Dell UltraSharp 32 UltraHD 4K Monitor [Review]
When standard definition TV was being replaced by HDTV, there were rumblings that it wasn't needed. After all, SDTV is "good enough". Good enough. Two words, that when combined, are extremely dangerous. For a company or industry to rest on its laurels can be disastrous. Anybody who declares something to be "good enough", is standing in the way of innovation and should probably step down if they are in a position of power. Today, it feels like almost every home in the USA has at least one HDTV. When these widescreen TVs were released, people complained that their precious I Love Lucy episodes would have black bars on the side -- god forbid. As time progressed, of course this new wide-screen high-definition format was embraced, Lucille Ball be damned.
Now, the 4K UltraHD revolution is afoot and the same rumblings of "good enough" are being regurgitated. While this new format is less dramatic than the jump from SDTV to HDTV, it makes 4K no less amazing. No, 1080p is not good enough -- we need to keep pushing the envelope. Luckily, Dell is on the forefront of these displays and delivers the amazing, yet expensive, UP3214Q. But is it worth the money?
IBM sells Intel server business, company is doomed
IBM today sold its Intel server business to Lenovo, yet another example of Big Blue eating its seed corn, effectively dooming the company for the sake of short-term earnings. It’s a good move for Lenovo and an act of desperation for IBM.
Wall Street analysts may see this as a good move but then Wall Street analysts typically aren’t that smart. They’ll characterize it as selling-off a low-margin server business (Intel-based servers) to concentrate on a higher-margin server business (Z-series and P-series big iron) but the truth is IBM has sold the future to invest in the past. Little servers are the future of big computing. IBM needs to be a major supplier and a major player in this emerging market.
Microsoft Q2 2014 by the numbers: Surface sales soar
Outgoing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer got a vote of confidence from customers today, if Surface's sales surge is any indication. In October 2012, he refocused the company on "devices and services", something reflected in the Windows 8.1 tablet and also Xbox One, which launched during fiscal second quarter 2014.
After the closing bell today, Microsoft released long-anticipated Surface sales with its quarterly earnings report. Wall Street analysts and investors also eagerly wondered about Windows 8.1, which revenues looked to be brutally beaten back by historic declines in PC shipments. Surface revenue reached $893 million, up from $400 million during fiscal first quarter. Meanwhile, Windows OEM license sales declined by 3 percent, year over year.
Who do you trust with your personal data -- and why?
Earlier today Mike Williams wrote about a cloud storage provider which is offering a whopping 1TB of space for free, plus a further gigabyte for every day you use the service. It’s a stunning offer and one that should have us all signing up immediately. But most of us are familiar with the saying, "if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is", and 1TB+ of space -- for free -- certainly fits that description.
There are reasons for alarm bells to sound. The company behind Yunio, Shanghai Kui Zhi Internet Technology Co., Ltd, is based in China, and its terms of service are currently all in Chinese, so unless you speak the language, or trust Google’s translation, you can’t immediately be sure of what it will, or won’t, do with your data. And, because you’ve likely never heard of the company, how sure can you be that your data is safe, and the firm won’t go out of business?
Obama wants to access your webcam without the NSA -- using Google+ Hangouts
When I think of road trips, I think of traveling with friends or family to far-out destinations. I usually do not associate it with sitting in my house, talking to the President of the United States over a webcam.
However, one thing is for sure, a chat with President Obama trumps a car trip to see the Grand Canyon with my family. Thanks to Google, a chat with the president may be a reality for some lucky people. You see, the search giant is making Obama available on Google+ Hangouts, for what it calls "the first-ever Presidential Hangout Road Trip".
Outleads seeks to optimize telephone marketing with improved analytics
In spite of the rise of internet advertising, telephone sales is still one of the most successful marketing techniques.
Marketing specialist Outleads is launching two new technologies to give businesses more accurate data about their telesales.
