IT News Head Lines (Techradar) 4/18/2015

Microsoft to preview the mobile version of Office for Windows 10 this month

If you're a Windows Phone user and you're eager to upgrade to Windows Phone 10 when it launches later this year, you'll enjoy this news. Microsoft will preview the mobile Office Suite for Windows 10 by the end of April.
Today's glimpses of the upcoming mobile Office suite reveal a new interface designed for bottom-of-the-screen navigation better suited for thumb clicks and drags. Additionally, a new Reading mode for Word allows you to tap a document in order to have it fit entirely onto your device's screen. This enables you to see an entire document without having to scroll between "pages."
Microsoft has also revealed that the Office apps aren't built directly into Windows 10, but will be preinstalled on new Windows phones after the operating system goes live. This will enable Microsoft to update the software without having to completely overhaul the entire Windows 10 system.

The background

Microsoft previously set a summer launch window for the Windows 10 desktop and mobile operating system (OS). In February, Windows Phone users who'd enrolled in the Windows Insider program were eligible for a technical preview of the mobile build, which Microsoft said would be consistent across smartphones, tablets, PCs, laptops, Internet of Things devices, and on the Xbox.
However, Microsoft promised to deliver a touch-focused Office Universal app designed specifically for smartphones and tablets, similar to mobile versions of Office available for Android and iOS devices.
Windows Phone 8.1 users are eligible for a free upgrade to the mobile Windows 10 OS once it goes live. However, Microsoft pulled a build of Windows 10 Technical Preview for low-end Lumia 520, 525, and 526 phones after users said their phones stopped working after installation, so stay it's obvious Windows 10 for phones isn't finalized just yet.
Read our Windows 10 preview review









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Batman v Superman trailer leaks in typically blurry fashion

As far as superheroes are concerned, the only two iconic beefcakes I'd love to see punch each other in the face on the big screen repeatedly are Batman and Superman. That's why I'm really excited for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
The trailer for the 2016 film is set to debut at IMAX theaters on Monday, April 20, but life in 2015 wouldn't be life in 2015 if there wasn't already a low-res trailer floating around on the internet.
Here's a warning you may have expected: the leak is crap. It's shot with a camera, so it's nowhere near IMAX quality and on top of that, the screen is peppered with what appear to be Portuguese subtitles. But it's hard to resist.
Click here to watch
As is with most leaks, this one likely won't remain up for long. Warner Bros. is likely on a warpath to remove leaks as they're found, but hopefully you were able to peep this one.
So, what did you think?
Via The Verge









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Lawnmowers vs Satellites: The real robot wars have begun

World War 3 is here - and this time it's being fought by robots. On one side, we've got the autonomous lawnmowers, their blades glinting in the morning sun. On the other, the satellites are lined up; with solar panels and canadarms unfurled and ready to kill. What are they fighting over? The most vital resource left on the planet - bandwidth in the electromagnetic spectrum.
Okay, maybe we're over-egging this one a little. But, in a conflict of the kind that's only going to get more common in the coming decades, Roomba manufacturer iRobot has ended up in a dispute with astronomers over a radio frequency band.
iRobot is working on autonomous lawnmowers that'll work a bit like its Roomba vacuum cleaners, but has run into a tricky obstacle. It turns out that spotting out where the edge of a lawn lies is harder than identifying a wall. iRobot's solution is to get homeowners to install little radio beacons around the edges of the lawn, providing a virtual wall that stops the mower plowing through into your flowerbed.

Hunting for Aliens

That's all well and good, but the type of radio signal emitted by the beacons happens to be exactly the same one that astronomers use to spot methane in space (6650-6675.2 MHz, if you're curious). Given that methane is often used as a telltale signal of biological activity on other planets, that's quite an important part of the hunt for alien life - and if iRobot's lawn beacons are used next to an observatory doing that kind of work, it won't be able to join that hunt.
The fight is playing out in the States, where iRobot has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to use that chunk of bandwidth and the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has filed an objection to them doing so.
iRobot says observatories are mostly in remote locations and that it'll tell its buyers not to use their lawnbot near one. While NRAO hit back saying that actually they're mostly not in remote areas and that asking your customers nicely to do something rarely works.
It's not clear right now who the victor will be in this little skirmish, but it's no doubt the first salvo in a battle that's going to rage on as more and more devices want to communicate without interference. World War 3? Maybe not. But smaller wars have started over less.









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Week in Tech: Week in Tech: Candy Crush casualties, huge Huaweis and why Google's in hot water

It's been a big week in technology: Google's facing big fines, Huawei has come up with a phone so big it probably has its own postcode and Netflix has big plans for the future of streaming. Not only that, but we've seen big numbers for the Apple Watch, big Blu-ray plans from Sky and a big game that put a man in hospital.

Google's in deep EU doo-doo

We knew it was coming, and now it's official: the European Commission of the European Union has launched a formal investigation into Google's alleged abuse of its search dominance. Google has a near monopoly on search in Europe, and it is claimed that it's used that power to hurt rivals both in search and, via Android, in mobile. The consequences could be severe: if the Commission finds Google guilty, it could fine Google enormous amounts of money. Its investigation into Microsoft cost the firm nearly $800 billion in fines.

Google's Nexus network is mighty Fi

Google's Project Nova has a new name: it's now called Project Fi. If you aren't familiar with Nova or Fi, it's Google's plan to become a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO for short. Becoming a MVNO means Google could offer its customers connections via Google Fi rather than going through firms such as AT&T or Verizon. Traditional networks would still provide the connectivity, but they'd be doing it under the Google brand. Rumours suggest you'll only pay for the data you actually use, and calls and texts will be free within the US. There's no sign of an official launch date just yet, but a US launch may just happen this year.

Apple's best Mac and Dell's banished bezels

13 inches is the sweet spot for laptops: it's big enough for serious work and small enough to be portable. We think that Apple's latest 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro might just be the best laptop Apple has ever created. "Where the new MacBook sacrifices performance and ports for portability, the MacBook Pro makes no such compromises," Gary Marshall says. It "offers an incredible amount of bang for your buck."
It isn't the only tempting 13-incher, though. The amazing Dell XPS 13 is the latest product from the manufacturer's current purple patch, and the firm has managed to cram a 13-inch Ultrabook into an eleven-inch laptop's case. How did they do it? By pushing boundaries and banishing bezels, Dell told us. The story of how the XPS 13 came to be is fascinating, and we can't wait to see what Dell does next. That's something we haven't said for a while.

That's not a big phone. THIS is a big phone

Where Apple's goal is making something "insanely great", it seems that Huawei is happy with "insanely big": its P8 Max smartphone is so big it takes two people to lift it. We're exaggerating, of course, but only just: the P8 Max is really a 7-inch HD tablet pretending to be a phone. The 6.8-inch full HD display is teamed with an equally enormous 4,360mAh battery, and it'll be coming to the UK in a really big box soon.

Netflix: we'd like to teach the world to stream in perfect 4K TV

Have you watched Daredevil, Netflix's new collaboration with Marvel, yet? If you have, we bet you haven't seen it like Kevin Lee has. LG sat him in front of its 65-inch, 3,840 x 2,160-pixel curved 4K TV () and it knocked his socks off. Daredevil was filmed with OLED TVs in mind, and takes full advantage of their huge dynamic range and contrast.
That's not the only Netflix news we've got this week. We've found the 25 best Netflix TV series, discovered why it isn't scared of HBO Now or any other streaming service, unveiled its plans to make a 4K follow-up to Planet Earth and discovered how it intends to improve quality, improve its recommendation systems and protect your privacy. Remember when it just stuffed DVDs into jiffy bags?

Sky's new service is a keeper

Sky's Buy and Keep service baffled us, because it didn't deliver a true digital copy you could keep forever. That's changed, and you can now buy a movie () that you can "watch, stream, download etc over your various devices through the Sky Store app, plus watch on your set-top box and also receive a boxed DVD of that film." Prices currently range from £7.99 to £13.99 and Blu-Ray discs are coming in the not-too-distant future.

