Articles by John P. Mello Jr.

Microsoft on Monday announced the general availability of SQL Server 2017, now with support for Linux, at its Ignite conference in Orlando. The company first announced its plans for the newest iteration of its database software a year and a half ago This is the first version of SQL Server to run on Windows Server, Linux and Docker, noted Scott Guth...

Reviews of Apple's new iPhone 8 and 8 Plus started turning up this week, and for the most part, they've been laudatory. However, the reviewers can't seem to get their minds off the jewel of the Apple universe, the iPhone X Both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are "awesome" and better than last year's models -- but iPhone shoppers who want to be part of th...

Malicious code has been discovered in two versions of Piniform's CCleaner housekeeping utility, the company disclosed on Monday. Piniform is owned by Avast, whose security products are used by more than 400 million people The malware infecting CCleaner could give hackers control over the devices of more than 2 million users. CCleaner is designed to...

Apple on Tuesday raised the curtain on its next-generation iPhone X, and it so far has been greeted with praise -- though tentative -- from early hands-on reviewers For the most part, they gave the X kudos for design and build, but reserved their unequivocal endorsements until they could spend more time with the phone....

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week poked the nest of anxieties over the use of artificial intelligence to gain power in a video address to students at 16,000 selected schools. "Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia but for all humankind," he said. "Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the ...

The hacker group known as "Dragonfly" is behind sophisticated wave of recent cyberattacks on the energy sectors of Europe and North America, Symantec reported Wednesday The attacks could provide the group with the means to severely disrupt energy operations on both continents....

Pixelmator on Tuesday unveiled Pixelmator Pro 1.0 Whirlwind, a high-powered version of its popular photo editing application for macOS. Whirlwind will be available this fall The app's interface has gotten an overhaul -- it's now in a single window with no floating toolbars -- and it boasts new nondestructive, GPU-powered image editing tools and enh...

Amazon's digital assistant, Alexa, has a new musical talent, the company announced Tuesday "Today, we're making Alexa even smarter with an all-new feature that lets you play music synchronized on multiple Echo devices to provide room-filling music throughout your home," said Amazon Alexa Vice President Toni Reid....

Apple plans to refresh its iPhone, TV and watch lines at an event scheduled Sept. 12, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday In addition to upgrading its iPhone 7 models, the company is expected to debut a new mobile phone to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the brand, which the press has dubbed "iPhone 8."

Google appears to be planning a Pixel-branded Chromebook and a downsized version of its Home smart speaker, following in the steps of Microsoft and Amazon respectively Along with two expected new Pixel phones, Google this fall will unveil a Pixel-branded Chromebook and smaller, lower-priced version of its Home smart speaker, Android Police reported...

Google on Monday pulled the wraps off the latest version of its Android mobile operating system Version 8.0 Oreo has a number of improvements over 7.1 Nougat, the previous release of the OS....

Increased use of open source software could fortify U.S. election system security, according to an op-ed published last week in The New York Times Former CIA head R. James Woolsey and Bash creator Brian J. Fox made their case for open source elections software after security researchers demonstrated how easy it was to crack some election machines i...

Photos posted to Twitter show the next Samsung Note phone will have a dual lens camera When it rains etc. pic.twitter.com/D0lFR5Wn1B...

Developers combing through the code for the Apple HomePod have found clues to what appear to be features in the next generation of iPhones, and they tweeted their discoveries on Sunday The firmware for HomePod, Apple's US$349 smart speaker expected in December, apparently contains much of the codebase for future iPhones. One of the goodies in the H...

Facebook on Tuesday announced several updates to its live-streaming platform, including a new hardware and software vetting program used to create 360-degree video. Through its new Live 360 Ready Program, Facebook will review hardware and software and approve products that work well with its Live 360 offering. Products deemed "ready" for Live 360 ...

The next version of Microsoft's HoloLens may be better at navigating reality than the current version of the mixed-reality headset, thanks to a new coprocessor the company announced Sunday The second version of HoloLens' custom multiprocessor -- called a "holographic processing unit," or HPU -- will incorporate artificial intelligence technology, H...

Google's augmented reality goggles were a flop several years ago -- when intrepid explorers wore the devices in restaurants and bars, sparking reactions ranging from disapproval to outright violence -- but they have become very welcome in the workplace. Their success in a host of business settings led The Team at X on Tuesday to announce an expansion of its Glass Enterprise Edition program...

With September fast approaching, speculation has begun to roil about the next generation of iPhones, particularly the iPhone 8, or whatever Apple decides to name its special 10th anniversary edition of its smartphone However, fans aching to get their hands on the iPhone 8 may have to ache longer than those upgrading to the expected new iPhone 7s an...

Microsoft this week announced the availability of Canonical's Ubuntu Linux distro as a free download in the Windows Store. It can be installed on any Windows Insider build, said Microsoft Senior Program Manager Rich Turner.

Microsoft on Monday announced several new offerings aimed at strengthening its position in the cloud marketplace, including Microsoft 365 Enterprise and 365 Business, at its Inspire partner conference in Washington, D.C Microsoft 365 Enterprise is designed to empower employees of large organizations to be creative and work together securely....