Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » janvier 25, 2016

BetaNews.Com (17 non lus)

Alibaba launches big data cloud platform in China

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 8:32pm CET par Alasdair Gilchrist

The Alibaba Group is launching a "big data" cloud platform which it plans will make data asset technology widely available throughout China.

Alibaba Cloud Computing (AliCloud), said on Thursday that the cloud "Big Data Platform" would offer an initial 20 products or solutions and services, which would cover all aspects of the so-called data development chain. This includes data services and visualization products that assist with data processing and analysis, but also provide a compute engine with capabilities for machine learning.

In technology, Big Data refers to extremely large or complex data sets of structured and unstructured information that is produced as a by-product of a companies operations, and can include data as diverse, as text messages, video clips, photographs, web site comments as well as tradition SQL structured data from databases. Big data can be stored in No-SQL (not-only SQL) style data repositories in private or public clouds and be analyzed with high-performance computers to spot patterns, trend and associations.

"The Big Data Platform fulfills our vision of sharing our vast data troves that will create immense value to our users", AliCloud president Simon Hu said at the launch in Shanghai.

"What we want to do at Alibaba is turn the data-processing capacity and data-security capabilities that we’ve accumulated over the last decade into a product, so that data becomes a resource and a service that we can provide our clients".

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

Photo Credit: Christopher Penler/Shutterstock
Politicians question Google's 'sweetheart' tax deal

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 7:05pm CET par Mark Wilson

Late last week, Google agreed to pay £130 million in back tax in the UK. Despite being heralded as a 'major success' by the Tory chancellor George Osbourne, the feeling among politicians is that Google should still pay much more tax. The deal struck between the search giant and HMRC has also been dismissed as "only a start", "breathtakingly complacent", and in need of further explanation.

MP John McDonnell was granted a Commons urgent question on the tax deal, leading to an impassioned debate. MPs said that it appeared the government was giving Google preferential treatment, and that had smaller businesses failed to pay taxes in the same way, they would have found themselves in court rather than at the center of a headline-making deal.

Google has long been criticized for its tax arrangements: the company uses a financing structure that channels some funds through Bermuda where no corporation tax is payable. But while George Osbourne was hoping to bask in the glory of being the man to extract millions from Google, the government refused to agree with his statement that the new deal is a 'major success'.

With some tax experts suggesting that Google's tax bill should be closer to £2 billion, the £130 million squeezed from the company does seem rather meager. Questions were raised about why the UK government was happy to settle for a tax payment of just £130 million, while Italy is seeking in excess of £1 billion.

When pressed in parliament, Financial Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke was not able to say whether Google had broken any laws between 2005 and 2011 but brushed aside claims that a 'sweeheart deal' had been struck. Other MPs accused the government of giving 'mates' rates' on tax to global corporations, meaning smaller businesses were not getting a fair deal. Gauke said that there were no plans to go public with details of how much tax Google owes, saying that if the UK abandons the confidentiality of the tax system, it would "become a less attractive place for companies to operate from".

While many will be pleased that Google has been forced to put its hand in its pocket, this looks like being a debate that will run for some time yet.

Photo credit: Shahril KHMD / Shutterstock
Warning: This secret website can crash Safari, Chrome, and Firefox, plus reboot your iPhone!

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 6:54pm CET par Brian Fagioli

For many of us, a web browser is our window to the world. It is how we get news, send emails and access social media to stay in touch with friends and family. Modern browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox and Safari, are very mature and stable, lending to a positive overall web-surfing experience.

Unfortunately, today, a malicious website has been going viral. If you visit this website by either typing in the URL or clicking a link, the browser will crash by consuming huge amounts of RAM.

The website is http://crashsafari.com. Please be responsible with this information and do not send it to anyone as a joke.

By its name, it sounds like a way to target Apple's browser only, but Chrome and Firefox are impacted too. On my Ubuntu laptop, running Chrome, the entire browser froze. I had to force close it in order to continue. Some Chrome on Windows users report that only that tab crashes.

On an Apple computer, running iOS or OS X, Safari will crash. In fact, clicking the link on my iPhone causes the smartphone to reboot entirely. This is a huge inconvenience, and rather scary too. iOS is often viewed as secure, but this is frightening.

While it can be argued that this is nothing more than a prank-worthy nuisance, remember -- some people work exclusively in the browser. This could result in important work being lost. Rebooting an iOS device entirely can cause a ton of lost app data.

