sincity

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/OSX/how%20to%20take%20a%20screenshot%20on%20a%20Mac/hero-apple-print-screen-470-75.JPGIntroductionhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/how%20to%20take%20a%20screenshot%20on%20a%20Mac/hero-apple-print-screen-420-90.JPG Pointing a camera at a computer screen is never a good idea (hey there, reflections!), which is why the humble screenshot has proved a vital tool over the years. Whether you need to grab something off a webpage to share with a friend, create instructions, a comic or log a receipt of a purchase, a screenshot is a fast and easy way to get the job done. It's not always obvious how to take a screenshot, though; while there are a number of keyboard combinations at your disposal, it's not always clear what they do, or how to execute them to get the screenshot you want. And then there's the question of what to do with a screenshot - you may want to share it, edit it or send it up to the cloud. But don't fret, Mac users: read on for our complete guide on how to take a screenshot, followed up by 10 handy tips of what to do with them afterwards. Check out these 50 best mac tips, tricks and timesaversPage 1. How to take a screenshot on a Machttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/how%20to%20take%20a%20screenshot%20on%20a%20Mac/hero-apple-print-screen-420-90.JPG OS X is loved by designers and multimedia workers alike for its simple and flexible way of taking screenshots. You can choose to take snaps of the whole screen or just parts of it, in addition to open apps, windows and menus with just a few key combinations. Save the entire screen on the desktop To take a picture of the whole screen, press Command (⌘)-Shift-3, which will place a screenshot file on your desktop saved as a .png file. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/how%20to%20take%20a%20screenshot%20on%20a%20Mac/3-command-shift-3-420-90.JPG If you're only interested in taking a screenshot of part of the screen, hold down Command (⌘)-Shift-4 to turn the cursor into a crosshair pointer. Move it to where you want to start the screenshot and left-click, before dragging the rectangle over the desired area while holding the mouse button. Let go to turn the selected area into a .png file on the desktop. Take a screenshot of a window To precisely take a screenshot of a window and its contents, press Command (⌘)-Shift-4 to turn the cursor into a camera pointer before pressing the Space bar. Move the camera pointer over the window to highlight it a dark share and left-click to save the screenshot as a .png file on the desktop. yo can hit escape before you click to cancel the screenshot. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/how%20to%20take%20a%20screenshot%20on%20a%20Mac/1-apple-print-screen-420-90.JPG It's also possible to take a screenshot of a menu without the title using another handy combination. Hold down Command (⌘)-Shift-4, press the Space bar and left-click on the menu to send it to your desktop in the form of a .png file. Change the default format and save location of screenshots OS X saves screenshots as .png files by default, which can be changed to .jpg by inputting the following command into Terminal: defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg It doesn't have to be .jpg either - you can switch the file format to a number of supported extensions such as PDF, tiff, or bitmap, among others, by entering it at the end of the line. When you're done, enter this command to load the new setting: killall SystemUIServer 2. Crop, resize, tweak screenshots using Preview http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/how%20to%20take%20a%20screenshot%20on%20a%20Mac/7-crop-and-resize-420-90.jpg Preview is one of the most under-appreciated apps on Mac; especially in later versions of OS X, it became hugely powerful, and is great for editing screenshots. For example, you can crop an image. Draw a selection with the regular Rectangular Selection tool then either hit Command+K or choose Crop from the Tools menu. Alternatively, show the Edit Toolbar and make a more complex selection either with the Instant Alpha tool (like in iWork) or use the Smart Lasso. With this tool, you draw as carefully as you can around the outline of the object and then Preview works out as closely as it can where the edges are. In either case, cropping will, if the screenshot isn't already a PNG, convert it so that you can have the thing you're cutting out on a transparent background. (You might need the Invert Selection command, too!) You can also resize screenshots, and even do some tweaks to the colours with the Adjust Color pop-up. Select Adjust Color… from the Tools menu, and you get some handy sliders and a histogram to help you tweak things. Plus, hit the backtick symbol (to the left of Z on a UK Mac keyboard, and to the left of 1 on a US Mac keyboard) to bring up a loupe so you can see what's happening at 100% as you make changes. 3. Annotate screenshots using Previewhttp://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/magazines/MacFormat/Issue%20264/MAC264.mainfeat.AnnotatePDFs-420-100.jpg As well as letting you crop, resize and tweak screenshots, Preview has some nifty built-in annotation features that come in useful for placing instructional (or other) text over them. Make sure the Edit Toolbar is visible (from the View menu) and you'll see options for drawing shapes, speech, thought bubbles and more. For creating instructions out of screenshots, the arrow tool will come in particularly useful. There's also the option to highlight text in different colours, strikethrough some text, add notes and type some text into boxes. Page 4. Share screenshots quicklyhttp://cdn0.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/software/Apple/50%20best%20mac%20tips/share-easily-with-friends-420-100.JPG If you're not too keen on editing your images in preview, you can save yourself a bunch of time by setting image files to open in another image-editing app (such as GIMP) by default. To do this, select the screenshot file and press Command+I to show its information. Where it says 'Open with:, use the drop-down menu to choose a new app. At this point, if you close the window, that change will only be applied to that one file; if you want other files of that type to use that same app, click 'Change All…' beneath the drop-down menu. Page 5. Open screenshots in another apphttp://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/magazines/MacFormat/Issue%20264/MAC264.mainfeat.Change_which_app-420-100.jpg If you're not too keen on editing your images in preview, you can save yourself a bunch of time by setting image files to open in another image-editing app (such as GIMP) by default. To do this, select the screenshot file and press Command+I to show its information. Where it says 'Open with:, use the drop-down menu to choose a new app. At this point, if you close the window, that change will only be applied to that one file; if you want other files of that type to use that same app, click 'Change All…' beneath the drop-down menu. Page 6. Add a signature to your screenshothttp://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/magazines/MacFormat/Issue%20264/MAC264.mainfeat.Sign_your_docs-420-100.jpg In OS X 10.7, Preview gained the ability to add your signature to documents, which can be handy if you're taken a screenshot of a form and need to write yours on a dotted line. To get started, go to the Signatures tab in Preview's preferences and then click the +. Now, sign your name in black ink on a small piece of white paper and hold it up to your Mac's webcam. Line it up and click Accept (making sure the 'Save this signature' option is checked if you want to use it in the future). Now open a document you want to sign, pop up the Edit Toolbar and click the signature icon - it looks like an S on a line next to a tiny x. Draw a box to add your signature on the form. You can scale and reposition it afterwards too. Page 7. Send screenshots to your iPhonehttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/how%20to%20take%20a%20screenshot%20on%20a%20Mac/6-send-to-iphone-420-90.JPG If you want to take your screenshots with you but you're in a hurry, the fastest way to send them to your mobile device is to use Bluetooth 4 (you'll need a fairly modern Mac) and a recent iOS device (iPhone 5 or later, for example). It's done by right-clicking on the screenshot file and selecting AirDrop from the Messages fly-out menu, before tapping on the device you want to send it to. A note: you'll need AirDrop turned on from the Control Centre of the iOS device first.) Page 8. Quickly take iPad/iPhone screenshotshttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/how%20to%20take%20a%20screenshot%20on%20a%20Mac/8-iphone-ipad-screen-420-90.JPG With Yosemite, you can now record whatever happens on the screen of your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, which gives you a sneaky way to take many screenshots quickly - quicker than pushing your device's Home and Power button at the same time, anyway. To use this feature, you just connect your iOS device up to your Mac using its cable, then launch QuickTime Player. The chose New Movie Recording from the File menu and then, if it's not already selected for you, choose your connected iOS device as the 'camera' source from the drop-down menu next to the record button. You'll now be able to see what's on your device's display, and use OS X's keyboard shortcuts to save screenshots to your desktop to then be shared using AirDrop (see Page 4) or store them in iCloud (check out the next slide). Page 9. Store screenshots in iCloudhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/how%20to%20take%20a%20screenshot%20on%20a%20Mac/9-icloud-drive-420-90.JPG It used to be the case that the only files you could store on iCloud were from specially-built apps such as Apple's iWork suite, but now we have iCloud Drive in Yosemite, we can chuck any files we like onto the iCloud Drive icon in the Finder sidebar. Those special, 'blessed' apps still get their own folders, but you can create your own or just put things loose into iCloud Drive - including screenshots. All those files will sync to other Macs signed in with your Apple ID (so long as you've enabled iCloud Drive on them) and will also be available through icloud.com. On iOS, apps that can use iCloud will usually default to opening files from their special folder, but should also allow you to browse through your entire iCloud Drive to open files stored elsewhere. 10. Batch rename screenshotshttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/OSX/how%20to%20take%20a%20screenshot%20on%20a%20Mac/10-batch-rename-screenshots-420-90.JPG In versions before Yosemite, renaming a group of files at once either meant third-party software or rolling your own rename script using something like Automator or AppleScript. Now, though, you can just select a group of screenshots and then select Rename either from the right-click contextual menu or from the drop-down button marked with a cog icon in Finder windows. When you do, you get the option of adding text, replacing text, or applying a format such as a name and an automatically incrementing counter. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46f7400d/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041396495/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f7400d/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041396495/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f7400d/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041396495/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f7400d/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041396495/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f7400d/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/231041396495/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f7400d/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/I2a_-rsR0zc

