Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » août 11, 2015

BetaNews.Com (18 non lus)

Microsoft releases new cumulative update for Windows 10

Publié: août 11, 2015, 11:12pm CEST par Wayne Williams
Windows 10 is a stable OS, but it does have a few problems and glitches still in need of ironing out. New Insider Previews are set to begin arriving shortly, but in the meantime Microsoft is pushing out updates which are designed to improve the functionality of Windows 10 and resolve various vulnerabilities.

Last week the software giant released the first servicing rollup for Windows 10 which fixed several issues (but also introduced new ones for some unfortunate users), and today it releases a new cumulative update.

The KB3081436 update fixes a bunch of bugs and includes some security patches. The full list of vulnerability fixes is as follows:
- 3086251 MS15-092: Vulnerabilities in the .NET Framework could allow elevation of privilege
- 3084525 MS15-091: Cumulative security update for Microsoft Edge
- 3082458 MS15-088: Unsafe command-line parameter passing could allow information disclosure
- 3082487 MS15-085: Vulnerability in Mount Manager could allow elevation of privilege
- 3078662 MS15-080: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft graphics component could allow remote code execution
- 3082442 MS15-079: Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer
The update is available through Windows Update and will be downloaded and installed automatically. If you want to speed things along you can install the update now by going to Settings > Update & Security> Windows Update.

Let me know if it improves Windows 10 for you.

Photo Credit: fotoscool/Shutterstock
Alphabet's ABC is Google's XYZ

Publié: août 11, 2015, 10:00pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

I predict that the innovation of the year will go, not to a tech product, but to Google's creation of a new company: Alphabet. The search and information giant that disrupts so many other companies on and off the Internet essentially disrupts itself. By doing so—divesting the core, established business from future research and inventions—cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin unshackle weights dragging growth.

To recap: Page announced the dramatic change after the market closed yesterday. Google becomes secondary to Alphabet, which will hold a collection of related entities. Page hands over Google chief executive reigns to Sundar Pichai, while becoming CEO of the new entity. Brin is president. Can we call him letterhead instead of figurehead? :)

Alphabet's creation shows why Google, and not Apple, is the most innovative tech company on the planet and foreshadows how this will continue to be for the foreseeable future. At the same time, Page and Brin have lobbed a big wrench into the European Union's antitrust machine by effectively doing to Google what Microsoft should have done 15 years ago: Voluntarily break up the company. There will be other benefits from Alphabet, but my day-later analysis focuses on two that fundamentally alter the new and established companies' futures.

Disrupt Thyself

The most-disruptive companies have nothing to lose. When building a customer base, they can take risks that established entities dare not for fear of upsetting existing revenue streams. This is exactly how Microsoft upset IBM during the mainframe-to-Windows-PC transition and early DOS application developers like Lotus or WordPerfect. When you have no customers to lose, and only those to gain, you have tremendous tactical flexibility, such as selling for less, or even loss, to gain marketshare.

Likewise, Google, as the Internet's emissary, tore into Microsoft's core business by offering products like Apps and Gmail for less, and often for free, against Office, Outlook, Exchange, and related software. But as search share increases, and advertising-related revenue dependance stays unshaken, the cloud company is more status quo than startup and subject to the same dynamics as its forebears. Success stifles innovation, for fear of taking risks essential to remaining relevant.

Page is right: "We’ve long believed that over time companies tend to get comfortable doing the same thing, just making incremental changes. But in the technology industry, where revolutionary ideas drive the next big growth areas, you need to be a bit uncomfortable to stay relevant". Status quo equals stagnation.

By making Google a subsidiary that competes with others under Alphabet, Page and Brin can re-infuse startup mentality that birthed one of the most successful disruptive companies ever. Employees can compete to open new areas of research and product development and for prestige—to be part of a pioneer-promising startup. Managers gain opportunity for advancement, as Alphabet creates vacuum within the corporate structure to fill with new subsidiaries and CEOs in the mold of Pichai to lead them.

"Alphabet is about businesses prospering through strong leaders and independence", Page says. "In general, our model is to have a strong CEO who runs each business, with Sergey and me in service to them as needed. Fundamentally, we believe this allows us more management scale, as we can run things independently that aren’t very related".

David Thinking

The Alphabet strategy is the most brilliant application of David Thinking i have seen in more than two decades reporting about the tech sector. I first explained the concept six years ago in analysis "Why Apple succeeds, and always will". The "always will" no longer applies as the company has become in this decade status quo. I developed the David Thinking concept from fascinating research conducted by Ivan Arreguín-Toft, who is an assistant professor of international relations at Boston University.

In 2005 book, How the Weak Win Wars: A Theory of Asymmetric Tactics, Arreguín-Toft explains that seemingly weaker opponents can prevail against stronger ones by changing the rules of engagement. (So that you don’t have to purchase the book, review paper “How the Weak Win Wars: A Theory of Asymmetric Conflict” as an alternative.)

Arreguín-Toft produces excellent historical data showing that, in wars, when smaller rivals apply David Thinking they are more likely to win, even against mightier opponents. The Biblical example of David vs. Goliath is good analogy. Rather than fight like Goliath—and almost certainly lose by dawning armor and sword—David relied on his own strengths. A slingshot and stone kept him out of Goliath’s reach but on the offensive.

Page titles his Alphabet announcement "G is for Google". G is for Goliath, and his lumbering dependance on rules of engagement that benefit him. As status quo, Goliath is limited by his success. David is lithe and only bound by his own abilities, when choosing to apply them. Google's problem is the same as every company dominating one, or even several categories: Prioritizing development decisions to favor and/or extend the core business rather than transcending it. That leads to stagnation, not innovation.

By applying David Thinking, Page and Brin return to their strengths as disruptive innovators by disrupting their own successful company. The realignment "frees up time for me to continue to scale our aspirations", Page says. "Sergey and I are seriously in the business of starting new things".

