sincity

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/Abstract/Magnifying%20glass%20on%20danger/Magnifying%20glass%20on%20danger-470-75.jpgIf you've taken the time to read the various security articles over the last few months, you'll quickly realise that the relatively nascent Bitcoin is well acquainted with DDoS. Initially, this was to undermine and influence Bitcoin currency, but now it is actually being used to steal Bitcoin funds in the millions of dollars. Of course, the very nature of a ""virtual currency"" is going to be attractive to cyber criminals who see it as an easy target; after all, they only have to steal digital information from a computer. At the end of the day, the attackers are winning with what is all too often considered a crude tool. It begs the question: Is DDoS still to be considered a blunt instrument? From what I have seen, the answer is a resounding no. Here's why: Unconventional DDoSDDoS is getting more sophisticated - DDoS in its simplest form attempts to bombard a server with so many requests that it can't handle the volume and therefore just shuts down, making a website inaccessible. The conventional understanding of DDoS is that it is typically massive in terms of bandwidth, packets per second and connection, and the latest attacks on BitStamp suggest there was indeed a high volume aspect to the attack. The more important aspect to this attack was how the attackers were able to masquerade the hash of a user transaction and essentially bombard the exchanges with it- in the hope it would be processed before the actual legitimate sessions. In effect, this was not your typical 'clog the pipe' DDoS strategy, which is usually touted in articles detailing a huge DDoS attack. The attackers had quite specific knowledge and did their homework when it came to how best to take advantage of DDoS tools and bring down the exchange. Blurring the lines between DDoS and hackingDDoS and hacking have traditionally been seen as two mutually exclusive security initiatives, each requiring its own set of mitigating strategies. While we have seen the two used in tandem - where the DDoS is the 'feint' used to cover backend attempts for data theft - the Bitstamp situation stands apart from these experiences in that the DDoS was the actual tool used to carry out the theft. The spoofing of a digital signature/hash to modify the blockchain record was within the payload of the actual DDoS attack. It's an alarming development considering that more and more 'conventional' companies are implementing public facing tools to carry out transactions, which could be hijacked in a similar manner as seen here. There's no doubt that the stakes are high when it comes to Bitcoin- on the one hand, there could be a lot to gain as adoption and popularity rises; and on the other, there is the regulatory uncertainty and likely insurance issues to consider. When it comes to protecting yourself, realise that by accepting virtual currency, you also become a target for Bitcoin miners and make sure you have appropriate technology in place to protect yourself from DDoS attacks - whether it is a hardware solution that takes days to install and requires a higher up-front cost; or a provider who offers DDoS protection services that can be up and running in as little as a few hours for a monthly cost. Jag Bains is Chief Technology Officer for DOSarrest Internet Security, a DDoS protection company.http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3bd162e3/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108780830/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bd162e3/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108780830/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bd162e3/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108780830/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bd162e3/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108780830/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bd162e3/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199108780830/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bd162e3/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/Tj7IwwgOld8

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/receivers/Onkyo/Onkyo_Dolby_Armos_receiver-470-75.jpgAnyone who's experienced the groundbreaking cinematic sound of movies like Gravity at a theater has probably wondered when such technology would be heading to the living room. Wonder no more, folks. That day is coming soon. Dolby announced its ear-splitting Dolby Atmos, first introduced in 2012, will be making its way to home theater systems later this summer thanks to a handful of AV hardware partners. The launch is the result of months of work by Dolby's research and home theater teams. The Atmos promise is to help consumers "feel every dimension of your home entertainment," courtesy of 9.1 surround sound. Although the best experience involves ceiling-mounted speakers, Dolby partners are launching new Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers, offering "full, detailed overhead sound" even when placed where conventional speakers are located. Cinematic homeOnkyo plans to be first out of the gate with Dolby Atmos support for its upcoming TX-NR1030 and TX-NR3030 network receivers as well as the PR-SC5530 Network A/V Controller, a pair of "home theater in a box" systems and new speaker packages. Better yet, Onkyo plans to release a firmware update in September that will enable Dolby Atmos on existing midrange TX-NR636, TX-NR737, and TX-NR838 receivers, no new hardware required. Also planning new hardware releases between late summer and fall are Pioneer and the D+M Group (via Twice.com), which will be launching Denon and Marantz-branded audio components capable of 9.1 surround sound. Dolby claims existing players that "fully conform to the Blu-ray specification" will support Dolby Atmos content, which is expected to launch on select discs and streaming services this fall. A wider launch is expected in early 2015. Don't forget to read our exhaustive review of Sony's PS4!

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/features/nest/tony_fadell-470-75.jpgGoogle is a search and software titan first, hardware maker second. Sure, it's dabbled with phones, tablets and laptops (made in partnership with others, of course). However, that is all apparently set to change as Google is turns its product-making prowess over to one man in particular. According to the The Information, Nest CEO Tony Fadell has been appointed head of Google's consumer hardware division, meaning the man who most famously designed Apple's iPod is now in charge of Google's hardware development. Currently Google only produces two products on its own, namely the Chromebook Pixel and Chromecast, but with Fadell's considerable hardware chops, that could soon change. Nesting timeNest famously made high-end thermostats and smoke detectors but thanks to a recent Dropcam acquisition, it may soon add security surveillance to its repertoire of smart home gadgets. It's very likely Nest and Google are working on a connected home solution, bridging together appliances and devices just as Google has linked users' computers and smartphones through Chrome and Android. Fadell, meanwhile, comes with the consumer product pedigree of being lead designer of the iPod, one of the world's most popular music playing devices. His success there and with Nest's sharp products seem to square him up nicely designing more Google goods. Mixed medleyGoogle has been looking to help push along its hardware more directly, and the hand of Fadell may just be the ticket. The company is rumored to announce its last line of Nexus devices this year as it moves to a more expansive Android Silver platform. With the new program in place, Google will have its hand in more than one Nexus smartphone and tablet per ear. Instead it could oversee the production of several devices from multiple manufacturers. Google has also developed Android Wear, a new platform for wearable devices and smartwatches to connect natively with smartphones. Add in Project Ara's ambitious goals to make modular mobile devices and Google's new hardware portfolio could become very fat within the next couple of years. Will Fadell and Google drop a hardware bombshell at Google I/O 2014?

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/gadgets/Google%20Glass/DVF-Made-for-Glass-470-75.jpgBeing a so-called "Glasshole" no longer has to mean looking like everyone else, thanks to stylish new frames now available in a variety of colors for Google's smart eyewear. Online luxury fashion retailer NET-A-PORTER today announced the limited availability of DVF | Made for Glass, an exclusive version of Google Glass that brings a designer look to geek chic. Priced at $1800 (about UK£1058, AU$1911), the limited edition eyewear is intended for the ladies, designed by Diane von Furstenberg and available in a handful of stylish colors including brown, teal, plum, charcoal and white, each with matching shades. The DVF | Made for Glass series joins the company's Mr. Porter line for men, offering bold, thin or split frames complete with UV lens clip for a slightly more affordable $1650 (about UK£969, AU$1752). Tech-savvy fashionThe DVF | Made for Glass collection is being sold in an exclusive package that includes Google Glass, a choice of five frames and shades, a mono earbud and case. "We are thrilled to offer Glass to our tech-savvy customers who are true leaders and innovators in style and lifestyle," says NET-A-PORTER Group Founder and Chairman Natalie Massenet. The company describes the lightweight eyewear as "elegant frames meet cutting-edge technology" intended to make Google Glass "flatter every face shape." Currently only available for shipping to US customers, DVF | Made for Glass supports prescription lenses and includes a one-year warranty; however, the verdict is still out as to whether or not this collection will make the wearer look like any less of a Glasshole. What's up with Windows 9? Find out in our up-to-the-minute news roundup!http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3bcc24b0/sc/5/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119624153/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bcc24b0/sc/5/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119624153/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bcc24b0/sc/5/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119624153/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bcc24b0/sc/5/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119624153/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bcc24b0/sc/5/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119624153/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bcc24b0/sc/5/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/w3RKeZsVQP4

