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http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/portable_speakers/Amazon/Echo/review/amazon-echo-hero-470-75.jpgApple is reportedly working on an Amazon Echo competitor that will let Siri control your home. A new report from The Information claims Apple is preparing to launch a software development kit (SDK) to allow developers to tap into Siri, Apple's mobile assistant. This means app developers can let Siri perform tasks like calling an Uber or ordering food. These functions would fit right in with a new rumored smart speaker the iPhone maker is also said to be working on. Siri already has some interoperability with apps like Yelp and Yahoo, but those integrations were made on an app-by-app basis. The release of an SDK means app developers can integrate their apps with Siri without striking a deal with Apple first. Apple at homeThe report claims Apple began working on the hardware for its home assistant before Amazon launched Echo in mid-2015. Apple's device will apparently feature a speaker and web connectivity, not surprising considering both Echo and the just-announced Google Home have the same features. Google revealed Home, its own Echo competitor, at last week's IO conference. The speaker is powered by the company's new AI assistant, simply called Google Assistant. Expect Apple's in-home assistant to support the company's AirPlay audio streaming tech as well as integration with HomeKit, its smart home backbone. Apple will likely announce the Siri SDK during its WWDC 2016 conference, going down in San Francisco in just a few weeks. Though still unclear whether the smart speaker will also make a debut, we doubt Apple will show off its new Siri powers without a shiny new device to house them in. Google Home vs Amazon Echo: which is right for your home?

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/Connected%20home/Philips%20Hue/Hue-white-ambiance-relax-IMG-1819-470-75.jpgPhilips' family of smart lighting products have gotten a new member in the form of the Philips Hue white ambience light bulb. The bulb's focus is on providing a bright, natural-looking light which the company claims will help users feel more energised throughout the day. The bulb is also capable of outputting a warmer shade of light in the evenings which should help you get to sleep. When combined with the routines function introduced in the last Hue app update, the bulbs can be set to automatically brighten throughout the day to give you more energy, and then dim at night to help you sleep. Sleepy lighting and moody lightingScientists are increasingly recognising the effect lighting can have on the human psyche. People are recommended not to use a screen within an hour of going to bed because of the way the blue light can trick the brain into thinking it's earlier in the day and can hence interfere with sleep. In response, programs such as f.lux have been introduced, which turn give your screen an orange tinge after sunset to prevent it affecting your sleep. Apple introduced similar functionality in its recent iOS 9.3 update. Bright light is also seen as increasingly important for mood during the day. In fact, the absence of natural light in winter leads many to suffer from 'Seasonal Affective Disorder' (SAD), resulting in low moods during the winter months. Philips isn't claiming that the white ambience light bulb can be used to treat SAD like a lightbox would, but the idea that strong white light gives you energy is one that is commonly accepted within the scientific community. The new ambience light is available now as a single bulb for $29.95 (£25.95) or as part of a starter kit which includes a wall-mountable dimmer switch for $129.95 (£99.95) and works with a number of existing home automation solutions including Amazon's Alexa, Nest and Samsung SmartThings. 5 reasons Google Home will beat Amazon Echo

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/DOWNLOADS/featured/PUPs/pupsmain2-470-75.jpgWe're sure you've experienced it – You download a piece of free software, then open your browser to discover a strange toolbar has been added, your default search provider has been changed, or your homepage has been hijacked. You've picked up a PUP, or potentially unwanted program. These programs are often packed up in software installers – usually for freeware, but sometimes also in paid software. They usually affect your web browser, attempting to direct traffic through routes that will profit their creators. They can also harvest data on your browsing and shopping habits, which is then sold to advertisers. Avoid installing PUPsAlthough undesirable, such programs aren't viruses and may not be picked up by your regular security software. The best defence against them is care and attention. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/featured/PUPs/pups1-420-90.jpg Always read each step of the installer carefully and uncheck any necessary boxes (PUPs are almost always opt-out rather than opt-in). If you're offered a choice between Recommended and Custom installations, always opt for Custom – it's usually hiding some unwanted browser add-ons. Unchecky can help here by unchecking all tickboxes in software installers, and warning you if you are about to install a PUP. Sometimes, when you install free software, PUPs are part of the deal and you can't opt out. When faced with the program's terms of use it's tempting to just click 'Next', but it's worth taking the time to read them in case the program is going to bring some unwanted friends to the party. In that situation, the best course of action is to simply close the installer and look for another program that won't foist such programs on you. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/featured/PUPs/pups7-420-90.jpg It might be worth seeking out a portable version of the software you want to use; by definition, portable programs don't have to be installed (they are usually supplied in a ZIP archive), so won't include an installer with bundled add-ons. If you really want to err on the side of caution, you can install free software in a sandbox to prevent PUPs and malware meddling with your system files. You can do this using a virtual machine, which runs an operating system in a window on your desktop, effectively emulating a second PC – see our guide to creating a virtual machine with VMware. Remove PUPsYou've done your best to avoid it, but your browser has been hijacked by a rogue toolbar and your homepage has been changed. If your antivirus software doesn't pick up the culprit, and you can't remove it through the browser's plug-ins menu, try Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/featured/PUPs/pups5-420-90.jpg It can run safely alongside your antivirus, and can be set to detect PUPs (and PUMs – potentially unwanted modifications), and treat them as malware by flagging them for deletion. Have you come across any particularly pernicious PUPs? How did you eliminate them? Let us know in the comments below! http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/a3In12gIxM0

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Lyft_PressKit_03-470-75.jpgRide sharing company Lyft has announced plans to begin testing scheduled rides, starting first in – where else? – San Francisco. The company has long resisted adding scheduling to its service, arguing there wasn't a need to schedule rides since most of its drivers could get to you that quickly. The addition of ride scheduling will help Lyft close the gap between its service and for-hire services, like black car and limo companies. Booking a Lyft will only add one more step to the process. Riders will hail a car like normal, but instead of requesting the car immediately, there will be a clock icon that will pull up a list of times you'd like the car to show up. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/Lyft%20ride%20scheduling-420-100.gif Riders will be able to schedule a car up to 24 hours in advance, and can also cancel a reservation up to 30 minutes before. It's unclear what happens if you cancel a ride too late. "While on-demand rides remain core to our platform, we're thrilled to offer even more options to passengers – as well as another opportunity for drivers to earn," says Lyft in an announcement blog post. In addition to on-demand and scheduled rides, Lyft offers ride-sharing for certain cities. In the (far) future, riders will likely be able to summon an autonomous Lyft, as GM and Lyft formed a partnership to bring a fleet of autonomous cars to life. Everything you need to know about Google's self-driving carhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/HamTrRyODyU

