IT Executive news

• iOS 9 gets its first jailbreak, one month after release

  14-10-2015 23:59
  
  A China-based team is the first to jailbreak Apple iOS 9 – 28 days after the iPhone and iPad software’s official release, the Pangu team announced that it had cracked the platform’s security and made it possible for users to enjoy unfettered control over their devices.
  The jailbreak, which is available for free from Pangu’s website, is only available to Windows users so far, although Mac support is thought to be forthcoming. Usage is relatively straightforward – do
  
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• Walmart decries cloud lock-in, plans to open-source OneOps

  14-10-2015 23:15
  
  Vendor lock-in has plagued the corporate world since well before the arrival of the cloud, but now -- with ever more of today's technology operating in an online environment dominated by providers such as Amazon Web Services -- it's taken on new urgency.Aiming to strike a blow at the problem, Walmart on Wednesday announced that it will open-source the cloud technology it has built up following its acquisition of startup OneOps roughly two years ago.Specifically, the retail giant's @WalmartLabs d
  
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• Microsoft: Cumulative, conjoined Windows 10 updates are here to stay

  14-10-2015 21:09
  
  Windows 10 users shouldn't expect Microsoft to bend on the just-take-it policy the company has adopted for the new operating system's updates.
  The Redmond, Wash. made that clear in an expansive support document that laid out in the clearest terms yet how it services Windows 10 for consumers and businesses.
  "In order to improve release quality and simplify deployments, all new releases that Microsoft publishes for Windows 10 will be cumulative," the document, last refreshed three weeks ago, stat
  
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• Microsoft finally releases a new Windows 10 Mobile build, but installing it is a doozy

  14-10-2015 21:08
  
  Users of Microsoft's Windows 10 Mobile beta have been waiting a month for the company to release a new version of its operating system for smartphones. Microsoft finally gave them what they wanted Wednesday ... with a huge catch.Windows 10 Mobile build 10549 is out in the wild, but can only be installed from a phone running Windows Phone 8.1. The team behind the operating system discovered a bug at the last minute that caused phones updating from build 10536 (the latest one public beta testers c
  
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• Word to API providers: Make it simple for developers

  14-10-2015 21:07
  
  Want developers to use your APIs? Then these APIs should be easy to deal with, akin to Chipotle’s simplified restaurant menu.
  So says Kevin Kohut from Accenture, who presented on how to attract developers to APIs at Apigee’s I Love APIs conference in Silicon Valley this week. Developers can gain access to data and services via APIs exposed by third parties. But API programs have to be done correctly, Kohut and other speakers emphasized.[ Download InfoWorld's special report: "Extendi
  
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• Latest group of new CIO appointments includes many women

  14-10-2015 20:54
  
  Women made up 26 percent of the professional computing workforce and held 6 percent of corporate CIO positions at the end of 2014, according to the National Center for Women & Information Technology. And the numbers continue to trend upward year over year! In this edition of Movers and Shakers, I'm please to report a higher-than-usual number of women who earned new CIO positions.LinkedIn Michelle McKenna-Doyle, CIO of NFLTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please cl
  
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• Bracket Computing advancements boost enterprise cloud security control

  14-10-2015 19:54
  
  Bracket Computing is expanding its cloud-storage data protection offerings and has received an additional $46.4 million in venture funding to further develop its products and roll them out worldwide.
  Now in addition to Bracket’s Computing Cell service, customers can license an in-house version of the technology and control all aspects of the encryption/policy enforcement/data integrity platform.
  + More on Network World: Gartner: Risk, relentless data center demand, open source and other t
  
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• CIOs eye Dell-EMC merger with cautious optimism

  14-10-2015 19:43
  
  CIOs view Dell's $67 billion acquisition of EMC -- a merger of two incumbent vendors whose hegemonies have been challenged by tectonic shifts in enterprise computing -- with guarded optimism. They see potential in Dell and VMware offering private and hybrid cloud systems as alternatives to the public cloud services sold by Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Google."There's been significant pressure on enterprise infrastructure with mobile and cloud," says Davie Finnegan, CIO of sporting good out
  
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• Microsoft improves security for Azure SQL Database

