ROYAL PRIESTHUD

Running ps2 from USB

2016-03-24T12:42:00.001+01:00

- You need to have a software called USB Advance or USB Extreme(search the internet or contact me if you can't find it). - Write this software using DVD Decrypter onto a blank CD-R. - Insert the disc into the playstation 2. - You should have a USB Pen drive ready, of capacity minimum 4 GB. - Alongwith the USB Advance, you will get a software for your PC to convert the downloaded games into the games playable through USB. - Open the software, browse for a game file, and convert it. - Now insert the pen drive into your computer and copy the converted game files into the pen drive. - Remove the pen drive from computer and insert it in your PS2. - Boot your PS2 with the USB ADvance CD in it and now select the game and press the 'X' button to play! Feel free to contact me for any detail.

What's ahead for Windows 10: Needed upgrades, forced updates

2015-12-29T16:08:00.003+01:00

Windows 10 was the biggest news story out of Microsoft in 2015, and looking forward to the coming year, it’s slated to continue as one of the pillars of the company’s business. To recap: Microsoft first announced its new operating system in late 2014, skipping over Windows 9 and showing the world what it wanted to see: a version of Windows that kept some of the key innovations of Windows 8, while smoothing out some of the jarring or rough edges of its predecessor that drove people to stick with Windows 7 (or worse, Windows XP). That strategy has been remarkably successful for Microsoft, which reported in November of this year that there are 110 million devices running Windows 10 after its launch at the end of July. Of those devices, 12 million are already running in a business setting, which is a good sign for the business prospects of Microsoft’s new operating system. One of Microsoft’s big changes with its new operating system is that it will be regularly updated with new features and fixes, rather than the company holding back key features for a service pack release. That’s a double-edged sword, since Microsoft is also pushing out cumulative updates in an effort to ensure that all of its users are running (roughly) the same version of Windows 10 -- this means that administrators don’t have control over which update packages they install. That’s where the operating system has been. So what's coming next? A more forceful push for upgrades Microsoft will keep offering consumers free upgrades to Windows 10 until the end of July in 2016. Expect the company to do more to encourage businesses and consumers alike to pick up the new operating system. Case in point: Microsoft has already revealed that it will start automatically downloading the Windows 10 installer on some Windows computers as a recommended update. As part of that, the installer will run automatically, though users will have to choose to go forward with the upgrade process themselves. The good news in all of this is that Windows 10 is reaching a point of maturity that Microsoft believes it can get away with downloading an installer on users’ devices that automatically runs. It also means that some people may end up upgrading to Microsoft’s new OS before they’re ready. On the enterprise side of things, expect a lot of companies to start rolling out Microsoft’s new OS, especially after their experiences with replacing Windows XP.

A Windows Phone smartphone on show at Computex 2015 in Taipei Credit: Martyn Williams Ironic: Microsoft pitched more storage last year to iPhone owners, but loudest complaints now come from Windows phone users

2015-11-08T11:52:00.001+01:00

Just as Apple got the size of its iOS upgrades under better control, Microsoft drastically slashed the free allotment of its OneDrive storage service. Ironic? Absolutely: The OneDrive users who have complained the loudest about the reductions weren't iPhone owners -- the focus of Microsoft's 2014 storage expansion -- but Windows loyalists who had committed to the ecosystem, especially Windows smartphones, which continue to struggle in the marketplace. In September 2014, Microsoft used negative news about Apple's iOS 8 to double the free space on its OneDrive cloud service. A month after Apple rolled out a diet-plan iOS 9, Microsoft pared OneDrive's free allowance by 83%. Last year, some iPhone owners were forced to delete content before installing the then-new iOS 8 because of tight storage space on their smartphones and the large size of the new OS. Microsoft exploited the widespread reports of Apple's dilemma to tout OneDrive as an alternative to iOS users removing apps, music and documents -- but especially photographs -- to reclaim enough room to upgrade iPhones and iPads with skimpy local storage. "While it might seem strange to announce new features on a Friday evening, we've been listening to the commentary about storage on the new iPhones released today and we wanted to get you more storage right away," wrote Douglas Pearce, a group program manager with the OneDrive team, in a Sept. 19, 2014, blog post. "We think you'll appreciate having more free storage while setting up your iPhone 6 or upgrading to iOS 8." Pearce's offer was generous: Microsoft would increase the free storage capacity of OneDrive by 15GB -- doubling it from the then-standard 15GB to 30GB -- for anyone who installed the OneDrive iOS app and enabled automatic backup of photos and video to the storage service. Microsoft dubbed that feature "camera roll backup." Users who installed the Android, Windows Phone, Windows and OS X versions of OneDrive on their devices also got the extra storage. iOS 8, which debuted two days before Pearce announced the offer, was significantly larger than its forerunner, and required 5GB or more of available space to install. That was a hard sell for owners of 8GB and 16GB iPhones, who scrambled to delete content. Apple took heat for the debacle, and responded in 2015 with a slimmer iOS 9 that required 72% less free space to install. In tight situations, iOS 9 also asked the user whether they wanted to delete apps to make room, then handled both app deletion and re-installation. Just weeks after Apple rolled out the slimmer iOS 9, Microsoft revamped OneDrive's storage policies, canceling the unlimited capacity of accounts tied to an Office 365 Home or Office 365 Personal subscription, ditching the 100GB and 200GB plans for new customers, and adding a 50GB plan with a price twice that of Apple's identical iCloud offer. Most notable, however, was Microsoft's decision to reduce the free allotment from 15GB to 5GB -- again, the same as iCloud -- and discontinue the 15GB bonus camera roll. Those changes go into effect in early 2016, but Microsoft has not provided a definitive date. OneDrive users who took Microsoft's 2014 camera roll bonus offer thus face an 83% contraction of their free storage space, from 30GB to 5GB. Users will have time to transfer OneDrive content to another service; pony up $2 per month -- or $24 annually -- for the new 50GB plan; subscribe to Office 365 Home ($10 per month, $100 per year) or Office 365 Personal ($7/$70) to get a 1TB account; or delete some of what they're stored to bring the total under 5GB. Once Microsoft notifies a user early next year, they will have 90 days to make one of those moves; failing to do so within that span will put the OneDrive account into a read-only mode that will let the user retrieve files from the cloud but not add any new content. Nine months after notification, Microsoft will lock the account: The user won't be able to access it in any fashion, not even to download a file or photograph from the service. One year after notification, Microsoft may start deleting the files stored in the overstuffed OneDrive account. Microsoft is also extending a free one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal -- which comes with not only the 1TB of OneDrive space but also rights to install Office 2016 on one Windows PC or one Mac -- to those on a free ride with more than 5GB of content, and thus "affected by this change." Microsoft has not yet said how or where those users can claim the one-year subscription. After the one-year offer expires, customers' credit cards will be automatically dinged for the usual Office 365 Personal fees. Although Microsoft promoted the 15GB camera roll bonus last year primarily to iPhone owners, the customers who beefed loudest last week about OneDrive's changes were those who had a Windows-powered smartphone. "As a user of [a] Windows phone since 2012, I have relied on the free camera roll space," wrote Chad Klavetter on a petition filed this week on Change.org. "So few phones have the option of expandable storage. OneDrive was touted as the solution. Now what am I supposed to do with my documents and photos from the past 3 years?" "I've been a supporter of Microsoft, a beta tester and user of the OS, Windows Phone, etc.," said Ken Rylander. "This is awful. It makes me want to switch to a new phone and possibly another operating system. Why have a built-in cloud storage program that isn't good for anything but a few Word files? Really?" As of Saturday, the Change.org petition had collected 6,200 virtual signatures. Windows-powered smartphones represent a small minority of the devices being sold and currently in use, according to data from research firms. In August, IDC reduced its 2015 forecast for Windows smartphones, predicting that 37 million would ship during the year, a number that would represent just 2.6% of all handsets. Three months earlier, IDC had forecast Windows phone shipments of 47 million, or 3.2% of the total. More recently, Kantar pegged Windows phone ownership in the U.S. at 3.9%, down from 4.2% the year prior. In light of those numbers, Windows Phone owners questioned Microsoft's decision to shrink OneDrive's free storage allotment. "Just when I was looking forward to [finally] having a flagship Windows phone experience (and very intrigued by the direction it's headed with Continuum), Microsoft goes and does something that feels like it will short circuit that experience," said Richard King in one of the more than 3,400 comments about the OneDrive changes on Microsoft's own UserVoice service this week. "Crushing the basic/included/integrated cloud storage by over 80% just when your hardware is expanding on the idea of integrated cloud linked/based ecosystem is totally [expletives deleted]." The "Give us back our storage" demand on UserVoice has garnered more than 60,000 "votes," the most of any OneDrive request by a large margin. "Any Windows phone user that has been backing up photos/videos has easily surpassed 5GB. How about doing some user studies? Seems like you are more willing to kill Windows Phone every day," echoed Chad Bentz on UserVoice.

