Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » janvier 3, 2017

BetaNews.Com (15 non lus)

Banking apps are in dire need of an overhaul

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 8:29pm CET par Lee Cottle

It’s no secret that customers increasingly prefer to use mobile banking apps to manage their cash "on-the-go" over online banking. In fact, did you know that mobile banking apps are being used around 7,610 times a minute? Now consider this alongside the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recent announcement regarding UK banks having to offer the same customer service through its apps as can be found in high street branches. This means that customers will be able to access details of their entire finances through a single mobile phone app by 2018. That’s a whole heap of data from bank… [Continue Reading]
Classic freeware HostsMan gets its yearly update

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 6:59pm CET par Mike Williams

Classic freeware HOSTS manager HostsMan has seen its first update since November 2015. The new release now supports eight HOSTS file update sources, including hpHosts, MVPS Hosts, Cameleon and -- new this time -- "Dan Pollock’s host file". The URLs for "Peter Lowe’s AdServers List" and "Malware Domain List" have been updated, so they should be working again. The Update Manager dialog can now open local update source files in the editor, making it easier to manage and correct any update problems. Significant bug fixes include restoring HostMan’s control of the DNS Client service, and giving you full control of… [Continue Reading]
Acer unveils rugged Chromebook 11 N7 (C731) laptop for education

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 6:56pm CET par Brian Fagioli

Chromebooks are wonderful computers -- if they meet your needs. Look, if you do hardcore video editing, or have a need for programs that only run on Windows or macOS, then yeah, Chrome OS will stink -- for you. However, if you live in the web browser and are always online anyway, why not a Chromebook? Laptops running Chrome OS are particularly wonderful for education, as they are inexpensive, easy to manage, and very secure. Today, Acer announces an affordable model -- aimed at schools -- that it calls Chromebook 11 N7 (C731). Best of all, it is very durable, making… [Continue Reading]
Amazon announces Fire TV Edition for Smart TVs

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 6:48pm CET par Wayne Williams

When I bought a new 4K television, my first purchase to go with it was Amazon’s Fire TV box with 4K Ultra HD. The tiny box provides a range of great 4K content -- mostly Amazon Originals, although there’s also a decent selection of movies available to purchase. Soon you might not need to buy anything in order to view 4K content from Amazon though, as the retail giant today announces Fire TV Edition, which will come built into the latest 4K Smart TVs. The integrated Amazon Fire TV Edition includes Alexa for program discovery and content selection, and over-the-air… [Continue Reading]
Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate GT 2TB is world's largest capacity USB flash drive

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 6:24pm CET par Brian Fagioli

As more and more people embrace cloud storage, USB flash drives are becoming less essential. This is unfortunate, as it can be empowering to store your own data locally -- not needing an internet connection to access things like family photos and movies. Today, Kingston announces a product that may get people excited about flash drives again. The company has created a 2TB pocket flash drive (also available in 1TB), called DataTraveler Ultimate GT (Generation Terabyte). This is now the world's largest capacity USB flash drive. "Power users will have the ability to store massive amounts of data in a small form factor,… [Continue Reading]
Dashlane teams with Intel to improve password protection

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 6:08pm CET par Ian Barker

Security breaches have been one of the major themes of 2016, so going into the new year it’s no surprise that companies are keen to try to make things more secure. Password manager Dashlane is announcing enhancements to its software to make use of Intel Software Guard Extensions, a powerful security technology built into the latest Intel Core processors. "Dashlane is committed to staying on the cutting edge of security," says Emmanuel Schalit, CEO of Dashlane. "The new Intel Core processors provide a powerful new way to protect your passwords. Dashlane is taking full advantage of Intel’s built-in hardware security… [Continue Reading]
Lenovo unveils new ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Yoga, and Tablet

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 5:30pm CET par Mihăiță Bamburic

A week after updating a large number of devices in the ThinkPad range with new Intel "Kaby Lake" processors, Microsoft Precision TouchPads and Windows 10 Signature Edition, Lenovo now unveils a refresh for the ThinkPad X1 line that is meant to improve mobility, connectivity, and usability. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is one of the three updated devices in the ThinkPad X1 line, which is showcased at CES 2017. Like other new ThinkPads, it gets a Precision Touchpad, but it is also smaller, offers more battery life, can be had with a Qualcomm modem, packs Thunderbolt 3 ports, and offers expanded… [Continue Reading]
69 percent of businesses experience data loss due to employee turnover

