WARNING! Sony decides its waterproof Xperia phones are not actually waterproof

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Sony seems hell bent on confusing its customers by giving very conflicting advice about its Xperia smartphones. If you're familiar with the range, you'll no doubt be aware of the advertising material that appears to show users taking photos in the rain and even (seemingly) underwater at the pool.

Take a look at the picture above and you'd probably assume that a) it depicts someone shooting a video or taking a photo in a swimming pool, and b) you can do the same with your phone. But you'd be wrong (at least on b) because Sony has changed its mind about what waterproof means. Or it doesn't know. It really depends on where you look on the Sony website.

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The rise of telecommuting: 45 percent of US employees work from home

student coffee cafe laptop woman

The traditional 9-5 working day of driving to an office, sitting in a cubicle for hours and then forgetting all about work at the end of the day is all but extinct.

Thanks to telecommuting and the rise of millennials on the workplace, employees are now able to work from pretty much anywhere at any time of day, with little or no disruption or sacrifice in productivity.

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How DirecTV tried and failed to get me to uncut the cord

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Almost a year and half ago I said goodbye to my long-time satellite provider. It was nothing personal, I always had good service, but I simply decided I was paying too much for the amount of TV I watch -- or don't watch, which is more the case.

Since then I've got by just fine with a compilation of Sling TV (with the sports pack), Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime. That hasn't stopped DirecTV from trying to win me back, though I'd steadily ignored the offers. But one was different.

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Remove unwanted Windows 10 upgrade files from Windows 7 and Windows 8.x

Delete Keyboard Key Button

Microsoft has reportedly been downloading Windows 10 installation files on to computers running Windows 7 and 8.x, regardless of whether the users plan to upgrade to the new OS or not.

If you’re thinking of making the switch, and have requested an upgrade, that is fair enough. But if you’re more than happy to stick with your older OS for now, you might not be too happy about Microsoft cluttering up your hard drive with junk install files you don’t want. Fortunately, removing these files is easy enough.

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ASUS ROG G20CB gaming PC has Intel Skylake Core i7, GeForce GTX 980, and Windows 10

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There is a big place in my heart for gaming PCs. Unfortunately, there isn't a big place in my home for one. As more and more people share homes with their extended family (damn, economy!) space can be an issue. Zotac recently announced a small gaming PC, showing that it is possible to have a small footprint, which is very cool.

Today, ASUS announces the ROG G20CB -- a refresh of the existing G20. While not diminutive, it is certainly svelte compared to conventional towers. The specs look incredible, as it features an Intel Skylake Core i7 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB. Other configurations are available too, of course, and AMD fans can opt for a Radeon R9 380.

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Health insurer discovers hack half a year too late

surprise shock woman laptop

A health insurer in upstate New York was hacked, and more than 10 million of its members might have had their data stolen, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The Rochester-based insurer Excellus BlueCross BlueShield said it and its affiliates had been the target of a sophisticated cyberattack. It is offering free identity theft protection services to the affected.

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Upgrade to Windows 10 and win a trip to New York

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If you haven’t already upgraded to Windows 10, Microsoft has another incentive for you to make the switch. The tech giant is offering upgraders the chance to win a trip for two to New York, with flights and hotel accommodation included.

The competition is to celebrate the grand opening of Microsoft’s flagship store and the winner will have front of line access to the store, and also VIP concert tickets with a meet and greet with the (as yet unnamed) band at the grand opening concert. They’ll also receive Microsoft hardware including Surface Pro 3, Xbox One and Microsoft Band.

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Bitdefender 2016 brings new ransomware protection

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Bitdefender Labs has unveiled its 2016 consumer line, including Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2016, Bitdefender Internet Security 2016 and Bitdefender Total Security 2016.

New ransomware protection prevents untrusted applications from tampering with your personal documents, while enhanced behavioral monitoring looks for any ransomware-like activities.

