The new in the world of technology

The security of internet infrastructure devices like routers and wireless access points, along with all kinds of devices that connect through them, has been of particular concern lately. Recent  distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks have originated  in Internet of Things (IoT) devices, for example, and a slowdown in such issues doesn’t seem imminent. Although Netgear recently released firmware updates to resolve a malicious link exploit in its line of internet routers, yet another issue remains to be tackled. This time around, it’s a vulnerability that can expose the administrator password in certain Netgear routers, as  Tom’s Hardware reports . According to security firm  Trustwave , Netgear routers have actually suffered from a couple of security vulnerabilities since April 2016. Although Netgear was contacted by Trustwave on a number of occasions during the ensuing nine months, Netgear didn’t provide a direct response although it did eventually issue a security bulleti

Microsoft is reportedly moving to finalize its mission to provide one complete operating system that works on all device sizes and classes. To do this, it plans to roll out a new “shell” that will work with all devices, from smartphones to PCs. This shell is rumored to roll out in the full-blown version of Windows 10 this year alongside Windows 10 Cloud, which was thought to be a cloud-based version of Windows 10 that can run on any device, with any hardware configuration, due to its streaming capabilities. But new reports say Windows 10 Cloud won’t be a streaming operating system. Instead, the platform will target Google’s Chrome OS installed on Chromebooks, which relies on web-based apps that can be used online and offline made available through the Chrome Web Store. Chrome OS is light and fast, and is highly popular in the educational and mainstream markets due to its performance and price level. Thus, with Windows 10 Cloud, the operating system will only be compatible wit

Double Fine Productions announced its upcoming virtual reality experience  Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin  will release on February 21 for PlayStation VR. According to a press release, “…players will assume the role of Raz, an intrepid young psychic and fully fledged member of the Psychonauts — an elite group of international psychic secret agents. Gamers will see through Raz’s eyes in first person, using his various psychic powers to affect the world, and solve puzzles.” Starting directly where the original ended, Raz and pals — Lili, Sasha, Milla, and Coach Oleander — are off to save Truman Zanotto, the Grand Head of the Psychonauts. Their mission will take them to the heart of the Rhombus of Ruin, an oceanic location likened to the mysterious Bermuda Triangle. The story will take advantage of its VR platform, as players will be forced to use only Raz’s psychic powers to complete the objective. Powers from the first game such as clairvoyance, telekinesis, and pyrokinesi

Alcalel has its hands in a lot of pies. It launched a self-contained virtual reality headset, the Vision, in September alongside a virtual reality camera that shoots footage in 360 degrees. But it’s a smartphone maker at heart. The company became the world’s fifth-largest smartphone vendor in 2014 and shipped 4 million units in 2016. It launched the affordable A3 XL smartphone at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. And rumor has it more handsets are on the way. Alcatel will launch as many as five smartphones at Mobile World Congress convention in Barcelona, Spain, according to Hungaria blog  Tech2.hu . Details are scarce, but preliminary reports suggest that the phones will feature “innovative technological concepts” and retail on the affordable end of the price spectrum. Here is everything we know so far. Modular According to several reports, Alcatel’s next smartphones will feature a modular accessory mechanism similar to Lenovo’s Moto Mods and LG’s Friends. Aft

Apple has faced some unusual challenges lately, in particular, a number of issues surrounding its 2016 MacBook Pro line announced in October.  Removing legacy ports ,  reducing battery size , and other design decisions haven’t been welcomed by Apple fan base, and the machines have suffered from some  graphics and other issues . Apple also decided to drop its own Thunderbolt Display that served as the best display option to mate with the MacBook Pro, leading the company to recommend LG’s UltraFine 5K display as a substitute. Unfortunately, that display appears to have its own issue that, while perhaps not applicable to every user, is just another inconvenience for MacBook Pro customers,  9to5Mac reports . Apparently, the LG UltraFine 5K display has a problem functioning when it’s too close to a router. As 9to5Mac’s Zac Hall indicates, placing the monitor within six feet of his router caused it to malfunction and cause the connected MacBook Pro to lock up as well. Hall confirmed

Multitool and knife manufacturer  SOG  is on a real roll at the moment. Not only did the company turn a belt buckle into a handy utility kit , but it has gotten off to a fast start in 2017 by  adding a slew of other new products  to its catalog. Among the new items is the SOG Baton line of multitools, which take some of the core functionality that you would find in the company’s other classic multitools, and shrinks them down into a surprisingly compact form that is designed to go with you anywhere. recently The SOG Baton lineup includes four different products, each of which is encased in an anodized metal body and is roughly the size of a large ink marker. They are slim, sleek, and have a high-quality, substantial feel to them, without being overly heavy. Each of the four models was also designed to meet the specific needs of different users, and as a result, the tools included on them vary. At first glance, these compact multitools give very few hints as to their true nat

Rokinon is adding a new lens line designed to match the increasing number of megapixels on Canon DSLRs. Announced  over the weekend , the  Rokinon Special Performance lenses  are designed for high-resolution stills and up to 8K video shooters. Rokinon is kicking off the new series with two different focal lengths, an SP 85mm f/1.2 and the SP14mm f/2.4, both designed for Canon full frame cameras but also compatible with APS-C shooters with a higher focal length. Both new lenses are manual focus only but designed to match the performance of high-resolution sensors. The high-end lens line will be built with aluminum alloy for enhanced durability — that heavy duty construction puts the 85mm at just over two pounds (37 ounces) and the wide angle at 27.9 ounces. The  standard focal length 85mm  has the widest aperture of the two at f/1.2, making it a likely option for portrait photographers. The lens is constructed with 10 glass elements and can focus as close as 31.5 inches from th

