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• 

  Windows 10 Insiders have a new desktop preview to play with -- Build 10532 available now

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 9:42pm CEST par Wayne Williams

  

  If you’re part of the Windows 10 Insider Preview program you’ll already be rocking one build ahead of the version being used by 75 million plus upgraders. Today the software giant pushes out a second new build, which is starting to roll out now.

  Build 10532 is available to those Insiders on the Fast ring and offers some big new features, including improved context menus and better feedback sharing. Naturally, there some potential issues to be aware of too -- but such is life on the bleeding edge.

  Microsoft's Gabriel Aul says "We’ve heard feedback about the consistency of menus within Windows 10, so we’ve made some changes to improve these and give them a modern look and feel. We are still working on it, but you’ll see some good changes with this build". Consistency is a big problem in Windows 10, and it's good to see Microsoft working hard to address this.

  

  The Windows Feedback app has been improved to make it easier to share your feedback with others. "You have the option to share using any application that supports the Windows Share functionality or get a direct link copied to your clipboard for pasting anywhere you like. We think this will help Insiders more easily share specific feedback and suggestions with other Insiders on Twitter, Insider forum discussions, and directly with our engineers", Aul says.

  As to the known issues, in this build they are:

  • Windows Hello face sign-on will not work on this build with some devices; the device can still be unlocked with other methods like pin, password, or fingerprint.
  • As reported by Insiders on the build 10525, 64 bit Google Chrome will crash on launch. Google is aware of the issue. In the meantime their 64 bit Google Chrome Canary build or 32 bit Google Chrome will work on this build.

  If you're waiting for a new Mobile build, you'll have to hang on a while longer as Microsoft doesn't currently have one that is ready to go out to testers yet, but it does have some candidates that are looking promising, so stay tuned.

  If you were a Windows Insider before the official release, you may still be opted into the program. If you opted out and want back in, or want to join, you can do so by going to Settings > Windows Update and clicking on Advanced Options. Click the 'Get started' button under 'Get Insider builds'.

  Click Next to acknowledge the risks, and then click Confirm. You’ll need to restart your PC before you can begin to get Insider builds.

  Photo Credit: Viorel Sima/Shutterstock

  
• 

  Like it or not, Apple Watch is selling like hotcakes

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 9:32pm CEST par Max Nottingham

  

  Truth is, many people were hoping the Apple Watch to be a massive failure. But while Apple's first wearable hasn't been the sleeper success folks at Cupertino might have hoped for, it hasn't exactly been a non-success either. According to the unerring research firm IDC, about 3.6 million Apple Watch devices were sold in the second quarter of 2015.

  The Apple Watch, which went on sale about six months ago, is the second most popular wearable device on the market, as per the latest figures disseminated by IDC. Apple managed to ship about 3.6 million Apple Watches in the second quarter of 2015. The Apple Watch is only behind Fitbit fitness trackers in the wearable space. Fitbit is estimated to have sold 4.4 million units fitness wearables.

  If we were to only consider "smart" watch shipments in the second quarter of 2015, two out of three timepieces was an Apple Watch. The figure further concretes that the Apple Watch has been doing quite well. Major retailer BestBuy had noted that the demand of Apple Watch was so "high" that it has decided to start selling it in all of its retail stores.

  "Anytime Apple enters a new market, not only does it draw attention to itself, but to the market as a whole," noted Ramon Llamas, Research Manager for IDC's Wearables team. "Its participation benefits multiple players and platforms within the wearables ecosystem, and ultimately drives total volumes higher. Apple also forces other vendors -- especially those that have been part of this market for multiple quarters -- to re-evaluate their products and experiences".

  See also:  24 hours with Apple Watch [First-impressions review]

  Experts believe that Apple Watch will soon become the most successful wearable. "Fairly or not, Apple will become the stick against which other wearables are measured, and competing vendors need to stay current or ahead of Apple. Now that Apple is officially a part of the wearables market, everyone will be watching to see what other wearable devices it decides to launch, such as smart glasses or hearables".

  But that might be tough. That's because Xiaomi is right behind Apple. The Chinese technology conglomerate, which sells Mi Band (roughly priced around $18), shipped 3 million wearable devices in the same quarter. The company has already started to expand beyond its national territory, moving to India, Indonesia, and plans to ship several of its products in the US among other regions by the end of this year.

  Photo Credit: Wayne Williams

  
• 

  New mystery updates arrive on Windows 10

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 9:15pm CEST par Wayne Williams

  

  New updates are coming thick and fast(ish) to Microsoft's new operating system, fixing problems and making it a bit more usable.

  Today the software giant pushes out three new updates. These will be installed automatically, and you can check for them now by going to Settings > Update & Security.

  The three updates in question are:

  • KB3081448 -- Cumulative Update for Windows 10 for x64-based Systems
  • KB3081449 -- Update for Windows 10 for x64-based Systems
  • KB3081452 -- Unknown

  So what do the updates do? We don’t know. They are available to install now, but the corresponding Knowledge Base support pages aren’t yet live.

  So essentially you’ll be installing these new updates without knowing what they do.

  Microsoft has said it will only provide information about Windows 10 updates when it wants to, but some indication of what the updates are for would be nice…

  We shall update this post once the Knowledge Base pages go live.

  Photo Credit: fotoscool/Shutterstock

  
• 

  New mystery updates arrive on Windows 10 [Updated]

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 9:15pm CEST par Wayne Williams

  

  New updates are coming thick and fast(ish) to Windows 10, Microsoft's new operating system, fixing problems and making it a bit more usable.

  Today the software giant pushes out three new updates. These will be installed automatically, and you can check for them now by going to Settings > Update & Security.

  The three updates in question are:

  • KB3081448 -- Cumulative Update for Windows 10 for x64-based Systems
  • KB3081449 -- Update for Windows 10 for x64-based Systems
  • KB3081452 -- Compatibility update for upgrading to Windows 10

  So what do the updates do? We don’t know. They are available to install now, but the corresponding Knowledge Base support pages aren’t yet live.

  So essentially you’ll be installing these new updates without knowing what they do.

  Microsoft has said it will only provide information about Windows 10 updates when it wants to, but some indication of what the updates are for would be nice…

  Updated: The Knowledge Base pages are now live, so you can go and see what changes Microsoft has made to your operating system.

  Photo Credit: fotoscool/Shutterstock

  
• 

  Surprise! Apple will stream its iPhone event live to Windows 10 users

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 8:53pm CEST par Wayne Williams

  

  Apple always live streams its launch events, but only users of its products can tune in as the company restricts the streams to Apple TV and Apple devices running Safari. It’s a little odd, preaching to the converted, but as much of the company’s new hardware sales go to existing users of Apple products it’s clearly an approach that works well.

  Windows and Linux users can get around this restriction by using VLC Media Player to stream the event, but getting things set up is a bit of a pain. This year however, Apple is inviting a new audience to view the live stream -- Windows 10 users.

