Latest Technology News

Microsoft is making it easier than ever to sign into a Microsoft account, adding a new authentication option in the Microsoft Authenticator app that lets you approve the sign in attempt using just your Android smartphone or iPhone.

Here's how it works. When you enter your Microsoft account handle you will get a prompt from Microsoft Authenticator to approve or deny the attempt. To take advantage of this option, you need to add your Microsoft account to the app or, if you already did so, turn on the "Enable phone sign-in" option.

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While I am a huge fan of mechanical keyboards, I am not a fan of all mechanical keyboards. What I mean to say is, not all of them are created equally. In fact, many of these keyboards can be downright terrible -- even from some so called reputable brands. You see, it is not uncommon for a company to simply slap its name on a low-quality offering. With that said, some lesser-known brands sometimes make really good keyboards -- it can be a crapshoot.

All of these variables can make it difficult for consumers to make a good choice -- especially when they are looking at low-priced budget models. Logitech is looking to change this, however, with the all-new G413 Mechanical Backlit Gaming Keyboard. Priced at a very low $89.99, you get the company's legendary quality and much-respected Romer-G switches. I have been testing this keyboard and have come away very impressed.

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Solid state drives are new and "sexy" nowadays, so understandably, mechanical hard disk drives aren't exactly exciting. With that said, SSDs cannot touch HDDs from a capacity standpoint, so they are still very much relevant -- not only for large businesses and data centers, but for home users and small businesses too.

Today, Toshiba launches a new mechanical HDD that offers capacities up to 8TB. The company says the 3.5 inch drive is primarily for networked attached storage, but it can, of course, also be used inside PCs or with USB enclosures. The consumer-focused drive is designed to last, as Toshiba calls it "High-Reliability."

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Your two-year contract is almost up and you can’t wait to switch to another carrier, that has cheaper plans and better options. Your mobile data is never enough, and on top of everything you pay absurd roaming fees every time you travel.

Or maybe you want to get your hands on a new flagship, like the Samsung Galaxy S8, for example, but you can’t afford a SIM-free version, so getting it with a two-year contract remains the best option. Unfortunately, everybody knows that such phones come locked... Worry not, it's perfectly possible to unlock your phone and the process is actually very straightforward.

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The Windows 10 Creators Update is rolling out to users now, but Microsoft is working hard on the next big update to its operating system, and has already pushed out two new builds for Redstone 3 to Windows Insiders on the Fast ring.

The latest of these builds, 16176, includes a feature that Microsoft is calling "Power Throttling" (working name), which is designed to run "background work in a power-efficient manner", improving battery life significantly.

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As you probably know by now, Microsoft is blocking Windows Updates on Windows 7 and 8.1 systems powered by next-generation processors like Kaby Lake and Ryzen.

It’s yet another of Microsoft’s desperate efforts to get users to switch to Windows 10, and one that -- understandably -- hasn’t gone down well with users who don’t want to upgrade to the new operating system. Thankfully, there is now a workaround.

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Lloyds Bank customers will soon be able to log into their accounts through fingerprint scanners and facial recognition technology, rather than typing in passwords. According to the bank, it has teamed up with Microsoft to bring the Windows 10 authentication technology to its customers.

The biometric authentication technology, which Microsoft named Windows Hello, uses a combination of infrared technology and advanced software to identify the user in various lighting conditions. It was also emphasized that fraudsters can’t bypass the security measure by using a photograph.

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When buying a computer monitor nowadays, there are a lot of factors to consider. Price is very important, as it will determine what type of features and specifications you can get. Of course, cost aside, you must determine what you need and want. Yeah, a high resolution is great, but can your computer handle, say, a 4K display? Gamers, for instance, need to decide if they want to take a performance hit for a higher resolution.

Toady, AOC unveils a beautiful new 4K UHD display. This curved monitor features 10-bit color, making it a good choice for professionals. Its thin bezels and elegant overall design will make it attractive in any type of setting.

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It's something that Android users have been able to do for a little while now -- using the Timeline function of Google Maps to check back over their travel history. Now the feature is coming to iOS, meaning iPhone users can now look back over their day and where it has taken them.

Google suggests that it's a great way to rediscover places you have visited in the past, but it also provides a means of tracking how far you have traveled over the course of the day. Users are given a good level of control over what's included in their timeline, allowing for complete personalization.

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Two of the biggest electronic payment systems currently available to consumers are teaming up. Android Pay and PayPal have extended their strategic partnership making it possible to use PayPal as a payment method in Android Pay.

This means that anyone whose bank is not supported by Android Pay now has a new option available to them, bringing additional users to Google's payment system.

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A great deal of today's data is generated by users at the edge of corporate networks. It therefore makes sense to process and serve this information closer to where it originates.

San Francisco-based Fastly is unveiling its new edge cloud platform, which allows popular businesses to deliver consistently secure, fast and personalized digital experiences as close to end users as possible.

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We live in a wonderful world where you can do hardcore PC gaming literally anywhere. Thanks to powerful laptops, you can play modern PC games in such places as a park, at a kitchen table, or coffee shop. Unfortunately, many of these gaming laptops are hardly portable -- they can be quite heavy and bulky. Luckily, there are thinner and lighter models nowadays.

Today, MSI launches some new fairly svelte gaming notebooks -- the GP62X and GP72X Leopard Pro Series. These machines feature modern specifications, such as Kaby Lake processors, DDR4, and NVMe storage drives. Not to mention, they are very attractive -- the RGB backlit keyboard looks quite lovely.

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Omnicode Snatch is a free tool for capturing video and audio of what’s happening on your desktop.

The program interface is, well, a surprise. There are no menus, toolbars or panels, no flashy graphics, hi-res icons or even any touches of color -- it’s just a mess of buttons, boxes and lists.

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While people often search for businesses on the web, the most popular way of actually getting in touch is still by phone. But that means getting the details from your browser and switching to the dialer app to make the call.

Caller profiling and phone spam protection company Hiya is launching the first implementation of its Hiya Business Profiles product for the Samsung Galaxy S8, which allows users to find and call businesses from within the dialer.

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Businesses are clamoring for up to date mobile apps, but in the past the approach has tended to be all or nothing, with no real way of testing new features on some users before rolling them out to everyone.

Mobile developer tool specialist Rollout.io is launching a new ROX by Rollout tool that gives mobile app developers the ability to selectively deliver new features to subsets of users and monitor the performance of those features, making intelligent, data-driven recommendations about further deployment.

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