Sony rolls out Android 4.4 KitKat for flagship Xperia smartphones
Most Android smartphones and tablets do not run the latest-available version of Android, as vendors choose older iterations, even for their flagship products. As a result, it can take many months -- or it may never even happen -- for a software upgrade to finally close the gap.
One of the vendors that finds itself in this situation quite often is Japanese maker Sony, which cannot seem to release a high-end device, like the Xperia Z, Xperia Z1, Xperia Z Ultra or Xperia Z Compact, without shipping it with a dated version of Android. Luckily, KitKat commences its much-awaited roll-out for the company's most-recent flagship smartphones and tablets.
Malware in pirated software costs billions
Enterprises worldwide are expected to spend $500 billion in 2014 to deal with issues caused by malware in pirated software. Consumers are set to spend $25 billion and waste 1.2 billion hours on security threats and fixes.
These are among the conclusions of a study carried out by IDC and the National University of Singapore, released today by Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit as part of its annual Play It Safe campaign.
Copy websites locally for offline browsing with Cyotek WebCopy
Cyotek WebCopy is a clever tool which copies all or part of a website to your hard drive for offline browsing.
Grabbing a small and simple site is easy: just enter a URL in the "Website" box, and choose the Copy option. Cyotek WebCopy downloads that page, and any links (within the same domain), then repeats the process until it’s done. And then you’re able to view the local copy of any page, and browse it as though you were online.
Google's Chromecast streams its way into 11 additional countries
The world is a big place, full of many countries. However, the technology community is often very USA-centric. It can be easy to forget that when a product launches in the United States, it does not necessarily launch simultaneously in other countries too.
Google's Chromecast is a great product -- useful and inexpensive, but for Americans it is yesterday's news. We've been using it for several months now. While the streaming-media dongle is still cool, it no longer has that new-car smell. However, the smell is fresh for consumers outside the USA, as Google launches it in eleven more countries, starting today.
Celebrate Grumpy Cat's second birthday by sharing a picture of your cat!
When it comes to the internet, there is one absolute...a love of cats. Regardless of your allegiance -- Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone -- felines bring us all together. Sure, there are some macho men that will pretend they do not like cats, but I guarantee their hearts will melt at the sight of a basket of kittens.
One of the most famous internet cats is the lovable Grumpy Cat. She became one of the most popular memes of all-time, generating a huge amount of social media shares. If you aren't familiar, she is a cat with a grumpy face. Believe it or not, Grumpy Cat is turning 2 years old on April 4th. Since she has brought us so much joy, it is time we returned the favor by celebrating with her. Today, cat-food company Friskies announces a contest to win a trip to NYC, where the winner will meet Grumpy Cat.
Microsoft announces economical Wireless Mobile Mouse 1850 for Windows and Mac
When it comes to computer mice, it is hard to make them one-size-fits-all. After all, people have different sized hands, different preferences and heck, let's not forget the whole lefty and righty situation. To muddy the waters even further, many people own two mice -- one for home and one for portability.
A mouse for home is easy; it can be any size as it does not need to be portable. Instead, the consumer can just focus on comfort and price. A portable mouse is more difficult. A consumer must focus on size and connectivity, often at the expense of comfort. Many portable mice are too small and can be a chore to use. Today, Microsoft aims to deliver an inexpensive portable mouse, which is comfortable for both right-handed and left-handed users alike.
Pandora One raises subscription price, existing users immune to new cost
Pandora is one of the grandfathers of the streaming music service, and it has remained one of the better deals among paid music apps. Granted, being a radio-only service limits the capability and, therefore, the potential price that can be charged, but many customers find that it's quite useful and all they really need.
Now Pandora is being forced to raise prices. Even though the increase is minimal, the service is making it as painless as possible for loyal customers -- in fact, completely painless. The current subscription cost for One (unlimited and ad-free) will rise from $3.99 to $4.99 per month beginning in May, but those who already have a One account need not worry, as things will not change for them.
Cloud storage price wars! First blood to Google!
And so it begins. The price war in the cloud. There are few tech companies that would not like you to store all of your files in the cloud, and there are several big names vying for attention. The obvious contenders for the crown are Microsoft with SkyDrive (sorry, OneDrive), Dropbox and Google Drive -- of course there are plenty of others, but these are the names that trip readily off the tongue. As computer users we have become increasingly comfortable with the idea of storing files online; in fact we almost demand it. If an app or service does not offer cloud storage, there are instant complaints about the lack of between device syncing.