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/other/Onetimers/Google%20Home%20Wins%20over%20Amazon%20Echo-470-75.jpgGoogle Home will beat Amazon EchoGoogle IO 2016 was jam-packed with exciting product and service announcements - just check out our complete breakdown of the conference to see what we mean. But while there were plenty of new goodies to sink our teeth into, Google Home was among the most interesting, not least because it sets the stage for an epic showdown between two tech giants. What is Google Home? Put simply it's a smart speaker, but one that's aimed at pulling together the big G's smart home offerings, both past and present. Not only that, it also draws from Google's formidable experience in search to offer information when you want it, where you want it. Google, however, isn't alone in offering a smart speaker: Amazon's Echo has taken off as a way to interact with the smart home and beyond. Echo has sold surprisingly well, and even spurred a whole line of Echo-compatible products. As good as Echo is, we think the new kid on the block stands a good chance of silencing its reign. Here are five reasons we think Google Home is the product to dethrone the mighty Echo. 1. Home connects to your Google-built lifeAmazon's ecosystem is growing, but it's nothing like Google's just yet. Google has come a long way since it started as a humble search engine, and it now offers a multitude of products and services primed to work with Home. Many of those, unsurprisingly, live on the internet. This connectivity makes it easy for Home to access services you use regularly, such Calendar, Contacts, and Play Music. If you're an avid Android user, you're already plugged into the Google ecosystem, and Home is just another way to tap into some of Google's most-used services. It is, some would argue, even easier because you can use your voice to do so. Amazon Echo does work with Google Calendar, but its functionality is limited, and Google is likely to ensure that all of its products play nice together, just like they do, to an extent, with Google Now on Android. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/events/Google%20IO%202016/Google%20Home-420-90.jpg 2. Home is smart. Really smart.Amazon ain't no search giant, that's for sure. Google was built as a hub of information - nearly all freely available information in the world is accessible with a quick search thanks to the G team. Google's had a voice assistant for some time, activated with the simple "OK, Google" command. Google Now is often hailed as an excellent voice assistant, however it's taken a back seat to the more widely publicized Siri. Thanks to search and voice, Google Home has an advantage when it comes to smarts. Sure, Amazon Echo has the technology behind it, but it doesn't have the data. Google possess almost two decades worth of information-gathering prowess to back its assistant up, which is sure to show with Google Home. Google's new voice-controlled assistant, aptly called Google Assistant, will draw from the company's past experience in recognizing the human voice. Not only does it understand language, but it also picks up context. By tapping into its contextual understanding, Google Assistant can figure out what you mean in a grammatically ambiguous request. This will save you time and breath in having to repeat the same words over and over again, plus get you information more readily. 3. Customize your Google HomeThis might not be a big deal for some, but for others bringing a new device into their home that doesn't match the decor is a deal breaker. Customization isn't going to be the feature to win me over, but as we expect more personal options with our tech (take the Moto X and new Live Cases for Nexus phones, for example), it will increasingly become the norm. Google Home is no exception. Just what can you customize on your Google Home? Well, it's not much, but it's something. With Home, you can change out the base of the device to different colors and designs. Or, you could give it the Apple treatment and keep the sleek white look that it comes with. Amazon Echo comes in one shade, and while its design is no doubt sleek, it doesn't have the same personalization options that Google Home offers buyers. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/portable_speakers/Amazon/home%20vs%20echo-420-90.jpg 4. Google Home isn't 'Google Room'The Amazon Echo may be a great device, but you'd better put it in the room you spend the most time in as you can't, for example, sync multiple Echo devices to play the same song throughout the house. Google Home, however, draws from Google's already stellar smart media offerings and lets you connect the device to Google Chromecast-based speakers, so you can listen to audio throughout your abode. We'll have to wait till we get our hands on one whether Google Home offers a better native speaker than Amazon Echo, but one thing is for sure: by connecting with Chromecast audio, you can open your Home to a range of hi-fi speakers. Perhaps more importantly than music though is the fact that Home connects to your wider smart home, namely Nest and Works with Nest devices. Not only can you control your smart thermostat with the little speaker, but you can also connect to your lighting, locks, and other smart home amenities. To sweeten the pot, Google announced a slew of new Works with Nest products only recently. Amazon did team up with Samsung to offer SmartThings control to Echo and the Philips's Hue lighting system, but it's still in the early stages of broadening its friend list. Even though it's been on the scene for longer, Echo has a long way to go before it can catch up with all the devices Google already has at its fingertips. 5. Google Home is ready to play with othersAs I've mentioned, Google Home will work well with Works with Nest products, but it looks as though Google is poised have as many other companies sync up with its voice platform as it can. Google isn't announcing official partners for Home just yet, but it did show a splash screen with logos at IO this year, revealing that TicketMaster, WhatsApp, Pandora, GrubHub, Instacart, OpenTablet, Uber and Spotify are all partnering with Google for voice. Sure, that doesn't necessarily mean that products from these companies will work with Home, but it's likely they will. Amazon Echo, meanwhile, is growing its list of compatible apps, including Domino's Pizza, Uber and 1-800 Flowers, but the sheer might of Google may have already tipped the scale in Home's favor. It will likely be a race to see who can sign up the most third-party apps with the most worthwhile functionality by the time Home hits the market later this year, but Google seems keen to have Home performing as many tasks as possible. ConclusionWhile we'll just have to wait to see whether Google Home sells as much as Amazon Echo, even if it doesn't, it's hard to imagine Home not being the far superior product. The Echo laid the groundwork for home assistants, but Google is ready to swoop in and do what it does best: serve up information and manage your digital life. We anticipate Home being affordable, too, which will be another notch in its belt against Echo. Just don't expect to be able to order products from Amazon on Home. That's one strike Google's smart speaker has against it. More coverage: Google Home vs Amazon Echo

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/events/Google%20IO%202016/screens/google-home-tasks-470-75.jpgGoogle HomeIf imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, then Google Home should make Amazon turn completely and utterly crimson with embarrassment. Google Home, for those that missed Sundar Pichai's opening keynote at Google I/O, is a voice-activated product that brings the Google assistant to any room in your house via a Wi-Fi-connected speaker. If that idea sounds familiar, don't be alarmed – the Amazon Echo has been doing it for close to a year now. What Google's smart home speaker plans on doing differently, however, is being better at controlling your smart home devices, starting with Google's recently acquired Nest series of products, and integrating with any Google Cast-enabled device you might have lying around the house. What Google hopes to accomplish here is that, with a simple voice command you can ask Google Home to play a song, throw on your favorite TV show, check your flight or turn on your lights, all without leaving the comfort of the couch. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/events/Google%20IO%202016/screens/google-home-stage-420-90.jpg And, unlike the refined-but-super-simplistic Amazon Echo, the Home promises customizable bases in different colors and materials that will match your decor. It's a system that has all the trappings of a smart home control center, and could potentially be the device that brings the fractured category together under one banner. Cut to the chaseWhat is it? A smart speaker with an AI assistant built-inWhen is it out? Google Home will be released later this yearWhat will it cost? Close to or less than the Amazon EchoWhat is Google Home?Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Google has painted a pretty pristine image of what it'd be like living in the smart home of the future, but we don't need to wait for it to arrive to experience it – we already have an idea of what it's like thanks to the Amazon Echo. In many ways, Google Home will be nearly identical to the device some 3 million of us have in our homes already. For those who haven't seen or used an Echo, however, it works a lot like Siri on your iPhone or the voice assistant function on Android. You can ask it to play a song or ask it a question like "what day is Father's Day this year," (the answer, in case you're wondering, is June 19) or "what's the weather like in Venice?" All questions need to be prefaced by a keyword – OK, Google in this case – which causes the speaker to start listening. If weather, sports and current events aren't enough, Amazon allows you to install additional plug-ins from third-party sources that expand the functionality of the Echo. Uber and Domino's Pizza are two of the many services who have already signed up and allow you to order a car or a pizza, respectively, using voice commands. It's likely that Google will take a page – er, more like a chapter – from Amazon's book and also include those functions in Google Home. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/audio_systems/Amazon/Echo/amazon-echo-hero-420-90.jpg But both the Echo and the Home are more than just an artificial intelligence, they're capable Bluetooth speakers, too. During the opening keynote of Google's I/O Developer Conference, Mario Queiroz, vice president of product management at Google said, "Google Home is a Wi-Fi speaker that streams music directly from the cloud so you get the highest quality playback. It will deliver rich bass and clear highs all from a beautiful compact form factor." So, sort of like an ultra-smart Sonos system. "Of course you can access songs, playlists, albums, artists, and podcasts from your favorite music services just by asking with your voice. Or if you prefer, you can send music from your android or iOS device through Google Cast." Google CastLet's focus for a minute on those last two words: Google Cast. If Home has one absolutely killer feature, Google Cast is going to be it. Google Cast, if you're a bit unsure, is a wireless communication protocol like Bluetooth that allows two products (like a phone and a speaker) to communicate with one another. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/audio_systems/GOOGLE/Google%20Cast-420-90.jpg At first, Google says, you'll be able to ask Home to play something on any Google Cast-enabled speaker in your home. That means, like Sonos, you'll be able to control what music is playing in which room, but all using your voice instead of an app on your phone. Where it will go later, it sounds like, is the ability to control what content goes on your TV. "Want to watch that episode of Jimmy Kimmel or the trending YouTube video on your TV? Just tell Google Home and the content will appear on the biggest brightest screen in your house," Queiroz said. Imagine asking Google Home to play the latest episode of Game of Thrones or the best movie starring Joaquin Phoenix. There's nothing out there like that and, to me, that could be Google Home's ace in the hole. The shining jewel of your smart homeGoogle Home is sort of a three-part system. Parts one and two, the Google Assistant and Bluetooth speaker, we've already gone over. The third part, however, is a sort of virtual hub for smart home devices, similar in nature to Samsung SmartThings. Google wasn't quick to list off every single partner for the product, but said that you can count on the Nest series of products to work with Home on day one. What Google has going for it that Amazon does not is a formidable group of hardware partners that range from HTC and Sony, to Samsung, Huawei and LG. Any of the above might be the next big smart home device maker and, thanks to those pre-existing relationships, Google is primed to take advantage of whoever comes out on top. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Connected%20home/Google%20Nest/Nest7-420-90.jpg But, as one of my colleagues Jon Porter pointed out, creating new partnerships could be harder for Google than it is for Amazon for one simple reason: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. It might be hard to convince other smart thermometer makers to build Google Home functionality into their devices while Google Nest continues to bogart the market for itself. All of this theorizing is conjecture, of course, until we learn more about Google's partnership plans later this year. Release date and priceSo here's where we get to the murky unknown. On stage, both Queiroz and Google chief Sundar Pichai were hesitant about telling us when, exactly, we'd be able to get our hands on the new smart home tech, only citing "later this year" for a release date. Now, if this were a betting site – it's not – I'd say chances are good for a soft launch around November, with a full scale roll out in the spring of next year. As for the cost, traditionally Google products have come in a bit cheaper than their competition. Chromecast, a streaming video dongle from the Mountain View company, undercuts both the Amazon Fire TV Stick and Roku Streaming Stick, for example, and Google Cardboard is roughly a twentieth of the cost of the Oculus Rift … not that it's an apples-to-apples comparison. What that means, however, is that the Google Home will likely be less than the cost of an iPhone, and only slightly more than most traditional Bluetooth speakers. (Think $149 / £100 / AU$200 and you'll be in the right ballpark.) So, how does Google Home stack up against Amazon Echo? I'm glad you asked. Google Home vs Amazon Echo

