sincity

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/world%20of%20tech/harry%20potter%20ibooks-470-75.jpgUp until now, the magic in the Harry Potter books has always been purely literary. Through the power of JK Rowling's imagination, regular muggles can believe – if only for a moment – that magic really exists. But thanks to a partnership between Rowling's Pottermore and Apple, the magic has now transferred to the page. All seven Harry Potter novels have just been released as exclusive enhanced editions on the iBookstore. These enhanced versions of some of the most loved books of all time feature animated illustrations from Pottermore artists within their digital pages, alongside special annotations from JK Rowling herself. Marked by a small quill, users will be able to access illustrations and notes about the wizarding world of Harry Potter like they've never been able to before. The enhanced versions of the Harry Potter books will set you back US$10 / £6.99 / AU$11.99 each, and are available now from the iBookstore. Why not make your own book for Apple's platform with iBooks Author http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225684323/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a877feb/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225684323/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a877feb/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225684323/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a877feb/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225684323/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a877feb/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225684323/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a877feb/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a877feb/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/dRDhwD9_vIM

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/world%20of%20tech/harry%20potter%20ibooks-470-75.jpgUp until now, the magic in the Harry Potter books has always been purely literary. Through the power of JK Rowling's imagination, regular muggles can believe – if only for a moment – that magic really exists. But thanks to a partnership between Rowling's Pottermore and Apple, the magic has now transferred to the page. All seven Harry Potter novels have just been released as exclusive enhanced editions on the iBookstore. These enhanced versions of some of the most loved books of all time feature animated illustrations from Pottermore artists within their digital pages, alongside special annotations from JK Rowling herself. Marked by a small quill, users will be able to access illustrations and notes about the wizarding world of Harry Potter like they've never been able to before. The enhanced versions of the Harry Potter books will set you back US$10 / £6.99 / AU$11.99 each, and are available now from the iBookstore. Why not make your own book for Apple's platform with iBooks Author

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Microsoft/Office%202016/Delve-470-75.JPGMicrosoft announced an expansion of its FastTrack service to make it easier for businesses to migrate to Office 365. Instead of providing a one-time service to help users migrate, FastTrack will provide customers with ongoing support through the transition process, making it easier for IT departments to switch from on-premise email and Active Directory services to the cloud. The change in strategy, according to Microsoft officials, is to help medium and large businesses handle the transition to the cloud. The service is designed for businesses with more than 150 users on Microsoft Office. What is FastTrackFastTrack has two parts. The first component is a remote support service designed to make the migration process easier. Companies work with a Microsoft engineer and obtain access to a FastTrack online portal with tutorials. IT departments can utilize the service to move from an on-premise email and Active Directory services to the Microsoft cloud. The second component of FastTrack includes working with Microsoft partners to migrate custom workloads, codes and applications. Companies can choose to manage this migration alone, or they can work with a Microsoft partner to make things easier. FastTrack is designed to help Microsoft retain customers and help its business users deploy Office 365. Office as a serviceMicrosoft is moving away from the software model. With the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft began offering Windows as a service, and that strategy is now used with Office. Rather than delivering software to the end user, Office as a service would keep the productivity suite up to date through frequent software updates. As a service, Microsoft could also roll out new features, patches and security fixes more readily. Because users can access Word, Excel and PowerPoint in a browser, a direct client download isn't necessary. With Office 2016, IT departments can choose to place users in a Current Branch or Current Branch for Business update cycle. Users can't skip Office updates, and CBB will give companies up to four months to defer updates. As a cloud-based offering, Microsoft promises a 99.9% uptime for Office 365, with pricing starting at $5 (£3, AU$6) per user per month. Source: Computerworld Read our review of Office 2016 for Windows and for Mac http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225583848/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a7d2ff7/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225583848/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a7d2ff7/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225583848/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a7d2ff7/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225583848/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a7d2ff7/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225583848/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a7d2ff7/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a7d2ff7/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/WQ8ByaE6vXc

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/AAevents/Apple%20WWDC%202015/PR%20images/OS%20X%20El%20Capitan-470-75.jpgApple's brand new OS X El Capitan update is not playing nice after users reported that Outlook has been sputtering to a halt since they refreshed their machines. First reported by V3, Outlook 2011 and 2016 users have been unable to retrieve Outlook emails using Apple's brand new OS X version and neither company has an estimate on how long it will take to fix. Customers have been grumbling that Office 2011 and 2016 both open as normal but that is where the normality ends for as soon as you attempt to sync with the mail server it displays an infinitely spinning wheel and completely freezes. Microsoft is aware of the problem and doesn't have a date for a fix and has told users to revert back to an older version of OS X to combat it. "We are working on a fix for 2011 and for 2016 we are working closely with Apple to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Unfortunately we do not have any timelines for either fix, please stay tuned and thank you for your understanding," Faisal Jeelani, Program Management for Outlook for Mac said. Features galoreOS X El Capitan got its release on September 30 following a long public beta that began back in July and may have been expected by some to have dispelled problems of this ilk. The update requires users to reserve around 6GB of space on their hard drive and then wait for the update to be delivered. It brings with it a range of new features such as updates to Mission Control and Spotlight, and a new Split View that allows apps to sit side-by-side. System performance has also been given a big boost in the animations and graphics departments that give it all the tools to take on Windows 10 in the uber-competitive OS space. OS X 10.11 El Capitan review http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225576149/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a7b038b/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225576149/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a7b038b/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225576149/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a7b038b/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225576149/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a7b038b/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225576149/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a7b038b/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a7b038b/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/cdSirIYUI6c

