News archive (8 / 2016)

Procrastinators of the world unite! Solitaire and Tic Tac Toe are now just a Google search away on mobile and desktop.

Don't have any game apps installed and need to kill a few minutes? Head over to Google.com and simply search solitaire and you will see an option to tap (or click) to play a game of solitaire, with both Easy and Hard difficult settings.

If you want to take on Google in a game of Tic Tac Toe, then just search Tic Tac Toe and you will be marking your X's or O's immediately.

Dropbox has said it will ask some of its users to change their password the next time they login, but assures that there is nothing to worry about.

Users who signed up for Dropbox prior to mid-2012 will be prompted to update their Dropbox password the next time they login, according to the service, which stressed that this is only a preventative measure.

The move follows the discovery of an old set of Dropbox user credentials (email addresses plus hashed and salted passwords) that the firm believes was obtained in 2012 as part of an incident that was disclosed four years ago.

However, despite the discovery, Dropbox found no evidence that any accounts have been improperly accessed. Nevertheless, as a precaution, any user who has not changed passwords since 2012 will be prompted to do so as part of the next login.

"We're doing this purely as a preventive measure, and there is no indication that your account has been improperly accessed. We're sorry for the inconvenience," writes Patrick Heim on the Dropbox blog.


More information: blogs.dropbox.com

Apple has released iOS 9.3.5 to fix three critical security flaws that were linked to the attempted hacking of a human rights activist's iPhone.

On August 10, Ahmed Mansoor, a prominent human rights activity in the United Arab Emirates, began receiving suspicious text messages claiming to offer information about the torture of people in the UAE.

Mansoor was suspicious of the text messages and passed them to researchers at Citizen Lab, who confirmed it was an attempt to hack Mansoor's phone and track him, according to the New York Times.

Collaborating with Lookout, a mobile security firm located in San Francisco, they discovered that the spyware relied on three zero-day vulnerabilities in Apple's iOS software. These vulnerabilties were reported to Apple, and are all patched by iOS 9.3.5 which is available as an OTA update for all devices running iOS 9 right now.

The three vulnerabilities are very serious. The potential impact of any of the three vulnerabilities being exploited is as follows:

• CVE-2016-4655: An application may be able to disclose kernel memory
• CVE-2016-4656: An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges
• CVE-2016-4657: Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to arbitrary code execution

Netflix responded this week to the reported launch of a new set top box and streaming service in North Korea, called 'Manbang'.

According to reports, the new STB and service in the country only really offers TV channels from state controlled media, and it's not clear whether it actually offers anything on demand at all.

The name of the new service, Manbang, has understandably raised eyebrows, but apparently it translates to "everywhere" in Korea. Earlier this week, Netflix told Business Insider that they are "bummed we didn't think of that name first."

Furthermore, Netflix went on to edit its Twitter bio to one that may be approved by the DPRK regime.

Sony has finally enabled 2 step verification for logging in to the PlayStation Network.

Once activated, the service will add an extra layer of authentication when you attempt to login with your username and password. A verification code will be sent to you via SMS which will need to be entered to complete the login process.

Passwords can be compromised in a variety of ways. Users who have the same password in use for multiple services put themselves at increased risk because it only takes one of those services to be compromised for their other accounts to be vulnerable.

Phishing attacks and other malicious tactics are also frequently targeted at services like PSN. With 2 factor authentication you can add an extra layer of security so that even if your password has been stolen, the login process cannot be completed without an additional code sent to your phone.

To activate 2 step verification on PSN, check this link.

WhatsApp has updated its privacy policy for the first time in years and will share your phone number and other data with Facebook to offer more services.

WhatsApp had previously announced that it was seeking to find ways to make it possible for businesses to communicate with users. For example, it envisions a bank being able to contact a WhatsApp user through the service to inform them of a possibly fraudulent transaction or an airline notifying a user of a delayed flight.

In order to test out such additions to the service, WhatsApp has had to make the first change to its privacy policy since it was acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $19 billion.

The most notable change however is WhatsApp intention to connect your phone number to your Facebook account, which some users won't be thrilled about.

