics platform to optimize delivery times and order tracking, improve the restaurant-to-customer experience and continue expanding throughout Latin America. Right now, iFood is seeing 1.5 million orders a month and is profitable. Back in June, when Just Eat invested in iFood, it estimated the Brazilian online take-out food market to be worth at least $1.5 billion annually and “potentially multiples” of that . News of this purchase comes as a bit of a surprise, given that just yesterday, SpoonRocket co- founder Steven Hsiao told TechCrunch’s Josh Constine that it tried to get someone to buy the company, but the acquirer abandoned the deal. That apparently left SpoonRocket with iFood, which had been in talks with SpoonRocket for a couple of weeks, iFood CFO Carlos Eduardo Moyses told TechCrunch. “They were looking for a buyer to keep it alive in the U. S., but they could not get it together,” Moyses said. As part of the acquisition SpoonRocket, iFood will work with SpoonRocket’s CTO to help develop the company’s technology into iFood’s platform. It should take about two to three months to fully integrate SpoonRocket’s platform into iFood’s, Moyses said. “We are very happy to have found a home for our technology with iFood,” Tsui said in a release. “Even though SpoonRocket did not work out, I do believe we have one of the best food delivery systems in the world and it is amazing to see it live on through iFood.” 2016-03-16 20:16 Megan Rose

19 AliveCor unveils Kardia Band, a medical-grade EKG band for Apple Watch A medtech startup called AliveCor today unveiled what may be the first medical-grade EKG band for the Apple Watch, the Kardia Band , pending its FDA clearance. The product is intended to help wearers detect cardiac arrhythmia conditions that can cause stroke, as well as indicate whether your heart rate and rhythm are normal. The band works with an accompanying Apple Watch application, which automatically processes the data from the sensors in the device, as well as allows its wearers to record voice memos which are sent along with the EKG to their doctor. These voice memos can help doctors better determine what was happening at the time the EKG was recorded, like whether the patient was feeling heart palpitations, if they had just ingested caffeine, or if some other external factor could have contributed to the situation. In addition, the voice memos feature could also be used to track other things that need monitoring, like what you’ve eaten that day or how much time you spent exercising. Meanwhile, the Kardia Apple Watch app also integrates with Apple’s Health platform to allow for analysis of EKG data along with other health factors that may have been recorded elsewhere, including exercise, caloric intake, and more. The new product is the latest to emerge from AliveCor, a medical technology company working to product FDA-cleared EKG technology for mobile devices. Its debut product, now called Kardia Mobile (previously AliveCor Mobile ECG), is a $99 standalone device that adheres to the back of your smartphone or tablet. You can press your fingers on it to take a reading, which would also be analyzed by the accompanying mobile application. The Kardia Band, as the newer product is called, instead puts its sensors directly onto a fairly stylist and sporty looking Apple Watch band. You then press on the band with your thumb to take a reading. The company says that it’s expecting to receive FDA approval for the band later this spring (its 510k clearance), at which point the product will become available for sale. Pricing and further availability information has not yet been released, given its pending status. “Kardia Band for Apple Watch represents both the future of proactive heart health and the introduction of the Wearable MedTech category,” said AliveCor CEO Vic Gundotra, the ex- Googler best known for building Google+ from the ground up. Gundotra joined AliveCor in November, following his departure from Google, but was not one of the original founders. “These combined technologies give us the ability to deliver personal reports that provide analysis, insights and actionable advice for the patient and their doctor,” he added. The San Francisco-based startup is backed by over $13 million in outside investment from Khosla Ventures and others. While the new product is largely aimed at those who have a need to detect AF, the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia and a leading cause of stroke, it could also be used by anyone interested in learning more about their health. Of course, whether or not the product will make sense for this wider audience will ultimately depend on the price point AliveCor settles on. *Stayed tuned for TechCrunch’s video demo of Kardia Band in action. 2016-03-16 20:16 Sarah Perez

20 Steve Wozniak discusses his inaugural Silicon Valley Comic Con Last week I sat down with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to hear about his newest creation, Silicon Valley Comic Con. The event, which will be held this weekend at the San Jose Convention Center, will play host to celebrities like Michael J. Fox, William Shatner and Stan Lee. Woz and his team expect almost 30,000 attendees throughout the weekend. The convention will also feature some technology elements, like an Oculus showcase and an area where app startups can demo their technology. Watch the above video to hear more from Woz on why he decided to found the event, and why he is so excited about it. Tickets are still on sale, and can be purchased on the event’s website . 2016-03-16 20:16 Fitz Tepper

21 Oculus shows off the 30 launch titles available for the Rift VR headset The Oculus Rift is launching March 28 along with a ton of cool, innovative content that plays to its strengths. There are 30 distinct titles that will be available at launch for the virtual reality headset, ranging from more experiential $5 mini games to full $60 VR epics. All Rift orders come with a copy of Lucky’s Tale while pre-orders are also including a copy of EVE Valkyrie. I had the chance to meet with developers and play several of the launch titles (though far from all of them unfortunately), and I’ve listed my first impressions of gameplay for some of the titles below. Many of the coolest games I tried are not available at launch but will come later when Oculus’s Touch controllers are released for the system in H2 of 2016. I definitely had my favorites; click through to see the full list of titles with partial descriptions coming from Oculus. 2016-03-16 20:16 Lucas Matney

22 Oculus shows off first-look of Minecraft for Gear VR and it’s mehhh Minecraft in all its blocky glory is setting up shop on mobile virtual reality on the Samsung Gear VR. I had a chance to demo the game at an Oculus media event during GDC in SF this week and there was a decent amount of hype surrounding the wildly popular game making its mobile VR debut. Microsoft is already set to launch a version of the game for the Rift sometime this spring. My VR Minecraft experience left a bit to be desired. Gameplay takes place in full VR and cinema modes and requires an external bluetooth gamepad, which does give the mobile headset a substantially beefy gaming feel. I will say that Gear VR is probably not a good platform on which to start playing Minecraft if you’re not used to the way the game operates. When it comes to porting existing game experiences to virtual reality, one of the toughest things to do is nail camera angles, and this title was largely hit or miss in that regard. The camera moves in jumpy ticks, so there are no smooth transitions, despite having a gamepad that should easily let you move the camera the way you desire. The most bothersome feature of the game is the lazy way they chose to add inventory and health menus to float in space in front of you. It doesn’t work that well and, unless you have the headset positioned perfectly on your face, it’s pretty impossible to read any of the info as it’s far too small. Full VR mode is oddly a bit disorienting despite the fact that it’s such an iconically basic blocky game, but there was something odd-feeling about it. Cinema mode is the most comfortable to play through, but, as with other games, there’s the nagging feeling that playing in 2D is a waste of the platform. It was fun to experience such a major title on Gear VR, and its launch speaks to the clout Gear VR is earning as an actual piece of gaming hardware. But porting the same experience of console VR to mobile VR is a pretty dangerous move here. Hopefully the teams at Microsoft can make some updates before there is a full release on the Oculus store. 2016-03-16 20:16 Lucas Matney

23 Why Latin American economies are turning to bitcoin The economic prospects for Latin America in 2016 are grim. With political instability in some of the region’s largest economies, as well as a general slump in prices in oil and other commodities, businesses and consumers are facing a depression and, in the case of Venezuela, economic collapse. The crash of the Chinese stock market has severely hurt the economy, as well — China is the No. 1 commercial partner for several countries in the region. Many Latin Americans are turning to bitcoin as a solution, and the recent crises seem only to have accelerated adoption. Last year, adoption of the digital currency broke records in Latin America. Payment processor BitPay reported a 510 percent gain in merchant transactions in mid-2015, but the most notable growth took place toward the end of last year. Latin American merchant transactions finished the year having grown by a staggering 1,747 percent from the beginning of 2015. Other key figures from Brazil’s bitcoin ecosystem showed bitcoin exchange trades surging by 322 percent and bitcoin wallet adoption growing 461.4 percent. Exchange trading in Mexico grew by 600 percent in 2015. In Latin America, the country most known for bitcoin is Argentina. And while Argentina has had the most bitcoin enthusiasts per capita, that may be starting to change. Brazilians and Venezuelans also have good reasons to adopt bitcoin — bitcoin holders in 2015 enjoyed earnings during 2015 that performed more than 400 percent better than the Venezuelan Bolivar, more than 92 percent over the Brazilian Real, more than 65 percent over the Mexican Peso and more than 41 percent over the Argentine Peso. The crisis facing Latin American economies did not begin in 2016. Argentina, Venezuela and Brazil ended 2015 with serious economic problems, including huge inflation rates — as high as 275 percent for Venezuela (63 percent for 2014) , ~30 percent for Argentina (36.4 percent for 2014) and 10.4 percent for Brazil (6.3 percent for 2014) . The problems started in previous years, and administrations are continuing to impact these economies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts a 720 percent inflation rate for Venezuela during 2016. The Brazilian economy has entered a recession that, according to the IMF projections, will be the longest since 1930-31. Argentina’s Minister of Finance in Argentina predicts a minimum of 25 percent inflation, and analyst projections estimate that 2016 inflation could be as high as 38 percent, with a 30 percent devaluation of the Argentine Peso against the U. S. dollar. 2016-03-16 20:16 Sonny Singh

