Technology Simplified

SiriusXM this week offered a few more details on how it plans to leverage its newest asset, Pandora, following its $3.5 billion acquisition of the streaming music service last year, which officially closes on Friday. At the time of the deal, the company spoke about the potential for cross-promotion opportunities between the services and new subscription packages. Now, those efforts are getting off the ground — starting with a promotion within the Pandora app for SiriusXM subscriptions, followed by the launch of Pandora channels within the SiriusXM app. Currently, SiriusXM offers a variety of programming packages , ranging from a cheaper ($11/mo) “Mostly Music” sampling of channels all the way up to a premium “All Access” ($21/mo) subscription. It also runs various time-limited promotions that offer its service for as little as $5 per month for a set period, like six months. According to Sirius XM CEO James Meyer — speaking to investors on the Q4 earnings call on Wednesday — the com...

It seems inevitable that the high seas will eventually play host to a sort of proxy war as automated vessels clash over territory for the algae farms we’ll soon need to feed the growing population. But this rocket-launching robo-boat is a peacetime vessel concerned only with global weather patterns. The craft is what’s called an unmanned semi-submersible vehicle, or USSV, and it functions as a mobile science base — and now, a rocket launch platform. For meteorological sounding rockets, of course, nothing scary. Autonomous subs spend a year cruising under Antarctic ice It solves a problem we’ve seen addressed by other seagoing robots like the Saildrone: that the ocean is very big, and very dangerous — so monitoring it properly is equally big and dangerous. You can’t have a crew out in the middle of nowhere all the time, even if it would be critical to understanding the formation of a typhoon or the like. But you can have a fleet of robotic ships systematically moving around th...

UK SMEs feel positive about the economy and their strategies for the future despite facing a host of challenges in 2019 according to a new study from American Express conducted by Oxford Economics. The research, which is conducted annually among senior executives and decision-makers in SMEs across 15 countries, shows that UK SMES are remaining resilient even when faced with old and new business challenges. Of those surveyed, over two thirds (64%) forecast policy, legal and regulatory changes as the greatest threat to SMEs in 2019 followed by economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit and trade relationships . Cyber and data security is an emerging treat to UK businesses and 31 percent ranked it in their top three external business threats this year compared to only 11 percent last year. Revenue growth may be the most important long-term objective for UK SMEs but organisations have scaled down their profit projections for the year ahead showing they're more realistic about what the...

Over the last few years, Microsoft’s Surface Pro lineup has consistently pumped out some of the best Windows tablets and 2-in-1 laptops we’ve seen. But, when the Surface Pro 6 launched with few substantial changes, we started wondering when we could expect more meaningful improvements on the Surface formula. Cue the Surface Pro 7, which we’re starting to see all kinds of patents for coming out of the woodwork that can change how we use Microsoft’s tablets.  With Intel’s Ice Lake processors launching this year, and with the rumors of a new USB-C magnetic charger in the works at Microsoft, the Surface Pro 7 may end up being one of the best Surface devices yet. But, because nothing has been confirmed, keep in mind that this is all rumors and educated speculation. Regardless, we will keep this article updated with all the latest news and rumors alongside our wishes, so you have an idea of what to expect. Cut to the chase What is it? The next Surface Pro tablet When is it out...

Whenever you carry important data around with you on a USB stick or external hard drive, you're running the risk of other people getting hold of it, either through physically stealing the drives, or leaving it somewhere public. In this guide to the best secure drives of 2019, we look at the top data storage devices that will allow you carry private data around with you, safe in the knowledge that if the device itself becomes compromised, your data will remain safe. The best secure drives will use either software or hardware encryption (or best of all, a combination of both), to stop other people accessing and viewing your data. Many of the best secure drives on this list will have ways to prevent access, such as a physical keypad, and will also come with rugged, tamper-proof, cases that can further protect your files. We don't often get Indiegogo projects on our list but we're making an exception for the EyeDisk , which hails itself as the first unhackable USB flash dr...

Account takeover-based (ATO) attacks now comprise 20 percent of all advanced email attacks according to new research from the email security and protection company Agari. The firm's recently published Q1 2018 Email Fraud & Identity Deception Trends report found that ATO attacks are rising in popularity among cybercriminals because they are more difficult to detect than traditional attacks and can bypass email filters since they are sent from a real sender's email account. Senior Director of Threat Research at Agari, Crane Hassold provided further insight on the treat posed by ATO attacks, saying: “Credential phishing was already a huge risk for organizations because of the potential for data breach, but now there is a new wave of account takeover attacks leveraging compromised accounts to commit additional fraud, which evade traditional email security controls. Business email compromise attacks are still very active, especially against C-suite targets.”  Advanced emai...