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Apple/Photos/Extensions/extensions-hero-470-75.jpgApple's old iPhoto app could be configured to use an external editor like Photoshop or Elements, but its replacement, Photos, could not. You were stuck with the editing tools in Photos unless you worked on your images with external apps and added them to Photos at the end – or manually exported them, worked on them, and re-imported them (groan). But Apple's free El Capitan upgrade, made available on September 30 2015, adds an 'extensions' feature to Photos, and this works a little like Photoshop's plug-in architecture. Specially adapted versions of image-editing tools can now be launched from within Photos to provide tools and effects that Photos can't. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/Apple/Apple%20Photos/photos-collections-420-90.jpg This feature is already available on iOS 9 equipped devices, but it's new to the desktop version of Photos. Keen photographers might not have paid iPhoto much attention in the past, but Photos is different. The organizational tools are still pretty basic, but the 'all-your-pictures-everywhere' iCloud storage system is such a disarmingly simple way to work that it could tempt photographers at all levels, despite the cost of additional (and essential) iCloud storage. What Photos extensions are available?You can get extensions-enabled apps right now from the App Store, such as the quick and simple image-fixer BeFunky Express app, but for Photos to be taken seriously as an image-editing hub it needs some serious image-editing extensions. This is where it gets more interesting, because Mac image-editing software specialist MacPhun has waded straight in with extension-enabled versions of four of its key applications – Tonality, Intensify, Snapheal and Noiseless. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/Apple/Photos/Extensions/tonality-01-420-90.jpg http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/Apple/Photos/Extensions/intensify-01-420-90.jpg http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/Apple/Photos/Extensions/snapheal-01-420-90.jpg http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/Apple/Photos/Extensions/noiseless-01-420-90.jpg So how Photos extensions work?Once your new software is installed, you open and edit a picture in Photos in the usual way but now you need to look for the Extensions button at the bottom editing tool icons. Any extensions installed so far will show on the drop-down menu and you select the one you want. Otherwise, select 'More'. This opens the new Extensions panel in the System Preferences. You select Photos from the list of apps on the left, and select from the list of available Extensions on the right. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/Apple/Photos/Extensions/photos-extensions-420-90.jpg The editing tools in Apple Photos are already pretty good for the kind of user the app is aimed at, but keen photographers will want more – and Extensions are a great way to do it. Be aware, though, that Photos always replaces the original version of a photo with the edited one in its image library. The original photo is still there and you can revert to it at any time, but if you want to see both the original and the edited version in your library, you'll need to make a copy of the original before you edit it. Is this a new dawn for Apple Photos?Probably not, because its image organizing tools are relatively basic so it's never going to replace a professional image cataloguing tool like Adobe Lightroom. But it will give keen photographers a chance to experiment with more advanced effects without having to leave the Apple Photos ecosystem. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/Serif/Affinity%20Photo/affinity-photo-hero-420-90.jpg Interestingly, Serif tells us it is already working on an extension for Affinity Photo, its high-end Photoshop-rivalling image editor, and says it should be available in December 2015. Best photo editing softwareBest free photo editing softwareWhat camera should I buy?How to use the techradar camera channel http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225519944/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a720bc3/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225519944/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a720bc3/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225519944/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a720bc3/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225519944/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a720bc3/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225519944/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a720bc3/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a720bc3/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/6qcMN3DnU00

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Android/Android%20M/android-marshmallow-logo-470-75.jpgAndroid Marshmallow, the latest update to hit Google's mobile operating system, is available now and promises to be the sweetest yet. With the update installed, users will have access to a ton of new features, like Now on Tap, the smart feature that assists you with relevant feedback based on the context of, say, your e-mails. Going to see The Martian this weekend? Now on Tap will display the showtimes at your local theater. Now on Tap is worth the upgrade alone, but a few more additions packed inside of Marshmallow will make it a must-have for Android users. Doze, for instance, is said to give phones running Marshmallow a 30% increase in battery life by analyzing your usage habits. Basically, it lets your device enter a deep sleep and save battery while not in use. But wait, there is s'more: Marshmallow puts the app permission controls in the hands of users. Changes can be made to which features an app can access on the fly and to any app. Lastly, there is a bit of sad news to accompany the news of Marshmallow's release. At the time of writing, it's only available for select Nexus devices. Of course, it will come pre-installed on the upcoming Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. But, in the meantime, you'll need at least a Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7 (2013), Nexus 9, or Nexus Player to enjoy the update. The update is rolling out over-the-air today to the devices listed above. But, if you're like me and lack patience, visit this page and install the factory image. The big questions remains, when will your device get Marshmallow? The rollout of Android 5.0 Lollipop was sloppy, to say the least, with many users waiting months to get last year's update to Material Design. Keep it locked to this page to find out when HTC, Sony, Samsung and more are planning on updating their devices. Here's everything you need to know about Android 6.0 Marshmallow http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225457601/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6c40cb/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225457601/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6c40cb/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225457601/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6c40cb/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225457601/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6c40cb/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225457601/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6c40cb/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a6c40cb/sc/15/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/5GVqDoy1WAg

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/mobile_phones/Carphone%20Warehouse/Safe%20phone/CBN09.safe.illo-470-75.jpgRetail brokerage firm Scottrade has announced that it has been the victim of a major data breach. The company was informed of the disaster by federal law enforcement officials. Scottrade was previously unaware that the breach had taken place until that point. Interlopers were apparently active on the organization's network around the end of 2013 going into early 2014, and details from no less than 4.6 million user accounts were accessed, Engadget reports. The attackers were able to glean contact details from the system they hacked into, although apparently this system also contained more sensitive data such as Social Security numbers. No fraudulent activityIn a "cybersecurity update," Scottrade attempted to reassure customers that financial data wasn't touched: "We have no reason to believe that Scottrade's trading platforms or any client funds were compromised. Client passwords remained fully encrypted at all times and we have not seen any indication of fraudulent activity as a result of this incident." Those 4.6 million clients who have been affected by the breach are being contacted by the company, and also offered identity protection services. Scottrade said it had now fully patched up the intrusion point that the attackers exploited, and it was fully cooperating with the authorities currently investigating the matter. The company also noted that it was carrying out its own internal data forensics investigation in conjunction with a top computer security firm, and that it had already taken steps to bolster its network defenses and lessen the chance of a repeat of this incident. The top 10 data breaches of the past 12 months http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225451315/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6b1958/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225451315/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6b1958/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225451315/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6b1958/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225451315/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6b1958/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225451315/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6b1958/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a6b1958/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/08zkQsoF1SE

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Microsoft/Windows%2010%20on%20Dell/Start-470-75.JPGMicrosoft continues to hone Windows 10, of course, and a new preview build of the operating system has been leaked showing a number of interesting changes. As Betanews reports, the leaked build 10558 of Windows 10 has some handy little additions, one of which is tweaks to the context menus to make them slightly smaller and neater. The Edge browser, which is something of a constant work in progress since the launch of Microsoft's desktop OS, has also witnessed the introduction of previews of tabs. These allow you to mouse-over a tab to see a small pop-up preview of the web page, in the same way you can get preview windows of apps in the taskbar. The browser's download manager has also been tweaked. Tablet tricksAnd there's one change tablet users will definitely welcome – the introduction of the ability to install apps to locations other than the main drive (or indeed partition) where Windows is installed. In other words, if you're running out of space with your tablet's main storage, you'll be able to save stuff out to a microSD card, which will be very handy. This will also be useful for desktop PC users who might be running a low capacity SSD as their primary drive, wanting to save apps out to a larger secondary spinning hard disk. Winbeta.org (via Slashgear) also spotted other minor tweaks including some new icons for devices in the Control Panel, along with a new messaging app which supports Skype, and will eventually introduce support for SMS messages. All in all, there's definitely some useful stuff here, and it shouldn't be long before Windows 10 users get the benefit of these features. Should you upgrade to Windows 10? http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225446790/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6ac7fb/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225446790/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6ac7fb/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225446790/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6ac7fb/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225446790/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6ac7fb/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225446790/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a6ac7fb/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a6ac7fb/sc/15/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/bezhU2b4vfc