Watch men (and women)

The pre-orders have been and gone, and it looks like the Apple Watch could be the biggest new product launch in Apple history: some reports suggest that Apple has taken as many as 2.3 million pre-orders in the first weekend. If that's true then Apple's done in a few days what all smartwatch manufacturers combined took four months to do last year: total smartwatch sales in 2014 were 6.8 million. Unfortunately all that demand means that many people won't be getting their Apple Watch deliveries on April 24.

App-cidents will happen

A man has hurt his thumb playing Candy Crush too much, and by "hurt" we mean "really hurt": the unnamed 29-year-old man ruptured a tendon, which required surgery. The man wasn't a Candy Crush addict, but it seems that the game's charms distracted him so much that he didn't feel the pain until it was too late.









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This will turn your fingernail into a tiny trackpad

Wearable technology is routinely mocked by the fashion world, and you can totally see why - people keep inventing things like cooling underwear, drumming trousers and QR-code ties. But MIT's Media Lab reckons that a fingernail-mounted trackpad that it's invented might actually prove both useful and stylish.
It's called NailO, and consists of a capacitive touch surface, microcontroller, battery, and Bluetooth chip crammed into a package that's small and light enough to wear on your thumb. "It's very unobtrusive," insists Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, MIT graduate student and lead author on a paper describing the system, in an interview with Cnet. "When I put this on, it becomes part of my body."
Kao has identified several situations where it might prove useful - when you're cooking and need to scroll a recipe down but both hands are busy, for example, or maybe at a formal dinner when pulling out a phone might be considered impolite or inappropriate.
The tiny capacitive surface is surprisingly capable in terms of gesture recognition. The team tested it with five different gestures, obtaining more than 92% accuracy, though the researchers warned that accidental activation is a risk with an object that would be so prominently worn.

Unlike many wearable tech devices, it's also designed to be attractive. The wearer can customise it with a nail art layer to match whatever you're wearing. "NailO blends into and decorates one's body when attached, yet remains removable at the wearer's discretion," the team writes on its website, "giving the wearer power and control over the level of intimacy of the device to one's body."
Kao and her colleagues have met with battery manufacturers in China to try to further miniaturise the device, but are looking at a timeframe of about three years before NailO could become commercially available. So in the meantime, if you want to express your technological lust through your fingernails, you'll have to make do with a graphene nail coating stylus instead.









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Google to prop up Windows XP with Chrome support until 2016

Google has extended support for its Chrome browser on Windows XP until at least the end of 2015 after reneging on a plan to shut down updates in April.
Any systems still running the lumbering zombie that is XP, which Microsoft ended support for in April 2014, will continue to snag regular security patches and updates to prevent their systems falling prey to malware or browser-based attacks.
"Millions of people are still working on XP computers every day. We want those people to have the option to use a browser that's up-to-date and as safe as possible on an unsupported operating system," explained Mark Larson, director of engineering for Google Chrome, in a company blog post.
Google originally planed to turn off the update tap at some point in April, but could even extend support for Chrome on Windows XP beyond 2015 should it have another change of heart.

Firefox and Opera like XP too

If Google makes good on its plan to end support by 2016, XP stalwarts will still be able to get their secure online fix through the latest versions of both Firefox and Opera, which continue to list XP as a supported OS.
Microsoft is hoping that many Windows XP users (which accounted fo 16.4% of PC owners in March according to NetMarketShare), will transition to Windows 10 when it's released later this year.

• Check it out: Windows XP release date, price, news and features

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In depth: 5 things you should know about Docker

Introduction

With all the hype surrounding virtual machines on the wane there is another technology that has stepped up to the plate to offer developers a superior service, and it goes by the name of Docker.
In simple terms, Docker is a container and as such the technology that backs it up isn't particularly new. The company itself is what makes it special thanks to the way it is bringing containerisation to the masses by making it easier and safer than ever to deploy the technology.
Docker's approach has been attracting significant attention and Microsoft is among the companies that have implemented the technology into their cloud offering. However, if you're not a developer and haven't heard of Docker then it's likely you're wondering what all the fuss is about.

Containers are not new

Docker is not a new technology in itself and is in fact a container, which is something that has been floating around for some time. Containers have been in existence since the early part of this millennia (the year 2000 to be exact) when FreeBSD Jails were the order of the day. Using those early containers allowed you to access the operating system kernel but very little else on the system and this is the same basic principle that the newer breed of containers use.
It's very easy to think of containers in a similar way to a container ship. All of the containers are loaded on to one ship that is run by the same engine and they are then unloaded to be used in various other locations.
Containers means that developers can create an application, place it with all the components it requires inside a "box" and then put it through the kind of rigorous testing that is often incredibly tedious. Once it is all inside that box it can be run on almost any machine or OS and eliminates the kind of confrontation that can sometimes take place when a new app reaches the testing stage.
Docker's containerisation works in the exact same way to this, however, there are a couple of reasons why it is so popular.

Docker is special because...

People like things that are simple, easy and safe to use. This is why Docker is doing so well. Deploying containers using Docker is far more simple than using other container technologies thanks to the way it has teamed up with the likes of Canonical, Google, Red Hat, and Parallels. By combining its expertise with it others it has meant Docker containers are standardised and have a higher level of security than other solutions.
Another reason that Docker is so popular is thanks to the experience it gives developers. Its popularity amongst the developer community means that people tell their friends about it and trust increases as a result.

It's faster than a virtual machine

Docker is often compared to a virtual machine and it makes it even easier to understand exactly what it does by putting the two side-by-side. The major different between Docker and virtual machines is that where a VM has one OS per machine, containers like Docker run outside of the OS and require less power as a result.
Think of it this way: where VMs separated the OS from the bare metal, Docker has gone a step further and taken the OS out of the equation. This results in something that is more scalable and portable, easier to deploy and an offering that can serve up more density. Speed is another way Docker is superior given that applications will be underway within seconds due to the removal of the OS startup phase. On a VM you have to startup the OS and that in itself is wasting precious moments compared to Docker.
Even so, it's unlikely the VMs championed by the likes of VMware will die out. Remember that Docker's containerisation cannot run several different operating system on one machine and some companies will still opt for this in addition to or instead of containers.

The simplicity makes it secure

We mentioned earlier that Docker has signed up to a number of cross-industry partnerships and this in itself means that it becomes more secure. This is by no means the only reason. Docker's container only uses the dependencies that it requires, which means that the vulnerability of the entire environment is diminished. The resulting decrease in the vulnerability surface of the app's environment makes it easier to lock down for security reason and the lower footprint that Docker brings means less security updates are required.
Containers, like Docker, also make it easier to segregate apps that would usually run on one host and mean that an app running in one container can only access ports and files in another container if it implicitly allows it. The app environments inside containers also change a great deal over time thanks to being constantly updated and as such won't take on the kind of risks that might arrive if not updated for a long time. If there is a vulnerability, it's easy to apply a security fix as part of an application update very quickly and prevent any problems taking hold.

It has huge backing

Since it changed its name from dotCloud to Docker just two years ago, venture capitalists have been falling over themselves to get in on the action. The latest raft of funding, which took place on April 14, saw it raise $95 million in Series D funding and pushed the firm on to a valuation of over $1 billion for the first time. The open source version of Docker has been downloaded upwards of 300 million times, which has seen it grow by as much as 1,000% in the last year. Its growth can be attributed to the partnerships it has with the likes of Amazon Web Services, IBM, Microsoft and VMware.
Microsoft is more feverish than most in attempting to add Docker's unique level of containerisation to its products. It first added support for Docker container on Linux VMs to its Azure cloud to allow Linux Docker applications to run in the cloud. It went further than that in October by bringing Windows Server compatibility to Docker and thus allowing enterprises to deploy Docker applications directly to Azure from the Docker client. With support like that coming to the fore, Docker won't be going away any time soon.









