What changes should Microsoft implement in Windows 'Threshold'?

Microsoft took a huge gamble with Windows 8, reinventing its operating system for tablets and touch screen PCs. Unfortunately, when it was first released there really weren’t many touch devices for it to run on, and the majority of desktop users (myself included) hated the bolted on full screen Modern UI that replaced the traditional Start menu.

With Windows 8.1, a lot of the complaints aimed at the tiled OS have been addressed. Desktop users can pretty much avoid the Modern UI altogether, and overall 8.1 is a much more polished affair. Despite the improvements and near ubiquity on new hardware, Windows 8/8.1 is still struggling to find an audience. Last month, Windows 7’s growth was four times that of the newer OS. So where does Microsoft go from here? Mary Jo Foley of the All About Microsoft blog reports the answer is "Threshold".

Microsoft is at something of a crossroads, with four similar, yet different, operating systems -- Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8, Windows RT and the Xbox One OS. In a recent UBS seminar in Sausalito, California, Julie Larson-Green, executive vice-president of Devices and Studios at Microsoft, said: "We have the Windows Phone OS. We have Windows RT and we have full Windows. We're not going to have three". A lot of people took that statement to mean RT would be phased out, or converged with Windows Phone.

Foley says Threshold (the codename derives from a planet in the original Halo game) will be a "wave of operating systems across Windows-based phones, devices and gaming consoles" and bring the Xbox One, Windows and Windows Phone operating systems closer together.

As well as linking to a single app store, and making it easier for developers to create apps able to run across all devices, Foley says Threshold "will add another level of commonality across Microsoft's various Windows-based platforms" and "support the same core set of 'high value activities'". In July, CEO Steve Ballmer sent out a reorganization email to Microsoft employees, in which he categorized these high value activities as "serious fun, meetings, tasks, research, information assurance and IT/Dev workloads".

Foley’s article is light on details -- it’s just a name really, and some talk about shared commonality. But at this point, provided her information is correct, that’s to be expected.

The "shared commonality" aim is definitely a real thing, as Executive Vice President Terry Myerson is in charge of a new unified operating system engineering group at Microsoft designed for that very purpose. The different OS share many common elements already, yet are currently poles apart in many of the areas where it really matters. Tying them closer together is a serious no brainer.

Microsoft is working on bringing Windows Phone 8.1 out in spring next year, and will deliver a Windows 8.1 update, called "Windows 8.1 update 1" at around the same time, according to Foley (personally, I’d like it to be called "Windows 8.11" in a nod to the past). Threshold, is expected to arrive a year later. If that timescale is correct, it means Microsoft doesn’t have all that long to make sweeping wholesale changes, but if the primary aim is to unify the core elements of the existing operating systems without reinventing the wheel then it’s doable.

If you were in charge of Windows, what changes would you be looking to introduce to the next version of the OS?

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Shadow IT use raises workplace data risks

Last month we reported on research showing that 65 percent of financial professionals were putting company data at risk by using unauthorized apps. New research carried out for anti-virus company McAfee shows that the figure is even higher across the enterprise as whole.

The study finds that of 600 employees surveyed across North America, the UK and Australasia, 80 percent admit to using non-approved software as a service (SaaS) applications in their jobs. These applications are referred to as "Shadow IT", meaning technology that hasn’t been approved by the IT department or acquired according to company procurement policy.

The rise of the cloud makes it easier for employees to deploy their own SaaS apps without reference to IT departments. The most popular unapproved application according to the survey is Microsoft Office 365, used by 9 percent of respondents, followed closely by Zoho on 8 percent. Then come social networking applications LinkedIn and Facebook each on 7 percent.

In an example of technical hypocrisy, IT users make greater use of Shadow IT (83 percent admitting to using it) than general business users on 81 percent. When asked to justify its use, 39 percent of IT respondents say they use unauthorized SaaS because, "it allows me to bypass IT processes", while 18 percent say that IT restrictions "make it difficult to do my job".

"With over 80 percent of employees admitting to using non-approved SaaS in their jobs, businesses clearly need to protect themselves while still enabling access to applications that help employees be more productive," says Pat Calhoun, general manager of network security at McAfee. "The best approach is to deploy solutions that transparently monitor SaaS applications and other forms of web traffic, and uniformly apply enterprise policies, without restricting employees' ability to do their jobs better. These not only enable secure access to SaaS applications, but can also encrypt sensitive information, prevent data loss, protect against malware, and enable IT to enforce acceptable usage policies".

The full report, The hidden truth behind shadow IT is available as a PDF from the McAfee website.

