Google launches Chromebox for Meetings -- Hangouts on steroids for businesses
Actual, real-life meetings are just so passé! In fact I have hardly met up with any of the people I work with in person -- we are living in the digital age, man! But the likes of Skype and FaceTime show that there is still an interest, even a need, for virtual face-to-face time, and this is particularly true for businesses. Conference calls are easy to set up on the phone, but there are times when it really does help to see what’s going on at the other end. Today Google takes the wraps off its solution: Chromebox for meetings.
As you would expect from Google, and probably guess from the name, this is a box running ChromeOS. Powered by a 4th generation Intel Core i7 processor, there are four USB 3.0 ports as well as HDMI and DisplayPort++ connections, and network connectivity is provided by an Ethernet port as well as an 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi adaptor. Also provided is an HD camera, a mic and speaker combo, and a remote control.
Sony sells VAIO, cuts 5,000 jobs and exits PC manufacturing
Sony is pulling out of the PC business and is selling the VAIO brand to Japanese investment fund Japan Industrial Partners (JIP). The announcement came after industry speculation about what might be happening in Sony's future after the company responded to rumors that it was in talks with Lenovo about a possible sale by saying that it was looking to "address various options for the PC business". No details about the fees involved have yet been revealed, but it is hoped that an agreement will be reached by the end of March.
Citing "drastic changes in the global PC industry", Sony's announcement came as the company revealed its financial results for Q3 2013. Analysis of the results showed that the "target of returning the TV and PC businesses to profitability will not be achieved within the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014", hence the need for reform. This means that Sony will now concentrate "its mobile product lineup on smartphones and tablets". An estimated 5,000 jobs will be lost.
37signals becomes Basecamp and drops all but its eponymous product
The name 37signals may not mean much to people outside of tech and business circles. This is a company that produces something that is better known than its own name: Basecamp. The very fact that 37signals is primarily, or even solely, associated with Basecamp seems as good a reason as any to consider a rebrand, and this is precisely what the company is doing. While some people content themselves with blowing out candles on a cake, 37signals celebrates its tenth birthday by renaming itself Basecamp.
But it does not end there. In addition to taking a new name from its popular online collaboration and project management tool, the company is switching its focus so that Basecamp is its only product. The announcement appears on the company's website, explaining that the decision will allow all energies to be channeled into the tool that gained greatest success:
Google starts checking YouTube views to ensure they're real
There was once a time when the popularity of a webpage was measured by the hit counter that was featured prominently on it. Thankfully these days are long gone, but there is a new type of counter.
There are few sites that don’t try to take full advantage of social networks, and many online articles -- including here at BetaNews -- include links to share content on the likes of Facebook and Twitter. It's easy for all to see how many times something has been shared, but this reveals little about the number of actual views this has translated into. But there is one place where the hit counter lives on: YouTube.
Google slips into the red with a new Nexus 5
There's a new Nexus in town -- not a Nexus 7 or a Nexus 8 or a Nexus 10, but a slightly updated Nexus 5. The difference? This time around it is purely cosmetic. No hardware changes of any description, just a new coat of paint. The latest addition to the Nexus 5 range is the red variant -- but not just any red, a capitalized Bright Red, no less. This new release supplements the previously available black and white versions, bringing the color total to three.
As the only change that has been made is to the hue of the handset, it should come as no surprise that there has been no change to pricing either. The 16GB model can be picked up for $349, while the 32GB model will set you back an extra $50 at $399. The Nexus 5 is the phone that was eagerly anticipated, but proved to be slightly disappointing when it finally arrived on the scene -- to Brian, at least -- but it is still one that manages to pique people's interest.
Google releases details of FISA data requests -- for what it's worth
Trying to claw back its reputation of not being evil, and riding the wave of public interest in the surveillance activities of the government, Google releases some additional details about the government data requests it has received. Just last week, the Department of Justice announced that companies would be permitted to reveal more information about the requests made of them. Google has now updated its Transparency Report to include statistics about Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requests.
Until recently, Google and other companies had been blocked from revealing any information about FISA data requests, causing them to group together to file a lawsuit in a bid to overturn this barrier. Today's report released by Google follows on from last week's agreement with the DoJ and includes details of requests made under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. For advocates of government transparency this sounds like a victory for freedom of information, but sadly it amounts to very little.
Google Cast SDK opens up Chromecast to developers -- more apps on the way!
Today, Google launches the developer preview of Google Cast SDK, allowing for the development of apps for the company's plug-in-and-forget-about-it streaming unit. In a post on the Chromium Blog, Engineering Manager John Affaki, explains that developers will find it easy to make existing mobile and web apps ready for use with Chromecast as the SDK allows for easy integration. In addition to the Chrome extension, the SDK is also available for Android and iOS.
The lack of new and exciting apps that offer Chromecast support has partly contributed to the fact that Google's streaming device has not really caused the explosion of excitement that it should have done. Google will be hoping that by making the SDK available, developers will start to integrate the API into existing apps that are suitable for taking advantage of second screen casting.
Security breach exposes personal data of 800,000 Orange users
2014 is not proving to be a very good year for security -- and it is not just down to the Syrian Electronic Army. Hundreds of thousands of Orange customers in France have had their personal details exposed after hackers managed to procure a mass of unencrypted data from the My Account section of the orange.fr website.
The attack was carried out on 16 January, but details are only coming to light some two weeks after the security breach.
