BizBahrain April 2016

Technology
Highest number of
internet users in Bahrain
Bahrain has a high percentage of
Internet users when compared to
other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries, according to data published
by Internet World Stats. According to the
data, Internet penetration in Bahrain has
reached 96.4 per cent while it is 93.2pc
in the UAE, 91.9pc in Qatar, 78.6pc in
Oman, 78.7pc in Kuwait and 65.9pc in
Saudi Arabia. The Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority (TRA) in the
Kingdom of Bahrain recently finalised
the “National Internet Safety Review”
study, which shed light on various areas
Microsoft Windows
Quietly Announces 7 lifetime
Microsoft quietly announced the
end date for Windows 7 bringing
a wave of nostalgia to fans habituated
to the older operating system. The
announcement will affect the sale of
computers with the operating system
pre-installed, but it also listed two
further dates when support will be
cancelled.
According to their Windows
Lifecycle Fact Sheet page, the sale of
new Windows 7 Professional machines
from authorized retailers will end on
October 31, 2016; the sale of Windows
7 Home machines ended last year in
October. The end of the support for the
OS was January of this year for the
mainstream support, with the end of
of online behaviour in the Kingdom. TRA
commissioned UK-based independent
researchers Professor Julia Davidson
and Professor Elena Martellozzo to
conduct the study. They compared the
results to an earlier study held in 2010.
“Compared to our findings in 2010, it’s a
relief to see that the levels of awareness
to online risks have increased. It
is, however, concerning to see that
cyberbullying has accumulated a high
percentage. This is something that will
require greater collaboration between
both government and private sectors
to address as we all have a stake in
this matter,” said Dr Khalid bin Duaij Al
Khalifa, TRA’s Director of Cyber Security.
extended support coming around in
January of 2020.
Interestingly, Windows 8 has a weird
end of life schedule, too. Windows 8 preinstalled
machines will leave the market
before the end of the run for Windows
7 Pro, as retail sales of the devices will
cease on June 30, 2016. Windows 8.1
machines get to hang on a little longer,
ending on the same date as the sales of
Windows 7 Pro machines, October 31.
The end of mainstream support for 8.1
will be in January of 2018, with extended
support ending in January of 2023.
Interestingly, Windows 10
mainstream support is slated to end in
five years; extended support will end in
ten years.
Samsung Safety Screen
application protects mobile
users eyes
Samsung has launched of the Safety
Screen application that helps users,
especially young children, hold their
mobile devices at an ideal viewing
distance from their eyes.
Available to all Android devices on
the Google Play store and also on the
Samsung Galaxy store, the Safety Screen
runs in the background on mobile
devices and can even be passwordenabled
by parents. Employing
advanced facial recognition software,
a friendly animation pops up shutting
down the screen when the device is
held too close the eye, unlocking only
once the device is held at the minimum
recommended safe distance.
According to the Vision Council*,
there is an increase in myopia that
scientists attribute to a mix of genetic
and environmental factors, including
increasing near-range activities such as
the use of digital devices, and decreasing
exposure to natural light through
outdoor activities. Digital eye strain can
also affect children and teens, whose
eyes may fatigue after long periods of
use.
The Samsung Safety Screen
application has already been awarded
at the recent Dubai Lynx awards.
Earlier this year, among other regional
innovations, Samsung introduced
KalimaLock - a smart application
aimed to revive the use of the Arabic
language among younger audiences.
The Samsung-developed KalimaLock
application teaches users to write and
pronounce words in Arabic, as well as
providing their many meanings and
connotations.
May 2016
73