Barbie says hello to more security flaws
Hot on the heels of last Friday's news of the potential of the Wi-Fi enabled Hello Barbie doll to be hacked, new research has uncovered security issues with the mobile app associated with the doll and with its connections to cloud servers.
Application security specialist Bluebox working with independent researcher Andrew Hay has revealed that the app can be modified to reveal confidential information including passwords.
Steve Ballmer: Windows 10 Mobile needs Android apps
Microsoft held its yearly shareholder meeting this week in Bellevue, Washington. According to executive vice president and chief financial officer Amy Hood, the company did well during the fiscal year of 2015 and it has already reported a strong start when it comes to the current fiscal year.
However, former CEO of Microsoft Steve Ballmer was displeased with the level of disclosure at the meeting concerning Microsoft’s revenue. He believes that revenue is a key metric and that it should be reported as opposed to the run rate.
Microsoft shows compassion during Chennai flood with free Skype calls to Tamil Nadu
Often, when there is a tragedy in the world, you can depend on people and corporations to offer help. Sure, some companies do it for publicity, but regardless of motive, the recipients of the aid will appreciate it.
Today, Microsoft is showing compassion for the flood victims in Chennai -- a city in India that is experiencing its worst rainfall in over 100 years. The company is offering free intentional Skype calls to the Tamil Nadu section of the country. Microsoft deserves major kudos for this generous move.
Follow the Inca trail and make the trek to Machu Picchu with Google
The ruins of Machu Picchu are perhaps the most familiar and enduring reminder of the once mighty Inca empire. Thought to have been built in the 1400's, the city is a spectacular site thanks to its location high atop a peak in the Andes mountains. Reaching it is part of the adventure.
It is, no doubt, on many bucket lists, but the journey is not for everyone. Now Google has partnered with Peruvian Ministry of Culture to bring you this fantastic location that few will ever see in person.
Over 50 percent of devices in US classrooms are Chromebooks [Infographic]
Chromebooks are viewed by many people as the Windows Phone of laptops, paling into insignificance when compared to Windows machines and MacBooks. But the cheap and cheerful nature of (most) Chromebooks has seen the share of certain markets rocket -- particularly in the classroom.
Back in 2012, less than one percent of devices in US schools was a Chromebook -- now the Google-powered laptops account for more than half of the market. Google's interest in education is not new, but the inroads it has managed to make in such a short space of time has caught many people off guard.
Patent troll claims HTTPS ownership, lawsuits ensue
Ah, don’t you love the smell of patent trolls in the morning?
In the latest news regarding these wonderful creatures, it was unveiled this week that a Texas company called CryptoPeak Solutions has sued basically everyone, everywhere, for using the HTTPS protocol.
Facebook's Live Video is no longer a celebrity-only feature
The ability to broadcast live video on Facebook is something that has previously only been available to celebrities. It's not being made available to everyone -- yet -- but a handful of lucky users are being given the chance to try it out ahead of a wider rollout.
Starting today, some US iPhone users will be able to live broadcast to their friends and family. This is Facebook's bid to take on Twitter's Periscope, but the social network has more to announce. On top of Live Video, photo collages are also being unveiled as a new way to show off your snaps.
Tablets are doing worse than laptops
Notebooks still have a straw to hold on to, while tablets seem to have broken theirs and continue to sink, according to a forecast by global market research firm TrendForce.
TrendForce says total notebook shipments will drop 6.4 per cent for 2015, to about 164.4 million units. The company’s analyst Anita Wang believes shipments will recover in 2016, mostly because of branded vendors, such as Xiaomi and Huawei entering the market.
Windows 10 Mobile now available for Xiaomi Mi 4
Now that Windows 10 Mobile is ready for prime time, having launched alongside Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL earlier this month, Xiaomi has released a fresh build for its Mi 4 smartphone. The device received support for Windows 10 Mobile earlier this year, with a developer preview arriving in June.
The Windows 10 Mobile build that was just released is only for the 4G LTE version of the smartphone. And, also, Xiaomi warns that there might be "some unpredicted bugs still".
Amazon takes its Fire tablets to China, adds new features
Amazon recently released its latest tablets, the Fire 10 and Fire 8, as well as a smaller $50 model, all of which sold very well over the big shopping days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. These were among several Amazon products that did well over that period.
Now the company is updating the software across the entire line, bringing several enhancements to the tablets. It's also putting a device on sale in China for the first time, so there's plenty of news out of the Washington-based company.
Server shipments, vendor revenue go up in Q3 2015
In the third quarter of 2015, worldwide server shipments grew 9.2 percent from the third quarter of 2014, while vendor revenue increased 7.5 percent year over year, Gartner has reported.
From the regional standpoint, Asia/Pacific grew the most in shipments, with a 23.8 percent increase. The region also posted the highest vendor revenue growth at 25.4 percent for the period.
Apple becomes open source champion with Swift programming language
One by one, companies are starting to embrace open source more and more. Microsoft has been a proponent of Linux and other open source solutions, surprising many in those communities.
Now, it is Apple's turn. Today, the company run by Tim Cook announces that its Swift programming language is now open source. No, this is not Apple's first embrace of open source, but it could be one of its most significant.
Data discovery solution made available free on MS Office
Businesses are increasingly keen to unlock the insights contained within their data. But the tools to do this are often expensive and complex, putting them beyond the reach of smaller organizations.
Analytics specialist BeyondCore has announced a collaboration with Microsoft to make its data discovery solution available to Office users for free.
Speccy restores compatibility with Windows 10, supports latest Intel processors
Piriform has released Speccy 1.29, a new version of its free Windows system information tool. The headline new feature in version 1.29 -- also available as a standalone portable build -- is improved support for the latest generation of Intel processors.
Speccy 1.29 also strengthens hardware detection, restores compatibility with the latest build of Windows 10 and updates its hardware detection algorithm.
New privacy platform protects enterprise communication
Enterprise customers are increasingly concerned about the security of their mobile communications, as well as the ability to deliver auditing and compliance information.
Silent Circle, the Swiss company behind the privacy focused Blackphone, is launching its Enterprise Privacy Platform a set of secure software, services and devices designed to deliver privacy to business and government organizations of all sizes.
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