Latest Technology News

The Xbox One that’s currently available for pre-order is a very different beast from the system Microsoft originally announced back in May. Despite the changes that have been made to the games console/set top box, I think it’s a very promising product and one I’ll likely purchase at some point in the future.

But it’s Sony’s rival PlayStation 4 that’s going to be the big hit console this holiday season, pushing the Xbox One into a distant second place -- at least according to the findings of a new survey.

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Apple's new iPhones, the 5s and the 5c, posted record sales in the first weekend of availability, with the Cupertino, Calif.-based corporation shifting 9 million units in just three days. And the company is gearing towards boosting that number even further as, today, it announces that the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will soon reach an additional 51 markets.

The iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c will be available in 35 more markets a little over two weeks from today, on October 25, with the two devices to arrive in the 16 remaining markets a week later, on November 1.

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Microsoft opens up Bing Places to businesses in the UK and Canada, making it possible for business owners to promote themselves online more easily. This is essentially an online directory that enables firms of all sizes to gain an online presence and become more easily discoverable by potential customers. It is something of a quiet launch, but businesses are invited to create their online listing free of charge.

Bing Places -- or Bing Places for Business to give its full title -- is a rebranded version of Bing Business Portal. Business owners can check to see whether there is already a listing for them in the directory, and are given the chance to create a new one if there isn't. To help avoid the problem of fake listings being created, ownership then has to be verified either over the phone or via post.

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You know how frustrating it can be when you hear a track on the radio or TV and miss the announcement that tells you what it's called? With the public beta launch of its new Playlister tool the BBC aims to offer a solution to that problem.

Using Playlister you can tag tracks from across the BBC's web services which will be saved to a personal playlist. Once you've created a list you can export it as a PDF or print it out, but more usefully you have the option to export the list to Spotify, Deezer or YouTube so that you can stream the tracks. Other services are expected to be added in future.

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Even though Mozilla may be among the latest entrants in the smartphone market, it has a real chance to succeed in its quest to turn Firefox OS from yet another new kid on the block into a major player. The mobile operating system is available on inexpensive devices, is backed by a couple of large mobile operators and will reach a significant number of prospective buyers in emerging markets.

Today, Mozilla announces it is gearing up for the second round of Firefox OS launches, which are set to reach more markets and more devices. The latest expansion will kick off "soon", with mobile operators Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Telenor revealing their short-term plans for expanding the Firefox OS market availability.

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Nero has rebranded and re-launched its free media management tool with the release of Nero MediaHome Free 15.0. Formerly known as Nero KwikMedia, MediaHome debuted last month as part of Nero 2014 media suite.

The application, available as a free cut-down version, is much quicker to load than previous versions, and bundles a built-in media server for streaming music, photos and videos to other DLNA-compatible devices.

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As a growing number of businesses migrate to the cloud to manage their most important information, and an increasing number of cyber vulnerabilities are identified on a daily basis, the integrity of cloud security has become an important and ubiquitous concern.

However, smart companies are putting panic mode on hold in favor of educating themselves on how best to protect their vital data. No solution by itself can make your business hacker-proof, but there are several precautionary measures that help to minimize risk. One important step is backing up your cloud data.

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In his "5 reasons Surface tablets blow away iPads for a mobile business workforce" piece, my colleague Derrick Wlodarz explained why Remote Desktop on Windows RT (and, by implication, Windows 8) is better compared to third-party clients on Android and iOS. Derrick says that the former offers a richer feature set, a smoother experience, improved stability, less compatibility issues and comes with no initial cost (because it is free, as a built-in feature). As you can tell, the lack of official Remote Desktop apps on Android and iOS tips the scale in Microsoft's favor.

That is about to change, as Microsoft has announced that it will release Remote Desktop apps on "a variety of devices and platforms", which include Windows, Windows RT, OS X, Android and iOS. The software giant says the offerings will be introduced with Windows Server 2012 R2, which launches later this month, on October 18, alongside Windows 8.1.

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Leading provider of enterprise mobile services iPass has launched its new iPass Hotspot Finder. The browser-based tool has a completely redesigned user interface and includes several features that help business travelers make informed decisions about hotspot connectivity.

Hotspot Finder doesn't need an iPass account, provides access to over 1.4 million hotspots in the iPass network and can be used from any browser for free.

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When it comes to pointing devices, I prefer mice. Try as I might, a touchpad just cannot match the precision of a mouse. However, even people who prefer touchpads for basic computer use will likely prefer a mouse for one thing -- gaming. Yes, a good gaming mouse can be the difference between fragging your opponent and being fragged.

However, finding the right gaming mouse can be problematic. After all, not only are there many different makes and models of mice but there are also many different sizes of human hands (not to mention, right-handed vs left-handed). When I first saw the Logitech G602 I was intimidated. Quite frankly, an 11-button mouse could scare away even the most hardcore-gamers. Nonetheless, intrigue outweighed intimidation and I ultimately obtained the beast.

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Guinness World Records, home to facts and figures such as who is the fattest, tallest, strongest and hairiest person on the planet, confirms that GTA V is the holder of numerous records. We already know that the game franchise is extremely successful, but it is interesting to see just how successful it is.

It is less than a month since the latest installment in the Grand Theft Auto series was released, and it has already grossed over $1 billion -- hardly surprising when you consider that 11.21 million units were sold in the first 24 hours. In all, the game has broken seven world records, and while the first six relate to sales figures, GTA V also has the "most viewed trailer for an action-adventure videogame".

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Opera Software has announced the release of Opera 17.0 FINAL, an interesting build which includes several small but worthwhile new features. Top of the list is a new "pinned" tab option.

If you have a few tabs which you need to stay open, just right-click them and select "Pin tab". The tabs will be reduced to the size of the page icon (handy if you are running short on space), and you will not be able to close them accidentally.

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HP has released the results of a global study conducted with the Ponemon Institute indicating that the cost, frequency and time taken to resolve cyber attacks has risen for the fourth consecutive year.

The 2013 Cost of Cyber Crime Study found that the average annualized cost of cyber crime incurred by a benchmark sample of US organizations was $11.56 million, representing a 78 percent increase since the initial study was conducted four years ago and 26 percent up on the figure reported in 2012. The results also show that the time it takes to resolve a cyber attack has increased by nearly 130 percent during this same period, with the average cost incurred to resolve a single attack totaling more than $1 million.

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After what was possibly the shortest-lived leak in history, Samsung announces the Galaxy Round, a smartphone with a curved screen. Just days after LG announced mass production of the first flexible display, images started to leak online that depicted a curved Samsung device.

This was followed almost immediately by a Samsung announcement, complete with the news that the phone will be available in Korea from 10 October.

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Red Hat has been very busy lately. It was only a week ago that the company updated the previous version of its Enterprise Linux, 5.10. Today, rather than look backward, the company is looking forward and announces Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 beta.

"We are pleased to announce the beta release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5. To keep pace with the demand for enterprise-class infrastructure, the newest version of the leading Linux platform extends its scalability and manageability to aid in the build-out and control of large, complex IT environments. For example, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 will be designed to simplify the operation of mission-critical SAP applications by automating the optimal configuration of common SAP deployments", says the company.

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