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How to Desalinize Water Using Half the Energy of Traditional Methods 

In the next ten years, Earth’s population is expected to increase by one billion , and only 3% of our planet’s water is fit for drinking. Most of that relatively small amount is trapped in frozen glaciers. But Egyptian researchers have developed a way of removing the salt out of sea water for our growing population in a way that’s super energy efficient. Read more…

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How to Desalinize Water Using Half the Energy of Traditional Methods 

Report: iPad Pro, Smart Keyboard, and Apple Pencil go on sale November 11

Enlarge / The iPad Pro and its Smart Keyboard. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) According to a report by the usually reliable 9to5Mac, Apple’s new iPad Pro is slated to go on sale on Wednesday, November 11. The tablet (as well as its Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil accessories) will supposedly be available both on Apple’s online store and in retail stores, so this appears to be the actual launch day and not just a pre-order date. The new iPad looks a lot like an iPad Air 2, but it has a larger 12.9-inch 2732×2048 screen, a new Apple A9X SoC, and 4GB of RAM . Between the better specs, the larger screen, and the accessories, Apple obviously intends the iPad Pro to be a more Mac-like iPad, in much the same way that the Retina MacBook is a more iPad-ish Mac. The iPad Pro starts at $799 for a 32GB Wi-Fi version, or you can pay $949 for a 128GB Wi-Fi version. Adding LTE to the 128GB version raises the cost to $1,079. The Smart Keyboard is an additional $169, and the Apple Pencil is $99. Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Report: iPad Pro, Smart Keyboard, and Apple Pencil go on sale November 11

Facebook changes ‘Real Name’ policy rules after public outcry

Facebook announced Friday that it is modifying the terms of its oft-criticised “real name” policy which demands users go by their “authentic name” when on the social network rather than a pseudonym. The trans and Native American communities have repeatedly protested the policy , citing its use by trolls as a weapon of harassment . Today’s announcement comes in response to an open letter penned by advocacy groups including the EFF and ACLU. Via: Buzzfeed Source: Facebook (scribd)

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Facebook changes ‘Real Name’ policy rules after public outcry

T-Mobile’s Next Perk Could Mean Unlimited Netflix

According to reliable leaker @evleaks , the big announcement at T-Mobile’s Un-carrier X event on Nov. 10 could be unlimited video streaming that doesn’t cut into your monthly data. This means Netflix and chill could go mobile. Read more…

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T-Mobile’s Next Perk Could Mean Unlimited Netflix

Xen Patches 7-Year-Old Bug That Shattered Hypervisor Security

williamyf writes: ArsTechinca, The Register, and other outlets are reporting that today the XEN project patched a vulnerability in the ParaVirtualized VMs that allowed a guest to access the control OS of the hypervisor. Qubes researchers wrote: “On the other hand, it is really shocking that such a bug has been lurking in the core of the hypervisor for so many years. In our opinion the Xen project should rethink their coding guidelines and try to come up with practices and perhaps additional mechanisms that would not let similar flaws to plague the hypervisor ever again”. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Xen Patches 7-Year-Old Bug That Shattered Hypervisor Security

Android 6 Vs. iOS 9: The Showdown

It wasn’t too long ago that we put the major mobile operating systems head to head, but with big updates from both Google and Apple in the meantime, we think it’s worth another look at where they both stand. Is there a clear winner? Or are they barely distinguishable any more? Read more…

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Android 6 Vs. iOS 9: The Showdown

Windows 10 will be made an automatic “recommended” update early next year

The Windows 10 free upgrade program has so far concentrated on those Windows 7 and 8 users who reserved their copy in the weeks leading up to the operating system’s release. Over the coming months, Microsoft will start to spread the operating system to a wider audience . The Windows 10 upgrade will soon be posted as an “Optional Update” in Windows Update, advertising it to anyone who examines that list of updates. Then, early next year, it will be categorized as a “Recommended Update.” This is significant, because it means that systems that are configured to download and install recommended updates—which for most people is the safest option—will automatically fetch the upgrade and start its installer. The installer will still require human intervention to actually complete—you won’t wake up to find your PC with a different operating system—but Windows users will no longer need to actively seek the upgrade. This mirrors an accidental change that Microsoft did earlier this month. The Windows 10 upgrade was showing up for some people as a recommended update and the installer started automatically. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Windows 10 will be made an automatic “recommended” update early next year

Windows 10 upgrade push changes things for IT pros and bootleggers

Microsoft mistakenly pushed Windows 10 upgrades to existing Windows 7/8 users through the Update process earlier this year, but next year it will do it on purpose . That’s just one of several changes coming to the update process, as it targets IT professionals doing mass upgrades, and even people running less-than-legit copies of Windows. The office IT guys out there will appreciate a future update to the Media Creation Tool so it can create a single image capable of upgrading older Windows PCs whether they’re 32-bit, 64-bit, Home or Pro, and even wipe a system to do clean installs. Also coming soon to users in the US (and later in other countries), will be an easy one-click activation process to “get Genuine” via the Windows Store, even with a code purchased elsewhere. Of course, even if you don’t fall into those categories and just want to keep your old version of Windows, you’ll need to be more careful starting in 2016. Source: Blogging Windows

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Windows 10 upgrade push changes things for IT pros and bootleggers