Google leapfrogs Apple to become world’s most valuable brand, Microsoft does well
Google has passed Apple in the brand stakes for the first time with technology dominating the world’s top ten most valuable brands including a strong 12 months for Microsoft.
Research from Millward Brown shows that Google’s brand value grew by 40 percent from 2013 to 2014 as it moved from second to first place with a valuation of $159 billion ahead of its competitor Apple, which saw its value drop 20 percent to $148 billion.
The Marvell 88SS1083 is world's first fully compliant SATA Express controller
The trouble with computers is that it is almost impossible to stay on the bleeding edge. The moment you buy the latest and greatest, something new comes along to replace it. I still remember fighting the battle of buying the fastest CD and DVD burners, years ago. It seemed like every other week, speeds would get boosted and I just had to have the fastest!
If you just bought a brand new SATA III SSD, congratulations, it is really fast and I'm sure you love it. But did you know that SATA III is on its way out? Yup, sorry to break the news to you, but SATA Express is one of the new standards, set to replace it. Today, Marvell announces that it has created the industry's first fully compliant SATA Express controller. Things just got real.
Zotac Zbox Sphere OI520 PC looks a lot like the Nexus Q (and that's a good thing)
Despite what some people think, the PC is not dead. However, for many, the concept of buying a desktop PC with a monstrous tower is. After all, thanks to companies like Apple, electronics have become art. And so, if someone does need a PC, they may opt for a laptop or all-in-one instead.
Truth be told, I have never been a huge fan of all-in-ones. If the display breaks, you could end up with a giant paperweight. I still remember when people bought TV/VCR combos. Almost always, the VCR failed and you would see a second VCR connected -- insanity. I have been of the opinion that it is best to keep your monitor and computer separate. With that said, I do like having a small footprint on a desk. Today, Zotac announces a spherical PC that is not only small, but beautiful too.
Apple removes popular marijuana growing game 'Weed Firm' from App Store
Weed Firm is one of those games, like Flappy Bird before it, that took the App Store by storm, reaching the number one spot purely through word of mouth. The trouble for Apple is the game follows the "vicious and lawless career of Mr. Ted Growing", an expelled botany sophomore, and is essentially a marijuana growing sim in which you produce and sell different types of weed, and interact with various shady characters including cops, gangsters, druggies and dancers. Not exactly the sort of game Apple really wants to see at the top of its charts.
It was perhaps a surprise that the Breaking Bad inspired app made it through Apple’s rigorous, and at times prudish approvals process in the first place, but having flourished far too well at the top, it was only a matter of time before it was hacked down. The game, inevitably, is no longer available in the App Store.
BullGuard Mobile Security for Android debuts cloud-based antivirus engine
BullGuard has unveiled BullGuard Mobile Security for Android, its latest all-in-one security package for Android mobile devices.
The $19.95 (3 devices, 1 year) release introduces a new cloud-based antivirus engine, which should improve accuracy while removing the hassle of regular updates, improving performance and keeping battery-draining system load to a minimum.
Many security experts do not encrypt storage devices
New research has found that half of security professionals don't bother to secure data on portable devices.
The findings, uncovered by an iStorage survey which questioned 500 attendees at Infosec 2014, revealed that 50 per cent of security pros don't bother with security measures or encryption when it comes to data on USB sticks or portable hard drives.
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 vs 2014 Apple MacBook Air: Which is best?
The features of the new Microsoft Surface Pro 3 are impressive even when they are assessed individually. But they are even more impressive when grouped together in one single device, which might just be the first one of its kind that is actually the real deal -- it works as a tablet, it works as an ultrabook and it is good enough to replace both. At least that is what Microsoft is saying.
During the presentation event Microsoft made it clear the Surface Pro 3 is meant to compete with Apple's mighty 13.3-inch MacBook Air, more so than with the iPad. Make no mistake, this device is not a tablet in the traditional sense of the word. It is akin to a hybrid PC, much like the Surface Pro 2, due to its size, processor architecture and target market. So, because Microsoft made a big deal out of it being better than its ultrabook rival, how does it compare with the bigger MacBook Air?
