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Big data is a big opportunity, but current IT thinking needs to change

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 8:32pm CEST par Darren Allan

Hitachi Data Systems has just revealed the results of its "Information Innovation Index," which is a study that aimed to measure how businesses are able to tap into and make good use of big data. And the short answer is that many feel they're not making best use of the swathes of data they're sat on.

The study was conducted by Vanson Bourne across 200 Chief Information Officers and IT decision makers in the UK, and almost half (46 percent) of respondents felt that their current IT setup was hindering their ability to effectively crunch big data for valuable insights.

90 percent agreed that the traditional approach to storing and managing data is a hindrance in terms of gaining insights when sifting big data, at least to some extent.

Furthermore, almost two-thirds of respondents (63 percent) who felt that their current IT processes were unable to effectively support their firm's growth ambitions said the main reason for this was due to data being stored over disparate systems and formats, which made it a harder task to extract value from said information. As a result, the survey found that 73 percent of UK business are failing to actively mine useful data resources they're sat on -- and 60 percent don't have any inclination to even try to do so.

The research also highlighted a lack of understanding when it comes to big data. Of the aforementioned two-thirds of respondents who felt IT could not support growth ambitions, a quarter cited one reason for this as being the fact that CIOs simply don't understand how to extract value from their data. Also, two-thirds weren't confident that managers have the requisite know-how to act on any insights which are eked out.

Almost everyone questioned -- an overwhelming 96 percent -- said that they believed their company was "drowning" in data.

So, what's Hitachi's message from all this? That big data is a big opportunity, and to fully realize the benefits, current IT thinking needs to change -- businesses should refocus their approach to IT with big data in mind, rather than just carrying on regardless.

Richard Gadd, regional VP and general manager of Hitachi Data Systems (UK & Ireland), said: "Information can be a transformative force in business if decision-makers are able to shape what it does. By realigning the relationship between business management and IT, and tapping into the vast troves of company intelligence, organizations can quickly accelerate beyond their nearest competitors".

He added: "Organizations that view IT holistically can enable greater productivity, drive new revenue opportunities, and unleash growth potential".

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Microsoft's Office Mix turns PowerPoints into 'interactive online lessons'

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 8:31pm CEST par Mike Williams

Microsoft has released the first customer preview of Office Mix, a free PowerPoint 2013/Office 365 add-in which makes it easier to create and share your presentations.

There are new tools to record you giving your presentations, draw on slides as though they were a whiteboard, add audio or video, take screenshots or record what’s happening on the desktop, all available from the Mix tab on the PowerPoint ribbon.

You can also include custom quizzes, polls, CK-12 Foundation exercises, content from Khan Academy and assorted other apps, direct from the Office Apps store.

Office Mix isn’t just about adding new content. The real highlight here is that just clicking Upload will upload and host your presentation for free at the Mix site.

Microsoft says your work can then be watched "on just about any device with a web browser", which isn’t quite true. Apple and Android tablets aren’t yet fully supported, although apparently that’s due to change very soon.

The analytics are another notable plus. If you’re tracking individuals then you’ll be able to see who watched the presentations, perhaps how well they scored on the quizzes. More generally, you can see which slides were the most popular, and where viewers spent most of your time.

Alternatively, Mix can save your presentation as an MP4 video. The interactivity has to go, of course, but at least it’ll be viewable everywhere and on any device.

As you’d expect with a preview edition, there may be one or two technical issues, and we saw a few unexpected PowerPoint 2013 errors during our first tests.

On balance, though, Office Mix worked very well. There’s something here for everyone – even if it’s just the ability to save your presentation as a video -- and if you’re currently using PowerPoint 2013 or 365, then we’d give it a try.
Sony PlayStation 4 will defeat Xbox One, Microsoft to consciously uncouple Kinect, says IDC

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 6:53pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

Nintendo Entertainment System vs. Sega Master System. Super Nintendo vs. Sega Genesis. PlayStation 2 vs. Dreamcast. For whatever reason, people are very passionate about the video game consoles that they buy. Apparently, it matters which console "wins" each generation.

The current battle is between Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One. Let's be honest, they are both great and their prices are virtually identical when Sony's camera accessory is factored in. You really can't go wrong buying either -- the exclusive titles should be the deciding factor. However, one of them has to win and according to IDC, the PlayStation 4 will be champion.

"A new packaged video game and entertainment console forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC) concludes that competitive pressures will lead Microsoft to unbundle the Kinect sensor from its Xbox One console in 2015, Nintendo's Wii U will receive the equivalent of a $50 price cut worldwide in late 2014 or early 2015, and Sony's PlayStation 4 (PS4) will emerge with the largest global installed base of any console by the end of 2016", says IDC.

While IDC politely includes the Wii U in its analysis, consumers have all but written its obituary already. Outside of Nintendo's loyalest fans, the console just isn't on the average consumer's radar. A $50 price cut is like plugging the hole of a sinking ship with bubble-gum.

More interestingly, Lewis Ward, Research Director, Gaming at IDC explains, "if Microsoft unbundles the Kinect sensor from the Xbox One console as we expect in 2015, this should lead to rough price parity with the PS4 and reset the sales dynamic at retail. We project this change will lead to enough of a console sales bump that Xbox One will emerge with the largest installed base of any console in North America by the end of 2016. The PS4 should still lead globally, but the unbundling of Kinect and Xbox One should move the sales needle enough to give Xbox One the installed base edge in the United States and Canada before the end of 2016."

In other words, IDC predicts that Microsoft will remove the Kinect camera from the Xbox One console and sell it separately -- a conscious uncoupling, if you will. Of course, this should lower the price and make it more attractive. Surprisingly, the analysis concludes that Xbox One will win the console battle in North America, but the PlayStation 4 will ultimately win the global war.

