TechBlog

Internet is great, and everyday millions of people spend their day surfing it, using Google, Gmail, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Some people buy at ebay, or Amazon. Even some people use it to work, though these cases maybe not that common😉 As a reader of this blog, you are concerned about security and therefore you already know that connecting through public WiFi is a risky sport. But it is also really convenient, how many of you have done it in McDonalds,Starbucks, etc.? Yeah, me too😮 ...

I love computers and technology in general. Actually, I am an advocate of technology and I try to push high tech solution whenever that makes sense. But, what happens when technology fails? We have seen many movies with various apocalyptical scenarios where one or another technology fails on us: computer systems in nuclear power plants, satellites, ground or air traffic and so on. The picture below were taken by me with the mobile’s phone camera in two airports in Europe. ...

Currently cyber criminals try to make fast money by spamming out emails in masses in Germany which allegedly stem from an Advocate specialized in copyright. According to the spam mails, the user was downloading copyrighted material. An IP address is in the email to proof that. To not call the attorney to action, the recipient of the mail is offered to send 100 Euros via a payment system called Ukash. Don’t fall for that social engineering, don’t pay! ...

Mashable: The Wi-Fi Alliance is about to drop a wireless connectivity bombshell called Wi-Fi Direct. It will enable device-to-device connections using current Wi-Fi standards. The Wi-Fi Alliance will begin certifying Wi-Fi Direct devices today. Communication between Wi-Fi devices isn’t specifically new. The Nintendo DS, for instance, has had device-to-device Wi-Fi interaction for some time, but the technology is proprietary. The Wi-Fi Alliance differentiates Wi-Fi Direct by certifying the standard, ensuring interoperability. Devices stamped with the Wi-Fi Direct certification don’t need wireless networks, as they essentially become micro-hotspots. This technology will conceivably allow devices like an Eye-Fi memory card to directly beam an image to a wireless printer. Since Wi-Fi Direct is largely software based, many recent devices should be upgradeable. ...

Well in time for the MeeGo Conference next month, Nokia has just started the rollout of the all new PR 1.3 firmware (v20.2010.36-2) for the N900. The update is available over the air (OTA) in the UK with other countries expected to follow suit tomorrow. It should also be available via Nokia’s Software Updater in the coming days, but if you can’t wait or want to flash your device to get a fresh start, grab the firmware images from here and get cracking. ...

Mashable: After iOS 4.2, iPad’s screen rotation lock switch, located on the upper-right edge of the device, will become a mute switch, similar to the mute switch on the iPhone. According to Steve Jobs himself, who answered one of 9to5Mac’s readers in an email, the change is permanent, and – although it’s just a matter of a software tweak – users won’t be able to switch between the two functions. ...

Last night Facebook announced that it had over 500 000 000 users. Some facts that have come out of this are that: 8% of the entire world are on Facebook Metro Facebook was valued at $11.5 billion The Telegraph More than 150 million log in through their phone The Guardian Taken from TalkWeb

Lady Gaga took to Twitter this morning to announce that her YouTube videos have hit the lofty milestone of 1 billion total views. The musician is the first to reach such a goal, but Justin Bieber is trailing close behind with 962,726,797 total video views. Sources were predicting this outcome a few weeks ago, with Lady Gaga reaching 1 billion YouTube views around October 20, and Bieber hitting the mark on November 1. ...

Sylvester Caan dropped us a note to tell us (and show us!) his iPad being signed by US President Barak Obama. Take it away, Sylvester: At a rally in Seattle, WA at the University of Washington, the President used the touchscreen on my iPad to give me his autograph. He looked slightly surprised, but proceeded to use his finger to scribble on the iPad using the Adobe Ideas app. ...

Windows 7 might be selling like hotcakes but that’s only going to make it even harder for Microsoft to top. When asked about the riskiest product bet that the software giant is currently developing, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer answered “the next release of Windows” without so much as a second of hesitation. Unfortunately, his interviewers don’t ask him for an explanation, so we’ll have to speculate as to why he chose Windows and not something else like Windows Phone, Xbox Kinect, or Bing. ...

New York (CNN) — Social networking site MySpace, while acknowledging it shares profile information with advertisers, said Saturday that it is taking action against app developers who may have violated the website’s terms of use by sharing user data. A spokesman for MySpace who refused to be named told CNN that it shares information with advertisers, but that it does not identify a user. Although MySpace users are not required to provide an actual name when registering, their user IDs link the public information displayed on their profile, which can sometimes reveal names, addresses and other critical information. ...

If you want to improve Google’s results and report spammy web pages, there’s a Chrome extension for you.Google Webspam Report adds a link next to each Google search result and automatically fills the spam report form with information like the URL of the page and your query. You can also use the button from Chrome’s toolbar to report pages. The most interesting feature is the integration with Chrome’s browsing history that lets you select recently visited pages and recent Google searches. ...

Today is a very important day for Microsoft: it’s the first day that Windows XP can no longer be bundled on new PCs and it’s also the first anniversary of the release of Windows 7. Either Microsoft planned for these dates to coincide, or we just have a big coincidence on our hands. Due to Vista’s performance issues on cheap netbooks, Microsoft had to extend the Windows XP installation deadline for its OEM partners. Back in 2008, Microsoft told OEMs that October 22, 2010 would be the last day they could sell computers that come with Windows XP. ...

(Reuters) – Google Inc said its “Street View” cars around the world accidentally collected more personal data than previously disclosed, and that it was changing its privacy practices. Regulators in some of the more than 30 countries where the cars operated are looking into the issue. Google’s Street View cars, which are well known for crisscrossing the globe and taking panoramic pictures of the city’s streets, collected the data. The company displays the pictures in its online street maps. ...

The author of this article seems to think Linux in the desktop is dead, with so many missed opportunities, especially during the failure of Windows Vista, they will never break into the market now that Win 7 is so successful. In some ways I agree, but personally, I never thought Linux even had a chance with the average user on a home system. Being in IT, like most peeps in my field, I have become the “help desk” for family and friends; I really do not think the average user is ready for it. Add in the lack of applications and games that are available, it really did not stand a chance. I design and write software, the development costs these days are huge, and the money peeps want a good ROI to out weigh the risks, developing from scratch or even porting an existing app is just too risky. ...