Showing posts with label Internet News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Internet News. Show all posts

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List of Most Influence Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) People

The definition of sexual orientation has changed greatly over time and the word "gay" wasn't used to describe sexual orientation until the mid 20th century. A number of different classification schemes have been used to describe sexual orientation since the mid-19th century. Much of the research about sexual orientation has failed to define the term at all, making it difficult to reconcile the results of different studies.However, most definitions include a psychological component (such as the direction of an individual's erotic desire) and/or a behavioural component (which focuses on the sex of the individual's sexual partner/s). Some prefer to simply follow an individual's self-definition or identity. See homosexuality and bisexuality for criteria that have traditionally denoted lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people.

Time and again the issue of equal rights for gays has been raised at several platforms, levels and at different enormity; however, even today societal acceptance of gay men and women is not very easy to come by. They are often perceived as different and not normal.

The times, they are a changing, suddenly at whiplash speed.

After a momentous week, same-sex couples can now marry in all 50 states, the Confederate flag's historic hold on the political institutions of the Deep South is fraying by the hour and Obamacare, after defying another attempt to dismantle it, is now reaffirmed as the law of the land.

And as a capstone to these seismic events, the first black president of the United States spent Friday afternoon singing "Amazing Grace" on live television in front of an African American congregation.

Political and social conventions on civil rights and race relations that for decades have seemed immovable are being swept away in a cascade of grass-roots change. Politicians have been left struggling to keep up.

READ CNN: Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage nationwide

Tech companies come out in support of historic Supreme Court ruling legalizing with rainbow flags and emoji's. Created with facebook.com/celebratepride



These LGA have not only gained more respect but have opened up the doors for homosexuals to come out and be outright vocal about their sexuality.

They are not only adored for their talent and contribution to the industry they select worldwide, but are also respected for their individuality.

Check out the list of world famous LGA in the World:

1.Alan Mathison Turing : a British Computer Scientist, Mathematician, and Cryptanalyst... responsible for breaking the Nazi Enigma ‪#‎Encryption‬ Code during World War II.
41-year-old Turing took his own life in 1954, two years after being outed as gay. At that time, Homosexuality was a crime in Britain, but he never kept his sexuality secret either. Turing will be one of Pride Hero happy if he still lives now.  You Must Watch The Imitation Game (2014) Movie.


2.  Apple CEO Tim Cook :Cook himself came out as gay last October, in a public letter stating he is "proud" of his sexuality. Prior to that, Apple's leader had been open about his sexual orientation for years with friends and colleagues. He admitted that coming out publicly was a difficult decision for him, as he cherishes his personal privacy. "I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me," Cook wrote last year. "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do," Cook wrote on Twitter. Those words were famously spoken in Apple's iconic "Crazy Ones" advertisement, which was scripted in collaboration with Jobs, the company's co-founder.


3.Ellen DeGeneres : American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the popular sitcom Ellen from 1994 to 1998, and has hosted her syndicated TV talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, since 2003. Well we have watched some Pinoy Internet sensation guest in her show.

 4. Anderson Hays Cooper : an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. During Yolanda Storm Surge 2013 Best! Coverage  Tacloban, Samar and Cebu, amidst the hunger and thirst, the chaos and confusion, we've seen the best in the Filipino people.


5. Enrique Martín Morales : commonly known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican, American, Spanish singer, songwriter, actor, and author. Martin began his career at age twelve with the all-boy pop group Menudo which visited the Philippines (1987). 2010 After years of sidestepping questions about his sexual orientation, singer Ricky Martin reveals in a heartfelt posting online that he is gay.


6. Sir Elton Hercules John CBE is an English singer, songwriter, composer, pianist, record producer, and occasional actor. In Dec 21, 2014 he married long-time partner David Furnish near London.

And many more to mention....

On Music, TV,  Movie, Fashion , Engineering  IT and News Industry etc..Not only adored for their talent and contribution to the entertainment industry worldwide, but are also respected for their individuality.  In the Philippines  we have also famous LGBT personality like Charice Pempengco, Aiza Seguerra and  Vice Ganda.

There are still 79 countries where homosexuality is illegal ..75+ (really more like 79 or 81) countries with anti-homosexuality laws..

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, or ILGA, lists 75 countries with criminal laws against sexual activity by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people (LGBTIs), but that’s an understatement.










