All posts tagged: software

Kia’s new interior spotted with larger screen and high-tech software

Kia’s new interior spotted with larger screen and high-tech software

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Kia is preparing to introduce a new interior setup for its upcoming vehicles. The setup includes a larger center display and Hyundai’s advanced new infotainment system. Kia upgrades interior setup with Hyundai Pleos After Hyundai and Genesis, Kia appears next in line to receive the Group’s latest software and interior design. Hyundai Motor Group revealed Pleos Connect, the company’s next-gen infotainment system. The new infotainment system debuted first on the new Grandeur in South Korea and is now rolling out to more vehicles, including the IONIQ 3, which is now on sale in Europe. By 2030, the Group aims to equip about 20 million Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia vehicles with the new Pleos Connect. The Genesis GV90, the Group’s flagship electric SUV, will be the first Genesis vehicle to feature the upgraded system. Kia appears to be up next. A disguised K5 model, expected to be another facelift, was spotted testing the new setup in California. New images from TheKoreanCarBlog reveal a close-up of the interior, including the infotainment system. The setup is similar to …

Justice for CSS | WIRED

Justice for CSS | WIRED

Published by Miika Tikkanen

The first S in CSS stands for “style.” Think colors and fonts, borders and shadows, rows and columns, animations and transitions. CSS is the programming language that makes a website look pretty (or pretty ugly, often). It’s what makes this very webpage look like itself—look WIRED. One paragraph in, a certain reader will already be smarting at my description of CSS. “It’s a style sheet language,” I can hear them say, “not a programming language.” (The second S indeed stands for “sheets,” and the C, if anyone cares, for “cascading.”) Or, “it’s a domain-specific language, not a general-purpose language.” Also, “it doesn’t execute” and, of course, “it’s not Turing complete” (although … ). Granted, CSS is a little different. There’s no compile step, and it doesn’t throw errors at run time like other languages. But that’s all beside the point. The gatekeeping over whether CSS is a “real” programming language exists partly because it’s so simple to start—anyone can grok “background: red” right away. But simple does not mean easy, as the programmer-writer Jeremy Keith …

Tired of Cluttered Productivity Apps? This One’s Just a Text Document

Tired of Cluttered Productivity Apps? This One’s Just a Text Document

Published by Miika Tikkanen

I’ve spent decades testing, reviewing, and (most importantly) using different to-do list applications. It’s a career, yes, but it’s also a bit of an obsession. And I think we can all admit that most of these apps are way too complicated. A to-do list is just a list. Humans have been making lists for thousands of years, long before computers existed. Paper works well, but so does a stone slate if that’s what you’ve got handy. It’s possible that you, a modern human, absolutely need a to-do list application with bells and whistles—due dates, recurring tasks, sharing features, and maybe even an AI integration. But there’s a good chance all you need is the digital equivalent of a piece of paper: A simple list of things that need to get done. And that’s what Tasks.txt, a totally free Mac app, offers. From Ukrainian programmer Yevhen Kharkivskyi, this tool is based on the todo.txt system developed by Gina Trapani. It’s a complete alternative to a to-do list app that is based on a single text file. …

CFTC Draws a No-Custody Line for Trading Software

CFTC Draws a No-Custody Line for Trading Software

Published by Miika Tikkanen

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued new guidance on September 17 that could widen online access to cryptocurrency and prediction-market trading by exempting certain software providers from broker-registration requirements. The agency said passive software providers partnering with regulated entities will not face enforcement penalties for failing to register as brokers, provided they never take custody of a user’s assets. That single condition – no custody, ever – is the hinge the whole guidance turns on. It separates companies that simply route orders to regulated partners from those that handle money directly, and it’s the distinction the CFTC is now using to decide who needs a broker license and who doesn’t. Who This Actually Affects Under the prior framework, any company that solicited or accepted trade orders, sent them along to futures commission merchants, and collected fees or commissions for doing so was required to register as a broker. That requirement covered a wide swath of the crypto-adjacent software layer – wallets, apps, and interfaces that never touched customer funds but still moved orders around. The …

Rivian rolls out RivianOS 2, unifying software across R1 and R2

Rivian rolls out RivianOS 2, unifying software across R1 and R2

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Rivian is rolling out RivianOS 2, the biggest overhaul of its in-car software since the R1 first shipped. For the first time, it puts every vehicle the company sells on a single software stack. The update, version 2026.31, started reaching eligible R1 and R2 vehicles today. It brings a rebuilt interface, Unreal Engine 5 graphics, real-time police and speed-camera alerts, and a deeper AI layer Rivian calls Unified Intelligence. One software stack across the whole lineup Until now, first-generation R1s, second-generation R1s, and the new R2 ran on software that had drifted apart. RivianOS 2 pulls them back together onto one common foundation. The hardware still sets limits. On the R2 and Gen 2 R1, Rivian is using Unreal Engine 5 for real-time 3D visualizations of the vehicle and its surroundings. Gen 1 R1s stay on Unreal Engine 4 to keep the screen responsive on older computing hardware. So “one stack” doesn’t mean one identical experience across the fleet, but it just got a lot closer. The charging and energy-monitor view in RivianOS 2. Source: …

