TECHNOLOGY AIM

Plans to impose a new tax on tech giants risks US retaliation and could hurt trade relations. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2AEFMVW

It's common for Linux users to hop between distributions and survey the field, and I recently reached a point where I had to seriously rethink the one I was using most of the time. Between hardware compatibility issues with my old standby and some discouraging missteps with other go-to choices, I felt the time had come to reassess my pool of preferred distributions and repopulate it from scratch. As my journey progressed, I realized that as often as I've discussed the field of Linux-based systems, I had not addressed how to pick one out. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2zkVeEO

Hundreds of robots are starting to deliver packages to addresses across Milton Keynes. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Szqf0H

The FlexPai phone offers a tablet-sized screen when open or three separate displays when folded up. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2SzW75h

Fraudsters are using lax ID checks at phone shops to commit identity theft, a BBC investigation finds. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2ql0xQR

The rail firm reset passwords after detecting efforts to break into some accounts earlier this month. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Q9IZlU

The New York Times reported the executive had been accused of sexual harassment in 2013. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2EU06XR

The couple who fell to their deaths had blogged about their love for travel and each other. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2RosceX

Football's world governing body Fifa says information was hacked from its IT systems earlier this year. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Sz5ZfB

Apple has withdrawn a software update after complaints that it "bricked" some owners' smartwatches. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2qmE5H2

The bogus advert purports to be for the BeLeave Brexit campaign and received more than 1,000 views. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Ssdfdn

For all of the dazzle of its rapidly evolving software portfolio, which includes a self-monitoring and self-patching database that also configures itself, as well as numerous cloud applications, Oracle has begun showing its credibility as a hardware vendor. Hardware has commoditized and will not return to the prominence it had in the early days of the tech era. However, commoditization brings new opportunities simply because price-performance numbers work better. Under Oracle's tutelage, hardware has found a disciplined and important niche. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2RoqwCg

Employees of Amazon, Google and Microsoft raise complaints about Government use of their tech In 2015, Apple drew intense praise and criticism for its refusal to hack one of its own products following the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. The company claimed to field nearly a dozen requests from law enforcement every day, and said there was no proof that such a workaround would remain under their control. Basically, inventing this mechanism would open the floodgates for the government to violate citizens’ privacy. Unfortunately, the kind of commitment to protecting consumers via technology isn’t as widespread as the public might hope. Employees of Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and more have all raised complaints about their hard work being sold to various governments for purposes that they don’t deem positive. Why are they unhappy? Microsoft and Amazon employees have made vocal outcry about their tools being sold or marketed to ICE, the special immigration police force in...

A tech skills shortage means some Welsh workers receive daily job offers, and salaries are increasing. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2RpoaD5

The social media firm is seeing users shift from its most profitable business amid rising costs. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2OgIHI9

Oxford University researchers have created a simulation designed to help prevent religious conflict. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2zeK8Bw

SpaceChain has entered a partnership with the Arch Mission Foundation to use open source technology to launch an ambitious project involving the storage of large data sets in spacecraft and on other planets. Arch Mission will load large quantities of data onto SpaceChain's satellite vehicles with the eventual aim of storing data on other planets. "The goal of archiving and preserving knowledge of future generations will advance archiving science and human knowledge by itself," SpaceChain cofounder Zheng Zuo said. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2zdQTUa

Campaign groups and university researchers raise concerns about the ads found in Android apps. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Q722gw

Facebook has announced that its moderators have removed some 8.7 million images of child nudity in just the last three months. The removal of the images was aided significantly by the use of previously undisclosed AI software Facebook has been using for the last 12 months that flags and removes such images automatically. Thanks to the use of the AI, 99% of the 8.7 million images removed were said by Facebook to have been taken down before any Facebook user had reported them. How did they do it? The machine learning AI tool works by identifying images that contain both nudity and a child, and allow for a far more effective and efficient enforcement of Facebook’s ban on photos that show minors in any potentially sexualized context. Speaking to the Reuter’s news agency, Facebook’s global head of safety Antigone Davis said that Facebook is also considering ...