First released in 1997, Final Fantasy 7 immediately cemented its place as one of the best JRPG titles around and introduced an entire genre to millions of gamers globally. Due to the success of Final Fantasy 7 over 20 years ago (and the pleads from die hard fans), Square Enix is releasing a remake. Not only because that seems to be the done thing these days but also because it’s something fans genuinely seemed to want – when the Final Fantasy 7 remake was announced as being in the works at E3 2015, the news was raced straight to our nostalgia organ like a chocobo released from the stables. The path to release hasn’t been smooth for this game, though. After two years in development we’re still not entirely sure when we’ll see the Final Fantasy 7 Remake released.  With news and rumors still churning around the great wide web but official information still pretty thin on the ground, we’ve gathered up everything we know has been confirmed and all the rumors right here for your perus...

After talking about its 28-core processor for what we feel like was forever, Intel is finally releasing the Xeon W-3175X.  The new workstation processor packs 28-cores, 56-threads and a whopping $2,999 (about £2,280, AU$4,120) price tag. That’s quite the cost even compared to the most expensive HEDT chips, including the $1,979 (£1,919, AU$2,999) Intel Core i9-9980XE and $1,799 (£1,639, AU$2,679) AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX Of course, this is a much hardier enterprise-level CPU designed to take on the biggest workloads, such as creating and rendering media, film editing and 3D graphics rendering. Not only will the Intel Xeon W-3175X do the work, it’ll work faster than other chips, thanks to its 3.1GHz base frequency, 4.3GHz single-core Turbo clock and 38.5MB of L3 cache. Likewise, this chip's supporting Intel C621 chipset is meant for production system builds. The chipset brings support for up to 68 PCIe lanes (44 PCie 3.0) and six-channel DDR4-2666 memory, which will allow us...

If you're in the market for gaming accessories, then today is your lucky day. Amazon is having a one-day sale on Logitech's top-rated PC gaming accessories and speakers. You can save up to 70% on gaming keyboards, headsets, mice and more, and save $200 on a Logitech surround sound speaker system.   Today's highlighted deals include the Logitech MX Master wireless mouse for 50% off, Amazon's Choice G430 Headset for $29.99, and the best-selling MK270 wireless keyboard and mouse for only $14.51. Amazon's top Logitech deal of the day is the Z906 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System that's on sale for $199.99. That's a $199 price drop and the lowest price we've seen for this top-rated speaker system.  The Logitech Z906 delivers 500W of powerful sound and includes digital and analog inputs, a stack control console and a wireless remote. You'll experience true cinema-quality surround sound with five satellite speakers, a subwoofer and inputs to connect...

New research from the U.N. World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has revealed that China and the US are well ahead of the global competition in the race for AI dominance. According to the study, which analysed international patent filings, scientific publications and acquisitions, IBM has the largest AI patent portfolio with 8,920 patents putting the US tech giant ahead of Microsoft with 5,930 patents and a group of mostly Japanese tech conglomerates. China meanwhile accounted for 17 of the top 20 academic institutions working on patenting AI with a strong focus on deep learning. WIPO's Director General Francis Gurry explained how both countries have made significant progress in terms of AI development at a news conference, saying “The U.S. and China obviously have stolen a lead. They’re out in front in this area, in terms of numbers of applications, and in scientific publications.”  Patents galore Despite continued accusations that China has engaged in corporate es...

Navigating the swarms of cheap laptop deals can be a bit overwhelming with so many options to choose from here in the UK. Luckily for you, we're checking through the net's laptop sales throughout the year, so we know how to spot a bargain. With such a competitive scene in the UK for laptop deals, there's plenty to choose from all year round, so if you need to buy a new laptop sharpish, we should be able to find you something that fits with your budget nicely. We've even split this guide into sections based on price. We'll give you a bit of info about each laptop we highlight too, so you can see some specs at a glance before you click through to the store and have to browse their lengthy descriptions for those vital stats you're after.  Not everyone needs a super powerful laptop, especially if you just want something for the basics like casual browsing, email and document editing, so don't feel like you have to spend £500 on a laptop for that - you can get...

What’s better than a free game? Pretty much nothing. Except when it’s terrible and you’ve wasted time on downloading and playing it. Fortunately, there are loads of fantastic free games for Android – and we list the very best here. Whether you’re into word games, endless runners, platformers or puzzles, there’s something here for you.  Click through to the next pages to see each category or read on below for our pick of the week. And check back weekly for our latest pick. Free Android game of the week: Don’t Trip! Don’t Trip! is an endless runner with a unique vantage point, given that it’s played from above. You plant a massive foot on the ground, aiming to avoid stepping in anything gruesome or deadly, and then twist your phone around to find free space for your other foot. There’s a great physicality about the game that comes from this oddball control method, which can only really work on a handheld touchscreen device. Also, the distinctly zoomed-in nature of the viewport...