Microsoft continued apologizing for its past behavior by announcing that retail copies of Windows 8.1 will be available in standalone, full versions of the software, rather than as upgrades from previous versions of Windows. Unfortunately, pricing for the new Windows 8.1 editions will match that of Windows 8: $120 for Windows 8.1 by itself, and $200 for the Pro edition. If you already have Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 and wish to upgrade to the Pro version, you can still do so for $100. There’s also a $10 upgrade for Pro users who want to add Media Center functionality. But with Windows 8.1, Microsoft will make two important changes. First, users have the option of buying either an upgrade code for digital download or a retail DVD. That allows traditionalists the option of a physical disc in case of a hard disk crash. But the standalone option also should offer customers the alternative of building a new, low-cost PC upon which they can run Windows 8.1.
It’s not Patch Tuesday, but Microsoft has released a crucial update for Internet Explorer that you should apply immediately. Microsoft included a cumulative update for Internet Explorer in the that made up Patch Tuesday last week, and that update was considered Critical as well. Since then, though, a new flaw has been targeted by attacks in the wild, so Microsoft has responded with an out-of-band update. The tool, which is more of a stop-gap bandage than an actual patch. Applying the Fix-It will protect Internet Explorer and prevent the currently circulating exploit from working on your systems. Paul Henry, security and forensic analyst with , says that there are number of mitigating factors that limit the potential scope of this threat, but those factors may offer little consolation for many users. “The bad news is that this is a very wide-reaching patch, affecting all versions of IE across all operating systems, from XP to RT," he says. "And more bad news: the average user is very susceptible to being hit with this.”
The messed-up world of phone subsidies, the M7 processor on the iPhone 5s, the wisdom of waiting in lines, and what Surface 2 needs to do to succeed. With guests Serenity Caldwell and Brad Chacos.
Upgrading your business’ computers and mobile devices is essential for staying productive and keeping your data secure. But when you replace your hardware, what do you do with your castoffs? It’s an important decision considering e-waste is a growing global environmental and health issue and current trashing bans for various types of electronics don’t seem to be deterring anyone. at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Indianapolis. He surveyed 3,156 U.S. households and asked them how they had disposed of junk cell phones and how they intended to get rid of unwanted TVs. At the time of his 2010 survey only California had legislation on the books regarding the disposal of cell phones and 13 states had laws that covered throwing away TVs. After looking at the disposal behavior of people across states he found no difference in how people got rid of their gear between states with e-waste legislation compared to those without it. Essentially, he found that state legislation is worthless. “It opens the door to people driving from one state to another—not ordinary folks but some recyclers—to get money from say, California, where the goods were consumed elsewhere,” he says.
If you’re sick of getting texts asking when you’re going to arrive at a party or a dinner date, Uber may have a solution for you. The mobile company that provides rides through a real-time smartphone app has added a new feature to its service. You can now share your ETA with friends from within the app by selecting the contacts that you want to alert. Those friends will receive a text with your estimated arrival time, and a live map showing your location, the Launched in 2009, Uber connects licensed drivers with time on their hands to folks who need a lift. It’s a big hit in urban areas with tech-savvy people who don’t own a car and find public transportation and taxis inconvenient, and sometimes non-existent. The app produces a real-time map of your area showing all available nearby drivers and lets you select the type of vehicle you want – town cars, SUVs, taxis, and even green cars. Once you select your vehicle, you’re sent a picture of the driver and an estimate of his or her arrival time. As your ride approaches, you get real-time updates of the car’s location on a live map. Payment and a tip for the driver are handled directly within the app, avoiding the “I don’t have any cash” anxiety and “My credit card machine is down” debacle.
The new Google Wallet app, like Apple's Passbook, contains loyalty cards for brick-and-mortar stores.
report. Cyber criminals figured out a long time ago that the best bait to use for an attack is a topic that's already trending. When there’s a natural disaster, a mass shooting, an international crisis, or a major event like the Olympics or a royal wedding, cyber criminals craft emails and URLs that lure unsuspecting users searching for more information about the trending topic. Thanks to our celebrity obsessed culture, actors, pop stars, and those merely famous for being famous make evergreen temptations for ensnaring victims. Hopefully your employees are working instead of searching the Web for breaking news about Kourtney Kardashian, but you know they’ll do that as well, so you should educate users about the potential threat and share the information from this McAfee report so they can make better decisions. But the onus is on you to protect your network and PCs. Here are five tips to help you avoid most of these threats:
Galaxy Gear scored an IP rating of 55 meaning it's resistant to most dust and water, but not quite as durable as the Galaxy S4 Active.