24 Apple teams up with Cookie Monster to sell you on hands free Siri If I had to choose a sound to identify the second year of my daughter’s life it would probably be one of the collaborations between Sesame Street superstar Cookie Monster and one of the hot pop stars of the day. Though “ Me want it (but me wait) ” will never win any lyricist awards, it was catchy, taught patience and provided the kind of cultural crossover that has kept Sesame Workshop and Sesame Street relevant for over 45 years. Today, Apple is airing a new iPhone commercial that similarly taps into Cookie Monster’s enduring appeal to promote the hands free Siri functionality of the iPhone. In a spot that is very reminiscent of the kids cooking shows my daughter devours on YouTube (that can’t be an accident), Cookie Monster uses Siri to help him bake some cookies, and helps him pass the time doing his least favorite thing: waiting. It’s a cute spot that hits some great buttons and is clearly aimed at parents who have their hands full of one thing or another pretty much 24-7. Apple has worked with the Sesame Workshop over the years — there are many iPad and iPhone apps, for instance. But the involvement goes way back to when the then-called Children’s Television Workshop produced games for the Apple II. I remember playing those games myself actually — my favorite was Big Bird’s Special Delivery. Though stars typically get compensated to work in commercials, the funds from this spot will no doubt funnel into the organization’s continued programming and services for kids, which my daughter will appreciate. 2016-03-16 20:16 Matthew Panzarino

25 Apple looks to Google’s Cloud Platform as it diversifies its infrastructure Rumors are flying today that Apple is moving part of its cloud business from AWS to Google’s Cloud Platform. We did some asking around and yes, it does appear that Apple has made some moves to diversify its iCloud storage, tapping Google for some of that business. This is another huge win for Google and a — at the very least perceived — loss of ground for AWS, which has watched as Dropbox moved large parts of its US storage business in-house and Spotify moved at least part of its business to Google, too. If you’re keeping score, it’s been a good month for Google and especially the new head of its cloud business Diane Greene. High profile clients like Spotify and Apple would certainly make it more attractive to other enterprise customers. Google’s Cloud Platform may have the power of Google’s data center technology behind it, but that hasn’t yet helped the company in competing against AWS and Microsoft’s Azure platform. AWS has the advantage of an early start and Azure profits from Microsoft’s existing sales channels and it’s focus on hybrid cloud technologies. And even with the power of Microsoft behind it, though, Azure remains a distant second in the cloud business. What’s not clear is if Apple has decided definitively to move platforms. None of the parties involved — be it AWS, Apple or Google — would comment on the matter. One industry insider who chose not to be identified, however, told TechCrunch that Apple was definitely exploring its options around public cloud vendors, looking at Microsoft Azure and Google, but it had not made any firm decisions yet. It’s worth noting that Apple already uses Azure (and AWS) for iCloud services and media serving. Whether Apple will continue moving off of AWS and onto other platforms is anyone’s guess. But at the moment it appears that this is a matter of diversifying its portfolio of cloud suppliers. Another wrinkle here is that Apple is currently expanding its data center in Prineville, Oregon , and is also expected to invest heavily in new data centers in both the U. S. and Europe. If that’s the case, moving from AWS to Google, then Google to Prineville wouldn’t seem to make sense. Why not just wait until the data center construction is complete? If Apple is indeed simply looking to diversify its infrastructure, though, then adding Google (on top of Azure, AWS and its own data centers) would be a fairly logical move. It’s also possible that Apple is only looking at some very specific services on the Google cloud, with the BigQuery data analytics platform being the prime suspect here. One thing we do know is that in its most recent earnings call , Akamai mentioned that two of its biggest clients were diversifying. “Over the last few years, our largest two customers, in particular, have comprised about 13% of Akamai’s overall revenue,” Akamai CEO Tom Leighton said. “As we look ahead to 2016, we expect these two accounts to still be our largest media customers and that they will contribute about 6% of our overall revenue. This seven-point change in contribution results from their increased do it yourself or DIY efforts, and it is the main reason we anticipate a lower year-over-year revenue growth rate over the next couple of quarters.” It’s widely known that Akamai’s biggest client is Apple, so that means it’s also planning on moving some of its Content Delivery Network business in-house sooner than later. Google is hosting a major cloud event, Google Next , in San Francisco next week. If the company plans to publicly talk about its new customer (and that’s definitely a big ‘if’), then it’s likely it will do so then. 2016-03-16 20:16 Ron Miller

26 US Senate bill would give FAA 2 years to create rules for delivery drones The U. S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today approved the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. In an amendment to the bill filed by Senators Heller and Cantwell, the Senate committee instructs the FAA to create rules for delivery drones within the next two years. It’s worth noting that the bill is still working its way through the Senate and should hit the floor for a final vote next month. While the original version of the reauthorization bill left much to be desired for commercial drone operators, this amendment asks the FAA to create a set of rules that would allow Amazon, Google and others to use drones for delivery purposes. “Not later than 2 years after the data of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue a final rule authorizing the carriage of property by operators of small unmanned aircraft systems for compensation or hire within the United States,” the amendment reads. Under these rules, the FAA would have to establish a certificate for drone operators who want to use delivery drones, including those who want to operate commercial — and highly automated — fleets. The amendment also calls for this certificate to be performance-based and safety- focused. For the most part, this is what Amazon, Google and others that want to get into the drone delivery game have been requesting. Amazon’s proposal, for example, would create different tiers of drones based on their on-board safety features. Only those that can fly in a fully autonomous mode would be allowed for delivery operations, for example. 2016-03-16 20:16 Frederic Lardinois

27 27 Nike just unveiled the first real power-lacing sneaker, the HyperAdapt 1.0 It’s finally here. After teaming up with Michael J. Fox to tease us with self-lacing Nike Mags on Back To The Future day in October, Nike has finally announced a mass production shoe that will feature real-life power laces. Meet the HyperAdapt 1.0 . Announced today at the Nike Innovation Summit, the HyperAdapt 1.0 will be the first shoe to take advantage of Nike’s adaptive lacing (self-tying) technology, which the company is touting as an entire new platform for sneakers. This means that one day your Jordan’s, Air Max’s, and FlyKnit shoes could all be built on top of Nike’s adaptive lacing platform. But before we get ahead of ourselves, lets take a closer look at how the shoe will actually work. In the launch announcement, Nike touted the self-tying shoes as a way to reduce a typical athlete concern, distraction. So, to save wearers time, the shoes will automatically tighten as soon as you step into the shoe. “Your heel will hit a sensor and the system will automatically tighten,” explains Tiffany Beers, the project’s technical lead. “Then there are two buttons on the side to tighten and loosen. You can adjust it until it’s perfect.” The shoes will launch during the 2016 holiday season, in three colors. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but the company said that it will only be available for sale to members of Nike+ , their new all-in-one product and events app. 2016-03-16 20:16 Fitz Tepper

28 This team has built adorable tiny backpacks for pigeons to track air pollution It’s time to take wearable devices to the next level. Plume Labs and DigitasLBi have teamed up for an interesting experiment. What if pigeons could fly around London with tiny backpacks to measure air pollution during peak hours? I’m not sure if they were drunk when they thought about this idea, but 10 pigeons are currently flying above London for the next 3 days to do just that. The Pigeon Air Patrol is wearing custom-made backpacks that are as light as a feather. These backpacks monitor ozone, volatile compounds and nitrogen dioxide as well as the location of the pigeons. And they are adorable. These aren’t your average pigeons. The team is working with Brian and his racing pigeons to make sure that they are up to the task. A vet is also checking the pigeons regularly. And if you live in London, you can follow the Pigeon Air Patrol on Twitter and ask them for the latest pollution reading in your area. Plume Labs has been working on pollution prediction for a while. With the Plume Air Report app on iOS and Android, you can see the current pollution in your area and get a forecast for the next 24 hours. It works for hundreds of cities around the world. It’s like a weather app, but for air pollution. The company is using open data from existing weather stations but plans to extend its data points using wearable devices. While pigeons make for a great marketing stunt, the company is already working on clippable pollution measuring devices for… you know… humans. The Imperial College London plans on collaborating with Plume Labs for a research project called E-Plume. This time, 100 human Londoners will track their daily exposure to air pollution to understand pollution hotspots and patterns. “The idea is that we can build a ‘Waze for pollution’ thanks to this data from our users,” Plume Labs co-founder and CEO Romain Lacombe told me. The Plume Air Report app already tries to predict pollution, but it could be more accurate with more data points. Plume Labs started a crowdfunding campaign to support the research project. Backers get to take part in the human experiment later this year. 2016-03-16 20:16 Romain Dillet

