Flash drive faceoff -- LaCie Porsche vs Lexar Jumpdrive M10 Secure
When it comes to storage, the world is trending towards the cloud. However, I still have a soft spot in my heart for flash drives. They are small, convenient and heck -- they work without Internet access. In other words, if you need to work on a document in the cloud and your Internet is down, you are out of luck; a flash drive is still there for you.
It can be difficult to find the right flash drive; they come in different sizes, brands, capacities, designs and prices. Many people just try to get the highest capacity they can for a price that meets their budget. However, I would caution those consumers to focus less on enormous capacity (that they may not use) and more on quality and performance. I recently obtained two USB 3.0 flash drives from quality companies that are very different from each other -- the LaCie Porsche and Lexar Jumpdrive M10 Secure. I have benchmarked them, used them in actual practice and amazingly one of them even survived a trip through the washing machine.
Microsoft shows what it's like to actually use the Xbox One
The battle between Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 is set to begin later this month. At BetaNews we’re still split as to which console we think is best, leading to some spirited debates in the newsroom.
To try and persuade potential buyers to choose the Xbox One, and get pre-orderers even more excited, Microsoft has released a 12-minute video showing exactly what it’s like to use its new console, and frankly it looks amazing.
Fear of cyber attacks could expose businesses to new risks
Data breaches and cyber attacks frequently make the news when well-known companies are the target.
This is good in the sense that it raises awareness of the need to take security seriously, however, the latest Global Risk Management Survey by Gartner finds that fear of attack is causing security professionals to shift their focus away from disciplines like enterprise risk management and risk-based information security in order to concentrate on technical security issues.
Canonical tries to stop fan website using Ubuntu name and logo
Canonical, the team behind Ubuntu, finds itself the subject of criticism after contacting an Ubuntu related website and asking that the domain name be changed. Fix Ubuntu was created by Micah Lee to provide Ubuntu users with instructions about how to disable the web component of the desktop search tool. Lee was emailed by Canonical to request that he not only stop using the word "Ubuntu" in the domain name, but also refrained from using the logo.
The reason? Canonical's email suggests that the name and use of logo could cause confusion among Ubuntu users:
Windows 8.1 to get three critical security patches
Next week’s Patch Tuesday will see a number of security patches for Windows 8.1 including three that get the top Critical rating. According to Microsoft’s advanced notification on TechNet the three critical updates address remote code execution issues in Windows and Internet Explorer.
There are also five more updates flagged as Important, three for Windows and two for Office. The three Critical bulletins also apply to Windows XP and will be among the last for the 12-year-old operating system before support ends in April next year.
Gramohorn II amplifies your HTC One in a retro-style
Phones are great for music, but in most cases the built in speakers are a bit subpar; quality might be decent enough, but if you're looking for a punch of volume, speakers are going to be needed. Or maybe not. If you're an HTC One owner looking for something a little different -- and have a wad of spare cash lying around -- the Gramohorn II could just be of interest. It brings not one, but two gramophone inspired horns to amplify your music without the need for power.
3D printing is all the rage, and the Gramohorn II is the latest accessory to be produced in this way. There are plaster- and metal-based versions available, but whichever one you opt for, you're going to need to have deep pockets. The plaster-based model is the cheaper of the two, but "cheaper" is very much a relative term. There are 22 color choices and five metallic finishes but only 100 will be produced.
Nokia Lumia 1520 now available for preorder from Microsoft
Microsoft has announced the new Nokia Lumia 1520 is available for preorder through the Microsoft Store and at all US Microsoft retail store locations from today. The device officially goes on sale on 22 November.
As an incentive, customers who preorder the product will receive a $50 Microsoft Store app card, a $20 app card provided by Nokia, a free flip cover valued at $39.99 (while stocks last), and a free download of Halo: Spartan Assault for Windows Phone. It’s a US-only offer.
UniPDF converts PDFs to Word, HTML, images and text
PDF is a great format for sharing content, not least because it’s viewable just about everywhere. It’s not quite so convenient if you need to reuse that content elsewhere, of course, but there could be an easy solution: just use UniPDF to convert your source documents to Word (DOC, RTF), images (BMP, JPG, PCX, PNG, TGA, TIF), HTML or plain text.
