Surface revenue does a U-boat, and dives
Microsoft blames line's age and tough competition for its biggest year-over-year beating
Revenue generated by Microsoft's Surface hardware during the March quarter was down 26% from the same period the year before, the company said yesterday as it briefed Wall Street.
For the quarter, Surface produced $831 million, some $285 million less than the March quarter of 2016, for the largest year-over-year dollar decline ever.
Microsoft blamed the portfolio's age and increased competition from hardware partners for the fall-off. "Our Surface results fell short of expectations impacted by end-of-product-lifecycle and increased price competition," contended Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, in the Thursday earnings call.
The Surface Pro 4, the portfolio's top seller, was introduced in October 2015, and has not been refreshed since then.
Analysts accepted Microsoft's reasons for the downturn.
"There is competition that is lower-priced," said Carolina Milanesi of Creative Strategies in a Friday interview. "There's not just more of the same, but a lot that are positioned in the same space are cheaper. And there were expectations that we would have seen a [product] refresh that we haven't seen yet."
Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates, echoed Milanesi on the age angle. The revenue decline "indicates that the aging product needs a refresh badly," Gold wrote in a note to clients today. "Price cutting and competing vendors' products will continue to create declines until new product is released, rumored for later this year."
Microsoft threw cold water on any significant changes to the Surface line before June, forecasting that the current quarter will also post a revenue decline.
Initially, Surface was pitched by Microsoft as a kick-in-the-pants to its partners, the OEMs, or "original equipment manufacturers," which until 2012 had had a lock on the Windows hardware market. Microsoft meant to show the OEMs what a cutting-edge, premium-priced device could do, and how it could best demonstrate the power of Windows.
Milanesi rejected the idea that the quarter's revenue decline signaled retrenchment by Microsoft, that the company considered the line's mission fulfilled by the rise in 2-in-1s from partnering OEMs.
"Surface as a revenue segment is important; it's not just a reference design," said Milanesi, using the term bandied when Microsoft first entered the personal computer hardware space.
One reason why Surface carries weight at Redmond, said Milanesi: The 2-in-1, tablet-slash-notebook mostly sells to enterprises, or to employees who buy it themselves for work. That plays to Microsoft's own company-wide emphasis on corporate customers. It also brings the usual advantages earned by courting enterprises, including less price sensitivity and, unlike the consumer market, a steadier calendar that doesn't rely on high seasonal sales at the end of each year.
Even so, Milanesi thought Microsoft was missing an opportunity by focusing on business sales of the Surface, particularly the Surface Pro. "Microsoft needs to do more than just the enterprise -- such as looking at higher ed students, people who may have picked a MacBook Air -- and see what they can do in that space," she argued.
This story, "Surface revenue does a U-boat, and dives" was originally published by Computerworld.
Sony Xperia XZ Premium gets a new color: Bronze Pink
Sony Xperia XZ Premium gets a new color: Bronze Pink
As we near the start of sales of the Xperia XZ Premium, Sony has a surprise for us - a Bronze Pink color option. Here’s what Xperia Color Designer (that’s a job position apparently), Satoshi Aoyagi, has to say about the new hue:
“We wanted to find a colour that represented a feeling of warmth whilst at the same time exemplifying the premium features and design. The bronze metallic finish adds a feeling of depth to the glass on the front and back.”
Sony Xperia XZ Premium in Bronze Pink
Bronze Pink (don’t call it Pink Gold) certainly adds a pop of color to the monochrome Deepsea Black and Luminous Chrome. Pre-orders are already underway, but the new color option hasn’t been added yet (in fact, Amazon’s options are quite wrong).
Samsung and Qualcomm in talks over Snapdragon 845 for the Galaxy S9
Samsung and Qualcomm in talks over Snapdragon 845 for the Galaxy S9
Samsung is already looking towards the future - the Galaxy S9. A report from Aju Business Daily states that Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm are in talks to develop the Snapdragon 845 chip that will power the 2018 S flagship.
While the Korean giant is preparing to start mass manufacturing of the next-generation 10nm chips, it is not a given that it will be the one making the 845 - TSMC is also in the running.
Samsung is building the current Snapdragon 835 chipset on its 1st gen 10nm process, but the new one promises a 15% power reduction or a 10% increase in performance. TSMC is said to be building all of Apple’s A11 chipsets on its own 10nm process, the chips that will go into the next iPhone generation.
Even if Qualcomm does pick TSMC over Samsung’s fabs, they can keep busy by cranking out the next Exynos chipset for the Galaxy S9 and the Note after that. It is unclear how TSMC’s 10nm process compares to Samsung’s - Apple has first dibs on 10nm supply from the Taiwanese company.
Thanks for the tip, Andy!
Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge start receiving Nougat update in Canada
Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge start receiving Nougat update in Canada
The Nougat update for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge smartphones has started rolling out in Canada. Arriving as version G920W8VLU5DQD1 for the former and G925W8VLU5DQD1 for the latter, the update brings Android version 7.0.
While there's no official press release units on Virgin, Telus, and Bell are currently getting the update. Those on Rogers' network will get the update starting next month.
