The benefits of a multi-cloud strategy
Multi-cloud has been discussed within the cloud computing industry for a while, but there is still confusion and disagreement about what it is. What most can agree on is that multi-cloud is about mixing and matching the best-in-class technologies and services from different cloud providers to create the best possible solution for a business.
This flexibility is what will define the industry in the coming years, allowing organizations to leverage the relative advantages, price-points and geographic locations of the solutions to their best advantage. However, the transition to a multi-cloud solution can be fraught with risks if improperly managed. As a result, enterprises looking to gain advantage through this technology are seeking expert help in the form of third-party managed service providers.
Super Mario Run is bad news for everyone -- especially Android users
When Apple announced that Mario was making his way to iOS, there was much rejoicing. But the excitement soon gave way to disappointment for several reasons. Firstly there was the price, with many feeling $9.99 was just too much to ask for what is, ultimately, a very basic, one button platformer.
Next there's the complaint that Super Mario run requires constant access to the internet -- many users have also grumbled that the game has eaten through large chunks of their monthly data allowance. Nintendo may have made a pretty penny from sales of the title in the first few days, but the company's share price has tumbled. On top of this, just as it happened with Pokémon Go, the initial success of the game is being used to push malware at users.
'General and indiscriminate retention' of data ruled illegal, threatening Snooper's Charter
The UK government's Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (also known as the Snooper's Charter) has been dealt a blow after the European Court of Justice ruled that the "general and indiscriminate retention" of internet data and communication is illegal.
This is a serious setback for Theresa May's government which introduced legislations that not only requires ISPs to store customers' browsing history for a year, but also make this data available to a large number of agencies. The European court made the ruling following a legal challenge made by MPs David Davis and Tom Watson which gained the support of privacy groups.
Ransomware gets into the Christmas spirit with a festive discount
Christmas is a time of goodwill and it seems that the people behind the CryptXXX ransomware aren't immune as they're offering a seasonal discount for victims who intend to pay up.
Researchers at data security company Forcepoint have discovered that where previously, victims infected with CryptXXX, also known as UltraCrypter were asked for a payment of 1.2 Bitcoin, in keeping with the season of goodwill, the cyber criminals are now offering decryption at a Christmas discount.
Facebook introduces Live Audio in conjunction with the BBC
It's not all that long since Facebook started to allow users to broadcast live video to their friends and followers -- now the social network is doing the same with audio. Things are looking good for mobile users, particularly those with Android devices.
Starting off with partners such as the BBC World Service, LBC and Harper Collins, Live Audio is something of a blend of podcasts and radio. To start off -- just as happened with live video -- audio broadcasting will only be available to a select group of companies, but there are plans to open it up to everyone.
Best Windows 10 apps of 2016
Welcome to this special episode of best Windows apps. This article looks back, and lists the best applications released for Windows 10 in 2016.
I went through all "best of Windows apps" post of the year, cross-referenced the popularity of apps on Windows Store, and read user comments to create this list.
Apple's 'lump of coal in your stocking' Christmas
Apple sure knows how to keep its store stocked for the holidays. Ho, ho, ho, bah humbug. The shelves are bare, and you can get your must-have pretty thing some time next year. If you're lucky. Let's start with the delayed AirPods, which went on sale online last week. They arrived in stores on Monday, and whoosh were gone before the waiting line ended. My local shop had about 30 pairs. If you want them, first available retail pickup date is—cough, cough—February 8th. That is 2017. I had to confirm not 2018, because you never know with these dumbfounding delays. Straight-to-ship orders move your way in six weeks. Donald Trump will be president sooner!
Perhaps you're pining for one of those pricey MacBook Pros—you know, the ones with Touch Bar that no sane person knows what to do with. Apple will miss Christmas, but you can still beat Martin Luther King's birthday, with orders made today delivering sometime between January 4-10 or available for in-store pickup on the tenth. God Bless America and Made in China!
FINsix DART-C is world's smallest USB-C laptop charger -- for MacBook Pro (2016) and more
USB-C is proving to be quite the wonderful connector. It is being used on many devices, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This means you can often charge multiple devices using a single power adapter -- very convenient for those that like to pack light. You can also connect things like flash drives to both PCs and mobile devices -- very cool.
