Apple iWatch” Launching With 1.7″ and 1.3″ Variants in October 2014

 many rumors are coming for Apple iwatch. Apple is working on its final launching plans to release its new product Apple iWatch in the span of the coming months . The iWatch will be available to its users with two variants 1.7 inches and 1.3 inch screen . The smart watch will be available for both the genders ie. for Men and Women . The iWatch having smaller screen size  will be available for women with vibrant colors and combinations.
  the wearable apple iWatch will  be launched  with a  OLED display . The OLED display, which will have 320 x 320 pixels resolution will provide a great vision to its users . It is heard from source that  iWatch will have a  flexible display to compete with its other big brand smart watches like Motorola, Samsung, LG etc. Samsung the brand in technology is also working on flexible display smart watch and it will also launch in the couple of months. The Apple iWatch likely to be released at the end of September or in the beginning of the October 2014. In spite of the Apple, In the technology market Samsung Galaxy Gear, Motorola Moto 360, SonySmart Watches will also be seen till the end of this year. Apple Inc. Hired a Nike Key Designer to include a sporty look at its iWatch . The images for Apple iWatch looks a bit very interesting at the moment on the web portal. As per the images Apple iWatch seems so elegant and sporty whether it goes on men or if we talk about women.So Apple iWatch will be so impressive and smart in looks. Users have to wait a bit for the Apple iWatch to be launched in the Indian Markets. Price and other specification are not yet properly disclosed.

Weekly Car Porn: Trikes Easy riding on these three-wheeled machines of fun.

Weekly Car Porn: Trikes

Easy riding on these three-wheeled machines of fun.

For those of you who like to drool over ridiculously good-looking cars, you are not alone. Car Porn is Web2Carz.com's weekly series where we bring you 10 swoon-worthy automobiles every Wednesday that will always be easy on the eyes and get you through the rest of the week! Happy hump day, if you know what we mean! This week we just want to have some fun, and what better way than with these easy riding trikes. They prove three isn't a crowd!

T-REX Modified Aero 3S

Can-Am Spyder

Peugeot Onyx Supertrike

 

Lazareth Wazuma V8F

ALIAS EV Sports Trike

Cinderella Trike

Limo Trike

Piaggio MP3 500 ABS-ASR 2014

Indian Chief Vintage Trike

'70s Lowrider

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha to launch next month

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha to launch next month

If we were to tell you that a new Samsung device called the Alpha was to launch next month and it would be a high end flagship, you would probably be happy. You would be thinking that this is an entirely new handset that you had not previously heard of, and that would be good, but unfortunately you would be wrong.
Instead, the soon to be launched Galaxy Alpha is actually the Galaxy F, or as you may also know it the Galaxy S5 Prime. A flagship device that has gone through several names but is one in the same, but hey it is a real handset, that is almost certain now. At least we have some information regarding when this admittedly exciting device will be landing.
Korean outlet KTNews Samsung will release the Alpha next month to coincide with the launch of the iPhone 6, the company will use an aggressive marketing campaign to take the fight to Apple.
"According to industry insiders on July 13, the Galaxy Alpha, which Samsung will launch next month, is a premium smartphone made of a metal. It is forecast to counter the iPhone 6 scheduled to be released in September. It appears that Samsung will rebound from its recent poor performance with a new smartphone line-up, not the Galaxy S or Galaxy Note Series."
The device will have increased specs and will be a better performer than the Galaxy S5 and will more likely match the recently launched GS5 LTE-A. However, we said that this was an exciting device, a word not often used to describe Samsung smartphones. Along with its blockbuster specs, the Galaxy Alpha (F or Prime) will be the first Samsung smartphone to have a full metal body, finally giving consumers a high build quality along with the undoubted quality of the company?s output.
We are interested to see how Samsung will fit the Alpha alongside the Galaxy S5, the company?s undisputed flagship device and core product. Interestingly Samsung has recently partly blamed high marketing costs for falling profits, but the company is still willing to pour funds for marketing the Alpha around the world in a bid to keep up with Apple's iPhone 6, when that device launches as well this fall.

HP chairman resigns from board amid health concerns

 Hewlett-Packard's board of directors now stands at 11 people, including CEO Meg Whitman and venture capital titan Marc Andreessen.

After a little more than a year as chairman, Ralph Whitworth has resigned from Hewlett-Packard's board of directors.HP confirmed the news early on Tuesday, affirming that Whitworth is departing to focus on personal health concerns. The move is effective July 16.

Whitworth will also be taking a leave of absence from his investment company, Relational Investors, which he co-founded in 1996.

A member of HP's board of directors since 2011, Whitworth was appointed interim chairman in April 2013, stepping in for then-chairman Ray Lane amid the fallout after the Autonomy acquisition debacle.

HP's recovery has been an ongoing public struggle, which CEO Meg Whitman has admitted and stressed repeatedly that this should be expected for at least the next few quarters -- if not the next few years.

Nevertheless, Whitworth had positive words for Whitman's leadership during the transition, remarking that while he is "disappointed to step down from HP's board at such an exciting time for the company, it gives me great comfort that HP is in such talented and steady hands."

An interim replacement for Whitworth has not been named yet. HP's board is scheduled to discuss the appointment of a new chairman during its next board meeting.

Hewlett-Packard's board of directors now stands at 11 members, including Whitman, Lane, and venture capital titan Marc Andreessen.

PayPal puts India on hold

 The numerous and inhibiting regulations issued by the Reserve Bank of India has made the service gradually withdraw from the country

Any company that had its biggest development centre worldwide headquartered in a country that also happens to house 1.3 billion prospective customers would consider it a foregone conclusion that the two scenarios could neatly coalesce into one gigantic opportunity. Instead, the company has decided to hold back any further plans, after having withdrawn from the country in phases.

The outfit in question is PayPal, one of the world's largest and most famous online payment systems owned by eBay. The main reason for PayPal's reticence is because of regulations mandated by the ultimate governing body that presides over financial matters in India, the Reserve Bank of India, which looks at PayPal as a quasi financial body. 

