Microsoft changes its policy against the sale of open source software in the Microsoft Store
Having previously upset software developers by implementing a ban on the sale of open source software in its app store, Microsoft has reversed its decision.
The company says that it has listened to feedback -- which was vocal and negative -- and has updated the Microsoft Stores Policies, removing references to open source pricing. Microsoft has also clarified just why it put the ban in place.
Microsoft debuts a new video series to help you master Windows 11
Windows 11 isn’t especially hard to use, but there are some elements to it that can prove confusing for anyone more used to one of the older flavors of the operating system, such as Windows 7.
Microsoft is, understandably, keen to get as many people as possible to switch to Windows 11 and in a bid to help them get the most out of it, the software giant has launched a new video series to help with the OS "basics, personalization, apps, and tools".
Now that 5G is becoming widespread what can we expect from 6G? [Q&A]
The 5G rollout is continuing, but technology companies, academics, service providers, and even governments are already starting to look ahead to the next generation of mobile technology.
So, what is 6G and what benefits will it offer over earlier standards? We spoke to Roger Nichols, 6G program manager at Keysight Technologies, to find out.
Drawing clearer insights from the cloud
Many companies are finding an outsized return on their technology investment in a familiar place: their data. That's because the increasing sophistication of cloud analytics is helping more companies unlock value from their information. It’s a trend that’s pushing revenue in the big data and business analytics sector to nearly $275 billion in 2022, according to Statista.
While that number is impressive, the return on investment to organizations that leverage cloud analytics correctly is incalculably greater. Properly specified and executed, cloud analytics platforms can gather, process and analyze enormous quantities of data with ever-increasing speed and efficiency, helping organizations gather in-depth insights on every aspect of their operations.
Automation in cybersecurity: Overcoming barriers
"Automation" has become a buzzword in cybersecurity circles. That is not surprising in an environment where security specialists are in short supply and under intense pressure to defend the business against a huge variety of threats from innumerable different sources. Using technology to do at least some of the work seems like a no-brainer. Nevertheless, it seems that organizations are finding it hard to get the right approach to cybersecurity automation.
Threat Quotient conducted research last year that found resources, time and a lack of trust in outcomes are preventing companies from realizing the benefits of automation. In a recent webinar, myself, Nabil Adouani, CEO of Strange Bee and co-founder of The Hive Project, and our Global VP of Threat Intelligence Engineering Chris Jacobs discussed the current state of automation, the expectations around what automation can actually achieve, and what this means for implementation in the real world.
Biggest issue for manufacturers: Matching the selling approach to customer demands
Through every industrial revolution, from 18th-century coal and steam to today’s 21st-century digital cloud, manufacturers have adapted their operations to the modern technological standard. Today, with e-commerce rapidly transforming how consumers shop, manufacturers face an urgent need to shift their traditional sales strategy and services to meet rising expectations for a seamless buying experience -- especially for complex enterprise products.
Sales teams have addressed this pressure for the past decade with popular configure price quote (CPQ) platforms. However, the more options and buying channels customers seek and companies' products fulfill, the more burdens CPQ software faces in connecting these complex buying cycles. To improve time to market, sell solutions more effectively and gain competitive advantages through customized selling experiences, a significant upgrade in CPQ technology is needed to mesh businesses' and customers’ multiple needs.
Standards change
Tor Browser 11.5 is here with HTTPS-Only Mode by default and Automatic censorship circumvention
For anyone concerned about privacy and security online, Tor Browser is an extremely important alternative to mainstream browsers. Designed to help keep users anonymous and to bypass restrictions put in place by governments, version 11.5 has landed complete with even more powerful options.
Over the years, it has become easier and easier to use Tor Browser, with complex configuration options being made available to the average user without the need for special knowledge. With the release of version 11.5 of the software, things have been made even easier thanks to the introduction of automatic censorship detection and circumvention with the new Connection Assist feature.
Why is the public sector a prime target for cybercriminals?
According to a report by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, almost half of all recorded UK cyber incidents between September 2020 and August 2021 targeted the public sector. Public sector cybersecurity is being put to the test and it’s imperative that public sector organizations properly protect the sensitive data that is in their possession.
