Best Windows 10 apps this week
Three-hundred-and-sixty-two 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 the November 2019 Update for Windows 10 this month and enabled the upgrade via Windows Update and the Update Assistant.
You can now purchase movie tickets with Google Assistant on Chrome
While I am a big fan of watching films, I absolutely detest doing so at the cinema these days. Look, if I decide to dedicate my valuable time to watching a movie, I demand absolute silence and no distractions so I can experience proper immersion. Nowadays, people don't respect the movie-going experience -- they are on their smartphones, talking, and eating smelly food. Humans are disgusting and it can be an absolute nightmare. Worst of all, it is a very expensive affair -- I feel like a sucker spending a fortune only to be miserable in the theater.
But OK, some folks still love going to the the movie theater. If that's you, I have some pretty cool news. Starting today, you can now purchase movie tickets with Google Assistant on Chrome. That is an undeniably cool thing, but sadly, it is Android-only for now. Apple iPhone users cannot join this party.
Twitter tests new scheduled tweets option
Many demands have been made of Twitter: longer tweets, tweet editing and an end to trolling and abuse. The company has implemented a number of changes, but the most recent is the ability to schedule tweets.
Until now, this is something that has only been available to people using Twitter clients such as TweetDeck, but finally -- for some people, at least -- it is an option that's available via the Twitter website.
Breaches decline as confidence in cybersecurity grows
When major cybersecurity incidents make the headlines it's easy to assume that defenders are fighting a losing battle, but in fact a new report from threat intelligence company DomainTools shows that in breaches are down and confidence in security programs is up.
More than 500 cybersecurity professionals were surveyed and the results show 30 percent of respondents gave their program an 'A' grade this year, doubling over two years from 15 percent in 2017. Less than four percent reported a 'D' or 'F'.
Cybercriminals target shopping apps ahead of Black Friday
A new report from attack surface management company RiskIQ shows attackers will leverage popular brands and unsafe consumer shopping habits in the run up to the peak holiday shopping period.
Of all apps that can be found by searching for terms related to holiday shopping, 951, or two percent, are blacklisted as malicious -- a 20 percent increase.
Zorin OS 15 Lite Linux distro can rejuvenate your aging Windows PC
A common complaint I hear from friends and family is their Windows PC is slow and barely usable. They explain that the computer is old and they think they may need a new one. I immediately ask them what they use the PC for, and almost always, they spend most of the time in a web browser. To save them money, I often suggest installing a lightweight Linux-based operating system. Why buy new hardware if you don't need it? A better operating system can often make the computer run fast again.
Today, you can download an excellent such Linux-based operating system. Called "Zorin OS 15 Lite," it is not only lightweight, but thanks to the Xfce desktop environment and integrated Flatpak support, it should be quite familiar to those switching from Windows. In fact, the developers are intentionally targeting existing Windows 7 users, as Microsoft's operating system will be unsupported beginning January 2020. Zorin OS 15 Lite, in comparison, is based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and supported until 2023! It even comes with the very modern Linux kernel 5.0.
Businesses need to get the data privacy balance right
With multiple privacy regulations and laws having gone into effect over the past year or so and more on the way affecting both consumers and business alike, it’s no wonder people are sometimes confused about how their personal data can be used.
Cisco is releasing the findings of its 2019 Consumer Privacy Survey, highlighting the top areas where consumers continue to struggle to understand how companies are handling their personal data, and how far data privacy trust has progressed.
Complex transformations need analytics and intelligence
In the public sector IT projects are often struggling. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority annual report (IPA), published in July 2018, assessed 133 large and risky programs the UK government has in flight. Overall, the IPA noted a general increase in the proportion of projects ranked red or amber-red -- which indicates projects are undeliverable or at high risk of failure -- from 38 to 46, and a decline in the proportion given amber-green or green, from 28 to 24. It happens in the commercial markets too, but of course, it doesn’t always make the headlines.
Clients -- commercial or public sector -- need to look for delivery organizations that make greater use of analytics and intelligence if they are to drive the successful completion of complex IT transformations.
PayPal buys deal-finding service Honey for $4 billion
PayPal has agreed to pay $4 billion to acquire Honey Science Corporation, which is best-known for its reward and deal-finding service and browser add-on.
The acquisition still needs the usual regulatory approval, but the transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020. The company says that the purchase "will transform the shopping experience for PayPal's consumers while increasing sales and customer engagement for its merchants".
Intel publishes letter apologizing for CPU supply issues
Intel has published a letter in which it apologizes to customers and partners for on-going problems with CPU supplies. The company says that while it is "working hard to regain supply-demand balance", it "remains a challenge".
In spite of the company's best effort, supplies are still "extremely tight" and the letter appears to be part of an appeasement campaign to calm the frustrations of those hit by shipment delays.
Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien Wi-Fi 6 router has a big, beautiful color touchscreen
Ubiquiti AmpliFi routers and mesh network systems are some of the best wireless gear home consumers can buy. Not only are these products very well designed, but they have unique features and get regular firmware updates too. I always recommend them without hesitation.
Today, Ubiquiti has managed to impress me once again with one of the most beautiful routers I have ever seen -- it looks a bit like an Amazon Echo. Called "AmpliFi Alien," this Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) router features a huge color touchscreen that not only looks cool, but provides an easy way to interact with the device. There is one hidden WAN port on the bottom, and four LAN ports on the back. And yes, if you want to set up a mesh network, you can purchase more than one and link them together.
Awair Element smart Wi-Fi air quality monitor now available
If you have a technology fan in your life, buying them a Christmas gift can be a bit hard. After all, they probably already have all of the devices they want -- including smart home products. With that said, there is a good chance they don't yet have a smart air quality monitor. Let's be honest, being alerted to air quality issues in your home is hardly sexy, but it is surprisingly rewarding and useful.
I use a 2nd gen Awair in my home, and it works very well. Just today, my phone told me chemicals in the air were high, and I later found out a family member sprayed some Febreze. When cooking, it will alert me that CO2 levels are rising. All the while, it gives me an easy to understand score so I know the overall quality of my home's air. There are apps for both Android and iPhone too.
TeamViewer 15 rolls out quietly, improves audio transmission quality but little else
TeamViewer GmbH has released TeamViewer 15.0, its remote access tool for Windows, Linux and Mac computers, plus iOS and Android mobiles.
The new release adds very little to the user experience on the major desktop platforms -- better audio transmission quality on TeamViewer-based chats is the main improvement, but Windows users will need to upgrade to maintain full compatibility with the recently released November 2019 release. Once updated on Windows, other platforms must follow suit for compatibility reasons.
Third-party access management leaves organizations exposed
A survey of more than 1,000 IT security professionals exposes shortcomings in organizations' approach to managing third-party user identity and access that could leave them vulnerable to compromise.
The study by Dimensional Research for One Identity finds that while 94 percent of organizations grant third-party users access to their network, 61 percent admit they are unsure if those users attempted to or successfully accessed files or data they are not authorized to see.
IT professionals are still keen to embrace the cloud
Of organizations with on-premise data centers, 88 percent plan on moving at least some of their workloads to the cloud, managed hosting or co-location in the next three years.
This is one of the findings of a new State of IT Infrastructure Management report from data center and cloud solutions firm INAP, which also finds 38 percent of IT professionals expect to see a reduction in their on-premise workloads by 2022.
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