Microsoft catches March Madness -- Bing is ultimate NCAA basketball bracketology tool
While I did graduate from the world-renowned Stony Brook University, it took me longer than usual. Sadly, I was what you would call a "higher education adult learner", meaning I was older than most of the students and only went part-time because I had to work a job. This wasn't a bad thing from a learning perspective, but I did not get to participate in the full college experience. In other words, I was working while the younger students were participating in clubs and watching sporting events. Truth be told, I am a huge basketball fan, and I regret not going to any games while attending.
Luckily, my alma mater is only one win away from going to the big tournament for the first time ever. Yes, if the Stony Brook Seawolves defeat Albany on Sunday, we get to experience the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Even if they don't make it, I can still enjoy watching the games, but more importantly I can enjoy building my brackets. If you aren't familiar, this means picking the teams that will win and advance in the tournament. For some, picking winners (and gambling) is more fun than the actual sport! This year, Microsoft has partnered with the NCAA to make Bing the official bracket data partner. Will the search-engine pick winners?
Understanding the potential of watch apps
I have been a bit of a wearables skeptic ever since Android Wear was unveiled at Google I/O last year. Following that, Apple's original announcement of the Apple Watch just added to my list of questions about the category. Hoping to find some answers, I watched yesterday's Apple Watch keynote with great interest. Curiously, what I found were more questions.
Before jumping in, I have to say that I really enjoyed the recent debate around the Apple Watch (for completely non-analytical reasons). The certainty with which some have predicted the imminent success or failure of the product has been very amusing. Unfortunately, my powers of clairvoyance aren't nearly as evolved, so all I have are questions. That said, it could be worth studying some of the arguments put forward in these debates.
Motorola brings personalization to Android Wear watches with Moto Maker
Motorola introduced Moto Maker as a way to let customers personalize phones with all sorts of adventurous designs from wood to pigskin and all manner of other things. However, the company was also among the first to jump into the Android Wear space, bringing the new smartwatch platform to everyone. Now the two are combining.
Today the company announces that the same sort of customization is arriving for your smartwatch -- providing, of course, that it's Motorola branded. You'll get three cases and nine bands to choose from as you walk through the process. Motorola also points out that you can "complete your design by choosing one of 11 watch faces. Once you get your watch, it’s easy to swap watch faces from our collection or through Google Play".
New Windows 10 build could come this week -- as could a 'Ludicrous Speed' ring!
When it was announced that Microsoft was making Windows 10 available as a public preview, there were promises of frequent build updates. There have now been a number of builds of Windows 10 Technical Preview, but as it has now been more than a month since the last update, the natives are starting to get restless. We've had to keep our interest piqued with screenshot leaks.
Gabe Aul has taken to the official Windows blog to explain why builds seem to be taking longer to be released. He goes on to reveal that we could see a new build this week or next week. So what's been going on?
Microsoft announces Designer Bluetooth Desktop -- wireless keyboard and mouse
Quite often, when a person buys a desktop from a manufacturer like HP or Dell, it will come with a wired keyboard and mouse. For the most part, the included input devices are passable, but nothing to write home about. Please know, however, that there is a whole world of great keyboards and mice out there -- including wireless options -- ready to make your hands happy.
Today, Microsoft announces a new wireless solution called the Designer Bluetooth Desktop -- a wireless keyboard and mouse. It connects by, you guessed it, Bluetooth, meaning a dongle is not needed if your machine has such a radio. The Designer moniker is quite appropriate, as not only are they both svelte, but stylish too.
Website CAPTCHAs are a big turn off for users
We're all familiar with CAPTCHAs, those images you have to retype as text to prove that you're a real person and not a bot. The bad news for businesses that use CAPTCHA on their sites is that it seems they're pretty effective at deterring humans too.
New research from bot detection specialists Distil Networks suggests that CAPTCHA use is bad for business as it makes surfers more likely to abandon a page.
PSPad is a versatile programmer's editor
What is a "programmer’s editor"? Some developers seem to think it’s essentially a regular text editor with syntax highlighting bolted on, but if you need more, you might want to take a look at the free PSPad for Windows.
The program doesn’t just open local text files, for instance. A built-in FTP client means you can edit files directly on the server. An "Open… from internet" opens any URL, and an integrated hex editor enables you to work on just about anything.
