Technology news

• buying guide: Best wireless headphones: top 5 reviewed

  13-01-2015 23:40
  
  Wireless headphones are all about empowerment. After all, you've graduated from the wire, the training wheels of electronics, into the future of wireless technology. But be aware: with that power you get from clipping the cable, wireless can be unwieldy. You're now a grungy cowboy (or girl) responsible for taming the wild horse that is wireless technology. Welcome, the future's been expecting you.Oppo PM-1This is for those of you with an insatiable desire to spend every last penny on a pair of w
  
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• buying guide: Best over-ear headphones: top 4 reviewed

  13-01-2015 23:40
  
  Compared to on-ear and in-ear headphones, which are used most commonly loved for their ultra-portability and generally low asking-price, over-ear headphones tend to be associated with professional DJs, or the best option to get if you're looking to replicate the home theater experience on a device. It's the truth that people get down to business on all kinds of headphones, but there's a reason why people clamor for over-ear headphones: their sound and comfort and usually unparalleled. If you're
  
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• Obama unveils cybersecurity proposals: 'Cyber threats are urgent and growing danger'

  13-01-2015 23:32
  
  Proposed legislation will allow companies to share information with government agencies including NSA, with which White House admitted there were ‘overlapping issues’
  Obama pushes Republicans for common ground despite ‘disagreements’ Continue reading...
  
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• buying guide: Best headphones: which set should you buy?

  13-01-2015 23:30
  
  While shopping online or at your local electronics store, it's pretty easy to wind up with a bad case of consumer paralysis, or that feeling you get when you're so overwhelmed by purchase options that you can't make a good decision. It's not so much of a worry when you're paralyzed by the wall of different chocolate rice crisp cereals, but when it comes to selecting headphones, you have to be sure you're making the right decision. If you're feeling a bit overwhelmed with the sheer amount of head
  
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• US trial of Silk Road 'owner' begins

  13-01-2015 23:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The trial of Ross Ulbricht, the alleged creator and operator of the Silk Road underground illegal market, has opened in New York.
  
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• in depth: Why you should be absolutely stoked for laptops in 2015

  13-01-2015 23:25
  
  Hot new hardwareA few years ago, some proclaimed PC gaming was dying out to consoles. The same was said about laptops following the advent of tablets. And yet, 2015 is shaping up to be the one of the most exciting years for all computers from Macs and desktop PCs to Windows laptops and Chromebooks alike.The year has started already kicked off with a massive bang, thanks to a bevy of thinner and lighter laptops announced at CES 2015. Even some gaming laptops are following this new slimming trend
  
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• Looks like Apple is done telling you what single to listen to every week

  13-01-2015 23:13
  
  iTunes users have for 11 years been treated to a free "single of the week," but it seems Apple has finally ceased offering the promotion.There hasn't been a new free single since 2015 began two weeks ago, and a user on Apple's forums reports that a support employee told him the promotion has ended in multiple countries, and possibly everywhere."Seems they don't want people browsing the Store anymore," the user speculates.In addition in December Apple did not offer its traditi
  
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• Hands-on review: ces 2015: Canon ImageClass MF820Cdn

  13-01-2015 23:05
  
  If you're in the market for a home office or enterprise printer that can handle anything you throw at it, the Sharp MX-C301W printer is a 72.8 lb. unit that handles copying, printing, scanning, and faxing, all with a footprint of just 17" (w) x 22½" (d) x 18½" (h) (prices vary). Samsung also produces two quality models, the C2670FW ($699.99, £445, AU$852) and the Multifunction Xpress C460FW ($470, £310, AU$575) both provide everything you'll need to satisfy your worker
  
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• VIDEO: Obama: Cyber threats 'urgent danger'

  13-01-2015 22:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  US President Barack Obama says the US Centcomm hack shows how much more work there is to do on cybersecurity.
  
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• NY defense lawyer: Silk Road creator is not a drug dealer

  13-01-2015 22:05
  
  A New York defense lawyer says a San Francisco man who launched an underground website as an economic experiment was fooled into taking the fall when investigators concluded it was used for drug dealing. ...
  