Hopefully the big browser makers will patch this vulnerability, ASAP. While you can warn people against clicking that link, it is easy for pranksters to hide it behind URL shorteners so it is not apparent. Plus, I am sure many others will copy the code and use it with other domain names too.

Photo Credit: Fotonium/Shutterstock
FBackup 6 debuts cloud backup

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 6:43pm CET par Mike Williams

Softland has shipped FBackup 6.0, a major update of its freeware file backup tool for Windows.

The new release finally brings support for cloud backups, with an option to save your data to Google Drive.

A "Progress View" keeps you up-to-date with the current backup job, listing details including the files processed so far, the number to go, and estimated time remaining.

There’s also a new Backup View with an integrated file/ folder search, although we’re less impressed by that: the only time we got it to work, it did nothing useful, and the Help didn’t help, either.

Assorted interface improvements include updates for the Backup Wizard, along with the Backup Properties and Backup Options dialogs.

Technical tweaks include an SHA-256 certificate for the setup program, and there’s the usual scattering of non-specific "other improvements".

Google Drive backup is a great addition to the program, although if you need more, keep in mind that Softland’s commercial Backup4all also offers backup to FTP, SFTP, even Azure and Amazon S3 in the $49.99 Backup4all Professional version.

FBackup 6.0 is a freeware application for Windows XP and later.
Enterprise apps will drive augmented reality adoption

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 6:40pm CET par Sead Fadilpašić

We might look at augmented reality (AR) as another means of entertainment, but it is its business applications that will fuel growth for the next five years, a new report suggests.

Beecham Research's Augmented Reality and Wearable Technology -- an operational tool for the enterprise report suggests that different markets such as manufacturing, healthcare and retail, areas where AR offers a new way for people to interact with information without the use of hands, is where this technology is expected to shine in the next five years.

"It is clear that the overall status of the enterprise market for AR and wearable technology is at a tipping point, moving from trials and testbed projects to real commercial deployments", says Matthew Duke-Woolley, market analyst at Beecham Research and author of the report. "While it is still questionable to provide a firm forecast, if this speed of transition accelerates as companies quickly recognize the benefits and return on investment, we believe the market can reach just under $800 million by 2020".

The report sees heads-up displays in manufacturing, remote assistance of specialist distant engineers and technicians, as well as medical systems which enable surgeons to access crucial data without distractions, key drivers of growth in the coming period.

"Current human-computer interfaces in mobile computing are primarily based around touchscreens, but AR along with WT offers a hands-free computing environment enabling greater interaction with information and the user’s surroundings", said Saverio Romeo, principal analyst at Beecham Research. "We expect to see rapid evolution of smart glasses with more miniaturization, better field of view and battery life, while there will also be increasing attention on the convergence with virtual reality (VR) technology and the Internet of Things to deliver competitive advantage. Collaboration with AR/VR and IoT players will be crucial".

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

Photo Credit: Ahmet Misirligul/Shutterstock
Inateck BR1002 Bluetooth transmitter/receiver [Review]

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 4:46pm CET par Ian Barker

We live in a world where we increasingly expect everything to interface with everything else. New cars come with Bluetooth and wireless connections for example to access information from your phone, and audio systems are able to stream music around your home.

But what if you have an older car, or if you want to link a smartphone to your non-smart home Hi-Fi? Inateck has an answer in the form of the BR1002, a neat little gadget that can turn your older devices into Bluetooth enabled ones.

It's about the size of the sort of remote plipper that you use to lock and unlock a car. Controls are simple, a switch on the side to change between transmit and receive modes and a red button on the front for pairing. On top are a USB port for charging and a 3.5mm jack for connecting to your audio device. There's a printed -- although rather badly translated in places -- instruction leaflet that explains how it works.

Plug it into a USB port and a white ring around the button lights up to show it's charging. A full charge takes around two hours and will give you roughly six hours use as a receiver or eight as a transmitter. It'll beep to tell you the battery is running low. Pairing is simple, hold down the red button for a few seconds until two white LEDs flash and it should be visible to other devices. It'll automatically pair to the last used device when powered on. You can only pair one device at a time, however.

So what can you do with it? Basically the BR1002 lets you turn any device with a 3.5mm audio connector into a Bluetooth enabled one. In receiver mode you can stream music to your car from your phone, or turn an old pair of headphones into wireless ones, or in transmitter mode send sound from your old Walkman to your PC.

