Nintendo is bringing Mario Kart to smartphones

Following the success of Super Mario Run, Nintendo has confirmed plans to bring Mario Kart to mobile devices. The game will be called Mario Kart Tour, and it is currently scheduled for release by the first quarter of 2019. This is the first Mario Kart title to make its way to smartphones, and a title that will be eagerly awaited by fans of the Italian plumber. At the moment, Nintendo is giving away very little about the future game. For now, all we know is the (current) title -- Mario Kart Tour -- and the company's plan to release it… [Continue Reading]

NetMarketShare: Windows 10 still some behind Windows 7

If you believe StatCounter’s numbers, Windows 10 finally overtook Windows 7 in January. However, if you tend to trust NetMarketShare’s monthly desktop operating system figures more, well, then it didn’t. According to the analyst firm’s numbers, in January Windows 10 narrowed the gap by a fair margin, but Windows 7 is still some way in the lead. SEE ALSO: StatCounter: Windows 10 finally overtakes Windows 7 In December, Windows 10 had 32.93 percent share, and this increased to 34.29 percent last month, a rise of 1.36 percentage points. Windows 7 had 43.08 percent share in December, which fell to 42.39… [Continue Reading]

eBay to drop PayPal as its primary payment processor

eBay and PayPal have become almost inextricably entwined over the years -- but not completely inextricably. Citing lower costs, eBay has announced plans to drop PayPal as its main payment processor in favor of Dutch firm Adyen. Starting later this year, eBay will move some of its payments to the new provider, and then by 2020, PayPal will have been replaced as the backend payment service. eBay users will still have the option to use PayPal until at least the middle of 2023. Following eBay's announcement, PayPal stock dropped by 12 percent. After a 15-year relationship, eBay currently accounts for… [Continue Reading]

Security is top priority in choosing cloud solutions

Security is the main priority when selecting cloud solutions according to a new report which shows businesses are increasingly adapting their security to suit the cloud. The study for cloud security automation company Lacework carried out by analysts Hurwitz & Associates shows that 'safe and secure' tops the list of desirable cloud characteristics, cited by 53 percent of respondents. In addition 85 percent of respondents recognize that cloud security is different from traditional data center security. Only 35 percent of respondents feel that security limits their ability to maximize the benefits of DevOps and operations automation. 78 percent believe that they… [Continue Reading]

StatCounter: Windows 10 finally overtakes Windows 7

Every month, StatCounter reports on the state of the desktop operating system market. Since October last year, the analyst company’s figures have shown the gap between Windows 10 and Windows 7 narrowing. It looked as if the newer OS would overtake the older one in November, but that didn’t happen, and it didn’t happen in December either. However, in January, according to StatCounter, Windows 10 finally claimed the top spot. SEE ALSO: Fall Creators Update on nearly 75 percent of all Windows 10 PCs The latest figures show Windows 10 on 42.78 percent, up from 41.69 percent in December 2017.… [Continue Reading]

Windows Defender to root out dodgy registry cleaners and system optimization tools

Microsoft is taking a firmer line with misleading system utilities and tools that try to scare users into paying for software. An update to Windows Defender means that software found to be "coercive" could be ripe for automatic removal. New policies come into play in March as Microsoft tries to banish software that makes misleading claims or adversely affects system performance. Tools that exaggerate problems or resort to scare tactics are among those in the firing line. Microsoft explains that it is updating its software evaluation criteria so that programs may not "ruse alarming or coercive messaging that can put… [Continue Reading]

2018 Prediction #5 -- The H-1B visa problem will NOT go away

I’m sorry this year’s predictions seem to this point to mainly have to do with policies rather than products, but I don’t get to make the future, just predict it, and in this case I’m predicting that immigration reform will have little actual effect on H-1B visa abuse. For those of you who aren’t already asleep I’ll start with the Cliff Notes version of the H-1B issue, which I have written about ad nauseam as you can read here (notice there are three pages of columns, so dig deep). H-1B is a U.S. immigration program to allow 65,000 foreign workers… [Continue Reading]