tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42201916594370185782024-03-19T15:00:28.384-07:00Portalys BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-60692367229603772392017-08-25T04:45:00.001-07:002017-08-25T04:45:36.040-07:00Samsung's Note8 Is Its Biggest Galaxy Phone Yet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtjQWvbcdWt4DTEQvSIwL2UAMN9EHSv7RLigjISB3fKgT9WhYr1TS0408r3hiO5Z3bn99EfODBhoJLS3ajOKqmb5y7_tJWKQX4ymYgBfr1C8Adm6UUY2dQX1aOGy-f5dd7r_lJGdT/s1600/xl-2017-samsung-galaxy-note8-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="620" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtjQWvbcdWt4DTEQvSIwL2UAMN9EHSv7RLigjISB3fKgT9WhYr1TS0408r3hiO5Z3bn99EfODBhoJLS3ajOKqmb5y7_tJWKQX4ymYgBfr1C8Adm6UUY2dQX1aOGy-f5dd7r_lJGdT/s320/xl-2017-samsung-galaxy-note8-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Samsung on Wednesday unveiled its Galaxy Note8 smartphone, positioning the oversized handset as the ideal choice for those who want to do bigger things. The new Android-powered device's larger Infinity Display features nearly bezel-less full-frontal glass and an edge-to-edge screen.</div>
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The Note8 comes with an improved S Pen that will allow users to communicate in what the company described as more "personal ways."</div>
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The Galaxy Note8 is both water- and dust-resistant, and it supports fast wireless charging. Under the hood, it features 6 GB of RAM, an Octa Core 2.36-GHz Quad + 1.7-GHz Quad 10nm processor, 65 GB of storage, and expandable memory.</div>
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Although the handset is built around a 6.3-inch Quad HD+ Super OMOLED screen with a truly wide 18.5:9 aspect ratio, it still can be considered a true "handset," as it can fit in most users' hands reasonably well.</div>
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The S Pen allows users to send handwritten notes and even create animated GIF files from videos. Samsung has touted this functionality as a true step up from traditional text messaging.</div>
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The S Pen is more than a stylus, as it features a 0.7mm tip that is far more precise that the styluses that were used with Palm and other devices a decade ago. It also is truly connected to the device. It has 4,096 levels of pressure, and thus can respond to the touch of the pen tip more accurately. It has eraser functionality as well.</div>
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Another touted improvement in the Galaxy Note8 is its Always On Display, which allows users to receive and read notifications without unlocking the device.</div>
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Preordering for the Galaxy Note8 began on Thursday. It will be available from major carriers, or as an unlocked version. The unlocked handset will retail for US$929.</div>
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Dual Cameras</h2>
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Among its feature highlights are the Galaxy Note8 rear cameras -- as in plural. It is the first handset to feature two 12-MP rear cameras with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). These cameras offer both wide-angle and telephoto lenses, which give users greater control of the depth of field. Users can adjust the bokeh effect in preview mode, as well as after a photo is taken. The wide-angle lens has a Dual Pixel sensor with rapid autofocus functionality, capturing sharp images in low-light conditions.</div>
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The camera further offers a Dual Capture mode: Both cameras are utilized to take two photos simultaneously -- one a close-up using the telephoto lens, and the other a wide-angle shot of the same subject.</div>
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In addition to the dual rear cameras, the Galaxy Note8 has an 8-MP Smart Auto Focus front-facing camera that can be used for video chats as well as selfies.</div>
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Premium Smartphone</h2>
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With its key features -- including the three cameras and large display -- the Samsung Galaxy Note8 clearly is meant to be a premium smartphone. However, it isn't exactly the company's newest flagship product.</div>
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"With Samsung, we look first at the hardware; the display is gorgeous," said Ramon Llamas, research manager for wearables and mobile phones at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.idc.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">IDC</a>.</div>
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"It feels good in the hand, and it is a great looking device, but it is really the software that makes this thing hum --and there it isn't revolutionary," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"The Galaxy Note8 is just moving it further in the same direction," added Llamas.</div>
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Still, "the Note8 appears to be the clear direction of what Samsung believes the premium smartphone design should look like," observed Wayne Lam, principal analyst for mobile electronics at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.ihsmarkit.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">IHS Markit</a>.</div>
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"By extending their Infinity Display design language from the Galaxy S8 and S8+, Samsung is evolving to maximize the screen real-estate of the device while keeping the handset ergonomic enough for everyday use," he told TechNewsWorld. "The inclusion of the dual OIS cameras are interesting, and should offer improvements to telephoto videos and photo stabilization."</div>
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Price Point</h2>
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The issue will be whether even the core Samsung customer will embrace the handset, given that it is a premium device without any key revolutionary benefits or improvements. What it does add may be too little -- even for the core audience.</div>
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"All these innovations come at a price, and the cost of the Note8 will be the most expensive version of the series -- more so than the ill-fated Note7," added Lam.</div>
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Yet, Samsung is appealing to the hard-core Note users, he suggested.</div>
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"This demographic values utility and performance over other things," Lam noted, "whereas Apple tries to appeal to all smartphone users with their zen-like simplicity and designs."</div>
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The next iPhone -- the 10th anniversary model -- could give Samsung's Note8 a run for its money.</div>
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This is true even though "it's appealing to a different demographic really," according to Lam. "However, from a price point perspective, they are both attracting the same customers."</div>
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Past Debacles Forgotten?</h2>
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It remains unknown whether Samsung can put the Note7 disaster in the past for good.</div>
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"With each device that comes out, that debacle with the exploding batteries is further in the rearview mirror," said IDC's Llamas.</div>
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"They did everything they could to restore trust, and that was a key part of the presentation that introduced the Note8," he added.</div>
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"They are reminding everything that they are a key innovator in this space, so will Samsung sell millions of units? The answer is yes," added Llamas. "They'll sell millions worldwide -- but we should remember again that this isn't their true flagship device, just a shift to a more premium handset."</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Samsungs-Note8-Is-Its-Biggest-Galaxy-Phone-Yet-84759.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-59808464270663064942017-08-21T04:31:00.000-07:002017-08-21T04:31:14.661-07:00Merged VR: Augmented Reality Cubed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjss8L3AnqqWTUB08PfU1Ke5RlGNyMqAPqe6qdnNabx7bHeQlZYraiDOLeWslN1yK_GiUc_YhBxTKbLVIpfvMao5fCmlO3dg7Rx_bfBaak1QrSFdS3yLZZeKcSFosFNgygCNHC_YE/s1600/xl-2017-augmented-reality-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="620" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjss8L3AnqqWTUB08PfU1Ke5RlGNyMqAPqe6qdnNabx7bHeQlZYraiDOLeWslN1yK_GiUc_YhBxTKbLVIpfvMao5fCmlO3dg7Rx_bfBaak1QrSFdS3yLZZeKcSFosFNgygCNHC_YE/s320/xl-2017-augmented-reality-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There is considerable development activity at the high end of hardware and content creation for virtual reality and augmented reality, as well as such AR aliases as mixed reality, extended reality and others.</div>
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Most industry investment is aimed at leading-edge gaming and industrial application development. However, the low-end of the market is also worth looking at, to see how people and institutions without big budgets -- consumers and education -- might adopt these technologies sooner, rather than waiting years for all the advancements to trickle down to lower price points.</div>
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An example of AR done on a more human-friendly scale is <a href="https://mergevr.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Merge VR</a>. Its founders seem to have taken the hint from <em>The Graduate</em> ("One word: plastics"), added software and a bit of creativity, and then applied it to AR.</div>
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First, Merge VR built a soft plastic headset (which they call "goggles") that fits any smartphone, even the largest. The optics worked well for me. The physical controls to adjust the optics are easy to use, the headset is comfortable to wear, the plastic is easy to clean, and it is inexpensive (US$60 retail in mid August 2017). <p:>Two indirect touch buttons provide limited in-app touch control while the smartphone is mounted in the headset. Cord management is easy -- both for keeping the smartphone powered and for plugging in headphones.</p:></div>
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It comes in a variety of colors; I have seen at least 10 colors in Merge VR's offices. The device looks friendly, not high-tech. What's more, the headset has met the safety requirements of a broad swath of regulators for use by kids as young as 10 years old.</div>
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So far, so good. Merge VR deserves credit for its clever design and use of materials, but what about tech?</div>
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A Deceptively Simple Cube</h2>
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A front-panel insert, when installed, keeps the inside of the headset dark for VR applications, especially when it's used with smaller smartphones. For AR applications, wearers can remove the insert and expose the smartphone's camera through proper orientation of the smartphone in the headset.</div>
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There is huge industry-wide investment in developing transparent displays for AR. Transparent displays promise to deliver full field of vision (FoV) graphic overlays -- or at least as much field of vision as wraparound sunglasses afford. The challenge is that creating totally clear displays is very hard; so is creating full FoV displays. Current transparent displays are somewhat dark; wearing them is very much like wearing sunglasses indoors.</div>
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Another way to achieve transparency is to use the smartphone camera to transmit the image to the phone's display, but cameras are still much lower resolution than looking at reality through a physical lens -- especially smartphone cameras.</div>
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While camera resolution is increasing, a single smartphone camera cannot provide high-quality stereoscopic vision. In this early stage of AR, I think "through the lens" viewing wins over transparent displays, simply because smartphone-based AR viewers can be built and sold at mass market consumer prices.</div>
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What can a smartphone based, single-camera AR solution do?</div>
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Smartphones now have enough processing power to run many classes of video image recognition in real time. The graphics processing power used to deliver mobile games also can create real-time 3D overlays that track objects in a video stream.</div>
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The process of aligning graphics onto video artifacts is called "registration." Modern smartphones have the compute power to do three-dimensional registration on three axes of rotation.</div>
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Running video image recognition and registration in real time without consuming all a smartphone's batter power requires simplifying the image recognition task.</div>
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Merge VR designed a plastic artifact specifically for easy real-time video image recognition to support simple, low-cost education and entertainment AR apps. The artifact is a <a href="https://mergevr.com/cube" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">cube</a>, called, simply enough, the "Merge Cube."</div>
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The Merge Cube is 72mm (2.83 inches) on a side and easy for a child or adult to hold. It is manufactured with unique, easily differentiated patterns embossed into each side. The flat tops of the patterns are reflective silver; the space between patterns is matte grey.</div>
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Designing the artifact was not enough. Merge VR's software development team packaged video image recognition and image registration software into the Merge Cube Software Developer Kit . Merge integrated its Merge Cube <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_development_kit" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">SDK</a>with Unity's game development platform and Vuforia's mobile vision processing SDK. Applications that integrate the Merge Cube SDK run on top of Unity's game engine on a smartphone. There are many advanced vision processing libraries emerging for smartphones, and Merge VR is likely to leverage more of them in the future.</div>
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Most AR registration marks are two-dimensional; rotating a 2D registration mark a few degrees can throw tracking off. The Merge Cube can be tracked in any orientation, at any angle. The tracking software knows that the Merge Cube is a cube, and that each side is unique. It knows what order the sides are in -- which sides are connected to which other sides -- so that as the Merge Cube spins, tracking software can anticipate the next side to be exposed.</div>
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Merge VR designed the registration marks to be identified easily without requiring general purpose pattern recognition algorithms. It is only scanning the incoming video feed for six unique and not naturally occurring patterns. Recognizing hand gestures, for example, would require much more compute capability and would consume more battery power.</div>
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Developers create a 3D geometry in Unity and wrap it around the Merge Cube. Unity then takes care of the work to rotate the 3D geometry as the Merge Cube rotates. Tracking is fast because it is performed at standard full video resolution and frame rates (typically 1080p), not at the full photographic resolution of the smartphone image sensor.</div>
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Merge VR downsizes the video stream to save power and time for image recognition, and then removes the color components to process the video in greyscale. Using the Merge Cube merely needs a moderate quality smartphone camera sensor -- cameras above 12 megapixel are fine.</div>
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Smartphones Catching Up</h2>
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The Merge Cube SDK has been optimized for most phones launched within the past two years. As a baseline, Apple iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 are among the oldest phones that can run the Cube SDK.</div>
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The challenge for Merge VR is that many smartphones still in use do not have the full complement of features required to support VR: Android 7.0+, high-resolution display, acceptable graphics performance, and a full set of positional sensors (accelerometer, compass and gyroscope).</div>
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Developers and customers can <a href="https://vrtest.ninja/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">check here</a> to see if their smartphones support the Merge Cube.</div>
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There is only one version of Merge Cube, because app developers can overlay it with anything they want.</div>
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Any recent smartphone, mounted in a Merge VR headset (with the camera exposed) and running an app developed with the Merge Cube SDK, can turn the Merge Cube into... something else, anything else. Wearers spin the cube in any direction and interact with the graphics superimposed on the Merge Cube, all at a very fluid fame rate.</div>
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The Merge Cube can be used without the Merge VR headset -- for instance, by holding the smartphone without a headset at all. It can be used with any other smartphone-based VR headset, but that headset would have to expose the smartphone camera. I have not tried surgery on an actual cardboard version of Google Cardboard, but that should work.</div>
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In the U.S., Walmart is rolling out Merge Cube this week starting in West Coast stores and moving east and into online ordering. It sells for about $15. Walmart sells the Merge VR headset for about $60. Merge VR also offers bundled and direct discount pricing for educators and school districts.</div>
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Any developer or hobbyist smartphone app programmer wanting to experiment with AR can do so with under $100 of Merge VR gear, a reasonably current smartphone, and the above-mentioned software tools.</div>
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More than 500 studios are developing apps for Merge Cube, with dozens of apps scheduled for release in the next 30 days, Merge VR said.</div>
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I have played with prototype units; now I am looking forward to buying one and trying out the new apps.</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Merged-VR-Augmented-Reality-Cubed-84744.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-33170750973413993102017-08-07T04:45:00.000-07:002017-08-07T04:45:30.267-07:00Facebook Takes Another Stab at Neutralizing Fake News<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Stung by charges that it allowed fake news stories to proliferate during the 2016 election cycle, Facebook on Thursday began rolling out broadly a feature meant to regain the trust of its members. The tool effectively will surround questionable stories with related news stories offering different perspectives -- a strategy intended to help readers discern where the truth lies.</div>
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Facebook this spring began testing the Related Articles feature, offering different takes on stories fact checkers have disputed as false, including coverage of the topics by legitimate news organizations.</div>
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Facebook also has updated its machine learning technology to flag potential hoax stories and send them to third-party fact checkers, according to News Feed product manager Sara Su. Following review, additional stories may be posted showing related articles beneath the original post.</div>
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Election Fallout</h2>
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Facebook has been under fire since the 2016 election cycle for allowing fake news to proliferate on the network, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has taken criticism for failing to understand his company's role as a de facto provider of news and information to readers.</div>
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The company in January brought in former CNN and NBC broadcaster Campbell Brown to lead its news partnerships group, which acts as a liaison with more traditional media organizations to help Facebook better adhere to journalistic standards in terms of the content that is allowed in users' News Feeds.</div>
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"Ad placements next to fake news is increasingly being recognized as a problem by both the ad and publishing communities," observed Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.poynter.org/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Poynter</a>.</div>
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"I think and certainly hope that there is a growing flight to quality, which will reward the providers of serious journalism like <em>The New York Times</em>, <em>The Atlantic</em> and Vox," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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Facebook's relationship with traditional media has been complicated by the fact that many legitimate news sites have found their articles and videos posted on the network for free, with no way of recouping revenue and no way of tracking how many legitimate subscribers actually are viewing the content.</div>
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As a result, Facebook last month announced plans to test a paywall that would charge users a fee to view content from certain sources, following a grace period of 10 free articles per month.</div>
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"Fake news is a really tough problem to crack," noted Mark Nunnikhoven, vice president of cloud research at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.trendmicro.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Trend Micro</a>.</div>
