Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » novembre 28, 2014

BetaNews.Com (15 non lus)

Send emails from the command line with SendSMTP

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 6:56pm CET par Mike Williams

If your PC is always running, even when you’re not around, then you might want it to alert you about important events. Some backup programs have an email notification feature, for example, which keeps you up-to-date with backup progress.

Alternatively, you could use the free SendSMTP to send emails and files directly from your own scripts, perhaps alerting you when a PC is turned on or off, an application is launched, maybe sending you a daily copy of a text log.

Configuring SendSMTP is easier than some similar programs, thanks to a simple GUI. Double-click SendSMTP.exe and an email dialog appears where you’re able to enter From and To addresses, a subject line, body text and attachment, as well as specifying the usual low-level details (mail server name, port, user name, password and more).

There’s a lot of information and it’s easy to make a mistake, but clicking "Send Message" should send your test email. If there are problems then they’ll be reported, and a log recording SendSMTP’s communications with the server helps with troubleshooting.

Once you’re able to send messages, clicking "Save Settings as Default" saves your details in an INI file (the password is AES-encrypted, for safety). And with that complete, you can send emails from scripts using commands line this:

SendSMTP /from sender@MyDomain.com /to recipient@YourDomain.com /subject "Subject line" /body "Important Message" /files Important.1.log Important.2.log

Replace sender@MyDomain.com with your address, recipient@YourDomain.com with wherever you’re sending the message, enter a custom subject line and body text, provide your own list of attachments (or leave them out entirely) and you’re ready to go.

Or, if you need more control, SendSMTP has plenty of additional options. You’re able to specify custom servers, credentials, mail agent and HELO names, CC and BCC addresses, and more. Entering SendSMTP /? displays the full list of commands.

Overall, SendSMTP is a powerful email automation tool with a stack of features, but its GUI is the real highlight. Its ability to save your core settings means you don’t have to master lots of cryptic command line switches, and can instead be using the program in just a few minutes.
The benefits of choosing SaaS over ASP

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 5:51pm CET par Tim Wheatcroft

There has been a lot of discussion in the treasury management software market over the years about which deployment method is the best for clients. The general consensus, both among industry experts and, as evidenced by growth figures put out by analysts such as IDC and Apps Run The World, is that the installed model is on its last legs and SaaS (software as a service) is how the majority of treasury systems will be deployed in the future.

Given this backdrop, it’s not hugely surprising that the treasury vendors themselves are clamoring to talk about how their solutions are SaaS, in order to capitalize on market interest.

That would be all well and good should all of these vendors actually provide SaaS models. But they don’t. There is a significant difference between the more generic "cloud" software and SaaS. All SaaS software is in the cloud, but not all cloud software is SaaS.

What, then, is SaaS? According to Gartner, SaaS is "[...] software that is owned, delivered and managed remotely by one or more providers. The provider delivers software based on one set of common code and data definitions that is consumed in a one-to-many model by all contracted customers at any time".

If your vendor says that they offer a cloud-based solution, but do not specify that it’s SaaS, it probably means that they provide software as an ASP (application service provider), where each organization uses their individual version of the software, delivered via a web. This distinction may seem minor to the end user, but it’s key in many ways.

While the ASP model offers many of the benefits of SaaS, such as ease of end-user deployment, it misses many of the support and innovation benefits that SaaS provides. This may not be noticeable to the customer when they roll out the software, but should issues with the deployment arise, it all becomes very clear.

So, what are some specific examples of a true-SaaS solution that an ASP can’t offer?

Monitoring

Because all clients are on one infrastructure, metrics such as usage, issues and performance can be universally monitored effectively -- we can see if it’s just your problem or if everyone suffers. This can save hours in support troubleshooting.

Software Management

While software upgrades are completely managed by the vendor without the need for any user or IT involvement, it is the immediacy that this can be delivered that distances SaaS from ASP or hosted software solutions.

Every customer can be upgraded simultaneously which means that if there is a problem connecting to a bank, a report that needs updating, or if an urgent operating system update is required, this can be done now for everyone, rather than individual efforts for each customer or for small groups of customers.

There is no benefit to having your own hosted infrastructure, provisioned just for you. The responsiveness when it comes to security, performance and application support is degraded to the point that you might as well be figuring out the problems yourselves.

Security

When your treasury application and data are hosted in the cloud, security of that data and treasury workflow is heightened.

