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Showing posts from October, 2023

Belkin's next-gen iPhone charging dock will sport a more chic and compact design

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Belkin has recently revealed its new BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Dock, a MagSafe wireless charger for Apple devices sporting an unusual, coffee cup-esque design. It’s even roughly the size of one. When we first laid eyes on the stand, we thought the protruding piece of metal on the rear was a handle, but it’s actually a fast-charging puck for the Apple Watch . According to the company, that little part is capable of charging an “ Apple Watch Series 7 and later from zero to 80 percent in about 45 minutes”. Apple Watch Ultra models take a full hour. On top, there’s another puck for iPhones and AirPod cases. What’s interesting about it is it can be flipped up to a 70-degree angle to support smartphones. (Image credit: Belkin) The adjustable puck makes the BoostCharge Pro dock a pretty handy iPhone accessory to have if you ever want to engage StandBy Mode on iOS 17 or to hold up the device for video calls via FaceTime. Belkin states it can de
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Future Pixel Buds could get heart-rate tracking thanks to Google breakthrough

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support In a recent post on its Research blog, Google reveals it has discovered a way to detect a person’s heart rate through ANC (active noise canceling) earbuds . The method is called Audioplethysmography (say that three times fast), or APG for short. The way it works, according to the tech giant , is the ANC earbuds send out a “low-intensity ultrasound probing signal through” the speakers. The signal then bounces around in the ear canal, sending the echo back to be received by the “on-board feedback microphones.” The echoes are influenced by “tiny ear canal skin displacement and heartbeat vibrations”.  The company was able to detect both the heart rate within the feedback signal as well as the heart rate variability. They could tell if the heart was beating fast or slow. Google explains in its post that the ear canal is “an ideal location for health sensing” thanks to all of the blood vessels closely permeating throughout that part of the body.
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The new Nextbase iQ might just be the smartest dash cam ever made

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support We’d forgive you for thinking the dash cam market had matured to the point of no longer being exciting – but hold on, because the AI-powered Nextbase iQ could be about to prove us all wrong. Announced way back in January 2022, it would be fair to say the iQ has endured a lengthy gestation period. But it’s finally here and it’s safe to say we’re pretty excited about the technology on offer. This is a 4G-connected dash cam system that records up to three different views at once (forwards, rearwards and into the cabin), at up to 4K resolution. It also promises artificial intelligence and radar for some seriously smart surveillance features, such as the ability to spot someone loitering near your car, and even estimate the speed and trajectory of nearby vehicles. Nextbase wants consumers to see this as a dash cam crossed with a smart security camera, a video doorbell and a GPS-equipped, 4G-connected vehicle monitor, driver assistant and theft deterr
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Cyber insurance: why it pays to be responsible

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support When you buy car insurance, you do so on the promise that you will demonstrate good behavior. You would not expect your car insurer to pay out if you broke the speed limit, never had your brakes or tyres checked, or left your pride and joy unlocked overnight. There is a mutual pact between you and your insurer. You take responsibility for your car’s safety and your own actions, and they pay out when bad things happen that you could not have foreseen, prevented, or mitigated against. The same principle applies with cyber insurance. As an organization, you are 100% responsible for your own cybersecurity , and the insurance providers are there in the event of the unthinkable and unpreventable. For some businesses, especially small and medium-sized, having cyber insurance could mean the difference between staying open and going bust. That is reflected in the market’s growth, with Munich Re estimating cyber premiums will reach a value of $22bn by 2025.
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'SSD Performance levels': New generation of microSD cards could help transfer an entire Blu-ray movie in less than 15 seconds, paving the way for mainstream 8K recording

