The rise of wearables has led to the biggest technology companies in the world developing smartwatches and other wearable devices.

Two of the most prominent are, of course, Apple and Google, with the Apple Watch dominating headlines since its release in May and Google’s Android Wear platform being used by a number of hardware vendors.

Continue reading →

Many consumers want gaming PCs, but simply don't have the space for a massive tower. For this reason, mini ITX systems have exploded in popularity. But what if you want something smaller? Maybe you are interested in keeping a HTPC in your living room where a small footprint is preferable.

Today, Zotac announces a diminutive gaming PC -- the ZBOX MAGNUS EN970. Not only is the Intel Broadwell-powered PC very small, but it should offer solid gaming performance with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 3GB DDR5. It even offers a mind-blowing 4 HDMI-out ports!

Continue reading →

Oracle has released VirtualBox 5.0.4, the first publicly flagged maintenance release for the 5.0 series of its virtualization tool for Windows, Mac and Linux.

Version 5.0 introduced support for USB 3.0 and hardware virtualization among other improvements, and version 5.0.4 is almost exclusively a bug-fix update.

Continue reading →

Microsoft and Dell are teaming up to deliver Windows 10 devices, services and support to enterprise customers, starting next month with a new Surface Enterprise Initiative.

Beginning in early October in the US and Canada, Dell will sell Microsoft Surface Pro tablets and Surface accessories through its North America commercial sales organization. This will be rolled out to the remaining 28 markets of Microsoft's Surface commercial channel starting early next year.

Continue reading →

BlackBerry has announced its purchase of Good Technology, a mobile security company. The deal was sealed with $425 million (£280 million) heading Good’s way. The Good Dynamics platform provides encryption, advanced data loss prevention and secure communication between applications.

But BlackBerry is already good at that, isn’t it? It is one of the safest, if not the safest smartphone out there, so what good can Good do (pun definitely intended)?

Continue reading →

German developer Ashampoo has shipped Ashampoo AntiSpy for Windows 10, yet another free tool for tweaking Windows 10’s many privacy and security settings.

There’s support for tweaking 40+ options covering browsing, updates, location features, webcam/ microphone access, Cortana, Contacts and Calendar, and assorted telemetry settings.

Continue reading →

Users of enterprise systems are often deterred from completing tasks via mobile apps due to complexity or poor user experience.

Enterprise mobility specialist Capriza is aiming to change that with the launch of a platform that will for the first time make legacy enterprise applications fully contextual and end-user relevant.

Continue reading →

Fiat Chrysler recently recalled over 8,000 vehicles that are vulnerable to a bug through which hackers can take control over the car’s computer system, which would eventually give them the control over the entire car.

The new Jeep Renegade SUV is the one that is vulnerable. Especially those jeeps that were ordered with a 6.5-inch touchscreen in the dashboard.

Continue reading →

DirectShow video renderer madVR 0.89.1 has shipped with a host of new features and configuration options.

Anamorphic lens support allows the video image to be scaled correctly for even more screen sizes and ratios.

Continue reading →

As someone who lives and breathes technology, I am interested in knowing how people use smart devices. What are their favorite apps? How often do they use standout features, like a heart rate monitor? Is the phone functionality still relevant? So, given that Apple Watch is a popular topic in the media nowadays, I am intrigued by how early adopters are using it.

Wristly, the self-titled "largest independent Apple Watch research platform", has polled 2,000 Apple Watch users to find out how they are embracing the device, focusing on the main advertised features. The findings are interesting, but hardly surprising.

Continue reading →

According to a new report from research company IDTechEx the wearable market will be worth over $24 million this year. But much of this is for existing technology like smartwatches and fitness trackers.

Where are wearables headed in future though? According to the report the biggest opportunity is in medical and healthcare applications. Including blood glucose monitoring, healthcare is already the largest single sector by revenue in wearable technology and is likely to stay that way.

Continue reading →

Yu Televentures, an online subsidiary of Micromax, today launches its third smartphone. Targeting the growing affordable smartphone market, the company introduces Yu Yunique. The 4G capable handset packs in an impressive set of specifications for just Rs 4,999 ($75).

The Yu Yunique sports a 4.7-inch HD (1,280 x 7,20 pixels) display and is powered by a 64-bit capable Snapdragon 410 quad-core SoC clocked at 1.2GHz with Adreno 306 GPU. It has 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage, with support for a microSD card should you need more storage. On the software front, the handset runs Android 5.1 Lollipop.

Continue reading →

Despite a court order instructing the company to hand over text conversations between iMessage accounts to the FBI, Apple says that its own encryption system means it cannot do so. The Justice Department obtained a court order that required Apple to provide real time access to text messages sent between suspects in an investigation involving guns and drugs.

Apple has responded by saying that the fact iMessage is encrypted means that it is simply not able to comply with the order. The stand-off between the US government and Apple could last for some time as neither side is willing -- or possibly able -- to back down.

Continue reading →

Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO, doesn’t strike anyone as a man with many regrets. But infamously dismissing the newly launched iPhone because "...it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard" is probably one of them.

The interview was taken by many as a sign that Microsoft didn’t really get consumers. It didn’t get that consumer tech was fast over-taking enterprise systems as the new driving force for innovation. And it didn’t get that the gap between what people wanted at home and what they wanted at work was closing fast.

Continue reading →

Fujitsu has revealed details of a new wireless receiver capable of data transfer rates of "several tens of Gigabits per second". Operating on the terahertz band, the receiver is over 100 times faster than current devices that use the 0.8-2.0 GHz range.

Described as "the world's first 300 GHz band compact receiver", the receiver is ten times smaller than previous models, opening up the possibility of use in mobile devices. Shrinking the unit has reduced its size to under one cubic centimeter and Fujitsu says that it "enables mobile devices to instantly transfer 4K or 8K HD video".

Continue reading →