Microsoft to stop producing Windows versions

Windows 10 is going to be the last major revision of the operating system.

Jerry Nixon, a Microsoft development executive, said in a conference speech this week that Windows 10 would be the "last version" of the dominant desktop software.

His comments were echoed by Microsoft which said it would update Windows in future in an "ongoing manner".

Instead of new stand-alone versions, Windows 10 would be improved in regular instalments, the firm said.

Mr Nixon made his comments during Microsoft's Ignite conference held in Chicago this week.
In a statement, Microsoft said Mr Nixon's comments reflected a change in the way that it made its software.

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American Airlines planes grounded by iPad app error

A faulty app caused American Airlines to ground dozens of its jets.

The glitch caused iPad software - used by the planes' pilots and co-pilots for viewing flight plans - to stop working.

The firm's cockpits went "paperless" in 2013 to save its staff having to lug heavy paperwork on board. AA estimated the move would save it more than $1.2m (£793,600) in fuel every year.

The company said that it had now found a fix for the problem.

"We experienced technical issues with an application installed on some pilot iPads," said a spokesman.

"This issue was with the third-party application, not the iPad, and caused some departure delays last night and this morning.

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US successfully tests self-steering bullets that can follow moving targets

The United States Department of Defense has carried out what it says is its most successful test yet of a bullet that can steer itself towards moving targets.

Experienced testers have used the technology to hit targets that were actively evading the shot, and even novices that were using the system for the first time were able to hit moving targets.

The project, which is known as Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance weapon, or Exacto, is being made for the American government’s military research agency, Darpa.

It is thought to use small fins that shoot out of the bullet and re-direct its path, but the US has not disclosed how it works. It only says that the programme has “developed new approaches and advanced capabilities to improve the range and accuracy of sniper systems beyond the current state of the art”.

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Dan Fredinburg, Google Executive, Killed On Mount Everest After Nepal Earthquake

Dan Fredinburg, a Google executive, was killed on Mount Everest in an avalanche triggered by the massive, 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Nepal on Saturday. At least 17 climbers died on the mountain.

Jagged Globe, the company Fredinburg was hiking with, posted a statement mourning his loss.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dan’s family and friends whilst we pray too for all those who have lost their lives in one of the greatest tragedies ever to hit this Himalayan nation," it reads in part. The statement also said that two other climbers sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Tom Briggs, the company's marketing director, told The Guardian that Fredinburg and the others "saw the avalanche coming and were able to make a run for it but the camp was right in the middle of it."

Fredinburg headed up privacy for Google X, the company's secretive ideas lab, and had worked at the Internet giant since 2007. According to his LinkedIn profile, he was involved with initiatives ranging from Google's self-driving car to "Project Loon," which aspires to provide balloon-powered Internet access to remote areas. He also co-founded Google Adventure, which, according to the entrepreneur hub Startup Grind, aims to "translate the Google Street View concept into extreme, exotic locations like the summit of Mount Everest or the Great Barrier Reef off Australia."

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The man who wants to control the weather with lasers

(CNN) - Is there anything laser can't do?

From cutting diamonds to preserving endangered sites, all the way to building terrifying weapons and turning your eyes from brown to blue, there is apparently no end to the list of applications for laser.

Swiss physicist Jean-Pierre Wolf is working on yet another impressive addition to that list: using focused laser beams to affect the weather.

It sounds like black magic, but it's actually a cleaner version of cloud seeding, a form of weather modification that has been used for several years -- most famously by China in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, when they launched rockets to seed the clouds and prevent rainfall during the opening ceremony.

But it's hard to tell how effective cloud seeding actually is, and it involves the spraying of chemicals into the atmosphere, something which it surely doesn't need.

Laser is therefore a completely clean alternative to traditional cloud seeding: it's light, and nothing but light.

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Coloured Pluto comes into view

The New Horizons probe, which is bearing down on Pluto, has captured its first colour image of the distant dwarf planet.

The picture, just released by the US space agency, shows a reddish world accompanied by its biggest moon, Charon.

New Horizons is set to barrel past Pluto on 14 July.

It will acquire a mass of data that it will then return to Earth very slowly over the course of the next 16 months.

