Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » juin 22, 2016

BetaNews.Com (17 non lus)

A win for privacy: senate blocks FBI from gaining warrantless access to browsing histories

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 9:25pm CEST par Mark Wilson

A Senate amendment brought forward by John McCain that would have given the FBI the right to browse suspects' phone and internet records without a warrant has been narrowly defeated. The vote very nearly went the other way -- there were just two votes in it when the counting was over. McCain had hoped that pushing the amendment as a counter-terrorism tool (particularly against "non-U.S. citizen 'lone wolf' attackers") would be enough to get the required 60 votes. But it seems that the Orlando shooting that McCain cited as an incentive for the changes was not enough to convince others.… [Continue Reading]
Mozilla MOSS 'Mission Partners' makes it rain $385,000 on open source project developers

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 9:18pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

Open source is very important nowadays, especially from a privacy and security standpoint. Look, closed source ideology is not inherently bad -- it is a good way to protect a company's code. The problem, however, is that users are increasingly suspicious of software since Edward Snowden's leaks. There is no telling what kind of back doors or other malicious things are hiding in the code. Mozilla is a longtime open source champion, not only with words, but resources too. Besides producing the wonderful Firefox web browser, the company is increasingly donating money to the cause. Today, the company announces that it is… [Continue Reading]
Businesses want to spend more money on making apps

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 8:51pm CEST par Sead Fadilpašić

Businesses want to increase their spend on mobile app development, but we’re still a long way to go before that spending becomes more relevant, a new study by Gartner has shown. According to the market analysts’ report, overall app development budget allocated to mobile is 10 percent, a two percent decrease compared to the year before. However, almost half (42 percent) of organizations plan to increase their mobile app development spend by an average of 31 percent this year. "Demand for mobile apps in the enterprise is growing, but the urgency to scale up mobile app development doesn’t yet appear… [Continue Reading]
Opera says Microsoft's claims about Edge battery life are wrong -- but all's not as it seems

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 8:08pm CEST par Mark Wilson

The other day, Microsoft made some bold claims about the power consumption of Edge. The company claimed that its latest web browser is the most battery-friendly when compared to Chrome, Opera and Firefox. Having been beaten into third place behind Chrome, but ahead of Firefox, Opera has hit back. The company says that its own tests show -- surprise, surprise -- that it is Opera which is the most efficient battery sipper. Opera says that its own battery saving feature boosts battery life by up to 50 percent when compared to Chrome. The company criticizes Microsoft for failing to reveal… [Continue Reading]
VLC for Android 2.0 merges Android TV and mobile builds together, offers network disk browsing and performance improvements

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 6:42pm CEST par Nick Peers

VideoLAN has unveiled VLC for Android 2.0, a major new version of its mobile video and audio player. The app is renowned for being able to play most multimedia files as well as many streaming video protocols. Version 2.0 merges the Android TV version with the main Android build, plus introduces a slew of useful new features including the ability to access content over the network and internet as well as support for downloadable subtitles. The most visible change will be found on phones and tablets, as VLC for Android 2.0 merges both mobile and Android TV versions together, with… [Continue Reading]
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14371 arrives on the Fast ring

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 6:31pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Microsoft is rolling out new Windows 10 Insider builds on a very regular basis in preparation for the big Anniversary Update at the end of July. Last week we had not one, but two new PC builds gracing the Fast ring, and today we get yet another -- Build 14371. As you might expect there are lots of improvements and bug fixes in this new build, but there are also some new additions too. Top of the list are improvements to activation, which will please anyone who has run into activation issues after upgrading their PC. I recently upgraded my… [Continue Reading]
Official Kodi Edition Raspberry Pi Case now available with advanced overclock cooling

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 5:49pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

The Raspberry Pi family of computers are insanely popular. It is not hard to see why; the mini machines are very inexpensive while also being very capable. They can be a great choice for tinkering, plus teaching children to code and make. For many folks, however, the Raspberry Pi makes a great media center device. By loading something like Kodi (formally XBMC), you can have a rewarding diminutive home theater experience. Today, Kodi partners with FLIRC for an official Raspberry Pi case. "With the help of a company called FLIRC, we are excited to announce the very first piece of hardware ever… [Continue Reading]
Microsoft launches data protection tool for enterprises

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 5:10pm CEST par Ian Barker

As businesses rely more on mobile and cloud systems, greater emphasis is placed on protecting their information while retaining the productivity benefits. Microsoft is launching a new service to help businesses guard their data as it travels between devices and servers. Azure Information Protection builds on both the existing Microsoft Azure Rights Management (Azure RMS) and the company's acquisition last year of information protection business Secure Islands. The service will allow enterprises to use policies to classify and label data in intuitive ways based on the source, context and content of the data. Classification can be fully automatic, user-driven or based… [Continue Reading]
Most UK businesses plan to introduce digital services

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 5:05pm CEST par Sead Fadilpašić

