Geek Trivia: To Protect Their Unique Makeup Styles, Professional Clowns Cleverly Copyrighted Which Of These?

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The Best Budget Desk Lamps For All Your Lighting Needs

You’ve set up your home office desk and it looks perfect.

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Canon Officially Discontinues Its Last Film Camera

While some traditionalists still shoot film, the entire industry has been steadily shifting away from film since the early 2000s.

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Free Download: Sync Philips Hue Lights With Your PC or Mac

If you have a bunch of Philips Hue lights next to your PC or Mac, good news: you can now sync lighting colors to what’s on your screen. Just download the new Hue Sync App.

Why People Don’t Pick Up The Phone Anymore

Remember running to the phone to make sure you didn’t miss a call? Yeah, no one does that anymore.

How To Change Your Outlook.com Password

Changing your Outlook.com password is a simple process you can do from any web browser, and it will just take you a few minutes. Here’s how to do it.

How to Exclude an App from Windows 10’s New Tabs

Windows 10’s Redstone 5 update adds tabs to nearly every application on your system. You can remove these tabs from any application you like, giving those applications a traditional windows title bar once again.

What is Pro Mode in the Samsung Galaxy Camera, and What Can You Do With It?

Samsung Galaxy smartphones typically have great cameras. Pro Mode lets you move beyond the simple “point and shoot” features by unlocking advanced adjustments like ISO and aperture settings, and letting you tweak just about every aspect of the photography experience. Here’s how to access and use it.

The Best Mechanical Pencils For Every Budget And Writing Style

Writing tools are like burritos: a cheap one will get the job done, but a premium one is more satisfying.

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How to Save Money on Flights With Kayak’s Price Alerts

Flight prices change all the time. If you buy a flight at the right time, you could save yourself hundreds of dollars. Here’s how to use Kayak’s price alerts to get the best deals.

What is Windows 10 in S Mode?

Some Windows 10 PCs, including Microsoft’s Surface Laptop, come with “Windows 10 in S Mode.” PCs in S Mode can only install applications from the Microsoft Store. But you’re free to leave S Mode, if you like.

Geek Trivia: Which Of These Products Did Microsoft Design But Then Deny, Claiming It Was A Hoax?

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7 Of The Best Turn-Based Multiplayer Games For Mobile

Turn-based (or asynchronous) multiplayer games are the greatest thing to hit mobile gaming since, well, ever.

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How to Use Apple’s New Multi-Room Audio Features in AirPlay 2

Apple just released new versions of iOS, HomePod, and tvOS that support AirPlay 2, a huge upgrade that lets you play music from your iPhone on multiple devices in multiple rooms. Here’s how it all works.

How To Use Reading View In Microsoft Edge

The Reading View in Microsoft Edge removes ads and unnecessary images, simplifying pages for reading. It’s great for reading long articles, where you don’t want all that clutter distracting you.

Pokémon Fans Rejoice: The Nintendo Switch Gets Two Fresh Titles

This November Pokémon fans will get a special treat: two new Pokémon releases on the Nintendo Switch that don’t just rehash old ground b…

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How to Disable Windows 10’s Tabs From Showing in Alt+Tab

The “Sets” feature in Windows 10’s Redstone 5 update makes tabs appear alongside windows in the Alt+Tab switcher. Even Microsoft Edge browser tabs appear in Alt+Tab. But you can hide these tabs and restore the classic Alt+Tab behavior, instead.

Plex Media Center Now Supports Podcasts

Plex is adding beta support for podcasts to iOS, Android, Roku, and Plex Web today, alongside a custom home screen for mobile users.

Google Daydream vs. Gear VR: Which Mobile VR Headset is Better?

When it comes to mobile VR there are two major competitors: Google Daydream View and Samsung Gear VR. If you have a Galaxy phone, you can use either. So which one is better? Turns out, it depends on what you’re after.

Elon Musk blames tough government rules for no Tesla in India

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that he would love to roll out Tesla cars in India but the tough government regulations have forced him to apply the brakes on his India plans till date.

If Your Cellphone Is Paid For, Demand Your Cell Company Unlock It

If you buy a cellphone from your carrier, it’s almost always locked to their network.

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What is Focal Length in Photography?

In photography, we use focal length as a primary descriptor of lenses. It’s the measure (in millimeters) of the distance between the rear nodal point and the focal point of the lens, while the lens is focused to infinity. Yep, that’s quite a mouthful, so let’s break it down.

What Is A Wi-Fi Hotspot (and Are They Safe to Use)?

A Wi-Fi hotspot is really just a wireless access point. Typically, they are public locations where you can access the internet through Wi-Fi on your mobile devices. They are convenient, but there are also some security issues to be aware of when using them.

Geek Trivia: Which Of These Common Household Items Was Invented By Accident?

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The Best Chromebooks You Can Buy, 2018 Edition

There has never been a better time to get into the Chromebook scene, so you’re in a great position to make the leap.

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Loot Boxes Are Obviously Gambling

Loot boxes basically how free to play games make money now, but legislatures around the world are thinking of regulating them as gambling.

California Unveils New E-Ink License Plates In Limited Pilot Program

California is now testing a unique license plate option: a digital license plate that sports a Kindle-like E-ink display and host of features t…

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The Best Alternatives to Slack for Team Chat

If you have ever worked with a team on a project, you might be familiar with Slack, one of the better-known tools for group communication and collaboration. It’s not the only tool of its kind around, though, so let’s take a look at some alternatives.

CARROT, the Hilarious Misanthropic Weather Robot, Is Finally on Android

CARROT Weather has long been the best reason to buy an iPhone, but not anymore: the sarcastic weather AI now works on Android. We’re sure Apple stocks will plummet.

How to Turn Any File Into a Template in macOS

Templates are great, but creating them is usually different for every program. In macOS, however, a little known macOS feature named “Stationary Pad” lets you turn any file into a template.

Hero Electronix enters IoT space with Zenatix acquisition

With the acquisition of Zenatix, the Hero Group plans to introduce new solutions to its existing clients and enter new segments.

The Best 7 Bluetooth Key Finders To Ensure Your Keys Never Go Missing Again

How often do you find yourself misplacing your keys and totally forgetting where you left them?

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How to Install and Manage Fonts in Windows 10’s Settings App

Windows 10 includes a new way to install and manage fonts right from the Settings app. You can even download fonts from the Store. The old Fonts tool in Control Panel is still available, but it isn’t your only option anymore.

How to Buy Kindle or Audible Books on iPhone or iPad

If you’ve ever tried to buy a book from the Kindle or Audible app on your iPhone or iPad, you might have been surprised that there’s no store in the app. Instead, you have to go to Amazon’s website, buy the book, and send it to your app.

Why It’s Not a Big Deal That Google (and Facebook) Knows A Lot About You

You’ve heard the rhetoric: Google (or Facebook) knows too much about me! But it’s really not that big of a deal. Your data is safe, it’s not really about “you” anyway, and nothing is being sold.

The Best Oversized Mouse Pads And Desk Pads

A big mouse pad is good. So it follows that an absolutely enormous mouse pad is better, right?

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Geek Trivia: To Assist With Construction Of The Saturn V Rockets, Which Of These Groups Was Brought In As Consultants?

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How to Listen to Spotify With Just Your Web Browser

Spotify is one of our favorite music streaming services and one thing you might not know is that to use it, you don’t need to download an app: you can use it straight from your web browser.

8 Awesome BBQ and Grilling Accessories For All Your Cookout Needs

It’s BBQ and grilling season for many of us, and a successful cookout is far easier with the right tools.

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What is the Latest Version of macOS?

The latest version of macOS is macOS 10.13 High Sierra, which was released on September 25, 2017. Apple releases a new major version roughly once every year. These upgrades are free, and are available in the Mac App Store.