Some incidents in which DJI drones "suffered a complete loss of power" have concerned a UK authority. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2P2sifB

The employee at the US Geological Survey had an "extensive history" of visiting adult websites. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Px98Og

Strong demand for Spider-Man and other games is helping drive earnings at the Japanese electronics giant. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2qi0o0n

The taxi-hailing app appeals against a ruling its drivers should be treated as workers, not self employed. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2CPpTh9

Predictive policing using data analytics is gaining acceptance among police forces, but at what cost? from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2OVumGi

Open source led to a new software development and distribution model that offered an alternative to proprietary software. No single event takes the prize for starting the technology revolution. However, Feb. 3, 1998, is one of the more significant dates. On that day, Christine Peterson, a futurist and lecturer in the field of nanotechnology, coined the "open source" term at a strategy session in Palo Alto, California, shortly after the release of the Netscape browser source code. Numerous other events contributed to driving the movement. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2CNGnGp

Chancellor Philip Hammond plans to tax the sales that digital giants generate in the UK. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2z9Szht

A smartphone with a pioneering 3D display fails to convince technology experts of its merits. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2P10s3l

"Too many digital leaders have lost their minds," Kara Swisher recently wrote, citing some frightening examples of poor leadership. Swisher pointed to the solution adopted by Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, who hired a chief ethical officer -- but I think that would just repeat the mistake we made with chief risk officers around a decade ago. What happened was that the risk managers had responsibility but no real authority, so while they were viewed as some kind of shield, they were in effect more like sacrificial goats. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2qg1LwH

A feature of the new range of iPhones sparks debate. Apple just released what is arguably one of its most impressive tech lineups since the very invention of the iPhone/iPad family, and according to numerous industry experts, the hype is completely justified. New enhancements to both the iPhones and the Apple Watch make it a literal game changer in communication, health, fitness, connectivity, and total productivity. (Seriously, the new Apple Watch can literally do an instant EEG at the touch of the screen and detect that the wearer has fallen and may be unconscious, then send help. Really.) Of course, there was bound to be a flaw or two, and some intrepid tech minds found it. Thankfully, Apple has ‘fessed up to the issue and is issuing a fix in the near future, we hope. In this case, though, Apple has a vested interest in making you really, really happy with your iPhone, namely in how your photos look. Sounds reasonable, right? Everyone wants their pictures to look great. But wh...

Researchers want internet users to vote on which actions an actor will take in a new social experiment. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Q91ZRG

PayPal and others pulled support for Gab's "free speech" service after a gun attack on a synagogue. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2DefcFQ

Running a “one-man-band” business can leave you spinning a lot of plates simultaneously, and this only becomes more intense once you start taking on staff. Suddenly you’re not just responsible for managing your own workload, but also those of the people working under you. Thankfully, this is 2018, which means there are a ton of great digital tools available to help you out. Whereas before you’d have had to make do with a calendar or diary – and a spreadsheet or ten! – to keep those plates off the floor, now you can download fantastic software to help with everything from project management , training, and even time management. So, whether you need help with managing shifts, annual leave, absences, employee time and attendance, task tracking and logging, or HR self-service, there’s something out there to sooth your timekeeping woes. Managing Shifts When it comes to managing shift work, it’s crucial your employees have access to the most up-to-date information available. Shift work-b...

Peter Reinhardt was initially unimpressed with the idea behind customer data tech firm Segment. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2zbK0m7

The firm says it has removed dozens of accounts. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2qeDZkE

A global study suggests people prefer to save young over elderly people. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2CGsIAW

Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions, is one of the most influential experts on cybersecurity and IT strategy in the United States. She is an authority on Internet security, data breaches and fraud mitigation. She served as the first female chief information officer at the White House, overseeing IT operations for President George W. Bush and his staff. With the U.S. midterm elections fast approaching, both Payton's observations about the current cybersecurity threat level and her advice about shoring up the nation's defenses carry special weight. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Jk5v91

The long list of suspected crimes relate to many other hoax calls to police, fraud and threats of violence. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Re4Dpd