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/Connected%20home/Philips%20Hue/Philips-Hue-Homekit-Hub/Philips-Hue-Siri-2-470-75.jpgPhilips Hue is already an excellent, premium priced smart lighting system. Now, with the launch of Philips Hue Bridge 2.0, it gains compatibility with Apple HomeKit and adds voice control via Siri. During a brief pre-release demo, Philips Hue supremo George Yanni turned on and off, dimmed and changed the colour of various Hue lights. We can't let it pass that an attempt to turn one lamp's bulb yellow failed because, "yellow is one of those words Siri doesn't understand" - we think this was actually just a general, one-off Siri fail rather than its inability to understand a specific, commonplace word. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Connected%20home/Philips%20Hue/Philips-Hue-Homekit-Hub/Philips-Hue-Siri-1-420-90.jpg That aside, the demo was impressive, with Siri able to tweak individual lights, sets of lights in rooms ("Turn off the lounge lights") and even more sophisticated instructions such as, "Turn off the left TV room lamp" or "set the left TV lamp to energise", with 'energise' being a preset lighting 'scene'. It just couldn't handle yellow on this occasion. But who wants yellow light in a room, anyway? Nobody. Interestingly, where Apple is pushing most HomeKit product manufacturers to add control for all other HomeKit products to their apps, Philips is having none of that, and its app will control Hue and nothing else. However, other HomeKit products will be able to control Hue from their apps. In fact, at a demo at Apple HQ a few months back, we saw a dimmer and colour wheel incorporated into an unrelated, third-party HomeKit product app. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Connected%20home/Philips%20Hue/Philips-Hue-Homekit-Hub/Philips-Hue-Siri-3-420-90.jpg The new Philips Hue Bridge 2.0 will work with all existing Hue products, and its processor and other upgrades should help make adding Hue support to new systems other than HomeKit easier, future-proofing the device. Philips is also keen to stress that the original Bridge will continue to be supported. HomeKit integration means that Hue can now be one element within automated 'scenes', with the bulbs fading up to gently wake you from sleep while your smart thermostat raises the temperature, your smart blinds go up, and your robot butler ambles in with your breakfast. Apple Watch control is also possible with Hue, via both the Hue app and Siri. YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jukYhwTFcs&feature=youtu.bePricing is £50/$60/about AU$110, but with the option for original Hue Bridge owners to get a 33% discount by purchasing via Meethue.com. Alternatively, you can still purchase Hue Bridge 2.0 as part of a starter kit with three bulbs for £149.99/$249.99/AU$320. Additionally, while the coloured Hue range continues as usual, in the white light department the more expensive Hue Lux bulbs are being phased out, leaving only the Hue White range, which is cheaper. George Yanni did mention that with economies of scale now kicking in for white LED bulbs, pricing is likely to be more "aggressive" in the near future. That's good new. With consumer interest in smart home and particularly smart and LED lighting peaking, it's price cuts, rather than HomeKit support (welcome though it is), is what will really push smart lighting into the mainstream. That and a yellow option. That'd be great.

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/internet/Internet%20Of%20Things/internet_of_things-470-75.jpgMalware is rarely in the news for the right reasons yet a new variant may well be patching up security flaws on the Internet of Things front. First reported by Symantec, the Linux.Wifatch might be taking the fight to cyber criminals by secretly helping out unsuspecting users, however, the security specialists are still not entirely convinced that this can actually be true. The far-fetched malware was first spotted back in 2014 when a security researcher noticed something weird happening on his home router. He found processes that weren't part of the device's legitimate software and looked into it further. What he found was something that turned the router into a virtual zombie connected to a peer-to-peer (P2P) network of other infected devices. Symantec's involvementKnowing this, Symantec got to work and found the Wifatch code is written in the Perl programming language and targets several architectures and uses a static Perl interpreter with each one. When infected it connects to a P2P network that distributes threat updates and it was upon further inspection that things got even weirder. "Wifatch not only tries to prevent further access by killing the legitimate Telnet daemon, it also leaves a message in its place telling device owners to change passwords and update the firmware," Symantec said. The security firm did go on to say that even though it does genuinely seem to be doing some good, the fact remains that it has exploited a device without the express consent of the user. On a tight leash"Despite the previously listed actions, it should be made clear that Linux.Wifatch is a piece of code that infects a device without user consent and in that regard is the same as any other piece of malware," Symantec added. Symantec is keeping a particularly close eye on the malware and is advising those that are infected to reset devices immediately as well as keep both device firmware and software updated on a regular basis. The dark shadow cast by the IoT: the potential for security nightmares http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225350962/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5bbe95/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225350962/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5bbe95/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225350962/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5bbe95/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225350962/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5bbe95/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225350962/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5bbe95/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a5bbe95/sc/15/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/0oidyeurbds

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Microsoft/hometeamapp-470-75.jpgDoes your business have bad reviews on Yelp? Microsoft's new Home Team app is designed to help your business get noticed by Windows Phone users. Similar to Yelp, Home Team is a free mobile app that provides consumers with recommendations and reviews of local businesses and professionals. But unlike the popular reviews engine, Home Team relies on feedback from people with whom consumers choose to connect with directly rather than strangers. For example: consumers can connect with friends on Facebook or they can join work groups to find information about your company, products and services. How it worksOnce consumers have created connections with friends and coworkers, Home Team will search through the user's contacts list to find professional services. These businesses will be added to the user's network, where his or her connections can discover them. If a user likes your business, he or she can can add it to his or her "Home Team" where it will be listed among other frequently used services. This feature enables users to quickly relocate your business without having to dig through their entire contacts list, or worse, having to Google. When users are in search of a specific type of business or service, they can alert their networks by creating a "New ask." For example: Searching for a web developer. Once in the Ask section of the app, users can create a New Ask, view old Asks or view Asks from friends. An early version of the app is in beta. Read our Windows 10 review http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225330145/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5ae806/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225330145/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5ae806/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225330145/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5ae806/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225330145/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5ae806/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225330145/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5ae806/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a5ae806/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/y8aHluQ4-sE

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBCNews/exchange-server-2016-470-75.jpgMicrosoft has finally made Exchange Server 2016 available to the enterprise public at large as part of its wider Office 2016 revamp. A company blog explained that the product is now out of its elongated preview and brings a range of new features to help enterprises manage email and calendars in a more efficient way than Exchange 2013 whilst building on the popular features from the earlier incarnation. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft is again leading with the better collaboration angle and it manifests itself in Exchange 2016 in a new approach to attachments that means easier document sharing such as being able to attach a document in Outlook 2016 or Outlook on the web as a Sharepoint 2016 link. What else? The new program also brings an upgraded experience for Outlook on the web that includes a whole host of new features such as Sweep, Pin, Undo, inline reply, single-line inbox view, improved HTML rendering, new themes, emojis and a lot more. Search has been given a revamp that aims to speed it up considerably whilst at the same time bringing more accurate and complete results at the end of it all. Microsoft hasn't forgotten about developers and the expanded add-in model for Outlook desktop lets developers add features straight into Outlook. In addition, the update offers a new eDiscovery pipeline that is a lot faster and more scalable and also a simplified architecture that owes itself to better planning and scaling. This will be built upon as time goes on with regular updates providing bug fixes and improvements in a way that mirrors its attitude towards Windows 10. Office 2016 review http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225357456/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5aef3e/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225357456/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5aef3e/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225357456/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5aef3e/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225357456/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5aef3e/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225357456/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5aef3e/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a5aef3e/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/bEr1GMfHsX0