How new apps and services are using your phone as a proxy for you

2015-10-28T08:29:00.000+01:00

Yahoo last week unveiled a novel concept: Access to your Yahoo Mail account without a password. What is a password, anyway? If you think about it, a password is a way to authenticate a person. You create a chunk of random knowledge that only you know. Later, to prove you're you, you demonstrate mastery of that knowledge. Only you would know to type "corndog658" when prompted, so obviously you're authorized for access. It's a great way to authenticate, at least until someone steals or guesses your password. Yahoo's system, which it calls Account Key, works like this: Install the Account Key mobile app (the system works only with the smartphone app), log in with your username and password. Tap the profile icon and choose Settings. Tap Account Key and enable it. (This is the moment at which password authentication becomes phone device authentication.) From that point on, you can simply access your Yahoo email from your phone without a password. According to Yahoo, when you try to check your Yahoo Mail from any device or desktop computer, you'll get a notification on your smartphone asking you to confirm that you are actually you. What this means is that, as far as Yahoo is concerned, "you" aren't someone who can demonstrate a chunk of arbitrary knowledge. "You" are anyone with physical access to your smartphone. You ARE your smartphone, as far as Yahoo is concerned. Stated another way, the authenticated human is whichever person has access to the authenticated smartphone. Welcome to the new identity. An increasing number of services don't care about your password, your signature or even your mailing address. If you've got the authenticated phone, you're you. Shipping without addresses Before cellphones, you could never really call a person directly. You called a place and hoped the person would be there. You dialed a building or location, then asked whoever answered: "Is Bob there?" Now you just call Bob. You don't care where Bob is. You just call the phone, and because you expect Bob to have possession of said phone, you can call a person. The phone is Bob. A similar change is happening to the act of sending packages. Right now, you don't send a package to a person, but to a place. You ship to a home or office, and expect the person to be there at some point to receive the package. A startup called Shyp last week completely changed how packages are shipped. Instead of shipping to a place, you ship to a person -- no matter where the person is. What Readers Like Hands on with the new iPhone 6S Plus Ashley Madison CEO Noel Biderman This Ashley Madison hack story keeps getting worse and worse [u4] dell vancouver laptop IDG Contributor Network Don't bother with Microsoft Windows 10 until you read this Right now, shipping a package to an address involves writing the exact address on the package. Sure, you put the name on the package. But the shipping company or post office doesn't care about that. They deliver to the number, street name, ZIP code and other place-specific information. Like all great on-demand services, Shyp makes things work better with an app. When you sign up for the app, you create a unique username. When someone ships a package to you, they address it to that username, not the address of a building. You can track the package in the app. If you decide you're going to be somewhere else when it's scheduled to arrive, you can change the destination well after it's been shipped. The package will go wherever you are, not to whichever building's address is written on the label. Shyp is also cool because of Uberfication. When you want to send a shipment, you snap a picture of the item to be shipped, and within 20 minutes someone shows up at your house to take it away. Shyp will do all work, they professionally package it at their warehouse and they’ll find the lowest shipping rate among carriers. This is possible because you are defined at your smartphone. Right now, Shyp is limited to people sending from San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago.