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/msplayers/mplayer_vlc-470-75.jpgWhile Windows Media Player comes built into Windows, you've probably noticed that it can't play every video file. Yes, Windows Media Player 12 now includes support for QuickTime .mov files, MP4 Audio files (.m4a), MP4 video files (.mp4, .m4v, .mp4v, .3g2, .3gp2, .3gp, and .3gpp), and MPEG-2 TS. But it still doesn't like .asf or. asx, .flv or .mkv files. It's not the all-rounder you expect it to be. VLC Media Player (formerly known as the VideoLAN Client) isn't much of a looker compared to Windows Media Player and Apple's QuickTime. There are no prettily-designed menus or snazzy graphical flourishes. Instead, the software focuses on pure functionality and is all the better for it. Consequently, VLC handles an impressive list of audio and video formats. It can play almost anything you throw at it - DVDs as well as video CDs, MP3, MOV and FLV files or DivX. It also supports modern H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC video, Cinepak, Theora and Real Video. We say 'almost', because VLC Media Player won't decode Indeo Video 4/5 (IV41, IV51) files. But then nobody uses that archaic format anyway. Feature-crammed softwareNot only does VLC Media Player decode (almost) anything, but it runs on everything. There are versions for Windows, Linux and Mac. It can also start to play back video files while they are still downloading, and even play zipped-up files without having to unpack them first. Its playlist feature, meanwhile, enables you to queue up a stack of videos, perfect if you want to plug into a big telly and watch downloads all night. Like Recuva and Paint.NET, VLC Media Player is one of those powerful software essentials that you wish came with your operating system as standard. As it plays Microsoft's own WMV format, Apple .mov files and DivX, there's no real need for Windows Media Player, QuickTime, or any DivX software. VLC is the king of media payback. One media player to rule them all. Get VLC Media Player for freehttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/techradar/Software%20download%20buttons/download_button_1-180-100.jpg Or discover more great media players, ranked by performance. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3bc7e065/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119986778/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bc7e065/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119986778/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bc7e065/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119986778/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bc7e065/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119986778/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bc7e065/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119986778/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bc7e065/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/rKHt_oOi-YM

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/other/Home%20working/Government%20business%20by%20US%20Department%20of%20State-470-75.jpgBig data analytics now represents a fundamental part of the modern enterprise's business strategy, with the opportunity of uncovering previously inaccessible data becoming too valuable to pass up. As such, new developments in the analytics industry are cause for interest. So with DataStax announcing a new partnership with Databricks, marrying the popular Spark and Cassandra platforms, we wanted to find out what it meant for the relevant user communities. DataStax VP John Glendenning filled us in. TechRadar Pro: So what are the details behind DataStax's recent announcement? John Glendenning: We've announced a partnership with Databricks - the company founded by the creators of Apache Spark. It's the database industry's first partnership to integrate Spark and Cassandra. Between us, we will deliver significantly faster analytics to users of both open source technologies and enable today's most progressive businesses to deliver highly personalised online customer experiences. From the developers that we have spoken to, they are excited at the opportunities that they see around these two tools. Developers are always looking at what they can do that is new and exciting, and this partnership will help them to explore this cutting edge. TRP: How does this impact the operational database industry? JG: Through this partnership, we are driving the operational database industry toward a better approach that allows companies to ingest user data at a very fast rate, and then analyse the results within the same distributed database. Responsiveness to customer needs is critical for successful online businesses, and by decreasing their "time to insights", companies can create highly personalised experiences for their customers. Ooyala, a video analytics provider, has been running Spark in parallel with Cassandra for some time. TRP: What will be the biggest benefits of this partnership? JG: Let's go into Cassandra and Spark in a bit more detail. Apache Cassandra is a fully distributed, highly scalable database that allows users to create online applications that are "always on" and can process large amounts of data in real time. Apache Spark is a processing engine that enables applications in Hadoop clusters to run up to 100 times faster in memory, and even 10 times faster when running on disk. Spark also provides SQL, streaming data, machine learning, and graph computation functionality out-of-the-box. This makes it easier to build end-to-end analytic workflows. Together, these technologies can significantly boost analytics performance in a transactional database and allow companies to act quicker when serving their customers' needs. When you are looking at providing recommendations to users or personalising an online experience for each customer, using Spark and Cassandra together makes a lot of sense. TRP: Are you seeing a change in how companies value and approach data in 2014? JG: Not so much of a change, but more of an increase. Modern enterprises use data as a strategic asset to compete. Companies are moving towards more "near term" analytics that can provide data insights in real time, so they can respond faster to opportunities. Because of this, online applications that interact with customers and collect data must remain online all the time. They must be capable of reaching and interacting with customer data no matter where they are located. When companies are looking at improving the customer experience with personalisation, this is a key use case. TRP: Cloudera, a main Hadoop player has partnered with Databricks and now DataStax is as well. So are you guys also a Hadoop vendor? JG: DataStax is not a Hadoop vendor, but instead we are focused on serving the database requirements of modern online applications. These applications have the need to run both analytics and search on their online data (line of Business systems and data warehouses), so that functionality needs to be present on the NoSQL side of the house as well as the Hadoop data warehouse side. We allow for that by integrating analytics and search technologies that function across a distributed shared nothing architecture such as ours. TRP: What does this mean for the Cassandra Community? JG: The Cassandra community is growing quickly, with global user meetups increasing 400 percent over the past year. Spark was coming up as a frequent topic of discussion. DataStax employees already contribute the majority of the Cassandra open source code contributions. By working closely with Databricks engineers we will now contribute to the Spark community as well. The partnership will help spread adoption of both technologies while creating greater cohesiveness among users. TRP: Can you see either party forming any similar partnerships, ie. with Hadoop? JG: I don't have any details from a DataStax perspective, but will be sure to keep you updated on any developments in the future. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3bbff09a/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119952008/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bbff09a/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119952008/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bbff09a/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119952008/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bbff09a/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119952008/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bbff09a/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119952008/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bbff09a/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/DpKsBoiCxmI

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/televisions/Google/Chromecast/chrome_uk1-470-75.jpgMozilla is reportedly plotting a Firefox OS-based streaming stick to rival the Google Chromecast device. GigaOm brings a hands-on video showing the as-yet-unannounced device in action. According to report the stick has no name, no release date and it's unclear which markets it will launch in. According to the report, the streaming stick, in its current form, is capable of running Android and iOS apps will also allow developers to create apps that play nice with Windows Phone, the Amazon Fire platform. As always with Mozilla, the focus will be on openness, the reporter who has been 'tracking the device' with Mozilla insiders for months said. " width="420">YouTube : No restrictionsIn response to the report a Mozilla spokesperson suggested the hardware may not be the company's doing, but that of a third-party using the open source software. "Firefox OS is an open platform freely available for any company to build on top of without restriction. This means companies can experiment with different form factors that run Firefox OS." Could Mozilla compete with the almighty Chromecast? Let us know your thoughts below. Amazon Fire Phone: 8 things you need to knowhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3bbc372f/sc/5/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119936539/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bbc372f/sc/5/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119936539/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bbc372f/sc/5/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119936539/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bbc372f/sc/5/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119936539/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bbc372f/sc/5/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119936539/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bbc372f/sc/5/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/qKiYkue0k08

