Latest Technology News

It has been another busy week in the world of software releases, so we wouldn’t be at all surprised if some titles escaped you attention. Some of the highlights from the last seven days include WebSite X5 Free, which is a surprisingly effective free template-based web editor that has been designed for beginners looking to create their first site. With a huge range of stylish templates to choose from and a built-in FTP client, there’s everything you need to start and finish your perfect site.

If looking after your computer is more up your street OSForensics 1.0.1001 may well be of interest. This powerful tool can be used to unearth a wealth of information about your system including details of hardware that is or has been connected, and while there are limitations in the free-for-personal-use version it could still furnish you with the information you need to help overcome all manner of problems.

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Product placement is the ultimate in marketing. It's relatively cheap -- that's assuming the company pays anything at all -- the value worth millions in potential sales and/or savings paying for actual advertising. Why pay for a 30- or 60-second TV commercial when your product can be part of the show? Or on CBS cop drama "Hawaii 5-0" be one of the stars of the show?

I've been pondering writing about Microsoft's product placement since 5-0's first season aired (season two started last month). The program's actors routinely use the company's big-ass table -- that is Surface -- and Bing to search from Windows Phone. But this week, in episode "Ma'ema'e", Windows Live SkyDrive joins the active placement of Microsoft products -- or cast, if you will.

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When it comes to to-do apps and reminder tools, Android is the perfect platform thanks to its mobile nature and the various synchronization options that are available to ensure that the same data is available on your PC or Mac. So ideal is the platform for this type of app, there is no shortage of titles that have been designed to help you to keep your life in order, avoid missing deadlines and appointments, or keep track of things you need to do and buy. Even before days of iOS and Android, Remember The Milk was available as an online app and the level of control the service provides over your to do list is unparalleled.

The iOS app has been available for the iPhone and iPod for a little while now, but the update to version 2 for Android has seen the software evolve into a free app that brings the same powerful options that have been available to iOS devotees for so long a time. The interface has been given a major overhaul, but it is the fact that anyone with a Remember The Milk account -- both free and paid-for -- can now make use of the app free of charge that is the real headlines news.

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iPad 2 owners need to reconsider just how secure their tablets are following the discovery of a flaw that allows attackers with Apple Smart Covers to unlock iPads, even if they are password protected. The issue was first disclosed in the forums of German Apple enthusiast site apfeltalk.de, and has since been replicated numerous times including in tests by BetaNews.

As opposed to an issue where Siri allowed access to phone features from the lock screen -- that actually can be disabled with Siri's settings -- the locking issue actually appears to be a legitimate flaw. The issue was verified by Betanews in iOS 5, however, Internet reports seem to suggest that it can also be recreated in iOS 4.3.

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Information Technology market intelligence company International Data Corporation (IDC) released a report on Friday that forecasts the future growth in corporate spending on cloud-based storage. According to the report, spending on equipment for both public and private cloud storage systems will reach $22.6 billion by 2015.

IDC says we should expect public cloud service providers to increase their spending on storage hardware, software, and professional services over the next five years, and that it should amount to a compound annual growth rate of 23.6%.

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Following a brief leak onto Amazon yesterday, Samsung on Friday officially announced the availability of its second generation 7" Galaxy Tab in the United States, The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus.

With its 1.2GHz dual core processor, 16GB of built-in storage, Android Honeycomb, a 7" screen and a 9.96mm profile, the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus offers a considerable jump in power over its predecessor.

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Anyone with even a mild interest in technology knows that the iPhone 4S launched one week ago today. In what has now become a ritualistic media event, the new iPhone launch was covered in scrupulous detail, from pre-launch sales predictions, to pundit reviews, to interviews with Apple fans waiting in line to get their hands on the newest iProduct. Someone even made a website devoted to funny things Apple’s new voice command application, Siri, says. The hype tumbled into this week when people awoke Monday morning to find their RSS feeds ablaze with news that Apple had already sold 4 million iPhone 4Ses. Yesterday, AT&T said it had activated 1M iPhone 4Ses so far. iPhone 4S distribution expanded to 22 more countries -- that's 29 in all -- today. Indeed, it feels like everyone in the world has iPhone on the mind.

Well, maybe not everyone. Actually, not even close to everyone. Most everyone, in fact, did not hear about the new iPhone launch or, if they did, they don’t care. Most of the world’s population has more pressing things to focus on than Siri's pithy answer to the meaning of life. Things like staying fed. Finding shelter. Mitigating the scourge of dire poverty and lack of opportunity for a better life. For many more billions, other recent technologies or innovations matter more than iPhone 4S.

