Penclic R3: Not your typical mouse [Review]
Using a mouse for long periods can be uncomfortable and in severe cases may even lead to repetitive strain injury.
There are various pieces of kit on the market to help you avoid this including ergonomically designed mice and wrist rests. Taking a slightly different and more innovative approach to the problem is the Penclic which is a sort of fusion of mouse and pen.
And this, boys and girls, is why online vigilantism is a terrible idea
I've written recently about the dangers of online vigilantes infringing on the free speech of others. Anonymous is one of the biggest offenders in this department, but there are numerous hacking groups that -- under the banner of fighting one evil or another -- take the law of the web into their own hands without a thought for the consequences.
Online vigilantes stir up populist support by throwing around the keywords associated with the enemy of the moment -- terrorists, ISIS, racists, fascists, communists, socialists, pedophiles. All very emotive issues, but vigilantism can all too easily get out of hand. This has just been demonstrated perfectly by YouTube star Keemstar who took it upon himself to expose a 62-year-old pedophile online through his DramaAlert podcast. The only problem is that he and his team got the wrong man.
Using Amazon Echo to control your home? There's a minor change you need to know about
It may be a minority who use the Amazon Echo to control home automation, in fact it likely is. But there are folks who do it, and it can, and usually does, work pretty well. It's one of those features that isn't advertised, but a nice Easter egg when you find it.
You head into the menu and click settings and locate "connected home" to find all of the devices and hubs that are compatible with the retailer's version of artificial intelligence.
Nvidia GPU driver bug could expose your Chrome Incognito porn browsing
If you have an online porn habit you like to indulge from time to time, you're probably well-acquainted with Chrome's Incognito mode. Like Microsoft Edge's InPrivate browsing, and Firefox's Private browsing, Google's browser includes a mode that can be used to keep your browsing secret. At least that's the idea...
One gamer and unashamed porn consumer found that his X-rated browsing sessions were exposed by Diablo III. Running the game on his Mac, Evan Andersen found that cached images from his Incognito browsing sessions were displayed as the RPG title loaded. He managed to grab screenshots of the bug in action, and even went as far as writing a program to show what's happening.
Microsoft kicks off 2016 with a problematic Windows 10 Mobile build 10586.63 launch
Microsoft has promised that Windows Insiders get Windows 10 builds faster in 2016, and it's Windows 10 Mobile users who get the first release of the new year. It's a few weeks since the release of build 10586.36 and now build 10586.63 is available for those on the Fast Ring.
You might expect from the relatively small jump in version numbers that this is something of a minor update -- and you'd be right. But despite the somewhat trifling nature of the changes, this release is noteworthy for a fluffed launch.
The Amazon Echo is in Jeopardy! Can you help get it out?
The Amazon Echo can do a lot of things, from playing music to giving you the news and weather, even controlling your lights. But there are many other tricks as well, and new ones are added all the time. The latest comes with the new update to the Alexa app.
Tap the menu button at the top left and choose skills -- there's quite a few and they are listed alphabetically. Scroll far enough and you'll find this latest entry, the game Jeopardy!
Tech firms ready to work with US spy agencies to combat IS and online terrorism
Silicon Valley met with the US government on Friday to discuss how to tackle online terrorist propaganda from the likes of IS. At a closed-door meeting, Tim Cook and representative of Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and other tech firms spoke with White House officials to try to find a way to combat terrorists on the web.
Joined by the likes of the NSA and FBI, the technology firms, and the Obama administration are seeking ways to stop terrorist propaganda being disseminated online. IS has already proved itself to be a masterful manipulator of the media, and has successfully used social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to get its message out.
Adobe preparing fixes for the Windows and OS X versions of Acrobat and Reader
If you're an advanced user utilizing Adobe products then you likely know the inherent perils of some of the company's platforms. Adobe has gone as far as to instigate its own version of Patch Tuesday, and that will be rolling around in just a few days.