Galaxy S8 red tint is no big deal, Consumer Reports says
Galaxy S8 red tint is no big deal, Consumer Reports says
Some early adopters complained of reddish tints on the screens of their new Galaxy S8 units. Samsung immediately reacted and said it would issue an update over the next several days. Now, independent testing company Consumer Reports has shared its two cents on the matter saying that the problem is not that serious.
Consumer Reports got its hands on eight Galaxy S8 devices, four of them with the tint out of the box. The testers claim the problem can be seen when two devices are positioned next to each other. The red-tinted screens allegedly look “appealing and natural” thus not being that big of a deal.
Samsung’s said that you could calibrate the colors manually through Settings. You have to tap on Display and then on Screen mode. The options include AMOLED cinema and AMOLED photo, but there’s also a manual option when Adaptive display is selected. You just tap on Color balance and go wild with the RGB toggles.
Consumer Reports claims that this issue is something that might make you unhappy, but it will not make you return the device or claim your money back.
Update hitting Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ on AT&T as well
Update hitting Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ on AT&T as well
After T-Mobile and Verizon, the AT&T variants of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are also being updated. Weighing in at around 300MB, the update is arriving as version G950USQU1AQD9 for the former and G955USQU1AQD9 for the latter.
Sadly, there's currently no information on exactly what the update brings along. The official change-log for the T-Mobile update was also not available, although Verizon had detailed the changes included in its update.
Nougat for T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note5 is now available
Nougat for T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note5 is now available
A new update is now available for the T-Mobile variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note5. It's a major update that brings Android Nougat (version 7.0).
The update is currently available to download via Samsung Smart Switch, although OTA roll out should also begin soon.
Information regarding the update was first shared by T-Mobile's Des (@askdes on Twitter). In a tweet sent out late last week, he revealed they've received approval for the update and the roll out will begin "early next week."
Other major carriers like AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon have already pushed out the update to Galaxy Note5 variants on their network.
Sony Xperia XA1 lands in the US on May 1 for $299.99
Sony Xperia XA1 lands in the US on May 1 for $299.99
The Xperia XA1 mid-ranger that Sony unveiled at MWC in February alongside the higher-end XZs and XZ Premium has already gone on sale in Hong Kong, and now it's almost ready to land in the US as well.
The company has revealed the official pricing and release date for the US market. You'll be able to pick up an XA1 starting on May 1. It will cost $299.99, unlocked.
The device will be available at many retailers, Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, BrandsMart, and Fry's among them. It will be offered in white, black, pink, and gold.
The Xperia XA1 is the successor to the XA from last year. It comes with a 5-inch 720p touchscreen with minimal lateral bezels, and a 23 MP f/2.0 main camera with phase detection and laser autofocus, and a LED flash. For selfies it has an 8 MP f/2.0 snapper, and the phone is powered by MediaTek's Helio P20 chipset - with a 2.3 GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU. The XA1 features 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, and a 2,300 mAh battery. It runs Android 7.0 Nougat.
Giant FCC spectrum auction raises $19.8 billion, sets up 5G services
Some observers expected the auction to raise $30 billion or more
A U.S. Federal Communications auction of repurposed television spectrum has raised US$19.8 billion and will pave the way for mobile carriers to offer faster and more reliable service across the country.
The 70MHz in new spectrum available will allow carriers to provide fast 5G service in coming years, FCC officials have said. It was the world's first two-sided auction allowing TV stations to indirectly sell spectrum to mobile carriers and other users of wireless spectrum.
The auction should speed up networks that have slowed as U.S. residents move to "data-hungry smartphones," the FCC said in a press release. About 70 percent of U.S. residents now have smartphones, the agency said.
Some observers had predicted the auction of this valuable spectrum to raise $30 billion or more. This low-band spectrum, in the 600MHz range, is highly coveted by mobile carriers because it can cover long distances and penetrate walls and other obstacles.
Mobile carriers have pushed for more spectrum as their customers' network use keeps growing, and the low-band spectrum will help carriers roll out faster 5G service, supporters say.
The closing of the so-called incentive auction Thursday will allow participating TV stations to share in the auction proceeds. One hundred seventy-five TV stations will get nearly $10.1 billion of the auction proceeds, while the U.S. treasury will get $7.3 billion. Nearly $1.8 billion will be used to help participating TV stations relocate to new spectrum bands.
Most of the participating TV stations will stay on the air by moving to new spectrum or sharing channels with other stations. A handful of stations may go dark.
The largest spectrum winners were T-Mobile, the nation's third largest carrier, with about $8 billion in winning bids, and the Dish Network-affiliated ParkerB.com Wireless, with $6.2 billion winning bids. Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile carrier, did not bid in the auction.
WWTO, a commercial TV station in Chicago, will receive $304 million from the auction, while two public TV stations in New Jersey will receive a combined $332 million.
Over the next 39 months, the FCC will help TV stations relocate to other spectrum bands. The incentive auction was approved by Congress in a bill passed in 2012, and the complicated auction process began in March 2016.
"While we celebrate reaching the official close of the auction, there is still much work ahead of us," FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement. "It's now imperative that we move forward with equal zeal to ensure a successful post-auction transition, including a smooth and efficient [TV station] repacking process."
Comcast Business offers direct connection to IBM Cloud network
Comcast joins Verizon, AT&T and others as it seeks more large enterprise customers
Comcast Business announced Thursday it now offers direct, dedicated network links to the IBM Cloud global network.
