V. I. K. I.

Microsoft today announced Cache, its newest Garage project. The idea is to allow you to "bookmark the stuff important to you." This "stuff" will sync between all of your devices, starting with your iPhone and Windows PC. You can use Cache to grab "text snippets, images, web pages, files, reference material, and your notes". You'll also be able to create groups, which will allow you to organize said stuff by "projects, clients, tasks, or ideas". And of course, all of that content will be available across your devices. It's similar in functionality to OneClip, which was meant to be a digital clipboard across devices. This is the latest of many apps to come out of Microsoft Garage. The group is also responsible for bringing the Word Flow keyboard to iOS, the Arrow Launcher to Android, and much, much more. You can check out the Microsoft Garage website to learn more about its projects. You'll need to sign in with a Microsoft acc...

Google’s Android 7.0 Nougat is now finally out of the beta program, and will start rolling out to Nexus smartphones. The first list of devices which will be getting the new OS over the next couple of weeks include Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, Pixel C and General Mobile 4G (Android One). Google’s official blog for Android has confirmed an OTA (over the air) software update for these phones. Any phone running a beta test for Android Nougat will also get the final version. Google also confirmed LG’s upcoming V20 will be the first official smartphone running Android Nougat. LG V20 is expected to launch on September 6. With Android 7.0 Nougat, this was the first time Google rolled out the public beta for testing before an official launch. The new Android OS usually gets rolled out along with the new Nexus devices, but this year, Android 7.0 Nougat will be out before. In terms of features, Google says there are over 250 major features in Android 7.0 Nougat and...

Google is working on a new operating system, codenamed 'Fuchsia'. The OS was found as a part of a developer code on GitHub and Google's own code repository website. The OS is said to be focussed on IoT (Internet of Things) and does not run on Linux unlike Android and Chrome OS. First spotted by Android Police, the OS is based on Magenta, which is a "medium-sized microkernel" that itself is based on a project called as LittleKernel. The platform is said to be designed for embedded systems for instance a PC that doesn't use the regular OS, GPS devices or car dashboards. On further finding, the GitHub website titled "Pink + Purple == Fuchsia (a new Operating System)" adds that the Google Fuchsia OS is for "modern phones and modern personal computers" that are based on "fast processors" and use "trivial amounts of RAM." As per multiple reports, the Google Fuchsia OS might become the ultimate OS as it may unify Chro...

One thousand, five hundred and fourteen days. Or: four years, one month, and twenty-four days. That’s how long it’s been since Apple released the last MacBook Pro to come without a Retina display. The $1,199 13-inch model was powered by a 2.5GHz Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor, a solid option for a midrange laptop in June 2012. I got one that month and am actually typing this column on it right now, having performed open hard drive surgery last night to bring it back from the dead. Nothing unusual about that, of course — technology moves on. Except it’s now August 2016, and Apple is inexplicably still selling the exact same laptop. For longtime Mac users, MacRumors’ Buyer’s Guide is an online institution. The publication catalogs the release dates of each major Apple product line and contrasts them against the company’s usually predictable timeframe for updates, ultimately delivering a verdict on whether it’s better to buy now or wait. It’s a hugely useful resource that I’ve ofte...

(Updated in June 2016, using El Capitan 10.11.6b and Windows 10 Pro IP) If you’re a gamer, you’ll have to use Windows. If you’re working in a network environment, don’t even bother, Windows is the only relevant option to consider. Mac OS X has a few features that Windows does not have (or pales in comparison) that make it a better option for a single user environment - if you actually know you’ll use those features. In any other case there are no significant differences and applications for every major work activity are available for both systems; do consider though that Microsoft is probably developing a better ecosystem and interaction with multiple devices than Apple is. I’ve used Windows in a corporate office environment for years (up to Windows 7) as regular user. Today I have deployed and have been managing Windows 8 and 10 on a fairly small Windows Server domain office infrastructure. Mac OS X has been my home and personal business OS for the last 5–6 years...

