Microsoft is all set to officially unveil Windows 9 at a special event on September 30 — and so we thought it would be a good time to run through everything that we already know about Microsoft’s new operating system. Most of these features and changes are reliably sourced from people close to the development of Windows 9 or from leaked builds of the Windows 9 Technical Preview. We’ll also update this story with an official list of Windows 9 features when Microsoft starts releasing public beta builds next week. In short, if you want to find out about Windows 9, this is the place to be.
After the very poor response to Windows 8, and the bitter taste it left in the mouths of millions of users, Windows 9 is a very important release for Microsoft. On the one hand, it needs to rectify Windows 8′s wrongs and offer normal PC users a reason to upgrade from Windows XP or 7. On the other hand, Microsoft continues to lose ground in the mobile sector as well. Windows 9 will actually have to be the jack of all trades, rather than Windows 8′s rather ignominious status as the master of none. How will Microsoft do this? Well, let’s take a look.
Windows 9 for desktop and laptop users
The Start menu returns. After a few years of claiming that the Metro-style Start screen was just as good for mouse-and-keyboard use as touchscreen use, Microsoft has finally backed down. Windows 9 will have a Start menu on the Desktop; the left side will look a lot like the standard Windows 7 Start menu, but the right side will have the option of being populated with Metro-style live tiles. The left side of the menu will adopt a new Metro-like look, too — though you may be able to configure it to look like the good ol’ Windows 7 Start menu.
Virtual desktops. In Windows 9, you will have the option of using virtual desktops. Right now you just have one desktop per monitor — but with virtual desktops, you can switch between as many desktops as you like. This is a popular power user feature that has been present on some Linux window managers and via third-party Windows tools for years — but now it’ll be native in Windows 9.
Metro apps on the Desktop. Rather than forcing you into the full-screen Metro interface, Windows 9 will let you run Metro apps on the Desktop in a window. In theory this will mean that mouse-and-keyboard users might now actually use Metro apps, which in turn might kickstart the arrival of some better apps in the Windows Store. Or not.
Windows 9 Desktop, showing a new, very flat Explorer (note the new icon too)
Desktop interface overhaul. It’s not entirely clear yet, but it seems the Windows 9 Desktop will receive a graphical overhaul, to make it even flatter. The leaked Windows 9 Technical Preview shows some flatter icons and thinner window borders — and I suspect we’ll see some further UI changes in later preview builds. (If you recall, the first Windows 8 Developer Preview still looked a lot like Windows 7, and became more flat and less opaque as the development process went on.) Curiously, there does appear to be a drop shadow behind the Explorer window in the Windows 9 screenshot above — Windows 8 got rid of a lot of shadows, so it would be interesting if they made a return.
The Metro interface may be removed. In the last few months, there has been rumblings from Redmond that the Windows 9 experience might be formally split in two: A Metro-only experience for touchscreen/tablet users, and a Desktop-only experience for mouse-and-keyboard users. One of the biggest complaints of Windows 8 is the way it forces you into the Metro interface when you’re using a mouse and keyboard, and the Desktop interface when you’re using a touchscreen. It isn’t clear if the Metro interface will be removed entirely from “Windows 9 for the Desktop” — more realistically, to cater for users of hybrids and touchscreen laptops, there’ll just be a check box somewhere for “never show me the Metro interface.”
Lots of other tweaks to the Windows 9 Desktop. In addition to all of the above, the Charms bar is also being removed (from the Desktop interface at least; it might hang around on touchscreen devices). The Technical Preview has a Notifications panel that pops up from the bottom right corner (video above), though I don’t think this is its final format or placement. There will also likely be tweaks for multi-monitor and high-res (hi-dpi) setups, too. src:extremetech.com
Research firm eMarketer found that India will surpass US by 2016, to become the world's largest Facebook population.
India has recorded the highest social networking growth of 37.3 percent this year and will soon become the world's largest Facebook population, according to a recent report by research firm eMarketer.
