sincity

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/logos/Beats%20Music-470-75.jpgBoth Beats Music and iTunes Radio have reportedly struggled to attract the anticipated listenership since arriving on the stream scene and now it appears their fortunes will rest on the shoulders of one man. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ian Rogers, the head of Beats Music will also take the reins at iTunes Radio following the completion of the $3 billion Apple-Beats takeover on Friday. Rogers, who will join Apple alongside co-founders Dr Dre. and Jimmy Iovine, will "run both teams to create cohesion in Apple's streaming-music options," according to WSJ sources. It remains unclear whether the services will be united under one banner in order create a free, ad-funced random radio and a paid for pick-your-own streaming service combo to rival the likes of Spotify. Job lossesThe acquisition isn't all good news for Beats, with some 200 jobs going as a result of the take over. Apple has said it'll try to find new roles for those affected. Beats Music vs Spotify in a streaming showdownhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3d1a6472/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366112123/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1a6472/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366112123/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1a6472/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366112123/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1a6472/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366112123/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1a6472/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/204366112123/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1a6472/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/eCVCKwkUkzY

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/mobile_phones/HTC/HTC_One_M8_Windows_Phone_Verizon-470-75.jpgThe rumours appear to be true. HTC will apparently launched a version of its flagship HTC One M8 smartphone running the Windows Phone operating system. Following reports earlier this week claiming the device would be on the way, a press render of it has been spotted on the server's of U.S. mobile network Verizon, who will presumably be stocking it. The photo discovered by PCMag sources comes a little over two weeks before HTC holds a press event in New York on August 19. Previous reports which dubbed the phone the 'One M8 for Windows' had suggested it will go on sale shortly after the reveal on August 21. No commentSpeculation had suggested the device would come in silver and would be identical to the Android version, aside from the obvious OS differences. The Windows Phone 8.1 device will also support smart cases like the innovative Dot View cover and would offer voice over LTE in the United States. Should the device launch, it'll be HTC's first Windows Phone in over a year. Both Microsoft and HTC have declined to comment. HTC One E8 reviewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3d19cdd5/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366124779/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d19cdd5/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366124779/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d19cdd5/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366124779/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d19cdd5/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366124779/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d19cdd5/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/204366124779/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d19cdd5/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/T5vSjLqyMX0

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/yo_app-470-75.jpgThe app market can be a vicious place, filled with ruthless and unscrupulous developers willing to do anything to make a quick buck - even if it means ripping other developers off wholesale. Thus it's no surprise that popular messaging app Yo has allegedly been copied by several apps, many of which have even better names: Yolo, Oi, YoFrom, and even Yo, Hodor!. "As the pioneer of a concept, Yo has spawned many clones, though most of the clones offer something slightly different, some of them are a complete replication of the Yo app," Yo creator Or Arbel, who's complained officially about this glut of imitators, told TechCrunch. "Even the App Store description was copied word by word," he continued. "We value creativity and we are in a free market. Improving upon our concept is welcomed, copying us bit-by-bit isn't." Apple is sending notices to Yo's accused copycats, and some have already been taken down - including, regrettably, the Game of Thrones-themed parody Yo, Hodor!. More blipsYo! Check out more of TechRadar's blips! One of Google's mystery barges is headed for the scrap heapTron Light Cycle is not roadworthy, says ChinaReal steel: Japan wants to host first robot Olympics in 2020http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3d1a1eec/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366126256/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1a1eec/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366126256/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1a1eec/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366126256/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1a1eec/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366126256/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1a1eec/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/204366126256/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1a1eec/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/FXTPx40qnUc

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/internet/Twitter/Twitter_hashtag_tests-470-75.jpgUnderstanding the meaning behind popular Twitter hashtags can at times be tricky. There's acronyms, no spaces between the words and sometimes people don't even have the common decency to use casing. Twitter is testing a new feature that could make things easier for those struggling to decipher the message behind trending tags, by spelling them out for some users of the iOS app. The Wall Street Journal reports popular tags like #tbt and #smh are being explained as 'Throwback Thursday' and 'Shake My Head' when users click on them. Likewise #OITNB appears as Orange is the New Black and #manutd is expanded to Manchester United, with Twitter giving users the opportunity to rate the interpretation for accuracy. Small sampleIt's not clear how wide the test is right now. It's common for Twitter to trial new features on a small percentage of its use rbase before rolling them out. Sometimes they make it into the main app, sometimes they don't. In this case a hashtag codebreaker would certainly be a welcome addition to the service. Opinion: Twitter's new mute feature is for chumpsVia Engadget http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3d1999b4/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366152614/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1999b4/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366152614/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1999b4/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366152614/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1999b4/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366152614/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1999b4/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/204366152614/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d1999b4/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/eGY2Nj51tKc

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/desktop_pcs_and_macs/Lenovo/lenovo-keyboard-470-75.JPGAs high profile security breaches continue to proliferate it has become increasingly clear that how we manage our online identities is seriously out dated in the ever-evolving digital world. We caught up with Darren Gross, EMEA Director of Unified Identity Services company, Centrify to find out more about why identity management is now a priority among enterprises and what can be done to rethink how we secure corporate data. TechRadar Pro: What are the key business challenges driving the identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) marketplace? Darren Gross: The advent of cloud and mobility has radically overhauled how businesses deliver IT to users and how in turn users access and consume those services. Company data has broken outside of the corporate HQ and is walking around in any one of your employees' back pockets. Securing that data, without making access to it onerous for employees, is a business imperative. Traditionally businesses have relied on passwords, but you only need to look at the headlines over the last few months to realise that this is a big Achilles heel for corporate security policies. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that even 94% of security professionals we surveyed at InfoSecurity this year admitted to using the same device to access both corporate and personal apps. This is a concern because given the challenges associated with remembering numerous passwords we tend to use the same one in all aspects of life - professional and personal. For hackers this is a dream come true as it provides a backdoor to the corporate infrastructure. One password and they are free to roam wherever they like, forage through your bank details or steal confidential customer information from the company database stored on your smartphone. Against this back drop the global identity and access management market is forecast to grow from $4.4 billion in 2012 to $6.99 billion in 2017 according to IDC. Such is the demand for this technology that Centrify has quickly grown its business, doubling its headcount in the UK and growing its channel partners by 139% in the last six months alone. Identity is the next big milestone in cloud adoption. TRP: Why is identity so often overlooked when it comes to the cloud and mobility? DG: If you think about it, every module and function of a service has morphed to become a different app. Every day it gets worse as more devices are brought into the workplace and more apps are deployed and downloaded. This creates silos that in themselves become new infrastructures that need to be managed. The complexity is simply staggering and because companies aren't effectively managing identity they have no idea who has access to what data and via what device. If they don't know this, when an employee leaves, how can they possibly tell if their IT footprint has been wiped and that no back doors exist? TRP: How much of a challenge is it for IT to manage an employee's digital footprint across the organisation? DG: It's become a huge challenge to manage an employee's digital footprint. If you are not managing identity, you don't know who has access to what data, if they should have access to that data, and also where they are accessing it from. In the digital world, our identity is our currency - it validates and authenticates us to go where we need to go and access the information needed to do our job. But the more apps and data that get added, and the more passwords created, the harder it becomes to unravel. TRP: What role are passwords playing in making security complex? DG: The problem with passwords, apart from their inherent insecurity, is that organisations expect employees to remember multiple different ones. Our research found that over a quarter of companies (27%) expect their employees to remember six or more passwords. That is a lot of passwords - or password sprawl as we call it. Not only is IT going to be inundated with calls from users who can't remember their password and need it resetting, but how on Earth do you stay on top of which user is using what password? IT environments are already becoming increasingly complex and passwords are simply adding to this, without adding any value or protection to the business. TRP: Do you believe that passwords in their current form will still exist in 10 years' time? DG: What recent breaches have taught us is that passwords in their current form are inherently insecure. We desperately need a new approach, but equally we need to ensure that we don't make things overly complex for employees. They need - and demand - seamless access to company data in order to be productive. With this in mind, Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is starting to gain some real momentum. It allows you to log onto a website without a password, instead of using a system that knows who you are and generates a one-off message or token, in order to validate your identity and send this to the server. Known as 'zero sign on' it provides instant access to the service and delivers a seamless user experience. TRP: What are the key benefits that a company can realise from better managing identity? DG: Centrify's aim is to make consuming IT services as easy and secure as possible regardless of whether you are on the train on your smartphone or at home catching up on emails on your laptop. Users jump from device to device without a second thought and this working culture is something that identity management has to enable. By doing this, companies can benefit from greater end user productivity, improved IT efficiency, better risk mitigation and regulatory compliance, as well as a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) of their identity infrastructure. TRP: What are your key technology partnerships within the IT industry? DG: Centrify has a number of key partnerships that we're proud of. We've teamed up with Samsung to improve security and increase productivity for millions of enterprise employees who use Samsung mobile devices. The Samsung KNOX solution is co-developed with Centrify and leverages its technology and cloud services. We've also been a long-time partner with Microsoft, offering in-depth knowledge around Active Directory and Office 365. We also provide industry partner integrations and platform support. Additions in the past year include Zoom, Alfresco, Marketo, Huddle, Dropbox for Business, Red Hat Storage, and NetSuite; and Day One support for the Apple iOS 7 operating system for iPhones and iPads, and the Apple OS X 10.9 Mavericks operating system for Mac. TRP: Lastly, what is your vision for the future? DG: At the heart of Centrify's vision for the future is simplicity. We want to make it possible for end users to have access to their information any time, any place and from any device, while at the same time enabling IT to have tighter security and proper oversight and controls in place to ensure that the corporation and its data are being protected. To deliver on this we will continue to innovate and create new technologies that differentiate us from any of our competitors across the data centre, cloud and mobile. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3d18afdd/sc/21/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366122270/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d18afdd/sc/21/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366122270/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d18afdd/sc/21/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366122270/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d18afdd/sc/21/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366122270/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d18afdd/sc/21/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/204366122270/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d18afdd/sc/21/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/MyyhR2WR99c