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Matthew McConaughey's reaction to the new Star Wars trailer

The internet has won again, providing us with a simply fantastic video detailing the McConaughey's reaction to the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer that has been on loop in the office all day.
His (inter)stellar reaction is pretty much exactly like ours was. We're not ashamed to admit that our normal Journalistic aloofness dissolved in tears the moment we saw that crashed Star Destroyer on Jakku.
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYHdQUyOunA








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You can film forever on this self-powered camera

A prototype camera that powers itself from the light coming in through the lens has been built by researchers at Columbia University.
Normal cameras work using photodiodes - semiconductors that convert light into current. Photovoltaic cells used in solar panels work in a very similar way, but instead of using the current as information to build a picture, it's collected up and then sent onward. The two processes are similar enough that the Columbia team were able to build a sensor that can alternate between both tasks, and they claim it's the first of its kind.
"A few different designs for image sensors that can harvest energy have been proposed in the past," Shree K. Nayar, the professor who led the team, said in a press release about the project. "However, our prototype is the first demonstration of a fully self-powered video camera."
Here's a sample of the output:
YouTube : youtube.com/watch?v=gU9puVYvPi8
The researchers used off-the-shelf components to build an image sensor measuring 30 x 40 pixels (a paltry 0.0012 megapixels), which they housed in a 3D printed body. When the shutter is pressed, the pixels are first used to record the image in front of them then switched to a mode that harvests energy to charge the sensor's power supply - a small capacity.
That power supply could also theoretically be used to charge a rechargeable battery for a phone or smartwatch.
While the resulting video from the camera isn't too impressive (in fact it's more scary than anything), if the technology is further developed them the applications are huge. CCTV, industrial monitoring, agriculture, wearable technology and other connected devices could all benefit - not to mention the camera industry themselves.
One day, your DSLR might never run out of batteries again.









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In Depth: Before Apple Watch: the timely history of the smartwatch

History of the smartwatch: past times

Smartwatches have been the next big thing since 1982. But now the Apple Watch is in the world, it's going to start a whole new wave of wearable tech.
And if that doesn't? Well, we've got smartwatches to look forward to from pretty much everyone else.
So what's different this time, and why haven't smartwatches really taken off before now? Let's look at some of the major milestones - and mistakes.

1982: Pulsar NL C01

Pulsar is a Seiko brand, and while the NL C01 was rather primitive by today's standards - it stored just 24 digits of information - it was quickly followed by more models such as 1984's UC-2000 and 1985's UC-3000. Both of these watches were ambitious: you could buy them with a dock that boasted a thermal printer and a memory cartridge slot.
Ambitious is a relative term, of course: mid-eighties smart watches were still rather gimmicky. What they didn't have was connectivity. Bluetooth was a decade away and cellular hardware was far too big and far too expensive: the enormous Motorola DynaTAC 8000X would set you back a whopping $3,995.

1984: Seiko RC-1000

Seiko's RC-1000 synchronised via a cable, and it was compatible with the various PCs of the time including Apple and Commodore C64 hardware.
Another model, the RC-4000 (dubbed the PC Datagraph) was released in 1985 and that shrugged off the plastic look of the RC-1000, favouring a stainless steal chassis.

It was known for its unusual three-line dot-matrix type and the fact that it housed 2KB of RAM.

1990: Seiko Receptor

The next big shift in smart watches happened at the turn of the decade, and it went beep - literally in the case of Swatch, whose The Beep watch followed in the footsteps of Seiko's 1990 Receptor, a watch that doubled as a pager.
For the first time, smart watches were wirelessly connected to the wider world. All they needed now was all the other stuff. That stuff started to appear in late 90s, largely thanks to - you guessed it - Seiko.

1998: Seiko Ruputer

The 1998 Ruputer (later launched as the OnHand PC in the US) was more of a computer than a watch, boasting a 16-bit processor and 128KB of RAM. The screen wasn't up to much - it was a 102x64 mono LCD - and it wasn't a touchscreen, but you could write apps for the Ruputer in C.
Samsung was thinking about smart watches too: its SPH-WP10 was the first watch phone, although while the device has spawned several imitators it was never an enormous success.

IBM and Citizen tried a Linux smart watch, the WatchPad, but it was short lived. Fossil lasted longer, having found a way to cram the Palm OS into a much smaller screen (Palm OS was designed for PDAs, but Fossil's watches used smaller cellphone screens): it launched multiple models from 2002 to 2005.

2004: Microsoft SPOT

You can usually count on Microsoft to enter a potentially massive market far too early, so you won't be surprised to discover that it was making smart watches nearly a decade ago. Microsoft's platform was called Smart Personal Object Technology, or SPOT for short, and it used FM broadcasts to update subscribers' data in major US cities.
A subscription was $59 per year. SPOT watches were released from 2004 until 2008, and Microsoft shut down the SPOT-updating MSN Direct service in 2012.

2009: Samsung S9110 Watch Phone

Microsoft had the right idea and the wrong answer. The future of the smart watch was wireless, but the wireless wasn't FM: it was Bluetooth. The relentless march of smartphone tech meant that all the pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together: better batteries, touch screens and low-power, short-range connections to internet-connected devices such as smartphones.
By the beginning of this decade, firm after firm had seen the potential. Samsung had its S9110 Watch Phone (2009). Sony Ericsson launched its LiveView (2010) to pull data from Android phones, and Allerta's InPulse (also 2010) did the same for BlackBerries.

WIMM Labs' WIMM One (2011) shoved a modified version of Android into a watch-sized device, Motorola's Motoactv (also 2011) combined fitness information and music playback and Apple found that many of its square iPod Nanos (2011 again) ended up on people's wrists.

2012: Pebbles and fitness kit

By the end of 2012 we were up to our wrists in wearables: Nike+ Fuelbands and Jawbone Ups, the epaper-screened Pebble and the cute Cuckoo, the Sony Smartwatch and all kinds of GPS trackers and exercise monitors.
But while many of them are very good indeed, their relatively small sales suggest that nobody has quite nailed the smart watch yet. Could Samsung be about to change that?

2013: Samsung Galaxy Gear

Samsung has been extremely busy in the smartwatch market, releasing no less than six devices since the original Samsung Galaxy Gear back in September 2013. This is definitely not a once-size-fits-all approach. For instance, there is the original Gear (since upgraded to Tizen OS from Android), the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo which offer up wearable tech for those who want to keep abreast of email and messages on their phone.
Then there is the Gear Fit, a fitness band of sorts that's tethered to a Samsung device, and the Samsung Gear S which is Tizen based and a smartwatch that runs is separate to a phone, as it comes complete with its own SIM card slot. Oh, and Samsung also dipped its toes into Android Wear with the Samsuing Gear Live. Which brings us on to...

2014: Android Wear

Google went big with smartwatches this year, announcing Android Wear its watch-centric OS that makes use of things such as Google Now and allows developers to create smartwatches with either a round, square or rectangle face.
Google has rounded up a whole host of partners for Android Wear - including Motorola, Samsung, LG, HTC and Asus - and at IFA 2014 we saw the fruits of this partnership, with the introduction of the Moto 360, LG G Watch R and the Asus ZenWatch.

Android Wear has already produced some great-looking smartwatches but they have all been under the spectre of an impending Apple wearable which was finally announced in September...

2015: Apple Watch

Apple showed off the Apple Watch in September 2014, with the hope that anyone looking to buy a smartwatch this Christmas would have second thoughts. Stats on smartwatch sales showed that it worked.
Although thoughts on the design have been mixed - everything from 'ooh, it's a little chunky' to 'take my money, Apple. Take it all now' - the mere presence of an Apple Watch almost future proofs this still nascent product category.
Gareth Beavis, TechRadar's resident mobile devices wizard reckons: "The Apple Watch is neither a fitness band, watch or fashion accessory though, despite taking a bit from each of those camps. It's hard to define what it really is, which means that users may struggle to justify the purchase."
And that pretty much sums up the whole smartwatch market at the moment. It's an area that doesn't yet have a purpose but we expect this to change very soon...