  14-10-2015 19:39
  
  Microsoft is giving database administrators working with Azure SQL Database a new suite of security tools to check out.A new Always Encrypted feature will be available as a public beta by the end of the month. It allows users to encrypt sensitive data within an application using their own keys without relinquishing those keys to Azure SQL Database. It's a feature that lets companies maintain better control over critical applications they want to keep as secure as possible. Microsoft's Trans
  
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• The Swatch smartwatch is more disappointing than anyone could have imagined

  14-10-2015 18:40
  It turns out that Swatch doesn’t have much to talk about after all.
  The company’s CEO, Nick Hayek, has spent months building the hype for a supposed Swatch smartwatch, while bashing the Apple Watch as “an interesting toy, but not a revolution.” But now that we have some details about Swatch’s response, it’s clear the company doesn’t have anything remotely competitive.
  According to Bloomberg, the Swatch Bellamy is a basic timepiece that will debut in Chi
  
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• Amazon’s new BI tool may hurt more of its partners

  14-10-2015 18:00
  
  Each year at Amazon Web Service’s re:Invent conference the company announces a new service that seems to compete directly with third-party independent software vendors (ISV) who offer the same type of product through the AWS Marketplace.
  + MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: 3 Takeaways from Amazon’s cloud conference | Hottest products at AWS re:Invent +
  A few years ago AWS rolled out the Trusted Advisor platform, which helps customers monitor their usage of AWS’s cloud and provide recomme
  
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• Uber gets serious about delivering packages

  14-10-2015 17:51
  
  Uber is tapping into its massive driver network to deliver packages in addition to passengers.
  The company is officially launching a same-day delivery service, called UberRush, after testing it out in New York City. UberRush will kick off in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York, and deliveries will cost between $5 and $7, Recode reports. Uber now considers delivery a legitimate part of its business, rather than an experiment.
  Unlike Uber’s ride-hailing service, the delivery service won&rs
  
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• Disruptive innovation, education and open data: Tim O’Reilly, CEO O’Reilly Media

  14-10-2015 17:35
  
  In this CXO Talk interview, Tim O’Reilly, founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media, discusses disruptive innovation, education and open data. In this episode O’Reilly describes his mission to change the world by spreading the knowledge of innovators and what disruption means to him.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• EU moet werk maken van alternatief voor safe harbour

  14-10-2015 17:29
  De Europese Commissie en de Amerikaanse regering moeten zo snel mogelijk met een nieuw kader komen dat tegemoet komt aan de bezwaren van het Europese Hof van Justitie (CJEU), dat vorige week in een baanbrekende uitspraak de safe harbour-constructie onderuit haalde. Dat zegt belangenvereniging Nederland ICT. De... lees meer
  
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• Eyes off! HP, 3M join forces to build native privacy screens into laptops

  14-10-2015 17:09
  
  Tired of the passenger next to you eyeballing your PowePoint presentation while you work? By 2016, you’ll be able to push a button on the keyboard and treat the nosy person to a black screen.
  HP and 3M said they will integrate built-in privacy screens into some laptops that can be turned on and off with the push of a button. Details of the 3M film were sparse, but HP said it should have it in some laptops by next year. HPHP will integrate a new 3M privacy shield into laptops that can be t
  
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• Twitter taps ex-Googler Kordestani as executive chairman

  14-10-2015 16:30
  
  Omid Kordestani, who until recently was Google’s chief business officer, is now executive chairman of Twitter, filling the last vacant spot in the company's leadership."Omid is a proven and experienced leader who will directly help and coach me and our leadership, and help us recruit the best folks to Twitter," wrote Jack Dorsey, the Twitter cofounder who was recently appointed CEO, in a Wednesday morning tweet.The news came just a day after the social media giant said it will cut about 8
  
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• Fitbit rival Misfit Link costs $20, automatically tracks sleep

  14-10-2015 16:24
  
  Looking for a quality activity tracker that doesn't cost as much as the latest Fitbit? You won't likely find anything less expensive than the $20 Misfit Link. It's an affordable option for dipping your toe in the wearable pool, so to speak. However, Link is somewhat disappointing, at least in my experience.Link isn't perfect, but for $20 ...
  Did I mention Link only cost $20? That's impulse-item territory, the wearable equivalent of a candy bar at a grocery store checkout aisle. OK, bad analogy;
  
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• Pardon all marijuana offenders: John McAfee Day One as President

