Light Alloy is an ultra-configurable media player
At first glance, Light Alloy looks and feels much like any other free media player. Drag and drop your source files, open discs, play and pause individual tracks, manage playlists, all the usual core basics.
The program handles this well, too, with strong support for just about every format you’ll ever need (and plenty you won’t). But that’s just the start. For us, Light Alloy’s real highlight is its interface.
Spanning offers new backup solution for Office 365
As more and more data gets moved to the cloud it's easy to forget that it still needs to be protected against corruption and loss.
Cloud backup specialist Spanning has a new solution for Office 365 users with the launch of an enterprise grade cloud-to-cloud backup solution. It's aimed at bringing the same application-centric focus and backup and restore expertise to Office 365 that it already has for Google Apps and Salesforce solutions.
Alabama's LGBT anti-discrimination bill to be named after Apple's Tim Cook
It's only a few weeks since Tim Cook announced that he is gay and the impact is already starting to be felt. The Apple CEO wrote in Bloomberg Business that "I'm proud to be gay", and his coming out has proved to be inspirational, even in the short time between then and now. Now an anti-discrimination bill in Alabama is to be named after him.
Alabama is in the process of passing a bill that will make it illegal for state employers to discriminate against workers on the basis of their sexuality. Democratic state Representative Patricia Todd is the Alabama's only openly gay lawmaker and she proposed the billing, mentioning Tim Cook's name "in jest".
New Clarizen release delivers extra enterprise productivity
Whilst access to data is often the key to things running smoothly in business, providing access to that data for the right people at the right time can be a challenge.
Enterprise collaboration specialist Clarizen combines social engagement with powerful project management to redefine enterprise collaboration and has announced a new release of its product bringing a number of tools together in a single solution.
Social networks reimagined as guys -- hipsters, businessmen and kooks
A little over a year ago, fashion photographer Viktorija Pashuta released images from a photo shoot entitled What If Girls Were Internet Browsers. It was a simple, fun idea in which Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Chrome and Safari were given female personas and represented by models. Now Viktorija has a new project -- What if Guys Were Social Networks.
The idea's very similar to last year's project. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+, tumblr, Pinterest, flickr and LinkedIn are all anthropomorphized into eight men, each with their own unique look and personality. In the line-up of social networks, all of the major players are represented, but the new kid on the block, Ello, is notable by its absence.
Yahoo use soars and Google nosedives as Firefox 34's great search switcheroo begins
Two weeks ago Mozilla announced that it would be jettisoning Google as the default search option in Firefox, opting instead to go for Yahoo, the search engine that most right-thinking people stopped using, and caring about, years ago (at least Mozilla didn’t select Ask.com).
Firefox 34 launched at the start of the month, with Yahoo as the default choice for US users, and instantly the newly selected search engine saw a massive increase in usage.
Technical issue prevents Microsoft from paying Xbox Live Indie Games devs
The holiday season is probably the worst time to discover that due payments are going to be late, but that's exactly the position independent Xbox game developers find themselves in. Developers awaiting payments for Xbox Live Indie Games on Xbox 360 (Xbox One is not affected) have been told that a problem with Microsoft's payment system has delayed payments to "select developers".
The apology was issued via the ID@Xbox Twitter account late last night, and there are already numerous replies from disgruntled developers. It's not clear exactly what the problem is or why only the Xbox 360 platform has been affected, but these details are of little concern to developers just looking to get paid.
iPhone 6 Plus accounts for 41 percent of phablet sales in US
Most consumers who buy one of Apple's latest smartphones end up with the smaller model. In fact, iPhone 6 is outselling its bigger brother, iPhone 6 Plus, by a ratio of three to one in US, and an even higher ratio of four to one in Britain. However, Apple shouldn't be worried that its first phablet is nowhere near as popular as the "standard" iPhone 6.
That is because iPhone 6 Plus is actually a hugely popular device in its category, accounting for 41 percent of phablet sales in US in the three months ending October 2014, despite being on sale only from mid-September onwards. What does that mean in the grand scheme of things?
Apple's new patent aims to limit the damage caused by dropping your phone
You know how a slice of bread always falls on the buttered side? Or how a cat, when dropped onto its back, always somehow manages to turn around mid-air and land on its feet?
Well, basically, Apple has been awarded a patent that does just that -- makes sure its products, when dropped, land exactly how they want them to land. Of course, this desired landing will be one that is the least likely to damage crucial components.
Samsung rolls out Android 5.0 Lollipop update for Galaxy S5
Samsung is not as fast as rival makers HTC or Motorola when it comes to rolling out software upgrades to the latest version of Android, but the company appears to be finally cleaning up its act. Not too long after Google released Android 5.0, Lollipop is now available for Galaxy S5.
The epicenter for the Android 5.0 Lollipop roll-out is Poland, a market Samsung has frequently used to commence roll-outs of new major software upgrades. The company is currently targeting users of the SM-G900F version of Galaxy S5, which, as some of you may know, is the model featuring a Qualcomm processor (Snapdragon 801).
Russia and China have the best hackers
So which country boasts the most skilled hackers? Well, that would be Russia and China, at least according to a new report from MWR InfoSecurity.
In a survey of UK cyber-security pros, MWR found that 34 percent believed the most skilled hackers are Russian. China was second, although quite some distance behind Russia with 18 percent saying Chinese hackers were the most highly skilled.
Bluetooth 4.2 is here -- chock full of new features
Bluetooth has proven to be quite the impressive standard; it has seen wide adoption, and is found in most modern cellular phones (both smart and dumb). Hell, it is even found in many automobiles nowadays.
While an incremental update to the Bluetooth standard probably won't make the evening news, it is a very important moment in the tech world. Today the Bluetooth Special Interest Group announces exactly that -- version 4.2 is now officially adopted. Even though the version number change is slight (from 4.1), the new version is big on new features.
Google to launch kid-friendly versions of its most popular products
Like any company, Google wants to appeal to as many people as possible. Google Docs has been tweaked to increase its appeal to enterprise and business users, and Gmail is constantly primped and poked. Appealing specifically to children is not an entirely new idea for the search giant -- Google Code-In is targeted at 13-17 year olds, for instance -- but now Google is setting its sights on a younger audience.
Talking to USA Today, Vice President of Engineering at Google, Pavni Diwanji explained that the company is looking to create new versions of its products that are "fun and safe for children". Starting next year, the company will launch new versions of existing services, this time aimed at those aged 12 and under.
Attention developers -- Google increases Calendar API quota to 1 million daily requests
When you are a developer, the world is not all roses. Sure, it is very rewarding to bring your ideas to life, but sometimes your imagination is limited by the software with which you are forced to use. You see, many services offer an API, which enables your software to connect with it. Ultimately, if it is user-based data, you can push and pull information to and from a users account.
Google's calendar is such a service that offers an API, but sadly, applications were limited to 100,000 requests per day. While this might be sufficient for some developers, it apparently was not good enough for all -- the search giant is increasing this to 1 million daily requests.
Microsoft wants you to be heard -- delivers Bing Pulse 2.0 beta
With so many people in the world, it is easy to feel like you don't matter. In the USA in particular, the country is deeply divided, causing nearly half the country to feel misrepresented on the issues. Even worse, citizens may feel alone in their ideals and beliefs, as they don't necessarily know how others feel.
Today, Microsoft is not only aiming to help people be heard, but also offering transparency into the thoughts of others. Bing Pulse 2.0 is a new way for participants of live events, or TV-watchers at home, to vote in real-time on various topics. In other words, it is a great tool to engage an audience.
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