How the connected world is testing the testers
With the emergence of IoT, everything becomes connected; there is a continuous blurring between real world and digital world where everything is moving to become predominantly digital. Apps are location-aware, context-aware, and aware of everything around them (supply chain, logistics network) and that’s bringing the custom device world into mainstream industry-wide. Bring together any device (custom or mainstream, mobile or fixed) and everything is connected and focused on the experience of the end user.
In this new world, mobile apps are being rolled out continuously and at a far greater speed. Change is fast, and customer expectation sky high. Add to that we are living in a diverse and fragmented technology world across different platforms and devices with increasing adoption of AI and machine learning, with security as an ongoing and ever-increasing challenge.
SoundCloud lives!
While streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify are all the rage nowadays, they aren't necessarily enough. Independent artists aren't always served well by the aforementioned services. A platform like SoundCloud can be preferable, allowing an artist to experiment and share songs with fans more directly. It is even a great way to discover emerging artists.
Sadly, there have been rumors for a while that SoundCloud could eventually shut down. You see, while the platform is beloved by many, it doesn't exactly generate profits. Well, those fears can be quelled for now, as SoundCloud has received an influx of cash from two investors -- "The Raine Group" and "Temasek." In other words, it can crawl out of the prematurely-dug grave. While this is great news, it doesn't guarantee the platform is destined for a long life. In addition, the current CEO of SoundCloud is stepping aside, although not leaving entirely.
Windows 10 Mobile-powered Elite X3 doesn't sell, so HP hikes the price
HP is not one of the most pragmatic players in the smartphone industry, so its decision to release the Elite X3 flagship with Windows 10 Mobile when the platform was clearly dead hardly raised any eyebrows. Hiking the price nearly a year after its launch, however, is harder to understand -- to put it kindly.
The Elite X3 is a failure even by Windows smartphone standards, based on usage data from AdDuplex, so you can imagine just how well it is doing in the grand scheme of things. To put things into perspective, Windows smartphone sales dipped below the one million units mark this year. The high price of the Elite X3 has been a massive contributor to its terrible performance.
OnePlus 5 camera promo features people getting killed with a chainsaw
It is hard not to fall asleep watching promo videos for smartphones. That's why we rarely write about them. Today we make an exception for the new OnePlus 5 camera ad, which, depending on how you look at it, is either really stupid or brilliant -- but memorable nonetheless.
Called Lake Blood, it's the story of a chainsaw massacre. The promo features a teenage girl, a bloodied man and the chainsaw killer that's following him. It's not your typical combination of characters, is it?
Manufacturers are cybercriminals' biggest target
Cyber-attacks all over the world are becoming increasingly sophisticated, according to a new report by the NTT Group company. According to the same report, these attacks are also growing in frequency.
The Global Threat Intelligence Center (GTIC) 2017 Q2 Threat Intelligence Report says cyber-attacks were up by 24 percent globally, in the second quarter of 2017.
Phishing is the top threat faced by organizations
Both users and their endpoint devices are the primary target for cyber criminals with phishing being the most prevalent threat according to a new report.
The study from research and education specialist the SANS Institute finds security professionals rate phishing at 72 percent, spyware at 50 percent, ransomware at 49 percent, and Trojans at 47 percent as being the top threats today.
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Two-hundred-and-forty-three 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.
This week saw only a couple of new releases for Windows 10. Noteworthy ones include the new Telltale adventure game about Batman, Enjoy Brick, an app to browse all Lego sets and models, and Reddit Slideshow, an interesting app to create image slideshows from images posted to Reddit.
Giveaway: Get Auslogics File Recovery 7 ($29.95 value) FREE for a limited time
You give your computer a spring clean by removing a ton of files you’ve stored for years. Then you realize a few weeks later that you accidentally deleted important documents or old photos and there’s no quick and obvious way of retrieving them.