• Hands on Apple Watch review. Here's what we think of Apple's wearable.

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How a crying baby might soon power your phone

Nanotechnologists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have made a microphone out of paper that could boost phone battery life using 'wasted' sound energy.
The team, led by Zhong Wang, used a laser to burn miniscule holes in a sheet of paper the size of a postage stamp, then coated one side in copper and the other with polytetrafluoroethylene - better known outside the chemistry world as the coating on non-stick pans. The two sides were joined on one edge, but left free on the others.
Sound waves, as you might remember from your physics classes, are made up of vibrations in the air. As they hit the sheet of paper, they cause the copper and Teflon sides to come into and out of contact, generating a small amount of static electricity like rubbing a balloon on your head.

Sounding good to us

That electricity - about 121 milliwatts per square metre - can then be harvested and used for whatever you like. Wang suggested its use in a mobile phone, but the trickle of power is far too low to charge most modern handsets - it'd merely extend battery life a small amount instead.
Still, Wang also suggests it could be used in military surveillance, sound recording, or jet engine noise reduction.
Us? We'd like to see it used to power a pair of noise-cancelling headphones so the screaming child two rows behind us on a plane is actually doing something useful.
The team's research was published in ACS Nano.









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Apple's plan to avoid 'bendgate 2' on the iPhone 7

Apple took the whole 'bendgate' fiasco quite seriously, and a fresh report suggest it is experimenting with some new materials to adapt into the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to ensure the issue won't be repeated.
The Apple Watch Sport uses Apple's own Series 7000 aluminium alloy which is designed to be stronger than the material currently used in iPhone models and a new rumour from Taiwan's Economic Daily News suggests it'll be launching on the new set of phones.
The material is 60% stronger than other aluminums but is still lightweight as it's a third of the density of stainless steel – the perfect material to be used on an iPhone.

Baby's got the bends

Apple received a lot of flack for the iPhone 6 Plus 'bendgate' scandal after creating a phone that could be bent easily than it should be, so it's not a big surprise the company wants to act on it for the next generation.
The rumour should be taken with a heavy helping of salt though as we can't see the source Economic Daily News has used, suggesting it's just speculation from the publication or other sources.
That said, it makes sense and Apple is clearly in love with its new material as it continues to cite it as one of the Watch Sport's key features.

• Read all the rumours on the iPhone 7 here.

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Review: Pentax K-S2

Introduction and features

Ricoh/Pentax introduced its new K-S2 relatively quickly after the K-S1 came out. However, despite the similarities in name, it's not a replacement for the K-S1 – instead, it sits slightly above it in Pentax's range. Internally, it shares a lot of the K-S1's specifications, but much of the camera's physical design and usability has been reworked.

You won't find the KS-1's flashing lights adorning the front of the camera, but that's not the only thing that will please enthusiast photographers. The fact is that behind all the gimmicks and flashy lights, the K-S1 was actually a decent camera, so it's great to the K-S2 using much of the same technology in a much more serious camera.

Never mind the weather

Pentax claims that the K-S2 is the world's smallest and lightest weatherproof camera, which should make it capable of resisting the odd rain shower or two – particularly useful for landscape and street photographers.
Ricoh/Pentax has thrown in a few other firsts here as well – at least for the brand, if not for the DSLR market as a whole. For example, this camera features a fully articulating screen (though it's not touch sensitive). This screen uses airless gap technology which fills in the space between the LCD and its protective cover in order to improve visibility in bright light.

Another first for Pentax is inbuilt Wi-Fi and NFC, which can be used in conjunction with a free Image Sync app available for iOS and Android to both control the camera and download shots taken with it for quick uploading to social networking sites and the like.
There's more. Pentax has introduced a new kit lens for the K-S2. It's an 18-50mm f/4-5.6 optic, which retracts in on itself to reduce the overall size of the system when it's in storage or when you're carrying it around.

Unlike Canon and Nikon, which use lens-based image stabilizers, Pentax uses a sensor based SR (Shake Reduction) system inside its DSLRs, including the K-S2, to help reduce blur when hand-holding the camera.
Other useful features include 5.5 frames per second continuous shooting and a maximum shutter speed of 1/6000 sec – that's a touch faster than most of its direct rivals, which offer a maximum of 1/4000 sec. The benefit of fast shutter speeds like this is not simply for freezing fast-moving subjects – you can also shoot in bright light with wide apertures to increase background blur without overexposing.

Sensor and AF system

The sensor is the same one you'll find in the K-S1: a 20-million pixel APS-C sized sensor which features a maximum sensitivity of ISO 51200. There's no anti-aliasing filter here, which is starting to become increasingly common and helps to maximise the detail output of the camera. In order to avoid the problems associated with this design – namely the risk of moiré patterns appearing when photographing something with fine repeating patterns – Pentax has come up with a novel and interesting solution. If see any moiré effect, you can use the camera's anti-aliasing 'simulation mode to retake the shot. This applies a tiny vibration to the sensor during the exposure, minutely shifting the photosites and therefore replicating the effect of a low pass filter.

The autofocus system has 11 AF points that can be used with the K-S2, of which 9 are the more sensitive cross-type. This is not the most sophisticated on the market, and you may find the system quite coarse and noisy when using some of Pentax's cheaper lenses which don't have their own AF motors. The new kit lens does, however, have its own built-in DC motor.
The KS-2's viewfinder not only offers a 100% view, but it's also a proper glass pentaprism – cheaper DSLRs tend to use a pentamirror which offers only 95%, 96% or 97% coverage.
There's full HD video recording, as you'd expect in an up to date DSLR, while a range of digital filters and the ability to process raw files in-camera round off the specifications list of the K-S2.

Build Quality and Handling

It's the smallest weatherproof DSLR on the market, and the K-S2 has a diminutive size which makes it feel almost more akin to some of the larger compact system cameras on the market. Furthermore, the kit lens and some other lenses which you can buy for the system are also pretty small, making it a good choice if you're concerned about weight and size.

You need to hold down a small button on the side of the retracting kit lens to extend it before you can take your first shot. This can add a couple of seconds to shooting time, so if you're planning on taking a few shots, it's best to leave it extended. To zoom in and out, you rotate a small ring on the front of the lens – it takes a bit of time to get used to the positioning of this ring, especially as the focusing ring directly behind it is roughly the same size. At times, I found it quite frustrating, when compared to the much larger, easier to find zoom rings of other kit lenses.

Control layout

The K-S2 has quite a small grip when compared with other cameras of its kind. However, it still feels pretty comfortable in the hand, with a small indent allowing your middle finger to rest nicely. The two scrolling dials – one on the front of the grip, and the other on the rear – make changing the settings feel easy and natural.

Both of the dials control a different function, depending on which exposure mode you're currently using. In manual exposure mode, the front dial alters shutter speed and the rear dial alters aperture. If you're working in shutter priority mode, only the front dial will work – and the opposite if you're working in aperture priority. The good news is that if you prefer to work in a different way, you can customise how each of the scrolling dials work in different exposure modes via the main menu.
The vast majority of the KS-2's buttons are on the right hand side of the camera, which means it's pretty quick to make changes with just one hand. There are however, some buttons on the left side, notably the Live View button. There are a couple more on the side of the camera, including the AF/MF switch. A customisable button marked 'Raw/FX' allows you to choose from one of six different functions (when shooting).
One of the most useful controls on the camera is the green button on the top-plate, just behind the shutter release button. This restores certain settings (such as exposure compensation) back their defaults.

