The Court of accounts is sounding the alarm on the very-high-speed – Echoes

It will take more time and more money. This is the message sent by the Court of auditors, in a report highly critical of the deployment, current, high-speed broadband in France. Initiated in 2013, this site is both huge and like no other, which is to deploy fiber throughout the territory, has been delayed : if the fiber covers 50 % of the population as expected this year, the goal of a territory to 100% in very-high-speed by 2022 will not be not reached, to prevent the sages of the rue Cambon. They rely instead on… 2030 ! And this delay leads to additional costs. The Court of auditors figure as well now to 34.9 billion euros the total cost of the deployment of very high broadband in France, instead of the $ 2 0 billion originally planned (including $ 7 billion of public support).

The fact is that in France we chose to deploy fiber to the home : FTTH, as it is said in the jargon of the telecom. The best technology is, of course, but also the most expensive and the longest to implement. Especially in areas less dense. The plan of high speed broadband plans, as well as 80 % of the territory is covered by FTTH by 2022. For the remaining 20%, we will use other techniques, they also considered high-speed broadband.

there are Two main reasons

in order To explain these investments to be heavier than expected, the Court of auditors puts forward two reasons. First, the State plan did not take into account the costs of connecting final subscribers to the optical fiber in a rural area : a total of 4.5 billion euros. Then, the delays accumulate in the areas with the least dense, which are also the least profitable. This is where the State and the territorial authorities to fund the deployment of high speed broadband, for approximately 43 % of the French population. The Court of accounts has calculated that in 2022, in the small towns and the countryside, even as the plan was to be completed, there would be 7 million homes to cover, which represents a total of € 10.4 billion.

in addition, beyond 2022, the Court finds that there is a “impasse on funding of at least $ 12 billion ” for the local authorities and the State, in the absence of private financing for the networks they were supposed to be co-financed. Finally, the Court pin also the telecom operators who invest in the networks of major cities. Areas moderately dense that Orange and SFR were divided, it regrets that the commitments of the realization of the networks are ” released and not very transparent, so that failures manifest last for years “.

The publication of the report, in full presidential campaign, does not lack spice. The topic of the “digital divide” is eminently political, the government is regularly challenged by the local elected officials. To do not take more of delay, the Court suggests, for instance, to have recourse to other technologies that the FTTH (see cons below).

Some dispute the findings of the Court. “The plan already foresees a number of technologies very-high-speed “, indicates a source in Bercy, for which the financing problems raised by the report would arise only if the plan was to do FTTH to 100% of the territory. Today, however, it is expected that about 80 % of the Hexagon. For its part, the Avicca (Association of towns and communities) wants to be reassuring. She believes that ” the contracts awarded by the community today show clearly that the private investors of the long-term, the operators and manufacturers are now taking the risk of the rapid transition from copper to fibre, including in rural areas “.

Fabienne Schmitt, Les Echos

Windows 10 Creators Update : Edge reinvents the navigation tab – 01net.com

On the go internet browsing by tab is now unthinkable. With the next big update of Windows 10, Microsoft is determined to sublimate a bit more this way to surf. How ? By implanting within his browser the Edge of new smaller features and tools that are specific to the management of the many web pages that you open every day.

As you can see in the video above, from the month of April (planned launch of the Creators Update), Edge will provide a preview of all open tabs. One click on a little arrow, you’ll be able to keep an eye on your favorite pages refreshed in real-time, without disrupting completely the current navigation.

Another cool feature is quite handy, the display of the tabs previously opened in the form of thumbnail in a browser history, or, better, the recording tabs (by the user) by genre or theme that we will be able to (r)quickly call.

Among the other new features include native support for the content developed in a virtual reality, and published directly on a web page. Finally, Microsoft takes advantage of his video to illustrate the new support for reading Ebooks directly in the browser.

Source :
The Verge

The Court of auditors, hits hard on the Very High-Speed [SHIFT] – ZDNet France

Article updated 17h

If one listens to the government, the coverage of France fiber optic is on the rail. It is enough to be convinced to watch the TV spots aired every day on several channels, demonstrating the value of very high-speed and especially the progress of the deployments. All with beautiful images of technicians drop down to the pipe in the fields…

Yet, according to the latest figures from the regulator, the number of subscriptions to very high speed reached 5 million at September 30, 2016, which represents only 18% of Internet access in France. Recall that according to the definition adopted by the ARCEP and the European Union, the Very High Speed corresponds to a minimum of 30 Mb/s downstream rate. The majority of the growth is to the credit of the FTTH, : his progression is +775.000 in a year to reach 1.9 million subscribers.

the stated objective of The Plan France Very High-Speed is to provide an Internet access at very high speed at all (housing, public administrations and services, businesses) to horizon 2022, and covering the entire national territory. It took nearly 4 years to go from 1.7 million to 5 million subscribers to high speed broadband and reach 18% of the market, can we still expect to convert more than 20 million subscribers in 5 years to reach the goal ?

For the Court of auditors, which has examined the issue, in the state, the answer is “no”. In a report, which is very severe, the institution believes that almost anything will do : the initial budget will be greatly exceeded, as the time-limits of coverage.

“The financial courts evaluate to 34.9 billion euros the total cost of the Plan, originally estimated at $ 20 billion. “The lack of private co-financing for the construction of networks of public initiative (only 1 billion of the 12 billion euros of investments, to $ 3 billion expected), and requires a competition of territorial communities of approximately 6.5 billion until 2022, well above the forecasts. Impasse on funding of 12 billion network of public initiative is to be expected beyond this deadline”, stated the Court of auditors.

in addition, if the coverage objective intermediate (50 % in 2017) will be reached, the failure of the co-investment private compromises the achievement of the goal of 100 % in 2022″, it read. “The financial courts find that the steering of the programme at national level has limitations and that there are obvious gaps in the organization of the construction and operation of infrastructure networks. The procedures for the allocation of State subsidies are complex and heavy, while the teams of the central government are scattered and poorly equipped”, she says. The Court is rather a horizon to 2030.

