We've reached the cloud computing tipping point
Between technology waves there is always a tipping point. It’s not that moment when the new tech becomes dominant but the moment when that dominance becomes clearly inevitable. For cloud computing I think the tipping point arrived a month ago. That future is now.
This is a big deal. My count of technical waves in computing may not agree with yours but I see (1) batch computing giving way to (2) timesharing which gave way to (3) personal computers which gained (4) graphical user interfaces, then became (5) networked Internet computers and (6) mobile computers embodied in smartphones and tablets, and now we have (7) the cloud. This seventh generation of computing will, within 3-5 years, absorb the vast majority of the approximately $1 trillion we spend in the USA each year on IT.
Top American banks have significant gaps in GDPR website compliance
GDPR affects all companies that engage with EU citizens, even if they have no physical presence in the EU, but a new study reveals that some major US firms still have websites that don’t comply.
The research by digital threat management company RiskIQ looks at 25 of the 50 largest banks in the US (as of 2017) and finds significant security gaps in personally identifiable information (PII) collection.
Open source developers make progress in adopting secure practices
Secure software development practices are increasingly being adopted by open source software (OSS), and are underscoring the importance of managing OSS risk.
The latest report from development platform Synopsys uses results from the free Coverity Scan static analysis solution to assess the quality of development practices and the overall maturity of the OSS ecosystem.
SteelSeries launches RGB tenkeyless 'Apex M750 TKL' mechanical gaming keyboard
Number pads are kind of dumb. Don't get me wrong, I am sure some people use them (for whatever reason), but I -- and many other consumers -- never do. Quite frankly, since you can buy a dedicated number keypad if you truly need it, why burden everyone with them just to please a small group of people? As a result, quite often, my keyboards are longer than they need to be. While that doesn't sound so bad, and yeah it isn't tragic, it is an annoyance since it takes up valuable desk space.
Today, SteelSeries unveils a new "tenkeyless" (meaning no number pad) gaming keyboard. Called "'Apex M750 TKL," it is based on the existing Apex M750 model which does have a number keypad. The "TKL" designation here signals this variant does not have a number pad. In other words, you are still getting legendary SteelSeries quality and a beautiful design with RGB lighting, all while using up less desk space. Nice!
Microsoft to end secret free Windows 10 upgrade offer by end of year
Microsoft officially pulled the plug on the free Windows 10 upgrade offer last year, but the truth is you can still get the new operating system free of charge if you know how.
There are two main methods. You can either simply upgrade using a Windows 7 or 8.x key, or you can go through the assistive technologies page. The latter option lets anyone who claims to use assistive technologies to upgrade for free, and works on an honor system. You don’t need to actually prove you have any kind of disability to make use of it.
Office 365 subscribers get premium Outlook.com features
Even though its name suggests otherwise, Office 365 is more than a subscription for Microsoft Office. Sure, you do get the hugely popular suite, but you also get some other really cool perks, like 1TB of OneDrive storage. And, today, Microsoft is adding one perk more to the list.
Outlook.com Premium, the paid plan that Microsoft officially introduced early this year, is now included in Office 365 Home and Personal subscriptions for free. Outlook.com Premium was previously available only as a standalone plan costing $19.95 a year.
How to link an iPhone or Android phone to a Windows 10 PC
Windows 10 Mobile is now officially dead, and Microsoft has switched its attention to Android and iPhone, releasing a growing number of apps for those operating systems.
You can now also link your Android device or iPhone to any PC running Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, which will allow you to start a task on your phone, and then continue it on your PC. Here’s what you need to do.
Password cracking tool helps admins test security
Weak or reused passwords are a common cause of security breaches but are something that it’s hard for administrators to police.
Intelligence-led security company FireEye is releasing a new password cracking tool to enable security professionals to test password effectiveness, develop improved methods to securely store passwords, and audit current password requirements.
Four in five companies aim to change the way they manage IT security in the next year
According to a new study, 80 percent of businesses across the US and UK will change how they deal with security in the coming 12 months.