It works well in practice with a stable connection and only a very occasional glitch in the audio stream. The audio cable is very short but that shouldn't be a problem for the type of use the device will be put to. That and the fact you can only pair one device at a time are the only real drawbacks to the BR1002. At $21.99 on Amazon it's an inexpensive, versatile and easy to use gadget.

More information is available on the Inateck website.
Samsung globally rolls out Gear S2 Classic New Edition in Rose Gold and Platinum

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 3:44pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

Samsung announced a premium version of its Gear S2 smartwatch at CES 2016. Called Gear S2 Classic New Edition, the wearable uses high-end materials like gold and leather, making it a more attractive competitor to Apple Watch than its older brother. If you have been waiting for its arrival, Samsung has just announced the start of its global rollout.

Samsung says that Gear S2 Classic New Edition is available first in China, with the rollout to continue in markets across the globe "early this year". Here is what you should know about it.

Gear S2 Classic New Edition is offered in two versions, one with an 18k rose gold coating and an ivory leather band, and the other with a platinum finish and a black leather band (the leather, Samsung says, is genuine).

To further set it apart from the standard Gear S2, Samsung has equipped the new smartwatch with a suite of "stylish" watch faces. There are also new additions to the suite of apps compatible with the product family, like Bloomberg and CNN, and improvements to existing offerings "to enhance the convenience of the device".

Gear S2 Classic New Edition has NFC, allowing Samsung to enable Samsung Pay functionality on the smartwatch "early this year", starting with US. You can read about our hands-on experience with the new mobile payments service here.

Samsung does not say how much Gear S2 Classic New Edition will cost, but it is fair to assume that it will be much cheaper than Apple Watch Edition because the former is not made out of solid gold or platinum. However, the premium look and feel is likely to be unaffected by this. And, personally speaking, it looks much closer to an old-fashioned luxury timepiece than Apple Watch.
In defense of Microsoft: there was no Surface failure at the NFL playoffs

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 3:42pm CET par Mark Wilson

Brace yourselves: I'm about to stick up for Microsoft. While I'm happy to criticize the company for its failings (and maybe kick it when it's down from time to time), complaints that cropped up over the weekend seem completely unjustified. I'm talking about this weekend's NFL playoffs.

I'm far from being a football (or indeed sport of any description) fan, but my news timeline has been filled with headlines about how Microsoft suffered embarrassment when its Surface tablets (now famously used on the sidelines and mistakenly referred to as iPads) failed during the Broncos-Patriots game. Except the problems that led to an information blackout was absolutely not the fault of Microsoft, or its Surfaces.

The number of news outlets -- including normally reputable, trustworthy sites -- that quickly jumped on the 'bash Microsoft' bandwagon, was astonishing. Even sites that reluctantly admitted that the problems were not down to Surface failure (I'm looking at you Samuel Gibbs at the Guardian) certainly went a long way to make it seem as though Microsoft's tablets were to blame.

The technical issue which meant that information was not fed through to sideline Surfaces lay with the stadium's wireless network -- illustrated perfectly by the fact that the solution to the problem was, initially, to connect the tablets to a wired network. Microsoft is understandably bemused by accusations that the problems were anything to do with the Surfaces themselves. The company issued a statement saying:

Our team on the field confirmed the issue was not related to the tablets themselves but rather an issue with the network. We worked with our partners who manage the network to ensure the issue was resolved quickly.

Despite quoting this statement, Samuel Gibbs goes on to say "whether or not the tablets themselves were at fault..."; they weren't, Samuel, we've just established that! Of course, Mr Gibbs is not alone in the tone he chose to adopt in his article -- there are countless factually incorrect articles out there. In his defense, Gibbs' post is technically correct throughout, but it is written in a tremendously misleading fashion.

The headline screams: "Microsoft Surface tablets offline during Broncos-Patriots NFL playoff".

Yep. Cos the wireless network was borked. But the implication from the headline is that there was Surface failure.

The sub-head continues: "Sponsored Windows tablets fail to provide New England with crucial play information leading to enraged fans, coaching staff and players".

Yes, they did indeed. But again, this is because of the network problems. Sadly the takeaway from this sub-head is 'sponsored Windows tablets fail'.

The first sentence of the article: "Microsoft's Surface tablets went offline at a crucial moment in last night's NFL playoffs...".

Yes, again this is correct, but the implication is that Surfaces were to blame.

Next sentence: "The tablets, which serve images of previous plays with both team's positions, went offline for at least 20 minutes leaving coaching staff and play callers enraged".