On the current situation, the Court of auditors considers that “the coverage of its population by very high fixed rate is lower than that found in many european countries, and the disparities of access speeds to the internet are important”.

As the Arcep, the institution is concerned about the delay of the penetration of high speed broadband in the business for lack of offers well sized in relation to the application, and because of the weight of the two dominant players. “Companies need the offerings tailored in terms of comfort of use, speed, symmetrical, secure (failure rate, response time, recovery period, etc) and availability of designated spokespersons. Operators providing businesses access to dedicated fiber-optic provide this type of guarantees. In this market, bids which use the infrastructure of optical fiber Orange have conditions rates are high. In 2012, Orange, through its brand Orange Business Services, was responsible for the coverage of dedicated fiber for 77 % of French companies with 20 or more employees.”

“the Court recommends that The Arcep to seek to enhance competition on the market to companies. It could come from a review of the obligation that would be made to Orange to propose to the alternative operators the offer of access enabled on fibre-optics in the framework of the future analysis of markets”. Here, the Court therefore goes further than the recommendations of the Arcep,…

More generally, the financial courts make 11 recommendations to the government, Arcep and local authorities. “They call, in particular, to complement and refresh, in the light of the results achieved, the objectives of the Plan France very high speed by introducing a minimum threshold of speed ascending and descending, by increasing the use of alternative technologies to the optical fiber to the subscriber, in incorporating a lens of digital penetration in business and converging on the term of the master plans of territorial development-to-digital (2030)”.

The Court invites the State to “strengthen the monitoring of the performance of networks of public initiative in calculating their rate of return on investment ; to strengthen the program by implementing a parangonnage contractual, legal, and financial ; to consolidate and pool at the regional level the functions of high value-added or all of the functions of networks of public initiative ; to explicitly treat the issue of the security and resilience of networks ; to organize the transparency of the commitments of the operators in the area of private initiative and the sanction of non-compliance”.

Article updated at 17 - the Face of this attack as a rule of the Court of auditors, the regulator has not been slow to respond. In reality, it has done it more than a month through a letter sent to the president of the Court of auditors. “Make sure to bring in maturities of close to a minimum flow rate sufficient, in all jurisdictions must not, however, divert the France of the objective of widespread high-speed broadband and the deployment of the infrastructure FttH term, in particular in a european context ambitious,” writes Sébastien Soriano, president of the Authority.

“In this context, the national objectives – have the value of strength training for a public intervention that is de facto decentralized – a 100% coverage in very high-throughput in 2022 with a large portion of FttH networks, should not be revised downwards,” says the manager.

We note, however, that the Arcep and the Court are on the same wave length in regard to fiber to the businesses. If the regulator has not yet discussed the issue of growing access offers activated by Orange, its chairman said :

“The Authority joined the Court’s conclusions regarding the emergence of wholesale offers activated to animate the market company. More generally, the Authority considers that the market for companies is, at present, insufficiently competitive. (…) In order to promote more competition on the wholesale market enabled and thus make it available to multiple operators using these offers a greater diversity of solutions, it seems important that new players can position themselves on the market of wholesale offers enabled on fiber, based on offers passive adequate. The Authority intends to take action in this direction”. Has the good time.

Galaxy S8 : more autonomy and a wireless headset ? – ZDNet France

You will take your rumors everyday about the next Galaxy S8 Samsung ? The flagship expected in march/April, of course, many speak of him as the world number one is expected to turn after the fiasco of the Note 7 explosive.

Focus on the issue of the batteries (which would only be the cause of these explosions), Samsung could still put in before the gains in autonomy of its next smartphone. In fact, according to the Korean newspaper Itcle, one will find a battery of 3250 mAh, and 3750 mAh on the S8 and S8 Edge against 3000 mAh and 3600 mAh battery for the S7.

in addition, the flagship would have been entitled to as the iPhone 7 with wireless headphones. They would be equipped with the technology “Talk-in” Mode which would allow the user to hear the ambient sound when someone calls her by her name while he has the headphones in the ears… Simple gadget or practical function, we will see… They will be sold for 130 euros, compared to 179 euros for the AirPods from the apple.

let us Recall that according to rumors the most recent, the S8 will be bigger than the S7 and still available in two sizes : 5.8 and 6.2 inch (Super AMOLED). The screen would be well curved like the models Edgle and especially almost edge to edge, the new trend of the moment. The physical Home button would disappear while the fingerprint sensor would be on the back of the camera supported by a sensor of the iris.

To follow the trend of the market, the sensor (there will be one) would be improved and always based on the technology of Dual Pixel. The performance in low light would be better and shooting faster. It would also be a function of recognition of objects thanks to the intelligent assistant Bixby.

Among the innovations expected in the next Galaxy S8 Samsung, there is a new virtual assistant. These tools cheerfully mixing Machine Learning and artificial intelligence (AI) are positioned at the center of the user experience, but the world number one intends to go further than its competitors Apple (Siri), Microsoft (Cortana) or Google (Now or Home). Bixby, it is his name will be associated with all the applications preinstalled by the manufacturer : of the mail to the Web through the agenda and the media. Contextual search would be doped to the AI for more efficiency.

The S8 is endowed with a kind of mode Continuum. As some terminals under Windows 10 Mobile, the idea is to offer a PC experience for desktop by connecting the smartphone to a screen, a mouse and a keyboard. The user finds an environment of “expanded work” that has nothing to do with Android, which would be named “Samsung Desktop Experience”, allowing multi-tasking in particular.

The processor of the Galaxy S8, the Snapdragon 835 that the S8 would be exclusive for a time, will be engraved in the 10 nanometers. It would be powered by the Exynos 8895. Side ram, about 6 Gb, which would put the S8 in the top of the basket. But the world number one could strike a blow by offering the first smartphone on the market shipping 8 Gb of RAM. The storage would be at least 64 Gb of expandable micro SD up to 256 Gb. The Jack would be preserved, but the USB-C would make its appearance.

