Wayne Williams

Google has been fined a record €2.42 billion ($2.7bn/£2.1bn) by the European Commission after a seven year investigation sparked by Microsoft and other firms, found that the company had unfairly promoted Google Shopping above other similar shopping comparison services on its search site.

The ruling also states that Google has 90 days to cease its anti-competitive practices or it could occur further penalties, and they could really rack up.

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Windows 10’s File History feature automatically backs up your files to another drive and lets you restore them if the originals get lost, damaged, or deleted. It’s saved my bacon on more than one occasion and I wouldn’t be without it.

However, starting with the accidental Insider Build 16212 released earlier this month, the feature disappeared, and was still missing in Build 16215 which followed a week later.

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Somewhat controversially, Google has always scanned messages in Gmail in order to be able to present users with relevant, personalized adverts based on the email content. That’s something that has always worried people who are concerned with what personal information the company might be gleaning from their inboxes.

In a surprise announcement, the search giant today declares its intention to end the long-standing policy.

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On Wednesday, Microsoft rolled out Build 16226 for Windows Insiders on the Fast ring. While this Windows 10 Fall Creators Update build is a little buggier than most, it’s also jam-packed full of new features and improvements, including Edge tweaks, new Emoji, OneDrive Files On-Demand, a new Currency Converter function in Calculator, and updates to Storage Sense and Touch Keyboard.

It turns out there are also some other big improvements that we weren’t initially aware of, and more known issues to watch out for, including one that prevents the new build from installing correctly.

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Scratch provides a great introduction to programming for all ages, which is why it's included in Raspbian, the operating system that powers the Raspberry Pi. You can also use it to write code to control and respond to components connected to the GPIO (General Purpose Input and Output) pins on a Pi, and there’s a new version of the tool available from today.

Interacting with GPIO pins in Scratch 2.0 is easier than before, with custom blocks for setting the pin output (and getting the current pin state) replacing the old text-based broadcast instructions, which is a big step in the right direction. However, the tool can be a little slow for some operations, and there's a bigger issue to be aware of -- not all models of the Pi will be able to run it.

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If you’re a Windows Insider, you know that the test versions of Windows 10 that Microsoft rolls out to you on a regular basis aren’t going to be entirely stable and problem free. Especially if you’re on the Fast ring.

But the latest release, Build 16226, which Microsoft pushed out yesterday, seems buggier than most (albeit not as problematic as Build 16212 which got released by accident three weeks ago).

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Two weeks ago, Microsoft released Build 16215 to Windows 10 Insiders on the Fast ring. This introduced a wealth of new features including major UI improvements to Start and Action Center, and updates to the Edge browser, Cortana, My People, Night Light, and more.

Today, the software giant rolls out Build 16226 and this one is similarly jam-packed with new features and improvements.

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Skype has been having problems this week as a result of a DDoS attack which began on Monday. The Skype team acknowledged the problem, confirming that "some users will either lose connectivity to the application or may be unable to send or receive messages" as a result.

In order to mitigate the impact, Microsoft made some configuration changes which seems to have helped. A group called CyberTeam has claimed responsibility for the attack, and says it plans to target gaming platform Steam next.

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Two weeks ago, Kaspersky Labs filed antitrust complaints against Microsoft in Europe, alleging that the software giant disabled third-party antivirus software in Windows 10 in order to benefit Windows Defender.

In a long blog post today, Rob Lefferts, director of program management for Windows enterprise and security, admits (without mentioning Kaspersky specifically) that Microsoft "temporarily" disabled some parts of AV software it considered incompatible with Windows 10 Creators Update.

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Fidget spinners are this year’s big craze, especially among school children. There are lots of different types, and they can cost anything from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars.

Google is getting in on the fad, introducing a virtual fidget spinner to its search site.

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The Essential Job Interview Handbook will help job seekers prepare effectively for interviews and become familiar with different types of interview questions and styles of interviews.

A unique feature of this book from Career Press is the multiple answers it provides for each question, rated good, better, and best; with this feature, you'll learn what makes a winning answer and understand the strategy behind it.

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If you’re involved in user experience design -- be it as a web designer or a software developer -- you’ll know that identifying and fixing problems is easier and cheaper if it can be done earlier in the process of design and build.

As work on a project progresses, so the effort involved in making any changes increases. If you can test out early ideas, via prototyping, then you can quickly identify whether those ideas are going to work. This great ebook from SitePoint -- which usually retails for $30 -- will tell you everything you need to know about prototyping.

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It’s fair to say there’s a lot of anticipation around the new flagship killer from OnePlus, but the wait is very nearly over as today is the day it’s officially revealed.

Thanks to leaks and teases we already know a fair bit about the OnePlus 5, including that it’s going to be super thin, will have great cameras, and will likely feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and front fingerprint sensor.

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How to Measure Anything in Cybersecurity Risk exposes the shortcomings of current "risk management" practices, and offers a series of improvement techniques that help you fill in the holes and ramp up security.

This book, from Wiley, sheds light on these blatant risks, and provides alternate techniques that can help improve your current situation. You'll also learn which approaches are too risky to save, and are actually more damaging than a total lack of any security. Explore solutions where they exist and learn when to change tracks entirely.

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Apple has Siri, Amazon has Alexa, Google has Google Assistant, and Microsoft has Cortana. Samsung doesn’t currently have a voice assistant, but one is on its way. Bixby is described as "an intelligent, personalized interface for using your smartphone" and Samsung is aiming to make it more advanced than the competition.

It was expected that Bixby would be included on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ at launch, but unfortunately its arrival was delayed as it struggled to understand English. The wait is nearly over however, as from today users can sign up to be the first to try out Bixby for themselves. Be warned though, there is a catch -- not everyone is eligible.

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