This is Bill. He is cluttering up Facebook. Be smart. Block Bill.
The first half dozen times I encountered the Bill meme on Facebook, I found it amusing. But after a while, the sanctimonious stick man -- who explains how people should use the web, among other things -- began to grate.
And then everyone started to make their own versions, using their own names. At that point, it was clear, enough was enough. If you feel the same, be like me, and block Bill, and all of the other variations by following these steps.
Canonical and Oracle team up to boost enterprise cloud use
Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, has announced a collaboration with Oracle to make Ubuntu images available on Oracle Cloud.
Under the deal, Certified Ubuntu images will be available on the Oracle Cloud Marketplace, providing Oracle enterprise customers with increased choice and new and innovative ways to manage and scale their enterprise workloads, using the number one cloud operating system.
Brace yourself for a Windows 10 crapware explosion -- pre-installing TripAdvisor is just the start
Yesterday, TripAdvisor made a couple of announcements. The first was innocuous enough, letting people know that there was now a TripAdvisor app for Windows 10 available to download for free. Lovely stuff, if you like that sort of thing. The second announcement is less pleasing. It will be "pre-loaded on millions of Windows 10 compatible devices".
This is clearly going to be something that divides opinion, but I don't think I'm alone in thinking that padding out Windows 10 Mobile with crapware might not be the best way to attract users. There's no denying that TripAdvisor can prove useful -- it's helped me to make dining decisions on more than one occasion -- but pre-installed apps are rarely, if ever, a good idea, and Microsoft is hardly in a possible to put a (nother) foot wrong with Windows 10.
Tablet shipments see double digit drop in 2015
The demise of the tablet seems inevitable, as shipments percentage dropped in double digits for the first time ever. Market intelligence provider TrendForce reported that in 2015 a total of 168.5 million units were shipped, representing a 12.2 percent drop year-over-year.
Notebook analyst for TrendForce, Anita Wang, confirmed what we all already knew -- smartphones, phablets and two-in-one devices were interfering too much with the tablet market, and with the devices having a somewhat longer lifespan, the results are a decrease in new shipments.
Wendy's investigating a possible credit card breach
There have numerous instances of credit card breaches recently, with many popular companies affected by the problems. News of one more seems to be expected these days, and now it is beginning to break that a fast food chain may be the latest in this growing line.
Before you panic, this is only being investigated at the moment, so everything may be fine. So far all that's known is that several banks reported a pattern of fraud charges and the common link was that each had been used at a Wendy's location.
Microsoft and Box expand integration for Office platforms
Cloud storage is everywhere these days, with many big players in the game. Despite that Microsoft runs its own service, OneDrive, which fully integrates with Office, that doesn't mean the company isn't open to allowing its customers to use a service of their choosing.
One of those options is Box, which has worked with Office for some time, but now the two pals are getting a bit closer by expanding the integration.
What you need to know about mobile device management
The way in which we work has changed significantly in recent times. It was not that long ago that your standard office job meant being tethered to your desk from nine to five, glued to your PC screen. The rise of smartphones and web apps, however, have disrupted these traditional ways of working, granting employees more freedom than ever before. But this new mobile workforce also poses challenges for the modern business, particularly regarding security.
Of course, organizations cannot afford to restrict workplace mobility, as this would see them overtaken by a more flexible and innovative competitor. Therefore, businesses are tasked with enabling mobility without introducing vulnerabilities into the workplace -- which is where mobile device management comes in.
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14251 arrives on the Fast ring
For Windows Insiders, the Fast ring used to be something of a misnomer, with new Windows 10 preview builds trickling out on a rather infrequent basis. Microsoft promised to change that in the new year, and it’s already been as good as its word. Six days after the last new build, there’s already another available to install.
There’s a big jump in build numbers too. Last week’s release was Build 11102, and the new version is 14251. That might signify a major leap forward, with loads of changes and new features, but don’t get too excited.
Google Glass now only targets the enterprise market
When Sergey Brin first wore Google Glass on stage in April of 2012, it seemed like the future was upon us. Excitement and hype continued to build for its consumer release when early versions of the product were distributed to the lucky few who were accepted into the Google Glass Explorer program in 2014.
Sadly though after two years of #throughGlass posts, the social media accounts of Google Glass including its Google+, Twitter, Instagram and others were all shut down this week. However, Google Glass is not dead. Instead Google has shifted the products’ focus from consumers to enterprise.
VAIO unveils beautiful business-focused 'Z' and 'S' Windows 10 laptops
While many still associate the name "VAIO" with Sony, the two are no longer linked. In 2014, Sony exited the personal computer segment by selling its PC business. This was unfortunate, as many people loved Sony's laptops. Sure, they were largely expensive, but they were also arguably the closest thing to Apple that Windows users could buy from an elegance and design standpoint.
Today, the company simply known as VAIO announces two new lines of laptops. The unimaginatively named "Z" and "S" computers appear to capture the magic of Sony's designs, while offering really impressive specs too. The flip variant of the Z in particular features an amazing hinge that allows the screen to fold flat without spinning it around.
Google Cardboard by the numbers: the stats surrounding foldable virtual reality
In many ways, virtual reality has come a very long way over the past couple of decades or so. But while old VR headsets looked rather techy and somewhat futuristic -- something that is still true of Oculus Rift -- there is also a cheap, simple version made out of little more than cardboard.
Google Cardboard provides smartphone users with a quick, easy and, most importantly, cheap way to transform a handset into a virtual reality unit. Just over a year and a half since the origami VR kit launched, Google shares some statistics about how it has been received and used.
Torch browser finally ends support for Windows XP and Vista
Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows XP on April 14th 2009 and extended support came to a halt on April 8th 2014. Windows Vista faced a similar fate, only the dates were different -- April 10th 2012 for mainstream support, while extended support has an end date set for April 11th 2017.
Most products have ended support already, though many continue to work on both operating systems. Now one program is calling it quits on the antiquated Microsoft platforms.
Google Play introduces new option to 'like' reviews or mark as spam
Reviews in Google Play are a useful way to decide whether an app is worth downloading, and to determine whether the developer description is accurate. For some time it has been possible to flag up reviews as unhelpful, but starting today Google is removing this option to take a more positive approach.
Gone is the 'mark as unhelpful', replaced instead by a less prominent Spam option. Now dominant is a Facebook-inspired thumbs up button to indicate that you 'like' a review, or show that it is otherwise imbued with positive virtues. Before you get too excited, it's not yet possible to comment on reviews.
One in three home routers will double as a public hotspot by 2017
Would you be willing to share your Wi-Fi router so that everyone around you could use it as a public hotspot? Your Internet connection would stay secured behind a firewall.
This is actually not a rhetorical question, but an inevitability, according to a recent Juniper Research report. According to the market analysts, by 2017, one in three home routers will be used as a public Wi-Fi hotspot, and by 2020 there will be a total of 366 million of these units worldwide.
Google Nexus 5X gets a substantial price cut in time for Valentine's Day
There is no denying that Nexus 5X is the more attractive option in Google's smartphone lineup for price-conscious buyers. Unless shoppers really, really want the bigger screen and slightly beefier hardware that Nexus 6P has to offer, getting the entry-level Nexus is a no-brainer considering that it will more than meet their needs.
That $30 price cut that it received just two weeks ago has only made it even more appealing. But it looks like it was not big enough, as Google just lowered the asking price for the second time this month.
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