29 Third-party encryption renders iPhone backdoor useless Let’s assume for a minute that the FBI got its way. It coerces Apple into disabling the self- destruct function on the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone, allowing it to brute force the password. Effectively, the FBI and Apple create a backdoor that theoretically works the same across all iPhones. Police even uses the same tactic on the dozens of other iPhones that are currently involved in active investigations. People across the world sacrifice their privacy, while the police has a new tool to fight terrorists. Except they don’t, really. Sure, iMessage and other iCloud services could be decrypted without a password, but what Apple critics often fail to realize is the abundance of third-party encryption tools widely available. Free, open-source alternatives exist to encrypt chats, phone calls, files, and even entire hard drives. That pesky self- destruct function the FBI is so eager to remove? Alternatives for that exist as well, and they are all easily accessible with nothing more than a Google search. By removing the default encryption built in iPhones, the FBI isn’t stopping terrorists. It’s merely inconveniencing them. Alternative Encryption Methods Want to encrypt live phone calls? The Signal app does that for free. Encrypted, burn-after- reading messaging? Try Signal, Cryptocat, TorChat, and Burn Note. Anyone can use file encryption apps like Boxcryptor and CloudFogger to encrypt files before sending them to someone else or uploading them to the cloud. Email encryption is made possible through PGP and S/MIME protocols, which have been around for years and have great track records for never being cracked. VPNs encrypt Internet traffic and mask the original IP and location of the user, preventing surveillance. The good ones don’t even log user activity, so they have nothing to give to authorities. An entire hard disk can be encrypted using FileVault and Bitlocker, which come pre-installed on Mac and Windows machines, respectively. If you don’t trust Apple or Microsoft, then use a third- party option like DiskCryptor or VeraCrypt. Many Android phones come with flash memory encryption built in, and those that don’t can still use a third-party app like Whispercore. Let’s not forget about Tor, which is compatible with a whole suite of apps for anonymous web browsing, chat, and even an entire operating system that can be run from a USB drive. Toshiba now makes self-destructing hard drives, or you can use any of the many disk wiping tools like Darik’s Boot and Nuke and Eraser. Secure Drives, a British company, makes solid state hard drives that self-destruct when you text them a specific pass code. "Good job, Paul. You went and made a how-to guide for terrorists", you might say. But again, all of these tools are not much more than a Google search away, complete with documentation, support, Github repositories, and user forums. It’s easy. These are not tools solely used by terrorists and drug dealers, either. Lawyers, journalists, business people, scientists, and of course government officials are but a few of the professions where encryption is vital. A Sisyphean Endeavour "Let’s ban all encryption! ", say the politicians and activists with little to no technical expertise. "Put backdoors on everything! " They fail to realize that encryption uses but a handful of the same open-source, free protocols worldwide. Banning encryption would be like trying to create a master key for every lock that has ever existed and ever will exist. It’s impossible, and even trying would put them at a major competitive disadvantage to competing economies. It also leaves a huge security gap to be exploited by hackers. Not only is it a big gap, but the hackers will also know where and what to look for. The point is, if you think terrorists will no longer be able to secretly communicate and keep authorities out of their devices because Apple leaves a backdoor open for the FBI, you are mistaken. Most of these encryption tools are free for anyone to download, be they a terrorist or a school teacher, and they aren’t difficult to learn. If you want an example of what happens when encryption is compromised, just look at the recent Drown hack. Drown made about one-third of all servers worldwide that use the HTTPS protocol vulnerable to attack and breach. HTTPS, for the uninitiated, is what keeps your credit card details, email, and passwords safe when doing pretty much anything that requires security on a web browser. It’s often represented by a padlock icon in a browser’s URL bar. We tend to think of the FBI-Apple case as a choice between security and privacy. But even if law enforcement gains access to valuable data on a few iPhones in the short term, backdoors threaten privacy for all of us in the long term and do relatively little to improve security. This is a Sisyphean endeavour for law enforcement. The free market will fill in the security hole left by the FBI and Apple. The third-party encryption tools we have now will continue to improve and become even easier to use. Terrorists can and will learn to adapt. If the FBI wins its case against Apple, perhaps we all should. Paul Bischoff is a technology writer and consultant for Comparitech.com Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved. Photo Credit: Shutterstock / ymgerman 2016-03-16 19:37 By Paul

30 Ring's new smart doorbell features 1080p video, 5GHz Wi-Fi, advanced motion detection and more Internet of Things company Ring has announced an updated version of its original smart doorbell that improves on the original in nearly every category. The all-new Ring Video Doorbell Pro features a higher resolution 1080p camera and now supports both 5GHz and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. The unit self is also a bit smaller and features swappable faceplates (with the original, you were stuck with the color you ordered). If you haven't figured out by now, the Video Doorbell Pro is exactly what it sounds like – a video-powered wireless doorbell. The device mounts beside your door and features a two-way speaker system that works through a smartphone app. When someone is at your door, you'll get a notification from the app and can talk to and see them from anywhere so long as you have a data connection. Perhaps the only obvious shortcoming with the Video Doorbell Pro is the fact that it isn't wireless. As TechCrunch points out , the original could run for several months at a time via built- in rechargeable battery. The new model must be hardwired for power, making it far less attractive to someone living in, say, an apartment where permanent modifications to the structure are frowned upon. Oh, and if you're worried about thieves stealing the device, fret not as Ring will replace the unit if it comes up missing. The Ring Video Doorbell Pro is available to pre-order as of writing for $249 and is expected to ship sometime next month. 2016-03-16 19:00 Shawn Knight

31 The 14-year-old Warcraft III gets updated to support Windows 10 It's pretty rare these days for games older than a few years to receive further patches and updates. However, Blizzard Entertainment is still committed to keeping their most popular titles working on modern hardware, which is why they've released a new patch for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Warcraft III is now 14 years old after it launched in July 2002, supporting operating systems from Windows 98 to Windows XP. Now that most gamers have moved on to Windows 7 or Windows 10, Blizzard has released Patch 1.27a for the game that adds in compatibility for Microsoft's newer operating systems. The patch also includes a new installer for Mac OS X 10.10 and 10.11, which now allows Warcraft III to work on modern versions of Mac. There are still some lingering issues with the game, such as minor graphical issues and issues with save game locations, but in general the game should work just fine on today's PCs, even those that aren't suited to gaming. This won't be the final patch for Warcraft III. A developer for the classic game posted on Blizzard's Battle.net forum s, stating that they're still working "on a balance change and new map pool" which gamers will soon see in the form of a new update. If you haven't played Warcraft III or want to revisit a critically acclaimed classic, you can buy a copy through Blizzard's online store for $10 . 2016-03-16 18:00 Tim Schiesser

32 32 MSI's Vortex PC is the equivalent of a Mac Pro for gamers MSI on Wednesday said it is now shipping its VR-ready Vortex PC , described by the company as the world's smallest gaming cylinder. The MSI Vortex measures just 10.5 inches tall but it certainly isn't short on performance. The high-end configuration packs an Intel Core i7-6700K processor with a base clock of 4GHz (Turbo up to 4.2GHz) running on a Z170 board alongside 32GB of RAM (upgradable to 64GB by the end-user). You also get two Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 cards in SLI, 256GB of solid state drive storage, a 1TB hard drive, Dual Killer E2400 gigabit Ethernet controllers, Nahimic audio technology and more. Andy Tung, president of MSI Pan America, said the revolutionary Vortex gaming tower shatters the misconception that bigger systems deliver more power and performance, adding that the system maximizes space and heat dissipation to unlock the power of its components for truly astronomical performance in a subwoofer size. As you may have guessed, this sleek gaming machine doesn't come cheap. The high-end model detailed above will set you back a whopping $3,999 while the entry-level variant with 16GB of RAM and dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 cards in SLI can be had for $2,199. 2016-03-16 17:00 Shawn Knight

33 Peabody Energy and Mallinckrodt fall, Oracle advances NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq stock market: NYSE Peabody Energy Corp., down $1.82 to $2.19 The largest coal miner in the U. S. is delaying an interest payment and warned it may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Kinder Morgan Inc., up 82 cents to $18.89 Oil prices rose after major energy-producing nations said they will hold more talks about possible output cuts. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., down $2.65 to $500.35 The Mexican food chain cut its guidance, forecasting a big loss in the first quarter as sales tumbled after a series of illness scares. Oracle Corp., up $1.48 to $40.22 The software maker reported mixed quarterly results and said it will buy back $10 billion in company stock. CBS Corp., up $1.85 to $54.44 The company said it expects to get $400 million in annual revenue from its CBS All Access online video service by 2020. Mallinckrodt PLC, down $3.82 to $55.69 Drug company stocks continued to struggle on concerns it may get harder for them to raise product prices. Legg Mason Inc., up $1.56 to $33.60 Credit Suisse upgraded its rating on the money manager's stock, saying it will likely cut its debt and buy back shares. Nasdaq Amgen Inc., up 77 cents to $143.98 A jury ruled in Amgen's favor and against two rivals in a dispute over the patents on competing cholesterol drugs. 2016-03-16 16:23 CNBC