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/techradar/BOT/BOT0-470-75.jpg http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/games_consoles/Xbox%20One/March%20update%20studio%20photos/DSC_0115-200-100.jpg Xbox OneGuide hits the UKShould you plug in your Sky HD box or not? Now that the OneGuide is up and running in the UK, we've re-reviewed the Xbox One console and tested the UK OneGuide features. So is the OneGuide all it's cracked up to be in the UK? Does it work and is it worth having a play with? Well the short answer is that it's probably not the killer feature you were hoping for. But as we'll see, there's potential there for Microsoft to create something quite special. Read all about it FIFA World Cup in motionhttp://cdn0.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/televisions/Sony/Sony_4K/4K%20Production%20Match%201-200-100.JPG How football in 4K will change the way we watch TV The World Cup and the television are star-crossed lovers – the international tournament wouldn't be as popular without a mechanism to watch it, and the biggest sporting event in the world helps drive massive uptake in new flatscreen sales every four years. But the tie-in goes deeper than that, as the World Cup has been a constant proving ground for new technology that affect the way we watch TV every day. Continue reading... http://cdn0.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/televisions/Sony/Sony%20KD-65X9005B/sony-hero-200-100.jpg Sony KD-65X9005BSony's sensational wedge TV delivers top 4K results The Sony 65-X9005B offers a masterclass in 4K TV design and performance. From its audacious but practical wedge cabinet to its exhilarating sound and vision, this flatscreen doesn't put a foot wrong. Image quality with both Ultra HD and Full HD sources is colour rich and dynamic, while the brand's connected feature set, from One-Flick discovery bar to photo sharing, has broad appeal. This is a brilliant TV for today… and tomorrow. Sony KD-65X9005B review http://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/televisions/tv_setup_v3-580-100.png 14 tips for getting the best picture qualityDon't stick with your TV's default settings! For some reason many TV brands are rubbish at setting up their own TVs to deliver great pictures. In the vast majority of cases when you get a new TV out of its box, the default picture position is to deliver pictures that are ridiculously overblown, with cartoonish colours, excessive brightness, messy backlighting, and sharpness levels set so high that all you see is noise, not detail. So what are you waiting for? Pick up that remote, and prepare to unlock your TV's true potential. We've used a Panasonic TV to illustrate these steps but you'll find most TVs have very similar menu systems for changing settings. TechRadar's TV Setup Guide Driverless cars are legal in California, so what comes next?http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/features/CA%20Driverless%20Cars/Google%20Car%20Driverless%20Car%202-200-100.jpg The stop-and-go story of legalizing driverless autos The dream of driverless, self-driving cars has existed since the space-age 1960s. Save for a few experiments dating as far back as 1925, the idea of a car that can drive itself has largely been the stuff of sci-fi books and films. While technology has been cooked up in everything from the Commonwealth sci-fi saga classic to Disney's World of Tomorrow, the utopian vision of driverless technology has always imagined as a from of transportation that's faster, more efficient and, most importantly, safer. Last month, the world took another big step towards making driverless cars an on-the-roads reality. Read all about it http://cdn0.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/mobile_phones/Samsung/GalaxyKZoom/Samsung%20Galaxy%20K%20Zoom%20review/handson03-200-100.jpg Samsung Galaxy K ZoomSamsung's shot at the ultimate cameraphone The K Zoom is a decent smartphone that sacrifices some style and weight in return for a few extra camera capabilities. Pick up this handset and you're not necessarily buying better pictures: just more flexibility and polish for your shots. This far down the line Samsung isn't going to drop the ball in terms of hardware or software, both of which are fine, but its biggest problem is going to be finding a market. Samsung Galaxy K Zoom review Game developers have a lot to learn about virtual realityhttp://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/features/E3%202014%20virtual%20reality%20games/xing-200-100.jpg But Oculus and Morpheus are still awesome As more and more games begin to use VR tech, it's becoming ever more clear that developers are going to need to change the way they design games if they want the tech to work. We played as many virtual reality games as we could during this year's E3, and these are the conclusions we drew. The VR games at E3 http://cdn2.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/other/digital-doctor-200-100.jpg The digital doctor will see you nowHow big data is saving lives From the moment we leave the womb (and before that) we're exuding data with every tiny breath, but up until quite recently, analysis of that heart rate data was rather facile. Babies would, of course, be connected to heart rate monitors, but they only informed neonatal staff whether the patient was comfortable or in distress. When the babies were sent home, with a presumed clean bill of health, this data was discarded with no further analysis. Dr Carolyn McGregor decided to look deeper and her initial findings identified a crucial trend; that these babies' hearts were regulating and stabilising at the onset of infection. How big data is saving lives " width="420">YouTube : Amazon Fire Phone: Everything you need to knowWe round up the details so you don't have to Rumored almost since the debut of the original Kindle Fire tablet, Amazon has taken the wraps off its very first smartphone - the Fire Phone. The 4.7-inch handset is Jeff Bezos and Co.'s attempt to put its e-tail services into consumers pockets, but the phone has a number of tech tricks up its sleeves that may make it a serious smartphone contender. Or, they could end up a bunch of gimmicks people scurry into AT&T stores to play with and slink away without actually buying a device. Before the Amazon phone hits stores July 25, we've rounded up the eight things you'll want to know first about the Amazon phone. Read more about the Amazon Fire Phone http://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/features/digital%20music%20future/digitalmusicfuture1-200-100.jpg What digital audio did nextThe future of audio revealed Since the appearance of the internet and the MP3 in 1993, the music industry has lost over half of its value, but it's also been one of the most innovative areas for the new digital economy. We've had illegal file-sharing and court cases, arguments over compression rates and digital rights management, the emergence of iTunes eight years ago and, most recently, the Spotify phenomenon. Continue reading... http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/televisions/Panasonic/Panasonic%20Panasonic%20TX-50AX802/PanHero-200-100.jpg Panasonic TX-50AX802Size doesn't matter when it comes to this 4K TV Make no mistake, the Panasonic TX-50AX802 is a stand-out 4K UHD TV in most every sense. With its metallic trim and crafty hidden pedestal, the set looks superb and (pedantic niggles aside) its picture performance is a richly hued wow. Throw in a superior connected feature roster with snazzy Freetime roll-back programme guide, and you're more than halfway a winner. Panasonic TX-50AX802 review

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/gadgets/Dropcam/google-nest-buys-dropcam-470-75.jpgGoogle's Nest Labs is snapping up Wi-Fi camera start-up Dropcam in order to add security surveillance to its line of smart home gadgets. Dropcam specializes in making easy-to-use cameras that wirelessly connect to your router without the need for a computer, as well as the software that streams the live video to your devices. Its cloud-based live video service can be accessed by computers, iOS and Android devices, though Dropcam does charge a fee for 7- and 14-day storage if you want to rewind. These Wi-Fi cameras join Nest Labs' smart thermostat and smoke and CO2 detector as a way to innovate the home for the smartphone generation. Privacy fears switcherooToday's Dropcam deal, worth $555 million (about £326m, AU$591m) according to Recode, is being spearheaded by Google-owned Nest, outside of Google's purview. That's because Google's role in video surveillance is likely to raise the ire of privacy advocates who fear the search engine giant potentially having spy cameras in homes. "Like Nest customer data, Dropcam will come under Nest's privacy policy," wrote Nest Founder Matt Rogers in a blog post when today's deal closed. "[it] explains that data won't be shared with anyone (including Google) without a customer's permission. Nest has a paid-for business model and ads are not part of our strategy." Google intervention or not, expect to hear more about Nest at Google IO 2014 on June 25. Check out the Amazon Fire Phone that uses a forked Android

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/mobile_phones/Fighting%20Talk/ios8-470-75.jpgWhen I watched the iOS 8 announcement, it was with a sense of bemusement, sadness and only the occasional 'that's nice' moments popping up in my head. It's digested now, having had enough time to ferment in that vacant space I refer to as my brain. The jury's in - and it's not overwhelmed. While the general consensus is the new platform is a good enough change, the iOS 8 announcement left me cold. I'd waited for signs of a revolution, one that would delete the mistakes of iOS 7 - but they never came. Quite simply, the feeling for me was that Apple has run out of ideas. Before we go any further, NO. I am not a secret Google spy. Yes, I am running an iPhone but I had to jailbreak it to be able to enjoy it. I'm not a biased fanboy. But I just couldn't see anything there to make me jump out of my seat. And I really wanted to. Active notifications! Purleease! Shortcuts to call most used contacts? Widgets (sort of)! This is so last year to the jailbreakers. And it just highlights Apple's problems - it's just doing what the competition has been up to for years. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/iPhone/iOS%208/interactive-notifications-420-90.jpg Steve Jobs famously referred to Android as a stolen product (whilst forgetting the drag down notification centre wasn't entirely his invention) but everywhere I look in iOS 8, I see things that the jailbreakers have been offering for years. There's no acknowledgement that it needs the jailbreakers - not just to be the bogeymen to Geniuses everywhere, but to keep its creative juices flowing. They'll be designing the damn iPhone next! And let's not get started on poor WhatsApp - which has seen a few of its selling points pinched. Not that we feel sorry for Facebook after it opened its wallet and dropped a few billion on the service. But that's hardly the point. Don't get me wrong - there were some things in that unveiling that really are great. Continuity, for example. That will be brilliant in day to day use. Homekit and Healthkit have potential, but nothing that will excite me for a while yet. It's hardly up there with Steve Jobs' Keynote back in 2007. Apple's share price didn't rocket as iOS 8 was announced - and there's a good reason for that. Sure, I'll probably download iOS 8 come the autumn like everyone else. But I won't stay up all night to do it and smile sweetly when my 90% download falls down and forces me to start again. I'll give it as much priority as watering the plants. And that says it all. Read all the iOS 8 news and rumours and see if you agree with Phil.http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3bb465ef/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119521802/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bb465ef/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119521802/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bb465ef/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119521802/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bb465ef/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119521802/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bb465ef/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119521802/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bb465ef/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/Ny0KkN3HMb8