The changes also play to Google's core strength, if assuming that many of the people working for the search and information giant joined to bring big world-changing innovations to market, rather than preserve an aging and successful Goliath. He is fat and needs to lose middle-age girth, which the new entity does with liposuction speediness.

Self-Divesture

The change could accomplish something else, which is a different application of David Thinking. Google is dogged by anticompetitive criticism, and in Europe faces potentially stiff antitrust oversight. The problem facing the search Goliath is the same as Microsoft during the Windows PC hegemony: Government concerns that self-cross-integrating new developments with a monopoly product stifles innovation and gives unfair advantage when leveraged into an adjacent market or even new category.

For Google, the core is search and increasingly Android, for the dominance in separate categories and how one benefits from the other. Page tried playing by the European Competition Commission's rules, which did little, if anything, for Google. So he and Brin change the rules of engagement by doing what I said Microsoft should have done 15 years ago: Take control away from regulators by breaking up the company.

The creation of Alphabet and making Google a subsidiary within is effectively self-divesture. The search business' importance diminishes as building block for newer products. Then there is refocusing search that is good for its future. "This newer Google is a bit slimmed down, with the companies that are pretty far afield of our main Internet products contained in Alphabet instead", Page says.

But one piece that remains with Google needs to be unbound to seriously stifle trustbuster interference: Android. As an operating system, and not an Internet service, Android doesn't belong with Google under Alphabet. Page and Brin should, and they may even plan to, create an operating system platform subsidiary separate from search. It's my guess, without consulting an European legal expert, that the Competition Commission's Android antitrust investigation would eventually defuse.

Self-divesture also opens way for greater shareholder rewards, as revenues expand from new products not necessarily bound to search and from subsidiaries that could eventually spin out as separate companies.

Meanwhile, the expected IPO startup mentality across Alphabet also is incentive for employees to work hard for the big payoff later on. Yesterday, they worked for an aging giant. Today, they belong to what Page calls "a collection of companies"—startups—all with potential to be the next Google. For all those Googlers who couldn't cash in before, because they joined too late, there's an Alphabet of startups to fill.

G is for greatness.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Ricard Vaque
How to delay and/or block automatic software updates in Windows 10

Publié: août 11, 2015, 8:40pm CEST par Wayne Williams

As you’ll know, Microsoft has made updates mandatory in Windows 10. When updates are pushed out, the new operating system installs them automatically. Whether you want it to or not. This should be a benefit, as it means no more unpatched PCs at risk from serious vulnerabilities, but if the software giant rolls out an update that causes problems for users -- as has already been the case in several instances -- there’s no easy way to avoid it.

Windows 10 Pro users can defer updates, but Home users don’t have that luxury. Thankfully if you need to delay or block software updates in Windows 10, there are several ways to do so, regardless of which version of the OS you're running.

The first way is to use the 'Show or hide updates' troubleshooting tool (aka KB3073930) which we’ve already covered previously. It’s very easy to use, you just run it and select the updates to block. Updates you choose to hide won’t be installed. The problem is it doesn’t work for every update. Last week’s servicing rollup caused some users to be stuck in a reboot loop. This wasn't a problem that the tool could help with.

Another option is to use the 'Metered connection' feature. Turning this on fools Windows 10 into thinking you’re on a non-broadband connection (i.e. accessing the internet via a tethered mobile) and delays downloading and installing updates. To turn this on, click Start, and type 'Change Wi-Fi settings'. Hit enter. Click 'Advanced options' and toggle 'Metered connection' to on. This only works if you’re on a wireless network. If you have an Ethernet connection, the option isn’t available.

If you have Windows 10 Pro, you can defer updates under Start > Settings > Update & Security. Click 'Advanced options' and check 'Defer upgrades'.

Windows 10 Pro users also have another option, and that’s to use the Group Policy Editor (this isn’t available in Windows 10 Home, but is included in the Professional, Enterprise, and Education editions). Hit Windows + R and type 'gpedit.msc' into the Run box. Hit enter. Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update.

Double-click on 'Configure automatic updates'. In the window that options, select 'Enabled'. Use the drop down box below to change the setting from 'Auto download and notify for install' to 'Notify for download and notify for install'. Apply and OK the change.

Photo Credit: Viorel Sima/Shutterstock
How to change Microsoft Edge's default download folder

Publié: août 11, 2015, 7:38pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Microsoft’s new modern browser certainly has potential, but Edge is far from a finished product. It lacks major features, including support for add-ons, and anyone using it is going to find it difficult to change certain browser settings. While you can change the default search engine, the process for doing so is far from intuitive. We explained the steps you need to take here.

But what if you want to change the default download location? Surely this is something that can be done easily in Settings, right? Nope. You can change the download folder, just not in Edge itself.

There are two ways to do this. The first is in File Explorer. Launch it and you’ll see a Downloads folder on the left. Right-click it and select Properties. Click the Location tab, and enter a new path. Click Apply. This creates a new download location. If you want to move the existing one (taking any completed downloads with it), click on Move, choose a new folder location and say Yes.

You can use the same method to change the location of other system folders in File Explorer.

The second option requires a registry tweak. Launch regedt, and navigate to

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

Locate %USERPROFILE%\Downloads on the right. Double-click the entry and change the value to a new location. Restart your PC.
Cloud computing and the true future of networks

Publié: août 11, 2015, 7:38pm CEST par Dirk Paessler

Cloud computing, network virtualization and on-demand technology services are changing how we think about IT.

If these new services become as ubiquitous as predicted we could see companies accessing their IT services remotely, at the expense of their own IT infrastructure and applications. If this happens, the thinking goes, the importance of the Local Area Network and the IT administrator could diminish as well.