If multiple systems and IT environments are provisioned for each client or small groups of clients, then one of two things is happening: a) the vendor’s information security budget is spread across more than just a single IT environment, or b) there is much more redundant spending on information security, diverting resources from other areas of the software service, such as product development, for example.

Business Continuity

Treasury is a critical application that cannot afford to be offline for hours or days. As a result, the requirement is to ensure that the entire treasury solution -- and not just the data -- can be replicated close to immediately, with effectively no data loss.

While IT will draft requirements using metrics such as RTO and RPO, in treasury, our needs are simple: I need to access my data, my reports, my customizations and have all my connectivity uninterrupted. SaaS allows the entire solution to be replicated to avoid disruption.

System Performance

It’s key to treasury that this monitoring translates to deployment of IT resources to ensure performance is consistent and smooth -- no matter what geography, what time of month and what other clients may be doing with the system. Not only does SaaS allow the recognition of performance issues centrally by the vendor, it also allows resolution of issues proactively so that, from the treasury user’s perspective, there was no issue.

So what questions should you ask your software vendor to find out what type of cloud software they are offering? The most obvious is "do you offer a pure SaaS solution?". As long as your vendor isn’t trying to confuse things with a misleading answer, this should clear it up.

If they do say that they provide a SaaS offering, you should see if they can offer all of the benefits listed above. If the answer to any of these questions is "No", it means that you are not being offered a true SaaS treasury management solution, regardless of what the sales guy says. While a non-SaaS solution may work for your organization, you will be missing out on many of the benefits of SaaS that you read about.

Also, if your vendor is making false claims about this, what else are they saying that isn’t true?

Tim Wheatcroft is director of corporate communications at Kyriba.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Photo Credit: wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock
Anvisoft releases 1-click repair tool PC Plus

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 5:51pm CET par Mike Williams

Anvisoft has released PC Plus, a simple tool which provides one-click solutions for 30 common PC problems.

The issues include missing desktop icons, Internet Explorer crashes, assorted DLL error messages, can’t run Task Manager or Regedit, 3D games not running full screen, and more, all organized across five categories: Desktop, Network, System, Software, Games.

As with similar applications, PC Plus is aimed at the total novice. There’s no need to understand or troubleshoot the problem, at least in theory: just choose the issue that matches your symptoms, click "Fix", and the program applies the appropriate tweaks.

While this seems like a reasonable idea, PC Plus has a few issues.

The program home page lists items like "Chrome crashed" and "Wireless network issue", for example, but those descriptions are vague in the extreme, and if you check the Software and Network sections then it’s not clear which -- if any -- of the fixes will help.

There’s also no "Undo" option. The program doesn’t create a Restore Point before making any changes, either. And the English translation could use a little work ("shortcut cannot recognized and unavailable").

Despite that, PC Plus can already fix a few problems easily enough, and there’s no reason its own issues can’t be resolved within days. We’ll be interested to see how it develops.
Best Windows 8 apps this week

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 4:48pm CET par Martin Brinkmann

One-hundred and nine in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8 in the last seven days.

This week has seen several new game releases but not a single app release of note. Notable games include Pastry Paradise, a match-3 type of game that introduces several new elements to the genre and Brave Furries, a great looking and playing puzzle game.

As always, if I missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email instead.

Red Stripe Deals

This week's selection of apps and games that have been discounted by at least 50 percent.

Shark Dash!, a physics-based puzzle game for $0.99

Machinarium, an adventure game for $0.99

Chaos Control, a task manager and to-do list app for $3.99

Recipe Keeper Pro, a recipe management app for $1.99

Reading Trainer, reading speed improvement app for $1.49

Princess Isabella: A Witch's Curse (Full), a "find in picture" adventure game for 1.49

Best app of the week

Pastry Paradise

Pastry Paradise is a well done match-3 type of game that introduces one new element to the game type. In addition to swapping elements vertically or horizontally, you can also swap them diagonally.

That's not the only change though that it brings to the table. You battle against computer controlled players at times trying to swap a certain number of tiles to your color before the opponent does so.

This introduces a new element of strategy to the game that can be challenging at times.

The game is well done and thoughtfully designed, and if you like match-three types of games you will certainly enjoy this one as well.

Other apps

Brave Furries

A smart puzzle game in which you complete challenges to proceed in the game.

It is your task to collect all the stars in each level by selecting furries to jump on them.

