Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » août 19, 2014

BetaNews.Com (15 non lus)

Finally! Microsoft optimizes OneNote for Android tablets

Publié: août 19, 2014, 6:54pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

Microsoft produces some amazing things; the Surface Pro 3 is revolutionary and Office is a staple in productivity around the world. However, there is one service that the company provides that does not get the attention it deserves -- OneNote. Yes, the software that many have installed, but few use, is actually very good. It is a wonderful way to take notes and organize your thoughts. Best of all, it is cross-platform and has a web-based version, so it can be accessed on Android, iOS, Windows, OS X, Chromebooks and Linux.

Sadly, Microsoft did not make an Android version optimized for tablets. This was tragic, as many people use Google-powered tablets as their daily organizers. Today however, this changes as Microsoft releases a tablet-optimized Android version of OneNote. What took so long?

"Even in the digital age, some folks still find handwriting more natural than typing. Beyond the benefits of comfort, The New York Times recently reported on research that suggests students are better able to generate ideas and retain information when they write versus type", says the OneNote Team.

They further explain, "we've made improvements for handwriting in OneNote that reflect our vision for how people can take advantage of software and the cloud, without compromising the comfort and benefits of pen and paper".

As a Surface Pro 3 owner, I can attest to the benefits of handwriting. Sure, I prefer to type when I am in a position to do so; however, in a relaxed laid-back state, handwriting can be the most comfortable. Of course, not all Android tablets have a stylus and digitizer, but a capacitive pen, while not ideal, can get the job done better than a finger. I look forward to trying this with the amazing Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5.

If you are interested in downloading, you can get it here. Tell me how you like it in the comments.

Image Credit: Iakov Filimonov / Shutterstock
HTC One (M8) for Windows is the Windows Phone you've been waiting for

Publié: août 19, 2014, 5:25pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Earlier today the first pictures of HTC One (M8) running Windows Phone 8.1 appeared on the web. The leaked images looked genuine, but we were waiting for official confirmation of the device before sharing the news, and the Taiwanese firm has just provided that.

The HTC One (M8) is one of the best -- if not the best -- Android phones available and the Windows Phone variant keeps everything that’s good about it, including the all-metal unibody design, tapered edges, and curved back, 5-inch 1080 by 1920 display, 2.3 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, and Duo Camera setup.

"Consumers love the HTC One (M8) and today’s introduction extends that enthusiasm to new audiences hungry for choice in their mobile experience," says Jason Mackenzie, president of HTC Americas. "HTC fills a gap in the market for unique devices that put a premium on form and function. Microsoft shares our vision, and that’s why we committed to bringing the Windows Phone platform to the HTC One (M8)".

This new phone will definitely help give Microsoft’s mobile operating system a boost. Although Windows Phone is gaining market share, it lags a long, long way behind Android and iOS and a new flagship like this -- the first non-Lumia phone to really showcase the tiled OS -- is exactly what’s needed.

"The HTC One (M8) for Windows is true to the flagship product’s award-winning design and unique experience while also taking the best of what Windows Phone has to offer," says Darren Laybourn, corporate vice president of engineering for Microsoft. "We succeeded in offering customers the best of both our worlds with this phone".

The HTC One (M8) for Windows is available online today, exclusively through Verizon Wireless. It will set you back $99.99 on a new two-year contract (for a limited time), or $29.99 per month on Verizon Edge. It arrives in Verizon stores tomorrow.

Microsoft Stores will also sell the device with Verizon Wireless service (and a special offer for a free HTC Dot View Case and screen protector) for $25.
Emsisoft Emergency Kit 9 overhauls interface to simplify malware cleaning

Publié: août 19, 2014, 5:23pm CEST par Nick Peers

Emsisoft has released Emsisoft Emergency Kit 9, a major new build of its portable malware cleaning toolkit for Windows PCs. The new build jumps from version 4 to 9, which brings its version numbering into sync with the main Emsisoft Anti-Malware line of products.

Version 9 promises a simpler, more user-friendly user interface, faster scans and improved detection, clearer log entries and a new Pro license for use in a commercial environment.

Emsisoft Emergency Kit 9 opens with a redesigned user interface that’s based on Emsisoft Anti-Malware 9, and designed to fit in with Windows 8. It color-codes the main functions -- update, scan, quarantine and logs -- to make them simpler to both understand and access.

The new UI also features hundreds of unspecified "detail improvements", all of which have been suggested by the program’s user base during beta testing.

