Filed under: Google, Browsers
Google Chrome's (and Chromium's) about:flags page is becoming quite the playground for intrepid feature testers. In a recent Chromium snapshot build, another handy new feature has appeared: user-specified DNS servers.
Being able to specify custom servers right in the browser might not be a big deal on other operating systems -- where you can already do that in your network settings. On Chrome OS, however, it could provide an easy way for parents to lock their child's netbook into the OpenDNS FamilyShield in order to block inappropriate content (for example).
I'm sure there are other applications for this as well -- testing, for example. Want to run GoogleDNS in Canary against your ISP's servers in Chromium to see how they perform side-by-side? Go for it!
...Or maybe your favorite site won't load, or an outdated copy of a page you're working on keeps loading when you refresh (I'm looking at you, MTS). If it's your DNS servers at fault, you could quickly pop a new server into Chrome, reload, and off you go.
Sure, you could achieve the same result using a proxy server, but why bother if the functionality is built right into your browser?Google Chrome to add option for custom DNS servers originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 24 Oct 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Visualize the Game Console Generation Shift
An interactive infographic lets you visualize the videogame console wars in terms of how they've traded market share over the past several years.
The Prize Portrait From Our Halloween Illustration Contest [Promotion]
Yesterday we chose our Halloween Illustration Contest winner and locked Gizmodo's contributing artist Sam Spratt in a creepy basement with instructions to draw a freaky portrait. Here's the result. More »
Space Dresses Up For Halloween, Too [Image Cache]
It figures that this close to Halloween, something wicked would show up in the stars. Astronomers can call this a nebula if they want; you and I both know that it's a demon spawn of intergalactic proportions. More »
Gizmodo's Essential iPhone Apps, October 2010 [IphoneApps]
There's an ocean of apps out there. Whether you just got your iPhone and are feeling adrift or you're a salty old dog seeing what you might've missed, here are 50 absolutely essential apps. More »
IE9 Beta downloaded 10 million times, more details on Developer Preview 6
Filed under: Microsoft, Browsers
A few moments ago Dean Hachamovitch took the stage at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference, summarily bounced around, and then gave us the news: IE9 Beta has now been downloaded over 10 million times, in just six weeks.
Today also sees the release of Platform Preview 6, which unfortunately -- as far as non-developers are concerned -- doesn't feature any significant outwardly-facing changes. Under the hood, however, there have been lots of bug fixes and performance enhancements. News is good on the standards-compliance front, too: IE9 now has support for CSS3 2D transforms and HTML5 semantic tags. For further details, check the release notes.
The real question, though, revolves around IE9 Beta 2. When is it due? And if the rumors about IE9 launching in January 2011 are true, is there even time for a second beta?IE9 Beta downloaded 10 million times, more details on Developer Preview 6 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
A few moments ago Dean Hachamovitch took the stage at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference, summarily bounced around, and then gave us the news: IE9 Beta has now been downloaded over 10 million times, in just six weeks.
Today also sees the release of Platform Preview 6, which unfortunately -- as far as non-developers are concerned -- doesn't feature any significant outwardly-facing changes. Under the hood, however, there have been lots of bug fixes and performance enhancements. News is good on the standards-compliance front, too: IE9 now has support for CSS3 2D transforms and HTML5 semantic tags. For further details, check the release notes.
The real question, though, revolves around IE9 Beta 2. When is it due? And if the rumors about IE9 launching in January 2011 are true, is there even time for a second beta?IE9 Beta downloaded 10 million times, more details on Developer Preview 6 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Apple Sues Motorola Over Multitouch [Lawsuits]
Earlier this month, Motorola sued Apple for pretty much everything phone-related: MobileMe, the App Store, location based services, antenna design, and so forth. One thing Moto didn't mention however, was multitouch. So guess what happened? Apple decided to sue Motorola right back, filing two patent infringement lawsuits that cover six patents regarding, you guessed it, multitouch. More »
Myspace Rearranges Furniture, Slaps On Fresh Coat of Paint
Myspace announced a site redesign Wednesday as it attempts to cement its position as an entertainment niche in social networking and stem the flow of users to the exit door. The News Corp. unit is seeking to become the online destination for "social entertainment" -- a place where Gen Y'rs can share music and videos, as well as share likes and dislikes with fellow fans.
UK Pizzeria, PizzaExpress installing iPod/iPhone docks
PizzaExpress, a UK-based pizzeria, is adding iPod/iPhone docks into some of their seating areas as part of their ?next-gen? restaurant upgrade.
PizzaExpress has started the roll out in their restaurant in Richmond, London. They call their new dining concept ?Living Lab?, inviting the british public to try out all the new features before a full roll [...]UK Pizzeria, PizzaExpress installing iPod/iPhone docks is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
PizzaExpress has started the roll out in their restaurant in Richmond, London. They call their new dining concept ?Living Lab?, inviting the british public to try out all the new features before a full roll [...]UK Pizzeria, PizzaExpress installing iPod/iPhone docks is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
How To Conjure Up Authentic Horror Movie Blood [Video]
If you want fake blood done right, you've got to turn to the professionals. And I'm pretty sure the "I wish this blood were real/yours" look in this man's eyes qualifies him as professional. More »
No Change? Buy Candy With PayPal, Your Phone and Twitter
A proof-of-concept vending machine shows how we can dispense with cash for everyday purchases, skipping credit and debit cards altogether and going straight to electronic transfer.
The vending machine uses QR codes, PayPal, a smartphone camera and Twitter. And, to complete the geek-buzzword bingo checklist, the hardware is based in part on Arduino, an open source [...]
The vending machine uses QR codes, PayPal, a smartphone camera and Twitter. And, to complete the geek-buzzword bingo checklist, the hardware is based in part on Arduino, an open source [...]
INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES INVENTEC
Prey for Android is an open-source anti-theft service
Filed under: Security, Utilities, AndroidThere are two ways of looking at geolocation and other tracking technologies. There are those that decry the Information Dynasty, that abhor the idea of sharing your location with the godless monstrosities of Facebook and Google -- and then you have the diametric opposite: sharing is good, information is knowledge, knowledge is wisdom, Google is God.
But both schools are missing the point: data is useful. It is simply how you use it that matters. It might not seem apparent as a marketing-bombarded, social media munching consumer, but there is a mid-ground between giving Facebook all or none of your data. The danger with Facebook and other omnipresent Compu-Global-Hyper-Mega-Net corporations is that you never really know how your information will be used: you sign up to chat to your friends, and before you know it, your data is being used by countless other services.
There is a way out, though, if you're looking for that fabled mid-ground -- it's counterintuitive, going against everything we've been taught in the last decade, but it works. You simply have to use services that do just one thing -- no feature creep, bloat, or third-party integrations -- just one thing.
Which brings me onto Prey, an open-source and cross-platform anti-theft tool that lets you track your mobile phone or laptop at all times. It's free to use, there are pro accounts for large companies, and you can even set it up on your own servers if you like.
While Prey works across almost every modern platform (iOS and BlackBerry are the only omissions), I will be focusing on the experience for Android. Every version uses the Web control panel, however -- and the Prey app that runs on your phone or laptop doesn't require much configuration. If you want to secure a laptop or netbook, check out Lee's post!
To start, you need to register on the Prey website. Then grab the Prey app from the Android Market. Log in with your account details, and you'll be greeted with the Settings screen:
To understand the settings, you need to know how Prey for Android works. It's very simple: Prey reads every incoming SMS, and if it contains the activation code ("GO PREY" by default), your phone immediately tries to contact the Prey servers -- your phone is then considered "missing." Disabling Prey is just a matter of sending another SMS ("STOP PREY"), or toggling the "found" button on the Web control panel. The only other option for mobile phones is "SIM replacement detection" -- if your would-be thief tries to change the SIM, Prey can be configured to SMS the phone's new number to your phone.
Now we move onto the more important bit: the (very pretty) Web control panel. Here you can modify how often your stolen (or lost) phone reports back, and what data is reported. You also configure "Action Modules," which as you might have guessed, cause your phone to perform an action. For now you can only make your phone display an obnoxious message ("YOU THIEVING B*STARD"), or ring a very loud police-siren alarm. Presumably there might soon be more Action Modules that do other cool things -- like nuke your address book, take photos of the thief, use a voice synthesizer to produce racial slurs, and so on.
Finally, the whole point of Prey is to produce reports of your stolen phone or laptop. To this end you get a nice Google Map with your phone pin-pointed on it, your phone's current IP address, ... and that's about it. The control panel suggests that you should get "nearby Wi-Fi hotspots," "traceroute," and "active connections" information, but that seems to be missing from my reports. Maybe it doesn't work on the Android version!
Conclusion
To be honest, I don't know how big an issue phone (or laptop) theft is. But maybe it doesn't matter: Prey is so light-weight and so free that you might as well install it on your phone -- you have nothing to lose (hah).
Prey for Android Tech Specs
Installed Size -- 400KB
Speed/Responsiveness -- Excellent (Android 2.1 @ 600MHz, LG GT540)
User Interface -- The Android app doesn't have an interface as such; the Web control panel is nice, though!
Configurability & Extensibility -- None really, but you could code your own modules if you like...!
License -- Free and open-source with "premium" packages available
Prey for Android is an open-source anti-theft service originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
But both schools are missing the point: data is useful. It is simply how you use it that matters. It might not seem apparent as a marketing-bombarded, social media munching consumer, but there is a mid-ground between giving Facebook all or none of your data. The danger with Facebook and other omnipresent Compu-Global-Hyper-Mega-Net corporations is that you never really know how your information will be used: you sign up to chat to your friends, and before you know it, your data is being used by countless other services.
There is a way out, though, if you're looking for that fabled mid-ground -- it's counterintuitive, going against everything we've been taught in the last decade, but it works. You simply have to use services that do just one thing -- no feature creep, bloat, or third-party integrations -- just one thing.
Which brings me onto Prey, an open-source and cross-platform anti-theft tool that lets you track your mobile phone or laptop at all times. It's free to use, there are pro accounts for large companies, and you can even set it up on your own servers if you like.
While Prey works across almost every modern platform (iOS and BlackBerry are the only omissions), I will be focusing on the experience for Android. Every version uses the Web control panel, however -- and the Prey app that runs on your phone or laptop doesn't require much configuration. If you want to secure a laptop or netbook, check out Lee's post!
To start, you need to register on the Prey website. Then grab the Prey app from the Android Market. Log in with your account details, and you'll be greeted with the Settings screen:
To understand the settings, you need to know how Prey for Android works. It's very simple: Prey reads every incoming SMS, and if it contains the activation code ("GO PREY" by default), your phone immediately tries to contact the Prey servers -- your phone is then considered "missing." Disabling Prey is just a matter of sending another SMS ("STOP PREY"), or toggling the "found" button on the Web control panel. The only other option for mobile phones is "SIM replacement detection" -- if your would-be thief tries to change the SIM, Prey can be configured to SMS the phone's new number to your phone.
Now we move onto the more important bit: the (very pretty) Web control panel. Here you can modify how often your stolen (or lost) phone reports back, and what data is reported. You also configure "Action Modules," which as you might have guessed, cause your phone to perform an action. For now you can only make your phone display an obnoxious message ("YOU THIEVING B*STARD"), or ring a very loud police-siren alarm. Presumably there might soon be more Action Modules that do other cool things -- like nuke your address book, take photos of the thief, use a voice synthesizer to produce racial slurs, and so on.
Finally, the whole point of Prey is to produce reports of your stolen phone or laptop. To this end you get a nice Google Map with your phone pin-pointed on it, your phone's current IP address, ... and that's about it. The control panel suggests that you should get "nearby Wi-Fi hotspots," "traceroute," and "active connections" information, but that seems to be missing from my reports. Maybe it doesn't work on the Android version!
Conclusion
To be honest, I don't know how big an issue phone (or laptop) theft is. But maybe it doesn't matter: Prey is so light-weight and so free that you might as well install it on your phone -- you have nothing to lose (hah).
Prey for Android Tech Specs
Installed Size -- 400KB
Speed/Responsiveness -- Excellent (Android 2.1 @ 600MHz, LG GT540)
User Interface -- The Android app doesn't have an interface as such; the Web control panel is nice, though!
Configurability & Extensibility -- None really, but you could code your own modules if you like...!
License -- Free and open-source with "premium" packages available
Prey for Android is an open-source anti-theft service originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Saturday, October 30, 2010
CrunchGear Week in Review: Bear Scare Edition
Herman Miller?s Sayl Chair: Live Unframed Chevy Volt 240V Home Charging Kit: $490 (That?s Without Installation Taken Into Account) The SmartShopper: Because Writing Down Grocery Lists Is So 20th Century Zoom Q3HD Basically Records It All CEATEC 2010: Hands-on With Fujitsu?s ?Social? Teddy Bear Robots Going The Distance: Nike+ GPS Vs. RunKeeper
Google faces landmark fine in Britain for 'gross invasion of privacy'
Filed under: Security, GoogleBritain's Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, announced yesterday that a new investigation into the Google Street View privacy debacle will be opened. If found guilty of a breach of privacy, Google could face a fine of up to £500,000 ($790,000).