The survey of more than 400 SMEs and enterprises by service management company SolarWinds MSP finds that 17 percent of companies intend to switch their current service provider in the next 12 months, 10 percent want to cease outsourcing in favour of in-house management, and 49 percent planning to outsource their security for the first time.
Purism Librem 13 v2 privacy-focused Linux laptop -- great hardware, frustrating software [Review]
As a computer user in 2017, privacy is always on my mind -- as it should be. I suppose I have always cared about securing my information and data, but in recent years, we have learned so many troubling things about government hackers -- including the USA -- that it seems more important than ever. Patriot Edward Snowden really shone a light on the unfortunate state of privacy, or lack thereof, in modern days.
This is why I was very intrigued by the Purism line of laptops. These are computers that are designed with privacy in mind. The Librem 13 v2, which I have been testing, features two hardware kill-switches -- one will cut the webcam and microphone, while the other kills the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios. By cutting access on the hardware level, hackers cannot access these things when switched off. Instead of using a traditional bios system for booting, it even leverages Coreboot. It runs a Linux-based operating system called "Pure OS" which aims to be very secure and private. Unfortunately, the OS ends up being a little too secure, and the weak link of the overall package. But does that really matter?
eBay launches Image Search option and AI-powered Find It On eBay tool
A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. When you're searching for something on eBay, it can be hard to find quite the right turn of phrase to track down precisely what it is you mean. To help overcome this problem, eBay has now launched a new Image Search option.
The feature lets you take a photograph of an object -- or upload an image they already have --and use it to search for similar items that are for sale. This is just one of two new tools that eBay has launched to make it easier to find exactly what you're looking for without having to think about how a seller might have described it.
LibreELEC 8.2.0 Kodi-focused Linux distro is here, but Raspberry Pi versions are pulled
While many folks prefer to leverage legal streaming services like Netflix on hardware such as Apple TV and Roku nowadays, other people still prefer accessing locally stored media files. Is that concept dying? Yeah, but it will be a while before it is dead completely. Not to mention, music and movie pirates will keep locally stored downloaded media content alive for quite some time.
Don't get me wrong, not everyone that watches locally stored media files are pirates, but some certainly are. Whether you are accessing downloaded media or streaming content using an addon, the Kodi media center is a great way to experience it. Taking it a step further, a Linux-based operating system that exists just to serve Kodi is even better. Today, one of the best such distros, LibreELEC, gets a major update to version 8.2.0.
YouTube ripping sites MP3Juices.cc and YtMp3.cc block users from the UK
There are lots of sites and tools out there that can be used to rip content from YouTube, saving them either as videos or MP3s. Predictably, this is something that the content owners -- record labels in particular -- take issue with.
YouTube-MP3 recently shut up shop following pressure from the music industry, and a number of MP3 ripping sites were lined up as the next targets. Apparently pre-empting any legal action that might be taken against them, MP3Juices.cc and YtMp3.cc have started to block traffic from the UK.
Transparency: Facebook to force political ads to disclose funding sources
Ads on Facebook have been something of a controversial subject for some time now -- particularly with suggestions of Russian attempts to influence the outcome of the US presidential election. In its latest attempt to have a more transparent ad platform, the social network has announced a series of measures that will help people understand more about advertising.
All ads -- not just political ones -- are to be subject to extra transparency, with a new View Ads link making it possible to view all the ads a particular advertiser has placed. Political advertiser will face more stringent requirement. They must not only verify their identity, but also publicly disclose the source of funding for their ads.
Does Facebook listen in via your microphone to tailor your ads?
It's something that has been rumored for years -- that Facebook is using the microphones on smartphones and computers around the world to listen in on conversations. Is it that the social network is particularly interested in hearing what everyone has to say? Sort of -- rumor has it that the company wants to know what you're talking about so it can deliver carefully targeted ads.
A surprising number of Facebook users believe that Facebook is listening to them. They say that following conversations about a topic, they then see ads related to it. But is this really because of Facebook?
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