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"The challenge isn't actually filtering out posts from a news feed or search index -- it's how to identify what is fake about a story," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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Underground services in China, Russia, the Middle East and other countries propagate fake news, using everything from underground crowdsourcing services to voter manipulation platforms and services like BeSoEasy, which sells automation bots, according to a recent Trend Micro white paper.</div>
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Facebook's approach is admirable, Nunnikhoven said, because it avoids pointing fingers at particular stories but gives readers enough information to make their own value judgments.</div>
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However, "the deeper challenge is determining whether something has gained the attention of the native algorithms from organic interest or a coordinated push," he pointed out. "Even then, a coordinated push could be a marketing campaign and not something malicious."</div>
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Search Algorithm Issues</h2>
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The fake news phenomenon is clearly is not limited to Facebook. Google also has been a target of criticism for allowing content farms and other automation services to drive certain stories up the search rankings. The result is that when users search for a particular subject, the misleading articles are displayed right next to legitimate stories.</div>
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Google has taken some steps to improve its algorithms, using new search-quality rater guidelines and direct feedback tools, Ben Gomes, vice president of engineering at Google, noted in an online post this spring.</div>
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Google also expanded its use of Jigsaw's fact-check tool into its global search and Google News sites to display legitimate articles and tag them to show that they have been properly vetted, Justin Kosslyn, project manager at Jigsaw, and research scientist Connie Yu wrote in an online post.</div>
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Google also commissioned a study, conducted jointly by Michigan State University, Oxford University and the University of Ottawa, which found that fake news and biased search algorithms did not have a major impact on public opinion, based on a survey of 14,000 Internet users in the U.S. and six European nations.</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Facebook-Takes-Another-Stab-at-Neutralizing-Fake-News-84726.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-30588476472661730632017-07-31T06:30:00.001-07:002017-07-31T06:30:42.515-07:00Amazon's Secret 1492 Health Team Sets Sail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvM5a8boBRe3d5j59qiqcj0GxtPGR8fYTLfPW_KC4-Hs8Cu8Q_W2u2D8GGR3GKecGfWQnu2caEFhpGfqlB0kzQGDFailcJFVLFaLYRAixi0098ezrADt490VczE3Nj27y8UEo1ppP/s1600/xl-2016-amazon-rumor-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="620" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvM5a8boBRe3d5j59qiqcj0GxtPGR8fYTLfPW_KC4-Hs8Cu8Q_W2u2D8GGR3GKecGfWQnu2caEFhpGfqlB0kzQGDFailcJFVLFaLYRAixi0098ezrADt490VczE3Nj27y8UEo1ppP/s320/xl-2016-amazon-rumor-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A secret Amazon team, dubbed "1492," has been working on a skunkworks project devoted entirely to healthcare, CNBC reported Thursday. The unit has been developing hardware devices and software applications related to electronic medical records, telemedicine and other health-related issues.</div>
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The "1492" moniker refers to the year that Christopher Columbus made his voyage to the Americas, but perhaps the Amazon team missed the irony that Columbus actually did not realize he had "discovered" a new continent and thought he was somewhere else.</div>
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Nonetheless, it's clear that Amazon's aim is to cover the bases in the healthcare arena, likely a bid to cash in on the sector's massive profit potential.</div>
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The greater U.S. healthcare market experienced double digital growth from 2000 to 2011, with an increase in U.S. revenue from US$1.2 trillion to $2.3 trillion, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That figure likely will grow at an increasing rate as healthcare costs in America continue to skyrocket.</div>
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Full Coverage</h2>
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One of the goals of Amazon's 1492 team appears to be ensuring that Amazon develops a foothold in multiple segments of the lucrative healthcare industry. The latest news builds on an earlier announcement that Amazon has been exploring the possibility of selling pharmaceuticals.</div>
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The 1492 team reportedly has been working on ways to streamline medical records management, so as to make the information available to consumers and doctors more readily. In addition, it reportedly has been considering a plan that could improve U.S. healthcare for those with limited access to a doctor. It could include the development of a new telemedicine platform that would allow patients to have virtual consultations with doctors.</div>
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Amazon is not entirely new to the medical world, as it already has developed health applications. The next step could be greater connectivity options between its medical devices and other proprietary products, such as its artificial intelligence assistant, Alexa.</div>
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"Healthcare is the biggest sector in the economy and ripe for innovation," said Roger Entner, principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.reconanalytics.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Recon Analytics</a>.</div>
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"Nobody spends more on healthcare than the U.S.,while many countries have significantly better outcomes for their citizens than the U.S.," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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Healthy Market</h2>
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Amazon is not the only company that has been exploring opportunities in the world of healthcare. Apple, Google and Microsoft each have launched their own initiatives.</div>
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"It makes sense for all these companies to be investing in AI for healthcare, because along with AI in transportation, AI in healthcare will change society," said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.tiriasresearch.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Tirias Research</a>.</div>
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With access to all the medical scans, diagnoses and feed information that is available from the major healthcare providers, artificial intelligence would do a better job in some respects than a human, he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"With its massive data centers and AI capabilities, Amazon is well positioned to be a leader in this area, but it needs to get access to the data, which has been the biggest challenge," added McGregor. "Note that it's only been within the last decade that the majority of medical information has transitioned to electronic form, so it would have been almost impossible to do before."</div>
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Cloud Computing and Healthcare</h2>
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With advances in the archiving of digital information and deep learning, the time could be right to leverage AI for healthcare. However, regulations and privacy concerns could be major challenges, at least in the short term.</div>
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"Unfortunately, many healthcare providers are trying to maintain control of all this data," said McGregor.</div>
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"In the U.S., in particular, healthcare providers hide behind HIPAA regulations, which state that you need to keep the patient's personal information private, not that you can't share the anonymized information," he added.</div>
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Healthcare organizations would have to be persuaded to share their data, even though doing so would leverage a third-party service provider like Amazon. Would the healthcare industry even consider such cooperation?</div>
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"Up to now, the answer has been no -- but it could significantly lower their costs and improve the quality of services provided," added McGregor.</div>
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In the long term, "it will take an independent third party like Amazon to maximize the benefits of AI in healthcare," he suggested.</div>
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That is why the various players are entering this very controlled market -- one that has both potential and hurdles -- so cautiously.</div>
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"We are so early in the digitization of healthcare that nobody is really leading," said Recon Analytics' Entner.</div>
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"There is definitely demand, but everyone needs to buy in for it to work for everyone," he said. "The reason why everyone is flocking to it is market size, but the obvious fact is that it can be done better, and nobody is doing it remotely right."</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Amazons-Secret-1492-Health-Team-Sets-Sail-84709.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-73539337616033914642017-07-28T05:43:00.001-07:002017-07-28T05:43:37.236-07:00SparkyLinux 5: Great All-Purpose Distro for Confident Linux Users<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpDEjGreR_N4_zemawBeTubCdepZXdEYFtJcnYa_SHH65HRg57_E4y9OVnsmLMWQTRe8G7McaGpv53CQoynLPUE6Bg1qzzjSwKe-cWS8nAbmD4Es5y8AQoXWbitQt6E09sy0e4rqC/s1600/mate-desktop-debian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpDEjGreR_N4_zemawBeTubCdepZXdEYFtJcnYa_SHH65HRg57_E4y9OVnsmLMWQTRe8G7McaGpv53CQoynLPUE6Bg1qzzjSwKe-cWS8nAbmD4Es5y8AQoXWbitQt6E09sy0e4rqC/s1600/mate-desktop-debian.jpg" /></a></div>
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When I first reviewed the Game Over edition of<a href="http://sparkylinux.org/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">SparkyLinux</a> several years ago, I called it one of the best full-service Linux distros catering to game players you could find. That assessment extends to last month's release of the non-gaming edition of this distro.</div>
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The latest edition of SparkyLinux, version 5.0 "Nibiru," finds its true calling as a Linux distro that falls between those that are beginner-friendly and those that require some amount of Linux knowledge.</div>
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You can get a variety of editions with different desktop offerings, such as E19, LXDE and Openbox, from versions 4.5, 4.6 and 5.0. However, the best option now is the collection of upgraded features in the latest release.</div>
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SparkyLinux 5.0 is based on the testing branch of Debian. It features customized lightweight desktops that include LXDE, Enlightenment, JWM, KDE, LXQt, Openbox, MATE and Xfce. It comes with multimedia plugins, a selected sets of apps, and its own custom tools to ease different tasks.</div>
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Regardless of which lightweight desktop or window manager option you prefer, SparkyLinux gives you an operating system that is out-of-the-box ready for use. If you are a Linux purist with very particular distro demands, you can opt for one of the SparkyLinux minimalist releases.</div>
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For example, Sparky MinimalGUI gives you Openbox or JWM desktops under the hood and MinimalCLI provides a text-based interface. Both alternatives let you use the Sparky Advanced Installer to load the base system with a minimal set of applications.</div>
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Sparks Fly</h2>
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SparkyLinux is not exactly a beginner-friendly distro, but Linux newcomers will find a much lower learning curve than many other Linux distros require.</div>
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The most satisfied user will have some working knowledge of how to set up a Linux system and use its core apps.</div>
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At first blush, you might get the idea that SparkyLinux is a Puppy Linux wanna-be distro. You can run it from a thumb drive. You also can supercharge its performance by loading it into your computer's RAM. The lightweight desktop offerings are intended to be fully hard-drive based, though. SparkyLInux does not use a frugal installation and special antics to provide persistent memory.</div>
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SparkyLinux is most attractive to two targeted user groups. One group wants an all-purpose home edition with all the tools, codecs, plugins and drivers preinstalled. The other group wants a distro either with everything ready and working from the first run with a minimal set of tools, or a base system waiting for them to set up their way.</div>
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Either way, SparkyLinux is a very functional Linux OS that can put a spark in your daily computing experience.</div>
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First Impressions</h2>
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SparkyLinux uses Synaptic as the distro package manager. It gets its distro-specific packages from the Debian testing repository.</div>
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This release runs Linux kernel 4.11.6 as default. If you are more adventurous, you can opt to install Linux kernel 4.12.x from the Sparky Unstable repository.</div>
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SparkyLinux 5 has a clean and attractive main menu design. I selected the MATE desktop option because I have the least experience with it compared to the other desktop and window manager options.</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/SparkyLinux-5-Great-All-Purpose-Distro-for-Confident-Linux-Users-84704.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-61449207161174156832017-07-24T01:32:00.001-07:002017-07-24T01:32:21.376-07:00Cortana Makes Smart Thermostat a Glas Act<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC51XOlTKeJN8T9EBJe-yoJUK4QLdvLZrp6cuA_G74Le-FD-vVWlOsHgAeGq6cdgbgJ_EB1SSBfiHFB6FIGTkcM1wjR7k0OELeCNZz5Mv78Z7Vjsl3slV2tqCC651MB0wH5_Udc9ml/s1600/xl-2017-glas-thermostat-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="620" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC51XOlTKeJN8T9EBJe-yoJUK4QLdvLZrp6cuA_G74Le-FD-vVWlOsHgAeGq6cdgbgJ_EB1SSBfiHFB6FIGTkcM1wjR7k0OELeCNZz5Mv78Z7Vjsl3slV2tqCC651MB0wH5_Udc9ml/s320/xl-2017-glas-thermostat-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Microsoft and Johnson Controls this week unveiled Glas, a smart thermostat that runs on Microsoft's Windows 10 IoT Core, a special operating system designed specifically for smaller devices. Glas also utilizes Microsoft's smart voice assistant Cortana and its Azure Cloud to help users save energy while monitoring air quality in the home.</div>
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Heating and cooling of a residential home accounts for around 48 percent of energy use, making it the largest energy expense for most families, noted Johnson Controls, a provider of HVAC, fire and security systems, and maker of the first electric room thermostat.</div>
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In commercial buildings, heating and cooling accounts for approximately 40 percent of energy costs.</div>
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With Microsoft's Cortana voice services built-in, Glas could become a core part of a smart home play.</div>
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More Than Temperature Control</h2>
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Thermostats that can be controlled remotely via a smartphone or other device generally have been increasing in popularity, but a key plus for Glas is that it is more than a thermostat. It includes sensors that can detect when people are in the room, and adjust the temperature accordingly.</div>
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Like competing smart environmental devices, including those from Nest and Hive, the Glas smart thermostat is designed to lower energy costs by maintaining desired temperatures in parts of a building that are used more, while maintaining appropriate temperatures in areas that are infrequently accessed.</div>
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Unlike other wall-mounted units, Glas provides continuous monitoring of both indoor and outdoor air quality.</div>
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"From the little we know, this looks like a Nest-comparable device," said Roger Entner, principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.reconanalytics.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Recon Analytics</a>.</div>
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"Smart home thermostats with some value-add is a growing market, especially in states like Massachusetts that subsidize intelligent thermometers," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"The air quality and AI is just a value-add to the dumb thermometer most Americans have in their home that drives their air conditioning and heating," Entner added.</div>
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Glas Talking</h2>
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Voice control could be a distinguishing feature for Glas. Users can tell it the temperature that they want and adjust other settings.</div>
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"Johnson's Glas is the first thermostat to use Microsoft's Cortana technology to support voice commands/controls," said Charles King, principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.pund-it.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Pund-IT</a>.</div>
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"That sets it apart from Google Nest, which doesn't support voice directly -- though it can be managed vocally with a Google Home device," he told TechNewsWorld. "Similarly, the Eccobee4 thermostat can be used with Amazon Alexa."</div>
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Crowded Smart House</h2>
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For Microsoft and Johnson Controls, it is now a question of whether its partnership product is coming to the market too late or is arriving just in time for the smart home revolution.</div>
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"This looks mostly like catch-up ball to me," suggested Roger Kay, principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.ndpta.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Endpoint Technologies Associates</a>.</div>
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"Amazon and Google are already in this market. Both have cloud services, smart assistants and AI capabilities," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"Microsoft is a latecomer, but not too late, because the IoT market is just taking off -- sort of 'better late than never,'" Kay added.</div>
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The smart thermostat market is still a niche market, however, and may stay that way for a while, due to costs.</div>
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"At US$250, a Google Nest is about 10 times the cost of a basic digital, programmable thermostat," noted Pund-IT's King. "That's likely to change as digital assistants, like Google Home and Amazon Alexa become more common and provide voice-enabled equivalents of universal remote controls."</div>
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Home or Office</h2>
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From the information available so far, it does seem that Glas targets commercial properties more than consumers' homes.</div>
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"That makes sense strategically, since Johnson is known for its HVAC, fire and security systems -- but it also underscores some key Glas features, including air quality controls and the ability to sense when people are present in a space and automatically adjust its settings," said King.</div>
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"While those points may interest some consumers, they'd be more valuable to businesses looking to better manage their facilities and related costs," he explained.</div>
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This could be a product that finds itsr market in business settings, but then reaches homes in another version, especially if it should become the central command station in either environment.</div>
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"The battle is for the IoT hub in the home, office or other building," said Endpoint Technologies' Kay.</div>
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"Apple wants in on this, too," he added. "This is mostly about not being outflanked in an evolving market -- really the least tapped market of the big three: endpoints, cloud and IoT."</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Cortana-Makes-Smart-Thermostat-a-Glas-Act-84687.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-65273085806903413382017-07-19T06:05:00.003-07:002017-07-19T06:05:32.939-07:00Is WhatsApp being censored in China?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfu3-p051wJBNqDEifoNh8FN9834XDI8_-2RneEpdS9MylY8N8XhNVltmGOgDnJeR99gU7LM2rJaUcBwuvdxC77jPTm23XjyuKWX5e-bBzdWeDG7LC9Z_97zYSjGyeOr6keIs6zsC/s1600/_96995673_gettyimages-690331886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="660" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfu3-p051wJBNqDEifoNh8FN9834XDI8_-2RneEpdS9MylY8N8XhNVltmGOgDnJeR99gU7LM2rJaUcBwuvdxC77jPTm23XjyuKWX5e-bBzdWeDG7LC9Z_97zYSjGyeOr6keIs6zsC/s320/_96995673_gettyimages-690331886.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Users of the encrypted messaging service WhatsApp have reported disruptions in China, prompting censorship claims.</div>
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Many reported that voice messaging and pictures wouldn't send without a virtual private network (VPN) to circumvent China's censorship filters.</div>
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The seemed to be working normally on Wednesday morning, but there have been more interruptions since then.</div>
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The disruptions come as China clamps down on online platforms.</div>