While £500,000 might seem like a pittance compared to the billions of dollars that Google has in the bank, it is the maximum fine that a privacy breach in Britain can warrant. It would be a publicity disaster, too, and it would open the flood gates for fines from other countries.
Google has already admitted that both emails and passwords were scooped out of the air by its Wi-Fi snooping. It is probably no coincidence that Britain is only now announcing a new investigation into the matter -- and it's hard to see how this new investigation can return anything other than a guilty verdict for Google.Google faces landmark fine in Britain for 'gross invasion of privacy' originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 06:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
While £500,000 might seem like a pittance compared to the billions of dollars that Google has in the bank, it is the maximum fine that a privacy breach in Britain can warrant. It would be a publicity disaster, too, and it would open the flood gates for fines from other countries.
Google has already admitted that both emails and passwords were scooped out of the air by its Wi-Fi snooping. It is probably no coincidence that Britain is only now announcing a new investigation into the matter -- and it's hard to see how this new investigation can return anything other than a guilty verdict for Google.Google faces landmark fine in Britain for 'gross invasion of privacy' originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 06:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Google's Schmidt says Street View-phobes "can just move"
Filed under: Google
Don't like the thought of having Google's Street View cars photographing your home or business? You're not alone, apparently, what with at least 240,000 Germans recently voicing their desire to remain un-pictured.
Good news, everyone! Google CEO Eric Schmidt has a solution for you: just move. Yes, it's the brilliant solution he offered months back when responding to the "what if I don't want Google tracking me?" question. The Onion, of course, had a field day with that one.
What should we expect from the man who told us the only people with online privacy concerns were naughty boys and girls who were doing things they shouldn't?
... We should probably expect more mind-numbing quotes like this one from The Atlantic: "Google policy is to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it." Right... Because standing on the precipice of creepy couldn't possibly make you appear creepy to all of us, right, Eric?
Google's Schmidt says Street View-phobes "can just move" originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Don't like the thought of having Google's Street View cars photographing your home or business? You're not alone, apparently, what with at least 240,000 Germans recently voicing their desire to remain un-pictured.
Good news, everyone! Google CEO Eric Schmidt has a solution for you: just move. Yes, it's the brilliant solution he offered months back when responding to the "what if I don't want Google tracking me?" question. The Onion, of course, had a field day with that one.
What should we expect from the man who told us the only people with online privacy concerns were naughty boys and girls who were doing things they shouldn't?
... We should probably expect more mind-numbing quotes like this one from The Atlantic: "Google policy is to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it." Right... Because standing on the precipice of creepy couldn't possibly make you appear creepy to all of us, right, Eric?
Google's Schmidt says Street View-phobes "can just move" originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Daily Crunch: Low-Hanging Fruit Edition
CherryPad Orders Unfulfilled, Customers Antsy Sanyo Celebrates eneloop?s 5th Anniversary With Glitter Batteries Review: Tonka Ricochet RC Car Hands-On With the Nook Color Nice Knowing You, Nook
Quirky Contort, An Ingenious USB-Hub and Cable Manager
Contort is another crazy-useful looking gadget from the seemingly bottomless idea-pit at Quirky. Like all Quirky gear, it combines simplicity with a re-think of existing solutions. This particular widget is a four-port USB-hub and cable-manager.
At Quirky, they actually are working with a bottomless pit of ideas. A community of internet denizens coughs out an idea [...]
At Quirky, they actually are working with a bottomless pit of ideas. A community of internet denizens coughs out an idea [...]
LOGITECH INTERNATIONAL INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
Remote Control Your Car With OnStar's Mobile Apps [IphoneApps]
If you don't feel like you're giving off enough of a James Bond vibe—and happen to own a 2011 Cadillac or Chevy—OnStar's new MyLink apps might help. And they're useful! Unlock doors, check gas levels—even start the ignition. More »
Toccata iPad Case With Bluetooth Keyboard
Earlier today Padacs announced the release of their new Toccata iPad case which conveniently comes with a built-in Bluetooth 2.0 keyboard. If you’re the type who prefers using a physical keyboard over tapping letters on your iPad screen then this stylish new accessory is especially for you. The QWERTY keyboard is powered by a Lithium [...]
Cuddle up with your very own angry bird
Want to show your love for Angry Birds, or perhaps just console one of the avian kamikaze fighters who recently had their eggs stolen by cowardly green pigs? Well then, my dear Android Central reader, you can. I can't promise he won't attempt to destroy your house in search of golden eggs, so don't hold us responsible if your house is reduced to rubble.The holiday season is right around the corner, and this would make a great gift for any Angry Birds fan. Although the birds won't ship until sometime in December, we have no idea how many preorders they're taking. So head on over to ToyWiz or shop.angrybirds.com and order yours for $14.99 while supplies last.Slingshot and precariously built wooden fortress sold separately.Posted originally at Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and Accessories
The $45 a Month Verizon iPhone Hack [How To]
Can't wait for a Verizon iPhone? No problem—you can get one now. Cheaper than AT&T's borked handset, too. Yeah, we're being creative with the term "iPhone," but who cares. It works. More »
New details and pictures emerge about Sony's 'Playstation' phone
The much rumored about Sony "Playstation" phone has posed for more pictures and let a few more details out about itself. Engadget was able to score some more pictures of what appears to be a test version of the device. Here are some details: The phone is codenamed "Zeus," is running Android 2.2, has an 8GB microSD card slotted and has at least 512MB of internal storage. Nothing concrete has been confirmed about what the device will actually release with, but the details we've learned over the past week suggest it could be an awesome gaming phone. We'll keep you updated with anything further that is learned. Head over to the source for more pictures. Thoughts? [Engadget]Posted originally at Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and Accessories
App Deals of the Day [Dealzmodo]
Kick off the weekend with even more great apps in your pocket. More »
10 Reasons You Need An iPad For College
So you’ve heard about the Apple iPad and you’re heading back to school soon. Chances are you’re probably wondering if it’s a smart choice to invest your money towards purchasing an iPad for college. In this article we’ll help explain a few of the many benefits there are for college students who own, or will [...]
Friday, October 29, 2010
Daily Crunch: Germ Rock Edition
Ewwwww? Your Phone Is Dirtier Than A Toilet Flush Handle Review: Camtrol Camera Control Grip Angry Bird Plush Toys Coming This Holiday For Those About To Rock, We Offer You An iPhone-Controlled Guitar Review: Adobe Lightroom 3
Fortune: Verizon iPhone Debuts Early 2011
The elusive Verizon iPhone is going to become a reality early next year, according to a chorus of mainstream publications.
Following The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Bloomberg, now Fortune claims that a Verizon iPhone is “fait accompli” (i.e., a done deal).
Repeating past rumors, Fortune says the new iPhone will be compatible with Verizon’s [...]
Following The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Bloomberg, now Fortune claims that a Verizon iPhone is “fait accompli” (i.e., a done deal).
Repeating past rumors, Fortune says the new iPhone will be compatible with Verizon’s [...]
LOGITECH INTERNATIONAL INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
Archos 5 featured on Amazon's Gold Box, on sale for $309
Amazon's Gold Box, which features daily deals during the countdown to Black Friday, is featuring the Archos 5 Internet Tablet. The Archos 5 is an affordable tablet choice, and it is even cheaper for this short window. For the next two hours, you can get the Archos 5 for $309.99, which is 38% off the retail price. Hurry up and get it before its sold out! [Amazon's Gold Box]Update: And, poof, it's gone, folks! Hope you were quick. Posted originally at Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and Accessories
Transparent Hole Punch Makes Far Too Much Sense For This Cruel World [Concepts]
Why was it, back in the late 1990s when I was hole-punching things on a regular basis, that the single-hole punch I used looked like some medieval torture device? Why couldn't it have been pretty and ergonomic and see-through? More »
LOGITECH INTERNATIONAL INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
Daily Crunch: Germ Rock Edition
Ewwwww? Your Phone Is Dirtier Than A Toilet Flush Handle Review: Camtrol Camera Control Grip Angry Bird Plush Toys Coming This Holiday For Those About To Rock, We Offer You An iPhone-Controlled Guitar Review: Adobe Lightroom 3
A Real Hacker Fact Checks The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest [Hacking]
Lisbeth Salander, the hacker-babe protagonist of Stieg Larsson's hugely popular Girl With... novels, infiltrates secured networks and hijacks harddrives with ease. But how realistic is the hacking she does? Vanity Fair got the scoop from reformed hacker Kevin Poulsen. More »
Apple Passes RIM to Become No. 4 Global Mobile Phone Vendor
The IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker claims that Apple’s record Q3 this year was exactly what it needed to bypass RIM and take over the fourth spot on their list of global mobile phone vendors. Apple is currently still behind, Nokia, Samsung and LG according to a report from Business Wire. Apple has been [...]Apple Passes RIM to Become No. 4 Global Mobile Phone Vendor is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Yahoo! Mail Beta arrives, claims to be at least twice as fast, safer, easier to use
Filed under: Internet, E-mail, Yahoo!
Last month we brought you a sneak peek at the new Yahoo Mail interface -- and as of today anyone can sign up. Other than the usual slew of new features -- a virus scanner, spam protection, sexy mobile clients -- this launch also heralds the launch of a very purple theme... which you can't seem to change...
There's an accompanying Yahoo! Developer Network blog post if you want details of the technical changes behind the new Beta. Most notably, Yahoo deployed a bunch of efficient HTTP proxies around the world that significantly speed up connectivity if you're not based near Yahoo's mail servers in the U.S. They also overhauled the rendering of the website itself, utilizing YUI 3, CSS3, and anything else that could reduce the amount of clunky HTML required -- gone are <table> elements!
All in all, the changes make for a much smoother Yahoo Mail experience. A lot of the cruft has been removed -- so much so that it looks a bit like Gmail, but with a "social" landing page tacked on the front. Let's not forget that Yahoo Mail, at least as of last year, owns the U.S. email market -- it's twice the size of Windows Hotmail and almost three times the size of Gmail. This update will affect, in a good way, how the majority of U.S. Internet users send email!Yahoo! Mail Beta arrives, claims to be at least twice as fast, safer, easier to use originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Last month we brought you a sneak peek at the new Yahoo Mail interface -- and as of today anyone can sign up. Other than the usual slew of new features -- a virus scanner, spam protection, sexy mobile clients -- this launch also heralds the launch of a very purple theme... which you can't seem to change...
There's an accompanying Yahoo! Developer Network blog post if you want details of the technical changes behind the new Beta. Most notably, Yahoo deployed a bunch of efficient HTTP proxies around the world that significantly speed up connectivity if you're not based near Yahoo's mail servers in the U.S. They also overhauled the rendering of the website itself, utilizing YUI 3, CSS3, and anything else that could reduce the amount of clunky HTML required -- gone are <table> elements!
All in all, the changes make for a much smoother Yahoo Mail experience. A lot of the cruft has been removed -- so much so that it looks a bit like Gmail, but with a "social" landing page tacked on the front. Let's not forget that Yahoo Mail, at least as of last year, owns the U.S. email market -- it's twice the size of Windows Hotmail and almost three times the size of Gmail. This update will affect, in a good way, how the majority of U.S. Internet users send email!Yahoo! Mail Beta arrives, claims to be at least twice as fast, safer, easier to use originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
A Manhattan Penthouse Made From a Shipping Container [Architecture]
When a Manhattan resident needed another bedroom, the only obvious option was to build up, using a recycled shipping container. Not only did he save money, but he gained a view of the Empire State Building in the process. More »
INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES INVENTEC
New PS3 Model Has Bigger Hard Drive, Still Awfully Expensive
For the holidays, Sony is releasing a standalone Playstation 3 with a 320 GB hard drive, retailing $350. The same PS3 with a Playstation Move controller, Eye camera and Sports Champions game will cost $400; a standalone unit with a 160 GB hard drive costs $300.
The extra hard drive space is purportedly for games, video [...]
The extra hard drive space is purportedly for games, video [...]
Gadget Deals of the Day [Dealzmodo]
With today's top deals you can watch movies on your beautiful monitor, play the latest video game, and block out the noises of your roommate doing the same. More »
Scientist Says a Dream TiVo Is Possible [Whoa]
Caltech researcher Moran Cerf says he "would like to read people's dreams." Well, wouldn't we all! Except that Dr. Cerf thinks it might be possible, based on his new research. Especially if your dream is about Bill and Hillary Clinton. More »
Thursday, October 28, 2010
China Beats U.S. For the World?s Fastest Supercomputer Title
Add the ‘made in China’ tag to yet another gadget: the world’s fastest supercomputer. China says it has the most powerful computing system — a machine called Tianhe-1A.