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/Miscellaneous/nano%20server%20exposure-470-75.jpgIntroduction and patch heavenThe most important thing in Windows Server 2016 might just be the smallest – Nano Server. Distinguished Engineer Jeffrey Snover, who has been driving a lot of the architectural changes in Windows Server, calls it "by far the most important, most significant change we've made to Windows Server since Windows NT 3.5." It's not a new version of Windows Server; it's a new way of using it (based on a lot of internal changes to the code). Snover calls it a "major refactoring" and says the correct way to refer to it is a "headless 64-bit only deployment option. It's not an SKU, it's a deployment option. Nano Server is a subset of Windows Server that is API compatible. It is not a new server, it is Windows Server; it is fully compatible with all the components included – there just aren't as many of them." Snover has a long string of statistics about Nano Server. "It is incredibly small – 20 times smaller than Sever Core. Size on disk goes down to 410MB from 8.3GB for a VHD; that's much smaller. When you want to have lots of instances or you want to move things across the network, that [footprint] goes right down. Setup time was 300 seconds, that goes down to 40 seconds." That's with the preview and he warns "we have not done a performance pass so some of the numbers might go down, but we're not done refactoring so some of the numbers might go up." Patch heavenBut Microsoft didn't slim down Nano Server just for the sake of it, and it didn't strip out the native GUI just to be fashionable. Snover admits that switching to the minimal Nano Server and remote management will take some effort, even if you're already using PowerShell and automation. "We require people to make changes to adopt this – why do we do that? The results speak for themselves. We analysed a full year of bugs – we found out what code needed to be changed in each case and we found out where that code was in Nano Server. "Nano Server would have had only one tenth the number of critical patches; we had 23 but with Nano Server, that goes down to two. Full Server had 11 patches that required reboots; with Nano Server we would have had just three. Plus the number of ports open goes down from 34 to just 12." The improvement here isn't just that Nano Server needs fewer server resources or fewer reboots – it's that it's far more secure. "Remember, a critical patch is a vulnerability we discovered and fixed. Prior to the patch we had the vulnerability and we didn't know it. So this is not just fewer patches, this is increased security – because you did not have that problem." Two scenariosToday, Microsoft is focused on two scenarios for Nano Server. "Nano Server allows us to be clear about who needs to do what," says Snover. "This is for cloud OS infrastructure and for 'born in the cloud' applications; apps that are built for the cloud. You're going to have lots of them – when you have lots of them, you want maximum efficiency and you want to manage them with a cloud mind-set. You never want to walk up to them; that's antithetical to the cloud mind-set." If you never get close enough to touch a server, it doesn't need to have a GUI – you can still have graphical tools to manage the server and the apps running on it. "It's still a GUI," he points out, "it's just not on the server. We want to shift the focus on to web GUIs, using the new Azure portal framework, so admins can manage a server from any device they want." Clearly, Nano Server is ideal for what Microsoft does with Windows Server – running Azure on it. But Snover is convinced it's relevant for Microsoft customers as well. "We're taking the cloud-first innovation model and we're incorporating it into Windows Server." And it will grow beyond the two scenarios to support far more of what you do on servers today as more server applications become capable of full remote management. "Over time, Nano Server will be the foundation of Windows Server," Snover promises. "We expect all things will run on this, with a few exceptions. Fax Server is never going to run on this by definition, because it's a client stack. But Nano Server is not meant for small things; it's meant for everything." But don't expect Nano Server to gradually regain all the features of full Server. Responsive as Microsoft wants to be to feedback from customers, the team also has a direction. "To do something of this scale requires both courage and a point of view – if you didn't' have a point of view, all these 'what about this, what about that?' questions would blow the project out of proportion." Approaching the futureIt's not just development models and application styles that are changing either, Snover points out – server hardware isn't the same any more. "There's just dramatic revolution at every stage of the stack whether it's SoCs, memory architecture, non-volatile memory technology where sometimes you view it as a disk, sometimes it's persistent memory… "In the data centre it's getting even more radical. Instead of the rack-style architecture, instead of a bunch of pizza boxes attached with top of rack routes, you're going to have a bunch of components attached to a network. There's so much change happening at every single layer of the stack." That's why Microsoft isn't just dipping its toe into the water with containers but supporting them fully, because they're just one of the changes that matter. "With containers, we surprised everyone," he claims. "The number of times I've heard people say 'I expected container-washing from Microsoft but you guys went all in and more.' It's the same with Nano Server; doing it requires courage. We're in the game. We're participating in all those conversations. "How it will ultimately play out, well, we'll see, but we have to be in the hardware conversations, the silicon conversations. We have FPGAs in our stack, the HoloLens has custom chips in it. We're designing the solutions, we have those muscles – zig or zag, we're going to be a player." He isn't making any predictions about which changes will be most significant, saying only that "radical things will emerge." What matters more, Snover believes, is the new Microsoft approach of "being very fresh, very open; involved in difficult conversations, not staying in the past and having the courage to do these big bold advances we've made." How Windows Server is changing to better match cloud app developmenthttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46f62bca/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041387645/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f62bca/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041387645/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f62bca/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041387645/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f62bca/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041387645/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f62bca/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/231041387645/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f62bca/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/zRtIfDRrRsI

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Facebook/facebook-messenger-location-sharing-2015-470-75.jpgFacebook is attempting to eliminate the deluge of "Where are you at?" messages we send each other every day with a new location sharing feature. Conversions now include a map of your exact location, or another rendezvous point to meet friends, as one of the messages, explained the social media company today. Location sharing in Facebook Messenger isn't actually new. This just works in a more privacy friendly way than its current method hidden within every message and sent unless you opt out. The new update forces users to tap the location pin icon at the bottom of the screen and then send a map of where they are or want to go in an obvious message. It's been doneFacebook Messenger is a helpful feature that beams your coordinates in a more transparent way than before, but it's hardly new to app messaging services. Google Hangouts lets users share their current location and even includes a trigger button that pops up when someone asks "Where are you?" Tapping the button sends a map. iMessages includes two handy location sharing features within a message's Details menu: Send My Current Location and Share My Location. The latter gives the friend or group of friends your location for one hour, until the end of the day or indefinitely, which is convenient for keeping large groups together in a theme park or stadium. In a way, Facebook is just catching up. But it also adds the idea of sending a meet up point to friends, which is a little different than other messaging apps. Today's Facebook Messenger app update is currently rolling out to iOS and Android devices, in case you are tempted to ask the age-old, hopefully eliminated question: "Where are you at?" All of Google's futuristic toys you can't have yethttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46f4fec7/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041381639/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f4fec7/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041381639/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f4fec7/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041381639/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f4fec7/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041381639/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f4fec7/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/231041381639/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46f4fec7/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/fEXSXlwZ8vM

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/gadgets/Nest/Nest_thermostat_protect-470-75.jpgSmart home innovator Nest has sent invitations for a press conference in San Francisco, California on June 17. The smart thermostat maker was purchased by Google in 2014 for some $3.2 billion, and was co-founded by former Apple engineer Tony Fadell, one of the “fathers of the iPod.” The company became known to the world because of its smart home tech, most notably the Learning Thermostat, which picks up users’ patterns and adjusts room temperature to their liking. The invitation itself is just about as vague as it gets, asking that recipients “Please join us for a Nest press conference,” which starts at 10 am PT (6pm GMT) on June 17. What Nest is planning to announce is anyone’s guess. Speculation points to something related to Project Brillo, Google’s new Internet of Things, or IoT, initiative it announced at Google IO 2015. Brillo will be a part of the upcoming Android M operating system, and Nest will most likely be tied in with Brillo in some form or fashion. Rumors have also indicated that Nest wants to move into audio equipment with Nest Audio, reportedly posting job listings for the division in March. However, given how recent that report was, it’s doubtful it would be anywhere near release already. Until June 17, all we can go off of is speculation. We could see a new Nest product for the home, or simply a clarification of the company’s role with Google now that Brillo is set to tidy up the search firm’s smart home plans.