It’s not worth saying the last rites over the LAN and IT administrator just yet, though. There’s no denying that times are changing and the increasing use of cloud computing will mean a shift in ICT practices. Cloud allows flexibility, efficiency and can be employed for so many tasks that we will certainly see a transition on some level. But arguably the uptake of cloud will not be on the scale, or at the speed, that is predicted. Nor will it fundamentally change the IT administration role in the way that some assume.

Firstly, a cloud system is totally dependent on a stable internet connection and is still reliant on the LAN to operate. If a business loses its internet connection for any reason, the entire business will grind to a halt, with even printers unable to function because you won’t have access to the cloud app that sends the file to the printer service.

Secondly, cloud computing -- and the internet itself -- hinges on the millions of switches, servers and firewalls located across the world. So, organizations will still rely on LANs and continue to demand high availability and fast response times.

Also, there are some companies for whom the cloud simply isn’t applicable. More than a third of the world’s GDP is produced in non-service industries.

These companies that manufacture and rely on machine power simply cannot move to the cloud because the high availability that an assembly line demands is not yet provided there. Machines need to be connected by a local area connection with ultra-high bandwidth and solid security, as well as reliability in the four to five-nines range.

There is a theory that IT administrators will soon become redundant, ready to be moved in all their functions to the cloud -- so-called "service as a service" (SEaaS). The idea is that their role would be filled by remote managers who could take over the day-to-day roles like setting passwords, inducting new users and so on with a cloud app. However, this is unlikely. Cloud services are certainly suitable for the more basic tasks, but they couldn’t replace the more technical on-site jobs that require specific expertise and information-based human intelligence.

While cloud computing is undeniably a good tool for increasing efficiency of IT administration, the LAN is not going anywhere yet. And if the LAN is staying, so too is the IT administrator and all their associated monitoring tools that help them do their job will continue to play a crucial role in its maintenance, improvement, economic viability and availability. Meanwhile, we’re in an age when other innovations are of equal and possibly greater importance than the cloud -- the internet of things will have a greater impact on the way the office network operates.

These advances will need efficient networks and network administrators to maintain them. It seems likely then that the network, the administrators and the network-monitoring tools on which they depend are here to stay.

If anything their expertise is going to be even more in demand as the complexity and diversity of the network continues to grow.

Dirk Paessler is CEO of Paessler, an IT monitoring software developer based in Nuremberg, Germany

Image credit: Alexander Kirch /Shutterstock

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Logitech announces G640 Large Cloth Gaming Mouse Pad

Publié: août 11, 2015, 6:40pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

So, you think you are a member of the PC Master Race, eh? You've built your gaming PC, bought a ton of games on Steam, and have a sweet keyboard and mouse. All done, right? Wait. You forgot to buy a mouse pad. No, I'm not kidding -- many gamers still use gaming-grade mouse pads as a way to get an edge.

Today, Logitech announces the G640 Large Cloth Gaming Mouse Pad. The large surface promises better tracking, while reserving a space on your desk to keep clear of Mountain Dew and Bawls empties. Will you upgrade to a mouse pad experience?

"We heard from the Logitech G community and our Cloud9 CS:GO players that you wanted more space for wider swipes with your mouse; the G640 has a surface that provides improved tracking performance and optimal control designed specifically for low DPI gaming. It complements any Logitech G mouse sensor that you own, enabling you to be more accurate and perform even better than before. With a rubber base to stay in place during the most intense sessions, your wrist will be more comfortable during long gaming sessions", says Logitech.

The manufacturer further says, "heavy patterns and designs can interfere with sensor performance. G640 features a clean, consistent surface texture. This gives sensors better imagery for translating mouse movement into cursor movement, an improvement over inconsistent or dirty table and desk surfaces".

Do you really need a mouse pad? No, you do not need one. With that said, one such as the G640 can enable better tracking for your mouse's sensor and give you a slight edge. It could be particularly handy for LAN parties, as you may not know the conditions of the surfaces at the event.

If you are interested in buying this moue pad, you can do so here now for $39.99.
LastPass switches to freemium model to encourage take up

Publié: août 11, 2015, 4:55pm CEST par Ian Barker

With increasing numbers of credentials being stolen in data breaches it makes sense to use a password manager to protect your online accounts.

Popular password manager LastPass is encouraging users to make the leap by making its service available free on mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets from today.

The new version also enables first-time users to sync data across the same device type they get started on, without needing to upgrade to LastPass Premium. Users can still choose to get started with LastPass on a desktop or laptop computer if they prefer.

"People often hear about useful apps on the go and want to get started right away from their smartphone," says Joe Siegrist, CEO of LastPass. "This new freemium model allows LastPass users to get started with our password manager on the device of their choice".

Whatever device users choose to get started on, they can use LastPass on that device and any others of the same device type -- desktops, smartphones or tablets -- for free. With this latest change, LastPass is making it easier and more affordable for people to organize their digital lives and improve overall online security.

To sync across an unlimited number of devices, including desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets, users can upgrade to the LastPass Premium service, which comes with a free 14-day trial and costs $12 per year. You can get started by downloading the free version from the LastPass website.

Photo credit: shutteratakan / Shutterstock
New platform helps bring APIs and apps to market faster

Publié: août 11, 2015, 4:33pm CEST par Ian Barker

IT departments and developers are under increasing pressure to support innovation at a much faster pace. This requires agility but also the needs to meet governance requirements and allow people both inside and outside IT to build cross-platform apps that conform to best practices and standards.

Digital transformation specialist AnyPresence is launching a new platform that offers a comprehensive solution for API-driven enterprise app development and enabling the Internet of Things.

