tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51324764432912635672024-03-17T15:06:42.585+07:00Techno NewsWhen News Become Technologizeddivhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-28950242373851039422011-03-14T18:15:00.000+07:002011-03-14T18:15:30.733+07:00iPad 2 launch predictably draws crowds, sellouts<div class="cnet-image-div image-REGULAR float-none" style="width: 540px;"> <img alt="The scene at the San Francisco Apple Store." class="cnet-image" height="360" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/03/11/apple-ipad2-launch-2-6_1_540x360.jpg" width="540" /> <div class="image-caption">The scene yesterday evening at the downtown San Francisco Apple store.</div><span class="image-credit">(Credit: James Martin/CNET)</span> </div><br />
If there were any lingering doubts that <a href="http://www.cnet.com/apple-ipad/">Apple's iPad</a> sequel would draw the same interest the first-generation device did, they were quashed before stores even opened their doors yesterday. <br />
The iPad 2, a device that was unveiled just 10 days ago, launched to huge crowds and inventory that sold out quickly, both in stores and online. <br />
Shipping times for online orders, which opened yesterday morning at 1 a.m. PT--some 16 hours before the first Apple retail stores began selling the iPad 2--were quickly pushed <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20042180-37.html" title="iPad 2 shipping times slip to 2 to 3 weeks -- Friday, Mar 11, 2011">from days into weeks</a>. This left the best chance for customers who wanted to pick up a device before April being to head to one of Apple's stores, or its partner retailers such as Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, and carrier stores for Verizon and AT&T. <br />
Analysts like Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster are already setting estimates for first day sales somewhere between 400,000 to 500,000 units, some <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10472602-37.html" title="Apple: Over 300,000 iPads sold on first day -- Monday, Apr 5, 2010">200,000 better</a> than the first iPad did during the same time period in its launch. Apple is expected to unveil preliminary unit sales on Monday, as it did on the Monday following the launch of the first iPad. <br />
<b>Big numbers</b><br />
Until those numbers come in, there are some signs this launch is off to a bigger start than that of the first-generation device. At Apple's flagship store in San Francisco for instance, which <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20042160-37.html" title="Live from NYC, SF: iPad 2 launch (semi-live blog) -- Friday, Mar 11, 2011">CNET was monitoring</a> along with stores in Manhattan, the line practically ran out of room, as it wrapped almost around the city block. That store sold out of its entire stock of Wi-Fi-only units just a few hours after iPad 2 sales began, leaving evening line-waiters with only the option of buying the more expensive models with 3G service from Verizon. Worth noting is that this is the same store that had the richest supply of iPads following last year's shortages. <br />
It was the same story on the other side of the country, with the line outside New York's Fifth Avenue store growing to an estimated 800 people, with some having begun waiting in line on Wednesday night and braving torrential downpours. For one individual, that perseverance--as well as her spot at the front of the line--<a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20042285-71.html" title="Woman gets $900 for spot in iPad 2 line -- Friday, Mar 11, 2011">netted her $900</a> from someone else who didn't want to queue up. <br />
<br />
<div class="cnet-image-div image-REGULAR float-none" style="width: 540px;"> <img alt="At least 200 people line up outside the Apple store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on Friday, waiting for the iPad 2 to be released." class="cnet-image" height="360" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/03/11/Corner_of_building_on_UWS_Apple_store_1_610x407_540x360.jpeg" width="540" /> <div class="image-caption">At least 200 people line up outside the Apple store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan yesterday, waiting for the iPad 2 to be released.</div><span class="image-credit">(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)</span> </div>As with previous Apple launches, the art of <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20001716-260.html" title="Free coffee, plenty of publicity for iPad line waiters -- Saturday, Apr 3, 2010">the line wait has become a business</a>. The first two spots at the San Francisco store went to "runners" for <a href="http://www.taskrabbit.com/">TaskRabbit</a>, a service that specializes in sourcing out errands and other odd jobs to its workforce of vetted contractors. James Alimeda and Josh Elavitti were paid $60 per iPad they were waiting in line for, with each buying two. In Alimeda's case, he was already there to purchase one for himself. Those two, along with two others in line, were part of a much larger operation at various retailers to help people procure devices without putting in line time. <br />
Behind them was a group of around 35 non-English speaking line-waiters who managed to get an Apple store employee who could speak Cantonese to act as a translator, just a half-hour before iPad 2 sales began. According to <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-03-12/apple-ipad-2-lines-led-by-gray-marketers-eager-to-resell-abroad.html">a report</a> on Bloomberg, their aim was to buy iPad 2s, all going to one single unidentified buyer, who planned to sell them on the gray market, likely at a premium and in places where the device was not yet available. <br />
<div class="slideshow float-right NEWS_PROMO" style="width: 465px;"> <h4><a href="http://news.cnet.com/2300-10793_3-10007028.html">The bicoastal wait for the iPad 2 (photos)</a> </h4><a href="http://news.cnet.com/2300-10793_3-10007028.html"><img height="66" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/03/11/iPad_2_launch_day_020_610x813_88x66.jpg" width="88" /></a> <a href="http://news.cnet.com/2300-10793_3-10007028-2.html"><img height="66" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/03/11/Food_vendors_on_UWS_at_Apple_Store_610x407_88x66.jpeg" width="88" /></a> <a href="http://news.cnet.com/2300-10793_3-10007028-3.html"><img height="66" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/03/11/IMG_1351_610x407_88x66.jpeg" width="88" /></a> <a href="http://news.cnet.com/2300-10793_3-10007028-4.html"><img height="66" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/03/11/IMG_1350_610x407_88x66.jpeg" width="88" /></a> <a href="http://news.cnet.com/2300-10793_3-10007028-5.html"><img height="66" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/03/11/Corner_of_building_on_UWS_Apple_store_1_610x407_88x66.jpeg" width="88" /></a> </div>Speaking of which, the iPad 2 goes on sale in 26 additional countries just two weeks from now, arguably giving gray market buyers from those areas less of an incentive to deal with international travel. However, given some of the initial demand from this first day, there's the possibility that Apple could once again decide to push that launch back, as it did for the first-generation device. <br />
<b>The device</b><br />
