Lenovo announces the A10 Android laptop
Google has an operating system for the desktop and laptop form-factors called Chrome OS. However, the company also has the Android operating system, which is designed for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. This prompts many pundits to posit "why not just have Chromebooks run Android, as that OS can run the Chrome browser, and much more". And you know what? They are kind of right.
Sadly though, those people are mostly wrong; bless their hearts. You see, less is more in this case, and a lack of local apps breeds out of-the-box web app thinking, which is good. However, despite this, a number of manufacturers have released Android laptops but none of them took the world by storm. Today, Lenovo hopes to change that and releases the A10 -- an Android laptop with a 10.1-inch screen.
No 3G? No Wi-Fi? No problem
Smartphones have become such a big part of many people's lives in recent times, allowing us to stay in touch with the Internet wherever we go, that occasions when you can't get a data network or Wi-Fi signal become extremely frustrating, it's almost like losing a limb.
French developer Altheia has an answer in the form of a new app for Android phones called Be-Bound which it claims can keep you in touch with the Web even if there's no 3G, 4G, Edge or Wi-Fi signal available.
Surface Pro 2 availability -- 'it's complicated'
Today has been a big one in the annals of Microsoft -- Windows 8.1 rolled out the door to a fair amount of headlines, and Visual Studio 2013 also arrived, to much less pomp and circumstance. Next week promises the same, with Surface 2 hitting store shelves amidst stories of stock shortages.
But nothing in the Microsoft universe is ever as simple as it should be -- the tech giant seems to almost enjoy keeping customers guessing. Hence the case of the Surface Pro 2, which promises to ship on October 22nd -- providing you only wish to score a 64 or 128 GB model.
And the winner of best security software for small business users is...
Independent testing organization AV-comparatives has released the results of its 2013 Business Software Review. This looks at security software for smaller and medium businesses, taking as its basis a single site network with a Windows Server 2012 domain controller and 25 client PCs running a mix of Windows XP, 7 and 8.
The key thing here is that this is the type of business which may not have its own IT manager so the report considers the management and monitoring of the software from the viewpoint of someone who isn't a specialist in IT and only looks after the system part time.
Here's what's new in Windows 8.1
With Windows 8.1 Microsoft has attempted to fix a lot of the things that were wrong with Windows 8, and make the operating system more appealing by throwing a bunch of additional features into the mix. It won’t appeal to everyone, but it is a massive improvement over its predecessor.
If you’re planning on updating your computer to the new OS, or are still on the fence and need a little nudge to join the tiled side, let me take you on a guided tour of what’s new.
At what age should children be allowed to use the internet?
The internet is an amazing tool, especially for children looking to learn. It is essentially the world's biggest library available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But the web also has a darker side, and parents have to ask themselves the question "when is the right time to let my child go online?" Or, as Director of Online Safety at Microsoft, Kim Sanchez puts it "How old is too young to go online?".
This is a far more complicated problem than it used to be. It is not all that long ago that the average household had no more than one computer, which may not have been connected to the internet. Now, however, we live in a time when households could have multiple computers. There might still be one shared "family" computer, but it is also very common for children to have their own computer or laptop. There are also phones and tablets to think of. Pester power is an incredible thing, and it’s a strong parent who is able to resist giving into demands for a tablets when "all my friends have one".
Breaking Moore’s Law
No law is more powerful or important in Silicon Valley than Moore’s Law -- the simple idea that transistor density is continually increasing which means computing power goes up just as costs and energy consumption go down. It’s a clever idea we rightly attribute to Gordon Moore. The power lies in the Law’s predictability. There’s no other trillion dollar business where you can look down the road and have a pretty clear idea what you’ll get. Moore’s Law lets us take chances on the future and generally get away with them. But what happens when you break Moore’s Law? That’s what I have been thinking about lately. That’s when destinies change.
There may have been many times that Moore’s Law has been broken. I’m sure readers will tell us. But I only know of two times -- once when it was quite deliberate and in the open and another time when it was more like breaking and entering.
What you need to know before upgrading to Windows 8.1
It’s nearly a year since Microsoft released the divisive Windows 8, and this week sees the launch of Windows 8.1 -- an update to the tiled operating system that aims to fix many of the perceived wrongs of the first version, while introducing some very welcome new features.
