Apple's macOS Catalina 10.15.1 update adds AirPods Pro support, new Siri privacy options and gender-neutral emoji
Apple only released Catalina three weeks ago, and already there is a fairly significant update available -- macOS Catalina 10.15.1.
With this release, Apple adds support for the newly announced AirPods Pro as well as fixing a number of bugs. There are also new HomeKit options, enhanced privacy in Siri, and the arrival of more than 70 new or updated emoji, including gender-neutral options.
Keeping the DevOps balance between security and speed [Q&A]
With DevOps gaining in popularity at many companies, the tension between speed and security is an ongoing issue. This tension exists because the common perception is that security slows down agile development and the CI/CD pipeline.
We spoke to Manish Gupta CEO of continuous application security platform ShiftLeft to discuss the dynamics within DevOps that create this tension and how IT organizations can achieve both speed and security.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 Build 19013 with more ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
With October coming to a close it won’t be long until the Windows 10 November 2019 Update -- 19H2 -- starts to roll out to users. That’s more of a service pack than a feature update however.
If you want new features, it’s builds on the 20H1 branch that you’ll likely be more interested in. This week’s new flight, Build 19013, comes with more kaomoji and a welcome update to Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2.
Linksys unveils MX10 Velop intelligent mesh Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) system
Google recently launched its latest home Wi-Fi product -- Nest Wifi. It looks like a great networking solution for those that want to utilize mesh to extend coverage in their home. Hell, it even has Google Assistant built in! You know what it doesn't have though? Wi-Fi 6.
What exactly is Wi-Fi 6? It is the official name for 802.11ax -- the latest and greatest wireless networking standard. Despite Wi-Fi 6 devices being fairly rare, it is still strange that the search giant chose to not include it. Oh well. Google isn't the only game in town. TP-Link, for instance, recently announced some affordable 802.11ax routers. If you want both Wi-Fi 6 and mesh, however, today, you have a new option -- the Linksys MX10 Velop. Before you get too excited, please know the price is rather high.
Fedora 31 is here -- download the world's best desktop Linux distribution now
Is Fedora popular? Well, is any desktop Linux distribution truly popular in the grand scheme of things? I mean, look, Windows holds an insurmountable lead in the desktop operating system space -- it cannot be denied. Amongst Linux distributions, however, yes, Fedora is very popular comparatively. Why do people choose it over other distros, such as Ubuntu, MX Linux, or Manjaro? It's simple -- Fedora is a no-nonsense operating system with a genuine focus on free and open source software. Not to mention, it is fairly bleeding edge while remaining stable.
So, yeah, Fedora is wonderful. Today, however, the Linux distribution gets even better. You see, following the beta period, Fedora 31 is now available for download. Is it an exciting release? No, not really. Sure, enthusiasts will find themselves thrilled withe inclusion of the GNOME 3.34 desktop environment (with Qt Wayland by default), Linux 5.3 kernel, and Mesa 9.2, but otherwise, it is fairly boring. You know what? That's not a bad thing. In 2019, Fedora is simply a mature and stable operating system that only needs to follow an evolutionary path at this time -- not revolutionary. It stands alone as the world's best desktop Linux distribution.
You can now read cited books directly through Wikipedia
Wikipedia is an incredibly useful resource, even if not every entry is as accurate as it could be. If you’re using it for research, it’s best to perhaps view what you read there as a jumping off point.
Today, diving deeper into a subject just got easier, as when you find a citation to a book in a Wikipedia entry, you might now be able to go straight to the page of that actual volume with a single mouse click thanks to the Internet Archive.
Microsoft releases updated PowerToys with new PowerRename tool -- and dark mode!
It has been a couple of months since Microsoft unleashed the first build of the Windows 10 version of PowerToys with the promise of more to come.
Now this day has arrived. Today, Microsoft has released PowerToys v0.12 which includes not only improvements to the existing utilities, but also a brand new tool in the form of PowerRename.
Happy birthday, Internet! 50 years old today
50 years ago, on October 29 1969, a packet was sent between two computers -- one at UCLA and the other at Stanford Research Institute -- on the ARPANET. This doesn’t sound hugely exciting, but it was first step in the creation of the Internet.
In the half century since then, the world has transformed beyond recognition. The arrival of the World Wide Web in 1991 showed what the Internet could be and ultimately changed everything, bringing us online shopping, up to the minute news, social networking, and more.
Retailers turn to crowdsourced security to protect their systems
As the holiday season approaches and there's a consequent spike in the amount of money spent online, retail cybersecurity comes under the spotlight.
Bugcrowd is releasing its State of Retail Cybersecurity report that explores the vulnerabilities found among retailers over the last year. Among the key findings is that crowdsourced security adoption increased by 137 percent year on year.
Two-thirds of IT leaders want DevOps skills to modernize operations
A new survey of enterprise IT operations leaders by infrastructure monitoring and management specialist OpsRamp reveals that 64 percent indicate DevOps is the most sought-after skill.
Other in-demand skills are cloud certifications (61 percent), industry knowledge (56 percent), data science (47 percent) and machine learning (44 percent).
Ransomware sees a revival in 2019's worst cybersecurity threats
Cybersecurity company Webroot has released its third annual Nastiest Malware list which shows ransomware making a comeback in addition to other threats.
Phishing and botnets are still popular attack methods and threats across the board are also becoming more sophisticated and harder to detect.
Google is expanding its handy .new TLD shortcuts to third-party sites
It's not something that everyone knows about, but Google owns the top-level domain .new, and the company has gone beyond using them as simple web addresses. Instead, addresses such as cal.new, doc.new and keep.new can be used as shortcuts to create new calendar events, Google Docs files, and Keep Notes.
Until now, .new shortcuts have only worked with Google's own products and services, but this is about to change. There are already shortcuts that can be used in conjunction with the likes of Spotify, Canva, Word and GitHub, and Google has announced that other sites will be able to register domains -- and therefore shortcuts -- very soon.
Do you hate your child? Buy them a Microsoft Surface Go Kids Bundle!
Most people love their children, but hey, I guess there are some folks that don't. If you hate your young child, I have some great news -- Microsoft has a new Surface Go Kids Bundle that is perfect for you. You know how most kids want an iPad for all of the great apps? Well, rather than buy them what they actually want, you can instead get them an under-powered Windows 10 tablet.
Yeah, Microsoft has decided to push the Surface Go to children for some reason by dressing it up in a clown suit. You see, the Surface Go Kids Bundle is just the tablet in a colorful case plus some colorful headphones. Truth be told, the Gumdrop FoamTech Case does look very durable, but it is hilariously over-the-top in its design. I suppose the colors will appeal to young children, but beyond that, what little kid is clamoring for Windows?
Loss of mainframe skills represents a risk to businesses
Mainframe systems are still essential to many organizations, but a new study reveals that as many staff with mainframe skills approach retirement almost two thirds of IT decision makers say the consequent loss of skills presents a big risk to their business.
The report from enterprise computing specialist LzLabs, based on research conducted by Vanson Bourne, shows 99 percent consider their organization's mainframe applications as important or critical to business operations, yet 93 percent also express serious concerns about the mainframe environment.
DoH! Google tries to clear up DNS-over-HTTPS confusion
Google has already revealed plans for Chrome which it says will increase privacy and security. DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) was announced back in September, and the company is already worried that people are confused about the implementation.
The company has published a defensive blog post in which it says that "there has been some misinformation and confusion about the goals of our approach and whether DoH will impact existing content controls offered by ISPs". It goes on to try to dispel the incorrect beliefs it says have built up.
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