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Linux has made good headway in 2016
What has Linux accomplished in 2016?
The Linux open source project made strides in 2016 – here’s what happened:
- Microsoft made it’s Power-Shell open source! This one took quite a few by surprise. It also made the Windows Subsystem for Linux (so Linux and Windows can communicate better through kernel signals).
- GNOME 3.22 – a new, crisp desktop – it now supports the Wayland display system, which is relatively new, but wasn’t well supported.
- Debian/Ubuntu can now hand out the Firefox browser as Firefox, instead of Iceweasel (due to conflicts in branding and logos, this was happening for a while).
- Skype now supported on Chromebooks and Linux!!
- Rejoice , gamers!! Here comes Vulkan!! – Vulkan is an API that will allow (hopefully) Linux to compete with Windows, as it is derived from OpenGL. Pretty soon you might not have to choose Microsoft in order to play your favorite PC games!!
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The Greatest Hacks of 2016
2016 was quite a year for the cyber-security world. It seemed as if data breaches and hacks have been more and more commonplace during the past few years, and 2016 was no exception. Here are some of the worst breaches of 2016 :
- Yahoo – 500 million user accounts. This was one of the worst hacks EVER. Especially since it actually occurred in 2014 but Yahoo did not know about it until 2016.
- Yahoo – again. ONE BILLION users this time (yes, Billion with a B). This hack was actually executed in 2013, but Yahoo seemed to have missed it.
- The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) – The medical records of many US Athletes were publicly divulged by Russian hackers.
- FACC – The Austrian manufacturer of airplane/aerospace parts was hacked, and about 50 million Euros were stolen.
- Dyn – A botnet attacked the DNS service provider earlier this year in October. What does DNS do? It converts “Google.com” or “netflix.com” to an IP address, so you don’t have to remember all the IP addresses to every site. Many sites went down for the day.
- IRS – Over 700,000 transcripts were stolen. According to the IRS, it may have been professional Russian hackers.
- DNC – the Russians were at it quite a bit this year, if you haven’t picked up on it. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was forced to resign due to a scandal that arose when it was found that the DNC was trying to sabotage Bernie Sander’s campaign in favor of front-runner Hillary Clinton.
- Bitfinex – the Bitcoin exchange was broken into (digitally), and more than 65 million dollars were stolen. The identity of the hackers is still unknown.
Among these hacks there were also more : LinkedIn, Dropbox, Oracle, various hotel chains, etc.
Make strong passwords for 2017 everyone!!!
AMD’s Ryzen CPU is near….
AMD has been hyping up it’s Zen line of CPU chips since August.
AMD’s first chip – the “Summit Ridge,” will see it’s debut in 2017.
What we know :
-8-core/16-thread
-3.4GHz
-20MB L2/L3 cache
-AM4 Socket type
We have seen the Ryzen go head to head with the Intel Core i7-6900K in multiple tests (including ZBrush and running Battlefield 1) – the chips are indistinguishable. Intel looks like it might FINALLY, after a decade, have competition from AMD.
A note of caution : You are going to need Windows 10 if you want to run the new flagship chips coming 2017.
AMD has yet to reveal the price of it’s upcoming Ryzen CPU.
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Surface Book i7 VS Macbook Pro
One of the biggest questions going around right now (and for good reason, the holidays are upon us – Xmas is just WEEKS away!!!) is a derivative of the age old PC vs Mac battle. Which is better – the Surface Book i7 or the new Macbook Pro? Here is a quick and painless breakdown for you guys!
The Surface Book is heavier but more versatile. It offers a touchscreen, and the Surface Pen is back. It also has better performance (i5 vs i7, although the Macbook Pro does have an i7 option).
The Macbook Pro is back with a sleek OLED bar, which replaced the old function buttons. This feature allows for customization, and the options displayed change according to the application. The Macbook also has a stronger ecosystem (if you have an iPhone, it integrates better). Also, next to the OLED touch bar, there is fingerprint touch bar (vs MS Hello, which scans your iris).
Now you have some facts to make you just a little more confident about your choice! Happy Holidays!
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San Fran’s Muni system attacked by Ransomware
San Francisco’s Municipal Railway (Muni) system was attacked last week, and the attackers were asking for about $73,000 in Bitcoin money.
The organization said that it would not consider payment as an option.
San Franciscans were given free rides over the Thanksgiving holiday, as payment terminals were down.
The Muni system said that most computers affected are now back up.
The attack led to the screens on the stations showing a message that read “You Hacked, All Data Encrypted.”
This incident raises the concern over data breaches in the public sector.
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