  As my colleague Mark Wilson notes when discussing what Apple’s 9 September event has in store, the holding page for the live stream of the event includes Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 as one of the ways the stream can be viewed.

  This is a huge surprise, and raises the question -- why Edge? If Apple is opening up the stream to another browser, on another operating system, why not make it available to watch on Chrome and Firefox too?

  The reason is that Apple uses the HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) protocol for its streams -- which it invented -- and Microsoft has implemented this in its new browser. Chrome supports HLS, but only mobile versions.

  So if you’re a Windows 10 user and fancy watching Tim Cook reveal the next generation of Apple iPhones you’ll be able to do so on 9 September, and tune into all future live Apple streams too.

  Photo Credit: ostill /Shutterstock

  
• 

  Browsers and privacy: Pay attention to what you search for

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 8:47pm CEST par Jeff Erwin

  

  Internet browsers are like sports teams. Every IT department and individual has an opinion on which one is the best, and personal preferences often comes down to long standing allegiances.

  In the browser’s case, this is due to personal preference or ease of IT administration. Search privacy is not always top of the agenda, but should it be?

  Browsers collecting user search and browsing data is not a new practice, but it is a topic that continues to receive regular attention in the press and by campaigners. There are contrasting opinions as to whether data collection really helps the user experience or if it intrudes upon personal privacy.

  Whichever side of the fence you occupy, everyone should ask themselves two simple questions when using their web browser or search engine: where is the information being stored and am I happy with this practice?

  Google, combined with Chrome, is one of the most common choices by users and serves as an interesting case study. For example, any time you research a sales prospect, look at a competitor’s website or plan a sensitive business trip, your search history is stored by Google. The company never forgets what you looked at or where you have been online.

  If this scenario fills you with dread, take a moment to think about your IT team, which has to guard a company’s corporate data and its users’ privacy. That said, just because someone else is tasked with protecting your data should not mean you can overlook your own responsibilities.

  Everyone should consider how they can ease the burden on the IT department. This is particularly relevant for smaller businesses with less in-house IT security expertise.

  Downloading History

  Sometimes all it takes for someone to improve their browsing behaviour is to give them more awareness of what they are searching online.

  With the information in front of them, they might rethink what they are using the corporate network for.

  Google actually provides an easy-to-use tool for users to download their search histories for analysis.

  This information is immensely valuable to Google as it is passed onto advertisers, but it also has the potential to be misused by hackers for identity theft.

  Most IT departments will have stringent policies for managing this information, however SMBs are usually less experienced in this area and occasionally need their staff to assist the process more directly.

  An example of best practice in this area is to regularly use Google’s tool to download this sensitive information onto a secure system, and then delete it from Google’s own servers.

  Deleting History

  Some users will prefer that the data never be collected, however, it can be useful in helping to create a better browsing experience. Should you wish to delete the data, you need to follow a slightly different process depending on which platform you are using (computer, Android app, iOS app or mobile browsers).

  Another option is to consider an alternative search engine. DuckDuckGo has risen in popularity on the promise that it will never store or track web searches. We also recently analyzed a range of iOS web browsers on their privacy credentials. For a more proactive approach, there are affordable tools available to small business owners that gather data on employee usage trends and activity, and integrate this with security capabilities.

  Every business will have a unique strategy for dealing with search privacy, however, businesses, particularly smaller organizations, now have the tools available to manage this area of employee security with greater ease and flexibility.

  Jeff Erwin is the CEO of Intego and Flextivity.

  Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

  Photo Credit: olly/Shutterstock

  
• 

  Logitech unveils audiophile-grade G633 and G933 Artemis Spectrum gaming headsets

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 8:35pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

  

  PC gamers are some of the most passionate computer users. Not only are they very knowledgeable about hardware, but they offer some amazing support in communities too. Total strangers can become true friends by playing games and talking online.

  If you want to verbally communicate online, a chintzy microphone and headphone combo will be passable, but you deserve better than cheap hardware, don't you? If you are a gamer that spends a lot of time gaming online, a quality gaming headset is a smart investment. Today, Logitech releases two such headsets -- the G933 Artemis Spectrum Wireless Gaming Headset and G633 Artemis Spectrum Wired Gaming Headset.

  "Designed by Logitech's audio engineering team, these headphones feature patent pending Pro-G audio drivers that provide the amazing sound gaming fans have been asking for. They are also the first headphones to offer both Dolby and DTS Headphone:X surround options to gamers. So now you get to listen to your favorite in-game audio the way it was meant to be heard", says Logitech.

  The company further says, "each of these headsets is fully customizable. They both feature RGB lighting, swappable backlit speaker plates, programmable G-keys and an onboard software equalizer to customize audio settings and create personal sound profiles. What is one of the best new features? A USB mix connection and analog input that connects and mixes sound from on multiple devices. As you are fending off your gaming enemies from your PC, you can simultaneously order a pizza on your cell phone without missing a moment of action".

  While both models look great, which you choose will be a personal preference. While the $199 G933 offers wireless convenience, this of course means that a battery is involved -- yet another thing to keep charged. It would stink to have the battery die while gaming. The $149 G633 would be the better choice for gamers that prefer wired peripherals, such as mice and keyboards, to avoid battery woes.

  Besides gaming, you can use these headsets for music too. Logitech says they are designed for "serious audiophiles", which is always a dangerous thing to say. Why? Self-proclaimed audiophiles tend to be very critical, pretentious, and impossible to please -- music reproduction and in-game sound quality is arguably subjective. With that said, BetaNews will test and review these next month to see how they sound.

  Which model do you like better? Check out the specs below and tell me in the comments. You can pre-order the G633 here and the G933 here.

  G933 Specs

  

  Headphone:
  Driver: 1.6 in (40 mm)
  Frequency response: 20Hz-20KHz
  Impedance: 32 Ohms
  Sensitivity: 107dB SPL/mWMicrophone (Boom):
  Microphone Pickup pattern: Cardioid (Unidirectional)
  Size: 4mm
  Frequency response: 100Hz-20KHzWireless Range:
  Indoor: 15 meters
  Outdoor: 20 metersConnection Type: USB LCD Display: No
  Battery Life (rechargeable):

  • No lighting: 12 hours
  • Default lighting: 8 hours
  • Tested at 50 percent volume

  Audio Controls: Yes
  Microphone: Yes
  Microphone Type: Cardioid (Unidirectional)
  Noise Canceling: Yes

  G633 Specs

  

  Headphone:
  Driver: 1.6 in (40 mm)
  Frequency response: 20Hz-20KHz
  Impedance: 32 Ohms
  Sensitivity: 107dB SPL/mW

  Microphone (Boom):
  Microphone Pickup pattern: Cardioid (Unidirectional)
  Size: 4mm
  Frequency response: 100Hz-20KHz

  Connection Type: USB
  LCD Display: No
  Audio Controls: Yes
  Microphone: Yes
  Microphone Type: Cardioid (Unidirectional)
  Noise Canceling: Yes

  
• 

  Amazon Echo learns new tricks as Alexa can now control music speakers and sprinklers

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 7:48pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

  

  Since Amazon released the Echo last year (November 6, 2014 if you ask it when it was born), the device has been learning some new tricks. It can control multiple home automation devices, though setup can be mind numbing to accomplish.