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What was the disruption?</h2>
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Users began noticing over the weekend that WhatsApp wouldn't send pictures, voice messages and video, although text messages continued to work normally.</div>
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The Chinese government hasn't said if it's blocking WhatsApp.</div>
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The messaging service hasn't commented either, nor has it told its users there's a technical fault.</div>
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The BBC's Beijing bureau has been testing the app every few hours, and while all functions were working normally without a VPN on Wednesday morning, there have seemingly been more interruptions since then.</div>
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In its most recent internet censorship report, the free speech advocacy group Freedom House said WhatsApp was blocked in 12 countries, which is more than any other messaging app.</div>
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Why would China block WhatsApp?</h2>
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China is increasing its censorship of online commentary it perceives as politically sensitive, and it's using increasingly sophisticated methods to achieve that goal.</div>
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The government is expected to tighten restrictions ahead of the next communist party congress, where President Xi Jinping is tipped to cement his leadership position.</div>
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Recently, it blocked social media posts and even private messages and group chats about the death of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.</div>
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How extensive is online censorship in China?</h2>
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The government already blocks social media sites and apps, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.</div>
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Search engines like Google are blocked, and access to many foreign media outlets, including the BBC, is restricted.</div>
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Other encrypted messaging apps, such as Telegram, are also blocked in China.</div>
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The government has also pledged to clamp down on users who try to get around the restrictions, by tightening regulations on VPNs.</div>
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How popular is WhatsApp in China?</h2>
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WhatsApp has more than a billion monthly active users globally, as does Facebook's native messenger.</div>
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In China, though, WhatsApp is far less popular than local competitors like WeChat, which has over half a billion monthly active users.</div>
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The Chinese apps are unencrypted and subject to censorship.</div>
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The censorship of search engines, social media and other online services has worked to the benefit Chinese businesses like Tencent, Alibaba and WeChat , who have created their own successful brands with limited foreign competition.</div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Helmet, Freesans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">http://www.bbc.com/news/business-40651951</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-17631464989436622932017-07-13T23:48:00.000-07:002017-07-13T23:48:03.346-07:00Gadget Ogling: Show and Tell, Fidget Folly, and Connected Nightlights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6tZxY8udJ9NP5aegL0dTCoEX_OPWyMUVDFu6sS_8OYfHnkQGYXOi3BlV9akyyH6HEhQ0iuGUxwXgmM-Adb22yYbvdyoaPFib91PQIkb4MS1x1rqJxaLbu21Rgm61JThz2Ivygf-g/s1600/xl-2017-amazon-echo-show-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="620" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6tZxY8udJ9NP5aegL0dTCoEX_OPWyMUVDFu6sS_8OYfHnkQGYXOi3BlV9akyyH6HEhQ0iuGUxwXgmM-Adb22yYbvdyoaPFib91PQIkb4MS1x1rqJxaLbu21Rgm61JThz2Ivygf-g/s320/xl-2017-amazon-echo-show-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Welcome to the latest edition of Gadget Dreams and Nightmares, the column that's finally recovered from the North American national holiday cookouts to pore over gadget announcements of note.</div>
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In our fireworks spectacular this time around are an Amazon Echo speaker with a screen, a Bluetooth fidget spinner, and a nightlight that alerts you to notifications.</div>
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As always, these are not reviews (thanks for <em>still</em> not bringing Echo to Canada, Amazon!). The ratings are indicative only of how much I'd like to try each item. Assuming, of course, that Amazon ever brings more of its products to the Great White North.</div>
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Visual Echoes</h2>
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I'm cheating. The Amazon Echo Show (pictured above) was announced in early May, but with one column between then and now, and <a href="http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/84603.html" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">new Apple products to consider</a>, there was just no space last time around. The Show has just been released, though, meaning it's worth casting an eye over even now.</div>
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This is the first in Amazon's line of Echo smart speakers to incorporate a screen, and it seems very much more "speaker with a display" than "tablet with better audio and microphones."</div>
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It has all the functionality of Echo, including access to Alexa, Amazon's voice-operated assistant. The screen can, for example, provide a more detailed weather outlook than what Alexa spouts out, and it can keep you more on track when you're working through a recipe by displaying each step as you need it.</div>
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It can display song lyrics too, which can help you avoid an embarrassing moment of forgetfulness during a sing-along at your next house party. The 7-inch screen does not have touch control, so you'll have to bark orders at Alexa.</div>
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I am very glad there's support for video, namely Amazon Prime and YouTube (but, disappointingly, no Netflix as yet). It can display video from connected cameras, which can prove especially helpful if you want to check who's at your front door without creating unnecessary movement inside.</div>
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There's video calling through the Alexa app or Show-to-Show, along with a feature called Drop In, which could prove tricky on privacy grounds. The opt-in tool allows those to whom you have granted access to drop in on you, and immediately start a video call. With only 10 seconds to reject a call or make it audio-only, that could lead to some uncomfortable conversations with your nearest and dearest if you're not prepared or miss the call prompt.</div>
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It's overall a positive addition to the Echo family. It might not be for everyone, and some might prefer to buy a decent tablet for the US$230 they'd fork out for Show. Still, for frequent Alexa users and those who might be too busy to tap on a screen, it could be worthwhile.</div>
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Now, if only Amazon could make it available in my neck of the woods -- and maybe add Netflix support.</div>
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<em>Rating: 4 out of 5 All For Shows.</em></div>
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Finicky Fidgeting</h2>
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I'm a positive, welcoming person for the most part. I firmly believe in the mantra of "each to their own," as long as it doesn't involve harming anyone else. However, I will deliver a strong judgment against anyone I see using a Bluetooth-connected fidget spinner.</div>
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The BlueSpin Bluetooth Spinner links to an app that tracks challenges, shares scores, and lets users chat with their pals about their cool new toy.</div>
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First, this belongs firmly in the realm of connected devices that in no way need to be connected. Second, it's a crowdfunding project expecting to ship in September. That means that this tech-minded take on the latest fad may not land until months after the craze has had its moment.</div>
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It's easy to see fidget spinners proving more of a <em>Pokemon Go</em> than a yo-yo in the enduring, widespread-popularity stakes, so this is one idea that's on the skids before it even makes it to the shelves.</div>
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Aumi, Oh My</h2>
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Aumi Mini is a smart notification light and nightlight. It has IFTTT support to allow for all manner of use cases.</div>
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At first glance, I wanted to hate Aumi Mini. There's something just intrinsically annoying about a flashing light every time your phone wants to bring your attention to something. On second thought, though, it's far more useful.</div>
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I do like that there's a proximity sensor, so it can flick on if you stumble out of bed at 3 a.m. desperate for a snack and don't want to crash into the armoire in the dark. And connecting it to a smart smoke detector might give the hard of hearing an immediate warning that something is wrong.</div>
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I don't think it's for me -- there are legitimate use cases for this that stretch beyond the gimmicky, but I just can't quite get past the marketing of it as a nightlight, for some reason.</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Gadget-Ogling-Show-and-Tell-Fidget-Folly-and-Connected-Nightlights-84665.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-24694321936329545862017-07-12T00:08:00.000-07:002017-07-12T00:08:05.334-07:00The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard Shows Which Bits Are Boss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqWwbSAZALrPaLc46qOzUZJz5Ei6CqaYf3kv26ry7Yg9UxDo-GLxeZt3r4LeV5BRUj4mXeADU30I-XTGhawNy-tvqo5l4v8HlX_2Whlpkb32ToTx54OTKEvNuS4SbEdNY_Gt_wjs9/s1600/xl-2016-linux-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="620" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqWwbSAZALrPaLc46qOzUZJz5Ei6CqaYf3kv26ry7Yg9UxDo-GLxeZt3r4LeV5BRUj4mXeADU30I-XTGhawNy-tvqo5l4v8HlX_2Whlpkb32ToTx54OTKEvNuS4SbEdNY_Gt_wjs9/s320/xl-2016-linux-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you've ever been curious enough to look through your system's root directory ("/"), you may have found yourself a little overwhelmed. Most of the three-letter directory names don't tell you much about what they do, and if you ever needed to make important modifications, it would be tough to know where to look.</div>
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I'd like to take those of you who haven't ventured much into your root directory on a brief tour.</div>
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Helpful Tools</h2>
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Before we embark, here are a couple of tools that are worth getting familiar with, as they will allow you to dig through anything interesting you find on your own later. None of these programs will make any changes to your files.</div>
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The most useful tool is "ls" -- it lists the contents of any directory given with a full or relative path (i.e., one starting from the current directory) as an argument.</div>
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$ ls <em>path</em></div>
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As you progress deeper into the filesystem, it might get cumbersome to type long paths repeatedly, so if you get to that point, you can replace "ls" with "cd" to change the current working directory (the one your terminal is currently "in") to that directory. As with "ls", just give "cd" a directory path as an argument.</div>
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$ cd <em>path</em></div>
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If you're not sure what kind of file something is, use the "file" command on it by running "file" and the filename as an argument.</div>
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$ file <em>filename</em></div>
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Finally, if the file seems like it could be human-readable, use "less" to look at it (again, with no fear of making changes). As with the last tool, give a filename as an argument to view it.</div>
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$ less <em>filename</em></div>
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When you're done scanning through the file, hit "q" to quit, which returns you to your terminal.</div>
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Root Directory Road Trip</h2>
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Now we can begin our journey. I'm going to proceed in alphabetical order through the directories directly within the root directory. This is by no means an exhaustive catalog, but by the end, we will have hit the highlights.</div>
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All of the classifications and functions of the directories we will go over are based on the Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, or FHS. The Linux FHS, maintained by the <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.linuxfoundation.org/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Linux Foundation</a>, assists designers and developers of distributions and programs by structuring where the various components of their tools should go.</div>
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By keeping all of the files, binaries, and manuals in a consistent organization across programs, the FHS makes learning, debugging, or modifying them much easier. Imagine how tedious it would be if instead of using the "man" command to find usage guides, you had to hunt for the manual for every program.</div>
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Alphabetically, and structurally, it is fitting that we start with <strong>"/bin"</strong>. This directory is where all the core system binary files containing commands for the shell (the program that interprets terminal instructions) are found. Without the contents of this directory, your system wouldn't do much.</div>
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Next is the <strong>"/boot"</strong> directory, where all the stuff your computer needs to boot up is stored. Among these things, the most important ones are your bootloader and kernel. The bootloader is the program that initializes a few basic utilities to allow the boot process to continue. At the end of its initialization, the bootloader loads the kernel, which allows the computer to interface with all other hardware and firmware. From this point, it can proceed to bring the entire operating system online.</div>
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The <strong>"/dev"</strong> directory is where file-like objects representing everything your system recognizes as a "device" are stored. These includes obvious devices such as the hardware components of your computer: your keyboard, screen, hard drive, etc.</div>
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Additionally, "/dev" contains pseudo-files signifying streams of data that your system treats as "devices." One example is the data that goes in and out of your terminal, which is divided into three "streams." Information it reads coming in is called "standard input." The output of commands or processes is "standard output." Finally, an auxiliary output classified as debugging information is directed to "standard error." Terminals themselves are also found as files here.</div>
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<strong>"/etc"</strong> (pronounced like the craft commerce site "Etsy," if you want to impress Linux veterans), is where many programs store their configuration files, which are used to change their settings. Some programs store copies of default configurations here, which are to be copied to another location before modification. Others store the one and only copy of the configuration here and expect users to modify it directly. Many programs reserved for the root user depend on this latter mode of configuration.</div>
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The <strong>"/home"</strong> directory is where users' personal files reside. For desktop users, this is where you spend most of your time. For every unprivileged user, there is a directory with corresponding name here.</div>
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<strong>"/lib"</strong> is home to the many libraries that your system depends on to run. Many programs employ one or more functions or subroutines that are common across dozens or hundreds of programs. So, instead of each program reproducing every component it needs within its binary, which would result in comparatively massive and inefficient programs, it references one or more of these libraries by making a "library call."</div>
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Removable media like USB flash drives or cameras are made accessible in the <strong>"/media"</strong> directory. While it is not present on all systems, it is common in distributions specializing in intuitive desktop systems, like Ubuntu. Media that has storage is "mounted" here, meaning that while the raw stream of bits from the device are found under "/dev", the file objects that users usually interact with are accessible here.</div>
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The <strong>"/proc"</strong> directory is a virtual filesystem that dynamically displays system data. What this means is that the system creates the contents of "/proc" on the fly, populating it with files that hold information about the system (such as hardware statistics) that is generated by virtue of running.</div>
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<strong>"/tmp"</strong> is, aptly enough, where temporary information like cached data is sent. There's really not much more to it than that.</div>
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Most program binaries on modern Linux systems are kept in the <strong>"/usr"</strong>directory. To unify the various directories containing binaries, "/usr" contains a copy of everything in "/bin", "/sbin", and "/lib".</div>
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Finally, <strong>"/var"</strong> is where data of "variable" length is kept. The kind of variable-length data found here is generally data that is expected to keep accumulating, like logs and caches. One example is the log your kernel keeps.</div>
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To keep your hard drive from filling up and crashing, "/var" has a built in "log rotate" function that deletes old information to make room for new information, maintaining a fixed maximum size.</div>
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Poke Around</h2>
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As I said, this is definitely not everything you'll find in the root directory, but it is a good start toward figuring out where your system's core functions reside -- and, moreover, what those functions are.</div>
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So, if you weren't sure what there was to learn, you probably have plenty of ideas now. If you want an even better idea, poke around in these directories for yourself!</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/The-Filesystem-Hierarchy-Standard-Shows-Which-Bits-Are-Boss-84658.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-41903568443845033382017-07-10T00:46:00.001-07:002017-07-10T00:46:49.820-07:00Trustify President Jennifer Mellon: Diversity Is Good Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3a79sL0M6gLPKTe32aX7_j0EKnrlUGBvZD3CPi2vmh3XpgH70UVkxr3Y459Ju1HQZMY78BUJMwIyU-VGoJe2dE78_JGZx9N7HH34WC4-B8Y5NaE0IMaJnHCW7pd9WhHdi__Nxe5XA/s1600/xl-2017-woman-making-presentation-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="620" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3a79sL0M6gLPKTe32aX7_j0EKnrlUGBvZD3CPi2vmh3XpgH70UVkxr3Y459Ju1HQZMY78BUJMwIyU-VGoJe2dE78_JGZx9N7HH34WC4-B8Y5NaE0IMaJnHCW7pd9WhHdi__Nxe5XA/s320/xl-2017-woman-making-presentation-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Jennifer Mellon is cofounder and president of <a href="https://www.trustify.info/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Trustify</a>.</div>
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In this exclusive interview, Mellon discusses with TechNewsWorld the risks and rewards that come with democratizing, diversifying and unplugging.</div>
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<strong>TechNewsWorld: What inspired you to found Trustify?</strong></div>
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<strong>Jennifer Mellon:</strong> It's the first technology platform to connect clients and businesses to a nationwide network of licensed private investigators, and we do digital forensic and investigative work globally.</div>
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I and my cofounder, who's also my husband, were both lean startup devotees, and we both had backgrounds in trust and safety. We'd used private investigators and had terrible experiences, and we knew there had to be a better way.</div>
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What we've done is taken away the large retainer that traditionally was given to agencies. We've democratized the space, made it something that everyone can use, for everything from finding your birth parent to vetting a nanny. We make it totally accessible.</div>
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<strong>TNW: What challenges have you faced as a woman over the course of your career?</strong></div>
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<strong>Mellon:</strong> I've been shocked by things that have been said to me. I've worked my whole life -- built companies and sat on large boards -- and still I've had questions thrown at me like "How can you do this and be a mom?"</div>
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I've had potential investors say, "I don't know how I feel about you being married and having children." And I'm like, "What year is this?"</div>
