In the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, two men are nearly beaten to death by an angry mob, in Brazil, made-up news are used to massively influence voters and German kids are living in fear of a monster - all because of WhatsApp. What sounds like a mediocre science fiction novel has now become a reality. The popular messenger is no longer just a messenger but a news platform that spreads fear, prejudice and hatred to millions, leaving its owners wondering how put the genie back in the bottle.
Using an OS for many years can feel like marriage: there are good and bad times and you adapt to get along. Your partner may no longer be the love of your life but you've become intimately familiar and know each other's quirks. However, once updates are forced down your throat, errors get ignored and customer service is next to nonexistent, the relationship quickly cools off and you start taking precautions. In other words: Get your act together, Microsoft!
Many stereotypes fall apart on closer inspection. One is that young folks who grew up with technology must have mastered it while, in contrast, elders are believed more likely to break something when having to install, say, a graphics driver. But is that really true? I beg to differ! A recent study from Microsoft found users under 40 easily fall prey to fraudulent calls and emails, no surprise there, but how can you grow up with technology and still be an amateur at it?
When I recently helped a friend with his PC, I found he had Office 365, Netflix and the current Photoshop on his machine - and he talked about his leased car. As I looked around, I saw no DVD player and no books even though he's a total media junkie. When asked about it, he remarked owning stuff was so yesterday and that he'd rely on streaming, renting or subscriptions for his entertainment needs. This would also make moving homes a lot less stressful. Is this the end of ownership?
Recently, the IT landscape was shuck at its core when Bloomberg Businessweek reported that mainboards from market leader Supermicro came with tiny spy chips no bigger than the size of a grain of rice. If this turned out to be true, most data centers would be at risk of data theft or computer sabotage. The main potential victims were said to be US cloud service providers with their gigantic databases. And while fierce debate rages on, there's also a political side. So who's deceiving whom?
