Tuesday 5 November 2019

Microsoft unveils its all-in-one mobile Office app

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It's Tuesday, November 05, 2019.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Monday started the week with some key announcements from Adobe and Microsoft that will affect how we work across all kinds of devices. Also, researchers have uncovered an unsettling method that could allow an attacker to exploit your voice-controlled smart speaker without making a sound, and we took a spin in the $150k Polestar 1 hybrid coupe.

(View in browser.)

Microsoft still hasn’t perfected the Windows on ARM experience.

Surface Pro X review

If you must have Microsoft’s software to get work done on the go, the Surface Pro X is a solid choice. But the entire Windows on Snapdragon platform is plagued by limited app compatibility and bugs. Plus, adding the Slim Pen stylus and keyboard -- you won't want to use Windows on a tablet without it -- bumps its $999 price to $1,270.

This hybrid showcases what the new automaker is capable of achieving.

Polestar 1 hybrid first drive

While a $155,000 vehicle that's only one of 1,500 ever built seems like an odd commuter, it can do the job and probably handle most of that drive in electric mode. The downside is that while its plexiglass-framed wiring looks cool, a triple-battery setup severely cuts into the available trunk space. This grand tourer is a halo car that works better as a concept, and with good reason -- only 450 are coming to the US. Even for big EV fans, it probably makes sense to wait a little longer for the $60k Polestar 2.

You can try it out on Android right now.

Microsoft's new Office app for mobile combines Word, Excel and Powerpoint

Instead of grabbing separate apps for Word, Excel and Powerpoint (aka the Office Triforce), Microsoft’s new Office app puts them all together. The Office app also makes better use of your phone's talents, with the ability to take a photo of a document and turn it into an editable Word file on the fly or even do the same with printed-out tables in Excel. It’s available for public testing on Android, while an iOS test group is already full.

This 60-hour music production bundle is just $25 right now.

The old Edge browser is now known as Edge Classic.

Microsoft's Chromium Edge browser arrives January 15th

After launching a beta test for the new Chromium Edge in September, Microsoft is now gearing up to officially launch the browser on January 15th, 2020. You can test out the near-final Release Candidate version today, which should be stable enough for anyone to use, but also lets IT administrators prepare for the new Edge.

In case you didn’t know -- Instagram and Whatsapp are ‘from Facebook.’

Facebook hopes a new logo will distract you from its problems

Time for a rebrand.

Phone cameras have gotten way better, and it's all down to smarter software.

Upscaled: How computational photography is making your photos better

To get around the small sensor, narrow lens and shallow depth of smartphone cameras, companies have had to get creative. The biggest advances all come from ways to stack or combine multiple images in the phone using specialized software. Computational photography is using algorithms and even machine learning to stitch together multiple photos to yield better results than were previously possible -- here’s how it works.

But wait, there's more...

1. Researchers show how lasers can silently issue 'voice commands' to your smart speakers

2. Teenager solves car blind spots using a webcam and projector

3. Adobe Photoshop for iPad is available right now

4. What's on TV this week: 'Death Stranding,' 'Rick & Morty' and 'Green Eggs and Ham'

5. Microsoft archived the 1978 'Superman' flick on its Project Silica glass storage medium

6. Engadget's Guide to Fitness and Health: The best workout headphones

7. YouTube star Jarvis banned from 'Fortnite' over cheating

8. Seth Meyers' Netflix special will have a button to skip Trump jokes

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Monday 4 November 2019

Editor's Pick: The Truth vs. Censorship Trap

The Truth vs. Censorship Trap

Rob Enderle Nov 4, 2019 10:29 AM PT
	There recently has been a lot of rumbling about Twitter deciding not to take political ads, and Facebook deciding -- and this was stupid -- that it would run political ads even if they were untrue. I'm becoming convinced that Zuckerberg is trying to put Facebook out of business. There are some real differences between the firms. Facebook does far more political advertising than Twitter. [More...]

More Picks:

Fresh Funds Brighten Faire Marketplace
Faire has raised $150 million in venture capital, which it will use to expand into new markets, improve the Faire marketplace, and build more tools for its customers. The latest round brings Faire's total funding to date to $266 million and gives the company a valuation of $1 billion. Faire is an online wholesale marketplace that lets retailers shop for new products to carry. [More...]

