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Microsoft adds optional multi-factor authentication to Office 365, support for Office 2013 coming later in 2014

Feb10
by on February 10, 2014 at 8:12 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Insider

2013 02 26 23h50 01 520x245 Microsoft adds optional multi factor authentication to Office 365, support for Office 2013 coming later in 2014

Microsoft today announced optional multi-factor authentication for Office 365. The company also revealed it would bring the security feature to Office 2013 desktop applications (including Outlook, Lync, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SkyDrive Pro) later in 2014.

For those who don’t know, multi-factor verification requires you to use more than one form of verification to access an account. In this case, Office 365 users are required to acknowledge a phone call, text message, or an app notification on their smartphone after correctly entering their password before they can sign in.

mfa 01 Microsoft adds optional multi factor authentication to Office 365, support for Office 2013 coming later in 2014

Multi-factor authentication for Office 365 spans Midsize Business, Enterprise, Academic, Nonprofit, and standalone plans, including Exchange Online and SharePoint Online. Organizations with these subscriptions can enable the feature for their users without requiring any additional purchase.

Here is how to do so:

  • Make sure you are signed in as an administrator and open the Office 365 admin center.
  • On the users and groups page, enroll users for multi-factor authentication by clicking the “Set Multi-factor authentication requirements: Set up” link.
  • On this page, you can see all your users and whether they have been enrolled for multi-factor authentication.
  • Once enrolled, the next time the user signs in, he or she will see a message asking them to set up their second authentication factor (phone call, text message, app notification, or one-time code).

While the feature has been available for Office 365 administrative roles since June 2013, Microsoft only extended this capability to all Office 365 users today. The company has also added App Passwords (16-character randomly generated strings) for users, allowing them to authenticate from Office desktop applications, since these applications don’t yet have the feature.

mfa 06 Microsoft adds optional multi factor authentication to Office 365, support for Office 2013 coming later in 2014

In addition to planned native multi-factor authentication for Office 2013 applications sometime in 2014, Microsoft is also planning to integrate other forms of authentication such as third-party multi-factor authentication solutions and smart cards. The company wouldn’t offer more details beyond that, but we’ll let you know when we know more.

See also – Microsoft launches Student Advantage worldwide, lets teachers who bought Office 365 give it to students for free and Microsoft announces general availability of business intelligence tool Power BI for Excel and Office 365

Top Image Credit: Robert Scoble

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Google Glass worn by Virgin Atlantic staff to assist passengers at London’s Heathrow airport

Feb10
by on February 10, 2014 at 7:39 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Google, UK

Virgin Atlantic Google Glass landscape 1 520x245 Google Glass worn by Virgin Atlantic staff to assist passengers at Londons Heathrow airport

In an effort to make its airline service more glamorous and personalized, Virgin Atlantic is equipping some of its concierge staff with Google Glass at London’s Heathrow airport.

The six-week trial will be used to take Upper Class passengers through the check-in process, provide updates about their flight and answer any queries about their destination, including as the local weather, events or translating information supplied in another language.

If the test is successful, Virgin Atlantic will consider a wider roll-out and also use the device to keep its staff notified of passengers’ dietary requirements and other personal preferences related to their flight.

glass2 730x486 Google Glass worn by Virgin Atlantic staff to assist passengers at Londons Heathrow airport

The head-mounter computer is being introduced after a Virgin-backed survey found that over half of travelers worldwide think that flying is less glamorous or exciting than it was in years gone by. The originality and scarcity of Google Glass – there is nothing quite like it, and it’s still not a commercial product – makes it a good fit in this regard, although clearly there’s an opportunity to use the hardware to improve the customer experience too.

The implementation is also another example of how Google Glass could be used for professional purposes. A recent video shot by Google illustrated how it could be used by firefighters to bring up maps and schematics on the ground. It’s also being used by doctors and surgeons to improve procedures and patient care.

