Germany changes stance on Wi-Fi rules to boost hotspot availability
If you’ve ever been to Germany, you know it’s more likely you’ll stumble upon the World Cup trophy somewhere along the way, than to find a Wi-Fi internet connection in a cafe or a hotel somewhere.
Germany has very strict rules regarding internet piracy and has, until recently, held the providers of the Wi-Fi network responsible for any illegal activity such as piracy conducted on the network.
The real reason why you’ll never get Windows 10 on your Surface RT tablet
"What Intel giveth, Microsoft taketh away". That was the mantra my colleagues and I adhered to when I was leading Intel’s PC benchmarking efforts in the early 2000s. As the resident "HOC" (Highly-paid Outside Consultant) to the company’s Desktop Architecture Labs (DAL), my job was to help Intel’s engineers design the most complex desktop runtime environments possible for the purpose of showcasing the performance advantages of each new PC chip generation. And thanks to a steady stream of increasingly CPU-hungry Windows and Office releases, our thirst for new and interesting stuff to stack atop our shiny new Pentium III and IV test rigs was always satiated.
Then came Windows Vista, and for the first time the CPU demands of Microsoft’s software stack outpaced the average performance of even state of the art Intel designs. Suddenly, Windows was "too fat" to fly, and the subsequent backlash saw the long overdue departure of Vista’s architect Jim Allchin, the ill-fated rise of Steven Sinofsky to Windows development boss, and the much anticipated emergence of Windows 7 as the anti-Vista: A new version that was actually less demanding (in terms of CPU, memory and disk footprint) than its predecessor.
MyFord Mobile app gains Android Wear, Apple Watch support
Ford has updated its MyFord Mobile app and gave it support for both the Apple Watch and Android-powered smartwatches.
According to a report by T3, the app doesn’t actually let you drive the car with your watch, but instead offers a handful of nifty features to make your driving experience more enjoyable.
7 things I still hate about Windows 10
Windows 10 has been with us for quite some time now, particularly for anyone who has been trying out the Insider builds since the beginning. Many people, myself included, have been disappointed with Microsoft's latest operating system but perhaps it's time to re-evaluate.
Have I got used to the things I didn’t like? In some cases, yes. But there are still a number of areas in which Windows 10 falls short of the mark. So here are seven things that piss me off about Windows 10; one for every day of the week!
DDoS attacks are more dangerous than you think
We all know that DDoS attacks are capable of causing massive inconvenience, but according to a new survey they can have major financial and data loss implications too.
The study of over 5,000 companies by Kaspersky Lab finds that almost one in three DDoS attacks coincides with a network intrusion.
Spotify gets a new About screen with more features
Music streaming sevices need to differentiate in order to stand out and hold market share. Features, as well as the song offerings, matter. Spotify is in a tight race with opposition from Google, Rdio, Apple and others. That means innovation is key.
The service has updated its "About" screen, bringing new features for its customers. Included are biographies with full screen browsing, global rankings based on monthly listeners, letting customers know where people are discovering the most popular artists, and even which city the artist is most popular in.
Do you care about the environment? Buy an AMD APU!
When it comes to building a PC, energy savings is not a particularly sexy subject. Of course, it is more fun to talk about raw power and fun components. In other words, it would be quite rare to see two PC gamers arguing in a forum about who has the lower electric bill. Wouldn't it be sort of cool if they did discuss that though?
If you own a 6th Generation AMD "Carrizo" A-Series APU, however, you might be saving energy and being environmentally friendly without even knowing it. Today, AMD reveals a new study which shows its new APUs can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50 percent compared to previous generations. In other words, upgrading your AMD APU will make both Mother Nature and Captain Planet happy. Huzzah!
VR headset sales will reach 30 million units by 2020
Although yet to achieve mainstream success, the virtual reality market is predicted to experience massive growth according to the latest research from Juniper.
In a whitepaper titled The Rise of Virtual Reality, it is claimed that approximately 30 million virtual reality headsets will have been sold by 2020 with sales topping $4 billion.
Facebook rolling out missing children alerts in UK
Facebook is rolling out its missing children feature to the United Kingdom, allowing people within a certain area to be notified when a child goes missing.
The social network uses geo-location to find people in the near area, and alert them to a child disappearance. Facebook users can learn more about the disappearance if they happen to know any information that might be of help, or share the post to friends and family.
How to enable Apple News on iOS 9 outside United States
Apple, on Wednesday, released iOS 9, the latest software version of its mobile operating system. The iOS 9 update comes with a number of features including Apple News, a news reader app that works as an RSS feed fetcher. It's an interesting app as it allows immersive visual effects that are not available on any alternative. But if you live outside the US, you might not be able to use the app as it is not available for you yet. But there's a way you can get the app on your iPhone or iPad. Follow the instructions mentioned below.
The trick is very simple. You just have to change your region settings to the United States to make Apple believe you live there. Once done, you should be able to see the News app on your homescreen. Here’s the elaborate guide to get the News app on your Apple device.
Add Apple CarPlay to your existing vehicle with Kenwood DDX6902S and DDX6702S
Back in the 90's and early 00's, I was one of those punk kids who drove around with his aftermarket stereo blasting rap music. Yes, I had a subwoofer in my trunk that would shake both my car and my neighbors' houses. While I still love rap music, I have outgrown the obnoxious behavior of forcing my music on others.
Car tech and music are still loves of mine, however, albeit it at lower decibels. I have been considering upgrading the stock stereo in my Ford Focus lately (I don't even have Bluetooth), and today Kenwood announces two receivers that pique my interest -- the DDX6902S and DDX6702S. As someone who just ordered an iPhone 6s Plus, these both feature something I desire -- Apple CarPlay.
At $300, Elephone Vowney flagship smartphone dual-boots Android 5.0 and Windows 10 Mobile
Back in April, we reported that Chinese smartphone manufacturer Elephone planned to launch a handset which would dual-boot Windows 10 Mobile and Android 5.0 Lollipop mobile operating systems. Five months later, that phone has been officially launched. Called the Elephone Vowney, the smartphone is priced at $299.99 and goes on sale from September 30.
As for the specifications, the Elephone Vowney sports a 5.5-inch QHD display (2560 x 1440) with a pixel density of 535ppi. It is powered by an octa-core MediaTek MT6795 processor clocked at 2.2GHz coupled with 3GB of RAM. It comes with 64GB of inbuilt storage with support for a microSD card should you want more.
Block ads in iOS 9 with Peace
Ad-blockers are proving to be extremely popular with the early adopters of iOS 9. Shortly after the operating system's debut, Peace skyrocketed to the top of the paid apps chart on Apple's App Store, taking Minecraft: Pocket Edition's place on the podium, while rival Purify Blocker has risen to fourth place.
Current leader Peace is the work of iOS developer Marco Arment, best known for the popular read-it-later app Instapaper. Since Peace will surely get the attention of many more users, let's take a look at what it has to offer.
Wanted: DDoS skills to fend off attacks
DDoS attacks regularly make the news, but what are companies doing to help them fend off and guard against the threat?
Security company Incapsula has conducted some research to find out if companies are actively seeking candidates with DDoS mitigation skills.
Amazon goes after gamers with the new Fire TV Gaming Edition
As well as refreshing its Fire TV and Fire TV Stick streaming hardware, Amazon has also introduced a new variation of its set top box aimed squarely at gamers.
The new Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition combines the updated Amazon Fire TV box with a game controller, a 32 GB microSD card, and two free games: Shovel Knight and Disney’s Ducktales.
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