The supercomputer uses 7,168 NVIDIA Tesla M2050 GPUs (graphics processing units) and 14,336 Intel Xeon CPUs and is capable of clocking 2.507 petaflops or 2,507 trillion [...]
The supercomputer uses 7,168 NVIDIA Tesla M2050 GPUs (graphics processing units) and 14,336 Intel Xeon CPUs and is capable of clocking 2.507 petaflops or 2,507 trillion [...]
THREE DAYS LEFT in our Sexy Robot Costume Contest! [Contest]
With THREE DAYS left in Gizmodo's Sexy Robot Costume Contest, we've seen everything from cyborgs and transformers to walking beer chillers! Can you do better than the current frontrunner? We're leaving the voting up to YOU. More »
Chinese Supercomputer Blazes Path to Glory
China has unveiled the world's fastest supercomputer, the Tianhe-1A, at a high-performance computing conference in Beijing. The Tianhe-1A has a Linpack benchmark performance of 2.507 petaflops, according to Nvidia, whose Tesla M2050 graphics processing units were used in the supercomputer.
IBM patents system that uses hard drives to accurately measure earthquakes, predict tsunamis
Filed under: Fun, IBMIt is with dubiously raised eyebrows that we bring you this gem: using accelerometers in hard disks to detect seismic activity, IBM can divine a wealth of natural disaster-related information.
These hard disk sensors are so sensitive that they can detect the tiniest of vibrations. The seismic data, along with the sensor's geographical location, are then sent to a mainframe computer to be processed. IBM can then interpret that data to tell emergency response teams where an earthquake hit with the most magnitude. "It tells them I need to go to this school; I don't need to worry about this bridge," explains Bob Friedland, one of the patent's inventors.
While this technology doesn't go as far as predicting the next major earthquake, it can predict the likelihood and direction of a tsunami following an earthquake. Presumably, though, this system can detect with greater accuracy the small foreshock tremors that can precede large earthquakes.
For more information, feel free to read through the patent.IBM patents system that uses hard drives to accurately measure earthquakes, predict tsunamis originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
These hard disk sensors are so sensitive that they can detect the tiniest of vibrations. The seismic data, along with the sensor's geographical location, are then sent to a mainframe computer to be processed. IBM can then interpret that data to tell emergency response teams where an earthquake hit with the most magnitude. "It tells them I need to go to this school; I don't need to worry about this bridge," explains Bob Friedland, one of the patent's inventors.
While this technology doesn't go as far as predicting the next major earthquake, it can predict the likelihood and direction of a tsunami following an earthquake. Presumably, though, this system can detect with greater accuracy the small foreshock tremors that can precede large earthquakes.
For more information, feel free to read through the patent.IBM patents system that uses hard drives to accurately measure earthquakes, predict tsunamis originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES INVENTEC
VLC for iPhone Falls Short of the Desktop Media Marvel
iPhones and iPods are notoriously picky eaters when it comes to feeding them video files. They'll chow down on movies and TV shows downloaded directly from iTunes, of course. But if you want to use the iPod app to view any other video from any other source, you may have to run it through a conversion program in order to transform it into an MP4 file.
INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES INVENTEC
Free Microsoft Office alternative Lotus Symphony hits version 3
Filed under: Office, IBM
You may not have heard of Lotus Symphony before -- IBM's OpenOffice remix doesn't grab too many headlines. It is, however, a very capable alternative to Oracle's free offering and Microsoft Office.
Recently, IBM announced the release of Symphony version 3, and the new release is packed with useful updates. One of the most noticeable changes is the new menu sidebars, which are an excellent fit for widescreen monitors. The new menus are customizable, and provide quick access to text formatting, clip art, and a document navigator. Sections can be collapsed, and the whole sidebar can be hidden with a single click.
Symphony 3 sports numerous other enhancements as well -- from enhanced PDF support and a new clip art gallery, to multi-monitor support in Lotus Presentations. Symphony's tabbed interface is still present, and remains one of its best features.
Lotus Symphony 3 is a free download from IBM, and is definitely worth a test drive if you're searching for a free replacement for Microsoft Office.
[via The H]Free Microsoft Office alternative Lotus Symphony hits version 3 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
You may not have heard of Lotus Symphony before -- IBM's OpenOffice remix doesn't grab too many headlines. It is, however, a very capable alternative to Oracle's free offering and Microsoft Office.
Recently, IBM announced the release of Symphony version 3, and the new release is packed with useful updates. One of the most noticeable changes is the new menu sidebars, which are an excellent fit for widescreen monitors. The new menus are customizable, and provide quick access to text formatting, clip art, and a document navigator. Sections can be collapsed, and the whole sidebar can be hidden with a single click.
Symphony 3 sports numerous other enhancements as well -- from enhanced PDF support and a new clip art gallery, to multi-monitor support in Lotus Presentations. Symphony's tabbed interface is still present, and remains one of its best features.
Lotus Symphony 3 is a free download from IBM, and is definitely worth a test drive if you're searching for a free replacement for Microsoft Office.
[via The H]Free Microsoft Office alternative Lotus Symphony hits version 3 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Daily Crunch: Squirrel Target Edition
Video: Use A Slinky To Save Your Birdseed From Evil Squirrels Lockheed & Darpa Develop Real Life ?Aimbot? For Snipers Handheld X-Ray Device Powered By 2 D Batteries Chumby Grows Workable Legs, Next Step Is Clearly Human Enslavement Apple Looking To Sell iPad In South Korea In November
Daily Crunch: Low-Hanging Fruit Edition
CherryPad Orders Unfulfilled, Customers Antsy Sanyo Celebrates eneloop?s 5th Anniversary With Glitter Batteries Review: Tonka Ricochet RC Car Hands-On With the Nook Color Nice Knowing You, Nook
INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES INVENTEC
Daily Crunch: King?s LED Coat Edition
Mad Pimpin? Personified ? The LED Fur Coat My Summer Project, Circa 1991: A Shoulder Mounted Rocket Launcher Super Talent CKB Is A Flash Drive For Your Keychain With WebP, Google Aims To Replace Yet Another Elemental Web Format Once Again, Valve Proves Its Awesomeness With Latest Team Fortress 2 Update Press Release
Acer Plans to Launch Tablets In November
It’s the year of the tablets as electronics makers rush to get one of the hottest gadgets of the year into the hands of users. Acer is the latest to announce it will launch a new line of tablets.
The devices will be introduced in New York on November 23 and will be priced ranging from [...]
The devices will be introduced in New York on November 23 and will be priced ranging from [...]
iPhone bug lets anyone easily bypass the lock screen to look at your photos
Filed under: Security, Apple, iPhoneBad news: if you own an iPhone 4, be careful -- bypassing your lock screen is simply a matter of hitting "emergency call," dialling "###," presssing the call button, then immediately pressing the lock button. Voilá -- one cracked iPhone. After the break, there's a video of some Spanish Portuguese-speaking guy showing you how to carry out the exploit.
This bug, which will surely cause a cascade of clenching and face palming across the world -- or at least the portions of the world that can afford iPhones -- seems to only affect the iPhone 4, or the 3GS with iOS 4.1 installed. Apple hasn't commented yet, so we only have the comment threads of Neowin and Wired to work with, and the reports are mixed. It looks like the bug does not allow the running of applications, but it does allow full access to your address book, call history, and photo album.
No doubt this will develop (or blow up) throughout the day, and we'll be sure to bring you any updates as they happen.
Image courtesy Gizmodo
iPhone bug lets anyone easily bypass the lock screen to look at your photos originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 05:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
This bug, which will surely cause a cascade of clenching and face palming across the world -- or at least the portions of the world that can afford iPhones -- seems to only affect the iPhone 4, or the 3GS with iOS 4.1 installed. Apple hasn't commented yet, so we only have the comment threads of Neowin and Wired to work with, and the reports are mixed. It looks like the bug does not allow the running of applications, but it does allow full access to your address book, call history, and photo album.
No doubt this will develop (or blow up) throughout the day, and we'll be sure to bring you any updates as they happen.
Image courtesy Gizmodo
iPhone bug lets anyone easily bypass the lock screen to look at your photos originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 05:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES INVENTEC
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
10 Reasons You Need An iPad For College
So you’ve heard about the Apple iPad and you’re heading back to school soon. Chances are you’re probably wondering if it’s a smart choice to invest your money towards purchasing an iPad for college. In this article we’ll help explain a few of the many benefits there are for college students who own, or will [...]
Use VPN On Your iPad To Protect Privacy | Plus Special Giveaway Inside
When it comes to online privacy while using your iPad you need all the protection you can get. Luckily Golden Frog provides a service called VyprVPN that keeps your data safe. You may not be aware but your surfing as well as other online activities are constantly being tracked and recorded by your ISP and [...]
Use Your iPad To Manage Your Finances In Style
When it comes to budgeting and managing your finances on your iPad there are several apps to choose from, but very few compare to Checkbook by iBear LLC. This newly released app has everything you could want or even ask for when it comes to both style and functionality. Easily keep track of your mortgage, [...]
Defend against Firesheep by surfing securely with HTTPS
Filed under: Security, BrowsersThe last couple of days have seen the launch and explosive proliferation of a Firefox add-on called Firesheep. It's an incredibly simple program that snoops unsecured Wi-Fi packets to grant you one-click masquerading of other users: if you log into Facebook at the local coffee shop, someone can use Firesheep to become you. Seriously, you can go along to any location with an unsecured Wi-Fi network and steal other users' accounts.
Firesheep does this by 'scooping' cookies out of the air. Whenever you log into a website your name and password is only sent once -- afterwards, a stored authorization token is used. This means that if someone has your cookie they can pretend to be you -- and with unsecured wireless networks, anyone can grab your cookie.
This is a huge issue, and you have every right to be concerned -- but there is a solution!
Hopefully you've all heard about SSL and HTTPS, the encryption techniques used to secure Internet communications. The 'secure padlock' icon in your browser is most commonly found when buying things online, but most major sites also use it to secure login and registration. If you see this padlock, you are safe. If you could browse the entire Internet with that secure padlock in place then I wouldn't be writing this post.
Unfortunately, many sites redirect you to an unsecured page after you log in. Yes, your password remains secret -- but what good is that if your exposed cookie can be stolen by anyone on the same unsecured Wi-Fi network?
Fortunately, there are a few solutions for Firefox, and at least one good solution for every other browser.
The key to staying safe is by forcing every connection to use HTTPS, or to go via another connection that encrypts your communication. Almost every website has HTTPS capabilities, but because of the increased overhead that encrypted communication requires, it's often only used for logins and registering. Years ago this might not even have become an issue, but with everyone storing more and more personal information on services like Facebook and Google, and with Wi-Fi blanketing our streets and coffee shops, encryption really is required.
If you use Firefox, these add-ons should do the trick:
HTTPS Everywhere -- this gem from the Electronic Frontier Foundation is about as good as it gets. By default it forces most popular websites to use HTTPS, and you can add your own rules for other sites. This is one of the few add-ons that I use everywhere
Torbutton -- this solution is slightly more involved (it's for power-users), but if you want to be really secure and anonymous, the Tor network is a fantastic solution
Force-TLS -- this is like HTTPS Everywhere, but doesn't come with a built-in dictionary of secure sites. Adding them is very easy, though
Chrome users, due to a limitation of the browser, aren't quite so lucky. There is no way to force HTTPS with an extension. You may have read elsewhere that KB SSL will help you, but it won't. Instead you need to use a secure SOCKS proxy. This isn't particularly hard, it does involve a bit of work.
A guide for Windows users, using SpoonProxy
A guide for Mac users, using Meerkat -- our sister site TUAW has a guide that might help, too
Opera and Internet Explorer users: you too will need to use a SOCKS proxy; just follow one of the guides above.
Ultimately, though, if you use unsecured Wi-Fi networks you will leave yourself exposed. The best solution might not be to install add-ons, but to ask your local coffee shop owner to secure his network with WPA2. The entire problem would go away if big-name websites used HTTPS across the board, too.Defend against Firesheep by surfing securely with HTTPS originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Firesheep does this by 'scooping' cookies out of the air. Whenever you log into a website your name and password is only sent once -- afterwards, a stored authorization token is used. This means that if someone has your cookie they can pretend to be you -- and with unsecured wireless networks, anyone can grab your cookie.
This is a huge issue, and you have every right to be concerned -- but there is a solution!
Hopefully you've all heard about SSL and HTTPS, the encryption techniques used to secure Internet communications. The 'secure padlock' icon in your browser is most commonly found when buying things online, but most major sites also use it to secure login and registration. If you see this padlock, you are safe. If you could browse the entire Internet with that secure padlock in place then I wouldn't be writing this post.
