Crowd-funded car built from Lego runs on air at up to 20km/h!
If you had access to 500,000 pieces of Lego (yes, they are Lego bricks or pieces, not Legos!) what would you build? When Steve Sammartino, an American entrepreneur, joined forces with "crazy Romanian teenager" Raul Oaida the answer seemed obvious -- build a full sized car capable of hitting 20km/h. Sammartino and Oaida met online, came up with the wacky idea for the plastic vehicle and tweeted to ask for help with funding.
The tweet lead to the birth of the Super Awesome Micro project. Having read the tweet -- "Anyone interested in investing $500 - $1,000 in a project which is awesome and a world first tweet me. Need about 20 participants" -- Ford Australia pledged some funding, as did some other investors, and the project was able to get off the ground.
The top 10 domain sales of 2013
Domain names aren't exactly sexy. However, they are extremely important in daily internet life. After all, without domain names, you would instead be entering the IP addresses of the websites that you wanted to visit -- that would suck.
If you want to buy your own domain, it can be very affordable. A certain website which is advertised using a certain Indy and Nascar-lady, has low prices; if the domain you desire isn't already claimed. If it is already taken, and you still want it, expect to pay hundreds, thousands or beyond to achieve it. Today, Sedo announces the top 10 domain sales of 2013.
Need to switch to a different Office 365 plan? Now you can!
One of the problems facing an organization investing in subscription software is determining what package to opt for. It makes sense to keep things as cheap as possible and plump for the lowest priced package, but what happens when your business expands and your needs grow? Microsoft is looking to make things a little easier for Small Business users who find that their needs change over time, making it possible to easily jump to the Midsize or Enterprise plans.
The Switch Plans program also makes it possible for Midsize Business subscribers to switch to an Enterprise plan. This is a great option for businesses whose employee numbers swell faster than expected, or for those who discover that they need access to additional features and options that are not available on the plan they originally chose.
Outpost Security Suite Pro 9 cleans up infected computers, supports Windows 8.1
Security vendor Agnitum has announced the availability of Outpost Security Suite Pro 9, Outpost Firewall Pro 9 and Outpost Antivirus Pro 9.
The new release is much better at handling infected systems. If malware prevents Outpost 9 from installing fully, it can run a Safe Mode scan to remove any threats. There’s also the option to create a bootable Linux-based CD or USB drive, which should help to eliminate even the most stubborn malware.
Google announces latest round of government takedowns
By now you know the routine, though none of us really seems to understand what we should think of it. We all have opinions of course, but I'll refrain from repeating the old adage about those. In the end, we can only report what the companies reveal to us, and that most recent unveiling comes from Google.
The latest Transparency Report reveals the notices the search giant received during the period spanning January through June of this year. The numbers are not particularly encouraging -- Google says it has received "3,846 government requests to remove 24,737 pieces of content". The company also states that this number represents a substantial increase over 2012, rising by a staggering 68-percent.
CCleaner adds individual cookie cleaning, Nero 14 support
The holiday season is upon us, and utilities developer Piriform has delivered a Christmas gift to all CCleaner users with an update to version 4.09.
The latest release now offers finer tuned cleaning, with an option to delete individual cookies from the Cookies interface.
LookDisk searches your drives for files, duplicates, text, more
Your PC’s hard drive is packed with files. Windows doesn’t provide all the search power you need, and you don’t have the time to research a host of specialist search tools, either.
The answer? LookDisk. It’s versatile, searching your drives for files, text, duplicate files and more. A host of configuration options ensures the program works just as you require. It’s also free, and portable, so ready to use almost anywhere.
Target warns of unauthorized access to payment card data
If you've recently used your payment card in a Target store in the US you might want to check your statements carefully. In a statement on its website the company warns that "guests" who made card purchases in its stores between November 27 and December 15 may have had their card data compromised.
My colleague Brian Fagioli who bought his iPad at Target on the December 14 is now anxiously biting his nails as his could be one of the estimated 40 million cards that may have been affected.
