Samsung patent sparks smart speaker rumors
Continuing what has already been a newsworthy week for the world of smart speakers, rumors are beginning to circulate that Samsung plans to get in the game with its own news-reading, weather-watching, talking tabletop device.
It seems a logical progression for the smart device giant, after it launched its own voice assistant platform, Bixby, with the Galaxy S8 line of smartphones. That would presumably be the same platform that Samsung would use in a proprietary smart speaker.
Phoenix is the latest Kodi add-on to vanish as developers fear piracy probes
Kodi -- built from the ashes of XBMC -- remains a popular but controversial streaming media solution. The beauty of the software is that it allows for the streaming of just about anything, and that includes contents of questionable legality (oh, OK... let's just admit there are a bunch of add-ons that can be used to stream pirated content).
There has been a great deal of legal interest in so-called "fully-loaded" Kodi boxes of late, and this has had something of an unfortunate side-effect -- for fans of certain add-ons at least. Seemingly fearful of the legal implication of what their add-ons make possible, the developers of numerous well-known plugins are closing down. One of the latest is the popular Phoenix add-on.
[Updated] Meet Tertill, the solar-powered weeding robot for your garden [Q&A]
Keeping your garden free from weeds can be a tiresome and back-breaking job. Thankfully, Joe Jones, the creator of iRobot’s Roomba, has a solution -- a solar-powered robot that lives in home gardens and weeds every day so you don’t need to.
I spoke with Joe about his new creation Tertill which, after two years development, is set to finally graduate from prototype to product this month.
Safely clean your Windows Installer folder with PatchCleaner
PatchCleaner is a free tool which can detect and safely remove junk files from the \Windows\Installer folder, potentially freeing up gigabytes of hard drive space.
The folder contains Windows Installer-based setup programs and patch files, and uses these whenever you want to modify or update the software. They should be removed when you uninstall a program, but guess what? This doesn’t always happen.
Apple to roll out iPhone screen fixing Horizon Machines to hundreds of third-party repair centers
One of the weak points of the iPhone -- like just about any other smartphone -- is the screen. All it takes is a fall onto a hard surface and you could find yourself in shatter city. Getting a replacement screen is simple enough, but if you head off to an Apple store you could find that you're in for a bit of a wait.
All of this is about to change, as Apple is set to install official screen fixing Horizon Machines in around 400 third party repair centers around the world, including Best Buy in the US. The move will mean that third parties will now be able to repair iPhone screens without voiding warranties.
Healthcare industry most targeted by cyber attacks
A new report into cyber security trends shows healthcare to be the most frequently targeted industry, with 164 threats detected per 1,000 host devices.
Next most targeted are education and media, which had 145 and 123 detections per 1,000 host devices, respectively. By comparison, the food and beverage industry came in as the least targeted industry with just 17 detections per 1,000 hosts.
Microsoft faces Windows 10 antitrust investigation for disabling Kaspersky antivirus software
Security software firm Kaspersky Labs has filed antitrust complaints against Microsoft in Europe. The complaints center around Microsoft disabling third party antivirus software in Windows 10 to favor its own Windows Defender.
The Russian company complained to the German Federal Cartel Office and the European Commission, saying that Microsoft abused its position. Microsoft has made some changes to the way Defender works, but Kaspersky does not believe this goes far enough.
Get 'Jump Start Responsive Web Design' ebook ($30 value) FREE for a limited time
The pixel-perfect web is dead. The days of positioning elements on a web page and expecting them to always display exactly how we wanted are a distant memory; we now cope with the constant barrage of new and varied devices that our designs need to look fantastic on.
Responsive web design is no longer a nice-to-have bonus feature, it’s an expected must-have.
Google updates Developer Program Policies to fight incentivized app ratings, reviews and installs
Google has taken various steps over the years to try to combat dangerous apps in the Play Store, but this is far from being the only problem Google Play suffers from. There is also the ongoing issue of fake app reviews, incentivized activity, and other means of user manipulation.