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/people/fionamcneill-470-75.jpgThe data streaming in and out of organizations from electrical and mechanical sensors, RFID tags, smart meters, scanners, mobile communications, live social media, and more results in staggering volumes of information. When all these sources are networked to communicate with each other – without human intervention – the Internet of Things (IoT) is born. The IoT market is estimated to include nearly 26 billion devices, with a "global economic value-add" of $1.9 trillion by 2020, according to Gartner, and IDC forecasts nearly $9 trillion in annual sales by 2020. By all accounts, IoT is a new type of industrial revolution. But to derive useful knowledge from the tide of streaming source data – and participate in this new economy – you must have analytics. Why analytics?In traditional analysis, data is stored and then analyzed. But with streaming data, analytics must occur in real time, as the data passes through. This allows you to identify and examine patterns of interest as the data is being created. The result is instant insight and immediate action. So before the data is stored, in the cloud or in any high-performance repository, the event stream is automatically processed. And using analytics to decipher streaming data as close to the device as possible creates a new realm of knowledge for many industries. Let's look at a few examples. The Internet of Things in health care In health care, analyzing IoT data can result in increased uptime for machines that treat cancer, which means that patients are treated when they are scheduled. If a treatment time is missed, it can be up to 40% less effective, so reducing service interruptions is critical. By monitoring hundreds of sensors, identifying issues early and proactively correcting them, service personnel armed with the necessary information and parts arrive together, said Todd DeSisto, at the 2014 Axeda Connexion Conference, Elekta, a Swedish company that provides equipment and clinical management to help treat cancer and brain disorders, has cited a 30% reduction in site visits because of such monitoring, said Martin Gilday, another presenter at the Axeda event. With rising global populations and corresponding increases in disease and health care costs, the remote patient monitoring market doubled from 2007 to 2011 and is projected to double again by 2016, according to a report from Kalorama Information. And what if these scenarios went beyond monitoring device status or patient conditions – to predicting machine reliability in advance of parts beginning to malfunction? Servicing would then move from being proactive to being optimized across each supplier's landscape of devices. And foreseeing patient problems before they even experience symptoms could avert adverse events altogether. Event streams that know more than just existing conditions, and which evaluate future scenarios using advanced analytics, are now within the realm of possibility. How do you apply predictive capabilities to IoT data? High-performance analytics environments are designed to examine complex questions and produce models. These algorithms are then coded into the data streams, along with any data normalization and business rules to detect patterns associated with the defined future scenarios. So in addition to monitoring conditions and thresholds, you can use the data stream to assess likely future events. The Internet of Things in manufacturing The automobile industry is stepping up development detection systems for imminent collisions to determine when to take evasive action. Based on radar and other types of remote technologies, driving conditions are monitored to assess – and ultimately avoid – collisions. These collision avoidance systems assess the likelihood of a collision event and automatically prescribe mechanical changes to the vehicle if the driver doesn't respond – including deceleration and external lighting changes. Potential accident reduction from wide deployment could surpass $100 billion annually in savings, said an article in McKinsey Quarterly. In fact, the "Industrial Internet,"—a term coined by GE which combines physical machinery, networked sensors and software – has extensive use and promise in manufacturing, including production optimization, product development and aftermarket servicing. GE predicts $1 trillion in opportunity per year by improving how assets and resources are used and how operations and maintenance are performed within industrial industries, according to a 2013 article in Forbes. The Internet of Things in energy A detailed view of energy consumption patterns is needed to understand energy usage, daily spikes and workload dependencies. And beyond just manufacturing – lighting alone takes 19% of the world's electricity, said the International Energy Agency. Optimized alternate energy sources can have a significant impact on all sectors. For example, a single blade on a gas turbine can generate 500GB of data per day, according to GE. Wind turbines constantly identify the best angles to catch the wind, and turbine-to-turbine communications allow turbine farms to align and operate as a single, maximized unit. Historically, the only way to know what was happening with a turbine – even if it was on and working – was to climb 330 feet and see. Remote monitoring provides new eyes on the status of these energy generators. What if the same data could be used to forecast? Efficiency in green energy means we can store more energy for use when the wind is low. Predicting when excess energy is available can help determine when to charge batteries, for example, further extending the efficiencies of alternate energy sources. Of course, the energy market provides one of the most well-known examples of IoT technology altering the customer landscape. With dynamic smart meter billing, customers have new choices, which lead energy companies to adopt a more customer-centric approach. The utility smart grid transformation is expected to almost double the customer information system market, from $2.5 billion in 2013 to $5.5 billion in 2020, according to a study from Navigant Research. The Internet of Things in retailCustomers are also at the center of IoT analytics in retail, where some companies are studying ways to gather and process data from thousands of shoppers as they journey through stores. This "in-store geography" informed by sensor readings and videos considers how long shoppers linger at individual displays, recording what they ultimately buy. With the goal of optimizing store layout, these data points can also be tied to smart-device Wi-Fi networks. In addition to appropriately targeting shoppers for promotions in-store, retailers can ask customer opinions – using IoT data to initiate an interaction, customizing the shopping experience and enhancing loyalty. Taking action with IoT data Event streams monitor patterns of interest. Sensors and devices generate lots of data that describes existing conditions. Analysis of conditions informs what actions are necessary – either immediately as an alert notification, or with pre-planning from predictive and other advanced analysis methods. Of course, analysis always leads to more questions – directing what additional sensors (and data) can be collected to measure new aspects of the conditions, elements of the event or more detail in the scenario to understand different patterns. IoT data, by itself, isn't the value. Just as with traditional data sources, it's the ability to take the insights and then act on them that provides value. To know what to do in the moment, use analytics at the edge. Fiona McNeill is Global Product Marketing Manager at SAS.http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3bb465e8/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119521801/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bb465e8/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119521801/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bb465e8/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119521801/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bb465e8/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119521801/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bb465e8/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119521801/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3bb465e8/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/MMw9SVbLRug

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBCNews/tableau-470-75.jpgTableau Software has launched version 8.2 of its analytics tool. New features include availability on the Mac operating system and an updated data interface. Mac users will gain access to Tableau's software, which is designed to help organizations better process, analyze and take action on data. The Mac version will feature all of the analytics capabilities of the traditional Desktop version of Tableau, including live data streams and in memory computing. More than 19,000 organizations use Tableau, the company said in a statement. New featuresAnother new Tableau feature is Story Points, which the company said is designed to help businesses create and share visually-driven narratives based on data analytics. Story Points is designed to allow people to combine worksheets and dashboards into visual depictions, such as graphics and charts. Users can then publish the depictions to Tableau Server, Tableau Online and Tableau Public for additional engagement throughout the organization. Other updates include a redesigned data connection experience that features a simpler and more visual viewing experience, redesigned maps, and a simplified server experience and additional support for server deployments. Allrecipes.com, the Univ. of Washington Information Technology, and Audience Audit have been running on the beta version of Tableau 8.2 since April. Other Tableau clients include Deloitte, Tesla Motors, Cornell University and Barclays. Which 10 social analytics companies do you need to know?http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3babad0e/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119483306/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3babad0e/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119483306/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3babad0e/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119483306/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3babad0e/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119483306/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3babad0e/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119483306/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3babad0e/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/O3erRZEj_wU

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/other/Generics/cash_pounds-470-75.jpgThe economic situation for 2014 is looking more positive with organisations now gearing up for growth, planning investment and proactively exploring new markets. But at the same time, finance departments are under increasing pressure to spend time analysing performance to minimise the risk associated with post-recession expansion. With technology evolving at great speed, finance departments should by now be well placed to provide such insight using streamlined accounts processing with real time financial information. Yet the reality is different, with very few achieving automated end-to-end invoice processing. So why are finance departments still overwhelmed by tedious transactions? After nearly two decades of scanning technology and the push away from paper towards electronic documentation, why are almost one fifth of companies reporting an actual increase in paper, according to research from AIIM? Sadly, while most organisations encourage suppliers to provide invoices electronically, and scan any that are still paper based, information is still manually uploaded to the finance system. 'Paperless office' remains a fantasyEven worse, many electronically delivered invoices are actually printed out, physically time stamped and then manually distributed around the business for approval. So while organisations have to some degree reduced the costs associated with paper – especially if they have added Bacs payment and remittance, and removed the need to post cheques - the overall invoice management process is still fundamentally inefficient. If done well, invoice processing is not just about imposing good operational control: it is about demonstrating that control to customers and suppliers; and releasing finance from its administrative burden to effectively manage risk in a rapidly changing economic environment. The fact that so many finance teams are still spending the majority of their time on manual processing is, quite frankly, extraordinary, not to mention expensive. According to PwC's Unlocking Potential: Finance effectiveness benchmark study 2013, the cost of finance at average firms is more than 60% higher than at top quartile firms. Unlocking your finance team's potentialHowever, there is hope. By creating a seamless, end-to-end invoice process organisations not only cut costs, but add scalability, creating the ability to handle invoice growth without adding to the finance team. The day-to-day working environment will also change. Finance staff can spend the majority of time delivering insight, rather than transaction processing and, having captured invoice data as it enters the organisation, can provide fast, accurate information regarding commitments and cash flow. With truly effective invoice processing, organisations will be far better placed to maximise the opportunities and minimise the risk associated with managing the changing business environment in 2014. Stuart Evans is Chief Technical Officer at Invu and has been instrumental in developing the company's suite of products that can automate processes, provide real-time information and offer security and compliance of critical data.http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3babad11/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119483305/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3babad11/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119483305/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3babad11/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119483305/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3babad11/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119483305/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3babad11/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119483305/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3babad11/sc/4/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/wYoVJhqwwWM