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/Office-Likes-Mentions-470-75.jpgMicrosoft wants to foster even more social interaction within the workplace by adding 'Likes' and '@Mentions' to its Outlook email service. As part of its continued push towards more collaboration in the office, Microsoft has added the new features to workplace email in Outlook to make it easier to highlight the best ideas in the world and point them out to colleagues. Liking a message is as easy as clicking the thumbs-up icon in the reading pane at which point it will turn from grey to blue. The new system also flags up that you've liked the message within the email thread and in the email list view. Anyone involved in the thread can like messages and when they do so it is included within the email thread itself plus you get a notification when someone likes your message. What else?On the other hand, Mentions gives you the chance to highlight information to certain people by using the tried and trusted method that has been Twitter's benchmark since its inception. To use it inside Outlook messages you add the '@' symbol and it will bring up a list of people that can be highlighted in the message. If they aren't already a part of the thread their name will be added to the 'To:' line once they have been mentioned. Those that have been mentioned in the thread can then sort their '@' messages to respond to them in the order that they were flagged up. When is it available?Microsoft will begin to roll out the 'Like' feature immediately to Office 365 First Release customers with an Office 365 plan that includes Exchange Online. It will then arrive to eligible Office 365 commercial customers in late October. Customers will have to wait for a little while longer for Mentions, which will roll out to First Release users in mid-October before arriving with Office 365 commercial customers in mid-November. Office 2016 review http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225263845/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5326cf/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225263845/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5326cf/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225263845/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5326cf/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225263845/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5326cf/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225263845/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a5326cf/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a5326cf/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/V1pepEFfWrM

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/audio_systems/Tidal/Tidal-470-75.jpgDespite all its (99?) problems, and the addition of competitors like Apple Music, Jay-Z's music streaming service Tidal has continued to grow in recent months. And now we know just how much – while Jay-Z was keen to tell the world that the service was doing fine with 770,000 subscriptions back in April, the entrepreneurial rapper tweeted that Tidal had now gone "platinum" with over one million subscribers. "Nothing real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists" Tidal is platinum. 1,000,000 people and counting. Let's celebrate 10/20 Brooklyn" the award-winning artist tweeted. Brooklyn Nine One OneAs hinted in his tweet, Jay-Z and the Tidal brand are planning on celebrating the milestone achievement by hosting a charity concert in Brooklyn on October 20. Starring alongside the rapper will be wife Beyoncé, Prince and Usher, with proceeds from the concert going to non-profit group New World Foundation. For those not able to make the show, it will also be livestreamed on Tidal's website for both those one million subscribers, as well as everyone else. Tidal vs Apple Music vs Spotify – who wins? http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225235439/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4eb577/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225235439/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4eb577/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225235439/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4eb577/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225235439/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4eb577/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225235439/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4eb577/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a4eb577/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/Bey2EtKMs1M

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/audio_systems/Tidal/Tidal-470-75.jpgDespite all its (99?) problems, and the addition of competitors like Apple Music, Jay-Z's music streaming service Tidal has continued to grow in recent months. And now we know just how much – while Jay-Z was keen to tell the world that the service was doing fine with 770,000 subscriptions back in April, the entrepreneurial rapper tweeted that Tidal had now gone "platinum" with over one million subscribers. "Nothing real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists" Tidal is platinum. 1,000,000 people and counting. Let's celebrate 10/20 Brooklyn" the award-winning artist tweeted. Brooklyn Nine One OneAs hinted in his tweet, Jay-Z and the Tidal brand are planning on celebrating the milestone achievement by hosting a charity concert in Brooklyn on October 20. Starring alongside the rapper will be wife Beyoncé, Prince and Usher, with proceeds from the concert going to non-profit group New World Foundation. For those not able to make the show, it will also be livestreamed on Tidal's website for both those one million subscribers, as well as everyone else. Tidal vs Apple Music vs Spotify – who wins?

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/world%20of%20tech/sydney%20microsoft%20store-470-75.jpgThough Microsoft has opened 111 retail stores across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico since 2009, the technology giant is now gearing up to unveil its first international flagship store in Sydney, Australia. Now, Microsoft has announced its grand opening date – the flagship store, which can be found at Westfield Sydney on Pitt Street Mall (just one street away from Sydney’s flagship Apple Store), will have its grand opening at noon on Thursday, November 12. Spanning two floors, the Sydney store, along with Microsoft’s upcoming New York flagship, is one of Microsoft’s biggest to date, and has reportedly been in the architectural planning stages for over 6 years. How much is that Windows in the window?Sydney’s Microsoft store will come shortly after the grand opening of Redmond company’s New York flagship store, which is situated on Fifth Ave and 53rd Street, and will open its doors on Monday, October 26. The stores will offer all of Microsoft’s products, including Microsoft Surface tablets, Windows Phones, Xbox One consoles, Microsoft software, accessories and more. Each store will also have its own Answer Desk, which is Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s Genius Bar, allowing customers to come in seek technical advice, troubleshooting help or device repairs. Why Microsoft decided to open a retail store in Sydney in 2015 http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225235438/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4eb57b/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225235438/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4eb57b/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225235438/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4eb57b/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225235438/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4eb57b/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225235438/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4eb57b/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a4eb57b/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/_nhMFN3M1rw

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/people/IBM%20and%20Apple%20CEO-470-75.jpgApple CEO Tim Cook has once again been talking up the company's enterprise aspirations calling it a "real business" First reported by USA Today, Cook was talking to Box CEO Aaron Levie about its enterprise partnerships and made a big play of the fact that Apple saw enterprise sales of $25 billion (around £16.5 billion, or AU$35.6 billion) in the last 12 months and that it is "not a hobby" for those at Apple HQ. During the 30 minute interview, Cook continually mentioned the fact the enterprise could provide a big boost to its bottom line. He also boasted that the security of Apple products, a unified OS and ecosystem, and constant advances in mobility are the reasons why its products are popular with enterprises and consumers alike. PartnershipsWhat's more important than even that to Cook? Partnerships with established players in the enterprise space of course. "If you think back in time, Apple and IBM were foes. Apple and Microsoft were foes," Cook said. "But if you look at it, Microsoft and Apple can work on more things together. It is great for our customers. That is why we do it. I don't believe in grudges." In that sense, Apple last year gave up on its long standing rivalry with IBM to announce a new partnership centred on enterprise apps that fuses IBM's strength in data and analytics with Apple's wildly popular iPads and iPhones. There are now scores of different enterprise ready MobileFirst apps designed by the two that cover everything from time and travel to loan servicing and safety. IBM will eventually build over 100 apps as part of that deal. That was before Apple also announced a wide ranging partnership with Cisco that makes Apple devices even more useful to those in the enterprise. All of this will do Apple's enterprise efforts no harm and make sure that Cook keeps those looking at the bottom line very happy indeed. New Apple and IBM enterprise iOS apps help streamline business operations http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225215787/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4cf5de/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225215787/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4cf5de/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225215787/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4cf5de/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225215787/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4cf5de/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225215787/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4cf5de/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a4cf5de/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/Bmf5aKElL3Y

