Latest Technology News

While Windows, at least arguably so, has become more efficient with each new version, it's still far from fault-free. System problems still rear ugly heads -- check the action center and you will likely find something awaiting you. There is no end to the amount utilities that purport to help you fix these errors, but some are useless and a few are just malware, so it's frequently best to go with a reputable piece of software, even if it costs a few dollars.

System Mechanic describes itself as "an all-in-one PC tune-up utility software suite that analyzes, fixes, optimizes, and maintains Windows computers. It incorporates multiple patented and patent-pending technologies, such as ActiveCare, a technology that allows the program to run automatic maintenance scans and repairs on a Windows PC while a computer is on but not in use".

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Pittsburgh-based start-up Digital Dream Labs has launched a Kickstarter campaign to improve childhood interactions with technology and promote the development of logic and problem solving skills.

"10 years ago, parents were worried their teenagers were getting too consumed by video games", says co-founder Matt Stewart. "Now you have toddlers playing on touch screens before they know how to walk. Technology is doing amazing things to change the world, but that doesn't mean we should give up the fundamental experiences that dictate our children's growth and help them interact with the things around them".

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In the ongoing battle for your entertainment dollars, video streaming service Netflix announces a brand new makeover and Roku is one of the early adopters, announcing it is bringing the update to its Roku 3 set-top boxes. The effort is another move from Netflix to stay ahead of competitors like Amazon Prime and Redbox Instant.

"Today we are excited to unveil the biggest update in Netflix history to our TV experience. This update improves the Netflix TV for Netflix members around the world", states the streaming company.

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Finnish maker Nokia has released Nokia Refocus, a new app for its flagship Lumia Windows Phone 8 smartphones with PureView cameras that allows users to choose new focus points after snapping pictures. The feature is similar to what Lytro cameras deliver, but adapted to work on smartphone hardware.

The philosophy behind Nokia Refocus is to give users the ability to "capture first and then focus and re-focus later to produce interactive photos", says the Finnish maker. The app is designed specifically for "scenes with a great contrast in the depth of field, like macro shots".

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Knowledge management specialist Bloomfire, whose product we looked at a few weeks ago, has announced deeper integration with the Salesforce customer relationship management platform. This will allow users to share information and knowledge with their co-workers without having to leave the Salesforce screen.

Bloomfire began integrating with Salesforce in 2012 when it joined the AppExchange to allow single sign-ons and posts from Bloomfire to appear on the Salseforce Chatter page. The deeper integration will allow sales professionals access to the information they need to close deals, enable them to get questions answered quickly, and share the feedback they receive. From the company's point of view information gathered in Salesforce can be shared without giving all employees access to the package, plus knowledge gained from Salesforce can be used across the organization.

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Yes, you've read that correctly. Microsoft's Surface RT tablet will be available at US retailer Best Buy under the magical $200 mark. The $199.99 price tag will be attached next to the Windows RT slate between November 28 and November 30, just in time for Black Friday.

The model that the US retailer will offer during that period is the 32 GB Surface RT without the bundled keyboard. Normally, the tablet would cost $349.99 at Best Buy, which makes the $150 discount look rather impressive.

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Evernote Corporation has released Evernote for Android 5.5, a major update to the mobile client for accessing its online note-taking service, which users can access through the browser or via a range of dedicated apps.

Version 5.5 ships with improved notebook picker and Page Camera tools for all users, while premium users gain the ability to annotate PDFs from within the app as well as customise the homescreen.

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After a long wait Vine is now available on Windows Phone 8, officially bringing its popular six-second videos outside of Android and iOS. The app arrives in Store with a respectable feature set, including free and unlimited clip uploads and social network integration with Facebook and Twitter.

Vine takes advantage of built-in Windows Phone features, such as live tiles and camera lenses, as the app allows users to pin the Vine camera and their favorite accounts and channels on the homescreen and trigger the Vine recording mode from the built-in camera app (or third-party camera apps that support lenses, like Nokia Camera).

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Up until now, if you wanted to try out Android 4.4 KitKat, there were only two options available -- buy a new Nexus 5 that has the OS preinstalled, or download a custom ROM and roll your own. Now there is a new option, at least if you have a Nexus 7 or Nexus 10, as Google is rolling out the latest version of Android to its flagship tablets.

It is not just owners of the latest Nexus 7 who are in luck as the update is also being made available to the 2012 model. The fact that KitKat is rolling out to older hardware will please many people. Sadly, there has been no change of heart -- not yet, anyway -- for Galaxy Nexus owners hoping for an upgrade.

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The set-top box market continues to heat up, with Roku, Apple TV and Google TV going head-to-head for your entertainment dollars. Despite the best efforts of cable and satellite providers, customers continue to look towards services like Hulu, Netflix and Amazon for their television entertainment.

Now Roku, one of the big players in this growing ecosystem, stokes the fire a bit more today. The hardware maker announces the availability of both ESPN and Disney arriving on its platform.

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ComputerSupport.com has unveiled its next generation cloud hosting platform ITAnyWhere Cloud. The product is based around the latest Microsoft and Citrix software, and runs completely in the AWS cloud, utilizing multi-region EC2, S3, RDS and other services.

The new version of the cloud service offers small businesses the ability to host all of their productivity applications -- web or Windows-based -- in the cloud, and access them from any device, any time. The solution will help medical and financial organizations achieve instant compliance with HIPAA, FINRA and other US regulations. The goal with this version is to improve how quickly the applications are delivered, add the ability for users self-service, and enable better mobile access.

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High Motion Software has announced the release of ImBatch 2.0, its comprehensive image batch processing tool.

As before, you can use the program to resize or rotate photos, tweak colors and contrast, apply effects, set tags and more. But now you’re also able to apply new "AutoEnhance" tasks, which do their best to automatically optimize your target images.

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Microsoft has been busy on many fronts recently, from the desktop to the living room, to business. The latest update released by the company is for businesses, though home users can also benefit. Microsoft today announces a new update that brings Office 365 to new markets and languages.

The software giant now boasts 123 markets for its latest iteration of the suite, also allowing new customers to grab a 120-day free trial before making a decision about whether or not to reach for their wallets.

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While I love Linux, quality magazines about the kernel are few and far between. Over the years, my favorite has been Linux Format. I was attracted to the magazine by the quality articles and interesting content. However, the price of the magazine was particularly high in the USA, which often deterred my purchase (it is printed in the UK). After all, Linux is free but the magazine cost about $13/month at Barnes and Noble -- a tough sell. Not to mention, with the explosion of tablets, reading paper magazines feels a bit outdated (I still enjoy a hard-copy of Reader's Digest on my toilet tank though).

Apparently, it is not all roses at Linux Format as many of the employees have jumped ship due to creative differences and are trying to form a new magazine called Linux Voice. Of course, to get the project off the ground, the former-employees have turned to crowd-funding to turn their dream into a reality. The question becomes, is there a need for another magazine?

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When you're sent an email with an attachment you probably do one of two things. You might preview the file in your browser, or you might download it to your hard drive. If you want to be able to access the file on other computers without having to track down the original email again, you may then take the extra step of uploading it to Google Drive. But it's all too easy for attachments to end up getting lost on the desktop or a catch-all Downloads folder.

This is something Google may be able to change with the latest addition to Gmail. Now there is no need to click an attachment to view a preview -- supported file types (including images, PDFs and videos) are automatically previewed as small thumbnails. You can still click them if you would like to see a larger preview, but this is not the only change that has been made. When an email has multiple attachments, it is now possible to scroll through them slideshow-style.

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