Syrian Electronic Army strikes again! PayPal and eBay come under attack
There have been a lot of website compromises in 2014 despite the fact we're only just into February. Now it looks as though the Syrian Electronic Army is at it again. This time it is eBay and PayPal who found themselves in the crosshairs, as some users discovered that they were redirected to sites that announced the hack, praised Syria and chided the US government.
It might seem obvious that the Syrian Electronic Amy was behind the attack, but in case there was any doubt, the group used their Twitter feed to claim responsibility.
How to enable the hidden, experimental, center-aligned version of YouTube
YouTube, like many other websites, undergoes changes, and it has taken on a number of guises over the years. Some looks have lasted for a long time, while others have been shorter lived. There are also experimental looks, not all of which end up being released, but even when a redesign is rolled out, it can take a while to make its way around the world. Currently in the experimental stage is a center-aligned layout which includes a cleaned up interface a new menu and a few other tweaks.
In the new design, a top navigation bar is now locked to the top of the screen, remaining in place while the rest of the page scrolls. There is a customizable carousel and a new Upload button encourages visitors into sharing. It's not yet clear quite when this new interface will be officially released to a waiting world, but it's something you can enable now; all it takes is a quick cookie tweak.
Forget Spotify -- discover never-before-heard music on Forgotify
Like the internet itself, Spotify is a fantastic resource, but it is one which remains somewhat unexplored. There are darker reaches that are yet to be visited by anyone, and who knows what sort of gems might be lurking there waiting to be discovered? You could spend endless hours trawling the length and breadth of what's available online in the hope of stumbling across something new and exciting. You could do that, or you could get someone else to do the hard work for you.
With Forgotify, the idea is simple. It's a streaming music site, but not quite like the others you may have tried. Any music you find through Forgotify is guaranteed not to have been listened to by anyone else on Spotify. Spend a little time playing random tracks and you could find something truly amazing -- of course, you will undoubtedly have to endure a load of absolute drivel, but there will be some utterly delightful tracks in every genre as well.
The most popular stories on BetaNews this past week: January 26 -- February 1
Phew! Well it seems that 2014 is finally in full swing -- the past seven days have been the busiest in a while. It was a busy week for security. A piece of malware came to light that was using Windows computers as a means of infecting the Android devices connected to them. Yet another security breach meant that the credit card details of Michaels customers were compromised.
While the computing world worries about whether or not the NSA is reading their email or recording their phone calls, school children in Britain learned that their computing activities are being monitored in the classroom. There was celebration as companies such as Microsoft and Google won a lawsuit that means they are now able to reveal more information about US Government data requests.
From Windows XP to Linux? -- you'd have to be mad!
It has been suggested that the people who are still hanging onto Windows XP after all of these years are going to continue to do so once support officially ends in April. Microsoft is obviously keen to herd people towards Windows 8.1, but there is a good deal of resistance. Some have proposed Linux as a viable alternative; to me, this seems like a completely nonsensical "upgrade" path. Brian managed to cause quite some excitement yesterday when he wrote that Windows XP refugees should migrate towards Linux rather than considering the latest version of Windows. Without wanting to fall out with Brian, I think he's plain wrong.
One of the reasons many people cite for not wanting to upgrade to Windows 8 or 8.1 is that they don’t want to have to deal with the Start screen. They have become used to things working in a certain way and, while not perhaps entirely resistant to change, need a little encouragement into seeing the value of things. Brian suggests that one of the reasons to switch to Linux is that "you get to learn something new." If this is supposed to be an attractive element of Linux, then users may as well spend the time getting used to Windows 8.1.
Microsoft doles out some tips to help you avoid the Start screen in Windows 8.1
Today on the Windows Experience Blog, Microsoft has done something a little odd -- admitted that the Start screen "can take some time to get used to". But more than this, the blog post by Kirsten Ballweg outlines five tweaks that can be used to "make Windows 8.1 feel more familiar". Given that the first line of the post is "Windows 8.1 looks a whole lot different than Windows 7 or Windows XP", it appears that Microsoft is conceding that Windows 8.1 just isn't everyone's cup of tea.
The solution? A series of tips to help make the latest version of Microsoft's operating system feel more like a version that is several years old! The first tip is interesting. Rather than suggesting the ways in which the Start screen could aid productivity, rather than pointing out all of its cool features, users are advised to simply bypass it. Microsoft has given up trying to sell the new features of Windows to users, opting instead to show how they can be avoided -- after all "the desktop we all know and love is still there".
Could Apple produce a solar-charging MacBook with rear touch sensors and two displays?
What's the biggest problem with using a laptop out and about? Apart from the need to track down a stable Wi-Fi connection, what concerns most laptop owners is how long they are able to keep working when away from a source of power.
It's a problem that faces mobile phone and tablet users, but for users of smaller devices there are small, cheap, backup batteries available, some of which can be charged via solar panels. A new patent awarded to Apple means that a similar technology could be making its way to MacBooks. But there's more... much, much more... to get excited about.
Sofia Elizabella's Bio
Sofia Wyciślik-Wilson is a queer, transgender journalist based in Poland. She has been writing about technology for more than two decades, and after years working for magazines, her writing moved online. She is fueled by literature, music, nature, and vegetables. You can find her on Bluesky and Mastodon. If you like what you read, you can Buy her a Coffee!
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