34 Microsoft is farming your data, but it isn't what you think If you reside in the US state of Maryland then you can find plenty to be proud of -- the Chesapeake Bay is home to great seafood, including the famous Maryland Blue Crab. Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner from a ship during a battle in Baltimore Harbor. Of course, there's the sports teams like the Ravens and Orioles. But one thing the state tries not to neglect is its history of farming. A vast majority of the state is rural and is home to agriculture, horses and cattle. The state has instituted a Farm Preservation policy to preserve these lands for future generations and even car license plates have been dedicated to the cause. Now Microsoft is stepping in to help out one particular county -- Montgomery, which is located west of the Chesapeake Bay. The company is using its CityNext program to test innovations on four farms within the county. "Built on our Microsoft Azure cloud platform, the testbed will rely on the expertise of our DX team to provide the high-level architecture and software to collect and analyze data from sensors that will be installed on the four Montgomery County farms participating in the project", says Jeff Friedman of Microsoft. The company is working with the University of Maryland on this infrastructure, which includes IoT Dev Labs, FiberTower and Link Labs to help the sensors wirelessly connect and there are several companies who are providing the hardware to make all of this work. Microsoft developer David Makogon adds "While we have all these devices that are capable of sending their information, reporting what their readings are -- somewhere you need to store this information. I’m helping set up the data model and building interfaces to databases". It's a major undertaking and also the reason only four farms are currently involved. The company will need to do a lot of research and work to perfect this system. However, when it's all done, the sensors should begin providing important data, such as moisture content in the soil, weather models for precipitation and much more. All things that are the lifeblood of these farms. 2016-03-16 16:10 By Alan

35 35 Philips launches world's first quantum dot monitor (and it's surprisingly affordable) Philips has become the first manufacturer to launch a quantum dot monitor. The Philips 276E6 is a 27-inch IPS-ADS display with a quantum dot- enhanced LED edge array that's surprisingly affordable at just $299.99. What the heck are quantum dots, anyway? For a quick briefer, you check out the video below or read David Tom's write-up from a few years back. Perhaps more important than learning what quantum dots are is understanding what they enable. The Philips 276E6 features a 27-inch panel operating at a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 at 60Hz. Like other IPS displays, it uses an LED backlight but that's where the similarities end as the quantum dot technology allows for a quoted 99 percent Adobe RGB gamut. Digital Trends recently spent some time with the new monitor. The publication found the aesthetics refreshing but noted the flimsy stand that only adjusts for tilt, the lack of a VESA mounting kit and plastic panels that "bend in places they really shouldn't. " That said, they didn't feel it was built for the long haul. The real draw of the Philips 276E6 is, of course, the display. In that category, the publication found color accuracy and gamut were far better than what they're used to in this price range. The three-year warrant is also a plus but the 1080p resolution at a time when we're transitioning to higher-resolution displays is a bit of a disappointment. If you're on a budget and need a very color accurate display, however, this will be hard to beat for the price. 2016-03-16 16:00 Shawn Knight

36 Create and search file lists with File List Maker Windows Search is great at locating files on the current PC, but what if you also want to check CDs, DVDs, USB keys, even other computers? File List Maker is a free tool which offers probably the simplest and most lightweight solution available. The program arrives as a single portable executable, only 176KB. That’s impressive programming, but it also means you can run it from a USB key on any PC where you’ve files to be searched. The core idea is that you create static text lists containing the contents of any folder tree. This worked just as we expected: choose a target drive and folder, scan the files in that folder, and save the list locally. Some handy settings allow you to reconfigure the search, including the scan depth (no subfolders/ 1 level/ 2 levels/ 3 levels/ all subfolders), and whether you want to list empty folders. Repeat this process for optical discs, USB keys, network drives, anywhere you’ve a reasonably static set of files which you’d like to be searchable. When it’s time to find a file, click the "Find in lists" tab, type a keyword in the search box and press Enter. File List Maker displays any matching file names, along with their source folder and file list name. Or, if you prefer to use some other search program, that’s possible too. File List Maker saves its lists in plain text, making them easy to reuse elsewhere. Yes. It’s true. This is just about as basic and low-tech as search tools get. And if you really need to access files from anywhere, then it would probably make more sense to back them up to cloud storage or some other central location. Still, if you have collections of files -- pictures, videos, documents -- scattered across multiple storage devices then File List Maker does provide a simple way to track them down. Check it out. File List Maker is a free application for Windows XP and later. 2016-03-16 15:03 By Mike

37 Pennsylvania man pleads guilty to 2014 celebrity nude leaks, faces 18 months in prison The Pennsylvania man behind a 2014 hacking incident that saw hundreds of explicit photos and videos of celebrities leaked online has agreed to plead guilty to a felony computer hacking charge, according to a document filed by the Department of Justice. 36-year old Ryan Collins of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, broke into over 50 iCloud and 72 Gmail accounts, many belonging to famous female celebrities, between November 2012 and September 2014. After gaining access, Collins searched for and stole any explicit photos and videos, sometimes downloading a victim’s entire iCloud backups. At the end of this period of almost two years, the stolen images were leaked on anonymous image board Anon-IB before finding their way onto sites such as 4Chan and Reddit. The incident became known as ‘Celebgate’ or ‘The Fappening.’ At the time, many people claimed the hack was a result of either brute-force iCloud password attacks or a vulnerability in the system, something Apple denied. It now seems that the Cupertino company was being truthful; Collins used email phishing scams where he posed as Apple or Google employees to trick account holders into revealing their usernames and passwords. The celebrities who had their nude images posted included Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna, Scarlet Johansson, Gabrielle Union, Kim Kardashian, Hillary Duff, Jenny McCarthy, Kate Upton, Hope Solo, Victoria Justice and many others. While Collins has pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, no evidence has been found that he was the one who shared or uploaded the stolen images and videos. “By illegally accessing intimate details of his victims’ personal lives, Mr. Collins violated their privacy and left many to contend with lasting emotional distress, embarrassment and feelings of insecurity,” said the FBI’s David Bowdich. “We continue to see both celebrities and victims from all walks of life suffer the consequences of this crime and strongly encourage users of Internet-connected devices to strengthen passwords and to be skeptical when replying to emails asking for personal information.” Collins could serve up to five years incarceration for his crime, but authorities are recommending 18 months. He may spend even more time behind bars, as “that recommendation will not be binding on the sentencing judge.” Image credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock 2016-03-16 15:00 Rob Thubron

38 Most IT professionals believe current privacy and consent tools are inadequate The regulatory environment for data is in a state of change at the moment with many countries introducing legislation to control the flow of information. This combined with growth of the IoT and digital economy is posing major challenges for business. A new survey by identity management company ForgeRock finds 96 percent of surveyed IT professionals agree that there is an increasing need for dynamic and flexible privacy tools. And that these need to be adaptable to future borderless regulatory requirements and consumer expectations. The study of more than 300 IT professionals across 38 countries also finds that only nine percent believe current privacy and consent methods are adequate. Emerging European regulations for data protection are creating a need for better tools and standards for ensuring personal data protection, privacy and consent according to 96 percent. In the US 84 percent of respondents (and 87 percent of Asia Pacific and Japan-based respondents) believe the US will eventually adopt similar personal data protection regulations to Europe. However, only 66 percent of EMEA-based respondents believed that the US will eventually adopt similar personal data protection regulations. 95 percent of respondents agree that individuals are becoming more concerned about their personal data privacy and their ability to control, manage and share data about themselves online. They also agree that organizations want to build trust by giving customers the ability to consent to data sharing and control over where their personal data is shared. "As our survey illustrates, coping with regulation -- privacy or otherwise -- is no longer just a cost center for organizations. As connected devices and technologies take on a greater role in public and private life, there are massive business benefits to building in new identity and data privacy solutions that can scale over time," says ForgeRock's CEO, Mike Ellis. "Organizations clinging to legacy identity management technologies -- which are currently inadequate -- will be at a major disadvantage". You can read more about the survey's findings on the ForgeRock blog . Photo credit: Ivelin Radkov / Shutterstock 2016-03-16 14:11 By Ian

39 Comcast's 1Gbps Internet service hits Atlanta, reasonably priced (if you sign a long-term contract) Comcast's rollout of DOCSIS 3.1 (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) is officially underway. The nation's largest home Internet service provider is now offering its gigabit Internet service – what it calls an advanced consumer trial – in select parts of Atlanta. In order to get the best deal, however, you'll need to commit to a lengthy contract with an early termination fee. Here's everything you need to know. Those in participating areas who agree to sign a three-year contract can lock in the non- symmetrical service (1Gbps down, 35Mbps up) for $70 a month. Without the contract, customers can expect to pay $140 with the option to upgrade to unlimited data for an additional $35 per month (so around $175 with unlimited data). The big "catch" here is that non-contract subscribers will be subject to a 300GB-per-month data cap. Those that commit to 36 months of service won't be held to a data cap. Contract customers will also be subject to an early termination fee of up to $350 should they break contract. The EFT would drop monthly on a sliding scale over the duration of the contract, a Comcast representative told Ars Technica. On a brighter note, the new gigabit option won't come with installation or activation fees. Last summer, Comcast announced a symmetrical 2Gbps fiber-based service for residential customers priced at $300 per month in addition to up to $1,000 in activation and installation fees. What's more, a customer must live within a third of a mile of Comcast's fiber network to become eligible for service. 2016-03-16 14:00 Shawn Knight

