Microsoft publishes Security Servicing Criteria for Windows, revealing how it classifies and tackles bugs

Microsoft glass building logo

Microsoft has published documentation that reveals how is classifies the severity of vulnerabilities in Windows, as well as detailing how it decides whether problems should be addressed with a security patch or in the next version of Windows.

The first batch of documentation shows for the first time how Microsoft defines "the criteria around security boundaries, features and mitigations in Windows". In releasing details of its severity classifications -- something known as the bug bar -- the company says that it is offering a "new level of transparency with the research community and our customers".

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Confirmed: the OnePlus 6T definitely has an in-display fingerprint reader

OnePlus 6T lock screen

Whether genuine leaks or a carefully orchestrated PR campaign, details of OnePlus phone releases nearly always slip out ahead of the big day. The OnePlus 6T is no different.

We've already heard rumors that the upcoming handset will ditch the cumbersome rear-mounted reader in favor of one that's built directly into the screen. Now OnePlus has confirmed that this is in fact the case.

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Azure Pipelines CI/CD service arrives in the GitHub Marketplace

Microsoft Azure and GitHub

Microsoft today announced the successor to Visual Studio Team Services, Azure DevOps, as well as Azure DevOps Server, replacing Team Foundation Server. As part of this, the company also launched a new CI/CD service called Azure Pipelines which gives developers the chance to build, test and deploy to any platform.

Azure Pipelines has been launched in the GitHub Marketplace, and it is completely free for open source repositories.

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Better communication needed to make progress on digital transformation

digital transformation

Although a majority of businesses have followed a digital transformation plan, poor top-down communication is proving a barrier to success.

A new report from automation specialist Nintex shows that 64 percent of companies have followed a formal digital transformation plan for three years or less, while a third have followed a plan for one year or less.

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Containerization and serverless technology grows as companies shift to digital applications

cloud network

Businesses are under increasing pressure to innovate and modernize their architectures at an unprecedented rate to remain competitive and that often means switching to new platforms.

The latest research from machine data analytics platform Sumo Logic looks at the trends and visibility into the DevSecOps tools and solutions that are being used as organizations modernize and migrate existing applications.

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Football team names commonly used in passwords

Football players

Analysis by password manager company Dashlane shows that with the football season getting underway team names are frequently used as passwords.

Researchers focused on team names from the National Football League and the English Premier League, using an anonymized database provided by Gang Wang, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech.

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Leaks suggest incoming iPhone Xc, iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Plus

iPhone Xc

Historically, Apple has run a very tight ship when it comes to containing leaks, but things have changed slightly in more recent times. It has been thought for a little while now that the company is planning to release three new iPhone models later this week, and there have been leaks that seem to show off some of the handsets and hint at the names.

Now there are two new leaks. The first shows prototypes of 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, while the second seems to confirm the names iPhone Xc, iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Plus.

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New Kodi 18 'Leia' Beta 2 arrives -- download it now!

Kodi

It’s exciting times for fans of Kodi, as there’s a new, major release of the insanely popular home theater software in development. Two weeks ago, the Kodi Foundation rolled out the first, stable beta release, giving users the chance to try out the new version without fear that it might trash their systems.

Today, a new, even more stable release arrives, and you can -- and should! -- download it now.

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Huawei will let users force their phones into Performance Mode in EMUI 9.0

Huawei logo with blossom

Earlier this week it was revealed that Huawei has been gaming benchmarks by switching its phones to a faster mode when benchmarking tools were detected. After this caused 3DMark-maker UL to delist numerous Huawei phones, the Chinese manufacturer has responded by saying it will open up Performance Mode so users can access it whenever they want.

The company says that it "respects consumers' right to choose what to do with their devices" and that with this in mind it will let everyone running EMUI 9.0 to force the use of this faster mode.

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Trump threatens China tariffs, tells Apple to make products in US when company complains about costs

Apple logo with Trump and Chinese flag

President Trump proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products -- and there is the threat of a further $267 billion-- has caused Apple to write to the US Trade Representative to point out that this would lead to increased productions costs for many of its products.

Responding to this, Trump said that the company could avoid Chinese import tariffs by switching production to the US. Referring to his suggestion as "exciting", the president said that Apple should start building new factories in America.

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Apple boots Alex Jones and Infowars out of the App Store

Infowars app rejected

Having already removed its podcasts from iTunes, Apple has gone a step further and kicked Infowars out of the App Store.

The app -- which provided access to Infowars articles as well as livestreams of Alex Jones shows rants -- has been permanently removed from the App Store for violations of Apple's rule. The move by the iPhone-maker is just the latest in a string of setbacks for Jones who has already fallen foul of Spotify, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter's policies.

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Is Netflix finally going to offer global content?

NetFlix

Netflix is arguably the most extensive streaming movie and TV platform in the world. But, much to users’ dismay, the content selection isn’t identical in each country.

So, if a person gets used to watching a certain show on Netflix, then moves to another nation, it may not be possible to keep enjoying a similar library of content. For example, the United States has the most television shows on Netflix compared to any other country -- 1,157. It also boasts the most movies, with the current total over 4,500. Considering Portugal only has 537 films in the Netflix collection and just over 200 shows, it’s no wonder people get frustrated by those geographical differences.

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How to make your business agile

AGILE_WORK_contentfullwidth

The agile philosophy is a set of principles that encourage cooperation and dynamic strategies. The agile development philosophy is the best fit for companies that aim to innovate.

These teams leverage creativity and usually break up large projects into small, multi-disciplinarian tasks. Complex problems are broken down into digestible chunks and better solutions are discovered through feedback loops.

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Microsoft's Your Phone app can now view, send, and receive SMS messages from Android, on your PC

Your Phone

Microsoft’s new Your Phone app lets you sync content directly from a phone to a Windows 10 PC. The original release, which was first available just for Windows 10 Insiders, then -- accidentally -- for all, and then for Insiders once more, only allowed Android users to access their phone’s photos on Windows 10, but it’s now been updated to make it much more useful.

Released as part of the new Fast ring Insider Build 17755, the updated app lets you do much more, and there is finally some love for iOS users too.

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Linux Mint 19.1 named 'Tessa'

mint_women_green_laptop

Linux Mint is a rather great operating system. The distribution is based on the fabulous Ubuntu, so it is very stable and has plenty of compatible packages. Not to mention, the Mint developers focus heavily on the user experience. Linux Mint isn't just designed for Linux experts (although they can totally use it), but beginners too -- it is easy to start using straight away.

The developers have a long history of using female names as the code name for each version of the operating system. For instance, in the past, they have used "Tara," "Sylvia," and "Sonya," to name a few. Today, we learn the female name assigned to the upcoming Linux Mint 19.1 -- "Tessa."

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