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support The SD 9.1 standard will double the speeds of the best microSD cards out there today, with the next generation of SD cards hitting speeds of up to 2GB/s. With SD 9.1, unveiled by the SD Assocation (SDA), the next cohort of SD Express memory cards uses PCIe Gen4 that can deliver 1,969MB/s – more than double the maximum speeds introduced with the first microSD protocol in the SD 7.1 spec. SD Express memory cards come in four varieties, including SD Express Seed Class 150, 300, 450 and 600 – with these numbers corresponding with minimum read and write speeds measured in Mb/s. This means these microSD cards can range anywhere from 0.6GB/s to 2GB/s. By contrast, the best portable SSDs usually land at roughly 1GB/s. The fastest microSD cards ever What that means, in real terms, is the ability to transfer a Blu-ray movie , which is roughly 25GB, in 12.5 seconds. Speeds like this will also be fast enough to handle transferring 8K video files, which
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ICYMI: the week's 8 biggest tech stories, from the DJI Pocket 3 to Apple's 'scary' event

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support It's never too late in the year for tech surprises – and that's what we got this week when Apple announced a final launch event of the year with the tantalizing tagline 'Scary Fast'. The rest of our week involved second-guessing exactly what Apple has in store at that event on October 30. New M3 MacBooks? A 24-inch iMac refresh? Tim Cook taking his acting skills to the next level with a Dracula remake? No-one is exactly sure, but Apple didn't completely enshroud the rest of this week's news with its mysterious cape. We also saw the DJI Pocket 3 arrive and charm us once again with its video tricks, while Google Maps edged closer to becoming a photo-realistic clone of the real world with a big AI update. Oh, and if you're already thinking about Christmas shopping (we apologize in advance) we also announced all of our favorite tech of 2023 in the TechRadar Choice Awards. So if you need a quick catch up on this week'
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This top tech co-founder wants young workers to work 70-hour weeks

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Comparing India’s current worker and productivity situation to those of Germany and Japan after the Second World War, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has suggested that the country’s young workers should be committing at least 70 hours of their time per week. In an interview published on YouTube by Indian venture capital firm 3one4 Capital, 77-year-old Murthy said that working long hours would help to define a culture that improves the country’s government. Murthy also shared his thoughts on how countries and companies can work together to solve climate change moving forward. India’s future of work In response to a question about tackling climate change, Murthy says that we should look at countries that have made significant progress over a long period of time. He suggests observing a period of at least 25-30 years, during which there may have been struggles, is best in order to draw a more general trend, rather than looking at close-up flu
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Qualcomm and Microsoft's game-changing chip could supercharge Windows 12

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support We’re approaching ever closer to the next generation of Windows, which most people expect will be Windows 12 , and at Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite event, which took place this week, we got a peek at some potential Windows 12 features.  Qualcomm, a company that specialises in wireless-related semiconductors, software, and services, unveiled a flashy new processor chip, the Snapdragon X Elite and it’s made some bold claims. It’s been said that this chip will boost Windows on ARM devices in a big way, and will play a crucial role in the next generation of Windows devices’ functionality.  At the event, Qualcomm shared the stage with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and CVP (Corporate Vice President) Pavan Davuluri, to discuss the Snapdragon X Elite processor and the topic of NPUs (Neural Processing Units) in the context of future Windows machines.  The discussion was more about broad strokes and less to do with specifics, as there were no demonstra
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Samsung gives Galaxy fans free, unlimited cloud storage (with a slight catch)

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Samsung will soon be giving its users the ability to “save and transfer” an unlimited amount of data – for a short period of time. True to its name, Temporary Cloud Backup will store your files on Samsung Cloud “for up to 30 days from the date” of the initial save. During that time, you can restore your data whenever you want. Samsung will notify people seven days before the time limit expires. After that, everything will be automatically deleted.  The company does offer people 15 GB of free storage for each user account. However, it’s limited to content from native sources. Temporary Cloud Backup doesn’t have this restriction because it supports third-party apps on top of “photos, videos, audio [files, and] documents”. What’s more, you don’t need a “PC or any external memory device” to move content. Brief save space Temporary Cloud Backup will be housed in the settings menu under General Management and in the Maintenance Mode tool . As seen
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Amazfit's new smartwatches could be prime substitutes for the Apple Watch

