Latest Technology News

Video game streaming on platforms like Twitch and Mixer is huge nowadays. Hell, it isn't even just a hobby -- some of these players are making serious money by streaming themselves playing popular games online. Of course, it isn't just about gaming -- these content creators also offer intriguing personalities.

Streaming PC games can be quite easy, but what about console gaming? For that, your best bet is to leverage a capture card -- a device that connects the video-out from your console to your PC. Today, AVerMedia launches two such capture cards, and both support 4K -- perfect for PS4 Pro or Xbox One X. Technically only one is a card -- the Live Gamer 4K, which connects using PCIe 4x. The other, called Live Gamer ULTRA, is a USB-C box.

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I'm a big fan of some Surface hardware. Microsoft's own laptops and tablets are often well-made and very elegant. Quite frankly, if you want a Windows 10 PC, the Surface Laptop is a great pick. The Surface Pro is a solid choice too, although it can be difficult to use in a lap -- a non-starter for many. The Surface Book series and Surface Studio are decent choices too, albeit pricey.

Unfortunately, while the latest Surface Pro and Surface Laptop computers are rather great, they have one huge issue -- lack of USB-C. It is mind-boggling that Microsoft omitted this port, but OK, what's done is done. Last year the company promised a USB-C dongle would be released eventually, and it will finally become available this week. The problem? It looks like a clunky joke.

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Some people are worried about the prospects of robots taking over their jobs, but there are some tasks around the home that you would relish a robot doing for you -- such as vacuuming.

Robot vacuum cleaners are fantastic time-saving gadgets, and thanks to Wellbots you can win a Neato Botvac D7 Connected Robot Vacuum for your home as part of BetaNews' ongoing 20th birthday giveaway celebrations.

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Nowadays, people take technology for granted. For instance, we aren't far removed from depending on paper maps to find our way while driving -- turn-by-turn navigation is like magic! And yet, many folks just aren't impressed by it -- especially those born after public GPS became commonplace.

Companies like Google could rest on their laurels since mapping technologies are "good enough," but the search giant is constantly innovating and adding new features. While Google Maps is more popular than Google Earth these days, the latter is still used by many. Today, the search giant adds what it calls the "Measure Tool” to Google Earth, and as you can imagine, it is used to measure -- both distance and area.

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When it comes to messaging tools, people have started to show greater interest in whether encryption is used for security, and the same for websites -- but not so much with email. Thanks to the work of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, however, email security is being placed at the top of the agenda.

The privacy group today announces STARTTLS Everywhere, its new initiative to improve the security of the email eco-system. STARTTLS is an addition to SMTP, and while it does not add end-to-end encryption, it does provide hop-to-hop encryption, which is very much a step in the right direction.

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Starting next month, the number of views song videos receive on YouTube and other sites will start to count towards their position in the UK singles chart.

It's a move that could completely shake up the charts, just like the counting of digital downloads and streams did previously. Starting on Friday, video views on YouTube, Apple, Tidal and Spotify will start to be counted by the Official Charts Company, and will be included in the first chart of July.

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AT&T has revealed plans to acquire the ad platform AppNexus which competes directly with the likes of Google and Facebook.

While the exact terms of the deal have not yet been shared, recent rumors suggested that AT&T was willing to part with $1.6 billion for the company. The acquisition is expected to close by Q3 of this year, and AT&T says that the two companies will operate as separate entities until then. After the acquisition, AppNexus will become a part of AT&T advertising and analytics.

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Voice search has become increasingly popular in the last few years and figures from Seotribunal show that around half of teens and 41 percent of adults are using it in their day-to-day activities.

That number is still rising too with 1.8 million people expected to be using voice search daily by 2021. Seotribunal has put together an infographic showing how the technology is being used and more.

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Every month there are fresh cryptocurrencies springing up, but new research by Positive.com has discovered an average of five separate vulnerabilities in each initial coin offering (ICO) project examined in 2017.

What's more, 47 percent of the ICO vulnerabilities uncovered were medium to high severity. Just one vulnerability is enough for attackers to steal investors' money and do irreparable damage to corporate reputation.

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We’ve written a lot recently about 2018 editions of past Windows operating systems, including Windows 7, XP and even Windows 95.

Microsoft Windows 95 Mobile imagines what the 23-year-old OS would look like if it was running on a modern smartphone today, and while its creator firmly has his tongue in cheek here, I have to say it has a certain retro-appeal to it.

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When people think of a "smart home," they usually only consider devices inside the dwelling, such as thermostats, lights, and more. A home is more than just a house, however. Most homeowners will tell you that the overall property -- including the yard -- is just as important.

Believe it or not, there are smart devices for outdoors, and not just external security cameras. For instance, Rachio makes a really cool smart sprinkler controller that offers Wi-Fi connectivity. It even has support for Alexa, Nest, and Google Assistant. This week, the company launches a clever companion to its 3rd-generation controller. Called "Wireless Flow Meter," it can alert you to detected leaks and shut down the flow of water.

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DRM is something that's usually associated with streaming music and video, but there's no reason that it can't be put to other uses. Proving this, Google has started using a form of DRM to improve app security by verifying that APKs originate from the Play Store. It's a system that works much like signed drivers in Windows.

The aim is simple: to improve the security of Android users by ensuring that they are using genuine apps that have not been tampered with in any way. Google is not referring to the new system as DRM, saying instead that it is adding a "small amount of security metadata on top of APKs to verify that the APK was distributed by Google Play".

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Enter the wrong passcode into an iPhone and you'll not only be denied access to it, but also run the risk of wiping its contents if you enter an incorrect code too many times. This is a problem faced by law enforcement agencies when they encounter iPhones in the cases they're working on -- as well as people trying to hack into phones for nefarious purposes -- so it's little wonder that hackers are constantly trying to find a way to earn unlimited guesses at passcodes.

One hacker thought he had cracked it. Security researcher Matthew Hickey proudly boasted at having discovered a delightfully simple method for brute-forcing entry into an iPhone -- he even posted a video of his hack in action. But there's no need to panic. Apple explains that "incorrect testing" renders Hickey's method worthless.

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Linux and user data collection. Some people will decry such a thing, but they would be wrong. As long as the collection is opt-in, it is totally acceptable and in line with Linux ideology. When is it questionable? When users don't have a choice. With Windows 10 telemetry, for instance, users can opt out of sharing some data with Microsoft, but not all. And that's a problem. Even if Microsoft's intentions are pure, and designed solely with improving Windows 10, users should be able to refuse all data sharing at time of installation.

With Ubuntu desktop, Canonical has started collecting installation data, but it is doing it the right way. It shows the user exactly what data could be shared and lets them choose whether or not they want to send it. It is 100 percent optional -- the way it should be. Guess what? According to the company, 67 percent of users decided to do so. That is an impressive metric in itself. By being open and honest, Canonical achieved what I would call a successful conversion rate. Best of all, it gleaned a lot of interesting data, and it is sharing the analytics publicly.

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It is a slow process, but USB-C is gradually becoming more and more popular -- although it's a long way from ubiquity yet. Ready to rock the boat a little, it has emerged that Microsoft holds a patent for a redesigned USB-C connector.

The patent is not brand new, but Microsoft's May 2017 filing for an "Ultra-Thin USB-C Connector" has just come to light. Another patent filing from April 2017 describes a new "USB-C Plug Receptacle". While the redesign is hardly going to set the world on fire, it's the sort of thing we could well expect to see in a refresh Surface lineup.

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