Immigration: Trump in turmoil, Obama gives voice – Obs

Washington (AFP) – Isolated, widely criticized, including by his predecessor, u.s. president Donald Trump has defended Monday its decision to close the borders to citizens of seven muslim countries and swept the critics of a reverse of sleeve.

At the time of the demonstrations and the denunciations – of the political world to the business world – against the decrees of the administration Trump multiply, Barack Obama said he was encouraged by “the level of mobilization” across the country.

The former democratic president had promised to stay out of the political debate unless “the core values” of America were threatened: only ten days after his departure from the White House, it was judged that it was already the case.

“The president (Obama) is in fundamental disagreement with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their beliefs or their religion,” said his spokesman, Kevin Lewis.

Wall Street ended down (Dow Jones -0,61%, Nasdaq -0,83%). “There is clearly a great discomfort”, a summary Bill Lynch of Hinsdale Associates. “It is, perhaps, the end of the honeymoon”.

In fact, a number of major groups, in particular those in Silicon Valley who employ thousands of engineers are foreign – Apple, Microsoft, Google, Airbnb or Netflix – have deemed “contrary to american values,” the decrees of the former business man of New York became president.

Goldman Sachs, one of the most powerful banks in the world, including former leaders have been appointed to influential positions within the administration Trump, criticized in turn Monday by the presidential decree.

- “Stuck in Khartoum” -

From around the world, the testimonies tributary of nationals of the countries concerned by the restrictions that denounce, between sadness, disbelief and anger, the action abruptly put in place by the new american administration.

Eltirmizy Mohamed, doctor of sudan 34-year-old, who just spent three years of training at Atlanta (Georgia), would find this State of the american South to settle there. The decree Trump the cut dead in her tracks.

“I cared for many homeless and poor Americans during the three years that I spent in the United States”, he says. “I had planned to go to work in the rural areas of Georgia where the need for physicians is enormous. But I find myself stuck in Khartoum”, he says.

On the defensive, the republican president has, in a salvo of tweets early Monday, implicated, in a jumble, a computer failure in the airline Delta, the events or the reactions falsely offended, according to him, the number of elected members of Congress to explain the situation in u.s. airports.

“Everything is going well with very few problems,”-he said, against any evidence.

Visibly eager to attract media attention on a subject of wider consensus within his own camp, the business man in his seventies, has decided to move on to Tuesday, 48 hours, the announcement of its candidate to fill the ninth seat of judge of the supreme Court.

But even in that area, the street is booming. Hundreds of protesters gathered Monday evening in front of the high court, on Capitol hill, chanting slogans such as “No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome”.

Diplomats in “dissent” -

never seen less than two weeks after the inauguration of the president, several us diplomats have protested against the decree, using a channel official said, “dissent”.

The employees of the department have the right to’express their opinions candidly and confidentially with their hierarchy,” said the spokesman of american diplomacy Mark Toner.

But the White House has little appreciated: “Either they accept the program, they go,” said Sean Spicer, a spokesman for Donald Trump.

The u.s. president had not tasted either the output of Sally Yates, the minister of Justice acting, which was ordered on Monday to the prosecutors in a memo not to defend the decree (anti-immigration).

beyond The United States, the wave of indignation raised by the initiative of the White House did not diminish.

German chancellor Angela Merkel has estimated that the fight against terrorism does not justify in any way “to generalize the suspicion against people on the basis of their belief, in the case of people of muslim faith”.

in The United Kingdom, a petition signed by over 1.4 million people asked the government to cancel the State visit of Donald Trump to be scheduled in the year, the government has excluded.

tens of thousands of people have protested in London against the decree.

it signed on Friday by Donald Trump, banned for 90 days for nationals of seven muslim-majority countries considered breeding grounds of terrorists by Washington to enter on the territory of the united states: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The executive of the us, has also assured the united Nations that their employees could continue to enter the United States even if they were of the seven muslim countries.

The minister of Justice of the State of Washington (northwest) filed a complaint requesting the immediate cessation of the application of the decree.

“no one is above the law, not even the president”, said the minister, democrat Bob Ferguson in a press conference. “And to the court, this is not always the one who speaks the loudest wins. It is the Constitution.”

Google uses a Doodle to send a message to Trump – Presse-citron

Google is decidedly opposed to the policy of anti-immigration of Donald Trump.

The decree signed by Donald Trump on Friday, which prohibited the arrival of refugees for 120 days as well as that of citizens of 7 muslim-majority countries for 90 days, elicited a rain of reactions among the giants of the net.

Google was among the first to react. “It is painful to see the personal cost of this order on your colleagues,” wrote Sundar Pichai, president and CEO of the firm from Mountain View, to its employees. “We have always publicly expressed our opinion on the issues of immigration and will continue to do so “.

in addition, Google has also created a fund of 4 million dollars to fight the decree. The sum will be distributed between the Union and american civil liberties (ACLU), the legal aid Centre for immigrants (ILRC), the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the High Commissioner united Nations for refugees (UNHR).

The firm often uses the logo of its search engine in order to pass messages or commemorate events.

And on Monday, the United States, the logo of Google made a tribute to Fred Korematsu. On 30 January, the latter would have been 98 years old.

In France, we do not speak of him in the history books. But to US, his name recalls what Fortune magazine describes as ” historical injustice “.

In essence, while the USA were fighting the Japanese, Franklin Roosevelt signed an “executive order” for the relocation of persons of japanese ancestry. Fred Korematsu was part of the american citizens affected by this decree.

This last, however, has decided to appeal and the case came to the supreme court of the United States, but he lost. Finally, Fred Korematsu was locked up in a camp with his family until 1945.

” The Doodle artist Sophie Diao (itself a child of asian immigrants) shows a portrait patriotic Korematsu wearing the presidential Medal of freedom, a scene of internment camps to his back, surrounded by cherry blossoms, flowers have become symbols of peace and friendship between the United States and Japan “, says Google.

Although the executive order Trump is not explicitly mentioned, it is clearly a Doodle committed.

Otherwise, this weekend, it was also possible to see Sergei Brin, one of the co-founders of Google, to protest against the political anti-immigration Trump of San Francisco.

