My favorite product from CES 2014 [Wayne]
Trying to pick one favorite new product at CES is far from an easy task. The show covers all things tech, and there's a lot of desirable new hardware coming out this year. Like my colleague Alan Buckingham's pick, I didn't want to go for something obvious, like a new TV, a new computer, or some form of wearable, but I also wanted to pick something that I definitely plan to buy in the future.
AIRTAME has been seeking funding on Indiegogo, and hasn't just achieved its goal, it's smashed through it. The creators were seeking $160,000 and have to date notched up just over $636,898 (with seven days still to go) and been nominated as the Best Startup of CES 2014 by Engadget -- which is pretty good going. So what exactly is AIRTAME? Essentially it's a dongle, like Google's Chromecast, that aims to provide "wireless HDMI for Everyone".
My favorite product from CES 2014 [Alan]
The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has ended, and the shiny and new have been unveiled. It's been a roller coaster ride, with 4K TVs and tablets taking center stage, alongside the useful and just plain weird selection of tech inventions. Now it's time for reflection, sitting back and taking it all in and deciding what we truly liked.
While others may go for those crisp-screened TVs that get all of the attention, or the latest and greatest new laptop, I spent a lot of time looking at the products that got less attention from the media, but that may truly make a difference.
Avira reveals stand-alone Avira PC Cleaner
Avira has announced the availability of the Avira PC Cleaner, a simple stand-alone antivirus scanner.
The program is a mere 2.17MB download and doesn’t require any installation, reducing the chance of any conflicts with existing security tools. It scanned our test system quickly, detecting and removing a malware sample.
Free resource aims to streamline the way companies source mobile developers
Businesses are usually keen to adopt mobile technology but often struggle when it comes to finding a developer to translate their vision into reality.
Mobile strategy and solutions company Mokriya is trying to help by launching MobileInsights, a series of free guides aimed at streamlining the way businesses recruit mobile development firms.
Final 2014 prediction: the end of the PC as we knew it
We’re generally a Macintosh shop here in Santa Rosa. I have Windows and Linux PCs, too, but most of the heavy lifting is done on Macs. Next Wednesday I’m expecting a delivery from B&H Photo (no tax and free shipping!) of four new iMacs plus some software totaling $5,407. I fully expect these to be the last personal computers I will ever buy.
How’s that for a 2014 prediction?
From Google Apps to Office 365: Why my company ditched Google
You're probably expecting me to write a scathing exposé on how I've come to dislike Google Apps. That's quite far from the truth behind why we left Google. There is a lot more to the story than meets the eye. It goes way farther than just a decision based on boxes checked off on a spec sheet. After more than one month since making the move to Office 365 full time, I can comfortably say we made the right decision as a company.
And of anyone who can make an honest dissection of Google Apps against Office 365, I'd say I'm as well suited as anyone in the IT blogosphere to be passing such critical judgement. Notwithstanding my own personal usage of Gmail since 2005 and Google Apps for my IT company since early 2010, I've likewise been both a Google Apps Certified Trainer and Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialist for years now. And I've personally been involved in Google Apps transitions for numerous small and large organizations in both the public and private sectors. So to say that I've been deeply invested in Google-ism for some time now is an understatement.
Play classic games from a wide range of consoles on your Mac with OpenEmu
Emulating old computers, consoles and even entire arcade machines on your computer is nothing new. Back in the early 90s it was possible to emulate 8-bit computers on your Atari ST or Amiga, and these days you can emulate all kinds of computers, gaming consoles and even arcade machines.
But what if you have a hankering for playing old favorites from more than one console platform on your Mac? The answer lies in the recently released OpenEmu 1.0.1.
How to disable Gmail's new email via Google+ option
Google recently made an interesting change to Gmail, making it possible for users to send messages to anyone in their Google+ circles. If the prospect of receiving emails from people you don’t know concerns you -- they don’t even need to know your email address -- you might like the idea of locking down your account. Thankfully, Google has made it quite simple to put restrictions in place. So if you'd like to avoid a possible influx of unsolicited emails, here's how to go about it.
