HP seems to be first switching Windows 10 on PCs, tablets

Hewlett-Packard will start pre-installing Windows 10 across its old and new PCs and tablets within days of the release of the new OS on July 29.

One of HP's first products with Windows 10 will be the 8-inch Pro Tablet 608 G1, which will ship in July with Windows 8.1 and then come with Windows 10 pre-installed starting in August. Customers buying the tablet in July will be able to upgrade free to Windows 10 for one year in line with Microsoft policy.

PC makers have said the new OS could bring relevance back to Windows, which lost some goodwill following Windows 8. Windows 10 marks the return of the Start menu and boasts new features like biometric authentication, the Edge browser and the Cortana personal assistant.
Microsoft is providing free upgrades to Windows 10 from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 for one year. HP wasn't sure when Windows 10 would be released, so it made sense to keep PCs ready for the new OS, vice president at HP said. 

reference:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2937779/tablets/hp-aims-for-quick-switch-to-windows-10-on-pcs-tablets.html

Google Gives Apple, Microsoft 90 Days To Fix Security Flaws

Aside from being the master of diversification, Google apparently either cares a lot about global security across the board, or is merely looking for ways to get back at its competitors.
Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corporation , the consortium had been a pain in Google’s neck for a while, blocking key smartphone patents for the company. While those issues have quieted down, Google found another avenue to go by. Having formed the Project Zero in July, the newly formed team seems to target “zero day” security flaws in software that hackers can take advantage of before developers learn of them.

A Bloomberg report now reveals that Google Inc. has given Apple and Microsoft 90 days to fix the latest flaws that Google has discovered in their code. While some may argue that it is a scare tactic, it has to be noted that Google’s Project Zero has so far singled out 39 loopholes in Apple products, 37 in Adobe Systems Incorporated software, and 20 issues in Microsoft products. Similarly, it released the information to the public at large about the flaws before the companies could find a fix in time. Apple is a 16-time victim, Microsoft suffered on three occasions, and Adobe was subjected to this issue once.

Jake Kouns, chief information officer at Risk Based Security Systems Inc., revealed the above information to Bloomberg(report containing this stuff) in an interview. Mr. Kouns believes that if the companies cannot work together, it will have a negative impact on the industry as a whole. Tom Gorup, manager at Rock Securities Inc., told Bloomberg that he believes otherwise, voicing his view that the strict policy is good for the industry. Because these companies have considerably greater resources than your average computer hacker, better results can be achieved when these companies take a pot shot at rivals’ security measures.

John Dickson of Denim Group Ltd., a software security company, summed it up best when he stated: “I’m not sure who made Google the official referee of the marketplace for vulnerability notification.” He assumes that the “nobility” of this cause is compromised when the company testing for vulnerabilities actually reveals their findings to the public at large instead of to the companies that harbor such security loopholes.

references:

http://www.bidnessetc.com/34697-google-inc-gives-apple-microsoft-90-days-to-fix-security-flaws-bloomberg/

Win 10 latest buzz-A Quick Peep

Microsoft unveils lots more about Windows 10, the next generation of its operating system, including how it will work across mobile, tablet, desktop and other platforms at a special windows 10 event.lets make a peek emerging things in point form.

• Windows 10 Has 1.7 Million Beta Testers

Windows 10 has been available as a technical preview since September 2014 and already Microsoft has signed up a sizeable testing contingent from the general public. The company revealed that over 1.7 million users are participating in the Insider program that provides access to early builds of Windows 10 ahead of its general release from over 1 billion Windows users worldwide.

• Windows 10 Is A Free Update for the first Year

Windows 10 will be a free update, for users running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 on PCs or notebooks, and for Windows Phone 8.1 users on mobile.

• Windows 10 Mobile Integrates Skype For Calls And Messages

The best thing about Windows 10 on mobile might be that it integrates Skype right into both the phone app and messages

• Windows 10 Mobile Gets Free Office Suite Apps

MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint are all going to arrive on Windows Phone for smartphones and small tablets, which are optimized for touch.

• Xbox App For Windows 10 causes Gamers More Social

Microsoft is trying to build a true, cross-service social network from Xbox on Windows 10 that spans services including Steam.

• Spartan Is A Brand New Browser For Windows 10

Spartan, a new browser built from the ground up for speed, collaboration and simplicity with Reading And PDF Markup Modes

• Microsoft Made Windows Holographic, An Augmented Reality Extension Of Windows 10

it lets you see the real world with virtual objects laid overtop. Just work on a virtual engine in your actual garage with your mechanic friend across the country.