Of course, why people were lining up in the first place is always on the minds of passers-by. One woman who walked past the line asked if there was someone famous playing a show there that evening. Others were seeing the device for the first time in an iPad 2 demo video Apple played in its retail store display.<br />
The iPad 2, which CNET has given a <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/apple-ipad-2-review/">four-star rating in its review</a>, is a refinement of the the first-generation device. It's thinner, it's got a faster processor and better graphics chops, and it's the same price. It's also got new features like dual video cameras and compatibility with new accessories like a neat cover that attaches to it with magnets and an AV cable that can mirror whatever you're doing onscreen to anything with an HDMI plug.<br />
For many buyers though, this second-generation device is something they were waiting for before pulling the trigger on the original iPad. That's what many buyers CNET talked to mentioned as being one of the big attractors. They know Apple's cyclical product release schedule by now and were counting on a <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20038561-37.html" title="Five things the iPad 2 didn't get -- Thursday, Mar 3, 2011">refresh of a few key things</a>, even if they didn't necessarily need them.<br />
There are things Apple could have added, but didn't. Though with lines like this on opening day, it seems the revamp offers enough.<br />
<b>End of the line</b><br />
As is the question every time Apple sells a product with this much fanfare, why is there this big rush to get it on opening day? And why can't Apple seem to meet demand when this happens again and again? With the first iPad, this was easier to answer. It was a new product, in what had so far been a niche category. Apple seemingly didn't anticipate the demand, and thus was forced to play catch-up as it went on to make its way to a million units sold in under a month's time.<br />
This time around, however, Apple's got more retail stores, and a handful of retail partners on board to get what is likely to be more units out the door in a shorter amount of time. The original iPad has also proved to be an overwhelming success, with Apple selling more than 15 million of the devices. <br />
Even so, Apple had very <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20041347-37.html" title="iPad launch 2.0: What's different this time? -- Friday, Mar 11, 2011">subtly reconfigured its launch plans</a> with this one to encourage people to buy the device in person, doing new things like keeping online purchases from starting until the day it went on sale, while throwing in the usual mix of temptations for buyers to come to its own stores, with food and drink for the wait in line and personalized setup (the free service that has retail employees getting new iPads up and running before buyers leave the store--an important step considering the iPad, like the <a href="http://www.cnet.com/ipod/">iPod Touch</a>, first needs to be activated with iTunes before buyers can begin using it. <br />
The simplest answer to the mad rush, though, continues to be Apple's terrific marketing--one of the many things that separates Apple and its products from its competitors. For many who go through the wait, it's not just about the device, it's the experience that happens before they even break out their credit card, something that's hard to put a price tag on.divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-10253237404258252972009-12-04T09:11:00.000+07:002009-12-04T09:11:35.994+07:00Google Wave Features<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
A wave can be both a discussion and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps. Wave builds on the concept of cloud computing.<br />
Google wave is going to become a wave of the future. It is a next generation web-based communication and collaboration tool.<br />
Google wave can merges service e-mail, instant messaging, wikis, and social networking together at one single platform.<br />
Common terms which are used in Wave are Wavelet, Blip, Document, Extension, Gadgets, Robots<br />
<strong>Key features of Wave:</strong><br />
• Real-Time information<br />
• Live transmission of any type<br />
• Used as faster conversation<br />
• Wave is used as new way of creating dialogue among group of users<br />
• Google Wave contains gadgets and tools<br />
• In Google wave there are gadgets like Wikify which can brings Wikipedia to your Google Wave account.<br />
• It include tools for checking spelling and grammar<br />
• It has a great futures like translating between 40 different languages by using Rosy Extension.<br />
• It has TWaves extension that allows the user to incorporate their tweet stream.<br />
• It has drag and drop sharing of digital assets like photos, sound and video.<br />
• Playback facility<br />
• Open Source<br />
• Easy embedding facility<br />
• eBayBot - Search eBay in Google Wave<br />
• Google Wave has a Public Timeline, like Twitter ( “with:public” )<br />
• Webcam Video Chat and Much More on Google Wave with 6rounds<br />
• Adding new people to the conversation easy<br />
• Used as customer support tool for marketers<br />
• Bloggy extension can Embeds the Wave into a blog<br />
• Polly the Pollster : Creates any poll you can imagine<br />
Google Wave is going to become project management tool for the future.<br />
No doubt Google wave is going to become a future marketing tool. Marketers will have the ability to create customer support in real time.<br />
It is also becoming developer heaven for developing gadgets and extensions and Google has announced that there will be an official Wave app store.<br />
According to experts research Google Wave is a best to organize role playing games in the coming future.<br />
Wave is going to become a real-time marketing strategy for the marketers.divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-67824443152116407872009-12-04T09:03:00.001+07:002009-12-04T09:05:32.055+07:00Google Wave First Look<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/17/2009/09/500x_google-wave-hed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/17/2009/09/500x_google-wave-hed.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If you're not one of the 100,000 lucky users who gets an invitation to Google Wave today, don't fret. You can check out Google Wave right here.<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But first, ground rules. Click on all images in this post to see them full size. Uppercase "Wave" refers to the entire Google Wave product. Lowercase "wave" refers to an individual message or document. Think of a lowercase wave like an email or a Google Doc that you're collaborating on with other people. The screenshots in this post are from the Wave developer preview, not wave.google.com, invites to which are going out today. We'll update this post with anything significantly new in the non-preview version when we get our grubby little paws on the proper server invitation.<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Here is a simple video i took from YouTube to present Google Wave's nice features<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ready? Let's go.<br />
</div><div><object height="295" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xBzuuWZPaXc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xBzuuWZPaXc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><br />