"We see increasing demand for enterprise IT to support digital transformation and innovation initiatives at a much faster pace, creating challenges balancing agility and governance," says Anirban Chakrabarti, CEO of AnyPresence. "This requires proliferation of microservices and empowering anyone within or outside IT to build cross-platform apps that conform to IT governance standards and best practices. The latest release of AnyPresence goes beyond typical MBaaS capabilities to meet these needs by enabling rapid API development, direct connectivity to APIs from client SDKs, and generation of IT-sanctioned app starter kits from any web portal".

Key features include Smart SDKs that can connect directly to REST web services without going through a backend server. This allows developers to have the benefits of client-side SDK acceleration by connecting directly to any API gateway, which can then pass the call on the AnyPresence backend server as required.

Integration Kits are pre-configured components that can be used to enable specific functionality such as connecting to an IoT hub, or implementing business logic such as an approval workflow. Customers can use integration kits as either a starting point to build an app, distribute as best practices via an app template, or as a working example of how to meet specific enterprise requirements.

A JustAPIs feature supports endpoint connectivity to Microsoft SQL Server databases, and adds an API Workflow Test Console to improve developer productivity. In addition AnyPresence now provides faster integration to virtually any enterprise data source via powerful connectors and authentication adaptors. Legacy or custom web services can be easily transformed into RESTful APIs within the AnyPresence Designer, minimizing the amount of code that needs to be created and maintained.

Support IT governance and policies is provided via a detailed history of all user actions on app definitions made within the AnyPresence Designer.

You can find more information about the latest version on the AnyPresence website.

Image Credit: Stokkete / Shutterstock
Ad blocking estimated to cost publishers nearly $22 billion in 2015

Publié: août 11, 2015, 4:29pm CEST par David Curry

The advertising industry could be in for a rude awakening, with the growing adblock trend snatching $21.8 billion in revenue from the web in 2015. This figure is expected to grow, with a report from PageFair and Adobe claiming a potential $41.4 billion in lost advertising revenue by 2016 worldwide.

In the UK, adblock services grew up 82 percent, with 12 million users deciding to block adverts. AdBlock Plus is the most popular service, which provides a large database of blocked adverts alongside some approved adverts that are not obnoxious.

Across Europe, the growth is much lower, with only 35 percent growth in adblock over the past year. That accounts for 77 million Europeans blocking adverts. The United States also noted 42 percent growth in adblock users.

"It is tragic that adblock users are inadvertently inflicting multi-billion dollar losses on the very websites they most enjoy," said PageFair CEO and co-founder Sean Blanchfield. "With ad blocking going mobile, there’s an eminent threat that the business model that has supported the open web for two decades is going to collapse. PageFair is working with thousands of publishers to securely display user-friendly advertising and keep free websites in business. I hope this report will prompt more editors, website owners, and publishers to join with us to combat the problem".

AdBlock Plus has already launched its service on mobile, to start blocking ads on the mobile web. Even though some may call this theft, AdBlock has won its case in court many times, most recently in Germany where it was deemed legal.

Even Google/Alphabet’s Larry Page acknowledges the reason adblock is so popular, because obnoxious adverts force web users to start blocking. The real question is how many adblock users unblock sites they regularly view -- this stat hasn’t been tracked by Pagefair.

Another almost untraceable statistic is the growing donations and merchandise option. Instead of watching ads, some users are deciding to donate a small amount per month to keep the site active, or buying a piece of merchandise. The latter option would equate to years of viewing adverts, which would take 100,000 views to be worth the price of a t-shirt.

The generation of free web content might be coming to a close, but it is more likely websites and content creators will find new ways to make money from an audience.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
How the cloud is changing the role of IT admins

Publié: août 11, 2015, 3:18pm CEST par Ian Barker

The shifting of systems to the cloud has an effect on many areas of the enterprise, not least IT. The role of IT professionals is beginning to enter new territory.

In the latest of its Trends in Cloud IT series automated management specialist BetterCloud looks at how the emergence of the cloud is altering perceptions. It's freeing up valuable time that cloud IT admins are using to become proactive decision makers in their organizations, rather than simply reacting to problems.

Based on data collected from more than 1,500 IT professionals the report finds that the average cloud IT admin has 15 years experience and two certifications. Of Google Apps admins 13 percent have Certified Administrator status and seven percent are Google Apps Deployment Specialists. In Office 365 shops 19 percent of admins have a Certified Solutions Expert (MSCE) qualification and 15 percent Certified Solutions Asociate.

Other findings are that cloud IT admins are substituting routine work with a wide variety of strategic and proactive tasks such as improving security, end-user training and application integrations. Regardless of organization size or admin experience, around 25 percent less time is being spent on routine maintenance tasks and 20 percent less on storage management.

Office 365 and Google Apps admins are similarly involved in their companies' migrations to cloud office platforms, with the majority of migrations happening in house (67 percent vs 68 percent). Office 365 admins are managing multiple cloud office systems more often than Google Apps admins (47 percent vs 24 percent).

"With cloud adoption set to rise in the coming years, cloud IT admins need to prepare themselves for the changes to come -- especially as they become significant decision makers within their organizations. For some, these new roles are already taking effect, for others, change will come more gradually," says founder and CEO of BetterCloud David Politis. "But for every IT admin, the cloud has the potential to expand their roles and reverse the 'cost center' perception that IT departments often wear like a scarlet letter".

As cloud adoption increases admins will need to gain the skills, and tools, necessary to manage a wide variety of cloud applications, regardless of where their organization sits on the adoption curve. They're also likely to become more influential within their organizations meaning that businesses with strong cloud skills will gain a competitive edge.

You can read more about the findings on the BetterCloud blog.

strong>Image Credit: ND Johnston/Shutterstock
84 percent of enterprises have considered encrypting all sensitive data

Publié: août 11, 2015, 1:59pm CEST par Ian Barker

Security professionals are naturally concerned with protecting sensitive data within their organization and elsewhere, particularly given the increasing numbers of threats.

