Google Reply lets you use smart replies with popular Android messaging apps
There are times when you don't need an elaborate reply to a message a friend just sent. Maybe all you need to say is "I'll be there," "No, thanks" or "Cool." However, many messaging apps do not give you the option to send these kind of smart answers, which, in this day and age, sounds like something that should be standard, given all the talk about AI and clever bots in this space.
Google has decided to do something about it, as it's working on an app, called Reply, that lets you offer smart replies to messages in many messaging apps, including Google Hangouts, Android Messages, WhatsApp, Twitter and more.
New robotic process platform helps businesses stay competitive
Robotic process automation is increasingly popular with businesses looking to streamline their operations and cut costs.
Specialist in this area Redwood Software is launching a new robotic process automation (RPA) platform that offers access to over 35,000 robotic tools for tasks like accounting, payroll, compliance, claims processing and more.
Parallels Toolbox 1.5 for Windows adds presentation mode and disk cleanup tool
Parallels may be best known for its virtualization software for Mac, but the company is also active in the Windows scene. One of its most interesting programs is Toolbox, which, as its name suggests, offers a suite of tools to help power users make the most of their PC.
And, today, it gets an update, as Parallels releases Toolbox 1.5 for Windows. The new version adds a presentation mode, a disk cleanup tool and an option to quickly change your display's resolution.
Logitech unveils 2018 Art Collection of M235C wireless mice
You don’t truly appreciate a Logitech mouse until you try a bad model from another brand. While some other companies make quality mice too, many models on the market are terrible. I will sometimes buy a cheap mouse from a lesser-known company on, say, Amazon.com, and I'll almost always be disappointed. Why do I bother? I’m a sucker for a "sale". These poor quality mice often have lousy tracking, and even worse, problematic clicks -- nothing frustrates me more than having a click go unregistered. Grrr!
Logitech’s M235C portable mouse is a classic -- a no nonsense product that will last a long time. It is reliable, affordable, and comfortable. This wireless mouse can be a lot of fun too, as Logitech often releases it in specialty colors and designs. Today, the company unveils the 2018 Art Collection for that mouse. These designs aren’t new, however -- it is a "best of" collection of artistic designs from years past, such as Purple Peace and Black Taboo.
How tech companies have created a massive content problem
When you wake up in the morning and read the news, or start consuming content, where’s the first place you turn? According to Pew Research Center, about 66 percent of adults who use Facebook on a regular basis get their news there primarily -- nd 40 percent of adults, in total, rely on Facebook as a primary source of news. If you don’t check Facebook as a primary source, you probably use Google searches to find news and content -- or at least to supplement your primary channel.
For the most part, search engines, social media sites, and news aggregation platforms have worked wonders for society. They make it faster and easier than ever to read new information -- mostly for free -- and have only grown in popularity over the years. However, they’ve also created a massive problem -- and one that isn’t easy to fix.
Top US banks have multiple online security flaws
Analysis of the internet presence of 25 out of 50 top US banks reveals a worrying number of online security flaws.
Threat management company RiskIQ used its Digital Footprint product, which provides a real-time inventory of all internet-facing assets, including the components running on assets that may expose the organization to vulnerability risk. It also correlates newly discovered vulnerabilities with internet-exposed components and assets, highlighting those at risk to inform patching and remediation planning.
Just one percent of NHS trusts have migrated to Windows 10
Last year, the UK’s National Health Service was hit hard by the WannaCry/WannaCrypt ransomware attack that went on to infect computers around the world. The attack was so bad that Microsoft took the unprecedented step of patching Windows XP to try and stem the spread of the problem.
While it first believed that NHS computers running XP were the source of the issue, it turned out to be Windows 7 systems that were mostly to blame. PCs running Windows 10 were immune from the attack. You would have thought, having been through such a terrible experience, that the NHS would have taken steps to prevent it happening again, but it seems not.
Say goodbye to Swype
Android and iOS users who are not happy with the stock keyboard on their device have lots of third-party options to choose from. Among the established alternatives is Swype, which has been available for nearly five years on Android and over three on iOS. It's actually one of the first third-party keyboards I tried on both platforms.
Swype, however, hasn't really caught on in quite the same way that, say, SwiftKey has, which is likely the reason why the company behind the app, Nuance, has announced that it's reached "end of development." In other words, Swype users, your favorite keyboard is now discontinued.
GDPR and the challenge of personal data discovery
For enterprises to comply with GDPR it's vital that they have an understanding of where personal data is located in each of their systems.
Metadata discovery specialist Silwood Technology is releasing research into five of the largest and most widely used application packages to understand the scale of the challenge encountered by their customers when locating personal data.
Samsung starts mass producing 'PM1643' SSD with monstrous 30.72TB capacity
Solid state drives are much faster than mechanical hard drives. From a capacity perspective, however, the old-school hard drives typically offer more storage space. It is for this reason that many individuals and businesses still rely on hard disk drives for larger backups.
Today, Samsung throws all logic out of the window by announcing it is mass producing a solid state drive with monstrous capacity. The "PM1643," as it is called, offers an insane 30.72TB of storage space! This is achieved by using 32 x 1TB NAND flash.
Windows Phone already sucks, but Microsoft is making it even worse by killing notifications
Windows Phone can be chalked up as yet another failure for Microsoft. Consumers hated it, and as a result, developers avoided it. It joins other disastrous Microsoft projects like Windows RT, Kin, and Zune in the graveyard.
If you are still clinging to a device running Windows Phone 7.5 or 8.0, I feel sorry for you. Your phone is already terrible, but on February 20, it will get even worse. You see, Microsoft is killing push notification services.
Windows 10 on ARM: Here's what you'll be missing
Windows 10 on ARM is a very interesting proposition for road warriors. You get the benefits of a full-featured operating system in a package that rivals the battery life and connectivity options of a mobile device. What's not to like?
While on paper it may sound like it offers the best of both worlds, Windows 10 on ARM is not perfect -- at least not yet -- as Microsoft's own documentation raises some serious questions surrounding its usability and compatibility.
iPhone beaten in performance race by 1970's Apple II and other even older computers (and a mechanical calculator)
It’s a fact that today’s mobile phones boast way more computing power than the systems used by NASA to put a man on the moon in the 1960s.
The iPhone 6, released in 2014, is 32,600 times quicker than the speediest Apollo-era computers and capable of performing instructions a whopping 120,000,000 times faster. So in a race against seven computers from the past 75 years, you’d imagine the iPhone 6 would wipe the floor with an Apple II from 1977, a 1990s PC running Windows 98, and a £12.99 BBC Micro:Bit, right? Wrong.
Europe threatens Facebook with fines for tracking users and non-users online
Just last week Facebook was hit with the news that its privacy settings -- as well as the way the company uses personal data -- are illegal in Germany. Now the social network has been threatened with fines for tracking people through third-party websites.
The tracking affects even people who do not have a Facebook account, and this is something that a Belgian court took exception to. Belgium's privacy watchdog also told Facebook to delete data that had been illegally collected about Belgian citizens.
Prediction #7 -- 2018 will see the first Alexa virus
There’s a new Marvel superhero series on Fox called The Gifted that this week inspired my son Fallon, age 11, to predict the first Alexa virus, coming soon to an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot or Echo Show cloud device near you. Or maybe it will be a Google Home virus. Fallon’s point is that such a contagion is coming and there probably isn’t much any of us -- including both Amazon and Google -- can do to stop it.
The Gifted has characters from Marvel’s X-Men universe. They are the usual mutants but the novel twist in this series is that some of these particular mutants are able to combine their powers with terrible effect. They just hold hands, get angry, and it is mayhem squared.
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