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  • New Zealand Cloud Storage Node Opened By Mega

    Mega cloud storage service announced via its blog that it has opened a New Zealand storage node. This will serve customers in Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

    This node comes seven months after the launch of Mega by former Megaload founder, Kim Dotcom. The launch saw 500,000 signups within the first 14 hours. 

    The company indicated that the transfer of files to and from an account will originate or terminate in the New Zealand node. However, API requests as well as storage of metadata will still be done from Europe.

    Mega also indicated that its geographical data redundancy policy will still apply to the new node. This means that all the data on the New Zealand cluster will still be mirrored to the European site. This is because New Zealand customers are legally barred from offshore storage of sensitive data.

    Mega has significantly updated its C++ SDK to enable it to work on the broader platform support. This is according to customer feedback.

    Mega however noted that there are security challenges in relation to the use of computers in general and specifically regarding the use of JavaScript-based cryptography.

  • Voip-Pal.com Now Providing Investors with free Level 2 Quotes


    Voip-Pal.com announced earlier in the week that it has subscribed to OTC Intelligence so that its investors can have free access to real-time in-depth market quotes – Level 2 – for Voip-Pal stock.

    Through the new arrangement, an investor with Level 2 Quotes will get transparency and full access to valuable real-time market data. Otherwise called depth of book, Level 2 data usually displays information beyond the regular price details by providing every individual market participant quote for securities.

    Every investor should go directly to the OTC Markets or the company's website in order to access the Level 2 quotes for Voip-Pal stock.

    Voip-Pal's primary product is VoIP patent application technology. The company boasts a portfolio of VoIP Patent Applications. It is also a provider of local and long-distance VoIP telephone services for next generation devices like cell phones, smartphones, and tablets through its retail website.

  • Nokia Lumia 925 Goes Live at AT&T Starting September 13th for $99.99, Pre-Orders Now Open

    Nokia Lumia 925 made its appearance at T-Mobile last month and now it is set to land at AT&T on September 13th. This is the first Lumia smartphone that features a metal design detail and it will be available for a monthly cost of $21 on AT$T Next plan or for $99.99 in a two-year agreement.

    AT&T Next is a new program that the company launched to allow its customers get a new device every year. Available only to upgrade eligible AT&T customers, AT&T Next lets you purchase a smartphone or tablet devoid of down payments, upgrade fees, and activation fees, and after paying 12 monthly installments you are allowed to trade it in and get a new device.

    Lumia 925, a Windows Phone that is slim, lightweight, and dominated by a 4.5-inch PureMotion HD + Gorilla Glass display, runs on AT&T's 4G LTE network. It sports an 8.7 megapixel camera that packs the usual high-performance optics and camera features Nokia is known for. At launch, the exclusive black version of the Lumia will be available to only AT$T customers.

    A couple of days obviously stand between the 4.5-inch aluminum-clad smartphone and its lovers but pre-orders already began.

  • Google's Chromecast makes Smart TVs out of Dumb TVs for only $35


    LG, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and others have tried but none has managed to make TVs really smart. Google has found a way of maximizing on the hundreds of millions of standard TVs that pack HDMI ports. Using its new Chromecast device, the company is offering a way of giving the dumb TVs some brains by providing access to web-based content.

    The company has developed a Wi-Fi attached HDMI stick that is capable of catching any Chrome browser stream from any device running a Chrome instance. This means if you connect the Chromecast dongle to your TV you can flick video content from YouTube, Google Play Movies and Music or Netflix directly on the TV, or even mirror any content in any open Chrome tab by use of a tab casting feature.  You can also run another tab with Facebook, Instagram, your homework, diary, texts or anything you can think of which is never seen on TV.

    According to Google, Chromecast works across all platforms as long as they have a Chrome browser. These include Android smartphones and tablets, iPads, iPhones, Chrome for Windows, and Chrome for Mac.

    The Chromecast HDMI stick is available on Google Play, BestBuy.com, and Amazon for $35. You also get three months of free Netflix.

  • Siemens Forges Partnership with NextPlane to offer Extended Federation Services


    According to an announcement made last week, Siemens Enterprise Communications and NextPlane UC Exchange Service will partner in providing extended federation services for Siemens' OpenScape UC platform through the NextPlace UC Exchange service.

    With Siemens being the world's leading unified communications provider and NextPlace being the market leader in provision of federation services that are cloud-based for UC, anyone who joins the NextPlace UC Exchange and is a Siemens customer will now enjoy a seamless connection and collaboration with lots of other partner on UC platforms. These include Google, IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, Open-Fire, eJabberd, eZuce, and Isode.

    Other than this ability to federate with their business partners, Siemens customers will also get to enjoy UC-to-social media federation like Yahoo! and Skype, public social media networks like Twitter, and enterprise social media networks like Microsoft Yammer and Salesforce Chatter.

    This is a partnership aimed at underscoring the commitment of Siemens Enterprise Communications to openness and support for the evolving communications business needs of their customers. The company announced that there will be instant message sharing of its customers with the business partners of their colleagues, third-party suppliers, supply chain vendors, and clients as if everyone is on a single platform.

