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BetaNews.Com (6 non lus)

Hate NFL football? Here are 5 nerdy things to do instead of watching Super Bowl

Publié: février 1, 2015, 9:00pm CET par Brian Fagioli

Today's the day; Super Bowl Sunday is officially here. The game should be exciting, as the Patriots are rather hated outside of New England. Why? The "DeflateGate" controversy has many NFL fans considering the team to be cheaters. Actually, the team has been caught cheating in the past -- and penalized for it -- but in this case, the footballs have not been 100 percent proven to be intentionally deflated. Still, even though the accusations are only alleged, many think it is serendipitous for the Seahawks to win, as it would right a wrong.

Even with this interesting back story, not everyone likes football. You know what? That's OK -- different strokes for different folks as they say. If you are a computer nerd who wants to do something other than watch the Super Bowl today, here are 5 things you should do instead.

1.) Install a new Linux distro: If you have been meaning to try a Linux-based operating system, today is the day to finally do it. Don't worry about screwing anything up, as many distributions are available as a Live CD. What does that mean? You can run it from a CD or DVD, without installing anything to your hard drive. Hell, even if you are already using Linux, try a competing distro out, what's the worst that can happen? On Ubunutu? Try Fedora. On Fedora? Try Mint. Head over to DistroWatch and find the best Linux-based OS for you.

2.) Defrag your hard drive: Are you still running Windows on a traditional hard drive? Too bad. Upgrading to a solid state drive will really improve your performance. If you don't want to spend the money on new hardware, defragmenting your hard drive may be a great way to get a bit more performance. Rather than use the one built into Windows, I would suggest trying Defraggler by Piriform, which you can download here.

3.) Run CCleaner: Another good tool for maintaining your Windows machine is CCleaner, also by Piriform. This tool will clean up your registry and other files too. Besides optimizing your computer, it is great for privacy too. How? It will easily clear cookies and historyfrom all installed browsers. You can download the tool here.

4.) Stream Dr. Who on Amazon Prime: Dr. Who is a great TV show for both nerds and geeks, and luckily, Amazon Prime members have been able to stream the show for free. Unfortunately, the TV show, along with other BBC shows, is apparently leaving the service on February 15th. That means you have 2 weeks of binge watching ahead of you! Might as well start today, right?

5.) Play video games: More and more people are working longer and longer hours nowadays, leaving very little time for video games. Whether you own an Xbox, PlayStation or something else, today is a great day to play some games. While everyone else is watching sports on TV, you can actually interact with a game -- save a princess, kill an enemy, or even be a race car driver.

What things will you be doing today instead of watching the big game? Tell me in the comments.

Photo Credit: Nenad Aksic / Shutterstock
Warning -- Microsoft's new iOS Outlook app is insecure

Publié: février 1, 2015, 8:07pm CET par Mark Wilson

After buying Acompli late last year, Microsoft didn’t take long to rebrand the mobile email app as Outlook and launch Android and iOS versions. But it seems that in the rush to get the app out of the door, Microsoft failed to ensure that it was suitably secure.

In fact, IBM developer René Winkelmeyer suggests that enterprise users stop using the app immediately. He was shocked to discover a trio of security issues in the mobile version of Outlook. Perhaps the most worrying discovery is that users' personal credentials are stored in the cloud -- username and password included.

Winkelmeyer made the discovery after disabling the app and sending himself an email from a second text account. Despite having stopped the app, he received a push notification letting him know of the new email. Investigating further by looking at server logs, Winkelmeyer found that his mail account was being scanned by an AWS IP address without his permission.

Security concerns also surround the fact that Outlook has built-in connectors to OneDrive, Dropbox and Google Drive to allow for easy attachment of files stored in any of these cloud services. But it is also possible to share email attachments through these services -- something that will be greatly concerning for businesses. Malware, anyone?

Completing the trio of security concerns is the fact that the iOS Outlook app does not differentiate between multiple devices used by an individual. You might install the app on an iPhone, an iPad, and an iPad mini -- the same ID will be used each time.

The advice from Winkelmeyer at this stage is simple:

The only advice I can give you at this stage is: block the app from accessing your companies mail servers. And inform your users that they shouldn't use the app.

