Archive for June, 2017

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PSA: Beware Of A Piece Of Malware Called Fireball

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 7, 2017 by itnerd

A new malware has recently been detected by the security firm Check Point. This malware is called Fireball and has infected over 250 million computers worldwide.

The malware, called Fireball, acts as a browser-hijacker but and can be turned into a full-functioning malware downloader. Fireball is capable of executing any code on the victim machines, resulting in a wide range of actions from stealing credentials to dropping additional malware. this malware has two main powers. It can run any malicious code on the victim’s computer. It can also hijack and manipulate infected users’ traffic to generate fraudulent ad revenue.

This operation is run by Rafotech, a large digital marketing agency based in Beijing. Rafotech uses Fireball to manipulate the victims’ browsers and turn their default search engines and home-pages into fake search engines. This redirects the queries to either yahoo.com or Google.com. The fake search engines include tracking pixels used to collect the users’ private information. Fireball has the ability to  spy on victims, perform efficient malware dropping, and execute any malicious code in the infected machines, this creates a massive security flaw in targeted machines and networks

How Do You Protect Yourself? 

Fireball is spread mostly via bundling i.e. installed on victim machines alongside a wanted program, often without the user’s consent. In that context, it is important to make sure to only install software from a legitimate and trusted source. It is also important to only run legal software and not install any pirated software.

How to know if you’re infected by Fireball?

To check if you’re infected by the Fireball malware, Check Point has laid out some simple points. If the answers to the questions asked below are no, you might be infected with adware.

You simply need to open your web browser. Take a look at the home page and default search engine–was it set by you? Can you make changes to them? Do you recognize the extension installed in your web browser?

To remove most of the adware, you simply need to remove the application from your computer. On Windows, you can do from Programs and Features list in the Windows Control Panel. On Mac, locate the Applications in Finder and drag anything that you think is suspicious to the trash.

You are also advised to scan and clean your computer using a good anti-virus app and adware cleaner software. You can also look for Extensions/Add-ons list in your web browser and delete anything that you think is suspicious.

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Review: Asus Transformer Mini T102H

Posted in Products with tags on June 7, 2017 by itnerd

The Asus Transformer Mini is a entry level, 10.1″ Windows 10 tablet that has a bunch of things going for it. For example, it comes out of the box with a cover that doubles as a very nice keyboard (which is detachable). Typing on it was very good as the keys had a substantial amount of travel to them. Thus typing was easy for a touch typist like me. It also comes with a pressure sensitive stylus that you can draw lines with varied thicknesses in apps that support that functionality. There’s two buttons on the stylus as well that can be programmed. Both of these are extras or not available on many other tablets.

The tablet itself has a 10.1″ display that does 1280×800 resolution in a 16:10 aspect ratio. It was a very bright display where the colors simply looked amazing. The speakers are pretty good too when I played videos from YouTube with stereo separation. They were, loud, clear, and distortion free. The back of the tablet has a flip out stand that swings out of the back panel. It can stop at a wide range of angles, from straight up to an almost horizontal. It also has a fingerprint reader for security reasons which works with Windows Hello. Connectivity is pretty strong as it comes with a microSD card reader on the top of the tablet, and on the left there are a headset jack, a micro HDMI port, a micro USB port for the charger, and a full-size USB 3.0 port for connecting memory sticks, hard drives, etc. It also comes with 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1 for wireless connectivity. The whole package weights less than 2 pounds.

Under the hood, you get 4GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage on top of having Windows 10 on board with an Intel quad core processor. Integrated Intel HD Graphics are on board as well along with a 2 megapixel web cam. I was able to open lots of tabs in Microsoft Edge as well as not have it slow down when I tossed a copy of Microsoft Word on it to see what it can do. As long as you’re not playing Overwatch or something on it, you’ll have no complaints on the horsepower front. Speaking of power, I got ten hours of battery life which is in line with its competition.

The best part is the price. Expect to pay $549 Canadian which given what comes in the box is a pretty good price. If you’re in the market for a versatile tablet, take a good hard look at the Asus Transformer Mini. It’s got more than enough to warrant your immediate attention.