"By coordinating more with Facebook, we'll be able to do things like track basic metrics about how often people use our services and better fight spam on WhatsApp," a company blog post reads.

For now, however, it possible to opt out either on the new Terms and Conditions screen or within 30 days after accepting the new Terms and Conditions.

Once the Terms and Privacy Policy screen come up, you will note there is another option below the green "Agree" button that reads: "Read more about the key updates to our Terms and Privacy Policy." If you tap on this message, another screen will come up with the option to opt out of sharing your WhatsApp account information with Facebook.

A truck driver has struck two pedestrians in a fatal accident because he was distracted playing Pokemon Go.

Pokemon Go has surely been the phenomenon of 2016, but its popularity has had an unpleasant set of side effects. Masses of players have been a nuisance in public places at times, while some have suffered injuries from falls and accidents whilst not paying attention to the surroundings.

Players in Bosnia were given a stark warning about wandering into dangerous minefields left over after the conflict in the 1990s, while the murder of an 18 year old in Guatemala was also linked to the game by authorities.

In another tragic case, a truck driver in Japan hit two pedestrians because he was distracted playing Pokemon Go. A woman has died following the crash while another is recovering from injuries.

The driver was arrested for negligent driving and admitted he was distracted by the game when he struck the pedestrians.

A spokesman for developer Niantic Inc told the Reuters news agency that the company had added a pop-up to the Pokemon Go screen when it detected an increase in speed seeking confirmation on whether the play was driving at the time.

A Nintendo spokesman offered condolences to the family of the deceased.

You will soon be able to play some older PS3 classics on your Windows PC using a DualShock 4 controller.

PlayStation Now is coming to Windows starting with parts of Europe very soon, with North America following shortly after. This will blockbusters from the Uncharted, God of War, and Ratchet & Clank franchises to Windows along with hundreds of other games currently on offer from the service.

In order to use PlayStation Now on your Windows PC, you should match or better these recommended specifications:

• Windows 7 (SP1), 8.1 or 10
• 3.5 GHz Intel Core i3 or 3.8 GHz AMD A10 or faster
• 300 MB or more; 2 GB or more of RAM
• Sound card; USB port

The U.S. Department of Justice has named three alleged operators of KickassTorrents in a grand jury indictment this week.

One of the men was already named after he was arrested last month by Polish authorities, while two new names have appeared. All three men are from Ukraine.

According to the DoJ, KickassTorrents was a commercial website that facilitated and promoted the reproduction and distribution of copyrighted content over the Internet without authorization of the copyright owners.

In addition to KickassTorrents, the three individuals were also linked to a number of other sites by the DoJ, including Leechmonster.com, Solarmovie, iWatchfilm.com, Hippomovies.com and Torcache.

The three men used to sites to generate millions of dollars in revenue, according to the indictment, which also details payments made for advertising to back accounts operated by the men.

Source: TorrentFreak

Google is changing its Search algorithm to effectively punish websites that use certain types of pop-up and intrusive advertisements and content.

Starting from January 10, 2017, Google's Mobile Search results will "demote" sites that load certain types of intrusive content, including pop-ups which have re-emerged as a common annoyance with the rise of mobile web usage.

An increasing number of websites deliver interstitials to users when they visit. Interstitials are elements that cover the content of the screen until you close them. They can be used to deliver adds or push subscriptions and so forth, but they can be a real annoyance for users who just want to get to the content.

"Pages that show intrusive interstitials provide a poorer experience to users than other pages where content is immediately accessible. This can be problematic on mobile devices where screens are often smaller," Google's Webmaster Central Blog, reads.

To improve the mobile search experience, after January 10, 2017, pages where content is not easily accessible to a user on the transition from the mobile search results may not rank as highly.

Some exceptions will be made however, such as interstitials that inform users about the use of Cookies, which sites are legally obliged to at least in the European Union. Sites that use similar pop up content to ask for login details to access non-publicly indexed information are also exempt. Other forms of interstitials that use a reasonably small area of the screen and are easily dismissed will also be exempt.

