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SparkyLinux is experiencing growing pains. You could say that this very capable Linux distribution was just too much of a great thing to last. Users previously had access to a continuously updated list of more than a dozen different download options. Depending on which variety you selected, you could choose from a wide range of desktop environments. The SparkyLinux community released three branches; each branch issued new versions with different release numbers and different software packages. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2LOEH1A

Because both Qualcomm and Huawei are technology leaders in the wireless segment and have invested heavily in 5G, they often are pitted against one another in political, financial and even industry discussions. However, the truth is that the two companies complement one another and work together more than they compete against each another. Coming from different ends of the wireless ecosystem, they have been working on 5G from different perspectives -- Qualcomm primarily from the mobile device side, and Huawei from the infrastructure side. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2kBx6Hf

Apple has released iOS 11.4, the latest version of its mobile operating system, with some beefed-up features for its HomePod wireless smart speaker. The update allows users to create a stereo pair with two HomePods. It also supports multiroom streaming through AirPlay 2 connections. Music can be played in every room with a HomePod. It can be the same music in every room, or music can be tailored for each room. AirPlay can be controlled through iOS apps or the iOS Control Center, or through Apple's digital assistant, Siri. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2LK9PPV

I got a view of the future when I visited HP's Innovation Center in Barcelona, Spain, last week. The company has made some aggressive moves to blend its printing and imaging technologies to create products that will redefine our near-term future. HP also showcased capabilities that are something just short of magic. I mean, when you can transform what you can imagine into physical products, what else would you call it? One of Arthur C. Clarke's famous laws is that technology that is advanced enough will appear to be magic. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2IU6mwh

The popular first-person shooter video game franchise Battlefield , which made its debut almost 16 years ago, will return to its World War II roots this summer. Battlefield V was unveiled this week in an online presentation hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, who sat down with the game's development team and discussed what gamers can expect when the title arrives this fall. One surprise is that with Battlefield V , publisher Electronic Arts will not use its "premium pass" release structure for downloadable content. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2J6zqnz

The FBI has disrupted a network of half a million routers compromised by the group of Russian hackers believed to have penetrated the DNC and the Hillary Clinton campaign during the 2016 elections, according to reports. The hacker group, known as "Fancy Bear," has been using a malware program called "VPN Filter" to compromise home and small office routers and NAS devices. VPN Filter is "particularly concerning" because components of the malware can be used for the theft of website credentials and to target industrial system protocols. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2J0BVI7

WhiteSource has launched its next-generation software composition analysis technology, dubbed "Effective Usage Analysis," with the promise that it can reduce open source vulnerability alerts by 70 percent. The newly developed technology provides details beyond which components are present in the application. It provides actionable insights into how components are being used. It also evaluates their impact on the security of the application. The new solution shows which vulnerabilities are effective. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2s4tDVK

Apple has ramped up production of its new 7-nanometer processor for its upcoming crop of iPhones. The new processor will be smaller, faster and more efficient than the 10nm processor in Apple's current iPhone line, according to a report. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, one of Apple's partners, has begun mass production of the chip, which is expected to be called the "A12." TSMC earlier this year announced that it had begun producing 7nm chips, but it didn't reveal at that time for whom it was producing the silicon. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2KRd9r8

RoboLinux is a unique distro that focuses on incorporating Windows versions XP through 10 within a fully functional Linux operating system. You might never need the Stealth VM features that let you easily install and run Microsoft Windows within most any Linux distro. Still, RoboLinux is a topnotch general purpose Linux computing platform that comes with a choice of leading desktop environments. RoboLinux creates a cloned Drive C from a Windows partition and installs your favorite Windows version with all of your costly Windows software running in a virtual machine. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2KFbjcL

Cisco has reduced the poaching of endangered rhinos in Africa by a whopping 96 percent. This success comes at a time when kids appear to be increasingly at risk from rogue school shooters and The United States government seems deadlocked on gun control. Guns kill rhinos as well, but the focus of Cisco's tech is on catching the poachers who kill around 1,000 endangered rhinos a year, rather than on taking away their weapons of choice. Where implemented, the solution has all but eliminated the problem. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2IxXVKO

Microsoft has introduced its new Xbox Adaptive Controller, designed specifically for gamers with disabilities. The new hardware can be used for game play with an Xbox One console or Windows 10 PC, and it offers Bluetooth plug-and-play compatibility. It supports Xbox Wireless Controller features such as button remapping, and it connects to external buttons, switches, joysticks and mounts. Microsoft developed the Xbox Adaptive Controller to enable gamers with physical disabilities to customize their respective setups. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2GtCxAt

Microsoft plans to release a line of Surface tablets priced in the $400 range later this year, according to a report. The tablets are expected to have 10-inch screens and rounded edges, and USB-C connectivity -- a first in Microsoft tablets. They will be about 20 percent lighter than the Surface Pros, and their battery life will be about four hours shy of the 13.5-inch Surface Pro, based on the report. "It's entirely possible that this rumored Surface is the real deal," said Strategy Analytics' Eric Smith. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Kt9lfe

A recent incident reminded me of the importance of backing up one's phone regularly. Soon after carrying my recycling out to the curbside, I realized I had misplaced my 6-month-old iPhone. Cue brief panic, followed by deep concern that I'd somehow tossed my device into that transparent bag I'd left outside for the world to see. That led me to yelling "Hey, Siri" a few times around my apartment until the familiar chime sounded, revealing my trusty phone was hiding on a stepladder underneath a coat. Phew. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2k4YE7r