The report stated that India has had the highest growth this year, an increase of 37.4 percent, Indonesia had a growth of 28.7 percent and Mexico has a social network user base of 21.1 percent. The report added that the growth in developed countries has stagnated due to saturation.
All of these three countries are high-growth areas for Facebook and eMarketer estimates that they will reach a worldwide monthly user base of 1.026 billion this year combined. US still has the greatest number of Facebook users, with 146.8 million this year.
But eMarketer believes India's large population and high expected growth rate will lead the country to have the largest Facebook population of any country in the world by 2016. Research firm eMarketer estimates that nearly 1.61 billion people log in to social networking sites at least monthly, from various electronic devices.
The report added that there has been a growth of 14.2 percent in social networker numbers from 2012, and the double-digit growth is expected to continue for another year. The research also found that by 2017, 2.33 billion people will use social networks.
Currently, Netherlands has the highest penetration of social network users as a share of total population with 63.5 percent of all residents are social network users followed by Norway with 63.3 percent.
According to a recent report by IAMAI, India will become the world's second largest Internet population with nearly 243 million users by June 2014. India currently has 205 million active users, US has 207 million users and China retains the number one spot with 300 million Internet users.
SpyMeSat sends you notifications to let you know when an imaging satellite might be watching you or taking your picture
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Orbit Logic, an American company, has developed SpyMeSat, the first of its kind app designed for iPhone, iPad and the iPod Touch, that notifies users when they are within range of an imaging satellite that could be taking their pictures.
You can set SpyMeSat to give you alerts for any location, call up resolution specs for each model, track satellites even when they’re not overhead and learn about their various on-board sensors. The user can look up the imaging resolution information displayed as the satellite flies overhead, see a dynamic map graphic update with real-time position, look at the details of any pass and even see a picture and description of the satellite.
All of the imaging satellites in SpyMeSat are in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of about 805km. It can give you accurate data up to 16 meters. Users can check data from satellite models that are owned and operated by either public or private bodies, including GeoEye, India's CartoSat-2A, the French space agency's SPOT-5, Canada's RADARSAT-2 and DigitalGlobe's WorldView satellites.
SpyMeSat was created by Orbit Logic Inc., a company that specializes in supplying software to the aerospace and intelligence communities. The app’s chief purpose is to gather all that data into one cheap smartphone app.
"I actually got the idea for the app from talking to friends outside the aerospace industry who were always very interested in space and satellites and imaging from space. This app answers those questions in a fun and interactive way," said Alex Herz, president of Orbit Logic in Greenbelt, Maryland which developed the app.
Help desk staffers are coveted, but developers are the hottest commodity of all.
Computerworld - When it comes to overall job prospects for IT professionals, 2014 will look a lot like this year, with 32% of companies expecting to increase head count in their IT shops, compared with 33% in 2013, according to Computerworld's annual Forecast survey.
But while demand will remain steady overall, there have been a few changes in the skill sets most desired by hiring managers. Unemployment "is probably close to zero for people with high-demand skill sets," says Michael Kirven, founder and CEO of Mondo, a technology resource provider. Employers in search of top skills, he says, need to be prepared to move fast. "If you want them, you can be 100% sure there are at least two other firms that want them, as well," he says.
Data from 2014 Forecast Survey (Base: 221; June 2013), 2013 Survey, 2012 Survey, 2011 Survey and2010 Survey. Mouse over graph to get data details; click on items in chart key to turn them on and off.
Here's a look at the IT skills that will be in demand next year, according to companies with plans to hire IT professionals in 2014.
1. Programming/application development
• 49% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months. • Last year's ranking: No. 1
As it did in the 2013 Forecast survey, programming/application development tops the list of hot skills, although just under half of the 221 respondents said they will hire in this area, compared with 60% last year. Scot Melland, CEO of Dice Holdings, parent of IT jobs website Dice.com, concurs that software developers are the most sought-after technology workers and notes that they enjoy one of the lowest unemployment rates around -- just 1.8%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's no wonder, then, that respondents to theComputerworld 2014 Forecast survey named developer and programmer job openings as the most difficult to fill. The hottest specialties within that category, Melland says, are mobile development expertise and experience building secure applications.
