ZDNet UK First Take

Latest posts RSS

Secure2Share: securing your Dropbox

Posted by First Take on 22 May, 2012 14:07

Secure2Share is an iPhone and iPad encryption tool for Dropbox users. It allows you to encrypt any files left on the cloud storage service, in theory preventing any unauthorised access to those files. Its creator, SRD Wireless, claims that the encryption method used is "post-quantum" secure — meaning that it's uncrackable, even with the most powerful machines based on quantum computing.

SRD Wireless makes... Read more

Next-generation 802.11ac routers

Posted by First Take on 21 May, 2012 08:06

A recent flurry of announcements from networking equipment vendors — including Belkin, Buffalo and Netgear — heralds the imminent arrival of the next generation of Wi-Fi products to the UK market. Incorporating many of the design features of 802.11n, the new 802.11ac standard, which is still not formally ratified, uses wider frequency bands and other tricks to deliver speeds (or more accurately, physical layer... Read more

HTC One V

Posted by First Take on 16 May, 2012 10:10

HTC's One range of handsets comprises three models. There's the flagship HTC One X with its quad-core processor and vast 4.7in., 720-by-1,280-pixel screen, and the smaller, perhaps more manageable, HTC One S with its 4.3in. display.

The third HTC One handset has rather slipped under the radar, but the One V just might be the best of all. For the reasonably affordable price of £238 (inc. VAT) from online... Read more

Ivy Bridge servers and more to come

Posted by First Take on 10 May, 2012 12:40

Although Intel has yet to green-light products based on its Xeon E3-1200 v2 family of server processors, that hasn't stopped Dell jumping the gun and announcing plans to use the new chips, based on the 22nm Ivy Bridge architecture, to boost the performance and lower the TDP of its PowerEdge C5220 microserver platform.

Don't be fooled by the 'microserver' tag here. We're not talking about miniature... Read more

JCB Toughphone Pro-Smart

Posted by First Take on 9 May, 2012 15:13

Think of JCB and what springs to mind is probably diggers, industrial machinery, tractors — that sort of thing. But the company has had a popular sideline in phones for a while, and has recently released an Android-based model, the Toughphone Pro-Smart.

The Toughphone Pro-Smart has IP67 certification, meaning that it can withstand immersion in a metre of water for up to 30 minutes and is also dust... Read more

BlackBerry Dev Alpha: First Take

Posted by First Take on 1 May, 2012 14:33

If you're about to reboot a platform, you really need developers on-board and ready before it's released to the general public. That doesn't mean giving developers access to an SDK and simulators — it means getting real code, and real devices, into their hands. It's why Microsoft handed out a Samsung tablet running Windows 8 to developers at its BUILD conference, and why developers at RIM's BlackBerry Jam event... Read more

SkyDrive for Windows

Posted by First Take on 29 April, 2012 01:07

Just before Google finally released Google Drive cloud storage and sync (see our First Take here), Microsoft made some improvements to its own cloud sync and storage service, SkyDrive, including releasing preview Windows and Mac versions of the SkyDrive app that's already available for Windows Phone and iPhone. (There isn't an official SkyDrive app for Android, but Microsoft has endorsed some of the free Android... Read more

Google Drive

Posted by First Take on 29 April, 2012 01:04

Sync is the new black. Everyone and their dog now has a sync service as part of their platform: Apple's iCloud, Microsoft's SkyDrive (which we review here), Ubuntu's Ubuntu ONE, and Dropbox nearly everywhere. Now Google has finally released its much-anticipated Google Drive — joining a crowded marketplace. Is it different enough and compelling enough, or is it another Google Wave in the making — or is... Read more

AVM Fritz!Box WLAN 3270

Posted by First Take on 26 April, 2012 14:33

In contrast to many other network equipment manufacturers, German ADSL router specialist AVM has a relatively small hardware catalogue that it updates infrequently, preferring instead to add new features to existing products through firmware updates. But in response to demands for a lower-priced option (its current flagship 7390 model still costs close to £200 even after nearly two years on the shelves), it has... Read more

Windows Intune April 2012 pre-release

Posted by First Take on 24 April, 2012 05:35

The next version of Microsoft's cloud PC management service will add mobile device management, including sideloading enterprise apps to iOS and Android devices. That's not ready to try out in the pre-release version you can sign up for now, but you can check out the new user interface and see how the Windows Azure Active Directory sync will work.