• Microsoft HoloLens

MS is taking matters into its own hands with a headset to support Windows Holographic.It has transparent lenses so you can see the world around you, but overlays a digital image that places virtual objects in your surroundings.

references:
http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/21/windows-10-event-summary/?ncid=rss&cps=gravity_1730_-9061766176415544194

Facebook Acquires QuickFire Networks

Facebook has a acquired QuickFire Networks who built a custom hardware and software platform for reducing video file sizes and upload times. The Wall Street Journal got the news earlier today, with confirmation later arriving on QuickFire’s site.

QuickFire’s tech speeds up encoding videos with different profiles for frame rate, resolution, color and audio settings for different platforms. QuickFire’s solution relied on custom motherboards built to accommodate 11 high-end Intel Core i7 processors. Custom software let these processors work in unison, and a layer on top of that let the startup massively scale up by distributing work among multiple motherboards.

For users, the end result of Facebook integrating QuickFire’s tech would be reduced buffering of videos without degradation in quality.

According to a letter announcing the acquisition on QuickFire’s site from CEO Craig Lee, the company will wind down its prior business operations as the team transitions over to Facebook.

sources:
http://www.techcrunch.com

Bill Gates believes in good past 2014

Ebola, Ukraine, Gaza, Malaysian Airlines MH370 & MH17, Terrorism, Mass Protests, Robin Williams' suicide and plenty other things were beamed into our skulls in 2014, but Bill Gates is ever the optimist.
Being exposed to the media, you can be forgiven for thinking that things are constantly getting worse and worse. Simply put, fear sells. If it bleeds, it leads. It is very easy to be cynical and have a negative outlook on the future, but Bill Gates is far more optimistic as he looks back on 2014 and toward the future... and not just because he's insanely rich.

No, instead Gates has reminded us that a lot of good things happened in 2014 too, even if it doesn't make the headlines. Just as he did at the end of 2013, Gates is drawing attention to some of the highlights from 2014, and some of it is pretty great.

In 2014, for the 42nd year in a row (at least), the child mortality rate has fallen. "More kids are living to see their fifth birthday than ever before," Gates asserts, as he highlights the drop in the number of children dying globally from preventable causes. In fact, the child mortality rate is falling faster than ever anticipated, and Gates highlights an article in The Economist showing that over 13.6 million children's lives have been saved since 2001.

HIV is another area where the news is getting better. In 2013, the number of people receiving treatment for HIV infection was greater than the number of people becoming infected and 2014 appears to have continued the trend. Those receiving treatment for the retrovirus are far less likely to ever pass it on, so just catching up and surpassing the number of newly infected persons, with the numbers receiving treatment, is a major milestone in the battle to eventually relegate HIV/AIDS to history.

Gates also notes how Nigeria was equipped to fight and contain Ebola due to its ongoing efforts to fight Polio. In fact, Nigeria quickly got Ebola under control while many of its neighbors struggled with it, and in the case of Polio, a total of only six cases were reported in Nigeria in 2014 so far, down from 53 in 2013, which brings Polio ever-closer to complete eradication.

Gates also highlights a breakthrough in the treatment of the deadly drug-resistant Tuberculosis disease that is costing poor countries billions of dollars to contain, and how the response to rotavirus - which kills hundreds of thousands of children per year - is growing in countries like India
sources:
http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2014/12/17/bill-gates-good-news-2014

UK Intelligence blamed over US Tech Firms.

Social media which controlled by large tech firms in US are blamed for supporting terrorist activities by the UK Intelligence.detailed news is follows.

Citing a number of popular social media sites, Robert Hannigan( the director of UK intelligence and security organisation GCHQ) says that ISIS is the first terrorist group to grow up on the Internet, and they're "exploiting the power of the web".

"The extremists of ISIS use messaging and social media services such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp, and a language their peers understand," "The extremists of ISIS use messaging and social media services such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp, and a language their peers understand," he says. "The videos they post of themselves attacking towns, firing weapons or detonating explosives have a self-conscious online gaming quality."

"Their use of the World Cup and Ebola hashtags to insert the ISIS message into a wider news feed, and their ability to send 40,000 tweets a day during the advance on Mosul without triggering spam controls, illustrates their ease with new media."

Hannigan insists that GCHQ, along with MI5 and the Secret Intelligence Service, can't tackle terror without support from the dominant US technology companies.