A new survey of more than 100 information security professionals by data security specialist Vormetric and risk management research organization IANS reveals that 84 percent of respondents had considered a security strategy of encrypting all their sensitive data.

The top reasons given for encrypting information include preventing data breaches, cited by 66 percent, fulfilling compliance or audit mandates (54 percent) and protection of financial and other assets (53 percent).

Respondents to the survey are keen to implement encryption to solve problems with securing information held in databases, laptops, emails, private clouds and big data environments. 54 percent say that their top challenge when implementing encryption is legacy technology and support for encryption. Other roadblocks include the cost of encryption technology (52 percent) and worries about performance impact (44 percent). But interestingly, and in spite of these pain points, a massive 84 percent of respondents have considered a security strategy of 'encrypt everything'.

"Not only are perceptions of difficult and expensive implementations outdated, but encryption now also enables business velocity and advantage," says Vormetric's VP of Global Marketing, Tina Stewart. "Modern encryption solutions enable organizations to not only safeguard traditional applications, but also to take advantage of cloud, SaaS services, IoT and big data without incurring new risks to data. As a result, encryption in now a critical driver of lower operational costs as well as the rapid development new services and offerings for competitive advantage and market expansion".

The full report is available to download from the Vormetric website.

Image Credit: Maksim Kabakou / Shutterstock
Corel Painter 16 gains sound-sensitive brushes, promises more realistic effects

Publié: août 11, 2015, 1:38pm CEST par Nick Peers

Corel has unveiled Corel Painter 16 for Windows and Mac, a major new release of its acclaimed digital paint program for professionals.

The new build introduces new brushes -- including a selection that react to sound -- as well as paper and flow map rotation. Corel also claims Painter 2016 delivers a significant performance increase over previous builds.

Painter 2016’s headline new feature is Audio Expression, a series of brushes that react to sound. Users can play back music in the background or through their computer, and the sound will react with the brush to change its size, angle and color variability as it’s used.

There’s also a new Dynamic Speckles tool, or"Particle system physics combine with brush thickness control", as Corel describes it. The aim is to produce even more naturalistic effects by generating speckles in the brushwork as the user paints or splatters on the canvas.

Greater realism is also delivered through Special Media Mixing, which introduces new dab styles that utilize a mixture of particles and either liquid ink, watercolor or impasto.

Painter 16 also allows users to change the angle of paper textures and flow maps, again to change the variety of brushstroke work and deliver more naturalistic effects.

Corel Painter 2016 also comes with the promise of faster performance, with Corel claiming its brushes are up to three times quicker than with the previous version. Improved blending tools -- dubbed Blending 2.0 -- also help speed up performance when editing blending brush variants. Blending 2.0 also avoids leaving white fringes on the canvas that was prevalent when using the older tool.

Adobe Photoshop users also gain the ability to import their pixel-based brush stamps into Painter and customize them for use in the program.

The new version also gives users greater control over the user interface, allowing them to apply different color schemes (including dark, sepia and frost) as well as change the UI background using the color wheel. Also implemented are enhanced document views, which support the quick switching of default, single document and presentation views.

Mindful of criticisms regarding the program’s steep learning curve, Corel has also integrated various learning tools into the program itself: context-sensitive brush hints, visual tooltips and enhanced content sharing.

A 30-day trial of Corel Painter 16 can be downloaded now for Windows 64-bit or Mac. 4GB RAM and Intel Core 2 Duo processor is consider a comfortable minimum entry requirement, along with 750MB HD space. The full version costs $429, with upgrades costing $229.
Translate PDFs, DocX and more with Free Language Translator

Publié: août 11, 2015, 1:34pm CEST par Mike Williams

Online translation services are quick, capable and easy to use, but many people think there’s still a place for desktop equivalents.

Free Language Translator is an open source tool which uses Google Translate to process text and documents on Windows XP and later.

The program interface is bland, but generally easy to follow. At its simplest you can type or paste text into the input pane, choose the source language (or automatically detect it), the destination, and click "Translate" when you’re ready to go.

What’s a little more interesting is that it also opens single files (no batch processing support) in various formats: PDF, DOC/ DOCX, HTML, TXT, RTF, SUB, SRT. Use the "Open" button, or drag and drop the file onto the Input pane and its text is extracted and displayed.

There’s an option to assess translation quality using "Levensthein distance". And if it’s not good enough (or, like us, you’re not entirely sure what that means), you might be able to improve the results anyway by building up a custom dictionary.

The program has some support for finding subtitles, too: you’re able to open some video files (MP4, AVI, MPEG etc) and maybe find subtitles for them at opensubtitles.org. We’re not sure this fits well with everything else, but you don’t see the functionality unless you open a video, so it won’t get in your way.

Whatever you’re doing, any translated text may be saved as a TXT file or copy and pasted wherever you like.

Free Language Translator wouldn’t be our first translation choice (and we wish it was portable), but the program’s document support is convenient, and the custom dictionary is welcome, too. Give it a try.
10 things you should know about Motorola's Moto G (3rd Gen)

Publié: août 11, 2015, 12:09pm CEST par Siamak Masnavi

The Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen), also known as Moto G 2015, had its launch event on 28 July 2015.

Since then, there have been many reviews of this device, but there are some things about the new Moto G that you you should know about to help you decide whether this is the right phone for you.

The new Moto G is a midrange phone, and not a budget phone

So many journalists/bloggers reviewing this device have referred to it as a "budget phone" meaning that it is relatively cheap when compared to a much more expensive "flagship phone" such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 or the iPhone 6. But Motorola sells this phone all over the world and people's budgets are not all the same. For example, for someone on a salary of $200 planning to buy their first smartphone, a $200 device may not seem at all budget-friendly and the term "budget phone" may even be offensive. Also, in 2015, there is so much competition in the Android phone market that you can get perfectly good phones (current models) for less than $100. Two examples are the Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen) and the Xioami Redmi 2. And if you don't mind a slightly older device, the original Moto E, which was updated a few weeks ago to Android 5.1 Lollipop, can be bought for around $60.

