Intel Splits the Atom Into three new brands

Intel HAS annoncé it Will Be re-branding icts line of Atom processors from the complicated jargon-filled codenames of yesteryear, to a streamlined, consumer-friendly "Atom x" family of miniature CPUs.

Arguably one of the best moves made for Intel Could Have Itself Was re-branding icts tired line of Pentium processors to the new "Core" series back in 2007, and now it looks as though the Atom is about to get a makeover of icts own .

Three generations of Intel HD graphics tested

Previously, the chips Were Burdened with complicated codenames like "Z3735G" and "S1289". Not exactly the sexiest way to get off the silicon shelves, and now Intel says ict lineup of mobile-ready processors just a bit Will Be Easier To Understand under new monikers; x3, x5, and x7.

Western Digital puts extra power in my new cloud network drives

Western Digital (WD) has grown its peripheral My Cloud - network attached storage (NAS) external hard drives with a simple user interface designed to work with mobile devices and desktop. The company has launched two new bays and four-bay release in the series My Cloud experts, made to the public and other users of power who work with lots of data, such as photographers, video artists and creative professionals.

Unlike consumer versions, the EX2100 My Cloud (two bays) and My Cloud EX4100 (four bays) Expert readers are designed to be beasts of high-performance fee. They use dual-core processors and support Marvell Armada read / write speeds that allow multiple HD media streams, for example. Depending on the configuration, these units can provide up to 24 TB of storage.

Xbox One catching up to PS4

For the uninitiated, the eighth generation console war has followed much the same path since it began - PlayStation 4 Sony capitalizes not only on its technically superior materials and exclusive content, but the constant stream of Microsoft PR escaped before and after an Xbox launch. Since its launch, the PS4 was soundly head of Xbox in both hype and sales - the Sony console was even more fun to try to break. In his statement today on the quarterly results, Microsoft revealed that it sold 6.6 million Xbox consoles during the holiday quarter - about 2.5 million consoles that Sony PS4s moved during the same period. Microsoft Xbox One turn around?

Microsoft has posted a turnover of $ 26.5 billion but Xbox sales and net income decreased year by year. Back in the second quarter of Microsoft, he revealed that it sold 7.4 million Xbox consoles, but disclosed that the number was divided between 3,900,000 Ones Xbox and Xbox 360 3500000. This time, Microsoft used the same vague formulation of "Xbox consoles," but did not provide a detailed split. He, however, argue that the PS4 Xbox One earned during this period of time, so you might assume that the Xbox managed to sell around at least 4.2 million units. It would not be unlikely for the rest of this number 6,600,000 to be filled with Xbox 360.

Buyout puts supersecure Blackphone in one company's hands

The security-obsessed company called Silent Circle is now solely in control of its phone for encrypted communications. It has also raised $50 million and will announce new devices next week.

Silent Circle, a company specializing in snoop-proof security software and services, has bought out a business partner's stake in their Blackphone project.

By acquiring Geeksphone's stake, Silent Circle can pursue the Blackphone project more efficiently and without having to balance two companies' priorities and plans, Silent Circle said Thursday ahead of the Mobile World Congress show that begins next week in Barcelona.
As the continued use of easily cracked passwords shows, it's hard to get many people to go out of their way for extra security. But some will, and apparently investors are convinced Silent Circle will appeal to those customers, because the company also announced it has raised $50 million in funding to accelerate its plans.

Nvidia Is Going to Announce a VR Headset

There’s a rumor floating around right now that Nvidia is going to reveal its own VR headset at GDC. VRFocus is reporting this will happen during the company’s teased “Made to Game” event happening next Tuesday, March 3rd.
While I don’t know how rock-solid VRFocus’ source is, I have been speculating that Nvidia would announce its own VR headset prior to this supposed leak. Allow me to walk you through my logic.

It will "redefine the future of gaming," you say?

In Nvidia’s “Made to Game” invitation teaser (seen above), details are pretty scarce, but we do have this line from Nvidia’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang that reads, “More than 5 years in the making, what I want to share with you will redefine the future of gaming.” That already has a very VR vibe to it, but isn’t really substantial enough evidence to be worth reporting on, so let’s move along.

Swatch announces new touchscreen watch with fitness features

While we wait for Swatch to show off its upcoming smartwatch this spring, the company has decided to update its current touchscreen offering, the Swatch Touch. The Swatch Touch Zero One is a fitness watch geared toward volleyball players. It can track calories burned and steps taken 

but it's mainly designed to track and focus on volleyball-specific maneuvers like low hits, high hits, power hits, and high-fives. The Touch Zero One will send that information to Swatch's app, where your skills as a volleyball player will be ranked from zero to 100. The Touch Zero One won't win any design awards with its yellow, clunky watch face and multi-colored band, but it's designed for function, not fashion. The Swatch Touch Zero One will retail for $160 once it's released later this year.

Microsoft, Apple withdraw from Android patent trolling: Is the patent war drawing to a close?