(Source)

The Silicon Valley is in league against the decree anti-immigration of Donald Trump – Next INpact

Of all the units, the companies of Silicon Valley are showing their support for immigrants in the face of the decree, the anti-immigration recently signed by Donald Trump. The most promise to support their employees, a part supporting the same organizations fighting the legal text, in the image of the ACLU.

a few days ago, Donald Trump has signed a decree banning the entry into the United States from nationals of the seven countries with a muslim majority. Those from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are denied for 90 days, while the syrian refugees are blocked indefinitely. An ad that has triggered an outcry, especially on the side of the Silicon Valley, a significant part of whose officers and employees are foreigners.

Since the signing in effect, an avalanche of reactions to these patterns fell in the columns of the newspapers and emails of employees. Pressed on their social role – especially since the last american election – these companies appear for the first time openly against the new president… After having tried conciliation at a meeting in November.

GAFAM mobilized, but not all publicly

most of The GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft) are rapidly expressed against this decree. One of the first was Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook. “The United States is a nation of immigrants, and we should be proud of, ” wrote Mark Zuckerberg on 27 January, in a public message on his social network. In it he calls for not to extend the measures against persons who do not pose a risk to the country. He also requests to maintain the reception of refugees.

For its part, the Apple boss, Tim Cook, has sent a letter to its employees. In this message, obtained by Business Insider, he claims to be in contact with the white House to oppose the decree. The employees affected by the measure would have been contacted by the company, which promises them the help they need.

At Microsoft, Brad Smith, president and head of legal affairs, which is split by an email addressed to all employees, then published by Satya Nadella on LinkedIn. Like Facebook, Microsoft defends the Deferred Access for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which protects young immigrants. Its subsidiary, LinkedIn claims to accelerate its program of reception of refugees already on american soil.

At Google, co-founder Sergey Brin participated in the event held at the San Francisco airport. In a memo sent to staff, Sundar Pichai believes “painful ” to see this order have effects on the employees of the group. The company has set up a crisis fund of two million dollars, so that the employees can complete the other two, destination associations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). 187 employees would be affected by the decree. The Wall Street Journal, one of them says that this announcement is sudden, ” disrupts his life “.

Finally, the human resources division ofAmazon promises legal aid to the employees affected, as the other GAFAM. Even if the silence of Jeff Bezos is noticed by Business Insider.

Uber suffers protests, Elon Musk advocates for the amendment

The lack of public reaction may lead to the challenge of companies, such as Uber. A campaign #DeleteUber has emerged in recent days. The reason for this ? Uber would have benefited from a movement of the taxis, at JFK international airport in New York, to lower its prices and attract more customers. The pill is not passed, and the company has issued two press releases to restore the situation.

The service of VTC, a great deal of criticism on the social issues, has promised to establish a fund of three million dollars, to help the drivers difficulties, including through translation services. A method already used in France, with the fund of two million euros, promised to drivers in trouble, without more details. In parallel, the company funded by Google, promises legal support to the drivers involved and put pressure on Washington.

Its competitor Lyft has held a position much less ambiguous. In a message to its customers, the company says : “We strongly oppose these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten our values “. More concretely, it promises to give a million dollars to the ACLU in the next four years.

on The side of Airbnb, its co-founder Brian Chesky promises free housing to refugees and non-authorized people in the United States. The service provides a form to offer housing to people locked out of the country. Note that it is available in French. In parallel, Elon Musk, boss of SpaceX and Tesla, said on Twitter that ” the global ban of nationals of certain countries with a muslim majority is not the best answer to the challenges of the country “. Adviser to Trump, he asked publicly of the slopes of amendment for the creation of the text.

reactions cascade in the Silicon Valley

In fact, people who have not expressed seem to be rather rare. The boss of Salesforce, Mar Benioff, has expressed its support for the protest via his Twitter account. Reed Hastings, at the head of Netflix, said on Facebook that the actions of Trump ” if non-Us that they make us all the evil “. Chad Dickerson of Etsy has marked his refusal of the ” the exclusion according to nationality or religion. Point “.

Sam Altman, behind-the-incubator Y-Combinator, considered for his part that” it is time that the companies in Silicon Valley are speaking out against the actions of the administration in Trump “, in a blog post of 28 January, it seems widely followed. Jack Dorsey of Twitter has multiplied messages in favour of the protests and the ACLU. “The humanitarian impact and economic of the decree is real and disturbing. We have the benefit of what refugees and immigrants bring to the United States ” he wrote.

other companies have multiplied the interventions, to the image hosting Box, Dropbox, or payment solutions in Square and Stripe. For its part, Mozilla has been sentenced in a blog post the decree (anti-immigration), felt unnecessarily large. “diversity in all its forms is crucial to the growth, innovation and an innovative society and healthy ” argues the foundation.

The engagement has resulted in very practical terms to the ACLU, a non-profit organization that fights the decree in question. She claims to have received $ 24.2 million of donations over the weekend, more than five times what it normally receives in a year. In particular, the company benefited from a lot of public support on Twitter, including one of the investor Chris Sacca, who has promised him $ 150,000, or Jack Dorsey.

And France ?

If such measures do not yet appear on the agenda, the debate is not totally excluded. He briefly emerged during the ces Las Vegas, when political figures have launched an operation seduction among digital entrepreneurs. Axelle Lemaire was complaining and the willingness to closure of many countries, taking the view that France must be a nation open.

For his part, François Fillon promised that the strict control of immigration that it advocates would not hamper the recruitment of groups digital, without more details. The day before yesterday, François Hollande was pushing a cry of alarm against the will of withdrawal, adding that the reception of refugees is one of the foundations of our democracy.

BitChute : a YouTube without censorship based on BitTorrent – ZDNet France

The BitTorrent protocol allows for a few years to do streaming in peer-to-peer. The principle is to transform each owner of a content broadcaster via a software client. Today, this principle is also stated by the creators of BitChute, a YouTube alternative, but in the hands of its users.

The main objective is to allow and evade censorship heavy, and its overwhelming hegemony on the video streaming of the subsidiary of Google.”The idea came to us in seeing the rise of censorship in recent years on the media platforms,” says Ray Vahey, the creator of this platform.

