Microsoft reveals new, cheaper Office 365 subscriptions for SMBs
Microsoft is introducing new, cheaper Office 365 subscriptions to businesses in a bid to encourage small businesses into using its office suite. The cost of an Office 365 Personal subscription remains at $6.99 but small to medium-sized businesses -- those with fewer than 300 employees -- are now able to snap up a subscription for just $5 per user per month (which doesn’t match the $1 offer from GoDaddy).
Before you get too excited about this, there is something of a catch. Firstly, there is a commitment to subscribe for a year, and the cheapest package, Office 365 Business Essentials, does not allow for Office's apps -- Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and so on -- to be installed. Opt for the cheap subscription and you're stuck with Office Online.
Cloud-based management allows parental control of multiple devices
As we saw last week, parental control products are a bit of a mixed bag and are only part of a protection strategy that includes effective education.
If you have several different devices in the family you may also end up using multiple products to protect them. That is unless you use the latest version of Remo Software's MORE which offers cloud-based management across multiple platforms.
Why I have grown to hate steamgames.com
A son of mine, I’m not saying which one, borrowed from my desk a credit card and -- quick like a bunny -- bought over $200 worth of in-game weapons, tools, etc. for the Steam game platform from steamgames.com, which is owned by Valve Corp. Needless to say, the kid is busted, but the more important point for this column is how easily he, for a time, got away with his crime.
I would have thought that vendors like steamgames.com would not want children to be buying game stuff without the consent of their parents, yet they made it so easy -- too easy.
The Internet of Things will kill someone before 2015
The world's first death caused by the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to occur before the end of the year, according to a report by The European Police Office (Europol).
The greatest risk is likely to come from hackers targeting crucial health and safety equipment as more and more devices become susceptible to remote hacking.
Logitech protection [+] power case -- protect your Galaxy S5 or iPhone 5s while boosting the battery
Whenever I am going out for a day trip, like walking through Manhattan, the inevitable usually happens -- my smartphone battery dies. This seems to be quite the common problem, as Starbucks and similar places are overrun with people desperate for electricity. Yes, I can carry a USB energy bank for charging, but it is bulky and not ideal. Quite frankly, you may get weird looks with a giant bulge in your front pocket -- it is more of a backpack accessory.
What is really cool, however, is protective cases that double as a battery extenders. Sure, they can add bulk, but that is to be expected. Today, Logitech announces the Logitech protection [+] power case, designed for the Apple iPhone 5, iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S5.
OpenClonk 5.0 adds Worlds League, new scenarios, music, more
OpenClock.org has announced the release of OpenClonk 5, a major new version of its open source Worms/ Settlers/ Minecraft/ Terraria- like action game.
The new release adds two missions targeted at new players, two more "which can provide a challenge for the more experienced Clonkers”, and “an action-packed, cooperative scenario where you defend against waves of attackers".
Go from fartsy to artsy and trade the gas for class with eBay Live Auctions
The allure of art greatly escapes me. Don't get me wrong, I see beauty in paintings and sculptures, but I'd be just as happy with a cheap reprint as the original. Hell, I can see the Mona Lisa on my iPad while laying on my couch, why bother going to an art gallery or art auction? It seems like a waste of money. When I watch Pawn Stars, I yell at the TV when Rick buys art for thousands -- "Dude, save your money!"
Well apparently, having an understanding and appreciation of art is a sign of class, which I am told I am lacking. In fancy social situations, I picture myself like Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack -- "whoa, did somebody step on a duck?" Yes, I am more "fartsy" than artsy and I have no business being at an art auction. Today however, eBay brings the art auction to your computer by launching Live Auctions. Yes, you can bid on classy art while sitting on the toilet -- finally.
Plex arrives on Xbox One and 360, brings your media with it
Retrieving media from a computer or home server and reproducing it in your home theater has become a growing need among people. Plex offers what is, perhaps, the simplest solution for accomplishing this task. It does so by simply working across almost every known platform, including mobile devices and set-top boxes.
One place where the end-user app has been surprisingly missing is Microsoft's gaming consoles. You'd think Plex would have arrived there long ago -- certainly before places like Roku and Fire TV. Well, that problem is now solved, or at least half of it is.
Blender gains new effects, tools and radial Pie menu feature
Non-profit organization The Blender Foundation has released Blender 2.72, an update to its cross-platform, open-source 3D graphics tool. The new build finally debuts a long-anticipated "Pie menus" feature.
Also improved are the Cycles Render tools, animation editor UI improvements, a new "Face split by edges" modeling tool and new Sun Beams compositing effect.
My Family Tree 4 extends GEDCOM support
Chronoplex Software has updated its free genealogy tool My Family Tree to version 4.0 with various small improvements.
The program’s relationship calculator -- which displays the connection between any two individuals in the tree -- now supports marriage (in law) and step relationships.
Top lessons you can learn from the 'App Masters'
Everyone understands how important apps can be for engaging and empowering customers, employees and partners, but less well known is the difficulty of delivering apps that meet the promises and expectations of the companies that design them.
Many enterprises are struggling to build apps on time, on budget, or with the intended business impact. Our latest research shows the extent to which global businesses are failing to meet their expectations when deploying apps. A quarter failed to meet their timeline, a fifth overran on their budget, and a similar proportion delivered fewer apps than planned. In total, almost half (45 percent) of all businesses failed in some way to meet the criteria for success in the following areas: app quality and performance, business impact, number of apps delivered, project cost and time of development.
Prelert cuts big data down to size for real-time analysis
Identifying complex anomalies that show up the presence of a persistent threat or pinpoint the cause of network and IT performance problems is the sort of thing big data analysis was made for.
The problem though is that big data is often just too big. This means it's usually necessary to transfer the information before doing any work on it which makes real-time analysis impossible and means valuable insights aren't available when they're most needed.
Security risk is the main reason for banning BYOPC
According to a survey of IT decision makers commissioned by efficiency software specialist 1E and carried out by Vanson Bourne 86 percent of companies that ban employees from using their own PCs do so because of security concerns.
To address these fears 1E is launching its new MyWorkNow solution, a client-hosted virtual desktop (CHVD) to offer a fast, low-cost way of mobilizing workforces using their own PCs.
MIT wants to use your Tweets to solve society's problems
Twitter is handing MIT full access to its real-time public stream and archive, as well as $10 million over five years to help with its research into social patterns across the media. The data MIT gathers from a variety of media platforms will be used to reveal interaction patterns and shared interests between users, while it develops new collaborative tools and mobile apps for public communication and social organization.
Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter said: "With this investment, Twitter is seizing the opportunity to go deeper into research to understand the role Twitter and other platforms play in the way people communicate, the effect that rapid and fluid communication can have and apply those findings to complex societal issues".
Using mobile messaging to deliver better customer service
As mobile devices become almost ubiquitous, their attractiveness as a channel for businesses to interact with their customers becomes greater.
According to last year's ICMI mobile customer service strategy survey, 68 percent of experts believe mobile can improve the customer experience. To help companies take advantage of the opportunities mobile offers, enterprise mobile specialist OpenMarket is launching its latest Mobile Engagement Platform. It's a SaaS-based solution, allowing enterprises to easily create and deploy smart, interactive mobile engagement services worldwide with connectivity to over 200 countries.
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