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SMBs in the cloud -- managed services or in-house IT?

businessman on cloud

The cloud has become a truly winning innovation for companies of all sizes, causing a significant upturn within the IT sector and business as a whole. Previously, companies went to great lengths to scale their own in-house IT infrastructure, as it was seen as a great benefit to run the business through technology maintained on-site. Now however, there is a push toward an online service delivery model, leaving organizations wondering which setup is best for them.

In many aspects, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) stand to benefit the most from cloud-based technologies. Dealing with limited budget, it has not always been easy to for small companies to take advantage of information technology -- the purchase, upkeep, and eventual replacement of hardware is extremely expensive, not to mention the salaries paid to the IT professionals that maintain it. Fortune 500 companies can afford this type of capital costs, whereas SMBs could have travel outlaying that much cash.

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Apple's shares expectedly drop after 'Hey Siri' event

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Apple’s shares went down some two percent following Wednesday's event which saw the unveiling of a couple of new products.

Apple unveiled the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus, as well as the new iPad Pro, Apple TV and a couple of new features for the Watch.

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Android/Lockerpin.A ransomware holds victims hostage by changing their PIN

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The latest ransomware to hit Android users attempts to force victims into coughing up $500 by changing the PIN used to lock the device. Disguising itself as a system patch and then a message from the FBI suggesting that 'forbidden pornographic sites' have been viewed, the Android/Lockerpin.A malware differs from previous examples of ransomware that encrypted data.

The malware is impossible to remove without root access or by performing a factory reset. An interesting feature of the PIN change is that even the attacker is unware of what the new code is -- handing over money really makes no difference. But also worthy of note is the way in which Android/Lockerpin.A manages to gain Device Admin privileges.

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How to find the wallpapers and lock screen images in Windows 10

Windows 10 lock screen

I quite like the look of Windows 10, and the images that come with it, but like all previous versions of Microsoft’s operating system it’s easily customizable.

Changing the look of the wallpaper and lock screen is done through Start, Settings, Personalization, and you can spice things up with your own photos. But what if you want to view the default images? Windows 10 stores them in a less-than-obvious place.

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Enabling a global workforce to realize their potential with technology

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An organization is only as good as its talent. As companies become more global they find themselves having to manage a distributed workforce across many continents and time zones, while speaking many languages. Whether gender, age or race based, a workforce’s diversity contributes to a variety of insights and advantages to general corporate culture. Most leaders would agree in principal that it’s imperative to create an environment where employees are able to play to their strengths, while supporting their areas of challenge to achieve mutually beneficial goals. One immediate way to leverage the diversity of a global workforce is through selecting and adopting a common business language.

Many companies have publicly expressed their choices; The Le Tour de France’s official language is English, Rakuten in Japan publicly committed to a new strategic initiative, "Englishnization", or the process of using English to break down linguistic and cultural boundaries. Getting your team to learn how to communicate and collaborate in business English might be a golden opportunity. The question isn’t so much about if this is a good idea, but rather how do you do it when your workforce is spread around the world, and when talented native trainers are so rare in developing countries.

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The challenges facing modern sports venues

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Today’s modern sports venues have many operational challenges. They often host multiple activities including sporting events, concerts and even the circus and rodeo. Most venues are designed to quickly change in layout and function for these different events. The faster and more efficient these changes can be made, the lower the operational costs and maybe even the more events it can host.

Fans have high expectations for using their mobile devices when visiting arenas. Almost everyone has a smartphone and expects to be able to upload pictures or even shop if the event gets boring. We all expect our mobile devices to work as data devices and be able to access all that the world offers all the time, and being at an event is no exception.

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Development of as-a-service presents opportunities and threats for business

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The introduction of as-a-service delivery models is affecting the way companies operate as they increasingly buy services to supplement their existing systems.

A new report by consultancy firm Accenture looks at how technologies such as cloud, automation, analytics, artificial intelligence and mobility have forever changed the way companies receive and deliver significant business value.

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