Category: Comments & opinions

The last few months have been critically important for the future of Internet freedom and access. The concept of “network neutrality” has been so central to our experience of the Internet, and such a driving force for innovation and expression, that most of us have taken it for granted. This Op-Doc explains the basic idea: when you visit a website, the phone or cable company that provides Internet access shouldn’t get in the way. Information should be delivered to you quickly and without discriminating about the content. Yet now the…

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Oracle has refreshed its virtual machine with enhancements helpful to organizations that have application environments using products other than the business software maker’s. Oracle VM Release 3.3, launched July 2, supports a wider range of non-Oracle application workloads with updated paravirtualization (PV) drivers for Microsoft Windows. The PV drivers boost network and disk input/output throughput for Microsoft Windows guest OS environments, Oracle said. The drivers and the Oracle VM Server for x86 meet requirements set by theMicrosoft Windows Server Virtualization Validation Program. In addition, Oracle has improved the single console…

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Google engineer suggests workers are over confident & over reliant on logic Google’s determination to only hire the brightest candidates is also a weakness, according to one of its own employees. Avery Pennarun, who has worked at Google as a senior staff software engineer for three years has given  a fascinating insight into life at one of the biggest tech companies in the world. At a firm where internships are as fiercely contested as full-time roles, it’s unsurprising to learn that Google only employs high acheivers. “[I] wouldn’t have thought that…

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A look at how cloud technology may change the future of mobile handsets. In the current mobile manufacturing competition, device makers strive to give users a distinct product with unique features. So is it possible to imagine a common, ubiquitous device? That is, a mobile handset virtually the same as every other? Distinguished not by ‘bells & whistles’ and physical features, but by its cloud-based, personalized profile, services & apps delivered to the user via SaaS? Such a concept is interesting to consider, because some analysts believe that’s the future…

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The humble Wi-Fi hotspot is getting a makeover that will bring new benefits to mobile users, businesses and service providers. Coming soon to a street corner near you: the next-generation Wi-Fi hotspot. One where you do not have to bother with passwords or signup pages,or even finding out whether it is there. You will be using it before you even know it. The idea behind next-generation hotspots is simple: to make their use as seamless as the experience you currently have on the cellular network with your mobile phone. So…

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If you’re just using the built-in messaging features on your smartphone, you could be missing out. These free apps offer an assortment of extra options for a better messaging experience. In spite of all the things smartphones can do, messaging remains one of the most popular activities. And although smartphones include built-in email and texting functionality, lots of apps provide richer messaging capabilities. Here are five free apps that are worth a look. Note: This article is also available as an image gallery. 1: Hike Messenger Hike Messenger (Figure A) combines the…

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The next 30 years of innovation risk being wasted unless society does a better job of educating people about the potential – and downsides – of technology.  At its confidence and renown as a hotpot grows, the London start-up scene is getting more comfortable about asking – and occasionally answering – some big questions about the future of tech. This time around, as part of an event organised by Virgin Business, groups of start-ups and more established businesses were asked come up with some of the ways technology would change various…

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London, 2 July 2014 –  The European Commission has approved the takeover of Germany’s fourth largest mobile network, E-Plus, by Telefónica. This move reduces the number of network operators from four to three. When the deal was first agreed between Telefónica and E-Plus’ current owners KPN, it was of course expected that the regulatory approval process would be long, and that there would be conditions upon which approval depended. These conditions are that the newly merged operator will reserve a portion of its network capacity for the use of smaller operators…

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A team of German scientists has come up with a new luminescent material for LED bulbs. The phosphor improves energy efficiency and makes this artificial light almost as natural as the sun. Wolfgang Schnick knows a thing or two about light quality. Not only has the German chemist researched luminescent materials since 2001 – but shopping expeditions with his wife have taught him first-hand the difference between good and bad light. “When I go shopping with my wife, she sometimes asks me to go outside with her to look at…

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Microsoft raised the roof on its OneDrive storage this week. The new OneDrive capacities are still limited, but for most Office 365 users, the new OneDrive plans basically amount to unlimited online storage. In April, Microsoft increased the OneDrive limit for Office 365 business accounts from 20 GB to 1 TB. Now, Microsoft is providing that same 1 TB of online OneDrive storage for all Office 365 accounts. Office 365 Personal and Office 365 University accounts will each receive 1 TB of OneDrive storage. Office 365 Home accounts will get…

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