Unfortunately, many sites redirect you to an unsecured page after you log in. Yes, your password remains secret -- but what good is that if your exposed cookie can be stolen by anyone on the same unsecured Wi-Fi network?
Fortunately, there are a few solutions for Firefox, and at least one good solution for every other browser.
The key to staying safe is by forcing every connection to use HTTPS, or to go via another connection that encrypts your communication. Almost every website has HTTPS capabilities, but because of the increased overhead that encrypted communication requires, it's often only used for logins and registering. Years ago this might not even have become an issue, but with everyone storing more and more personal information on services like Facebook and Google, and with Wi-Fi blanketing our streets and coffee shops, encryption really is required.
If you use Firefox, these add-ons should do the trick:
HTTPS Everywhere -- this gem from the Electronic Frontier Foundation is about as good as it gets. By default it forces most popular websites to use HTTPS, and you can add your own rules for other sites. This is one of the few add-ons that I use everywhere
Torbutton -- this solution is slightly more involved (it's for power-users), but if you want to be really secure and anonymous, the Tor network is a fantastic solution
Force-TLS -- this is like HTTPS Everywhere, but doesn't come with a built-in dictionary of secure sites. Adding them is very easy, though
Chrome users, due to a limitation of the browser, aren't quite so lucky. There is no way to force HTTPS with an extension. You may have read elsewhere that KB SSL will help you, but it won't. Instead you need to use a secure SOCKS proxy. This isn't particularly hard, it does involve a bit of work.
A guide for Windows users, using SpoonProxy
A guide for Mac users, using Meerkat -- our sister site TUAW has a guide that might help, too
Opera and Internet Explorer users: you too will need to use a SOCKS proxy; just follow one of the guides above.
Ultimately, though, if you use unsecured Wi-Fi networks you will leave yourself exposed. The best solution might not be to install add-ons, but to ask your local coffee shop owner to secure his network with WPA2. The entire problem would go away if big-name websites used HTTPS across the board, too.Defend against Firesheep by surfing securely with HTTPS originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Firesheep Exposes the Soft Underbelly of Website Security
Freelance software developer Eric Butler has released Firesheep, a plug-in to the Firefox Web browser that lets anyone capture cookies from an open WiFi network and possibly steal their owners' identities. Firesheep is free and open source program available for the Mac OS X and Windows platforms. Butler is working on a Linux version.
Defend against Firesheep by surfing securely with HTTPS
Filed under: Security, BrowsersThe last couple of days have seen the launch and explosive proliferation of a Firefox add-on called Firesheep. It's an incredibly simple program that snoops unsecured Wi-Fi packets to grant you one-click masquerading of other users: if you log into Facebook at the local coffee shop, someone can use Firesheep to become you. Seriously, you can go along to any location with an unsecured Wi-Fi network and steal other users' accounts.
Firesheep does this by 'scooping' cookies out of the air. Whenever you log into a website your name and password is only sent once -- afterwards, a stored authorization token is used. This means that if someone has your cookie they can pretend to be you -- and with unsecured wireless networks, anyone can grab your cookie.
This is a huge issue, and you have every right to be concerned -- but there is a solution!
Hopefully you've all heard about SSL and HTTPS, the encryption techniques used to secure Internet communications. The 'secure padlock' icon in your browser is most commonly found when buying things online, but most major sites also use it to secure login and registration. If you see this padlock, you are safe. If you could browse the entire Internet with that secure padlock in place then I wouldn't be writing this post.
Unfortunately, many sites redirect you to an unsecured page after you log in. Yes, your password remains secret -- but what good is that if your exposed cookie can be stolen by anyone on the same unsecured Wi-Fi network?
Fortunately, there are a few solutions for Firefox, and at least one good solution for every other browser.
The key to staying safe is by forcing every connection to use HTTPS, or to go via another connection that encrypts your communication. Almost every website has HTTPS capabilities, but because of the increased overhead that encrypted communication requires, it's often only used for logins and registering. Years ago this might not even have become an issue, but with everyone storing more and more personal information on services like Facebook and Google, and with Wi-Fi blanketing our streets and coffee shops, encryption really is required.
If you use Firefox, these add-ons should do the trick:
HTTPS Everywhere -- this gem from the Electronic Frontier Foundation is about as good as it gets. By default it forces most popular websites to use HTTPS, and you can add your own rules for other sites. This is one of the few add-ons that I use everywhere
Torbutton -- this solution is slightly more involved (it's for power-users), but if you want to be really secure and anonymous, the Tor network is a fantastic solution
Force-TLS -- this is like HTTPS Everywhere, but doesn't come with a built-in dictionary of secure sites. Adding them is very easy, though
Chrome users, due to a limitation of the browser, aren't quite so lucky. There is no way to force HTTPS with an extension. You may have read elsewhere that KB SSL will help you, but it won't. Instead you need to use a secure SOCKS proxy. This isn't particularly hard, it does involve a bit of work.
A guide for Windows users, using SpoonProxy
A guide for Mac users, using Meerkat -- our sister site TUAW has a guide that might help, too
Opera and Internet Explorer users: you too will need to use a SOCKS proxy; just follow one of the guides above.
Ultimately, though, if you use unsecured Wi-Fi networks you will leave yourself exposed. The best solution might not be to install add-ons, but to ask your local coffee shop owner to secure his network with WPA2. The entire problem would go away if big-name websites used HTTPS across the board, too.Defend against Firesheep by surfing securely with HTTPS originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Firesheep does this by 'scooping' cookies out of the air. Whenever you log into a website your name and password is only sent once -- afterwards, a stored authorization token is used. This means that if someone has your cookie they can pretend to be you -- and with unsecured wireless networks, anyone can grab your cookie.
This is a huge issue, and you have every right to be concerned -- but there is a solution!
Hopefully you've all heard about SSL and HTTPS, the encryption techniques used to secure Internet communications. The 'secure padlock' icon in your browser is most commonly found when buying things online, but most major sites also use it to secure login and registration. If you see this padlock, you are safe. If you could browse the entire Internet with that secure padlock in place then I wouldn't be writing this post.
Unfortunately, many sites redirect you to an unsecured page after you log in. Yes, your password remains secret -- but what good is that if your exposed cookie can be stolen by anyone on the same unsecured Wi-Fi network?
Fortunately, there are a few solutions for Firefox, and at least one good solution for every other browser.
The key to staying safe is by forcing every connection to use HTTPS, or to go via another connection that encrypts your communication. Almost every website has HTTPS capabilities, but because of the increased overhead that encrypted communication requires, it's often only used for logins and registering. Years ago this might not even have become an issue, but with everyone storing more and more personal information on services like Facebook and Google, and with Wi-Fi blanketing our streets and coffee shops, encryption really is required.
If you use Firefox, these add-ons should do the trick:
HTTPS Everywhere -- this gem from the Electronic Frontier Foundation is about as good as it gets. By default it forces most popular websites to use HTTPS, and you can add your own rules for other sites. This is one of the few add-ons that I use everywhere
Torbutton -- this solution is slightly more involved (it's for power-users), but if you want to be really secure and anonymous, the Tor network is a fantastic solution
Force-TLS -- this is like HTTPS Everywhere, but doesn't come with a built-in dictionary of secure sites. Adding them is very easy, though
Chrome users, due to a limitation of the browser, aren't quite so lucky. There is no way to force HTTPS with an extension. You may have read elsewhere that KB SSL will help you, but it won't. Instead you need to use a secure SOCKS proxy. This isn't particularly hard, it does involve a bit of work.
A guide for Windows users, using SpoonProxy
A guide for Mac users, using Meerkat -- our sister site TUAW has a guide that might help, too
Opera and Internet Explorer users: you too will need to use a SOCKS proxy; just follow one of the guides above.
Ultimately, though, if you use unsecured Wi-Fi networks you will leave yourself exposed. The best solution might not be to install add-ons, but to ask your local coffee shop owner to secure his network with WPA2. The entire problem would go away if big-name websites used HTTPS across the board, too.Defend against Firesheep by surfing securely with HTTPS originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Daily Crunch: Squirrel Target Edition
Video: Use A Slinky To Save Your Birdseed From Evil Squirrels Lockheed & Darpa Develop Real Life ?Aimbot? For Snipers Handheld X-Ray Device Powered By 2 D Batteries Chumby Grows Workable Legs, Next Step Is Clearly Human Enslavement Apple Looking To Sell iPad In South Korea In November
T-Mobile Gets First Dibs on Galaxy Tab: November 10th For $400 [Galaxy Tab]
Unless AT&T announces that they're shipping the Galaxy Tab within the next three weeks, your first chance to get your hands on Samsung's Android tablet will be through T-Mobile on November 10th for $400 with a two-year contract. Sounds right to us, especially with Sprint charging the same. Sprint will have the device on November 14th, Verizon on the 11th. More »
Sony's Android Playstation Phone poses for pictures
Sony's new phone -- simply dubbed the "Playstation phone" -- has appeared in more pictures. And if there's ever an indication that it's Android-based, well, here you go. It's still very much in prototype form, according to Engadget, but the pictures are unmistakable. This bad boy is Android, through and through. Sure, a custom skin is more than likely. But still.Above, you see a picture that closely resembles what was predicted in August. Here are the rumored specs:Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)Custom Sony marketplace to buy games designed for a device like this1GHz Qualcomm MSM 8655 (200MHz faster than the G2, but the same new architecture, apparently) -- by the way, that's the same system-on-a-chip as we just saw in the myTouch 4G/HD benchmarks we posted.512MB of RAM/1GB ROMMircoSD slot -- no Sony Memory Stick -- thank whomever it is you thank for that sort of thing.The screen is between 3.7 and 4.1-inches -- that's a pretty large range, and we're learning toward the larger end.So when we get down to it, we're looking at Sony's bad-arse Playstation controller coupled with high-end hardware -- higher than just about anything currently available, actually. So the hardware should be set. Let's just hope the software and UI don't blow it. More at the source link. [Engadget]Posted originally at Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and Accessories
Bookify is a Web-based tool for making your own portfolio, wedding or cook book
Filed under: Photo, Utilities
Blurb, the king of self-published coffee table books, has just launched a new Web-based tool: Bookify. The downloadable desktop app Blurb BookSmart still exists -- and it's still the preferred tool for complex book layouts -- but for speed, ease of use and convenience, Bookify is now the thing to use.
The road to glossy, self-published narcissism begins by simply selecting the size and shape of your book. Next, you import some photos. You can either upload them from your PC, or import them directly from Flickr (support for Picasa and Photobucket is missing, for some reason). Then the fun (and hard!) bit begins: layout. I couldn't begin to explain all of the layout options available to you -- there are lots -- but fortunately there's a tutorial tour that walks you through most of it.
Once you're done laying out the book, typing text, designing the cover art and generally playing the role of a perfectionist, ordering your new Blurb book takes just a few clicks. It won't be cheap -- but from the Blurb books that I've seen, you do get what you pay for.
Bookify is a Web-based tool for making your own portfolio, wedding or cook book originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Blurb, the king of self-published coffee table books, has just launched a new Web-based tool: Bookify. The downloadable desktop app Blurb BookSmart still exists -- and it's still the preferred tool for complex book layouts -- but for speed, ease of use and convenience, Bookify is now the thing to use.
The road to glossy, self-published narcissism begins by simply selecting the size and shape of your book. Next, you import some photos. You can either upload them from your PC, or import them directly from Flickr (support for Picasa and Photobucket is missing, for some reason). Then the fun (and hard!) bit begins: layout. I couldn't begin to explain all of the layout options available to you -- there are lots -- but fortunately there's a tutorial tour that walks you through most of it.
Once you're done laying out the book, typing text, designing the cover art and generally playing the role of a perfectionist, ordering your new Blurb book takes just a few clicks. It won't be cheap -- but from the Blurb books that I've seen, you do get what you pay for.
Bookify is a Web-based tool for making your own portfolio, wedding or cook book originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
German Electric Car Drives a Record-Breaking 372 Miles on a Single Charge [World Record]
The EV vehicle, an Audi A2, beat out previous world records by driving from Munich to Berlin. The driver joked (honestly) that if anyone wanted to recharge their iPhone, there was still some electricity left in the car. [PhysOrg] More »
Star Walk Goes To New Heights In Version 4.4
Astrology fans worldwide are going to love what Vito Technology has done with their latest Star Walk v4.4 update. They have taken their highly popular and award winning Star Walk app for the iPad and iPhone and made it even better. So let’s get down to business, what’s new in Star Walk 4.4? Arrow Guides [...]
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Western Digital?s TV Live Hub Is the Anti-Apple TV
If you’ve ever complained about a certain set-top box’s dearth of local storage or support of exotic media files, you now have a clear alternative. Western Digital’s TV Live Hub doesn’t actually have much to do with live TV, but it will store and stream the stuffing out of whatever you’ve been keeping on your [...]
