Office 2019 Will Only Work on Windows 10, Says Microsoft

Microsoft has announced that its Office 2019 suite -- to be available in the second half of 2018 -- will only work on Windows 10 operating system.

"Office 2019 will ship in H2 of 2018. Previews of the new apps and servers will start shipping in the second quarter of 2018. Office 2019 apps will be supported on any supported Windows 10 Semi-Annual Channel (SAC) release," the company wrote in a blog post late on Thursday.

"Office 2019 will provide five years of mainstream support and approximately two years of extended support. This is an exception to our 'Fixed Lifecycle Policy' to align with the support period for Office 2016. Extended support will end 10/14/2025," the company added.

However, there was no change announced regarding the support term for existing versions of Office.
This release has no effect on Office for Mac, which is a separate product with a different release schedule.

Last year at Ignite, Microsoft announced Office 2019 -- the next perpetual version of Office that includes apps (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, and Skype for Business) and servers (including Exchange, SharePoint, and Skype for Business).

The company also announced servicing extensions for Windows 10 and changes to the Office 365 ProPlus system requirements.

The support for Windows 10 (versions 1511, 1607, 1703, and 1709) for enterprise and education customers running certain versions of the operating system was extended for another six months to help them move to the latest supported versions of the operating system.

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Bitcoin Set for Worst Week Since 2013 as Crypto Sell-Off Intensifies

Cryptocurrencies plunged on Friday, with several of the largest falling by more than 20 percent and Bitcoin sliding below $8,000 and headed for its worst week since 2013, as worries about a regulatory clampdown globally sent investors scrambling to sell. The slump in prices this week means the total market value of cryptocurrencies is down to $385 billion, less than half the high it reached in January, according to industry tracker Coinmarketcap.com.

The market value of cryptocurrencies is calculated by multiplying the number of digital coins in existence by their price, although many question whether that is the right way to value them.
Bitcoin, the biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, fell 12 percent on Friday to a two-month low of $7,910  on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange. It is down more than 30 percent this week.

The second and third largest virtual currencies, Ethereum and Ripple, have plunged 23 and 31 percent respectively in the past 24 hours, Coinmarketcap.com said.

"The regulatory pressure is extremely strong and that is creating a bad environment for cryptos. In the short term, it's shaking out a lot of investors," said Naeem Aslam, a London-based analyst at Think Markets who holds positions in cryptocurrencies.

Retail investors have poured money into digital coins, enticed by the huge run-up in prices, but regulators who say cryptocurrencies are highly speculative and dangerous investments are wrestling with what to do.

India on Thursday vowed to eradicate the use of crypto-assets, joining China and South Korea in promising to ban parts of the nascent market where prices have boomed in recent years.

Social media website Facebook said this week it would ban cryptocurrency advertising because many were associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, while US regulators have sent a subpoena to two of the world's biggest cryptocurrency players, Bitfinex and Tether
A massive $530 million  hack of a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange last week has also renewed concerns about the security of the industry.

Supporters of cryptocurrencies say short-term price volatility is to be expected and does not undermine the power and value of the blockchain technology underpinning them.
The run-up in prices, however, has largely been driven by speculative investment.

Going back to 2011 and including the current selloff, Bitcoin's price has been halved nine times on the Bitstamp exchange before it recovered. The last time was from November 2014 to January 2015.

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PS4 System Update 5.50 Beta Brings Supersampling to PS4 Pro

The PS4 Pro may soon make your games look better. According to those participating in the PS4 system software update 5.50 beta, supersampling has been added as an option to Sony's iterative console.

Supersampling allows games that support enhanced textures, anti-aliasing, and resolutions above 1080p to scale to 1080p screens allowing for improved image quality, fewer jagged edges, and a sharper overall experience.

Although most PS4 Pro enhanced games let you choose between better graphics or a higher frame rate or run with supersampling, this ensures that those that don't now will. It's an interesting addition as the Xbox One X has had it since launch, making it obvious that Sony is looking to close the gap from a features standpoint.

