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President Donald J. Trump has continued to use his personal Android smartphone despite security concerns, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Trump was concerned about losing access to his personal phone even prior to taking his oath of office, the Times reported last fall, citing unnamed aides who told reporters he worried about how isolated he could become in the White House without his phone to keep in touch with friends.

The president told a friend he had given up his phone as security officials urged him to do, the AP reported last week. It was unclear whether he would be using a heavily modified BlackBerry like the phone President Barack Obama carried, however.

Trump nevertheless has continued to use his personal Android to tweet, according to multiple reports.

Mic Hijacking

If the president were to limit his personal phone use to tweeting -- and it's not clear whether he has -- it still could pose a threat to national security.

"Even if he isn't using the device for storing or sending classified information, having the device in the president's presence still raises security concerns," maintained Andrew Blaich, a security researcher at Lookout.

"We have discovered sophisticated spyware that when successfully deployed can remotely access the phone's microphone and camera," he told TechNewsWorld. "Think about the impact an attacker could have if they could access the POTUS phone's microphone during key briefings throughout the day."

Telemetry features, such as GPS tracking, also pose a risk.

"Tracking the physical movement and geographical location of a target is classified information for high-value targets," said Israel Barak, CISO of Cybereason.

"It's also valuable information for an adversary. Using a commercial off-the-shelf smartphone by a high-value target like the U.S. president is an unacceptable risk," he told TechNewsWorld.

"When it comes to a corporate executive, balancing risk with functionality might lean towards using a commercial device," Barak said, "but when it comes to a high-value national target, where the threat actors are sophisticated military-grade adversaries, that's a risk that can't be balanced in favor of a commercial phone."

Safety vs. Convenience

Obama's BlackBerry mobile phone was specially modified to be extra secure, even though BlackBerry devices, in general, are considered more secure than other phones.

That's because BlackBerry isn't just a phone. It's also a network. Traffic from the phone is encrypted and sent to BlackBerry servers operated by the enterprises or government agencies. The traffic also is encrypted when it goes from the server to the Internet.

The tradeoff for all that security, though, is performance.

"The reason that BlackBerry isn't as popular as it used to be is all that encryption slows things down," explained Slawek Ligier, vice president of engineering for security at Barracuda Networks.

"Using a browser on a BlackBerry device has always been painfully slow," he told TechNewsWorld.

The good news for the president, though, is that text-only tasks, such as tweeting, don't take much of a performance hit.

Resistant to Change

When it comes to their phones, many consumers resist change, and it appears presidents aren't any different.

"Where Trump is concerned, usually the most banal explanation is the correct one -- he's used to it, it seems convenient, and he's stubbornly digging in his heels against the advisors explaining it's a bad idea," said Julian Sanchez, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

"He's also clearly not terribly technically sophisticated, and so probably doesn't grasp how risky it is," he told TechNewsWorld.

If the president insists on using an insecure phone, can anyone stop him from doing so?

"Federal laws and regulations prohibit the communications of classified information," observed Michael Harris, chief marketing officer for Guidance Software.

"Even the president of the U.S. is required to comply," he told TechNewsWorld, "but enforcing laws on the president is in the hands of the U.S. Congress."

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There are plenty of reasons to build a custom computer. While custom computers may initially be more expensive than prepackaged desktops or laptops, they can provide you with nearly endless possibilities, whether you're looking for a top-notch gaming machine, a system for mixing music, or the ideal choice for developing Web applications.

A custom computer is the way to go if you want both performance and flexibility. Upgrading individual parts often is less expensive than buying a new computer, which could save you money in the long run.

Following are the essential parts you'll need.

Processor and Motherboard

The component to start with is the processor, which will dictate your selection of other necessary parts, like the motherboard. UserBenchmark's exhaustive list of user-rated processors is a good resource to help you decide. AMD and Intel are the top manufacturers, but I prefer Intel.

Intel is the industry standard when it comes to processors, so you can't go wrong if that's your choice. Its Core series comes in three families: i3, i5 and i7. The i3 series is good for average computing needs, while the i5 offers a little more horsepower. The i7 series offers you the best performance. For the price, a Core i7-6700k really can't be beat.

After you choose your processor, select a motherboard to go with it. Make sure it is USB 3.1/3.0-capable for optimal speed. One factor to consider is whether you plan on overclocking, which involves running your PC at a speed higher than manufacturer recommendations.

While you can benefit from short-term performance boosts, overclocking may lead to a shorter lifespan for your computer, so you'll need to consider a compatible motherboard if you plan to do it.

Storage and Memory

Next, choose the storage you want to use. HDD drives are the traditional hard drives that most computers have, and they are extremely affordable.

However, SSDs are the choice for sheer performance, and their prices are dropping.

I prefer a hybrid option that includes both. A computer built with its system files on a smaller SSD will boot faster, while a larger and cheaper HDD in the 2-TB range gives plenty of storage.

Decide how much RAM you need. If you plan on running a 32-bit OS, then you only need 3 GB of memory since the OS won't support any more. Most likely, though, you will be using a 64-bit architecture where 4 GB is the minimum.

RAM is a relatively cheap upgrade for the performance you get in return. Choose 8, 12, or 16 GB for a better user experience.

You can also put in a DVD/CD drive, though it is not necessary, thanks to portable storage and cloud-based software.

Video and Audio Cards

If you intend to play video games, create digital graphics or edit video, you should invest in something more advanced than a basic video card.

For enhanced graphics, AMD, ATI or Nvidia cards will do the trick. The AMD Radeon RX 460 is a reasonably affordable option that can also handle the needs of most casual gamers.

The same goes for your audio card: If you are editing audio files, you should always opt for a higher-quality card that's compatible with the peripheral equipment you want to connect.

Case, Power and Cooling

You have to buy a case to hold all of that amazing hardware! There are many types of cases on the market with different features. Many cases have a rudimentary power supply and cooling fans. However, if you are building a high-performance system, they are probably inadequate.

All that performance generates heat. Too much heat will cause your computer to crash and may even damage hardware, so be sure to invest in some quality computer cooling fans.

At a minimum, you will want one attached to your CPU heatsink, one larger fan to exhaust heat from the case -- and if not built in, one to disperse heat from your graphics card.

The more powerful your components, the more power you'll need to run your system properly. You don't want to burn through a cheap power supply and have everything shut down on you.

Plan on at least a 500w power supply, but if you've opted for a bigger processor, graphics card, and the requisite fans, you'll need something with more juice. Your components may come with recommended power allowances. If not, I suggest at least a 750w power supply.

Final Thought: Don't be afraid to invest more money up front, as your custom machine can provide years of use before you'll need to upgrade it again. Good luck with your project -- and most of all, have fun!

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Samsung Electronics on Monday announced that it has developed new quality assurance protocols to ensure that it won't have a repeat of the catastrophic issues that plagued its Galaxy Note7 handsets. The company last fall issued a universal recall after several of the devices caught fire or exploded.