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/ployer-momo7w-470-75.jpgThe race to the bottom in the world of Windows tablets continues as vendors scramble to get rid of existing stock ahead of the summer launch of Windows 10. The Chinese battleground is where things are the bloodiest as JD.com, one of China's largest e-commerce websites, has cut the price of its lowest-priced Windows tablet to 279 Yuan (about £29, $45, AU$58). For that price, you end up with something very similar to the Toshiba Encore Mini, called the Ployer MOMO7W. Like most entry level Windows tablets, it runs on an Intel quad-core Bay Trail clocked at 1.33GHz. There's a 7-inch 1024 x 600 pixels touchscreen display, 16GB onboard storage, 1GB of RAM, a micro SD card slot, a pair of cameras, a micro USB and micro HDMI port and a year subscription to Office 365 (with 1TB of OneDrive storage). It's worth underlining that Office 365 by itself costs about £50 in the UK, so Microsoft is essentially giving away a half-decent tablet with its business application. In theory, Windows 10 should be able to run on it, assuming that Microsoft manages to iron out some teething issues that I have encountered when I tried to install the company's latest OS on a similar machine. Check out the review of the Linx 7, a Windows 8.1 tablet with better specs.Source: JD.comhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46efdf8b/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041347820/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46efdf8b/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041347820/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46efdf8b/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041347820/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46efdf8b/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041347820/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46efdf8b/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/231041347820/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46efdf8b/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/AQDvPVKAXoA

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/microsoft-real-madrid-windows-tablet-470-75.jpgBarcelona won the Spanish football league not so long ago and Microsoft decided to launch a Windows tablet for their arch-rivals instead, Real Madrid. The tablet, which is neither a Surface 3 or a Surface Pro 3, can be customised with a number of designs and it even comes with a detachable physical keyboard, one which has some travel. The tablet costs a cool 199 Euros (about £144, $221, AU$285) with an extra 25% premium to be paid if you want to have your name engraved on it. That's actually not a bad deal given what you end up with. There's a quad-core Atom processor, the Z3735F, which also powered the Linx 7, there's 2GB of RAM 32GB onboard storage, a microSD card slot, micro USB and micro HDMI, Windows 8.1 (upgradable to Windows 10), a pair of cameras, Bluetooth 4.0 and an 8.9-inch full HD IPS OGS touch screen display. Fairly close to what the Surface 3 provides but without the price tag. You also get a year's worth of Office 365 with 1TB of online OneDrive storage and an exclusive Real Madrid app. More about the tablet on the official Microsoft/Real Madrid site.Check out the review of the Linx 7, a Windows 8.1 tablet with slightly worse specs.http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46efdf7a/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041347819/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46efdf7a/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041347819/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46efdf7a/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041347819/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46efdf7a/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/231041347819/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46efdf7a/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/231041347819/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46efdf7a/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/GFhHSdCRrs0

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/audio_systems/Tidal/Tidal-470-75.jpgJay-Z's music streaming service, Tidal, is pulling out all the stops to gain a foothold in the game, finally launching desktop apps for Mac and Windows users and a half-off discount for students. Tidal prides itself in bringing exclusive content with high-fidelity sound quality. The company has come to realize it needs more features to sweeten the pot, especially since its premium tier costs twice that of competitor Spotify. The hi-fi music streaming hub is launching its first desktop apps for Mac and PC users since Jay-Z's high-profile takeover, which are available for download at Tidal.com. In addition to the new desktop apps, the mobile and web interfaces are getting an upgrade, improving search results, offering more personalization options and a streamlined menu. Interestingly enough, Ticketmaster, a.k.a. the guys that charge you an extra 8 bucks per ticket for "fees," have thrown their hat into the Tidal pool as well, offering users the ability to view concert info and make ticket purchases from within Tidal. Spotify offers a similar service via the SongKick Concerts app. Tidal's most attractive announcement is that "in the coming weeks" students will be able to get 50% off of a Tidal subscription. All the students need is a valid .edu email address and voilà! Now that $20 hi-fi package starts to look a bit more reasonable. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46e9accd/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/230959536183/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e9accd/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/230959536183/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e9accd/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/230959536183/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e9accd/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/230959536183/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e9accd/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/230959536183/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e9accd/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/oaJHvxJ04JY

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/microsoft-wifi-470-75.jpgMicrosoft is quietly building Office 365 as a formidable all-inclusive business-focused application and service suite. The company may now be planning to bring Wi-Fi services to Office 365 users after it has apparently rebadged Skype Wi-Fi to Microsoft Wi-Fi. According to WinSupersite founder Paul Thurott, Microsoft will launch a business version of the service for Office 365 Enterprise customers, allowing firms to ensure that their employees are connected while out and about, maintaining their productivity while keeping costs in check. If you're not a business customer, the service is likely to be PAYG (pay as you go) - one similar to Skype Wi-Fi - where you can either top up online or via a scratch card. Familiar to millionsMicrosoft Wi-Fi will likely allow customers to connect to more than just a few hotspots. There are more than 10 million hotspots compared to just 2 million for the current Skype Wi-Fi service; more than 130 countries and territories are listed in Microsoft's hotspot database. Expect the service to be available on all major mobile and desktop platforms (yes that means Mac OS X, Android and iOS although probably not Chrome OS). Check out our updated review of Microsoft Office 365http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46e507ef/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766295097/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e507ef/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766295097/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e507ef/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766295097/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e507ef/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766295097/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e507ef/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228766295097/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e507ef/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/kS6C1pPNMDQ