It's aimed at fixing critical flaws in Acrobat and Reader across both the Windows and Apple platforms. These aren't new offenders, as Adobe software has been plagued by problems for sometime now. However, like Windows, it's partially because it's a major target -- the majority of people use Reader for opening PDFs, despite there being very good alternatives available.
Dell expands Latitude lineup with new laptops and hybrid devices
Dell has announced an expanded lineup of Latitude laptops, 2-in-1 devices and monitors at CES 2016 in Las Vegas. The new Latitude products are: Latitude 13 7000, Latitude 12 7000 and Latitude 11 5000.
The Latitude 3000, 5000 and 7000 Series have been completely refreshed with thin and light designs, excellent efficiency and powerful processing options.
TP-LINK Talon AD7200 is the world's first 802.11ad Multi-band Wi-Fi Router
While Wi-Fi is ubiquitous nowadays, it is still a miraculous technology. If you grew up with it, you may take it for granted. Me? My early computing involved chatting on IRC using unreliable dial-up connections. Connecting to the Internet without wires is magic as far as I am concerned.
The technologies behind Wi-Fi and networking has improved dramatically throughout the years -- faster, longer range and, more reliable. If you just bought an 802.11ac router, please know that it is no longer cutting-edge. Why? Well, today, TP-LINK announces the Talon AD7200 -- the world's first 802.11ad Multi-band Wi-Fi Router, and with eight antennas, it looks absolutely wild. It offers a mind-boggling 4.6Gbps using 60GHz bands!
Microsoft Intune update will improve Windows 10 support
Microsoft will release a service update to its Intune management software within the next week, introducing a number of new features and enhancements.
A large part of the update will be dedicated to Windows 10 support, ensuring that Intune is optimized for a number of features native to Microsoft’s new operating system.
Microsoft will sell mobile data plans to Windows 10 users
Windows 10 users will soon be able to purchase mobile data plans directly from Microsoft. The software giant says that this option will be introduced to make it easy for its customers to have Internet access in areas without Wi-Fi coverage.
The mobile data plans will be offered via the Cellular Data app that Microsoft has published in Windows Store. To take advantage of this offer, Windows 10 users will need to get a Microsoft SIM card first.
If you're fine with Microsoft's approach to privacy in Windows 10, you're out of touch
Yeah, I'm going to bang that drum again. We've talked endlessly about privacy and telemetry in Windows 10. Endlessly. It's brought up some interesting issues for debates, led to comparisons between Microsoft and Google, and lots and lots of lots of bile. A case in point is an article from dear, dear Mr Ed Bott over on ZDNet. Mr Bott refers, subtweet style, to my recent article about Microsoft recording how long people are using Windows 10.
He refers -- albeit indirectly -- to me (and writers like me who question Microsoft) as a "dedicated Microsoft hater" and a "clueless writer" peddling in clickbait. He suggests I'm not interested in facts; this despite the fact I have gone out of my way to garner such delights from Microsoft. Bott completely -- COMPLETELY -- misses the point. I can only hope he does so on purpose because otherwise he just sounds disingenuous and a bit stupid. The problem here is not that Microsoft is gathering data (as it is perfectly entitled to do so), but the lack of transparency surrounding it. Microsoft does nothing to help itself.
Australian university to hand out Surface 3 to students
Microsoft is doing its best to push its line of Surface products out there to businesses and students, even getting prominent placement in NFL games (though announcers still sometimes refer to them as iPads). The Surface Pro is on its 4th generation, but for those who don't need quite as much power, there's the Surface 3 which has a smaller screen and isn't as capable, but which costs a fraction of the price of its bigger siblings and still runs Windows 10.
It's perfect for education uses, which is why Western Sydney University in Australia is handing out 5,000 Surface 3 slates to its students.
Capture desktop activity with Automatic Screenshotter
Taking regular screenshots of the desktop sounds like a smart way to record what’s happening on your PC. Until you try it, and are left sorting through folders packed with pointless, near-identical images.
Automatic Screenshotter is different. It doesn’t just blindly capture images at fixed intervals, but also uses a host of rules and options to ensure it only captures the most relevant screens for you.
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.