Software & Apps - Page 77

NVIDIA has released a new beta driver in the form of the GeForce 347.09, with the company releasing it as a "Game Ready" driver for two big releases this week: Elite: Dangerous and Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes.

The former, Elite: Dangerous, is worth noting as it's the first time the company has released a new driver the concentrates on a crowdfunded game like this. Elite: Dangerous isn't some massive AAA title like Call of Duty or Battlefield, but to the fans, it is. It's great to see NVIDIA releasing a driver ready for Elite: Dangerous. MGS V: Ground Zeroes on the other hand, we have full support for it with NVIDIA explaining "ensures you'll have the best possible gaming experience for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Elite: Dangerous."

NVIDIA has also provided an application profile for Project CARS, as well as some new 3D Vision and 3D Compatibility Modes for various games, including Alien: Isolation, Far Cry 4 and Elite: Dangerous. If you want to download the new NVIDIA GeForce 347.09 Beta drivers, grab them right here.

Acording to Hong Kong's Privacy comissioner and iTNews, Android applications running on version 4.3 or older have the ability to access your personal photos, files and sensitive data without any notification.

Yesterday there was a report published by the Hong Kong Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD), explaining the findings of this information and their tests on the authenticity of the Android app model.

The report states that their "tests have revealed that it is possible to develop an app that can read the memory of Android devices, including photos, files, and any data other apps choose to store in the devices, without the need to inform app users on the permission page," further mentioning that they had informed Google of this issue back in August 2014, formally requesting that the large-name company to correct this hole.

Bose has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons lately, fighting being thrown off, and then back on Apple store shelves. Today we are hearing that the company might be launching its own music streaming service, that could compete against the likes of Spotify and Pandora.

Hybebot is reporting the news from a job listing for a Senior Designer that would help make the "next generation streaming music platform" and a matching "ecosystem of products." Engadget has asked Bose to open up about its new plans, but there's been nothing said so far. This could be bad for the company's plans of getting back onto Apple store shelves, as a music streaming service would be competing against Apple.

We should hopefully find out more soon, with CES 2015 right around the corner.

Early this morning, local time, news was spread by the mainstream media on a hostage siege taking place in Sydney's inner CBD involving 'Muslim Extremists' laying claim to an unknown number of hostages. If you're unaware of what's going on, one of the reputable news sources covering this unfortunate news (News.com.au) released a very simply laid out 'what we know' on the matter.

In light of local business evacuations and people rushing away from this threat, users began noticing that popular rideshare app Uber was charging users around the CBD a $100 AU to flee safely to their homes, this is said to be a "result of automatic surge pricing meant to get more drivers online" as according to News.com.au.

Mashable first reported on this issue, being sent screenshots of Uber's iOS application charging a $4/minute, $9.59/KM, $100 minimum cost, being clearly labeled in bold writing as "4.0X the normal fare".

The roads leading into France's capital city may be in jeopardy this Monday, as Parisian taxi drivers are vowing to block major highways to protest the rise of Uber's ride-sharing service application - adding to yet another countries Taxi demographic unhappy with the company's offering.

The court has refused a ban on the urban ride share service application Uber, seeing French cabbies threaten massive retaliation against the service that they claim is promoting unfair competition of their services.

UberPOP has a claimed 160,000 French users, with people being able to use their personal cars to transport passengers around at low rates. Taxi drivers are fed up with the recent rise in popularity of these services, bidding to the French commercial court to make a new law ot ensure Uber drivers have a harder time soliciting businesses. However, last Friday this law could not be enforced "until the government had published full details of the restrictions", as according to Business Insider.

The Microsoft Windows 10 leaked consumer build (9901) indicates users will be able to enjoy an Xbox app, giving them access to friends list, Store, activity feeds, achievements, and additional features. Microsoft previously promised increased gaming integration into the Windows 10 OS, and this early build shows what the company has in mind.

Meanwhile, Cortana in Windows 10 closely resembles the same orientation as Windows Phone, revealing Microsoft is serious about its efforts to make Windows similar across all platforms. Cortana was shown in early Windows 10 builds, but has been refined and looks significantly better in 9901, according to reports.

Microsoft will continue to promote its Windows 10 OS, as consumers and business users never truly jumped onboard the Windows 8/8.1 bandwagon.