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OMEN by HP Announced To Give Gamers The Edge

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 6, 2017 by itnerd

HP Inc. unleveled the playing field with the launch of an entirely new, cutting-edge and comprehensive portfolio of OMEN by HP gaming products. Re-designed and re-engineered from the ground up, the new lineup gives esports athletes and competitive gamers the edge and confidence needed to perform at the highest global level. Every inch inside and out of the new OMEN PCs, displays and accessories are packed with features designed to target the needs of gamers around the world, instantly changing the game like never before.

 

OMEN X by HP Compact Desktop – Versatility, Flexibility, Mobility and Powerful Performance

The OMEN X by HP Compact Desktop is built with a clear focus on pushing the limits of hardware in a small package. The new product in the OMEN X portfolio, first unveiled last year as a concept, was refined as a result of feedback from game and VR developers. The key insights from the OMEN X VR Backpack PC last May allowed the company to bring an incredibly thoughtful design with accessories to push the limits of how gamers can interact with hardware. HP built the OMEN X Compact Desktop with the highest performing parts available, introducing an easily transportable and adaptable system, perfect for players of esports and VR enthusiasts.

  • Factory-overclocked NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 provides the horsepower needed for gaming at 4K resolutions3, or a flawless VR experience. The adaptable form factor enables an easy transition from the desk to the living room. The 4K gaming capabilities are critical to keep pace with the transition of televisions to 4K resolutions.
  • Advanced thermal and electrical engineering provides additional headroom for at-home CPU overclocking, optimized for higher wattage and voltage requirements.
  • Available with Intel 7th gen unlocked Intel Core i7 CPU options.
  • OMEN Command Center reduces latency by giving gamers greater control over network traffic, and can support simultaneous data streams, so gaming traffic is routed over the Ethernet connection while background updates or downloads run on the Wi-Fi connection.
  • DTS Headphone:X support for simulated surround sound when using headphones, enhancing games and adding to a full 360-degree VR experience.

The OMEN X Compact Desktop also brings gamers a level of immersion that extends past supporting the latest hardware. The newest desktop to boldly carry the OMEN X moniker is tailored to provide the ultimate gaming and VR experience. The optional VR backpack accessory for the OMEN X Compact Desktop provides free movement and in turn a truly immersive, untethered experience.

  • Full docking capabilities allow gamers to simply drop the OMEN X into the included docking station and instantly connect to a range of their favorite gaming accessories without worrying about a mess of multiple cables.
  • Hot-swappable batteries enable extended VR sessions without shutting down the PC, so gamers don’t have to wait to keep playing. HP includes four batteries and a charging dock with the backpack accessory so users can charge two batteries while using the other two simultaneously. Additionally, the convenient placement of the batteries on the backpack harness means never having to remove the backpack to swap the batteries.
  • The strategic placement of fan exhaust and an angled mounting plate positions the top of the PC and vents away from users to help reduce heat transfer to the body.
  • The backpack accessory includes shortened cables to keep gamers immersed and not worrying about tripping over long cables while locking cables and hooks hold the VR headset securely in place.

 

OMEN by HP Accelerator – Professional-by-Day, Gamer-by-Night

The OMEN by HP Accelerator brings gaming to anyone with a desire to plug-in and game on a PC. The OMEN Accelerator can transform a Thunderbolt 3 enabled PC struggling to deliver fluid gameplay into a gaming powerhouse with fast and fluid framerates at high-resolutions. The OMEN Accelerator delivers flexibility and the ability to be a professional-by-day, and a gamer-by-night.

  • Available preconfigured with NVIDIA or AMD Graphics card.
  • Configurable with a 2.5” 1TB HDD or 256GB SSD, or offered as an empty enclosure with a 500W power supply.
  • Thunderbolt-certified to ensure compatibility across a range of HP PCs.
  • Single cable docking with 60W charge back to the PC, so you can connect power for your notebook and a range of gaming accessories without worrying about plugging multiple cables.
  • Easy-access door so you can change out graphics cards, hard drives, or SSD with minimal effort.
  • Generous port selection including 4 USB 3.0 type A ports and 1 USB 3.1 type-C and RJ-45 for networking.

 

New OMEN by HP Desktop – The Battle Armor Needed to Perform in the Gaming Arena

The newest OMEN by HP Desktop is designed for the true performance gamer with features to enhance functionality and usability. OMEN X products are overbuilt and over-engineered hardware meant to deliver bold innovation in the gaming space, and the OMEN Desktop leverages key features from the OMEN X desktop to provide gamers the ultimate experience. As a result, the new tower from OMEN brings the ability to accommodate new hardware combinations, including easy upgrades because of HP’s use of primarily industry standard parts, and leverages improved cooling to allow gamers to push the system’s limits.