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/features/CES%202014%20Home%20Automation/_DSC3831-470-75.jpgAs technology advances and us consumers get lazier, the concept of the smart home is becoming more of an everyday reality, with automated devices beginning to proliferate through our households. The trend is creating an exciting marketplace but with multiple devices launching on multiple operating systems, the smart home is in danger of becoming fragmented, nullifying the convenience smart devices are supposed to bring. That's why ComfortClick has created an operating system designed to control all our different devices from one app and simplify the situation. We spoke to the company's CEO Luka Persic to find out more. TechRadar Pro: What is the current state of home automation? Luka Persic: The number of home devices is increasing almost exponentially. Lately we were able to see a lot of successful projects such as Nest and Philips Hue. However these devices are all operating independently. You have to get a separate app for each device, meaning different user experience each time. Now imagine the future, if this trend continues – you'll have to switch between 20 or even 50 different apps in order to control your home . TRP: What is ComfortClick bOS? LP: ComfortClick bOS is the first building operating system, it's a universal software platform that enables the integration of different home devices and their control via a single app on users mobile device which can be iOS, Android or Windows based. ComfortClick bOS features also plugins market – ComfortClick Bridge, where users will be able to get plugins for their home devices. The library already features an array of supported devices and protocols such as KNX, Modbus, S BUS, XBMC, DSC, IP cameras, Global Caché, IRTrans,…We just launched Indiegogo campaign - ComfortClick bOS the first building operating system. TRP: What is different about bOS in comparison to other home automation solutions? LP: We would like to give our users the possibility to connect, monitor and control any device, from any manufacturer via a single app. Users will be able to control just one device e.g. room thermostat or all devices at home. So, the basic solutions will be affordable for everybody and you'll be able to upgrade whenever you want. TRP: What are some practical usage examples? LP: One universal platform where all devices are working together offers practically limitless number of different features. Some of the more interesting ones are logical operations - for instance, when you leave home ComfortClick bOS will turn off the lights, lower the shades, reduce the heating, turn off electrical sockets and activate presence simulation. Another interesting feature is electricity consumption monitoring and automatic alerts if your electricity consumptions exceeds preset thresholds. With logical operations and energy consumption monitoring you can cut your energy bills by around 30%. TRP: Will third party developers be able to participate? LP: We are aware one single company can never cover all the devices that are out there. We'll offer a playground for 3rd party developer community and give the developers a chance to earn money for their work by selling their plugins in ComfortClick Bridge. Anyone who knows a little bit about programming will be able to start developing plugins for ComfortClick bOS using the bOS software development kit (SDK). TRP: Is ComfortClick bOS intended only for residential buildings? LP: We don't want to limit only to residential buildings. Automation system offers numerous benefits also for commercial buildings such as office buildings, hotels and hospitals. Imagine coming into a hotel, you already have ComfortClick bOS on your phone, by entering hotel's ComfortClick bOS username and password you'll be able to control your room. TRP: How far along are you with your software platform? LP: We have a fully functional software platform. Together with our partners we have successfully used our software in projects all over the globe. ComfortClick is present in EU, Russia, Qatar, Kazakhstan, India, Thailand, Malaysia, USA and Latin America. With ComfortClick bOS we want to take a step forward. TRP: Apple has announced its smart home solution. What does this mean for other players? LP: Home automation is already struggling with too many communication protocols. Apple just announced another one. It's going to take a really, really long time - if ever - before we'll have a standard communication protocol for all home devices and systems. The solution is universal software platform and that's exactly what bOS aims to be. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3d16e222/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366098372/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d16e222/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366098372/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d16e222/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366098372/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d16e222/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366098372/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d16e222/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/204366098372/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d16e222/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/inXfRWxtLxg

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/features/CES%202014%20Home%20Automation/_DSC3831-470-75.jpgAs technology advances and us consumers get lazier, the concept of the smart home is becoming more of an everyday reality, with automated devices beginning to proliferate through our households. The trend is creating an exciting marketplace but with multiple devices launching on multiple operating systems, the smart home is in danger of becoming fragmented, nullifying the convenience smart devices are supposed to bring. That's why ComfortClick has created an operating system designed to control all our different devices from one app and simplify the situation. We spoke to the company's CEO Luka Persic to find out more. TechRadar Pro: What is the current state of home automation? Luka Persic: The number of home devices is increasing almost exponentially. Lately we were able to see a lot of successful projects such as Nest and Philips Hue. However these devices are all operating independently. You have to get a separate app for each device, meaning different user experience each time. Now imagine the future, if this trend continues – you'll have to switch between 20 or even 50 different apps in order to control your home . TRP: What is ComfortClick bOS? LP: ComfortClick bOS is the first building operating system, it's a universal software platform that enables the integration of different home devices and their control via a single app on users mobile device which can be iOS, Android or Windows based. ComfortClick bOS features also plugins market – ComfortClick Bridge, where users will be able to get plugins for their home devices. The library already features an array of supported devices and protocols such as KNX, Modbus, S BUS, XBMC, DSC, IP cameras, Global Caché, IRTrans,…We just launched Indiegogo campaign - ComfortClick bOS the first building operating system. TRP: What is different about bOS in comparison to other home automation solutions? LP: We would like to give our users the possibility to connect, monitor and control any device, from any manufacturer via a single app. Users will be able to control just one device e.g. room thermostat or all devices at home. So, the basic solutions will be affordable for everybody and you'll be able to upgrade whenever you want. TRP: What are some practical usage examples? LP: One universal platform where all devices are working together offers practically limitless number of different features. Some of the more interesting ones are logical operations - for instance, when you leave home ComfortClick bOS will turn off the lights, lower the shades, reduce the heating, turn off electrical sockets and activate presence simulation. Another interesting feature is electricity consumption monitoring and automatic alerts if your electricity consumptions exceeds preset thresholds. With logical operations and energy consumption monitoring you can cut your energy bills by around 30%. TRP: Will third party developers be able to participate? LP: We are aware one single company can never cover all the devices that are out there. We'll offer a playground for 3rd party developer community and give the developers a chance to earn money for their work by selling their plugins in ComfortClick Bridge. Anyone who knows a little bit about programming will be able to start developing plugins for ComfortClick bOS using the bOS software development kit (SDK). TRP: Is ComfortClick bOS intended only for residential buildings? LP: We don't want to limit only to residential buildings. Automation system offers numerous benefits also for commercial buildings such as office buildings, hotels and hospitals. Imagine coming into a hotel, you already have ComfortClick bOS on your phone, by entering hotel's ComfortClick bOS username and password you'll be able to control your room. TRP: How far along are you with your software platform? LP: We have a fully functional software platform. Together with our partners we have successfully used our software in projects all over the globe. ComfortClick is present in EU, Russia, Qatar, Kazakhstan, India, Thailand, Malaysia, USA and Latin America. With ComfortClick bOS we want to take a step forward. TRP: Apple has announced its smart home solution. What does this mean for other players? LP: Home automation is already struggling with too many communication protocols. Apple just announced another one. It's going to take a really, really long time - if ever - before we'll have a standard communication protocol for all home devices and systems. The solution is universal software platform and that's exactly what bOS aims to be.

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/broadcast/Sky/nowtv_youtube-470-75.jpgThe Now TV box has been updated with the YouTube app, bringing yet more content to the low-cost streaming box from Sky. Although you might be surprised that the YouTube app wasn't already on the boxes, it has now joined the major terrestrial catch-up services, Facebook, TED talks and Flickr, alongside Sky's paid-for Now TV streaming services. Now TV has been a hit for Sky, as it looks to build its business beyond its traditional satellite platform. The Now TV service offer Sky's premium content for streaming through limited time subscriptions, including movies, major television shows and, of course, sport. Find out why we loved the little streamer in our Now TV box review

