Microsoft announces app mirroring to let you use any Android app on Windows 10

Microsoft announced a new feature for Windows 10 today that will let Android phone users view and use any app on their device from a Windows desktop. The feature, which Microsoft is referring to as app mirroring and shows up in Windows as an app called Your Phone, seems to be work best with Android Read more about Microsoft announces app mirroring to let you use any Android app on Windows 10[…]

Amazon Alexa outage: Voice-activated devices are down in UK and beyond – yay cloud services!

Amazon Alexa devices stopped working in the UK and reportedly in parts of continental Europe this morning, with some users still complaining of intermittent outages at the time of writing. The digital blackout began at around 0800 UK time and though it appeared to be recovering by 09.30, some folk – including Reg staffers – Read more about Amazon Alexa outage: Voice-activated devices are down in UK and beyond – yay cloud services![…]

Outlook, Skype ‘throttle’ users amid storm cloud drama, can’t login. Yay cloud!

Folks around the planet are today unable to use Microsoft Skype and Office 365’s Outlook due to a baffling “Throttled” error message. The weird text box pops up in the chat software and cloud-backed email client, preventing people from sending messages, and talking to contacts. This is, according to Microsoft, due to a botched update Read more about Outlook, Skype ‘throttle’ users amid storm cloud drama, can’t login. Yay cloud![…]

Python creator Guido van Rossum sys.exit()s as language overlord

Guido van Rossum – who created the Python programming language in 1989, was jokingly styled as its “benevolent dictator for life”, and ushered it to global ubiquity – has stepped down, and won’t appoint a successor. In a mailing list post on Thursday titled, “Transfer of Power,” he wrote: “Now that PEP 572 is done, Read more about Python creator Guido van Rossum sys.exit()s as language overlord[…]

Why you should not use Google Cloud – it just turns your project off with no warning and no customer support!

We have a project running in production on Google Cloud (GCP) that is used to monitor hundreds of wind turbines and scores of solar plants scattered across 8 countries. We have control centers with wall-to-wall screens with dashboards full of metrics that are monitored 24/7. Asset Managers use this system to monitor the health of Read more about Why you should not use Google Cloud – it just turns your project off with no warning and no customer support![…]

Per 1 juli 2018: Besluit digitale toegankelijkheid websites en apps overheid

In 2016 is een Europese richtlijn voor digitale toegankelijkheid in werking getreden. Nederland is verplicht om Europese richtlijnen om te zetten in nationale wetgeving. Deze richtlijn is omgezet in een Algemene Maatregel van Bestuur: het Tijdelijk besluit digitale toegankelijkheid overheid.Europese richtlijn digitale toegankelijkheidOp 22 december 2016 trad de EU-richtlijn voor de toegankelijkheid van websites en Read more about Per 1 juli 2018: Besluit digitale toegankelijkheid websites en apps overheid[…]

‘R2D2’ stops disk-wipe malware before it executes evil commands

Purdue University researchers reckon they’ve cracked how to protect data against “disk-wipe” malware. Led by Christopher Gutierrez, the team has created a shim of software that analyses write buffers before they reach storage, and if the write is destructive, it steps in to preserve the data targeted for destruction. Dubbed R2D2 – “Reactive Redundancy for Read more about ‘R2D2’ stops disk-wipe malware before it executes evil commands[…]

Microsoft updates its Quantum Development Kit and adds support for Linux and Mac

Today we’re announcing updates to our Quantum Development Kit, including support for macOS and Linux, additional open source libraries, and interoperability with Python. These updates will bring the power of quantum computing to even more developers on more platforms. At Microsoft, we believe quantum computing holds the promise of solving many of today’s unsolvable problems Read more about Microsoft updates its Quantum Development Kit and adds support for Linux and Mac[…]

Apple Is Rushing to Fix the Telugu Bug as Assholes Use It to ‘Bomb’ People’s iPhones and Macs

While many bugs are relatively benign, often getting patched before the user knows anything is wrong, the latest plague to hit Apple devices is already wreaking havoc on internet. The issue, which has become known as the Telugu bug, gives people the ability to crash a wide range of iPhone, Mac, and iPad apps just Read more about Apple Is Rushing to Fix the Telugu Bug as Assholes Use It to ‘Bomb’ People’s iPhones and Macs[…]

macOS may lose data on APFS-formatted disk images

This week we reported to Apple a serious flaw in macOS that can lead to data loss when using an APFS-formatted disk image. Until Apple issues a macOS update that resolves this problem, we’re dropping support for APFS-formatted disk images. Note: What I describe below applies to APFS sparse disk images only — ordinary APFS Read more about macOS may lose data on APFS-formatted disk images[…]