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App hardening emerges as a key component of mobile security strategies

The consumerization of information technology (IT) takes many forms, but the three technologies that employees have become comfortable with in their role as consumer and now wish to leverage in their role as employee are mobile devices, cloud services (for example, file storage), and social networks. All three technologies raise security and compliance concerns for enterprises because of the difficulties surrounding control of their use. The loss of control experienced by IT teams regarding enforcing IT and security policy is a result of employees’ ability to use these technologies to create shadow IT operations on their own.

While each of these three technologies is having a far-reaching impact on enterprises today, the use of mobile devices is most impactful because it allows employees to more easily access both cloud services and social networks. Securing the use of mobile devices is therefore an absolutely critical requirement for businesses today. Actually securing a device that might be owned by an employee and will therefore be unmanageable is, however, a tall order. A better strategy is to assume the device is in fact untrustworthy and to decide that trust is better established at the application level. Secure mobile apps can be built that are isolated from the rest of the device.

In practice, however, many mobile apps lack even basic security features. This is not surprising given that most mobile apps are focused on consumers and that time to market is a particularly critical metric in the mobile world. In a perfect world, app developers would have the time, expertise, and inclination to include appropriate security features in their software products. But, even for enterprise applications, this is not typically the case.

Two important classes of app hardening tools are available in the market today to help address this issue. Several software vendors sell software development kits (SDKs) that assist app developers in building security features into their app development life cycles. While these tools simplify the process of hardening apps by reducing the expertise required to add security features to apps, they still require a significant commitment in time and resources.

This is why app wrappers have emerged as an alternative method for app hardening. With app wrappers, security functionality similar to that which can be achieved with SDKs during the development process can simply be added to existing mobile apps. Typical features found in app wrapping and SDK products include:

• Authentication (for example, app level passcode enforcement)


• Encryption of data at rest (for example, FIPS 140-2)


• Encryption of data in motion (for example, app-level VPN support)


• Content controls (for example, copy-and-paste and “open in” restrictions)


• Jailbreak detection (Android and iOS support)

For a more detailed look at the app hardening market and the players in the SDK and app wrapper segments, see the recent analyst brief "App Hardening To Protect Mobile Device Data".

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For the last 18 years, NSS Labs’ Research Director Andrew Braunberg has focused on the market landscape, trends and innovations in technology, initially as a technology journalist and then as Research Director at Current Analysis for the Business Technology and Software group. His core areas of focus include Enterprise Mobility and Network Security. Andrew holds a BS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Engineering Physics, and a MA from George Washington University in Science, Technology, and Public Policy.

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TeamViewer 9 adds Wake-on-Lan, tabbed interface, easier file transfer

Remote access tool TeamViewer has left beta and been officially upgraded to version 9 with a host of time-saving tweaks and tools.

The new release makes it much easier to start work. A Wake-on-LAN feature allows you to wake up computers remotely; desktop shortcuts for any computer can get you connected with a double-click; and you can carry out simple file transfers without having to first establish a connection.

If you regularly have multiple sessions open simultaneously then you’ll appreciate the new tabbed interface. This makes it much easier to track what’s going on by having individual tabs flash whenever some new activity occurs.

Transferring data between local and remote computers is now much more natural. There’s no need to launch a special file transfer dialog, although the option is there; files, folders, screenshots and more can now be copied via the clipboard, just as on your own PC.

Business users will benefit from the option to save customized customer modules with their preferred branding. Customers can now join a session by clicking a link, no TeamViewer ID or password required. And new task management tools include a Notifications box which collects and displays details on the service queue, contact requests and more.

There are plenty of other extras dotted around the package. Video transfer has been optimized; the interface now automatically adapts for easier use on touch devices; two-way authentication helps to protect your TeamViewer account; and, of course, there’s full Windows 8.1 and OS X Mavericks support.

Our first impressions are positive; TeamViewer 9 seems like an excellent update. And as ever, it’s free for personal use. TeamViewer 9 and TeamViewer 9 Portable are available now.

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What's next for tablet technology?

The iPad wasn't the first tablet on the market, but it was certainly the first to capture the public's attention in a big way. And now, we live in a world where predictions tell us nearly weekly that the reign of the desktop PC is coming to an end.

That may or may not be true, but the fact remains: the tablet is here to stay, and it’s one of the fastest-selling electronic devices in recent history. While the newly unveiled iPad Air and iPad mini Retina are bringing people in droves to local Apple stores, Google continues to impress with its Android-powered Nexus tablets, and Windows-based tablet computers like the Surface 2 are gaining traction in an increasingly crowded market.

