Identify unknown PC hardware with PCI-Z
If you need to know more about your PC’s hardware then running any system information program -- or even just Device Manager -- will usually point you in the right direction. But sometimes it doesn’t quite work, and you’ll find some devices are referred to as "unknown", or perhaps by their PCI identifier ("PCI\VEN_1B21& DEV_1080& SUBSYS_78161462& REV_03", or something similarly cryptic).
PCI-Z is a tiny portable tool which tries to get around this problem by querying the PCI ID Repository -- a public database of device ID codes -- and returning readable names, rather than meaningless codes.
The Internet of Crap
Cisco CEO John Chambers gave a keynote speech last week at the Consumer Electronics Show laying out Cisco’s vision for what he called the Internet of Everything and other people are calling just the Internet of Things. The idea is very simple: put intelligence in every device and connect them all together on the Internet. And the idea behind the idea is even simpler: the everything is what we’ll first have to throw away. Because that’s the only way the Internet of Everything can work.
Throw away your routers, wireless and wired. Throw away your network adapters, wireless and wired. Throw away your modems. Throw away your network extenders. Throw away anything with a radio or an RJ-45 port except maybe your PC, though plenty of those will have to be thrown away, too.
Instantly enhance the Windows clipboard with Clipjump
The Windows clipboard makes it very easy to transfer data; Ctrl+C to copy here, Ctrl+V to paste there, and you’re usually done. But there are also has plenty of limitations. In particular, the clipboard can hold only one item of any given type: copy in something else and the previous item will be lost.
We’ve covered various clipboard managers which can help you get around this problem -- Save.Me is an especially powerful example -- but these usually require that you learn a new way of working, a significant issue with something as fundamental as the clipboard.
BlackBerry Enterprise Server to soon support Windows Phone?
BlackBerry's efforts to improve its sliding sales and consumer relevance with the BlackBerry 10 touch-friendly lineup have failed. In fact, the company's latest available handsets are actually selling less nowadays compared to the old, and dated, BlackBerry 7 OS devices. For anyone paying attention that means the writing is already on the wall, but BlackBerry is (still) planning and hoping to make a comeback.
After bringing BBM to Android and iOS, the Canadian maker will shift focus back to QWERTY keyboards, and away from all-touchscreen designs, and could also embrace more competing platforms in BlackBerry Enterprise Server. The company's CEO John Chen hinted that the enterprise-grade device management software might add support for Windows Phone, on top of Android and iOS.
Twitter gets an online interface revamp for 2014
It was announced very casually with very little fanfare. Twitter is getting a new look. It is in the process of rolling out around the world and when the revamped interface hits your account you'll find that the new look closely mimics that found in the iOS and Android apps. The redesign follows a recent update to the mobile apps, and while there are not many dramatic changes, the standardized look helps to create a more uniform experience moving between devices.
The tweet composition section is now found to the left hand side of the screen -- gone is the pop-up box in favour of an inline option. The two-column design has a very neat look to it, and does an excellent job of keeping related data together. The left hand column houses the profile box and composition field, and beneath this you'll find suggestions for who to follow, as well as a list of trending topics.
Google buys Nest -- will the search giant lay golden or rotten eggs in it?
The concept of a thermostat is pretty simple. If you are cold, turn the heat up and if you are hot, do the opposite -- a no-brainer. However, as the internet of things continues to expand, enhanced capabilities and internet connections are introduced to previously simple devices.
If you aren't familiar, Nest Labs was founded by two ex-Apple employees, Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers. The design of the company's products makes that apparent. The first product released by the company, a thermostat has a round, clickable interface that is reminiscent of the iPod Classic. It can be connected to the internet, to allow networked control. Today, Google announces the acquisition of the company for $3.2 billion -- a surprising announcement to say the least.
Backup, protect and migrate your data with Acronis True Image 2014
The start of a new year is always a good time to review your computing habits. If you’ve not yet done so, make sure 2014 is the year you finally implement a long overdue backup plan for your PC with the help of our current favorite backup tool, Acronis True Image 2014.
Not only does True Image contain all the tools you need for backup and recovery, you can use it to clone your hard drive when upgrading to a new model or (if you buy the Premium version) even transfer an entire Windows installation from one PC to another.
