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QR Codes offer a simple way to do all sorts of things on your smartphone, from opening a web page in your browser or adding a new contact, to opening a map at a specific location.

Prolific software developer NirSoft has created new tool for Windows that lets you quickly generate a QR Code ready for scanning with your phone.

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It seems like it has been a while since there was a new version of PowerToys for Windows 10, but Microsoft has now pushed out a new release in time for Easter.

We've now made it up to PowerToys v0.35.0, and while this is not a major upgrade from the previous version, it is still significant thanks not only to the number of bug fixes and improvements, but also the number of new features. FancyZones, PowerToys Run and Color Picker are among those gaining new options.

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The past year has seen many changes to the way businesses operate, including a stepping up of digital transformation and more interest in automating processes.

But many people still fear that greater automation could lead to a loss of jobs. We spoke to Yakaira (Kai) Nunez, senior director of research and insights at Salesforce to discover why she thinks enterprises can deploy automation to partner with rather than replace humans.

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Today is April 1, also known as "April Fool's Day," which is a holiday for pranks and jokes. On this day, it can be hard to know what news stories are real and which are fake. Some find April Fool's Day to be fun, while others see it as annoying.

Well, folks, I am happy to say that today, Ubuntu Linux 21.04 achieves final Beta status. And no, that isn't a joke -- it is the real deal! Code-named "Hirsute Hippo," the Beta can be had with your choice of several desktop environments, such as GNOME, KDE Plasma, and Xfce.

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If you love mini desktop computers as much as I do, you absolutely must check out Minisforum. This manufacturer produces unique NUC-like computers with beautiful designs and respectable performance. They can typically run both Windows 10 and Linux wonderfully. We recently tested out the Intel-powered Minisforum EliteMini H31G and came away very impressed.

As an AMD fan, however, I am extremely excited about the company's latest offering. Called "DESKMINI HM50," this miniature desktop computer is powered by a six-core AMD Ryzen 5 4500U processor and features Radeon graphics.

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Windows 7 and Windows 10 aren't terrible operating systems. In fact, they are both very good. With that said, the newest version of Windows 10 has many bugs. Unfortunately, since Windows 7 is no longer supported, its users have a very hard decision to make. They have to decide whether to use an unsupported Windows 7 or upgrade to Windows 10 that is full of telemetry and other "spying" that passes their information to Microsoft's servers. That is a very difficult decision.

Thankfully, there is an arguably better option -- just switch to Linux! Yes, modern Linux-based operating systems will be supported (unlike the now-obsolete Windows 7) and most will run great on aging hardware (unlike Windows 10). Linux Lite, which uses the Xfce desktop environment, is one of the best Linux distributions for Windows-switchers, as it is lightweight, modern, and familiar.

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Phishing attacks are getting more sophisticated and therefore harder to spot. However, there are still times when the phisherfolk don't do themselves any favors, making their attempts at deception amusingly obvious.

Email security company GreatHorn has launched a new blog series called Phishing Phails which looks at some of the less successful examples of phishing bait.

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When digital assistants are mentioned, it tends to be Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa that come to mind; it is only for real Microsoft diehards that Cortana features.

So it is little wonder that Microsoft has seen sense and decided to kill off some implementations of its own digital assistant. Cortana will still be found in Windows 10, but mobile users will find that it is no longer available for either iOS or Android.

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Consumers are exercising their privacy rights -- to access, delete or stop the sale of their data -- under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) which came into force last year.

A new report from privacy platform DataGrail shows that consumers are increasingly concerned about their personal information and how it's used. It also reveals that the number of data subject requests (DSRs) companies receive varies wildly, depending on their privacy practices.

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No organization has time for downtime in today’s ever-changing business environment. Disruptions including human error, cyberattacks, natural disaster and even business disruption related to the COVID-19 pandemic can wreak havoc on your business and bring it to a standstill. Having a comprehensive disaster recovery (DR) plan is critical for business resilience and the survival of your organization.  

So what is a DR plan? It can be defined as a set of processes and techniques used to help an organization recover from a disaster and continue or resume routine business operations. It is a comprehensive plan that combines the roles and functions of IT and the business immediately following a disaster. These plans allow your organization to adapt and recover from any type of disruption while also maintaining normal business operations.  

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Organizations today face a major threat in terms of cybersecurity, from malicious URLs to credential reuse, and having robust security systems can make all the difference.

With Machine Learning for Cybersecurity Cookbook you'll learn how to use Python libraries such as TensorFlow and scikit-learn to implement the latest artificial intelligence (AI) techniques and handle challenges faced by cybersecurity researchers.

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In an iOS support document, Apple reveals that it is planning to take steps to recalibrate the batteries of iPhone 11 handsets.

The move by the company comes after an iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max bug led to inaccurate information being given about battery health. With a fix due to rollout later in the spring, Apple is advising people to hold off from taking their handsets in for repair until a software update allows for recalibration.

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Debian is a great operating system in its own right, but also, it makes for an excellent base for other Linux distributions as well. For example, Ubuntu is probably the most well-known Linux distro and it is based on Debian. There are countless other operating systems, such as Netrunner, that stand on Debian's figurative shoulders.

The prettiest and most exciting Debian-based operating system, however, is deepin. This Chinese-developed Linux distribution is probably the most beautiful desktop operating system on the planet; it is arguably better than both Apple's macOS and Microsoft's Windows 10 in the style department. deepin has what some consider the most beautiful and intuitive user interfaces.

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You can’t have failed to have noticed that Microsoft has been showing a lot of love to Linux in recent years, with the most obvious example being the inclusion of Windows Subsystem for Linux in Windows 10. The company has been improving this and adding new functionality regularly. Most recently it made it possible to use Windows Hello in WSL.

Today, Ubuntu Linux maker Canonical releases Ubuntu on Windows Community Preview which is a special build of its OS for WSL 2 that lets users experiment with new features and functionality in a sandbox environment.

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Organizations in virtually every industry rely on apps to provide a critical part of the customer experience. When those apps prove to be unstable, end users can be impacted in ways that cause considerable consternation. Last year, a variety of major organizations suffered significant app crashes that resulted in serious disruptions, lost revenue and hurt reputation. 

For example, London’s Heathrow Airport, one of the world’s busiest airports, experienced two simultaneous app failures that prevented departure boards from displaying accurate information and kept travelers from being able to check-in electronically, causing thousands of passengers to have their flight delayed or cancelled. Later on in 2020, bugs in Facebook’s Software Developer Kit (SDK) led iOS versions of Spotify, Pinterest, TikTok, Venmo, Tinder, Doordash and other notable apps to crash as soon as they were opened. Finally, popular eSports game Apex Legends encountered so many ongoing app crashes last Fall that a major tournament was ruined, with all matches but one having at least a single player disconnect.

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