Windows 10 Creators Update Build 15046 for PC arrives on the Fast ring

Work continues apace on the next big update to Windows 10, and Microsoft has rolled out a new build to the Fast ring a mere four days after the last one. Build 15046 for PC (no new Mobile build yet) adds some additional functionality and tweaks to the OS, as well as squashing plenty of bugs. SEE ALSO: You'll be able to unlock any device running Windows 10 Creators Update with a Samsung phone The first change isn’t really a change at all. Microsoft has been experimenting with the color of Cortana on the taskbar… and has decided to stick… [Continue Reading]

Google unveils YouTube TV -- live sports, unlimited storage DVR, and affordable price

Cable television is very expensive nowadays, so many people are opting to cut the cord. Depending on where you live, you can sometimes get free over-the-air programming -- this is a great way to save money, but the number of channels is low. Another option is internet-based solutions such as PlayStation TV or Sling TV. The problem with these services, however, is the limitations, such as missing channels and a lack of some live sports. Today, Google is aiming to be the best internet-based television provider with the all-new YouTube TV. The search-giant's new offering is very affordable, plus it has… [Continue Reading]

ITU drafts 5G specs: 20Gbps downloads, 4ms latency per cell

According to the latest draft report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) published on Thursday, the upcoming 5G standard must support one million connected devices per square kilometer and each single 5G cell will be required to have a total download capacity of 20Gbps. Although the report is currently a draft, it is likely that the technical requirements for 5G will be approved this November. At that time, telecoms and chipset manufacturers can truly begin building the necessary technologies to power their 5G networks and devices. 5G will require at least 10Gbps uplink per each single cell. IoT is currently… [Continue Reading]

Most financial businesses in the UK worry about the effects of disruption

More than three quarters (78 percent) of financial organizations in the UK worry about what digital disruption can do to their industry, according to a new Fujitsu report. The company claims this makes the financial industry the most concerned one, compared with retail, public and manufacturing, and utility sectors. The report, entitled Digital: Co-creation in the Age of Disruption, says most C-suite execs (80 percent) see digital disruption as an exciting opportunity, with 92 percent thinking they need to evolve to stay relevant. Even though the majority seems positively excited about digital disruption, 56 percent believe their business will not… [Continue Reading]

Ubuntu Linux-maker Canonical wins award for convergence efforts

In computing, convergence -- having a single device to serve many roles -- is a popular idea. Using the power of a smartphone to serve as a desktop, for instance, is a great way to save money and reduce waste. Unfortunately, there really have not been any successful convergence devices in practice. Microsoft famously tried with Windows 10 Mobile, but consumers didn't seem to care about Continuum. Luckily, Canonical seems fairly unfazed, as the company continues to see Ubuntu as an operating system that can run on phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and more. Like Windows 10 Mobile, Ubuntu phones have failed… [Continue Reading]

SoftBank makes massive investment in WeWork

SoftBank is looking to invest between $3 billion and $4 billion into WeWork. According to a CNBC report, the deal is "close to finalizing". At first, there will be a $2 billion primary tranche, followed by a secondary round worth anywhere between $1 and $2 billion. CNBC also says there is a "tender offer" for WeWork insiders, around $44.10 per internal share. If the deal goes down, WeWork would be valued at more than $20 billion, increasing its value by $3 billion after the last investment round. WeWork’s spokesperson did not want to comment on the reports, while SoftBank is… [Continue Reading]

Askborg ChargeCube 20,800mAh and 10,400mAh external batteries [Review]

I tend to use my smartphone more than usual when I'm away, so before I go on a trip I make sure to throw an external battery in my bag. That way, if my device is about to run out of juice early I can plug it in and get enough charge to last me through the day. Because I want to charge my smartphone a couple of times or two smartphones at the same time, I prefer larger external batteries. Askborg's ChargeCube 20,800mAh and 10,400mAh models meet this requirement, featuring two full-sized USB ports and big-enough batteries inside to keep me… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft to launch Xbox Game Pass -- $9.99 a month for unlimited access to over 100 games

Gaming can be an expensive business, with games often costing $60. Starting later this spring, however, things are set to get cheaper. Microsoft is about to launch Xbox Game Pass, a $9.99 per month subscription that gives unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games. Fears that this might just mean access to a substandard set of titles appear to be unfounded -- games such as Halo 5: Guardians, Payday 2, NBA 2K16 and SoulCalibur II are to be found on the list. Microsoft is quick to stress that this is not a streaming service; subscribers will… [Continue Reading]

Facebook is taking more notice of Reactions than Likes to control your News Feed content