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/portable_speakers/Amazon/home%20vs%20echo-470-75.jpgGoogle Home vs Amazon EchoWe can't wait to have robot butlers. Sure this might lead to a very small chance of robot revolution and the destruction of humanity as we know it, but it's a small price to pay for the possibility of one day having a lovely cup of coffee brought to you while you lay in bed on a Sunday morning. We might not quite be at that point where robots hand-deliver food items yet but, thanks to Amazon and Google's work on artificial intelligence, we're moving ever closer to that delightfully lazy future. For over a year now we've had the Amazon Echo, a small, cylindrical speaker with a built-in microphone and an artificial intelligence named Alexa who has responded to us with bits of information or music we've requested. And, for a short stint, it might've appeared to some as a novelty gadget, something you could show off to your friends but never use it for anything useful. But, slowly, as Amazon added more and more functionality, Alexa has become a capable personal assistant, able to order pizza, access Google Calendar and give you dinner recommendations via Yelp. Now it's Google's turn to get into the action with its Google Home, a small speaker that will allow you to control a number of integrated apps and services, as well as accessing Google's own search results. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/events/Google%20IO%202016/screens/google-home-stage-420-90.jpg Amazon undoubtedly has the early lead, but we shouldn't underestimate Google, who has had its own voice control system Google Now installed on Android devices since Jelly Bean in 2012. Google Assistant will build upon the work Google has already done in the area and, thanks to Google's many hardware partners, might find greater adoption should it come down to a Game of Thrones style brawl for the throne. Our details on what Google Home will end up being are constrained to what the search giant revealed during its presentation at Google I/O 2016. But, even with a limited window into the future, we still have enough evidence to build up a good picture of how Google's offering is likely to stack up against Amazon's. HardwareAmazon chose to go with a very practical design for its line of Echo speakers, opting for a simple black cylinder over anything more outlandish. Its shiny black shell with blue LEDs might be basic, but it's unlikely to offend anyone. http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/portable_speakers/Amazon/Echo/review/amazon-echo-shelf-420-100.jpg The Echo also comes with a remote, which is interesting when you consider that all of that basic functionality can be accessed by uttering a few words. Still, should you ever out of Alexa's earshot, having a remote with a built-in microphone does prove handy. In contrast to the functional simplicity of the Amazon Echo, Google's Home looks much more elegant. It has a rounded base that makes it look more like a vase than a speaker, and Google has also said that it's looking to allow the speaker's base to be customised to match your home's decor. That means while Amazon has stuck users with a subtle design that fades into the background, Google Home can be as outlandish and loud as you like. http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/events/Google%20IO%202016/screens/google-home-intro-420-100.jpg In summary, the Echo wants to look more at home next to your home theatre, while the Home wants to fit in with the rest of your shelf. FeaturesWhen it comes to features, Google has the potential to blow Amazon out of the water thanks to the massive library of existing services it has at its disposal. Amazon might have Prime Music and Spotify, but Google not only has its own rival service, Google Play Music, but also offers integration with the Google Cast ecosystem, which already includes Spotify, Pandora, iHeart Radio and thousands of other apps. But it's not just audio where the Home could have an advantage, Google has hinted at a future where one day you will be able to use Home to pull up movies and TV shows on your main screen. "Want to watch that episode of Jimmy Kimmel or the trending YouTube video on your TV? Just tell Google Home and the content will appear on the biggest brightest screen in your house," Mario Queiroz, vice president of product management at Google said during Home's announcement. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar//art/portable_speakers/Amazon/amazon%20echo%20apps-420-90.jpg Meanwhile, Amazon has an ever-growing list of compatible apps including Domino's Pizza and Uber, allowing you to either have your pizza delivered or request a ride over to the store to pick it up yourself. On a more practical note, Amazon has recently taken an interest in smart home device manufacturers, too, creating partnerships with Samsung to integrate SmartThings control into the Echo and Philips's Hue lighting system. Though it's not like Google, owner of Nest, is hurting in the home automation department. During the I/O keynote, it told audiences that Google Nest, which started as a smart thermostat but has since expanded to include a range of home automation devices, will be the first to be integrated into Home's functionality. http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/Connected%20home/Google%20Nest/new%20Nest%20thermostat-420-100.jpg We haven't had a chance to try out Google Home, but if Google succeeds in integrating just its existing services it has the potential to run laps around Amazon. IntelligenceWhen it first launched, Alexa's functionality was fairly basic and limited to more mundane conversations like asking about the weather or the time. As Amazon continued to develop the software however, Alexa gained the ability to talk about calendars, sports and what we should have for dinner. We're not quite living in a Star Trek-esque future just yet where the device will understand your every command, but Alexa is advanced enough to understand multiple phrasings of the same question, for example. Amazon has a strong track record for the past two years, sure, but it's going up against Google, a company who's had a strong track record in information parsing for the last two decades. http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/events/Google%20IO%202016/screens/google-assistant-420-100.jpg Although Google Assistant, the software powering Google Home, is new, the technology is based on the work Google has already put into its Google Now voice search functionality. We're hoping that this means the software will launch in a relatively advanced state ... but it's impossible to say for sure until we've tried it out for ourselves. PriceThe Echo is not an especially cheap bit of kit. The Echo Dot, the cheapest device to integrate Alexa, costs $90. The standard Echo unit costs $180. For a still unknown reason, however, no Echo devices are currently available outside of the US. Google has yet to announce pricing for the Google Home, but it has a habit of releasing very cheap devices to get technology into people's homes. For years its Nexus phones were the cheapest flagship handsets around, and the Chromecast was just $35 (£30, AU$50) when it first launched in 2013. It's hard to speculate on its eventual price but, based on historical data, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to guess Google Home will cost $199 or less. Verdict Amazon's Echo functionality is proven, and has been refined over the course of its first year of release. It's on a successful trajectory that, if it should continue, will make the Amazon Echo a mainstream commodity in the next few years. Google Home, meanwhile, is a bit of an unknown, but Google's existing services already heavily integrate a number of different external apps and functionality. If Google leverages these existing connections, then it could end up being a very capable mass market device. The one disadvantage Google might have, however, is that it's already in competition with many of the services it will want Home to work with – it might be hard to convince other smart thermometer makers to build Google Home functionality into their devices while Google Nest continues to bogart the market for itself. Because Amazon offers fewer services of its own, it might be that the Echo earns more allies should manufacturers align themselves against Google Home. We're very excited for the future of both products, obviously, and will continually update this hub as the two products grow, shift, and evolve over the coming months.

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/events/Google%20IO%202016/screens/google-home-intro-470-75.jpgGoogle is determined to make your home a little smarter with the announcement of Google Home, a Wi-Fi speaker with a built-in voice assistant announced at its Google IO keynote today. This follows weeks of Google Chirp rumors and is a salvo against the Amazon Echo. Like the Echo, Google Home will use the newly unveiled Google Assistant to answer your questions and, eventually, control smart devices all over your home. The first wave of Google Home-compatible devices will be, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Nest line of products. "When I walk into my house, I want to be able to continue to have access to the Google Assistant. But I should be able to interact with it in a hands-free way simply using my voice without having to take out my phone," said Mario Queiroz, vice president of product management at Google. "This is why we are creating Google Home, a device which will be available later this year." The major selling point of the new hardware is that it combines Chromecast software that allows for multi-room audio support, a voice assistant from Android and comes built into a speaker. The unit itself is vaselike, and Google says that the base of the speaker can be customized to match your home decor. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/events/Google%20IO%202016/screens/google-home-stage-420-90.jpg Google Home really ties the room togetherGoogle Home will allow you to access songs, playlists, albums, artists and podcasts from music services just by asking with your voice. Or, according to Queiroz, you can send music from your Android or iOS device through Google Cast to any connected speaker in your home. Google Home lets you control your video content, too. "Want to watch that episode of Jimmy Kimmel or the trending YouTube video on your TV? Just tell Google Home and the content will appear on the biggest brightest screen in your house," Queiroz said. Unfortunately, you're going to have to wait a few months to get your hands on one – the first Google Home units won't be available until later this year. Want the latest on today's Android event? Check out our Google I/O liveblog