The move positions Comcast Business, a unit of Comcast, to compete against AT&T, Verizon, Bell Canada and telecom service providers already offering IBM Cloud Direct Link services.
Comcast Business already claims to be the nation's biggest cable provider to small and mid-sized businesses. The IBM partnership could be a way for Comcast Business to grow, especially among larger businesses and enterprises.
Enterprises will have "more choices for connectivity so they can store data, optimize their workloads and execute mission-critical applications in the cloud, whether it be on-premise, off-premise or a combination of the two," said Jeff Lewis, vice president of data services at Comcast Business, in a statement. Customers can select speeds up to 10 gigabits/second.
Other than the price of connectivity and the ability to potentially offer lower prices than AT&T and Verizon, analysts said they aren't sure what Comcast is providing enterprise customers that is distinct. Neither Comcast nor IBM announced pricing.
"Business services is the only area of substantial growth at Comcast right now," said Bill Menezes, an analyst at Gartner. "It makes sense for Comcast to align with as many major partners as possible so their customers see Comcast as a significant, broad player who can meet their requirements across major regions and services. Cloud is a major demand item for the enterprise right now and Comcast doesn't want to miss out on business by having too few customer options.''
The same can be said for IBM as well. "IBM is trying to connect with all the major carriers and network connectors to ensure that they are not shut out of the enterprise cloud business," said Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates. "IBM sees this partnership as potential leverage, particularly against the likes of Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and AWS, which have a larger share of the enterprise cloud market than IBM does."
Gold said IBM also wants to appeal to mid-sized companies that are less likely to have their own dedicated networks and more likely to outsource that capability to carriers and cable providers. "This is a potentially easier path for such businesses when they go to the cloud," he said.
IBM is saying to their customers that "we are making the connection part of cloud really easy for you," Gold added.
Some enterprise customers can be expected to buy the Direct Link service from Comcast Business, Gold said. "Enterprises definitely need help with cloud implementations and anything that can make it easier for them is a good thing," he said.
Still, the bigger question is whether IBM can be the cloud provider of choice "given that so many enterprises are Microsoft-centric and have Azure on their minds as the preferred path," Gold added. Microsoft has made the transition to Azure easier with its Azure Stack, an on-premises version of Azure cloud.
"Also, Google is pushing hard in the enterprise area now," Gold said.
An IDC survey recently showed that 73% of businesses in that survey have developed a hybrid strategy, compared to only 13% that said they have all the skills and processes in place to execute on that strategy. IBM said a secure and dedicated connection to its cloud service, like what Comcast Business is offering, will allow enterprises to easily preserve their existing IT investments while transitioning to a hybrid cloud environment. There, they can build next-generation cognitive computing and services around the internet of things.
IBM has a global network of more than 50 data centers across 19 countries, while Comcast Business boasts that its network connects to nearly 500 data centers and cloud exchanges for access to multiple cloud providers.
Comcast Business and IBM said a direct connection to the cloud will help with better performance, security and availability, especially compared with doing business over the open internet. Comcast Business, like many others, offers customers a service level agreement -- a contract that states such things as the level of network reliability, up-time and other factors.
Most companies are evaluating how to get to the cloud and for the next few years will build hybrid approaches that rely on both on-premises and public cloud servers, Gold said. "Comcast and all the carriers and internet service providers want to jump on the bandwagon that is cloud," he added.
This story, "Comcast Business offers direct connection to IBM Cloud network" was originally published by Computerworld.
New Linux SSH server shows off Golang's infrastructure power
Teleport has tons of team-friendly features, and it showcases Google's Go language as a replacement for critical IT infrastructure
Gravitational, maker of a SaaS support system built with Kubernetes, has released the latest open source iteration of a key part of that system.
Teleport, an SSH server that provides support teams with simpler remote management for server clusters, is an example of using Google's Go language to devise safer but still performant replacements for critical infrastructure.
Log me in (and him and her and her too)
Teleport is a replacement for sshd, the stock Linux server for SSH, and it works with existing OpenSSH clients and servers as-is. Instead of using manual key management, a common SSH headache, Teleport uses OpenSSH certificates stored on the cluster to automatically generate session keys. It also decouples SSH logins from server logins for additional safety, and it can use a separate identity store -- not only the user accounts on the machine in question -- to authenticate.
Aside from the usual command-line interface, Teleport has a web UI that provides quick access to available nodes. The web UI also has its own terminal emulator, so joint-login SSH sessions can be shared with colleagues in real time through a specially crafted URL. All sessions can be recorded and played back through the web UI as if they were movies, with pause and scrub-through.
The original vision for Teleport was about better handling of state around SSH sessions: keys, secrets, user accounts, and so on. Version 2.0 adds new features in that vein, such as a DynamoDB back end for cluster state storage and a plugins framework that provide secrets storage (including a back end for storing secrets in files), but it also fixes some issues around interoperating with OpenSSH, including managing Teleport with Ansible.
Raze, rebuild, revamp
Aside from providing a more convenient incarnation of SSH, Teleport is an example of recruiting Go to develop replacements for key pieces of IT infrastructure -- especially long-standing bits with aging, problematic implementations.