In one incident, a Southwest Airlines flight had to be evacuated in Louisville, Kentucky, after a Samsung Galaxy Note7 caught fire and produced thick smoke on an aircraft. Samsung initially blamed the problem on an "isolated" faulty battery cell issue, before opting to issue a general recall of the device.

Samsung has reaffirmed that the design and production of the batteries caused the problems -- not the hardware or software -- but the company has acknowledged that it should have done more to ensure that the batteries could not overheat and cause fires. It has enlisted a group of external advisors to provide clear and objective perspectives on battery safety and innovation.

All the Right Moves

Samsung unveiled its new "8-Point Battery Safety Check," which is meant to address any potential problems. It encompasses a durability test, visual inspection, X-ray test, disassembling test and OCT test, as well as a charge and discharge test, TVOC test and accelerated usage test.

In addition, Samsung will conduct a multilayer safety measures protocol on all its devices. It will cover the overall design and materials, as well as device hardware strength. Further, it will ensure that software algorithms are in place for safer battery charging temperatures.

"Samsung is doing the right thing. It took its time, but eventually it got enough instances of failed batteries in the lab to figure out what the technical issue was," said Roger Kay, principal analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates.

"At the same time, Samsung has been relatively forthcoming about the results and taking responsibility," he told TechNewsWorld.

"The first thing Samsung had to do was make it clear that it understood the core of the Note7 fire, and it had to ensure that it won't happen again," noted Ian Fogg, senior director for mobile and telecoms at IHS Markit.

"It had to make creditable assurances to customers, vendors and retailers that this wouldn't happen with future models," he told TechNewsWorld. "The announcement today addressed both of those issues."

Passing the Buck?

Although Samsung addressed what it will do to help avoid future problems, the company did not take full blame for the issue.

"There is plenty of blame to go around here," said Ramon Llamas, IDC's research manager for wearables and mobile phones.

"When [Samsung] asks a supplier to ramp up production on batteries to meet demand, there is blame as well," he told TechNewsWorld.

"The next test will be when they unveil a new flagship phone; they will have to showcase how innovative it is in terms of features, but also address the power in the way it charges and its reliability," said IHS Markit's Fogg.

"That will be part of the next announcement for any of its products, as the lithium ion batteries are used in so many products --from laptops to phones and even to cars," he added.

Galaxy Delays

What is also likely to come out of Samsung's new emphasis on battery safety is a delay of its next flagship handset, likely the Galaxy S8. It had been expected to make its debut at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, next month, but that now appears unlikely.

"If they don't make MWC, that breaks from tradition -- but we can expect that the phone is still coming," said Llamas.

In fact, such a delay could be met positively, as "taken in this context, [it shows] that the company is making sure it does things right next time," said Endpoint's Kay.

"The public is both sophisticated about understanding that technical failures occur and ADD enough to forget the past pretty quickly -- so if Samsung gets the next one right, all will be forgiven," he said.

"It is a right step, but that's all it is," said Llamas. "Samsung will need to make multiple steps to regain consumer confidence. They've identified the problem, but now they need to ensure that this doesn't happen again."

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Life is about negotiation. We negotiate our relationships -- including marriage, which is a contract that many don't take seriously. We negotiate our jobs, and we negotiate our interactions with our families. Those who are good at this tend to have relatively happy lives. While they don't get everything they might want, they get more than most.

When things go badly, they degrade into wars -- and in wars, both sides tend to lose.

That is what was in the front of my mind last week, when I read the idiotic open letter to President Trump from the U.S. Press Corps.

I imagine many applauded, because the Press Corps called President Trump on the carpet for a number of things and gave him a very succinct warning if he dared to do something they didn't like.Their goal appears to be to avoid getting kicked out of the White House, but instead they may have ensured that outcome, because the letter reads like they are blackmailing Trump, which should enrage him.

Ironically, in the face of concerns surrounding President Trump abusing power, it is both ironic and really stupid that the U.S. Press Corps apparently is doing the same thing.

By the way, and this must be said, this declaration of war wasn't triggered by candidate Trump's vicious attacks on the press or any of the individual reporters, but by his thinking about kicking them out of his new home. I'm guessing "perspective" should be someone's word of the day.

I'll share more thoughts about that and close with my product of the week: the first home power monitor that uses analytics with the goal of keeping your electrical bill down.

Abuse of Power

One of the most difficult parts of being a top executive is that as you move up in an organization, you gain more and more power, while you get fewer mentors and oversight. The scariest position is that of executive chairman, because that job -- which those of us concerned about governance think shouldn't exist -- grants both ultimate power and minimal oversight.

Basically, even the board of directors works for you, and it is very easy to mix up what you have the right to do with doing what is right.

That is why I think having affairs and mistresses is so common at the top, along with CEOs being fired for cause. The crash and burn of Carly Fiorina was one of the most painful to watch. While she had infidelity issues with some of her employees, that wasn't her problem. What finally set her up for getting fired was spending way too much time getting George W. Bush reelected and not doing her CEO job well. What I think is particularly sad is that she had decent core skills -- she just lacked empathy and job focus.

Steve Jobs was a tad too famous for his abuse of power -- first for running around firing people who just struck him wrong (it was called "being Steved") and then for fixing his own options, which almost got him fired a second time. By the way, there is a great urban legend about Steve trying to fire the copier repair man. It is way too close to the old joke about the captain and the lighthouse to be believed.

As an internal auditor, I ended up firing an impressive number of executives because they abused their power. They used their authority improperly, and those otherwise smart people screwed up their careers as a result.

It's not just executives who abuse power. Embezzlement is an abuse of power, and it can happen inside a firm at any level. Police brutality is an abuse of power that is altogether far too common at the moment. We've seen kids and adults abuse the power social networks give them to bully and attack others, with Gamergate being one of the most notorious examples. (By the way, one of the key women attacked in the Gamergate scandal is running for Congress and is modeling her approach on a blend of what Trump did and a startup. Wishing her the best of luck!)

Blackmail, as a class, also falls under abuse of power.

Threat as a Motivating Tool

Generally, threats should be a last resort and work only if the other party believes you can and will do it. It works only if the other party doesn't believe you'll carry out the threat in any case. For instance, it makes no sense to pay ransom to a kidnapper who has a history of killing victims whose ransoms were paid.

In addition, those who are very wealthy quickly learn that if you give in to blackmail or threats, you effectively work for the person who attacked you. The common advice is that when given the choice of doing what's demanded "or else," risk the "or else" and respond overwhelmingly. Any other path just turns you into a perpetual victim.

So even if President Trump trusted the media, a letter that basically says "do what we want or else," given that they'd likely do the "or else" anyway, should result in his kicking them out of the White House. Given that he doesn't trust the media, his response more likely would follow the "respond overwhelmingly" option, making what has been a very ugly relationship vastly uglier.