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/audio_systems/Amazon/Echo/amazon_echo_listening-470-75.jpgFor the past two years, Alexa – Amazon's artificial intelligence that comes built into the Amazon Echo smart speaker and Amazon Fire TV – has steadily expanded her capabilities. That's why she might be giving herself a promotion, from your Siri-like personal assistant to the manager of your burgeoning smart home. According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon has an ambitious plan for its increasingly intelligent AI and has begun partnering with smart home product manufacturers like Ecobee to ensure the next wave of domestic electronics are Alexa-enabled. It's been ramping up its external partnerships slowly – most recently with Ford to allow some vehicles to open and close their garage door without a remote – which could potentially mean that Amazon is prepping for a more comprehensive attack on the smart home space later this year. "We believe the next inflection point in terms of user interface is voice," David Limp, senior vice president of devices at Amazon, told The New York Times. One possible interpretation of Amazon's growth in the IoT space is that it plans to contend with Google's likely-to-be-announced smart home products and Apple HomeKit, evolving from a hobbyist-level smart home device to a full-blown ecosystem. Amazon seems to see real potential in the smart home space, and has already built out some of that functionality. Alexa is currently compatible with the Samsung SmartThings platform, Philips Hue lighting system and WeMo smart switches. But even though Amazon has a head start on Google, it's not going to be an easy fight. The Mountain View-based search giant has an army of hardware partners thanks to its egalitarian Android operating system while Amazon has few. As much as Amazon wouldn't want to admit it, enabling the 1.4 billion Android devices to control products in homes around the world might put an early kibosh on its ambitious roadmap for Alexa ... of course, Google still needs the home hardware to make that happen. Alexa has come a long way in two years, yes, but Amazon isn't done yet. "Someday in the future – that might be years or decades away – [Alexa] could answer everything that you would ever ask it," Limp said. And, who knows, maybe owning two omnipotent artificial intelligences won't be such a bad thing after all. Google smart home devices, eh? Check out our Google I/O 2016 preview to learn more

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/audio_systems/Amazon/Echo/amazon_echo_listening-470-75.jpgFor the past two years, Alexa – Amazon's artificial intelligence that comes built into the Amazon Echo smart speaker and Amazon Fire TV – has steadily expanded her capabilities. That's why she might be giving herself a promotion, from your Siri-like personal assistant to the manager of your burgeoning smart home. According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon has an ambitious plan for its increasingly intelligent AI and has begun partnering with smart home product manufacturers like Ecobee to ensure the next wave of domestic electronics are Alexa-enabled. It's been ramping up its external partnerships slowly – most recently with Ford to allow some vehicles to open and close their garage door without a remote – which could potentially mean that Amazon is prepping for a more comprehensive attack on the smart home space later this year. "We believe the next inflection point in terms of user interface is voice," David Limp, senior vice president of devices at Amazon, told The New York Times. One possible interpretation of Amazon's growth in the IoT space is that it plans to contend with Google's likely-to-be-announced smart home products and Apple HomeKit, evolving from a hobbyist-level smart home device to a full-blown ecosystem. Amazon seems to see real potential in the smart home space, and has already built out some of that functionality. Alexa is currently compatible with the Samsung SmartThings platform, Philips Hue lighting system and WeMo smart switches. But even though Amazon has a head start on Google, it's not going to be an easy fight. The Mountain View-based search giant has an army of hardware partners thanks to its egalitarian Android operating system while Amazon has few. As much as Amazon wouldn't want to admit it, enabling the 1.4 billion Android devices to control products in homes around the world might put an early kibosh on its ambitious roadmap for Alexa ... of course, Google still needs the home hardware to make that happen. Alexa has come a long way in two years, yes, but Amazon isn't done yet. "Someday in the future – that might be years or decades away – [Alexa] could answer everything that you would ever ask it," Limp said. And, who knows, maybe owning two omnipotent artificial intelligences won't be such a bad thing after all. Google smart home devices, eh? Check out our Google I/O 2016 preview to learn more

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/portable_speakers/Amazon/Echo/review/amazon-echo-hero-470-75.jpgGoogle will announce its voice-activated home device during the IO 2016 developer conference on Wednesday, anonymous sources speaking with The New York Times confirmed. We previously reported Google would come out with its own take of Amazon's Echo speaker called Chirp, but that was likely just a code name. Google Home will reportedly come to market in the fall, but Google is already far behind the competition. Google first announced its home automation initiative, dubbed Android@Home, back in 2011, but didn't do anything with it. The company then purchased home automation company Nest for $3.2 billion in February 2014. Google also released a line of smart routers called OnHub, made by partners Asus and TP-Link. OnHub recently received support for IFTTT, a software platform that can help users perform simple tasks like alerting parents when a child comes home. Smart competitorsGoogle already has its own mobile voice assistant in Google Now, but Google Home will be tailored to performing tasks around the house. Amazon carved its own niche in the home with its Echo speaker and its Alexa voice assistant. Amazon Echo can currently perform tasks like calling an Uber, ordering groceries and reading the top news of the day. Apple also has its own Siri voice assistant, but its abilities are quite limited compared to the competition. Siri is great for asking basic questions, but isn't smart enough to perform complex tasks just yet. However, Apple does have its own HomeKit framework to help developers integrate Siri into smart home devices. Facebook is also dabbling with artificial intelligence with its chatbots, which aim to help users perform simple tasks, like finding news and even online shopping. We're hours away from seeing Google Home in the flesh. For Google's sake, let's hope it's not an unwelcome house guest. Stay tuned as we bring you all the latest news from Google IO 2016

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/Connected%20home/Google%20Nest/new%20Nest%20thermostat-470-75.jpgIn the countdown craze to Google IO 2016, Alphabet-owned Nest went and made nice with a slew of smart home devices thanks to expanded Works with Nest integrations. New API capabilities let third-party devices sync up with Nest's products, which should result in a more complete smart home solution for consumers. Freshly minted Works with Nest partnerships include August, LIFX, simplehuman, AT&T, Belkin Wemo, Lutron, Misfit, P&G, Waxman and Skybell. To give you an idea of what these products can do working simpatico with Nest's offerings, here's a sampling: The August Doorbell Cam is teaming up with Nest Cam, letting you see everything both systems capture anywhere in your home on the August app. If you have LIFX bulbs and a Nest Cam, motion detected by the latter in an Activity Zone will turn on the former so you can see what's going down. With the AT&T Digital Life app, you can now adjust your Nest Learning Thermostat and monitor everything else the app keeps track of, all in one place. Wemo-controlled lights will automatically turn off once your Learning Thermostat senses no one is home, and, if you wear your Misfit to bed, it will tell the thermostat to warm up the house before you wake up. SkyBell is the only new partner for the Nest Protect smoke detector; if it senses smoke or CO seeping into your house, the SkyBell button will glow red so you know something is wrong. We'll likely hear more about these integrations and perhaps others during the IO opening keynote Wednesday. Nest seems keen on making plenty of smart home friends, and this sounds like the beginning of a larger push for pals. 10 IFTTT recipes that will make you a tech god in your home

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/internet/BBC/BBC%20Food%20screen-470-75.jpgThe BBC is going through some big changes. We recently reported on the government's proposals for the broadcaster, which includes locking non-licence holders out of iPlayer and allowing the BBC to move forward with plans for a new streaming service. Now, the BBC has announced it will close some of its key sites as part of its £15m cuts. The Beeb will chop away at several online components and instead focus on six key areas for the future. In a statement, James Harding, Director of BBC News & Current Affairs, said: "The internet requires the BBC to redefine itself, but not its mission: the BBC's purpose online is to provide a distinctive public service that informs, educates and entertains." The BBC also said that it accounts for just a 4.5% share of the average UK adult's time online compared to Facebook's 20%. What's out?BBC Food BBC's Food website is getting the chop, taking 11,000 recipes with it. The move has already caused a lot of backlash, with more than 25,000 people having already signed a petition calling on the BBC to reverse its decision. However, the BBC Good Food website will remain. The BBC Press Office on its official Twitter account said that the recipes will be "archived or mothballed" to eventually vanish with no live links. Better start print-screening while you can. iWonder The BBC's iWonder service, a factual and education site for the curious, will be closed. However, its formats will be "redeployed" across BBC Online. News, news, news The BBC's News Magazine is getting pulled but there will be a focus on "distinctive" long-form journalism that will sit under a Current Affairs banner. The standalone Newsbeat site and app will also be shut, with future Newsbeat content to be integrated into BBC News Online. Local news index web pages will also cease to be run, to be replaced with a rolling stream of news on the BBC's 'Local Live'. Sound off Programme content that isn't considered core to the BBC's digital radio and music services will be stripped down, along with social media activity around these two areas. We can see this leading to a bit of backlash too, given how much love there is for the BBC's radio services. Lest we forget it was just six years ago that the BBC threatened to cut 6 Music and replace it with a spun-off version of Radio 2, before a huge protest from listeners, presenters, and even David Bowie led to it make a U-turn. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/internet/BBC/newiplayer_march2014-420-90.jpg iPlayer exclusivity Previous ring-fenced funding for iPlayer-only content is to be removed, meaning we'll likely see fewer programmes sat solely on the iPlayer service. BBC Three recently went online-only, which raises questions over whether this latest announcement will have any impact on the future of Three. It's also looking very likely that from the start of next year you will need a TV licence to use iPlayer. The Government outlined the plan in its recent white paper on the BBC, suggesting a verification method to ensure users are licence holders. The benefit of this is that you may soon be able to watch iPlayer from anywhere in Europe. Cancel your travel plans The BBC Travel site will be closed and future development to the Travel app halted. Travel news will only be provided through BBC News. Dis-Connected Finally, funding for the BBC's Connected Studio, part of the BBC's Research and Development department, will also be reduced. The Studio will be maintained as "an enabler of innovation", according to the BBC. What's in?So that's everything that's going or being reduced, all to take effect within the next 12 months. The BBC says it will focus on six key areas: BBC NewsBBC SportiPlayer and BBC iPlayer RadioBBC LiveiPlayer and BBC BitesizeThe Ideas ServiceJames Harding added: "The Review sets out what we want to be famous for online: trusted news; the place where children come to learn and play; high quality entertainment; live sports coverage and sports news; arts and culture, history and science; and historic moments, national events. "And we are going to focus our energy on these six areas: BBC News; iPlay and BBC Bitesize; BBC iPlayer and BBC iPlayer Radio; BBC Sport; the Ideas Service; and BBC Live. "We will stop doing some things where we're duplicating our work, for example on food, and scale back services, such as travel, where there are bigger, better-resourced services in the market." You can read our breakdown of the government's proposed BBC changes here