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Technology startups are so disruptive in so many ways, but the one space they're not is when it comes to the way they treat women and minorities.</div>
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<strong>TNW: How does Trustify foster and encourage diversity?</strong></div>
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<strong>Mellon:</strong> My team has always, from day one, been 70 percent female. You know, we're not a flower delivery service -- we're doing private investigation. It's not a space women often lead in, so I'm really proud of that.</div>
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We did a self-disclosure report early on, and over 45 percent of my team identified with a protected minority population -- including LGBT, race, ethnic and religious minorities -- and I'm really proud of that.</div>
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We've succeeded because we look like our consumer. Our worldviews and paradigms have allowed us to democratize a space that has traditionally been dominated by white males, and it's just good business.</div>
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<strong>TNW: How can women be their own best advocates?</strong></div>
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<strong>Mellon:</strong> We have to stop waiting for someone to give it to us. Sometimes we come to think it's just going to happen. I'm going to work hard, and I'm going to build the life I've dreamt of, and I'm smart, and I'm just going to do this.</div>
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Along the way, though, obstacles come up that surprise us. Maybe we make less than our male counterpart with whom we're totally equal in terms of education and experience and aptitude. And at those points we have to advocate for ourselves.</div>
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We have to ask for the raise. We have to ask for the things that are important to us. I think it's also really important to find mentors. It's critical for those of us who have made it and climbed the ladder to pull up other women.</div>
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<strong>TNW: Why do you think it's important to unplug?</strong></div>
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<strong>Mellon:</strong> I'm also a yoga teacher, so I understand the need to let go. We're better leaders and founders and employees and people when we do that. It's integral to your well-being and to the well-being of your company.</div>
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We unplug for two hours every night. We get the kids from their practices, and we have dinner together as a family. My team knows that, and for those two hours I can compartmentalize my time with my kids. It makes me fully focused on them, and then I go back online, and I'm there for my team and whoever else needs me for the rest of the night.</div>
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Those two hours have made such a difference for my well-being and the well-being of my family and my team. It gives everyone realistic boundaries and expectations.</div>
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Also, a year in advance my husband and I plan a trip for just the two of us, and on that trip we fully unplug. That's how Trustify was founded -- on our honeymoon. It was the first time we'd ever unplugged in our lives, fully, with no computers or cellphones, and we were so creative.</div>
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When you turn off your screens and stop worrying about what's going to pop up next -- when you take that stress away -- your brain does awesome stuff. You also come back a better founder, a better parent, a better colleague. And really, what's four or five days a year?</div>
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When people say they can't do it, I just say, you have to do it. I model that for our team. It's not about how many hours you work -- it's about how much you produce. You're going to produce more and be a happier person and come back with awesome energy and morale when you unplug.</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Trustify-President-Jennifer-Mellon-Diversity-Is-Good-Business-84636.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-77494404563275850662017-07-03T23:28:00.002-07:002017-07-03T23:28:55.582-07:00Google Gives Up Scanning Personal Gmail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtwUZTP0n_vfGhM5rh3lJJuWNjsP-qg6u41MYxuGV9PzpcourIVWv0nXlGFBGZh3p6N2eigmRr60kg12n3zSyalhNo0UGErFcWzlF4rwwNV7lr-8EpG7Ykzc1X2FzLKdrrW3sLEsw/s1600/xl-2017-email-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="620" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtwUZTP0n_vfGhM5rh3lJJuWNjsP-qg6u41MYxuGV9PzpcourIVWv0nXlGFBGZh3p6N2eigmRr60kg12n3zSyalhNo0UGErFcWzlF4rwwNV7lr-8EpG7Ykzc1X2FzLKdrrW3sLEsw/s320/xl-2017-email-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Google recently announced the end of its policy of scanning user emails for targeted advertising purposes -- a controversial practice that riled privacy advocates and spurred legal challenges.</div>
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Gmail is the world's most widely used email provider, with more than 1.2 billion users.</div>
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Google attributed its decision to gains it has made in the enterprise. Its G Suite business over the past year has more than doubled in size to 3 million paying corporate customers, who are not subject to the scanning process.</div>
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"G Suite's Gmail is already not used as input for ads personalization, and Google has decided to follow suit later this year in our free consumer email service," said Diane Greene, senior vice president at Google Cloud. "This decision brings Gmail ads in line with how we personalize ads for other Google products."</div>
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Ads are based on user settings, and users can disable personalization, Greene noted.</div>
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G Suite will continue to be ad-free, she said.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Legal Fight</span></h2>
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The policy change represents a major step forward for online privacy, said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.epic.org/">Electronic Privacy Information Center</a>, which has challenged the Google practice in court.</div>
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"EPIC opposed Google scanning email from the start and won several significant battles, including the 2014 decision to end scanning of student emails," he told TechNewsWorld. "Keep in mind also that Google was scanning the email of non-Gmail users, which raised problems under federal wiretap law and was the frequent target of lawsuits."</div>
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Rotenberg cited a specific case One case that is pending appeal before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, <em>Marquis v. Google</em>, is a class action, Rotenberg noted. It was launched by a resident who alleged his AOL account had been scanned for advertising purposes.</div>
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The suit argues that the practice amounts to wiretapping, because Massachusetts is a two-party state that requires both parties' consent prior to recording any information.</div>
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A settlement was reached late last year in a California class action brought by Daniel Matera and Susan Rashkis, who accused Google of violating federal wiretapping and state privacy laws by scanning non-Gmail accounts for advertising purposes.</div>
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As part of that settlement, Google agreed to pay US$2.2 million in legal fees, but a federal judge earlier this year rejected the agreement.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Enterprise Concerns</span></h2>
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As Google makes further inroads into the cloud business, it recognizes that customers are going to be very wary of anything that threatens their privacy and security when compared against incumbent cloud services providers, noted Jeff Kaplan, managing director of <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.thinkstrategies.com/">ThinkStrategies</a>.</div>
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"Google has always assumed that its users accept the implicit cost of using its free app," he told TechNewsWorld, which is "that they will be targets of its ads and other search engine marketing mechanisms.</div>
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"However, as it tries to build its enterprise business, Google has recognized it must abandon this tactic to remain competitive with other enterprise and collaboration alternatives, such as Microsoft Office 365," Kaplan said.</div>
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It's not likely that the new privacy objective will harming Google's ability to generate revenue, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.tiriasresearch.com/">Tirias Research</a>.</div>
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"Google gathers tons of information from other sources," he told TechNewsWorld, "and already has massive amounts of data on just about everything, including individuals."</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Google-Gives-Up-Scanning-Personal-Gmail-84649.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-79039244497857398822017-06-30T00:29:00.000-07:002017-06-30T00:29:13.242-07:00At 10, the World-Changing iPhone Is Kind of the Same<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgKbshUJqyW80QiA1NNvhaguJaH__pMBkHVIFDzBTdl1fiU8nlPc5L8iLaY4-15CszcVX2h3jnQWIEc245xNvTOMr41ouLRfuKtz3GkAmQyvEpvFWm7xhDp07YWCqLPrLXoLLpU2T/s1600/xl-2017-iphone-anniversary-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="620" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgKbshUJqyW80QiA1NNvhaguJaH__pMBkHVIFDzBTdl1fiU8nlPc5L8iLaY4-15CszcVX2h3jnQWIEc245xNvTOMr41ouLRfuKtz3GkAmQyvEpvFWm7xhDp07YWCqLPrLXoLLpU2T/s320/xl-2017-iphone-anniversary-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Apple celebrated the 10th anniversary of its iconic iPhone on Thursday. Since former CEO Steve Jobs debuted the original device, the company has gone on to sell more than a billion handsets worldwide, and the iPhone has become one of the most successful product categories in the electronics industry.</div>
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The iPhone proved to be a major disrupter in the mobile phone category after its unveiling on June 29, 2007. At the time, the industry was dominated by companies such as Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, and Palm. Over the past decade, those players have seen their respective market shares erode -- to the point that the companies or their mobile businesses either were bought or otherwise exited the market.</div>
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Once-dominant R.I.M., whose BlackBerry earned the moniker "crackberry" for its seeming addictiveness, is now just a niche player that no longer manufactures phones.</div>
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The iPhone helped usher in the age of touchscreen-friendly devices, while in essence killing off flip and so-called "feature" phones. Today, the smartphone is dominant, and whole product categories now offer the touchscreen user interface that the iPhone popularized.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Market Disrupter</span></h2>
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The iPhone isn't the first product line that Apple shepherded to market dominance by differentiating from existing products. Although the company had been practically at death's door a decade earlier, it revitalized itself with the introduction of the iPod in the fall of 2001, and that success led to development of the iPhone.</div>
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The iPhone "was completely different from anything on the market when it was released in 2007," said Ian Fogg, senior director for mobile and telecom at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.ihsmarkit.com/">IHS Markit</a>.</div>
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"It featured a 3.5-inch touchscreen interface that offered graphic acceleration that responded to finger movements, and it had a desktop quality Web browser," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"It also offered a metal unibody design that was unlike anything else on the market," Fogg added.</div>
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Thanks to these and other features, "the iPhone changed the game entirely," said Josh Crandall, principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.netpopresearch.com/">Netpop Research</a>.</div>
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"The combination of space-aged materials -- gorilla glass and flat batteries -- and pocket-sized convenience brought the Internet into the palms of our hands -- anytime, everywhere," he told TechNewsWorld. "It flipped Silicon Valley's perspective from building a faster laptop to focus on a 'mobile-first' world."</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Slow but Steady</span></h2>
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The first iPhone now is remembered for its innovative design, but the truth is that it was underpowered when it was first released. It was a 2G phone when the industry already was moving to 3G, and its camera was lackluster compared to many other high-end handsets.</div>
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Functionality mattered more at the time, though, and Apple kept refining it. With each new product update, the iPhone became a little better -- and those incremental improvements changed the handset lifecycle.</div>
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"Ten years ago the operating system for mobile phones was updated every two or three years," recalled Fogg.</div>
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"Now Apple updates its OS every year," he added. "The pace of innovation that Apple has pursued over the past decade is really extraordinary."</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Move Over, PC</span></h2>
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The iPhone's success launched the smartphone age, with Google's Android operating system arriving just a year later. Combined, those innovations made the world of mobile computing a reality and helped diminish the PC's importance.</div>
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"Now, a smartphone is the primary device -- if not the only device -- people in emerging markets or underserved segments of [the U.S.] market use to access the Internet," said Crandall.</div>
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The iPhone also changed the Internet, he added.</div>
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"Rather than accessing any site or application on the 'World Wide Web' via a Web browser, the iPhone's framework of mobile apps has created a fragmented reality that threatens the open Internet and complicates the development landscape," Crandall explained.</div>
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As a result, "we're even seeing apps that are designed for a limited mobile device -- small screen, less memory, slower processor -- being marketed for use on laptops and desktops via Windows and Chrome OS," he noted.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Connecting the World</span></h2>
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Mobile phones used to be about making phone calls and to a lesser extent sending text messages. Today, thanks to the emergence of smartphones, the world is connected via the handset.</div>
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"The iPhone ushered in a new way of connecting -- connecting with each other by voice, video, text, social networks and so on," said telecommunications industry analyst <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.jeffkagan.com/">Jeff Kagan</a>.</div>
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"The iPhone is much more than just connecting with each other, and it has created an entirely new area for business to grow," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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It has allowed individuals to do banking and pay bills, search the Web, price compare while shopping, and even make purchases. The road ahead could be the automobile and connected car.</div>
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"Uber and Lyft transformed the taxi and limousine industry using the iPhone and Android as their way to connect with countless customers worldwide," Kagan pointed out. "The iPhone is transforming the automobile industry. Just look at any new car today, and you will see how you can connect the iPhone and use it on the dashboard screen."</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Time for a Facelift?</span></h2>
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Apart from some minor cosmetic changes, today's iPhone doesn't look much different from the handset that launched a decade ago.</div>
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"An iPhone 7 next to 10-year-old iPhone looks the same," said IHS Markit's Fogg.</div>
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"Both have unibody metal design, and function much the same way," he said.</div>
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To continue to be successful in the market, Apple likely will need to follow the industry with a design refresh. This could include removing the bezel so that the whole front is nothing but screen.</div>
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"To do this, they would need to move or miniaturize the buttons," Fogg added. "Everyone is trying to do that right now, but that could lead to some different smartphones. That is important, because in this space innovative design is still the key thing."</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Market Growth</span></h2>
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Just as the iPod may have saved Apple and allowed it to develop the iPhone, that device in turn has driven the company's R&D efforts, which have supported other products including the iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV.</div>
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However, Apple largely has stuck to its proven strategy of improving the handset and releasing a new model. It has seen steady sales, but it is unlikely it can reach higher market share -- especially as Google's Android OS also has been successful over the past nine years.</div>
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"Apple doesn't play at every price point, so some people simply are priced out," noted Fogg.</div>
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"Apple has always targeted the top of the market with premium models, reaping the greatest profits in the industry," said Netpop Research's Crandall.</div>
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"The company has used these profits to bolster iTunes, Beats, development of Apple Maps, and other R&D," he noted.</div>
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This strategy may not serve Apple so well in the long term, however, especially as it has lost significant market share to Android.</div>
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Google's OS "now accounts for approximately 65-70 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, and even [more] in emerging markets," said Crandall.</div>
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For this reason, Apple has started to move downstream with its SE models, but it still must compete against third-party Android manufacturers, including Huawei and Samsung, which can provide lower-cost smartphones.</div>
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"The real question is," said Kagan, is "will another OS enter the picture and successfully compete with iPhone and Android?"</div>
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Even if that should happen, "the Apple iPhone will continue for the foreseeable future," he maintained. "It remains a great quality device with a huge customer base and solid ecosystem."</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/At-10-the-World-Changing-iPhone-Is-Kind-of-the-Same-84646.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-3086601659853358772017-06-23T02:18:00.001-07:002017-06-23T02:18:27.689-07:00DHS to Congress: The Russians Are Coming Back<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkpAzL-C1-Wahegc3CPD1MThv9QqeQxkh77oobHvPYMAdDjB_MpQaVehvxrKT7Uw06zQ6oeL7oMwqeUe4O30XsppvW_Motr80f3ls4ak1JWB7kW_Ncq9ILaoIHIhU4lWt9pPr9pOv/s1600/xl-2017-jeh-johnson-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="620" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkpAzL-C1-Wahegc3CPD1MThv9QqeQxkh77oobHvPYMAdDjB_MpQaVehvxrKT7Uw06zQ6oeL7oMwqeUe4O30XsppvW_Motr80f3ls4ak1JWB7kW_Ncq9ILaoIHIhU4lWt9pPr9pOv/s320/xl-2017-jeh-johnson-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.dhs.gov/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black;">Department of Homeland Security</span></a> official on Wednesday told the Senate Intelligence Committee that Russian government-backed hackers targeted as many as 21 states during the 2016 presidential election.</div>
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Hackers attempted to penetrate Internet-connected systems related to the elections in up to 21 states, but they were successful only in a small number of them, said Samuel Liles, acting director of the cyber division of the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis.</div>
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The targeted states were not named, but Arizona and Pennsylvania previously had been identified as states where hackers successfully accessed election systems.</div>
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The Russians are continuing to probe state and local systems, and there are persistent vulnerabilities that could lead to some of those systems being compromised, DHS and other officials warned.</div>
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Due to the disparate methods of voting and cybersecurity enforcement in different parts of the U.S., the risk to computer-related systems varies from county-to-county. A variety of devices are used to cast votes, and there is little uniformity of processes across polling stations.</div>
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Review and Warning</h2>
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The House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday also conducted a hearing focusing on the impact of Russian hacking on the 2016 elections.</div>