  Now Amazon is adding two more devices. The retail giant is announcing the addition of support for both HiFi company Musaic and sprinkler system Rachio.

  "We’re continuing to invest in new ideas for how voice technology can improve everyday life,” says Greg Hart, Vice Presidentof Amazon Echo and Alexa Voice Services. "Musaic and Rachio are both innovative companies whose products can help customers create a truly connected home, and with Alexa people will be able to interact with the technology in a new way. We can’t wait to help bring these new products to customers".

  Musaic, which is a wireless system, claims to be very excited about this new partnership, while Rachio says it is thrilled. Yes, of course it's PR talking, but it's good publicity and a broader audience for products people may not otherwise know about.

  Amazon refers to these controls as "skills", meaning Alexa has learned two new ones. Amazon also invites developers with an idea to work with the Alexa cloud-based voice service to develop ideas for the Echo product.

  
• 

  'Hey Siri, give us a hint' -- what does Apple's 9 September event have in store for us?

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 7:18pm CEST par Mark Wilson

  

  Apple has sent out media invites to an event on 9 September. Widely expected to see the launch of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, the event takes place at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco at 10 am PDT.

  The invitation itself gives little away, but it does include artwork that will undoubtedly feature on the big day, as well as the intriguing tagline 'Hey Siri, Give Us a Hint'. So does Siri have the answers? Tell us about the new iPhone!

  No. It is, of course, a big tease. As Mac Rumors shows -- and you can test for yourself -- Apple is trying to tickle our funny bones with some humorous responses from its digital assistant. Pose the question and Siri will reply with one of several witty quips: "You'll have to wait until 9 September. I bet you were one of those kids who snuck downstairs to open presents early, weren't you?", "You're cute when you're desperate for information". You get the idea.

  As ever, Apple has been tight-lipped about what we'll see at the event, but the s update to the iPhone range is expected: the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are all but guaranteed to make an appearance. Other likely contenders include updated versions of OS 9, OS X El Capitan, and Watch OS 2.

  A holding page is already in place for the live stream of the event -- something that can be enjoyed not only by those with an iPad, iPhone or Mac, but also a PC running Edge in Windows 10. Yep -- Apple supports Microsoft Edge!

  
• 

  Canonical: give Windows 10 the shove and embrace Ubuntu

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 7:04pm CEST par Wayne Williams

  

  I use two desktop operating systems regularly -- Windows 10 and Ubuntu. The former is on my main PC, while the latter came pre-installed on a laptop. I’ve always liked Ubuntu, but never enough to make it my primary OS. Because I spend my days writing about Windows it’s kind of a no brainer that I should immerse myself in Microsoft’s operating system.

  However, Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, would like people to question their choice of OS, now that Windows 10 is here.

  A new blog post on the company’s website puts forward the reasons why businesses in particular should think about switching, and asks whether public and private enterprises have stuck with Windows out of habit, rather than because it’s the best choice for them.

  The 'comfortable' next move would be to simply upgrade; however, the heavy resource constraints on devices and meatier royalty fees have turned off even the most fervent Windows followers. Top media across the globe are analyzing ways to snub Windows 10 (see Le Monde August 4, 2015 article '5 operating systems to snub Windows 10') and, in my opinion, for mainstream users who care about their privacy, this is probably the best possible time to take a closer look at other choices.

  Obviously Canonical would say that, but Windows 10 has come in for some heavy criticism regarding privacy with its new OS and this will have some businesses feeling less than comfortable with the prospect of deploying it. But are those concerns going to be enough to put firms off and get them to consider alternative options?

  It seems highly unlikely. Canonical suggests the savings gained by choosing Ubuntu over Windows 10 could be "better put towards more altruistic or even epicurean objectives, whilst still allowing you to benefit from a tremendous OS", but that fails to take into account the difficultly firms will have in teaching Ubuntu to a workforce used to Windows. There is a steep learning curve, and companies -- and individuals for that matter -- tend to stick with Windows not just out of habit, but because it’s the easiest choice.

  You can’t blame Canonical for using Windows 10’s arrival as a chance to push Ubuntu as an "ultra secure, robust, high performance" alternative, but it seems as if its endeavors are falling on deaf ears.

  Stephen Kleynhans, research VP with Gartner, says they’re seeing large numbers of Volume Licensing customers looking to switch to Windows 10 by early next year. "They're interested in going ahead with Windows 10 in much bigger numbers than we saw with Windows 7 six years ago, which has been a bit of a surprise for us," he says.

  Good news for Microsoft, but not for Canonical.

  Image Credit: Ana-Maria Tanasescu / Shutterstock

  
• 

  HP announces mt42 -- an AMD-powered Windows 10 IoT Enterprise mobile thin client

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 6:50pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

  

  Well, 2015 is yet another year where Windows dominates the workstations of most businesses. While some companies will utilize Chromebooks or iPads for light work and consumption, Microsoft's venerable operating system just keeps on keepin' on.

  Windows 10 IoT Enterprise in particular, when paired with thin clients, can be a remarkable tool for many industries, such as healthcare, servicing, financial and more. Today, HP unveils the 14 inch mt42 -- an AMD-powered mobile thin client that the company claims is the "world's thinnest, lightest and most powerful quad-core", and it looks like a winner.

  "The HP mt42's new ultra-sleek ID features a 14-inch diagonal full HD display; the highest HP Mobile Thin Client display resolution of 1920 x 1080, plus a USB-C port and 150 degree extra-wide hinge range for extensive viewing options. The new 2015 HP advanced spill-resistant keyboard and touchpad with 4 external click-buttons complete the premium design", says HP.

  The company further says, "next-generation AMD Carrizo Quad-Core processing technology, and AMD Radeon R6 Graphics make the HP mt42 a productivity powerhouse. HP-exclusive management and user experience software, like HP Device Manager, HP Velocity, and HP Easy Shell are standard at no additional cost, and make it easy to deploy, manage and maintain install bases in just a few clicks".

  Notable Specs

  ⦁ Core Processing Technology: AMD A8PRO-8600B APU with Radeon R6 Graphics (1.66 up to 3GHz, 2MBcache, 4cores)
  ⦁ Storage: 32GB M.2 SSD
  ⦁ Graphics: Integrated AMD Radeon R6
  ⦁ System Memory: 4GB DDR3L-1600 SDRAM

  

  Unfortunately, both pricing and availability are still not yet known. An HP spokesperson tells me that more details will be made available later this year. With that said, it certainly looks to be worth the wait.

