LG G4 vs Samsung Galaxy S6: Which flagship has the better camera?

Samsung’s Galaxy S6 is a great device, no doubt about it. It has all the elements needed for a great smartphone: a large, high quality display, powerful processor, a great operating system with countless features, and two amazing cameras.

However, the competition out there is merciless. Apple has hit the South Korean giants hard with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models, and now the LG G4 seems to be out for blood, as well.

The G4 hasn’t even been properly unveiled yet, and Forbes has already made a detailed comparison of the cameras on the two smartphone heavyweights, and even though LG has some hardware advantages over the Galaxy S6, the question remains whether or not is it worth extra $$$.

"One aspect of which the company is most proud is the G4’s main lens. Its f/1.8 aperture is currently the brightest on any smartphone and is a massive improvement on the f/2.4 lens found on the current G3 model. Perhaps more importantly it just pips Samsung’s excellent f/1.9 Galaxy S6 camera at the post", says Forbes, later adding that the 0.1 difference might not be "incredibly important", as LG likes to put it.

Manual control over shutter speed, ISO and white balance are also big advantages for the G4.

Still, the automatic snapshots are what will ultimately determine the better camera for most owners. Both Apple and Samsung are extremely good at that, and we will still have to wait and see just how LG’s flagship G4 can compete with the duo.

Startup time, handling of the phone while taking pictures, megapixels; those are all elements making the difference between a good camera and a great camera.

"These early details look very promising, but the Galaxy S6 is a very tough act to follow and it will definitely take more than just an f/1.8 lens to pull it off", Forbes concludes.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Ever wondered how old you look? New tool from Microsoft will hurt your feelings

Microsoft has created a new website which makes use of its recently released Face detection APIs to guess a user’s age based purely on a photo they submit.

The creators expected around 50 people to be interested in trying out the project, but the site has gone viral, racking up over 35,000 users as of yesterday, and likely hundreds of thousands more today. People want to know how they are perceived by others and a site that promises to predict their age based on an uploaded photo was bound to be hit. It’s a shame then, that a random number generator could probably produce more accurate results.

I’ve tested several photos of myself, and others, on the site and the ages predicted vary wildly. And I mean wildly. The site guessed I was 35, based on one photo I uploaded, and then 75 based on another. I’m actually 48. Both pictures were taken at the same time, just from a slightly different angle. My advice is if you try it, and you get a flattering result, stop there. The next result will likely not be as kind.

In fairness, its early days, and Microsoft is still improving the feature, so it will hopefully get better in time. Well it has to really.

A post on the Machining Learning Blog explains how the technology works (or doesn’t) and makes for interesting reading.

You can try it out for yourself now at http://how-old.net. Let me know in the comments how accurate, or otherwise, it is for you.

What Google's looking for in a manager

Being a manager at a company is a difficult task. You need to help people, motivate them to work, plan their projects, and make decisions. Even though a lot of people dream of becoming a manager, or any sort of boss at a company, not everyone is fit for that kind of pressure and expectation.

But when it comes to Google, being a manager is a completely different experience. The reason? It’s kinda hard to manage people that are most likely a lot smarter than you.

Google’s head of human resources, Laszlo Bock spoke to Quartz’s Max Nisen recently, on the subject of employing and managing people, and he says managing Googlers is a vastly different experience.

Bock says that in most companies you get rewarded and promoted for having better insights than the people you’re surrounded with, as well as being able to play the game of politics. "Everything you experience teaches you that you need to be assertive, and out in front, and making all of the decisions".

At Google, managing doesn’t mean making decisions -- it means getting the maximum out of the team.

"You realize that you have a lot less levers, control and power than you do at a lot of other companies. You don’t decide who to hire, or how big a bonus somebody gets, you don’t decide who gets promoted".

You need to motivate them without the leverage of power.

"You’re forced to figure out how to add value without relying on power, and you do that by influencing, by giving people the opportunity to learn, and giving people more freedom".

Master this skill, and you will be a great Google manager.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

Dell Wireless Dock available today

Laptop computers are great, as they allow the user to be portable. Want to surf the web in Starbucks? You got it. Need to take notes in class? Go for it, bro. Unfortunately, some people -- myself included -- prefer working with a huge monitor, mouse and keyboard. Traditional docking stations are a good solution, but they can take up significant desk space. Plus, depending on the unit, docking and undocking can be a tedious affair

There has to be a better way, right? The Dell Wireless Dock may be what you are looking for. While not the first such Intel WiGig solution, fans of Dell quality will want to take notice. If you have a compatible Intel-powered laptop or tablet, you can dock your machine -- sans wires -- for increased productivity.

"The cables and large docking station may be gone, but your productivity certainly is not. The Wireless Dock allows you to work more efficiently by powering up to two external displays (VGA, HDMI and mDP), keyboard, mouse, audio and other peripherals. The dock is equipped with two USB ports in front and three in the back to provide you the flexibility to work with as many devices as you need to manage your busy work flow", says Dell.

The manufacturer also says, "the new Dell wireless docking solution is designed for laptops, Ultrabooks, and 2 in 1 devices with 5th generation Intel Core vPro processors enabled with Intel Tri-Band Wireless-AC 17256. The Dell Wireless Dock is compatible with the Dell Latitude 7000 Series and Latitude 5000 Series with an optional installed Intel Tri-Band Wireless-AC 17256 available only at the time of purchase".

What makes this particularly cool is that you do not even need to have the computer on your desk -- it can communicate from a nearby bag, drawer or shelf . This saves room, while also protecting the computer from things like coffee spills.

