BardTech

The post Microsoft no longer taking new enrollments for its Surface Plus financing program appeared first on BardTech . Microsoft has quietly ended its Surface Plus financing program about a year after it launched. In a message on its site, the company said it stopped taking new enrollments on August 31 “after much thought and consideration.” The change does not affect existing customers, however, who will still be covered by their current financing plans. Financed by Klarna, a Stockholm-headquartered online financial services provider, the Surface Plus financing program launched in August 2017 . It targeted students and other people who wanted an affordable way to own a Surface device, allowing them to spread payments over 24 months. The Surface Plus plan also enabled customers to upgrade to the latest device after 18 months, as long as they returned their previous device in good working condition. In a FAQ, Microsoft said existing customers will still be able to upgrade their...

The post LG G7 One is LG’s first smartphone in the Android One program appeared first on BardTech . IFA 2018 starts this week, and we expect to learn about new products from the likes of Sony, Huawei, LG, and others. Ahead of the event, LG has decided to announce two new products that they’ll be showcasing during the event: the LG G7 One and the LG G7 Fit. Both devices have “Boombox Speakers,” IP68 rating, and meet the MIL-STD 810G durability standard. Both devices differ pretty significantly from the standard LG G7 in areas such as the choice of SoC and camera sensors, although they are similar to the standard G7 in other aspects such as featuring notched LCDs and retaining the 3.5mm headphone jacks. Here are the specifications for both devices. LG G7 One The LG G7 One happens to be LG’s first smartphone in the Android One program, interestingly. That means, unlike the LG V35 ThinQ or LG G7 ThinQ , the LG G7 One will be running a stock build of Android. Devices in the And...

The post LG G7 One is LG’s first smartphone in the Android One program appeared first on BardTech . IFA 2018 starts this week, and we expect to learn about new products from the likes of Sony, Huawei, LG, and others. Ahead of the event, LG has decided to announce two new products that they’ll be showcasing during the event: the LG G7 One and the LG G7 Fit. Both devices have “Boombox Speakers,” IP68 rating, and meet the MIL-STD 810G durability standard. Both devices differ pretty significantly from the standard LG G7 in areas such as the choice of SoC and camera sensors, although they are similar to the standard G7 in other aspects such as featuring notched LCDs and retaining the 3.5mm headphone jacks. Here are the specifications for both devices. LG G7 One The LG G7 One happens to be LG’s first smartphone in the Android One program, interestingly. That means, unlike the LG V35 ThinQ or LG G7 ThinQ , the LG G7 One will be running a stock build of Android. Devices in the And...

The post Binance launches an incubator program to develop early stage blockchain startups appeared first on BardTech . Who needs VCs? The largest companies in the crypto world are continuing to build the ecosystem through aggressive investments of their own, as I forecasted at the start of this year. Binance , the world’s largest exchange, is the latest example. The company is marching beyond  a gargantuan $1 billion fund  it unveiled earlier this year after it  announced an incubator program  that’s focused on nurturing early-stage blockchain startups. The  Binance Labs Incubation Program was teased back in June when the company announced its fund, but now the company has taken off the wraps and provided more details — the venture is very aggressive. The program will take on around 8-10 companies per batch for a 10-week period, Binance Labs CEO Ella Zhang told TechCrunch in an interview, adding that the target is to hold one program per quarter. That ...

The post Google made a program to test security patch compliance on Android devices appeared first on BardTech . Security, mostly due to heavy software fragmentation, is one of the biggest issues with the Android ecosystem. Google’s own Pixel smartphones are the gold standard of secure Android smartphones, but Google doesn’t only want to secure their own devices. Google has introduced measures like Project Treble , worked to extend Linux kernel LTS from 2 to 6 years, introduced the Android Enterprise Recommended Program, and have even reworked their OEM agreements to start mandating regular security patches. But in an announcement posted today, the company has announced that they’ve been working on a new tool to make sure that smartphone device makers are complying with monthly security patch bulletins. At Google I/O, Google’s head of Android platform security, David Kleidermacher, announced that Google’s Android partners are required to push regular security updates. In the ...