When Facebook first introduced Reactions users were pleased to finally be able to be rather more expressive than just 'liking' something'. But the excitement soon waned when the social network revealed that it didn’t make any difference which Reaction users clicked -- it was simply registered as an interaction. But now Facebook has revealed that the Reaction you have to individual posts have a greater influence over what appears in your News Feed. A Like registers as a Like, but if you react with Love, Wow, Angry or one of the other reactions, Facebook notes that this is a stronger… [Continue Reading]

Advertising Trojans become top mobile malware threat

Mobile malware detections almost tripled in 2016 and advertising Trojans exploiting super-user rights became the top threat. These are among the findings of Kaspersky Lab's 2016 Mobile Threat report released today, which looks at reports generated by the company's mobile products. The company recorded nearly 40 million attack attempts by mobile malware last year, with over four million users of Android-based devices protected (compared to 2.6 million in 2015). There were over 260,000 detections of installation packages for mobile ransomware Trojans (an increase of almost 8.5 times, year-on-year) More than 153,000 unique users were targeted by mobile ransomware (an increase… [Continue Reading]

Performance issues and high failure rates continue to plague iPhones

We reported back in August that failure rates of iOS devices had overtaken those of Android for the first time. The latest State of Mobile Device Performance and Health report from Blancco Technology Group shows that this trend is continuing with the iOS failure rate at 62 percent in the final quarter of last year. The iPhone 6 has been the worst performing iOS device consecutively for four quarters with the highest failure rate compared to other models -- 25 percent in Q1 2016, 29 percent in Q2 2016, 13 percent in Q3 2016 and 15 percent in Q4 2016.… [Continue Reading]

Resize windows to exact dimensions with Sizer

Sizer 4 is a free tool which resizes desktop windows to precise dimensions: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, or any other values you might need for a specific design or document. The program starts very simply. Run it, start to resize a desktop window and a tooltip updates in real time to show the current dimensions, a helpful way to see exactly what you’re doing. If you don’t want to manually resize something, move your mouse cursor to the corner of a window, right-click when the cursor changes to the sizing icon, and Sizer displays a list of target dimensions. Select one… [Continue Reading]

New solution guarantees 100 percent uptime for private cloud storage

Whether public or private, one of the key factors businesses consider in choosing a cloud service is to ensure maximum availability. Cloud storage specialist Scality  is announcing its new HALO Cloud Monitor, a 24/7 solution to provide customers continuous uptime for their managed private cloud storage environments. Designed to work with the Scality RING object storage platform, HALO continuously monitors customer environments in real time and provides predictive analytics to ensure storage systems are performing optimally. Comprehensive dashboards offer diagnostic metrics, monitoring system level statistics, component processes, memory, disk and many other key elements. It provides, user-friendly visualization of events,… [Continue Reading]

Xiaomi unveils Mi 5c featuring its first in-house processor

There aren't many smartphone makers that develop their own mobile processors, which means that Xiaomi is now part of a very select club. The Chinese company just unveiled the Surge S1, which powers its new Mi 5c Android smartphone. The Mi 5c is the successor to the Mi 4c, which is one of my favorite affordable Android smartphones, and it comes at an affordable price (about $220) and with some pretty attractive specs. Let's talk about the processor first. The Surge S1 is an octa-core design, featuring four ARM Cortex A53 cores topping out at 2.2GHz and four Cortex A53 cores… [Continue Reading]

New IT management platform aimed at higher education sector

Higher education bodies face a range of challenges including restricted funding and increasing competition for students. The increasing digitization of the education sector adds an additional worry. To address the latter, IT management solutions specialist Kaseya is launching a new platform aimed specifically at higher education institutions. IT Complete for Higher Education offers a comprehensive toolkit to cut IT costs and maximize resources, while delivering a rich user experience to supports students, faculty and administrators. It gives university system administrators a single pane of glass view into agent architecture, discovery and reporting, as well as cross-platform support. In addition there are… [Continue Reading]

Like Google, Samsung is ready to further embrace RCS messaging

It is really starting to feel as though the days of SMS and MMS are well and truly numbered. Google has already updated its Messenger app, renaming it Android Messages as it aims to branch out into Rich Communication Services, and now Samsung has announced that it's ready to jump in too. After new tablet announcements at MWC 2017, Samsung says that its acquisition of NewNet Communication Technologies' RCS solution means it is ready to expand its messaging services. Samsung's embracing of RCS will bring features such as group messaging, file transfers and video calls to users and Samsung says… [Continue Reading]

Share files securely and anonymously with OnionShare

OnionShare is an open-source cross-platform application for sharing files securely and anonymously. The program uses Tor to temporarily host the files on your computer, and provides you with a cryptic and unguessable URL. Pass this on to the recipient and they can download the file directly from you. OnionShare requires the Tor browser, but otherwise there’s no special setup or configuration required. Just download and install Tor, run it and you’re ready to go. Launch OnionShare and you’re able to add as many files or folders as you need to share. Use the Add buttons or drag and drop them… [Continue Reading]