While I own neither console, I do own the Amazon Fire TV, which can be categorized as a "micro-console", like the OUYA. IDC predicts that micro-consoles will start to negatively impact sales of disc-based consoles. I can believe it -- as a very casual gamer, the Fire TV allows me to get my gaming fix at a rock-bottom price.

Do you agree that PlayStation 4 will defeat the Xbox One in the console wars? Tell me in the comments.

Image Credit: Barone Firenze/Shutterstock
Netflix makes price increase official, but adds some confusion

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 6:01pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

We've known for a while now that Netflix was planning a price increase, though the company hadn't specified the amount it would up the cost to customers. That changes today and, while the increase is minor, the company has thrown in a bit of confusion to keep folks on their toes.

The actual change in cost for the streaming movie and TV service is $1, upping the fee from $7.99 to $8.99 per month. However, it is not all just that simple.

First, current customers are grandfathered into the $7.99 price, and the increase will only affect new subscribers. But that guarantee is only good for two years, at which point the cost to previous members will also rise.

It gets a bit more complicated when you factor in another part of the announcement. The $8.99 plan is for HD viewing, but customers can opt for a $7.99 standard definition version as well. This new SD tier allows for viewing on only one screen at a time, which likely isn't much of a deal killer for most folks.

The company cites adding new content as the reason for this increase, but it's hard not to think that added costs from service agreements with the likes of Comcast and Verizon are not a factor in this price hike.
Best Windows 8 apps this week

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 5:46pm CEST par Martin Brinkmann
Eightieth in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best Windows 8 apps and games that were published to Windows Store. Microsoft has released updates for several core apps for Windows 8 without mentioning what actually changed on the apps' profile page or the Windows Store page listing the application.

Apps that have received updates are Bing Health & Fitness, Weather, Bing Sports, Music, Video, Bing Travel, Bing News, and Bing Finance.

As far as other app updates are concerned, the Flickrology app received a major one that added an unauthenticated mode to the application, as well as support for private photos with authorization, as well as several other new features.

As always, if I have missed a new release or an update, let me know about it in the comment section below.

Red Stripe Deals

The following apps and games are discounted by at least 50 percent this week.
- Sesame Street Touch & Learn TV, eight episodes of interactive Sesame Street content for $6.99
- Discovery+, a Minecraft-like world exploration game for $0.99
- Dark Arcana: The Carnival (Full), an adventure game for $3.49
- SuperPhoto, a photo effect app for Windows 8 for $1.99
- WeatherFlow, a weather app for $0.99
- Crazy Machines Golden Gears, puzzle game for $1.49
App of the week

Snap Attack

From the makers of Wordament comes a new word puzzle game for Windows.

You have 2:30 minutes to build as many words as you can with the selection of letters or letter combinations presented to you by the game, and words displayed on the game board.

To do so, you can use the letters as often as you want to create single-snaps and multi-snaps.

A single-snap consists of a single word that you have created, while multi-snaps are multiple words created on the same board that do not necessarily have to be connected.

Letter and word multipliers are displayed on the board as well which can increase your score significantly if occupied by one of the letters that you placed on the board.

You compete against the Internet in this game, and see the words that others have created on the same board that you played on.

Other apps

Kinectimals Unleashed

Kinectimals was one of the first games that Microsoft released for Xbox 360's Kinect hardware.

It featured lots of games that you could play with the animal of your choosing, and also an adventure mode to explore the island you were on.

Kinectimals Unleashed offers a similar experience, but instead of using Kinect as the main input source, it is using touch or the mouse for that instead.

Unlike Kinectimals, it has been designed as a free to play game which means that certain activities and items cost coins or gems while others are awarded when you level up.

The game features 85 animals to play with according to Microsoft including animals from the original Kinect game.

MTV Shows

MTV Shows provides you with access to select TV shows, but only if you sign in with your TV provider.

Supported are providers such as Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Verizon or COX, among others.

Besides access to full episodes of shows such as Awkward, Faking It or House of Food, you get access to video contents such as bonus clips or sneak peaks from supported shows as well.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($0.99, free trial)

The official Captain America: The Winter Soldier game is a beat em up that you can play with the mouse or touch.

You can play through the first two levels of the game for free.

It is a classic arcade game in which you control Captain America.

You can attack enemies outright, throw your shield, or interact with the environment, and earn experience for completed missions.

New agents who follow you into battle can be recruited in the headquarters and other Avengers can help you out in time of need as well.

Smart Forms 365

Create forms using a what you see is what you get editor. Forms can be categorized into templates and folders, and data captured can be exported as HTML or CSV files.

The application can be used offline or online, and forms are created from within the app and stored locally because of that.

The application integrates with Microsoft OneNote which means that you can send forms to the application.

Templates are created via drag and drop, programming skills are not required for the creation.

Disassembly 3D

This is an interesting puzzle game in which you need to disassemble objects such as cards, buildings, furniture and other items.

This works by removing accessible parts first before you can remove others that may not be accessible right away.

Parts that can be removed are highlighted in green when you click on them, while red parts indicate that something else needs to be removed first before that part can be removed as well.

The game offers six objects for free and nine additional item packs that you can purchase in-app.

Inside the Ticker

You have $100,000 virtual money that you can invest in this financial simulation.

Buy and sell stocks, monitor your portfolio in real time and increase your starting capital using real stock information.

Note that you need to sign in to the application before you can start to use it.
Picsel Security: exchange secret messages with others, no passwords required

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 5:40pm CEST par Mike Williams

Steganography tools can be a quick and easy way to send a secret message to someone, typically embedding your words inside a digital photo. If anyone intercepts the message then they’ll see what looks like a normal image, and never realize that it contains some hidden content.