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/amazon-fire-phone-scan-470-75.jpgDesign, display, and specsAfter being long rumored to introduce its own smartphone, Amazon has finally unveiled its Fire phone. On Wednesday morning, Amazon announced the Fire featuring a whole new 3D interface that tracks the users' gaze using four cameras. Novelty features for sure but Amazon needs to make its device as unique as possible to stand apart in today's crowded smartphone world. The Amazon Fire phone joins the already frantic fray with the LG G3 and Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 5S. While the Fire isn't equipped with the latest bleeding edge hardware, its offers some uniquely enticing features that may draw users away from the safety of Samsung and Apple. Here's a rundown of the how the Fire compares with the competition. Designhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/amazon-fire-phone-cases-420-90.jpg Amazon hasn't skimped at all on the industrial build quality of its first ever handset. Featuring a rubberized frame, Gorilla Glass on both the front and back, CNC aluminum buttons, polished button chamfers, and injection-molded steel connectors every part of this handset should have a tight and precise fit. The Fire is also smaller than its competitors thanks to having a more conservative 4.7-inch screen. Overall the Amazon smartphone measures 139.2mm x 66.5mm x 8.9 mm in size and weighs 160 grams. Despite having the smallest screen of the bunch the Fire is still heavier than even the LG G3 and it 5.5-inch screen. This is likely because the Fire comes with two panes of Gorilla glass, whereas the LG G3 has a lightweight 149g plastic frame measuring 146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9 mm. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is made of a similarly lightweight 142 x 72.5 x 8.1mm plastic frame weighing only 145g. The Galaxy S5 also has the honor of being the only waterproof handset with a removable back allowing users to replace the battery. Despite its metal body, the iPhone 5S is by far the lightest at 112g but also the smallest at only 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm. Displayhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/amazon-fire-phone%20copy-420-90.jpg On paper the weakest part of the Amazon Fire Phone is its lacking 1280 x 720 resolution screen. Although the Fire has a smaller 4.7-inch screen to give the pixels less room to spread out, it still has the lowest ppi density at 315 even when compared to the 326ppi iPhone 5S and its 1136 x 640 pixel display. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the LG G3 comes with one of the mobile industry's first QHD displays at an eye popping 2560 x 1440 resolution and 538ppi. The Galaxy S5 lags behind with a standard full-HD 1920 x 1080 panel and a ppi of 431. Screen resolution is of course only half the story. The Fire still has a leg up thanks to its display being an IPS panel, which should resolve better than average colors. Additionally IPS screens tend to have more generous viewing angles that should help keep the picture clear when users are twisting and tiling the phone to odd angles as they use its 3D interface. SpecsSadly the Fire also comes packing an older generation 2.2GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU paired with an Adreno 330 GPU, whereas most of its Android competition – including the Samsung Galaxy S5 and LG G3 – are powered with a 2.5GHz Qualcomm quad-core chip and Adreno 300 GPU. All three handsets, however, come packing the same 2GB amount of RAM, that is, unless users are looking to pick up the 32GB version of the LG G3 with 3GB of RAM onboard. Storage wise users can pick up a 32GB version of the Samsung Galaxy S5 to match the only available tier of the Fir,e but Amazon's handset lacks any mircoSD slot for holding any additional data. The iPhone 5S, meanwhile, is in its own older class of hardware using the Apple developed 1.3GHz dual-core A7 chip with 1GB RAM and a PowerVR G6430 GPU. Cameras, features, price, and our early verdictCamerashttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/amazon-fire-phone-home-screen-420-90.jpg Technically, the Amazon Fire has a total of six cameras but for now we're going to talk about the ones that actually shoot images. The handset is equipped with a 13MP rear-facing camera with an f/2.0 lens. The 13MP sensor might be not be too exciting when the LG G3 has a matching resolution imaging chip. The Galaxy S5, meanwhile, actually beats out the Amazon smartphone with a 16MP camera that can shoot 4K video. That said, the Fire has the widest aperture lens whereas the LG G3 is trapped at f/2.4 and the Galaxy S5 and iPhone both have a f.2.2 lens. This wider lens should allow the Fire to capture more light at night. Amazon thus far has already touted its phone has clearer and sharper low-light capabilities than both Apple and Samsung. Dynamic Perspectivehttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/amazon-fire-phone-mayday-420-90.jpg Moving onto one of the most unique features Fire, Amazon's smartphone has four infrared cameras designed to track the users' face and orientation to the device. It's not 3D nor parallax, instead the Fire's entire interface is designed to present a 3D like experience that shifts to match the user's gaze. Integrated with maps, this added visual layer could allow users to see information "tucked" underneath such as Yelp ratings and reviews. For some more visual flair Lockscreens and wallpapers will have a 3D effect. This perspective skewing experience is only half the formula though users will also be able to navigate on their phone using gesture controls. The Fire Phone has some beefed up accelerometers to take commands like one-hand tilting to scroll through a list of shopping items in the Amazon Shopping app. Elsewhere, Fire users could the tilting controls while listening to music on the Amazon Music app to reveal song lyrics or auto-scroll through an article on the web. FeaturesRight off the bat Amazon is including free unlimited photo storage and a free year of Prime for anyone that picks up its first handset. Along with the free-two day shipping on practically everything Amazon sells, Prime grants users access to unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Prime Instant Video. Amazon boasted that Fire owners will be able to watch over 200,000 videos, including exclusive content. The free streaming also extends to Amazon's music library. Additionally users can borrow an e-book from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library of over 500,000 titles to choose from. Additionally, Amazon hopes its Fire Phone will take off as a media device that can fling video to any Miracast device such as a Fire TV. Apple has a similar AirPlay system set up for connecting users' iDevices to an Apple TV. Android users, meanwhile, can flick their video content from mobile phone to the Chromecast. Although these are both good options that work, Amazon wins out slightly simply because there are more devices that work on the Miracast standard. Amazon unique MayDay, "tell me how to use this device" feature also makes a return on the Fire phone with a dedicated physical button to trigger it no matter if the user is connected by 3G, 4G, or Wi-Fi. Fireflyhttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/Firefly-420-90.jpg The Fire also has yet another physical button and this one is used to trigger the Fire's new Firefly feature. While users have been able to use their smartphone cameras to scan barcodes and QR stamps, Firefly takes image based searching to a new level by identifying physical objects. While using the feature, virtual fireflies will gather around any object captured by the phone's camera to identify and track down the object on Amazon's digital retail space. What's more, the feature can be used to identify songs, TV Shows, and Movies based a small snippet of audio similar to Shazam for X-Ray information or a link to buy it from Amazon. In some non-commercially oriented uses, Firefly could be used to identify paintings. The feature can also extrapolate text from a sign saving users the process of typing in a phone number and other information manually. Price For now the Amazon Fire Phone is only available on AT&T for starting price of $199 (about £120/AU$210) for the 32GB version with a two-year contract. Similarly, the Samsung Galaxy S5 comes at $199 (about £120/AU$210) but the big blue carrier only has a 16GB model available. A similarly specced iPhone 5S can be had for $249.99 (about £147.09/AU$265.71) with a two year contract on AT&T. The LG G3's availability is still questionable except for a rumor it will launch on Verizon come this July 17 for a yet to be announce price. Early Verdicthttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/amazon-fire-phone-price-420-90.jpg It's clear Amazon is trying to build on its successful run of tablets by first announcing Fire TV and now a Fire Phone. It's not a truly stand out phone on specs alone but thanks to the company's massive cache of digital content and a few unique features, the Fire is a tantalizing new wrinkle in the mobile space. Much of the talk surrounding the Fire up to its reveal pinned a new 3D interface as being the phone's most stand out feature. But in reality it's not parallax or a true three-dimensional experience, which leaves us a bit disappointed. It's too early to call the Amazon Fire a sure buy handset, we'll wait - and all users should - until we see the interface first hand and run the phone's unique Firefly feature through a ringer of real world objects. Here's 8 things that should excite you about the Amazon Firehttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3ba4f7b6/sc/5/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199107135378/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba4f7b6/sc/5/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199107135378/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba4f7b6/sc/5/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199107135378/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba4f7b6/sc/5/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199107135378/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba4f7b6/sc/5/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199107135378/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba4f7b6/sc/5/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/1VFquc2ygII

