Microsoft now sells the inexpensive Lumia 435 Windows Phone -- should you buy it?
Low-end Windows Phones make great first smartphones for those on a budget. They deliver a solid user experience, offer expandable storage, are dependable and feel fast, generally at sub $100 prices. The low cost also makes them good backup smartphones.
There are a couple of very-affordable, interesting Windows Phone 8.1 devices around, like Lumia 530 and Lumia 635, but Microsoft just added the newer Lumia 435 to its online store lineup. Should you get it?
38 percent of Apple Watch buyers have no idea when to expect their orders
Apple Watch went on sale last Friday, with the first lucky buyers receiving their pre-ordered devices over the weekend. Apple’s latest product line hasn’t had the smoothest of launches, but at least some purchasers finally got to see what they had ordered online.
However, according to digital commerce analysts Slice Intelligence, only 22 percent (376,000) of the estimated 1.7 million pre-ordered Apple Watches have been delivered to US consumers so far. Other less fortunate (or just slower) buyers can expect a far lengthier wait.
How CEOs are failing to exploit social media
Social media is a large part of many people's lives these days but it seems that people at the top of enterprises and large organizations are more reluctant to engage.
Management education advice site MBA Central has produced an infographic looking at how CEOs are lagging behind in their use of social media despite the benefits it can bring to their personal and professional reputation.
Groupon refuses to pay security expert who found serious XSS site bugs
Bounty programs benefit everyone. Companies like Microsoft get help from security experts, customers gain improved security, and those who discover and report vulnerabilities reap the rewards financially. Or at least that's how things are supposed to work.
Having reported a series of security problems to discount and deal site Groupon, security researcher Brute Logic from XSSposed.org was expecting a pay-out -- but the site refuses to stump up the cash. In all, Brute Logic reported more than 30 security issues with Groupon's site, but the company cites its Responsible Disclosure policy as the reason for not handing over the cash.
Specs showdown: Sony Xperia Z4 vs Samsung Galaxy S6
Recently, the Japanese giant Sony announced the Xperia Z4, the latest in its line of premium Z-series Smartphones for its home market. Consumers and critics alike are baffled as to why the phone exists. With no global launch announced, and the phone decidedly questionable on its hardware priorities, it can be understandable why some are seeing the device as a regression from the Z3. This all comes in the background of Sony looking to restructure and streamline its smartphone offerings, looking to focus primarily on the high end of the market.
In complete contrast, Samsung has found a new gear with the release of the S6, following the plastic-clad disaster that was the S5. In this specs showdown, we pitch the forthcoming Xperia Z4 against the Samsung Galaxy S6.
Sony officially announces Xperia Z4 featuring Snapdragon 810, 3GB RAM and 1080p display
Sony has finally launched the much-awaited successor to last year's Xperia Z3. Called the Xperia Z4, the new flagship smartphone features a range of incremental improvements to its last generation handset. It features a 5.2-inch 1080p display with the latest and greatest (and controversial) 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor from Qualcomm. The smartphone runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop.
The Xperia Z4's FHD (1920 x 1080) display might not please a lot of people given how most of the other flagship devices are offering QHD display these days, but Sony continues to value a longer battery life over bragging rights. Other specifications of the device include 3GB of RAM coupled with 32GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card.
Google Chrome on Windows XP support extends until the end of 2015
Believe it or not, a year has passed since Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP. And even though the 13 year-old operating system no longer receives security updates -- at least not officially -- it is still being used by roughly 17 percent of Windows users. For some companies it is reason enough to continue to support Windows XP today, even though its maker has long left it for dead. And Google is one of them.
Six months after Windows XP support ended, Google announced that its Chrome browser would continue to be supported on the OS with "regular updates and security patches until at least April 2015". That was done in order to give its users more time to finish migrating to a newer Windows release, one that would, hopefully, be officially supported by Microsoft for many more years to come. Obviously, that hasn't gone as expected. But instead of pulling the plug, Google is now giving Chrome users on Windows XP another reprieve.
Microsoft makes mobile image searching a (nearly) typing-free experience
Microsoft thinks that typing on a mobile device is difficult. At the same time it understands that "you love to discover images" on the very same devices. To help make your mobile searches a little easier to conduct, the company is introducing a number of tweaks and changes to the iOS and Android Bing app.
Of course it is not possible to entirely eliminate the need to input words in order to conduct a search, but Microsoft has taken steps to reduce it to an absolute minimum. How has this been done? Enter simple search terms and you're provided with a couple of new ways to drill down to exactly what it is you're looking for with just a few taps.