In short, instead of accomplishing their goal of staying in the White House, they suddenly could be taking meetings in the outhouse. That's what makes the letter stupid, but it is also suggests abuse of power, because the implied "or else" is an improper use of the influence a reporter has.

What the Press Corps Should Have Done

This situation basically is negotiation 101. Before you can make progress, you first have to rebuild trust. Fox News should have taken the lead in this effort, because he trusts them for the most part. Then representatives could have met with Trump to find out what he would want in exchange for keeping the corps in place in the White House.

That would have taken the effort from an all-out war into a negotiation, and President Trump positions himself as a great negotiator. His demands actually might be reasonable -- or they might not -- but until someone asks, you don't know. In any case, you've entered into a process that could have a favorable outcome rather than a likely all-out war in which both sides lose.

In short, they might have done better if they had focused on achieving the goal rather than playing "who has the bigger..." with the new U.S. president.

Wrapping Up: The Art of Negotiation

Negotiation as a skill should be part of a general education. People in other countries generally are more proficient at it than people in the United States. I've seen Japanese negotiators regularly make fools of their American counterparts because they are vastly better trained in that art. Whether in your career or with your family, being good at this skill and not abusing it can make the difference between a having a happy and successful life or a disaster-filled drama.

A short lesson on negotiation: Have a clear idea of what you optimally want to accomplish and what you will accept. Learn the same things about your opponent. Ensure a foundation of trust, and create common ground -- often called leveling -- to begin the negotiation and work for a win, win. Finally -- and this often is forgotten -- ensure that your opponent gets what you agreed to give. That's essential for building on the foundation of trust that you worked so hard to establish.

Abusing power to accomplish your goal can work once, but it destroys trust, and it will make the other side less reasonable and more vengeful. It often results in an escalation of unprecedented hostilities. With its letter, the U.S. Press Corps took the wrong path, and I expect that a hard-learned lesson will result.

As a side note, I have little doubt that the one word we surely will associate with the Trump presidency is "ironic."

I really don't like to have high energy bills. In my last house, I had a huge solar plant in order to keep my bill acceptable, as I run a lot of electronics. I tried a number of energy monitors but not one worked well with a solar plant.

Even if I didn't have solar, they had serious limitations. While they would tell me power usage, they were pretty useless on identifying the cause of any problems.

That is what makes the Sense Home Energy Monitor very different. It uses deep learning and artificial intelligence to analyze your home over time and identify what is using power.

Be aware that it has a long learning cycle, measured in weeks, and you'll eventually have to help it learn some of your unique items -- but coupled with other Sense users, the device will get smarter over time.

It uses its knowledge of devices and their power use patterns to make increasingly accurate guesses about what you are running. Eventually, it can make suggestions on how to lower your electricity bill.

It also has a second set of sensors to track any solar generation, so it is the only product I've so far tested that can work with a solar home. (I don't have solar on my current house, so I wasn't able to test that.)

Cost for the device is US$299 and solar compatibility is a $50 extra feature. It cost me $100 to have it installed, and setup on an Android phone was surprisingly easy.

While the learning cycle is a bit daunting, this is still the best electricity monitor I've used so far, so the Sense Home Energy Monitor is my product of the week.

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Young Jedi Palmer Luckey came in from the political cold on Wednesday to deny that he stole proprietary code from ZeniMax Media, in the little-known company's blockbuster US$2 billion lawsuit against Oculus VR and its overlord Facebook.

ZeniMax has alleged that in 2012, when Luckey was just a video game enthusiast in southern California, he corresponded with John Carmack, the iconic former ZeniMax programmer behind Doom, who was then technical director of its Id Software unit. Carmack used proprietary hardware and software information to develop the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, according to the lawsuit ZeniMax filed in U.S. District Court in Dallas.

ZeniMax spent millions of dollars to develop its proprietary technology in virtual reality and immersive technologies, according to the complaint, which argues that Luckey lacked the expertise to develop the virtual reality headset on his own.

Carmack left ZeniMax in 2013 to become chief technology officer at Oculus. Prior to his departure, he illegally downloaded thousands of proprietary documents that he took with him to the new company, the suit alleges.

A year later, Facebook announced a $2 billion cash and stock deal to acquire Oculus.

Keeping a Low Profile

Luckey for the most part has been incommunicado since last fall, following publication of a report that he secretly helped fund Nimble America, an Internet group dedicated to "sh*tposting" memes designed to malign Hillary Clinton. Luckey apologized on his Facebook page following the disclosure.

ZeniMax attorneys on Wednesday did their best to knock boy wonder Luckey off his perch, according to reports, pointing out that he lacked the expertise to develop sophisticated virtual reality technology on his own.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, swapping out his casual hoodie for a suit and tie, on Tuesday testified that he never even heard of ZeniMax. He also disclosed that his company actually paid about $3 billion for Oculus, a figure that included incentives to retain workers and meet targets.

"We're eager to present our case in court," Oculus said in a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by spokesperson Matt Steinfeld.

"Oculus and its founders have invested a wealth of time and money in VR because we believe it can fundamentally transform the way people interact and communicate," the company added. "We're disappointed that another company is using wasteful litigation to attempt to take credit for technology that it did not have the vision, expertise or patience to build."

Legal Fallout

The ability to prove an intellectual property case such as this one often comes down to specific evidence -- like emails, documents and eyewitness testimony, noted Paul Teich, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

"This is one of those low probability, but high impact events our industry dreads," he told TechNewsWorld. "If ZeniMax can prove that their trade secret was divulged in good faith and then used by others who were not supposed to have access, then they probably have a case to extract damages from the parties exactly involved."

The damage to Facebook might be limited if there were no way for Facebook to know about the trade secret, Teich added.

"I don't think Zenimax will be able to enforce licensing on any other companies in the industry," he said.

This case is unlikely to do any long-term damage to Facebook, said Lewis Ward, research director for gaming and VR/AR at IDC, though he conceded that he's not familiar with the details of the litigation.

"Any way you cut it" he told TechNewsWorld, "the costs associated with this case will be dwarfed by the billions of dollars Facebook has already invested in Rift and will pour into the system over the next five years to make it conform to Facebook's vision."

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FastComputer Linux is a disappointing experience that almost fails.

It is poorly designed, has little community support, and lacks its own home base and identity, all of which contribute to an identity crisis. Its home -- on Sourceforge.com -- lacks much in attractiveness, as does the distro.

The Linux OS offers developers and users choice among desktop options and OS standards. Linux's greatest strength is its ability to provide customized distributions with a variety of features. Distros that offer users something new and more inviting are great finds. FastComputer is not one of them.

Linux distributions run the gamut -- from very specialized and finely tuned to garden variety. Some are very innovative. Others are little more than look-alikes that offer no distinguishing features or benefits to set them apart from other options.