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Adidas Avengers Special Collection

Marvel is on top of their A-game and they won't stop. They have become a beast in the comic book world and the film industry. Of course Marvel's merch caters more toward kids with toys and such, but adults collect action figures as well. So aside from the lunchboxes, video games, and posters, Marvel decided to do the ultimate team-up that even Thanos would be jealous of. With The Avengers having such a big impact on people of all ages, Marvel has teamed-up with Adidas to bring you a collection of some awesome looking shoes.


The shoes will be dropping very soon this Summer and they will most definitely fly off the shelf. With core members The Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America getting their own exclusive footwear. The styles of these kicks are pretty rad, each being different with color schemes that match the epic superheros. Captain America's colorway will come on an Adidas Crazy 97, the Hulk will rock a T-Mac 1, Iron Man's is a Top Ten 2000, and Thor's is a lightning-accented Adidas Real Deal. Doesn't get much cooler than that huh?


There are a lot of sneaker heads out there who enjoy Marvel as well. They go pretty hand-in-hand, or even better, foot in foot. For anyone who has a fetish for fresh kicks they should at least like one of the four of these heroic pairs of shoes. So if your favorite superhero made the cut to get their own shoe, the choice is yours. WIll it be the super strong incredible Hulk with the ever so green kicks, the patriotic red, white, and blue Captain America's, the armored high-flying genius Iron Man, or the lightning God himself, Thor? The choice is yours, choose wisely!








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Russia's Super-High Frequency Weapon Capable of Taking Down All Kinds of Drones with 10km-range

Russia’s Rostec Corporation is to unveil a super-high frequency weapon capable of taking down all kinds of drones, missiles and other high precision weapons. The presentation will be made at the Army-2015 military expo.

The Mosow Radio Engineering Institute has developed a super-high frequency (SHF) ‘cannon’. It’s designed to knock out aircraft, drones, guided missiles and any airborne high precision weapons using electronics.

The cannon creates an air-exclusion zone within a reported radius of over 10 kilometers around the defended object or installation, though the system’s exact characteristics are classified.


“This mobile microwave irradiation complex performs off-frequency rejection of electronics aboard low-altitude aerial targets and warheads of high precision weapons,” a source in Rostec Corporation told TASS, adding this system puts close range air defenses on a whole new level.

“In terms of performance capabilities, the complex has no competitors in the world,” the source said. All the equipment is mounted on a tracked Buk missile air defense transportation platform.

“When installed on a special platform, an SHF ‘cannon’ provides all-around defense,” the source said, adding the complex is also planned to be used to test domestic-made military radio-electronic systems for resistance against high-power microwave radiation.


The SHF ‘cannon’ will be unveiled in the classified area of Army-2015 expo, an international military forum that will take place at the ‘Patriot’ military amusement park outside Moscow between June 16 and 19.

In April this year, the US Navy released a video detailing its LOCUST  ( LOw-Cost Unmannded aerial vehicle Swarming Technology) technology – a new tool allowing multiple drones to coordinate and swarm the enemy. Reportedly, it’s designed to protect large US vessels. However, when armed with warheads they turn into offensive weapons.


An attack of a squadron of drones on a defended installation makes the task of taking them out really troublesome and resource-consuming for existing air defense systems.

The out-of-band 360-degree radiation suppression by an SHF ‘cannon’ looks like a universal solution for maintaining secure air defense against swarming drone attacks.




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Facebook Can Now Recognize You in Photos Without Even Seeing Your Face

Facebook’s facial recognition technology and how efficiently is tags you automatically in pictures. Facebook is constantly improving its technology to recognize you and now it doesn’t need to see your face anymore.

Facebook’s artificial intelligence team has been working these days on a new experimental facial recognition algorithm that recognizes the people even when their faces aren’t clear (most part covered, looking away etc.). Instead, it looks for other characteristics to recognize the person. For example– it could now recognize you using your hairstyle, clothes, posture, body etc. Awesome but creepy- right?


Yann LeCun, head of artificial intelligence at Facebook challenged himself and his teammates to create a new algorithm that could adapt itself according to the situations when Facebook is unable to see someone’s face clearly. So, this artificial intelligence works just like humans as we can recognize our friends even when their face is covered.


“There are a lot of cues we use. People have characteristic aspects, even if you look at them from the back,” says LeCun. “For example, you can recognise Mark Zuckerberg very easily, because he always wears a gray T-shirt.”

But the privacy implications too won’t be far once this sci-fi tech is launched as the people who don’t want to look at camera would surely raise questions regarding privacy concerns.