Netflix improves experience for blind and visually impaired customers
Everyone loves a good movie or TV show. Not only are they entertaining, but an opportunity for you to forget about your troubles too. My favorite thing about TV shows and movies, however, is the ability to be transported into a different world. By watching the film "Gravity", I can travel to space. "Game of Thrones" allows me to travel to the fictional Westeros. You get the idea.
While these are very much a visual affair, the audio isalso important. Besides dialogue and natural noise, the soundtrack plays a huge role too. Star Wars for instance offers a beautiful score. Unfortunately, not everyone has the ability to see; some people are blind or visually impaired. For these people, the audio is even more important. Today, Netflix recognizes this important group of people with a new Audio Description feature, starting with the all-new "Marvel's Daredevil".
Dell releases Linux-based XPS 13 Developer Edition ultrabook
So, you want to run Linux on a cutting-edge ultrabook. Chances are you want to get a laptop with Windows on it, format the entire drive, and then install your favorite distribution. But be ready to also waste lots of time trying to get everything working as it should. Even today, you have to be prepared for debugging, installing drivers, making configurations and other things before you pull the plug.
Or, if you want a great Linux-based ultrabook that just works out-of-the-box you should first take a look at Dell's new XPS 13 Developer Edition. It comes with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Long-Term Support), and dedicated support from a team of Linux enthusiasts, so if anything goes awry you'll get someone who knows their stuff at the other end of the line. And it's available now.
Epson Expression Home XP-420 Small-in-One printer is inexpensive, functional and cute
The reports of the printer's death have been greatly exaggerated. True, both business and home users are printing less nowadays, but there are still many situations where a paper copy is needed. Businesses in particular often have requirements where a hard copy must be kept. Not to mention, All-in-One variants are even more useful, as scanning and copying are great values too.
While it isn't easy to get me excited about an All-in-One printer/scanner/copier, Epson has managed to do just that. How? With a name. The company is calling the Expression Home XP-420 a Small-in-One. Get it? "Small" instead of "all"? I found the name to be quite clever, as it takes up very little room. Upon further investigation, I was impressed with the low cost and features of this wireless printer.
South Korea looking to scrap ActiveX payment requirement -- bad news for Internet Explorer
In 1999, South Korea pushed a law that forced online vendors to adopt Microsoft ActiveX, in order to utilize the SEED cipher developed by the Korea Information Security Agency (KISA) for online transactions.
Even though at the time it seemed like a good decision, the government is now looking to scrap the system and create new online encryption that works with all browsers and supports SSL.
Amazon Prime Now expands yet again, this time encompassing Dallas
Just recently we saw Amazon update its Prime Now service, adding the metropolitan areas of Baltimore and Miami. The retailer isn't resting though, it wants to bring this service to as many people as it possibly can. If you aren't familiar, Prime Now offers "one hour delivery", though "same day" alone is good enough for most people.
The latest city is Dallas, Texas where Amazon recently opened two new fulfillment centers, making this option fairly simple. You'll need to live within a certain range for this to work, for pretty obvious reasons -- we don't want delivery people to be a danger on the roads. To accomplish this, customers will need to reside within certain zip codes.
Windows 10: Smooth user experience it ain't
Despite months of work, Windows 10 still falls a long way short of what it should be by now. Based on the last time I wrote about Windows 10 in a less than positive way, I'm not expecting great feedback on what I'm about to write. Of course, there is the caveat that we're all using a pre-release version of the operating system and problems are to be expected, but that’s not really the point.
The point is that Microsoft has been working on Windows 10 for quite some time now. Public builds have been a little slow to creep out -- despite promises that things would speed up -- but I'm concerned about how little time there is until the planned release. While there's a lot that right with Windows 10, there's an awful lot that's still very, very wrong.
Amazon patches huge XSS vulnerability that left user data exposed for two days
A serious XSS vulnerability left Amazon customers in "real danger" of having their accounts compromised. The man who made the discovery is Brute Logic, the current top security researcher at XSSposed.org and "light-gray computer hacker". We spoke to him about the security issue as well as talking about the responsibilities involved in exposing vulnerabilities.
The cross-site scripting vulnerability was discovered on March 21 and was left unpatched for two days. In this time, Brute Logic says there was a real risk that people "could have their Amazon account compromised or had their computer invaded by means of a browser exploit". He says it is the responsibility of sites to fix problems when they are highlighted by the hacking community.
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