Last week, Microsoft made the inscrutable decision to retire Wunderlist, the beloved to-do list app it acquired in 2015, and replace it with a new offering called Microsoft To-Do.Wunderlist isn’t going away yet, but it’s no longer getting feature updates, and its long-term fate is sealed. In a blog post, Microsoft said it will retire the app after incorporating “your valued feedback and the best elements of the Wunderlist experience into To-Do.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Gone but not forgottenImage by Dat7 via Creative Commons2016 was brutal year in the tech business. Ambitious projects sputtered out, beloved niche products became unsustainable, and there was at least one colossal corporate embarrassment. Take a look back at all the technology that died this year—then console yourself by imagining it’s still being enjoyed by David Bowie and Prince.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hardware and AI lead the wayImage by Martyn WilliamsWith last year’s corporate restructuring out of the way, 2016 was a year of rebuilding for Google and its parent company Alphabet.This year, Google got much more serious about hardware, while placing big bets on artificial intelligence as the heart of its software. Products that fit this mission got revamped, while those that didn’t got axed or ignored. Read on for a review of what went right and wrong at Google in 2016.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
When it comes to privacy, both Google’s Chrome OS and Microsoft’s Windows 10 take an “opt-out” stance.By default, both platforms collect a variety of data about your usage, but the way they go about it is often different. While Microsoft presents users with a long list of privacy-related toggles, Google’s controls are less granular. Both companies, however, make you jump through additional hoops to disable the kind of personalized ads that help them turn a profit.PCWorld recently broke down all the ways Microsoft grabs at your data in Windows 10, so it’s only fair we compare that to Google’s computing platform. Here’s how Chrome OS and Windows 10 measure up on privacy and data collection.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
One of the best things about Chromebooks is that they’re built to last. Thanks to automatic security and feature updates from Google, along with a lightweight browser-based operating system, longtime users may find that their laptops run as well, if not better, than they did on day one.But despite Chromebooks’ theoretical longevity, it’s possible for Google to cut their lives short. Per the company’s End of Life policy, Chromebooks and other Chrome OS devices are only entitled to five years of feature and security updates. After that, Google doesn’t guarantee that these systems will run safely or properly.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
When you’re setting up a new or existing PC with Windows 10, Microsoft will offer to install the operating system with "Express settings."Although Windows 10 Express settings will get you up and running quickly, that convenience comes at a cost: By skipping over custom settings, you’re agreeing to all kinds of data collection and behavior tracking, much of which didn’t apply in earlier versions of Windows.INSIDER Review: Enterprise guide to Windows 10
Here’s our advice: Instead of blindly enabling Express settings in Windows 10, take some time to understand what you’re agreeing to. Click the Customize settings link (in tiny text at the bottom of the setup screen), and disable the options you don't want.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
By now, most people who want Windows 10 on their PCs (and some who don’t) have probably installed the upgrade by now.But there is at least one notable exception: If you don’t have enough free storage space on your hard drive, the installation won’t complete. This may result in a “Windows needs more space” dialog box, or one of several error codes (including 0x80070070 – 0x50011, 0x80070070 – 0x50012, or 0x80070070 – 0x60000).INSIDER Review: Enterprise guide to Windows 10
Time’s running out to clear some space and complete the installation. Here’s what you can do to make sure the upgrade goes through:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google’s Chrome browser has just reached a major milestone, hitting its 50th release.For Google, it’s a moment for positive reflection. To emphasize Chrome’s might, the company points to the browser’s 771 billion page loads per month, 1 billion monthly active mobile users, 9.1 billion auto-filled forms, and 145 million malicious webpages averted. One might also point to Chrome’s ever-growing usage, accounting for 47 percent of all worldwide pageviews, including mobile, according to StatCounter.Indeed, Chrome has become an indispensable tool for many web users, and has served as a leader in the browser world. It introduced the idea of limiting menu clutter around actual webpages, and popularized the syncing of bookmarks, tabs, and browser history across devices. After all these years, it remains PCWorld’s most highly-recommended web browser.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The free ride is over for new Google Fiber subscribers in Kansas, as Google drops the free “Basic Internet” option from its plans.Google has offered the free plan since Fiber first launched in July 2012. Compared to Google’s $70 per month Gigabit Internet offering, the free plan was considerably slower, with just 5 Mbps download speeds and 1 Mbps upload speeds. It also required a hefty $300 construction fee, which Google waived for paying customers who signed on for at least a year of service.According to Recode, that plan is now going away for new subscribers, suggesting that existing customers can hang onto their service for now. Google still offers free Basic Internet plans in Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah, and is collaborating with the U.S. government on free broadband connections for public housing residents.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The free ride is over for new Google Fiber subscribers in Kansas, as Google drops the free “Basic Internet” option from its plans.Google has offered the free plan since Fiber first launched in July 2012. Compared to Google’s $70 per month Gigabit Internet offering, the free plan was considerably slower, with just 5 Mbps download speeds and 1 Mbps upload speeds. It also required a hefty $300 construction fee, which Google waived for paying customers who signed on for at least a year of service.According to Recode, that plan is now going away for new subscribers, suggesting that existing customers can hang onto their service for now. Google still offers free Basic Internet plans in Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah, and is collaborating with the U.S. government on free broadband connections for public housing residents.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
