Why you should embrace AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) will destroy jobs, robots will replace humans… We are no stranger to these talks about the evolution of AI and the rise of robots. Some go as far as predicting that one in three jobs will be replaced by robots in the next 20 years (including clerical jobs), while others preach that sophisticated software in tiny gadgets that will end up affecting our self-worthy and identity.
In the meantime, studies show otherwise, and all this automation anxiety is simply overblown. The only thing professionals should be afraid of is becoming obsolete by missing the chance of turning this technology to their advantage.
Nintendo unveils Switch Super Bowl LI commercial featuring Zelda -- watch it now
The Nintendo Switch is a game console that is haunting me. My brain tells me that it could be a failure, but my heart keeps me intrigued. I considered canceling my pre-order, but have since decided to keep it. Heck, I have even ordered a launch title -- Super Bomberman R.
In anticipation of the console's March 3rd launch, Nintendo will be running its first-ever Super Bowl ad. This 30-second Switch commercial will feature the much-anticipated game "Zelda Breath of the Wild." While Super Bowl LI does not happen until this Sunday February 5th, you can watch the ad immediately online. Nintendo even has a special 90-second extended cut version.
#DeleteUber campaign forces Uber to automate and speed up account removal process
After failing to participate in a taxi ban around John F Kennedy airport while protests against President Trump's travel ban went on, Uber found itself on the receiving end of a good deal of flak. The hashtag #DeleteUber spent a lengthy period trending on Twitter as people voiced their disapproval of what they see as a Trump-supporting company.
Irked Uber users who did not like the idea of the company seeming to profit from the refugee and immigration ban were not just flashing the #DeleteUber hashtag around, they were acting on it. But attempts to delete accounts led to frustration, with some people suggesting that Uber was blocking them from killing their account; this was not the case, and the company is speeding up the deletion process.
IT teams fall behind in automation
While businesses are focused on digital transformation to deliver greater efficiency and higher profits, IT teams themselves are falling behind the curve according to a new report.
The survey from IT services and solutions provider Dimension Data shows that IT staff only spend 14.5 percent of their time on innovation and new projects. Automation is seen as a key enabler for optimized IT operations, but only 20 percent of surveyed companies say their IT operations are fully automated.
New database release enables data-driven decisions in real time
Many organizations rely on databases to support their decision making processes, but the process of importing, analyzing and then acting on the data can inhibit fast action.
In-memory SQL database specialist, VoltDB is releasing version 7.0 of its to offer increased scalability for managing transactions and generating analytics while ensuring high availability and strict data consistency.
Exploit acquisition program aims to patch mobile vulnerabilities faster
Even after new mobile threats have been identified the number of devices in use means it can take time for patches to be rolled out to all users.
Mobile threat defense company Zimperium is hoping to tackle this problem with the launch of a $1.5 million bounty program to purchase N-day exploits which have been identified but are still usable on unpatched devices.
The iPhone is mightier than the Galaxy -- Apple overtakes Samsung in smartphone shipments
Apple edged Samsung to take the top spot in the smartphone market in the final quarter of 2016, thanks to very strong iPhone shipments. The Cupertino, Calif.-based vendor moved 78.3 million units, having a share of 17.8 percent, while its South Korean rival only managed to ship 77.5 million smartphones, which equates to a market share of 17.7 percent. Total shipments for the quarter were 438.7 million units, according to a Strategy Analytics report.
This is not the first time that Apple beats Samsung, but it is rare for it to happen. Samsung usually has a comfortable lead over its rivals, including Apple, but thanks to the Galaxy Note7 recall it failed to repeat that performance last quarter. You can follow the saga here, but the gist of it is that the company had to pull millions of devices as a result of its mistakes, and that had a serious effect on its showing in the last part of 2016.
Windows 10 is now on one in four systems -- but can it catch Windows 7?
While Microsoft’s unconvincing numbers portray Windows 10 as an unstoppable operating system gobbling up market share, NetMarketShare’s monthly OS usage figures suggests things are going well for Windows 10, but that it will still be a long time before it starts to trouble Windows 7’s continuing dominance.
January proved to be a good month for the new OS, certainly better than December was at least.
LightBulb reduces eye strain by shifting screen gamma over time
LightBulb is a f.lux-like application which smoothly adjusts screen gamma to make colors seem warmer at night, reducing eye strain and making your PC more comfortable to use.
Install the program and it goes to work automatically, detecting your location, figuring out the sunrise and sunset time and updating your display color temperature to match.
EU mobile usage is about to get cheaper as roaming charges come to an end on 15 June
Plans to scrap mobile roaming charges in the EU have been a long time coming, but today the European Commission reveals the charges will finally come to an end on June 15 2017. EU negotiators have finally agreed on wholesale prices, something which is being described as the "last piece of the puzzle".
The cost of voice calls and text messages will be capped from this date, but there is a tapered reduction period for data charges. It is a step towards the creation of a Digital Single Market and the introduction of a "roam-like-at-home" will be welcomed by Europeans, although it's not yet clear if the arrangement will remain in place in the UK post-Brexit.
Dropbox introduces Smart Sync and Paper
Dropbox has announced "significant product updates", introducing Smart Sync (some of you might know it as Dropbox Infinite), and Paper.
The company says the introduction of Smart Sync and Paper will boost team productivity and improve collaborative processes, end-to-end. First up is the Smart Sync. Dropbox calls it an "industry first", cross-platform, on-demand cloud storage solution. It offers intuitive storage, allowing users to sync all the content from their computers to their Dropbox accounts.
Survey reveals the true cost of data breaches
More than a third of organizations that experienced a data breach in 2016 reported substantial customer, opportunity and revenue loss of more than 20 percent.
This is a key finding of the latest Cisco Annual Cybersecurity Report which also shows that after attacks, 90 percent of these organizations are improving threat defense technologies and processes.
Take a sneaky peek at Microsoft's Project NEON look coming in Windows 10 Redstone 3
The latest builds of Windows 10 Creators Update are already starting to give us a glimpse of what we can expect to see in terms of design with Project NEON. Microsoft's latest design language emerged recently and a tweaking tool has been quick to adopt the look for itself.
Fans of the old-school TweakUI will love Interop Unlock Tools not only because of the tweaking and hackery it makes possible, but also because it makes use of the Project NEON APIs to give a taste of what we are likely to see a lot more of in the months to come.
Slack sets its sights on large enterprises
The Slack team collaboration tool has proved popular with many businesses since it first launched in 2013.
Now Slack is aiming to carry its success into larger organizations with the launch of Slack Enterprise Grid, offering the adaptability to create communication structures which mirror how teams already collaborate.
OnePlus 3T found to be cheating in benchmarks
Benchmarks are an important metric by which the performance of a given device can be measured. They provide a reliable means of determining whether one laptop, computer, phone or other device is faster than another -- at least that's the idea.
Tests performed by XDA Developers strongly suggest that OnePlus is using underhanded techniques to make the OnePlus 3T's Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 perform better in Qualcomm Trepn and Snapdragon Performance Visualizer tests. Analysis of results points to the fact that OnePlus is targeting benchmark apps by name, such as GeekBench, and is artificially boosting device performance when they are found to be running.
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