Amazon sold a lot of stuff during the holidays... again
Shopping at physical retail stores is insufferable these days. Have you been to a Walmart lately? Not only is it a soul-crushing experience all year, but during the holidays in November and December, it becomes particularly hell-like. Kids running around screaming, people sneezing and coughing without covering their mouths, plus generally dirty and disorganized aisles and shelves. It's gross. It gets better at stores like Target and Kohl's, but still, being around fellow humans can be an exercise in frustration. Thank goodness for online shopping.
As is typical, many people around the world turned to the web to buy Christmas and Hanukkah gifts this year. No retailer is more used than Amazon in this regard -- the undisputed king of online shopping. Once again, the company proclaims (brags) it has broken records this year -- without sharing exact numbers, of course. Ultimately, we can be confident that, records aside, Amazon sold a ton of stuff.
LibreELEC 9.0 Beta 1 Linux distro (based on Kodi 18 'Leia' RC3) now available
Kodi is an excellent open source media player, allowing the user to have an immersive experience with both music and video. While the software gets a bad reputation due to people using it for piracy, many folks only use it for legal media consumption. As more and more illegal Kodi add-on maintainers face legal trouble, and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu remain competitively priced, fewer folks may seek pirated content. In fact, the LibreELEC developers claim the "Kodi piracy scene continues to decline."
Not familiar with LibreELEC? Please know it is a Linux distribution that exists solely to run Kodi. It supports many hardware configurations, including traditional x86_64 for PC and ARM for devices like Raspberry Pi and WeTek. Following the release of Kodi 18 'Leia' RC3, LibreELEC 9.0 (8.95.1) Beta 1 becomes available for download. Its most significant change is a clever way to handle Kodi start up crashes due to buggy add-ons. After five consecutive crashes, the OS will boot without any Kodi add-ons, allowing the user to at least have a usable device.
Tripp Lite Isobar surge protectors finally get USB charging
When building a PC, people typically focus on the usual things -- CPU, RAM, PSU, and such. For whatever reason, builders often overlook a crucial component -- a surge protector. I mean, look, if you are going to drop a ton of money on a computer and monitor, shouldn’t you protect them with a reliable surge protector/power strip?
If you want a truly excellent such product, look no further than Tripp Lite. The company’s surge protectors are very well regarded for their durability and top build quality. Its "Isobar" models in particular are considered by many to be top of the line. Now they are getting even better, as two new models gain a much-desired feature -- USB charging ports.
Microsoft's emergency Internet Explorer patch renders some Lenovo laptops unbootable
A few days ago, Microsoft issued an emergency patch for Internet Explorer to fix a zero-day vulnerability in the web browser.
The problem affects versions of Internet Explorer from 9 to 11 across multiple versions of Windows, but it seems that the patch has been causing problems for many people. Specifically, people with some Lenovo laptops have found that after installing the KB4467691 patch they are unable to start Windows.
Linux 4.20 released in time for Christmas
Giving Linux fans a little Christmas present, Linus Torvalds has announced that version 4.20 of the Linux kernel is now available.
In a post to the Linux Kernel Mailing List, Torvalds said that there was no point in delaying the release of the latest stable version of the kernel just because so many people are taking a break for the holiday season. He says that while there are no known issues with the release, the shortlog is a little longer than he would have liked. However "nothing screams 'oh, that's scary'", he insists.
Apple launches new transparency report website showing government data requests from around the world
In recent years, technology companies have been under increasing pressure to be more transparent about the requests for data they receive from global governments. Firms such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook publish regular transparency reports, and Apple is no different.
Now the company has launched a new transparency report website which makes it even easier to trawl through its twice-yearly publication and see how many data requests have been issued by different governments.
Apple stands by its bent iPad Pro
Earlier this week, we wrote about the growing number of people who have complained that their iPad Pro is bent. This is not something that has developed over time, but a problem that was present out of the box.
Apple responded to complaints by saying that the bend that has been noticed in some iPad Pro chassis was not a defect. Now the company has issued a further statement indicating that it believes the tablet's "unibody design meets or exceeds all of Apple's high quality standards of design and precision manufacturing". This is not something an owner of a bent iPad Pro would probably agree with.
OnePlus 6T ad footage appears to be edited to make the bezel look smaller
Just a few days ago, a lawsuit was filed against Apple accusing it of using misleading images in advertising to disguise the notch of the iPhone XS. Now it is OnePlus that has been accused of editing advertising images of its phones, this time to make the bezel of the OnePlus 6T seem smaller.
The company was called out on Twitter after people noticed that the OnePlus 6T featured in promotional videos appeared to have a much smaller "chin" than the real-life phone.