The Facebook AI team took about 40,000 pictures from Flickr with some pictures in which people’s face weren’t fully visible and processed them with the help of a sophisticated neural network. The final algorithm designed was able to recognize the people with covered faces with an excellent 83% accuracy which is better than other facial recognition technologies that make use of clear and uncovered faces.



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U.S. investigators believe the Chinese government is behind cyber breach at the OPM

U.S. investigators believe the Chinese government is behind the cyber intrusion, which are considered the worst ever against the U.S. government.

Washington (CNN)The personal data of an estimated 18 million current, former and prospective federal employees were affected by a cyber breach at the Office of Personnel Management - more than four times the 4.2 million the agency has publicly acknowledged. The number is expected to grow, according to U.S. officials briefed on the investigation.



FBI Director James Comey gave the 18 million estimate in a closed-door briefing to Senators in recent weeks, using the OPM's own internal data, according to U.S. officials briefed on the matter. Those affected could include people who applied for government jobs, but never actually ended up working for the government.

Can Washington keep your data secure?

The same hackers who accessed OPM's data are believed to have last year breached an OPM contractor, KeyPoint Government Solutions, U.S. officials said. When the OPM breach was discovered in April, investigators found that KeyPoint security credentials were used to breach the OPM system.

Some investigators believe that after that intrusion last year, OPM officials should have blocked all access from KeyPoint, and that doing so could have prevented more serious damage. But a person briefed on the investigation says OPM officials don't believe such a move would have made a difference. That's because the OPM breach is believed to have pre-dated the KeyPoint breach. Hackers are also believed to have built their own backdoor access to the OPM system, armed with high-level system administrator access to the system. One official called it the "keys to the kingdom." KeyPoint did not respond to CNN's request for comment.

U.S. investigators believe the Chinese government is behind the cyber intrusion, which are considered the worst ever against the U.S. government.

Why would China hack the U.S. government?

OPM has so far stuck by the 4.2 million estimate, which is the number of people so far notified that their information was compromised. An agency spokesman said the investigation is ongoing and that it hasn't verified the larger number.

The actual number of people affected is expected to grow, in part because hackers accessed a database storing government forms used for security clearances, known as SF86 questionnaires, which contain the private information of multiple family members and associates for each government official affected, these officials said.

OPM officials are facing multiple congressional hearings this week on the hack and their response to it. There's growing frustration among lawmakers and government employees that the Obama administration's response has minimized the severity of breach.

OPM's internal auditors told a House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee last week that key databases housing sensitive national security data, including applications for background checks, had not met federal security standards.

"Not only was a large volume (11 out of 47 systems) of OPM's IT systems operating without a valid Authorization, but several of these systems are among the most critical and sensitive applications owned by the agency," Michael Esser, OPM's assistant inspector general for audits, wrote in testimony prepared for committee.

Katherine Archuleta, who leads OPM, is beginning to face heat for her agency's failure to protect key national security data -- highly prized by foreign intelligence agencies -- as well as for how slowly the agency has provided information.

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., at a hearing last week told Archuleta: "I wish that you were as strenuous and hardworking at keeping information out of the hands of hacker as are at keeping information out of the hands of Congress."

Source : CNN



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First FAA-Approved Drove Deliveries Coming July 17 not from Amazon

Drone deliveries in the U.S. will soon be an official, government-sanctioned activity. On July 17, the Federal Aviation Administration will allow a collaboration between NASA, Flirtey and Virginia Tech to fly unmanned aircraft to deliver pharmaceuticals to a free medical clinic in West Virginia. The fixed wing aircraft from NASA Langley and multi-rotor delivery drones from Flirtey will become the world's first autonomous aerial delivery services.

The event organizers hope to prove that drone usage need not be nefarious or purely for enthusiasts. In fact, the goal of these drones is to bring life-saving meds to an under-served community.




“This is a Kitty Hawk moment not just for Flirtey, but for the entire industry,” said Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeny in a statement. “Proving that unmanned aircraft can deliver life-saving medicines is an important step toward a future where unmanned aircraft make routine autonomous deliveries of your every day purchases.”

MORE: The Best Drones for Every Budget

The hexacopter that Flirtey uses, which is made by the University of Nevada, Reno, is made of carbon fiber and aluminum. It also sports some 3D printed components. It can range more than 10 miles from home base, and can lower cargo via tethered line. Built-in safety features, such as a low battery alert, will automatically return the craft to a safe location. In case of a low GPS signal or full communication loss, there's also an auto-return home feature.