A Gravitational representative noted in email that Teleport works with Go's implementation of SSH (also written in Go), but noted that Go brings a high degree of portability to the finished product: "[Go] also allows us to package Teleport as a single binary with minimal system dependencies which leads to easier distribution." This shows that Teleport could be included in Linux distributions as a standard component, both as a binary and as source, since many distros (such as Red Hat's Fedora) now ship with the Go toolchain.
Go's simplicity of design is sometimes criticized as too minimal for its own good, but it has also been praised for providing fast methods to develop software that is solid and maintainable. Eric S. Raymond looked at using both Rust and Go as possible languages to write a replacement for the Network Time Protocol. (The existing project is underfunded and riddled with flaws.) In the end, he settled on Go, in part because Go was easier to master and already has a level of maturity that he felt was better suited to core infrastructure that needs maintenance over long periods of time.
With robots on the job, it won't be IT as usual
What IT managers need to know about enterprise robotics
With robotics making great strides and more companies welcoming robots into the workforce, IT managers need to start prepping for the changes coming their way.
"Robotics will probably touch every business over the next decade," said Dan Olds, an analyst with OrionX. "I think we're nearing a tipping point where more businesses will be adding robots and robotics to their operations. They'll be doing everything from manufacturing, to delivering food to restaurant tables to cleaning chores and farming -- and lots of stuff in between."
While robots have been working on assembly lines and in giant warehouses for some time, they've become much more than giant hulking arms moving car doors and stacking boxes. With advances in technologies like artificial intelligence, computer vision and mobility, robots are taking on a host of new roles.
Late last summer, for instance, Lowe's, the home improvement chain, announced plans to use customer-service robots in 11 stores in the San Francisco Bay area.
The Aloft hotel in Cupertino, Calif. is already using a robot butler to autonomously deliver snacks and small items to guests in their rooms.
And two delivery companies -- Postmates and DoorDash -- will use fleets of autonomous robots to bring orders directly to customers' front doors. That means the robots will navigate through cities and on crowded sidewalks in Washington, D.C. and Silicon Valley.
"Over the last decade, robotics has started in industry after industry and that will continue to advance during the next 10 years," said Jeff Kagan, an independent industry analyst. "Robotics will play a growing role in a number of businesses, from making cars to taking orders at McDonalds. Not only will more companies move into robotics, but robotics will do more as it gets more intelligent with A.I., the internet of things and the cloud."
The trend means that CIOs and IT managers need to be prepared for an influx of robotics because introducing this technology isn't as simple as firing up a fleet of humanoid robots and letting them loose in an office building. It's going to take planning, new skills and thought about how robots will affect employees and require new infrastructure.
This is not going to be IT as usual.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute "It's very much a different mindset than traditional IT," said Mike Gennert, a professor and director of the Robotics Engineering Program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Worcester, Mass. "IT managers worry about how they manage information, how it's used, how it's stored and secured. But none of that has the ability to directly affect the physical world. Robots affect the real world. That brings issues IT managers have not had to confront."
For instance, It's bad enough if a company computer is hacked and it becomes part of a zombie botnet. But what if someone hijacks a company robot and makes it do things, harmful things, in the real world?
Here are a few things CIOs and IT managers should start to think about and prepare for:
It's time to bring in new skills
Some large companies will need to consider hiring a CRO -- a Chief Robotics Officer -- to go along with their CIO and CTO. A CRO would be responsible for the company's robotics strategy and how it's integrated into the processes already in place.
"I think the need is already starting to show up," said Gennert. "For somebody who's in the fast food industry, you'll want to know how robotics can be used in your plants [for] packaging foods and moving foods, and on-site in point-of-sales and logistically and cleaning up afterwards."
However, hiring a CRO isn't the only position IT managers will need to fill. They'll also need to bring in IT workers with a background in robotics -- people who understand computer vision, sensors, programming models and security models, and who can do more than basic repairs and maintain robotic code.
Companies will also need someone experienced in A.I., since it will be the smarts in autonomous machines.
"Applications of machine learning in robotics is on the rise," said Taskin Padir, an associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Northeastern University, in Boston. "Each practical robot system will rely on some level of A.I. to become more adaptable to situations that cannot be foreseen by the robot's programmers."
And time to upgrade your own skills
While IT managers are looking to hire new employees, they should consider bolstering their own skill set so they understand enough about robotics to get them up and running.
"IT managers will need to become intimately familiar with their new robot charges," said Olds. "I think the robot vendors will provide a lot of this training, which will make it easier for IT personnel to quickly come up to speed."
However, Gennert thinks IT managers will need a deeper knowledge than they can get from a few tutorials.
"I think IT managers need enough of an understanding to get what the changes will be and what the new needs will be," he said. "They'll surely want to have more expertise on some bigger skills, like manipulation, perception and vision, navigation and locomotion. You'll need more expertise than you'd get from a few webinars or short courses."
One robot will not replace one human
While there are a variety of estimates and a lot of fears floating around about how many jobs robots might take in the next five to 10 years, it's hard to calculate how bringing robots into the workplace will affect employee numbers.
"Don't think of robots as a one-to-one replacement for employees," said Olds. "Trying to 'roboticize' all the tasks an employee does is extremely difficult. I don't think robots will be taking over everyone's job."
