Google announces new Chromecast-enabled games for the holidays
Christmas is just a few days away. While I generally enjoy spending time with family, dealing with different personalities and opinions can be quite the annoying ordeal. Disagreements and heated arguments over topical issues, such as the 2016 election, can lead to a stressful holiday. One crazy uncle supporting Donald Trump could lead to a disaster.
Ideally, you want to come prepared with ways to change the subject, while creating an atmosphere of fun too. While in prior years, this may have been a deck of cards or a board game, 2015 is all about tech. If you bring a Chromecast to your host's house this year, you can enjoy playing some fun games together -- on the TV screen -- including newly-compatible games, which Google announced earlier today.
Apple deems iPhone 6s too expensive for India, slashes prices
In some markets, consumers who want to get an iPhone 6s can expect to pay about $1000 just to get their hands on the base model. In India, for instance, the 16 GB version of Apple's smaller flagship officially arrived with a price tag of $935 (Rs 62,000). At the other end of the spectrum, an iPhone 6s Plus with 128 GB of storage could be had for a whopping $1390 (Rs 92,000).
The high barrier of entry seems to have been too much for many prospective buyers because Apple has just slashed the prices of its latest flagships by at least 10 percent across the board in India. A price cut so soon after an iPhone launch -- keep in mind, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus were officially announced in September -- is unheard of.
Tim Cook: Apple will not budge on encryption
With many U.S. lawmakers calling for an end to encryption, Tim Cook has decided to reiterate Apple’s stance on the matter. Apple’s CEO believes that when it comes to encryption there is no trade-off between privacy and national security.
During CBS’ program 60 Minutes, on Sunday Cook defended the need for encryption and how it important it is to Apple and its consumers. According to Cook, there is no reason why Americans should not be able to have privacy while simultaneously protecting America’s national security.
Get Ability Office 6 Standard, worth $29.95, for FREE at Downloadcrew Giveaway!
If you can’t afford Microsoft Office then you’ll love our latest giveaway. Ability Office 6 Standard features all the core office tools you need -- word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool and photo manager -- all wrapped up in a modern user interface.
The suite normally retails for $29.95, but for 24 hours only from 12pm EST Wednesday (23 December), you can get a single PC license for FREE!
Roku announces its top searches of 2015
Set-top boxes have become increasingly popular, with Amazon, Apple and Roku all on the market and doing well. One of the great things about these devices is the ability to easily search for whatever content you want, so what did people look for in 2015?
Well, the big one is, of course, movies and Back to the Future manages to edge The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part one. Others that made the cut into the top ten include Frozen, Jurassic Park and Gone Girl.
2016 IT trends -- Keeping your finger on the pulse of what's next [Q&A]
A new year means a fresh start, and IT professionals will be looking at how the traditional enterprise can re-evaluate and re-discover itself to take on new relevance.
We’ll see recurring themes -- like cloud, 3D printing, data security, and the Internet of Things -- continuing to remain relevant in 2016. At the same time, these things will continue to blur the lines between enterprises and individual computing, shaping them into intertwined eco-systems. New trends will also emerge and shape the way enterprises operate, how they’re managed and where they’re headed. BetaNews talked with Xchanging’s Global Head of Technology and Innovation, Mani Gopalaratnam, about the trends every IT professional should have on their radar for 2016. Here’s what he had to say:
Apple wants the UK government to rein in snooper's charter
Tim Cook is a vocal opponent of any form of encryption weakening, and now Apple has spoken out against the UK government's Investigatory Powers Bill -- otherwise known as the snooper's charter. Currently in draft form, the bill would require ISPs to retain customers' browsing histories for a year, and would require technology companies to implement backdoors that would allow encryption to be bypassed.
Apple says that it has serious concerns about the proposed bill in its current form, and calls for sweeping changes to be implemented. The company has famously refused to allow access to encrypted iMessage chats, and this is a stance it is reiterating.
