• Article

The problem with a lot of technology is that it acts as a beacon to thieves. Use a phone or tablet in public and you run the risk of having it swiped from under your nose. To overcome this, Apple and Google have built in security features that make it possible to render useless iPhones, iPads and Android devices. The same, however, cannot be said of the Apple Watch.

While the Apple Watch does feature a passcode system that is used as a locking mechanism when the wearable is removed from the wrist, it is incredibly easy to bypass. A thief can grab a Watch, factory reset it and pair it with their own iPhone. The risk of arrest aside -- and, you know, morals -- there is no deterrent to helping oneself to a Watch and claiming it as your own.

Microsoft doesn’t seem to know exactly what to call its version of Windows 10 for smartphones. It was called "Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones", and then yesterday, when unveiling the different editions of the new operating system, Microsoft called it "Windows 10 Mobile".

Today, however, it’s back to "Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones", although in the official blog post announcing the latest release -- Build 10080 -- it’s also called "Windows 10 Insider Preview for phone". I guess you just have to take your pick. Hopefully the tech giant will have decided on an official name when it releases the finished version later in the year.

File this in the "When More is Less" folder.

My college-age daughter is moving home, at least for the summer, and my wife and I are scrambling preparations. One unexpected: Changing Internet Service Providers. Our Cox connection comes into the bedroom where my daughter will go. Access from the main living area would require new wiring that the landlord won't allow. I can understand why he wouldn't want the fancy molding drilled up. We already know that AT&T U-verse Internet is live in the living room.

Aesthetics in technology matters. While I am not a huge Apple fan, I must give the company props for being a trendsetter in this regard. While form should never take precedent over function, hardware should be attractive. I mean, why not?

Today, Linksys announces the RE6700 Wireless Range Extender. While such a thing is normally a boring affair for all but the most nerdiest of nerds, this is different. Why? It is so friggin' cute! Seriously, it is gosh-darn adorable and looks like it has a personality. Most importantly, however, is that the specs are great too.

Netflix might be looking to revive Top Gear, following Jeremy Clarkson’s BBC outing after punching a producer in the face over a cold steak.

That is not the weirdest part of the rumor, it is what Netflix is planning to rename Top Gear, since it cannot use the BBC’s brand. The Mirror is reporting that Netflix plans to name the show House of Cars, and it will feature a similar format to Top Gear.

According to a new survey from cloud security provider Distil Networks humans accounted for only 40.9 percent of web traffic in 2014 with the remainder accounted for by bots.

This compares with 50.8 percent human traffic in 2013, however the good news is that 'bad bot' traffic is down from 24.22 percent to 22.78. The rise in good bot traffic that makes up the difference is thought to be from more aggressive indexing by Bing and new search engines in 2014.

Even though my Internet connection is fast and my computer is up to the task, whenever I play 4K videos in Google Chrome -- usually on YouTube -- playback stutters heavily, forcing me to opt for a lesser quality for a seamless experience. Switching to another browser, like Safari, will solve the problem, but this is hardly a fix that I can live with.

Fortunately, Google is working on a solution, introducing an experimental option in Chrome that will make 4K videos finally run as they should -- smoothly, that is. Here is what you need to know.

There is an obvious trend in the Windows Phone market of offering more and more affordable smartphones. That is because most users of the tiled operating system gravitate towards low-end devices come purchase time. So, naturally, when Verizon decided to finally include a new Windows Phone in its portfolio, big red did not stray from this path.

Verizon's first Windows Phone since the launch of HTC One (M8) for Windows, nearly nine months ago, is the LG-branded Lancet, which can be had for as little as $19.99 on a two-year contract. And it is not just cheap in this trim, but off-contract too.

Just yesterday Google revealed that it rejects most Right To Be Forgotten requests it receives. In publishing yet another transparency report, the search giant will have hoped to have put to bed any questions that users and critics may have had. While the report may have satisfied some, it did not go anywhere near far enough for one group of academics.

A total of 80 university professors, law experts and technology professionals have written an open letter to Google demanding greater transparency. The letter calls upon the company to reveal more about how Right To Be Forgotten requests are handled so that the public is aware of the control that is being exerted over "readily accessible information".

No matter how much storage your phone has, it’s easily filled, especially if you’re always taking photos and videos.

FotoFox is a free iOS/Android app which compresses images and videos as they’re shot, reducing quality but cutting their size by up to 90 percent, and still giving you access to the originals when necessary.

Google is extending its block on unofficial Chrome extensions to the developer channel and Mac users. The move is a continuation of the decision taken last year that forced people using the stable and beta channels of the Windows version of the browser to stick with official extensions.

It is a decision which aims to stop people from installing malicious add-ons; Google has previously been criticized for failing to clear out junk quickly enough. With immediate effect, those on the developer channel will have to install extensions from the Store, and the policy will be applied to the Mac version of Chrome in a few weeks. All is not lost for anyone who wants to install unofficial extensions, though.

Last month IBM launched its X-Force Exchange opening up access to threat intelligence data to help in the fight against cybercrime.

With 80 percent of cyber attacks now coming from organized gangs it's important that the good guys get organized too. IBM has announced today that more than 1,000 organizations across 16 industries are participating in the new threat intelligence community.

All models of the Raspberry Pi have always been very affordable -- that’s a big part of the appeal. When the B+ launched 10 months ago it was priced at $35 dollars -- which was the same as the regular B model, despite improvements which include additional USB 2.0 ports, lower power consumption, and better audio.

However, three months ago the Raspberry Pi 2 arrived, and that was also priced at $35. Suddenly, the B+ seemed like a bad deal in comparison. But not anymore.

Our smartphones might need protection, as their displays can be scratched by keys in our bags and pockets. We might also drop them in a moment of inadvertency, or we might slip whilst texting and go down, bringing the expensive device down with us.

But what about a smartwatch? Does the smart wearable device which has no contact with car keys and has close to zero chance of falling to the ground need protection?

I’m a huge fan of Zombies, Run! and whenever I hit the treadmill (or, less frequently, the streets) the exercise app is always with me, turning a boring run into an action-packed journey through the zombie apocalypse.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting Season 4 of Zombies, Run! for ages now, and today is the day it arrives, bringing with it not only 40 new missions, but also some big improvements, including an important pricing change -- it’s now free to play.