Huawei replaces Xiaomi at top of Chinese smartphone marke

The most recent numbers out of analyst firm IDC show a major shakeup in the Chinese smartphone market for Q2. During an especially rough quarter, local handset maker Xiaomi’s shipment dipped significantly from 17.1 to 10.5 million year over year, according to the firm.

The 38 percent drop was enough to knock the company down to the fourth position, as Huawei took over the top spot with 19.1 million units moved, comprising 17.2 percent of the country’s massive market share. Huawei was followed closely by fellow domestic manufacturers OPPO and Vivo, at 18 and 14.7 million units, respectively.

For its part, Xiaomi has disputed IDC’s numbers, pointing to higher estimates from other prominent research firms, though all noted numbers significantly below Q2 2015’s 17 million.

The highest spot by a non-domestic company on IDC’s list was secured by Apple, which rounded out the top five with 8.6 million shipments, also down fairly significantly (31.7 percent) from 12.6 the year prior.

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Cisco and Fortinet say vulnerabilities disclosed in ‘NSA hack’ are legit

A group calling itself the Shadow Brokers dumped data online this weekend that it claimed to have stolen from the Equation Group, a hacking team widely believed to be associated with the NSA. Firewall makers Cisco and Fortinet have now confirmed that vulnerabilities included in the data dump affected their products — a disclosure that lends credence to the theory that the Equation Group is indeed an NSA operation.

Cisco said in a security advisory that two vulnerabilities in the Shadow Brokers’ data could be used to breach its Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software used in its firewalls. “An exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code and obtain full control of the system or to cause a reload of the affected system,” Cisco’s disclosure says.

The data being offered for sale by the Shadow Brokers is dated between 2010 and 2013, so Cisco firewalls may have been vulnerable for years.

Fortinet also said that some of its products released prior to August 2012 contained a vulnerability that would allow an attacker to take execution control over a firewall. More recent versions should not be affected, Fortinet said, although the company noted that its investigation into the code released by the Shadow Brokers is continuing.

Cisco security engineer Omar Santos wrote that one of the two vulnerabilities affecting Cisco products was patched in 2011. However, Santos said he wanted to discuss it publicly “to increase its visibility with our customers so they can ensure they are running software versions that defend against the exploit Shadow Broker has shared.” This exploit is referred to in the Shadow Brokers’ dump as EPICBANANA.

The second exploit, EXTRABACON, affects all releases of Cisco’s ASA software — but getting it to work is is tricky. (Santos walks through it in his blog post.) The exploit would allow an attacker to take full control of the firewall system, but its complexity — and the fact that Cisco hadn’t discovered and patched it — suggests it was developed by a talented adversary.

Meanwhile, the Shadow Brokers also claim that their exploits will work on firewalls from Juniper Networks and TopSec, but neither company has publicly acknowledged the leak. The Shadow Brokers say they have additional yet-to-be-released exploits and are offering the data for sale in a Bitcoin auction. The group is asking for $1 million, but the auction has yet to receive any significant bids.

If the auction is unsuccessful, the vulnerabilities contained in the Shadow Brokers data may still come to light. Wikileaks has claimed to have access to the data and says it will publish a “pristine copy” soon.

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Facebook continues push to be more like Snapchat with new camera feature

In its bid to become more like Snapchat, Facebook is finally putting its MSQRD acquisition to good use.

The social network is testing a new feature that puts a Snapchat-like camera at the top of News Feed, allowing users to add filters and animations to their selfies. The test is limited to users in Canda and Brazil right now and will feature content celebrating the Olympics. 

SEE ALSO: Facebook's obsession with live video will be short-lived

The test is powered by MSQRD, the Snapchat-like app for video filters Facebook acquired earlier this year. 

Users in Brazil and Canada will see a prompt to "celebrate the Olympic Games" using the new camera feature. Launching the camera allows you to add filters and "masks" (MSQRD's name for the Snapchat-like lenses) to their photos, which they can then share across Facebook. 

The feature is only an experiment for now and whether or not Facebook expands it to more people in more countries will likely depend on how it's received during the initial testing period. The test is also notable in that it marks MSQRD's formal debut in a Facebook product. Even if it's not successful though, this will not be the last time we see the company integrate MSQRD into one of its services, as Facebook previously announced it would integrate MSQRD's filterswith its live streaming platform.

