Technology

Xigmatek is releasing a new low-profile CPU cooler with two fans.

The pit stop drama from Barcelona is unlikely to be repeated at the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend...

Thanks to PC sales slowdown coupled with increase in smartphone and tablet sales, AMD slipped to fourth in MPU sales for first time since 1990s. View the full article HERE.

IntelliBreeze Software has released Gmail Notifier Pro 5.0, a major update of its Windows tool for monitoring various online accounts via the Taskbar Notification area. The tool, which allows personal users to monitor up to two supported accounts without registration, offers more than simple Google Mail notifications, and version 5.0 extends this support further by adding Microsoft Exchange and SkyDrive notifications to its feature list. Version 5.0 also adds a built-in local RSS feed server, allowing users to pipe notifications from the program into RSS readers on other platforms, including smartphones as well as computers. Gmail Notifier Pro 5.0 also promises better customization options, allowing users to define Notification themes using rules, so context-sensitive notifications can be sent depending on the content of the message. Also supported in this new build is the ability to define custom actions for message operations where multiple operations can be combined. Other improvements in Gmail Notifier Pro 5.0 include the ability of the program to monitor the user’s Facebook message inbox as part of their wider Facebook profile, a switch to the new Google Drive SPI and better folder support for IMAP. Users also get to choose their own custom encryption key for securing their Gmail Notifier Pro accounts, additional settings appearing in the Options dialogue box and a number of bug fixes, including one that boosts overall IMAP stability. Users are also warned about the loss of the Google Reader service from July 1, but the option to use Google Reader accounts remains in the new release. Gmail Notifier Pro 5.0 is available now as a free download for PCs running Windows XP or later with the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 or later installed in XP or Vista. The free, unregistered version is limited to personal use and supports just two accounts; users can purchase single-user Personal Licenses for $12.95+VAT and single-user Commercial Licenses for $19.95 plus VAT.

After watching this Let's Play of @HowlerGame, you might learn that a voice-controlled game can make you cry:

Cloud, cloud, cloud, cloud, cloud. This fairly innocuous word has become one that is bandied around with abandon, often with the misplaced notion that it adds an element of 'cool' that was not previously present. But is working in the cloud all it's cracked up to be? Is it necessary? Should you care about it? You don't have to think back all that far to remember a time when simply being online seemed like a fairly alien concept -- never mind actually working online. When the concept of Active Desktop was added to Windows 9x the notion of staying online throughout the day just to see the desktop update with the latest weather forecast, news, stock prices or other data was unimaginable. These were the days of dialup connections; every minute online cost money and downloading files of almost any size was a somewhat painful experience. For home users, the thought of using software that was not installed locally seemed incredibly futuristic. Software as a service was very much in its infancy and few people could imagine that in just a few short years internet connections would have become fast enough and stable enough to be used to deliver not just downloadable files, but also streaming videos and music, on-demand television shows and even online word processors, image editors and much, much more. But all of these things are now available to virtually everyone -- and for the most part they are available completely free of charge. In some instances the concept of working online has become so commonplace that it's easy to take some services for granted. It's likely the only time you really think about Gmail consciously is when you find yourself somewhere remote enough to be devoid of wifi networks and data connections. The prevalence of online tools -- particularly those from Google -- means that it is very easy to take them for granted, but also become blinkered and forget just what is possible. Spend a moment thinking about Google Drive. Put aside any anti-Google prejudices you may have and just consider what an astonishing piece of technology it is. Anyone with an internet connected computer can create a free account and then create, edit, store and share documents online. The only software that's needed is a web browser, everything else is taken care of by Google's servers. How cool is that? Never forget to be astonished by the web. With an online word processor, spreadsheet, presentation and drawing tool -- and your inbox not far behind -- Google is a great starting point for anyone looking to start working in the cloud. Of course, it is far from being the end of the story, and there are certainly better tools available in each of these categories, but they are a great first point of entry. These are not just online versions of applications you need to use every day, the fact that they are online tool means that it is possible to introduce features such as collaborative working and much more. Need an image editor? There are plenty to choose from Aviary is a great example, but even Adobe has got in on the act and made a version of Photoshop available online. Received a file that is in a format you don't have the software to open? Rather than seeking out the program you need, you could instead turn to any of a number of online for conversion tools which will quickly and painlessly provide you with a file you can open up online or using your preferred application. Comet Docs is one such online conversion service, but there are plenty of others to choose from. Working online using the tools and services is a great solution when you're on the move or if you're looking to keep software costs to a minimum. Of course there will be some tools you use that do not have online cousins. This does not mean that you need to find a new way of working as remote access is always an option. Even this does not mean that you need to have a great deal of traditional software installed on your laptop. If you have Chrome as your web browser you can use