Daily Crunch: Squirrel Target Edition
Video: Use A Slinky To Save Your Birdseed From Evil Squirrels Lockheed & Darpa Develop Real Life ?Aimbot? For Snipers Handheld X-Ray Device Powered By 2 D Batteries Chumby Grows Workable Legs, Next Step Is Clearly Human Enslavement Apple Looking To Sell iPad In South Korea In November
Holla is an open-source Campfire alternative you can run on your own server
Filed under: Open Source, Social Software, Web
Campfire is a slick way for teams to communicate, collaborate, and share via the Web -- but if you're searching for a simple, free alternative, a new project called Holla is worth a look.
Holla is an open-source chat and file sharing Web app. While it lacks Campfire's more advanced features, like transcripts and voice calling, Holla still provides an elegantly simple way to assemble a group for keyboard-powered brainstorming sessions or socializing.
One of its best features is Gmail-style drag-and-drop uploading. As you can see, images that you upload are automatically displayed inline. Files of any type can be dropped in, and members of your chat can simply click to download.
Holla scales well to handheld devices, too. It felt every bit as snappy on my iPod touch as it did in my desktop browser (image after the break).
You can take developer Alex MacCaw's demo for a spin or download the code from GitHub and run it on your own server.
[via Hacker News]
Holla is an open-source Campfire alternative you can run on your own server originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Campfire is a slick way for teams to communicate, collaborate, and share via the Web -- but if you're searching for a simple, free alternative, a new project called Holla is worth a look.
Holla is an open-source chat and file sharing Web app. While it lacks Campfire's more advanced features, like transcripts and voice calling, Holla still provides an elegantly simple way to assemble a group for keyboard-powered brainstorming sessions or socializing.
One of its best features is Gmail-style drag-and-drop uploading. As you can see, images that you upload are automatically displayed inline. Files of any type can be dropped in, and members of your chat can simply click to download.
Holla scales well to handheld devices, too. It felt every bit as snappy on my iPod touch as it did in my desktop browser (image after the break).
You can take developer Alex MacCaw's demo for a spin or download the code from GitHub and run it on your own server.
[via Hacker News]
Holla is an open-source Campfire alternative you can run on your own server originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Breaking: LimeWire P2P network shut down by RIAA
Filed under: Internet, P2PThe New York District Court, at the request of the RIAA, has forced LimeWire to shut down its network and cease distributing its software. TorrentFreak has the full story, and updates will surely follow as more data becomes available.
That a U.S. federal judge would finally grant RIAA's request comes as a numbing shock to the system. Perhaps the RIAA simply drew the right judge -- this is the same Judge Kimba Wood that found LimeWire guilty of copyright infringement back in May -- or maybe the lawsuit just snowballed in gravitas until it became unignorable.
For those of you that use BitTorrent, you might be surprised to hear that LimeWire is still most-installed P2P application with a market share of 37% -- uTorrent, by far the largest BitTorrent client, only has a 14% market share. If LimeWire really has been shut down -- and stays down -- this could affect the entire makeup of the Internet.Breaking: LimeWire P2P network shut down by RIAA originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
That a U.S. federal judge would finally grant RIAA's request comes as a numbing shock to the system. Perhaps the RIAA simply drew the right judge -- this is the same Judge Kimba Wood that found LimeWire guilty of copyright infringement back in May -- or maybe the lawsuit just snowballed in gravitas until it became unignorable.
For those of you that use BitTorrent, you might be surprised to hear that LimeWire is still most-installed P2P application with a market share of 37% -- uTorrent, by far the largest BitTorrent client, only has a 14% market share. If LimeWire really has been shut down -- and stays down -- this could affect the entire makeup of the Internet.Breaking: LimeWire P2P network shut down by RIAA originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
VLC now available for iPhone, iPod touch
Filed under: VideoLast month, VLC made the jump from desktop to iPad -- and now the app has gone universal. iPhone and iPod touch users can now download the popular player from the App Store.
9to5 Mac has gone hands-on already, and the experience looks very smooth -- at least with their sub-5 minute test videos. We're curious to see how it handles larger files and high-def content.
We'll have our own hands-on report later in the day, but let us know your initial thoughts in the comments.
Download VLC for iPhone/iPod touchVLC now available for iPhone, iPod touch originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
9to5 Mac has gone hands-on already, and the experience looks very smooth -- at least with their sub-5 minute test videos. We're curious to see how it handles larger files and high-def content.
We'll have our own hands-on report later in the day, but let us know your initial thoughts in the comments.
Download VLC for iPhone/iPod touchVLC now available for iPhone, iPod touch originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES INVENTEC
Stop-Motion Lite Brite: My Two Favorite Things In One Spellbinding Video [Video]
For anyone whose first adventure in artistic expression was plugging tiny colored bulbs into a Lite Brite board, this amazing video will make the kid in you squeal. And the adult in you amaze at how much work it took. More »
Square Mobile Credit Card Service Now Up and Running
Square is a new credit card payment service that allows users to take credit card payments directly to their mobile devices. Businesses can now apply for a Square merchant account, and if approved, will be given a free reader. Square was first announced last year and gained quite a bit of interest. [...]Square Mobile Credit Card Service Now Up and Running is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
It's Time To Admit That You Have A Problem [Image Cache]
Dear guy-or-girl-who-set-up-this-photo: I've heard of people using their laptops while sitting on the toilet, but bringing gadgets into the shower is a bit ridiculous. What the hell is so important that it can't wait until after you've washed yourself? More »
Daily Crunch: Plot Points Edition
CEATEC 2010: Hands-on With Fujitsu?s ?Social? Teddy Bear Robots (Video) Is There Room In Your Life For The Awesome Prizm Full-Color Graphing Calculator? Moleskine Celebrates Pac-Man?s 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Notebooks Herman Miller?s Sayl Chair: Live Unframed Wheeled Sequel To Skitterbot Isn?t Nearly As Creepy
Kaspersky has its own security breached yet again
Filed under: Security
It hasn't been smooth sailing for security vendor Kaspersky Labs over the last few years. Back in 2008, the company's Malaysian website was defaced by a Turkish hacker via an SQL injection. In 2009, their U.S. support site was compromised -- again by the use of an SQL injection.
Following the second breach, Kaspersky's Roel Schouwenberg lamented, "This is not good for any company, and especially a company dealing with security." He's sure right about that. It's about as bad as things could get for an anti-malware provider... Right?
Well, almost. There is one possible scenario which is slightly worse: having your legitimate, well-known security site hacked so that it redirects potential downloaders to malicious software instead. And that's exactly what happened this Sunday.
Kaspersky denied the hack at first, but this is the kind of thing that's a little hard to cover up in 2010. Reports sprang up on their own forums and across the Internet, and Kaspersky eventually fessed up. They later offered an official statement:
Kaspersky Lab takes any attempt to compromise its security seriously. Our researchers are currently working on identifying any possible consequences of the attack for affected users, and are available to provide help to remove the fake antivirus software
Identifying the attacker and potential risk to your clients sounds like a good idea. You know what else might be a good idea? Securing your own servers so this doesn't happen again.
photo by flickr user pveraKaspersky has its own security breached yet again originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
It hasn't been smooth sailing for security vendor Kaspersky Labs over the last few years. Back in 2008, the company's Malaysian website was defaced by a Turkish hacker via an SQL injection. In 2009, their U.S. support site was compromised -- again by the use of an SQL injection.
Following the second breach, Kaspersky's Roel Schouwenberg lamented, "This is not good for any company, and especially a company dealing with security." He's sure right about that. It's about as bad as things could get for an anti-malware provider... Right?
Well, almost. There is one possible scenario which is slightly worse: having your legitimate, well-known security site hacked so that it redirects potential downloaders to malicious software instead. And that's exactly what happened this Sunday.
Kaspersky denied the hack at first, but this is the kind of thing that's a little hard to cover up in 2010. Reports sprang up on their own forums and across the Internet, and Kaspersky eventually fessed up. They later offered an official statement:
Kaspersky Lab takes any attempt to compromise its security seriously. Our researchers are currently working on identifying any possible consequences of the attack for affected users, and are available to provide help to remove the fake antivirus software
Identifying the attacker and potential risk to your clients sounds like a good idea. You know what else might be a good idea? Securing your own servers so this doesn't happen again.
photo by flickr user pveraKaspersky has its own security breached yet again originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Your iPhone 4 Can Now Take a Charging PowerMat Nap [Powermat]
For those of you who prefer the inductive charging lifestyle, PowerMat now offers a charging pad and accompanying case for the iPhone 4. More »
Sometimes We Think the Internet Is Real Too [Blockquote]
Asked by Prosecutor H�kan Roswall about when was the the first time he met someone IRL (In Real Life), Pirate Bay co-founder's Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi said he didn't like IRL but AFK (Away From Keyboard) because he "thinks the Internet's real." More »
Monday, October 25, 2010
iPad live #27: Dead on Arrival
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We’re listening to Steve Jobs lay the smackdown on Android and BlackBerry tablets, and watching Apple take the iPad back to the Mac. The stage is set for 2011 folks. This is iPad live!
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Thanks to the the iPhone [...]iPad live #27: Dead on Arrival is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
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We’re listening to Steve Jobs lay the smackdown on Android and BlackBerry tablets, and watching Apple take the iPad back to the Mac. The stage is set for 2011 folks. This is iPad live!
Credits
Thanks to the the iPhone [...]iPad live #27: Dead on Arrival is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Wi-Fi Will Help You Cut the Cord ? No Router Required
A new standard called Wi-Fi Direct made an important step towards becoming product reality Monday when the Wi-Fi Alliance announced it would begin certifying products that comply with the standard.
Adobe Gives Enterprise a New Set of App-Building Tools
Adobe has released version 2.5 of Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite, which delivers more interactivity, as well as three new solution accelerators and a batch of new mobility features. The rollout is significant from a big picture perspective, said Chris Ethier, group manager of LiveCycle product marketing for Adobe.
Yahoo! Mail for Android requiring off-Market update
From the department of things that really suck: Yahoo! Mail for Android is prompting users to upgrade to version 1.2.0. Normally we all love updates, but this time Yahoo is forcing users to download and install this update from outside the Android Market. Users who fail to accept and install the update from mobildl.zenfs.com are unable to use Yahoo! Mail on their phones or tablets. We've reached out to Yahoo for a response, especially since AT&T users are out in the cold -- unless they use the Android Central Sideload Wonder Machine that is -- and if they respond we'll update accordingly.We get it -- Yahoo and Google are competitors. But this only serves to alienate your users, Yahoo. Here's hoping you care enough about them to get this righted. Thanks Matthew for the heads-up!Posted originally at Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and Accessories
Director of Firefox fires opening salvo at Apple's tyrannical Mac App Store
Filed under: Apple, Mozilla
Mike Beltzner, Mozilla big-wig and Director of Firefox, has just tweeted his rather damning appraisal of the new Mac App Store. In the tweet he points to the Mac App Store Review Guidelines -- and boy are they draconian, even by Apple's cultish masonic standards.
Basically, you can forget about downloading any kind of demo or beta from the Mac App Store. If an app even exhibits a bug, it will be rejected -- does Apple know how many apps, open-source or otherwise, have bugs?
If you thought that was bad enough, the guidelines continue in a similar, it's-our-sandpit! vein: apps that require optional installations (such as Java) will be rejected; apps that require root privileges will be rejected; apps that require license keys or implement their own copy project will be rejected... and so on.
The strict, chaste censorship rules made popular with the iOS App Store are also present -- there won't be any pornographic or violent apps on the Mac App Store, I'm afraid.
Finally, it's fun to compare the startling differences between Mozilla's recently-announced Open Web Apps initiative and Apple's new offering. I know: open isn't everything, and Apple's vice-like control of the user experience is impressive -- but at this rate the Mac is fast becoming a 21st century re-imagining of 20th century AOL. "Don't try to peek over the wall -- this is all the Internet you need!"Director of Firefox fires opening salvo at Apple's tyrannical Mac App Store originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Mike Beltzner, Mozilla big-wig and Director of Firefox, has just tweeted his rather damning appraisal of the new Mac App Store. In the tweet he points to the Mac App Store Review Guidelines -- and boy are they draconian, even by Apple's cultish masonic standards.
Basically, you can forget about downloading any kind of demo or beta from the Mac App Store. If an app even exhibits a bug, it will be rejected -- does Apple know how many apps, open-source or otherwise, have bugs?
If you thought that was bad enough, the guidelines continue in a similar, it's-our-sandpit! vein: apps that require optional installations (such as Java) will be rejected; apps that require root privileges will be rejected; apps that require license keys or implement their own copy project will be rejected... and so on.
The strict, chaste censorship rules made popular with the iOS App Store are also present -- there won't be any pornographic or violent apps on the Mac App Store, I'm afraid.
