Placing a device’s OS in a locked-down secure state can limit access to applications while still taking advantage of the computational power of the cloud and the potential of employee interaction and collaboration--this is the working principle behind Microsoft Windows 10 in S mode (formerly known as Windows 10 S). As a modified version of Windows 10 Pro, the streamlined Windows 10 in S mode can still achieve computational performance and communication but with limits that deliver additional security in an enterprise or an academic environment.

Basically, Microsoft Windows 10 in S mode is a pre-configured version of Windows 10 Pro designed to be more secure but with the same level of performance. The most obvious limitation, however, is that while in S mode, Windows 10 can only download, install, and use applications that are verified and available from the Microsoft Store.

Find out more about the benefits and drawbacks of Windows 10 in S mode in this free PDF download from TechRepublic.

Cryptocurrency: It’s a word that anyone who spends any time online is sure to have heard of by now. Decentralized digital cash like Bitcoin has made cryptocurrency, and by extension the blockchain, a hot topic for discussion, and the cryptocurrency known as Ethereum is one of the hottest.

But Ethereum isn’t technically just another cryptocurrency—it’s a whole decentralized computer network powered by a cryptocurrency called Ether. Instead of just being an alternative to the dollar, euro or pound, Ether has a specific application.

Ether can be traded for its cash value, and it is one of the most highly valued cryptocurrencies. But to simply call it a cash alternative misses out on a lot of what it’s actually for.

Learn more about Ethereum in this free PDF download from TechRepublic.

Objective-C has won the hearts of many developers. It started as a programming language that bundled object-oriented programming (OOP) with the likeness of the C programming language. Objective-C called NeXT and Apple home where it was the default programming language for NeXTSTEP, OS X, and iOS.

In 2010, Apple started developing Swift, a new programming language that would rival Objective-C in a few areas--specifically, type safety, security, and better on-hardware performance. Swift is more than 2.6x faster than Objective-C and more than 8.4x faster than Python. Swift 1.0 was released in September 2014.

From the cheat sheet:

HOW DOES SWIFT DIFFER FROM OBJECTIVE-C?

While Apple hasn’t announced plans to sunset the Objective-C language (in fact, Apple is still updating it), Swift is rapidly overtaking Objective-C to become more popular on Apple’s platforms.

Objective-C likely still has a long life, as Apple has yet to update its own Frameworks to be written in Swift. Until Swift 3.0, Apple will not be including the Swift runtime on iOS or OS X, leaving Xcode to package together the runtime into the iOS or OS X app to ensure binary compatibility.

Find out more in this free PDF download from TechRepublic.