</div>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-23605743434584843582009-12-02T15:05:00.001+07:002009-12-02T15:08:25.311+07:00Google Wave Ready For Wider Test<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20090928/waveSNE_610x382.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 485px; height: 304px;" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20090928/waveSNE_610x382.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Google Wave is ready for its next step: a more thorough test of its scalability and stability as more than 100,000 new users crowd onto the service.<br /><br />As promised, Google plans to open Google Wave beyond an extremely limited preview on Wednesday, granting access to users who have signed up in hopes of getting a chance to try the service. Google received more than 1 million requests to participate in the preview, said Lars Rasmussen, engineering manager for Google Wave, and while it won't be able to accommodate all those requests on Wednesday it is at least ready to begin the next phase of the project.<br /><br />Google Wave is an attempt to re-engineer Internet communication, blending elements of e-mail, instant messaging, social networking, and workplace collaboration software into a single Web application. It was first unveiled at Google I/O in May before Web developers who were a bit dazzled by the possible uses of the technology.<br /><br />At present, however, Google Wave is one big bug bash, perhaps half a year away from launching as a stable product. Google engineers have solved many of the more persistent bugs that were hampering the product a few months ago, but there is still a long way to go and Wave should not be considered anything but a "preview," Rasmussen said. Still, that's better than "developer preview," the status previously attached to Wave that implied only hardcore techies should venture within.<br /><br />In addition to the developers and waiting list, Google also plans to open Wave up to a limited number of Google Apps enterprise customers for testing, Rasmussen said. A few companies, such as SAP and Salesforce.com, have already started playing around with the technology but Google is seeking feedback from other organizations on how Wave might work within their environment.divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-40708630811142523042009-12-02T11:41:00.000+07:002009-12-02T11:45:19.452+07:00Google to let publishers limit free website access<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.google.com/intl/en_ALL/images/logo.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 84px;" src="http://www.google.com/intl/en_ALL/images/logo.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div class="ytNewsArticle"> <span class="newsdateline">WASHINGTON (AFP) -</span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1259720374_0">Google</span>, under fire from <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1259720374_1">Rupert Murdoch</span> and some other newspaper owners, said it will let publishers set a limit on the number of articles people can read for free through its search engine.<body.content> <p> Google's announcement came as the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1259720374_2">News Corp</span>. chairman, who has threatened to block the Internet giant from indexing his newspapers, and other US media heavyweights gathered here to discuss journalism in the Internet age.</p> <p> Murdoch, speaking at the two-day meeting hosted by the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1259720374_3">Federal Trade Commission</span> (FTC), said newspapers "need to do a better job of persuading consumers that high quality reliable news and information does not come free."</p> <p> "Good journalism is an expensive commodity," said the 78-year-old Murdoch, who repeated his intention to begin charging readers of News Corp. newspapers on the Web.</p> <p> Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1259720374_4">The Huffington Post</span>, accused Murdoch and other newspaper publishers meanwhile of being in "digital denial" and said they needed to "stop whining."</p> <p> Murdoch has blasted Google and other <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1259720374_5">news aggregators</span> for "stealing" stories without sharing advertising revenue and has reportedly been holding talks with <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1259720374_6">Microsoft</span> about <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1259720374_7">making News Corp.</span>'s content accessible exclusively through the software giant's new search engine, Bing.</p> <p> Acknowledging that "creating high-quality content is not easy and, in many cases, expensive" Google said in a blog post it was changing its "First Click Free" program.</p> <p> First Click Free directs readers from Google or <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1259720374_8">Google News</span> to a story on a newspaper's website but prevents them from having unrestricted access.</p> <p> Google noted, however, that some readers were "abusing" the program by returning to Google or Google News and clicking through to other stories.</p> <p> "Previously, each click from a user would be treated as free," Google senior business product manager Josh Cohen said. "Now, we've updated the program so that publishers can limit users to no more than five pages per day without registering or subscribing."</p> <p> Without naming any companies, Murdoch hit out at news aggregators saying they are "feeding off the hard-earned efforts and investments of others." "To be impolite it's theft," he said.</p> <p> The News Corp. chief also said "the old business model based on advertising only is dead."</p> <p> "In the future, good journalism will depend on the ability of a news organization to attract readers by providing news and information they're willing to pay for," Murdoch said. "In the new business model we will be charging consumers for the news we provide on our Internet sites."</p> <p> Noting that the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1259720374_9">Wall Street Journal</span> is already charging online, he said: "We intend to expand this pay model to all our newspapers in the News Corp. stable: the Times of London, <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1259720374_10">The Australian</span>, the rest."</p> <p> "Some critics say people won't pay," Murdoch said. "I believe they will."</p> <p> He also warned against seeking government help for the newspaper industry, which is battling declining <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1259720374_11">print advertising revenue</span>, falling circulation and free news on the Web.</p> <p> "The prospect of the US government becoming directly involved in commercial journalism ought to be chilling to anyone who cares about free speech," Murdoch said.</p> <p> Huffington rejected Murdoch's criticism of news aggregators saying they actually drive traffic to newspaper websites. </p><p> "In most industries, if your customers were leaving in droves, you would try to figure out what to do to get them back," she said. "Not in the media. They'd rather accuse aggregators of stealing their content. </p><p> "It's time for traditional media companies to stop whining," she said. </p><p>Also addressing the FTC event was Steven Brill, a co-founder of Journalism Online, a company which is seeking to help news organizations make money on the Web. </p><p>Brill said market research suggests that some news sites may be able to get 10 percent or more of their readers to pay online for content of "distinctive value."