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Microsoft's newest operating system, Windows 10, is no doubt generating heated debate as concerns users' privacy, with some privacy advocates recommending total opt-out from the service. The "unusual" free upgrade to Windows 10, is perhaps marred by sneaky privacy policy, which has lead to unsettling speculations.

Albeit, the company is already notorious in secretly collecting users data through stealthy tracking activities, the latest move is even more profound as to the level of users' information involved.

According to Microsoft, “We will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good-faith belief that doing so is necessary to protect our customers or enforce the terms governing the use of the services.”

Beyond that, even things like users' browsing history, bookmarks, passwords and Wi-Fi access details are also included in what you must give-up to Microsoft with the new policy.

Asides this, Microsoft's digital assistant, Cortana, also learns about you by collecting data about such things as your music, alarm settings, whether the lock screen is on, what you view and purchase, your browser and search history, and more.

While some settings are outside users' control, there is a way to deactivate the automatic sync option, which is activated by default. Simply go to settings and finding “Sync your settings” in the Accounts tab to deactivate.

Although much of this is structured to improve the quality of the service, but the fact that all is tweaked to the tech company's taking greater control over users personal information, is something to really worry about.

Windows 10: Microsoft's Sneaky Pry on Users' Privacy?

It’s no longer news that the long awaited Microsoft Windows 10 operating system will be publicly available on July 29, and definitely most users are planning on early switch to the new OS. But unexpectedly, during or after such upgrades, people tend to encounter some problems which will force them to go back to the previous version.

Most Windows users don’t know how they can go back to Windows 8.1 from Windows 10, considering all the techie twists, it appears almost a herculean task for many.

Reasons to Go Back to Windows 7/8/8.1



  • Error after upgrade
  • Unexpected data loss caused by system upgrade
  • Difficulty in adapting to the new Windows 10
  • Applications are not compatible with the new OS


If you encounter any problem upgrading to Windows 10, either you are not happy with the newly installed update or it messes up your PC settings; EaseUS System GoBack will help you to go back to a previous version of Windows and reset your system easily.

And it makes the downgrading job easier, so that you can do Windows 10 upgrade without any fear of system failure as you already know the tool that can save the day, in case anything goes wrong!



EaseUS free system go back software is a program that you can rely on to backup and restore your Windows system with only one click.

It makes the process of going back to windows 7/8/8.1 from Windows 10 effortless and easy whenever you have a need without the supposed associated hassles.

The process is as simply as launching the EaseUS System GoBack Free software and clicking "Backup System" before Windows 10 upgrade. It will quickly backup your previous Windows system, which only takes a little while. Once the backup job is finished, you can find the backup file in D:\My Backups\EaseUS_System_Goback.

Then, when you need to revert, just launch EaseUS System GoBack Free and click "Go Back" and you’re as good as you never migrated from Windows 7/8/8.1 to Windows 10 in the first place.

EaseUS System GoBack: Easily Go back to Windows 7/8/8.1 from Windows 10

The era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is finally here, now every smartphone down to the tiniest IoT device, even your Home systems come with some form of voice-enabling capabilities, giving rise to the term smart home and apps.

Technological developments have literally put the world into our palms, with amazing ease and magical sophistication, making rare innovations a reality, which before now were pronounced impossible.

Api.ai is one of the latest technologies that introduce speech recognition capabilities to your smartphone or tablet and lets you interact with your device like a personal assistant.

Though it sounds a bit Greek and Latin together, API.AI speech interface is much easier to use. And if you are an app developer, this is an absolute delight to work on, effortlessly you can enable voice commands and make your app a big hit.

Below are few simple steps for you to follow:

  1. First, implement the API for your application, which takes just a few minutes depending on project requirements.
  2. Once implementation is done, the process is quite simple and easy to follow.
  3. Select what objects will interact and work on your app.
  4. Give a description about the objects.
  5. Create actions and scenario to work on.
  6. And finally, apply the commands into your application or web service, then confirm, with a few checks the technology is embedded into your apps.


Endless Possibilities With Voice Enabled Apps

Voice commands allow us to visualize our smartphones or tablet as personal assistant. But, there are lots of options with the voice enabled apps. Still curious what this API.AI is used for?

Below are few of the possibilities of this app enhancing technology:

  1. Enables voice command for any type of application ranging from smartphones to smart televisions and even smart homes.
  2. Robots or even wearables like smartwatches can also use this technology.
  3. Absolutely flexible, you can use this across any operating system.
  4. Cross platform means it works across Unix, Python, and even day to day web apps.
  5. Around 11 languages currently supported.
  6. It is a one stop solution for voice recognition, natural language and even text to voice options.


Will This API bore a hole in your Pocket? Find Out How Much It Would Cost You – You will be Amazed!

