Technology news

• Updated: Buying Guide: 10 best laptops for students 2015

  30-06-2015 23:30
  
  Best laptops for studentsEven for those who feel at home with their nose in a textbook, the end of summer break (or Winter recess) is a big bummer. But as much as it's a return to school and schedules, it's an opportunity. This is a fine excuse to invest in some fresh tech to make the coming academia-addled year a little more bearable.If you're still reliant on a desktop, or if your laptop winces at the sight of a high-definition video lecture, it's time to look into an upgrade. And thankfully i
  
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• Updated: 9 Best Ultrabooks 2015: top thin and light laptops reviewed

  30-06-2015 23:30
  
  Best UltrabooksUpdated: The world's lightest laptop, the Lenovo LaVie Z has been added to our list of the best Ultrabooks.The term Ultrabook was coined by Intel, and it specifies laptops with particular specifications, separating them from other ultraportable laptops.They all have Intel Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 processors, fast SSD storage to some degree, and now USB 3.0 connectivity, for speedy file transfers.Ultrabooks are made with design in mind, so they tend to start from around $999 (ar
  
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• iOS Tips: How to cancel Apple Music's auto-renewal so you don't have to pay

  30-06-2015 22:27
  
  The highly anticipated Apple Musicsubscription service has arrived, bringing limitless song streaming tothe seemingly endless iTunes library. And the first three months arefree! But when signing up, you'll notice that Apple sets you up toauto-renew at the end of the trial, which means monthly charges of$9.99/£9.99/AU$11.99 (individual plan pricing) or $14.99/£14.99/AU$17.99 (familyplan pricing) could kick in without you realizing it on September 30. Not to worry: you can cancel the auto-renew
  
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• Updated: Buying Guide: Best business laptops

  30-06-2015 22:20
  
  IntroductionIt takes a lot to run a successful business, whether you're managing a small-to-medium sized organization, or working at a large enterprise scale. Second to top-notch talent, the most important thing required is top-notch machinery: high functioning, cost-efficient, and easy-to-use computers. In many cases, particularly in open offices where space is tight, or in environments where employees may be shuffling from meeting to meeting or even working remotely, it's necessary that these
  
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• Office 365 integration turns Cortana into your work assistant

  30-06-2015 22:07
  
  Cortana takes a bigger presence in the latest Insider Preview Build 10158 of Windows 10, especially for Office 365 users. Microsoft announced that the Halo-inspired digital voice assistant can deliver alerts for flight information, commuter traffic and package deliveries on the desktop, and Office 365 users can now get a glimpse of their schedule with deeper Cortana integration."By integrating with Office 365, Cortana can proactively help you prepare for an upcoming meeting," Microsoft
  
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• Zane Lowe kicks off Apple's 24-hour radio stream in endearingly niche style

  30-06-2015 21:43
  
  Quirky DJ’s show is almost identical to his former BBC Radio 1 slot, suggesting Beats 1 is intended to be an experimental rather than a mainstream station“All right man, we’ve gotta kick this whole thing off at some point.” Uttered just after 5pm UK time on the world’s first global, 24/7 radio station, Zane Lowe’s characteristically conversational opening bon mot might have found itself committed to history books, had listeners who tuned in early not heard 45 minutes of Brian Eno’s
  
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• Hands-on review: In Depth: Apple Music

  30-06-2015 21:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Apple Music reviewYou can count on one finger the number of companies in the world that could launch a new music streaming service and expect to become a major player overnight.That company is Apple and today it duly obliged by launching Apple Music - the long-awaited music app that integrates subscription-based streaming capabilities with the playback of existing songs in your iTunes library.So you no longer need to buy an album on iTunes in order to listen to it on your iPhone inside stock app
  
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• Apple Music streaming service and Beats 1 radio launch day – as it happened

  30-06-2015 20:20
  
  From its Zane Lowe-fronted radio station to the quasi–social network Connect, it’s a big day in Apple’s attempt to knock Spotify from its music-streaming perch. Nadia Khomami listens in to bring you her verdict 7.20pm BST Okay, while Apple Music continues to inspire or irritate you, we’re going to sign off. You can still tweet us your thoughts but I think we all need some time to crawl into a dark room and think about what’s happened here today. Thanks for the comments. 7.19pm BST Here
  
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• Apple launches Beats 1 radio station

  30-06-2015 20:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Apple's Beats 1 radio station launches with Zane Lowe presenting the first show from Los Angeles.
  
