Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » septembre 28, 2015

BetaNews.Com (9 non lus)

iPhone 6s and 6s Plus' opening weekend sales record isn't as impressive as Apple would like you to think

Publié: septembre 28, 2015, 3:44pm CEST par Wayne Williams

You know where you stand with Apple and the iPhone. Every year a new model arrives in September. You get an updated flagship (an 's' model on alternate years), and a spin off version (the 5c, the Plus) for a bit of extra revenue. Then, shortly after the new iterations go on sale, you get an announcement from Apple declaring a new weekend sales record.

At some point this record breaking run will end, although it’s not likely to happen anytime soon. Today Apple announces more than 13 million iPhone 6s and 6s Plus have been sold around the world. It’s a huge achievement, and blows past last year’s numbers, but all is not as it seems.

13 million is unquestionably a LOT of devices -- especially as there are still plenty of markets that don’t have the new iPhones on sale yet. 40 additional countries, including Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Taiwan, will be added to the list of available territories by October 9 (by the end of the year the new iPhones will be offered in over 130 countries).

But here’s the rub…

If you don’t recall last year’s numbers, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sold 10 million units across the launch weekend, up from the 9 million the 5s and 5c managed the year before. This year’s 13 million is quite a step up, although it’s not tricky to pinpoint the reason for the leap.

Sure, the new iPhone is a marked improvement over its predecessor, but the biggest reason for the improved sales is that for the first time Chinese customers are able to pick up the latest version on the same day as consumers in the US, UK, and certain parts of Europe and Asia. When you consider the size of the Chinese market, suddenly the increase over last year’s figures doesn’t seem quite so impressive.

"Sales for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple’s history", said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. "Customers’ feedback is incredible and they are loving 3D Touch and Live Photos, and we can’t wait to bring iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to customers in even more countries on October 9".

The iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus are a huge hit, and there was never any doubt they would be. But the record breaking numbers are as much down to strategic shipment planning at Apple as they are to consumer excitement.

Image Credit: Minerva Studio / Shutterstock
New solution automates integration of SaaS workflows

Publié: septembre 28, 2015, 3:25pm CEST par Ian Barker

Companies are increasingly turning to software as a service solutions. But these often lead to problems when needing to integrate workflows with in-house or other SaaS solutions.

To address this, cloud software specialist Azuqua has announced the availability of a new integration solution for connecting cloud applications and automating business-critical workflow.

Users and administrators of SaaS applications for marketing, sales, support, and customer success have a growing need to automate business-critical workflow between cloud applications. For example, triggering a hand-off from a closed sales opportunity in Salesforce to the support team in Intercom and professional services team in Workfront. However, existing integration options often don't meet these users' requirements. Predefined integrations available in SaaS marketplaces can't be extended to solve custom process requirements, and traditional integration platforms such as Enterprise Service Buses (ESBs) are expensive to purchase, and complicated to implement and modify.

Azuqua offers a simple and cost-effective approach to these business-critical integration needs. New and enhanced capabilities allow users to easily create, view, monitor and report on workflows. An easy-to-use visual designer expands the automation scenarios that can be defined with the addition of conditional branching. Data at each step in a workflow can be examined simplifying design, error-handling, and retries.

A log of all executions and reports summarizes usage and ensures workflows are always operating. Workflows can be arranged by process, team, or any custom classification. In addition, permissions ensure safe and secure collaboration on workflows by defining the individuals who can edit, view, or run them.

"The ability to use SaaS application APIs in workflows has become a fundamental business requirement, but the lack of easily customizable and affordable solutions only adds to the integration headache for many customers," says Jeffrey M Kaplan, managing director of THINKstrategies. "Azuqua is improving the way automations are developed and deployed, while significantly reducing the cost and improving the customer experience".

Azuqua will be on display at Integrate 2015 or you can find out more about the latest release and request a free trial on the company's website.

Photo credit: Alexander Supertramp / Shutterstock
Google plans to bring one billion more Indians online

Publié: septembre 28, 2015, 2:43pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

While it seems odd to many people, the whole world isn't online -- though it may seem that way sometimes when you visit sites like Facebook. Not all countries have the infrastructure in place to support the deployment of broadband. Google is looking to help.

The company claims that one billion residents of India are without a connection. To remedy this the company is going to the heart of transportation in the nation, the railway stations.

"I’m very proud to announce that it’s the train stations of India that are going to help get millions of people online. In the past year, 100 million people in India started using the Internet for the first time. This means there are now more Internet users in India than in every country in the world aside from China. But what's really astounding is the fact that there are still nearly one billion people in India who aren’t online", says Google's Sundar Pichai.

