The Iranian government is reportedly working on a new system to block Internet anonymity.

The Middle Eastern nation, which has a long history with online censorship, will be able to identify any individual who goes online in the country according to the AFP.

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Google has opened up its arms to Microsoft License Mobility for Google Cloud Platform. Product manager Martin Buhr said that customers had been asking for improved support for Windows-based workloads, and now these wishes are being met. There are several key improvements to Google Compute Engine that help to make Windows on Google a reality.

Microsoft License Mobility is the big news, meaning that Google now supports SQL Server, SharePoint and Exchange Server without the need for extra licenses. The second announcement is the availability of a beta version of Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter Edition on Google Compute Engine which opens up the opportunity to run Windows applications in the cloud.

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A report recently issued by PWC suggested that wearables adoption will mirror the phenomenal rise of tablets in the enterprise. Apparently a fifth of adults in the US already own a wearable tech device and additional sales could top 130 million units in 2018. Enterprise vendors are watching these predictions carefully and starting to anticipate their arrival into the workplace with dedicated platforms, such as Salesforce1.

Although many applications being developed are for medical workers and white-collar users, it is not difficult to see why wearables also offer great potential for the same-day delivery industries. They provide a significant opportunity for achieving service improvements through more seamless interaction with customers. Added to this, proof of delivery is more secure and evidence to refute claims of lost or damaged consignments can be captured automatically, potentially without the customer even realizing it.  Customer service benefits aside, wearables also support hands-free working, which means productivity and efficiency levels can be further improved on existing rates achieved from using 'traditional' mobile devices.

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German multimedia developer Ashampoo has unveiled the latest edition of its flagship disc mastering suite, Ashampoo Burning Studio 15.

The headline addition is new support for M-DISC, an optical media type which, in theory, can remain readable for 1,000 years.

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I consider myself to be a bit of a world traveler, having been to Canada, Europe, Mexico and more. Sadly, I have not yet visited the Middle East. While I can't currently afford a trip there, I also don't go due to my own trepidation. Whether misguided or not, the US Government does issue travel warnings, so it is understandable to be hesitant to travel there.

With that said, some of the area has a good reputation; Dubai for example, besides being beautiful, is supposedly safer than other cities. Still, the US Government does warn about travelling there too. Luckily, if you are fearful of going there, or just can't afford it, Google is bringing the city to you. Yes, Dubai is the first city in an Arab country to get Google Maps Street View.

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Today marks the start of the 2014 Computer Science Education Week. As part of this, the second annual Hour of Code is being used to introduce school children to the basics of programming. Students around the world are encouraged to take part in the event which is organized by non-profit Code.org.

The venture has the backing of Barack Obama who is keen to nurture the next generation of coders and computer scientists. And there's no reason to be put off. To quote the president, "becoming a computer scientist isn't as scary as it sounds. With hard work and a little math and science, anyone can do it".

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When it comes to computer building and upgrades, one of the most important components is a solid state drive. Sadly, many computer manufacturers still utilize spinning hard disk drives in their machines -- a shame, really. Yes, a HDD may be a more cost-effective way to achieve greater storage, but from a performance standpoint, an SSD is far better.

There are many great manufacturers of solid state drives, but Samsung is one of the best. Not only are its offerings reliable, but fast too. Today, the company announces the 850 EVO SSD, featuring a 3-bit 3D V-NAND.

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If Microsoft wants Windows Phones to have a higher market share than the current 2.8 percent, it needs to step up its applications game.

The current state of affairs is simple: There are just not enough apps. Some apps have hundreds of fakes and rip-offs in the store, some available for Android or iOS are simply missing for Windows Phone and arrive half a year late.

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PhotoStage Slideshow Producer is a free-for-personal-use video slideshow creator with plenty of unusual extras.

Installation is quick and easy. We politely declined the bundled Google Toolbar, and a few seconds later the program launched.

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There are positives and negatives to being a tester of early versions of Windows. On one hand it means being able to try out new features before they are officially released, but on the other it means putting up with a variety of problems. Preview builds of Windows used to be all but unheard of, but now anyone can get their hands on early bits to get a taste of things to come.

The preview program for Windows 10 has been slightly different to the way things worked in previous early versions of Windows. This time around it is even possible to upgrade to new builds without the need to reinstall from scratch, and it's looking as though it will also be possible to upgrade to the RTM version when it is released next year.

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Moving applications to the cloud is a major step for businesses and finding the right partner to make the transition a success is vital.

The latest fruit of the long-standing alliance between technology consulting specialist Accenture and Microsoft is aimed at providing a powerful hybrid cloud platform to bring new capabilities, economics and innovation to the enterprise.

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Ralph Baer, the man credited with helping develop the world's first commercial video games console, died this weekend at the age of 92. He may not have been exactly a household name, but without Baer, video gaming as we know it might have taken a very different turn. Without him, the Xbox One and PS4 might not yet exist.

The German-born electronic fanatic and inventor's work led to the creation of the Odyssey console. The games unit was launched by Magnavox in 1972, managing to pre-date Pong, and Baer went on to invent the first light gun for games as well.

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dotPDN LLC has released Paint.NET 4.0.5 FINAL, a minor update that follows swiftly on the heels of a more significant update at the end of last month.

Version 4.0.4 introduced one major new feature and promised performance improvements, while 4.0.5 squashes a number of significant bugs that emerged after the previous update.

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More than two months after it introduced Passport in black, BlackBerry today announces that its latest smartphone is now also available in red and white. The two new color options were introduced for pre-order in late-November, but are only just now shipping.

Both the red and white Passport are officially available from Amazon and BlackBerry's own online store. Both companies list the smartphone as being in stock; taking the Amazon route coupled with one-day shipping will get you a new Passport tomorrow, December 9.

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After last month's blizzard of patches tomorrow's last round of Windows updates for the year looks set to be rather quieter.

Only seven bulletins have been announced, of which three are rated Critical and four Important. Of the Critical patches one is for Internet Explorer, one for Office and one for Windows itself -- likely to be for a remote code execution vulnerability.

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