</p> </body.content></div>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-33894077135130590072009-12-02T11:29:00.002+07:002009-12-02T11:32:14.914+07:00Used Mac Laptops - Warning Signs People Miss Very Often<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:8vTNtXl_Z0MgfM:http://findmysoft.cachefly.net/img/news/Apple-Updates-Leopard-and-Tiger-Mac-OS-X-10-5-6-and-Mac-OS-X-10-4-11.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 136px; height: 102px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:8vTNtXl_Z0MgfM:http://findmysoft.cachefly.net/img/news/Apple-Updates-Leopard-and-Tiger-Mac-OS-X-10-5-6-and-Mac-OS-X-10-4-11.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div id="body"> <p>Whenever someone hears about used Mac laptops, a warning sign is the last thing on their minds because it's a Mac! What can possibly go wrong with it right? If it's used or refurbished, everything and anything can go wrong very quickly. I'm going to help you with your next Mac laptop purchase so you can avoid this.</p><p><u>The 3 Main Warning Signs</u></p><p><b>1.</b> A low price is fine, but an extremely inexpensive price is usually a bad buy! - if you already know the average price on most refurbished Macintosh laptops, when you find a used one that is ridiculously low, bring your eyes to the seller review page as quickly as you can to make sure the seller's reputable. You may very well be tricked into buying a MacBook without a screen or without any software, whichever is worse for you.</p><p><b>2.</b> No warranty - no matter what, any purchase you make online from used Mac laptops to candy apples, make sure there's some kind of return policy or else you could be stuck with a piece of junk while the seller keeps your money and spends it on their new MacBook.</p><p><b>3.</b> Less than 4 highlighted stars - stars are huge thing for me, a 3-star rating is fine but a 5-star rating is great!</p><p><u>How to Correctly Purchase on Amazon</u><br />Once you've found your used Mac laptop of choice, read the description and make sure there is a good warranty. Also in the description, make sure you know every piece of equipment that comes with it. Finally, go over to the seller reviews by finding the "used" and "refurbished" links located to the right of the brief description and make sure the buyer's feedback is over 90% positive.</p> </div>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-47322632116416739222009-12-02T11:29:00.001+07:002009-12-02T11:29:25.514+07:00Converting Word Files to PDF - Advantages of Having PDF Files<div id="body"> <p>Managing a business, practicing your profession and many other things we do in life indeed involves a lot of paperwork and files - from receipts to contracts to many other important documents. With the convenience of the internet these days, business and personal documents are also being kept as files in the hard drive and archived electronically. With this, converting word files to PDF or portable document format has become popular as well.</p><p>With the many software and applications that we have today when it come to online files, it is important as well to find a file format that makes our files easy to manage but not easy to alter. PDF files have then become a good choice for businesses and even for personal files that you want to store electronically.</p><p>To help you understand the advantages of converting word files to PDF, here are some the good points of using PDF files.</p><p>- One good thing about PDF files is that, the software that you will need to open your PDF files is free. All you have to do is download it online and you can already open and read your files without having to spend a huge sum of money.</p><p>- Files set in PDF format can be opened anywhere - from your PC, your mobile phone, or your PDA, and that makes it easy and convenient. Of course, the most obvious and main advantage of converting your files to this format is all about portability and being able to access your files anywhere is a good advantage in these times that we prefer services that are fast, convenient and easy.</p><p>- Files in portable document format are also convenient because it can be opened in many platforms like Windows, Linux and Mac, thus you don't have to worry about opening your files in different computers and wherever you want to access your files.</p><p>- Another good thing about files converted to PDF is security. Files in this format cannot be easily manipulated without leaving any electronic proof that it has been altered, thus it can indeed be useful in easy storing your personal and business documents. Documents in portable document format can also be signed digitally for authenticity, as this document format also supports good encryption. Of course, this will provide integrity to your documents as well.</p><p>- Converting word files to PDF is also a good way to make your files safe, as documents in this format have almost no chance of being infected with a virus.</p><p>- One of the conveniences of having your files in the portable document format is that, it also allows compression of your files. Especially if you have lots of graphics in your word file or your Powerpoint file, converting them to the portable document format will help you save memory on your PC and helps you upload your documents faster and easier.</p><p>Aside from all these, PDF files can also be created not only from word files but from many other sources. You can create them from scanned images or documents, you can create them from web pages as well as any electronic documents.</p> </div>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-16862498132604743322009-12-02T11:26:00.000+07:002009-12-02T11:28:42.763+07:00Three Most Important Tips When Buying a Refurbished Tablet PC<div id="body"> <p>Have you been panting after the new crop of beautiful tablet laptop on display every where just in time for the up coming holiday season? Thinking you couldn't afford even the most basic model? Well, don't cross off this mobile computing tool off your list yet. By buying a refurbished tablet PC, you could own one for yourself and still have left over money to buy additional accessories.</p><p>Most people might be leery of purchasing electronic items when they hear the word refurbished. But if you understand the process of why and how manufacturers offer refurbished merchandise, then you can buy with confidence while saving money at the same time.</p><p>Armed with a typical return policy, a customer can return a purchased tablet PC to the store and he often doesn't have to have to offer the reason why he doesn't want it anymore. The store, protected by the manufacturer's policy, returned the same item to the manufacturer's warehouse. This electronic product then is inspected and if needed repaired to like new condition. It is then offered to customers under the refurbished label often at incredibly discounted prices.</p><p><strong>Buying a refurbished tablet PC can be a great experience if you follow these three most important tips:</strong></p><p>How do you plan to use your tablet computer?