Top Gear’s The Stig takes on a Google Street View car
"All we know is, he’s called The Stig". And that is, quite literally, all we are supposed to know. The identity of the driver clad in the white racing suit is a closely guarded secret, though some leaks have taken place over the run of the popular British series.
Recently, the Top Gear test track even appeared on Google Street View, and as further proof the little Google car was really there, the show itself has posted a video shot during the mapping.
CCleaner update supports new apps, adds Pro-only scheduler tool
Piriform has updated its popular Windows cleaning tool with the release of CCleaner 4.10. Also available in portable form, version 4.10 continues the recent trend of concentrating development on the new paid-for Professional build.
Pro users now gain a new cleaning scheduler tool, allowing them to automatically run cleaning operations at set intervals. All other changes apply equally to both free and paid-for versions, however.
Chrome has a malware problem, and Google needs to fix it
Google Chrome extensions are designed to improve or modify functionality that the web browser offers. Some extensions in the official Chrome Web Store have millions of users who all rely on the functionality their add-ons provides them with.
While not as powerful as Firefox add-ons, Chrome extensions are easily powerful enough to manipulate websites that you visit, or communicate with a remote server. News about extension abuse reached the mainstream press recently.
Quickly organize unsorted images with PhotoSift
Creating digital images is easy. Organizing them into appropriate folders takes rather more effort, though, which is probably why many people just let them pile up in the Pictures folder. But there could be a better way.
PhotoSift is small and simple tool which uses a keyboard-based workflow to sort your images. It’s basic, but can be effective, and in the right situation it’s extremely fast.
Nokia reveals hugely disappointing Lumia Windows Phone sales in Q4 2013
Finnish maker Nokia has released its earnings report for Q4 2013, the first that indicates how the company, and its financial health, will look like without the Devices & Services arm that is set to be part of Microsoft's portfolio. That business is listed under "Discontinued operations".
Another effect of the sale of this business is that Nokia no longer lists the exact volume for the mobile phones and smartphones sold during the quarter. This effectively rules out any precise Lumia Windows Phone performance comparison. However, the company gives bad news as it reveals unit sales are actually lower for its Windows Phones compared to the previous quarter, when it sold 8.8 million of them.
Training reduces the risk of socially engineered security breaches
New analysis by security awareness training company KnowBe4 shows, perhaps not surprisingly, that training helps reduce risky online behavior in the workplace.
Carried out over a 12-month period, the study shows that whilst almost 16 percent of employees were prone to click on phishing links initially, this was reduced to 1.28 percent on average after training.
Fastest ever broadband test achieves a staggering 1.4Tb/s
In trial run by BT (British Telecom) and Alcatel-Lucent in London, UK, a data transfer rate of 1.4Tb/s has been achieved. This certainly sounds fast, and Alcatel-Lucent is claiming that it is the highest data transfer speed ever achieved using commercial-grade hardware.
What could you do with an internet connection of this speed? If you felt so inclined you would be able to download no less than 44 HD quality movies in a single second. One. Single. Second.
Get 1TB+ of free cloud storage with Yunio
Most consumer cloud services compete on storage space in a small way. Dropbox offers 2GB, SkyDrive starts with a free 7GB, Google Drive delivers 15GB, and so on.
If none of this gets close to what you need, though, you might prefer Yunio. Not only does it provide a chunky 1TB for free, but you’re also allocated a further gigabyte for every day you use the service.
Microsoft offers guides and video tutorials to help business users master Windows 8.1
A couple of days ago Microsoft released a 20-page expert guide to mastering Windows 8.1, and now it announces the availability of the Windows 8.1 Business User Guide Package. This is a collection of guides and video tutorials aimed at helping business users take full advantage of the tiled OS.
In addition to the new Windows 8.1 Power User Guide, the package offers a 16-page Windows 8.1 Quick Guide for Business (in two formats -- PDF and raw files for printing) and eight short how-to video tutorials. The Quick Guide and videos have all been available previously, but Microsoft promises new support material is on the way.
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