The drones will deliver up to 24 packages of prescription medication, weighing 10 pounds. The event is part of the Wise County Fairgrounds' Remote Area Medical USA and Health Wagon clinic. Other than free medications, which will be flown to the Lonesome Pine Airport before being drone lifted to the fairgrounds, attendants will receive free eye, dental and other healthcare services.


Flirtey, which bills itself as the world's first commercial drone delivery service, conducted its first tests in Sydney, Australia in 2013. It started by delivering more than 100 textbooks. It went on to offered humanitarian relief in New Zealand, during a search and rescue mission. In May, 2015, the company conducted what it calls the first drone delivery over a populated area, sending auto parts via hexacopter.

The event blurs the lines between commercial and public use of drones. For drones to be used for commercial use, a company must apply for an FAA exemption. The usage must be deemed as low risk and being performed in controlled environments. Drones can only be used without an exemption for set periods of time in set locations by public entities (government, law enforcement, universities).


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Telstra Scores a Hat-trick at the 2015 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific ICT Awards

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - June 19, 2015 - Telstra emerged tops with 3 awards at the 2015 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific ICT Awards held at The Westin Singapore.

The company bagged the Asia Pacific Telco Cloud Service Provider of the Year, Asia Pacific Fixed Broadband Service Provider of The Year and Asia Pacific Managed Service Provider of the Year awards.

Mayank Kapoor, Research Manager, ICT - Data Centre & Cloud Computing, Asia Pacific at Frost & Sullivan said that Telstra's focus on developing a multi-cloud platform and orchestration capability was central to its success in the region as most enterprises today are in the process of implementing a Hybrid IT environment. 





"Telstra's ability to support Hybrid IT was further enhanced through a series of partnerships with market leaders such as Cisco, VMware and IBM that supplement its existing services portfolio. The company's continuing focus on delivering mature and flexible cloud and network services at scale across the Asia-Pacific region position it as a "Champion" in the Asia-Pacific telco cloud services market," he added.

Avinash Sachdeva, Senior Industry Analyst, ICT -- Telecoms, Asia Pacific at Frost & Sullivan said that Telstra is Australia's leading fixed-broadband service provider with more than 46% subscriber market share.

He noted that in 2014, Telstra enhanced the overall value it offered to its customers and increased its fixed-broadband market share, service revenues, and customer NPS scores.

"To cater the increasing customer expectations related to speed, coverage, and need for more household family connections, it upgraded its network infrastructure to improve line speeds and introduced market leading Wi-Fi technology in home. It also upgraded and simplified its broadband packages to include competitively priced Foxtel IPTV services, generous data quotas, and lower call tariffs," said Avinash.  

He added that in November 2014, Telstra offered free public trial to over 1,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, as part of its strategy to build Australia's largest Wi-Fi network with more than 2 million sites nationally, over the next 5 years. "Once ready, Telstra's broadband customers will gain exclusive access to this new network that will enable them to take their home broadband allowance away from their homes," Avinash said.

Sandeep Bazaz, Industry Analyst, ICT, Asia Pacific at Frost & Sullivan noted that Telstra has demonstrated exemplary performance in the managed services market by putting together a compelling end-to-end value proposition. He added that Telstra focused on three key areas in 2014, which included establishing a strong unified communications and collaboration portfolio; enhancing its infrastructure hosting capabilities across more regions and making significant investments in the intelligent network.

"To enhance its network capability offering, Telstra acquired Bridgepoint, O2 and Pacnet in 2014. The Pacnet acquisition was especially noteworthy. While it provided Telstra with access to a large undersea cable capacity and a network of data centers in the region, it also allows them access to an industry leading SDN-enabled network -- Pacnet Enabled Network," he added.

Stuart Bird, Telstra's Director Fixed Broadband and Bundled Products and Services said Telstra was pleased to be recognised for its work in the cloud, fixed broadband, and managed service segments in Asia Pacific.

"The win is an acknowledgement that we're listening and acting on what our customers tell us is important to them. In particular, for our fixed broadband customers, this has meant offering better connectivity in and out of the home or office, creating simpler offers, providing the best choice of entertainment, and being on hand 24x7 with professional support options to help people get the most out of their technology," he added.