They do jumps in a straight line only which means that you have to find the right order of selecting furries to catch all the stars in a level.

Later stages introduce different colors and other elements that increase the difficulty level.

Eyes of the Dungeons Free

Eyes of the Dungeons Free is a challenging puzzle game in which you try to reach the next level by opening the trap door of the current one using the key that is somewhere on the level.

You encounter switches and one-way tiles on each level and it gets increasingly difficult to get to the exit after a couple of introductory levels.

The game is optimized for touch-based devices but you can play it with the keyboard as well using the arrow keys for movement and WASD for interaction with the environment.

NFL Rush Heroes and Rivals

NFL Rush Heroes and Rivals is part simulation part mini-game series.

You build and equip your avatar and other team players in the simulation part after you select your favorite NFL Team.

The mini-games are simple but fun to play. Breakaway is a running game in which you dodge, jump and avoid obstacles as well as the opposing player trying to catch you.

You can play against rivals too but instead of playing on your own you are selecting strategies for the team and optional power-ups.

NFL Rush Heroes and Rivals is a fun game that football fans may like even though it is not a deep game by any means.

Slide Quest: Snack Crush Saga

Slide Quest is a match-3 type of game that plays in a similar style to the all-popular Candy Crush Saga, but instead of swapping two pieces on the board you slide rows or columns instead to find matches.

It uses touch-based controls which means that you cannot play it with mouse and keyboard.

The game is packed with 500 levels with varying objectives for you to play through.

Shoot 'em Down: Shooting Game

Join the terrorist or counter-terrorist side in this action packed single-player game reminiscent of Counter-Strike.

At the beginning of the game you choose which map you want to play and which of the 17 weapons you want to carry with you.

The game's keyboard and mouse controls are rather wonky as it does not use the standard WASD for movement but AS and D.

Graphics are quite nice for a game of its kind but it lacks the multi-player excitement and variety of PC games like Counter-Strike Go.
US military worried about stolen cars being used as weapons

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 4:26pm CET par Jamie Hinks

The US military is preparing to wage war on car crime with the specific remit to develop a plan with manufacturers that prevents hackers stealing cars and one day turning them into weapons.

A group of hackers was recently hired by the US Defense Department to see if they could break into a 2012 model car and computer scientist Kathleen Fisher, who heads the group, showed that an electronic key could be created to unlock to car’s network.

Fisher admitted to the Associated Press that the process would take months but from then on it would be "pretty easy to package up the smarts and make it available online, perhaps in a black-market type situation".

The goal of the project is to adapt the lines of computer code that are most vulnerable to hackers, patch them up and then release a code to car manufacturers that is easily adaptable but remains safe.

Car manufacturers are also working to address the concerns over hackers targeting cars and the Association of Global Automakers, which includes Honda and Toyota, has already created an "information and analysis center".

"Before, when you designed something, you looked at how might components fail," said Michael Cammisa, director of safety for the Association of Global Automakers. "Now, you have to look at how would somebody maliciously attack the vehicle".

There have been no known instances of hackers gaining remote access to a car, however, one in three car thefts in London is now carried out by hackers taking advantage of key fobs thus leading to worries of full scale control becoming an issue.

"The danger comes in when this access can be attained remotely. This type of remote access requires an entry point other that the vehicles physical diagnostics port", Jacques Louw, senior information security consultant at MWR InfoSecurity, told the Huffington Post. "As security has not been a prime objective for vehicle manufacturers in the past these systems have been tightly integrated, leading to a situation where the security of an in-car media player can affect the car’s brakes".

Photo Credit: MisterElements /Shutterstock

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Manage PC processes, services, drivers with Listsp

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 4:25pm CET par Mike Williams

Is your PC slow? Unstable? Whenever your system is misbehaving, it’s wise to take a look at how it’s configured, and the various processes it might be running.

You could get a basic view with Task Manager and assorted Control Panel applets. But the open source Listsp is a more complete solution, and gives you access to processes, services and driver information from a single interface.

The program is portable and adware-free. Unzip the download, launch Listsp.exe and it leaps into action, organizing details of your system across four tabs.

The default Processes tab displays a view of your running processes. It’s just a table (there’s no tree view), but you get a huge amount of detail: name, PID, priority, memory usage, threads, I/O reads/ writes, page faults, page file usage, handles, DEP status and more.

