Firefox 89 unveils a major -- and distinctly modern -- facelift
When Mozilla switched its popular open-source browser from a rapid-release cycle of six weeks to an even-faster release cycle of just four weeks between major releases, it became easy to blur one release of Firefox into the next, as the version number ticked up ever more quickly. But it’s safe to say that the latest release -- Firefox 89 -- deserves the label of 'landmark' release, thanks to a radical makeover.
The slick new user interface is more befitting of the modern, minimalist UIs sported by Windows and macOS (as well as Android and iOS), along with rival browsers Chrome and Edge. The new look is very much "cleaner, more inviting, and easier to use" as Mozilla boasts, thanks in part to extensive study of how people used the browser, which informed its many changes and improvements.
Fitbit announces a Minions activity and sleep tracker for kids
Fitness trackers can help keep children active and introduce ways of staying healthy, but they need to be fun to hold their interest.
Fitbit today introduces the Ace 3 Special Edition: Minions for kids 6+ starring Illumination’s Minions characters. The swim-proof device includes features such as daily activity goals and hourly move reminders.
Login experiences are not delivering for consumers
New research by YouGov for identity platform Auth0 finds that many businesses are falling short of consumer expectations on login technologies -- and risk frustrating their users, losing sales, and opening themselves up to credential stuffing attacks as a result.
The study shows that consumers around the world want greater choice in login technologies, and that they're willing to actively seek them out. Nearly half (49 percent) of consumers surveyed say they are more likely to sign up to an app or online service if a company offers multi-factor authentication (MFA).
The challenge of keeping remote work secure
In a rapid and unprecedented shift, over 60 percent of Americans worked from home in 2020. But this has thrown up new challenges for businesses trying to keep their systems secure.
Authentication specialist Beyond Identity has produced an infographic looking at how vulnerable systems and applications can be in the work from home era.
KB5003214 update for Windows 10 is causing taskbar problems -- but there's a simple fix
If you have installed the recent KB5003214 update for Windows 10, you may well have noticed problems with icon in the taskbar. Microsoft released a preview version of this update last week, and many of the guineapigs who opted to install it have experienced issues.
KB5003214 is due for a full launch later this month on Patch Tuesday, but there are plenty of eager Windows 10 users who install preview updates as soon as they are available. One of the key aims of this update it to bring News and Interests to the taskbar, but there have been numerous reports of problems with taskbar icons
PNY unveils XLR8 Gaming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti graphics cards
If you are a PC gamer, you have reason to be very excited today. You see, following many leaks and rumors, NVIDIA has finally officially unveiled the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti graphics cards. These GPUs will be both expensive and undoubtedly very difficult to get due to extreme demand.
Popular company PNY is launching new GeForce RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti GPUs under its "XLR8 Gaming" branding. Both card types can be had in two body designs. Called "REVEL" and "UPRISING," each body style comes with three cooling fans for optimal cooling. The RTX 3070 Ti has 8GB of GDDR6X memory, while the 38080 has 12GB.
Ubuntu-based Linux Mint 20.2 named 'Uma'
There are so many great Linux-based desktop operating systems nowadays. Actually, there are arguably too many Linux distros, but I digress. For instance, if you are an experienced Linux user, you can opt for something like Debian or Fedora, while novices are probably better served by Ubuntu or Linux Lite.
One of the best operating systems for beginners and Windows-switchers, however, is Linux Mint. This is a no-nonsense Ubuntu-based Linux distro that looks good, is very stable, and ultimately "just works" for many users. All versions of the operating system are named after women, and today, we learn what the upcoming Linux Mint 20.2 will be called.
What does Apple's enterprise growth mean for IT administrators? [Q&A]
The use of Apple devices in the enterprise has grown exponentially over the past year. In fact, a recent report from IDC showed that macOS was the operating system of choice for 23 percent of computers at US companies with 1,000 employees or more in 2020, up from 17 percent in 2019.
As businesses continue to adopt Apple devices at work, Mosyle CEO Alcyr Araujo, wants to highlight how to seamlessly deploy, manage, maintain and protect these devices at scale. He believes simple, intuitive and automated mobile device management (MDM) and endpoint security are the key to solving new endpoint management and security challenges, we spoke to him to find out more.
IRC Drama: Fedora and Ubuntu Linux move to Libera Chat following Freenode takeover
Who knew that IRC (Internet Relay Chat) would be making big news in 2021? Look, I spent a good part of my childhood chatting on IRC, but I haven't seriously used it in well over a decade. Well, folks, people are talking about IRC again, but sadly, it is because of drama. You see, Freenode IRC was purchased recently, and the implications have the open source community in a tizzy.
What do people do when they are upset about a change? They wisely jump ship when possible. Yes, many people are running from Freenode as fast as they can. Two of the most popular Linux distributions, Ubuntu and Fedora, utilized Freenode for their IRC server needs, and now they have both switched to Libera Chat. Ubuntu made the switch first, with Fedora following shortly thereafter.
What is your backup solution now?
For a while backup solutions were a dominant topic in the tech sphere. That was in the days when external drive sizes were growing rapidly and the cloud was becoming a thing. It seems the services have now become established and the frail weeded out. Most storage drives today are larger than most people need.
If you’ve been around a while, as I have, you’ll remember when ZIP Drives -- like oversize floppy drives -- were the hot new backup product. Like all the "latest things", people invested a lot of money in that solution but it was short-lived.
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Four-hundred-forty in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.
The latest builds of the upcoming next feature update for Windows 10 come without Microsoft's Internet Explorer 11.
Why ransomware is on the rise and how organizations can protect themselves [Q&A]
Many high profile attacks in recent months have involved ransomware, notably the Colonial Pipeline attack. Worryingly some businesses seem willing to pay the ransoms too.
But why are these attacks on the rise and what can businesses do to protect themselves against them? We spoke to Clumio CEO, Poojan Kumar to find out.
Microsoft releases the Linux-style Windows Package Manager v1.0 (Winget) as a Store alternative
After months of testing and preview builds, Microsoft has finally released Windows Package Manager 1.0.
Also known as Winget, the utility serves as an alternative to the Microsoft Store, giving Windows 10 users a Linux-style package manager for finding, downloading and installing apps from software repositories.
Acer launches 17-inch Chromebook
Chromebooks have been taking the world by storm lately, and it isn't hard to see why. As more and more people do their computing almost exclusively on the web, it makes no sense to spend big money on a Windows 10 laptop you don't really need. Don't get me wrong, Windows definitely still has a place, and Microsoft's operating system is currently more useful than Chrome OS, but it is just overkill for many. Chromebooks are simple, safe, and getting better all the time. Google is giving the people what they want.
Acer has long been a Chromebook proponent, which makes total sense. Look, Acer is traditionally a value brand and Chromebooks have historically been affordably priced; it has been a marriage made in heaven. Today, Acer launches four new Chromebooks and three of them, which have 14-inch screens, are a bit ho-hum. None look bad... they are just more of the same. A fourth model, however, is quite special. You see, the Acer Chromebook 317 (CB317-1H), as it is called, has a 17-inch display! This is apparently the first Chrome OS laptop with such a screen size -- who knew!?
Microsoft releases Windows Terminal 1.9 preview with new quake mode and more
This week is Windows Terminal's second birthday, and to celebrate Microsoft has released a new update that introduces a number of key changes and additions.
One of the biggest changes in Windows Terminal Preview 1.9 is the ability to set it as your default terminal emulator, but there are also changes to Settings -- which has an actual interface now rather than requiring JSON editing. On top of this, there is a new quake mode for easy Terminal access.
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