Mention the network problems! Mention the damned network problems!

Christ almighty... by all means give Microsoft a kicking, but at least make sure it's justified. I know I'm not alone in feeling this way -- Richard Hay is of a similar mind over on Winsupersite.
DDoS attacks and how they work

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 3:31pm CET par Ian Barker

DDoS attacks are one of the greatest threats that companies face and can lead to financial losses and damage to customer relationships.

But how exactly do these attacks work? Cloud delivery security company Incapsula has put together an infographic explaining the anatomy of an attack.

It looks at the victims of attacks as well as those who facilitate them. These include the 'arms dealers' who supply the software and tools to launch attacks, and also the types of cyber criminals who use them, ranging from hacktivists trying to make a political point -- hello Anonymous -- to script kiddies mounting attacks just for the fun of it.

The graphic also looks at the costs of attacks both in financial terms and in disruption to the business.

You can see the full infographic below.

Photo Credit: Duc Dao / Shutterstock
Why mobile app analytics are critical for a competitive edge

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 3:24pm CET par Serban Tir
Mobile usage is continuing to explode and is taking up significantly more of people’s time than desktop and other media, according to eMarketer. Mobile applications account for 89 percent of consumer media time in mobile, according to Nielson.

Today’s mobile usage landscape creates a new set of challenges for companies including more competition than ever for users to choose and use their applications. As a result, companies are racing to develop apps to take advantage of this growth, but many don’t have the right analytics in place to adequately measure their effectiveness. As such, companies investing in mobile app development should always optimize their apps using mobile analytics, or risk being unclear on their apps’ reach, engagement and if it is performing the way it is supposed to. Here is a quick introduction to mobile app analytics and why they are so important to businesses.

Mobile app developers work with two components of mobile app analytics: the library of the mobile analytics platform and the server-side of the platform. The library of the mobile analytics platform is integrated into the application itself and its purpose is to collect statistics. The server-side is the receiving platform. The mobile statistics from the library are aggregated here and the information is stored in a database. This information is valuable for optimizing different areas of the application and business.

Mobile applications today collect a lot of data, which can offer important and useful insight into a wide variety of activities that happen within the application. To help sort through all of the data, these metrics can be classified into three categories:
- Business-related metrics. These crucial metrics show how the app is performing from a business perspective. Business-related metrics examples include conversion, retention, and engagement rates. These metrics directly impact a business and shed light on how successful (or unsuccessful) the app is overall. If an app is not meeting expectations, businesses can use these metrics to course-correct until they see an improvement.
- App performance metrics. This data provides helpful information on a user’s experience with an app and show which pages have been viewed the most or least, what features of the app are used heavily or rarely and what components of the app are the most popular. App developers can use these metrics to enhance parts of the app that aren’t seeing as much traffic and make them more engaging. Then, they can view the data over time to see if their changes have impacted the overall user experience.
- Lower-level metrics. This information is very useful to app developers because it collects data on any crash, bugs or bad behavior happening within the app. If an app is behaving badly, people are more likely to use it less frequently, leave bad reviews or even uninstall the app altogether. Having access to these analytics enable app developers to immediately see if a problem is occurring so they can debug the app and quickly have it running again normally for minimal disruption of the user experience.
App metrics are invaluable to companies because they can be used to determine the ultimate success of an app. If analytics show that an app has been used in the way that it was supposed to, it is a good sign for a company. If not, then the business has critical insight into important changes that need to be made in order for people to use the app as expected.

If companies want to optimize their applications and user engagement, they must first understand and measure the user interaction, which is why mobile app analytics are so important. Mobile analytics offer a wealth of information and can transform the way that users interact with an app. Companies can use this knowledge to maximize the user experience and reduce app vulnerabilities for a competitive edge.

Photo credit: ra2studio / Shutterstock

Serban Tir is Chief Technical Officer at Gemini Solutions. He graduated from the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications in Bucharest and has worked in the Romanian IT community since 1996. Serban’s rich experience includes roles as software developer, team leader, software architect, technical manager, and vice president of engineering for a US-based startup company. Serban is always highly attuned to new, disruptive technologies (for example, Serban was one of the first iOS developers in Romania).
Not a fan of Microsoft Edge? Here's how to block the new browser in Windows 10

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 2:34pm CET par Wayne Williams

Microsoft Edge is deeply integrated in Windows 10, but while it’s a reasonable browser it still has a long way to go before it even comes close to rivaling the likes of Google Chrome or Firefox.

