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Showing posts from July, 2023

MySpace turns 20: 5 things we still miss in the age of Twitter's meltdown

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support MySpace launched exactly 20 years ago today – so if you remember the pre-Facebook beast of social networks, it's time to join us for a celebration of its charms and idiosyncrasies.  As we survey the charred remains of Twitter , it's easy to forget just how massive MySpace was in the early 2000s. Soon after launching on August 1, 2003, MySpace overtook Google and Yahoo Mail in 2006 to become America's most visited website, according to Hitwise data . For the rest of that decade, it was the world's biggest social networking site. So what went wrong? A combination of being acquired by News Corp – who filled MySpace new features and ads – plus the rise of Facebook, meant that the 'place for friends' quickly became slightly embarrassing joke. After a relaunch in 2012 that saw it try to be too many things, MySpace went on a slide that ultimately saw it become the niche music website it is today. (Image credit: 360b / Shu

Hulu and Sony delay new movie and TV show releases over strikes – and you should prepare for more bad news

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Prepare yourselves, entertainment fans, because your most anticipated film and/or TV show of 2023 might not arrive this year after all. With the writers' and actors' strikes seemingly set to run for a long time, the world's biggest studios have begun to delay numerous new movies and TV series. Per Variety , Sony Pictures is the first major film studio to push multiple movies into 2024, including Spider-Man spin-off flick Kraven the Hunter and Ghostbusters: Afterlife 's sequel. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 's follow-up – Beyond the Spider-Verse – has been removed from Sony's theatrical line-up entirely, meaning its release has been delayed indefinitely. Things are starting to look shaky in the streaming world, too. According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), forthcoming Hulu TV show A Murder at the End of the World has also had its release date pushed back to November. It was originally slated to lau

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max could be virtually bezel-free

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support As smartphones become more advanced and more expensive, one change we’ve seen is the bezels becoming ever smaller, and with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max we might see them almost disappear completely. This is according to Mark Gurman, a journalist and leaker with a great track record, writing in his latest Bloomberg Power On newsletter , in which he claims that these upcoming phones will have a bezel that's just 1.5mm thick. That’s down from roughly 2.2mm on current iPhones, so while we’re only talking about a reduction of around 0.7mm, that still knocks a third off of their total size. This is apparently thanks to a new display technology, with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max’s screens reportedly being made using low-injection pressure over-molding, also known as LIPO. It’s a process that Apple has already been using on the last couple of generations of the best Apple Watches , specifically the Apple Watch 7 and Apple W

Quordle today - hints and answers for Monday, July 31 (game #553)

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off.  Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's good fun, but also difficult. What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keeping it fresh in the form of a new variant called the Daily Sequence, which sees you complete four puzzles consecutively, rather than concurrently.  But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for Wordle hints , you'll probably need some for this game too.  I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #553 and the answers to the main game and Daily Sequ

These Bang & Olufsen headphones are the best way to do a Microsoft Teams call - but with one big flaw

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support When it comes to video calls and meetings, having top audio quality is key - after all, what's the point in a meeting if you can't hear what the other participants are saying? The explosion in popularity for the technology has led to a wide number of manufacturers looking to provide the right kind of kit - whether that's basic and easy to use hardware, or something a bit more premium. If you are in the second camp, and prefer a high-end approach, the news that audio icons Bang & Olufsen have released a business headset optimized for the top video conferencing tools is a game-changer. I was lucky enough to try out the Bang & Olufsen Beocom Portal model designed for Microsoft Teams - so how did it stand up to the test? Testing testing First off, as you would expect from a B&O product, the Beocom Portal looks beautiful. Smartly packaged, the headset feels light but solid when first put on, with a range of adjustment op

Pixel Watch 2 faces leak out early ahead of Google's next smartwatch launch

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support We're expecting the Google Pixel Watch 2 to appear in the not-too-distant future, and the leak of new watch faces for the wearable would seem to suggest that the device is indeed about to be unveiled. These watch faces come courtesy of Android Authority , and there are four in total. They're all going to be exclusive to the second-gen watch apparently, and they all offer plenty of options in terms of the way they can be customized. The four watch faces are Accessible, Analog Bold, Arc, and Bold Digital, and we've embedded a quick look at them below. If the rumors are true , we'll be seeing these watch faces and the attached smartwatch in October at the Pixel 8 unveiling. While it's disappointing that these faces won't make it to the original Pixel Watch launched last year, it's also worth bearing in mind that Google has pushed several new features to the wearable in recent months. More watch faces to look for

Nikon Zf: what we want to see

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support With shutter speed and ISO dials, a faux leather finish and a metal-effect top plate, the Nikon Z fc wowed us in 2021 with its retro charm. The Z fc, one of the best beginner mirrorless cameras , represented a compelling Fujifilm X-T30 II alternative, and remains competitively priced. But I, like many Nikon fans, was left asking: will there be a more high-end, full-frame version of the 'casual' Z fc, one that truly pays homage to the Nikon FM2 – the 30-year-old 35mm film camera that the Z fc directly took its design cues from, a camera with legendary ruggedness. If Nikon Rumors is accurate, we’ll see such a camera in 2023, and I couldn’t be more excited for what is likely to be one of this year's best mirrorless cameras . It will do what’s so important now – make for a delightful shooting experience, especially for enthusiast photographers.  We spoke exclusively with Nikon back in 2021 about how it designed the Nikon Z fc, and wh

