Technology news

• Review: LG Watch Urbane

  08-05-2015 22:16
  
  Introduction and displayFrankly, LG's first smartwatch didn't offer much. Though, its second, the LG G Watch R, has proved to be far superior despite being a bit plasticky. It seems like the third time's a charm for LG, with the LG Watch Urbane looking the sleekest of the bunch. However, the Urbane is essentially a dressed up G Watch R with nearly identical dimensions and innards. With more premium materials, the watch is, of course, going to cost more. Though at $349 (£259, AU$459) - the same
  
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• Microsoft confirms there will be no Windows 11

  08-05-2015 21:56
  
  Microsoft says that Windows 10 will be its final release of the iconic operating system that's installed on over 90% of computers. "Right now we're releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we're all still working on Windows 10," said Jerry Nixon, Microsoft's developer evangelist, at the Ignite tech conference. Instead of releasing an entirely new and different version of its desktop OS every few years, Microsoft is taking an Apple-like approach to su
  
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• Updated: Microsoft may be interested in buying Salesforce

  08-05-2015 21:00
  
  Update: Reuters reports that despite earlier speculations, Microsoft "is not weighing an offer for Salesforce.com." Citing two unnamed sources familiar with Microsoft's plans, Reuters said that Salesforce's current market valuation makes it too expensive for an acquisition by the Windows-maker, but that "it is possible that Microsoft could review a bid for Salesforce in the long term."Original story: Microsoft may make a bid to acquire CRM giant Salesforce.com, according to a
  
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• Hands-on review: Updated: Samsung Gear VR (S6)

  08-05-2015 20:28
  
  Update: If you're willing to plop down $199 (£199, about AU$251) and live in the States, you can now pick up the new Gear VR headset from both Samsung and Best Buy online, and in stores May 15. Global availability has yet to be announced.Samsung's relaunch of the Gear VR so soon after the last model is odd: everyone expected it to be a simple case of sticking your new Galaxy S6 in the same port and it would work just fine.It's hard to work out whether anyone would be annoyed about Samsung bring
  
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• Samsung Gear VR for Galaxy S6 now available

  08-05-2015 20:22
  
  You won't have to wait till the holidays for the new Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition for S6, after all. Pre-orders of the mobile VR headset went live at the end of April and now both Best Buy and Samsung are taking orders online. The S6 Gear VR is selling for $199 (£199, about AU$251) and you can pick one up in store on May 15. There's no word yet on global availability.Just like the first Gear VR needing a Note 4 to work, you'll have to hand over additional dough for a Samsung Galaxy S6 or G
  
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• New US attorney general refuses to drop Microsoft foreign data warrant

  08-05-2015 20:20 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  The Justice Dept.'s position has "not changed," despite the tech industry's hope that the new attorney general would rethink unwinding years worth of Silicon Valley's privacy protections.
  
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• PC sales slow ahead of Windows 10 launch

  08-05-2015 20:13
  
  Leading up to the launch of Windows 10 this July, market research firm Canalys and GPU manufacturer Nvidia expect a decline in the PC market. "We see a very soft market going into Q2," said Nvidia CFO Colette Kress. The company lowered its guidance from $1.18 billion to $1 billion for the second fiscal quarter in an earnings call with analysts. DesktopsAnalysts are lowering their expectations for the PC market, with Canalys reporting that desktop PCs are hit the hardest. Shipments of d
  
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• Hillary Clinton search for donors focuses on Silicon Valley, not Hollywood

  08-05-2015 19:00
  
  The road through LA and San Francisco is well-trodden by Democrats, but it’s the tech world rather than the movie business Clinton is targeting for cash for 2016 Continue reading...
  
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• People smugglers using Facebook to lure migrants into 'Italy trips'

  08-05-2015 18:33
  
  Using phrases more suited to tourist magazines and images of luxury yachts, smugglers based in Egypt and Turkey openly advertise services on social media Continue reading...
  
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• Microsoft to 'end' Windows versions

  08-05-2015 18:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Windows 10 will be the last version of the operating system to be numbered, says Microsoft executive.
  