Microsoft sets new standard for cloud security and data privacy

2015-09-15T12:30:00.003+01:00

In the cloud-first, mobile-first era, companies in every industry around the globe are using cloud computing to power their transformation into digital businesses. Organisations are turning to the cloud due to the business benefits that the technology unlocks and enables including cost savings, greater business agility, reduced IT complexity and gaining a competitive edge on rivals. Even within South Africa, organisations of all sizes are utilising cloud-based services to get more work done from anywhere, anytime, using almost any device. The latest report from market research company Ipsos Mori, entitled SMB IT Research 2015, states that employees from 57% of South African small to medium businesses who do not need to work from the office, access their work remotely through a mobile device or PC by using a cloud service. Almost half (49%) of staff at SMBs also access their work by way of a remote desktop connection. One of the main stumbling blocks towards greater and faster cloud adoption in the country is the concern over how secure cloud based services are. This is not a surprise given that adopting cloud services a lot of the time goes hand in hand with a company storing its highly sensitive business data remotely, where this info is physically under the control of a third party. This translates into customer trust becoming a core aspect of the relationship between cloud service providers and their clients. Distracted A productive business relationship is built on the foundation of trust Trust is at the forefront of Microsoft’s platforms and services, be it through privacy by design or the security development life-cycle that is core to the company’s products and services. The company has also recently established a Digital Crimes Unit, which combines big data analysis, cutting-edge forensics, partnerships and the law to keep customers and people safe online from cybercrime. Microsoft’s commitments to trust are evidenced not only by its internal processes and systems, but also by its numerous certifications relating to privacy and security including its Safe Harbor Certification, HIIPA Certification, EU Model Clauses and ISO 27001 Certification. Through its Trust Center websites, Microsoft also makes the latest information available spanning a range of topics that include security, privacy and transparency. Cloud security’s golden new standard – ISO/IEC 27018 The International Organisation for Standards has published ISO/IEC 27018, which is aimed at providing a global benchmark for the handling of personally identifiable information by cloud service providers (CSPs). In particular, this standard deals with cases where the cloud service provider process your data, but do not control it. ISO/IEC 27018 provides specific guidance to CSPs for the assessment of risks and the implementation of state-of-the-art controls for the protection of personally identifiable information (PII) stored and processed in the cloud. Six key principles define what ISO/IEC 27018 standard means to users of cloud services that comply with the standard, with the first of these being consent. CSPs may not process personal data for purposes independent of the instructions they receive from the customer. In addition, CSP’s are not allowed to use personal data for advertising and marketing, unless expressly instructed to do so. The second aspect is control, with customers having explicit control of how their information is used. Next up is transparency, since CSPs must inform customers where their data resides and make clear commitments about how that data is handled. This is followed by accountability, with any breach of information security having to be immediately followed by a review by the CSP to determine if there was any loss, disclosure, or alteration of the customer’s PII. The fifth principle of ISO/IEC 27018 is communication and in the case of a breach, CSPs must notify customers and keep clear records about the incident and their responses to it. Finally, CSP must subject themselves to yearly third party reviews in order to remain ISO/IEC 27018 compliant. Leading where other CSPs fear to tread Microsoft, as the first major CSP to achieve compliance and establish controls that meet the ISO/IEC 27018 standard is a company that customers can trust with their valuable data. Customers in South Africa who utilise a Microsoft cloud service, now have a tangible and definitive manner through which to structure and deliver on their compliance obligations under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI). Users can rest secure in the knowledge that using a cloud service that complies with the ISO/IEC 27018 standard represents the strongest commitment by a CSP to support a customer’s compliance with POPI and simultaneously, builds trust in the use of such services when it comes to the privacy of users and their data. By Theo Watson, Microsoft Corporate Attorney

Meet the $35 USD smartphone

2015-08-30T11:12:00.001+01:00

Darryl Linington

Orange has unveiled the Klif smartphone. According to Orange, the Firefox 2.0 powered device was developed by Mozilla’s Egyptian subsidiary Mobinil, and made by Alcatel. When taking a closer look at the device, we found that it features a dual-core 1.0 GHz processor, which is a accompanied by a 3.5 inch HVGA screen, and a 2MP rear-facing camera with LED flash. The device is powered by a 1300 mAh battery and features 512MB storage and 256MB RAM. The phone also features an FM radio. When it comes to connectivity, the device features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and 3G. Mobinil has essentially claimed that the Klif smartphone is the cheapest smartphone on the market, as it retails for EGP 275 ($35 USD dependent on the current rate of exchange). The Orange Klif will launch in 13 countries in Africa and the Middle East..

Map of the Internet 1.0: Explore this beautiful, hand-drawn map of the online world

2015-08-21T16:47:00.000+01:00

How do you map something like the internet? It’s a challenge that continues to fascinate many virtual-cartographers, and amateur graphic designer Martin Vargic is the latest to try his hand - creating the magnificently baroque image above. Vargic began the project in December 2013, using old National Geographic maps for visual inspiration and Alexa data of the most visited websites in the world to scale the different land masses. Perhaps the amazing fact is that the map was drawn free hand, directly into Photoshop. "My map is divided into two distinct parts,” Vargic explained to The Independent. “The eastern continent, the Old World, showcases software companies, gaming companies and some of the more real-life oriented websites." "The western part, the New World, is composed from two major continents; the northern one showcasing social networks, search websites, video websites, blogs, forums and art websites. All major adult-oriented websites, in addition to various warez and torrent sites, are located on the south-western continent." The main landmass on the left is populated bysoftware companies - with Google and Facebook dominating. Popular online games including World of Warcraft and League of Legends can be seen in the bottom left, just by the Procrastination Sea. Older hardware companies make up most of the landmass on the right of the map. The border between Microsoft and Apple seems pretty impassable though, with Incompatability Mountains keeping the pair firmly separate. In the bottom left of the map lies the reminder that a large portion of the internt is pornography with various sites located on the Plains of Lust. Joined on to this is the nation of Internet Crime, with various torrent sites trailing out into the ocean. Look out for Isohunt and Megaupload - two websites shut down by the authorities and labelled 'Destroyed by the Capitol'. In the center of the map is 'The Capitol', a small island but home to the CIA, FBI, and NSA. Though it looks like someone took a bite out of it - that's the Snowden Gulf. The most popular web browsers crowd around this central point. To the south is the Land of Forgotten Websites where once-great URLs now form part of the static and frozen ice sehfl. Wikipedia gets its own island, just north of the Ocean of Information, and catching the News Datastream blowing off the media outlets just out of frame to the right. Aol, CNN and the BBC make up the majority of the news sites, with the isolated Daily Mail island just to the left. Above all these we can see the Gossip Data Stream flowing from various messenger clients. A closer look at the right-hand land mass, showing various antivirus companies, with The Firewall ocean current keeping away the Scareware and Adware torrents. Above the antivirus companies lies Nintendo, Sony and the Gulf of Gamers, catching the flow from the Multiplayer Datastream. Microsoft's little outcrop includes the likes of Halo and Age of Empires. Vargic began the map by looking at the most visited sites on the internet. Four mini maps in the two bottom corners show a bit more information about the internet, with this particular example showing the extent of NSA surveillance worldwide. The other mini maps show the most used browsers, social networks and internet penetration by company. Vargic says he was inspired by an earlier map of the internet created by Randal Munroe, the programmer behind the well-known xkcd web-comic. Comparing Munroe and Vargic’s images highlights the difficulty with mapping something as complex as the web. While Vargic begun his map in terms of traffic, platforms and services, Munroe’s approach uses online communities as the main constituent. Both individuals have made the point that it isn’t the physical world that defines the web – but something less tangible, be it people or software. You can map the internet using its infrastructure as a starting point (one anonymous hacker did just this in 2013, compromising more than 420,000 computers to achieve the feat), but although maps of pure data are beautiful, they sometimes seem to be more about spectacle, than communication. Any map of the internet will be as much a work of fiction as it is a ‘real’ representation of the web, but Vargic’s has the advantage of being both informative and engaging. He also says he'll be updating it in the future with more languages and those looking to support the project can buy a copy of the map for themselves. In this way Vargic's map and others like it are similar to the rough charts of terra incognita made by early explorers: they're works in progress as well as a draw for the imagination, and the more we find about the territory under scrutiny, the more maps we'll make.

