Facebook’s plans for its React JavaScript library include rewriting the library’s internals to improve visual performance and make web apps more like native ones. The React 16 upgrade will feature Fiber, a new reconciliation algorithm that improves responsiveness. GitHub notes on React written in January say, “Fiber gives us a solid foundation to improve React…
Microsoft said it has already patched vulnerabilities revealed in Friday’s high-profile leak of suspected U.S. National Security Agency spying tools, meaning customers should be protected if they’ve kept their software up-to-date. Friday’s leak caused concern in the security community. The spying tools include about 20 exploits designed to hack into old versions of Windows, such…
Friday’s release of suspected NSA spying tools is bad news for companies running Windows Server. The cyberweapons, which are now publicly available, can easily hack older versions of the OS.  The Shadow Brokers, a mysterious hacking group, leaked the files online, setting off worries that cybercriminals will incorporate them in their own hacks.  …
Apple may be considering partnering with its China-based supplier Foxconn to purchase a major stake in Toshiba’s semiconductor unit. In January, Toshiba officially announced it would seek to sell a portion of its flash memory business, including the SSD business of the Storage & Electronic Device Solutions Division, to a not-yet-named buyer. [ Further reading:…
Microsoft this week began blocking Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs equipped with the very newest processors from receiving security updates, making good on a policy it announced but did not implement last year. But the company also refused to provide security fixes to Windows 7 systems that were powered by AMD’s “Carrizo” CPUs, an architecture…
It seems like Apple has not yet hit the brakes on its self-driving car. As of Friday, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles now lists Apple as one of the companies with a permit to legally test self-driving cars in the state. This means that Apple’s self-driving initiative, codenamed Project Titan, is back on track. California requires…
 Quantum computing may still sound like the stuff of science fiction, but within the next 10 years, it could be a reality. “Systems are still pretty rudimentary,” said Charles King, an analyst with Pund-IT.  “Though they perform some specific kinds of calculations faster than traditional computers, they are defined by their limitations. When true,…
A hacking group has released suspected U.S. government files that show the National Security Agency may have spied on banks across the Middle East. Numerous Windows hacking tools are also among the new batch of files the Shadow Brokers dumped Friday. In recent months, the mysterious group has been releasing hacking tools allegedly taken from…
Sticks and stones may break your bones, but rods and cables may one day help NASA explore planets. For a few years now, scientists at NASA’s Ames research center and students from the University of California Berkeley’s Best Lab have teamed up to create so-called tentricity robots, which they hope to one day use for planetary…
Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+ are the hottest new pieces of hardware for Android fans, bringing some impressive specs and design. But for many, it’s not always about getting the latest and greatest phone. They just want the latest build of Android for their existing handset. Many phones are finally getting that this week, ending…