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/fences-470-75.jpg Introductionhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/windows_7_ultimate-420-90.jpg Update: also see our feature on 12 free Windows 7 power-up downloads. Even though Windows 10 is out on July 29 and many Windows 7 users are expected to take Microsoft up on its free upgrade offer, there will still be plenty taking the cautious route and sticking with their existing OS. Thankfully for those staying loyal to Windows 7 there is plenty of free software that allows your PC to continue to hit the heights. Whether it's editing your latest set of photos from a trip abroad, optimising the performance of your PC or simply surfing the web, there are so many free offerings out there. We've managed to whittle this mountain of software down to the best 20 that will truly take your PC to the next level. So what are they? Read on, and find out. GIMPhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/GIMP-420-90.jpg The Paint application got a much needed improvement in Windows 7, but it doesn't cater to the needs of professionals and by no stretch of the imagination can it be considered an Adobe Photoshop replacement. GIMP, a diamond of freebies, is simply remarkable in terms of quality and quantity, with an array of options. From 3D perspective tools to eye-popping render effects, GIMP impresses throughout. (For a less professional, more basic and easy to use image editor, Paint.Net is a good alternative). VLC Media Playerhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/VLC2-420-100.jpg VLC Media Player is not about the cool menu colours or the glow of the play button seen in its rivals. The developers of this fantastic piece of software have focused on the core aspects of a media player, and it succeeds by being able to play virtually any video and audio format with impressive quality. One of the best features of VLC Media Player is the ability to increase the volume of any video above the level that is usually available in other media players. If you've ever downloaded a video that you can't hear at all then this feature will be incredibly useful for you. All in all the great ease of use makes this media player a must-have. Handbrakehttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/handbrake-420-90.jpg Converting video from one format to another is child's play with Handbrake, which accepts practically any format as a source. Handbrake also includes chapter selection, basic subtitle support and audio embedding. With tree diagrams and tabs in the interface, Handbrake is a pleasure to use. Firefoxhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/firefox-420-90.jpg The browser war is pretty fierce and everybody has their favourite browser. However, the star of open source development is undoubtedly Mozilla Firefox. Does your browser look dull? Then download one of the many themes from the Mozilla website. You can also increase functionality and productivity with add-ons such as Firegestures. Of course there are plenty of other choices when it comes to browsers for Windows 7 including the pre-installed Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera, and Torch. Picasahttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/picasa-420-90.jpg Created by Google, Picasa gathers and organises all your photos to make them easily accessible. Adjusting and fixing your photos, posting them online or viewing a timeline are all functions which are just a few clicks away, and amateurs will appreciate the simple yet very effective layout in Picasa. Included with Picasa is the excellent Picasa Photo Viewer to preview pictures in Windows Explorer folders, and the fact that it links in with Google+ to store your photos online as well as on your PC makes this an incredibly useful tool. Fenceshttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/fences-420-90.jpg Windows 7 might offer a brand new taskbar, but it doesn't do much to improve upon the main desktop itself. Fences is a great way to make your desktop organised, by arranging and sorting icons into various 'fences' or labelled shaded areas in a well-presented manner. Fences makes life a lot easier. Any Windows 7 PC users who own an Apple or Android smartphone will immediately be enamoured to this program as it makes your PC look like a huge smartphone thanks to the fenced off areas, and this means a far more intuitive experience all round. CCleanerhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/CC%20cleaner-420-90.jpg CCleaner works hard to completely banish clutter and unwanted files yet it will always ask your permission before doing so. Whether it is dealing with temporary internet files, cookies or redundant files, CCleaner is more than a match and will have you wondering what it was you did before you installed this program. There is even an added uninstall feature to remove annoying programs that refuse to leave your computer and all this means that CCleaner is strongly recommended. EnhanceMySe7enhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/enhancemyseven-420-90.jpg From cleaning up registry problems to detecting system clutter, EnhanceMySe7en notifies you about improvements that could be made on your computer. However, the supreme aspect of this program lies in the insane amount of data and tools provided, including hard drive monitors that measure 'Work Time' and 'Temperature' and helpful options such as 'Time to wait when a program hangs'. Adobe Readerhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/adobe%20reader-420-90.jpg Adobe Reader might be an unnecessarily larger download than its rivals, but it manages to keep a consistent and steady footprint in terms of resources (unlike Foxit PDF Reader that has a constantly increasing footprint) and with a browser plug-in included, it's a good idea to stick to the software provided by the creators of the PDF format themselves. There are various programs hosted online that allow you to edit PDFs within emails but Adobe's offering remains one of the best applications out there, and with constant updates it will never become outdated or insecure. Notepad++http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/notepad-420-90.jpg Unlike Paint, Windows 7 makes absolutely no improvement to the Notepad application. Fortunately, the freebie, Notepad++, expands on the functionality of the default notepad by including tabbed windows. It's a programmer's dream, with support for various programming languages. One of the best things about Notepad++ is that updates are continually delivered to users and the last one arrived very recently on May 23. This program justly deserves the name 'Notepad++'. Dittohttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/ditto-420-90.jpg Since Windows 7 doesn't improve upon one of the most commonly used techniques seen on a PC – namely copy-paste – the freebie Ditto enhances copy-pasting by placing a universal clipboard storing every single object that has been copied, to be pasted in whatever order is required. Defragglerhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/defraggller-420-90.jpg Defraggler, from the creator of CCleaner, is a complete defragmentation tool for Windows that is easier and far more intuitive to use than the bundled tool that comes as part of Windows 7. It does, however, have a couple of stand-out features beyond being simply a defragmentation program. Its best feature is the ability to defragment individual files or a specific part of a drive without touching anything else thus making sure that you are defragmenting only what is needed. This saves a great deal of time compared to a whole drive defragmentation which can often take hours. Recuvahttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/recuva-420-90.jpg Recuva is a freeware app that recovers files that have been accidentally deleted from the Recycle Bin, MP3 players and memory cards, claiming to recover files that have also been corrupted by viruses or damaged disks. The slick Recuva Wizard at startup appeals to both amateurs and professionals, and with no price tag, this program can be priceless when you recover those important photos or documents. 7Stackshttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/stacks-420-100.jpg Stacks is a fantastic addition to the Mac OS X Dock. Wouldn't it be great if you could do that on a Windows taskbar? 7Stacks does exactly that. When you've downloaded 7Stacks, it gives you the chance to enjoy an overview of all your documents in one place after just a few seconds of setting up, and makes your PC appear similar to a Mac from the off. Given the fact that this is completely free of charge, there's nothing stopping you enjoying one of the Mac's most intuitive features. Switcherhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/swi-420-100.jpg Another great Mac OS X feature is Exposé, the ability to view all running windows in various thumbnails in full screen. Switcher mimics this feature, allowing you to decide which mouse or keyboard shortcut you would like to activate the Switch. Anyone waiting for Windows 10 won't need to worry about Switcher when it arrives as the Task View that is included as part of the new OS performs the exact same task as Switcher. Until then, Switcher remains the very best way to achieve this in Windows 7. 7-Ziphttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/Miscellaneous/7%20zip-420-90.jpg Compressing files has many advantages since they take up less space and are therefore quicker to download from the internet. Featuring a host of compression formats, 7-zip lets you uncompress almost any compressed data, and with the unique 7z format, files can be compressed up to 40% smaller than Zip formats. SuperCopierhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/Miscellaneous/supercopier-420-90.jpg Copying files in Windows 7's default Explorer can be laborious at the best of times. That doesn't have to be the case thanks to SuperCopier's set of tools. The program copies files at a far faster rate than Windows Explorer can ever hope to achieve and allows you to perform a number of tasks along the way. This includes being able to prioritise certain files in the queue so that you can get the files you need faster, and there is a detailed error log that notes down anything abnormal about your files. You can even decide the speed that files are copied making SuperCopier a must for any Windows 7 PC owner. Windows Essentialshttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/windows%20live-420-100.jpg Getting the very most from your copy of Windows 7 can be as simple as downloading the rebadged version of Windows Live, Windows Essentials. Inside the package is a collection of useful programs such as the classic Windows Movie Maker, Live Mail, Live Writer to create blog posts with added photos and videos, and it even contains OneDrive as standard. Whilst there are obviously separate programs that can perform the same functions as Windows Essentials, this little collection is very handy when you are just starting out and don't need to carry out anything more advanced than the bare essentials. Eraserhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/eraser-420-100.jpg Most people store some sort of important personal information such as passwords or bank statements on their PC. Files deleted from the Recycle Bin are not necessarily lost forever, and it could be a disaster if someone managed to retrieve such sensitive information. Eraser makes sure the file is actually erased from the hard drive by overwriting the selected file several times in 'carefully selected patterns'. This means that the file is not just deleted, rather it's permanently nuked and gone forever. OpenOfficehttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/computing/software/utilities/images/20%20free%20apps%20for%20Windows%207/oppenoffice-420-100.jpg OpenOffice, a popular open source suite, is an immensely powerful set of applications considering the fact that you don't have to dish out a single penny for it. OpenOffice is very similar to Microsoft Office, and features like macros and built-in templates will please advanced users. OpenOffice is by no means the only free Microsoft Office alternative on the market. The likes of Google Docs, LibreOffice, Atlantis Word Processor, WPS Office, and Office Online all offer a different slant on the popular productivity suite and are again free of charge. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46e4dac4/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766634616/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e4dac4/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766634616/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e4dac4/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766634616/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e4dac4/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766634616/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e4dac4/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228766634616/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46e4dac4/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/Ky0a_agCWCs

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/av_accessories/Amazon%20Fire%20TV/Amazon-Fire-TV-Homescreen-002-470-75.jpgJust four days after Nvidia launched its new Shield Android TV console, set-top box competitor Amazon is firing back with a game-streaming solution of its own: GameFly Streaming. Amazon announced today that GameFly will be its exclusive partner for its media streaming device, the Amazon Fire TV. Like Nvidia Grid, the game-streaming service on the new Shield console, GameFly will provide PC versions of games like Batman: Arkham City, Darksiders II and Dirt 3 directly to gamers' living rooms. Instead of paying a subscription fee, however, GameFly will sell game packs - packages of seven games, which start at $6.99 a month. At launch customers can choose from six gaming packs like LEGO - which includes seven LEGO titles - or Speed, which includes games like GRID 2, Moto GP '13 and Ridge Racer Unbounded. The only catch here is that the GameFly service works only in conjunction with the Amazon Fire TV Game Controller, which costs an additional $40. The service goes live today, and we'll up our review shortly with our hands on impressions. Nintendo: No, the NX console won't run on Android

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/Connected%20home/Apple%20HomeKit/Eve_Lifestyle_Eve_Weather_Veranda-470-75.jpgElgato has announced that Eve, the company's range of sensors used for monitoring your home, will be coming to the UK in July. If you're interested in transforming your house into a smart home, keep reading for a full rundown of all the products Elgato will be releasing. The sensors make use of Apple's upcoming HomeKit app, which will allow you to control multiple connected devices from a single app. "HomeKit offers a simple, convenient and secure solution without monthly fees or the need to purchase a starter kit," says Dr. Markus Fest, CEO of Elgato. "This is the beginning of something big, and we're thrilled to be part of it." The company first demonstrated Eve at CES 2015, using Bluetooth LE rather than Wi-Fi. This means it won't require a central hub, reducing the stress on your Wi-Fi router, which we think is pretty smart. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Connected%20home/Apple%20HomeKit/Solution_Elgato_Eve_Room-420-90.jpg Sitting at the top of the range is Eve Room, it's an interesting device that will monitor air quality, temperature and humidity. It'll even tell you if your carpet smells, so maybe it's time for a hoover? http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Connected%20home/Apple%20HomeKit/Solution_Elgato_Eve_DoorWindow-420-90.jpg Eve Door and Window, as the name suggests will allow you to check the current state of your entrances and exits. This is particularly useful if you're forgetful and frequently leave the house open to criminals. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Connected%20home/Apple%20HomeKit/Solution_Elgato_Eve_Weather-420-90.jpg Eve Weather is, as the name suggests, a little box that monitors the weather outside your home. It'll record temperature, humidity, and air pressure. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Connected%20home/Apple%20HomeKit/Solution_Elgato_Eve_Energy%20Kopie-420-90.jpg Finally, there's Eve Energy, which will record how much energy your appliances are using, and allow you to switch them on or off remotely. Again, great if your forgetful and frequently leave lights or even worst - hair straighteners turned on. The devices will be controlled from an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch (running iOS 8.3 or above), and you'll need to download either Elgato's Eve app, or use Apple's HomeKit app when it launches later in the year. Pricing of the Eve range begins at £34.95 ($39.95 US) for the Door and Windows, and rises to £69.95 ($79.95 US) for Eve Room. They will appear in Apple's Online Store this July.