If you don’t use Edge, and I don’t, then its presence in Windows 10 might be a bit of an annoyance, especially when it sets (and occasionally resets) itself to not only be the default browser, but the default PDF reader too. Fortunately, you can block the browser, so you don’t need to ever worry about it again.

To do this you’ll need Edge Blocker, which is a simple tool that does what its name says and blocks Microsoft Edge. It couldn’t be easier to use, as there are just two buttons on the interface -- Block and Unblock.

SEE ALSO: How to change the default search engine in Microsoft Edge

Once you’ve blocked the browser, it won’t load even if you -- or an app -- tries to launch it.

Try it out, and assuming everything is working as it should, check and set the default apps for the tasks Edge usually does in Windows 10. You can do this through Settings > System > Default Apps.

Photo credit: Imilian / Shutterstock
Google donates more than $5 million to give Chromebooks to refugees

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 2:31pm CET par Brian Fagioli

For many consumers, a Chromebook is looked at as an inexpensive secondary computer. The truth is, yeah, they make excellent complementary devices. With that said, when it comes to consumers without a lot of money, laptops running Google's Chrome OS can be a perfectly fine primary computer too -- depending on needs, of course.

Chromebooks are more than low prices, however; they are also very low-maintenance too. Updates are automatic, and malware is largely non-existent. It is for that reason that the machines are perfect for scenarios where resources are scarce. Today, Google announces that it is donating $5.3 million to put Chromebooks in the hands of refugees.

"Last fall, we shared how we're supporting organizations on the frontline of providing essential humanitarian relief support. But we also wanted to do something to help with refugees' long-term challenges, such as the need for access to information and education. So today, we're making a $5.3 million Google.org grant to support the launch of Project Reconnect, a program by NetHope to equip nonprofits working with refugees in Germany with Chromebooks", says Jacquelline Fuller, Director of Google.org.

Fuller further says, "Chromebooks have proven to be a good fit for education purposes. They can be easily set up to run education or language learning apps. They’re automatically kept up to date with the latest features, apps and virus protection. And they can be configured and managed by a central administrator (in this case the nonprofits) to offer relevant programs, content and materials depending on the situation. For example, they can run an educational game for children, a language course for younger adults or even feature information about the asylum application process on a pre-installed homepage".

I know what you are thinking -- Google is biased in supporting an organization that donates Chromebooks. After all, the laptops run the search giant's Linux-based operating system. With that said, Chromebooks are the smartest option for these refugees.

Think about it -- if the goal is to get these people connected, Windows has too much baggage, such as the risk of malware, plus confusing updates and privacy settings. Macs are too expensive -- selecting OS X would decrease the number of machines that can be purchased for the $5.3 million, meaning less refugees connected.

The fact that Chromebooks are secure and easy to maintain makes them perfect for this project. They are even easy to wipe and pass to another user when needed. Even if Google is biased, ultimately, it is the right choice anyway. It is a major win for refugees.

If you work for a non-profit that works with refugees, you can apply for the program here.

What do you think of Google's donation to Project Reconnect? Tell me in the comments.
SMEs and the Internet of Things

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 1:41pm CET par Ian Barker

The Internet of Things is usually thought of in terms of its impact on consumers, but it has an impact on business users too.

UK support company Supreme Systems has produced an infographic looking at what the IoT can do for smaller businesses.

It looks at the areas where the IoT can benefit businesses including customer satisfaction, financial performance and overall efficiency. The graphic also covers how the IoT can open up new opportunities for research and product development.

The factors to consider when deploying the IoT are considered too, including security, open source and proprietary standards and more.

You can see more in the full infographic below.
chrlauncher is a free Chromium updater for PCs

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 1:09pm CET par Mike Williams

If you like Chrome, but aren’t so keen on Google’s tracking code and other extras, then you could switch to Chromium, its open-source browser engine.

Sure, you’d lose the integrated PDF viewer, various codecs, the Flash player (actually, that might be a good thing).

But it’s also more lightweight, and you’ll get new Chromium features long before they arrive in other builds.

Chrlauncher is a portable Chromium updater and launcher for Windows XP+ which makes it easy to download, update and run the browser, without interfering with your existing web settings.

There’s no installation required, just unzip the tiny download, switch to the 32 or 64-bit folder depending on the version you need, and run chrlauncher.exe.

The program immediately detects that this is your first run, then goes online, downloads a portable copy of Chromium to a BIN subfolder, and launches it.