The solution is a dedicated file recovery application. There are few better than Auslogics File Recovery 7 and we’re offering you the full version, worth $29.95, across this weekend. It’s always worth having a file recovery program within your suite of system tools.
The top five cloud security myths debunked
Increasingly businesses are moving their data and applications to the cloud. But there are always concerns about how secure the information is.
Network security company Portnox has put together an infographic looking at some of the myths surrounding cloud security and explaining why they're ill-founded.
Former MI5 chief says UK government should not weaken encryption
The UK government has made no secret of its desire to exert greater control over the internet, and home secretary Amber Rudd has gone as far as suggesting that encryption should be weakened -- and backdoors should be included in software -- to make it easier to carry out surveillance on terrorists.
Lord Jonathan Evans, the former chief of MI5 in the UK, acknowledged that encryption had got in the way of monitoring communication between extremists, but said this should not be used as an excuse to weaken security.
Google adds phishing protection to Gmail for iOS
A few months ago, Google brought phishing protection to Gmail on Android. Now the company is doing the same for the iOS version of the app.
The feature is rolling out over the next few weeks, and it offers a couple of safety nets to protect users from visiting potentially dangerous links in emails.
Microsoft announces a high-end edition of Windows 10 Pro
Two months ago, Microsoft accidentally pushed out a buggy Windows 10 build to Insiders that caused chaos but also revealed something interesting -- the company's plans for a new version of Windows 10 aimed specifically at power users.
The leak is now official as Microsoft announces Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, a high-end version of its new operating system.
Google shows mad love to Hip-Hop culture with a dope interactive Doodle
Hip-Hop isn't a music style, but an entire culture. It includes rap music, yes, but also graffiti, breakdancing, and DJing. Not to mention, there is clothing, language, and more. As the great KRS-One once said, "Rap is something you do, Hip-Hop is something you live." Very true words. Hip-Hop has positively improved society as a whole, by fostering the sharing of different viewpoints, and bringing people of different cultures and skin colors together. It started in New York, but has spread globally.
Google is a very forward-thinking company, and it often shows respect to different people and cultures through its Doodle program. If you aren't familiar, this is where it transforms the "Google" logo into an artistic representation of someone or something. Today, Hip-Hop is in the spotlight because August 11, 1973 is considered by some to be the day the culture was born. The search giant is using the Doodle to both educate people on the history of Hip-Hop and to celebrate the anniversary. In other words, Google is showing mad love.
Refurbishing servers: 5 great reasons why you need to consider it
If you work in IT solutions as a provider for managed services, cloud services, or internet services you are going to need servers that meet your needs in terms of both price and performance. So how can you keep your costs down and find the solutions that your clients and customers are looking for?
When it’s time to replace your servers, buying refurbished is the obvious solution. Hard on the heels of that thought though is a common fear of zombies -- getting stuck with zombie servers to be more specific. These comatose entities will suck not only your wallet but also your operating budget dry while providing zero value.
Microsoft and Panos Panay 'stand behind Surface'
Earlier today, Consumer Reports caused a huge controversy by pulling its "recommended" status from all Microsoft Surface laptops and tablets. While I personally swear by the consumer-focused organization for its coverage of vehicles and appliances, I take its computer coverage with a grain of salt. After all, it infamously panned the 2016 MacBook Pro for poor battery life, even going so far as to say Chrome provided longer usage than Safari -- totally wrong, by the way. It turns out Consumer Reports's testing of the MacBook Pro was flawed and it later reversed course, recommending the Apple laptop after all.
With all of that said, I was obviously a bit dubious of its criticism of some Surface machines. In my experience, the Surface hardware is extremely well made and owners are generally satisfied with the computers. That's not to say they are perfect -- quite the contrary. Actually, they have been prone to bugs that were later fixed (mostly) with firmware and driver updates. Despite those issues, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any Surface product. Obviously Microsoft and Panos Panay -- father of Surface -- would share my disagreement with Consumer Reports. To solidify that, Panay has now penned a response titled "We stand behind Surface."
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.