Welcome to Technology News September 2015
Hello everyone! Let’s recap what has happened in the Technology World in September.
Microsoft
Microsoft have announced a Microsoft Event on October 6th at 10am EDT in New York City. For us, it will be at 1am on the 7th.
We will be doing a Live Blog of the Event then a recap post thereafter.
We have a Poll currently running:
http://polarb.com/publishers/polls/229263
Voting Ends October 5th.
Microsoft brought out a new version of Skype for iPhone, iPad and Android devices – Version 6.0. They have made it more easier to view and navigate for users on either platforms aswell as added features. It has been said that it is a welcome change due to Skypes history of being simple to use back in the day and then suddenly a nightmare. Microsoft should hopefully redeem themselves, especially as its one of the top chat systems out in terms of Video, Voice or Text via the Internet. Snapping at Microsoft’s heels however is Viber and Whatsapp.
Microsoft have released Office 2016. With new looks, better touch-friendly features and other improvements and features, Microsoft continue to impress. Office 365 users can upgrade for free whilst previous versions purchased outright will need to buy a new outright version or get Office 365.
To see what’s new, check out the Summary at Microsoft.
Windows
DELL & HP have been announced as new resellers of the Microsoft Surface. The two companies are known for their great Business Support with their goods and services. Microsoft Surface has been a great hit in the tablet world, making it tough for the iPad to keep its head above water – which is why Apple released its iPad Pro during their Apple Event in September to battle the Surface.
With it now joining forces with companies who support businesses really well, it will certainly help with ease and productivity in the workplace.
Windows 10 still has a slow start due to manufacturers not making efforts in compatibility of their devices before launch back on July 29th.
Nevertheless, it is still smooth sailing and the love continues to grow. At the beginning of September, Windows 10 hit 5% market share.
Here is the current standings for OS Market Usage at the end of September:
NetShare Sep 2015Windows 10 not only surpassed OSX, but is now running away from it. It is still scary to see Windows XP not only beating Windows 8.1, but is still beating Windows 10.
Having a computer run XP is a really bad idea, especially if you don’t know what you are doing. Even then, the experts may not be safe from other experts (Hackers) or major bug flaws, and it is most certainly foolish for businesses – which unfortunately some of that percentage should include businesses that haven’t upgraded yet.
Windows Mobile 10
With the Microsoft Event just around the corner, Microsoft have accidently allowed their Store to show the new, anticipated handsets – Lumia 950 & 950XL.
in a post by The Verge, the handsets will be available unlocked and sport 20-megapixel rear facing cameras, 32GB of internal storage and expandable storage up to 2TB. The 950 and 950 XL will also have a 5.2-inch and 5.7-inch display, respectively.
The 950 should be the successor of the previously released Lumia 930, while the 950 XL will be its larger variant to most likely replace the Lumia 1520.
This event should hopefully kick-start Microsoft into a better position in the mobile market, who have lagged behind the competition for many years, despite some great features and builds that have been adopted by competitors.
More will be “officially” revealed during the Microsoft Event next week, where the company is expected to unveil new Surface tablets and wearables as well as hopefully announcing when Windows Mobile 10 is to be officially released to current Windows Phones.
Apple
Mozilla Firefox announced a preview of a iOS version of their browser. Firefox have stayed away from Apple iOS due to Apple’s restrictions on 3rd party browsers. This changed when Apple brought out iOS 8 which now will allow Firefox to be installed.
Apple hosted its Apple Event. They announced the new iPhone 6S and a copycat Microsoft Surface version of iPad, called iPad Pro. Watch the live show or read our recap post.
Apple Watch had to delay its update due to some bugs. It finally did come out though. For a look at what’s new in Watch OS 2, view it on CNET.
iOS 9 was also released. Watch the review on CNET.
Apple has discovered and removed from its App Store for both iPhone & iPad, heaps of apps that were infected by malware.
The tainted software made it into the App Store via a counterfeit version of Apple’s Xcode program, which is used to create apps for the iOS and Mac system software.
According to security firm Palo Alto Networks, which reported the breach, 39 apps were compromised by fake software called XcodeGhost.
Apple removed the compromised apps from its online storefront.
WeChat, a messaging app with over 500 million monthly users, was among them, said Palo Alto Networks. Its developer, Tencent, has said that only users of an older version of WeChat could potentially be affected.
Apple’s history is turning over on itself when claiming their products to be 100% safe from malicious things. Nothing is really safe, but the actions you take can make it more of an unlikely event for you to be a victim or malicious circumstances. Apple still singly handle Security of their products with little help from 3rd parties.
Apple always advise to update to the latest of their software where possible.
Google announced its new logo on September 1st. Click the image to view their blog post regarding it.
Also watch their YouTube video showing how Google has evolved since its beginning.
Google hasn’t always been destroyed by Microsoft’s Office suite. People have enjoyed using Google’s versions, but that could soon change with Office 2016 now available.
Google had a Google Nexus Event to showcase hardware they are bringing out.
That’s it for now.
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Thanks for reading.
Read the Live Blog as we watch the Microsoft Event on October 7th.
See you on Technology News October 2015.