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/other/Invisible%20iPhone/invisible_phone_final-470-75.pngHow to make an iPhone invisible: 1Imagine a smartphone that remains "cloaked" until its owner whispers a pass phrase. It's an incredible concept, but could it be that the ultimate smartphone security feature is invisibility? If you think that sounds crazy, how about rendering an entire car or a space ship invisible? Even crazier, it's rapidly becoming science fact rather than science fiction. And that's because it's not only been shown to be possible within the laws of physics, but it's being worked on by scientists and researchers right now. It wasn't always the case. Even 10 years ago, cloaking devices were still thoroughly shackled to the realm of science fiction and thought to defy the laws of optics. But in 2006, scientists from the UK and US created an incredible new material that appeared to do just that. And this week researchers at Cambridge University have announced the discovery of a new technique that could one day be used to render invisible anything from an iPhone to a space station. So what techniques could we use to render objects invisible and when can we expect an invisible smartphone? http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/other/Invisible%20iPhone/1_optical-580-100.jpg The most obvious method of making something invisible is to use what's often called optical - or active - camouflage. By photographing the scenery behind an object and projecting that image on to its front, you'll render it partially invisible. This was the concept behind James Bond's invisible Aston Martin in Die Another Day. But while this method can actually be quite effective from one angle, there are obvious weaknesses when it comes to viewing the "invisible object" from positions. The technology is still finding some excellent practical uses, though. For example, you can potentially project the view from underneath a plane onto the cockpit floor so that a pilot can have a much better idea of where the runway is. In the same way, you could project the ground underneath a car onto the hood so that offroad drivers can more effectively navigate tricky terrain. The transparent cockpit idea could also be used to eliminate car blind spots. This technology has already been mooted for practical uses by companies such as Land Rover, which showed off its Transparent Bonnet virtual imaging concept back in April. Cameras located in the vehicle's grille capture data which is used to feed a Head-Up Display, effectively creating a view of the terrain through the bonnet and engine bay. It's a realistic and promising method of seeing through objects but almost completely useless for making objects such as an iPhone invisible. For that, you're going to need an understanding of quantum mechanics and the ability to manipulate materials at the smallest of scales... http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/other/Invisible%20iPhone/2_atomsatoms-580-100.gif When you think about it, invisibility isn't actually that strange. Have you ever wondered what air looks like? How about glass or other clear fluids? Many things are invisible to the human eye, and it's all to do with the way their atoms are arranged. Many gases and liquids are invisible because their atoms are spaced far enough apart for the wavelengths of visible light to travel through without being disturbed. Water is visible only because of the way it bends and distorts light as it passes through, and it's this bending, or refracting, of light that holds the key to invisibility. Hold that thought. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/other/Invisible%20iPhone/3_nano-580-100.jpg If atoms hold the key to invisibility, it makes sense that we will need to manipulate them in new and innovative ways. And we first developed the ability to do this back in the early 1980s. Using the 1981 Nobel Prize-winning Scanning Tunneling Microscope, scientists are able to not only take pictures of but also manipulate individual atoms. In 1990, this technology caused waves and hit the international media when it was used to spell out "IBM" using 35 individual xenon atoms - a watershed moment for nanotechnology. Using this technique, scientists are attempting to to construct materials and even machines using individual atoms as building blocks. And it's research in this field that seems most likely to pay off when it comes to invisibility. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/other/Invisible%20iPhone/4_meta-580-100.jpg Surely the most promising application of nanotechnology when it comes to invisibility is in the production of what scientists call metamaterials. Thought to be prohibited by the laws of optics until less than a decade ago, metamaterials have properties that are not found anywhere in the natural world and have the potential to one day render objects completely invisible even to the human eye. Metamaterials are made by rearranging the building blocks of a material in sophisticated arrays so that its overall index of refraction (the extent to which light is bent as it passes through) is negative rather than positive. By doing this, you can potentially bend light around an object and out the other side - a cornerstone in the quest for an invisibility cloak. In 2006, scientists from the US and UK created a material from copper and other metals that was able to bend light around a cylinder in such a way as to render it almost completely invisible to microwave radiation. This stunning experiment proved the concept and sparked a new race to build metamaterials that can manipulate different kinds of light. Nathan Myhrvold, former Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft, says metamaterials "will completely change the way we approach optics and nearly every aspect of electronics. [They] can perform feats that would have seemed miraculous a few decades ago." So the laws of physics don't prohibit light from being bent around an object, but how do we create a material that could render an iPhone invisible? The problems arise from the fact that the crystals inside the metamaterials must be smaller than the wavelength of the light you're attempting to bend. With a wavelength of around 3cm, creating a material to interact with microwaves it turns out is pretty straight forward. However, to play with visible light in the same way, you're talking many different wavelengths between 380 and 800nm, one nanometre being a billionth of a metre - about the length of five atoms side by side. Quite a challenge. How to make an iPhone invisible: 1.http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/other/Invisible%20iPhone/5_photonic_crystals-580-100.jpg Scientists all over the world are now racing to be the first to create a metamaterial that can bend visible light, and many hope that the computing industry is well placed to lend a hand. Photolithography is a complex technique that silicon chip manufacturers like Intel and AMD already use to fabricate components that contain billions of microscopic transistors. Ultraviolet light is used to etch the components onto silicon wafers. It is hoped that a new generation of computer chips will use light instead of electricity to process information, making them faster and far more efficient. These new chips will need billions of crystalline transistors each with a slightly different index of refraction. And that means research into invisibility cloaks can piggyback on work in this field. In 2007, scientists in the US and Germany used this process to create a multi-layered material that was able to bend red light with a wavelength of 780nm (red being the longest and thus relatively easiest wavelength to bend in the visible spectrum). "Metamaterials may one day lead to the development of a type of flat superlens that operates in the visible spectrum," says Ames Labratory Senior Physicist Costas Soukoulis. "Such a lens would offer superior resolution over conventional technology, capturing details much smaller than one wavelength of light." While progress in this field is ongoing, there are still huge obstacles to be overcome. Photolithography has been shown to be capable of stacking photonic crystals that bend light in two dimensions, but the process is far more complicated when it comes to bending in three dimensions as you'd need to cloak a real-world object like an iPhone. The process might not be capable of it. Plus of course, bending more than one wavelength of light around the same object is another enormous challenge in itself, potentially requiring multiple layers of different types of metamaterials. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/other/Invisible%20iPhone/6_plasmonics-580-100.jpg The military applications of rendering objects invisible are fairly obvious. And as such, military customers are footing the bill for some of the research. Imagine a scary future where the NSA could mount a camera in a room and then cloak it - they'd be able to spy on people without them knowing. "Ah ha", you say, "but if you're bending light all the way round an object as to make it invisible, how would any light get into the object so that it can observe its surroundings?" That's a good question, and the answer could be plasmonics. Plasmonics is another candidate technology for tomorrow's super-efficient computer chips, and it's also lending a hand with research into invisibility. Instead of using just light to perform calculations as do photonic crystal-based chips, plasmonics uses a combination of light and electricity - photons and electrons. One current plasmonic prototype consists of silicon nanowires, coated by a thin layer of pure gold. And its parent researchers at Stanford University have shown that you can effectively cloak a silicon wire in this way while also allowing a small amount of light through to a detector. It works by using the interaction of photons with the electrons in metal nanostructures to induce oscillating electrical currents on the surface of both the metal and the semi-conducting silicon layer underneath, producing scattered light waves. By tuning the structural geometries of these materials, the light waves from the metal and semiconductors will cancel each other out, rendering any object underneath invisible. "It seems counter-intuitive, but you can cover a semiconductor with metal - even one as reflective as gold - and still have the light get through to the silicon," says Associate Professor Mark Brongersma at Stanford University. "As we show, the metal not only allows the light to reach the silicon where we can detect the current generated, but it makes the wire invisible, too.". http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/other/Invisible%20iPhone/7_invisible_phone-580-100.jpg This week's breakthrough in invisibility at Cambridge University comes thanks to a new technique which uses unfocused laser lights projected into water as proxies for billions of needles, stitching gold nanoparticles together into long strings. These nanostrings are stacked into layers like Lego bricks and are able to control the way that light passes through them making them perfect for invisibility. Part of the brilliance of this metamaterial is that, by effectively making it out of light itself, it's far easier to make in larger quantities than other candidate metamaterials. "We have controlled the dimensions in a way that hasn't been possible before," said Dr Valev, who worked with researchers from the Department of Chemistry, the Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, and the Donostia International Physics Centre in Spain on the project. "This level of control opens up a wide range of potential practical applications." So we've seen that while invisibility is in its infancy, progress is being made. And one day scientists could feasibly create an invisibility cloak. So when will we see an iPhone that can render itself invisible? Well obviously the answer, unfortunately, is never. By the time this technology reaches maturity, we'll likely be far beyond using smartphones as everyday gadgets. But the latest news from Cambridge University does at least show that regular progress is being made towards what is now considered a realistic goal. The invisible future, it seems, is just around the corner. 7 scientific breakthroughs that unlocked the age of technology

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/tablets/iPad/tablet_lifestyle_generic-470-75.jpgMicrosoft SharePoint is used by enterprises globally to facilitate collaboration by easily sharing, organising and discovering content and resources, and today's SharePoint managers are under pressure to deliver value. In the modern age, video is emerging as a content medium of choice, especially for the next generation worker who has grown up with video content playing a key role in their daily lives. The SharePoint platform, while not built with video in mind, can be enhanced to become a powerful and effective video content platform, catering for both live video events and on-demand video content. Video often provides a challenge for the CIO and IT teams managing a company network. A traditionally 'heavy' form of content, video files are large and the bandwidth required to give access to a large group of people can keep the network manager up at night. Enhancing your existing set-upWhilst SharePoint does provide basic video features natively, the size of video files mean the maximum recommend database size of 200GB is quickly reached. Videos are also subject to the maximum file upload size in SharePoint and play with progressive download which can cause tremendous frustration for the viewer. Ultimately organisations also simply cannot afford to risk business critical systems being affected, with downtime costing huge amounts in terms of lost productivity. Due to modern technology however, SharePoint can be enhanced to become the solution as far as video is concerned, becoming a dynamic and engaging source of live video streaming and video-on-demand content. The possible use cases for video are many, but primarily video is a great tool for internal communications, achieving employee engagement, and giving direct visibility to senior management who can clearly communicate company vision, strategy and culture. Benefiting the whole workforceTraining and development is also an area where video is a great fit, with content delivered in an engaging manner, available to users whenever they need to access it. Video becomes an organisation's content store of the skills and experience gained by the workforce, with this available for new recruits and more junior personnel to access to enhance their own skills and abilities, therefore up-skilling the wider workforce more quickly. As a collaboration tool primarily, a video enhanced SharePoint furthermore offers a way to make the enterprise a social one, where video content can be accessed, created and shared easily. Users can comment on videos they access, pose questions, or even create videos in response, creating a dialogue and discussion available for the wider company to access, and join in with. From a network point of view, an enhanced SharePoint platform manages the load on the network, ensuring business critical systems are protected whilst freeing the organisation to take advantage of the benefits offered by video content. For those organisations which have invested time and money into SharePoint, the step of enhancing the platform to become a truly video enabled one is a natural step, turning SharePoint into a valuable resource delivering scalable, controllable, and sharable video content to the workforce. Martin Nurser brings more than 25 years of enterprise and technology industry experience with emphasis on engineered systems and cloud technologies. He is a leading expert in channel and strategic alliance development and management, go-to-market planning, as well as market segmentation and business strategy formulation.http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3d0efeb2/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366080044/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d0efeb2/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366080044/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d0efeb2/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366080044/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d0efeb2/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366080044/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d0efeb2/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/204366080044/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d0efeb2/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/leJldiDmPHM

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/internet/Chrome/chromewebstore-470-75.jpgGoogle announced early in June that it had upgraded its Chrome browser for Windows 7 and Windows 8 to 64 bits, and now that version of the browser is available to the public in beta. Upgrading the browser's bit count has made it faster and more secure, according to Google. The 64-bit Chrome for Windows build first arrived in preview builds for developers in June, and this is the first time the general public has had access to a steady build. The beta is available now from Google's official Chrome releases page. Max beta"The new version replaces the existing version while preserving all your settings and bookmarks, so there's no need to uninstall a current installation of Chrome," Google's release blog promises. However it's important to remember that as a beta version of Chrome, this 64-bit release is likely far from stable. If you do encounter any bugs you can let Google know on this Chromium code page. In the meantime the less adventurous out there might want to wait for a full, official release of Google's 64-bit Chrome for Windows, which is more than likely right around the corner. Explorers unite: read TechRadar's latest review of Google Glasshttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3d072dd3/sc/21/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366046167/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d072dd3/sc/21/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366046167/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d072dd3/sc/21/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366046167/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d072dd3/sc/21/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366046167/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d072dd3/sc/21/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/204366046167/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d072dd3/sc/21/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/alfB5ZtFu9Y