Back in October 2020, Hackney Borough Council in London suffered a serious ransomware attack which took many of its services and IT systems offline. The attack cost the council millions of pounds and today, more than 18 months later, data is still missing across many services. In February 2022, the Information Commissioner’s Office ordered Hackney Borough Council to disclose information regarding what cybersecurity training its staff had received prior to the attack, when they were required to work from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
SQL Server: Recovering operations after a disaster
Datacenters disappear. Not often, but it happens. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 swallowed whole datacenters in Lower Manhattan. Hurricanes Irma and Maria wiped out virtually all the datacenters in Puerto Rico in 2017. Cloud datacenters are not immune, either. The Azure Central Region outage of 2018 occurred after a lightning strike queued up a sequence of automated responses that failed in a spectacularly Rube Goldberg-like manner and proceeded to take multiple Azure availability zones offline for the better part of a day.
Sometimes it’s possible to anticipate the arrival of a disaster; other times, the disaster arrives without warning. Either way, the production infrastructure your organization depends on is going to be offline for some time. That does not, however, mean that your operations must go offline. It means that you need to have a disaster recovery (DR) plan in place that can provide an alternative means of keeping your operations running when your primary infrastructure is out of commission.
Silicon Power unveils Stream S05 USB HDD
Are people really still buying mechanical hard drives in 2022? Believe it or not, yes! And no, these consumers are not crazy. Actually, if you don't care about performance, the cost per GB is still much lower with hard disk drives compared to solid state drives. And so, if your sole focus is getting the highest capacity for the lowest price (speed be damned), a HDD can make sense.
Silicon Power seems happy to cater to those that still want portable external hard drives, and today, the company announces its latest model. Called "Stream S05," this USB-A HDD is quite unremarkable. Hell, even the aesthetic is rather ho-hum -- a boring black rectangle. The drive is offered in several capacities, however, ranging from 1TB to 5TB, with the larger capacities being physically thicker.
Get 'Content Marketing Strategies For Dummies' ($18 value) FREE for a limited time
Blogs and social platforms are all the rage right now -- especially for strategists looking to cultivate influence among target audience members through content marketing.
Content Marketing Strategies For Dummies explains how you can use content marketing to gain an edge over your competition, even in the most crowded of marketplaces. This timely text introduces you to the Five C Cycle: Company Focus, Customer Experience, Content Creation, Channel Promotion, and Closed-Loop Analysis.
Top tips for investors looking to navigate the current crypto winter
The crypto market has experienced a lot of turbulence in 2022 -- and we’re barely over the halfway mark. From Luna’s extraordinary fall from grace to Bitcoin dipping below the $20,000 mark for the first time since late 2020 -- investors have been riding a financial rollercoaster in the past few months.
Despite the doom and gloom outlook of many, confidence remains amongst investors as we head into a 'crypto winter'. Latest research from Bank of America, which included findings from 160 of its clients -- indicates that blockchain technology and the digital asset ecosystem are here to stay, and investors aren’t deterred by the state of the market. Unsurprisingly, as a result, the bank’s leadership remains optimistic for mainstream digital asset adoption in the future.
Lack of automation costs enterprises millions
A lack of automation capabilities for managing IT performance costs an average of $46 million a year according to a new study. While 57 percent of organizations see automation as the key enabler for closing the modernization skills gap in managing IT Operations.
The report from research firm Digital Enterprise Journal also reveals a 54 percent increase in cost of one hour of IT service down time since 2019. In addition 68 percent of IT teams' time is spent on tasks that do not contribute to key business outcomes.
KB5015814 update is causing Start menu problems and 0x8007007e errors in Windows 11
The release of the KB5015814 update for Windows 11 earlier this week was supposed to fix problems with PowerShell as well as addressing security issues. But as has become disturbingly common, there have also been unwanted side effects for those who jumped on the update and installed it as soon as it was offered up.
Some users are experiencing problems with the Start menu, with complaints indicating that the menu is being interrupted by an app opening and closing. There are also complaints about errors appearing after a failed installation of the KB5015814 update -- specifically error codes 0x8000ffff, 0x8007007e and 0x80073701.
Best Windows apps this week
Four-hundred-ninety-nine 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.
Could Microsoft be switching from a one feature update per year release cycle to a three year cycle with frequent feature drops? That's the big rumor at the moment.
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