FastComputer Linux falls into the latter category. In its present iteration, this distro offers users an ordinary OS experience that leaves much to be desired. What should make it especially inviting is its ties to legendary Suse Linux developers. It falls far short of delivering, however.

Linux Heritage

FastComputer's developer, Andrei Ionel, who is based in Romania, represents it as a perfect privacy and security product that comes fully configured out-of-the-box. It is based on openSuse Leap 42.1 64-bit x86. It is a relative newcomer to the Linux distro scene.

The latest version is 2.2.1, but that is not solely the developer's choice. He apparently has been in a holding pattern for new builds until the Suse Studio staff solves the "Error retrieving status information" bug that is affecting all distros built on openSuse Leap.

As advertised, FastComputer offers four desktop environments: GNOME, GNOME Classic, IceWM and MATE. But only the GNOME desktop was provided in the download options.

Look and Feel

The GNOME desktop does not excite me on a well-oiled distro. GNOME can be rather plain Jane in its desktop integration -- or it can be tweaked by the developer to include additional settings to provide more user features.

GNOME on FastComputer falls into the former category. It is rather plain and ordinary. Still, GNOME 3.0 and GNOME classic (which is a distant relative of the forked MATE) are popular, because they are more traditional and easy to use.

I would have been more pleased with an opportunity to try the IceWM and MATE desktops running on FastComputer. The ICEWM could be a problem solver for some of my memory-challenged computers that still thrive on the likes of Puppy Linux.

Spoiler Alert: I am still curious about revisiting FastComputer running a planned Cinnamon desktop version once the Network Manager issue is fixed (see below). So I have hope that some promise exists for a happier computing experience with FastComputer.

"A Cinnamon version is on the way," FastComputer's Ionel told LinuxInsider.

Critical Fault

Included are three Web browsers: Mozilla Firefox, Iron and QupZilla. Normally, I would be singing the praises of these three options, but FastComputer issued an error message on every bootup stating that the Network Manager needed to be running and to contact the software vendor. So I was not able to access the Internet.

At first, I thought the error was caused by the Broadcom wireless in my test laptop. That is often the cause when there is a glitch during testing of Linux distros.

When that happens, my usual workaround is to plug in the cable and go hard wire -- but there was nothing for the hard-wired connection to grab without the Network Manager running.

The cause was a deep-down OS issue.

I had just about given up on doing any more testing of FastComputer Linux. Then I loaded it into a virtual machine. That was a Eureka moment! The connectivity issue went away.

My guess is FastComputer piggy-backed a connection from the host computer. I ran it from the same ISO file that I used to burn to the installation DVDs that produced the Network Manager error. At least Fast Computer remains viable with an Internet connection.

What You Get

The FastComputer ISO is packed with an impressive bundle of installed software. This is not a lightweight or stripped-down release.

FastComputer also comes with the antivirus package Comodo with a special Linux OS antispam component. That was a pleasant surprise. I like the GUI and operation of this package compared to ClamTK, my usual choice.

As a side note, Comodo is not available from the Synaptic Package Manger or any of the distro-based software repositories that I checked.

Another bit of hyped advertising is that FastComputer runs Windows programs courtesy of a WINE installation. WINE is not a distinguishing feature for a Linux distro, other than you do not often find WINE preinstalled.

FastComputer ships with Adobe Flash Player installed. Its default office suite is WPS Office (also known as "KingSoft Office") instead of LibreOffice.

Ignoring the connectivity problem, the software that comes preinstalled on FastComputer Linux is substantial:

• torrent client: Deluge;
• two IM apps: Skype and Pidgin;
• mail app: Claws Mail;
• remote controlling app: TeamViewer;
• three graphics apps: GIMP, Pinta Paint and Shotwell;
• three sound and video apps: VLC, Clementine and Cheese;
• Leafpad;
• four terminals: Terminator, GNOME Terminal, MATE Terminal and XTerm;
• Oracle Virtualbox; and
• four games: Nibbles, Winemine, SuperTuxKart and SuperTux.

The GNOME Desktop

The GNOME 3 panel bar sits at the top of the screen. Its only purpose is to display a few notification icons.

An activity button in the upper-left corner of the screen does sort of what a menu or start button does in other desktops. It exposes a thumbnail view of the virtual workplaces along the right edge of the screen and the favorites bar along the left screen edge.

The favorites bar has the menu button at the bottom of the icon row. GNOME uses a full-screen icon display of installed software rather than a pop-up two-column title index.

Bottom Line

Let's assume that the developer soon will issue an updated or fixed version so the Network Manager will work outside a Virtual Machine window. That will give FastComputerLinux a shot at being more useful to those who want a good out-of-the-box simple OS solution.

I am not sure that this distro's name is an indication of speedy performance. I tested it on several machines looking for speed.

As expected, the live session DVD was very sluggish. It was much peppier on the VM. I was expecting a little bit better speed performance on my test gear with a hard drive installation.

Other than the apparent malfunction of the Network Manager, my biggest disappointment is the lack of more than one virtual desktop. Unlike other GNOME 3 integrations, FastComputer offers no way to add additional virtual desktops, the developer confirmed. So if you rely on this flexibility, look elsewhere.

Want to Suggest a Review?

Is there a Linux software application or distro you'd like to suggest for review? Something you love or would like to get to know?

Please email your ideas to me, and I'll consider them for a future Linux Picks and Pans column.

And use the Reader Comments feature below to provide your input!

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If there is a lesson to be drawn from Internet search giant Yahoo's hellish past year, it is a grimly illustrative one: Never assume a cybersecurity disaster can't get worse.

Last September, the Internet portal disclosed that it had suffered the most damaging and far-reaching data breach in history -- only to then announce in December the discovery of a second, earlier, and even larger hack.

Since the discovery, the sale of the company to Verizon has been put in jeopardy, as Yahoo -- which recently announced its name would be changing to "Altaba" -- began a probe into the hack that is expected to take several weeks. We may not know the full extent of these hacks' effects for years; indeed, it took years for the breaches to even be discovered.

What is known is that these travails were a long time coming. The Yahoo hacks were not acts of God, falling from the sky and striking an unlucky victim; they were the direct result of the corporation's continual neglect of information security as a vital priority for doing business.

Systemic Problem

The tragedy of Yahoo's troubles is not merely that its systems were compromised; that is a risk even the most secure online servicers may face. Rather, it is Yahoo's lack of attention to cybersecurity, such that it was unable to detect and respond to the breach, making a very bad situation into a nightmarish one.

In 2014, hackers gained access to Yahoo's main user database, pilfering credentials and personal information from at least 500 million accounts in what was the biggest data breach in history.