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/desktop_pcs_and_macs/Apple/Modbook-Pro-X-470-75.jpgApple's latest MacBook Pro models are truly things of beauty, but if you've ever wished one of them could be converted into a powerful tablet, there's now a Kickstarter campaign just for you. Modbook today announced the Kickstarter exclusive launch of Modbook Pro X, the company's most ambitious hardware project to date, which converts a 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display into a pixel-rich tablet computer. Billed as a "content creation powerhouse" for creative professionals, Modbook Pro X can be built from an existing MacBook Pro for as little as $1999 (about UK£1181, AU$2138), although early backers won't actually receive the modified hardware until early next year. Paired with a pen input device capable of 2,048 pressure levels and powered by the forthcoming OS X Yosemite 10.10, Modbook Pro X can be configured with up to a quad-core 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 32GB RAM and maxed out with 2TB of flash storage, double what Apple currently offers. Take that, iPad!Those kind of specs would make even reigning tablet champion iPad Air run for cover, especially when Modbook claims the resulting device "functions like a regular MacBook Pro in the Mac ecosystem," even after being converted into a tablet. Modbook Pro X does include a few tantalizing customization options, including Keybars, an eyes-free method for entering shortcuts, and a Keyboard Stand that serves triple duty as an easel mount, keyboard and screen protector. The folks at Modbook have been converting Mac computers into award-winning tablets for years, seamlessly integrating with existing Mac OS X technologies, including Boot Camp support for dual-booting into Windows 8.1 and beyond. We've reached out to Apple for comment on how Modbook's Kickstarter campaign might ultimately affect the warranty status of a MacBook Pro (don't hold your breath), and whether or not Cupertino frowns on such modifications (we're guessing they might). Speaking of powerhouses, check out our review of Apple's new Mac Pro!http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3d06fbf4/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366028953/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d06fbf4/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366028953/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d06fbf4/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366028953/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d06fbf4/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/204366028953/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d06fbf4/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/204366028953/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3d06fbf4/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/DfUi3Ta-4JQ

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/televisions/May%20on%204K/4K%20trials/4K%20TV%20trials-470-75.jpgAs the final whistle was blown in Rio, the BBC's engineering team collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Its ambitious trial to deliver 4K live, simultaneously via DTT over the air and the Internet, appeared to have been a resounding success. I was invited along to watch the epochal kickabout at BT Tower, which offered an unprecedented opportunity to compare both feeds on nearly every major brand 4K UHD TV available. The event, organised by the Corporation, BT and Arqiva, was hailed as "a unique moment" in broadcasting history. But it also highlighted some unusual problems and anomalies. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/televisions/May%20on%204K/4K%20trials/Out%20of%20sync%204K%20panels-420-90.jpg Problems ahead for 4KThe BT Tower was equipped with Ultra HD TVs from Samsung, Sony, LG and Panasonic, along with very early prototype set top boxes from Humax, Sagemcom and VIXS. Unsurprisingly there were differences between them, although not quite what you might expect. While all screens were fed uniform content, clearly not all Ultra HD image processing is created equal. Panasonic's TX-AX802 TV was running a full five seconds behind nearby rival screens from LG, Sony and Samsung. For live sports that's obviously a deal breaker, so the poor panel was left largely unwatched for the duration of the match. However Panasonic's tardiness was nothing compared to a VIXS STB, which was a full minute behind its competition. But it's not so easy to lay the blame purely at onboard HEVC decoding. According to VIXS director of sales Steven Pyne, both the Panasonic and the Samsung screens employ the same VIXS-made HEVC silicon. Yet the two were clearly out of sync. The big experiment was both ambitious and all a bit last minute, reveals Pyne. While plans have been in place for 4K trial coverage of the Commonwealth Games for some time, the opportunity to play in the FIFA sandbox came relatively late in the day. "We were given very little time to build our set top box sample," says Pyne. Still the opportunity appears to have been relished by everyone. "We've learnt an awful lot, from getting signals back to squashing signals down," says BBC Technology centre Head Andy Wilson. The matches themselves were acquired by Sony broadcast cameras in h.264 and then encoded in HEVC in the UK for delivery utilising the MPEG-DASH standard. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/televisions/May%20on%204K/4K%20trials/VIXS%20set%20top%20box-420-90.jpg 25mbps needed for 4K?Significantly, IP delivery required 36Mbps. When pushed on what might be a commercially viable 4K stream, one BBC engineer offered: "Possibly 25Mbps?" This in itself shows just what a remarkable job Netflix is currently doing with its 4K streaming service, which requires a mere 15.6Mbps. While the live transmissions, including the final ("There was no safety net, if the system had failed we would have been plenty of unhappy people here!") played out without any obvious problem, there were no shortage of backstage drama, not least maintaining definition. The adaptive bitrate system used actually had very little tolerance, defaulting to regular HD whenever it dipped below 36Mbps. IP delivery into BT Tower itself was via standard BT Home Hub 5s and the BT Infinity fibre optic network ("We wanted to replicate a real world experience as much as we can," I was told). Technicalities aside, as a viewing experience the event was flat-out amazing. Soccer in 2160p at 60Hz is spectacular. I'm no great fan of high frame rate TV as a rule, but it's clearly ideal for sport. There's a buttery smoothness to the play which looks utterly believable. Couple this to 4K's astonishing resolution, and the temptation to stand as close as possible to the screen simply to soak up the fidelity is too difficult to resist. The most impactful shots actually involved the crowds; a sea of faces, each cleanly delineated, seemed to add scale to the broadcast, while the big crowd close-ups oozed emotion. The images were extraordinarily compelling. But not everyone was so impressed. One of the BBC engineering team confided to me. "This is nothing really, we're currently researching 4K at 100/120fps. Now that really looks unbelievable, it's like a window." With 4K, it seems there's everything still to play for. 11 reasons why your next TV has to be an Ultra HD 4K TV

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/mobile_phones/Nokia/Lumia1520/Lumia%201520%20hands%20on/Nokia_Lumia_1520_review%20(10)-470-75.JPGExciting updates for Windows Phone 8.1 are just around the corner as Microsoft inadvertently spill the beans on some of the most prominent updates coming to its mobile OS soon. Microsoft accidentally revealed its release notes for Windows Phone 8.1 GDR1, otherwise known as Update 1, on its Developer Center. One of the biggest changes is folders are finally being added. It's a little sad this long held iOS and Android feature has taken so long to implement, but it's finally here to let users better organize their app tiles. The update also adds a Cortana entry into the phonebook, allowing users to trigger speech controls through the car's navigation system. This could be useful for activating speech on phones with cars that don't support the feature via Bluetooth. One of the last big updates users will be able to take advantage of immediately is the added support for voice over a Wi-Fi connection in case customers have mobile plans with a tiny allotment of minutes. Big screens, interactive coversThe premature release also reveals Microsoft is preparing Windows 8.1 for some of it's biggest devices yet. The update also adds support for screens 6.01-inches to 7-inches in size with a 1280 x 768 WXGA resolution. Once the update takes, Windows Phone 8.1 devices with 1280 x 800 WXGA resolution screens will also become a possibility. Windows Phone 8.1 GDR1 introduces the possibility of interactive case accessories. Like the covers made for the HTC One M8 and LG G3, these will allow Microsoft's mobile device's to display information on a phone screen even when a case is in use. While aren't any interactive covers nor 7-inch Windows Phone devices, yet – new products could appear very soon. Touchy touchyAlthough the Windows Phone 8.1 update is not upon us yet Microsoft has released some new interactive lock screens to the current version of Windows Phone 8.1 with its Live Lock Screen beta. These new fangled lock screens were first debuted at the Build 2014 and they replace boring swipeable pictures with rotating image locks and text that slips off the edge of the screen as users unlock their device. Currently there are six themes all Windows Phone 8.1 users can access upon installing the app. However users might be better off sticking with the lock screens they already have as PC World reports many of them are still very buggy. Supposedly the experience lags quite often while other users have reported the Live Lock screens cause their devices to crash repeatedly. Microsoft is going in a different direction under Satya NadellaVia WP Central http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3cf31ff3/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199109986165/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cf31ff3/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199109986165/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cf31ff3/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199109986165/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cf31ff3/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199109986165/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cf31ff3/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199109986165/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cf31ff3/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/UcggWBJQx_Q

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/mobile_phone_accessories/Fitbit%20Flex/flex%20new-470-75.jpgWindows Phone users hoping to accessorise their activities with a trendy fitness wristband can now do so thanks to the launch of the FitBit app for Microsoft's mobile operating system. As promised last month, FitBit launched its companion app for Windows Phone on Monday, finally allowing users to wirelessly sync data with wearables like the FitBit Flex and FitBit One. The FitBit app, already available on iOS and Android, allows users to view real time and historical activity data, while also logging their food intake from a possible 350,000 items. As great as this sounds for Windows Phone users, it's not entirely universal. Smartphone owners will need Windows Phone 8.1 as well as the new Lumia Cyan update to make use of the FitBit app. Ending the wearable duopolyThe launch is the first time a major fitness tracker manufacturer has embraced Windows Phone. The likes of Jawbone, Nike, LG, Samsung and Garmin have all eschewed the third-placed platform to date, making FitBit the de facto choice for fitness focused Windows Phone users. In depth: How Big Data is keeping us fit and entertainedhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3cf31ff7/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199109986163/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cf31ff7/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199109986163/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cf31ff7/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199109986163/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cf31ff7/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199109986163/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cf31ff7/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199109986163/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cf31ff7/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/1RdzddzRrRY

