Latest News - Page 2775

As according to a newly issued press release by ABI Research, there has been a major push for higher-workload media stations in today's climate - pushing these system to receive upgraded hardware including x86 processing units.

This comes paired with a foretasted an x86 processor growth from 43% market share in 2013 to a much larger 51% in 2020. This is coupled with higher levels of semiconductor integration, seeing Systems on Chips being merged x86 or ARM processors with DSPs becoming standard practice.

These new advanced media products have seen vast visualization improvements in recent years, with Sam Rosen, Practice Director for TV & Video, claiming "Cloud video workflows, such as that developed by Elemental and EVS for the FIFA World Cup, place a high priority on software flexibility" expressing a much-needed hardware upgrade for existing technology.

TechNavio has published a report on the Global WLAN Security Market, claiming that it's expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 27.99 percent during the 2015-2019 period.

This tech-focused research firm claims that WLAN security systems are in high demand for enhanced network performance, stating that growth is currently being experienced as more companies are utilizing Bring Your Own Device (BYOC) policies which has prompted users to "go mobile" - with even schools taking part in similar schemes.

The Vice President of TechNavio, Faisal Ghaus, mentioned that "WLAN Security is finding growing relevance as employees are using their own devices while working on confidential company information and applications outside of the office". Further expanding on his companies report which claims that the amount of data being processed by these BYOD systems and the sensitive nature of whats involved will see a major boost come to the wireless security sector in coming years.

NASA hopes the International Space Station (ISS) will have better Internet courtesy and communications access courtesy of the laser-based Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) instrument. A SpaceX Dragon cargo vehicle delivered OPALS to the ISS in April, and has successfully completed four months of testing - with a focus on minimizing atmospheric turbulence that leads to increased data loss.

OPALS uses four individual lasers to send a beam down to the JPL's Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory ground station in California. The ground station is able to send four lasers and deliver a payload, and is working on daytime testing.

"OPALS has shown that space-to-ground laser communications transmissions are practical and repeatable," said Matthew Abrahamson, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory OPALS mission manager, in a statement published by Space.com. "As a bonus, OPALS has collected an enormous amount of data to advance the science of sending lasers through the atmosphere. We look forward to continuing our testing of this technology, which sends information to and from space faster than with radio signals."

Panasonic has just announced that they're "expanding the scope of the U.S. recall Panasonic voluntarily previously put in place of battery packs included with the Toughbook H2 rugged tablet PC and those sold separately or as a result of servicing" according to a press release.

This recall is for all Toughbook H2 battery packs manufactured between June 2011 and September 2012, following the original recall announced in May 2014 which covered battery packs manufactured between June 2011 and May 2012. The reason these batteries are being asked for return is due to a possibility of them overheating and catching on fire due to manufacturer issues.

If you're unsure about your battery packs qualification for this recall, you can check your model number and manufacturing lot number on the battery pack itself. There are two battery slots on your device, located on the left and right of the PC, only battery packs showing both numbers will qualify for this warranty claim.

Microsoft's latest KB 3004394 update for Windows 7 is causing a myriad of issues for users, with the company asking users to remove it. The first issue is that some users are reporting that the new update blocks people from installing AMD's new Catalyst Omega drivers.

But AMD users aren't the only ones in pain over the latest update for Windows 7, with NVIDIA users confirming that it's now hard to install new GeForce drivers. It's not just graphics drivers and their installations that are problematic, some users are reporting that USB 3.0 drivers are now broken, and User Account Control (UAC) prompts are playing up. Microsoft has said it is aware of these issues, and that it even prevents the installation of future Windows Updates.

One of the worst things that this new update does to Windows 7, is disable the Windows Defender service, which is completely disabled with the new update. Microsoft has since issued a patch for the broken update, which is known as KB3024777, and is available directly through Windows Update.

The Capcom Pro Tour 2015 season is about to hit the big time as confirmed by Yoshinori Ono.

