Windows 10 for enterprise will not be free, splits into two upgrade branches

There aren't many people who don’t like the sound of "free", and this was one of the keywords taken away from Microsoft's Windows 10 event earlier in the month. As build 9926 was unleashed on eager upgraders, Microsoft revealed that it will be free to upgrade to Windows 10 in the first year.

At least this is the case for the average consumer; it's something of a different story for enterprise customers. Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise are not versions that will be eligible for a free upgrade -- this is the personification of Windows as a service.

In a blog post, Microsoft explains a little about how Windows as a Service will work, and what it will mean for customers. There's no word on pricing at this stage, but Jim Alkove does reveal a little about how the enterprise version of Windows 10 will be updated and how the update process can be customized to suit individual customer needs. Alkove also announces that there will be two different branches of Windows 10 for enterprise, the Long Term Servicing branches and the Current branch for Business.

But what does this actually mean?

The Long Term Servicing branches have a security focus and will not receive all of the same updates as the consumer version of Windows 10.

To support Windows 10 devices in these mission critical customer environments we will provide Long Term Servicing branches at the appropriate time intervals. On these branches, customer devices will receive the level of enterprise support expected for the mission critical systems, keeping systems more secure with the latest security and critical updates, while minimizing change by not delivering new features for the duration of mainstream (five years) and extended support (five years).

The aim is to ensure that key systems are not taken out of operation by updates that are not completely essential, and are not subjected to updates that have not been fully tested.

The Current branch for Business works in a slightly different way. This branch will be able to access the same updates as consumers, but on a timescale that suits individual businesses. It takes advantage of testing done by Windows Insiders, and updates can be deployed automatically through Windows Update, or via WSUS.

This renewed flexibility is a sign not only of Microsoft listening to its customers, but also the particular ethusiasm for Windows 10 to be more of a success than Windows 8.

Photo credit: woaiss / Shutterstock

British army's 77th Brigade to wage psychological war on Facebook

The British army is creating a new battalion of online soldiers in the form of the 77th Brigade. Hundreds of recruits will make up the division and will engage in "non-lethal warfare" on Mark Zuckerberg's social network from April.

The 77th Brigade will engage in psyops (psychological operations) to try to influence the opinions of civilians in certain parts of the world, as well looking to change the behavior of those engaged in various forms of warfare. The activities of groups such as ISIS (Islamic State) have shown the importance of the internet in general, but social networks in particular, to spreading ideas, messages and propaganda, and this is what the army is looking to manage.

In many ways, what the brigade will be doing is deploying propaganda of its own. It is a very public acknowledgement of the idea that wars are not won solely through violent means, and the army says that it will be using the "traditional and unconventional". An army spokesman said:

77th Brigade is being created to draw together a host of existing and developing capabilities essential to meet the challenges of modern conflict and warfare. It recognises that the actions of others in a modern battlefield can be affected in ways that are not necessarily violent.

Facebook has previously said that it will not block violent videos by default -- although it does pander to requests from some countries like Turkey when it comes to blocking insulting material -- but it has generally steered away from causes with more political leaning. Facebook has clearly been targeted by the army because of its size, reach and popularity, but it is somewhat unusual for the military to become so publicly involved, using the social network as a tool against foes.

As terrorists, guerrilla outfits and intelligence agencies make use of the web, it does make sense for other forces to do so as well. Whether the 77th Brigade turns out to be more than a spin and PR machine remains to be seen.

Photo credit: i4lcocl2 / Shutterstock

Motorola begins to rollout Android 5.0 Lollipop for Moto G in India

Motorola has started to seed out the Android 5.0 Lollipop update -- the latest iteration of the Google’s mobile operating system -- for both the first and second generation Moto G handsets in India. In a blog post, the Lenovo-owned smartphone manufacturer noted that users who purchased the affordable handset from Flipkart or Airtel store will be able to snag the update.

Announced in October, Android 5.0 Lollipop is one of the biggest updates to Google’s mobile operating system since its inception in 2008. The update brings in a range of features including improved notifications, revamped user interface, support for ART runtime by default, and advanced security features, among others.