The problem with this is there’s too much detail, making for a very wide table and a lot of horizontal scrolling. We couldn’t see a way to turn off columns we didn’t need, and there’s no single Properties-type dialog to display everything about a process in one place.

Right-click a process and life gets more interesting, as Listsp provides an enormous number of process management tools. You can suspend and resume a process, close or restart it, change its process/ page/ I/O priority, reduce its RAM use, close file handles, inject a DLL, search for it online, and view a host of low-level details (modules, threads, privileges, memory blocks, strings, file handles, network connections, windows and more).

Many of these options open another window with more information, and additional tools. Choose to view the text strings in a process and you’re able to view them, maybe save them to disk. And the "List Windows" option displays a list of windows belonging to a process, includes some unusual low-level details (class name, style), and allows you to set their opacity, highlight them in the taskbar, set them to be "always on top", and more.

Listsp’s Services tab lists your Windows services in another extremely wide table. Including the Description field on a single line doesn’t help (that required more than twice the width of our 1920 pixel screen, all on its own).

But right-click, and again it’s surprising what you can do. There are options to set startup and service type, work with dependents and dependencies (including adding and removing them, stopping dependencies before you touch the current service), tweak error control, open the item in Regedit, even delete the service entirely.

The Drivers tab follows the same pattern. A cluttered table, but you can also start, stop, restart or disable a driver, change its startup type and more. That’s arguably a bad idea if you don’t know what you’re doing -- one mistake could cripple your PC -- but we like having these capabilities to hand.

The final Network tab is a little safer, displaying a more basic list of your open network connections. Right-clicking these displays an option to close them, although again you get a lot of choice: you’re able to close the local and remote port or connection.

Listsp’s cluttered interface means it’s not going to be anyone’s Task Manager replacement of choice. Process Explorer and Process Hacker are far more comfortable to use.

Still, the program provides a lot of low-level information and features, and Windows experts should probably keep a copy around for occasional use.
11 top tips to get the most from iPhone 6 and iOS 8.1

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 2:39pm CET par Joan Opiyo
For those of you who have made the commitment of purchasing the new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, you’ve probably spent a fair bit of time figuring out all the cool tricks and shortcuts that they offer. The same may also be true for anyone who has recently upgraded to Apple’s new operating system, iOS 8.1.

However, there are always a few secrets that slip under the radar. With that in mind, here are 11 tips and tricks for your iPhone 6 and iOS 8.1 that you may not know yet, but definitely should.
1. If you feel the need to share your location with your friends, this can be easily done. Just click "details" in the conversation thread and select "send my location".
2. We’ve all been in the position at some point when we’re about head out and realize our phone is almost out of battery, so here’s a sneaky trick for faster charging. The iPad charger actually charges your iPhone 6 faster without damaging its battery.
3. It’s not possible to respond to a text without leaving the app you’re in. Simply pull the notification downwards and type the response in the provided text box. Now you can get straight back to Candy Crush Saga.
4. Want to find out what’s draining your battery? You can now view the full list of apps that are draining most of your battery power by checking on Battery Usage.
5. Hide photos away from prying eyes by selecting the photo you want to hide, long-pressing it and it will be filed away in your "hidden folder".
6. Do not disturb. You can mute alerts for text messages from particular people by selecting the 'do not disturb' option in your message details menu.
7. A really nifty feature of Apple’s new hardware and software is the credit card scanner. Rather than typing in your credit card details when purchasing an item via Safari, you can instead scan the card using the iPhone camera.
8. Have you ever deleted a photo by accident and wanted to get it back? Now you can, as deleted photos are now stored in the "recently deleted" album for up to 30 days before being wiped out forever.
9. Getting a bit bored of all that color and fancy a change? If so, simply turn on the Grayscale mode to change everything into black and white.
10. "This photo will self-destruct in 10 seconds". If you so wish, you can send photos to other users via iMessage which will self-destruct following a set period of time.
11. Final tip, find app recommendations based on your location. Walk past a business with an iOS app and a small notification will pop up on your iPhone. Touch and swipe the notification and go to the app or app store to download the app.
Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
India falls in love with smartphones and tablets

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 1:15pm CET par Ian Barker

We're frequently being told that the real potential for growth in mobile devices sales is coming from emerging markets, particularly in Asia and the Far East.

The latest research findings from IDC into the Indian market bears this out with strong growth in sales of both smartphones and tablets.