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Comcast is still throttling peer-to-peer traffic, but on a much smaller scale. Data provided by traffic analytics firm Measurement Lab and compiled by Syracuse University researchers this week provides verification of that.

While Comcast was slowing down half of BitTorrent traffic across its network in the second quarter 2008, it had decreased throttling efforts to about three percent of all BitTorrent packets by the end of the first quarter of 2010.

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At its keynote presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011, video game company Nintendo had a full orchestra perform symphonic arrangements of music from The Legend of Zelda video game series to simultaneously celebrate the 25th anniversary of the action role playing game franchise, and to ramp up excitement for the latest installment in the series, the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword which launches on November 20.

Legend of Zelda game designer Shigeru Miyamoto said in the presentation that the symphony would be touring around the world in the Fall, and so far the group has only put on one show besides the one at E3.

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Apple calls iPhone 4S a "worldphone", but the real measure isn't wireless frequency support, but actual availability. The 4S went on sale one week ago in seven countries. Apple added another 22 today and plans 70 countries by end of year. Preorders start today, and phones will be available in stores on October 28.

No global iPhone expansion is more important for Apple than iPhone 4S. On Tuesday, the company offered stunning guidance for calendar fourth quarter: $37 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $9.30. Analyst consensus before Apple issued guidance: $36.63 revenue and $8.98 EPS. Wall Street estimates are now $37.55 billion and $9.45 per share. More typically, Apple has issued conservative guidance with analyst consensus billions ahead, and fourth quarter -- even with holiday sales -- isn't typically one of Apple's strongest. I don't see how the company reaches $37 billion in revenue without bang-up iPhone 3GS (free), iPhone 4 ($99) and iPhone 4S ($199-$399) sales. I'm looking at the numbers for a future post, but for now it looks to me like Apple, and really new CEO Tim Cook, has bet the quarter on iPhone. Distribution will be key to achieving that number.

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Creating a website from scratch can be a tricky business, and one that many people simply do not have the time or, so they may think, ability to see through. But it does not matter if you are unable to type of a line of meaningful code, there are still a number of tools available that can help you to create an online presence. While template-based WYSIWYG web editors are not going to be the most suitable tool for businesses or more advanced users, they do have their place, and WebSite X5 Free is the latest contender vying for the attention of would-be web masters.

The program is perfectly suited to anyone looking to create their first website, or a small group or club looking to break into the online world without breaking the bank. The sites that can be created are not staggering works of beauty, but the templates are of a reasonably high standard, and the sites that can be created are impressive enough and not your usual fare and have a more modern feel than is often the case with such applications.

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If you need to find out what’s happening on your PC then Process Hacker, Process Explorer and Process Monitor will usually tell you everything you need to know. They’re easy to use, yet also packed with essential functionality, and perfect for system troubleshooting.

Dell KACE hasn’t been intimidated by this programming excellence, though, and their Process Director aims not only to match these tools, but to deliver a little more. Unsurprisingly, they don’t succeed, but Process Director remains an interesting monitoring tool that is well worth a few moments of your time.

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Dolphin HD 7.0 for Android has been released by its developer, Mobotap. Version 7.0 showcases a new browser sync feature called Dolphin Connect along with enhanced Webzine functionality. In a move that may anger some Android users, Dolphin HD 7.0 will exclusively be available only through the GetJar App store until Sunday (October 23).

Initially available only on Android, Dolphin Connect will eventually be rolled out in a future version of Dolphin Browser for iOS, making it possible for Dolphin users to keep bookmarks, passwords and gestures synchronised across both Android and iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices.

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Has your webcam turned on without your permission? You may be the target of a new Flash exploit.

Adobe is scrambling to fix a vulnerability that may allow an attacker to turn on your webcam and microphone to spy on you. Stanford University computer science student Feross Aboukhadijeh discovered the flaw, which is found in every version of Flash and can be exploited in Safari and Firefox on Mac OS X and some browsers within Windows (Chrome appears to be unaffected).

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Will slowing PC sales be the end of Microsoft? You'd think so from some recent punditry, boatloads of Apple iOS device sales and consumers buying tablets and smartphones instead of new computers. But, today, after the closing bell, Microsoft showed that it has staying power and shouldn't be written off for dead (although Apple apologists give quarterly epitaphs). The Redmond, Wash.-based company revealed fiscal 2012 first quarter results after the closing bell.

For Q1, ended September 30, Microsoft $17.37 billion, up 7 percent year over year. Operating income: $7.2 billion, a 1 percent increase. Net income rose 6 percent to $5.7 billion, or 68 cents a share. Earnings per share rose by 10 percent year over year.

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