In the spirit of democracy, Linus Torvalds recently started a poll on Google+ to decide on the version number of the next Linux kernel. Should it be Linux v3.20 or Linux v.4.0? Well, the people have spoken, and Torvalds has listened -- albeit somewhat reluctantly.

With 56 percent of the vote, v4.0 came out on top, so that's what the next version will be called. Torvalds made the revelation at the same time as announcing the availability of Linux 4.0-RC1. Oh... and it's codenamed "Hurr durr I'ma sheep".

Continue reading →

Most of the biggest IT security risks aren't new but are threats that have been around for years or even decades.

This is one of the findings of the latest HP Cyber Risk Report published today which looks at pressing security issues facing enterprises during the previous year and indicating likely trends for 2015.

Continue reading →

Internet technologies have penetrated into all areas of our life and changed it dramatically. With their help, people are able to implement most of their activities from reading favorite books and newspapers, communicating with each other, playing online games to booking tickets and buying particular products and services through their desktops, smart phones and tablets. As the number of online users has increased, plenty of different businessmen and even large companies and corporations have decided to move their ventures into Internet to get additional revenues. This technique appeared to be one of the most effective and lucrative, as it allows to find new customer segments and promote business projects in a short period of time.

Currently, the online business environment is full of various websites, which try to attract client's attention by a pleasant look, useful customer services and loyalty programs. However, website owners forget that a significant part of future success depends on a hosting plan they use for their online business activity. The more powerful your server is, the more high-speed and accessible your website will be, what will help you build strong relationships with your visitors for many years to come.

Continue reading →

Gemalto, the world’s largest producer of SIM cards, which made headlines last week for reportedly gettings its encryption keys stolen by the mighty NSA and GCHQ spying agencies, says its SIM cards, as well as banking cards, passports and other products are secure, a conclusion it reached after conducting a round of initial investigations.

The Intercept published a detailed report last week based on confidential documents it gleaned from whistleblower Edward Snowden, in which it revealed that America’s NSA and UK’s GCHQ hacked the systems at Gemalto to steal the encryption keys. By getting access to the keys, the agencies were able to directly tap phone calls, and monitor messages, among other things, on millions of mobile phones.

Continue reading →

Samsung has not yet officially announced the successor to Galaxy S5, but we all know that the wait is almost over. The unveiling is scheduled for March 1, during the first Unpacked event of 2015. What we do not yet know is what the new device looks like.

So far, teasers have only given us vague details about its appearance, as Samsung has tried to keep as much as possible for the main event. However, T-Mobile has decided to expose more of Galaxy S6, releasing a teaser which shows the side of the upcoming smartphone quite clearly. And it looks awesome.

Continue reading →

Mobile World Congress (MWC) kicks off next week, but ahead of the big event LG announces a quartet of mid-range Android handsets. Each of the four phones runs Android 5.0 Lollipop and each is available in LTE and 3G variants -- the former has a metal rear cover, and the latter's is plastic.

The Magna, Spirit, Leon and Joy all share something of a similar look and LG describes the range as combining the "perfect balance of style and usability". At the top of the current batch is the LG Magna, which boasts a 5-inch screen, 1.2GHz or 1.3GHz quad core CPU (exact specs are region-dependent), 1GB RAM and 8GB of storage.

Continue reading →

It’s not only the smartphone market in which Samsung has lost the pole position, but tablets as well. The South Korean media conglomerate is no longer the largest tablet vendor in India, the emerging market for digital devices where the tablet share grew by 3.6 percent quarter-on-quarter, reports IDC.

As per the stats provided by the marketing research firm IDC, Indian OEM iBall captured the maximum market share (15.6 percent) in the country last quarter. Samsung managed 12.9 percent share, and was followed by Datawind with 9.6 percent share, Lenovo with 9.4 percent share, and HP with 8.7 percent market share.

Continue reading →

Colder regions make great places for building data centers. Operators can leverage the colder air outside to cool those hot servers, without relying much on costly tools like air conditioners and the like. When we're talking about thousands of servers all running in the same place, the savings are substantial. And so is the positive impact on the environment, thanks to a healthy decrease in energy requirements and emissions.