Can’t login to Skype? You’re not alone. Chat app’s been a bit crap for five days now

A bunch of Skype users are unhappy that they’re been unable to sign into the VoIP service for several days.The yakkity-yak app has fallen flat since January 24, leaving a number of punters with two-factor authentication enabled unable to get back into the software after signing out.”Skype users who are signed in are not affected,” Read more about Can’t login to Skype? You’re not alone. Chat app’s been a bit crap for five days now[…]

Companies overlook risks in open source software: compliance and policy

Open source code helps software suppliers to be nimble and build products faster, but a new report reveals hidden software supply chain risks of open source that all software suppliers and IoT manufacturers should know about. […] “We can’t lose sight that open source is indeed a clear win. Ready-to-go code gets products out the Read more about Companies overlook risks in open source software: compliance and policy[…]

NSA opens Github repo

THE TECHNOLOGIES LISTED BELOW were developed within the National Security Agency (NSA) and are now available to the public via Open Source Software (OSS). The NSA Technology Transfer Program (TTP) works with agency innovators who wish to use this collaborative model for transferring their technology to the commercial marketplace. OSS invites cooperative development of technology, Read more about NSA opens Github repo[…]

Mozilla Fathom – framework for classifying the web semantically

Fathom is a JavaScript framework for extracting meaning from web pages, identifying parts like Previous/Next buttons, address forms, and the main textual content—or classifying a page as a whole. Essentially, it scores DOM nodes and extracts them based on conditions you specify. A Prolog-inspired system of types and annotations expresses dependencies between scoring steps and Read more about Mozilla Fathom – framework for classifying the web semantically[…]

Windows is Bloated, Thanks to Adobe’s Extensible Metadata Platform – Thurrott.com

I put together a tool that scans files for PNG images containing Adobe metadata and was surprised that Windows is host to a lot of this gunk. […] Windows Explorer, for example, is a critical Shell component in the startup hot path. But despite its importance, it’s comprised of ~20% pure garbage. ApplicationFrame.dll, responsible for Read more about Windows is Bloated, Thanks to Adobe’s Extensible Metadata Platform – Thurrott.com[…]

Guacamole – Logmein alternative

Apache Guacamole is a clientless remote desktop gateway. It supports standard protocols like VNC, RDP, and SSH.We call it clientless because no plugins or client software are required.Thanks to HTML5, once Guacamole is installed on a server, all you need to access your desktops is a web browser. Source: Apache Guacamole (incubating) You set up Read more about Guacamole – Logmein alternative[…]

New smartphone app looks inside objects, shows what else is in there

A new app from Fraunhofer development engineers looks directly inside objects and displays specific constituents. It has numerous uses: For instance, apples can be scanned for pesticide residues. Applications will be added successively following the Wikipedia principle. […] Such scans usually require a special hyperspectral camera: It adjusts to different colored light each time and Read more about New smartphone app looks inside objects, shows what else is in there[…]

google/glazier: A tool for automating the installation of the Microsoft Windows operating system on various device platforms.

Glazier Glazier is a tool for automating the installation of the Microsoft Windows operating system on various device platforms. Why Glazier? Glazier was created with certain principles in mind. Text-based & Code-driven With Glazier, imaging is configured entirely via text files. This allows technicians to leverage source control systems to maintain and develop their imaging Read more about google/glazier: A tool for automating the installation of the Microsoft Windows operating system on various device platforms.[…]

dataviz.tools – a curated guide to the best tools, resources and technologies for data visualization

This site features a curated selection of data visualization tools meant to bridge the gap between programmers/statisticians and the general public by only highlighting free/freemium, responsive and relatively simple-to-learn technologies for displaying both basic and complex, multivariate datasets. It leans heavily toward open-source software and plugins, rather than enterprise, expensive B.I. solutions. Why? Well, information Read more about dataviz.tools – a curated guide to the best tools, resources and technologies for data visualization[…]

KLIC-WIN shows the underground infrastructure of your neigbourhood – in NL

De graafsector heeft het initiatief genomen voor het programma KLIC-WIN. Dit programma moderniseert de uitwisseling van kabel- en leidinginformatie volgens de WION en sluit systemen en processen beter aan op de Europese richtlijn INSPIRE. Op deze manier bereiden de graafsector en het Kadaster zich voor op de toekomst. De naam KLIC-WIN is een samenvoeging van Read more about KLIC-WIN shows the underground infrastructure of your neigbourhood – in NL[…]