The test also comes on the heels of Instagram's new Stories feature, which many see as its most blatant attempt at copying Snapchat yet. (Facebook says both Instagram Stories and this latest test in News Feed are all part of its current strategy to put video front and center in as many places as it can.)

But Facebook may find the feature to be a hard sell with users who may be growing weary of the network's repeated attempts at cloning Snapchat. The company previously launched (and shuttered) two standalone apps that were Snapchat clones. It also made efforts to build similar features into its main apps, testing a Snapchat-like feature called Quick Updates that it decided not to launch. And a report earlier this year suggested Facebook is working on yet anotherstandalone camera app to get more users to share photo and video.

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LinkedIn reports revenue gains ahead of Microsoft merger

Despite selling out for a cool $26.2 billion two months back, LinkedIn still has a job to do.

And it did just fine. 

The professional social network reported second-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations in revenue, driven by growth in new members and subscribers. 

But its results also included its largest net loss since going public in 2011. LinkedIn reported a loss of 89 cents per share compared to 53 cents the year prior. Excluding expenses, earnings per share of $1.13 would have beaten expectations of 78 cents per share. 

SEE ALSO: Microsoft buys LinkedIn for $26.2 billion

The stock increased by 0.25 percent in after-hours trading. 

LinkedIn posted revenue of $933 million, up 31 percent year over year. That figure beat expectations of $898 million.

Talent solutions — a package of recruiting tools and LinkedIn's biggest revenue stream — pulled in $597 million, a 35 percent increase year over year. 

LinkedIn credited sponsored content with bolstering its growth in marketing solutions, which brought in $181 million in the quarter.

The network also reported 450 million members for the second quarter. That's up from 433 million in April and a 18 percent increase from the year prior. 

Even with the dominance of Facebook for consumers' attention on mobile, more people are spending more time on LinkedIn. Pageviews per visitor are up 21 percent year over year. 

“Continued product innovation drove increased levels of engagement, and strengthened our enterprise offerings," LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner said in a statement. 

LinkedIn did not share outlook on the rest of 2016 due to the pending merger. The deal, the largest for Microsoft and in recent history of tech company mergers, still needs to gain regulatory approval.

Microsoft, who reportedly beat Facebook, Google and Salesforce on the deal, paid about a 50 percent premium on the company's share price. LinkedIn's stock and outlook had been falling and disappointing investors over the last year. 

"We believe joining forces with Microsoft enables us to further accelerate and scale our ability to deliver value and create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce," Weiner said.

SEE ALSO: Here's where Americans are working abroad, according to LinkedIn

LinkedIn has been releasing new features prior to the merger. On Tuesday, the company announced its group of 500 influencers could post videos to the platform. 

Because who doesn't like video. 

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New drone footage is the best look yet at Apple's enormous 'Spaceship' campus

New drone footage shows Apple's Campus 2 under major development in Cupertino, California. Viewers can really see the immensity of it all, with everything from a 100,000-square-foot fitness center, a 2 million-square-foot parking garage and quite a few different research and development centers. 

SEE ALSO: The spaceship rises: A first look at Apple's new campus

The drone flies over what appear to be rooftop basketball and tennis courts, which will be built in front of the main "spaceship" building. And you can see the new North Tantau auditorium, a 120,000-square-foot, $161 million glass-enclosed auditorium with seating for 1,000. Expect to see future Apple unveilings there. 

The 2.8-million-square-foot spaceship structure, the main circular building that will surround most of the other structures, is also bigger and more developed than we've seen before. It's come a long way since our look at it in March (see below)

There's also a lot going on with the surrounding terrain. You can see a dirt pyramid that's being used to cover different buildings, and a lot of land mid-landscaping. 

The video also shows Apple's future clean energy generators, as the drone flies over solar panels, fuel cells lining the garage and generators powered by renewable energy. 

While the project has experienced a few delays, it is expected to open in 2017 and cost $5 billion. Norman Foster, the architect behind the Reichstag and the Hearst Tower, is designing the facility. 

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Facebook just ruined Instagram

About two weeks ago, while I was busy Snapchatting all the people at the park playing Pokémon Go, I wondered for a hot second why Instagram doesn't let you add text, drawings and emoji to your posts.

Then I chuckled at what a stupid idea that would be.

SEE ALSO: Instagram is a copycat and the internet is not pleased

Turns out it's not such a stupid idea, seeing as Instagram just copied the crap out of Snapchat. 