A new high in smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2014 saw them take over 30 percent of the Indian market for the first time with 23.3 million units shipped. That represents a growth of 27 percent over the previous quarter and 82 percent year on year.

Most of these are standard smartphones rather than oversized devices, however. "With 6 percent of the overall smartphone market, Phablets (which IDC defines as smartphones with a screen size of 5.5 inches to 6.99 inches) are observed to be hitting a plateau," says Kiran Kumar, Research Manager, Client Devices at IDC India. "Smartphones with screen sizes between 4.5 inches and 5.5 inches are seen as the sweet spot for consumer preference. However, consumers need larger screen sizes to enjoy media content and with the 4G rollout expected in calendar year 2015, we expect the Phablets segment to pick up again".

Looked at by manufacturer, Samsung is the market leader with 24 percent, followed by local brand Micromax on 20 percent, up two percent on the previous quarter, whilst Samsung’s share contracted slightly. Next come Lava and Karbonn, with Motorola rounding off the top five.

The tablet market has also shown its best year to date growth, with quarter on quarter growth of 10 percent in the third quarter taking it to 0.94 million units. Android devices dominate with 90 percent of the market and this trend is expected to continue. The adoption of Windows tablets is forecast to increase as units become available at lower prices but they’re starting from a low base.

Samsung again has the largest share of the market with 22.2 percent with Micromax second on 10.9 percent. Coming up fast in third is relative newcomer iBall on 10.6 percent, its growth mainly coming from consumer sales.

Next year IDC expects the commercial tablet market to show the most growth whilst consumer sales remain relatively stable. "We are likely to see increased activity by PC OEMs in the tablets space with a focus on the 7 inch and 8 inch form factor," says Tanvi Mann, Market Analyst at IDC India.

More information on IDC's market trackers is available on the company's website.

Image Credit: SnowWhiteimages / Shutterstock
Social networks told to be honest and stop bamboozling their users

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 1:07pm CET par Mark Wilson

The UK parliament is calling on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to simplify their terms and conditions. The Science and Technology Committee has expressed concern that privacy policies and other documents are strewn with legal terms that most people do not read or understand. This means that most social network users are simply not aware that they have agreed for their personal information to be used in various ways -- and are certainly unaware of how it might be used.

The Committee is calling for social networks to make a commitment to explain in very clear terms how personal data is shared and used. It wants to work with the government to draw up a set of standards -- almost a social networking manifesto -- that companies can sign up to.

Facebook has already put forward proposals to simplify its privacy policy in the hope that people will actually read them. But the committee believes there is still a lot of work to do, expressing concerns that these contrasts are "not fit as a mechanism for demonstrating that users have given informed consent for some of the ways companies are now exploiting personal data". What many find particularly worrying is the trend for social networks to hang onto personal information that is not technically required to use the services.

Andrew Miller, chairman of the Science and Technology Committee, said:

Let’s face it, most people click yes to terms and conditions contracts without reading them, because they are often laughably long and written in the kind of legalese you need a law degree from the USA to understand. Socially responsible companies wouldn’t want to bamboozle their users, of course, so we are sure most social media developers will be happy to sign up to the new guidelines on clear communication and informed consent that we are asking the Government to draw up.

At the moment there is just talk of a voluntary code of conduct, but the committee says that it will consider legislation if necessary. As The Next Web points out, the majority of social networks targeted by this venture are based in the US and are covered by US law, meaning that it would be difficult to make the UK guidelines anything other than voluntary.

Photo credit: Ivelin Radkov / Shutterstock
Jolla on Indiegogo campaign: The more money you give, the more features Tablet gets

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 12:41pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

Jolla's Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, initiated to help it bring its first tablet to market, is already a success with 12 more days to go until the deadline. The Finnish company has raised nearly $1.3 million so far, which is close to $1 million over the $385,000 goal. You may think that Jolla is resting on its laurels now, but you'd be wrong.

Jolla wants to keep the campaign's momentum going, as it just introduced three Stretch goals. The idea is simple -- the more money the company raises the more features Tablet gets. That is a nice incentive to back the campaign. Luckily for those who have already done so, at this point, hitting the first Stretch goal looks like a done deal.

The first Stretch goal is reached at the $1.5 million mark. To celebrate this achievement, Jolla will bake in support for microSD cards of up to 128 GB in size. Tablet has supported microSD cards from the get go, but limited at 32 GB in size.

