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5
Apr

‘Starbound’ is almost ready for everyone to explore


After years of being in Steam’s Early Access program for in-development games, Starbound is readying to leave those confines. Four years on and the 1.0 patch, what developer Chucklefish refers to as “the story update,” adds a ton to the charming 2D sci-fi title. In terms of narrative, your character is a member of a group called “Protectors” who are trying to guide the universe toward peace, and after your Earth-based graduation from the training program you’ll head off to the stars to explore the galaxy.

What’s more, each of the eight missions take place in mining facilities, ancient temples and sunken libraries among other locations. Chucklefish says that each planet you explore will have a few different biomes rather than just one area per world, too. You’ll meet folks along the way who will expand your outposts and add others to your ship’s crew. If it all sounds an awful lot like a pixel-art hybrid of Mass Effect and, say, Terraria, you aren’t far off the mark.

For the nitty-gritty on the rest of what this release will entail (like multiplayer, the game’s new crafting elements, armor progression and planet generation), hit the source link below. There isn’t a firm release date for any of this yet, but if you have a hankering for farming, Chucklefish has Stardew Valley to hold you over until Starbound hits its first full version. Farming and space exploration are basically the same thing, right?

Via: Polygon

Source: Chucklefish Games

5
Apr

Apple to Phase Out Plastic Bags for Environmentally Friendly Paper Bags Starting April 15


When a customer buys an Apple product in an Apple retail store, it’s packaged in a white plastic drawstring bag emblazoned with an Apple logo, something that’s become an iconic part of the Apple experience. Starting later this month, Apple is introducing changes to its bagging policy, phasing out plastic bags in favor of a more environmentally friendly paper option.

Apple is planning to switch from the plain white plastic bags to paper bags made from 80 percent recycled materials, which Apple says will further its goal of leaving the world “better than we found it.” Apple informed employees of the impending change in a note, which was shared by 9to5Mac.

In addition to handing out paper bags, employees are also being asked to adopt a new policy of querying customers as to whether a bag is needed at all instead of simply providing one.

Image via the Daily Mail

We’re committed to leaving the world better than we found it. One bag at a time. So on April 15, we’ll switch to paper shopping bags made from 80 percent recycled materials. These bags come in medium and large.

When customers are buying a product, ask if they need a bag. They may decide they don’t. And you’ll encourage them to be even more environmentally friendly.

If you still have plastic bags in stock, use them before you switch to the new paper bags.

While Apple will begin offering the new bags on April 15, employees have been instructed to continue to use all of the available stock of plastic bags before switching to paper. Once the supply is exhausted, the new paper bags, the design of which is unknown, will be used exclusively.

Given Apple’s focus on recycling, clean energy, and reducing its carbon footprint, the company’s switch from plastic to paper should come as no surprise. Apple already focuses on minimizing packaging size for its products from iPhones to Macs and two-thirds of the paper used for packaging is from recycled content with the rest sourced from sustainable forests.

Related Roundup: Apple Stores
Tag: Apple retail
Discuss this article in our forums

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5
Apr

HTC 10 teaser promises the ‘best BoomSound yet’


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HTC hasn’t been shy about teasing what’s in store for the upcoming HTC 10, and the company’s latest teaser continues that tradition by hinting at the phone’s booming audio chops. In a quick, flashy video posted to Twitter, HTC says its obsession with high-quality sound means that the HTC 10 will pack “the best BoomSound yet.”

Not all music is created equal. Hi-res audio so every note is crystal clear. You’ll hear it. 4/12 #powerof10https://t.co/uSFPDg4t6o

— HTC (@htc) April 4, 2016

HTC has already teased the camera, capacitive buttons and more that will appear on the HTC 10, and it won’t be long before we get to see the much-anticipated handset unveiled in the flesh at HTC’s April 12 launch.

Are you excited to get your hands on the HTC 10? Let us know what you’re looking forward to most in the comments!

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5
Apr

The best way to set up your fingerprint on the Galaxy S7


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It’s super easy to set up, but making it work perfectly can take some time.

For the most part, setting up and using the fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S7 is exactly as easy as it’s supposed to be. You go through the 13-part process of recording your finger on the sensor, and in exchange you get the ability to unlock your phone quickly and use your fingerprint as your password wherever it is supported.

As long as you’re down with using your fingerprint like this, it’s one of the best setups available today. That is, as long as you set it up correctly.

