Archive

Beware the Killer Robots

Russia's advanced military combat robot -- which has drawn alarmed comparisons to Hollywood's Terminator -- will be able to run and clear an obstacle course by late this year, according to reports that surfaced this week. That's just the latest news fueling the already-fiery debate over what to do a...

Microsoft will phase out Patch Tuesday -- its monthly potpourri of software product fixes -- when it rolls out Windows 10, which could be a mixed bag for the operating system's security. Patches will be applied automatically as they're ready. That means users no longer will have to wait until the se...

Microsoft on Wednesday unveiled the Surface Hub, a large-screen device meant to dramatically improve business collaboration. The 55-inch and 84-inch interactive displays marry white boards with presentations, voice with video, speakers with addressees, Android with iOS, and Windows 10 with conferenc...

U.S. federal CIO Tony Scott on Monday sent a memo to the heads of executive departments and agencies requiring that all publicly accessible federal websites and Web services use HTTPS -- "the strongest privacy and integrity protection currently available for public Web connections." Some federal web...

ANALYSIS

Turning 'Shadow IT' into 'Better IT'

Sometimes things happen that seem undesirable, but they actually can turn out to be advantageous when viewed in a certain light, when approached in a certain way, or depending on circumstances. For example, this can be true when it comes to "Shadow IT" -- specifically, the adoption of technology wit...

ASUS is on a crusade to end the scourge of tablets with terrible sound. Its new ZenPad 8.0 has an interchangeable cover design that allows users several functional options. One is the Audio Cover, which bumps up sound quality by tucking a 5.1 surround-sound system inside. With six speakers, includin...

To cap off Monday's wide-ranging keynote at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced a three-pronged music initiative. "Music is such an important part of our lives and our culture," Cook said, showing off Apple's famous "one more thing" slide. Apple ex...

Robots from Korea and the United States staggered off with the top three prizes at the DARPA Robotics Challenge, held in Pomona, California, over the weekend. In all, robots from 23 teams participated in the challenge, which consisted of an obstacle course simulating conditions similar to those foll...

There are things about working with large companies that can be really frustrating. For instance, when both Windows Vista and Windows 8 were coming to market, a number of us pointed out that things needed to be fixed before the product was released, but we were ignored, with catastrophic results. Th...

By the time you read this, I'll have finished swearing in the privacy of my office, and likely will have entered the acceptance stage of grief. Already, realization is dawning that I was right to withhold hope that Apple would reveal a new Apple TV at its WorldWide Developers Conference on Monday. I...

BitTorrent's Bleep, a secure peer-to-peer messaging service, last month reached the end of its third trimester in alpha testing, and an official version became available for iOS, Android, OS X and PC. The official release is the first to reach iOS. Bleep's Whisper feature enables ephemeral messaging...

SPOTLIGHT ON SECURITY

Google's Android Permissions Get Granular

Google appears to be heeding warnings of security experts who say Android users need better control over what apps do with information from their phones. At I/O, its worldwide shindig for developers held last week, the company announced that the next version of its mobile operating system, Android M...

The last second has since ticked off the countdown timer on the teaser site, and Fallout 4's official website has gone live. Fallout 4's confirmation on Wednesday may have invoked more feelings of relief than surprise. Even before the teaser site went up, gamers looking for another loot-and-shoot ro...

CROWDFUNDING SPOTLIGHT

Doppler Labs Kickstarts 'Bionic Ear'

Doppler Labs, known for making state-of-the-art ear plugs, on Tuesday launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Here Active Listening system, which takes noise-canceling technology to a new level. Unlike typical noise-canceling headphones, Here's Bluetooth earbuds allow a listener to customize ambient...

SoundHound on Tuesday launched a private beta of Hound -- a personal assistant similar to Siri, Google Now and Cortana -- and began fielding requests for invites. SoundHound built its music ID service on voice and pattern recognition technologies. In developing Hound, SoundHound has retrofitted that...


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