I compared five years of software subscriptions with one-time purchases, and the better option wasn’t obvious

I compared five years of software subscriptions with one-time purchases, and the better option wasn’t obvious

Published by Miika Tikkanen

I’ve stuck to the “buy once, save later” rule for years. But I decided to challenge it and ran the math for five years for software I actually use, assuming today’s prices stay the same. I tracked what both options — one-time licenses and subscriptions — deliver or leave out. The difference came down to three main elements: how often I used the apps, how many extras I needed, and how painful cancellation would be. I ultimately realized most advice omits that gap between the sticker price and the real cost. Related I Track My Subscriptions With Google Sheets—Here’s How Managing subscriptions is easier when you can see everything in one place—Google Sheets gives me a simple, effective way to do just that. Office wins the five-year math in under two years But winning the math and winning the argument aren’t the same thing Tashreef Shareef / MakeUseOfCredit: Tashreef Shareef / MakeUseOf It costs a single $179.99 payment to buy Office Home 2024, and the official list price for Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99/year. If you …

Why software factories are back – and how they work in the age of AI

Why software factories are back – and how they work in the age of AI

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Software factories will prepare prototypes for wide distribution.  Leading AI companies are creating the foundations. The specter of daily releases and updates demands greater automation.  Tune into the TV show Shark Tank, and the most recurring question you hear voiced by the venture capitalists to budding entrepreneurs is whether they have arrangements with a factory to cost-effectively mass-produce their pooper-scoopers, comfort socks, or scrub pads. The idea of a mass-production facility may make sense for software delivery as well. Imagine submitting your prototype — such as a vibe-coded initial version of an app — to a service that will mass-produce your solution in a repeatable, automated fashion for delivery to a wide audience. Such is the promise of the “software factory.”   Also: This free Windows 11 tool can rescue your PC when things go wrong – here’s how There’s nothing new about the concept — it was all the buzz about two decades back as more software development became componentized and repeatable. Microsoft …

RoboCop and the Terminator run on surprisingly familiar software

RoboCop and the Terminator run on surprisingly familiar software

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Upcoming sci-fi and fantasy movies are one thing, but there’s something wonderfully ironic buried inside two of the most iconic cyborgs in movie history. RoboCop and the T-800 both show up with glowing red readouts, scrolling data, and heads-up displays that feel like they’re from a dystopian future. But if you pay attention, you’ll find that they run on surprisingly similar software. Both films leaned on hardware and software that any home computer nerd from the 1980s would immediately recognize. The so-called advanced tech running these robots was quite literally off-the-shelf consumer tech repurposed for action-packed cinema. Related 8 sci-fi sagas you can binge start to finish, because the author actually finished Happily lose years of your lie to these excellent, titanic sci-fi book series. The Terminator sees the world through an Apple II The iconic boot sequence and computer vision graphics were created using software running on Apple’s 8-bit home computer James Cameron’s 1984 classic The Terminator gave us one of the most memorable POV gimmicks in sci-fi: the glowing red readout that shows …

ServiceNow buys 5% of BusinessNext, values Indian software firm at 0 million

ServiceNow buys 5% of BusinessNext, values Indian software firm at $700 million

Published by Sam Flores

July 22 : ServiceNow has acquired roughly 5 per cent of BusinessNext in a deal that values the software provider at $700 million, as the Indian company looks to expand its autonomous banking tools through a partnership with the U.S.-based software giant. BusinessNext said on Wednesday it raised $40 million in a Series C round from ServiceNow Ventures, a venture capital arm of the company. Here are some details: • BusinessNext CEO Nishant Singh told Reuters that the funding will primarily be allocated to strengthening the company’s sales efforts, initially focusing on expanding distribution in Southeast Asia and Australia. • “Every company has to go to an IPO. Right now, we’re not looking at the IPO part,” he said, adding that BusinessNext’s ambition “right now is to run in every bank in the world.” • The deal comes as banks are increasingly adopting AI tools offered by companies like BusinessNext to customize services, address customer queries and automate operations, helping them in saving time and attract more customers. • BusinessNext competes with companies like Freshworks …

‘The SaaS apocalypse is overrated’: How Workday and other software provders plan to survive AI

‘The SaaS apocalypse is overrated’: How Workday and other software provders plan to survive AI

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Agentic AI will disrupt enterprise software revenue models. The SaaS apocalypse is overrated, but disintermediation is real. Providers are honing their core capabilities to stay relevant. An AI transformation that could disrupt the established hierarchy is playing out behind the scenes of the technology industry. In this revolution, the enterprise applications that professionals rely on every day could be disintermediated, meaning AI agents would become the primary way businesses access those services, while new relationships with AI firms, their models, and their capabilities redefine how end users interact with IT. Also: The new enterprise AI expert every company needs – and why Technology analyst Gartner says agentic AI is set to disrupt enterprise software revenue models, with up to $234 billion in application spending exposed to agentic arbitrage — where agents complete tasks across multiple systems, reducing the need for users to interact with traditional interfaces — between now and 2030. By the end of the decade, this interaction with AI will …