Anonymous sets the record straight regarding its battle with ISIS
Hacktivist network Anonymous has been taking down ISIS related sites and Twitter accounts in a bid to prevent the terrorist organization from spreading its message online. Anonymous has declared ISIS a virus, and itself the cure.
However, cyber blog Krypt31a has described Anonymous's recent actions as Whack-a-mole without a plan, spurring a representative of the hacktivist group to issue a video reply setting the record straight.
Windows 10 builds will be released faster to Windows Insiders
The chances of getting a new Windows 10 build this week are starting to look a little thin, but releases are going to be made available more frequently. Writing on Twitter, Gabe Aul said that "we've decided to try to increase pace of Fast", promising that more details would be forthcoming.
Earlier in the week, Aul responded to complaints that new builds were not appearing fast enough, joking that a new release ring called Ludicrous Speed was being considered. Now we've learned that "a good build candidate with some new features" is very close to release.
Apple Pay is the reason Apple Watch won't fail
If you watched the Apple keynote, then you got a great view of the Apple Watch. While I’m definitely not one of the few who will buy the $10,000 version of the watch, I do believe it will be a success, largely due to one feature: Apple Pay.
Samsung, Motorola, and Pebble already have watches with similar features to the Apple Watch. In fact, I thought it was funny to listen to Apple employees talk about how they can’t live without their Apple watch because of all the notifications the watch sends to their wrist.
Time to migrate to GitHub as Google Code closes
After nine years, Google Code is closing down. Starting today, it is no longer possible to create new projects, and over the course of the coming ten months, the service will be mothballed. Google Code was Google's attempt to help the open source community by offering somewhere to host projects, but the growth of the likes of GitHub and Bitbucket has taken its toll and Google Code has filled up with spam and abuse.
Competition in the world of project hosting has become fierce, and Google feels it's time to pass on the baton rather than fighting for attention. Google has itself moved many of its own open source projects to GitHub. Don't panic if you’re not quite ready to jump ship -- there's still a little time to play with.
Did Google taint 12-inch MacBook news coverage?
Bias in the media is inevitable, and any news gatherer who denies this fact is a liar. Companies seek favor or to influence in countless ways. It's the nature of the beast, which cannot be tamed. So I wonder how Chromebook Pixel embargoes impacted reporting about Apple's newest laptop. If so, Google pulled off one hell of a marketing coup.
The search and information giant provided many tech blogs and news sites with the new Pixel about a week before the laptop launched yesterday and the first reviews posted—that was also days before Apple's well-publicized media event where a new MacBook was rumored. Both computers share something in common: USB Type-C, which is bleeding-edge tech. The connector received much media attention on Monday and Tuesday two ways: Buzz about it being the next great thing, and MacBook having but one port (Pixel has two, and others).
Samsung Galaxy S6 has the best smartphone display ever
The Galaxy S6 is getting a strong reception from critics, and another tick in the box is the latest rating from DisplayMate, the screen testing experts.
Indeed, DisplayMate has just crowned the Galaxy S6’s display as the best in the smartphone world -- albeit tied with Samsung’s own Galaxy Note 4.
GCHQ does not engage in indiscriminate blanket surveillance
When Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the activities of the NSA, it sparked a global interest in how internet traffic is monitored. The UK's Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament today published a report into online surveillance carried out by GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 after an 18-month inquiry.
Among the findings is the conclusion that surveillance is legal, but an overhaul is needed to increase transparency. The suggestion that GCHQ's interception of emails "does not equate to blanket surveillance, nor does it equate to indiscriminate surveillance" is likely to be met with skepticism. But what's likely to raise more eyebrows is the revelation that the agency has apparently managed to crack encryption.
LG: Apple has it right -- smartwatches should be a fashion item first, gadget second
During the Wearable Technology Show in London, LG’s head of business development Justin Jungsup Lee spoke about smartwatches, early adopters and sales.
Speaking in front of a packed out room in the LG keynote, Lee said that smartwatches should be more of a fashion item, and less of a gadget. And least of all, a smartphone accessory.
Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition notebooks now have NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M option
Not all laptops are created equal. Case in point, the new Chromebook Pixel and MacBook. Both are unique and beautiful, but under-powered too, albeit in different ways. The MacBook is a bit anemic in its hardware, while the Pixel is limited by its operating system. With that said, they will meet the needs of some users.
For those looking for raw power and function instead of thinness and portability, Windows-based gaming laptops are the route to go. Even if you do not game, these models are usually very powerful overall. Today, Acer announces a refresh of its existing powerful Aspire V Nitro Black Edition laptops, by offering NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M discrete graphics as an option. Yeehaw!
Alfred turns unused smartphones into surveillance cams
Do you have an unused Android smartphone? It might be yesterday’s model, but Alfred can give it new life, turning the device into your very own home surveillance camera.
Setup starts by running Alfred on the phone you’ll be using as a monitor. Configure it as the camera, and log in with your Google account.
Nest looking to make a move into home audio
Nest, the home automation company that designs and manufactures sensor-driven, Wi-Fi-enabled, self-learning, programmable thermostats and smoke detectors, is making a move into home audio.
A recruitment add appeared on the Nest website, seeking a "highly technical Head of Audio to lead the development of Nest Audio across hardware and software, present and future".
No sex please, I'm checking my emails (and then updating Facebook)
According to a new survey from Durex and Durham University’s Center for Sex, Gender and Sexualities, a large portion of us are more likely to be seduced by the lure of our smartphones than our partners.
40 percent of couples admitted to delaying sex because of smartphones or tablets, while others said they’d raced through the act in order to respond to messages. One third of respondents admitted to interrupting sex in order to answer the phone (because, you never know, it might be the spouse calling to find out where you are).
Cyber attacks rise as confidence in avoiding them falls
According to a new survey by the CyberEdge Group although IT security spending is increasing, confidence is falling, with the majority of respondents expecting to be breached in the next 12 months.
The survey of more than 800 security decision makers and practitioners finds that more than 70 percent of respondents' networks had been breached in 2014, which is a 62 percent increase from the previous year.
According to Nielsen SVOD is the choice of couch potatoes everywhere
Nielsen has been tracking the TV viewing habits of Americans practically since the invention of the tube. In recent years the polling company has had to adapt its operations to fit with newer technology that is increasingly being used by customers to satisfy their video needs.
That now seems to be leaning dramatically towards subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD). A new report states that this form of entertainment is winning across the board, and the numbers aren't even particularly close in this poll.
Bidding farewell to Google's Nexus 5
When looking for an affordable high-end smartphone the other day Google's Nexus 5 was an obvious option. Even one and a half years after its launch, its hardware is still more than capable of running all the latest apps and games, while the camera can still be considered a decent shooter. The downside of going with Nexus 5 -- as with previous Nexus smartphones -- is battery life, which falls short of the competition. So I ended up getting something else.
It turned out to be a smart move, as Google just pulled Nexus 5 from its online store, after five months of coexisting with its latest flagship smartphone, Nexus 6. If you still want to get one then you will have to look at retailers and some carriers, which are likely to carry Nexus 5 for at least a few more months (until LG stops production and/or existing stock is depleted.)
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