This last one looks like two drops of water on YouTube, with the difference that each user becomes a provider… This is the principle of BitTorrent : accommodation decentralized where each upload and sharing its content automatically with other users from the browser.

For the moment, the service appears limited to a few thousands of users accredited but a wider opening should not be long. Remains the sensitive issue of piracy, as it seems clear that protected content could quickly multiply to the chagrin of the copyright owners.

Smartphones : Sony could multiply the Xperia at Mobile World Congress – ZDNet France

Sony does not lower the arm in the highly competitive segment of the Android smartphones, where it has long gone of the first places in the world. The giant nippon will apprêterait to launch a new wave of handsets at the upcoming Mobile World Congress which will take place in late February.

According to the rumors, no less than 5 smartphones range Xperia could be submitted. Massive exposure that could be supported by the absence of the Galaxy S8 Samsung, which will be unveiled later. Among these outputs, a high-end model (Xperia XA 2017), which already shows video.

No big revolution design clearly, and the video does not give much technical details except the presence of a photo sensor 23 megapixels. Sony will still stand out technologically to attempt to differentiate themselves in a segment of the high-end increasingly being challenged, especially by chinese manufacturers.

Because it’s been a long time that Sony has not achieved true success, in terms of generating doubts about its presence on the market. In the past year, the director-general Kazuo Hirai had said : "alternative options" are on the table if the economic situation of this branch does not evolve favorably. Because, despite the favorable criticism faced by its smartphones and tablets Xperia, the mobile division of Sony has still not managed to get out of the red.

See also our page
key Figures : sales of mobile and smartphone

Facebook : more security with a USB key – Generation NT

Facebook has announced to propose a new way to secure his account for users who would like to be. It is thus now possible to associate its account to a specific USB key incorporating a key.

This system would replace then the two-factor authentication that is based on sending a verification code by SMS to the smartphone of the user. The latter would only have to connect the USB key which serves as sesame for access to the account.

The social network shows use this method internally to secure the data and the accounts of his collaborators, describing a very secure system that avoids any risk of attack of type “man in the middle”, and then that it is impossible to be positioned between the USB and the computer to intercept the data.

This type of security requires a USB U2F (Universal 2nd Factor) that can be found for a twenty euro and that will not only store data, but also to authenticate to Facebook and other services such as DropBox, Google, GitHub, FastMail, WordPress, and others who have already opted for this form of security.

It has been tested… ” Resident Evil 7 “, the game where the man is a zombie for the man – The World

in order To better reinvent, the old series “Resident Evil” went to seek the inspiration of the side of the small productions. As a throwback B-series that fits him.

This is the story of a series out of inspiration, guettée by the ringardisation. A fall all the more severe in its time, this same series has revolutionized at once the horror game (Resident Evil, 1996) and the action game (Resident Evil 4, 2005). Since, it is the decline, inevitable, until the poor Resident Evil 6 (2012) and the baneful Umbrella Body (2016).

he did not want to see his cult series to sink definitively into the dustbin of the history of the video game, the Japanese Capcom should, therefore, reverse the table. This is the heavy mission of Resident Evil 7, out Tuesday, January 24th on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Locked up in a mansion in the Louisiana run-down, our hero, began to search for his wife, has no other choice than to sink deeper, ever deeper, in a house where the windows are rare, and the bulbs faiblardes.

We are in doubt, the site owners are hiding the bottom of his bayou little brings a heavy secret. Forget the conspiracy fire of the other episodes of the series : it is here closest to the atmosphere of decadent of texas Chainsaw Massacre or a replay gore of Deliverance.

dry

But this is not everything – otherwise it would be no big thing. For these new adventures, the team at Capcom have indeed committed the unthinkable : while Resident Evil had never been as exciting as when it was innovative, for the first time, the series is going to reinvent itself… by going to prick his ideas elsewhere.

In this case, the side of independent developers, artisans solitary video game, forced to compensate for their lack of means by their inventiveness. As if the giant Capcom, to get rid of blisters accumulated along a dozen of episodes and “spin-of” f, had to be put to the diet.

It’s been a long time that small productions, have to go to the economy, have understood it : the easiest way to make fear is to immerse the player in the skin of the character. For that, the video game may rely on a narrative tool incredibly handy : the subjective view. By doing to see the player through the eyes of the hero, the developers blur the distinction between the two, even if you make fear truly, the space of a moment, a little naive, for his life.

this is what the video game horror broke done since Penumbra (2007) and repeated to the infinite, Slender in Outlast passing by Amnesia. in Resident Evil 7 takes the device with more resources, giving the company a mouth game broke of luxury, B-series big-budget.

When developers cheat

It was not won in advance, but this bias is going rather well in Resident Evil. Immersed in this manor frankly disturbing, one cannot help but to advance step by step, to return every three meters, lay-a-glance careful at every corner of the hallway, slowly push each door, taking care to verify, by his stays, that no hostile creature waiting on the other side.

In vain : most of the time in Resident Evil 7, the danger is programmed to fall on the player since a hole was inaccessible, from a door up here to be ordered. It is, in fact, nothing to be careful, because the enemy you will still, at a time where the developers have decided. Capcom cheats, but the player is his accomplice : it is because he is too caught up in the game that the pressure settles down, until the intolerable.

One could refuse to play the game. Get through the mansion at a run, the flower in the rifle, and refuse to linger in front of each of its attractions scary. Except that, in making the player tethered to a body (also quite heavy) and eyes that are not his own, Capcom banned him too much to detach an adventure that will suddenly take like a descent into hell.

An idea almost unheard-of

beyond this surprising turnaround-formal, it is necessary to recognize that Resident Evil rest on its laurels. We, therefore, find a mansion that recalls necessarily the one of the first episode (and, before that, the precursor of Alone in the Dark), of the succession of locked doors, as well as his bunch of keys scattered in spite of the good sense. Each of them deserves, and does not come off normally at the end of a grueling encounter with an appearance as lethal as elusive.