Next years tournament will feature a hefty $500,000 total prize pool as announced in this years live Capcom Cup finals which are currently being run live on stream. Yoshinori Ono took the stage, announcing that the Capcom Pro Tour 2015 would be going ahead once again, but with a slight difference thanks to a partnership with Sony.

He stated that the total prize pool will be 'at least' $500k, meaning that there is room for improvement. Usually when we see a big name sponsor jump on board like this, many others become interested in a slice of the exposure, meaning that there's no saying where this number could progress to. Hopefully sponsor bids haven't closed and we can see this prize pool elevate to much higher levels.

Google has already teamed up with the leading telecommunications company in Australia on its Internet balloon technology, but now its teaming up with France's space agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES).

The search giant has said that it has been working with the semi-secret lab for 12 months now, in order to take Project Loon to the next level. CNES has been helping Google analyze data from its ongoing tests, as well as getting the design of its next-gen Project Loon technology into the air. Google will help CNES work on long-haul balloon flights into the stratosphere.

Google's VP in charge of the project, Mike Cassidy, said: "No single solution can solve such a big, complex problem. That's why we're working with experts from all over the world, such as CNES, to invest in new technologies like Project Loon that can use the winds to provide Internet to rural and remote areas". CNES' Toulouse Space Center director Mark Pircher admitted that when Google first approached the space agency and told them their plans, he didn't think Project Loon was that realistic.

Mojang and Warner Bros. have been having discussions about a Minecraft movie, with Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy walking away from the project. Levy was brought on to work on a Minecraft movie, but Mojang didn't like the idea of an adventure movie similar to 1985's The Goonies.

Levy talked with The Wall Street Journal saying: "How might this ever be a story for a movie? Because it's not a narrative game. And we came up with an approach that felt good to us, and I discussed it with Mojang". Levy continued, saying that his idea wasn't exactly a comedy, but "It had a bit of a Goonies flair. ... It was an adventure movie, and I thought it could have been a lot of fun and fulfilled a lot of the qualities that people love about the game".

The director said that Mojang didn't see it that way, with Levy continuing: "And they're like, 'That doesn't sound like what we want. If we're going to see a movie get made, we don't know what we want, but that doesn't feel right". Levy had four other movies to work on going into the New Year, where he added: "The truth is there is a long history of trying to make great movies out of games, and they're rarely done well. Mojang is still figuring out what they want. We gave it a shot and it wasn't the right fit, so, these things happen".

It looks like Facebook has been spending big on its most exciting acquisition, Oculus VR, to acquire two companies that would better position Oculus VR as the absolute champion of VR technology... when the Rift launches that is.

Oculus VR has acquired two companies this week, the first being Nimble VR while the second one being 13th Lab. Nimble VR is a two-year old company that took to Kickstarter a while ago, developing skeletal hand tracking and software, as well as a depth-sensing camera dubbed Nimble Sense that would see the hands of Oculus Rift users in the VR world, all with gesture recognition. 13th Lab is the other company Oculus VR acquired, which makes accurate, maker-less augmented reality tracking and real-time 3D construction framework technology.

Oculus VR talked about its acquisition of 13th Lab in a blog post saying: "The ability to acquire accurate 3D models of the real-world can enable all sorts of new applications and experiences, like visiting a one-to-one 3D model of the pyramids in Egypt or the Roman Colosseum in VR". Oculus isn't finished just yet, as it also announced it has hired motion capture expert Chris Breglar, who is a professor of Computer Science at New York University and contributor to motion tracking special effects in big Hollywood films like Star Trek Into Darkness and The Lone Ranger. Bregler will lead a vision research team at Oculus VR.

You probably thought Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has been selling millions upon millions of games, and with it being better received than the last Call of Duty outing - Call of Duty: Ghosts - most would think the sales would've been beating Ghosts, but that's not the case.

When it comes to retail copies in the US, Advanced Warfare has sold around 27% less than Ghosts did last year. Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson has noticed the downward trend based on figures from stat-tracking firm NPD. According to NPD's November report, Activision sales were down 22% for the month, with Advanced Warfare seeing a 27% year-over-year decline in sales compared to Ghosts.