Nonetheless, Sony does note that the outcome of this will differ from game to game. In some cases, the image quality may not be all that better or the frame rate may be impacted.
While this is a part of the PS4 system software 5.50 beta, it will be interesting to see if Sony makes it available to a wider audience when 5.50 is ready for mass consumption, or perhaps hold it back for more testing.

This isn't the first time Sony has brought core, system-level features to the PS4 Pro with an update. Last year saw Boost Mode which promised to increase the frame rate in games that weren't optimised for the PS4 Pro albeit it saw mixed results. How much of an impact supersampling has will be a point of contention in the weeks to come. Till then, here's a list of games from popular gaming forum ResetEra that support supersampling.

PS4 Pro supersampling game list

• The Last Guardian
• Dishonored 2
• Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
• Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
• Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection
• Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix
• Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (Dream Drop Distance)
• Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
• Metal Gear: Survive
• Life is Strange: Before the Storm
• Nex Machina: Death Machine
• No Man's Sky
• Injustice 2
• Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
• Everybody's Golf
• Call of Duty Black Ops 3

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Instagram Video Calling Feature Leaks, Said to Be in Internal Testing

A long time after enabling its users with the Direct message feature, Instagram is now reportedly testing a feature to enable video calls. The rumoured feature - if it becomes a reality - will make Instagram a step closer to Snapchat that already allowing its users to make audio and video calls alongside offering a dedicated chat option. However, Instagram has officially refused to comment on the new development.

The video calling feature on Instagram, which was spotted by WhatsApp fan blog WABetaInfo, would let users make video calls directly from an Instagram Direct message thread. It is claimed to be initially available for internal testing, though a screenshot is available through the source to prove its existence. The leaked screenshot allegedly shows a new video call icon in the top-right corner of an Instagram Direct message, and it appears similar to what's presently available on WhatsApp. The icon would enable video calling with a one-tap gesture when a user is within an active chat. Further, the video call feature is claimed to be available in the next few months for both Android and iOS devices.

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Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S to Be the First Snapdragon 845 SoC Smartphone: Report

Weeks ahead of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018, Xiaomi is rumoured to be in the development of the Mi MIX 2S. The new Mi MIX model, which is likely to be an upgrade of the last year's Mi MIX 2, is already reported to be the offering that could debut from Xiaomi's side at the forthcoming MWC in Barcelona. However, a new report from China claims that the handset will also be the first model by the company to come with a Snapdragon 845 SoC. Xiaomi and Qualcomm announced their partnership on the Snapdragon 845 last month, and the first Xiaomi smartphone to feature the new processor was initially expected to be the Mi 7, the new flagship that is not likely to debut at MWC 2018.

As per the latest report by Chinese blog IT168, the upcoming Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S won't just be the company's first but also the world's first smartphone with a Snapdragon 845 SoC. The new model is also said to feature an upgraded camera over the one available on the Mi MIX 2, which was launched back in last September. Particularly, the Chinese source claims that Xiaomi will be using tge new Sony IMX363 camera sensor that will be equipped with a dual-pixel autofocus technology to deliver enhanced night image results.

Alongside the new camera setup, the Mi MIX 2S is rumoured to have a design similar to the iPhone X. This means we can expect a notch on the front, though the new model is likely to retain the original bezel-less design pattern that was highly praised on the Mi MIX in 2016. Also, the Snapdragon 845 is already claimed to have an on-device artificial intelligence (AI) functionality that could result in features such as facial recognition on the new Mi MIX model.

As far as the price of the Mi MIX 2S is concerned, some past reports suggested that the smartphone would go on sale in China at CNY 4,000 (approximately Rs. 40,200). It is speculated to hit stores in the country sometime in March - after an initial showcase at MWC 2018.

It would be interesting to see how Xiaomi would manage to get the title of launching the world's first Snapdragon 845 processor-backed smartphone as companies such as Samsung and Sony are in the list of few initial vendors to use the same SoC on their upcoming flagships. Moreover, the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ are expected to come with the same top-end Snapdragon processor in the US market.

