Staff Writer - itbusinessdirect

YouTube to discontinue video annotations

March 17, 2017 Staff Writer

Annotations Editor was launched in 2008, before the world went mobile. Now YouTube is replacing its annotations engine with what it calls End Screen and Cards, which are existing, mobile-first tools that provide many of the same functions as annotations like linking to other videos and polling viewers. YouTube says it made this change primarily because annotations didn’t work on mobile and most viewers found them obnoxious and unhelpful. The change takes effect on May 2nd, and existing annotations will continue to show up when using the desktop browser version…

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Amazon brings Alexa to the iPhone

March 17, 2017March 17, 2017 Staff Writer

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…

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Security of IoT Devices to Be Rated for First Time

March 16, 2017September 16, 2019 Staff Writer

IoT standards groups are emerging to address issues of inter operability, communication protocols and security. Consumer Reports will begin considering the cybersecurity and privacy safeguards of products when rating them – a long overdue move perhaps, given Internet of Things device manufacturers have previously been accused of doing the barest minimum to protect consumers. The firm will steadily implement the methodologies across its reviews, starting with test projects evaluating a small number of products. The move follows a surge in cyberattacks which have exploited vulnerabilities in Internet of Things devices such as webcams, routers, digital video…

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

March 16, 2017 Staff Writer

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…

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Microsoft steps up media campaign urging girls to pursue STEM careers

March 9, 2017 Staff Writer

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…

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Microsoft adds Mixed Reality demo to Windows 10

March 6, 2017 Staff Writer

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…

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Google unveils ‘Meet,’ a Hangouts app for businesses

March 2, 2017 Staff Writer

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…

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Samsung introduces its new Galaxy Book family of tablets running Windows 10

February 27, 2017 Staff Writer

Samsung has introduced a couple of new devices running Windows 10. The company introduced its new Galaxy Book which comes with two different devices: the Galaxy Book 10 and the Galaxy Book 12. Samsung’s new Galaxy-Book family can be taken as a successor to last year’s Galaxy TabPro S line, as the new devices pack similar features and design. The Galaxy-Book 10 comes with a 10.6-inch display with a resolution of 1920×1280 pixels, while the bigger Galaxy Book 12 packs a 12-inch Super AMOLED HDR display. According to the PC World,…

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