Visiting family for Christmas? Replace Windows 10 on their computer with Peppermint OS 9 Respin Linux distro
Every year, millions of Americans get together with family on Christmas. Many adult kids return to a single parent's home to celebrate -- or a house shared by both parents if they beat the odds and aren't divorced. While there, if you know about tech, you may get asked to fix your mom or dad's computer. Be it malware or something else, this can be quite the frustrating task. Look, I know you are happy to help them, but you just want to relax and enjoy the holiday, right? How can you get the nightmare of fixing their Windows-based PC to stop? This Christmas, you should give them the gift of a stable and secure operating system that doesn't spy on them. Enter Linux.
Yes, a Linux distribution can stop this woe, giving your family member a more secure platform that is less susceptible to malware (and less likely to need your fixing). If they live in the web browser anyway, Windows is just a liability these days. What if I told you that there was a Linux distribution that you could loosely tie into the holiday? Well, candy canes are traditionally peppermint flavored, and wouldn't you know it, there is a new version of the excellent Peppermint OS out now! Called "9 Respin," it is a refresh of the previously released Peppermint OS 9 -- this time with many improvements and changes.
My AMC Stubs A-List subscription is a bad B-movie
Earlier this week, movie theater chain AMC dumped coal in my Christmas stocking when I attempted to cancel the $19.95-a-month, watch-three-movies-a-week Stubs A-List subscription. One, and then another, customer representative informed me that at signup, the terms of service explicitly states that commitment is for three months. He, then she, warned that cancellation would trigger immediate charge for the remaining two months. But the ToS restriction shouldn't apply to me, being a returning customer.
Everything comes down to the meaning of one word: Initial. When A-List launched, on June 26, 2018, my wife and I joined. We ended our membership about 90 days later. The ToS states: "A-List has an initial non-cancelable term of three (3) monthly membership periods (the 'Initial Commitment')". We were good with accepting that requirement, which we met. But on November 18, with a few holiday movies of interest, I resubscribed, presuming that by making a second commitment I could cancel whenever. However, AMC service reps claim that my 3-month obligation reset and initial is the applicable word. Oh, did I futilely argue the semantics of that. C`mon? Doesn't initial mean first time?
Reporting from the other side: Why journalism needs VPNs
Getting news out of hostile territories can potentially be extremely risky, but it is key to making sure that suppressed voices are heard, and that the wider world is aware of what is happening in war zones and regions with unstable leadership.
While the rest of us worry about data security because we’re shopping and banking online, for journalists, an increased focus on this type of security is critical -- particularly for those operating in dangerous regions of the world. As valuable as digital data trails can be to an investigative reporter, they can also work the other way, resulting in a journalist’s identity and stories being revealed. Not only can leaked information limit a journalist’s ability to report the truth, it could also put them and their sources at significant risk.
Save BIG on the Neato D7 Robot Vacuum or Swellpro SplashDrone 3 Plus Waterproof Drone
If you’re not all spent out for Christmas, and fancy treating yourself to a great product with a substantial discount, then Wellbots has put together not one, but two deals especially for BetaNews readers.
As you might expect, both products will ship after Christmas now, but should arrive before the holiday period ends.
Krisp reduces background noise on conference calls
The rise of homeworking means one thing, trying to focus on work whilst the family and daily chores are going on around you. Get on a conference call and you have to try and eliminate background noise to sound professional. When you’re on a call you suddenly realize how much noise is going on around you.
Get in the car and head to a coffee shop and you'll find there are people talking around you -- it’s no better at all. You just cannot seem to get away from surrounding noise. And that’s if you can even get a fast enough internet connection and a stable enough call to make it worthwhile and professional enough to impress the other callers.
Video sensors, medical devices and security worries -- IoT predictions for 2019
More and more devices in our homes and workplaces are gaining smart capabilities as the Internet of Things starts to move from niche to mainstream.
But greater adoption also means an expanded threat surface. So what can we expect to see from the IoT in 2019? We’ve rounded up the opinions of some industry experts.
Sign up as an Microsoft Edge beta tester to try the new Chromium-based version of the browser first
Microsoft recently confirmed that it plans to transition its Edge browser away from the EdgeHTML engine to Chromium, embracing open source, bringing Chrome extensions and more. Making such a big change obviously requires a lot of testing, and Microsoft is giving you the chance to get involved via the Microsoft Edge Insider program.
The company already has the Windows Insider program for people who want to get their hands on new builds of Windows 10 earlier than they would normally, but this is a commitment that not everyone is willing to sign up for. Now Microsoft has launched a beta program for Microsoft Edge so you can try out early builds and help to shape the future of the browser.
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