For those who have never set up a fingerprint sensor, or those who have only ever set up a Nexus fingerprint sensor, there are a few things you need to keep in mind when setting up most fingerprint sensors.

The set up process is effectively an exercise in taking as many photos of your finger as possible in order to create a complete picture. This way you can put that finger on the sensor in just about any way you want, and as long as the picture taken when you’re unlocking the phone lines up with the complete picture in some way, the phone unlocks. For round sensors like the one on the Nexus phones, it’s easy to grab the whole print during setup. Like its predecessors, the Galaxy S7 has an oval sensor, and that means you have to be a little more deliberate during setup.

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When setting up a fingerprint on the Galaxy S7, it’s important to remember to grab at least two pictures of your thumb going across the sensor diagonally. If all you do is move your thumb from top to bottom or from left to right, it’s easy to create gaps in that complete picture. Adding a couple of diagonal captures during setup decreases the chances of this happening, which in turn makes your failure rate significantly lower when unlocking the phone every day.

The oval shape of the Galaxy S7 home button is the real key here. As long as you remember during fingerprint setup that the fingerprint being stored is the result of 13 different presses on the sensor, each capturing a long strip of your thumb and not much else, it becomes a lot easier to deal with. You won’t be pressing your finger onto the Galaxy S7’s home button the same exact way every time you unlock it, so don’t put it on there the same way every time when you’re registering it in the first place.

It’s also important to remember that you can delete a fingerprint at any time and re-capture that finger if you aren’t happy with the results — if you rushed through setup when you first got the phone, it may be worth re-entering your fingers now.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge

  • Galaxy S7 review
  • Galaxy S7 edge review
  • Galaxy S7 edge with Exynos: A Canadian perspective
  • Here are all four Galaxy S7 colors
  • Details on the Galaxy S7’s camera
  • The SD card is back on the GS7
  • Join our Galaxy S7 forums

AT&T Sprint T-Mobile Verizon

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5
Apr

Android Auto update removes interaction limit on Google Play Music when your car is parked


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Android Auto, since launch, has always limited user interactions with the screen to just six taps. That is, until today, when an Android Auto app update made a big improvement by letting you interact with your Google Play Music as much as you want … so long as your car is parked.

After being alerted to the improvement by Ryan Warner over on Twitter, we’ve confirmed on our end that the latest update does indeed remove the interaction restriction. If your car is parked, you can tap and scroll all you want through Google Play Music without any lockouts.

What we can’t say at this point is how this will be handled on other apps. Seeing this change shows it’s indeed possible to have an app behave differently when the car is parked versus being driven — which makes sense based on how lots of car infotainment systems operate — but seeing this change only for Google Play Music at this point is a bit odd.

If Google is indeed easing this interaction limit when the car is parked across the board, it seems like app developers will have to update things slightly in their own apps to take advantage of the change in restrictions on Google’s end. If that’s the case, we should see the fruits of this change soon.

All About Android Auto

  • Getting started with Android Auto
  • List of compatible phones and cars
  • Android Auto news
  • Apps that work with Android Auto
  • Join the Android Auto discussion!

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5
Apr

How to switch from iPhone to Android


You’ve decided to make the switch.

There could be many reasons behind why a person might ditch their iPhone in favour of an Android device. But, no matter what that reason may be, anyone who has done it or plans to do it primarily cares about one thing: making the switch in a way that allows him or her to successfully transfer all their contacts, photos, music, calendars, and apps from their old phone to the new one.

Unfortunately, you can’t just download an app that’ll do all the hard work for you. Well, technically, a few apps exist that will automatically migrate some aspects of your data, though for the most part, you must manually migrate your stuff bit by bit. There are some streamlined processes for getting this done, however, and Pocket-lint has explained most of them below.

Although longtime iPhone users will likely feel apprehensive about finally going Android, they shouldn’t be, and in this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk them through everything they need to know about effectively making the switch.

Switch to Android: Getting started

In order to get going on Android, you’ll want to bring over your photos and music, transfer your contacts, set up your email and messaging clients, and find the Android versions of your favourite iOS apps. Google has a dedicated support page for those of you’d like to know more about making the switch and which types of data you’ll be able to export from one device to another.