  • Microsoft and Google hot on the Heels of Amazon in the Cloud

    Amazon's success in cloud computing is the cause of much woes for its competitors Microsoft and Google. In an attempt to catch up with Amazon, whose web services are currently the leader in the cloud computing service sector, Microsoft and Google have decided to upgrade their services with new features. These upgrades are also expected to heat up the competition between them.

    According to a NetworkWorld report, this week Google upgraded its public cloud service by launching load-balancing features. The service usually aims at enabling customers to scale up and down virtual machines and hence accommodate any demand spikes experienced. As for Microsoft, just a few months ago it improved its Azure cloud service with new auto-scaling feature, and thanks to these features users can now scale up and down resources in the cloud.

    Brandon Butler of NetworkWorld has been reported stating that the two companies are already playing catch-up with Amazon Web Services, which is the leading IaaS provider and already offers such services.

    In the meantime, Microsoft has raised its stakes in the battle against Google through a new advertisement in which Microsoft consumers are warned "not to gamble with Google Docs." This move is geared towards earning the company public favor in the cloud space.

  • TiVo Releases its best DVRs yet, the TiVo Roamio DVRs


    A major TiVo release was last seen three and a half years ago and while the company has constantly hit the market with new features since – via software updates, hardware revisions, and accessories – it is back with a bang. TiVo Roamio Plus is the DVR the world has been waiting for since it first saw the Premiere and it is now out alongside two other new Roamio DVRs, released in the price range of $200-$600.

    The DVRs feature built-in WiFi and at least four tuners. The user interface has been refreshed to include new and quick-launching YouTube and Netflix apps, as well as a What to Watch Now feature. There is also a new remote that is now independent of IR.

    The Plus and Pro come integrated with TiVo Stream functionality. A cool new trick that the stream feature delivers is out-of-home streaming for recorded and live shows along with the ability to download shows to iOS devices when out of home. The feature will be coming to the Roamio in the fall but it has been tested with a Tivo Stream transcoder.

  • Samsung Launches its Second Dual-Screen Flip-Phone: the Galaxy Golden


    In a span of weeks, Samsung has launched two new clamshells. The tech giant certainly thinks the flip-phone is not going anywhere any time soon.

    The Galaxy Golden has just been debuted and its similarity to the Folder is rather striking. The Folder was leaked a few weeks ago, just before the official arrival of the Hennessey, under an almost identical model number.

    The Galaxy Golden sports Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, dual 3.7-inch Super AMOLED screens, a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, and an 8 megapixel camera. It is also packed with features designed for the older generation including an "easy mode" that enables optimization of the home screen, an FM radio, a business card recognition function, and a pedometer that works with S Health.

    S Health is a personal wellness app that was initially demonstrated at the Unpacked launch of Samsung Galaxy S III. It is compatible with such healthcare sensors as body composition scales, blood pressure monitors, and blood glucose meters, and collects health data to help maintain a healthy lifestyle.

    It can be expected that those Koreans who are in their golden years and can afford over $790 or about 790,000 won will appreciate the Galaxy Golden's tailored features and its aging form factor.

  • Tas Government Responsible for Delays in VoIP Transition

    Delays in the transitioning to VoIP services by the Tasmanian government have resulted in the MyNetFone contract yielding no forecast revenues for the service provider. MyNetFone signed the $20 million contract with the state government in July 2012.

    According to the VoIP services provider, all commercial commitments and infrastructure have been delivered as required by the contract and the delays are a result of factors outside the company's control. The company has further said that these project delays will not harbor it from pursuing more government business for VoIP services.

    The expected gross revenue per annum for MyNetFone is nearly $2 million and the full revenue should be realized by FY2015.

    In January a government spokesperson confirmed that the services provided by MyNetFone were successfully used in the 2012 trials support and the first customers came to be cut over at the onset of January 2013.

    For the full year ending 30 June, 2013, MyNetFone had a profit increment of 35 per cent to $4.1 million. For the same period there was a 21 per cent revenue increment to $46.2 million. The period was reportedly dominated by considerable one-off integration expenses and being able to exceed the forecast is an achievement that is likely to facilitate the company's acquisition synergies and bolster its bottom line in future.

  • LG goes Retro and Incorporates Rotary Dials in New HDTV


    LG are renowned for their next-generation gadgetry. This time they have chosen to go retro with their new LG 32LN630R HDTV. The 32-inch LCD set boasts a full HD resolution and it comes with support for USB drives and MHL.

    LG certainly seem to be missing the TVs that had you walking over to change the channels. Their 32LN630R looks pretty much like a '70s tube TV down to the rotary dials and working channel, and they have infused the retro design with the usual modern luxuries like the 1080p IPS-based display that has support for both MHL video from mobile devices and USB-based storage. The TV has a native resolution of 1920×1080.

    LG has started shipping the 32LN630R TV to South Korea at a cost of 840,000 won ($754). Americans who are nostalgic of the Retro TVs will have to wait a while to get this HDTV as the company has no immediate plans of distributing it in the American market.