This Excel Trick Will Make Your Reports Much Easier To Deal With | ||
| | ||
You can create reports in Word and PowerPoint that are linked to tables and charts in Excel. Produced by Sara Silverstein Follow BI Video: On Facebook Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Hackers Are Using Microsoft PowerPoint To Attack Computers (MSFT) | ||
| | ||
Microsoft is scrambling to issue a Windows update after security researchers discovered a flaw in PowerPoint that hackers are using to seize control of computers. Computer World reports that the security problem affects all of the currently supported releases of Windows. The new vulnerability was discovered by a trio of Google employees and two staff of McAfee Security. Hackers can use the flaw to send a target an infected PowerPoint presentation. When opened, the file will ask for certain permissions in order to display it. Most users, unaware of the security risks from files downloaded over the internet, will simply click to grant permissions. Once they've done that, hackers have control over the computer and can quietly intercept its web traffic. In an advisory notice on its site, Microsoft warned that it was aware of "limited, targeted attacks" taking place using the PowerPoint vulnerability. The company says it is currently investigating the problem, and may issue a security update to protect users. In the mean time, Microsoft has released a security workaround to block infected PowerPoint files. SEE ALSO: Romanian Hackers Used The Shellshock Bug To Hack Yahoo's Servers Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
The Queen Of England Just Used An iPad To Send Her First Tweet | ||
| | ||
In a visit to the Science Museum in London today, the Queen of England sent her very first tweet. The monarch has had a verified Twitter account for some time now, but this is the first tweet that she sent herself. It was sent to mark the opening of the Science Museum's new "Information Age" exhibit about technology and the internet. The Queen didn't actually type the tweet herself, though. Instead it was prepared for her on an iPad at the Science Museum, and she tapped "Send" to post it to Twitter. Queen Elizabeth II was previously the first monarch in the world to send an email, sending one during a visit to an army base in 1976. SEE ALSO: It's So Rare For Google To Buy A Startup In London That This Founder Met The Queen Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
This Excel Trick Will Make Your Reports Much Easier To Deal With | ||
| | ||
You can create reports in Word and PowerPoint that are linked to tables and charts in Excel. Produced by Sara Silverstein Follow BI Video: On Facebook Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Cameron demands crisis talks over EU cash demand | ||
| | ||
Brussels (AFP) - British Prime Minister David Cameron interrupted an EU summit on Friday to demand an emergency finance ministers meeting over a demand from Brussels for an extra 2.1 billion euros from London, sources said. Cameron's demand came hours after the European Commission said that Britain had to pay the money, equivalent to $2.6 billion, under new budgetary rules because its economy is thriving while Europe's stalls. "He made an intervention at the council," a British government source told AFP, referring to the European Council meeting of the 28 EU heads of state and government in Brussels on Friday. "They had quite a bit of discussion on it. (Cameron) said there needed to be a discussion of the 28 finance ministers, a meeting of the finance ministers to discuss it." The finance ministers' meeting would be at a later date, the source said, adding that Cameron had remained in the council meeting for further discussions on the European economy. Another British source said Cameron had confronted Jose Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, over the issue on Friday. "The prime minister told Barroso he had no idea of the impact" of the demand, the source said, adding that Cameron said it was "not just public opinion, it's about two billion euros." British sources said Cameron would work with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country was also hit by a demand for money from the EU, to challenge the issue. The surcharge is a fresh blow for Cameron, who faces an election in May and has promised an in-out referendum on Britain's EU membership in 2017 to curb a growing threat to his Conservative party from the eurosceptic leader Nigel Farage. The surcharge is based on a revision in the way that the economic output of EU states is calculated dating back to 1995, a figure which includes previously hidden elements such as drugs and prostitution, and the overall economic situation of each country. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Hackers Are Using Microsoft PowerPoint To Attack Computers (MSFT) | ||
| | ||