In conjunction with a visit from the Indian Prime Minister to Google headquarters, the company announces the introduction of high-speed broadband in 400 train stations. The search giant is working with a pair of major Indian railway services in order to roll this out. Plans are in place to have the first 100 stations online before the end of 2016. The others will follow quickly, according Pichai.

"Even with just the first 100 stations online, this project will make Wi-Fi available for the more than 10 million people who pass through every day. This will rank it as the largest public Wi-Fi project in India, and among the largest in the world, by number of potential users", Google claims.

This goes along with the launch of Android One and better support by Google for the Hindi language. The project should commence very soon.
Stupid iOS 9 bug makes me regret buying an iPhone 6s

Publié: septembre 28, 2015, 1:57pm CEST par Wayne Williams

The iPhone 6s is a great phone. Mine arrived on Friday and I’ll be reviewing it in the next couple of days or so. It has some very welcome improvements over my previous Apple phone -- the iPhone 5s -- and 3D Touch has the potential to be a real game changer.

However, my enjoyment of the new phone has been tainted thanks to an incredibly annoying bug that makes the iPhone 6s next to useless when out and about. In fact, when I went out for the day yesterday, I was forced to leave the shiny new iPhone 6s at home and take my aging Android phone with me instead.

The bug I’m referring to affects the Mobile Data settings. The iPhone lets you choose which apps can use your cellular connection. A handy feature which stops unnecessary data consumption and helps keep costs down. Except the bug in iOS 9 prevents certain apps from using mobile data -- at all, ever. I toggle the switch next to a bunch of apps in Settings, but the moment I leave Settings everything reverts to how it was.

Not a major deal you might think, but actually that limits what I can do when not connected to a wireless network. I can’t use Facebook (no more checking in, or posting updates as to where I am), I can’t get directions from Google Maps (or Apple Maps for that matter) when I most need to. Nor can I check on the latest news headlines, or the weather.

Because of how the bug works, not every app is blocked. So I can still get my mail and access the web, but I’m so conditioned to using apps that when they don’t work as intended it proves incredibly frustrating.

The bug rears its ugly head when you upgrade from iOS 8 to iOS 9, as I did with my iPhone 5s. Apps that were set to use mobile data before the upgrade, can continue to use mobile data in iOS 9. Apps that weren’t enabled, can’t. I did notice the issue on my 5s a few days after the "upgrade" (I tried and failed to use Google Maps on a journey), but I didn’t pay too much attention at the time. I figured it was a temporary glitch.

I set up my iPhone 6s using a new backup from the iPhone 5s -- so all the apps and settings were copied over... but unfortunately the iOS 9 bug came too.

So what can I do about the problem? I have a couple of options. According to Apple and Apple Support Communities I can restore my phone from an old pre-iOS 9 backup, but unfortunately I don't have one. And even if I did, I really don’t want to do that. This is an iPhone 6s -- it comes with iOS 9 preinstalled!

Or I could wipe my phone and set it up as a brand new device. The latter option should work, although if I do go down that route I’ll need to spend hours reinstalling all of my apps again, and my existing settings will be wiped.

Both choices are highly unsatisfactory. Or I could wait for Apple to fix the problem. It might be addressed in iOS 9.0.2, but there’s no guarantee that will be the case.

This isn't even the only major bug in iOS 9. A lot of users report they can’t use mobile data at all on their devices, and a Slide to Upgrade bug succeeded in killing some iPhones.

So what now? I might roll back my iPhone 5s to iOS 8.4.1 and see if that that fixes the problem. If it does, I will enable all of the apps for mobile access, then try the iOS 9 upgrade again. If that works -- and I won’t be holding my breath -- I will try backing up the device and then wiping the iPhone 6s and restoring it from the new backup.

Or I might just carry around two phones (6s and Android) until Apple finally gets its shit together and fixes this crippling bug.

Image Credit: Johan Larson / Shutterstock
GoPro's new Hero+ is an attractive entry-level action camera with Wi-Fi

Publié: septembre 28, 2015, 1:46pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

GoPro makes some awesome action cameras, but they are not exactly cheap. If you want to get one of its top-of-the-line models you will have to shell out between $400 and $500. And then you will have to add some more on top of that for different accessories. However, the company also has some pretty good entry-level options for consumers on a budget, the most-attractive of which is the new Hero+.