Apple recently released its newest MacBook Pro, and it only has USB-C ports for connectivity; it even charges using these ports. The power brick is surprisingly chunky, however, meaning it can take up a good amount of room in a bag. If you desire a smaller charger for your MacBook or other USB-C devices, I have good news. Today, FINsix announces the DART-C, which it claims is the 'world’s smallest' USB-C laptop charger.
BT is number one -- for broadband complaints
British Telecom, more commonly known as BT, is the top UK supplier for broadband. However, "top" doesn't always mean best, and in this case the point is proven. The London headquartered company is the subject of a new report.
Regulator Ofcom is announcing its findings for the third quarter of 2016 and BT is number one for customer complaints, averaging a whopping 36 per-100,000 customers, a number that is almost double the industry average.
Apple's AirPods are kind of impressive
At $159.99, Apple's new AirPods are super expensive. But there is a very good reason why. According to an iFixit teardown, there is a lot of technology crammed into this pair of wireless earphones. As it turns out, the old "you get what you pay for" saying is true.
In the AirPods, which weigh four grams (0.14 ounces) each, Apple has packed its own W1 chip to provide wireless connectivity, IR sensors, microphones, an accelerometer and a battery, on top of the usual speaker. The IR sensors, microphones and accelerometer are there so that the AirPods can detect when they're in your ear -- and work accordingly.
Electronic Frontier Foundation reveals its privacy and security wishlist for 2017
With the end of the year approaching, many people are looking back over 2016 and picking out the highlights. Others, however, are looking back to see what can be learned for 2017; this is exactly what digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation is doing.
EFF has drawn up a wishlist for 2017, outlining some of the things it hopes technology companies like Google, Twitter, Apple and Facebook will take action on. There are lots of familiar names on the list, and while some of the requests might seem a little hopeful, there is certainly scope for some of the changes to be implemented.
How to not get hacked
We found out last week that one billion Yahoo accounts were hacked in 2013, only a couple months after we learned about a separate hack, that took place in 2014, which compromised an additional 500 million accounts. Combine that with the 360 million compromised MySpace passwords, 117 million from LinkedIn, 65 million from Tumblr, and 32 million from Twitter, and you can almost guarantee that you or someone you know was affected by the mega-breaches announced in recent months.
Being as most people use the same password over and over, these breaches give hackers access to multiple accounts. In a proactive security screen this fall, Netflix found a number of users whose Netflix passwords were compromised as part of another company’s breach. These instances do not simply let attackers tweet on your behalf; they can affect all of your accounts. How many people use the same password for LinkedIn or Yahoo as they do for their corporate email? An unsettling number.
G.SKILL announces Trident Z RGB DDR4 memory kit with color lighting
All RAM is the same, right? No way, José! Not only must you choose between DDR3 and DDR4-based memory depending on your build, but you also must consider capacity and timings. Don't forget brand, either -- choosing a no-name company for your memory needs can result in poor performance and stability -- stick to the well-known companies, folks.
My absolute favorite brand of memory is G.SKILL. Not only does the company offer high-quality RAM with excellent compatibility at reasonable prices, but it also offers a great warranty. Today, it reveals a really cool new line of DDR4 RAM -- Trident Z RGB. As the name suggests, yes, these sticks light up. And yes, that matters -- some people take pride in their PC build's appearance.
Flock guns for Slack with its 'chat operating system'
Slack came from nowhere to be one of the leaders of the collaboration market in just two years. But being a leader means other people are keen to take a share of your business and team messenger application Flock is the latest to be eyeing up Slack's market.
Today Flock is launching a development platform, FlockOS. It describes this as a chat operating system, that allows developers to build customized apps, bots and integrations. These can either be used within their own organizations, or published on the Flock Appstore, making them available for all Flock users.
Changing infrastructure and new job roles among 2017 Internet of Things predictions
Continuing our series of expert predictions for the coming year, today we turn our attention to the Internet of Things which has begun to take off in a serious way in 2016.
Although the IoT may already be pretty big it's set to get much, much bigger. Figures earlier this year from Machina Research predict the number of IoT connections will grow from 6 billion in 2015 to 27 billion in 2025. So what opportunities and challenges is this going to present to businesses?
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