Microsoft cracks open Visual Studio to Linux C++ coders [Fri Apr 1 2016]

The Register Daily Headlines 1 April 2016 Check out our other feeds and services: Business News * Divided FCC passes ISP privacy rules, overhauls LifeLine Poor to get break on broadband prices * Reddit's warrant canary shuffles off this mortal coil US law enforcement must be after more cat videos * California gets $5m pound of flesh from Samsung, LG, others in price-fix scandal CRT payout world tour is here, line up for your $25 * Michael Dell takes $11m pay hit Just need to find some more cash to make up that $67bn EMC acquisition * Brexit: Time to make your plans, UK IT biz Analysis: Legal Armageddon? Maybe, maybe not - but we'd better get moving * Cloudera's valuation slashed by Fidelity amid IPO fail fears Gobble down your bubble and peak, unicorns * IT freely, a true tale: One night a project saved my life Staying human in an automated lifecycle * Blighty's nuclear deterrent will get a software upgrade amid cyber-war fears MoD doubles infosec spending as digital threats grow Data Centre News * Intel invokes the ghost of Andy Grove to standardize cloud market OpenStack and Kubernetes all the way, says Chipzilla * Intel flops out four 3D flash SSDs - and says they're the densest ever SSD chip fashionistas adopt the layering system * Intel's Broadwell Xeon E5-2600 v4 chips: So what's in it for you, smartie-pants coders New instructions, transactions, virtualization features and more * Seagate intros Innov8: A USB-powered 8TB external hard drive Lots of hype boils down to a remarkably mundane thing * HPE adds power-fail-protected NVDIMM tech to servers Gen9 ProLiants get battery-backed memory/flash DIMMs * VMware flushes Adobe Flash in new HTML 5 web client for vSphere Hardware News * Redflow's home batteries to start shipping in June El Reg talks to Simon Hackett about the 'not a PowerWall-killer' home battery * Gartner: RIP double-digit smartphone growth. 2016 has killed you Microsoft can stop worrying about smartphone non-strategy * Facebook throws BlackBerry an HTML bone Native apps are soooooo 2015, says BlackBerry, and web apps are the new black Infrastructure News * When should you bin that old mainframe? Infrastructure 101 Your data centre shouldn't need a 24/7/365 emergency support contract Networks News * Critics hit out at 'black box' UN internet body Who exactly decides who sits on the Internet Governance Forum's main body? * EE most 'reliable' mobile provider for cities - Ofcom Also releases postcode-checker for folk to confirm coverage crapness * Ofcom is keeping schtum over BT Openreach plans until end of year Regulator will then beg for EU permission to act * Ofcom puts aside a little bit of spectrum for Internet of Things things You never know, dear... Security News * Flaw found in Lhasa makes for compression confession depression Don't be a .LZA-boy - patch and consider where you decompress * Brazilian and Russian cybercrooks collaborating to create more potent threats Borrowed technologies, code obfuscation, and a lot more in their bag of tricks * Unpatched stealthy iOS MDM hack spells ruin for Apple tech enterprises Black Hat Asia: Clicking 'OK' to ordinary and expected phishing prompt enough for complete iPhone compromise * Patch out for 'ridiculous' Trend Micro command execution vuln Password Manager, Maximum Security and Premium Security are all at risk * Android's unpatched dead device jungle is good for security Black Hat Asia: 'Attackers can't just use one exploit to pwn a billion devices' says Square's security lead * US Marine Corps launches hacker support unit Team will conduct OCO, CNE and ISR to stop SNAFUs on MCEN and ODIN * Legion of demons found in ancient auto medical supply dispensing cabinets Updated: The Register's free consulting desk says: if it runs on Windows XP, fire it into the sun Software News * Save it, devs. Red Hat doesn't want your $99 for RHEL Free pilot's license for immutable infrastructure nuts * Microsoft to make Xamarin tools and code free and open source BUILD 2016: Xamarin casts off commercial roots * Military intelligence, AI style: MoD cosies up to Massive Analytic Who needs humans to task drone strikes, anyway? * Microsoft cracks open Visual Studio to Linux C++ coders BUILD 2016: Plug in. Go, go, go * Microsoft GitHubs BotBuilder framework behind Tay chatbot Hey kids! Now you can write your own bodgy bot! * Free x86 mainframes for all! Virtual x86 mainframes, that is Unisys' ClearPath and OS2200 are yours for the downloading and running under Windows Science News * Astronomers find first neutron star in Andromeda galaxy Lighthouse in space spotted in years of records * China wants a 'Go' at Google's DeepMind Challenger emerges for AI's board-game crown * 'Planet nine' theory boosted by Kuiper Belt Object with odd orbit Something tugged un-named rock out of line. Maybe something way beyond Pluto Bootnotes News * Woman scales Ben Nevis wielding selfie stick instead of ice axe Made it to peak, then found frozen, drenched and disoriented * Furious English villagers force council climbdown over Satan's stone booty Beelzebub's boot firmly planted in middle of hamlet's High Street Free whitepaper Web threats: Challenges and solutions Web threats employ blended techniques, an explosion of variants, and targeted regional attacks. Learn how to to ensure security, regulatory compliance, and business continuity __________________________________________________________________ To change your preferences, including which topics you see in these emails, visit the following URL: Or if you just want to quickly unsubscribe from this newsletter or ALL Reg mailings, use this: