The reasons why Apple Watch will succeed
Only the most fortunate among us will ever be able to afford $15,000 for the 18k gold Apple Watch, yet millions around the world recently watched as Tim Cook -- in his first new product launch as CEO -- unveiled Apple’s first major push into the wearables market.
According to The Wearable Future report, adoption rates of wearables parallels that of tablets. After two years, adoption of tablets was 20 percent and today, and 21 percent of American adults already own a wearable device -- so it’s safe to assume that wearables will begin to take off. There are several reasons that Apple’s launch of the Watch will be the beginning of the wearable breakout period.
MODE launches cloud platform for the Internet of Things
The Internet of Things offers huge scope to change the way we live and work. But for developers it introduces a whole new set of problems in allowing applications to talk to and use the information generated by IoT devices.
Californian company MODE is launching a cloud platform designed to help developers and emerging brands deliver IoT solutions quickly and easily.
Apple goes green and aims for 100 percent renewable energy usage
Apple is not just a company concerned with boosting its profits, it's also interested in image and -- as its latest pledge shows -- the environment. Today Apple announces that it is setting its sights high when it comes to reducing the environmental impact of its operations. The ultimate goal is to switch worldwide operations to 100 percent renewable energy sources.
The company is teaming up with World Wildlife Fund to protect areas of responsibly managed woodland, and is also investing in renewable energy projects in China. Investments are also being made in solar energy projects that will produce more than enough electricity to power Apple's entire collection of Chinese offices and stores.
Sharegate streamlines Office 365 migration
Cloud-based services like Office 365 offer an attractive proposition for businesses, but can present problems when it comes to migrating data from existing systems.
Montreal-based Sharegate is releasing the latest version of its SharePoint and Office 365 migration product with support for the Microsoft Office 365 Migration API which will allow customers to move their data to the cloud faster than before.
The smartphone craze is over in China, as shipments decrease
China's smartphone market has declined year-over-year for the first time in six years, according to a new report from IDC. In the first quarter of the year, shipments decreased by 4.3 percent compared to the same period from 2014, with the likes of Samsung and Lenovo posting huge drops.
Apple leads the pack in China, shipping 14.5 million iPhones in Q1 2015, 62.1 percent more than a year ago. Meanwhile, rival Samsung, which comes in fourth place, saw shipments of just 9.6 million units, a whopping 53 percent lower compared to Q1 2014.
Safety is an essential concern for the future of wearables
Wearables, from smart wristbands to smart clothing, hold vast potential to enhance everyday life, from a person’s health to workplace productivity.
Their potential is vast as demonstrated by predictions of the market growth for wearables, anticipated to exceed more than $100 billion (£64 billion) in annual sales by 2018, according to Generator Research. The recently launched Apple Watch only adds momentum to this promising new technology category.
Apple Watch and web browsing don't match (yet)
After getting an Apple Watch, some folks may wonder what it would be like to browse the web using the new device. It should be pretty interesting, right? After all, Apple Watch is, at least theoretically, capable of displaying a web page and equipped with the right features to allow the user to navigate it.
Renowned iOS jailbreaker Comex has decided to put it to the test, after managing to get a browser up and running on the device. Considering that Apple does not offer Safari on its smartwatch, the results should not surprise anyone.
The ILoveYou legacy -- how malware has changed in the past 15 years
Where were you when the 'ILoveYou' bug started spreading on 4 May 2000? Was your computer one of the tens of millions of PCs the Love Letter attacked?
Fifteen years ago, email messages with the subject line 'ILoveYou' and the message 'Kindly check the attached LOVELETTER coming from me' started propagating to millions of inboxes. The malware-laced attachment was named LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs. Since the vbs extension was hidden by default, it seemed to recipients that the attachment was a harmless txt file. Once the attachment was opened, a VBS script would overwrite image files and send the LoveLetter email to all contacts in the victim’s Outlook address book.
A third of people would rather lose a finger than their internet connection
Losing a finger is something that you might more readily associate with horrific industrial injuries, or the result of failing to pay back a gangland loan shark. In the UK, however, broadband access is now seen as such a vital service that people would rather lose a digit than lose their high speed internet connection.
An incredible one in three people would be willing to live without a phalanx rather than coping without a broadband connection. Being online is now seen as a lifeline and losing that connection can lead to feelings of social isolation.
How to enable Windows 10's hidden dark theme
Windows 10 Insider Preview has a dark secret… Well the newly released Build 10074 does anyway.
If you open the Windows Store and hit Ctrl-T, the app will switch from a light to a dark theme. Pressing the same key combination will restore the app’s lighter look. As far as we can tell this trick only works for the Store, but you can enable the dark theme on other apps with a spot of registry editing.
So just how accurate is Apple Watch's heart rate sensor?
Can you trust the Apple Watch heart rate sensor? Well, it’s pretty darn accurate it seems, going by some testing performed by a Wisconsin-based engineer who's into Mac and iPhone development.
That would be Brad Larson, who tested the Apple Watch on a run alongside the Mio Alpha. Slashgear spotted Larson’s experiment and the resulting graph on Twitter (see above), with the engineer tweeting: "Extracted the raw Apple Watch HealthKit heartrate samples after a run and compared it to an HR monitor I had on".
Terminator Genisys: Revolution is the first Android app you can pre-register for
To be first in line to download a new app, you need to be quick off the mark. You might hear about a game or app weeks ahead of launch, and it's all too easy to miss the launch date. You might be wondering why it has taken Google so long to do something about it.
For Android users this is now a thing of the past thanks to the introduction of pre-registration. The first title in Google Play to offer this is Terminator Genisys: Revolution. You can now register your interest in the game and you'll be notified when it is released and is ready for download.
Share files on 50+ hosting services with Image Uploader
Image Uploader is a free Windows application which uploads your chosen selected files (not just images, despite the name) to any of 50+ image or file hosting sites: Flickr, Imageshack, Imgur, Picasa, Twitpic, Dropbox, Google Drive, SendSpace and generic FTP servers, amongst many others.
Getting started is easy. Once you’ve set up a default service, you can upload files or folders by dragging and dropping them onto the program window, or right-clicking them in Explorer and selecting Image Uploader > Upload…
Cybersecurity firm accused of hacking potential clients, extorting them to buy its services
There have been numerous instances in the past where anti-virus companies have been accused -- and in many cases caught -- of creating malware their products combat. We’re learning of yet another similar case. A former employee of cybersecurity firm Tiversa is accusing the company of fraud.
Richard Wallace, one of the former investigators at the firm has testified against the firm in a Washington DC courtroom. Wallace says that Tiversa employees would hack their potential clients to force them to buy services from the firm.
At just $9, Chip is the cheapest computer to be a reality soon
Raspberry Pi, a credit card-sized computer carrying a dirt cheap price tag has become insanely popular in the last couple of years. But what if we told you that there is a similar computer that sports miniature form factor and costs even less? Meet CHIP, a $9 single-board computer that is capable of running light Linux-based distros.
As for the specifications, CHIP packs in a 1GHz processor coupled with 512MB RAM, and 4GB of internal storage. The board comes with optional ports for VGA and HDMI, and supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity options. The variant with VGA port costs $19 while the HDMI capable CHIP will set you back by $24 bucks.