G is for Google

2015-08-11T14:23:00.001+01:00

As Sergey and I wrote in the original founders letter 11 years ago, “Google is not a conventional company. We do not intend to become one.” As part of that, we also said that you could expect us to make “smaller bets in areas that might seem very speculative or even strange when compared to our current businesses.” From the start, we’ve always strived to do more, and to do important and meaningful things with the resources we have. We did a lot of things that seemed crazy at the time. Many of those crazy things now have over a billion users, like Google Maps, YouTube, Chrome, and Android. And we haven’t stopped there. We are still trying to do things other people think are crazy but we are super excited about. We’ve long believed that over time companies tend to get comfortable doing the same thing, just making incremental changes. But in the technology industry, where revolutionary ideas drive the next big growth areas, you need to be a bit uncomfortable to stay relevant. Our company is operating well today, but we think we can make it cleaner and more accountable. So we are creating a new company, called Alphabet (http://abc.xyz). I am really excited to be running Alphabet as CEO with help from my capable partner, Sergey, as President. What is Alphabet? Alphabet is mostly a collection of companies. The largest of which, of course, is Google. This newer Google is a bit slimmed down, with the companies that are pretty far afield of our main Internet products contained in Alphabet instead. What do we mean by far afield? Good examples are our health efforts: Life Sciences (that works on the glucose-sensing contact lens), and Calico (focused on longevity). Fundamentally, we believe this allows us more management scale, as we can run things independently that aren’t very related. Alphabet is about businesses prospering through strong leaders and independence. In general, our model is to have a strong CEO who runs each business, with Sergey and me in service to them as needed. We will rigorously handle capital allocation and work to make sure each business is executing well. We'll also make sure we have a great CEO for each business, and we’ll determine their compensation. In addition, with this new structure we plan to implement segment reporting for our Q4 results, where Google financials will be provided separately than those for the rest of Alphabet businesses as a whole. This new structure will allow us to keep tremendous focus on the extraordinary opportunities we have inside of Google. A key part of this is Sundar Pichai. Sundar has been saying the things I would have said (and sometimes better!) for quite some time now, and I’ve been tremendously enjoying our work together. He has really stepped up since October of last year, when he took on product and engineering responsibility for our Internet businesses. Sergey and I have been super excited about his progress and dedication to the company. And it is clear to us and our board that it is time for Sundar to be CEO of Google. I feel very fortunate to have someone as talented as he is to run the slightly slimmed down Google and this frees up time for me to continue to scale our aspirations. I have been spending quite a bit of time with Sundar, helping him and the company in any way I can, and I will of course continue to do that. Google itself is also making all sorts of new products, and I know Sundar will always be focused on innovation -- continuing to stretch boundaries. I know he deeply cares that we can continue to make big strides on our core mission to organize the world's information. Recent launches like Google Photos and Google Now using machine learning are amazing progress. Google also has some services that are run with their own identity, like YouTube. Susan is doing a great job as CEO, running a strong brand and driving incredible growth. Sergey and I are seriously in the business of starting new things. Alphabet will also include our X lab, which incubates new efforts like Wing, our drone delivery effort. We are also stoked about growing our investment arms, Ventures and Capital, as part of this new structure. Alphabet Inc. will replace Google Inc. as the publicly-traded entity and all shares of Google will automatically convert into the same number of shares of Alphabet, with all of the same rights. Google will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet. Our two classes of shares will continue to trade on Nasdaq as GOOGL and GOOG. For Sergey and me this is a very exciting new chapter in the life of Google -- the birth of Alphabet. We liked the name Alphabet because it means a collection of letters that represent language, one of humanity's most important innovations, and is the core of how we index with Google search! We also like that it means alpha-bet (Alpha is investment return above benchmark), which we strive for! I should add that we are not intending for this to be a big consumer brand with related products--the whole point is that Alphabet companies should have independence and develop their own brands. We are excited about… Getting more ambitious things done. Taking the long-term view. Empowering great entrepreneurs and companies to flourish. Investing at the scale of the opportunities and resources we see. Improving the transparency and oversight of what we’re doing. Making Google even better through greater focus. And hopefully...as a result of all this, improving the lives of as many people as we can. What could be better? No wonder we are excited to get to work with everyone in the Alphabet family. Don’t worry, we’re still getting used to the name too! Posted by Larry Page, CEO

Windows 10 doesn’t offer much privacy by default: Here’s how to fix it

2015-08-07T11:28:00.000+01:00

Windows 10, by default, has permission to report a huge amount of data back to Microsoft. By clicking through "Express Settings" during installation, you allow Windows 10 to gather up your contacts, calendar details, text and touch input, location data, and a whole lot more. The OS then sends it all back to Microsoft so that it can be used for personalisation and targeted ads. This isn't entirely unusual: recent versions of Windows, unless you explicitly say otherwise, have reported some kind of data back to Microsoft. Windows 10 definitely goes one step (well, a few steps) further though, primarily thanks to Cortana (which ideally needs to be personalised/optimised based on your voice inputs, calendar, contacts, etc.) and other "cloudy" features that somewhat necessitate the collection and squirting of personal data back to Microsoft. That isn't to say you should be happy about this state of affairs, however. If you'd like to retain most of your privacy and keep your personal data on your PC, Windows 10 can be configured in that way. Just be warned that there are quite a few toggles that need to be turned off, and you'll lose some functionality as well

