As a computer scientist, I deal with security vulnerabilities on a daily basis since the perfect operating system has just not been found yet - but this time I almost spilled my tea when I read the news. This issue was different and it affected the core of all computer calculations: the processor itself. And it wasn't just any processor that was vulnerable but practically all of them whether they were built into PCs, cellphones or servers all over the world. This time, the remedy wasn't a simple browser patch. Every operating system had become unsafe taking the wind right out of the sails of Apple users who like to point their fingers at the supposedly inferior security of Windows systems. They were all in danger. Even those who owned none of the CPUs listed couldn't just sit back and relax because the servers that host and process all of our data could also be affected. Read on to learn what happened and how manufacturers are dealing with the dire situation.
I recently saw the news that Nikon is shutting down a huge production plant in China as of now. The reason was unusually clear: the market for digital cameras had shrunken too much thanks to the victory march of smartphones and the plant had gotten into a little pickle as a result. If you look at Canon, who had a truly miserable year in 2016, and then check out the cameras even highly affordable smartphones come with nowadays, you might wonder whether the end of the glorious age of digital cameras has finally come. Will specialists and enthusiasts be the only ones to still use digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) in 2018?
In the life of a tech aficionado, there are many old favorites, i.e. programs you stay faithful to even in the presence of better alternatives. For years, my favorite browser has been Firefox. Not owned by a large corporation, reasonably fast and with support for countless good extensions, Firefox was my go-to-browser until, eventually, sand got in the gears. The visuals hadn't been updated for years, display errors kept coming up and the speed was hardly on par with the available alternatives. I made the switch and, with a heavy heart, put Firefox on the scrap heap along with my old love, Netscape. Did I grieve too soon? Version 57 promises nothing less than a revolution. Is this the return to its old strength?
Last week, a piece of news shook the IT world. The US government had banned federal agencies from using security software from Russian company Kaspersky as the Department of Homeland Security was worried about potential connections between Kaspersky and the Russian secret service. In an unprecedented move, all Kaspersky software now has to be removed from all government PCs within 150 days. Looking closer, a couple a questions arise the most important of which is: is there anything left that is safe to install?
I recently came upon an offer I could hardly ignore. Amazon's Fire HD 8 was being sold in its basic version for just $50 on "Prime Day". Reason enough to give it a go - it's not like there was anything else to do during my vacation. My reasoning was that, at that price point, I wouldn't be getting a high-end device but it was likewise unlikely that Amazon would market a dud under their own name . Oh the excitement!
