Certified Ubuntu images float their way into Google Cloud Platform
Working in conjunction with Google, Canonical is launching a public beta of Ubuntu for Google Cloud Platform. These are part of the Certified Public Cloud (CPC) programme which means that the cloud versions of Ubuntu will be updated just about as quickly as the regular ground-tethered versions. Images for Utopic Unicorn, TrustyTahr, and Precise Pangolin releases are now available on Google Compute Engine.
The Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, 12.04 LTS releases benefit from the regular five years of maintenance and security updates, while 14.10 has a shorter shelf-life. Taking Ubuntu to the cloud serves as an alternative to the likes of Azure for anyone looking to venture into cloud platforms without breaking the bank.
Microsoft ignores its own Band wearable and gives away Fitbit Flex with the Lumia 830
A lot of wearable devices have accompanying smartphones. The Apple Watch has the iPhone 6, Galaxy Gear ties in with a number of Samsung Galaxy handsets, while the Motorola Moto 360 marries happily to just about any Android phone. Falling into the same works-with-anything camp is the recently announced Microsoft Band.
With a newly launched wearable, you'd think Microsoft would be keen to push it as much as possible. So when the company decided to bundle a wrist-worn device with the new Lumia 830, which do you think it opted for. Yeah... the Fitbit Flex...
Keep your keys in your pocket -- only you should be driving your data
Generally speaking, an enterprise data security company and a National Security Agency leaker might make for strange bedfellows. Yet, some of the controversial Edward Snowden’s comments at the New Yorker Festival have us nodding our heads -- with reservations, of course.
In his video interview, Snowden warned about the vulnerability of some popular storage and collaboration tools, calling them "dangerous services" that are "hostile to privacy". Indeed, we too find it troubling that a vendor or government agency can access (and distribute) personal or corporate information, without the consent of the data owner.
Google's Nexus Player -- an Android TV-powered media box and game console [Review]
Another day, another streaming media box. Quite frankly, the idea of testing yet another such device would normally bore me, but this one is different. You see, it carries the Nexus name. If you aren't familiar, "Nexus" is synonymous with a pure Google experience. What does this mean? Well, it is Android the way the search-giant envisions it.
Amazon for instance, uses Android as a base for its Fire OS found on the Fire TV; however, it is very customized and doesn't have access to the Play Store. The Nexus Player is Google's retort -- showing device manufacturers how Android TV should be done. How does the Nexus Player compare to the competition? Read on for more.
Nexus 9 -- The first 'magical' Android tablet [Review]
My first-ever tablet was the first-generation iPad. I loved Apple's tablet very much, but ended up selling it to buy the Nexus 7. My decision made sense, as the iPad was nearing end of life, while Google's tablet was just beginning.
The Nexus 7 was awesome, but it lacked the same magic as Apple's tablet. Yes, I am using the word magic to describe the iPad, a much maligned word for Apple's detractors. To explain, the "magic" I speak of, was the emotional connection that I had with iPad; something that did not exist with both Nexus 7 models. Don't get me wrong, both Nexus 7 tablets were great and functional, but also cold and smartphone-like. Now Google releases the Nexus 9 and it finally has the feature I desire most -- magic.
Amazon's Diversity Report shows it is dominated by white males, but photos spin a different story
Having a web presence means that companies are open to greater scrutiny than ever before. Post-NSA there was huge interest in learning just how much data the likes of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft had shared with the government and its agencies, and the next target for attention has been the racial and gender make-up of these same companies.
We have already seen diversity reports from Twitter and Apple, and now Amazon has thrown its hat into the ring. The Diversity Report's figures show that -- perhaps unsurprisingly -- the company is dominated by white men, particularly in the higher positions. But while the numbers and graphs tell one story, the photographs released by Amazon to accompany the report try to tell a rather different tale.
Why are analyst predictions always so wrong?
We used to live and survive in the savanna in a simple, local and linear world. When we had to kill animals for food we would think and act in a linear way to realize our goal. A relatively easy, stable and predictable world. The linear and local world is ingrained in our mental model of the world.