40 Android N adds features for developers As Google prepares to release Android N later this year, developers and users are beginning to dig through the changes proposed for this new version of the mobile operating system. Some of the changes in N include the inclusion of an always-on VPN, the addition of direct boot mode, and the merging of two compiler types. In Android Lollipop and earlier, the Dalvik Java runtime was at the center of Android. As of Marshmallow, Android switched to the Android Runtime (ART). The biggest difference between the two runtimes is the fact that ART is based on ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation rather than just-in-time (JIT). (Related: Android++ is now open source ) With Android N, JIT and AOT can both be used. Previously, the switch to AOT meant that updates and installations would take longer to execute, but with Android N, JIT can be used instead. The result should be faster installs and the elimination of the reoptimization step after an OS update takes place. Previously, all Android apps on a phone would need to be reoptimized after an OS update. Other additions in Android N include a quick-settings API. This will allow users to customize their quick-settings bar, and to give developers the option of making their own settings bar tiles to allow users to configure their applications. The new data saver is designed to help users who have constrained wireless bandwidth requirements. The data saver allows users to adjust their data usage according to their needs. Finally, the new direct boot mode allows apps to be run when the device is not entirely ready. Just as an Android phone can pop up the emergency number dial pad when locked, developers will be able to tag some of their apps’ features to work in this locked phone mode. This means alarms can still trigger, and functions that require a full phone unlock can still be performed in an emergency situation, such as after a phone crashes. Direct boot provides access to a small set of data on the phone in an unencrypted fashion, allowing that data to be accessed without needing to unlock the phone. This could cause security issues for some users, but it will also allow developers to create applications that can be used in an emergency situation. 2016-03-16 12:31 Alex Handy

41 Attackers exploit Apple DRM weakness to infect non- jailbroken iOS devices Attackers are exploiting a weakness in Apple's digital rights management technology to install malicious apps on supposedly protected, non-jailbroken iOS devices. Although the targets appear to be in China, the technique could work anywhere. In late February, security researchers from Palo Alto Networks found three malicious applications on the official App Store. An analysis revealed the malicious apps were part of a scheme to steal Apple IDs and passwords from Chinese users under the guise of an alternative app store. The more interesting aspect of the apps: In addition to being published on the official Apple App Store, they were also silently installed through software running on users' Windows PCs. An iOS device that hasn't been jailbroken, and that hasn't had its security restrictions removed, should only be able to run apps downloaded from the App Store or installed through the iTunes software from users' PCs. When pushing an app through iTunes to an iOS device connected to a computer, the device performs a check to ensure that the app was indeed acquired from the App Store. This is part of Apple's FairPlay DRM technology. However, in 2014, a team of researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology presented a method through which an iOS device could be tricked to allow the installation of an app through iTunes that was previously acquired by a different Apple ID. "Attackers can remotely instruct an already-compromised computer to install apps on a connected iOS device, completely bypassing DRM checks," the team of researchers warned at the time. "Even if an app has been removed from the App Store, attackers can still distribute their own copies to iOS users. " According to Palo Alto Networks , this bypass technique still works and was used to install the newly found malicious apps, which the company has dubbed AceDeceiver, on non-jailbroken devices. More specifically, the attackers first uploaded their apps to the App Store, managing to pass Apple's review process by presenting them as wallpapers. They then purchased those same apps through iTunes and captured the FairPlay authorization code. The attackers then created a piece of software that simulates iTunes and distributed it in China as a helper program for iOS devices that can perform system reinstallation, jailbreaking, system backup, device management, and system cleaning. When users connected their devices to a computer with this software installed, it silently installed AceDeceiver on those devices by using the previously captured authorization code. The only indication of the attack was the app icon appearing on the device home screen after the installation was done. This means that even if the AceDeceiver apps have been removed from the App Store, the attackers can continue to spread them using the PC software because they already have the authorization code they need. In this case, the attackers tricked users into installing the iTunes-like software themselves, but in future attacks, they could do it through malware that silently infects computers through exploits. "Our analysis of AceDeceiver leads us to believe FairPlay MITM [man-in-the-middle] attack will become another popular attack vector for non-jailbroken iOS devices -- and thus a threat to Apple device users worldwide," the Palo Alto researchers said. This is the second time in a month when researchers found rogue apps on the App Store , proving that bypassing Apple's app review process is not only possible, but fairly easy. In both cases, the malicious apps masqueraded as harmless applications and only enabled their malicious functionality when run on devices with IP addresses from China. 2016-03-16 12:18 Lucian Constantin

