Now is the time to buy Microsoft Xbox One S

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On November 7, the Xbox One X will become available. Want to know a secret? It plays the same games as Xbox One and Xbox One S. In other words, the $500 "X" console gives a similar experience as the $250 "S" variant. While both can play 4K media, only the X model can display actual games in that resolution, however. If that doesn't matter to you, why spend the extra money? You can use the savings to buy more games!

Today, Microsoft announces a trio of deals that will make buying an Xbox One S even more attractive. Not only can you get the console itself for $249, but you can also score a $50 gift card or free Xbox Wireless Controller. While the promotion also includes the "non-S" variant of the console, that is becoming harder to find, so you should probably stick with the S at this point. Any savings would be negligible anyway.

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HTC U11 squeezable Android smartphone coming to America in beautiful 'Solar Red' color

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One fun aspect of Android is that there are many different device designs. Unlike the iPhone which is largely uniform in style, there are countless smartphones running Google's mobile operating system with different sizes, shapes, colors, user interfaces, etc. Heck, you can still get an Android phone with a physical keyboard!

One manufacturer that is often pushing the envelope on design is HTC. Its newest smartphone, the U11, is absolutely gorgeous from an appearance perspective, but it has a very unique aspect too -- it is squeezable. Yes, you can squeeze the frame to interact with the phone. Unfortunately, one of the most lovely colors for the phone, called "Solar Red," was not available to consumers in the USA. This is changing, thankfully, as HTC is bringing the sought-after color to America.

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Unsecured Amazon server leaks details of 198 million American voters

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Personal data and profiling information about millions of American voters has been exposed in what is believed to be the largest ever leak of its kind.

198 million records were found stored on an unsecured Amazon S3 server owned by Deep Root Analytics, a Republican data analytics firm. It is thought that the data, which dates back more than a decade, includes information about every registered American voter.

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Ring Video Doorbell 2 is here

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It feels like everything is internet-connected nowadays -- lights, televisions, coffee-makers, and more. Heck, even doorbells are connected! One of the most popular such devices -- the Ring Video Doorbell -- allows the owner to not only see who is ringing the doorbell, but to communicate with them too. This can be done remotely with a smartphone, so even when you aren't home, you can give the illusion that you are. In theory, this could thwart burglars that are testing to see if a home is occupied.

Today, Ring Video Doorbell gets a generation 2 refresh. All of the features of the first-gen model are here, but it gets an improved design with 1080p video support and more.

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Microsoft is killing off SMBv1 in Windows 10 to thwart the likes of WannaCry

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From the fall, Microsoft is disabling SMBv1 in Windows 10. With the release of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (or Redstone 3 if you prefer), the protocol that was exploited by the WannaCry ransomware will be no more.

The file sharing protocol was developed by Microsoft over two decades ago, and the company recognizes that the time has come for it to be retired. Internal builds of Windows 10 being tested by Microsoft already have SMBv1 disabled, and similar builds will make their way to Windows Insiders and the wider public in due course.

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Unencrypted USB drives putting UK businesses at risk

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UK businesses are putting almost no effort into securing the data they keep on USB drives, which is not in line with what GDPR demands, potentially putting them at risk of being hit with huge fines.

That's according to data storage firm Kingston, which concluded after polling 480 employees from companies in various industries.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 S recovery images for Surface Laptop allowing downgrades from Windows 10 Pro

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With the Surface Laptop, Microsoft is testing the water with Windows 10 S, its cut-down version of Windows 10. For those who find they can't live with the restrictions the operating system imposes on them, there is the possibility of upgrading to Windows 10 Pro -- but Microsoft warns that this is a one-way, irreversible process.

Except it's not, of course. While it's not possible to "uninstall" Windows 10 Pro and downgrade to Windows 10 S, there's nothing to stop you from restoring your computer to its factory state -- something that Microsoft has just made a great deal easier by releasing the recovery images for Windows 10 S version 1703.