However, in the last few decades we have witnessed the increased importance of exponential phenomena, mainly driven by technology. The tipping point came in 1965, when Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, introduced Moore's law which predicted that computing power would double every two years. So what is the real value of tech analysts and market researchers in an exponential world? Do they provide business benefit? Or are they particularly valuable in a more linear and predictable world?
Roku gets Google Play, watch your movies now
Google has just announced the Nexus Player, bringing the extensive Play store content to the living room. But Google's new set-top box isn't the only device on the market. There is plenty of competition in the arena from Apple, Roku and Amazon, to name only three. Now it appears Google intends to compete with itself in this crowded space.
Roku, perhaps the leader in this area, is announcing that it will now include the Play store for video content. "Today, we're thrilled to announce that Google Play Movies & TV has been added to our expansive Channel Store in the US, UK, Ireland and Canada. With the addition of Google Play Movies & TV, you now have more options than ever to watch the entertainment you love on your Roku player", the company states.
Malware on the rise, with Trojans by far the biggest threat
Not worried about malware? Provided you take sensible precautions when on the web, and have decent anti-malware installed, your chances of getting infected are relatively low, but the threat still persists and isn’t to be underestimated.
According to PandaLabs, a total of 20 million new strains were created worldwide in the third quarter of 2014, which works out to 227,747 new samples being identified every day.
HTC One (M8) for Windows launching soon at AT&T, T-Mobile [Update]
It will not be long before AT&T and T-Mobile customers will also be able to get their hands on HTC One (M8) for Windows, as both US mobile operators are now listing the Windows Phone as "coming soon" to their stores.
One (M8) for Windows launched in August as a Verizon-exclusive version of One (M8) running Android. The smartphone, which costs $99.99 on a two-year contract with big red, is the first to ship with Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 out-of-the-box.
Two clouds are better than one
Despite the news that enterprise cloud adoption is up 61.5 percent since 2010, many businesses are still skeptical of moving critical communications applications such as email and corporate data over to a single cloud vendor. Even admitted cloud enthusiasts and members of the Open Data Center Alliance, a consortium of global IT companies such as Infosys, Deutsche Telekom and SAP, have admitted that two-thirds of its members are delaying their move to the cloud due to a number of concerns around security and downtime.
Security has long been one of the primary barriers to cloud adoption, but while vendors are working hard to assuage fears on that score, the issue of unplanned downtime is another major hurdle that must also be overcome.
How health history is more valuable to hackers than your credit card information
A recent article stated that medical records could be sold for up to 20 times more than credit card information on the black market. There are various factors as to why consumers’ medical information has become so valuable. This article considers those factors as well as some precautions medical providers can take to better protect themselves against malicious threats.
The first thing that needs to be addressed is why hackers prefer to buy and sell medical records versus credit card information.
The smarter the phone the harder the fall
Using your smartphone can be dangerous according to findings from a new study by gadget insurance specialists SquareTrade and it's people as well as devices that are getting damaged.
A poll of UK smartphone owners found that a stunning -- or possibly stunned -- 86 percent had tripped, stumbled or hit a lamppost or wall when distracted by using a mobile device. Stumbling incidents accounted for 37.2 percent of people damaging their phones in the last two years with over half of all accidents happening in the home. Also 18 percent of accidents were caused by someone other than the phone owner.
PingHurry is a free visual Ping tool
Ping is the most basic of networking troubleshooting tools, and easy enough to use, but its standard text output is, well, a little limited. Endless tables of figures make it more difficult for you to spot issues, and to convey them to someone else.
PingHurry could make your life easier by displaying ping results in graphical, as well as text form. It’s a simple visual ping tool for Windows 7+, portable and entirely free.
Mozilla to launch a new Firefox-based browser just for developers
Currently being referred to as something "unique but familiar", Mozilla has a new browser on the way. Based on Firefox, the new web browser has been designed specifically with developers in mind. In a post of the Mozilla Blog, the company explains that the up-coming browser will include built in tools such as WebIDE and the Firefox Tools Adapter.
The browser is due to launch on 10 November and comes after Mozilla looked at Firefox "through a completely new filter to put developers' interests first". The idea of an "independent web" is also being pushed, and Mozilla has commandeered the #ChooseIndependent and #fx10 hashtags to celebrate Firefox's tenth birthday.
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