Best portable power solutions
Is your smartphone battery sucking the fading fumes of its final milliamps? If it is, there is absolutely, positively no reason whatsoever for you to be frantically foraging for an AC outlet. None. Zero. Not when there are literally hundreds of portable power options in a wide variety of sizes, form factors and capacities to be had at surprisingly low prices.
For instance, you can buy a battery case for your phone. Or, you can buy a compact charger to stash in your pocket or purse. You can buy a slim battery just slightly larger and thicker than a credit card to slip in your pants. You can buy a thicker brick to tote in a bag able to recharge your dying phone multiple times. You can buy portable batteries that'll charge multiple gadgets simultaneously, portable batteries with extra memory to store photos or other files, even portable batteries with built-in flashlights.
Google reveals end-of-life dates for Nexus devices
One of the advantages of buying a Nexus device is the guarantee that you're in line to receive updates for longer than devices from most other manufacturers. Google issues not only Android updates, but also monthly security patches for Nexus phones and tablets, and the company has just published its latest end-of-life list.
Next in line to drop off the support list are the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9. These devices will not receive "guaranteed Android version updates" (such as updates to Android N and Android O) after October 2016, but Google has also revealed when the Nexus6P and Nexus 5X will drop off the radar.
Strong DevOps performance pays off for businesses
High-performing DevOps organizations are widening their lead against lower-performing ones according to a new report.
Compared to low performers, high-performing organizations deploy 200 times more frequently, have 2,555 times faster lead times, and recover 24 times faster from failed changes.
Mark Zuckerberg is so concerned about his privacy that he tapes over his webcam and microphone
Facebook and privacy are not words usually associated with one another, and it seems this holds true even for the man at the top. Only recently we learned that Mark Zuckerberg uses terrible passwords, making it easy to hack his accounts, but now it turns out he's also quite paranoid.
As Instagram popped champagne corks for reaching the milestone of half a billion users, Zuckerberg posted a celebratory picture. Eagle-eyed people soon pointed out that both the mic and camera of his laptop were taped over.
Most UK tech workers against Brexit
The tech industry is not really hyped about the UK’s potential abandoning of the European Union, according to new reports by market analysts.
Juniper Research just released a new report which says that almost two thirds (65 percent) of UK’s tech employees believe Brexit would not have a positive effect on the global tech industry.
Unicode Standard 9.0 is official with 72 new emoji like shrug, avocado, gorilla, and more!
Emoji are the future of communication -- according to some folks, at least. Quite frankly, I find that they aren't so Earth-shattering. The written word is merely the use of letters as visual representations of things, right? Well, emoji are visual representations of things too. The word "APPLE" and "?" are arguably the same. Emoji that represent facial expressions ? can even enhance things, better expressing emotion.
Today, Unicode Version 9.0 becomes official, with a ton of new characters. What many folks will be excited about, however, is new emoji! There are 72 new emoji to be exact, and there are some great ones. Like what, you ask? How about shrug, avocado, gorilla, eagle, and more!
Check your Amazon account for free credit as Apple coughs up in ebook lawsuit settlement
Following a court ruling that it was involved in ebook price-fixing with five publishers, Apple has started the process of paying back $400m in refunds. Despite agreeing to pay out the thick end of half a billion dollars, Apple denies doing anything wrong.
Interestingly, the payouts will not necessarily reach customers direct from Apple. Refunds are being issued through four ebook stores -- iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo -- and Amazon customers (Kindle users) should be getting their credit today. If you're in line for a refund, you should have received an email informing you, but in case this made its way to your spam folder, you can manually check to see if you've benefitted.
Twitter and Vine introduce support for much longer videos
While Twitter is primarily a text-based social network, more recently there has been an increased importance placed on images and videos. Just as tweets are limited to a certain number of characters, videos have -- until today -- been limited to 30 seconds in length. Now Twitter is embracing video in a big way, and today increases the maximum length to 140 seconds -- continuing the love affair with the number 140.
