Cloud security services will be a $5.9bn market in 2017

cloud encryption

Cloud-based security services saw a huge increase during the last 12 months,  according to the latest figures from Gartner.

In a new report, Gartner says cloud-based security services will reach $5.9 billion this year, representing a 21 percent growth compared to the year before.

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Why and how tech companies can quickly and ably integrate freelancers into organizations of all sizes

Freelancers are, quite literally, taking over the world. A 2016 study titled "Freelancing in America: 2016" from the Freelancers Union found that the freelance workforce grew from 53 million workers in 2014 to 55 million in 2016, currently representing 35 percent of the U.S. workforce and $1 trillion of the U.S. economy.

Working with freelancers can yield incredible benefits to technology companies that know how to use them. Freelancers are cost-effective and flexible, enabling companies the ability to stay lean and scale up and down as needed. Freelancers also mitigate the risks of growing too fast, fill talent gaps -- which are a particularly pronounced problem in the tech industry -- and give employers access to a boundary-free, limitless talent pool.

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Galaxy S8 and S8+ owners can get early access to Samsung's voice assistant Bixby -- here's how

Apple has Siri, Amazon has Alexa, Google has Google Assistant, and Microsoft has Cortana. Samsung doesn’t currently have a voice assistant, but one is on its way. Bixby is described as "an intelligent, personalized interface for using your smartphone" and Samsung is aiming to make it more advanced than the competition.

It was expected that Bixby would be included on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ at launch, but unfortunately its arrival was delayed as it struggled to understand English. The wait is nearly over however, as from today users can sign up to be the first to try out Bixby for themselves. Be warned though, there is a catch -- not everyone is eligible.

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Before you buy Microsoft Surface Pro, check out the ASUS Transformer Pro T304 Windows 10 PC

The Surface Pro only just went on sale, but you might want to reconsider that purchase. Don't get me wrong, Microsoft's hybrid tablet looks great, but ASUS has a very similar new Windows 10 PC that might be better. Called "Transformer Pro T304," it features the ports that are missing from the Surface Pro, such as HDMI and USB-C -- no dongles needed. Don't worry, there is a USB Type-A port too.

Not only does the Transformer Pro T304 have plenty of ports, but plenty of horsepower too. Regardless of configuration, you get a 7th-generation Core i7-7500U and 12.6-inch display with a 2160x1440 resolution. While the display is slightly larger than Surface Pro, the resolution on the ASUS machine is less -- something to consider. For memory, 8GB is standard, but you can opt for 16GB. The increase in RAM also gets you a storage bump, going from 256GB to 512GB. The superior model also gets Windows 10 Pro rather than Home.

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Amazon to buy Whole Foods as its grocery store revolution continues

Amazon's increasingly overt and aggressive push into the grocery retail market has officially gone into full-blown, alarm-blaring fever-pitch mode today as its plans to acquire the brick-and-mortar chain Whole Foods was publicly announced.

Under the terms of the tentative deal, Amazon will pay $42 per share of Whole Foods stock for a total purchase price of $13.7 billion. At the end of trading yesterday, Whole Foods was going for around $33 per share, making Amazon's offer represent a reasonable 27 percent premium.

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Here's when you can buy Samsung's artsy 'The Frame' television

In many homes, a large television is the focal point of the living room. When people gather in that area, they tend to sit in chairs that face the TV. Times are changing, however, as people are spending more time watching videos on laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Maybe it is time to redefine the way we think of the television.

Samsung has done exactly that, you see, with its all-new 4K televisions called "The Frame." Since they were unveiled earlier this year, some people have been clamoring to get one. It isn't hard to see why -- they are super-thin and can be "framed" to look like works of art. You can then display images of art on the screen when not in use. In other words, you can look sophisticated as if you don't own a TV when company is over, while secretly watching The Bachelor and Maury when alone. Thankfully, we finally know the release date.

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How to play Kodi streams in VLC Media Player

Kodi does a great job of playing audio and video. However, if you prefer VLC Media Player, the good news is you can use that to watch all (or just some) of your Kodi content.

The process of redirecting playback is very straightforward, and once set up you can choose which player to use on a per-case basis. This gives you the best of both worlds. You can use Kodi to choose what to play, and then benefit from all the features that VLC offers, including all of its effects and filters.

