penguin

Best Windows 8 apps this week

One-hundred and fourteen in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8 in the past seven days.

Microsoft is expected to release a new version of its upcoming operating system Windows 10 on January 21 to the public which should shed more light on the company's plans in regards to its Windows operating system.

By Martin Brinkmann -
fearlolli

Android 5.0.2 Lollipop now available for 2013 Nexus 7, 10 -- here's how you can install and update

Android 5.0 Lollipop is far from perfect, arriving with nasty bugs that have affected battery life, performance, Wi-Fi and more. The first update that Google launched, version 5.0.1, managed to fix some of the problems users have reported, but some major ones persist even to this day. Personally, I am seeing my 2013 Wi-Fi Nexus 7 running excruciatingly slow at times, even with the first update in tow.

Fortunately, Google also launched a second update not long after the first, which fixes even more bugs, however it only launched it for the first-generation Nexus 7. Now, the search giant is making Android 5.0.2 Lollipop available for the 2013 Wi-Fi Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 as well, in the form of new factory images.

By Mihăiță Bamburic -
security padlock

The cost of dealing with false positive malware alerts

False positives are often accepted as a fact of life with anti-virus programs but a new survey commissioned by breach detection specialist Damballa reveals that they have a significant cost for businesses.

The study produced by the Ponemon Institute reveals that enterprises spend $1.3 million a year dealing with false positive cyber security alerts, which equals nearly 21,000 hours in wasted time.

By Ian Barker -
ThumbStudio200-175

Build web galleries, slideshows with Arclab Thumb Studio

If you’d like to share a set of images then you could email them to a few recipients, maybe upload them to Facebook or Twitter.

But if you need more professional results then you might be interested in Arclab Thumb Studio, a powerful freeware tool for building HTML galleries, slideshows and more.

By Mike Williams -
cassette player

Fast forward to the 1980s as the cassette player makes a comeback

For anyone under 30 it may be hard to remember a time when you shared your musical tastes via mixtapes rather than playlists, when the top of every bus shelter was adorned by a broken cassette trailing yards of tape, and when loading a home computer program involved a tense few minutes hoping that you wouldn't suffer a read error before the end of the tape.

Well, prepare for a wave of hissing and clicking nostalgia as the cassette player seems to be making a comeback. According to UK catalog retailer Argos sales of cassette players over the past three months are 45 percent higher than the same period last year.

By Ian Barker -
War is declared: US and UK to engage in cyber attacks

War is declared: US and UK to engage in cyber attacks

The US and UK usually get on pretty well, but plans are afoot for the two nations to stage cyberwar on each other. Later this year, Wall Street and the City of London will be subjected to a series of attacks that is being described as "unprecedented".

But this does not signal a breakdown in the "special relationship" that extends across the Atlantic, rather the "war games" are part of a venture between the two countries to help improve security. The aim is to expand information sharing in a bid to stave off real cyber attacks that could be launched by other nations.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
colombia

Facebook's Internet.org delivers free online access to Colombia

Facebook’s Internet.org app, providing free online access in developing countries, has just launched in Colombia.

The service, which lets users access a number of web-based services such as Wikipedia, health and employment information, and Facebook without paying data-charges, had already launched in three African countries.

By Barclay Ballard -
Power2Go10-200-175

CyberLink Power2Go 10 converts media to mobile-friendly formats

CyberLink has announced the release of Power2Go 10, its one-stop burning, backup and multimedia conversion suite.

The major new functionality is reserved for Power2Go’s Media Converter, which now provides over 150 profiles to help convert your media to a more mobile-friendly format.

By Mike Williams -
Marriott hotels back down on plans to block guests' Wi-Fi hotspots

Marriott hotels back down on plans to block guests' Wi-Fi hotspots

The Marriott chain of hotels has backtracked on its plans to block guests' Wi-Fi hotspots. The group had previously indicated a desire to make use of blocking equipment with a view to increasing security. But the likes of Google and Microsoft saw this as undue interference and decided to fight the plans.