  14-10-2015 16:15
  
  In this segment of The Irari Report interview with security icon and presidential candidate, John McAfee, Ira Winkler and Araceli Treu Gomes ask McAfee about his plans for his first year as President of the United States.
  McAfee would disband and/or reduce several government agencies including the TSA, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the FDA. He also details how he would cut the debt by decreasing foreign aid, while hiring thousands of cybersecurity experts.
  [ ANOTHER PART OF THIS SERIES: McAfee
  
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• John McAfee on the Cyber Party platform

  14-10-2015 16:14
  
  In this segment of The Irari Report interview with security icon and presidential candidate John McAfee, Ira Winkler and Araceli Treu Gomes ask McAfee about the political party that he formed, The Cyber Party. McAfee tells Ira and Ari about the Cyber Party’s platform that focuses on Privacy, Freedom and Technology.
  [ ANOTHER PART OF THIS SERIES: McAfee plans to be elected president in a landslide on the backs of 40 million tatooed voters ]
  McAfee talks about the importance preparing for t
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: OS X El Capitan: Remove unwanted Google Chrome apps from Launchpad

  14-10-2015 16:06
  A while back I decided to install Google's Chrome browser on my Mac. For a long time I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary until one day I opened Launchpad and found to my annoyance that Google had also installed the following Chrome apps: Google Drive, YouTube, Google Search and Gmail.
  I was never asked if I wanted these apps installed in OS X El Capitan on my Mac. Google just installed them without my permission. And here's what really annoyed me: when I pressed down on an app icon to
  
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• The latest Windows 10 PCs are slim, powerful and pricey

  14-10-2015 16:02
  
  If you've been in the market for a new Windows 10 PC, the pickings have been rather slim. That's quickly changing, though. Two major third party manufacturers — Acer and Hewlett-Packard — in addition to Microsoft, recently launched new Windows 10 laptops. A third manufacturer plans announce its offerings next week.Notable Windows 10 hardware enhancements
  I had a chance to get my hands on a few of the new PCS, and I checked out the specs of others. In general, I like what I see.
  
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• BrandPost: Looking into the Crystal Ball

  14-10-2015 15:00
  
  It’s always intriguing to think about where an industry is headed, especially in an age in which technology has a transformative impact. This is perhaps nowhere truer than within pharmaceutical companies. Trends are surfacing in the life sciences sector that could forever change what companies look like in the years ahead.Continued consolidation is a prime example, especially as pharma firms work to maintain revenue expectations. The potential is crystal clear in terms of how many pharmace
  
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• Samsung targets India with new Tizen-powered smartphone

  14-10-2015 14:32
  
  Samsung won't give up on its Tizen operating system for smartphones: it's launched a new handset running the OS, aimed at price-sensitive users in India.The South Korean company uses Google's Android operating system for most of its smartphones, but sees a potential for Tizen in low-end smartphones, wearables, TVs and the "Internet of Things," consisting of sensor-connected devices.The Samsung Z3 phone costs 8,490 rupees (US$130). Samsung launched its first Tizen phone, the Samsung Z1, in India
  
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• Veteran CIO values personal connections

  14-10-2015 14:31
  
  When Martha Poulter took on the role of CIO at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in June 2014, she saw a leadership team that shared her thoughts on how technology supports business strategy. "What really excited me in talking with the leadership team here was the spirit of innovation and creativity around how to continue to position Starwood, its brand, its properties, its owners in a leading light in a digital world," she says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please cl
  
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• 8 tips for running a successful remote meeting

  14-10-2015 14:12
  
  8 tips for running a successful remote meetingImage by ThinkstockYou probably work with at least one or two people who is remote, or is remote for part of the week. That means, you've probably also experienced some less than productive virtual meetings. Whether you lost time to faulty technology, spent too much time talking over one another or just experienced silence on the other end, you might be wondering how to actually hold a successful remote meeting. Here are eight tips that will ensure y
  
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• Why companies are switching from Google Apps to Office 365

  14-10-2015 13:56
  
  Microsoft’s increasingly strong Office 365 performance is coming partly at the expense of Google Apps. Motorola’s recent decision to move from an elderly version of Office to Google’s cloud service bucks the more common trend of companies who have been using Google Apps switching to Office 365.It’s not just Microsoft saying that Office 365 is growing (COO Kevin Turner claims that four out of five Fortune 500 companies use the service). Last year, cloud security company Bi
  