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Japan's Cryptocurrency Girl Band Stays Loyal to Virtual Money After Cyber Heist

Members of a Japanese girl pop group, the Virtual Currency Girls, said on Monday they had refused an offer to be paid in yen and would stay loyal to cryptocurrencies despite a $530 million (roughly Rs. 3,300 crores) cyber heist jeopardising their chances of getting paid.

A cryptocurrency account that pays part of the band's salary was among those frozen as a result of the suspension of trading at Tokyo-based Coincheck exchange on Friday following the theft of NEM, one of the world's most popular digital currencies.

"Our manager offered to pay us in yen, but we declined," said Hinano Shirahama, who is the band's bitcoin character.

Dressed in maid costumes and wearing wrestling masks adorned with fuzzy pom-pom ears and cryptocurrency symbols the eight Virtual Currency Girls are a pop music manifestation of the digital currency frenzy that has swept Japan and other parts of the world.

Shirahama and other group members said they would stay together regardless of the setback. Formed by an entertainment promoter the band debuted this month and have yet to garner a significant following.

Virtual Currency Girls, which performs songs such as "The Moon, Cryptocurrencies and Me" are paid in cryptocurrency for tickets and merchandise at their concerts.
Regulators fear both the rampant speculation in cryptocurrencies and risk that the markets could be used for funding criminal and terrorist groups.
 
Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) only began requiring exchanges to register from April 2017. Half of the 32 operators are still awaiting approval.

In 2014, Japan's Mt. Gox, which once handled 80 percent of the world's Bitcoin trades, filed for bankruptcy after losing around half a billion dollars worth of Bitcoins.

Last month, South Korean exchange Youbit shut down and filed for bankruptcy after being hacked twice.

Japan's FSA on Friday criticised Coincheck for failing to take adequate security precautions to foil hacking attacks and said it would begin inspections at other exchanges.

"Coincheck has some responsibility, but the real culprit is the hacker," said Koharu Kamikawa wearing her fur-eared mask with the NEM cryptocurrency logo on her forehead.

© Thomson Reuters 2018

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WhatsApp Gets Apple CarPlay Integration

WhatsApp Messenger has eventually reached your in-vehicle connectivity system through the latest Apple's CarPlay integration. The new update, which comes via WhatsApp v2.18.2 for iPhone, enables push notifications to let you easily communicate with your contacts while on the move. Previously, users were required to use Siri integration on their vehicles to interact with the WhatsApp app installed on their iPhones and iPads, but the arrival of the official CarPlay support allows you to receive messages as and when they reach your mobile devices. A dedicated WhatsApp icon will also be available on the CarPlay dash interface to provide easy access.

Leveraging the new CarPlay integration, you can check what are the new messages you've received on your WhatsApp account and can even read them loud by asking Siri. Also, you can use Siri to send messages via WhatsApp to any of your contacts. It is additionally interesting to note you can use the new integration to dictate your WhatsApp messages to Siri.

The updated WhatsApp for iPhone with the CarPlay integration is available for downloadvia the App Store. The official changelog on the App Store doesn't define the integration. However, folks at iCulture report that it comes just after installing the latest version. The integration is quite similar in nature to what has already been available for iMessages, but it reportedly doesn't allow users to browse through the list of chat conversations available in a particular account.

Companies such as Pioneer and Sony are already offering CarPlay-supported in-car audio systems. Automakers, including Ford, are also bringing their in-car communication and entertainment systems with CarPlay support to deliver a new-age in-vehicle experience

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YouTube Advertisements Used to Secretly Mine Cryptocurrency: Report

Some YouTube ads in certain countries were hijacked by hackers to mine cryptocurrency by using the processing power of video viewers' computers without their knowledge, according to new reports. The cryptocurrency mining code was apparently embedded in JavaScript in the YouTube ads, which mined CoinHive's Monero digital currency. This issue was identified when antivirus software of users' desktops detected the said covert mining when YouTube was played.

According to a report by technology website Ars Technica, the antivirus red flags continued to appear after users changed the browsers to watch YouTube. The issue only came up when a YouTube video was played. Cyber-security research firm Trend Micro published a blog post on Sunday, saying it detected a 285 percent increase in the number of CoinHive miners on Wednesday, January 24. A deeper look into the problem showed five malicious domains had enjoyed a five-fold increase in traffic since January 18, with Google DoubleClick ads turning out to be the source of traffic.

