Want a free Samsung Galaxy Note 8? Here's how
There are lot of ways to get your hands on a free tablet -- stick it on your birthday wishlist, win one in a competition, steal one. But there's also another option: get yourself to university. At least this is a path to a free tablet -- a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 specifically -- if you happen to be a first year student at the University of East London. 4,000 students will be handed a brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 when they start their studies. The venture will cost the university £2 million (around $3.25 million), but the vice-chancellor thinks that it is money well-spent.
It might not be the newest tablet on the market, but few students are likely to turn their noses up at the freebie. Professor John Joughin said, "We are delighted to be putting support directly in the hands of our students and providing them with a state-of-the-art learning platform for the duration of their studies", explaining that equipping students with the tablets will create a "level playing field for all of our students".
What a shocker! FBI head complains about Apple and Google's encryption practices
Apple and Google do not want the US Government to be able to access your private data, even when search warrants are involved. It's a bold stand they're taking, which has been applauded by privacy advocates and, quite probably, criminals as well. But, guess what? That does not sit well with the authorities. FBI Director James Comey is troubled by the idea that the all-mighty agency that he runs can be stopped dead in its tracks when trying to see your intimate photos, videos and whatnot. Imagine that.
Here's what the fuss is all about. If encryption is turned on, the encryption key, that is needed in order to access the data that is stored on an Android or iOS 8 device, is in the user's control, instead of Google's or Apple's. As such, this allows the companies to be unable to comply with search warrants. It's clever: you can't give what you don't have.
Private cloud deployments lead to better quality of enterprise IT
According to an IDG survey commissioned by information management specialist CommVault, private cloud adoption can lead to better IT services, greater agility and reduced risk for businesses.
In order to help companies make the most of these advantages CommVault is introducing a Private Cloud Services Design product that means customers can build a service-centric approach for data management supporting the private cloud in approximately six weeks.
Apple tests the iPhone 6's durability using Windows XP
Apple has been under fire this week over claims that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus bend when carried around in a tight jeans pocket, or someone making a YouTube video exerts a lot of force on the device. In an effort to counter this bad press, the tech giant has announced that just nine customers (to date) have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone (out of ten million), and it even went so far as to give CNBC an exclusive look inside its testing labs.
Anyone worried about how rigorously Apple tests its phones will have been calmed by the news that the iPhone 6 was exhaustively tested 15,000 times before being released, and the video showing that Apple uses only state-of-the-art equipment when testing for endurance and durability was reassuring too. Although CNBC then tweeted a picture from the labs revealing test results being recorded on a less-than state-of-the-art Windows XP system.
Shellshock Bash -- What every business needs to know
A worrying new security vulnerability means that all Apple Mac computers, about half of all websites, and even internet connected home appliances are all vulnerable to hackers. Security experts are saying it's even worse than this year's Heartbleed fiasco. But what is Shellshock exactly, and what does it mean for the security of your business?
Shellshock exploits a vulnerability in Bash. Bash, an acronym for Bourne Again Shell, is a command-line shell used by many UNIX computers. UNIX is an operating system on which many others are built, such as Linux and Mac OS. So if any part of your business runs on a Unix-based operating system, it could be vulnerable.
CCleaner's free edition gains Active System Monitoring
Piriform Ltd has released CCleaner 4.18 and CCleaner Portable 4.18, the latest versions of its popular Windows cleanup tool.
This time the big addition is a limited version of Active System Monitoring, a smart feature previously reserved for the commercial CCleaner Professional. Turn it on and CCleaner monitors your system, checking for junk, and lets you know when it’s time to clean up.
The Ryder Cup is the most technologically advanced golf event ever
This year's Ryder Cup in Scotland is one of the most technologically advanced golfing events, thanks to the introduction of Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFIT).
Spectators receive a special wristband with their tickets which allows them to take part in various activities around the course, such as the BMW car display, the Ryder Cup Experience with Standard Life Investments and the 'Walk the Course' competition from Active Scotland.
ACDSee 18 and Pro 8 deliver smarter, easier photo editing
ACD Systems has unveiled the latest versions of its flagship photo editors, ACDSee 18 ($79.99, $39.99 upgrade) and ACDSee Pro 8 ($199.99, $59.99 upgrade).
Both editions include a new Explorer extension, PicaView, which previews an image from its context menu and launches ACDSee with a click.
Bye bye, Facebook. Hello, Ello?
