Latest Technology News

Removing the IT roadblock to selecting business technology [Q&A]

Business database

Choosing software and cloud solutions for business is a difficult task and getting it wrong can have serious consequences. We've all heard horror stories about money being wasted on systems that either don't deliver or are left unused.

So, how can organizations make better decisions on systems purchases? We spoke to Venkat Devraj, CEO of technology selection specialist, SelectHub, to find out.

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Microsoft Office 365 now offers a project management app

Microsoft has announced the release of a preview and testing version of its new lightweight project management application -- Planner.

The application -- originally codenamed Highlander -- was released for initial evaluation to those customers who have one of the following Microsoft licenses:

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Like Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge is still pushing people away

Microsoft must have hoped that in walking away from Internet Explorer and moving towards Edge it could successfully shake off its reputation for producing terrible web browsers. There's a joke that everyone has used Internet Explorer at some point, even if it's just once to download Firefox or Chrome; sadly for Microsoft, it seems the trend continues.

The launch of Windows 10 provided an opportunity to attract a new audience to Microsoft Edge -- but people are still jumping ship. It's likely that Edge's continued lack of extension support is partly to blame, but usage stats from numerous analysts paint the same picture: Edge is tanking.

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Ford Motor Company partners with 'Girls Who Code' to encourage female interest in STEM

When it comes to automobiles, I only buy from Ford. Why? Well, besides admiring the company's design and quality, I like supporting American companies when possible. In other words, I am interested in both American cars and that particular company.

My interest in cars might not be surprising to you, because I am a male, right? Well, if you really do agree with that statement, and think my gender made me predisposed to liking cars, shame on you. Unfortunately, it is that sort of gender-bias thinking that can deter girls from being interested in cars. Even worse, this sort of bias can negatively impact a girl's interest in STEM. If you are not familiar, that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. These are all things at which women are capable of excelling, but years of gender discrimination has caused society to push females away. Today, Ford Motor Company is partnering with 'Girls Who Code' to encourage female interest in STEM.

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Facebook relaxes draconian real names policy. A bit.

The real names debate on Facebook is long-running and highly polarizing. Views fall into one of two camps: that people should be able to use whatever name they want on the social network, or that Facebook is free to impose whatever restrictions it wants. For supporters of the latter opinion, there is only really one argument -- Facebook can do what it likes.

But for those of the opposing view, there are countless -- well, several, at least -- reasons for scrapping the rule. Facebook has not performed a complete 180 yet, but the social network has today announced a couple of small, but important, changes to its naming policy. Following an earlier change to policy, Facebook says it wants to make things easier for those who belong to ethnic minorities, or who identify as "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer".

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No, the UK government doesn't have Twitter accounts supporting ISIS

ISIS has been in the news for some time now, and events like the recent terror attacks in Paris keep pushing the group into the public consciousness. Governments may be waging war on ISIS on the ground, but on the web it is the likes of Anonymous and vigilante hackers who have taken it upon themselves to curtail terrorist propaganda.

In the latest twist in the tail, hacker group VandaSec traced the IP addresses relating to some ISIS Twitter accounts to the UK government -- the Department of Work and Pensions specifically. Given that the accounts have been used not only to spread ISIS propaganda, but also to recruit members, does the UK government have a dirty little secret? As you might expect, it's not quite that simple.

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Google expands Android Pay with more stores and countries

Google launched Android Pay to compete in an increasingly busy market that contains the likes of Apple, Samsung and now Walmart. Android Pay is already accepted at over one million locations, but Google is only just getting started. Anyone with an Android device likely has the app as Google helpfully installed it for you, or at least on some devices such as Nexus.

Now the search giant is looking to expand its footprint, branching out to new locations. First up is Android for in-app purchases. The company is trying to make this easier. Just a couple of taps and you'll be done, no wallet involved.

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Google Classroom earns 'extra credit' with new features

teacher and students

One of the most important -- yet thankless -- jobs in the world is being a teacher. Many educators are underpaid and under-appreciated. In some underfunded districts, teachers are forced to make do without essentials, like books and pencils -- a really sad state of affairs.

Luckily, technology is constantly improving and evolving, which translates to new solutions and tools for educators. One such brilliant solution is Google Classroom. The search-giant's education-focused organizational tool can make a teacher's life much easier -- especially when paired with a Chromebook and Google Docs. Today, Classroom is earning some extra credit in the eyes of educators with all new features that make it even better.

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Ergotron WorkFit-T: An affordable alternative to a standing desk [Review]

Sitting down, so medical professionals tell us, is bad for you. As a species we’re designed to stand up and move about rather than sit in front of a screen. The trouble is, modern office-based work doesn’t really lend itself to this hunter/gatherer lifestyle.

The answer for some people is to have a standing desk so that you can bash away at your keyboard from a vertical position. It may not match the thrill of the hunt, but at least it gets you off your backside. The trouble is, purpose built standing desks can be eye-wateringly expensive, especially some of the sophisticated motorized models, and you have the problem of where to accommodate an extra piece of furniture.

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Samsung introduces blazing fast 128GB Pro Plus microSD card

Samsung has finally introduced the 128 GB model in its Pro Plus line of high-end microSD cards, half a year after launching the 32 GB and 64 GB versions. The latest entry promises transfer speeds of up to 95 MB/s for reads and 90 MB/s for writes.

The high transfer speeds make it a great option for professionals and demanding consumers alike, with Samsung also claiming that it should satisfy the needs of those who record lots of 4K video.

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What is your PC's clipboard giving away about you?

The Windows clipboard is very convenient, but it does come with some privacy and security risks.

Most dangers are clear. Copy some lengthy password to the clipboard, forget about it, and the text may be viewed by anyone with access to your PC. (Until you copy something else there, anyway.)

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Microsoft pulls its latest buggy Windows 10 Mobile build [Updated]

A week ago Microsoft pushed out a new Windows 10 Mobile build to Lumia 950 and 950 XL users. Build 10586.29 was the first cumulative update and originally made available to Windows Insiders.

However, things didn’t go particularly smoothly with the new version, and a large number of users reported having installation problems.

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Backblaze launches low cost cloud storage for IT departments

The advantage of storing data in the cloud is that there are no physical limits, though there is of course a cost.

A new offering from cloud storage provider Backblaze, better known for its consumer backup offerings, aims to offer a service similar to Amazon S3 or Microsoft Azure, allowing the storing of unlimited data in the cloud, but at a lower cost.

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The biggest data breaches of 2015

data breach

10Fold recently evaluated the seven largest breaches this year and found that hackers had absconded with more than 193.4 million personal records. To get to this figure, the agency reviewed 720 data breaches that occurred throughout the year. To narrow the list to a more manageable size, the team made five million the barrier to entry.

10Fold selected these data breaches based on independent research and review of third-party resources such as ID Theft Resource Center and Information is Beautiful.

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New endpoint protection offers government users security for the public cloud

cloud security

Use of the public cloud is on the increase but in some sectors such as government agencies is being held back by security concerns.

Data protection specialist Druva is announcing that it's launching a new endpoint solution that is Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) compliant.

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