Facebook has mapped the location of millions of people down to 5-meter accuracy

If you've ever thought that Facebook knows a little too much about you, here's something that's going to do nothing to dislodge that fear from your mind. Using a combination of government census information and data from satellites, the social networking giant has mapped the location of people in 23 countries around the world. In all, Facebook knows where millions of people live down to an accuracy of 5 meters. All of this has been made possible by a mapping technology developed by Facebook to help it see how people are distributed across the globe to determine how best to… [Continue Reading]

Reddit is killing off access to its main source code, because open source is bad for competition

Nine years after going open source, Reddit is archiving the source code for its website and mobile apps. The source code will still be accessible, but will no longer be updated -- Reddit cites concerns about competition as one of the reasons for the change in direction. But Reddit is not completely turning its back on open source. While it will no longer be possible to access the full source code, it will still be possible to access a limited number of small codebases -- such as baseplate, rollingpin and mcsauna. The site says, "those who have been paying attention… [Continue Reading]

Manjaro Gellivara 17.0.3 Arch-based Linux distro now available -- final 32-bit release

Tomorrow is Labor Day, meaning for many of you, this is a three-day weekend. While some folks will use this time to relax, we computer geeks will instead tinker with hardware and try new software. If you like to install and play with various Linux-based operating systems, Labor Day Weekend is perfect for this! Today, version 17.0.3 of te Manjaro Gellivara Linux distribution becomes available. This Arch-based operating system is quite the satisfying experience -- I highly recommend it. This will be the final "Gellivara" release, which also means it is the final 32-bit version of Manjaro. Yes, folks, for the next… [Continue Reading]

Now everyone can try the Outlook.com beta -- no special tricks needed

It has been a few weeks since Microsoft launched an updated beta version of Outlook.com. Rather than making the beta available to everyone, the company chose to roll out the beta to a limited number of users -- although it was possible to jump the queue with a little trick. Now Microsoft has decided to make the Outlook.com beta available to everyone. There's quite a lot to try out, with an updated look and a host of new and improved features. While the beta version is available to everyone, it's not enabled by default. Switching to the new beta take… [Continue Reading]

Download new LibreELEC Krypton -- Kodi TV and movie addons like Exodus and Covenant should work

Linux and Kodi go so well together. If you want to set up a lightweight media center distribution, you should look no further than LibreELEC. This open source Linux-based operating system exists solely to run Kodi, making it work on fairly meager hardware, such as a Raspberry Pi. Today, a new LibreELEC Krypton version gets a release -- 8.1.1 BETA. If you are worried about compatibility with your favorite addons such as Exodus and Covenant, don't -- they should work absolutely fine. Of course, if you do encounter any issues, it can be very easy to go back. Might as well have the… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft releases Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16281 for PC with Train Simulator fix

When it comes to the Windows Insiders program, the Fast Ring is the most bleeding edge, right? Wrong. While it used to be, the "Skip Ahead" level has exceeded it in that regard. In other words, there is a Fast Ring, but now Skip Ahead can be seen as the Faster Ring. Today, Microsoft releases Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16281 for PC, which is for the regular Fast Ring. While the Skip Ahead folks are now on builds based on Redstone 4, this is apparently based on RS3. If you like playing with virtual choo choo trains, I am happy to say there… [Continue Reading]

AMD wants to conquer the enterprise PC market with Ryzen Pro

AMD has laid out its aim to make workplace PC and laptop devices more powerful thanks to its latest Ryzen Pro chips. The company has unveiled the first enterprise computing devices that will feature its latest hardware, with the world's three biggest PC manufacturers all signed up for new releases. At an event in New York this week, Lenovo, HP and Dell all revealed that they have new launches powered by AMD's newest Ryzen Pro chips scheduled for release over the next few weeks. "We're really prod of the collaborative partnerships we've built," Jim Anderson, SVP and GM of AMD's computing and… [Continue Reading]