[TECH IN CHINA] The Personal Computer (PC) market may be a sunset industry yet in last months there are good rumours that Huawei are planning, you guess it, to start making personal computers!

 

According IDC data, global PC sales in 2015 fell 10% to 276 million and the 2016 forecast is a further decline of 3.1%. Though the 2-in-1 convertibles laptop/tablet products are expected to grow  this year.

 

As PC output continues to fall, the PC market appears to be saturated while PC manufacturers coincidentally maintain profit margins through regular product upgrades in mist of falling volumes.

 

Lenovo, for one, made more profits in its PC division (USD 400 million profit before tax) than its mobile devices division (USD 30 million loss) in Q3 2015 as the top selling PC vendor in 2015.

 

But the case study of Lenovo is not common and Huawei certainly didn’t expect the same scenario by going down the same route by manufacturing PCs. According to Wang Yang, Research Director at iSuppli China, the bigger picture is probably that Huawei wants to be in the same league as Apple to manufacture a complete series of mobile devices including laptops where the Mac series have been a success.

 

Source: Zixuntop

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[NEW GADGET] I treat this blog mostly as a diary to the technology side of my life. So it is important to mark one of the milestone in technology of my life. A new windows operating system!

 

Upgrading from Windows 7 Ultimate, I did waited for nearly a lifetime for the upgrade to come. 1 month is really a long time in Internet.

 

Upgrading operating system on the computer is always a major project. Taking a wrong step can have disastrous outcome. I successfully side-stepped Windows 8/8.1 in the past few years but I did fall into the Windows Vista hole for awhile. So the process for deciding on an upgrade usually involves a lot of reading and waiting for the so-call “service pack 2” to avoid disappointment and the pride of being someone who reads up on technology quite a bit.

 

The decision to move to Windows 10 is supported by two major reasons: it’s a FREE upgrade from Windows 7 and more importantly, it feels and looks an the “Windows 7” of “Windows Vista, meaning a polished piece of software.

 

A well-thought out decision is usually rewarding. Windows 10 did not disappoint.

 

I am running a bootcamp on a MacBook Pro Early 2011 and, touch wood, the Windows 10 installation went so smoothly that it is so hard to believe. For sure I read some horror stories about the installation or general experience going bad but I touched as many wooden stuff I can find around me to give the thumbs-up to Windows 10.

 

Having had it for 2 weeks now, generally, Windows 10 of course does not change your computing a whole lot. What it does is really to give you a interface that look like it is 2015.

 

Start Button is back for a start. Mail (especially impressive), People and Calendar all have been refreshed to have a cleaner and simpler interface. Photo Viewer is slick now and offers editing in the same application. Task View finally arrives in Windows. Notification Menu looks like what we have on the Windows Phone or perhaps Android, just bigger. Search function is finally finding stuff that I want on the computer, very quick way to find certain applications or Windows settings.

 

There are of course some bad stuff. I still can’t get Live Tiles to be useful to me and . Microsoft Edge is a work-in-progress browser.

 

So without going too much in to details, I like Windows 10. Again, if you qualify for a FREE upgrade, barring some hardcore reasons, I recommend most to upgrade. NOW.

 

Image Source – Windows 10

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[TIP] Let’s start the post with the definition of “Rooting an Android device.”

 

“ Gaining access to the lowest level (root level) of the Android operating system, which is prohibited on stock devices. Rooting gives the user administrator rights to alter the OS, tweak the hardware and unlock the phone from its carrier.”

 

Understanding its purpose is the first step in rooting an Android device. The paragraph above gives you a technical understanding of root. You should now understand that there are very little need for rooting unless you are a geek!

 

Now if you heard that there are Android boxes that are “rooted” to enable live TV and movies apps to work, you can be assured it is definitely not true, not in the technical sense. It isn’t clear why there are misconceptions to what consitute a “root” but installing live TV and movies apps does not require not require root. Perhaps saying that a device is rooted makes it more impressive even if it is not.

 

In the case of Xiaomi Gen 3 box, i rooted mine so I could give use a third-party user interface. i am currently having ‘'兔子桌面”. Other purposes of rooting Xiaomi box are;

• Setting up proxy
• Install Google Play Store (there are better alternatives)
• Install Youtube (there are better alternatives)
• Uninstall bloatware/default apps (they will not save you much space, around 50MB perhaps)

 

So if you firmly believe you need to root, use the link below to download from 360 Root. So far this is one method that works the best for me. All you have to do is to put the apk in micro-sd card, put it in Xiaomi box then install and run “root”. Viola!

 

Link – 360 Root

Link – Definition of Root

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[TECH IN CHINA] I am always have an interest for Technology in China having spent 2 over years in Shanghai. While cheap and lousy products are still aplenty, there are some really original and good quality Made-In-China products. This prompts me to start a new category of writing called “TECH IN CHINA” focusing on some of the technology stuff I read about.

 

OPPO is a prime example of a less-known brand in the mainstream crowd yet it offers excellent and original products. From headphones (PM1) to amplifiers to smart phones (R7), OPPO making a very good name for themselves. Therefore it is no surprise that Oppo ranks the 8th number globally for mobile phone sales in 2015 with over 50 million sets sold in the year according to survery done by TrendForce, a third-party market survey company. OPPO is certainly proud of their achievement and I picked 2 noteworthy pointers from their corresponding press release.

