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!"
UK web users are the most likely targets for phishing scams in the world
Phishing scams are a problem around the world -- and it's likely that one or more was at least partly responsible for the Fappening -- but it seems that it is more of a problem in some places than others.
Just about all of us have received emails that contain malicious links, but analysis by Proofpoint found that web users in the UK are more than two and a half times as likely to receive phishing mail as those in the US. Germany fairs much better, receiving just a fifth of the number of scam emails as the UK. But these numbers are not the whole story -- phishing emails account for just a portion of unwanted emails.
Microsoft announces new line of accessories for Windows, Android, iOS, and Xbox One
Regardless of your opinion of Microsoft or its venerable Windows operating system, there is one thing that is undeniable; the company makes great hardware. If the world is ever destroyed by a comet or nuclear war, probably the only thing left remaining will be Microsoft mice (they are that tough).
Today, Microsoft announces some brand new accessories designed to improve the lives of consumers. However, the focus is not only on interfacing with its own products like Windows and Xbox One. No, Apple's iOS and Google's Android are invited to the party too.
PagerDuty delivers advanced reporting and visualization
Monitoring of IT systems is only effective if you're able to interpret the data you collect and act on it in a timely manner. This is especially true when it comes to resolving incidents.
Operations performance management company PagerDuty is launching new advanced analytics tools to provide IT teams with insights into team and system performance. Using operational metrics like incident frequency and time taken to respond and resolve, companies can now drive even faster incident resolution. At the same time it gives managers the opportunity to understand and improve the key factors that drive uptime.
Ant-sized chip could pave the way for the 'next wave of wireless devices'
Engineers at Stanford University have developed a radio the size of ant that they claim could make a big impact on the fledgling Internet of Things (IoT) market.
The computer chip, which is just a few millimeters across, is powered by harvesting radio signals and so requires no external power.
New Dell partnership strengthens enterprise risk management
In the event of a major problem, whether it's a cyber attack, political unrest or a natural disaster, getting critical information to the right people in a timely manner is crucial.
To address this, Dell Software has formed a partnership with enterprise risk visualization software company, IDV Solutions to integrate Dell's AlertFind enterprise notification solution with IDV's Visual Command Center. The combined product will give companies the ability to monitor and respond to security threats by enabling communication with affected employees when a risk occurs (via email, text, voice, pager or fax) and track real-time status of message recipients to know who has responded and who may require assistance.
Oculus VR could revolutionize education
Facebook’s Oculus VR wants to transform the school classrooms of the future with a new breed of virtual reality [VR] headset that its creators think will be big part of the education sector.
Brendan Iribe, chief executive of Oculus VR, told The Chronicle of Higher Education that his prototype that secured the $2 billion [£1.2 billion] takeover by Facebook is even more impressive than the current incarnation.
PaaSLane 2.5 release adds new capabilities for cloud developers
The PaaSLane tool for assessing the cloud-readiness of applications has been available for two years and has helped many organizations transition their software smoothly. It's able to detect outdated architecture, weak security, platform issues and more.
Now Cloud Technology Partners has brought out a new release to allow Java and .Net developers to assess and optimize their source code for the cloud more quickly and efficiently.
Cisco adds threat focus to its firewall platform
The firewall is usually the first line of defense for any network, but most offerings are focused on access policy and application control which makes it hard for them to respond to zero-day and more advanced attacks.
Now networking company Cisco is launching what it calls the first threat-focused Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW). Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services provides the contextual awareness and dynamic controls needed to automatically assess threats, correlate intelligence, and optimize defenses in order to protect networks.
Cheap handsets in India and China fuel huge global surge in smartphone shipments
New figures show that global smartphone shipments for 2014 are set to be 19 percent higher than the previous year. Juniper Research reports that handset shipments are forecast to jump from 985 million in 2013 to 1.2 billion this year.
Smartphone popularity continues to rise, and this has been driven -- at least in part -- by the appearance of handsets with bargain basement prices. While the likes of Apple push premium-priced smartphones, emerging markets are lapping up handsets priced at $150 and under.
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