Innovation Africa 2015 to be held in Uganda

2015-06-23T12:18:00.001+01:00

Africa’s leading high level summit for education and innovation returns for its fifth year in 2015 and will take place in Kampala, under the patronage of the Government of Uganda, hosted by Hon Jessica Alupo, Minister of Education & Sports. The theme for this year’s event is “Developing African Skills for the 21st Century”. Innovation Africa 2014 included the participation of 26 African countries, 23 ministers, 140 government officials and over 250 industry leaders. The 2015 summit will exceed those numbers as the most desirable event to attend for ministers of education, higher education, ICT, science & research. It is certainly the ‘must participate’ event of the year for companies to engage with these leaders. Innovation Africa is now recognised as the leading high-level forum for education, ICT and skills development in Africa. For ministers, deputies and senior officials it is their preferred annual event for engaging with industry partners in a unique meetings-based format. Over the years Innovation Africa has gained the support and endorsement from officials in over 35 African countries and 2015 will see record numbers attending with the key purpose to engage with private sector partners. There is simply no better annual summit to meet with so many ministers and officials under one roof during the course of three days. Pre-scheduled Meetings The highlight of the Innovation Africa summit is the vast number of pre-scheduled meetings that will take place during the afternoons of 1st & 2nd October. This year will see over 40 hosted roundtables each represented by an African government ministry or a leading educational institution. Prior to the start of the summit all industry partners and delegates choose their own preferred meetings through an online scheduling system. Justin Taylor, an “Education Evangelist” from Autodesk, attended last year’s event and said “The roundtables have been brilliant, there’s huge excitement. The enthusiasm here is outstanding.” Mr Suresh Subramanian, Worldwide Vice President & General Manager for Industry Solutions, HP has said of Innovation Africa “The conversation is at a level where ministers, permanent secretaries and deputy directors are able to interact and take deliberate action immediately.” Ministerial Panel Themes This year’s theme for Innovation Africa is “Developing African Skills for the 21st Century” and the panel discussions will cover the following topics: – Technical & Vocational Education & Training – Developing Skills in Universities & Higher Education – Curriculum Innovations for Promoting Creativity & Critical Thinking – New Technologies for Innovation in Education – Future Skills from Science, Mathematics, Engineering & Technology (STEM) – Investing in ICT Infrastructures: Better Broadband for Better Skills – Developing Entrepreneurs & Industry Prepared Students – Innovative Teaching Models & Skills Training for Educators Official Ministerial Invitations Hon Jessica Alupo has confirmed her personal invitations to the ministers of education, higher education and ICT from the following countries, who will be participating with their own senior delegations: ANGOLA BENIN BOTSWANA BURUNDI CAMEROON COTE D’IVOIRE DRC ETHIOPIA GABON GAMBIA GHANA KENYA LESOTHO LIBERIA MADAGASCAR MALAWI MAURITIUS MOZAMBIQUE NAMIBIA NIGERIA REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO RWANDA SENEGAL SIERRA LEONE SOUTH AFRICA SWAZILAND TANZANIA TUNISIA ZAMBIA ZIMBABWE Ugandan ICT Parliamentary Committee member Hon Barnabas Tinkasiimire MP said of last year’s event “I wish all summits would be like this one… This is the best time I have had during the times I have attended conferences.” For more information on Innovation Africa 2015 please visit: www.innovation-africa.com To register your interest in attending either as a delegate or as a sponsor please visit: www.innovation-africa.com/2015/register

Sony reveals the 1TB PlayStation 4

2015-06-23T12:06:00.000+01:00

PlayStation 4 owners will know that a 500GB hard drive is just not enough in this technology driven day and age. PlayStation 4 titles are growing in size, with some titles taking up at least 50GB of space – once installed. Ultimately, those who own a PlayStation 4 would have to uninstall various video game titles in order to make room for newer ones. However, Sony seems adamant to keep players happy, which is why the company has now unveiled a PlayStation 4, which comes with a 1TB hard drive. According to Sony, the latest PlayStation 4 will be dubbed the “Ultimate Player 1TB Edition.” The Ultimate Player 1TB Edition will drop the 500Gb hard drive and replace it with a 1TB hard drive. According to Sony, the latest batch of consoles to hit the market will also be 10 percent lighter, use eight percent less energy, and come standard with a matte hard drive bay cover. The PlayStation 4 Ultimate Player 1TB Edition has been confirmed for South Africa; however, no official release date or pricing has been confirmed. If you missed out on the PlayStation Plus June 2015 lineup, you can find it here.

The first step to stopping the next Cyberattack

2015-06-05T17:49:00.001+01:00

Given the ever-increasing sophistication of cybercrime methods, organisations must employ advanced assessment tools and practices to reduce or eliminate security gaps. The first step to a successful security posture is to know what your current security network looks like. It’s hard to strengthen a security foundation when you don’t know where the weaknesses are. Cyber threats have gained a lot of media attention recently, and the perception that Africa is not likely to experience cyber-attacks is false. Africa has one of the highest number of cyber-attacks, which have mostly targeted government websites in Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal over the recent months. Basie van Solms, director of the Centre for Cyber Security at the University of Johannesburg, says that South Africa is lagging behind Africa when it comes to adopting a stable cyber security policy and that there is a lack overall of a cyber-security strategy and culture. The South African government has been criticised for not having a decisive policy and control over the growing problem of cyber-crime, which cost the country over R3.4 billion in one year alone. South African organisations, therefore, have an even greater reason to ensure their networks and data are protected – and it starts with understanding where they’re at. Organisations need to do a comprehensive assessment, which will evaluate the current state of the security network in all areas, from network architecture and security infrastructure and policy, to monitoring capability and incident response readiness. It will identify potential vulnerabilities and highlight gaps in security resources, capabilities and infrastructure. By conducting this evaluation, organisations will generate the information required to design a blueprint for fundamentally secure operations. Teams should begin by examining the network architecture by looking at ingress and egress points. Specifically, they’ll want to check how many there are, where they are and how they’re used, as well as how they are protected, managed and controlled. Having a complete understanding of ingress and egress points is vital to maintaining the health of the security network. Next, understand what critical services are required to run day-to-day business operations. Are they protected? What controls are in place to protect their operation? What is the most sensitive data for the organisation? Is this data being protected, and how? What controls are in place to protect access and fidelity? They’ll also need to decide what data should be encrypted while at rest and while in motion, a critical factor in the event of data theft. Evaluate the segmentation of the network. Is the network segmented? If so, is the network segmented properly to prevent easy access across large portions of the network? It’s also important to check all of the security controls that are in place. Some key design considerations for all security controls include where they’re deployed, whether they’re in detect or prevent mode, and if they’re set to block known attacks. Teams should also check if the controls are integrated to support the entire security infrastructure and whether they support user identity.

