Naturally, much of the new features revolve around multi-tasking and optimizing apps for the larger displays of its intended host devices. Here are some of the best new features coming to the OS. A taskbar You know an OS is getting serious about productivity when it adds a taskbar. Android 12L includes a rather basic-looking taskbar at the bottom of the screen that allows you to easily access your most frequent apps....

Even though they may be working on the same projects and products, developers and designers often work apart from one another in silos. Design is often considered by developers as a secondary thing, unimportant when compared with the functionality of a product. That kind of thinking can be detrimental to the developer-designer relationship. Not having a basic grasp of design can hold developers back in their careers, or prevent them from pursuing projects just because they don’t have a designer on board....

As COVID-19 has driven much of life online and fueled a boom in online gaming, harassment in these and other internet spaces has increased. Forty-one percent of computer and video game players are female, down from 46% in 2019. Despite its digital nature, online harassment can have real-world consequences for victims, including emotional and physical distress. This has left online gaming companies and players scrambling for better community management techniques to prevent harassment....

However, it also usually brings to the fore one of my all time favorite types of content (or at least the one I mildly obsess over), cursed images. I have a horrid fascination with cursed images. What interests me is why exactly an amalgamation of seemingly mundane objects unsettles me so much. I also start to wonder about the story behind each image, imagining what was going through the artiste’s mind and the awkward amount of work and forethought that had gone into it to make it reality — and all without a guarantee of ‘success’ or any sort of recognition....

To make sense of the phenomenon called “Instagram therapy,” I interviewed more than 20 women in 2020 who use Instagram for mental health care. I found that women turn to the image-sharing platform to counter the lack of available resources. Instagram allows them to tackle issues related to their gender identity, connect to others with similar experiences and, ultimately, feel less alone. Even though awareness about mental health has increased, especially during the pandemic, gender-based stigmas, biases and expectations continue to affect women’s well-being at a growing rate....

As a scholar who studies space and international security, it is my job to ask what the likelihood of an object crashing into the planet really is – and whether governments are spending enough money to prevent such an event. To find the answers to these questions, one has to know what near-Earth objects are out there. To date, NASA has tracked only an estimated 40% of the bigger ones....

This perception of forensic evidence is enhanced by popular TV shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, where physical evidence is used to solve murders in a “whodunit” showdown between deductive cops and crafty criminals covering their tracks. All it takes is the right evidence to piece the story together. But recent research suggests that the reality of forensic analysis is that it can be subjective and fallible. For instance, forensic evidence can sometimes be ambiguous because of factors such as the presence of DNA on samples that originates from more than one person....

This automotive extension of identity has only gotten more nuanced and intricate as vehicle technology has developed and cars have become more feature rich. Now, it seems that every brand of motor vehicle has a stereotype attached. It’s a phenomenon automotive marketers have long relied on to sell cars, though. As we cast our eyes back over car marketing history, we see vehicles targeted to the family-focused, speed demons, the young, the old, the adventurous, the safety conscious, lawyers, teachers, architects — and in the case of one Japanese carmaker, lesbians....

But it’s still possible to build a successful business around open source software — I know, because my team already did it. KNIME has managed to establish a new business model for providing production-ready open source enterprise software, let me explain how. Unlike business models based on selling a proprietary version of an open source software application, we went for offering two separate but complementary pieces of software. I’ve found this allows for a clear division between the open source application and the commercial offering so that individuals have the typical open source innovation climate, while the commercial software helps the organization productionize their results in a scalable and risk-mitigated way....

But when the Department of Homeland Security redirects large, fixed-wing drones from the U.S.-Mexico border to monitor protests, and when towns experiment with using drones to test people for fevers, it’s time to think about how many eyes are in the sky and how to avoid unwanted aerial surveillance. One way that’s within reach of nearly everyone is learning how to simply disappear from view. [Read: This cute lil’ underwater drone just spent 4 years ~ v i b i n g ~ in the Atlantic]...

