Ubuntu Releases IoT Core Platform

Canonical last week released Ubuntu Core 16 for the Internet of Things to provide enhanced security and app store support for connected devices. The platform provides regular security updates and gives independent software vendors, manufacturers and enterprises control of system updates. Ubuntu Core 16 uses Ubuntu's snap packages technology to ensure that IoT applications access only necessary data. The operating system and kernel in Ubuntu Core also are delivered as snaps.

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Election 2016: Either Way, More Drama

In a few days, we will either be inundated by ISIS terrorists in our homes right after the U.S. government takes all of our guns, or we will be at nuclear war with the world, based on my Twitter feed. Women no longer will be allowed to vote, and global warming will turn us into crispy critters. After watching all three debates and some of the crap coming out of both campaigns, I finally can figure out why Mexico is paying for a wall: They want to keep the crazy people out of their country.

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Gadget Ogling: Mac's Back, Nintendo Returns, and Huawei Goes to the Edge

Apple has unveiled a redesigned MacBook Pro, giving the company's core laptop its first full refresh in a few years. The design has metal on all sides, along with a Force Touch trackpad double the size of previous versions. There's a customizable OLED touch strip above the keyboard that responds to gestures and taps -- a demo indicated one might use it for fast access to various emoji or for secondary controls within an app. It essentially replaces function keys, but with far more purpose and control.

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Russia's Fancy Bear Attacks Microsoft, Adobe as Election Nears

Microsoft earlier this week said it had fallen victim to "Strontium," its code name for the Russian hacking group also known as "Fancy Bear," which has been linked to recent attacks on Democratic Party systems. The group launched a spear phishing attack that targeted vulnerabilities in both the Windows operating system and Adobe Flash, according to Terry Myerson, EVP of Microsoft's Windows and Devices Group. The attack involved two zero-day vulnerabilities in Flash and the down level Windows kernel.

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Microsoft Sees 3D Future for Everyone

Microsoft last week unveiled its new vision for bringing 3D to the masses through a modernized version of its Paint application for Windows 10. Paint 3D will be available in the Windows 10 Creators Update. Anyone who would like to start creating and sharing in Paint 3D can do so by joining the Windows Insider Program -- available for PC and Phone. To date, most computer users have been limited to a two-dimensional canvas, even though we live in a multidimensional world, noted Megan Saunders, general manager for the Windows Experience Group.

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Lenovo's Yoga Book Aims for Top Shelf

Lenovo's recently unveiled 2-in-1, the Yoga Book, is available in Android Marshmallow and Windows 10 Home versions. Reviews have been mixed, with some praising its look and feel, but some considering its capabilities not up to scratch. Its Intel Atom processor doesn't provide enough power for a workhorse device, they have argued. The Android version costs $500 and the Windows version goes for $550. The Yoga Book runs on a quad-core Intel Atom x5-Z8550 with a 2-MB cache that goes up to 2.4 GHz.

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Q4OS+Trinity Gives New Meaning to Lightweight

Q4OS is a lightweight Linux distro that offers some worthwhile alternatives to more established distros. Q4OS version 1.6.1 "Orion," released this summer, has as its main claim to fame the developing Trinity desktop. Trinity is a breakaway fork from the KDE 3 community. I took a detailed first look at this new distro last year, primarily to assess the Trinity desktop. Although it was a version 1 beta release, Trinity showed some potential. You won't find the Trinity desktop shipping as an option with most Linux distros.

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Microsoft: Google's Policy Endangers Windows Users

Google on Monday posted to the Internet a previously unpublicized flaw that could pose a security threat to users of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Google notified both Microsoft and Adobe of zero day vulnerabilities in their software on Oct. 21, wrote Neel Mehta and Billy Leonard, members of Google's Threat Analysis Group, in an online post. Google has a policy of making critical vulnerabilities public seven days after it informs a software maker about them. Adobe was able to fix its vulnerability within seven days; Microsoft was not.

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