Shoulders of Giants Auction To Begin on Halloween. Several items and artifacts belonging to the late world-famous physicist,  Stephen Hawking , including one of his first motorized wheelchairs, are to be auctioned online The auction which will begin on Halloween has several items that are expected to sell for considerably more than their guide price. The late Stephen Hawking What will be auctioned? Particularly significant lots include a  signed copy of Prof Stephen Hawking’s PhD thesis  that is expected to raise more than £100,000. ($US129K), a book signed by Hawking with his thumb-print, and a litany of scientific papers, medals, and awards. One of the items in the auction expected to highly sought after is to be a copy of the original script containing his lines for one of his appearances on the Simpsons. Speaking to the BBC, Professor Hawking’s daughter, Lucy, said the auction would give people the chance to “acquire a meme...

Hi-tech gadgets are helping sick children express their feelings and soothe their fears. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2O3okhy

The tech giant dismissed 48 people, including 13 senior managers, in the past two years. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2yYUyVu

Fear mongering about killer robots and the recent deaths connected with Uber and Tesla autonomous vehicles have rekindled concerns about AI. We are well beyond answering Alan Turing's question, "can machines think?" There is now good reason to ask how we should think of AI, and what we should expect from it. There have been phenomenal advances in just the past few years. They are due in part to advances in processor technology. We now can train artificial neural networks in the time it would take to make a cup of coffee. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2SjcWRR

Linux apps now can run in a Chromebook's Chrome OS environment. However, the process can be tricky, and it depends on your hardware's design and Google's whims. It is somewhat similar to running Android apps on your Chromebook, but the Linux connection is far less forgiving. If it works in your Chromebook's flavor, though, the computer becomes much more useful with more flexible options. Still, running Linux apps on a Chromebook will not replace the Chrome OS. The apps run in an isolated virtual machine without a Linux desktop. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2PomsVf

The AI-generated portrait of a fictional Frenchman sold for 45 times its original estimate. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2ETy2DE

Details of the attack emerged as BA investigated a 'sophisticated' attack it suffered in September. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2z4zL3b

But will it remain temporary? For decades, wealthy businesses and their owners have relied on offshore accounts and registering companies in places like the Cayman Islands in order to avoid paying their fair share of taxes, and the tech industry is no exception. With companies like Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Google, and many others setting up their headquarters in the EU to avoid paying higher taxes in other countries and in order to avoid sales taxes, it’s a wonder there’s enough revenue coming in for area governments to meet their budgets. But that may change. The EU and more recently Germany have received widespread member-nation support for a new tax on tech companies, specifically aimed at Google and its cohorts. According to Engadget , “Germany’s call comes as Europe is considering an interim tax on revenue generated by digital companies within the European Union. Under the plan, firms earning at least €750 million globally and €50 million inside the EU per year would be sub...

Sales leap 30% in the third quarter, partly thanks to broadcasts of major baseball and football games. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Jf6hEn

Whether you are building a log cabin, brick house, entire residential development or at an industrial level, there’s software that can help. If you already work in construction then you know that in ever more turbulent times the very essence of the industry is changing. Labor costs can rise and fall, materials cost money, and the nature of building means there are constant changes and advancements in techniques. Put simply, contractors have to deal with more data than they ever had to before, and its impossible to expect any one person to be able to manage that data in their head or on sheets of paper anymore. Using dedicated project management software has been proven time and time again to improve leadership, cut costs, increase effectiveness, and raise profits. Whether you are building a new house or a new hotel, using project management software could cut costs, increase efficiency, and save money. How to choose the right cons...

The western-style adventure is the first major release from Rockstar Games for eight years. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2RcDzH2

No matter how big or small your company may be, there’s one business tool you literally cannot afford to be without: a VPN. What is a VPN? In oversimplified terms, it’s your own personal tunnel onto the internet. That might sound like the stuff of hackers or international operatives, but in reality, it’s a smart option for anyone who’s connecting any device online, whether you work in a sensitive field or not. It doesn’t matter if your company is a medical software developer with hundreds of employees or a family-owned plumbing company, you need to protect information that you collect. Your team might be working on a brand-new proprietary system, or you might be letting people pay for your homemade soaps with a credit card. In any event, you now have sensitive information that can hurt you in a big way if a hacker gets their hands on it. A business VPN can do more than just secure your network, though. It can protect your IoT devices, make your connection appear to be in another pl...