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/deals/Dyson/Dyson%20offers%20dyson%20Deals-470-75.jpgDyson has built itself up to be a leader in the vacuum cleaner market. Its innovative designs have set benchmark after benchmark and its popularity as a manufacture has extended way beyond vacuum cleaners - keep an eye out for the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer coming soon. With innovative design and top quality comes premium pricing, but that's where we come in. On this page we're listing all of the cheapest deals and offers on Dyson 'hoovers' including uprights, cylinders and cordless models. We'll update the page regularly to include official Dyson sales, discount codes, retailer offers and hoover sale highlights. So, here they are, the best Dyson offers and deals. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/deals/Dyson/dyson-small-ball_hoover-cheap-420-90.jpg Dyson Small Ball offers and dealsLooking for something lightweight but not bothered about going cordless yet? The Dyson Small Ball is the lightest of the regular upright vacuum cleaners in Dyson's range at 5.5Kg and has a collapsible handle allowing you to store it in smaller spaces than most uprights. The Small Ball is also available in an 'Animal' variant that comes with a turbine tool for getting stubborn pet hair off the furniture. Loading cheap Dyson deals... http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/deals/Dyson/Dyson-Dc40-hoover-offers-420-90.jpg Dyson DC40 offers and dealsIf you need something with a little extra storage and suction power, we'd recommend taking a look at the Dyson DC40 range with a larger storage bin to hold more household dirt, cereal, lego et al. The DC40 is also available in a 'Animal' variant that comes with a turbine tool for getting pet hair off the furniture. Loading cheap Dyson deals... http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/deals/Dyson/Dyson_Cinetic_Big_Ball_Animal_hoover-cheap-420-90.jpg Dyson Cinetic Big Ball DC75 offers and dealsSo you're after the beast huh? The 120AW suction power rating should pick up anything you and the kids can throw on the carpet. Hell, those carpet tacks better look out! With a 2.18 litre storage bin you'll be hoovering for ages before needing to empty it out and the 15m reach should let you get around most of the house without having to swap plugs. Loading Dyson offers... http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/deals/Dyson/Dyson%20V8%20Animal%20vacuum-420-90.jpg Dyson V8 Animal offers and dealsThe V8 is Dyson's flagship cordless rechargeable vacuum cleaner. The super lightweight design means you can easily reach high areas and the detachable section transforms it into a handheld, for super simple stair cleaning. Loading Dyson offers... http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/deals/Dyson/Dyson%20V8%20Absolute%20hoover-420-90.jpg Dyson V8 Absolute offers and dealsThis is the ultimate version of Dyson's newest cordless rechargeable vacuum cleaner. The super lightweight design means you can easily reach high areas and the detachable section transforms it into a handheld, for super simple stair cleaning. The Absolute model comes with a soft roller head in addition to the regular one. The soft version is particularly adept at picking up on hard surfaces. Loading Dyson offers... http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/deals/Dyson/Dyson%20DC39%20Animal%20offer-420-90.jpg Dyson DC39 offers and dealsThe Dyson DC39 cylinder vacuum cleaner offers superior steering abilities over regular drag along hoovers meaning it's less likely to bash the furniture and tip over. The Animal variant includes a turbine tool for getting pet hair off the sofa and you can switch the main turbine head's modes for different floor types via a switch on the handle eliminating the need to bend down. Loading cheap Dyson deals...

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/routers/Google/OnHub%20on%20counter-470-75.jpgGoogle's OnHub series of wireless router gets even smarter today with If This Then That (IFTTT) integration. Users can now set up "receipes" to have the router automate simple tasks. For example, if you want to know when someone is home, you can create an IFTTT recipe to send you an email when a certain phone connects to the OnHub router. Google also showed off how you could change the color of your Philips Hue lights when more and more people connect to the OnHub. Another demonstration showed how you could set your connected door locks to automatically engage when your phone disconnects from the OnHub. You'll never have to worry about you or one of your kids leaving the door unlocked again. Want even more security features? IFTTT can alert you to when your Nest Cam picks up movement when you're not home. The recipe will disable itself when a trusted device connects to the network. " width="420">YouTube : Center of the Internet of ThingsThe OnHub isn't cheap, coming in at $199, but it may be worth it for users who want simplicity and who trust Google to keep updating it with new features. Before today's IFTTT integration, Google launched a second OnHub router made by Asus, and added the ability to recognize gestures. Google wants OnHub to be at the center of your smarthome, pulling the strings on every internet connected device you hook up. The good news is that Google isn't locking you into its own hardware ecosystem, as IFTTT works with tons of other devices. OnHub is the first router to support IFTTT but there's no reason other router manufacturers couldn't (or shouldn't) integrate the service into their software. Why 2016 is going to have the best smart home gadgets

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/Connected%20home/Philips%20Hue/philips%20hue-470-75.jpgPhilips has released an updated to its Hue app, the central point of control for its smart lighting system. The 2.0 update (or "Hue gen 2" as Philips has been referring to it as) is both an aesthetic and functional one. Looks wise the app has received a substantial overhaul, with large colorful buttons replacing an outdated interface that looked like it was straight out of Apple's original app store. Users can also now perform a limited set of actions from the widget menu without having to fullscreen the app. More importantly, however, is the fact that the second generation of Philips' app now makes it easier to group individual lights together into rooms. This functionality did exist in the previous version of the app, but the update makes this feature much more central. What this means is that if you have a room with a couple of ceiling lights and side lights, all these bulbs can be grouped together under a single room within the app, allowing you to turn on every light with a single command. Settle into a routineThe new app also adds the option to set automatic routines, allowing you to have your lights automatically dim, brighten, or change color at certain points in the day. This is especially important when a growing body of evidence is suggesting that looking at harsh blue lighting late at night can make it harder to get to sleep than a softer orange. These routines are not just limited to being controlled by time of day. You are also able to set your app up to perform certain actions when your phone is detected as leaving or entering your house. So it's perfect for flatmates called Fred who ALWAYS SEEM TO BE LEAVING THEIR ROOM LIGHT ON. GOD. Anyway. The new app is set to land imminently on both iOS and Android.