Amazon is now offering an unlimited storage plan for all kinds of files for £55 per year in the UK, less than £5 per month.

Existing Prime customers already could take advantage of unlimited storage for photos, but now anybody in the UK can sign up for unlimited storage of all kinds of files for £55 per year. Some members may also be entitled to try out the unlimited plan for three months without charge.

"Most people have a lifetime of photos from birthdays, holidays and everyday moments stored across numerous devices--and a lot of those people don't know how many gigabytes they need to back all those memories up, or what it's going to cost," said David Nenke, Director of Amazon Drive.

"With our new Unlimited Storage plan, that's no longer something customers need to worry about. They now have an affordable, secure solution to store unlimited amounts of photos, videos, movies, music, and other files in one place--with no tiered storage options or rising fees to worry about."

The plan means users could automatically backup all photos and videos storage on their phones and other devices to the cloud storage service, as well as documents or other types of files they need to keep secure.

YouTube is working on incorporating more social network-like features for its users in order to fend off competition from Facebook, Twitter and others.

According to a report from VentureBeat, YouTube is working on "Backstage", which will expand its platform to allow creators to share photos, polls, links, text posts and videos with subscribers, and will also eventually allow subscribers to reply with rich content including photos and videos.

While YouTube obviously already is a video platform, Backstage will also enable sharing Backstage-only videos, presumably so creators can communicate with subscribers without adding a new video to the visible YouTube channel.

Video sharing and watching will remain the primary function of YouTube however, as the new features seem aimed at creators who might be tempted to move to other platforms that go beyond video sharing.

The added features are expected to launch in some form before the end of the year, possibly limited to popular YouTube channels in initial stages.

Source: Inside Backstage: YouTube's plan to bring photos, polls, and text to the video service (VB)

A Melbourne-based institute has demonstrated that a feature of Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet software has resulted in errors in scientific papers on the subject of genomics.

The problem has been known for over a decade in the scientific community and it is fairly simple to understand. The problem arises when Excel, with default settings, converts gene symbols into Calendar dates. For example, Septin 2 can be written as SEPT2, which Excel will automatically change into "September 2" using its default settings.

Despite the issue being noted by the scientific community in 2004, the problem has not only persisted but has gotten worse. The study, conducted by Baker IDI, notes that the instances of the problem have increased at an annual rate of 15 percent over the past five years alone.

After scanning through 3,597 published scientific papers, the researchers found that 704 of them contained gene naming errors created by Excel, or possibly by a number of similar software with the same feature, including OpenOffice Calc.

The feature that turns entries into Caldendar dates can be turned off in the Excel settings quite easily.


Sources and Recommended Reading:
Microsoft Excel blamed for gene study errors: www.bbc.co.uk
Gene name errors are widespread in the scientific literature: genomebiology.biomedcentral.com

iFixit has detailed an apparent design flaw with Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets which can result in the screen flickering and becoming unresponsive to touch.

Describing the issue as "Touch Disease", iFixit claims it has affected a large number of handsets, particularly the iPhone 6 Plus model, according to repair technicians that it has consulted. At the core of the problem are two chips that can become detached from the circuit board of each model over time as a result of touch-screen usage.

The problem becomes worse as the solder connection between the chips and the circuit board increasingly degrade.

"You might notice that the screen is sometimes unresponsive, but it is quick to come back with a hard reset," iFixit details in a blog post. "As the crack deepens into a full separation of the chip-board bond, the periods of no touch function become more frequent."

Initially, the problem can be alleviated by pressing down on the screen or twisting the phones body, but this workout won't work beyond a certain point and a permanent solution is yet unavailable.

Pandora might be entering the streaming market properly with a new service, WSJ suggests. The move might be happening as soon as next month as the company is said nearing deals.

This would update Pandora's service to a three subscription model approach, which would include the current two ones and a new Spotify-like option. This would mean that the free internet radio as well as the $5/mo Pandora One without ads would remain.