Wi-Fi and NFC

There's also a button on top of the camera which you can hold down to activate the camera's Wi-Fi system. Using the app and connecting to the camera from your smartphone or tablet is very easy. If you have an NFC enabled phone, you simply hold the two devices together and – if it's the first time you've done that – you'll be prompted to download the free Image Sync app. Alternatively, if you have a Wi-Fi only phone (such as an iPhone), you can download the Image Sync app from the App Store and connect to the camera's Wi-Fi in your phones setting.

Pressing the 'info' button on the back of the camera gives you access to a quick menu which helps you to change certain key settings more quickly, such as Custom image, JPEG quality and metering settings. It would have been nice if you could customise this menu depending on how you like to work best, though.
Once you're connected, the app is excellent to use. It gives you complete control over pretty much all of the camera's settings, which is refreshing to see and genuinely useful. The only things you can't change are mechanical, such as whether the flash is raised, or the focal length of your lens. It's also fairly easy to transfer images across to your phone for sharing on social networks, once you get the hang of how to select and download a photo.
Although it's nice to have a 100% viewfinder, as it is optical rather than electronic, it means that you won't be able to see any changes made to settings until you look at the shot on the LCD afterwards.

Performance

As the K-S2 uses the same sensor and processor combination as the K-S1, I had little doubt that performance in terms of image quality would be almost identical.
Image quality is one of the best things about the K-S2's sibling, and it continues to impress well here. I found that the JPEG images are nicely saturated with vibrant colours which pop well even when using the 'Natural' setting.

Click here for a full size version.

Click here for a full size version.
If you're shooting in raw format this gives you good scope for post-production adjustment and more muted results. Our labs results also show that the K-S2 puts in a good performance for dynamic range across the sensitivity range, being reasonably close to the Nikon D5500 – this is borne out in real world shooting, too and again it gives good scope for post-capture adjustment.
You can change the way colours look direct from the camera in a couple of different ways. First of all, you can choose a different 'Custom Image' – all the normal options are here including Portrait, Landscape and so on, but there are also a couple of 'out there' choices, like Bleach Bypass and Reversal Film, which are fun to experiment with. Alternatively, you can use one of the Digital Filters, which are generally a little wackier, but also worth a look.

Click here for a full size version.

Click here for a full size version.

Sharpness and noise

As we saw before with the K-S1, the K-S2's sensor can resolve a good amount of detail, thanks in part to the removal of anti-aliasing filter. At 100% magnification on-screen JPEG images taken at low sensitivities appear very sharp and there's very little image smoothing. Even when looking at images shot at higher sensitivities, such as ISO 3200, detail is still resolved well, and at normal printing and web viewing sizes the overall impression of detail is fantastic.
The camera's Shake Reduction system also works well to combat blur in images, meaning you can use it one handed, or shoot quickly without worrying too much if the camera is 100% steady.
It's clear that the camera applies a fair amount of noise reduction when shooting at high sensitivities, as it's possible to see speckling and chroma noise in the raw files. This gives you good scope for applying your own noise reduction to raw files.
It's possible to shoot at a maximum sensitivity of ISO 51200, but it isn't something I'd recommend doing routinely as you will be left with very noisy and grainy images. The maximum setting that I'd generally recommend is ISO 12800, or below 3200 for the best quality. Our labs results indicate that the K-S2 performs very well for signal to noise ratio, both for JPEG and raw files – you can read more in depth analysis on the pages which follow this.

Click here for a full size version.

At the time of writing, it's not possible to open and edit the KS-2's PEF raw files using Adobe Camera Raw, but the camera can also shoot in DNG format, which is a universal raw format you should be able to open in any software with DNG support.
On the whole, the K-S2's automatic white balance system copes well with a variety of different light sources. However, at times it can be a little confused some scenarios, such as overcast, dim light. When shooting under artificial lighting, the camera is fairly capable, but it can err towards the warm side. For best accuracy, you can switch to a more appropriate white balance setting, such as Cloudy or Tungsten. Or, if you shoot in raw format, you can change this setting after the event if it hasn't quite got it right.
Click here for a full size version.
In most average situations, the camera's all-purpose metering system produces good exposures, but a little extra exposure compensation is required every now and then to get a bright, accurately exposed shot when light levels are a little on the dark side, or there's high contrast.
I've seen it before with some Pentax lenses, and it's a little unfortunate to see it here too, but purple fringing can sometimes be seen around edges in very high contrast situations when using the kit lens. It's not something that happens with every shot, but it's a shame to see it occurring at all.
On the plus side, autofocusing is quicker using this camera's kit lens than the one that accompanied the K-S1. Most of the time it will get the subject in focus quickly and easily, perhaps hunting a little more as light levels drop.
Click here for a full size version.
Click here for a full size version.

Lab tests: Resolution

We've carried out lab tests on the Pentax K-S2 across its full ISO range for resolution, noise (including signal to noise ratio) and dynamic range. We test the JPEGs shot by the camera, but we also check the performance with raw files. Most enthusiasts and pros prefer to shoot raw, and the results can often be quite different.
We've also picked out three of its chief rivals so that you can compare their performance directly.
• Canon 700D: Until the new EOS 750D and 760D become available, this is still Canon's top beginners camera.
• Nikon D5500: Nikon's most advanced beginners camera impressed us with its resolution.
• Olympus OM-D E-M5 II: It looks and handles just like a DSLR but it's actually a compact system camera.

Resolution test chart

We test camera resolution using an industry-standard ISO test chart that allows precise visual comparisons. For a full explanation of what our resolution charts mean, and how to read them, check out our camera resolution test process.

Pentax K-S2 resolution

JPEG analysis: The Nikon D5500 has a clear advantage over its rivals right up to ISO 3200, but the Pentax K-S2 and Olympus E-M5 II put in a good performance not far behind. The EOS 700D and its older sensor trail behind except at ISO 3200 and above.

Raw analysis: The K-S2's raw files show better detail than its JPEGs and it runs the Nikon D5500 a very close second. The E-M5 II is a little behind but it's still ahead of the EOS 700D.

Lab tests: Dynamic range

Dynamic range is the range of tones the sensor can capture. Cameras with low dynamic range will often show 'blown' highlights or blocked-in shadows. This test is carried out in controlled conditions using DxO hardware and analysis tools.

Dynamic range is measured in exposure values (EV). The higher the number the wider the range of brightness levels the camera can capture. This falls off with increasing ISO settings because the camera is having to amplify a weaker signal. Raw files capture a higher dynamic range because the image data is unprocessed.

Pentax K-S2 dynamic range

JPEG analysis: Interestingly, the Olympus scores highest here, particularly at higher ISOs. The Pentax K-S2, Canon 700D and Nikon D5500 deliver almost identical results.

Raw analysis: The pattern changes with raw files, where the E-M5 II still leads but with a smaller margin. The EOS 700D is now second best, while the Nikon D5500 and Pentax K-S2 trade places at different ISOs.

Lab tests: Signal to noise ratio

This is a test of the camera's noise levels. The higher the signal to noise ratio, the greater the difference in strength between the real image data and random background noise, so the 'cleaner' the image will look. The higher the signal to noise ratio, the better.

Pentax K-S2 signal to noise ratio

JPEG analysis: The K-S2 delivers similar results to the E-M5 II and EOS 700D right up to ISO 1600 and opens up a slight gap at higher ISOs. It's clearly better than the Nikon D5500, even though the K-S2 also dispenses with the anti-aliasing effect.

Raw analysis: Here, the Pentax fares slightly less well compared to its rivals. The innate noise levels in its raw files appear to be slightly higher, though it still beats the Nikon D5500.