Moto G was launched in India in February 2014. The company has since released both first and second generations of Moto X, the second generation of Moto G, and the dirt-cheap Moto E smartphone in the country. Earlier this week Motorola announced that it had sold more than 3 million Moto handsets in India in under a year.

Seeing the sales figures, it is safe to assume that the company made a splashy return to one of the world's largest smartphone markets. Motorola had shut its operations in India in 2012. Last year, when the then-Google owned smartphone manufacturer re-entered India, it chose to sell its handsets through online channels. The company opted to use this route in an effort to minimize the logistics and other overhead expenditures.

At an event in New Delhi last month, Amit Boni, General Manager of Motorola Mobility in India told me that the company has no future plans to sell its handsets through offline channels.

A few weeks ago, Motorola also pushed out the Lollipop update for first and second generation Moto X handsets. With its timely update, Motorola has once again shown how dedicated it is to giving its users the best mobile experience. Rival smartphone manufacturers, including Samsung, LG, Sony, Xiaomi, and Micromax, among others, are yet to update their low and mid-range smartphone lineups with Lollipop.

To download the update on your handset, go to Settings > About Phone > System Updates.

Did you install the Lollipop update on your device? Has it improved your smartphone experience? Please share your contentment (or ordeal) in the comments below.

Google proves once again it is terrible at selling smartphones

Getting the latest Nexus smartphone from Google in the first few months of availability can prove to be a real adventure. You know how it goes, as the same thing has happened before with its predecessor. You have to be either extremely lucky to get one early on or extremely committed to the brand to put up with the perennially insufficient stock by waiting your turn at finally getting one. It's insane.

Because of these issues, I have long given up on the thought of buying the latest Nexus smartphone while it's hot -- including the Nexus 6 phablet, as much as I would love to grab one. The fault lies consistently with Google. The search giant is terrible at selling smartphones. Even worse, it comes up with a crappy excuse to justify it.

I was amused to read this explanation, from Google CFO Patrick Pichette, on why lots of folks, including my colleague Joe Wilcox, are still having trouble buying a Nexus 6, which is now three months old. Yeah, three months old!

During Google's earnings conference call, Pichette said: "While the Nexus 7 [he actually meant Nexus 6, clarifying this later] was very well received as a new phone, we had real issues and were unable to secure sufficient inventory to meet the demand that we had forecasted".

Pichette cannot seriously expect any sane prospective buyer to be fine with that excuse when basically the same thing happened with Nexus 4 and Nexus 5. Clearly, Google has some issues in this department, which may be solved by putting more competent people in charge of Nexus devices.

We don't need to hear a similar excuse a year from now. Three botched launches in a row are enough, wouldn't you agree?

Some may say that Google could be trying to build up demand for Nexus 6 by limiting availability. But this would only make sense when the device is new and not exactly interesting. Nexus 6 is neither, so the limited availability is harming sales, and, quite possibly, consumers' interest in the device. And I think Google isn't delusional in thinking otherwise.

It's all fun and games for a while after the positive reviews come out, but it gets old fast as the money is still in consumers' pockets. Just don't act surprised when you read about low Nexus 6 sales numbers.

Nokia shows sharp Q4 profit growth

Nokia’s best decision might have been selling its mobile division to Microsoft for £5 billion, removing the sinking division and giving the Finnish company enough capital to re-invest in networking and mapping technologies.

The results are already noticeable; Nokia reported £2.84 billion in revenue and £331 million net profit in the fourth quarter, compared to £2.60 billion in revenue and £17 million in net loss last year.

Networking sales increased by 10 percent since last quarter, partly due to strong interest in North America. Nokia also managed to maintain a strong portfolio of patent sales throughout 2014.

CEO Rajeev Suri was pleased with the results and bringing Nokia back to profitability, after removing the loss leader Nokia.

"We will not shy away from investing where we need to invest", he said. "But, we plan to always combine that with disciplined cost control and a focus on delivering ongoing productivity and quality improvements across the company".

Nokia HERE is another big market the Finnish company is actively exploring, after making a deal with Baidu to provide mapping technologies to Chinese people when on holiday.

In its quarterly report, Nokia said it expects all three sectors -- networking, mapping and patents -- to see growth in annual sales across 2015.

