Instapaper is gaining independence
The bookmarking service Instapaper has announced that it is going independent. Five years after being bought by betaworks, ownership is to switch to a new company called Instant Paper, Inc.
Two years ago, Instapaper was sold to Pinterest, and the switch to independence is likely to be welcomed by its many users. Practically speaking, going independent should mean that very little changes, but the company is giving users three weeks' notice of what’s happening.
Panos Panay: Microsoft is not working on a Surface Phone
If you were getting your hopes up about the possibility of a Surface Phone appearing, we have some bad news. Speaking with Wired, Chief Product Officer at Microsoft Panos Panay said that the company is not working on that form factor.
In the course of the interview, Panay said that Microsoft is working on various new form factors for future devices. Asked whether this included the fabled Surface Phone, he dashed the hopes of many -- although news has leaked out recently about a future "pocketable" Surface device.
Microsoft joins forces with Walmart to take on Amazon with cloud technology
Microsoft has announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with retail giant Walmart to help "make shopping faster and easier for millions of customers around the world".
The five-year deal between the two companies will see Walmart making use of Microsoft's cloud technology solutions such as Microsoft 365 and Azure. The retailer already uses some Microsoft services, but with the new partnership this expands into cloud tools that use machine learning and artificial intelligence.
McAfee launches new enterprise security portfolio
As businesses move more of their systems into the cloud the protection they require to keep them safe needs to be more flexible.
Cybersecurity specialist McAfee is responding to this challenge with the launch of McAfee MVISION, a portfolio of products which strengthens the device as a control point in security architectures, delivers simplified management, stronger Windows security, behavior analytics, and threat defense for Android and iOS devices.
How to cut the cable yet stay within your bandwidth cap
After 31 years of doing this column pretty much without a break, I’m finally back from a family crisis and moving into a new house, which sadly are not the same things. Why don’t I feel rested? I have a big column coming tomorrow but wanted to take this moment to just cover a few things that I’ve noticed during our move.
We have become cable cutters. Before the fire we had satellite TV (Dish) and could have kept it, but I wanted to try finding our video entertainment strictly over the Internet. It’s been an interesting experience so far and has taught us all a few lessons about what I expect will be an upcoming crisis of people blowing past their bandwidth caps.
Apple announces 70 new emojis coming to iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 Mojave
Tomorrow is “World Emoji Day,” apparently. Who knew ??♂️?! Yes, tomorrow is the day we officially celebrate the little emoji characters. Quite frankly, as far as I’m concerned, every day is World Emoji Day — I just love ❤ using them when texting ??with my friends and family. Emojis can be polarizing, however; some people hate them. Those that dislike emojis must have cold hearts!
To celebrate this very important holiday, today, Apple announces that 70 new emojis are coming to two of its upcoming operating systems — both iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 Mojave. Included are new hair styles, animals, food items, and more. For some added fun, check out the Apple ? leadership team page here.
This is how prioritization can save us from the shortage of cybersecurity professionals
It is no secret that the technology sector has a labor problem. As demand for new products and services continues to rise, we are simply not producing enough qualified developers to keep up. Just ask any company where their greatest pain point is and they will have hiring somewhere towards the top of that list.
This shortage is felt especially acutely when it comes to security professionals that understand both how code is written, and how to keep it secure. A 2018 report from the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) found that 51 percent of respondents reported shortages of cybersecurity skills as an area of concern. These concerns have been on the rise in recent years, spiking from a reported 23 percent in 2014 citing cybersecurity skills as a problem, up to the latest 51 percent statistic from this year.
How to install Microsoft Windows Essentials tools -- including Movie Maker -- on Windows 10
Windows Essentials (also called Windows Live Essentials) was a suite of desktop applications that included various Microsoft programs, like Messenger, Mail, Movie Maker, Photo Gallery, Writer, and OneDrive.
The last version of the suite was released in 2012, with the final update in 2014, and reached end of support on January 10, 2017. Microsoft removed the pack from its site last year, and while it is officially no longer available for download, you can still get it -- if you know how. And the good news is tools like Movie Maker work fine on Windows 10.