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• Review: Acer Liquid Jade S

  08-05-2015 17:59
  
  Introduction and designWhile the name 'Acer' is one more synonymous with desktop and laptop computers, over the past couple of years the Taiwanese company has released some solid budget and mid-range smartphones, such as the Liquid Z4 and E3.Acer, like a number of other Asian smartphone manufacturers, is continuing to push the boundaries in regards to value for money, recently showcasing four upcoming budget-oriented devices at MWC 2015, including the promising Liquid M220 and Jade Z.Last year,
  
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• Review: Aorus X3 Plus v3

  08-05-2015 17:50
  
  Introduction and designWhen you think of a laptop built for gaming, you'll probably be picturing something with a big case and a wide screen, probably in the region of 15.6- or even 17.3-inches. This larger size has become the standard for gaming laptops, but there are a number of advantages to a smaller chassis, the most obvious being portability.Aorus has taken the concept of the small form-factor ultra-portable gaming laptop to the extreme with the X3 Plus v3, setting out with the intent to c
  
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• Google will bring privacy to the people with Android M

  08-05-2015 17:38
  
  Google's 'Android M' is answering the call for more privacy by giving its users more say in the information that applications can access. Bloomberg reports that the new operating system, set to debut at Google IO 2015, will help users pick and choose what information is shared with certain applications, including photos, contacts, and location. This is an evolution in Google's walk to bring more privacy and peace of mind to its users. iPhone users are sure to point out that Google is behind Appl
  
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• AMD just gave your next laptop better graphics and a battery life boost

  08-05-2015 17:35
  
  AMD promised to deliver the goods with a new family of Carrizo processors that promised to be just as power efficient as Intel's Broadwell chips and they're finally here.The APU makers has announced five new 7000 series chips that were formally known as Carrizo and Carrizo L. Sitting at the low-powered end is AMD's E1-7000, a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU with Radeon Graphics and a very anemic 1MB cache. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there's the AMD A8-7410, which features a 2.5GHz quad-core proce
  
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• Hands-on review: Canon 760D (Rebel T6s)

  08-05-2015 17:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The EOS 750D and 760D are Canon's two new DSLRs, and they sit at the top of its beginner's range, ultimately replacing the old EOS 700D, though this model will carry on for the time being.So why two cameras and not one? Although they share the same basic specifications, the 750D and 760D are aimed at different kinds of users. The 750D is pitched at relative novices, while the 760D has controls and features aimed at more experienced and more ambitious photographers.Inside, the Canon 750D (Rebel T
  
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• Aphex Twin archive removed from Soundcloud

  08-05-2015 16:47
  
  The electronic artist had made 200 old tracks and demos available online, but his Soundcloud accounts have now been deletedContinue reading...
  
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• Video game execution watched by 325,000 players

  08-05-2015 16:42
  
  A character in the fantasy adventure game Guild Wars 2 was stripped and thrown to his death after using a third party tool to access valuable propertiesIt turns out that theft is taken extremely seriously in the online fantasy role-playing game, Guild Wars 2. The penalty is humiliation and then death. This week, a player named DarkSide was caught using a cheat program to teleport into buildings, kill powerful characters and make off with all the loot. When other players complained, some of them
  
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• Review: Microsoft Lumia 640 XL

  08-05-2015 16:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  IntroductionWhile we wait for Windows 10 Mobile to show up later this year here's another affordable, decent-looking, unfussy Windows Phone 8.1 model to tide us over. Since Microsoft bought Nokia's phone division at the end of 2013, we've seen quite a few perfectly adequate handsets that aren't going to burn too big a hole in your pocket or get your pulse racing all that quickly.And so to the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL, the bigger brother to the Lumia 640, which was also announced at MWC in March. O
  
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• LG G4 first impressions: Nice leather back, solid camera, and improved UI

  08-05-2015 16:30 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Matthew picked up a LG G4 to evaluate before the retail units begin shipping to buyers and he has spent the last two days with it in Seattle and New York.
  