Having already put in place some measures to crack down on such activities, Google is now updating its Developer Program Policies. It warns developers that they must "not attempt to manipulate the placement of any apps in the Store" and while banning the bribing of users is nothing new, here Google is aiming to provide additional clarity.
Apple reduces 2TB iCloud monthly price to $9.99, upgrades 1TB users at no extra cost
If you are a hardcore user of Apple products and you need cloud storage, iCloud is your best bet. True, a solution like Dropbox offers better cross-platform support -- including for Linux desktop -- but if you have, for instance, a Mac, iPhone, and iPad, iCloud just works so smoothly. If you are all-in on Apple, choosing anything else will lead to a lesser experience.
Today, iCloud gets even better, as Apple lowers the 2TB monthly price to $9.99 -- what was previously the cost of the now-eliminated 1TB option. Best of all, if you are already signed up for the 1TB tier, you have been upgraded at no extra cost. In other words, Apple has automatically doubled your available storage without the need to jump through any hoops! How cool is that?
More regulation is not the answer to technology's challenges
The UK government, and Theresa May in particular, has been criticized for an apparent lack of awareness in how online encryption actually works following the Prime Minister’s call for tighter regulation following the attacks.
Declaring that some internet giants were providing extremist ideology "the safe space it needs to breed," PM May took aim at not just the companies, but the internet itself, in her statement yesterday.
How to watch Microsoft's E3 Xbox briefing live, and in 4K
E3 2017 kicks off on Saturday, June 10 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, California, and Microsoft will be there to take the wraps off the latest Xbox announcements and future games.
If you can’t be there yourself, don’t worry, as the Xbox E3 briefing will be streamed live as always, but for the first time Microsoft will be broadcasting it in 4K and there are numerous ways for you to tune in.
What it's like to live with the new Sling TV cloud DVR
The digital video recorder has been around for quite a while now and it revolutionized home media. The way we watch TV completely changed when we no longer had to pop in a blank tape and manually plan our recordings. Now we just set a show to record whenever it happens to be on.
Sling has been rolling out a cloud DVR over the past couple of months, and I've been using it since it arrived -- so, around two months or so. I'd like to give you a bit of the ups and downs from my experience.
Linux Mint 18.2 'Sonya' BETA Ubuntu-based operating system now available for download
With the future of Ubuntu uncertain, and with Canonical abandoning the Unity desktop environment, now is a great time to try Linux Mint. Since it has Ubuntu as a base, but instead uses Mate or Cinnamon -- environments with a future -- it should be an easy transition for users of Canonical's Linux-based operating system.
Today, the upcoming version of Linux Mint, 18.2 "Sonya," achieves BETA release. It is based on Ubuntu 16.04 and uses Linux kernel 4.8. You can download either the Mate or Cinnamon ISOs now. Yeah, its a pre-release operating system so you should proceed with caution, but historically, these BETA releases have proven quite stable -- you will probably be fine.
Reinvent the wheel: Why I gave my engineering team a chance for a do-over
"Don’t reinvent the wheel", the idiom cautions us. It’s a phrase that seems wise on the surface, a reminder not to spend time creating something that already exists. Too often, however, the idiom has been deployed as an admonition, a warning to not upset the way things are, even when those things are outmoded or just plain wrong. Creative engineering minds, thankfully, generally ignore that kind of advice or we would all still try to get around on wooden rims and spokes. Wheels -- and many other things -- do frequently need to be reinvented to take advantage of advances in technology and changes in customer needs.
Technology companies are at such a moment of inflection now. Even as they invested in monolithic applications, they have had to shoulder the limitations imposed by the size of their code and their inability to handle independent scaling. Many now understand that they will need to transition from a monolithic application to a microservices architecture in order to better position themselves for future growth and product development. A microservices architecture offers greater global accessibility and enhanced functionality for customers. It makes it possible to iterate new features and improvements as they naturally occur and creates a flexible platform for the integration of future products and features.
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