After years of relentless litigation, it seems the mobile/smartphone patent war might be drawing to a close. Rockstar, a patent trolling company owned by Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Ericsson, and BlackBerry, has agreed to cancel the lawsuits it had filed against Google and most Android device makers. Rockstar will also sell off its remaining patents (some 4,000 of them) to a company called RPX, which has promised to license the patents to anyone who needs them for defensive purposes. This follows on from news this summer that Apple and Google had agreed to drop all lawsuits between the two companies, and Apple and Samsung agreed to drop all lawsuits outside the US.

The patent wars — or patent trolling, depending on your point of view — originally started to heat up in the 1980s, as the Information/Digital Age began to gather a lot of inertia. Patents weren’t originally designed with software in mind, and they’re also not very good at responding to periods of rapid innovation. As you can imagine, this in turn meant that patents were rather ill-suited to protecting the innovations of tech companies that were quickly becoming very rich and powerful. At some point, these companies (or their lawyers) realized that patents were a great way of stymieing the opposition or extorting them out of a few million dollars.

The Oscar Goes to… Engineer Larry Hornbeck and His Digital Micromirrors

At some point during Sunday’s Oscars telecast, in between actresses in stunning ball gowns, actors trying to redefine the tux, movie clips, dance routines, and acceptance speeches cut off when they go on too long, there will be a nod to the technology that makes it all possible. An announcer will talk about the Academy’s Science and Technical Awards, presented earlier this month, then an Oscar-winning engineer will wave from the audience. Don’t blink, or you might miss it.

This year, that engineer will be Larry Hornbeck, who developed the digital micromirror device (DMD) used in Texas Instruments’ digital light processing (DLP) projectors. He gets the Academy of Motion Pictures Award of Merit (that’s the official name for what most of us call the Oscar) for the invention.

Amazing New Technologies From CES 2015 Worth a Second Look

The revered Intel booth let visitors explore intelligence in everything from wearables, robots, drones, 3D printing and a slew of new computers with human-like sense.
The “Most Eye-Catching” booth at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show according to Find The Best in Time magazine was Intel’s.
“Only one space in all of CES is both foreign and inviting, like a time capsule from the future that instantly feels right at home,” stated the article, describing Intel’s booth, which led the top 20 list.
“To walk through Intel’s corner is to experience the very best version of the show—the most eye-catching booth at CES.”

There was a 3D-printed, robotic Spider Dress with legs and it knew how to use them.
Computers you controlled with your face and hands.
A tunnel walled with enormous screens that literally put you into a real-time virtual world.
These were just some of the new technology experiences inside the Intel booth.

Samsung’s Smart TVs don’t just spy, they transmit your speech in unencrypted plaintext

The TV that David Lodge tested is a 2.5 year-old UE46ES8000, not the latest model. Samsung is now saying that its latest televisions are encrypted and that it’s just older devices that lack the feature. Exactly what qualifies as an “older” device is unclear — the UE46ES8000 was a high-end device at launch, with a price tag of £1500-2000 (review sites vary on this figure), or $2300-$3000.

When news broke that Samsung’s Smart TVs actively monitor what users say and transmit that information to third parties, the company snapped into action with the usual reassurances that it takes user data seriously, follows best practices, and would never, ever, share information with untrusted third parties or individuals. It’s taken a bit over a week for such reassurances to unravel — new research shows that Samsung TVs don’t just transmit what you say, it sends that information in unencrypted plaintext without even bothering to use HTTPS.

Windows 10 Technical Preview build 10014 have leaked to the web, confirming that we're getting closer to a new major update as part of the Windows Insider program

Russian leaker WZor, who has a good track on information concerning new Microsoft products that were still in development, posted a total of four screenshots online with Windows 10 build 10014.

Right now, it's not yet clear if this is the build that all insiders would get in the coming days, but we're hearing that Microsoft employees are already running an even newer build internally.

Minor improvements

These screenshots, which are quite small and only show the desktop, do not seem to reveal anything exciting about the upcoming Technical Preview build, except for a brand new Recycle Bin icon.

As you know, Microsoft has been working on a revamped user interface for Windows 10 for months and new icons have already been included in the latest few builds, so the new one is nothing more than a continuation of this tweak.

Tools Help You Be the Lighting Director of Your Life

Affordable and creative new techniques in custom lighting and design make us all masters of our own atmosphere.

Already missing the warm, whimsical glow the holiday lights brought to your neighborhood? No need to count down the days until it’s socially acceptable to deck the halls again. From mobile device-controlled smart lights to swing sets that light up the evening sky, lighting can bring a little playfulness (and added functionality) to your world year-round.

Comfy on the couch but need to dim the lights before you start your next Netflix binge? Want to periodically light up your house like the Empire State Building to deter would-be thieves while you’re on vacation? Lutron Electronics has the solution.

In 2014, the company announced its Lutron Smart Bridge Pro, a wireless bridge that connects their wireless dimmers and shades to a new Lutron app via a home router.

The system can be set up in roughly 30 minutes and allows users to manage their home lighting from anywhere using iOS and Android-based smart phones. It can also be integrated to work with several home security systems as well as thermostat controls. You know, in case you get chilly while chilling.

