My favorite tech items of 2016 [Brian]

Today is New Year's Eve, and while all the cool kids are out partying, I am sitting here reflecting on my favorite tech products of the year. Yeah, I'm a nerd. Believe it or not, 2016 saw me getting deeper into Apple's ecosystem (I still love Linux and Windows 10, though). I continue to love the iPhone 6s Plus, iPad mini 4, and Apple TV I bought in 2015, but this year, I added AirPods and a MacBook Pro. One of those Apple products was quickly returned, while the other is my overall favorite. Can you guess which is which?… [Continue Reading]

Android Nougat officially rolling out for OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3

OnePlus announced in November that it would release Android Nougat for its latest flagship killers by the end of 2016. And it has kept its promise, as the much-awaited update will reach OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3 units starting today. CEO Carl Pei revealed on Twitter that Android Nougat will be gradually rolling out and that, indeed, it is a "stable" build -- not a preview, like OnePlus publicly released for OnePlus 3 users to test. Many members of our R&D are not taking any time off to celebrate New Year. But we all feel proud to finally deliver on… [Continue Reading]

My favorite tech items of 2016 [Wayne]

2016 was a bad year in lots of ways -- loads of celebrity deaths, plus Brexit and Trump (depending on your point of view of course) -- but a good year for new tech. Rather than just looking at what exciting new products made it on to the market in 2016, I’ve decided to take a look at the items that have become part of my digital life in the past 12 months. iPhone 7 I had planned to skip upgrading to the new iPhone this year, preferring to stick with the 's' models as I have previously (the 5s… [Continue Reading]

My favorite tech items of 2016 [Alan]

2016 is drawing to a close and we're already looking forward to everything a new year will bring. It gets started quick when the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off 2017, but before we start ogling at all those products that may or may not ever see a store shelf, it's time to take a glance back at the year that was. Many products showed up on the BetaNews doorstep this year and we all worked hard to bring you an overview of them so you'd know what to buy and what to avoid. Now it's time for me to take… [Continue Reading]

NETGEAR Nighthawk X10 AD7200 802.11ad Smart WiFi router (R9000) [Review]

The NETGEAR Nighthawk X10 AD7200 802.11ad Smart WiFi router (R9000) costs $500. Let's get that out of the way. Some people think this is way too much to spend on a wireless router. Depending on your budget and needs, yeah, this could be too much for you. If you have a big home and spend a lot of time on the internet, however, money may be no object for a fast and reliable connection. This particular router is NETGEAR's top-of-the-line home offering, meaning it is chock-full of features and technology. In fact, it even has 802.11ad -- something that is not… [Continue Reading]

HTTPS Checker scans your site for mixed content issues

Switching your website to HTTPS improves security, reassures your visitors and means you won’t be affected by those "not secure" warnings Chrome 56 will soon display on some HTTP pages. Making the move isn’t always easy, unfortunately -- there’s a lot to consider. It’s not enough to deliver your main pages via HTTPS, for instance -- your other content (scripts, CSS files etc) should also be protected. If it isn’t, your visitors may see warnings, or the content could be blocked, perhaps breaking your site. HTTPS Checker is a service and desktop application which makes it easy to detect various… [Continue Reading]

Why Etherium is the most promising Blockchain technology

With so much expectation placed on the impact of Blockchain technology, which platform is going to help the industry deliver on those expectations? If you find that question surprising it is because you’ve only ever heard of Bitcoin when it comes to Blockchain technology, then you won’t be alone. Bitcoin, however, is just the best-known of many Blockchain technologies -- and there are many more. Specialist venture capital fund Outlier Ventures estimated earlier this year that there would be 1,000 Blockchain start-up companies using different technologies by the end of July 2016. Outlier also predicts that 70 percent of those start-up… [Continue Reading]

WhySoSlow 1.0 checks your PC for performance issues

System utility developer Resplendence Software has released WhySoSlow 1.0, a "performance and responsiveness analyzer" for Windows 7 and later. The program’s analysis function monitors various performance indicators, including CPU clock speed, temperature and load; memory load; hard page faults; application responsiveness; latencies, BIOS interrupt delays and more. A simple report sums up the results and gives you a verdict on each area, highlighting any bottlenecks which might be slowing you down. Will this help? Maybe not. We were told that our maximum hard page fault rate was 50 per second, for instance. WhySoSlow said that was excellent, but could we… [Continue Reading]

Is a bug bounty program right for your company?

