Technology news

• Spark boosts profits as sales continue to slide

  20-08-2015 23:22 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Declining calling and access revenue is only partially offset by growing mobile and IT services sales for New Zealand telco.
  
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• Review: Olloclip Active

  20-08-2015 22:15
  
  Usage and verdictThe iPhone has proved itself to be an excellent littlepocket camera, but what if you want to do something a bit moreadventurous than the usual cat photo or selfie shot? That's where theOlloclip Active comes in to give you a bit more flexibility with bothwide-angle and telephoto lenses.Coming in at $99 or £89 (about AU$135), Olloclip says the Active was designed for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners with an active lifestyle. To this end, users can attach the ultra-wide angl
  
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• Hands-on review: Logitech ConferenceCam Connect

  20-08-2015 22:12
  
  The webcam has come a long way over the last 20 years, since Connectix unveiled the black-and-white QuickCam in 1994, a model with a qVGA resolution (that's a quarter of VGA) that cost a hundred bucks at launch. Connectix's webcam business was acquired by Logitech in 1998.While models have improved markedly since then, there are instances where a built-in webcam, of the sort that comes with your laptop or smartphone, simply isn't good enough, especially for a small group of participants.Sometime
  
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• Data security, the achilles heel of DevOps

  20-08-2015 21:46 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  DevOps
  
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• Apple gains ground on Samsung's smartphone market share

  20-08-2015 21:21
  
  If you use a Samsung smartphone, you might soon be in the minority. Apple is gaining ground on Samsung for global smartphone market share. Despite launching new S6 models this quarter, Samsung’s market share decreased to 21.9% compared with 26.2% during the same period in 2014, according to data from Gartner Research. Conversely, Apple’s market share increased to 14.6% compared with 12.2% last year. Backed by a strong second quarter, during which iPhone sales increased 36% compared w
  
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• Instagram update makes it too easy to share your location

  20-08-2015 21:16
  
  Instagram's latest update has removed the ability to choose which photos get uploaded to your Photo Map, with all photos now tagged with a location automatically added to your map.The Photo Maps button allowed users to choose which geo-tagged photos, showing at times your exact location, they wanted to add to their maps and which they didn't.This was useful if you took a photo and tagged it, but didn't want to share your exact location on the map because your profile was not set to private, allo
  
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• Android Wear watch faces get an interactive upgrade

  20-08-2015 21:15
  
  A new Android Wear update adds official support for interactive watch faces, allowing for even more at-a-glance information for you to digest on your smartwatch. Now, it can really show off its smarts.The update brings with it a whole lot of possibilities for the interactive watch faces of tomorrow. But Google has plenty to choose from right now. Under Armour's interactive watch face, for example, puts fitness info front and center. This will be perfect for folks who use their Android Wear devic
  
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• Google adds Android Wear interactive faces and complications

  20-08-2015 20:58 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  More information at the tap of a finger comes with the newest software update and watch faces. Google has also added watch-to-watch communications for photos, doodles and activities.
  
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• Mac Tips: GarageBand: How to trim a track

  20-08-2015 20:45
  
  Odds are, one of the first things you'll try to do in Garageband for Mac is trim a track. Good news: it's super-duper easy, whether you want to chuck a chunk of audio or tweak a clip's starting or stopping point.First, click on the clip you'd like to edit (its frame will lighten to confirm your selection). If you want to cut the clip in two, click and drag the playhead to the spot you'd like to split it at and press Command + T. Voila — one clip becomes two! If one part is trash, highlight
  
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• Android Wear can now translate almost any conversation

  20-08-2015 20:24
  
  Android Wear watches are now world-travel ready.The Google-OS running wearables were gifted with Google Translate today via a software update, which also brought interactive watch faces. Now, users can carry on bilingual convos in 44 languages through their wrists, even if they don't have Google Translate on their phones or are away from their devices but connected over Wi-Fi.To use Google Translate on Android Wear, speak into your watch, then flip it to show the translation to your conversation
  
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• GOgroove BlueSYNC RGD Bluetooth speaker: Ready for rough and tumble activities

  20-08-2015 20:16 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  The GOgroove Bluetooth speaker is a water-resistant, rugged speaker with a carrying loop that makes it perfect for adding stereo sounds to your hikes.
  
