In Tech: Minecraft For Schools, Amazon Dash, Data Encryption

In Tech: Minecraft for schools, Amazon Dash, data encryption By Associated Press

Updated 21:12 EDT on January 20 20, 2016

Microsoft has bought Minecraft's educational version and plans to develop a larger and more powerful version for classrooms.

The Redmond, Washington, software company will join forces with TeacherGaming LLC, creator of MinecraftEdu to transform the game into "Minecraft Education Edition." Financial terms were not disclosed.

Microsoft claims that the latest version will add and expand features intended to make the game more classroom accessible, including improved maps and coordinates to aid students and teachers to find their way around a Minecraft world together. The developers are planning to enhance the game's multi-player capabilities, so that up to 40 players can play together.

The game allows players to explore, fight monsters, and construct complex structures from blocks. You could easily use it to teach math, said Deirdre Quaranstrom Microsoft's director for Minecraft education. Children could explore ancient temples, or even see the inside of an eyeball in the game as part of an education in science.

Teachers get perks like an online community and mentorship program that connects teachers familiar with Minecraft to newcomers to the game. out.

The new game will be available in the summer, with free trials for teachers and students. Microsoft will announce pricing details prior to the end of the school year. However, it says that it will keep the price at $5 per year for all users.

Amazon is expanding its smart-home ordering service to include a assortment of new appliances. Its Dash "replenishment" service lets users reorder common household items with a touch of the button. Its original form was a collection of plastic buttons called "Dash buttons" which were designed for specific products. By pressing one, you can purchase a specific amount of diapers or detergent.

The new Dash devices will work similarly however they won't have designated buttons anymore. Brother printers will allow you to purchase toner or ink refills automatically. A GE washer will order detergent when it is running low. Boasted And a Gmate glucose meter, which tests blood sugar for diabetics, automatically reorders testing strips and blood-drawing swabs when required. Users can sign up online to activate the service.

Amazon announced the expansion of its Dash line in October. The new products are available on the market. Other products in development include Purell hand-sanitizers, Samsung laser printers and "smart home locks" from Austin, among others.

- Mae Anderson, AP Technology Writer

Some government and police officials might be shivering because encryption makes it difficult to identify extremists and criminals, but it turns out that a lot of businesses aren't putting much effort into protecting their data by encryption in the first place.

A new study published on Tuesday by the security firm Sophos surveyed 1,700 IT managers of mid-sized companies in the U.S., Canada, India, Australia, Japan and Malaysia. 44% of the respondents reported that they currently use encryption extensively, while 43% use encryption at some level.

The percentage of smaller businesses that were encrypting was lower among those surveyed. Only 38 percent of those with 100-500 employees said they were encrypting their data extensively.

The U.S. has higher encryption rates, with 54% of respondents saying that they use encryption extensively. Australia was second , with the rate of 49 percent, while Malaysia had a rate of 26 percent.

37% of respondents indicated that they did not want to go through the process of encryption because of budgetary constraints, while 31% cited performance concerns.

-- Bree Fowler, AP Technology Writer

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Verizon is the most recent cellphone company that provides customers the ability to surf the web, which does not count against data caps.

Under such caps, you may be charged extra charges or slower speeds if you exceed the limit of data on your plan. This isn't a big problem to do, particularly if you're constantly watching videos and listening to music while on the move.

Verizon has said it's interested in "sponsored data" as a source of revenue. A company can pay Verizon so that phone users can browse their websites, watch video clips or download their apps without using up their data allowance. Verizon says companies that have signed as partners include Hearst Magazines and AOL, which Verizon owns.

AT&T has launched an official data program sponsored by AT&T in 2012, however only a handful of companies are currently participating.

T-Mobile is, however, exempts several dozen video and music providers from caps but doesn't charge them. It says it wants to draw customers who stream lots of videos in an approach that doesn't burden its network as much. To achieve this, it degrades video quality all over the board even for video that isn't exempted from caps. T-Mobile says it allows customers to enjoy more.

Government regulators have asked AT&T and T-Mobile for more details on their strategies. Although net neutrality rules that were enacted in the last year don't prohibit the practice of choosing and choosing services that won't be considered to be data caps-compliant, technically known as "zero rating," some advocates say it could slow innovation or favor certain companies over others. Net neutrality is the notion that apps and websites should be treated equally by Internet service providers.