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Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies have millions of users

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Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are receiving more and more attention, but the fact of the matter is, the market is still in its infancy. To put things into perspective, its capitalization is currently about six times lower than Google -- and even less compared to Apple, which is the most valuable publicly-traded company in the world.

What we do not know exactly is how many people own cryptocurrency. It may be a small market in the grand scheme of things, but according to new report from Cambridge Judge Business School, between 2.9 and 5.8 million people in 38 countries use Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.

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MyPC is a portable system information app

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MyPC is a compact and portable system information tool for Windows. The program organizes its features across multiple tabs: "CPU", "BIOS", "Motherboard", "Network", "APM/ Sound" and more.

Browsing the panels reveals all the usual sysinfo basics: CPU, GPU, network adapter, BIOS, motherboard, sound card and so on.

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Microsoft has made no attempt to make the Surface Laptop even slightly repairable

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It has been a few weeks since Microsoft launched the new Surface Laptop, and the Windows 10 S machine has been very well received. If you do get one, though, you'd better hope that nothing goes wrong with it.

A teardown of the device reveals that the Surface Laptop is largely held together with glue, and if you were to attempt any sort of repair, you would likely damage it. It also shows that components such as CPU and memory are soldered in place so they can't be replaced or upgraded. Overall it was given a rating of 0 out of 10!

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LG's new G6+ flagship takes it up a notch with more storage and two new features

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Just a couple of months after releasing the G6, LG today announces a new version of its flagship smartphone. It's called the G6+, and, as its name suggests, it is a (slightly) beefed-up version of the device it is based on, which is one of the best smartphones introduced this year.

LG introduces the G6+ alongside an important software update for the G6, which adds improved security and usability, as well as new color options. But more on that later.

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Get 'How to Measure Anything in Cybersecurity Risk' ebook ($29 value) FREE for a limited time

Cybersecurity Risk

How to Measure Anything in Cybersecurity Risk exposes the shortcomings of current "risk management" practices, and offers a series of improvement techniques that help you fill in the holes and ramp up security.

This book, from Wiley, sheds light on these blatant risks, and provides alternate techniques that can help improve your current situation. You'll also learn which approaches are too risky to save, and are actually more damaging than a total lack of any security. Explore solutions where they exist and learn when to change tracks entirely.

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OutWiker is a versatile personal wiki

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OutWiker is a free personal wiki for organizing text notes into a tree structure. The program uses wiki-type notation and its own commands to set up lists, tables, headings and assorted formatting options, insert images and more.

There’s also support for including graphs, diagrams, equations and more. Pages can also have as many attached files as you need.

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OnePlus 5 TV ad shows India the upcoming smartphone in full

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It feels as though we've been waiting a long time for the arrival of the OnePlus 5, but the big day is finally upon us -- the smartphone launches tomorrow. There have been a huge number of leaks about the latest version of the flagship killer, teasing us with little glimpses of what to expect. But now a TV ad has aired in India that reveals everything.

Shown during the India vs Pakistan cricket final, the ad gave an unfettered view of the OnePlus 5 to millions of people. This is the first official render we've seen of the phone... and it’s looking good. As the ad was shown in India, it makes reference to June 22; the Indian launch date is two days later than other parts of the world.

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Screen protector listing shows what the iPhone 8 will look like

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The launch of the iPhone 8 is still some way off but -- as with just about every smartphone of note (we're looking at you, OnePlus 5) -- lots of details have slipped out ahead of any official announcement. The latest leak "confirms" what we've long expected: that there's a quite significant redesign coming up.

We have already heard rumors that the iPhone will be near-bezel-less, and we've seen supposed production-line images that show off the front and rear panels. The front panel images showed a weird cut-out at the top of the phone and a new listing on accessory website MobileFun for an "Olixar iPhone 8 Full Cover Tempered Glass Screen Protector" appears to back this up.

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