Showing 51-60 of 135 results
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Zuckerberg gets all warm and messianic
Life, James Hein, Published on 19/07/2017
» I rarely post on my Facebook page, and never about what I am eating. Its primary use, for me, is to reconnect with old friends or communicate with current friends overseas. Mark Zuckerberg has other aims, claiming that Facebook is the "new church" and that his social network can fulfil the role that religion once did in giving people a sense of community and belonging to "something bigger than ourselves". With 2 billion users, 100 million of whom Zuckerberg considers "meaningful", that is a lot of influence he wields. A vice-president of Facebook recently visited Pakistan to assure its leadership that Facebook would be removing anything criticising Islam, but nothing criticising Buddhism, Christianity, Hindus, etc. This should give some indication of where Facebook's "community" may be heading.
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Google Android refreshes itself
Life, James Hein, Published on 07/06/2017
» Android 8 -- or O -- will be coming out soon, with the beta already available for lucky Nexus and Pixel users. Google is introducing "Fluid Experiences" that include picture in picture, Notification Dots, autofill and smart-text selection. The first will allow you to have an app open but with also, say, a small window running a YouTube video, just like TVs can do. Notification dots show that you have an app notification. A long press will bring up the item, which is useful. You have all seen autofill on forms and for passwords; this is finally appearing in Android. As has been the case for the last few versions, Google is also focusing on maximising security, optimising boot times and app performance, and intelligently limiting background activity for apps to save battery life. These are all welcome enhancements.
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No new Vistas for us to view?
Life, James Hein, Published on 29/03/2017
» After Microsoft Bob and Windows ME, Vista would have to be the least-loved Windows operating system. It arrived in 2007 on Jan 30, and on April 11 will no longer be a supported OS. That means no more security updates, no hotfixes and no support options, paid or otherwise. Readers will not be surprised to learn that Microsoft is recommending that any remaining Vista users upgrade to Windows 10. You may be thinking that if you are a really large organisation and are willing to pay, Microsoft will provide support just like they still do for some XP customers. But the word on the street is they won't for Vista.
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The road ahead
Life, James Hein, Published on 04/01/2017
» So it's time for 2017 predictions. For a start, I see this being a better year overall as far as technological improvements go. I base this on the possible freeing-up of resources under a Trump-led US, but that of course all remains to be seen.
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2016 in the rear-view mirror
Life, James Hein, Published on 28/12/2016
» Another year has passed, and it is time to take a look back.
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Even Facebook can't crack AI
Life, James Hein, Published on 30/11/2016
» So where are we as far as artificial intelligence is concerned? For some time now Facebook, with all of its resources, has tried to build a machine intelligence that can reason based on text input. Different groups have been trying for decades to build some form of machine intelligence but it is still a long way from what TV shows like Westworld and Humans portray. Even so, there are groups such as the University of Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute and the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence in Cambridge that are also looking into the long-term risks of developing AI, just in case.
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Buyer beware when it comes to e-payments
Life, James Hein, Published on 02/11/2016
» A while back a reader asked about the security of e-payment systems and how it will affect the cash market. There are a number of these systems available around the world and like most things if they aren't here in Thailand now they will be in the future.
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Android finally matures with sweet new Nougat update
Life, James Hein, Published on 12/10/2016
» Unless you are a Google Nexus owner you may not be aware that Android Version 7 aka Nougat is out. This is an even more stable version than the last one and it finally feels like Android is getting to the place where it has matured as an operating system. Performance is better, multitasking is smoother and the look and feel is familiar. It is essentially the same interface as Marshmallow but there are a few changes like the new Settings menu, though many of the upgrades have occurred behind the scenes.
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Microsoft price policy will raise a few eyebrows
Life, James Hein, Published on 05/10/2016
» With the Microsoft Server 2016 evaluation version now out, the company is bucking the typical IT trend by planning to make the new version a lot more expensive. Windows Server 12 users thinking about upgrading may be in for a number of pricing surprises. So if you're planning to upgrade, start communicating with Microsoft now to get the best deal for your organisation, at least for the next three years.
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Samsung's US$16 billion battery hit
Life, James Hein, Published on 21/09/2016
» The news has not been good for Samsung with the Note 7 still causing problems as they recall every unit. This situation is unusual for Samsung as they are normally better at the component supply chain. Apple, of course, is taking advantage after their own antenna gate and I suspect secretly gloating that it has happened to their biggest competitor. As I write this, Samsung has taken a US$16 billion dollar hit at the stock market and has had to drop $25 billion from their market cap value. Samsung has also announced they are selling their printer business to Hewlett Packard.
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