Latest Technology News

When people think of a "smart home," they usually only consider devices inside the dwelling, such as thermostats, lights, and more. A home is more than just a house, however. Most homeowners will tell you that the overall property -- including the yard -- is just as important.

Believe it or not, there are smart devices for outdoors, and not just external security cameras. For instance, Rachio makes a really cool smart sprinkler controller that offers Wi-Fi connectivity. It even has support for Alexa, Nest, and Google Assistant. This week, the company launches a clever companion to its 3rd-generation controller. Called "Wireless Flow Meter," it can alert you to detected leaks and shut down the flow of water.

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DRM is something that's usually associated with streaming music and video, but there's no reason that it can't be put to other uses. Proving this, Google has started using a form of DRM to improve app security by verifying that APKs originate from the Play Store. It's a system that works much like signed drivers in Windows.

The aim is simple: to improve the security of Android users by ensuring that they are using genuine apps that have not been tampered with in any way. Google is not referring to the new system as DRM, saying instead that it is adding a "small amount of security metadata on top of APKs to verify that the APK was distributed by Google Play".

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Enter the wrong passcode into an iPhone and you'll not only be denied access to it, but also run the risk of wiping its contents if you enter an incorrect code too many times. This is a problem faced by law enforcement agencies when they encounter iPhones in the cases they're working on -- as well as people trying to hack into phones for nefarious purposes -- so it's little wonder that hackers are constantly trying to find a way to earn unlimited guesses at passcodes.

One hacker thought he had cracked it. Security researcher Matthew Hickey proudly boasted at having discovered a delightfully simple method for brute-forcing entry into an iPhone -- he even posted a video of his hack in action. But there's no need to panic. Apple explains that "incorrect testing" renders Hickey's method worthless.

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Linux and user data collection. Some people will decry such a thing, but they would be wrong. As long as the collection is opt-in, it is totally acceptable and in line with Linux ideology. When is it questionable? When users don't have a choice. With Windows 10 telemetry, for instance, users can opt out of sharing some data with Microsoft, but not all. And that's a problem. Even if Microsoft's intentions are pure, and designed solely with improving Windows 10, users should be able to refuse all data sharing at time of installation.

With Ubuntu desktop, Canonical has started collecting installation data, but it is doing it the right way. It shows the user exactly what data could be shared and lets them choose whether or not they want to send it. It is 100 percent optional -- the way it should be. Guess what? According to the company, 67 percent of users decided to do so. That is an impressive metric in itself. By being open and honest, Canonical achieved what I would call a successful conversion rate. Best of all, it gleaned a lot of interesting data, and it is sharing the analytics publicly.

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It is a slow process, but USB-C is gradually becoming more and more popular -- although it's a long way from ubiquity yet. Ready to rock the boat a little, it has emerged that Microsoft holds a patent for a redesigned USB-C connector.

The patent is not brand new, but Microsoft's May 2017 filing for an "Ultra-Thin USB-C Connector" has just come to light. Another patent filing from April 2017 describes a new "USB-C Plug Receptacle". While the redesign is hardly going to set the world on fire, it's the sort of thing we could well expect to see in a refresh Surface lineup.

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For some time, a number of MacBook or MacBook Pro users have complained about problems with their keyboards -- specifically that keys either stop working completely, fall off, or become "sticky", resulting in repeated characters.

Now, after two years of complaints and a lawsuit about the butterfly mechanism in its keyboards, Apple has finally acknowledged that there is a problem. The company has also launched a keyboard service program so those affected by the problem can get it addressed, free of charge.

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It's officially summer and the weekend is here. For some folks, this means spending time outdoors for the next couple of days. If you are a computer guy or gal, however, you may be sun averse -- spending time inside tinkering with your PC could be more fun than the beach or the pool. If that is you (it's definitely me!), I have a suggestion -- why not try a new Linux distribution this weekend? Hell, there are countless such operating systems from which to choose.

Today, a lesser known Linux-based operating system achieves a milestone. Called "Peppermint," version 9 is now available for download. If you are still holding onto some old hardware, you might want to pay attention. Not only is the OS designed to be light on resources, but Peppermint's developers are still maintaining a 32-bit version of the Ubuntu-based distro.

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Fans of Kodi know that there’s a new version of the open source home theater software in development. Kodi 18 Leia introduces a number of big changes, including an overhaul for the Music and Live TV sections.

For Windows users there’s a dedicated 64-bit build, Android owners can populate the screen with content using a feature called Smartplaylists, and there have also been numerous changes for Linux.

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A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shone new light on the shortcomings of collecting data from large groups of people during medical research. The longstanding belief is that the bigger the subject pool, the more representative the results will be of the public at large.

However, the scientists discovered something different that could impact how people use fitness trackers.

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Two-hundred-and-eighty-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Windows Store in the past seven days.

As always, if I've missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email.

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The invention of the search engine really made the web usable for the masses. Think about it -- if there was no way to search the web, how would you find anything? Say what you want about Google the company, but if its search engine disappeared tomorrow, the world would be a worse place. Of course, Google did not invent the search engine, nor is it the only game in town -- there is also DuckDuckGo, StartPage, and Bing to name a few excellent alternatives.

Speaking of Bing, did you know it's actually really good? It's true! For whatever reason, Microsoft's search engine is considered by some to be a joke, but that is a falsehood. Bing works very well, offering accurate search results. Unlike Google, Bing's interface is very fun and colorful too -- it's a pleasure to use. Today, Microsoft announces it is improving Bing for mobile in a very clever way -- artificial intelligence-powered visual search. What is that, you ask? Well, you can use your smartphone camera to take a picture of an object, and AI will (hopefully) identify it and then launch a search for it. This feature is quite brilliant, as it can be hard to search for something using text when you have no idea what the heck it is!

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Cryptojacking might not be as terrifying a threat as ransomware, but it’s a major annoyance that’s becoming more and more prevalent. If you’re not familiar, the attack essentially uses other people’s systems to mine cryptocurrency, usually without their consent.

When a cryptocurrency miner is running, your system will experience slowdowns and maybe crashes. The miner will eat up system resources, interfering with tasks like streaming video.

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As you’ll know if you’re a frequent visitor to BetaNews, YouTuber Kamer Kaan Avdan has been creating some fantastic concept videos for various operating systems of the future, including Windows 11, iOS 12 and Android 9.0.

Most recently though, it’s his modernizing of Windows 7, Windows XP and Windows 95 which have really caught people's attention. If you’ve watched any of his videos, and thought how cool it would be to actually run one of those operating systems, the bad news is they remain purely concepts for now. However, you can customize your existing OS with some wallpapers from his most popular creations.

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As technology evolves, it leaves behind a junkyard of products that are longer needed. Electric typewriters, dial-up modems, and floppy disks -- all once intrinsic parts of workaday life -- are now long-obsolete relics.

Although we’re not quite there yet, it seems increasingly plausible that traditional antivirus software is likewise reaching its twilight years.

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Google has unveiled a new look for users' accounts, making information clearer, improving transparency and adding new options.

To make it easy to find information, Google has added a search function and there's also a cleaner look to aid navigation. Building on the previous update to Security Checkup, your Google account now also highlights settings you can change to improve your security.

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