Internet Explorer addon IExif lets you view EXIF data for web images
EXIF metadata provides a great way to better understand digital images and how they were taken: the camera used, the lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO and more. But browsing this information for photos you find online is normally rather awkward, as you’ll have to download each and every image, before manually opening it in your preferred viewer.
Fortunately, Internet Explorer addon IExif takes a simpler approach. Whenever you’d like to know more, just hover your mouse cursor over an image on the current web page, and IExif will extract and display its metadata (if there’s any available).
On the futility of blocking porn and torrent websites, Immunicity style
Pornography has been in the news a great deal, and David Cameron's bid to make online porn "opt-in" has sparked a fierce debate in many quarters. The apparent aim of the proposed measure is to protect children and the responsibility has been moved squarely to the door of ISPs, just as with access to torrent sites. But is this fair?
The Internet is an important element of democracy. It should be a tool for free speech, free access to information and the ability to communicate worldwide free of charge. Freedom is at the heart of it. Creating a two-tier Internet in which some people are able to access all content, and others can only access a portion of it flies in the face of what the world wide web is all about. It is also dangerous.
Five things Microsoft is doing wrong
Microsoft is one of the largest tech companies on the planet. The multi-billion dollar devices and services company employs some of the most brightest scientists, software engineers and designers on the planet. It has demonstrated its ability to create some of the most compelling technologies in the market. Yesterday I discussed the five things I think the company is doing right.
But it's not all good for Microsoft, and there are plenty of questions need asking. Why, for example, is its mobile strategy sucking wind? Why is its web browser, one of the single most important pieces on a computing device these days, struggling to keep pace with other browsers in standards compliance and end user features? In this post I will focus on five areas where I think Microsoft is missing the boat.
Video Image Master Express lets you extract frames from videos or create video slideshows
Extracting a series of frames from a video can be a great way to summarize its contents, but getting the precise results you need is often a challenge. We recently looked at Free Video to JPEG Converter, for instance, and while the program was easy to use, it had limited extraction options.
If you need more power, then you might prefer the free Video Image Master Express. It provides a host of ways to define exactly how your frames should be extracted, and as a bonus it can also combine still images of your own into a simple video slideshow.
Google Play Games tries to connect Android players (and fails) [Review]
Lost in the news from the "Breakfast with Sundar Pichai" event this week was a smaller announcement that was overshadowed by the new Nexus 7, Chromecast and Android 4.3. Google Play Games was rolled out along with the new mobile operating system. Despite rolling out with the latest iteration, the app is open to any device running Android version 2.2 and newer.
Play Games is free from the Google Play store and, once downloaded, you will find a game controller icon on your device. Like any app, it is only a matter of tapping it to get started.
Get the Start menu back in Windows 8 and 8.1 with Classic Shell
The "return of the Start button" in Windows 8.1 might not have delivered what everyone wanted, but it doesn’t really matter. If you need to bring the Start Menu back to Windows 8 then Classic Shell has always done a good job, and the new Classic Shell 3.9 beta build is better than ever.
Launch the Windows 7-style Start Menu and your programs now display in a tree on the left-hand side, allowing you to access them right away.
Five things Microsoft is doing right
It’s really easy to pick Microsoft apart and find reasons to hate the company. The software giant has spent years making decisions that gave the tech press and writers like myself reason to negatively criticize everything it does.
Microsoft has its problems, sure, but not everything suggests it's dead in the water. The firm has made some pretty bold bets recently; bets that I think are actually good and signal the arrival of a different Microsoft than the one we're all accustomed to kicking in the teeth. Here’s five things I think Microsoft is getting right.
Opera Next 16 hints at new features
Norwegian browser developer Opera Software has confirmed the switch of its browser development to a rapid release cycle with the launch of Opera Next 16. The new version number comes less than a month after Opera 15 FINAL was released, which saw Opera switch from its own proprietary Presto web engine to the Blink engine used by Google Chrome.
