TECH - itbusinessdirect

Amazon brings Alexa to the iPhone

March 17, 2017March 17, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

An incoming update for the Amazon app for iOS will add the company’s Alexa voice assistant that was previously limited to the users of its Echo speaker and other Alexa-enabled hardware. Alexa can stream books from the Kindle library or music from Amazon Music Unlimited, Prime Music, or purchased music. Amazon Prime members can stream playlists, stations, and over two million songs for free and many more. Inside of the Amazon App for iOS, there will be a microphone icon near the top of the screen that you can press…

Samsung Galaxy S8 to Adopt Facial Recognition

March 16, 2017April 21, 2017

When Samsung rolled out the Galaxy Note 7 last year, it introduced a new iris scanning technology designed to bolster device security. However the Galaxy’s note 7 life was short lived. The new Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus will reportedly both include iris scanning functionality. Samsung is planning to add facial recognition technology to its S8 lineup to either complement the iris scanner or replace it altogether. The Galaxy S8 to be unveiled later this month will blend fingerprint, iris and facial detection to verify users accessing mobile services…

Microsoft is putting OneDrive ads in Windows 10’s File Explorer

March 16, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

Microsoft made a lot of changes in Windows 10 that helped it put the mistakes of Windows 8 in the rear view mirror. Not all of Microsoft’s ideas are good, though. The company has shown a tendency to get a little too casual with how it promotes its services within Windows. Users have reported seeing ads to sign up for OneDrive, — Microsoft’s cloud storage service — at the top of the Quick Access screen that comes up when you open a new File Explorer window. Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage…

WikiLeaks announces tech firm cooperation

March 10, 2017April 21, 2017

The anti-secrecy platform WikiLeaks has said it would work with tech firms to fix security flaws before publishing them. Customers’ trust in firms like Google and Apple has already been eroded by the Snowden leaks. Google, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and other major tech companies have been faced with new dilemmas by the latest WikiLeaks release. The “Vault 7” dump of CIA files has exposed a number of security breaches in their software, which US intelligence has exploited and kept secret so that it can continue to hack into smartphones, computers,…

Microsoft steps up media campaign urging girls to pursue STEM careers

March 9, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

For the next phase of its “Make What’s Next” campaign, which encourages girls to enter tech and science fields, Microsoft is launching a spot that shows girls the steps they have to take to make their STEM goals a reality. The campaign was introduced last year and highlighted today with a video of young girls talking about they would do change the world. The girls who appear to be tweens and teens are resolute and confidant about the challenges they want to tackle: climate change, making sure there’s enough water…

Microsoft adds Mixed Reality demo to Windows 10

March 6, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

Microsoft previously let us know that a range of its OEM partners with familiar names from the PC world would be building headsets that offer mixed reality experiences on Windows 10 hardware. The tech giant launched its Windows 10 Insider Build 15048, which allows users to access the Windows Mixed Reality Portal. Developer Mode must be enabled in order to access the portal. Once opened, the program will compare your hardware with the required system specifications for Windows Mixed Reality. Users can choose to set up a development kit headset or…

5 best Tech websites to follow in 2017

March 6, 2017April 21, 2017

Technology is evolving fast. Every day, we hear about some new technology that will change the world and the way we learn in it. It’s as well hard to remember a world without blogs. Tech websites have been discussing technology news in detail online for years, and these blogs and websites are where much of the online conversation is centered. Because of the ease of editing and updating blogs quickly as news happens, many of these blogs and websites are able to break news that traditional media organizations haven’t covered…

Google unveils ‘Meet,’ a Hangouts app for businesses

March 2, 2017 Dianne Jacobs

Google recently killed its Hangouts API and said that consumer apps that use it won’t work after April 25th. However, the tech giant has quietly unveiled Meet by Google Hangouts app for businesses, a big part of its strategy to shuffle the Hangouts app towards businesses and away from consumers. The search giant said last year that it wouldn’t abandon Hangouts, but it’s not clear if it’ll allow consumers to keep using it or push them over to Duo. The new app supports HD video meetings with up to 30…

Silicon Valley investors offer $10M to boost diversity in tech

March 2, 2017April 21, 2017

At a time when Silicon Valley is on the receiving end of criticism for lack of diversity in tech, one coalition of investors is putting its money where its mouth is. Learn Capital, Obvious Ventures, Acumen and Kapor Capital are investing $10 million in an engineer training program that aims to bring more diversity to the tech industry. The $10 million investment comes amid a larger debate in the tech industry about some of the top tech companie.Learners Guild has removed many of the traditional barriers to acquiring the skills…