Latest Technology News

Porn site xHamster bans North Carolina users in protest against anti-LGBT laws

North Carolina's decision to pass House Bill 2 -- which effectively block measures to protect LGBT people -- means that residents of the state are no longer able to access a popular porn site. Just as Bruce Springsteen decided to show his disgust at the new legislation by cancelling a concert in North Carolina, so xHamster has taken the step of blocking North Carolina porn consumers from accessing the site.

North Carolina's new law prevents local governments from passing anti-discrimination rules to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and it is sending ripples of disgust through the equal rights movement. With xHamster's involvement, the fight against the legislation has been taken online, hitting state residents where it hurts in a bid to encourage people to sign a petition against the bill.

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SQL Server 2005 support reaches the end

We've known for some time that SQL Server 2005 was reaching the end of its extended support period and Microsoft has been busy encouraging users to move to newer software such as SQL Server 2014.

Today is the day when its support finally ends, so users still running the system will no longer receive hotfixes and security updates from Microsoft.

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Contactless payments market to reach $95 billion by 2018

mobile payment

The global value of contactless payment market will reach almost $100 billion by 2018, a new study by market analysts Juniper Research says.

According to the research, entitled Contactless Payment: NFC Handsets, Wearables & Payment Cards 2016 - 2020, the market will hit $95 billion in two years, up from $35 billion in 2015.

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Facebook Messenger gains integrated Dropbox file sharing on iOS and Android

There are many cloud storage providers nowadays, but I choose to give Dropbox my money. While there are alternatives that are free, I'd rather spend money on quality, and to support a company that supports Linux. Not to mention, Dropbox is secure, available on many platforms, and the company is constantly introducing new features.

Speaking of new features, today, the company announces that its cloud storage is now officially supported by the wonderful Facebook Messenger. Users of the chat program can now directly share files from Dropbox on both Android and iOS. You must have both the latest version of the Dropbox and Facebook Messenger apps installed for it to work.

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Master & Dynamic teams with Rolling Stones for 'special edition' MH40 headphones

If you're headed to London, or live there, the Rolling Stones have a new exhibit (opened last week) at the Saatchi Gallery. Exhibitionism will be there until early September. After which, the gala moves on to 11 other cities, including New York and Paris. Adults can expect to pay £22 (more than US $30, depending on exchange rate that day). VIP tix are £60.

The memorabilia-filled exhibit is meant to be a nostalgic look at the iconic, aging rock band, which youngest member is (cough, cough) 66. But Exhibitionism is as much about selling collectibles, one of which I can't resist calling attention to: "special edition" MH40 headphones. I reviewed the standard set, which sound exactly the same, on March 29th.

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Google Play and musician Elizabeth Rose create 'Playing With Fire' interactive music video

As someone born in the 1980's, I grew up with MTV. Quite frankly, before I bought my first cassette or CD, I got my music fix by watching these classic music videos. While MTV has since moved away from music videos, websites like YouTube have stepped in to fill the void.

Even though music videos have evolved with innovative cinematography and cool effects, they are still largely the same old thing -- a mix of audio and video. Today, Google Play announces a collaboration with musician Elizabeth Rose to create something more appropriate for tech-focused millennials -- an interactive music video.

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Will robotics bring a new dawn for digital transformation in the UK?

robot office worker

Digital transformation has become a popular term in IT circles, fast becoming a priority for organizations across the private and public sectors. The UK government’s shift to digital services and departments has been a longstanding goal over the last three years and continues to be a long-term objective, as success across online services has created more efficiency for both workers and UK citizens. It’s surprising therefore that this year’s Budget, as delivered by George Osborne, was a little light on the technology front and neglected the next chapter in the government’s digital story.

IT and technology sectors are considered to be the foundation points for economic growth and needs to continue to be a priority for organizations to get more done. Productivity plays a crucial role in sustaining this growth, but continues to be an area where the UK falls short. Just recently, the Smith Institute found that while UK workers continue to work longer hours, they are less productive. Academics have questioned whether technology has a role in solving this puzzle.