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Microsoft/Windows%2010/hands%20on/10074/10074%20(1)-470-75.jpgWindows 10 market share on the desktop has reached 0.13% in May, its biggest growth yet, a jump of about 50% compared to April, according to online analytics firm NetMarketshare. The operating system is currently used by more than 4 million people globally according to the latest figures released by Microsoft, with the number of actual installs likely to be much higher. That Windows is used by about 1.5 billion people globally and assuming that the figures from NetMarketShare are valid, that would mean that roughly half of the users have installed Windows 10 on their laptops. Coming soonMicrosoft announced yesterday that Windows 10 would be officially launched on Wednesday 29th July in 190 territories with current Windows 7 and Window 8.x users getting a whole year to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. It has also confirmed that Microsoft would continue to keep it current (i.e. update it) for the supported lifetime of the device. The Redmond-based company is gearing up to what could well be the biggest and single most important launch over the past couple of decades. Check our hands on review of Windows 10 and our Windows 10 hubhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46db2e30/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228858482875/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46db2e30/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228858482875/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46db2e30/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228858482875/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46db2e30/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228858482875/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46db2e30/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228858482875/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46db2e30/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/NgPxrPGG_1Q

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/laptops/Apple/New%20MacBook%20%282015%29/review/macbook-stool-470-75.JPGEvery week we'll bring you a how-to guide to do something quick and cool with Mac OS X. Sometimes it will be a tutorial on a lesser-known feature, other times it'll be a trick that uses built-in functionality such as Terminal, but either way, these simple tips can make life better and easier, and they don't require any special knowledge. All you need to do is follow the instructions! Sometimes it's handy to have a list of all the apps installed on your Mac. For instance, if you need to cleanly reinstall OS X, and then add your apps and data back afterward to make the Mac run faster, it's easier to have a list than to rely on your memory. In this article, we'll show you how to easily make a list of the apps that are installed on your Mac for backup purposes. To begin, we'll open the Terminal (located in /Applications/Utilities), and then type the following command (all on one line): find /Applications -path '*Contents/_MASReceipt/receipt' -maxdepth 4 -print |sed 's#.app/Contents/_MASReceipt/receipt#.app#g; s#/Applications/##' This command will find and list all of the files matching the name ending in ".app" on your Mac that have been downloaded from the Mac App Store. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/MacLifeWebContent/TerminalTip-060115/ListApps-420-100.jpg If you wish to save this list to a text file for printing or other purposes, then type the following command (all on one line) instead: find /Applications -path '*Contents/_MASReceipt/receipt' -maxdepth 4 -print |sed 's#.app/Contents/_MASReceipt/receipt#.app#g; s#/Applications/##' > /Desktop/apps.txt This command will create a file called "apps.txt" on your Desktop listing all the apps on your Mac that have been purchased from the Mac App Store, allowing you to use it for any purpose you may have. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46d73614/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767985078/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d73614/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767985078/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d73614/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767985078/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d73614/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767985078/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d73614/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228767985078/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d73614/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/sIirdD2MAu8

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/events/Apple%20launches/iPad_Oct_2013/apple_launch_generic-470-75.jpgApple's new music streaming service will be announced next week at WWDC 2015, according to a new report. The word from The Wall Street Journal isn't surprising given this is Apple's typical platform for unveiling new software and services, but there's something else eye-catching: a price. According to the Journal, Apple's new tune service will cost $10/month (about £6, AUD$13) for unlimited, on-demand streaming. That would put it in direct competition with Spotify, which charges $10/£10 for its Premium service. The new Apple music service reportedly won't have a free tier, though it will apparently put channels with selections from human DJs, who will also play host, on its free, ad-supported internet radio service. More Apple music detailsA few more details about Apple's new music moves also stick out. For one, Android users will apparently have access to Apple's music offerings. A software update to iOS (perhaps iOS 9?), will update the Music app, presumably to deliver the new goods. Apple may also offer a free trial period for the subscription service, as we've heard about before. Artists and record companies could make songs free as well. Finally, channels featuring well-known industry folks and run like traditional radio stations may also be on tap. Producers from BBC Radio 1 and famous DJs are reportedly helping create this service, and rappers like Q-Tip, Drake and Dr. Dre are said to be in talks to host shows. Custom channels will reportedly run alongside these pre-set stations. All may not come to pass next week at WWDC, however. The Cupertino firm is reportedly still waiting to wrap up deals with the three biggest music companies (Sony Music Entertainment, the Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group), and if it can't reach agreements, it may shelve the announcement until a later date. Sources say it's unlikely Apple will delay the announcement, but the clock is ticking. According to the Journal, Apple is not only looking to get more bang for the buck from its current iTunes customers but also draw in more users, especially in regions outside the US who don't have the some of the music services available there. If you're one of the 303,000 or so paying Beats Music subscribers, Apple will let you be for the time being, though you'll likely have to move to the new service once it's perfected. The best music streaming services comparedhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46d6c457/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228858451338/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d6c457/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228858451338/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d6c457/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228858451338/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d6c457/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228858451338/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d6c457/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228858451338/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d6c457/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/VWO6PhlfZFw

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/events/Microsoft%20Build%202015/screen%20grabs/windows-10-laptop-470-75.jpgWe're starting to learn more about how Microsoft will be making the Windows 10 upgrade appealing to enterprise and business users. Through information shared with Windows reseller partners, we've learned that the biggest change to the operating system is that IT administrators will have more control on when to roll out new features to users. Unlike other editions or versions of Windows, Windows 10 Enterprise will only be available as part of Microsoft's volume licensing program. As such, it won't be available in traditional retail channels. Enterprise users with volume licensing contracts and Software Assurance will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 when it is ready. We learned previously that enterprise users won't be able to participate in the free first year upgrade program for consumer editions of Windows 10. Windows upgradeAccording to a Microsoft presentation slide that was shared with partners, IT administrators can delay new Windows features from being pushed out to enterprise users for up to ten years. Through Microsoft's Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB) support, a feature exclusive to Windows 10 Enterprise, IT managers can now delay the delivery of new features for up to ten years. Regular security updates and bug fixes will still be available to users. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/Microsoft/Windows%2010/windows10enterprise-420-90.jpg For large organizations, administrators can also put different enterprise users on different Windows 10 servicing branches. There are three branches to choose from – LTSB, Current Branch and Current Branch for Business. Free add-onsWith Windows 10, Microsoft is said to be dropping the fees for some of its software add-ons. The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) will be free for new and renewing customers with Software Assurance, but not retroactively. MDOP gives users access to virtualization, management and recovery tools. Side-loading is another capability that will be available for free for Windows 10 users. Current Windows users have to pay for a side-loading license, but Microsoft will be building that capability into Windows 10 so a separate add-on license will no longer be needed. DowngradingIf you're not keen on keeping your Windows 10 license because of your enterprise environment and compatibility issues, Microsoft is also offering free downgrade rights. Windows 10 Enterprise users will have the option to move back to Windows 7 Enterprise or Windows 8.1 Enterprise if they choose. Microsoft announced that Windows 10 will be available to Home and Pro customers starting on July 29. It's unclear when Windows 10 Enterprise will be available. For consumers not eligible for the free update program, Windows 10 Home will cost $119 (£78, AU$156) and Windows 10 Pro will cost $199 (£131, AU$262) per license, Microsoft told TechRadar. Windows 10 Home users who want to upgrade to Pro will have to pay $99 (£65, AU$130) for the Windows 10 Pro Pack. Via: ZDNet Read our Windows 10 reviewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46d6bbae/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228858449364/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d6bbae/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228858449364/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d6bbae/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228858449364/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d6bbae/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228858449364/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d6bbae/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228858449364/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d6bbae/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/HSbja_50J_o

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Microsoft/Windows%2010/hands%20on/10074/10074%20(8)-470-75.jpgThe rumours and leaks were true: Microsoft has confirmed that its next flagship operating system, Windows 10, will launch on Wednesday, July 29. The operating system will be available in 190 territories globally with existing Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 users having one year (i.e. till 29 July 2016) to upgrade to the new operating system. The current build, 10130, could well be to be the penultimate one with Microsoft likely to launch one or more builds before the final version. In addition to improving Cortana's interface, the latest build introduced keyboard shortcuts for the Charms bars and new ways to customize the Start menu. Free foreverMicrosoft stressed the fact that users who update during the promotional period will be able to use Windows 10 at no cost forever (or as the company puts it, for the "supported lifetime of the device"). Microsoft has confirmed that those wanting to download the free Windows 10 upgrade can reserve a free copy in the coming weeks. Check out our hands-on review of Windows 10 (build 10074)http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46d1bb56/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766558876/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d1bb56/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766558876/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d1bb56/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766558876/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d1bb56/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766558876/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d1bb56/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228766558876/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46d1bb56/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/zg0LKJ2hIMY