  Businesses should be confident buying an HP mobile thin client with a powerful AMD APU and the latest Windows 10 operating system (the older Windows Embedded is available too). The specs are impressive and it even offers cutting-edge technology such as USB-C.

  Will your business purchase an HP mt42? Tell me in the comments.

  
• 

  Google hits back at latest round of antitrust accusations

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 6:49pm CEST par Mark Wilson

  

  Antitrust claims against Google are nothing new, and the company stands accused of abusing its position and favouring its own products in search results in Europe. Today, Google's General Counsel Kent Walker responded to the European Commission's claims, saying they are "unfounded".

  Google has filed an official response to the Commission, but a public blog post gives an accessible insight into the company's mindset. The EU is unhappy with the way Google displayed shopping links in search results, saying its own services are given undue prominence. Google says that far from being anti-competitive, the way it displays search results is beneficial to its users.

  In a blog post entitled Improving quality isn't anti-competitive, Walker dismisses accusations that came about after price comparison services complained that they were being squashed by the giant. The EU suggests that the way Google displays search results is unfair; Google -- unsurprising -- disagrees, saying the charges are "wrong as a matter of fact, law and economics".

  It says that the amount of traffic it drives to competing price comparison sites has risen by 227 percent over the last ten years. Google also points to the emergence of new price comparison services as evidence that it is not stifling the market. The company also says that too much emphasis has been placed on people using Google to find products when in fact other sites, such as Amazon, are the first port of call for large numbers of people. Relatedly, the company says that it is under no obligation to direct searchers to its rivals as people are free to use alternative search tools if they want.

  In his post, Walker says that the European Commission makes allegations that it is not able to back up. He says that "data spanning more than a decade, an array of documents, and statements from complainants all confirm that product search is robustly competitive". Far from having a detrimental effect for customers, Google says that the way it operates is entirely beneficial:

  Our central point is our consistent commitment to quality -- the relevance and usefulness of our search results and the ads we display. In providing results for people interested in shopping, we knew we needed to go beyond the old-fashioned '10 blue links' model to keep up with our competitors and better serve our users and advertisers. We developed new ways to organize and rank product information and to present it to users in useful formats in search and ads.

  He goes on to explain that the way Google tailors its search results helps to improve relevance:

  Showing ads based on structured data provided by merchants demonstrably improves ad quality and makes it easier for consumers to find what they’re looking for. We show these ad groups where we’ve always shown ads -- to the right and at the top of organic results -- and we use specialized algorithms to maximize their relevance for users. Data from users and advertisers confirms they like these formats. That’s not 'favoring' -- that’s giving our customers and advertisers what they find most useful.

  Google argues that it is not in its interest to do anything other than provide the most relevant search results to people, and that it precisely what it is doing.

  Photo credit: photogearch / Shutterstock

  
• 

  Windows 10 users won't see Chrome notifications in the Action Center any time soon

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 5:29pm CEST par Mark Wilson

  

  If you were hoping to see Chrome notifications integrated into Windows 10, prepare to be disappointed: it's not going to happen. While the Action Center might seem the natural home for Google's web browser to display messages, developers have a different opinion.

  In short, Chrome's notifications are staying as they are. Despite a campaign for Action Center support, the request has been labeled Won'tFix and there's no sign that this will change for some years to come. Chrome and Windows 10 have already clashed heads once, but this time Google seems unlikely to back down.

  The feature was requested on the Chromium support site, and quickly gained some enthusiastic support from other users. The development team, however, has rather different ideas. While many people see the value in having all notifications appearing in one place, Chrome will continue to use its own system, and one of the team, Ho, says:

  Thanks for the input and ideas! We've discussed this quite a bit and decided not to integrate with the system level notification at this time. It would create a weird state where Chrome behaves differently on Win 10 than on Win 7/8 and developers of extensions/websites wouldn't know what they design for. Maybe we can revisit it in a few years when most users are on Win 10 :)

  He went on to explain that Google is not just being belligerent, and that there are legitimate reasons for not wanting to integrate with the Action Center:

  To be clear, this is not a matter of just piping notifications to the OS for free. All notification (systems) are not the same. Chrome notifications allow to take actions right from the notifications, they come directly from an extension/website, they can require active dismissal, and so on.

  On Win 10, using the native notification system would mean that all notification could show briefly before disappearing but they could also not show, depending on a user setting. All notifications would show as coming from Chrome. They would not be actionable, and so on. As a developer, it makes quite a difference if I design something that allows users to take an action or something that merely informs them and whether it will be a pop up or a silent addition to the notification center.

  It's not something that has been well received on the Chromium support site. Some suggest that Google should "play ball" and tie into Windows 10 the way other software does. One commenter says simply:

  google does its best to bork everything windows do to there stupid rivalry...so immature. [sic]

  Photo credit: 360b / Shutterstock

  
• 

  10 smartphone apps to try in your car [Infographic]

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 4:58pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

  

  There is a large selection of smartphone apps that can be useful to car drivers. Chances are, if you are reading this article, you are familiar with only a few of them -- Google Maps and Waze are the most-likely suspects -- and wish to try out new ones.

  The app store on your smartphone gives you a sea of options, but finding interesting things to try can prove to be a daunting challenge, especially if you are not particularly patient or if time is short. Luckily, we have an infographic detailing the 10 apps to try first.

  Southside Motor Factors, the company which has created this infographic, has compiled a list of the 10 most-recommended apps that car owners should check out based on popular articles from various outlets. Of the 10, four are available for either Android or iPhone, while the other six are cross-platform offerings that can be downloaded on both platforms.

  TuneIn Radio is the only one which is not specifically meant for car drivers or to be used in a car. The service allows users to listen to radio stations from anywhere in the world using their smartphone, for free; even though your car most likely has a radio, the selection is surely not as generous.

  If you need an alternative navigation tool, the infographic lists Scout and NavFree as options. FuelLog is for those who wish to keep track of fuel consumption and running costs, among other things. Torque is probably the most-interesting for car geeks, being able to display various information from the engine (you'll have to get an adapter to get it to work though).

  

  Photo Credit (top): ssguy/Shutterstock

  
• 

  TeleSign and Telefόnica team up to cut mobile fraud

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 4:47pm CEST par Ian Barker

  

  Mobile identity specialist TeleSign has announced an agreement with Spanish telecoms giant Telefόnica -- the company behind O2 in the UK and Germany -- to deliver a suite of services to address account security and fraud prevention for enterprises and service providers.

  The partnership will use TeleSign's products and infrastructure, along with Telefόnica's consent-based insights, to increase account security, reduce fraud, and improve customer experience for consumers. At the same time it will help to manage costs for service providers across financial services, e-commerce, cloud and social media.