While Google Glass is being billed as a product for the masses – the introduction of its new Titanium Collection frames is further evidence of this – it’s promising to see that the wearable device is already impacting the enterprise space.

Image Credit: Virgin

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Android customization app Themer returns to Google Play after being pulled over Apple copyright complaint

Feb10
by on February 10, 2014 at 7:12 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Google, Mobile

Screen Shot 2013 10 24 at 11.53.36 520x245 Android customization app Themer returns to Google Play after being pulled over Apple copyright complaint

Update: All the coverage today must have sped up Google’s process. A week after being pulled over an Apple copyright complain, Themer is once again available over on Google Play. The original story follows below.

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Popular Android customization app Themer was suspended from Google Play on the night of February 2 due to its “Seven” theme, several icons of which Apple claimed infringed on its copyrights. A week later, and creator MyColorScreen still hasn’t heard from Google to indicate if and when the app will be reinstated.

MyColorScreen co-founder and CEO Ashvin Dhingra explains:

So when will Themer be back on the Play store? It’s frustratingly impossible to predict. Someone at Google must first confirm that the content in question has been removed and follow their own internal procedures before they flip the “on” switch. It’s likely that we are in a queue, waiting with other apps that require evaluation.

Dhingra notes that “Seven” is just one of over 200 themes available in Themer, and was immediately removed after the problem was brought to its attention. MyColorScreen was under the impression that Themer would be back in Google Play “in a few days.” Unfortunately, while legal representatives from Apple say they have no remaining concerns, Google has yet to respond to MyColorScreen’s attempts to clear up the mess.

The team of 12 behind Themer isn’t interested in releasing the APK because it does not want to circumvent Google Play for one simple reason: existing users would not get any updates. The next version offers memory and battery optimizations, new customization options for the app drawer, and tons of bug fixes. It’s almost ready to go, but naturally getting back on Google Play comes first.

The full email MyColorScreen received from Google, sent on February 3, is below:

This is a notification that your application, Themer Beta, with package ID com.mycolorscreen.themer, has been removed from the Google Play Store.
REASON FOR REMOVAL: Alleged copyright infringement (according to the terms of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act).

All violations are tracked. Serious or repeated violations of any nature will result in the termination of your developer account, and investigation and possible termination of related Google accounts. If your account is terminated, payments will cease and Google may recover the proceeds of any past sales and the cost of any associated fees (such as chargebacks and payment transaction fees) from you.
Please review the Developer Distribution Agreement and Content Policy to ensure that your applications are compliant with our policies.

The DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. Click here for more information about the DMCA, and see http://www.google.com/dmca.html for the process that Google requires in order to make a DMCA complaint.

Google may reinstate your application into the Google Play Store upon receipt of a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and (3) of the DMCA. Click here for more information about the requirements of a counter notification and a link to a sample counter notification. If you have legal questions about this notification, you should retain your own legal counsel.
Please note that we have included a text copy of the Infringement Notice we received for your reference.

The Google Play Team

Text copy of DMCA complaint:
subject_lr_dmca: Your Request to Google
full_name: xxxx
companyname: xxxx
represented_copyright_holder: Apple Inc.
contact_email_noprefill: xxxx
country_residence: US
location_of_copyrighted_work: The original artwork for the following
infringed iOS7 app designs may be viewed on any iDevice running the iOS7
operating system:

Notes (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871602)
Stocks (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871786)
Newsstand (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871650)
Maps (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871438)
Camera (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871668)
Photos (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871779)
Settings (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871669)

description_of_copyrighted_work: Apple Inc. is the sole and exclusive owner of the copyright in the original artwork for the app designs in its iOS 7 operating system. The foregoing application being distributed on Google Play intentionally includes unauthorized reproductions of Apple’s copyrighted apps, including its icon designs for Notes (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871602), Stocks (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871786), Newsstand (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871650), Maps (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871438), Camera (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871668), Photos (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871779), Settings (Copyright Reg. No. VA1871669) and other features. This application violates Apple’s copyrights, in addition to other Apple IP rights. (This app developer’s unauthorized reproduction of Apple’s multiple copyrights may be viewed in-app by first downloading and installing the app, allowing Themer to create widgets on one’s device, and loading the “Seven” theme from the list of the “Most Popular” category under the Browse Themes.)

