Latest Technology News

Fifty-first in a series. Big news this week was the release of Windows 8.1 yesterday, a free update for all Windows 8 users that improves the operating system in several ways.

Among the changes are new tile sizes for the Start screen, a redesigned store interface, and improved API access that application developers can make use of to improve existing apps or create new ones that were not possible under Windows 8.

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Microsoft has officially released Windows 8.1 to consumers, following the operating system's availability on MSDN and TechNet. The new version addresses many of the issues that plague Windows 8, and adds a number of new features that, among others, make it easier to use the Desktop and relegate the Modern UI. PC users should definitely be happier with Windows 8.1.

If you want to try Windows 8.1 before installing it on your primary devices, your best option is to use a virtual environment. VMware offers two of the most popular dedicated applications, and in this article I will show you how to leverage VMware Player and VMware Workstation to install Microsoft's latest consumer operating system for testing on a virtual machine.

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Google's Nexus 5 is a hotly anticipated handset, and over the past few weeks there have been numerous leaked images purporting to show what the device looks like.

Now it looks as though the speculation can come to an end after Google accidentally listed the device in the Play store, complete with pricing details. The temporary listing -- which has now been removed -- showed the 16GB model costing $349, and featured the tagline "capture the everyday and the epic in fresh new ways".

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With winter coming here in the northern hemisphere, our mindset begins to change. Trips to the beach are replaced by ones to the slopes. The "boys of summer" are replaced by the guys on the gridiron, the court and the ice rink. It's the perfect time for skiers, snowboarders and sports fans.

Now, the Bing Weather app is adding ski reports to its list of features -- "you’ll find the app now supplies current snow and weather conditions at ski resorts around the world, plus weather history and additional metrics like the UV index", reports Microsoft's Michael Stroh.

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According to a new survey conducted by J.D. Power among US mobile operator subscribers, Apple and Samsung lead the pack on "overall satisfaction performance". The iPhone maker ranks first for AT&T and Verizon customers while Samsung takes the top spot for Sprint and T-Mobile subscribers.

The J.D. Power survey identifies Apple and Samsung as the sole smartphone vendors to rank above the average value on all four counts -- performance, exterior design, features and ease of use. The findings of the survey are based, according to J.D. Power, on the experiences of 16,421 users who are customers of the aforementioned four-largest local mobile operators and have had their current smartphone for less than a year.

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Recently, I was a guest on the CNBC program, Squawk on the Street. The discussion centered on the possible outcome of a limited strike by the US on Syria, and I had the opportunity to provide my opinion on the retaliatory cyber implications for US interests. During the program, I disagreed strongly with the position taken by McAfee Worldwide CTO, Mike Fey: that the Syrian Electronic Army is no more than a hacktivist group. In my opinion, this is a dangerous assertion based on industry group-think and marketing rhetoric.

Two books that I have co-authored have examined attack sophistication in terms of categorizing a threat actor. Ultimately, I am not concerned with which organization or entity carries out an attack. I am, however, concerned with identifying and stopping malicious activity. For example, were a nation-state to engage in industrial espionage against a defense industrial-based contracting firm or critical infrastructure, such as a power grid, this typically would be classified as advanced persistent threat (APT).

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Smartphones have become such a big part of many people's lives in recent times, allowing us to stay in touch with the Internet wherever we go, that occasions when you can't get a data network or Wi-Fi signal become extremely frustrating, it's almost like losing a limb.

French developer Altheia has an answer in the form of a new app for Android phones called Be-Bound which it claims can keep you in touch with the Web even if there's no 3G, 4G, Edge or Wi-Fi signal available.

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Today has been a big one in the annals of Microsoft -- Windows 8.1 rolled out the door to a fair amount of headlines, and Visual Studio 2013 also arrived, to much less pomp and circumstance. Next week promises the same, with Surface 2 hitting store shelves amidst stories of stock shortages.