Already an attractive option for a variety of consumer applications, crowd sourcing is now catching on in the corporate world. One emerging area of crowd sourcing is bug bounty programs. These are rewards offered by organizations to security researchers or whitehat hackers, who receive recognition and financial compensation for finding and reporting bugs, exploits and vulnerabilities in the organizations’ websites and applications. As a technology company or security professional, it’s easy to see the attraction of running bug bounty programs. But these programs are not without risk, and timing can be a critical factor. Unless they are managed carefully, bug… [Continue Reading]

Best Windows 10 apps this week

Two-hundred-and-ten in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on Windows Store in the past seven days. Check out the best Windows 10 apps of 2016 and best Windows 10 games of 2016 listings in case you missed them. As always, if I missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email instead. Discounts this week The following list is a selection of the best deals. Make sure you check… [Continue Reading]

Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge will officially get Android Nougat in January

Samsung introduced the Galaxy Beta Program in November to give Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge users in select markets the option to beta test the upcoming Android Nougat update. Four builds have seen the light of day so far, but there will not be a fifth -- the program closes today. The Android Nougat betas have been well received, with users reporting a solid user experience and few major issues. So, as a result, Samsung is moving on to the next phase, putting the final touches on the much-awaited upgrade. The company expects it to be ready for prime time… [Continue Reading]

Adieu, Yahoo

Yahoo, one of the earliest and brightest dot-coms, is a Hellhole at the close of 2016. It stinks of decay and neglect. The 1 billion active user accounts ravaged by hackers is a metaphor for the trendy neighborhood turned into gang-ridden slum. Verizon was, or maybe still is, buying Yahoo. Walk away, I say, unless Yahoo is willing to pay for the privilege of becoming part of the expanding VZN communications and media empire. I typically make many changes at the start of the new year, and as 2017 begins, I take my advice offered to Verizon: Abandon Yahoo. First to… [Continue Reading]

Behold the Windows 10 GSOD -- Green Screen of Death

The other day I turned on my computer and was faced with the infamous Blue Screen of Death. This one was caused by a graphics error, and nothing too onerous, but I’ve had to troubleshoot numerous terrifying BSODs over the years. The Blue Screen of Death is synonymous with big show-stopping problems, but Microsoft is currently toying with a different shade of terror -- green. SEE ALSO: Microsoft finally lets users pause updates in Windows 10 The software giant isn’t intending to permanently swap blue for green though, this is just something that’s being used in Insider Preview builds in… [Continue Reading]

ChatOps: What it is and how it's evolving

They’re calling 2016 "the year of the chatbot". From diverse sectors such as dining, travel and retail, chatbots are increasingly being used for a variety of different purposes. This is part of a broad shift away from point-and-click based apps to chat-based user interfaces. Software development is no exception to this trend -- GitHub is credited with coining the term "ChatOps" back in 2013 when it created Hubot, its open source chatbot to help with DevOps practices. Initially designed as an integration with messaging apps such as Campfire, Hubot has since been starred over 11,000 times on GitHub, and a variety… [Continue Reading]

Quickly watermark your movies with uMark Video Watermarker

UMark Video Watermarker provides a quick and easy way to add text or image watermarks to videos. Choose an image or enter your preferred text and you’re able to set the watermark position, transparency, font, text style and more. Unusually, your watermark doesn’t have to be static. You can have it move to a random position after a predefined time, or scroll across the screen, making it much more difficult for others to remove later. You’re able to combine as many watermarks as you need. One text watermark, two, one text and two images, it’s up to you. Each one… [Continue Reading]

OpenELEC 7.0 Linux distribution now available for PC, Raspberry Pi, and WeTek Core

Most operating systems, like Windows 10 or macOS, are designed to do multiple things. After all, many people want their computers to serve many tasks, such as productivity, media, and gaming. Some operating systems, however, are targeted at a single use to minimize the overhead and maximize the power of the hardware. Not to mention, it can create a more immersive experience. One such focused OS is OpenELEC. This Linux distribution is designed to serve as a media center -- nothing more, nothing less. Today, the popular distro reaches stable version 7.0. There are images for both x86 and Raspberry Pi 2… [Continue Reading]

Are your enterprise apps secure?

The use of mobile devices continues to increase, with there being no sign of it slowing down anytime soon. The use of mobile apps is also increasing and is completely dominating mobile internet usage, so it’s no surprise that enterprises are investing in mobile apps in order to boost the impact of their product or service. The most dominant channel through which to download consumer apps is through stores such as Apple’s iTunes and Google’s Play Store, as well as some third-party marketplaces. A large corporate organization will need to ensure that all information placed within their mobile app is… [Continue Reading]