CoinHive is considered controversial as it allows website administrators to use the resources of visitors' computers to mine Monero cryptocurrency. In the case of YouTube ads, 90 percent of the cases involve publicly-available CoinHive JavaScript, while the remaining 10 percent involves a private mining JavaScript that allows the hackers to save on the 30 percent fee CoinHive charges. In both cases, 80 percent of the resources of the affected computer are used to mine the cryptocurrency, meaning that the computer is left with barely enough resources to operate.

Among the countries affected by this hack include Japan, France, Taiwan, Italy, and Spain. One of the ways to protect computers from this issue is to disable auto-running JavaScripts in browsers. YouTube is an obvious target for such an attack as it is the most popular video streaming website in the world, with over 1.5 billion users worldwide.

In a statement to Ars Technica, Google said, "Mining cryptocurrency through ads is a relatively new form of abuse that violates our policies and one that we've been monitoring actively. We enforce our policies through a multi-layered detection system across our platforms which we update as new threats emerge. In this case, the ads were blocked in less than two hours and the malicious actors were quickly removed from our platforms." It is not apparent which ads were blocked within two hours.

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Far Cry 5 Gameplay, PC Specifications, DRM, and More

Far Cry 5 release date is March 27. In the run up to that, Ubisoft has released more details on this much anticipated open-world first-person shooter. Aside from the usual mix of stealth and action, certain missions involve a welcome amount of vehicular carnage. One of them has you tasked with returning a glorious big rig that’s in the possession of Eden’s Gate — the cultists you’re up against in the game. Dubbed as the Widowmaker, it has twin-mounted machine guns that made clearing out gas tankers and cultists with ease.

In addition to this, the Guns for Hire missions (which promise a special ending for seeing their arc play out) improve odds in any given battle by bolstering the resistance group in Hope Country against its zealots. This means allied forces armed with bows, machine guns, and shotguns make battles easier than they should be.

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Uber Shouldn't Be Shut Down, Says British Prime Minister

British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday that taxi company Uber should not be shut down but instead should comply better with labour and safety standards.

"We need to make sure that our employment law keeps pace with the way that technology is shaping modern working practices," May told business leaders meeting at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
"Take the example of Uber ... a company that has got things wrong along the way, with safety issues and concerns over protections for its workers," she added.

"The answer isn't to shut Uber down but rather to address those concerns and to establish and enforce the standards and protections that can make this technology work for customers and employees alike."

© Thomson Reuters 2018

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Google Files Go App Update Brings SD Card View, Tablet Support, 'Open With' Tab, and More

Launched alongside other announcements at Google's Android Oreo (Go edition) event in December last year, the Google Files Go app is getting three new upgrades. A new SD-card only view allows users to filter content based on where it is stored. Files Go also adds support for Android tablets, allowing for a seamless transfer between phones and tablets. Lastly, a new "Open With" flow lets users choose the app that they want a file to be opened with. Files Go is available widely for Android devices.

According to a blog post by the Next Billion Users team at Google, the Files Go Android app has received an update with three significant changes to its functionality. Google claims that many of its Files Go users use SD cards to back up their files. Thus, the update has made it easier to distinguish between files stored on inbuilt storage or external storage with the new "Show SD card only" button that helps find only those files saved on the SD card.

In an attempt to create a seamless experience for users, Google Files Go app is now available on Android tablets. This allows users to "manage storage and transfer files between your small and big screen Android devices without using any data."

And, lastly, a new "Open With" tab has been rolled out to the Files Go app. It allows users to choose the app they want to open specific files with. For instance, users might want to choose their preferred word processing tool to open a word document through Files Go.

The changelog on the Play Store link also suggests that hidden files will now be hidden by default on the app.

The Files Go app has been custom built for Android Go edition phones and will come pre-installed on them. The app prompts users to regularly delete large files to make up for space on phones with limited storage space.

