Latest Technology News

Software-defined networking (SDN) enabling the wireless LAN (WLAN) can help deliver a consistently high performance of critical business applications and simplify unified management of wired and wireless networks. However, to do this effectively, WLAN vendors need to provide solutions that offer immediate benefits to the IT department without any additional training or a "rip-and-replace" of existing controllers and access points.

It also means that these solutions must truly embrace the open architecture approach to SDN enabled by OpenFlow and advocated by communities and industry organizations like the Open Networking Forum and Project Open Daylight.

Gartner says that 3D printers will be used to print medical devices in just two to five years. According to Pete Basiliere, research vice president at Gartner, in the next half decade "3D printing of medical devices will offer exciting, life-altering benefits that will result in global use of 3D printing technology for prosthetics and implants".

However it could be a decade before consumer level 3D printing reaches the mainstream. Basiliere continued, "over 200 startups worldwide are developing and selling consumer-oriented 3D printers, priced from just a few hundred dollars. However, even this price is too high for mainstream consumers at this time".

Rdio, one of the top streaming music services, and SoundHound, an ace at recognizing what music you're listening to, are teaming up to bring better integration to customers. The two companies are announcing a new agreement that will bring them together in a unique way, allowing customers to utilize the two in tandem.

Beginning now, the latest SoundHound update will begin placing tagged songs into a playlist titled, appropriately enough, "Soundhound". This playlist will be accessible from within your Rdio account. The new service is named "Connect to Rdio".

There are thousands of image viewers available for Windows, and the chances are you already have more than you need. Does the free Honeyview have anything to make it worth a download? Let’s see.

One immediate plus is that the program comes from Bandisoft, developer of the excellent free archiver Bandizip, and a firm that knows exactly what it's doing.

When it comes to Chrome OS, the Chromebook reigns supreme. In fact, Google's operating system is viewed by many consumers as a laptop-only affair. However, the Chromebox has existed for quite some time now; it just has not caught on with consumers as much as the portable versions. The mini desktop form factor always feels like an afterthought when discussing Google's operating system.

It is understandable for people to pass on the Chromebox. You see, a Chromebook with HDMI or DisplayPort can also function as a desktop when connected to a large monitor, keyboard and mouse. In other words, why would a consumer or business user tether themselves to a desk rather than having the option to go portable? There are many reasons; business users may have requirements that a computer does not leave a location. For home consumers, one of the most important reasons is style and design. A Chromebox takes up little room on a desk and looks attractive; more than a laptop with a mess of wires. Today, Acer drives this point home by announcing the Chromebox CXI series -- super-slim, sexy and very functional.

Official Windows Phone apps are steadily growing in numbers and quality, as more and more developers support the platform and improve their existing offerings. PayPal is the latest top title to get a much-needed revamp.

Based on my experience, PayPal for Windows Phone was in dire need of a major upgrade, as it failed to provide the same features that Android and iOS users get. Fortunately, according to PayPal, much has changed with the latest version, suggesting that the subpar experience is a thing of the past now.

As thousands of students prepare to return to university over the next few weeks, new research by security ratings company BitSight shows that this is a busy time for hackers too.

The researchers found that Ivy League schools, for example, see a 48 percent increase in the number of malware infections during the academic year from September to May.

Even though 4G is undoubtedly the better technology for data consumption, in most markets across the globe 3G is still prevalent. The lower cost as well as the broader device selection certainly helps the latter remain attractive to consumers, at least until 4G is as readily available.

South Korean maker LG is keen to supply 3G-toting handsets going forward, as it announces the new Android-based L Bello and L Fino smartphones. The two, which are aimed at price-conscious consumers in "growing 3G markets", are said to pack solid specs, so let us take a look at what they have to offer.

Microsoft’s Bing Maps team has made a major update to its service, adding Streetside views (its version of Google’s Street View) to 64 new cities, and 3D maps to 29 new cities.

Among the new cities gaining Streetside views are Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Las Vegas, and Chicago. All of the Streetside additions are in the US. The new list of 3D cities also focuses on American locations, including Atlanta, Denver, and New Orleans, but Copenhagen in Denmark and Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria in Canada are also included.

Samsung has a new option for music fans with the addition of the Light Box mini to its line of Level premium audio products that doubles up as a microphone when calls are received.

The new speaker is 30 percent slimmer than its predecessor, the Light Box, and despite this it still provides the same high level of sound that is expected from Samsung’s Level products.

SanDisk has announced a new SSD solution with a range of capacities from 120GB upwards, and an enhanced SSD Dashboard.

The SanDisk Ultra II SSD, which is based on X3 NAND Flash technology, offers claimed sequential read speeds of up to 550MB/s and write speeds of up to 500MB/s. SanDisk has also incorporated nCache 2.0 tech which is a two-tiered caching architecture that helps on performance and endurance fronts. The Ultra II SSD is also shock resistant.

The Linux desktop community has reached a sad state. Ubuntu 14.04 was a disappointing release and Fedora is taking way too long between releases. Hell, OpenSUSE is an overall disaster. It is hard to recommend any Linux-based operating system beyond Mint. Even the popular KDE plasma environment and its associated programs are in a transition phase, moving from 4.x to 5.x. As exciting as KDE 5 may be, it is still not ready for prime-time; it is recommended to stay with 4 for now.

In the midst of disappointing releases from the big names, relative newcomer KaOS keeps plugging away and focusing on getting better and being on the forefront of all things KDE. Today, KaOS 2014.08 is made available and it looks amazing. The exciting news is that KDE 4.14.0 is present, making it very modern and stable.

Auslogics has released Auslogics Browser Care 2.0, a major new version of its Windows browser management tool that’s aimed at novices.

Version 2.0 adds a new system health scanner tool, promises better handling of Chrome, Firefox and IE plugins, fixes all known bugs and implements an improved browser cache cleanup feature.

The football (US version -- apologies to those in the rest of the word) season is getting under way, as the NFL kicked off the pre-season two weeks ago with the traditional Hall of Fame game. At the same time, the league has been pushing out its new Now app to various platforms like Xbox One, Fire TV and Roku.

The latest to get the new service is Apple's living room solution, the Apple TV. Like its rivals, the tiny box is getting the app, which brings the NFL alive in video format. This adds the massive library of NFL Films, along with original content, made specifically for the app, as well as a bit of live stuff, such as press conferences.

What’s with all this excitement over Windows "Threshold"? I get it that Microsoft sort of fumbled the ball with Windows 8. I also recognize that the subsequent tweaks and retrofits (Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1 Update 1, Windows 8.1 Not-Update-2, et al) are viewed by many as "too little, too late" to save the product.

However, I’m sensing a deeper disturbance in the force here. When it comes to Windows Threshold, there’s a palpable aura of anticipation -- a kind of electric expectancy, and its emanating from what I like to call the "Neanderthal set".