Apple’s latest  MacBook Pro  innovation is the Touch Bar, an OLED strip above the keyboard that replaces the static row of function keys with an adaptive display that provides task-specific input options. The Touch Bar is, essentially, a programmable display that creative developers can adapt in a number of ways. Apparently, the Touch Bar’s very flexibility can be a problem for situations where a MacBook Pro needs to be carefully monitored and controlled. One example is using a MacBook Pro for taking exams, as  9to5Mac reports . Following their years of education, lawyer candidates need to take an exam to practice law. The bar exam is an important step to becoming a lawyer and the Board of Law Examiners of the State of North Carolina is working to ensure that the integrity of the exam is being maintained. Specifically, MacBook Pro users need to take an extra step,  according to a notice issued by the Board : “all applicants who will be using their laptop at the February 2017

Last week, I  pondered  the fashion value of Apple’s AirPods with  The Verge ’s Sean O’Kane and our friends from  Racked . Some people, both on Instagram (where we posted that awesome headline photo) and in the comments of the article, noted that they’d buy AirPods if they came in black. A jet black iPhone 7 with black AirPods would look sharp as hell. But, as we all know, Apple really doesn’t do the whole color options thing when it comes to complimentary accessories. White is the company’s way, unless you feel like buying Beats with your own money. Maybe it’s time for Apple to change. Apple isn’t being very flexible with its idea of future tech design. Sure, fashion designers release a single line and if you dig it you buy it, but there are a lot of clothing options available. There’s only one AirPods. Apple has always been prescriptive with its style, but at least we have iPhone color choices, even if we end up stuck with rose gold. Now, luckily, enterprising companies are

Razer, the gaming laptop and peripheral company, has acquired smartphone-maker Nextbit. A press release announcing the acquisition says that Razer “has acquired the majority of the assets of Nextbit Systems Inc. and has brought onboard the management and employees of the company,” but no financial details of the acquisition were disclosed. The deal closed on Friday, January 27th, 2017. Nextbit, which was founded by former members of Google’s Android team and a  former head of design at HTC , will remain a largely independent company, operating as a “standalone business unit under its own management,” according to the release. In an interview about the acquisition, Nextbit CEO Tom Moss said the “whole team” will be coming over and that the deal will give the company more resources than it otherwise would have access to. The Nextbit staff will remain in their current location in San Francisco and will not combine with Razer’s team at this time. Moss would not comment on any new p

Microsoft has been trying to keep PC makers away from Chrome OS for years, and consumers far away from Apple’s iPad alternative. While  Windows RT  largely failed at going mainstream, and  Windows 8.1 with Bing  was never widely used, the software giant is experimenting with another low-cost version of its popular Windows operating system: Windows 10 Cloud. References to the new variant have  started appearing  in recent Windows 10 test builds, and  ZDNet ’s Mary Jo Foley reports  that Windows 10 Cloud will be another simplified version of Windows designed to run Microsoft’s Universal apps from the Windows Store. Such a simple version of Windows 10 is clearly designed to take on alternatives like Chrome OS, and Microsoft will be able to position it as low-cost or free to use for PC makers willing to build machines with the operating system. It’s not clear when Microsoft plans to deliver this new Windows 10 Cloud version, but early references in the  Creators Update to Windows 10

Nintendo’s second high-profile mobile game was  announced just two weeks ago , but  Fire Emblem Heroes  is already slated to arrive in a just a few days. The game, a free-to-play take on the popular turn-based strategy series, arrives this Thursday for iOS and Android. It carries with it high expectations and understandable trepidation. While  Super Mario Run   was a premium mobile game with a hefty price tag and Nintendo’s most recognizable mascot,  Heroes  is drawn from one of the company’s lesser known franchises. Its complex strategy combat and impenetrable fantasy lore may not translate to a more general audience, while  Heroes ’ controversial free-to-play structure has the potential to turn off long-time fans. The good news: after I spent time with the game last week, it’s clear  Heroes  is a fun and surprisingly rich strategy game that plays to the strengths of mobile. Much like how Square Enix’s  Final Fantasy Tactics  became a superior experience when it integrated iOS

Nintendo’s second big smartphone game,  Fire Emblem: Heroes , comes out on Thursday, but you’ll have to wait a little longer than expected for the third. While the presently untitled mobile version of  Animal Crossing  was pegged for a release sometime this financial year, Nintendo now says it won’t arrive until the next, meaning between April 2017 and the end of March 2018. Nintendo announced the news alongside its third-quarter ear Pokémon Sun  and  Moon  was the biggest sales driver, moving nearly 15 million units, while  Super Mario Maker  for Nintendo 3DS  sold over two million copies.  Super Mario Run  for iOS  was otherwise the most notable release for Nintendo in the quarter, but the company isn’t saying how many of the tens of millions of people who downloaded the game in its first week paid the $9.99 for the full version. nings, in which it reported net profit of 64.7 billion yen (about $569 million) off the back of 174.3 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in revenue. The Wii

Google has  released  a beta version of Android Nougat 7.1.2 available to anyone with an eligible device in the public  Android Beta Program . This includes, for the first time, Google’s own  Pixel and Pixel XL phones , which shipped with 7.1. 7.1.2 is set for a public release in a couple of months, and is focused on small managed to buy  a Pixel and want it to be running the latest software as soon as possible, now might be the time to sign up for the beta program. bugfixes. But if you Other eligible devices include the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player, and Pixel C, which suggests that 2014‘s Nexus 6 phone and Nexus 9 tablet may no longer receive updates in the future; they‘d both been supported through the beta program until this point.