Twitter shareholder letter: 'meaningful' safety update, machine learning, timeline changes, and redundancies
Twitter's troll and harassment problem is well-documented, and the social media site has faced mounting criticism over its apparent inability to keep users in check. In a letter to shareholders, Twitter today announced that it will be making "meaningful updates" to its safety policy -- but it doesn’t say what they might be.
The letter says that Twitter wants to "drive value" across three key areas: audience, content, and revenue. For the audience side of things, this means timeline tinkering and contextualizing content. For content, it means partnerships, streaming video and syndication. To make the most of revenue, some fat must be trimmed, and this means internal restructuring and job losses.
Smartphone shipments rise despite Samsung Galaxy Note7 recall
Smartphone shipments have increased in the third quarter of the year, even when Samsung's recalled Galaxy Note7 flagship is taken out of the equation. How much they rose depends on which analyst company you choose to believe. IDC is the most conservative, announcing a growth of one percent bump year-over-year, while Canalys is more optimistic, claiming a six percent bump.
Both Canalys and IDC exclude the Galaxy Note7 because Samsung stopped sales of its latest flagship and wants every unit it shipped to be returned by its customers. The smartphone performed well in the short time it was available, which is why the two companies specifically mention it in their reports -- though it did not dramatically affect Samsung's status as a market leader.
Facebook adds augmented reality Halloween masks to Live video plus spooky reactions
Out on the streets people may be keeping an eye open for killer clowns, but on Facebook this Halloween things are also taking a frightening turn. The social network is using this spooky time of year to introduce augmented reality masks to Live video -- with a Halloween twist, of course.
At the same time, Facebook is also adding "limited-edition" Halloween reactions. These transform the now familiar Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry reactions in something rather more ghoulish.
How to watch Apple's 'Hello Again' Mac launch live on any device including Windows, Linux and Android
In just a few hours, Apple will be taking the wraps off its latest MacBook Pro. We’ve already seen a leaked photo of the new device, with OLED Magic Toolbar, but Apple will have more to show us than just that. Rumors suggest the tech giant will be updating the MacBook Air and iMac too, debuting an external 5K display, and announcing an Apple TV app called "The Watch List" that will recommend shows users may like.
The event is scheduled to start at 10am PDT/1pm EDT/6pm BST, and as always it will be streamed live so you can tune in at home or (maybe) work.
DevOps is driving the move to cloud-first businesses
New research from cloud business management specialist ServiceNow indicates that enterprise cloud services have reached a tipping point, with 52 percent of respondents saying they would select cloud as the platform of choice for new business applications.
In addition 85 percent say they now are headed towards a cloud-first footing, with almost nine out of 10 saying they will complete the shift within two years.
New software suite helps business decision making
Businesses increasingly rely on analytics tools to make sense of their data. But often these can be complex and require several different programs to deliver results.
Analytics software company TARGIT is launching its new Decision Suite 2017 which offers a universal analytics solution with an enterprise-grade in-memory database and back-end tool set.
What you need to know about artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become a hot topic in the last couple of years, thanks primarily to the rapid progression of software and the development of new and exciting (or new and scary, depending on your view) technologies.
Movies and TV have long made us aware of the potential of AI, but many of the seemingly farfetched ideas are now closer to becoming a reality. And, as investment continues to grow, so too will the interest and success of such projects.
Something wicked this way comes… the cyber security issues that scare people most
"There is a time to take counsel of your fears," General George S. Patton once famously said. Halloween marks the end of National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). Let’s make this the time to take counsel of the cyber security fears that keep us up at night.
We asked more than 250 business professionals from across the country to share their concerns. Their answers seem influenced by recent headlines, the pending election, and the coming shopping season.
Naked Cases protect your iPhone 7 from scratches, without hiding its beauty
The iPhone 7 is undeniably an attractive smartphone. The Jet Black model is particularly beautiful -- I should know, I own one. However, the high gloss finish of the Jet Black model is prone to scratches, and what Apple refers to as "fine micro-abrasions" caused by everyday use.
Apple suggests that if you want to keep your phone in pristine condition you should use one of the many available cases to protect it. But then people won’t see the beauty of the new device, which is a shame. This is where Naked Cases come in.
Inventor of DNS on the DYN attack: 'DDoS threatens our values and freedoms, as well as our surfing'
Imagine standing in line at a coffee shop, the place is brimming with people all shouting their order at the one overwhelmed barista. You place your order but he can’t hear you. You shout it, you scream it over the din of the thousands of people also ordering their coffee, but the barista just shrugs because he can’t get your order much less process it. No coffee for you. As you leave you realize those thousands of other customers aren’t even customers, they were just noise generated to keep you from getting your coffee.
Welcome to DDoS.
Healthcare staff lack basic cyber security awareness
The consequences of a security breach in the healthcare sector can be severe, yet a new survey reveals that healthcare staff are among the most likely to fall victim to social engineering attacks.
The study from SecurityScorecard exposes vulnerabilities across 700 healthcare organizations including medical treatment facilities, health insurance agencies and healthcare manufacturing companies.
Office 2013 can now block macros to prevent infection -- here's how to enable it
If someone sends you a document, modern versions of Microsoft Office will automatically open it in Protected View, to keep you safe from malware. If you need to edit it, you can do so, but it's at your own risk.
Office 2016 also gives administrators the ability to prevent users from running macros in Office documents that originated from the Internet, adding further protection. Frustratingly, this feature wasn’t made available in Office 2013, leaving users of the older suite at risk.
Try Microsoft Paint 3D now -- no need to wait for Windows 10 Creators Update!
At yesterday's event in New York, Microsoft revealed Windows 10 Creators Update. Due to launch in the spring of 2017, this next update to Windows 10 sees Microsoft shifting some of its focus to 3D.
Earlier in the year we learned about the updated Paint app thanks to a leak, but now Microsoft has decided to make a preview version of the app available for anyone to try out. In order to test out Paint 3D Preview you will need to be a Windows Insider with Build 14800 or greater installed, and then you can try out the 3D capabilities of the app for yourself.
jpeg-recompress cuts image file sizes by 50-80%
Jpeg-recompress is an unusual open-source tool which can cut JPEG file sizes by 50 percent or more.
The program works by intelligently selecting the lowest possible quality setting for your JPEG, which also has the minimum effect on its perceived visual quality. This is still lossy compression, and not something to use with images you might want to edit later. But it’s ideal for shrinking pictures you’d like to share elsewhere, perhaps on social networks, by email, or on your own websites.
How mobile payment adoption can pick up speed
Despite the fact that consumer awareness of mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay is growing all the time, the use of mobile payment solutions in the United States and Canada has so far been low. In fact, in both markets mobile payments account for only 3 percent of all transactions.
While the two payment landscapes are very different, there are similar reasons why the result has been largely the same. By the same token, there are also common factors that could see mobile payments explode in both markets sooner rather than later.
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