Latest Technology News

When it comes to your computer, security takes a number of forms. There is the threat of viruses and spyware to consider, the importance of securing accounts with strong passwords and there is also the security of your files to bear in mind. You might think that when you delete the files you no longer need they are gone forever, but there are a variety of tools can techniques that can be used to recover data that has been ‘removed’. Hardwipe is a free tool that can be used to boost your security by overwriting files multiple times to dramatically reduce, or even eliminate, the ability to recover files.

The program can be used in a couple of ways, either to wipe a drive in its entirety or delete selections of files. When it comes to wiping a drive, you must use the main program interface to select the drive you are interested in as well as selecting the options that should be used, but when it comes to deleting individual files and folders, Windows’ right click menu provides access to the wiping option.

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Transportation is not something we generally cover here on BetaNews, but sometimes a product will slip through our defenses and end up on the front page because it is interesting, novel, broadly applicable, or simply charming.

Now, Inventec deals in some hokey re-inventions of user-propelled transportation devices: scooters, skates, hydrofoils, and such. Solowheel is a re-invention of the Segway, which is itself a very hokey vehicle, but built on compelling gyroscopic balancing technology and eco-friendly energy consumption.

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Like Kodak, film company Polaroid was wrecked by the gradual takeover of digital cameras and demolished by the smartphone taking over the role of the casual/disposable point and shoot.

So Polaroid has embraced Android, and released what is effectively a super high megapixel smartphone without all that pesky communications gear.

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I'm a fan of Windows Phone and its glance-and-go concept, and Microsoft has made lots of noise at Consumer Electronics Show 2012 about the future. Say, how's that "Get smoked by Windows Phone" competition going, anyway?

But somebody is blowing smoke about how grand will be Nokia Windows Phone sales this year. Thirty-seven million? Cough. Cough. iPhone may have reached that number during holiday quarter 2011. Besides, it's pitiful compared to the Nokia we all used to know.

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I've been saying it for almost three years now...the iOS app ecosystem has truly changed the music industry. Nearly everything you needed to do in order to be a working musician you could do in some way with your iPhone/iPod/iPad.

And that was before the core MIDI spec was rolled out.

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Google faces an increasing tide of criticism over its decision to tightly weave Google+ into its search results, with at least one legal expert saying that its behavior may be grounds for antitrust action. Twitter is the most vocal critic so far, with General Counsel Alex Macgillivray describing the Mountain View, Calif. company's move as "a bad day for the Internet".

"For years, people have relied on Google to deliver the most relevant results anytime they wanted to find something on the Internet", Twitter says in a statement to All Things Digital. "We’re concerned that as a result of Google’s changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone. We think that’s bad for people, publishers, news organizations and Twitter users".

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I'm whining about Galaxy Nexus this afternoon, not because of the phone, which is exceptional. It's an app wanna-have thing. Today, Shazam launched a cool new mobile app, but it's iOS-only, baby. Got Android? You're out of luck. Dunno `bout you, but Shazam is among my top-five most-used apps. The new one, Shazam Player, could be, too.

The app combines music playback with the discovery tools, including the cool lyrics feature, available with Shazam. There's integration with iTunes for playback and music buying. Users can watch YouTube videos of fav artists and share the "soundtrack" of their day on Facebook or Twitter.

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With its planned merger with AT&T now dead, T-Mobile USA must find ways forward to continue as a viable entity. The company late Tuesday announced that it had completed HSPA+ network upgrades in new markets, further expanding its "4G" footprint. That said, it appears in no rush to move to 4G.

T-Mobile now offers 42Mbps HSPA+ in 175 of its markets, covering an estimated 186 million people. Its slower 21Mbps HSPA+ service has also expanded, now covering 217 markets. This will likely widen shortly, as the carrier receives spectrum due as part of the merger breakup with AT&T -- but it first must gain regulatory approval.

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Leading PC chipmaker Intel shook the Consumer Electronics show on Monday with the announcement that its Atom processors will be shipping in Android-based smartphones by Motorola and Lenovo in the second half of the year.

“The best of Intel computing is coming to smartphones,” said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini in a statement on Monday. “Our efforts with Lenovo and Motorola Mobility will help to establish Intel processors in smartphones and provide a solid foundation from which to build in 2012 and into the future.”

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As expected, Dell has joined the ultrabook foray, announcing the XPS 13 at Consumer Electronics Show 2012. Thin and lights aren't new for Dell, but joining the announce-now-and-ship-later CES crowd is disappointing. As a build-to-order maker, Dell is known for shipping right away. If you want an XPS 13, however, the Round Rock, Texas PC maker will make you wait until the "end of February".

The XPS 13 inherits from its predecessors, like the XPS 14: The screen is edge-to-edge, allowing for a larger display in a smaller enclosure. Dell boasts a 13.3-inch screen in the size of an 11.6-inch portable, claiming the frameless display reduces XPS 13's footprint by 15 percent compared to comparable 13.3-inch laptops. Looking at the product photo, I don't see how the screen is any more frameless than Apple's MacBook Air.

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Well, here's a strange Consumer Electronics Show announcement. Typically participants tout what products they will release. Sony has taken a different tack, announcing what's not coming.

The consumer electronics giant is sticking to its guns, and maintains that PlayStation 3 is a product with a 10-year life cycle. If you were hoping to see the PS4 at E3 this year, don't hold your breath. Former video game chief and now Sony chairman Kazuo Hirai told reporters at a roundtable discussion at CES that the company will not unveil a new console at the yearly conference.

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If you’re looking for an alternative to Adobe Reader then there are plenty of tools available, each promising that they’ve the speed and feature set required to become your preferred PDF viewer.

It’s not easy for an individual package to attract much attention, then. Yet Soda 3D PDF Reader 2012 does manage to include a couple of twists which help it stand out from the crowd.

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Photo editing and manipulation tools are not exactly in short supply but those that get the balance between the number of features and ease of use are few and far between. Despite featuring an interface that is somewhat off-putting to start with, PhotoFiltre 7 is an extremely accomplished tool with the latest update adding support for both layers and transparency – these are options that were previously only available in the more advanced PhotoFiltre Studio.

While the interface is perhaps the most well organized, it is more appealing than the likes of the GIMP. This freeware image editor is probably PhotoFiltre’s closest competitor in this particular software arena and while neither app is going to win any prizes for the most attractive or well-designed interface, PhotoFiltre definitely has the edge over its rival -- and while the interface is a little on the cluttered side, it does mean that many options are easily accessible through the wide range of toolbar buttons on display.

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Running a complete system backup occasionally is a great way to protect yourself from a data disaster. Smaller, more focused backups also have their place, though. So it may also be a good idea to preserve your browser settings every day or two, and FavBackup is a very easy way to make this happen.

The simplest way to begin is just to run the program’s Full Backup Wizard. There are no complex settings to consider, no involved options to think about: just choose your preferred browser (there’s support for Firefox, Chrome, IE, Opera, Safari and Flock), specify the backup destination and FavBackup will take care of everything else.

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The desire to customize the appearance and function of Windows does nothing but increase and this accounts for the large number of tweaking and skinning tools that are available for the operating system. Whatever you want to do to the look of your desktop, there is undoubtedly a tool that can be used to achieve what you are looking for, and one of the most powerful and feature packed is Rainmeter which has just been updated to version 2.2.

There are a huge number of skins and widgets available for Rainmeter that can be used to not only completely change the look of your computer, but also provide easy access to tools and utilities that you may need. There is virtually no limit to what can be achieved with the app from adding news feeds and tweeting ability to the desktop, to resource monitoring and media control. All of this is available free of charge in Rainmeter 2.2.

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