Every tablet helps: Tesco joins the 7-inch tablet market with the Hudl

They’ve cornered the market in just about everything else and might be better known for selling baked beans and bread, but now Britain’s biggest retailer is looking to get a slice of the technology pie. Tesco has announced it will now be selling the Hudl, a seven-inch tablet, alongside the things we expect to find in its supermarkets.

With a 1.5 GHz processor, an HD screen and expandable storage, the Hudl seems like more than just a token attempt to get in on the tablet craze. It resembles other Android tablets with a T logo in the bottom corner opening Tesco content like online shopping and the Blinkbox on-demand film service.

Retailing at £119, the Hudl should be competitive in the small tablet market going up against the likes of the Amazon Kindle and Google Nexus 7 in the £100-£200 range.

Home is where the tablet is

A new survey looking at home comforts has revealed that besides the traditional things we’d expect like slippers and dressing gowns, iPads and wi-fi now figure highly in what makes people feel at home.

The survey of 1,000 adults by East Coast Trains showed a mixture of tradition and technology dominated people’s responses when asked what made them feel truly at home. Some 71 per cent answered with television, 46 per cent said slippers and 41 per cent said a dressing gown, but the iPad weighed in heavily with 48 per cent in the poll.

The Top Ten Home Comforts

1 Television (71%)

2 Cosy bed (66%)

3 Comfy chair (57%)

4 iPad (48%)

5 Slippers (46%)

6 Wi-Fi (43%)

7 A good book (41%)

8 Dressing gown (41%)

9 Favourite mag (32%)

10 Coffee machine (21%)

Facebook (15%), an iPod or MP3 player (13%) figured lower down the list with around 97 per cent of Brits said they like their home comforts around all the time and seven in 10 people said they felt lost without them.

A touch too much? Why the new Apple iPhone 5S Touch fingerprint sensor is causing a stir

Perhaps phones are getting too smart… One of the features on the new iPhone 5S that has got the most attention is the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Concerns have arisen about the implications of its biometric abilities but something more quirky has emerged too.

The latest Touch ID hack shows that the 5S can be taught to recognise nipples with video emerging from Japan of a man registering the impression of his nipple on his device and unlocking it. There’s even footage of a 5S phones being unlocked by cat and dog paws.

Nifty, but perhaps not too convenient if your pet isn’t around when you want to use your iPhone.

Click and collect: Ebay teams up with Argos for retail deal

E-Bay shoppers will soon be able to pick up selected purchases from Argos stores as the high street retailer joins forces with the e-commerce site.

The click-and-collect scheme is being tried out in 150 Argos stores with at least 50 as yet unnamed eBay merchants taking part.

The move is a challenge to Amazon’s locker delivery scheme which lets people order online then pick up their items from secure passcode-protected sites in shops and other venues.

Both Amazon, e-Bay and other online retailers are involved in the similar Collect+ initiative which allows packages to be collected from participating corner shops if a delivery is likely to be missed.

From our news site: Ethernet still making the connections

The advent of Ethernet fabrics is driving network transformation, as organisations look to become more flexible, adaptable, and resilient, it has been claimed.

Sean Ong, Malaysia country manager of Brocade Communication Systems, told the Star Online that this type of network – where all paths, nodes, resources, and requirements are registered – is enabling the standard to remain relevant.

He said that, despite having been around for 40 years, Ethernet “continues to redefine networking”.

Read the full story here: https://www.comms-express.com/news/network-cables/ethernet-fabrics-are-redefining-networking-says-expert-801645446/