This is the first step of what Microsoft is calling... Read more

« Previous
1
2
3
4
...
31
Next »

About this blog

Reports and inital impressions of new IT products

View author's profile

Top blogs

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS - Scorecard

Amazon Kindle or WHSmith Kobo eReader Touch?

Samsung Galaxy 'S3' coming to O2 and Vodafone

Pirate Bay condemns Virgin Media hack

Microsoft SkyDrive users: claim your free 25GB

Community highlights

Smartphones run HTML5 a lot slower than PCs

Blog Post Benchmarks run by Spaceport.io show that HTML5 runs "six to ten times slower"...

22 May, 2012 by Jack Schofield

3 reasons why Mac is best

Blog Post You thought you’d seen the end of the Flame Wars) between Mac and PC,...

22 May, 2012 by Jake Rayson

Samsung draws logic-worthy on/off ratio from graphene

Blog Post Researchers at Samsung’s Advance Institute of Technology have developed a...

22 May, 2012 by Lucy Sherriff

Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake

Blog Post Microsoft has announced that it will improve multi-monitor support in Windows...

22 May, 2012 by Jack Schofield

Most discussed

6 Netbook Upgrade - SSD IN, Windows OUT

5 Watchdog: TalkTalk's broadband speed test misled users

4 Waterstones to sell Kindles with in-store offers

2 ISP brands UK internet spying plans 'pointless'

2 Linux Mint 13 release candidate arrives

ZDNet UK Live

This is just dumb! Forget that I think Windows 8 will bomb, but really, people are going to go out and buy touch Monitors now??? Just pretend...

27 minutes ago by JBDragon on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake

@Andy Bolstridge > Unfortunately, we need the majority to work 9-5 And therein lies the lie. I work very hard indeed for my idleness, early starts...

2 hours ago by Jake Rayson on The Idle Self-employed

What happens when one hosting platform "acquires data" from another? If I forced the first one to remove it, who is responsible for chasing the...

7 hours ago by Burn-IT on Google picks holes in EU's 'right to be forgotten'

iSpring Pro is a nice tool, that allows PowerPoint to SCORM conversion. They also have free tool, that also generates SCORM compliant courses.

11 hours ago by JohnTalich on How To Convert PowerPoint To SCORM Compliant Course

I think the answer to the question requires a deeper analysis of where the income can come from who else is now competing for it, who else will be...

19 hours ago by aaron.sloman on The three big questions about Facebook's IPO

Your correctness about Government websites not being compliant with their own websites is correct. Most criticism of other people takes so many...

1 day ago by Brent Pieczynski on Privacy watchdog to chase big companies over cookie law

802.11ac does promise some tricks to improve range & reliability, but not sure how these will work in practice until I get real products to play...

1 day ago by Kelvyn Taylor via Facebook on Next-generation 802.11ac routers

My wife and I love our new Kindle Fire. It's lightweight, easy to use and has a great interface. The first thing I recommend anyone with a new...

1 day ago by mrudang009 on Waterstones to sell Kindles with in-store offers

It basically unlocks all the Android marketplace apps and unlocks the device. I am one very happy Kindle owner!

1 day ago by mrudang009 on Waterstones to sell Kindles with in-store offers

Skittles with tapes and coffee cups. Old tapes so we didn't have to rewind them afterwards.

1 day ago by Burn-IT on Ten IT jobs to save up for those rare lulls

What is mildly amusing to me is when someone thinks a strong password is as strong as one may need, when the truth is usernames and passwords are...

1 day ago by Fraud_fighter on Passwords are here to stay: get used to it

Performance isn't really the big thing at the moment - not when my ADSL connection will only provide a 8mbps bottleneck to the 3.5gbps speeds these...

1 day ago by Andy Bolstridge via Facebook on Next-generation 802.11ac routers

So when is Amazon buying Waterstones?

1 day ago by pjc158 on Waterstones to sell Kindles with in-store offers