PayPal's service allows anyone with an account to hold cash in it indefinitely and this is something that the Reserve Bank doesn't like at all. Essentially, being able to receive payments for services from abroad would also allow Indians to simply hold cash in their accounts and pay for goods and services online, thereby allowing them to evade income taxes entirely. 

So what the RBI decided to do was to revamp their allowance for PayPal users, from several thousand dollars at a time, to a paltry US$500 per transaction starting March 1st of last year. If that wasn't bad enough, all account holders would have to transfer their cash to an Indian bank account within seven days, effectively closing off the undeclared income loophole. (The service would auto-transfer the cash if it languished in there for over that period.) In other words, Paypal, from functioning as a wallet, has become a mere payment gateway in the country. 

To make things worse, perhaps even absurd, was another rule that to make payments using PayPal you would have to transfer it first to the service using your credit card.

However, in a boost to Indian merchants, the RBI in July last year allowed registered merchants to receive US$10,000 per transaction, bumping it up from the earlier limit of US$3,000 (of course these merchants would have, by then, furnished all relevant details such as PAN numbers and local bank details).

But all of the other stipulations, such as the 7-day rule remained in place. So it's no surprise that the service decided, gradually, to simply pull out rather than offer something half-baked to the Indian public.

So while PayPal expanded its service to 10 other countries this month, bringing its tally to 203, it remains absent from one of the fastest growing and largest e-commerce markets in the world. "It's on the plans, but (I) can't give you a definite answer to announce that this is the timeline or strategy at this point," Sam Hamilton, vice- president of data technology at PayPal, said in the Mint article. 

Some would say that in a country prone to fraud and income tax evasion, the RBI is simply doing what it needs to in order to ensure that it—and foreign players—don’t facilitate law-breaking.

On the other hand, one wonders whether a more elegant solution isn't available so that the evolution of different kinds of payment systems, which the country desperately needs, is not stymied. 

LG G3: Lasers, metallic skin, and the quest for cool

Mobile and pc world. takes a behind-the-scenes look at the last-minute scramble to create LG's latest flagship smartphone.

In the end, it was all about the lasers.
At least, it was to LG, which considered the laser-equipped camera -- supposedly able to focus on images faster than the standard smartphone camera -- to be one of the hallmark features of its G3 smartphone, the latest flagship product of the Korean consumer electronics conglomerate.
Its predecessor, the well-received if relatively modest-selling G2, proved that LG could stand with the big boys in the industry, namely Apple and Samsung and a design-minded HTC, with a different flagship phone. But with the G3, LG set out on a path to create a smartphone it could argue was superior to the competition, which meant injecting a little cool into the phone.
Enter the lasers.
"A laser sounds pretty sexy," Ramchan Woo, head of LG's mobile platform planning division, said in an interview with Mobile And Pc World. "A laser is one of the coolest items around the world."
LG can use all the cool that it can get. Having long played second fiddle to Samsung as the other large Korean conglomerate, LG lacks any real significant brand identity. Like Samsung, LG can tap into its various component units to create solid products, but it doesn't have the cult-like following of Apple or the marketing heft of its Korean rival. With a strong contender in the G3, the experimentally curvy G Flex, and the fan favorite Nexus 5, LG is starting to build a track record of noteworthy smartphones. Even so, many remain skeptical that LG can break out as a coveted household name.
"A lot of the G3's success will depend on how much LG is willing to invest in marketing -- consumers are familiar with the LG brand, but do not seek out its phones," said Avi Greengart, who covers consumer electronic products at Current Analysis.
LG ranked in the top five among global smartphone makers in the first quarter, although it ceded its No. 3 spot from a year ago to Chinese vendors Huawei and Lenovo, according to IDC. With a 4.3 percent share of the market, it lags far behind Samsung, which controls nearly a third of the market, and Apple, with 15.2 percent of the market.

Yet the company feels it has a legitimate shot to go after the competition with the G3. When it launched in Korea in June, the G3 reportedly outsold Samsung's Galaxy S5 by a 3-to-1 margin during their respective launch weeks, according to Korean publication ET News. The G3 debuted in the US on Friday with AT&T, but will be available at all of the national carriers over the coming days.
Critically, the G3 hasalready won praise. Mobile And Pc World senior editor peter coach called it the "perfect flagship phone for early adopters," and suggested that the G3 could cause a major upset over the Galaxy S5.Whether the G3's laser-power camera is a genuinely useful feature or a gimmick remains a little unclear. CNET senior editor Andrew Hoyle conducted a test of the camera vs. the Galaxy S5, and only found it slightly faster and better in low-light conditions.
Still, in an industry where most of the improvements come in the form of better specs and bigger displays, the G3's laser is at least different.
Last-minute laser
It was December, and Woo was starting to feel the pressure.
While most companies typically take a year in between flagship smartphones, LG was on an accelerated schedule. The predecessor G2 had just been released in September, and LG was looking to launch the follow-up a mere eight months later.
The planning had actually come together in 2012, and then LG worked with Qualcomm in May 2013 to optimize the new 801 Snapdragon quad-core processor for the phone. The design of the exterior and internal components of the G3 had been locked in.
Yet executives felt the G3 still lacked that cool factor -- that difference maker that would help the smartphone stand apart from its competitors. The camera, in particular, lacked any real improvement.
Woo found the answer in the unlikeliest of places: LG's Hom-Bot robot vacuum division.
He happened to be at an R&D coffee break with engineers from the division when they started talking about a laser sensor the robot vacuum team had considered using to help gauge distance. The team ultimately decided to use other sensors. But Woo was intrigued, and had the robot vacuum engineers set up a meeting with the outside supplier of the laser.
After one demonstration, Woo was sold.
"There's something about a laser," he recalled. "It can be cool."
But Woo faced a big problem. Adding a major element like a laser required a wholesale design of the G3's mold and internal components -- impossible under the company's normal schedule. Woo had to pitch the laser sensor to Jong-Seok Park, CEO of the mobile division, and convince him to sign off on a last-minute change to the smartphone. Park was instrumental in changing the production process to allow for the laser addition.
Somehow, Woo said, the hardware team managed to redesign the smartphone mold and internal printed circuit board by January.
"I'm still not sure how they did it," he said.
LG's secret weapon

Ramchan Woo, head of LG's mobile platform planning division

Woo felt that the laser-guided camera was the G3's ace in the hole, so he opted not to alert the marketing team.
"The laser was so sensitive -- it was so hot -- that we kept it a secret," he said, a reference to the excitement around it -- and not the temperature.
When showing off prototype units in February and March, LG covered up the hole where the laser sensor would be, with executives saying only that it would be an infrared blaster. ("It is a sort of infrared blaster, so we weren't lying," Woo said.) The actual laser is located in the black pill-shaped spot to the left of the camera, opposite the flash.
On the development side, work was going virtually nonstop. LG had a dedicated facility set up in Qualcomm's offices in San Diego, and the work would be handed off between LG in Korea and Qualcomm, so there was little downtime.

