Apple clamps down on apps that share location data with third parties
Apple appears to be more vigorously enforcing App Store policies relating to the sharing of location data. Over the last few days the company has been removing apps that share location details with third parties without consent.
Developers of apps found to be exploiting user privacy in this way have received emails from Apple. These indicate that apps have undergone "re-evaluation" and found to be in violation of sections 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 of the App Store Review Guidelines.
Walmart buys a controlling share in India's Flipkart
Rumors have circulated for a number of weeks, but now it's official: Walmart has just said it will spend $16 billion buying a controlling sharing in Flipkart, the Indian ecommerce site. The American retail giant fought off a last-minute bid from Amazon.
The deal values Flipkart at $20.8 billion, and will see Walmart taking an initial stake of 77 percent of the company. The remainder of Flipkart ownership is shared between Tencent, Tiger Global and Microsoft, as well as its co-founder Binny Bansal.
Most companies not putting adequate investment into application security
According to a new survey from Arxan, only 25 percent of respondents say their organization is making a significant investment in solutions to prevent application attacks.
This is despite awareness of the negative impact of malicious activity. A worrying 65 percent of companies say they would be spurred to increase application protection measures only after an end user or customer was negatively affected.
Google launches Android Jetpack to speed up app development
Google has a new tool designed to help developers produce Android apps faster than ever. Called Android Jetpack, it builds on the Support Library and has a strong focus on backwards compatibility.
Android Jetpack also builds on Architecture Components, giving developers access to components, tools and architectural guidance split into four categories -- architecture, foundation, UI and behavior. Each component is provided as an "unbundled" library which Google says means you can "adopt each component at your own speed, at your own time".
Microsoft to let Windows 10 users Alt-Tab between both apps and browser tabs
For many people, keyboard shortcuts are essential to using a computer, and over time they become hardwired into muscle memory. You've probably become used to the way Alt-Tab can be used to switch between running apps, but Microsoft plans to change the way this particular shortcut works.
At Build, the company revealed that the next Insider build of Windows 10 will not only let you Alt-Tab between running programs, but also browser tabs. It's something that's being introduced as part of Sets, and it's likely to divide opinion.
Notepad on Microsoft Windows 10 gets Linux and Mac line endings support
Notepad is a classic piece of software. It is the unsung hero of every Windows installation. If you want to jot down a quick note, it is a blank canvas awaiting your keystrokes. As a young man, I used Notepad to write my school papers. Microsoft Office was reserved for rich folks, and there was no LibreOffice -- or even Open Office -- yet. Even the no-frills Microsoft Works was priced out of my family's reach, but I digress.
As Microsoft turns its attention away from the wonderful Paint to focus on the terrible Photos and Paint 3D, you'd expect the company to forget about good ol' Notepad. Surprisingly, however, it hasn't. In fact, the Windows-maker today announces that Notepad on Windows 10 is getting both Linux and Mac line endings support. Wow -- this really is a new Microsoft...
Google's Chrome OS getting support for traditional Linux apps, but don't get excited just yet
Google is a big supporter and user of Linux. Android, for instance, is the most popular Linux-based distribution in the world. Mobile aside, the search giant also leverages the open source kernel for its desktop operating system -- Chrome OS. While some Linux purists decry calling Google's operating systems "Linux," it simply cannot be denied. They are Linux.
I can understand some people suggesting traditional Linux distributions like Ubuntu or Fedora, but Chrome OS -- and the Chromebooks on which it runs -- is arguably more secure while also being easier to use. If I had to choose one operating system for accessing bank websites, for instance, I'd choose Chrome OS over any other. Unfortunately, its limited nature -- which makes it secure and easy to use -- also hinders power users. Sometimes a web or Android app just won't cut it. Well, folks, thankfully the rumors were true -- traditional Linux programs are coming to Chrome OS!
Google News gets a major revamp and an AI injection
Today at its I/O developer conference, Google revealed major changes for Google News. The company says that the revamp combines the best of artificial intelligence with the best of human intelligence, and it sees Google try to rebuild the trust people have in online news.
As well as a revamp of the underlying technology, there are also changes in presentation. A "For You" section in the app provides easy access to the most relevant stories that will be of personal interest, and there are also new opportunities for readers to delve deeper into stories via various news outlets, social media, videos and more via a new timeline tool.
Android P: Smarter and simpler than ever
Today at Google I/O, the search giant unveiled a beta version of Android P, the next release of its mobile operating system.
This future OS makes good use of machine learning in a number of ways, including Adaptive Battery, which prioritizes battery power for the apps and services you use the most, and Adaptive Brightness, which learns how you like to set the brightness based on your surroundings.
Ubuntu Linux 18.10 is called Cosmic Cuttlefish -- yet another silly name
Ubuntu 18.04 was released last month, and for the most part, it is a solid release. As per usual, version 18.04 was given a silly name -- Bionic Beaver. Canonical follows an alphabetic naming convention, where two words are used that start with that same letter. The first word tends to be an adjective or other descriptive word, while the second word is always an animal. And yes, it is all a bit silly.
With the upcoming Ubuntu 18.10 -- due in October -- the name will be based on the letter "C." Today, Mark Shuttleworth, founder and CEO of Canonical, reveals the next Ubuntu version name -- Cosmic Cuttlefish. Don't know what a cuttlefish is? It's that weird looking thing in the picture above.
Gmail's new 'Smart Compose' feature writes replies for you
Google’s I/O developer conference is underway and there will be plenty of announcements coming from the search giant.
Hot on the heels of the big makeover for Gmail comes news of another powerful new feature for the webmail service. Smart Compose uses machine learning to help you write responses to emails. It’s a step beyond the Smart Reply feature the company introduced last year.
Data breach activity declines sharply in 2018
The number of data breaches disclosed in the first three months of this year fell to 686 compared to 1,444 breaches reported in the same period of 2017, according to a new report.
This still represents the exposure of some 1.4 billion records, although this figure too is down from 3.4 billion in the same quarter last year.
Younger generations lack understanding of cybersecurity careers
It's been accepted wisdom for some time that an injection of extra talent is needed to solve the cybersecurity skills shortage.
Further confirmation of this comes in the form of a report from ProtectWise looking at the survey responses of 524 technology-savvy millennials and post-millennials in the US, conducted by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), to see if there were potential answers to the security skills shortage.
Watch Google's I/O keynote live here
It’s the season for developer conferences right now. Yesterday, Microsoft’s Build kicked off in Seattle, and today Google takes to the stage to reveal its future plans.
The annual Google I/O developer conference begins with a consumer keynote taking place at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. The company has already made some announcements regarding the likes of Android TV, Google Home, and a new Assistant for Wear OS, but there’s much more to come.
Apple tells developers that apps must support iPhone X notch from July
Apple has issued new guidelines for iOS apps submitted to the App Store, with the biggest change being that developers must use the iOS 11 SDK.
Devs are advised that they should "update your version of Xcode to the latest release of Xcode 9 available on the Mac App Store" as this includes the relevant SDK. Apple also says that apps should be "ready to take advantage of the Super Retina display by respecting safe areas, supporting adaptive layouts, and more".
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