Xpertfeed

The forthcoming Minecraft: Education Edition, written in C++, looks faster and smoother than the old Java version, but won't be compatible with all the old mods. If Microsoft mis-handles the transition, a split could damage the Minecraft community that underpins the game's stunning success.... Microsoft will release a beta of  Minecraft: Education Edition  written in C++ rather than Java, which looks like removing the performance problems associated with running the current version of Minecraft. The Education Edition should run well on the types of Windows laptop commonly found in schools, and in homes. Microsoft announced the Education Edition at the BETT 2016 educational technology exhibition held last week in London. Microsoft also announced that it had  purchased MinecraftEDU , an educational version of Minecraft, from Teacher Gaming LLC. (Microsoft  acquires MinecraftEdu from Teacher Gaming .) MinecraftEDU will not be developed any further, but most ...

Summary: Want a portable Linux-powered web server that will fit into your pocket? Look no further than  Ocean . Ocean may look like a smartphone, but it is in fact a fully functional Linux-powered web server that you can fit into your pocket. Ocean has been designed from the ground up for portability, and features an integrated battery that allows you to run web and Bluetooth applications in places where direct power is limited. The device is approximately the size of an iPhone 6, and can easily fit in your pocket. Because it packs the power of a Linux operating system (the default is Debian, but you can install your own), Ocean can be used for a variety of functions: Building and deploying web applications using frameworks such as Node.js or Ruby-on-Rails Building a custom router IoT hub iBeacon or Eddystone beacon prototyping The device can also act as a portable battery pack for iPhones and Android devices, and holds enough power to recharge an iPhone 6 ...

Summary: The chip giant is preparing a gamer-friendly version of its pint-sized desktop with a quad-core Skylake Core i7 processor and Thunderbolt 3 port to connect to external graphics solutions.   As a result, these pint-sized PCs are perceived to be for a budget buyer, or someone who values their tiny footprint over specs. Intel has been trying to change that perception, having introduced a NUC  with a beefy Core i7 Broadwell CPU  nearly a year ago. Now it's looking to go a step further with a forthcoming model that it hopes will appeal even more to the performance crowd.Intel has made strides in  helping to reinvent the PC  with its Next Unit of Computing (NUC) systems, which are one of a number of tiny Windows computers that are shaped like the Mac Mini. The small size obviously limits the ultimate performance of these mini-PCs, as there's only so much room (and ability to dissipate heat) for components. The new NUC is being called "Skull Canyon"...

In a surprise development, Google has abandoned its own Java standard libraries for those of Oracle. The move might be the first step in settling an ongoing lawsuit, but the implications for the Android community are profound. And it offers a possible opening for Microsoft. For a company that regularly brags about its commitment to open source, Google is remarkably closed about how it develops Android. The result is occasional shock at a sudden change in direction. The latest example emerged last week, when the Android community stumbled across a major change that appeared in the Android code base last November Google confirmed to several sources, including  VentureBeat , where I first saw the story, that it is dropping its own implementation of the standard Java libraries that are at the heart of Java, in favor of Oracle's OpenJDK libraries. That would be ho-hum software-plumbing news, except for the fact that Google and Oracle have been locked in a years-long copyright lawsuit ...

A relatively new Android Trojan family has been bringing grief to users around the world, posing as a Flash Player or  WhatsApp update , stealing online banking credentials, one time passwords (OTPs), and login credentials for popular Android apps. FireEye researchers dubbed the family SlemBunk. They have analyzed over 170 samples of the malware they located in the wild, and found that, over time, the authors of the malware have been adding capabilities for targeting more and more financial institutions.The latest variants are designed to imitate the legitimate apps of 33 financial management institutions and mobile payment service providers in the Asia Pacific region (many Australian banks), North America and Europe. “When the app is launched for the first time, it activates the registered receiver, which subsequently starts the monitoring service in the background,” the researchers explained. “On the surface it pops up a fake UI claiming to be Adobe Flash Player, or oth...