While the BlackBerry 10 operating system will live on for at least a couple more years, we’ve likely seen the last of its hardware.Speaking to Gulf News and The National—two English-language newspapers published in United Arab Emirates—BlackBerry CEO and Executive Chairman John Chen said the company has stopped producing BlackBerry 10 smartphones. The company is now focusing on its Android phones, with the goal of being the “most secure Android smartphone for the enterprise,” Chen told Gulf News.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Should the FBI prevail in getting Apple to offer a backdoor for an encrypted iPhone, the agency may have trouble getting anyone to build it.At least that’s the word from several current and former Apple employees—including security engineers—who spoke anonymously to the New York Times. Some said they’re refuse to do the work, or quit their jobs if necessary, rather than create what they believe is a major security compromise for all users.+ MORE: Tim Cook to Time: 'I feel like I'm in this bad dream' +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has lent support to Apple in the debate over encrypted iPhones—sort of.In a series of Twitter posts, Pichai praised Apple CEO Tim Cook for writing an “important” letter that speaks out against the FBI’s decryption demands. “Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy,” Pichai wrote.While Pichai noted that Google provides data access to law enforcement when legally required, that’s different from making tech companies enable hacking of customers’ devices and data. “Could be a troubling precedent,” Pichai added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
For months, some iPhone users have been running into a mysterious bug called “Error 53,” which can render some newer handsets unusable. Now, Apple has chimed in with an explanation.With Error 53, some iPhone 6 and 6s users have found that their handsets no longer work after an iOS update. Stranger still, Apple’s support site barely documents the problem, lumping it in with other error codes that appear to be more easily resolved. As reported last year by The Daily Dot’s Mike Wehner, the only fix for Error 53 is to send the phone back to Apple and get a replacement.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Users of Microsoft Outlook for Windows reportedly ran into numerous problems on Wednesday, after Microsoft issued a buggy—but critical—security patch.
As noted by ZDNet, users reported that the program became crash-prone after installing update KB3097877, particularly when loading HTML messages. In some cases users would see only a black screen when trying to log in. The problems reportedly occurred in all versions of Outlook on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, but Windows 10 appeared to be unaffected.
“Had a fleet of mission-critical tablets break today because of this,” one system administrator wrote on Reddit. “Was not a fun morning.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Security researchers have discovered a fiendish form of browser malware that stands in for your copy of Google Chrome and hopes you won’t notice the difference.As reported by PCRisk, the “eFast Browser” works by installing and running itself in place of Chrome. It’s based on Google’s Chromium open-source software, so it maintains the look and feel of Chrome at first glance, but its behavior is much worse.First, makes itself the default and takes over several system file associations, including HTML, JPG, PDF, and GIF, according to MalwareBytes. It also hijacks URL associations such as HTTP, HTTPS, and MAILTO, and replaces any Chrome desktop website shortcuts with its own versions. Essentially, eFast Browser makes sure to open itself at any opportunity.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
HP and SanDisk are plotting new storage technology that could be 1,000 times faster than flash memory, though they’ll face some competition along the way.Details on the new technology are scarce, but the goal is to create a “universal memory” that serves as both long-term storage and RAM, the Wall Street Journal reports. The goal is to commercialize this technology some time between 2018 and 2020.Why this matters: Today’s computers offer RAM and storage separately, because the former is much more expensive and purges its data when the machine powers down. Programs and files are stored on flash memory, but during use they’ll load some data into RAM for faster short-term access. A single type of memory for both short- and long-term storage could boost a PC’s performance dramatically.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
While Google cheerily advertises the 13 antennas packed into its new OnHub router, the company’s been less forthcoming about the software under the hood.
Now that some hackers have rooted the high-tech Wi-Fi router, we have some clarity: OnHub appears to run a heavily-modified version of Chromium OS, the same browser-based software that powers Chromebook laptops and Chromebox desktops.
The root method for OnHub first appeared on Exploitee.rs. It turns out that the router’s underside contains a hidden switch underneath one of its screws. This switch can boot OnHub into developer mode if you enter a specific keystroke, using a keyboard plugged into the router’s USB port. That keystroke is Ctrl + D, which is precisely what you’d use to enter developer mode in Chromium OS.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple is re-entering the living room with the 2015 Apple TV, a new set-top box that streams video, plays games, and uses Siri to answer your every entertainment whim.+ Find out what Apple did to the new iPad +The last time Apple upgraded its living room hardware was more than two years ago, and even that was a minor refresh of the 2012 Apple TV. The new version is a significant upgrade, packing more powerful hardware and a full-blown app store.Similar look, new apps
At first glance, the new Apple TV sports a similar interface to that of its predecessor. A strip of recommendations sit on top, followed by a list of apps underneath. The big difference now is that there’s an entire App Store, rather than a preset list of Apple-curated selections.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
There’s no shortage of devices these days that will track your sleep, but Samsung’s SleepSense is going a little further in helping you doze off in the first place.
The slim device slips under a mattress and uses a contactless sensor to measure movements, heart rate, and respiratory rate. As the night goes on, SleepSense tracks how long it took to fall asleep, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, the number of times you wake up or get out of bed, and percentage of REM and deep sleep, all contributing to a general sleep score. Samsung also worked with a Harvard Medical School professor on sleep tips, which the SleepSense app will tailor to your own sleep patterns.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Jared Newman