DreamHost reveals government and legal requests
We all know that web hosting companies receive legal requests ranging from copyright take down notices to search warrants. But how many such requests do they receive and where do they come from?
US hosting company DreamHost has released a first of its kind transparency report detailing all of the requests it's received in the last year. The three most common types are DCMA/Copyright notices, government requests -- such as those related to criminal investigations -- and requests to remove or censor content, usually related to defamation or privacy suits.
Kickstarter now accepts Apple Pay for that project you want to back
A number of popular projects have come from crowd-funding via Kickstarter. It's a great place to find new and innovative ideas. Many things there fail to reach their goal (although it could be argued that the market for those items made the decision), while others blast past the funding goal and enter the market. Pebble watch is a great example of that success.
There is some peace of mind when donating money -- for one you will get the product. But, if it fails to hit the goal you aren't out anything. Now you'll have one more option for funding that next great product. Kickstarter is announcing it will start to accept Apple Pay.
How to thwart spear phishing attacks
Many of the recent, large data breaches such as Target, Anthem, and Sony started with a sophisticated spear phishing attack: an email targeted at specific individuals within a corporation that is engineered to look legitimate and fool even tech-savvy users. The email either has a malware-laced attachment or a malicious link that when opened installs malware in order to attempt to gain system access and steal data.
Unfortunately, since stealing data is lucrative nowadays, these spear phishing attacks are often very sophisticated and hard to spot since they have been composed with considerable effort and target only a small number of individuals. The emails look legitimate so regular spam filters cannot identify them and not all anti-malware engines will always be able to detect the malware in the attachment. So what can companies do to protect themselves against spear phishing attacks?
Cloud-based template management helps keep business documents on-message
As enterprises expand across national and technological boundaries it can be hard to ensure that all the documents they produce reflect the brand image and follow compliance rules.
Issuing guidelines for document production is one thing but ensuring they're obeyed is another. Danish company Templafy has an answer in the form of a cloud-based template system which launches in the US today.
Apple's new MacBook is much better than Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 -- here are 9 reasons why
Apple has finally announced the new lighter-than-Air MacBook we were all waiting for. And, as expected, it's spectacular. It's so attractive that I can't possibly imagine why my colleague Brian Fagioli would claim that Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 is better. We are living on the same planet, aren't we?
Brian is terribly wrong, of course. But I'm not surprised, because he is, after all, a Surface Pro 3 user, and has been from the get-go. So it's easy for him to miss all the things that make the new MacBook so much better. He could only come up with six reasons to make his case. I offer nine reasons -- tangible benefits -- that prove otherwise!
All aboard the Internet of Things bandwagon
If you’re a sports fan, you’re likely familiar with the term "bandwagon fan" -- we all know someone that has "jumped on the bandwagon" based on a team’s recent success. Often, these "fans" face backlash from diehard followers due to a perceived lack of prior support and limited knowledge of the team.
However, in the technology world, being a bandwagon fan can be the difference between success and failure. Think back to the introduction of the Internet -- from the beginning there were skeptics who believed it was just another fad that wouldn’t amount to much in the end. As the Internet gained momentum, it became clear that those who didn’t jump onto the bandwagon would soon be left in the dust.
Ryft delivers faster business insights with new big data analytics platform
Big data by its very nature needs complex analysis and that doesn't sit well with the demands of enterprises for information to respond quickly to operational needs.
To address that Maryland-based Ryft is launching a new analytics platform aimed at speeding up the processing of big data and providing faster insights.
Xbox One update brings party chat enhancements, screenshots and more
Microsoft continues to update its latest gaming console on a regular basis, though the company also keeps the Xbox 360 alive as well. Now a new update rolls out to the Xbox One, bringing all sorts of features that fans have been waiting for since the box debuted in late 2013. In fact, Xbox Live's Larry Hryb, AKA Major Nelson, states "This month’s system update on Xbox One brings you some of the most-requested features by our fans".
First up is screenshots, which should make many gamers happy. Simply double-click the Xbox button on the controller to snap a shot, then press Y to save it. Or, even better, you can say "Xbox take a screenshot" and handle both tasks at once.
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