For Instagram's parent company Facebook (and CEO Mark Zuckerberg), it's the ultimate f*ck you to Snapchat after failing to kill the app several times with its own unsuccessful clones — andfailing to buy outright buy the rival app.

Well, Zuckerberg's having the last laugh now, because his company basically just declared waron Snapchat.

I can just picture Zuckerberg wearing his robe hacker hoodie, sitting in some evil underground lair, finger-tenting Mr. Burns-style, as he watches a wall of screens showing Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel freaking out.

While Facebook and all the olds who can't figure Snapchat out are celebrating, it's now very apparent to me that Instagram is a trojan horse.

Whatever popular features Facebook wants — and if it fails to gain traction either through its own clone or through an acquisition — it'll use Instagram's large, influential install base to get it.

Instagram is becoming a bloated everything app because the cool kids aren't on Facebook. Facebook is skating to where the eyeballs are, which is Instagram, in order to slay Snapchat.

From this moment on, things will never be the same for Instagram.

Different apps for different content

Instagram is great precisely because it's not Snapchat and Snapchat is great because it's notInstagram.

The two apps offer different experiences. And I carve out time for both of them because they don't compete.

I go to Instagram to look at beautiful photography. And I go to Snapchat to ghost in on my friends' lives through Snapchat Stories, like some kind of creep looking through a digital peep hole.

On the creation side, it's the same deal:

What is Instagram anymore?

By cloning Snapchat's Stories, Instagram is now an app trying to please everyone.

People who don't use Snapchat but do use Instagram will be exposed to it. People who can't grasp Snapchat but understand Instagram will be more inclined to learn how to use Instagram Stories just because they'll internalize that it's easier by association, even if it's not. And people who use both Instagram and Snapchat may find themselves starting to favor one over the other, most likely the one where all their friends are on. (Facebook is betting it's on Instagram).

Contrary to popular belief, I'm open to change when it makes sense. But this one is such a paradigm shift in Instagram's focus that I may just quit this app before it becomes a sh*t sandwich of everything mashed into one.

I don't need two Snapchats. One is enough. And it's already on my phone's main homescreen. Remember how difficult it was to manage a Facebook and a Google+ identity? Facebook eventually won out.

Oh, and you probably already know this, but Instagram is about to become the battery hogging bastard that Snapchat is:

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No Man’s Sky: Why would anyone want to spend $1300 on a video game

No Man’s Sky, is, in the developer’s’ own words, a science-fiction game set in an infinite, procedurally generated galaxy. I can’t think of a description more apt. Is that galaxy really worth spending $1,300, however? For one fan, it was.

No Man’s Sky is a game based on a formula, an algorithm that will determine your universe. You start a new game, a universe is generated and then you’re let loose in that universe. Planets, stars, asteroid belts, they’re all there. Alien life in the form of flaura and fauna, humanoids and advanced androids, everything is here. If there was ever a game that could simulate our very existence, it’s No Man’s Sky.

It’s also a very ambitious project that only recently reached fruition, and was then immediately leaked.

Someone somewhere leaked a single copy of No Man’s Sky, around two weeks before its release date of 9 August, and put it up for sale on eBay. As luck would have it, for the seller, someone picked up that game for a staggering $1,300.

The buyer took to Reddit to exult in his purchase and at the request of a great many redditors, explained his reasoning for spending that amount of money.

As Reddit put it, his reasoning came down to “because why not.” Who are we to judge him?

If you want a longer version, he stated that he has money to spare and doesn’t need to worry about the value of his purchases. He also added that he’s not frivolous with his money, donates to charities and compared the game to crack.

As he puts it, “If NMS [No Man’s Sky] is crack for everyone here in this reddit, the idea of an early experience with zero information surrounding it is the equivalent of the purest, uncut and unfiltered crack money can buy for me. This is it for me, this is the nut high.”

As someone who spends thousands of rupees on games myself, I get where he’s coming from, and I know he’s not alone. At least two fans of Chris Roberts’ Star Citizen have spent$30,000 and $22,500 on the game and World of Warcraft players have been known to spend thousands of dollars on items and characters on a regular basis. Have you heard ofEve Online? Did you know that the largest space battle in that game cost players approximately $300,000 in real world money?

By those standards, spending $1,300 on a game seems rather tame in comparison.

