Real-time Google Translate comes to all Google Assistant headphones and Android phones
Previously a Pixel exclusive, Google is opening up real-time translation to a wider range of devices. So wide, in fact, that real-time Google Translate is now available to all Assistant-optimized headphones and Android phones.
For quite some time, the option was only available to people with a Google Pixel phone paired with Pixel Buds earphones, but now just about everyone has access to the feature.
Google is 'exploring' a censored search tool for China
The possibility of Google making a return to China was leaked this summer, but the company has remained pretty tight-lipped about the matter. But now CEO Sundar Pichai has spoken publicly about the prospect of Google producing a censored version of its search engine to comply with Chinese regulations.
Speaking at a conference in San Francisco, Pichai revealed that Google has, internally, built a search engine for China, because "we wanted to learn what it would look like". He said that the company is "exploring" the idea, and pointed out that 99 percent of searches would not be censored.
Transparency: Facebook to reveal who pays for political ads in the UK
In recent years there have been concerns about the influence it is possible to exert over election results through social media. As well as fears relating to fake news and misinformation, there have also been calls for greater transparency when it comes to revealing the funding of political advertising.
To address some of these concerns, Facebook has announced that any ads running in the UK that make reference to political figures will have to publicly reveal the identity of the organization or individual that paid for them. The new rules about transparency will apply to both Facebook and Instagram.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dead at 65
Paul Allen is dead. Sadly, the Microsoft co-founder succumbed to cancer today -- non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, to be exact. His death is a bit of a surprise, as earlier in the month, he shared on Twitter that his prognosis was good. Unfortunately, as we learned from the death of Steve Jobs, money can't guarantee life -- an important thing to reflect on when feeling down about being broke. Good health is priceless.
While less famous than Bill Gates, Allen (the bearded one above) was still a tremendous force in the world of technology. The icon earned billions of dollars thanks to his time at Microsoft, something he used to become a big name in the world of sports -- surprising for a tech guy. He purchased both an NBA team (Portland Trail Blazers) and an NFL franchise (Seattle Seahawks). While I am sure he loved both teams, the latter was probably closer to his heart. You see, Allen was a significant presence in Seattle, WA -- the place he was born and died. He was probably beyond proud when he brought a Super Bowl championship to the city he loved so much.
Winamp is being updated and reimagined as an audio app for mobile
The name Winamp -- you know, the audio player that "really whips the llama's ass" -- is one that will stir up nostalgic memories for people of a certain age. Since its inception in the mid-90s, Winamp gained a huge and loyal following but, after changing hands a couple of times since the turn of the century, it was then largely forgotten.
But Winamp is making a comeback. In the next few days the desktop app will be getting an update -- not that this is something you should expect too much from -- but it is what's happening in 2019 that's really exciting.
HyperX ships more than 60 million RAM sticks
HyperX -- Kingston's gaming brand -- is most well known for high quality RAM. With that said, it has expanded over the years to include gaming peripherals, such as mice, keyboards, headsets, and more. Still, despite a more diverse product offering, memory remains the crown jewel of its business.
To highlight just how important RAM is to HyperX, today, the company makes a shocking announcement. You see, the company has achieved an impressive milestone -- more than 60 million memory modules shipped since 2002!
Bad Intel audio driver kills sound in Windows 10 -- here's how to fix the problem
Microsoft has had a tough time of it lately. The Windows 10 October 2018 Update deleted files for some users, introduced display audio problems, and broke Edge and Windows Store apps. It was so awful, that Microsoft was forced to pause the update, and send it back for testing.
As if all that wasn’t bad enough, an Intel audio driver was incorrectly pushed to devices via Windows Update late last week, which unfortunately killed the audio for those who received it.
Enterprises still face roadblocks to using analytics
Business and IT decision makers are becoming increasingly frustrated by the complexity, bottlenecks and uncertainty of today's enterprise analytics, according to a survey of senior leaders at enterprise-sized organizations from around the world.
The study by research firm Vanson Bourne for data intelligence company Teradata finds significant roadblocks for enterprises looking to use intelligence across the organization.
New technology helps businesses to assess cyber risks
In a world of digital transformation projects that increasingly mean more links to suppliers and partners, it can be hard for companies to assess the risk presented by opening up their data to third-parties.
To address this problem RiskRecon is launching new asset valuation algorithms that automatically determine the inherent risk value of any internet facing system.
Cyberattacks shift their focus onto business in third quarter
After a relatively quiet first half of the year, cyberattacks have come back with a bang in the third quarter according to the latest report from Malwarebytes.
Businesses seem to have become the main focus of attacks, experiencing more cybercriminal activity this quarter, with detections up by 55 percent, while consumer detections increased by only four percent over the last quarter.
Malicious messages are locking up PlayStation 4 consoles
We've heard of problems with specially-crafted messages being used to lock up iPhones, and now a similar problem has been found with the PlayStation 4. Anyone who receives one of these messages will find that their console completely locks up -- and the only way out of it is to perform a factory reset.
The problem lies in messages that include unrecognized characters, and it is being exploited by some gamers to boot people offline in the middle of games -- Rainbow Six in particular. While there is no fix available at the moment, there are steps you can take to prevent the issue affecting you.
UK government launches guidance to help secure IoT devices
There are expected to be more than 420 million internet connected devices in use across the UK within the next three years and if poorly secured these can leave people exposed to security issues and even large scale cyberattacks.
To address this, a new voluntary Code of Practice is being launched by the UK government to help manufacturers boost the security of internet-connected devices such as smartwatches, virtual assistants and toys.
Privacy: Twitter is under investigation for data collection through its link-shortening system
Twitter is being investigated by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) over concerns about how much data it collects through its t.co link-shortening tool.
The Irish privacy regulator is concerned about the amount of data Twitter is able to collect through the service -- something that was only heightened by the company's refusal to hand over information about link tracking when it was requested.
Microsoft employees use open letter to urge company not to get involved in JEDI military project
Last week, Google said that it had concerns about the use of AI in the US Department of Defense's JEDI (Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure) project, and as such it would not be bidding for the contract.
Now Microsoft employees have published an open letter expressing their concerns about JEDI, the secrecy it is shrouded in, and the potential for it to cause harm or human suffering. The letter has a simple message: "Microsoft, don't bid on JEDI".
An Unsend option is coming to Facebook Messenger
Mark Zuckerberg caused controversy around six months ago... nothing strange for Facebook you may think. On this occasion, the founder of the social network managed to upset people when it turned out he had deleted messages he had sent through Facebook Messenger: an option that wasn't -- and isn't -- available to other Facebook users.
At the time, when the matter came to light, Facebook said that the ability to unsend messages would ultimately give everyone the option to delete the messages they had sent. At long last, the feature is being tested, so we might see if released publicly in the not-too-distant future.
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