Microsoft goes back to Windows XP for this holiday season's ugly sweater -- here's how you can get one
Every holiday season, Microsoft brings out an "ugly sweater" and this time it’s going way, way back with a special XP-themed Bliss design.
This sweater, which features the iconic Bliss backdrop from Windows XP, (originally a photo of a pretty blue sky and rolling green hills taken in Sonoma County, California) has been created in part to support The Nature Conservancy.
The bridge to the future
Unless there is easy and seamless connectivity between different blockchain-based asset types on different platforms, the full benefits of tokenization will not be realized. However, achieving this interoperability has proven a significant obstacle. The blockchain bridge has emerged as a promising solution, albeit one that has historically carried cost and risk. But recent advancements have made these bridges accessible, secure, and cost-effective.
Blockchain technology, which captured the imagination of the public some 15 years ago, promised to revolutionize the financial world. With each passing year, new and use cases have emerged, slowly but surely attracting a growing user base. Although the exact timeline for mass adoption remains a topic of debate, many in the industry agree it is an eventuality.
We tried Brave's AI chatbot Leo: It talks a lot about privacy, but is it truly private?
In early November, Brave, best known for its privacy-focused browser, launched its own AI chatbot called Leo. The chatbot is built into the desktop version of the browser (Brave says it will be coming to mobile soon), and was made available to all users for free. We at AdGuard, always eager to explore new AI-powered tools, and aftertesting Bing AI and playing with others, we couldn't resist the chance to check out Leo and assess its smartness and privacy features.
By default, Leo is found in the sidebar. To summon the genie AI-powered assistant, one simply needs to type 'ask Leo' in the address bar and it will materialize on the right side of the screen.
IT leaders worry about security despite being prepared
While 92 percent of IT business leaders believe they've made the right security investments and 88 percent say they meet all compliance requirements, half still worry about their company's security.
New research by Propeller Insights for AppDirect shows top areas of concern include cybersecurity risk (58 percent), information security risk (53 percent) and compliance risk (39 percent).
Almost half of developers think ML projects take up too much time
Before developers can generate machine learning insights, they need to configure different aspects of complex infrastructure, such as machine resource management, monitoring, and feature extraction, but many think this is too time consuming.
New research from Civo finds that of over 500 developers surveyed, 48 percent believe that ML projects take up too much time.
Generative AI sparks excitement and uncertainty
A new survey from Betterworks shows that the arrival of generative AI has generated excitement, experimentation, innovation, fear, and uncertainty among employees and organizations.
The research, conducted by Propeller Insights, shows over half of employees are using GenAI at work for complex activities and believe it has the potential to reduce bias across a range of processes, despite the fact that only 41 percent of organizations are actively evaluating it or have made GenAI a priority.
AWS launches its own thin client for enterprises
As more and more organizations turn to SaaS and cloud solutions, having a powerful PC as a desktop solution becomes hard to justify, not to mention the support and security issues that come along with it.
Step forward AWS with the launch of the Amazon WorkSpaces Thin Client, aimed at enterprise workers in order to reduce an employer's technology costs and provide enhanced security.
Nitrux 3.2.0 Linux distro released with enhanced security and new features
The Linux community is sure to be abuzz with excitement today as Nitrux 3.2.0 “af” makes its debut. The heart of Nitrux 3.2.0 is its Linux 6.6.2-1 (Liquorix) base, offering a stable yet cutting-edge platform. While upgrading from version 3.1.0 is streamlined, new users are encouraged to start fresh with the latest installation media for optimal performance.
Significant updates have been made across the board. The web browsing experience is elevated with Firefox updating to version 120.0. KDE Gear, enhancing the KDE desktop environment, now sits at version 23.08.3. A major overhaul in the Calamares installer introduces a strict password quality check to enhance security, requiring a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols in passwords.
Information overload puts cybersecurity at risk
Over half of today's office workers are ignoring important cybersecurity alerts and warnings due to information overload from digital communication.
