Apple launches costly repair program for iPhone 6 Plus 'touch disease'

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The iPhone 6 Plus' so-called "touch disease" has been known about for some time now, but Apple has only just got around to launching a repair program -- the Multi-Touch Repair Program for iPhone 6 Plus.

But in addition to taking its sweet time in getting round to addressing the issue, Apple is set to upset large number of users by charging them $149 for the privilege.

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Microsoft plays nice with the EU to buy LinkedIn

microsoft-linkedin

According to the European Commission, Microsoft has made commitments to appease EU antitrust regulators regarding its $26 billion acquisition of the professional social networking site LinkedIn.

The company announced its plan to acquire the site in June for $26 billion, in its largest acquisition to date. The deal would allow Microsoft access to LinkedIn's large user base and would give it an edge in providing cloud-based services -- such as Office 365 -- to businesses.

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Facebook's Social Good Forum aims to improve the world with donations in live video and Community Help

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Facebook just held its first Social Good Forum and used it to unveil a number of new tools and options focused around raising money to help out those in need. It also announced the expansion of the existing Safety Check feature.

The social network has faced criticism in the past for triggering Safety Check -- which lets Facebook users tells friends and family they are OK in the event of a disaster or crisis -- for some major events, but not others. Now Facebook is taking a hands-off approach: it can be triggered by the community. Another new feature announced is the arrival of Donate buttons in Live videos and posts.

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Why Facebook Workplace has no future

End of the road

On October 10, Facebook debuted its long-incubated and much-anticipated platform for business: Workplace. But within days it was already clear that it wasn't going to live up to the hype. In fact, there's no way it could have.

This is not meant as a snub of Facebook. It makes perfect sense that Mark Zuckerberg would want his platform to become as popular for work as it is for fun. It has even made some initial converts. Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes defended Workplace -- which he has implemented at his offices -- in a Fast Company article because it represents "part of a broader wave of the consumerization of IT".

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Millions of mobile users at risk after Three customer database breach

Three

Hackers have gained access to a database containing the personal details of up to six million customers of mobile carrier Three. A report in the Telegraph cites 'sources familiar with the incident', but while Three has confirmed a security breach took place, the company is yet to provide precise details.

What we do know is that the incident took place when hackers used employee login credentials to access the customer upgrade database. It is thought that the hackers gained accessed to customer names, addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth, but financial details were not exposed.

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Privacy alert -- Your iPhone is secretly sending your call history to iCloud

iphone-with-earbuds

iCloud is hardly the finest example of secure cloud storage, as numerous hacked celebrities will attest. So it is perhaps a little concerning to learn that Apple is -- according to a Russian security firm -- storing months of call logs to iCloud without many users being aware of what’s going on.

Elcomsoft, which specializes in cracking software, discovered that if you are an iPhone owner with an active iCloud account, four months' worth of your phone calls have been stored online. Many people will see this as a privacy concern but, worryingly, Apple does not provide a way to disable call log syncing.

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Wink releases version 2 of its hub, automate your home now

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A while back Wink released its first hub and we put it to the test. After a few minor hiccups, everything worked fine and provided great integration with many products including voice control through Amazon Alexa, which can then control lights, Nest thermostats and more.

Recently the company announced version two of the device and now Wink has officially made it available for purchase.

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Huawei MediaPad M3 Android tablet comes to the USA -- just in time for the holidays

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Holiday shopping is upon us, and some people in my life have started asking me about technology to give as gifts. Tablets are sure to be popular again this year, although probably not as much as years past. Apple's iPad is always a smart choice, but it is becoming harder to recommend an Android tablet.

Unfortunately, quality tablets running Google's mobile operating system are becoming increasingly rare. Many Android variants are simply low-quality. Thankfully, a high-quality tablet from Huawei should excite shoppers. Previously available in Europe only, the Huawei MediaPad M3 is available in the USA starting today. Best of all? It is very affordable too.

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Windows 10 Creators Update Preview Build 14971 for PC arrives on the Fast ring, includes Paint 3D, removes Command Prompt

Windows-10 key

Continuing its weekly update schedule, Microsoft has rolled out another new Insider Preview build to the Fast ring. Build 14971 is only for PC this time around. Windows 10 Mobile users on the Slow ring can however, now upgrade to Build 14965.

There won’t be a new Insider Preview build for either platform next week, due to Thanksgiving, so you’ll have to make do with this one, which offers some interesting additions, and also says goodbye to the Command Prompt.

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Combine clipboard text snippets with clipLogger

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If you’re researching online, or maybe browsing a collection of local documents, you might sometimes want to copy chunks of text elsewhere for later reference.

Sounds simple, but most solutions are either bulky (use a web clipping service or clipboard manager) or tedious in the extreme (copy text to the clipboard, Alt+Tab to Notepad, paste and Alt+Tab back).

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OpenAI and Microsoft team up to create 'cloud brains'

AI

The artificial intelligence (AI) non-profit OpenAI has agreed to partner with Microsoft to develop "cloud brains" to test its experiments.

The organization, which is backed by Elon Musk, has signed an agreement that will allow it to run large-scale experiments using the company's Azure cloud services. OpenAI aims to discover more about deep learning and AI, while Microsoft will use the partnership to create new tools and technologies that use AI.

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Firefox Focus for iOS promises to tighten privacy while browsing

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Mozilla has unveiled Firefox Focus 2.0, a brand new privacy conscious web browser for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Despite the version number, this is the first public release of the app.

The app aims to counteract two increasingly prevalent trends in web browsing: one, a lack of privacy, as users find their web activities tracking across multiple devices, and two, an increasingly cluttered web space where adverts jostle for attention and overwhelm basic content.

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System76 adds 4K display to Ubuntu Linux-powered MacBook Pro competitor Oryx Pro

oryxprostarbucks

Apple makes a damn good laptop, and its new MacBook Pro computers are no exception. Unfortunately for some, Apple's latest offerings are too expensive and fall short -- most models lack the ability to upgrade the SSD, and the RAM maxes out at 16GB. Interestingly, many upset Apple fans even turned to System76 and its Ubuntu-powered machines following the big MacBook Pro unveil.

At the time, I compared the MacBook Pro to the Oryx Pro to highlight that you could get more performance from System76 for less money. Obviously, it was not an entirely fair comparison, as they are different in many ways. For example, the Oryx Pro only featured a 1080p screen. Today, this changes, however, as System76 adds a 4K display option to its MacBook Pro competitor. Will this make macOS users more likely to switch to Linux?

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OnePlus 3 reaches end of the road

Bye

The launch of the OnePlus 3T has created some uncertainty regarding the fate of the previous "flagship killer". Will OnePlus sell both devices going forward, or will the new smartphone replace the OnePlus 3 in its lineup?

Based on price alone, it would make sense for OnePlus to offer both devices. The OnePlus 3T is a bit more expensive, so it would slot above its predecessor in the range. However, as it turns out, OnePlus has other things in mind.

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UK businesses are not keen to embrace AR

Augmented Reality Glasses

Businesses are reluctant to accept augmented reality, a new survey by ISACA has shown. The main reasons for this reserved stance is that they don’t believe the benefits are bigger than the risks of implementing the new technology.

The findings were published in ISACA’s new report, entitled IT Risk/Reward Barometer, which polled 363 UK professionals. Less than a fifth (18 percent) currently believe the benefits of AR are bigger than the risks, and 40 percent say that both organizations and consumers should be "very concerned" about the privacy risks that go with the implementation of augmented reality tech.

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