Datto launches new solutions to protect data wherever it's stored
With distributed networks, virtual servers and the cloud, corporate data is increasingly stored in lots of different places, making backup and business continuity more of a challenge.
Following its acquisition of Backupify in December last year, backup and recovery specialist Datto is launching a range of new products and enhancements designed to protect data no matter where it resides -- across on-premise physical or virtual servers or in the cloud via SaaS applications.
iPhotoDraw gains a pile of annotating extras
Simenu Wu has updated his freeware image annotator iPhotoDraw with a stack of essential new features.
There’s now a very complete set of line drawing tools -- with/ without arrow, horizontal/ vertical elbow, polyline, Bezier, spline, freehand -- and every aspect of a line’s arrowhead can now be customized: size, alignment, rotation, fill/ colour, thickness, opacity and more.
Xirrus simplifies Wi-Fi access for BYOD
According to Gartner 85 percent of enterprises expect to have policies for allowing employee-owned devices in the workplace by 2020. This gives administrators a growing challenge in securing, supporting and managing them.
High-performance wireless specialist Xirrus is launching a new service suite called EasyPass, designed to manage mobile device connections to Wi-Fi networks in the simplest way and with minimal IT involvement.
Airbus to build 900 satellites for OneWeb to connect the world to the internet
For some companies, bringing the internet to the entire world is an important part of giving people greater opportunities. Mark Zuckerberg has been pedalling Internet.org for some time now -- even if a lot of people don’t like the scheme -- and now there's a new kid on the block.
Airbus is due to start building more than 900 satellites for OneWeb, a company looking to bring highspeed internet access to billions of people all over the world. The aim is to offer 100 percent coverage of the globe, and there is a great focus on speed. Airbus is hoping to build more than one satellite per day and launch the first batch in 2018.
Adobe launches stock image service as part of Creative Cloud 2015
Adobe has carved out a niche for itself as a provider of industry-standard tools for art and design; Photoshop is now so widely used that, like Google, it has become a verb. The company's Creative Cloud suite receives its annual update today, and as part of the update Adobe is also launching its own stock image service.
Adobe Stock is set to compete directly with the likes of Shutterstock and Getty images. Adobe already has something of a captive market. It is very well aware that the people who tend to use stock images are the same people who use Adobe software -- it just makes sense for the two worlds to collide.
Clean up your PC with Empty Folder Finder
Empty Folder Finder is a tiny portable freebie which lists empty folders on your PC, then optionally allows you to delete anything you don’t need.
There are plenty of similar tools around, but what’s interesting about this one is you can also have it list "nearly empty" folders, anything with just a few small files.
Database vendor brings accessible cloud analytics to the US
As data volumes grow managing them and being able to extract meaningful insights in a timely manner becomes more and more difficult, especially for small and medium businesses.
Latvian database-as-a-service (DBaaS) company Clusterpoint is looking to expand its innovative technology to developers and small to medium sized businesses in North America by opening a new server cluster in Dallas.
Astronauts complaining about slower than dial-up Internet
NASA first provided Internet access to astronauts in space five years ago, but these space guys have revealed that connection speeds from the International Space Stations are worse than the old-school dial-up connection.
A click on a webpage from a space station first travels 22,000 miles away from Earth, to a network of geosynchronous satellites far beyond the relatively close station. These satellites then send the signal down to a receiver on Earth, which processes the request before returning the response along the same path.
Benchmarking engine helps unlock commercial insights
Traditionally benchmarking organizations or parts of an enterprise against each other has been a complex process involving a team of specialist analysts. But the amount of data available to modern businesses means that they're increasingly looking for ways to automate gaining insights information.
Pittsburgh-based OnlyBoth is launching a new commercial benchmarking engine based on artificial intelligence principles. It enables business-services providers to offer comprehensive, automated benchmarking services to their end customers.
Motorola Moto X now available for $299.99 off-contract
Even though it is over nine months old at this point, the second-generation Motorola Moto X is still among the most interesting Android smartphones that you can get your hands on today. Part of its appeal are its more affordable price, lovely design, close-to-stock Android distribution and timely updates, things which few competitors can boast.
If you are considering buying a 2014 Moto X, now is the time to pull the trigger. For a limited time, Motorola is running a very attractive deal, selling the smartphone for as little as $299.99 off-contract.
The H-1B visa program is a scam
This is the second of three columns relating to the recent story of Disney replacing 250 IT workers with foreign workers holding H-1B visas. Over the years I have written many columns about outsourcing (here) and the H-1B visa program in particular (here). Not wanting to just cover again that old material, this column looks at an important misconception that underlies the whole H-1B problem, then gives the unique view of a longtime reader of this column who has H-1B program experience.
First the misconception as laid out in a blog post shared with me by a reader. This blogger maintains that we wouldn’t be so bound to H-1Bs if we had better technical training programs in our schools. This is a popular theme with every recent Presidential administration and, while not explicitly incorrect, it isn’t implicitly correct, either. Schools can always be better but better schools aren’t necessarily limiting U.S. technical employment.
Optimize CSS and JavaScripts with Scriptm
One easy way to improve website performance is to optimize your graphics, and tools like FileOptimizer can significantly cut file size without any loss in quality.
If you’re looking to save every last byte then you could also try to strip down your JavaScripts or CSS files. FileOptimizer can handle that, too, but Scriptm is a free script optimizer for Windows 7+ which gives you a little more control.
Airbus demos its electric airplane
If you thought cars were the only means of transport being pressed hard by the "green" idea of lowering CO2 emissions, you were terribly wrong.
Even though they’re not exactly the center of attention, airplane makers are also looking for ways to switch to electric-powered engines, and now Airbus has unveiled an interesting two-seater.
Does Microsoft's Xbox Elite Wireless Controller give unfair advantage to those with money?
You know what makes console gaming so awesome? For the most part, everyone has the same specs. Conversely, in PC gaming, gamers can pay for better hardware -- a faster graphics card, more RAM, more accurate mouse, keyboard, etc -- these can enable higher scores and increased wins online. In other words, even though winning takes skill, the gamer with the bigger bank account can get an advantage -- arguably, an unfair one.
Today, Microsoft announces the Xbox Elite controller. Quite frankly, it is a work of art -- featuring a customizable, modular design and a sexy look. The problem? It is insanely expensive at $149.99. If you can afford it, more power to you, however, is it fair that a console gamer can simply buy an advantage?
Apple Music is the Tim Cook 'One More Thing' we waited for
Seven days ago, CEO of the most valuable, publicly-traded technology company on the planet unveiled a potentially category-changing online streaming service. In 15 more, you will be able to subscribe -- three months for free. Pundits wave the Spotify flag and spit out diatribes of disgust, much as they did when Apple launched iPhone eight years ago or iPad in 2010. Wrong again is their destiny. Will they ever learn?
Many of the doomsayers forget, or maybe just ignore, the fruit-logo company's success disrupting category after category. They also start out from a misguided premise: That Apple is a latecomer who cannot catch up with competitors like Spotify. How ridiculous. iTunes debuted in January 2001, iPod nine months later, and iTunes Music Store in April 2003. By longevity and reach, which includes exclusives (like The Beatles) and large catalog, Apple is the status quo. On June 30, the giant awakes, and the smidgens shake as it walks.
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