New research from CybSafe, based on a survey of 1,000 office workers, shows 54 percent have ignore warnings, while 47 per cent admitted to feeling the information overload is having an impact on their ability to identify threats such as suspicious emails.
From castles to cities -- a modern approach to authorization [Q&A]
Corporate information security has traditionally used the 'castle' approach, using a strong boundary to keep everything secure.
But as we've moved to hybrid working and more sharing of information the castle is too restrictive and we've moved towards a 'city' model, allowing open routes to trade with assets widely distributed.
OpenMandriva Lx 5.0 Linux distro is here with new features and security updates
Christmas is still a month away, but Santa Claus has come a bit early to the Linux community. You see, the eagerly anticipated OpenMandriva Lx 5.0 can be downloaded here! This version marks a significant milestone for the independent, community-driven distribution, offering users a very refined experience. Notably, it is expected to be the final major iteration to feature the Plasma 5 desktop.
The new version uses the stable and efficient kernel 6.6 LTS, offering an option for the adventurous to try kernel-desktop-6.6.2 - 6.7.0-rc2. It's a package-rich release, boasting Mesa 23.3.0-rc4, Qt 5.15.11 with KDE patches and the newer 6.6.0, KDE Frameworks 5.112, KDE Gear 23.08.3, and Plasma 5.27.9.1. Productivity users will appreciate the inclusion of LibreOffice 7.6.3, among other current open-source software offerings.
TUXEDO goes all-AMD with Sirius 16 Linux gaming laptop
TUXEDO Computers is sure to excite many with its latest offering -- the Sirius 16. Named after the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, this gaming laptop is powered by the efficient AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS processor and the potent AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT GPU. Notably, the Sirius 16 is TUXEDO's first all-AMD (both CPU and GPU) Linux gaming notebook.
As with all TUXEDO notebooks, the Sirius 16 comes with comprehensive Linux support. This includes pre-installed drivers, in-house developed software packages, cloud services, and TUXEDO OS (with options for other Ubuntu variants). Windows 11 is an available option too.
TEAMGROUP T-FORCE SIREN GD120S is an AIO liquid cooler for PCIe 2280 SSDs
If you are the type of person that likes maximizing the potential of their solid state drives, then I have some very exciting news. You see, TEAMGROUP has announced the T-FORCE SIREN GD120S AIO Cooler, an all-in-one liquid cooling solution specifically designed for PCIe 2280 SSDs. Tests have shown that the SIREN GD120 can maintain PCIe 5.0 SSDs at temperatures below 54°C even under heavy loads!
The T-FORCE SIREN GD120S AIO SSD Cooler features aluminum alloy dual-tube water blocks with double-layered thermal pads, ensuring a tight connection between the SSD controller chip and IC to the cooler's copper base. The cooler's pump incorporates a ceramic shaft design and operates with three silent motors, delivering quiet, efficient, and reliable liquid cooling. Additionally, the product includes a 120mm radiator with 13 high-density aluminum fins, significantly enhancing its ability to dissipate heat from M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSDs
Play Windows PC games on your Android phone for free using Winlator 3
It's easy enough to get Android games running on your PC. You can use third-party emulators like Bluestacks or NoxPlayer, or you can make use of the built-in Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 11.
If you want to do the reverse and play Windows games on your Android device, that's a little harder, but it can be done. For this you'll need Winlator. We’ve covered this Android app before, but it’s just been updated to improve compatibility and performance, and fix a number of problems.
Undertaking a data diet this Black Friday
Like every year, Black Friday marks the start of the end-of-year shopping season, and with it a significant increase in online sales. Although it's very much an American event, Black Friday in the UK has grown in popularity in recent years. In 2022, UK consumers spent a record £9.42 billion over the Black Friday weekend. Of this, 61 percent was spent online.
For e-retailers in the UK, the cyber weekend represents a significant increase in activity and traffic, leading to an accumulation of data generated and collected by e-commerce sites, requiring large storage capacities with a high environmental impact.
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