Alan Buckingham

Evernote announces support for Apple Watch coming soon

You would have been hard pressed to miss today's news, as the Apple hype machine was running at full speed. The announcements kept on coming -- Apple TV with a reduced price and an HBO Now exclusive, new MacBooks and of course the much anticipated watch. However, the devil is in the details -- a new product like the Apple Watch can live or die based on support from developers.

That likely won't be a problem, and note-taking giant Evernote is among the first to throw its support behind this new platform. The service works on just about every platform, so this should come as little surprise.

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Samsung shows off the cameras in the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge with new video

Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge unboxing and hands-on videos

Just recently Samsung held a big event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. A whole lot of hoopla surrounded the launch of the two new Galaxy S6 phones, with plenty of news coverage both online and on TV.

Now Samsung is getting into the details about what you'll get with its latest handsets. The company has released a video meant to showcase the cameras built into these devices. There are a number of interesting features in this department.

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Is Windows Server 2003 destined to be the next Windows XP?

We aren't too far removed from the death of Windows XP -- sure you can still use it, but you do so at your own peril as the operating system is no longer supported by Microsoft (businesses can pay for extended support -- protection money, if you will). That hasn't stopped many individuals, and indeed even businesses, from continuing to run the OS despite potential for disaster. Granted, that may not be huge, but it is still a very real concern.

Now Windows Server 2003 faces a similar fate, with an impending date of July 14th, 2015 slated to bring an end to another staple of the enterprise. Like Windows XP, customers will not be happy -- enterprises move slowly and upgrades can be costly, not to mention proprietary software that may not work once the move is complete.

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Amazon releases new games at PAX East conference

Gaming has become a major function of today's mobile devices, allowing for hours of wasted productivity time. In fact, it's so popular that today's set-top box makers are building the feature right into their hardware, Amazon going as far as offering an Xbox One-like controller for customers to purchase separately.

Now the retail giant is in attendance at PAX East, a gaming conference being held in Boston. The show kicked off March 6th and runs through the 8th. Amazon is there to show off several new titles it has. These are more than just for Fire devices, as the company is making them available for iPhone and iPad as well.

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Did you miss MWC? Microsoft has a highlight reel to catch you up

Mobile World Congress has wrapped up in Barcelona, Spain and now we're left to sort through the torrent of information that came out of the event. There were countless announcements made for all manner of mobile news, with new phones taking center stage in the midst of the chaos. Microsoft was prominent at the event, with several things to reveal.

There was the unveiling of the Lumia 640XL, a mid-range device that qualifies as a "phablet" with its 5.7 inch screen. It even comes with a 13 MP rear camera, a feature that the Lumia line is famous for. It's a step up from the Lumia 640, which is a scaled down version. The screen is still large at 5 inches, while the rear camera is a solid 8MP. Both phones are expected to be available soon via AT&T.

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Down but not out, VBA malware makes a comeback in Microsoft Office

Lurking virus

While malware for Microsoft's Office platform has been around just about as long as the suite, we've heard less about it in recent times. That is changing though as new threats surface, altering the landscape a bit. The latest problems are really just a new iteration of the older ones, utilizing a tried and true attack vector.

That line of attack comes from the code itself, using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Security firm Sophos is reporting a rise in incidents of this across various parts of the suite. The code is unfortunately open to these flaws.

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Have we seen the rise and fall of the cable and satellite industry?

There's a fair chance that most every house built 30 years ago had cable installed in it. Not long afterwards satellite began to take off, and continued to eat into the market of companies like Comcast, CableVision and others. That's a logical progression, as new options give people better choices and channel numbers increased, along with premium options.

But that trend is now on the downside. According to a 2014 report in USA Today cord-cutters (those with neither cable nor satellite) rose from 4.5 percent in 2010 to 6.5 percent as of that time. Meanwhile, the same month saw a study from Leichtman Research Group reveal that the top nine cable companies lost a total of 510,000 subscribers in the second quarter of 2014. Satellite fared little better, shedding 78,000 customers.

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Doctors at UCSD are using Kinect for Windows as part of their medical tools

Kinect started off for Xbox 360, but it's morphed since then to adapt to the newer Xbox One as well as Microsoft's operating system. There seems to be no end to the uses the device can be utilized for. However, the medical field is one of the most specialized industries around and adoption of new technology can be hard to find, with the rigorous requirements involved.