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reddit will soon only be available over HTTPS

Ricky Ramirez, a Reddit systems administrator who goes by the username "rram" on the site, wrote in an official blog post this week that Reddit will join Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and other major sites to be encrypted with HTTPS.

The website will start encrypting its traffic over HTTPS, which is a more protected connection than standard HTTP.




Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) connects your browser with webpages and files hosted on servers. HTTPS does the same thing but adds an extra layer of security, usually through the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

SSL works in three steps: First, it validates the identity of a website; then, it creates an encrypted connection; finally, it makes sure that the data was sent without an issue.

For websites where personal information is central to the experience, encrypted connections are an absolute must.

Reddit is trying to grow its user base and make itself more attractive to advertisers, so using HTTPS is a step in that general direction. The site will be completely switched over to HTTPS on June 29.





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Asia’s mobile and broadband internet speeds, in one infographic

How fast is your internet? How much does it frustrate you? Although you likely have a few options for your broadband and mobile data plans, the answers to those questions are largely dictated by which country you’re in.
Data for the latest broadband and cellular speeds across Asia-Pacific reveal that Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan come out ahead in the home broadband race, but the picture is very different for those out of the house on their smartphones. It’s actually New Zealand, China, and Taiwan that surge ahead in mobile data speeds. The web speed data comes from Ookla’s Net Index, and then we’ve turned all those facts and stats into the infographic you see below.
 While Asia beats the global average on broadband speeds, there’s still a huge difference between the haves and the have-nots. Singapore is blazing ahead on an average speed of 118.8 Mbps on broadband, but the Philippines is limping along at 3.6 Mbps. Even worse is that while Singapore’s fixed-line speeds have nearly doubled in the past year, the speed in the Philippines inched up a meager six percent in the past 12 months.
 It’s a similar story of woe when it comes to Asia’s cellular speeds. While mobile data in New Zealand and China zooms along at an average of 27.7 and 27.6 Mbps respectively as 4G has caught on in a big way in both nations in the past year, people in Vietnam are staring at blank white pages on their smartphones as data trickles out at just 1.9 Mbps.
Here’s the full infographic:

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Mozilla Firefox FoxYeah Campaign

Following our recent news which saw Firefox place 'read-it-later' support directly into the browser, Mozilla has now launched a marketing campaign titled with the slogan 'FoxYeah' in a bid to win over more users.

The spiel at the top of the page reads "know someone who needs to download Firefox? #FoxYeah you do! Go ahead, send them a personal invite below," and seems like a bid to turn its users into some form of fan-boys, advocating for a brand they support.

With panels on the foxyeah.Mozilla website telling users to do things like invite followers, 'invite your peeps' and more, he page continues on for quite some time telling you which people you should invite from random walks of life.




We're not exactly sure if there is anything else to this campaign at all.

BUT.....

Firefox helps you take control of your personal information online
Most of us grew with internet so we are used to things. Having our date share without our knowledge,
We talked to some people who got online later in life.


Firefox gives you a choice in what you share about yourself online.

Why I choose Firefox ‪#‎WhenItsPersonal‬: Maybe I don’t want to share what I’m reading. Or eating. Or buying.

When You're browsing privately

Firefox won't remember any history for this window.



That includes browsing history, search history, download history, web form history, cookies, and temporary internet files. However, files you download and bookmarks you make will be kept.

While this computer won't have a record of your browsing history, your employer or internet service provider can still track the pages you visit.

No Need to CCleaner or Clear Browsing History :)



Visit: https://foxyeah.mozilla.org/?post=255 for more info.



How do you used the Internet?








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GSM Wireless Will Die in 2017

Carriers around the world are converging on 2017 as the year to turn off their GSM networks, with three operators in Singapore announcing Monday their plans to reuse their GSM spectrum for other services.

The end of GSM or the Wireless Dial Up version will free up more bandwidth for faster 3G and 4G network technologies—but will also force users of older connected devices that depend on GSM networks to upgrade or replace them.



On Monday Singaporean operators M1, Singtel and StarHub became the latest operators to set a timetable for turning off their GSM networks. They will do so on April 1, 2017, following in the footsteps of Telstra in Australia, which plans to do so by the end of 2016, and AT&T in the U.S, which will flip the switch on Jan. 1, 2017.

For many mobile phone users, the switch-off could pass almost unnoticed. Today, the majority of mobile customers have phones that also connect to 3G and 4G networks; only a small percentage of subscribers still use GSM-only phones, according to the Singaporean operators. When Telstra made its announcement last year, it said GSM accounted for less than 1 percent of the total traffic.