 

The slogan, “5 minutes of charging supports 2 hours of talk time.” has been extremely popular in China and allowing more people to know OPPO. They are of course referring to their unique VOOC Flash Charge technology. The original version of the slogan in Chinese sounds much more catchy though.

 

The R7 series contributed significantly to the 50 million sold in 2015. This means OPPO largely made forays into the mid-range smartphones market segment especially the RMB 2000 to 3000 category (approximately SGD 400 to 600)

 

Source – zixuntop.com

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[NEW STUFF] I am 5 years into my career and I still feel I am not doing enough to learn faster and wider everyday. Learning on the job is great for me so far. It is the past experience that is driving the thought at the back of mind from time to time. Having been in 3 different roles in 3 departments during this period, I learnt perspective can drive ideas that otherwise be hard to come up with.

 

Learning outside of workplace is equally important. Highbrow is one service that helps you to learn quickly, widely and free-of-charge. In their own words;

 

“Highbrow is a free email subscription service that brings bite-sized courses straight to your inbox every morning.”

 

Highbrow offers 66 courses in 12 difference catergories as of 5 February 2016. A one course consists of 10 emails sent every morning, Asia time zone supported as well. Each email takes about 5 minutes to read though a few reread and reference to other material quoted are very beneficial to gasping the topic.

 

All said, the most important aspect is the quality of the course. Courses that I have taken includes “The Basic of English Writing”, “Journey Into Minimalism” “, “Being and Staying Productive”. All of them are very good. Easy to understand and offers clear and concise tips.

 

Highbrow is free. This is not a advertisement for Highbrow. So go learn now!

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[NEW STUFF] If you have no idea what a “Be Like BIll” Meme, then you can compete with Donlad Trump as the most live-in-your-own-world person ever. While I have read a zillion of them, I haven’t really shared one. So here is one sent to me from Symantec’s PR agency which I thought is not very funny but brings across an important message.

 

 

This is incidentally the same message my poly lecturer (Finance module) taught me that has served me very well so far. ”It’s too good to be true.”

 

 

I will be a hyprocrite if I say you can apply this all situations. Yet more than not, if this message is applicable on social media or a random mailer in your mailbox or instant messaging communications, then the message is probably very applicable.

 

 

In the last decade, it was easy to recongise a scam as it usually involves “winnning” a big sum of money. Thesedays, scams can inolve very small amounts as well like “free” MacDonald coupons has been one of the more recent scams attempt.  Just last month my colleague forwarded a phlishing link of a “free cup of Starbucks”  to everyone on her Whatsapp contacts …

 

So it is never too much to read some tips to safe and responsible use of online technology from Symantec for next Tuesday, 9 Feb, happens to be Safer Internet Day!

 

Did You Know That…

• Your devices can be held hostage [1]

Using crypto ransomware, cybercriminals can hold a victim’s file, photos and other digital media hostage and demand ransom. Our smart devices and wearables hold plenty of personal information which could lead to new opportunities for ransomware attacks.

• Having your email or social media account compromised can lead to further attacks on your friends and loved ones[2]

Cybercriminals use stolen email or social media accounts from one victim to spear-phish – in other words, lure their next victim. After all, we are more likely to click something posted by a friend.

• Many of us are vulnerable online[3]

1 in 4 Singaporeans do not have a password on any device. Furthermore, less commonly used devices, such as our connected home devices, are less likely to be protected. With the Internet of Things, many of our devices are inter-connected, increasing the importance of securing all our devices.

• Our online security behavior might be compromising our safety[4]

80 percent of Singaporeans believe that sharing email passwords is riskier than lending their car to a friend for the day. Despite that, 1 in 5 have shared their password with others! This could be especially risky if users re-use the same password for multiple platforms.

• Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated

5 in 6 large companies were hit with targeted attacks in 2014[5], a 40 percent increase over the previous year. There have been cases where cybercriminals craft an email, purporting to be from the target organization’s CEO, asking the recipient to carry out an urgent wire transfer. These are also known as business email compromise (BEC) scams, also referred to as “whaling” because they send spear-phishing emails to senior (usually C-level) employees[6].

Tips on online protection[7]

• Be cautious on social media: Don’t click links in unsolicited email or social media messages, particularly from unknown sources. Scammers know people are more likely to click on links from their friends, so they compromise accounts to send malicious links to the account owner’s contacts.
• Know what you’re sharing: When installing a network-connected device, such as a home router or thermostat, or downloading a new app, review the permissions to see what data you’re giving up. Disable remote access when not needed.
• Use strong passwords: This cannot be emphasised enough. Use strong and unique passwords for your accounts and devices, and update them on a regular basis—ideally every three months. Never use the same password for multiple accounts.
• Familiarize yourself with the proper office procedures: Question any emails requesting actions that seem unusual or aren’t following normal procedures. In fact, don’t reply to emails that seem suspicious. Obtain the sender’s address from the corporate address book and ask them about the message.

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[1] The evolution of ransomware

[2] ISTR Vol. 20

[3] Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report

[4] Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report

[5] ISTR Vol. 20

[6]http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/business-email-compromise-campaigns-continue-targeting-c-level-employees-despite-warnings

[7] ISTR Vol. 20

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