Verdict

There's a lot to like about the K-S2. Pentax is offering a good range of functions here for the money, and if you're not in the Nikon or Canon (or maybe even Sony) camp, then this makes a good alternative. It's especially good if you're keen on something small and light, particularly when you consider the lenses for the camera are also on the small side too.
The weatherproofing is fantastic to have, while a 100% viewfinder is unusual in a camera at this level.
It's taken Pentax a while to include a fully articulating screen, and while it's not particularly novel any more, it remains useful nevertheless for composing shots from awkward angles, or when you're shooting movies.
Although it may not be something many people give consideration to, the app which accompanies the K-S2 is also genuinely useful and a delight to use. So many of the wireless remote apps which I use offer little to no control, other than to trip the shutter release, so it's nice to have one here which gives you full exposure control when you're controlling remotely.
In use the camera also feels natural, and it doesn't take too long to get to know its idiosyncrasies, with a good range of external dials and buttons to make settings changes quickly and easily.
Obviously the most important aspect of any camera is its picture quality, and the K-S2 also performs very well here too. Images are nice and bright, and there's good scope for getting shots exactly how you want them with different Custom Image and Digital Filters etc which give you lots of room for creativity. Being able to shoot in the universal DNG format is also useful for post-production too. Detail is also resolved well thanks to the lack of an anti-aliasing filter.

It's a shame that image quality is brought down a touch by evidence of purple fringing when using the kit lens in some situations, but it's not something that should plague most everyday shots – it's just something to keep an eye out for. It's great that the kit lens itself retracts down to a small size when you're storing or transporting the camera, but it does mean that the ring for zooming is a little more fiddly – it's something you get used to with time, though.

We liked

The overall handling of this camera is great, and it feels very natural to hold. The free Image Sync Wi-Fi app has to be one of the best currently on the market as it gives you pretty much free rein over the camera's settings, making it genuinely useful for enthusiasts who need to be able to shoot remotely for whatever reason, rather than just being a gimmick for group shots and selfies.

We disliked

In fact, there's not too much to dislike about this camera, but the evidence of purple fringing when using the kit lens is somewhat disappointing.

Verdict

For those who can't find a Canon or Nikon camera to suit them, or perhaps those who have vintage Pentax lenses, the K-S2 makes for a fantastic first time DSLR.
With a great feature set, good quality images and a natural way of using it, it's easy to recommend the K-S2 to a wide range of people.









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Drones with brains could be airborne this year

Drone technology has developed rapidly over the past few years, but they're still pretty dim-witted - requiring an operator to be within eyesight to prevent collisions. However, that might be about to change follow research into artificial neural networks.
We've long had computers that can recognise objects and respond in real-time, but the tech and power demands have made them unsuitable for mounting on a lightweight drone. To date, research into getting drones to sense and avoid obstacles has focused on short-range technology like radar, but that often doesn't give enough warning for a fast-moving drone to avoid a power line.
So instead, a US company called Bio Inspired Technologies is taking a different approach - mimicking a biological brain. Humans and animals are generally rubbish at traditional computing tasks like adding up numbers, but great at processing input from multiple senses and responding to it.

Sky smart

Bio Inspired has built a "brain" out of memristors - resistors that have a short memory. They're hooked up like the neurons in a biological brain, giving the chip-sized system the ability to recognise and "remember" objects like clouds, birds, buildings, radio towers and other drones - as well as using a camera to estimate how far away they are.
"Objects like other aircraft can be catalogued in a vague sense, meaning 'I see an aircraft', or in an exact sense: 'I see another drone'," Terry Gafron, CEO of Bio Inspired told New Scientist. "Not only could the system fly autonomously, but it could conceivably tell the difference between a deer and a wolf from the air." That information can then be used by the drone to plot a new flight path.
Applications for the technology include Amazon's fleet of delivery drones, precision agriculture, industrial caretaking and of course the military. Gafron says it could even fly around town looking for empty parking spaces and relaying that information to you in real-time.
Bio Inspired is working on a prototype of a drone equipped with the technology, which the company believes will be ready for its first flight later this year.









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Buying Guide: The best Samsung Galaxy S5 deals in April 2015

Samsung Galaxy S5 deals

Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because the S6 is out now that the Galaxy S5 isn't worth considering. Far from it, this is probably the best time to get a great deal on a great phone from last year.
After all, you may not be worried about having an older model, but the phone shops are keen to move old stock out before they have to discount it to a ridiculous amount to get them out the door.

• Compare and filter: use TechRadar's Samsung Galaxy S5 comparison charts

The S5 does cop some flack because it's not that much of an evolution of the Galaxy S line. Indeed the S6 is clearly a reaction to that, but what the S5 offers is amazing amounts of power with some really neat features to boot.
You get a smashing camera, sleek design with a removeable battery and microSD card, plus one of the best screens on any phone. There are also nice features like the fingerprint reader and heart rate monitor.
See also our picks for the best:

• Samsung Galaxy S6 deals
• iPhone 6 deals
• HTC One M9 deals

The UK's best Galaxy S5 deal:

Free phone, unlimited calls, unlimited texts, 1GB data for £27.50pm
The best deal we can currently find on the S5 is on the O2 network in the UK and offers a free phone, unlimited calls and texts along with a reasonable 1GB of data. That will cost you £27.50 direct from The Carphone Warehouse.

• Compare and filter: use TechRadar's Samsung Galaxy S5 comparison charts

Now let's break down the best Samsung Galaxy S6 deals by network...

Best Galaxy S5 deals on EE

EE is the network to go to if you want high-speed 4G
Deal 1: Free phone, unlimited calls, unlimited texts, 5GB of Data, £31.99pmThis deal is, honestly, red-hot. That amount of data is perfect even for pretty heavy data users, and you get all the calls and texts you want thrown in. The total cost of ownership over two years is pretty reasonable too.

• Total cost over 24 months: £767.76
• Get this deal: direct from The Carphone Warehouse

Deal 2: £49.99 phone, 500 minutes, unlimited texts, 1GB of data, £28.49pmThis is a bit of a mix and match deal. It has more data than the super-cheap deal below, along with a lower handset cost and it's got a good amount of included minutes too. The total cost of ownership over two years is reasonable too.

• Total cost over 24 months: £733.75
• Get this deal: direct from EE

Deal 3: £159.99 phone, 400 minutes, unlimited texts, 500mb of data, £16.99pmWould suit a light user, but the cost of this phone over two years means that it's a great deal. The problem is you have to pay up-front for the handset, which can be bothersome for some people. It is, without doubt, the cheapest way to get the smashing little phone though.

• Total cost over 24 months: £567.75
• Get this deal: direct from BuyMobiles.net

Compare all Samsung Galaxy S5 deals

• Compare and filter: use TechRadar's Samsung Galaxy S5 comparison charts

Best Galaxy S5 deals on O2

O2 is the network with extras, including the popular O2 Priority service
Deal 1: Free phone, unlimited calls, unlimited texts and 1GB of data, £27.50pmThis is a great deal that adds up to just £660 over the two years of the contract. The data allowance should be fine for modest users, and of course calls and texts are unlimited.

• Total cost over 24 months: £660
• Get this deal: direct from Carphone Warehouse

Deal 2: Free phone, unlimited calls, unlimited texts, 3GB of data, £31.00pmThis deal costs a touch more than O2's best value package, but it gives a much more generous data allowance. For modern use, on 4G, you really want to get as much data as possible to make your web experience as great as possible.

• Total cost over 24 months: £744
• Get this deal: direct from Carphone Warehouse

Deal 3: Free phone, 500 minutes, unlimited texts, 500mb, £23.50pmUsually we don't recommend going for less than 1GB of data, but if you're just looking for a really cheap deal, and mostly spend your time connected to a Wi-FI network then this deal is so cheap it's a no-brainer.

• Total cost over 24 months: £564
• Get this deal: direct from Mobiles.co.uk

Compare all Samsung Galaxy S5 deals

• Compare and filter: use TechRadar's Samsung Galaxy S5 comparison charts

Best Galaxy S5 deals on Vodafone

Vodafone prides itself in coverage and quality, it's often a bit mean with data, but there are extras like Spotify and Sky Sports Mobile thrown in.
Deal 1: Free phone, 1000 minutes, unlimited texts, 1GB, £29pmFor less than £700 over two years you get the snappy little S5, along with 1GB of data, which should be enough for most people. There are also more than enough minutes included, and of course, unlimited texts.