Nokia is also preparing to invest in other technologies and markets in 2015, but for now has been silent on the subject of a mobile device. Nokia recently announced the N1 tablet running Launcher Z on top of Android, but this has not been released yet.

Microsoft also noted growth on its mobile division, selling 10.5 million Lumia devices with an average sale price of £139. Microsoft decided to try and push Nokia’s into the low-end market, instead of competing against Apple and Samsung.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

New business collaboration platform secures data with personalized cryptography

Data security is a big concern for both individuals and businesses. This doesn't only apply to the public face of a business, but to exchange of information and collaboration between employees too.

Canadian company Witkit is launching a new platform that allows the creation of teams and groups within industries, companies, and departments to tackle projects and solve problems collectively, with the safety and security of knowing their data cannot be breached.

"Our intention with Witkit is to make the first fully encrypted global collaboration platform so that companies and individuals can more easily reap the benefits that socialized teamwork brings to their business challenges," says Sean Merat, president and CEO of Witkit.

Witkit is a modular platform that works by allowing users to create tailored workspaces. These center on 'Kits' -- virtual groups based on specific topics or projects. Within each Kit, members can upload and access shared files, initiate and contribute to group discussions, post and respond to team tasks, and use a single synchronized calendar.

Additional features include secure storage using proprietary encryption, along with messenger and video conferencing services.

Kits can be made private or public and users are able to participate in multiple Kits at the same time. A single dashboard and news feed collates all of a user's memberships in one place.

"The vast majority of breaches today happen on a centralized system which contains sensitive user data," says Merat. "WitCrypt technology ensures that the encryption and decryption of user data is only done on user devices locally. All data that is sent to the Witkit servers is fully encrypted and can only be decrypted by the user's WitCrypt passphrase. We can confidently say that we've minimized most, if not all the risk, to user data being hacked. That is to say that in the unlikely event that the Witkit servers are compromised, there will be no decrypted data to be found".

For more information visit the Witkit website, the first 50,000 people who sign up for the platform will get 50GB of encrypted storage and all available applications for free.

Image Credit: Tischenko Irina / Shutterstock

Smartphones: Apple ties with Samsung, Android still growing, Windows Phone still failing

Samsung is no longer the leading smartphone vendor. According to a new report from Strategy Analytics, Apple caught up with the South Korean maker in Q4 2014, thanks to a record number of iPhone shipments totaling 74.5 million units. The two players now share the top spot on the podium.

How did it come to this? Well, it's simple. Apple's shipments increased from 51 million units by 46.07 percent year-over-year, while Samsung's shipments decreased from 86 million units by 13.37 percent, each converging to 19.6 percent market share. Thanks to the strong performance shown by iPhones, iOS' market share rose also, to 19.6 percent from 17.6 percent a year prior, while Android's market share dipped slightly to 76.7 percent from 78.3 percent.

As my colleague Joe Wilcox explained, Apple's march towards the top was helped by strong sales of its two flagships, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Strategy Analytics says that the pair was extremely popular in China, Europe and United States. And, contrary to some reports, Apple didn't sell more iPhones in China than US in Q4 2014, according to the company's CFO, Luca Maestri. But revenues increased dramatically in the Asian market, by 70 percent year-over-year.

The report adds that Samsung is attacked from all sides, taking hits from Apple in the high-end segment and players like Huawei and Xiaomi in the mid-range and low-end part of the market, respectively. This explains the continued poor performance of the South Korean maker, which also saw its profits slide in Q4 2014.

The podium is completed by Lenovo, which, following its acquisition of Motorola from Google, reached 24.7 million smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter of last year. Thanks to Motorola's impact on shipments, Lenovo's shipments increased from 18.8 million units by 31.38 percent year-over-year.

2014 was a great year for smartphones, as Android shipments alone exceeded the one billion units mark. The green droid shipped on 1,042.7 million smartphones last year, an increase of 33.54 percent year-over-year from 780.8 million units. Meanwhile, its market share rose to 81.2 percent from 78.9 percent.

Apple shipped 192.7 million iPhones in 2014, which is a more modest increase of 25.61 percent year-over-year from 153.4 million units. Meanwhile, the market share of iOS, however, dipped to 15 percent from 15.5 percent.

