Google Android refreshes itself

Android 8 — or O — will be coming out soon, with the beta already available for lucky Nexus and Pixel users. Google is introducing “Fluid Experiences” that include picture in picture, Notification Dots, autofill and smart-text selection. The first will allow you to have an app open but with also, say, a small window running a YouTube video, just like TVs can do. Notification dots show that you have an app notification. A long press will bring up the item, which is useful. You have all seen autofill on forms and for passwords; this is finally appearing in Android. As has been the case for the last few versions, Google is also focusing on maximising security, optimising boot times and app performance, and intelligently limiting background activity for apps to save battery life. These are all welcome enhancements.

Google is also investing heavily in Daydream VR technology. Talking to those fortunate to have a Samsung Galaxy S8, the latest VR offerings are very nice, but I wonder how many of them have bumped into the furniture using the device. There are already over 150 Daydream apps, and support for 11 devices. Like Google Glass, however, the adoption of the technology has been slower than expected. Primarily, I suspect the lonely 20-something group. For this to really take off, they will need to somehow get rid of the large goggles.

My first attempt to install SQLServer on an Ubuntu virtual machine did not go so well. When you read this, I will be travelling on holiday, so the next attempt will have to wait. I did get as far as installing Ubuntu, but there was a communications issue with the Microsoft site.

Any Windows user will have seen a message along the lines of “The file is in use” blocking some action. There are some complex ways of unlocking files, and simple ones like closing a document. Sometimes, however, the locking program is not obvious. Enter IObit Unlocker from iobit.com. This is a free utility that allows you to right-click on the blocked file or folder and open up the offending program. It also allows you to unlock the file directly or force the locking program to close, though you may want to take care with that last option. Once the file is unlocked, you can delete, move, or rename it normally. The IOBit Unlocker application also has easy “Unlock & Delete”, “Unlock & Rename”, and “Unlock & Move” options. Just click the arrow to the right of the “Unlock” button.

Some older readers will remember the OS/2 operating system brought to the world by IBM. The last version arrived at the same time Windows 95 did, but even though it was a better OS, it had a poorer graphic user interface, and Microsoft was onerous with its licensing. The latter hasn’t changed much, but the company Arca Noae has recently released version 5.0. If you want to relive some memories or update a still-running version of OS/2, then check their website. It will even run under VirtualBox, VMware ESXi and VirtualPC.

So far on my world travels, I have found a wide range of connectivity, from none at all to seamless free Wi-Fi. So far, most modern hotels have free Wi-Fi of some kind. Some have a password but others have none. The tour bus I was travelling on for a few days even had Wi-Fi, but the bus had to be in range of a phone tower, which in mountainous Canada can be difficult. Restaurants, shopping centres and stores have also varied in connectivity, but certainly in the modern age most people have a mobile phone, and most of those are walking while using it. Europe is next, and it will be interesting see if I have the same range of experiences.

Hopefully you are not one of the 36.5 million Android users infected by the advertising fraud malware “Judy” that could have been hiding in the Google Play Store for years. Researchers at Checkpoint found it in 41 apps in the Store, all made by Korean publisher Enistudio.

Researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Australia are claiming to have developed the “world’s thinnest hologram”. The long-term goal is a new TV system that will sport 3D holographic images such as those sometimes seen in sci-fi movies. Better will be pop-up images on mobile phones and watches. The technology involves antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) and allows for images 60 nanometres thick. They need it 10 times thinner, and then there is the power issues, but this is one step along the path to micro-holographic chess.

In case you were wondering, physicists in the US have found evidence that event horizons around black holes do exist, reinforcing Einstein’s theory of general relativity. This contradicts a new theory that black holes may be just a big solid object.

It appears North Korea was responsible for the US$81 million (2.75 billion baht) heist from an account held by the Central Bank of Bangladesh, as well as some Polish banks, adding to its earlier Sony hack.