Windows Phone soars -- literally, not in sales
Windows Phone 8 smartphones are wonderful devices -- except for the underlying operating system. While I actually like the OS, it still has a long way to go (notification center, hello!?).
Sales have been decent in some European countries, mostly due to the low cost. However, these things are hardly flying off the shelves. With that said, one user has found a way to make them fly -- literally, like...in the air.
Bill Gates won’t go back to Microsoft full-time, but is willing to 'help out' part-time
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates appeared on Bloomberg Television today to discuss his philanthropic work. While he was there the question of whether he would consider returning to run Microsoft full-time was raised. Gates has said previously that his future remains with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but many people -- including our own Robert Cringely -- would like to see him emulate Steve Jobs and return to once again helm the company he co-founded.
Given how the search for a new CEO is dragging on, and Ford’s Alan Mulally, the most fancied candidate by far, ruled himself out recently, it seemed a possibility that Gates might step in at least temporarily, but judging from his answers that doesn’t appear to be the case.
LogMeIn Free is no more -- look elsewhere for your free remote access needs
Need a free remote access tool? Any day now your number of choices drops by one as the free version of LogMeIn will soon be no more. In a statement posted to the management section of its website, LogMeIn announces that LogMeIn Free is "going away".
Like a gentle parent euphemistically softening the blow about a departed pet or loved one having "gone to sleep", LogMeIn is using this terminology to usher in the news that if you want to keep using its products, you're going to have to pay.
The Wearable Technology Show announces its conference speaker lineup
The primary focus of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was very much on wearable technology. 2014 may not be the year when wearables hit the mainstream, but it’s clear this is where the future is headed with new smartwatches, smart glasses, fitness bands and the like being developed to keep us constantly connected.
The Wearable Technology Show, being held in London on the 18 and 19 March 2014, is the UK’s first dedicated wearable technology event and its organizers have just announced the speaker lineup for the conference program.
Create, convert, rotate, secure, crop and generally tweak your PDFs with PDFFill Tools
Most PC users need to work with PDF files, if only occasionally, and there are plenty of free tools around to help. Typically they’ll concentrate on a single function, though; just looking at their names tells you all you need to know about PDF to JPEG Expert and CHM to PDF, for instance.
PDFFill Tools is a little more ambitious, fortunately, cramming 15 functions into a single small and entirely free program. There are tools to create PDFs from images, PostScript files or direct from your scanner, and then you can add watermarks (text or image), headers or footers, merge or split the files, encrypt/ decrypt them, rotate the documents, crop them and more.
Sandboxie now plays nicer with gamers, Windows 8.1 users
Sandboxie Holdings, LLC has just released Sandboxie 4.08, an update to its shareware Windows sandboxing tool. The new build comes with the usual mixture of bug fixes and minor tweaks, but includes several significant improvements that should make it more reliable, particularly when run on Windows 8.1 systems.
Sandboxie’s prime purpose is to provide additional security by allowing users to run programs in an isolated environment, preventing them from making any changes to the hard drive without the user’s express consent.
PC and Mac games revenue to top $24 billion by 2017
We've been focusing a lot on the decline of the PC hardware market of late, but the software spend still looks strong. The latest survey from market intelligence specialist IDC predicts that PC and Mac gamer spending will grow to over $24 billion by 2017.
It also finds that while global PC/Mac games revenue is set to grow at around four percent a year the US market will start to slip.
Dr Dre launches Beats Music to deliver the right tune at the right time
What's that? Another music streaming service? Another one?! You could be forgiven for having this reaction to the news that Dr Dre's Beats Music is now available for iOS and Android; this is a market that is already rather saturated, and music lovers are not exactly short of options when it comes to picking a service to satiate their audio needs. So any new service vying for attention has to have something rather unique to offer if it is going to stand out from the competition.
Beats Music does have a unique selling point. It is a service that is about more than just streaming music, it aims to deliver the right music according to the time of day, what you are doing and where you are. Is this sort of stream tailoring enough to win over music fans? Only time will tell, but Beats Music certainly has a fight on its hands if it is to wrestle users away from the existing services that have been established for some time.