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/Apps/Google%20Android%20Pay/android-pay-vs-apple-pay-470-75.jpgGoogle Android Pay vs Apple PayBelieve it or not, Google's Android Pay makes it simpler and more rewarding to pay for things with a phone than the already easy-to-use Apple Pay. With more than one billion active Android users, that's going to give mobile payments a big boost in 2015, at least in the US. This is no half-hearted Google Wallet. At Google IO 2015, I tested the reinvented contactless payment system on a Coca-Cola machine and a mock online store in the press room. The result? One 20oz bottle of Coke and three ways the better-late-than-never Android Pay is slightly better than Apple Pay. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Apps/Google%20Android%20Pay/android-pay-google-1-420-90.jpg http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Apps/Google%20Android%20Pay/android-pay-payment-200-100.jpg 1. It's literally more rewardingGoogle wants to help the world buy a Coke and maybe teach everyone to sing its praises. It's doing that with a little extra reward right at the machine. Android Pay, already loaded on my Nexus 6 at a special Coke vending machine, used the built-in NFC chip that's now common among Google-powered phones. It's the same tech Apple uses. I held the phone to the machine's NFC reader, and a stacked credit and debit card interface popped up automatically. I tapped my virtual card on the phone to pay, and I was done. It looked almost identical to Apple Pay's design. What's different? Among the card options is the ability to use MyCokeRewards points to pay for the soda (or a healthier beverage like water). Who turns down an earned Coke and doesn't enjoy it? Google is integrating retailers' loyalty programs right into Android Pay and says this feature is going to be bigger than just soda machines. It's an idea the iPhone's Passbook app doesn't fulfill nearly as well with little-used and more cumbersome QR codes. That's going to be an incentive, especially when I'm at local retailers. On an iPhone 6, I often need to get out my loyalty card or recite my phone number, even if I'm paying with Apple Pay. 2. Passwords aren't a hindrancehttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Apps/Google%20Android%20Pay/android-pay-google-2-200-100.jpg Android Pay requires a lockscreen password, whether it's a pattern, pin or face unlock. Only, its rules are more user-friendly than what's found on an Apple Pay-enabled iPhone. Its tap-to-pay method of completing a transaction doesn't require that hit-or-miss fingerprint on smartphones. That's why enabling a phone's lockscreen is a must. This makes Android Pay a little bit faster with no queue displeasing "Let me redo it." It uses a system-level lockscreen as its security, not a second payment ID for authentication. Worried about Android eliminating this redundancy? Android M is going to push phones to add a fingerprint sensor. Most Android phones don't have Touch ID-equivalent hardware. It was sort of funny to hear the Motorola Atrix from 2011 get a nod during the Google IO keynote. There's not much else out besides Samsung's few fingerprint-enabled phones. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Apps/Google%20Android%20Pay/android-pay-google-4-420-90.jpg What's even better? I'm told that when you disable a password-protected lockscreen, the credit cards don't automatically erase like they annoyingly do with an Apple Pay-linked cards. That's an annoying requirement of Apple Pay for iPhone and, more precisely, Apple Watch. It forces users who sometimes disable the lockscreen temporarily to add and re-authenticate their credit cards all over again. 3. Way more compatible phonesAndroid Pay works with a lot more phones than Apple Pay - a lot more - much to the dislike of iPhone owners who don't yet have an iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Apps/Google%20Android%20Pay/android-pay-google-3-420-90.jpg Google's casting a much wider net with support for all Android 4.4 KitKat phones with NFC chips, not just its own Nexus devices. That means the Galaxy S4, HTC One M7, LG G2, original Moto X and Nexus 5, all released in 2013, will work with Android Pay. That covers a lot of people. Android Pay stores, credit cards and banksGoogle is playing catch-up, but Android Pay store locations number 700,000 in the US - too many to list. There are also 1,000 Android apps that plan to use the mobile payment platform. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Apps/Google%20Android%20Pay/android-pay-stores-420-90.jpg McDonald's, Chipotle and Subway have fast food covered, while major retailers include Best Buy, Macy's and Walgreens. Coke rival, Pepsi, also signed on, in case you were wondering. Basically, anywhere you see the new Android Pay or generic NFC logo, your phone will let you make a purchase without swiping your card. That should keep it on par with Apple Pay. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Apps/Google%20Android%20Pay/android-pay-credit-cards-banks-420-90.jpg Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover are all onboard with Android Pay too, and nine major banks like Bank of America, Chase, Citi, Capital One are here. Credit and debit cards can be enabled right within bank apps as well, giving users a second way to add their information for Android Pay. But will Android Pay be a success?Android Pay is a little more streamlined than Apple Pay, but that in no way means Google's new mobile payments push is going to be as much of a success or better. First, it's only being promised for the US. Like iPhone's digital wallet, Google is staying silent on its UK and Australian launch plans. Country rollout may decide the winner, especially when it comes to China and India. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Apps/Google%20Android%20Pay/android-pay-google-7-420-90.jpg On one hand, Google's security is akin to Apple Pay. Its tokenization method means retailers never see your actual credit or debit card number, just a virtual account number. On the other, Android users have proven to be more susceptible to hijacking and data mining apps. Then there's the fact that while Android Pay is getting a bigger push than Google Wallet, it won't get as much attention out of the gate with one single device launch. And Apple could add these Coke and other loyalty rewards in iOS 9 and catch up in an instant. Nevertheless, you can't deny the appeal of a free Coke and tap-to-pay after bypassing the lockscreen. Right now, it's refreshing to see Google pushing new ideas forward. Android Pay is set to be coupled with Android M when the new operating system update launches later this year, while phone users with Android 4.4 KitKat and above can expect it "soon." More reinvented software at IO: Google Photos reviewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46cff79e/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767931576/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46cff79e/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767931576/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46cff79e/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767931576/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46cff79e/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767931576/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46cff79e/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228767931576/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46cff79e/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/8QQsXr6VECk

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Apple/apple_maps_streetview_vans-470-75.jpgRemember those mystery Apple vans tootling around the States a few months ago? No one was quite sure what they were up to, but it's now become clear that they're part of Apple's continued push to get its own mapping service up to scratch. Thanks to some diligent digging by 9to5Mac we know that these camera-equipped automobiles are capturing 3D street view imagery, stills of storefronts, and more besides. The general idea is that Apple gradually reduces its reliance on third-party providers. As 9to5Mac explains, Apple wants its own in-house maps data by 2018. That means collecting its own points of reference at the lowest levels and would eventually result in more control for Apple over the quality of its Maps app. Street with a viewSince Apple Maps launched in 2012 it's been lagging behind Google Maps in terms of scope and accuracy. Google Maps, meanwhile, is adding new features all the time, and Apple doesn't want to fall further behind. One of the features Apple's unmarked fleet of vans is collecting data for is a 3D Flyover mode for individual streets. Together with high-quality still images for businesses and landmarks, Apple is hoping to outdo Google Street View. We should hear more about Maps and iOS 9 at WWDC from 8 June - apparently public transport timetable integration is on the way as well as a number of other new features. We will of course keep you updated as next week's event unfolds. WWDC 2015: What to expect at Apple's iOS and OS X keynotehttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46cd26f7/sc/23/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766521677/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46cd26f7/sc/23/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766521677/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46cd26f7/sc/23/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766521677/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46cd26f7/sc/23/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766521677/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46cd26f7/sc/23/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228766521677/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46cd26f7/sc/23/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/7wSbEmOd-h0

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/events/wwdc/2014/screengrabs/ios-home-470-75.jpgWhen Apple announced HomeKit at WWDC 2014, we didn't think we'd still be waiting for the first products by the time WWDC 2015 rolled around - but there's only a week to go before this year's event starts on 8 June. It seems there's now light at the end of the tunnel: sources speaking to 9to5Mac, which has a good reputation for getting insider information, say that the first HomeKit-compatible products will be launched next week. With WWDC set to give us a deluge of new information about iOS 9, HomeKit, Apple TV and more, it makes sense to get some product launches scheduled in advance to free up more time at the event itself. Home sweet Apple homeThe HomeKit platform lets you control compatible smart devices - thermostats, lights, door locks and so on - with a compatible portfolio of kit and Siri voice control. Both the Apple Watch and Apple TV are rumoured to be getting HomeKit upgrades in the near future. We're also expecting iOS 9 to include a Home app that lets you control all the HomeKit devices you've picked up. What the first set of devices will be isn't clear, but we saw some power switch controls and smart locks at CES in January. There's no official word yet from Apple or any of its partners, but 9to5Mac reckons five companies are going to show off their wares before WWDC gets underway. As always, we'll keep you right up to date. Apple's smart home future begins in June

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/events/Google%20IO%202015/Screens%20Day%202/ATAP%20Levis-470-75.jpgGoogle's band of research pirates known as ATAP (Advanced Technology and Projects) is striving to make seamless wearable interaction..by utilizing the seams of your clothes with Project Jacquard. One of many projects that ATAP presented at Google IO 2015, Project Jacquard is all about using interactive garments to simplify daily life. By decoupling the interface from a screen to everyday gestures, Google wants to make it easier to live your life with its tech without staring into a screen. Google's goal is also to make it simple for the textile industry to join the smart garment game. During the keynote, ATAP announced that Levi Strauss has become Google's first official partner for Project Jacquard. Project Soli and Project Abacus Another project to make wearable interface a bit less frustrating is Project Soli. The goal of Soli is to make interacting with a wearable feel natural and less restrictive. According to Google's research, wearable touchscreen size is at the threshold of what humans can physically handle interacting with. To remedy this issue, Soli utilizes a revolutionary "gesture radar" chip to pick up a variety of natural hand motions, such as scrolling on a virtual screen, turning a wheel, and pinch zooming. The goal of both Project Soli and Jacquard is to make wearable user interface possible with easy broad gestures. Google is also working on a project to ditch passwords, called Project Abacus. This will ditch the password and pin number verification of yesteryear and convert to a multi-modal verification system that analyses not just what you type/say, but how you do it. Because, to quote ATAP keynote speaker Regina Dugan, "Passwords suck". More details to come from Google IO 2015. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46c42ab8/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766493061/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c42ab8/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766493061/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c42ab8/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766493061/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c42ab8/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228766493061/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c42ab8/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228766493061/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c42ab8/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/BahiEVcOM5A