Finally, it's fun to compare the startling differences between Mozilla's recently-announced Open Web Apps initiative and Apple's new offering. I know: open isn't everything, and Apple's vice-like control of the user experience is impressive -- but at this rate the Mac is fast becoming a 21st century re-imagining of 20th century AOL. "Don't try to peek over the wall -- this is all the Internet you need!"Director of Firefox fires opening salvo at Apple's tyrannical Mac App Store originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Apple?s massive data center about to open, could double in size
The new�Apple data center located in Maiden, North Carolina, is expected to begin its operations ?any day now? according to local officials. Amidst Apple getting ready to begin production inside the massive 500,000 sq. ft. data center, rumors have been milling around the internet stating that Apple plans on doubling the size of its already [...]Apple’s massive data center about to open, could double in size is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Augmented Reality Graffiti Hits FourSquare in ARstreets iPhone App [Video]
The idea behind this app is that instead of tagging actual buildings, you're tagging virtual buildings. Whether this will reduce crime (or actually encourage it) is undecided, but the app has a neat augmented reality Foursquare tie-in. More »
DIY Friday: How to Make a USB Foot Pedal For Third-Hand Computing
Matt Richardson’s friend Lauren wanted a device to hold down the down arrow and physically scroll through Google Reader, like a sustain pedal on a piano. Matt built it for her using an old USB keyboard, wire, solder and a little DIY invention.
It’s surprising we don’t see foot pedals more often in mainstream desktop computing. [...]
It’s surprising we don’t see foot pedals more often in mainstream desktop computing. [...]
Can iPad competitors compete?
This week we found out the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab would be hitting Verizon for $599, with a $20/1GB month data plan, and the Windows 7-powered HP Slate, 10 months after Steve Balmer showed it off on the CES stage, will be available to Enterprise for $799. RIM has the BlackBerry PlayBook coming next year [...]Can iPad competitors compete? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Apple TV gets its first Jailbreak app: NitoTV
With both Greenpois0n and PwnageTool 4.1 successfully jailbreaking the new Apple TV (2010), it didn’t take long for the first jailbreak app to be released: NitoTV.
NitoTV is still in the beta stages, but will soon bring media player capabilities, weather updates, and an RSS feed to your feed AppleTVs.
Will we see more apps [...]Apple TV gets its first Jailbreak app: NitoTV is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
NitoTV is still in the beta stages, but will soon bring media player capabilities, weather updates, and an RSS feed to your feed AppleTVs.
Will we see more apps [...]Apple TV gets its first Jailbreak app: NitoTV is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
3D porn finds its way onto streaming video sites
Filed under: Internet, Video
The Internet, through thick and thin, has always had one stalwart companion: porn.
It's a recurring theme throughout history, in fact: where there is new technology, there is porn -- and games. Before big money even thinks about investing there must be a proof of concept -- and that responsibility inexorably falls to porn and games.
In this case, games actually came first (I played Counter-Strike on a 20" 3D screen a couple of years ago), but porn has been quick to catch up. There are a handful of 3D porn films in production, including an XXX spoof of Avatar [safe-for-work trailer], but more importantly: YouPorn now has a section for 3D porn! I've omitted a link for obvious reasons, but it's not hard to find.
Currently, it only has three samples available for your perusal, and they require red-and-cyan glasses ($5 from Amazon!), but it's definitely a positive sign of things to come. I doubt these videos were originally shot for 3D, either -- presumably you can take an existing porn movie and turn it into a 3D it's-coming-right-at-you spectacle, just like the Clash of the Titans remake.
[via Pocket-lint]3D porn finds its way onto streaming video sites originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
The Internet, through thick and thin, has always had one stalwart companion: porn.
It's a recurring theme throughout history, in fact: where there is new technology, there is porn -- and games. Before big money even thinks about investing there must be a proof of concept -- and that responsibility inexorably falls to porn and games.
In this case, games actually came first (I played Counter-Strike on a 20" 3D screen a couple of years ago), but porn has been quick to catch up. There are a handful of 3D porn films in production, including an XXX spoof of Avatar [safe-for-work trailer], but more importantly: YouPorn now has a section for 3D porn! I've omitted a link for obvious reasons, but it's not hard to find.
Currently, it only has three samples available for your perusal, and they require red-and-cyan glasses ($5 from Amazon!), but it's definitely a positive sign of things to come. I doubt these videos were originally shot for 3D, either -- presumably you can take an existing porn movie and turn it into a 3D it's-coming-right-at-you spectacle, just like the Clash of the Titans remake.
[via Pocket-lint]3D porn finds its way onto streaming video sites originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Sunday, October 24, 2010
This Week's Top Web Comedy Video: Imaginary Friend Fabio [Humor]
What's it like having the sexiest man in the world as your imaginary friend? Turns out, pretty friggin awesome. Some NSFW language and hair from Funny or Die and Jon Daly. More »
Can iPad competitors compete?
This week we found out the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab would be hitting Verizon for $599, with a $20/1GB month data plan, and the Windows 7-powered HP Slate, 10 months after Steve Balmer showed it off on the CES stage, will be available to Enterprise for $799. RIM has the BlackBerry PlayBook coming next year [...]Can iPad competitors compete? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES INVENTEC
Lego Chess-Set Costs More Than a MacBook Air
How great would it be to make Lego models for a living? Ask Derek Seiple: At least part of his income comes from building and selling these Lego chess-sets on nerdcraft store Etsy.
The sets are made to order: you pay, then Derek orders the Lego bricks and plates and gets to work building. The process [...]
The sets are made to order: you pay, then Derek orders the Lego bricks and plates and gets to work building. The process [...]
INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES INVENTEC
Gadget Lab Podcast: MacBook Air, Windows Phone, Symbian
This week’s Gadget Lab podcast is packed with brand-new, shiny goodies. Apple released new notebooks and Microsoft launched its first phones running Windows Phone 7.
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Wednesday, Apple’s new MacBook Air debuts in two different flavors with 11- or 13-inch screens. We have an 11-inch [...]
Bomb Squad Sent Out To Defuse A...Box Filled With Kittens [Bomb]
A suspicious, bomb-like package was spotted in front of a Social Security Office in Florida. The bomb squad was sent out to defuse the situation but when they arrived, they found out the "bomb" was actually a box filled with kittens. More »
Melinda Gates Denies Her Children the Sweet, Delicious Temptation of Apple Products [Melinda Gates]
In a terse exchange with the New York Times, Melinda Gates, wife of billionaire tech playboy William Gates, says she's all but banned Apple products from the Garden of Eden—er, her household. More »
LOGITECH INTERNATIONAL INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
Can iPad competitors compete?
This week we found out the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab would be hitting Verizon for $599, with a $20/1GB month data plan, and the Windows 7-powered HP Slate, 10 months after Steve Balmer showed it off on the CES stage, will be available to Enterprise for $799. RIM has the BlackBerry PlayBook coming next year [...]Can iPad competitors compete? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Lego Chess-Set Costs More Than a MacBook Air
How great would it be to make Lego models for a living? Ask Derek Seiple: At least part of his income comes from building and selling these Lego chess-sets on nerdcraft store Etsy.
The sets are made to order: you pay, then Derek orders the Lego bricks and plates and gets to work building. The process [...]
The sets are made to order: you pay, then Derek orders the Lego bricks and plates and gets to work building. The process [...]
Tasker for Android lets your phone react to its current state or environment
Filed under: Utilities, Android
There's a new, interesting and quite unique Android app on the market. It's called Tasker, and it gives your phone the power to react to its current state or environment. It gives your phone the ability to work autonomously without your direct input -- in effect, Tasker gives your phone rudimentary artificial intelligence.
It works by creating rules that question your phone's current "context" (or state): "Is the phone upside down?"; "Have you just missed a call?"; "Is your battery almost empty?" -- if any of these questions returns a "yes," then an action is carried out. That's where this app becomes magical: an action can be almost anything. Your phone can make a call, or send an SMS; it can alter the ringing volume during work hours, or silence it during the night; it can run apps, or react to when you plug in the USB cable or headphones. This is remarkably similar to context-aware patents currently dueling through the US patent system filed by Google and Apple.
The excellent FastCompany review walks you through a nice rule: if you place your phone face-down (say, in a meeting), it automatically switches to silent mode. They also suggest another awesome rule: tell Tasker to SMS "on the way home" to a loved one when your GPS coordinates reach the train station.
My nerdy brain is leaping to try some really crazy ideas, though. How about using GPS so that your laptop only unlocks if your phone is nearby? Or a dead man's switch that formats your phone if it gets too far away from your laptop -- or if you don't open a certain app by 5pm each day? Of course you could tell the phone to take a photo every 10 minutes so that any potential thieves are caught in the act! The possibilities are almost endless.
The app itself costs about $5 from the Android Market, but you can download a 7-day trial from the Tasker site (which you can later upgrade). The Tasker Wiki has lots of excellent guides and walkthroughs to get you started, and even some ready-made profiles for every-day tasks.Tasker for Android lets your phone react to its current state or environment originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
There's a new, interesting and quite unique Android app on the market. It's called Tasker, and it gives your phone the power to react to its current state or environment. It gives your phone the ability to work autonomously without your direct input -- in effect, Tasker gives your phone rudimentary artificial intelligence.
It works by creating rules that question your phone's current "context" (or state): "Is the phone upside down?"; "Have you just missed a call?"; "Is your battery almost empty?" -- if any of these questions returns a "yes," then an action is carried out. That's where this app becomes magical: an action can be almost anything. Your phone can make a call, or send an SMS; it can alter the ringing volume during work hours, or silence it during the night; it can run apps, or react to when you plug in the USB cable or headphones. This is remarkably similar to context-aware patents currently dueling through the US patent system filed by Google and Apple.
The excellent FastCompany review walks you through a nice rule: if you place your phone face-down (say, in a meeting), it automatically switches to silent mode. They also suggest another awesome rule: tell Tasker to SMS "on the way home" to a loved one when your GPS coordinates reach the train station.
My nerdy brain is leaping to try some really crazy ideas, though. How about using GPS so that your laptop only unlocks if your phone is nearby? Or a dead man's switch that formats your phone if it gets too far away from your laptop -- or if you don't open a certain app by 5pm each day? Of course you could tell the phone to take a photo every 10 minutes so that any potential thieves are caught in the act! The possibilities are almost endless.
The app itself costs about $5 from the Android Market, but you can download a 7-day trial from the Tasker site (which you can later upgrade). The Tasker Wiki has lots of excellent guides and walkthroughs to get you started, and even some ready-made profiles for every-day tasks.Tasker for Android lets your phone react to its current state or environment originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
LOGITECH INTERNATIONAL INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
Chromium 9 debuts, versioning sticklers collectively howl
Filed under: Google, Browsers
Google made it pretty clear that Chrome's new, faster release schedule was going to lead to a rather steep incline on the version number chart, but I'm starting to side with the sticklers here. Last night, Chromium hit version 9.
If you weren't keeping tabs, Chromium 8 was only released two weeks ago. Yep, two weeks. There have been a couple small visual tweaks that you'll notice right off the hop, the first being a promo panel for the Omnibox (image after the break). Also now on board: password sync support, which is enabled by default.
I'm curious, Download Squad readers. Does the version number in Chrome still mean anything to you at this point? To me, it really doesn't. There are five versions: Stable, Beta, Dev, Canary, and Chromium. Wherever they are in their evolution, that's what matters to me.
As always, you can download the latest Chromium build for your OS here.
Chromium 9 debuts, versioning sticklers collectively howl originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 23 Oct 2010 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Google made it pretty clear that Chrome's new, faster release schedule was going to lead to a rather steep incline on the version number chart, but I'm starting to side with the sticklers here. Last night, Chromium hit version 9.
If you weren't keeping tabs, Chromium 8 was only released two weeks ago. Yep, two weeks. There have been a couple small visual tweaks that you'll notice right off the hop, the first being a promo panel for the Omnibox (image after the break). Also now on board: password sync support, which is enabled by default.
I'm curious, Download Squad readers. Does the version number in Chrome still mean anything to you at this point? To me, it really doesn't. There are five versions: Stable, Beta, Dev, Canary, and Chromium. Wherever they are in their evolution, that's what matters to me.
As always, you can download the latest Chromium build for your OS here.