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/printers_and_scanners/3D%20printer%20hype/3d%20print%20one%20off/3d%20printed%20shoe-470-75.jpgThe 3D revolution has been in full swing for a while now, but to date a lot of the focus has been onthose little 3D printed desk toys and 3D printed body parts. But another trend that's only now taking off is the industry of one-off custom products tailor made for your specific needs. So far most of the talk has been about products the economics of mass production and warehousing don't suit – out-of-circulation spare parts for your ancient kitchen blender, for example. That's what two guys graduating from Philadelphia University thought when one of them had problems finding shoes that fit. Why not 3D print shoes, made to measure for individual feet? A new FootprintFootprint's founders Matthew Flail and Tim Ganter knew they were onto something when professors at their school offered to invest. The major shoe brands have all investigated similar territory over the last year and Flail recalls being told that if they didn't do it, someone else would. So far the company has been busy working out 3D printed structures that both work and look good, but Flail says the ultimate aim is to streamline every aspect of shoe production, reduce the amount of steps and parts and be a direct-to-consumer provider. "It's the new industry of small providers who hope to cut out the middle man," he says. Even though Footprint has had what Flail calls 'some successes and a lot of failures' in testing, it's far easier to absorb the risk working with one-off, inexpensive prototypes than mass manufacturing and distribution pipelines. One print, multiple industriesDuann Scott, a business development manager at software vendor Autodesk, works with 3D printing partners, and he's seeing the technology gradually transform more than one industry as design and printing complexity becomes easier. He says the process of reducing materials or increasing performance suits more complex products like dental implants or hearing aids, but as such complexity becomes easier, we'll see 3D printing enter more traditional products. But he's quick to add that 3D printing won't sweep traditional manufacturing, warehousing and shipping aside overnight. "If we compare [3D printed specialty items with mass market products], it doesn't work. If you can mass produce a spoon out of metal stamping, 3D printing isn't going to compete with that for a number of years." But when we get there, might there come a time when we simply won't go to shops to buy shoes or other consumer goods, making them to order for our body or requirements as individuals? A lot of products might already be at that stage without us realising. 3D printing has become so advanced, experts are talking about it producing organs made from our own DNA so our body doesn't reject them. Overcoming barriersThe barrier to a widespread 'on demand' 3D printed economy might simply be because the infrastructure surrounding the manufacture and distribution of mass-market goods is simply too big to change quickly. "Injection moulding [a common manufacturing process] is relatively new in the scheme of human history," Scott says. "Possibilities are getting broader in part because of patents expiring on machines and materials. As that happens it'll help the industry become cheaper faster because there are more options." So if entrenched, big-company barriers melt away by a process of economic evolution, what's the endgame? With 3D printing getting cheaper and easier all the time, how long before even this brief window closes on a business like Footprint and people are measuring up and producing their own custom shoes right on their desktops? "It's not as easy as it seems," Flail says. "The technology for personal or home use is wonderful but printing complex structures that give us proper cushioning like in our footwear is virtually impossible to do on these printers. The costs of more accurate machines will be prohibitive to entry into the consumer market for the foreseeable future." http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/printers_and_scanners/3D%20printer%20hype/3d%20print%20one%20off/Flexible%20Material%20Prototypes%20w%20Last-420-90.JPG Of course, in many ways only one thing will drive change, and that's the price of goods. At the moment Footprint products are a premium item costing much more than traditional factory-produced shoes, but how will the spread of the practice and equipment help bring prices more in line with traditional mass-market goods? "The price of bespoke products can come down, things which need complexity and customisation but without artisanal craftsmanship," Scott says. "All it needs is software to do it. Take a dentist who doesn't know how to 3D model anything but knows how to change a few parameters to make the object he needs for a patient. [s/he] can see how, with the price of the machine going down and the more mature options, they'll find it easier to approach the market." Along with such ease of use, low financial and technological barriers to entry are giving small 3D printing operators a whole new world to discover. How long before you yourself are one of them?

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Windows/Windows%2010%20anniversary%20update/AU%20cortana-470-75.jpgIntroduction and listening to feedbackNine months on and Windows as a Service is starting to deliver. Windows 10 really is the last version of Windows, but that doesn't matter because it's going to keep on changing and improving. Users brave enough to be Windows Insiders can get those changes as soon as they're ready to try out (which may or may not mean they're actually ready to use). More cautious users – and businesses – will stick to the major updates and so far, those seem to come about twice a year. The last was the November update (which Microsoft has now set as a Current Branch for Business release, which means that PCs running the release version of Windows from last July will start updating soon). Building on Windows 10 The next major release will be the Anniversary Update this summer. This gives us a good idea of how Windows as a Service is shaping up. The Anniversary Update has a mix of features that were promised in Windows 10 but haven't yet arrived, tweaks and improvements to existing features, and new features that Microsoft announced at the Build conference. The most unexpected of those new features is the Windows Subsystem for Linux, which allows you to run a number of Linux binaries like the Bash shell (and as Terry Myerson noted during the announcement, we can expect "more coming soon"). That's aimed at developers who need to connect to and manage Linux servers, rather than mainstream users – when you hear Microsoft talking about 1,000 new features in the Anniversary Update, those are new features in the Windows SDK. Also new, and again aimed mostly at developers, is support for Docker containers in Windows 10 as well as in Windows Server 2016. That means a developer working with containers can test them on a Windows 10 PC rather than having to work with a Windows Server system all along. Listening to feedbackMicrosoft is clearly using the telemetry the company gets from its newest operating system, and the feedback from Windows Insiders, to develop Windows 10 – small changes and some major new features that users have been asking for are being implemented. These include tweaks to the Start menu, improving the All Apps list and bringing back the full-screen apps list in tablet mode. The Action Center gets more interactivity – including mirroring alerts from Android phones and letting you reply to text messages from your PC, plus showing notifications from websites as well as apps. Notifications should finally sync between different devices rather than having to be dismissed on every device you use individually, and you can also limit how chatty apps can get by choosing how many notifications they can send. Cortana also gets chattier, with suggestions for things she can do using the new integration of chat bots, so if you're working late you might see a dialog offering to order dinner or book an Uber for you. Some Cortana features will also work from the lock screen, so you don't have to unlock your PC to set a reminder. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/Microsoft/Windows%20Ink-420-90.jpg Pen-tastic plansMicrosoft's deal with Wacom to build a pen that will work across multiple PC screens (using the built-in digitiser rather than just capacitive touch) should bring pens to many more laptops and tablets. That will make the new Ink system more useful – it works with Cortana so you can write 'remind me next Monday to call Susan' and get a reminder on that day. And you will be able to use pen and touch at the same time, so you can move an on-screen ruler – which could be something as complex as a curve tool in Illustrator – as you draw, or scroll the canvas without putting down the pen in your other hand. We're also getting lots of new display options: picture-in-picture display, being able to project your screen to another PC from a Continuum phone or another PC, plus remote display from an IoT Core device for remote control. They're not major features for most users, but if you need them they'll be very useful – and they're exactly the kind of tricky features that would likely have been cut from a new version of Windows during the development cycle because they were hard to get right in a fixed schedule. Now the Windows team can keep working on them, and if necessary, wait for new hardware to support them. Business features and avoiding disruptionKey features for businessSome of the features we've been waiting for in Windows 10 will arrive in the Anniversary Update, in particular Edge support for extensions (which means password managers as well as ad blockers) and Enterprise Data Protection – per-file protection that encrypts business data. EDP is one of the more sophisticated security features in Windows 10, giving you the same kind of information protections you're used to on mobile devices, but with desktop software like Office. It was announced before Windows 10 shipped; having it arrive in the Anniversary Update doesn't mean the feature is late – just that Microsoft was clearly counting on Window as a Service as a way of staging the development of Windows 10 features, especially ones that businesses will need to make preparations for. Instead of delaying the launch of Windows 10 until all the business features were finished, even though businesses would likely spend up to a year evaluating the new operating system before deploying it widely, Microsoft could ship an initial set of features and then add more of those business features when companies were closer to rolling the new OS out to their employees. The Anniversary Edition is also when we'll see another recently announced security feature, the Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection service. This uses an agent that will be included with the update to monitor systems, but the information goes to a cloud analysis service that builds on what Microsoft detects about attacks against other companies and its own properties – and this is something businesses will likely have to pay extra to use. Xbox-ing cleverXbox One will also get new features with the Anniversary Update – like Windows 10 that includes some much-requested improvements such as background music playback, and a key option for developers: a mode that lets any developer side-load their UWP apps onto Xbox for testing. It will also bring Cortana to Xbox, as a way of searching and controlling the console. The Anniversary Update is due in 'late summer' – as Microsoft has already said it will be free, that might mean we see it before the July 29 anniversary of the Windows 10 launch (because after that point Microsoft will start charging for Windows 10). Or Redmond might just mean that it will be free to Windows 10 users, whenever they get Windows 10. Businesses with volume licences who want the new features (rather than staying on Current Branch without getting updates) will need to have Software Assurance. http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Windows/Windows%2010%20Insider%20Builds/Build%2014316/Windows%2010%20dark%20mode-420-100.jpg Disruption-free OSWindows as a Service is proving to be quite different from previous ways of using Windows. You can choose between frequent previews of features that might have problems, and regular updates, once or twice a year, that have a fraction of the features we're used to in a new release of Windows. Over a two or three year period, you'll get as many new features as you would have got from a new release, but you'll get them a few at a time, and without the disruption of a installing a completely new version of Windows. You just don't know quite when you'll get them. With the Anniversary Update, Microsoft will deliver just about all of the officially announced features for Windows 10, but not everything that's been promised – there's still no information about the replacement for placeholders the OneDrive team committed to back in late 2015. Windows 10 isn't 'complete' with this update, because it's never going to be complete in the sense of being finished. There's always going to be a stable version of Windows 10 you can use, and a preview version you can try, and more updates and new features that you're going to have to take the time to apply and get used to. But it's now pretty clear that if you want to, you can do that just once or twice per year. Try the Windows 10 Anniversary Update before it's released http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/257413101107/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ee25d86/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/257413101107/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ee25d86/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/257413101107/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ee25d86/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/257413101107/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ee25d86/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/257413101107/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ee25d86/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4ee25d86/sc/15/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/h-bYMtTskys

