Important announcements
Samsung is suspending production of the Galaxy Note 7 after replacement units catch fire
After the first batch of phones started catching fire and exploding Samsung had replaced the users Note 7 with a new device. Sadly enough, even the replaced Note 7 devices started catching fire and maybe at this point Samsung was just done with the Note 7. The halt in production is said to be in cooperation with safety regulators in the US, China, and Korea, according to Yonhap.
Problems with replacements for the Galaxy Note 7 model would create a new and potentially costly chapter to a global scandal which has hurt the reputation of the world’s biggest smartphone maker. It also could add new dangers for consumers.
You can read more about this subject here.
Yahoo makes it difficult to leave its service by disabling automatic email forwarding
Following Yahoo’s September announcement of a data breach affecting 500 million user accounts, the company has made it more difficult for Yahoo Mail users to transition to another email service. At the beginning of October, Yahoo disabled an email forwarding feature, which would allow users to automatically redirect incoming emails sent to their Yahoo address to another account. Disabling email forwarding is a fairly transparent move aimed at stemming a potential exodus from Yahoo Mail to other email providers.When asked about its decision to end support for email forwarding, Yahoo declined to comment.
More info here.
Yahoo’s data breach has Verizon feeling buyer’s remorse, may withdraw acquisition
Verizon Communications Inc said it has a “reasonable basis” to believe Yahoo Inc’s massive data breach of email accounts represents a material impact that could allow Verizon to withdraw from its $4.83 billion deal to buy the technology company. The deal has a clause that says Verizon can withdraw if a new event “reasonably can be expected to have a material adverse effect on the business, assets, properties, results of operation or financial condition of the business.” Verizon is waiting for Yahoo to finish its investigation into the breach. Yahoo says the personal information of more than 500 million accounts was compromised, but the company claims bank account numbers and credit card data were not targeted, and there is no evidence hackers still have access to its network.
You can read more here.
Top new products
Dell is turning the excellent XPS 13 into a tablet convertible
Dell has confirmed to TNW that it’s refreshing the XPS 13 with a convertible design. The laptop appears to be keeping the edge-to-edge ‘InfinityEdge’ display that was its claim to fame, which means Dell will probably have to work some software magic to keep your fingers from activating the display all the time in tablet mode. The tablet is also getting an upgrade to Kaby Lake chipsets, which should bring improvements to battery life and integrated graphics.
You can read more here.
HP’s new laptops and all-in-one are slimmer than ever
In addition to losing weight and girth, the Envy 13, the Spectre x360 13.3 and the 27-inch Envy All-In-One and display are all getting refreshed with the latest processors and improved battery lives (for the laptops). While neither the new Envy 13 nor the Spectre x360 convertible can steal the title of skinniest notebook from the Spectre laptop, they’re still impressively svelte with profiles measuring just 14mm and 13.8mm respectively. Both the new Envy 13 laptop and Spectre x360 convertible offer configurations with the latest seventh-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, up to 1TB solid state drives as well as Bang & Olufsen audio enhancements.
More details here.
Nokia D1C is a 13.8-inch Android tablet, suggests latest benchmark listing
Nokia’s return to the smartphone market is eagerly awaited by everyone; this is precisely why the listing of company’s recently spotted D1C device on benchmark site GFX Bench is likely to disappoint many. As per the listing, the D1C is a 13.8-inch Android tablet, and not a smartphone as anticipated earlier. Nokia D1C is expected to come with an inbuilt storage of 16GB. In terms of optics, the tablet has been tipped to pack a 16-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel camera at the front.
You can read more here.
Top interesting info
Microsoft’s redesigned Paint app for Windows 10 looks awesome
While the software maker has barely updated Paint in recent releases of Windows, the new Paint app will be completely overhauled. A launch video notes that the new “Paint Preview” app includes all the familiar features of the regular version of Paint, but Microsoft is adding in 3D object support, an ideal addition for HoloLens. Paint Preview users will be able to create 3D objects, and annotate them freely. Microsoft has a range of markers and art tools to help artists create objects, and brushes that can be used directly on 3D objects. All of the tools appear to be pen- and touch-friendly, with an interface that mixes 3D models, 2D images, stickers, and community tools for 3D content.
You can read more here.
New “StrongPity” malware infects WinRAR, Truecrypt installers
Security firm Kaspersky Lab revealed a new malware called StrongPity. It targets web surfers who are looking for two specific tools: WinRAR and TrueCrypt. The former is a popular file compression program, and the latter was once an open-source, on-the-fly encryption tool. StrongPity poses as installers for these two tools, and will provide attackers complete control of the victim’s system once installed.
On the WinRAR front, the malware is served up on fake websites that use two transposed letters in their domain names to resemble an authentic installer site. The file’s link on the fake domain is then provided to a legitimate WinRAR distributor site.
More about this subject here.
Sponges hold the key to the batteries of the future
A new energy storage device developed by MIT researchers that uses sponge-like structures could outstrip the current carbon-based tech. Current supercapacitors rely on carbon, which requires high temperatures and harsh chemicals to produce. The sponge-like structure of MOFs offers far more surface area, which is a key component in producing supercapacitors but the challenge was in making the material conductive. Even without optimisation, the new tech matched or exceeded the current carbon supercapacitors in key performance areas. Tests showed they lost less than 10 percent of their performance after 10,000 cycles, which is comparable to existing commercial supercapacitors.
You can read more here.
