Latest Technology News

As a self-confessed gadget fan, I have to admit, I’ve been excited about the Apple Watch ever since the hype started.

I’m no Apple Addict (only started using an iPhone 18 months ago, have never purchased music from iTunes and I don’t own a Mac) however I ordered the Apple Watch two minutes after the advance ordering opened... And now it has arrived -- so the question is, does it live up to my expectations?

Although the rumors of a July launch for Windows 10 have been swirling for a while, there’s been no official confirmation from Microsoft. That all changes today, however, as the software giant confirms that the new OS will be available on July 29.

As we already knew, the company states it will be a free upgrade to anyone using Windows 7 or 8.1. The push-ads promoting the new OS to users of those operating systems started to appear over the weekend.

Microsoft will be releasing Windows 10 -- at least some versions of it -- this summer. The company hasn’t announced a specific release date yet, but it has apparently started to notify people about the impending release of its forthcoming operating system.

As a user on Reddit notes, the Redmond-based company has started to roll out what appears to be the first push ad of Windows 10 to Windows 7 and Windows 8.x users. As seen in the screenshot above, the company is reminding users that Windows 10 will come as a free upgrade to them, and is also giving them an option to 'reserve' it. Opting into this will essentially initiate an automatic download once Windows 10 becomes available. The final version of Windows 10 will weigh around 3GB, the notification reads.

On Friday Microsoft surprised us by releasing a new build of Windows 10 to Insiders on the Fast ring. This build includes new and updated icons, improvements to the Microsoft Edge browser (still called Spartan, unbelievably), Jump List tweaks and more.

Microsoft has also introduced additional options for customizing Windows 10. In particular, you can now easily choose what appears on the Start menu. It’s very easy to make changes to the OS's appearance, so let’s take a look at the options.

Microsoft has been promising that Windows 10 will see the light of day this summer for a while now, and current rumors suggest that we might hit RTM as early as July. Now a new listing on Newegg reveals -- perhaps -- that the Windows 10 release date is pegged for 31 August.

A pre-order listing for the OEM version of Windows 10 Professional has popped up on the site with a price tag of $149.99. Windows 10 Home OEM is listed for $109.99 Based on the previous pricing for OEM versions of Windows, it's fair to assume that this is the full version rather than the upgrade edition. The suggested release dates aside, the first thing that many people will jump on is the fact that Windows 10 has a price tag at all...

Roku continues to grow its set-top box market and improve its offerings. So it's no surprise that yet another feature is beginning to roll out, this one for customers in both the UK and Canada. If you're tired of that purple background screen then you're in luck, with the option for new custom themes.

Customers will now find a "themes" category in the Channel Store and you'll be on your way. At the moment there are ten home screens to choose from, but Roku promises that more will be on the way soon.

You've just discovered an incredible app or game and want to tell everyone you know about it... what do you do? Email your friends with a link to the relevant app in the App Store or Google Play? Make an announcement on Facebook to your contacts? With the introduction of App Invites, Google is bringing this sharing right into apps themselves.

Launched in beta at I/O 2015, App Invites is a feature that does very much what it says on the tin: it enables users of compatible apps to invite their contacts to install an app by sending out notifications via SMS or email. It's a feature that will be welcomed by developers as it opens up one of the most valuable forms of advertising -- word of mouth.

The EFF (Electronic Freedom Foundation) has involved itself in lots of online battles -- including the fightback against NSA surveillance, and the drive for net neutrality. The latest fight sees the organization joining forces with web performance and security firm CloudFlare in tackling the site blocking activities of the record industry.

The digital rights group is battling record labels which it says are forcing web firms into becoming the "copyright police". The move was prompted by the closure of Grooveshark, a music website run by one of CloudFlare's clients. It re-opens the question of who is ultimately responsible for the content that appears on sites -- those posting it, those hosting it, or any other company involved in the delivery?

Early on in the Windows 10 preview program, things looked a bit grim. While I was confident Microsoft would pull it all together eventually, I was dubious that the company could meet its self-imposed summer deadline. Not only were there many bugs, but some baffling design choices.

A lot has changed since then. Since build 10122, I am totally convinced that not only will Windows 10 be ready by the summer, but it will be exceptional too. Today, Microsoft releases Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10130. The company is wisely putting the major focus on tightening up the experience instead of introducing new features. Don't worry though, there are some new features in the build. Sadly, there is one major bug too.

Google Photos is more than an exciting -- and hugely transforming -- new product. The app/cloud service is a metaphor for an escalating mobile business model that, with perhaps the exception of Facebook, no competitor has the capacity to match.

Users gain tremendous time-saving utility, such as the ability to meaningfully search using innocuous terms like "dog" or "Washington", all without the need to manually add metadata tags by way of applications like Photoshop. Meanwhile, Google gets access to quantifiable information, in the image and accompanying metadata, around which to sell advertising and related contextual content or services.

There are lots of online services and sites that quickly become notorious; the Pirate Bay and Napster to name but two. But Silk Road was something in a completely differently league. Found on the dark web, the site acted as a portal to drugs and other illegal goods. It started life back in 2011 and today its founder, Ross Ulbricht is sentenced to life in prison, a year and a half after his arrest.

Ulbricht was found guilty at a jury trial three months ago and today Judge Katherine Forrest said that Silk Road demonstrated he believed he "was better than the laws of this country". She said "this is deeply troubling, terribly misguided, and very dangerous" before handing down the harshest sentence available.

When you are building a computer, selecting the right brands for the components matter. In other words, you should do your research, read reviews, and find out which manufacturers have the best quality and reliability. This is how I discovered G.SKILL RAM years ago. Through my own experiences, I found the high marks its hardware receives are very much warranted.

Today, G.SKILL announces that it has set a world record. Get ready to drool folks, as the company has achieved 4062MHz on air-cooled DDR4 memory. Whoa.

It's a big week for Google, as the company holds its I/O event. We've seen the next version of Android, for the moment simply known as M, and users can install a preview version of it now. There was Brillo, which aims to take Android into the growing Internet of Things market and many other announcements.

As for Android Wear, Google's foray into smartwatches, there are improvements coming there as well. Spotify is also announcing support for the wristwear.

A total of 23,095 DDoS attacks were carried out on web resources located in 76 countries in the first quarter of 2015, up 15 percent from the 66 countries affected in the final quarter of last year.

This is one of the findings of a new study by cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab into the botnet-assisted DDoS attack landscape. But although the geography is expanding the overall number of botnet-assisted attacks is down by 11 percent and the number of unique victims down by eight percent.

It may not have made major headlines, but earlier this month a story broke that demonstrates how 3D printing is making a huge impact in the medical industry. A sea turtle that had been injured colliding with a motor boat had its beak replaced with a 3D printed prosthetic. Providing the part is not rejected, the turtle could even be allowed to return to the sea.

However, 3D printing has potential health benefits to humans too, many of which we are currently discovering. Earlier this month, for example, cosmetics firm L’Oreal announced a partnership with Organovo to 3D print human skin. Although the collaboration is for use in the beauty industry, the overlaps of biology and 3D printing could provide benefits for burns victims and those suffering from skin conditions.