Mihăiță Bamburic

When OnePlus unveiled an all-black OnePlus 3T, dubbed the "colette edition," I did not believe that this color option would be available again in the future. It was, after all, a limited edition. As it turns out, OnePlus had other plans. This is one of those times I'm glad I was wrong.

OnePlus just took the wraps off the Midnight Black OnePlus 3T, which, like the colette edition, is also a limited edition. However, unlike the previously mentioned model, OnePlus fans will have a better chance of getting one, as there will be more units offered and they will be more easily available.

Continue reading →

OnePlus is among the few smartphone makers that let their fans test software updates before they're released to the public. Its beta program has two such "streams", or rings if you prefer, which give members access to closed or open betas. But now the company is adding one more.

OnePlus just announced the MP Early Access Program, a new stream to test builds that it deems ready for prime time before they're pushed to the official -- MP -- channel. Why? Simple: to catch any bugs that might have slipped through.

Continue reading →

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus look great in any color, but the black, silver and gold variations aren't exactly the most eye-catching finishes around. However, if you fancy something different, Apple now has just the thing for you.

That's because, for the first time on an iPhone, Apple is now making red available as a color option for its flagship smartphones. The (Product)Red Special Edition, as it's officially called, is offered only for the 128GB and 256GB models.

Continue reading →

The software space is incredibly diverse and this is reflected in the sheer number of programming languages that you can learn today. If you are just starting out choosing one can seem daunting -- this list of the most-popular programming languages should help narrow down your options.

Each of the major programming languages has its fair share of fans, as you might have realized by now, but JavaScript, Java and Python have the most followers. RedMonk, which just posted its latest Programming Language Rankings, looked at both GitHub and Stack Overflow to give you an answer that reflects what developers are using and talking about in 2017.

Continue reading →

I never thought I'd be talking passionately about lighting, but I hate E14 bulbs. Not only do most options have low power but the selection is limited as well -- at least when compared against E27 bulbs. With the launch of new Hue bulbs, however, Philips is trying to change that.

Referring to it as the "candle light bulb", the new smart E14 Hue lights that Philips just announced were "one of the most requested products by Philips Hue customers." And it's easy to understand why, as the Dutch company says that they're used in more than 80 percent of households worldwide.

Continue reading →

Black is my favorite color on a smartphone. It looks elegant, it's understated and it works on all devices, regardless of price, design or size. Sadly, it's not always an option, as some manufacturers opt to offer more eye-popping colors instead.

The OnePlus 3T, for instance, is among those smartphones that aren't available in black, being offered only in Gunmetal and Soft Gold. Both look really good if I'm honest, but for fans of black devices neither will suffice. At least until now, as a new partnership sees the release of a much-awaited black version.

Continue reading →

Security researchers can make a lot of money by reporting bugs to software and hardware vendors. Microsoft, for instance, pays up to $15,000 for vulnerabilities in Office Insider, while Intel, through its first bug bounty program, takes things up a notch with a top reward of $30,000.

Intel's first bug bounty program was announced on HackerOne, and targets firmware, software and hardware products. Hardware vulnerabilities have the highest top reward, followed by firmware and then software.

Continue reading →

Microsoft wants to make Office more secure, so it has announced a bug bounty program for Office Insiders to catch vulnerabilities before shipping a public release.

The bug bounty program targets the Windows version of Office on the Slow ring and features rewards of up to $15,000, but for "certain submissions" -- presumably highly-critical security holes -- the software giant says that researchers can expected to be paid more.

Continue reading →

The US Justice Department is charging two Russian spies and two hackers with orchestrating the attack against Yahoo in 2014 that saw 500 million accounts being compromised as part of an effort to collect intelligence.

The Justice Department says that Dmitry Dokuchaev and Igor Sushchin "and other known and unknown" FSB intelligence officers hired hackers Alexsey Beland and Karim Baratov to hack Yahoo accounts belonging to Russian journalists, officials, and employees of a "prominent" security company, as well as US officials and employees of tech companies.

Continue reading →

Even though Apple released the first iOS device with a 64-bit processor three and a half years ago, there are still nearly 200,000 titles in the App Store that have not been optimized for those iPhones and iPads. And that will soon turn into a major problem for developers and users alike.

Starting with the next version of iOS, Apple plans to drop support for apps that are not updated to support 64-bit iPhones and iPads, a move which is expected to affect roughly 187,000 titles based on a Sensor Tower report.

Continue reading →

Windows Vista is probably the least-liked version of Windows that Microsoft has ever released, but, fact of the matter is, the 10 year old operating system has its fans, as it still runs on many PCs today. And that's a problem if you're part of the crowd, because next month it will stop receiving any kind of official support, leaving you exposed.

Mainstream support for Windows Vista actually ended on April 10, 2012, but Microsoft has since continued to offer support options and updates as part of its extended support phase. That will come to an end in less than 30 days from now -- on April 11. Here's what happens after that.

Continue reading →

Chrome isn't the most energy efficient browser around, but Google has been working hard to make things better. The latest improvement focuses on background tabs, which are now said to use less power.

The lower power consumption in background tabs is actually one of the main changes that are part of Chrome 57, which Google released earlier in March. The latest version of the popular browser also gained WebAssembly support and dropped the ability to disable plugins, to name a few.

Continue reading →

Intel is serious about becoming an important player in the self-driving car market. After teaming up with various companies, including car makers, to develop and promote solutions for autonomous vehicles, it's now taking things to the next level by acquiring Mobileye.

Mobileye, in case you are not familiar with it, is best known for supplying the technology (like sensors and cameras) used in Tesla's first-generation Autopilot. Intel will spend just over $15bn to buy the Israeli company.

Continue reading →

If you're looking for an alternative to Microsoft's Surface Hub, Google has just the thing for you. Unveiled last October, Jamboard is a 55-inch whiteboard featuring a 4K touchscreen display, HD camera, speakers and integration with the search giant's G Suite productivity apps.

Google did not initially reveal how much it will cost or when it will be available, but the company now says that it will be priced just shy of $5,000 and will be released in just a couple of months.

Continue reading →

Google has announced that it plans to introduce placeholders on Google Drive. The search giant is currently beta testing the new feature, which is officially called Drive File Stream, with the help of G Suite users as part of the Early Adopter Program.

Drive File Stream enables users to access content stored in their Google Drive account without actually downloading it on their device. It works similarly to Dropbox Smart Sync or OneDrive placeholders on Windows 8.

Continue reading →