  • High-performance graphics up to dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (SLI) or dual AMD Radeon RX 580 (Crossfire), for the graphics horsepower to run the most demanding games at maxed out settings and resolutions higher than 1080p.
  • 7th gen Intel Core i5/i7 CPUs with unlocked options for overclocking, or overclockable AMD Ryzen CPUs for raw computing power to handle massive multiplayer games or serious multi-tasking.
  • Thermal engineering with all-around edge vents and optional liquid cooling, for more efficient heat dissipation and additional thermal headroom for overclocking.
  • Optional PCIe SSD or SSD+HDD storage options for quick responsiveness, fast bootup, game loading, and application installation.
  • OMEN Command Center with Overclocking to improve CPU performance on the fly, and Newtork Booster to move gaming network traffic to the front of the line and reduce latency in online games.

 

OMEN by HP Laptops – Fighter Jet and Spacecraft-Inspired Designs with Cutting-Edge Technology

The OMEN by HP 15 and OMEN by HP 17 laptops were completely reinvented and redesigned in 2017 to offer a design built for gamers, with more expansion capabilities, additional ports and more VR compatibility. The result, a performance packed PC with exceptional gaming capabilities in a compact package, helps ensure gamers can play the latest titles on-the-go and in any environment. The OMEN 15 is available with a wide range of options designed to deliver performance, optimize the gaming experience, enhance gameplay and limit outside distractions. The OMEN 17 supports some of the fastest technologies available today to help ensure gamers can push high frame-rates on the latest AAA games with a broad range of options targeted at delivering unprecedented performance across all aspects of gaming.

  • High-performance GPUs on the OMEN 15 up to AMD Radeon RX 550 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with Max Q design for the graphics horsepower to run games at 1080p and beyond. The OMEN 17 can be configured with up to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 or AMD Radeon RX 580 for the graphics horsepower to push games at 1440p and higher.
  • 7th-gen Intel Core-i Quad Core CPUs for raw computing power to handle massive multiplayer games, serious multi-tasking or the latest esports titles that require heavy lifting by the CPU to hit 100+ FPS
  • High-performance cooling on the OMEN laptops brings a multi-fan/multi-heat pipe/multi-exhaust thermal solution to keep things running cool and reduce the risk of throttling during heavy gaming sessions.
  • Play with DTS Headphone:X for 360 degree, immersive surround sound with any headset, or simply power up and use the integrated HP Dual Speakers with Audio by Bang & Olufsen. HP Audio Boost technology with a discrete amp brings improved volume.
  • Dragon-red backlit keyboard optimized for gaming with red accented WASD keys and white backlight for easy identification, 26-key rollover anti-ghosting function and separated, full-size arrow keys to help reduce accidental key presses
  • 4K display option for high-resolution content playback, or a 120Hz 1080p display option for fast refresh-rates with NVIDIA G-Sync options or a 60Hz 1080p display option with AMD FreeSync on systems configured with a Radeon GPU
  • Easy upgradeability and accessibility with a single access panel to HDD, SSD, and RAM
  • VR-ready configurations available for exceptional gaming in virtual reality

 

OMEN by HP Accessories – Details Matter, Compliment your Senses

As HP redesigned the OMEN portfolio from top-to-bottom, the company focused on OMEN accessories to complement and enhance the user experience with the overall lineup of products. The enhancement of the OMEN accessories brings several feature improvements over previous generation products. The results deliver an entirely new gamer-centric lineup that demonstrates full portfolio commitment to the gaming community.

Together, the OMEN keyboard, mouse and headset push the OMEN ecosystem to deliver an unrivaled gaming experience.

