Applications

Avnet last week unveiled a beta version of Ask Avnet, a virtual assistant that combines AI with on-demand access to industry experts. Ask Avnet targets "engineers, designers, hobbyists, makers and purchasing specialists across the electronics supply chain -- which includes the product manufacturing ...

Microsoft on Wednesday announced the compatibility of Windows 10 and native Windows apps with ARM-based processors, including Qualcomm's Snapdragon, which currently powers a large percentage of Android devices. One of the highlights at this year's Windows Hardware Engineering Community event in Shen...

Microsoft last week unveiled its new vision for bringing 3D to the masses through a modernized version of its Paint application for Windows 10. Paint 3D will be available in the Windows 10 Creators Update. Anyone who would like to start creating and sharing in Paint 3D can do so by joining the Windo...

SPOTLIGHT ON SECURITY

Old Tech Can Create New Security Woes

"Patch your systems in a timely manner" is a mantra of security experts, but what happens when the patch well runs dry because a product's maker no longer supports it? That is a situation many large enterprises find themselves in, and it's one that poses security risks. Between 30 percent and 50 per...

Microsoft on Tuesday announced a slew of cloud-powered intelligent services in Office 365 apps that aim to assist research and writing efforts. Researcher lets users access the Bing Knowledge Graph to find and incorporate sources and content for research papers without leaving Word. Editor uses mach...

Microsoft on Monday announced the general availability of its Planner collaboration tool, which will roll out in the next few weeks to all eligible customers -- those who have Enterprise E1-E5, Business Essentials, Premium or Education subscriptions to Office 365. Planner lets users create new plans...

OPINION

What Will HPE Sell Next?

I joined a bunch of analysts in discussing Hewlett Packard Enterprise's next move at a secret conclave last week. The company had just announced the sale of its IT services, which basically undid much of Mark Hurd's work as CEO. It already had sold off PCs and printers, more than undoing Carly Fiori...

BitTorrent on Tuesday announced at the Internet & Television Expo an application called "BitTorrent Live" that applies its distributed file-sharing technology to video streaming. BitTorrent is able to speed up file downloads by storing pieces of a file on computers throughout the Net and reassem...

Google is rumored to be developing a direct competitor to Amazon's Echo, code-named "Chirp." The device, which might resemble the OnHub router, would incorporate its Google Now voice assistant technology. Google likely will launch the product later this year, although it's expected to preview it at ...

Microsoft this week announced that SQL Server 2016 will be generally available June 1. It will deliver an end-to-end data management and business analytics solution with mission-critical intelligence, according to the company. Built into the software are end-to-end mobile business intelligence on an...

SPOTLIGHT ON SECURITY

E2E Encryption Could Make WhatsApp a Spam Magnet

Facebook's WhatsApp last week announced it would roll out end-to-end encryption for its users to better protect their privacy, but the move could make the service more attractive to spammers, too. While encryption can safeguard information from data thieves, it also can block data protectors from de...

Oracle earlier this week announced its decision to scrap its Java browser plug-in. The plug-in, which has been a frequent target of hackers, won't be included in the next version of the kit for Java developers, JDK 9, which is expected to ship in September. Oracle's action was motivated by browser m...

Kromtech this week revealed a vulnerability in the data storage system of its MacKeeper software. Security researcher Chris Vickery, who alerted the company to the problem with its server, pegged the number of MacKeeper users affected at about 13 million. Kromtech posted a security alert about the b...

Apple faced the wrath of legions of Mac users after it reportedly allowed a security certificate to expire, leaving customers unable to use some apps. The expiration appeared to impact a number of apps, including Acorn, Byword, Daisy Disk, Tweetbot and 1Password. It's likely that the incident occurr...

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