Hero+ slots between Hero and Hero+LCD, and might just be the best option of the three if you are looking to get into the GoPro action camera game. At $199.99, it bundles most of the best features of Hero+LCD at a price that is closer to that of a base Hero. Here is what you need to know.

Hero+ is basically a HERO+LCD that lacks one (major) feature: there is no touchscreen LCD on the back. It has the same recording capabilities and Wi-Fi support, but thanks to that difference in specs it will retail for $100 below its bigger brother, which goes for $299.99.

Just like Hero+LCD, Hero+ will be able to record 1080p and 720p video at 60 FPS (the bitrate is 25 Mbps) and snap 8 MP photos; it also supports the same time-lapse intervals as its bigger brother. Needless to say, it is also waterproof at up to 40 meters. That's a solid feature set at this price point.

Unlike Hero+LCD, however, it will not make it as easy to frame photos and videos because, obviously, it does not have that display on the back; you can still use the GoPro app though to achieve the same results. In my opinion, that is something that you can live without for $100 less.

Hero+ leaves Hero in the dust. The latter may cost $70 less at $129.99, but it is limited to 1080p video recording at 30 FPS (and at a lower 15 Mbps bitrate), 5 MP photos and a single time-lapse interval. It also misses out on HiLight tag, Wi-Fi connectivity, and GoPro app support. It is clearly the most rudimentary option in GoPro's line; it might as well be removed, as there is no reason for it to exist now that Hero+ is announced.

Alongside Hero+, GoPro has also announced a price-cut for its Hero4 Session mini action camera. It is now $100 cheaper than before, being offered at $299.99 instead of $399.99. Considering that the superior Hero4 Silver could also be had for $399.99, moving Hero4 Session down a notch seems like the smart thing to do to attract consumers. Hero4 Black and Hero4 Silver will continue to be sold at the $499.99 and $399.99 price points.

GoPro says that Hero+ will be available to consumers starting October 4.
Silent Circle's Blackphone 2 is the most secure Android phone available

Publié: septembre 28, 2015, 1:43pm CEST par Mark Wilson

With all of the talk about the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, and the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+, it's easy to forget that there are some genuine alternatives out there. One such smartphone is the Blackphone from the privacy-centric Silent Circle. The original Blackphone caused great excitement, and now the Blackphone 2 is available

This is a phone that has been built from the ground up with security and privacy in mind. While the Blackphone 2 will appeal to anyone who is concerned about privacy, this time around there is a greater push to appeal to businesses and enterprise, including joining Google's Android for Work program. In terms of specs, opting for the most secure handset on the market does not mean making compromises: this phone is a beast.

Powered by a 1.7GHz Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615, the Blackphone 2 features 3GB RAM, 32GB of storage, and a microSD slot. There are 13 and 5MP cameras, a beefy Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0-compatible 3060 mAh battery, a 5.5 inch 2560×1440 display, and the all-important Silent OS 2.0. Based on Lollipop, the operating system grants the user unprecedented control over privacy, security, and permissions, and an encrypted communication platform that is routed through an ultra-secure, cloud-based VPN.

The phone is shipped fully encrypted, and Silent Circle is able to push out updates to its custom operating system without having to wait for carriers to do so. Whether it is used by someone who is just paranoid, or a worker who needs to guarantee the security of communication, data storage, and app usage, the granular permission controls are a welcome change from the limited control offered by Android by default. Here Silent OS 2.0 analyzes the code of apps that are installed to determine everything it is capable of -- you are then given the opportunity to choose which of these you would like to permit.

Silent Circle has a brief video introducing the second iteration of the Blackphone:

Blackphone 2 is available now for $799. The device launches in North America, but will also spread to the UK and the rest of the world shortly.
Women make up only 10 percent of the IT security workforce

Publié: septembre 28, 2015, 12:51pm CEST par Ian Barker

New research carried out by non-profit certification organization (ISC)² and technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton highlights a lack of gender equality in IT security roles.

Based on a survey of almost 14,000 global professionals, the report looks at the differences between men and women in the industry, the current and future outlook for women in the information security field and the unique skills women possess to fill information security positions today and in the future.

While women have represented only 10 percent of the information security workforce for the past few years, analysis from the last two (ISC)² information security workforce surveys shows that women are quickly converging on men in terms of academic focus, computer science and engineering, and, as a gender, have a higher concentration of advanced degrees. Women in information security are making their largest impact in governance, risk and compliance (GRC) as one out of five women identified GRC as their primary functional responsibility compared to one out of eight men holding similar positions. The study identified GRC as a growing role in information assurance and cybersecurity.