42 Sizing Up Google Pixel C [Review] If you're thinking about buying Pixel C, Google gives two good reasons to do so now: Android N beta program and developer discount on the hardware. The tablet normally sells for $499 (32GB) or $599 (64GB) but you could instead pay $375 or $449, respectively. Keyboard is another $149. The discount and beta OS are meant for developers, but anyone can get them. Pixel C is the best Android tablet I have ever tested, but that's acknowledging prejudice against Samsung tabs, which are worthy contenders, but I dislike TouchWiz UI. Sammy's hardware hums, particularly the stunning screens. But only Google serves up a Marshmallow feast in Android 6.0, and the hardware design and construction are preemo to the max. For less than $400, Pixel C might as well be free, there is so much value here. The bigger competitor in the size category, Apple's iPad Air 2, costs more: $499 with 16GB storage capacity. There are rumors of a successor, borrowing features from iPad Pro, being announced on March 21st. But that's not what you can buy today. However, if there is a smidgen of truth to Internet rumors, capabilities will be closer to Pixel C -- if not superior. Pixel C specs: 10.2-inch LTPS LCD touchscreen, 2560 x 1800 resolution, 308 pixels per inch, 500-nit brightness; nVidia Tegra X1 processor with Maxwell graphics; 3GB RAM; 32GB or 64GB storage; 8-megapixel rear and 2MP front cameras; four microphones; two speakers (sideways of screen in portrait mode on the bezel); USB Type-C port; WiFi AC; Bluetooth 4.1; accelerometer; compass; gyroscope; ambient-light, half-effect, and proximity sensors; Android 6. Enclosure is anodized aluminum that measures 242 x 179 x 7 mm and weighs 517 grams. The design is recognizably reminiscent of Chromebook Pixel. The screen, shape, styling all are derivative. The tablet even adorns the distinctive color bar and adopts USB C. Owners of Google's pricier PC will find no better companion. Alphabet Spells Business Pixel C is more than an Android tablet. It's a placeholder in a broader go-to-market strategy. In case you hadn't noticed, Gmail, Google Apps, and related software/services are accelerating updates. Blink your eyes, and you will miss a new feature's addition. Among the goodies that Google unveiled just within the past 30 days: It's no coincidence the timing around Pixel C's initial launch, developer discount, and Android N beta. Alphabet, Google's parent company, is massively moving into the corporate, educational, and government segments with ferocious vigor. Consider Chromebook, which continues its successful sales push into the education market, bumping out OS X and Windows systems. Hehe, Apple CEO Tim Cook's alma mater, Robertsdale High School, is replacing student MacBook Pros with Lenovo N21 Chromebooks. Pixel C can be tablet, or with attached keyboard, an Android PC -- potentially vying for some of the same buyers looking for alternatives to iOS, Linux, OS X, or Windows. Unlike Apple and Microsoft, which bet on larger tablets for office- and school-usage scenarios, Google goes 10 inches rather than 12 or 13. Is smaller bigger? For some customers it will be, but based on my testing not the majority. Tablet Extraordinaire Given this context, the question every prospective buyer should ask: For what would you use Pixel C? As a tablet or something more? Apple and Samsung offer split-screen modes that extend functionality on their 10-inch-class and larger tabs. Google gives similar capability with Android N. The benefit, matched to multitasking functionality and keyboard, open up business-use scenarios -- as do the rapid-fire enhancements the company bangs into its cloud stack of apps and services. Much as I like Pixel, and its finger-friendly keyboard, I see limited business or educational use cases; for now. Caveat: Android N beta brings business-case finesse that looks to get lots more appealing as final release approaches. For now, Pixel C is more promise of laptop utility for many, but by no means all, potential users. As a tablet, Pixel C is best of class. Key points: Screen. The 10.2-inch display is crisp by every measure that matters and magnificently bright. DisplayMate puts iPad Air 2 at 415 nit, which is excellent. Google claims 500 nit, and whatever the rating, the display is plenty bright and is caress-tempting gorgeous. The resolution is close to Chromebook Pixel, and a bit finer -- 2560 x 1800 compared to 2560 x 1700, respectively. Likewise, visual quality is similar between them. Many smartphone or tablet screens, particularly those AMOLED, present bold colors and rich contrast that looks good but isn't natural; they're not what the eyes see. Like the Chromebook, Pixel C presents more muted but pleasingly rich color and contrast that aren't over-saturated. Photographers, this tab could be for you. The aspect ratio is what Google calls √2, or stated another way 1:1.41, or about the same as A4 paper. This makes the tablet more squarish than rectangular in both landscape and portrait orientations and surprisingly more comfortable to hold and to use. Web content pleasingly presents, as do Google's homegrown apps (and presumably soon those from third-parties). The aspect ratio is closer to Chromebook Pixel's 3:2 (another sign of the shared design legacy), which is superb for photography. Google Photos app presents fantastically with the √2 aspect ratio. Pixel C could be a shooter's dream tablet, much more than any iPad other than the Pro. Audiovisual. Content consumption is fabulous -- that is for apps optimized for the screen size and aspect ratio, and there aren't enough of them. Google's discounted Pixel C developer program and early Android N beta release are essential to making the overall tablet experience more consistent and more immersive. That is, if app creators can get the schtick with platform- optimized apps. The √2 aspect ratio presents 16:9 or 16:10 video content pleasingly. The viewing window is plenty large. As for accompanying audio, Google places the speakers on Pixel C's bezel to each side rather than facing front. They give great soundstage and separation. Where content consumption comes up short is formatted, editorial stuff, such as magazines or the news apps. The iPad experience is superior in both categories. Reading is more immersive in most magazines, and the Apple News app presents content more pleasingly and with more meaningful curation. The Android experience excels with respect to context, by providing information you need where and when you want it. iOS is deficient, by contrast, and the difference glares more brightly when using Android N's refined Notifications feature, for example. Handling. Pixel C feels heavy in the hand, but the heft isn't unbearable or even tiring when used as a tablet. iPad Air 2 weighs less than a pound (437 grams), while Pixel C climbs to 1.1 pounds (517 grams). The solid construction contributes to the sense of weightiness, which, to reiterate, isn't uncomfortable. Regardless the orientation, Pixel C holds well, particularly as a traditional tablet longways vertical. The physical benefit is balance. The aforementioned extra heft is easily ignored because Pixel C balances so well in the hand(s) whether held in landscape or portrait orientation -- and the squarish shape is major reason. Handling the tablet feels familiar, like holding a book, and handles much better than any iPad. How funny if Pixel C's killer application turns out to be the aspect ratio and physical shape. Productivity Toolkit Pixel C isn't as good for general PC-like usage as it is an Android tablet. In many respects, the device is proof-of-concept for future tab hybrids -- as Alphabet broadens strategic ambitions, subsidiary Google refines the mobile OS for daily productivity usage, and applications are optimized for the platform. As a daily productivity tool Pixel C is more about the future than the present. Key points: Keyboard. Google's extra-cost, $149 keyboard is surprisingly satisfying. The keys feel good, give great travel, and are responsive to the touch -- like I would expect from a device branded Pixel. They look fantastic too, adding to the tablet's classy appearance. I can type effortlessly and, coming from Chromebook Pixel, am not put off working in one app at time. While some users will want split-screen view or even separate windowed apps, I'm not convinced of the utility on a tablet this small. Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung are right to offer one or both capabilities on tabs with 12-inch or larger displays. The keyboard magnetically attaches to the the tablet, serving as either cover or stand. The latter role offers tremendous utility. The user can pivot the screen to any angle, even flat-to-surface. The magnetic attachment is strong. The keyboard can also be used as a protective cover, and the combo feels good to hold and looks handsome in the hand. However, Aluminum all-the-way-around makes the touch more cold feeling, and combined weight jumps by 399 grams to 916 grams (2.02 pounds). For comparison, the 12-inch MacBook weighs 920 grams (2.03 pounds). Point: This isn't a light kit, and some people will find it to be too heavy for the limited productivity utility compared to the Mac or other thin-and-light laptop. Other Controls. Whether or not used with a keyboard, the touchscreen is the major means of interaction. Responsiveness is excellent, as it should be for a tablet branded Pixel. But user experience is bigger than touch, bolstered by balance of hardware and software. The nVidia Tegra X1 processor, Maxwell graphics, and 3GB RAM matched with Marshmallow make this aluminum beauty one smooth operator. Touch wouldn't feel as fast otherwise, and the experience is consistent, whether apps are homegrown, third-party, or tuned for the display size. Buttons and ports are laid out for landscape orientation; placement may disorient some users' muscle memory. Held in portrait fashion, power button is upper-right side, volume controls on right-topside, USB C port top-left side, and audio jack lower-right bottom. Turned sideways: power left-topside; volume upper-left side; USB C lower-left side, audio upper-right side. Landscape placement is convenient, particularly for accessing volume buttons or for USB C charging. Webcam is top-front facing in this orientation, unlike iPad where iSight is left-side front. Meaning: Apple poorly places the webcam for video chats or Hangouts. Google gives better. The placement of controls and webcam is more like a laptop than a tablet, and fits better with using Pixel C with a keyboard. However, the tablet is also meant for the browser and some other apps in portrait mode, where the layout of buttons and ports is inconvenient. You design primarily for one orientation or the other. For Apple, it's portrait and for Google it's landscape. The difference illuminates design usage philosophies, and both companies compromise. On iPad Pro, which Apple intends to be used often in landscape mode as a laptop replacement, controls and webcam are placed like the smaller sibling tablets, which, to repeat, controls are laid out better for portrait use. Google's layout, while not as good for portrait use where web browsing (and with it all those ads Big G wants you to click), better suits both orientations than Apple's. Today and Tomorrow For my tastes, Pixel C is the ideal Android tablet. Features finely balance, and the device balances beautifully in the hands. However, as a PC-like productivity alternative, the tab is too small and the range of necessary apps isn't big enough. That said, If I were a college student, Pixel C would be the near-perfect carryall. The keyboard pairing turns the tablet into a fantastic tool for taking notes, doing research, and completing homework. The apps are there, if from no other developer than Google. As important: The keyboard covered screen turns Pixel C into an easily and comfortably carried daily device. It's too bad there is no LTE model because many niche iPad Air 2 or Samsung Galaxy Pro users would benefit more from Pixel C and all the information and cloud services Google wraps around it. Among them: insurance agents, Lyft and Uber drivers, medical professionals, realtors, and other on-the-go contractors, small business owners, or sole-proprietors. That said, anyone buying Pixel C today as a tablet can expect better PC-like productivity utility at escalating pace. Take a look at Android for Work , the aforementioned shot-list of recent business customer enhancements, and Android N capabilities like always-on VPN. Like the Chromebook sharing the same name, Pixel C will get better as Alphabet/Google grinds out more productivity goodies for Android users. Later this year look for tighter ties between Chromebook, tablet, and smartphones. Nexus 5X and 6P also support Android N, and they share some go-forward features with the Pixel family; such as USB C. I use one charger for Google laptop, smartphone, and tablet. Google Pixel C is a great tablet and a pretty good Android PC that can only get better. Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox 2016-03-16 12:14 By Joe

43 Tesla teases Model 3 budget sedan ahead of March 31 reveal Tesla is preparing to take the wraps off its long-awaited budget electric sedan, the Model 3. The hype began with a single tweet of a photo showcasing a forward-looking view of the Model S , the Model X and a dark silhouette representing the newcomer. Existing Tesla owners have reportedly received an e-mail regarding the March 31 launch event. In it, the electric car company said it has set aside 650 spots at the upcoming event specifically for current Tesla owners and their guests. The company will be hosting a lottery-style drawing for those spots later today and will notify the lucky winners tomorrow. Everything the company has put out to date – the Roadster, the Model S sedan and the Model X crossover SUV – has come at a premium price point. The Model 3 will be the company's first "mainstream" vehicle with a starting price of around $35,000 before incentives. It's expected to offer a driving range of at least 200 miles on a single charge. To say the Model 3 is the company's most important product to date would be a massive understatement. The March 31 event will take place at Tesla's design studio in Hawthorne, California. Doors open at 7 pm PDT with CEO Elon Musk taking the stage around 8:30 pm. Those who can't make it can watch the event via livestream on Tesla's website, we're told. Despite the unveiling, the Model 3 isn't expected to begin shipping to buyers until late 2017. 2016-03-16 11:30 Shawn Knight