IT pros are feeling the pressure of digital transformation, as nearly 90 percent of UK’s businesses are looking to introduce digital services. According to CloudTalent, an Avanade company specializing in IT strategic advisory services, this challenge is greater than anything IT teams faced before. Of the surveyed IT decision makers going through digital transformation just 40 percent believe they’re making good progress, and a third (34 percent) are near the end of the process. Two thirds said they need to hire specialist IT consultants, while 94 percent say they’d already used their services before. Half are planning to place a larger… [Continue Reading]
Enterprises struggle to manage big data flows

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 4:22pm CEST par Ian Barker

Enterprises of all sizes are facing challenges on a range of data performance management issues from stopping bad data to keeping their data flows operating effectively. This is a finding of a survey by data performance management specialist StreamSets which finds that nearly 90 percent of respondents reported flowing bad data into their data stores, while only 12 percent think themselves good at the key aspects of data flow performance management. Data quality is cited as the most common challenge when managing big data flows (selected by 68 percent). In addition to bad data flowing into stores, 74 percent of… [Continue Reading]
Big data management salaries see 8 percent rise in UK

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 2:30pm CEST par Sead Fadilpašić

If you were thinking about switching careers in order to start earning bigger money, you might want to consider a career in big data management. Reports started coming in that salaries for this position jumped eight percent this year, more than what the Bank of England forecast (three percent). Professional IT resourcing firm Experis also says that 5,148 advertised jobs in Q1 were in the big data segment, with 87 percent being in London. Other tech cities are closing the gap though, with Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham being notable examples. But it’s not just about the potential big data brings… [Continue Reading]
Best portable power solutions

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 12:50pm CEST par Stewart Wolpin

Is your smartphone battery sucking the fading fumes of its final milliamps? If it is, there is absolutely, positively no reason whatsoever for you to be frantically foraging for an AC outlet. None. Zero. Not when there are literally hundreds of portable power options in a wide variety of sizes, form factors and capacities to be had at surprisingly low prices. For instance, you can buy a battery case for your phone. Or, you can buy a compact charger to stash in your pocket or purse. You can buy a slim battery just slightly larger and thicker than a credit… [Continue Reading]
Google reveals end-of-life dates for Nexus devices

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 11:49am CEST par Mark Wilson

One of the advantages of buying a Nexus device is the guarantee that you're in line to receive updates for longer than devices from most other manufacturers. Google issues not only Android updates, but also monthly security patches for Nexus phones and tablets, and the company has just published its latest end-of-life list. Next in line to drop off the support list are the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9. These devices will not receive "guaranteed Android version updates" (such as updates to Android N and Android O) after October 2016, but Google has also revealed when the Nexus6P and Nexus… [Continue Reading]
Strong DevOps performance pays off for businesses

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 11:36am CEST par Ian Barker

High-performing DevOps organizations are widening their lead against lower-performing ones according to a new report. Compared to low performers, high-performing organizations deploy 200 times more frequently, have 2,555 times faster lead times, and recover 24 times faster from failed changes. The findings come from software automation specialist Puppet, which has announced the findings of its latest State of DevOps Report looking at return on investment, how building quality and security into the development cycle affects business outcomes, the role of lean product management, and the relationship between employee engagement and organizational success. Compared to last year, the high performers have… [Continue Reading]
Mark Zuckerberg is so concerned about his privacy that he tapes over his webcam and microphone

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 10:06am CEST par Mark Wilson

Facebook and privacy are not words usually associated with one another, and it seems this holds true even for the man at the top. Only recently we learned that Mark Zuckerberg uses terrible passwords, making it easy to hack his accounts, but now it turns out he's also quite paranoid. As Instagram popped champagne corks for reaching the milestone of half a billion users, Zuckerberg posted a celebratory picture. Eagle-eyed people soon pointed out that both the mic and camera of his laptop were taped over. It's a technique that has long been used by the concerned, the paranoid, and… [Continue Reading]
Most UK tech workers against Brexit

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 9:10am CEST par Sead Fadilpašić

The tech industry is not really hyped about the UK’s potential abandoning of the European Union, according to new reports by market analysts. Juniper Research just released a new report which says that almost two thirds (65 percent) of UK’s tech employees believe Brexit would not have a positive effect on the global tech industry. There are multiple reasons why a positive outcome of Brexit would have a negative impact on the tech world, with two standing out. According to the surveyed, the UK would have a harder time attracting and recruiting talent from the European Union (70 percent). More… [Continue Reading]
Unicode Standard 9.0 is official with 72 new emoji like shrug, avocado, gorilla, and more!

Publié: juin 22, 2016, 2:24am CEST par Brian Fagioli

Emoji are the future of communication -- according to some folks, at least. Quite frankly, I find that they aren't so Earth-shattering. The written word is merely the use of letters as visual representations of things, right? Well, emoji are visual representations of things too. The word "APPLE" and "🍎" are arguably the same. Emoji that represent facial expressions 😯 can even enhance things, better expressing emotion. Today, Unicode Version 9.0 becomes official, with a ton of new characters. What many folks will be excited about, however, is new emoji! There are 72 new emoji to be exact, and there… [Continue Reading]