Panda Security: 2016 will be the year of Android of IoT attacks
Security experts from Panda Security warn that 2016 is set to be a bumper year of attacks and malware infections. The company says that malware will grow at "an exponential rate", with Android, mobile payment platforms, and the Internet of Things being key targets.
Business, individuals, and corporate users alike are at risk, and it is predicted that infections via JavaScript and Windows 10's Powershell are to be common attack vectors. Exploit kits are due to increase in popularity, largely because of the fact that it is not currently easy to combat them.
Managing mobile apps in large enterprises [Q&A]
More and more businesses are rushing to embrace mobile apps, but in large companies where hundreds of apps need to be rolled out this can present major headaches for administrators.
We spoke to Chris Isbrecht of IBM Security's MaaS360 team to find out about some of the challenges of scaling mobile to large enterprises, as well as how they can be addressed.
Toshiba will cut 6,800 jobs
Japanese tech giant Toshiba is forced to restructure itself following enormous losses, and now it is known that some 6,800 people will lose their jobs.
The company is into many businesses, from laptop building, television to nuclear energy. The people losing their jobs work in the electronic devices department. The plans to restructure the company were unveiled after Toshiba overestimated its profit expectancies for a six-year period.
Microsoft acquires analytics startup Metanautix
Microsoft has announced that it has acquired Metanautix, a startup company that was developing its Quest data compute engine which aims to help large enterprises filter through their vast amounts of in-house data.
Metanautix, which was co-founded in 2012 by Theo Vassilakis and Toli Lerios, was launched in September 2014 after raising $7 million of funding after Quest had been two years in development.
If you installed this game from Google's Play Store, your Android phone may be infected!
While many detractors of iOS point to Apple's strict access to the App Store, others -- like me -- applaud it. While it might be harder to get an app approved for download in Apple's store, it is arguably more secure. Conversely, Google's Play Store can sometimes feel like the wild west. Sure, Apple's process is not infallible either, but many consider it to be the gold standard. Apple's stronger and more stringent screening process not only helps to block malicious apps, but weeds out low-quality offerings too. Overall, neither process is perfect.
Today, a startling discovery was made in the Google Play Store for Android. You see, a malicious app masquerading as a game made it past Google's security screeners, putting millions of users at risk. Had anti-malware company Lookout not discovered it, there is no telling how many Android users could have installed it.
Microsoft cops Talko for Skype stuff
Both Skype and Skype for Business (formerly known as Lync) are good communication tools. The standard Skype is particularly great for being cross-platform. You can depend on the software being available on all major platforms such as OS X, Windows, Android, Ubuntu, iOS and Windows Phone. Skype for Business is a solid business tool, focusing on not only communication, but sharing and collaboration too.
It is imperative that Microsoft continue to improve its Skype solutions -- "evolve or dissolve", as some say. In other words, the company cannot simply rest on its laurels. Well, today, Microsoft bought a company, Talko, to bolster its famed communication solutions. Yes, Talko, a mobile communication company, is being integrated into the Skype family.
Upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Pro using this product key
If you’re running Windows 10 Home and want to know whether it’s worth moving on to Windows 10 Pro, there’s a straightforward way of switching between the two versions of Microsoft’s latest operating system.
All you need to do is swap your current Windows 10 Home product key for the default Windows 10 Pro one which Microsoft has made available to all users.
Bvckup 2 is a hassle-free backup tool [Review]
Let’s face it, backups are pretty boring, which is probably the reason why they often get overlooked and people find themselves staring into the abyss of lost data. Part of the reason why so many of us hate backups is that the software used often seems to overcomplicate things with lots of options that many people never use.
Bvckup 2 aims to change all of this with a backup solution that’s clean, simple to use, elegant and fast. Produced by Swiss company Pipemetrics, Bvckup 2 is small -- the installer is less than 2MB in size - but packs in a surprising amount of sophistication.
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