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/mobile_phones/nfc/android-470-75.jpgThe line between consumer banking and business banking is gradually being blurred through the conversation of mobile proximity payments. We're talking of course about the ability for a consumer to walk into a business (whether it be high street café or supermarket) and be able to transact with their mobile phone. Now the universal implementation of mobile payments might seem like a rocket that's in a constant state of mid-launch, but it's fair to say that there's been some advancement recently. Not least in such developments as the Square model, whereby businesses are using tablets and adaptive plug-ins that allow them to facilitate the payment. http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/other/Onetimers/Square_for_iPad-420-100.jpg Movement is slow, granted, mainly because – for high street retailers and major brands – there's a massive cost of migrating from current payment methods to a national rollout of new ones. Whereas if you run a few independent coffee shops, it's considerably cheaper. In this regard, it's actually easier for the small businesses to take the technological edge over the likes of Tesco and Marks & Spencer. Scratching their headsBut is the British public ready for such a transition? And perhaps more to the point, do they even care about changing their payment method, especially if novelty appears to be the only real return? Is there a problem to be solved? This leads us nicely into the reason the world is currently at an interim where mobile payments are concerned, which is quite simply because the bigger retailers with the power to shift the norm are scratching their heads over the same questions. Terry Cordeiro, Head of NatWest Mobile Banking, suggests retailers are a little puzzled about this new way to shop: "There's reluctance by some of the bigger retailers to adopt this method of payment because they're still struggling to understand what the business case is. Cards are ubiquitous, the technology is readily understood by the consumer and there is no need to further invest in system overhaul... What a lot of retailers are struggling with is how to justify the investment." Similarly, consumers are also struggling to understand the reasons to adopt a new way to pay. Twelve months ago Terry's team carried out a pilot test which was called TouchPay, whereby they enabled iPhones through the use of an NFC compatible case. This allowed users to make contactless payments using their phone with funds being debited directly from their current account. After originally asking for 1,000 volunteers, by the end of the week 10,000 volunteers had come forward (which incidentally seems to suggest an appetite for customers to engage with technology like this). http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/mobile_phones/Visa/NFC%20feature/olympicShop_014-420-100.jpg Better than plastic?The results from this pilot reflected the suspicion that the "cool factor" really is the only offering and it's not a big enough incentive to change the way consumers behave. "Whilst it might be quite neat to use such technology where people pull out their phone, tap it on the reader, then walk out with a sandwich, there's really no additional value to the experience compared with doing that with a contactless card. So the question we have to ask is, is it really better than plastic? And on that one to one basis, it's not." "However, if you start to add in the fact that customers are logging into Mobile Banking to manage their spend daily and sometimes more than once daily, other advantages start to appear. Customers can set budgets and get feedback via their mobile devices on what they are spending and when. Banks can also use spend data and their relationships with their business and commercial retail customers to offer consumers relevant and timely offers based on spend, time of day and location." "When you tie all this in with a frictionless payment experience, then there's value I can get above and beyond transacting with a debit or credit card. And what's in it for the merchant? A unique channel to communicate with customers which drives incremental footfall from trade that has been incentivised through a simple end to end experience – a combination of relevant offers and a simple way to pay." The notion of mobile payments naturally places a lot of value on the act of paying itself, whereas the value for customers and for businesses really lies in what happens before and after the transaction. Where we need to look next is the various ways that businesses can provide this value by looking at who's currently doing it right, and how banks could change the mobile payments space for everyone. Look out for part two of this mobile banking series soon, which will discuss how businesses might offer more value.http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3ce47a29/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108432235/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ce47a29/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108432235/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ce47a29/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108432235/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ce47a29/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108432235/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ce47a29/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199108432235/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ce47a29/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/zc9js9xoDCI

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/audio_systems/Pure/Pure_Jongo_system_blue_background-470-75.jpgThe future of music steaming services revealedThe download is dithering, but is streaming music all it's cracked up to be? Free or subscription-based services like Spotify, Deezer, Rdio and Pandora are all great, but they're mostly either stuck on your smartphone, your desktop computer or your games console. Add radio stations and podcasts to the mix, and sharing a stream between devices isn't easy. Nor is sending streams to a hi-fi, with even high-end (and closed) multi-room music systems dependent on Wi-Fi, and so suffering from buffering, delays and out-of-sync stereo streams. The whole thing's a mess. What we need is some kind of unifying technology that accepts streams from anywhere, sends it to anything, and keeps everything synchronised and in top quality. Could that technology be Caskeid? What is Caskeid? Caskeid, for now found only on Pure's Jongo speakers, is largely about making wireless music as dependable as cabled, therefore cutting away a Wi-Fi network's inherent latency. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/features/Streaming%20tech/2-420-90.jpg Is this a wireless multi-room audio streaming technology only? "We talk about multi-room, but increasingly modern homes are open-plan, so we're really talking about multi-space," says Tony King-Smith, VP of marketing at Imagination, which created Caskeid and owns Pure. "A low-latency system means there's no issue with adding speakers." You basically hear music without the artefacts that out-of-sync audio channels currently bring. Why is Caskeid so important?A key feature of Caskeid, as shown in its implementation in Pure's Jongo speakers, is that it can help foster a new era of inter-operable speakers, as opposed to closed, single-brand, multi-room audio systems. Onkyo is one of the first companies to license Caskeid, so its upcoming products (possibly a mini hi-fi, powered Wi-Fi speakers or its traditional range of AV receivers) will be usable in the same system as Jongo speakers. However, Caskeid is available to license by any manufacturer; its core latency-killing technology is of just as much use to a closed system as an open one. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/features/Streaming%20tech/3-420-90.jpg "The promise of Wi-Fi has been there for a long time, but until now it's been less than satisfactory," says Jeremy Silver, ex-EMI and Virgin Records music industry executive, Advisor to the UK Technology Strategy Board and author of Digital Medieval: The First Twenty Years of Music on the Web ... and the Next Twenty. "Caskied has convinced a lot of the industry, but having solved the latency issue you've still got the problem of Wi-Fi dropouts. Caskeid only solves one of the problems with wireless audio." What is Caskeid's advantage?Onkyo's involvement is a clue. "This is audiophile-quality low-latency synchronisation thought through to the very lowest level," says King-Smith. "The latency is so well controlled that the human ear can't detect it." Nor are formats a problem for Caskeid. "The beauty of Cakseid is that it doesn't matter what the audio decoder is, so you can throw any format at it, including lossless files like WAV and FLAC," says King-Smith. "That's the direction for the future." For now, what formats are handled is up to the manufacturer. However, as well as quality and rock-solid synchronisation, Caskeid – in its Bluetooth Caskeid guise – is all about convenience. What is Bluetooth Caskeid? Bluetooth Caskeid lets you send any audio app content to multiple Caskeid-enabled speakers through a unique combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It's actually really simple: a Pure Jongo speaker acts as a simple Bluetooth speaker and can stream music from your phone, whatever the source. It's Caskeid that allows it to use a home's Wi-Fi network to send that audio – perfectly synchronised, of course – to other speakers. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/features/Streaming%20tech/4-420-90.jpg The result is instant multi-room from any source. "With Bluetooth Caskeid you can use any stream you like," says King-Smith. "Bluetooth is a nice, easy way of connecting with a speaker. Once you've connected to one speaker via Bluetooth, you can use Wi-Fi to connect other speakers." This is a nod to convenience; no one is suggesting that Bluetooth be used to produce audiophile-quality music. What about Spotify Connect?Spotify Connect is a new standard that allows a compatible wireless speaker to be controlled straight from the Spotify app on a smartphone or tablet. Much better than Bluetooth, Spotify Connect goes as high as 320kbps streaming quality, and, on some speakers, at least, it allows the same song to be streamed to two separate speakers in a multi-room audio system. Why are some systems closed and others not?Caskeid doesn't guarantee an open system, only a well synchronised one, but it does open the debate about the increasing limits of closed systems. So far almost all multi-room audio systems have been closed (we're looking at you Sonos and Bose) which means that if you want to add a new speaker or create a new zone, you have no option but to buy from the same brand. The advantage is that you can use one app to do everything, though there's no guarantee that the app will keep up with developments in streaming. Are there any other open standards for multi-room music?Yes – Qualcomm AllPlay. "AllPlay is an open platform, meaning consumers will be able to control compatible audio products from different brands at the same time," says Luan Vien, Global Marketing Manager at Lenco, whose new Wi-Fi-based PlayLink speakers will be among the first to use AllPlay. "This interoperability gives consumers maximum choice, which is a major advantage over other closed platforms [because] before too long we will see other smart home appliances appearing, and the potential for connectivity will become more and more important." http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/features/Streaming%20tech/5-420-90.jpg This is, of course, the internet of things. Sonos and Bose might be happy to stay closed, but Panasonic is signed-up, announcing at CES in January that its new SC-ALL8 and SC-ALL3 wireless multi-room speaker systems will use Qualcomm AllPlay, alongside Fon, Medion (a division of Lenovo), Musaic, Altec Lansing, TuneIn and iHeartRadio. What is Qualcomm AllPlay? It's a 'smart media platform' that can stream music to multiple rooms from multiple sources including NAS drives and smartphone apps. AllPlay-ready speakers can handle lossless 24-bit/192 kHz music in formats such as FLAC, WAV, AIFF and ALAC. Quality audio and universal interoperability are the selling points, but it should also mean that AllPlay-based apps can also be used across different brands of wireless speakers. So fire-up the app that's designed for the Panasonic AllPlay speakers and you'll also be able to see and control AllPlay speakers from any other brand. Qualcomm appears to have the same attitude as Imagination, with Bluetooth also used to make the connection between devices (via one-touch NFC, naturally), but Wi-Fi used to spread the music around. What about synchronisation? "It's core to what we do," says Gary Brotman, Director, Product Management for the AllPlay Smart Media Platform at Qualcomm in SanDiego. "AllPlay operates as a P2P tech and takes music from a PC, a smartphone, or from the cloud and streams it to up to 10 AllPlay speakers synchronously and with no noticeable skew, latency or echo between zones or speakers. It can also do 10 individual streams to 10 speakers." AllPlay is also about keeping the Wi-Fi network strong. "If you don't have solid Wi-Fi in a speaker, it doesn't matter how good the quality is, how many content services you have integrated, or how many speakers you can stream to because you'll never hear it if the connectivity is poor," says Brotman. "That's a problem that has plagued many of the systems to date." http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/features/Streaming%20tech/6-420-90.jpg Essentially an audio module, AllPlay is built on AllJoyn, an open source software framework initially built for smartphone gaming, instant communications and other functions where low-latency is crucial. What is AllJoyn?AllJoyn is a technology that wants your music, then your home. "It's designed to be prevalent across the connected home," says Brotman. "Your washer-dryer, coffee maker, your door lock, your TV, speakers and even your router can all have AllJoyn." This is tech that's travelled down from smartphones to home electronics – and now speakers. "The internet of everything will only happen when there's a common language, because the basic ability of a gadget to talk to the cloud or have an IP address doesn't guarantee a user experience that's palatable or acceptable," says Brotman. "It's all totally open-source – Qualcomm doesn't own the code – and it's the basis for the 50-strong AllSeen Alliance." Qualcomm wants to get your feet wet with mutli-room music. "It's a fun and non-threatening way into the internet of everything," says Brotman. "There's no technical barrier." So can I play any song in any room?You can if you've downloaded it and own it as a MP3 or similar file, but if it's in the cloud, what you can do is hugely restricted. You can now attach several devices to a Spotify subscription, which wasn't always the case, but multiple audio streams aren't allowed. That's understandable from a licensing point of view; one person cannot listen to two songs simultaneously, so if they are, they must be sharing their account, which isn't allowed. However, it does place a restriction on multi-room music systems. "There's enormous confusion because both Sonos and now Caskeid are now talking about your abilities to listen to different music in different rooms, but actually the licences under which services like Spotify operate mean they can only supply a single stream of music to any one subscriber," says Silver. With the advent of Caskeid synchronisation and inter-operable wireless music standards like AllPlay, the technology is there for an exciting and flexible future for digital music, but the music industry, as ever, is still playing catch-up. Streaming music is only the start, the internet of things aims to make all everything connected.