While some workers will be displaced, the majority will carry on as before. Some employees may have more mundane, physically demanding or dangerous tasks taken over by robotic counterparts.
Carnegie Mellon University Artur Dubrawski, director of the Auton Lab and senior faculty in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University
Artur Dubrawski, director of the Auton Lab and senior faculty in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, used to be the CTO at Aethon, a Pittsburgh-based robotics company. Aethon makes the Tug robot, which is often used to make deliveries in hospitals, pulling carts carrying everything from linens to medicines and food.
Through the deployments he worked on while at Aethon, he did not see robots replacing human workers, but helping them.
"There's concern about robotics eliminating jobs, but in my practice that wasn't the case," Dubrawski said. "In the hospitals I watched through our deployments, nobody who worked in delivery lost their jobs. The efficiency increased. The quality of those employees' ives picked up."
At one hospital that was using a Tug robot, an employee told Dubrawski that his knees had always hurt him when he was pushing the cart to make deliveries. With the robot, however, he began focusing on making sure the carts had the right supplies and then pushing a button on a touch-screen to have the robot take it to make the delivery.
The worker's knees didn't hurt anymore.
Think about human/robot interactions
While working with a robot helped that hospital employee, other people may be anxious about working with a robot -- particularly an autonomous one. The image that often comes to mind: Out-of-control, malevolent robots like the ones on Battlestar Galactica or The Terminator.
Add to that the fear of a robot accidentally hurting someone or taking their job, and employee concerns about their new, non-human co-workers could quickly arise.
It's going to be up to the company, and likely the IT department, to work with employees, train them and put them at ease with robots.
"Having people who are willing to work with the robots is important," said Gennert. "The fact that so many young employees today are already digital natives and feel very comfortable with computers means those folks will be pretty eager adopters of technology. And if people see how it helps them in their jobs, they'll be more happy to have the robots come along."
Olds noted that part of the job for IT -- and anyone introducing robots into the enterprise -- will be to make it clear to employees what's happening. Are the robots replacing workers? Are the robots aimed at making some jobs easier?
"It's important that employees get comfortable with the new tools and management needs to foster that sort of cooperation," said Olds. "There will certainly be some people displaced by robots, which will cause them to resent them. But this won't be the majority of workers. The majority of workers will carry on as before, but will probably find their jobs become more interesting and less wearing on them with the addition of their robot helpmates."
Think infrastructure
IT managers will need to assess their infrastructure to figure out what they need to not only run robots but to have them safely and efficiently connect with other aspects of the corporate network, take orders from people in different departments, have them download information, track them throughout the property and even help robots deal with things like automatic doors and elevators.
"We are still in the early stage of utilizing robotics and A.I. in enterprise IT," said Andy Chang, a spokesman for KUKA, a German-based robot manufacturer. "It is extremely important to make sure that you have a good infrastructure foundation to scale for the next 10 years."
According to Chang, companies tend to utilize proprietary communication protocols, which can make extracting machine information difficult. "Existing networks can scale in the short term, but be ready to invest in new technologies such as 5G or Li-Fi as they become commercially available," he added. "It will be critically important."
Dubrawski added that it's also a matter of thinking about how robots will need to communicate with the physical world, as well as with other company computers.
"As an IT manager, you need to have the robot access the networking system in your [company]...and communicate with each other and be able to convey their whereabouts to whoever sends them on a delivery trip, as well as to those who are waiting for them. We want to know where they are and if they get into trouble, and how to deal with them remotely if they get stuck. You need to be able to resolve navigational challenges, or if it might be cornered by a bunch of kids."
This story, "With robots on the job, it won't be IT as usual" was originally published by Computerworld.
Go language group aims for a better newbie experience
The Developer Experience Working Group wants to make it easier for first-time Go users to install the language and get familiar with it
Advocates of Google's Go have put together a working group to take the open source language forward in areas like installation and helping new users.
The DXWG (Developer Experience Working Group) will work on streamlining the experience for first-time Go users. Initial tasks include improving the Go installation experience, providing better guidelines to help new users, and offering guides on tooling and developer experiences, including editors and IDEs.
Also planned are user studies to analyze friction points, and improvements to Go Tour and Go Playground. The group's secondary goal is to better involve the Go community in charting the language's future.
Noting that Go's audience has shifted from early adopters to mainstream users, the working group said users are coming from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and expectations. "The needs of users are growing faster than the Go project can currently address them," said the group, which formed with an initial 11 members, including prominent Go proponents Chris Broadfoot and Dmitry Shuralyov. Additional members are sought to contribute code, write documentation and share feedback and experiences.
Go arrived on the scene in late 2009, followed by a 1.0 release a bit more than five years ago. Emphasizing capabilities like concurrency and a type system that accommodates modularity, the language has been scoring well lately in assessments such as Tiobe's language popularity index and the RedMonk Programming Language Rankings. A recent survey of mostly Go users conducted by the Go project itself found developers ready to champion the language even if fewer found it critical to their company's success.
TypeScript 2.3 gets smarter about JavaScript standards
Now at a release candidate stage, the latest version of Microsoft's typed JavaScript superset supports async generators and iterators
TypeScript 2.3, the latest version of Microsoft's typed superset of JavaScript, has moved to a release candidate stage.