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• Updated: iPhone 7 and iPhone 6S release date, news and rumors

  20-08-2015 19:07
  
  iPhone6S/7releasedate,conceptanddesignWondering what's going to happen with the iPhone 7 this year? Bad news: it's going to be the iPhone 6, in all likelihood. Good news: it's going to be here really soon - so get saving.We're also expecting a larger model to arrive too, which would take over from the iPhone 6 Plus, and it'll probably be imaginatively named the iPhone 6S Plus.And if that wasn't enough, Apple is also rumoured to be launching the iPhone 6C alongside the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plu
  
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• There's nothing compact about this Sony Xperia Z5 Compact leak

  20-08-2015 19:05
  
  While Sony has yet to announce the Xperia Z5 Compact, it looks like a promo shot has all but officially confirmed the existence of the handset.A Dutch website, TechTastic,says it managed to get the promotional shot, which shows the back of the handset. While it's difficult to verify the image, it does seem to point at a design that is in line with the Xperia Z-branded phones from Sony so far. But bigger than the promo shot, the Dutch website has also seemingly gotten its hands on the Xperia Z5 C
  
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• Ashley Madison, CCTV: Podcast 231

  20-08-2015 19:00
  
  
  Listen this week for an entertaining 45-minute look at the most interesting technology and science stories from the last seven days, with WIRED.co.uk's Michael Rundle, Katie Collins and James Temperton.By: WIRED.co.uk, Continue reading...
  
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• Microsoft is planning huge October event for a ton of new devices

  20-08-2015 18:29
  
  Microsoft's next raft of consumer gadgets will be unveiled at a mega event later this year.Chinese news site WPDang reports that the Surface Pro 4 and Microsoft Band 2, plus a pair of new Lumia handsets, will form the basis of the October event that will almost certainly see multiple new pieces of hardware.The Surface Pro 4 will be the main focus of the event, which will once again be dubbed the tablet that can replace your laptop and Microsoft is expected to pack it with an ultra powerful Intel
  
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• Microsoft is planning a huge October event for a ton of new devices

  20-08-2015 18:29
  
  Microsoft's next raft of consumer gadgets will be unveiled at a mega event later this year.Chinese news site WPDang reports that the Surface Pro 4 and Microsoft Band 2, plus a pair of new Lumia handsets, will form the basis of the October event that will almost certainly see multiple new pieces of hardware.The Surface Pro 4 will be the main focus of the event, which will once again be dubbed the tablet that can replace your laptop and Microsoft is expected to pack it with an ultra powerful Intel
  
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• Swimming pool to link London towers

  20-08-2015 18:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A 25m swimming pool linking the tops of two 10-storey towers is to be built in London.
  
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• Robots to capture ocean life images

  20-08-2015 17:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Pair of pioneering robots going on voyage to capture images of ocean life off the coast of Pembrokeshire.
  
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• Google Chrome crashes out of latest Windows 10 preview

  20-08-2015 17:32
  
  Windows 10 and Google Chrome aren't playing nice after the latest Insider Build of the OS caused the popular browser to crash.Users have flooded onto the Google help forum and Reddit to vent their frustration at a problem that sees the 64-bit version of Chrome continually crash if it is being run on Windows 10 build 10525, which was only released on Tuesday.The sandbox that Chrome relies on is reportedly "breaking" inside Windows 10 10525, according to Justin Schuh, a Google software engineer, a
  
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• BlackBerry Venice release date, news and rumors

  20-08-2015 17:32
  
  The BlackBerry Venice is more than just another enterprise handset, as it looks like it will arrive running Android, which would make it the first BlackBerry handset to do so.Yet in keeping with the brand's tradition it's got a physical QWERTY keyboard, which is a rarity on Android these days, and with a slide-out design you can keep it hidden when you'd rather stick with a touchscreen.Add to that rumors of some impressively high-end specs and the Venice could be the most exciting BlackBerry pho
  
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• Ashley Madison - who did the hack?

  20-08-2015 16:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Questions still surround the identity of the hackers who are behind the massive Ashley Madison data breach - and it may need loose talk to uncover the perpetrators.
  
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• China's smartphone-buying frenzy tailing off, as Samsung's share wanes across the globe

  20-08-2015 15:31 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  According to this quarter's smartphone sales data, Apple has reason to be cheerful.
  
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• Amazon gets startup-friendly with AWS Loft space in London

  20-08-2015 15:30 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  AWS to open a new Loft pop-up in London to build better relations with the city's flourishing startup scene.
  