  "With its market leadership and unique technology to secure mobile identity, TeleSign is a natural partner to improve our customers' experiences, while protecting them from fraud at the same time," says Phil Douty, Managing Director of Telefόnica Dynamic Insights. "The services we are launching together will have meaningful impact for consumers, banks and service providers, and are built on unique data insights only available from mobile network operators. The service will be optional for our customers, requiring consent for data to be used. This means that they remain in control of their data and how it is used".

  The first products of the partnership will focus on using phone verification and real-time country location information to help combat fraud and poor customer experience in payment card transactions. Legitimate cardholders should enjoy a swift and secure experience, while fraudsters will be frustrated, thanks to a secure link between TeleSign, Telefόnica and participating financial institutions. The solution does away with the need for special smartphone apps and works on any mobile device when traveling -- once the customer requests the service, it automatically protects them from the minute they switch their phone on.

  "Telefόnica has a strong history of innovation amongst mobile operators for delivering new services which benefit their subscribers," says Steve Jillings, CEO of TeleSign. "TeleSign is excited to join with Telefόnica to bring offerings to market that respect user privacy and make it easier for individuals to assert their identity in a simple and reliable manner".

  More information on TeleSign's mobile identity offerings is available on the company's website.

  Image Credit: photomaimai / Shutterstock

  
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  Critical PayPal XSS vulnerability left accounts open to attack

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 4:45pm CEST par Mark Wilson

  

  PayPal has patched a security vulnerability which could have been used by hackers to steal users' login details, as well as to access unencrypted credit card information. A cross site scripting bug was discovered by Egyptian 'vulnerabilities hunter' Ebrahim Hegazy -- ironically on PayPal's Secure Payments subdomain.

  Hegazy found the Stored XSS Vulnerability on https://Securepayments.Paypal.com back in the middle of June, and was able to demonstrate how it could be exploited. More than two months later, PayPal has addressed the issue and plugged the security hole.

  Describing himself as an 'ethical hacker', Hegazy reported his discovery to PayPal on 16 June. He found that it was possible to engineer an HTML page that intercepted data entered on a secure PayPal page and transmit it to another server as plain text. This information was then available for exploitation in whatever way the attacker saw fit. Worryingly, Hegazy says that it would be possible for all of this to happen invisibly in the background -- a victim could make a regular PayPal payment which would clear, but there could also be an extra payment made to the attacker.

  The bug was reported through PayPal's bug bounty program, and Hegazy praised the company for responding to emails quickly. As well as ensuring that the security flaw was fixed, he also managed to bag himself PayPal's top bounty reward of $750 for his troubles.

  If you're interested to see how the vulnerability worked, check out the video below where Hegazy explains it all:

  
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  Easiest malware removal trick -- ever

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 4:44pm CEST par Mike Williams

  

  Removing malware is often a complex and time-consuming task, even for security experts. But as Bitdefender has reported, sometimes, just occasionally, the most effective technique can be extremely simple.

  Like, turn your PC off, and on again.

  The surprising news is based on a detailed study of the banking Trojan Dridex, and the considerable efforts it makes to avoid detection.

  In particular, the malware doesn’t have a permanent Registry key to launch itself when your PC starts. Instead, it waits for a system shutdown or restart, saves its code to a file and only then creates its "startup" Registry key. On launch it removes the Registry entry and there’s nothing to see.

  It’s a clever technique, and worth remembering when you’re using Autoruns -- or anything else -- to examine your startup programs. You may not be seeing as much as you thought.

  But this also means that if you simply pull the plug rather than shutting down/ restarting/ sleeping your system, Dridex doesn’t get a chance to save itself, and won’t launch when your PC next restarts.

  This plainly isn’t a complete solution. Your PC could be compromised in other areas, and you might still have malicious code on your system. And of course this won’t work with the vast majority of malware, anyway.

  Still, if you suspect you’re infected by something, but it won’t go away, then pulling the plug is simple enough to try (close any applications first, to reduce the chance of data loss or drive corruption). Just be sure you use something like Panda Antivirus or Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to clean up afterwards.

  
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  Enterprises should block Tor to protect data, says IBM

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 4:32pm CEST par Sead Fadilpašić

  

  Cyber crooks looking to hold your data hostage and extort money use the Tor network, and enterprises should block it if they value their data, a new report says.

  The IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Quarterly 3Q 2015 paper says hundreds of thousands of malicious events have originated from Tor in the US so far this year.

  "This latest report reveals that more than 150,000 malicious events have originated from Tor in the US alone thus far in 2015", the report said.

  "Tor has also played a role in the growing ransomware attack trend. Attackers have evolved the use of encryption to hold data hostage and demand payment/ransom for the decryption code", adds the report.

  The paper says people are fooled by false advertising, frequently installing malware while they think they’re installing an antivirus.

  "A surprising number of users are fooled by fake/rogue antivirus [AV] messages that are nothing more than animated web ads that look like actual products. The fake AV scam tricks users into installing or updating an AV product they may never have had", it explains, adding that in some cases people pay the money without thinking. "Afterward, the fake AV keeps popping up fake malware detection notices until the user pays some amount of money, typically something in the range of what an AV product would cost".

  IBM said SQL injection attacks are the most common Tor-led threat to come at its customers. The dark web is a truly dark place to visit, and IBM says your safest bet would be to, first, back-up your data and, second, block Tor and move on.

  Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

  Photo credit: 75tiks / Shutterstock

  
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  Windows 10 vs Windows 8.1: Which is fastest?

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 4:21pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

  

  The comparisons were inevitable right from the start. When Microsoft releases a new operating system then people are going to look at it against the previous version, especially when the old one was a bit hated and unsuccessful. It really wasn't bad, but perception is everything, and the folks who heard it was bad steered clear of it.

  But how do the two platforms stack up against one another in a performance test? The researchers at security firm AVG Labs decided to take a look.

  The firm started out with a rather top-of-the-line product -- the Asus UX-501 laptop. That contains an Intel Core i7 processor, a 128 GB SSD and 16 GB of RAM.

  AVG points out that "To get reproduceable and comparable results of Windows 8.1 versus Windows 10, we clean-installed both versions and installed only the latest drivers as well as our speed testing software, such as PCMark 8".

  The security firm went further, using a temperature controlled room, installed all updates and set power to "balanced", among other things.

  Windows 10 won on boot time, though the difference was minuscule. Internet Explorer startup time also showed Windows 10 making small gains. It is faster, but likely something that people will not notice.

  According to AVG, "The next test involved the benchmarking tool PCMark 8 which uses real-life scenarios such as browsing the web, Office 2013, Adobe Creative Suite and other tools to recreate a typical home and business scenario. It measures the exact time it takes to complete tasks down to the millisecond". This one was ruled a tie.

  There were other tests, such as Word and Excel performance, won by Windows 10 and gaming using Grand Theft Auto, which was another tie. The battery life challenge was also nabbed by Windows 10.