Olsen said: "This is disappointing data following first week Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare sales showing a year-over-year increase. NPD data does not include digital copies or international sales, which, if included, would lessen the year-over-year decline, but we believe this data suggests potential for Q4 revenue upside is now very low". While a 27% drop might sound bad, consider that Advanced Warfare has been the best-selling retail game of the year in the US. Activision announced earlier today: "In only its first month of release, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is already the number one top-selling console game of the year through November in the U.S. overall, as well as individually on Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360 and PS3".

The Sony PlayStation 4 - and the company's overall gaming portfolio - has done well, while Sony struggles company-wide with six financial losses over the past seven years. Specifically, Sony looks to transition gamers to PlayStation Now, a streaming game service available for its consoles, and that has required large investments and careful preparation.

Sony has increased efforts to purchase surfers and investing more in cloud technology, so it will be able to increase stability of PlayStation Now. Even though Sony could cannibalize its own PS4 hardware - the company understands it should work towards embracing cloud-based gaming as soon as it feels ready to. Gamers only need game controllers and PS Now provides around 200 game titles that are sent directly to any high-definition TV.

"If you look at other forms of entertainment and the dramatic impact streaming has had on those, that says to us that there's clearly a strong consumer satisfaction with the instant gratification that's provided by streaming experiences," said Andrew House, Sony Computer Entertainment president, in a recent statement published by Bloomberg Businessweek. "We think that has a role to play in the future of games, as well."

Facebook has quietly decided to stop showing Microsoft Bing search engine results on its social networking site, as the company continues to develop its own search engine. Facebook plans to roll out a new search tool on Monday so users are able to find past comments, posts and other data published by their friends.

It will be curious to see how Facebook develops its own search tool, as Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo have continually revamped their own search offerings. Furthermore, Facebook has more than 1 billion users and a whopping 1 trillion posts - and despite initial difficulties - will be a crucial endeavor for the No. 1 social networking website.

"We're not currently showing Web search results in Facebook Search because we're focused on helping people find what's been shared with them on Facebook," a Facebook spokesperson told Reuters. "We continue to have a great partnership with Microsoft of lots of different areas."

It very well could have been a symbolic victory and nothing else, after The Pirate Bay was shuttered, but digital piracy levels didn't significantly drop. Piracy torrent statistics have been made available courtesy of the anti-piracy Excipio firm, which tracks movie, TV shows, music, video games, and software torrent downloads - and on Dec. 8, the day before Pirate Bay servers were seized, there were 101.5 million IP addresses engaged in torrent downloads.

The number dropped to 99 million on Dec. 9, then down to 95 million on Dec. 10, and 95.6 million downloads on Dec. 11, according to Excipio. However, the number again topped 100 million on Dec. 12, which noted that the daily average of torrent downloads worldwide since Nov. 1 was 99.99 million.

For interested Internet users, there are dozens of other websites that allow access to torrent downloads, and Internet piracy will continue to be a thorn in the side to governments and copyright holders.

US companies need to be aware of increasingly sophisticated Iranian cyberespionage operations, according to the FBI, with targets ranging from educational institutions, energy firms, defense contractors, and additional critical infrastructure.

As part of Operation Cleaver, there have been 50 victims in 16 countries reported so far, according to cybersecurity company Cylance. The FBI's "Flash" report also included technical details about sophisticated malware and attack strategies that are likely being used by Iranian cybercriminals. "It underscores Iran's determination and fixation on large-scale compromise of critical infrastructure," Cylance CEO Stuart McClure reportedly noted.

Potential victims have been asked by the FBI to speak with them, especially if potential links point towards foreign cybercriminals.

The House of Representatives issued the "Cromnibus" bill that will give NASA an $18 billion budget in 2015, a 2 percent increase than 2014, while also giving NASA more than $500 million it requested. Pres. Obama's original $17.5 billion budget request asked for $4.79 billion to be used for the Science Mission Directorate, $1.28 billion to planetary sciences research - the Science Mission Directorate will receive $5.24 billion and $1.44 billion towards planetary sciences.