The Force May Be With Microsoft
The Pentagon has awarded its $10 billion contract for cloud computing to Microsoft. The program -- which goes by the acronym "JEDI" for "Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure" -- has been attracting vendors like a dog attracts fleas for several years. It has been marked by fierce litigation too, so the award may not be the end of it. Oracle sued over the process, claiming it was unfair. [More...]

Latest ExTix: Lots of Flexibility and a Few Flaws
ExTiX 19.10, released with the LXQt desktop on Oct. 23, is a customized Linux distro that leaves you wanting more but settling for less. ExTix is a lightweight modular Linux operating system that is part of the Exton Linux/Live Systems family of distributions hosted by The Swedish Linux Society. The ExTix distro line is perhaps the best known of Exton's Linux platforms. [More...]

Are You Suffering From Technophobia?
The fear of technology has been around for as long as technology itself, and like technology itself, it is always changing. There is evidence of "technophobia" -- the technical name for this affliction -- in every age and in every part of the world. However, it is perhaps reaching a peak in modern society. Americans are more afraid of technology than death, suggests research conducted in 2019. [More...]

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Russia's 'sovereign internet' law takes effect

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It's Monday, November 04, 2019.

Hey, good morning!

Welcome back! Today’s news neatly touches on some of the major stories of 2019, with three companies that have consistently made the headlines. It includes Facebook’s continuing efforts to keep political ads flowing with minimal policing, Tesla’s improving its Autopilot software so it doesn’t plow into cones and Huawei’s potential trade ban loosening up, with several companies expecting to pick up licenses to deal with the company. Russia’s ‘sovereign’ internet is also here. Two more months to go.

Its policy is about to get an early test.

Facebook will let politicians run false ads during UK elections

Facebook's loose policy of allowing politicians to run false ads is going to get tested in short order. The social network won't fact-check candidates' ads in the weeks ahead of the forthcoming UK elections on December 12th. It will bar candidates from linking to debunked or pro-violence material and will still scrutinize groups like Leave.EU, but voters will have to rely on skepticism beyond that regarding fresh false claims and misinformation.

Sounds rather important.

Tesla Autopilot now recognizes traffic cones

Tesla is quietly rolling out an Autopilot update that lets its electric cars detect and display cones on the road. If you're using Navigate on Autopilot, your EV will even plan lane changes to avoid cones so you don't have to take control around construction work.

That said, and a caveat that gets repeated a lot in these early days of autonomous cars, you may not want to put all your trust in the feature just yet. Some early users have warned that Autopilot doesn't always recognize the cones, potentially leading to dangerous lane changes -- say, steering you into oncoming traffic or construction. Tesla did remind drivers that they're "required to pay attention at all times," though, so it knows this isn't a substitute for keeping your eyes open.

There have already been 260 requests for special licenses.

US will grant Huawei trade ban exemptions 'very shortly'

The Commerce Department has been tackling hundreds of requests to work with Huawei: “More than we would’ve thought,” according to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. While some will pick up approval, companies should assume they won’t get one, apparently. How about Google? Huawei can't offer new phones with a version of Android using Google apps so long as the blacklisting remains in effect, and its ability to update existing phones will go away when temporary licenses expire. That’s largely why its latest phone landed without Android services.

This $300 Excel training is just $30 today.

Critics warn that it could lead to Russia's own Great Firewall.

Russia's 'sovereign internet' law takes effect

Russia's "sovereign internet" law, which President Vladimir Putin signed back in May, took effect on November 1st. As the BBC explains, it gives the country's government power to block access to content from within or outside Russia "in an emergency." Of course, it's up to the government to decide what constitutes an emergency. The official aim is to prevent cyber attacks and keep its internet running if the West suddenly decides to cut Russia off from the web.

The inspection equipment that internet providers will now be required to install can both track and reroute traffic. It’s a grand undertaking and will be difficult to implement. David Belson, senior director of Internet Research & Analysis at Internet Society, said there are "hundreds of networks coming together [in Russia] to exchange traffic" and that "it's challenging -- if not impossible -- to completely isolate the Russian Internet."