Why You Should Consider Adding a TV to Your Computer Setup

If you have a home office or specific space for your desktop PC, adding a TV to your monitor setup is a great way to add an incredible amount of versatility to your workflow (or play).

Geek Trivia: Alexander Graham Bell Believed Which Of These To Be His Greatest Invention?

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Social Networks Are Great, But They’re a Terrible Place to Get News

Social networks are fun, and even useful. But they’re a terrible primary tool for staying informed about the world. Here’s why—and what you should be using instead.

Geek Trivia: The Odd And Rigid Positioning Of The Arms Often Seen After A Concussion Is Called The?

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How to View and Improve Your Game’s Frame Per Second (FPS)

Game performance is measured in “frames per second,” or FPS. High FPS gives you smooth gameplay, while low FPS looks more like a slideshow. Here’s how to see any PC game’s FPS—and increase your FPS in your favorite games.

Geek Trivia: A Heat Burst Is An Incredibly Rare Atmospheric Phenomenon Associated With?

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Steam Link Isn’t Coming to iPad and iPhone

The dream of playing PC games on your iPad is dead, at least for now: Apple has denied approval for Steam Link in the App Store.

Instapaper and Some US Newspapers Are Blocked in Europe Now, Here’s How to Access Them Anyway

Instapaper is down in the European Union today. So is the Chicago Tribune, the LA Times, and several other US-based newspapers.

How to Stop Your Roku From Talking in Menus

Roku players and TCL Roku TVs have an “Audio Guide” feature. If you press the * button on your remote four times quickly, the narrator speaks menu option names out loud. Here’s how to turn it on and off.

A Wild Series of Coincidences Made an Echo Eavesdrop, But It Probably Won’t Happen to You

An Amazon Echo is in trouble for recording a conversation and sending it to a user’s employee.

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How Big Are Gigabytes, Terabytes, and Petabytes?

You’ve no doubt heard the terms gigabytes, terabytes, or petabytes thrown around before, but what exactly do they mean in terms of real-world storage? Let’s take a closer look at storage sizes.

Announcing the General Availability of Hortonworks Data Platform (HDP) 2.6.5, Apache Ambari 2.6.2 and SmartSense 1.4.5

We are excited to make several product announcements including the general availability of : HDP 2.6.5 Apache Kafka 1.0 Apache Spark 2.3 Apache Ambari 2.6.2 SmartSense 1.4.5 HDP 2.6.5 is an important release for Hortonworks given it is the first release that enables Apache Kafka 1.0 and Apache Spark 2.3 Hortonworks Data Platform 2.6.5 With […]

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How to Force Reboot Your Oculus Go (When It Stops Working)

The Oculus Go headset is really great, but sometimes it just locks up and stops working. And when that happens, the easiest thing to do is reboot it. But what’s the best way to reboot it? Here’s what you need to know.

The Best Must-Have Exclusive Games For the Nintendo Switch

“Exclusive Nintendo game” is almost a redundant phrase, since most of Nintendo’s best games are the ones the company makes it…

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How to Change the Chat Background in WhatsApp

By default, WhatsApp has a pretty weird and childish background for your chat messages. The good news is that you can change it. Here’s how.

What is the GDPR Privacy Law and Why Should You Care?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new European Union law that takes effect today, and it’s the reason you’ve been receiving non-stop emails and notices about privacy policy updates. So how does this affect you? Here’s what you need to know.

How to Monitor Humidity Levels in Your Home

High humidity is no fun, and neither is low humidity—you want a good balance between the two. Here’s how to monitor the humidity in your house so that you can make the proper adjustments.

Use StumbleUpon One Last Time Before It Disappears Forever

Remember Stumble Upon? You pressed a button to be taken to a random website, which was a blast back in the early 2000s.

Geek Trivia: The Only Region On Earth Where Scientists Have Found No Evidence Of Active Microbial Life Is?

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7 Accessories to Turn Your iPad into a Productivity Powerhouse

While iPads are still a way off replacing computers for everyone, they are incredibly capable devices.

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Chrome Has a Hidden Password Creation Tool, Here’s How To Use It

Chrome can generate secure passwords for you, but you have to dig through some obscure settings and enable an experimental feature.

How To Change Your Gmail or Google Password

Do you suspect that your Google account might have been compromised, or maybe you’ve decided that using “password” might not be the safest way to secure your account? Whatever your reasons, changing your password is a simple and painless procedure.

Modern macOS Is Now Older Than Classic Mac OS Was In 2001

The Mac has existed in some form since 1984. As of this week Mac OS X, now called macOS, has been around for half of that time.

Amazon’s Map Tracker Lets You Obsess About Your Package Even More

Amazon has been testing a feature that allows you to track your package on a map, and now the company is rolling it out widely to more users.</&hellip;

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Amazon partners Embassy group for Alexa-enabled smart homes

These smart homes will allow residents to control their smart home appliances, play music and make and receive calls from users who either have an Amazon Echo device or the free Alexa mobile app

What’s the Latest Version of iOS for iPhones and iPads?

Apple’s iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices all run the iOS operating system. You can upgrade to the latest version of iOS right from your Settings app, but Apple regularly drops support for older devices.

Protecting Data: How to Adapt to the GDPR

After the advent of the GDPR, companies that are smart about protecting data will find themselves at a distinct competitive advantage.

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Containerized Apache Spark on YARN in Apache Hadoop 3.1

This is the 6th blog of the Hadoop Blog series (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5). In this blog, we will explore how to leverage Docker for Apache Spark on YARN for faster time to insights for data intensive workloads at unprecedented scale. Apache Spark applications usually have a complex set […]

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Quickly Check Where Any Downloaded File Came From in macOS

Not sure where that file you just downloaded to your Mac actually came from? There’s a quick way to check in macOS.

The Best Cast-Iron Skillets For The Traditional Cooking Experience

A cast-iron skillet is a commitment and involves care and attention, but it’s a valuable part of an avid chef’s arsenal.

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How to Change Your Default Credit Card on Amazon (And Clean Up the List)

Amazon keeps all your old payment methods in your account, even those that have expired. If you’ve ever had a payment declined because an expired card was listed as your default payment method, you know how annoying it can be. Here’s how to change your default card on Amazon, and also clean up all your old, unused ones.

What’s New in Windows 10’s Redstone 5 Update, Available Fall 2018

Windows 10’s Redstone 5 update is scheduled for release in fall 2018. This major upgrade includes tabs for almost all your applications, a clipboard history that syncs between your devices, and a long-awaited dark theme for File Explorer.

Announcing Databricks Runtime 4.1

We have recently shipped the new Databricks Runtime version 4.1 powered by Apache Spark™. Version 4.1 brings improved performance on read/write from sources like S3 or Parquet, improved caching, and a great deal of quality and feature improvements for the preview of Databricks Delta focused on faster query execution and adaptive schema and type validation.