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Amazfit is back with a pair of new affordable, fitness smartwatches : the Amazfit Active and the Active Edge. Looking at the first model, you’ll notice it bears a resemblance to the Apple Watch due to its rectangular, 1.75-inch screen. In fact, it even offers, according to the company, performance comparable to the Apple Watch Series 9 as its AMOLED display outputs a resolution of 390 x 450 pixels. This distinction is important to make as AMOLED tech is more energy efficient than standard OLED screens. Looking at the Amazfit Active’s specs , the wearable can last a claimed 14 hours with “typical usage”. But if you activate Battery Saver Mode, you could double the battery life to 30 days max. (Image credit: Amazfit Active) If you prefer a more eye-catching smartwatch, then you should check out the other option. The Amazfit Active Edge sports a rugged, rounder design to withstand bumps. It even has a water resistance rating of 10 ATM (at
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The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is here to run AI on your next phone, whatever that means

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset at its Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit 2023 in Maui. The company paid for my trip to the island to check out the next platform that will power phones that could include the Galaxy S24 , the OnePlus 12 , and many more of the best phones we expect to see in 2024. The fulcrum of the next gen platform will be AI features, though it remains unclear exactly what those will be, and that’s precisely the point.  Today’s processing platforms, on most mobile devices and laptops, are made up of the CPU for application processing and the GPU for graphics and specialized applications. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 , like the Google Tensor chipsets, has its own Neural Processing Unit , or NPU, that is designed to run machine learning (ML) applications and functions. Unlike Google’s Tensor chipset, however, Qualcomm is not locking its NPU to one company’s ML features.  Machine learning is big for Qualcomm this
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Online scammers target desperate loan seekers using online fraud

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Hackers are stealing money from gullible victims looking for a flash loan and moving it into China, experts have warned. A new report from cybersecurity experts CloudSEK has suggested such activity means there is a need for greater international cooperation in order to stop this type of fraud. As per the report, hackers (which CloudSEK believes are Chinese) have created over four dozen Android apps, impersonating popular Indian banks. These apps are hosted on different third-party app repositories and standalone websites. Then, they are “aggressively” advertised through social media. The advertisements promise quick and substantial loans, and easy repayments. Thousands of dollars stolen Gullible consumers who fall for the trick are then asked to share personal information, such as their name, address, phone number, and bank account information. Furthermore, they are asked to pay a processing fee, usually 5% of the loan they are applying for. W
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Dev who swapped his game with image of Goatse to troll sites that stole it says it's one of his "greatest achievements"

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Josh C. Simmons, the developer of the browser-based free game Sqword , had a rather unorthodox response to websites embedding and monetizing the game. 404 reports that Sqword , a free word game that challenges players to make as many words as they can in a five-by-five grid, was being embedded in other sites with ads using a tool called iFrame, without the permission of its developer. In response, Simmons called upon an infamously shocking image to fight against the sites that stole and monetized the game. "The mature and responsible thing to do would have been to add a content security policy to the page", Simmons wrote on his website . "I am not mature, so instead, what I decided to do was render the early 2000s internet shock image Goatse with a nice message superimposed over it in place of the app if Sqword detects that it is in an iFrame." "It has been one of my greatest achievements as a dev: to live-deploy a ma
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ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories, from the OnePlus Open to the Apple Pencil

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support The tech world shows no sign of slowing down as we head rapidly towards the end of 2023. This week saw the arrival of our favorite foldable phone so far, an intriguing new Apple Pencil and a fresh face in the world of bone conduction headphones. It hasn't all been good news, sadly, as Netflix announced another subscription price rise in the US, UK and France. If you're signed up to Netflix's Premium or Basic plans, look out for some unwelcome hikes to your bills – other streaming services are also surely taking note. But that's enough about increasingly painful tech subscriptions. This week was, in the main, pretty fun, as we discovered during our time testing the new Ray Ban Meta Smart Glasses – read on for our verdict on those, plus the latest Netflix trailer that's helping us forget about those pesky price hikes... 7. Netflix’s Bodies became our next sci-fi must-watch Looking for a new sci-fi series that also has a gen
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