44 Asian shares higher after Fed kept interest rates unchanged NEW YORK (AP) — U. S. stocks rose Wednesday afternoon after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and forecast it will raise rates more gradually than it had envisioned late last year. That was a relief to investors, who quickly sent stocks higher. Energy companies climbed with the price of oil. KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 113 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,364 as of 2:50 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 13 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,029. The Nasdaq composite index added 36 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,765. The Dow and S&P 500 were both down about 0.2 percent before the Fed's decision was announced. FED TIME: The central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, saying the U. S. economy continued to grow, but global economic and financial turmoil pose risks. Fed officials now expect to raise interest rates two times this year instead of four times. The Fed raised the short-term rate it controls in December from nearly zero for the first time in almost a decade. THE QUOTE: Boosts in interest rates tend to slow down economic growth. Jeremy Zirin, chief equity strategist for UBS Wealth Management Americas, said investors are glad the Fed is backing off. "It probably eases investors' minds that we're unlikely to see a rate hike in April and it probably takes June off the table," he said. The Fed and the markets now seem to have the same view on interest rate increases, Zirin said, and that means the market may be a little less volatile. ENERGY: Oil prices rose after the announcement that major oil producing countries will meet in Qatar in April to hold more talks about a freeze in oil output levels. A deal — which is far from a sure thing — could help relieve a global glut that has depressed oil prices. Benchmark U. S. crude rose $2.12, or 5.8 percent, to $38.46 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oils, rose $1.59, or 4.1 percent, to $40.33 a barrel. Energy companies were the biggest gainers in afternoon trading. Devon Energy gained $1.70, or 7.1 percent, to $25.79 cents. Southwestern Energy rose 58 cents, or 8 percent, to $7.81 and Oneok added $1.59, or 5.7 percent, to $29.31. HEAVY METAL: Metals prices were little changed, but mining and materials companies advanced following the Fed's announcement. Newmont Mining rose 74 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $27.11 and Alcoa added 49 cents, or 5.3 percent, to $9.65. The price of gold lost $1.20 to $1,229.80 an ounce. Silver decreased 4 cents to $15.22 an ounce. Copper was unchanged at $2.23 a pound. BONDS, CURRENCIES: After the Fed's decision, bond prices rose and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.94 percent from 1.97 percent. The euro jumped to $1.1217 from $1.1107 late Tuesday. The dollar also turned lower and fell to 112.55 yen from 113.10 yen. STOCKS JUMBLED: It had been a mixed week on the market, with major indexes little changed. The market has risen for each of the last four weeks on mounting evidence that the U. S. economy remains in good shape overall despite the shaky state of other major economies. Oil prices have also surged over that period, bringing some relief to energy and financial stocks. OUT OF POWER: Peabody Energy, the largest coal mining company in the U. S., is plunging after it said it is delaying an interest payment and may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The stock sank $1.83, or 45.6 percent, to $2.18. SAW IT COMING: Software maker Oracle is rising after it reported mixed quarterly results and said it will buy back $10 billion in company stock. It picked up $1.69, or 4.4 percent, to $40.43 and helped lift the tech sector. INFLATION PUMPED UP: The Labor Department said core inflation, or inflation that leaves out energy and food prices, continued to rise. It's up 2.3 percent over the last year, the largest gain in almost four years. Overall inflation slipped in February because of lower gas prices and it's up just 1 percent in the last year. The Fed has been looking closely at inflation as it considers raising interest rates. Though one of the Fed's main goals is to prevent runaway inflation, it wants to see inflation rise more than it has in recent years to be sure the economy is healthy enough to handle higher rates. Separate reports showed construction of new homes continued to grow in February, but applications were weak again, a sign of future trouble. Meanwhile U. S. factories made more machinery, appliances and computer in February. It's the second straight monthly increase and a sign manufacturing is improving. OTHER ENERGY TRADING: Wholesale gasoline rose 1 cent to $1.42 a gallon. Heating oil gained 5 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $1.23 a gallon. Natural gas rose 2 cents to $1.87 per 1,000 cubic feet. LAGGARDS: Health care stocks, which tumbled on Tuesday, continued to struggle. Drugmakers Pfizer and Merck were the largest losers on the Dow. OVERSEAS: Germany's DAX gained 0.4 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.5 percent. France's CAC 40 fell 0.2 percent. Asian stocks were also mixed, as Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.8 percent and South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.2 percent to while the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.2 percent. AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/marley-jay 2016-03-16 10:33 By MARLEY

45 45 iOS 9 features - updated for iOS 9.3 iOS 9 launched back in September of last year and it's a lot better than iOS 8 , thanks to new features that make the iPhone and iPad software easier to use. Siri is smarter, Apple Maps has been improved and the notifications drop-down menu is now sorted logically. Best of all, every device that works with iOS 8 works with iOS 9. Since launch it's improved even further too, with the rollout of iOS 9.2.1, the current stable version of the software. Not enough for you? The list of software upgrades is set to increase on Monday, March 21, when iOS 9.3 is tipped to launch alongside the the smaller iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro . iPads benefit big from this current operating system update. New iPad multitasking functionality, especially for the iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro , finally fulfills the tablet's promise of productivity on the go. While iOS 9 and even iOS 9.3 beta 7 lack some key Android features, there's a lot to like about it, now that new hardware is available in the form of iPhone 6S , iPhone 6S Plus and iPad Pro. iOS 9.3 is Apple's first major update with brand new features to highlight. While iOS 9.1 added new emojis, iOS 9.2 tweaked Apple Music and Apple News and iOS 9.2.1 just fixed bugs. But iOS 9.3 beta actually brings new functionality. Goodbye, nighttime bright blues Specifically, the preview software debuts Night Shift, which automatically tints your iPhone and iPad with warmer colors. Bright blue light can keep you up at night, studies have shown. Night Shift uses the time and geolocation to determine the sunset and the display returns to normal in the morning. It's a feature we've seen from third-party apps like f.lux on Mac, but a first directly from Apple. Educators wielding iPads can dive into a new classroom app and multi-student login. Passing an iPad around the class can let students save their work to individual profiles and pick up where they left off. Beyond that, Notes can be locked behind Touch ID for additional security, and the Apple News and Apple Health apps have been tweaked with minor design and content changes. Specifically for the US, Verizon customers without a strong signal can now switch on Wi-Fi calling, just in case the usually reliable carrier doesn't have a good signal while you're in the range of a router. Don't reset your iPhone date back to January 1, 1970. Doing so can brick your iPhone upon resetting it, requiring a visit to the Apple Store for some major surgery. Be careful of this iOS 9 glitch It's an iOS glitch affects all newer iPhones running iOS 9, and it's thought to happen because the phone recognizes this date as a negative time value. Plus, Apple didn't even exist back then, so you've sent it back in time before it even existed. The ripple in the space-time continuum affects phones and tablets running a 64-bit chip such as the Apple's A7, A8, A8X, A9 and A9X processors. Everything from the new iPad Pro , iPhone 6S , iPhone 6S Plus to the older iPad Air , iPad mini 2 and iPhone 5S. For once, iPhone 5 users are smiling. iOS 9 isn't about a fresh coat of paint like iOS 7 was, it's about rust-proofing glitchy software that launched alongside iOS 8 in 2014. Everything is designed to run smoother, especially with the update to iOS 9.1, and it does. iOS 9 works with everything you see here... and iPhone 6S and 6S Plus There are fewer app crashes and hard restarts required compared to when iOS 8 first came out. I've experienced no white screen of death problems so far, just occasional design flaws. Even better, iOS 9 works with devices as old as iPhone 4S and iPad 2. Apple didn't axe any old phones or tablets from its compatibility list in the transition to the new operating system. It was also a relief to see that this free update is a 1.4GB file and doesn't require the 4.7GB of free space to install on your tiny, 16GB devices. The most obvious iOS 9 change involves Siri and spotlight search. Sliding to the left-most menu reveals a robust list of "Siri Suggestions," filled with your most recent contacts and apps. It provides quick access to your four most recent contacts and four most recent apps. There's a "show more" and "show less" toggle to increase that to the eight most recent. Sadly, you can't unpin and disallow certain apps from showing up before your parents see you're on Tinder. 'Siri Suggestions' tries to rival Google Now Apple Maps gets some attention here, too. "Nearby" shortcuts are a fast way of finding Parking, Restaurants, Gas Stations and even Desserts, which all link to a Yelp review-filled Maps menu. In true Apple fashion, there's no customization or option to re-sort which shortcuts come first. iOS 9 concludes this Siri-run search menu with news snippets from sources like the New York Times and CNN. Strangely, there are four headlines, but if you hit the rather stingy "Show More" text, it reveals a total of five. A glitch to be solved in the future, perhaps? The news presentation here isn't as flashy as Samsung's Flipboard-based menu, which is also the leftmost Android menu on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. Apple saves the magazine-style stories for its new iOS 9 News app. 'Bring up photos from May 28' brought up my Google IO pictures Holding down the iPhone or iPad home button to issue normal Siri commands leads to smarter answers. I randomly asked "Bring up photos from May 28, 2015" and Siri immediately opened the pictures I took at Google IO on that date. I still find Google Now to be more advanced overall, but this same phrase on an Android just leads to my Samsung Galaxy S6 Active opening up random web results. That... doesn't really help, Google. Apple is catching up and boasts that Siri is 40% faster and 40% more accurate. It shows. Smaller iOS 9 menu changes (which are also present in iOS 9.1) have solved big pet peeves I've had with iOS 8, one of which I felt Apple should just steal from Android. Notifications are now sorted chronologically instead of illogically grouped by app. This was always a problem when I accidentally put my finger on the Touch ID home button, forever sending all time-sorted lockscreen notifications into the app-sorted notifications menu. Now they all reside in the swipe-down-from-the-top menu once the phone is open. Apple re-stylized its Recent menu, which is the one you see when double pressing in the Home button. It now sports a larger Cover Flow format, rather than its former zoomed out look. The more important change to the Recent menu is that there's a shortcut icon tucked away at the bottom for Continuity (an app open your nearby Mac, iPad, etc) and location-based apps (if you're at a store like Starbucks and have the app installed). Previously, these icons were stuck on bottom left corner of the lockscreen, which meant locking your phone just to press the wake button again to access the lock screen shortcut. Now it's available in two spots, whether or not your phone is in a locked state. Finally, flipping through the default Photos app is less of a hazard, because there's a mini slideshow at the the bottom of the app. It's the fastest way to scrub through photos and reduces the chance you'll bring up that embarrassing picture while showing someone other photos. iOS 9 is the company's big push to improve Apple Maps, and it does just that... to some extent. Namely, this comes through with long-overdue public transit directions. Routes for buses, trains, subways and even ferries are here, and I put it to the test on the New York City subway while navigating Manhattan. I survived this Apple Maps expedition without booting up Google Maps. Apple Maps gets updated with transit directions Besides New York City, transit directions are available in Baltimore, Berlin, Chicago, London, Mexico City, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Toronto and Washington D. C. About 300 cities in China, including Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai, are also getting the transit treatment. Does it fix everything? No. The problem with Apple Maps wasn't just its lack of transit directions or too-often wrong routes, it was the fact that the app's design just couldn't compete with Google Maps. That's still the case. Unlike Google Maps, Apple Maps' annoying snap-back design is still here while en route Google is busy adding ridiculously minute details, like chalking out your vacation dates to the map overtop of your hotel. Apple's cumbersome app won't let you finger ahead to see the next directions. It just springs you back into place. I can go from Los Angeles to London on Google Maps while in the middle of turn-by-turn directions if I wanted to. With Apple Maps, I can't look ahead one block. While I appreciate its new Nearby feature that lets you discover stops along the way, Apple Maps' foundation is a little too flawed for me to give up on Google Maps just yet. It doesn't matter if Siri insists on opening up Maps whenever I ask for direction by voice. 2016-03-16 10:00 By Matt