At the current separation of nearly five billion km, it takes 4.6 hours for radio signals to come back. And the bit rate is painfully slow.

But the encounter is set to be the major space event of 2015. It will complete the reconnaissance of the "classical nine" planets of our Solar System; New Horizon's flyby will mean everyone has been visited at least once by a space probe.

However, not since the Voyager 2 satellite passed Neptune in the late 1980s has a new world been revealed up close in the same way as will occur in mid-July.

Today, our best pictures of the 2,300km-wide Pluto come from the Hubble telescope. They are just blobs that make it very hard to discern anything of scientific certainty.

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Google purges bad extensions from Chrom

Tens of millions of users who visit Google sites use a browser loaded with malicious add-ons, research suggests.

Most rogue extensions bombard people with ads, but the most malicious steal login names and other valuable data.

Carried out by security experts and Google, the project analysed more than 100 million visits to the search giant's sites.

It led to Google purging almost 200 bad extensions from its online catalogues of browser add-ons.
Bad behaviour?

Extensions and add-ons for web browsers add all kinds of functions and features to the software.
Many of these extensions have hidden extras that cause trouble for people who install them, said UC Santa Barbara computer scientist Alexandros Kapravelos, who worked with Google on the rogue extensions project.

The research found that malicious extensions were available for every major browser.

The findings are due to be published in full in May at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy.
Preliminary results revealed that 5% of people accessing Google every day have been caught out by at least one malicious extension.

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Amazon launches 'Dash' home ordering kit

In an attempt to attract more household goods shoppers, retail giant Amazon has unveiled a device that can place orders to replenish items such as washing powder and razors.

The Dash Button can be attached to appliances around the home, and when pushed, processes a delivery request.

The service will only be available to users of Amazon's premium subscription service, Prime.
The tech giant has recently focused on speeding up its ordering processes.

Prime Now, which guarantees one-hour delivery on essential daily items, is available in four US cities, and the company has also been trialling deliveries by drone.

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The smart cup that knows exactly what you're drinking - and tells you how many calories it contains (and when you've had enough alcohol)

Health-related gadgets are all the rage these days, from smart wristbands to apps that track what you consume.

But a new device from San Francisco-based Mark One, called Vessyl, claims to be able to streamline the process by putting all the technology you need in a cup.

The product can accurately identify your drink, tell you how many calories you are consuming, let you know how hydrated you are, and alert you when it’s time to drink again.

The device is available to pre-order now for £59 ($99), with a retail price of £117 ($199) from Vessyl’s website.

It will begin shipping in early 2015.

The cup is made of a glass-like material and holds 13 oz (385ml) of liquid.

When a beverage is poured in, from orange juice to beer, text on the side reveals what drink is inside.

The sliding lid of the cup is spill proof and it has a non-stick interior, making it easy to clean according to the company.

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BBC News switches PC users to responsive site

The desktop version of the BBC News website has been switched off, and all visitors are now being directed to a newer, responsive design.

The new site adapts its layout depending on what type of device it is being used on, be it a desktop PC, tablet or mobile.

The BBC said the move reflected the change in how the majority of visitors were consuming their news.

However, some users said the design felt "empty" and "too bright".

Desktop visitors to the BBC News site have been prompted to try out the new responsive design for the past few weeks - but now the desktop-only site has been switched off for good.

Users are being automatically taken to the new-look site.

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Apple Watch prices and apps revealed - BBC

Apple's smartwatch collection will range in price from $349 to $17,000 (£299 to £13,500 in the UK) depending on the metals they are made from and the straps they are bought with.

The larger 42mm (1.7in) models of the Watch will cost about $50 more than than the 38mm (1.5in) versions in the lower-priced ranges.

Apple also revealed that the devices are due to go on sale on 24 April.

Rivals' smartwatches have only seen limited sales to date.

A press event held in San Francisco held few surprises about the wearable tech beyond the fact that the mid-range stainless steel edition would start at $549 and go up to $1,099 in the US, and from £479 to £949 in the UK including VAT.

