UK teenagers are spending longer than ever online
Internet use in the UK has doubled in the past decade, thanks mostly to teenagers and young adults who access the internet on tablets and smartphones, new research has shown.
The research, called 'Media use and attitude' was carried out by communications watchdog Ofcom and found that people in the UK have spent in average of 20 hours and 30 minutes online each week in 2014.
EasyAcc DP100 Bluetooth 4.0 speaker [Review]
There are lots of Bluetooth speakers on the market, so which one you choose really comes down to the features you value most. Is sound quality your top priority or is portability and long battery life a bigger attraction?
The EasyAcc DP100 certainly qualifies on the portability front. It's a compact design, about the size of a Coke can, feels nicely weighty and has a rubber base so it won't slip around. The design is quite stylish in matt black with a shiny highlight around the top. There's an on/off switch and sockets for charging and aux-in at the back. Playback controls are operated by a grey, rubbery button on the top, this works well enough but doesn’t have a particularly nice feel.
Just one percent of retail payments is made with a smartphone, and iPhone users buy more and spend more
Do you pay for goods in stores with your smartphone? If so, you’re in the minority. According to Javelin Strategy & Research’s new Mobile Proximity Payments Forecast 2015 report, while 9 percent of online transactions are currently made on a smartphone, mobile proximity payments -- that is using your smartphone to buy something in a brick and mortar store -- account for just 1 percent of all retail transactions.
Apple users lead the way when it comes to mobile proximity payments, with almost 16 percent having made at least one purchase in a month. That’s nearly double the rate of Android smartphone owners.
Working in IT is getting more stressful
Do you feel more stressed at work? If your job is in IT then the answer is probably yes, according to a new survey from security and email specialist GFI Software.
The study of over 200 IT administrators in the US finds that 78 percent of those surveyed experience workplace stress, while almost 82 percent of respondents are actively considering leaving their current IT job due to workplace stress and dissatisfaction with working conditions, up from 78.5 percent in 2014.
My definition of 'modern' computing
Late yesterday I posted my review of Chromebook Pixel LS, which Google released in early March. The write-up is purposely rah-rah to impose the importance of embracing contextual cloud computing and to shakeup preconceptions about Macs being the tools of the creative elite. I also call "dumb" developers who may receive free Pixels during Google I/O later this month only to then sell them online.
One reader comment, from SmallSherm caught my attention, for accusing me of calling him (or her) stupid and for insulting other readers. After writing my response, I wondered how few people would ever see the interaction, which I regard as being quite valuable. So in the interest of fostering further discussion, I present our two comments for your Tuesday thought train.
'You don't post pictures of us on Facebook -- I want a divorce!'
According to a new survey of 2,000 people in the UK, one in seven say they've contemplated divorce because of their partner's activity on social media.
Nearly a quarter also say they have at least one row a week with their partner because of social media use and 17 percent say they argue every day because of it.
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.
DevOps salaries rise as the skill set becomes more recognized
A new study by website security specialist Incapsula and community site DevOps.com shows that DevOps is rapidly becoming one of the hottest technology career paths.
DevOps -- a hybrid of development and operations -- is a recent field, recognizing that software development, quality assurance, and IT operations all depend on each other. It aims to help organizations rapidly produce software products and services and to improve operational performance.
Four into one will go with new TV streaming device
We're all familiar with the dilemma of what to watch, what to record and what to seek out on a catch up service later. There's so much TV content available these days that tough decisions are needed.
It's especially hard for sports fans who may find themselves with several events going on at the same time. Trying to catch up with one or more of them later runs the risk of accidentally finding out the result in advance, so what's the solution?
Withings' scales now tell you the weather and how active you are
If you’re the sort of person who regularly weighs yourself, the chances are you do so first thing in the morning, before you’ve loaded your body up with food and drink. Scales can tell you your weight, and sometimes your BMI and now, thanks to Withings, they’ll be able to provide you with other information to kickstart your day.
A new firmware update for the company’s Wireless Scale and Smart Body Analyzer devices shows the current weather conditions and temperature, as well as your step count from the previous day.
Could old video games eventually disappear altogether?
One of the many great things about the internet is it preserves the past. If you want to read about something that happened years ago, you can find that news story somewhere on the web. Photos posted over time are available online, and historical content is regularly digitized and made available to view.
If you want to revisit your youth and play old video games, the internet can help here too. You can find ROMs to play on emulators, browse 'abandonware' sites, and even play games directly on the web thanks to the likes the Internet Archive. However, companies that preserve old video games are often on shaky ground legally, with the Entertainment Software Association (the trade body that represents the major game publishers) firmly against the practice of restoring the functionality of old games -- making them playable on other systems, for example -- if they are no longer supported by the original publisher.
Facebook usage linked to depression
If you’re feeling a bit depressed lately, try logging off Facebook. No, seriously, get off Facebook.
According to a recent study, there is a link between people becoming depressed, and them scrolling through Facebook all day. It’s not the social media itself which causes depression though, it’s a bit more complicated than that.
Inateck BP2001 Bluetooth stereo speaker [Review]
With smartphones and tablets increasingly becoming the focus of our entertainment a decent portable speaker is becoming an essential accessory if you don’t want to be tied to headphones or want to share your music with others.
Inatek's latest offering has a pair of 5W speakers mounted in a stylish, compact (around 9.5 inches long by 2.5 inches high) black and silver enclosure. It has a nice weighty feel and there's a slot in the top into which you can sit a smartphone or tablet -- a pop-out strut at the back prevents the unit from becoming top heavy and tipping over as well as keeping a comfortable viewing angle -- so you can use it to watch videos. A built-in microphone means you can make hands-free calls too. However, it isn't an actual dock so it won't charge your phone or tablet.
Backup? What's a backup? One in five Brits don't save their PC data
Today is World Backup Day, I'm not sure if it's significant that it comes just before April Fool's Day, but it does seem that the backup message isn't getting through to everyone.
A new survey of 1,000 UK adults by digital storage manufacturer Verbatim reveals that one in five have never backed up their home computers and more than a third never back up their mobiles.
How to overcome the challenges and difficulties of parenting in a digital age
In reviewing the daily news stream it is impossible to miss the escalating frequency of incidents coming out of schools all across the country which relate directly to social media, texting, or apps used by kids.
Sexting, cyber-bullying, sextortion, and intimidation seem to be on the rise. Sexting, in particular, seems to be proliferating and is now surpassing cyber-bulling in frequency and intensity. Consequences for online misbehavior of children can range from embarrassment or shame up to criminal prosecution. Depending on which state you live in, consequences can vary widely. It seems schools and parents struggle to grapple with the realities of a general lack of effective policies, rules, or legislation to address these problems head on.
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