  • OMEN by HP is delivering greater accuracy with the OMEN Keyboard 1100’s mechanical keyboard switches and N-key Rollover for anti-ghosting
  • Optimized control in the OMEN Mouse 600 with customizable weight features and added durability with mechanical switches with up to a 50 million clicks.
  • Increased comfort and sound clarity with the OMEN Headset 800 with thicker ear cups and boosted the overall acoustic performance for clear high, low, and mid-tones, and a specifically tuned audio profile for clear speech

 

OMEN by HP Displays – Every Movement Matters, Every Framerate Counts

The display quality for gamers affects the overall gaming experience and to round out the OMEN ecosystem, HP is introducing two new display options for performance gamers, the OMEN by HP 25 and OMEN by HP 27 displays. HP built each display to meet the needs of a specific type of gamer, sharing many of the same design elements, but tailoring the features for each display. The OMEN 25 is optimized for 1080p resolution gaming with competitive framerates and enhanced refresh rates with AMD FreeSync when paired with an AMD Radeon GPU. The OMEN 27 brings speed and the right features like NVIDIA G-Sync to enable fluidity, and deliver a display built for both performance gamers and esports athletes.

OMEN by HP 25:

  • Overclockable to enable a response time as low as 1ms to reduce lag and ghosting.
  • 144Hz refresh rate is over twice as fast as a standard 60Hz panel for smoother gameplay.
  • AMD FreeSync technology synchronizes the GPU to the display for an ultra-smooth, lag-free experience that eliminates stuttering and tearing.
  • An integrated cable management clip on the stand allows gamers to keep everything managed cleanly behind the display and the headset hook means the headset isn’t in the way, but is close for when the next session begins.
  • 2 USB 3.0 ports allow connection to various USB devices acting as a USB hub – keyboards, mice, and even special controllers such as steering wheels and joysticks.
  • DisplayPort is the recommended connection for maximizing refresh rate with FreeSync technology, but gamers can also utilize the HDMI port to attach a console, giving gamers the ability to leverage one display for multiple gaming platforms.

 

OMEN by HP 27:

  • QHD resolution with 70% more pixels than a FullHD panel, so gamers can crank up their resolution for more detailed visuals and immersive gameplay.
  • Overclockable TN panel to enable a response time as low as 1ms to reduce lag and ghosting.
  • 165Hz refresh rate, nearly three times as fast as a traditional 60Hz panel.
  • NVIDIA G-Sync technology which dynamically matches the refresh rate of the display to the frame rate output of the GPU, eliminating tearing, minimizing stutter and input lag.
  • As with the OMEN 25, the OMEN 27 is equipped with an integrated cable management clip on the stand and a headset hook to keep the battle station clean and ready for the next opportunity to dominate the competition.
  • 2 USB 3.0 ports ensure gamers can connect any peripheral needed while competing.

 

 

OMEN by HP Pricing and Availability

  • The OMEN X Compact Desktop is available in July 2017 at HP.com, starting at $2,499 and the OMEN by HP backpack accessory starts at $599.99.
  • The OMEN Desktop is available on June 6 at HP.com, starting at $899.99
  • The OMEN 15 laptop is available on June 28 at HP.com, starting at $999.99 and at Best Buy, see BestBuy.com for pricing.
  • The OMEN 17 Laptop is available in on June 28 at HP.com, starting at $1,099.99 and at Best Buy, see BestBuy.com for pricing.
  • The OMEN 25 Display is available on June 26 and the OMEN 27 Display is available on June 8 at HP.com starting at $279.99 and $799.99, respectively
  • The OMEN Accelerator is available in August 2017 at HP.com starting at $299.99
  • The OMEN by HP Accessories are planned to be available on June 6 at HP.com starting at $79.99 for the OMEN Headset, $129.99 for the OMEN Keyboard, $59.99 for the OMEN Mouse and $29.99 and $39.99 for the different OMEN Mouse Pads

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ZUS Smart Tire Safety Monitor Now On Indiegogo

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 6, 2017 by itnerd

Zus who are best known for making a fast charger and car location tracker, and bombproof USB cables are back for more. This time it’s in the form of the ZUS Smart Tire Safety Monitor which launched today on Indiegogo which allows you to add tire pressure monitoring to a car that lacks it.

This is a kit with four tire sensors that replace your valve caps (the company says they are theft resistant) with a receiver that plugs into your 12V outlet, which in turn is paired with an app. The combo constantly reads the pressure of each tire and can detect slow leaks because of the way it monitors your tire pressure. It also has a USB charging port so that you can charge your smartphone at the same time.

It’s already blown by its funding goal having been online for a few hours. But there’s still time to get in on some first day perks if you act quickly. I’ve ordered one and while it is is scheduled to ship in “August 2017” I’m hoping it shows up sooner so I can do a full review this summer while going on various road trips with my wife.