The company says that the number of video posted to Twitter has increased by 50 percent since the beginning of the year. This is an astonishing increase in just six months, and it makes the video-related changes all the more understandable. Vine users will also be able to take advantage of longer videos, but there's something of a catch.
Check the performance of your tweets with Twitter Engage for iOS
Today Twitter launches a companion app designed for anyone who wants to analyse their tweet activity. Pulling out all the buzzwords, Twitter says it "provides real-time data and insights, allowing you to quickly understand, engage, and grow your audiences".
This is not just about gaining more followers, it's about making more meaningful connections, and trying out different marketing ideas. Twitter already provides fairly detailed analytics on its website, but here things are presented in a more accessible way. It also provides a more detailed breakdown of audience demographics for better targeting.
Microsoft breaks into contactless mobile payments with Wallet for Windows 10 Mobile Insiders
Apple has done it; Google has done it. Microsoft may be a little late to the party, but it's getting involved in the mobile payment game. Today the company releases Microsoft Wallet to Windows Insiders using Windows 10 Mobile build 14360 or higher.
Microsoft has teamed with MasterCard and Visa to provide a contactless payment solution that is -- for now -- available to Lumia 950, 950 XL and 650 users in the US. As well as making contactless payments, the app can also be used to store reward cards to reduce the amount of plastic you have to cart around with you.
DoD's Hack the Pentagon will include more systems and networks
In an effort to find more security flaws in its defense systems, the US Department of Defense (DoD) has decided to expand its Hack the Pentagon program to include more of its systems and networks.
The program pays hackers to find and report the vulnerabilities in exchange for payment from the US government. So far the program has proven to be quite effective with the the first bug in the DoD’s systems and networks being discovered a mere 13 minutes after its launch.
MFT-based UltraSearch 2.10 adds file content searching
Super-fast MFT-based search tool UltraSearch has hit version 2.10 with some major improvements. The program can now search for file content, as well as file and folder names.
A File Type list enables searching for particular groups of files: audio, video, text, database, mail files and more. You can edit these groups or add new ones as required. Searches may be run on specific folders, drives, or whatever combination you need.
ADATA announces Premier SP550 M.2 2280 SATA SSD
While 2.5 inch SSDs were once viewed as cutting edge technology, they are now seen as being old and bulky. Instead, M.2 variants are all the rage. The slim design makes them ideal for Ultrabooks, as it can contribute to an overall lighter and thinner machine. Heck, M.2 is great on desktops too, as more and more motherboards come with the needed slot.
Not all M.2 drives are created equally, however. You see, there are models that use SATA and others that use PCIe NVMe. While the latter is faster, it is also more expensive. Not to mention, not every machine has NVMe compatibility. Today, ADATA announces an SATA M.2 SSD, called the Premier SP550 2280.
Most UK workers don't want company-issued wearables
Despite the fact that three million Britons bought wearables during 2015, the majority of UK office workers are unwilling to wear them at work. After conducting a survey of 2,000 workers across the UK, PwC found that only 46 percent of respondents would accept a free wearable device from their company if their employer had access to the data it recorded.
In the past few years, wearables from companies like Fitbit and Jawbone have taken the consumer market by storm as a means of tracking one’s health and fitness. PwC’s survey found that two-thirds of those surveyed want their employer to take a more active role in their health and well being, and a company-issued wearable would be a good first step at doing just that.
Ultimate Ears adds Siri and Google Now support to UE BOOM 2 and UE MEGABOOM
It is officially summertime, meaning fun in the sun. I have been enjoying lazy days on my deck, listening to my favorite tunes. While I could use my iPhone's integrated speaker, it is too weak for optimal outdoor enjoyment. Instead, I utilize a Bluetooth speaker for improved volume and clarity.
Ultimate Ears makes damn good speakers, and today, the company is transforming both its UE BOOM 2 and UE MEGABOOM with an intriguing new feature. Android and iOS users can now leverage the power of Siri or Google Now from these two speakers directly by simply pressing the Bluetooth button once. It is sort of like the Amazon Tap, but with Apple or Google's assistant rather than Alexa.
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