Microsoft releases Windows 10 Redstone 5 Build 17682 to the Fast ring

Microsoft seems -- finally -- to have got the hang of its six monthly update schedule for Windows 10. Not only has it pushed out the April 2018 Update to over 50 percent of Windows 10 users in a very short space of time, but the next feature update, codenamed Redstone 5, is shaping up very nicely already. The big new feature in this next major update is Sets, and Build 17682 introduce some improvements to it based on Insider feedback. SEE ALSO: Windows 10 April 2018 Update rolling out at an impressive rate Windows XP 2018 Edition is the… [Continue Reading]

New Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition may be the coolest flagship smartphone right now

Xiaomi follows a pretty basic recipe when designing a new high-end smartphone: it has to give consumers lots more bang for the buck than the competition. So, its flagships tend to offer very similar specs to their main rivals and cost hundreds of dollars less. They do, however, lack the edge that many buyers in this segment look for: a compelling feature or benefit to make them stand out from the crowd. The new line of flagships introduced today is different. The Mi 8 Explorer Edition, which sits above the Mi 8 and Mi 8 SE in the company's lineup,… [Continue Reading]

Consumers' privacy concerns not backed by their actions

A large majority of people say they are concerned about their online privacy, but this is not reflected in their actions according to a new study. The survey from Blue Fountain Media reveals that 90 percent of respondents are very concerned about their internet privacy and 48 percent wish 'more was being done about it'. Yet despite this 60 percent of those polled happily download apps without reading terms and conditions, and close to 20 percent still download apps even when they have read the terms and don't like them. A third of those polled say they would delete an… [Continue Reading]

Review: RAVPower AC Outlet 27000mAh Power Bank

Power banks are ten a penny nowadays, offering a way to ensure that your phone stays charged while you're on the move and away from a power socket. But while there are plenty of power banks with USB connections, what about those devices that require AC power? There are some laptops that can charge using a USB-C connection, but most need AC -- and this is where the RAVPower AC Outlet 27000mAh Power Bank can help. As you might guess from the name, this is a portable battery pack that offers 27000mAh of power and could just save you from… [Continue Reading]

Judge dismisses Kaspersky lawsuits about US government software ban

Kaspersky has had something of a tough time of it over the last year, first being hit by a ban on its software being used by the US government, and then a ban on advertising on Twitter. The Russian company sued the Trump administration over the software ban, and a judge has now dismissed the suits. Kaspersky Lab had been looking to overturn the governmental ban, saying "we've done nothing wrong" in response to claims that the company is linked to the Russian government. The firm says it plans to appeal against the latest ruling. See also: Kaspersky to move… [Continue Reading]

Windows 10 April 2018 Update rolling out at an impressive rate

Microsoft rolls out feature updates for Windows 10 twice a year, often at quite glacial speeds. The Creators Update, released last Spring, was particularly slow and problematic. By the time its successor arrived, six months later, over a quarter of users (27.5 percent) still didn’t have it. The Fall Creators Update push was, in comparison, much smoother. Helped by the delay in getting the Spring 2018 Update out of the door, it managed to make its way on to more than 92 percent of Windows 10 PCs, making it the most installed Windows 10 update ever. SEE ALSO: How to… [Continue Reading]

Bad vibrations: How sound could be used to interfere with your hard drive

It's well known that sound at particular levels can cause problems -- we've all seen demonstrations of wine glasses being shattered by high frequencies, for example. You might not think that's much of an issue for computers, but researchers at the University of Michigan and Zhejiang University in China have shown that sounds can be used to interfere with disks. Last year Princeton researchers showed it was possible to carry out denial of service attacks on hard disk drives, stopping CCTV systems from recording, and causing other problems by directing sounds at the drives. This latest study goes further, seeking… [Continue Reading]

Motorola Moto G6 is the newest Amazon Prime Exclusive Phone

The Amazon Prime Exclusive Phone program is something I recommend highly to anyone looking for an affordable smartphone. If you have Amazon Prime (and who doesn't, nowadays?) you can score quality Android devices at rock-bottom prices. In a world where companies like Apple charge $1,000 and more for some smartphones, it is nice to know you can get a wonderful device for a fraction of that price.  Today, Amazon unveils the newest Amazon Prime Exclusive Phone and I think it is my favorite one yet. The Motorola Moto G6 looks beautiful and has excellent specifications. It is a well-rounded smartphone at a very… [Continue Reading]

