Momentum continues as Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines move to Surface Pro 3
It may have taken a few tries, but Microsoft is gaining momentum with its tablet/laptop, the Surface Pro 3. The device, which includes an optional keyboard, was released a couple of months ago, and sales seem to be lively from what we've heard.
It's not a major surprise, as businesses love Windows, and now more are adopting this platform. Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines are moving to Surface Pro 3. Microsoft claims it is adopting "certain commercial requirements" in an effort to make the device more appealing to the enterprise.
UK mobile broadband to get faster and cheaper thanks to moves by Ofcom
Ofcom has announced it will soon make more frequencies available to mobile broadband, resulting in increased speeds and a cheaper service.
By using the 700MHz frequency band, currently in use by wireless microphones and digital terrestrial TV broadcasts, consumers in rural areas should also receive improved coverage.
skobbler’s 'Scout' app takes on TomTom
Telenav subsidiary skobbler has announced the release of GPS Navigation & Maps -- Scout, a powerful -- and now free -- travel app for iOS and Android.
As with the previous skobbler app, you get online and offline maps (via OpenStreetMap), and voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation for cars, cyclists and pedestrians.
Cloud adoption set to rocket in 2015
A global survey carried out by Equinix has found that, over the next 12 months, the majority of business applications will be deployed to not just one, but multiple clouds across several geographies.
Of the 659 respondents, 77 percent said they planned to deploy to multiple clouds in the next 12 months and 74 percent expected cloud services to command a larger budget in 2015.
Caution: Wide Load -- AOC announces 34 inch UltraWideQuad HD Monitor
While 1080p is a very common monitor resolution nowadays, 4K is poised to become the next big thing. With that said, Dell and Apple have launched products with 5K resolution, so who knows what will happen. While 4K and 5K are both darn beautiful, they are designed with movies in mind. While many people use their computers to watch films, others, such as myself, use their computers for work (imagine that).
AOC is one of my favorite display manufacturers, and today, the company announces a new monitor designed for the working crowd; not the gaming and movie-watching folks. You see, it is a very wide 34 inch monitor with a 3440 x 1440 resolution. What does this mean? It is like having two 20 inch monitors side by side!
Convert eBooks/Office documents to PDF with Icecream PDF Converter
Utilities developer Icecream Apps has released Icecream PDF Converter, a capable tool for converting a range of file formats to and from PDF.
There are plenty of similar applications around, but what’s interesting here is most conversions are handled in the background by a bundled copy of Open Office.
Free tool detects 'government surveillance spyware'
Free software that can detect the presence of surveillance spyware has been launched by a global coalition of human rights and tech organizations.
Organizations including Amnesty International, Privacy International, Digitale Gesellschaft and Electronic Frontier Foundation have teamed up to unveil the open source tool Detekt.
Yahoo is the new default search engine in Firefox -- Google gets kicked to the curb
Google is one of the best search engines, providing relative results with a clean design. There is a problem though -- Google also offers a web browser. Why is that a problem? Well, it is a strange thing for a competing web browser to use the Google search engine. It's like Ford using Chevy parts in its cars -- blasphemy!
A great example of this is Mozilla Firefox. The Chrome web browser is slowly eroding Firefox usage share, so it has felt odd that Mozilla was sticking with Google's search engine for so long. Well, today everything changes, as Mozilla selects Yahoo as the new default search engine in Firefox for both desktop and mobile. Will users applaud or decry the announcement?
Microsoft is giving away free goodies to celebrate a year of Xbox One!
Celebrate good times, come on! Microsoft recently celebrated the 13th birthday of the original Xbox, but now it is time to celebrate yet another birthday. You see, the newest console from the company, the Xbox One, will be turning a year old this Saturday.
Normally, people give gifts to the person celebrating a birthday, but today Microsoft is going in a different direction. If you are an Xbox One owner, it is time to get very excited -- Microsoft will be giving all of you gifts! However, the fun does not stop there; the company will also randomly be giving away games to owners too.