Chromium 9 debuts, versioning sticklers collectively howl originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 23 Oct 2010 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
iPhone passes Blackberry in worldwide phone shipments
Apple shipped 20% more iPhones than RIM shipped Blackberrys during Q3 2010, according to Strategy Analytics. PC World got a look at the report and says:
With the shipments, Apple grabbed a 15.4 percent share of the market during the period, while RIM finished well behind with a 12.3 percent share. Top dog in [...]iPhone passes Blackberry in worldwide phone shipments is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
With the shipments, Apple grabbed a 15.4 percent share of the market during the period, while RIM finished well behind with a 12.3 percent share. Top dog in [...]iPhone passes Blackberry in worldwide phone shipments is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Father-daughter team use a 3D printer to create awesome nanobot art [Concept Art]
Jeff and Ashley Sierzenga recently took it upon themselves to bring to life the flesh-eating nanobots from Jeff Carlson's bestselling series Plague Year. Here you can see their entire project, from schematics to the final model. More »
Saturday, October 23, 2010
CrunchGear Week in Review: Bear Scare Edition
Herman Miller?s Sayl Chair: Live Unframed Chevy Volt 240V Home Charging Kit: $490 (That?s Without Installation Taken Into Account) The SmartShopper: Because Writing Down Grocery Lists Is So 20th Century Zoom Q3HD Basically Records It All CEATEC 2010: Hands-on With Fujitsu?s ?Social? Teddy Bear Robots Going The Distance: Nike+ GPS Vs. RunKeeper
Updated Malicious Software Removal tool lays the smackdown on Zeus botnet
Filed under: Security, Microsoft
The Zeus botnet has been a rather large black spot on Microsoft's security record for quite a while now. Fortunately, Redmond's crack team of malware specialists delivered a much-needed update to the Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) last week, which was capable of uprooting the infection.
Now, they're starting to see early numbers about the effectiveness of MSRT -- based on scans from about 1.4 million systems. Zbot has been removed from nearly 300,000 computers so far, and the infection has been found almost twice as often as the second most common threat, Vundo.
Here's hoping that this means Zbot's credential-stealing days are numbered -- download the updated Malicious Software Removal Tool from Microsoft and make sure your systems aren't infected.
[via Softpedia]Updated Malicious Software Removal tool lays the smackdown on Zeus botnet originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
The Zeus botnet has been a rather large black spot on Microsoft's security record for quite a while now. Fortunately, Redmond's crack team of malware specialists delivered a much-needed update to the Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) last week, which was capable of uprooting the infection.
Now, they're starting to see early numbers about the effectiveness of MSRT -- based on scans from about 1.4 million systems. Zbot has been removed from nearly 300,000 computers so far, and the infection has been found almost twice as often as the second most common threat, Vundo.
Here's hoping that this means Zbot's credential-stealing days are numbered -- download the updated Malicious Software Removal Tool from Microsoft and make sure your systems aren't infected.
[via Softpedia]Updated Malicious Software Removal tool lays the smackdown on Zeus botnet originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
LOGITECH INTERNATIONAL INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
Apple Decides the Desktop Shall Be App-ified
Apple announced Wednesday it will debut the Mac App Store, an online store through which users can purchase, download and install Mac OS X applications, within 90 days. Looking ahead further, the vendor said it will incorporate the Mac App Store in Mac OS X Lion, the eighth major release of its operating system for computers, which is scheduled to ship next summer.
Chilean Miner Rescue is a very slow-paced and heart-warming Time Waster
Filed under: Games, Time-WastersBefore you get your hopes up, this is not an exciting game by any means. Chilean Miner Rescue is a celebration more than anything else -- a heart-warming tribute to perseverance!
The game -- if it can be called that -- is simple. You turn a wheel that sends a lift plunging down into the depths of the mine, you pick a miner up, and then you spin the wheel to return the mucky hero to the surface. Repeat that rather arduous process 33 times and you have Chilean Miner Rescue.
It takes about 10 minutes to play through, and boy does time crawl by slowly. But then you remember that these guys spent 69 days underground. That puts things quickly into perspective.
I admit I didn't play through the whole thing, so there might be some kind of surprise that awaits the 'winners'. Leave a comment if you make it to the end, and tell us your completion time too!
[via Neatorama]Chilean Miner Rescue is a very slow-paced and heart-warming Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
The game -- if it can be called that -- is simple. You turn a wheel that sends a lift plunging down into the depths of the mine, you pick a miner up, and then you spin the wheel to return the mucky hero to the surface. Repeat that rather arduous process 33 times and you have Chilean Miner Rescue.
It takes about 10 minutes to play through, and boy does time crawl by slowly. But then you remember that these guys spent 69 days underground. That puts things quickly into perspective.
I admit I didn't play through the whole thing, so there might be some kind of surprise that awaits the 'winners'. Leave a comment if you make it to the end, and tell us your completion time too!
[via Neatorama]Chilean Miner Rescue is a very slow-paced and heart-warming Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Facelette -- yet another Chatroulette clone, but for Apple FaceTime
Filed under: Fun, Video, Apple
Yes, it might sound like a handy towel for cleaning and refreshing your tired face, but it's not: Facelette is Chatroulette for FaceTime. Just enter your phone number or email address, hit 'FaceTime Me!' and before you know it, you're faced with a white, shiny, Apple-toting penis.
Released to the world only 10 hours ago on Hacker News, the developer admits that the 'entire app is as dumb as hell' -- but that it only took him about an hour to develop. Sadly I don't have a Mac or an iPhone so I can't try the service out, but from what I've heard -- from my richer and snobbier friends -- is that it works exactly as advertised.
Obviously, think twice before giving up your phone number to a complete stranger. You can also change your FaceTime email address in File > Preferences -- please do it before you try Facelette.Facelette -- yet another Chatroulette clone, but for Apple FaceTime originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 06:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Yes, it might sound like a handy towel for cleaning and refreshing your tired face, but it's not: Facelette is Chatroulette for FaceTime. Just enter your phone number or email address, hit 'FaceTime Me!' and before you know it, you're faced with a white, shiny, Apple-toting penis.
Released to the world only 10 hours ago on Hacker News, the developer admits that the 'entire app is as dumb as hell' -- but that it only took him about an hour to develop. Sadly I don't have a Mac or an iPhone so I can't try the service out, but from what I've heard -- from my richer and snobbier friends -- is that it works exactly as advertised.
Obviously, think twice before giving up your phone number to a complete stranger. You can also change your FaceTime email address in File > Preferences -- please do it before you try Facelette.Facelette -- yet another Chatroulette clone, but for Apple FaceTime originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 06:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Firefox 4 edges out Chrome in SunSpider test
Filed under: Browsers
You may not be checking in on AreWeFastYet.com all that often. You may even have not known it existed until just now. Whatever the case may be, there's a very good reason to pay attention to Mozilla's Firefox 4 performance gauge.
In tonight's test run, Firefox's SpiderMonkey and the JIT tandem of JägerMonkey and TraceMonkey finally beat Google Chrome's V8 engine in a SunSpider benchmark showdown. If you take a look at the current chart, you'll see that Firefox has is even getting close on Google's own V8 benchmark -- cutting its time in half over the last two months.
I've been impressed over the last couple of days with the feel of speed in the latest Minefield builds and I didn't really need to see Mozilla's chart to know what was happening -- but it definitely provides confirmation. If you haven't tried a nightly build of Firefox 4 in a while and found yourself poo-pooing its JavaScript performance last time, you really should give it another go.
[via Asa Dotzler]Firefox 4 edges out Chrome in SunSpider test originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
You may not be checking in on AreWeFastYet.com all that often. You may even have not known it existed until just now. Whatever the case may be, there's a very good reason to pay attention to Mozilla's Firefox 4 performance gauge.
In tonight's test run, Firefox's SpiderMonkey and the JIT tandem of JägerMonkey and TraceMonkey finally beat Google Chrome's V8 engine in a SunSpider benchmark showdown. If you take a look at the current chart, you'll see that Firefox has is even getting close on Google's own V8 benchmark -- cutting its time in half over the last two months.
I've been impressed over the last couple of days with the feel of speed in the latest Minefield builds and I didn't really need to see Mozilla's chart to know what was happening -- but it definitely provides confirmation. If you haven't tried a nightly build of Firefox 4 in a while and found yourself poo-pooing its JavaScript performance last time, you really should give it another go.
[via Asa Dotzler]Firefox 4 edges out Chrome in SunSpider test originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Microsoft's Smear Campaign Against OpenOffice.org
For a company that "loves" open source so much, Microsoft sure has a funny way of showing it. Remember its job ad back in January, seeking someone to fill the role of "Linux and Open Office Compete Lead"? Well, whoever was hired for that position must now be bucking for a raise, having gone above and beyond -- in a very public way -- with a recent effort.
Mozilla pays 12-year-old $3000 for finding critical vulnerability in Firefox
Filed under: Fun, MozillaAlex Miller, a 12-year-old from San Jose, California, just cashed a $3000 check for finding a buffer overflow bug in 'document.write'.
The bug, which was was one the major security vulnerabilities fixed in this week's releases of Firefox 3.6.11 and 3.5.14, was discovered by Alex after spending 'about 90 minutes each day for 10 days'. In other words, he pored through code for 15 hours and made $3000, or $200 per hour. Not bad for a 12-year-old!
If you want to get in on the bug bounty hunting action -- because let's face it, if a kid can find a bug in 15 hours, an adult could do it much faster -- just head on over to Mozilla Developer Central. Check out the Firefox source and start looking!Mozilla pays 12-year-old $3000 for finding critical vulnerability in Firefox originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
The bug, which was was one the major security vulnerabilities fixed in this week's releases of Firefox 3.6.11 and 3.5.14, was discovered by Alex after spending 'about 90 minutes each day for 10 days'. In other words, he pored through code for 15 hours and made $3000, or $200 per hour. Not bad for a 12-year-old!
If you want to get in on the bug bounty hunting action -- because let's face it, if a kid can find a bug in 15 hours, an adult could do it much faster -- just head on over to Mozilla Developer Central. Check out the Firefox source and start looking!Mozilla pays 12-year-old $3000 for finding critical vulnerability in Firefox originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Opera 11 debuts: screenshots and direct download links inside!
Filed under: Browsers
The wraps have been officially pulled off of Opera 11, and as you might have guessed, the recently-announced extensions support is taking center stage. Opera's Thomas Ford was kind enough to send over a handful of images in advance of the release, and you can clearly see three active in the Opera toolbar: Reddited, Opera2Phone, and Yr.No Forecast.
As with other browsers, Opera will offer a curated repository from which you can download extensions. Currently, it's located at http://addons.labs.opera.com/. Developer documentation has also been posted, and it's all about Web standards (HTML5, JavaScript, CSS, etc.). Opera also claims that it should only involve a few simple tweaks to port existing extensions from browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. You can check out some additional screenshots of Opera 11 browsing and installing extensions after the jump.
We'll be taking a look at some of the other new features in Opera 11 throughout the day. Now without further ado, here are the Opera 11 alpha download links:
Windows
Mac
Linux/FreeBSD
Remember, folks: this is an alpha release. It could crash, cause freezing, or mutilate your bookmarks. But hey, it's all part of the thrill of testing bleeding-edge software, am I right?Gallery: Opera 11 alpha extension press shotsOpera 11 debuts: screenshots and direct download links inside! originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
The wraps have been officially pulled off of Opera 11, and as you might have guessed, the recently-announced extensions support is taking center stage. Opera's Thomas Ford was kind enough to send over a handful of images in advance of the release, and you can clearly see three active in the Opera toolbar: Reddited, Opera2Phone, and Yr.No Forecast.
As with other browsers, Opera will offer a curated repository from which you can download extensions. Currently, it's located at http://addons.labs.opera.com/. Developer documentation has also been posted, and it's all about Web standards (HTML5, JavaScript, CSS, etc.). Opera also claims that it should only involve a few simple tweaks to port existing extensions from browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. You can check out some additional screenshots of Opera 11 browsing and installing extensions after the jump.
We'll be taking a look at some of the other new features in Opera 11 throughout the day. Now without further ado, here are the Opera 11 alpha download links:
Windows
Mac
Linux/FreeBSD
Remember, folks: this is an alpha release. It could crash, cause freezing, or mutilate your bookmarks. But hey, it's all part of the thrill of testing bleeding-edge software, am I right?Gallery: Opera 11 alpha extension press shotsOpera 11 debuts: screenshots and direct download links inside! originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Microsoft report shows massive spike in Java exploits
Filed under: Security, Browsers
Move over, Flash and PDF -- there's a new contender in the race for the "browser plug-in exploit" title belt! According to the numbers Microsoft has crunched, Java appears to have locked up 2010's number one spot.
You don't often see Java's name splashed across the headlines, however, which is why the Microsoft report shocked me a bit. From personal experience on my workbench, I also know that Java is one of the last things the average user bothers to update. Outdated software is a big risk, especially when that software is being exploited as actively as Java is. Just last week, for example, Oracle pushed a massive bundle of 29 patches -- which I'll wager have been ignored by the vast Java-using public. My guess is that the bad guys have figured this out, too.
The good news: unlike Flash, which is needed by most of your favorite video and casual gaming sites, the Java plug-in is required far less often -- so you probably won't notice a big difference if you disable or uninstall it.
[via ZDnet]Microsoft report shows massive spike in Java exploits originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Move over, Flash and PDF -- there's a new contender in the race for the "browser plug-in exploit" title belt! According to the numbers Microsoft has crunched, Java appears to have locked up 2010's number one spot.