According to a press release issued yesterday, TomTom's navigation technology will be featured in the 'Uconnect' infotainment systems installed in new Fiat 500X cars being sold throughout Europe, starting early 2015.

These Uconnect systems will come pre-installed with TomTom software including their traffic, speed camera, weather and 'places' services. TomTom will also see their navigation systems featured in these new production models, reportedly offering highly accurate traffic services, which are said to receive over 100 million kilometers of real-time traffic measurements daily.

TomTom's Vice President of Automotive, Jan-Maarten de Vries, commented that "We [TomTom] are delighted to extend our relationship with Fiat," further stating that "by adding TomTom's LIVE services and software including accurate traffic information, the latest road closure information and better routes, Fiat empowers drivers with more advanced knowledge of the road ahead, to help make journeys faster."

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 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.

We've just received reports that Microsoft will be releasing their "next chapter" of Windows 10 on January 21, 2015. This will be hosted in the form of a Webcast and in-person event held in Redmond.

Led by Chief Executive Satya Nadella and accompanied by senior executives from Microsoft's Operating Systems division (Terry Myerson, Joe Belfiore and Phil Spencer), this forum will see new operating system specifications and information as expected announcements.

After the reveal of Windows 10 in September by Myerson, this version was originally quoted as an enterprise product containing an interface that would look and feel familiar to those using the previous versions of 7 and 8 or 8.1. He went on to mention that "they [users] will find all the tools they're used to finding, with all the apps and tools they're used to today".

Microsoft plans to show off its Windows 10 operating system to the consumer world in January, while analysts believe it should be made available in a freemium format. There were previous rumors that Microsoft could introduce a "Windows as a Service" cloud-based, subscription service, which would be a significant shift in tactics.

If Microsoft plans to have Windows 10 run on billions of devices, then providing a freemium approach could be a lucrative option. It's possible Microsoft could offer Windows 10 free for end-users, and provide features and services based on a subscription fee.

"Microsoft is the only company who still builds a significant business selling an operating system," said Steve Kleynhans, Gartner VP. "Today, consumers see the OS as part of the device and don't really distinguish it as a component to be paid for separately."

Google has released an early Christmas present for Android users, with Android 5.0.1 factory images for the Nexus 9, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10 last week. Now the Nexus 6 and Nexus 4 smartphones can enjoy those same images.

You can grab the Nexus 6 Android 5.0.1 factory image here, while the Nexus 4 Android 5.0.1 factory image can be obtained here. Android Central has a great guide on manually updating your Nexus device before you use these factory images, something we definitely recommend. It shouldn't be long until Google pushes these updates over-the-air (OTA) but until then, you've got some factory images to play with.

MKV files are finally receiving some desktop support from Microsoft, where Matroska Multimedia Container (MKV) file support is now native under Windows 8.1, meaning you won't need to find a third-party piece of software to play them.

Even though MKV files are mostly associated with high-end pirated copies of TV shows and movies, Microsoft baking native support for the container could see this change. Windows 10 will also have native support for MKV files, as well as FLAC files. The company recently rolled out an update for the Xbox One that provided support for MKV, too. Microsoft is really changing lately, especially with this type of news happening, and it's a good thing.

iHeart is a new tool tailored towards health conscious consumers. Coming out of Vancouver, BC - this product and app claims to measure your aortic stiffness, said to be able to give you a readout of your physiological age among other things.

'Vitalsines' is the Bio-Tech start-up company behind this venture. Their president Dr. Jess Goodman explained their goals in a recent press release as "[wanting] to provide people with a system that objectively shows how positive lifestyle choices extend lifespan". She goes on to explain their new development as "a product that is complimentary to other fitness tools on the market. iHeart is a window to the life sustaining world within. It gives people the positive reinforcement to continue with their positive lifestyle changes".

This product comes in two parts - a Bluetooth fingertip 'oximeter' and a paired iOS application. Explained as a 'non-invasive' technology, this device will conduce a 30 second scan on your arterial pulse signal, sending the information directly to your iOS device with the free application installed. You'll then be able to see the readout of your Aortic stiffness and physiological age immediately with this information being stored locally on your device and the www.iHeartalive.com webpage - allowing you to track progress.

AMD has just taken the wraps off of its new Catalyst Omega driver suite, which provides additional performance and a bunch of new technologies and features. The features built into the Omega drivers is extensive, but one of those stand out features is support for 5K displays.