If you are participating in our preview of Databricks Delta on Azure Databricks or Amazon’s AWS, it is highly recommended that you upgrade to version 4.1 today.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the improvements:

• Faster Query Execution: There are a number of improvement in this area that benefit all queries like code generation enhancements. Here are a few specific highlights.
  • Stats & Indexing (Delta): Databricks Delta stats collection makes query execution smarter. In this release, collecting these stats has gotten more efficient. In our measurements internally, we see over 40% improvement in stats collections time.
  • Faster OPTIMIZE (Delta): OPTIMIZE command improves reads by consolidating files. With this release, OPTIMIZE now executes in parallel – greatly speeding up the time it takes to optimize a table.
  • Lower Latencies with LIMIT (Delta): There are also improvements in limit pushdown that reduce intermediate result sets size.
  • Improved Streaming Throughput (Delta): With this release, we are also pushing filters further down for improved streaming efficiency.
  • Faster UPDATE, DELETE and MERGE (Delta): Writes with UPDATE,DELETE and MERGE statements in Delta can now use stats and perform data skipping for lower latency executions.
• Managing Schema Validation and Evolution (Delta): Validating data is an important part of keeping your data pipelines robust. However the structure of real world data changes over time. Databricks Delta now provides two forms of schema evolution: automatic, which can generate the required DDL as new columns appear; or static, which provides greater control using standard ALTER TABLE DDL.  You can learn more about Schema Validation here.
• Faster Reads and Writes:
  • Faster Parquet: We now have an improved decoder that is turned on by default in version 4.1. In our internal measurements done on AWS S3, the new parquet reader, combined with IO caching is about 3x faster in MB/sec!
  • Improved S3 Access: S3 Select brings efficiency to the retrieval of S3 data. With selective retrieval, less data is on the wire when you read a subset of JSON or CSV attributes. You can read more about S3 Select here.

Databricks Delta remains in Private Preview, but the updates on version 4.1 represent a candidate release in anticipation of the upcoming general availability (GA) release. If you are not already participating in the Databricks Delta preview, you can still sign up here.

This post touches on only a few select improvements in the 4.1 release. If you’d like to go over the full set of improvements, please visit the release notes for version 4.1 here.

If you’d like to hear more about the features here and more about Databricks Runtime, stop by our booth at the Spark + AI Summit in San Francisco.

Come find out what’s new in Spark, Data, and AI! Register now.

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How (and Why) You Should Be Cleaning Your Phone and Other Electronics

Your phone is gross, but it doesn’t take much effort to clean it up and get rid of all those germs. Here’s how (and why) you should be cleaning and sanitizing your phone and other devices around your house.

Facebook Upgrades Two Factor Authentication: Here’s How to Set It Up

Facebook has had two-factor authentication for a long time, but it used to be called Login Approvals. Now it’s been polished and streamlined and it doesn’t require a phone number. Here’s how to setup 2FA for Facebook using Authy or your favorite authenticator app.

DISCOVER with Data Steward Studio (DSS): Understand your your hybrid data lakes to exploit their business value!

If data is the new bacon, data stewardship supplies its nutrition label! This is the first part of a two part blog introducing Data Steward Studio (DSS) and discusses the problems that DSS addresses in the enterprise data landscape. Part 2 of this blog will cover a detailed capability walkthrough. Data lakes, which promise to […]

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Geek Trivia: The First Science Fiction Serial Film Was?

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The Best Smarthome Products That Are Rental Friendly

If you rent your home, you could feel left out of the current smart home renaissance. Fear not, though.

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PassProtect Tells You If Your Password Is Compromised

A compromised password can’t protect you. PassProtect is a Chrome extension that notifies you whenever a password you enter is exposed, giving you the chance to change it.

A Guide to Developer, Apache Spark Use Cases, and Deep Dives Talks at Spark + AI Summit

Apache Spark is tackling new frontiers through innovations by unifying new workloads. This enables developers to combine data and AI to develop intelligent applications. Developers come to this summit not just to hear about innovations from contributors. They come to share their use cases, experiences, and absorb knowledge.

@matei_zaharia just announced support of #kubernetes in #Spark 2.3 at the keynote of @spark_summit pic.twitter.com/XGbRZbg3wW

— Yann Vanderstockt (@yannvds) October 25, 2017

In this final blog, we shift our focus to these developers who make a difference, not only in their contributions to the Spark ecosystem but also in use of Spark at scale in their respective industries.

Let’s start with large-scale feature aggregation using Apache Spark at Uber Inc. that enables several thousand features to account for ML-based decision making and risk analysis. Developers Pulkit Bhanot and Amit Nene will reveal data’s transformational journey, show its architecture and the Spark ecosystem, and share how aggregated features reduce turnaround times for machine learning models.

As of 2018 Facebook has close to 2.18 billion users, one-third of the world’s population. This global usage generates tons of data that need processing with reliable architecture. Facebook software engineers Brian Cho and Ergin Seyfe will share how they handle shuffle reads when data reaches 300TB. And they will discuss what type of architecture can support such scale. Find out in their talks: SOS: Optimizing Shuffle I/O and Taking Advantage of a Disaggregated Storage and Computer Architecture.

The term über data processing aptly takes its meaning in this session: Efficiently Triaging CI Pipelines with Apache Spark: Mixing 52 Billion Events/Day of Streaming with 40 TB/Hour of Batch Processing. In this fascinating talk about Spark at scale, software engineer Ivan Jibaja from Pure Storage will share how to write single application for both streaming and batch jobs at scale. Also, learn about building state-of-the-art Continuous Integration(CI) pipelines at scale, as his title suggests.

Now, the human genome and its sequencing have been at the forefront among scientists in the Health and Life Sciences (HLS). Thanks to advancement in big data analytics at scale, in particular because of Spark’s ability to process distributed data at scale and because of cheap cloud storage. Software Engineers Ram Sriharsha and Frank Austin Nothaft from Databricks have a novel solution to build genomic ETL pipelines in the cloud atop Apache Spark. As a biochemist or molecular biologist or a developer in the HLS industry, you will want to attend their session: Scaling Genomics Pipelines in the Cloud.

For developers interested in understanding the design motivations behind the evolution of Spark’s DataSource v2 APIs in Apache Spark 2.3, this deep-dive session from Databricks Spark committer and contributor Wenchen Fan and Gengliang Wang is for you. One notable usage of its new source and sink API enabled Continuous Processing in Structured Streaming, which will be discussed in another session from Jose Torres. Related to structured streaming is another immersive talk Deep Dive into Stateful Stream Processing in Structured Streaming from Spark committer Tathagata Das.

One of the big community contributions to Apache Spark 2.3 was the ability to run Spark natively on Kubernetes. With a native scheduler for Kubernetes within Apache Spark, you can now run Spark jobs natively. In their session, Apache Spark on Kubernetes Clusters, Messrs Anirudh Ramanathan and Sean Suchter will not only discuss how to build modern data pipelines in a Kubernetes native way but also unravel the future roadmap for native scheduler within Apache Spark.

Another community contribution in Spark 2.3 is Pandas UDF in Pyspark, which developer Jin Lin will talk in his session: Vectorized UDF: Scalable Analysis with Python and PySpark

Processing data at scale with Spark seems the underlying theme in these aforementioned sessions. Consider Apple’s case: Their requirements to handle data at speed and scale replace and augment traditional MapReduce workloads with Spark. In this talk, Apache Spark at Apple, software developers Sam Maclennan and Vishwanath Lakkundi will cover challenges of working at scale and lessons learned from managing large multi-tenant clusters, consisting of exabyte storage and million cores.

Finally, to comprehend what’s blockchain and why it matters, MIT Technology Review dedicated a quarterly issue on this subject. In blockchain we trust, its authors argue that you have to look beyond wild speculation and focus on what’s being built underneath. Even better, you can find out how the underlying infrastructure and its awesome technology is built atop Apache Spark in the Analyzing Blockchain Transactions in Apache Spark session from software developer Jiri Kremser: A fascinating talk, to say the least!

What’s Next

Take advantage of this promo code JulesPicks for a $300 discount and register now. Come find out what’s new in Spark, Data, and AI, and see you in San Francisco!

Read More

• Find out 5 Reasons to Attend Spark + AI Summit.
• Read a Few Picks from the New Tracks
• Check out Few Picks From TensorFlow Sessions
• Read a Few Picks From the AI, Machine Learning, and Data Sciences Sessions

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The post A Guide to Developer, Apache Spark Use Cases, and Deep Dives Talks at Spark + AI Summit appeared first on Databricks.

Amazon Might Shut Down Your Account If You Return Too Much Stuff

Amazon screws up every once in a while and you have to send a package back.