First thing’s first: you’ll want to create a Google account to set up your Android phone. You now own a Google-powered phone, and if you don’t have a Google account, you’ll never be able to leverage the full potential of Android. A Google Account also gives you access to Google products like Gmail, Google+, YouTube, and more with a single username and password.

This Google support page has more information about how to add Google accounts to your device as well as how to create new Google accounts.

Switch to Android: Contacts

On iPhone, your contacts your saved to a default account. You can check this under Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Default Account. You may see other accounts with contacts listed, but your default account should hold the majority of your contacts data, and so you’ll want to pull your contacts from that account before you finally make the switch from iPhone to Android.

Gmail

If you have a Gmail account as the default account on your iPhone, you only need to sign in with your Google Account on your Android device and all your contacts will automatically appear right there. More often that not, however, iCloud will be your default account on the iPhone, and unfortunately, it takes a few more steps to transfer contacts from iCloud to Android.

iCloud

On your iPhone, go to Settings, then iCloud, and enable Contacts to sync your address book to Apple’s iCloud service.
On your computer, go to http://www.icloud.com, then enter your Apple ID and password, and select Contacts from the main page.
Go to the lower left corner, then click on the wheel icon, and choose Select All. Click on the wheel again and select Export vCard.
Go to the website http://www.google.com/contacts in your web browser, then select More from the menu, and choose Import.
Find the VCF file you saved from Step 3 above, and once you do that, Gmail will be able to import all your contacts.
To merge duplicate entries, choose More from the Google Contacts page, and select Find & merge duplicates.

Apps

You can also use a third-party apps to sync your contacts from the iPhone to Android. My Contacts Backup for iOS and Android, for instance, is free and seems to be rated really well. Google also gives tips on this support page about how to transfer your locally-saved contacts (or contacts from an alternative account) to Android through iTunes on your Windows or Mac computer.

Switch to Android: Photos

Pocket-lint

Similar to contacts, there are many ways to move your photos, and we think the most fool-proof way of doing that is in fact the Google way. We mentioned earlier that Android devices are Google-powered phones in that Google apps are of course designed to work beautifully with Android. Google Photos is a prime example. It offers unlimited photo storage for Android and iOS.

Google Photos

Google Photos can be used as a backup service so that your iPhone’s photos and videos will save to your Google Photos library, which you can then access from an Android, iPhone, or a web browser. Everything backed up is private unless you share it. Also, you get unlimited, free storage for photos and videos in high-resolution (and a free, 15GB subscription for original resolution).

On your iPhone, download Google Photos from the App Store. From there, sign into Google Photos using your Google account.
Select Back up and Sync (under menu, select the gear icon, then Camera and Photos, and enable Back up and Sync).

We have a Google Photos review that explains more about how the service works, or you can browse this Google support page.

Cloud services

Most cloud services will allow you to back up and view your old photos. You can install Dropbox on both your iPhone and Android device, for instance, and the free basic subscription will let you store up to 2GB. Using the cloud – whether through Google Photos or a third-party app – is the simplest way to ensure all your iPhone’s photos and videos will be moved to Android.

Switch to Android: Music

Music is another type of data most people will want to move from one device to another. If you have tonnes of songs on in your iTunes library, for instance, you’ll want those in your Google Play Music library so you can access them from an Android device. Luckily for you, there are a couple straightforward methods for getting this done, starting with Google Music Manager.

Google Music Manager

You can use Music Manager to upload your favourite songs from your computer to your Google Play library. You can upload up to 50,000 songs and listen to them from your mobile device or computer. All you have to do is download and install the app on your computer, but you’ll need to enter a credit card number during set-up process. It is free to use the standard service.

Open the app and select Upload songs to Google Play from the pop-up window that appears.
Select iTunes or another folder when asked where you keep your music collection.
Google Music Manager will show you any songs and playlists it found and ask whether you want to upload them all or manually select some.
Let Google Music Manager do it’s thing.

You can learn more about how Google Music Manager works from this support page. Also, don’t forget you can get Apple Music on Android now.

Manual transfer

If you don’t have a credit card, you can always manually transfer your songs from iTunes to your new Android phone.

Just connect your Android phone to your computer using a USB cable, then locate your Android device and your music files, and drag an drop the files from your music folder on the computer to your phone. If you have a Mac, install the free Android File Transfer app, then drag music from your My Music library in iTunes into the Music folder on the Android File Transfer app.