5K you ask? What is 5K? 5K is 5120x2880, a mammoth resolution, which AMD now supports through its Omega drivers, even at 60Hz. 5K is achieved by using two DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, which some Radeon cards don't have, so you'll have to make sure you have two DP outputs before you think about buying that Dell UP2715k monitor.

5120x2880 is an incredible resolution, even overshadowing what 4K is capable of at 3840x2160 as it is an insane 14.7 million pixels, providing 218 pixels per inch, or PPI.

Microsoft has said that it wants to see its next generation desktop operating system, Windows 10, on "billions of devices". Kevin Turner, the Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft said: "Our goal is to have Windows 10 run across billions of devices" at the Credit Suisse 18th Annual Technology Conference.

He continued: "Being able to tap into that entire ecosystem from Internet-of-Things all the way up, as I said, to the TV, is an important element and an important opportunity for us". With Microsoft designing Windows 10 from the ground up to be run on countless devices, and not just personal computers, Microsoft could truly see Windows 10 on "billions of devices".

Turner wasn't finished, where he added: "The thing that I want to tell you about Windows 10 is that it is very unique from any operating system we have ever built and any operating system that exists today. We have actually taken those four OSes ... and built that single kernel across all of those entities. One experience on every device for everything in your life is the promise that we are delivering on Windows 10. It is going to be a very good opportunity for us to reinvigorate the entire Windows ecosystem around that".

Google has removed The Pirate Bay Proxy, The Pirate Bay Mirror, PirateApp, and The Pirate Bay Premium from the Google Play Store, e-mailing the respective developers behind the apps telling them their precious applications had been removed.

Torrent Freak reported: "Another drastic move came today when Google began removing many Pirate Bay related apps from its Play store. The apps in question include "The Pirate Bay Proxy," "The Pirate Bay Premium," "The Pirate Bay Mirror" and "PirateApp"." The reason for the removal of these apps is a bit tricky, as there were not any DMCA takedown notices.

The apps themselves are described as providing mobile-optimized access to The Pirate Bay, with some of the applications including a proxy site to get around the various blocks put up by various service providers. Google adds that these apps are in violation of the IP provision of its content policy. One e-mail sent to a developer said: "REASON FOR REMOVAL: Violation of the intellectual property and impersonation or deceptive behavior provisions of the Content Policy. Please refer to the IP infringement and impersonation policy help article for more information".

If you've been using AirDroid: great, if not, you might want to check it out. AirDroid 3 is now out, a piece of software that allows you to access, and use your Android-powered devices from your desktop.

Sand Studio has announced that it has released AirDroid 3, its latest and greatest update to AirDroid that has one very big new trick up its sleeve: a native app. AirDroid can still be used from your web browser, but with a native application out now, you have a big choice. There are some features that you should know about, which might swing your decision-making process:

Lyft's co-founder John Zimmer has appeared in an interview with Bloomberg TV today, covering issues based around privacy questions on user data, their main competitor 'Uber' and plans for expansion throughout the new year.

As we see ride-share applications begin to hit the mainstream market, there have been reports on the downturn in the traditional Taxi business alongside some reasoning for people making the change to this new-age format.Ride-share services currently have the general reputation for being more timely and neat, this is coupled with reported issues in the past of Taxi drivers being unsafe and potentially harmful toward their customers - sparking of public outrage here in Australia and throughout other parts of the Western world.

Zimmer defended Lyft's privacy options today, stating that "We (Lyft) do not share, currently share information like this with any third party. So that's definitely something that we can talk about." He went on to mention that Lyft's user-base has skyrocketed, seeing their year-over-year rides rise by 6 times, alongside their year-to-days rides reaching a 5 times increase - which is mirrored by their revenue increase.

Windows 8 hidden features and Easter eggs are still being discovered, recent reports have claimed to find a hidden Explorer shell option in Windows 8 and 8.1 - allowing users to automatically organize and open programs alongside exiting the shell if needed.

Reports also claim that no additional programs, tweaks or registry settings are required to use these features.Interested in utilizing this for yourself? Follow these simple steps:

This will effectively remove your Taskbar and Smart Screen from your system. If you want it back, you can follow a few different methods - firstly you must open your Task Manager.