The additional budget should be welcome news for the US space agency, which has fallen short of federal budget targets in past years. This is good news for NASA, which must spend at least $100 million of the budget to launch a robot probe to Jupiter's icy moon of Europa.

"They added nearly $300 million to the entire science mission directorate," said Casey Dreier, Planetary Society advocacy director, in a statement to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). "No one paid the price for restoration of the cuts to planetary science. That's a big deal."

Apple OS X users in the United States faced a large number of cyberattacks, with almost 100,000 users being targeted, according to a Kaspersky Lab report. Not surprisingly, that accounted for 39 percent of total Mac OS X cyberattacks - largely because the US has the largest number of Apple product owners - as cybercriminals pay more attention to iOS on smartphones and tablets, along with OS X on desktop computers and laptops.

AdWare programs were the most popular method of attack against OS X users, accounting for almost half of the top 20 list, according to Kaspersky.

OS X users are strongly urged to install some type of anti-virus and anti-malware software solution, as cybercriminals pay more attention to compromising Apple products.

The Windows KB3004394 update was issued on December the 10th and has just been confirmed by Microsoft as a major problem causer for many users - reportededly effecting only Windows 7, not Windows 8, users.

This update will not only possibly stop you from installing newer updates, but AMD's Robert Hallock has claimed that this update will prevent you from installing new software like graphics drivers - severely effecting the roll-out of their new AMD Catalyst Omega drivers which were launched on the same day as this update blow-out.

There have been many more reported issues on Microsoft's support forums, with users complaining that they are unable to run programs such as Windows Defender, VirtualBox and are receiving constant User Account Control errors.

AirWatch's on-premise mobile device management solution has recently received a major update - patching a flaw that enabled users who manage MDM solutions in multi-tenant environments to access other users data and information.

The patch was issued this week, closing the 'information disclosure hole' in its services. iTnews reported that the published security advisory VMSA-2014-0014 addressed the issue, with them claiming this was due to "AirWatch On-Premise having direct object reference vulnerabilities which could allow a manager of an MDM deployment in a multi-tenant environment to see organisational information and statistics of other tenants."

These direct object reference vulnerabilities will allow criminals to bypass user authentication and access all of your databases and sensitive files directly - rendering any security measures in place as useless. According to the Open Web Application Security Project this flaw is quite common and widespread, seeing it exploited by hackers globally in the past and present. Due to this flaw, there have been previous reports of up to 500 Dodo Power and Gas customer information being compromised two years ago, alongside Australia Post removing its Send and Click service due to a similar discovery.

Skyrim has seemingly become that game that will never stop evolving, but not in the way that most may think. There's games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and World of Warcraft that receive constant patch updates, content and special activities added by their original developers - but what if a game was kept afloat through mods from the community?

As first made aware to us by Kotaku, they quote this Enderal Skyrim mod as "a total conversion Skyrim mod that adds an entire new world to the game".

Looking at the trailer above, this mod can be described as nothing but stunning. Professional camera work and a vast world of content are displayed - looking something like a full expansion for this popular RPG title. Containing its own skill system, characters, locations and classes, you would be forgiven for thinking this is a complete stand-alone game title.

During a Townhall Q&A session today at Facebook HQ, Zuckerberg teased the idea of a dislike button making its way into the heavyweight social media platform. This Q&A was a bid to connect with the Facebook community and media, with Zuckerberg updating his Facebook page to state "For today's Q&A, people flew in and submitted videos from around the world to ask questions ranging from our plans for improving search and why we update our privacy policy to how Facebook can help create stronger communities."

In this talk, one of the most interesting topics covered was that of the much-discussed 'dislike button' which many users want to see added to Facebook's services. In a short video linked on his Facebook page, 'Zuck' stated that "A lot of times, people share things that are sad, or tough cultural or social things", further opening the need for a dislike button to be implemented.

Those against his feature claim that the dislike button can be used by some for online forms of bullying and harassment - allowing them and their friends to band together against a victim and dislike all of their photos and updates. However, maybe they can make this feature turn on and off when needed.