</p><p>Do you travel a lot? If you need to take notes in class or do presentations for clients, then an ultra-portable type or the thin and light type would be perfect for you. Their extremely compact size even with battery can be as light as a little over 3 pounds. Make sure to write down all the features you must have come with your tablet laptop.</p><p>Reputable Vendors - Price Comparisons</p><p>Most manufacturers of most popular tablet PC brand names also sell them as refurbished as well. Manufacturers such as HP, Lenovo, Dell, Gateway, Fujitsu, Asus, make tablet PC which are often rated very highly among users. Their websites often post promotional offers or clearance and closeout deals. Many of these manufacturers also have an Ebay seller account so make sure to search there for refurbished tablet PC.</p><p>Warranty Period and Return Policy</p><p>Before purchasing your refurbished tablet PC, you need to find out how long is the warranty period and how lenient is the return policy for each of these vendors. I actually called the customer service department to clarify how long after my purchase of the refurbished tablet PC can I still purchase additional warranty.</p> </div>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-75801905842143909802009-12-02T11:17:00.000+07:002009-12-02T11:19:46.208+07:00Blog Reactivation!!Because i have so many activities in my real life, i couldn't update my blog in last 4-5 month..<br />but, in order to keep my creativity sharp, i'm willing to reactivate and start updating this blog again!<br /><br />just wait and see..:)divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-56360709192274795762009-07-26T10:01:00.000+07:002009-07-26T10:09:20.655+07:00Google Latitude now available for iPhone—via the web<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://static.arstechnica.com/iphone/google_latitude_iphone_intro.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 300px;" src="http://static.arstechnica.com/iphone/google_latitude_iphone_intro.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div class="news-item-text"> <p>Google has finally released a version of its Latitude geo-location service <a href="http://googlemac.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-latitude-for-iphone.html" title="Google Mac Blog: Google Latitude for iPhone">for the iPhone</a>. However, Apple <strike>forced</strike> encouraged Google to abandon its native iPhone app, citing possible confusion with the default Maps app. Even though Google was able to develop a nice looking web-app alternative, the result leaves much to be desired.</p> <p>The <a href="http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2009/02/google-tries-location-based-social-networking-with-latitude.ars" title="Ars Technica: Google tries location-based social networking with Latitude">basic gist</a> of Latitude is similar in some respects to BrightKite—fire up the app and it sends your GPS coordinates to Google. It also lets you view a map showing the coordinates of all your friends, wherever they might be located. If you're trying to meet up with friends on a Friday night, for instance, it makes finding them much easier. Like BrightKite, users can control who can see the location information and just how accurate it is—helpful for avoiding awkward confrontations with that stalker-y blind date from last week.</p> <p>Google makes native clients for Android, Blackberry, Symbian and Windows Mobile platforms, but Apple apparently wasn't <a href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-latitude-now-for-iphone.html">having any of that</a> on the iPhone. "We worked closely with Apple to bring Latitude to the iPhone in a way Apple thought would be best for iPhone users," wrote Mat Balez, Product Manager with the Google Mobile Team. "After we developed a Latitude application for the iPhone, Apple requested we release Latitude as a web application in order to avoid confusion with Maps on the iPhone, which uses Google to serve maps tiles."</p> <p>Luckily, Mobile Safari <a href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/06/iphone-mania-heats-upspy-shots-location-aware-safari-more.ars" title="Ars Technica: iPhone mania heats up: spy shots, location-aware Safari, more">supports</a> the W3C Geolocation API, and ties it in with iPhone OS's Core Location, so it makes a web-based Latitude possible. One annoying side effect, though, is that you have to keep approving Safari to use Core Location whenever you load a website using the Geolocation API. And, despite the iPhone-optimized delivery, I found the Latitude web app performance to be less than stellar. Unlike other mobile platforms, Apple also doesn't offer a way for third-party apps—and this extends to web apps—to run in the background, which prevents Latitude from updating your GPS coordinates if you fire up another app. It <em>will</em> continue to broadcast your location, on the other hand, as long as it is the currently active tab in Mobile Safari.</p> <p>With so many limitations, though, Latitude doesn't quite achieve the set-it-and-forget-it ease that makes most such apps handy. You can use it to check and see if any friends are nearby, but if those friends are using an iPhone, you're only liable to see the location where they last remembered to load Latitude. Overall, the concept is interesting, and has the potential to be useful and fun. Ultimately, the iPhone version simply doesn't quite deliver the full Latitude experience. </p> </div>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-49971550804592692942009-07-23T12:58:00.000+07:002009-07-23T13:02:49.022+07:00New ‘Google’ phone an impressive upgrade<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/090721-MerlotGooglephone-merlot-vmed-2p.widec.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 508px;" src="http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/090721-MerlotGooglephone-merlot-vmed-2p.widec.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Saying “T-Mobile G1” isn’t too bad, but “T-Mobile myTouch 3G with Google” is a mouthful. Once you get past the name, the phone itself is an impressive follow-up to the first Android phone that was released last fall. The “myTouch 3G” is due out Aug. 5, and after initial testing of the phone, I find it’s a winning alternative to the iPhone, BlackBerry and the Palm Pre for those aren’t enamored with those choices. <p class="textBodyBlack"><span id="byLine"></span>The phone betters its older sibling in looks — sleeker and lighter — and performance with better battery life. Those improvements are mainly because the myTouch is a touchscreen-only phone; the G1 is touchscreen but also includes a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, which adds weight and drains energy, T-Mobile says. The myTouch weighs 4.1 ounces and has a rated talk-time battery life of up to six hours; the G1 is a heftier 5.6 ounces with a rated battery life of up to five hours, although it often didn’t last that long. </p><p class="textBodyBlack"><span id="byLine"></span>Battery life is a big issue with smartphones, with Wi-Fi and GPS radio use, Web surfing and downloads and e-mail all draining the power. T-Mobile says the battery in the myTouch is physically larger than the G1’s and also has better radio performance and power management, in large part because it doesn’t have a physical keyboard.