The catch? You’ll often need to protect that content with a password. And that makes life more complicated, as you must first find a way of exchanging the password with the recipient, and then you’ll both have to remember it.

Fortunately there are alternatives, and SSuite Picsel Security is one of the simplest. This portable free tool also hides text messages by embedding them in an image, but there’s no need to worry about text passwords at all.

To get started, open your source picture, type a text message (or browse to a text file), and click Encrypt Image > Save Image. The program saves an image which looks exactly like the original, yet also contains your hidden words. Now you can email it, secure in the knowledge that it won’t mean anything to anyone else.

To read the message, your recipient must first open the source image in Picsel Security. That can then be used to decrypt the carrier picture, and any text it contains will be displayed in the editor.

As you can see, the original source image is acting as the password here, and that does mean your recipient needs a copy. But there are many ways to organize this.

Send someone pictures on a regular basis, for example, and they could check to see if they’ve received any of these before. If a duplicate turns up, they’ll know the first version was the source image, and can use it within SSuite Picsel Security to retrieve your message.

There is one significant issue here, in that the carrier picture can only be saved in the BMP format. If you’re hiding messages in digital photos then this will make for absolutely huge files, and may also attract attention in itself (most people will save large images as JPGs, PNGs or maybe TIFFs).

There are possible workarounds for this, of course -- zipping up the BMP, perhaps converting it to a more suitable lossless format (not JPEG), although the recipient will need to convert it back before they can read it.

Put it all together and SSuite Picsel Security is a basic, but capable tool. The core technique works well, and the use of pictures as passwords can make your secret chatting much easier to manage.
Webrooming shifts buying habits back to bricks and mortar stores

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 5:37pm CEST par Ian Barker

Traditional retailing models have come under pressure from the internet, in particular the habit of 'showrooming' which involves browsing in store and buying online.

But according to point of sale specialist Merchant Warehouse there's a reverse effect called 'webrooming' which sees consumers browsing online but actually buying in bricks-and-mortar stores.

Men are more likely to webroom with around 75 percent doing it, while 53 percent choose to showroom. Female buying habits show 63 percent making in-store purchases after browsing the web and 40 percent doing the reverse. Additionally, 9 out of 10 showroomers have also webroomed, but only 6 out of 10 webroomers have showroomed -- are you following this okay? Don't worry there's an infographic at the end.

Merchant Warehouse says that retailers can capitalize on this trend by focusing on what makes consumers choose webrooming in the first place. Motivations for browsing online and buying in store include avoiding shipping costs and the instant gratification of not having to wait for delivery.

Allowing in-store pickup and online checking of stock levels are easy ways for high street stores to tap into this demand. Being able to pay online prices for in-store products is important to 36 percent of consumers too. A similar percentage would choose webrooming on the grounds that it's easier to return a product if they need to.

Making better use of mobile is important for retailers too as we saw in the case of millennial shopping habits earlier this week. About 80 percent of all local searches performed on mobile devices result in actual purchases. Crucially though roughly 73 percent of these purchases are carried out in bricks-and-mortar stores. Providing online reviews for the store and the shopping experience can help drive customers to the door.

You can find out more about the webrooming phenomenon and how retailers can take advantage of it in the infographic below.

Photo Credit: ZINQ Stock/Shutterstock
Windows XP use declines steadily but security concerns mount

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 5:32pm CEST par Mark Wilson

It's now a month since support for Windows XP came to an end, and we've already had our first exciting little post-XP incident. When a security flaw was discovered in Internet Explorer, an out-of-band patch was released for XP users despite Microsoft's previous claims that no more such updates would be issued. A month on seems like a good time to assess the lay of the land for the operating system, and that's precisely what security firm Secunia has done.

Looking at the install base for Windows XP, Secunia found that there has been an extremely steady decline in usage from the beginning of the year. According to Secunia's numbers, XP could be found on 22 percent of US PCs between January and December of 2013, but this dropped to 18 percent in the period January to February this year. It is possible that this marked drop could be attributed to people finally coming to terms with the idea that XP was no longer being supported and deciding to move on. But things start to slide further as we move into April.

One week after XP's end-of-life, usage dropped to 17 percent, and just one week later it dropped a further percentage point to 16 percent. Four weeks after the end of support for XP, the operating system was to be found on just 15 percent of US computers. This coming "Patch Tuesday" will be the first one after the Internet Explorer patch was released recently and Secunia is warning that as time goes by, Windows XP users will "be a 'free-for-all' to hackers".

Kasper Lindgaard, Secunia's Director of Research and Security said: "Come Tuesday, Microsoft will be patching some vulnerabilities in Windows, and it is realistic to assume that at least one of these will also affect Windows XP". And this is where the concern lies. "We can expect to see exploits in the wild for vulnerabilities in XP because it is End-of-Life, private users will not receive patches from Microsoft". It is not as though this notion has come out of the blue, but the severity of the Internet Explorer problem means that XP users and security experts are looking at the situation with renewed interest.

"We will see a rise in attacks," warns Lindgaard. "Future patches to the other Windows operating systems will be reverse engineered by hackers, seeking to discover which vulnerabilities were fixed by Microsoft, and subsequently -- if applicable -- modified to work against Windows XP". It's not clear whether Microsoft will back down from its "no more support" stance again, but with the Internet Explorer issue, the company has set a precedent -- and possibly made a rod for its own back.

Image Credit: Jirsak/Shutterstock
Record desktop activity as animated GIFs with Screen 2 Gif

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 5:30pm CEST par Mike Williams

Screen to Gif is a free portable tool which allows you to record desktop activity, edit it, then share the results.