  Of course others have done comparisons, though most less rigorously than AVG. If you want a simpler comparison, for instance, you can look at Forbes and a number of other places.

  The tests by AVG show Windows 10 as the clear winner overall, but it's so close that most users are unlikely to notice it. Still, it's likely worth the upgrade for other reasons, such as new features.

  Photo Credits: ostill/Shutterstock

  
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  Second Formula E championship starts in October, introduces new rules

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 3:11pm CEST par Barclay Ballard

  

  The Formula E championship is set to return in just under two months and will be accompanied by some new rules and updated cars. The new season begins in Beijing on 17 October and takes in nine other locations including Berlin, Paris and London.

  Teams are now allowed to modify their cars, within limits, in order to gain an advantage. Last year, all the vehicles were identical but for the upcoming season, drivetrains and gears can be customized. All the cars will have the same battery power unit, however, something that Audi driver Lucas di Grassi believes will generate a close contest.

  "The cars performance has been limited so all teams have the same power", he told the Express. "Although some cars have different gears and drivetrains I’m expecting the season to be very close".

  The competition is hoping to raise awareness of green technology by demonstrating that environmentally friendly doesn’t necessarily mean slow races. The Formula E cars are capable of travelling from 0 to 60 in three seconds and have a top speed in excess of 140mph.

  In fact, next season also promises to deliver some excitement from an unlikely source -- the safety car. Qualcomm’s BMW i8 safety car can travel at speeds of 160mph and uses an innovative wireless charging system to refill its batteries without a plug in less than an hour.

  Last season’s competition came to a dramatic close on the streets of London when Nelson Piquet Jr. became the first ever Formula E champion in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The Brazilian driver will begin his title defense in Beijing, competing against a host of familiar names from Formula One including Jacques Villeneuve and Nick Heidfeld.

  Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

  
• 

  IDC guesstimate: Windows tablets will have most market share gains through 2019

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 2:16pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

  

  The tablet market is expected to witness yet another decline in shipments, with IDC estimating an eight percent drop in 2015 compared to last year. However, by the end of 2019, the market is said to recover, thanks in most part to a boost from Windows tablets which will help increase shipments by nearly 13 percent over this year's estimate.

  Windows tablets do not currently contribute by a significant amount to overall shipments, as they are estimated to have a market share of just 8.4 percent in 2015 from 17.7 million units. That being said, they are the only slates that will display dramatic growth, expected at 59.5 percent by the end of the year compared to 2014. By the end of 2019, their market share is expected to reach 17.5 percent, thanks to shipments of 41.7 million units.

  To reach that figure by the end of 2019, Windows tablets will take away share from market leader Android. Android vendors should be worried, as shipments are actually expected to decrease by the end of 2019, from 139.8 million units in 2015 to 135.4 million units, leading to a drop in market share from 66 percent to 56.6 percent. And this space is likely to only get more crowded over time.

  Meanwhile, Apple is estimated to ship a slightly increasing number of iPads by the end of 2019, from 54 million in 2015 to 61.9 million, which will see its market share grow slightly, from 25.5 percent to 25.9 percent.

  IDC suggests that the tablet market will recover mostly thanks to hybrid devices -- 2-in-1s, as they are referred to. This form factor is mostly associated with Windows, with devices such as Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 proving to be appealing options as laptop replacements. This segment, IDC says, "is starting to gain traction", as it is estimated to grow by 86.5 percent in 2015, compared to last year, thanks to shipments of 14.7 million units.

  "In the past, the biggest challenges with 2-in-1 devices were high price points, less than appealing designs, and, quite frankly, lack of demand for Windows 8, which was the OS most devices were running", says IDC's Ryan Reith. "With more OEMs offering devices in this segment, prices have started to come down significantly. We estimate that over 40 different vendors shipped 2-in-1 products in the second quarter of 2015, which is up from just 14 vendors two years ago. With the launch of Windows 10, the introduction of more Android-based products, and the possibility that Apple will unveil a larger, screen-detachable iPad, this is the space to watch".

  The things to keep a close eye on are Windows 10 and a larger iPad, both of which are, to quote Reith, "quite frankly" unknowns at this point. It is impossible to determine what sort of effect they -- and their possible successors -- will have over the course of more than four years in a market that, by the most-accurate estimate, is declining.

  Yes, consumers seem to be taking to Windows 10, which is running on 75 million devices according to Microsoft but, let's be real, one of the main reasons for this is the free upgrade offer, which is good for valid Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 licenses.

  It will only last for a year, or so Microsoft has said, and it should not serve as indication for Windows 10's role in boosting tablet sales. (I am not trying to suggest that Windows tablets will fail to grow at the pace IDC expects, but, realistically speaking, a forecast is just that.) People may like Windows 10 when it's free, but that does not automatically mean that they are willing to buy new devices running Windows 10 -- and this includes tablets -- anytime soon.

  On the other matter, Apple has been rumored to be working on a bigger iPad for over two years. There is no clear indication that one will be released this year, but, if it happens, its effect on shipments is hard to determine, as iPad shipments basically suck, and the market as a whole is seeing a drop in shipments also. Yes, "this is the space to watch", but that is not saying much, is it?

  To be perfectly honest, this IDC forecast, just like other forecasts, should be taken with a ton of salt. Not a grain. I'm treating it as nothing more than a guesstimate, as there is no way of knowing how a space as young as the tablet market might evolve over the course of four years.

  There is plenty of time for major disruptions to happen, which could tip the balance in any player's favor. Windows 10 tablets could turn out to be such huge hits that they could overtake iPads, and a bigger iPad could be so well received that iPads might eat away lots of market share from Android. Truth be told, no one really knows how it might all pan out, and IDC certainly does not have a crystal ball.

  

  Photo credit: Stanislaw Mikulski / Shutterstock

  
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  LG Rolly Keyboard is a folding keyboard for your tablet or smartphone

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 1:55pm CEST par Mark Wilson

  

  However much on-screen keyboards improve, they're no replacement for a good, old-fashioned keyboard. Traveling with a tablet, it might not be convenient to lug about a full-sized wireless keyboard but LG thinks its Rolly Keyboard could be the answer.

  As the name suggests, this is a portable keyboard that 'rolls' up for easier transportation -- well, it rolls up into a square stick rather than a round roll, but you get the idea. Also known as the KBB-700, the Rolly Keyboard features almost full-sized keys, and can be paired with two devices via Bluetooth.

  The keyboard is due to hit the US in September -- although LG hasn’t shared pricing details or an exact launch date yet -- and will roll out to Europe, Latin America and Asia later in Q4. The company says the 17mm key pitch is "nearly as generous" as desktop keyboards, and to make it easier to use in conjunction with your smartphone or tablet, two fold out support arms are on hand to cradle your device.