Ferrari's F12 is hellaciously fast yet impeccably civilized

The Good The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta offers breathtaking performance in a beautifully sculpted exterior. The attention to detail is legendary, and the JBL sound system offers great performance

The Bad Infotainment options are predictably sparse, and road noise can be a bit grating.

The Bottom Line The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is a stunning car that is a thrill to drive fast and a pleasure to drive slow. It's lacking a bit when it comes to interior tech, but with Ferrari's CarPlay partnership, hopefully that will be changing in future iterations.

When it comes to engine placement, Enzo Ferrari famously said "The horse doesn't push the cart, it 

The look

pulls it." In other words: the proper place for the engine in a sports car is in the front, not the back. That mantra would take years for his engineers to finally overcome and start putting engines behind the driver, considered a more optimal place to reduce weight on the front and enable quicker turning. Still, Ferrari (the company) has always maintained a fondness for cars with engines up there ahead of the driver. That fondness is doubly grand when we're talking about a big V12 slung between the front wheels.

Of all the cars Ferrari has built with this configuration, the F12 Berlinetta is the fastest. In fact, before La Ferrari came along, the F12 was the fastest production car the company had ever made. With 730 horsepower on tap, a relatively trim curb weight of 3,362 pounds, and seating for just two, the F12 is a rocketship disguised as a grand tourer. It's brutally quick when it wants to be, yet mostly civilized when it needs to be.

The word "berlinetta" means "little limousine" in Italian, but memories of bachelor parties and prom will likely be far from your mind the first time you see the F12 in the flesh. It has the same long, low, dramatic silhouette as its predecessor, the 599 GTB. That shape looks amazing from outside, and just as good from within, where you're situated low and gazing out over that long nose, looking between the two flares on the hood, making room for 20-inch front wheels.

You might be surprised to learn, however, that perhaps the most beautiful portion of the car is hidden. Now, there are certainly plenty of engine compartments out there that have received plenty of detail. Polished chrome and anodized aluminum and extraneous carbon fiber have all been used in the past to dress up the lumps in cars of all sorts -- but never have I seen something like this. Lift the hood on the F12 and you're greeted by a breathtaking temple to horsepower. Lovers of big-displacement will have a near-religious experience the first time they gaze on the 6.3-liter V12 under the hood. More casual automotive fans will merely be left speechless.

OK, that's slightly hyperbolic, but the engine compartment here is a truly stunning thing to behold. I opened the hood for many a curious onlooker and not a one could retain their glee. Of course, it helps that the rest of the car looks great. Angular in places, curvaceous in others, it's a nod to many of the best parts of the 599 GTB, yet a clean step forward at the same time. The most dramatic piece is the so-called Aero Bridge, a gaping cut-out in the fenders that channels air from the hood to the sides of the car, filling the turbulent void created by the front wheels. Tweaks like this give the car significantly more downforce than the GTB, yet lower aerodynamic drag.

The interior

The interior, likewise, is a mix of new and old -- especially in the model we tested, which featured the same shade of tan hide we've been seeing in Ferraris for decades. However, beyond that and the cross-drilled pedals, everything else is thoroughly modern. The optional "Leaf" seats here are thin with backs of exposed carbon fiber. They look dramatic and racy and offer a good support, but lack adjustment. Shorter drivers will want to opt for one of the multitude of other seats Ferrari has on offer.

The steering wheel is the same as found on the Ferrari FF and 458. I'm usually not a fan of parts sharing, but this part is so good it's hard to mind. Everything you need to drive and drive fast is at hand, including the manettino for changing drive modes, buttons for wipers and turn signals, another to lift the suspension, and even the shiny red one labeled "Engine Start." Carbon-fiber shift paddles aren't far behind, though you can just reach down to the "Auto" button in the center console if you can't be bothered.

Many of the rest of the less-critical functions of the car are controlled through a twistable four-way joystick mounted on the dash, just to the right of the wheel. Things like navigation and infotainment are controlled here. It's a comfortable reach for the driver, but a bit of a stretch for the passenger. They needn't worry, though, as the display controlling all those functions is integrated in the dash just to the right of the large, central tachometer. In other words: a quick glance down for the driver, but impossible to see for the passenger.

The best way to completely wipe your Android device

The default data wipe tool in Android may not be enough to permanently eliminate personal data on your old device.

A study from security software vendor Avast has suggested that the factory reset option built into the Android operating system isn't effective in eradicating your personal data from old devices. The firm purchased 20 used Android smartphones on eBay and was able to recover more than 40,000 photos, 750 emails and text messages, and 250 contacts, along with the identities of four of the previous device owners, and even a completed loan application. To make matters worse, Avast employees were using readily available data recovery software to get the job done.

While Avast and other companies like it offer data deletion tools, there are other steps you can take to securing your personal data when performing a factory reset.

Step one: Encrypting

I recommend encrypting your device before you are getting ready to wipe it. The encryption process will scramble the data on your device and, even if the wipe doesn't fully delete the data, a special key will be required to unscramble it.

To encrypt your device on stock Android, enter settings, click on Security, and select Encrypt phone. The feature may be located under different options on other devices.

Step two: Perform a factory reset

The next thing you will want to do is perform a factory reset. This can be done on stock Android by selecting Factory data reset in the Backup & reset option in the settings menu. You should be aware that this will erase all of the data on your phone and that you should backup anything you don't want to lose.