It is the sharing of user credentials that is particularly concerning, but the sheer number of issues that have been highlighted will make many people think twice about using the app -- Winkelmeyer does have some tips, however. What's interesting is that while the Android version of Outlook is listed as a preview, the same tag has not been applied to the iOS version.

Photo credit: gst / Shutterstock
Is it cord-cutting, or just cheating?

Publié: février 1, 2015, 7:44pm CET par Joe Wilcox

Anywhere from two to three times a week, Cox sends offers to join Flex Watch, which would add $19.99 to my $59.99 Internet service. The cable company guarantees the price for 12 months—no contract—and would provide HD set-top box with access to local networks and some premium, subscription channels. Last year's offer: HBO and Starz. Last month's adds Encore. This week, Cox sweetens by tempting with Cinemax and Flix for just $5 more.

The HD box and local channel access doesn't tempt the slightest. Cox would have to rewire our setup to enable access from the living room, but I'm a believer in the "If it ain't broke don't fix it" approach to networking. I've got 120Mbps Internet pumping down to the bedroom, where there is no TV, and don't want to risk mucking up what we've got. But I am tempted to pay $19.99, or $24.99, for the subscription channels and stream to the tellie content in their apps—which I find offer better benefits. But does that cross the line? Is it still cord-cutting?

The question is on my mind today as we prepare for the Super Bowl. My antenna doesn't pull in the local NBC affiliate, so I will rig up the HP ENVY x2 loaner I will sometime soon review to the TV's HDMI port. NBC graciously livestreams the game from its website. Just lovely: There is a NBC Sports app for Windows 8.1, but it constantly crashes on open. Android app is fallback if the ENVY proves to be less than an envious option.

The world won't end if we miss the game. It's a sunny day here in San Diego, and the beach calls my name.

Back on topic, Game of Thrones also is on my mind, as season 5's debut approaches, and I wonder how long Cox will nag me to Flex Watch before the deal disappears. HBO GO would be the thing, just in time. So I ponder options and present my question to you: If I sign up for Flex Watch but only stream content—never attach cable box to the TV—is that still cord-cutting? Or will I violate some unseen definition? It sure looks like cord-cutting to me, if the Wilcox household only streams.

Image Credit: Subbotina Anna / Shutterstock
Windows 8.1's market share remains utter rubbish

Publié: février 1, 2015, 9:55am CET par Wayne Williams

Last month, web analytics firm NetMarketShare released its usual batch of monthly desktop operating system usage share figures, and it showed Windows 8.x tumbling dramatically. The figure made little sense, and a day later the firm released revised data which showed the tiled OS still shedding a large chunk of share, but not quite as badly.

In December’s revised figures NetMarketShare had the OS falling 5.13 percentage points for a total share of 13.52 percent, placing it back way below Windows XP. This meant January’s figures were always going to be interesting. Surely the tiled OS would rally wouldn’t it? But of course this is Windows 8.x, Microsoft’s least successful operating system in recent memory, so no. Its usage share remains utterly rubbish.

Windows 8 went from 4.03 percent in December to 3.79 percent in January, a drop of 0.24 percentage points. Windows 8.1 went from 9.49 percent to 10.04 percent, gaining 0.5 percentage points. In total Windows 8.x grew by just 0.03 percentage points.

In comparison, Windows XP went from 18.26 percent to 18.93 percent. That’s an improvement of 0.67 percent -- twice as much as Windows 8.x managed.

Windows 7 went from 56.26 percent in December to 55.92 percent in January, a drop of 0.34 percentage points.

Overall, January saw very little action, with OS usage share only changing by a fraction here and there. The biggest story is that NetMarketShare’s reporting of Windows 8.x’s share tumbling last month seems to have been correct, which is bad news for Microsoft, although it’s used to bad news with Windows 8.x. No wonder it’s going to be giving away Windows 10 (which now has 0.05 percent share by the way) to avoid finding itself in this sort of embarrassing situation again.

Photo Credit: JIANG HONGYAN / Shutterstock
Robots are after my job, and perhaps yours too

Publié: février 1, 2015, 8:55am CET par Manish Singh

Robots are after my job. They’re after yours as well, but let us deal with my problem first. Associated Press, an American multinational nonprofit news agency, revealed on Friday that it published 3,000 articles in the last three months of 2014. The company could previously only publish 300 stories. It didn’t hire more journalists, neither did its existing headcount start writing more, but the actual reason behind this exponential growth is technology. All those stories were written by an algorithm.