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Members of that committee heard testimony from former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson (pictured above), who was in charge of the department when the actual hacking took place during the final months of the Obama administration.</div>
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During that hearing, Johnson reiterated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the hacking with the intent of influencing the outcome of the U.S. elections. However, he said that no hard votes actually were manipulated at the ballot box level.</div>
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When Ranking Member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., asked why the Obama administration had not put out a more forceful warning about potential Russian hacking of the election, Johnson said there were concerns about revealing sources and methods, and that the administration did not want to appear to be taking sides in the November election.</div>
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One of then-candidate Donald Trump's constant themes was that the election was "rigged," he noted.</div>
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State officials have serious concerns about the federal government's lack of information-sharing about potential threats to state and local voting systems, said Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson, president-elect of the National Association of Secretaries of State, in testimony before the Senate hearing.</div>
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Those concerns were heightened by threats referenced in a leaked NSA report, she said.</div>
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Local Risks</h2>
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DHS failed to share critical information with states about specific threat information that needed to be acted upon, such as the Russian hackers' targeting of 21 states, said Kay Stimson, spokesperson for the NASS.</div>
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"The general feedback we received from today's hearing," she told the E-Commerce Times, "is that state officials are very interested in receiving documented threat intelligence information from DHS so they can use that to protect their systems."</div>
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The lesson from the 2016 election is that even though there have been past attempts to hack into election systems, the latest activities are not the work of "run of the mill" adversaries, said Ken Menzel, general counsel at the Illinois State Board of Elections.</div>
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Local officials will have to work with the federal government to step up their game, he told the E-Commerce Times.</div>
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"We're certainly concerned with all the attention on this that [Russia] or somebody else is going to want to get in [to U.S. voting systems] in the future," Menzel said.</div>
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In terms of the mechanics of a democratic voting infrastructure, there is always a balance to be struck between using automation versus manual efforts, according to Mark Nunnikhoven, vice president of cloud research at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.trendmicro.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Trend Micro</a>.</div>
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"The automation is there to speed up the counts and increase accuracy, while manual efforts provide verification against mass manipulation and increase voter confidence in the system," he told the E-Commerce Times.</div>
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The biggest step that can be taken is to establish national cybersecurity standards for elections and election-related systems, Nunnikhoven argued.</div>
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That approach is partially in place through the National Institute for Standards and Technology, a physical science lab inside the U.S. Department of Commerce, he said, but there's a need for additional verification and educational efforts at the district level.</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/DHS-to-Congress-The-Russians-Are-Coming-Back-84632.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-22212156622652899172017-06-20T23:37:00.001-07:002017-06-20T23:37:28.887-07:00Microsoft Expands Linux Container Support in Windows Server<div id="story-body">
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Microsoft has decided to expand its support for Linux containers in the next release of Windows Server.</div>
Linux containers and workloads will work natively on Windows Server, said Erin Chapple, general manager for the server operating system, in an online post last week.<br />
The company also will extend Window Server's Hyper-V isolation capability, which was introduced in the 2016 release of the operating system.<br />
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"This means customers will no longer have to deploy two separate container infrastructures to support both their Windows and Linux-based applications," Chapple wrote.<br />
What's more, Windows Bash also is coming to the next edition of Windows Server. That's good news for developers.<br />
"This unique combination allows developer and application administrators to use the same scripts, tools, procedures and container images they have been using for Linux containers on their Windows Server container host," Chapple explained.
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Slimmer Nano Server
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Microsoft also has improvements in store for the container performance of its Nano Server productm Chapple noted.<br />
Nano Server, introduced in 2015, is a purpose-built operating system designed to run born-in-the-cloud applications and containers.<br />
"The idea was to make it tiny, and allow each developer to add only the necessary elements for their specific micro-services to it," explained Ben Bernstein, CEO of
<a href="http://www.twistlock.com/" target="_blank">Twistlock</a>.<br />
"It's more compliant, stable and secure," he told LinuxInsider. "The image does exactly what the developer adds to it and nothing more -- no weird under-the-hood elements."<br />
The next release of Windows Server will focus on making Nano Server the very best container image possible, Chapple wrote.<br />
Customers will see Nano Server images shrink in size by more than 50 percent, which will decrease startup times and improve container density, she noted.
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Targeting Pain Points
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Reducing the size of an operating system inside a container is important for reserving resources for the primary application running in the virtual box.<br />
"Ideally, you'd want the underlying operating system to be zero, because you want it entirely out of the way," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.enderlegroup.com/" onclick="window.open('http://www.enderlegroup.com/'); return false;">Enderle Group</a>.<br />
"This isn't there yet," he told LinuxInsider, "but it's very thin and gets out of the way as much as possible."<br />
The size of Windows containers is one of three pain points with Microsoft's implementation of the technology, noted Amir Jerbi, CTO of
<a href="https://www.aquasec.com/" target="_blank">Aqua Security</a>.<br />
"The size of Windows containers compared to Linux containers is very big -- over 1 gigabyte," he told LinuxInsider. "This will reduce that by 50 percent."<br />
Running Linux containers natively on Microsoft server and Linux tools on Windows make things simpler for shops using both operating systems, Jerbi added.
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Linux Dominates Containers
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Microsoft's container strategy aligns the company with current customer demand, Jerbi said.<br />
" Organizations are looking to normalize operation processes and tools," he noted. "Having a single platform that runs both Windows and Linux containers helps with that."<br />
Microsoft's moves reflect its recognition of the state of the container space.<br />
"In reality, 99 percent of container images are Linux images," observed Twistlock's Bernstein.<br />
"Since we are talking about containers that act as micro-services and, in turn, engage with each others' containers, a Windows-containers-only environment is not realistic," he pointed out. "For Microsoft to bootstrap any usage of Windows containers, it must support usage of existing Linux images."<br />
Containers have become important for developing software in today's application environments. They can shorten development cycles. They allow software to be run anywhere -- on premises or in the cloud. They also can simplify the development process because of the multitude of ready-made images.<br />
"Studies show that containers boost productivity," Bernstein said, "which is why software product companies want to adopt them."<br />
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http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Microsoft-Expands-Linux-Container-Support-in-Windows-Server-84623.html</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-76783634139410108592017-06-19T00:08:00.003-07:002017-06-19T00:08:34.587-07:00Nintendo's New Lineup Electrifies E3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Nintendo previewed an impressive lineup of gaming content at E3 2017 this week, by many accounts. Its collection of new titles and targeted versions of some of the industry's hottest third-party content seemed to validate surprisingly strong sales of the Nintendo Switch console.</div>
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Moving easily from a living room big screen to a mobile gaming device, the Switch already has gained a significant following.</div>
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Nintendo unveiled a stream of new titles from some of its most renowned video game franchises, while adding new games that are designed to work specifically for the Switch, which offers a unique gaming experience with its funky Joy-Con controllers and emphasis on multiplayer competition.</div>
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Among the multiplayer titles that will be on hand this summer are <em>Splatoon 2</em>, <em>Arms</em> and <em>Pokkén Tournament DX</em>, the first Pokémon title for the Switch.</div>
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Nintendo promised to introduce Switch owners to "glorious new kingdoms" with the <em>Super Mario Odyssey</em> game, the first 3D sandbox-style <em>Mario</em> adventure in more than 15 years.</div>
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During its spotlight video presentation, the company announced several new Switch titles in development, including <em>Metroid Prime 4</em>.</div>
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Something for Everyone</h2>
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Game Freak has begun work on a core Pokémon RPG title for the Switch, Pokémon CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara teased during the Spotlight presentation -- but it won't be released before mid-2018.</div>
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<em>Legend of Zelda</em> items will appear in the Nintendo Switch version of <em>Skyrim</em>, Bethesda revealed during its Showcase.</div>
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During the Nintendo Spotlight, <em>Zelda</em> series producer Eiji Aonuma previewed upcoming DLC packs for <em>Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild</em>. The packs, which are available for US$19.99 with the Expansion Pass, include <em>The Master Trials</em>, which launches June 30, and <em>The Champion's Ballad</em>, slated for the coming holiday season.</div>
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Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced an exclusive version of its <em>Rabbids</em> game for Nintendo Switch, a crossover adventure called <em>Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle</em>, which will debut Aug. 29.</div>
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Nintendo also announced <em>Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions</em>, which is an updated version of the <em>Mario & Luigi</em> series designed for Nintendo 3DS. It offers everything from the original for Game Boy Advance to an easy mode option for inexperienced players.</div>
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<em>Rocket League</em> will be coming to the Nintendo Switch, complete with cross-network play, exclusive battle cars and exclusive local wireless multiplayer access, said Jeremy Dunham, vice president for publishing at Psyonix, and Corey Davis, its design director.</div>
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Other new titles include <em>Xenoblade Chronicles 2</em>, which will launch during the holiday season; <em>Fire Emblem Warriors</em> from Koei Tecmo Games, launching this fall for the Switch, Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL and 2DS XL; and <em>EA Sports: FIFA 18</em>, launching Sept. 29.</div>
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First Impressions</h2>
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Nintendo, along with game developer Ubisoft, appears to have made the strongest showing overall at E3, according to Mat Piscatella, industry analyst for U.S. Games at NPD.</div>
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<em>Super Mario Odyssey</em> could be something special, both as a game and as a driver of new hardware sales, he said.</div>
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Piscatella raised his forecast for Nintendo Switch sales coming out of the show, as he expected them to be strong for the rest of this year and into 2018.</div>
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"What's most exciting from a sales perspective is the knowledge that a Pokémon RPG is on the way to Switch," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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The sales implications from such a major title are significant, Piscatella added. "It could potentially drive multiconsole ownership per household, which makes the potential sales outlook even more positive."</div>
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The biggest unique selling point for Nintendo Switch would be to "deliver a catalog of titles that leverage its hybrid console and mobile features," said Karol Severin, an analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.midiaresearch.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Midia Research</a>.</div>
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Franchise titles like <em>Pokémon</em> and <em>Super Mario Bros.</em> are important, because they provide opportunities for games that can cross various gaming genres and formats, whether mobile or console, he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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Sales of Nintendo Switch have gotten off to a very strong start since its launch earlier this year, noted Steve Bailey, senior analyst for games at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.ihsmarkit.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">IHS Markit</a>.</div>
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That is due in part to the strong performance by <em>Zelda: Breath of the Wild</em>, which has turned out to be a "stellar return to form for the series," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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A robust slate of games will keep things moving for the rest of 2017, Bailey said. IHS has forecast sales of 9.5 million units, with the expectation that <em>Super Mario Odyssey</em> should be a big driver.</div>
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The announcement of <em>Metroid</em>, <em>Fire Emblem</em> and <em>Pokémon</em> should leave Nintendo in "fighting form" as it "leverages its considerable IP cache" to drive support for the console, he added.</div>
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There are a few challenges ahead, said Bailey. Nintendo may not be able to meet demand from a manufacturing perspective, for one, and it could spend the rest of 2017 supply-constrained.</div>
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Nintendo will have to make sure it can drive demand for the Switch beyond its most enthusiastic fans, he cautioned, and strike a balance so that its own great new game releases don't crowd out new titles from third-party software partners.</div>
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Third-party developers are offering critical versions of popular titles designed for the Switch, <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.idc.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">IDC</a> Research Director Lewis Ward told TechNewsWorld, including <em>Fifa 18</em>, <em>NBA 2K 18</em>, <em>The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim</em> and <em>Rocket League</em>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Nintendos-New-Lineup-Electrifies-E3-84611.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-35769209524570894032017-06-14T23:53:00.001-07:002017-06-14T23:53:25.392-07:00Xbox One X: More Speed, More Muscle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Microsoft earlier this week announced the next version of its Xbox line of gaming consoles, ahead of E3 2017, now ongoing in Los Angeles.</div>
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The new Xbox One X, which goes on sale Nov. 7 for US$499, is slimmer than previous models and packed with power.</div>
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With a 6-teraflop Scorpio engine, the One X has 40 percent faster graphics performance than its chief rival, Sony's PS4 Pro.</div>
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The custom Scorpio engine in the Microsoft box burns chrome at 1172 MHz -- a 37 percent increase over its predecessor, Xbox One, and 28 percent faster than PS4 Pro.</div>
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Since the inside of a console can get hot running at those speeds, Xbox engineers kept things cool with a liquid-cooled vapor chamber, a technology used on high octane PC gaming cards.</div>
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Performance vs. Features</h2>
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"It's smoking," Jim McGregor, principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.tiriasresearch.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Tirias Research</a>, said of the One X's performance.</div>
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"They went for the most performance they could possibly get out it," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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Performance prowess, though, is just one factor contributing to success in the console market.</div>
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Traditionally, game content drives the purchase and upgrades of game consoles, explained Brett Sappington, director of research at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.parksassociates.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Parks Associates</a>. Sony leads the console market in exclusive game content, and nothing yet from E3 indicates that advantage to have changed.</div>
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"Though there are improvements in power, the Xbox One X does not offer any new differentiating features to drive purchases. Essentially, it is a more powerful Xbox One S," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"The PS4 still offers a variety of features that are not available in the Xbox One X, such as remote play and VR," Sappington continued, "and the Nintendo Switch differentiates itself with its motion controllers, haptic feedback technology, and TV-connected-to-portable functionality."</div>
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True 4K Gaming</h2>
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One X has supersampling built into the console, which results in games with more visible detail and smoother edges, as well as more efficient loading times, according to Microsoft.</div>
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With 2160 frame buffers, as well as high dynamic range and wide color gamut support, the console is built for true 4K gaming, the company said. What's more, game clips can be recorded in 4K at 60 frames per second, and screenshots can be captured in 4K.</div>
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"This is a true 4K console, whereas Sony is using techniques to approach true 4K," noted Ross Rubin, principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.reticleresearch.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Reticle Research</a>.</div>
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"In practice, it's going to come down to what resolution game developers are going to support," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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The One X offers an immersive audio experience that can put a player in the center of spatial sound.</div>
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Backward Compatibility</h2>
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Like its predecessor, One X has a 4K UHD Blu-ray player, built-in power supply, three USB 3.0 ports (one in the front and two in the back) and an IR blaster.</div>
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The 4K UHD Blu-ray player remains a strength of the Xbox over PS4, observed Michael Inouye, principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.abiresearch.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">ABI Research</a>.</div>
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"The PS4 Pro only includes a standard Blu-ray drive, which did engender some complaints from the Sony faithful," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"Even if the consumer isn't planning to buy or rent UHD Blu-ray discs," Inouye continued, "it does complete the picture of a true 4K media player-gaming machine, which speaks to the product's image."</div>
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All existing Xbox One games, including Xbox Play Anywhere titles, are compatible with the One X. In addition, a number of existing games are being enhanced for the new console. They include <em>Gears of War 4</em>, <em>Forza Horizon 3</em>, <em>Minecraft</em>, <em>Resident Evil 7</em>, <em>Final Fantasy 15</em> and <em>Rocket League</em>. What's more, a true 4K version of <em>Forza Motorsport 7</em> will be available Oct. 3.</div>
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Backward compatibility gives the Xbox a feature that PS4 doesn't have, but that omission didn't prevent Sony's console from outselling the Xbox One, noted Parks' Sappington.</div>
