Latest Technology News

You can now play Lunar Lander in the Windows copy dialog box -- here's how

Copying a large file from one drive to another, or over a network, can take quite a while, and there’s nothing you can do in that time, but wait.

However, an enterprising developer has found a way to make the copy dialog more interesting -- he’s added a fully playable version of the arcade classic Lunar Lander to it. And this is no basic addition -- you can choose your difficulty level and there are multiple worlds to play, including lush green forests and frozen ice planets.

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How IT onboarding can can be crucial to retaining key workers [Q&A]

Training course

The use of IT systems is vital to the success of any business, but if employees aren't properly instructed in the use of these systems it can prevent them from performing well.

This applies particularly to certain groups like older workers, returning parents and contractors. So, what can businesses do to ensure they properly harness the skills, knowledge and expertise held by these groups?

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How to avoid becoming a victim of malicious mobile apps

According to statistics, there are almost 6,6 billion smartphone users in the world -- nearly 83 percent of the total population of the Earth. The revolution in the world of mobile devices has led to the fact that the phone has lost its primary function of making calls and has become a tool for entertainment, study, business, and much more.

All these functions are possible due to mobile apps available in specialized stores such as the Apple Store or Google Play as well as unofficial stores.

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TechOps is a mess: Open source is the solution

Building software is hard. Building cloud software is even harder because things move much faster -- and require mission-critical reliability and availability. To effectively build software in the cloud, engineering teams need observability, CI/CD, reporting, and lots of tooling. But all of the tools available to engineering teams never quite fit together in a way that provides visibility and consistency. When things go wrong, developers scramble to troubleshoot systems with disparate data and systems.

TechOps teams are in charge of keeping everything running. But poorly integrated toolsets create an environment where teams have several interfaces and data sets to wrangle when operating critical services. Teams often try to solve this problem by creating one-off integrations of out-of-the box tools with internally developed tooling and process. These integrations are generally very shallow, and create a significant maintenance burden and reliability gaps.

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Download Winamp 5.9 -- the stalwart music player has finally been updated for some serious llama ass-whippin' in Windows 11

Winamp

For a time, Winamp was perhaps the most famous and widely used media player in the world. But despite its immense popularity, the app was sold, development trailed off, and things went rather quiet. Things have been so quiet, in fact, that there has not been a stable update to the software for several years.

But now, with the release of Winamp 5.9 (or Winamp 5.9 Final Build 9999 to give it its full title), this changes. This update represents four years of work and brings Windows 11 support, adds support for additional codecs, and including new streaming options.

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Cloud computing, SaaS and the new normal for manufacturers

Cloud

Over the last two to three decades, cloud computing and software-as-a-service (SaaS) have been increasingly gaining momentum in their adoption. More and more IT departments, CIOs, CFOs, CEOs and many other disciplines are now realizing the extraordinary business benefits of Cloud/SaaS over their traditional in-house client-server IT architectures. 

Justifiably therefore, more and more manufacturers are actively switching their legacy quality management systems to more advanced cloud-based quality platforms, and for good reason. Simply put, in today’s ever-changing and volatile manufacturing climate, the cost advantages, power, and versatility of the cloud have become essential to survival. Coupling this with the advancement and maturation of core technologies, most organizations are now adopting a 'cloud-first' stance when selecting the latest and best in-class technology capabilities.

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Have consumer privacy concerns trumped innovation?

innovation lightbulb moment

The Internet of Things (IoT) grows larger by the day, with the number of connected devices feeding into it climbing exponentially. Currently sat at around 14 billion, the number of active connections is expected to almost double to 27 billion by 2025.

While remarkable, we must also acknowledge that increasing connectedness has fueled consumer concerns over the way their data is collected and used.

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ecobee partners with San Diego Gas and Electric to alleviate California's power woes

While I am sure California is a nice place to live, it sure does seem like it has many problems. Not only does the state suffer from earthquakes, droughts, rampant homelessness, and wildfires, but increasingly, it is struggling to meet the electricity needs of its citizens. After all, as temperatures go up from global warming, more and more people will turn on air conditioners.

Thankfully, smart thermostats have the ability to alleviate some of these power consumption woes. You see, not only are these connected devices convenient, they can be controlled by the power companies during power usage spikes. With your permission, the power company can adjust your air conditioning slightly so that blackouts and brownouts can hopefully be prevented. Sometimes you will even be compensated for participating in such a thing.

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Blender 3.3 unveils latest LTS release with multiple new and improved tools

The Blender Foundation has unveiled its first Long Term Support release of the Blender 3.x series with the release of Blender 3.3 LTS. LTS releases are supported for two years from release.

Also available as a portable Windows build, this is the third major point release in the 3.x series since it debuted in December 2021.

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What are the most successful areas of tech in 2022?

Technology has evolved quickly in the past few decades and its growth has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Some trends come and go, but others stay as a way to solve catastrophic issues. These five areas of tech have been the most successful in 2022 and will be a mainstay for decades to come.

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These are the three biggest goals for an IT organization

One of the biggest misconceptions about IT is that we are only called when something is broken and needs to be fixed.

But IT’s unique knowledge and skills place us in a central role for the organization. And we should use that position of influence to unlock potential and achieve three main goals: enablement, protection, and innovation.

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Get 'Mastering Defensive Security' ($49.99 value) FREE for a limited time

Every organization has its own data and digital assets that need to be protected against an ever-growing threat landscape that compromises the availability, integrity, and confidentiality of crucial data.

Therefore, it is important to train professionals in the latest defensive security skills and tools to secure them. Mastering Defensive Security provides you with in-depth knowledge of the latest cybersecurity threats along with the best tools and techniques needed to keep your infrastructure secure.

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Best Windows apps this week

Five-hundred-and-seven in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Microsoft plans to push smaller updates, called Moments, to Windows 11 installations after the release of Windows 11 version 22H2.

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Queen Elizabeth II -- a life packed with technological change

QEII

As you've probably learned elsewhere already, Queen Elizabeth II died yesterday at the age of 96 after an extraordinarily long reign.

For anyone under the age of 70 she has been the constant center of life in the UK, a relic of an earlier era, perhaps, but she's also lived through an age of huge and rapid technological advances.

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Protecting data during digital transformation [Q&A]

Digital transformation

In recent years, many businesses have embraced digital transformation to boost productivity and streamline operations in an attempt to create competitive advantages. But in the process of migrating critical operations to the cloud, they have exposed themselves to new risks.

With cloud apps accessible from anywhere, it not only helps your users get their work done, it also provides attackers with new vectors to exploit.

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