View, convert and save web maps with Terra Incognita
You need to quickly check a map? It’s never been easier. Launch the relevant app -- or just open a browser on any device -- and you’ll have all the information you need, within seconds.
Maybe your needs are a little more complex, though? Perhaps you want to compare maps from different providers; convert them from one format to another; add tracks, or waypoints? Then you may get better results from the open source Terra Incognita.
Best social apps for your Windows Phone
Mobile devices have completely transformed the way we connect with others. We can chat from anywhere these days, assuming there is an Internet connection available. What was once primarily aimed at browsers and traditional PCs has since fully embraced mobile computing, or vanished. There are also new, mobile-friendly apps and services that leverage features offered by smart devices to offer more personal and private ways to reach friends, family, coworkers and other folks.
For social butterflies Windows Phone has quite a lot to offer. The tiled smartphone operating system neatly integrates with popular services like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, allowing users to easily post updates from within their Me tile, see what others are doing and respond to their activity on said social networks in the People hub. But there are also dedicated apps available in Store that offer more, and we are going to take a look at the best of them in this article.
Dropbox talks about its weekend outage, says data is safe
Over this past weekend Dropbox went down, and thanks to all of the recent news about companies being hacked, the worst was feared. But those unconfirmed reports have proven to be false, as the cloud storage service has set the record straight.
The real truth behind the incident turns out to be much more mundane. In fact, it was simply a scheduled maintenance that went wrong. "On Friday at 5:30 PM PT, we had a planned maintenance scheduled to upgrade the OS on some of our machines. During this process, the upgrade script checks to make sure there is no active data on the machine before installing the new OS. A subtle bug in the script caused the command to reinstall a small number of active machines. Unfortunately, some master-slave pairs were impacted which resulted in the site going down".
New Oracle Retail Suite aims to improve the shopping experience
The internet has changed the way we shop. Even if you don't buy online you’re likely to check prices before hitting the stores or use click and collect services to ensure what you want is in stock.
With its latest Retail Suite Oracle allows retailers to respond to these trends and remove the boundaries between the different supply channels.
Run Windows 8 or 8.1 directly from a USB drive on any computer -- for free
The Enterprise edition of Windows 8.x has a feature called Windows To Go that lets you create a working version of Microsoft's tiled operating system on a USB memory stick. You can boot into this and be instantly up and running in the new OS from any computer. Which is great -- provided you have the Enterprise edition of the OS and a "certified" USB drive. If you only have the standard version of Windows 8.x then the option isn't available to you.
But there is a very easy way you can build a personalized and bootable copy of Windows 8 or 8.1 on a USB drive, for use anywhere. All you need is a USB 3.0 device with at least 13GB capacity (it will run on a USB 2.0 memory stick, but slowly), a copy of Windows 8.x (either an installation disc or an ISO -- you can get the Windows 8.1 ISO by following these instructions but you will need a Windows 8.1 key), and a free partitioning program. Here's what you need to do.
oCam is a very configurable screen recorder
Screen recorders are great for creating tutorials, saving streaming videos and otherwise recording your desktop activities. There are plenty to choose from, each with their own advantages, but if you’re new to the technology then oCam could be a very good way to start.
After a simple installation (just look out for the option to change your browser homepage, and clear that checkbox), the program launches with a floating, re-sizable frame, and a toolbar. At its simplest you can manually reposition the frame to whatever area you’d like to record, then click Capture to grab a single image, or Record to begin recording a desktop video (clicking the button again to stop). Clicking Open then opens the Explorer folder containing your captures, ready for review.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 starts to receive the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update
South Korean maker Samsung is now rolling out the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for its Galaxy Note 3 phablet. The software upgrade arrives more than two months after Google announced the latest version of its mobile operating system.
The code that Samsung is rolling out now is identical to the version that leaked earlier, and is available for the international (SM-9005) model of the Galaxy Note 3. Unsurprisingly, the first stage of the roll out commences in Poland.
Consumer mobile apps won’t make you money
If you're looking to the earnings from your innovative mobile app to keep you in your retirement, you may need to think again.
A new report by Gartner predicts that through 2018 fewer than one percent of consumer mobile apps will be considered a financial success.
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