Carbonite, an online backup service provider, expects to find a tight market for software developers and engineers as it shifts its business model to focus on the needs of small businesses, says Randy Bogue, vice president of talent at the Boston-based company. "While there are a lot of experienced software developers in the Boston area, there are just as many technology companies looking to hire them," he says. "We find this while looking for front-end developers, user experience engineers, mobile developers and pretty much any other software development position."
Lucille Mayer, CIO at BNY Mellon, also expects to have difficulty finding developers. The financial services company has several hundred openings, mainly in New York City and Pittsburgh, and about 40% of those are in development. Another 30% are in infrastructure, 20% are for business analysis/project management positions, and 10% are in management.
"Demand is high for skilled developers with three to five years' experience and a service delivery orientation," says Mayer, who is particularly interested in people with object-oriented development experience. Also important is finding people from diverse backgrounds, with diverse ideas and perspectives, she says.
Hospitality giant Hyatt is transitioning from a reliance on third-party service providers and aims to bring more development talent in-house. "We're looking to hire people who embrace agility and speed to move ideas to prototype and production quickly," says Alex Zoghlin, Hyatt's global head of technology.
2. Help desk/technical support
• 37% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: No. 3
Help desk/tech support remained near the top of the list, moving up from No. 3 last year. Melland says that's an encouraging sign for the economy and the overall hiring outlook. "Organizations mainly add help desk and tech support when they're adding workers and expanding their technology infrastructure," he says. Also contributing to demand for support technicians is the fact that many companies are bringing the help desk back in-house after outsourcing that function; that's partly a response to the proliferation of mobile devices and company-provided Web services. Because of the complexity of such setups, "it's important for support staff to really understand what the company is doing, which argues for having this function closer to home," Melland says.
After several years of running a lean support function, Wolverine Advanced Materials in Dearborn, Mich., plans to hire a few help desk staffers in response to business growth and a decision to provide ITIL-based service management, says James Bland, network manager at the automotive materials supplier. "There is growth in the company, so we're more confident in hiring," he says.
3. Networking
• 31% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: No. 8
Demand for networking skills jumped to No. 3 from eighth place last year. This correlates with the results of a recent survey by IT hiring firm Robert Half Technology, in which 55% of the respondents named network administration as the skill set most in demand, along with database management.
If you expect your IT employee head count to increase, for which types of skills will you be hiring in the next 12 months?
Programming/application development 49%
Help desk/technical support 37%
Networking 31%
Mobile applications and device management 27%
Project management 25%
Database administration 24%
Security 21%
Business intelligence/analytics 18%
Source: Computerworld Forecast survey; base: 221 IT executive respondents; June 2013
The need for wireless connectivity is probably behind the interest in networking professionals, Melland says. "Demand for people with wireless networking experience is up 9% year over year," he says, and the unemployment rate for network and systems administrators is 1.1%.
Charles Whitby, lead network analyst at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, says growing use of wireless medical devices is definitely fueling his workload. In addition to the increased network traffic they produce, those devices require a lot of troubleshooting -- as is the case when, for example, their firmware needs upgrading but it hasn't been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, he says.
Meanwhile, at Wolverine, Bland is looking to offload some networking responsibilities so he can concentrate on more strategic issues.
4. Mobile applications and device management
• 27% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: No. 9
With mobile devices proliferating in both the corporate and consumer worlds, it's little wonder that mobile skills catapulted toward the top of the list, from No. 9 last year. And because of mobile's relatively new status, it's also not surprising that Computerworld survey respondents named mobile expertise the third most difficult skill to find, after development and BI/analytics skills.
Which of these skills do you expect it will be most difficult to hire for?