  While price is yet to be revealed, Seo Young-jae, VP of Innovative Personal Devices at LG, describes it as a "premium input device", so it's possible a premium price tag will be attached. LG will give more details at IFA 2015 in Berlin at the beginning of next month, but for now you can check out the video below to see the keyboard in action:

  Photo credit: LG

  
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  84 percent of people support eliminating passwords

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 1:23pm CEST par Ian Barker

  

  Spare a moment to consider the plight of the humble password. It has become an essential component of modern life, but it would be wrong to say we've grown to know and love it.

  In fact a survey by mobile authentication specialist LaunchKey shows that 84 percent of respondents would like to do away with passwords altogether and 76 percent believe their information would be more secure with an alternative form of authentication.

  Almost half of the survey respondents (46 percent) say they currently have more than 10 passwords to manage, and 68 percent acknowledge that they reuse passwords for multiple accounts. In addition, 77 percent say they often forget passwords or have to write them down. Among respondents' top password peeves are those systems that require users to change their password frequently, and systems that require users to create passwords that do not fit the model of one they regularly use. 27 percent admit that they've shared passwords with someone else.

  "Today, the pace of security breaches directly related to stolen passwords and bypassed authentication is increasing along with the severity of their consequences," says Geoff Sanders, CEO, LaunchKey. "Passwords are inherently insecure as a method of authentication, and their efficacy relies on end users, developers, system administrators, and the applications themselves, all of which are vulnerable to a wide variety of attack vectors currently being exploited by cyberattacks around the world".

  Whilst two-factor authentication is often touted as a solution, 64 percent of those surveyed say they don't know what 2FA is, while only 20 percent say it's easy to use.

  The survey also looked at how much people trust enterprises with their data. Given recent breaches at stores such as Target and Home Depot, it's not surprising that 52 percent of survey respondents expressed little to no confidence in retail stores being able to properly secure their data and 43 percent lacked confidence in online retailers. On the other hand, 48 percent of respondents expressed high confidence in banks being able to protect personal information.

  "The future of authentication is free from traditional passwords," Sanders concludes. "We must remove the vulnerability and liability that passwords have created while implementing more secure authentication methods that account for an evolving and diversified landscape of use cases, end users and threats".

  You can find more about the survey results on the LaunchKey website.

  Image Credit: Zsolt Biczo / Shutterstock

  
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  Virginia shooting shows the power of social media, and the danger of autoplay videos

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 12:12pm CEST par Mark Wilson

  

  Social media is an incredibly powerful tool. It's not without good reason that ad campaigns start on Twitter and Facebook in the hope of going viral. As with any medium, social media is full of positive and negative content. Content you're interested in seeing, and stuff you really aren't.

  But the difference with the likes of Facebook and Twitter is that you're not always in control of what you see. The horrific shooting live on TV in Virginia highlights this perfectly. As with any tragedy or big news story, many were quick to take to social networks to share information and thoughts. They also shared video footage of the killings which automatically played in people's timelines.

  With traditional media -- newspapers, TV, even regular websites -- it's easy to pick and choose what you want to consume. If you want to read about global war, you can. If you'd prefer to focus only on fluffy news, you can do that too. It could be argued that on social media you are indicating the type of content you would like to see by the choices you make with regard to the people and organizations you follow or befriend. But social media is very different to traditional media. As well as the content you have chosen to see, you also see what others have chosen to share as well as suggested or curated content from the network itself.

  Vester Flanagan understood the power of the media -- traditional and social. He wanted to leave his mark in more ways than one, and the easiest way to amplify an already horrific act was to commit it not only on live TV, but also to record the act ready to push to social networks. As we know, this is exactly what happened. He posted the footage online, and it was shared by countless people. Some may have shared it out of disbelief, others out of sick morbidity. Whatever the reasons behind sharing, the point is that it was shared.

  This in itself is not really an issue. Facebook took editorial decisions in many instances to take down copies of the video as they were posted, but on both Facebook and Twitter, it quickly became uncontrollable. The footage spread like wildfire, and while some may have been keen to view the killings -- it's certainly not something you see every day; this was a historic event -- this was not the case in every instance. Both Facebook and Twitter have a video autoplay option that means there's no need to hit the play button -- as soon as a video scrolls into view, it starts to play.

  The upshot of this was that lots of social media users found that their timelines were home not just to news of live-on-TV killings, not just still images of the victims, but moving footage of the onscreen deaths. Death of real people. Actual lives snuffed out in an instant, and shared for all to see. For those with the autoplay setting enabled there was no warning -- the murders were essentially forced upon people.

  The moral rights and wrongs of the availability of this footage is a separate issue, this is a question of choice. It is one thing to have a desire to see such footage, to seek it out and watch it, it is quite another to be caught unawares and be assaulted by it.

  All of this is not to say that autoplaying videos are right or wrong, but recent events certainly give food for thought and may well cause many people to re-evaluate the settings they have in place. In the wake of what has happened, there are clearly bigger concerns, but it certainly shows that greater thought needs to be given to how we used social media. Perhaps social networks need to do more to educate their users. Perhaps we need to toughen up. Perhaps video vetting is needed.

  There is no ideal solution, but it needs to be talked about.

  Photo credit: Diego Schtutman / Shutterstock

  
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  How do you know if the cloud is right for your business? [Q&A]

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 11:58am CEST par Ian Barker

  

  The rapid growth in cloud adoption might suggest that every workload businesses currently have on-premise is destined for some sort of cloud-based service. The reality is that, other than for small companies, that's probably not the case.

  Entrusting key applications to a third party requires intelligent planning in many areas such as management, portability, security and support requirements. What can IT organizations do to reduce risks, tame the complexity and increase their potential for success? We spoke to Jerry McLeod, vice president of business development at hybrid cloud management provider HotLink to find out.

  BN: The cloud is rapidly becoming the norm for many businesses. How important is it to choose the right provider?

  JM: It's critically important to choose the right cloud provider; it's one of the most important IT decisions most businesses will make. However, no one provider is right for every business. There are some cloud options that have a wider portfolio of robust features, but are essentially self-service. At the other end of the spectrum are providers that offer more of a managed service. The 'right' provider for any individual business could actually be a mix-and-match of cloud services, but that will depend on your workloads and support needs, which can change over time.

  BN: As more enterprises choose a mix-and-match approach for cloud providers, what struggles do they face in terms of managing those resources?

  JM: There is certainly operational complexity related to managing multiple cloud providers. If you're administering several platforms -- say, Microsoft Azure, Amazon EC2 and OpenStack -- monitoring, managing and automating those resources individually becomes a real challenge for IT teams.

  However, the reality for most enterprises is even more difficult, because they're building hybrid IT infrastructures that span internal and external resources. So, at the same time teams have to figure out how to manage a spectrum of cloud alternatives, they're also grappling with managing existing on-premise virtual infrastructure and platforms like vCenter, Hyper-V, XenServer or KVM. The difficulty inherent in doing that can threaten the benefits that draw companies to the cloud in the first place: reduced cost, increased agility and faster time to market.