But cloud storage does come at a cost. On the face of it, online storage is available free of charge. All of the big names -- and many of the smaller ones -- provide gigabytes, in varying quantities, of space gratis. But for cloud storage to be truly useful, everything needs to be stored there. The 5GB of free space from one provider is not to be sniffed at, but 5GB disappears very quickly. Opt to store all of your photos online, for instance, and the gigabytes will very quickly be eaten up.
How I write about Chromebook
Over the weekend, I got email from developer Jeff Nelson referencing his blog response to my BetaNews story: "Chromebook belongs to computing's past, not its future". He is among a majority of responders who disagree with my assessments about the future of PCs depending on keyboard and mouse.
Today's Android Wear platform announcement foreshadows exactly where computing is headed. For longer perspective, please see my book The Principles of Disruptive Design. But suffice to say that Google champions "Star Trek"-like computing, where you—by sight, sound, touch, and voice—are the user interface.
Split, combine, encrypt, compress: jPDF Tweak is a one-stop PDF toolkit
jPDF Tweak is an open source Java Swing application which provides a host of ways to customize, adjust and work with PDF files.
You can split or combine documents, for instance. There are crop, rotate and scaling options. Or you can apply text or image watermarks.
Bitrix24 takes on OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox
Bitrix24 has released a new desktop app for its online collaboration service, introducing the ability to synchronize and work with group and company files.
"We are currently the only online storage and file sharing service that has a free plan with group and company drives -- Box, OneDrive, Dropbox and Google Drive all charge for the privilege or don’t offer the option at all. Nor do we restrict our users concerning what tools they use for document editing -- they can use MS Office installed on their PC, or MS Office Online, or Google Docs. Obviously, that alone is not enough to compete with these giants, so we decided to add communication and collaboration tools right inside the app as well," says Dmitry Valyanov, President of Bitrix, Inc.
Android Wear -- Google brings its mobile OS to your wrist
Wearable technology is not a brand new innovation, it's not even new to Google. We've long become accustomed to Android-powered products like Google Glass, and Pebble and Galaxy Gear smartwatches. While I've had no real desire to foray into the Glass market, I am on record as wanting a Pebble, though I've yet to convince myself to shell out the money.
Now Google is diving into this market a bit more officially -- no more dipping in toes to test the water. The company announces wearable Android, and it begins with watches.
Google attacks Microsoft in the enterprise -- Cisco WebEx running on Chromebooks
Modern offices are not confined to one building. Many enterprises have offices scattered around the world. Not to mention, computers and the internet have afforded many employees the opportunity to work from home. This enables people to spend more time with their family -- something desperately needed in the USA nowadays, as people are working more hours than ever.
One of the most popular solutions for screen-sharing, communication and remote meetings is Cisco's Webex. Unfortunately, most businesses use the service on Windows machines -- Chromebooks are not supported. Well, at least they weren't -- today Google announces a proof-of-concept, which shows Webex running on Chrome OS. This is yet another instance of Google eating away at Microsoft's stronghold on the enterprise.
Create, edit and process animated GIFs with Cyotek Gif Animator
From forum avatars to simple web slideshows, there’s still a place for animated GIFs. And, fortunately, they can be very easy to create. Cyotek Gif Animator provides everything you need to create, work and batch process your GIF animations.
Open an existing animation and it’s displayed in a simple vertical timeline. You can change its background color, add or edit a text comment, and decide whether (and how often) it should loop, before viewing any results in a Preview window.
Amazon lands major textbook distribution deal in Brazil
Amazon began its retail life as an online book distributor, though it's something we rarely consider the company now -- unless you choose to count digital versions for Kindle and Kindle apps. However, a thriving market for textbooks exists and that has become a recent focus for the company -- also in digital format.
Amazon now lands a major contract in that market, announcing it has reached a textbook deal with the Brazil Ministry of Education. "National Fund for Educational Development (FNDE), has been working with Amazon to convert and wirelessly distribute more than 200 textbooks to hundreds of thousands of public high school teachers via Whispercast", the company states.
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