</p><p class="textBodyBlack">After eight hours of running the myTouch, including a few hours on standby, the battery meter said it was at 52 percent; and after 12 hours, it was at 29 percent. That said, I was running the phone through different paces, sometimes using Wi-Fi, which drains the battery more quickly, because I could not get 3G, or faster wireless, network service in my area. </p><p class="textBodyBlack"><span id="byLine"></span>The phone’s 3.2-inch display is the same size as the G1’s and both phones, made by HTC, use the same Qualcomm 528-MHz processor. The myTouch is 4.45 inches high, 2.19 inches wide and .58 of an inch thick, compared to its predecessor, which is 4.6 inches high, 2.1 inches wide and .62 of an inch thick. It feels good in hand, just the right size, and is narrower than the iPhone, which is 2.4 inches wide.<br /></p><p class="textBodyBlack">The myTouch comes with 512 megabytes of internal memory, double the internal memory of the G1, and a pre-installed 4GB removable microSD card.</p><p class="textBodyBlack"><span id="byLine"></span>Less bulk is definitely welcome. But the sleeker profile comes with some tradeoffs. The seven buttons, including a trackball, on the front of the device feel a little crowded and too close together for comfort, unlike the buttons on the G1.</p><p class="textBodyBlack"><span id="byLine"></span>The myTouch's on-screen menus also can be a little dicey, especially when dealing with e-mail. It's a little too easy to hit the wrong key. On-screen buttons for "reply," "reply all" and "delete" are positioned at the bottom of the screen close to the hardware buttons. </p><p class="textBodyBlack"><span id="byLine"></span>The "delete" button in particular is near the physical "back" button, and several times I thought I hit that button, but found I had inadvertently hit "delete," and away went my e-mail. </p><p class="textBodyBlack"><span id="byLine"></span>The touchscreen itself is very responsive, and as with the G1, users touch, tap, swipe and scroll, and have use of on-screen menus, as well as a trackball to navigate. The accelerometer, the motion sensor that switches the screen from portrait to landscape mode, is also quite nimble. </p>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-32819310331238154582009-07-23T00:22:00.001+07:002009-07-23T00:26:01.234+07:00BlackBerry Desktop coming to the Mac<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20090720/BB_Mac.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 468px; height: 407px;" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20090720/BB_Mac.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><p>At long last, Research In Motion is bringing its BlackBerry Desktop software to <span class="noAutolink">Mac</span> OS X.</p> <p><a href="http://blogs.blackberry.com/2009/07/many-of-you-commented-on.html">In a blog post on Monday</a>, RIM announced that a version of its smartphones' desktop software will be released this September for Apple computers.</p> <p>According to the smartphone maker, users will be able to sync their iTunes playlists, calendars, contacts, notes, and tasks from their <a href="http://www.cnet.com/apple-mac.html" section="luke_topic">Mac</a>. They will also have the option of adding applications, updating the BlackBerry when new software is made available, and managing multiple handsets on their Apple computers.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20090720/BB_Mac_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 463px; height: 408px;" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20090720/BB_Mac_2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><p>Although users will be excited to know BlackBerry software is finally coming to their Mac, some of those users might not be satisfied. RIM said only Mac OS X versions 10.5.5 and up will be supported, meaning that Mac users who haven't updated <a href="http://www.cnet.com/mac-os-x-leopard/">Leopard</a> or those running <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/macintosh-os/apple-mac-os-x/4505-3673_7-31859614.html">Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger</a> likely won't be able to run the software.</p> <p>Unlike <a href="http://www.cnet.com/apple-iphone.html" section="luke_topic">iPhone </a>software, which can be installed in both Windows PCs and Macs, RIM's BlackBerry software has been available only for Windows; a third-party tool has been required to enable communication between Macs and BlackBerrys.</p> <p>If you want to be notified when the software is available when it's released in September, you'll need to sign up on <a href="http://www.blackberry.com/mac">RIM's Mac page</a>.</p><p><br /></p>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-82259262836712253842009-07-22T21:14:00.000+07:002009-07-22T21:18:38.572+07:00Synaptics ClearPad 3000 Touchscreen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/synaptics-clearpad-3000-touchscreen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 396px; height: 266px;" src="http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/synaptics-clearpad-3000-touchscreen.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Synaptics has shown of their latest touchscreen technology, the Synaptics ClearPad 3000 Touchscreen. The Synaptics ClearPad 3000 Touchscreen can register up to 10 fingers simultaneously, it is designed to be used in high end mobile phones like the <a title="iPhone" href="http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/category/iphone/">iPhone</a>, as well as hand held gaming consoles.<br /><br /><p>The Synaptics ClearPad 3000 Touchscreen has 48 sensing channels which means it can pick up 10 fingers at once, and apparently the technology will scale up to 8 inch screens.<br /></p> <p>It certainly looks very impressive from the video, hopefully we will see it in mobile phones next year and who know we many even see it in the next generation iPhone.</p>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-63766902536049937682009-07-22T21:00:00.000+07:002009-07-22T21:13:10.173+07:00E-Readers: The End of Bookstores?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Books/Pix/pictures/2009/7/21/1248171384369/Amazon-Kindle-2-001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 194px;" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Books/Pix/pictures/2009/7/21/1248171384369/Amazon-Kindle-2-001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span name="intellitxt" id="intellitxt">I don't buy books anymore. That is I don't buy hard copies of books anymore. I've been an eReader user for more than three years. It started with the<!-- start ziffarticle //--> <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2331774,00.asp">Sony eReader</a><!-- end ziffarticle //--> and then moved to the Kindle (both <!-- start ziffarticle //--><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2222845,00.asp">I</a><!-- end ziffarticle //--> and <!-- start ziffarticle //--><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2340673,00.asp">II</a><!-- end ziffarticle //-->). At first, my transition to digital book consumption was gradual. I'd often be reading (and buying) hard copy books at the same time I was getting used to the experience of the digital platforms.<br /><br /></span><span name="intellitxt" id="intellitxt">Six months ago, I cut the cord for good. I love my Kindle. As many who have embraced digital eReaders have reported, I quickly found myself reading more than I ever have in my life. Other than the pain of having to shut down during takeoff and landing periods in flight (at some point that has to be solved), I have not looked back.