Latest Technology News

ZOTAC VR GO is a Windows 10 backpack PC powered by Intel Core i7 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

Virtual reality is rather cool, although it requires money and commitment. To truly experience VR on a PC, you need a powerful computer and, sometimes, a room to be dedicated to it too. After all, the VR mask usually has to be tethered to the desktop PC -- a messy experience, leading to tangled wires. Sadly, it is these wires that really limit the fun of VR on PC.

Thankfully, some PC manufacturers have wisely created backpack computers -- a PC designed to be worn on the user's back. This creates greater mobility while experiencing VR, although it does have the downside of requiring batteries (which ultimately need charging). Today, ZOTAC unveils a new backpack PC, and it looks amazing. Called 'VR GO' it is equipped with two 6600 mAh batteries, allowing up to two hours of game play. You can buy additional batteries and swap them for even longer gaming sessions, however.

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Amazon is limiting the number of reviews you can write

amazon box

One of the benefits of shopping with Amazon is that you are able to read reviews written by other customers before you part with your cash. Now the company has updated its review policy, placing a limit on the number of reviews customers can write in a week.

The new limit means that there is now a maximum of five reviews per customer per week, but there is an exception. If Amazon is able to verify that products have been purchased by -- rather than gifted to -- the reviewer, the limit is increased. But it gets a little more complicated.

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Dropbox Lepton compresses JPEGs by 20 percent or more

Earlier this year, Dropbox open-sourced Lepton, a lossless image compression algorithm which can reduce the size of JPEG images by an average of 22 percent. The technology converts your target JPEGs into the compacted LEP format, and restores the original version on demand.

Dropbox is using Lepton right now to save bandwidth and storage space, and if you grab a copy of the Windows build then you can try it, too.

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The 30 percent bug sees iPhone battery life dropping dramatically in iOS 10.1.1

If you've updated your iPhone to iOS 10.1.1, you may have started to feel that your battery is not lasting as long as it used to. You are not alone; you could be experiencing what has been named the 30 percent bug.

Many users are complaining that their iPhones will suddenly drop from 30 percent battery charge to 1 percent, and then shutdown. The problem does not seem to affect one particular generation of iPhone, suggesting that the issue lies with iOS itself, but at the moment Apple does not have a fix available.

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OnePlus 3T first-impressions review

The OnePlus 3T is shaping up to be one of the best smartphones that you can buy today. Replacing the OnePlus 3, it is a slightly beefier version of the former "flagship killer" that, at first glance, also feels more refined. Visually, it looks nearly the same, but the updated internals and improved software could make a big difference in day to day use.

This is a first look at OnePlus' new flagship, which I feel is well needed as the OnePlus 3T today makes its European debut. Many of you will be considering it as your next smartphone, and for good reasons. Obviously, a full review is coming, but until then here are my first impressions.

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Tech Deals: This year's best Cyber Monday deals on electronics, TVs and more

If you didn't manage to pick up the tech bargains you were hoping for on Black Friday, the good news is you get a second chance with Cyber Monday!

Courtesy of our partners at TechBargains, our selection of great Cyber Monday deals include laptop and desktop computers, televisions, media streamers, tablets, games consoles, vacuum cleaners and much more.

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Scality improves security for enterprise cloud

cloud key

As organizations store more of their information in the cloud increased focus is placed on keeping it secure from breaches and other threats.

Cloud storage specialist Scality is launching a new version of its RING software defined storage technology to provide extended security features and a trusted, compliant and secure storage infrastructure.

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How to save Spotlight lock screen images to use as wallpaper in Windows 10

Windows 10 has a lock screen mode called Windows Spotlight that pulls attractive images from the web on a daily basis. In most instances, you’ll only see these when you log on, or lock your PC.

If you see an image that you’d like to use as Windows wallpaper, you can’t simply right-click and save it, but there is a way to easily export Windows Spotlight images to a folder so you can use them as desktop backgrounds.

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If you're going to San Francisco be sure to travel free with ransomware

Ransomware

The Muni public transport system in San Francisco has been hit by a major ransomware attack over the weekend that left the network having to give passengers free travel.

It's estimated that around 2,000 systems have been affected by the attack, which began on Friday, including ticket machines, servers and Windows workstations.

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One in four Wi-Fi hotspots is a security nightmare

Public wi-fi

A quarter of the world's Wi-Fi networks are so insecure that the only thing stopping hackers from abusing them is their own lack of will. This is according to a new, extensive research by security experts at Kaspersky Lab, which have analyzed more than 31 million public Wi-Fi hotspots all over the world.

Basically, 25 percent aren’t using any type of encryption or password protection, meaning the information going through these networks is wide open for everyone to see. Another three percent are using WEP, which is a protocol that can be cracked "within minutes, using tools that are freely available on the internet".

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Microsoft enables Linux desktop users to send SMS text messages with latest Skype Alpha

Linux-based desktop operating systems can sometimes be incredible for productivity and security, but they can be deficient from a feature and application perspective too. Windows 10 and macOS Sierra, for instance, are chock-full of some exciting software that is simply not available on Linux, such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop, although alternatives (LibreOffice and Gimp for example) can sometimes be passable.

With all of that said, Microsoft has delivered an incredible feature to Linux-based desktop operating systems by way of the latest Alpha version of its Skype client. What is this exciting feature of which I speak? Well, the newly-released Skype for Linux 1.13 allows users to send SMS test messages from the operating system!

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The lure of keygens helps spread Gatak malware through the enterprise and healthcare industry

Malware alert

Malware spreads through various channels, and numerous methods are used to fool people into unwittingly installing it. In many cases, the promise of getting something for free -- naming expensive software -- is enough to trick a victim into infecting their own computer.

It's far from being a new tactic, and warnings have been issued to fans of torrenting for some time. Keygens (small programs that promise to provide unlock codes and product keys for big-name software titles) are being used to help spread the Gatak or Stegoloader Trojan. Something that is interesting about this malware campaign is that it is specifically targeting enterprise users, with a particular focus on the healthcare industry.

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HPE, IBM and T-Systems compete for Cern cloud platform contract

Cern is currently searching for a potential supplier for its €5.3 million Helix Nebula hybrid cloud platform and T-Systems, IBM and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) have made it to the last round.

Initially, 28 different firms from 12 countries submitted bids for the lucrative contract to develop a hybrid cloud platform that will be built upon commercial cloud services, publicly funded infrastructures and each firm's own IT resources.
Cern has narrowed down its list of bids down to the four firms based on the design ideas they have submitted for the project. The scientific organisation will eliminate one more firm and the remaining three will be required to build a prototype platform.

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VLC Media Player previews 360-degree video support

VideoLAN has released a technical preview of VLC Media Player 3.0 with 360-degree video support. The new build handles videos following the Spatial Video format, and photos and panoramas following the Spherical spec (the official test page has sample files).

The files play back just like any other video, but you can now left-click and drag within the screen or use the numeric keypad arrows to look around.

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A Ferrari, three blind men and DevOps

In a rapidly evolving digital world, businesses are moving at breakneck speeds and one upping each other to achieve the unicorn of customer delight. For a number of organizations, a large part of that equation boils down to accelerating the release of high quality software. A release every three months is now being replaced by a release every three days. The timelines are shrinking; the expectations are only getting higher. It is crucial now more than ever for all the moving parts to come together in unison and work cohesively towards achieving a sustainable competitive advantage.

Despite several reams of virtual space being dedicated to discussing the intrinsic nature of DevOps, its true identity still remains muddled amongst a slew of varied opinions. And based on their respective vantage points, each opinion carries with it some truth and yet remains vastly adrift from the heart of the matter.

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