Amazon holds (another) Kindle Fire sale
Since the latest generation of the Kindle Fire family of tablets rolled out, it almost seems the devices are on sale more often than not. Just recently the retail giant celebrated being named number one in customer satisfaction with a promo code for its devices, now it’s using football as an excuse for one more deal.
It’s not hard to deduce why this latest bargain is being given -- Amazon is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, home of the Seahawks who are now Super Bowl-bound to battle the Denver Broncos. In fact, the graphic currently displayed on the homepage illustrates the Seahawks-49ers game this past Sunday.
The rise of the phablet -- shipments to hit 120 million by 2018
The phablet. It's a device with a silly name, but it's a market that is gaining massive momentum. Analysis by Juniper Research suggests that the number of larger-screened devices that ship will rocket by 600 percent by 2018. Projected figures show shipments jumping from around 20 million devices in 2013, to 120 million five years later. But taking into account the loose definition of a phablet it is possible that the figures could be even higher.
In fact there is no "official" definition of a phablet, at least in terms of the size of screen a device must sport in order to qualify for the title. Juniper Research acknowledges that phones with very large screens are increasingly common, with many high-end handsets featuring 5 inch - 5.5 inch displays. For the purposes of its report, Juniper Research uses the term phablet to refer to handsets that have a screen size between 5.6 inches and 6.9 inches.
Management and employees out of step on IT policies
Email encryption specialist DataMotion has released the results of its second annual survey focusing on email and file transfer habits.
This highlights a wide-ranging communications disconnect between IT management and non-IT employees on security and compliance policies.
Nokia Lumia Icon shows up on Verizon's site
The Lumia 929 is, without a doubt, the worst kept secret in Nokia's recent history. Pictures of the new Windows Phone have appeared numerous times, leaving nothing to the imagination. Furthermore, the handset even went on sale in China, at a local online retailer with its Verizon branding, ahead of its official launch.
Also ahead of its official launch, the Lumia Icon -- known as the Lumia 929 -- has appeared on Verizon's site, revealing every detail that one might want to know about the device. As you may have read so far, this Windows Phone is allegedly a big red-exclusive offering.
Microsoft takes on the government again, this time focusing on the international community
Microsoft and the government are not strangers -- they have met in court, most notably during anti-trust hearings. More recently, the General Council of the company took matters into his own hands when he deemed the US government an "advanced persistent threat". Now Brad Smith is back for round two.
This time the lawyer is aiming at the upcoming World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland. Smith posted a missive today regarding the conference and calling for an international convention to address recent concerns.
VLC for iOS gets a new look, Google Drive/Dropbox streaming
VideoLAN’s popular media player VLC for iOS has been upgraded to 2.2 with a revamped iOS 7-style interface, along with new multi-touch gestures for easier navigation.
Google Drive integration and Dropbox streaming should make it much easier to access your media. And if that’s not enough, the new build also adds support for HTTP Live Streaming, m3u streams and https playback.
IObit releases Advanced Mobile Care 4.0 for Android
IObit has updated its excellent free all-in-one Android security and performance optimization app, making it safer and faster, and introducing some welcome additional features.
Advanced Mobile Care (AMC) 4.0 gains a streamlined interface and a set of useful new Android tools including a Call/SMS Blocker and Anti-Surveillance.
IT worker steals credit cards details of almost half of South Koreans
As data theft goes, it has to go down as one of the largest and most audacious acts in history. The numbers may not be the highest -- although it's still a very hefty figure -- but looked at in terms of percentage of population, it is staggering.
The work of a single person led to the credit card details of an incredible 20 million South Koreans, or almost half of the country's population, being stolen and sold onto marketing companies.
Recuva now recovers data from unmounted drives, ISO-formatted optical discs
Piriform has released Recuva 1.5 and Recuva Portable 1.5, new versions of its freeware data recovery tool for Windows PCs.
Version 1.5’s headline feature is its newly acquired ability to recover data from unmounted drives, while it also adds support for the ISO9660 file system as well as Junction Point recovery.
Kim Dotcom unveils Baboom music service
The famous, or perhaps infamous, Kim Dotcom once ran MegaUpload before a massive shutdown effort carried out by the government. He later launched Mega, flaunting it to the very people who set out to ruin him. But the flamboyant entrepreneur has always seemed most interested in music, and today he launches his very own streaming service.
Baboom launches, promising a combination of both Spotify and iTunes. Dotcom is soliciting artists to come in and set up their own pages, which will include a bio, images and videos. It is free for them to setup their presence on the new site.
Spotify begins marketing artist merchandise
The streaming music industry has entered an increasingly fast race to grab users and find new ways to monetize the business, while offering "free" streaming. Last week both Spotify and Rdio announced free versions of their services, but now Spotify wants to go a step further, giving back to the people who make the music.
The company plans to allow artists to hawk their merchandise on the website. Spotify is partnering with Topspin to make this new revenue stream possible.
Verizon-branded Nokia Lumia 929 now available... in China
According to rumors that have been popping up over the past few months, Nokia is preparing to launch a new Windows Phone 8 handset called Lumia 929. The smartphone is expected to bear the Verizon logo, as an exclusive model designed for the US mobile operator. It should be the successor of the Lumia 928, that was introduced in the first half of last year.
One might naturally assume that, when the Lumia 929 actually goes on sale, Verizon's online and brick and mortar stores would be the first places to offer the Windows Phone. The mobile operator's logo implies it. Well, the Lumia 929 is now available, but at Chinese online retailer Taobao.
1234, throw that password out it's poor
California-based password management software specialist SplashData has released the results of its annual list of the internet’s worst passwords.
For the first time "password" has been knocked off the number one slot. This doesn’t mean people are getting more security minded, however, as it's been replaced by the equally obvious "123456".
Microsoft fixes some (but not all) of Surface Pro 2's recent problems
Microsoft’s botched December 2013 firmware update caused Surface Pro 2 owners several problems, most notably a 'wake and battery drain' issue.
Microsoft was aware of the bugs and having pulled the flawed update on 18 December (a week after it was pushed out through Windows Update), vowed to fix the glitches it had caused as soon as possible. Over the weekend the company rolled out a patch designed to overcome the biggest issue which saw Microsoft’s next generation Intel-based tablets suffering from reduced battery life, crashes when put to sleep, and unexpected wake-ups.
Pirates and TV meet today, with Black Sails debuting on YouTube and Starz website
When you hear the word pirate associated with a TV show there is likely one immediate thought that springs to your mind, and it isn’t a skull and crossbones or eye patch. But today that is changing, as a brand new program debuts in a unique way.
A new show from Starz network titled Black Sails is set to debut next weekend, but the network has a surprise in store for viewers. You can actually watch the very first episode right now. The premier show is available through the Starz website, in conjunction with YouTube.
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