With the news late last week that the iPhone 5s was shipping within 1-3 days for the UK and many other markets across the world, the signs were there that Apple was finally getting on top of supplies. Now, it has emerged that - in the U.S., at least - the Cupertino giant has achieved 100 percent stock rate in all of its Retail Stores, with each variant of the iPhone 5s available in every single outlet.
The recent wave of data breaches on a number of popular sites and Web service providers should definitely be a cause for concern to most users. Malicious attacks on the likes of Yahoo!, Facebook and Adobe should act as a catalyst for us to review our current account setup and make changes accordingly to improve the strength of passwords, even if your data wasn't amongst the batch that was compromised in any of the attacks. Microsoft Research is well aware that password strength is one of the most vital components in combating such breaches, and as such has created the Telephathwords tool to try and guess the next character of a password based on a large database and complex query patterns.
For as long as Facebook has been using its famous 'Like' button, people have wondered when they would be able to click on something a little less jovial when the need arises. We've all been forced to 'Like' a friend's status update on Facebook when the situation really demands something quite the opposite. With people posting about things ranging from bad days at the office and pets being ill to marriage breakups and loved ones dying, hitting that 'Like' button as a form of acknowledgement feels crass at best, and downright cruel at its worst. And it seems someone at Facebook would agree.
Tim Cook and Apple's executive team are always keen to wax lyrical about how many apps have passed through the App Store over the last five years. The majority of the company's media events heavily feature slides featuring the number of available third-party applications available and the amount of revenue that has been paid out to the developers who create and publish those apps. In the relatively short lifespan of the App Store, Apple has managed to hit, and go beyond some pretty impressive milestones. Recent data from AppsFire suggests that Apple have hit yet another notable goal by now having over one million apps live in the U.S. App Store alone.
Microsoft's Xbox One is the console that the company hopes will carry it through to 2020 and beyond, but while all the talk is often about how powerful these new game consoles are and whether they will usher in a new era of hyper-realistic games or not, often one of the important aspects of a new console is overlooked - how does the thing look?
Earlier on in the year, Google made a move which some people deemed clever, some foolish. With the expertise that comes with being one of the world's largest software companies, Google doesn’t have the best credentials when it comes to hardware production. The answer? Purchase an already existing, well thought of, manufacturer. In this case, Google purchased the then-struggling Motorola Mobility to head their mobile device production.
Valve's SteamOS gaming PC operating system may not be ready just yet, but that doesn't mean that bespoke computer makers around the globe aren't working on hardware that will be ready to run it when it finally does see a release. British computer builder Piixl is just one of those companies, and it has announced its own entry into the Steam Machine market.
Security and general privacy tends to be of paramount importance to most mobile device users, and with very good reason. But while the battle to steer clear of the unscrupulously-intended, non-niceties of the mobile world are well documented, one company obscures its potentially dangerous spying app under a veil of legitimacy.
Siri caused more than a stir when it first hit the scene along with the iPhone 4s back in 2011, but even though consumers and commentators alike were fascinated by this feature that could answer back (if you had the right accent), the novelty did seem to wear off, and apart from the Eyes Free in-car integration, it's been a while since Apple's much-loved voice assistant really made the headlines.
Although we're relatively well informed as to the progress of Google Glass's development, we haven't had much of an insight into the numerous different designs we've already been promised by the Big G and its partners. The current Explorer Edition, for example, does not work with prescription lenses, leaving those in requirement of visual aids unable to fully use the wearable tech - if at all. As such, designs to facilitate the specialized lenses are being worked on, and one Google manager looks to have accidentally leaked snaps of one pair of prescription Glasses for the world to see. The shots were hastily removed from sight, although not before the Web could grab and share them for the rest of us to ogle over.
