Latest Technology News

It's something that has faint echoes of Microsoft's approach to pushing Windows 10 on to users. This week Apple is making macOS Sierra available to users as an automatic download -- interestingly, users who receive the automatic download treatment are being selected randomly.

Apple confirmed the nature of the roll out to The Loop, which also reports that the download will only start for people who have automatic updates switched on, and if they have sufficient storage space available. Unlike Microsoft, Apple is taking a rather less aggressive approach when it comes to suggesting users might like to upgrade to the latest version of the operating system.

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Every business leader understands the importance of regulatory compliance and is aware of how dire the consequences can be if an organization is found to be out of compliance. With stringent regulations enforcing compliance, such as HIPAA or Sarbanes-Oxley, it’s imperative that companies maintain strict procedures to avoid facing potential fines or lawsuits, and risking consumer distrust. Any one of these factors can seriously threaten the long-term viability of the brand.

However, implementing the right infrastructure and policies to adhere to these requirements is a challenge that every company faces. With the hundreds, if not thousands, of customer interactions and exchanges of data that happen every day, it only takes one slip or lapse in protocol to put the entire organization at risk. Now, business leaders are turning to analytics solutions to mitigate risk and remove uncertainty.  Whether it’s the contact center, data center, or online social communities, analytics are proving a powerful tool to help keep businesses out of regulatory hot water.

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Mozilla's love of open source is nothing new -- just look to the Mozilla Open Source Support (MOSS) program. Loving a philosophy is one thing, but Mozilla has also put its money where its mouth is.

In the third quarter of this year, MOSS awarded more than $300,000 to four projects which it either already supported, or which were aligned with the organization's mission. One of the smallest awards -- $56,000 -- was made to Speech Rule Engine, a text-to-speech style component that makes mathematical and scientific content more accessible.

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Microsoft has announced that its investments in cloud computing in Europe exceeded $3 billion, as it plans to open a new data center in the country next year. Besides making this announcement, Microsoft has also released a new book, entitled A Cloud for Global Good, containing policy recommendations for things like data protection.

The company’s CEO, Satya Nadella, says the investment comes as a result of a "growing demand" from both European customers and partners. "Building a global, trusted, intelligent cloud platform is core to our mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. There’s never been a better time for organizations across Europe to seize new growth and opportunity with the Microsoft Cloud".

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Until concerns were raised about data sharing with Facebook to help deliver targeted ads, WhatsApp was seen as the messaging tool of choice for those concerned about privacy. As well as offering encrypted messaging, WhatsApp has always been one of the more stripped back messaging apps out there -- but no more.

Bowing to pressure to fit in with the crowd and offer the same features as the likes of SnapChat, WhatsApp is adding photo and video editing and enhancement tools. The ability to add emoji to photos, or draw and write on images are just two new options that are rolling out now.

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As Google TV struggled, Roku and Amazon Fire TV were seemingly taking over the market. Google finally let its TV platform go, but announced it would be replaced with Android TV. The company also promised a third-party set-top player known as the Mi Box.

It has taken since June, but the much-anticipated Mi Box, announced at Google I/O, is finally hitting the market.

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Amazon is my absolute favorite retailer. Not only are its prices fair, but with a Prime subscription, I get free two-day shipping on many products. Instant gratification is a must nowadays, and waiting more than a couple of days for an item to arrive can be unbearable. Of course, Prime gives you much more than just fast shipping, but I digress.

Another great aspect of the site is the customer reviews, helping shoppers find quality products based on the honest recommendations of others. Sadly, incentivized reviews have damaged the trustworthiness of the feedback. Too many recent Amazon reviews have the caveat that the product was given to the reviewer for free in exchange for a review. Many people, including yours truly, were getting tired of seeing this. Thankfully, as of today, Amazon is prohibiting these incentivized reviews.

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Microsoft's Band wearable is actually a decent product, albeit very limited. As Apple Watch dominates the smartwatch market with exciting features and apps, Band is essentially just a boring fitness wearable. While being focused isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is simply too expensive and uncomfortable for what it is. There were some significant quality issues too, such as the strap tearing.

Today, Microsoft essentially kills the Band. It has pulled the wearable from its stores, while also shocking the world by announcing a third-generation model will not be released in 2016. True, a Band 3 was never officially announced, but the Microsoft faithful were holding out hope for the holidays. Sadly, just like Windows 10 Mobile, it is time to bury the Band six feet under. Rest in Peace, little wearable!

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Four weeks ago, I reported on how hacktivist collective Anonymous was planning its own weekly news show. The aim of Teh Weekly News is, Anonymous says, to "balance establishment media by providing unregulated investigative news that has not been molded to corporate or government interests".

The first episode of the new show is available to watch below, and does a good job of covering all of the stories that likely anger you when they appear, often only fleetingly, in the mainstream news.

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Oracle has once again been unsuccessful in its latest effort to obtain a new trial in its Java API copyright claim against Google. Judge William Alsup of the San Francisco District Court has denied Oracle's latest motion to have its case reheard on the grounds of misconduct on the part of Google's lawyers.

Since 2010, the two companies have been in an ongoing legal war that was ruled in Google's favor. However, in the six years that have passed Oracle has repeatedly appealed the ruling multiple times.

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In an attempt to improve its financial capabilities, IBM will acquire the Promontory Financial Group which will be integrated with its global business and will aid in training its Watson artificial intelligence (AI) platform. The company announced the acquisition on Thursday but it did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Promontory was founded by Eugene A. Ludwig, who is a former top banking regulator and a friend of of former President Bill Clinton from law school. The Washington firm became one of the leading financial organizations following the 2008 financial crisis. Promontory's current employees include many former financial regulators from across the globe, and it has advised numerous banks on regulatory matters.

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September wasn’t a good month for Windows 10. After enjoying uninterrupted meteoric growth since launch, usage share for the new OS actually dropped off last month, according to the latest figures from NetMarketShare announced on Saturday.

That's not the only bad news for Microsoft either. Gamers, who typically prefer to be running the latest operating system, also turned their back on Windows 10 in September.

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You know that Yahoo breach that just happened recently? The one where 500 million credentials were stolen? Well, a highly respected security researcher claims the hack was done by the same group that breached MySpace, LinkedIn, Badoo, VK.com, and a few others.

The researcher in question is Andrew Komarov, and he told The Register that not only did the same group do all these things, but the number of breached Yahoo accounts is probably a billion. Double what was reported. Komarov says the group, referred to as "Group E", is a "small Eastern European hacking outfit" that makes money by hacking big companies and selling their data to whoever is willing to pay.

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Fears are mounting that there could soon be a rise in large scale DDoS attacks after the source code used to launch the recent crippling attack on Krebs On Security was shared on a hacker forum.

Brian Krebs' website was hit by what has been described as the largest ever DDos attack recently, and the Mirai botnet source code has now been made available for anyone to make use of. The style of attack is particularly interesting as it involves using compromised Internet of Things devices such as webcams and other connected IoT hardware.

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One of the fastest growing areas in home automation seems to be lighting. Every day new products come on the market and one of the most popular has been the Philips Hue, thanks to not only simple automation but also the ability to change colors. However, it is not the only one on the market with such a chameleon quality.

LIFX also produces bulbs that can set the color to your mood or taste. The LIFX Color 1000 is one of the latest models from the manufacturer and it will do all that other bulbs in this market are capable of.

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