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Apple Did Not Mention One Cool Product Release At WWDC 2017 Yesterday

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 6, 2017 by itnerd

You’re likely wondering what managed to miss in the huge pile of announcements that they announced yesterday at the World Wide Developer Conference keynote that took place yesterday. Well, I don’t think they missed it as such. I think they beloved that it wasn’t significant.

I beg to differ.

The product in question was a new Magic Keyboard with an integrated number pad. Up until now, you had to go the third party route to get a proper keyboard that was wireless and with a number pad. Apple finally seems to have gotten with the program and is now offering one of its own. For many people, this will be a big deal.

Thanks Apple.

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Review: Asus ROG SWIFT PG27A 27″ 4K Monitor

Posted in Products with tags on June 6, 2017 by itnerd

I’ve been spending the last two days playing Team Fortress 2 on a brand new Asus ROG SWIFT PG27A 27″ 4K monitor and I’m loving the experience. Why? It comes down to a bunch of factors. 

First, the monitor is a 4K monitor, meaning it four times the resolution of HD. If you crank up the resolution to maximum, the images be it graphics, photos, or text, are bright, vivid, detailed and simply stunning on this IPS display. And you can tweak everything to your hearts content which will appeal to the control freaks that are reading this review. What helps with this is support for the Nvidia G-Sync standard for syncing your video card to this monitor for extra-smooth performance during your gaming sessions. Nothing I threw at it produced anything negative. Zip, zero, nada. It was impressive. Though for me to get this stunning display to work in this manner, I needed to use the DisplayPort connector instead of the HDMI cable that came in the box. My MacBook Pro should have been able to output 4K video via the built in HDMI port, but for some reason this monitor didn’t like doing anything about HD resolution via HDMI. But that’s not a deal breaker by any means as I am assuming that it’s the Mac more than the monitor.

Another thing that helps with the positive experience is the design of the monitor. In terms of ports, you get HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2 connections. You also get three USB 3.0 ports for peripherals, as well as an audio jack for your headphones. Plus a pair of great sounding speakers that produce audio that was better than those found in most monitors that had built in speakers that I’ve tested lately. The bottom line is that you have every port you need at hand. What makes those ports easy to access is that this monitor will pivot 180 degrees to give you access to those ports and you can rotate the display to do a landscape display (though it’s not automatic on the MacBook Pro that I tested). That way you can get some work done between online gaming sessions. Other nice design touches are the triangular opening in the middle of the stand that makes it easy to organize your cables. As well as the fact that you can raise and swivel it to a huge degree, which means that you can adjust it to fit your workspace and your needs. There’s a a directional nub and a series of snappy physical buttons on the right hand side of the monitor. They’re used for doing things like changing display presets and activating special features such as the Asus GamePlus special features which will be handy for hard core gamers. Everything in the on screen menus are logically laid out and easy to figure out.

The only downside of two that I found was the glowing red LED lights and futuristic-looking patterns on the base of this monitor (which for the record you can turn off). It’s polarizing. Gamer types will love it. I was indifferent. My wife despised it. This will be a your mileage will vary sort of thing. The second thing that this monitor goes for about $1200 Canadian. Not exactly a low price. But is one of the best high-end gaming monitor around. And that’s why I’m not bothered by the price as gaming types who want the best display available to help them to pwn their competition will flock Asus ROG SWIFT PG27A without batting an eyelash. I almost hate giving it back to Asus because it is that good.

 

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Planner 5D Brings Floor Planning & Interior Design into STEM Education

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 5, 2017 by itnerd

Seeing the future in technology and adaptive skill learning, the governments around the world are investing in STEM education, and schools are increasingly looking for ways give more attention to these subjects of the future. While STEM is the focus of many schools, the way that academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics are being taught in many places is still ‘old-fashioned,’ and not engaging enough for Generation Z students.

However, many factors indicate that 2017 will be the year when major changes start happening in the classrooms: more and more schools will be integrating digital tools to help the learning process.

For example, Minecraft, beloved by children worldwide, has rolled out its Education Edition last year, which is already taking classrooms by storm, and is being used by teachers to enhance students’ STEM skills, collaboration and creativity.

The new app that is currently entering the classrooms is Planner 5D, an immersive floor planning and interior design tool with 18 million users worldwide. Planner 5D helps create floor plans, customize furniture and interact with other users. As a classroom tool, it will merge both art and science disciplines, expose students to a variety of industries, and help them develop interests in specific areas.