Microsoft is scrambling to issue a Windows update after security researchers discovered a flaw in PowerPoint that hackers are using to seize control of computers. Computer World reports that the security problem affects all of the currently supported releases of Windows. The new vulnerability was discovered by a trio of Google employees and two staff of McAfee Security. Hackers can use the flaw to send a target an infected PowerPoint presentation. When opened, the file will ask for certain permissions in order to display it. Most users, unaware of the security risks from files downloaded over the internet, will simply click to grant permissions. Once they've done that, hackers have control over the computer and can quietly intercept its web traffic. In an advisory notice on its site, Microsoft warned that it was aware of "limited, targeted attacks" taking place using the PowerPoint vulnerability. The company says it is currently investigating the problem, and may issue a security update to protect users. In the mean time, Microsoft has released a security workaround to block infected PowerPoint files. SEE ALSO: Romanian Hackers Used The Shellshock Bug To Hack Yahoo's Servers Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Spain’s Social Housing Imploded, And There's No Clear Way Back | ||
| | ||
(Reuters) - Social housing in Spain is not generous. Rented social housing makes up just 2 percent of all residential property compared with 18 percent in Britain and 17 percent in France, according to the European Federation of Public, Cooperative and Social Housing. The country’s investment in social housing is just 0.79 percent of Gross Domestic Product, about half the European average, according to Human Rights Watch. Rather than offer subsidies to help people rent cheaply, Spain’s government has focused on helping people to buy. Social housing tenants have typically rented for around 10 years and then been given the option to buy. The property crash has torpedoed that policy. Rent-to-buy agreements set the purchase price at the start of the rental lease. When prices rise, that works. But any flats coming up for sale now were priced at the height of the boom. Today's buyers would likely pay above a property’s current market value. (Edited by Sara Ledwith) Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Advertisers Are Moving Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars Away From TV | ||
| | ||
Advertisers are committing hundreds of millions of dollars less to cable TV networks for the first time since the 2009/10 season, according to a report released this week from the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau (CAB), as published by Variety. Several brands and advertising agencies — including Omnicom and Mondelez —have been speaking up in recent weeks about the emerging shift from TV advertising to digital media, but now here’s some quantifiable evidence that shift is real and already happening. The upfront represents the time of year when TV networks sell the bulk of their advertising for their most attractive Fall programming ahead of time. The practice is decades old and has generally helped keep the price of TV advertising high because it creates a limited window in which brands feel they need to lock in the best deals they can by buying in bulk. CAB said cable networks will be hoping to pick up the shortfall in what is known as the “scatter market,” where TV advertising is sold closer to the broadcast date (and often at higher rates than the up fronts if the TV show pulls in bigger ratings than expected.) However, John Wren, CEO of the world’s second largest advertising group Omnicom, said earlier this week that he had seen “less urgency” from clients in both the upfront and the scatter market as advertisers divert money into other areas. The CAB report also suggested cable networks will be looking to meet the growing demand from advertisers for “immediacy” with multiscreen brand programs around hit shows, which presumably refers to desktop, mobile and app ads. Variety reports that it’s not just cable networks feeling the hit in the US TV industry. The magazine estimates ad commitments for the autumn’s broadcast primetime schedule fell to between $8.17 billion and $8.94 billion, down from between $8.6 billion and $9.2 billion in 2013 However, it's still worth bearing in mind that TV is still the dominant advertising medium, for now. TV advertising is projected by research company eMarketer to make up 38.1% of total US ad spend in 2014. Digital, meanwhile, is estimated to make up 28.2% of the total advertising outlay. SEE ALSO: Facebook, Twitter And Google Are Banding Together To Steal Ad Money From Broadcast TV Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
BREMMER: Here's the Thing About Obama's ISIS Strategy ... | ||
| | ||