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/FantasySalesTeam/fst2-470-75.jpgMost salespeople I meet hate their jobs. They don't hate selling, and they don't hate the earning potential of being a salesperson, they simply hate the sales process. They hate the cold calling, the data entry, the impossible quotas. These are incredibly bright, hyper-competitive people who feel restricted by the endless corporate processes required of their everyday jobs. They want incentives beyond money. They want a challenge and they want the challenge to be fun. Sales contests are a decent way to get salespeople motivated. They provide attainable goals, they inspire competition, and someone gets to walk away feeling like a winner. However, typical sales competitions aren't enough to light a fire under the best and the brightest day in and day out. A great ideaAdam Hollander, CEO and founder of FantasySalesTeam, wanted to find a way to keep salespeople motivated without using the same tired tactics. "Like most sales managers, I would consistently run sales contests in an attempt to drive increased activity and results," Hollander says. "Over time, I came to the realization that I wasn't getting much of an ROI. The same top performing reps would win every time, frustrating the rest of my team. As reps fell behind, they would lose interest and engagement." Hollander decided he would incorporate the excitement and enthusiasm his sales reps had playing fantasy football into future sales competitions. He created a new form of sales contest that allows reps to group up into teams, and then earn points for every task that they accomplish. A new selling environmentHe says the competitions created an environment where everyone began paying attention to each other's performance. Reps would encourage each other because they began relying on each other more than they ever had as individual sellers. "Reps like being part of a culture where they are part of a team and it creates peer pressure and encouragement, [which drives] overall performance," Hollander says. Because of the success he witnessed using the fantasy model as a manager, Hollander decided to launch FantasySalesTeam, a software platform that offers flexible and customizable sales contests and metrics trackers. Think Yahoo and ESPN fantasy sports, but for sales metrics, such as closes, new leads, revenue, etc. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/FantasySalesTeam/fst1-420-90.jpg The platform also allows for "smack talk boards, trophies, badges, profiles, online leaderboards, graphical stats charts and more," Hollander says. "Our games are far more engaging than the traditional sales contest." One year inSales organizations have taken notice. Since FantasySalesTeam launched last year, the company has signed more than 75 customers, including GoDaddy and HP. Not only does the system make selling more enjoyable, but it can be used to improve business goals. For example: FantasySalesTeam connects directly to any CRM through out-of-the-box apps or by using APIs and connecting to its web service. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/software/FantasySalesTeam/fst3-420-90.jpg This means that previously unmotivated sales reps who once sat at their desks twiddling their thumbs are now part of a team, they're motivated, and they're contributing valuable lead and prospect data into the company's database. Sounds like a win for everyone involved. 10 CRM systems you should knowhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3cdf605d/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199121087756/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdf605d/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199121087756/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdf605d/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199121087756/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdf605d/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199121087756/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdf605d/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199121087756/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdf605d/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/WVni1zuBOMo

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/features/CES%202014%20Home%20Automation/_DSC3831-470-75.jpgIf you're wondering how the much-discussed internet of things will actually affect your everyday life, one simple answer would be smart tech. And this doesn't only mean sophisticated systems implemented by big business and governments to improve national infrastructure and drive data production, as the 'smart home' phenomenon is also on the way for our households. Explaining more about the trend, and how the multi-vendor QIVICON alliance is helping to shape it, Head of Connected Home at Deutsche Telekom Holger, Holger Knöpke answers our questions. TechRadar Pro: So what do we need smart home products for? Holger Knöpke: Can you imagine a world in ten years where your car is not smart? I can't. Along the same lines, I also cannot imagine a world in which your home is not smart. The benefits in terms of energy savings, more security and convenience are just incredible. It will be a while before smart home offerings come into their own, and now, no obstacles stand in the way of a smart home breakthrough. There is, for one, the increasing prevalence of smartphones and tablets, and high availability of broadband Internet connections. For another, the prices of smart home products are falling continuously. Many other factors also play a role. Take, for example, the "energy revolution" that is making consumers think more and more about how they can save energy. Further, demographic changes are a factor: with an ageing population, more and more older people would like to lead independent lives in their own homes for longer. Here too, smart home products can be a great help. TRP: How large is the smart home market? HK: By 2017, Deloitte predicts that smart home solutions will generate European revenues of more than £3.25 billion, while Berg Insight anticipates that the smart home market in North America will grow by 42 per cent to a volume of £5.6 billion. TRP: How does the QIVICON platform differ from other offerings for the connected home? HK: The smart home market is characterised by many solutions that are not compatible with each other. If a user buys one provider's smart home product he can only, as matters stand, use its functions and solutions and not those of other manufacturers. Our approach is radically different. We have developed a technical platform that is open, multi-vendor and on which any company can offer solutions, regardless of the industry to which it belongs. We currently have 33 partner companies. By the end of the year there will be about 50. So QIVICON is already the smart home platform with the world's largest number of partner companies. The result of this variety is a unique pick-and-mix smart home. QIVICON will revolutionize the smart home. For this innovative approach and its technical implementation QIVICON has already won several awards and we are increasingly seen as the innovation leader in this field. TRP: Could you explain this with an example? HK: QIVICON is both a B-to-B product and a product for end consumers, so it's B-to-B-to-C. An example? Some Smart Home solutions only enable the user to manage one application, such as lighting or heating. With QIVICON, in contrast, you can connect the entire home. You can combine your central heating, electrical appliances, windows, blinds – whatever you like – it can be done. So QIVICON adds an entirely new dimension to the Smart Home: easy-to-use management for an unlimited variety of Smart Home solutions. QIVICON is a uniform basis for total home control that combines partner companies' products. Consumers using the QIVICON Smart Home platform will find more and more solutions that they can control simply and comfortably via the QIVICON home base. Users can combine several solutions by installing one or more partner company's apps on a smartphone, tablet or PC. Some apps have a specific focus on, say, central heating control. Others facilitate comprehensive home control over just about all possible functions in a single app. TRP: What part do partners play? HK: QIVICON is all about partnering. We have by far the greatest number of partners of any smart home initiative. The more partners that offer QIVICON-compatible products on the platform and the greater the variety of the products they offer, the more attractive the platform will be for end customers. Partners benefit in many ways from the openness of the platform, such as from greater efficiency in developing new products and use cases or from lower installation and running costs. We not only have the most partners; we also have many strong brands such as EnBW, Belkin, Samsung, Miele, Kärcher, Vattenfall and Allianz – the world's largest insurance company. Companies can become partners by contacting us. Any company, from large company to start-up, can become a partner. To simplify the process we have developed a special partner programme that includes business models customised for the partners. TRP: Can competing partners exist on the QIVICON platform? HK: Yes, and they characterise the QIVICON approach. Membership of the QIVICON alliance offers all partners an opportunity to jointly shape the smart home market of the future while still setting themselves apart from each other by means of their own products, pricing models, communication and sales and installation channels. TRP: Why will a platform prevail in the smart home market? HK: Platforms will always prevail in the IT industry. Just look at the PC and the smartphone market. Platforms provide significant advantages because they offer end customers and companies alike a clear added value in terms of innovation cycles, product and use case variety and economies of scale. It is against this background that smart home platforms will make the running in the market. That is borne out by the findings of a B2B study commissioned by Bitkom, the German Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media. 31 per cent of companies said they were aware of or interested in Smart Home platforms and 22 per cent are members of platform alliances already. Surveys also show that end customers are keen to combine many solutions such as energy management, lighting control or security, that is something only a platform can offer. TRP: Are there any plans to internationalise QIVICON? HK: The QIVICON platform currently exists in Germany, but we receive many international enquiries. Many companies find the German smart home market highly promising and are interested in becoming a partner in order to open up the German market by having their products available on the platform. But we are also negotiating with interested parties to offer the QIVICON platform and partner products internationally. The main focus of internationalisation will be in Europe, but we also see promising prospects outside of the EU. As QIVICON depends on cooperation with partner companies we are ready to hold talks with any interested party and we are delighted with every new partnership. To keep this process as simple as possible we have developed a special partner programme. It includes the right business model for both large companies and small start-ups. TRP: How does QIVICON work? HK: Via the QIVICON Home Base, the smart home's central control unit, any compatible branded smart home product from QIVICON partner companies can be connected wirelessly using optimised smart home wireless protocols and then hooked up via the internet using partner companies' apps. Any QIVICON-compatible devices, such as radiator thermostats, smoke detectors, blinds, lamps and household appliances, can be controlled. Consumers who buy a product from a partner company together with the QIVICON Home Base can add more. QIVICON supports HomeMatic (868 MHz) and ZigBee (2.4 GHz) wireless technology. In the months to come we will be adding many more devices including LEDs, IP cameras and multimedia devices. QIVICON will then be able to communicate with more than 100 home automation devices and home appliances. TRP: Is smart home for newbuilds only or can it be incorporated in older buildings too? HK: In principle there is no need for any great distinction. QIVICON is a wireless-based solution that is easy to install and can be expanded. If you move home you can simply take QIVICON and the compatible partner products with you. TRP: How much does the customer pay? HK: QIVICON starter kits cost from 269 euros [£213, $362] in Germany. Partners can charge monthly or one-off fees, for example. In combination with different packages of equipment and apps there will be a suitable offer for each customer segment. Holger Knöpke is Head of Connected Home at Deutsche Telekom. Prior to that he was a Senior Vice President of Product Design & Provisioning at T-Mobile International.* Bitkom Smart Home Study 2012, © Dr. Bernd Kotschi

