Technology

What's in the latest Firefox update Enterprise management engine

Mozilla this week released Firefox 60 for Windows, macOS and Linux, enabling a previously-only-tested policy engine so IT admins can manage the browser within the enterprise.

Firefox, which can be downloaded from here, updates in the background, so most users need only relaunch the browser to get the latest version. To manually update, pull up the menu under the three horizontal bars at the upper right, then click the help icon (the question mark within a circle). Choose "About Firefox." The resulting page shows that the browser is either up to date or details the updating process.

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What it costs to keep up with Windows 10's upgrade tempo

Microsoft has given customers all kinds of reasons for why the faster release pace of Windows 10 is a great idea, from keeping pace as technology change accelerates to staying ahead of hackers by constantly improving security.

What it's never spelled out is how much the rapid releases would cost users.

In a recent report, Gartner Research put numbers to those costs, and concluded - spoiler alert! - that Microsoft's twice-annual feature updates were a greater burden on enterprises than the once-traditional upgrade-every-six-years tempo that businesses managed until 2015.

[ Further reading: Windows 10 April 2018 update: Key enterprise features ]

The report described a tool Gartner offered to clients, the "Windows 10 Feature Update Cost Model," which lets enterprises estimate costs for tackling one or two such updates each year. The goal of the tool: to "model and plan your cost and labor requirements" for those transitions.

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IT support pilot fish gets an instantaneous message from among the business's front-line techs, who has a client on the line wishing to know how to clean his flash drive. This tech-- let's simply say he wasn't employed for his knowledge and experience in our subject, says fish. He concluded that, after years of cleaning his tape drive, then his DVD-RW drive, the consumer now had flash drives for backup of his server, and wanted to know how to clean them appropriately. Really, the individual on the phone would like to know how to eliminate or format a flash drive. However our tech, as he typically does, misinterpreted the consumer and believed he required to physically clean the drive of dirt.IT support pilot fish gets an immediate message from among the company's front-line techs, who has a consumer on the line wishing to know how to clean his flash drive. This tech-- let's simply say he wasn't employed for his knowledge and experience in our subject, says fish. He concluded that, after years of cleaning his tape drive, then his DVD-RW drive, the client now had flash drives for backup of his server, and wanted to know how to clean them effectively. In fact, the individual on the phone needed to know how to remove or format a flash drive. However our tech, as he frequently does, misinterpreted the customer and believed he required to physically clean up the drive of dirt.
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Android versions: A living history from 1.0 to today

What a long, strange trip it's been.

From its inaugural release to today, Android has transformed visually, conceptually and functionally — time and time again. Google's mobile operating system may have started out scrappy, but holy moly, has it ever evolved.

Here's a fast-paced tour of Android version highlights from the platform's birth to present.

Android versions 1.0 to 1.1: The early days

Android made its official public debut in 2008 with Android 1.0 — a release so ancient it didn't even have a cute codename.

Things were pretty basic back then, but the software did include a suite of early Google apps like Gmail, Maps, Calendar and YouTube, all of which were integrated into the operating system — a stark contrast to the more easily updatable standalone-app model employed today.

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9 new Android P features that'll make you more productive

That wacky new gesture navigation system may be Android P's most attention-grabbing element — for better or maybe for worse — but the latest version of Google's operating system also has its share of small yet significant changes.

And you know what Those seemingly subtle touches are often the ones that end up bringing the most meaningful improvements to our day-to-day lives.

To wit: The nine new Android P features described below won't all command attention. They won't all appear in ads or atop reviews. Some of them might not even be noticed by average users, at least not in any overt sense.

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Patch Tuesday problems, fixes — but no cause for immediate alarm

Results are starting to roll in about this monthPatch Tuesday, and itquite a mixed bag. For those of you struggling with the new Windows 10 April 2018 Update, version 1803, theregood news and bad news. The hand wringing about a new VBScript zero-day, thanks to our good old friend baked-in Internet Explorer, looks overblown for now. And if you can&t get RDP working because of &An authentication error has occurred& messages, you missed the memo.

Windows 10 version 1803

First, the good news. As I anticipated earlier this week, this monthcumulative update for 1803 is a must-have, warts and all. The new build 17134.48 replaces the old 17134.1 (which went to those who installed 1803 directly or fell into the seeker trap) and the old 17134.5 (for those upgrading with the Windows Insider builds). As Susan Bradley explains, 17134.48 claims to fix both the Chrome and Cortana freeze, as well as a major VPN bug.

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