mongolia

Care to hike Mongolia? Google Maps does it for you

Mongolia seems to be a country largely forgotten by the outside world. Aside from Genghis Khan it appears few people know much about the Asian nation. That's a shame because it has a beautiful countryside with deserts, rivers and mountains.

Now Google wants to take you on a rather long journey through the country -- 5,000 km to be exact. All the way across Mongolia, including those beautiful Steppes.

By Alan Buckingham -
business integration

New collaboration helps deliver self-serve analytics solutions

Business intelligence is only of use if it can be delivered quickly to decision makers. That's why there's increasing demand for self-service solutions that make it easy for managers to extract information.

Enterprise BI specialist Pyramid Analytics is announcing a strategic collaboration with Microsoft to deliver development collaboration and technology integration.

By Ian Barker -
Yapbam200-175

Get your finances under control with Yapbam

Managing your money can be complicated, tedious, time-consuming. It’s tempting to just leave your accounts to look after themselves, and if your finances aren’t too tight then you might get away with that. For a while, anyway.

Keeping track of your balances is a much better idea, though, and it doesn’t have to be difficult. Yapbam (Yet Another Personal Bank Account Manager) is a cross-platform personal finance manager which helps you get started almost immediately.

By Mike Williams -
API

New tool helps businesses understand and optimize APIs

APIs provide a convenient way of giving developers the building blocks needed to extract data from and gain insights into digital systems.

But it's important for organizations to know how APIs are performing, how they are being used and whether they're providing business value. To help with this API and cloud integration specialist Akana is launching Envision, an enhanced API analytics platform that helps enterprises to find critical insights across their systems.

By Ian Barker -
Acer One 10 Windows 8.1 Tablet with keyboard

Acer One 10 Windows 8.1 tablet with keyboard can be had for just $199.99

Just like with Windows Phones, Windows tablets seem to be most-attractive when they offer great value for money. There are exceptions, like Microsoft's Surface Pro 3, but generally speaking that means good hardware with a low price tag. And if there is anything extra thrown into the mix, you have a winner.

Acer's One 10 Windows 8.1 slate offers plenty of value at the $199.99 price point. It features a large touchscreen, solid internals, and, last but not least, a free keyboard in the box. That last part adds plenty of value, making it easy for One 10 to double as a small laptop replacement. And that is not all.

By Mihăiță Bamburic -
Nokia

Nokia's HERE Maps goes to BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen

Nokia has agreed to a deal with a consortium of German car manufacturers for the sale of Here Maps, for $2.71 billion (£1.73 billion). The deal would see Here Maps turn into an open platform, which all car manufacturers can use for navigation and mapping inside vehicles.

Volkswagen (Audi’s parent company), Daimler (Mercedes-Benz parent company) and BMW are the main buyers. The three German manufacturers managed to worm their way out of paying upwards of $4 billion (£2.56 billion), which is what Nokia was apparently looking for when all of the interest started surging on Here Maps.

By David Curry -
Attack key

Mac security software on test

Not so long ago most Mac users would have told you that their systems didn't need any form of protection as they were inherently safe. But the world has become a more dangerous place and last year the iWorm malware is thought to have recruited some 18,000 Macs into a botnet.

Whilst experienced users who are careful about what they install and where they go online may still be justified in feeling safe using a Mac without additional protection, there's no doubt that non-experts need extra security. Particularly as cyber criminals have started to target Macs because they know more of them are unprotected.

By Ian Barker -
windows_10_mobile_1024

Windows 10 Mobile supports cutting-edge hardware

Microsoft has revealed the minimum hardware requirements for all of its different Windows 10 platforms, including Windows 10 Mobile.

For the most part, none of the requirements are shocking. Microsoft is making sure all of the low-end options are compatible with Windows 10 Mobile, while pushing to the limit with 2K display, 4GB of RAM and octa-core processor support.

By David Curry -
AIrport mobile movie

Which US airports offer the best mobile data coverage?

With hundreds of millions of passengers passing through US airports every year, mobile networks often struggle to keep up with demand, which can result in poor and unreliable data performance.

Twice a year, RootMetrics tests mobile coverage at the 50 busiest airports in the US, using off-the-shelf smartphones to measure performance at all the places where passengers are most likely to use their phones. The latest US Airport Network Performance Review, which covers the first half of 2015, features some surprising results, including one of the busiest US airports ranking at the top and another major US airport landing near the very bottom.

By Wayne Williams -
cyberlink-200x175

CyberLink launches Media Suite 13

CyberLink Corporation has released Media Suite 13, its comprehensive do-everything collection of multimedia software.

Highlights include the leading consumer video editor PowerDirector 13, PowerDVD 15 for media playback, and an excellent image editor in PhotoDirector 6.

By Mike Williams -
Primg200-175

Easily print custom image thumbnails with Primg

Windows provides many ways to browse a folder of images, but it’s much less flexible when it comes to printing. Typically you’ll have to print your pictures one at a time, or make do with whatever fixed multi-image formats your printer driver supports.

Primg is one of the simplest solutions around, a tiny portable freebie which gives much more control over your picture printouts.

By Mike Williams -
Lumia icon

Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 10166 finally arrives on the Slow ring

It’s taken two weeks to get there, but finally Microsoft has deemed the latest build of Windows 10 Mobile stable enough for Slow ring Insiders.

While the mobile version of the OS isn’t likely to launch until the fall, Microsoft is now mostly working on improving stability and squashing bugs along with some small changes and feature tweaks.

By Wayne Williams -
porn_eye

Microsoft takes steps to tackle revenge porn

Revenge porn has become quite a problem online, and Microsoft has now made it easier than ever to report cases. Today the company says that it will happily remove links to revenge porn photos and videos from Bing search results, and has set up a dedicated form to make it easier to get in touch.

Like Google's Right to Be Forgotten, there is little that can be done to remove the offending content from the internet, but Microsoft's action should make it easier to prevent the spread of damaging content. The removal process goes further than just obfuscating links in research results as the company does what it can to help stem the flow of privacy-violating photos and videos.

windows_10_games

Microsoft wants you to get your game on in Windows 10

Over the last few days, Microsoft has released a series of videos highlighting the latest and greatest features of Windows 10. The latest instalment in the series shows off the gaming capabilities of the operating system. There's a strong focus on Windows 10's integration with Xbox, but there's plenty for PC gamers and those with a more casual interest in gaming.

We've already taken a look at Microsoft's screen recording tool and how it can be used to grab on-screen footage. In its most recent video Microsoft shows how it can be used to record gaming brilliance ready to share with others -- but there's more.

Apple CEO Tim Cook

What did Tim Cook REALLY say about Apple Watch sales?

Today's question: Is Apple's CEO hiding weak smartwatch sales or does he demonstrate transcending leadership by positioning for greater platform success—taking the long view? The answer lies perhaps in his comments made during yesterday's fiscal Q3 earnings conference call.

In data released today, Strategy Analytics puts Apple Watch shipments at 4 million for the April quarter. Yesterday, Canalys gave estimate that is 200,000 units higher. Posting to BetaNews just minutes ago, analyst Sameer Singh calculates 3 million devices shipped and 2.5 million sold. Apple doesn't share the real numbers that it surely has. In chief executive Tim Cook's remarks that follow, there are hints—but little more. Something he says later in the conference call is quite provocative; genius and contrary-logistics-thinking. Either he's hiding or abiding.

By Joe Wilcox -
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