Back from the dead: Unofficial Kodi add-on provider TVAddons now has 12 million monthly active users
TVAddons has had a tough year. The site, which provides access to unofficial Kodi add-ons, and for a time had a custom build of Kodi called FreeTelly, has been sued, had its site closed down and its domains and social media accounts seized.
On top of that, it’s also had a number of run-ins with Team Kodi, which called for the site to be permanently shut down, claiming it brings "nothing but misery to everyone."
Apple wins iPad trademark case against Xiaomi Mi Pad
A court has ruled that Chinese phone maker Xiaomi may not trademark the name Mi Pad in Europe. The name was thought to be too similar to Apple's iPad, despite there being a difference in pronunciation.
The General Court -- the second highest court in the European Union -- said that consumers were likely to be confused by the similarity of the two names.
DIY data recovery -- challenges and alternatives
Modern laptops and desktops can hold a massive amount of information, including tens of thousands of pictures and millions of pages of text. Despite their storage capacities, these devices should not be used as a means to permanently store digital information because they’re prone to breakage and data corruption. Recovering data from one of these failed devices is difficult, and requires a high-level of expertise that’s not always accessible to the person that likes to fix things themselves.
Older laptops that were constructed with traditional hard drives were fairly simple to pop open and fix. You could unscrew a few screws holding the case together, and then plug into the drive via a universal SATA port to retrieve the data. Opening the actual drive itself is not without risk or advisable as dust could and will enter the drive causing contamination and it can always cause additional damaged during the process.
New tools speed up enterprise DevOps adoption
Many businesses are turning to DevOps to speed up application deployment, but it's easy to become overwhelmed by the new tools, specialized skills, and cultural shifts needed to make it work.
Customer engagement specialist Pegasystems is tackling this with the launch of a new tool allowing organizations to jump start their stalled DevOps initiatives to reduce time to market.
Spotty downtime hits Facebook Messenger worldwide
There are multiple ways for people to communicate these days. Pen and paper have largely gone the way of the pony express as the world graduated to the telephone and then moved on to text messages and, these days, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
The electronic age has not necessarily alleviated problems but has simply led to new ones that can be even more frustrating.
After a year of silence, VLC for Android is updated with much-needed new features
When an app goes silent for more than a year, it's reasonable to assume that it has been killed off -- but that's not the case with VLC. The Android version of the popular media player has been updated to version 2.5 after getting stuck at 2.0 for 13 months.
Work has been going on for VLC 3.0, but you would have been forgiven for thinking that the app had just been forgotten about. With the launch of VLC 2.5 there are a number of new features to enjoy including a new dynamic UI, a night mode, and picture-in-picture support for Oreo users.
Vivaldi browser now available for Raspberry Pi and other ARM based Linux devices
Vivaldi, the new web browser from Jon S. von Tetzchner, the former co-founder of Opera, is already available for Windows, macOS and Linux (x86/x86_64), but from today you can now run it on ARM based Linux devices, including Raspberry Pi.
The speedy browser offers useful built-in functionality such as tab grouping, screenshot capture, and ability to take notes. Part of Vivaldi’s appeal is it’s highly customizable, and the experimental new build offers even more options for tinkerers.
Apple agrees to cough up for $15 billion Irish tax bill
Apple is just one of many technology companies whose tax arrangements in Europe have been criticized. Like other firms, Apple made use of Ireland to help reduce its tax bills, and this is something that the European Commission took exception to.
Last year the EC said that tax benefits received by the company in Ireland were in fact illegal under EU law, and ordered that an outstanding €13bn ($15.3bn) tax bill be settled. Despite Apple not wanting to pay the bill -- and the Irish Government not wanting to receive it -- the two sides have now come to an agreement that means the money owed will now be collected.
How cyber crime could be improving the internet
War always sparks innovation, and over the years conflict has led to improvements in technology and the acceleration of development in things like radar and the jet engine.
So, is the war against cyber crime driving technologies that will improve the internet? Security education site Cyber Security Degrees thinks so and has produced an infographic to prove it.
Apple Pay Cash rolls out to iOS 11.2 users in the US
Over the weekend, Apple pushed out iOS 11.2 a little earlier than planned to address a crashing problems affecting iPhone users. The update included a non-functioning version of Apple Pay Cash, but now Apple is flicking the switch to activate the new payment options.
Apple Pay Cash makes it possible for people to send and receive payments through iMessage. It serves as an alternative to the likes of PayPal, and it's a payment option that's now rolling out across the US, with other parts of the world to follow in due course.
Windows Update in Windows 7 starts throwing up 80248015 error
Despite Microsoft's aggressive pushing of Windows 10, Windows 7 remains staggeringly popular. A growing number of users are currently reporting an issue with Windows Update at the moment -- specifically error 80248015.
The full error message reads: "Windows Update cannot currently check for updates, because the service is not running. You may need to restart your computer." Needless to say, a simple restart is not enough to fix the problem, although a workaround has been discovered that solves the issue for some people.
Toshiba unveils MN06ACA10T 10TB NAS hard disk drive
Not all hard drives are created equally. When you are in the market for a storage drive, there are many things to consider. Most importantly is brand -- if you are storing important data, you want a product from a company with a good reputation. Next, you want to target the capacity that meets your needs and fits your budget. Obviously the more capacity the better, but there is no point in buying much more than you need. In other words, if you only need to store 1TB of data, an 8TB drive would be a foolish buy.
Another thing to consider when buying a hard drive is reliability. Some drives are rated for more use than others, with NAS drives often topping that rating. Why? These drives are quite literally designed for network attached storage where they could be in constant use -- including serving as a personal "cloud." Today, Toshiba unveils a beautiful new SATA 3.3 NAS drive with a massive 10TB capacity and impressive 256MB cache/buffer. Called "MN06ACA10T," it is designed for 24/7 usage and workload transfer-rated for 180TB per year.
You can win cool prizes just for trying System76's Ubuntu-based 'Pop!_OS' Linux distro!
There is this stereotype that Linux is not conducive to creativity, and I want you to know it is totally false. True, some photographers, videographers, and other types of artists may opt for a Mac or Windows machine, but they can be just as creative with open source and Linux. Not to mention, if you are a maker, engineer, or other type of creator, Linux is probably your best option.
The folks over at System76 have been preaching about the benefits of Linux and open source for many years, and its excellent Linux-powered computers are used by many creative professionals -- including Pixar. This year, however, the computer seller decided to take things a step further by creating its own Ubuntu-based operating system. Called "Pop!_OS," it aims to inspire its users. The company wants to get more people using the distro, so today, it announces a really cool new contest. By simply trying the operating system and sharing your experience with System76, you could win some sweet prizes, including a trip to the company's headquarters in Denver, CO!
Target launches new Wallet payment method for Android and iPhone in time for Holiday Shopping
Holiday shopping is here, which means many consumers are visiting popular retailers like Walmart, Kohl’s, and Target. True, more and more shoppers are opting for an online experience from websites like Amazon, but the brick-and-mortar sellers are still wildly popular. Yeah, waiting in line stinks, but it can sometimes be more rewarding to see products in person. Shoes and clothing in particular can be tried on before buying.
Regarding those long lines that shoppers despise, Target has found a way to make them move a bit quicker. You see, starting today, the Target app for Android and iOS gains a new Wallet feature that makes the act of paying even faster. Better yet, it makes it easier to manage and use coupons.
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