Before we get started, it's worth pointing out that you may not see these settings in Gmail yet. This means that the feature has not been enabled for your account yet -- which means you don’t need to worry about receiving messages in this way anyway!
Google fixes a thousand bugs in FFmpeg
Google is a technology juggernaut. Barely a day goes by without the company making some sort of news. After all, it has its fingers in so many things -- search, ads, software. Most recently, the company drew the ire of the technology community by integrating Google+ with Gmail.
However, not all news from the search giant is Google+ sadness. Today, the company announces that it has been working to improve FFmpeg -- a cross-platform multimedia library and program solution. In fact, Google has fixed a massive one thousand bugs.
Lenovo takes the lead in (still) shrinking PC market
For most of the last year it seems that we've been reporting the decline of the PC market. At the beginning of December we even had IDC saying that shipments had seen their greatest decline ever.
No surprise then that on the figures for the final quarter of 2013 both IDC and Gartner are saying that shipments have declined again. The good news though is that there are signs of the decline bottoming out.
Weirdest tech at CES 2014
At trade shows all around the world companies try to impress us with catchphrases, unique features, buzzwords, claims of how important and innovative their new products are and the perennial promise that whatever they are offering will tremendously improve the quality of our lives. CES being one of the most important trade shows is certainly no exception.
CES is about consumer tech and companies do not shy away from trying to reinvent the wheel or exploring new territories. Still, as anyone will tell you, mistakes can easily be made no matter the playing field and, as a result, weird things can happen. Last year it was an iPad-equipped potty that took the grand prize. Now lets take a look at the most bizarre things CES had to offer in 2014.
Target hack actually affects 70 million -- phone numbers, email addresses and more stolen
When I bought my iPad Air at Target on December 13, 2013, it was supposed to be a happy moment. People that know me, know that I am extremely frugal. The old adage is that a fool and his money are easily parted. Well, I am certainly no fool in this regard. With that said, Target had a really good deal on the tablet and and I uncharacteristically decided to treat myself for Christmas. I took my new Apple device home and I was in heaven -- until I heard about the Target breach.
Truth be told, I wasn't too worried, as I paid for it with a credit card and not a debit card. In other words, my money was safe as long as I paid attention to my credit card bill for any oddities. While Target initially said 40 million people were affected, and that is a lot, I accepted it as something that happens and didn't hold any grudges with the retailer. The hack was acknowledged on December 19th and I have shopped there since. However, my forgiveness and understanding may be short lived. Today, Target announces that it wasn't 40 million customers affected -- it was 70 million! Not only that, but more types of information was stolen than originally reported.
Best iOS apps this week
Second in a series. Big news for Apple this week as the tech giant announces that App Store sales topped $10 billion in 2013, including over $1 billion in December alone. iOS users downloaded almost three billion apps in that one month, which is an incredible figure.
Now the holidays are over, it’s back to business in the App Store, and lots of new apps have been released or updated and there are loads of great new games out too.
Watching pirated porn streams is not illegal says German government
Dealing with copyrighted material online has long been something of a legal minefield. Whatever your moral position on enjoying copyrighted movies, music, and other content without paying for it, there is usually little argument about whether or not it is actually illegal.
While downloading copyrighted movies from FTP servers, via BitTorrent, or using other means is widely regarded as breaking the law, things are not seen in quite such black and white terms when it comes to streaming content.
Banks urged to improve security as the financial malware arms race heats up
Since the first personal computer viruses appeared in the 1980s, avoiding malware has become a fact of everyday life for computer users. There's a constant battle to stay ahead of the game and fend off the Trojans and botnets.
Where the conflict is at its fiercest though is in the financial sector as this is where malware has the potential to earn its authors serious money.
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