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"Backward compatibility eliminates a potential barrier to purchase, but it does not provide an incentive to purchase the Xbox One X over the Xbox One S," he said.</div>
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"Backward compatibility is a nice-to-have feature which resonates with some vocal Xbox users," said Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games research at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.ihsmarkit.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">IHS Markit</a>.</div>
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Still, "it is a value-added proposition and not a system seller," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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Online Gaming</h2>
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Pricing could be a problem for the One X. It's $100 more than the PS4, and a $50 price break on the Sony console is likely around the time Microsoft's new console is scheduled to reach retailers, according to Sappington.</div>
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"For the mainstream consumers or more casual gamers, the additional power likely won't resonate with them as much as those more deeply rooted into the hobby," ABI's Inouye said. "Plus, if they don't have a 4K TV, they might feel even less compelled to upgrade, even though there are some benefits for 1080p sets as well."</div>
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The One X's pricing is OK for the unit's target audience, maintained IHS' Harding-Rolls.</div>
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"Even if the price point was revealed to be higher than $499, we did not expect this to impact sales of the console at launch," he said. "Xbox enthusiasts will pay significant sums to get hold of the latest and greatest."</div>
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Microsoft will sell 500,000 One X's during this year's fourth quarter, Harding-Rolls predicted.</div>
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In addition to its Xbox consoles, Microsoft has Xbox Live -- a large online network for playing games. The network uses dedicated servers to enhance performance, speed and reliability.</div>
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"I would expect that by now Microsoft would be pushing more for online gaming and streaming, and they're not," said McGregor, who is also an Xbox owner.</div>
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"They're still pushing for those hardcore games that are on the device," he pointed out. "I think they were counting on the bandwidth being there for console-quality online gaming, and it's not."</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Xbox-One-X-More-Speed-More-Muscle-84602.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-5243756178133366302017-06-13T23:17:00.000-07:002017-06-13T23:17:01.845-07:00New Stem Cell Treatment Offers Dramatic Burn-Healing Potential<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A med-tech startup has developed a fast and easy way to treat certain burn wounds with stem cells.</div>
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<a href="http://www.renovacareinc.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">RenovaCare</a> harvests a variety of cells, including stem cells, from a healthy area of skin on a patient. Those cells are then suspended in a water-based solution, which is loaded into the company's SkinGun and sprayed onto the wound.</div>
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"The sprayer allows us to have a generous distribution of cells on the wound," explained Roger Esteban-Vives, director of cell sciences at RenovaCare.</div>
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The procedure takes about 90 minutes.</div>
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"It's gentle, and the skin that regrows feels and functions as the original skin that it replaces," said RenovaCare CEO Thomas Bold.</div>
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RenovaCare's CellMist method gets a greater yield from its harvest than mesh grafting, a more common way to treat burns. At a maximum, grafting can treat six times the size of its harvest area. CellMist can cover 100 times its harvest area.</div>
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"That's why our skin sample can be so small," Bold told TechNewsWorld. "Depending on the size of the wounded area, we're talking about postage-stamp-sized."</div>
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Alternative to Skin Grafts</h2>
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Using stem cells to treat some types of burns is a promising alternative to skin grafting, which involves removing large sheets of healthy skin from a patient and puncturing it in a grid-like pattern to form an expandable mesh that's stitched to the wound.</div>
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"The [skin-graft] procedure is extremely painful," said Bold.</div>
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What's more, an additional wound is created in the place where the healthy skin for the graft was removed.</div>
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"That often results in poor cosmetic outcomes, with scars and deformed skin," Bold pointed out.</div>
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Other drawbacks of skin grafting include restricted joint movement and the inability of the skin to grow with a patient.</div>
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"For a kid," Bold noted, "that means ongoing new surgery as the kid grows."</div>
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Mesh graft patients can require months of physical therapy. They also can face ongoing problems ranging from the psychological impact of permanent disfigurement to risk of addiction resulting from long-term pain management with pain killers.</div>
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High-Cell Viability</h2>
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A key to the effectiveness of RenovaCare's treatment is its high rate of cell viabililty.</div>
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When dispensing cells over a wound, it's important that they make the transition without being damaged. Damaged cells reduce the effectiveness of the treatment.</div>
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Ninety-seven percent of the stem cells in RenovaCare's SkinGun remain viable after being sprayed on a wound, according to the company.</div>
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High cell viability also contributes to faster healing. When a wound heals naturally, cells migrate to it to build up the skin. That process can take weeks.</div>
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"What we do is isolate the cells from a healthy area, spray them on the wound, and accelerate the healing process," Esteban-Vives told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"With the stem cells, we create thousands of regenerative islands all over the wound and close it with an epithelial layer," Bold explained. "Once that layer is closed, the wound is dry and considered healed."</div>
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After that, the cosmetic healing will take place naturally.</div>
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Time is important for wound healing.</div>
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"Our patients' wounds could heal over time," Esteban-Vives said. "The problem is that during that healing time, complications can occur. Infections, contractions and scar formation could happen."</div>
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Patent Challenged</h2>
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The CellMist System hasn't been approved yet for clinical use in the United States, although it has been used on thousands of patients on an experimental and innovative practice basis, Bold noted.</div>
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The company is awaiting FDA approval of its CellMist System so that it can begin clinical trials.</div>
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The FDA isn't the only hurdle for RenovaCare to clear on its road to bringing its medtech to market, however.</div>
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<a href="http://avitamedical.com/us/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Avita Medical</a> has challenged one of RenovaCare's patents. Avita also makes a skin regeneration system that sprays a patient's cells on a wound to heal it.</div>
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Avita last month filed a challenge against RenovaCare with the U.S. Patent and Appeals Board, which will decide if the dispute between the firms should be taken to court.</div>
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"We believe we have presented a very strong rationale to the PTAB," said Avita CEO Adam Kelliher, "as to why this patent should never have been issued."</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/New-Stem-Cell-Treatment-Offers-Dramatic-Burn-Healing-Potential-84604.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-49321048483756869032017-06-12T01:39:00.002-07:002017-06-12T01:39:33.331-07:00'Arms' Could Help Nintendo Fight Its Way Back Into the Ring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em>Arms</em>, the highly anticipated fighting game for Nintendo's Switch, will be available next Friday, and based on the early reviews, the company just may have found the magic bullet.</div>
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Nintendo's Switch console, launched earlier this year, has been something of a surprise success. Prior to its launch, it seemed like a risky play for the company, which has been bobbing and weaving in its efforts to appeal to couch potatoes, e-sports enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers alike.</div>
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The Switch, a pricey console that can be enjoyed in the living room or on the road, needed a potential game-changer that would make video game enthusiasts willing to gamble on it. Nintendo needed something to create excitement and buzz.</div>
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"<em>Arms</em> is utterly brilliant," wrote Mark Walton in his <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/06/arms-review-nintendo-switch/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><em>Ars Technica</em> review</a>.</div>
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He praised the game's mix of "bold mix of long-range, third-person combat played at a strategic pace far removed from the split-second timing and dexterous button bashing typical of the genre."</div>
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<em>Arms</em> is possibly the perfect game for Nintendo Switch, suggests <a href="http://time.com/4805331/arms-nintendo-switch-review/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><em>Time</em>'s review</a>.</div>
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"It's tennis-boxing inside a carnival wrapped in a learning curve that against practiced players feels steep," wrote <em>Time</em> reviewer Matt Peckham.</div>
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<em>Arms</em> "is more than it seems," he maintained. It's "novel in a genre prone to repetition, and precisely the sort of pick-up video game the Switch was designed for."</div>
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Fresh Experience</h2>
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"Like <em>Splatoon</em>, I think <em>Arms</em> represents a fresh competitive title and new franchise that Nintendo can build up over months and years," said Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games research at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.ihsmarkit.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">IHS Markit</a>.</div>
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<em>Arms</em> plays to the strengths of the Switch console, he told TechNewsWorld, supporting local competitive play and use of its motion controllers.</div>
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"As a new IP, its attach rate at launch is likely to be lower than <em>Zelda</em> or <em>Mario Kart</em>, but I expect sales to continue to tick over, and for it to remain popular as adoption of Switch sales increases."</div>
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Easy to Learn, Challenging to Play</h2>
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The game centers around competition, which is driving much of the modern e-sports craze, and the response has been strong, said Jurre Pannekeet, senior market analyst at <a href="http://www.newzoo.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">NewZoo</a>.</div>
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"<em>Arms</em> seems to be a game that is relatively easy to pick up and play, quick to understand and learn -- but it's difficult to master with the nuances in fighting inherent to the game," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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One such feature is "punching in an arc, bypassing an opponent's defense, for which the movement-capturing accuracy of the controllers is praised," Pannekeet noted.</div>
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While <em>Arms</em> likely will be played a lot online, much of the interest in the title will be driven by the ability to play via the local multiplayer co-op, which has made titles like <em>Mario Kart</em>, <em>Mario Party</em> and <em>Super Smash Bros. Melee</em> hugely successful, he added.</div>
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<em>Arms</em> "could be the next big hit that doesn't include Nintendo's traditionally popular characters, after <em>Splatoon</em>," Pannekeet said.</div>
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Market Potential</h2>
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The timing is critical for Nintendo to develop an exclusive title that can move market share, suggested Karol Severin, a gaming analyst for <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.midiaresearch.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Midia Research</a>.</div>
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Eighteen percent of all consumers own or regularly use a Nintendo console, including the Switch, according to Midia Research.</div>
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The company needs to build up its content catalog as it sets 2018 for the official launch of its paid subscription service, Severin pointed out.</div>
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The paid service, Nintendo Switch Online, will cost US$3.99 per month, $7.99 for a three-month subscription, or $19.99 per year.</div>
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"Switch, because of its console-mobile hybrid, will need more games that are developed with the hybrid format and its controls in mind," Severin told TechNewsWorld, "in order to demonstrate the entertainment value of Switch to its full potential."</div>
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Fighting Chance</h2>
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If fans share the enthusiasm some of the early reviewers have displayed, Nintendo may regain its footing with one of its most important console rollouts in years.</div>
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"A game console lives and dies on the content," observed Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.enderlegroup.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Enderle Group</a>.</div>
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Nintendo "needs to do a great job with head-to-head games, and this title stands out as both fun and a good showcase for the company's skills," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"With games like this, Switch has a fighting chance," Enderle said.</div>
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The game is available for pre-order for $59.99 with an official launch date of June 16.</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Arms-Could-Help-Nintendo-Fight-Its-Way-Back-Into-the-Ring-84598.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-69022235756609403672017-06-09T05:52:00.001-07:002017-06-09T05:52:14.596-07:00E3 2017: Enhancements, Expectations and Perhaps Excitement<br />
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ll of the major video game developers, publishers and console hardware makers, as well as many retail buyers and the gaming press, will descend on Los Angeles for E3 2017 next week. The annual event -- a showcase for computer, video and mobile games and related products -- will kick off officially on Tuesday and run through Thursday at the Los Angeles Convention Center. However, it actually will begin on Monday with press briefings from Microsoft, Sony, Bethesda, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft.</div>
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E3 has been the main trade event for the video game industry since 1995, when game publishers sought to get out of the shadow of the larger electronics industry at the annual Consumer Electronics Show. Over time, E3 has grown in stature.</div>
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It also has grown in size, although there were attempts in 2007 and 2008 to rein in the show by limiting its access to an invitation only list of key press representatives. Now the show has become a mega event and includes a public day. E3 is the place where gaming hardware, game titles and just about anything else related to video games is unveiled, with just a handful of exceptions.</div>
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All About the Games</h2>
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Without any major expectations on the hardware front from Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo, this year's E3 truly could be one that is all about the games. Publishers and developers in years past pulled out the stops to court the gaming press, especially those who participate as judges in the annual "Best of E3" rankings.</div>
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It seems that game publishers have sought to hold their cards a closer to the chest this year, but a few high-profile titles are expected to get the full-blown reveal treatment.</div>
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Among the "most anticipated titles that are currently known are <em>Destiny 2</em>, <em>Red Dead Redemption 2</em> and <em>Super Mario Odyssey</em>," said Steve Bailey, senior analyst for gaming at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.ihsmarkit.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">IHS Markit</a>.</div>
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Those are just some of the more than 150 expected titles, but gamers should take any announcement with the proverbial grain of salt. Just because a game is announced next week doesn't mean it will be arriving for the holiday season. If past E3s are an indicator, many titles could be many more months -- or in some cases, years -- away.</div>
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The long game development cycle has raised the stakes for publishers who often need to strike when the iron is hot. Few titles have been well received or widely embraced after long delays.</div>
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High Stakes</h2>
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Even games that arrive on schedule -- and more importantly, on budget -- still need to live up to expectations. E3 is all about the hype, and this year will be no different.</div>
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"Nintendo has to show an 'unmissable' experience in <em>Super Mario Odyssey</em> to help maintain its vibrant sales momentum for the year," Bailey told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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Then there is the competition between Microsoft and Sony, which is likely to heat up this year, as Microsoft seeks to narrow the gap by emphasizing its new hardware play with the Xbox One.</div>
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"This will, as always, be a battle between Sony and Microsoft that'll likely capture much of the drama," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.enderlegroup.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Enderle Group</a>.</div>
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"The back story has been which one will have titles that have a remote possibility of actually being released in our lifetimes," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"Xbox will be flexing everything in its arsenal that makes it stand out from PlayStation -- the Scorpio console, Play Anywhere, Mixer, Game Pass, and so on," said IHS' Bailey.</div>
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"PlayStation has a much busier first-party schedule in software terms," he added. "A number of games released last year are still some distance from release, so expect those to be fleshed out, plus details on further new titles."</div>
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This means another software-driven E3 from PlayStation, but it can't rely too heavily on such a channel for much longer, warned Bailey. "Rising competition and a maturing hardware cycle mean it soon has to start talking about PlayStation in a broader capacity, if not at E3."</div>
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Reality Showdown</h2>
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The other hardware to watch at this year's E3 may be of the virtual reality variety, and 2017 could be the year the show gets real with VR.</div>
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"Huge VR/mixed reality content is likely at the show overall, with the question of whether any of the compelling stuff will be accessible or affordable by buyers," said Enderle.</div>
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The technology already has been making the trade show rounds.</div>
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"Computex, for instance, had some really great demonstrations, but many were in simulators that were wickedly expensive and not accessible by regular folks," Enderle noted.</div>