A word about these apparitions. And a regret. One that Resident Evil 7 is not gone until the end of her best idea. By confronting the player in an american family-degenerate, rather than old zombies has-been, Capcom did at the start mine to embark on a path rarely trodden by the video game horror : and if the monster real, it was the Man ?

Unfortunately, this hypothesis, virtually unheard of in a game of this genre, is quickly defused. If see her abductor continue her stalking relentlessly, despite the blows, bullets, burns, was first something nightmarish, soon, his tenacity borders on the Grand-Guignol. As the bestiary is going to more openly take on his inspirations fantastic.

The pockets filled to the brim with weapons and ammunition, in the face of enemies ever more grotesque, the player, that was up here at his avatar, is bound to eventually break away from it. And remember that it is not a nightmare, but only in front of an excellent game.

In brief

We liked :

• The universe unhealthy, less supernatural than usual
• Succeed to do fear again, only changing the position of the camera
• compatibility PSVR (but let’s be honest, who would want to play in virtual reality to it ?)

We did not liked :

• The fact that Capcom does not go to the end of his idea : a game without monsters and, why not, without weapons
• Be forced to play by listening to Big Kisses and Tata Yoyo very hard to not be too afraid
• On the PC, the compatibility issues with some AMD processors

It is rather for you if…

• You laughed seeing Blair Witch
• You have pouffé in front of Paranormal Activity
• You have pledged in front of Freddy 12

This is rather not for you if…

• You have successfully uninstalled Aliens : Colonial Marines
• You have cried while reading goosebumps
• You have nightmares after the Visitors 3

note Pixels :

12 liters of hemoglobin/5

Tv : the bold gamble of LG on Oled screens starting to pay – The Echoes

The sky lights up with the aurora borealis and majestic. Then it was the turn of giant jellyfish luminescent to perform their strange water ballet above the astonished spectators. Each world fair electronics IFA Berlin or ces in Las Vegas recently – the south Korean company LG caused a sensation with its tunnel fifteen metres long, seven metres wide and five high, covered with curved screens. For the manufacturer of tvs, this is the opportunity to show its know-how on a particular technology, the slabs Oled, of which he is today the only producer world.

Nothing very new, however. The organic light emitting diodes (Oled) have made their appearance in a Sony tv in… 2007. It is then eleven inches, the size of a small computer screen, and costs more than 1,000 euros. But already, the characteristics of the Oled are recipe. Blacks are perfect, the contrast excellent. Alas, ten years later, if LG has managed to increase the size of the slabs Oled that come out of its factories by up to 77 inches, or nearly two meters of diagonal, tvs always cost a fortune. It takes a minimum of 2,000 for a 55-inch promotion, and up to 20,000 euros for the 77-inch.

put off by these prohibitive prices, all manufacturers were disengaged, believing that the technology, if good as it is, would ever seen his cost. In France, it passed under 28,000 copies a year, at the end of November 2016 – over 6.2 million ! The n^o 1 in the world of tvs, Samsung, was launched in 2013, before any stop a year later. Only LG has persisted, jauntily. “This technology is the best. She is going to win the next two to three years. And we are the only ones in control “, “explained Ken Hong, the communications director of LG for the “Echos” this fall.

Samsung does the band apart

The recent news gives rather reason. This year, several manufacturers have announced that they are trading of Oled TV, ” constructed with tiles from the factories LG – an open secret since no one else has today production capacity. The chinese POS terminal sells under the brand Philips, his fellow countryman Changhong under its own brand ChiQ. “These products are very high-end, which will participate in the construction of the mark “, welcomes Yannick Pénot, its director in France. But it is especially the giants Panasonic and Sony come out with their Oled TV, and could tip the balance. “Even if we do not manufacture the slabs, thanks to our processor and our acoustical technology, we have developed an Oled TV like you’ve never seene “, welcomed Kazuo Hirai, the boss of Sony in the past. “Avec Sony and Panasonic, this is getting serious. These are highly recognized brands by the experts, “ considers Guillaume Chansin, analyst IDTechEx, according to which ” the strategy of LG is in the process of walking “.

today, only Samsung is known to strip. The Korean giant builds on a technology called ” Quantum Dots “), which improves the LCD screens to the point, according to him, to surpass the Oled for a fraction of the price. “It is difficult to designate a winner, but critics favour the Oled, ” explains Guillaume Chansin. And issue price, if the Oled is going to stay high-end, it counts on the volumes to get the price – finally – down. The group should double its production capacity in 2017 to move to 1.8 million of large slabs of Oled, before rising to 2.8 million pieces in 2018, thanks to a new plant in which it has invested more than 8 billion euros at the end of 2015.

Sébastien Dumoulin

Windows 10 : coming soon a lite version, code-named Cloud Shell ? – ZDNet France

If Windows 10 on desktop continued to grow in scope at the outset by its free, Microsoft has quite frankly struggled to impose its systems dedicated to portable devices such as smartphones (Windows Phone and Windows 10 mobile) or tablets with the flop of Windows 10 RT for the terminal ARM.

so far, Redmond believes that the battle is far from lost. First, there are now universal apps that run as well on desktop as on mobile. But the firm would have in its drawers a new initiative code-named Cloud Shell. According to the leaks, it would be a lightweight version of Windows designed for the world of modern computing”.

so There could be a minimal version of the OS, embedded devices with less powerful (under ARM with the support of the chip Qualcomm), running the main tasks, the rest of the functions are concentrated in the cloud, hence the code name of this OS, and will only be used according to the needs. A bit like the thin client approach of Chrome OS. Microsoft would still online a wide range of services, including security.

The advantages are many : the range and power of the laptop machines would be strengthened with a BONE much less greedy. Alternatively, a user could regain his office, its settings, its applications and its data from any machine. For businesses, such an approach would limit the need of renewal of equipment and would greatly facilitate the software updates or security. Finally, this version would be well in line with the ambitions of Microsoft, which wants to make Windows a service (OS-as-a-service).