In addition Pandora is looking to challenge Apple Music, Tidal, Spotify, et all with a $10 subscription that would allow on demand music just like the mentioned giants of streaming music. But how are they going to attract people to Pandora, rather than the aforementioned services many of which have strong exclusivity deals already in place.

Spotify just released a Metallica documentary, Apple Music has upcoming Britney Spears album, and Google just has a massive user base on Android. We'll just have to see how Pandora will solve this puzzle.

The newest addition to the list of artists to feature an Apple Music exclusive, including of course Taylor Swift, is Frank Ocean. Apple has been rallying artists' exclusive songs and albums to close the gap to its main rival Spotify.

Apple still has quite a long way to go, even as its Music streaming service has now more than 15 million subscribers. This is approximately half of what Spotify is estimated to currently have.

The latest addition to Apple's exclusive titles is Frank Ocean's album Endless. It not only provides music but it also features a music video of the whole 45 minute album. Endless is called a visual album, which essentially is one really long – one could say almost endless – music video.

Later this month Britney Spears will be releasing his new album exclusively on Apple Music and next year's exclusives include Drake.

Largely leaked iPhone 7 has been seen in pictures and even modelled into dummy units. From outside it looks really close to its predecessor only change really being the camera, especially in the bigger version.

Of course the larger, likely to be named iPhone 7 Plus, has been rumored to have a dual camera system which is something completely different from previous iPhones. However, now new leak reveals that there are some major changes to the single camera in the smaller iPhone 7's back as well.

According to pictures released by Nowhereelse.fr iPhone 7 will be getting OIS or optical image stabilization. This means that feature found already in the larger version of the previous year's model is coming finally to the 4,7 inch iPhone 7.

It must also be noted that the camera seems to be a bit larger from the outside but it's hard to tell if that is the case for the module itself. The pictures do show indication of OIS, as Nowhereelse points out, but other changed cannot be confirmed from it.

Developer Niantic has warned gamers that they could be permanently banned from Pokemon Go if they go about violating the game's terms of service.

For the most part, those that are getting banned have used GPS spoofing or bots/automation to help themselves in the game, and Niantic isn't having it anymore.

The message gamers have been receiving:

Newspaper company The New York Times has acquired VR firm Fake Love as the company looks to expand its offerings.

Fake Love, based in Brooklyn, will continue to operate and brand independent of the NYT. The company has 50 employees.

"We're really interested in playing a bigger role in the marketing services value chain -- coming up with an idea, creating it, distributing the idea, measuring it," said Sebastian Tomich, SVP of advertising and innovation at the Times.

Fake Love will help the Times with special requests regarding augmented reality (think Pokemon Go), and VR projects.

The Irish High Court has ruled that Gary Davis, aka Libertas, will be extradited to the U.S. to face charges that he was the top administrator for the online black market "Silk Road."

Davis, along with other alleged staffers, are accused of narcotics trafficking conspiracy, computer hacking conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. The Silk Road's founder, Ross Ulbricht, was convicted last year and is currently serving a life sentence. Another administrator pled guilty and served 60 days.

The accused says he expects to challenge the seizure of servers related to Silk Road:

Russian officials have fined search giant Google $6.8 million for antitrust violations.

The antitrust authorities ruled that Google favored its digital services over those of rivals and did so by abusing their massive market lead with Android. In the ruling, the Federation Antimonopoly Service said that Google blocked out rivals from including their own services on Android, such as Maps, search and more.

"We have received notice of the fine from F.A.S. and will analyze closely before deciding our next steps," Google said in a statement on Thursday.

Google has faced similar allegations from the EU and other countries and is facing much larger fines.

Microsoft has used a small portion of its huge cash position to acquire interactive game streaming service Beam.

Beam allows viewers to "play along" with streamers as they watch, giving them ways to interact with gamers - a nice step-up from similar services like Twitch. The service would let you "do things like setting which weapon loadout they take into battle for multiplayer shooters [or the] ability to help players pick quests, and... assign challenges that alter the gameplay considerably from what you'd get via a typical play through," says TechCrunch.

