Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » novembre 7, 2016

BetaNews.Com (19 non lus)

Google: EU commissioners don't understand antitrust law

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 8:27pm CET par Anthony Spadafora

In an effort to soften the European Commission's inquiry into business practices, Google has claimed that those bringing charges against it do not fully understand antitrust law. Kent Walker, senior VP and general counsel, took to the company's corporate blog to respond to the commission's concerns over how it has prevented rival sites and services from competing in the areas of online advertising and sales. In his blog post, Walker was quick to point out that the Commission had failed to acknowledge the role that Amazon plays in how consumers shop online. Google's comparison shopping engine, "Shopping" is currently under… [Continue Reading]
What you need to know about data warehousing

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 7:58pm CET par Ian Barker

Data warehouses are at the core of many information driven business initiatives. They’re used to store large volumes of historical data which can then be used in business intelligence projects to create knowledge-based reporting. But a data warehouse isn’t just a single, huge repository of data, they come in a number of different types. What they all have in common is that they’re separate from day-to-day operational systems. Data is uploaded to a warehouse after it has served its primary purpose, so that it can be used for statistical analysis and decision support, once out of date for this purpose… [Continue Reading]
Google is altering Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton 2016 Presidential Election results

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 6:55pm CET par Brian Fagioli

Today is Election Day Eve, and I am tired. Not physically tired, mind you (coffee keeps me running), but instead, I am both emotionally and mentally drained. I am certainly not alone in this feeling, either. This presidential race feels like its been going on forever, and I cannot wait for it to end. God willing, tomorrow evening, we should have a definitive victor. Of course, there is always the possibility of a tie or other voting drama, but I digress. If you have needed assistance with any aspect of tomorrow's election, Google has been offering help. Between its famed search engine… [Continue Reading]
Android Auto can now be used on your phone in any car, regardless of age

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 5:51pm CET par Mark Wilson

It's quite some time since Google launched Android Auto -- around two years, in fact -- but adoption has been hampered by one little niggle: you needed a compatible car to take advantage of it. Today that changes. Starting today, Android Auto is available as a stand-alone phone app that can be used to bring the tool to any car via an Android device. This means that older vehicles can now feel the benefits of Android Auto and use it to get directions, listen to music, and much more. All you need to enjoy Android Auto is a phone running… [Continue Reading]
Open Hardware Monitor: it’s still alive!

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 5:13pm CET par Mike Williams

After almost two update-free years, the Open Hardware Monitor project has jumped back to life with the release of version 0.8. The open source project is a free tool for monitoring CPU load, clock speed and temperatures, fan speeds, voltages, video adapters, RAM usage and more. The new build brings much-need hardware support for Intel Skylake CPUs, along with Kaby Lake, Airmont and i5, and the Xeon E5-26xx v4 and D-15xx. Added support for the ITE IT8620E, IT8628E, and Nuvoton NCT6102D/NCT6106D super I/O chips should get the program working with many more motherboards. There’s now more information available for NVIDIA… [Continue Reading]
Online retailers warned about price-fixing ahead of Black Friday

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 5:10pm CET par Mark Wilson

Black Friday is just around the corner, and while shoppers may be looking forward to making big savings the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued a warning to online retailers about price-fixing. The consumer body has not revealed which retailers it has written to, but it says that "a number of online companies" have received letters. It's part of a campaign to make it clear to companies selling online that "discussing and agreeing price levels with competitors is illegal, and can result in serious penalties". The CMA has previously been involved in clamping down on price-fixing in Amazon's marketplace,… [Continue Reading]
How Western businesses should manage their websites in China

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 5:07pm CET par Alex Nam

The idea that the Chinese market is emerging is an idea that firmly belongs in the past -- while online gaming is worth $22 billion, the construction market is worth a staggering $2 trillion. Cross-border ecommerce sales -- consumers from China buying goods from outside China -- is expected to reach just under a trillion US dollars in 2016. Outbound tourists from China reached 120 million in 2015, and they spent $104.5 billion around the globe. Internet usage and access in China is growing, despite the restrictions in connectivity the region faces. Even though the Great Firewall of China can… [Continue Reading]
Prisma-like NeuralStyler brings more creative control

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 4:51pm CET par Mike Williams

Open-source video-to-art creator NeuralStyler has hit version 1.2 with some handy new features. A simple video trimmer allows selecting the scene you’d like to transform. It’s not precise -- you choose your start and end points by seconds, not frames -- but that’s still enough to save you a lot of time and hassle. If you’re converting an image, a "Style Strength" slider instantly customizes the effect. Again, it’s basic, apparently just blending the converted image with the original, but we found it helped fine-tune the results. You’re no longer restricted to choosing from a few predefined export resolutions. Select… [Continue Reading]
How to block Windows 10 popups for Microsoft Edge and Bing Rewards

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 4:35pm CET par Mark Wilson

Just the other day users started to notice that Microsoft was using Windows 10 to push ads for its Edge browser. Already riled by ads for Windows 10 itself and the appearance of app ads in the Start menu, people were soon asking how to stop the unwanted popups. One suggestion that started doing the round was that simply unpinning Microsoft Edge from the taskbar does the job -- but it doesn’t seem to work for everyone. Here are a few more things you can do to prevent the appearance of Microsoft's ads. If you have yet to try unpinning… [Continue Reading]
Employees feel pressure to use personal devices for work

