Google's Tablet which fights against Ebola!

The Ebola epidemic is still very much a grave situation. The disease has already claimed approximately 10,000 lives globally and it is looking as though the crisis is not going to get better anytime soon.  One such company is Google. According to the Telegraph, Researchers from google have stepped up their game in the battle with an Ebola-proof tablet. The fight against this terrible virus has pricked the attention of many in the tech world, and these ones are looking at different ways to try and help the situation.

 The device is based around a Sony Xperia tablet, but the difference is that it is covered with an extra protective casing.

The tablet can be used with gloves, and it can being soaked in chlorine, which is used as a disinfectant.  The initial idea for an Ebola-proof tablet came from a medical professional that worked for Medecins Sans Frontieres.The risk of the disease is so high that even passing a piece of paper with patient data on it, potentially could transmit the disease.

MSF technology adviser Ivan Gayton said,”It was error prone, exhausting and it wasted five or 10 minutes of the hour medics can spend fully dressed inside the protective zone before they collapse from heat exhaustion.” It was Gayton who reached out to a member of Google’s Crisis Response Team. They, in turn, dispatched five engineers to work on designing the Ebola-proof tablet.

Currently, eight of these tablets are being used by MSF medical personnel in Sierra Leone

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Windows 10 Free! Why?

Microsoft’s system chief has said in an announcement that Windows 10 will come as a free upgrade for those who are using Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. This came as a surprise to many, particularly those who are accustomed to having to pay for new versions of Windows every time Microsoft releases a new one. What’s with this change? And is Microsoft really also including pirates among those who can upgrade for free? This sounds a bit generous, so I decided to explore the subject and find out everything humanly possible about it!

Why Make The Upgrade Free?

First off, the upgrade isn’t 100% free. Second of all, to qualify for it, you have to have a compatible device (we’re still not absolutely sure what that is), and you have to have Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 installed on it. If, for one year after Windows 10 is released, you do not upgrade, you will have to pay for a license. Also, should you be using an Enterprise version of Windows, you will have to pay for your upgrade to Windows 10.

I’m unable to find a comment from Microsoft as to why the upgrade was made free, but it’s very possible that this is an attempt to push people towards the new Windows architecture one way or another. Windows 8 did not see as many sales as its predecessor, hinting at a slow adoption rate. Many of the comments and reviews of the latest iteration of the operating system were neutral at best, negative at worst. Being a slow year for the company in the consumer market, my best guess is that Microsoft figured it could boost adoption by releasing Windows 10 as a free upgrade, hoping that people who were content with Windows 7 will make the switch once they understand that it costs them nothing but a few minutes of their time.

It is also probable that Microsoft may be hoping to gain revenue from selling additional software that runs exclusively on Windows 10, but this is pure speculation.

Is It Really Free for Pirates?

A spokesperson for Microsoft has told Ars Technica that “if a device was considered non-genuine or mislicensed [sic] prior to the upgrade, that device will continue to be considered non-genuine or mislicensed after the upgrade.”

 Perhaps what was meant in the “free for pirates” statement by Terry Myerson is that pirates will still be able to use Windows 10 without being locked out of any functionality, but they will not be able to download updates until they get a genuine license.

So, it’s still free, but only as a system that will be outdated by the time a new update rolls in. This particular scheme is something that Microsoft hopes will help it re-engage with potential customers in China; a large percentage of them are currently using unlicensed versions of the software.  However, there is a very clear possibility that this will not play out the way they had planned. Had they wanted updates from any other version (7 or 8, for example), they would have simply purchased the operating systems as well. Now they will have a version of Windows that doesn’t even need to be cracked.

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Top 9 KDE Plasma Themes

KDE Plasma truly is a beautiful desktop. Top to bottom it has some of the best design in all of Linux. Still, not everyone likes the way the Plasma Desktop looks by default. Since there are indeed a lot of themes to sort through, we’ve created a list containing some of the best KDE Plasma themes out there!

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Apple releases iOS 8.2

Apple had a big day with their Spring Forward event; they released all kinds of details about their forthcoming Apple Watch (including pricing), they released information regarding a new 12-inch Macbook with Retina display, and, among other things, they also announced that iOS 8.2 was available as an update to certain iPhones, iPads, and iPods. While not a huge upgrade, the update did make some needed changes.

Of course those weren’t the only areas updated, just the main highlights. The update also claims to improve Music, Maps, and Mail among other apps.

I updated earlier and found it to be a seamless process; it doesn’t take a whole lot of storage space to do it over the air, and it probably took less than 10 minutes for the installation and all.

Have you installed iOS 8.2 yet? If so, what do you think?

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5G Mobile Internet: The Pros and Cons

We’ve learned with the adoption of 4G and have a closer analysis of how this will apply to the adoption of 5G. Is 5G a pipe dream, or can we actually achieve a universal super-fast mobile internet? 

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