The update also comes with the twin promise of faster scans and more accurate detection, with the addition of new malware cleaning routines to augment the dual-scanning engine. These should deliver effective cleaning of even the latest threats while ensuring the computer is able to function correctly once the infection has been removed.

Version 9 also overhauls its Logs to provide more insight into the program’s different processes, including scans, quarantines and updates. The advanced evaluation logs benefit both end users keen to poke behind the scenes as well as Emsisoft’s own support team.

The final change sees the program license shift to free, for private use only. A new Pro license is now available for professional use in the business and commercial environment, with prices starting from $99 per year to cover up to 250 scanned PCs.

Emsisoft Emergency Kit 9.0 is available now as a free for private use download for PCs running Windows XP or later. Pro licenses are also available -- full pricing details can be obtained here.
New ransomware charges $300 (early bird special) to unlock your files

Publié: août 19, 2014, 4:15pm CEST par Wayne Williams

PandaLabs has discovered a new strain of ransomware which it is calling Trj/Crypdef.A. The new variant works like other forms of ransomware in that it locks infected computers and encrypts a user’s files before demanding a ransom to get control back.

The ransom demand says "By purchasing a license from us, we are able to rescue your files 100% guaranteed for a very low early bird price of only $300". Don’t think $300 is a bargain? Well, in five days the demand goes up to $600, and after ten days it will cost you $1,000 to unlock your system and restore your files.

Payment is by Bitcoin only and the demand helpfully tells victims to check the current price of the virtual currency using www.bitcoinaverage.com before making a payment.

As always, the best way to avoid this threat and others like it is by ensuring your operating system is up to date, and that you’re running a good antivirus program. Avoid opening email messages and files from unknown sources or visiting potentially unsafe web pages.
Is a lack of Wi-Fi truly good for business?

Publié: août 19, 2014, 2:21pm CEST par Jonathan Hallatt

As the world packs its bags and forms an orderly queue in crowded departure zones, the plethora of smartphones, tablets and laptops coming along with us, highlights a need to stay connected on holiday. This is the age of the connected consumer. As travel surveys and online review sites repeatedly confirm, the most important amenity for the connected consumer is Wi-Fi.

Whether venues like it or not, wireless internet access is now as important to customers as electricity, or water in the bathroom, and for many more important than a clean room or a brilliant hotel restaurant.

Yet when Netgear spoke to 150 small and medium-sized hospitality and leisure venues in the UK, a worrying number told us they believe guests secretly welcome a lack of connectivity (45 percent), that visitors need time offline to recharge (53 percent) and that no Wi-Fi or poor Wi-Fi is a price worth paying for the experience on offer (43 percent). In fact, 76 percent of the hospitality venues we spoke to believe that the quality of service and facilities available are far more important to customers than Wi-Fi.

Unfortunately, few visitors agree with them. We asked 2,000 UK adults who had at some stage been confronted by poor or non-existent Wi-Fi while on holiday whether they had welcomed being offline for a while. Just a quarter said yes.

Young visitors, in particular, struggled with the lack of wireless access while staying at a hotel, both for personal communications (29 percent of those aged under 24) and for keeping in touch with work (22 percent of the same age group).

This lack of mutual understanding could spell disaster. A third (33 percent) of leisure travelers said they would not return to a hotel that offered inadequate wireless access, and this number rose to two-thirds (67 percent) of business guests. Such a dramatic drop in return business could decimate room occupancy rates. Then there's the loss of revenue from on-site restaurants, bars and cafes as guests flock to more connected locations. As if that wasn't enough, there's the potential negative impact on brand reputation as increasingly vocal consumers turn to online review sites and social media networks to complain.

So what can, or should, be done to address this mismatch?

Despite the fact that our research covered businesses from owner-managed through to 250-employee venues, the trends remained remarkably consistent across the board, suggesting the obstacles (both practical and perceived) may also be similar. In practical terms, concerns around expense, time and lack of IT skills all feature, and all of these are incredibly easy to address.

There are easy-to-implement and cost-effective yet high-performing solutions on the market that do not required advanced IT skills, can be installed quickly using existing infrastructure and that deliver consistent wireless access across the venue.

The best solutions are those designed and built around the needs and limitations of firms, and with security integrated as standard.

It is also worth choosing a solution that can adapt to future needs. Demands for bandwidth will only increase over time.

There are those who could, and in fact often do, argue that all this connectivity isn't good for peace of mind and relaxation and that people should be able to disconnect from work and fully experience the richness of their new surroundings. All of that is true. But the choice about whether or not to connect should be with the customer, not the business.