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Salesforce reveals AI-powered Einstein Analytics

Salesforce has revealed the launch of its most advanced CRM analytics platform yet.

Called Einstein Analytics, this platform leverages artificial intelligence to the analytics workflow, allowing users to automatically create CRM insights. The AI will also be able to recommend actions which improve customer service and boost sales, as well as helping optimize marketing campaigns.

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Cut PNG and JPG file sizes with Black Bird Image Optimizer

Black Bird Image Optimizer ($39.95) is a commercial tool which claims to "reduce the size of your photos several times without quality loss!"

Lossless compression which reduces JPGs and PNGs to a fraction of their usual size? This sounded unlikely to us, and it didn’t take long to find out why.

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How to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum

Bitcoin Ethereum BTC ETH

The insane rise of Bitcoin and Ethereum makes investments in the two main cryptocurrencies very attractive. You can turn a nice profit in trading but, to play in this market, you first need to get your hands on some coins. So, how do you buy Bitcoin or Ethereum?

Like all the cryptocurrencies that matter, Bitcoin and Ethereum are mainly available through dedicated exchanges. There are also other ways to get Bitcoin and Ethereum, like mining and private trading but, for most people, an exchange is the safest and easiest way to buy into this market, so this is what we will look at here.

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Here's why the Xbox One X is so damned expensive

When Microsoft revealed that Project Scorpio was the Xbox One X, there was immediate excitement about "the world's most powerful console". But while there is eager anticipation of true 4K gaming, and a wealth of titles to look forward to, there is something of a dark shadow hanging over the upcoming console: that price.

At $499, the Xbox One X is (or will be) the most expensive gaming console on the market and there are understandable questions about why the price is so high. Vice President of Xbox and Windows Gaming VP, Mike Ybarra, has shed some light on the issue revealing that Microsoft simply wasn't willing to compromise.

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One in three consumers has a separate email account for marketing messages

Email magic

People are increasingly looking to separate marketing messages from their other emails by having them sent to a separate account.

According to a new survey of consumer email habits from Yes Lifecycle Marketing, 36 percent have opened separate email accounts solely for brand communication. For millennials that number jumps to more than half (58 percent).

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WikiLeaks Vault 7: CherryBlossom files show CIA can hack D-Link, Belkin and Linksys routers into listening devices

Wikileaks has released a batch of documents from the middle of 2012 revealing details of the CIA's CherryBlossom project. A joint venture with the Stanford Research Institute, the CherryBlossom files show how the agency can take remote control of routers and other networking devices from numerous manufacturers, transforming them into listening devices.

CherryBlossom also enables the CIA to interfere with both incoming and outgoing traffic. Passwords present little obstacle in many cases and the fact that remote infection is possible makes the implant very simple to install. The documents reveal how the CIA can home in on a target using information such as MAC address, email address, or even chat handles.

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Razer Blade Stealth Windows 10 gaming laptop gets refresh with larger 13.3-inch display

Thunderbolt 3 is a total game-changer. With the appropriate hardware, you can add desktop-class graphics cards to a svelte laptop. Having the ability to game at home while retaining portability is a godsend.

One of the best examples of this is the Razer Blade Stealth. It leverages Intel graphics when on the go, but by adding the optional Razer Core graphics card adapter, you can use a desktop GPU. In other words, it is only a gaming laptop when paired with an external GPU. The popular notebook has recently received a refresh, moving from a 12.5-inch screen to a more roomy 13.3-inch. The machine gets a 7th-gen Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM by default -- nice!

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Microsoft Modern Keyboard with Fingerprint ID is designed for Windows Hello, coming soon

Earlier today, Microsoft quietly unveiled a cool new product. Called "Microsoft Modern Keyboard with Fingerprint ID," it is designed for Windows Hello -- the biometic login feature found in Windows 10. It features Bluetooth 4.0/4.1 and a wireless range of up to 50 feet.

The weird thing about the product is that it has what Microsoft calls a "hidden" fingerprint scanner. I call this odd because the scanner is literally in a key with a fingerprint label on it! In other words, it is hiding in plain sight. It seems Microsoft is proud that the reader itself is "hidden" underneath the key, but since it is labeled as such, I don't know why that matters.

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