Human element is key to effective use of analytics
While most organizations are primarily focused on technology and tools, it's people who translate data and insights from analytics into business outcomes.
This is a key finding of a new report by Forbes Insights and professional services organization EY which shows that people and culture are critical to realizing business value from data and analytics.
Google's Nexus 6P bends too easily, and there's no excuse for that
Bend tests have become a talking point after Apple's iPhone 6 Plus was found to have issues in this department. So, whenever a new flagship smartphone comes out, you can expect someone to make a YouTube video showing how easily -- or not -- it can be bent. They have become so popular that reviewers can expect millions of views.
And because such tests are a given, manufacturers are also expected to learn from others' mistakes and come up with smartphone designs that fare well in these kind of conditions. So, you can imagine my surprise when I saw Google's new Nexus 6P bending -- and, as a result, breaking -- with very little effort. Has its manufacturer, Huawei, learnt nothing from Apple's mistake?
Dropbox expands its footprint in Europe and Mexico
Cloud storage is expanding all the time, with new features and extra space, though Microsoft seems to be going the other way. Dropbox was one of the early players in the game and has remained strong despite being surpassed in capacity by rivals.
Now Dropbx is expanding in Europe, bringing new features to certain locations in an effort to better serve its customers and add functionality. The company states that "With over 70 percent of our users located outside the US, expanding our international footprint is a priority".
Mobile technology in the next 30 years
The year was 1985 -- a-ha were racing to the top of the music charts with their smash-hit "Take on Me", Roger Moore was appearing in what was to be his final outing as James Bond, and a young high-school teenager inadvertently stumbled across time travel with his much older scientist friend.
This year of course marks the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future which, as we all know, is one of the most iconic and celebrated films of the 20th Century. Starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Emmett Brown (or Doc for short), the film was celebrated for its ingenious and fun take on time travel and later went on to spawn two sequels. Most notable was the 1989 follow-up Back to the Future II in which our plucky heroes travel to the year 2015 in a world which is dominated by hoverboards, self-tying shoes and tablet computers -- remarkably all of which have come to fruition (sort of). Naturally some of the films’ more outlandish predictions haven’t yet left the realms of cinema imagination, like flying cars and power clothing, but nonetheless these are still some amazing technological advances that have helped shape the world we live in today.
Skype introduces a Share button for websites -- will you use it?
The internet has turned us all into sharers. If you find something interesting online, be it a photograph, video, or an article, there’s a good chance you might share it with people via Facebook, or Twitter.
Microsoft wants Skype to become another way of easily sharing content, and so has introduced a new Share button which will let you quickly forward content on to people you know. "Effortless sharing that sparks richer conversations", as the Skype team describes it.
Facebook uses AI to recognize objects in photos
Artificial intelligence researchers at Facebook are set to unveil a new system that can identify objects in photographs. While this is not an entirely new idea, Facebook's AI Research (FAIR) team says that it has reached a new milestone, meaning that recognition is now much faster and requires less training.
Any AI-driven recognition system is built on sample data which can be used as a reference point. FAIR's new system needs just a tenth of the amount of training data than other systems, and operates 30 percent faster. But the team's progress doesn’t end there -- great strides have also been made in natural language understanding and predictive learning.
Top Google Chrome extensions for better browsing
Google Chrome browser has become widely popular thanks to its high speed, elegant, minimalistic interface, and in-built translator; and, well, it is a Google product after all. Thanks to its fame and tons of users, the number of available extensions to improve the usage of this web browser is constantly growing and the quality of the offered apps is increasing as well.
You’ll be surprised by the many extensions that can help you to do so much more than just regular browsing. If you select effective and useful extensions they can increase your productivity online considerably. As we don’t want our favorite readers to spend too much time on trying out the extensions in an attempt to find the worthy ones, we’ve reviewed the top Google Chrome extensions for better browsing.
Back to the 1980s: How to play Space Invaders on your PC
It’s been around for almost 40 years, yet the arcade classic Space Invaders is still hugely popular, the inspiration behind an array of new games on every possible platform.
This isn’t always a good thing. Many games use the name, but don’t bear any resemblance to the original. Others require bulky installations or "in-app purchases" before you can really get started.
Finding iOS 9 vulnerabilities can be extremely profitable
Premium exploit acquisition platform Zerodium has announced that the bounty hunt for an iOS 9 zero-day vulnerability has expired, and that it has one winning team who managed to hack into Apple’s mobile operating system.
The winning team has thus won the main prize of $1 million.
Avast 2016 ships with password manager, SafeZone browser
AVAST Software has unveiled its 2016 product range, including Avast Free Antivirus 2016, Avast Internet Security 2016 and Avast Premier 2016.
The highlight is Avast Passwords, a new password manager available in every edition (yes, even the Free build).
Major IT vendors are clueless about blockchain technology
Major global IT vendors -- including leading hardware, systems software, eCommerce, big data, cloud, network, telco and systems integrator companies -- have little wisdom, advice or vision to offer their customers and prospects when it comes to blockchain technology.
This is the result of a survey entitled Searching in Vain for The Block Chain, conducted by enterprise IT specialist consulting firm Lighthouse Partners. It is also the main reason this company decided to start offering consulting services on the topic.
Hearts vs Stars: Twitter embraces Likes as Facebook leaves them behind
The idea of 'liking' something is synonymous with Facebook. Or at least it was. Now Twitter is trying to get in on the action, renaming Favorites to Likes. As well as a name change, there's also a new icon. Gone is the Favorite Star, replaced with the Like heart.
The move comes just as Facebook is talking about introducing reaction emoji, with a view to giving users of the social network new ways to express how they feel about the content they see. Twitter, however, is moving in the other direction. While 'favoriting' a tweet was fairly non-partisan, 'liking' is an action that is loaded with meaning.
Smart Reply for Google Inbox suggests replies to emails
Gmail might be Google's most well-known email service, but more recently the company has introduced Inbox. Now Inbox gains a new feature -- Smart Reply. The email tool is known for its automation features and Smart Reply aims to cut down the amount of time you have to spend replying to messages in Android and iOS.
Although not entirely automated. Smart Reply analyzes the content of the emails you receive and suggests a number of stock replies that you might like to send. While it is certainly not going to eliminate the need to type out emails entirely, the ability to respond to common types of email with a couple of clicks will prove a real time-saver.
TeamViewer 11 beta up to 15x faster, debuts Chrome OS app
TeamViewer GmbH has unveiled TeamViewer 11 beta, a preview of its free-for-personal-use remote control package.
Performance enhancements are a highlight, with up to 15x faster file transfers, and a potential 30 percent reduction in data usage.
Trust is key in mitigating IT risks, say most CIOs
Over three-quarters (76 percent) of senior IT leaders in the UK, France and Germany feel more personal risk when making decisions than they did five years ago because of IT’s increasingly central role in businesses, a study commissioned by Colt reveals.
At the same time, 77 percent of chief information officers (CIOs) say that pivotal moments in a business calendar define their career trajectories, and not day-to-day performance. This is compounding the sense of vulnerability felt during key decision-making moments, as highlighted in Colt’s recent ‘Moments that Matter’ study.
Most Commented Stories
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.