Planner 5D will lead students into integrating mathematics into different steps of creation, and will teach the basics of architecture and engineering. Students will be able to apply measurements into floor planning, learn accuracy, the basics of interior design and even see their projects come alive in virtual reality.

According to recent studies, 65% of Generation Z students say apps help them learn better, pointing to an ever-growing desire for interactive learning. “Students learn real life skills with interactive apps, and they enjoy the process, so going to school and studying STEM can become a fun experience they look forward to,” says Alexey Sheremetyev.

Planner 5D is perfect for implementing homework tasks or group projects to learn collaboration, and allows to design your dream home using math, aesthetics and creativity. The tool works on any browser without plug-ins or installations, and is created for all major platforms, including iOS, Google and Android.

The features of Planner 5D – interactivity, virtual reality, simulation video game technology, and adaptive learning – are already listed among top ed tech trends for 2017, which is a major shift from the linear teacher-student form of learning.

To learn more, please visit Planner 5D’s website. Or take a look at this video:

 

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Canada Post & PayPal Partner To Help Canadian SMBs

Posted in Commentary with tags , on June 5, 2017 by itnerd

PayPal Canada and Canada Post today announced a new integrated payment and shipping solution for solopreneurs, small businesses and casual sellers. This integration aims to make e-commerce more easily accessible for entrepreneurs and small businesses including 83 per cent of Canadian small and mid-sizes businesses that currently do not sell online.

Before the launch of this solution, sellers would receive orders, often write the labels manually and then visit a Canada Post retail outlet to ship the parcels. With this new integrated payment and shipping solution, online sellers can track their orders, print shipping labels and pay for shipping seamlessly using their PayPal account. This new functionality automatically sends tracking information and delivery confirmation alerts to both the seller and the customer once a shipping label is created. For small businesses, the days of tracking orders in their PayPal account and subsequently visiting a physical Canada Post location to fulfill customer orders are over. With this new solution, users can schedule a parcel pick-up from Canada Post thereby saving time to drop off parcels to customers locally or internationally.

Sellers can easily link their PayPal and Canada Post Solutions for Small Business account and be eligible to receive significant savings on domestic and international shipments. Until July 31, 2017, eligible businesses can save an additional 15 per cent on Expedited Parcel when shipping within Canada.

More information about the service can be found at:www.paypal.ca/canadapost. If however, you’d like to see a video of the solution, here you go:

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So, What Did Apple Announce At WWDC 2017?

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 5, 2017 by itnerd

Today was the keynote for the annual Apple World Wide Developer Conference (aka WWDC), and it was expected that iOS 11, macOS 10.13, tvOS 11 and watchOS 4 would be announced as that fits the pattern of previous WWDC keynotes. But rumors of new MacBook Pros, new iPads, and maybe even a Siri based Amazon Echo competitor have been floating around for weeks. So, what did Apple Actually announce? Here’s a list of the key announcements that will matter to you…. I suggest you have a coffee handy as I go through them:

  • On the tvOS front, not a whole lot was announced. Amazon Prime Video is coming to the TV app and all Apple TVs later this year. But no new version of tvOS was announced. Having said that, more news on this front was promised “later this year” which I would guess would be September or October from previous experience.
  • watchOS 4 was announced today. There’s a new Siri watch face as well as a complication on the top-left corner. The watch face dynamically updates with reminders, traffic, sunset times, HomeKit controls, and more, all using Siri proactive intelligence. There are new watch faces that include characters from the Disney movie Toy Story. Apple is also introducing new monthly Activity challenges for those of you (like me) who like the Apple Watch to drive their fitness activities. Plus they’ve enhanced the Workout app for Apple Watch as well. For those of you who like music, Apple is redesigning the Music app on Apple Watch to include album art and playlist images along with support for multiple playlists. For example, you can pick a playlist that automatically starts with your Workout. When you’re in a Workout, you can swipe to the left and control the music directly in the app. Oh, there’s going to be a flashlight in the control center just like iOS and screen auto-rotate. Finally, there’s a new vertical dock to make accessing your favorite apps easier.
  • The next major version of macOS is called macOS High Sierra. This is going to be one of those names where the jokes will write themselves. In any case, the keky enhancements include Safari now having autoplay blocking which detects sites that autoplay video and blocks playback. Safari also has Intelligent Tracking Prevention. It uses machine learning to identify trackers, segregate the cross-site scripting data. Now this isn’t about ad blocking. It’s about privacy. The Photos app has new organizational and editing tools including a new imports view in chronological order that can be filtered. Apple File System (APFS) which was promised in macOS Sierra is finally coming to High Sierra. I will believe it when it actually ships. macOS High Sierra is building in hardware and software acceleration for H.265 encoding for video. HEVC hardware acceleration for newer Macs. macOS High Sierra is available as a developer beta today. Public beta will be available in late June. A Free upgrade in the Fall. You can check this Wikipedia page to see all the things that High Sierra could possibly mean.
  • New iMac models were announced today which surprised me. They include the latest Intel Kaby Lake processors. Other features include Up to 32GB RAM on 21.5-inch iMac. Up to 64GB on RAM on 27-inch iMac. Fusion Drives are standard on all 27-inch iMac configurations and high-end 21.5-inch iMac. Up to 50% faster SSDs with up to 2TB storage. Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 (integrated) and discrete graphics in 21.5-inch iMac include AMD Radeon Pro 555 & 560 GPUs with up to 4GB VRAM. Finally, there’s a much brighter screen and two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the back. Pricing in USD goes something like this: 21.5-inch iMac starts at $1,099. 4K 21.5-inch iMac starts at $1,299. 5K 27-inch iMac starts at $1,799. The machine will be VR friendly.
  • Another thing that I never saw coming is that the iMac Pro was announced which may be a replacement for the Mac Pro which is in desperate need of a redo. You can configure it with up to 18-cores of Xeon processing glory, Radeon Vega graphics. Up 128GB ECC RAM and up to 16GB of VRAM. Up to 400 Gbps of memory bandwidth. Up to 11 Teraflops of single-precision computation. Up to 22 Teraflops of half-precision computation. iMac Pro starts at $4,999 USD and will be available in December.
  • The MacBook and MacBook Pro got some Intel Kaby Lake love as well, along with Up to 50% faster SSDs and faster standard graphics on new 15-inch MacBook Pro. Pricing in USD goes something like this: 12-inch MacBook starts at $1,299. 13-inch MacBook Pro with function keys starts at $1,299 or $1,799 with Touch Bar. 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar starts at $2,399. These will start shipping TODAY.
  • Almost as an afterthought, the MacBook Air is apparently going to get a “bump” in speed as well. The new MacBook Air is also shipping today.
  • iOS 11 was announced.  iMessage is getting a redesigned app drawer that makes it easier to use apps and stickers. Plus iMessage is also getting optimized device storage and smaller and faster backups on iOS and macOS with messages stored and synced in the cloud across devices. Apple is introducing Apple Pay person to person payments in iOS 11, integrated into Messages as a Messages app. Plus Siri will be smarter and sound more natural thanks to deep learning and on device learning that will be encrypted. Siri will translate (in beta form) English to Chinese, French, German, Italian, and Spanish, with more language combinations to follow. There’s also going to be an improved Photos app and a revamp of Control Center. The iOS 11 developer preview is available today. Public beta will be available in late June.
  • Speaking of making Siri smarter, Apple is releasing a new set of APIs to make it easier for developers to incorporate machine learning into their apps. Deep neural networks, support vector machines, and other models. On-device processing with data privacy across iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
  • From the “Finally!” category, Apple Maps is getting lane guidance and speed limit display which Apple Maps really needed to bring it to close to to feature parity with Google Maps. Apple Maps is also getting detailed floor plans for major airports, and floor plans for shopping malls in in Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, and several other major cities.
  • Apple is introducing an optional “Do Not Disturb While Driving” feature in iOS 11 to prevent distracted driving. Yes, that’s the actual name of the feature. Minus 10 points for lack of creativity.
  • HomeKit is getting a bit of a boost in the form of AirPlay 2 which supports multi-room audio. Plus there’s a “Shared Up Next” feature for AirPlay 2 where multiple users can create a playlist for a party.
  • Apple Music will be getting MusicKit which will allow developers to get access to Apple Music. There will also be social integration to see what your friends are listening to, complete with profiles and shared playlists.
  • The App Store app on iOS 11 is getting a complete redesign starting with a new Today tab to discover apps and read stories about the developers who created them, and a dedicated Games tab and Apps tab for apps that aren’t games.
  • Augmented reality creation is coming to developers with ARKit. Which means we’ll see AR in apps soon”ish”.
  • There’s an all new iPad Pro that was announced today with a 10.5 inch screen with a thinner bezel while still weighing under 1 pound. The screen is a True Tone display, with a wide color gamut, ultra-low reflective properties, with up to 600 nits brightness, 120Hz refresh rates, and HDR video. It’s getting a  A10X Fusion chip which is a six-core CPU with three high-performance cores and three high-efficiency cores. Plus a GPU that is 40% faster than before. It comes with USB 3, 12-megapixel rear-facing iSight camera and 7-megapixel front-facing FaceTime camera. The same updates are coming to the 12.9 inch iPad Pro. Both 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro will start with 64GB of base storage. 10.5-inch iPad Pro will start at $649. 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at $799. 256GB and 512GB storage capacities available for both models. All prices USD. You can order them today and they’ll ship next week.
  • iPad Pros are getting iOS features that are unique to them. Specifically the dock, drag and drop, a redesigned app switcher, and an enhanced QuickType keyboard. Apple has also introduced a new iPad app called Files which allows you to brows the file system on the iPad and supports third-party cloud storage providers such as Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive.
  • Tim Cook in the keynote actually used the words “one last thing to talk to you about” which is a version of Steve Jobs catchphrase “there’s one more thing.” Cute. But in any case, the one last thing was “a breakthrough home speaker.” After seriously dissing Sonos and Amazon Echo speakers, Apple then announced the HomePod which rolls up with an A8 chip, seven tweeters, precision acoustic horns with directional control and an Apple designed woofer. The speaker has the ability look at its surroundings and use beamforming to direct sound and give you the best music experience. HomePod is designed to work with Apple Music and supports Siri commands for playing music via a six microphone array. Besides music, it will do the usual sorts of things that Hey Siri can do. Expect to drop $349 in December for one. But only in the US, UK and Australia to start (What? No Canada at launch? WTF Apple?).