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How to Choose Which GPU a Game Uses on Windows 10

Windows 10 now lets you select which GPU a game or other application uses right from the Settings app. Previously, you had to use manufacturer-specific tools like the NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Catalyst Control Center to control this.

Firefox Finally Offers Two Factor Auth to Protect Your Passwords

Mozilla is rolling out two factor authentication for Firefox accounts and if you sync passwords using Firefox Sync you should enable it immediately.

How to Enable Copy and Paste Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 10’s Bash Shell

Windows 10’s Bash shell finally has convenient copy and paste keyboard shortcuts, but they’re disabled by default for compatibility reasons. These shortcuts are already available in Insider Preview builds of Redstone 5, which will be released sometime in Fall, 2018.

How to Set Per-App Sound Outputs in Windows 10

Windows 10 now lets you choose which sound output and input devices individual apps use. For example, you could have one app play audio through your headphones and another app play it through your speakers.

10 Retro-Style Games For The Switch (While You Wait For Switch Online)

How to Check Your MacBook’s Battery Health

Computer batteries have a limited lifespan and degrade over time, so they’re often the first thing to go in a Mac laptop. You can replace a battery yourself or pay Apple to do it, but you should check its health. first. Any battery life issues you’re having could be due to a runaway process or just heavy use.

Using Windows 10’s New Screenshot Tool: Clips and Annotations

Windows 10’s Redstone 5 update brings a modern screenshot tool to Windows 10. A new keyboard shortcut lets you screenshot part of your screen, and add annotations.

Which Smart Light Switch Should You Buy?

Not all smart light switches are created equal. And while many of them have mostly the same features, there are some things you should know about smart light switches so that you can pick the best one for your needs.

Geek Trivia: Rock’s Law Is An Observational Rule Of Computing That Covers?

Think you know the answer? Click through to see if you're right!

The Best Bullet Blenders For Super Fast and Convenient Smoothies

Full size kitchen blenders are great for big recipes (and big pitchers of Margaritas) but they’re not so great for a quick smoothie or s…

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Patch for New Spectre-Like CPU Bug Could Affect Your Performance

Speculative processing, the technology exploited by the Meltdown and Spectre bugs, is vulnerable in yet another way, and the fix could impact your performance by 2-8 percent.

There’s a Super Customizable PS4 Pro Controller, If You Don’t Mind Going Third-Party

Microsoft has had the insanely customizable Eli…

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How To Reverse Picture Search With Google Images

Google Image Search is a great way to find an image that is similar to one you already have or to help you track down the original source of a photo on the internet. Here’s how to use it.

Comcast Leaked Customer Wi-Fi Logins in Plaintext, Change Your Passcode Now

A Comcast Xfinity website was leaking Wi-Fi names and passwords, meaning now is a good time to change your Wi-Fi passcode.

Apollo Hospitals adopts IBM Watson for oncology and genomics

Apollo Hospitals has partnered with IBM to deploy its cognitive computing platform Watson for oncology and genomics in 10 of its cancer care centres.

Akamai, MUFG announce blockchain-based payments network

MUFG and Akamai intend to leverage the technology, built and deployed on Akamai's intelligent platform, for the payment network that is expected to be available in Japan during the first half of 2020

Can You Use FaceTime on Windows?

Apple’s Facetime video calling is perhaps one of their most used features. It lets people with iPhones, iPads, and Macs make easy video calls to one another. You can’t make Facetime calls from Windows, but there are several other ways to make video calls—even to iPhone users.

Everything You Can Do With Google Pay

Google Pay has really grown over the last several months. It stepped away from the Android-specific branding and has added supported for loyalty cards and boarding passes. So what all can you do with Google Pay?

The Best Triple Monitor Mounts And Stands

You’ve finally built that monster triple monitor desktop setup you’ve been dreaming about.

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How to Customize Window Borders and Shadows on Windows 10

On Windows 10, each window has a colored window border and a shadow. You can change the color of your window borders and even disable the shadow, if you like.

How to Find Official Windows Drivers for Any Device

All your computer hardware, from the motherboard to the webcam, needs drivers to function properly. Here’s how to download the official device drivers for your hardware, whether you’re using Windows 10 or 7.

Download GlassWire FREE to See Who’s Connecting to Your Wi-Fi Network! [Sponsored]

Is your network or Wi-Fi running slow? Many different devices and apps connect to the network, and it can take just one hidden device or app to slow your network to a crawl.

Enough With All the Smarthome Hubs Already

A hub for this and a hub for that. When you dive into the smarthome market, you’re inevitably going to end up with a handful of smarthome hubs taking over your house. It’s annoying, but it’s probably not going to get any better.

The Best Bluetooth Adapters To Use Your Wired Headphones With Your New Phone

The world of smartphones may prefer small bezels over headphone jacks, but you can still use your beloved wired headphones with fancy new phones…

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Resident Evil 7 Will Be On the Switch as a Streaming Game, Somehow

Resident Evil 7 is an incredible horror game that can’t run on the Switch.

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Geek Trivia: The Only Place The IRS Allows You To Make Cash Payments Is?

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Resident Evil 7 Will Be On the Switch as a Streaming Game, Japan Only For Now

Resident Evil 7 is an incredible horror game that can’t run on the Switch.

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Chrome Has a Built In Malware Scanner, Here’s How to Use It

Lots of malware tries to bog down your browser, but Google Chrome isn’t defenseless—on Windows there’s a built-in scanner called Cleanup.

How to Convert a Microsoft Word Document to a PDF

PDFs are handy for distributing documents so that they’re seen the same way by all parties. Typically, you’ll create documents using another app, and then convert them to PDF. Here’s how to do it for a Microsoft Word document.

Ather Energy unveils its charging infrastructure network AtherGrid

Ather Energy CEO Tarun Mehta said that they have currently installed 17 connected charging stations across Bengaluru, with plans to expand it to 30 charging points by the end of May 2018

The Best Portable Bluetooth Speakers with Google Assistant

Google Assistant is growing rapidly, getting new features and more smarthome support every day.

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How Android P Will Increase Battery Life

Google has introduced significant new features to improve battery life on Android over the last few years, with Oreo bringing the best improvements yet. Here’s how it’s looking to improve that even further with Android P.

How to Disable the Pointless People Icon on Windows 10’s Taskbar

I’ll admit it, I haven’t been using Windows for a while. So when I got a new Windows 10 PC and started using it, one of my first questions was “What is this annoying People icon and how do I remove it?” That’s what we’re going to disable today.

How to Create, Edit, and View Microsoft Word Documents for Free

There was a time when you had to have Microsoft Office installed to create, edit, or even view a Microsoft Word document. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case. There are a number of free alternatives for working with those Word documents people occasionally send you.

Geek Trivia: The Only U.S. President Who Spoke English As A Second Language Was?

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Which Streaming TV Service is Right for You? (Sling, Hulu, YouTube TV, Vue, or DirecTV)

Streaming TV services are becoming valid cable replacements for many people, but there are a lot of choices out there at this point. We’ve looked at the five biggest—now it’s time to compare them.

Geek Trivia: Originally, Star Trek Writers Intended To Make Which Planet Spock’s Home World?

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What’s the Best Antivirus for iPhone? None!

You don’t need an antivirus for your iPhone or iPad. In fact, any “antivirus” apps you see advertised for iPhones aren’t even antivirus software. They’re just “security” programs that can’t actually protect you from malware.

How to Fix Oculus Go Battery Life Problems

We’ve been having a lot of fun playing with the new Oculus Go VR headset, but the battery life is terrible, and not just when you’re using it. The battery drains in a few hours just sitting there! Here’s how to get better battery life out of your Oculus Go.