Philip Jansen takes the helm next year as Britain's biggest telecoms provider seeks to revive its fortunes. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2JdYYfV

The Hong Kong airline said personal details including passport and credit card numbers were accessed. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Jf7E5Y

Elon Musk's electric car maker reports only the third quarterly profit in its 15-year history. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2qaSqpI

The Cambridge Analytica scandal was a "serious breach" of data protection laws, UK regulator says. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2D3JLOf

As the internet of things takes off, is security being sacrificed in the quest for higher speeds? from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2yx0ypj

The US firm had faced strong local opposition and will now give the space to humanitarian groups. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2CBBhwY

Just when the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, was about to go into effect, the United States Congress created the CLOUD Act. Without any public hearings, review or public comment, Congress passed the legislation as part of the $1.3 trillion government spending bill. The CLOUD Act changed the privacy provisions that were in effect under the 1986 Stored Communications Act. Needless to say, Internet privacy issues create headlines around the world every day. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Sg0C4T

Photographer Mathieu Stern made a camera lens from a chunk of an iceberg. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2PR7K67

The firm has developed new software which automatically flags potential sexualised images of children. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Pi0nHW

Is this proof that MS really does like Linux? No, it’s not some bad taste late April Fools prank, tech giant Microsoft really has announced that it has opened 60,000 of its patents to the open-source patent organization the Open Invention Network. (OIN).  While the news does mean that Microsoft has all but effectively given up potential revenue of billions of dollars in future patent related royalties, the company doesn’t seem to care. It will be interesting to see if shareholders do though. As Forbes.com has noted in its  coverage of the announcement , by 2015, Microsoft had made some $6,000,000,000 from Android patents.  The move though, is part of a relatively new found altruism by  MS to help protect Linux  and other open-source software from patent law suits and other legal proceedings. That, and the fact that Microsoft clearly doesn’t see Linux as any threat to its market dominance anytime soon. Here’s...

The firms have been accused by Italian authorities of building "planned obsolescence" into devices from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2ApBphv

Software is being used to scrape phone numbers and send thousands of messages in minutes. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2RemBbh

The Apple boss also praised the EU's new data protection regulation GDPR, in a speech in Brussels. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2R9aPio

When we write the history of the IT era, the big factor that has played an important but not well recognized role will be hardware -- specifically, the Oracle Exadata appliance that puts databases into memory for fast access and updates. All of the cloud software starting with the autonomous database on view this week at OpenWorld would be vastly different if the database was still running primarily on disk drives. In fact, the database would be running so slowly -- relatively -- that some of these solutions would remain theoretical. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2z6QQcP

The entrepreneur says Twitter believed his account had been hacked. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2O1wvuV

Nearly 90% of apps on Google Play share data with Google parent Alphabet, researchers say. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2AnxotT

Mr Torvalds took a short break from the Linux world to get help to become more polite to engineers. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2R8hB7R

Instagram has overtaken Snapchat as the most used social media app among US teens, says a study. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2R5HqWb

Slump in sales sparks move by department store chain, which will continue to sell Blu-ray players. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2PfxAnn

The 15p fee will be handed to drivers to help them pay for an all-electric car, says ride-hailing firm from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2EFTdJl

The test, which involved transporting schoolchildren, was irresponsible, the NHTSA says. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2PWU3CA

Amazon’s Alexa can now listen and respond to whispers, but will she whisper back? Amazon has finally unveiled a feature that its Alexa/Echo virtual assistant has needed for a long, long time: the ability to respond to a whisper. Unfortunately, the programmers forgot to give Alexa a crucial feature in return, which is the ability to shut her trap and whisper instead of screaming her response at whatever volume you left it on. Seriously, go try it. Go whisper to your Echo and listen to that robotic voice shout back at you like your eighty-year-old father-in-law intoning, “Ehhh? What did you say?” even though you discreetly whispered that there was toilet paper on his shoe. First, this might set off another wave of anxiety for privacy advocates . Your virtual assistant is not only spying on you and potentially recording or storing your conversations, now she can do even if you tried to keep your voice down. Amazon’s team just made that sensitive microphone function even more acutely....

