Audacity adds real-time effects preview, updates noise removal tool


Open-source sound recording, editing and mixing tool Audacity 2.1.0 has been released, and comes with a slew of significant updates and improvements.
Version 2.1.0 debuts one major new feature: a Real-Time Preview for effects, which is accompanied by a major upgrade to the Noise Removal tool. It also offers various effects upgrades and redesigned Meter Toolbars.
Big data: All hype and no investment?


Although there's lots of talk surrounding the use of big data it seems that in many cases that's all it is and that companies aren't actually following through on deployments.
This is among the findings of a new report from Dimensional Research commissioned by data warehousing specialist Snowflake Computing which shows that whilst 91 percent of respondents have considered investments in big data, only 5 percent have actually put any investment into a deployment, and only 11 percent had a pilot in place.
Spotify joins forces with Sony, brings music to PS3 and PS4


Sony recently announced it would be launching a music program that would come to both current versions of its PlayStation console and to Experia mobile devices. The move puts the box more in line with the competition, adding entertainment features to compete. Now the company is making good on its promise, announcing Spotify to power the service.
The Japanese conglomerate is stating that Spotify will come to Sony Music in 41 different markets around the world and the roll out is beginning for both the PS3 and PS4. The partnership is touted as an "exclusive".
Inateck FE2004: Turn your old hard disk into a USB 3.0 external drive [Review]


You can of course buy ready to use external hard drives, but should you have a spare 2.5 inch disk from an old machine lying around it's easy enough to pop it in a case so you can use it for backups or transferring files.
There's lots of choice when it comes to buying an external enclosure and most of them aren't very expensive, so what makes this offering from German company Inateck attractive?
GitHub hit by its biggest DDoS attack ever


GitHub is still in the throes of a massive DDoS attack which has blighted the site since Thursday. While the origins of and reasons for the attack is not yet fully known, the fact that two projects relating to Chinese anti-censorship have been targeted speaks volumes.
Now into its fifth day, the attack turned into something of a tug-of-war. Just as GitHub thought it had managed to wrestle back control of the site, a fresh wave was unleashed. The evolving attack is the largest in GitHub's history and engineers "remain on high alert".
Office Image Extraction Wizard goes open source


RL Vision has announced that its Office Image Extraction Wizard is now open source.
The Windows application is a simple but effective tool for extracting images from Office and many other document types. Although, notably, not PDF (the company has a shareware application for that).
Fake Puush update steals passwords from Windows users


Screenshot-sharing app Puush has inadvertently infected Windows users with malware. Over the weekend, the Puush server was breached and a fake, malware-infected program update was put in place. This means that anyone updating to version r94 of the software is infected.
The malware tries to grab passwords from infected systems, and was noticed after users complained on Twitter that the latest update had been flagged up by BitDefender. As a precautionary measure, the update server has been taken offline, and a clean update has been made available as a standalone download.
Chinese tech CEO compares Apple to the Nazi Party


China is not known for its subtle language, as recently displayed by Chinese CEO and billionaire Jia Yueting, who compared Apple to the Nazi Party through a cartoon-style image.
In a weibo post, Yueting compares the attributes of the Android and iOS ecosystems as "Crowdsourced, freedom vs arrogance, tyranny", painting Apple as the villain.
Why moving to the cloud doesn't remove the need for backups [Q&A]


More and more businesses are moving their data to the cloud and adopting SaaS delivery models for software. In making this switch many assume that they're shifting the responsibility for looking after their data to someone else.
But companies still need to take charge of looking after their information. We spoke to Rob May, senior vice president of business development for Datto to find out more about how enterprises can protect themselves.
Apple Watch will benefit traditional watch companies


It’s been six months since Apple officially announced its Apple Watch, which is currently one of the most anticipated releases of the year.
Apple will be joining tech giants Samsung and LG in the smartwatch market, but those aren’t the only companies they will be competing with. Last week at the Baselworld 2015 jewelry trade show in Switzerland, several traditional watch companies revealed smartwatches of their own.
Microsoft reveals Halo 5: Guardians Xbox One release date with two new commercials


Nintendo has a stable of popular mascots and characters. The most obvious is Mario and Luigi, but don't forget Link, Kirby and a slew of Pokemon, such as Pikachu. That is just a small sampling; there are tons more. For Microsoft, however, there is only one such character that is associated with Xbox by the masses -- Master Chief from the Halo franchise.
Tonight, during the season finale of Walking Dead (which was awesome), the release date for the next title in the franchise, Halo 5: Guardians, was revealed. How? With two spectacular live-action TV commercials.
Snowden's leaks served only to strengthen the NSA's resolve


Edward Snowden is heralded as both a hero and villain. A privacy vigilante and a traitor. It just depends who you ask. The revelations he made about the NSA's surveillance programs have completely changed the face of online security, and changed the way everyone looks at the internet and privacy.
But just before the whistle was blown, it seems that the NSA was considering bringing its telephone data collection program to an end. Intelligence officials were, behind the scenes, questioning whether the benefits of gathering counter-terrorism information justified the colossal costs involved. Then Snowden went public and essentially forced the agency's hand.
First look: Process Lasso 8


Whether you’re working on your PC or not, there are always plenty of processes running in the background: system services, program updaters, security tools, scheduled tasks and so on.
Windows uses a range of techniques to decide how your system resources are shared out, but you may still find some processes grab more than you’d like, drastically cutting the performance of everything else.
Amazon Fire TV -- how to check version number and update


This week Amazon rolled out its latest update for Fire TV. The package contains all sort of enhancements for the platform, including expandable storage via USB, better Wi-Fi connectivity for those in a hotel or dorm room, music playlists through Prime, and a whole lot more.
So, how do you know what version you're set-top box is currently running and how do you check to see if the update is yet available to you? The process is pretty simple and the steps are listed below, so let's walk through it.
Highlight key text on web pages with Super Simple Highlighter for Chrome


You're working on some web research project, part way through a lengthy page, when it's time to go and do something else. Annoying, because while you can bookmark the site, when you next return you’ll still have to find all the most important quotes and paragraphs all over again.
Super Simple Highlighter is a Chrome extension which makes it easy to highlight one or more sections of a page, restoring them when you return (usually) so you can carry on where you left off.
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