The extra storage capacity can come in handy, when storing large files like movies, although I have to say that the current maximum of 64 GB (32 GB from the internal storage, and another 32 GB using the microSD card slot) already looks sufficient for most people.

But, you know how it goes -- the more you pay the more you get. So the second Stretch goal will add more value to Tablet. To hit it, Jolla has to raise $1.75 million. What does it "unlock"? Well, Tablet will gain split-screen functionality, allowing users to view two apps side-by-side.

Now this is a more useful feature to have, and one that will undoubtedly be appreciated by more folks. There is a catch -- if this Stretch goal is hit, the feature (which is showcased in the image at the top of the article) will only be available starting Q3 2015.

The same estimate applies to the third Stretch goal, which is hit at the $2.5 million mark. It will give backers the option to get their Tablets with 3.5G cellular connectivity, on top of the Wi-Fi 802.11n that is offered now.

The added cost for the option is only $30, and it will be available first -- assuming that the third Stretch goal is hit -- in Europe. Like the split-screen functionality, the 3G support will be enabled by a software update.

I have to say that I am impressed with the way Jolla has handled its crowdfunding campaign so far. The tablet looks good on paper, the goal it set was low enough to be hit early (so the launch of Tablet was practically a sure thing, even before the campaign launched), and the latest updates are bound to generate further interest in backing Jolla's tablet efforts.
RootsMagic 7 adds automatic Web Hints, improves problem-fixing tools

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 12:38pm CET par Nick Peers

RootsMagic, Inc has launched RootsMagic Essentials 7.0, a major new version of its free (and paid-for) genealogical tool.

Both free and paid-for versions gain a new Web Hints feature that automatically suggests record matches from a number of online websites, while paid-for users also gain a number of other useful tools and improvements.

The new Web Hints feature allows RootsMagic to claim the prize of being the first app to offer multi-platform record hints, but it’s worth noting it’s currently restricted to just two online repositories: FamilySearch and MyHeritage. When potential matches are found, users will see a light bulb appear next to the person’s name.

Clicking this reveals the number of potential matches at each site -- users then click on the number to view actual hints and then decide whether or not to incorporate them into their own research file. Sadly, confirming hints from MyHeritage requires a paid-for subscription to the service.

Those who upgrade to the full version of RootsMagic gain a number of additional new tools, including support for publishing and maintaining multiple online trees through the free MyRootsMagic online service, all of which can be managed from a single screen.

A new DataClean tool provides a one-stop shop for interrogating user files for potential problems -- users choose which types of problem to search for, then can review (and approve) any suggested changes made.

Also added to version 7 is support for comparing two RootsMagic databases side-by-side, with options for transferring data between the two files. Users can also import lists of selected facts, sources and other data from one file to another too.

A new QuickGroups feature allows users to organize individuals into specific groups based on selected criteria, such as people still marked as living or those born in a specific place.

Media improvements include support for dragging media files from Windows Explorer into a person’s media screen for adding quickly. Users can now also back up their media files alongside the main RootsMagic database.

RootsMagic 7 Essentials is a free download for PCs running Windows 2000 or later – Mac users can now run RootsMagic natively using the paid-for MacBridge for RootsMagic 7 program, which is currently on sale for $9.95. The full version of RootsMagic 7 can be unlocked from within RootsMagic Essentials for $29.95, while existing version 6 users can upgrade for $19.95.
Analog TV frequencies could be used for 'super Wi-Fi', say scientists

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 11:29am CET par Jamie Hinks

Outdated analog TV frequencies should be used to create new space for "super Wi-Fi" that would boost the world’s economy and take the strain off overloaded mobile networks even though worries persist over how workable they are.

Scientists from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology [KIT] are calling for governments to hand over the unused frequencies so that a widespread free Wi-Fi network can be created.

"Implementation of our approach would have far-reaching consequences. Individuals, institutions and companies would be far less dependent on expensive mobile communications networks in conducting their digital communication. This would also be of great economic benefit", said Arnd Weber from KIT, according to Factor.

Using the repurposed TV frequencies would allow Wi-Fi cover a much wider area due to the fact they operate over lower frequencies and it opens up the chance for hard to reach areas to be connected.

KIT’s plans haven’t gone down well with everyone, Nobel Prize winning economist Ronald Coarse arguing that governments should still auction off the frequencies so their use is as effective as possible. The governments involved would then use the proceeds from the sales to fund other projects.

