Start button confirmed to make a comeback in Windows 8.1, sort of

We first heard rumors about a possible comeback of the Start menu button in Windows 8.1 last week, but now sources speaking to The Verge have confirmed that this will indeed be the case, only it’s probably not what most detractors were hoping for. The newly reintroduced button will reportedly sit on the traditional bottom left corner, and will look near-identical to the existing Windows flag used in the Charm bar, but clicking...

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Study says Bing is five times more likely to find malware than Google

An 18-month study has concluded that searches on Bing are five times more likely to link users to malicious websites than searches through Google. The study, conducted by German independent testing firm AV-Test, noted that although strides have been made to curb malware-infested websites, they still manage to appear among the top search results for a given query.Data for the study was collected from close to 40 million websites spanning...

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IBM to invest $1 billion in flash storage research and development

Solid state drives could soon become a staple in the enterprise sector thanks to a recent commitment from IBM. Big Blue announced plans yesterday to invest $1 billion in the research and development of flash storage to help design and build servers, storage systems and middleware for better flash storage integration.I’ve been preaching the benefits of flash storage in desktop and notebook systems for years as the single best upgrade you...

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Nvidia demonstrates next generation Kepler Mobile graphics

Nvidia’s recent investor day was the perfect platform for CEO Jen-Hsun Huang to showcase the firm’s next generation mobile chip. Known as Kepler Mobile, the upcoming mobile hardware is derived from the high-end Kepler architecture that Nvidia uses for current-generation notebook and desktop GPUs.Huang said Nvidia made a huge investment to port the PC hardware to mobile which required them to shrink the size of the chip and reduce the power consumption from dozens of watts to hundreds of milliwatts. Energy consumption and the subsequent cooling...

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Apple to settle water damage warranty lawsuit for $53 million

Apple has agreed to pay a $53 million settlement on a class action accusing the company of denying repairs for some of its mobile devices while they were still under warranty. The payout covers the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G, and the 3GS, along with the first three generations of the iPod touch.According to several lawsuits combined in San Francisco, the Cupertino-based firm had denied repairs because the liquid contact indicator tape...

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Verizon launches budget-minded $35 prepaid plan with 500 minutes

Verizon recently launched a new prepaid plan designed to offer significant savings for those not interested in a smartphone. The no-contract plan includes 500 anytime talk minutes in addition to unlimited text and Internet usage for just $35 per month – a solid value for someone that doesn’t spend a lot of time on their mobile device but would still like to keep it around for the occasional call or emergency.As of writing, Verizon is offering...

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PC industry posts steepest quarterly sales decline in history

Sales of personal computers plummeted 14 percent in the first quarter of 2013 – the worst drop in nearly 20 years according to a new report from International Data Corp. The findings are a bit breathtaking as even the firm that produced the data forecasted a drop of just 7.7 percent.The industry as a whole sold just 76.3 million PCs during the first three months of this year. For comparison, nearly 353 million PCs were sold in 2011...

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Surprise: Internet connection not required to play 'Xbox 720' games

There’s been no shortage of Xbox rumors as we move closer to the console’s unveiling next month -- well, technically, that’s also a rumor. Although I was hoping to steer clear of further hearsay until official details were shared, I couldn’t help but bring to your attention an updated Xbox roadmap posted by VGLeaks with new details about the hardware lineup and a clarification about the whole “always connected” madness.If you recall, VGLeaks...

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Hacker demonstrates how to hijack an airplane using an Android app

A security consultant by the name of Hugo Teso claims he has created an Android app called PlaneSploit that would allow him to remotely attack and hijack commercial aircraft. He recently presented his findings at the Hack in the Box security conference in Amsterdam where, among other things, he exposed the fact that a number of aviation and aircraft systems have no security in place.Teso, a trained commercial pilot for 12 years, reiterated...

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A Golden Chance for Tech Times Visitors

This is a special gift for you because you are a part of tech times...................................................................To claim the gift click here.Copy the text to Notepad and name the file as speak.v...