For standards backing, version 2.3 supports async generators and iterators. "Async iterators are an upcoming ECMAScript feature that allows iterators to produce results asynchronously," Daniel Rosenwasser, Microsoft program manager for TypeScript, said. Async generators, meanwhile, can await at any point.
TypeScript 2.3 also offers down-level iterator and generator support. Previously, generators were not supported when targeting ECMAScript versions 3 or 5. "The new --downlevelIteration flag gives users a model where emit can stay simple for most users, and those in need of general iterator and generator support can opt in," said Rosenwasser. TypeScript 2.3 thus makes it easier to use libraries like redux-saga, where support for generators is expected.
To address issues with strictness in TypeScript's type system, version 2.3 introduces a --strict flag to implicitly enable common strictness options. "If you ever need to opt out, you can explicitly turn these options off yourself," said Rosenwasser. The language has options for different levels of strictness, and it's common to begin at the strictest settings so the language can provide the best experience, but the compiler has grown a lot of different options, such as –strictNullChecks and –noImplicitThis. "Unfortunately if you can't remember these, it just makes TypeScript harder to use," Rosenwasser admitted. Future plans call for possibly including other strict checks that could be manually toggled off.
TypeScript 2.3 is due to add other capabilities as well, such as error reporting in all .js files and language service extensibility, and a full release of version 2.3 is due later this month. Accessible via NuGet or npm, TypeScript 2.3 can work with Visual Studio 2015 IDE, with Microsoft planning to extend support to the newly released Visual Studio 2017 as well. TypeScript compiles to plain JavaScript while supporting practices such as code refactoring, and it gained some notoriety recently when Google's Angular JavaScript framework was rewritten in it.
New NSA leak may expose its bank spying, Windows exploits
The Shadow Brokers latest leak may be its most damaging one to date, according to security researchers
A hacking group has released suspected U.S. government files that show the National Security Agency may have spied on banks across the Middle East.
Numerous Windows hacking tools are also among the new batch of files the Shadow Brokers dumped Friday. In recent months, the mysterious group has been releasing hacking tools allegedly taken from the NSA, and security researchers say they actually work.
Friday’s leak includes an archive describing the internal architecture at EastNets, a Dubai-based anti-money laundering company that also offers services related to SWIFT, the financial banking network.
The leaked files show the NSA was allegedly targeting EastNets in Dubai, Belgium, and Egypt.
Among the documents is a PowerPoint presentation designated as top secret. It mentions “ongoing collection” from servers owned by financial institutions in the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Kuwait, Palestine, and Bahrain.
The files appear to include logs from 2013 that show the NSA was also targeting oil and investment companies across the Middle East.
If the files are real, the exposed information represents a threat to the SWIFT network, said Matt Suiche, founder of security firm Comae Technologies, who has been looking over the leaked files.
Shadow brokers A slide from a powerpoint presentation allegedly taken from the NSA.
“This is the first time to date that so much information had been published on how a SWIFT Service Bureau actually works and its internal infrastructure,” he wrote in a blog post.
However, EastNets called reports that it had been hacked “totally false and unfounded.” The company has checked its servers and found no compromise or any vulnerabilities.
“The photos shown on Twitter, claiming compromised information, is about pages that are outdated and obsolete, generated on a low-level internal server that is retired since 2013,” the company said in a statement.
The group behind the leak, the Shadow Brokers, didn’t clearly explain why they dumped the files. But in addition to the documents, the hackers also released what appears to be an arsenal of Windows-based hacking tools -- some of which target previously unknown vulnerabilities.
“This isn't a data dump, this is a damn Microsoft apocalypse,” tweeted a security researcher who goes by the name Hacker Fantastic.
Researchers are still pouring over the leaked documents, but they’ve noticed the tools target Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows 7 and 8, among other software products such as Lotus Notes, now called IBM Notes. Any hackers can now download the tools and learn from them.
On Friday, Microsoft also said it was still studying the leak, and it “will take the necessary actions to protect our customers.”
In a short posting written in broken English, the Shadow Brokers warned on Friday they had more files to dump.
Earlier this month, the group reappeared after a hiatus and wrote a blog post criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump for ordering an airstrike in Syria and “abandoning” his voters.
“Maybe if all surviving WWIII, theshadowbrokers be seeing you next week,” the group wrote on Friday.
Security researchers say the group’s latest leak is the most damaging one to date. “It's a huge slap on the face of NSA,” said Bulgarian antivirus expert Vesselin Bontchev in an email.
50% off Foval 150PSI Car Digital Tire Pressure Air Gauge - Deal Alert
This tire pressure guage from Fovsal features a lighted nozzle and display screen for ultimate visibility in low light, and doubles as a vehicle emergency tool with LED flashlight, car window breaker, seat belt cutter, and red safety light. It averages 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon, where its typical list price of $20 has been reduced 50% to just $9.98. See it now on Amazon.
This story, "50% off Foval 150PSI Car Digital Tire Pressure Air Gauge - Deal Alert" was originally published by TechConnect.
Google preps Allo for a long-awaited desktop client, chat backups
A look at the code in the latest update reveals that Google is working on expanding its messaging app universe.