We are talking about a launch this year. To be continued…

Microsoft : Azure, Office 365 and Windows provide the bulk of the growth – Next INpact

It is the turn of Microsoft to publish its results for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2017. The giant of Redmond’s revenues and earnings slightly up, as usual thanks to the good figures recorded by Azure and Office 365.

Historically, it is the second quarter of its fiscal year that Microsoft displays its best results. This year, the Windows-based editor has not beaten new records, but achieved scores that meet its forecasts, in line with the expectations of investors.

numbers and debt

With a turnover of 24,09 billion dollars, Microsoft has experienced a growth of 1 % compared to the same period last year. A progression that the company must, in part, to the integration of the results of LinkedIn in its financial statements since 8 December last. Otherwise, the mass could have been different.

As for the net income, it grew by 6 % year on year and reached 5,20 billion. Enough to allow the company to Satya Nadella to garnish with a few more its funds. Microsoft now has 122,8 billion dollars of cash available, compared with 113,2 billion at June 30, 2016.

However, the total debt of the company increased over the same period from 40 to 59 billion dollars, the giant of Redmond has decided to borrow to finance its acquisition of LinkedIn, and take advantage of the low cost of money at this time. Others see it as a willingness to not touch the money held by the company in countries to tax more lightly, for fear of having to pay huge taxes.

speaking of taxes, we note a significant increase in amounts set aside to pay taxes, as in the Alphabet. Again, it will be necessary to wait until the end of the year before jumping to conclusions.

Office 365 continued happy

now we’ll Look in a little more detail to the different branches of Microsoft, starting with ” PBP ” (Productivity and Business Processes), which brings together the activities of Dynamics, LinkedIn and Office.

once again, it is from this branch that originates from the greatest part of the profits of operating the business : approximately 3.26 billion dollars, a figure that has remained relatively stable (-1 % year on year), while the income she saves rose 10 % year on year, to 7,38 billion.

These good performances, PBP the is Office 365, whose sales are steadily improving. On the business side, Microsoft note a growth of 47 % in revenues, with an increase of 37 % of the customer base. In particular, revenue growth reached 22 %, with 24.9 million subscribers. Microsoft would also like to let go of a interesting figure : the Office applications on Android and iOS are now 65 million monthly users (MAU), two times more than last year.

on The side of Dynamics, the growth of revenue is only 7 %, but the giant of Redmond is confident in the development of its new formula of subscription, Dynamics 365, for new customers to adopt widely.

For LinkedIn, the figures are rather incomplete due to the late date of the completion of the redemption. Thus, only the revenue generated by the social network between the 8 and the 31 December have been recorded, which represents $ 228 million. During this time, the company generated $ 201 million of operating losses, but will have to see to what extent expenses related to the integration of Linkedin at Microsoft have not disturbed the balance sheet. See you at the next quarter to ensure this.

head in The clouds

The branch Intelligent Cloud has somewhat stalled over the last quarter, with an increase of 8 % of its turnover which amounted to 6.86 billion dollars, but operating income down 7 %, to 2.40 billion.

The bulk of the decline would be on the side of the services business, whose revenue fell 4 % year on year. The main cause of this decline is the decrease in the revenues from the custom support of Windows Server 2003. A situation partly offset by an increase in the side of the support “First” and consulting.

on the side of The cloud-based services and products with dedicated servers, the turnover increased by 12 % and it is in very large part thanks to Azure, whose income – once again – are not far away to register a growth to three digits (+93 % year on year).

Windows laughs, the Xbox is still looking for it

Concerning the branch More Personal Computing (MPC) the results are much more mixed. On the one hand, revenues were down 5 % to 11,82 billion dollars, but on the other hand, the operational profit explodes and reaches up to 2.50 billion, up 33 % year on year.

One of the explanations of this sudden rebound is on the side of the phones. Microsoft has very clearly been released its efforts in this area, by separating, especially a few months ago, 1300 people who were working on the subject. What significantly reduce expenses, even if the direct consequence is a fall of 81 % of the sales of phones on a year.

on The Windows side, the good news is with a increase of 6 % of the sales license Pro to and 5 % for licensing non-pro at the destination of the OEM. In regard to the increase in sales to individuals, it is still 5 %. Microsoft does not give any precision on the number of machines operator Windows 10, ensuring only that it increases, with no say in what proportions.

The section Gaming benefits from greater transparency. There is still no question for the brand to disclose the number of Xbox One sold since its launch, but we will learn all the same that it has achieved a turnover of approximately 3.5 billion dollars. The transactions on the platforms house (Xbox Live and Windows Store) for games to the cloud, have reached a billion dollars. Another certainty : the sales of consoles have been reduced in the last quarter than the same time last year, despite the launch of the Xbox One’s. It will be interesting to see if Sony notes the same trend with its PlayStation 4.

On the Xbox Live, the number of monthly users (MAU) grew by 15 % and reached $ 55 million. However, this figure takes into account people accessing via mobile platforms or Windows 10. It is therefore not a reliable indicator of the basis of consoles, installed by the brand, or even the number of subscribers to the bouquet ” Gold “.

sales of the surface have declined by 2 % this year and reach 1.32 billion dollars. However, margins have improved by 6 % thanks to the replacement of the Surface 3 by the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book in the ranking of the best sales of the brand.

Finally, Bing has also achieved good scores in the last quarter, with an increase of 10 % of its income excluding the costs of acquiring traffic. A performance at times due to a hearing in progress and a better income by research. The profitability of the motor is also on the rise, particularly thanks to the renegotiation of the agreement signed with Yahoo.

Wall Street applauded

dung, the investors have welcomed the announcements from Microsoft, which is manifested by an increase of 2 % of the market price of the company on Wall Street, while the NASDAQ is at the point of death. The giant of Redmond is valued at 515 billion, or 28 % more than a year ago.