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/Ericsson%20Tour/Ericsson2016Tour060045-470-75.jpgEricsson's ambitious planImagine a world where every linear television channel that matters agrees to sell its content directly via an app. HBO already does, and a slew of others are effectively doing the same through the Sling TV service. Now, imagine all of those programs being searchable, mineable, and sortable using a well-regarded interface on Apple TV and Roku's assortment of streaming products. In a world where our internet connections are all solid enough to handle IP-delivered content, that's a recipe for disaster if you're a traditional telco or cable provider. Now, imagine a world where the aforesaid cable provider gets its design in order and beats those apps to the punch. That's the dream that Ericsson is hoping to enable, and by every measure, the race against time is most definitely on. A timely additionhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Ericsson%20Tour/Ericsson2016Tour060014-420-90.jpg You may not link a name like Ericsson with the saving of cable, but the company best known for connecting billions of mobile lines the world over has invested heavily in TV and media over the past decade. For an organization founded some 140 years ago, its decision to dive into media seems awfully nimble (and equally wise). I recently spent a week in the United Kingdom, peeking into the company's Southampton Experience Center as well as its Broadcast Center in central London. What I found largely didn't exist a decade ago, but could very well be the concoction that prevents what many view as the inevitable upending of television. " width="420">YouTube : Simon Frost, Ericsson's Head of TV Marketing, told me that Ericsson had no reason to show itself at NAB ten years ago, but as I wondered around racks of encoders, decoders, and all manners of other-coders blinking incessantly, a frenetic team was readying a high-end reference monitor for shipping to Las Vegas. "It's our biggest event of the year now," said Frost. It's all about the software (and design, too)http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Ericsson%20Tour/Ericsson2016Tour060027-420-90.jpg If you're curious what Ericsson's role in media and TV is, you aren't alone. For a company that claims upwards of 115,000 employees, it manages to fly largely under the consumer radar. Take, for example, the UI on AT&T's 19 million U-verse TV boxes -- that's Ericsson. But it's also just the "tip of the iceberg," as described by Michael Armstrong, the firm's Head of Sales Support for Media. Indeed, it's what I saw in its MediaFirst TV Experience Center: an interface -- and a backend labyrinth of intelligence -- that every telco and cable provider in the Unites States needs to remain relevant. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Ericsson%20Tour/Ericsson2016Tour060050-420-90.jpg The demo utilized an Android-based set-top box, but as it turns out, pretty much any modern Android puck would do. That's a radical departure in its own right, and it's at the heart of the ongoing FCC "Unlock The Box" proposal which would overhaul the borderline criminal process of forcing American pay-TV customers to rent these giant boxes with archaic electronic program guides just to get service. The MediaFirst TV user interface is far slicker than anything you've seen on set-tops thus far -- TiVo boxes included. It lightly resembles Android TV, allowing a program to continue in the background while translucent overlays showcase current programs, favorites, recommendations, and an app catalog. It's not all that novel at a glance, but the proverbial ace in the hole is the fact that linear television channels are just as tightly integrated as Hulu episodes, VOD content from the pay-TV provider, and the latest Narcos series on Netflix. Integrate or diehttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Ericsson%20Tour/Ericsson2016Tour060076-420-90.jpg This has all been attempted before, but crucially, at a very different stage in the process. Google TV was supposed to bring this dream to reality -- a reality where over-the-top content from myriad internet sources were made one with the linear TV programs that cable users just can't quite cut. (You know, the likes of TNT, ESPN, CNN, etc.) The issue there was twofold. One, Google TV sat after one's set-top box in the chain of products connected to your television, so you still needed that dreaded set-top from your cable or satellite provider. Two, it required the aforesaid providers to trust Google on a level that many just weren't comfortable with. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Ericsson%20Tour/Ericsson2016Tour060017-420-90.jpg MediaFirst TV is the set-top box, which puts the control back in the hands of the provider. That makes carriers like Telus, which will soon be the first to deploy the system to its Optik TV customer base in Canada later this month, a lot less queasy. A search box, which supports both keyboard inputs as well as the spoken word, seeks to accomplish what many would call pure magic: presenting users with results that span the gamut, from Netflix to Hulu to HBO Now to VOD to linear TV. Ericsson also happens to be a master of metadata -- it constructs, collects, and organizes a mind-boggling amount of it, which is vital for search to function well. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Ericsson%20Tour/Ericsson2016Tour060052-420-90.jpg When I asked if it was truly possible for searches to yield results from every imaginable content library rather than a curated handful, I generally heard this: "Yes, if the pay-TV carrier and all of the services you subscribe to allow their repositories to be mined." That's asking a lot from a cadre of companies that would all rather you remain in their own ecosystem than transfer in and out, but at least it's possible. The other important element here is universality. In the Telus example, customers will be able to download a Telus-branded app on whatever mobile device they please, and the interface they see on their TV will also be in the palm of their hand. If you start watching something in your living room and pick it up a few hours later on your phone, it'll resume from the right place with no effort on your part. (That also works going from mobile back to your home entertainment center.) Perhaps most impressive was the proximity demo, whereby a logged-in MediaFirst user with an iPhone walks into the living room. Then, without lifting a finger, the Bluetooth LE-enabled set-top recognizes that person's presence, recognizes what show they were just watching, immediately logs them in and resumes playback. To sweeten things further, the platform is capable of having multiple users logged in at once to capture the kinds of programs a couple or group watch together. Can traditional TV be personal?http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Ericsson%20Tour/Ericsson2016Tour060039-420-90.jpg Which brings me to this: personalization. When speaking with Steve Plunkett, CTO of Ericsson's Broadcast and Media Services, the question keeping him up at night is whether or not massive amounts of anonymized data holds the key to truly personalizing television. Mastering the art of recommendations is no easy task. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Google, and pretty much any other company moving petabytes of data on a daily basis have been trying to nail it for years. Algorithms, when they work, are akin to wizardry. They suggest what you need, when you need it, staying one step ahead of your own brain. They're different for everyone, though, which is why they're hard to master. To boot, users move from device to device, and for obvious reasons related to privacy, it's often difficult to pinpoint who exactly is watching what. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Ericsson%20Tour/Ericsson2016Tour060034-420-90.jpg With MediaFirst, linear TV viewing and app-based viewing are combined like never before. That, in theory, would allow a fan of TNT's Major Crimes to get a recommendation for Netflix's Bosch. That crossing of divides has thus far been impossible, and it's in that small example that we see the potential for TV to be saved. Cord cutters typically cite cost as the reason for ditching their pay-TV subscription and leaning solely on Netflix, Hulu, and perhaps a lightweight Sling TV or PlayStation Vue package. But really, it doesn't take too many of those subscriptions before you're paying nearly as much as you would for a massive bundle of 300+ channels that never buffer or suffer pixelation due to internet hiccups. To boot, the technically-savvy have no problem hopping between apps to watch the content they want to watch. It's little fuss to mentally wade between recommendation silos in Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. But what about the laypeople? The folks who, after an exhausting ten-hour day, plop down on their couch and dream of mashing one button to conjure up the perfect recommendation that looks across every source imaginable. The war for your screenshttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Ericsson%20Tour/Ericsson2016Tour060079-420-90.jpg We've reached an inflection point in the life of television. Apple believes the future of TV is apps, but a number of billion-dollar enterprises like Comcast and Time Warner Cable would argue otherwise. The truth, as it often does, probably lies somewhere in betwixt. Linear TV is still special, but its mistake was failing to innovate on the discovery and recommendation front. The Holy Grail of TV is a service that can look across every content house, into every line of metadata, and offer up recommendations that aren't biased towards one owner or another in just milliseconds. I tasted the sweet elixir being poured from that chalice, and it was good. Now, to see if pay-TV providers recognize how severely they need a dose of their own.

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/other/Onetimers/Reddit_App-470-75.jpgThe front page of the internet is now on the front page of the App Store, as Reddit released its first-party app for on-the-go browsing of user-generated content, (i.e. cat GIFs galore.) Reddit has been no stranger to the mobile space, with its open API being used to fuel a bevy of third-party redditing apps like BaconReader and Alien Blue – the latter of which was crowned as Reddit's "official" app back in 2014. However, there hadn't been an app actually developed by Reddit until this point. Alex Le, Reddit's VP of consumer product, made the announcement today (via Reddit submission, obviously) and proceeded to field fellow redditors' queries about the new app, which is now available for both iOS and Android devices. The launch version of the app can not only browse the site, but also search the website's wide selection of hyper-specific subreddits, submit content, customize its appearance, and tweak its appearance for compacted or expanded viewing. While the introduction of a truly "official" Reddit app may spell the end of third-party counterparts, Le commented on the announcement thread that the site "will continue to support" their open and free API for other developers to work with. Also, users who sign up for the app with a verified Reddit account get three months of Reddit gold – the site's premium subscription service – for free, which is all the incentive we'll need when we dive back into r/aww on the commute home. Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" threads are getting a hardback release http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247397204250/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ecb732b/sc/23/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247397204250/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ecb732b/sc/23/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247397204250/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ecb732b/sc/23/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/247397204250/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ecb732b/sc/23/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/247397204250/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ecb732b/sc/23/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4ecb732b/sc/23/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/p0VD6HDyWwo