Jonathan Hallatt is the regional director UK, Ireland & South Africa of NETGEAR

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
A Linux Trojan gets ported to Windows

Publié: août 19, 2014, 1:03pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

While most people consider Linux safe and secure, it isn't always the case. When the bad guys of the internet have a will, they find a way. That's why, back in May of this year, security firm Dr. Web reported a new family of Linux Trojans designed for DDoS attacks.

Now the company reports that one member of that family, known by the catchy name of "Trojan.DnsAmp.1" has been ported over to the Windows side of the computing world.

"It is installed into the system under the guise of the Windows service Test My Test Server 1.0 whose executable file is saved in the system folder under the name vmware-vmx.exe", the security firm announces.

Once it launches it will send a signal to the attacker and then obediently await commands to begin the DDoS attack. Worse, it's capable of downloading and running other malicious programs, leading to an even bigger problem for the end user.

"Certain features discovered by Doctor Web's researchers in the Trojan's code indicate that it has been written by the virus makers behind Linux.DDoS and Linux.BackDoor.Gates malware", the security firm says.

Dr. Web also states that, during monitoring between June 5 and August 13, the largest amount of attacks carried out by this particular Trojan family were actually directed against Chinese servers, though the US managed a second place finish. The firm reports that it has added the signature of this threat to its software, and customers should be protected from it.

Image Credit: Sadik Gulec / Shutterstock
Plans to slap age ratings on online videos are completely and utterly pointless

Publié: août 19, 2014, 12:34pm CEST par Mark Wilson

Head to the stores to look for real, physical DVDs and Blu-rays, and you'll probably find that there's an age rating on them. Now plans are afoot to bring the same idea to the web. As insane an idea as this may sound, this is actually happening, and it is completely pointless and unworkable. Initially starting off with the involvement of YouTube and Vevo, the scheme is the brainchild of UK Prime Minister David Cameron and will start as a pilot program in October. It's something that is likely to appeal to concerned parents, but the practicalities are a rather different matter.

Announcing the ratings plan, Cameron said: "We shouldn't cede the internet as some sort of lawless space where the normal rules of life shouldn't apply. So, in as far as it is possible, we should try to make sure that the rules that exist offline exist online. So if you want to go and buy a music video offline there are age restrictions on it. We should try and recreate that system on the internet".

No details have been given about just how the scheme will work -- probably because it won't work. As I see it, there are two possible outcomes, neither of which will have any of the effect Cameron was hoping for. If videos are simply assigned ratings, viewers will know ahead of time the type of content they are likely to be letting themselves for: a PG-rated music video is going to be more "suitable" for a younger audience than a video rated 18 or X.

For the prudish, it could be a helpful system that will guide them away from content they might be upset by, but the labels also serve as a beacon to children. An 18 or X label just screams "here be swearing, nudity, and all sorts of other fun things". This is clearly the reverse of the effect that Cameron is hoping for, but it's a likely outcome. Make a fruit forbidden and it becomes all the more enticing. Factor in the inability of websites to verify ages, and video ratings are purely FYI.

The second possible route is that -- assuming there are actual checks and real legislation in place -- sites will become inundated with kids creating fake accounts that indicate they are over the age of 18 or 21. In a video store, should a shopkeeper (in the UK, at least) sell an 18-rated movie to someone under the age of 18, there are fines that can be handed out. How would this work online? There are millions of kids online who have become used to the idea of virtually unfettered access to the internet. If they want to get hold of something, they will. It's that simple. Unless the likes of YouTube and Vevo are threatened with fines, what incentive is there for these companies to actually police their users? None.

How is it policeable? The internet is a global entity, and laws surrounding what is deemed acceptable for different age groups around the world differ from country to country. A video rated PG in Europe might be an 18 in the US and vice versa. It's a scheme that's going to create nothing but confusion and bureaucracy. And what does bureaucracy mean? Cost increases. Cost increases that have to be passed on to users in one form or another.

Oh, and the really funny thing. Cameron's proposal only covers music videos. On just about every level it is completely and utterly pointless. It is nothing more than yet another politician trying his damnedest to appear to be doing something, protecting families, and upholding values. In the pilot, there are only two sites involved, and three major record labels (Sony, Universal and Warner Music). This may cover many bases, but it is certainly not going to have the entire video output of the music industry covered. It's a waste of everyone's time.

Pointless, posturing poppycock.

