Latest Technology News

Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning not all people that meet the classification have identical behaviors. Some of these folks are very functional, while others may struggle more to socialize, or not be able to hold jobs.

According to Microsoft, 85 percent of those with Autism do not hold full-time employment. This is unfortunate, as some of those with the classification are likely falling through the cracks -- capable of work, but not equipped. Luckily, the Windows-maker, in association with CASPA and Dennis Publishing, is aiming to change this with some unlikely tools -- the BBC Micro Bit and HTC Vive virtual reality solution.

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Microsoft has introduced new business apps and services aimed to be intuitive, deliver helpful assistance, and improve the lives of their users. The new offerings are called Dynamics 365 and AppSource.

Dynamics 365, available this fall, will unify the current CRM and ERP solutions into a single cloud service, with new apps to better manage specific business functions. Power BI and Cortana Intelligence are also integrated, to offer customers predictive analytics and prescriptive advice. Dynamics 365 will be deeply integrated with Office 365.

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Continuing in its relentless drive to take over the world of messaging, Facebook Messenger is gaining end-to-end encryption. To start with, the security feature is only rolling out on a 'limited test basis' but if feedback is positive, it will get a wider airing.

Facebook says that the move comes in response to requests for additional security options to protect discussions about sensitive matters, saying that security and privacy experts have been involved in the implementation of the feature.

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Quality in manufacturing is something I greatly value. No matter the product, I prefer things that are built to last. Quite frankly, our current disposable goods culture is not only wasteful, but bad for the environment too. It is distressing to think of all the obsolete and broken tech devices in landfills.

Rugged devices are obviously subject to obsolescence, but their durable nature makes them less-likely to break -- arguably making them last longer. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Active is a smartphone that is heavily advertised as being rugged and water-resistant, but apparently, those claims are not entirely accurate. The well-respected Consumer Reports has found one big claim to be false.

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Facebook introduced support for bots in Messenger a few months back, and it did not take long to see big companies embracing this new opportunity to connect with their customers. Now Yahoo is joining this list with Finance, News, MonkeyPet, and Weather.

Finance, News, and Weather are self-explanatory, but for those wondering why MonkeyPet is also on the list Yahoo says that it is the answer to those of you who have been "longing for a pet monkey". Let's take a look at all four and see what they can do.

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The last thing you want to see on your smartphone is a 'low battery warning' when you’re nowhere in range of a charging point. If you’ve had the foresight to bring a battery pack with you, you can juice up your device on the go, but that does mean remembering to carry a charged pack with you at all times, which is far from convenient.

ThinCharge from ChargeTech is a thin, lightweight battery case for iPhone 6/6s that solves the problem of a low battery entirely. I have one on my iPhone 6s, and it’s saved the day more times than I care to remember.

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This week OnePlus introduced the first update for its OnePlus 3 flagship to add a color-accurate sRGB mode for the display and improve RAM management, among other changes. Within two days, it should have reached all users, but the company pulled it after receiving reports of upgrade issues.

OnePlus says that it has fixed those issues, which are included in the new OxygenOS 3.2.1 OTA update that is now rolling out. That is not all that is new, however, as there are also some "additional improvements" as well. Here is what you need to know.

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Windows 10 is currently available as a free upgrade if you are coming from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, but this offer will not last for long. Just like everyone else, you will have to pay to get Microsoft's latest operating system after July 29. Question is, how does the free upgrade deadline impact Windows 10 Mobile?

While Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile did not launch at the same time, Microsoft positions the two operating systems as sister products. They have a shared core, many features in common, similar UI components, and even the build numbers are now the same as you probably know if you follow Windows Insider builds. So, understandably, there is some confusion over whether would-be Windows 10 Mobile users will have to pay for an upgrade after the Windows 10 deadline passes.

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One-hundred and eighty-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 8.x and Windows 10 in the past seven days.

Windows 10's Anniversary Update will be released on August 2, 2016. It features an impressive list of changes that includes Store improvements and support for Microsoft Edge extensions.

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Brits think their personal data is really, really valuable. There is nothing wrong with that, and private data should be valued highly, and guarded as such. However, once criminals get a hold of such data, they’ll sell it for such a low price you simply won't believe.

According to a new TotallyMoney.com report, based on a poll of 1,000 consumers, we value an email address at £983. In reality, it is being sold for five pence. A similar thing is with the browsing history. Its actual price on the black market is a ridiculous £0.0014. On average, we value it at £934.

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Mozilla has announced the creation of a new content recommendation system, which hopes will help people find better and more relevant content, easier.

The new product is called Context Graph, and the company’s VP of Products, Nick Nguyen, describes it as a "better forward button".

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In Part one of this series of columns we learned about data and how computers can be used for finding meaning in large data sets. We even saw a hint of what we might call Big Data at Amazon.com in the mid-1990s, as that company stretched technology to observe and record in real time everything its tens of thousands of simultaneous users were doing. Pretty impressive, but not really Big Data, more like Bigish Data.

The real Big Data of that era was already being gathered by outfits like the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) -- spy operations that were recording digital communications even though they had no easy way to decode and find meaning in it. Government tape libraries were being filled to overflowing with meaningless gibberish.

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With the Fourth of July out of the way, it’s back to normal for the Windows team who have just rolled out a new build of Windows 10 for Insiders on the Fast ring.

We’re closing in on the release date for the Anniversary Update, so as you’d expect this new release, Build 14383, mostly focuses on fixing a load of bugs, but there are some other bigger changes to be aware of, including the removal of the desktop watermark from this build.

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The Rio Olympics are coming soon, and they are not without controversy. Not only is the Zika virus scaring some athletes and reporters from traveling to Brazil, but the country is facing high crime, poor economic conditions, and sanitation concerns.

While the competition is tainted by the aforementioned things, Samsung is looking to brighten it up a bit. How, you ask? With a smartphone, of course! The company is releasing a limited-edition version of the Galaxy S7 edge with an Olympic-themed style. A version will also be created for the Paralympics in the future.

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Google has announced that it is be acquiring French startup Moodstocks, which has developed technology that aids smartphones in identifying the objects captured by their cameras.

In 2012, the startup introduced on-device image recognition and has spent its time since working on object recognition through the use of machine learning and computer vision. This is what initially intrigued Google about the company as it, along with many other companies in Silicon Valley, has invested in teaching computers to better see and understand the world.

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