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/Software/Microsoft/Office%202016%20Windows%20Touch%20and%20Mac/Excel%20lets%20you%20edit%20charts%20can't%20run%20macros-470-75.jpgMicrosoft has seen a number of milestones this past year and another falls today as its revolutionary Excel program celebrates its 30th birthday. Ever since September 30 1985, the spreadsheet program has been at the centre of the enterprise especially in the finance field and it has meant a series of hits and misses that have been detailed in an eBook published by Operis. Calling it "the world's most useful and dangerous program", the book details a range of errors made by huge firms like JPMorgan and Fannie Mae that have resulted in multi-million dollar losses whilst on the other side of the coin pointing out the ways it has changed world finance. That aforementioned JPMorgan case dates back to 2012 when a trader known as the London Whale lost the company $6.2 billion (around £4 billion, or AU$8.8 billion) and the illicit trader used Excel to copy and paste between spreadsheets to try and cover it up. Another notorious case, this time in the UK, involved the West Coast Main Line when the bid was scrapped due in no small part to 'technical flaws' in Excel spreadsheet models that ended up costing the tax payer some £55 million (around $83 million, or AU$118 million). Other errors include a forgotten negative sign causing Fidelity Magellan to miscalculate a $1.3 billion (around £850 million, or AU$1.84 billion) loss as a gain and Fannie Mae's upgrade to new accounting standards resulting in $1.3 billion (around £850 million, or AU$1.84 billion) being added by mistake as a profit. As becomes abundantly clear, almost all the errors made are the result of human intervention and the advantages of Excel far outweigh the disadvantages. Its release ushered in the widespread adoption of a program that is cheap, accessible and a standardised suite for the global finance industry. Over its lifespan it has revolutionised project finance and allowed hugely complicated deals to be presented in a way that anyone can understand. Then and nowThat isn't all as it has also allowed equity analysts to cope with the ever increasing scale of listed companies and valuations in the highest level of detail possible and Operis thinks that the program deserves far more "respect and diligence" than it currently garners among financiers. Fast forward to the present day and Excel is an integral part of Microsoft Windows 10 and continues to evolve as a true cross platform offering that huge swathes of the finance sector cannot afford to be without. Check out: Office 2016 review http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225208550/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4b1071/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225208550/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4b1071/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225208550/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4b1071/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225208550/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4b1071/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225208550/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4b1071/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a4b1071/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/q1JOzqjj00U

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/AAevents/Apple%20WWDC%202015/PR%20images/OS%20X%20El%20Capitan-470-75.jpg Introductionhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/OSX%201011/wwdc-2015-grabs/pinned-tabs-420-90.JPG The latest version of Apple's desktop operating system, dubbed OS X El Capitan, has finally arrived for the public at-large. And even though this update is mostly focused on performance improvements and working out some of the kinks of last year's Yosemite, that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of new features to unpack. From the new split-view and tweaks to the Notes app to more under-the-hood additions like Apple's Metal graphics API, the latest version of OS X packs plenty of interesting tweaks that could help improve your workflow. Split Viewhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/OSX%201011/wwdc-2015-grabs/split-screen-420-90.JPG While this one may have been copped straight from Microsoft's playbook, there's good reason for it. Even for the most dedicated Mac faithful, juggling multiple windows has always been a bit of a pain. With Split View, Apple has made that process just a little bit easier. To get started with Split View, you simply click and hold on the green full-screen button in a window's upper-left corner. One half of your screen will then turn blue, and you can drop the windows there. After the first windows is set, other open Split View compatible apps will appear on the opposite side, and you simply click one to set it in place. And if you already have a window open in full screen, you can open Mission Control and drag another window on top to get to Split Screen view as well. The process may take a fair bit of fiddling around, and it's a bit clunkier than Microsoft's implementation, but it's good to see Apple making more of an effort to improve multitasking in OS X. Smarter Spotlighthttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/OSX%201011/wwdc-2015-grabs/spotlight-420-90.JPG Apple's latest iOS release isn't the only kid on the block with a smarter Spotlight Search. OS X El Capitan has brought the same improvements over to the Mac with natural speech recognition, weather, sports and stock information, and more. The most useful addition is likely the natural speech recognition. You can now open Spotlight search and type in complex phrases like "emails from Juan in May" or "documents I edited last week" and Spotlight will pull up anything that matches. While it may not seem like a huge deal, it could be a boon for the disorganized among us by saving a bit of time spent looking for that latest presentation or spreadsheet that seems to be lost in the ether. Additionally, Spotlight Search can now pull in more information from around the web, giving you quick access to weather info and stock information. If you're deciding whether to walk to lunch or hitch a ride, or keeping a sharp eye on a particular stock, Spotlight can help keep you informed better than before. Gestures in Mail and morehttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/AAevents/Apple%20WWDC%202015/PR%20images/Gestures-420-90.jpg Mail isn't the most loved app in Apple's ecosystem, whether it be on OS X or iOS. However, Apple has made some handy improvements to the default email application in OS X El Capitan , bringing gestures over from iOS and bringing it further up to par with third-party offerings. If you're looking to quickly burn through your inbox in the new Mail, you can now use two-fingered gestures on the trackpad to whisk your way through emails. Just swipe right to mark a mail as read or left to trash it, and you're done. In addition, Mail now includes tabs in the compose window while you're in full-screen, allowing you to tend to multiple emails at once, along with quick links to your calendar when you send or receive an email with an appointment date inside. Tidier Mission Controlhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/OSX%201011/wwdc-2015-grabs/mission-control-420-90.JPG If you're a frequent user of Mission Control to manage your tasks and windows, you'll notice the feature has been tidied up a bit in OS X El Capitan. Swipe up on your trackpad with three fingers, and you'll now see that multiple windows of the same app are no longer layered. Further, app icons over windows are now gone, with descriptive labels showing up only when you hover over the windows. As for the banner running across the top of the screen, each desktop initially appears as a simple label, with a thumbnail only appearing once you've hovered over it. Overall, Mission Control's changes are on the minor side, but they have to make the feature look a little less cluttered and slightly more mature. Safari tweakshttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/MacLifeWebContent/HowToSafariNotifications/SafariMac-420-90.jpg Like some of the other updates in El Capitan, the tweaks to Safari aren't sweeping by any means, but they're convenient quality-of-life improvements nonetheless. The main addition to Safari in El Capitan is the ability to pin sites. If you have a number of websites that you find yourself going back to throughout the work day, you can now control-click a tab to pin it. That page will now show up as a mini-tab with the website's icon in the upper-left of the windows each time you open Safari. Additionally, Apple has taken a cue from Chrome and finally added in a quick-mute for tabs. If you're doing a bit of research or wasting time on a website when a pesky video ad loads, you'll now see a speaker icon on whatever tab it's coming from. Simply click the speaker and it will mute the sound. Rocking out with Metalhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/AAevents/Apple%20WWDC%202015/Screens/wwdc-metal-420-90.jpg Apple has opted to bring support for its Metal graphics API, which first debuted on iOS, over to OS X El Capitan. This one is a bit of an under-the-hood improvement, but you should be able to notice its effects throughout your Mac. The most obvious application of the Metal API is with gaming, but Apple has noted its ability to increase overall system performance as well. For example, if you do a lot of work with Adobe software, Apple says that Metal has increased graphics performance and efficiency by 50 percent and 40 percent, respectively. Simply put, you'll notice that El Capitan is a bit snappier with graphically intense programs like After Effects. Handier Noteshttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/How%20tos/Note%20Taking/Cover%20Image-420-90.jpg Perhaps one of the most useful updates in El Capitan is the revamped Notes app. Long-gone is the barebones Notes app of yesteryear, with new features gracing the app that make it a worthy contender for your brainstorming sessions. The most visually apparent change in the new Notes app is that it is now larger. Specifically, it's now made up of three panes, rather than the previous two. The reason for the added heft is to accommodate a folder pane, allowing you to see and switch between notes on your Mac and those synced from iCloud, along with the option to create folders to further separate your notes. While you could add images to your Notes in previous versions, the new Notes now allows you to insert more types of media, including PDFs, videos, and location snapshots from Maps. And now the Notes app is included in the Share Sheet for several of Apple's other apps, meaning you can quickly send snippets of locations from Maps to Notes and more. Lastly, the most minor change, yet one of the most satisfying, is the ability to make checklists in Notes. Previously, you could make bulleted and numbered lists, but bow you can outfit a list with checkboxes to show what you've completed and what you haven't. Other odds and endshttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/OSX%201011/wwdc-2015-grabs/game-development-420-90.JPG Finally, El Capitan adds a couple of bits that, while minor, add a bit of polish and convenience to the OS. If you find yourself struggling to find your cursor when waking your Mac up, for example, there's a new gesture on the trackpad that makes the cursor temporarily grow and "pop out" by quickly shaking the mouse around. In addition to the speed improvements that Metal brings to the table, overall performance has increased a bit, with Apple stating that apps will open 1.4 times faster, app switching is twice as fast and PDF previews will now open four times faster. http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225208549/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4b1082/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225208549/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4b1082/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/241225208549/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4b1082/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/241225208549/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4b1082/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/241225208549/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a4b1082/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a4b1082/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/zLJWpcam2W0