The web giant is the latest firm, behind Google, Facebook, and Twitter, to warn users of state attacks.  Bob Lord, the company's newly appointed chief information security officer, said in a blog post that it will notify users if it suspects suspect that their account may have been targeted by a state-sponsored actor. "We'll provide these specific notifications so that our users can take appropriate measures to protect their accounts and devices in light of these sophisticated attacks," said Lord. Yahoo's security team, dubbed the "Paranoids," will provide notifications to targeted users with "specific actions" so that they can ensure their Yahoo accounts are safe and secure. The numerous safety steps on offer to the user, in part thanks to Lord's predecessor, Alex Stamos, who left earlier this year to work for Facebook, includes two-factor authentication and verifying account recovery information is valid and up-t...

Summary: Microsoft will release the core components of its 'Chakra' JavaScript engine as open source in January 2016. Microsoft plans to publish the core components of its "Chakra" JavaScript engine to GitHub under an MIT open source license in January 2016. Company officials announced the plans, which had been  rumored for the past few weeks , at the  JSConf on December 5 . Chakra was the codename for the JavaScript engine  that Microsoft built to power Internet Explorer 9 and which it has used in subsequent IE and  Edge browser  releases. I didn't realize until this until this week that the Chakra engine also is powering Cortana, Outlook.com, Azure DocumentDB and TypeScript. With Windows 10, Microsoft enabled Node.js to run with Chakra, enabling Node.js to work on Windows 10 IoT Core. Microsoft officials said that the people expected to use Chakra and for what types of applications and services as "We are still in the very early stages of ...

Summary: A serious security flaw in VPN protocols used by companies en masse exposes the real IP addresses of users. A vulnerability discovered in protocols used by virtual private networks (VPNs) allows attackers to expose the true IP addresses of intended victims. In a   security advisory posted this week   by VPN provider Perfect Privacy, the company says that the flaw, dubbed "Port Fail," affects VPN providers which offer port forwarding and have no protection against IP leaks. VPNs are used worldwide by the privacy conscious and to circumvent geolocation-based content restrictions by disguising the true location of a person. VPNs are also a way to bypass censorship in countries that rule Internet access with an iron fist. The use of VPNs has also increased post-Snowden as more of us are now concerned about who could be tracking our online activity. Naturally, a security flaw which leaves our true IP addresses open for all to see defeats the purpose of VP...

Summary:  Telstra, Optus, and Apple have unveiled their pricing for Apple's new tablet, with the iPad Pro available in Australia now. Apple's new high-end tablet, the iPad Pro, has been launched in Australia, with prices ranging from AU$80 per month up to AU$188, and 12-month, 24-month, and month-to-month plans on offer. Apple launched the iPad Pro alongside the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in September, with the tablet aimed at the enterprise sector, which is currently primarily served by Microsoft's Surface Pro. It has an optional stylus, named the Apple Pencil, and a keyboard. In regards to specs, the tablet comes in Wi-Fi-only and LTE options, with a 12.9-inch 2,732x2,048, 264ppi Retina display; a 10-hour battery life; an 8-megapixel iSight camera; and Touch ID. It is available in silver, space grey, and gold, and is only 6.9mm thick. It also supports Adobe and Windows applications. Telstra has announced its  24-month pricing plans ...

Summary:   Although only newly identified, Linux.Encoder.1 crypto-ransomware for Linux web servers seems to have spread rapidly. A Google search for the file in the malware that contains decryption instructions and the ransom demands yields over 2,400 results. Over 2,000 websites have already been compromised by the newly-discovered Linux.Encoder.1 Linux crypto-ransomware, according to a security firm. Earlier this week Russian security company Dr Web revealed the first case of crypto-ransomware for Linux web servers, which encrypted numerous directories and file types. At the time, the company reported that "tens" of websites were infected. However, in the past few days infections have increased to thousands, it now says. Today the company reported that about 2,000 sites have been infected by Linux.Encoder.1 . The estimate is based on a Google search for the string README_FOR_DECRYPT.txt, which is the file in the ...