It's very easy -- some would say fun -- to bash social networks. MySpace was a very easy target, and Twitter comes in for criticism from time to time, but it's Facebook that tends to bear the brunt of people's ire. Mark Zuckerberg's social (advertising) network hits the headlines quite frequently, but it's been on the lips of many in recent weeks after starting to aggressively implement its "real name" policy. It's something that initially upset drag artists around the world but it's also something that affecting musicians and other artists who have opted to use a stage name. In recent days another name has bubbled to the surface. It's not brand new, but Ello has been hard to avoid over the last few days. What’s going on?
It's clear that the fallout from the drag artist incident that social network users have been seeking out new homes where they are free to be whatever they want to be. This is something that Ello seems to offer. If you want to hide behind a pseudonym, adopt a different online persona, run multiple account under different names, pretend to be someone else, or just smirk at the fact you can call yourself Farty McPoopButt if you feel so inclined, you're onto a winner here.
ocenaudio is an outstanding audio editor
There are hundreds of free audio editors around, and if your needs are basic -- trimming an MP3 here, maybe adjusting volume there -- then just about any of them will do.
Finding more capable editors can be a real problem, but there are a few around, and ocenaudio is a very interesting example.
Apple takes a mulligan -- releases iOS 8.0.2 to replace the faulty 8.0.1
Apple makes amazing products and software, but every company is bound to make a mistake. Unfortunately, iOS 8.0.1 was quite the doozy. You see, the update crippled the brand new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus by taking away the ability to make phone calls and use the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Apple was responsible however, and pulled the update very quickly. Before the update was removed, many people had already applied it and found themselves in dire straits.
Losing the ability to make phone calls is not only annoying but extremely dangerous too. Forget about the teens that just want to talk about gossip and the mall, and consider medical professionals that depend on communication or a stranded mother on the side of the road. Today, Apple rights a wrong and releases iOS 8.0.2 which undoes the damage of the previous release and introduces other bug fixes too. Kudos to the company for fixing the bug so quickly.
Samsung manufacturing 3.2TB (terabyte) PCIe SSD -- is the traditional hard drive obsolete?
Building desktops is a hobby I still enjoy, even if the younger crowd tends to gravitate towards tablets. Don't get me wrong, I love both the Surface Pro 3 and iPad Air, but there is something satisfying about building something on your own. I particularly like selecting each and every component, like a solid state drive, so that it is uniquely my own.
Lately, the prices of solid state drives have been dropping, but don't be fooled; SATA III is saturated, meaning most drives on the market will soon be obsolete. The future you see, is drives that connect directly to PCIe in a card format. Yes, your future SSD may look like a USB card or sound card. Today, Samsung announces a piece of tech that is sure to excite many nerds -- a 3.2TB PCIe SSD. Whoa.
Dear Rupert: Google responds to News Corp, shoots down criticism
A week ago, in a letter to the European Commission, News Corps complained that Google is a 'platform for piracy' with 'cynical management'. Today, having gathered together its ammunition, Google responds with a letter of its own. Although News Corp's letter was signed by CEO Robert Thomson, Google's reply starts with the salutation "Dear Rupert" -- addressing CEO Rupert Murdoch -- and the search giant picks apart the complaints levelled at it. One of New Corp's key complaints centered around the idea that Google is riddled with pirated material, and "unlawful and unsavory content", and this is one of the first ideas that Google shoots down.
Countering accusations of being a platform for piracy, SVP Global Communications, Rachel Whetstone, points to the 222 million copyright infringing websites that were delisted last year. The existence of copyright protecting ContentID technology to help detect infringing footage on YouTube is also cited, as is efficiency in weeding out inappropriate contents such as sexual images of children.
Taiwan could ban Xiaomi smartphones over data security concerns
Xiaomi has found itself under scrutiny due to concerns that it may be a security threat, with the Taiwanese government expected to make a decision on the smartphone company within three months. It is unclear whether this could lead to a ban on Xiaomi's low-priced smartphones in Taiwan.
A statement on the website of Taiwan's executive branch on Tuesday referred to the fact that some of the company's smartphones automatically send user data back to the Xiaomi servers in Beijing, resulting in a risk of security breaches.
Surface Pro 3 cleared for takeoff -- FAA and EASA give Microsoft the thumbs-up
Flying is terrifying for me, which is arguably illogical. Plane crashes are fairly rare, but turbulence still causes me to wet my pants (no, not literally). What tends to calm me is knowing that a professional pilot is in charge of the plane, and is using the best technology.
Unfortunately my choice for the best tablet, the Surface Pro 3, was not previously permitted for use as an electronic flight bag for pilots during the entire flight (an EFB is a device used for performing flight management tasks). This changes today however, as both the FAA and EASA give Microsoft a big thumbs-up, and authorizes it for uninterrupted in-flight use.
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