If you’re a Windows 8 or RT user you’ll be able to download the update for free starting at 4AM PDT (that’s 12pm in the UK) on 17 October. You’ll be able to get it directly through the Windows Store.
Steve Ballmer is right, and I was wrong
Steve Ballmer's departure from Microsoft will be a series of epitaphs written over the coming months. Many arm-chair pundits and analysts will scrutinize his 13-year tenure as chief executive, and you can expect him to be the scapegoat for all things wrong with Microsoft. Most assuredly, Ballmer could have done many things better, but he also contended with forces out of his control: government oversight for anti-competitive practices conducted under predecessor Bill Gates' leadership; maturing PC software market; and rise of the Internet as the new computing hub, among others.
For all Microsoft's CEO might have done wrong, he was right about something dismissed by many -- and I among them: Google. Ballmer started treating the search and information company as a competitive threat about a decade ago. Google as Microsoft competitor seemed simply nuts in 2003. How could search threaten Windows, particularly when anyone could type a new web address to change providers? Ballmer was obsessed, chasing every Google maneuver, often to a fault. Execution could have been better, but his perception was right.
Look out -- the robot middle-class is on the way
The emergence of a generation of smart machines taking over middle-class jobs within 15-years is a "futurist fantasy" according to 60 percent of respondents to Gartner's 2013 CEO survey. However, the analysts predict the rise of smart machines will have widespread business impact within only seven years.
"Most business and thought leaders underestimate the potential of smart machines to take over millions of middle-class jobs in the coming decades," says Kenneth Brant, research director at Gartner. "Job destruction will happen at a faster pace, with machine-driven job elimination overwhelming the market's ability to create valuable new ones".
Microsoft remains 'fully committed' to protecting customers from malware
There’s no question that Windows is a lot safer now than it used to be, thanks to Microsoft adding features like automatic updates, SmartScreen, and Windows Defender to its operating systems. I wouldn’t fully trust the built-in protection as my sole line of defense, but installing security software is no longer the very first thing I do on a new PC.
Dennis Batchelder, Partner Group Program Manager for the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, says that Microsoft remains fully committed to protecting its consumer and business customers, and highlights some of the things the company is doing behind the scenes to keep users safe.
Logitech G602 -- a brilliant gaming mouse [Review]
When it comes to pointing devices, I prefer mice. Try as I might, a touchpad just cannot match the precision of a mouse. However, even people who prefer touchpads for basic computer use will likely prefer a mouse for one thing -- gaming. Yes, a good gaming mouse can be the difference between fragging your opponent and being fragged.
However, finding the right gaming mouse can be problematic. After all, not only are there many different makes and models of mice but there are also many different sizes of human hands (not to mention, right-handed vs left-handed). When I first saw the Logitech G602 I was intimidated. Quite frankly, an 11-button mouse could scare away even the most hardcore-gamers. Nonetheless, intrigue outweighed intimidation and I ultimately obtained the beast.
Samsung announces first curved screen smartphone -- but only in Korea
After what was possibly the shortest-lived leak in history, Samsung announces the Galaxy Round, a smartphone with a curved screen. Just days after LG announced mass production of the first flexible display, images started to leak online that depicted a curved Samsung device.
This was followed almost immediately by a Samsung announcement, complete with the news that the phone will be available in Korea from 10 October.
Raspberry Pi sales hit 1.75 million
You might have noticed that we're fans of the Raspberry Pi here at BetaNews. The company behind the Pi announced today that it had reached the milestone of 1.75 million units produced, with a million of those being built in the UK.
The first Raspberry Pi models were built in China but since September 2012 production of the tiny educational computer has been moving back to the UK. Using a plant owned by Sony in Pencoed, South Wales, the Pi's manufacturing partners RS Components and Premier Farnell have moved all production back onshore. For the past few months all Pis on sale have been made in the UK.
AVG and Avira websites taken over by pro-Palestinian hackers [UPDATE]
There’s probably nothing worse for a major company than getting hacked. Just ask Adobe. But when the company in question is a provider of security software, well the embarrassment factor goes through the roof. And it’s definitely not good news for consumers who rely on the company’s software products to keep them safe online.
The website of AVG, makers of one of the world’s most popular free anti-virus products, was apparently hacked by a pro-Palestinian group earlier today, and fellow antivirus company Avira has also just suffered the exact same fate.
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