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Solar Impulse Piccard crosses Arabian Sea to India - BBC

Solar Impulse, the fuel-free aeroplane, has successfully completed the second leg of its historic attempt to fly around the world.

Project chairman, Bertrand Piccard, piloted the vehicle from Muscat in Oman to Ahmedabad in India, crossing the Arabian Sea in the process.

Tuesday's journey took just over 15 hours.

The distance covered - 1,468 km - set a new world record for a solar-powered plane.

The vehicle has another 10 legs ahead of it over the course of the next five months.

Included in that itinerary will be demanding stretches when the craft has to fly over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

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Sony and Microsoft focus on mid-range smartphones at MWC - BBC News

Sony and Microsoft have opted to unveil mid-range smartphones at the Mobile World Congress trade fair in Barcelona.

Microsoft indicated it would wait until the release of Windows 10 to announce a new flagship, despite its high-end Lumia 930 dating back to April 2014.

Sony's Xperia Z3 is less old, having launched in September. But the firm had previously refreshed its top model roughly once every six months.

Sony said its focus was on "broadening its customer base" at this time.

The companies' decisions to leave more high-profile launches until later has one immediate benefit: the flagships do not risk being overshadowed by Samsung's Galaxy S6, which was unveiled on Sunday evening.

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US-Bangladesh blogger Avijit Roy hacked to death - BBC News

Attackers in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka have hacked to death a US-Bangladeshi blogger whose writings on religion angered Islamist hardliners.

Avijit Roy, an atheist who advocated secularism, was attacked as he walked back from a book fair with his wife, who was also hurt in the attack.

No-one has been arrested but police say they are investigating a local Islamist group that praised the killing.

Hundreds of people gathered in Dhaka to mourn the blogger's death.

Mr Roy's family say he received threats after publishing articles promoting secular views, science and social issues on his Bengali-language blog, Mukto-mona (Free Mind).

He defended atheism in a recent Facebook post, calling it a "rational concept to oppose any unscientific and irrational belief".

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Google backs down over Blogger porn rule change - BBC News

Google has changed its mind about forcing sexually explicit blogs on its Blogger platform to become private.

Earlier this week, the firm warned bloggers that blogs containing sexually explicit images and videos would be made private on 23 March.

After "a ton of feedback" the firm has decided to continue with its current policy instead, it says.

Explicit blogs must continue to identify themselves as "adult".

This means a warning page is shown before readers are transferred to the site.

Google also reserves the right to add an "adult" tag to Blogger blogs if it feels the description is appropriate.

The "acceptable use" policy link currently redirects users to a posted message which reads:

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Samsung hit by latest smart TV issue - BBC News

A problem during a server update left many Samsung smart TVs looking not so smart this week.

Affected sets were unable to connect for two days, meaning owners could not use their more advanced features.

The problem is now fixed, Samsung said.

It follows a series of issues for the firm in recent weeks, which admitted that its sets were sharing users' voice data, before opening an investigation into why its TVs were adding adverts to media played via third-party apps.

In a statement released on Thursday, Samsung said that it conducted its regular update of the Smart Hub server on the morning of Tuesday, 24 February.

"During this process, it was reported that some of our customers in certain countries encountered difficulties in connecting their Smart TVs to the server.

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China's Lenovo becomes victim of cyber-attack - BBC News

Chinese computer maker Lenovo has become the victim of a cyber-attack following a warning by the US government about software called Superfish.

The Superfish adware program - which offered shopping tips - was shipped on some of the company's notebook devices.

A hacking group called Lizard Squad claimed responsibility for the Wednesday attack via Twitter.

The group has taken credit for several other attacks, including one on Sony.

"One effect of this attack was to redirect traffic from the Lenovo website," Lenovo said in a statement. "We are also actively investigating other aspects.

"We are responding and have already restored certain functionality to our public-facing website."

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Net neutrality rules passed by US regulator - BBC News

New rules on how the internet should be governed have been approved by the Federal Communications Commission.

In what is seen as a victory for advocates of net neutrality, the commission voted in favour of changes proposed by chairman Tom Wheeler.

Three commissioners voted in favour and two against.

The US Telecommunications Industry Association said that broadband providers would take "immediate" legal action over the rule changes.

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