It should come as no surprise that Apple has announced Denmark and Ireland as the locations of choice for its two new European data centers. The two countries are also favored by other players in the tech industry, like Google and Microsoft. Apple's new data centers will power online services for European customers.

Continue reading →

It has been a few weeks since Microsoft released the Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 9926, and Windows Insiders are now champing at the bit for the next version. Mobile users have been kept happy with the release of Windows 10 Technical Preview for Phones, but desktop and laptop users now have some more snippets to whet their appetites.

Over the weekend, screenshots from a couple of new builds were leaked online by the renowned Wzor. First of all we were treated to a glimpse of build 10014, and shortly afterwards images of Windows 10 Professional Technical Preview Build 10022 appeared. Another revelation is a set of release note relating to build 10014. So what do we have to look forward to?

Continue reading →

Stories about potentially malicious software emerge practically every day, but it’s not often that a high-profile PC manufacturer admits to deliberately installing harmful files on consumer devices. However, that’s exactly what happened last week, when Lenovo was found to be pre-installing adware on its devices without the owner’s permission.

Superfish, as the adware has been dubbed, is reported to affect Lenovo units purchased between the latter half of 2014 and January this year. While its ability to insert third-party advertisements into Internet Explorer and Google Chrome searches is annoying, the way that it installs its own security certificate is invasive and possibly harmful.

Continue reading →

Buy even the most basic consumer scanner and you’ll probably get some very capable scanning software with a pile of image processing features. But while that’s great if you’re looking to scan a photo, it might not be so useful if you just need to quickly scan a document and send it somewhere else.

NAPS2 (Not Another PDF Scanner 2) is a straightforward alternative, an open source tool which is designed to scan documents to PDF, TIFF and other file types "as simply as possible".

Continue reading →

With Microsoft’s recent unveiling of the Hololens, Windows 10, and the new Spartan browser, many commentators are suggesting that the software giant is finally getting back to a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to the market. Some would even go as far as to suggest Microsoft are now attempting to be 'cool' akin to their trendy rivals. Microsoft’s entrance into the Smartphone arena, however, was anything but proactive or cool.

Lagging behind the innovations of rivals, it’s fair to say Microsoft’s attempts to establish themselves have previously been somewhat overshadowed by the likes of Apple and Android’s continued dominance. The Lumia 535 certainly isn’t as revolutionary as the Hololens, but neither is it necessarily a reactive creation by Microsoft. Rather, Microsoft’s attempts to develop an affordable smartphone is a proactive approach and there’s much to be admired about the Lumia 535; given its $132 price tag. It’s certainly progress on its predecessor, the 530, and its sleek design is pretty cool. Granted, the phone has its flaws and it isn’t ground-breaking in any way, but it is refreshing for the other thing it won’t break, namely, your bank account.

Continue reading →

Martin Scorsese is a damn good director. He is behind such classic films as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Casino, and Goodfellas. As a New Yorker of Italian heritage, I pretty much have to like the guy. Not all of his work is gold though. Bringing Out the Dead is a personal favorite, though not a classic. I downright hated Gangs of New York and The Departed, but people seemed to enjoy those, so what do I know?

What I do know is that Apple has tapped the man for its latest iPad advertisement. Titled "Make a film with iPad". The one minute video is narrated by Scorsese, although he is never seen. This is probably for the best, as his signature unwieldy eyebrows might scare Apple's hip demographic.

Continue reading →

Microsoft and Minecraft are two of the biggest entities in their respective fields -- software and gaming. While the former captures most desktop users, the latter has become an almost obsessive fascination for kids and even many adults. Logic dictated the two should team up, and that's exactly what happened when Microsoft bought Mojang and Minecraft last year.

As a testament to the partnership, two kids -- Alec Baron and Alessio Tosolini -- are using Minecraft in a cool and geeky way. The work, according to the boys, took more than 100 hours of collaboration. When they were finished, they had recreated the Microsoft Production Studios in Minecraft.

Continue reading →

Kaspersky Software Updater is a free stand-alone tool which regularly checks for updates to critical software, alerts you when any are discovered, then downloads and installs them with a click.

It’s not entirely clear which software is supported, but from our tests it seems to cover the main internet-facing applications and components: browsers, Java, Flash, Adobe Air and so on.

Continue reading →