Patch Tuesday is coming -- here's what Microsoft is NOT fixing
This week, November 12th to be precise, is that holiday we have come to call Patch Tuesday. It's the day when Microsoft rolls out fixes for bugs, both small and large, in its software, from Windows to Office and more. This month's releases are of particular interest, not because of what the company is fixing, but what it has chosen to leave unpatched.
November's update includes eight patches, three of which have been tagged as 'critical'. Microsoft even promises it "will host a webcast to address customer questions on the security bulletins on November 13, 2013, at 11:00 AM Pacific Time".
The most popular stories on BetaNews this past week -- November 3-8
Another busy week with more news than you could shake a stick at. Following the release of KitKat, Google was riding high as figures revealed that Jelly Bean is now installed on more than half of Android devices. It’s a similar story for Microsoft. Its previous operating system, Windows 7, is still the most popular while growth for Windows 8 and 8.1 remains slow. It was better news for Windows Phone which is making serious inroads into Android and iOS's share of the mobile market in Europe, and even managed to overtake Apple in Italy.
It seems that more people want to be able to use the latest and greatest version of Android, and following the announcement that the Galaxy Nexus would not receive a KitKat update, a petition was quickly launched to try to change Google's mind. Showing that the march of progress will always leave casualties, Google announced that Internet Explorer 9 will no longer be supported by Google Apps, and Windows 7 users gained Internet Explorer 11. To push the launch, Microsoft unveiled a new Anime ad campaign focusing on the browser's improved security.
Happy birthday Firefox -- nine years old today!
November 9, 2004. The date may not mean much to you, but it was rather big in the land of Mozilla. It wasn't the 'start' of the Firefox web browser, but it was the official ship date of version 1.0. That makes today a birthday celebration for the browser that dared to take on the Internet Explorer-giant.
"In the nine years since we first launched Firefox, we have moved and shaped the Web into the most valuable public resource of our time", the organization announces.
If you were CEO of Microsoft, what would you change?
Microsoft is actively looking for a new CEO to replace Steve Ballmer, and one of the potential candidates is Stephen Elop. In an interesting story published earlier today, Bloomberg, citing several unnamed sources, claims that the former boss of Nokia would introduce sweeping changes to Microsoft should he get picked for the top job.
Just what sort of changes? Bloomberg says Elop would release Microsoft Office on the iPad and Android tablets, consider killing off Bing and even potentially offload the Xbox division, in an effort to give the software giant more focus.
Sony one-ups Xbox One -- rewards PlayStation 4 buyers with free stuff
As the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launch days approach, the news and rumors about the consoles have been coming fast and furious. In the BetaNews newsroom, some of us are very divided as to which console is better which has lead to heated debates. While I ordered Sony's console, my colleague Alan Buckingham ordered Microsoft's. Expect in-depth first impressions and reviews in the coming weeks.
Today, Sony announces something that will once again tip the scales in its favor -- free stuff. Yes, the company will be rewarding initial PlayStation 4 buyers with vouchers for free access to digital entertainment. Let's be honest, who doesn't love free things?
Google takes control of Chrome extensions: Chrome Web Store a must for Windows
The days of some third party extensions for Chrome may be numbered. While most people will head to the Chrome Web Store as their first port of call for downloading extensions to add new features to the browser, this is far from the only means of obtaining add-ons.
But at the start of the new year, all of this is set to change. If you stick with the stable or beta channel of the browser, you'll be limited to installing extensions from the official repository only.
Best Windows 8 apps this week
Fifty-fourth in a series. The overall application growth in the US Windows Store has slowed down a bit this week, dropping once again under the 1,000 app per week mark.
At least 811 new apps found their way into the store this week. Why at least, you ask? Because Microsoft seems to have removed apps from some categories this week.
Google faces user backlash over the new YouTube comments system
When Google announced it was changing the comments system for YouTube, users should have been thrilled, after all that aspect of the site has been in need of an overhaul for a very long time. The update Google created adds "smarter" sorting, and "meaningful" conversations, allows comments to be moderated, and for the most part the change just makes things look tidier.