Step three: Load dummy data

Following step one and two should be enough for most people, but there's an extra step you can take to add another layer of protection when erasing your personal data. Try loading fake photos and contacts on your device. Why you ask? We will address that in the next step.

Step four: Perform another factory reset

You should now perform another factory reset, thus erasing the dummy content you loaded onto the device. This will make it even harder for someone to locate your data because it will be buried below the dummy content.

Still feeling a little paranoid? Repeat steps three and four as many times as you like. As I mentioned above, though, for most people simply following steps one and two should be enough. Without the encryption pin, which is overwritten in the initial factory reset, it will be almost impossible to unscramble your data.

Then again, you could always take a hammer to your phone or toss it in the toilet. You know, if you aren't interested in selling it.

U.S. government made 150,000 requests for Verizon data in six months

Verizon's latest transparency report revealed the U.S. government issued tens of thousands of subpoenas in 2014 so far. But still no word on those pesky FISA warrants.

The U.S. government issued around 150,000 customer data requests from Verizon during the first half of 2014, the company said.

In its latest transparency report published Tuesday, the company complied with the vast majority — most of which were subpoenas for subscriber information on a single phone number or IP address, totaling more than 72,300. Other subpoenas demanded metadata requests, such as who a subscriber had called at a given time, the company said.
There were 37,000 court orders, which are harder to get than subpoenas because they require a judge's signature to authorize.

Out of this figure, 714 wiretaps that gave U.S. government access to user's content, were authorized. Over 3,000 trap-and-trace orders and pen registers, which give law enforcement and intelligence agencies real-time access to incoming and outgoing numbers respectively.

There were 24,257 "emergency" requests, which can be served on the company in cases where life or property are immediately threatened. 

Top secret and classified FISA warrants were not disclosed in the report, the company noted. These warrants can be served on companies to hand over data to the government for later inspection by the intelligence services.

"The government requires that we delay the report of any orders issued under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for six months. Thus, at this time, the most recent FISA information we may report is for the second half of 2013."

A little over a year ago, The Guardian published a top secret FISA warrant that ordered the phone giant to hand over its entire cache of metadata — including times, dates, and durations of phone calls, and the phone numbers themselves — on an ongoing basis.

Verizon did not comment, or confirm or deny the FISA warrant.

Little details were given on international requests. Aside from the U.S., France led the data request league table with 762 data requests, followed by Germany with 670 requests.

Australian government visualises geospatial data on National Map

The Australian government has launched a single platform containing a number of the data sets released by the government, including broadband availability and quality.
People will be able to access Australian mapping data from the one platform, with the government today launching the National Map Open Data Initiative.

A collaborative effort between the Department of Communications, National ICT Australia (NICTA) and Geoscience Australia, the National Map project combines a visual map of Australia with the data sets released by the government under the open data policy, including Australian Bureau of Statistics data, Bureau of Meteorology data, and data sets from data.gov.au.

Users can view data sets over the top of the map by selecting from a drop box on the side of the map.

The government has also included the data gathered from the Department of Communications' broadband quality and availability study, whcih was used in developing the MyBroadband website that will feed into NBN Co's revised rollout targeting areas that are said to have poor broadband availability today.

The National Map tool will be one part of the GovHack 2014 competition this week that will open up government datasets to developers to create apps and data visualisations.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that since the election there had been a "seven-fold" increase in datasets available on data.gov.au since the election, up to 3,500.

The New Zealand government has said its open data initiatives will change the way its measures goals and will change the budget process for the government.

It comes as a site dedicated to the National Broadband Network rollout has this week developed its own unofficial heatmaps for the potential speeds users in fibre-to-the-node trial sites will experience. Relying on publicly released information about the speeds available on VDSL technology over copper lines based on their distance from the node, MyNBN has estimated that the average download speeds for users across the eight locations will be between 36Mbps and 47Mbps.

The site determined the location of the nodes by trawling through Google Street View and determining where the existing Telstra pillars for the copper lines are located, and based NBN Co's potential nodes from those locations.

NBN Co has so far not released any indicative information on the types of speeds customers will receive on the fibre to the node network, except for one line test in Umina of 105Mbps down, and 45Mbps up on a copper line of 100 metres long.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5 review: Best Android tablets thanks to a super display

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5 are the eighth and ninth Samsung Android tablets released in 2014 alone. I gave you my first impressions a couple of weeks ago and am getting ready to send back the eval units. They are excellent media machines and I may be tempted to pick one up in a couple months.

Since these tablets are nearly the same, except for the display size, home button layout, and the battery capacity, I am going to include my review text on one page and then just call out where the two tablets differ.
Hardware

The most promoted and distinguished feature of these two new Samsung tablets is the large, high resolution Super AMOLED screens. The Galaxy Tab Pro models released in February were similar to these models, but used LCD display technology. These Super AMOLED screens really are quite fabulous with vibrant colors and dark blacks without the colors being too crazy like we have seen on earlier AMOLED screens. The same display technology is used in the Galaxy S5 and they all look great.

It has been a while since I used a Samsung tablet and I am very impressed by what they were able to do in regards to the thickness of the tablet. 6.6 mm in thickness is impressive, especially when you consider the Galaxy S5 is 8.1 mm thick.

One of my complaints about the Galazxy S5 is the cheap ridged edge design so it was great to see Samsung improve the edge design on these tablets that have more of a chamfered iPad/iPhone edge. The back has the same dimpled leather design as the S5 and they feel great in your hand with a more premium feel than we have seen on previous Samsung tablets.Samsung continues to use a hardware button on their devices. You will find it on the bottom of the Tab S 8.4 if you hold the tablet in portrait orientation and on the bottom of the Tab S 10.5 when you hold it in landscape orientation. There are capacitive buttons for the task switcher and back functions on either side of the hardware button. The proximity sensor and front facing camera are positioned above the display, across from the hardware button on both units.

Having the hardware button on the bottom of the Tab S 10.5 in landscape results in larger top and bottom bezels on the Tab S 10.5, but the side bezels are reasonable and the device still looks attractive and functions well.