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/people/larry-ellison-470-75.JPGJust a week after IBM and Apple announced a strategic partnership squarely aimed at the enterprise market, Oracle announced a slew of mobile apps for its JD Edwards portfolio. A whopping 57 applications will be introduced for the EnterpriseOne range for the App Store and Google Play for Android, for both smartphones and tablets. Oracle says that this will "enable users to accelerate business execution and help their businesses find new ways to create operational efficiencies". The apps, which can be downloaded for free, work in tandem with JD Edwards EnterpriseOne v9.1 and cover maintenance, field service, project management, supply chain as well as health and safety management. Mobile workforceAs pointed out by Computerworld, the target audience are employees operating away from their desks and often directly on the factory floors. IBM collaborates with SAP and Oracle (across JD Edwards, E-Business Suite and Peoplesoft) on ERP (enterprise resource planning) solutions and as such isn't really viewed as a threat by either following the Apple announcement. IBM's MobileFirst solutions specialise mostly in making sure mobile works within an enterprise environment rather than trying to provide vertical solutions that would put it at odds with its own partners. Via Computerworld http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3cdc4394/sc/46/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199121076629/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdc4394/sc/46/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199121076629/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdc4394/sc/46/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199121076629/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdc4394/sc/46/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199121076629/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdc4394/sc/46/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199121076629/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdc4394/sc/46/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/AY04QuUzjzE

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/Buildings/Microsoft/microsoft-hq-redmond-470-75.JPGIntroductionWe are halfway through 2014 and Microsoft is having a good year - well, almost - even if it had to cut 18,000 jobs, can the Surface Mini, kill Android for Nokia, shut its Xbox Entertainment Studios and merge its tech conferences. The Xbox One was met with widespread praise and has been selling in record numbers; Windows Phone is improving rapidly, introducing Cortana; Windows 8.1 garnered praise and, most importantly, continues Microsoft's vision of one day linking the PC and smartphone together. And of course Satya Nadella, who was appointed in February, is making vast improvements to both the ideas and operation of Microsoft, unveiling software and services which would never have occurred under Steve Ballmer, including Office for iPad, which opens up Microsoft and pulls the company further into competition with Google, Apple and others. The Microsoft of the past is gone. Under Steve Ballmer's leadership Microsoft managed to miss out on both the smartphone and tablet explosions, forcing the company to rely on desktop sales and enterprise customers, and causing the "Microsoft" brand become irrelevant to consumers. The latter - enterprise - is a solid bet. The former - desktop sales - is not. Revenue from enterprise continues to climb rapidly, but desktop and laptop sales are in free fall, with the prospect of growth becoming less and less likely as smartphones and tablets dominate buying patterns. Satya Nadella aims to focus Microsoft on becoming a "devices and services" company, expanding Microsoft's software offerings – notably to the iPad with Office – and increasing the focus on hardware and, unsurprisingly, devices (including Internet of Things), filing patents for smartwatches and unveiling the Surface Pro 3, a direct competitor to both laptops and tablets, which Microsoft expects to be the pinnacle of Windows 8.1. http://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/tablets/Microsoft/Surface%20Pro%203/surface-pro-3-hero-420-100.JPG Surface mattersThe Surface division is one of great interest to investors, analysts and technology pundits alike. Just as Google does with its Nexus line, Microsoft holds up the Surface as an example of exactly how Windows hardware should be made and should function. Sales of the previous Surface tablets – the Pro, which competes with laptops, and the vanilla Surface which competes with the iPad – have been poor, meaning Microsoft has taken financial hits on unsold stock to the tune of $900 million (around £525 million, AUD$960 million). The Surface Pro 3, and updates to the Surface which are expected soon, show that Microsoft has chosen to play the longer game, investing time and money in the Surface brand and giving Microsoft a potential revenue source outside of software. Microsoft brands the Surface Pro 3 as a device aimed at businesses, touting truly unique features such as "true" multitasking which allows applications to run side-by-side on the screen, and the laptop-style keyboard cover. While the Pro is expensive, businesses tend to have deeper pockets than consumers and so can afford to buy the hybrid in bulk. The tide won't turn in the next few years – the iPad, for example, has taken four years to reach its current market-leading position – but Microsoft appears to be willing to stay put. In terms of expansion of the Surface line, Microsoft will likely stick to incremental upgrades coinciding with new versions of Windows. The Surface Pro 2 is under a year old and Microsoft has already released the Pro 3, showing a total commitment to the programme and willingness to move fast (in the past, updates to Windows have occurred bi-yearly, or less frequently). Introducing the Surface as a gold standard device that can help other OEMs build machines is beneficial to both Microsoft, which makes money from them, OEMs who can compete, and the Windows ecosystem as a whole. Windows 8 making headwayBusinesses are also warming to Windows 8, which was regarded with a sceptical eye when first released in 2012. Tracey Rothenberger, COO of Ricoh Americas Corp., runs a base of 17,000 PCs and is complimentary of Windows 8. "I don't think there's anything wrong with [Windows 8]," he told the Wall Street Journal. Gartner analyst, Mikako Kitagawa, agrees with Rothenberger. "Windows 8 is the right direction," he claims but with a caveat, namely that: "It will be a while before Windows 8 is adopted". Scepticism from businesses is a hurdle that Nadella must overcome, especially since his company is becoming more and more reliant on their cash. Windows 8.1 sets out to ease the transition from Windows 7, the most popular OS in the world, adding a "boot to desktop" mode and more support for a mouse as opposed to a touchscreen. Whether these updates have an effect on the adoption of Windows 8 by business customers remains to be seen, but it is certainly the right direction for Microsoft to move. The next version of Windows, codenamed Threshold, is rumoured to build upon Windows 8.1's successes, especially with regard to accommodating desktop users who are without a touchscreen, further ingratiating Microsoft with their business users. Nadella also confirmed that it will unify all current platforms, tying three OSes into one. http://cdn0.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/TRBC/office_365-420-100.jpg Enterprising effortsIn terms of enterprise software, Microsoft is always making headways. Office 365, the cloud-based version of Office, now makes up roughly 40% of the value of the Office division of Microsoft and has just been updated with new business-focused features, such as more advanced levels of encryption for files and 1TB of storage. Forbes estimates that Office 365 will bring in $1.7 billion (around £1 billion, AUD$1.8 billion) in revenue annually for Microsoft within the year, which is remarkable for a service launched to the public in 2013. Expanding Office 365 to iPad and allowing new users to sign up for an account via their Apple ID will also bolster revenue, despite Apple taking a 30% cut, and is a sign of Nadella and Microsoft's new drive to work with other companies. Microsoft's plans essentially extend to the philosophy of "carry on doing what we're doing". Enterprise and desktop sales – which still represent a significant cash flow, despite the wane – can support the company until it either pivots away from consumer-side endeavours, just as Oracle or IBM have done, or a consumer product that isn't the Xbox or Office catches on. Opening up Office 365 by lowering the subscription price and releasing an iPad app has allowed Microsoft greater mindshare and, in turn, greater revenue. Importance of wearablesWindows is in the hands of 90% of the world but needs to come up with, or latch onto, the "next big thing". I've previously argued that Microsoft must get into the wearables game to stay truly relevant and there are signs that the company will. Multiple people I've spoken to on condition of anonymity stated that Microsoft was indeed interested in making a smartwatch, actively exploring implementations of the device (no doubt spurred on by Google's I/O performance and rumours of Apple's interest in the sector). Microsoft was bitten when it came to smartphones and will be eager to prevent a similar situation from happening again. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/people/Microsoft/Satya_Nadella/Satya5_web-420-90.jpg The Microsoft we see today is totally different from the Microsoft of a year ago, operationally and in terms of aspirations. Satya Nadella's leadership has brought about a braver company willing to take risks, but also ready to work with its core enterprise customers to retain the backbone of its revenue. As I've written previously, Satya Nadella's stewardship has had a great positive impact on Microsoft and we will start to see the fruits of his labour in the coming year. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3cdb8bdc/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199109890176/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdb8bdc/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199109890176/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdb8bdc/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199109890176/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdb8bdc/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199109890176/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdb8bdc/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199109890176/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cdb8bdc/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/zcXlwL55nvk

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/gadgets/Google%20Glass/Review/splash-mountain-470-75.jpgGoogle Glass could have a new competitor (or copycat) as Lenovo announces its new wearable ambitions. Lenovo pulled the wraps off its smart glasses prototype at an event to attract developers and hardware manufacturers. The new wearable looks almost entirely identical to the Google Glass down to the translucent screen that sits on the user's eye level. The only discernable difference to Lenovo's device is the battery pack has been moved from behind the user's ear to a pack that hangs near the neck. There aren't any further details on hardware but Lenovo has promised to announce more details in October, according to a PC World Report. Smart glasses, air purifiers, whateverThis new smart glasses prototype was just one of the many devices Lenovo had on show as part of a larger NBD platform. The Chinese NBD translates to "New Bench" in English,and it's Lenovo's new mission to create products beyond PCs and smartphones. The PC maker wants to use its new platform as a way to work with more hardware partners on an expanded line of products including smart glasses, wireless routers, and air purifiers. So far NBD has already caught the attention of Luftmed to produce an affordable, smartphone-controllable air purifier. Lenovo also displayed a wireless router co-developed with other Chinese companies that users could control remotely with a mobile device. Products developed on the NBD Platform will first be primarily sold in China. After that there's still a chance Lenovo will also choose to bring its new devices to other territories just as the company experimented with tablets and SmartTV products that were at first only available in Asia. Could NBD help Lenovo-owned Motorola create more wearables beyond the Moto 360?