The end is nigh, and the date of doom has been foretold. The Windows XPocalypse is set to unleash hell on April 8, 2014, and in a bid to preserve the security of its citizens, the German city of Munich is turning to an unlikely savior: Ubuntu Linux. that could harm both your PC and spread to infect your friends. . Munich's solution is much less costly: The city plans to distribute 2,000 Ubuntu Linux installation discs via the Gasteig library, giving its citizens a no-cost solution to the Windows XP conundrum. Ubuntu, like virtually all Linux distributions, has a small footprint and should work just fine on the types of older systems frequently found running Windows XP. The minimum system requirements for Ubuntu is 64 megabytes of RAM (though 512MB is recommended) and 5GB of storage space.
. These deadly celebs may not threaten you personally, but if you click the wrong link while searching for these stars, you’re at risk for drive-by downloads, phishing attempts, and scareware. Last year, McAfee’s top 10 featured an all-female cast that included Emma Watson, Megan Fox, and Jessica Biel. In 2013, the PC is still threatened by a wide array of femme fatales, but one man also cracked the top ten. . If you search for this English actress, you run a more than 14.5 percent chance of landing on a malicious website. Not all malicious searches are created equally, however. If you really want to risk the health of your PC or mobile device, searching for “Lily Collins and free downloads,” “Lily Collins and nude pictures,” or “Lily Collins and fakes” should do the trick. These are some of the queries most likely to infect your devices or lead you to a website trying to trick you into handing over personal information, McAfee says.
The queen of pop is using BitTorrent to distribute a free film and launch a new art project.
The Nexus 4 is no longer available on Google Play, but there's lots of evidence that the Nexus 5 will soon be with us.
IBM will invest $1 billion to promote Linux development over the next five years as it tries to adapt Power mainframes and servers to handle cloud and big data applications in distributed computing environments. The investment, expected to be announced at the LinuxCon conference in New Orleans this week, will fund Linux application development programs for IBM’s Power servers and also be used to expand a cloud service where developers can write and test applications for Power servers before deployment. The investment will also facilitate software development around IBM’s new Power8 chips, which will go into servers next year. IBM is also adding a Power Systems Linux Center in Montpellier, France, where developers will get access to Power chip and server technologies to develop and deploy Linux applications. The company already has similar centers in Beijing, New York and Austin, Texas. Linux is the OS of choice for cloud and big data deployments in data centers, said Doug Balog, general manager of Power Systems at IBM.
Meet the new Asus PadFone Infinity, an awful lot like the old Asus PadFone Infinity—but faster.
" fold—and the refresh includes redesigns of some Google-like features that Bing already offers. Bing’s overhaul isn’t widely available yet and is currently rolling out to users in the U.S. in the coming weeks. Here’s what we know about the refresh so far. you need a complete page of search results. Similar to Google Instant, Bing will show you popular searches that others have done based on your keywords. So you might see suggestions for Katy Perry such as ‘Katy Perry songs,’ ‘Katy Perry music videos,’ or ‘Katy Perry wedding’ as you type.
A Web-based companion to Write or Die, EditMinion is similar to After the Deadline. This writer's companion doesn't track your work, though. Rather, it provides an editing box for you to cut and paste work for immediate analysis and grading.
Tell me if you've heard this one before: "Linux and open source are the future of gaming." For longtime PC lovers, it's a familiar refrain, and one full of sadly misplaced hope and broken promises. But when those words are uttered by Gabe Newell—the co-founder of Valve, which owns and operates the insanely popular Steam PC gaming service—it's a tale worth rehashing. " thanks to the platform's shift towards a less open, more iOS-esque software model. Speaking at LinuxCon yesterday, he reiterated the claim. "I think we'll see either significant restructuring or market exits by top five PC players. It's looking pretty grim," he said. "Systems which are innovation-friendly and embrace openness are going to have a greater competitive advantage to closed or tightly regulated systems."