A power button, volume button, microSD card slot, IR port, microUSB poort, 3.5mm headset jack, and dual stereo speakers are positioned around the sides of each tablet. The 8 megapixel camera and flash are found on the back of the tablets. You will also find the two accessory buttons, see my case section below, located on the back of the tablets.

Cases

Samsung sent along a couple cases for each tablet for me to test out. The Book Cover was my favorite since it gives you the ability to prop up the tablets in a couple positions for watching media content. It is available for $59.99 for the 8.4 and $69.99 for the 10.5, in a variety of colors.

Samsung also has a Simple Cover in a variety of colors for $39.99 for either size tablet. The Simple Cover attaches to the back buttons and just covers the display. It does not prop up the tablet for viewing, but does offer screen protection with no real addition to the size of the device.

These cases both attach to the Tab S via the two flush push button openings in the back. This is a handy design solution to making low profile cases for these devices and if I did not have these cases to test then I would still be trying to figure out what these two openings were for.

Software

These tablets are powered by Android 4.4 KitKat with their TouchWiz UI. As you will find, TouchWiz has been greatly scaled back and there are actually very few added Samsung apps. You have the ability to download others, but Samsung leaves that choice up to you and that is how I like it.

You will find a page of useful and functional widgets such as Quick Briefing, Paper Garden, Here & Now, Video, and WatchON all loaded on a home screen panel available via a swipe from left to right. Quick Briefing can be customized to show you three of your favorite website bookmarks, the SideSync 3 app, alarm utility, S Planner, and stock quotes.

Paper Garden is a Samsung tablet-optimized magazine service with content that is designed to provide you with an interactive experience. There are not that many content providers yet, but the reading experience was pretty slick.

Here & Now is like My Magazine on Samsung Galaxy phones. You customize the type of content you want to see, including your favorite sports teams. The Video and WatchON widgets give you quick access to these apps.

Multi-window mode is one function that sets the Samsung Galaxy tablets apart from the iPad, although there are rumors that multiple apps on one screen may be coming in iOS 8. The multi-window feature is well designed and I really like that you can setup default split screen experiences. While multi-window is better on the larger 10.5 inch model, it still works well on the 8.4 inch tablet.

Another function that sets the Samsung tablets apart from the iPad is the multi-user capability that lets you truly use the Samsung Galaxy Tabs as family tablets. You can setup full or restricted accounts and control what others have access to when they login on the same tablet. There are some limitations on what restricted accounts can access because of how deep some of the data syncs into the Android platform.

You will also find easy access to the Kid Mode application that lets you setup the tablet to share with young children, rather than using the multi-user mode.

SideSync is a promoted application and while I could get it to sync up with my Galaxy S5, the touchscreen did not work to control my S5 and I didn't see much utility in having my phone display mirrored on the Tabs. The experience is not as clean and flawless as I hoped and I think it is one of those early beta demos that needs more work.

The fingerprint scanner is as useless and unreliable on these Tabs as it is on the Galaxy S5. It seems to train well, but then doesn't work well to unlock the device.

Samsung also provides many free applications and services for you to keep or try out in the form of their Galaxy Gifts. Make sure to at least check them out since there are some items of value that may save you quite a bit of money.

Usage and experiences

These Galaxy S Tabs are very thin and are one of the best designed tablets I have ever used. If the LTE models were available now I might consider picking one up (they are scheduled for release later this year). I like using multi-window mode and the media experience can't be beat with these fantastic Super AMOLED screens.

The batteries seemed to go for days while using them via WiFi and I appreciated the large battery capacities. With my Samsung TV, the WatchON app on these tablets makes the television experience even better than one of those expensive smart universal remotes so that is one way you might justify the cost.

While Apple has many more tablet-optimized apps, Samsung is doing their part to bring you apps that run well on tablets. I like the calendar, email, and Hancom Office apps on the tablet due to the way they provide data and take advantage of the large displays.
Pros and cons

To summarize my experiences with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S devices, here are my pros and cons.

Pros	Cons
Awesome high resolution Super AMOLED display	Limited functionality SideSync software
Thin and light	Troublesome fingerprint scanner
High quality construction and design	Still need more tablet-optimized apps
microSD expansion card slot
Long battery life
Infared port to help serve as excellent couch tablet
Multi-user support for family servicePricing and availability The Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is available for $399.99 for the 16GB model and $449.99 for the 32GB model. The Tab S 10.5 is $100 more at $499.99 for the 16GB model and $549.99 for the 32GB model. I personally would pay the $50 more for double the internal storage since you may fill up the internal storage with high end applications and games as Android no longer permits you to install apps to the microSD card. You can find these models in white or bronze. It is interesting that there are no black or gray models, like we see on phones. I tested the 8.4 in white and the 10.5 in bronze. I like the bronze better since the front is not as stark as you enjoy media on the gorgeous display. The competition The competition for the Tab S 8.4 includes the Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display, Google Nexus 7, and LG G Pad 8.3. The iPad Mini starts at the same $399 price, but has no memory expansion capability. The Nexus 7 is priced a lot lower with the 16GB model at $229 and the 32GB model at $269. The LG G Pad 8.3 can also be found now for about $280 and is an extremly well designed tablet. The competition is pretty fierce at the smaller tablet form factor and it is tough to justify the high price of the Tab S 8.4 when you look at the competition. There are not quite as many large screen tablets, but we do see the iPad Air starting at $499. A 16GB Google Nexus 10 is priced at $399. The Galaxy Tab S 10.5 is much better designed than the Nexus 10, but it is still tough for Samsung to compete in the tablet space with the Apple iPad. Specifications     Processor: Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5420     8.4 Screen: 8.4 inch 2,560 x 1,600 Super AMOLED     10.5 Screen: 10.5 inch 2,560 x 1,600 Super AMOLED     RAM: 3GB     Internal storage: 16 or 32 GB     External storage: microSD up to 128 GB     Cameras: 8 megapixel rear and 2.1 megapixel front facing     Battery capacity: 8.4 - 4,900 mAh, 10.5 - 7,900 mAh     8.4 Dimensions: 212.8 mm x 125.6 mm x 6.6 mm at 294 grams     10.5 Dimensions: 247.3 mm x 177.3 mm x 6.6 mm at 465 grams Conclusion It's too bad Samsung couldn't have had these available in February rather than having to release similar tablets so close to each other. I also wish their cellular models were ready to go at launch and don't think they take anything away from sales of the WiFi only model. The tablets are very well designed and full of features, but they also are priced at the high end of the tablet market. If multi-window or multi-user use is important to you then these Tabs are the ones to get. Contributor's rating for Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5: 9 out of 10