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Google shows love to users with disabilities

According to Google, 20 percent of people in the USA will experience a disability at some point in their life. Let's think about this for a moment -- that is one in five people. In other words, people with disabilities are a significant part of the population. While there are many laws on the books protecting the disabled from discrimination, this group of people can still be underrepresented.

Today, the search giant highlights some of the ways it is helping users with disabilities. Google is focusing on multiple platforms, such as Chromebooks, Android, and the web.

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The future of developer recruitment [Q&A]

Developer recruitment

Recruiting developers is often a problem for organizations as the skills required are different from those in other sectors and can be hard to assess. Development often has a great deal in common with more creative fields, where suitability for a job is not so much about qualifications but about what you can do and how you can communicate.

So what can companies do to discover the developer talent they need? We spoke to Mike Bartlett, CEO of developer community site Gitter to get his perspective.

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How to run Bash on Ubuntu on Windows 10 Anniversary Update or Preview Build 14316

Microsoft has been showing Linux a lot of love recently, and at Build 2016 the company announced that the Bash shell was coming to Windows 10. It’s a feature that will make an appearance in the upcoming Windows 10 Anniversary Update (due for release in July), but it's something that Windows Insiders on the Fast Ring already have access to in Build 14316 right now.

If you have installed this build, you'd be forgiven for not being able to find Bash however hard you look; there are hoops you have to jump through. So if you like the idea of accessing the Linux command line in Windows 10, there are a few steps for you to follow, starting off by enabling Developer Mode.

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Brief WordPress database guide for the absolute beginner

WordPress and other CMSs are 'inherently insecure'

WordPress is the finest content management system. Its popularity is proof of that. Websites on WordPress perform great and the platform is easy to use. However, the same cannot be said about managing its database.

If you are a beginner in using this CMS then you might get a migraine or two whenever you try to understand the tons of content available online concerning WordPress databases.

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SteelSeries APEX M500 is an affordable Cherry MX Red mechanical keyboard for eSports

If you are happy with your current keyboard, but it isn't a mechanical variant, you probably could be happier. In other words, you probably don't know what you are missing. Mechanical keyboards offer a very satisfying typing experience, plus potentially better performance when gaming.

Mechanical keyboards are often an expensive affair, however. They are totally worth the investment, but sometimes they have extra features you don't really need or want, which inflates the price. Today, SteelSeries announces the APEX M500 mechanical keyboard with a very reasonable price. It has Cherry MX Red switches, which are ideal for gaming. The eSports-focused keyboard is fairly basic by design, which makes it affordable for many.

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Microsoft throws its support behind EU-US Privacy Shield

The transfer of data between the US and Europe has been something of a privacy and security nightmare. In an attempt to improve privacy protection, the European Commission established the EU-US Privacy Shield "to restore trust in transatlantic data flows" post-Edward Snowden's NSA surveillance revelations, replacing the controversial Safe Harbor arrangement.

Today Microsoft has announced its support for the principles the framework says that companies will have to abide by. More than this, Vice President for EU Government Affairs at Microsoft, John Frank, says the company will comply with Data Protection Authorities advice in disputes, and cooperate with them on data transfer processes.

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Record everything launched on a PC with Process Logger Service

Process Logger Service is a Windows service which logs every process launched on your PC. It’s a useful tool that can help answer a range of questions. Like, did the email you open launched something? What did that installer do? When was a particular program last run? And more.

The service must be set up manually. It’s not a difficult process, but does involve a little more work than we expected.

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New cloud platform streamlines Android app development

Phone gears

Businesses have ever more demand from consumers to deliver services via mobile, so they're looking for ways to produce apps quickly and efficiently.

To address this need, Android solutions provider Genymobile is cloud-based platform that allows enterprises to build, test, show off and service Android applications across the entire application lifecycle while streamlining the development process.

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