A skilled developer has managed to create a port of the game that runs smoothly on Windows 10 mobile devices. It goes by the name of PoGo, it has been built by the developer of Windows Phone app, One Auth. How to install Pokemon Go on Windows phone: Register yourself on the Pokemon Trainer Club account. You can do this using an Android or an iOS device. Log into the Android or iOS version of Pokemon Go and configure all your trainer settings. Don’t forget to log out. On your Windows 10 mobile device, enable sideloading through ‘Developer mode’ in security settings. Thereafter, download this appx file and this certificate. Copy these two files on to your phones. Launch the certificate and then the appx file. This should enable the functioning of Pokemon Go. Use the credentials you used on the Android or iPhone device previously, to log in. You should be able to access Pokemon Go.

Microsoft’s first big feature update for Windows 10, the Anniversary Update, is out today. With it comes a smarter Cortana, better multiple desktop tools, and tweaks that fix annoyances we’ve hated since Windows 10 launched. Cortana Is Way Smarter, and Can Talk to Android and Windows Phone Cortana on Windows 10 is already pretty useful. You can check your schedule, get answers to simple, spoken questions, find and keep your notes, set reminders, and more. Now it’s getting even smarter. For example, if you add an event to your calendar that conflicts with another scheduled event, Cortana will let you know that you’re about to double-book yourself. Cortana can also interact with other apps to make reservations, or send the document you were recently working on to someone in your contact list. Cortana can also bridge the gap between your phone and PC, much like Pushbullet before it. With today’s update, It can mirror your Android system notifications to your computer, s...

Along with today’s rollout of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft is also debuting a new version of its Skype Windows application, which the company says has been redesigned from the ground up. In addition to the new app’s look, Skype is also now integrated with Windows 10, which means it can work more seamlessly with the operating system. For example, you’ll be able to reply to messages from a pop-up notification instead of having to open the app, or you can open the Camera app to take a photo, then send it via Skype. The new Skype app has also been designed with Windows 10’s look-and-feel in mind, meaning it now sports a darker theme. However, Microsoft notes that you can visit the app’s settings and pick “Light Theme” under the Personalization section if you prefer the older, brighter user interface. All of Skype’s standard features are included with this release, like 1:1 and group video calls, 1:1 and group chat, the ability to dial mobile and landline phones, the ...

After a few months of hype, the Windows 10 Anniversary Update is here... well, mostly. Microsoft has started rolling out the upgrade to desktop users, who'll automatically receive it in stages. "Newer machines" will get it first. You can update manually if you just can't stand sitting behind the curve. However long you wait, your PC will get more pervasive Cortana voice commands (such as controlling some apps), deeper pen input (including a dedicated pen interface) and a spruced-up Edge browser with extensions. If you're hoping to update your Windows 10 phone... well, you'll have to be patient. The Redmond crew will only say that the Anniversary Update hits smartphones in the "coming weeks." Not that there's as much of a rush in the first place. While the Windows 10 Mobile release gets some desktop features (such as cross-platform Cortana syncing) as well as interface tweaks (like more active Live Tiles and swipe-based browser navigation), i...

What is the “One Trigger per Object” design pattern? It’s exactly as it sounds! You combine all possible triggers on a specific object into just one trigger. How do you combine many triggers into one? Instead of coding your logic directly inside a trigger, you code it separately in a class. Then in your trigger, you create an object of the class, then run your records through its logic. Repeat for all triggers! What are the benefits of this design pattern? Reusability – with your logic in a class, you can now re-use it outside of triggers, for example in a Visualforce page, test class, batch Apex, etc. No need to copy code! Simplicity – every “trigger” gets reduced to just two lines of code in the master trigger. An object oriented code base is more organized, predictable, and modular too! Control your order of execution – in Apex, “the order of execution isn’t guaranteed for multiple triggers on the same object.” This pattern gives you total order control. Code in style! ...