Applications & Apps Business


Ubuntu Gives Up on Convergence

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A blog post by Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth dashes the dream of PCs and smartphones running on the same version of Linux-- the company is going to stop working on Ubuntu for phones and tablets.

Ubuntu phoneInstead, the next version of Ubuntu (18.04 LTS) will shift back to the GNOME desktop environment.

“We will continue to produce the most usable open source desktop in the world, to maintain the existing LTS releases, to work with our commercial partners to distribute that desktop, to support our corporate customers who rely on it, and to delight the millions of IoT and cloud developers who innovate on top of it,” Shuttleworth writes. "The choice, ultimately, is to invest in the areas which are contributing to the growth of the company."

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Opera Finds Chinese Buyer

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Opera announces it received a buyout offer worth $1.2 billion from a consortium of Chinese investors, one including billionaire Zhou Hongyi (owner of security and search company Qihoo 360) and ISP Beijing Kunlun Tech.

OperaThe company has been looking for a buyer since an August 2015 strategic review. Opera is of course best known for the web browsers of the same name, but it also offers the SurfEasy VPN service and owns a range of IP covering mobile and slimline web browsers for smart devices.

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Apple and Cisco Partner in iOS Fast Lane

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Apple forms a partnership with Cisco in the creation of a "fast lane for iOS business users"-- essentially the optimising of Cisco networks for iDevices and apps.

Apple CiscoThe partnership involves the integration of iPhones within Cisco enterprise voice and video environments, as well as "unique" collaboration via iOS-optimised versions of Cisco mobile, cloud and premises-based tools such as Spark, Telepresence and WebEx.

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Apple, IBM Add More MobileFirst Apps

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Apple and IBM launch 10 more MobileFirst enterprise iOS apps, raising the total to 32-- with additions covering more business segments including business travel, shift management and field operations.

Mobile First appsAnnounced back in 2014, the Apple-IBM MobileFirst partnership involves the creation of made-for-business iDevice apps bolstered with IBM cloud-powered big data and analytics capabilities. It has the aim of creating over 100 apps covering all industry segments.

The latest app additions include Shift Track (a means for managers to handle staff schedules, time-off requests, shift exceptions and employee hours), Shift Sync (an iPhone and Apple Watch hours for employees wanting to track schedules), Travel Plan (scans Calendar apps, recognises frequent destinations and automatically suggests travel accommodation) and Travel Track (integrates all travel tracking in a single app).

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iPhone Control Via Misfit Link

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Misfit Flash devices get further capabilities through Misfit Link, an app turning the activity trackers into a hardware remote for a connected iDevice camera, music player and even control slides in a presentation.

Misfit LinkThe app allows users to snap selfless with the iPhone camera app and control Spotify, Pandora, Soundcloud, iTunes and Apple Music. The company says more features will be added in the future, including integration with Logitech Harmony devices and the IFTTT (If This Than That) home automation services.

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