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• NY prosecutor: 'Silk Road' creator earned $18 million

  13-01-2015 21:07
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — A federal prosecutor in New York says a San Francisco man launched an underground website in 2011 to serve a global online network of drug dealers.
  
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• Facebook to issue missing children alerts in U.S.

  13-01-2015 21:00
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Social networking website Facebook plans to use its estimated 140 million daily U.S. users to help track missing children through emergency alerts, the company said on Tuesday. Facebook partnered with the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children to immediately begin sending AMBER Alerts, including photographs and other details, to the news feeds of users in targeted search areas. "The chances of finding a missing child increase when more people are on the look
  
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• Amazon signs Woody Allen to create his first TV series

  13-01-2015 20:56
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon Studios is delivering Woody Allen as creator of his first-ever TV series.
  
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• Amazon lures Woody Allen to write, direct new TV series

  13-01-2015 20:43
  
  By Eric Kelsey and Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Director Woody Allen will make his first foray onto the small screen, writing and directing an online series for Amazon.com, the latest coup by deep-pocketed cable and streaming companies in luring the biggest names in film to television. The Internet retailer rolled out the news of Allen's series on Tuesday, two days after winning its first major awards at the Golden Globes following years of experimentation with streaming original p
  
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• Obama's cybersecurity proposals part of decade-old programs

  13-01-2015 20:23
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is proposing cybersecurity legislation that increases government information-sharing and protects businesses from lawsuits for revealing cyberthreats. But an Associated Press review shows that some of his plans are retreads from years past.
  
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• ‘Freedom of expression’ anti-snooping campaign launched over Ripa changes

  13-01-2015 20:17
  
  Campaigners fear draft code of Ripa legislation in UK will allow police sweeping powers to access phone and email records of journalists, lawyers and doctors Continue reading...
  
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• Apple granted patent for GoPro-like wearable cameras

  13-01-2015 20:09
  
  By Lehar Maan and Abhirup Roy (Reuters) - Apple Inc has been granted a patent for a wearable camera that could possibly challenge action cameras made by GoPro Inc. The patent, which cites specific weaknesses in GoPro's cameras, includes details about a camera system that can be mounted on bike helmets or scuba masks, Apple said in an application filed with the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office. (http://1.usa.gov/1wbah95) Shares of GoPro, whose camera's can be mounted on helmets, surf b
  
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• Facebook tackles graphic videos and photos with 'are you sure?' warnings

  13-01-2015 18:16
  
  Social network has begun placing warning messages over videos and images it deems graphic in nature preventing them from automatically playingFacebook has begun placing warning messages over videos and photos which it deems to contain graphic images of violence that could “shock, offend and upset”.The warning, which has been being rolling out since December, was confirmed by Facebook as a way to prevent potentially distressing videos from being viewed automatically. Previously such content w
  
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• Review: In Depth: ZTE Kis 3 Max

  13-01-2015 18:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and designThe ZTE Kis 3 Max is a budget Android smartphone with an incredibly low price of just £54.99 SIM free. It can even be had for less, with Argos offering the handset with a Virgin Media SIM card for just £30, though you do need to buy a £10 top-up at the same time.At this price point the ZTE Kis 3 Max is up against the Huawei Ascend Y530 and the Nokia Lumia 530 at the ultra-low end of the market. Even then the Kis 3 Max is still cheaper than both phones, with the Ascend Y
  
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• Amazon signs on Woody Allen to write, direct new TV series

  13-01-2015 18:07
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oscar-winning director Woody Allen will write and direct a half-hour television series for Amazon.com Inc, the U.S. online retailer and video streaming service said on Tuesday. The company, which won its first Golden Globe award on Sunday, said Allen's first TV series will be shown exclusively on its Instant Prime Video service next year. It will announce information about casting and further details about the series at a later date. ...
  
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• Review: Updated: Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

  13-01-2015 18:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and designThe Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is a phone that's got me hot under the collar. It's another evolutionary step forward in the way we're going to be using phones, right?I mean, it has to be. The rounded spine, with the screen curving away and tucking itself under the chassis, is surely the blueprint for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S6.Well, that is, assuming the idea of a curved display on one side isn't a novelty and redundant beyond being a clever marketing gimmick, of course.
  
