Новости за 13.01.2017

I don’t know whether we’ll get around to reviewing it, but if you like Picross you should check out Pictopix on Steam. It is about as excellent as Picross games come, and the main reason I’ve been procrastinating writing this news summary this week.

Snapchat is confusing to use. That’s part of what makes it fun, because it’s sort of like knowing a secret language not everyone can understand. But it can also be annoying, like when you’re looking for something specific and don’t want to tap or swipe a million times to find it. So Snapchat’s latest update, rolling out soon to both iOS and Android users, adds a universal search bar you can access from anywhere in the app.

With double-wall vacuum insulation, these over-engineered drink holders keep your favorite beverage as cold -- or hot -- as science allows. Over-the-nose wide mouth, anti-condensation, puncture and rust-resistant, no-leak cap, and a giant 64-oz capacity that can fit everything from a growler of beer to multiple bowls of soup. The Yeti Rambler is currently listed for the very low price of $49.99, a good deal considering its $89.99 list price. See the high-end, over-engineered Yeti bottle now on Amazon. Читать дальше...

The Accounts tab in Settings gives you the power to wipe accounts from your phone and stop battery-killing apps from syncing.

Sure, Google Maps makes it easy to find the shortest distance from A to B. But sometimes it’s not the fastest route you’re after, but the nicest one. Luckily, speed and ruthless efficiency aren’t the only things Google Maps is good for.

The NFL playoffs begin in earnest this weekend with the league’s divisional rounds (the Wild Card round was last weekend). For the next two weeks, the AFC’s and NFC’s best will engage in single-game showdowns, with the last team standing from each going head-to-head in Super Bowl LI on February 5.

After deleting data from thousands of publicly accessible MongoDB databases, ransomware groups have started doing the same with Elasticsearch clusters that are accessible from the internet and are not properly secured.

Google is adding a little treat for audiophiles in the next version of Chrome. Chrome 56, which is expected to roll out by the end of January, is coming with native support for FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) audio files meaning you can play the high-quality sound files directly in the browser, as first noticed by 9to5Google.

When Facebook’s WhatsApp turned on end-end-end encryption in its messaging service last year, it was a big deal. As all eyes were glued on Apple’s fight with the FBI over unlocking the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, WhatsApp took a huge step toward protecting its users’ privacy by moving to encrypt all messages and calls being sent between its apps.

Recent concessions by Microsoft in the data its Windows 10 “phones home” to company servers won cautious praise from one critic this week.

With the Windows 10 Creators Update expected to drop in the next few months, Microsoft is putting little unmentioned goodies into Insider Preview builds. We saw that recently with Dynamic Lock in Build 15002, and now Windows 10’s anticipated Game Mode has shown up in the more recent Build 15007, according to MSPowerUser.

Robots should one day have rights as "electronic persons," members of the European Parliament recommended Thursday -- but not until the machines are all fitted with "kill" switches to shut them down in an emergency.

And just like that, we’ve officially entered Generation 9 for gaming consoles. Sort of. Last night (or earlier today in Tokyo) Nintendo pulled back the veil on the Nintendo Switch, its upcoming handheld/stationary hybrid console and successor to the underwhelming Wii U.

I’m always on the lookout for interesting ways to spice up the New Tab page in the browser. The standard new-tab pages in Chrome and Firefox are useful enough, but they’re hardly beautiful things to look at.

Check out this week's biggest new Android app and game releases.

Apparently, a Brix can change quite a bit in appearance and still remain a Brix. When Gigabyte first launched the line, it was a reference to lookalike versions of Intel’s Next-Unit-of-Computing (NUC) systems: bare-bones machines in the form of 4x4-inch blocks. Then it expanded to encompass teeny-tiny tower versions of said mini-PCs (like the Brix Gaming UHD).

Apple is used to criticism from PC partisans, but with its first major redesign to the MacBook Pro line in years, it found itself unexpectedly taking fire from its own fan base. The new laptop was underpowered, Mac users complained, lacked ports that people actually use, had low-to-zero serviceability, and that “improved” butterfly keyboard still wasn’t that great. 

Continuing the custom of reassessing the year that was as we boldly head into a new one, we look at one of the best feature releases of 2016. Or was it one of last year’s best TV shows? Or was it both? We also look back at three other unsung gems of 2016, all worth celebrating, even if they aren’t getting much awards-season attention.

An appeals court has ruled that Apple must face antitrust charges in a lawsuit that alleges that the company monopolized the market for iPhone apps.

The hacking group that stole cyberweapons suspected to be from the U.S. National Security Agency is signing off -- but not before releasing another arsenal of tools that appear designed to spy on Windows systems.

As if the whodunnit into the hacking of the Democratic National Committee wasn't already confusing and murky enough, the supposed Romanian hacker who first released the emails resurfaced on Thursday to say everyone has it wrong.

Microsoft's Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15007 dropped Thursday afternoon, a scant few days after its huge Build 15002 went live. Apparently the company wasn't quite done.

Earlier this week, Consumer Reports and Apple revealed that a bug in Safari caused erratic battery life test results in Consumer Reports’ testing, which resulted in the first Apple laptop to not receive a recommendation from the publication. Consumer Reports has finished its retesting, and on Thursday announced that it has revised its review to reflect a recommendation for the new MacBook Pro.

The Tuesday arrest of Giulio Occhionero and his sister, Francesca Maria, has brought to light what appears to be the biggest, and highest-profile, hacking of institutional and corporate accounts ever reported in Italy.

AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson met with President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday to talk jobs and investment, but the company's multi-billion takeover of Time Warner was not on the table.