Depending upon your requirements for the API, there are different sets of packages for different requirements. However, you're allowed to download the free version and use it endlessly.

But, if you have a commercial app and want to use the API for business, there are 2 choices for you: Pay a specific amount for each request you make, which amounts to 0.003 cents per request. Or a Shared Revenue Program – For this you need to contact another developer and make a shared deal.

There are enough start up plans to let you try and experiment at a cheaper cost. With number of queries increasing or as per demand, more flexible will your payment be through different plans customized for your benefit.
The advantage is, as your app gains popularity, you can add up features to your app with its advisory council or even by your own ideas.

What's The Bottom Line Of API?

It is a proven fact that anyone will enjoy the power of voice more than giving inputs through typing words in their smartphones or tablets. API.AI is greatly and widely acclaimd for those extra benefits that it provides users. And when you choose to develop your website or app with API you are sure never to regret your choice.

How Api.ai Smart Up your Apps with Speech Recognition

Email spam is unsolicited bulk email (UBE), a subset of electronic mail involving nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients. Spam, also referred to as unsolicited commercial email, may include malware as scripts or other executable file attachments.

It has steadily grown overtime, with networks of virus-infected computers, accounting for about 80% of spam worldwide.

Google's spam filtering technology, albeit as effective as it is, still there are rare occasions a couple of spam messages get through to the inbox or a valid message is mistaken as spam. Hence, the launch of Postmaster Tools, to help enterprise users analyze email performance, and help Gmail route messages to the right place.

Google Postmaster utilizes machine learning algorithm to enhance more effective email filtering, while improving through individual user experience.

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven filter will learn through users reading habits and correspondingly reflect in their preferences when serving messages. With the changes, Google intends to tighten the leash on spam and make sure your messages ends up in the right folder.

Google employs Machine Learning to cut down Email spam

Apple has released iOS 8.4 for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, and with it comes one of the company’s most anticipated services – Apple Music. It represents Apple's long awaited debut in the streaming music space which gives Spotify another huddle to scale even as Google stepped up its own music streaming offering.

Albeit, Apple Music is arriving years later than many anticipated, it remarkably debuts as a well rounded service.

And Perhaps most importantly, the fact that it fuses some of the best aspects of Google Music and Spotify into one. So what did Apple Music bring to the table?

Music lovers' will for the first time be getting a bespoke, human curated, playlists - and the right to upload 25,000 of own tracks free, which will increase to 100k with iOS 9 (in contrast to Google Music's 50,000).

And a longer 3 month free trial period compared to one month on Google Music and two months on Spotify. Additionally, users' get a manned ‘Beats One’ radio service that steps beyond the automated radio playlisting of Google and Spotify.

However, details on how Apple Music will work offline and audio tracks max out at 256kbps verses the higher quality 320kbps of Spotify and Google Music remains sketchy. While Apple Music will break new ground with a Fall release on Android, Google Music and Spotify are already available on iOS with the latter also on Windows Phone.

Apple will be giving out subscriptions free for two years with the purchase of a new iPhone or iPad. And afterwards, charged at $14.99 per month ‘Family Pack’ for up to six people against the $9.99 per month single user option on Google Music.

Music Streaming: What did Apple Music bring to the table?



The concept of the Death Star were the first in a long series of super-weapons developed to execute the Tarkin Doctrine, also known as the Doctrine of Fear and officially known as Imperial Communiqué.

But, the Death Star projects failed spectacularly. Both Death Stars were destroyed by the Rebel Alliance shortly after they became operational.

Learn from the Empire’s mistakes and keep your projects from falling to the Dark Side! Original Infographic brought to you by Wrike - Tools For Agile Project Management.

10 Reasons the Death Star Project Failed

INFOGRAPHIC: 10 Reasons the Death Star Projects Failed

Microsoft Bing is gradually measuring up to Google's speed - first, delivering more accurate results, and now, the revamped Bing Video Search blows out Google in YouTube video streaming experience with tons of new features.

Bing video search is now more refined with larger images, easy-to-find and identify video thumbnails that makes discovering your favorite video to watch a breeze.

It allows you to compare all the suggested videos shown below the main video search section without navigating off page to identify the right video, while displaying the upload date, view count, and the video uploader.

The related search results have been moved inline with original search, so as you scroll through the page you’ll have ideas of what to search for next to help refine your search results.

Bing video search will further refine your experience if you choose to search music, as you'll find all the related music for quick access and below it you will find video or music suggestions as well. However, it's currently available only in the United States, but eventually, it is expected to launch worldwide.

Albeit, Google has been popular for searching anything including image, content or video, Bing's latest update on video search, makes it the favourite destination for video addicts for now.