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/amazon-fire-phone-3d-470-75.jpgPrice, release date, Firefly and 3DRumored almost since the debut of the original Kindle Fire tablet, Amazon has taken the wraps off its very first smartphone - the Fire Phone. The 4.7-inch smartphone company is Jeff Bezos and Co.'s attempt to put its etail services into consumers pockets, but the phone has a number of tech tricks up its sleeves that may make it a smartphone contender. We've rounded up the eight things you'll want to know first about the Amazon phone right here. 1. PriceLet's get the bad news out of the way right up front: Despite endless rumors that Amazon would subsidize some or all of the hardware or data costs for members of its annual Prime service, Fire Phone starts at $199 (about UK£117, AU$212) for 32GB - and that price requires a two-year agreement with exclusive carrier AT&T. AT&T Next customers can also from two plans with no annual contract, no activation fee and no down payment starting at $27.09 per month with a 24-month installment agreement and the option to upgrade (with qualified trade-in) after 18 monthly payments. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon_Fire_Phone_ordering-420-90.jpg While 32GB is a nice doubling of storage capacity compared to something like the base model iPhone 5Swith 16GB, the news gets worse for shoppers hoping to avoid contracts entirely, which will require shelling out $649 (about UK£382, AU$691) up front. (In either case, a 64GB model is also available for $100 more.) On the plus side, for a limited time each Fire Phone comes with a full year of Amazon Prime, which normally costs $99 per year - and yes, that includes current members, who will get an additional year tacked on for good measure. Last but not least, the Fire Phone also includes 1,000 Amazon Coins for a limited time, which equates to $10 worth of apps, games or in-app purchases from the Amazon Appstore. 2. Release dateFor US customers, Fire Phone is available to preorder starting today from Amazon's website, but the device won't land in the hands of early adopters until Friday, July 25. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/amazon-fire-phone-scan-2-420-90.jpg Although there's no word yet on when Fire Phone will be available internationally, Amazon confirmed the handset is ready for international roaming; new apps or music can be purchased abroad with a US credit card, although movies and TV shows can't be steamed outside of the 50 states. 3. FireflyFire Phone comes with a dedicated Firefly button on the left-hand side, which can be pressed whenever the user wants to identify something, such as a song playing on the radio, the movie or TV show currently being watched or even one of more than 70 million products sold by Amazon, including household items and packaged media such as video games, DVDs and CDs. But Firefly is more than just a shopaholic's best friend: The technology can also be used to scan web or email addresses, phone numbers, QR or bar codes and more, and Firefly enabled apps such as iHeartRadio or StubHub bring the fun to third-party content as well. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/amazon-fire-phone-3d-420-90.jpg Amazon touts Firefly's ability to recognize 245,000 movies and TV episodes plus 160 live television channels, as well as 35 million songs from the Amazon Music catalog; the company's IMDb service will also power X-Ray, which is capable of providing second screen information on actors, synopsis and more. 4. Dynamic PerspectiveRemember all those wild rumors that Amazon was working on a smartphone capable of displaying glasses-free 3D? Fire Phone instead comes with "a custom-designed sensor system" called Dynamic Perspective, which responds to how the user holds, views or moves the device. In addition to offering a more immersive experience for apps and games, Dynamic Perspective offers a variety of one-handed shortcuts - no more tapping around with mere fingers, because menus and shortcuts can be called up without touching the screen. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/amazon-fire-phone-mayday-420-90.jpg For example, a tilt of the device calls up left or right panels for navigating menus, while a swivel action jumps directly to notifications; auto-scroll makes it easy to keep reading endlessly, while peek declutters the screen and enables quick actions when needed. Mayday, apps, hardware and more5. MaydayFirst introduced with the Kindle Fire HDX line, Amazon's award-winning, on-device customer service Mayday is also integrated into the Fire Phone, promising free, live tech support within 15 seconds or less, no appointment required and 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/amazon-fire-phone-scan-420-90.jpg As part of Amazon's exclusive partnership with AT&T, Mayday support will also extend to the carrier's 4G LTE cellular network, although normal data charges will apply, so better to keep those Mayday sessions to a minimum when Wi-Fi isn't available. 6. CameraAmazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos went to great lengths during the launch event to tout the Fire Phone's more capable camera system, which apparently puts rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy S5 (which produces images too blurry) and even the iPhone 5s (too noisy) to shame. That's because Fire Phone has a feature both of those lack: Optical image stabilization, which works with the custom-tuned 13 megapixel image sensor to produce "crisp, beautiful images" as well as "stunning 1080p" HD video, according to Amazon's hype machine. Perhaps more importantly, the dedicated Firefly button on the side of the handset also doubles as a quick-launch trigger for the camera, ready to fire off shots in as little as one second. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/amazon-fire-phone%20copy-420-90.jpg If that doesn't impress, Amazon is also throwing in free, unlimited cloud storage for full-resolution photos taken with the Fire Phone, with automatic video backup to Amazon Cloud Drive so you'll finally be able to take advantage of that 5GB of free cloud storage. 7. Apps & gamesTo the surprise of virtually no one, Fire Phone is once again a gated community offering Amazon's own built-in apps (which now includes Messaging, Maps, Weather and more) as well as more than 240,000 titles available from the Amazon Appstore. (Contrary to overly ambitious rumors, there's no Google Play Store to be found here.) http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/mobile_phones/Amazon/Amazon%20phone%20official/Fire%20phone%20cropped-420-90.jpg The good news is that favorites such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Pinterest, Instagram, Pandora, Netflix and Whatsapp are all present and accounted for, and Amazon continues to offer a free app every single day, which will certainly help new Fire Phone owners build up a library on the cheap. 8. HardwareImpressive Dynamic Perspective sensor system aside, Amazon hasn't skimped on the rest of the Fire Phone hardware, packing a zippy 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB RAM inside, along with Adreno 330 graphics for fluid video and gaming playback. Those chips power a 4.7-inch HD "ultra-bright" display said to be readable indoors or out, along with enough juice for 22 hours of talk time, 285 hours of standby, 65 hours of audio or 11 hours of video playback. Fire Phone also comes equipped with nine LTE bands, four GSM bands and five UMTS bands capable of international roaming along with 802.11ac wireless, NFC and Bluetooth support. On the audio front, Fire Phone includes a pair of Dolby Digital Plus-infused speakers along with a premium, tangle-free headset touted as both "ergonomically designed and technically tuned for amazing sound." Will the Amazon Fire Phone be enough to snuff out the current inferno of smartphone heavyweights, let alone the presumably white-hot iPhone 6 when it arrives later this year? We'll have to wait until July 25 to find out. Take a trip down memory lane with our iPad Air review!http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3ba4f7ba/sc/21/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199107135377/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba4f7ba/sc/21/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199107135377/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba4f7ba/sc/21/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199107135377/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba4f7ba/sc/21/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199107135377/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba4f7ba/sc/21/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199107135377/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba4f7ba/sc/21/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/Lr0WOBwRQd4

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Twitter/twitter_techradar-470-75.jpgTwitter gained a new advantage over Facebook today when it became the latest social network to support animated GIFs. "Starting today, you can share and view animated GIFs on Twitter.com, Android and iPhone," The Twitter support account tweeted. Just to be sure they included a link to a GIF showing an adorable pup and someone typing an actual tweet, and sure enough, it will play right in your timeline. Just click on the triangular play icon over a GIF if you're viewing it in your feed, or, if you open the tweet itself, it will play automatically. PrioritiesJudging by the thousands of retweets and favorites this announcement has gotten so far, it seems Twitter users are eager to start seeing more movement on the network. Google added GIF support to Google+ early in 2013, no doubt eager for any advantage over the social network's competition. More recently Pinterest jumped on the GIF bandwagon when it announced support for the format in January. Meanwhile Facebook still refuses to implement GIFs, although it's been all too eager to show its users more and more ads. At least we knows where its priorities are. What's the point of Twitter if it's just like Facebook?http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3ba434cc/sc/21/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119448817/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba434cc/sc/21/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119448817/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba434cc/sc/21/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119448817/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba434cc/sc/21/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119448817/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba434cc/sc/21/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119448817/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba434cc/sc/21/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/K0KNg2Ocx8o