But nothing in the Microsoft universe is ever as simple as it should be -- the tech giant seems to almost enjoy keeping customers guessing. Hence the case of the Surface Pro 2, which promises to ship on October 22nd -- providing you only wish to score a 64 or 128 GB model.

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Microsoft's big release of the day may be Windows 8.1, but it doesn't end there. The desktop operating system may have stolen the headlines today, but Microsoft also recognizes the importance of mobile devices. The company is not only concerned with its own devices, realizing that Apple and Android still dominate the mobile arena. But this does not mean that mobile users do not need access to Windows PCs -- hence the release of Microsoft Remote Desktop for iOS and Android.

The prospect of running Windows on an Android or iOS device may be a little way off yet, but it can be achieved via remote access -- which has the handy side effects of making it possible to access files, apps and anything else that might be needed whilst away from your computer. There is no shortage of remote desktop apps in the App Store, but Microsoft's offering aims to keep things simple. As you would expect, this is an app -- free of course -- that can be used to control a Windows PC from an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Android device.

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In the world of Linux, Ubuntu serves as a gateway for many. You see, the popular Linux distribution is very easy to install and use, so it makes an ideal first distro. While some users may choose to stick with the 12.04 Long Term Support version (which is supported until 2017), other users will prefer to have the latest and greatest.

Today, Canonical releases the freshest stable version of its operating system, Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, which has 9 months of support. While this is big news on its own, the bigger news is that it is available for both desktops and smartphones at the same time.

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Windows 8.1 is finally here, and it’s a significant update. Sure, the Start menu isn’t coming back, but you do get a more customizable Start screen, much improved apps (and more options for running them side by side), enhanced Search with Bing integration, smart syncing with SkyDrive, Internet Explorer, and a host of new tweaks and customizations (including the ability to boot straight to the desktop).

Should you upgrade from Windows 8? Probably, although you’ll need to make sure that your most important applications are Windows 8.1-compatible. This isn’t likely to be a big issue -- low-level programs like antivirus tools are the most likely to be affected, and they’ve mostly been 8.1-ready for months -- but it’s still wise to check your main applications for updates, first.

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Windows 8.1 may be the big news of the day, but that does not mean Microsoft is sitting pat or off celebrating. The perceived vaccination for the Windows 8 illness is not the only product issuing forth from Redmond, Wash. today -- Visual Studio 2013, along with Team Foundation Server 2013 and .NET 4.51 are also now loose in the wild.

"You can download the trials and related products and MSDN subscribers can download the licensed product from the subscriber portal", announces Microsoft's Brian Harry.

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ESET has announced the release of its consumer security packages, ESET NOD32 Antivirus 7 and ESET Smart Security 7, both of which have been enhanced with some major new features.

New real-time memory scanning is a major plus, as it allows ESET to more reliably detect threats, no matter what packing or encryption tricks malware might employ.

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There is no denying that Windows 8.1 dwarfs Windows 8 in every single way that matters. The new operating system is more feature-rich, more suited for tablet use, more suited for PC use and far closer to what a modern OS should be like. The warm feelings towards it are reflective of how Windows 8 was like at first -- let's just say that the standards were low to begin with.

But for some strange reason, Microsoft still does not prioritize having a notifications panel in any of its consumer operating systems. This is an oversight that I thought the software giant would address in Windows 8.1, seeing as it has been a major known problem since Windows 8 arrived. However, once again Microsoft has decided to not include it. And, to be frank, it is one of the worst decisions that the company made this year. I bet not many will miss Steve Ballmer. I sure won't.

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You don’t want to save files locally on your hard drive -- you want to store them in the cloud, right? That’s what Microsoft thinks anyway. For that reason it’s baked SkyDrive into the heart of Windows 8.1 and made it the default save-to location for documents.

Although you can easily save elsewhere, one of the main save options, Libraries, has been removed from File Explorer’s sidebar. Another of those weird decisions that the Redmond, Wash. tech giant likes to make from time to time (like giving us a Start button without a Start menu).

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