Microsoft to buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in cash
In a surprise announcement, Microsoft has said that it is to buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in cash. The $196 per share deal is expect to close by the end of this calendar year having been unanimously approved by both companies' Boards of Directors.
Following the acquisition, LinkedIn will retain its current branding and Jeff Weiner will remain on as CEO, reporting to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. LinkedIn will become part of Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Processes segment.
Reduce Memory is a tiny RAM optimizer
Would you like a faster PC? One standard tip is to run a memory optimizer, which supposedly cleans, tunes and defragments your RAM, fixes memory leaks and more. Most of these claims are utter garbage, but the technology may help a little in a few situations, and Reduce Memory offers a quick and easy way to try this out for yourself.
The program is very simple. There’s no installation, no adware, no interface, no extra startup or system tray program -- it’s just a tiny executable which you run as necessary.
KeePass 2.34 released, tightens update checking security
Open-source password-management tool KeePass 2.34 has been released for Windows. The new release’s headline feature is a digitally signed version information file, which is used to check for updates.
The feature was unveiled after a potential vulnerability was discovered whereby hackers could dupe KeePass users into downloading malware through the online update check.
What does Bill Gates know about raising chickens?
Bill Gates is a blogger, did you know that? His blog is called Gates Notes and generally covers areas of interest not only to Bill but also to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which means there’s more coverage of malaria than Microsoft. His latest post that a reader pointed out to me today is about raising chickens, which Bill says he’d do if he was a poor woman in Africa.
I’ll wait while you follow the link to read the post, just don’t forget to come back. And while you are there be sure to watch the video…
View and edit music file tags with AudioShell
AudioShell is a Windows Explorer extension which enables viewing and editing of ID3 and other tags. You may be able to do some of this already, depending on your Windows version and other software you might have installed, but AudioShell takes the idea further in several ways.
The first benefit is additional support for many more formats, covering both audio and some video formats.
Microsoft, Google and Facebook to work with Bangladesh government to remove 'inappropriate content'
Following prolonged talks with the Bangladesh government, Facebook, Google and Microsoft have all agreed to do more to remove 'inappropriate content' from the internet. State Minister for Telecoms, Tarana Halim, said: "After intense discussion with Facebook, Google and Microsoft, it has been agreed that they will respond to requests within 48 hours".
Agreeing to the Bangladesh government's demands comes just weeks after major tech companies agreed to a new code of conduct to combat online hate speech. In this instance, however, it has not been made entirely clear what constitutes inappropriate content, and the announcement will raise questions about the tech trio bowing to governmental demands.
Behavioral firewall helps guard against data breaches
When a data breach is just as likely to originate from inside the organization as outside, protecting an enterprise can be a difficult task.
Californian company Preempt is launching a new proactive approach that allows organizations to spot threats in real-time without engaging already overwhelmed security teams.
How to watch Apple's WWDC 2016 keynote live on any device including Windows, Linux and Android
Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference kicks off today, Monday 13 June, in San Francisco, with the big keynote speech scheduled for 10am PDT/1pm EST/6pm BST. As always it will be streamed live so you can tune in at home or (maybe) work.
As WWDC is for software developers, Apple doesn’t usually reveal major new hardware -- typically it’s just updated versions of existing products. We're expecting to see makeovers for iTunes and Apple Music, a massively improved Siri, and iOS 10 and macOS 12 (Apple is rumored to be dropping the X from the OS name). There are likely to be some interesting surprises too.
Two in three commercial apps with open source code have security vulnerabilities
"If you’re using open source, chances are you are likely including vulnerabilities known to the world at large". This is a quote taken from the latest open source security report released by software company Black Duck.
The company analyzed more than 200 applications that are based on, or partially use, open source material, over a six-month period. The results are that 67 percent of them have vulnerabilities, and every application has at least five vulnerable components.
Respawn and Electronic Arts reveal Titanfall 2 release date for Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4
While E3 2016 doesn't officially begin until June 14th, gaming news is starting to come fast and furiously. For example, the new Xbox One S console has leaked prematurely; I am sure Microsoft is not happy about this.
Electronic Arts and Respawn on the other hand, have chosen to intentionally release information early regarding one of its fan-favorite franchises. Titanfall 2, the sequel to the wildly popular shooter, will be coming to Xbox One and PC this year. The title will also come to PlayStation 4; this is significant, as the original did not come to Sony's console. Curious of the release date? Read on for more info!
New slim Xbox One S boasts 4K support, 2TB HDD and a vertical stand
Rumors have been circulating for some time about the arrival of a new Xbox One console, and now an image of the new model has leaked out. Known as the Xbox One S, the updated console is not just slimmer than the current Xbox One, but also boasts additional features.
Widely expected to be announced at the E3 expo which kicks off on Tuesday, Microsoft describes the Xbox One S as 'sleeker, slimmer, sharper'. At the moment no details of pricing or launch date are known, but the leak does gives up interesting titbits.
Julian Assange's WikiLeaks poised to release more Hillary Clinton emails
In a move that could boost Donald Trump's election campaign, WikiLeaks is on the verge of releasing more of Hillary Clinton's emails from her stint as US secretary of state. Clinton's use of a homebrew email server and a private email address for sending classified information has dogged her presidential campaign -- and Julian Assange is happy for that to continue.
The WikiLeaks founder, currently in exile in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, has made no secret of his loathing for Clinton. She is the subject of a federal investigation, and Assange is happy to add fuel to the fire by publicly releasing another batch of emails.
Orlando shooting at Pulse nightclub prompts Facebook's first use of Safety Check in the US
Following a massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Facebook has been prompted to activate its Safety Check feature in the US for the first time. 50 people lost their lives in the attack on the LGBT nightclub.
Previously used following natural disasters around the world as well as a man-made tragedy, Safety Check gives people in a trouble spot to let friends and family know that they're OK. The deadliest mass shooting in American history ended up being the trigger for the first activation of the feature on US soil.
Snowden: Scotland has its own NSA conducting mass surveillance of phone and internet activity
Documents leaked by Edward Snowden reveal that Scottish authorities have been engaged in gathering data about phone and internet usage in much the same way as the NSA and GCHQ. The Scottish Recording Centre (SRC) accessed information gathered as part of a bulk data collection program called MILKWHITE.
Scottish newspaper The National, in conjunction with the website CommonSpace, have exposed Scotland's role in the UK's mass surveillance programs. Police and tax authorities in Scotland -- devolved from UK forces -- were given accessed to what the Intercept describes as 'huge troves of metadata' gathered by spy agencies.
Even threatening to circulate revenge porn could be criminalized across Britain
New laws have been proposed for England and Wales that would criminalize not only the circulation of revenge porn, but also threatening to circulate it. The definition of what constitutes revenge porn could also be expanded.
This level of criminalization is already in force in Scotland, and Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael believes that the rest of Britain should follow suit. If adopted, the proposed change would see revenge porn threats seen in much the same light as other forms of blackmail.
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.