The team at Beam will merge into Microsoft's Xbox team. "I'm really excited about Xbox's focus on community," said Beam founder and CEO Matt Salsamendi. "Beam is fundamentally built on a connected group of passionate individuals that love gaming, and Xbox is super in tune with that."

Terms were undisclosed.

Earlier this year, Netflix launched Fast.com, a very simple site for testing your connection speed.

The streaming giant has now expanded their services to mobile users, launching FAST speed test apps for iOS and Android. Install the app and open the app to see your current Internet speed. There are no other options in the app except a refresh button if you want to run the test again.

FAST will only show you your download speed unlike rival Speedtest.net that shows both download and upload and Netflix says most users don't care about upload speed (and they are right).

Hulu has gone full-premium by announcing the elimination of its free, ad-supported service.

The company also announced an expanded distribution deal with Yahoo, which includes the launch of Yahoo View. Yahoo View will give users the five most recent episodes of shows from NBC, ABC and Fox for free (with ads), eight days after they air on live TV.

Hulu is owned by Disney, Fox, Comcast and Time Warner.

"For the past couple years, we've been focused on building a subscription service that provides the deepest, most personalized content experience possible to our viewers," said Hulu senior VP and head of experience Ben Smith. "As we have continued to enhance that offering with new originals, exclusive acquisitions, and movies, the free service became very limited and no longer aligned with the Hulu experience or content strategy."

The service costs $7.99 per month with minimal ads, or $11.99 without them.

One thing about iPhone has remained superficially largely the same from the first iPhone. Even though we now have the Touch ID inside and the square is no longer present, the iPhone's round home button is largely the same as it was back in 2007.

Now Apple is said to update the key feature and remove one key aspect of it entirely.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is removing the physical button and replacing it with a capacitive home button.

This means of course that the clickiness of the button will be removed completely. This can be considered both a good and a bad thing but obviously Apple has come to the conclusion – if the rumors hold true – that the pros outweigh the cons.

Even though there is no mechanical click anymore, Apple is said to have inserted a haptic motor under the button which will give feedback from a press of the button. Also the button senses pressure in different force levels which enables new features not unlike the ones 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s display and Force Touch on Apple Watch have shown us.

Mark Gurman of Bloomberg also reiterated that the dual camera feature is likely to be found only on the larger 5.5 inch Plus version of iPhone 7.

It's been over 15 months since Apple released its first and only Apple Watch. It was meant to rock the world unlike any other smartwatch and finally show the potential of wearables. Well, it has oversold competitors but there's no question that it hasn't done as well as the company probably hoped.

Clearly there still were things, be it battery life or apps among others, that need improvement. We've been waiting for the second generation since the initial release and it was rumored that Apple would shows us the version two this spring. No Apple Watch was released, however, but we might see one, or in fact two, this fall.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities has detailed that Apple will be releasing not one but two different Apple Watch versions this fall in addition to the new iPhone 7. The first of the versions is a slight upgrade, including a better core chip, to the first Apple Watch. The second one, dubbed Apple Watch 2, on the other hand has new features such as location service improving GPS radio, barometer, and a larger battery.

Apple Insider reports that according to Kuo no major design changes are expected with either of the two models. That means that we'll have to wait until fall of 2018 for significantly different aesthetics in the core product. However, Apple has been providing new colors and band materials along the way and that will likely be Apple's approach to keep the hardware fresh this time around as well.

Apple has bought a US-based company focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), reports GeekWire. The company known as Turi is from Seattle area just like Apple's main rival of past decades, the Redmond-based competitor Microsoft.

As both AI as well as machine learning have become huge factors in the tech industry Apple is looking to make an impact with investments in the space. Obviously the company was one of the first to introduce a voice assistant, Siri, in mobile after acquiring the company with the same name.

At this point it's hard to tell what exactly Apple is looking for in Turi, after all, Turi's range of AI products is very wide. Turi's core products include analyzing and development tools for app developers and service providers which allows their apps to learn from the users and adapt to the audience.