As you’ll guess from the name, the program saves its recordings as animated GIFs, which means they’re limited to 256 colors and can’t include audio. That’s just fine for simple animations, though -- software tutorials, problem reports -- and Screen to Gif has more than enough interesting extras to justify the download.

Setup is extremely easy. Launch Screen 2 Gif and it opens with a transparent frame which you must position and resize around the area you’d like to record. You might also want to set your animation frames per second, although the default 15 is probably enough.

Once you’re ready, click Record (or press F7), then launch programs, open files or do whatever else you like, and Screen to Gif will record whatever happens within its frame. You can pause and resume this as required, with a click or a (customizable) hotkey.

Click Stop when you’ve finished and your recording appears in an editor. Your first steps here might be to trim it down to size, deleting unwanted sections from the start or end of the recording, and removing individual frames wherever you like.

You can then tweak what’s left in a variety of ways, perhaps resizing or cropping your footage, slowing it down, inserting new frames, adding text captions, even applying a range of filters to one or all frames (Grayscale, Blur, Negative, Sepia).

Click Done when you’re finished and Screen to Gif saves the results as an animated GIF, before offering to open the file for you. Unfortunately this final step will only be useful if your default GIF viewer plays animated GIFs; if that’s not the case for you, right-click the new file in Explorer, and select Open With > Internet Explorer.

We’ve covered similar programs before. GifCam in particular is just as easy to set up, and has more export options, including various color reduction tools and the ability to save your recordings as AVI videos.

If you’re happy with animated GIFs, though, Screen to Gif is a much better tool, with many more editing options and a far more usable interface. Go grab your copy immediately.
Samsung's 'Gear Solo' smartwatch could let you make calls without a smartphone

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 3:55pm CEST par Jamie Hinks

Samsung could put a SIM card inside its next smartwatch so that customers without a Galaxy smartphone are able to step aboard the company’s burgeoning wearables bandwagon.

Not content with its current smartwatch offering, the Gear Solo will offer owners the chance to have a device that has its own SIM card slot and allows it to connect to a mobile network without the need for a smartphone connection.

Maktechblog spotted a listing for the smartwatch on an Indian import site called Zauba, which mentioned a device called the Gear Solo with the code name SM-R710. As well as the SIM card slot the smartwatch also comes complete with a network receiver that will allow calls to be made.

The price on Zauba is listed as 12,499 rupees [$208] with the final price expected to be higher than this and the chance to makes calls directly from a wristwatch is something that will understandably appeal to many consumers.

Samsung has had a busy year in the wearables sector with three new devices unveiled in February in the shape of the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit that represented its second mission into the wearables market that started with the Galaxy Gear's release in September 2013.

The three new devices all run on Samsung’s own Tizen OS that is expected to be included on the Gear Solo and one of the main reasons behind developing its own OS is to give a harmonised experience across its smartphones and tablets, and wearables.

Samsung’s latest smartphone offering, the Galaxy S5, is firmly focused on offering health and fitness extras such as a heart rate monitor and was released at the same time as all three of the company’s new Gear 2 smartwatches detailed above.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Best iOS apps this week

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 2:54pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Eighteenth in a series. New and updated releases this week include a Vine-style video sharing app with filters, an animated story creator from Adobe, new games set in the Warhammer 40k and Soulcalibur worlds, a social network for dog owners, a fitness app that promises to "lift your butt" and an endless runner that gives you the chance to watch your friends being trampled by bulls.

As always, if I miss an app that you think should definitely have been included, let me know in the comments below, or drop me an email.

Here is my selection for this week.

Paid App of the Week

Cinamatic ($1.99)

Offers in-app purchases.

Hipstamatic’s new video sharing app lets you record short clips and share them with friends on Facebook, Instagram or Vine. Recordings are limited to 15 seconds and you can apply live filters to make the results look stylish/awful. You get five filters included, and can purchase additional ones in-app. The prices of the filters/filter packs vary from $0.99 up to $3.99.

It requires iOS 7+ and has been optimized for the iPhone 5.

Free App of the Week

Adobe Voice

Adobe Voice allows users to create animated slideshow-based video stories based on their own narrated scripts. Each slide (or "page") consists of a recorded sentence or two, a choice of layouts and then a selection of text, icons or photos that are automatically animated and edited together into a single movie that can be played back or shared online.

You can read more about what the app offers and how it works here.

Other Apps

Warhammer 40,000: Carnage ($6.99)

Offers in-app purchases.

Set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Carnage is a brutal side-scrolling arcade shooter. You can play as either a legendary Ultramarine or Blood Angel, and fight your way through hordes of Orks and occasional bosses.

Each mission has three different challenges that completely change the game experience and there are over 500 items of wargear to acquire or upgrade to.

The developer, Roadhouse Games, says the Carnage looks best on iPhone 5S, iPad Mini Retina and iPad Air.

Soulcalibur: Unbreakable Soul

Offers in-app purchases.

Free to play, the classic weapon-based fighting game features an all new story in which Cassandra and the Edge Master must seek out fragments of the dreaded blade, Soul Edge.

There are 150 avatars, 200+ weapons, and a revamped battle system that makes it easier to play on a touch screen. A player vs. player mode is coming soon.

Fiverr

If you have a talent -- be it singing, computer programming, or crafting -- you can make a little extra cash from it by advertising your service on Fiverr. As the name of the site suggests, most offers are priced at $5.

The iOS app has been around for a while, but has been updated to offer a handy new "Who’s Online" function that shows buyers which sellers are available to communicate with while transacting.