Perplexingly, the theft went undiscovered until September 2016, when 200 million sets of user credentials appeared for sale on a darknet website. Yahoo's failure to identify a breach of such gargantuan magnitude -- one that it would somewhat ominously claim to be a "state-sponsored" act (an accusation rejected by researchers) -- was a dark portent of things to come.

The hack reported last December seems to be worse -- much worse. That hack, which is believed to have occurred in August 2013, resulted in at least 1 billion accounts suffering theft of personal information like names, phone numbers, and dates of birth. Perhaps even more damaging was the hackers' theft of poorly encrypted Yahoo passwords, as well as unencrypted answers to security queries like "What is your mother's maiden name?" or "What was your first car?" That information is meant to easily allow users to confirm their identities when resetting account details.

Some sensible security protocols and simple, low-cost encryption could have prevented this calamity. Adding insult to injury, the theft was not discovered until government investigators and private data analysts examining the first reported hack found evidence that a mysterious "third-party" had gained access to other Yahoo data.

Incredibly, these thefts -- the largest and most damaging hacks in Internet history -- were perhaps not even the lowlight of Yahoo's year. That honor would belong to CEO Mayer's decision, at the behest of a U.S. intelligence agency, to scan the content of all Yahoo users' emails for specific phrases or attachments, a massive warrantless spy program so invasive that Yahoo's security team, uninformed of the effort, initially thought it was a hack.

It is not enough that Yahoo's security posture is moribund -- not only unable to prevent successive blitzes against billions of its users, but even to detect their occurrence. Worse, in this instance, is the fact Yahoo is as fully complicit as any hacker in exposing its customers' most sensitive personal communications: It did so without permission, simply at the demand of a government agency bearing no warrants or probable cause.

Security Tsunami Warning

What, then, will be the fallout of Yahoo's year of living dangerously? Given the enormous potential for secondary fraud on other sites using Yahoo account credentials, forcing password resets now, years after the crime, is both entirely necessary and woefully inadequate.

After years of criminals likely trading Yahoo user information on darknet marketplaces for cash, this attempt to rectify the situation is equivalent to changing the vault's combination a couple of years after a safecracker robbed the bank. In an information technology environment where Internet users commonly recycle the same credentials across the dozens of sites they regularly use, password reuse attacks are a growing threat.

Such an attack against Yahoo users has precedent, and the results could be frightening. In 2012, the login credentials of as many as 167 million accounts on business networking site LinkedIn were stolen by hackers, emerging again on darknet auction sites in May 2016.

The compromised information, which, as with Yahoo, included poorly encrypted passwords, is believed to have been responsible for numerous large-scale "password reuse" secondary attacks, including one major attack against cloud hosting platform Dropbox and 60 million of its accounts.

Given the potential for wreaking havoc, Yahoo's inadequate and outdated password encryption could have severe consequences, affecting even sites that securely encrypt their customers' passwords, through no fault of their own. This is the nightmare made possible through the theft of reused passwords: a concatenating wave of data breaches affecting website after website.

Beyond these technical threats, Yahoo's lack of transparency in combating information theft has further endangered Internet users. It is becoming clear that under Mayer's leadership, Yahoo downgraded the importance of instituting much-needed cybersecurity measures, fearing that it would alienate a fickle user base with annoying new security requirements. However, the end result will be far worse reputational damage.

A user experience that results in hackers compromising every one of your Web accounts, or stealing your identity, is far worse than the inconvenience of signing into an email account using two-factor identification.

This short-sightedness extended to Yahoo's public relations reaction: While the company would ultimately estimate that a half billion accounts were affected in the 2014 hack, the true number may be as high as 3 billion; and while Yahoo may claim any affected accounts are being identified and reset, its inability to detect even larger breaches is more than enough reason to doubt the effort's efficacy.

Fortunately, this debacle need not be entirely in vain, if some simple lessons can be absorbed. Had Yahoo made modest, sensible improvements in its security posture, the hackers might have been dissuaded from attempting such an ambitious heist, or at least been frustrated in their attempts to do so.

Cyber risk is an unavoidable aspect of Internet business today, and even in the worst-case scenario of a breach, reasonable precautions and rapid action can prevent extensive damage.

For example, when "drag-n'drop" website creator Weebly suffered a hack affecting 43 million of its users, the company's ready cooperation with observers who discovered the attack helped it to quickly issue password resets, while its strong password encryption further prevented customer sites from being accessed.

The latest breach revelation may derail Verizon's planned $4.83 billion acquisition of the search giant, but that would hardly be the greatest cost of Yahoo's incompetence.

As always, the people who will most suffer are the consumers to whom Yahoo owes its responsibility. They entrusted Yahoo with their personal information -- a trust the former No. 1 search engine has inexcusably betrayed.

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Nintendo on Thursday announced the Nintendo Switch handheld gaming console, its long-awaited successor to the poorly received Wii 2.

The US$300 Switch will hit the streets March 3. Purchasers will get the console, two Joy-Con controllers, a Joy-Con Grip, a set of Joy-Con wrist straps, a Nintendo Switch dock, an HDMI cable and an AC adapter.

The Switch has a 6.2-inch capacitive multitouch screen and a kickstand.

The Switch can be used as an independent handheld player. Battery life ranges from 2.5 to 6 hours.

Up to eight Switches can be connected over a local WiFi network for multiplayer games.

However, Nintendo will need to sell a lot of Switches for this feature to be useful, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

Ready to Rumble

Both Joy-Con controllers include advanced HD Rumble technology, which gives players haptic feedback for increased realism.

The controllers can be used separately -- one in each hand -- or together as one game controller attached to the Joy-Con grip. Players can attach them to the main console for use in handheld mode, or share them with friends for use in two-player games.

Each Joy-Con has an accelerometer and gyro-sensor, giving players independent left and right motion control, and each can act as a standalone controller.

The left controller has a Capture Button for taking screenshots to share on social media; the right one includes an NFC touchpoint for interaction with Amiibo figures, and an infrared motion camera that can detect the distance, shape and motion of nearby objects in specially designed games.

"The Joy-Con controllers seem to be [the Switch's] best feature," said Christine Arrington, senior analyst for games at IHS Markit.

"The demonstration of in-person, face to face competition brings back that paradigm that was so compelling to users with the original Wii," she told TechNewsWorld.

Games Lineup

Among the games slated for the Nintendo Switch:

• MarioKart Deluxe 8 -- available April 28;
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and 1-2-Switch -- available March 3;
• Just Dance 2017 and Has Been Heroes -- March 2017;
• NBA 2K18 -- September 2017;
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim -- fall 2017; and
• Minecraft, FIFA, Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, Disgaea 5 Complete, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 and Puyo Puyo Tetris -- to be determined.

Nintendo Switch software won't be region locked, so it will be available pretty much anywhere.

New Online Service

Nintendo also announced a new online subscription service available for free trial March 3. It's full rollout is slated for the fall.

The service includes a smart device application that will let users invite friends to play online, set play appointments, and chat with each other.