Geek Trivia: The Tiny Colored Dots That Give Old Comic Books Their Iconic Look Are Called?

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Google Is Shipping Almost As Many Smart Speakers As Amazon These Days

Amazon may have gotten a head start on the smart speaker market, but if a third-party analytics company is to be believed, Google is catching up fast.

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You Can Now @ People in Gmail

Apps like Twitter, Slack, and Facebook let you direct messages to a user by typing @ followed by a username. Gmail now does the same thing, sort of.

How to Use the Reader View in Firefox

How many times do you go to a website to read an article and once the page loads, you’re bombarded with banners and distracting ads? Firefox’s Reader View removes the clutter and simplifies the page for better readability, leaving only what you actually want to see: the article.

Why Restarting Your Phone Makes it Perform Better and Fixes Common Issues

We’ve all heard it: “have you tried turning it off and back on again?” It’s the first step when troubleshooting any tech problem—it even makes your phone perform better when nothing is wrong. But why?

Accelerated Path to the Value of Data with Hortonworks University

You have probably heard of the 3Vs of big data – Volume, Variety, and Velocity. They define the three dimensions of big data, and the challenges that the hyper-connected digital world has produced over the last decade – the massive volume and increasing variety of data generated at rapid velocity that companies can’t keep up […]

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10 Best Lawn Games Kits for Summer Fun and Backyard Gatherings

Looking for some entertainment to go with your summer gatherings?  Add to the festivities with…

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How to Stop All of Twitter’s Annoying Emails

Twitter sends a lot of emails—like, an utterly unreasonable and incredibly annoying amount. If you’re not careful, you could end up with five or ten emails a day. Here’s how to stop it.

How to Get Started With Usenet, the Best Alternative to Torrents

What would BitTorrent look like if it was lightning fast, always available, completely private, and secure? It’d look a lot like Usenet. Read on to learn how to ditch Torrenting and enjoy super speeds and selection on Usenet.

Basic Home Maintenance Tasks That Most People Overlook

Owning a home requires a lot of responsibility, most notably regular maintenance to keep everything working great. However, there are a handful of very basic home maintenance tasks that you might be forgetting about.

Geek Trivia: The “Woodpecker” Was A Cold War Era Tool Used To Detect?

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Introducing Tracy Miranda as the CloudBees Open Source Program Lead

I’m Tracy Miranda, and I’m really excited to have joined CloudBees this month leading the open source program. CloudBees’ contributions to Jenkins include developing Pipeline and Blue Ocean, staffing the infrastructure team, advocacy and events work, as well as security efforts. My focus is on making sure there is a great relationship between the Jenkins community and CloudBees, which means strong communication, help get traction on things the community wants, and generally working to make Jenkins and the community thrive and stay awesome in an ever-changing tech landscape.

Here’s a little background on me: I come from an electronics/EDA background but switched to software early in my career when I first got involved with open source software. I’ve been part of the Eclipse community for around 15 years, definitely from before git was even a thing. I love being involved with all levels: project committer, conference chair, steering committee for working groups and more recently board of directors.

On a personal note, I …

• Live in the UK with my husband and 2 young kids

• Grew up in Kenya

• Enjoy playing badminton, love good food & am always first at any buffets

I am looking forward to getting to know the Jenkins community well, and really getting a feel for your Jenkins stories, good and bad. Please feel free to let me know:

• What you love about the Jenkins community & how you are using Jenkins

• What you’re working on doing with Jenkins

• What you don’t like and want improved

You can find me on the mailing lists or via:

• Twitter @tracymiranda

• Email: tmiranda@cloudbees.com

• IRC: tracymiranda

Also I’ll be at the upcoming events: DevOps World - Jenkins World in San Francisco, California and Nice, France so if you plan to attend do come and say hi. The Jenkins community is the real force behind Jenkins. And in turn Jenkins powers so much of the software out there. It is an honour to be joining this wonderful community.

The Best Rugged Portable Bluetooth Speakers

Bluetooth speakers are great for portable music playback, but for those times that you want to take them somewhere a little more off the beate…

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Reminder: It’s Really Easy to Buy Fake Facebook Accounts

Don’t assume everyone you talk to on Facebook is real: there’s an entire marketplace of fake accounts for sale.

The New Xbox Adaptive Controller Takes Accessibility in Gaming to a New Level

Today, Microsoft announced a new kind of game controller, called the Xbox Adaptive Controller, that features an impressive 19 ports to connec…

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Free Download: Fender’s Riffstation Shows You Chords For Any Song

Windows/macOS: Fender’s Riffstation can scan any audio file then help you learn how to play it on your guitar. Once a $35 purchase, it’s now free.

Being The Product Isn’t Necessarily Bad

It’s an internet cliche: “if you’re not paying for something you’re not the customer, you’re the product being sold.” And it’s true, but doesn’t explain why internet companies watch you constantly.

How Android P’s Gesture Navigation Works

With the beta release of Android P, Google is making available a new navigation system: Gestures. This replaces the Back-Home-Recents navigation scheme that Android has used for years with quick swipes and slides.

The Best Must-Have Exclusive Games For the Xbox One

It’s a sad fact that the Xbox One has the fe…

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How to Change Your iPhone Ringtone

The problem with having a popular phone like an iPhone is that, by default, everyone has the same ringtone. If you want to give your iPhone a more personal sound, here’s how to do it.

Avoid iTunes Bloat With the Windows Store Version

There are two ways to install iTunes on Windows 10: By downloading it from Apple’s website, or by installing it from the Microsoft Store. You get the same application either way, but the Store app has less bloat.

What Are Hot-Swappable and Cold-Swappable Devices?

You’ve probably seen the term “hot-swappable”—and to a lesser extend, “cold-swappable”—pop up if you’ve ever shopped for any digital storage devices. Here’s what that means.

Geek Trivia: What Popular Snack Was Originally Created For The Wives Of U.S. Servicemen?

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Trying out Containerized Applications on Apache Hadoop YARN 3.1

This is the 5th blog of the Hadoop Blog series (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4). In this blog, we will explore running Docker containers on YARN for faster time to market and faster time to insights for data intensive workloads at scale.   For over half a decade, the Apache Hadoop YARN […]

The post Trying out Containerized Applications on Apache Hadoop YARN 3.1 appeared first on Hortonworks.

Soon screening near you? Blockchain tech premieres at Cannes

Blockchain may not be the most glamorous new star at the Cannes festival but experts touting the technology say it will rock the world of film even if the red carpet crowd doesn't know it yet.

5 Great Selfie Accessories For The Perfect Selfie

Taking a selfie is a fun exercise in capturing moments with our friends and sneaking ourselves into cool sites we visit, but there’s mor…

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Amazon Prime Members Will Get 10% Off Sale Items at Whole Foods Starting This Summer

Amazon just keeps making Whole Foods more appealing to Prime members.

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Stop Your Friends From Changing Your Whatsapp Group Names With New Admin Tools

Whatsapp groups have new admin controls, making them a lot easier to manage.

Amazon Prime Members Will Get 10% Off at Whole Foods Starting This Summer

Amazon just keeps making Whole Foods more appealing to Prime members.

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Mumbai based ION Energy unveils first product UDYR

Mumbai based ION Energy has come out of stealth mode and unveiled its first product UDYR, a portable battery for electric scooters.

How to See or Clear the Browsing History on Your PlayStation 4

The web browser on Sony’s PlayStation 4 remembers your browsing history, just like desktop browsers do. You can view your browsing history on the console—and delete it, if you like.

Google Maps vs. Waze: Which One Is Really Better?

Google may own Waze, but that doesn’t mean its own Maps product and Waze are the same. In fact, the two still fight for dominance over your navigation needs. So which one is better? Turns out, it depends.

The Best Stick Vacuums for Household Messes Big and Small

Ain’t technology great?