Booty Slide Fitness App ($1.99)

Celebrity trainer Rebecca Kordecki has (apparently) been the go-to trainer for Los Angeles and New York celebrities, athletes and others for over 18 years. Her Booty Slide Fitness app is designed to help strengthen your core or reshape and lift your butt in a low impact way (and who doesn’t want a lifted butt, right?). The app features 21 Booty Slide exercises that can be mixed and matched to create 20, 40, or 60-minute workouts.

Dog Land

The purpose of this app is to help dog owners connect and socialize -- share photos of their beloved pooches and find convenient pet services nearby -- and it has just gained a new messaging feature which allows for one-to-one communication between dog lovers. They aren’t just limited to their local network either; they can also connect and message other dog owners from around the world.

Apple’s App of the Week

StampedeRun

Offers in-app purchases.

After last week’s excellent note taking tool, we’re back to Apple offering a game as this week's free app. As you can probably guess from the name, this is an endless runner, with the aim being to try and out pace the pursuing bulls for as long as possible.

There are the usual fun locations to run through, stars to collect, and bonuses to be had.

What makes StampedeRun more fun than other similar apps is you can invite your friends to join you in the races.
Belkin announces sexy QODE Thin Type Keyboard Case for iPad Air

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 2:41pm CEST par Brian Fagioli
I've never owned an iPhone -- I went from a Treo to BlackBerry and ultimately Android. However, I do own the iPad Air, which is my second-ever Apple tablet (the other being the first-generation iPad). While Android is great, I prefer iOS for my tablet needs; this includes consumption and creation.

Yes, the iPad is mostly a consumption-focused device, but I can successfully write on it by utilizing third-party keyboards. The problem is, many of them are heavy, thick or just plain bad. Finding a high-quality and thin iPad keyboard can be tough. Well, Belkin announces a solution -- the svelte and sexy QODE Thin Type Keyboard Case for iPad Air.

"As smart as it is beautiful, the QODE Thin Type features smart sensing technology that automatically turns the keyboard on or off when open or closed as well as iOS-specific function keys that make typing and engaging with the iPad easier and faster. Not to be outdone in the looks category, the Thin Type's anodized aircraft-grade aluminum design pairs perfectly with the sleek aesthetic of the iPad Air", says Ana Hory, director of product management for Belkin's QODE Keyboard line.

Belkin further explains, "the QODE Thin Type features Belkin's exclusive TruType technology for a comfortable, natural typing experience similar to that of a full-sized laptop. With well-spaced, responsive keys, typing on the Thin Type is faster and more accurate than typing on the tablet’s touchscreen alone. Thin Type offers up to 79 hours of active battery life and pairs seamlessly with a one-touch Bluetooth key".

Belkin touts the following features:
- Protective screen cover and Bluetooth keyboard in one
- Well-spaced TruType keys offer responsive, accurate typing
- Function and iOS specific keys
- Secure-hold magnets snap seamlessly to iPad
- Two angles for both landscape and portrait viewing
- Rechargeable battery with 79 hours of active battery life
- Anodized aluminum body in Silver
- Less than 4mm thin
- Smart sensing technology automatically turns keyboard off when not in use
The iPad Air is a sexy device and it is a shame when accessories ruin that. Luckily, this keyboard case matches Apple's design beautifully and enhances it with added functionality. It is available now for a reasonable $99.00.

Will you buy it? Tell me in the comments.
Windows 7 shows higher infection rates than XP in last quarter of 2013

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 1:18pm CEST par Ian Barker

The latest Security Intelligence Report from Microsoft reveals that malware infection rates soared in the final quarter of last year thanks mainly to three threats.

Infection rates measured in computers cleaned per thousand (CCM -- yes M, it uses the Latin for thousand) rose from 5.6 in Q3 to 17.8 in Q4 of last year on the back of the Win32/Senfit click fraud bot, along with two new distribution methods. Win32/Rotbrow, a program claiming to protect from browser add-ons, and Win32/Brantall which acts as an installer for legitimate applications but also bundles less welcome things.

It was Rotbrow that was most responsible for the dramatic increase in the CCM metric in 4Q13. Because the Browser Protector software had existed since at least 2011 without exhibiting any malicious behavior, many security software vendors had not configured their products to block or remove it.

An interesting side effect of this is that Vista and Windows 7 showed higher CCM rates than XP for the quarter. The report shows an infection rate of 25.9 percent for Windows 7, 32.4 percent for Vista and 24.2 percent for XP. Microsoft has normalized the figures to take account of differences in numbers using each OS.

This doesn't mean that you should rush off and downgrade all your systems to XP though. Microsoft is quick to point out that, "In general, infection rates for more recently released operating systems and service packs tend to be lower than infection rates for earlier releases, for both client and server platforms. In 3Q13, this pattern is clearly visible, with Windows XP displaying an infection rate significantly higher than any other supported Windows client platform, and Windows 8 RTM -- at the time the most recently released platform -- displaying the lowest".

Looking at threats by type, the report shows that miscellaneous Trojans are still the most commonly encountered threat. Trojan downloaders and droppers grew to become the second most encountered category in the fourth quarter though thanks to Rotbrow and Brantall. The encounter rate for worms fell slightly as did that for exploits.

In terms of geography you're more likely to encounter a Trojan in Brazil, Russia or Italy than elsewhere in the world. Ransomware distribution is particularly sensitive to geography with all encounters taking place in Europe, western Asia, and the wealthy English speaking regions of North America and Oceania. Ransomware is virtually unknown in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and eastern and southern Asia.

If you need some bedtime reading you can download the full 152 page PDF report, which covers much more including spam levels and the differences between home and enterprise threat patterns, from the Microsoft website.

