Windows 10 Creators Update incompatible with certain PCs already running Windows 10
The Creators Update rollout is continuing at a glacial pace, with most Windows 10 users yet to be offered it. The reason for this is Microsoft wants to make sure the update is fully compatible with PCs before it’s pushed to them (you can, of course, download and install the update manually at any time).
However, it turns out there’s a whole class of PCs running Windows 10 that simply can’t be upgraded to the Creators Update. And these aren’t old PCs either.
US border officials can't search your cloud data
According to the United States Department of Homeland Security, border officials are permitted to search the devices of anyone entering the country with or without probable cause, though there is a limit to type of content they can view.
Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to Homeland Security in February seeking clarification regarding why US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been conducting more searches than ever before.
LinkedIn app lands on Windows 10
You may not need an app to access LinkedIn from a Windows 10 PC, but the Microsoft-owned professional social network believes that it can offer users something that a browser cannot: a better user experience.
The LinkedIn app for Windows 10, which is rolling out now in Windows Store, promises to be "more engaging and fully integrated" with the operating system, thanks to features like real-time notifications and trending news.
PayPal support is coming to Samsung Pay
Samsung is entering into an "extended partnership" with PayPal to bring PayPal support to Samsung Pay. To start with, PayPal will be available as a payment method in the US first, but it will expand to other countries in the future.
It means that not only can PayPal be used as a source to fund Samsung Pay for POS purchases, but Samsung's Braintree merchants will also be able to accept PayPal payments for online and in-app purchases.
Chill your boots! Ads in the HTC TouchPal keyboard was just a little weekend SNAFU
Over the weekend, distress rippled around the HTC community as advertisements suddenly appeared in the TouchPal keyboard. The keyboard is installed as the default on many of HTC's Android phones, including the HTC 10, and users took to social media to voice their unhappiness and concerns about privacy.
Despite the ire directed at the Taiwanese company, HTC is not directly responsible for the keyboard, or the update that pushed ads onto people. Rather, the developer issued an update resulting in the SNAFU that upset so many people.
New CRM product integrates with Outlook to boost productivity
Legacy CRM suites often involve slow, cumbersome interfaces, are frustrating for users and consequently don't achieve wide adoption. According to a Forrester survey, 47 percent of respondents encounter user adoption struggles when implementing their CRM initiative.
CRM specialist Insightly is launching the latest version of its product with deep Microsoft Outlook integration, as well as a redesigned technical architecture and user interface to help sales teams in mid-sized businesses improve their productivity.
DevOps practices help improve the quality of open source components
The use of open source components can help speed up the software development process, but it comes with a risk if poor quality code leads to vulnerable applications being released.
The latest State of the Software Supply Chain Report from DevOps tools specialist Sonatype reveals that organizations which actively manage the quality of open source components flowing into production applications realize a 28 percent improvement in developer productivity, a 30 percent reduction in overall development costs, and a 48 percent increase in application quality.
Fall/Autumn Creators Update -- how about a Windows 10 name that doesn’t suck, Microsoft?
Microsoft has been producing operating systems for decades, but it’s never been very good at naming them. Things started off well enough, with a straightforward numbering system -- Windows 1.0, Windows 2.0, Windows 3.0. Then the company opted for a year-based approach -- Windows 95, Windows 98 -- before switching to using letters -- Windows ME (Millennium Edition) and XP (eXPerience, eXtra Patches?).
Then we had Windows Vista, followed by a return to numbers -- Windows 7 and Windows 8, and a random jump to Windows 10. And now we’re getting twice yearly updates for that latest operating system, with rubbish names that appear to have been thought up by someone who hates their job.
Plans for age checks on porn sites highlight the UK government's failure to understand the web
If there's anything that the UK government has demonstrated in recent years it is that it not only wants to try to take control of the web, but it also fails to understand the web. These two facts make for a terrible combination -- something highlighted by the snooper's charter and the government's desire to break encryption on demand.
The latest idea -- ushered in under the guise of protecting children in a bid to win points -- is the introduction of age restriction on porn sites. The Digital Economy Act will require porn sites to use credit card verification to check that users are aged 18 or over. There are numerous holes here, illustrating that the government simply doesn’t know what it's talking about.
WikiLeaks reveals CIA tool for SMS spying
The latest addition to WikiLeaks' Vault 7 cache of leaked CIA documents details an app that can be used to intercept SMS messages on Android devices. The HighRise tool can grab messages before sending them on to a CIA-controlled server.
The app itself goes by the name of TideCheck and it serves as an SMS proxy to allow for the interception of messages on a target's phone. The app itself is password protected (with the word "inshallah") to prevent unwanted tinkering. It also seems to serve a dual purpose, acting as a secure communication channel for CIA operatives.
Google Maps tells you the best time to start your journey
Time your departure time wrong, and even the simplest of journeys can end up taking far longer than it was meant to. Hit traffic, and your journey time could be doubled -- or worse. A new feature of Google Maps aims to eliminate this problem.
The nameless feature is rolling out to the Google Maps mobile app, and it lets you know how long your trip will take if you leave now, or in a few hours' time. It's a simple addition -- and one that would benefit from a little more work and refinement -- but it's a valuable one for travelers.
IBM announces breakthrough in encryption and data protection for enterprises
With data breaches a problem that shows no signs of going away, businesses are increasingly seeking to protect their information with encryption.
But with large volumes of information this can be time consuming and costly. To address the problem, IBM is announcing a breakthrough encryption engine that, for the first time, makes it possible to encrypt all data associated with any application, cloud service or database all the time.
Windows 10 Fall Creators Update rebranded Autumn Creators Update for some
The upcoming Redstone 3 release of Windows 10 has been known as the Fall Creators Update for some time now -- but in some parts of the world this name sounds nonsensical. While fall is the season that follows summer in many countries, it's not the case worldwide.
It is for this very reason that the update will bear a different name in a number of countries including the UK, Australia, New Zealand and India. Come September, Windows 10 users in these nations will be installing Windows 10 Autumn Update.
Cisco buys network security company Observable Networks
In an effort to bolster its offerings in the enterprise security space, Cisco has announced that it has acquired the company Observable Networks which provides real-time network behavior monitoring.
The terms of the deal have not yet been made public though Observable Networks value was estimated at around $16 million during its last round of funding in May of 2016.
Mageia 6 Linux distribution now available for download
If you are dissatisfied with Windows 10, there is no shortage of Linux-based operating systems to install as an alternative. In fact, some people -- including yours truly -- think there are too many distros, but I digress. While Ubuntu is always a fine choice, it is not the only game in town. If you are interested in becoming a Linux desktop user, you shouldn't be scared of exploring different options.
A fairly popular operating system with in-the-know Linux users (that doesn't get enough attention) is Mageia. After a long time, the newest version of the community-driven distro is finally here. Mageia 6 can be had today with your choice of several excellent desktop environments -- GNOME (3.24.2), KDE Plasma (5.8.7), Xfce (4.12.1), Cinnamon (3.2.8), MATE (1.18), and LXQt (0.11). It comes with a fairly modern version of the Linux kernel, 4.9.35, and LibreOffice 5.3.4.2. Since it is impossible to please everyone, there are two web browsers included by default -- Firefox 52.2.0 ESR and Chromium 57.
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