How the Switch Stacks Up

The Switch is available now for preorder, but "sadly, I'm not tempted," Enderle told TechNewsWorld.

The Switch's best feature is that it's "a tablet designed for games, so it has a really decent gaming interface," he said. "This is likely what the Wii U should have been but wasn't."

However, it lacks content and is "the only consumer tablet that doesn't support key services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, severely limiting its overall utility," Enderle pointed out.

Still, the Switch "is an important evolution of Nintendo's vision with the Wii U of making a console that can transition from TV gaming to tablet-style gaming," observed IHS Markit's Arrington.

The Wii U "did not take it far enough. There wasn't really a compelling argument to spend more on the Wii U when consumers had a Wii and a tablet," she added.

Nintendo likely will sell 4 million Switch units this year, based on current estimates.

It should "perform better than the Wii U," Arrington said, "but we don't expect sales to rise to the level of the Wii."

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Remember the old song, "You Don't Mess Around With Jim"? The chorus goes like this: "You don't tug on superman's cape, You don't spit into the wind, You don't pull the mask off that old lone ranger, And you don't mess around with Jim."

One of the lessons we learned last year is that what goes for "Jim" likely also goes for Peter Thiel, who put Gawker out of business and is one of President-elect Donald Trump's leading supporters.

BuzzFeed, which is well known for click baiting, decided to publish a controversial dossier about Trump that includes some disgusting material. It wasn't published before because none of the other news services or any of the intelligence services could validate it.

Without validation, it is a poster child for both libel and retaliation. So, in exchange for some impressive Web traffic, BuzzFeed got on both Thiel's and Trump's radar as a problem to be fixed.

Recall when Wikileaks pissed off the Obama administration? The head of that organization had to take up residence in an embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden -- where he might face jail time on what he claims are trumped-up sexual assault charges -- as well as possible extradition to the United States. And Julian Assange never published the kind of thing about Obama that BuzzFeed just did about Trump.

It may not be a question of whether BuzzFeed is going to go out of business but when. Clearly, there is some irony here, given Trump's own prior focus on the birther issue, but going from questioning a birth certificate to claiming a known germaphobe (Trump won't even push elevator buttons) likes engaging in so-called "water sports" is, to put it mildly, a huge jump. This is an example of putting tactics before strategy -- something that can, and often does, end companies.

I'll close with my product of the week: Teforia, an automated tea maker that is wicked expensive but will make the best tea you've ever tasted.

Chasing Clicks

One of the big problems that occurred when we moved from print and TV news to Internet news was the need to chase eyeballs. Revenue shifted from subscriptions and classified ads to ads on Web pages, and became linked to the number of people who read an article like this one.

That shift led the folks who were successful at making the transition to focus on ever-more-controversial topics, write specifically for defined groups (like Democrats or Republicans), and engage in some pretty unethical practices -- like link baiting and click baiting, not to mention publishing fake news.

Publishing fake news has gotten so profitable that a city in southeastern Europe -- Veles, Macedonia -- (no, I hadn't heard of it before either) apparently is getting rich from the practice.

However, publishing fake news and tricking people into clicking on things that are false is highly tactical and eventually suicidal, because it destroys trust. It is likely to result first in pressure on sites to police it, and eventually in legislation that will force its elimination.

Eradicating fake news would be a great first step toward putting in place ever-more-rigorous censorship, because determining what is actually fake often is hard -- and if a government entity is in charge, it likely would eliminate anything the party in power did not believe. By no stretch of the imagination would that be a good thing.

So, in exchange for some additional ad revenue, organizations that publish fake news are slowly killing off our freedoms, because the only way to address this behavior is to curtail it, and there is no absolutely accurate way to do that.

The Gawker Story

Gawker's experience should have been a bigger wakeup call than it was. Gawker effectively decided to attack Peter Thiel, based on his sexual orientation. If there were a list of seriously stupid things to do in this decade, it would be to launch an attack based on someone's gender, color, religion or sexual orientation.

This should be as obvious as saying that if you have a gun, you shouldn't make it a practice to shoot people. Individuals who launch personal attacks have the equivalent of a gun, but news organizations have the equivalent of a cannon.

The movie Absence of Malice addressed this issue well, and anyone who writes for the media likely could learn something from it. The film speaks to one of the defenses against libel and defamation, and it showcases the kind of damage that can be done just to drive ad revenue -- in this case, before the Internet.

By attacking someone as powerful, wealthy and creative as Thiel, Gawker inadvertently got into a war it couldn't win. Its behavior eventually would cross a line -- and when it did, the result was devastating, and its parent company, Gawker Media, was done.

Spread of Questionable Practices

There have been a lot of questionable practices of late. Take the leak of the Trump audio tape, for instance. Trump maintained that the conversation was private and that he wasn't aware the microphone he was wearing was turned on.

NBC apparently couldn't decide what to do with the tape, so someone leaked the thing to The Washington Post, which published it minutes before NBC released it. It's arguable that the tape effectively ended the career of the reporter involved but did little or no lasting damage to Donald Trump, who was the actual target.

So, the act was ineffective, didn't do much for NBC, killed a reporter's career, and likely made a lot of folks NBC has interviewed in the past and would like to engage in the future very distrusting of that organization.

Two acts of very bad judgment by Trump and NBC don't wipe each other out. Yes, it reflected badly on Trump -- but his actions could be viewed as immature, while NBC's actions possibly were illegal. How can you report honestly about bad behavior when your own company is guilty of worse?

Wrapping Up: The Death of BuzzFeed and Trusted Reporting

This soon after watching Gawker go under, the idea of attacking someone closely connected to Peter Thiel, the guy who took Gawker out, seems foolhardy -- particularly given that the information released has not been validated, and many believe it to be false.

Even Buzzfeed's own coverage suggests it doesn't believe it. Given how much the press and Trump aren't getting along, it might be far easier to prove malice than defend the lack of it. In short, for an impressive number of clicks, Buzzfeed may have sacrificed its future. To me, that is a very bad bet.

I think this showcases a worrisome trend in media: the willingness to forget the long-term implications and the social and moral impact of an act in exchange for enhanced ad revenues. If news services continue to make these personal attacks, don't be surprised if their privileges get removed. That outcome, in the long term, would not benefit any of us.

There is already a ton of impressive irony with the Trump presidency. Let's hope that organizations trying to ensure freedom of the press don't kill it by focusing too much on ad revenue and what they have the power to do, rather than what they should be covering.

Finally, and this is a major point, this kind of behavior continues to showcase an excessive focus on short-term revenues while ignoring strategic risks. This isn't likely to be limited to killing news companies. I expect it will be the most common reason for companies to fail this decade. So, Gawker and BuzzFeed could, in hindsight, be the canaries in an increasingly deadly coal mine.