Dell has introduced an 11.6-inch Inspiron 11 touchscreen laptop starting at $349 as the company reshapes its consumer laptop lineup with a new naming scheme and models. The model starting at $349 is with processors from Advanced Micro Devices, whose chips are back in Dell laptops after a long break. The Inspiron 11 with Intel processors code-named Haswell starts at $379. The laptop will run for eight hours on a single battery charge. It’ll also have Windows 8.1 and a version of Microsoft Office. Dell is not offering the option of Windows 7 with Inspiron 11. With Inspiron 11, buyers can get a touchscreen ultraportable with a powerful processor at a low price, said Jonathan Guttell, director of global consumer messaging at Dell.
Oracle’s annual OpenWorld conference is less than a week away, and as usual the vendor is expected to make a slew of new product and strategy announcements. This year’s show is set to be bigger than ever, but it’s not clear whether OpenWorld’s energy level will match that generated by rival Salesforce.com’s Dreamforce conference, which occurs in November, said analyst Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research. “Oracle’s challenge is that it has to figure out how to take its current customer base and help them move to become a more innovative customer base,” Wang said. “Salesforce has early adopters and people that believe in the religion, and Oracle has people that are just keeping the lights on and trying to cut costs.” But Oracle is making a series of changes for this year’s show, according to Wang. “What they’re trying to do at OpenWorld is infuse some sense of innovation,” he said. “They’re really trying to amp up the marketing and be more relevant to newer buyers.”
Police in Austin, Texas, set up sting operations with cars they have under surveillance, watching for thieves to break into them. Marcus J. Carey’s Web service, HoneyDocs—born in the same city—uses the same concept, only with computer files. is designed to let people know if someone has been snooping around their files. It works by using a Web “bug”—an invisible, 1 x 1 pixel that, if viewed, unnoticeably sends a piece of data back to a server. Web bugs are used by marketers to see if people have viewed marketing emails. Carey embeds Web bugs into documents, then creates batches of documents that look interesting to hackers, which he calls a “sting.” The documents have teasing file names like “passwords” and “credit cards” but contain plausible yet made-up data. Hackers just won’t be able to resist.
A planned Wednesday demonstration launch of a cargo spacecraft could help double the number of companies that NASA has on tap to supply the International Space Station.
, Nuance, a company that makes advanced speech recognition and transcription software, will bundle its Dragon Assistant, a Siri-like, vocal sidekick, with select Intel-powered Ultrabooks and All-in-One desktops. Dragon Assistant could change how people use speech recognition in everyday computing. Even if you’re a good typist, speech recognition can enhance your productivity by letting you handle everything from basic commands to emails without touching the keyboard. My husband was an early and unexpected convert. In 2010, he had surgery on his left shoulder and was unable to use his left hand for a couple of months. His company bought him a copy of Dragon Dictate. He liked it so much that he still uses it today, long after his shoulder healed. He says it makes him faster and more productive (and he already types, on average, 130 words per minute), and it’s also easier for him to work in non-traditional environments, such as in the car or outside by the pool. Everyone worries about the training time—and there is some of that—but it varies from product to product. Choosing the right program will ensure that the benefits are worth the investment. These tips will help you get the most out of Nuance’s speech recognition programs, whether you’re using the traditional desktop program, the mobile app, or the new, Ultrabook-bundled Dragon Assistant.
Your PC is a productivity tool—and a portal for infinite distraction. Whether you’re catching up on the latest cat videos, replying to every Facebook notification, or tweeting your lunch, you aren’t getting any work done. It’s time to get some help. Check out these free distraction decimators: stand-alone programs, as well as Chrome extensions and Firefox add-ons, that are designed to help you hunker down, keep your eyes on your work, and focus on what’s important. Take a few minutes—just a few—to find the best one for you, then amaze your boss with how efficient you’ve become. Note: You can click any of the images below to enlarge it.
A Microsoft MVP—Most Valued Professional—and Windows expert has sent company CEO Steve Ballmer a letter asking him to look into the worrisome trend of sub-standard patches that crippled computers, forced IT personnel to scramble to undo snafus and damaged Microsoft’s hard-earned reputation. Susan Bradley, one of the moderators of the Patchmanagement.org email list—called a “listserv”—who also frequently offers free advice on Microsoft’s support forums and writes a weekly column on patching for the to the list last Wednesday. “On behalf of everyone in this community, may I respectfully request that you assign someone in a management position to investigate what is going on with quality control with patch testing lately?” Bradley asked Ballmer.