Cyanogenmod comes to the Nexus 5 -- in case form
The Nexus 5 is both beautiful and inexpensive. Even though the smartphone doesn't cost a lot, it is still a good idea to protect it with a case. However, finding a good case can be hit or miss. When I reviewed two such cases, I found that the official Nexus 5 case was poor, while the much less expensive Cruzerlite Bugdroid Circuit was great.
Sadly, neither of those two cases embody the true openness and hackability of the Nexus 5. After all, when you buy a Nexus device, you want people to know it. Luckily, Cyanogenmod Inc announces a partnership with Cruzerlite to create an official Cyanogenmod case. What better way to show off your Nexus device than with a case that represents (arguably) the most popular custom ROM?
Xbox One is so desperate to hear your voice, it’s charging you a fortune just for listening
It’s probably no surprise to hear that the newly released PlayStation 4 and Xbox One both consume a lot of power, despite touting a number of new energy-saving features. According to the NRDC’s (Natural Resources Defense Council) Center for Energy Efficiency, the higher performance and always-on features result in the consoles using up to three times as much energy per year as their predecessors.
Video game consoles in the United States are projected to use more electricity annually than all the households in Houston, America’s fourth-largest city, but it’s not just playing games, or watching movies that’s using power (and draining your bank account in the process). Much of the Xbox One's operating costs come from the console waiting for you to speak to it.
Windows Phone 8 gets Xbox Music and Video, but do users love the new apps?
In a new attempt to level the playing field between Windows Phone 8 and its main rivals, iOS and Android, Microsoft has launched the Xbox Music and Xbox Video apps for its tiled smartphone operating system. The two offerings complement the existing functionality and add more options to purchase and consume content.
Until now, Microsoft provided no option for Windows Phone 8 users to purchase or rent movies from their smartphones. Xbox Video adds these features, alongside content streaming and download. Users have access to both popular movies and TV shows, like Fast & Furious 6 and Family Guy. For the latter category, the app allows them to get a Season Pass, that will automatically add new episodes to the user's collection.
Where in the world is The Pirate Bay?
Forget Carmen Sandiego, The Pirate Bay has become the hardest thing to find these days. The torrent sharing site has been on a recent world tour, following ongoing legal woes, that have included court trials and domain seizures. The past week has been especially busy for the owners, involving lots of packing and unpacking of suitcases.
Just yesterday the site called Guyana home, making the service available for those who found the .gy domain. In previous days, the service has visited Sint Maarten (.sx) and stopped for a whirlwind tour of Ascenion Island (.ac). The Pirate Bay had, earlier this year, racked up frequent flier miles for visits to Iceland (.is) and Greenland (.gl).
Adaptiva’s enterprise IT predictions for 2014 [Q&A]
This is the time of year when people like to get out their crystal balls and try to imagine what the landscape of the coming 12 months will look like. IT efficiency and system management systems provider Adaptiva has announced its predictions for enterprise systems in 2014. The company has identified three key trends which it believes will shape the landscape for the next year: that BYOD will fail to live up to its hype, that lack of WAN bandwidth will hamper infrastructure plans, and that the continued use of Windows XP will cause significant security issues.
We spoke to the company's Chief Technology Officer and founder Deepak Kumar about the trends he sees shaping the enterprise IT landscape next year.
Citrix releases GoToMeeting for Windows Phone 8
Citrix has launched GoToMeeting for Windows Phone 8, an app which allows users to create or join online meetings from their smartphone. The popular solution arrives in Store following its release on Windows, OS X, iOS and Android, and is one of the latest high-profile releases on the platform alongside Instagram, Vine and others.
The Windows Phone 8 version of the app allows users to join a meeting or webinar either by entering the Meeting ID or tapping a link included in a calendar appointment or email. GoToMeeting can show "whatever the presenter shares on-screen", including presentations and reports, and supports gestures like pinch to zoom (for content).
Time is running out: How to upgrade from Windows 8.1 Preview
The finished version of Windows 8.1 has been out for a couple of months now, but if you’re still using the free preview build, time is running out. Windows 8.1 Preview and Windows RT 8.1 Preview are both set to expire on January 15.
Upgrading from the preview to the final GA release is very easy, and there are a couple of ways of doing it.
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