Image Credit: micic/Shutterstock
Nintendo says no same-sex marriage for Mii

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 1:09pm CEST par Mark Wilson

Real life sims are very easy to get wrong -- just look at The Sims, for instance -- and Nintendo's latest venture into this branch of gaming, Tomodachi Life, demonstrates this perfectly. Taking a collection of Miis (Nintendo's sickly sweet customizable avatars) and dumping them on an island, the game presents players with a "world full of possibilities". The game's website proclaims, "in Tomodachi Life, populate your very own island with the Mii characters of family, friends or anyone else you can think of!" As long as the Miis are not gay that is.

Yes, in the Disney-like world of Nintendo, same-sex relationships are not possible. You're free to do pretty much anything you like in the game, but when it comes to striking up a relationship and getting virtually married, it's boy-girl action only. Homosexuality simply does not exist in Nintendo's little bubble, and this is something that was noted by one gamer who then launched a campaign on Twitter to try to get the gaming giant to change its ways. Tye Marini 's Miiquality Twitter account was started to try to persuade Nintendo to rethink the game and allow for lesbian and gay relationships.

The Nintendo 3DS game has been available in Japan since December, and it has already proved popular. It was hoped that the Twitter campaign would force Nintendo to change its mind about LGBT relationships ahead of the game's European and North American launch in June. But the Mario factory has declined, saying that "the relationship options in the game represent a playful alternate world rather than a real-life simulation. We hope that all of our fans will see that 'Tomodachi Life' was intended to be a whimsical and quirky game, and that we were absolutely not trying to provide social commentary".

But for campaigners, this simply doesn't cut it. Claims of being "whimsical and quirky" and not intending to "make any form of social commentary" cannot be used as get out of jail free cards. Could the same excuses be given for introducing casual racism into a game? The reasons given are not good enough, and the Miiquality campaign, thankfully, continues. All may not be completely lost, as Nintendo has at least states to the campaign: "We will continue to listen and think about the feedback. We're using this as an opportunity to better understand our consumers and their expectations of us at all levels of the organization".

The issue does highlight the problems associated with simply transplanting a game from one country and introducing it to another unchanged. In Tomodachi Life's homeland of Japan, gay marriage is not legal -- in the UK and US (for the most part) it is. But again, these cultural differences are no excuse.
Dropbox Release Candidate offers auto sign-in installer, better handling of low-space installs

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 1:04pm CEST par Nick Peers

Cloud backup and sync provider Dropbox is almost ready to unleash its next major update on Windows, Mac and Linux users. Dropbox Experimental Build 2.8.0 is now at the Release Candidate stage, and may even ship in its current state if no issues show up between now and its planned release date.

Version 2.8.0 debuts a number of improvements to the program installer, informs the user when the hard drive is full and offers new icons in the pop-up menu that sits in the user’s Notification area or menubar.

Users are already able to selectively sync a subset of their Dropbox storage to their computer via the client’s Advanced tab under its Options screen, but version 2.8 adds a selective-sync option to the setup wizard for those with large Dropboxes (10GB or greater) or where syncing the Dropbox folder would fill up most of the remaining available space on the user’s hard drive. The prompt is skipped for those who have already linked their account to the computer in question.

The Windows and OS X installers also gain auto sign-in support, which means that if the user has already logged into their Dropbox account via the website, the installer won’t prompt them to enter their credentials for a second time. The feature is disabled for those with two-step verification or a SSO Dropbox for Business account.

In addition to these two changes, the 2.8 series also introduces a notification when the user’s hard drive is full, plus new icons in the tray pop-up menu.

Now it’s in Release Candidate stage, it’s extremely likely that the next stable release of Dropbox will be 2.8.0 (or 2.8.1 if any minor bugs are discovered in the meantime).

Dropbox Experimental Build 2.8.0 is available now as a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux. Also available is Dropbox 2.6.33 FINAL.
Samsung design chief replaced following Galaxy S5 disappointment

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 12:25pm CEST par Darren Allan

Samsung has a new man in charge of its mobile design team, following criticism of its new Galaxy S5 flagship smartphone.

Chang Dong-hoon will be replaced by Lee Min-hyouk, who was the vice president for mobile design, Reuters reports. Samsung didn't have any comment to make about the move, though apparently Chang Dong-hoon offered to resign himself last week (likely under pressure by the sound of things).

The Galaxy S5 has copped some flak for once again going with a plastic chassis -- which has always been the case with the Galaxy S series, but this time around, there were rumors Samsung would finally go for a more premium finish. That didn't happen, of course, and there are still people who believe that the plastic body isn't becoming for a costly, high-end smartphone (we singled it out as one of two major downsides in our review).

Perhaps the design of the fingerprint sensor has contributed to this move, too, as some folks have also found this a little finicky compared to Apple's effort on its iPhone 5S flagship. None of this seems to have hurt sales, though, and on an overall level the S5 has been very well received by critics.

Whatever the case, the next Galaxy S flagship will have a new guy at the design helm, and it will be interesting to see what happens with the handset. Will we finally get a metal finish on the Galaxy S6?

Lee Min-hyouk, who became Samsung's youngest senior exec a few years back, is known as "Midas" because he has a golden touch with the Galaxy S series. As for Chang Dong-hoon, he will still work at the company, and will continue to lead Samsung's design centre which directs overall design strategy.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
New UK measures to combat piracy are far weaker than hoped for by copyright owners

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 12:09pm CEST par Mark Wilson

A new deal could be struck between ISPs and representatives of the music and film industries in UK in a bid to combat online piracy. But the proposed scheme does not go anywhere near as far as had been hoped by the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) and the MPA (Motion Picture Association). Four of the country's biggest ISPs -- BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media -- have come together to create the Voluntary Copyright Alert Program (Vcap) which has the aim of educating downloaders of pirate material of the error of their ways. As the name suggests, the program is completely voluntary.