Windows 10 : a scaled-down version the code name Cloud Shell ? – ZDNet France

If Windows 10 on desktop continued to grow in scope at the outset by its free, Microsoft has quite frankly struggled to impose its systems dedicated to portable devices such as smartphones (Windows Phone and Windows 10 mobile) or tablets with the flop of Windows 10 RT for the terminal ARM.

so far, Redmond believes that the battle is far from lost. First, there are now universal apps that run as well on desktop as on mobile. But the firm would have in its drawers a new initiative code-named Cloud Shell. According to the leaks, it would be a lightweight version of Windows designed for the world of modern computing”.

so There could be a minimal version of the OS, embedded devices with less powerful (under ARM with the support of the chip Qualcomm), running the main tasks, the rest of the functions are concentrated in the cloud, hence the code name of this OS, and will only be used according to the needs. A bit like the thin client approach of Chrome OS. Microsoft would still online a wide range of services, including security.

The advantages are many : the range and power of the laptop machines would be strengthened with a BONE much less greedy. Alternatively, a user could regain his office, its settings, its applications and its data from any machine. For businesses, such an approach would limit the need of renewal of equipment and would greatly facilitate the software updates or security. Finally, this version would be well in line with the ambitions of Microsoft, which wants to make Windows a service (OS-as-a-service).

We are talking about a launch this year. To be continued…

Nintendo provides new details on the Switch console hybrid 01net.com

On march 3, approach, and Nintendo has yet many things to say about its next console, which intends to rule over our living rooms and accompany us in our travels. In spite of a grip, on the 13th of January last, a lot of items are still outstanding. However, the japanese company has just lifted the veil on new details concerning the Switch.

Turn around of the Switch

On its website, british Big N we did do a tour from the owner of the console. It discovers all angles in “tablet” mode without the Joy-Con and also has an accurate overview of its docking station, which allows it to display games on a tv.

On the representations annotated, from front and back, one can clearly see the distribution of the different important points. The speakers are found at the bottom of the touch screen of 6.2 inches, we also see the slide system that will connect the Joy-Con, controllers, houses the removable.

We now know with certainty, that the SD card, which will extend the 32 poor gigabytes of internal storage, will slip behind the foot that is used to keep the console tilted when it is placed on a flat surface.
We learn also that it will require an update of the Switch, via the Internet, to be able to use SDXC cards, those of larger capacity. Only microSD and SDHC cards will be compatible by default.
The site specifies, moreover, that the data of games that don’t hold up in the storage space of the console can be recorded. A priori, the backups will be performed on the cartridge game, unless the game has been downloaded, of course.

The location of the game cartridge is located, under a cover bag, right next to the mini-Jack port, itself located just to the side of the mouth ventilation.
On this point, it is amazing that a console that is based on a mobile architecture, which usually works by passive cooling (no fan), is required. May be is it a sign that the Tegra board will be pushed to its limits in mode salon.

beautiful baby

The site also gives details of the dimensions and the weight of the Switch. Now, we know that with the Joy-Con attached, that is to say, in console mode laptop, the new-born of Nintendo’s measures 10.2 cm high, 23.9 cm wide and 1.39 cm at its finest. By measuring from the tip of the joystick on the back of the triggers ZL and ZR, the Switch able 2,84 cm thickness.

For comparison, the PlayStation Vita features a 5-inch screen, was more thick and less wide, a little less than 2 cm.

On the other hand, the Switch is much more heavy. It takes 297g when she has no Joy-Con, that is to say, when it is used resting on his foot. And the scale indicates almost 400g when it switches to portable mode. The largest of the last-born of the handheld consoles of Nintendo, the New 3DS XL, weighs in at “only” 329g. So we’ll have to see what gives the Switch during long sessions of play.

A simple piece of plastic

The issue of the Dock is much more quickly resolved. It reminds of the docking station for the 3DS. It is indeed mostly plastic. It still offers three USB ports, two on the left side and one at the rear, behind a wiring cover. It should be noted that these ports are USB 2.0 and not 3.0. Nintendo says that a later update will allow compatibility with this newer standard.

at the rear of the docking station, there is, therefore, the third USB port, an HDMI output and connection of the power supply. Nintendo has made it so that the cables can be partially hidden.
We regret that the giant Kyoto does not give more details on what there is at the bottom of the trench in which we slide the Switch. A priori, a USB connector Type-C.

a little more details on the Joy-Con

The controllers, the stars of the Switch are also entitled to their share of the additional details. We will quote only their dimensions : 10.2 cm x 3,59 cm x 2,84 cm, so that you can better represent what they will give in hand. It should, however, imagine them to accompany straps that make them a little thicker.

In all cases, to give you an idea even more accurate, they are a little more bulky than the controllers of the NES and more ergonomic, particularly by their more rounded shape. It should be noted that the Joy-Con law is a bit heavier, probably because it is the only one of the two controllers to embark on both a small infrared camera and an NFC chip, to the Amiibo.

A quick point on the interface…

Finally, this dedicated page on the site, Nintendo Uk is the opportunity to see the interface of the console. At the top of the home page of the Switch, you see the small bubbles, which must correspond to the accounts of players registered on the console. Then, by and large, the thumbnails of the different games that are installed or executed recently on the Switch.
A little further down, a series of icons. The first, News, will display information on the games. Then, it is the Nintendo eShop to buy games and DLC. The site states that it will be possible to see ads in videos.
Just then, the Album, where will be stored the screenshots. There is no question here of video, but without a doubt, will this be possible, since it is already the case on the Wii U.

will Remain three icons, one represents the Joy-Con, the other should allow adjusting the brightness of the screen (1280x720p) and the last should be used to turn off the console, it seems.

We can also see in the upper right corner of the screen, the time, the state of charge of the battery (this last is not removable and displays 4310 mAh) and the signal quality of Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) received. In addition, the console is compatible with Bluetooth 4.1.

A low price

The Switch will be launched on 3 march next year. Without a video game, it is expected to cost 299 euros. The first pre-bookings were reported by a price hovering around 330 euros.
Since then, the price of the next Nintendo console seems to be aligned to the rate advertised in the United States, which, remember, does not include local taxes, him.
in other words, it may well be that the Switch becomes less expensive in Europe than across the Atlantic. Good news ! Remains only to get more games to crack the D-Day…

Source :
Site Nintendo UK