It has been speculated that iOS 10's core AI functions already use some Turi technology which lead the Cupertino giant to acquire the company as a whole. At this point the details of it all remain very much in secret but obtaining such an asset is very likely going to make Siri a better product.

Apple has removed the encryption of the core components of its mobile operating system in the last iteration. This means that security researchers and other bug hunting specialists are now able to find problems within iOS 10 easier. Apple is now ready to recruit help outside the company to further iOS' security.

This approach has been further elevated by the fact that Apple is now offering fairly large bounties for people and companies that find bugs in their system, TechCrunch reports. The researchers have not only tools and means but now also a get rewarded with money for their efforts.

Many of the top tech companies have already offered bounty programs for some time. However, Apple will do this a little differently. Their bug bounty program is invite-only so you have to be invited to get rewarded by the plentiful bounties.

Apple's approach is a little bit different though. Unlike a lot of companies, Apple doesn't accept any and every bug report for the bounty program. They work with companies that have previously reported bugs to the company.

Bounties can be worth up to 200 000 dollars and in case the security researchers agree to donate the money to charity, Apple will double the amount. The bounty program will launch in September.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the car company will unveil an electric semi truck and minibus next year, part of his ambitious "master plan part 2."

"We expect to unveil those for the middle of next year, maybe the next six to nine months type of thing. And then [we'd] have a better, more fleshed-out plan for when those would enter production," Musk said.

As with most things Tesla does, the timing seems aggressive especially given the fact that there was no acknowledgment of the electric trucks even existing until last week.

Both models "would enter production within low-single digit years," added Musk, although we hope that is closer to 1 then, say, 5.

Over 100 designers have signed a court brief on behalf of Apple, taking sides in a patent battle that has hundreds of millions of dollars in damages waiting.

A few of the big names include Calvin Klein, Paul Smith and Alexander Wang, who claim Samsung should pay damages for infringing on Apple's design patents and that by stealing the designs, Samsung made more sales due to their appeal.

In 2012, a jury awarded Apple $548 million for copying "the designs of the iPhone's rounded-corner front face, bezels and grid of icons." Samsung is fighting $399 million of the damages, claiming the infringing designs were a minimal part of a much more complex phone and that the Supreme Court should look into whether one patent infringement should lead to them paying for all missed profits by Apple.

The designers, for their part, say the "look of the product comes to represent the underlying features, functions, and total user experience," and that stealing the design certainly leads to lost sales for Apple. On the other side, Samsung has some tech giants including Facebook and Google who claim that such a decision against Samsung "could lead to diminished innovation, pave the way for design troll patent litigation and negatively impact the economy and consumers."

In a move that will certainly delight fans, it is being reported that Nintendo will launch their upcoming NX console next year with Zelda, Mario and Pokemon titles.

The console is set for release in March 2017, and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has already been announced. The reports claim that the unnamed Mario and Pokemon titles will launch within 6 months of the console's launch, within the "launch window" that can often make or break a system.

In addition, Nintendo will be getting some help from some old friends that left the Wii U for dead, as the reports claim Sega, Activision, Warner Bros, Ubisoft and Square Enix have all promised titles and appear to be all-in.

Furthermore, the sources claim the console will be less powerful than the PS4 and that the rumored detachable handheld controllers are indeed part of the console.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has proudly tweeted that developers on the App Store have earned over $50 billion since the marketplace launched in late 2008.

July 2016 was a record-crushing month for the Store, as well, and many speculate it was due to Pokemon Go. Cook thanked and congratulated developers on their "success and such inspired creativity".

Growth remains strong for the App Store, as we have seen $10 billion paid to developers since Apple's last announcement in January 2016, following $20 billion in 2015 and $20 billion for the entire 2008-2014 period.

According to the WSJ, giant retailer Wal-Mart is in talks to buy the one-time "Amazon killer," Jet.

The move is expected to give Wal-Mart an improved e-commerce solution to better fend off Amazon, which has recently become the largest retailer by market cap.

Sources claim Jet could be valued as high as $3 billion, even though it has been unprofitable since launch. Jet launched last year as an "Amazon killer" but it has yet to make a dent. The company also had to backtrack on a subscription fee they began charging after sales were significantly affected.

