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.
Amazon celebrates being #1 in customer service with Kindle Fire discounts
While the world points fingers at companies like Microsoft and Google over recent security matters, in light of the big NSA scandal, one company goes on mostly unscathed. Perhaps it’s our love of shopping and the convenience of doing it online. But maybe, it’s just about making that experience so good.
Amazon announces today that is has been voted number one in customer service satisfaction for the ninth straight year. The online retailer isn’t resting on this laurel, but instead using it as an excuse to drum up more good will.
Bill Gates and the non-prediction prediction
Following my #1 prediction yesterday of dire consequences in 2014 for Microsoft some readers challenged me to say what should happen this year in Redmond to right the ship. Is it even possible?
So here’s my answer which isn’t in the form of a prediction because I doubt that it will actually happen. But if it actually does come to pass, well then I told you so.
Motorola really wants to sell you a Moto X, tossing in Chromecast
The Motorola phone that got, arguably, the most attention in 2013 was the Moto X. The handset introduced the “OK Google” option to the mobile world. Despite its popularity, the company still is pushing the device as hard as it can.
Now Motorola has found one more enticement to lure potential buyers. For a limited time, the company is offering a free Chromecast to anyone who decides to purchase the Moto X from its website.
Gmail lets you email Google+ users without exchanging email addresses
Assuming you're a Gmail user you'll be aware that there's rarely a need to type out an email address in full. Once a contact is in your address book, you can start typing a name into the To field and suggestions will pop up as you type. But what about those people whose email address you don’t actually have? You may have connected with someone on Google+ but start to type out an email and you suddenly realize you don’t have an address to send to. D'oh! However a new feature that's rolling out could see this frustration becoming a thing of the past.
What’s the solution? Google is keen on integrating Google+ with as many products and services as possible, and now this is spreading to Gmail. You've probably got a large number of contacts on Google+ (well… maybe you have some... Google+ isn't that unpopular!), but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have their email address. Over the next few days, when you start to type the name of a recipient in the To field, Google+ contacts will be displayed as suggestions in addition to entries from your address book.
Nokia announces Lumia Black update roll out
Finnish maker Nokia has announced the Lumia Black update roll out for its Windows Phone 8 smartphone lineup. The latest software upgrade, which is set to first reach the Lumia 1020 and Lumia 925, is based on Windows Phone 8 Update 3, and adds a number of exclusive features.
Nokia's official announcement comes nearly three months after Microsoft took the wraps off Windows Phone 8 Update 3. The latest version of the tiled smartphone operating system brings an orientation lock, support for quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processors and 1080p displays and an extra live tile column on phablet screens, as the most important changes. Now let's take a look at what Nokia adds on top of this.
Best apps for your Windows Phone
With the rise in popularity of Windows Phone, the Store has reached an important milestone as more than 200,000 apps are now available. That is good news and certainly impressive for the third-most popular smartphone platform, considering its track record. However, such numbers are actually meaningless as users do not install, or need, every available title. It is the quality, and not the quantity, that matters.
And, of all available Windows Phone apps, only a small part can be considered essential, or the best for most people. Those are the titles that can enrich the user experience, and add great value atop of what the tiled smartphone operating system offers. So without further ado, here are the must-have apps for your Windows Phone.
Snapchat finally says 'sorry' -- do you accept the apology?
Sharing things about yourself, whether information or photos, is a very personal thing. However, to share those things with an internet entity is not only personal, but potentially scary too. After all, you typically have to put trust into a faceless company. When you build a trust-relationship with a firm like Google, Facebook or Snapchat, you take a leap of faith -- hoping that not only are they are honest, but competent too. After all, a company with honest intentions, but lacking security is just as dangerous as a dishonest one.
Snapchat is particularly worrying because not only is it a relatively new service, but it is designed to keep images private. Once privacy is circumvented and users lose trust, it can be devastating. While the service can be used for clean things, let's be honest here -- many use it to share pictures of their weewees and hoohas. Nobody wants their body parts or usernames to be traced back to them. Sadly, that is exactly what happened, as a bug in the "Find Friends" feature allowed hackers to tie usernames to phone numbers. While Snapchat acknowledged the bug, it didn't apologize -- until now.
WWE to launch 24/7 streaming network -- available for iOS, Android, Roku and more
When I was a young boy in the 80s, wrestling was all the rage, thanks to wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage and Captain Lou Albano. There were action figures and countless other merchandise. Yes, wrestling outcomes are prearranged, so some people call it fake, but to children that really doesn't matter.
Sadly, one of my first lessons in wealth inequality was because of WWE wrestling (then WWF) and Pay-Per-View. When the big events would be shown on pay-TV, some kids in school could afford to watch it, while others couldn't; I was the latter. The wealthy children would taunt us the next day by recalling the dazzling moments that they witnessed. Today, that is about to change, as the WWE announces a 24/7 streaming network for a paltry $9.99 per month.
IBM creates new business unit for Watson supercomputer
Technology giant IBM has announced that it's to invest more than $1 billion to create a new business unit for Watson, the supercomputer that beat human contestants on the TV quiz Jeopardy.
The new Watson Group will be headed by Michael Rhodin, previously senior vice president of the company’s software solutions group. The unit will be based in New York and have around 2,000 employees.
Ultimate Windows Tweaker 3 launched for Windows 8 users
The Windows Club has released Ultimate Windows Tweaker 3.0 for Windows 8 and 8.1 users. The lightweight, portable freeware tool makes it easy to tweak various aspects of Windows that usually hidden away or require access to Registry editor or Group Policy Editor.
The new release sits alongside the previous version, Ultimate Windows Tweaker 2.2, which requires Windows Vista or 7.
Malware introduced by employees a major concern for business
A new study from Osterman Research finds that malware is still one of the main security concerns for businesses.
The survey, sponsored by security specialist Trustwave, asked 160 security professionals about email, web and social media threats. It finds that employees were the number one reason for concern when it comes to introducing malware to enterprise systems.
Ten technology predictions for 2014
Here is my first of two prediction columns for 2014. There’s just too much for it all to fit in one column. My neighbor and good friend Avram Miller wrote a predictions column this year that’s quite good and you might want to read it before this one. We discuss some of the same things though of course Avram and I occasionally agree to disagree.
This column is mainly about business predictions for 2014 while the follow-up column will be more about products and technologies.
Stop with all the transforming, just decide what kind of device you want to be!
It seems that these days it is not enough for a laptop to just be a laptop, or a tablet to be a tablet. I'm not talking about the strange new breed of devices that are capable of running Windows and Android, or the rumors that handsets running Windows Phone and Android might see the light of day (haha! Can you imagine?). I'm talking about the devices that seem to be trying to become best friends with Michael Bay, transforming between multiple modes.
It's not really a new concept. We've already looked at Lenovo's Yoga 11S which can be bent into four different positions. The same company also has the Flex range which has fewer Transformer-like capabilities, but is still more than just your average laptop. At CES 2014 Toshiba decided to up the ante, taking the wraps off a 5-in-1 device.
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