You should bank on T-Mobile
Brilliant is the only way to describe the Uncarrier's sudden and unexpected move into personal financial services, with today's launch of Mobile Money. T-Mobile effectively acts as your bank, providing consumers with prepaid visa cards, issued in cooperation with Bancorp, and no-fee access to about 42,000 ATMs nationwide.
But T-Mobile isn't strictly a bank but more of a cash dispensary and payments provider, an approach taken by mobile money services across Africa and Asia. Your money goes in -- whether by check, direct deposit or transfer by way of another Mobile Money account -- and is available to spend. T-Mobile promises no hidden activation, maintenance, or other fees.
Adobe Digital Editions promises better DRM security, improved layout support
Adobe has released Adobe Digital Editions 3.0 on Windows and Mac, a major new version of its eBook manager. The tool, which helps users browse, organize and read both free and purchased eBooks in EPUB, PDF, and PDF/A formats, offers more secure DRM, improved PDF search tools and enhanced display of certain book types.
The headline new feature is the new DRM Scheme, which Adobe says has been "hardened and made more secure" to prevent unauthorized viewing of files protected by Digital Rights Management.
Still think Internet Explorer sucks? Microsoft wants you to 'rethink' that opinion
Internet Explorer is no longer just the browser you use to download other browsers (even though, for many people, that will always remain the case). These days it’s a decent, fast and standards compliant offering that you don’t have to be embarrassed to admit to using.
Microsoft’s clever, self-deprecating Browser You Loved to Hate campaign did a great job of challenging people’s views and getting them to take a second look at Internet Explorer, and today the software giant launches a new initiative and website, called Rethink, which aims to showcase how Internet Explorer is helping to "create a web that is fast, beautiful and perfect for touch" while also, Microsoft hopes, getting people to rethink their views on the much maligned browser.
Want to ask Edward Snowden a question? Join the 'live Q&A' tomorrow
In June 2013, Edward Snowden was revealed as the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations, shortly turning the man into one of the most controversial public figures of 2013. The documents he stole while working as an NSA contractor and later leaked to the press have exposed a significant number of questionable practices employed by the US agency and its UK counterpart, GCHQ, to collect information and spy on people worldwide with debatable results.
Undoubtedly, many people have questions that they would like to ask Snowden about the outcome of his actions, his personal life or trips to certain countries. If you are part of that group, you can join the Q&A hosted by freesnowden.is, "the support site [...] run by The Courage Foundation and [...] the only endorsed Snowden Defence Fund". Edward Snowen will answer your questions on Thursday, starting at 3 pm EST (8 pm GMT).
Intel unveils new solutions for education
Intel has used the Bett 2014 educational technology show in London to announce reference designs for the next generation of devices aimed at the education sector.
The Intel Education Tablet and Classmate PC feature student-friendly features along with Intel’s Education Software suite of learning tools.
Secure cloud storage provider MEGA launches MEGAsync desktop tool for Windows
New Zealand-based MEGA has launched MEGAsync 1.0 FINAL for Windows, the first stable release in a planned trio of desktop tools (Mac and Linux versions are promised soon) giving MEGA account holders access to their cloud-based files via their computers. It follows the launch of the mobile MEGA app for Android and iOS.
MEGA -- which includes Kim Dotcom among its founders -- offers robust, secure cloud storage using 2048-bit RSA encryption. It also offers a generous free 50GB of storage space, with paid-for plans offering up to 4TB secure storage with extended bandwidth (up to 8TB/month).
Generate relaxing, natural soundscapes with Atmosphere Lite
If you’re working on the PC and would like a little background noise then you could launch your media player, stream something from the web, maybe just turn on the TV. These options could be a little distracting, though, making it more difficult to concentrate on your main tasks.
Atmosphere Lite takes a more effective approach. Much like Sound Valley, which we reviewed last November, it works by generating custom nature-based ambient soundscapes, like a forest stream, a woodland campfire, the ocean’s edge and more. You get the background noise you need, but it doesn’t demand your attention: it’s relaxing, more than distracting.