Google releases free open source game to highlight Android TV multiplayer gaming
Many people consider open source to be the future. It is hard to argue with this, as it allows software to be adapted to different environments. Most importantly, it allows users to view the code, and prevents malicious aspects, such as backdoors. In other words, you never know what is hiding in closed source software.
Today, Google embraces open source in an effort to highlight multiplayer-gaming on Android TV. How? Well, the search giant releases a free open source game called "Pie Moon". It is available now in the Google Play Store.
Free up space in Windows 10 with the new Disk Cleanup System Compression feature
Windows 10 Technical Preview is very much an early work in progress. Microsoft is releasing new builds on a fairly regular basis (although the next one isn’t expected until the New Year), and implementing changes based on user feedback. Personally I’m liking what I’m seeing so far.
Although Microsoft discusses the major new features and changes in each build, there’s still some hidden functionality that you may not be aware of. Case in point is the little known System Compression option tucked away in Disk Cleanup.
Mozilla, EFF and others join forces to encrypt the web with free security certificates
It has been a long time coming, but the web is slowly transitioning away from HTTP to HTTPS. Google has done it with Gmail, and Yahoo did the same with its webmail service, and security advocates would like other websites to follow suit. The problem, for smaller sites at least, is the cost involved. But a new venture between Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Mozilla, Cisco, the University of Michigan and IdenTrust will eliminate the cost obstacle when it launches next summer.
The partnership has brought about the creation of Let's Encrypt, a new certificate authority that will provide free security certificates to those who need them. It is hoped that handing out cost-free certificates will encourage more sites to adopt the HTTPS protocol. But Let's Encrypt does not just eliminate the financial hurdle.
NoSQL is much more than just the cherry on top of the company cake
How do you define the success of a technology implementation? Should it be judged by how it helps to add short-term value in certain individual areas of business? Or should the yardstick be its ability to enable your entire organization to take a giant leap forward?
Clearly, it’s not possible for every piece of hardware or software introduced within a business to have a revolutionary, transformative impact. However, perhaps it’s worth considering whether or not you are at least maximizing the impact of the tools you have at your disposal and using them to drive as much value as you can. It’s important to remember that the elephant in the room in every technology purchase, is the question of 'why?'
Managing mobility in the age of BYOD
Mobile device management (MDM) solutions have been an enterprise mainstay for years, enabling IT to manage enterprise-owned smartphones and tablets in a way similar to how PCs and laptops are managed -- by taking complete control of them. But when it comes to personal mobile devices entering the IT environment via bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs, MDM solutions struggle to provide the flexibility that IT now requires.
As the name states, MDM is focused on managing devices. It allows IT to control the entire environment of a smart device: provisioning, tracking usage and location, enforcing policies, ensuring security encryption, pushing approved enterprise apps to the device, and locking the device down or wiping it if necessary. It is a heavy-handed but very useful approach to managing corporate-owned smartphones and tablets. When it comes to personally owned devices, however, IT cannot take the same approach. Users don’t want to give IT complete control over their device. They don’t want their usage and location tracked when they aren’t at work. They don’t want to be limited in the kinds of apps they download and use. And they don’t want to give IT the power to access or wipe personal information, such as photos and text messages.
Logitech AnyAngle is a snazzy and versatile case for both the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini
The iPad is a wonderful tablet that people love the world over. Sure, Apple has its detractors, and people tend to focus on the deficiencies of the iPad, but its continued popularity is no fluke; it is enjoyable and useful with a ton of great apps. Unfortunately, the tablet's power is limited by its form factor. In other words, other than Microsoft's Surface line, the average tablet cannot stand on its own or be positioned for comfortable desk typing.
Case manufacturers have enabled some brilliant solutions for making the iPad more versatile, and Logitech has been on the forefront in that regard. In fact, Logitech has garnered quite the praise and respect from the iPad community for its cases and keyboards. Today, Logitech continues this tradition, with the attractive Logitech AnyAngle case. It is compatible with the iPad Air 2 and all models of the iPad mini.
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