As with any other phone, whether or not it offers sufficiently good value for money depends on where you live, because this determines what choices are available in that market and the prices YOU would be paying as opposed to a reviewer based in a different country. For example, the 16GB version of the Moto G (3rd Gen) is available through Moto Maker in United States for around $220, whilst the same device sells for around $305 in Germany and $320 in United Kingdom. Even within such affluent countries, you can buy the Moto E (2nd Gen), which was only launched in February/March 2015, for under $100.

It should be clear by this point that the new Moto G is a mid-range device and, as such, it must be judged against other mid-range Android phones selling for roughly similar prices (i.e. $200 - $300).

Also, it is worth noting that most (if not all) reviews till now have been done with review units (supplied by Motorola) that have been fitted with 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM and yet many reviewers keep applauding the $179 starting price for the 8GB model (with 1GB of RAM), ignoring the fact that the multi-tasking performance of an Android phone with 1GB of RAM can be quite a bit worse than with 2GB of RAM. Furthermore, Android Lollipop does not properly support the storage of apps on microSD cards, which means that 8GB of storage allows for installation of very few apps.

There is no official guarantee of an upgrade to the next major version of Android

When Motorola Mobility was owned by Google and it launched the 1st generation of the Moto G (November 2013) and the Moto E (May 2014), it promised to stand behind these two devices and guaranteed to update them to the next major version of Android. And it used this guarantee very successfully as a major selling point for these two devices.

On 30 October 2014, however, Lenovo announced that it had completed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility from Google. Sadly, now that the Moto family has established a reputation for fairly speedy Android updates, it seems that Motorola Mobility’s new owner is not very adamant about maintaining the "guaranteed update to the next major of Android" promise for the new Moto G since you can no longer find a mention of this either on Motorola’s site or in the press pack handed out to reviewers. In fact, at the launch event in London, I asked one of Motorola’s marketing people if the new Moto G would definitely be receiving an update to the next major version of Android (i.e. Android M) and the answer was that they were working on it and hoping to provide this update but they were not guaranteeing it.

The rear camera is not exactly the same as the one in the Nexus 6

Based on reviews and discussions in user forums that I have come across, it seems that many people are assuming that the rear camera used in the new Moto G is identical to the one used in Motorola’s 2014 flagship, the Nexus 6. This is not strictly true since the Nexus 6 camera had the benefit of coming with an optical image stabilizer to help out with camera shake and/or low light photography/videography.

There is no NFC support

As was the case with the previous generations of the Moto G, there is no NFC support. NFC support matters if you want to be able to more easily arrange pairing between Bluetooth devices (such as a NFC-equipped phone and NFC-equipped headphones) by just touching them to each other. Lack of a NFC chip also makes the new phone unable to support the current Google Wallet or the upcoming (in Android M) Android Pay mobile payments at NFC-enabled point-of-sale systems at cafes/restaurants such as Starbucks and at retailers such as Best Buy and Staples.

There is no magnetometer

The previous generations of the Moto G had a magnetic field sensor and the dropping of this feature in the new Moto G means no more support for digital compass and metal detection apps. More importantly, a magnetometer is useful in navigation apps such as Google Maps since it allows such apps to auto rotate the maps you are viewing depending on your physical orientation.

There is no gyroscope

In a phone, both the accelerometer sensor and the gyro sensor track movement of the phone. Whereas the former measures the linear acceleration of movement, the latter measures its angular rotational velocity.

Unlike the 2nd generation of the Moto G released in 2014, the new Moto G does not come with a gyroscope. This means that the Google Camera app is not able to offer a Photosphere option and VR apps such as Google Cardboard that consist on the presence of such a sensor will not work properly. Motorola probably realized that this did not matter too much since the Moto G's 720p screen is too low resolution for use with VR apps since you need at least a 1080p screen to minimize the "screen door effect" and thereby have a decent experience.

There is no LED notification light

Unlike in the previous two generations of the Moto G, the new Moto G does not offer the much-beloved LED notification light. This feature allowed you to glance at your phone even from across the room and quickly find out from the flashing LED if something had happened that required your attention.

Motorola says that it was able to drop this feature since the need for it is obviated by the introduction of the "Moto Display" feature (this momentarily flashes on the lock screen the icons of those apps for which an important notification has been generated). Although it is nice that this feature was borrowed from new Moto G’s more expensive older sibling (the original Moto X), that phone had an AMOLED rather than an LCD screen, which meant that rather than powering on the whole screen just to show a couple of lines of notifications, only a small portion of the screen needed to receive power. Motorola seems to realize that some people might be worried by the extra power requirements of the Moto Display feature since the customer support documentation on its site states the following: "Even though the display fades in and out to ensure you are notified of the important stuff, we use very little power (just a few percent of the total battery capacity)".

It remains to be seen if buyers of the previous generations of the Moto G will be happy with the absence of the LED notification light in the new Moto G. If the reactions in Reddit’s "MotoG" subredit community are any indication of how purchasers of the new Moto G are are likely to react, I think it is safe to say that there is bound to be some degree of disappointment.

The phone is water-resistant, and not water-proof

The new Moto G offers an unusual combo of a removable back cover and IPX7 water resistance. The phone is water-resistant in 1m of water for up to 30 minutes. IPX7 means that you don’t need to worry about using the phone in the presence of rain, snow, or splashes of water, but you should not attempt to wash it by holding it under a tap, or to take it with you to the shower or to the swimming pool.

The Micro USB port offers OTG Host support

The USB On-The-Go (OTG) support feature, which was also present in the previous generations of the Moto G, allows you to use your phone as a PC by attaching (via a cheap OTG adapter) USB peripherals such as flash drives, external hard drives, keyboards, and mice.