As with all rapid release cycle updates, there are no major overhauls to be found in Opera Next 16, although a number of interesting new features have been showcased as the next iteration starts its journey towards final release.
Best Windows 8 apps this week
Thirty-ninth in a series. The total number of new apps in Windows Store still lingers at around the 2,000 mark. While that may not sound that bad on first glance, much of it was fuelled by apps being released to a single store category.
The Music & Video section saw an increase of more than 1,200 apps this week, which means that more than half of this week's new selection have been published to that category.
Microsoft wants to give away Windows 8 computers in student deal
Last month, June 4 to be precise, Microsoft announced its "Chip in" program, designed to help students finance a new Windows 8 computer. The program lets students with a valid .edu email address crowd-source funds to help them purchase a qualified PC of their choosing from Microsoft Store.
Now the software maker elects to take it one step further, by sweetening this deal. Students must successfully fund their PC, but Microsoft chips in 10 percent of the price and the first 10,000 to be successful in this venture get a free copy of Office 365 University added into the bargain.
Samsung dominates smartphone market, squashes Apple and other makers
There is a very good reason as to why some people easily dismiss any report on the state of the smartphone, tablet or phone market. Research companies often get their forecasts wrong, and just as often adjust the numbers to reflect any significant change in shipments or sales. Credibility is gained over a long period of time, through spot-on analysis and research, but is easily lost after a questionable report.
Truth be told, predicting the future is a fool's errand. Those who rely on forecasts in order to make their case are just as likely to withdraw their bold remarks once the quarterly or yearly reports arrive. The credibility issue grows bigger when two research companies, namely IDC and Strategy Analytics, cannot agree on counting smartphone shipments, in a single quarter.
Now TV box is cheap alternative to Apple TV for UK viewers, but with a catch
Like the idea of Apple TV but feel the hardware is a little expensive? Today Sky releases its Now TV Box to UK fans for the ultra-low price of £9.99. This is significantly cheaper than Apple's flagship streaming device, and even manages to undercut Google's Chromecast. With the price tag including not just the device itself, but also delivery, there's got to be a catch, right?
The WiFi streaming box provides access to on-demand content from the broadcasters such as Sky, BBC and Channel 5, including sports and movies. There's also the option of using apps such as Spotify and Facebook to transform a regular TV into a smart TV. So far, so couch potato.
Google Chromecast -- greatness in its infancy [Review]
Consuming digital media can be an overwhelming affair nowadays. There are too many devices on the market that do similar things but in different ways. There is the Apple TV, Roku, Blu-Ray Players, smart TVs and more. When Google announced the Chromecast, I was a bit skeptical -- surely I didn't need yet another device. However, the low price of the product ($35) and the fear of it selling out caused me to order it anyway.
When it arrived, I was shocked by just how small the packaging was. Upon opening the little box (OK, tearing into it) I was presented with the Chromecast. The device looks like a very fat flash-drive with an HDMI plug instead of USB. Also in the box was an HDMI extender cable, micro-USB cable and AC power adapter.
Lock up your data ecommerce companies are warned
According to Imperva's recent Web Application Attack Report most applications have suffered attacks four or more times per month whilst some are under almost constant attack. In addition retail sites suffer twice the number of SQL injection attacks compared to other industries.
The report also finds that the US tops the list globally as the source of web-based attacks.
Nokia Lumia 1020 is NOW available at AT&T
Following ten days of pre-orders, the Nokia Lumia 1020 is now finally available for purchase at US mobile operator AT&T. Through its online store, the Windows Phone 8 handset can be had for $299.99, on a two-year agreement. Other plans are also available, including the new AT&T Next. The smartphone is not yet offered at the mobile operator's brick and mortar locations.
Subscribers who want to get the Lumia 1020 through the AT&T Next program have to shell out $33 per month, over the course of 20 months. Alternatively, folks can pay the fees and, in a year (or, every 12 months), trade in their existing handset for a new one.
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