Just about everyone thinks Internet.org is a terrible idea
Mark Zuckerberg probably thought the world would bow down to him when Facebook announced the Internet.org project. The idea of bringing internet access to those in developing parts of the world seems, on the face of it, to be something of an exercise in altruism. Of course, it's not quite that simple.
Many companies complain that the project goes against the idea of net neutrality -- a claim that Zuckerberg vehemently denies. But now the vocal opposition to Internet.org is getting louder. Privacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has several concerns with the project, and a collective of 67 digital rights groups has signed a letter to the Facebook founder expressing concerns about the approach Internet.org is taking.
Your smartphone is too big
I love my Nexus 6. This morning, while waking to the rush of caffeine from steaming coffee, I read headlines on the device. "I’m Phed Up With Phablets: They're too big to prevail" caught my attention. The short commentary, by Brian Rubin for ReadWrite, rails against the bigger-is-better-smartphone trend. Screen on my cellular is massive: 6 inches, and I forever promised myself to never use a phone so large -- until I did and converted. Much as I enjoy using the N6, for which I can still manage many operations one-handed, smaller would be my preference. Perhaps yours, too.
Here at BetaNews, we first raised doubts about ever-expanding screens four years ago. I still remember the discussion about the story, and more importantly the headline, before Ed Oswald wrote "Is that the Samsung Galaxy S II in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" In 2015, what seemed large then -- a 4.3-inch screen -- is puny. Even iPhones are bigger. Rubin rightly raises alarm about choice: "The real problem isn’t so much that there are too many phablets, but that there aren’t enough non-phablets these days -- at least none that are truly interesting".
Popular music streaming service MixRadio arrives on Android and iOS
Popular music streaming service MixRadio, which was earlier exclusively available on Microsoft’s Windows Phone, today arrives on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store. BetaNews had exclusively reported about the company's plan to release the app to other platforms in March earlier this year.
MixRadio offers free music streaming curated in a radio-like way. Available in 31 countries including US, China, and India, the on-demand music streaming is estimated to have millions of users -- though the exact numbers have never been disclosed. The service offers more than 12,500 playlists and a catalog of over 35 million songs.
Panda Global Protection 2016 beta now available
Panda Security has announced the first public beta of Panda Global Protection 2016, a revamp of its comprehensive all-round security suite.
The new release provides enhanced Wi-Fi protection, detecting and alerting you to potential vulnerabilities. An extended PC Tuneup module frees up hard drive space, cleans the Registry and gives control over your Windows startup programs.
Apple resurrects the iPhone dock, adds Lightning connector -- still stupid
When I bought my first iPod, a click-wheel model, I excitedly bought some accessories too; a silicone case and the official dock. Docking the iPod was such an elegant thing, I was excited to do it. I connected the dock to my Windows PC, put the case on my iPod and...FAIL.
Yes, with the case on, my iPod would not fit in the dock. I had to decide between elegant docking and protecting my investment. Fast forward to today, and Apple introduces a dock for the lightning-connector iPhones and iPods. While it may work with some thin cases, once again, users will have to decide between the dock and protection, which is surely foolish.
Security researcher allegedly takes control of airplane, demonstrates security risks
A security consultant is at the centre of a media storm following claims that he hacked into the computer systems on board airplanes on a number of occasions, and during one of those he allegedly managed to take partial control of the craft.
Chris Roberts was picked up by the FBI last month following tweets about hacking into the plane’s systems on a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Syracuse, and upon landing he had his kit -- a MacBook Pro and iPad Air -- seized in order to be scrutinized by their techies.
Security is the major challenge to enterprise mobility goals
More and more companies are turning to apps to improve business mobility, but 67 percent cite security as the top challenge to achieving their goals.
This is among the findings of the 2015 Enterprise Mobility Report from app management specialist Apperian. Although security is the major challenge others include determining return on investment, lack of budget and reaching BYOD or unmanaged devices.
The 10 countries with the fastest Internet speeds -- is yours on the list?
The Internet has become such a necessity for hundreds of millions of people worldwide, it is hard to believe that billions still live each day without scrolling through a Facebook feed or watching a YouTube video.
That said, a lot of the people that have Internet connection do not enjoy the speed offered by Internet service providers, especially in parts of the world where oligopolies rule the web pipes.
New enterprise file management suite takes mobile first approach
According to research by IDC the number of enterprise applications optimized for mobile is set to quadruple by next year as businesses seek to improve workflow across the organization.
Adaptive enterprise file services specialist Egnyte is unveiling its new enterprise mobile suite that's optimized for business users. It allows them to seamlessly access, manage and share online and offline data from both cloud and on-premises storage.
Process Hacker gains new features
Fabulous PC monitoring tools Process Hacker and Process Hacker Portable have been updated to version 2.35 with some welcome extras and enhancements.
One major addition is support for viewing the load time and load reasons for process modules, on Windows 8 and above. If a long-running process like Explorer.exe is developing problems, you can now sort its modules by load time to get clues about the cause.
Apple refreshes 15-inch MacBook Pro, introduces cheaper 5K iMac
Apple has refreshed the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, beefing up its top-of-the-line laptop with a Force Touch trackpad, faster internal storage and dedicated graphics, and, of course, better battery life. Also new is a 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display configuration which kicks off at $1,999, $300 cheaper than the original model.
But these are not the only changes that Apple has announced. The original 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display now starts off at $200 less than before -- prior to this price-cut, it had been available from $2,499. Let us take a detailed look at what the new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display brings to the table.
DataStax launches database platform designed for mixed workloads
Enterprises currently have a greater volume and variety of data available to them than ever before, but this leads to increased pressure to exploit that data effectively to make timely business decisions.
Apache Cassandra database specialist DataStax is today launching DataStax Enterprise 4.7 which offers integrated enterprise search, analytics, security, in-memory computing, and database management and monitoring, making it ideal for mixed workload environments.
Ban on YouTube's controversial anti-Islam film finally lifted
In 2012 a controversial video went viral on YouTube that angered Muslims across the Middle East, sparking riots and leading to several deaths. The Innocence of Muslims is a 74 minute piece of junk (that I watched), which shows the prophet Muhammad as a fool, a fraud, insane, and a sexual deviant. Unsurprisingly it was blocked in numerous countries, including Libya, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Russia. Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, even went so far as to ban YouTube entirely.
Despite mounting pressure, including from the White House, Google refused to remove the film from YouTube, because it didn’t violate its policies. However, The Innocence of Muslims fell victim to a specious copyright claim, and ended up being removed anyway.
Is someone stealing your Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi access is growing all the time and that’s hardly surprising considering the amount of time we spend online and the need for employees to be increasingly mobile. The number of public hotspots are on the up, but that’s not the only way to get online.
Unauthorized access to your personal Wi-Fi can occur if the right precautions are not taken. One of the first things to do is to check the list of connected devices using your network. There are dedicated software packages that will help you do this, or alternatively, you can usually access your router’s settings by entering your IP address into your web browser search bar.
Microsoft's VC3 security is encryption for the cloud
The inexorable move towards the cloud continues apace, and something that remains a key concern is security. Microsoft thinks it may have come up with a solution in the form of Verifiable Confidential Cloud Computing, or VC3, which has been designed to keep cloud data encrypted and secure even when the data is being used to perform calculations.
Described as a "lockbox in the cloud", VC3 keeps data protected by using secure, managed hardware to perform any necessary decryption. Encrypted data is transferred to VC3-managed cloud hardware where it is then decrypted, used in calculations, and then re-encrypted.