Nigeria: Is MTN Group set to buy Visafone?

2015-04-15T21:58:00.002+01:00

MTN Group has been extremely active over the past few years… especially when in comes to acquisitions in Africa. This time around, the MTN Group has now set its sight’s on Jim Ovia’s Nigerian mobile phone company, Visafone Communications. Ovia’s mobile phone company was essentially set up in 2007, and is currently delivering voice and broadband services through mobile and fixed telecom platforms. While the deal has not been made public as yet, sources closest to the deal who wish to remain anonymous – according to Bloomberg – stated that they were unable to give the value of the transaction. According to the report, MTN has been exploring acquisitions as it seeks to boost revenue from data outside South Africa, where Vodacom Group has more subscribers. MTN had 59.9 million subscribers in Nigeria at the end of 2014, more than a quarter of its 223 million total across 22 countries. Visafone had about 2.2 million customers as of December, according to data compiled by the Nigerian Communications Commission. Funmilayo Onajide, a spokeswoman for MTN Nigeria said they will send a holding statement at the appropriate time. According to Moneyweb.co.za: “The deal is done. We’re almost putting ink to paper.” According to Forbes, Visafone founder Jim Ovia, 61, is one of Nigeria’s wealthiest men with a fortune estimated at $850 million. He founded Zenith Bank in May 1990 and grew it into one of the largest commercial banks in Africa with a market capitalization of more than $3.5 billion. He served as CEO of the bank from its inception till 2010 when he stepped down. Apart from his interests in telecoms and banking, Ovia is also constructing a 5-star hotel in Lagos and a $1.5 billion petrochemical plant in Nigeria’s South-South region.According to various reports, the acquisition will enable MTN to leverage Visafone’s value proposition, and expand its offerings and services to their Nigerian customers. To add to this Visafone is the only network provider with a CDMA network in Nigeria. The CDMA network is less congested and could enable MTN to offer higher quality services.

How Tech Will Change How Work Gets Done

2015-04-15T21:50:00.001+01:00

More people than ever before are leaving the corporate office behind to work remotely. To address this, the technology industry has had to move fast and in just the past year, we have seen acquisitions, apps and services developed – all with a single goal: to help make people productive, securely, from anywhere. As the need to work remotely increases, technology will have to continue to improve. Here are some of the changes we can expect to see in the coming months and years: 1. Employee requests for mobility are now a requirement. For progressive companies, remote working is nothing new. But over the past 4 years, the expectations around mobility have grown. According to Forrester Research, 61% of information workers work outside the office, with Forbes reporting that the number of workers who telecommute will increase 63% in the next 5 years. In a recent study into the work-life balance of South African office workers, conducted by FreedThinkers on behalf of Citrix, 54 percent of workers indicated that they would be very likely or slightly likely to work from home if their employer allowed it. People are demanding the ability to work from locations that best enable them to get their jobs done. And with this comes increased job satisfaction while also delivering a more flexible and agile organisation that is better equipped to deal with the increased speed of change in today’s business climate. 2. Device management is becoming obsolete – workspaces are the new paradigm. Today’s employee has at least three devices that they use to get their work done – some personal, others corporate-owned. Each of these devices is from a different hardware provider with a different version of an OS. The thousands of device/OS combinations and the diverse ownership make it nearly impossible to manage each device the way traditional corporate PCs were handled. Instead, IT will shift focus to service delivery on any device, without worrying about the device itself. The concept of workspaces that offer a combination of corporate apps and data that are secured by IT and always available to individuals, regardless of the device they are on has already emerged bringing value to many organisations. 3. Business apps will have built-in collaboration, increasing employee engagement. As more people go mobile, how can organisations keep the same sense of camaraderie and collaboration when employees are in different geographies? Social collaboration technologies will become front and center in 2015 as these tools will become built into everything we do. Imagine your email app giving you simple one touch access to start a video chat immediately. Or, if working collaboratively on a presentation, opening up a white-boarding app within the meeting app, and illustrating your ideas to your colleagues. In 2015, the tools we need to connect instantly with colleagues and customers around the world will be built into the apps we use every day. 4. Extending “software-defined” concepts to the workplace will redefine IT. The software-defined datacenter changed how IT implemented their datacenters – it transitioned compute, networks and storage from physical assets to virtual, self-provisioned resources. But this is just the beginning. Organisations will now look beyond the datacenter to explore how a software-defined workplace can bring not only operational and technical efficiencies but also benefits to people and the business as a whole. Instead of focusing on office locations where employees have to be present to get their work done, now people and places can become “virtual” and work can happen anywhere. This concept will reinvent how IT services are consumed, delivered and managed, giving businesses the agility to capitalise on new growth opportunities and respond to a dynamic and fast changing market. In the coming years, we expect a major change in how business and IT enable their workforce. Whether people are working from new and exciting locations, from new devices and OSes, or with new apps that make collaboration easy from anywhere, becoming “software-defined” will reinvent how people work, accelerating business mobility. By Brendan Mc Aravey, country manager, Citrix South Africa

Nigeria: Infracos set to connect 60 cities to broadband

2015-04-12T06:26:00.005+01:00

According to a report by ngrguardiannews.com, Lagos as well as 60 other cities, in the North Central zone of Nigeria, are set to receive improved broadband services.
The report revealed that MainOne Cable will be in charge of the Lagos area while IHS will be focusing on the North Central states of the country and Abuja.
MainOne, which landed a submarine cable in the country, about four years ago and recently unveiled a Tier III data centre in Lagos, will provide InfraCos services to an expected 20 million people in the state.
According to the report, analysts believe that Lagos offers huge investment returns because it is the commercial capital of Nigeria, where expansive and affordable broadband access would impact significantly on more than 12 per cent of the population and nearly 60 per cent value of corporate Nigeria.
IHS, which operates about 22,000 towers across Africa in sharing deal, has been licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to focus on states including Benue; Kogi; Kwara; Nassarawa; Niger; Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
A source privy to the development, told The Guardian that IHS will first of all focus on the cosmopolitan areas in the region it won. Some of the cities to be included are as follows: Makurdi, Gboko, Katsina Ala, Adikpo, Otukpo, Korinya, Makurdi Tar Vandeikya, Aliade, Otukpa, Lessel, Oju, Okpoga, Awajir, Agbede, Ikpayongo and Zaki-Biam.