Microsoft's beleaguered Windows Phone saw shipments reaching 38.8 million units last year, which is a tiny increase of just 8.37 percent from the 35.8 million units from 2013. This translates into a market share decrease to 3 percent from 3.6 percent year-over-year.

Strategy Analytics pins Windows Phone's fate on Microsoft's inability to gain the support of the major players in the business as well as on a tiny retail presence in major markets like China. The first argument is certainly proved by Huawei, which just announced that it has no plans to make smartphones running Windows 10. The latter is not as sound, given that Samsung has a stronger retail presence in major markets, yet its market share and shipments are declining also.

Of the three major platforms, in terms of shipments Android was the only one which grew more than the year-over-year market average of 29.6 percent. Apple's iOS got close, but ultimately failed to hit the mark. Needless to say, Windows Phone got left behind even further.

The reason why it's important for a platform to beat the year-over-year market average is so that it can capture market share from rival players. If it fails to do so, no matter if its shipments increase, it is losing out to the competition.

The best performer in the last quarter of the year was, hands down, Apple's iOS, while for the whole of 2014 it was Android. The worst performers in the last quarter of the year were Android and Windows Phone, while for the whole of last year they were iOS and Windows Phone.

Google faces a Sisyphean task to remove terrorist content from YouTube

Too much content is uploaded to YouTube for Google to be able to effectively police users' videos. This is what the search giant said in response to calls for more to be done to counter terrorism-related content on the video network.

Online censorship versus the right to freedom of speech is a battle that has waged online for some time now. Some parts of the world are more prone to censorship than others, and it's an argument that bubbles up from time to time. The debate usually centers around the moral rights and wrongs of censoring content, but the issue of practicality occasionally rears its head as well.

Facebook has shown that when it comes to weeding out fake news stories, it is happy to rely on a little help from users of the social network. While Google adopts something of the same approach by allowing YouTube users to report videos deemed unsuitable for one reason or another, it also actively seeks out illegal content that is uploaded including terrorism-related material.

Google's Public Policy Manager Verity Harding said that every minute of every day, around 300 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube. This works out as 432,000 hours of footage every day, or 18000 days' worth of video in a 24 hour period. If this content was to be vetted by Google in real time, 2,250 members of staff would need to work around the clock watching videos as they are uploaded.

Unsurprisingly, Google thinks that this is expecting too much, making the following comparison when speaking at a European Parliament meeting of the ALDE liberal group:

To pre-screen those videos before they are uploaded would be like screening a phone call before it's made.

European Union's counter-terror chief Gilles De Kerchove recognized the magnitude of the task, and said that it could be made easier by spreading the workload across the continent. He said: "We have to help them, and refer to them, and signal content. Each member state should have a unit with people trained to do that".

Photo credit: Balefire / Shutterstock

Employees can put corporations in danger for little money

The recent breaches of large corporation internal systems has lead some security analysts to believe indifference from employees is a key factor, rather than rogue nations attacking the private sector.

Identity management firm SailPoint claims employees would be willing to sell corporate information like passwords for as little as £100 and routinely use the same passwords for almost all applications.

The report also claims employees regularly share passwords and classified information with co-workers.

Over half of the employees questioned said they use the same password for multiple corporate programs.

Corporations are partly to blame for the lack of security understanding, allowing employees to use poor password practices in the workplace. The UK has tried to amend this with more training for IT staff, but to little avail.

"Employees may have moved away from the post-it note password list, by using the same password across personal and work applications exposes the company", said Kevin Cunningham, president and founder of SailPoint.

"Just think of the major breaches that occurred in 2014 requiring users to change their passwords on social media. If those were the same passwords being used to access mission critical applications, it's very easy for hacking organizations to take advantage and get into more valuable areas".

The lack of training and use of applications, like 1Password, makes employees reuse passwords, instead of creating stronger ones, alongside apathy for company security and policy.

This report undermines some of the more common assumptions that stolen private data is instantly in the hands of a rogue nation.

Like with the Sony Pictures case -- where 100TB of data was stolen -- it could have easily been an employee who knew they were going to be made redundant in the next year who sold the information to a hacker.