Evernote Premium available for free to more Deutsche Telekom European customers
In March 2013, popular note-taking service Evernote announced a partnership with German mobile operator Deutsche Telekom which would enable the latter's subscribers to receive free access, for one year, to the Evernote Premium plan. First available only in Germany, the offer is now extending to 12 more European countries.
There is a caveat, however. While German subscribers have been able to benefit from 12 months of free Evernote Premium, the Deutsche Telekom customers in the additional eligible countries -- Albania, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, Macedonia, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Slovakia -- only get half as much (six months).
Mobile apps will take over the world by 2017
New research by Gartner predicts that over the next few years mobile apps will become the most popular computing tools across the globe.
It says that by 2017 mobile apps will be downloaded more than 268 billion times, generating a revenue of over $77 billion. As a result it predicts that mobile users will provide personalized data streams to more than 100 apps and services every day.
Congratulations, it's a tablet! Sony unveils Wi-Fi only Xperia Z Ultra
What do you get after taking out the cellular prowess from a very, very large smartphone? The answer would be a tablet, albeit one that falls on the smaller side. It is exactly what Japanese maker Sony has done with its Xperia Z Ultra, which will be available in a Wi-Fi only version this week.
For those unfamiliar with the Xperia Z Ultra, the device was announced in the first half of 2013 with a 6.44-inch display, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and 4G LTE/HSPA+ cellular connectivity, as the main selling points.
Convert images to HDR, EXR, TIFF and more with Imagenator
Imagenator is a portable, open-source tool for converting digital images between various formats: BMP, EXR, GIF, HDR, ICO, J2K, JP2, JPG, PBM/ PGM/ PPM (both RAW and ASCII), PFN, PNG, TGA, TIF, WAP, XPM.
The program supports a range of format-specific options. Export to ICO, say, and you can select an icon resolution from 16×16 to 256×256; JPEGs have Quality and Subsampling options; EXRs give you control over image compression (you can choose lossy, lossless, or none at all), and more.
Net neutrality is dead, but it probably doesn’t matter
Last week the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia shot holes in the US Federal Communications Commission’s version of net neutrality saying the Commission was wrong not in trying to regulate Internet Service Providers but in trying to regulate them as Common Carriers, that is as telephone utilities.
The FCC can’t have it both ways, said the Court, and so the Feds get to try all over again. Or will they? I think events are moving so quickly that by the time this particular argument is worked out all the players will have changed and the whole argument may be moot.
AV-Test reveals the top security solutions for Windows 8.1
Independent testing lab AV-Test has revealed its list of the best security solutions for Windows 8.1, according to the company’s November/December 2013 tests.
Six suites were locked at top of the list for protection with maximum 100 percent scores in both months: F-Secure Internet Security 2014, Norton Internet Security 2014, Bitdefender Internet Security 2014, Avira Internet Security 2014 and -- after topping the AV-Comparatives table last month -- Kaspersky Internet Security 2014.
Windows Phone soars -- literally, not in sales
Windows Phone 8 smartphones are wonderful devices -- except for the underlying operating system. While I actually like the OS, it still has a long way to go (notification center, hello!?).
Sales have been decent in some European countries, mostly due to the low cost. However, these things are hardly flying off the shelves. With that said, one user has found a way to make them fly -- literally, like...in the air.
Bill Gates won’t go back to Microsoft full-time, but is willing to 'help out' part-time
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates appeared on Bloomberg Television today to discuss his philanthropic work. While he was there the question of whether he would consider returning to run Microsoft full-time was raised. Gates has said previously that his future remains with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but many people -- including our own Robert Cringely -- would like to see him emulate Steve Jobs and return to once again helm the company he co-founded.
Given how the search for a new CEO is dragging on, and Ford’s Alan Mulally, the most fancied candidate by far, ruled himself out recently, it seemed a possibility that Gates might step in at least temporarily, but judging from his answers that doesn’t appear to be the case.
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