Now the doctors at the University of California at San Diego have managed to find a way to incorporate Kinect for Windows into their job. "The project, called Lab-in-a-Box, is the brainchild of UCSD researcher Nadir Weibel and his colleagues at the San Diego Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center", the Kinect team explains.

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Adobe gives up, asks others to find its security flaws

Google relaxes Project Zero bug disclosure policy after Microsoft complaints

Adobe's security woes are well known, with major flaws plaguing Flash and other apps from the company. The software maker has now opted for an open approach to its problems, asking for users to begin searching for bugs in the software.

This is likely the best route to take. Independent security researchers have always found and reported the flaws and some companies pay a bounty for this information. Now Adobe is taking a similar approach, asking everyone to help out.

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Logitech unveils the G303 Daedalus Apex gaming mouse

While many users likely don't give much thought to the computer mouse, there is a segment of the population that cares a great deal -- travelers want portable and gamers tend to look for fast response times, extra buttons to control things and a bit of bling to go along with it. After all, if you invest in a computer from, say, Alienware then you'll want a mouse that matches up with that tower case.

The mouse is an area of computing in which Logitech excels, designing several top products, including the specialty models. Now the company is introducing the latest member of its family, the G303 Daedalus Apex.

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D-Link fixes the latest flaw in its routers, more patches on the way

You can't fling a rock these days without hitting a security vulnerability somewhere. From the Internet of Things to apps to Windows and even your own router. Yes, that D-Link box sitting on your desk can be a liability to you. That's a problem the company is attempting to clean up, after reports surfaced about the flaws.

The problems were discovered by a Canadian researcher and involve a remote access flaw that can leave users vulnerable. "Due to the nature of the ping.ccp vulnerability, an attacker can gain root access, hijack DNS settings or execute arbitrary commands on these devices [by] the user simply visiting a webpage with a malicious HTTP form embedded (via CSRF)", says Peter Adkins, who discovered the vulnerabilities.

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Sling TV introduces Hollywood Extra add-on pack

Sling TV is the new kid on the block when it comes to streaming video services. It's an increasingly competitive market that Sling finds itself in, and with stiff competition there is little room for error. The service is a bit pricey -- more than double that of rivals like Hulu Plus -- so it needs to differentiate itself in any way that it can. That's tricky these days, given all of the original content being produced by competitors.

Sling is moving in the right direction as it slowly marches towards new content, today adding a "Hollywood Extra" add-on pack. This brings more movies to subscribers, with titles from EPIX, EPIX2, EPIX3, EPIX Drive-In and Sundance TV. Titles include the runaway hit The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, as well as old classics like Saturday Night Fever.

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Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen discovers Japanese battleship

Paul Allen is most widely known for two things -- co-founding Microsoft along with Bill Gates, and owning the Seattle Seahawks football team which won last year's Super Bowl. You may also hear about his yachts, but likely you will hear little of the many other endeavors that Mr. Allen participates in and funds with his fortune.

One is a mission of discovery that has found a long lost relic, in this case a Japanese battleship that disappeared back in World War II not far from the Philippines. According to Allen the search took about eight years.

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Microsoft teams up with Deutsche Telekom to expand the Lumia market

Microsoft is now in firm control of the Lumia brand of Windows Phone, which it purchased from Nokia last year. Aside from a slight rebranding, not much about the handsets has changed, and that's a good thing as far as the hardware goes. Perhaps not so much for other aspects, such as apps, but that's not what we're looking at right now.

With Mobile World Congress winding down in Barcelona, Microsoft has announced a potentially important partnership with mobile giant Deutsche Telekom. The deal is aimed towards bringing the phones, as well as cloud services such as Office 365 and OneDrive, to more markets.

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Hulu gains new Disney Junior kids shows in its lineup

If you're looking to cut the cord you have an increasing number of choices including Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus. There are less known options as well, of course, but the big three will give you most of what you want, including original content from each and Hulu's TV shows the day after they air on broadcast networks.

Now the service is expanding once again, this time adding to its children's content. The new shows are being provided by Disney Junior and include the popular Doc McStuffins, Handy Manny and Bunnytown. These join a lineup already stuffed with classics such as Sesame Street and many others.

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