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• Next Twitter boss faces complex challenges, says departing Dick Costolo

  30-06-2015 20:03
  
  In interview before his last day in job, CEO says going public accelerated short-term-thinking, and regulation would pose threat to free speechThe outgoing chief executive of Twitter has said he underestimated the pressures that going public would place on the company and warned that his successor would nevertheless have to manage an increasingly complex set of geopolitical challenges as well as the demands of Wall Street.Speaking to the Guardian before his last day at the company on Wednesday,
  
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• Hands-on review: Olympus Air A01

  30-06-2015 19:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The interchangeable-lens camera has been an ever shrinking device from full-frame monsters, APS-C sensors to the miniature Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system cameras. Now, Olympus is introducing its smallest camera yet: the Olympus Air A01.The new pocket shooter is a lens camera much in the same spirit as the Sony QX1 ($399, £250, about AU$520) in that they both rely almost entirely on a smartphone to operate. It comes outfitted with a 16 megapixel, MFT sensor and a lens mount that will work readil
  
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• Court says Apple fixed e-book prices

  30-06-2015 18:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A US federal appeals court upholds a ruling that Apple conspired with publishers fix the prices of electronic books.
  
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• Review: Updated: MSI Prestige PE60 2QD

  30-06-2015 18:35 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and designThe MSI Prestige PE60 2QD ($1,099.00, £709.58, AU$1415.87) is a business laptop that has the build quality and firepower of a tank. Marketed as both a gaming unit and a workstation built for business, the PE60 really has no direct competition.Best-in-class workstations, such as the supreme Lenovo ThinkPad W550s ($1,133, £765, AU$1,455) and the Dell Precision M6800 ($3,490, £2,075, AU$3,750) inspire productivity, but not necessarily the joys associated with gameplay. On
  
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• Review: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti Arctic Storm

  30-06-2015 17:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  We were all surprised when Nvidia launched its 980 Ti in early June. Although strategically a sound marketing idea, considering the rumoured release of AMD's 300 series lineup, it left us wondering where on Earth this monster child would sit. If you take a gander back to the days of the 700 series, however, what follows will come as little surprise. Back then, the GK110 Kepler architecture, boasting Titan Black, became a little redundant as a gaming card. For frames per dollar, the 780 Ti ran ri
  
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• Review: Updated: LG G4

  30-06-2015 17:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and designNOTE: We've only just updated our review to include a star rating and final verdict as we were waiting for final retail software. As per our reviews guarantee, we'll only deliver our rating on the same experience you'll get - we don't rush scoring for the sake of it.So have the early issues of the preview model been fixed? Find out in our in-depth (and final) review:LG is on something of a comeback trail - the brand that killed it in the feature phone market, then fell apa
  
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• FileMaker 14, First Take: Going mobile

  30-06-2015 17:00 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  The venerable FileMaker database gets an update that includes better development tools, including the ability to create mobile versions of databases that run in the browser.
  
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• Apple Music launches to take on Spotify – and traditional radio

  30-06-2015 17:00
  
  Streaming music service goes live with on-demand music, programmed playlists and live radio stationApple has launched its Apple Music streaming service, kicking off a three-month free trial with hopes of competing with entities as varied as Spotify, broadcast radio and Facebook.Apple Music was launched for iOS devices as part of the company’s iOS 8.4 software update, which was due to go live at 4pm BST. Continue reading...
  
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• Cybercriminals exploit Flash bug

  30-06-2015 15:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An exploit which takes advantage of a flaw in Adobe's Flash Player is being used by cybercriminals.
  
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• Star Wars Battlefront: EA Dice answers fan fears

  30-06-2015 15:24
  
  Why no character classes and space battles? We put some of the key questions to the gaming company’s general manager, Patrick BachBattlefield is one of the most respected military shooters of the decade, and Star Wars is a reasonably well-known science fiction film. So when the developer of the former set out to make a game based on the latter it was always going to be controversial. Ever since its official unveiling at the Star Wars Experience event in April, gamers and movie fans have worrie
  
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• Europe agrees to scrap roaming charges while paving way for 'internet fast lane'

  30-06-2015 15:16
  
  Tourists in EU countries will pay same mobile fees as at home from June 2017, but parallel deal means web services could pay for faster connections than rivalsHolidaymakers travelling within the EU will pay the same price to use their mobile phone as they would at home from June 2017, after a deal was reached by European authorities.The scrapping of roaming charges has been fiercely resisted by the mobile industry but the agreement on Tuesday comes with a carrot for the telecoms firms – a para
  
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• Washington Post encrypts the news

  30-06-2015 14:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Washington Post begins encrypting parts of its website to make it harder for governments and hackers to monitor the articles people are reading.
  