Roku TV Wireless Speakers are both intriguing and concerning
I am not fan of smart televisions -- I prefer connecting a streaming media box to a "dumb" TV. Believe it or not, I have a smart Samsung TV, but I don't connect it to the internet. Why? I don't trust TV vendors to stay on top of security exploits and such. Instead, an Apple TV 4K provides me with my streaming media needs, such as YouTube TV, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.
If I had to buy a smart television and use its internet-connected capabilities, however, I'd probably opt for a Roku TV. Why? Because Roku actually offers a consistent platform with regular updates -- it is not a half-baked OS that will be abandoned. Today, Roku unveils a pair of wireless speakers for televisions that leverage its platform -- the unimaginatively named "Roku TV Wireless Speakers." While they are rather intriguing, I do have a specific concern.
Make Windows 10's Timeline feature actually useful by adding support for Chrome and Firefox
Timeline is an excellent addition to Windows 10, introduced as part of the April 2018 Update. It remembers what documents and web pages you’ve been working on recently, allowing you to quickly pick up where you left off.
As good as it is, however, it has one major flaw and that’s it only remembers web pages you’ve opened in Microsoft Edge. If you don’t use that browser -- and let’s be honest, that’s most people -- then Timeline’s usefulness is greatly reduced. Thankfully, there’s a way to get it to remember pages you’ve visited in Chrome or Firefox.
US lifts ZTE supplier ban, sending shares soaring
Chinese telecoms hardware manufacturer ZTE has had something of a rough ride in the US recently, but having agreed to comply with all of the demands made by authorities, the ban on its US operations has been lifted.
The US had banned American companies from supplying goods to ZTE, effectively crippling its business. Now, having paid $400 million into an escrow account -- on top of its $1 billion fine last month -- the company is operating again, and its Hong Kong-listed shares jumped 12 percent as a result. But the lifting of the ban is far from being the end of this saga for ZTE
Apple's big 2018 MacBook Pro keyboard cover-up
Just a few days ago Apple launched the latest additions to its MacBook Pro range, and the company talked about the fact that the keyboard is quieter. A teardown of the latest devices reveals not only why the keyboards are quieter, but also that the method used seems to serve a secondary purpose -- or maybe that the quietening is itself a secondary purpose.
The keyboards of previous MacBook Pros have suffered issues that led to a free repair program being set up. The latest laptop teardown by iFixit shows that Apple has added a silicone membrane beneath each key, apparently serving the dual task of quietening typing and offering protection and dust and other unwanted contaminants.
YouTube launches Copyright Match tool to fight content stealing and duplication
Eager to encourage content creators to do what they do best -- create content -- YouTube has release a new tool that it hope will help cut down on the problem of video theft and duplication.
Called Copyright Match, the new system is different to the existing Content ID system, but it does use a similar matching technology. YouTube says that it has been testing the tool for almost a year and is now ready to open it up to a larger portion of its community
Adobe is working on Photoshop for iPad
Apple has long been keen to push the iPad and iPad Pro as a viable laptop alternative, and with a decent selection of apps to choose from it's something that works for many people. There are, however, a number of apps missing that stop some people making the jump from laptop to iPad -- Photoshop being one of them.
Sure, at the moment there is Photoshop Express for iOS, but this is a massively cutdown product that simply does not meet the needs of professionals. Answering the prayers of many, Adobe is now said to be working on bringing a full version of Photoshop to iPad next year.
Debian 'Stretch' 9.5 Linux distribution available for download
Debian 9 "Stretch" was released over a year ago -- time really flies! Since then, the wildly popular Linux distribution has been downloaded by countless users.
Today, the 5th "point" release becomes available. In other words, Debian Linux "Stetch" has reached an important milestone -- version 9.5 stable. The operating system is always improving with security updates and bug fixes, and 9.5 is no exception here. In fact, it includes a patch for Spectre V2. Also of significance, the Debian Installer has been given an update.
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