"With these new features, we hope it's even easier to free up space, find files faster and share files offline with Files Go," said Devesh Sarwate - Software Engineer at Files Go.

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God of War PS4 Release Date, Price, Editions, and More

God of War for the PS4 finally has an official release date. The hotly anticipated PS4 and PS4 Pro exclusive is out April 20 this year. The price for God of War is Rs. 3,999 in India on disc and $60 internationally. In addition to this, there are several editions of the game up for grabs over and above the $60 standard edition.

God of War PS4 pre-order bonuses
Game Director Cory Barlog states that if you pre-order the game at any “supporting retailer” you’ll get access to legendary skins. Keep in mind you’ll need an Internet connection to access them. You’ll also receive Luck of Ages XP Boost. This grants +10 Luck and one Enhancement slot. Luck impacts XP, currency, and the ability to trigger perks. India should receive these at most retailers as we’ve seen with past games though Sony India is yet to confirm if this is the case.

God of War PS4 Collector’s Edition

Europe (the region India falls under for Sony) gets the God of War Collector’s Edition that’s not too dissimilar to the Stone Mason Edition that leaked prior for the US. It comes with digital content such as Death’s Vow Armour Set, Exile’s Guardian Shield, Dark Horse Comic, and a dynamic theme. Physical contents include:

• 9-inch statue of Kratos and Atreus
• Steelbook case including the God of War PS4 game
• Cloth map
• Exclusive lithograph Two Huldra brothers carvings

God of War PS4 Limited Edition
Much like the God of War Collector’s Edition it comes with digital extras. These include Death Vow’s Armour Set, Exile’s Guard Shield, and a dynamic theme. It also comes with:

• Black and silver steelbook with the God of War PS4 game

• Physical copy of an art book by Dark Horse

 

God of War PS4 Digital Deluxe Edition
This comes with a digital copy of the game and the following items:

• Death’s Vow Armour Set
• Exile’s Guardian Shield
• Dark Horse Comic
• Dynamic theme

 

Will God of War PS4 special editions come to India?

Considering that other PS4 games like Gran Turismo Sport and Uncharted 4 didn’t see their special editions make it to India, chances are slim. More over, Sony hasn’t listed the European prices for the Limited and Collector’s Editions just yet, crucial as India pricing takes its cues from those markets. Though the God of War Digital Deluxe edition is up for pre-order on the PlayStation Store for Rs. 3,999

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Samsung, Apple Retained Leadership as Top Semiconductor Buyers in 2017: Gartner

Representing 19.5 percent of the total worldwide market, Samsung and Apple have retained their leadership as the top two semiconductor chip buyers in 2017, market research firm Gartner said on Thursday. The firm reports that Samsung and Apple together consumed semiconductors worth $81.8 billion  in 2017, showing an increase of more than $20 billion  from 2016.

Samsung grew its semiconductor spending by 37.2 percent and spent whopping $43.1 billion  in 2017. Apple's semiconductor spending, on the other hand, increased by 27.5 percent and reached $38.7 billion . Interestingly, both the companies are holding the top position since 2011. "Samsung Electronics and Apple not only retained their respective No. 1 and No. 2 positions, they also radically increased their share of semiconductor spending through 2017," said Masatsune Yamaji, principal research analyst at Gartner.

In addition to the continuous growth of Samsung and Apple, the preliminary rankings revealed by Gartner highlights eight of top 10 semiconductor buyers in 2016 remained in the top 10 list in 2017, with the top five chip buyers remaining in the same position. LG Electronics made a comeback to the top 10 list and was joined by Western Digital, which grew its semiconductor spending by $1.7 billion . Also, China's BBK Electronics, the parent company of OnePlus, Oppo, and Vivo, rose one place to the sixth position with increasing its semiconductor spending by $5.7 billion .

Gartner points out a significant price increase of DRAM and NAND flash memory had majorly influenced the total semiconductor buyers' ranking in 2017. Similarly, supply shortages, mainly for memory IC, microcontrollers, and passive components, benefited the suppliers but troubled the OEMs, the firm said. The increase in OEMs' captive chip spending that is aimed to add distinctions in their models reportedly brought a great risk for commercial chip vendors. Companies, including Huawei and Samsung, brought their own silicon solutions that reduced the demand for chips developed by Qualcomm and MediaTek.