There have been years of debate on the topic, and the BBC has seen documentation that shows ISPs will be doing little more than sending out letters to those suspected of downloading pirated material. The letters are described as having an "educational" tone, while the industry bodies had been calling for warning letters to be sent out alerting downloaders to the possibility of legal action. They had also asked for access to a database of web users known to have downloaded pirated material.

The venture will be financed mainly by the MPA and BPI who will pay each of the ISPs up to 75 percent of the costs of setting up the scheme, as well as paying up to 75 percent of annual running costs. As the expense of getting such a scheme and the on-going costs have been cited as a major obstacle for many ISPs -- particularly the smaller ones -- it is likely that more and more providers will get on board now that these have been reduced.

There will obviously be concerns about customer privacy with any such system, and it will need to be approved by the Information Commissioner's Office before it can be put into action. The proposal is that copyright holders will be provided with a monthly report outlining the number of letters that have been sent out, but details about customers' identities will not be passed on. Interestingly, there are limits on the number of letters -- or "alerts" -- that can be sent out. Each customer can receive no more than four letters or emails (none of which will make reference to possible legal action or other consequences) and between the four ISPs, a maximum of 2.5 million alerts may be sent out annually.

ISPs have previously described any attempts to monitor and warn their customers about piracy as "unworkable", but this time around a consensus seems to have been reached. Whether it proves to be workable remains to be seen.

Image Credit: Valeriy Lebedev/Shutterstock
Snap happy -- Google Camera app for KitKat is a winner [Review]

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 8:26am CEST par Sandra Vogel

I was never a big fan of the camera interface that came with KitKat on my Nexus 5. Having to roll my finger about on the screen to get to the various menu options never really appealed. It felt awkward, and I was always missing the selections I wanted.

Anyone running KitKat may have come across the fact that the camera app has changed. My Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 both got it as an automatic download, but if you are running KitKat on a handset or a tablet and don't have the new camera app, you can pop along to the Play store and download it. It's called Google Camera.

Installing Google Camera

You can install Google Camera regardless of whether or not you are running an app with a camera utility as part of its skin. For example, I installed it on a Samsung Galaxy S5 -- take a look at the screenshot below to see for yourself that it doesn't interfere with Samsung's camera app at all. The Google Camera icon is on the right, Samsung's on the left. There's nothing to stop you shoving both camera apps, and anything else you might have installed to do with cameras or photo editing, into a folder so that everything is easily to hand (and tidier).

Gone, gone, gone

Google Camera adds a range of new features, but it also drops some, too. Quite amazingly, the new Google Camera has dropped the self-timer. I rather hope it returns -- while I didn't exactly use it very often, it is such a basic camera feature that it really ought to be in the stock Google camera.

Also gone is the time-lapse feature in the video camera. For me that was not a greatly used feature, but it is a real shame not to have access to it. It was one of those things I always thought I would use when the opportunity arose, but now Google has taken the option away. Google has also removed the ability to take a photo while shooting a video. That's another feature I want back.

The other major removal comes in the form of the scene modes -- the app just works on auto mode now. For some people that'll be a real step backwards.

A new user interface

The first thing you'll notice when you fire Google Camera up is that it frames your image in a small part of the screen, leaving a huge area for the action button (i.e. "shoot a photo"). That's because the camera incorporates a 100 per cent viewfinder -- it shows you precisely what you will capture in the image.

Now, to be fair, you might not have noticed before that the viewfinder didn't show the full captured image. It was just small areas at the top and bottom of a photo that you missed out on seeing when you framed a shot, but now what you see really is what you get.

Incidentally, when you are framing a shot, a small three dot menu (bottom right) lets you access options for the shooting mode you are using. Here you can switch between the back and front cameras, turn the flash on, off or to auto mode, toggle HDR, toggle the viewfinder grid, and, if you have enabled it (see below) you can fiddle with the exposure.

A sweep away from the left of the screen pops up nice big buttons that take you to the various shooting modes, and a little tool icon that takes you to advanced settings. They're not very advanced, though.

On the first settings screen you can set the resolution and quality of images. What you get will depend on your handset -- check out my screenshots from the Samsung Galaxy S5 (above) and the Nexus 5 (below). You can also opt to add geolocation to photos, set the resolution for panorama shots, and choose between high or low quality for the new Lens Blur feature.

Tapping the Advanced button gets you into just the one setting -- for manual exposure. Don't get excited. Turning this feature on just gives you a standard exposure slider that lets you lighten up or darken photos. It's not very comprehensive, but at least it does let you fiddle a bit. Maybe more options will be added here in the future.

Panorama, Photo Sphere and Lens Blur

So, what about those shooting options on the slide out menu: Photo Sphere, Panorama and Lens Blur?

Panorama is the usual "move the camera around to build up a panoramic image" affair. You get a fairly small image in the frame at any one time, and as you move the camera around to take each shot in a panorama you have to line up a blue dot in a central circle. It is quite a slow process, but I found the end results to be fairly good.

Photo Sphere is my favourite of the new shooting modes. It works like Panorama in that you have to frame each shot so that the blue dot lines up inside a circle, but you can move the camera in any direction. The idea is that you can create 360 degree shots.

When you open a Photo Sphere image on your device you can pan around it. You can take the pic off your device as a full-sized image, but you can't pan around it then, of course.

Lens Blur gives you some control over depth of field. Remember the twin cameras of the HTC One (M8)? In that case the secondary camera captures depth of field information to allow you to implement some fancy blurring effects. Google Camera attempts to do this with software alone.