Wal-Mart could certainly use the e-commerce help, as the company's e-commerce sales were just $14 billion last year, a measly 3% of their total revenue. Online growth has been slowing for two years, as well, while Amazon's has done nothing but grow at an exponential rate for the last decade.

Jet, started by Diapers.com founder Marc Lore, has some interesting technology. The company is able to reduce prices (and usually undercut Amazon, others) using sophisticated pricing algorithms that take into account the size of your cart, your proximity to suppliers, and more.

Apple recently announced that it has surpassed 15 million subscribers on Apple Music but the fight for the number one spot is still far away in the horizon. The first year has been everything but easy for the Cupertino's new music service but Apple is only getting started.

That is at least according to the new deals the company is making to boast even exclusive music. Largely the millions of songs are the same you can listen to on Spotify, or Tidal for that matter, but Apple has now struck a deal that will bring one of our generations biggest star's album exclusively to Apple Music.

After making Apple Music the only streaming service to get Taylor Swift's critically-acclaimed album 1989 last year, Apple has now managed to lure Britney Spears in on an exclusive deal. Spears' upcoming album Glory, which will apparently be "the beginning of a new era", will be available on Apple Music 8/26 the star tweeted.

Apple has been striking deals left and right, Apple Insider notes, trying to catch up to Spotify which has double the paying subscribers and a total of over 100 million listeners. Another Apple exclusive this month is Frank Ocean's Boys Don't Cry.

Apple has released a new version of its music streaming app for Android, 9to5Mac reports. The new app is finally and officially out of beta and you can download it, of course, from Google Play.

Despite the problems (and there were plenty) Apple has considered its iOS version of the app stable from the get-go. For some reason Apple has kept the Android app under the beta stamp for nearly 10 months after releasing it in the Google Play Store in November last year.

There are no major changes to the app, unless you consider equalizer one, but getting called stable means that plenty of stabilizing and performance fixes have been made. Apple had already introduced offline playing and the Android widget to the app previously.

Reportedly Apple Music recently arrived at the landmark of 15 million subscribers but is far from over 30 million paying (and another 70 million ad-supported) subscribers that Spotify hosts.

As promised, Microsoft has released the first Anniversary Update for the company's number one product. This is the first major update for Windows 10 but many will struggle to find any visible changes. There are changes however.

The biggest deal amongst the new features seems to be support for Ubuntu software. Other major changes include improvements to the assistant Cortana, Windows Defender, Microsoft's new main browser Edge, Skype, Windows Hello, and digital pens and styli.

The update should be offered automatically or via Windows Update but if you have just recently updated to Windows 10 it won't show up. This is due to the fact that Microsoft keeps an option to go back to your previous Windows version for 30 days.

If you still want the update you can download it manually from Microsoft's website.

Samsung has revealed its new flagship Note smartphone. Continuing the success of Galaxy S7 and of course the previous generation Note5, Note7 (yes, Samsung skipped 6) will try to take the phablet segment of the smartphone market by storm like it has done so many times before.

Galaxy Note7 was revealed first time officially at the yearly Unpacked event held simultaneously in London and New York. As per usual the new Note comes with a big, and now curved, 5.7 inch screen and the S Pen stylus. Samsung will distribute two versions, one with their own Exynos chip (Europe) and one with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chip (USA).

Note7 is by and large what you would expect from a Note smartphone but there are some new features too. The highly rumored iris scanner indeed made it in the device and allows users to identify themselves for Samsung Pay and unlocking using their eyes in addition to fingerprints. Another first for Note smartphones is the IP68 water and dirt proofing.

The phone comes with 4 gigabytes of RAM, 64 gigabytes of storage, and even includes a microSD slot. The battery is nothing over-the-top but the now larger (and still not removable) 3500 mAh should offer stellar battery life. The main camera is the solid 12 megapixel perfomer from Galaxy S7 that has been touted as the best smartphone camera so far and is accompanied by the 5 megapixel shooter in the front.