Photo credit: yavuzunlu / Shutterstock
Convert eBooks between 25+ formats with TEBookConverter

Publié: août 19, 2014, 11:15am CEST par Mike Williams

eBooks come in many different formats, and while some are easy to read anywhere (PDF, DOCX) others can be much trickier to handle outside of your regular reader (FB2, PDB). If that’s a problem, you might like to try TEBookConverter, a portable tool for Windows which converts these more awkward eBooks into something you can access just about anywhere.

The program is essentially a shell for Calibre, which immediately gives it support for 25+ common formats: djvu, docx, epub, fb2, html, mobi, pdf and more.

You get plenty of import options, with TEBookConverter able to open selected files, folders or entire folder trees, or you can just drag and drop the files you need onto its window.

Choosing a destination file format is as easy as selecting it from a list. Or, if you’re not sure what it should be, a library of device presets (20+ manufacturers are supported) will point you in the right direction.

By default TEBookConverter runs up to 8 conversions simultaneously for the best performance, but you can change this to anything from 1 to 16.

Once you’ve ready, click Start and the program passes your document details to Calibre, which then handles the conversion work.

This didn’t always run smoothly for us, with TEBookConverter displaying one or two error messages during various test conversions. These didn’t tell us anything useful, either. One suggested that the input files may no longer exist, but when we changed the output format everything ran just fine.

Still, we were able to bypass most of these problems with a little experimentation, and most of the time TEBookConverter ran our conversions without any difficulty. If you need this kind of document converter then it’s certainly worth a try.
Symantec sets out plans to simplify its Norton range

Publié: août 19, 2014, 10:26am CEST par Ian Barker

We all know it's important to keep our PCs safe from online threats, but the range of options available to do that -- even from just one developer -- can be bewildering.

Symantec has recognized this problem and has announced that from this fall it will streamline its nine existing security offerings into just one flagship Norton Security product.

Norton Security combines the features of existing packages and will be available with or without cloud backup. This means that legacy products like Norton Internet Security, Norton AntiVirus and Norton360 will be retired.

Writing on Symatec's Information Unleashed blog, Fran Rosch, Executive Vice President of the Norton Business Unit says, "We are making it easier to select and buy the security products you need, and download and maintain them. As cybercriminals and the attacks they launch become more sophisticated, we're strengthening our advanced threat protection technologies and improving performance across your Android, Windows, Mac and iOS devices".

The product will also be made easier to use with improvements to the interface and cloud-based management features. Rosch says, "Norton Security will feel much more like a service and less like the software you used to 'set and forget'".

As it's cloud based it will be easy to add extra devices to your account. This also means it's backed by Symantec's threat intelligence network. The company is so confident in the level of protection offered by Norton Security that it will be offering a money-back 100 percent virus-free guarantee.

If you want to try out Norton Security ahead of its release a beta version is available to download now.
Emerging markets say 'bigger is better' when it comes to smartphones

Publié: août 19, 2014, 8:27am CEST par Nathan Chai

A new report from market research firm Jana has revealed that emerging markets prefer smartphones with a larger screen -- that is, "phablets".

Out of 1,386 smartphone users, over 50 percent of users expected their next phone to have a screen that's at least 5in or larger. The reason for the popularity of a large screen is that for many users in emerging markets the smartphone is their only portal to the Internet.

Jana also polled users on if they used their smartphone to consume video content and an overwhelming proportion said "Yes". Most notably 86 percent of Vietnamese smartphone owners use their smartphone to watch videos.

Apple appears to have missed a trick in the emerging markets as the majority of smartphone users have Android based phones. However a study conducted last year by Ovum revealed that Apple was the most desired brand in Brazil, China, India, Nigeria and Vietnam.

The emerging markets have also been noticed by other Internet services such as Facebook and Wikipedia. Facebook recently sent an engineering team to Africa to optimize their app for the emerging markets, and Wikipedia has also been developing "Wikipedia Zero" a lightweight wiki client that will be free to access in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.

This year it is expected that the emerging markets will see a surge in smartphone sales. Research firm Strategy Analytics anticipates the Chinese smartphone market to reach levels of $8.7 billion, cruising past the US's $6 billion.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
GCHQ accused of scanning entire nations for hacking vulnerabilities

Publié: août 19, 2014, 8:21am CEST par Paul Cooper

The UK's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) spy agency has been exposed scanning entire countries for server weaknesses that allow it to exploit vulnerable ports. According to reports, it does this using a tool called Hacienda, which is Spanish for estate.

The accusations came out in German newspaper Heise. "In 2009, the British spy agency GCHQ made port scans a 'standard tool' to be applied against entire nations," Heise reports. "Twenty-seven countries are listed as targets of the Hacienda".

