Latest Technology News

Bitcoin is not money, it's property

bitcoin-wallet

What's the first word that pops into your head when you hear Bitcoin? It's probably cryptocurrency, but a judge in Florida says this is wrong -- it's actually property.

In a case relating to alleged money laundering, Judge Teresa Pooler ruled that the charges could not stick as Bitcoin was not money, and therefore could not be laundered. With the decision that Bitcoin cannot be considered a 'monetary instrument', this could have implications for future cases.

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Windows 10 Anniversary Update Preview gets another patch -- Build 14393.5 now available

Microsoft continues to polish Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14393 in preparation for its big release as the Anniversary Update on 2 August.

The latest cumulative update (KB3176927) is available for both PC and Mobile, and bumps the Fast ring build up to 14393.5. As you would expect, this patch fixes a fair few problems, including some notable ones.

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Amazon gets government approval to test 'Prime Air' delivery drones in the UK

When Amazon initially announced that it wanted to make deliveries by drone, the world became very curious. The media jumped on the story, of course, driving people to get both excited and anxious about the possibilities.

Like many things, however, the USA government bureaucracy stifled our drone delivery dreams, somewhat. While I am all for safety and testing, I hate to see progress move at a snail's pace. The UK Government seems a bit more open to the unmanned delivery idea, as it is now working with Amazon to begin testing these drones in the nation as a delivery method.

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Virtual reality comes to Lollapalooza's 25th anniversary courtesy of Samsung Gear VR

Back in 1996, I attended the greatest concert of my life. I was only a teenager -- not yet old enough to drive -- so I got a ride from Long Island to Randall's Island in NYC. The show was Lollapalooza, and the lineup was epic -- Metallica, The Ramones, Soundgarden, Wu-Tang Clan, and more.

Back then, concertgoers didn't have smartphones and other such modern technologies -- we stared at the stage, not a screen. In 2016, however, things are very different. The upcoming Lollapalooza concert -- the 25th anniversary of the festival which is being held in Chicago -- will have a more high-tech feel. Why? There will be virtual reality onsite -- and offsite too. The VR technology will be supplied by Sasmung's Gear VR.

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The KickassTorrents forums are alive and kicking

Just a few days ago, KickassTorrents was dealt a blow when Artem Vaulin was arrested and the site seized by feds. Of course, it didn’t take long for mirrors to spring up, keeping KAT online in new locations. But the original team has also taken steps to ensure that the community lives on.

The KAT team has set up Katcr.co, home to a forum complete with many familiar old faces. This time around, there are no torrents -- this is strictly a forum -- although the KAT mirrors are still to be found online.

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Polymail for Mac wants to provide a cross-platform email experience to die for

If you’re still looking for the perfect email experience on Mac and iOS, then Polymail, Inc may have something to fill the gap left by Mailbox’s unceremonious exit back in February. It’s just officially released Polymail for Mac 1.01 after around six months in beta.

Polymail for Mac joins existing iPad and iPhone client, Polymail for iOS 1.21, to provide a cross-platform email client for Apple fans.

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Syncwire rugged microUSB cable review

USB cables may look durable, but it does not take much to bend a connector or damage the rubber jacket. These things happen, as you may have learned by now, and when they do they can easily ruin your day. Unless you have a spare, which is not always the case, you may be unable to charge your smartphone or power an important device.

Enter rugged USB cables. With tougher connectors and a more durable jacket, they can withstand a great deal of abuse -- even from curious pets. I've been testing Syncwire's "durable" microUSB offering for the past couple of weeks, and here are my impressions.

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What you need to know about two factor authentication

Picture this: you open your laptop to begin checking online sales for your business. You log in with your email address, only to receive an uncharacteristic error message: "Your Password is Invalid". You type in the password again. "Your Password is Invalid". You try again. "Your account has been temporarily locked. Please contact support".

You quickly grab the phone and begin to dial. As you wait on hold, you decide to check your business’ website and are stunned to see a "Web Page Not Found" error. A technical support specialist answers your call and begins to explain that the website and linked email account have been hacked.

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Create stylish coding snapshots with Marmoset

You’re building a website, presentation, maybe a CV listing your many coding skills, and would like some kind of graphic to illustrate that section. But what should it be?

Forget the usual clipart, install the Chrome app Marmoset instead, and it’ll help you create a stylish presentation-ready code snapshot in seconds.

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Email is still king despite the threats it poses

Email magic

Email is often cited as the technology that made the internet essential for businesses. You would have thought by now that something else would have come along to replace it in our affections, but the popularity of email shows no sign of waning.

A new infographic from email authentication company ValiMail shows that 98.5 percent of people check their email daily and spend as much as six hours doing so.

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What's the point of Twitter? Twitter explains...

Twitter is worried. It's worried that while it is a well-recognized brand, a disturbingly large number of people have no idea what Twitter is actually for. What is the point? Getting slightly meta, the company today explains its raison d'être and tries to clear up some common misconceptions.

'What misconceptions are there about Twitter?', you may well ask. That it is a social network. (It ain't.) That you have to use it every day. (Seriously?) As Twitter says, 'We realized we had some explaining and clarifying to do!'

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Dashlane streamlines password management for BYOD

Password threat

Weak passwords can put business data at risk, but if employees are using their own devices, poor security practices from their home life can spill over into the workplace.

Password manager app Dashlane has a solution to this issue in the form of a new Spaces feature for its Business version, which allows employees to manage both their business and personal passwords on mobile devices.

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There's only a few days left to get Windows 10 for free -- this is why you should upgrade

I’ve been very critical of the sneaky tricks Microsoft has been pulling to try to get users to upgrade to Windows 10. In my opinion, all that’s done is annoy a lot of customers, and tarnish the name of what is actually a very good operating system.

If you haven’t yet upgraded to Windows 10, and you’re on Windows 7 or 8.1, don’t let Microsoft’s stupid tactics turn you away from the new OS. There’s only a few days remaining to get Windows 10 for free, and you really should seize the opportunity -- even if you intend to stick with your current OS for a while longer. These are the reasons why I think you should upgrade:

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US government could save billions by modernizing its technology

The US government could save $5.8 billion in technology cost, and at the same time modernize and improve the efficiency of its systems. This is according to the Information Services Group, a technology insights, market intelligence and advisory services company.

Today, at the headquarters of the General Services Administration, it released a report, together with the Commission on IT Cost, Opportunity, Strategy and Transparency (IT COST).

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Verizon acquires Yahoo for $4.83 billion

After speculation and rumors, the deal has been done. Verizon has stumped up $4.83 billion in cash for Yahoo's operating business, including search, advertising and content.

The acquisition adds an extra one billion monthly active users to Verizon's customer base, and the deal comes just over a year after the company acquired AOL. Verizon's CEO says the company is in a 'highly competitive position' and the deal will 'help accelerate our revenue stream in digital advertising'.

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