You can now watch Netflix on Nest Hub and Hub Max, but you probably shouldn't
My first experience with a home voice assistance was Amazon Echo. You know what? It was life changing. While asking Alexa questions was neat, the real value was linking it to my smart home devices. It may not seem like a big deal in 2020, but the first time I turned on a lamp with my voice it was magical. Over time, I mostly transitioned to Google Home, however, as I found the search giant's assistant to be superior.
Not to mention, I fell in love with the Nest Hub -- a hardware assistant that I keep on my nightstand next to my bed. I trust it in my bedroom as it doesn't have a camera, but I digress. As a YouTube TV subscriber, I can even watch the TV service on the 7-inch screen, but I really don't. Why? Because I have a larger TV in the same room. That's why today's news that you can watch Netflix on Nest Hub and Hub Max doesn't really excite me. Is there a legitimate scenario where someone would use one of those devices to regularly watch Netflix video?
The power of enhanced WebRTC
With more digital communication tools available than ever before, enterprises and end users have started to demand more tailored options that can improve their experience and make it even easier to connect.
Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) is one such tool that can enhance deployment of voice and video and tools within browsers and apps.
Consolidate all your boot media on to a single flash drive with Ventoy
How many boot discs or flash drives do you own? It’s possible to build up quite a collection, from Linux live CDs and antivirus rescue discs to boot media for apps as diverse as drive imaging to data recovery.
Thanks to Ventoy 1.0.15, you can now consolidate all your boot media: instead of five, six or however many boot discs you need, everything is stored on a single flash drive. The larger the flash drive, the more boot media you can install on it.
LG Velvet 5G comes to America
LG is known for its revolutionary V-series and elegant G-series lines of Android smartphones. Over time, however, there became less of a difference between the two lines. Ultimately, LG's smartphone offerings became a bit crowded and confusing. Things felt a bit... stale.
This year, however, the company decided to go in an exciting and different direction. You see, with its new LG Velvet 5G phone, the company revamped its design focus and branding. For instance, it has a beautiful "teardrop" rear camera array. Today, LG announces that the Velvet is finally coming to the USA! You won't have to wait long either, as it will become available tomorrow -- on one carrier, at least. Best of all, it is shockingly affordable for a 5G smartphone.
BitTitan launches new cloud-based automation tool for IT teams
Faced with an ever changing landscape, skills shortages and budget constraints, IT departments are increasingly seeking to automate repetitive tasks.
Automation specialist BitTitan is looking to capitalize on this with the launch of an IT toolbox designed to centralize and automate IT tasks for more effective management of resources, security and data governance.
Security professionals lack visibility into top threats
According to a new report, 89 percent of security professionals are most concerned about phishing, web and ransomware attacks, but only 48 percent confirm that they have continuous visibility into these risk areas.
The 2020 Cybersecurity 360 Report from Balbix also shows 64 percent of organizations are only, at best, somewhat confident in their security posture, and that the lack of visibility into security is the primary concern for organizations.
Enterprises struggle to deliver software efficiently
Businesses experience problems in leveraging information to make data-driven decisions, communicating between teams and management layers, dealing with 'software sprawl', and accurately quantifying the cost of feature delivery delays a new report shows.
The survey by Accelerated Strategies Group (ASG), commissioned by CloudBees, also shows that many organizations have been able to tackle some of the facets of modern software delivery management, but that there’s still much room for improvement.
Poor privacy practices increase the chances of a data breach
Companies with the worst privacy practices are 80 percent more likely to experience a data breach according to a new study.
Data privacy platform Osano used its evaluation framework to measure the privacy practices of the top 10,000 websites against 163 different factors to develop an Osano Privacy Score.
CCPA is not enough say businesses
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) came into effect six months ago, granting California residents increased rights over how their personal data is gathered and shared by companies.
But despite the skepticism expressed by many companies ahead of CCPA's enactment, new data from security specialist Akamai shows only five percent now think that the current legislation is enough.
