The challenges of securing Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services is the world's most popular infrastructure as a service (IaaS) platform and is built to suit enterprises of all sizes looking to reduce their computing costs by shifting to the cloud.
One of the key considerations in such a move is keeping data secure and AWS has various free and chargeable mechanisms to help with this. A new report from NSS Labs looks at the advantages of AWS as well as some of the challenges organizations face when moving to an (IaaS) environment.
Better camera performance coming to flagship Nokia Lumia smartphones
The Lumia Cyan software upgrade, which is set to roll out this summer, brings Windows Phone 8.1 to the crop of Nokia-branded Windows Phone 8 smartphones. Hardly surprising, the latest firmware will come bearing other gifts on top of a better operating system, among which are a slew of changes designed to squeeze extra performance out of high-end PureView cameras.
In a Q&A session on Nokia Conversations, when asked about the firmware's imaging changes, Microsoft's Juha Alakarhu reveals that the Lumia Icon, Lumia 930 and Lumia 1520 cameras are the Windows Phone 8, PureView-equipped devices that benefit from Lumia Cyan. Here are the sort of improvements users can expect to see.
Apple opts for an out of court settlement to avoid $800m eBook fine
Apple has avoided an $800 million bill from a clutch of US states and other complainants by reaching an out of court settlement in a controversial price-fixing case.
The settlement, the terms of which are yet to be revealed, still has to be ratified by the court and both sides involved in the deal have 30 days to submit a filing to US District Judge in Manhattan Denise Cote for it to be approved.
Create flowcharts, mind maps and more with Software Ideas Modeler
If you need to create a diagram then there are plenty of free options around, from basic drawing tools to more specialist freebies like NCH Software’s ClickCharts.
But if you’re looking for something serious, something industrial strength, with the power to handle a major project, the free (for non-commercial use) Software Ideas Modeler could be a great choice.
This is the Samsung Galaxy S5 you really want
The Samsung Galaxy S5 can get easily lost in a crowd of Android flagships. Compared to any of its well-known rivals, like the HTC One (M8) and Sony Xperia Z2, it fails to differentiate itself when it comes to screen resolution, processor choice and RAM capacity. And, compared to the more recent LG G3, it clearly loses the fight.
Some folks expected Samsung to release the Galaxy S5 with Qualcomm's mighty Snapdragon 805 processor and a higher resolution display, which would have given it the edge over the increasingly fierce competition. Now, the South Korean maker is doing just that, by adding a better version of its flagship smartphone to the lineup. Meet the Galaxy S5 LTE-A.
Flipora updates its discovery engine and this time it’s personal
Relying on search engines or social networks to discover things you're interested in on the net can be a bit hit and miss. The things you see on your Facebook feed for example are influenced by your friends' interests as well as your own.
Flipora aims to change the process of following your interests online by using artificial intelligence to make recommendations related to the things you really want to see.
Android smartphones shipping from factory with malware
Hardware being shipped with viruses or malware is not a new thing. In the past, there have been flash drives that were accidentally infected at the factory and made it into customers' hands. However, in the new age we live in, where nothing can be trusted, there becomes an increased paranoia in trusting hardware. There is no telling what backdoors or spy software is installed by foreign governments to spy on US Citizens. Hell, the US Government could do it too!
Sadly, it seems Android phones are being shipped pre-loaded with malware according to German security company G Data Software. Before you panic and throw your phone into a lake, please know that so far, this is only discovered to exist in Europe on what seems to be a clone of the popular Galaxy S4. In other words, if you are in the USA you are probably safe -- for now. However, there is no telling where else the trojan Android.Trojan.Uupay.D may secretly be residing.
Batch convert documents to PDF, PNG, TIF or JPG with DocuFreezer 1.0
Anyone who's tried Print Conductor will know how great it is for speeding up the wearisome process of printing out documents of different types in one go from your Windows PC.
Now the folks at fCoder are at it again, providing another free-for-personal-use tool to speed up batch processing. This time, however, DocuFreezer 1.0 is designed to speed up document conversion to PDF.
Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 is better than Apple's MacBook Air -- here's 5 reasons why
Nowadays, if you buy a brand new laptop, it is hard to buy an absolute lemon. Unless you scrape the bottom of the barrel at Best Buy and get some god-awful $200 underpowered computer, you should be fine. Hell, even that inexpensive computer may meet some people's needs. However, some of us spend many hours of each day on a computer, so it makes sense to invest in something great. If you are reading BetaNews, I'm sure you fall into that category. If you ask me which computer to buy, I would recommend many (depending on budget), but two stand out among the rest.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and Apple MacBook Air are great balances between portability, power and cost. Yes, there are more powerful computers, but they are often very heavy and have terrible battery life. Portability cannot be underestimated when it comes to a laptop's value and both of these machines are super thin and light. Last month, my colleague Mihaita pondered the question of which was better based on specs alone. However, as someone who has used both, hands-on, for long periods of time, I am ready to definitively tell you that the Surface Pro 3 is better. Do you agree?
BYOD or CYOD -- which is the right choice for your organization?
Over the past few years it seems that the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) phenomenon has taken businesses by storm, and on the face of it you can see why.
Employees pay for their own devices, which means that businesses avoid the majority of the associated upfront costs. Workers are often happy to do this, as it means they can bring their favorite gadget to work and not be forced into using a corporate one they might be unfamiliar with. These employees already know the ins-and-outs of their devices and, as a result, are often much more productive when working on them. However, due to security and practical resource concerns, not all companies have adopted the BYOD approach with gusto.
Manage Windows services from the desktop with ServiceTray
If you're managing or troubleshooting a PC then it's often useful to keep track of an important Windows service. The regular services applet handles the basics, but the free ServiceTray goes further with extra features and far better real-time feedback.
Setup is simple, mostly about choosing the service to be monitored (it only tracks one at a time) and your preferred system tray icon. ServiceTray can then generate an icon in the Startup folder, or your desktop, as required.
Netflix brings Breaking Bad to 4K
4K, also known as Ultra HD, is coming. In fact, it's here, few people can yet take advantage of it, but that's OK, as there is little content to view anyway. Netflix made a small splash when it released the latest season of House of Cards in 4K, but now it is diving in deeper.
The streaming service announces that it is bringing all 62 episodes of the hit show Breaking Bad into the Ultra HD revolution. "Netflix and Sony agreed on an early subset of IMF for the transfer of the video and audio files for Breaking Bad. IMF stands for Interoperable Master Format, an emerging SMPTE specification governing file formats and metadata for digital media archiving and B2B exchange", says Kevin McEntee of Netflix.
Birst brings powerful analytics to SAP HANA
The SAP HANA in-memory analytic tool can be deployed in house or in the cloud, but to get information from it users have previously had to choose between aging legacy business intelligence (BI) tools that take months to implement and require large teams to support, or limited data discovery tools that are restricted to analysts.
Now though cloud BI specialist Birst is launching a new product to make data analysis more accessible.
My Nokia Lumia life begins
Second in a series. Sunday started an unexpected journey long anticipated. I walked out of Microsoft Store San Diego holding my first Nokia since abandoning the brand in 2009. Before Nokia imploded, first unable to respond to Apple innovations and next by adopting Windows Phone as primary platform, I preferred the handsets -- using over the years the N95, N96, N79, N97, and N900.
I am the proud owner of the Lumia Icon, which marks my family's slow migration to Verizon from T-Mobile. AT&T would make more sense, since the iPhones my daughter and father-in-law use would work unlocked. If the Lumia 930 were available, I could go to the Blue rather than Red network from Pink (which becomes Yellow if purchased by Sprint). My initial reaction is surprisingly good, of the handset and Windows Phone 8.
Avast's new Android app removes ransomware from infected phones and tablets
Of all the malware threats out there, ransomware is arguably the nastiest. It locks your computer, encrypts your files, and then demands payment to free your data. You can remove it easily enough, but doing so won’t get you your files back. And unfortunately ransomware is beginning to make its way on to Android devices.
Avast has just released a Ransomware Removal app which will eliminate this type of threat from infected Android phones and tablets. It scans your device, tells you if you’re infected and if you are it will remove the malware and (according to Avast) decrypt your hijacked files.
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