Scary thought, isn't it.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Photo Credit: Redstarstudio/Shutterstock

Microsoft's decision to ditch Surface is a long-overdue mercy killing for Windows RT

For too long it was the metaphorical unwanted litter of kittens tied in a sack just waiting for someone to ditch it in the river. Windows RT is dead, having enjoyed a cancer-ridden 'life' for longer than many people expected. Microsoft announced that it is no longer going to manufacture Surface devices, all but signing the death warrant for Windows RT.

Hear that sound? No? That's the sound of everyone caring about it. To be fair, the writing has been on the wall for quite some time. Windows RT was always the sickly twin sibling of Windows 8 and now Microsoft has done the decent thing. It might not quite have delivered the lethal shot to the brain yet, but the gun has been cocked. And not before time.

If you're a fan of the Surface Pro -- running proper, full fat Windows -- there's no need to panic; this version of the hybrid laptop is going nowhere (in the positive sense of the phrase). It's just the Windows RT-packing non-Pro version that has been dropped like a hot stone. It's not like there haven't been plenty of clues for some time.

The original Surface was an out and out flop while the follow-up Surface 2 fared little better. When the Surface Pro 3 was released without even a mention of a Surface 3, it really should have become clear to anyone who hadn’t already realized that Microsoft had given up on its limited tablet. As far back as 2013, Microsoft had indicated that the days of having three operating systems -- desktop Windows, Windows RT and Windows Phone -- were numbered. More recently a Microsoft spokesperson said:

We are no longer manufacturing Surface 2; however, those still eager to buy Surface should visit Microsoft Retail Stores, MicrosoftStore.com, third-party retailers and resellers for the latest availability.

I'm not sure people will be beating down shop doors to snap up the last few remaining units. Windows RT was dead in the water from the very beginning, and as the flagship RT devices are killed off there is just going to be a slow, spluttering death until the end of the lifecycle (April 2017 for first generation Surfaces, and April the following year for the second generation).

Microsoft's attempt to muscle in on the tablet market with Windows-lite was misguided. Of course, creating a version of Windows for ARM processors was going to mean making compromises, but there were just too many of them. Part of the problem, once again, was apps. While Google and Apple have a strong infrastructure, a solid ecosystem in place, the same cannot be said for Microsoft with its app stores. Things may have improved somewhat of late, but the damage was already done -- Surface users were left with devices crippled by a lack of apps. The same problems affected Windows Phone, but things have started to improve slightly for phone owners. But it's too late for Surface and its need for specially made apps.

When talking about Windows RT, one of the virtues of the OS that has been extolled is its 'inability' to be infected with viruses. Well that's just not true. While it is extremely unlikely for RT to be infected thanks partly to the fact that (unless devices are jailbroken) only apps from the official store can be installed -- although that's not to say that a rogue app couldn't slip through the net. There's also the fact that the viruses that affect desktop Windows simply cannot run on RT, but that’s like claiming that Android or iOS can’t be infected with desktop Windows viruses -- it's true, but meaningless.

So RT is breathing its last. There will be few tears shed, and Microsoft will probably mop its brow in relief when it no longer has to consider the disastrous product. Possibly because of the time remaining in the support lifecycle, RT users are in line for an update to their operating system. When Windows 10 is released later in the year there will be an update that offers "some of the functionality of Windows 10". It's not entirely clear what this means -- without further details, it is essentially meaningless. Windows 8 has "some of the functionality of Windows 10", and the statement could be fulfilled by simply updating the calculator in Windows RT to match the one found in Windows 10. I exaggerate, but the point is still a valid one.

The modern Microsoft has shown that it is ready to start listening to its customers, and those customers have said loud and clear that Windows RT is not something they want. It's an operating system that has been on death row for quite some time now, and the kindest thing to do now is to pull the plug. Let's put us and it out of our respective miseries and forget it ever happened.

Photo credit: Minerva Studio / Shutterstock

Microsoft OneDrive is now the place for your photos

Microsoft wants its cloud storage service to be the best place for all of your photos, and so is debuting new ways to import, organize, find, improve, and share them.

According to Douglas Pearce, OneDrive’s Group Program Manager, major updates coming over the next couple of weeks include: "the ability for customers to curate photos from their phone, desktop and inbox quickly and simply; a new feature that allows you to view, manage, and share photos with Albums; and finally, through a partnership with Bing, customers can now search for their files and photos in a new and exciting way!"