The 100 Best Android Apps of 2014

Look at your Android phone and/or tablet. Has it started to seem just a little too familiar, too predictable? Have you been tempted by the siren song of iOS 8 after the slew of announcements at WWDC? Stay strong, my friends, and behold our list of the 100 best Android apps on Google Play. Everything you need to spruce up your phone and/or tablet and re-ignite your love affair with Android can be found within.
Oh My Gosh, That Is So Many Pages
It would be foolhardy to think that anyone could possibly look upon the perfect majesty of these apps at once and not be struck blind. But if you like toying with fate you can click through the massive slide show.
To safely convey these 100 best apps, we've broken the story into pages, each carefully categorized. That way, you can avoid the sections you don't want and jump to the ones that you really want to see. Also, if you're interested in more Android games (be honest, you are) check out our list of The 10 Best Android Games. You're welcome!
Hey, You Missed Something!
Unfortunately, we have yet to physically and mentally merge with the Google Play store, becoming an omnipotent being of total app knowledge. Until that glorious day, we'll rely on our own humble judgment and your feedback. If we missed something, or you have a recommendation, be sure to drop us a line in the comment section. We also have other lists highlighting critical free Android apps, the best messaging apps, and Android antivirus for your reading pleasure.
This App Is Stale
While 100 apps is a reasonably manageable slice of the one million plus apps in the Google Play store, it's still a challenge to keep up to date. That's the nature of a platform as enormous and dynamic as Android. We update the list frequently to keep it from becoming an ossified mess filled with broken and unhip apps. Hopefully, the next time you read this, there will be some new gems for you to discover.

13 Microsoft Word Tips You Need to Learn Now

Regardless of what computer platform you prefer or what type of hardware you have, the chances are very good that at some point in your life, you've been annoyed by a helpful little animated paper clip.Microsoft Word is so integral to our digital lives that it has successfully commandeered the actual word, "Word." If you refer to the once-nonsensical phrases like "Word docs," "editing in Word," or "a Word update," people will know exactly what you are talking about. That's the power of ubiquity.Even though the program has since been sucked into the greater branding gravity of Microsoft Office, Word still stands alone as the program with which everyone—regardless of their technological prowess—is at least somewhat familiar.The long-dominant word processing software faces a new class of cloud-based competition, and Microsoft has even gotten in on the action with Office 365. But the well-known Word software still remains the go-to tool for producing all our important docs (except for Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin, who keeps it insane-person old school by writing on a DOS word processor). And why shouldn't it be? Word is dependable, customizable, and with lots of baked-in functionality.Old veteran Word users like yourself probably think there's nothing left to learn. Oh, but there's always room for more knowledge! Here we present 13 functions that aren't hidden, but aren't exactly spelled out either. Click through to uncover little semi-hidden treats that only power user super ninjas know.Note: These tips were tested using Microsoft Word 2010 on a PC and Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac. Not all tips may be available or in the exact same locale on your version.

Big data creates storage security headaches for CISOs

According to the analysts 80 percent of co
A central requirement of big data could be the need for a data-centric approach to security. That might sound obvious enough — if you are going to stick all your vital corporate data in huge repositories then it might be an idea to make sure those repositories are secure — but apparently it is not be obvious to many.

According to the analysts at Gartner, by 2016 more than 80 percent of organisations will fail to develop a consolidated data security policy across all their data silos.

It's not difficult to see how Gartner's analysts could come up with this worrying scenario. Among all the many strategies it is dealing with there are two particularly absorbing ones — big data and and the cloud and the diversification of assets that is inherent to the cloud.

So while, on the one hand, big data means consolidating information, on the other hand the cloud is spreading it. According to Gartner, organisation should be concerned about the security implications of these trends taken together.

As principal analyst, Brian Lowans puts it: "Businesses have traditionally managed data within structured and unstructured silos, driven by inherent requirements to deploy relational database management systems, file storage systems and unstructured file shares."  

The arrival of big data and cloud storage environments is transforming the way in which data is stored, accessed and processed so chief information security officers (CISO) need to develop a data-centric security approach themselves.

"Unfortunately this is not common practice today," Lowans said.

Access to public cloud services and infrastructure further complicates this process due to the potential access by cloud service providers and security vendors, said Lowans. Further, data flows will inevitably result in a growing need to monitor and audit access, and to protect data across silos.

The market is moving towards the adoption of standards for controlling access, but we are not there yet, he said, offering two suggestions for improving things.

Firstly, CISOs should evaluate current implementations of DCAP (Data link switching Client Access Protocol) solutions against their data security policies. They should address databases, unstructured data, cloud storage and big data silos.

Secondly, CISOs should try to identify gaps in the current implementation of their data security policies and review the risks against potential DCAP solutions.

Lowans also highlighted another potential problem. "Business stakeholders may not be accustomed to having strong relations with security teams," he said, "and CISOs will need to build partnerships with them to develop new management structures for data security accountability and to identify cross-functional training needs."

It is not difficult to read between the lines here. Within organisations the business side and IT security may not always have been on the closest of terms, he is saying, but the imperatives of the world today will mean that that will change.

For details of the Gartner paper, Big Data needs a data-centric security focus, see here.

Brazil delivers World Cup broadcasting tech

The project was completed in a rush - but it's all ready to go
Government-owned telecommunications company Telebrás completed the tests for the World Cup broadcasting infrastructure successfully earlier this week.

Telebras is responsible for the tech supporting the video and audio high definition broadcasting of the World Cup matches. Its fiber optic network interconnects the 12 host venues to the International Broadcast Coordination Centre (IBC) in Rio de Janeiro, with redundant 30 Gbps links to ensure image quality.

Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology is also being employed to allow simultaneous transmission of high-definition imagery, with equipment developed locally.

According to the company, the infrastructure is being incorporated into the Telebras metropolitan networks and is a World Cup legacy that will support the National Broadband Plan by offering high-speed broadband at lower prices.

Earlier this year, when the Brazilian government expressed concerns over the World Cup infrastructure delays, Communications minister Paulo Bernardo said that the broadcasting set-up would be ready in time for the tournament, but it would be completed "in a rush."

Apple's next big move: Capture three new ecosystems

 At Apple's WWDC 2014 event this week, most of the attention will be focused on new product updates. The real moves you should keep an eye on are three big ecosystem plays.

While the world continues to wait for Apple to enter the "exciting new product categories" that CEO Tim Cook has been promising for over a year, the world's largest tech company is quietly staring down three new opportunities.

As you follow the updates coming from WWDC 2014 this week, keep an eye out for developments in the following three ecosystems where Apple is poised to make a huge impact.

1. Digital health

For the past couple years I've been saying that if Apple decided to make a smartwatch the coolest thing it could do would be to build a platform and an ecosystem around it that would allow it to connect to various health devices, from heart and oxygen monitors at the doctor's office to exercise equipment at the gym to a digital scale at home.

Think of the way a whole ecosystem of accessories for music emerged around the iPod. The sheer scale of the iPhone, especially in the U.S. market, makes it ripe for an ecosystem play in health care. There are already heart monitors and blood pressure monitors and wireless scales that connect to the iPhone. Apple just needs to go a step farther and create some standards for using wireless protocols to connect and create a common software platform to integrate the data.

For connecting, Apple could use Bluetooth Low Energy, in similar ways to what it's doing with iBeacons (which we'll talk about in a moment). In terms of the software, Apple may already have that in the works. Reports have been surfacing since the beginning of 2014 that Apple will release a new app called Healthbook as part of iOS 8. Key watch for potential Healthbook announcements at WWDC this week. And, of course, if Apple does release an iWatch then this ecosystem play will have already laid the groundwork.

2. Smart home

Similar to digital health, another area that has been long overdue to transform for the 21st century is the smart home (a.k.a. home automation). A report surfaced last week that Apple is going launch a smart home software platform at WWDC 2014. The software would allow third party hardware and software providers to connect their smart home systems to the iPhone and iPad.

Presumably, Apple would build a smart home app into iOS 8. According to the report, this would allow an iOS device to control everything from a home security system to home lighting to smart appliances. This could be related to the patent that Apple was awarded in November 2013 that shows a system of home devices and actions working together, with special functions based on location. For example, the lights could detect when you enter the room and automatically turn on or the garage door could detect when you pull up and automatically open.

SEE: Apple, Cook, and the power of evil empires doing good (TechRepublic)

3. Retail experience

The retail store experience remains much as it has for decades in terms of the ways people wander through stores, choose products, see promotions, and check out when they are ready to buy something. With over a decade of experience running its own highly profitable retail stores, Apple has now been preparing to digitize the retail experience more broadly with iBeacons.

Using Bluetooth LE, iBeacons are small, inexpensive tokens that can be placed in various locations and then communicate with nearby phones. They can be used to help shoppers navigate stores, get product information, get alerts about special deals, save shopping preferences, and do lots of other store-specific activities. Plenty of big retailers are experimenting with this. But right now, one of the biggest hang-ups is that you have to use lots of different store apps to get the full experience. If Apple could streamline this in iOS 8 and create a more coherent platform and user experience then this looks like it's ready to take off.

Just last week, General Electric announced that it was integrating iBeacons into its new LED light fixtures for businesses, including Wal-Mart. So again, this is another area where Apple already has ecosystem momentum building.

Follow WWDC 2014

To follow all of the news and analysis of Apple WWDC 2014, you can watch our live blog and live show over on CNET at 1:00pm Eastern on Monday (June 2) and then come back to ZDNet for all of the analysis of what it means for businesses and the enterprise.

ZDNet's Monday Morning Opener is our opening salvo for the week in tech. As a global site, this editorial publishes on Monday at 8am AEST in Sydney, Australia, which is 6pm Eastern Time on Sunday in the US. It is written by a member of ZDNet's global editorial board, which is comprised of our lead editors across Asia, Australia, Europe, and the US.I'm not talking about a smartwatch, a phablet, or an HDTV set. I'm talking about three ecosystems that Apple appears ready to enter in a much larger way. In all three cases, Apple could become a catalyst for bringing the digital revolution to more people in more places -- exactly the kind of the stuff they love to chase (and then make two-minute video essays about it to play during events like WWDC).

Sleek, savvy, simple: The future of the "Connected Car"

Someday our vehicles may do the thinking for us, connecting us on and off the road.

Imagine a world in which your car does the thinking for you, simplifying your role as driver and saving you time on the road. Imagine a world in which your car could navigate you to an open parking spot or notify you of a nearby sale on items you love.

Your car would recognize your interests and could easily direct you to destinations tailored to your wants and needs.

Endless possibilities

Yesterday morning on my way to work, I was running incredibly late and knew that by the time I arrived at the office, parking would be impossible.

But wouldn't it be cool if my car could point me in the direction of an open parking garage and inform me of any associated fees as I approached my destination? This would cut at least 30 minutes from my morning commute, letting me to stroll into the office with time to spare before my 8AM. Instead, I ran, to find the meeting room just in the nick of time.

After my morning of back-to-back meetings ended, I decided to use my lunch break to run a few errands. Digging through my purse, I realized I left my coupons at home on the kitchen table and didn't have time to look online for printable vouchers. Wouldn't it be convenient if my car were able to display deals based on my current location and then navigate to those stores?

In today’s world, who would mind saving some extra time and money?

As the end of the day approached, I was exhausted and ready to hit the road. About half way through my commute home, my gas light blinked and, to my surprise, the tank was on "empty."

Life would be much easier if my car could send automatic alerts when the gas tank was low and guide me to a close-by and cost-efficient gas station. Such forewarning would again save money and the misfortune of potentially getting lost searching for a gas station at an unfamiliar exit on the highway.