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/car%20tech/Apple%20CarPlay/16x9/CarPlay%20maps-470-75.jpgGoogle is about to catch a ride in your car with a new dashboard OS tentatively called Google Auto Link, according to one report. The system will rival Apple CarPlay and debut at the Google IO developer conference on June 25, three separate sources told Auto News. Google Auto Link is reportedly "projected" from Android smartphones, not "embedded" in cars themselves, so users will control their phones from their dashboards. Like CarPlay, the Google system will likely let users play music, answer calls, navigate, and do more without needing to take their eyes from the road for too long. Safety firstGoogle Auto Link, which may ultimately emerge with a different name, is no doubt a product of Google's Open Automotive Alliance, announced earlier this year. The alliance includes Audi, General Motors, Honda., Hyundai, and even Nvidia, which is making chips for in-car systems. Audi has already begun embedding Google Earth in its vehicles, and some Hyundai cars let users search for destinations with voice commands, but Android has yet to be fully integrated with any cars. Google said previously, though, that it wants to get Android into cars in 2014, and that it's "developing new Android platform features that will enable the car itself to become a connected Android device." Watch out for more news about Google's in-car efforts as IO approaches in the next week. Apple CarPlay to stake out aftermarket cars thanks to Pioneerhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3ba434d2/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119448816/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba434d2/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119448816/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba434d2/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119448816/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba434d2/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119448816/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba434d2/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119448816/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3ba434d2/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/YZVZPJTD6dQ

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBCNews/Adobe/adobecc-470-75.jpgAdobe has updated its Creative Cloud platform to include 14 new versions of desktop applications, and it has launched three mobile applications that integrate with the cloud platform. The updated and new applications were unveiled today during an event at Alice Tully Hall in New York City. Adobe applications such as Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro have all been updated as part of the Creative Cloud upgrade. Users can now access their desktop versions of these apps and all other Creative Cloud apps from their iPhone and iPad. Teams working on projects from multiple locations can collaborate simultaneously via Creative Cloud to make immediate changes to files. Photoshop will now feature capabilities that better enable photographers and photo editors to capture motion, to enhance depth of field in portraits, and the ability to influence the perspective of certain aspects of an image without changing the image's entire perspective. For example: with one static image of a building, photo editors can now create realistic images of multiple perspectives of the building by manipulating the original photo's pixels. Users solely interested in Adobe's Creative Cloud photography plan can now purchase the tools for $9.99 per month (around £5.9, AU$10.7). Improved Photoshop workflowsA new Photoshop feature will enable users to access missing fonts within Photoshop without leaving the app. A dialogue prompt will tell the user which fonts they are missing and find the fonts for the user within Creative Cloud. Additionally, users can access more than twenty thousand royalty-free images within Creative Cloud and drop them directly into Photoshop. Photoshop and Premiere Pro users can now edit three-dimensional models in a two-dimensional plane to reflect more accurate shadows, reflections, and motion capture. "We are hyper-committed to unlocking the power of 3D for designers and making it as simple to use as 2D," said David Wadhwani, SVP of Digital Media at Adobe. Illustrator, Muse and Premiere ProUpdates to Adobe Illustrator include faster rendering of vector graphics with GPU acceleration. An InDesign update will allow users to select tables, rows and columns, and the ability to create digital books. Adobe Muse will now include 64-bit support, HiDPI display and the ability to preview mobile and desktop versions of websites before making them live. Muse will now feature drag and drop visual website creation. Rather than coding website navigation, users will be able to create websites within an interface similar to PowerPoint. The drag and drop feature will enable users to determine navigation by simply dragging each page next to or beneath other pages. Additionally, Muse users no longer need to create templates to design all pages within one website; users can design each page individually for more unique web page design. Muse's in-browser editing allows designers to edit images and text on Web pages as they are navigating the site without requiring them to open the external Muse application. In addition to the aforementioned 3D updates, Premiere Pro will now feature masking capabilities that enable users to create a mask once within a video in canvas. The application will then apply that mask throughout the video from frame to frame with just one edit. New Adobe mobile appsIn addition to the desktop application updates, Adobe has released three mobile applications: Adobe Sketch, Adobe Line and Adobe Photoshop Mix. Adobe has also released two new pieces of hardware: Adobe Ink, a digital pen, and Adobe Slide, a digital ruler. Ink and Slide are now available for $199.99 (around £118, AU$214). Adobe Sketch is an iPad app that enables users to create illustrations and receive live feedback from a community of illustrators. Adobe Line is an app designed for precision drawers; the app features digital versions of t-squares, rulers and shape templates. Photoshop Mix is designed for composting and masking on iPad. "We have to reimagine the creative process. We have a vision to bring together creativity and business," Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said during the event. Each of the desktop updates are available immediately to existing users. The new mobile applications are free and available for download immediately. Adobe recently announced a strong second quarter of 2014, in which revenue increased 6.8% to $1.7 billion (around £1 billion, AU$1.8 billion) compared with the same quarter last year. The company attributed much of its success to Creative Cloud, which acquired 464,000 new users during the quarter. Adobe Creative Cloud has more than 2.3 million users, the company said. Read our Creative Cloud review.

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/mobile_phones/Carphone%20Warehouse/Safe%20phone/CBN09.safe.illo-470-75.jpgAlmost 85% of information security professionals believe their existing technology can't prevent endpoint infections, according to the results of a survey conducted by Bromium. Roughly the same number of respondents say they believe anti-virus solutions are unable to prevent against targeted attacks. The survey, "Endpoint Protection: Attitudes and Opinions," reveals that 72% of respondents say end users are their biggest security concern. Sixty-five percent of information security professionals are actively searching for endpoint protection that can stop known and unknown threats. The past 12 months have featured a string of notorious breaches and bugs - none more prevalent than the Heartbleed Bug, which infected software used by millions of web servers, retailers, operating systems, email and instant messaging services, and Target's point-of-sale breach, which exposed 70 million customer credit and debit cards numbers, as well as customer names, mailing addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers. Read about the Top 10 data breaches of the past 12 months.Cybercrime costs businesses roughly $445 billion (about £350bn, AUD 469bn) annually, according to research from McAfee. With new initiatives, such as the Internet of Things, causing businesses to adopt new forms of technology, threats are expected to increase. For example, 70% of IT decision-makers at small-to-mid-size businesses do not believe the C-Suite will increase IT spending to provide them with the resources necessary to tackle additional security problems created by the Internet of Things, according to a survey conducted by Opinion Matters for GFI Software. Fear is prevalent across all verticals. IDC Financial Insights projects worldwide risk information technologies and services spending in the financial sector to increase 22% from $79 billion to $97.3 billion by 2018. The report, Worldwide IT Spending 2013-2018, predicts risk information technology in financial services will account for 18.2% of the projected $530 billion in overall IT spending by 2018. This spring, a survey conducted by business software company Ipswitch, revealed 63% of IT professionals are frustrated with current file transfer processes and 40% believe manual file transfer processes are inefficient. The Bromium research features responses from more than 300 information security professionals. Results of the survey were validated in an independent NSS Labs Test Report. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3b9db45c/sc/5/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199107107780/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9db45c/sc/5/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199107107780/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9db45c/sc/5/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199107107780/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9db45c/sc/5/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199107107780/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9db45c/sc/5/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199107107780/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9db45c/sc/5/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/q2ZRJWxDLM8

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/tablets/Kindle%20Paperwhite%206G/IMG_0664cropped-470-75.jpgWith anticipation running high for this week's rumored smartphone unveiling, interest in all things Amazon is at its peak - which is a perfect time to see what's coming next with a peek behind the veil of the e-tailer's research and development walls. BloombergBusinessweek today offered a glimpse into the top-secret lair where Amazon does most of the R&D work for new hardware such as Fire TV, not to mention a smartphone expected to be announced at a media event on Wednesday. Known as "Lab126," the facilities are home to more than 1,600 employees, many who have been working there since Amazon founder Jeff Bezos set up the division to create the first Kindle e-book reader back in 2004. Amazon's hardware gurus will reportedly return to the Kindle well for a new "remarkably thin" version of the Kindle Paperwhite codenamed "Ice Wine," with insiders also dishing on a Square-style credit card reader Amazon may use to shore up its payment business. Science projectsThe report from "The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon" author Brad Stone doesn't offer details as to how Amazon plans to slim down the Kindle, instead offering a tantalizing peek into other devices spearheaded by Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos. According to loose-lipped employees, Amazon's rumored smartphone has been in gestation at Lab126 since 2009, along with other so-called "science projects" that include a device capable of projecting computer images onto any surface. Said to be powered by a forked version of Android similar to the company's Kindle Fire tablets, Amazon's smartphone will reportedly offer a 3D user interface that uses four infrared cameras to track the user's pupils as they're looking at the display. Known internally as "Duke," the Amazon handset may wind up an AT&T exclusive at launch thanks to the carrier's Sponsored Data program, capable of offloading some or all mobile data expenses to a user's annual Amazon Prime subscription. Bask in the warm glow of our latest MacBook Air review!http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3b9a7bdf/sc/5/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119800576/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a7bdf/sc/5/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119800576/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a7bdf/sc/5/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119800576/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a7bdf/sc/5/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119800576/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a7bdf/sc/5/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119800576/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a7bdf/sc/5/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/tlQdp1EAyZQ

