New York City gets 'ParkNYC' parking meter mobile payment app for Android and iPhone
New York City is a wonderful place to visit. There are countless great restaurants, not to mention museums, Madison Square Garden, and of course, Broadway shows. True, it is a very expensive city, but it is totally worth it for the culture.
One of the worst things about New York City, however, is driving. Traffic is unbearable and totally chaotic -- it can be maddening. Even worse is parking your car. If you can even manage to find a spot (they are hard to find), you have to deal with meters -- some of which still use coins. Today, Mayor de Blasio announces that paying for parking in New York City is getting much more convenient. The all-new 'ParkNYC' app for Android and iPhone lets drivers pay to park using their smartphone.
Samsung refreshes Notebook 9 Windows 10 laptops -- insanely light with Kaby Lake processors
If you want a thin and light laptop, Apple is usually the way to go. Its computers are designed to be both durable and beautiful while also being very svelte. Windows laptops, however, have historically been more heavy and made of cheap plastic with a focus on affordability -- beauty and skinniness be damned.
Lately, computers running Microsoft's operating system have been much nicer -- sometimes giving Apple a run for its money. The Surface Book, for instance, is a work of art. Today, Samsung refreshes its Notebook 9 laptops with a focus on being extremely portable -- very thin and light. In fact, it is lighter than the 2016 MacBook Pro -- holy cow. Unlike Apple's newest laptops -- which run the older 6th generation Skylake processors -- Samsung's machines have the latest-and-greatest 7th gen Kaby Lake Core i5 and i7 processors.
DirecTV Now is a bargain -- for NOW
From the day I received the Oct. 14, 2016 letter about billing changes, AT&T U-verse and Internet cancellation was inevitable. I had auto-pay set up to a credit card, but the service provider wanted access to my bank account, which I didn't want to give. "Beginning in December, your credit card will be charged eight days after your Bill Cycle date", the correspondence reads. The change meant AT&T would take payment on the 8th of the month rather than the 21st. Since the company bills a month in advance, the new date would work out to about six-weeks in fees paid ahead for future service. On principle, being an independent-minded "don't tell me what to do" Mainer, I considered other options.
Ironically, the launch of another AT&T service, DirecTV Now, on October 30th, made the decision to cancel super easy. After several starts and stops, the Wilcox household has finally cut the cord for good. DirecTV Now is the nudge, but other streaming services make a big difference, too. Much has changed since the last cord-cutting effort, in November 2015, which we abandoned after about 7 weeks. The quality and quantity of original programming from Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix is greater and hugely enticing 12 months later.
What's next for AI in 2017?
In the sci-fi film Ex Machina, reclusive inventor Nathan Bateman foresees a bleak future, telling the movie's protagonist, Caleb, that "One day the AIs are going to look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons on the plains of Africa".
When we don’t understand something, we tend to fear it; which is one reason popular movies like Ex Machina and HBO’s nail-biting new series Westworld like to imagine futures in which artificial intelligence plots to destroy humanity.
Minecraft arrives on Apple TV
We knew that Mojang would bring Minecraft to Apple TV before the year's end, as the seriously popular game was previewed by Tim Cook during the MacBook Pro event earlier this year. And now, days before Christmas, it's finally here.
Minecraft launches on Apple TV with nearly all of its features intact. The game lacks support for Realms and Xbox Live, but includes seven DLCs "for a limited time".
Fix update errors in Windows 10 with this new tool from Microsoft
If you’re having problems installing updates in Windows 7 onwards, there’s a troubleshooting page you can try.
The guided walkthrough lets you fix problems in Windows 7, 8.1 or 10. Just choose your operating system, and follow the on-screen instructions. If you’re running Windows 10, you’ll be prompted to download a new Windows Update Troubleshooter.
Tools to help businesses prepare for GDPR compliance
The data processing landscape has seen huge changes since 1995, in May 2018 the EU is replacing the Directive with a new regulation, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Enforceable from May 2018, organizations have had to take account of their responsibilities under the DPA for many years now.