Flickr is the service Yahoo forgot about between its latest Mail and homepage redesigns. It's boring, outdated, bland, ugly and uninviting and these are just a couple of the words that cross my mind right now. Thankfully, Flickr wants to change all that with the latest revamped version, announced late-yesterday. You know, maybe the cool kids will want to hang out again. The biggest change comes from the new website, which drops the old design. It's now fresh, simple and modern and gives the cloud service character. Big photos in the stream, menu bar on top and the usual suspects on the right -- Explore, Flickr Blog and a list of people you may (want to) know -- dominate the uncluttered experience. Friends get a similarly-styled profile page which emphasizes shared content. The other biggest change is that users now get 1 TB of cloud storage, for free, in order to upload content with "no limited pixels, no cramped formats, no memories that fall flat". That is a nice feature considering that modern mobile devices and dedicated cameras churn out pretty large photos compared to the days of old. Flickr, however, does not allow users to upload 1080p videos longer than three minutes. That is a pretty annoying limitation which may keep some folks away. After all, what good is 1 TB of free storage if users can't fill it up with content? To complete its renaissance, Flickr also announced a new Android app which comes with a redesigned interface. It is available to download from Google Play.

Zach Sobiech, creator of the "Clouds" song that became a viral YouTube hit, died of cancer on Monday. He was 18. "Zach was at home and at peace with those he loved most," the Children's Cancer Research Fund said in a statement announcing Sobiech's death. "Zach's life ended just as he lived, embraced by the love of his family, friends, grace and music." Sobiech had been fighting osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, for the past four years after his diagnosis at age 14. Last May, after treatment options ran out, doctors told the Minnesotan teen that he had up to a year left to live Since his diagnosis in 2009, Sobiech had been writing farewell letters in the form of songs to his friends and family. Last year, he uploaded "Clouds" to YouTube, a pop tune that went viral and currently boasts over 3 million views. Sobiech's story struck a chord with people all over the world, including some celebrities who spread his message through a tribute video Read more...More about Viral Videos, Clouds, Music, Us, and Watercooler

Orange Business Services has expanded its Flexible Computing infrastructure-as-a-service product to North America and Asia, targeting multinationals with a presence across those continents and Europe and South America, where the platform is already available. As can be expected with that sort of customer base, France Telecom’s business services arm is highlighting global business continuity support as the main reason for choosing its IaaS over the likes of Amazon or Rackspace. As the company’s international cloud chief, Chris McKay, told me, configurability is also a selling point. “There are no small, medium or large instances. You pay for what you use, but you don’t have to pay for steps in instances,” McKay said. Regarding competition from other telcos, particularly others from Europe such as BT and Deutsche Telekom, he stressed the “industrialized” nature of Orange’s offering – “we provide a catalog for the customer which has granularity of managed services which the customer can choose, from the OS to middleware to applications” – and the fact that Orange manages its own cloud data centers around the world rather than turning to outsourcing in certain locations. Orange already has around 500 customers for Flexible Computing, which allows both self-managed and fully managed usage. The platform is based on in-house technology, but McKay said Orange was also looking at “other avenues”. “Right now we’re carrying out studies,” he said. “[We will try] possibly OpenStack and a few others for an internal cloud solution at France Telecom in the next four months, where we’re going to evaluate what the right direction is for the future.” According to an Orange Business Services statement on the North American and Asian expansion, the company is on track to rake in €500 million ($644 million) in cloud revenues in 2015. It managed €113 million in 2012, which was a third up on the year before. Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.Cloud computing infrastructure: 2012 and beyondInfrastructure Q1: Cloud and big data woo enterprisesForecasting the future cloud computing market

The European Union may be trying to protect its telecom equipment industry with its recent threat to investigate China over networking equipment imports. But the move could end up hurting the chances of Western vendors intent on supplying technology to China's upcoming 4G services launch, according to analysts.Last week, the EU set off fears of a trade war with China after it said it could resort to probing the nation's sales of mobile networking gear for anti-competitive practices. In response, China has warned the EU against taking "protectionist" measures that would damage economic relations between the two governments."If the EU insists on starting the investigation, China will follow WTO [World Trade Organization] rules and Chinese law to take resolute measures to protect its rights and interests," said China's Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang last Thursday. "The EU, which started the friction, will have to take full responsibility for the resulting consequences."The EU has yet to launch its investigation, and wants to first negotiate with China over a possible resolution. But the trade tensions risk affecting the tendering process to build China's 4G networks, said Matt Walker, an analyst with research firm Ovum.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here