Microsoft cancels major Super Duper Graphics Pack update for Minecraft
It is now two years since Microsoft announced the Super Duper Graphics Pack for Minecraft, a major upgrade and new look for the game, but now the update has been canceled.
The company says that the "ambitious initiative" has "proved too technically demanding to implement as planned". Performance is cited as a reason for ditching the update, but Microsoft promises that it will work on developing a new look for Minecraft in other ways.
Verizon sells Tumblr to WordPress owner, Automattic
A mere two years after acquiring it, Verizon is selling Tumblr. Full details of the deal have not yet been revealed, but the micro-blogging service is being bought by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.
Tumblr came into the spotlight last year when it introduced a ban on all adult content, and anyone hoping for this to change is going to be disappointed. Automattic says the ban will remain in place.
Eben Upton dismisses the Raspberry Pi 4's USB-C flaw, blames people for owning expensive chargers
Two months ago, the Raspberry Pi Foundation brought out a brand new version of its hugely popular uncased credit-card sized computer. The Raspberry Pi 4 is described as being a "complete desktop system" for just $35.
While it’s a great little computer, it does have one big flaw -- due to a design issue, many chargers aren’t compatible with the new board’s USB-C port, so they won’t work.
Moving beyond the spreadsheet for vendor risk management
In today’s business landscape, many enterprise companies look to third-party vendors to provide them with organizational value and competitive advantage. While outsourcing has always existed in some form, globalization and the internet have caused the use of third-party vendors to increase exponentially. Previously, companies relied on third parties for non-core functions. Today, more and more critical functions are outsourced to find cost savings and efficiencies.
Because third-party vendors are an extension of an organization, businesses are held accountable for things like safety, ethics, business practices, and more. With more at risk than ever before, organizations must ensure third-party partners behave appropriately.
Getting IT & OT to speak the common language of IIoT vulnerability management
Manufacturing executives probably don’t think of renowned Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw when planning Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) deployments. Maybe they should.
Shaw’s famous quip about England and America being "two countries divided by a common language," captures the differences between corporate IT and production OT, or Operational Technology, departments. While both IT and OT teams are acutely aware of the cybersecurity challenges for successful IIoT implementations, how each department addresses those threats is based on different priorities and requirements.
Will cloud data programs become the future of DataOps?
Within enterprises, legacy platforms are becoming marginalized as modern data-driven platforms become the preferred choice for data teams. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are powerful solutions for big data that are encouraging enterprises to accelerate their digital transformation towards the cloud. It should be no surprise then that, according to Cisco, four percent of workloads will be hosted in cloud data centers by 2021. Despite this, there is some reluctance amongst organizations to build on their data programs with these solutions. Regardless, ignoring the cloud is a critical oversight for enterprises looking to meaningfully analyze the vast quantities of structured, semi-structured or unstructured data within their networks. More concerning, however, is the critical insights that will be overlooked or missed entirely by enterprises relying on legacy software.
The cloud is starting to clearly denote itself as the de facto choice for investment in big data. Canalys estimates that cloud investment will surpass $143 billion by 2020. While Fortune 500 companies have historically been reluctant to dip their toe in the digital transformation pool, there has been a radical shift in attitude in recent years. More than a corporate buzzword, the term 'digital transformation' now carries with it the promise of large ROIs and even larger data pipelines. This has lead to a culture where having large-scale, full production workloads is a tangible reality and not merely a distant goal.
Connectivity could make digital cameras vulnerable to ransomware
Modern digital cameras with wireless and USB capabilities could be vulnerable to ransomware and malware attacks, enabling attackers to hold precious photos and videos to ransom.
Check Point Research reveals that the standardized protocol known as Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) used to transfer digital images from camera to PC has critical vulnerabilities.
MSI hits 5902MHz with HyperX Predator RAM to set DDR4 overclock world record
Do memory speeds matter? A little bit, yes, but the truth is, benefits seen from incremental increases are negligible at best. Enthusiasts may spend a lot of money buying fast RAM, and hey, there is nothing wrong that -- as long as they understand it is more bragging rights than anything. Gamers, for instance, would be better served by putting more money into their GPU or CPU when building their rig.
With all of that said, it is still fun to see how fast memory can be -- especially when overclocked. RAM made by HyperX -- the gaming division of Kingston -- has apparently set a new world record. MSI used HyperX Predator DDR4 memory to achieve an insane 5902MHz!
The Hitchhiker's Guide to Ethical AI
In the 1979 cult-fiction novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, an enormous super computer named Deep Thought took 7.5 million years to conclude that "The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything is 42."
He may not have meant it, but what Douglas Adams wrote in 1979 was a portent to why so many questions are being asked about the practical use of AI in business. The recent explosion in AI technology has largely been driven by the availability of large quantities of data, the availability of sufficient computation power and the ever-increasing demand for data analytics to support business strategy. These strategies can be driven by greater efficiency by reducing operating costs or increasing revenue opportunity by improving customer service and product availability.
Apple widens the scope of its bug bounty program, and increases top payout to $1 million
Bug bounty programs are a common way for companies to learn about problems with their hardware and software, while giving people the chance to get paid for finding them. Apple is one of the big names to run such a program, and it has at long last expanded it to included macOS.
The iPhone-maker made the announcement at the Black Hat security conference, where it also revealed that not only will its bug bounty program spread to tvOS, watchOS and iCloud as well, but also that the maximum reward is increasing to a cool $1 million.
Microsoft is at it too: workers are listening to your Skype and Cortana conversations
The idea that conversations you have with or via your computer are confidential has been completely dispelled over the last couple of weeks. We've learned that not only were Google workers listening to recordings of people using Google Assistant, Apple workers were listening in on Siri commands, and Amazon workers could hear what you're saying to Alexa.
If you thought Microsoft would not engage in such activity, think again. A new report reveals evidence that contractors working for Microsoft are listening to Skype calls made via the translation feature.
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Three-hundred-and-forty-seven 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.
Microsoft released a new Windows 10 20H1 build this week. You can check out Wayne's article to find out what is new in the release if you have not done so already.
Almost half of employees have access to more data than they need
A new study of over 700 full-time US employees reveals that that 48 percent of employees have access to more company data than they need to perform their jobs, while 12 percent of employees say they have access to all company data.
The survey by business app marketplace GetApp also asked employees what classifications of data protection are in place at their company. No more than a third of businesses were found to use any one individual data classification.
The hard truth about mass shootings and the internet
"You can’t handle the truth!" That iconic line from the 90’s era Tom Cruise legal thriller, A Few Good Men, is what comes to mind as I mull over the headlines of the past few weeks. From El Paso, Texas to Dayton, Ohio, from Gilroy, California to Christchurch, New Zealand, sick and twisted individuals are committing horrendous acts of violence against innocents. And, as I struggle to understand the seemingly disparate motivations of these despicable individuals, a singular thought keeps popping into my head:
This sort of stuff didn’t happen before the internet.
Apple is discouraging the installation of third party batteries by displaying Battery Health warnings
In a move that is going to prove more than a little controversial, Apple is using the Battery Health feature of iOS to strongly discourage people from using cheaper third-party batteries rather than official Apple units.
Now, if you install a non-official battery in an iPhone XS, XR or XS Max, Battery Health will display a "Service" notification that is usually used to indicate that there is a problem. Click through, and you'll see a message that reads: "Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple battery. Health information not available for this battery".
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