The share of semiconductor spending by the top 10 OEMs reached 40 percent of the total semiconductor market in 2017, up from 31 percent 10 years ago. Gartner predicts that this trend will continue and by 2021, the top 10 OEMs will account for more than 45 percent of global semiconductor spending.

With the top 10 semiconductor chip buyers commanding an increasing share of the market, technology product marketing leaders at chip vendors must focus on their leading customers. They will need to prioritise direct sales and technical support resources to these top customers by exploiting online technical support capabilities and outsourcing the support for long-tail customers to third-party partners and distributors," said Mr. Yamaji.

Earlier this month, Gartner reported that Samsung had replaced Intel and became the top player in the global semiconductor market in 2017 with a share of 14.6 percent. The prime reason for the growth of the South Korean company in the market for semiconductors was found to be the increased prices of NAND flash and DRAM chips. "NAND flash prices increased year over year for the first time ever, up 17 percent, while DRAM prices rose 44 percent," the Gartner report had said.

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Android Messages Gets Smart Reply Feature, but Only for Project Fi Users

Google announced on Wednesday that it is now rolling out the Smart Reply feature to messaging app Android Messages. The AI-based Smart Reply feature was launched with Google Allo back in September 2016. It will be available only for Project Fi users currently, with no timeline on a wider rollout. Google will require access to your SMS history to help it generate intelligent responses.
 
The announcement was made through a tweet on Project Fi's official Twitter account. Smart Reply, launched with Google Allo, automatically suggests responses to messages that you have received. It provides contextual replies by analysing the recent message in the thread. It can be turned off by going into Settings in Android Messages, under Smart Reply. The feature currently works with Google Allo, Gmail, Google Assistant, and, now, Android Messages - but the last as we mentioned is only for Project Fi users.

Notably, this addition of Smart Reply to Android Messages comes a week after a teardown of Google's Gboard beta APK revealed that the Smart Reply intelligent suggestions are coming to the Gboard app on Android. The keyboard is expected to offer phrase-length suggestions in the topmost row. Thanks to the upcoming integration, the feature will work on wide variety of apps, negating the need for third-party app developers to bring Smart Reply support or similar features on their offerings. Apart from first party apps like Allo, Android Messages, and Hangouts, the feature was also spotted working on Facebook, Messenger Lite, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Tencent's platforms. It also works on Snapchat, albeit with limited functionality.

While Allo offers encrypted messaging, Google has been known to store your chat history and data to help enhance the Smart Reply feature. The company can decrypt your data on its servers. The process on Smart Reply on Android Messages is yet to be revealed.

Google has been shuffling between Hangouts, Allo, and Android Messages with no apparent streamlined approach to mobile messaging. It has offered features on different apps from time to time.

Project Fi is Google's virtual mobile phone service that provides phone, messaging, and data services through a combination of Wi-Fi and cellular networks. The service has partnered with Sprint, T-Mobile, and other cellular operators in the US with roaming capabilities in over 135 countries. A basic Project Fi plan starts at $20 (roughly Rs. 1,300) monthly with access to unlimited domestic voice calls, unlimited domestic text messaging, and unlimited international text messaging. Data is additional at $10 (roughly Rs. 635) per gigabyte.

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Qualcomm Signs $2 Billion Sales MOUs With Lenovo, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo

Qualcomm has signed memorandums of understanding for sales worth at least $2 billion (roughly Rs.  12,700 crores) with Lenovo, Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications, Vivo Communication Technology, and Xiaomi Communications.

The Chinese firms expressed an interest in buying Qualcomm components with a total value of no less than $2 billion over three years, the US chip maker said on Thursday.

The non-binding agreement will be subject to further agreements and covers technology related to RF Front-End components, it said in a statement.

The companies unveiled the multi-year agreement at a Qualcomm-hosted event in Beijing, attended by the US firm's chairman and its chief executive.

© Thomson Reuters 2018

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