Staples wants to buy your used electronics
The concept of selling your old electronics to buy newer ones is not new -- console gamers have been trading in the previous-generation for the newest for years. However, when it comes to cell phones, the desire for the latest and greatest was really escalated by the iPhone. Sure, before Apple's iconic phone, there was a desire for some new feature, such as a polyphonic ring-tone, but for the most part, consumers weren't pining for the newest flip-phone with the same manic desire.
There are a plethora of businesses that will offer you money for your old smartphone or tablet. However, many of them are online-only affairs. While stores such as Gazelle.com or Amazon.com have fine reputations, some consumers would prefer to do their trading-in with a brick-and-mortar store. Luckily, Staples announces that it will immediately begin offering the ability to do just that.
StereoPhoto Maker: create, view and work with 3D images
3D is everywhere -- at the movies, on TV, games consoles -- but finding PC applications with significant support for 3D images can still be something of a challenge.
If you need to work with 3D pictures, then, the simplest approach is to grab a specialist tool like StereoPhoto Maker. It’s free, compact and portable, and comes packed with options to help you view, create and process 3D files.
Microsoft publishes a new expert guide to mastering Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1 -- or "New Windows" as it’s increasing being referred to -- is much easier to use than its predecessor, thanks to the inclusion of various help and tips built directly into the OS. There is still a learning curve for anyone coming to Windows 8.1 from an older, or different, operating system, but it’s nowhere near as challenging to get to grips with as Windows 8 undoubtedly was.
The new operating system is very powerful, but many people won’t be aware of just what it’s capable of, so to help users uncover the advanced features on offer Microsoft has published a new 20 page PDF guide covering areas such as File Explorer, Task Manager, Internet Explorer 11, Mobility Center, Windows To Go, Miracast, and SkyDrive.
LG G Flex to reach 20 European countries starting next month, US this quarter
South Korean maker LG has announced that its G Flex Android smartphone is set to reach 20 European countries. The roll out of the handset, that offers a curved display and self-healing coating as its main highlights, commences in February on the old continent.
"The introduction of the LG G Flex in Europe demonstrates our confidence in the global marketplace for a curved smartphone", says LG CEO Dr. Jong-seok Park. "As a premium smartphone, the G Flex will further establish LG as a brand that offers something unique for every consumer segment. This is a device that is guaranteed to start a conversation wherever it goes".
Amazon holds (another) Kindle Fire sale
Since the latest generation of the Kindle Fire family of tablets rolled out, it almost seems the devices are on sale more often than not. Just recently the retail giant celebrated being named number one in customer satisfaction with a promo code for its devices, now it’s using football as an excuse for one more deal.
It’s not hard to deduce why this latest bargain is being given -- Amazon is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, home of the Seahawks who are now Super Bowl-bound to battle the Denver Broncos. In fact, the graphic currently displayed on the homepage illustrates the Seahawks-49ers game this past Sunday.
The rise of the phablet -- shipments to hit 120 million by 2018
The phablet. It's a device with a silly name, but it's a market that is gaining massive momentum. Analysis by Juniper Research suggests that the number of larger-screened devices that ship will rocket by 600 percent by 2018. Projected figures show shipments jumping from around 20 million devices in 2013, to 120 million five years later. But taking into account the loose definition of a phablet it is possible that the figures could be even higher.
In fact there is no "official" definition of a phablet, at least in terms of the size of screen a device must sport in order to qualify for the title. Juniper Research acknowledges that phones with very large screens are increasingly common, with many high-end handsets featuring 5 inch - 5.5 inch displays. For the purposes of its report, Juniper Research uses the term phablet to refer to handsets that have a screen size between 5.6 inches and 6.9 inches.
Management and employees out of step on IT policies
Email encryption specialist DataMotion has released the results of its second annual survey focusing on email and file transfer habits.
This highlights a wide-ranging communications disconnect between IT management and non-IT employees on security and compliance policies.
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