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At its Windows event in San Francisco today, Microsoft announced the next release of its operating system. Known until now as codename Threshold, the successor to Windows 8 will officially be known as Windows 10. Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Operating System, unveiled the name, after saying Windows is used by about 1.5 billion people. “Windows is at a Threshold and now it’s time for a new Windows,” Myerson said at the event. “It wouldn’t be right to call it Windows 9.” Before giving the new name, Myerson trolled everyone by saying it would be called Windows One. Since Windows 1 has already been released though, the company chose to go with Windows 10. He did promise, however, that Windows 10 would work across all types of devices (computers, tablets, phones, and of course the Internet of Things): “One product family. One platform. One store.” The new operating system will offer a tailored experience for each device, but a single store will offer apps and updat...

Maybe we won’t be as quick to update this time. Apple is rolling out iOS 8.0.2 to iOS device. You can update now or wait. After yesterday, it might be better to wait. Just in case. Apple says the update will fix the issue brought on by the iOS 8.0.1 update yesterday that killed cell service and TouchID. To update your device head to Settings>General>Software Update. Besides fixing yesterday’s update, here is what Apple says iOS 8.0.2 will do: Fixes an issue in iOS 8.0.1 that impacted cellular network connectivity and Touch ID on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Fixes a bug so HealthKit apps can now be made available on the App Store Addresses an issue where 3rd party keyboards could become deselected when a user enters their passcode Fixes an issue that prevented some apps from accessing photos from the Photo Library Improves the reliability of the Reachability feature on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Fixes an issue that could cause unexpected cellular data usage when receiving S...

Our lives revolve around our mobile devices. As bold as that statement may seem, it’s wholly accurate. Our smartphones and tablets provide the connection point between every aspect of our lives — from arranging transportation to staying in touch with friends and family, and keeping on top of work. According to the Pew Center , some Americans are so glued to their mobile devices that they’ll sleep next to them – presumably, to make sure that that they are fully ‘connected’ during every moment spent conscious. Mobile is critical to business Business leaders know how important it is to focus on mobile as a touch point during the buying journey – to ensure that websites are mobile-friendly during the discovery and engagement stages. Responsive design and app development, as a result, have become hot topics that virtually every marketer acknowledges as a ‘must have.’ But what happens after the point of sale? Research consistently shows  that repeat customers are worth more tha...

Earlier this month, Sony unveiled two new flagship Android smartphones – the Xperia Z3and Xperia Z3 Compact. These are now available SIM-free through Sony’s own site for  £549  (full version), with the Compact incarnation shipping for  £429 . However, the same phones  are available on pre-order from Amazon  too, with a shipping date of September 29 given. Interestingly, the Xperia Z3 comes in at £529 on Amazon, a whole £20 cheaper than Sony itself. On contract,  Vodafone is also now offering both handsets , starting from £30.50/month and £38.50/month for the Z3 Compact and Z3 respectively. And if you can’t wait for shipping, you can also go in-store to pick one up. ➤  Xperia Z3 Compact  |  Xperia Z3

Broadcaster BSkyB has announced that its NOW TV streaming service now offers the full range of its Entertainment, Sport and Movie content to Apple TV users, having previously been restricted to just a Sports pass. Offering both live and catch-up options, the passes are available to customers for a set fee, and offer an easy way for the company to extend the reach and revenues of its TV offerings to non-Sky TV customers. Currently, an Entertainment pass costs £4.99 per month, but this is set to rise to £6.99 from October 16. A Movie pass costs £8.99 per month (£9.99 from October 16) and the Sports pass still costs £6.99 for 24 hours, although a weekly £10.99 pass is on its way in November. It makes sense for Sky to include Apple TV in its roster of (more than 50) devices that support NOW TV, given the popularity of Apple hardware. In recent months, the company has brought a YouTube app to the platform and extended support to the Xbox One in a bid t...

BlackBerry today unveiled its square-screened Passport smartphone after  months of leaks  running up to its official unveiling. Just a couple of days ago, company CEO John Chen confirmed to the  Wall Street Journal  that it was due to arrive imminently and would cost $599, making it cheaper than some of its rival flagship handsets in the US. Aside from its unusual square appearance created by a 4.5-inch (1440 x 1440 resolution) display, key hardware specs include a condensed version of BlackBerry’s signature Qwerty keyboard, a 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 3GB RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. It’ll also support microSD cards up to 64GB. On the rear, there’s a 13-megapixel snapper, complimented by a 2-megapixel sensor for video chats and selfies on the front. Under-the-bonnet, the phone is one of the first to arrive running the BlackBerry 10.3, which brings new features like a productivity-focused BlackBerry assistant, a new app called ...

By now you’ve probably heard about  #Bendgate , the silly name for an issue that some new iPhone 6 Plus owners have been reporting where the device warped while in their pockets. So far the problem seems to be fairly isolated, but we struck up an Apple support chat anyway to see how it’s covered by the company’s warranty. When asked if a bent enclosure during normal use of an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus would qualify for a replacement, the representative said: That is 100 percent up to the Genius you speak with at the store. There is a test called a Visual Mechanical Inspection that the device will have to pass. If it is within the guidelines, they will be able to cover it. If not, the replacement would be a paid one. When asked for details on the Genius Bar guidelines, the representative said the information wasn’t provided to chat support staff. Apple’s support team also said that it is “looking into this with an insane amount of detail.” The staffer offere...