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/MacLifeWebContent/Ask/yosemite-470-75.jpgGot an Apple, Mac, or iOS tech question? We have the answer. While we're always glad to see the upgrades and new features that are included with each new version of Mac OS X, it's definitely a drag when the new operating system prevents you from opening older apps or documents. In response to a reader question, we'll take a look at how to deal with some of those incompatibilities — specifically, how to open Appleworks documents in Yosemite. QuestionI downloaded and installed OS X 10.10 Yosemite. After the installation a dialog appeared saying it can't run Appleworks 6. What am I to do with the several thousand Appleworks 6 documents that are important to me? Is there any way to make them work? AnswerAppleworks 6 is a rather old piece of software, with the last updates coming out nearly 11 years ago (in January 2004). Apple discontinued support for the software in 2007, around the time that Leopard was released to the public. While you have been able to use the software for a few years afterwards thanks to Rosetta PowerPC (PPC) software support on modern Intel Macs, Apple finally stopped supporting PPC in OS X Lion. If you still have documents lying around in this format, however, and wish to upgrade them to work with modern apps (say, Pages, Word, or TextEdit), you can do this with the available iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote). http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/MacLifeWebContent/Ask/Ask-Incompatibilities-770-420-90.jpg For example, if you have an AppleWork 6 word processing document, then you can drag and drop it on the Pages icon in the Dock to have it open; if you have an AppleWork 6 spreadsheet or presentation file, then you can also drag and drop them on top of Numbers and Keynote, respectively. You might end up with some formatting issues, but in general this should allow you to access your old documents. Got an Apple tech question? Email ask@maclife.com. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46c3acdf/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767844822/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3acdf/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767844822/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3acdf/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767844822/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3acdf/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767844822/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3acdf/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228767844822/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3acdf/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/blSuSzeExiQ

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/network_attached_storage/nas_generic-470-75.jpgIntroductionThere's no doubt that the cloud has become an increasingly relevant option for file storage over the past few years. However, if you don't trust your data in the hands of a third-party service, a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device might be the way to go. Sitting somewhere between local and cloud storage, NAS devices keep your files and data in your hands. Whether for personal or business use, a NAS solution could be the right way to go for an easy way to share and back up data across a local network and beyond. However, sorting through the various features and price points can be a bit of a hassle, so we've rounded up ten of our top picks for NAS devices from the past year. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/NAS/QNAP/QNAP-TS470-hero-420-90.jpg QNAP TS-470A fully capable storage solution for the small business crowd with a price to match. With excellent performance, ample expandable storage options, and easily navigable software, the TS-470 from QNAP is definitely impressive. The device comes packed with four drive bays and four Gigabit network ports, all running on a 2.6GHz dual-core Celeron processor. With extra features such as SSD Caching and optional web apps, along with the option to upgrade to a 10GbE card, the TS-470 offers plenty of options for users. However, those options come at a cost: about $1,180 (£700, AU$1,270). At that price point, this offering from QNAP firmly straddles the line between high-end NAS solutions and full-blown rack-mounted options. Read: QNAP TS-470 review http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/network_attached_storage/WD/Sentinel%20DX4200/WD-DX4200-hero-420-90.jpg Western Digital Sentinel DX4200A full-featured solution for businesses. The WD Sentinel DX4200 is definitely an interesting little NAS box. While the DX4200 comes in a similar size as other NAS offerings, its internals are what make it stand out. Rather than the traditional Linux setup, the DX4200 runs Windows, allowing it to seamlessly integrate Windows workgroup or Active Directory network. As a bonus, the DX4200 comes pre-loaded with four hard drives. However, that inclusion will set you back around $1,693 (£1,080, AU$2,036) for the 8TB option and $2,180 (£1,390, AU$2,620) for the 16TB option. Our only notable qualms with the DX4200 were with the device's somewhat complex configuration software. However, with a separate boot disk (with an option of two for extra redundancy), solid build, and ample external ports, the DX4200 makes a great option for enterprise users that are willing to look past the price to add some storage to their existing Windows server setup. Read: Western Digital Sentinel DX4200 review http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/NAS/Synology-EDS14-header-420-90.jpg Synology Embedded DataStation EDS14A rugged, compact solution for surveillance. The EDS14 from Synology ($275, £160, AUD$295) is definitely a unique option. The tiny EDS14 foregoes the typical drive bays for flash memory and USB-mounted external storage. However, what it lacks in drive options, it makes up for in its ability to be tucked away out of sight. The EDS14 can operate in temperatures ranging from -20 to +50 degrees Celsius (-4 to 122 Fahrenheit), and really shines when used as a network attached storage solution for IP cameras that are tucked away in the corners of a building or bus. Building on this idea is the device's relatively low power consumption, along with Surveillance Station software. In other words, if you're looking for a convenient way to set up a network of IP cameras, the EDS14 might be your ticket. Read: Synology Embedded DataStation EDS14 review http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/NAS/Western%20Digital/My%20Cloud%20DL4100/WD/wd%20hero-420-90.JPG Western Digital DL4100Excellent backup for a wide variety of users. If you're looking for a NAS device to help manage your backup needs, the DL4100 might be worth. taking a look at. One of the coolest features of this device is its web dashboard that offers users options for backing up to cloud services such as Dropbox and Box. Additionally, we really liked the ability to set up SMS and email alerts in case the system failed for whatever reason. As far as storage options are concerned, the DL4100 comes with four drive bays in your choice of four configurations: $529.99 (£499, AU$689.52) for the diskless model, $849.99 (£799, AU$1105.57) for 8TB, $1,169.99 (£1099, AU$1522.17) for 16TB, and $1,529.99 (£1419, AU$1990.53) for 24TB. Aside from some annoying issues with wireless transfers, we found that the DL4100's 1.7GHz dual-core Atom processor and 2GB of RAM (configurable up to 6GB) performed admirably. Combine this with an easy setup and cloud connected web apps, and you have an interesting backup offering on your hands. Read: Western Digital DL4100 review http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/NAS/Thecus/N8810U/thecus-N8810U-hero-420-90.jpg Thecus N8810U-GRedundancy is key with this rack-mounted storage option. At around $2,350 (£1,500, AU$2,840), this rack-mounted NAS solution from Thecus definitely on the expensive side. However, with 10GbE, extensive redundancy, hardware-based 256-bit encryption, the N8810U-G offers plenty to like for business customers. Additionally, the unit comes with support for up to eight SAS or SATA drives, configurable in a wide variety of RAID modes, including RAID 50 and 60. While we found the software to be a bit behind-the-times in terms of design, the N8810U-G performed well in our tests—especially with those speedy 10GbE speeds. As a bonus, if you find the RAM or CPU lacking down the road, the interior of the device is easily accessible for upgrades. As long as you keep in mind that this is a rack mount, and thus comes with the weight and size that entails, the N8810U-G is worth consideration. Read: Thecus N8810U-G review Numbers 6-10Synology DiskStation DS115jExcellent NAS for a great price If you've been put off by the price of the previous entries on this list, the DS115j is definitely worth checking out. This offering from Synology is a (relatively) simple single-bay NAS device that offers plenty of features for the home user at a very-affordable $125 (£78, AU$145). While it's a simple setup compared to other options on this list, the DS115j includes Synology's fantastic DiskStation Manager software, which will make setup and management a breeze. Although we had a few issues concerning the device's build quality and lack of USB 3.0, the DS115j's price point makes it an excellent option for homes or small office settings. Read: Synology DiskStation DS115j review http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/NAS/IoSafe/ioSafe%20Front%20Main-420-90.jpg ioSafe 1513+'Rugged' is the name of the game with this NAS solution While redundancy is important in any NAS box, your data is still at risk from the elements with most solutions. That's where the massive ioSafe 1513+ comes in, ready to weather such abuse from the elements with a rugged fireproof and waterproof case. the 1513+ can survive in temperatures of up to 840 degrees Celsius (1550 Fahrenheit), and depths of up to 3 meters (10 feet) for three days. Unfortunately, this comes at quite the cost—around $4,620 (£2,950, AU$5,295). Aside from its ruggedized features, the 1513+ features five drive bays, ample expansion ports, and easy-to-use software. If you're looking for a disaster-proof solution for your data, look no further. Read: ioSafe 1513+ review http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/NAS/Netgear/ReadyNAS716/Netgear-ReadyNAS-716-hero-420-90.jpg Netgear ReadyNAS 716Speedy storage…at a cost This six-bay option is billed as the world's fastest desktop NAS device by the folks at Netgear—and for good reason. Sporting a quad-core Intel Xeon E3 processor, 16GB of RAM, and two 10GbE interfaces, the ReadyNAS 716 certainly proved to be fast on its feet in our tests. Aside from the ReadyNAS 716's performance, we were also impressed with the setup's enterprise-level snapshot and backup options, as well as its easy-to-use software. If you can look past the lack of power redundancy, this is a worthy option for those seeking rack-mounted performance from desktop chassis. Read: Netgear ReadyNAS 716 review http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/NAS/Synology/DS415Play%20Hero-420-90.JPG Synology DiskStation DS415playFor the media-hungry If previous entries on this list have leaned towards the business crowd, this one swings things back into the realm of the home user. Simply put, the DS415play from Synology is a media-streaming powerhouse. Front and center with this model is its DLNA certification, allowing users to stream a wide variety of media content to PCs and smart TVs on their network with the accompanying Media Station package. As far as specs are concerned, the DS415play packs 4 drive bays, for a total storage capacity of 24TB. With a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, and Synology's excellent DiskStation Manager software on board, we found the device performed pretty well. If the DS415play sound like it's up your alley, it can be had for about $650 (£390, AU$700). Read: Synology DiskStation DS415play review http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/network_attached_storage/Synology/ds8185plus/P1040009-420-90.jpg Synology DS1815+Great for home and business users The DS1815+ from Synology is an eight-bay NAS solution that offers up plenty of space for home and business users alike, supporting up to 48TB from internal drives, with the ability to expand that to a hefty 108TB through the device's dual eSATA ports. With its quad-core CPU and up to 6GB of memory, the DS1815+ scored well on our performance tests, though getting the device setup to bond its four gigabit ethernet ports together was a bit of a pain point. Where the DS1815+ really shines is in Synology's excellent Linux-based DiskStation Manager software. With its simple setup, navigation, and glanceable widgets for tracking vital information, DiskStation Manager continues to shine over the competition. While the price of Synology's offering may be near the top end of the NAS spectrum at around $1030 (£850, AU$1320), the combination of attractive design and ample storage options makes this an excellent option for small businesses and home users that are serious about their storage. Read: Synology DS1815+ review

