Technology

AVG’s Web TuneUp put millions of Chrome users at risk

Image copyrightAVGImage captionWeb TuneUp is offered as a free tool to protect PCs from malware and web trackers It has emerged that a popular tool meant to ward off malware contained a flaw that put millions of people’s personal data at risk. AVG’s Web TuneUp software is marketed as a free way for users to defend themselves from “hidden threats”. ... Read More »

Apple tipped to leapfrog Tesla, Google and launch Apple Car in 2019

YOU could be driving an Apple Car within three years, assuming you have deep pockets because while Apple may do cars it will never do cheap. Analysts looking to crack the nut on if Apple is serious about entering the car market come up with the same conclusion: Apple will make the Apple Car because it offers one of best ... Read More »

Oculus Rift sends VR headset hardware to devs in final push to consumer launch

Oculus is giving game developers early access to the final Rift virtual reality headsets ahead of next quarter’s consumer launch. The first units are shipping now, and come packaged with Rift SDK 1.0 developer tools. Oculus says developers will need both the hardware and SDK 1.0—which includes “features tied to the consumer product”—to finalize their games or apps. Oculus didn’t ... Read More »

Comcast begins rolling out DOCSIS 3.1-based gigabit home Internet

Comcast announced that it installed the first gigabit DOCSIS 3.1-based cable modem in a customer’s home near Philadelphia this week. Savvy readers may recall Comcast already unveiling a 2Gbps service called Gigabit Pro earlier in the year, but there are some differences between the two. Aside from the variation in download speed, Gigabit Pro is available today in 14 states where Comcast provides ... Read More »

Meet Nadine, the human-like social robot with soft skin, flowing hair and range of emotions

Scientists have developed a human-like social robot with soft skin and flowing brunette hair, which is capable of autonomously expressing emotions and gestures like shaking hands and conversing. Nadine is a friendly robot which smiles while greeting you, looks at you in the eye when talking, and will remember your name and your previous conversation the next time you meet ... Read More »

Robots can now learn household tasks by watching YouTube videos

Astute followers of artificial intelligence may recall a moment from three years ago, when Google announced it had birthed unto the world a computer able to recognize cats using only videos uploaded by YouTube users. At the time, this represented something of a high water mark in AI. To get an idea for how far we have come since then, ... Read More »

Five ways 2015 changed enterprise software forever

The past year brought big changes to the core software applications and tools that companies use every day, and some of those shifts promise to have a particularly enduring impact. Here are five ways the past year changed enterprise software for good. 1. As at home, so at work Compare today’s enterprise software tools with those from just a year ... Read More »

The digital-transformation train has left the station — is your company on board?

It would be easy to dismiss the term “digital transformation” as just the latest in a long line of buzzwords seemingly conceived to cause stomach ulcers in the world’s CIOs. That, however, would be a mistake. Though the concept has been floating around for several years already, 2015 was when it dug its heels into the business world and made ... Read More »

Detachable tablet market set for growth in 2016

Tablet shipments are down, but more people are turning to hybrid devices like the Surface Pro 4. IDC predicts that sales of these detachable devices will grow 75 percent in 2016. Detachable tablets are growing in popularity as sales for standard tablets wane, according to a recent report from IDC. IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker forecast reports that tablet shipments ... Read More »

Poor security decisions expose payment terminals to mass fraud

Some payment terminals can be hijacked to commit mass fraud against customers and merchants, researchers have found. The terminals, used predominantly in Germany but also elsewhere in Europe, were designed without following best security principles, leaving them vulnerable to a number of attacks. Researchers from Berlin-based Security Research Labs (SRLabs) investigated the security of payment terminals in Germany and were ... Read More »