FTC slaps Asus with 20 years of security monitoring

Naughty Asus! 

Their consumer products are tempting but I get this has knocked confidence for a few people. 

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2016/02/24/ftc-asus-20-years-monitoring/1

Epic Games adds Vulkan support to Unreal Engine 4

Linux gamers are banking a lot on Vulkan and heres hoping the performance gains are realised!

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2016/02/22/vulkan-unreal-engine-4/1

Developer watches as hackers break into a server

Good read and a fascinating look at the process used.

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2016/02/10/developer-watches-as-hackers-break-into-a-server/

Well played Microsoft - They've purchased SwiftKey

Although MS probably have one of the best default keyboards on Windows Phone they've gone and bought SwiftKey as they continue to push products on the Android and iOS platforms. Smart move as SwiftKey along with Swype have massive popularity in the enhanced input market.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/02/03/microsoft_buys_swiftkey/

IEEE 802.11ah has been sees official release.

"The Wi-Fi Alliance has officially launched its new WiFi“HaLow” technology, which is based off the long-in-development IEEE 802.11ah standard and uses the 900MHz radio spectrum band in order to deliver a longer range and lower power network solution."
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2016/01/longer-range-wifi-halow-networks-coming-via-900mhz.html

LG announces new TV lineup - includes 8k production set.

http://www.engadget.com/2016/01/02/lg-8k-tv/

So LG have outted their new Web0S 3.0 lineup. This includes a 8k $130,000 TV! I don't think you'll need to worry about upgrading that 4k Amazon fire TV just yet!

Cisco packet tracer for iPhone / Android

I never knew about these apps but they are great! Wish I had them when studying. Good fun for messing about with on the train / commute.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cisco-packet-tracer-mobile/id1015041980?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.netacad.PacketTracerM&hl=en_GB (UK Store)

Ars: Dolby Cinema: Twin laser projectors + object-based 3D audio = awesome

Or as i'd title it: IMAX and Dolby pushing to keep the cinema experience relevant.

It's nice to see that the cinema is still an experience. I don't think the home consumer is taking to things such as 3D-Blu-rays (and eventually 4K Blu-rays) due to an un-unified push by industry, hardware confusion, OTT and high royalties.

http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2015/12/dolby-cinema-laser-powered-projection-object-based-3d-audio-awesome/

Bitcoin surges past $400 today

Screenshot taken from coindesk. Price is currently sitting at $421.44 for 1 BTC. Thats around £279 !!!   

This is the world’s most expensive substance – at £100 million a gram Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/08/this-is-the-worlds-most-expensive-substance-at-100-million-a-gram-5552673/#ixzz3tp2R1M5T

Endohedral fullerenes, because.... SCIENCE!
Seems the Brits are still flying the flag for material development with recent strides in graphene as well.

http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/08/this-is-the-worlds-most-expensive-substance-at-100-million-a-gram-5552673/?ito=facebook

Samsung begins mass production of 128GB DDR4 modules

You won't be popping two sticks ina gaming rig any time soon, but its cool to know whats coming!

http://hexus.net/tech/news/ram/88400-samsung-begins-mass-production-128gb-ddr4-modules/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

ITU Decision Makes 700MHz Band a Global Mobile Broadband Standard

This'll be good for signal penetration also but will require new chipsets in devices to support the newer band!

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2015/11/itu-decision-makes-700mhz-band-a-global-mobile-broadband-standard.html

Virgin Media increases max download speed to 200Mbps, for free (ish)

Article at Ars:

http://arstechnica.co.uk/business/2015/09/virgin-media-increases-max-download-speed-to-200mbps-for-free/

Good news for current customers especially. Nice idea having multiple options above what BT OpenReach's network restricted providers can offer on FTTC (80down/20up Mbps).

UK mobile operators to hike prices?

This doesn't sound good for consumers: http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2015/09/24/uk-telecom-spectrum-prices-have-tripled-and-youll-likely-end-up-paying-for-it/

Basically Ofcom are increasing the cost of spectrum to the mobile operators. EE in particular seems to be badly hit as they have the most spectrum at present.

Amazon debuts 4k FireTV

Playing second fiddle to Netflix must always be a bit annoying when your as big as Amazon but they seem to be making all the right sounds at the moment. I don't think a week has gone by recently without some new news regarding the Prime instant video service.  The latest bit is the release of a new portfolio of hardware products to push the service. 

The main interest for me is the Amazon Fire TV. Voice control and 4k output. This is starting to sound like something i'd want under my TV! 

To top it off they actually made a games controller for the device which gives developers a lot more direction and consumers less confusion which we like. I am a bit confused as to why they wouldn't bundle one games controller with the device. Amazon are all about pushing the sales of products through their devices and it would have seemed like a natural fit to encourage games buying. 

Worth noting also is it only comes with 8GB of storage but on the plus side, you can buy MicroSD cards to expand this which constantly get cheapest instead of paying a price premium for the storage like you would with the Apple TV. 

After a poor showing from Apple, Amazon has really upped their game to make the OTT sector more exciting from a hardware standpoint. 

With the recent purchase of Elemental, the Top Gear deal and a firm investment in new programming, the future is certainly looking bright for the service.