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/people/salesforce/benioff-470-75.jpgSalesforce.com will launch a tool designed to provide sales representatives with the ability to send one-to-one marketing campaigns directly to prospects and leads from a mobile device. The tool, Salesforce1 Sales Reach, will be available in 2015. Sales Reach combines the Salesforce1 Sales Cloud automation tool, Pardot’s b-to-b marketing automation tool, and the social selling platform Communities. The three integrated tools provide sales teams with a solution designed to deliver mini marketing campaigns on-the-fly from a salesperson’s mobile device. In addition to micro campaigns, Sales Reach also provides sales representatives with real-time notifications to let them know if prospects are browsing a website, downloading content or engaging with products. The sales representative can then send out a micro campaign to offer a discount or to notify the prospect of special offers. Salesforce1 Sales ReachSales Reach also features a mobile lead tracking dashboard that enables sales representatives to access 36 hours worth of prospect interaction data. The information can then be used to tailor campaigns and offers to prospects directly from a mobile device. Salesforce lists Borrego Solar, Newell Rubbermaid and Precor as Salesforce1 Sales Reach launch customers. Salesforce1 Sales Reach is planned to be available the first half of 2015, the company said in a statement. Pricing will be announced at the time of general availability. Salesforce1Salesforce1 launched in November of last year. At the time, Salesforce said the tool would be the first true CRM offering for developers, independent software vendors (ISVs), end users, admins and customers looking to build and administer mobile apps in the cloud. In May, Salesforce launched the Salesforce1 mobile app, which gave Salesforce1 users direct access to reports, dashboards and accounts on the go. This month, the CRM company added mobile reporting to the Salesforce1 app development tool. The addition gave developers access to real-time performance data on mobile devices. Top 10 CRM systems for small businesseshttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3cd516ff/sc/5/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199120742249/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cd516ff/sc/5/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199120742249/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cd516ff/sc/5/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199120742249/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cd516ff/sc/5/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199120742249/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cd516ff/sc/5/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199120742249/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cd516ff/sc/5/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/6ePPVfpdPTg

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/mobile_phones/Carphone%20Warehouse/Safe%20phone/CBN09.safe.illo-470-75.jpgSecurity threats come in more shapes and sizes than ever before and can thus penetrate your company network in a multitude of ways. Keeping tabs on the security of your business can feel like an overwhelming task at times, so here's five key areas to prioritise when deciding how to protect yourself and your crucial company data. 1. Manage your mobile workforceBYOD, CYOD and COPE policies: great for efficiency but potentially lethal for data. Devices are easily lost or stolen when employees are travelling home, working remotely or even on holiday. If this happens, smartphones, tablets and laptops all offer a gateway to the business infrastructure, leaving company data ripe for the picking. Not only will this put a massive dent in the integrity of the business but it also leaves them subject to the wrath of the Information Commissioner's Office, with a fine of up to £500,000. The encompassing rule for all businesses, from SMEs to large corporations is that you need to find ways to securely enable your employees to work on the move and outside of the office. Some businesses are doing this by using software that allows remote file retrieval and complete data wipes. When you do get it right, it's as simple as 'track, manage and secure' for the devices and information, within and outside of your organisation. 2. Don't ignore the threat of apps App use boomed by 115% in 2013 and with it came a whole tier of commonly available apps that posed a threat to individual and corporate data security. Apps become dangerous when they store data in 'uncontrolled' repositories or when unsigned apps are downloaded with concealed, malicious malware, designed to harvest personal and business information. Hardware manufacturers, app developers and security specialists are working to secure environments but the only way to operate in confidence is to ensure you've created a business strategy that acknowledges and accounts for the threat of apps. Managing apps deployed on workplace devices and blacklisting the dangerous ones is just one of the ways IT departments can do this. 3. Educate your staff 23% of employees don't believe that the security of their company's data is their responsibility. This means that you can apply whatever technology you want to control data, but ultimately the weakest link may be the psychology and personal preferences of your individual employees. You need to make sure your employees are informed about data security and the more you can align their perception of the risks out there with the potential impact on the company, the better the rapport and your ability to work together to create a secure environment. 4. Account for multiple threatsAlmost all business data is now digital. This is driving huge efficiencies and savings but it leaves valuable data vulnerable to numerous and varying threats. These threats can come from malicious intent or human error and can manifest through lax security within the likes of remote working, BYOD, COPE and cloud storage policies, or through simply leaving an unlocked device on a train. Either way, companies need to adopt a holistic approach to cyber security. Provisions need to extend beyond a firewall and cover more than just hacking attacks. Data security policies need to take into consideration each device brought into the office, as well as each end-user. This way all potential security risks are covered. 5. Let software do the work Mobile device policies are the norm for contemporary businesses but the speed at which they've developed has meant that CIOs have barely been able to keep their head above water. Regardless of the particular policy – BOYD, CYOD, COPE and so on – they have all become common headaches for IT departments. When deciding how to solve this pain though, the resolution is not mutual and it's not just a case of one fits all. Businesses need to choose a policy that suits their needs and couple it with mobile device management software that fits best. This way no data can slip through the cracks. Stephen Midgley oversees all aspects of global marketing and product management at Absolute Software including corporate communications, product marketing, demand generation, and the company's presence on the web.http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3cd4909a/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199120740266/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cd4909a/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199120740266/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cd4909a/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199120740266/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cd4909a/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199120740266/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cd4909a/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199120740266/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cd4909a/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/IaatNVmRROA

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/Generic/future-data-centre-470-75.jpgIntroduction and OracleIn an increasingly digital world, businesses are creating more and more data. This data can be used to provide insights into how a business is being run and what can be done to improve it. Harnessing and understanding the data that is produced can give businesses a competitive edge and can provide a depth of market knowledge that may not have been previously possible. In order to capture and use the data that a business produces, it is necessary to have the right tools in place. A database management system (DBMS) is a piece of software or a platform that is designed to help a business maximise the value of the data to which it has access. A business's DBMS allows it to pull in data from different sources, store the data, sort and catalogue it, have users or other pieces of software "query" the data to find out what snapshots or trends it shows and, if they wish, extract the data for use elsewhere. There are a huge number of DBMS providers and each product has its own strengths. When choosing a DBMS to use, it is important that a business recognises what its own specific needs are and matches them up with what a DBMS can provide. Even then, it can still be difficult to navigate the ocean of possible solutions. Fortunately, there is a great deal of analysis of database providers and their products. Gartner, in particular, offers some clear and insightful analysis concerning the database market. It's annual "Magic Quadrant for Operational Database Management Systems" looks at the evolving operational DBMS market and segments it by those who are leaders in the market, those who are challenging, those who are visionaries and those who are niche players. Providers are judged on the completeness of their vision and their ability to execute it. This article looks at the four leading DBMS providers in the Gartner "Magic Quadrant for Operational Database Management Systems" and gives an overview of each. It is meant as a starting point from which you can make a decision on which DBMS is best for your business, but there are other providers available that may be well suited to your business. Oracle DatabaseOracle is a major technology business with a wide range of products and services to offer. Originally, however, it was primarily a producer of database software and that remains its core business. Indeed, such is Oracle's significance in the database software market that Gartner named it the number one provider of DBMS software in 2013. It holds a larger revenue share of the market than its four closest competitors combined and leads the revenue share of its closest competitor by 28%.http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/best-database-software-Oracle-420-90.jpg Gartner praises Oracle's broad offering, saying that it is the broadest in the market, as well as its good functionality and solid availability. It suggests that Oracle could improve the public perception of its vision, meaning that consumers are sometimes left to "make assumptions about road maps". It also raises concerns about the extent of Oracle's proprietary features and the value for money of its offerings. Oracle's DBMS is called Oracle Database and the most recent version of the platform is called Oracle Database 12c. It aims to enable users to make more efficient use of their IT resources and has a multi-tenant architecture that allows users to deploy and manage private database clouds. It is available in three editions. Oracle Database Express Edition is for use on one computer with a maximum database size of 11GB. Standard Edition One and Standard Edition offer server-installed options for use in small and mid-sized enterprises, respectively. Oracle Database Enterprise Edition, meanwhile, allows for an unlimited number of databases and unlimited database sizes. Users can take advantage of Data Warehousing, High Availability, Storage Management and Big Data architecture's for 12c depending on the needs of their organisation. In addition, Oracle says that the Enterprise edition can efficiently manage more data, lower storage costs, improve database performance and it's highly secure. Microsoft, IBM and SAPMicrosoft SQL ServerSQL Server is Microsoft's database offering. It is one of four DBMS platforms that sits in the leaders segment of Gartner's "Magic Quadrant for Operational Database Management Systems". Gartner cites its strengths as its market vision and capabilities, competitiveness within the DBMS market, its performance and the support offered. The areas which are cautioned about are a lack of appliances and pricing. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/best-database-software-Microsoft-420-90.jpg SQL Server can be managed on premise, in the cloud or in a hybrid environment. Amongst the platform's benefits, according to Microsoft, are "breakthrough, in-memory performance" with an average of a 10x gain for transaction processing with existing hardware and over 100x gain for data warehousing. The platform is also said to offer high levels of availability and scalability of up to 640 logical processors for physical processing or up to 64 logical processors for virtual machines. In addition to its performance and deployment benefits, SQL Server is also recognised for its security credentials. Last year, the platform was shown to have been the least vulnerable database for five years in a row by the National Institute for Standards and Technology's Comprehensive Vulnerability Database. IBMIBM software joins Oracle and Microsoft's offerings in the leaders segment of Gartner's "Magic Quadrant for Operational Database Management Systems" with its DB2 and Informix platforms. Gartner praises IBM for the broad functionality it provides, its hardware integration and global presence. It cautions against the provider's complexity and pricing, its confusing branding and poor sales execution with "very aggressive competitor marketing." http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/best-database-software-IBM-420-90.jpg For users of its products, IBM promises industry-leading performance across multiple workloads, whilst providing reduced administration, storage, development and server costs. DB2 focuses on scalability and reliability and can be used with Linux, UNIX, Windows and z/OS operating systems. The Informix database server, meanwhile, offers real-time analytics, fast always-on transactions, sensor data management and NoSQL capability. SAPSAP is the final provider in the leaders segment of Gartner's "Magic Quadrant for Operational Database Management Systems". Gartner praises its vision leadership, strong DBMS offerings and the performance of those offerings. It urges caution regarding the company's marketing communications, the lack of skills available in the market for its DBMS products and its poor provision of support. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/TRBC/best-database-software-SAP-420-90.jpg SAP is another provider with multiple database offerings, including HANA and Sybase, which it acquired in 2010. According to IBM, HANA allows users to analyse data in real-time, processing both operational and analytical data in a single in-memory database. It promises near-zero latency, built-in predictive analytics and the ability to create custom applications. Sybase, meanwhile, is targeted for use in financial markets and focuses on allowing users to combine real-time data capture, historical analytics, and risk management. It promises support for the entire trading lifecycle, along with the ability to develop, test and execute risk management and trading processes and analytics for market data. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3cc86365/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199120918757/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cc86365/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199120918757/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cc86365/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199120918757/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cc86365/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199120918757/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cc86365/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199120918757/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3cc86365/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/g1yYJrj4B6M