Latest Technology News

If you use SQL Server, you know there is a significant price difference between the Standard and Enterprise editions. If you have had the Enterprise version for a while, you probably bought it for features not available at the time in the Standard version. But over the past few years, things have changed.

Today’s SQL Server Standard edition can make more sense to your organization with its lower license fee without sacrificing performance, features and availability. Its added functionality and resources, such as the increased number of supported cores, increased maximum memory per instance, database snapshots, table/index partitioning, compression, in-memory OLTP, and Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), make it an attractive alternative to the Enterprise edition.

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Four-hundred-twenty-two in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.

Microsoft fixed the "Reset this PC" bug that some users were experiencing ever since the release of Windows 10 version 1607.

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We are well into 2021 now, so we can finally stop thinking about the dumpster fire that was 2020. Instead, we can focus on more important things, such as Linux! Yes, folks, Linux is still going full steam ahead -- look out, Microsoft! And yes, companies such as System76 are still selling computers running operating systems based on the open source kernel.

Speaking of that company, today, System76's popular Darter Pro makes a return to its Linux laptop lineup. This new model of the 15.6-inch notebook is notable for having cutting-edge 11th Gen Intel Core processors with Iris Xe graphics. Of course, that is hardly the only exciting thing here -- it also features speedy PCIe 4.0 NVMe storage, Thunderbolt 4, and Wi-Fi 6. Not to mention, it uses System76's Open Firmware with coreboot.

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For the previous two Windows 10 Dev Channel Insider builds Microsoft has focused mainly on the 'news and interests' feed it's adding to the taskbar. Today's flight, Build 21296, also for the Dev Channel, moves away from that.

The two big changes and improvements here are to the clipboard history, and Storage Spaces.

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Despite an inarguably terrible year and many concerning events happening around the world -- pandemic notwithstanding -- technology is still advancing at breakneck speeds. That looks to continue well into the coming year, with many fascinating and emergent solutions bubbling to the surface.

Here are 10 emerging technologies everyone should be on the lookout for in 2021:

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There are a huge number of messaging apps to choose from these days, and the chances are that many people you know use different chat tools. You may use Facebook Messenger with your family, WhatsApp with friends, and Slack for work, for example.

While there are various apps that claim to unify the chat experience and let you chat across multiple networks, they always miss out an important player. The same cannot be said of Beeper. This app lets you chat with people across no fewer than 15 messaging platforms, including Apple's iMessage, across MacOS, Windows, Linux‍, iOS and Android.

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Ransomware made up 81 percent of all financially motivated cyberattacks in 2020, according to a new report from Atlas VPN.

The remainder of attacks comprised a variety of approaches including point-of-sale intrusions, eCommerce attacks, business email compromise, and cryptocurrency mining.

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The roll out of vaccines is seen as the light at the end of the tunnel of the COVID-19 crisis, but like any major event it's also an opportunity for scammers and cybercriminals.

Deep learning-powered fraud prevention company Bolster has released a new report which finds that leading indicators foreshadow a raft of COVID-19 vaccine scams.

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The number of publicly reported breach events decreased by 48 percent in 2020. However, more than 37 billion records were compromised, an increase of 141 percent.

A report released today by Risk Based Security reveals that this is by far the most records exposed in a single year since the company began reporting in 2005.

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The Raspberry Pi itself is a powerful, low-cost device that can be used for a wide number of tasks, from playing games to learning how to program.

Today, the Raspberry Pi Foundation takes the wraps off Raspberry Pi Pico, a $4 microcontroller designed for physical computing projects. It can be used to control lights, buttons, sensors, motors, and even other microcontrollers.

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It is a few months since Nitro PDF was hit by hackers in a huge data breach. While the stolen data was initially put up for sale, now it has been made available free of charge.

What this means is that a database containing over 77 million user records is now freely available for just about anyone to download. The database weighs in at around 14GB and includes not only names and email addresses, but also passwords.

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Hackers responsible for a large-scale phishing campaign unintentionally left over a thousand sets of stolen log-in credentials accessible to the public via a simple Google search.

The error was uncovered by researchers at Check Point. and Otorio. The stolen credentials were stored in designated web pages on compromised servers.

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Most computer monitors and laptop displays have a 60Hz refresh rate, which is fine for most users. Gaming screens, however, often go much higher. Of course, a higher refresh is not only beneficial to gamers -- all computer users will appreciate the smoothness it can offer. Hell, just moving the mouse cursor around can be rewarding.

While 90Hz is hardly fancy these days (there are much higher refresh rates), it is apparently unheard of on OLED laptop displays. And so, Samsung is doing something about it. You see, the company is getting ready to mass-produce 90Hz OLED screens (primarily 14-inch) for use in upcoming laptops -- an apparent world's first.

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We all know that following a data breach the stolen information is likely to turn up for sale on the dark web. But what's this information worth and how is its value arrived at?

Researchers at consumer website Comparitech have analyzed over 40 dark web marketplaces to find out how much credit card, Paypal, and SSN details are worth to cybercriminals.

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Telecom companies have become integral in our hyper-connected modern world. In the past, most telco revenue was generated from voice traffic (i.e., premiums on long-distance calls). An explosion in technology has given rise to a fundamentally different industry landscape with myriad new factors and considerations. From sending a simple text to confirming a reservation at a restaurant, telecom has changed forever. Yet, despite the increasing necessity of telecom to keep us connected, maintaining customer loyalty hasn’t been easy.

Customer loyalty has been on the decline in recent years. As a result, the telecom industry must work harder than ever at customer retention, which can prove challenging in the saturated cloud provider market. There are many unique and situational reasons businesses might choose to leave their Communication Service Provider (CSP). Changing consumer preferences demanding immediacy and personalized service have impacted some relationships, while the ability to provide global customer support has affected others. Evolving preferences might be one reason why 77 percent of consumers are no longer as loyal to brands as they once were.

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