The program is easy to use. Drag and drop your PDF files onto the program, choose an Output format, click "Convert", and watch as UniPDF goes to work.
The state of BlackBerry and Nokiasoft
Over the past week, both BlackBerry and Nokia were in the news for very different reasons. BlackBerry abruptly abandoned its auction process and opted to raise $1 billion in debt to attempt a turnaround. Meanwhile, as the Microsoft deal awaits closing, Nokia announced that Lumia shipments hit an all-time high in the most recent quarter.
Let's take a deeper look at the prospects of each company.
Where to find and access big data
Big data is now massively important to many organizations. The more data -- both structured and unstructured -- that firms can access and analyze, the better their insight and decision making processes can become, and that in turn can lead to better performance, improved efficiencies, and reduced risk.
Kapow Software has created an attractive new infographic that provides an overview of the different avenues and channels that big data is pulled from. These data pools include archives, docs, media, data storage, social media, business apps, the public web, and sensor data.
grepWin is a powerful regex-based search and replace tool
Search and replace is a key part of most text editors, and it’s generally very simple to use: type a keyword, press [Enter] to look for it, then step through however many matches there might be. This is so straightforward and familiar that it’s easy to forget there’s any other way.
Regular expressions do offer a far more powerful alternative, though, at least if you take the time to learn how they work. As an example, take a look at \b[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}\b : despite looking like binary garbage, this is actually a very useful search term which will locate any email address. Not something you could easily do in any other way.
Should you trust Google with your identity?
I tell BetaNews writers that when assessing anything ask: Who benefits? Then: Who benefits first? Both questions are top of mind as I absorb yesterday's stunning YouTube changes: Integration with Google+ comments.
Commenting is an ongoing debate in our newsroom. I have long advocated that we eliminate anonymous responses to stories. I'm identified. Why shouldn't commenters claiming I "pull ideas out of a monkey's ass" also be identified? I stand naked in the light, while they cower in darkness. But in wake of whistleblower Edward Snowden's stunning disclosures about NSA spying and corporate giants seeking more information about us -- yes, I wash both hands after peeing, thank you very much -- my views about anonymity are changing. I can't control the NSA but can exercise limited restraint with Google. I begin by asking about YouTube identified commenting: Who benefits first?
Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7 is all about performance
Microsoft has officially released the final version of Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7. The latest iteration of its evergreen web browser ships with a firm focus on performance, with the promise of a 9 percent improvement over IE10.
There’s little visible difference between Internet Explorer 11 and its immediate predecessor for Windows 7 users -- none of the added functionally in the Windows 8.1 release has found its way into this build.
Google Opinion Rewards lets you earn money by completing surveys
If you had to put money on what type of app Google would release next, you probably wouldn't have wagered much on this. Forget searching, maps, and cloud storage, Google Opinion Rewards is an app that you can use to earn credit that can be spent at Google Play. Sounds good? Well, you have to be willing to do a little work. What's the catch? The clue's in the name of the app: you'll have to spend time completing surveys.
The free Android app is available in the US only (for the moment, at least) and once you have created a basic profile you will be notified whenever a new survey is ready to be completed. Unlike other paid surveys, it looks as though there is going to be a limit on how many are announced. The frequency is described as being "about once a week".
Amazon ships Kindle Fire HDX 8.9
Amazon began shipping its seven-inch Kindle Fire HDX back on October 18, going directly after the Google Nexus for supremacy of the low-price tablet market. Now the company follows up by announcing that the larger version is heading out the door today.
The 8.9-inch Fire HDX weighs in at 13.2 ounces, which Amazon claims makes it "the lightest large-screen tablet". It also features a 339 ppi display, and boasts three times the processing power, two times the memory and four times the graphics performance of the previous generation. Fire OS 3.0, the new mobile operating system, also features a "mayday" button -- for those in need of a bit of hand-holding.
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