Fairphone 3: Now with more HEMP!
No, the Fairphone 3 is not really made from marijuana plant fibers -- but it might as well be. This misguided attempt to make a smartphone that "care[s] for people and planet" is nearly as ugly as that hemp "shirt" your Environmental Studies buddy used to wear in college. Clunky, with middling specs and a creepy, peek-a-boo-translucent backside, it's a phone that screams "virtue signal -- incoming!"
I mean, why else would anyone buy this thing? Its aesthetic is reminiscent of every generic, first-generation slab phone ever built -- like someone took an Apple iPhone 4 and a Samsung Galaxy S2, ran them through a blender, and then reassembled the debris with scotch tape and cellophane. The expletive-laden contraction "F'UGLY" doesn’t begin to describe this abomination.
Open source champion Microsoft makes the Linux kernel better with exFAT
I'm someone who uses both a Linux-based operating system and Windows 10 daily. You'd think I constantly run into roadblocks when working between them, but really, that couldn't be further from the truth. Actually, much of the software I use on Linux is also on Windows, such as GIMP, Google Chrome, and LibreOffice. One area where I have faced difficulty over the years, however, is working with different file systems for external drives. It is a common problem.
Today, Microsoft announces it will make working between Linux and Windows 10 even easier. How, you ask? By publicly publishing the exFAT file system specification and hopefully paving the way for it to be included in the Linux kernel. In other words, if you have a memory card, flash drive, or other storage device formatted in exFAT, you will eventually be able to access it on Linux right "out of the box" -- no need to install additional packages. I suppose you could say, Microsoft is essentially improving the Linux kernel! This should come as no surprise, as the Windows-maker has transformed itself into an open source champion these days.
Apple apologizes for having contractors listen to Siri recordings and announces privacy changes
Following outcry over human "grading" of Siri recordings, Apple has issued an apology and promised that it will no longer retain recordings of interaction with the digital assistant unless given explicit permission.
The company says that "we haven't been fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologize". Having suspended the human grading of Siri requests, Apple is now making fundamental changes to its privacy policy saying that only Apple employees will be able to listen to recordings, as opposed to contractors, and users will have to opt in for this to happen.
Only a quarter of UK firms prioritize security when buying new tech
Only 24 percent of organizations are prioritizing security when it comes to technology investment according to a new report from UK-based software company Advanced.
For the report the company surveyed over 500 senior decision makers working in UK businesses, both SMEs and large enterprises, to explore the state of digital transformation. It shows that just 34 percent admit that regulatory change is triggering the purchase of new technology in their organisation, which is surprisingly low given the introduction of GDPR in May last year.
New solution delivers improved website defenses
DDoS attacks remain a major problem for businesses and can have serious consequences.
Data center services supplier US Signal is launching a new cloud-based offering. Building on the company’s partnership with Cloudflare it delivers a robust, customizable service that protects organizations against online threats including DDoS, ransomware, malicious bots and application-layer attacks.
GNOME Foundation and Endless announce Coding Education Challenge
The majority of people in the world are illiterate -- including myself. No, I am not talking about being unable to read or write English or another language, but instead, the inability to code. Look, not everyone needs coding skills -- many jobs don't require it. However, as the workforce changes, and blue collar jobs disappear to automation and robots, the ability to code will be essential. And so, it is highly recommended that young folks get into coding as soon as possible -- the younger the better. After all, even if they later choose a career that doesn't involve coding, there is no downside to knowing how, right?
Today, the GNOME Foundation announces that it has partnered with Endless to launch a brand new "Coding Education Challenge." This is a great way to encourage both students and educators to investigate coding. While participation should be fun and educational, there is plenty of money to be had too. How much? A half million dollars!
Looking deep into Magecart
The Magecart JavaScript attack that captures online payment information has been around since 2016. A new study for Arxan Technologies produced by Aite Group takes a detailed look at the attack.
This research follows the trail of servers compromised by Magecart groups, as well as the collection servers to which the sites were actively sending stolen credit card data, in an effort to examine commonalities between victim websites and the tactics, techniques, and procedures used to compromise the servers.