Among respondents who expect an increase in IT employee head count in the next 12 months
Programming/application development 32%
Business intelligence/analytics 21%
Mobile applications and device management 17%
Project management 14%
Security 14%
Source: Computerworld Forecast survey; base: 221 IT executive respondents; June 2013
Mobile app development is "a huge initiative" at PrimeLending in Dallas, says CIO Tim Elkins, and it will be a key hiring area next year. In addition to expanding its Salesforce.com development ranks, the mortgage provider hopes to hire two or three mobile developers, he says. PrimeLending's first mobile app is designed to enable its business partners -- real estate agents and builders -- to view loan statuses; its next one will be for consumers.
Elkins anticipates difficulty finding mobile developers and is therefore training a couple of current staffers to fill the need. "Salesforce.com developers are really tough to find because of the high demand, and so are mobile developers," he says.
Mobile expertise is also a priority for Hyatt, and Zoghlin says the company is trying to fill niche roles to ensure a consistent strategy across areas like mobility and user experience.
5. Project Management
• 25% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: No. 2
While project management fell from its No. 2 position last year, it is considered a highly sought-after skill. Melland says that Dice has found demand for project managers to be second only to demand for software developers/engineers, having risen 11% from last year. That uptick, he says, is another positive sign for the economy as a whole, because it indicates that companies are willing to pursue strategic projects.
Mondo's Kirven attributes the demand for project managers to renewed interest in complex, strategic business-technology initiatives. "IT has historically been graded based on the success or failure of projects, so [companies are] making heavy investments in the business analyst/project manager layer," he says. "These people need to be able to talk to developers about technology and the right solution, but they also need to put on their business hat to gather requirements and prioritize needs and translate that into a programmable effort for IT."
6. Database Administration
• 24% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: Not ranked
Database administration -- which didn't even make last year's list -- will be hot in 2014, likely because of interest in big data. Kirven concedes that the term big data is a catch-all for everything companies want to do with the burgeoning stockpiles of information they store on internal systems and, increasingly, collect from sources such as social media sites, the Web and third parties. Much of the interest in big data originates in marketing, which wants to learn as much about customers as possible.
"Oracle DBAs, data architects -- these people stay on the market for about an hour until they're hired," Kirven says. "People are looking for that person who can build a logical data map of their systems and aggregate relevant data so they can analyze and report on it."
DBAs with experience moving pieces of the IT infrastructure to the cloud will be highly sought after, says Melland, noting that demand for cloud skills is up 32% from last year.
To help kick off PrimeLending's big data initiative, Elkins says he is seeking systems analysts, developers and DBAs to integrate data from third parties, with the goal of easing the mortgage process. "Mortgages have been like a big black hole, with a lack of transparency and a lot of sitting and waiting," Elkins says. "Our focus in 2014 is to give consumers more control and an experience with mortgages that they've never had before."
7. Security Compliance/Governance
• 21% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: No. 4
Security expertise seems to show up on every list of hot IT skills, and Melland says interest in cybersecurity will further drive demand, which is up 23% from last year. "It's one of those skills that falls into a lot of job types, like network engineering, software development and database architecture," he says. Respondents to a recent Robert Half Technology survey said security jobs are among the most challenging to fill, in addition to application development and database management positions.
With the increase in malware and cyberattacks, security has become a No. 1 priority for PrimeLending, which doubled its security staff this year, from four to eight people, Elkins says.
8. Business Intelligence/Analytics
• 18% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: No. 5
With the volume of global data predicted to expand by a factor of 44 from 2009 to 2020 and reach 35.2 zettabytes, according to IDC, companies are eager to gain a competitive edge by developing sophisticated analytics capabilities. Although BI/analytics is still considered a specialty and therefore has fewer postings than other job categories on Dice.com, Melland says it's the third fastest-growing skill area on the website, and demand is up 100% from last year. Analytics expertise is scarce, ranking second among the most difficult skills to find in the Computerworld survey. Accordingly, these professionals command high salaries, often into the six figures, Melland says.
At Wolverine, management's demand for data-driven insights is growing, so Bland is looking for people with BI skills who are also familiar with the Plex Systems ERP application, which the company uses. "We would definitely like to get more information out of [our ERP] system, so someone with BI experience would be great," he says. "We'd like to provide more information in a more timely manner so the business can be more proactive." Hyatt, says Zoghlin, is similarly looking for people "who can make analytics usable and useful for customers and colleagues."
