Articles about How To

Big data jobs are some of the most well-paid jobs across all sectors, and in honor of Big Data Week 2014, we thought we'd put together a guide on how you can get in on the action.

There's been a predicted shortfall of 243 percent of skilled individuals needed to fill big data analytics jobs in the UK alone, and companies and organizations are currently scrambling over each other to recruit emerging talent. What's more, a data scientist can emerge from just about any field. Most analysts will tell you that it's misleading to describe big data simply in terms of a set of tools or programming languages. The common thread is the need for data-savvy professionals who have the ability to draw meaningful insights from the flood of data pouring into the modern organization.

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Microsoft’s tiled operating system is best viewed as a work in progress. The tech giant made major changes from Windows 8 to 8.1, and has just released the mandatory Update, which adds tweaks and new features aimed primarily at keyboard and mouse users.

The downside of these changes is that if you ever have to reinstall Windows you’ll need to update your computer with the Update and other security patches and so on afterwards. Fortunately, you can create a new, more up to date installer by slipstreaming (integrating) the Update with the original disc files.

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I’ve been asked by a couple of people in the past week how to download the Windows 8.1 ISO file from Microsoft. Downloading the ISO file necessary to install the OS at a later date, or on another system, is very straightforward, although it’s far from obvious. I covered this six months ago, but things have changed and less trickery is involved now.

At the moment the provided ISO file doesn’t contain the recently released Update, so you’ll need to update Windows straight after installation has finished to guarantee you have the latest version.

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After almost a year and a half of waiting, Microsoft has unveiled a new major update for its smartphone operating system. Windows Phone 8.1 is finally here, with myriad new features in tow. Noteworthy additions include support for a wider range of hardware configurations, a much-awaited notifications center, improvements to the browser, calendar, camera and email apps, enterprise-friendly enhancements, and a new personal assistant, to name a few.

And, just like Windows Phone 8 Update 3 which came before it, Windows Phone 8.1 is available through the Preview for Developers program. It was introduced by Microsoft, last year, in order to give developers and early adopters the opportunity to experience the latest iteration of the OS ahead of the public roll-out. Here is how you can leverage it to install Windows Phone 8.1.

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Heartbleed is a critical bug in OpenSSL that allows for the stealing of information that would normally be protected by SSL/TLS encryption. Essentially anyone on the internet can read the memory of systems protected by vulnerable versions of the popular cryptographic software library. The bug affects two-thirds of the Internet and while Google has patched its services, Android remains affected.

If you have an Android phone you can quickly check to see what version of OpenSSL it’s running, and whether the vulnerable feature, called Heartbeats, is enabled.

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Even though Windows 8.1 has been designed to work fine on touch-enabled devices as well as traditional PCs, many argued that Microsoft was still not doing enough to please those who are exclusively relying on a keyboard and mouse to navigate through the operating system. Luckily for them, Microsoft has listened to user feedback and introduced Windows 8.1 Update, during the latest Build conference.

Microsoft has revealed that Windows 8.1 Update -- well, the Update bit anyway -- will roll out to consumers starting April 8. The refreshed operating system as well as the individual update are already available though, to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Here is how you can create a bootable Windows 8.1 Update USB drive.

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If you repeatedly use Google Search for a certain query, like "breaking news", you have to type in the same thing, every time, in the browser's address bar to get the results. It can quickly get irritating. Luckily, there is a more efficient way to do it -- you can assign a custom keyword.

To give you an example, you can set the combination "bn" to substitute "breaking news". You can then use the keyword instead, to see the respective results. This trick works with various functions Google Search offers, like isolated site queries (triggered by "site:", followed by what you are looking for). It is incredibly useful in day to day usage.

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If you do not fancy using the App Store or the built-in recovery mode to download and run the large OS X 10.9 Mavericks setup file, Apple gives you the option to create a bootable USB drive to install the operating system on your Mac. It is fast and works even when there is no Internet connection available.

The process is pretty straightforward, and does not require advanced skills, or downloading a dedicated third-party tool (although I will also explain how to use one, in case you decide or need to go down this road). All you need is an 8 GB USB drive (it can be larger), which you may already have lying around somewhere, and a Mac.

