Visiting the System76 headquarters -- a Willy Wonka-like superfan experience
Users of Linux-based operating systems often buy Windows-powered computers, format the hard drive and install their favorite distro. This can sometimes be a fine experience, although, quite often, it comes with annoyances such as non-working hardware (usually Wi-Fi). Not to mention, the keyboard will likely house a "Windows" key, which taints the experience.
The holy grail for many Linux users -- besides building their own computer -- is to get a desktop or laptop that comes pre-loaded with a Linux-based operating system. One of the most popular such manufacturers, System76, sells computers pre-loaded with Ubuntu, including a lifetime of telephone tech support. Obviously the company has accumulated many fans over the years, so this past Thursday and Friday, it held its first-ever superfan event. Fans were flown to its Denver headquarters. I was honored to be given the opportunity to cover it (airfare and hotel provided by System76)
Markdown Edit is a distraction-free editor for Windows
Markdown is a lightweight and readable markup language which makes it easy to create rich text documents with a plain text editor.
How easy? Grab a copy of the open source Markdown Edit (for Windows 7 or later) to find out.
Apple might offer peer to peer money transfers
Apple is looking to add peer-to-peer money transfer to its Apple Pay service and hopes it might help it take off.
According to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, Apple believes adding the peer-to-peer money transfer would interest millennials, and it’s been talking to a number of banks about it.
Microsoft Office 2016: Tips for a seamless migration
With the roll out of Microsoft Office 2016, enterprises and workforces will be put under intense pressure to not only consider migrating to Microsoft Office 2016 but to manage and effectively sync the software with existing systems and programs, with no perceived system downtime.
The new software offers a variety of productivity development tools that will appeal to enterprises and their workforce. However the need and urgency to deploy such software must be evaluated thoroughly by CIO’s or key decision makers in comparison to the existing IT infrastructure; in order for it to succeed and not cause any level of threat to current workforce productivity.
Forget about running Android apps on Windows 10 Mobile
One of the features that could have helped Windows 10 Mobile become a more appealing and competitive platform will not be available in the new smartphone operating system at launch. Windows 10 Mobile is expected to make its debut later this month, arriving on Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL first.
The missing feature in question is support for Android apps. The holdup? Microsoft has revealed that Astoria bridge, the tool that makes it possible to run Android apps on its OS, is not yet ready for prime time.
Get 1TB of Google Drive storage for free
It's hard to have too much storage, and cloud storage is particularly handy. Microsoft may have cut the amount of space OneDrive users have access to, but Google is giving you a way to gain 1TB of Google Drive space for free.
There is, of course, a slight catch. While the storage space is free, you will have to work for it. It's all part of a big push of Google's Local Guides program. Make contributions to Google Maps in the form of uploading photos, writing reviews, and correcting mistakes and you'll be rewarded in a number of ways.
Sprint and T-Mobile offer help in the wake of France terror attacks
The past couple of days have been an endless cycle of bad news with the terror attacks in Paris. Everyone feels bad for those caught up in the violence and we all wish we could help in some way. Some are in a position to do so and Sprint and T-Mobile fall into that category, and are planning to do their part during this crisis.
Both are offering free communication options so loved ones can check on friends and family. That's a key thing in any situation, be it a terror attack or natural disaster.
Microsoft and Code.org use Minecraft to teach coding to kids
As part of the third Hour of Code, Microsoft has launched a coding tutorial based on Minecraft. The event is part of Computer Science Education Week, which runs from December 7-13 and uses the familiar Minecraft to teach coding to people aged 6 and above.
The tutorial is a collaboration between Microsoft, Code.org, and Mojang AB, the company behind Minecraft. It provides a gentle on-ramp to learning the basics of coding, with a view to inspiring the next generation of developers.
Watch YouTube as you browse the web
You’re watching something great on YouTube, but you’ve also got real work to do elsewhere. Which do you choose? Decisions, decisions…
Sideplayer is a free Chrome extension which enables you to do both, watching YouTube clips in a floating player window while also carrying on browsing elsewhere.
OnePlus 2, One will get Android 6.0 Marshmallow in early 2016
Even though Android 6.0 Marshmallow has been around for more than a month, only a handful of vendors have revealed their upgrade plans. OnePlus is the latest to join the list, announcing when OnePlus 2 and OnePlus One users should expect to see the new mobile operating system on their devices.
OnePlus says that its latest "flagship killer", OnePlus 2, will be upgraded to Android 6.0 Marshmallow in the first quarter of next year, which is when its first smartphone, OnePlus One, is also expected to get the corresponding CyanogenOS update.
DHL customers targeted by new phishing scam
With the approach of the holiday season there's a spike in online shopping which means many people will be expecting the delivery of packages.
This of course is a window of opportunity for cyber criminals looking to steal personal information. It's perhaps not surprising then that Comodo Antispam Labs has identified a new global phishing threat, targeted at businesses and individuals who use DHL shipping.
HP Enterprise launches new Docker solutions for business
Docker has been widely adopted by enterprises looking for tools that allow for fast development, testing and management of applications.
HP Enterprise (HPE) is using this week's DockerCon Europe to introduce a new line up of solutions for the Docker ecosystem. These encompass cloud, software, storage and services to allow businesses to use Docker to help them move to a hybrid infrastructure in a scalable, secure and trusted manner.
Every website can be improved -- even the best performing ones
Your website content should be dynamic and always changing as your business realigns its goals and audiences to keep pace with a changing landscape. Mergers and acquisitions or streamlining business units and products often require you to take a fresh look at your website. A rebranding may mean that you have to combine several sites into one. And even if that’s not what you’re facing, every website can be improved -- even the best ones.
Website redesign can be a long and arduous process involving multiple stakeholders from across the business. Planning ahead to understand their requirements and avoid pitfalls will help keep your project on time and on track. For large websites where a mistake can cost millions, the right level of scrutiny to inform decisions is key. These are the lessons we learnt through redesigning one of our websites. These tips will also help you to carefully study your website and identify the elements that can be optimized.
Priv is BlackBerry's last hope -- can it woo consumers and business users?
It’s fair to say that BlackBerry has been struggling a bit in recent times. After initially being a leading light in the smartphone arena last decade, it has since seen its main competitors go on to take control of the market.
The likes of Apple and Samsung are selling more phones than ever and are now -- and have been for some time -- the dominant forces in a world that BlackBerry is struggling to still be a part of. A report from earlier in the year said that Apple now enjoys a 34.1 percent share of the UK smartphone market, with Android leading the way 53.2 percent and BlackBerry bringing up the rear with 1.2 percent.
Left behind by the Windows 10 bandwagon
I consider myself a patient person. After more than 25 years in the IT industry you sort of have to be. When I bought my first real hybrid 2-in-1 PC -- an HP Envy x2 -- I learned to put up with the many quirks of the then brand-new Windows 8. And when Windows 8.1 arrived, I tolerated several weeks of display artifacts and other graphical anomalies, confident that they would all get sorted out -- eventually.
Which they did. In fact, for each case a new round of device drivers -- specifically, for the Envy x2’s Atom Z2760 chipset and associated Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) video subsystem -- cured what ailed it. So it’s understandable that I would expect a similar scenario to play out with Windows 10. After all, Microsoft’s new OS is really just a retread of Windows 8 (which was itself a retread of Windows 7, etc.). And my trusty Envy x2 excels at running Windows 8.1.
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