Now you can browse as normal, add bookmarks, maybe install extensions. Whatever you’re doing is stored locally in a PROFILE subfolder, so it won’t interfere with any existing browser setup.

Whenever you run chrlauncher.exe in future, it automatically checks for and downloads any updates, before launching Chromium.

Although this is plainly designed for portable use, the package also includes a SetDefaultBrowser.bat file which does exactly what its name suggests.

We’d guess you’re probably never going to want to use this, but if you’re technically inclined then it’s interesting just as an example of how to set your default browser from a batch file (it’s more involved than you might think).

Put it all together and chrlauncher has something for everyone: it’s a simple updater for Chromium fans, but it’s also an easy way to build a portable browser setup for everyone else. Take a look.

Chrlauncher is a free application for Windows XP and later.
Docker buys Unikernel Systems

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 12:08pm CET par Alasdair Gilchrist

Docker, the Californian technology company behind the open source virtual container platform, has announced the acquisition of Unikernel Systems, a Cambridge-based startup.

Unikernel Systems has a rather unique product that Docker plans to integrate into its own tools and services as it views a future beyond just containers. The integration of Unikernels into Docker would allow developers to build even more efficient microservice architectures.

What makes Unikernels interesting is that it brings fine tuned specialization to virtualization by not just duplicating and isolating full OS kernels, but by minimizing the functionality to a bare minimum to run a specific application. What this means is that when compiling the OS kernel it would only add libraries required by the specific application it would be running.

The result of isolation and specialization of the OS kernel is a very slick, fast, finely tuned OS with a tiny security footprint, which is ideally suited to very high performance and high security applications, for example financial trading floor applications and with an eye to the future Internet of Things.

Docker founder and CTO, Solomon Hykes, admits that though this might be a rather obscure acquisition, Docker is actually acquiring a team with very deep technical knowledge, which will allow Docker to be more aggressive in addressing problems deeper in the stack.

However, it also fits with Docker’s desire to move away from just containers and push forward microservices as an ecosystem, and unikernels then make perfect sense.

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

Photo Credit: bleakstar/Shutterstock
Oracle reveals Google's revenue from Android

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 10:04am CET par Alasdair Gilchrist

There’s been a new twist in the litigation between Oracle and Google over copyright infringement, after Oracle claimed Google breached copyright by inappropriate use of Java in Android.

A lawyer representing Oracle has now made the astonishing revelation, in court, that Google revenue from Android, since 2008, is $31 billion. This staggering figure relates to $22 in profit derived from Google’s two Android revenue streams, advertising on mobile Android platforms and the revenue it receives from sales on Google’s Android app store.

"Look at the extraordinary magnitude of commerciality here", Oracle attorney Annette Hurst told a federal magistrate judge. However, Google is furious as she revealed Android revenue and profit, which should have never been publicly disclosed. Indeed Google claims that Oracle's attorney improperly disclosed "extremely sensitive information" from documents that were marked "Attorney’s Eyes Only".

As a result, Google has urged the San Francisco federal judge to redact and seal portions of the public transcript of last week’s hearing, "Google does not publicly allocate revenues or profits to Android separate and apart from Google’s general business", the company said in the filing.

"That non-public financial data is highly sensitive, and public disclosure could have significant negative effects on Google’s business".

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

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox
Alexa goes to the movies, Amazon Echo adds its latest update

Publié: janvier 25, 2016, 7:33am CET par Alan Buckingham

Amazon released its Echo device in 2014, bringing a whole new dimension to what people can do with voice control in their homes. Since then the company has been steadily adding features. Not only can it give you sports updates, play music and tell you the weather and news, but it can also control home automation and has an increasing list of skills (small add-ons).

If you are into watching movies both at home and in theaters then this update will make you happy, as it brings several new features a lover of the motion pictures will certainly want to utilize.

"Alexa can now tell you movie showtimes at theaters near you. Let Alexa help you plan your weekend, with information about films currently in theaters".

Amazon provides a sample list of questions to get you started on learning what it can do.

Alexa, when is Star Wars: The Force Awakens playing?

Alexa, tell me about the movie The Revenant

Alexa, what movies are playing

Alexa, what action movies are playing Saturday night?

All of this is available now. It comes only a week after Amazon enabled the playing of Kindle books, allowing for it to pick up where you left off on the Kindle and resume back on the Kindle at the new spot. For that, I'm afraid you do have to endure Alexa's voice reading it.

Image Credit: ktsdesign / Shutterstock