Datastickies and the rebirth of the cassette -- the future of data storage
Remember when floppy disks really were floppy? Or the joys of loading programs on a home computer from a C15 cassette? In just over 40 years storage technology has gone from these crude devices to cloud servers that put terrabytes of space in reach of anyone.
But where does the future lie? Hardware supplier Ebuyer has produced an infographic looking at the direction storage may take in the future.
Amazon Kindle's new old bug could expose your account credentials
A security flaw in Amazon's Kindle software could allow hackers to access your Amazon account details.
Benjamin Daniel Musser, a security researcher, discovered the issue, which arises when downloading e-books from websites other than Amazon itself.
Firefox OS expands its reach in Asia, another market added
There's one more smartphone platform on the market, although it's far behind the big, established names. Mozilla has released Firefox OS, which is aimed at emerging markets. Now the organization is taking it to one more, adding an Asian nation to its resume.
Telenor Group is bringing the platform to Bangladesh after hitting India just a few weeks ago. "At a press conference in Dhaka, Grameenphone, the local operator for the Telenor Group, announced that sales of the GoFox F15 (produced by Symphony) will start this week", says Mozilla.
Wearable tech: Where do we draw the line?
Wearable tech is back in the forefront with the release of the Apple Watch. Apple’s entrant is sure to help the sector overall, with expectations of tens if not hundreds of millions of devices to ship annually from Apple and others by the end of the decade.
This success does not come without its share of questions, however. Unlike our cell phones, tablets, and video game consoles, this new class of devices are different. For a lack of a better way to say it, they are a part of you. Its use carries significant societal and moral implications.
How to prepare your iPhone and/or iPad for iOS 8
The latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system is set to be released officially today.
Before you install it, it’s worth taking a few steps to make sure your device is ready for the update (and of course if it’s jailbroken, and you want to keep it that way, you’ll want to avoid updating until a jailbreak is made available for the new OS). Here’s what you should do in advance.
3 million comments prove people care about net neutrality
More than three million comments, from consumers, businesses and other organizations, have been submitted in response to the controversial US debate over net neutrality.
The controversy has arisen over whether Internet service providers, such as Comcast and Verizon, should be allowed to introduce fast lanes, delivering paid-for traffic to users more quickly.
SwiftKey: Top Android keyboard reaches iPads and iPhones
Stock mobile keyboards tend to suck. There's always a deal-breaker somewhere that offsets all their strengths. There is friction when typing in multiple languages, the language support is limited, abbreviations and the like are a no-go, the layout can be unintuitive, there is a limited amount of customization options, or the touch vibrations are too harsh. Take your pick. I have ran into all of them. But, fret not, there are some solid keyboards out there.
The one keyboard which I am a huge fan of is SwiftKey. It shames every stock keyboard and it's generally better than any other third-party offering. With Google being the only mobile operating system maker to allow third-party keyboards, it has only been available on Android. But, now that Apple has followed suit, you can get your hands on SwiftKey on an iPad or iPhone too. And you should, first of all because it's free!
Internet users say they want privacy but behave like they don't
We all say that we want privacy and security online, yet we indulge in potentially risky behaviors that put this in jeopardy according to a recent study commissioned by Trend Micro and released to coincide with the launch of its Internet Security 2015 product.
Activity like browsing suspect websites and allowing apps to access public information from their social media profiles puts people’s privacy at risk. Also 67 percent of people let their browser save passwords for websites. Trend Micro says saving passwords leaves them susceptible to being hacked, especially in light of recent retail security breaches.
How to do the smart thing and migrate from Android to iPhone 6
For the majority of Android users, the idea of moving from a handset running Google’s mobile operating system to the iPhone holds zero appeal. But I did it last year, and I couldn’t be happier. For me, iOS is by far the superior operating system (and I use iOS and Android daily), and the iPhone is a great handset.
If you’re thinking of making the move from Android to one of Apple’s new sized-up iPhones (and you won’t regret it), the process is pretty painless and Apple has created a new support page explaining how to move your photos, music, documents, and more.
FileOptimizer 7.0 beta adds lossless FLAC compression
Javier Gutiérrez Chamorro has released the first public beta of his one-stop lossless compression tool, FileOptimizer 7.0.
The major new feature is support for optimizing FLAC files. Our first tests suggest this is going to take a long time (minutes per file) and achieve maybe 2 or 3 percent savings, but it’s still a welcome addition to the package.
O&O Defrag Professional 18 integrates with Syspectr platform, promises reduced defrag times
Berlin developer O&O Software has unveiled O&O Defrag Professional 18.0 32-bit and O&O Defrag Professional 18.0 64-bit, a major new build of its renowned Windows drive defragmentation tool.
Version 18 introduces two new features of note: the ability to configure and use the tool remotely using a smartphone or tablet, and a History view that provides users with an analytical chart of how the program has accelerated the system.
ChrisPC Free Anonymous Proxy adds more proxies, improves speeds
ChrisPC has released the latest edition of its free-for-personal-use online privacy tool, ChrisPC Free Anonymous Proxy 5.50.
The upgrade seems to have concentrated on the fundamentals, now extending the anonymous proxy list to 1,000+ from more than 50 countries.
How Transport for London has embraced new technology over the years
Transport for London (TfL) has announced that a new contactless payment system is in operation across all London transport services, allowing customers to pay their fare with bank cards, smartphones, or even wearable technology.
While some commuters may be concerned that the news marks the beginning of the end for the Oyster card, transport in the capital has never stood still when it comes to technological improvements.
Dropbox users, beware -- iOS 8 breaks automatic backup of photos and videos [UPDATED, FIXED]
Generally, I am a rather mellow guy, but there is one thing that makes me stressed and paranoid -- photo backups. Yes, I am one of those guys that spends more time taking pictures of his life than actually living it. While I enjoy taking the photos, I also take great pride in my organizing and backing up of these precious family memories.
While I do not trust the cloud to be my sole source of backup, I use it for redundancy purposes. If a hard drive fails or is ruined in a fire or flood, I can be sure that my memories are retrievable. Dropbox is a great option for backups, but if you are an iOS user, you must be cautious. You see, if you upgrade to iOS 8 tomorrow, you will be hit by a nasty bug, which breaks the Dropbox automatic backup of photos and videos. This could be disastrous from a backup perspective.
Microsoft OneNote gains Android Wear support plus new iOS 8 and Windows Phone apps
Microsoft continues its recent trend of bringing exciting new features to rival platforms by adding Android Wear support to OneNote. The most recent version of Microsoft's note-taking tool -- suitably named OneNote for Android Wear -- and a new iOS 8-friendly version of the app is also due to launch today. If you've invested in an Android smartwatch (you'll have to wait a little longer for an Apple Watch version), taking a note is as simple as uttering "OK Google, take a note" -- but be prepared for a few weird looks when you try this out in a store for the first time.
To take advantage of the voice-activated features of the app, you will also need to have the main OneNote app installed on your Android phone or tablet. Forget the fact that your smartwatch doesn't have a keyboard -- notes can now be dictated to your wrist in a way that will not in any way make people who may be nearby think you're a little, er, strange. Or, as the Office Blog puts it, "we hope you enjoy using OneNote in a manner even Dick Tracy would envy!"
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