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• 7 ways to ease stress at work

  14-10-2015 13:44
  
  7 ways to ease stress at workImage by ThinkstockWorkplace stress is a fact of life, especially in the IT industry. Keeping that stress to manageable levels can seem like a full-time job in and of itself. Thankfully, there are some easy ways to relax, recharge and rejuvenate, and many of them you can do right at your desk.TechnologyImage by ThinkstockTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Office 2016 for Mac update doesn't include fix for crashes under OS X El Capitan

  14-10-2015 13:21
  
  Microsoft on Tuesday updated Office 2016 for Mac with security patches and a host of smaller feature changes, but did not fix the constant-crash problem users have reported on OS X El Capitan, Apple's newest operating system.
  Instead, the company told customers to sit tight and wait for Apple to ship an update for El Capitan, aka OS X 10.11, strongly suggesting that the mess was Apple's responsibility.
  "On October 13, 2015, we released an update to Office 2016 for Mac ... [but] this update does
  
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• Google takes on Apple News, Facebook Instant Articles with AMP

  14-10-2015 13:11
  
  A battle is brewing over the future of news and media on mobile devices. During the last five months, the makers of the world's two most popular mobile platforms and the leading social media company released new services that let publishers deliver curated and packaged content tailored for mobile screens.
  Facebook's Instant Articles, Apple News and the Google-led Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project are facing off, with varying objectives. Google, a company that's disrupted the news business
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: The death of the OS (Part 2)

  14-10-2015 13:00
  
  As the OS recedes further to the background on both traditional and mobile computing, the growth of smartphones and tablets is replacing the usage on those traditional devices. Though the OS is still important, especially on mobile devices where quick exchanges demand a special user interface, the changes and innovation of the OS has had less an impact on the user experience in the past few years.First PCs and now the mobile OS
  The focus continues to be on the app. Although Apple has been great
  
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• Women in security: Cultures, incentives that promote retention

  14-10-2015 12:54
  
  In order to attract and retain highly qualified candidates who possess a combination of emotional and technical intelligence, enterprises need to look at their corporate cultures and offer more than monetary incentives. Women in security are inclined to stay in positions where the enterprise encourages a healthy work-life balance, offers equal pay for equal work, and provides mentor programs.
  The 2015 r (ISC)2 report, Women in Security: Wisely Positioned for the Future of InfoSec, found “
  
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• India tries to set rules for ride-hailing apps like Uber

  14-10-2015 12:54
  
  India has finally got around to setting a regulatory framework for companies like Uber offering apps to hail taxis, recognizing them as intermediaries rather than as taxi operators.
  But the rules will still place a lot of controls on the app services to ensure that the taxis and drivers meet a host of service and safety standards. Regulations requiring that drivers of app-based services have approved bank accounts would also ensure that they come under the country's tax net, which they have lar
  
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• Review: Apprenda PaaS fills the .Net gap

  14-10-2015 12:00
  
  The ideas for the Apprenda PaaS came out of the financial services industry. The wide use of Microsoft technologies in that industry explains why Apprenda started with ASP.Net on Windows, while most other PaaS platforms were built on Linux.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• CEX in the City 2015: Op zoek naar de ultieme ervaring

  14-10-2015 11:19
  Een positieve klantervaring is veel minder gestoeld op ratio dan vaak wordt gedacht. Dienstverlening moet in de basis goed zijn, maar minstens zo belangrijk is de factor emotie. Mensen voelen zich doorgaans eerder verbonden met eerlijkheid en authenticiteit, en dat maakt ze loyaal.Technologie kan helpen bij het... lees meer
  
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• Manifest voor betere ICT-projecten bij overheid

  14-10-2015 09:42
  De Nederlandse beroepsvereniging van ICT-professionals en -managers vindt dat de problematiek bij overheidsprojecten de ICT-component overstijgt en is daarom een IT-manifest voor de overheid gestart. Het manifest beschrijft welke waarde professionals toe kunnen voegen aan ICT-componenten in overheidsprojecten.... lees meer
  
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• IBM's Watson Analytics offers new data discovery tools for everyday business users