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/netapphq-470-75.jpgIt’s happening again – data storage specialist NetApp is cutting staff. First in 2013, then mid-2014, and now again in Summer 2015. Following a dismal showing in the fourth quarter, the company will lay off 500 workers, which represents 4% of the company’s global workforce. These changes will be instated by the third quarter (July 2015). It was a fall of the mighty, a Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For” List winner for 13 consecutive years that seemed like a smart investment as it reaped the benefits of the data boom as storage gained steam. At the start, IT organizations were making a transition to adopting new technology and delivery models, which lended itself to NetApp’s strategy of delivering innovative, flash-accelerated solutions, bringing many customers into the fold. NetApp provided versatility and efficiency, as well as ubiquity through its solution (i.e., Data ONTAP), allowing customers to build solutions specific to their needs. So what’s happening to this tech giant, which was once a premier tech company during the .com era, and now a mere shadow of itself? Financial resultsIn Q4, the Sunnyvale-based company experienced a 32% drop in profits to $134.9 million, translated to 43 cents a share. This is a plummet from $197 million and 59 cents a share, recorded the same time last year. In addition, the company’s net revenue fell nearly 7% to $1.54 billion, resulting in a stock drop of 9% in after-hours trading. This has come as somewhat of a surprise, following a relatively successful 2014 (fiscal year 2015), with stock price rising more than 25% since end of fiscal 2014. They drove hard with the new product line-up, looking like a hail Mary to revive the strength in the storage software market, as well as NetApp’s presence in the fast-growing converged infrastructure and flash array market. The last time NetApp announced layoffs was March 2014, sharing that they would be cutting 600 jobs, about 5% of their workforce (sounds like deja vu, right?). Last time, the company was grappling with slowing sales growth, caused in part by a decrease in demand from US federal agencies. This followed a revenue growth slowdown to 1.6% in fiscal 2013, compared with an average 22% gain the previous three years. The company blames the shortfall on a decrease in federal information technology spending, weighing down total revenue. The hope was to cut jobs to refocus on strategic initiatives and streamline in order to become leaner in a constrained IT environment. In other words, it has to retool amid a slowing market and tech shifts. We’ve seen this with IBM shedding workers in its hardware unit, unloading its x86 server business to Lenovo. It's happened beforeWish we could say this was the only other time they cut the fat, but in 2013, NetApp cut 900 jobs after it came under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management Corp., the hedge fund led by billionaire Paul Singer, which has a significant stake in the company. The data-storage company was pressured by the activist investor to boost shareholder value, aiming to cut jobs in order to return cash through stock buybacks and dividends. This increased the stock-repurchase program by $1.6 billion, bringing the total to $3 billion over three years. Elliott Management Corp. took a significant stake in NetApp and pressed the company to change its board and increase shareholder value. Results during this time (Q2, 2013), were indicative of the company’s challenges with sales between $1.48 billion to $1.58 billion, just shy of the $1.60 billion analysts were predicting. Profit also fell 3 cents below the average estimates of analysts. One of the most recent changes for NetApp has been their major product-line overhaul, resulting in a major halt of service upgrades from some of their biggest clients, waiting for NetApp to introduce the features they’ve been demanding. Perhaps this decision factored in rivals, who may be more agile and speedy to adopt the features and products their clients needed. For example, rival EMC Corp, and newer and cheaper flash-based storage tech vendors such as Nimble Storage and Pure Storage. The cloud revolutionCloud-based storage can be blamed, according to the company, claiming sales of all data storage companies have been adversely affected as customers make the move toward cloud storage, away from buying and operating their own hardware. And it’s true, in recent years, the storage hardware business has slowed, as evidenced by an industry wide decline in external storage systems revenues (as reported by IDC). Although, NetApp was one of the few large storage system vendors in 2014 to have maintained its market share through the first three quarters at 13.7%. NetApp even released some of their own cloud-related products to combat the ominous growth of cloud storage, such as NetApp Private Storage for Amazon Web Services and for Microsoft Azure. While NetApp is positioned to benefit as businesses store and manage more data on the Web, the company’s technology just hasn’t kept up with that of larger rivals. While NetApp executives believe the company should be back on track next year following the staff cuts and uptake on its new product line in the second half of the fiscal year, we’re not as optimistic. After several unsteady years of growth and a seemingly, slow-as-molasses moving product pipeline, NetApp may just not be agile enough to keep up in the age of cloud-based storage. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46c3ace0/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767844821/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3ace0/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767844821/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3ace0/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767844821/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3ace0/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767844821/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3ace0/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228767844821/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3ace0/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/HBfvNahnMY8

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/Software/Windows%2010%20Jan%202015%20Hands%20On/Terry%20Myerson%20HoloLens-470-75.jpgWe may well be only a few weeks away from the full debut of Microsoft's new flagship operating system, Windows 10. Two more fairly reliable sources, Tom Warren from The Verge and Russian leaker WZor, have either implicitly or explicitly mentioned late July, citing their own internal contacts. The company confirmed that the launch would happen in summer back in March. AMD CEO Lisa Su then mistakenly followed up with a slip of the tongue in April pointing to a launch "at the end of July." Both of these new reports, however, differ when it comes to the finer details. Warren says that it would be a public launch to users, while WZor reckons that the end of July will see Windows 10 reach RTM (release to manufacturing). That's when PC makers like Dell or Lenovo are allowed to sell PCs with the OS. More specifically, Warren's sources claim that July 29 is one release date that's been discussed. Microsoft even tossed around the idea of announcing that date during Build 2015 on April 29, exactly three months out, but decided against it should things go south, the anonymous tipsters went on to say. Moving to SaaSJuly is in just over five weeks and the end of that month, only nine weeks from now, is not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things. It is likely that Microsoft will rapidly issue updates after the official launch as it embraces the whole software-as-a-service paradigm. The company has already announced that it will no longer have Patch Tuesdays and will move away from the current naming convention of its desktop OS. Read our Windows 10 coverage for more informationhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/46c3ace1/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767844820/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3ace1/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767844820/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3ace1/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767844820/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3ace1/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/228767844820/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3ace1/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/228767844820/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/46c3ace1/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/jaqHf8Fk-CE

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/dish-joey-470-75.jpgTwo of the biggest technology companies in the computer networking business are to combine their resources after Avago Technologies announced it's acquiring Broadcom for $37 billion (about £24 billion, AU$49 billion). At more than twice the value, it dwarfs the Nokia/Alcatel Lucent deal announced last month and the new company, which will take on the Broadcom name, has a combined enterprise value of $77 billion (about £50 billion, AU$102 billion) and annual revenues of $15 billion (about £10 billion, about AU$20 billion). Obviously cost "synergies" played a massive role in the deal (around $750 million annually, which is about £490 million or AU$985 million) but there's more to it. The new company will offer an unparalleled product breadth that will cover everything from optical sensors to micro-processors (Raspberry Pi's and Now TV's chips are Broadcom). While Nokia and Alcatel Lucent mentioned 5G and Internet of Things when they merged, the Broadcom/Avago deal will likely see an acceleration in the development of new, promising fixed connectivity technologies for businesses and consumers alike. In other words, expect your future TiVO set-top box and even your broadband router/ISP modem, both of which will almost certainly have Broadcom chips inside, to get better and faster thanks to Avago's IP. Broadcom: content caching is key to the connected home