Imgur adds video support

Imgur has long been home to a universe of GIFs but -- after many years of animated silence -- this is changing thanks to the arrival of video support. This is a major change of direction for the company; something it recognizes and refers to as "a monumental shift for our future". At the moment, the uploading of videos is only available to iOS users, but there are plans to roll it out to other platforms as well. All platforms can currently view -- and hear -- videos. While this is something of a shift in focus for Imgur, it… [Continue Reading]

Enterprise adoption of Office 365 surges as usage of G Suite levels out

Using cloud apps is fast becoming standard practice for businesses and Microsoft Office 365 usage is accelerating ahead of Google's G Suite, according to a new report. The 2018 Cloud Adoption Report from cloud security company Bitglass shows global cloud adoption has topped 81 percent -- a 37 percent increase since 2016 and a 238 percent increase since 2014. Office 365 usage overtook G Suite usage in 2016 and has proceeded to stretch its lead since then. Currently, Microsoft's offering has more than twice as many deployments as Google's. While G Suite usage has remained steady at around 25 percent… [Continue Reading]

Cryptomining dominates mobile threat landscape

Threat actors are increasingly looking to exploit the popularity and volatility of cryptocurrency in their attacks on mobile devices according to a new report. The latest Mobile Threat Landscape report from threat management specialist RiskIQ analyzed 120 mobile app stores and more than two billion daily scanned resources. An app called Calendar 2 appeared in the Apple App Store in March which began mining Monero digital currency on user devices. Although the app disclosed this activity and offered the option for users to pay fees or use the app with all advanced features disabled, the app developers set mining as… [Continue Reading]

Samsung begins mass production of 10nm-class 32GB DDR4 SoDIMMs for gaming laptops

When it comes to PC gaming, consumers have a lot of options nowadays. Long gone are the days where you needed a massive tower for playing premium games -- you can now do so on a laptop. Younger folks may not find that so amazing, but back in the day, owning a notebook was like a death sentence for PC gamers. There are many solid gaming laptops from which to choose, but often, you will find they are limited to 32GB of memory. Why? Well, many DDR4 SoDIMMs max out at 16GB, so when you pair two together, you hit a… [Continue Reading]

After eight years in development, Camera+2 is finally released

When you’re on a city break, you want to make sure you can get the best possible photos from your environment. This meant (and still does for many) dragging around a huge DSLR camera with telephoto lens all day. Problem is, apart from the weight, dragging a DSLR can attract all the wrong attention. You look like a semi-professional commercial photographer on an unauthorized shoot and, travel to places such as Miami and Los Angeles, and there are lots of locations where you can’t take your sizeable camera. Luckily the iPhone is now at a stage where most photos can… [Continue Reading]

Peculiar Google bug shows your text messages in search results

Bugs found in software are often a little quirky, but the latest discovery of a bug in the Google Android app is very peculiar indeed. Use the app to perform certain searches, or make a typo when entering a URL, and you may well find that you see a list of your text messages rather than the page you were expecting. At the moment it seems that the bug only affects Android users, with the iOS version of the Google app appearing to be functioning normally. If you get strange results if you try to visit the1975..com or search for… [Continue Reading]

Apple reveals which speakers support AirPlay 2

With the launch of iOS 11.4 yesterday, Apple also unleashed AirPlay 2. Bringing support for stereo pairing and multi-room audio, this was the update HomePod users had been waiting for. But a HomePod is not the only way to take advantage of AirPlay 2; there are lots of other speakers that support the standard. Apple has now published a list of all of the AirPlay 2 speakers and receivers that are currently available, or will be very soon. See also: AirPlay 2 brings HomePod stereo pairs and multi-room audio to iOS 11.4 Apple to add details of government app takedown… [Continue Reading]

EaseUS releases free ToDo Backup 11 with optimized backup

How many people backup their data? A decreasing number. The new standard is to upload our data to the cloud, storing our most important files and documents in a remote location and then synchronizing those files across our various devices. Backing up our data is old-school, right?  There’s certainly an element of truth to this. These days, along with the cloud, if you have a password manager, retrieving your important data now takes minutes, not hours. Gone are the days when your system would crash and you’d have to start recovering your entire drive to get access to your system.… [Continue Reading]

Toshiba launches 240GB XS700 Portable Solid State Drive with USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C

As solid state drives become more prevalent inside computers, their popularity is also on the rise for external storage. This makes a lot of sense, as not only are SSDs dropping in price, they are very appropriate for portable storage as there are no moving parts. A traditional external drive that leverages a mechanical hard drive, for instance, could be damaged while on the go. This could lead to data loss -- a huge issue for both personal and professional users. Today, Toshiba announces its latest such portable SSD. The "XS700," as it is called, is beautifully designed and features… [Continue Reading]