You don't often see Java's name splashed across the headlines, however, which is why the Microsoft report shocked me a bit. From personal experience on my workbench, I also know that Java is one of the last things the average user bothers to update. Outdated software is a big risk, especially when that software is being exploited as actively as Java is. Just last week, for example, Oracle pushed a massive bundle of 29 patches -- which I'll wager have been ignored by the vast Java-using public. My guess is that the bad guys have figured this out, too.
The good news: unlike Flash, which is needed by most of your favorite video and casual gaming sites, the Java plug-in is required far less often -- so you probably won't notice a big difference if you disable or uninstall it.
[via ZDnet]Microsoft report shows massive spike in Java exploits originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Director of Firefox fires opening salvo at Apple's tyrannical Mac App Store
Filed under: Apple, Mozilla
Mike Beltzner, Mozilla big-wig and Director of Firefox, has just tweeted his rather damning appraisal of the new Mac App Store. In the tweet he points to the Mac App Store Review Guidelines -- and boy are they draconian, even by Apple's cultish masonic standards.
Basically, you can forget about downloading any kind of demo or beta from the Mac App Store. If an app even exhibits a bug, it will be rejected -- does Apple know how many apps, open-source or otherwise, have bugs?
If you thought that was bad enough, the guidelines continue in a similar, it's-our-sandpit! vein: apps that require optional installations (such as Java) will be rejected; apps that require root privileges will be rejected; apps that require license keys or implement their own copy project will be rejected... and so on.
The strict, chaste censorship rules made popular with the iOS App Store are also present -- there won't be any pornographic or violent apps on the Mac App Store, I'm afraid.
Finally, it's fun to compare the startling differences between Mozilla's recently-announced Open Web Apps initiative and Apple's new offering. I know: open isn't everything, and Apple's vice-like control of the user experience is impressive -- but at this rate the Mac is fast becoming a 21st century re-imagining of 20th century AOL. "Don't try to peek over the wall -- this is all the Internet you need!"Director of Firefox fires opening salvo at Apple's tyrannical Mac App Store originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Mike Beltzner, Mozilla big-wig and Director of Firefox, has just tweeted his rather damning appraisal of the new Mac App Store. In the tweet he points to the Mac App Store Review Guidelines -- and boy are they draconian, even by Apple's cultish masonic standards.
Basically, you can forget about downloading any kind of demo or beta from the Mac App Store. If an app even exhibits a bug, it will be rejected -- does Apple know how many apps, open-source or otherwise, have bugs?
If you thought that was bad enough, the guidelines continue in a similar, it's-our-sandpit! vein: apps that require optional installations (such as Java) will be rejected; apps that require root privileges will be rejected; apps that require license keys or implement their own copy project will be rejected... and so on.
The strict, chaste censorship rules made popular with the iOS App Store are also present -- there won't be any pornographic or violent apps on the Mac App Store, I'm afraid.
Finally, it's fun to compare the startling differences between Mozilla's recently-announced Open Web Apps initiative and Apple's new offering. I know: open isn't everything, and Apple's vice-like control of the user experience is impressive -- but at this rate the Mac is fast becoming a 21st century re-imagining of 20th century AOL. "Don't try to peek over the wall -- this is all the Internet you need!"Director of Firefox fires opening salvo at Apple's tyrannical Mac App Store originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Bookify is a Web-based tool for making your own portfolio, wedding or cook book
Filed under: Photo, Utilities
Blurb, the king of self-published coffee table books, has just launched a new Web-based tool: Bookify. The downloadable desktop app Blurb BookSmart still exists -- and it's still the preferred tool for complex book layouts -- but for speed, ease of use and convenience, Bookify is now the thing to use.
The road to glossy, self-published narcissism begins by simply selecting the size and shape of your book. Next, you import some photos. You can either upload them from your PC, or import them directly from Flickr (support for Picasa and Photobucket is missing, for some reason). Then the fun (and hard!) bit begins: layout. I couldn't begin to explain all of the layout options available to you -- there are lots -- but fortunately there's a tutorial tour that walks you through most of it.
Once you're done laying out the book, typing text, designing the cover art and generally playing the role of a perfectionist, ordering your new Blurb book takes just a few clicks. It won't be cheap -- but from the Blurb books that I've seen, you do get what you pay for.
Bookify is a Web-based tool for making your own portfolio, wedding or cook book originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Blurb, the king of self-published coffee table books, has just launched a new Web-based tool: Bookify. The downloadable desktop app Blurb BookSmart still exists -- and it's still the preferred tool for complex book layouts -- but for speed, ease of use and convenience, Bookify is now the thing to use.
The road to glossy, self-published narcissism begins by simply selecting the size and shape of your book. Next, you import some photos. You can either upload them from your PC, or import them directly from Flickr (support for Picasa and Photobucket is missing, for some reason). Then the fun (and hard!) bit begins: layout. I couldn't begin to explain all of the layout options available to you -- there are lots -- but fortunately there's a tutorial tour that walks you through most of it.
Once you're done laying out the book, typing text, designing the cover art and generally playing the role of a perfectionist, ordering your new Blurb book takes just a few clicks. It won't be cheap -- but from the Blurb books that I've seen, you do get what you pay for.
Bookify is a Web-based tool for making your own portfolio, wedding or cook book originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Friday, October 22, 2010
DLS Review: BeejiveIM for Android rocks your instant messaging world
Filed under: Social Software, Mobile, AndroidI always had one rather large complaint about Fring and other multi-network messengers: they're dog-ugly -- like, Ugliest Dog In The World ugly. Fortunately there's a beautiful alternative that, until now, has only been available for iPhone and BlackBerry: it's called BeejiveIM, and after you try it every other messenger app on Android will fade into clumsy and ugly insignificance.
From the outset, BeejiveIM is just another multi-network messenger. It has support for all of the usual suspects -- AIM, Yahoo, MSN, GTalk, Jabber, ICQ, MySpace IM, and even a very nice Facebook chat interface. What sets it apart from its clunky brethren, of which there are many, is the user interface.
The UI (and I apologize for this cliché) is an absolute dream. The ease at which you can carry out conversations across multiple networks is almost superior to desktop apps.
Let me walk you through the UI and explain what I mean.
On the left, you have your "accounts" panel, and on the right, your unified contact list. If you use friend groups on Facebook, or Categories in your Yahoo, MSN, or AIM buddy lists, they appear here, too. Clicking each bar makes it expand or contract, so you can easily manage a huge number of friends. With a push-and-hold you can easily see each contact's profile, or block them.
Your current status can be set across all messaging networks, or you can select each one individually. If you want to be invisible on Facebook but visible on MSN, go for it!
My only complaint is that tabs are on top, far away from your thumb. There's no reason for them to be up there!
The middle tab shows your current conversations. There are handy little indicators that show you how many messages are waiting to be read, and there's even a snippet of text! If you look closely, a small icon shows you which network that conversation is being held on, too. [Don't worry, Sophie wasn't diagnosed with anything life-threatening.]
Now we're onto the best bit: the conversation view. I'm having a conversation with Lee on GTalk. My bubbles move up the right, and his up the left. The pièce de résistance, however, is the draggable bar at the top: it shows me notifications from other conversations, and it can be pulled down for a quick view of all open chats. Switching between chats is a breeze.
Hopefully you noticed the GIANT THUMB in the conversation above. With BeejiveIM, you can send a photo (either direct from the camera, or from memory) or a sound clip. The file is uploaded to the Beejive servers, and a link is sent to your chat buddy -- it's quick and painless and does away with the usual omg-sort-out-your-port-forwarding rigmarole.
If you don't like lime green speech bubbles, you can change the color to something more sensible in the settings -- you can also change the wallpaper (and BeejiveIM comes bundled with a bunch of pretty images that are guaranteed to make your text almost impossible to read!).
You can also change the Sent and Received notifications (sounds from MSN, AIM, Yahoo, and iChat are available), the sort order of your buddy list (and whether they are broken into groups/categories or not), your auto-away message (handy if you're going to leave BeejiveIM online 24/7), and you can even enable "Text Auto Correct" -- but I couldn't work out what this actually did.
Finally, I want to show you a really simple (but really cool) feature: "Email Chat." From any conversation, you can email the entire dialogue to any email address. This is a great way to get important conversations off your phone and onto your PC, or indeed any other device.
Conclusion
I'm hard pressed to find anything wrong with BeejiveIM for Android. Admittedly, I don't regularly use my phone for instant messaging, so there may be issues that would only emerge with extended use -- but considering Beejive's experience with other mobile platforms, I doubt it.
Perhaps the only bad thing is the fact that it costs $9.99 -- but if you commute, or otherwise spend a lot of time on the move, I think the price is more than reasonable.
BeejiveIM for Android Tech Specs
Installed Size -- 8MB, and I'm pretty sure conversations are cached. This isn't a small app by any means
Speed/Responsiveness -- Excellent, very snappy
User Interface -- Very intuitive, highly polished, but tabs should be on the bottom!
Configurability & Extensibility -- You can't change the theme of the tabs, nor can you alter the font -- the ability to change conversation colors and individual statuses for each network is very nice however
License -- Commercial, closed-source. 30-day trial available by visiting www.beejive.com/android on your phone
DLS Review: BeejiveIM for Android rocks your instant messaging world originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
From the outset, BeejiveIM is just another multi-network messenger. It has support for all of the usual suspects -- AIM, Yahoo, MSN, GTalk, Jabber, ICQ, MySpace IM, and even a very nice Facebook chat interface. What sets it apart from its clunky brethren, of which there are many, is the user interface.
The UI (and I apologize for this cliché) is an absolute dream. The ease at which you can carry out conversations across multiple networks is almost superior to desktop apps.
Let me walk you through the UI and explain what I mean.
On the left, you have your "accounts" panel, and on the right, your unified contact list. If you use friend groups on Facebook, or Categories in your Yahoo, MSN, or AIM buddy lists, they appear here, too. Clicking each bar makes it expand or contract, so you can easily manage a huge number of friends. With a push-and-hold you can easily see each contact's profile, or block them.
Your current status can be set across all messaging networks, or you can select each one individually. If you want to be invisible on Facebook but visible on MSN, go for it!
My only complaint is that tabs are on top, far away from your thumb. There's no reason for them to be up there!
The middle tab shows your current conversations. There are handy little indicators that show you how many messages are waiting to be read, and there's even a snippet of text! If you look closely, a small icon shows you which network that conversation is being held on, too. [Don't worry, Sophie wasn't diagnosed with anything life-threatening.]
Now we're onto the best bit: the conversation view. I'm having a conversation with Lee on GTalk. My bubbles move up the right, and his up the left. The pièce de résistance, however, is the draggable bar at the top: it shows me notifications from other conversations, and it can be pulled down for a quick view of all open chats. Switching between chats is a breeze.
Hopefully you noticed the GIANT THUMB in the conversation above. With BeejiveIM, you can send a photo (either direct from the camera, or from memory) or a sound clip. The file is uploaded to the Beejive servers, and a link is sent to your chat buddy -- it's quick and painless and does away with the usual omg-sort-out-your-port-forwarding rigmarole.
If you don't like lime green speech bubbles, you can change the color to something more sensible in the settings -- you can also change the wallpaper (and BeejiveIM comes bundled with a bunch of pretty images that are guaranteed to make your text almost impossible to read!).
You can also change the Sent and Received notifications (sounds from MSN, AIM, Yahoo, and iChat are available), the sort order of your buddy list (and whether they are broken into groups/categories or not), your auto-away message (handy if you're going to leave BeejiveIM online 24/7), and you can even enable "Text Auto Correct" -- but I couldn't work out what this actually did.
Finally, I want to show you a really simple (but really cool) feature: "Email Chat." From any conversation, you can email the entire dialogue to any email address. This is a great way to get important conversations off your phone and onto your PC, or indeed any other device.
Conclusion
I'm hard pressed to find anything wrong with BeejiveIM for Android. Admittedly, I don't regularly use my phone for instant messaging, so there may be issues that would only emerge with extended use -- but considering Beejive's experience with other mobile platforms, I doubt it.
Perhaps the only bad thing is the fact that it costs $9.99 -- but if you commute, or otherwise spend a lot of time on the move, I think the price is more than reasonable.
BeejiveIM for Android Tech Specs
Installed Size -- 8MB, and I'm pretty sure conversations are cached. This isn't a small app by any means
Speed/Responsiveness -- Excellent, very snappy
User Interface -- Very intuitive, highly polished, but tabs should be on the bottom!
Configurability & Extensibility -- You can't change the theme of the tabs, nor can you alter the font -- the ability to change conversation colors and individual statuses for each network is very nice however
License -- Commercial, closed-source. 30-day trial available by visiting www.beejive.com/android on your phone
DLS Review: BeejiveIM for Android rocks your instant messaging world originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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