Apple's iOS 8.3 update brings wireless CarPlay to your iPhone

2015-04-09T17:36:00.000+01:00

Apple's busy today -- on top of finally releasing Photos, it's rolling out the long-expected iOS 8.3 update. It's not as huge as 8.2 was, but you'll likely appreciate it if you're a tech-savvy driver. The upgrade brings wireless CarPlay in supporting vehicles, so you don't have to plug in your iPhone just to get directions or music on your car's center display. You'll also find more diverse emoji (as in OS X), the option to download free apps without a password and a much easier way of signing into Google accounts when you use two-factor authentication. There's a whole bunch of app performance and interface fixes on top of this, so you'll definitely want to grab the 8.3 patch when you get the chance.

Computer users face hard choice _ pay ransom or lose files

2015-04-09T17:28:00.002+01:00

NEW YORK (AP) -- It's a chilling moment: A message appears on a computer screen, saying the files are encrypted and the only way to access them is by paying a ransom.

It happened at Jeff Salter's home health care business last December. The network of nearly 30 computers at Caring Senior Service was infected with ransomware, malicious software that hackers use to try to extort money from people and businesses by preventing them from opening or using documents, pictures, spreadsheets and other files. If computer users don't pay, there's no way they can access their files.

Ransomware is one of the fastest-growing forms of hacking, cybersecurity experts say. Anyone from a home computer user to a Fortune 500 company can be infected. It can also attack smartphones. The smaller the users, the more vulnerable they are to losing their files — unless they have a secure backup for their system or go through the complicated process of paying cybercriminals.

Salter thought he was prepared for such an invasion. Most of his files were backed up in a place hackers couldn't access, and he was able to restore his information. But one machine wasn't; it contained marketing materials for his San Antonio-based franchise chain with 55 locations. Salter paid a $500 ransom.

"It would have cost us $50,000 to try to spend the time to recreate the stuff," Salter says. "It would have been pretty devastating if we'd lost all that."

EVERYONE'S AT RISK

Like many hackers' tools, ransomware can arrive in emails with links or attachments that, when clicked on, unleash software into files. Attacks can also occur when users visit websites; cybercriminals can attach computer code even to well-known sites operated by tech-savvy companies, says technology consultant Greg Miller of CMIT Solutions of Goshen, New York.

Google And Facebook Chat No Longer Available On Outlook.com

2015-02-27T11:31:00.000+01:00

Recently, Microsoft announced that Outlook.com will no longer offer Facebook Chat and Google Talk integration. From now on, the website will be completely focused on the Redmond-based company's own chat product: Skype. The IT giant has already sent out messages notifying its customers of the upcoming changes which will take effect within the next couple of weeks.

As far as we know, the reason for taking out Google Talk is the fact that Google no longer offers support for the chat protocol employed by the client (XMPP), choosing to discontinue and replace it with its newer app called Hangouts. As irony would have it, Google chose to step aside from Google Talk and prioritize Hangouts in May 2013, exactly the same month that the chat became a part of the services offered by Outlook.com. As far as the Facebook chat application goes, Microsoft didn't offer any official reason for choosing to no longer integrate it in its services. From what I've heard, the social network has also been moving away from the XMPP protocol so that may be one of the causes for the decision.

The fact that Microsoft chose to seize the integration of any other service except for Skype isn't only designed to attract more people to company's chat client but also shows how important it actually is. To be totally honest, I don't think that people who use Outlook had an aversion against Skype, but surely there were some who were using Gtalk or Facebook Chat simply because they had friends who preferred those services. Soon they will no longer have that option.

Google and Microsoft

2015-02-26T14:50:00.000+01:00

The fight between Google and Microsoft over the education sector of the market continues as both giants realize that making people rely on their services from a young age could mean that they will continue utilizing them for a very long time. Since the Mountain View-based company one-upped them with the Google for Education Project, Microsoft had to do something, so they decided to extend their free Office 365 suite offer to every student in the entire world.

Microsoft already allowed students from the US to use Office 365 for free (since 2013), but now it decided to expand this privilege to the entire globe. However, there are a few terms that students need to meet in order to benefit from this offer. The first and most important one is that the institution where they study must already have the licensed software. If you are a student and you want to check if you are eligible to receive free access to Office 365, simply go to this link and enter the email provided to you by your school. For teachers the procedure is similar, but they have to visit this website instead.

Students who gain access to the free version of the Office 365 suite will be able to install Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access and Publisher on up to five devices (Windows computers, Macs, iPads, Android phones and tablets, Windows tablets, etc.) and will also receive 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage space along with the possibility to use Office Online.

LATEST SOFTWARE

2015-02-26T12:32:00.001+01:00

Introduction

Technology news is full of incremental developments, but few of them are true milestones. Here we’re citing 10 that are. These advances from the past year all solve thorny problems or create powerful new ways of using technology. They are breakthroughs that will matter for years to come.