A recent report states that nearly one in three people don't want to spend time with their Facebook friends but wont delete.
According to a recent survey people want to spend time with only 10 percent of their Facebook friends. The survey found that one out of three people will not spend any time with their Facebook friends in reality, but will not delete them from the list because they are scared of missing out on gossip.
The survey was conducted on 2,863 adults over the age of 18 in which 34 percent admitted that they have Facebook friends who they will ignore in real life. One-fifth of the people surveyed admitting to using Facebook to spy on their kids and other relatives.
Some users even disliked a few of their so-called mates and only remained connected through Facebook to see their photos, or if they were related. Nearly 20 percent of people surveyed admitted that they have arguments over issues like vague status messages. 36 percent of the people surveyed admitted that they keep colleagues on Facebook in case they need them to make future contacts.
George Charles, marketing director of VoucherCodesPro in UK, which conducted the study stated, "It seems with the results of this study, the old saying about keeping your friends close, but your enemies even closer, is definitely alive and well even in today's society with our reliance on the internet."
A recent survey by Media Effects Research Laboratory reveals that Facebook users profiles reflect their feelings of self-esteem and self-determination. According to the study, people with lower self-esteem like to continuously monitor their Facebook wall for updates, while people high self-esteem add more information about themselves on the social networking sites. The survey found that people with both high and low self esteem tend to spend a lot of their time on building their profiles on social networking sites like Facebook.
Facebook is one of the top accessed website in
the world and most popular social networking website. I'm sure many of
you who are reading this, must be spending hours of time everyday on
Facebook.
Nothing could be worse than losing your own Facebook
account or some one getting access to your Facebook account and misusing
it.
But now that there are reports of Facebook accounts being
hacked I'm sharing five tips which will help you to keep your Facebook
login safe and secure. 1. Enable HTTPS login
Recently
Facebook brought HTTPS enabled login and this is first step to your
Facebook account security. To enable this feature, go to edit account
settings and under account security enable secure browsing.
2. Facebook device login This
is one of the best feature which will make sure that you will get
notified whenever your account is compromised. Whenever your account
will be logged in from a new device, you will be receiving an email for
the same. To enable this feature, go to account settings > Account
security and enable features which says 'When a new computer or mobile
device logs into this account'.
3. Strong and complex password One
simple way to get into someone's account is by using hit and trial
method for password. Brute force are usually useless these days because
of complex security measures taken by Facebook. But if I know you as an
individual, I may try to try couple of passwords like your girlfriend's
name, your birth date and so on. Most of the time this works.
If
you wish to be secure your Facebook and other account, you should try
using a complex password. More over by changing your password every
month and using different password for different account will surely
help.
4. Keeping your computer secure The
first place which hackers will target will always be your computer. We
have already shared how to keep yourself safe and secure while surfing
internet. But let me repeat myself once again, you should be keeping
your OS up to date along with Antivirus. If you are tech savvy, I would
recommend using any firewall (Comodo is one which I use and recommend)
and a Trojan remover.
5. Avoid Facebook spam applications If
you are active user on Facebook, you must have seen spam in the form of
Facebook applications like Mark Zuckerberg official announcement and so
on. Try not to use any Facebook application if you have not read its
review. These days most of such spam applications will spam your friend
wall, will ask you to fill a survey or else they will add random people
into your account. You can go to application setting page and see which
all applications have access to your Facebook account. Disable those
which you are not using.
Microsoft is all set to officially unveil Windows 9 at a special event on September 30 — and so we thought it would be a good time to run through everything that we already know about Microsoft’s new operating system. Most of these features and changes are reliably sourced from people close to the development of Windows 9 or from leaked builds of the Windows 9 Technical Preview. We’ll also update this story with an official list of Windows 9 features when Microsoft starts releasing public beta builds next week. In short, if you want to find out about Windows 9, this is the place to be.
Master disruptive technologies