The microSD card slot can handle cards larger than 32GB

Motorola's spec sheet and almost all reviewers state that you can expand storage by using a microSD card up to 32GB in capacity, but this is incorrect -- at least, all the 64GB and 128GB microSD cards I have tried so far seem to work just fine. You should be able to just insert your memory card into the phone and ask the phone to format/erase the card from within the Settings app, but if you have any difficulties with this method, you should be able to format the card in a PC using a FAT32 disk formatting utility.

Despite the limitations mentioned earlier, the latest generation of the Moto G brings enough features to the table to keep it competitive against mid-range offerings from major OEMS such as Alcatel (OneTouch Idol 3), Asus (ZenFone 2), Huawei (Honor 4X), LG (G3), Samsung (Galaxy A3), Sony (Xperia M4 Aqua), and Xioami (Mi 4i).

The one feature not discussed in this article (because every review talks about it) is Moto Maker design studio (currently available in six countries), which allows the buyer to customize the colors used for the front/back of the phone and to choose a name or short message to be engraved on the back of the phone.

This feature -- previously only available on Motorola’s flagship model, the Moto X -- is a true unique selling point for Motorola since no other OEM offers anything like it. In a world where individuality is increasingly a rare commodity, Motorola’s approach to hardware customizability is a breath of fresh air and transcends the new Moto G into something special -- a phone that allows you to express your creativity and, in a sense, become a phone designer, thereby owning a phone that is yours in more ways than one.

I am going to end this article with a confession: I am a huge fan of the Moto E and the Moto G and have, in fact, bought (for myself, my friends, or my relatives) every version of the Moto E and Moto G up to this date because Motorola’s very light UI on top of stock Android made me feel like I was getting an almost Nexus phone at a bargain price (especially true since Google decided last year to sell Nexus devices at a profit rather than at cost). Furthermore, in the case of the Moto G family, the ability to easily change the phone’s back plate with a "Shell" or "Flip Shell" in a different color made me feel that I could keep my Moto G looking forever young and fresh.

Currently, I am in the process of testing Microsoft’s Lumia 640 XL as my main phone to find out how hard it is for someone who has primarily owned and used iOS and/or Android devices to live solely within the Windows ecosystem. Therefore, I am not really interested in buying an Android phone at this time. But what if I was? If I had a $300 budget, what mid-range Android phone would I buy with my own money in August 2015?

To me and many other tech journalists, the three main rivals for the title "2015 Best Mid-Range Android Phone" are the new Moto G (the version with 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM), the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3, and the Asus ZenFone 2 (the version with the 2.3GHz Intel processor and 4GB of RAM). It is true that both the OneTouch Idol 3 and ZenFone 2 offer higher resolution screens (1080p vs. 720p) and faster processors than the new Moto G.

If, however, you are like me and use your phone more for getting work done than for gaming, then the new Moto G’s combination of solid build quality, simple yet attractive and unobtrusive UI, decent sound quality, excellent bright screen, good front and rear cameras, water-resistant body, and front/back plate customizability means there is really only one choice.
Firefox 40 unveils Windows 10-friendly design, tightens download protection

Publié: août 11, 2015, 11:25am CEST par Nick Peers

Mozilla has released Firefox 40 FINAL for desktop, with Firefox for Android 40.0 due to follow by the end of the week.

Version 40 provides added protection against potentially malicious downloads on both platforms, while desktop users enjoy a raft of new features, including a new Suggested Tiles feature and add-on management dialog.

Version 40 opens with "support for Windows 10", despite the fact Firefox 39 seems to co-exist happily with it. Support entails subtly tweaking the browser’s design and feel to fit in the new Windows 10 look -- this includes shrinking the browser UI to increase space for displaying web pages.

The other significant new feature of note -- also applied to the Android build -- sees Firefox gain increased protection against potentially malicious downloads. This builds on the malware screening -- based on the protection offered in Google Chrome -- that was first implemented last year.

Desktop users also gain a new Suggested Tiles feature, designed to display sites of potential interest. These are based on categories that are selected based on content in the user’s recent browsing history. Users can switch the feature off by clicking the settings button in the top right-hand corner of the New Tab page and unticking "Include selected sites").

Firefox’s chat tool, Hello, gains a new feature that allows users to select the currently active web tab as the focus for a topic of conversation -- just tick the "Let’s talk about" box before clicking "Start a conversation".

Firefox 40 also restyles the Add-On Manager to more closely resemble the recently retooled Preferences dialog. This is accompanied by a warning whenever a user attempts to install an add-on extension that hasn’t been signed by Mozilla.

Other new features see improved graphics performance, and improvements to the graphics blocklist mechanism. Developers gain three new views -- Waterfall, Call Tree and Flame Chart -- to the performance tools.

Android users gain support for the Android Presentation API when screen casting from their device, while the history list is now accessible by long pressing on either back or forward navigation buttons in the app menu.

Firefox 40.0 FINAL is available now for Windows, Mac and Linux as free, open-source downloads. A portable build is also available for Windows users, and Firefox 40.0 FINAL for Android is imminent.
HTC and Samsung phones storing unencrypted fingerprints

Publié: août 11, 2015, 9:12am CEST par David Curry

HTC is having trouble keeping investors happy, reporting its worst quarter in history earlier this month. If that wasn’t enough to contend with, FireEye researchers have found a way to steal fingerprint information from the HTC One Max and Samsung's Galaxy S5.

Fingerprints were stored in an image file named dbgraw.bmp in an open, readable folder. This means anyone that gains access to these files is capable of editing the fingerprints, deleting them and even forcing fake fingerprint scans to pay for items. Malicious apps can utilize the fingerprint files by asking for them in start-up.