-The Editors

Agricultural Drones
Relatively cheap drones with advanced sensors and imaging capabilities are giving farmers new ways to increase yields and reduce crop damage.
Ultraprivate Smartphones
New models built with security and privacy in mind reflect the Zeitgeist of the Snowden era.
Brain Mapping
A new map, a decade in the works, shows structures of the brain in far greater detail than ever before, providing neuroscientists with a guide to its immense complexity.
Neuromorphic Chips
Microprocessors configured more like brains than traditional chips could soon make computers far more astute about what’s going on around them.
Genome Editing
The ability to create primates with intentional mutations could provide powerful new ways to study complex and genetically baffling brain disorders.
Microscale 3-D Printing
Inks made from different types of materials, precisely applied, are greatly expanding the kinds of things that can be printed.
Mobile Collaboration
The smartphone era is finally getting the productivity software it needs.
Oculus Rift
Thirty years after virtual-reality goggles and immersive virtual worlds made their debut, the technology finally seems poised for widespread use.
Agile Robots
Computer scientists have created machines that have the balance and agility to walk and run across rough and uneven terrain, making them far more useful in navigating human environments.
Smart Wind and Solar Power
Big data and artificial intelligence are producing ultra-accurate forecasts that will make it feasible to integrate much more renewable energy into the grid.

Bluetooth Paving Its Way To The Future

2015-02-26T12:29:00.001+01:00

Nowadays, almost every new piece of technology from smartphones and tablets to key-finding devices and light bulbs includes support for Bluetooth connectivity. Better yet, the new version called Bluetooth Smart requires very little power to operate, so it can run for years with the equivalent of a battery watch. However, the biggest problem for this technology has always been the maximum range of its connection which at the moment is somewhere around 30 meters (98 feet). This is why the backers of Bluetooth thought about weaving a mesh that will drastically extend the connectivity range.

Basically, what it this means is that the Bluetooth Special Interest Group is planning on creating a chain network that will use various devices which embed Bluetooth technology thermostats, sensors, lights etc. to transmit the signal farther. According to the group, devices which include the Bluetooth mesh feature could start showing up on the market as early as in the upcoming year. Since other networks, like ZigBee or 6LoWPAN, which employ relatively similar mesh technology have already existed for quite a while, there is no reason to believe that it won't work for Bluetooth.

As cool as this might sound, I hope that those in charge of the project take into account the inherent dangers that come along for the ride. The mass-implementation of Bluetooth functionality was OK, exactly because you had to be in the proximity area of the device in order to be able to control it. But embedding Bluetooth technology into every or most of the appliances in your home and then making it easy to access over long distances means that hackers could be able to not only take over your computer but control your entire house. And even worse, they won't need to be less than 100 feet away to be able to do it.

Huawei launches Windows phone in Africa

2015-02-26T12:10:00.001+01:00

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has unveiled a bespoke Windows-run smartphone exclusively available in Africa.

The customised Huawei Windows phone will only be available in Africa

The customised device is being launched today in partnership with Microsoft as part of its new 4Afrika Initiative.
This includes plans to develop cheap wireless broadband in the Rift Valley in Kenya and help local people in South Africa and Egypt develop Windows apps.
Prices for the new device have not yet been announced.
"Our aim is to be the most affordable Windows phone in Africa," Gustavo Fuchs, director of Microsoft Windows Phone division in the Middle East & Africa, told the BBC.
It will initially be rolled out in seven countries: Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Angola, Morocco and South Africa.
The phone will be marketed depending on the retail climate of those individual nations, Mr Fuchs explained.
"At first we are making the product available across the southern market.
"We're looking at the biggest channel for each country. In South Africa, it's operator-led, in other markets like Nigeria and Angola there's a mixed environment and in the Ivory Coast they are only sold at retail."
Accessibility The phone will be connected to a customised app store including applications designed and built by Africans.
"Affordability is important but without the right local content we believe a lot of users will not see the benefit in the change from a basic feature phone to a smartphone," said Mr Fuchs.
He said the objective of the scheme was to increase the penetration of smartphones across the continent.
"If you look at current penetration compared with the US or Europe, which is around 50%, in Africa the average is very close to 10%, less in some parts."
The handset is a customised version of the Huawei Ascend W1 which was displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month.
It has a 4in (10cm) touch screen and 5 megapixel camera. The phone can be on stand-by for up to 420 hours between charges.
"The 4Afrika Initiative should make tens of millions of smart devices available across the continent in the next couple of years," Mr Fuchs said.

Google

2015-02-26T12:02:00.001+01:00

Google has sealed a deal with several mobile telephone operators to promote their payment systems through the mobile app 'Google Wallet', just a few months after the release of an electronic payment system by Apple.

world thiniest keyboard

2015-02-26T11:52:00.000+01:00

World's thinnest keyboard unveiled by Cambridge tech firm
Company behind technology found in Beats headphones and Nike gadgets plans lightweight add-on for tablets or phones

World's thinnest keyboardThe world's thinnest keyboard, which has been unveiled by Cambridge-based CSR at the IFA consumer electronics event in Berlin. Photograph: Picasa/PR
Jemima Kiss

The company behind the technology found in wireless Beats headphones and Nike Running gadget has unveiled the world's thinnest keyboard, with a flexible, wireless touchscreen just half a millimetre thick.
Cambridge-based CSR, which specialises in wireless technology, showcased a prototype of the product at the IFA consumer electronics event in Berlin, but it will be 12 months before it will be available to buy.
Paul Williamson, CSR's director of low power wireless products, said the final form factor depended on how manufacturers bring the keyboard to market, although its primary use is likely to be as a lightweight, complementary external keyboard for tablet devices. "This is a working prototype and a glimpse forward rather than something people will be buying this year," he said.
"We might see lots of shapes and sizes, some as small as iPad Mini or a larger, more rigid
Developed in partnership with Conductive Inkjet Technology, the interface for the product is printed out and can be customised. That could mean printing bespoke keyboards in different languages with ease, or customised keyboards for functions such as video editing and for customers who would like personalised patterns or messages on their own keyboard.
The keyboard's touchscreen could also be used under a piece of paper to transcribe notes made with a pen and sync them to a computer.
CSR's research has led to wireless products that enable music streaming in the popular Beats headphones, the performance-tracking tool the Nike+ SportWatch and the Jambox speaker.
Founded in 1999, CSR is one of a cluster of successful, research-focused tech companies clustered around Cambridge and "Silicon Fen" who have recently discussed introducing a "Made in Cambridge" badge to promote their products.
"The audio experience you're getting from Beats headphones exists because we developed it, put it out there and now it is used on a global scale," said Williamson.
of London."
the wireless technology

RAM

2015-02-26T11:50:00.003+01:00

A big difference between DDR3 and DDR4 is speed. DDR3 specifications started at 800 MT/s (or Millions of Transfers per second) and some went as high as 2133. DDR4, meanwhile, starts at 2133 MHz. The increased speed means an overall increase in bandwidth.