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Apple nearing deal with labels for Pandora-like music streaming service

Speculation about a music streaming service from Apple has been going on for quite some time. The rumored addition would presumably complement the company’s download model on iTunes, but apparently one thing holding it back all this time is Apple’s stringent demands as well as labels’ unwillingness to play ball after feeling short-changed on their previous dealings. That could change soon, according to Cnet.A new report cites “two people familiar...

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Microsoft rumored to be working on a Google Glass competitor

Microsoft could be working on a connected device similar to Google’s Project Glass that would debut sometime next year according to a note to investors from analyst Brian White. What’s more, he believes that Google has made significant breakthroughs around software applications as it relates to Glass which will help usher in a new industry of wearable electronics.The software giant filed for a patent for a wearable glasses device...

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Microsoft creative director on always-on console: #dealwithit (Update)

Update: Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has issued an official statement on behalf of the company."We apologize for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers.  We are very sorry if this offended...

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Ubisoft readies Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon game 'set in the future'

When Ubisoft started teasing Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon earlier this week many just assumed it was an elaborate April Fools hoax. The website for the game, which is reminiscent of the old Geocities days with brightly colored animated gifs and a couple of visitor counter applets, depicted a dystopian future set in 2007 as envisioned sometime around the ‘80s complete with an overall B-movie feel. Well, apparently it was no joke.Today a number of...

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DEA claims encryption makes it impossible to intercept iMessages

An internal government document has revealed that encryption used in Apple’s iMessage chat service has prevented Drug Enforcement Administration officials from spying on suspects’ conversations. The document, seen by CNET, cites a February 2013 criminal investigation where officials said it is impossible to intercept iMessages between two Apple devices regardless of service provider, even with a court order.The DEA just recently...

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Apple's proposed spaceship campus goes way over budget

Apple’s proposed solar-powered “spaceship” campus is expected to cost an additional $2 billion more to construct than originally estimated. The total projected cost of $5 billion would make the structure more expensive to build than the new World Trade Center complex in New York City ($3.9 billion) according to five people close to the project as reported by Bloomberg. If you recall, the late Steve Jobs personally announced plans to build...

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AMD to start bundling free games with APUs later this month

AMD is reportedly prepared to take its "Never Settle" promotion to the next step by extending it to other product lines. According to Hardware Luxx, shoppers who opt for one of the company's APUs will be rewarded with free game codes. It's said that by the second or third week of April, certain A8 and A10 APUs will be bundled with SimCity, though details are still muddy about specifically what chips will be eligible. Graphics card...

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Microsoft's weak mobile presence could leave it irrelevant in 4 years

It's no secret that tablets and smartphones are gradually occupying more computing time among folks who don't need the horsepower of a full-fledged PC. Although this trend has prompted many to predict the death of PCs, it's fairer to say that high-end desktops aren't going anywhere, we're just witnessing a change of preferred platforms among standard users -- a shift that could leave Microsoft irrelevant in as little as four years, Gartner warns. "While there will be some individuals who retain both a personal PC and a tablet, especially...

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Browser war brewing: Google ditches Webkit for Blink, Mozilla partners with Samsung on Servo

It’s been roughly two months since Opera announced it was dropping its own Presto web rendering engine in favor of Webkit, the same used by Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome. The move was seen as an attempt to remain relevant in the mobile market, where Opera has usually been a strong contender, and essentially reduced the market to three major engines, with Microsoft's Trident and Mozilla's Gecko the other two. Back then Mozilla lamented...

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History of the Modern Graphics Processor, Part 2

 3Dfx Voodoo: The Game-changerLaunched on November 1996, 3Dfx's Voodoo graphics consisted of a 3D-only card that required a VGA cable pass-through from a separate 2D card to the Voodoo, which then connected to the display. The cards were sold by a large number of companies. Orchid Technologies was first to market with the $299 Orchid Righteous 3D, a board noted for having mechanical relays that “clicked” when the chipset was in use....

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