  14-10-2015 07:22
  
  If you're trying to figure out an optimal fantasy baseball lineup, how an unusually cool summer affected beer sales, or what Twitter users can tell you about why your company's stock price tanked, then IBM's Watson Analytics team has something new for you.Pushing forward in the race to get analytics tools into the hands of non-technical users, IBM is unveiling Wednesday new offerings in its Watson Analytics line: data-discovery models called Expert Storybooks, new connectors to a range of data s
  
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• Consumers think IoT security is a piece of cake; IT pros have another name for it

  14-10-2015 07:01
  So you think you can control the security of the connected devices in your house? Ask the IT security professionals: They don't think so.
  That was one thing the IT security organization ISACA learned when it surveyed U.S. consumers and professionals about the Internet of Things. Judging by how wary security experts are about IoT, consumers' confidence may be misplaced. 
  Internet-connected appliances and wearables can collect a lot of data, and using them is a new experience for consumers.
  
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• US, UK disrupt Dridex botnet, which targeted online banking

  14-10-2015 05:23
  
  A cybercriminal network that caused at least US$10 million in losses has been disrupted by U.S. and U.K. law enforcement, with the U.S. seeking a Moldovan man's extradition, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.Andrey Ghinkul, 30, is accused of being the administrator of the Dridex botnet, also known as Cridex and Bugat.A nine-count indictment was unsealed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania,  DOJ said. Ghinkul was arrested on Aug. 28 in Cyprus.D
  
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• Phishing websites look more legit with SSL certs from major companies

  14-10-2015 04:17
  
  The Web is full of deception, and it's sometimes still hard for people to figure out if the website they're viewing really is what it says it is.
  This type of cyberattack, known as phishing, is designed to elicit sensitive details from victims by creating websites that look nearly identical to services like PayPal or Bank of America.
  Despite improvements in quickly detecting and taking such sites offline, it's still a huge problem.
  A U.K.-based network monitoring company, Netcraft, says fraudst
  
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• Oracle awarded $50 million in trial against Rimini Street

  14-10-2015 03:17
  Oracle has been awarded US$50 million damages in a lawsuit against Rimini Street, which provides software maintenance for Oracle customers.The award was less than the $245.9 million Oracle had been seeking, but more than the $10 million maximum that Rimini had said it should have to pay. Of the total damages, Rimini CEO Seth Ravin must fork over $14 million.Customers who buy Oracle software typically pay an additional 20 percent on top of the license price for updates and support.
  
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• Surface Book pre-orders sell out on Microsoft's site

  14-10-2015 02:31
  
  People who want to buy Microsoft's new Surface Book laptop-tablet hybrid will have to look somewhere other than the company's online retail store, for the moment.The online Microsoft Store isn't letting people pre-order the new device. Instead it asks that they leave their email address so they can be notified when it's next available.Fortunately for Microsoft, this means that there's healthy demand for the machines. It's a positive sign that the Surface Book, which marks Microsoft's entry
  
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• Apple loses patent case over A7 chip, could face $860 million in damages

  14-10-2015 01:45
  A jury on Tuesday decided that Apple's A7 smartphone chip infringes a patent owned by the University of Wisconsin, and the iPhone maker could now be on the hook for as much as $862 million in damages.The lawsuit was filed early last year and accused Apple of using a processor technology developed by university researchers in Apple's A7 chip, which was used in its newest products at the time, including the iPhone 5S and iPad Air.The jury began hearing the case last week, and on Tuesday it fo
  
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• BrandPost: Distributed Agile Stand-ups: Real Time or Your Own Time?

  14-10-2015 01:42
  
  Daily stand-up meetings should take 15 minutes. Ours used to take an hour. Like other distributed IT teams, mine struggled to practice agile without being together or knowing each other well.Then, magic started happening. Our stand-up meetings became 15 minutes. Once-disjointed PGi employees became cohesive teams, demoing working software every two weeks without fail. My teams didn’t even need me there anymore, and I stopped being fully vested in their projects. I’m now a chicken (an
  
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• OS X El Capitan tips and tricks you need to know

  14-10-2015 01:13
  
  Get the most out of OS X El CapitanImage by Thinkstock/AppleWith OS X El Capitan, Apple decided to focus on the overall user experience and improving performance rather than jam packing the update full of brand new features. If this at all sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the same exact strategy Apple implemented with iOS 9. Thus far, even users running older hardware have reported that their machines are running noticeably faster with OS X El Capitan. Still, Apple did manage to ad
  
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