My wife actually found this, and at US$1,400, Teforia is no Nespresso for Tea. This is an expensive date. However, if you like tea -- and I like tea -- but you don't like the paper taste or bitterness associated with many teas, Teforia is pretty amazing.

It is kind of a pain to use, as the product design appears focused more on kitchen art than ease of use, and it currently works far better with iOS than Android (which means my wife is using it more than I am).

You can use Teforia tea and just scan the packet with the device, or you can use the app to define the type of tea you have and then let it auto-configure how to brew the best tea you've likely ever tasted.

It brews two cups at once, and the process takes about 5-6 minutes. I advise using an insulated cup, because the result is too good to waste and tepid tea is no fun. We have a very modern kitchen, and the Teforia isn't just one of my favorite appliances but arguably the coolest thing in the kitchen, and thus my product of the week.

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The United States Department of Defense on Monday announced a successful demonstration of one of the world's largest micro drone swarms at China Lake in California.

Three F/a-18 Super Hornet combat jets launched 103 Perdix drones in the exercise, which took place last fall.

The micro drones demonstrated advanced swarm behaviors such as collective decision making, adaptive formation flying and self-healing.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory debuted Perdix in 2013. Since then, the DoD's Strategic Capabiities Office has upgraded the technology using commercial components, 3D printing and agile manufacturing.

The DoD demo, which employed sixth-generation Perdix micro drones, confirmed that the their commercial components were reliable under a variety of potential deployment conditions -- that is, speeds of Mach 0.6, temperatures of -10 degrees Celsius and large shocks.

Perdix is one of the first examples of the DoD using teams of small, inexpensive autonomous systems to perform missions previously conducted with large expensive systems.

Perdix fits into the DoD's concept of future battle network scenarios in which autonomous systems allow humans to make better decisions more rapidly.

Sting Like a Bee

Perdix autonomous micro drones can be launched in the air, at sea, or on the ground. They can operate in small or large numbers.

Once launched, the micro drones gain situational awareness and locate other micro drones to create a swarm.

The drones run on AA batteries. They are 6.5 inches long and have a wingspan of 11.8 inches. They have propellers 2.6-inch propellers. They weigh 290 gm, fly at 40 to 60 knots, and can stay airborne for 20 minutes.

More than 670 Perdix micro drones have flown since the system's first test two years ago.

Perdix's Brain

Perdix micro drones share one distributed brain for decision-making and adapting to each other. They collaborate through communications.

"This is called swarm robotics," noted Philip Solis, a research director at ABI Research.

Perdix operators set a mission, and Perdix decides how best to carry it out. Because the system cannot change its mission, operators can predict the swarm's behavior without micromanaging.

Swarms have communication, cooperation and coordination capabilities, noted Mike Blades, a senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

Communication is the foundation that allows the passing of information. Cooperation is the next step -- information sharing throughout a swarm. Coordination involves using that shared information to make autonomous or semi-autonomous decisions for all or part of the swarm.

For example, the swarm must decide whether a drone that's been destroyed is expendable or needs to be replaced, and "this is where much of the testing of algorithms, communication and processing is going on now," Blades told TechNewsWorld. Gradual increases in swarm sizes also are being tested.

Potential Uses

Perdix can be deployed for low-altitude missions such as surveillance and reconnaissance.

The system is now best for intelligence gathering, suggested Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

Each drone could be specialized and redundant, and the system's collective mind spread over an area "could provide an unprecedented level of information and be very hard to block," he told TechNewsWorld.

"Eventually, you can attack multiple targets while gathering intelligence," said Frost's Blades, "and do so while overwhelming the enemy's defense capabilities."

The drones also could use artifical intelligence to alter attack routes or surveillance operations based on changing conditions communicated by other drones in the swarm, he speculated.

Still, drones "can be jammed or taken over under the right circustances," Blades noted, which could lead to a "mini arms race."

There are commercial uses for mini-drone swarms, Enderle said, noting that Disney is using them in some of its parks.

"This may be an option for unique Christmas lights in a few years," he remarked, "a thought that likely keeps the FAA up at night."

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CES was a fascinating show this year. One of the things that made it so fascinating was that everyone and their brother had cars demonstrating one form of technology or another. It kind of makes me wonder what we'll see at the next car show -- PCs, drones, tablets and smartphones?

That wasn't the only surprise at the show, though. Nvidia, long thought of as living in Intel's shadow, broke out, taking over the prime keynote spot in a big way and demonstrating that it has all but cornered the market for car brains.

I'll close with my product of the week, the most important product at CES.

Dell Embarrasses Apple

Apple for decades has rubbed Dell's face in the fact that it builds a better creative set of products. When Apple launched the iPhone, it embarrassed all of CES by pulling virtually all attention away from the show. Well, this year, Dell got even.

Dell formally launched two products, the XPS 27 and the Dell Canvas 27, which together make the iMac look like last decade's solution. Which it kind of is if you think about it.

Dell got there by bringing in a bunch of artists to help define the products. Animators, musicians and engineers worked together to create their dream tool, basically a touchscreen all-in-one with studio monitor speakers, incredible performance, and a touchscreen work surface that can transform into any digital interface the job requires.

This interface can represent everything from digital musical instruments to an animator's canvas and digital ink. It can be pretty much anything the user or an application developer could imagine.

The CEO of Avid, along with an animator and a number of musicians, raved about the product at CES, and it made the latest iMac look pitiful in head-to-head comparisons. Now that's revenge served cold.

Nvidia Steps Into the Lead

Nvidia is now the fastest-growing company in the fortune 500, according to the head of CES, who opened for Nvidia CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang. I don't think many understand how amazing this is. Nvidia has long been viewed as a small player when compared to Intel. Like all of the PC companies, Nvidia bet heavy on mobile and lost badly. After its Tegra mobile platform seemed to crash and burn, many thought Nvidia was done.

Then it pivoted like I've never seen a company pivot before. It doubled down on graphics, pushed hard on gaming, and made huge bets on deep learning and artificial intelligence -- and you know what? Those bets paid off -- oh man, did they ever pay off -- and now Nvidia pretty much has the market cornered for self-driving cars, and it supplies a critical part of the deep learning solutions of every major IT vendor. You have to admit that is pretty impressive.

Corning's Glass Car

One of the most impressive marketing efforts I've ever seen is Corning's "A Day Made Of Glass." It is visionary, and it not only makes you believe in a future with tons of touchscreens and smart windows, but also makes you want to live in that future.

Well, Corning pulled out all the stops at CES and commissioned a car with displays all across the dash, in the steering wheel, in the doors, and even replacing the license plate. It is actually a pretty decent car -- racy, electric, and apparently very fast. Sadly, I didn't get to drive it.

The Gorilla Glass Windshield is one of the most interesting parts. It not only resists nicks and scratches, as you'd expect, but it is substantially lighter, far clearer, faster to defrost, and works better with heads-up displays. Even the roof is glass -- smart glass, in this case -- that can be electronically shaded.