When Allo 9.0 arrived earlier this month, there wasn’t much to talk about. Aside from bug fixes and performance improvements, the update brought nary a new sticker pack to play with. But as it turns out, Google is doing some serious work behind the scenes.
9to5Google has taken a deep look at the APK and found some interesting features in the works. Most importantly, Google seems to be nearing the formal release of the Allo web client. A feature we first heard about from Google’s VP of Communications Product Nick Fox, it appears as though it will function similar to the way WhatsApp’s does, requiring a specific code scan to authenticate. 9to5Google was able to enable the feature, which prompted to scan a QR code or text code to pair with the desktop.
While the site obviously couldn’t get beyond the pairing screen, it does suggest that Google is fairly far along in the development of the Allo desktop. In his teaser tweet back in February, Fox said the Allo desktop client was “still in early development,” but this discovery might mean its release is closer than we think.
Elsewhere in Allo 9.0, 9to5Google found an intriguing reference to back up your chats to Google Drive, which look to add the ability to sync saved conversations (including any images and videos) to a new phone. The APK teardown also included references to incognito group chats and the long-rumored selfie-generated sticker packs.
Something to talk about: We’ve been trying to figure out Google’s messaging strategy for as long as we’ve been using Android phones, but at least the Allo picture is starting to become a little clearer. What isn’t clear is where the app fits. Google recently started a push to make Android Messages the default on all Android phones, so Allo is presumably still playing second fiddle in its overall strategy. But with Google I/O right around the corner, perhaps Google will shed a little more light on it.
This story, "Google preps Allo for a long-awaited desktop client, chat backups" was originally published by Greenbot.
Samsung Galaxy S8’s Bixby button can be remapped, confirmed on video
Samsung Galaxy S8’s Bixby button can be remapped, confirmed on video
Many of you must be really excited about the new Samsung Galaxy S8. But many of you are probably not really excited for Bixby. Not to worry, as a new video that surfaced through Reddit shows that the button can be re-programmed to open something else, say… Google Assistant? Okay, or maybe Pokemon GO… You know who you are.
Anyway, Dylan Bertwell from YouTube walked into a Best Buy store and played with the Galaxy S8. He found that the Bixby button can easily be reconfigured to open another application by using a third-party app. The app in question is called All in One Gestures and is currently available on the Play Store.
In the video, Dylan pressed the Bixby button and the Google Now homepage popped up instead. All while ignoring the Samsung rep’s pitch for the new phone. In any case, this answers one huge doubt that many folks may have had about the Bixby button. It should be remap-able, right? After all, the Samsung Galaxy S7 active had an extra key, and you could remap it to whatever you wanted if you didn’t prefer to use Samsung’s Activity app.
Via
Xiaomi Mi 6 has most specs revealed by GFXBench
Xiaomi Mi 6 has most specs revealed by GFXBench
As we wait for the Xiaomi Mi 6 to become official at some point this month, someone in possession of a prototype decided to put it through the paces of GFXBench for Android. Thankfully, that has resulted in a pretty complete list of specs of the device becoming public in the benchmark's database. GFXBench refers to it as "Xiaomi Sagit" but the chipset it has clearly reveals that this is indeed the Mi 6 we're talking about.
The handset thus features a 5.1-inch 1080p touchscreen, a 12 MP rear camera with 4K video recording, and an 8 MP selfie shooter that's also capable of snapping 4K videos.
The phone is unsurprisingly powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 chipset, aided by either 4 or 6GB of RAM - depending on which particular model you pick when the Mi 6 goes on sale. Similarly, internal storage is either 64GB or 128GB. The handset runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat underneath the MIUI skin.
The Mi 6 is shaping up to be only the third smartphone to be announced as sporting the Snapdragon 835 chipset. That would be quite a feat for Xiaomi, since it would mean it's managed to one-up the likes of LG and HTC, for example. Still, it remains to be seen when it will actually become available, since the Sony Xperia XZ Premium was the first S835 device to be outed, and yet the Samsung Galaxy S8 will arrive before it.
The Mi 6 is expected to start at CNY 1,999 ($289 or €272, approximately), and go up from there - all the way to CNY 2,699 ($391 or €367) for the version with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
HTC U Ultra receives its first software update
HTC U Ultra receives its first software update
The recently released HTC U Ultra is now in the process of receiving its first ever software update. This has started rolling out today according to Mo Versi, the company's VP of Product Management.
A Twitter user and U Ultra owner has confirmed getting the update with the screenshot you can see to the left. The new software version is 1.15.401.12, and it's a 638MB download.
The changelog is pretty sparse, but it does mention the fact that the HTC Sense Companion app is now pre-installed. That's the app that houses all of those "AI" features that HTC talked about at the U Ultra's unveiling, and oddly this wasn't available when the handset arrived in stores. Instead, it launched through the Play Store just a little bit later than that, for whatever reason.
Aside from that app, you'll also get some new (but unnamed) features for the phone's second screen, Versi mentioned. Of course the usual bug fixes and system enhancements are in too.
As always with such over-the-air rollouts, you shouldn't panic if you don't see the update notification today. These things take a few days (at least) to make it to every unit out there.