Both Samsung and HTC used a third-party fingerprint provider, who seems to have messed up on the security end. Samsung’s latest Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge use a new sensor, with additional security to make sure hackers cannot find the fingerprint images.

Once the hacker has gained control of the file, they are able to view every slight fingerprint change. The hacker can also utilize the phone indefinitely, as long as the user doesn’t delete the fingerprint from the smartphone.

"To make the situation even worse, each time the fingerprint sensor is used for auth operation, the auth framework will refresh that fingerprint bitmap to reflect the latest wiped finger", the FireEye team says. "So the attacker can sit in the background and collect the fingerprint image of every swipe of the victim".

FireEye claims it is the first to spot this vulnerability, meaning Samsung and HTC will hopefully patch it before hackers snap onto the simple access.

This is extremely clumsy by Samsung, HTC and fingerprint creator. It is probably why Samsung hopped ship after 2014 to a different provider. Considering 50 percent of phones could feature a fingerprint sensor by 2019, it is even scarier to think of the lack of security on some devices with scanners.

Source: Blackhat FireEye [PDF]

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Lenovo's ThinkPad P50 and P70 laptops have Windows 10 and Linux configurations

Publié: août 11, 2015, 4:57am CEST par Brian Fagioli

When it comes to laptops, there is one word that conjures visions of quality like no other -- ThinkPad. Yes, the branding made famous by IBM and carried on by subsequent owner Lenovo, is an indicator to consumers and businesses that a laptop is worthy of their dollars. While not every ThinkPad branded product has been a home run, buying one rarely results in disappointment.

Today, Lenovo unveils the latest laptops to carry the prestigious branding -- the ThinkPad P50 and P70. Both computers run Windows 10 and have impressive specifications. Are one of these notebooks in your future?

"Designed for high-end professionals in industries ranging from media and entertainment to oil and gas, the Lenovo ThinkPad P70 introduces a 17-inch mobile workstation to the ThinkPad family. The new offering comes packed with the most memory and storage ever found in a mobile workstation. The ThinkPad P70 is loaded with up to 64GB of DDR4 ECC memory and the ability to handle up to four storage devices and up to a terabyte of SSD storage, utilizing the latest PCIe technology for speeds up to five times faster than current SATA technology. Additionally, the ThinkPad P70 comes with two Intel Thunderbolt 3 ports for ultra-fast connectivity and a 4K UHD display or optional FHD touch", says Lenovo.

The popular manufacturer further explains, "the ThinkPad P50 features a beautiful 15.6-inch UHD 4K display and is certified to run users' most requested ISV applications. The ThinkPad P50 is a feature-rich, highly powerful mobile workstation for performance-seeking users. As the follow-on to the ThinkPad W541, the P50 builds on the innovation and purposeful design of Lenovo's industry-leading ThinkPad mobile workstations".

You can see the specs of both machines below.

Both laptops are great for road warriors, as they have been tested for, and meet or exceed, military requirements. In other words, if you do drop your ThinkPad, it should be more durable than the average machine.

While many business users will want to opt for Windows 7 for now, Windows 10 is available too. More exciting, however, is that Linux-based operating systems are optional as well. Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Ubuntu can be configured to meet your needs.

For all of these great specs and features, you will have to pay the price. The P50 starts at $1,599, while the P70 starts at $1,999. While that is a bit expensive, you get what you pay for -- these machines should last a long time.

Which ThinkPad will you buy? Check out the images below, and tell me in the comments.

ThinkPad P50

ThinkPad P70
Microsoft publicly releases Windows 10 IoT Core for Raspberry Pi 2 -- free download!

Publié: août 11, 2015, 3:02am CEST par Brian Fagioli
When the original Raspberry Pi was released, I knew I had to have one. While it was intended as an inexpensive computer on which students could learn coding, the Linux and tinkering community drooled at the diminutive machine's potential for other things. It proved to be a fun open source toy.

The official follow-up device, the Raspberry Pi 2, is much more powerful than the original, while retaining the same low price. This increased horsepower apparently caught the eye of Microsoft, as the company announced that Windows 10 would be released for it. Well, today is finally the day -- Windows 10 IoT Core is officially available for both the Raspberry Pi 2 and less-popular MinnowBoard Max.

"Windows 10 IoT Core is a new edition for Windows targeted towards small, embedded devices that may or may not have screens. For devices with screens, Windows 10 IoT Core does not have a Windows shell experience; instead you can write a Universal Windows app that is the interface and “personality” for your device. IoT core designed to have a low barrier to entry and make it easy to build professional grade devices. It’s designed to work with a variety of open source languages and works well with Visual Studio", says Steve Teixeira, Internet of Things, Microsoft.

Teixeira further explains, "we built IoT Core and the corresponding developer tools to make it easy to build projects that are fun and cool, as well as those that have very practical uses in the real world. Find evidence of this in the range of projects, from members of our team, as well as the community, that have been created in the months since our first public builds".
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Before you get too excited, it is important to understand what Windows 10 IoT Core actually is. This is not a version of Windows that in the sense that you are used to. You won't be booting up to the traditional Windows desktop and installing your favorite apps. No, this is designed for projects, related to the Internet of Things or other things like the quirky air hockey demo seen in the above video.

In other words, it is designed for creators. If you do not code and have no interest in such things, you should definitely steer clear. With that said, why else did you buy a Raspberry Pi 2? If you are the type of Pi owner that just wants to use it as a media center, this is not for you.

Microsoft share the sample projects below.
From IoT team members
- Rover Robot Kit – Make and program your own robot using a Raspberry Pi 2 running Windows 10 IoT Core
- Windows Remote Arduino- using an Arduino from a Windows Phone app to control an LED
- Home Automation with the RPI2
From the community
- Cooling off in the Summer: Handheld fan control from an RPI2
- Even more robots : GoPiGo
If you are still interested, you can download the operating system for free here.

What will you create? Tell me in the comments.