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• Review: Marshall Monitor

  08-05-2015 16:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  When you're in the market for a guitar amplifier, Marshall is probably among the first few names that rolls off the tongue. But when it comes to shopping for a set of headphones, this isn't necessarily the case. In fact, it might be news to you that Marshall is in the business of making cans at all. Even if you aren't aware of the Marshall legacy in the rock world, its headphones deserve your attention. Specifically, its $200 (£170, AU$250) over-ear headphones known simply as Monitor. These are
  
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• Hands-on review: Canon 750D (Rebel T6i)

  08-05-2015 16:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  With three cameras in its entry-level range Canon already had plenty to interest novices and enthusiast photographers on a budget. Now the company has replaced the 700D with two models, the EOS 760D and 750D, rather than one. As the 700D continues in the line-up (for now at least), this means that there are five cameras in what Canon calls its beginners' range. The new 760D and 750D, known as the Rebel T6s and T6i in the USA sit at the top of this group above the 700D, 100D and 1200D.While the 7
  
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• Ericsson takes Apple fight over iPhone and iPads to Europe

  08-05-2015 15:54
  
  Patent spat spills out of the US to the UK, Germany and the Netherlands as the two firms tussle over licensing issuesEricsson has brought its fight with Apple over licensing to Europe, launching new lawsuits in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.The two companies are locked in battle in the US, where Ericsson is seeking to block the sale of Apple’s iPhone and iPad over alleged patent infringement after licensing agreements expired. Continue reading...
  
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• Review: Huawei Ascend G7

  08-05-2015 15:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and designHuawei is the third biggest global smartphone maker, but outside of its native China the brand name doesn't carry that much weight – especially when it comes to premium products. Apple and Samsung seem to have that corner almost all to themselves, and despite its successes, Huawei somehow hasn't managed to shake off its cheap also-ran reputation.Huawei hopes to rise above its somewhat unfairly earned reputation with the appropriately named Huawei Ascend G7, a stylishly d
  
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• Mario Kart 8: Animal Crossing DLC review

  08-05-2015 14:14
  
  Wii U; Nintendo; £7 from Nintendo eShop Continue reading...
  
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• Does it matter if people don’t finish games any more?

  08-05-2015 14:05
  
  New adventure Pillars of Eternity has received huge critical adulation. So why have just 6.4% of players finished it?Just 6.4% of players who have bought role-playing adventure Pillars of Eternity have actually completed it, according to the PC gaming service, Steam. This critically acclaimed throwback to genre classics like Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale returns us to a period in which playing games was a much more demanding experience. I finished Pillars of Eternity a few weeks ago and the e
  
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• Ericsson sues Apple over payments

  08-05-2015 13:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ericsson has filed lawsuits in three separate countries, alleging Apple has not kept up with technology licence payments.
  
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• Hacker gets in-game death sentence

  08-05-2015 13:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A character controlled by a hacker who used exploits to dominate online game Guild Wars 2 has been put to death in the virtual world.
  
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• Review: Microsoft Lumia 435

  08-05-2015 13:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and designThe Microsoft Lumia 435 is an odd little phone. Immediately recognisable as a Lumia, given its bold colours and polycarbonate body, yet boasting sharper lines, a more boxy design and a Microsoft logo, this is a different breed of Windows Phone.As the first 400-class device in the Lumia family, the Lumia 435 is designed to appeal to a different audience from its older siblings. It's for those graduating from their first feature phone, those looking for a device to hand thei
  
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• Android ‘M’ could return privacy control to users

  08-05-2015 12:57
  
  Focus on user data privacy is tipped for Google’s next version of Android, to bring it in line with Apple’s iOS and custom Android versions such as CyanogenGoogle is expected to bring Android into line with Apple iOS on user privacy, with version “M” due for release later this month, giving control of app data back to the users.
  Android will include detailed control over personal data, such as phone numbers, location, names and addresses, and whether apps can access some or none or all o
  
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• VIDEO: VR and bikes - a new way to keep fit?

  08-05-2015 12:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Click's Lara Lewington cycles through virtual snow and forests to try a new method of keeping fit
  
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• Hackers deface Nazi camp website

  08-05-2015 12:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Hackers put images of child abuse on the website of the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria - one of the Nazis' most notorious murder sites.
  
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• ​Ericsson takes Apple patent fight to UK, German, and Dutch courts

  08-05-2015 12:37 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson is out of the handset business, but it still wants royalties from those using its mobile patents.
  
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• Viral video chart: Star Wars, Jack Black and Arnold Schwarzenegger

  08-05-2015 12:28
  
  Vanity Fair goes on set with Harrison Ford and Co, the Terminator runs through his film repetoire in six minutes, and a mayor’s very public toilet break Continue reading...
  