The future is upon us

Soon, my dreams of an enriched driving experience may become reality.

SAP has teamed with BMW Group Research and Technology to create an innovative research prototype based on the SAP HANA Cloud Platform. With the extended ConnectedDrive system, we may be able to enjoy the convenience of a connected and social world right from the dashboard of our vehicles.

How would it work? You could create a mobile profile based on customized preferences like where you like to shop, your frequent destinations, foods you enjoy, your favorite restaurants, and so on. Based on your profile, your car could alert you to personalized offerings and direct you to the nearest store so that you'd never forget to buy an anniversary card or birthday gift again.

If a donut shop near your current driving location was giving away free coffee and your profile showed that you run on caffeine, your car could alert you of the deal and navigate you there. What better way to brighten your Monday morning blues than with a cup of fresh steaming hot coffee — for free?

Enhancing your experience

When discussing the innovation that SAP and BMW Group Research and Technology are teaming to create, the term "Connected Car" is an understatement. The SAP HANA Cloud Platform has the advanced technology to create infinite possibilities for the future of the automotive industry that keep the driver at the center of the experience. Maybe now, not only could your car deliver you from point A to point B, but your vehicle could enhance the art and science of living.

And for me, well, you’d better believe that I’d program my car to take me straight to the best "happy hour" deal every Friday around 5PM.

Google Glass recruits von Furstenberg: Will fashion mavens wear them?

The glasses could be fashionable, but the big question is whether that bar on the side of the frame will always make you a Glasshole 

whether at work or play.

Google Glass is getting some fashion help from designer Diane von Furstenberg, but it's unclear whether the wearables can expand beyond its roots---developers---and attract women.

In a post, Google noted that it will have "chic eyewear" from von Furstenberg and the collection will be on sale June 23.

Google Glass will have new frames and shades.

Wearables: Fit For Business?

The glasses could be fashionable, but the big question is whether that bar on the side of the frame will always make you a Glasshole---a term that must make Google cringe.

For Google Glass to be a real technology contender at work and play it'll have to broaden its reach and customer base. Big names like von Furstenberg are a start, but time will tell if Glass gets momentum beyond that.

As for the workplace, Google Glass has to reach more than developers. According to research from our wearables for business special report, enterprises are a bit fuzzy about what they would do with wearables and only 11 percent of them have implemented wearables at work.

Asian cities have among the highest social media adoption worldwide, and yet few marketers in the region have the knowledge or tools to tap digital tools and capitalize on the potential market opportunity. Asia houses the largest number of Facebook users, but only one third of marketers here are familiar with the use of digital marketing tools, noted Kiran Raghavan, Facebook's head of Asia-Pacific market development and PMD program, citing findings from the Digital Knowledge Survey 2014.

Facebook aims to plug Asia's digital marketing gap

Region may be home to the largest number of Facebook users, but few marketers have the tools or knowledge to capitalize on the opportunity.

Asian cities have among the highest social media adoption worldwide, and yet few marketers in the region have the knowledge or tools to tap digital tools and capitalize on the potential market opportunity.

Asia houses the largest number of Facebook users, but only one third of marketers here are familiar with the use of digital marketing tools, noted Kiran Raghavan, Facebook's head of Asia-Pacific market development and PMD program, citing findings from the Digital Knowledge Survey 2014.

To address this gap, the social media giant embarked on its Preferred Marketing Developer (PMD) initiative to grow the local ecosystem in this region and encourage more digital marketing tools to be built.

Part of its efforts included enticing international PMDs to expand their operations to this part of the world. In the past three months, 12 global PMDs have set up shop in Singapore while 20 more have done likewise across the Asia-Pacific region including India, Australia, and Hong Kong.

These include Socialbakers and AdParlor, which have begun operating in Singapore, Raghavan said in a phone interview Wednesday with ZDNet. About 10 of the PMDs are focused on digital advertising, he added. Facebook offers marketing tools across three key areas: Ads, Insights, and Pages.  

There is, however, also concerted effort to nurture local PMDs in the region since these developers would better understand local nuances and able to scale projects faster, Raghavan said. Three local marketing developers have been signed in Tokyo, Seoul, and Sydney, with another nine in various stages of onboarding, he said.

Facebook is focusing its PMD efforts in Southeast Asia, Greater China, and Australia over the next 12 to 24 months, he added.

PMDs are mostly technology providers that work in tandem with advertising and media agencies to create campaigns for customers, he explained. A number of PMDs, for instance, have specialized in online search, statistical analysis, as well as data analytics, and expanded these capabilities to become PMDs.

He declined to reveal customer names, saying Facebook is currently building its case study portfolio, but said most PMD projects are focused on analytics and improving efficiencies, so agencies can save on manpower to manage campaigns.

One agency, for instance, used to spend 100 to 200 hours on setting up, monitoring, tweaking, and optimizing campaigns for their clients. Through the use of PMD tools, which automate and take action on campaigns based on preset rules, the agency reduced the time to 15 percent of what it used to take, he said. He added that agencies can also view a single dashboard detailing all necessary metrics and campaign costs.

Raghavan cited another example where a PMD was able to tap real-time weather information to decide what items should be promoted to customers of an e-commerce site. "This allowed the client to take real-time information the PMD tool was generating from weather, to more accurately target customers. [Sales] conversion rate was 40 percent higher than a normal day as a result of the tool," he said.

He added that at a hackathon hosted by Facebook last October, which shortlisted six candidates shortlisted from India, Taiwan, Korea, and Singapore, one Indian candidate featured a momentum-based advertising tool. It collated data from various online sources including RSS feeds and Twitter to capture issues that were trending in real-time and that advertisers could tap. For example, the tool identified that large-loop earrings were trending and people online were talking about earrings in the context of celebrities. Based on this, the Indian candidate worked with advertisers that carried large-loop earrings their inventory and promoted these products in markets across the region where there were trending more than others.

Raghavan pointed to e-commerce, travel, online retail, and online games as potential segments that PMD tools have the most potential, because advertisers in these markets typically have to target large numbers of potential customers and have more need for optimization and targeted marketing.