With a new year fast approaching, tech enthusiasts everywhere are asking "what's next?" for tablets. It's all speculation for now, but here are some good guesses:

Increased Durability

Tablet design so far has focused on clean lines and a pleasing aesthetic. But a largely unexplored area of innovation is durability. Apple products are a great example of this phenomenon: while undoubtedly objects of beauty, Apple users are famous for buying heavy-duty cases to assuage fears about long-term durability or the ability to survive an accidental drop. Expect Apple and rivals to begin exploring alternative building materials, and perhaps even to dabble in waterproof devices.

Embracing Smaller, Connected Devices

Many tablets on the market today offer a choice in connectivity: Wi-Fi, or Wi-Fi plus a cellular data plan. For many who already have a smartphone, doubling up on data costs isn’t an attractive option. But the emergence of the so-called "phablet" has already turned some heads. Like the name suggests, a phablet is an oversized smartphone with a form factor that has more in common with a miniature tablet. With access to 3G and 4G LTE connections, the phablet could fill a need in the tablet market -- especially for people who don't currently have Wi-Fi, a landline phone, or access to fiber optic Internet service.

Better Multitasking

By now, most of us have mastered the art of multitasking on our PCs. Opening multiple windows to keep an eye on multiple tasks has become second nature. But most tablets on the market only let you look at a single app at a time. There are some artful ways to switch between open apps, but no great solution for viewing multiple apps at the same time. To stay ahead, the next generation of tablets will have to provide tools to mimic that ability. There are a few exceptions of course -- Microsoft Surface and some Samsung Galaxy tablets both have improved multitasking capabilities.

Further Feature Parity with Desktop PCs

Despite predictions about the death of the desktop PC, most tablets these days are designed not to replace PCs but to complement them. Apple's tablet lineup places the focus on iCloud, which syncs user documents and data between home computers and iPads. Microsoft, too, has been gravitating toward a merging of its desktop and mobile operating systems and making use of SkyDrive. Expect this trend to continue into the next generation of tablets, where mobile devices will become even more capable surrogates for our personal computers when we're away from home.

Whether you're new to the world of tablet computers or you're already among the millions of faithful users, there's no denying that exciting things are on the horizon. For those who remain holdouts -- it’s becoming more and more difficult to deny that the tablet has gotten people excited about consumer electronics in a way that the desktop PC market hasn't matched in quite some time.

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Michelle Smith is a freelance writer with a focus on technology. She can be found typing away on her laptop in sunny Boca Raton, Florida. Michelle welcomes your feedback via email .

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Wavosaur now available in 64-bit

Tiny, yet powerful audio editor Wavosaur has been updated to version 1.1.0.0.

This release introduces a native 64-bit edition, which allows the program to access all your RAM, and load 64-bit VST plugins. A bug fix with the 1.0.9.0 VST host means Izotope and similar plugins should now work properly.

And, well, that’s about it.

This build is a little short on new features when compared to the last release, then, but we’re not complaining; getting an x64 edition is a major step, all on its own.

If you’re an existing user, or just looking for a capable audio editor which won’t clutter your system with junk, then Wavosaur 1.1.0.0 32-bit and 64-bit editions are available for you to download now.

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Facebook wants to ditch the meme and focus on news delivery

Facebook was never really meant to be about news. It is a social network that's about keeping in touch with people. But companies quickly cottoned onto the site as a valuable tool for reaching out to customers, delivering information about product launches, app updates and other news. Despite the fact that Facebook users are invited to update their "status", anything that is posted appears in the "News Feed" of others. Now Facebook is trying to make your News Feed more about news.

There have been endless complaints about the order in which posts are displayed in the News Feed, and the presence of ads, but this latest update has been brought in to help further separate the wheat from the chaff. Having conducted a survey, Facebook has come to the conclusion that its users are more interested in seeing high quality content than countless images of cats and bastardized Keep Calm posters.

"Starting soon, we’ll be doing a better job of distinguishing between a high quality article on a website versus a meme photo hosted somewhere other than Facebook when people click on those stories on mobile. This means that high quality articles you or others read may show up a bit more prominently in your News Feed, and meme photos may show up a bit less prominently".

But it doesn’t end there. Facebook is not only keen to provide you with links to a high quality story to keep you educated, informed and entertained, it wants you to keep reading non-meme content. Should you click a link to a story have has been deemed to be of suitably high quality you will start to see more related links to stories that are either in a similar vein, or from the same source.

The updates will also see Facebook trying to increase users' interactions with stories. How often have you posted a comment on something you've stumbled across, but then don’t bother to check back to see if people you know are also posting comments? In the near future, posts that have received new comments -- particularly those commented on by your friends -- will be bumped to the top of your newsfeed.

What do you make of the changes? Are you happy that Facebook tries to deliver content it thinks you'll be interested in, or would you rather be left to your own devices?

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