Many have mature and well-considered data management policies in place that already address elements of the GDPR. Nonetheless, with the threat of significant penalties for data breaches under the GDPR it would be prudent to reexamine procedures and to consider how these can be enhanced to ensure compliance when GDPR comes into effect in May 2018.
VoIP vs SIP: Which one is winning the telecoms war?
Back in 2008 the death knell of the PBX was being forecast -- albeit mainly by VoIP suppliers. Whilst sales have dropped and there was some amalgamation of suppliers there is still a strong market. The number of PBX extensions still outnumbers VoIP by around seven or eight to one.
So, to misquote Mark Twain -- reports of the PBX’s death have been grossly exaggerated. It is the rise of a parallel technology SIP that has blunted many of the arguments put forward by VoIP suppliers suggesting we should throw away that box on the wall.
Facebook introduces Group Video Chat in Messenger
Facebook has been adding all sorts of features to its chat app recently, including classic arcade games, and a new camera with art and 3D effects.
Today, the social networking giant introduces the ability to video chat in groups, which it describes as the most requested Messenger feature ever.
Install and run WordPress on a local desktop
WordPress is a fabulous website builder, and it’s very easy to learn the basics. Just sign up for a free blog at WordPress.com and start to play.
If you’re a serious developer, though, you might prefer to run WordPress locally. There’s no data transfer delays, no waiting for connections, and you can be sure that no-one else will ever be able to see your work-in-progress. This can take a little preparation. WordPress needs a server, for instance. PHP. MySQL. Setting these up on a PC or Mac usually requires a lot of web experience -- but it doesn’t have to be that way.
The three secrets to successfully monetizing IoT data
The global business landscape is being transformed by the Internet of Things. Soon, every business will be an IoT business simply because those that don’t adapt, innovate, and transform their models will risk falling behind in the Connected Economy. But even as business leaders scramble headlong to get in on the IoT gold rush, many are faced with the same harsh realization: that actually monetizing IoT data is difficult.
I’ve written about the challenges of IoT monetization before, and I agree with Gartner’s assessment that 80 percent of IoT implementations will squander their transformational opportunities. This statistic isn’t due to a lack of opportunity, as I believe that for any company that has customers, suppliers, employees or assets, IoT monetization can be transformational. Here are my top three strategies for ensuring that your IoT initiative is part of the 20 percent that actually succeed.
Lack of talent and compliance worries among cloud predictions for 2017
This is the time of year when industry experts like to come up with predictions for the coming 12 months. Last week we looked at some of their security forecasts, today it's the turn of the cloud to get the crystal ball gazing treatment.
So, what do experts think are going to be the cloud trends of 2017?
The pros and cons of VoWiFi
There’s no doubt that Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) has captured a lot of attention lately. Indeed, AT&T has announced that it is handling four million VoWiFi calls per day and T-Mobile boasts some 22 million calls per day using the technology.
Today, many enterprises and mobile operators consider VoWiFi an easy and cost-effective way to provide indoor mobile coverage in buildings that block macro mobile signals. However, VoWiFi isn’t suitable for every application and neither do mobile operators want it to be.
Ellp automates PC tasks with a click
Ellp is a free tool which delivers very simple, script-free automation of common PC and other tasks. There are no menus, no complex dialog boxes, no command-line arguments, nothing to learn at all. You can get started in seconds and leave Ellp to do all the real work.
The program opens by displaying these ten cards, each representing a task you’d like to automate.
Ways technology is continuing to transform the retail industry
From smartphones to the cloud and automation, technology is dramatically changing nearly everything about how we live and work. Technology’s impact can be felt in every industry, but it is especially strong in retail. It used to be that you had to have massive resources and connections to operate in the retail space. These days, thanks to more accessible technology, anyone with an idea and a product can sell via it the Internet and social media. Traditional retail business plans have been thrown by the wayside to make way for the disruptive new ideas of rapid transformation and increased competition, and it’s all thanks to new technology.
The latest technology is rapidly transforming the retail landscape -- here are a few examples:
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