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• Silk Road trial begins as protesters rally round alleged mastermind Ross Ulbricht

  13-01-2015 17:49
  
  Jury selection under way in federal court where prosecutors accuse Ulbricht of owning and managing the deep-web illegal drugs marketplace Continue reading...
  
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• Facebook launches Amber Alerts to help find missing children

  13-01-2015 17:47
  
  Facebook users in the U.S. will soon receive Amber Alerts to help find missing children who may be located near them. Facebook Inc. is working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ...
  
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• Grand Theft Auto 5: PC version delayed until Spring 2015

  13-01-2015 17:39
  
  Rockstar has announced that the PC version of its latest multimillion-selling GTA V needs a few more weeks of testing
  Continue reading...
  
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• North Korea video game Dear Leader! on hold after hacks

  13-01-2015 17:37
  
  Firm cancels funding campaign for game citing financial trouble and cyber attacks. NK News reports Continue reading...
  
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• Sales of printed books fall by more than £150m in five years

  13-01-2015 17:30
  
  New figures from Nielsen BookScan show continuing decline since 2009 as more and more readers migrate to ebooks Continue reading...
  
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• Android security shift exposes users

  13-01-2015 17:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Millions of Android users could be at risk as Google changes the way it handles security updates for older versions of the smartphone operating system.
  
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• Grand Theft Auto V delayed for PC

  13-01-2015 17:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rockstar confirms the open world hit game for PC will now be released in March.
  
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• Cybersecurity bill: privacy activists warn of unnecessarily ‘broad legal immunity’

  13-01-2015 17:00
  
  White House hoping legislation will toughen private sector response by allowing companies to share information with government agencies including NSA Continue reading...
  
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• Crossy Road mobile game has made a million dollars... from video ads

  13-01-2015 16:43
  
  Developer Hipster Whale sees its ad strategy as ‘a really good way to earn money without getting into people’s faces’ Continue reading...
  
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• A Female Genius, book review: Lord Byron's daughter and the dawn of the computer age

  13-01-2015 16:28 via zdnet.com
  
  Some have disparaged Ada Lovelace's contribution to the development of computer theory, but author James Essinger is adamant that 'genius' is the right word.
  
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• Gamergate hits new low with attempts to send Swat teams to critics

  13-01-2015 15:57
  
  Police officers sent to home of web developer after hoax call intended to dispatch heavily-armed officersInternet trolls are attempting to get police Swat teams sent to the homes of critics of Gamergate in an escalation of intimidatory tactics.Five police officers were sent to the home of a Seattle-area web developer after an anonymous tip was phoned in, in the latest attempted “swatting” attack linked to the Gamergate movement. Related: Gamergate: a brief history of a computer-age war Cont
  
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• Alibaba agrees to block sale of dangerous toys in U.S. - commission

  13-01-2015 15:53
  
  By Clare Baldwin and Adam Jourdan HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has agreed to prevent the sale of up to 15 illegal or dangerous toys in the United States, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) chairman said on Tuesday. It is the first such agreement between the CPSC and a foreign company, CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye said on the sidelines of the Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair. "We're thrilled to cross beyond our borders and w
  
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• Can the government ban encryption?

  13-01-2015 15:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Do we need new terror data laws?
  
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• Obama to push for new cybersecurity legislation

  13-01-2015 15:29
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday will renew his call for Congress to pass cyber security legislation, including a proposal that encourages companies to share threat information with the government and protects them from potential lawsuits if they do.
  
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• Amazon signs on Woody Allen for a TV series

  13-01-2015 15:28
  
  (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc said it signed Woody Allen to write and direct a new TV series for its video streaming service. The half-hour series will be shown on Amazon's Prime Instant Video in the United States, the UK and Germany, Amazon said. The company said it had ordered an entire season of the "Untitled Woody Allen Project", Allen's first TV series. "I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin," the "Annie H
  
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• Facebook restricts violent videos

  13-01-2015 15:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Facebook begins placing warnings over video clips of graphic violence and prevents under-18s from seeing distressing images.
  