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• Ashley Madison using copyright law to try to limit attack leak

  20-08-2015 15:19 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Hacked dating site has been filing copyright takedown requests to try to keep its leaked database and its customers’ personal details out of the public eyeHacked extramarital dating service Ashley Madison is trying to prevent dissemination of its stolen database by sending copyright takedown notices to social networks and file-sharing sites.The action, after 33m user records were posted online, mirrors the largely-successful attempt to get an earlier, smaller, leak of user data scrubbed fr
  
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• Smartphone sales 'fall in China'

  20-08-2015 15:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Smartphone sales record their first year-on-year drop, according to research firm Gartner, but Huawei and Apple buck the trend.
  
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• Illustrator CC 2015, First Take: Faster and better-connected

  20-08-2015 15:04 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Improved performance, cloud sync, new mobile tools and the first graphing updates in years make this an important new release of Illustrator.
  
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• Why Mesosphere is tapping into Spark and Cassandra for Infinity big-data and IoT stack

  20-08-2015 15:00 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  By assembling a set of open-source components in the Infinity stack, Mesosphere is aiming to simplify life for developers and data scientists working on big-data and IoT apps.
  
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• Metaswitch aims virtual networking Calico 1.0 at the datacenter scalability problem

  20-08-2015 15:00 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Integrated with OpenStack, Calico 1.0 is designed to enable datacenters to scale and at the same time remove some of the networking clutter.
  
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• Can you still call yourself an adventurer if you use a GPS safety beacon?

  20-08-2015 15:00 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Technology that pinpoints exact locations saves money and lives but critics say devices garner inflated sense of security, and prompt people to take more risksAs the line between civilization and wilderness becomes increasingly thin, do true adventurers still exist?Technology allows climbers to tweet from the top of Mount Everest. Antarctic skiers can instantly upload selfies from the South Pole. Anyone can obtain an inexpensive device with a panic button that allows them to request a rescue fro
  
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• Mars rover takes low-angle 'selfie'

  20-08-2015 14:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US space agency has issued another of the "selfie" portraits acquired by its Curiosity rover on Mars, but this one is taken from a much lower angle.
  
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• Ashley Madison leak fallout deepens

  20-08-2015 14:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Data from the Ashley Madison breach floods on to the web
  
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• Which laptop should I buy for university?

  20-08-2015 14:00 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Lee, a returning student, wants to buy a new laptop and would like to know if the ZenBook UX305 is a worthwhile upgradeI will be a returning student next year, and I want to purchase a new laptop. After doing some research, I determined the best and most economical buy was the Asus ZenBook UX305. I have an HP Sleekbook 15, which I got in 2013. Is there a significant difference between the two – enough to make it worth upgrading? Lee
  Before buying a laptop for university or college, try to
  
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• ​Google's Go programming language reaches version 1.5 with better mobile support

  20-08-2015 13:53 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Google's Go language for building software for datacentres is being fleshed out as a tool to build mobile apps.
  
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• Russell Brand halts The Trews and takes Facebook and Twitter break

  20-08-2015 13:13 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Comedian turned political activist says he has ‘gone as far as we can’ with his YouTube show and wants to spend some time ‘learning’Russell Brand says he is stopping his YouTube show The Trews and taking a break from Facebook and Twitter to spend some time “learning”.“I think we’ve gone as far as we can with the Trews for now,” he said in in a video titled “Final Episode Of The Trews – Goodbye, Good Luck”.Continue reading...
  
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• Uber accused over driver vetting

  20-08-2015 12:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Cab firm Uber is accused by California district attorneys of not doing enough to check the backgrounds of people it employs as drivers.
  
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• Radio presenters tell woman her husband was Ashley Madison user live on air – audio

  20-08-2015 12:42 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Fitzy and Wippa, breakfast show hosts on Australian radio station Nova FM, reveal to a woman, live on air, that her partner was registered with casual affairs website Ashley Madison. The duo enter the details into the website, and find that the lady’s significant other was a userContinue reading...
  
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• 'Warrant canaries': a subtle hint that your email provider is compromised

  20-08-2015 12:09 via feeds.theguardian.com
  The business of protecting data is getting tougher by the day – but there are ways not to breach the law and still safeguard customer dataSince the Snowden revelations, the market for privacy-oriented services has only grown – indeed, it’s likely that it will keep growing. We’re not at peak surveillance, but we’re way past peak indifference to surveillance.Running a privacy service comes with two distinct technical challenges: the cryptographic challenge of making m
  
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• Google datacentre tussles with lightning, comes off second best

  20-08-2015 11:29 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Four successive lightning strikes and a massive power outage was enough to wipe out data in Google's European Compute Engine datacentre.
  
