• Article

Slack is the current communication darling for many small and medium businesses. The SMB-focused communication and collaboration solution is pretty simple -- it is similar to internet relay chat. Just like IRC, you join a channel and have text-based communications with other people. Where it differs, however, is its native ability to integrate with other tools. In other words, its potential is arguably greater than many competitors.

Today, Microsoft announces that it is enhancing Slack in a very special way. The Windows-maker releases a preview of Skype integration for the aforementioned communication solution. The team here at BetaNews uses Slack, so of course, I had to give it a go.

Continue reading →

Qualcomm and Japanese tech firm TDK Corporation have announced a joint venture, valued by Reuters at approximately $3 billion (£2bn).

The new company, named RF360 Holdings, will be building modules needed to communicate wirelessly with mobile devices and IoT devices. Those modules include the RF front-end (RFFE) and RF filters, the two companies said in a press release.

Continue reading →

Here’s something to make you feel really, really old. The first commercially available microprocessor chip was created in January 1986 -- exactly 30 years ago.

Back then, a team of Stanford University researchers and Silicon Valley veterans joined forces and created something that completely changed the way we see computers today. If it weren’t for these guys, who knows what modern computers would have looked like today.

Continue reading →

If you use Google Now launcher, you may have noticed that there is no option that can enable auto rotation. While this is not a problem when you are holding the device in portrait mode, it obviously makes landscape mode quite inconvenient at times.

The problem is that the launcher does not follow the Android-wide setting for auto rotation, and instead sticks to displaying everything in portrait mode. However, with a new update, that can now be changed.

Continue reading →

It seems everything can be put online these days -- lights, window shades, door locks, refrigerators, crock pots, you name it. One popular item being advertised vigorously in the US is the smart doorbell. It's a nice idea as it allows the user to see who's at the door without opening it. You can even talk to visitors and all of this is done from an app on the smartphone, even if you aren't actually home.

But, as we've seen with other IoT devices, this isn't always safe. These days even your daughter's Barbie doll has security concerns.

Continue reading →

Password management provider Dashlane has unveiled Dashlane 4.0 for Windows and Mac alongside Dashlane for iOS 4.0 and Dashlane for Android 4.0. The new release -- available in free and a paid-for Premium package -- shows off a brand new interface.

The new design -- which Dashlane claims has been "enhanced and optimized for convenience" shows off menu upgrades, improved search, wider support for its automatic password changer tool and support for five more languages.

Continue reading →

Continuum is one of the novel features that Microsoft has baked into Windows 10 Mobile. This enables users to essentially turn their smartphone into a more basic PC, using a Display Dock to connect the usual pieces of hardware -- a mouse, keyboard and monitor.

I say "more basic" because the device is severely limited in the number of apps it can display at the same time, as well as the type of apps that it can run: proper Windows software is out of the question with current hardware, only apps designed for Windows 10 Mobile are supported. But, now that Microsoft has introduced Continuum support in the Remote Desktop client preview, this feature is much more useful, and offers a more compelling argument for giving Windows 10 Mobile a chance.

Continue reading →

Manually shutting down a PC is easy enough -- assuming you can find the power menu, anyway -- but automating the process takes a little more work. And even if you spend a while playing with your power options, shutdown.exe and Task Scheduler, it still might not deliver what you need.

Fortunately there’s plenty of freeware around to help automate all your shutdown, restart, sleep and other power-related tasks.

Continue reading →

Microsoft plans to give Windows 10 users another option to speed up the process of unlocking their PCs. The software giant has introduced an app that enables remote authentication using a Windows 10 Mobile device.

Called Microsoft Authenticator, the app is currently undergoing internal testing and it seems to be designed with enterprise users in mind. Microsoft likely wants to make it easier to deal with complex passwords, which are recommended for meeting certain security guidelines.

Continue reading →

We all know that Microsoft wants as many people as possible to upgrade to Windows 10. The new OS is free for users of Windows 7 and 8.1, and the firm has the stated goal of getting it on a billion devices within 2-3 years.

To achieve this aim, Microsoft is pushing its new OS very aggressively, forcing it on to users, even if they have no desire to upgrade and have taken steps to actually prevent it.

Continue reading →

In a press release that announces the start of mass production of chips that are made using its second-generation 14 nm FinFET technology, Samsung has revealed itself as the manufacturer for Qualcomm's upcoming flagship mobile processor.

Qualcomm's next top of the line mobile processor is called Snapdragon 820, and is expected to be available in new mobile devices in the first half of 2016. What's more, it is rumored that Samsung has selected Snapdragon 820 for the upcoming Galaxy S7 flagship, which will likely make its debut at MWC 2016, which takes place next month.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has been quick to brag about the adoption rate of Windows 10, proudly crowing every time another few million devices make the upgrade. We're currently sitting at around the 200 million mark (apparently), but the bulk of this number is made up of home users. Now Microsoft wants to encourage more businesses to make the jump from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.

The next leg of the company's aggressive Windows 10 campaign is aimed squarely at SMBs who can now expect to be pestered by the "Get Windows 10" app in the same way as non-business users have for the last six months. Aware that taking the upgrade process out of the hands of IT admins might not go down too well, Microsoft is providing a way to opt out of these notifications.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has announced new offerings regarding the recently acquired Revolution Analytics and its R language for statistical computing and predictive analytics.

Most importantly, its Revolution R Open is now called Microsoft R Open and will remain open-source and free for download.

Continue reading →

Xiaomi announced Redmi Note 3 last year, in late-November, alongside the Mi Pad 2 slate. The affordable phablet, which sports a metal body and fingerprint sensor, arrived with a MediaTek Helio X10 processor, but the company is now adding a Qualcomm Snapdragon version into the mix.

The new Redmi Note 3 version is powered by a mid-range, 64-bit, 1.8 GHz hexa-core Snapdragon 650 processor, which offers Adreno 510 graphics, support for UltraHD video and VoLTE, and an integrated X8 modem which enables higher transfer speeds over cellular networks. This model is likely introduced for international markets.

Continue reading →

The revival of virtual reality is nearly upon us and Microsoft and Facebook have both put a great deal of resources into carving out their place in this new form of entertainment.

Facebook is heavily invested in the Oculus Rift while Microsoft has spent years developing its own version of virtual/augmented reality with its HoloLens.

Continue reading →