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How to Connect to a Wireless Network in Windows 10

Maybe you’ve recently reset your entire network or made the switch from a wired connection to a wireless one. Either way, you’ll need to make that connection happen. Here’s how to do it in Windows 10.

What is the New EasyMesh Wi-Fi Standard? (and Why It Doesn’t Matter Yet)

Mesh Wi-Fi systems offer solid Wi-Fi coverage throughout large areas that a single router can’t cover. But every manufacturer has its own mesh Wi-Fi system, and they can’t communicate with each other. That’s where the new “Wi-Fi EasyMesh” standard comes in.

Centre proposes charging points for electric vehicles every 3 km

NTPC, Power Grid Corp and Indian Oil Corp are likely to initiate the process to set up charging stations at several locations in identified cities.

Why India needs AI to work for agriculture, healthcare and education

When it comes to agriculture, Microsoft, in collaboration with the non-profit International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, has developed an AI-sowing app for farmers in India.

Why You Shouldn’t Bother Repairing Damaged Charging Cables

Whether it’s from overuse or your damn cat, damaged and frayed USB charging cables are a common occurrence. It’s usually not worth the time and extra money spent trying to repair them.

The Best Laptop Docking Stations for Every Laptop

There’s nothing quite like plugging in a single cable to turn your portable laptop into a full blown workstation.

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Geek Trivia: Which Iconic Video Game Character Was Created As A Result Of An Internal Company Contest?

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A Guide to AI, Machine Learning, and Data Science Talks at Spark + AI Summit

By any measurement today, in the digital media, technical conferences and citations, or searches on Google trends, the frequency of terms like artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning or data science is on the rise. A special report
in The Economist makes the case that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), and its purported tectonic shifts, is spreading beyond the technology sector, with big consequences in different market segments, affecting workers and consumers and generating a potential economic-value from AI in the next couple of decades.

But doing AI and ML are not so much of a problem as managing and processing big data at massive scale and its infrastructure is. And the problem is not so much in the machine learning code or algorithms as it is in the technical debt in supporting the infrastructure.

For the Spark + AI Summit, we expanded new tracks to attract talks that speak of AI use cases, data science, and productionizing machine learning to address how practitioners operate in the real world and manage their infrastructure for these use cases. In this blog, we point to a few sessions that speak volumes in their endeavors in combining the immense value of data and AI.

Let’s start to examine how Mastercard productionizes their AI as a service platform using distributed deep learning techniques and productizing User-Items Propensity Models with Apache Spark at scale. Suqiang Song will share with the community their technical journey and AI architecture design principles for this service in his talk, AI as a Service, Build Shared AI Service Platforms Based on Deep Learning Technologies.

At some point, we all have inadvertently interacted with AI assistants, chatbots. What is the technical mystery behind them? How do you build and operate them? David Low of Pand.ai reveals the finer technical details of building and deploying LSTM machine learning models as well as discuss the current and future state of chatbots in his talk, The Rise of Conversational AI.

It’s one thing to build an ML model; it’s another to manage and deploy it in production. In his talk, Productionizing Apache Spark ML Pipelines with the Portable Format for Analytics, IBM’s Nick Pentreath will discuss a portable format to productionize Apache Spark ML pipelines.

Similarly, Databricks’ Joseph Bradley will discuss developments in Apache Spark to deploy MLlib models and pipelines within Structured Streaming. In the session, Deploying MLlib for Scoring in Structured Streaming, he will share how new developments in Apache Spark 2.3 and MLlib support deploying MLlib models and Pipelines for scoring and predicting in Structured Streaming and why it simplifies many production cases.

Now, if you live in a metropolitan area, you have likely taken an Uber at some point to reach your desired destination. Ever wonder how they compute prices in real-time for over 600 cities? Or curious what machine learning algorithms they use, or how data scientists work to do feature engineering? Messrs Peng Du and Felix Cheung from Uber will reveal technical details of their machine learning infrastructure in their session, Building Intelligent Applications, Experimental ML with Uber’s Data Science Workbench.

And if you have traveled lately, you have likely stayed at an Airbnb rental. Behind that ease-of-use and comfort of selecting myriad rentals of your choice is a complex infrastructure supporting an end-to-end machine learning production life-cycle. Session talks form Airbnb, Bighead: Airbnb’s End-to-End Machine Learning Platform and Zipline: Airbnb’s Machine Learning Data Management Platform will expose Airbnb’s machine learning platforms that enable them to cover data collection at scale, do feature engineering, and train, deploy, productionize, and monitor their infrastructure.

For those using cloud computing for their infrastructure, cost management is as important as reliability. At Databricks, we invest heavily in cloud computing, because it’s our core business to offer unified analytics platform, powered by optimized Apache Spark, to our customers. Hence, cost management for our customers becomes an imperative function as part of the cost of goods (COGS) and operating expenses (OPEX). Data scientist Xuan Wang, from Databricks, will demonstrate how we detect changes and do forecasts to minimize costs and share some data science techniques in his talk, Cloud Cost Management and Apache Spark.

Finally, Natural Language Processing (NLP) as a way to parse spoken or written text is paramount to ML and AI applications. Building a complex NLP system requires an infrastructure and use of three software frameworks: machine learning, deep learning, and Apache Spark NLP libraries. Apache Spark NLP: Extending Spark ML to Deliver Fast, Scalable & Unified Natural Language Processing session by engineers Alexander Thomas and David Talby dives into all aspects of optimization, sentiment detection, lemmatization, language modeling, and pipeline building.

What’s Next

There is much to peruse and pick sessions that appeal to you from the schedule, too. In the final blog, we will share our picks from Developer, Spark Experience, Deep Dives, and related tracks.

If you have not registered yet, use JulesPicks code for a $300 discount. See you there!

Read More

• Check out Few Picks From TensorFlow Sessions
• Find out 5 Reasons to Attend Spark + AI Summit

--

Try Databricks for free. Get started today.

The post A Guide to AI, Machine Learning, and Data Science Talks at Spark + AI Summit appeared first on Databricks.

Amazon’s Checkout-Free Store Is Coming to Chicago and San Francisco

Amazon’s trial of a checkout-less store, Amazon Go, seems to be going well.

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How To Enable Offline Support in the New Gmail

Gmail now works offline without a plugin, but only in Google Chrome.

How Google’s New Storage Pricing Compares to Microsoft, Apple, and Dropbox*

Google’s subscription storage service has a new name: Google One. Some prices are dropping and customers will also get customer support from an actual human for the first time.

Automatic deployment of “incremental” commits to Jenkins core and plugins

A couple of weeks ago, Tyler mentioned some developer improvements in Essentials that had been recently introduced: the ability for ci.jenkins.io builds to get deployed automatically to an “Incrementals” Maven repository, as described in JEP-305. For a plugin maintainer, you just need to turn on this support and you are ready to both deploy individual Git commits from your repository without the need to run heavyweight traditional Maven releases, and to depend directly on similar commits of Jenkins core or other plugins. This is a stepping stone toward continuous delivery, and ultimately deployment, of Jenkins itself.

Here I would like to peek behind the curtain a bit at how we did this, since the solution turns out to be very interesting for people thinking about security in Jenkins. I will gloss over the Maven arcana required to get the project version to look like 1.40-rc301.87ce0dd8909b (a real example from the Copy Artifact plugin) rather than the usual 1.40-SNAPSHOT, and why this format is even useful. Suffice it to say that if you had enough permissions, you could run

mvn -Dset.changelist -DskipTests clean deploy

from your laptop to publish your latest commit. Indeed as mentioned in the JEP, the most straightforward server setup would be to run more or less that command from the buildPlugin function called from a typical Jenkinsfile, with some predefined credentials adequate to upload to the Maven repository.