To make it work you shoot your photo and then move the camera upwards. As the camera moves it takes multiple shots which it uses to identify depth of field. I found it quite tricky to take a photo at first -- you have to move the camera upwards very slowly and keep the subject centered. It's not one for those with shaky hands. It takes a few seconds to render an image, but then you can fiddle with which parts of your image are in focus and which are blurred. My attempts so far have not achieved stunning results, but it is definitely a feature worth playing around with.

Conclusions

Google Camera is quite a major update. While it removes some features, it adds new ones, and both Photo Sphere and Lens Blur deserve more than a second glance. I'd like the self-timer and ability to shoot a still while taking a video back as a matter of urgency, and time lapse reinstated as well. Some more user control over exposure would be nice, as well -- but that improved user interface is a winner.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Panda Cloud Antivirus 3 Free adds scheduler, USB vaccination

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 8:26am CEST par Mike Williams

Panda Security has announced the release of Panda Cloud Antivirus 3.0, the latest edition of its popular cloud-based antivirus tool.

As with many other security packages, the program now has a Windows 8-style interface. Panda has made a better job of it than most, though: it looks good, is easy to use, and you can even drag the tiles around to rearrange them.

Panda Cloud Antivirus 3.0 Free gains two major features which were previously reserved for the commercial Pro edition. It can schedule scans, at last. And its automatic USB vaccination helps keep you safe from autorun viruses.

Both the free and commercial editions support a new Rescue Kit, which can create a bootable rescue USB drive, or run Panda’s industrial-strength Cloud Cleaner to detect and remove even the most stubborn and stealthy of malware.

Panda Cloud Antivirus 3.0 Pro now includes a Wi-Fi monitor, listing every device currently connected to your network.

There are plenty of smaller tweaks, too, ranging from useful new options (the ability to shut down your PC after a scan has finished) to general all-round performance improvements.

And the company is also introducing a "Panda Account", "an exclusive area where you’ll be able to download your products, manage your services, obtain documentation". Perhaps more of a marketing opportunity for Panda than anything else, but other companies do something similar and it can be useful.

On balance, then, this is a welcome update, and the addition of the scheduler in particular makes Panda Cloud Antivirus 3.0 FREE a much more capable package. If you’re currently running the previous edition then it should update itself very soon, otherwise 3.0 downloads are available now.
Twitter bolsters security with password reset and suspicious login improvements

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 1:55am CEST par Mark Wilson

Security is always important, but now that we find ourselves in a post-Heartbleed world, it seems that there is more importance than ever being placed on passwords and the safety of online accounts. The constant advice, that we should be using unique passwords of ever-increasing complexity for each service we use, means that there is a greater chance of forgetting our login details. This is something that Twitter recognizes with a couple of account safety changes that are being introduced today.

A new password reset procedure lets you choose whether reset details should be sent to your registered email address or phone number. Having a choice is helpful in case you no longer use the email address you registered with, or if you have switched phone numbers. Choice is good! Mobile users will also find that the reset process has been improved, and Twitter helpfully provides some tips to aid with selecting a strong new password.

Changes are also being made to better identify suspicious logins -- account logins that may not be you. Using information such as your login history, your location and the device that is being used, Twitter's algorithms have been designed to detect unusual logins. Should a login be determined to be suspicious -- even if the correct password has been used -- you'll be asked (or whoever is trying to access your account) to provide some personal details or answer a security question before access will be granted. Of course, there is a possibility that someone else may be able to correctly answer these questions, so a warning email will be sent out to give you the opportunity to reset your password.

Are you pleased to see that Twitter is taking steps to protect your account? Do you feel the new procedures go far enough? Tell me in the comments.

Image Credit: leungchopan/Shutterstock
Weapon up! Unreal Tournament to return as free, crowd-sourced game

Publié: mai 9, 2014, 1:51am CEST par Mark Wilson

Remember Unreal Tournament? Remember the hours (days?) you invested in it? Well, it's back! Or at least it will be soon… It's a game that we've heard nothing of for some time now, but Epic is wheeling out the classic title for a new airing. This time around, the gaming community is being called upon to contribute. In a post on the Unreal Engine Blog, Steve Polge says, "work on the future of Unreal Tournament begins today, and we're happy to announce that we're going to do this together, with you".

What does all of this mean? To cut to the chase, a new version of Unreal Tournament is, as of right now, being developed. Yippee! The UT community is a passionate one, and the new project is going to take full advantage of this. This is a collaborative project and the finished product will call upon the input of fans, Unreal Engine 4 developers, and Epic. If you fancy getting involved -- be it to contribute code, artwork, or just ideas -- you are free to do so.

Speaking of free, this is exactly what the game will be when it is complete: "it will be free. Not free to play, just free". Unfortunately, an actual release could be some ways off. As the blog post points out, development is starting completely from scratch and will include Windows, Mac and Linux versions of the first person shooter. Epic is very much playing this by ear. It's a unique project "and we don't yet have everything figured out". It's unlikely to be a smooth journey -- "things will probably definitely go wrong from time to time, and when they do, we'll have to work through them together".

Combining the skills and input of a dedicated community is sure to produce something of a crowd-pleaser. But it is not being done just for the love of it. While the game will be made available free of charge, the project will still need to be paid for. To this end, in-game purchases will be made available:

"We'll eventually create a marketplace where developers, modders, artists and gamers can give away, buy and sell mods and content. Earnings from the marketplace will be split between the mod/content developer, and Epic. That's how we plan to pay for the game."

The whole project is an extremely interesting way to tackle the development of a new game, and it will certainly be one to watch. Like the idea of getting involved? Sign up for a free Unreal Engine 4 community account and keep an eye on the forums.

Imaged Credit: BlueSkyImage / Shutterstock