Latest Technology News

After an extended three years in beta, developer Richard Wang has released FluffyApp 2.0, a major new release of his freeware client for Windows users wishing to share files using the CloudApp file-sharing service.

Version 2.0 introduces a new flyout, Internet Explorer trigger plugin and adds various tweaks and improvements, such as using Windows’ own shortcut key mechanism for greater reliability.

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Earlier this year, 4K televisions and monitors seemed unachievable for the average consumer. Some pundits wrote the technology off, as these displays would be priced out of reach for many people. While this was true initially, Black Friday brought some very affordable 4K televisions to market. And so, the technology seems poised to have longevity.

Unfortunately, 4K content is rather sparse. No matter how great the television or monitor is, without content, there is no point. I have been watching 4K YouTube content on the Dell UltraSharp 32 UltraHD Monitor (UP3214Q) and it looks great. However, puppy videos in 4K hardly justifies the investment! Luckily, Amazon is planning to remedy that.

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It’s hard to believe sometimes, but I began writing my columns -- in print back then -- during the Reagan Administration. It was 1987 and the crisis du jour was called Iran-Contra, remember it? Colonel Oliver North got a radio career out of breaking federal law. The FBI director back then was William Sessions, generally called Judge Sessions because he had been a federal judge. I interviewed Sessions in 1990 about the possibility that American citizens might have their privacy rights violated by an upcoming electronic surveillance law. "What would keep an FBI agent from tapping his girlfriend’s telephone?" I asked, since it would shortly be possible to do so from the agent’s desk.

"It would never happen", Sessions said.

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There’s not exactly a shortage of PC screen capture tools around, but Starpunch’s Chris Gingerich has just added another with ICUP (Image Capture and Upload Program). Is it worth your time? We took a look.

Setup is unusually flexible. Run ICUP.exe and it’ll offer to install itself locally; refuse and it’ll run as a portable version, with the option to install it fully later. Either way, there’s no adware or other marketing trickery here.

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The customer is always right, right? As a customer it is understandable that this old adage seems like something set in stone, but looked at from a company's point of view things are rather different. A large proportion of customers are in fact idiots. While it is reasonable to expect a company to listen to what its customers have to say, does this risk stifling innovation as customers demand that things be done a certain way?

Here on BetaNews we've had a little debate about whether Microsoft should reintroduce the Start menu. Despite the number of people calling for its return, Brian does not think it is a good idea saying that "the company should ignore these customers, even if they are the majority". I am of the opinion that it would be good to at least make it optional, particularly for enterprise customers.

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It's a fairly typical situation these days: a small business approaches me with a need to replace an aging Exchange 2003 server and Office 2003 for 14 users. They want to compare purchasing their upgrades outright vs just renting them from Microsoft. The in-house server approach for email and Office software will run them roughly $10K USD before any consulting labor -- or they could opt to have us move them into Office 365 E3 for $280/month.

At face value, sure, you could say that the in-house approach pays for itself in just about 3 years compared to paying for Office 365 E3 over that period of time. But you're squarely forgetting about all the hidden nasties which I brought into full light in a previous article on the TCO of cloud vs on-premise technology.

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What do you get the person who has everything (except good taste) for Christmas? How about an Xbox One plated in real gold?

Yes, forget your gold iPhone, with its fake, not actually gold coloring, London department store Harrods is selling a special luxury edition of Microsoft's latest games console plated in 24-karat yellow metal, buffed to a high shine.

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South Korean maker LG has announced a new Android phablet, called Gx, which is part of the company's G premium lineup. The device will go toe to toe against the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, sporting similar hardware specifications and dimensions.

The Gx comes with a 5.5-inch IPS display, with a now flagship-standard resolution of 1080 by 1920. LG has opted for a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, instead of the more powerful Snapdragon 800 which is found in devices like the G2 and Galaxy Note 3, with 2 GB of RAM. The handset is powered by a 3,140 mAh battery.