Smart speakers using Welsh are a key aim in a new Welsh Government technology strategy. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2NUV3pe

A painting created by artificial intelligence will be auctioned by Christie's this week. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2NY76lq

The $20bn bridge spanning 55km is an engineering marvel but has been dogged by safety issues and delays. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2OFS7lv

Despite the grand claims made for this distributed ledger tech, few companies are actually using it. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2OFNeJo

A 16-year-old boy from California has won the grand final of the Classic Tetris World Championship from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2q4JP83

The video site will spend $20million (£15m) developing educational and how-to content. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2yTFWqx

The site responds to claims it's "misleading" users with the choices of promotional shots it offers. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2R8PENm

Paul G. Allen, the less well-known co-founder of Microsoft and who played a key part in the personal computing revolution died last week in Seattle, 65 years old. Allen was responsible for naming the company Microsoft, as well as being the major driving force behind the company for the first 7 years of its existence.  He later went on to become a serial philanthropist, investor and sports owner. Bill Gates and Paul Allen in recent times. *photo source: GatesNotes.com Mr Allen died from complications associated with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He had previously fought the disease and had been in remission for several years. His death comes just two weeks after he publicly revealed he was undergoing treatment for a recurrence of the lymphoma. Paul Allen and Bill Gates were were at the same high school together and later, Allen convinced Gates to drop out of Harvard University to form Microsoft. The company went on to become the world’s most valuable company during the 19...

The hotly anticipated video game is released this week. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2OHFVAC

Things have been changing at an almost unprecedented rate with regard to power structures. The last time I saw this happen was in the 1970s, when the EEOC took off. Suddenly a lot of the off-color, sexist and racist jokes that many executives regularly told could get them fired. A surprisingly large number of people got reassigned, fired, demoted, or otherwise punished for the same behavior that previously had made them "one of the guys." With the current #MeToo movement, any hint of wrongdoing can have dire consequences. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2PNWQ18

Police in New York are told to stop using some body-worn cameras out of "an abundance of caution". from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2R6VSgC

So, you want to be a YouTuber? It’s hardly surprising. YouTube has given people the world over the ability to share their hobbies and passions with the internet, and a relative handful of them have gone on to be huge stars who rake in a considerable amount of money. The arguable king of the YouTube castle is Swedish content creator Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie . Kjellberg has yet to see his 30 th birthday, but has over 65 million subscribers and a net worth of around $30-50 million. PewDiePie has often drawn media attention for his controversial views. Nonetheless, he has gained mainstream popularity creating video game-based uploads which show him (over)reacting to horror games or engaging in multiplayer contests. Hopefully you won’t be inspired by Kjellberg’s less savoury character traits, but you may want to attempt to capture his lightning in a bottle with some video game content of your own. So-called “Let’s Play” video game content is some of the mo...

Freelance photographer Matthew Dippel is hunting for the pair who he caught on camera earlier this month. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2D07T4k

There are reasons why some suspect that the Russian state was behind a viral video. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2OxijyK

Japan's space agency Hayabusa-2 spacecraft is the first one to place robot rovers on an asteroid's surface. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2R6Bn3E

The taxi firm is pitting itself against rival Uber in a race to offer self-driving car services. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2S85GrS

A senior MP questions how a pro-Brexit website can run adverts without saying who has paid for them. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2yrVvXf

The Linux Foundation's 2018 Open Source Technology Jobs Report shows rapid growth in the demand for open source technical talent, with Linux skills a must-have requirement for entry-level positions. Linux coding is the most sought-after open source skill. Linux-based container technology is a close second. The report provides an overview of open source career trends, factors motivating professionals in the industry, and ways employers attract and retain qualified talent. This year's report features data from more than 750 hiring managers. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2NT7fa9