Hacienda has the ability to carry out a so-called "port scan" of all of the servers in a country to provide information on user endpoints and scan for potential vulnerabilities. Targeted services include SSH, HTTP and FTP, among others.

The ability to port scan is not new, but such widespread and indiscriminate use by government spies, including 27 countries scanned even before 2009, is a new and shocking development in the Edward Snowden scandal.

"It is a longstanding policy that we do not comment on intelligence matters," said a GCHQ spokesperson.

"All of GCHQ's work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework, which ensures that our activities are authorized, necessary and proportionate, and that there is rigorous oversight, including from the Secretary of State, the Interception of Communications and Intelligence Services Commissioners and the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee. All our operational processes rigorously support this position".

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Roku TV is a reality -- simple and revolutionary

Publié: août 19, 2014, 7:44am CEST par Brian Fagioli
In recent years, I have enjoyed simplicity in my home. Long gone are the days of owning stacks of CDs and DVDs. Instead, like many people, I have embraced streaming audio and video. Not only is it convenient, but it helps to prevent clutter. A tiny box can be placed next to your TV, which can deliver thousands of hours of entertainment. However, which one do you choose? Apple TV? Fire TV? Roku?

Ah, Roku. Something about that box's UI and remote make it a dream to use. It is not much bigger than a hockey puck, but I guess for some, even that is too big. Well today, the Roku goes invisible -- how's that for small? Don't worry, magic is not involved and technically it isn't invisible. Actually, it is being hidden inside the TV, yet it is so much more. Yes, with Roku TV, an embedded Roku is finally a reality and you can pre-order it today.

"Just like our Roku players, Roku TV offers an exceptional streaming experience filled with endless entertainment choices. But we didn’t just stick a Roku player inside the TV. We enhanced the Roku operating system to power the entire TV experience. That means we've applied our philosophy of simple and powerful across the entire TV -- from the home screen to the remote control to picture settings. Combining the Roku OS with our partners expertise in TV hardware design, manufacturing and scale, we're thrilled to deliver the best Smart TV in the market", says Anthony Wood, CEO of Roku.

Wood further explains, "consumers will love the personalized home screen which places their favorite entertainment options like the cable TV box, game console and streaming channels front and center. There's no more flipping through inputs or wading through complicated menus to select entertainment".

Roku touts the following features:
- A personalized home screen with quick access to entertainment favorites
- Simple remote control -- we removed half the buttons of a traditional TV remote, including the input button
- Endless entertainment with more than 1,700 streaming channels -- that's 200,000 movies and TV episodes plus hundreds of choices for fitness, sports, news, kids, music and much more
- Roku Search for finding more entertainment across the top 13 streaming channels
- Integration with mobile devices through the free Roku mobile app for iOS, Android and Windows
- Frequent software updates from Roku so the TV is always fresh with new streaming channels and features
- An amazing overall value -- starting as low as $229 for the 32 inch
Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop the clock! A 32-inch TV with integrated Roku for $229? Sold! Before you get too excited, please know this is not Sony, LG or Samsung. Who are the manufacturers? Hisense and TCL. Never heard of them? That's OK, I'm not surprised. However, in-the-know bargain shoppers will be familiar with these budget brands, and believe it or not, quality can be very good. For the cost-conscious, these Roku TVs may be a steal.

What really impresses me however, is that the Roku experience will be present in all facets of the interface. Even if you go into the boring settings to adjust brightness or contrast, the experience should feel the same. Continuity in design is very important, as it can make a user more comfortable. Hell, a remote without input buttons? My grandma would love it.

Starting today, you can pre-order the TCL models on Amazon, but you must wait some weeks to buy Hisense. Will you buy it? Tell me in the comments.
Microsoft shows Xbox One owners some love -- brings MTV and reddit to the console

Publié: août 19, 2014, 7:00am CEST par Brian Fagioli

In my day, video game consoles were made for video games. There was no confusion over which box did what. If I wanted to listen to music, I would simply insert Bell Biv DeVoe into my cassette deck. If I wanted to watch a movie, the VCR was right there. Only a loon would try to jam a VHS tape of Richard Simmons' Sweatin' to the Oldies in the Nintendo.

Nowadays though, everything is a technological Swiss Army knife. Hell, people buy game consoles and don't even game on them! Whether you buy a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One you are buying an entertainment box that can do so many things beyond gaming. Today however, Xbox One learns some new tricks, such as accessing reddit. But wait -- that's not all; MTV is coming too. Sorry PlayStation 4 owners, you must sit this one out.