Regardless, I certainly hope he’s happy with his purchase. If his reddit posts are to be believed, he’s having a whale of a time, even if Sean Murray isn’t.

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Splice launches rent-to-own pricing model for software synth

One by one, most software has succumbed to the cloud; Designers have Adobe, gamers have Steam, programmers have GitHub and now musicians have Splice.

Splice is launching a rent-to-own pricing model for software synths. Starting today, musicians will be able to use Serum from Xfer Records, to their hearts content without any upfront fees. 

The company likes to call their service a rental, but it’s more like a mortgage. For $9.99 a month, users can use a desktop app to access the synth. Splice will let users try the synthesizer free for three days. After this time, they will be charged a “rental” fee that slowly eats away at the ownership cost. Over time, users can either opt to stop paying and move on to a new program, or fully payoff the software to own it outright. Splice isn’t charging any premium, and buyers won’t ever pay more than the $189 market price for the product.

Above all else, Splice is a community for people who love to make music. Launched in 2013 by Steve Martocci and Matt Aimonetti, the company first set out to produce software to help musicians collaborate in the cloud. Notably, Martocci was previously a co-founder at GroupMe that sold to Skype for $80 million back in 2011.

Martocci believes that music creation is experiencing a paradigm shift. The production process is becoming increasingly collaborative. Splice’s first product was a version control system. The platform supported the workflow process of a dedicated community that has rapidly shifted to new offerings from the company. The version control system remains free for most users and integrates directly with digital audio workstations like Ableton and FL Studio.

Last year, Splice launched Splice Sounds, a subscription service for large sample libraries. Splice Sound lets users subscribe to a catalog of over a million sounds starting at $7.99 a month.

Once a subscriber, basic users have 100 credits that they can use to download samples. Although Splice Sound was technically the company’s first major revenue stream, it is also serving a social good by reducing the incentives to pirate.

Subscribers have what essentially amounts to a royalty free license over all downloaded sounds and can re-distribute them as long as they are not in their original form. Using a legal platform to download samples also means your sounds stay organized and not in a giant heaping pile of unorganized files topped with sketch names and a side of guilt.

Since launch, the company has been growing 20 percent month over month with 500,000 unpaid users and 50,000 paid subscribers. Splice has raised $7.25 million over seed and Series A rounds led by Union Square Ventures and True Ventures respectively.

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10 ways to prevent ransomware headaches [infographic]

Judging by the news about numerous companies being hit by ransomware during previous weeks and months, this is a major threat which is here to stay.

One of the most effective ways to fight this cyber-menace is education, and that’s why we’ve prepared an infographic, with 10 of the most efficient ways for battling against ransomware in your organization.

This infographic contains preventive measures and advice, but also lists other things which your business needs to have in place, just in case this pesky malware makes its way into your organization.

If you find this infographic useful, share it with your colleagues, employees and friends, and help spread the word on how to keep people and businesses away from the dangers of ransomware.

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20 best website to download free ebooks

FreeBookSpot

FreeBookSpot is an online source of free ebooks download with 4485 FREE E-BOOKS in 96 categories which up to 71,97 GB.

You can search and download free books in categories like scientific, engineering, programming, fiction and many other books. No registration is required to download free e-books.

4eBooks

4eBooks has a huge collection of computer programming ebooks. Each downloadable ebook has a short review with a description. You can find over thousand of free ebooks in every computer programming field like .Net, Actionscript, Ajax, Apache and etc.

Free-eBooks

Free-eBooks is an online source for free ebook downloads, ebook resources and ebook authors. Besides free ebooks, you also download free magazines or submit your own ebook.

You need to become a Free-EBooks.Net member to access their library. Registration is free.

Scribd

Scribd, the online document sharing site which supports Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and other popular formats. You can download a document or embed it in your blog or web page.

Globusz

Globusz is a unique ePublishing house, specializing in free eBook downloads. They also provide an excellent Star Rating Showcase for new and evolving authors.

KnowFree

KnowFree is a web portal where users are able to exchange freely e-books, video training and other materials for educational purposes and self-practice.

OnlineFreeEBooks

OnlineFreeEBooks provides links to various ebooks (mostly in pdf) spanning in 9 big categories which are: Automotive Ebooks, Business Ebooks, Engineering Ebooks, Gadget Ebooks, Hardware Ebooks, Health & Medical Ebooks, Hobbies Ebooks, Programming & Technology Ebooks, Sport & Martial Art Ebooks.

