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Almost any article you read about how automation will affect our future can be classified into one of two narratives. The first one is that it will definitely lead to a better future, as it always had since the industrial revolution. Of course, some people will lose their jobs, but as history shows, new jobs will be created. And not just new jobs, but better jobs. The other narrative is that this time is different. The robots are becoming more and more intelligent and capable. And the number of jobs and industries they’ll destroy will far exceed the number of jobs they create. Of course, it’s impossible to tell which of the two narratives will become a reality. What we can tell is that these narratives share similar inception: more and more parts of our jobs and lives are being automated.

Take for example the process of driving. For many years now, we have been taking small parts of the driving process and automating them. For a better driving experience, we built cruise control. For route planning, we developed the GPS. Now, we are able to tackle more complex problems like lane merging and emergency braking. In the next couple of years, we will most certainly have fully autonomous cars driving on the roads. Just last week Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving subsidiary, officially received the very first California permit to test their vehicles in the state without a human behind the wheel.

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The newest iPad Pro tablets are amazing, albeit overkill for many consumers. Not only are they beautifully designed, but powerful as hell. Believe it or not, they can outperform many Mac computers. In other words, iPad is getting closer to becoming a legit laptop alternative.

Unfortunately, the 2018 iPad Pro still does not have mouse support, meaning navigating iOS while in "laptop mode" with the keyboard attachment can be tedious. While it finally has a USB-C port, there is still no USB Type-A port (and there never will be). Also missing is the 3.5mm audio jack. Luckily, as is typical with Apple products these days, adapters and dongles are here to save the day. Today, Satechi announces the Aluminum Type-C Mobile Pro Hub Adapter which makes the 2018 iPad Pro much more capable.

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It's less than a year since Google launched Files Go, its first attempt at a file manager app for Android. The primary aim of the app is to help users to free up space on their phones, and today Google announces that it not only has a new name, but also a new look.

Files Go has been rebranded Files by Google, and the updated version of the app is starting to roll out now.

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Containerization enables organizations to both modernize existing applications and adopt new technologies based on business requirements. But the process of migrating older systems can be daunting.

Popular container platform Docker is addressing this with the launch of a new Windows Server application migration program. This is designed to allow businesses to migrate and modernize their legacy Windows Server applications in advance of the end-of-support deadline for Microsoft Windows Server 2008.

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As soon as Facebook announced its smart video calling device -- Portal and Portal+ -- there were concerns about the privacy implications of introducing Facebook hardware with a camera into your home.

The company has already gone to some lengths to try to allay privacy-related fears, clearly pre-empting the concerns people would have. Facebook describes Portal as "private by design", but now it has gone further, using a blog post to stress the privacy and security of the devices, as well as offering reassurances about how data collected through them will -- and won't -- be used.

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A new survey of cybersecurity decision-makers shows that most companies lack adequate safeguards against phishing threats and many don't fully understand the risks or how widespread the threat is.

The survey from phishing site detection company SlashNext reveals that 95 percent of respondents underestimate how frequently phishing is used at the start of attacks to successfully breach enterprise networks.

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In the final quarter of 2018, the number of reported breaches is down by eight percent and the number of exposed records is down around 49 percent, from seven billion in 2017.

The latest Data Breach QuickView report from Risk Based Security shows that seven breaches exposed 100 million or more records with the 10 largest breaches accounting for 84.5 percent of the records exposed this year to date.

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The Windows 10 shit show continues with yet more problems with Microsoft’s newest operating system rearing their ugly heads. Some users -- including a friend of my colleague Brian Fagioli -- have suffered from a problem whereby file associations are broken, so you can’t open files in the default programs you choose.

Now a growing number of users are complaining on Reddit that their Windows 10 Pro installations are suddenly reverting to Windows 10 Home.

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If you absolutely need a new router today, there are plenty of great options on the market. If your current device is good enough and functioning, however, I would advise to hold off on an upgrade. Why? There is a big change coming to wireless internet -- 802.11ax, also knows as "Wi-Fi 6." Not only will these new routers potentially offer more speed and bandwidth, but some will eventually offer WPA3 too -- the latest and greatest security standard.

Today, NETGEAR announces two upcoming Wi-Fi 6 routers -- the Nighthawk AX8 and AX12. Not only is each model chock full of great specs, but they have quite the wild design too. They almost look like they have shark fins protruding from both the right and left side. Are they overkill for most homes? Absolutely. Still, if you like new and shiny things, and you are willing to spend top dollar to be an early adopter, you will want to take a look.

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The concept of a foldable phone has been around for a while now. Indeed, Microsoft’s oft-rumored Surface Phone was expected to offer a foldable display that looked like a tablet when opened up.

Samsung has been teasing us with its own plans for a foldable phone for weeks now, and today at the Samsung Developer Conference 2018 it showed off a prototype which folds out to form a tablet, and back again to become a slightly fat phone.

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While there’s still no sign of a re-release for the botched Windows 10 October 2018 Update, Microsoft is rolling out new builds for the feature update that follows it, codenamed 19H1.

Today’s new release, Build 18277, gains a new focus assist option that will spring into life whenever you’re doing anything full screen on your PC so you’re not bothered by notifications.

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"Data breaches have become the leading risk to data and privacy in the last ten years, and there’s no sign of an end." States the Avast Business Threat Landscape Report for 2018, and isn’t hard to believe. Over the course of 2017 there were more than 2.6 billion instances of records and data being compromised or stolen online, but in the first half of 2018 alone, data breaches exposed over 4.5 billion records.

Clearly, this is a very real threat. But while many businesses are increasing their preventative measures, the important step of creating an incident response plan is often overlooked. While any business can hope that their cyber security is enough to keep company and client data safe, it’s important not to simply assume that this will be the case.

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Many companies are producing mechanical keyboards nowadays, but not all of them are great. Companies like HyperX and Logitech make quality such products, but there is another company that is very well respected by in-the-know consumers -- Das Keyboard. Its products are legendary because of their high quality and reliability.

Today, Das Keyboard launches a new mechanical keyboard that looks downright drool-worthy. The 4Q, as it is called, features Cherry MX switches (brown), RGB lighting, and a handy two-port USB hub. Best of all, it leverages open source applets for a truly unique experience.

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Cloud adoption is high, with 78 percent using or planning to use cloud in the future, but most organizations lack a formal strategy to realize the full benefits and 62 percent report higher than anticipated costs.

These are among the findings of a new survey by Syncsort that shows only 29 percent report having a centralized strategy and center of excellence in place to proactively plan and manage applications to the cloud, while 42 percent migrate applications on an ad-hoc basis.

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A security researcher has not only discovered a vulnerability in the virtualization tool VirtualBox, but has released details of the exploit and a step-by-step guide to the zero-day vulnerability.

Russian exploit developer Sergey Zelenyuk found a way to break out of VirtualBox's virtual environment and he chose to go public with the vulnerability because of his displeasure at the "contemporary state of infosec, especially of security research and bug bounty". Having told Oracle about the problem, he also tired of the "delusion of grandeur and marketing bullshit" he experienced in the infosec community.

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