Calling IBM’ers Who Have Been Chrome’ed, RA’ed, or PIP’ed: Tell Us Your Story

IBM is currently in the midst of a workforce reduction. Journalist Robert X. Cringely reports that more than 100,000 current employees will be dropped from the payroll by March; IBM counters that it’s planned a layoff that will be less than a tenth of that amount. The IBM union website, Alliance@IBM, says 5000 already have layoff notices in hand. TechCrunch says some 43,000 will be gone by the end of the year, at a pace of roughly 10,000 a quarter until “the company righted the ship.”

Besides all sorts of numbers being tossed around, we’re hearing about all sorts of internal IBM acrononyms, all of which mean bad news for employees. There’s RA’d, or Resource Action’ed: that’s IBM-speak for laid off. There’s put on PIP, or Performance Improvement Plan—that’s when an employee gets a poor performance rating, and a deadline to improve it or leave.

For IBM—indeed, for the computer industry in general—layoffs are nothing new. However, every person laid off or threatened with dismissal has a unique story. And I’d love to hear them. Please share your experience with me directly at t.perry@ieee.org, on Twitter @teklaperry, or in the comments below. Keep yourself anonymous if you’d like, identify your job function and location if you’re willing, but tell us your story, we want to hear it.

Samsung Teases Galaxy S6 Picture on Instagram, All But Confirms Metal Build

In a week, Samsung will take center stage at MWC 2015 and unveil the hotly anticipated Galaxy S6. Many of the specs of the device have already leaked in a while, so we pretty much know what to expect, with a few caveats.

concept video showing the possible face of the upcoming device, which was pretty realistic.

Well now, Samsung itself posted a picture on Instagram of a device that we’re almost 100% sure is the Galaxy S6.

The handset is shown to us in profile, which is Sammy’s way of highlighting the device’s sleekness (it is on par with Apple’s iPhone 6).

We’re also noticing the metal-ish background, which clearly suggests that Samsung has finally decided to listen to customers pleads and renounced using plastic on its flagships, making the Galaxy S6 out of metal.

Lenovo officially responds to Superfish, releases list of affected systems

Lenovo has issued another official statement regarding its Superfish security debacle alongside a list of affected systems. The company’s response to the entire affair is going to be taught in future marketing texts as an example of how not to respond to a crisis — each successive statement has inched towards admitting responsibility and acknowledging a problem. The company still maintains that it thought Superfish would “enhance the shopping experience,” but claims that it acted “swiftly and decisively” once concerns were raised. It continues, however, to maintain a long list of what Superfish doesn’t do and makes repeated reference to the fact that Superfish doesn’t engage in active, specific, targeted user monitoring.

The first sign that Lenovo is still struggling to understand the enormity of its screwup is when it claims “Users are given a choice over whether or not to use the product.” This is flatly untrue. Superfish shipped as a pre-installed default on user systems, the only “choice” users were given was whether or not to click “Accept” on the entire laptop. There’s zero evidence suggesting that users were aware that doing so would fatally compromise user security. Our guide to removing Superfish and its false certificate is available here.

Samsung promises yet another fix for slowed 840 EVO SSDs

Samsung’s 840 EVO SSDs were among the cream of the solid-state crop in 2013, boasting fast speeds and big-time storage capabilities at a (then) record low cost. But some buyers noticed a troubling occurrence: As time went on the drive’s read performance could plummet, all the way down to sub-100MB per second speeds. That’s a mammoth dip from the drive’s claimed 520MBps maximum.

Fortunately, Samsung was able to identify the root cause of the problem—a combination of usual NAND cell degradation and an unusual NAND management issue—and issued a fix in Ocotber. Problem solved!

Not so fast. Some (but not all) previously affected users have reported seeing performance dip yet again after using Samsung’s original patch. PC Perspective’s Allyn Malventano rounded up numerous 840 EVO SSDs and found several drives with the issue, one of which he sent to Samsung for evaluation. Now, Samsung’s released a statement to PC Perspective and AnandTech acknowledging that slowdown is still a problem for a small subset of 840 EVO users:

Nvidia to Bring Back Overclocking of GTX 900M Series GPUS

Last week, Nvidia released a driver update that removed the ability for consumers to overclock their GeForce GTX 900M Series GPUs. The reason for this, the company explained, was that, “GeForce notebooks were not designed to support overclocking.” Since then, there has been a general outcry from PC enthusiasts who might wish to overclock, or underclock, their mobile GPUs. In response, Nvidia has decided to restore the ability to overclock the GTX 900M series with a driver update that will be available in March.

“As you know, we are constantly tuning and optimizing the performance of your GeForce PC,” said an Nvidia customer care representative in a support forum thread. “We obsess over every possible optimization so that you can enjoy a perfectly stable machine that balances game, thermal, power, and acoustic performance. Still, many of you enjoy pushing the system even further with overclocking.”

The representative continued, “Our recent driver update disabled overclocking on some GTX notebooks. We heard from many of you that you would like this feature enabled again. So, we will again be enabling overclocking in our upcoming driver release next month for those affected notebooks.”