The problem with the new system is you need to have a Google+ account to post a comment, and YouTube users aren’t happy with that. An inevitable petition calling for Google to change the comment settings on YouTube back to their original form was duly launched and has received over 40,000 signatures in 24 hours.
Google Hangouts 2 for Android adds SMS and MMS support, location sharing
Google has updated its messaging tool for Android users with the release of Google Hangouts 2.0. The tool, which replaced Google Talk and Google+ Messenger as the de facto messaging service for Google users, gains support for SMS and -- on Android 4.0 and up -- MMS messaging, along with animated GIFs, location and mood status sharing.
The service, also available on iOS and computer via a Chrome browser extension, supports group video and voice calls as well as more traditional text-based chats and offline messaging. Version 2.0′s features were first mooted weeks ago, but have only now become publicly available to Android users for the first time.
Flash drive faceoff -- LaCie Porsche vs Lexar Jumpdrive M10 Secure
When it comes to storage, the world is trending towards the cloud. However, I still have a soft spot in my heart for flash drives. They are small, convenient and heck -- they work without Internet access. In other words, if you need to work on a document in the cloud and your Internet is down, you are out of luck; a flash drive is still there for you.
It can be difficult to find the right flash drive; they come in different sizes, brands, capacities, designs and prices. Many people just try to get the highest capacity they can for a price that meets their budget. However, I would caution those consumers to focus less on enormous capacity (that they may not use) and more on quality and performance. I recently obtained two USB 3.0 flash drives from quality companies that are very different from each other -- the LaCie Porsche and Lexar Jumpdrive M10 Secure. I have benchmarked them, used them in actual practice and amazingly one of them even survived a trip through the washing machine.
Microsoft shows what it's like to actually use the Xbox One
The battle between Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 is set to begin later this month. At BetaNews we’re still split as to which console we think is best, leading to some spirited debates in the newsroom.
To try and persuade potential buyers to choose the Xbox One, and get pre-orderers even more excited, Microsoft has released a 12-minute video showing exactly what it’s like to use its new console, and frankly it looks amazing.
Fear of cyber attacks could expose businesses to new risks
Data breaches and cyber attacks frequently make the news when well-known companies are the target.
This is good in the sense that it raises awareness of the need to take security seriously, however, the latest Global Risk Management Survey by Gartner finds that fear of attack is causing security professionals to shift their focus away from disciplines like enterprise risk management and risk-based information security in order to concentrate on technical security issues.
Canonical tries to stop fan website using Ubuntu name and logo
Canonical, the team behind Ubuntu, finds itself the subject of criticism after contacting an Ubuntu related website and asking that the domain name be changed. Fix Ubuntu was created by Micah Lee to provide Ubuntu users with instructions about how to disable the web component of the desktop search tool. Lee was emailed by Canonical to request that he not only stop using the word "Ubuntu" in the domain name, but also refrained from using the logo.
The reason? Canonical's email suggests that the name and use of logo could cause confusion among Ubuntu users:
Windows 8.1 to get three critical security patches
Next week’s Patch Tuesday will see a number of security patches for Windows 8.1 including three that get the top Critical rating. According to Microsoft’s advanced notification on TechNet the three critical updates address remote code execution issues in Windows and Internet Explorer.
There are also five more updates flagged as Important, three for Windows and two for Office. The three Critical bulletins also apply to Windows XP and will be among the last for the 12-year-old operating system before support ends in April next year.
Gramohorn II amplifies your HTC One in a retro-style
Phones are great for music, but in most cases the built in speakers are a bit subpar; quality might be decent enough, but if you're looking for a punch of volume, speakers are going to be needed. Or maybe not. If you're an HTC One owner looking for something a little different -- and have a wad of spare cash lying around -- the Gramohorn II could just be of interest. It brings not one, but two gramophone inspired horns to amplify your music without the need for power.
3D printing is all the rage, and the Gramohorn II is the latest accessory to be produced in this way. There are plaster- and metal-based versions available, but whichever one you opt for, you're going to need to have deep pockets. The plaster-based model is the cheaper of the two, but "cheaper" is very much a relative term. There are 22 color choices and five metallic finishes but only 100 will be produced.
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