Latest Technology News

Yesterday, Microsoft pushed out Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16212 for PC and Mobile to users on the Fast, Slow, and Release Preview rings and the Retail version. Unfortunately the buggy build wasn’t intended to go out, causing problems for anyone who installed it.

Apologizing for the "inconvenience", Windows Insider chief Dona Sarkar explains it "happened because an inadvertent deployment to the engineering system that controls which builds/which rings to push out to insiders." While Microsoft was quick to pull the update, it was too late for some.

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The quality of your company's data can have a major effect on the software deployment, new research has claimed.

According to a report by Delphix, poor data quality is to blame for roughly 15 percent of software defects, with higher-level data a major factor in faster application development.

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Earlier today, Microsoft officially launched its Xbox Game Pass service for all users. If you aren't familiar, please know that it is essentially an all-you-can-eat-styled video game service. For a mere $9.99 per month, you can download and play 100+ Xbox One and 360 titles. It is insanely cool and a great value.

The problem? The games you download will take up a lot of space on your Xbox One's internal hard drive. Luckily, Microsoft makes it easy to expand the console's storage capacity -- just plug in a USB HDD or SSD. Today, Seagate announces an external mechanical hard drive that is designed for the console. The Game Drive for Xbox Game Pass Special Edition, as it is insanely called, can be had in either 2TB or 4TB. To sweeten the deal, you will get a complimentary Game Pass subscription!

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It’s been a while since Microsoft pushed out a new build to Windows 10 Insiders, so it was expected that we’d see one today. However, Windows Insider chief Dona Sarkar put the kibosh on that earlier, stating "newer builds have WAY too many bugs to pass our selfhost bar."

That should have been the end of things, but Build 16212 managed to escape into the wild -- hitting the Fast, Slow, Release Preview and Production rings -- and eager Insiders quickly discovered the downside of installing it.

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If there is a business area that is deeply affected by digital transformation it is customer service, which is rapidly becoming re-branded as customer experience (CX). According to a Walker study, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator by 2020.

Those organizations that are able to deliver a seamless, effortless experience will improve customer loyalty and see their sales soar. This objective is often a challenge for legacy technology infrastructures and many are turning to cloud contact center platforms. However, change on this scale brings risk, and there are some key mistakes that you should try and avoid if possible.

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The battle for the title of the most powerful PC processor in the world has just become even bloodier.

Intel has announced its first 18-core processor at Computex in Taipei, officially named i9-7980XE

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Microsoft has officially launched its Xbox Game Pass service, allowing gamers to play Xbox 360 and Xbox One games in a streaming capacity, for all Xbox One users.

The service, which debuted to monthly-fee-paying Xbox Live Gold members last week, has more than 100 available titles (consisting of both Xbox One and Xbox 360 games). As soon as you subscribe, you're instantly able to play any and every title in that list. As long as you keep your subscription, you can keep playing. Microsoft says it will continue to update and add new titles to the burgeoning collection on a monthly basis.

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Last year, Microsoft released an open source project called "Cognitive Toolkit." This toolkit was designed with a focus on deep learning and artificial intelligence.

Today, after a fairly long beta period, Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit is finally updated to version 2.0. Not only does this production release have new features, but bug fixes too. Unfortunately, the release isn't entirely backwards compatible due to deprecated and renamed aspects of the toolkit.

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Minecraft developer Mojang has just announced the release of the latest update to its block-stacking, world-building smash hit video game. The "Discovery" update brings the Pocket Edition and Windows 10 editions of the game from version 1.0.9 to 1.1.0.

First announced in March, the update includes a new world, called Woodland Mansions, to explore. It also adds a smattering of new achievements, and ultra exciting glazed terracotta blocks (to say nothing of the concrete and concrete powder). And that's just the beginning.

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Practical Linux Security Cookbook, from Packt Publishing, will teach you how to secure your Linux machines and keep them secured with the help of exciting recipes.

Whether you are new to Linux administration or an experienced user, this ebook will provide you with all the skills you need to make systems more secure.

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If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, there's a hell of a lot of flattery going on in the world of chat and messaging apps. Such is the level of feature borrowing and design inspiration that we're entering a phase of unbridled homogeneity. This isn’t enough to put off Microsoft, of course, and today the company lifts the lid on its latest -- and arguably most radical -- redesign of Skype.

Coming first to Android -- as is becoming increasingly common for Microsoft these days -- the Skype redesign boasts a fresh new look that makes it clear from the start that things are going to be different around here. While Skype is well known for its voice and video calling capabilities, now the focus switches rather more toward messaging; as Microsoft puts it: "chatting is front and center."

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Adobe has released Adobe Scan 17.05.31 for iPhone, iPad and Android mobiles. The app allows users to turn their mobile camera into a scanner for various types of paper document, including receipts and magazine pages.

Apps that turn your phone or tablet into a portable scanner are two-a-penny, so at first glance Adobe Scan looks like a very late gate crasher to a party that’s already in full flow. But it claims one major advantage over its rivals: OCR support for free.

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Coming out of beta, Plex's DVR feature is now rolling out to all Plex Pass subscribers. On top of this, the platform is also gaining Plex Live TV -- a way to stream OTA broadcasts from your TV tuner to the Plex app.

To start with, Live TV is coming to the Android TV and iOS apps, but it will also make its way to Plex's other offerings meaning subscribers will be able to watch live TV from just about anywhere. On top of this major announcement, Plex has also unveiled -- in a blog post entitled "#$%@ it! We'll do it live!" -- a number of key improvements to its DVR feature.

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New research shows that more than a third of all public web pages of FTSE 30 companies capturing personally identifiable information (PII) are in danger of violating the GDPR regulations by doing so insecurely.

The FTSE 30 is made up of the 30 most influential companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. The study by RiskIQ looking at the sites of these organizations finds that more controls on outward facing web assets are needed.

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Intel revealed in early-May that there is a critical security vulnerability in its Active Management Technology, which can be exploited to gain remote access to PCs. The feature is designed to help system administrators manage devices, so, due to its nature, it is more likely to affect enterprise users than consumers.

However, since the Surface line is popular with businesses, Microsoft wants to let its enterprise users know that no Surface devices are affected by the AMT vulnerability, despite it being offered in some of the processors available with its tablets and laptops.

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