The Samsung Galaxy Ring could go into production as soon as next month

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support With the dust beginning to settle from the huge Samsung Unpacked 2023 event, we can turn our attention towards what Samsung might have planned next: and a smart ring seems to be in the company's near future. As per a report from South Korean outlet The Elec (via SamMobile ), mass production on a Samsung Galaxy Ring could begin as early as August, with a decision imminent on the schedule for getting the wearable manufactured and out to consumers. A full launch is slated for some point during 2024 though, rather than 2023. The nature of the device means that it'll need to clear several regulatory hurdles before it can go on sale and start tracking various vital statistics. An early 2024 launch would put the Galaxy Ring on a similar schedule to the Samsung Galaxy S24 – and it would therefore make sense to launch both gadgets at the same time, perhaps in January or February if Samsung follows its 2023 routine. The story so far Rumors ar

ICYMI: the week's biggest tech news, from Samsung Unpacked to DJI's new drone

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support These days, the tech world spins like an out-of-control fairground carousel, which makes it tricky to keep up with the latest news. Fear not – whether you've been away on holiday or too busy trashing the final episode of Secret Invasions , we've rounded up all of the week's biggest tech stories here. In our weekly ICYMI (or 'in case you missed it') roundup, we'll be boiling down all of most notable, exciting or controversial tech stories of the past seven days, so you can plug yourself in for a quick firmware update.  And because we're tech teases, we'll be running through them all in reverse order of importance. So grab your coffee, cocktail or meal replacement shake, and settle somewhere comfortable as we take you through the biggest tech announcements from the past week... 7. ChatGPT comes to Android (Image credit: OpenAI) The world's most famous AI chatbot has finally landed on Android phones... w

New phishing campaign targets Twitter Blue users amid X rebrand confusion

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support A new phishing campaign is targeting Twitter Blue subscribers amid the social media platform’s messy transition to X, and the consequences could be catastrophic. Twitter owner Elon Musk and new CEO Linda Yaccarino hope that the platform will soon become X, but the transition has been anything but smooth, with rebranding at the HQ going, well, not to plan. Furthermore, the discrepancy between the website and mobile apps is giving some users a complete headache. Hoping to capitalize on this confusion, one threat actor is offering Twitter Blue subscribers to transfer their membership to X, but all this does is give the cybercriminal access to a user’s entire Twitter account. Twitter Blue/X phishing emails To an unsuspecting target, the email looks to come from a legitimate source, with the display name showing ‘sales@x.com.’ The email passes SPF authentication checks despite actually coming from mailing list platform Sendinblue (now known as Brev

Windows 11 update breaks Start menu for some customization apps – and Microsoft isn’t going to help this time

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Windows 11 again has a problem with third-party customization apps that are used to modify the operating system’s interface, with one of these applications clashing with the latest update for the OS. That’d be the new preview (optional) update for Windows 11 22H2 (patch KB5028254), which as XDA Developers spotted has broken the Start menu for some users of the customization app ExplorerPatcher (going by reports online). If all this sounds familiar, it’s because earlier in the year we witnessed issues with ExplorerPatcher (and StartAllBack) causing trouble with File Explorer (and nasty boot loops ). This was with the Moment 2 update , in fact, back in March (when that was released in preview). With this gremlin rearing its head again – albeit causing a different issue – what is Microsoft doing? Well, not a lot it seems. Let’s dive into why. Analysis: Not our problem Back in March, when these third-party apps became problematic for Windows 11

Many workers say they don't feel trusted at work

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support A large number of workers do not feel trusted in the workplace, causing a significant knock-on effect that damages productivity , new research has found. Findings from online collaboration giant Slack have shown that feeling trusted whilst at work has a major impact on employee productivity, but more than a quarter don't feel they are given that respect. This is despite trust between managers and workers appearing to boost both experience and performance in the workplace, highlighting a greater need for understanding at companies around the world. Trust and productivity The findings come from Slack's survey of over 10,000 desk workers from across the globe, and found more than 1 in 4 employees stating they believed “my employer doesn’t trust me." The attitude was spread across different markets and industries, as well as all ages and job levels, showing it is not a new issue. “Companies across geographies and industries have been

Hit the floor with Currys’ sensational floorcare deals

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support As much as we love the warmer, brighter days of summer, sunshine also has a tendency to show up how dusty the floors are – so if like us you’re thinking your existing vacuum isn’t dealing with dust as well as you’d like, you’re going to love Currys’ summer floorcare deals. With up to £50 cashback when you trade in your existing cleaner, the option to buy now pay later and a huge selection of incredibly powerful, efficient and quiet cleaners to choose from, there’s never been a better time to give your dust-busting a boost. Say goodbye to tangle trauma with this superb Shark Shark’s Anti-Hair Wrap tech is a real boon for anybody who has long hair or shares their home with someone or something who does. You can say goodbye to removing tangled hair from your vacuum cleaner’s brush: the Anti-Hair Wrap system actively separates and removes long, short and pet hair to keep your bristle brush roll tangle-free. This particular vacuum is an excellent opt