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• Fitbit IPO: plans to raise $100m to pursue 'corporate health' services

  08-05-2015 12:21
  
  The eight-year old fitness tracking firm acknowledges competition from Apple and others, but still values its business at $1.2bnTechnology firm Fitbit is taking advantage of the rapidly expanding market for connected health and fitness by launching its business on the New York Stock Exchange, it announced on Thursday night.Planning to sell shares worth up to $100m (£64m), the San Francisco-based fitness band maker will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FIT�
  
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• Amazon details drone delivery plans

  08-05-2015 12:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  More details about how Amazon's proposed delivery drones will work have been published by the US Patent Office.
  
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• Rolls-Royce warns foreign exchange swings will hit revenues in 2015

  08-05-2015 11:42
  
  UK engineering group, which is cutting thousands of jobs, says £350m could be wiped off full-year revenues but adds that profits should remain unaffectedContinue reading...
  
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• ​Cyanogen to bake Truecaller's anti-spam feature into dialler

  08-05-2015 10:56 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Smartphones that ship with Cyanogen's commercial OS will get a dialler with Truecaller's anti-spam feature built in to it.
  
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• Tinder hits back at research claiming 42% of its users have partners

  08-05-2015 10:39
  
  Dating app says it’s not rife with married flirters: ‘simple logic should reveal that it’s essentially impossible for any of these claims to be accurate’Dating app Tinder has rejected research that estimated that 42% of its users are either married or in a relationship.A spokesman told the Guardian that the figures by GlobalWebIndex strongly contradicted its own internal numbers, and criticised the methodology of the survey.The single largest age group on Tinder, making up more than half
  
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• 'Dementia simulator' game on show

  08-05-2015 08:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A video game simulating the impact of dementia goes on show in Dundee as part of Abertay University's digital degree show.
  
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• Why are Apple's music streaming plans arousing the interest of regulators?

  08-05-2015 07:00
  
  The Beats Music relaunch is coming this summer, but the possible impact its presence on iTunes will have on rivals like Spotify is sparking anti-competition questions Continue reading...
  
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• ACCC slashes mobile, SMS prices

  08-05-2015 06:05 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  The ACCC has issued a draft decision outlining the prices that mobile network operators will charge each other and fixed-line network operators for receiving calls and SMS.
  
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• Rogue spacecraft burns up on re-entry

  08-05-2015 05:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Russian space agency says its out-of-control Progress spacecraft has burnt up after re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.
  
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• Little Scientists bringing German STEM education to preschoolers

  08-05-2015 05:08 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Forbel Early Learning Centre is introducing preschoolers to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills as part of the Little Scientist initiative.
  
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• Motorola Solutions shifts to data analytics and services focus

  08-05-2015 04:54 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  In a tight government fiscal environment where emergency agencies are reluctant to build out their own networks, Motorola Solutions is looking to win customers over with a full managed services offering.
  
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• New opera website to offer free live streams of performances worldwide

  08-05-2015 04:39
  
  La Traviata will be streamed live and free of charge on Friday from the stage of Madrid’s Teatro Real Continue reading...
  
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• Microsoft says Edge with asm.js up to three times faster than IE11

  08-05-2015 04:33 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  JavaScript performance in Microsoft's upcoming Edge browser for Windows 10 will be much quicker, thanks to its usage of asm.js.
  
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• ZTE unveils 'bezel-less' Nubia Z9

  08-05-2015 03:20 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  ZTE's sub-brand Nubia has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone model the Z9, which offers a thin bezel of just 0.8mm, giving a bezel-free appearance.
  
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• ​ASG signs AU$15m managed services contract with Synergy

  08-05-2015 03:00 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  ASG will deliver transformational and 'value-added' project services to Synergy for the next three years, with options of extending the agreement through to 2021.
  
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• Malone won't block TPG bid for iiNet

  08-05-2015 02:49 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  iiNet's former CEO Michael Malone has confirmed that he has no intentions of blocking TPG's potential takeover of the company he founded in his parents' garage.
  
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• ​Cloud moves see SAS ramp up dev and deployment

  08-05-2015 02:45 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  A rapidly increasing reliance on cloud-based infrastructure has seen business analytics stalwart SAS ramp up its services, deployment, capacity, and product portfolio development, according to company executive vice president and chief marketing officer Jim Davis.
  
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