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I try to keep my cards close to the chest, but I fear I have left little doubt of my NFL allegiance. I have been a Miami Dolphins fan since I was a small child, but that has absolutely nothing do with my "other life" in the technology world. Needless to say, today's win over the feared New England Patriots was a landmark moment, sealed by an end-zone interception of Tom Brady by an unknown and undrafted rookie.

What does this have to do with tech you ask? Well, the game had nothing to do with it, unless you take into account that Surface is "the official tablet of the NFL". However, in looking through the post-game news, I ran across something rather interesting.

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Anyone who fancies the idea of building their own gaming box can head over to the Valve website can grab themselves a beta copy of SteamOS. The Linux-based operating system is available for anyone to download free of charge and coincides with the shipping of 300 prototypes of Valve's Steam Machine devices to specially selected testers. The OS and boxes have both been designed with pure gaming in mind -- but the system requirements are quite specific.

The download weighs in at 960MB, and there are reports that the servers are struggling as legions of eager gamers hit the link. But before you rush over to the site and start the download for yourself, take a moment to check whether your rig is up to the task. You'll need a 64-bit processor, but both Intel and AMD will do the job equally well, and 4GB of RAM is also required.

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Things are starting to get festive, and that means there's also a lot going on. This past week has been quite a busy one! It might not come as a surprise, but the figures are in -- Windows 8.1 is not performing anywhere near as well as Windows 7 in terms of sales. Part of the reason for the slower adoption could be the Start screen and the absence of the Start menu. There has been some debate here at BetaNews about the possibility that the Start menu could make a return. Brian is very much opposed to the idea, I think it's probably a good idea, particularly for business users, while Wayne showed us how to get the Start menu back right now.

The backlash against NSA surveillance continues, and now Microsoft, Apple, Google and a number of other big names have joined forces and written to President Obama asking for reform. Joe was not impressed. To help protect user accounts, Microsoft beefed up security.

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An old friend has been telling me for months that the future of personal computing was coming with new Windows tablets using the Bay Trail system-on-chip architecture built with Intel Silvermont cores. Silvermont is the first major Atom revision in years and is designed to be much faster. Bay Trail would lead to $199 8-inch Windows tablets while also fixing the limitations of Intel’s previous Clover Trail. Well Bay Trail units are finally shipping but my techie friend is sorely disappointed with his.

The lure of this platform for Intel is great. Manufacturers could use the same chassis and chipsets for everything except gaming boxes and servers. Eight inch tablets, ChromeBooks, Ultrabooks, 10-inch tablets, and netbooks, all one chassis with up to 4GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. One size fits all for home, car, travel, and work.

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Bartels Media has announced the availability of PhraseExpress 10, its powerful text expansion and auto completion tool. The company describes the release as a "cornerstone", and that’s not an overstatement: it’s absolutely packed with major new features.

These start with the ability to search within a popup for whatever phrase you need. Forget shortcuts and hotkeys, they’re no longer necessary; just trigger a popup, type a few characters, and matching phrases appear right away. Even if they’re in a subfolder.

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Amazon has made a lot of news recently, which probably shouldn't be a surprise, given this is the shopping season and it's one of the most prominent retailers. Much of that buzz has surrounded the latest refresh of the company's line of Android tablets -- the Kindle Fires -- with Cyber Monday deals, and then another one-day sale. But now Amazon is looking to hook up those who can't afford to shell out that full price all at once.

The retail giant has quietly rolled out an installment plan to help you get that tablet. Both the 7-inch and 8.9-inch versions of the Kindle Fire HDX are included in the deal. At checkout, you will need to pony up 25-percent of the retail price, plus any taxes and shipping charges. But, after that, you will just be billed one time every 90 days (three times total) in equal amounts to cover the balance owed.

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While the Surface line of Windows tablets are well-built and functional, they have not exactly set the world on fire. Consumers are still mostly opting for iPads and Android tablets. It's hard to blame them -- the app selections on these competitor platforms are more bountiful and robust. Not to mention, Surface gets more press over price reductions and billion-dollar write-offs than anything else.

However, there is one place where Microsoft's tablet is poised to make an impact -- the classroom. A Surface tablet with the type-keyboard attachment is a wonderful tool for both students and educators alike.

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