Latest Technology News

Most financial businesses in the UK worry about the effects of disruption

More than three quarters (78 percent) of financial organizations in the UK worry about what digital disruption can do to their industry, according to a new Fujitsu report.

The company claims this makes the financial industry the most concerned one, compared with retail, public and manufacturing, and utility sectors.

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Ubuntu Linux-maker Canonical wins award for convergence efforts

In computing, convergence -- having a single device to serve many roles -- is a popular idea. Using the power of a smartphone to serve as a desktop, for instance, is a great way to save money and reduce waste. Unfortunately, there really have not been any successful convergence devices in practice. Microsoft famously tried with Windows 10 Mobile, but consumers didn't seem to care about Continuum.

Luckily, Canonical seems fairly unfazed, as the company continues to see Ubuntu as an operating system that can run on phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and more. Like Windows 10 Mobile, Ubuntu phones have failed to pique the interest of consumers, but Linux-based solutions are arguably more appropriate for convergence thanks to the kernel's ability to work well on ARM. To highlight the success of Ubuntu in this regard, Canonical has been given an award at Mobile World Congress 2017.

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Roku hit 1 billion streaming hours in December

If you have one of the many modern and tiny streaming set-top boxes then chances are it may be a Roku. There are others on the market from Amazon, Google and Apple and plenty that have failed. Roku got in early and gained traction.

So much traction, in fact, that it has been showing some pretty serious numbers regarding how it is doing in the market.

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SoftBank makes massive investment in WeWork

SoftBank is looking to invest between $3 billion and $4 billion into WeWork. According to a CNBC report, the deal is "close to finalizing".

At first, there will be a $2 billion primary tranche, followed by a secondary round worth anywhere between $1 and $2 billion. CNBC also says there is a "tender offer" for WeWork insiders, around $44.10 per internal share.

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Askborg ChargeCube 20,800mAh and 10,400mAh external batteries [Review]

I tend to use my smartphone more than usual when I'm away, so before I go on a trip I make sure to throw an external battery in my bag. That way, if my device is about to run out of juice early I can plug it in and get enough charge to last me through the day.

Because I want to charge my smartphone a couple of times or two smartphones at the same time, I prefer larger external batteries. Askborg's ChargeCube 20,800mAh and 10,400mAh models meet this requirement, featuring two full-sized USB ports and big-enough batteries inside to keep me happy for a few days. I've tested both to see whether they're worth your attention.

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Microsoft to launch Xbox Game Pass -- $9.99 a month for unlimited access to over 100 games

Gaming can be an expensive business, with games often costing $60. Starting later this spring, however, things are set to get cheaper. Microsoft is about to launch Xbox Game Pass, a $9.99 per month subscription that gives unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games.

Fears that this might just mean access to a substandard set of titles appear to be unfounded -- games such as Halo 5: Guardians, Payday 2, NBA 2K16 and SoulCalibur II are to be found on the list. Microsoft is quick to stress that this is not a streaming service; subscribers will be able to download full games to the console.

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Facebook is taking more notice of Reactions than Likes to control your News Feed content

When Facebook first introduced Reactions users were pleased to finally have the chance to be more expressive, rather than simply 'liking' something. But the excitement soon waned when the social network revealed that it didn’t make any difference which Reaction users clicked -- it was simply registered as an interaction.

But now Facebook has revealed that the Reaction you have to individual posts has a greater influence over what appears in your News Feed. A Like registers as a Like, but if you react with Love, Wow, Angry or one of the other reactions, Facebook notes that this is a stronger reaction and tweaks your News Feed accordingly.

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Advertising Trojans become top mobile malware threat

Trojan horse

Mobile malware detection almost tripled in 2016 and advertising Trojans exploiting super-user rights became the top threat.

These are among the findings of Kaspersky Lab's 2016 Mobile Threat report released today, which looks at reports generated by the company's mobile products.

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Performance issues and high failure rates continue to plague iPhones

Angry phone user

We reported back in August that failure rates of iOS devices had overtaken those of Android for the first time.

The latest State of Mobile Device Performance and Health report from Blancco Technology Group shows that this trend is continuing with the iOS failure rate at 62 percent in the final quarter of last year.

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Resize windows to exact dimensions with Sizer

Sizer 4 is a free tool which resizes desktop windows to precise dimensions: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, or any other values you might need for a specific design or document.

The program starts very simply. Run it, start to resize a desktop window and a tooltip updates in real time to show the current dimensions, a helpful way to see exactly what you’re doing.

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New solution guarantees 100 percent uptime for private cloud storage

cloud network

Whether public or private, one of the key factors businesses consider in choosing a cloud service is to ensure maximum availability.

Cloud storage specialist Scality is announcing its new HALO Cloud Monitor, a 24/7 solution to provide customers continuous uptime for their managed private cloud storage environments.

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Xiaomi unveils Mi 5c featuring its first in-house processor

There aren't many smartphone makers that develop their own mobile processors, which means that Xiaomi is now part of a very select club. The Chinese company just unveiled the Surge S1, which powers its new Mi 5c Android smartphone.

The Mi 5c is the successor to the Mi 4c, which is one of my favorite affordable Android smartphones, and it comes at an affordable price (about $220) and with some pretty attractive specs.

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New IT management platform aimed at higher education sector

Higher education bodies face a range of challenges including restricted funding and increasing competition for students. The increasing digitization of the education sector adds an additional worry.

To address the latter, IT management solutions specialist Kaseya is launching a new platform aimed specifically at higher education institutions. IT Complete for Higher Education offers a comprehensive toolkit to cut IT costs and maximize resources, while delivering a rich user experience to support students, faculty and administrators.

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Like Google, Samsung is ready to further embrace RCS messaging

It is really starting to feel as though the days of SMS and MMS are well and truly numbered. Google has already updated its Messenger app, renaming it Android Messages as it aims to branch out into Rich Communication Services, and now Samsung has announced that it's ready to jump in too.

After new tablet announcements at MWC 2017, Samsung says that its acquisition of NewNet Communication Technologies' RCS solution means it is ready to expand its messaging services. Samsung's embracing of RCS will bring features such as group messaging, file transfers and video calls to users and Samsung says its RCS cloud will help mobile operators to quickly roll out new services.

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Share files securely and anonymously with OnionShare

OnionShare is an open-source cross-platform application for sharing files securely and anonymously.

The program uses Tor to temporarily host the files on your computer, and provides you with a cryptic and unguessable URL. Pass this on to the recipient and they can download the file directly from you.

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