How to choose the best experimentation solution
To build and deliver products that customers love, development teams at leading companies like Uber, Netflix, Airbnb, Google, and Facebook focus on experimentation as a critical business process. Engineers and product managers are empowered to A/B test each new product feature in a controlled environment to determine the impact to key metrics like engagement, product usage and revenue before launching the feature to everyone.
These companies have all built complex internal software platforms to support their experimentation-driven approach to product development. If you’re looking to adopt the same practice of validating digital product decisions with data, you’ll likely be evaluating how to implement an experimentation platform for your product and engineering team.
Mozilla announces extended end-of-life support for Firefox under Windows XP and Vista
Mozilla has revealed that support for its Firefox web browser on Windows XP and Vista is coming to an end.
The organization had previously announced that anyone using these old versions of Microsoft's operating system would be moved to the Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR). This meant that support would be offered until "at least" September this year. Now the final kill date has been revealed -- and it's later than expected.
How to protect your company from 'zero-day' exploits
Is your company protected from zero-day exploits? Do you even understand what these threats are and how they can affect you? If you don’t, chances are you won’t be prepared when a hacker takes advantage of one of these exploits and steals a large amount of sensitive information from you.
Zero-day exploits are no joke -- some of the most costly cyber-attacks in history have come from hackers using these vulnerabilities. They can cost you more than just a lot of money; they can make your customers lose faith in your ability to protect their information. What can you do to deal with these exploits? Fortunately, there are a few ways to keep your network and the data you store safe and sound.
Microsoft explains why Edge has so few extensions a year down the line
It's now a little more than a year since Microsoft first brought extensions to Edge. After so long you would expect the selection of addons to be overwhelming -- but that's far from being the case. In all, there are only 70-odd Edge extensions available, and Microsoft has been moved to explain why.
In a blog post, the company almost apologetically explains that it is "building a thoughtfully curated ecosystem," citing concern over quality and a fear of diminishing the user experience. What some might describe as "slow," Microsoft refers to as a "purposefully metered approach" to new extensions, and you probably shouldn't expect things to speed up a great deal any time soon.
PSA: Google quietly discontinues NFC Smart Unlock without explanation
Android users have been slowly discovering that Google has killed off NFC Smart Unlock. The feature, which makes it possible to unlock a phone with an NFC device such as a ring or bracelet, has been discontinued without explanation.
Earlier in the month, Android users started to post messages on Google's Issue Tracker website, indicating that the feature was no longer available to them. Three weeks later, Google has finally responded, indicating that NFC Smart Unlock has been deprecated.
Internet Explorer users beware: the address bar is leaking everything you type
A bug has been uncovered in Internet Explorer which makes it possible for websites to view anything that is typed in to the address bar. This means that web addresses and search terms could be accessed by a hacker or malicious website.
The vulnerability was discovered in the very latest version of Internet Explorer, and Microsoft is yet to release a patch for it. Discovered by security researcher Manuel Caballero, the attack can be made completely invisible to a victim.
TVAddons exposes 'fake news' about Kodi
President Donald Trump seems to enjoy calling any news organization that isn't favorable towards him "fake news." He has overused the term to the point that it is a parody of itself -- when it leaves his lips, at least. With that said, fake news is a legitimate concern. There have been cases where organizations have shared news that was either untrue or misleading. Sometimes this is caused by bad reporting, but in other cases, it could be intentional -- such as spreading fake news and advertisements on Facebook to help someone get elected, for instance.
Today, TVAddons -- a Kodi community website/group that focuses on addons -- announces that it is fed up with fake news about Kodi. In fact, it even calls out some news organizations and specific articles that it argues spread falsehoods about the open source media center. It is a great read, and the group shares explanations as to why each news story is "fake news" or "clickbait."
Experimental Twitter Lite app is now available for Android
All of the major players have been busy creating "lite" versions of their apps and online experiences. Microsoft has LinkedIn Lite, Facebook has both Facebook Lite and Facebook Messenger Lite, and Google has its Search Lite app.
Back in April, Twitter decided to get in on the lite action by launching Twitter Lite, a cut-down, data-friendly version of its mobile website. Now the micro-blogging service has gone further and released a Twitter Lite app.
UK's second largest police force still heavily reliant on Windows XP
Catching criminals requires cutting-edge technology, right? Well it should do, but that’s often not the case.
Greater Manchester Police, the UK's second biggest police force, has admitted to the BBC that it’s still using Windows XP on a large number of PCs, even though Microsoft ended nearly all support for the ageing OS back in 2014.
Managing customer expectations before, during and after a new product launch
Whether you are an established brand or a fledgling startup, there are a number of things to consider as you prepare to launch a new (or your first) product or service -- from creating buzz and designing attractive packaging, to running tests and staking out the competition. It goes without saying that your customers are central to the success of your product, but many business and marketing leaders fail to turn their critical eye inward and acknowledge the pivotal role customer service representatives play in the lead up and aftermath of your launch.
Across industries, customer expectations are only continuing to grow. Reports show that by 2020, customer experience (CX) will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator, which means that brands need to set the bar higher in terms of their own customer experience programs -- or else, they risk losing their competitive advantage.
BlueBorne Bluetooth vulnerability 'exposes almost every connected device'
Armis Lab, the Internet of Things security firm, has revealed details of BlueBorne, a Bluetooth vulnerability that affects millions of iOS and Android smartphones, IoT devices, and Windows and Linux systems. In all, 5.3 billion devices are believed to be at risk.
The BlueBorne attack makes it possible for an attacker to spread malware or take control of nearby devices. What's particularly concerning is that for an attack to be successful, there is no need for device pairing, or even for a target device to be in discoverable mode. There's also no need for any sort of interaction by the victim -- everything can happen completely silently in the background.
Lenovo Explorer Windows Mixed Reality headset arrives this holiday season
We've known for quite some time of Lenovo's Windows Mixed Reality headset, but it is not until today that we learn more about what it will bring to the table when it will finally arrive later this year.
First, let's talk about the name. Unlike ASUS, which calls its offering the Windows Mixed Reality Headset, Lenovo has come up with a more fitting name for its first device: the Explorer. This will surely make it more appealing in the eyes of early adopters.
Sony's new Xperia XZ1 flagship ships with Android 8.0 Oreo
It's been a while since Sony came up with a flagship smartphone I wanted to talk about. The new Xperia XZ1 is an interesting proposition in the high-end segment, mainly because it comes with the latest and greatest version of Android out of the box, less than two weeks after Google announced Oreo.
I expected Sony to be late to the party, but this time around it managed to get ahead of the likes of LG and Samsung, which is impressive. What is not is the fact that the Xperia XZ1, just like its smaller Xperia XZ1 Compact brother, looks very similar to the Xperia Z1 from four years ago.
Data leak exposes 1.8 million US voters' private information
A supplier of US voting machines has confirmed a major data leak that has seen the details of more than 1.8 million voters in the state of Illinois exposed.
The leaked data includes full names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers (albeit partial), as well as party affiliations. In some cases even ID numbers and driver license numbers were exposed.
Customer service is key to a good app experience
A new survey reveals that 89 percent of Americans will recommend an app based soley on a customer service experience, but 47 percent will simply delete apps that are frustrating and don’t provide any customer support.
The research from customer support company Helpshift surveyed over 2,000 18+ adults in the US and finds that 81 percent use mobile apps.
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