Marriott International went as far as applying to the FCC for permission to use signal blocking equipment, but it has now done a complete 180 and announced that no Wi-Fi blocks will be put in place.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Neko Cat and TV

13 new shows arrive on Amazon Prime -- couch potatoes beware

If you're fond of watching TV, and most folks are, then you likely have some accounts with online services to supplement your viewing options. Several good choices exist, one of which is provided by online retail giant Amazon. Prime includes video streaming that competes with rival Netflix and now it's beefing up the original content available from this service.

13 new shows are debuting on the service, though they are pilots only. Amazon prefers to let the viewers decide what becomes a series and what gets shelved. So, your viewing and comments help here.

By Alan Buckingham -
Denim-inline5

Windows Phone fans, get excited -- Microsoft pushing Lumia Denim to more devices

I have a confession; I love Windows Phone. I must whisper this, as Microsoft's mobile operating system has fallen out of favor with the tech community. Well, it was never popular to begin with, but lately, even fanboys have been jumping ship. It's hard to blame them, as there are many limitations to the platform; most notably apps. With that said, I still enjoy it.

If you are like me, and haven't yet given up on Windows Phone entirely, you are in for a treat. Today, Microsoft announces that Lumia Denim is officially rolling out for more devices this month. What does this mean? If you have a Lumia handset, better performance and new features are on the way.

By Brian Fagioli -
Game saucepan

A live video chat with Microsoft's Major Nelson and Xbox team -- watch it here tonight!

Regardless of which console you prefer, Xbox One or PlayStation 4, one thing is for sure -- you love video games. Sure, the consoles can do much more than gaming, but it would be silly to spend so much money to just watch video services; you can buy a Roku or Fire TV instead. So again, if you own a game console, you do love video games.

With that said, I am sure you love reading and talking about them too. Tonight, Larry Hryb, aka 'Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson', is conducting a live Google+ Hangouts session with fans. Not only can you listen to and watch him speak about video games, but interact with him and the Xbox team too. Even if you are a PlayStation fan, you should be excited for the opportunity to chat with the Director of Programming for Xbox Live. So what are you waiting for? Watch it here with us, live!

By Brian Fagioli -
Ready yourselves, Windows 10 Technical Preview users! Updated program terms ahoy!

Ready yourselves, Windows 10 Technical Preview users! Updated program terms ahoy!

Microsoft has sent out emails to people signed up for the Windows Insider program, informing them that changes are on the way to terms and conditions. These changes will affect anyone who is using Windows 10 Technical Preview which is due for a new build very soon.

There have already been several public preview builds of the next version of Windows, and it is widely expected that the next big update will be unveiled in under a week's time on January 21. "The next chapter" of the Windows 10 story is due -- possibly including a Windows Phone 10 preview -- and it seems that new terms and conditions are needed.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
old computers

IT debt and legacy systems

In 2010, Gartner issued a controversial press release: "Gartner Estimates Global 'IT Debt' to Be $500 Billion This Year, with Potential to Grow to $1 Trillion by 2015".  IT debt was defined as "the cost of clearing the backlog of maintenance that would be required to bring the corporate applications portfolio to a fully supported current release state".

In Gartner’s view, most IT departments had been forced to ignore keeping applications properly updated, especially after years of budget cuts. At the same time businesses kept adding new applications, creating an unstable hodgepodge that would need to be addressed at some point in the future. And ignoring it isn’t a good thing. Until it’s addressed, IT debt is a "hidden risk" that threatens the entire business.

By Brandon Jones -
BearGlass

Google Glass is dead -- will anyone mourn its passing?

Google Glass was an interesting project, but now it is no more. It never really took off, and was never likely to. It was ahead of its time -- promising much, but never quite delivering. Along the way it encountered numerous stumbling blocks -- it cost a fortune, made you look daft, and could well result in you getting mugged, or thrown out of a cinema if you tried to wear it while a film was on.

Google has said that it will stop producing Glass in its present form, and will instead focus on "future versions", but that’s just the search giant’s polite way of avoiding saying the project is dead, and the Glass team will be using its corpse as a stepping stone to something new.

By Wayne Williams -
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