The argument from KIT’s side of the fence is that selling the frequencies off to the highest bidder isn’t the best plan and the long-term economic benefits wouldn’t be realized were this the case.

Coarse’s differing of opinion isn’t the only one, others stating that lower frequency networks will become extremely congested and thus be rendered useless as a result. KIT scientists think that the right technology would avoid this being the case and testing would prove whether this would be case.

Weber and Jens Elsner, his colleague at KIT, will present their case at the UN-initiated World Radio communication conference next year to argue their approach is the best in the hope that governments sit up and take notice.

Photo Credit: phloxii/Shutterstock

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
BitTorrent unveils its first original TV series -- Children of the Machine

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 9:52am CET par Wayne Williams

Although BitTorrent’s reputation is as a means to download music and movies illegally, the company is trying to change that by offering original, and legal content.

Two months ago, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke released a new album as a paid BitTorrent Bundle, and now the file sharing firm announces its first original TV series -- Children of the Machine.

Due to arrive in fall 2015, the eight-episode sci-fi show will be available as a free, ad-supported BitTorrent Bundle. If you like it, you’ll be able buy an ad-free version for $4.95, or $9.95 for a version with bonus content.

Children of the Machine’s producer Marco Weber said: "This is a science fiction show catered to the typical tech-savvy, male-dominated audience. We're not trying to launch a romantic comedy, so the concept of this show moved us toward BitTorrent".
How far has your mouse cursor traveled today? Mousotron tells all

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 8:42am CET par Mike Williams

Point, click, tap, tap -- using your favorite PC programs can become a near automatic process. But have you ever wondered how much work is really involved, how far your mouse is moving, how many left or right-clicks you’re making? That’s what the free system monitor Mousotron can help you find out.

After an adware-free installation the program displays a very lengthy status bar, with various statistics on your keyboard and mouse use. There’s the distance your mouse has traveled (miles/ yards/ inches, or the metric equivalent); the total numbers of left, right, middle and double-clicks; the average mouse speed, X/ Y coordinates, active and idle time, and more.

The program captures the total number of keystrokes, too, but not the keys themselves. It’s not a keylogger, and doesn’t pose any security risk.

At its simplest, this could just be a fun experiment, a quirky way to find out whether you’re busier than a friend or colleague.

Mousotron can have more serious applications, though, in particular related to RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury). It could reveal whether one program requires more keystrokes or mouse moves than another, for instance, or provide feedback to help reduce the mouse/ keyboard actions you’re taking.

Maybe there are other possibilities. Mousotron generates a lot of statistics, and it seems likely that these could act as a fingerprint for an individual user (one person might use right-clicks all the time, for example, while someone else prefers hotkeys). If you had Mousotron data for a few individuals, could you compare that with the figures on another computer, and find out if any of them have been using it?

Whatever your interest, the program is very configurable. You’re able to choose exactly what’s recorded and how, and even upload the data online if you’d like to compete with others.

It’s not the most essential of programs, then, but Mousotron isn’t quite as trivial as you might think, either. Worth a look.
Black Friday deals -- Amazon places its own devices up for sale

Publié: novembre 28, 2014, 1:16am CET par Alan Buckingham

It's now the time of year for shopping and finding deals, and Black Friday reigns supreme in this category. As customers line up at retail stores, they miss the fact that staying home can also net you deals at online retailers and save you from the hectic mess that is the king of shopping days.

This time around, Amazon is offering steep discounts on its own products. Those in the market for a Kindle, Fire tablet, Fire phone or the new TV stick are in luck.

The new Kindle reader, which normally retails for $79 will get reduced to a svelte $49. However, you can pay full price, but get six months of Kindle Unlimited, which is a $60 value. For those looking to step up a bit, the Kindle Paperwhite is dropping $20 to a price of $99.

Meanwhile the Fire HD tablets, which were recently released, are getting the price slashed as well -- the six inch model will be $79, while the seven inch will set you back $109.

For those in the market for the new Fire TV Stick, Amazon recommends both Best Buy and Staples, which will be selling the little HDMI dongle for a mere $24.99, getting it below competitor Chromecast.

Black Friday can be tricky, as not every deal is what it seems, but these are all solid offerings, and you don't have to go out in the cold to take advantage of them.