Unfortunately, that simple solution did not look very secure. If you offer deployment credentials to a Jenkins job, you need to trust anyone who might configure that job (here, its Jenkinsfile) to use those credentials appropriately. (The withCredentials step will mask the password from the log file, to prevent accidental disclosures. It in no way blocks deliberate misuse or theft.) If your Jenkins service runs inside a protected network and works with private repositories, that is probably good enough.

For this project, we wanted to permit incremental deployments from any pull request. Jenkins will refuse to run Jenkinsfile modifications from people who would not normally be able to merge the pull request or push directly, and those people would be more or less trustworthy Jenkins developers, but that is of no help if a pull request changes pom.xml or other source files used by the build itself. If the server administrator exposes a secret to a job, and it is bound to an environment variable while running some open-ended command like a Maven build, there is no practical way to control what might happen.

The lesson here is that the unit of access control in Jenkins is the job. You can control who can configure a job, or who can edit files it uses, but you have no control over what the job does or how it might use any credentials. For JEP-305, therefore, we wanted a way to perform deployments from builds considered as black boxes. This means a division of responsibility: the build produces some artifacts, however it sees fit; and another process picks up those artifacts and deploys them.

This worked was tracked in INFRA-1571. The idea was to create a “serverless function” in Azure that would retrieve artifacts from Jenkins at the end of a build, perform a set of validations to ensure that the artifacts follow an expected repository path pattern, and finally deploy them to Artifactory using a trusted token. I prototyped this in Java, Tyler rewrote it in JavaScript, and together we brought it into production.

The crucial bit here is what information (or misinformation!) the Jenkins build can send to the function. All we actually need to know is the build URL, so the call site from Jenkins is quite simple. When the function is called with this URL, it starts off by performing input validation: it knows what the Jenkins base URL is, and what a build URL from inside an organization folder is supposed to look like: https://ci.jenkins.io/job/Plugins/job/git-plugin/job/PR-582/17/, for example.

The next step is to call back to Jenkins and ask it for some metadata about that build. While we do not trust the build, we trust the server that ran it to be properly configured. An obstacle here was that the ci.jenkins.io server had been configured to disable the Jenkins REST API; with Tyler’s guidance I was able to amend this policy to permit API requests from registered users (or, in the case of the Incrementals publisher, a bot).

If you want to try this at home, get an API token, pick a build of an “incrementalified” plugin or Jenkins core, and run something like

curl -igu <login>:<token> 'https://ci.jenkins.io/job/Plugins/job/git-plugin/job/PR-582/17/api/json?pretty&tree=actions[revision[hash,pullHash]]'

You will see a hash or pullHash corresponding to the main commit of that build. (This information was added to the Jenkins REST API to support this use case in JENKINS-50777.) The main commit is selected when the build starts and always corresponds to the version of Jenkinsfile in the repository for which the job is named. While a build might checkout any number of repositories, checkout scm always picks “this” repository in “this” version. Therefore the deployment function knows for sure which commit the sources came from, and will refuse to deploy artifacts named for some other commit.

Next it looks up information about the Git repository at the folder level (again from JENKINS-50777):

curl -igu <login>:<token> 'https://ci.jenkins.io/job/Plugins/job/git-plugin/api/json?pretty&tree=sources[source[repoOwner,repository]]'

The Git repository now needs to be correlated to a list of Maven artifact paths that this component is expected to produce. The repository-permissions-updater (RPU) tool already had a list of artifact paths used to perform permission checks on regular release deployments to Artifactory; in INFRA-1598 I extended it to also record the GitHub repository name, as can be seen here. Now the function knows that the CI build in this example may legitimately create artifacts in the org/jenkins-ci/plugins/git/ namespace including 38c569094828 in their versions. The build is expected to have produced artifacts in the same structure as mvn install sends to the local repository, so the function downloads everything associated with that commit hash:

curl -sg 'https://ci.jenkins.io/job/Plugins/job/git-plugin/job/PR-582/17/artifact/**/*-rc*.38c569094828/*-rc*.38c569094828*/*zip*/archive.zip' | jar t

When all the artifacts are indeed inside the expected path(s), and at least one POM file is included (here org/jenkins-ci/plugins/git/3.9.0-rc1671.38c569094828/git-3.9.0-rc1671.38c569094828.pom), then the ZIP file looks good—ready to send to Artifactory.

One last check is whether the commit has already been deployed (perhaps this is a rebuild). If it has not, the function uses the Artifactory REST API to atomically upload the ZIP file and uses the GitHub Status API to associate a message with the commit so that you can see right in your pull request that it got deployed:

One more bit of caution was required. Just because we successfully published some bits from some PR does not mean they should be used! We also needed a tool which lets you select the newest published version of some artifact within a particular branch, usually master. This was tracked in JENKINS-50953 and is available to start with as a Maven command operating on a pom.xml:

mvn incrementals:update

This will check Artifactory for updates to relevant components. When each one is found, it will use the GitHub API to check whether the commit has been merged to the selected branch. Only matches are offered for update.

Putting all this together, we have a system for continuously delivering components from any of the hundreds of Jenkins Git repositories triggered by the simple act of filing a pull request. Securing that system was a lot of work but highlights how boundaries of trust interact with CI/CD.

How to See or Clear the Browsing History on Your Xbox One

The Edge browser on your Xbox One stores your browsing history, along with potentially sensitive cookies, temporary files, and form data—just like a desktop browser does. Here’s how to see and clear your browsing history on the Xbox One.

The Best Local Music Players for Android

While streaming music seems to be the most popular choice nowadays, there’s still a large subset of people who prefer music stored locally. If you’re into local music, here are the best players for Android.

Best Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Price Tracking Apps

Whether you’re a cryptocurrency trader or just a curious onlooker, these apps make it dead simple to track multiple cryptocurrencies at…

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Can You Get Sued for Leaving a Bad Review?

Disclaimer: We are not lawyers. We’re basing the advice in this article from cases in the public record. It’s primarily focused on the US legal system, although there are similar cases in other Western countries. If you are being sued for anything you’ve written online, contact a lawyer and get professional legal advice immediately.

How to Watch Any Video on Oculus Go, Rift, HTC Vive, Gear VR, or Daydream

You probably got that Oculus Go, Oculus Rift, or HTC Vive to play games, but VR can also offer a seriously immersive video-watching experience. Here’s how to watch a movie on any VR headset, whether it’s a regular 2D movie, a 3D movie, or a full 360-degree VR production.

YouTube Can Now Remind You To Take a Break

Mobile: It’s way too easy to lose track of time on YouTube, but a option feature can help by reminding you to take a break.

How to Replace a Failed Hard Drive in Your Synology NAS

It’s never fun when a hard drive dies, but Synology at least makes it pretty easy to replace a dead drive in your NAS. You can get back up and running without much fuss. Here’s how to do it.

Geek Trivia: Which Video Game Company Originally Sold Leather Goods?

Think you know the answer? Click through to see if you're right!

The 5 Best Trackball Mice for Every Budget

Trackball mice have never enjoyed the market saturation traditional mice have achieved, but they have a devoted fan base for a good reason.

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Nintendo’s NES Classic Will Be Back In Stock June 29th

Missed your chance at an NES Classic the first time it came around? Don’t worry. On June 29th, Nintendo’s bringing the hits back.

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Google Assistant Could Make Phone Calls For You Someday

Last week Google demoed Duplex, an AI intended to make phone calls on users’ behalf. Depending on who you ask it’s either mind blowing or dystopic.

How the New Confidential Mode Works In Gmail

After you send an email, it’s pretty much outside your control. Gmail’s new Confidential Mode tries to give you a bit of control back by offering message expiration dates and making it trickier for email to be forwarded on.