MemoWare

MemoWare has a unique collection of thousands of documents (databases, literature, maps, technical references, lists, etc.) specially formatted to be easily added to your PalmOS device, Pocket PC, Windows CE, EPOC, Symbianor other handheld device.

BluePortal

OnlineComputerBooks

OnlineComputerBooks contains details about free computer books, free ebooks, free online books and sample chapters related to Information Technology, Computer Science, Internet, Business, Marketing, Maths, Physics and Science which are provided by publishers or authors.

SnipFiles

SnipFiles offers you free ebooks and software legally by brought or attained PLR, resale or master rights to all the products on their page.

BookYards

BookYards is a web portal in which books, education materials, information, and content will be freely to anyone who has an internet connection.

The Online Books Page

The Online Books Page is a Listing over 30,000 free books on the Web.

AskSam Ebooks

AskSam Ebooks has a collection of free e-books like Shakespeare, and assorted legal & governmental texts.

Baen Free Library

eBookLobby

Free ebooks in eBookLobby are divided into different categories. Categorys range from business, art, computing and education. Select the category appropriate to the e-book you’re looking for.

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The Best Education Blogs

• Cool Cat Teacher: Vicki Davis is one of the most recognised names in education blogging as she has been in demand from the likes of Forbes, The Washington post, Mashable plus she runs her own radio show on BAM! Radio. Even though she’s busy with all of this plus teaching fulltime, she still finds time to answer comments on her blogs – we salute you Vicki!

• Emerging Ed Tech: Kelly Walsh uses his blog to amplify the idea that teachers should embrace technology in their classrooms. Take a look at his site to discover how “not to teach like a dinosaur” by introducing digital resources into your teaching. Also, we were excited to publish an article featuring ExamTime on his popular blog recently.

• EDUKWEST: This may be a surprising entry as it differs from others mentioned because it isn’t a teacher writing about their experience or discoveries. However, we have come across some great insights and articles on the site such as the recent Remind IPO news. They also have a sister site which features education start-ups (such as ExamTime).

• Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: Med Kharbach’s site is a goldmine of useful elearning content with new resources, useful rubrics and informative videos. The blog is a hive of activity with several new posts published daily. We’re big fans and regularly share posts from the blog with teachers across our social media 
• Free Technology for Teachers: As one of the longest running education technology blogs, Richard Byrne has accumulated a hugely impressive library of articles. Visit the site to see the latest resources shared by the award-winning blogger. We’re also very proud that he has featured ExamTime numerous times with his audience of engaged teachers.
• Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day: Larry Ferlazzo is not only decorated with awards but writes for the New York Times, Edutopia and also hosts his own radio show on BAM! Radio. Keep up with his blog to get resources on a range of topics from fun infographics, learning English to education policy.
• Teach Thought: Education dreamer Terry Heick supports teachers worldwide by publishing articles with educational ideas to introduce 21st century tools to students. The site hosts some powerful content and uses visuals in a great way to convey information.
• Rafranz Davis: Last year Rafranz was featured on our site as an up and coming education blog but the self-titled “Digital Diva” has moved up in the ranks for 2015. The first thing you will spot on her blog is the technology and visuals she integrates into her blog to engage the reader in her stories. She shares some personal insight into her education career and keeps you up-to-date w
• eLearning Industry: Christopher Pappas and the team at eLearning Industry create a vast amount of shareable content while also providing a resource where you can share your articles with their sister site eLearning Tags. Whether you’re a teacher implementing elearning practices or an instructional designer, the tips on the site will help you.
• The Innovative Educator: Lisa Nielson is on a mission to transform education into an exciting and fun process for all students. Along with blogging about teaching ideas, Lisa also shares tips on how to improve your own teacher blog. She also provided some insight on engaging students in a meaningful activity to learn rather than note-taking for our guide.
• ELearning Brothers Blog: Here at ExamTime, we’ve recently started following the ‘Bros.’ blog after we noticed their articles getting a lot of shares across social media. Aside from sharing free elearning resources from Adobe and other providers, the team also give some actionable tips plus discusses key elearning trends.
• Kathy Schrock: Kathy’s ‘Guide to Everything’ provides a goldmine of advice and recommended tools. Whether you’re interested in using iPads in the classroom or how to create a mini infographic, this site should be made into a handy pocketbook for e-teachers.
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