Dual camera ZTE Nubia Z17 mini debuts
Dual camera ZTE Nubia Z17 mini debuts
The ZTE Nubia Z17 mini is now official and it turns out most of the rumors about it were correct.
The phone, a medal-clad stunner endorsed by Cristiano Ronaldo, offers two 13MP cameras on the back - one monochrome and another color sensor . The front camera is an impressive 16MP snapper with a bright f/2.0 lens and an 80-degre wide field of view.
The display is a 5.2" 1920x1080px (424ppi) LTPS panel with a slight 2.5D curve to the glass and 1500:1 contrast.
The Nubia Z17 mini comes in two configurations - a model with a Snapdragon 652 chip and 4 gigs of RAM and one with a Snapdragon 653 and 6GB of RAM. Both have 64GB of internal space that can be expanded through a microSD card slot.
ZTE Nubia Z17 mini
That slot is part of a hybrid arrangement with either two SIMs (micro and nano) or a micro SIM and microSD card.
ZTE is charging CNY 1,699 (€231 / $247 / £198) for the 4GB of RAM model and CNY 1,999 (€272 / $290 / £233) for the 6GB version. You'll be able to get one in China starting on April 12 in Black, Gold and Red.
Source | Via
ZTE nubia Z17 mini is coming to Europe, India, and other markets in late May
ZTE nubia Z17 mini is coming to Europe, India, and other markets in late May
Yesterday ZTE sub-brand nubia took the wraps off its latest creation, the Z17 mini smartphone with dual rear cameras. The handset is set to go on sale in China on April 12, but ZTE is doing something pretty unusual with it.
Namely, the Z17 mini will be one of very few nubia-branded devices to actually be officially sold in markets other than China. The phone will become available in Europe, India, and other unspecified locations starting in late May.
Unfortunately more concrete details aren't available yet, but if you've been impressed by what the nubia Z17 mini offers in its metal-clad body and you don't live in China, this should be good news for you anyway. International pricing hasn't been announced either, but in China the Z17 mini starts at CNY 1,699. That currently is about €232 or INR 15,842, but keep in mind that Chinese prices never translate 1:1 in other currencies when mobile devices are offered outside of the mainland. It wouldn't be surprising to see the nubia Z17 mini priced from €249 or even €299 when it lands in Europe.
Samsung ordered to pay $11M to Huawei over patent infringements
Samsung ordered to pay $11M to Huawei over patent infringements
The Quanzhou Intermediary Court ordered Samsung to pay CNY80 million to Huawei after infringing patents. The sum equals $11.6 million and is a compensation for using a 4G license in over 20 devices, including the Galaxy S7.
The verdict is a result of a lawsuit filed in May by Huawei in two countries - China and the United States. The Korean company responded with filing a lawsuit for infringing IP certification patents.
Huawei sought compensation for over 30 million products sold in 2016 that generated $12.7 billion revenue for the Korean conglomerate. After the court’s decision three Samsung units have to pay for the damage, and five other firms have to stop using Huawei’s copyrighted products and patents.
Fiscal 2016 was good for Samsung’s IT & Mobile Communications division with $2 billion operating profit, so the $11 million penalty is probably not going to be that hard for the Korean company to handle.
Refurbished Galaxy Note7 surfaces, 3,200mAh battery this time
Refurbished Galaxy Note7 surfaces, 3,200mAh battery this time
A couple of weeks ago Samsung confirmed what had been rumored for a while - refurbished Galaxy Note7s will be made available, only not in the US (and not in India, either). Well, now a few live photos allegedly showing one such unit have surfaced out of Vietnam, where the company does have manufacturing facilities, so it could very well be the real thing.
Alleged refurbished Samsung Galaxy Note7
This new Note7 (which may not even be called that to avoid explosion references) has been assigned a different model number as the settings menu can attest to - N935 now, as opposed to the N930 of the original one.
Additionally, battery capacity is listed at 3,200mAh, 300mAh less than what Note7 v1.0 had. Seeing as how the extremely tight internal margins were deemed part of the reason for the Note7's recall and subsequent halt of production, a smaller capacity and thus physically more compact battery should be just fine inside the same space. Though you probably don't need us to tell you that endurance will take a hit.
Even if this is, in fact, an actual refurbished Note7, there's obviously no details on when and where the phone will be made available.
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 spotted on GFXBench, specs detailed
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 spotted on GFXBench, specs detailed
Xiaomi seems to be keeping pretty busy lately- the Mi 6 is scheduled to come out this month and a refreshed Mi Pad 3 is already official. That pretty much only leaves the Mi Mix and Mi Max in line for a refresh.
The Mi 6 has been frequenting the rumor mill, but now we finally get a more detailed look at the Mi Max 2. A GFXBench entry surfaced today, for a “Xiaomi Oxygen” device.
Its 6.4-inch FullHD panel helps clear things up rather easily, while the reported Adreno 506 GPU lets the phone's mid-range nature shine through. This is probably the Snapdragon 660, mentioned in previous rumors.
Other revealed specs include 4GB of RAM, 128GB of built-in storage and a 12MP, plus 5MP camera setup. The former is apparently capable of capturing 4K video, white on the selfie side, there is a 2592 x 1944 pixel snapper. NFC support is mentioned as well.
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