"Thanks to Xbox One, while you game, you can also browse the first-ever reddit app for the TV. ReddX on Xbox One can be Snapped to the side of your TV while you’re gaming or using another app to help you monitor and join in threads on the site while you’re doing anything else. Thanks to ReddX, redditors can interact with each other in similar ways to the reddit.com experience, and in addition unlock unique media achievements named after some of the Internet’s favorite memes", says Xbox Guru, Larry Hryb (Major Nelson).

Hryb further explains, "MTV is launching on Xbox One in the U.S. with sneak peeks, bonus clips, recent full episodes from select MTV series with a TV subscription and more. You'll also be able to read the latest in pop culture news, fashion and go behind-the-scenes of blockbuster movies. If you're a huge fan of festivals, and music and video awards, MTV on Xbox One follows the latest and greatest".

Unfortunately, this is not an international affair. ReddX is limited to the USA and Canada, while MTV will only be available in the United States. While I question the usefulness of a reddit app on a game console, when it comes to apps, the more the merrier, I suppose. After all, no one is forcing you to install or use it. Of course, MTV is far removed from its 1980s music video heyday and will likely just serve TV shows about pregnant teens.

Are you excited for more entertainment apps for Xbox one, or do you think they distract from gaming? Tell me in the comments.

Image Credit: best pixels / Shutterstock
The CDC selects Dell for technology services -- brings new meaning to 'computer virus'

Publié: août 19, 2014, 5:39am CEST par Brian Fagioli

When you think of a computer virus, you typically picture software that wreaks havoc on your PC. Hell, there is an entire industry built around Windows viruses. Sure, there are viruses for OS X and Linux, but they are quite rare comparatively.

However, pairing the words "computer" and "virus" can mean something else too. You see, computers and technology are important tools to fight against real viruses, such as Ebola, which is currently causing much pain and suffering. In the USA, we have the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a government health agency, to investigate these outbreaks. Luckily, the USA government is not going to some third-rate company for its technology needs -- au contraire. Today, Dell announces that it will be providing its services to the CDC.

"Dell Services announced today that it has been selected to provide the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with comprehensive IT infrastructure, application and user support services. Under a five-year, $120+ million, Information Technology Infrastructure Support Services (ITISS) contract, Dell and the CDC will extend their 11-year relationship to drive efficiencies and ensure that CDC scientists and administrators have the high levels of IT support they require to protect America from health, safety and security threats", says Dell.

The company further explains, "The Dell Services Federal Government group will provide the CDC with IT infrastructure services that support its vision of IT serving an enabling role in achieving agency goals. Maintaining this edge in an era of information explosion is critical to the CDC. The CDC has developed strategies to use information technology to effectively and efficiently facilitate the mission, while protecting the integrity and confidentially of its information data resources. Dell will provide timely, comprehensive, reliable, and cost-effective solutions to ensure mission and program accomplishment".

Regardless of your opinion of the USA government or its bureaucracies, you must admit that the CDC is one of the most significant. Ultimately, the most important thing we have is our health, right? The fact that technology is being used for things other than taking selfies and video-gaming is quite comforting actually, and choosing Dell seems to be a great choice.

Did the CDC make a good choice with Dell? Tell me in the comments.

Image Credit: Dario Lo Presti / Shutterstock
EaseUS Todo Backup Free 7.0 now available

Publié: août 19, 2014, 12:06am CEST par Mike Williams

EaseUS Software has released EaseUS Todo Backup Free 7.0, a significant update to its popular image and file backup tool.

The major addition is a new Smart Backup mode. Point the program at one or more folders, it backs up their contents immediately, then saves new or changed files as they appear.

Todo Backup Free 7.0 can finally check for new updates on launch, then download and install them for you – no further manual intervention required. (If you’ve a problem with this then clicking Settings and clearing “Automatically check for updates” will turn the feature off.)

The program also features a completely redesigned interface, optimised for ease of use. It's goodbye to the old chunky tabs, hello to far more stylish pastel shades, flat icons and wizard-like simplicity. We'll have to spend more time with it before we can deliver a final verdict, but first impressions are good, and even total beginners should quickly figure out how it all works.

The official release statement also says EaseUS has "fixed some bugs to improve product quality", though they don’t tell us what they were.

Whatever the fine details, EaseUS Todo Backup Free 7.0 is a worthwhile upgrade, if only for the automatic updating. Go grab a copy now, and hopefully the program will look after itself in future.