The display license plate makes sense, given that it would be digitally connected to the car, arguably more secure, and could be used to broadcast a signal in the event of a stolen car or driver in distress.

Panasonic's Robot Family

It never really occurred to me that a true home robot solution would require a family of robots, each with different skills to complete tasks around the house. A small robot to greet you at the door and patrol the home protecting it from bandits could be supplemented by larger robots that could clean and maintain the home.

That approach would be far better than trying to build a single robot to do everything, which is often the science fiction solution. The idea of a family of robots, each specialized to do a series of tasks, just makes more sense -- and you have to admit that living with a robot family just seems kind of cool.

Given that one of the robots likely would be your autonomous car, the biggest robot could be impressively large. I should add that Panasonic showcased its idea of an autonomous car, and it was more like a rolling sitting room, with tables and chairs. If you don't have to drive, there are likely a lot of other things you'd want to do during that time.

AMD's Ryzen and the Power of the Desktop

CES marked the coming-out party for AMD's latest processor, now named "Ryzen." The company showcased some of the coolest PCs I've ever seen at its cocktail party, and I honestly had lust in my heart for a large number of them.

Most of the PCs on display were water cooled, with water blocks for the major components. Some even had coolant that looked like blood. I thought I'd entered techno geek heaven, and it was hard not to drool every time I turned around.

AMD is another company that is firing on all cylinders. Expect to see some amazing hardware when these PCs hit the market in a few months.

Wrapping Up

I'm writing this after midnight on my last day at the show. I'm beat, but I'm also kind of excited about the future. These products all promise a future when our homes will do much of the work, when we won't care much about traffic because we are being entertained or sleeping and not driving, and when company turnarounds actually work.

CES promises that this future not only will be amazing, but also will arrive far sooner than most expect -- and I think that is very cool.

The product that most stood out for me at CES is Norton Core, a router and security solution from Symantec. You see, with all of this connected and ever-smarter stuff, we really, really need to be secure -- and our home networks are anything but.

What makes the Norton Core router special is that it secures not only against outside attacks, but also against inside attacks, and it is part of an overall solution in the home.

It's an overall solution because it is packaged with a subscription that contains 20 licenses for security software for your PCs, smartphones and tablets. Because it uses Qualcomm's latest technology, it's not only a strong security solution, but also is likely one of the highest-performing routers.

It will be upgradable to support a mesh network, allowing you to cover even the biggest home with WiFi. It is even pretty cool to look at, bringing back the geodesic dome and placing a halo light at the bottom for effect, so you can feel good about putting it in the open.

With all of this connected stuff, we desperately need a better home security solution. With Symantec's Norton Core, we get one -- and thus it is my product of the week.

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It seems like yesterday -- not 10 years ago -- that Steve Jobs took the stage at MacWorld to debut Apple's latest new gadget: the iPhone.

The iPhone was three devices in one, he declared at Moscone West in San Francisco. It was a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough Internet communications device.

Apple's "three-in-one device" has gone on to become a critical contributor to the company's success, accounting for more than half its revenues annually, as well as a can't-live-without tool for many people.

"iPhone is an essential part of our customers' lives, and today more than ever it is redefining the way we communicate, entertain, work and live," said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

"iPhone set the standard for mobile computing in its first decade and we are just getting started," he continued. "The best is yet to come."

Fundamental Change

What made the iPhone different from what passed for a mobile phone before Jobs introduced it that fateful day 10 years ago?

"What we've realized over the last few years is that the iPhone fundamentally changed how we thought about phones," said Jack E. Gold, principal analyst at J.Gold Associates.

"Before the iPhone, we looked at phones as primarily communications devices," he explained to TechNewsWorld. "iPhone changed that to 'we've got a computer in our hands that happens to be a phone as well.'"

Prior to the iPhone's arrival, most vendors believed there was scant need or demand for a palm-sized "smart" device supporting search, media consumption and other Internet-based functions, recalled Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

"The iPhone put an end to those assumptions and transformed the marketplace," he told TechNewsWorld.

It also flipped forever how mobile phones were used.

"Before iPhone, we talked on phones 90 percent of the time," Gold said. "Now we talk 10 percent and do other stuff 90 percent of the time."

App Colossus

Apple brought something else to mobile phones that hadn't been there before: usability.

"In the early days of smartphones, they were awful to use," Gold noted. "The iPhone wasn't perfect, but it fundamentally changed how people perceived these things as fun and easy to use."

Another notable change the iPhone pioneered was the use of mobile applications.

"A big innovation was the introduction of a development kit for creating apps and making apps a key part of the iPhone design," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies.

"That allowed them to create a broader ecosystem that included hardware, software and services," he told TechNewsWorld.

There is no doubt that the iPhone created a good monster with its app-centric approach. Since Apple began selling software from its App Store in 2008, it has returned more than US$50 billion to developers.

"The app economy opened the floodgates for the transformation of many industries -- streaming music, mobile banking, mobile video, mobile retail and mobile games," Reticle Research Principal Analyst Ross Rubin told TechNewsWorld.

A Few Bad Blemishes

Perhaps what has distinguished the iPhone above all else during its 10 years of existence has been its design.

"Some of the technology in the iPhone was around before the iPhone, but the iconic design wasn't seen before," noted David McQueen, a research director at ABI Research.

"There've been a lot of copycats, but none have come up to the beauty of the iPhone's designs," he told TechNewsWorld.

Ironically, one of the iPhone's biggest flubs was connected to the design of the iPhone 4. The so-called Antennagate problem occurred because the phone's antenna was placed on the edge of the phone where a user's hand could interfere with the call signal.

The introduction of Maps created another blemish on the iPhone's record that Apple would like to forget. The app was embarrassingly inaccurate when it made its debut.

Those mistakes were just bumps in the road for the iPhone, though, with little impact on its popularity or sales. That is attributable in part to Apple's service, which is "fantastic," according to McQueen.

Another factor is customer loyalty.

"People who love Apple love Apple," Gold observed. "There aren't a lot of people leaving Apple."

Bright Future

If Apple can maintain the iPhone's premium status, it should continue to thrive.

"Apple has done really well by staying at the high end, where margins are good, and by selling additional services," Gold explained. "If they can maintain those margins, they'll do fine."

Apple is also making investments in artificial intelligence, which should help the iPhone keep pace with competitors.

"The prospects are good for the future iPhone as long as Apple continues to perfect next-generation use cases like AR, VR, MR and modularity," Moor Insights and Strategy Principal Analyst Patrick Moorhead told TechNewsWorld.

Short-term prospects look good for the iPhone, too.

"I believe Apple will set sales records with the iPhone 8," Bajarin said, "and start a new super cycle for upgrades that will drive strong revenue at least through 2019."

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