XMPP-based instant messaging services embrace encryption
Various instant messaging services are on the verge of blocking unencrypted chat messages thanks to the roll out of a XMPP upgrade that has been in the pipeline for some time.
The XMPP Standard Foundation confirmed that the 70 services that are part of the public XMPP network turned on mandatory encryption for client-to-server and server-to-server connections.
Chrome 35 adds developer-friendly tools, switches Linux build to Aura UI
Google has unveiled Chrome 35 FINAL for Windows, Mac and Linux. After the relative excitement of version 34, version 35 contains little of note for the end user to get excited about.
Developers, however, will be pleased to see a number of new and improved features implemented, including the ability to take more control over touch input. There’s also an undocumented switch to the Aura user interface on the Linux platform.
Automate all your downloads with curl
Curl is well known on Linux as a flexible command line tool which can download files using a wide range of protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, POP3, IMAP, RTMP, RTSP and many more.
The program is also available on Windows, though (and Mac, iOS, NetWare, Solaris, AmigaOS and more), and is ideal for automating regular downloads in your own custom scripts.
eBay users to be asked to change passwords
An announcement on the PayPal Forward blog says that eBay will be asking users to change their passwords later today.
It says that this is due to, "...a cyber attack that compromised an eBay database containing encrypted eBay passwords and other non-financial information".
Activehours for iOS and Android lets you get your money when you need it
As a trained Sociologist, I am always analyzing my surroundings. One of my particular interests is the plight of the working poor. It breaks my heart to see people toil away for low pay, while struggling to pay bills. Even sadder, these hard-working people are often taken advantage of by "pay-day" lenders -- they offer an extremely high-interest loan which targets the poor who cannot make ends meet.
Luckily, technology can be developed to solve many of the world's problems, including the pains of the workers living paycheck to paycheck. Yes, a new app for Android and iOS, called Activehours, is aiming to solve this problem.
Business travelers want access to reliable Wi-Fi
Accessing data on the move has become essential for business travelers. The days of being unable to do something because you were out of the office are long gone.
Demand for reliable, cost effective data access means that more business people are looking for ways to access Wi-Fi on the move rather than use expensive mobile data services.
German gamers get Nazi-free version of Wolfenstein: The New Order
Germany and Nazism have history; one doesn’t have to be much of a history buff to know that. But the aftershocks of Hitler's Germany are still being felt; the country is still rather sensitive, shall we say, about the whole idea of the Nazis. So touchy, in fact, that as part of post-World War Two denazification the display of Nazi symbols (or "use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations") is illegal. This presents an issue for the game Wolfenstein which concerns itself largely with escaping from Nazis, killing Nazis, tracking down Nazis... there are lots of Nazis involved. Ultimately this meant that the popular game series was banned from Germany since it was first conceived back in the early 80s.
The latest installment in the series, Wolfenstein: The New Order, is set in the 1960s after a Second World War won by the Nazis. But this time around the game got a German release -- yesterday in fact. Bethesda's Pete Hines said last month that Germany has "a thing about Nazis", describing the country as "a little touchy" about the subject. So how was the release possible? This is not because the country has relaxed its laws -- the display of Nazi-related material can still result in a three year jail term -- but because the game has been censored.
How five Chinese hackers stole secrets from some of America's largest companies
208 Datong Road is a nondescript concrete high rise on one of Shanghai's busiest roads. Amid the lingering smog rising like mist off the honking lines of traffic, and the trains screeching to a halt in the nearby main railway station, this building doesn't look like much. But this is exactly where five members of an elite People's Liberation Army group codenamed Unit 61398 were assigned to hack into some of the largest companies in the United States of America.
According to an indictment unveiled on Monday, "the co-conspirators used email messages known as 'spearfishing' messages to trick unwitting recipients into giving the co-conspirators access to their computers”.
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