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• How three years of Yammer has changed Microsoft for the better

  30-06-2015 13:57 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Collaboration and cloud aren't just Microsoft products, they're part of the new culture.
  
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• Data roaming charges to end in EU

  30-06-2015 13:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  After its watered down plans were attacked in March, the EU reaches a deal to end mobile data roaming charges and define net neutrality rules.
  
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• Amazon Prime Now one hour delivery service arrives in London

  30-06-2015 13:29 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Can't get out to the shops? Amazon is now offering a one hour delivery service to customers in some London postcodes.
  
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• Apple Music's Beats 1: what you need to know

  30-06-2015 13:26
  
  Apple is launching the Zane Lowe-fronted radio station with its Spotify-like streaming service. Here’s what we know and what’s yet to be revealedThe days of big surprises from Apple are mostly in the past. As the scale of the company has grown, it has become unable to prevent leaks somewhere along its chain.That’s doubly true when dealing with the notoriously gossipy music industry, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that nearly everything about Apple Music, the company’s new Spotify compet
  
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• PayPal backtracks over 'robocalls'

  30-06-2015 13:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  PayPal has apologised for causing "confusion" after a new policy appeared to suggest that users would have to accept accept automated marketing calls.
  
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• Amazon offers one-hour deliveries in central London

  30-06-2015 13:03
  
  Online retailer’s Prime Now service expands from being focused on grocery delivery to include substantial portion of its catalogueAmazon is launching a one-hour delivery service, Prime Now, in London, offering high speed delivery on selected items to customers in east and central London.Customers, who must be Amazon Prime subscribers, can order goods to their home or office for delivery in the next hour for £6.99.Continue reading...
  
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• The shrinking of the big data promise

  30-06-2015 12:47
  
  Markets do not have much patience for a commitment to techniques that don’t deliver. Unfortunately, spy agencies aren’t subject to this discipline “Regression to the mean” is one of the subtlest concepts in statistical literacy – and yet it’s terribly simple. In plain English, “regression to the mean” is the idea that normally, things are pretty normal. That is, if you observe something abnormal – a high fever, a high share price, a long, unseasonable stretch of sunny or rainy
  
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• AC/DC becomes latest act to get on the streaming bandwagon

  30-06-2015 12:37
  Australian rockers, who held back their catalogue from iTunes until 2012, joins Spotify, Apple Music and other digital platformsThey’ve been around for decades, have sold hundreds of millions of albums, but until now had not been available on streaming services.No, not The Beatles. AC/DC. Continue reading...
  
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• AWS readies Indian datacentres, says India could be one of its biggest cloud regions

  30-06-2015 12:11 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Amazon announces Indian infrastructure region will open next year.
  
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• SMS pioneer Matti Makkonen dies

  30-06-2015 12:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Matti Makkonen, who pioneered SMS technology and launched the worldwide sensation of texting, has died.
  
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• Splatoon is the game every noughties teenager would have loved

  30-06-2015 11:39
  
  Nintendo’s brash, punky shooter would have defined my teen years – if only it hadn’t arrived too lateFor a whole host of reasons, the start of secondary school marked a pause in my love of video games. I’d spent my childhood playing grungy classics like Crazy Taxi and Tony Hawk’s Underground. But on the cusp of puberty and thrust into a group of new personalities - most of which were much bigger and louder than mine - I did what most kids do at that difficult age and adjusted my intere
  
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• VIDEO: Shooting lasers from your eyes

  30-06-2015 09:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The world's first VR headset that can track your eye movements
  
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• Merchants catching on to the demand of the invisible payment: Braintree

  30-06-2015 09:23 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Braintree head of Asia Tyson Hackwood says merchants are looking at new ways to reduce the friction at the checkout as customers become increasingly more trusting of them.
  