Black Duck by Synopsys has released the 2018 Open Source Security and Risk Analysis report, which details new concerns about software vulnerabilities amid a surge in the use of open source components in both proprietary and open source software. The report provides an in-depth look at the state of open source security, license compliance and code-quality risk in commercial software. That view shows consistent growth over the last year, with the Internet of Things and other spaces showing similar problems. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Giob5W

A newfound flaw in email clients that use PGP and S/MIME to encrypt messages can be exploited to expose the plain text of the missives, according to a new paper. By injecting malicious snippets of text into encrypted messages, attackers can use the flaw to make the email client exfiltrate decrypted copies of the emails, explained the authors, a team of researchers from three European universities. Malicious action is triggered as soon as a recipient opens a single crafted email from an attacker, they wrote. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2GiBNy1

I've become convinced that too many of us don't prioritize our employment choices properly. What recently drew my attention to this was a conversation I had with Dell's CFO Tom Sweet at Dell Technology World. We were chatting about Dell's problem attracting employees. Because Dell is a private company, few employees get stock or stock options -- they get cash instead. It seems that has put Dell at a disadvantage when competing for top folks. However, I started to wonder whether Dell's employees were at an advantage rather than a disadvantage. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2GeE39v

Spotify has announced a new policy governing hate content and hateful conduct. The service identified as hate content anything that expressly and principally promotes, advocates or incites hatred or violence against a group or individual, based on characteristics including race, religion, gender identity, sex, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, veteran status or disability. It may remove that content, in consultation with rights holders, or refrain from promoting or including it on its playlists. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Igrqwo

Microsoft and Red Hat introduced OpenShift on Azure at Red Hat Summit 2018 in San Francisco. This release is the first fully managed, easy-to-use version of OpenShift in the cloud, the companies said. The fully managed integration of OpenShift on Azure means that Microsoft and Red Hat will join to engineer, operate and support the platform. That combined support will keep it up-to-date with a single unified bill and an integrated support experience, said Brendan Burns, a distinguished engineer for Microsoft Azure. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2G3oRMc

Google has revealed some major new features in the next version of its Android operating system for mobile devices. Now in public beta, the OS known as "Android P" includes features designed to address growing concerns about phone addiction and distraction. For example, a dashboard will show users how often, when and for how long they use each application on their phone. What's more, they can set time limits on usage. With the help of artificial intelligence, Android P also will watch how a user handles notifications. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2I8iehX

"It's only a few times in the history of the U.S. and in specific domains do you have the opportunity to make decisions and have a lasting effect on that domain," said Circadence VP Keenan Skelly. "In terms of information cybersecurity, we're right in the middle of it right now. We're just figuring out what global norms should be. The things that we put in place -- whether they're policies or advanced technologies, are going to shape this domain for many years to come. That's really exciting to me, being able to be part of that change and influence this domain." from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2K6mris

Amazon is trying to rope in younger members of the family to use its Alexa voice assistant with the release of a smart speaker for kids. The Echo Dot Kids Edition has a rubber case protecting a standard Echo Dot and a two-year, no-questions-asked replacement policy. It includes a one-year membership for FreeTime Unlimited, Amazon's subscription service for kids' books, videos, games, education apps and Alexa skills. FreeTime Unlimited has parental controls and optimizes the Alexa experience with kids in mind. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2rtfQYC

I recently attended Dell Technology World, which shone a light on one of Michael Dell's passions: addressing the lack of gender diversity in the tech industry. Some time back he asked the most powerful woman at Dell, CCO Karen Quintos, to spearhead an effort to fix the problem. I was one of a few analysts who were invited to hear a talk by a leading expert on the problem, Howard Ross of Cook Ross. In a nutshell, he said that fixing gender inequality was impossible, and all of the metrics indicated it was getting worse -- not better. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2K0PMLf

Google Assistant, the artificial intelligence software built into Android handsets and the Google Home smart speaker system, now can control more than 5,000 smart devices. That's up from just 1,500 products in January -- and the list of supported products includes everything from cameras and security systems to doorbells, locks and lights, to dryers, dishwashers and refrigerators. Google's smart home platform has grown exponentially since its released in the fall of 2016. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2FMWAJN

If you have yet to try the developing Budgie desktop, the latest release of Ubuntu Budgie is a perfect opportunity to experience a classy and user-friendly computing platform. Budgie is one of the first home-grown Linux distros to release its latest version based on Ubuntu 18.04. The independent developer announced Ubuntu Budgie 18.04 last week, coinciding with Canonical's release of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS the same week. Canonical also offers a Budgie desktop option in Ubuntu Linux. However, the two Ubuntu-branded distros are not the same thing. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2rkCtxz

Facebook plans to offer members a tool that to prevent tracking of their online activity outside the network. The Clear History feature will allow users to see which websites and applications send Facebook information when they use them, delete the data and prevent Facebook from collecting and storing it in the future. Although that information would not be associated with a user's account, it still would be used in anonymized form to provide website operators and app developers with analytics about Facebook users use of their wares. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2FEjDXe

Fitbit and Google have announced a new partnership on healthcare. Fitbit will develop consumer and enterprise health solutions that will use Google's new Cloud Healthcare API. Fitbit also will move to the Google Cloud Platform to innovate and advance its products and services. Most Google Cloud products support HIPAA compliance; the move will allow Fitbit to leverage Google Cloud's infrastructure and security features, as well as Google's artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, and its new predictive analytic algorithms. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2reDAiO