You may also like to read:

Evolution of Wireless Internet  and Review




The reasons for turning off GSM networks are technical and financial. Turning them off means the spectrum can be reused by more efficient 3G and 4G networks, which can use the same bandwidth to carry more data or serve more customers—and hence generate more revenue. Having one less network to manage should also result in lower costs for operators.

Upgrading the network will be worth it, though, according to AT&T. The higher speeds offered by 3G and 4G networks will enable enterprises to deliver better M2M applications. For example, video cameras for real-time streaming and driver dash cameras for fleet trucks will be possible.

Not all operators are as aggressive in their plans to turn off GSM. In general, European operators are being a bit more cautious. For French network operator Orange, there will no big switch off, according to Yves Bellego, director of Technical and Network Strategy at the French operator. Norwegian operator Telenor plans to turn off its 3G network in 2020, and its GSM network in 2025, it recently announced.

The reticence to make the move isn’t just down to wanting to support existing M2M devices. The European operators still have lucrative roaming businesses and could run into some regulatory issues if they decide to turn off GSM networks in the next couple of years, according to Hatton.

For me  Philippines is not ready to remove the old GSM  2G band ,LTE is  still young and limited area have LTE signal. According  to Asia’s mobile and broadband internet speeds ,The Philippines is stock on the slow lane with increase of 0.2mbps from 3.4Mbps to 3.6Mbps.


{source}


You may also like to read :



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Finally Microsoft bringing Cortana to Android and iOS

Much anticipated as SIRI rival, voice assistant command Cortana from Redmond giant Microsoft is finally going to launch for Android and iOS user. The voice assistant command is already available for Microsoft user. This marks the first time any of the key virtual assistant programmes have adapted onto other another OS.

Many dedicated application are launching in the App Store and Google Play Store giving you the same abilities as Windows Phone including flight tracking and reminders.
A few features don’t make the jump to the platform as the app can’t tap into the OS as easily, so you’ll lose hands-free activation and options to launch apps directly.
Finally Microsoft bringing Cortana to Android and iOS

http://www.gadget-technolog.blogspot.com/2015/06/microsoft-cortana-digital-assistant.html

Hey Cortana: The Cortana Notebook facility, which remembers all your history and preferences, allows to sync up across all your devices though so if you use both a Android or a Windows Phone and it’ll remember everything.



It’ll be coming to Android at some point toward the end of June whilst those with iPhones are only being told it’s launching later this year.

The company has also shared a Phone Companion Windows 10 app to help sync your Android, iOS and Windows Phone to your computer.



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Toshiba's Windows 10 laptops will feature a dedicated Cortana button

The Cortana key will be on all of Toshiba's Windows 10 PCs—“across the board, top to bottom,” according to Jeff Barney, the general manager and vice president in charge of Toshiba America’s PC business. Toshiba's Windows 10 laptops will feature a dedicated Cortana button, for launching Microsoft's digital assistant from your keyboard.

The key will sit in the upper left area, near the function keys, he said. Triggering it will launch Cortana, Microsoft’s digital assistant.


But on both the phone and the PC, Cortana’s ability to “actively listen” has been problematic, with difficulty picking up and reacting to the use of the “Hey Cortana” phrase that triggers it. In practice,
it's been far more successful when manually triggered.

2014 active listening was added to Cortana, enabling it to be triggered with the phrase: “Hey Cortana,” even across the room and without the need to touch the phone. After the trigger phrase is spoken, Cortana can be controlled normally for tasks like setting a reminder, asking a question, or launching an app. 

 If a user wants to use the Cortana feature on Windows 10, he or she has either had to tap the Cortana icon on the screen or move the mouse to trigger the service. Placing a dedicated Cortana button on the keyboard is a smart idea, especially if the service proves to be a hit.  Frankly, I’d be willing to bet that Microsoft also releases a mouse that does the same thing. (Logitech, a rival peripherals maker, declined to comment.)

The idea behind the dedicated Cortana button, Barney said, is to make sure that “Cortana is listening when you want it to.” The company has added high-fidelity array mics to its PCs to improve Cortana’s ability to understand what you say.


One small click for Toshiba, one giant leap for the keyboard

A dedicated Cortana key would be one of the more significant changes to the keyboard since the Windows key was added at about the time Windows 95 was introduced, in 1995. Although Microsoft added touch support for Windows 8, most external monitors still don’t support it, leaving the mouse and keyboard still as the most popular ways of interacting with your PC.