Switch to Android: Calendars

Google

Once again, we recommend using a Google product for migrating calendar data. In this particular situation, we’d suggest using Google Calendar because it’s cloud based and can easily transfer your calendar information. Google Calendar works on a computer, phone, or tablet – and any events you create or edit will sync automatically among all versions of Google Calendar.

Google Calendar

On your iPhone, go to Settings and select Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
Choose your Google account, go to Calendars, and switch the toggle on.
Your iPhone will now sync all your calendars to your Google account.

You can learn more about Google Calendar from this support page.

Third-party apps

There are also third-party apps that will manage all your calendar data for you so you can access it from different devices. One example is called SmoothSync for Cloud Calendar. It’s available from the Google Play Store and costs $2.86. It can even pull calendar data synced to iCloud.

Sync your iPhone Calendar to iCloud by going to Settings, then iCloud, and selecting Calendar on your iPhone.
Install SmoothSync on your Android device and enter your Apple ID credentials.
Pick the calendars you’d like to sync with your new Android. And that’s it.

Switch to Android: Apps

We have no tips or tricks for this section. You have to do the work and find Android versions of all your favourite iOS apps in Google Play Store. There is no app in existence that will easily do this for you. Thankfully, you at least don’t have to worry about not being able to find your apps. The app disparity between Android and iOS is no more.

Android has all of the major apps that you could want, such as:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • WhatsApp
  • Facebook Messenger
  • Skype
  • Outlook
  • Pocket
  • Wunderlist
  • Evernote
  • IFTTT
  • Dropbox
  • MS Office Mobile
  • Apple Music

Switch to Android: Turn off iMessage

This last one is more of a tip: iMessage is an Apple messaging service, so you’ll need to turn it off or else SMS/MMS messages may continue to be pushed to your old iPhone rather than your new Android. Turn off iMessage before you remove the SIM by going to Settings, then Messages, and set iMessage to off. You can also ask Apple to deregister your number with iMessage.

5
Apr

Apple Pay explained: What is it and how does it work?


Apple Pay is a payment system designed to change the way you shop. The company has been leading the way in the effort to move consumers from physical wallets packed with cards to a world in which your iPhone or Watch does all the work.

We’ve combed through all the technical details and complexities involved with Apple Pay to give you an easy-to-read summarisation. Take a moment to read on because Apple Pay will certainly change how you pay and it’s worth knowing all about it so you aren’t caught short.

READ: Apple Pay hands-on: Shopping with your iPhone

Apple Pay: What is it?

Apple Pay is a contact payment technology as well as a feature on the latest iPhones and Apple Watch. It pulls your credit cards, debit cards, and other sensitive-payment data from the Wallet app, enabling you to use an iPhone 6, 6S, SE or Apple Watch as a wallet at store checkouts.

Apple Pay: When and where is it available?

USA

Apple Pay initially became available in the US. It debuted on 20 October 2014.

UK

Apple Pay launched in the UK in July 2015, about 9 months after its initial debut.

Apple Pay: Will it expand internationally?

Europe

Apple Pay is available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and China.

Job listings (via MacRumours) have indicated Apple Pay might expand to Europe, Middle East, India, and Africa. Apple has not confirmed any launch dates or regions in regards to international availability, however.

Apple Pay: Which devices currently work with it?

Apple Pay works with iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus and later (Apple Pay in stores and within apps), iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, or iPad mini 3 and later (Apple Pay within apps), and Apple Watch (when paired with iPhone 5 or later).

Apple Pay: Which banks and cards support it?

Apple Pay supports most major credit and debit cards providers and US banks.

It works with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express cards from financial institutions (like American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Wells Fargo). Other companies adding support soon include Barclays, USAA, Navy Federal Credit Union, PNC, and US Bank.

For the UK, Apple Pay works with M&S Bank, Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Ulster Bank, NatWest, American Express, Santander, Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, HSBC, First Direct, TSB, MBNA and Lloyds Bank.

Here is a list of every bank that supports Apple Pay in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and China.

Apple Pay: Does it work with US federal-payment cards too?

Yes. The White House announced on 13 February that Apple’s mobile-payment system would work with federal-payment cards, including Social Security and veterans benefits that are paid through debit cards.

The deal includes the Direct Express payment network and government cards issued through GSA SmartPay. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, also said Apple Pay would support transactions with the federal government by September, meaning you’ll be able to use Apple Pay to buy tickets and gift shop items at national parks, etc.