Last summer the publication partnered with Automated Insights -- a US-based company that provides real-time content automation services to "transform data into narratives, visualizations and applications" -- to begin automating quarterly earnings reports using the software company’s patented Wordsmith platform. The algorithm is churning out business reports -- something which requires a human to have a scrupulous understanding of the market, drink a lot of latte, and be damn accurate and quick -- at an incredible pace.

The articles produced by the algorithm were accurate, and you won’t be able to separate them from stories written by humans. Good lord, all the stories were written in accordance with the AP Style Guide, something not all journalists follow (but arguably, should).

This isn’t the first time a program has attempted (and succeeded) at writing news stories, either. Last year, an LA Times writer-bot "reported" a snippet about an earthquake just three minutes after the event. No wonder the publication claimed that it was the first to report the story.

But is it going to make journalists jobless? We don’t know yet. The publication says that it didn’t let go any journalists in the last quarter. In fact, the whole point of having the software in place, the news outlet says, is to give journalists some time to think and look at the bigger picture instead of rushing out to report the earnings numbers.

That’s an interesting point. Algorithms can write stories, and they have been doing it for quite sometime now, but there are a few things they can’t do (just yet): deliver analysis, offer insights, put in opinion, and show readers the big picture. They can produce some kinds of stories -- stories that are publicly available, and could be crunched down to the highlight with boilerplate connectors.

There has been a growth in the number of such software. Narrative Science, a Chicago-based company offers an automated narrative generator powered by artificial intelligence. The company’s co-founder and CTO, Kristian Hammond, said last year that he believes that by 2030, 90 percent of news could be written by computers. Forbes, a reputable news outlet, has used Narrative’s software. Some news outlets use it to write email newsletters and similar things.

Hammond, however, insists that their software isn’t going to harm journalism or journalists. "This robonews tsunami will not wash away the remaining human reporters who still collect paychecks", he told Wired last year. "Instead the universe of newswriting will expand dramatically, as computers mine vast troves of data to produce ultracheap, totally readable accounts of events, trends, and developments that no journalist is currently covering", he added.

But writing news stories isn’t the only contribution these algorithms are making to the field of journalism. News aggregator websites like Google News and TechMeme use algorithms to curate stories. Google News maintains this disclaimer at the bottom of its webpage. "The selection and placement of stories on this page were determined automatically by a computer program. The time or date displayed (including in the Timeline of Articles feature) reflects when an article was added to or updated in Google News". TechMeme too has officially acknowledged that it utilizes algorithms to find stories, though the aggregator also has a team of editors who oversee the operation and alter the headlines to make them click-bait free.

Where is journalism headed? Will we have no human reporters in the future? Will the robots do field reporting as well? We don’t know yet. But before you feel sorry about journalists, have a look at the short documentary below as it might change your opinion about your own job.

Image Credit: Ociacia / Shutterstock
Logitech now offering a line of Chrome OS compatible peripherals

Publié: février 1, 2015, 3:11am CET par Alan Buckingham

While most everyone is familiar with Chromebooks, the Google operating system also comes on a few desktop computers, a system generally referred to as a Chromebox. Like any computer, a Chromebox requires a keyboard and mouse, but sometimes those using notebook computers also prefer an external mouse instead of using the trackpad. Now Logitech plans to have everyone covered in this growing market.

The hardware maker is announcing a new line of peripherals designed specifically for Chrome OS computers. You're likely thinking that any wireless keyboard or mouse will work, and you'd be mostly right. I type this now from a Chromebook using a standard Microsoft wireless mouse. But what Logitech has is a bit more interesting.

It's a range of devices that can all be controlled using a single "unifying key" the company claims. "With the new Logitech Unifying app for Chromebook, available here, you can now connect multiple mice and keyboards to a single tiny receiver that plugs into a USB port on your Chromebook".

Logitech has set up a special website to show off the compatible devices. It does point out that certain keyboards have enhanced function keys and those keys may not work with this system, though the keyboard still will.

So, if you have a Chrome OS-based computer then this may be just the thing. Devices listed on the page even include headsets and none of the items are overpriced, so check it out if you're in the market.