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• Yes, tech spending is shrinking, but don't panic yet

  30-06-2015 09:15 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Worldwide IT spending this year will drop by this year thanks to a strong dollar, according to analysts. But that isn't bad news for everybody.
  
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• Australia's online bullying monitor starts Wednesday

  30-06-2015 09:05 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Children will be able to lodge complaints to e-Safety Commissioner Alastair MacGibbon from July 1 to seek to have alleged bullying content pulled down from Facebook and Twitter.
  
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• Microsoft sets release date for Visual Studio 2015

  30-06-2015 08:04 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Visual Studio 2015 is slated to appear nine days before Microsoft launches Windows 10, the Windows 10 SDK, and the Universal Windows App Development Tools on July 29.
  
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• Five of the best smartwatches for 2015

  30-06-2015 08:00
  
  From the Apple Watch, the Pebble Time and a raft of Google Android Wear watches, there are a lot to choose from. Here are the five best.Smartwatches are the hottest thing in technology right now. The little wrist-based screens are dragging timepieces into the 21st century and shifting the buzzing, binging and bonging of modern life away from our phones.The choice is staggering: from the high end luxury of the Apple Watch to Google’s growing army of Android Wear to the elegantly simplicity of t
  
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• The pros and cons of being a startup in Australia: Macropod

  30-06-2015 07:49 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Macropod co-founders Alan Dowie and Matt Milosavljevic weighed up the option of whether to move to the US when they were first started out, but ended up deciding to stay in Australia.
  
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• NBN needs to be more transparent to retailers: ACCC

  30-06-2015 06:40 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  In order to ensure Telstra doesn't a competitive advantage during the NBN rollout, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has said NBN needs to offer more information to its retail rivals.
  
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• Inabox seals AU$3.6m deal to handle 3,000 PSTN customers

  30-06-2015 03:58 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Australian telco Inabox Group has secured a AU$3.6 million deal with Total Telecoms Group that will see Inabox responsible for 3,000 PSTN accounts under the contract.
  
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• Pushing boundaries: Peter Bradd tasked with building Australia's startup ecosystem

  30-06-2015 03:19 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  As the first CEO of Australia's startup advocacy group StartupAUS, Peter Bradd plans to use his experience as an entrepreneur to work with the government to create a flourishing Australian startup economy.
  
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• Microsoft transfers map business to Uber and display advertising to AOL

  30-06-2015 02:46
  
  AOL to make Bing its main search engine and take over selling ads on Microsoft sites, while Uber rather than in-house division will supply mapsMicrosoft is to hand over its display advertising business to AOL and sell some map-generating technology to Uber as it slims down money-losing online operations.
  Microsoft is expected instead to focus on its growing search advertising business based on the Bing search engine, and displaying maps on its Windows devices rather than generating the maps them
  
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• The Brazilian who wants China to go west

  30-06-2015 02:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Hugo Barra leads the Chinese smartphone maker to Brazil and beyond
  
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• Amcom CEO resigns after Vocus merger

  30-06-2015 02:26 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Amcom's CEO of eight years, Clive Stein, has resigned from the company after it was successfully merged with Vocus.
  
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• 'Leap second' set to delay midnight

  30-06-2015 02:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Midnight will come later tonight as for the first time in three years an extra second is added to the official time set by atomic clocks.
  
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• Export bar placed on John Logie Baird archive in effort to keep it in UK

  30-06-2015 01:56
  
  Historic ‘treasure trove’ of materials linked to TV pioneer is at risk of being exported from Britain unless a buyer can be foundAn export bar has been placed on an archive from John Logie Baird’s first transmission of trans-Atlantic television pictures in the hope that it will prevent the materials – which include the first use of the acronym TV – leaving the UK.A UK buyer will need to match the £78,750 asking price for the archive, described as a “treasure trove” of materia
  
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• Insurer attacked for Facebook tie-up

  30-06-2015 01:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A health insurer is criticised for advising members to use a Facebook-owned activity tracker without making the social network's involvement more clear.
  
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• Indiana Joneses run hi-tech race against Islamic State

  30-06-2015 01:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The kit recording the world's threatened cultural treasures
  
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• Indiana Joneses in hi-tech race against Islamic State

  30-06-2015 01:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The kit recording the world's threatened cultural treasures
  
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