Acer unveils Chromebook 11 C732, Chromebook Spin 11, and Chromebox CXI3
When it comes to Chromebooks, Acer is one of the premier manufacturers. From the early days of Google's desktop OS, Acer has produced quality computers running the Linux-based Chrome OS. Best of all, Acer's Chromebooks and Chromeboxes are often quite affordable. This makes sense, since the company is largely a value-focused manufacturer. Quite frankly, Acer and Chrome OS are a match made in heaven.
Hot on the heels of announcing its all-new Chromebook 11, the company today unveils three new Chrome OS computers -- Chromebook 11 C732, Chromebook Spin 11, and Chromebox CXI3. While the Chromebooks will likely get much of the attention, I am quite smitten with the Chromebox. This diminutive desktop is absolutely gorgeous, and it is chock-full of useful ports. The Chromebook 11 C732 is also quite intriguing, thanks to its optional LTE connectivity!
VAVA Dash Cam offers great video quality in an usual-looking package [Review]
When designing a dash cam it's easy for manufacturers to focus more on features rather than benefits. That's why we end up with so many devices that look bland, have pretty much the same features, but lack that special touch to set them apart from the crowd. With its new dash cam, VAVA decided to do things differently.
The VAVA Dash Cam is an intriguing proposition, featuring a cylindrical design and a magnetic mount connection, but no display or physical buttons. However, it's not lacking in features, as it packs lots of useful functionality. But how well does it work? I've tested it to find out.
illy Y5 DRS Espresso and Coffee System has integrated Amazon Dash technology
Coffee... is life. For me, and countless other people, the drink is responsible for daily motivation. Without a cup or two (or five) of the caffeinated beverage, I’d probably be asleep at my desk all the time.
If you live alone or simply don’t want to deal with brewing entire pots of coffee, single-serve pods have proven to be a godsend (not so great for the environment, though). You can quickly make a cup without stress. A new coffee system is looking to make coffee pods even easier. The "illy Y5 DRS Espresso and Coffee System," as it is called, can connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth for more intuitive controls. Even cooler, it can leverage Amazon Dash technology for automatic coffee pod reordering. How clever!
Corporate cultural issues hold back secure software development
As the digital economy expands and software becomes more critical, security worries grow. In a new survey, 74 percent of respondents agree that security threats due to software and code issues are a growing concern.
The study of over 1,200 IT leaders, conducted by analysts Freeform Dynamics for software company CA Technologies, finds 58 percent of respondents cite existing culture and lack of skills as hurdles to being able to embed security within processes.
Amazon Go, the AI-powered, checkout-free store, is now open in Seattle
Today sees the opening of the first Amazon Go store. The online retailer is looking to change the face of real-world shopping with its AI-powered brick and mortar stores that are free from checkouts and time-consuming lines.
Anyone shopping in the new Seattle store will find that they are constantly monitored by cameras as they shop, with the camera monitoring which items they place in their baskets. Customers are automatically billed when they leave the store.
Three game-changers in the Automotive industry in 2018
New data-driven services, strong light-weight materials and a rapidly built out infrastructure for EVs (Electric Vehicles) are trends impacting the automotive industry throughout 2018.
Stefan Issing, the Global Industry Director for Automotive at IFS, presents his industry predictions for the year ahead.
Prediction #3 -- 2018 foreign profit repatriation is a $591.8 BILLION taxpayer ripoff
When I started this series of 2018 predictions I said the recently passed U.S. tax law was going to have a profound impact on upcoming events. Having had a chance to look closer at the issue I am even more convinced that this seismic financial event is, as I wrote above, a $591.8 billion taxpayer ripoff. This is not to say there aren’t some possible public benefits from the repatriation, but it’s fairly clear that the public loses more than it will ever gain.
In case you don’t follow these things, multinational U.S. companies have, since 2005, squirreled away about $2.5 TRILLION in profits overseas because U.S. tax law allowed those profits to go untaxed until they are returned to the USA. Understand that this $2.5 trillion is more than just the profit made on overseas business: many companies changed their ways of doing business to divert what would have been U.S. domestic profits, sending them overseas for parking to await a business-friendly U.S. Administration that would cut them a sweetheart deal to bring back all that moolah. The amount of U.S. corporate income tax that went unpaid during this 12 year period was 35 percent of $2.5 trillion or about $875 BILLION. That’s taxes of $73 billion annually for 12 years that went unpaid -- about five percent of the federal budget for those 12 years.
