Latest Technology News

As more and more systems move to the cloud, so we’re becoming increasingly used to accessing all systems on an as-a-service model. Networking is no exception to this and by using software-defined networking businesses can break away from the restrictions imposed by old, inflexible static network architecture.

SDN allows companies to master the complex nature of their networks and have a single point of control. At the same time it opens up the possibility of automating network management to allow it to cope with fluctuations in traffic and demand.

TechSmith has unveiled Camtasia 9 ($199), a major release for the comprehensive video creator.

License changes don’t usually top the "new features" list, but this one is big: buying a single license now allows you to install Camtasia on both Windows and Mac.

WiGig is really impressive technology -- wireless docking can feel like magic. Imagine connecting your laptop to a USB keyboard, mouse, Ethernet, monitor, and more without wires. Yeah, a WiGig dock can do that. You might expect the connection to be iffy -- lag from peripherals or stuttering video. Actually, in my experience, it works flawlessly -- you can't tell that it is wireless.

Today, Toshiba announces the unimaginatively named 'WiGig Dock'. It features some essential connections -- 2 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm audio, DisplayPort, and HDMI. It also has a USB-C port for connecting machines that do not support WiGig. In other words, it can be either a wired or wireless docking station.

USB hard drives can be an important part of your backup plans. Whether for home or business, they allow you to easily backup your files and then take them with you. You can even lock the drive in a safe for extra security. While you can also use the cloud for backing up data, redundancy with a USB HDD is very smart -- just in case.

Western Digital's USB hard disk drives are wildly popular, and today, the company announces a refresh of two such models for Windows and Mac -- the 'My Passport' and 'My Book'. The concept is the same -- a mechanical hard drive in a USB 3.0 enclosure -- but they are now more stylish. The My Passport comes in six fun colors -- the Type-A cable even matches!

Google has just announced that a developer preview of Android 7.1 Nougat will be released before the end of the month. At the Pixel and Pixel XL launch, it was revealed that these two new handset would be running this version of Android, but a developer preview was pencilled in for some time before the end of the year.

The release schedule seems to have been sped up slightly, and this is something that will please developers and end users alike. Google promises dev that "we’ll give you access to this update so you can start getting your apps ready". Among the changes are new APIs (API level 25), and -- of course -- it's Google's own handsets that are in line to get the update first.

For a long time, the contact center was nothing more than a place where customer complaints went to die. An agent’s objective was to simply note the issue and try to resolve it as quickly as possible, and metrics were nothing more than call duration and first call resolution. However, technology has changed the role of the contact center, and analytics are evolving the department into a hub of rich customer insights. Every day, agents interact with hundreds, if not thousands, of customers, and they’re hearing what they want, don’t want, or need -- right from customers’ mouths!

By feeding this information into analytics technology, contact centers can integrate into every touch point along the customer journey and fundamentally change the customer experience.

Roku has been in the news several times recently, releasing a new line of set-top boxes as well partnering up with more manufacturers of smart TVs, most recently Hitachi. But the platform is about more than just video. There's also the audio experience.

One of the hot music apps these days is iHeartRadio, which pulls in a plethora of stations and genres for even the most eclectic tastes out there. Now the service is improving its features with a line of new options.

Considering it only came into existence in 2013, Docker has experienced a monumental rise in both the consumer and business markets. From such humble beginnings, (the earliest version of the technology was developed by founder Solomon Hykes in his mother’s basement), Docker has managed to secure a number of high-profile partners and in 2015 received a valuation in excess of $1 billion. But what exactly is Docker?

According to the company itself, "Docker allows you to package an application with all of its dependencies into a standardized unit for software development". The way in which Docker does this is through a software feature known as a container.

Almost nine in ten (88 percent) IT professionals say that their organization invested in some form of intelligent solutions, be it smart business apps, whole systems or bots. The information was presented in a new research report from Ipswitch.

The report also says that more than three quarters (78 percent) can’t fully grasp the challenges and threats of deploying such systems themselves. For more than two thirds (78 percent), it is challenging (58 percent say it is a challenge, and 19 percent say it is "extremely hard" to do). However, businesses aren’t giving up, as more than a third (35 percent) see it as crucial to stay ahead of the competition.

Dell recently updated its XPS 13 Developer Edition laptop with Kaby Lake processors. While that company's laptop is beautiful, it is also very expensive. For developers and home users looking for a solid laptop running Ubuntu Linux, System76's 'Lemur' has historically been a great value. Not only is the affordable machine both powerful and well supported, but it is built like a tank too.

Today, System76 updates the aforementioned Lemur with Kaby Lake processors. While Dell's XPS 13 starts at $949, the Lemur begins at a much more reasonable $649.

Marketers must target women if they are looking to succeed and make profits in the mobile sector, according to a new report.

The Mobile App Engagement Index from performance based marketing platform Liftoff analyzed 7.3 million app installs across five sectors to unearth key app trends from the first half of this year. It finds that female customers are not only more likely to make a purchase in both mobile e-commerce and gaming apps, they are also less expensive to acquire compared to their male counterparts.

Incomedia has released major new versions of its wizard-driven web-building tool with the launch of WebSite X5 Evolution 13.0. Website X5 Evolution is accompanied by both higher (Professional) and lower (Start) packages.

Version 13.0 adds support for parallax scrolling, includes new features like a Sticky menu and promises up to 50 per cent better performance thanks to a new 64-bit build.

Fedora is the operating system of choice of Linux founder Linus Torvalds -- that says a lot. Despite the fact that he uses a Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition laptop that ships pre-loaded with Ubuntu, it is unlikely that he kept that OS on it. While there is nothing wrong with Canonical's offering, Fedora is a very wise choice for those who want a no-nonsense Linux distro with a focus on free and open source software.

Today, Fedora 25 Beta becomes available for download. There are many things to get excited about, such as the implementation of Wayland and the pre-release 3.22 version of the GNOME desktop environment.

It is tough being a Galaxy Note7 user. First, Samsung tells customers to exchange their units for a safe one, following reports of exploding batteries. Next, the "new" Galaxy Note7 devices start catching fire too, after it was revealed that their batteries have issues as well. And, now, Samsung decides to stop production altogether, discontinuing its latest Android flagship across the globe.

What's more, because the Galaxy Note7 is clearly not safe to use, Oculus has dropped support for the Android flagship, introducing a forced update for the app that enables the Gear VR headset to work with the device.

YouTube has announced a new platform which will make creating video ads for the site easier. The number of visits, as well as visit duration, have gone up lately, and the company wants to cash in on the momentum. The new offering is called YouTube Director -- a solution to help businesses create a professionally-looking ad in no time.

There are two ways to do it: the YouTube Director for Business app and the YouTube Director onsite service. The former, free and currently only available in iOS, helps businesses create an ad through a custom template. With a step-by-step walkthrough, the app will "help the business understand not only what to film, but what to say and when".