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Flickr marks its 10 year anniversary helping users share photos with their friends

Feb10
by on February 10, 2014 at 7:06 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

169138628 520x245 Flickr marks its 10 year anniversary helping users share photos with their friends

Flickr is celebrating a milestone that many popular services like LinkedIn, WordPress, and Facebook have marked recently: its 10th anniversary. The photo-sharing social network made its first appearance in the wild back in February 10, 2004 and has seen itself go through some highs and lows since that time. However, it has remained active in the face of tough competition from the likes of Photobucket, Shutterfly, Snapfish, and others.

Now with more than five billion photos uploaded and shared on Flickr, the company is making efforts to fully capitalize on it and make it more relevant in the face of sharing on Instagram, Facebook, Path, and other new-age services. Sure, now that you have photos posted online, what can you do with them and how do you make them more appealing for people to view?

Amid criticism that it hasn’t been innovating enough, over the past year, Flickr has been retooling itself, including updating its mobile apps, giving away one terabyte of free storage (it says photo uploads have gone up 170 percent as a result), and launching a new way to bring your photos from online to the offline world. To date, the service has nearly 2 million groups sharing 1 million photos everyday.

Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield said this about the anniversary:

It’s exciting for me to celebrate Flickr’s birthday! When we dreamed this photo site 10 years ago, we couldn’t have imagined the impact it would have on digital photo sharing and the way it would connect people worldwide. I am proud of Flickr and excited for what’s ahead.

The Yahoo-owned service has published a timeline of its history that you can see below. You can also read this piece about Flickr by Harry McCracken on TIME.

12433867035 b5b124e60c h 520x1046 Flickr marks its 10 year anniversary helping users share photos with their friends

➤ Happy 10th Birthday, Flickr (Flickr blog)

Photo credit: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images

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Apple brings its iTunes Radio music streaming service to Australia, its first market outside the US

Feb10
by on February 10, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Australia

165251332 520x245 Apple brings its iTunes Radio music streaming service to Australia, its first market outside the US

Apple today launched iTunes Radio in Australia, its first market outside of the United States. The streaming service, built into the Music app pre-installed on all iOS devices, will give listeners access to over 100 stations.

Unlike Spotify, Rdio and Deezer, iTunes Radio isn’t an on-demand music streaming service. It’s free and ad-supported, putting it against other internet radio services such as Pandora and Last.fm. If you’re a subscriber to iTunes Match – which current costs $34.99 in Australia – the ads are stripped out and you’ll be able to listen uninterrupted.

Inside the Music app on iOS 7, Apple shows a list of Featured Stations curated by its own staff, as well a list of radio stations that you’ve set up yourself.  Tap once and a playlist is built, which you can listen to and share with friends. Apple is hoping the service will also be a gateway back into its iTunes store, which rose to prominence alongside the iPod. When listeners discover new music that they like, they can either tag it for future reference, ask for “more like this” or purchase it directly from iTunes.

iTunes Radio was announced in June last year for iOS 7, Apple TV, Mac and PC. Apple says its streaming service will get smarter over time, learning from your listening habits and personal collection on iTunes. The firm also promises exclusive music “before you hear them anywhere else” via its First Play initiative, which should give iTunes Radio a small edge over its rivals.

Apple’s presence in the music streaming market can’t be understated, but it’s notable that the company hasn’t opted for an on-demand, subscription-based service similar to Microsoft with Xbox Music  and Google with All Access. Nevertheless, it’ll be interesting to see how Apple developers iTunes Radio over the coming months and years.

Apple is also rumored to be launching the service in the UK, Canada and New Zealand in the early part of this year.

➤ Press Release

Image Credit: WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images

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