"They aspire to be neutral conduits of data and to sit outside or above politics," he said. "But increasingly their services not only host the material of violent extremism or child exploitation, but are the routes for the facilitation of crime and terrorism."

"However much they may dislike it, they have become the command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals, who find their services as transformational as the rest of us."

Hannigan also noted a shift in attitudes to online media from terrorist organisations.

"Where al-Qaeda and its affiliates saw the Internet as a place to disseminate material anonymously or meet in “dark spaces”, ISIS has embraced the web as a noisy channel in which to promote itself, intimidate people, and radicalise new recruits," he wrote.

His comments were met with dismay in some quarters. Eric King, deputy director of Privacy International, said: “It’s disappointing to see GCHQ’s new director refer to the Internet – the greatest tool for innovation, access to education and communication humankind has ever known – as a command-and-control network for terrorists.”

Labour Party MP Tom Watson was cautiously optimistic, saying that Hannigan's comments could help draw a line on privacy. However he insisted: “I hope they do not confuse the use of public propaganda through social media by extremists with the use of the covert communications. It is illogical to say that because ISIS use Twitter, all our metadata should be collected without warrant It is illogical to say that because ISIS use Twitter, all our metadata should be collected without warrant.”

Efforts are already underway in the UK to tackle online extremism.

Security minister James Brokenshire met recently with representatives from technology companies - including Google, Microsoft and Facebook - in Luxembourg, the BBC reports.

The government's Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU), meanwhile, has removed more than 49,000 pieces of content that "encourages or glorifies acts of terrorism".

Hannigan formally took over the role of director of GCHQ at the end of October.

references:

http://mashable.com/2014/11/04/gchq-head-terrorist-warning/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

Facebook is Planning App for Anonymous Communication

Facebook is working on an independent mobile application that will allow their users to communicate with each other without real names. The publication of this app is provided within the next few weeks, as the NewYork Times reports. The newspaper refers to people who are informed about Facebook's plans.

Facebook is Planning App for Anonymous Communication

While Facebook itself upholds the principle of true identity and only in exceptional cases softens the real name of duty, the planned app users of social networks will also allow the use of pseudonyms. Even with several pseudonyms they should be able to discuss openly online about issues that they do not want to be particularly associated.

The development team for a year preparing the application before this. The project is managed by Product Manager Josh Miller, who came to Facebook through the acquisition of specialized discussion forums startups Branch. Miller was CEO of Branch, the product of which represented a modern, user-friendly version of a classic online forum. Branching could invest in it to further discuss topics that belong to the original question a discussion only marginally or not at all. The Branch team had also developed an iOS app called Potluck, users of social networks should bring outside their circles in contact with people. She presented to news bites, could then be discussed together on.

The Social Network declined to comment to the Times report. A direct request to Josh Miller remained unanswered. According to the newspaper is still unclear how the proposed app with Facebook cooperates as social issues network - or whether it is at all connected to it. Furthermore, is not certain whether the application will also allow the anonymous sharing of photos, and could as a communication with existing friendships look.

Facebook reacts with this app apparently to the increasing success of sites that do not force them to surrender one's own identity. These include the social news site Reddit and the Secret and Whisper Apps. Apparently the development of the new application follows the Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained in April app strategy. It provides an app-hierarchy; the profitable mobile app of Facebook is at its highest point. The apps in the lower levels, however, according to Zuckerberg first attract people and then only seriously contribute to the revenue.

references:

http://referhowto.blogspot.com/2014/10/facebook-is-planning-app-for-anonymous.html

Few Thoughts of Windows 10

The first Windows 10 preview is, as the company has stressed repeatedly, is a small, and tailored set of new code. There is more coming. What we have in this release are desktop-focused features for business customers. A consumer preview will launch in January.

The preview isn't final code, so let’s not be unkind, but it does currently have a mixed set of user interface elements.There is plenty that works, like metro apps and desktop apps sharing space in the zoomed out modes There are two: Traditional Alt Tabbing, and Task view.

If you click on the Task view button, you see icons for open apps, similar to Alt Tab, and, below, your multiple desktops. And if you hit Windows Tab, you get the same thing. But if you hit Alt Tab, you get just the icons, and no virtual desktops.Here it is somewhat confusing ,isn't it?

It’s going to be a very busy 250 to 300 days in the Windows world.Lets wait and see how Microsoft will going to plan!

references:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/04/a-few-thoughts-on-windows-10/?ncid=rss

Windows 10 preview build released!

At the beginning of yesterday’s Microsoft event Joe Belfiore, Vice President of the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft made certain the audience understood that we were seeing an early build of its next operating system. Early build or not, for power users that demand multi-tasking, the oddly named Windows 10 looks ready to help you get everything done.

Some awesome features:

Nearly everyone was happy about the return of the Start Menu to Windows 8.1 and it’s still there in Windows 10 with Live Tiles integration brought over from Windows Phone. Even though the additional items on your Start Menu contextual menu could eventually take over your desktop, the size and orientation of the layout is up to you. The Live Tiles area can include any apps you have on your computer and can be displayed horizontally or vertically.

Just grab the contextual menu edges and resize as you see fit. Of course you can just remove all the Live Tiles and return to your old school Start Menu ways. It’s the option of and ability to customize that makes it spectacular. Instead of ham fisting you into the Live Tiles screen of Windows 8 where it takes over your entire screen, this is a good middle ground.

We also got a chance to play with Task View button that resides just to the right of the search button on the task bar. With it you can quickly see all the open apps in a particular Windows environment. If you have more than one desktop available, the virtual machines appear along the bottom of the display. I was able to quickly jump from environment to environment and in between apps. There were a few stutters, but this is early preview stuff and can’t be held against the product for now.

Task View is similar to OS X’s Mission Control, but it aligns the individual apps along the middle of screen in one or more lines, depending on how many apps you have open.

Microsoft also super charged the alt-tab key command with access to all apps in all desktop instances. If you have three apps open on the current desktop and four in a virtual machine you, can toggle between all of them with alt-tab. It’s another way in which Microsoft wants new and old users to be able to multi-task better in their upcoming OS.

Snapping four apps into a single window is cool if you have the display real estate. It’s a helpful feature for someone that needs access to four apps at once, but we’re going to have to wait for Microsoft to release meatier features in the future. Today was just a tiny little taste of what Windows 10 might have in store. A fancy bit of cheese before a meal. It’ll be interesting to see what the waiter brings out later.

If you’re interested in trying out Windows 10 before everyone else, Microsoft announced the Windows Insider Program. Brave souls can sign up to try the operating system while Microsoft is still working on it. The company is still prepping the release of the program so you can’t sign up just yet. But, if you have an extra computer lying around, it’s a fun way to see what the future holds for the software company.

references:

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2014/09/30/hands-windows-10-preview-build/

Ceglia claims half of Facebook-complicated ownership of FB again on the stage

As most of you already know Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder, has been battling Paul Ceglia since 2010.New York federal prosecutors claim that defendant Paul Ceglia, who brought his legal troubles upon himself when he sued Zuckerberg and submitted as evidence a contract that the government claims is forged, is to argue that Zuckerberg hacked him and framed him.

I would like to mention some flashbacks of above issue.Last year, Ceglia claimed he and Zuckerberg signed a contract giving Ceglia 50% of Facebook. Most legal experts dismissed Ceglia's lawsuit as outlandish, but it has resurfaced with evidence that promises to make this a messy affair.

Ceglia, owner of a wood pellet fuel company, put forth in a lawsuit filed last July,2011. In the suit, he claimed that he and Zuckerberg had an agreement in which Ceglia would receive 50% of Facebook for a $1,000 investment, in addition to 1% of the company each day until a site called "the face book" was completed. Since the project was allegedly 34 days late, Ceglia says he was entitled to 84% of the company.

The lawsuit claimed that Ceglia offered Zuckerberg $1,000 to work on a project called StreetFax, as well as $1,000 to fund "the face book." The suit claimed the two met in Boston and signed a contract with a witness.

Allegedly, Zuckerberg and Ceglia discussed details such as the site's domain name and business model. The suit said Zuckerberg mentioned the Winklevoss twins in November 2003, telling Ceglia that he had "stalled them for the time being." Eventually, according to the suit, Zuckerberg told Ceglia he thought that 1% of equity for each day of delay was unfair, and the two agreed to split the project 50/50.