Google announces Explore app for Chromebook
Chromebooks are wonderful computers and anyone that says otherwise is simply uneducated on the subject. These laptops run a Linux-based operating system called "Chrome OS" that is arguably the most secure web surfing platform on the planet. Not only can Chromebooks run web apps, but Android apps and desktop Linux programs too, giving them a huge library of useful software. Most importantly, they are very easy to use. For instance, you get periodic OS updates that silently install in the background -- very unlike the complicated Windows 10.
Even though Chromebooks are simple to use, that doesn't mean everyone will become an expert on day one. Through experience and education, Chrome OS users can always improve their knowledge of the platform. Today, Google launches a new app for Chromebooks called "Explore" aimed at helping users get the most from the Chromebook experience. For instance, as part of the onboarding process, it can teach you how to change your wallpaper or lock your screen.
Will automation rule over human interaction thanks to the coronavirus?
Thanks to advancements in technology, the need for human interaction -- when you shop for groceries, book a taxi, order a takeaway or watch the latest blockbuster -- has gone from necessity to nice-to-have, with self-service checkouts, apps to order cabs and kebabs, and streaming services all examples of automation that have everyday use.
Despite its influence on consumer behaviors, one of the perceived downfalls of automation is the limit it has on the reliance for humans to carry out certain tasks and jobs. A debate that has, and will, rage on for quite some time. But, with the current coronavirus pandemic, will automation become more of a necessity as we come to terms with social distancing and what life might be like in the future? Here we look at the role automation could play in the fight against COVID-19 and beyond.
The internet is becoming more secure -- but only slowly
New research from security analytics and automation company Rapid7 reveals that the security of the internet overall is improving and the number of insecure services such as SMB, Telnet, rsync, and the core email protocols all decreased from the levels seen in 2019.
However, the National/Industry/Cloud Exposure Report (NICER) shows vulnerabilities and exposures still plague the modern internet even with the increasing adoption of more secure alternatives to insecure protocols, like Secure Shell (SSH) and DNS-over-TLS (DoT).
Cyber crisis simulator aims to improve incident responses
While cyberattacks are played out on technology platforms, it's often the effectiveness -- or otherwise -- of the human response that determines how they impact an organization.
It can be hard to prepare teams to deal with the realities of an attack, but Immersive Labs is looking to change that with the launch of its industry first Cyber Crisis Simulator.
How e-signatures are changing the commercial world [Q&A]
The idea of electronic signatures has been around for a while, but their importance has been highlighted by recent changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning signing documents in person may be difficult.
We spoke to Sameer Hajarnis, practice lead for e-signature at digital fraud prevention specialist OneSpan to find out more about adopting e-signatures in the current business landscape, what businesses need to look for and how these technologies can securely enable efficiencies, improve processes, ensure legal compliance and deliver an improved customer experience.
MSI Cubi 5 is a brilliant Linux mini desktop computer (yes, it runs Windows 10 too)
The Intel NUC has long been a favorite of Linux users, as the diminutive computer just works out of the box. Since almost everything is Intel-based -- including the graphics and Wi-Fi card -- you never have to worry about hardware having compatibility issues. They have historically been easy to upgrade too, allowing users to upgrade RAM, storage, and wireless. Sadly, new NUCs have soldered Wi-Fi cards, so you are essentially stuck with what it comes with. That stinks -- Intel is acting like Apple!
Thankfully, there is another mini computer that is also based on 10th generation Intel Core processors, but it does allow the wireless card to be upgraded. MSI's "Cubi 5," as it is called, is very similar to Intel's NUC, but it has better upgradeability. And yes, all modern Linux distributions will install and run without issue. I have been testing the Intel Core i5-10210U variant (there are also Core i3 and i7 models), which is a quad-core with 8 threads. While my configuration came with Windows 10 Home pre-installed, I immediately added Fedora to the mix in a dual-boot configuration.
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