SMS is key to business communication in a 'mobile first' world
The switch to mobile devices has brought about a change in the way people communicate and consume media, moving away from the desktop PC and TV. This shift toward 'mobile first' or in some cases 'mobile only' needs to be reflected in how businesses expand their communication services.
This is one of the key findings of a new report by mobile engagement specialist OpenMarket and UK market research firm Portio Research. The report highlights that of the 7.3 billion people worldwide, 6.1 billion use an SMS-enabled phone, which amounts to 84 percent of the global population.
Samsung takes the wraps off Z3, its second Tizen smartphone
Samsung has unveiled the second smartphone to use its own Tizen operating system, as the South Korean company attempts to chip away at Android’s market share.
The Samsung Z3 will be available from October 21 in India at a cost of approximately $130. Its predecessor, the Z1 (Samsung appears to have misplaced the Z2), only cost around $90, so it remains to be seen whether consumers will accept the price increase.
It's Michael Dell versus the world and Dell will win
In my last column I wrote that Dell buying EMC is a great idea (for Dell) and left it to this column to more fully explain why that is so. It takes two columns because there is so much going on here in terms of both business models and technologies. As the title suggests it comes down to Michael Dell against the world and in this case I predict Dell will win, Cisco, HP and IBM will lose, Apple will be relatively unaffected and I don’t really know what it will mean for Microsoft but I think the advantage still lies with Dell.
One thing that is key is every one of these companies except Dell is publicly traded and answerable to Wall Street while Dell is for now answerable only to the gods of Texas bidness who must at this point be giddy with greed. So all of these companies except Dell have essentially the same playbook -- cutting costs, laying-off workers and outsourcing like crazy all to pay for the dividends and stock buybacks Wall Street defines these days as prudent corporate behavior. In contrast to this defensive game Dell can use its free cash flow to transform the company and dominate the market -- what 20 years ago we would have thought of as the right way to build a company. How quaint.
Google Translate grows by two more language features
As much as you may want to know multiple languages, not everyone does. Fortunately for the rest of us there are translation tools to help out and Google is one of the more popular ones, plus it's available on multiple platforms.
Today Google rolls out new translation features, bringing English and German translations to Arabic via printed text -- conversations were already available.
Illuminate your gaming PC or Halloween Jack-o'-Lantern with Satechi USB Light Strip
If you build a gaming desktop, you should invest in LED lights to truly bring it to life. Sure, some people prefer a more conservative PC appearance, but there is no denying that it is bad-ass to see a build that lights up like a lava lamp. This is particularly true if your case has a side window.
Unfortunately, many lighting kits are straight-up garbage. Satechi is looking to reverse that perception with its USB Light Strip. Not only can it illuminate the inside of your PC, but the outside too, including your monitor with accent lighting. Even cooler? You can forgo a candle on your carved pumpkin this year and instead use this LED lighting kit. A real pumpkin with USB is friggin' awesome!
Microsoft launches new Transparency Hub, details content removal requests
In the post-Snowden age, transparency reports are all the rage. After the privacy debate that followed the NSA surveillance revelations technology companies fell over themselves to publish everything they could about government data requests. Microsoft has already released transparency reports, but today unveils a new Transparency Hub.
This is designed to be a central resource through which a variety of reports can be accessed, including the Law Enforcement Requests Report and U.S. National Security Orders Report. Data for the first six months of 2015 is now available, and there is a new section dedicated to Right To Be Forgotten-style requests for data removal.
Adobe Flash zero-day vulnerability surfaces one day after security updates
Yesterday Adobe rolled out its monthly security patches, something all users should pay attention to given past history. Flash, Reader and Acrobat all received fixes, presumably remedying the current batch of problems plaguing the software. The problem is, nothing ever seems fixed in the world of Adobe.
To that end, a zero-day exploit has already been discovered by the folks at security firm Trend Micro. Yes, that didn't take long and Adobe didn't fix this one.
Buggy Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 10549 released to Fast ring
Hot on the heels of a new desktop build, Microsoft has now released Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 10549 to Fast ring Windows Phone users. While there are a fair number of improvements and new features, there is also a serious problem for anyone upgrading from Build 10536 -- although there is a work around.
So that’s the bad news, what's the good? Riding the current wave of interest in diversity, this build includes diverse emoji; a recognition of the fact that there are many hues of skin color. There are improvements to the messaging app -- although no Skype integration just yet -- and to Cortana, but that's not the end of the story.
Line introduces Letter Sealing message encryption feature
As the battle between privacy and security heats up, one instant messaging service has definitively announced which side of the divide it falls on.
Line, which is estimated to have more than 200 million monthly active users, has launched a new end-to-end encryption feature called "Letter Sealing" for use across both smartphone and desktop platforms.
New AI product combines human and machine intelligence
A number of major companies including IBM, Microsoft and Amazon have launched new machine learning platforms in the past year.
But data enrichment company CrowdFlower believes that to be effective and commercially viable machine learning needs more training and better data.
HP and 3M join forces to fight visual hacking
If you are like me, you do a lot of work on the go. Not a day goes by where I am not typing away on my laptop in a public place like Starbucks or on a bench. Unfortunately, this opens me up to visual hacking. In other words, devious people can simply glance at my laptop to see what I am doing. If you work with sensitive information, this is a huge problem.
According to a recent 3M-funded study, 90 percent of visual hacking attempts are successful. Luckily, HP has teamed up with 3M to fight this visual hacking scourge. Rather than use clunky screen covers, the computer manufacturer will integrate the 3M technology directly into the laptop display. Whoa.
Adobe and Dropbox team up for easier PDF management
Adobe and Dropbox have announced a partnership, bringing stronger integration between the two products which will surely be beneficial for users on both sides.
The new partnership means people using Adobe products will be able to save files directly to their Dropbox folders, while those going into their cloud locker first will be able to edit PFF files directly in the cloud.
Apple faces $862 million bill as iPhone and iPad chips infringe patents
A jury has decided that Apple infringed on patents owned by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The A7, A8, and A8X processors used in iPhones and iPads since 2013 included technology owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's licensing arm.
US District Judge William Conley had previously indicated that Apple could be hit with a bill of up to $862.4 million, but it is now down to the jury to determine the levels of damages that must be paid. The chips feature efficiency-improving technology, and can be found in some iPads as well as the iPhone 5s, 6, and 6 Plus.
Hear the recordings Google stores of the voice commands you've said to your phone
OK Google, Siri, and Cortana all make it possible to control a phone simply by speaking to it. In the case of Google, what you might not be aware -- it's hardly something the company shouts about -- is that recordings of every command, question, and request are stored online.
Listening back through these could well be interesting, embarrassing, perhaps even nostalgic. You can step back in time and remind yourself of trips abroad, fun nights out, and the like, but you might also be concerned about privacy. If you would rather these recordings were not stored online, you can delete them; here's how.
USB Killer can fry any computer in seconds -- watch it in action
Just as sharing floppy disks in the 1990s carried the risk of infecting your PC with a virus, so sharing USB flash drives carries the same risk today. Fortunately you can easily protect against that kind of threat by disabling autorun and also installing a decent anti-virus program.
However, a Russian security expert has created a new, far more dangerous USB stick, which doesn’t carry a virus, but rather a deadly charge of power which can fry any device with a USB port in a matter of seconds.
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