46 There's now another benchmark for testing VR performance: Basemark's VRScore With proper virtual reality systems like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive set to hit consumers in the coming months, there has been a lot of interest in whether peoples' current gaming PCs are good enough to drive games at a high enough resolution and refresh rate. One of the best ways to test VR abilities is benchmarking, and we've already seen a few options pop up recently, such as Valve's SteamVR Performance Test. Now there's another option available, thanks to a collaboration between Basemark and Crytek. The benchmark created by these two companies is called VRScore. It's designed to be a real- world performance test, using a game engine that's found in many popular games (CryEngine). According to Basemark's release notes , the benchmark includes tests for VR games, videos and even spatial audio, and it supports DirectX 12. VRScore doesn't require a virtual reality headset to test the performance of your system, but it will simulate the requirements of a high-end unit like the HTC Vive, which requires games to be rendered at 2160x1200 and 90 Hz for the most immersive, least motion-sick experience. Basemark says VRScore is now available for corporate customers, with a consumer version expected to be available in June. Like other Basemark products, VRScore will come as both a free version with limited features, and a paid Pro version with complete functionality. For more in-depth testing, Basemark also announced the VRScore Trek, a piece of hardware that's designed to test the performance of different VR headsets. Shaped like a Star Trek logo with two phototransistors to simulate human eyes, the tool can measure latency, persistence, dropped frames and other key areas of VR headsets that make the experience great. Corporate versions of VRScore come with the Trek, although it's unclear how much this sort of license will cost. 2016-03-16 09:30 Tim Schiesser

47 Google's Single Sign On adds support for Microsoft Office 365, Facebook at Work, Slack and more Besides being the super poplar search engine, email provider, work and collaboration services provider, Google is also used, by a number of different services, as an identity provider. It allows people to register and log into different online services using their Google account. Now, the company announced it’s expanding the feature to add a number of new services, some of which are direct competitors. There’s a total of 14 new pre-configured options, including Microsoft Office 365, Facebook at Work, New Relic, Concur, Box, Tableau, HipChat and Slack. You can find out more on this link. The company says it’s not just about being able to log into services with Google, it’s also about using the company’s security measures, especially when going mobile. "Google’s identity services provide even more security on mobile when combined with Google Apps enterprise mobile management controls like password strength, lock screen requirements and app management", says Shashank Gupta, a product manager for Google Apps for Work. "These can work in tandem with the increasing number of mobile security options, from hardware such as fingerprint readers, to software such as Google’s Smart Lock. Our Google Smart Lock features are available to all Google Accounts, including those used at work, and we provide identity services and enterprise mobility management (EMM) as part of Google Apps for Work at no additional cost". Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved. 2016-03-16 09:26 By Sead

48 Google is referring to Android N internally as 'New York Cheesecake' Last week, Google delivered something of a surprise with the release of its first Developer Preview of the next version of its Android OS. It arrived far earlier than most had expected; indeed, many anticipated that it would roll out following an unveiling at the company's I/O developer conference in May , just as it had done with Android 6.0 Marshmallow last year. The next version is known only as 'Android N' for now, but as with previous versions, it's expected to pick up a delicious-sounding name ahead of its release. And as Android Police reports, Google is referring to it internally as 'New York Cheesecake'; indeed, the 'nyc' initials of this development codename have already begun to appear in resources on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) database. But before we get too carried away with this discovery, it's worth bearing in mind that Google routinely chooses different development codenames for its Android versions from the names it eventually selects for their release: So while it will no doubt be of interest to some to discover the internal nomenclature of Android N, it probably doesn't bring us any closer to knowing what its final name will be when it's released later this year. In the meantime, keep the guesses coming - some of our readers have had a go at predicting the sweet treat that Android N will be named after, so be sure to check out their suggestions and join in the discussion! Source: Android Police | Original New York cheesecake image via Shutterstock 2016-03-16 07:54 Andy Weir

49 ARM and TSMC collaborate to work on 7nm FinFET SoCs ARM and TSMC have announced a new partnership that will see the companies collaborate on 7nm FinFET manufacturing process technology, with the goal of making it a viable reality in the next few years. Shrinking process nodes is particularly important for ARM, as the company's main customers develop products for mobile, server, and other low power products. Stepping down to 7nm from 10nm or currently-used 14nm technology will likely provide significant power efficiency gains, which are particularly important for these sorts of devices. Consumers can also expect to see much better performance from 7nm chips at the same level of power consumption as existing SoCs. TSMC's 7nm FinFET technology is expected to begin mass silicon production in the first half of 2018, with the company stating that their "7nm technology development progress is on schedule". This means we could see 7nm chips hit the market towards the end of 2018 or the start of 2019. The collaboration between ARM and TSMC could give the companies the tools required to beat Intel to deploying a new process node. By all reports, Intel has delayed 10nm technology to the later parts of 2017, and considering a typical two-to-three-year development cycle for new nodes, 7nm tech from the company mightn't be available until at least 2019. 7nm technology is still many years away, but over the next 12 to 18 months we can expect to see new chips built using TSMC's 10nm FinFET technology. Even now, we're still waiting for some key product segments (like discrete GPUs) to move from aging 28nm process tech down to 14nm. 2016-03-16 07:30 Tim Schiesser

50 Calibrated compact model library for silicon photonics platform IME's 25G silicon photonics platform and PDK are built on validated processes and devices. They offer state-of-the-art performance and enable PIC designers to build reliable devices, system architectures and achieve prototyping and product manufacturing with ease. PIC design is often manual and iterative, and is based on custom component libraries and workflows, which may lead to errors and multiple design revisions. Leveraging IME's capabilities in silicon photonics process and device technology, and Lumerical's expertise in integrated photonics device simulation and circuit design tools, the collaboration overcame these challenges by adding calibrated simulation models to IME's silicon photonics PDK. The CML enables designers to accurately simulate and optimise the performance of complex PIC designs prior to fabrication. The CML includes 15 active and passive elements, from waveguides to modulators and photo detectors, and forms part of IME's silicon photonics PDK, along with process data, layer tables, cells for device layout and design rules. "With silicon photonics emerging as a leading technology platform for high bandwidth optical communication, R&D is critical in addressing the industry's needs for increasingly complex photonic-electronic circuits. I am confident that the combined strengths of IME's capabilities in silicon photonics technologies for integration and manufacturing, and Lumerical's experience in innovating design tools will enable designers to produce quality photonic integrated circuits, and accelerate the production of next generation devices," said Prof. Dim-Lee Kwong, Executive Director, IME. "The addition of calibrated models to IME's photonic PDK is a compelling step forward in establishing the design and fabrication ecosystem necessary for photonic circuit designers to realise the commercial potential of integrated photonic technologies," stated Todd Kleckner, co- founder and Chief Operating Officer, Lumerical. "We are excited to work with a renowned and innovative research institute like IME and support joint users of IME's MPW services and our design tools to confidently scale design complexity and deliver on their next ambitious design challenge. " 2016-03-16 18:07

Total 50 articles. Created at 2016-03-17 06:02