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 5:16pm CET par Ian Barker

A new report from IT research and consulting company Osterman Research reveals that employee turnover and attrition is the number one data protection concern for enterprises. Of the organizations surveyed, 69 percent indicate that they have suffered significant data or knowledge loss resulting from employees who had left the business. The report explains that while there are generalized problems associated with the loss of corporate knowledge and expertise when employees leave, many of these problems are related to employees actually taking data with them when they depart, or leaving it in locations that are unknown or inaccessible to corporate data… [Continue Reading]
WikiLeaks: 2017 will 'blow you away' and, no, Russia did not hack the US election

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 4:11pm CET par Mark Wilson

The hatred WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange feels towards Hillary Clinton is far from being a secret. During the election campaign, the non-profit organization leaked Clinton emails in the hope that it would destroy her presidential hopes -- and we all know the result of the election. As we slide gently into 2017, the WikiLeaks Twitter account has turned on the ignition and is about to hit the accelerator. The tweet says: "If you thought 2016 was a big WikiLeaks year 2017 will blow you away". On top of this, Assange himself is due to appear in an interview with Fox… [Continue Reading]
Algodoo is a fun 2D physics simulator

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 4:11pm CET par Mike Williams

Algodoo is a 2D physics simulator which aims to be easy to use, educational and fun. "Physics", "easy" and "fun" aren’t words that everyone would link together, but Algodoo gets a lot closer to delivering on this than you might expert. The program opens with what looks like a regular drawing tool. Select, click and drag and you’re able to draw cartoon-like boxes, circles, gears, ropes, chains and more. These aren’t just static shapes, though -- they’re real objects in Algodoo’s 2D world, and you can freely interact with them. This might start very simply. Click, drag and drop a… [Continue Reading]
The drawbacks of hand coding

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 1:25pm CET par François Mero

Those rare companies that decide to engage in hand-coding do it either because they lack the required information (they simply don't know there are packaged solutions out there) or, frankly, in my opinion, they are chasing a pipe dream. They often mistakenly believe that all a big data project takes is to feed data into a Hadoop cluster. They figure developing a dedicated on-premises infrastructure to feed and analyze big data will mean a 20 percent savings over a packaged solution. However, according to Gartner, this approach results in a 200 percent increase in maintenance costs. And that's not all.… [Continue Reading]
Linksys unveils Velop Tri-Band AC2200 802.11ac modular mesh Wi-Fi router system

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 12:58pm CET par Brian Fagioli

When buying a wireless router for your home, there are several things to consider. First off, you must determine your budget. Then, it is wise to target a reputable brand, such as Linksys, Netgear, Belkin, or TP-Link. Lastly, you should figure out how much range you need, based on the size of your home. If your home is particularly large, mesh router systems, such as Google WiFi, can be a godsend. Rather than leveraging a single router, multiple access points work together to blanket your home in glorious Wi-Fi. Today, Linksys unveils its mesh offering, and it looks amazing. Dubbed… [Continue Reading]
Your flight booking data is insecure and very easy to hack

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 12:44pm CET par Mark Wilson

The system used by millions of travelers each day to share data between travel agencies, airlines, passengers and websites is incredibly insecure. Security researchers have presented details that highlight just how easy it is to hack flight bookings. German security firm SR Labs says that using nothing more than a traveler's surname and a six-digit Passenger Name Record (PNR), it is possible to not only gather personal information about people, but also make changes to bookings. SR Labs researchers Karsten Nohl and Nemanja Nikodijevic provided details of their findings at the 33rd Chaos Communications Congress in Hamburg. They show that… [Continue Reading]
Why is WhatsApp not working on your phone? Because it's too old

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 11:11am CET par Mark Wilson

Welcoming the new year with a trumpet of doom, WhatsApp is bringing misery to many users. If you're using old versions of iOS, Android or -- heaven forbid -- Windows Phone 7, Facebook's popular messaging tool no longer works. There is a brief stay of execution for anyone still packing a BlackBerry, but as of June 30 these will also be cut off. WhatsApp says that "BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40 and Nokia Symbian S60" will stop working by the middle of the year, but it is the hundreds of thousands of Android and iOS users that will be… [Continue Reading]
Netrunner Desktop 17.01 'Baryon' Debian 9 Stretch-based KDE Linux distro now available

Publié: janvier 3, 2017, 1:06am CET par Brian Fagioli

If you are a fan of KDE, I hope you are aware of Netrunner Desktop. If not, please know that it is one of the most polished Linux distributions available. If you haven't tried it, you definitely should -- it is a wonderful "out of the box" experience. It is a great choice for those looking to switch from Windows too. Today, the operating system reaches version 17.01. Code-named "Baryon," it is based on the upcoming Debian 9 "Stretch." Users can choose to either run the OS as a stable release or opt for a more bleeding-edge rolling release. "The Netrunner Team… [Continue Reading]