Fairphone 3: the ethical, environmentally friendly, modular phone 'that cares'
Fairphone is not a new name in the smartphone market, but it's not one that everyone is aware of. The company has a strong ethical and environmental stance, producing handsets that are gentle on the environment, the people producing them, and are easily repaired.
Now the company has announced the Fairphone 3. Due for release next month, the Android handset is a decent mid-ranger which is likely to attract more interest than its two predecessors. So what's all the fuss about?
Global growth is driving a fundamental shift in enterprise IT
Organizations are going global and their infrastructures, thanks to the cloud, are going global as well. Today, mid-sized and even small companies are doing business on a global stage. Whether this global growth takes place by opening new offices or by acquiring them, one of the thorniest challenges is enabling collaboration between them, because it requires sharing large, unstructured data and application files across vast distances. And this task only becomes more complex and difficult as both files and the number of people who need to work with them simultaneously grow larger. This shift toward more companies going global creates a distinct need.
The traditional IT infrastructure -- one in which the corporate data center is located at the headquarters -- is not at all suited for providing collaboration with large files at scale. What's required is a new, disruptive technology category, with platforms that combine the control and performance of network attached storage (NAS) with the unlimited capacity and economy of the cloud.
Libra Bug Bounty Program seeks to strengthen the security of Facebook's blockchain
Facebook's plans to venture into the world of cryptocurrencies has proved highly controversial, but the social media giant is plowing on regardless. The company and the partners it is working with on Libra have launched a public bug bounty program, offering pay-outs of up to $10,000 per bug.
Announced by the Libra Association, the aim of the Libra Bug Bounty Program is to "strengthen the security of the blockchain". The association wants to track down " security and privacy issues and vulnerabilities".
Microsoft faces another European investigation over Windows 10 privacy concerns
Worries about privacy in Windows 10 show no signs of abating, with Europe expressing ongoing concerns about Microsoft's data gathering and telemetry.
Having already asked Microsoft to make modifications to Windows, the Dutch data protection agency (DPA) has since looked into what changes the company has implemented. Having found "new, potentially unlawful, instances of personal data processing", the agency is calling for an investigation by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), Microsoft's lead EU privacy regulator.
Microsoft will unveil new Surface devices in October, and Apple should be worried
Jony Ive recently left Apple. The man was considered by many to be the top computer designer. Other people, including yours truly, thought Panos Panay of the Surface team was the superior designer. Well, with Ive gone, there is no longer any debate to be had -- Panay is undeniably the "top dog" and in a league of his own.
Apple will be holding an event next month, where the company is expected to not only unveil new iPhones and iPads, but also, a new MacBook Pro. And yeah, a new laptop from Apple is exciting stuff, but let's be honest -- it will probably just be an evolutionary design. Rumors suggest a MacBook Pro with a bigger screen and a huge price tag. True innovation seems to be coming from Microsoft lately, and this October, Panos Panay and his Surface team will unveil new devices in New York City.
One in four workers would steal information to get a job at a competitor
Would you take information from your employer to help you get a job at a competitor? 24 percent would according to a new survey of almost 500 IT professionals carried out at Blackhat USA 2019.
The survey by behavior-based security specialist Gurucul finds that managed service providers (34 percent) and developers (30 percent) pose the leading sources of third party risk, and that if someone was to commit fraud it would most likely occur in the finance department (32 percent).
Budget and staffing limits mean SMBs struggle with security
SMBs around the world continue to cite budget constraints, paired with a lack of time and personnel to research new security threats, as the main obstacles facing the implementation of their IT security according to a new report.
The study from Untangle Inc studied over 300 SMBs, compiling data on budget and resource constraints, breaches, IT infrastructure, cloud adoption and more.
Want a 120-inch 8K display with 5G connectivity? Sharp's got you, fam
Believe it or not, many people still use 1080p. Hell, I am writing this on an 11.6-inch Chromebook with a 720p screen. Madness, right? Not really. I mean, not everyone needs the latest and greatest. Truth be told, I own a 4K television, but I have almost no UHD content. Why did I buy it then? The price wasn't much different from 1080p sets.
While many of us are barely taking advantage of 4K properly, manufacturers are continually pushing boundaries. There are already displays that exceed UHD. In particular, you can get an iMac with 5K for instance, or if you have a spare $70,000 lying about, you could buy this 98-inch 8K Sony TV.
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