James Farrell

James Farrell is the former editor-in-chief of Chiang Mai CityNews, where he wrote and managed daily news, features, op-eds and blogs on a diverse range of topics. Prior to this, in the same city of Northern Thailand where he lives, he was the longstanding deputy editor of the monthly magazine Citylife. He has written on culture, politics, travel, tech, business, human rights, for local, national, and international news services and magazines. He has a keen interest in the role technology is playing in the transformation of society, culture and politics, especially in developing nations. This is reflected in his not-so-successful first novel.

Latest from James Farrell

Critical threat to Windows users? Microsoft releases patch install

Users of Windows 2003/2008/2012, as well as Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, and Windows RT, could be under attack from a bug which Microsoft reported could “allow remote code execution if an attacker sends specially crafted packets to a Windows server.” Machines are vulnerable in the Secure Channel (Schannel) security package in Windows, says Microsoft, from threats that ...

A phone for every budget? First Lumia phone launched by Microsoft looks at low-cost buyers market

The first Lumia device has been officially launched today as the Lumia 535, a smartphone, which doesn’t offer much more than some of Microsoft’s Windows Phones, but is the first Lumia device available minus the Nokia brand. The phone offers two models, one with Dual SIM. Both are relatively cheap, and it seems they’re aimed ...

Microsoft guides the blind with bat-like tech

Navigating the cities of the world could soon become a lot easier for the millions of blind and visually impaired people thanks to Microsoft’s innovative navigational headset, which lets you hear your surroundings when seeing them is not possible. The product, which is still in its pilot stage, gives the visually impaired what Microsoft has ...

Opinion: Why Skype’s “magic” video translator is unlikely to beat Google Translate

When I first heard of Microsoft’s real-time voice translation app for Skype and CEO, Satya Nadella’s bold prediction to “imagine in the very near future technology allowing humans to bridge geographic and language boundaries,” I was moved by such a world-changing utterance. I was also curious, and a little skeptical: the translation tools already available, to ...

Breaking the language barrier: Microsoft seeks testers for real-time Skype video translator

Microsoft’s Skype Translator is ready for testing, and the Redmond, WA-based company is looking for applicants to try out the new product. The new feature will be an advance on previous translation tools of the past, which only translated text, supporting 51 languages. The new real-time translator will translate video conversations in real-time. Back in May at ...

A cloudy partnership? Microsoft and Dropbox tie the knot

Only days after Microsoft gave its Office 365 subscribers unlimited cloud storage, the Redmond company has now announced that it will be integrating Office with Dropbox Inc. The two competitors have collaborated on a move that will mean Office apps for Android and iOS will be synced with Dropbox’s storage. “Over the coming weeks, we’re ...

Wooing developers, the latest version of Internet Explorer now available on Android, iOS and OS X

Through Microsoft Corp.’s Azure’s RemoteApp, developers are now able to run the latest version of Internet Explorer without having to install the preview version of Windows 10. Speaking on the development Anton Molleda, Microsoft program manager, said in a blog post that this will preclude developers from needing to run a new OS or a heavyweight ...

How you’re impacted by Windows 7 & 8 death as Microsoft winds up for Windows 10

Making way for the introduction of Widows 10, Microsoft Corp. stopped selling retail copies of Windows 7 and 8 on October 31st.   The giant software maker’s Widows Lifecycle Chart shows that from now on, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will not be able to purchase Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Ultimate, or Windows 7 Home Premium ...

Prices, pros & cons: Google Drive vs. OneDrive, Dropbox and Box

The consumer cloud space just got a bit more exciting, following the recent announcement by Microsoft that Office 365 subscribers will soon have unlimited storage. Microsoft seemed quite jubilant about the move, with Chris Jones, OneDrive corporate VP quite loftily pointing out last week, “Today, storage limits just became a thing of the past with ...

Office 16 due for release in second half of 2015

At a recent Tech Ed Europe conference held in Barcelona Julia White, GM of Office and Office 365, revealed that Microsoft Corp.’s Office 16 will be launched a little behind the previously planned date of Spring next year. It’s now reported that the launch will come in the latter half of the year, although no ...