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/mobile_phones/Apps/Facebook_messenger_phones-470-75.jpgFacebook is planning on carving out a fresh revenue stream via its Messenger app, with the introduction of an option to chat with businesses directly from within the service. Business Insider (BI) spotted the move, with Facebook adding a section for 'Suggested Businesses' underneath the search bar where you can hunt out people and groups. Messenger suggests some 20 companies that you might wish to talk with, including the likes of Lyft and Chase, although as BI notes, a lot of the businesses presented seem rather obscure right now (including the likes of small town US newspapers). Obviously this is a feature which Facebook is still working on, and indeed this may just be an experimental rollout of the system to a small number of users which happened to include the reporter's account, with the social network testing the waters. That idea is further reinforced by the fact that the companies highlighted for chat don't necessarily support chat features – when BI tried to chat with Lyft, the reply received simply indicated that the company didn't support chat. Business boostOf course all this will change in the future when the feature is fully rolled out (which it presumably will be), and it'll be extra cash for Facebook as doubtless the idea will be to charge organisations to be highlighted for chat. Facebook is thinking more and more about businesses these days, and of course has Facebook at Work on the boil – the service hasn't officially launched yet, but should do very soon (it's already being tested quite widely). Again, that will have a monetisation angle, with companies being charged for Facebook at Work premium services such as analytics and tech support. For the employee, the service will be broadly the same as everyday Facebook, but with bolstered security – and of course you can forget about playing games like Candy Crush. Forget credit cards, Facebook Messenger might be the new way to pay http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247397138185/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec7ee77/sc/23/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247397138185/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec7ee77/sc/23/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247397138185/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec7ee77/sc/23/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/247397138185/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec7ee77/sc/23/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/247397138185/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec7ee77/sc/23/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4ec7ee77/sc/23/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/uRWAbhahvmI

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Microsoft/Project%20Murphy-470-75.jpgYou may have noticed Microsoft making a big song and dance about AI bots at its Build conference last week. The company has now introduced a few of them to Skype, with two further offerings now being brought to the messaging service. So what do the new Skype bots, which are called Murphy and Summarize, actually do? Murphy (based on Redmond's Project Murphy) is designed to respond to 'what if' questions and is powered by Microsoft Cognitive Services. It draws from knowledge services including Bing, and attempts to respond to these queries as relevantly as possible. The twist is the answer will come in the form of one or several images, if the right question is asked, and the idea is that Murphy will become smarter as more people use the bot (as with all machine learning projects). Summary executionSummarize, on the other hand, is of more practical use and pretty much does what it says on the tin: you chuck the link for a web page at the bot, and it summarises the page, condensing the text down to three paragraphs to make it more easily digestible. That could be pretty handy for those in a rush. As we saw last week, Redmond has big plans for bots which are designed to help run our lives more smoothly, with the company keen to point out that these AI entities will be built with trustworthiness and respectfulness firmly in mind. And hopefully they'll be better guarded against the prospect of their user base attempting to warp them, as recently happened with the denizens of Twitter and Microsoft's hapless Tay bot. Via: WinBeta Also have a read of: Here's why Cortana leaves Siri and Google Now in the dust http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247397130718/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec7a891/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247397130718/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec7a891/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247397130718/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec7a891/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/247397130718/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec7a891/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/247397130718/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec7a891/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4ec7a891/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/iGCGSY4sdT0

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Windows/Windows%2010%20Insider%20Builds/Build%2014316/Windows%2010%20dark%20mode-470-75.jpgMicrosoft showed off some fancy new Windows 10 features at its Build developer conference last week, and now we're just starting to see them slowly trickle out in the latest Insider build. Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14316 brings a heap of updates and new features. One of the most prominent is Bash, Linux's native coding environment. With it users can create programs and code in the Linux environment from the comfort of the Windows C-prompt … er, window. Cortana on the mindMicrosoft has also further extended Cortana's reach to push notifications from non-Windows devices to the PC. For example, if users have the corresponding app loaded on their Android phone and they've nearly exhausted its battery life, a notification prompting you to charge it before your next meeting will pop up on your PC. And if users misplace their phone, they'll be able to ask Microsoft's digital assistant to activate the device's location services and call the phone as well. On top of locating your phone, whenever you ask Cortana for directions, you can push the same instructions to your phone. YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOGLBu4_cyYWindows 10 Mobile phones are getting their own special attention too with a new form of Continuum to connect to screens. Rather than having to dock your handset with a screen and keyboard, a newly added Connect app for desktops will let you wirelessly connect your Windows 10-powered phone to your computer. Cortana has been steadily making its way into more countries and picking up languages along the way, but in a few cases sep-up can be tricky. If your PC is still missing Microsoft's virtual assistant and you're in a supported territory, it's now easier to have Windows 10 automatically download the necessary speech language to get Cortana up and running. Microsoft hones its appsWindow 10's built-in Edge browser has new extensions starting with a Pin It Button and OneNote Clipper. As their names suggest, both are all about saving internet clippings to read later or keep for the heck of it. A few extensions have also been updated including the Reddit Enhancement Suite, Mouse Gestures and Microsoft Translator. Build 14316 also sees the reintroduction of Skype as a Universal Windows app. There's not much to tell here, but Microsoft promises even more features and functionality in the next couple of releases. From what we've seen in the new version, which includes a video chat bot, Skype is an important piece of Windows 10's future. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/Windows/Windows%2010%20Insider%20Builds/Build%2014316/Windows%2010%20emoji-420-90.jpg UI improvementsAnd, of course, there are emoji. This alphabet of icons might be ruining the English language, but these are some of the best emojis we've seen. They have pop and are cartoonish in a way that's much more playful than emojis on other platforms. Beyond emojis, Microsoft has added a dark mode for night-time computer usage. Customization options now let you pick whether colors show up only on app title bars or across the Windows 10 interface, including the taskbar and Action Center. Last but not least, Windows 10 will now show how far along your update install is with a percentage rather than the old standard of dancing dots going around in a circle. Read about all the upcoming Windows 10 anniversary update http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/257412557536/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec52c05/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/257412557536/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec52c05/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/257412557536/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec52c05/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/257412557536/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec52c05/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/257412557536/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4ec52c05/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4ec52c05/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/31HGqFRWvE0

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Microsoft/Windows%2010/review/10240-set1/10240-set1-34-470-75.jpgAs ever, as a new month begins, new figures emerge on the market share of the various versions of Windows, and another dollop of stats has been revealed which shows how Microsoft's latest OS is progressing. These figures are drawn from visitors to US government websites – as highlighted by the Register – and they show that in March, Windows 10 accelerated nicely and now holds a 21.82% market share. Of course, that's still a long way behind Windows 7 which is on 61.3%. However, Windows 8/8.1 is now a distant third totalling 11.92%, barely half of the market share which Windows 10 now commands. From January to February, Windows 10 gained 1.76%, and from February to last month, the desktop OS picked up 2.43%, a considerable increase in terms of growth rate. That matches up with the findings of NetMarketShare, which saw Windows 10 growth upped by a third in March compared to the previous month. Although that bean counting firm pegs Windows 10 with a smaller 14.15% share of the overall desktop OS market. StatCounter also observed a similar burst of growth now putting Windows 10 on a 16.53% share. Down to businessAnyway, back to the US government figures which aside from the overall share and growth spurt of Windows 10 show another interesting thing: business adoption of Redmond's OS would appear to be growing. These particular figures break traffic down daily so we can see the levels of usage during the week and at the weekend, and the good news for Microsoft in the business arena is that weekday use – meaning during the working day, at organisations across the US – has gained over 5% during the past quarter. And that growth has come on quite markedly in the last month. Previously, indications have pointed to home user adoption far outstripping businesses – which isn't surprising, as upgrading to a new OS is a far more convoluted and complicated matter for companies. However, it would seem that more businesses are now taking the plunge, having worked out their upgrade plans. Also check out: Should you upgrade to Windows 10? http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/257412358397/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4eba85a2/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/257412358397/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4eba85a2/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/257412358397/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4eba85a2/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/257412358397/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4eba85a2/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/257412358397/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4eba85a2/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4eba85a2/sc/15/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/ooaHlskkZg4

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/other/Onetimers/Revolv1-470-75.jpgTwo years after acquiring it, Nest has decided to completely shut down smart home hub maker Revolv, leaving users with a dead chunk of plastic. That is to say, not only will Nest no longer support the Revolv app and hardware, but the hub and software will be shut down and all data deleted starting May 15. "Revolv was a great first step toward the connected home, but we believe that Works with Nest is a better solution and are allocating resources toward that program," the Google-owned Nest said in a statement. Revolv's founders note in a letter to customers on their website that after it was acquired by Nest, the team became an integral part of the Works with Nest platform, which they too say is a far superior platform. "Now Works with Nest is turning into something more secure, more useful and just flat-out better than anything Revolv created," the letter reads. "So we're pouring all our energy into Works with Nest and are incredibly excited about what we're making." As Nest stopped selling Revolv products as soon as it acquired it, it's unclear how many people will actually be affected by the shut down. Still, Nest's decision does leave those owners with little to no options after spending a few hundred on the smart home hub. The Revolv website notes that all warranties for its products are no longer under valid. Nest and Revolv directed all concerned individuals to contact Revolv customer support. Nest gets a bit cozier with Family Accounts and Home/Away Assist