Want to push 4K video from your mobile device? MHL makes it so, with USB Type-C connector
When USB was first introduced to consumers, it changed everything. The connection standard made adding peripherals and accessories extremely easy. Before it, adding things over parallel or serial ports was tedious and confusing for consumers.
USB has evolved and become faster over the years, however it is slowly learning new tricks too. USB is now capable of pushing high-quality video, but now it goes further. You see, mobile devices will be able to push 4K video over the upcoming USB 3.1 Type-C connection, thanks to MHL's new "Alternate Mode".
Force HTTPS connections for any app with SSL Enforcer
Accessing websites via an encrypted HTTPS connection is a great way to protect your personal information, and especially important when you’re using public Wi-Fi.
It’s easy to forget, of course, or use HTTP by accident. But that’s where SSL Enforcer comes in. It’s a free system-level tool which looks out for HTTP connections from any application, reroutes them to use HTTPS, or otherwise blocks them entirely.
Microsoft will roll out Lumia Denim firmware update in 2015
When Microsoft announced the Lumia Denim firmware in early-September alongside Lumia 830, Lumia 735 and Lumia 730, the software giant said that it will be rolled out in a future update for existing Lumia Windows Phone 8 handsets, running lesser versions, in Q4 2014. But, as we are in the middle of the last quarter of the year, Lumia Denim has yet to make its way to most compatible Lumia handsets.
While there is still time for Microsoft to commence the much-awaited roll out, it looks like the software giant will only give Lumia Denim to most of its Windows Phone 8 customers in early 2015, according to UK mobile operator O2.
Zoom images online with Power Zoom for Chrome
Power Zoom is a Chrome extension which makes it easier to browse thumbnail images online.
There’s no clicking, no opening images in a new page or tab, no need to click Back afterwards: just hover your mouse cursor over the thumbnail, the linked full-size image is downloaded, and displayed in a pop-up over the current page. Move your mouse away, it disappears, and you can repeat the process elsewhere.
When to find the best cyber shopping deals
'Tis the season to go and spend lots of money, as we approach Thanksgiving (in the US), Christmas, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and other shopping opportunities.
With November and December sales expected to top $616 billion dollars, payment processing specialist Merchant Warehouse has produced an infographic looking at what to expect from the holiday shopping season.
The new Kindle reader -- bang for your buck [Review]
If you have grown tired of hardback and paperback books, then a Kindle may be your answer. Coincidentally, Amazon has released two new models, a standard and the Voyage, which my colleague Brian Fagioli reviewed recently. These complement the existing Paperwhite, which has not yet been updated.
If you've never before owned a Kindle, a club I fell into, then you'll find many interesting aspects to the device, which we'll discuss as we go along. The most prominent feature is obviously e-ink, and that isn't new to the platform. But it's important for several reasons -- one, it makes your books look like actual books, and two, it preserves battery life beautifully. You can go weeks without charging.
87 percent of the top 100 paid iOS apps available as hacked versions
According to the third annual State of Mobile App Security report from application protection company Arxan Technologies, 87 percent of the top 100 paid iOS apps have been hacked.
Don’t feel smug if you're an Android user though as the report reveals 97 percent of the top 100 paid Android apps have been too. But whilst the Android figure is in line with previous years, the iOS percentage represents a jump from 2013 when 56 percent were found to have been hacked.
Could Facebook at Work put the work back into social networking?
There are some people who just can’t get enough of Facebook. Sharing the occasional thought or ponderance is not enough for many who feel the need to live out their entire lives on Zuckerberg's social network. A lot of workplaces -- perhaps sensibly -- block access to sites such as Facebook, but new reports suggest that the social giant is keen to enter the office on legitimate terms with Facebook at Work.
At the moment, Facebook is the bane of network admins' lives as employees find new ways to bypass restrictions that may be put in place. But the Financial Times says that it may soon be welcomed with open arms as a work-centric version of Facebook is rumored to offer Office- and Google-baiting document collaboration, and LinkedIn-aping professional networking.
Microsoft: MacBook Air users, are you really, really sure you don't want Surface Pro 3?
If you are a MacBook Air user, chances are you are pretty happy with your device. It may not be the fastest or the lightest laptop around, but it has a great keyboard, gets amazing battery life, is more affordable than ever, can run Windows, and, thanks to iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite, works great with iOS 8 devices. Even Microsoft is impressed, calling it "great" and "delightful".
Microsoft, however, believes you can do better. In a new video ad made for this holiday season, the software giant once again aims to make MacBook Air users finally see the light, and realize that the device they should be using is Surface Pro 3. But if MacBook Air is already "great" and "delightful", why would someone want to switch?
Energous: Wirelessly charging electrical devices over-the-air is safe and not wasteful [Q&A]
Three weeks ago, Energous announced a partnership with appliance manufacturer Haier Wireless, to add its WattUp wire-free charging transmitters to a wide range of home appliances. This will allow phones, tablets and other devices to charge over-the-air, just by being in range of an equipped appliance, such as a washer, microwave or fridge.
I spoke to Gordon Bell, Director of Marketing for Energous, to find out more about WattUp and the company's future plans.
Gartner: How Internet of Things will disrupt the world
Gartner research indicates that the rapid growth in the number of Internet-connected devices will become a powerful force for business transformation and will have a disruptive impact across all industries and all areas of society. Forecasts predict that 4.9 billion connected things will be in use by 2015, an increase of 30 percent compared to today, with the figure set to reach 25 billion by 2020.
Jim Tully, vice president and analyst at Gartner, explains how companies need to embrace IoT if they want to survive in the changing business landscape. "The digital shift instigated by the Nexus of Forces (cloud, mobile, social and information), and boosted by IoT threatens many existing businesses. They have no choice but to pursue IoT, like they’ve done with the consumerization of IT".
Uncovering the real value of online reviews
We've become used to the fact that for pretty much any product or service we want to buy there will be reviews available online to help us with our purchase decision.
These reviews matter to businesses as they can have an impact on sales. Open review community Trustpilot has carried out a survey looking at how online reviews can influence the bottom line.
Is cyber insurance your last line of defense?
The recent spate of payment card breaches that have plagued the retail industry this year has prompted many merchants to consider investing in cybersecurity liability insurance policies to offset the costs associated with a breach recovery. These companies often make this choice based on the belief that the money they’ve spent to comply with industry security standards has failed to prevent these breaches from occurring, and there seems to be no other alternative. At least one recently filed claim has led to a lawsuit that will put these cybersecurity insurance policies to the test.
The key element of such lawsuits is determining liability -- who is at fault -- to determine whether the claims are justified and if the insurance companies will pay out. Finding a party liable for something means determining if the party was taking reasonable steps to prevent such actions from happening.
Mastercard and Visa working on new online payment verification system
Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard are planning to get rid of their current online security verification system, and replace it with something a bit more modern and secure.
You’re probably familiar with either Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode, which pop up when you make an online purchase, just before the payment is officially put through. They ask you to input letters from an extra password to verify that it’s actually the card owner making the purchase -- but in contemporary terms, this is a relatively unsophisticated security measure.
State Department email system shut down after hacker attack
Reports from Associated Press reveal that the State Department has closed down its email system following a security attack. The news comes after the details of a hack attack on the White House in October were made public. It seems that the State Department's unclassified email system was attacked at the same time, and technicians are currently working to repair the damage.
It was suggested that last month's White House hack was linked to Russia, but it is not yet clear whether the attack on the email system is part of the same security breach. The email closure is described as "unprecedented", but officials insist that classified data systems have not been affected.
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