How Bing Video Search stacks up against Google Videos

Apple devices are considered to be more secure, however recent developments proof otherwise. If you are thinking of utilizing Apple's Keychain password-management app to store sensitive passwords, you have to rethink about it.

A group of researchers uncovered potentially deadly zero-day vulnerabilities in both iOS and Mac OS X operating systems, that could allow attackers get access to the passwords in Keychain and even bypass the App Store's security checks – including stealing passwords from installed apps.

The researchers as a proof-of-concept created and published a malicious app (dubbed XARA) on the App Store that was able to siphon users’ personal data. It allows anyone bypass the OS X sandboxing mechanisms that are supposedly designed to prevent an app from accessing the credentials, contacts, and other important data related to other apps.

The Keychain flaw hinges on its inability to verify which app owns a credential, and even the OSes (both OS X and iOS) failed to check for any suspicious activity.

It is recommended that users "be alert to any occasion where they're asked to login manually when that login is usually done automatically by Keychain" and never to allow either their browser or a password manager to store their sensitive logins, such as online banking details.

Malware Check: Apple's Systems - Mac OS X and iOS vulnerable

Cortana is perhaps Microsoft's take on Siri, Apple's chatty assistant in the iPhone. It is an intelligent personal assistant developed by Microsoft for Windows Phone 8.1, Windows 10, Microsoft Band, and purported to be coming to iOS and Android.

It is named after the artificial intelligence character in Microsoft's Halo video game series, Master Chief's holographic helper, Cortana.

Microsoft demonstrated Cortana for the first time at the Developer Conference Build 2015 in San Francisco. Albeit, Cortana is relatively new compared to Siri, which arrived in fall 2011 on board the iPhone 4S, it is seen as one of the key features in Microsoft's planned "makeover" of  Windows Phone and Windows.

Comparison: Siri vs. Cortana

Apple's Siri and Cortana are both good at discerning natural language, however, Siri's many more years of evolution, and haven learned from the millions of iPhone users worldwide pitches her a little ahead of Cortana.

Cortana has an edge in understanding context, as it takes into account the last question asked, thereby performs remarkably well as with much of the functionality that Siri has acquired over the last few years.

Siri's integration with third-party app is a big advantage over Cortana at the moment. But, as already expected, Microsoft developers will eventually close that gap. Apple has promptly responded in its WWDC 2015, with iOS 9 update set to bring an array of new features, including proactive suggestions to Siri.

In conclusion, Siri vs. Cortana battle ground that has been drawn, will among other things ensure that mobile users get more out of their smartphone experience. And whoever wins, the users are the ultimate winners.

Enter Cortana: The Mobile Virtual Assistant Wars about to get Fierce?

Microsoft's developer conference, Build 2015, heralded the re-branding of Internet Explorer (IE) to "Edge", the Redmond behemoth promptly instructed brand protection company MarkMonitor to register a couple of domain names, including MicrosoftEdgeSucks.com and other related name variations. Microsoft Edge is the result of a back-dated project codenamed Project Spartan, and to serve as default browser for Windows 10, specially optimized for touch and with a host of in-built extras like reading mode.

It is a lightweight browser with a layout engine built around web standards interoperable with the modern web.

Microsoft Edge is a key part of the upcoming Windows 10 operating system, and it's hugely important to the success of the revamped Windows platform. And It was made available as part of Microsoft's Windows 10 Technical Preview for developers' to spin, so here's what we think is cool and what sucks.

What's Cool?

The Edge new look in contrast to Internet Explorer has different sized icons, and the navigation bar is now thicker and has a more uniform selection of buttons that makes it easier for use with touchscreen devices. While the tabs have been moved to a separate row, making the overall layout a bit more logical, now more akin with Chrome and Firefox pattern.

Albeit, reading mode isn't a new concept, but having it in-built is unique with Microsoft Edge (most browsers require an extension to enable the feature), and implementation is equally slick.

Web annotation is another area Edge outwits other browsers, with tap of a button users can take a screenshot onto which they can start drawing, either with a mouse or finger.

The new rendering engine in Microsoft Edge makes it a bit quicker than the latest version of Internet Explorer, although more subtle when it comes to user experience.

What Sucks?

Missing Edge support for the legacy MSHTML engine for backwards compatibility, and therefore does not support legacy technologies such as ActiveX and Browser Helper Objects, but instead uses an extension system.

Offline reading mode and roaming across devices features are also missing in the current release. However, since there are still more features to come, so we keep our fingers crossed.

Overall, we think the experience is blissfully simple and smooth, with the obvious decluttering of bogus Internet Explorer features that made it unpleasant to users.

Microsoft Edge: What's Cool & What Sucks?

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