When Marvel  announced  an  API  at the start of this year, comics fans got excited to see what developers could do with it. Here’s one of the coolest examples we’ve seen yet:  World of X , an interactive map showing important locations from the X-Men series. Created by  Nclud  designer  Kyle Conrad , World of X offers summaries for each location and links to series that used it as a setting. The map uses night images from NASA to a nice effect, though the animations were a tad choppy on my computer. If you grew up reading and watching X-Men, you can easily spend an hour poking around the map. Just be careful if you start clicking through to the Marvel.com links, as you might find yourself reading comics for the rest of the day. ➤   World of X

Today Apple unleashed an update to iOS 8. Unfortunately, iOS 8.0.1 killed cell service and TouchID for many iPhone users. The iPhone without the actual phone part is really just an expensive iPod touch. Fortunately you can restore your phone back to iOS 8.0 while Apple figures out what went wrong with the iOS 8.0.1 update that the company has already pulled from its servers. If you were unlucky enough to have updated your phone and had cell service and TouchID torpedoed, all you need to do is restore your phone via iTunes. Because the iOS 8.0.1 update is gone from Apple’s servers, you’ll be pushed back to iOS 8. Before you hit the restore button, you’ll want to back up your phone. Once that’s complete, hit Restore iPhone and expect your iPhone to be up and running in about an hour, depending on your available data speed. Update:  We’re hearing from readers that iTunes is still downloading iOS 8.0.1 to their iPhones. That’s no good. So here is a list of...

Google today  updated  the Google Search for Android app with yet another travel feature: price drop notifications. If you’ve been looking at a flight on  Google’s Flight Search , and the price drops, you may get see a Google Now card letting you know. You can download the new version of the app now directly from  Google Play . The feature is currently only available on Android (no mention of an iOS release) and is limited to US residents. Google didn’t say when it would expand it outside its home country, nor whether it was considering integrating other travel sites. Just last month, Google Now for Android was updated to help users book alternate flights when theirs is delayed or canceled.

Google has  announced  plans to build a new data centre in Europe, this time in  Eemshaven , a seaport in the Netherlands. The internet giant says it has put aside €600 million ($772 million) to build the new data centre, and will be its fourth location in Europe after Finland, Belgium and Ireland. Google currently has  more than 10 data centres  across the Americas, Europe and Asia. Indeed, its first two Asian data centres opened just last year, in Taiwan and Singapore. Google says the new facility will create more than 1,000 jobs, with a view towards starting “initial opertions” in the first half of 2016 before becoming fully operational by the latter part of 2017. Google actually already uses a rented data centre in Eemshaven, which it says will continue to operate after the launch of its new incarnation. ➤  Expanding our data centres in Europe  [Google Blog]

Samsung has been working on its virtual reality platform for some time, with the device  finally unveiled at its Unpacked event this September . In early September,  Oculus  announced that it’s been collaborating with Samsung on a prototype version of the device for developers called the Gear VR Innovator Edition. Oculus, which is owned by Facebook, said that the project began as an experiment to see if it was possible to bring VR to next-generation mobile hardware and that the team ‘blew everyone away’ in a short amount of time. The Gear VR Innovator Edition was the result; an early access beta-version of Samsung’s device for developers that requires a Galaxy Note 4. Image via Techcrunch Now, the company has announced its ‘Oculus Platform’ store where developers will be able to make available their virtual reality apps and media, starting this fall on the Samsung Gear VR. Oculus plans on making its platform available across browsers, native mobile apps and insi...

What happens when a band gets its hands on six iPhones, four iPads, one iPod and three MacBooks? Ukrainian musicians Brunettes Shoot Blondes used their collection of Apple hardware to tell a story about an adorable big-eared creature jumping around the screens to catch up with a girl who doesn’t seem to be very fond of him — at first, at least. Filmed in one take, the video doesn’t feature any real actors (except those moving the gadgets). Check it out:

What do you do when you have too many ideas and not enough time? Or similarly, what about when you have too many tasks and not enough energy? As an entrepreneur, I feel like I’ve been battling this issue for awhile. There is always another opportunity to chase or a new product idea that sounds exciting. For a long time, I felt guilty about ignoring good ideas that came my way and so I kept adding more to my to-do list. However, during a recent conversation with Travis Dommert, I learned about a new strategy for dealing with the issue of having too many ideas and projects. It all comes down to treating your life like a rose bush. Let me explain what Travis taught me… Ideas are like rose buds As a rose bush grows it creates more buds than it can sustain. If you talk to an experienced gardener, they will tell you that rose bushes need to be pruned to bring out the best in both their appearance and their performance. You see, a rose bush isn’t like a tree. It can’t grow wider and taller ea...

Global data use through the consumption of video is set to increase by around 55 percent per year until the end of 2019, according to  research by Ericsson , while in Africa video is the fastest-growing internet activity. Yet it is smaller companies that are leading the field in the growth of video on demand (VoD) platforms on the continent, with larger African firms playing catch-up while a launch for global giants such as Netflix is still some way off. Another report, released at the end of last year by broadband network solutions provider  Sandvine , said the growth of video was expected to be faster in Africa than any other region, with the African market unique globally as most users are connecting to the internet for the first time through mobile devices rather than fixed networks. This growth has not been lead by multinationals or even African pay-TV companies, with the innovations on the continent instead coming from startup companies in countries such as South Africa,...