It’s worth noting that, by making this announcement at the White House Cyber Security Summit, the US government is officially admitting it is confident in Apple Pay’s security capabilities, and thus more governments from around the globe might soon add support for Apple Pay.

Apple Pay: Where else can you use it?

Apple Pay works anywhere that accepts contactless payments, which includes over a million stores. Just look for the contactless payments symbol near readers at checkout.

A few of the US stores and restaurants that accept Apple Pay include: Babies-R-Us, Bloomingdales, Disney, Duane Reade, Macy’s, McDonalds, Nike, Petco, Staples, Subway, Toys-R-Us, Unleashed, Walgreens, Whole Foods, etc. You can find a complete list here.

The UK already has an established contactless payment system, and you’ll be able to use Apple pay at many of the stores and restaurants you already do, including: Boots, Bill’s. Dune, Waitrose, M&S, Wagamama, Nando’s, Liberty, Lidl. A full list is available here.

You can also use Apple Pay within many apps. For example, to pay for your British Airways flights through the app.

Apple

Apple Pay: How do you set it up?

iPhone/iPad

You need to use Apple’s Wallet app to setup Apple Pay, or rather store your credit cards and debit cards. Apple Pay pulls this data to pay for goods.

On your iPhone, open Wallet. On your iPad, go to Settings > Wallet & Apple Pay. Tap Add Credit or Debit Card. If your card is already on file with iTunes, enter the card’s security code. Otherwise, you can use your device’s camera to capture the information on your credit, debit, or store card. Then fill in any additional information needed.

Your bank will verify your information. You may need to provide additional verification. After your card is verified, tap Next, and then you can start using Apple Pay.

Watch

To setup Apple Pay on the Watch app on your iPhone, open the Watch app on your iPhone, then tap the My Watch tab, and tap Wallet & Apple Pay. Tap Add next to the card that you want to add.

Your bank will verify your information. You may need to provide additional verification. You’ll receive a notification on your Apple Watch that your card is ready for Apple Pay.

Apps

Apple Pay has an API, so it isn’t just limited to physical retail locations. You’ll be able to use Apple Pay to purchase things through apps. For example, in the UK, British Airways supports Apple Pay, so once you select your flight, you can pay from the iPhone without having to plug in your card details.

Checking out is as easy as selecting Apple Pay and placing your finger on Touch ID.

Apple Pay: How do you use it?

iPhone

Apple Pay requires the Near Field Communication antenna and Touch ID on iPhone 6 and later.

To pay at checkout, just hold your iPhone near a contactless reader with your finger on Touch ID. You won’t have to look at your iPhone’s screen, because a subtle vibration and beep will confirm that you paid correctly. There’s also no need to open an app or wake your iPhone’s display.

Your fingerprint confirms the payment, or you could enter a passcode if you haven’t setup Touch ID. Once approved, a receipt is recorded in the Wallet app so you can see what you’ve purchased.

Watch

To pay at checkout, double-click the button below the Digital Crown on Watch while also holding the face of Watch near a contactless reader. Similar to Apple Pay for iPhone, a pulse and beep will confirm that your payment information sent.

Apps

Apple iPhone apps can also integrate with Apple Pay, meaning you will be able to select Apple Pay at checkout when ordering anything from an app. You also still need to place your finger on Touch ID when paying.

Some of the apps that currently support Apple Pay include: Groupon, MLB, OpenTable, Panera, Sephora, Starbucks, Target, Ticket.scom, Uber, and more. The full list is available here.

Apple Pay: Is it secure at all?

Yes. Apple said it doesn’t save your transaction information or card numbers on its servers, though your most recent purchases are kept in the Wallet app.

Apple Pay, which has a tokenised backend infrastructure, makes card payments secure by creating a number or token that replaces your card details. More specifically, it creates a Device Account Number for each one of your cards.

According to Apple, the Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted, and securely stored in the Secure Element, a dedicated chip in iPhone and Apple Watch, and when a payment is initiated, the token is passed to the retailer or merchant. The retailer or merchant therefore never has direct access to your card details.

Apple

Apple Pay: What if you lose your iPhone or Watch?

Losing your iPhone or Watch is stressful enough, but with Apple Pay, the chances of that happening just got a lot more frightening. But it doesn’t have to be that way, in Apple’s opinion.

