Articles about Digital Lifestyle

Happy 35th birthday email, you've changed our lives

On August 30th 1982, Dr VA Shiva filed the first copyright for an email system. That means email turns 35 today, but though it's all grown up it's proved to be a bit of a problem child.

A new survey released to coincide with the anniversary by Edison Software, makers of an AI mail app, finds that email has grabbed a dominant role in many of our lives and this shows no signs of abating.

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How Amazon Echo could be used to spy on you

As we acquire more voice activated smart devices, there's always the risk that they could be eavesdropping on day-to-day conversations.

We've already seen reports of spying TVs, and now MWR InfoSecurity has exposed a vulnerability in Amazon Echo that can turn it into a listening device without affecting its functionality.

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Organizations expect to fail if digital transformation is unsuccessful

digital transformation

Enterprises are investing heavily in digital transformation projects, with 83 percent of senior IT leaders spending up to $10 million on them in the past year.

Yet, 54 percent believe their company will be out-innovated and may fail in under five years according to the findings of a new survey from NoSQL data platform Couchbase.

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How tech companies stack up for pay and corporate culture

Employee cash

Technology companies are some of the biggest players in the business world, yet many still like to see themselves as being 'cool' places to work.

A new study from compensation data specialist PayScale looks at a number of factors across 52 of the world's largest technology companies, comparing compensation, tenure, job satisfaction, and intent to leave, with some surprising results.

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57 percent of internet users are worried about malvertising

Ad blocker

According to a new survey by advert filtering company AdGuard, 57 percent of internet users have either fallen prey to advert scammers, or are worried about malicious and phishing advertising.

In addition 48 percent of respondents have experienced privacy issues with tracking requests hidden in online ads, leading to the email spam, unwanted incoming calls and IM chats.

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Elementary, my dear Watson -- IBM's cognitive system learns to spot differences in tone

Watson Tone Analyzer

Human conversations are littered with subtle indicators, like tone of voice or slang, which can make the meaning of the dialog very different from what the words actually say. Online the situation is made more complex still by the increasing use of emojis.

All of this can leave automated chatbots and customer service systems floundering when interacting with unhappy or frustrated individuals.

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Younger consumers return to more traditional shopping habits

New research reveals that younger consumer groups are increasingly turning to traditional face-to-face shopping habits alongside digital.

Amsterdam-based payment solutions company Acapture has been looking at the preferences of the youngest and largest sets of digital native consumers -- millennials and generation Z.

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Information security and the generation gap

Generation gap

Cyber attacks are becoming a regular feature of everyday life and it's more important than ever to be aware of the risks and take steps to protect yourself.

But, according to a survey of 1,000 people across the US by password management company LastPass, different age groups have very different attitudes to security.

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New software aims to make employees central to the workplace

With automation and artificial intelligence becoming increasingly important for business, many employees are worried about what that means for their careers and future as part of a human workforce.

IT solutions specialist BMC is launching its new Digital Workplace, a cloud-based service that enables IT, HR, legal, facilities management, and any other line-of-business groups to offer employees a one-stop-shop for the tools and information they need to do their work.

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The pros and cons of smart light bulbs

Home automation, "the internet of things" or IoT, has been a popular subject for the past couple of years. Unfortunately, that subject isn't always good -- some things have proven infinitely hackable, making it a bit on the worrisome side.

One of the first items to make the mainstream was light bulbs, and we've played around with a few and here is what we have found.

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Workplace stress driven by AI and pressure to master new skills

workplace stress

Stress at work is on the rise and it’s driven by factors both inside and outside the workplace according to a new study of 1,000 US office staff.

The report by online learning company Udemy reveals the number one stress factor outside of work is the current political climate (50 percent), while inside it's the fear of losing jobs to AI or new technology (43 percent).

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May the Moto Z Force Droid be with you [Review]

If you asked why the Moto Z Force Droid Edition appeals to me, I couldn't identify one thing, which arguably is odd considering this is a review. Benefits and features feel finely balanced, which is a hallmark of good product design. Oh, and that satisfaction is for the pure smartphone experience, which is premium by nearly every measure that matters; I didn't test Moto Mods that expand capabilities.

Lenovo/Motorola and Verizon released the smartphone in July 2016, so this exploration is belated—and then some. Apologies, the delay was necessary. In mid-December 2016, Verizon sent a holiday review package unexpectedly. At the time, my father-in-law's health rapidly declined—and he passed away about 30 days later. In the months following, as we settled his estate and finalized other matters, I occasionally recharged the battery and picked up the Droid but had no real time to test it. Still, something about how well the Moto Z Force feels and fits in the hand compelled me to handle it. Often. To caress the ridged bezel. To read blog posts and news stories on the beautiful display.

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New digital assistant answers data-related questions

data magnifier

In our private lives we're used to getting answers quickly from digital assistants. So far though this is something that hasn't really taken off in business environments.

That could be about to change as data search specialist Knoema launches Yodatai, a bot that's designed to answer data-related questions.

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Digital assistants set to outnumber people by 2021

digital assistant

The number of digital assistants installed is on track to exceed 7.5 billion by 2012, which is more than the world population.

According to technology research company Ovum, Google Assistant will dominate the voice AI–capable device market with 23.3 percent market share, followed by Samsung's Bixby (14.5 percent), Apple's Siri (13.1 percent), Amazon's Alexa (3.9 percent), and Microsoft's Cortana (2.3 percent).

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Are your devices listening to you?

microphone listening

Increasingly we're surrounded by devices that have microphones. Not just our computers and smartphones, but smart home devices like Alexa and Echo and even our TVs.

The problem is these mics are not just accepting commands, they're listening to what's going on in the background too.

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