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 4:02pm CET par Ian Barker

Of employees in the US who use their personal smartphones for work, 45 percent are required to do so by their employers and 55 percent do so voluntarily. However, of those voluntary users 42 percent feel pressured to use their phone for business use outside of work. This is among the findings of a new survey by platform services company Syntonic which reveals mounting pressure on employees to use their personal devices for work even if not required by their employer. This is coupled with a growing reluctance by individuals to use their personal data plans. Half of employees postpone… [Continue Reading]
8 superb -- and cheap -- Raspberry Pi alternatives

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 3:30pm CET par Wayne Williams

As great as the Raspberry Pi is -- and let's be honest, all of the devices in that family are excellent, especially for the money -- it’s not the only such device available to buy, and some of the rival systems are arguably better as they come with Wi-Fi built-in, and other tricks, such as the ability to double as a wireless router, run Android, or display on-board scrolling messages. While there are plenty of pricier (and therefore more powerful) options available, I’ve focused on the more affordable choices here -- ones that match, or better, the Raspberry Pi for… [Continue Reading]
Slack’s morning after

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 3:26pm CET par Mike McCamon

The rite of passage from youth to adulthood is filled with "morning after” moments -- those times when you realize that only 24 short hours ago (or less) you had bad judgment. Last Wednesday is Slack’s morning after... it thought it mattered as much as Microsoft. Slack is a great product with deeply devoted fans, there’s no doubt about that. Its management has embraced the "accidental genius" narrative ("We don’t know why people use our product"), have talked about revolutions, and have driven one hell of a valuation. Good for them. Sadly, witty narratives, claims that your technology is disruptive and a lot of… [Continue Reading]
(Un)colored is a rich content HTML and Markdown editor

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 2:51pm CET par Mike Williams

#(Un)colored is a distraction-free HTML and Markdown-compatible document editor for Windows, Linux and Mac. The program opens with an empty window, no toolbars, ribbons or anything else -- it’s just an empty frame where you can start to type. Select some text, though, and a pop-up displays various formatting options: text styling (bold, italic, underline), headings, paragraphs, lists and more. Even better, you can also embed YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion or Twitch videos, images by URLs, or add custom content by using your own embed code. You can’t use local content as easily, unfortunately. Other Markdown editors might import a local… [Continue Reading]
What you need to know about enterprise collaboration

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 2:48pm CET par Barclay Ballard, Ian Barker

Enterprise collaboration, sometimes abbreviated to EC or ECS for enterprise collaboration systems, is becoming an increasingly vital tool for many businesses. Essentially, it comprises various forms of hardware and software used to enable the seamless and efficient sharing of information and resources within a particular company. Enterprise collaboration systems can simply be relatively common communication tools such as email and instant messaging. Increasingly though businesses are turning to more bespoke solutions that combine these functions with project management and document management software. It is also worth noting that enterprise collaboration can prove beneficial for teams based in the same office,… [Continue Reading]
Apple makes 2016 MacBook Pro's dongle hell less expensive

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 2:46pm CET par Mihăiță Bamburic

With the latest-generation MacBook Pro, Apple made a giant leap forward and fully-embraced USB Type-C. It went so far as to drop all other ports on its new prosumer-oriented laptops, even if the consumer market is not ready for it. The end result is that, if you want to use your existing peripherals and accessories, you will need (quite) a few dongles. And this creates a problem. The new MacBook Pro does not come with any dongles in the box, so you will have to buy them yourself. This has angered quite a few prospective buyers, so, to make up for it,… [Continue Reading]
US launches website to share open-source software code

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 1:34pm CET par Anthony Spadafora

The US government has just launched its latest website, Code.gov with the aim of preventing the replication of code across government agencies in order to conserve valuable time and resources. The site, which was launched on Thursday, already contains almost 50 open-source projects from a number of government agencies. Code.gov is the product of the Federal Source Code policy that was first announced in August by the White House. The site's goal is to provide new custom source code that can be reused across government agencies to cut down on replicating code which is a waste of government expenses and… [Continue Reading]
SoftPerfect RAM Disk no longer free for personal use

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 11:50am CET par Mike Williams

SoftPerfect has released SoftPerfect RAM Disk 4.0 with a major license change: the program is no longer free for home users. After the 30-day trial is up, version 4.0 now requires a $29 license for home users. As before, it’s $49 for businesses. If you’re happy with a previous version, there’s no need to upgrade and you can carry on using your existing build. SoftPerfect is also offering a free license to anyone who helps create or improve one of the program’s translations. Grab the official Language file for more details. Alternatively, you could switch to one of the competition.… [Continue Reading]
FBI says Clinton emails show no signs of wrong-doing, but Trump has his doubts

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 11:02am CET par Mark Wilson

Just over a week after the FBI announced it was re-opening the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, bureau director James Comey has announced that the previous investigatory conclusion of no wrong-doing remains. Looking at a new batch of emails that were discovered during a separate investigation has "not changed our conclusion", he said. But while the Clinton camp welcomed the news, Donald Trump was more suspicious. "You can’t review 650,000 emails in eight days," he said. Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server is an issue that has dogged her presidential campaign for months, and Comey's announcement that the… [Continue Reading]
How biometrics are addressing privacy concerns [Q&A]

Publié: novembre 7, 2016, 10:55am CET par Ian Barker

As traditional password security methods become increasingly discredited, enterprises are turning to other technologies to secure systems and transactions. Though many of the technologies are still in their infancy, others are becoming mainstream. We spoke to David Gerulski, vice president of fingerprint device specialist Integrated Biometrics to find out more about then latest technologies and how they're being used to address privacy concerns. BN: Will biometrics ever completely replace passwords or will they always be part of a two-factor model? DG: The current consensus heard at major identity conferences around the globe, and within biometrics industry advocacy groups, including the… [Continue Reading]