• Total cost over 24 months: £696
• Get this deal: direct from Carphone Warehouse

Deal 2: Free phone, unlimited calls, unlimited texts, 6GB of data, £39pmOne for the data-hungry amongst you here. 6GB of data is a considerable amount, and while it does push the cost of the phone up to nearly a grand over two years, it does give you freedom to stream music and video more than other tariffs.

• Total cost over 24 months: £936
• Get this deal: direct from Carphone Warehouse

Deal 3: £129.99 phone, unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, 2GB of data, £26pmThe overall cost of this one is a bit more than deal 1, but you get twice as much data and unlimited calls and texts. The only downside is that you have to cough-up £129.99 for the phone.

• Total cost over 24 months: £753.99
• Get this deal: direct from Carphone Warehouse

Compare all Samsung Galaxy S5 deals

• Compare and filter: use TechRadar's Samsung Galaxy S5 comparison charts

Best Galaxy S5 deals on Three

Three is one of few providers that offers unlimited data, and Feel at Home is amazing for regular travellers.
Deal 1: Free phone, unlimited calls, unlimited texts, unlimited data, £40pmThree seems to have some problem offering free phones on decent tariffs. That said, although this one is expensive it is, as Three always is, the only way to get unlimited data.

• Total cost over 24 months: £960
• Get this deal: direct from Three

Deal 2: £19.99 phone, 300 minutes, unlimited texts, 500mb of data, £20.00pmThis is one of the cheapest deals around, and it's a good one as long as you can handle that mean data allowance. The free minutes are also a little low, but for those who are looking for a day-to-day phone, this is an amazing choice at a great price.

• Total cost over 24 months: £499.99
• Get this deal: direct from BuyMobiles.net

Deal 3: £29.99 phone, 600 minutes, unlimited calls, unlimited texts, £36pmThis is the best possible deal for unlimited data, and it's a saving on the first deal but you have to pay just shy of £30 to get it. That seems like a good compromise, as long as you can bear to pay up-front for a phone.

• Total cost over 24 months: £893.99
• Get this deal: direct from BuyMobiles.net

Compare all Samsung Galaxy S5 deals

• Compare and filter: use TechRadar's Samsung Galaxy S5 comparison charts

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How Microsoft's fast track Azure will help businesses conquer IoT

Things are getting smarter in business – quite literally. Everything from light bulbs to lifts to your product inventory can be a smart object that you can track, model and make predictions about, thanks to sensors that tell you where they are and how they're performing.
That means the Internet of Things isn't just for big businesses and smart cities; any business that has physical assets can take advantage of IoT. That's why Microsoft is bundling up all the IoT services on its Azure cloud into the Azure IoT Suite, and offering a Quick Start program of free half-day workshops to help businesses build proof of concept systems for handling their own things.
"The idea is to help them to understand some of the challenges they face in business and what IoT can offer to help them," Microsoft's Sam George told TechRadar. "IoT is an ongoing journey. The first stage is figuring out what business problems companies can tackle with IoT and moving them along in that. With this, a business can start with a very tactical business challenge, they can build a solution to help them with that and then they can expand into additional products and services. Quick Start is a way of getting on that track."

Helping SMBs

The plan is to pass on what Microsoft has learned from helping larger companies build IoT systems – like Transport for London's asset tracking and predictive analytics, NEC's FieldAnalyst system that does facial recognition, analyses the age and gender of visitors and tells you more about traffic patterns, or the system Rockwell Automation uses to monitor oil wells and petrol pumps – to smaller businesses who don't have those kind of resources.
The IoT Suite brings together some existing Azure services and some new services that will come out later this year, for a single price.
"What we're enabling with this is simplified solutions as well as extremely simple billing and we're making this available very broadly when before it has only been available to larger companies. Customers can quickly provision solutions for asset management, remote monitoring and predictive maintenance. It includes Event Hubs, Stream Analytics, HD Insight, Storm, Azure ML, map-reduce … Power BI for rich visualisation will be part of the suite.
"And there are some new services that we're developing to enable extreme scale not just for telemetry ingestion but for command and control, device management and device identity and registration. We'll announce those later this year."
Those will include services based on Microsoft's open source ConnectTheDots.io project for building sensor boards using hardware like Arduino UNO or DUE, Raspberry Pi, Gadgeteer or Intel Galileo.

Sensor selection

If you need help picking sensors to make your things smart, you can do that as part of the Quick Start, George said. "Some customers have already figured out their hardware needs, but some customers are looking to us for recommendations. We will have quite a comprehensive set of partners around hardware that we will recommend to customers if they're looking for that." The suite will even include services that will let you monitor the sensors and the data stream you're getting from them to make sure the system is collecting information correctly.
There will also be some finished IoT solutions that businesses can adapt to their own situation rather than starting from scratch.
Getting the pricing right will be important. "Customers tend to start with modest deployments and scale up from there," George points out. "We're designing the solution to scale to the millions and tens of millions of devices. But we want to make sure that a customer doesn't have to start with modest deployment and completely resign it when they scale up.
"As part of the suite we will be providing simple billing so customers can model what their costs will be as they scale from small deployments up to the massive IoT scale. If they're considering that, they want predictable pricing."

Secure and transparent

Given the number of reports on how poor the security is in many IoT devices and systems deployed so far, George thinks Microsoft also has an advantage given its experience with security and privacy. "We will provide comprehensive guidance for customers on the best way to make sure they secure their solutions in ways that are easy to do out of the box and ensure privacy end-to-end.
"One of the reasons customers are excited about Microsoft being in IoT is that they realise how seriously we take security and privacy and they want the lessons we've learned over the last few decades in security and privacy – things like threat models."
That's also going to include considering how businesses use any data they're collecting from their own customers. Microsoft's chief privacy officer recently noted that there needs to be a trust framework for the IoT that includes transparency about the data collected and how it is used.
He suggested the equation: "Trust = Privacy x Value x Security" – and noted that if any one of the variables equals zero, then trust will be zero. If the Azure IoT Suite can deliver what you want to achieve with IoT, a Quick Start session could help your business avoid some expensive mistakes.

• How Microsoft is stamping out Azure failures and improving reliability

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Updated: Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailers, news and rumors

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens

Updated: We've added in some details gleaned from the second teaser trailer. Which. Is. Awesome.
Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens is now just months away, and we could not be more excited about what director JJ Abrams is going to do with this most beloved of universes now that George Lucas has stepped aside.
The first three Star Wars films - A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi have rightly become legendary movies - but Lucas' prequel trilogy: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith suffered from the hype and burden of expectation.
But that's the past, and the future of Star Wars is looking brighter after wonderful opening trailers and high hopes from the fans that the sale of the franchise to film giant Disney can rejuvenate the franchise for a new generation.

The second teaser trailer

A brand new trailer was shown during the opening panel at Anaheim, giving us our best look yet at the movie.
Streamed to 35 theaters across the 23 countries, including in London's historic Empire Leicester Square and five other IMAX locations, the opening event saw Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and other members of the cast reunited on stage.
But most importantly, we got this...
YouTube : www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngElkyQ6Rhs

The first teaser

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erLk59H86ww

The basics

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens is (duh) the seventh Star Wars film, but the first that has been made since the purchase of Star Wars by Disney. The movie will still come from Lucasfilm but under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy.

The Force Awakens will be directed by JJ Abrams, the man who helmed the Star Trek reboot as well as classic TV shows Lost and Alias.
Scripting duties started with Michael Arndt, but moved on to Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams when Arndt departed. The other good news is that the music will once more be scored by legendary composer John Williams.

