Latest Technology News

Apple is boasting that it is conducting its fastest ever rollout of a smartphone, with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus set to arrive in 36 more countries during October.

That will mean the devices are available in a total of 69 countries come the end of October -- though consumers are still having a tough time getting hold of the phablet version, with the maximum three to four week wait listed at Apple's UK online store currently.

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Each and every month video provider Netflix issues a report on ISPs and makes no bones about who's good and who isn't. Honestly, the company has no choice -- its business rides on these speeds and it is not shy about reporting them.

September has been released, and there are some surprises and some not shocking disappointments. First, Verizon Fios flew to the top, averaging 3.17 MB per download. Not bad at all for the customers out there.

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WindowsX has released the Windows 10 UX Pack 1.0 and Windows 10 Transformation Pack 1.0, tools that skin Windows and -- in the case of the Transformation Pack -- patch system files to provide a look and feel that’s close to the current preview version of Windows 10.

Of the two, the UX Pack is the preferred choice for those running Windows 7 or later, as it makes changes without patching system files; however, the Transformation Pack does work with Vista and XP as well as later versions of Windows.

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According to research by Imperva, WordPress websites were attacked 24.1 percent more often than websites running on all other CMS platforms combined.

WordPress websites suffer 60 percent more XSS incidents than all other CMS platforms, and the research found that while WordPress is more likely to suffer fewer numbers of incidents for each attack type, it also suffers a higher traffic volume for each attack type.

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October is one of my favorite months; I get to wear a hoodie, drink pumpkin spice lattes (PSLs) from Starbucks and enjoy Halloween. Sure, I am far too old to trick or treat, but that does not mean that I can't get into the holiday spirit. I go pumpkin picking, carve jack-o'-lanterns, and give out candy to kids that come to my door.

When I was a young man, I did dress up for Halloween, but we were usually too poor to actually buy costumes. I recall one year that I dressed up as a SilverHawk, a popular cartoon in the 80s. My mom put aluminum foil on my head and sent me out with a pillow case for candy. In hindsight, I probably looked insane, but in my mind, I was a SilverHawk. Today, Google announces the top 10 Halloween costumes as per search trends.

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Microsoft released the Windows 10 Technical Preview a fortnight ago, inviting testers to participate in the Windows Insider Program and help the company build a better operating system.

In two weeks, over a million people have apparently signed up to try out the new OS, and according to Microsoft, the tech giant has received over 200,000 pieces of user-initiated feedback to date via the built-in Windows Feedback app. You can see a rough breakdown of the top feedback received so far here. Microsoft also revealed some genuinely interesting information regarding how people are running the OS.

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Everybody has different needs, so it is impossible to say one operating system is better than another. Sure, you can state which OS is best for you, but someone else may have a difference in opinion. In other words, whether you think Windows, OS X, Chrome OS or any Linux distro is the best operating system, you are right.

While I prefer Windows for heavy lifting, I use my Chromebook regularly for light use, such as writing, and trips to Starbucks. Unfortunately, Chrome OS has become synonymous with low-cost and portability, causing people to discount it for home desktop use. Actually, there is a segment of Chrome devices called Chromeboxes that are designed for the desktop and can excel at many things. Today, I am looking at the Acer Chromebox CXI (4GKM) to see how it performs as a home desktop PC.

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Two weeks ago IBM told the IT world it was taking on Intel in the battle for server chips with new Power8 processors incorporating advanced interconnection and GPU technology from NVIDIA. This followed an announcement earlier in the year that Google was using Power8 processors in some of its homemade servers. All this bodes well for IBM’s chip unit, right?

Not so fast.

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Malware causes all kinds of PC problems, and they don’t always go away once the threat has been removed. You might still find you can’t run certain programs, web browsers don’t work properly, there are network issues, and more.

You can’t simply turn to System Restore or your last backup, either: restoring old files might reinfect your PC, and make your problems even worse.

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Recently, LV=, a UK insurer, built a broker workflow app that combined three processes on three systems into one application with an automated tracking and reporting feature. Given the complexity, you might guess that the project took a large team of highly skilled developers months to complete. But here's the thing: two developers built the production-ready app in just one week -- without writing a single line of code!

Enter the power of a low-code development platform. The term has been gaining traction in the market to categorize platforms for rapidly building and deploying custom apps without the need for low-level coding. This is made possible through visual development tools where users can easily define the various elements of an application (database, application and process logic, user interface, security, etc.). Other common features include an App Store with reusable templates, widgets and components to further accelerate productivity, as well as social collaboration, enterprise integration and one-click deployment.

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One of the greatest benefits of living in a free country such as the USA is the ability to vote. Even in this country, we aren't far removed from a time where women and non-whites were not allowed to vote -- an embarrassment. With that said, a bigger embarrassment is people that do not vote at all. Don't get me wrong, people have the right not to vote, and it is sometimes discouraging to always choose the lesser of two evils, but when you think of the people that fought and died for your right to vote, it is almost a slap in their face to not do it.

If you don't feel you have enough knowledge about the candidates, that is understandable; there are far too many distractions, such as Walking Dead, Twitter and working very long hours. Between work and media consumption, there just is not enough time to research election details. Today, Microsoft wants to make it easier for people to learn about the election with the all-new Bing Elections; a one-stop hub of information.

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There have been various headlines recently about cloud security breaches -- including the celebrity 'event' that shall not be named -- and the latest problem to hit the cloud affects Dropbox users.

This time around it's not a security problem, but it does involve losing control of one's files. A problem with the Selective Sync feature of some older versions of the Dropbox desktop app meant that files were deleted rather than synced. It's a problem that Dropbox users have been complaining about for a little while but the cloud storage provider has now confirmed the bug and issued assurances that the problem has been addressed.

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Google's Android Wear is still getting started, having a smattering of devices such as the LG G Watch and Motorola's Moto 360. The wrist wear brings the mobile platform to a small screen, and it's received a lot of attention since the launch.

Microsoft has a history of supporting Android, releasing all of its apps to the rival devices, despite Google's failure to reciprocate. Last month the the company released OneNote for watches and now the software giant is working on Android Wear again, offering a new analog keyboard app for the tiny items.

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After all of the recent stories related to the Fappening you could be forgiven for thinking that stories about leaks of nude photos were becoming passé.

That didn't stop the media going into overdrive at the weekend when news emerged of 100,000 (or 200,000 depending on where you read the story) images from disposable message service Snapchat being leaked online.

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Not too long ago, the phrase "consumer-friendly" was something of a scarlet letter as it applied to business technology. Consumer tech was always viewed as dumbed-down and less capable than anything used in the enterprise setting, so it was practically unthinkable to bring consumer-grade software into the workplace.

Fast-forward to today, and platforms like Salesforce and Yammer and Workday are consistently demonstrating that consumer-level accessibility doesn’t require a decrease in technological capability. We can have our cake and eat it too. Here are six ways you can consumerize your own IT -- without dumbing it down.

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