<br /><br /></span><span name="intellitxt" id="intellitxt"><p> One of the curious byproducts of my new book consumption behavior is that I actually am spending more time than I ever have before in bookstores. Wait a minute, you might say, if you are reading and buying digital books, why would you be doing that? </p> <p>Reading is a momentum-based activity. The more you do it, the more your want to do it. I am constantly seeking my next read. While there are many great places online to read about new books, there is nothing that can capture or replicate the exploring wonders of a good book store. That is, if you don't know what you are searching for, the digital medium can fall short in comparison to the retail experience. </p> <p>A good bookstore brings an incredible wealth of inventory to bear. The ability to "sample" in person is far better than in digital format. Great bookstores are also strong gathering points for discussion and guidance from experts and actual authors. </p> <p> Here's the problem. The culmination of my bookstore experience is the process of taking my Kindle out and downloading the book(s) I've discovered through the wonders of the retail experience. That's financial ruin for the bookstore. </p> <p> I wonder how common that experience is. If it's as frequent as I believe, <a title="Amazon.com Inc." href="http://www.pcmag.com/topic/0,2944,t=Amazoncom%20Inc&s=1493,00.asp">Amazon</a> is getting one of the great free rides on the back of Border's, Barnes & Noble, and all of the wonderful independent bookshops that help people find the right books. Think about it, the bookstore helps the consumer decide which book he wants, but the transaction goes to Amazon. </p></span><br /><span name="intellitxt" id="intellitxt"><p>Perhaps the bookstore needs to embrace the inevitable reality that its model as it exists now is not sustainable. For one thing, bookstores could devise an on-site customer digital download path where the store can extract a negotiated fee for all sales it drives to Amazon. I certainly would do what I could to help the store get credit (and payment) for the service they provided me. </p> <p>One thing's for sure: I don't ever want to go back to reading and buying hard copy books. I also don't want to give up the benefit of the bookstore retail experience in helping me find what to read next. It's all yet another example of the rapid disruption brought on by the digital revolution. However, it's also an opportunity to rethink and evolve long-standing models into those that can thrive into the future. </p></span>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-26540593592804974502009-07-19T20:42:00.000+07:002009-07-19T20:47:16.310+07:00Firefox improves, but still loses its edge<p class="articleGraf">The war of the Web browsers has taken another turn with the release of a major new version of Mozilla Firefox, the No. 2 browser in market share, but No. 1 in the hearts of many of the most knowledgeable computer users.</p><p class="articleGraf">This new edition of Firefox is the third big new browser release this year, following new editions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Apple's Safari. Unlike Firefox, these two browsers come bundled with the two major computer platforms, Windows and Mac. By contrast, Mozilla must convince users to download Firefox, which comes in essentially identical versions for both systems. And it has done a reasonably good job, garnering by most estimates around 23 percent market share, versus between 60 percent and 70 percent for IE, which is by far the leader. Meanwhile, Google — a former Firefox supporter — has joined the battle with its nascent Chrome browser, which so far runs only on Windows, but is due on the Mac one day and is to morph into a whole new operating system next year. And there are other very capable browsers with small user bases, the most notable of which is Opera.</p> <p class="articleGraf">I've been using Firefox since its inception years ago, and have been testing this latest iteration, version 3.5, since it emerged June 30. I can continue to recommend it as a fine way to surf the Web. The new version is improved, and worked very well for me on both my Windows and Macintosh computers.</p><p class="articleGraf">But, in this round of the war, Mozilla's product no longer stands out as clearly superior, for two reasons. First, Firefox has lost its traditionally biggest advantage: greater speed than its rivals. While Firefox 3.5 is about twice as fast as the previous version 3.0, and handily beat Internet Explorer 8 in my tests, it lagged behind both Safari 4.02 and the beta edition of Chrome 2.0 a bit in most test scenarios. Overall, Safari was fastest in most of my tests, both on Mac and Windows (yes, Apple makes a little-known version of Safari for Windows).</p><p class="articleGraf">In fact, Mozilla no longer is claiming to be the fastest browser. It now prefers to say it is one of what it calls the "modern" browsers, along with Safari and Chrome, whose under-the-hood technologies make them better at handling a growing breed of sophisticated Internet-based applications that mimic traditional computer programs like photo editors and word processors and spreadsheets.</p><p class="articleGraf">Second, this version of Firefox has relatively few new features, and some of them are merely catch-ups to those introduced earlier by Microsoft and Apple. Most notable among these is a private browsing mode, first popularized in Safari, and greatly expanded in IE, which allows you to traverse Web sites without leaving traces on your computer to show what you've been doing.</p><p class="articleGraf">Mozilla says its main goal from now on will be to turn Firefox into the ideal platform for running Web-based applications. It shares the belief, also fervently embraced by Google, that consumers will gradually migrate away from programs stored on their computers' hard disks to those stored in "the Cloud," the industry's term for the servers that run the Internet.</p><p class="articleGraf">To show this, the new Firefox can do a few new tricks, like streaming video directly from Web pages without requiring plug-ins like Adobe's Flash. Alas, this works only with obscure video formats little used on the Web at the moment.</p><p class="articleGraf">Firefox 3.5 does include some new features, in addition to private browsing.</p><p class="articleGraf">It can pinpoint your location, so that any properly configured Web site can serve up locally relevant content. It has a nice option that lets you "forget" any Web page in your history, wiping out all traces you've been there, even if you neglected</p><p class="articleGraf">to turn on private browsing mode beforehand. And it can recover your open tabs after a crash.</p><p class="articleGraf">Also, Firefox continues to lead its rivals in the number and variety of third-party add-ons that enhance browsing in myriad ways, such as adding features to sites like Twitter or making bookmarking easier.