Facebook’s finally rolled its site-wide overhaul out to everyone, meaning you can switch over and test it out for yourself if you like. Here’s a quick guide on where to find the option. The new update significantly declutters the onscreen real-estate, moving the most essential tabs to the top of the screen. You’ll also notice different feeds at the top: in addition to the News Feed, you’ll also see a Groups tab, a Gaming tab, and a Watch tab....

Although it was released back in 2017, Horizon Zero Dawn remains a visually stunning action-adventure title that’s worth sinking several hours into. The game sees you take on the role of Aloy, a young hunter on 31st century Earth, looking for uncover the secrets behind her past as she battles to survive a planet dominated by robotic creatures. You’ll need a PSN account to get the game; it’s free to sign up, and don’t require a PlayStation Plus subscription....

Ever had the urge to look up an image, but don’t have a computer close to hand? These days, most of us do the bulk of our online searching from our phones, and Google’s image search is not as easy to use on an iPhone as it is on a desktop. But it’s also not terribly difficult either: it just requires a few extra steps. [Read: Use Chrome’s picture-in-picture mode to watch videos while browsing other tabs] There are two apps from which you can do a Google image search from an iPhone or iPad: the Chrome app (appropriately enough), and the native Safari app....

Both of these Chinese companies are now at the mercy of a widening geopolitical divide. The US has led an increasingly successful campaign to eliminate Huawei from the global market over alleged security fears and is threatening to ban TikTok too. There has also been speculation that other Chinese tech companies such as Lenovo, ZTE, and Xiaomi could be at risk. Meanwhile, HSBC has risked getting caught in the crossfire by expressing support for China’s security crackdown in Hong Kong....

First, TechRadar managed to get a senior Huawei executive to confirm, on the record, that the company’s rumored Android replacement would be released next month. Then, almost immediately after, the company issued a swift denial. So, what happened? Let’s start at the beginning, when TechRadar Middle East managed to clinch an interview with Alaa Elshimy, Managing Director and Vice President of Huawei Enterprise Business Group Middle East. That’s a big job title, but the nuggets of information he dropped were even bigger....

While the full report on the issue has not been made public, journalists reporting on the story have outlined specific concerns that Huawei personnel in the Netherlands and China had access to security-essential parts of KPN’s network – including the call data of millions of Dutch citizens – and that a lack of records meant KPN couldn’t establish how often this happened. Both KPN and Huawei have denied any impropriety, though in the years since the 2010 report, Huawei has increasingly found itself labeled a high-risk vendor for telecoms companies to work with, including by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre....

As Ars Technica’s breakdown suggests, Huawei might get by in terms of hardware with the help of its HiSilicon subsidiary, and non-US suppliers. However, building a software system that’ll support the physical assembly is a bigger challenge. Last year, TechRepublic reported that Huawei has been building its own OS since 2012. Huawei’s consumer business CEO, Richard Yu, recently said that the OS is compatible with mobile phones, TVs, smartwatches, and laptops....

Now, the world’s second largest phone maker has filed a trademark application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, attempting to register the name “Harmony” for its mobile and computer operating systems. The application is dated July 12, 2019, and is currently under examination. The description of the application reads: “Downloadable operating system programs; Recorded operating system programs; Mobile operating systems; Computer operating systems; Downloadable computer operating programs and computer operating systems....

Quasars are energetic cores of galaxies, composed of supermassive black holes fed by vast quantities of gas, stars, and planets. These bodies are capable of emitting a thousand times as much energy as the entire galaxies which host the bodies. These quasar winds push material away from the center of the galaxy, accelerating gas and dust at speeds approaching a few percent of the speed of light. The pressure pushes aside material which could otherwise collapse to form new stars, making stellar formation more difficult, reducing the number of new stars formed....

In 2004, more than 90 percent of American adults lived in a household with a landline. By last year, that number had tumbled to just under 37 percent. Increasingly, users are deciding that the smartphone is the one and only device they need, often with one single phone number as that primary point of contact. If you’re conducting business by phone, you need that number to be available and accessible for promoting and growing that business....