Anonymous senior US officials began to criticize elements of President Barack Obama's strategy to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the extremist group calling itself the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL). But some analysts believe it's the best possible option. Some limitations of the strategy were revealed by officials in The Washington Post on Thursday. The Syrian opposition force that the US will help train and arm in the fight against ISIS will be trained only to defend territory. It will not go on the offensive, because operations of that magnitude would require US ground troop commitments, something Obama has explicitly ruled out. But that defensive-minded strategy could also be a significant, if unintentional, boost to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who helped foster the rise of ISIS. The Free Syrian Army, which is made up of the more moderate opposition forces the US will train and equip, is being squeezed by both Assad and ISIS in Syria's largest city of Aleppo. "Assad clearly benefits from a US-led coalition fighting against his mortal domestic foe," Ian Bremmer, the president of Eurasia Group, told Business Insider in an email. "But Assad was already winning on the ground before the US bombing started, and there was neither a credible plan nor international willingness to remove him." The key limitation of the coalition's strategy has been a general unwillingness to become more involved in Syria's still-deepening, three-plus-year long civil war. The US and other partners backed off airstrikes on Syrian regime targets last September, and they have been unwilling to help the moderate rebels in their fight against Assad. Some former administration officials — like Fred Hof, a former special adviser for transition in Syria under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — have argued that the reluctance to get involved contributed to the eventual vacuum that has been filled by jihadists. Meanwhile, Assad has used the breathing room allotted by the focus on ISIS to intensify his bombing campaign against Free Syrian Army-held territory, including a campaign of "200 air force strikes"' in 36 hours in recent days.
But given the political constraints and the general unwillingness of partner nations, it might be the best workable strategy. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, 55% of Americans oppose sending ground troops to fight ISIS — just 39% support it. Bremmer is skeptical the strategy as it stands will accomplish the mission of "degrading and ultimately destroying" ISIS. But he argues there isn't a strategy out there that's both realistic and a better option at this point. The danger, of course, is that by the time Syrian rebels are vetted and trained by late 2015 at the earliest, they may not have much territory to defend. "I think the overall US strategy on ISIS is sensible — given the domestic political constraints (a key caveat)," Bremmer said. "Support for US boots on the ground is limited and would quickly grow into opposition over time and given casualties. And if you’re not planning on an actual substantial ground force, you’re left with a strategy that’s part pushback (where you have workable ground forces — for now, the Kurds in Iraq), part containment (west Iraq and Syria). "So if you’re asking is [the] present Obama strategy going to defeat ISIS — the answer is no. If you’re asking is there realistically a better, more workable strategy out there — the answer is also no." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
UK GDP Comes In Bang In Line With Expectations | ||
| | ||
UK GDP grew by 0.7% in Q3, which is right in line with expectations. The figure is 3% higher compared to the same quarter last year, but weaker than the 0.9% growth recorded in Q2. The service sector grew by 0.7%, industrial production increased by 0.5%, and construction increased by 0.8%. Markets are down in Europe right now.
Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
10 Things In Tech You Need To Know Today (AMZN, MSFT, FB, AAPL, YHOO) | ||
| | ||
Good morning! Here's the tech news you need to know today. 1. Amazon stock was down over 12% after a disappointing Q3 earnings call. There were misses on both the top and bottom line. 2. Amazon is taking a $170 million charge for unsold Fire Phones. 3. Microsoft beat earnings estimates in its Q1 earnings. The stock was up 4% last night. 4. A doctor in New York who tested positive for Ebola took an Uber on Wednesday. The transmission risk is very low, however. 5. Facebook launched a new app called Rooms. It lets people create forums about their interests. 6. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has pledged $100 million to help fight Ebola. He often donates money to charity. 7. Alternative social network Ello has raised $5.5 million in funding. It now has over 1 million users. 8. Apple has promised to help the employees of its sapphire supplier find jobs after they ended their partnership. The company is closing its US production plants. 9. A New York judge says that Aereo must shut down for good. The company had previously considered continuing as a cable company. 10. Facebook and Yahoo have unveiled a plan to stop scammers recreating closed email accounts. This should stop people hacking into some Facebook accounts. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