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• BuzzFeed hires Heidi Blake to head UK investigative journalism team

  13-01-2015 15:00
  
  Sunday Times assistant editor won awards for Qatar World Cup bid scoop and was also involved in Telegraph’s Vince Cable ‘I’ve declared war on Murdoch’ sting Continue reading...
  
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• Review: Buffalo Ministation Air 2 500GB drive

  13-01-2015 15:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Hard disk vendors are no longer content selling vanilla drives and they're now looking for higher margin products, which explains why so many have rushed to unveil wireless hard disk drives.We have had models from Seagate, LaCiE (a Seagate company) and Western Digital already sent over for review, and Buffalo's Ministation Air 2 500GB (a bigger 1TB model is also available) is the latest to join them, and the first to come from a value-added vendor (i.e. one that doesn't actually build hard disks
  
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• China shuts 50 websites and social media accounts

  13-01-2015 14:43
  
  BEIJING (Reuters) - China has closed 50 websites and social media accounts for violations ranging from pornography to "publishing political news without a permit", Beijing's cyberspace watchdog said on Tuesday. The government is pursuing a crackdown on unwanted material online. Critics say the increasing restrictions further limit free speech in the one-party Communist state. ...
  
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• David Cameron in 'cloud cuckoo land' over encrypted messaging apps ban

  13-01-2015 14:36
  
  The prime minister’s pledge to give security services access to encrypted communications is ‘crazy’, experts sayDavid Cameron is “living in cloud cuckoo land” when he suggests a new Tory government would ban messaging apps that use encryption, security experts have told the Guardian.
  The prime minister has pledged anti-terror laws to give the security services the ability to read encrypted communications in extreme circumstances. But experts say such access would mean changing the wa
  
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• Will Apple Watch spark a wave of popular smartwatch games? Not so fast

  13-01-2015 14:24
  
  Zombies, Run! maker Six to Start is excited about creative potential for wearable games, but has a ‘dose of scepticism’ to counter the hypeWith a flurry of Android Wear smartwatches already on sale, and the Apple Watch coming this spring, some mobile developers are already exploring the potential for wearable games.One of them is Six to Start, which crowdfunded its smartphone fitness game Zombies, Run! on Kickstarter in 2011, and went on to sell around one million copies across iOS and Andro
  
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• YouTube sports network Whistle Sports raises $28 million

  13-01-2015 14:03
  
  By Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - Whistle Sports, a Youtube sports network aimed at millennials and kids, raised $28 million (£18.4 million) in a funding round announced on Tuesday that included investors such as European cable group Liberty Global and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. Traditional media companies have been on the hunt to invest in YouTube networks, also known as multi-channel networks, or MCNs, which draw in younger viewers to watch inexpensively produced videos. ...
  
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• ​Citrix rolls out new XenMobile, integrates productivity apps, management pane

  13-01-2015 14:00 via zdnet.com
  
  Citrix updates XenMobile as it aims to pull away from the enterprise mobility management pack.
  
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• Scannable for Evernote iOS: A simple, seamless tool

  13-01-2015 13:59 via zdnet.com
  
  Evernote keeps upping its game with added products, and Scannable is great for business.
  
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• 'Sony-inspired' hack ends game work

  13-01-2015 13:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A hack attack "inspired" by the recent attack on Sony has led a developer to cancel creation of a game featuring Kim Jong-un.
  
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• Is banning encryption a crazy plan or an absolute necessity? The reality is much more complicated than that

  13-01-2015 13:54 via zdnet.com
  
  David Cameron's impossible dream ignores the realities of communication in a hyper connected world.
  
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• Amazon adds 6,000 posts to growing European workforce

  13-01-2015 13:53 via zdnet.com
  
  European staff now account for a quarter of Amazon's employees.
  
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• Your computer knows you better than your friends do, say researchers

  13-01-2015 13:34
  
  Computers can sum up personality traits better than friends and family, according to a joint study by Cambridge and Stanford University
  Continue reading...
  
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• ​MongoDB seals extra $80m funding as version 2.8 GA looms

  13-01-2015 13:34 via zdnet.com
  
  A fresh funding round for MongoDB is designed to enable the open-source document database company to speed up its expansion worldwide.
  
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