The story takes place approximately 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, but will feature the stars of the 'middle' trilogy, Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) Harrison Ford (Han Solo) and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia Organa). Also on board are Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew - reprising the roles of R2D2, C3PO and Chewbacca respectively.
The new cast includes Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina, Inside Llewyn Davies), Adam Driver (Girls), Daisy Ridley and John Boyega - along with Andy Serkis (virtually every blockbuster with a CGI character), Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina, About Time) and Swedish thesp Max von Sydow.
Lucas will still serve as a creative consultant on the show, but that's okay with us as long as he steers clear of the Midi-chlorians.

The tech of Star Wars

Star Wars has traditionally been something of a trailblazer for technology within the movie industry and, somewhat inevitably, for the ways in which watch movies.

Lucas' huge faith in digital movie shooting and playback has been pretty divisive in recent years, but his teams have had a massive impact in the worlds of sound, effects and format.
With Abrams a huge and vocal proponent of film over digital, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be shot in a more traditional anamorphic 35mm (Kodak film stock 5129 apparently).

However, the film *will* be given the IMAX treatment, with a tweet from JJ Abrams' Bad Robot production company showing an IMAX camera being used. It remains to be seen for what portions and proportion of the film take advantage of this 70mm IMAX film - which is obviously capable of much higher resolution filming.
It's important to note that whatever is used to film the visual effects are not going to suffer. Abrams loves his blockbuster SFX and has ably demonstrated this on Star Trek, but he is also very keen to use models and full scale sets to bring that lived in feeling that permeates the original trilogy and owes such a debt to the classic sci-fi films.

The effects will be generated using Nvidia graphics cards - Quatro M6000 cards to be specific, so we'll be expecting some epic space battles.
Will we see 3D? Yes we darn well will. IMAX and Real 3D are both going to be used.

Finally, given that the Star Wars films have just arrived as digital downloads, you can expect to be able to buy the new film in digital, Blu-ray and, maybe, 4K Blu-ray as well.
And, although you (probably) won't see any drones in film, you might well see bits of the film filmed by drones. Apparently the flying camera rigs are causing a real issue for the Star Wars movie makers (at least according to Mark Hamill).

• We love digging into the tech of Star Wars, so to get you in the mood here's 12 Star Wars facts you almost certainly should know
• Here's an in depth discussion about Star Wars' move from film to digital and back to film - and what that means for our favourite films
• Finally - check out Total Film's Everything you need to know about Star Wars VII

Plot facts and rumors (rumours ahead)

The facts about the plot (Kind of spoilery)

So, thankfully, this is the shortest bit of this entire story. As you would expect, rumors are thick on the ground for a film this eagerly anticipated, but the actual honest-to-goodness facts around what will happen can only be culled from the official sources.

We know for a fact that Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, R2D2 and C3PO and Princess Leia will all feature in the film, and that it will be set approximately 30 years on from the events of Return of the Jedi, where the second Death Star was destroyed and the Emperor tossed into space by his protegee Darth Vader, also known as Anakin Skywalker, Luke's father and the protagonist of the prequels.
We know that John Boyega will play Finn - confirmed as a Stormtrooper who clearly has a rethink about his life choices - and that Daisy Ridley will play Rey, confirmed as a loner scavenger on the desert planet of planet Jakku. There will be a character called Kylo Ren who will sport a lightsaber with a cool but slightly impractical cross guard and Poe Dameron (played by Isaac) as a rebel and, Isaac says "the best frickin' pilot in the galaxy."

Perhaps most thrillingly we also get to see the Millennium Falcon (a-mazing), X-Wings, Tie fighters and enough footage to suggest that the new trilogy will take its cues from episodes IV, V and VI rather than the later I, II and III.

The rumors about the plot (Spoilers ahoy!)

The principal rumor revolves around the discovery of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber (and possibly his severed hand) sparking a journey to find the legendary Jedi Knight. The iconic weapon is discovered by a farmer and Poe Dameron dispatched to collect it, but in doing so bringing the bad guys with him.
Stormtrooper Finn will realise that he may not be on the side of good, and begin to resists against (potential Sith) Kylo Ren, is locked up alongside Dameron and the two plot an escape.

Potentially the major arc will be around Luke, who is so powerful that he has gone into hiding where he can have a measure of control. Will he be good or will he follow in his father's footsteps?
There's also a cast list floating around that talks about flashbacks - so we can certainly expect to see a young Luke, we'd guess this could be showing how uncontrollable his force powers are. We also know that the venerable Max von Sydow will play a figure called The Vicar and that Rose's pub will feature.
Just a short wait until the Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens release date of Dec 18









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Is Samsung Galaxy S6 already chipping at Apple's iPhone 7 plans?

Apple has reportedly made a last-minute change to iPhone 7 production plans, enlisting the help of an additional chip manufacturer due to poor output from Samsung's camp.
And based on today's rumor about Galaxy S6 sales, it seems Samsung may be to blame.
Apple's main chip producer for the next iPhone has reportedly been Samsung partner GlobalFoundries, but Apple has given a chunk of that business to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Apple has worked with TSMC before, and this could be a blow to Samsung's chip-making business and its partnership with Apple.
If so, at least it's a blow of Samsung's own making: unexpectedly high demand for the Galaxy S6 may be keeping GlobalFoundries extra busy making Exynos chips for Samsung's latest flagship.
That could explain why the manufacturer has reportedly been unable to meet Apple's supply demands for the A9 chips that the company will allegedly use in the next iPhone, although it's unclear whether the timeline for all these events matches up perfectly.
Either way, here's hoping the same thing doesn't happen to the iPhone 7's camera, which could turn out to be a real zinger - if Apple's plans don't go awry again.

• The iPhone 6 is bigger, better, sleeker and faster

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Google will put its stamp of approval on the best DIY VR kits

At Google's I/O 2014, the search giant announced Cardboard, a head-mounted display that runs on Android to power a fully-featured virtual reality experience that's made out of … you guessed it, cardboard.
After almost a year of availability, several third-parties have riffed on the original model, manufacturing their own Cardboard "compatible" headsets made out of such materials as plastic, wood and metal.
Google encouraged this sort of engagement with the tools out of the gate, but the openness of the project has caused somewhat of an unintended problem: the reins of quality control were lost across so many different headsets in the market.
Google Cardboard's Product Manager Andrew Nartker stated: "The challenge is that each viewer may have slightly different optics and dimensions, and apps actually need this info to deliver a great experience."

To remedy this, Google has whipped up a solution called Works with Google Cardboard. It's a badge of approval that will be stamped onto third-party manufactured Cardboard kits, which makes it easy to tell which head-mounted displays meet the standards required for users to have a hurl-free VR experience.
But does this mean that the Google Cardboard kit you already have is trash? Nope. Google is working on an update to the Cardboard app which will allow users to scan a QR code created by the headset's manufacturer to instantly set-up their experience to the best one possible.

• The release date for Star Wars Battlefront 3 has been leaked

Source and image credit: Google









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Office 365 maximum attachment size gets six-fold increase

Microsoft has delivered an update to Office 365 that lets users send mail attachments that are six times larger than before.
Being able to send mail attachments of just 25MB per message is a thing of the past and administrators can now set limits of up to 150MB on attachments for Office 365 users.
The default mail attachment will remain at 25MB unless the administrator changes it and Microsoft has made the decision not to alter this due to the fact that many users will still want to keep limits at a low level.
"It turns out that some folks want an even smaller setting than 25 MB and many don't want to change the current setting at all. So instead of us foisting a one-size-fits-all setting onto everyone, we're now giving Office 365 customers the freedom to choose the maximum size setting that's right for them," explained Kevin Shaughnessy, Senior Program Manager for the Office 365 team, in a blog post.

How to increase it

Office 365 gaining this privilege won't change much for users of the Outlook Web App in Office 365 as they can "attach" a document using OneDrive that is much larger and the user at the other end can download it from the cloud.
Any administrators looking to increase the size of the maximum attachment can do so using their global administrator privileges in the Exchange Admin Center, navigate to the recipients and click the "…" icon before selecting "Set default message size restrictions."

• Check it out: Office 365 review

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