Style offers Prisma-like photo styling for the desktop
Desktop image editors have been offering effects like "Oil Painting" and "Pencil Sketch" for years, without anyone paying much attention, but the rise of the smartphone has created a whole new market for these photo-transforming tricks.
Style is a Prisma-like tool for Windows and Mac which converts regular photos into works of art using various classic styles.
Does Samsung's new 'Black Pearl' Galaxy S7 edge copy Apple's 'Jet Black' iPhone 7?
Over the years, some people have accused Samsung of copying Apple with its designs. While that criticism was certainly more valid early on, the Galaxy-maker has carved out its own design style in recent years -- silencing some pundits. Its smartphones are wildly popular, and for good reason -- they often have great build quality and are chock-full of many outstanding features. They are not mere clones or imitations.
One of Samsung's most popular smartphones is the wonderful Galaxy S7 edge. While you would never mistake it for an iPhone, today, the Galaxy-maker does seem to copy Apple just a little bit -- even if it is unintentional. How? By introducing a new color called 'Pearl Black' which is very reminiscent of the iPhone 7's 'Jet Black' option. While there may not be any proof, do you think there is any copying going on?
The benefits of cloud-connected spreadsheets
This year has been the year of spreadsheet distress. Spreadsheet errors have been blamed for a number of high profile corporate meltdowns including one in the rail franchise bid process for the West Coast mainline that is said to have cost the tax payer around £60m.
Spreadsheet calculations represent up to £38 billion of private sector investment decisions per year and simple errors could be putting billions of pounds at risk. With so many high profile incidents filling the newswires, it may seem unlikely that the spreadsheet is set for a reprieve in 2017. However, new developments in IT are set to allow businesses to cling on to their beloved spreadsheets in 2017 and make them robust enough to satisfy regulators and auditors who have already indicated that they consider them, in their existing state, to be a major potential risk.
Companies miss basic precautions that could prevent data breaches
Public awareness of data security issues has never been higher. Not only have data breaches made the news but the FBI's battle with Apple has put encryption in the headlines too.
Yet despite the high profile of threats a new survey of IT security professionals from secure browser company Authentic8 shows that businesses aren't taking basic steps to protect themselves.
Sling TV becomes more user-friendly
Sling TV is a name familiar to many people, especially those who no longer use cable or satellite for their TV service. The alternative brings cable-like live TV to the home, it just comes in through an internet connection. It also works with most devices you have -- phones, tablets, Roku, Fire TV and more.
Now Sling is rolling out an update designed to make things just a bit more user-friendly. It is rolling out now and includes several key items.
How will ARM support impact Windows 10?
Microsoft can be surprising at times. After ditching Windows RT, the software giant has announced that it is working with Qualcomm to bring ARM support to Windows 10. In practice, that means that we will see Snapdragon-powered machines running Microsoft's latest operating system which, and this is key, can run proper x86 software.
Windows RT did not have that, as it was limited to apps available from Windows Store. And we all know how that worked out. However, x86 software on Snapdragon-powered Windows 10 devices can be seen as a game-changer as, in theory, it could pave the way to running resource-intensive programs, like Adobe Photoshop, on smartphones. And I am talking about the true Photoshop, not some dumbed-down mobile version. That could be huge, no doubt.
Microsoft now officially owns LinkedIn
Six months after news of the acquisition was released, Microsoft's takeover of the professional social network has closed.
The aim had been to complete the deal by the end of the year, and the two companies managed to hit the deadline after the European Commission gave it the go-ahead. The $26.2 billion acquisition is being billed as helping to accelerate the mission to "connect the world's professionals".
DreamObjects improves enterprise cloud storage
The cloud is becoming the first place many businesses turn to when looking to increase their storage capacity.
Web hosting and cloud services company DreamHost is looking to give enterprises more scalable, reliable, and high performing cloud storage with the launch of its latest DreamObjects storage hosting service.
Snipaste: screen capture for designers
Snipaste is an unusual developer and designer-oriented screen capture tool for Windows. Basic operations are simple and you’ll feel at home right away. Press a hotkey, left-click and drag to capture a rectangular area: easy.
The program also captures UI elements, like menus, panels, toolbars and buttons. Move your mouse cursor around the screen, Snipaste highlights the underlying UI area, and it can be captured with a left-click.
Microsoft aims to take 'mixed reality' mainstream in 2017
Virtual Reality arrived properly in 2016, although it has yet to really make any mainstream impact. Augmented Reality did enter our lives via Pokémon Go, but that’s been about it so far.
Microsoft is targeting 2017 as the year that mixed reality starts to become a thing, and at the Windows Hardware Engineering Community event (WinHEC) in Shenzhen, China the company shared the PC specifications (co-developed with Intel) that will power the first MR headsets from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo set to arrive next year.
Facebook reveals the biggest trending topics and Live videos of 2016
We're nearing the end of the year, so expect to be inundated with retrospectives for 2016 -- Facebook has just released its look back at the year that's (nearly) gone by.
The social network's review of 2016 comprises two top 10 lists: the most popular trending topics of the year, and the most popular Live videos of the year. It should come as no surprise that the trending topics list is dominated by major political events such as the US election and Brexit, as well as celebrity deaths.
Conexant and Amazon bring Alexa to Raspberry Pi with 'AudioSmart 2-mic Development Kit'
Amazon's Echo devices are incredible. I'll admit that I was a skeptic at first, but once I got my own, I was hooked. Not only can the Alexa voice assistant provide me with important data like weather, news, and traffic, but it can play music too. Most importantly, it serves as a brilliant IoT control unit. My house has several WiFi connected power outlets, and I can verbally tell Alexa to turn off my lamps. It can even control my television!
Much of Amazon's success with Echo and Alexa is thanks to third-party developers and hardware. Today, Conexant and Amazon announce the AudioSmart 2-mic Development Kit. This add-on for the Raspberry Pi should enable easier development of devices using Amazon's Alexa voice technology. This could ultimately lead to further growth and adoption of the Alexa voice assistant.
Windows 10 coming to ARM -- paving the way for always connected, more power-efficient PCs
There’s a fair amount of news coming out of the Windows Hardware Engineering Community event (WinHEC) in Shenzhen, China at the moment, but potentially the most exciting announcement is that Windows 10 is coming to ARM.
A partnership with Qualcomm means that we’ll soon see a range of Snapdragon-powered Windows 10 PCs with integrated cellular connectivity that run x86 Win32 and universal Windows apps.
Senior leaders holding new tech adoption back
IT managers in UK organizations believe their senior leaders are intentionally holding back the adoption of new technologies, as they fear that could endanger their position within the company. This is according to a new report by global cloud communications provider 8x8, which surveyed 260 IT managers in UK organizations.
Almost half (45 percent) of IT managers are suspicious senior leaders are holding technology back for reasons of "self-preservation". Same IT managers, a third of them (34 percent), believe their company is making full use of the latest technology. Among C-suites, that percentage is up to almost a half (49 percent).
BBC trials 4K Planet Earth II in HDR on iPlayer -- but you probably can't watch it
There are a growing number of ways to enjoy Ultra HD content on your 4K TV or monitor. Just a couple of days ago, Google added 4K movies to Google Play.
Now the BBC announces it is trialing 4K high dynamic range (HDR) video on its iPlayer streaming platform, and I can confirm, having watched it, it's absolutely stunning stuff. However, you shouldn’t get too excited about it, yet -- there are a couple of big catches that will mean you probably won't be able to watch it.
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