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"We should have some great demos from Nvidia and AMD, both of which will be wanting to showcase their higher-end graphics systems," he suggested. "This will probably be the first showcase for what AMD's Vega platform can actually do. Also look for backpack PCs to deal with the problems of high-end VR headset tethers, which can be deadly."</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/E3-2017-Enhancements-Expectations-and-Perhaps-Excitement-84595.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-42022976343900982592017-06-07T05:42:00.000-07:002017-06-07T05:42:10.570-07:00Apple's iOS 11 Makes Siri a More Natural Woman... and Man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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New voices for Siri and peer-to-peer payments are among the new features in the next version of Apple's mobile device operating system iOS 11, previewed at the company's annual Worldwide Development Conference on Monday.</div>
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"With the new operating system, Apple has doubled down on many of the applications it has developed for iOS," said Ross Rubin, the principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.reticleresearch.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Reticle Research</a>.</div>
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"Much of the enhancement of the OS has come via those core applications versus general new functionality," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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How Apple has improved Siri for the upcoming OS is an example of that.</div>
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New Voice, New Sex</h2>
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With iOS 11, Apple has given Siri a voice that's more natural and expressive. What's more, a male voice has been added.</div>
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"I like how Apple is underscoring the idea of 'more natural,'" said Tuong Nguyen, an analyst with <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.gartner.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Gartner</a>.</div>
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"Conversational interfaces are arguably the most intuitive way to interact with machines," he told TechNewsWorld. "Apple's competitors certainly agree, given the efforts and emphasis they've put on it."</div>
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Parlez Vous Francais</h2>
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In addition, there's a translation function. You can tell Siri to ask, "What are the most popular dishes in your restaurant?" in Chinese, and it will ask the question in that language. Languages initially supported by Siri translate are English, Chinese, French, German, Italian and Spanish.</div>
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Siri's IQ also got a boost.</div>
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"Siri not only understands your voice, it understands the context," Apple Senior Vice President for Software Engineering Craig Federighi said at WWDC. "It understands your interests. It understands how you use your device, and this allows it to ultimately understand what you want next."</div>
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In iOS 11, Siri uses on-device learning to understand topics of interest to you so it can flag news items that might interest you, or make a calendar appointment based on reservation made on the Web.</div>
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Paying Your Peers</h2>
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The Apple Pay mobile payment system gets an expansion in iOS 11. It will be able to make person-to-person payments through the iMessage app.</div>
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"Apple Pay is the No. 1 contactless payment service on mobile devices, and by the end of the year, it'll be available in more than 50 percent of retailers in the U.S.," said Federighi.</div>
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The new iOS expands its use of NFC technology. Up to now, NFC use has been limited to Apple Pay. With iOS 11, it also will read tags, which can convey information about a product to a device, or provide authentication.</div>
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Adding that function helps the NFC market in a number of ways. For example, companies and developers working with tags no longer have to cobble together workarounds to accommodate iOS devices.</div>
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"There are a lot of examples of applications that have been successful in Europe and Asia. where the Android market share is much higher," explained Paula Hunter, executive director of the <a href="http://nfc-forum.org/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">NFC Forum</a>.</div>
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"Here in the U.S., we've had a lot of application providers hesitant to go full throttle with NFC, because a significant portion of the market is served by Apple," she told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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Messages in the Cloud</h2>
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Apple's new OS will make it easier for developers to forge applications that tap into the camera and motion sensors in iOS devices to create augmented reality programs through ARKit.</div>
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"Tim Cook excited the market a number of times last year by speaking about AR," Gartner's Nguyen said. "This announcements feels like more of an official endorsement-acknowledgement of AR as a tech everyone should be paying attention to."</div>
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With iOS 11, Apple's Messages app will be integrated with iCloud. That enables all conversations to be synchronized automatically across a user's devices. In addition to be being convenient, the feature saves space on a device, because most messages will be stored in the cloud.</div>
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iPad Gets Productive</h2>
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With the next version of iOS, Apple will add some desired productivity features to the iPad. For example, it has a new customizable dock that can be pulled up at the bottom of the screen with a finger flick to give you quick access to your favorite apps.</div>
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"To someone trying to get real work done, I think some of the improvements to iPad iOS will be welcomed -- in particular, the new dock," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.</div>
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"The new dock puts a new spin on multitasking, moving iOS closer to macOS," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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On the other hand, for consumers who use their iPad Pros primarily for content consumption, the new features could make the devices seem a bit more complex than they're used to, Moorhead pointed out.</div>
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Other productivity enhancements include an improved app switcher for moving between active apps, and a new feature for managing files -- not only locally and in iCloud, but on services like Box, Dropbox and OneDrive. Moving files, text and photos is easier, too, with a new drag-and-drop feature.</div>
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Apple Pencil is more deeply integrated into the iPad with iOS 11. Inline drawing is supported, and the Notes app can be accessed from the lock screen with a tap of the pencil.</div>
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Never Wanting Customers</h2>
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Apple supports two new media formats in the new iOS: HEVC for video and HEIF for photos. Both formats offer good quality and smaller file sizes.</div>
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The company also improved its Memories app to identify photos in more ways -- by anniversaries, for example, or sporting events or birthdays.</div>
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When the new iOS arrives next fall, developers need not worry about finding customers for their wares, Apple CEO Tim Cook told the audience at the WWDC keynote presentation on Monday.</div>
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"Eighty-six percent of our customers are running iOS 10 and taking advantage of its capabilities. This blows away other platforms that suffer from horrible fragmentation," he said.</div>
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"With iOS, developers can always target the latest capabilities and features of our latest operating system," added Cook, "and be confident that there's customers there for them."</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Apples-iOS-11-Makes-Siri-a-More-Natural-Woman-and-Man-84588.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-56564199773876200382017-06-05T01:31:00.001-07:002017-06-05T01:31:37.757-07:00Plex Advances Cord-Cutting Case With Live OTA TV<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica; font-size: 16px;">Video streaming service Plex on Thursday announced the availability of a beta version of its Plex Live TV. The live-TV streaming launch follows last year's introduction of the Plex DVR, which provides users with free over-the-air access to 86 of Nielsen's 100 most watched shows in the United States.</span><br />
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The Plex DVR service allows users to manage their recorded programming via Android TV, iOS devices, Windows and Mac, as well a variety of set-top boxes, such as Roku, Chromecast, Amazon Fire and Apple TV, and the Xbox and PlayStation gaming systems. Plex DVR is supported by many smart TVs as well.</div>
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Plex Live TV currently is available only on Android TV and iOS devices, while recorded TV shows are available on the aforementioned devices. To utilize the service, users need to install a digital antenna and a digital tuner to receive the over-the-air signals.</div>
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The new Plex Live TV allows users to access local news and sports from all the major U.S.-based channels, including ABC, CBS, CW, NBC, Fox, PBS and Univision, as well as select programming from CBC, BBC, ITV and Telemundo.</div>
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The service currently is available with a Plex Pass subscription for US$4.99 per month, $39.99 a year, or $119.99 for a lifetime subscription.</div>
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It is important to note that encrypted channels are not currently supported -- so shows from HBO and Showtime and other pay services are not available. It is also unclear how paid offerings from the networks, such as CBS All Access, will fit in -- but at present it seems that content of this sort will be unavailable as well.</div>
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Counting on Cord Cutters</h2>
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Plex is far from the first company to offer DVR services as a way to entice traditional cable and satellite subscribers to cut the cord. Plex began in late 2007 as a freeware hobby project created by developer Elan Feingold, and in mid-2011 it launched a premium version of its streaming service, dubbed "Plex Pass."</div>
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What could differentiate Plex's Live TV from similar services is the ability to watch local programming, notably live news and sports -- content that is largely missing from other over-the-top services.</div>
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"There is a measurable trend towards OTT content that drives cord-cutting," said Roger Entner, principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.reconanalytics.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Recon Analytics</a>.</div>
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"Traditional cable, satellite and content providers are rightfully concerned," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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However, even with its live local options, "the service doesn't look that different from Tablo -- at least, from a user perspective," noted Roger Kay, principal analyst at Endpoint Technology Associates.</div>
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"One way to look at it is as one more option for cord-cutting -- an offering adding momentum to a trend already well under way," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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Per-Plexing Situation</h2>
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Given that cord cutters have numerous options -- none of which may resolve all of a user's needs -- the issue is not only whether Plex can do enough to help fill the void, but also whether streaming products can be simple enough for the less tech-savvy to embrace.</div>
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"Right now, Plex is pretty young -- and like all young products, the more technical you are the better experience you are likely to have," suggested Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.enderlegroup.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Enderle Group</a>.</div>
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"This gets more interesting as the DVR component matures, but making it as easy to use as changing channels has been a tad difficult," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"TiVo sets the bar when it comes to ease of use, but these technologies are advancing at an impressive rate, and if you are willing to work through the process, they do provide an ever-stronger reason to become a cord cutter over time," Enderle added. "If a millennial were to start off with these services now, they likely wouldn't miss what they never got -- but I wouldn't yet recommend this for your average boomer. It just isn't easy enough yet."</div>
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Cord Nevers</h2>
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Products such as Plex and its competitors target so-called "cord cutters," but the market for these devices and services actually could skew toward those who never dealt with a cable bill.</div>
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"Unless something massively changes, at the very least the [cable] audience will age out eventually, and it isn't an issue of if but when they go the way of DVD stores," said Enderle.</div>
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Plex could be one of the players that stands to gain by being embraced by early adopters as a delivery stream for various types of content, but other established tech companies could be the real disrupters.</div>
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"We are likely still talking years, not months," Enderle predicted, "though when the wave truly hits -- given all of the pre-work that has gone on -- the switch will happen surprisingly quickly, largely because of the foundation that services like Plex, Netflix and Amazon set.</div>
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"Once someone like Amazon moves more aggressively into the real-time streaming space," he added, "it'll likely be game over pretty quickly, and I'd expect their move sooner rather than later."</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Plex-Advances-Cord-Cutting-Case-With-Live-OTA-TV-84579.html</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-70974435930595132202017-06-01T00:05:00.001-07:002017-06-01T00:05:21.030-07:00Android Creator Launches a Phone of His Own<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black;">Essential, </span>a company founded by Andy Rubin, the "father of Android," on Tuesday pulled off the wraps on a new high-end smartphone.</div>
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The Essential Phone, priced at US$699, includes radios for connecting to all major U.S. carriers.</div>
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The unit has an almost edge-to-edge display (there's a bit of bezel at the bottom of its screen) that wraps around the 8-MP selfie camera at the front.</div>
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Built around a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, the Essential Phone comes with 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.</div>
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For durability, the phone has a titanium and ceramic body, which allows it to survive drops with nary a blemish, according to the company.</div>
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Magnetic Accessories</h2>
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Accessories can be added to the phone via a magnetic connector on its backside. Two accessories are included with the unit -- a 360-degree camera and a charging dock.</div>
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Also on the phone's back is 13-MP dual sensor camera. Unlike other phones with dual-sensor cameras, which use the second sensor to take telephoto pictures or create bokeh effects, Essential uses its second sensor to boost low-light performance.</div>
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Like some other high-end phone models, the Essential mobile doesn't have a headphone jack.</div>
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In addition to its smartphone, Essential announced Home, a smart home hub. It runs on Ambient OS, an operating system that Essential hopes will become the Android of the IoT world.</div>
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Home is designed to tie together all the disparate protocols now in the space -- SmartThings, HomeKit, Nest and others -- as well as the various digital assistants -- Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant -- into a seamless user experience.</div>
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"I like that Rubin announced both the new phone and the home hub," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.</div>
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"It reinforces that the company isn't just a point player, and that matters to distribution channels," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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Tough Road Ahead</h2>
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Despite the quality of its build and some intriguing features, the Essential Phone likely faces a tough road ahead.</div>
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"I have some doubts about the impact it can have without a big brand behind it," said Bob O'Donnell, chief analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.technalysisresearch.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Technalysis Research</a>.</div>
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"It'll appeal to tech folks who want the coolest and latest and greatest, but I don't see it becoming a mainstream product, so I think it will be challenged," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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The audience for the Essential Phone may be limited, said Kevin Krewell, a principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.tiriasresearch.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Tirias Research</a>.</div>
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"It seems to appeal to people who are suspicious of Google's use of their data," he told TechNewsWorld. "It's also going to appeal to the tech elite who want something a little different."</div>
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From a hardware perspective, the Essential Phone looks very good, Krewell said.</div>
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"The edge-to-edge screen is impressive and the materials are top notch -- but the difference is the ecosystem and distribution channels the big companies have," he pointed out. "I'm skeptical that it can make a significant impact. While the tech community is interested in it because it's Andy Rubin, the larger market will not know who Andy Rubin is."</div>
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Pushing Innovation</h2>
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There are those who have a more sanguine view of Essential's prospects, however.</div>
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"If the new phone delivers on everything it promises, I believe it can compete," Moorhead said.</div>
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"It's vital, though, that there's a very long road map of modules to connect," he added.</div>
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The going will be tough for Essential, when you consider the money and marketing muscle that Apple, Samsung and Google have, Moorhead acknowledged.</div>
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"Then again, Rubin has considerable resources of his own and a reputation that overshadows at least some of the competition. If any entrepreneur could pull this off, Rubin can," he said.</div>
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Essential's assumption that there's room for true innovation at the top of the smartphone market is appealing, said Charles King, the principal analyst at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.pund-it.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Pund-IT</a>.</div>
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"The vendors in that space, particularly Apple, have been content to become providers of incremental improvements rather than forward-looking visionaries," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"If Rubin forces competitors to dig deeper," King said, "so much the better for consumers and the industry."</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Android-Creator-Launches-a-Phone-of-His-Own-84570.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-23236831997529676342017-05-29T04:42:00.001-07:002017-05-29T04:42:22.926-07:00Kaspersky to US: Check Our Source Code<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQdTOt7n48cfF0rGtM5gasnou1tGSbXfM8SgU15astWfwp98PQDeoYVHNxJUJkGuHlBBfOyuxuk0SBI3F-eHjZ3vBjn_AyCjCnKRW5devKsvfT_jCSStYfO-r2cOF37rRtneW6hU-/s1600/kaspersky-lab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQdTOt7n48cfF0rGtM5gasnou1tGSbXfM8SgU15astWfwp98PQDeoYVHNxJUJkGuHlBBfOyuxuk0SBI3F-eHjZ3vBjn_AyCjCnKRW5devKsvfT_jCSStYfO-r2cOF37rRtneW6hU-/s1600/kaspersky-lab.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica; font-size: 16px;">Cybersecurity expert Eugene Kaspersky has volunteered to turn over his company's software source code to allay fears about possible ties with the Russian government, </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica; font-size: 16px;">The Australian</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica; font-size: 16px;"> reported last week. Kaspersky made the offer public at CeBIT Australia.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica; font-size: 16px;">Some U.S. officials have expressed concerns that Kaspersky Lab might have a close working relationship with the Russian government.</span><br />