You can already automatically upload photos and videos to OneDrive using the relevant Android, iOS, or Windows Phone app, but over the next month Windows 7 and 8 .x users will also be able to automatically import and upload photos from connected devices -- such as digital cameras, USB memory sticks and external hard drives. And if you take screenshots, those will be uploaded to OneDrive automatically too.

From today OneDrive gains an Albums feature to make it easier to view, manage, and share your snaps. Albums have larger photo thumbnails, and images arranged attractively edge to edge, like a collage. And that’s not all. As Douglas Pearce explains, "Albums also let you bring photos and videos together from anywhere in your OneDrive. You don’t need to copy files from other folders. That means you can easily create an album using photos from your phone in your camera roll folder, your camera in your "European Vacation 2012" folder, or from your email, with the photos you saved to your attachments folder. And even more, you can also add to your albums after they’ve been created and shared".

Albums is available from today on the web and the OneDrive iOS app. It will be followed shortly by Android and Windows Phone (Microsoft once again prioritizing iOS over its own mobile platform, which will annoy the Windows Phone faithful, but is the smart business choice). Users will also be able to receive Weekend Recap emails -- these contain sample photos that you took over the weekend, ready for sharing with friends.

Finding files in OneDrive is getting a boost too thanks to a close partnership with Bing. Users will be able to find Office documents and PDFs by searching for text inside them, and track down images based on time, location, and even text recorded in your photos (street signs, for example, or menus). In addition you can search for photos based on tags you’ve added yourself, or which Microsoft has automatically generated.

This is great news for photographers, although the 30GB you get for storage (if you turn on the camera backup) looks rather stingy compared with the 1TB Flickr offers for free. Maybe if Microsoft is really serious about appealing to photographers it will up the quota at some point in the future.

Xiaomi: Hand over your iPhone, get a Mi Note flagship for free

Xiaomi is going hard against Apple in 2015. CEO Lei Jun recently gave several shoutouts to the Apple's inferior design quality on the iPhone 6 when compared to the Mi Note.

And now the next step in the battle will focus on swapping iPhones for Xiaomi Mi Note and Mi Note Pro at no extra cost, according to a new report citing Xiaomi's media development director.

Users will be able to trade in iPhone 5s (or an older model) for a free Mi Note and trade in an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus for a free Mi Note Pro, Xiaomi's two new smartphones launched earlier this month.

The Mi Note and Mi Note Pro are already half the price of the iPhone alternatives, making it quite a gamble in the price department.

If a user is able to get a Mi Note from an iPhone 5 it might be worth it, but we doubt Xiaomi will have any large success with the Mi Note Pro trade in offer.

Xiaomi has added a 5.7-inch full HD display, quad-core Snapdragon 801, 3GB of RAM, 16/64GB of internal storage and 3000mAh battery to the Mi Note, or an upgrade to a QHD display, octa-core Snapdragon 810 and 4GB of RAM on the Mi Note Pro.

Both exceed specifications for price, beating Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus without much of a fight, however Apple has made it an objective to never compare specs and always test the feel and software.

Apple's total iPhone marketshare is up to 16 per cent in China. Xiaomi is no longer the de-facto ruler of mainland China, so it needs to pick up the pace if it wants to be competitive against the leading Apple in 2015.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Pushbullet now shares files and notifications between iPhone, iPad and Mac

Pushbullet is a great app which makes it easy to send files, links, notifications and more from one of your devices to another.

The latest release adds full Apple support. Just as with Android devices, you’re now able to have iPhone or iPad notifications automatically pushed to a Windows or Mac desktop (or anywhere else you’ve installed the system).

"Universal copy and paste" now supports Apple devices, too: just copy something to the clipboard on one computer and it’s available to paste on another.

Support for Facebook as well as Google login makes it simpler to get started.

If you’ve not used Pushbullet before then everything works much the same way on Android and PC hardware.

On a PC, for example, right-click a link or a file in Explorer, select Pushbullet, and a list of your devices appears. Choose one and it’s sent right away, without the need for workarounds like emailing it to yourself.