Voice commands could help change that. Even with a keyboard dock, a dedicated hardware Cortana button would be within easy reach of a PC user’s hands. 

(IDG News Service reporter Blair Hanley Frank also notes that the Windows key + C combination also launches Cortana.)

I tried it personally and it launch Cortana  :)


As Bob O’Donnell of TECHnalysis Research points out, Toshiba is a niche PC vendor—fifth in the United States, with a 6.5 percent share, according to IDC—that could use an idea like this to distinguish itself from the competition. And the company may do just that: So far, no other PC vendor, including Hewlett-Packard and Dell, have publicly indicated that they, too, plan to use a hardware-based Cortana button.




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Ask Toolbar will be marked as “Unwanted Software” (or Malware) by Microsoft’s Security Tools

Microsoft security products will detect programs with browser search protection functionality from June 1, 2015.

Non-compliant programs that exhibit such functionality will be detected by our software signatures that look for browser search protection code. Any program using code that can potentially perform search protection may be detected, regardless of whether the code is active.

To avoid detection, developers should remove any search protection code from their programs, regardless of whether it is functional or not.

We’ll be working with search protection developers and vendors who have completely disabled search protection functionality from their programs in alignment with our evaluation criteria.

Developers and vendors can email mpcreply@microsoft.com to start this process. They should provide links to side-by-side downloadable samples of:

    Any programs with fixed behavior that does not exhibit search protection functionality, but has inactive, dormant search protection code.
    Any older programs that are non-compliant with our evaluation criteria.

MMPC  help reduce the risk of having programs with search protection functionality turned off, but still containing non-compliant code, being detected as developers work on completely removing the non-compliant code.

Ask Toolbar  will be marked as “Unwanted Software” (or Malware) by Microsoft’s security tools Microsoft previously warned it would take action against software that tries to prevent users from changing their browser’s default search engine.

Ask Toolbar has its own special annoyances. When installed it switches your browser’s default search provider to Ask.com, and when you try to switch away it attempts to prevent you from doing so with a pop-up warning. If you’re not careful the toolbar can also reappear the next time you update Java.



Ask’s Toolbar has managed to live on as software bundled with Oracle’s Java for Windows. In March, Oracle also extended the Ask Toolbar download to Macs.

Bundleware is bad enough since even veteran PC users can be tricked into installing unwanted software—especially when you’re multitasking.

Example is Avira bundle with Ask Toolbar.


Microsoft warned that as of June 1 any program containing search protection functionality—code that tries to stop you from changing your browser or default search settings—would be treated as malware.

It appears Microsoft made good on its promise. Microsoft’s Malware Center now lists the Win32/Ask Toolbar as posing a “High threat to your PC.” The Ask Toolbar entry was first published in February, but was updated on Tuesday.

Microsoft’s security products including Windows Defender on Windows 8 and up, and Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows 7 and Vista can now detect and remove the toolbar.


{source} : http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2015/05/26/detection-changes-search-protection-code.aspx



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New Apple Apps now allows Android migration to iPhone

Apple has showcased the first Android-related iOS app, After announcing that Apple Music will be available on Android devices . This one will arrive together with the upcoming iOS 9 that will easily allow Android Migration. With the Move to iOS application, one can now switch from Android to iOS easily.

The Move to iOS app allows you to switch from your Android phone to your new iOS device. Contacts, camera photos, videos, message history, mail accounts, calendars, songs, books, and web bookmarks can be transferred securely. Apps won't be transferred but it will help you rebuild your own library by suggesting free apps to download. Paid apps from your Android devices won't be added but they are automatically added to the iTunes Wish List for your reference.



Moving photos, music, documents, and other files from an Android device to a new iPhone will be easy with the Android Migration feature of the iOS 9. Since iOS supports email providers like Yahoo, Google, and Exchange, you can also open them on iOS. This means the same profile, calendars, and contacts from your Android can also be accessed on the iPhone.

Using iTunes, photos and videos on an Android phone can be transferred to the iPhone. It's the same with your music from Android, you can also transfer them via iTunes or a supported streaming music app. For e-book in ePUB and PDF formats, you can transfer them to the iPhone and access from the iBooks library.

Since Numbers, Pages, and Keynote support different file types, you can also open files previously saved on your Android device. Editing is also allowed. To keep files synced and updated, feel free to use iCloud.

{source} Apple


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