Although not originally designed for telephones or tablets, the Linux kernel is now getting more contributions than ever from mobile and portable device vendors, whose input is driving a heretofore unseen rate of development for the open source project. “You see this tremendous acceleration of code happening due to an incredibly broad device enablement,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation, referring to how makers of tablets, smartphones, wearable computers and sensor devices are all using the kernel. “Nobody is making anything these days without Linux, unless your name is Microsoft, Apple, or BlackBerry,” Zemlin said. Collectively, the mobile-focused Linaro, Samsung and Texas Instruments increased their collective contributions to the kernel in the past year, to 11 percent of all contributions, up from 4.4 percent the year before according to Linux Foundation’s latest yearly report on who contributes to the Linux kernel.
It's not just your imagination: The Internet is an angry place, at least if you buy into research from Beihang University in China.
Peter Molyneux’s return to the God-game genre is a bit click-happy, but there are interesting ideas bubbling under the surface.
A branch of the NSA has been collecting global financial data, including credit card transactions and data from SWIFT, which runs an international bank messaging system, according to a . The German publication provided details about a U.S. National Security Agency branch called “Follow the Money” that inputs financial data into a system called “Tracfin” that it said came from documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Tracfin contained 180 million records in 2011, of which some 84 percent of the data was comprised of credit card transactions, Der Spiegel reported. In an email statement Monday, the NSA said the U.S. government acquires economic and financial information related to terrorist financing and terror networks. “This information is collected through regulatory, law enforcement, diplomatic, and intelligence channels, as well as through undertakings with cooperating foreign allies and partners,” the statement said.
If your phone is stolen, you can lock it, and change its password, from a website.
Laut Entwicklern gibt es massive Unterschiede zwischen der Playstation 4 und der Xbox One: Die Konsole von Sony soll um die Hälfte schneller sein, als die der Konkurrenz.
Die Gamer freuts: Weil nicht alle Händler den offiziellen Verkaufsstart von «GTA 5» eingehalten haben, zocken die ersten schon seit gestern das heiss begehrte Spiel.
Man stösst zwei Handys zusammen, und automatisch werden die Kontaktdaten getauscht. So funktioniert Bump. Google hat die App gekauft - und reagiert so auf den Konkurrenten Apple.
Bereits die eingebaute Kamera des Xperia Z1 schlägt sich im Test recht gut. Trotzdem lohnt es sich, zusätzlich die überdimensionale Aufsteck-Linse Lens Style aufzustecken.
Tablets sind der Renner: Gegen Ende Jahr sollen bereits mehr der Touchscreen-Geräte verkauft werden als Notebooks und Desktop-PCs zusammen.
In einem Video macht sich Microsoft über Apples neue iPhones lustig - oder versucht es zumindest. Die Internet-Gemeinde lacht - allerdings über das Windows-Phone-Team.
Auch Digital-Redaktor Philipp Rüegg ist dem GTA-5-Hype verfallen. Sein erstes Fazit: Grafisch ist der Titel absolut top und spielt sich viel «entspannter» als seine Vorgänger.
Die neue Windows-Version wurde innert 24 Stunden über zwei Millionen Mal heruntergeladen. Während das gemeine Volk noch bis Oktober warten muss, freut sich die IT-Branche frühzeitig.
In Indonesien hat ein Google-Street-View-Fahrer einen Unfall mit drei Fahrzeugen verursacht und die Flucht ergriffen. Bereits Anfang Jahr kam es zu einem Zwischenfall, damals mit einem Esel.
«Facebook» für Wanderer: Mit der App Peakhunter können sich Outdoor-Fans auf 300'000 Bergspitzen rund um den Globus virtuell verewigen.
Die Ankündigung, dass Twitter an die Börse geht, hat die Dotcom-Gemeinde aufgeschreckt. Zahlreiche Firmen, darunter Dropbox, könnten ebenfalls ins Aktien-Geschäft einsteigen.
Sie sind die Exoten im Reich der Games: die Simulationen. Wir stellen die abgefahrensten digitalen Nachbildungen von Welt und Weltraum vor.
Neue Waffe im Kampf gegen Pädophilie: In den USA haben die Behörden eine neue App, die helfen soll, Straftäter schneller zu schnappen.
In Argentinien ist ein 19-jähriger Cyberkrimineller festgenommen worden, der pro Monat rund 50'000 Dollar durch illegale Geschäfte erbeutete.