  BN: Most organizations will be worried about security when moving to the cloud. What can they do to minimize vulnerability during migration?

  JM: Many cloud providers are more secure than some on-premise data centers. Why? Because they have spent years making them that way. Businesses should be worried about their security all the time, not just when the cloud is involved. Unfortunately, many companies believe they're secure simply because they're on premise, even if they don't have a security expert on staff to assess their risk. When those businesses move to the cloud, they gain a team of security professionals who are constantly updating security to stay ahead of evolving threats. During the migration itself, companies can minimize their vulnerability with a tool that creates a VPN tunnel between their on-premise systems and the cloud with secure agent proxies.

  BN: Isn't having your applications and data in the cloud always going to be riskier than keeping them in house?

  JM: Physically, the cloud is more secure than most companies' data centers. I equate it to the difference between the deadbolts you might have on your house and the purpose-built buildings your bank uses -- there's just no question which one is more secure. Cloud providers build their businesses on security, and they have the infrastructure and personnel power to keep their sites safe.

  BN: What are the challenges of the cloud when it comes to ensuring business continuity?

  JM: The cloud's economics make it feasible for companies to have a comprehensive data protection solution for all their workloads, not just their critical workloads. That encompasses backup, data replication, disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC) at a fraction of the cost and complexity of traditional, physical DR/BC sites. Comprehensive cloud data protection is now an option for everyone. However, cloud providers don't deliver business continuity. Each individual company has to be responsible for that by adopting adequate tools, processes and plans. If you don't have a business continuity plan for managing your infrastructure, then it's on you when there's a failure.

  BN: What are the keys to ensuring an early return on cloud investments?

  JM: An apples-to-apples comparison is the key to ensuring ROI. What are your on-premise costs and what will the same usage cost in the cloud? People tend to assume the cloud is almost free, so they end up running three times as many applications in the cloud as they did on premise; that won't be cheaper. Let's say you're paying 10 cents per instance per hour, for example. That's around $1,000 per year. Multiply that by 20 or 30 instances, and it adds up quickly. To make sure you're not chewing through your potential savings, first make sure you understand what your on-premise costs are, and then closely monitor and manage your cloud usage.

  BN: Are there times when the cloud simply isn’t the right approach?

  JM: If you're running, say, a large logistics company using internal mainframes in secure data centers around the world, it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to move everything to the cloud right now. There are critical enterprise workloads that may never be well suited to the cloud. For those companies, it makes sense to have some workloads in the cloud and some on premise.

  HotLink has been working with companies since 2011 to streamline the management of those types of hybrid environments, and we recently released HotLink Cloud Management Express to take that to the next level. For enterprises with multiple cloud providers and several on-premise resources, the ability to unify management and administration into a single, familiar interface such as VMware vCenter means that 'the right approach' can be a multi-faceted one that is also intuitive and flexible.

  Image Credit: everything possible/Shutterstock

  
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  Insert special characters into any document with WinCompose

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 11:49am CEST par Mike Williams

  

  Numbers, letters, basic symbols and punctuation -- your keyboard covers all the typing basics. But what if you need to enter accented characters, math symbols, superscripts, or anything else a little less standard?

  WinCompose is an open source tool for Windows which can insert special characters and symbols into just about any document or application.

  The program is very easy to use. On launch it adds an icon to your system tray. Pressing and releasing a hotkey (Right Alt by default) activates it, you type a sequence of characters representing a symbol, and it’s inserted into the current document.

  You’ll need to learn the sequences for each symbol, of course, but that’s much simpler than you might think. A heart ♥ is <3 ; a copyright symbol © is oc ; "plus or minus" ± is +- ; Ø is /O, Ñ is ~N and the list goes on.

  It really does go on, too, with the program supporting more than 1,700 rules. If you’ve used anything based on the Xorg or dotXCompose projects then you’ll know these already, but if not, it’s easy to browse them for the sequences you need, and there’s also an option to add custom rules of your own.

  WinCompose is an open source application for Windows XP and later.

  
• 

  Turn your smartphone's camera into a 3D scanner with Microsoft's Mobile Fusion app

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 11:14am CEST par Sead Fadilpašić

  

  Microsoft has been really busy lately, and now it has shown one of the things it has been working on -- a 3D scanner inside a regular smartphone.

  The app, called MobileFusion, turns your average smartphone camera into a high-tech 3D scanner, allowing you to scan objects and turn them into 3D models for viewing, sharing and 3D printing, right in front of your very eyes.

  A promotional video was created to showcase the technology.

  "This allows the user to capture a full 3D model of an arbitrary object in seconds. The computation happens purely on the phone and the final 3D models are detailed enough for 3D printing, use in augmented reality games and for instant 3D capture for sharing with friends and colleague", it says in the video.

  "Under the hood, the system first densely tracks the device in 3D by comparing the live RGB data with the previous frames. It will take the current live frame and perform efficient stereo-matching to compute a depth map. These stereo depth maps are then merged into a single 3D model", adds Microsoft

  The software then creates the model right there, on the spot.

  "The 3D model is built live in front of the user’s eyes, which allows user to instantaneously see how complete the scan is and whether the critical parts are missing. As the object is captured from all angles, the 3D model gets refined and completed. Once satisfied with the scan, the user can view, share or print the 3D model instantaneously", Microsoft further explains.

  This research project can allow any mobile device to turn into a real-time 3D scanner.

  The team says it hopes to introduce the software to the general public at some point but, at present, there is no release date scheduled.

  Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

  
• 

  Translate website text by pointing at it with TransOver

  Publié: août 27, 2015, 8:50am CEST par Mike Williams

  

  If you need to translate website text then there are plenty of services and apps available, most of which have piled on the features as they try to stand out from the crowd. But while that sounds great in theory, in practice it can mean wasting time navigating a bulky interface to get what you need.

  TransOver is a Chrome extension with more of a back-to-basics approach. There’s no copying URLs, no opening new tabs or panes -- you’re able to translate text by selecting, clicking or just pointing at it.
  Just hover your mouse over a word, for instance, and by default a tooltip appears with appropriate definitions.

  Select and point at a phrase or sentence and you’re presented with a full translation.

  Hold down Ctrl as you point and in theory TransOver’s text-to-speech should read the translation out loud. This didn’t work well for us, though, and recent TransOver reviews suggest we’re not alone.

  Extras include an option to type text in a popup and have it translated immediately, and the Options page gives you various useful settings. You can set the "Translate into" language, customize hotkeys, and choose to only show translations when you hold down the Alt key, handy if you find the translations are popping up when you don’t need them.

  TransOver isn’t a good choice for translating large amounts of text, but if you just need help with an occasional few words then it works very well, delivering its translations without interrupting your reading. Worth a look.