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/AAevents/Apple%20WWDC%202015/PR%20images/OS%20X%20El%20Capitan-470-75.jpgIf you've been waiting patiently to get Apple's new Mac operating system – OS X 10.11 El Capitan – you only have to sit tight a little longer. Named after a granite rock formation in Yosemite Valley, it's expected to emerge at around 18:00 GMT time this evening. If you want to get hold of the OS once it's released, all you have to do is follow these simple instructions: First of all, make sure that your Mac can run El Capitan. Compatibility is exactly the same as it was with the previous version, OS X10.10 Yosemite, so if your machine runs that, you'll have nothing to worry about. The exact list of compatible Macs according to Apple is as follows: iMac (Mid-2007 or later)MacBook (13-inch Aluminium, Late 2008), (13-inch, Early 2009 or later)MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or later)MacBook Pro (15-inch or 17-inch, Mid/Late 2007 or later)MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later)Mac mini (Early 2009 or later)Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later)Bear in mind that there's also a requirement on the software front, namely that you must be running Snow Leopard or better to be able to upgrade. If you have a previous incarnation of OS X to Snow Leopard, you won't have the Mac App Store which is required to download El Capitan. If you do have the store, open it, and then select the Updates tab. This is where you'll find the El Capitan download, which is a completely free upgrade – it really is as easy as that. The upgrade process should run smoothly, but just in case it doesn't, make double sure that you backup your Mac before installing El Capitan. Big improvementsSo what can you expect from Apple's new desktop OS? We've outlined the main changes in our In Pictures: OS X 10.11 El Capitan article, and they include improvements to Spotlight, a slicker Mission Control, and pinned tabs for Safari, along with a split screen view that allows for the use of two apps simultaneously, side-by-side. For those interested in comparisons with Microsoft's latest OS, check out our El Capitan versus Windows 10 square-off. Aside from the new features, OS X 10.11 will be much faster, with graphics rendering speeds expected to be increased by up to 50%, and up to 40% higher rendering efficiency will be delivered. Also, apps will launch some 1.4 times faster according to Apple, and both app switching and email opening will be twice as fast compared to Mavericks. In other words, both desktop performance and games should see a major and very welcome boost. OS X 10.11 El Capitan: news, release date, and features http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/238386570344/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a48029a/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/238386570344/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a48029a/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/238386570344/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a48029a/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/238386570344/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a48029a/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/238386570344/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a48029a/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a48029a/sc/28/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/ICFJCWOgukM

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/your_mobile_life/foodieapps/yourmobilelifefoodies-470-75.jpgAustralians love themselves some cooking shows. From Masterchef to My Kitchen Rules to Huey's cooking adventures, the art of turning raw ingredients into delectable dishes has a tendency to get Aussie mouths watering. So it's not really all that surprising that Australia's Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) has announced its plans to launch a 24 hour a day digital TV channel dedicated entirely to food. In order to meet its cultural diversity charter, the channel will combine original SBS programming with some of the best cooking shows from around the world in order to celebrate diversity through food. Now they're cooking with gasSBS head honcho Michael Ebeid claimed in the announcement that the new food channel – which as yet down't have an official name – won't be a portal for reality TV shows like Master Chef though. Destination Flavour, Rachel Khoo's Cooking Notebook, and the Luke Nguyen series will all feature prominently on the channel, but SBS is keen to emphasise the content will be very different to the commercial networks. It's also not clear yet whether the content will make its way to SBS On Demand. The SBS food channel is expected to begin broadcasting in November. It also won't require any changes to the current SBS channels, either in funding or programming.