11 Tips to Make Instagram Work Better for You

Instagram is an interesting social network, with a different set of rules and requirements than  other networks. It’s almost like it’s more thoughtful.

The Best Portable Bluetooth Speakers with Amazon Alexa

Amazon’s Alexa has become one of the best digital assistants on the market, but you don’t have to leave her tethered to a wall.

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How to Set a Default Web Browser in Windows

It’s not an enjoyable experience when you click a link and the wrong browser loads. To avoid this experience, you can set your favorite browser as your default browser in Windows. Here’s how.

How to Use Sets in Windows 10 to Organize Apps Into Tabs

Sets is one of the biggest changes to the Windows desktop interface in years. Almost every application now has tabs in its title bar. You can have tabs from different applications—like File Explorer, Microsoft Word, and Edge—in the same window.

Geek Trivia: The Oldest Stone Tools Were Found In What Modern Day Country?

Think you know the answer? Click through to see if you're right!

The Best Hidden iPhone 3D Touch Tips You Might Not Know About

RELATED: What is 3D Touch and Why it Will Change How you Use Mobile Devices

11 individuals move SC against RBI circular that blocked banking services for bitcoin businesses

This is the fourth in the series of writ petitions against the RBI for blocking off banking services to cryptocurrency exchanges in India.

Geek Trivia: The Practice Of Firing A Purposefully Inaccurate Shot In A Pistol Duel Is Known As?

Think you know the answer? Click through to see if you're right!

How to Make Your Own Posters Using Tiled Printing

If the boring wall posters at Spencers aren’t tickling your fancy and you’d rather have something more customized to your tastes, you can actually make and print your own posters using a method called tiled printing.

6 Things You Should Do to Secure Your NAS

Your NAS is probably one of the most important devices on your home network, but are you giving it the attention it deserves when it comes to security?

Geek Trivia: The Term “Slush Fund” Has Its Origins In?

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Roku Makes More From You On Ads Than Hardware Sales

You might know about Roku’s hardware.

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Alexa Can Hear Commands You Can’t, Which Hackers Could Exploit

Your smart speaker can hear sounds that humans can’t, meaning attackers could hypothetically trigger a command without you noticing. It’s happening in labs right now.

How to Use Private Browsing Mode on Your Xbox One

The Microsoft Edge browser on Xbox One consoles has a private browsing mode named “InPrivate Browsing.” Use InPrivate Browsing mode to browse the web without saving any history data to your console.

What is Hulu with Live TV, and Can It Replace Your Cable Subscription?

Streaming cable replacements are becoming a much more appealing option for cable cutters across the board, with more choices available than ever before. Hulu’s Live TV option is a relative newcomer to the scene, but is it worth it?

The 10 Best Umbrellas That’ll Have You Covered—Rain or Shine

Umbrellas are a helpful tool to keep drenching rains (or burning rays) off your head.

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How to Spot a Fake Facebook Page

There are a lot of fake Facebook pages out there. At best, they waste your time and maybe try to sell some ads. At worst, they try to scam money and personal information from you. Here’s how to spot them.

Windows 10 is Changing How Alt+Tab Works, Here’s What You Need to Know

Windows 10’s Redstone 5 update has a “Sets” feature that adds tabs to almost every window on your desktop. But it also changes how Alt+Tab works, since those tabs appear in the normal Alt+Tab switcher you use to switch between windows.

Using Windows 10’s New Clipboard: History and Cloud Sync

Windows 10’s Redstone 5 update, currently available in Insider Preview form, has a new Clipboard experience. You can now access a history of items you’ve copied to your clipboard, pin frequently used items, and sync your clipboard across your PCs.

Geek Trivia: Which Of These Specialty Windshield Features Was Developed For Cars, But Is Now Used On Ships?

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The Best Streaming Content to Showcase Your New 4K HDR TV

Gmail’s Smart Compose Basically Writes Emails For You And It’s Live Right Now

Gmail can now write your emails for you. Well, sort of: a new AI feature recognizes when you’re using a common phrases, and you can auto-complete them by pressing tab.

Secret Hotkey Opens Windows 10’s New Emoji Picker in Any App

Windows 10 has a hidden emoji picker you can use to type emoji in any application, even desktop programs like Google Chrome. It’s accessible by pressing a keyboard shortcut combination.

Nintendo Is Making the Charging Kickstand You’ve Wanted This Whole Time

How to Stream VR Videos or Movies to Oculus Go from PC or Mac

The Oculus Go is a great VR headset, but it doesn’t have a lot of storage. All your videos and movies are on your PC, so rather than copy them to your Oculus, why not just stream them? Here’s how to do that.

Microsoft Adds a Dark Theme to File Explorer in the Latest Windows 10 Update

For years, people have been asking for darker themes for Windows, but even when they finally added a dark theme in Windows 10, it still didn’t work for File Explorer. In an upcoming update, that’s about to change.

The Best Sleep Masks to Help You Get a Better Night’s Sleep

Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to good health and well being.

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How to Make Animated GIFs Using Google’s Gboard Keyboard on iOS and Android

Sometimes a GIF says it best. But other times your own face says it best. Now, you can always convey what you’re trying to say with Gboard on iOS or Android, thanks to its handy new GIF creator.

Recapping the First Quarter 2018 Earnings Call

Earlier this week, Hortonworks announced financial results for the first quarter of 2018. The year has started off on a strong note, as our CEO Rob Bearden announced another record breaking quarter! The Q1 revenue of $79.1 marked a 41 percent growth compared to the prior year. Q1 also was another quarter of positive operating […]

The post Recapping the First Quarter 2018 Earnings Call appeared first on Hortonworks.

How to Manage Startup Programs in Windows 10’s Settings App

Windows 10’s Settings app lets you customize the programs that automatically run when you sign in to your computer. This same functionality was previously hidden in Windows 10’s Task Manager, and required a third-party tool on Windows 7.

How to Upgrade to the Latest Version of Ubuntu

You can upgrade from one Ubuntu release to another without reinstalling your operating system. If you’re running an LTS version of Ubuntu, you’ll only be offered new LTS versions with the default settings—but you can change that.

The Best New Features in Android P, Available Now in Beta

Android P was officially released in beta at I/O 2018 yesterday, and as expected, it brings a slew of enhancements and new features. Here’s how to get the beta right now, and what you can expect from it.

Android’s New Gesture Controls Are Exactly the Change the Pixel Phones Need

I’m not the biggest fan of the iPhone X because I still want…

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Geek Trivia: The Ubiquitous Black Pens Found At Post Office Buildings Are Manufactured By?

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Google Assistant Will Soon Support a Lot More of Your Household Gadgets

Currently, Google Assistant can …

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Linux Apps Are Coming to Chromebooks

Chromebooks will soon support Linux apps, meaning you might finally be able to install Firefox on yours.

Chrome Now Blocks Sound in Classic Web Games

Classic HTML5 games like QWOP no longer have sound in Chrome, because of a new feature that blocks auto-playing video.

Why is My Amazon Echo Blinking Yellow, Red, or Green?

You just set up your Amazon Echo, and then you noticed that the ring around the top is doing this blinking flashing yellow thing. What’s up with that? Here’s why your Echo might flash yellow, red, green, or blue.

How to Use Google Photos for Easy Photo Fixes, Share Suggestions, and More

Google Photos is great for photo management and backups, but it’s also full of features you might have overlooked. You can perform quick edits, share with others, and even build simple movies. Let’s take a look!

Microsoft Finally Fixes Notepad After 20 Years of Inadequacy

Microsoft just announced yesterday that the upcoming update to Windows 10 is going to finally, after 20 years or so, fix Notepad so that it doesn’t jumble up and break on any file using unix line endings.

9 Must Have Hotel Accessories to Bring Home Comforts On The Road

The worst thing about traveling is leaving behind the comforts of home.

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