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/other/Onetimers/Sony%20Xperia%20Live%20on%20YouTube%20copy-470-75.jpgSony is out with a new camera app made for Xperia Z2 users who want to live stream their daily days. Xperia's Live on YouTube allows users to broadcast up to 15 minutes of video directly from their smartphone camera to their YouTube channel for viewers to see. All it takes a single press of a button and the Sony smartphone will begin streaming directly to YouTube. Sony believes users will be able to use its app to broadcast anything from their own webinars, video blogs, or share important life moments such as their child's first steps. While users are live streaming their everyday experiences, they can see a live number of views, likes and dislikes updating in real time. Additionally, Xperia live streamers will have control over which of their broadcasts go up and can setup reminders to schedule their online video feed. LifeloggingSony calls its Live on YouTube app an evolution of Social Live, which already allows users to shoot and upload videos to YouTube from their handset. Elsewhere the Japanese electronics giant has been trying to implement live streaming sharing options to its other platforms including PS4, which had a short lived video broadcasting capability. For everyone else who wants a live streaming device that's not a Sony Xperia Z2, there are devices like the Narrative Clip and Giroptic's 360cam. · Wearable cameras could turn us all into lifeloggers, but is this good?http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3b9a513d/sc/28/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108543050/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a513d/sc/28/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108543050/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a513d/sc/28/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108543050/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a513d/sc/28/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108543050/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a513d/sc/28/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199108543050/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a513d/sc/28/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/pMzNpjyvG-0

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/Fitness_tech/FuelBand%20SE/nike-fuelband-android-app-470-75.jpgIn recent months Nike has made it abundantly clear that, more than ever, its loyalties lie with Team Apple as rumours continue to circulate that a collaboration in the wearables arena may be on the agenda. However, despite reportedly winding down its own hardware operation, the sportswear giant has at least decided to pay lip service to Android by finally launching a companion app for its FuelBand wristbands. The Nike+ FuelBand app, which is available now on devices running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and above, arrives a two years after the FuelBand hardware went on sale with an accompanying iPhone app. Fuelband and Fuelband SE is "optimized" for Samsung's Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5, as well as the HTC One, Nexus 5 and the Moto X. However, we found that the Nike FuelBand Android app works just the same in conjunction with unlisted devices such as the larger Samsung Galaxy Note 3 phablet and Nexus 7 tablet. Android gets goalsUsers will be able to use the app to view their NikeFuel ratings in real time, view the progress towards their goals on any given day, week or month and set move reminders using their device. The app allows specific activities to be tracked during the Nike+ Sessions functionality and compete with friends on a leaderboard. The launch for Android comes nearly eight months after Nike claimed it was "working on support" for Android. That prospect had seemed slim when reports emerged Nike had fired the majority of the FuelBand team back in April. Since then the company has been rumoured to be in cahoots with Apple over a purported iBand or iWatch. Running mates: What's going on with Nike and Apple?http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3b9a5144/sc/5/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108543049/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a5144/sc/5/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108543049/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a5144/sc/5/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108543049/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a5144/sc/5/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199108543049/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a5144/sc/5/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199108543049/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b9a5144/sc/5/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/8ZTQc2fS2ks

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/your_mobile_life/TV/4oD-470-75.jpgChannel 4 has updated its 4oD app for Android to offer programme streaming over 3G and 4G mobile networks. The update comes precisely two weeks after the broadcaster finally updated its iOS app to accommodate mobile data streaming of live and on demand content. Until very recently users of the application on both platforms were limited to streaming programming over Wi-Fi. Users were, and still are, available to download programmes from the last 30 days for offline viewing, but the addition of mobile data streaming will enable those spur-of-the-moment viewing decisions. ParityThe feature now gives 4oD parity with the BBC iPlayer and ITV player apps which also have the ability to stream over 3G and 4G The updated app, which can now be downloaded from the Google Play store, also brings access to 4Shorts, offering hundreds of classic clips from the archives along with a host of original shorts. Users are, of course, advised to use Wi-Fi whenever possible so as not to drain their data allowance. Streaming on the go? Perhaps it's time for a Netflix subscriptionhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3b99c94e/sc/5/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119797937/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b99c94e/sc/5/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119797937/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b99c94e/sc/5/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119797937/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b99c94e/sc/5/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119797937/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b99c94e/sc/5/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119797937/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b99c94e/sc/5/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/o1qyNu3zFC4

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/people/larry-ellison-470-75.JPGOracle is reportedly in talks to acquire Micros Systems for $5 billion (around £3 billion, AU$5.6 billion), according to reports. Micros Systems provides software and hardware to organizations in the retail, restaurant and hospitality industries, including cloud-based workflow and customer service solutions. Revenue for Micros Systems eclipsed $1.26 billion (around £700 million, AU$1.29 billion) in 2013, an increase of 14.5% compared with 2012. The Columbia, MD-based company employs more than 4,600 workers and is installed in some capacity by more than 500,000 restaurants, hotels, retail locations and casinos, among other places. Oracle has spent $50 billion (around £29 billion, AU$54 billion) on acquisitions in the past decade, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the potential acquisition. If the acquisition is completed Micros Systems would be Oracle's largest acquisition since it acquired Sun Microsystems for $5.7 billion (around £3.36 billion, AU$6.1 billion) in 2009. Why Micros Systems?Last month, IBM and SAP both announced plans to focus on targeting verticals directly with cloud-based tools. SAP said it intends to deliver industry-specific solutions across 25 industries, while IBM said it will create 20 industry-specific subscription-based cloud solutions. Oracle also focuses on targeting industries with its cloud-based solutions. Last month, it unveiled its Marketing Cloud solution, which was an addition to the Cloud Marketplace, which launched in September of last year and included specific sales, customer service, finance, human resources, and software development solutions. It is immediately unclear if Oracle will leverage the acquisition to create a hospitality, restaurant or retail-focused cloud. Oracle did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Via: Bloomberghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3b98f679/sc/21/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119620356/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b98f679/sc/21/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119620356/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b98f679/sc/21/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119620356/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b98f679/sc/21/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119620356/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b98f679/sc/21/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119620356/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b98f679/sc/21/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/xX19GFFgGII

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/Software/Salesforce/desk-470-75.jpgSalesforce.com has updated customer service tool Desk.com to include a new agent console, reporting engine and a mobile app. The new console is designed to provide customer service representatives with quicker access to customer profile and interaction data. The most important console upgrade allows each rep to customize the console to his/her own preferences. Salesforce has improved Desk.com’s reporting engine by including comprehensive reports that are designed to identify real-time trends. Salesforce has also added more APIs that allow developers to connect the solution to other reporting applications. 10 CRM systems small businesses should knowDesk.com’s new mobile app is designed for iPhones and iPads. The app features note-taking functionality, on-the-go status-updating and case assignation. Support for Android devices will be available in the fall. Desk.com users include HotelTonight, One Kings Lane and SoundCloud. The newest version of Desk.com is generally available at $30 per month, per agent. The global customer relationship management (CRM) software market grew by almost 14% in 2013, according to Gartner Research. Revenue reached $20.4 billion in 2013, up from $18 billion in 2012. The report, Market Share Analysis: Customer Relationship Management Software, Worldwide, 2013, listed Salesforce as the market leader. Last week, Salesforce.com launched The Salesforce Wear Developer Pack, which is designed to allows businesses to create applications on wearable devices such as Fitbit, Google Glass and Samsung Gear 2, among others. Find out how Salesforce plans to conquer the CRM market in London.http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/3b981c0e/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119398293/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b981c0e/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119398293/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b981c0e/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119398293/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b981c0e/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/199119398293/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b981c0e/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/199119398293/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/3b981c0e/sc/15/a2t.imghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/xiuSMRDRhas