Windows 10 Enables Switching Between Desktop and Tablet Modes

jones_supa writes: In Windows 8, you were trapped in either the Modern UI or using the desktop, and going back and forth between the two worlds was cumbersome. Windows 10 takes a hybrid approach, allowing the user to choose between a classic desktop and a full-screen mobile experience. The feature, which has been developed under the name “Continuum, ” is now simply called “Tablet mode”. In the build 9926 of Windows 10 Technical Preview, switching between the modes can finally be tried out. The leaked build 10036 shows that eventually you will also have the option to automate the process for dockable devices. Since Windows 10 is being positioned as the one OS for all of Microsoft’s devices, being able to control the desktop and tablet experiences like this is critical to appeasing the consumer. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Windows 10 Enables Switching Between Desktop and Tablet Modes

Yahoo hopes that you’ll forget your password

Twitter isn’t the only internet giant that wants to spare you from remembering passwords . Yahoo has just trotted out an optional login process that sends passwords on demand. Sign up and Yahoo will deliver a single-use password to your phone whenever you need to log in — you can prevent someone from easily hijacking your account no matter what device you’re on as long as your handset is nearby. This extra-secure option is only available in the US right now, but there’s a good possibility that you’ll see it in other countries before long. Oh, and the end-to-end email encryption that Yahoo promised? It’s still on track. The company gave its first demo of the locked down messaging system at SXSW, and it’s delivering early source code for curious tinkerers. The technology still doesn’t have a definite release date, but your sensitive Yahoo conversations should be safer from prying eyes by the end of the year. Filed under: Internet Comments Source: Yahoo (Tumblr 1) , (2)

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Yahoo hopes that you’ll forget your password

Windows 10 will deliver updates through your fellow PC users

Not fond of having to wait (and wait, and wait) while you download Windows updates from Microsoft’s servers? You might not have to when Windows 10 arrives. The Verge has noticed that a leaked version of the operating system lets you grab updates from other computers, whether they’re on your local network or online — yes, it’s a peer-to-peer network for patches. Besides accelerating the upgrade process, the option could save precious bandwidth (important on capped data plans) if you have a multi-PC household. There’s no telling when this feature will show up in a Windows 10 build you can try, assuming Microsoft doesn’t get cold feet. A new public test release is reportedly coming soon, though, so you probably won’t have to wait very long. Filed under: Internet , Software , Microsoft Comments Source: The Verge

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Windows 10 will deliver updates through your fellow PC users

Cops are freaked out that Congress may impose license plate reader limits

Despite the fact that no federal license plate legislation has been proposed, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has sent a pre-emptive letter to top Congressional lawmakers, warning them against any future restrictions of automated license plate readers. The IACP claims to be the “world’s   oldest and largest association of law enforcement executives.” As the letter, which was published  last week, states: We are deeply concerned about efforts to portray automated license plate recognition (ALPR) technology as a national real-time tracking capability for law enforcement. The fact is that this technology and the data it generates is not used to track people in real time. ALPR is used every day to generate investigative leads that help law enforcement solve murders, rapes, and serial property crimes, recover abducted children, detect drug and human trafficking rings, find stolen vehicles, apprehend violent criminal alien fugitives, and support terrorism investigations. Sarah Guy, a spokeswoman for the IACP, told Ars that current state and local restrictions have made the police lobby group concerned at the federal level. Read 14 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Cops are freaked out that Congress may impose license plate reader limits

Microsoft Has Received 1 Million Pieces of Feedback For Windows 10

jones_supa writes Microsoft’s Windows Insider lead, Gabe Aul, has announced that the company has received one million pieces of feedback through the Windows 10 Technical Preview Feedback app. The app opens right from the Start Menu and it has been critical to the operating system’s development allowing testers to send details to Microsoft about what they think of Windows, problems they have been facing, and if there are any improvements they would like to see. The app has been part of both desktop and phone flavors of the OS. Microsoft seems to have made a real effort lately to listen to consumer feedback and has been opening up avenues to discuss new features for some time. Have you sent feedback through the app? Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Microsoft Has Received 1 Million Pieces of Feedback For Windows 10

Elon Musk Says Tesla Model S ‘Range Anxiety’ Will End With A Software Update

 Elon Musk has teased something big coming from Tesla this week – an end to ‘range anxiety.’ The Model S (and every other electric vehicle), Tesla’s current flagship, has been known to inspire so-called range anxiety, wherein a driver spends a lot of time worrying about when they’ll next be able to get a full charge, and consequently don’t often drive… Read More

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Elon Musk Says Tesla Model S ‘Range Anxiety’ Will End With A Software Update

Lawsuit Over Quarter Horse’s Clone May Redefine Animal Breeding

schwit1 sends this report from the LA Times: “Lynx Melody Too, a clone of a renowned quarter horse, is at the center of a lawsuit that could change the world of animal breeding and competition. Texas horse breeder Jason Abraham and veterinarian Gregg Veneklasen sued the American Quarter Horse Assn., claiming that Lynx Melody Too should be allowed to register as an official quarter horse. A Texas jury decided in their favor in 2013, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling in January, saying there was ‘insufficient’ evidence of wrongdoing by the association. The suit is among the first to deal with the status of clones in breeding and competition, and its outcome could impact a number of fields, including thoroughbred horse racing and dog breeding. The quarter horse association is adamant that clones and their offspring have no place in its registry. “It’s what AQHA was founded on — tracking and preserving the pedigrees of these American quarter horses, ” said Tom Persechino, executive director of marketing for the association. “When a person buys an American quarter horse, they want to know that my quarter horse has the blood of these horses running through it, not copies of it.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Lawsuit Over Quarter Horse’s Clone May Redefine Animal Breeding

BlackBerry’s Latest Experiment: a $2,300 ‘Secure’ Tablet

An anonymous reader writes: After missing the boat on smartphones, BlackBerry has been throwing everything they can at the wall to see what sticks. From making square phones to insisting users want physical keyboards, their only standard is how non-standard they’ve become. Now they’re expanding this strategy to the tablet market with a security-centric tablet that costs $2, 300. And they’re not doing it alone — the base device is actually a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5. The tablet runs Samsung Knox boot tech, as well as software from IBM and encryption specialist Secusmart (which BlackBerry recently purchased). The device will be targeted at businesses and organizations who have particular need for secure devices. “Organizations deploying the SecuTablet will be able to set policies controlling what apps can run on the devices, and whether those apps must be wrapped, said IBM Germany spokesman Stefan Hefter. The wrapping process—in which an app is downloaded from a public app store, bundled with additional libraries that encrypt its network traffic and intercept Android ‘intents’ for actions such as cutting or pasting data, then uploaded to a private app store—ensures that corporate data can be protected at rest, in motion and in use, he said. For instance, it can prevent data from a secure email being copied and pasted into the Facebook app running on the same device—yet allow it to be pasted into a secure collaboration environment, or any other app forming part of the same ‘federation, ‘ he said.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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BlackBerry’s Latest Experiment: a $2,300 ‘Secure’ Tablet

Electrical Engineering Employment Declines Nearly 10%, But Developers Up 12%

dcblogs writes The number of people working as electrical engineers declined by 29, 000 last year, continuing a long-standing trend, according to government data. But the number of software developers, the largest IT occupational category, increased by nearly 12%, or a gain of 132, 000 jobs. There were 1.235 million people working as software developers last year, and 271, 000 electrical engineers, according U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Electrical Engineering Employment Declines Nearly 10%, But Developers Up 12%