This week, Microsoft pushed out another cumulative update and reports of installation problems are widespread. While I don’t know how many users are impacted, based on comments sent to me, it’s certainly widespread enough that this is well beyond an isolated issue. The update that is causing the problem, KB3194496, is not installing correctly for users. The update, when it does fail, is causing...
If you click the source links at most of our posts about Google products, you might notice there is a lot of Google blogs. Almost every Google product has its own blog – Android, Gmail, YouTube, Chrome, Google Fiber, you name it. I think Google finally realized the need to consolidate, and has created ‘The Keyword’. The Keyword replaces the former Google company blog (googleblog.blogspot.com), which has...
HP has backtracked on a software update that blocked some ink cartridges made by third parties. A controversial firmware change made earlier this month meant HP printer owners using unofficial, usually cheaper, cartridges discovered they would no longer work. A campaign calling on HP to reverse the move was launched, backed by rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). In a blog post, HP...
Lee Cheng is one of the few attorneys to fight back against patent trolls and prevail. And at the latest Ars Live event, we talked to him about his most famous case, how people can fight patent trolls today, and what the future of patent abuse will look like in coming decades. His answers, as expected, were incredibly candid and hilarious. In 2007, a...
Amazon is already in the business of delivering packages to your door as quickly as possible, but now the company seems intent on cutting out shipping middlemen. A report by The Wall Street Journal claims that Amazon is building its own shipping service to replace FedEx and UPS, giving it more control over its packages and possibly allowing it to ship packages from other retailers....
Spotify is reportedly in advanced talks of purchasing SoundCloud, according to a report from the Financial Times. The move would give Spotify a larger library of content — SoundCloud has over 125 million songs — and remove a competitor from the streaming music landscape after SoundCloud launched its own paid service earlier this year. But outside of that the benefits of the acquisition seem limited for...
The Linux kernel today faces an unprecedented safety crisis. Much like when Ralph Nader famously told the American public that their cars were “unsafe at any speed” back in 1965, numerous security developers told the 2016 Linux Security Summit in Toronto that the operating system needs a total rethink to keep it fit for purpose. No longer the niche concern of years past, Linux...
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has called on HP to restore customer’s ability to use third-party ink cartridges in its Office Jet printers. It is also urging consumers to sign a petition, which as of this posts’s publication, has nearly 7,500 signatures. In an open letter to HP Inc. President and CEO, Dion Weisler, activist Cory Doctorow calls on the company to take five steps...
The organization that develops Firefox has recommended the browser block digital credentials issued by a China-based certificate authority for 12 months after discovering it cut corners that undermine the entire transport layer security system that encrypts and authenticates websites. The browser-trusted WoSign authority intentionally back-dated certificates it has issued over the past nine months to avoid an industry-mandated ban on the use of the...
As Microsoft continues to open up new data centers, the company is now committing itself to making itself more green. As part of its commitment, it says it will achieve 50% renewable energy use by 2018. Not only has the company promised 50% renewable energy use by 2018, it has also provided a future promise of 60% as we head into the 2020s. This brings...
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