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/av_accessories/Chromecast/New%20Chromecast/new_chromecast-470-75.jpgGoogle has just announced the new Chromecast, with a funky hockey puck aesthetic and some improved internals and a hifi-specific Chromecast Audio to make your dumb stereo super-smart. It was inevitable that as soon as the Cupertino massive got its new Apple TV out into the wild, and Amazon had pulled the trigger on its Fire TV goodies, Google would get around to announcing a new Chromecast for 2015. Like its predecessor the new Chromecast is all about taking content from your existing devices and making your dumb TV a whole lot smarter in the process. To make that setup smoother, the new Chromecast is sporting redesigned WiFi hardware, now supporting 5GHz connections. That should deliver far better wireless performance, so long as there's not too many walls between the router and the Chromecast itself. But that extra WiFi performance will allow higher bitrate streams to be thrown at your TV without getting too bogged down in the buffering. We're still talking 1080p here - the devices you're going to be casting from are unlikely to be capable of outputting any higher anyways - but running on the 5GHz band should mean there's less lagging. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/av_accessories/Chromecast/New%20Chromecast/new_chromecast_black-420-90.jpg To take advantage of the new higher-level streams Google is promising new service partnerships, with the likes of hi-res audio (HRA) kings, 7digital, getting involved early doors, supporting the new Chromecast Audio device. 7digital is a high resolution music streaming or download provider, with a huge catalogue of FLAC files. As part of its latest Android app update it's adding Cast support, the first to be able to deliver FLAC playback via the Chromecast and Chromecast Audio. Hockey puckThe new Chromecast disc design comes in the traditional black as well as lemonade and coral - exclusively available on the Google Store. But it's not just about looking different for the sake of it - the new design has been created to allow it to fit a wider range of TVs than the original, slightly restrictive device. By having that flexible HDMI cable forming the connection, rather than being an all-in, solid unit, it's not going to have the fitting issues that some TVs suffered with it. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/av_accessories/Chromecast/New%20Chromecast/new_chromecast_yellow-420-90.jpg The fundamentals of the new Chromecast though are essentially the same, which can only be a good thing as the simple streaming device has been a huge hit with not just the gadget-gurus but the less tech-savvy too. Chromecast AudioBringing that same simplistic streaming approach to the music world is a smart move too, enabling the audiophiles to bring their beloved off-grid speaker systems online with a simple dongle that just attaches to any aux/line input, RCA or optical input. The Chromecast Audio looks almost identical to the new Chromecast, though you're stuck with black as your only choice of livery. Simply cast your favourite audio apps to the Chromecast Audio and your stereo will do the rest. You can either go from the 'Cast' button in whichever app you're using or simply by mirroring your Android device. According to Google the Cast button has been hit 1.5 billion times since its launch two years ago. And if it can bring in even more audio and video services with high-resolution streams that's only going to increase. Both the new Chromecast and the Chromecast Audio will be available for just $35 (£30) when they go on sale today. Everything you need to know about the new Chromecast.

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/hi-fi_and_av_speakers/Sonos%20play5/SonosPlay5_library-470-75.jpg How do you make sure your latest speaker can withstand any type of music you throw at it? You test it and you test it hard. For Sonos, this was a case of analysing some of the hottest tracks in the world and use them to stress test their new speaker, the updated Sonos Play:5. Not hot as in popularity, but using songs that actually heat up a speaker because of their ferocity. The greatest challenge for the Sonos Play:5 was when alt rockers Rage Against The Machine were played on the machine. The band's riff-heavy, bass-laden sound was exactly what was needed to make sure the Play:5 could handle whatever consumers played through it. Sonos used Rage Against The Machine to make sure they didn't break the machine. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/hi-fi_and_av_speakers/Sonos%20play5/Sonos-sign-420-90.jpg "We analysed the digital tracks of all of the music out there and found the ones that consume the most power, because loud speakers don't have flat power responses, circular responses generate more power, and it turns out Maggie's Farm by Rage Against The Machine is the track that is the worst out there for consuming power," explains Jon Reilly, senior product manager at Sonos. "Maybe a listener will want to play Maggie's Farm on loop. They may also do that at 40 degrees Celsius, which is the highest operating temperature of the Play:5. So we test the speaker with Maggie's Farm at full volume at the highest temperature and we have to design a mechanism inside the Play:5 to ensure that none of the components exceed their specified temperature ranges. "These are things that could degrade the lifespan of the product so by stacking all of those worst case scenarios together we ensure robustness and reliability." http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/hi-fi_and_av_speakers/Sonos%20play5/Sonos-play5_branding3-420-90.jpg For John and his team, this is just one facet to testing a new piece of kit at Sonos, a cog in a process that takes three years - something he is reminded of every day when he is in his office. "It's a little depressing," says Reilly. "I have the original model [of the Play:5] that they did in the design stage, before we had an acoustic solution figured out. I have that in my office and I'm like, 'why did this take three years?' It's because it's actually really freaking hard to make that initial vision a reality." http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/hi-fi_and_av_speakers/Sonos%20play5/sonosPLAY5_Exploded_View-420-90.jpg This is especially true for the Sonos Play:5. It's a speaker that replaces the company's current flagship of the same name. After five years, the range has been given a complete refresh. "We wanted to start from scratch with the Play:5 and it was the best thing we could possibly do," says Reilly. "Nothing was reused. We took the best driver we had in house then figured out how to make it better, designing it again afresh. We took the Play:1 speaker, updated it and put three into this system." The result is the most-powerful speaker Sonos has ever produced, created with a sealed acoustic architecture, which offers better sounding bass than the original Play:5's vented casing. Inside are three 10cm woofers, 22mm tweeters on each side and a 23mm tweeter in the middle, all of which have been painstakingly built over the last three years to withstand Maggie's Farm. Fixing a holeTad Toulis, Sonos VP of Design, knows all-to well the time it takes to create something new at Sonos - he is part of a design team that makea sure that the look and feel of a device isn't compromised, even if it means things take a little longer. One of the most-interesting aspects of the Play:5 may well be over-looked by some - the logo tag in the middle of the device. It's not just a signifier for the brand but an important anchor point for the user. The Play:5 has ditched physical buttons in favour of touchscreen controls on the top of the device. The logo is at the centre of this control, so users can swipe volume up and down without thinking about where on the speaker the touch controls are, something that had to be fought for in the design process. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/hi-fi_and_av_speakers/Sonos%20play5/Sonos-play5_logo2-420-90.jpg "One of the things that's fascinating at Sonos is when design and sound are in a great stalemate. It's a bit like how a diamond is formed under extreme pressure," says Toulis. "We feel that the creative process works really well when you live in that tension for a long time." This creative process was tested with the introduction of a tag which needed to have complete acoustic transparency. If the tag influenced the sound from the speaker in any way, then the engineers would not have allowed it to take centre stage on the device. "When two parties are asking you to move your bit, because of the importance of it, you realise you are standing on the precipice of a good problem," says Toulis. "The initial response was that you can't put anything in front of a driver but luckily we hit a breakthrough when we pointed out that the grill goes in front of the driver, so why not the logo tag?" http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/hi-fi_and_av_speakers/Sonos%20play5/Sonos-play5_parts3-420-90.jpg To make it work, the design and engineering teams came up with a solution that was acoustically sound. This small tag was perforated with 800 holes, all lasered, to make sure there was no audible difference. This is on top of the 60,000 holes that the grill has to make sure the acoustics are as clear as they can be. "To me that's a perfect example of making things work," says Reilly. "There looked to be no outcome that was acceptable but we threw out our preconceptions and found a solution that met the criteria." True detectivesThe launch of the Play:5 comes at an important time for Sonos as it coincides with the launch of something that may well end up overshadowing its flagship speaker - Trueplay. This is the name of the company's brand-new tuning software, which it hopes will drastically improve the sound coming from Sonos' speakers as it 'tunes' in accordance to wherever your speaker is in the room. "A lot of people don't realise that where you put your speaker makes a big difference. But the key thing is that people shouldn't have to realise that," says Giles Martin, Grammy award-winning producer and Sonos Sound Leader. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/hi-fi_and_av_speakers/Sonos%20play5/sonos-wallglow-420-90.jpg "I am from a studio background, based in Abbey Road Studios and we position our speakers precisely," he explains. "I know some engineers who measure where their head is according to their speaker setup. "In the consumer space, you shouldn't expect that to happen. You should be able to put your speakers wherever you want and then listen to them. They should have great music without thinking and this is what Truesound does." http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/hi-fi_and_av_speakers/Sonos%20play5/SONOS_Trueplay_2-420-90.jpg Martin hopes Truesound - which takes around 45 seconds of walking around a room while strange sounds are emitted - will enable those in homes that aren't equipped for big speaker setups to be able to listen to better-sounding music. "The appealing thing for me is to give people a good soundbed, a good sound experience that they don't have to think about. That's the fun stuff, rather than having to explain it to people. Great music should be heard in the home without you thinking about it - we do all the nerdy stuff for you." http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/hi-fi_and_av_speakers/Sonos%20play5/sonos-building-420-90.jpg Great sound in every room has been Sonos' mantra for some time now - a belief that stretches back to the company's creation in 2002. Speaking to techradar at the Sonos' Santa Barbara's offices, CEO and co-founder John MacFarlane explains that 2015 is perhaps the biggest year yet for Sonos for two reasons: the software Sonos is set to release, Truesound, is now as important as its hardware and that Apple's launch of Apple Music has fundamentally changed the perception of streaming for the mainstream. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/hi-fi_and_av_speakers/Sonos%20play5/Sonos-mainoffice-420-90.jpg "The software is now the dog, not the tail, in Sonos," says MacFarlane. "The psychology of the company is very funny to watch. You would see people out in the field not caring about a launch unless it was a new piece of hardware. Then suddenly with Apple Music and Trueplay this has swapped. After years of telling people that the software makes the product better, they finally see it. "We also saw it with the iPhone controller app. The amount of people buying into Sonos increased because of that. The psychology just shifted - how you predict that zeitgeist change is not very easy but it is fun watching it." Democratising musicCo-founder Tom Cullen agrees. Currently Vice President, Product Marketing in the company, he spends his days explaining to the world how Sonos is changing the listening experience. When we ask him about whether he feels Truesound would democratise high-quality audio, he just smiles. "Yes! I fundamentally believe we are democratising great sound," he says. "Rick Rubin [record producer and ambassador for Sonos] has got these $40,000 speakers - I have heard them and they are beautiful - but what Rick sees us doing is trying to deliver some piece of that greatness to everyone." http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/hi-fi_and_av_speakers/Sonos%20play5/Sonos-Tomcullen-420-90.jpg Cullen is such an advocate for what Sonos is doing with Trueplay, he can see it changing how the company makes speakers in the future. "The future of speaker design is going to be different because of Trueplay," Cullen explains. "We don't completely know how but we have really good minds thinking about. Cullen believes that while the current iteration of Truesound is great, we won't fully realise its potential for three years. "That's how long it takes us to make stuff and we are only just coming to terms with the true implications of Trueplay," he explains. "It means products that come out in the next two years will take advantage of Trueplay, they just won't be designed with it in mind." http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/hi-fi_and_av_speakers/Sonos%20play5/SonosPlay5_truesound-420-90.jpg Given both MacFarlane and Cullen started together in software (founding Software.com), it's clear to see why they are both so excited with Trueplay and the small fact that Apple Music is finally here, the importance of which MacFarlane cannot state enough. "It feels like a one-time moment in music, the same as when you first heard about the internet. With Apple coming into streaming, more changes have happened in the last 13 weeks than 13 years," says MacFarlane. "As you see the number and consumption of users increase, there will be an awareness with streaming music. It's a fantastic time for music that's only going to get better and better. It's once in a lifetime and we have a wonderful role to play, filling people's homes with music."