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As a Surface 2 owner, I have come to grips with the fact that Windows RT, the operating system on my tablet, is a bastardized version of "real Windows". However, I love the OS, as it works great and is very secure. On the RT variant, the user cannot install classic Windows programs. While many see this as a negative, I see it as a positive -- classic Windows viruses and malware cannot be installed either.

While the user cannot install classic programs, many come pre-loaded. Favorites such as Notepad and Paint are all here, but even better, RT devices come with Office 2013 preinstalled. Recently, there has been much news about Office 2013 Service Pack 1, but the RT version has been seemingly forgotten. Believe it or not, Office 2013 RT also got updated to SP1. But if you cannot download and run an upgrade file from the web, how do you upgrade? Read on for instructions.

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Service Pack 1 has just started to roll out to Office 2013 users, but Office 365 users have been left out in the cold. You might think that as a subscriber your software is kept constantly updated -- and this is true to a point. But talking to Paul Thurrott, Microsoft reveals that a "handful of updates are totally new in SP1" and these have not all made their way to Office 365 yet. Unless you follow the little trick that Paul has shared, that is.

Unlike many applications Office 365 does not have a built-in means of forcing an update check -- so we have to force a forced update! The steps are very quick and simple to follow, and you can grab yourself a copy of SP1 in next to no time.

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Audible notifications coming from mobile devices can be annoying in some situations, as they can distract us and bother others. Being informed of a new message on Facebook or a reminder to start playing a game again are some things we can postpone knowing about in the middle of the night or an important business meeting. Some companies offer a feature on their devices that allows users to mute sounds during a certain period of time.

Apple offers this under the name Do Not Disturb on its devices, while some Android vendors and Microsoft refer to it as Quiet Hours. Even though Windows 8.1 offers such a feature, Windows Phone has yet to see a similar implementation. But, fret not, as quiet hours can be brought to the tiled smartphone operating system via third-party apps.

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With security breaches on the rise, such as the recent Target credit card theft, you can’t be too careful how and to whom you share your personal information. According to the US Department of Justice, 7 percent of US households reported being victims of some form of identity fraud and with financial losses totaling upwards of $50 billion, people have to be vigilant.

Nowadays it’s fairly easy to steal an identity by obtaining different bits of information about someone and piecing them together like a jigsaw puzzle. Things you may not even think about such as your zip code, maiden name, or date of birth. And it’s not just unknown entities who are procuring your personal information and using it for their nefarious gain, it’s people you may think are legitimate and trustworthy such as babysitters, housekeepers or your latest online crush.

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YouTube, like many other websites, undergoes changes, and it has taken on a number of guises over the years. Some looks have lasted for a long time, while others have been shorter lived. There are also experimental looks, not all of which end up being released, but even when a redesign is rolled out, it can take a while to make its way around the world. Currently in the experimental stage is a center-aligned layout which includes a cleaned up interface a new menu and a few other tweaks.

In the new design, a top navigation bar is now locked to the top of the screen, remaining in place while the rest of the page scrolls. There is a customizable carousel and a new Upload button encourages visitors into sharing. It's not yet clear quite when this new interface will be officially released to a waiting world, but it's something you can enable now; all it takes is a quick cookie tweak.

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Google recently made an interesting change to Gmail, making it possible for users to send messages to anyone in their Google+ circles. If the prospect of receiving emails from people you don’t know concerns you -- they don’t even need to know your email address -- you might like the idea of locking down your account. Thankfully, Google has made it quite simple to put restrictions in place. So if you'd like to avoid a possible influx of unsolicited emails, here's how to go about it.

Before we get started, it's worth pointing out that you may not see these settings in Gmail yet. This means that the feature has not been enabled for your account yet -- which means you don’t need to worry about receiving messages in this way anyway!

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The finished version of Windows 8.1 has been out for a couple of months now, but if you’re still using the free preview build, time is running out. Windows 8.1 Preview and Windows RT 8.1 Preview are both set to expire on January 15.

Upgrading from the preview to the final GA release is very easy, and there are a couple of ways of doing it.

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