"The information security field is expected to see a deficit of 1.5 million professionals by 2020 if we don't take proactive measures to close the gap," says (ISC)² CEO David Shearer. "Knowing this, it is rather frustrating to realize that we do not have more women working in the industry. Only 10 percent of information security professionals are women, and that needs to change. Through collaboration, research and partnerships, (ISC)² is committed to empowering under-represented minority groups in the industry, such as women, who bring skill sets that are critical to this industry’s future growth".

Among other key findings are that 58 percent of women have masters or doctorate degrees versus only 47 percent of men. In the GRC subgroup of respondents, women's average annual salary was 4.7 percent less than men. However, the study shows that men value monetary compensation slightly more than women who look for other incentives from their employers, such as flexible working.

Women are also more progressive in their views on training methods. Offering increased accessibility and wider diversity of information security training opportunities may prove to be increasingly valuable in retention and in elevating professionals' readiness to succeed in new roles.

The study is being released in conjunction with the (ISC)² Security Congress 2015 in California from September 28 to October 1, where there will be specific sessions discussing the issue of women in security.

Image Credit: Candy Box Images / Shutterstock
Autonomous cars will make safe driving a reality

Publié: septembre 28, 2015, 12:50pm CEST par Dr Kevin Curran

Given the correct inputs, there are many tasks that robots (or machines or driverless cars) can do much better than people. The keyword here might be "input" however.

In the case of driverless cars, they are using many sensors, cameras and radar to control those inputs, but they are not perfect just yet. In time however, we can expect fewer traffic accidents, due to an autonomous system’s increased reliability and faster reaction time compared to human drivers.

Remember, Google self-driven cars have managed over 700,000 autonomous miles without any collisions. We can expect increased roadway capacity and reduced traffic congestion. The reduction in congestion comes about because of the reduced need for safety gaps and being able to better manage traffic flow.

Some autonomous truck vehicles are being used on a daily basis in some sectors such as mining. For instance, since December 2008, Rio Tinto Alcan has been testing the Komatsu Autonomous Haulage System, which is the world’s first commercial autonomous mining haulage system, in the Pilbara iron ore mine in Western Australia. Rio Tinto has reported benefits in health, safety, and productivity. In November 2011, Rio Tinto signed a deal to greatly expand its fleet of driverless trucks. Other autonomous mining systems include Sandvik Automine’s underground loaders and Caterpillar Inc’s autonomous hauling.

Daimler is developing the Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025 in the belief that drivers of the vehicle will be "transport managers" rather than truck drivers. The vision for these driverless trucks is that they start, and organize their collection, transport and delivery at their destination autonomously. It is hoped that they will react flexibly to spontaneous situations like traffic jams by negotiating new delivery times with customers. Nissan and other vehicle companies are also testing similar systems.

As crash avoidance technology becomes more common, you can be sure that things like lane departure warning will become mandatory. Previous attempts to commercialize automatic vehicle control have failed because they required dedicated infrastructure and vehicles that must remain entirely under automatic control.

New technologies, like CMOS radar-on-a-chip and all-weather LIDAR, will lead to more intelligent and safer vehicles.

Dr Kevin Curran is a senior member of the IEEE.

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

Photo Credit: RioPatuca/Shutterstock
ACDSee Pro 9 gains lens correction, Photoshop plugin support

Publié: septembre 28, 2015, 11:46am CEST par Mike Williams

ACD Systems has revealed the next generation of its image management and editing tools, ACDSee 19 ($59.99), ACDSee Pro 9 ($99.99) and ACDSee Ultimate 9 ($149.99).

The Pro and Ultimate editions gain the most this time around, with major new editing features.

Lens correction is a long-awaited highlight, fixing a host of common distortions with a click.

Smart new editing tools include Dehaze to restore contrast and detail in the murkiest of images, while Skin Tune makes it easy to target and enhance skin tones.

ACDSee Pro and Ultimate also gain a stack of new filters, but if you need more, good news -- there’s support for Photoshop plugins, too.

All three editions now support Collections, smart searches which make it quicker and easier to find the pictures you need.

Photos Mode enables speedy browsing of your entire photo collection, organizing it by year, month or day.

Compatibility improvements include easy import of your Lightroom database, OneDrive integration and 4K monitor support, and there are assorted smaller improvements scattered around: smarter white balance editing, pressure-sensitive brush support, and more.

Trials of ACDSee 19, ACDSee Pro 9 (19 + many more editing features) ACDSee Ultimate 9 (Pro + layer support) are available now for Windows 7 and later.