Things allegedly blew up in April 2004, two months after Facebook's blockbuster launch. Zuckerberg is supposed to have told Ceglia he was thinking of taking the server down and wanted to give Ceglia his money back. Ceglia responded negatively, claiming that Zuckerberg was pulling "criminal stunts."

sources:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/07/accused-facebook-scammers-defense-zuckerberg-hacked-him/

http://mashable.com/2011/04/13/facebooks-complicated-ownership-history-explained/

Microsoft's New Nokia X2 Smartphone introduces

Last Monday Microsoft covered off Nokia X2 an affordable smartphone to reach the "next billion" people with mobile Internet and cloud services.Given Microsoft's recent acquisition of Nokia, this Android device is unique in that it also offers Microsoft services.The Nokia X2 will hit the market with Outlook.com, Skype and OneDrive pre-loaded. Users can also download Microsoft's OneNote and Yammer from the Nokia Store. Of course, users can also download Android apps from Google Play.

key specs:

The Nokia X2 offers a 4.3-inch ClearBlack display and 5-megapixel rear camera with auto-focus and flash. Inside, there's a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor with a dual-core, 1.2-Ghz processor and 1 GB of memory.

Although it's based on the Android mobile operating system, Microsoft is calling the phone's OS the Nokia X Software Platform 2.0."Microsoft is trying to provide a lower-cost device and tap into a bigger ecosphere of applications.The biggest driver is the low cost." Entner(principal analyst at Recon Analytics) said. The phone will sell for a suggested retail price of 99 euros, or about $135.

Microsoft is looking at profitability and popularity. Timo Toikkanen, head of Mobile Phones in the Microsoft Devices Group, said the Nokia X smartphone has top-selling status in Pakistan, Russia, Kenya and Nigeria and the third-best-selling status in India.

sources:

http://www.toptechnews.com/article/index.php?story_id=121003S9G7W7

Facebook’s iPad App Becomes An Entertainment Hub With Game Discovery And Trending Videos Sidebar

Over 70 percent of people who use Facebook for iPad played a Facebook-connected game in the past 90 days, so the company is helping them discover or re-engage with games through a new homepage sidebar it starts testing yesterday on its iPad app.It includes social notifications for native mobile and Facebook web games you already play, video trailers for games you don’t, plus Trending news articles and Trending videos popular with your demographic.The growth opportunities could entice more developers to integrate Facebook into their games, and Facebook plans to eventually sell ads for games in this space. By filling the extra screen space with what tablet users love, Facebook hopes its home on iPad can become a more essential part of people’s lives,even if that means bouncing them into other apps or showing them YouTube videos.

For now the test will run to iPad users in the U.S. but eventually is likely to reach all iPad users. There are no immediate plans for a smartphone version of the sidebar, but something similar could be tucked into a sub tab since there isn’t space to display it all the time.

In 2012,Facebook found a huge money maker in the form of mobile app install ads. The proliferation of apps overwhelmed the iOS and Android stores, leaving devs desperate for ways to grow. Facebook leveraged its massive mobile engagement and targeting data to sell developers News Feed ads that score them downloads.Now Facebook is using its new iPad app sidebar to simultaneously help users find games, lure iOS and Android game developers into adding Facebook integrations, and open up more app install ad space.

The first is Popular Games. This section shows off the video trailers for games Facebook thinks you might want to play. Watch the trailer, and if you like it, click through to download or sign up for the game. 

The second opportunity is My Games. This shows people in-app notifications for games they already play, which Facebook knows about through the data it collects from its log-in system. These could include friend requests, someone asking for help with a level, or a notice that it’s their turn to move.

Beyond games, the sidebar houses two other sections. One is a mobile version of the Trending topics sidebar inspired by Twitter that Facebook launched on the web early this year. Rather than just some cryptic word or hashtag leading to a list of mentions like on Twitter, Facebook’s trending topics come with short descriptions explaining why they’re popular. Clicking through provides a canonical link to a news story about the trend, as well as mentions by your friends and other news outlets

sources:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/16/facebook-for-ipad/

Microsoft Delivers IE Developer Channel Release

Microsoft has delivered a Developer Channel release of its Internet Explorer browser aimed at developers.

This release is a fully functioning browser designed to give Web developers and early adopters a sneak peek at the Web platform features.And also Web developers can write tests to automate Web browsers to test their sites.Microsoft mentioned further It's a programmable remote control for developing complex user scenarios and running them in an automated fashion in your Web site and browser.

The Developer Channel release of IE also provides new enhancements to Microsoft's F12 Web developer tools, including enhanced debugging with event breakpoints that help developers get to their event-driven bugs faster. Microsoft also is providing richer analysis capabilities throughout the Memory and UI Responsiveness profilers, and an improved navigation experience that provides more keyboard shortcuts as well as new header notifications. This enables developers to quickly determine whether any of the profiling tools are running or how many errors their page has.

 See more at: http://www.eweek.com/developer/microsoft-delivers-ie-developer-channel-release.html#sthash.X4jlXGsT.dpuf