KaOS 2018.01 KDE-focused Linux distro now available with Spectre and Meltdown fixes
It can be difficult to find a quality Linux distribution that meets your needs. This is partly because there are just too many operating systems from which to choose. My suggestion is to first find a desktop environment that you prefer, and then narrow down your distro search to one that focuses on that DE. For instance, if you like KDE, both Kubuntu and Netrunner are solid choices.
With all of that said, there is another KDE-focused Linux distro that I highly recommend. Called "KaOS," it is a rolling release, meaning you can always be confident that your computer is running modern packages. Today, KaOS gets its first updated ISO for 2018, and you should definitely use it to upgrade your install media. Why? Because version 2018.01 has fixes for Spectre and Meltdown thanks to Linux kernel 4.14.14 with both AMD and Intel ucode.
OnePlus admits that up to 40,000 accounts were affected by a credit card breach
Last week it emerged that OnePlus was conducting an investigation after a number of customers complained about fraudulent credit card charges. Now the company has given an update on the matter, saying that its website was attacked and a malicious script stealing credit card details was injected, affecting up to 40,000 people.
The company has issued an apology for the incident and says that it has contacted those it feels may have been directly affected. In a statement, OnePlus explains that over a two-month period, customers who entered their credit card details at oneplus.net may be at risk.
Amazon hikes monthly Prime fee by 18 percent
Amazon has just given people another reason to pay for their Prime subscriptions on an annual rather than a monthly basis. The company has increased the cost of a monthly subscription by $2 per month.
This is the first rise in Amazon Prime subscription pricing for a few years now, and the fact that the annual fee remains unchanged is a clear indication that Amazon is eager to lock customers into year-long packages.
Facebook to fight 'sensationalism, misinformation and polarization' with news trustworthiness surveys for users
Facebook has said time and time again that it will do more to fight the problem of fake news on the social network, and the company's latest idea is to simply ask users which news sources they know and trust.
In a post on his own Facebook page, Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook will start to "ask people whether they're familiar with a news source and, if so, whether they trust that source." Seemingly blind to the idea that this could be open to abuse and manipulation, he says that this will shift the balance of the news that is displayed on the site.
Twitter admits that 670,000 people interacted with Russian propaganda bots during US election
Twitter has revealed that a total of 677,775 Americans followed accounts or liked tweets associated with Russian propaganda groups during the 2016 US election. The company does not reveal how many people saw the tweets posted by these accounts.
That Russia tried to use Twitter -- and other social networks -- to influence the outcome of the US election is hardly news, but there has been an ongoing investigation trying to determine the scale of the operation. In its latest announcement, Twitter also says that it closed 50,258 accounts with links to Russia.
Italy launches investigation into Samsung and Apple for slowing down phones
Just a couple of weeks ago a French watchdog announced that it was investigating Apple about the "planned obsolescence" of iPhones. Now Italy is also looking into both Apple and Samsung after complaints that the companies are purposefully slowing down older phone models.
Apple has already admitted and defended the fact that it slows down older iPhones, saying that it is done to ensure the best performance from aging batteries -- later saying that an upcoming update will make the slowdown optional. In Italy, both Apple and Samsung stand accused of reducing handset performance to "induce consumers to buy new versions."
Net Neutrality is over: Here are three things to know and do
On December 14, 2017 the United States Federal Communications voted to end Net Neutrality. In other words, they are reversing a 2015 FCC vote to classify Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as "common carriers" rather than "information providers" according to Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 and Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
As common carriers, ISPs must provide equal access to all consumers and all businesses on all devices. They cannot throttle traffic, or block certain web sites, or charge more for consumers to access specific URLs such as www.amazon.com, www.netflix.com, or www.washingtonpost.com.
Get 'React -- Tools & Resources' ($29 value) FREE for a limited time
React -- Tools & Resources is a collection of in-depth guides to some of the tools and resources most used with React, such as Jest and React Router, a look at Preact, and much more.
It usually retails for $29, but BetaNews readers can get it entirely free for a limited time.
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