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• OnePlus 2 review: a real ‘flagship killer’?

  20-08-2015 11:25 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Good camera, good screen, USB-C and dual-sim support make the OnePlus 2 highly specced but can it beat top-end Samsung’s Galaxy S6 or LG’s G4?The latest smartphone from Chinese upstart OnePlus is a self-proclaimed “2016 flagship killer” starting at just £239 in the UK, but is it really that good?
  OnePlus has made a name, in some circles at least, for creating solid high-performance smartphones that rival top-end devices from the likes of Samsung, LG and Apple for le
  
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• EE TV to launch new features as streaming battle hots up

  20-08-2015 10:51 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Service’s first major update since its rollout offers personalisation, improved search, a second screen experience and more
  Mobile operator EE is to unveil a host of new features to its fledgling TV service in its biggest update since launch, as the battle in the crowded streaming and on-demand television market intensifies.The UK’s biggest mobile operator is the third company to announce new TV service features this week, following Sky and the BBC.Continue reading...
  
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• There's an app for messaging someone else who's sitting on the loo

  20-08-2015 10:24 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Smartphone addicts may be using their devices while sitting on the toilet, but does that mean they want to chat to one another?Three quarters of smartphone owners admit to using their devices while sitting on the toilet, so perhaps the only surprise is that it’s taken this long for an app to link them up to other random people also perching on the loo.Released by developer Ricardo Gruber, the free iPhone app Pooductive offers anonymous messaging, with the hook that everyone you encounter w
  
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• Apple says only 1 in 5 people have quit Apple Music

  20-08-2015 09:32 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Apple has defended the uptake of Apple Music, saying that 79 percent of those who signed up for a trial are still using the service.
  
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• Wesfarmers posts AU$3.76b in pre-tax earnings, online sales see boost

  20-08-2015 09:10 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Australia's largest retail chain, Wesfarmers, posted an EBIT of AU$3.76 billion, with a revenue of AU$62.4 billion for the 2015 financial year. The conglomerate witnessed growth in its online sales, and saw the adoption of digital payment systems across the 12 months ending June 30 2015.
  
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• Radio hosts tell woman live on air her husband had Ashley Madison account

  20-08-2015 08:47 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Australian radio station Nova FM’s breakfast duo Fitzy and Wippa tell woman her husband’s email address was registered with website for casual affairsRadio listeners have responded with anger after a Sydney woman was told live on air that her husband was registered with the Ashley Madison website for casual affairs.Breakfast radio hosts Fitzy and Wippa put a call out on Thursday morning for any female listeners who suspected their partner might be cheating. Continue reading...
  
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• Sky adds features to movies service to keep up with Netflix

  20-08-2015 08:01 via feeds.theguardian.com
  Sky+ provides watch list, ‘more like this’ recommendations and Rotten Tomato ratings as pay-TV service feels pressure from web-only rivals Sky is adding a watch list, “more like this” recommendations and Rotten Tomato ratings to its Sky+ movies service, as the company feels pressure from services such as Netflix.The new additions, which mirror features available from Amazon, Netflix and several other streaming services, will roll out to the company’s Sky+ and Sky+HD
  
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• auDA panel calls for allowing .au direct registrations

  20-08-2015 07:09 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Draft recommendations from the names policy panel of the body responsible for the .au top-level domain has called for allowing Australian businesses and individuals to directly register domains such as domainname.au.
  
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• Women gamers: Your industry needs you

  20-08-2015 07:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Gaming chief says he wants more women to work in the industry
  
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• Qantas annual profit soars to AU$975m

  20-08-2015 06:53 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Australia's flying kangaroo is out of the red, having boosted its annual profit by over AU$1.6 billion, following its turbulent 2014 financial year. Notably, the airline's data-driven loyalty program, Red Planet, experienced a profitable inaugural year and qantas.com took off into the cloud.
  
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• Huawei opens AU$30m Sydney innovation centre

  20-08-2015 05:11 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  Huawei is planning to use its new innovation centre to train students on its latest technology, as well as to provide a space for customers and partners to develop new tech.
  
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• Flash memory heads into the storage mainstream

  20-08-2015 04:27 via zdnet.com.feedsportal.com
  
  In the days when it had a low capacity and a short shelf-life, flash memory was a niche product - but now it is growing much faster than expected.
  
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