I had the pleasure of experiencing Intel WiGig technology on a dock from a different manufacturer and it worked flawlessly. Intel's technology has no issue wirelessly streaming 1080p video without a stutter. It is a really impressive thing to use. Keep in mind, you can use Dell's dock with computers from other manufacturers too

If you own a machine that is compatible with Intel WiGig you can buy the Dell Wireless Dock here. Unfortunately, pricing is not yet live, but should be available later in the day.

Are you a Bitcoin early adopter? Here's how you can minimize risk

Bitcoin has significantly shifted from being a commodity traded by investors towards being used as an actual currency used to pay for goods and services. Exponentially growing transactions in the past year as well as increased involvement from businesses and government figures suggest that cryptocurrency adoption will only continue. The British Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, stated his desire for the UK to become a "global center of innovation for financial technology" before the end of 2015, and has taken steps to both regulate Bitcoin exchanges as well as provide guidelines for organizations who deal in the currency. On the business side, the number of merchants accepting Bitcoin have already hit 100,000 this year -- this number is expected to reach 140,000 by the end of this year.

It is common knowledge that there are clear business benefits and opportunities to utilizing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. For example, any existing market currency can be converted to a cryptocurrency through the use of online portals. Once held, cryptocurrencies can be stored in an electronic "wallet" without the need for a bank account. If a company manages most of its assets in bitcoin, this will naturally result in a reduction of third-party costs, and represent an alternative to managing multi-currency risk -- however, this option is not without its own risks.

You will need to consider the following if you are looking into Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies:

Price risk: because there are no derivatives markets to support cryptocurrencies, companies accepting Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies will experience price volatility on a daily basis with no means to protect against extreme losses in value of their holdings.

Liquidity risk: due to the lack of market infrastructure supporting cryptocurrencies, trading tends to be of relatively smaller quantities than corporates would need to transact on a daily basis. As a result, exchanging large amounts of Bitcoins, for example, may incur large bid/ask spreads. This often results in a loss of value or the need to spread out transactions over periods of time, incurring more costs and increasing price exposure.

Counterparty risk: payment systems using Bitcoin are not regulated nor do they provide any guarantees. If a $100M payment "doesn’t go through" then what is the recourse and to whom? Even if the result is positive, treasurers need payments to go through immediately and be certain of their outcome

If the benefits of cryptocurrencies outweigh the risks for your organization, you can take the following measures to minimize said risks:

Minimise your Bitcoin holdings: Be effective with your cryptocurrency management and only hold the quantity of Bitcoins needed to meet forecasted Bitcoin obligations. Holding more will expose your company to unnecessary "Virtual Currency" (VX) risk.

Diversify by using multiple counterparties: Given the lack of central bank backing and protection against counterparty risk, should anything go wrong with your Bitcoin wallet, payments or exchange provider, you may risk losing everything. If you have large cryptocurrency transfers to make, consider spreading the risk by using multiple counterparties.

Stay current on regulations: Given how new Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies are, the regulatory landscape is still only taking shape. In the US, Bitcoins have been designated a commodity, so any price fluctuations while you hold Bitcoins generates capital gains and losses. Other markets have their own unique nuances, so stay informed.

Establish strong audit and controls: One of cryptocurrencies’ biggest benefits and challenges is the level of anonymity and lack of audit trail it provides. For example, any payments made with Bitcoin are irreversible. To counter this, you need to ensure that your organization's internal processes and audit trails are more detailed than for regular payments.

While Bitcoin remains unstable, its increasing acceptance in the business world will only help overcome the pains of early adoption. It is inevitable that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will continue to evolve and develop into a legitimate financial tool. Until then, exercise caution in all your Bitcoin dealings.

Photo credit: Lightboxx / Shutterstock

Tim Wheatcroft is director of corporate communications at kyriba. He has spent more than 15 years in the PR trenches on both sides of the Atlantic, having started his career in London before moving to San Diego in 2001. He has worked on a diverse range of technology and consumer campaigns, ranging from start-ups to major global players. Tim’s PR experience ranges from the world’s largest technology firm to a chain of hamburger restaurants, both of which have their unique benefits.

Why backups are shifting to the cloud

A backup and recovery solution is essential for enterprises if they're to safeguard their critical data. Yet whilst they may take care of their servers, according to a new infographic from private cloud company SingleHop they're less concerned about endpoint data.

Only 50 percent of companies have endpoint backups in place and this leads 16 percent of end users to do their own backups using a non-approved solution.

This seems short sighted given that system downtime is a major cost, loss of mission critical data costs in excess of $70,000 per hour on average and even losing non-critical data can cost $42,000 per hour.

Organizations encounter unplanned downtime 13 times a year on average and targeted attacks are a major threat with 50 percent aimed at larger enterprises and 31 percent at those with fewer than 250 employees.

No surprise then that data loss is a major concern for management and that they're increasingly turning to the cloud as a solution. 64 percent already store data in the cloud and 78 percent plan on changing their protection product in the next two years.

There are more interesting statistics on the effects of downtime in the full infographic below.

Photo credit: LilKar/Shutterstock

Tor blocks third-party tracking, debuts security slider

Privacy software Tor has been updated to version 4.5 with a stack of new and enhanced features.

Improved website isolation stops most third-party tracking by social networking buttons, adverts and "mashup" content.

A new Security Level option allows users to disable vulnerable browser features (JavaScript, remote JAR files, more) simply by dragging a slider.

Tor now uses Disconnect as its default search provider, delivering Google search results with using Captchas or collecting your IP address.

Windows setup changes see the Tor package now signed with a hardware signing token, while the installer has a new option to add Tor Browser to the Start Menu/ Applications view (this is on by default, but you can disable it if necessary).

Tor Circuit handling has been enhanced. You can now view the current Circuit on the onion menu, or request a new one, and the browser should no longer change Circuits while you’re actively using a site (something which used to cause all kinds of odd problems).

The full changelog is here if you need it, otherwise Tor 4.5 is available now.