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/broadcast/nrl-trophy-470-75.jpgDespite the free to air networks launching high definition digital channels five years ago in the form of 7mate and GEM, neither network has truly taken advantage of the extra resolution by offering sport in HD. But finally that's changing, with the networks confirming that this year, both the AFL and the NRL grand final will be broadcast in high definition on these channels. Seven will be broadcasting the AFL grand final on Saturday October 3 on both its main channel and 7Mate, with the latter being shown in high definition. Similarly, NRL fans will get to enjoy the NRL Grand Final on both Nine and GEM on Sunday October 4, with the GEM broadcast being high definition. While it's kind of sad that this is news in 2015, in a world where Netflix is streaming 4K TV shows no less, any progress is still welcome news for fans of free to air sports broadcasts.

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/How%20tos/Windows%2010/Privacy%20Settings/Windows%2010%20Spectre%20x360-470-75.jpgEver since launching Windows 10, Microsoft has been dealing with allegations that the new OS allows Microsoft to monitor everything you do, including every key stroke and stylus input, and even your location data, just to name a few of the privacy concerns. But finally today, Microsoft has addressed these concerns in a blog post - at least, to some degree. In the post, Microsoft executive VP Terry Myerson first explained that though the company does collect information, users are "in control with the ability to determine what information is collected." And if you're worried about the information that it does collect, Myerson explained that the data collected "is encrypted in transit to our servers, and then stored in secure facilities." The types of dataWhile device IDs, device types and crash logs are collected, Myerson explained that content and files from devices are not included with this type of data collection, adding that none of the data collected can be used to identify any user. In terms of personalization data, which includes things like learning which is your favorite sporting team or common words that you use for text completion suggestions, Myerson says you are able to tell Windows 10 what types of data you are willing to share with Microsoft. "Note that with new features like Cortana which require more personal information to deliver the full experience, you are asked if you want to turn them on and are given additional privacy customization options," Myerson wrote in the blog post. Finally, Myerson also clarified that Windows 10 does not scan your files and emails so that it can target ads, adding a little jab at other companies. "Unlike some other platforms, no matter what privacy options you choose, neither Windows 10 nor any other Microsoft software scans the content of your email or other communications, or your files, in order to deliver targeted advertising to you." The blog post doesn't answer all our questions about user privacy on Windows 10, but it is a good sign that it is at least addressing the issues, like the creepy Family Settings option. If you do have more concerns, Myerson is inviting you to get in touch - you can make suggestions through the Windows Feedback app or head over to the company's support page if you are having problems with one of your privacy settings. The Windows 10 privacy settings you need to change right now http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/238386486360/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a3d0757/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/238386486360/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a3d0757/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/238386486360/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a3d0757/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/238386486360/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a3d0757/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/238386486360/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4a3d0757/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4a3d0757/sc/15/mf.gifhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/yCfEbTylFw4