That’s it. And it was a lot. Is there one thing that catches your eye? If so, please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

UPDATE: The video of the keynote has been posted here.

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Was The British Airways Epic Outage Caused By Contractor Who Accidentally Switched off The Power?

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 2, 2017 by itnerd

Last weekend, a computer outage caused epic chaos for British Airways which was forced to cancel flights from both London Heathrow and Gatwick airports. That in turn caused stranded passengers no end of frustration until everything got sorted. Now, if you were one of those passengers, you want to know what caused this. Here’s the possible answer:

A BA source told The Times the power supply unit that sparked the IT failure was working perfectly but was accidentally shut down by a worker. An investigation into the power outage is likely to focus on human error rather than any equipment failure, it said.

I have a bit of a problem with the above based on my experience in data centers that big companies the size of British Airways typically use. Actually two problems.

Typically with the sorts of data centers that these companies have, you have two sources of power. One is what comes from your local power company, and a second is a diesel generator which takes over if the feed from the power company fails. From there it goes to one or more massive and centralized uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). From there the UPS distributes power to power distribution units (PDU’s) that are in the racks that the servers reside on. The servers plug into the PDU’s in the racks, and those PDU’s have usually on/off switches that are harder to use than your average on/off switch. Now, it is possible to bump into a power switch on a PDU and take down a couple of servers by accident. But I find it implausible to do something of this scale by accident. The only way I can possibly see a scenario like this happening is if somehow the UPS was shut down. But from my experience, that isn’t exactly easy to do. In fact, it takes effort that goes beyond what would constitute an accident.

That brings me to point number two. If a company has systems that under no circumstances can fail for any reason, the company uses a clustered configuration. Meaning the system is made up of more than one computer that if the company is paranoid, may be spread out in different locations. The idea is that if one member of the cluster fails, the others will pick up the slack. This even kind of implies that British Airways doesn’t employ a cluster or any other fault tolerant configuration. Given what they do, that seems really weird as this sort of configuration is kind of commonplace in organizations this size.

My feeling is that this source is serving something up that doesn’t quite pass the smell test. Though, I will admit that there have been cases where something like this has happened and this sort of explanation, no matter how implausible it might be ends up being the truth. And if that’s the case, British Airways has some serious explaining to do.

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