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Kaspersky five years ago replaced a number of high-level managers with people who had ties to Russia's military or intelligence services, Bloomberg reported in 2015.</div>
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Some of them reportedly have provided data from the 400 million customers using Kaspersky's software to Russia's intelligence agency, the FSB.</div>
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Also, Kaspersky himself reportedly visits saunas with Russian officials on a regular basis.</div>
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Kaspersky studied at a university backed by the KGB -- the precursor of the FSB -- in the 1980s, according to reports, and he served as a software engineer with Soviet military intelligence before leaving for the private sector.</div>
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The heads of five U.S. intelligence agencies recently expressed suspicions regarding Kaspersky Lab to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, but they "don't have an option due to political reasons," Kaspersky <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/6ajstf/im_eugene_kaspersky_cybersecurity_guy_and_ceo_of/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">suggested on Reddit</a>.</div>
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"Recently, inaccurate statement and claims about Kaspersky Lab have circulated in public," the company said in a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by corporate communications manager Denise Bertrand.</div>
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"Eugene never worked for the Russian government," Kapersky Lab contended. "He grew up in the Soviet Union era when almost every education opportunity was sponsored by the government in some manner."</div>
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The university Kaspersky studied at "was sponsored by four state institutions, one of which was the KGB," Kaspersky Lab said. He was placed at a Russian Ministry of Defense scientific institute as a software engineer upon graduating, because "it was routine for university faculty to determine students' post-graduate positions."</div>
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Stirring a Hornet's Nest</h2>
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Kaspersky did itself no favors with its all-out pursuit of hackers and malware authors linked to the U.S.</div>
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It has uncovered sophisticated malware or spyware connected to U.S. intelligence sources, including Stuxnet, Flame, Shamoon, and The Equation Group.</div>
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Kaspersky didn't seem to look equally hard for state-sponsored malware released by Russia, an acknowledged haven for cybercriminals.</div>
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Possibly because of that, and also because of the controversy surrounding Russia's possible meddling in the U.S. presidential elections, Kaspersky now is under the microscope.</div>
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The FBI is looking into Kaspersky's ties with the Russian government, as is the Senate.</div>
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Separately, the NSA and the UK's GCHQ reportedly have been trying to hack into Kaspersky for years.</div>
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Is Kaspersky Targeted Unfairly?</h2>
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The NSA could be behind the latest scrutiny of Kaspersky Lab and its CEO.</div>
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"It's always dangerous to piss off three-letter agencies," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://www.enderlegroup.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Enderle Group</a>.</div>
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"Doing so while operating out of Russia would be even more problematic," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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However, the likelihood of Kaspersky maintaining a wall between its work with the FSB and Russian government, and its work with other clients is effectively zero," said Michael Jude, a program manager at <a class="story-keyword-offsite" href="http://ww2.frost.com/research/industry/information-communications-technologies/telecommunications-strategic-forecasting-stratecast/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;">Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan</a>.</div>
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Like a John LeCarre Novel</h2>
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The situation is "like a John LeCarre novel come to life," said Laura DiDio, principal analyst at <a href="http://itic-corp.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">ITIC</a>.</div>
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"You're not going to be able to prove absolutely whether or not Kaspersky has ties to the Russian government, she told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"He has done all he can do -- offer to give the U.S. government his source code," she pointed out.</div>
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"The problem isn't whether Russia built a back door into the Kaspersky code, but that Russia may have copies of the source code," Jude told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"Regardless of whom Kaspersky turns his code over to, his reputation is shot," Jude said. "If it's Russia, the U.S. market is dead; if it's the U.S., then just about every non-U.S. market is dead."</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Kaspersky-to-US-Check-Our-Source-Code-84564.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-85455969838067699032017-05-25T04:42:00.001-07:002017-05-25T04:42:36.227-07:00Getting Serious About Teen Smartphone Addiction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbC4iXqgKskfcQ0GEkc6KNR_h-DMzYzNZL9gtDgS89sBRvG4TU5b0mgST7WMPRPdLxMKvw3EKpF7EX6an_zDw-pFjoBYm4kEGqSto3VC0R-N9xZDTfK12dwQV7P_J2q3SJdj8YmQ7b/s1600/xl-2017-teens-smartphones-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="620" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbC4iXqgKskfcQ0GEkc6KNR_h-DMzYzNZL9gtDgS89sBRvG4TU5b0mgST7WMPRPdLxMKvw3EKpF7EX6an_zDw-pFjoBYm4kEGqSto3VC0R-N9xZDTfK12dwQV7P_J2q3SJdj8YmQ7b/s320/xl-2017-teens-smartphones-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Parents don't need a poll to tell them their teenagers are addicted to smartphones. After all, smartphones are a permanent fixture rather than accessories on the visages of kids of all ages these days.</div>
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Even so, polls move these everyday observances from anecdotal to official problem when the numbers tilt in that direction -- and a <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/technology-addiction-concern-controversy-and-finding-balance-infographic" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Common Sense Media poll</a> hit full tilt.</div>
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The fact that 59 percent of parents said their teens were addicted to mobile devices was not surprising. However, the fact that 50 percent of teens admitted they were addicted was shocking.</div>
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While parents feel uneasy about their kids constantly being tethered to a device, most are not sure what real harm tech addiction does to teens. It turns out that it has multiple ill effects.</div>
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Loss of Empathy</h2>
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Empathy, the ability to understand and appreciate the feelings of other people, is a trait that is essential to the well being of society. Empathy is the reason people are kind to each other, donate to helpful causes, and avoid harming other people and their possessions. When empathy is diminished or absent, the opposite often occurs -- and criminal behavior can spike.</div>
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Preteens who were deprived of screened devices for five days dramatically improved at reading people's emotions (nonverbal skills) compared to children who continued using screens, according to a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563214003227" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">UCLA study</a>. Reading someone else's emotions correctly is a function of empathy.</div>
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Without empathy and human connection, young people can become cold and cruel to others. Then, when they encounter cold and cruel responses from other young people, the cycle perpetuates itself and grows.</div>
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"Lack of empathy seems to be a forerunner among cellphone users," suggested<a href="https://www.anewbeginningcounselling.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Chantale Denis</a>, a clinical social worker and sociologist.</div>
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"Whether users are addicted or not, cellphone use can perpetuate a lack of accountability, breed irresponsible behavior, feed malevolence, and retard the ability to effectively nurture social skills inherent in our civility to be kind, thoughtful, caring, loving and understanding," she told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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Limited Career Success</h2>
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Smartphones summon information and entertainment on demand. Thus, instant gratification becomes a constant expectation on and offline.</div>
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"Smartphones and computers socialize us into a pattern of communication that then carries over to our everyday non-tech communication lives," observed Psychsoftpc CEO <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/timlynchpsychsoft/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Tim Lynch</a>, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology of computers and intelligent machines.</div>
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"We expect answers right away, become impatient, use shorter sentences, get right to the point instead of engaging in small talk, and can ignore feelings of others in expressing ourselves," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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This lack of soft skills, which include people skills and critical-thinking skills, can interfere with getting a job and with getting promotions.</div>
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"Socializing and building authentic relationships in real life with others is a muscle," said psychologist <a href="https://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/name/Wyatt_Fisher_PsyD,MA_Boulder_Colorado_39775" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Wyatt Fisher</a>.</div>
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"The more we use it, the better we get at it," he told TechNewsWorld. "The reverse is also true. Therefore, as teens interact primarily with people through a screen, they often lose the skills needed to connect in person."</div>
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Emotional Disabilities</h2>
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Smartphones offer young people more access to the world, but they also give more of the world access to young people. Without buffers and filters, teens and preteens can be influenced in all the worse ways.</div>
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Researchers reported a strong association between heavy Internet use and depression in a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/da.22466/abstract" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">National Institute of Mental Health study</a>.</div>
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They also observed a link between heavy Facebook use and depressive symptoms, including low self-esteem.</div>
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It's not just the constant barrage of posts, texts, and messaging from peers and bullies on smartphones that can have a negative effect on the mental health of young people.</div>
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"Social media is now a space for advertisement and influencing the masses, and teenagers are the most susceptible and vulnerable to these marketing campaigns," said clinical psychologist David Mitroff, founder of <a href="http://www.piedmontave.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Piedmont Avenue Consulting</a>,</div>
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"Teens are in the stage of development where they still do not have a strong sense of identity, so by constantly being on social media, they are effectively exposed to ads and models that promote unrealistic bodies or body weight," he told TechNewsWorld. "Ultimately, these ads negatively affect younger people's mental health due to the skewed representation of beauty or lifestyles that align with the products and services of many companies."</div>
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Breaking Smartphone Addiction</h2>
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Most experts advise parents to encourage their children to limit the time they spend online. "Put down the phone" has become the new "go play outside." The key is to help kids find balance in their activities.</div>
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There are specific steps parents can take to achieve that balance, said Lynette Owens, global director of <a href="http://internetsafety.trendmicro.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Internet Safety for Kids & Families</a>.</div>
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<li style="margin: 10px 0px;"><strong>Talk about it.</strong> Don't just lay down rules -- discuss smartphone use with kids and explain why they need to seek balance and do other things. "Help your child understand technology isn't bad," Owens said, "but ask them, 'do you control it or does it control you?'"</li>
<li style="margin: 10px 0px;"><strong>Set boundaries.</strong> Be smart and practical about it. "Not all online time is equal," Owens said. "Sometimes kids simply have to be online for schoolwork, and other times, it's for fun. It's the latter that needs some boundaries." Consider forbidding devices at the dinner table and leaving them outside bedrooms after bedtime.</li>
<li style="margin: 10px 0px;"><strong>Set a good example.</strong> Put your own devices down. Model what you preach -- it could be good for you. After all, many parents also are addicted and need to regain their life balance. Twenty-eight percent of teens think their parents are addicted to their mobile devices, and 69 percent of parents admit to checking their devices, at minimum, every hour, according to the aforementioned Common Sense Media poll.</li>
<li style="margin: 10px 0px;"><strong>Help them find balance.</strong> Offer alternatives or suggest other activities. Find some activities that they can do alone, some they can do with friends, and others they can do with parents. Again, the keyword is "balance."</li>
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Technology is not going away. If anything, it will become more pervasive. The key is to ensure that tech remains a tool -- a servant and not a master. By staying aware of your and your kids' use patterns, you can keep tech tools in their rightful place.</div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica;">http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Getting-Serious-About-Teen-Smartphone-Addiction-84558.html</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01440099507940510449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4220191659437018578.post-35716654455890086982017-05-23T04:30:00.000-07:002017-05-23T04:30:54.597-07:00Report: Cybersecurity Dangerously Lax at Mar-a-Lago<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNYtRY1gOgBt1UqoUCwhFnGYlNXUXrjeTbRsSzwYLVpINsNxMYQ0nwnXMG7zuBRc4k1gZEnT0ptcK_aFPa6Sm6l3DY5p4rZOZSlXBakdAAqEcSPsOONHwHzwovK8HsVhQDHdDf5wBp/s1600/xl-2017-mar-a-lago-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNYtRY1gOgBt1UqoUCwhFnGYlNXUXrjeTbRsSzwYLVpINsNxMYQ0nwnXMG7zuBRc4k1gZEnT0ptcK_aFPa6Sm6l3DY5p4rZOZSlXBakdAAqEcSPsOONHwHzwovK8HsVhQDHdDf5wBp/s320/xl-2017-mar-a-lago-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Internet security at Mar-a-Lago -- the private club President Trump owns and has dubbed the "Southern White House" -- is weak, ProPublica and Gizmodo reported Wednesday, based on their recent joint investigation.</div>
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Trump has used the resort, as well as other properties he owns, to meet with staffers and foreign heads of state on official business.</div>
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Among the security holes the publications identified at Mar-a-Lago:</div>
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<li style="margin: 10px 0px;">a WiFi-enabled printer/scanner that is publicly accessible;</li>
<li style="margin: 10px 0px;">a misconfigured and unencrypted router;</li>
<li style="margin: 10px 0px;">use of the weak and outmoded WEP encryption for three of the club's wireless networks, which makes them vulnerable to hacking in less than five minutes; and</li>
<li style="margin: 10px 0px;">a database with an insecure login page on the club's website, which is not protected by standard Internet encryption.</li>
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Mar-a-Lago guests only have to produce a photo ID when they enter through the facility's main door. Also, the club serves as a venue for ticketed public events.</div>
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The president has hosted foreign leaders and politicians at his properties. In February, he took a call about a North Korean ballistic missile launch in Mar-a-Lago's dining room, with members and waiters present and able to overhear the conversation. In April, he tracked the first attack he ordered on Syria from what the White House described as a makeshift situation room at Mar-a-Lago.</div>
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"Any presidential retreat or home is a target for foreign and domestic surveillance," said James Scott, a senior fellow at the <a href="http://www.icitech.org/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Institute for Critical Infrastructure</a>.</div>
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A spy "could attempt to capture audio, video, or images of classified information, meetings, conversations and documents," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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A Security Nightmare</h2>
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Despite millions of dollars spent annually on cybersecurity to protect White House communications, they fell victim to hack attacks in 2014, 2015 and 2016.</div>
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Mar-a-Lago reportedly spent just $443,000 on cybersecurity.</div>
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The United States Government Accountability Office has launched an investigation into security at Mar-a-Lago.</div>
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Other Trump Properties</h2>
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The Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., where the president often dines with son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, has two WiFi networks that can be accessed simply by typing in a room number.</div>
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"Hotels have long been a more than attractive target for cyberattackers," noted independent cybersecurity analyst <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/randy-abrams-ba24391/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Randy Abrams</a>.</div>
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"To conduct a meeting with a national security import in a location surrounded by vulnerable systems if of great concern," he told TechNewsWorld. "Considering the target value, it is incomprehensible."</div>
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A Trump club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where the president interviewed candidates for top administration positions, has two open WiFi networks that don't require a password to join, the ProPublica and Gizmodo reported.</div>
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Trump club websites are hosted by Clubessential, which has an incorrectly configured Internet-accessible backend server. Clubessential also puts many of the default settings and usernames for its software online without password protection.</div>
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"The president and his staff should use two separate and secure networks for all other personal and professional traffic while on the premises of any property like Mar-a-Lago," ICI's Scott said.</div>
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Maintenance of the [presidential business] network would be funded by taxpayers, ICI's Scott suggested, but the cybersecurity of Mar-a-Lago guests "would be the responsibility of the club."</div>
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"The majority of breaches are the result of poor cybersecurity practices," said Adam Meyer, chief security strategist at <a href="http://www.surfwatchlabs.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">SurfWatch Labs</a>.</div>
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"Turning a blind eye to these cyber-risks "could have great consequences," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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Tightening Security</h2>
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"Securing networks ... is a basic step which is required," observed John Maring, managing partner at <a href="http://www.optimalidm.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Optimal IdM</a>.</div>
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"It's important for organizations to ... implement secure practices as part of the corporate culture," he told TechNewsWorld.</div>
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"The fact that Trump properties don't even use well-known, basic, security controls seen at most of our homes is alarming," said James Carder, CISO of<a href="http://www.logrhythm.com/" style="color: #154296; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">LogRhythm</a>.</div>
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"If Mar-a-Lago is the White House in the South," he told TechNewsWorld, "it should have the same cybersecurity precautions in place as the real White House in Washington, D.C."</div>
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