The company said you can use Find My iPhone to put your device in Lost Mode. This will lock everything and prevent others from accessing your content including Apple Pay or Wallet data.

Alternatively, you can use Find My iPhone to wipe your iPhone clean completely. 

Want to know more?

Apple has this website that details how to set up and use Apple Pay.

5
Apr

Learn coding, design, and more with the 8-course computer science bundle


Whatever your tech ambitions may be, there’s no substitute for quality training, especially if you want to increase your earning power and advance your career. With 8 courses in a variety of tech-related subjects, The Complete Computer Science Bundle will set you up for success – all at 89 per cent off from Pocket-lint Deals.

Whether you are an engineer seeking to understand business, or a business/strategy person seeking to understand technology – this course is right for you. Through the instruction you’ll master programming languages from C to Java, conquering Python along the way while you learn to expedite your tasks by automating manual work, implementing machine learning techniques, and much more.

Courses include:

From 0 to 1: C Programming – Drill Deep
Byte Size Chunks: Java Object-Oriented Programming & Design
From 0 to 1: Data Structures & Algorithms in Java
From 0 to 1: SQL And Databases – Heavy Lifting
From 0 to 1: Learn Python Programming – Easy as Pie
Learn By Example: C++ Programming – 75 Solved Problems
From 0 to 1: Raspberry Pi and the Internet of Things
Case Studies: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Apple

Master data structures and algorithms, and learn to easily manage the contents in a variety of databases, including MySQL, SQL Server, and more. You’ll close out your training with a Case Studies course, exploring a competitive analysis of each company: how they stack up in revenue, growth, profitability and valuation.

Pick up The Complete Computer Science Bundle for just £27.41 ($39) from Pocket-lint Deals.

5
Apr

Pluralsight: Expert-taught tech and creative courses now 40 per cent off


The fast track to learning is now available through Pluralsight, a global network of expert-taught, on-demand video courses on a wide variety of tech and creative subjects. With an author archive of 900+ leading industry experts, Pluralsight sets you on track to success with proven professionals. For a limited time, Pocket-lint readers can take 40 per cent off a full-year subscription.

Pluralsight is one of, if not the best, sources of on-demand video learning in the world, with over 4,500 courses focused on the subjects of your choice. Whether you’re a complete beginner or a pro looking to advance your coding skills to the next level, you’ll find a video course at Pluralsight that will meet your needs.

Online training in any field can be quick and convenient, but many e-learning courses provide insufficient resources with questionable instructors. With Pluralsight, however, you’re taught by high-level professionals who speak at conferences around the world and are lauded as Microsoft MVPs, VMware vExperts and more.

Conducted by CEB, a best practice insight and technology company, the “Pluralsight Business Impact” study revealed that Pluralsight increased productivity and employee retention among enterprise clients. The study surveyed nearly 2,000 Pluralsight subscribers, with key findings showing that:

  • 67 per cent of business account respondents significantly increased productivity

  • 40 per cent of business account respondents significantly increased employee retention, and 85 per cent of respondents indicated that they were more likely to stay at their companies long-term due to its investment in their training

  • 83 per cent of respondents significantly increased the quality of their work

  • 89 per cent of respondents developed skills needed for their job and were given more confidence to learn new technologies

  • 62 per cent of respondents advanced their careers faster and a quarter of respondents obtained a promotion


Pluralsight offers an effective way for tech professionals to build relevant skills, and work their way toward some of the highest paying, most in-demand technology positions in the country. Pick up a one-year subscription to Pluralsight for just £210.19 ($299) on Pocket-lint Deals today.

5
Apr

The road to Panama: A history of whistleblowers and hacks


Yesterday, a coalition of journalists across the world launched the Panama Papers, a project to uncover the dirty secrets of the rich and powerful. An anonymous source provided reporters at German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung with a 2.6TB dump of files from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. The documents reveal a web of private, secretly-held offshore companies that can be used to hide a fortune or avoid paying tax. For instance, The Guardian accuses Russian president Vladimir Putin of hiding $2 billion in offshore companies that are “owned” by a close friend. It has taken anything up to a year for a team to scour the data to find some dirty secrets, and far more are likely to emerge as more of the files are analyzed. This didn’t happen in isolation, however. It’s just the latest in a long line of leaks and breaches that have put what some would prefer remain secret in the spotlight. Check out the timeline above to look at some of the most notable ones of the last few years.