Plex introduces free TV and movie streaming
Plex has introduced a new free streaming service which you can use to watch a range of TV shows and movies without paying for a Plex Pass subscription, or having to pay for things on an individual basis.
Of course, "free" comes at a price. Ads. Plex says that it is going to be streaming "thousands of free movies, TV shows, extreme sports films, music documentaries, Bollywood musicals, and more" but content will be punctuated with ad-breaks. Free streaming is available in more than 200 countries, which will be appreciated by people in parts of the world that tend to miss out on such services.
Microsoft pulls Notepad from the Microsoft Store
Microsoft announced this week that it won't offer Notepad through the Microsoft Store anymore. Notepad, the default plain text editor on Windows, is included in every version of the operating system.
The functionality of the text editor has been improved in recent times; Microsoft added support for text zooming, new shortcuts, improved text wrapping, line endings, and more.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 (2004) Build 19035 to both Fast and Slow rings
The next big feature update for Windows 10 is drawing ever closer to completion, although there are still a number of known issues for Microsoft to address.
Today the software giant releases Build 19035 to Fast and Slow Insider rings, as well as Cumulative Update Build 19035.1000 (KB4533028). The latter features no new changes but is designed to allow Microsoft to test its servicing pipeline for 20H1.
You can now give the gift of YouTube with Amazon
Millions of people are regular YouTube users, and it's not hard to see why. The Google-owned site provides countless hours of quality video entertainment for free -- just watch the occasional short ad. I literally spend hours daily on YouTube watching quality content on my desktop computer, iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV. Hell, even my television comes from Google's video service, as I subscribe to the wonderful YouTube TV.
If you aren't sure what to get someone for the holidays this year, why not give them the gift of YouTube? After all, it is something that they are pretty much guaranteed to love. This year, Google is making it easier than ever to give YouTube as a present -- you can now order a Gift Code through Amazon.
Weak passwords leave UK businesses at risk of cyberattack
Millions of people and hundreds of thousands of businesses in the UK are using cracked or weak passwords for their online accounts according to new research.
Cybersecurity and data analytics CybSafe has conducted a blind-analysis of the passwords used by over 21,000 staff at a sample group of 250 UK businesses, and finds that three quarters are employing staff with vulnerable password combinations -- either passwords which are too simple, or which have been compromised in previous data breaches.
The US shows a 'concerning lack of regard for the privacy of people's biometric data'
When it comes to the extensive and invasive use of biometric data, the USA is one of the worst offenders in the world, faring only slightly better than China.
According to research conducted by Comparitech, which rated 50 countries according to how, where and why biometrics were taken and how they are stored, the US ranked as the fourth worst country. Topping the list is China, followed by Malaysia and Pakistan.
New tool helps in the fight against weak passwords
Poor passwords frequently provide hackers with a way into networks. In order to help security teams and penetration testers identify them, Trustwave is launching a new cracking tool.
CrackQ is a queuing system to manage password cracking that works with the Hashcat tool which uses the power of GPUs to crack passwords.
Now there is a battery-powered Amazon Echo
In response to customers demanding portability in their digital assistants, Amazon has launched a battery-powered version of its Echo device.
Lengthily named the Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker Edition, the device features a 4,800mAh rechargeable battery which Amazon says should be enough for 10 hours of non-stop music playback. But while the allure of using Alexa while freed from a wall socket may be strong, it could be a while until you can get your hands on a battery-powered Echo.
Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin step down from their roles at Alphabet
Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford in the nineties and went on to create what was to become Google in 1996. They have been an integral part of the internet giant's day-to-day running ever since. However, today, both founders announce they will be stepping down from their top roles at Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
Larry Page was Alphabet’s chief executive officer and Sergey Brin the company’s president, but now Google's CEO Sundar Pichai will take over the role of Alphabet CEO as well.
Get 'Cybersecurity: The Beginner's Guide' ($29.99 value) FREE for a limited time
It's no secret that there is a huge talent gap in the cybersecurity industry. Everyone is talking about it, including Forbes Magazine, TechRepublic, CSO Online, DarkReading, and SC Magazine, among many others. Additionally, Fortune CEO's like Microsoft's Satya Nadella, McAfee's CEO Chris Young, Cisco's CIO Colin Seward and others shine a light on it from time to time.
Cybersecurity: The Beginner's Guide puts together all the possible information regarding cybersecurity, such as why you should choose it, and how can you can get involved with it.
PIXEL is a limited-edition Pepto-pink Logitech G PRO wireless gaming mouse
When you have an upset stomach, there is a magical elixir that can provide relief -- Pepto-Bismol. Yes, that strangely delicious pink liquid can work wonders. Today, Logitech announces a new mouse that seems to get some inspiration from Pepto-Bismol.
Called "PIXEL", it technically isn't a new mouse. Instead, it is merely the existing Logitech G PRO wireless gaming mouse with a pretty pink paint job. That's not a bad thing -- the G Pro is already a great mouse. You can read more about it (including specs) here. The new color is just fun icing on the cake. Best of all, profits from this PIXEL mouse will be donated to charity!
elementary OS 5.1 'Hera' Linux distro is here
elementary OS has long been viewed by many as the future of Linux on the PC thanks to its beautiful desktop environment and overall polished experience. Development of the Ubuntu-based operating system has been frustratingly slow, however. This shouldn't be surprising, really, as the team of developers is rather small, and its resources are likely much less than those of larger distributions such as the IBM-backed Fedora or Canonical's Ubuntu. And that is what makes elementary OS so remarkable -- its developers can make magic on a smaller budget.
Today, the latest version of the operating system is released. Code-named "Hera," elementary OS 5.1 is now available for download. Support for Flatpak is now baked in — this is significant, as the developers explain it is “the first non-deb packaging format we've supported out of the box.” The Linux kernel now sits at a very modern 5.0. One of the most important aspects of elementary OS, the AppCenter, is now an insane 10 times faster than its predecessor. Wow.
Tech startups set to shake the traditional insurance market
The insurance industry has been around for over 300 years, but the rise of small, agile businesses employing new technology like AI is disrupting life for more established players.
A study from IT and consulting firm NTT DATA shows 'insurtech' startups have globally raised more than $11bn in the last three years, more than double previous years.
Apple fails to stop class action lawsuit over problematic MacBook butterfly keyboards
Apple has failed in an attempt to block a class action lawsuit being brought against it by a customer who claimed the company concealed the problematic nature of the butterfly keyboard design used in MacBooks.
The proposed lawsuit not only alleges that Apple concealed the fact that MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air keyboards were prone to failure, but also that design defects left customers out of pocket because of Apple's failure to provide an effective fix.
Facebook faces European probe over data collection
It is not just Google which is coming under the scrutiny of the European Commission – the European antitrust regulator have announced that they are also looking into the data collection practices of Facebook.
Just as with Google, the Commission has sent out preliminary questionnaires as part of an investigation into how Facebook collects and monetizes its data.
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