</p><p class="articleGraf">As for speed, I tested Firefox 3.5 against its main rivals by timing how long it took to launch into the same home page, and how long it took to completely load popular Web sites like Facebook and YouTube. I tested how long it took to completely load folders containing numerous sports and news sites simultaneously. I also ran an industry benchmark test that measures the browsers' speed at handling an important Web language called JavaScript. I did these tests on the same home network on both a Dell and an Apple computer.</p><p class="articleGraf">While Firefox won a few of these tests, Safari and Chrome won more of them. In most cases, the speed differences weren't large, except in the case of IE, which was dramatically slower than the others. But this is the first new version of Firefox I've tested that didn't win most of the tests.</p><p class="articleGraf">Firefox is still a great Web browser, and still much faster than its main rival, Internet Explorer. But its edge is being eroded.</p><p class="articleGraf">Walter Mossberg writes on personal technology for the Wall Street Journal. His column runs Sundays in the Times.</p>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-25585736852375660042009-07-18T23:28:00.001+07:002009-07-18T23:28:59.206+07:00Microsoft Window 7: Is New OS The Beginning Of XP's End?<p> <span id="articleBody"> <div class="IntelliTXT"> Windows 7's Oct. 22 release will be an exciting day in Redmond, but IT folks should mark it for another reason. It's the beginning of XP's end.</div></span></p> <p> Don't get me wrong, I'm not a raving XP fan. But Vista's flop gave us a long run with a relatively stable <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=platform&x=&y=">platform</a> that actually got better over time. You can buy a new machine today with a clean XP SP3 image and have the same look and feel you had when XP came out in 2001.</p><p>A lot of companies are doing just that, with 70% of corporate desktops still running XP, Forrester finds.</p> <p> Full Vista rollouts are rare, and instead most tend to have what Roy Atkinson, director of end-user support at the Jackson Laboratory, calls "Vista leak-out." Less than 5% of Jackson's several thousand desktops run Vista; most are on XP. "We only deployed Vista if there was a <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=driver&x=&y=">driver</a> or application that clearly worked better," he says.</p> <p> It would be nice to have the tighter security, <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=64-bit&x=&y=">64-bit</a> OS, and higher performance <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=networking&x=&y=">networking</a> of Vista. But delays, bugs, hardware requirements, and bad market perception have held it back.</p> <p> There's no need to jump off XP yet, but it's going to get harder to stick with it, especially later next year. Mainstream support for XP ended April 14. This means Microsoft doesn't have to release any new features or make any design changes. Security fixes will be released as needed, but non-security hot fixes won't be released to the public.</p> <p> Phone support is available if you're willing to pay and if you bought extended support from Microsoft (that deadline was July 14).</p> <p> "So what? I don't call them anyway," a particularly anti-Microsoft IT director says. He should read the support terms closely, because there's more here than the end of free phone support. This is Microsoft's official way of saying it can leave XP alone if it wants, ending all feature updates and enhancements.</p> <p> XP could start to get shortchanged on feature development as soon as Oct. 22, when Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are released. The new Windows <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=Server&x=&y=">Server</a> 2008 R2 features--including DirectAccess, which provides simplified remote access; BranchCache, an automated file-caching option for remote offices; and an updated offline <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=folder&x=&y=">folder</a> synchronization capability--will only work with <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=Windows&x=&y=">Windows</a> 7 clients. No XP or Vista updates are planned.</p> <p> If Microsoft adds any features for XP, it would have to add them for Vista, too, and Microsoft is moving as fast as it can away from Vista. Windows 7's October ship date is three months earlier than the company's targeted January 2010 release date. Businesses can get it Sept. 1. Microsoft early? I have the same stunned reaction as when my 6-year-old cleans his room, and I find myself asking, "What's he hiding?"</p>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-21407172349221849752009-07-18T23:11:00.000+07:002009-07-18T23:14:15.814+07:00Craving Pizza? Just Download the AppIn a move sure to thrill its laziest customers, Pizza Hut unveiled Friday its new iPhone application that allows users to order pizza without so much as dialing a number. Simply type in your order, then sit back and wait until it arrives.<br /><p> For those bored with the traditional methods of ordering pizza, the app also has some unconventional tools. If you want extra sauce on your wings, for instance, you shake the phone like a bottle. </p><p> And, for those who find ordering pizza too sober a task, the app comes with a racing game named "Hut Racer." </p><p>Pizza Hut hopes the app will appeal to customers who rely on their iPhones, said Brian Niccol, Pizza Hut's chief marketing officer. </p><p>"As more of our customers are integrating the iPhone and iPod touch into their everyday lives, Pizza Hut wants to be right there with them," Niccol said in a statement. "As a longtime category leader in innovation, creating an App Store application is just one more way we are helping customers place orders in a way that best fits their mobile lifestyle." </p><p> And there are <a href="http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/story?id=7134834&page=1" target="external">myriad other programs</a> (apps for short) taking advantage of the growth of <a href="http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/story?id=6915825&page=1" target="external">wireless handheld devices</a>. </p><p> Here's a small sampling: </p><p> </p><h4>Hard of Hearing? Just Grab Your iPhone</h4> <p>People don't normally equate the iPhone with medical innovation, but with the June release of an application that doubles as a hearing aid, they may have to reconsider. </p><p>The application, which is called soundAMP, is made by Ginger Labs, a California-based software applications developer, and is available in the iTunes store for $9.99. </p><p>Though it's not an actual hearing aid, soundAMP achieves a similar effect. Users just launch the application and then plug in a pair of earphones. The application takes in sound from a microphone (be it built-in, in a headset or from elsewhere) and then amplifies and filters it. </p><p>Then you can adjust the volume to your liking with a slider on the touchscreen. You also can replay five or 30 seconds by tapping the appropriate button on the screen. Hearing aids often may be associated with the more mature, but soundAMP's developers insist their product is age neutral -- of equal value to the octogenarian hard of hearing and the college student stuck in the back of a large lecture class. </p><p>(As a caveat, if you really are losing your hearing, you should probably visit a doctor -- soundAMP may be novel, but medically certified it is not.) </p>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-78723696358645296412009-07-18T23:10:00.000+07:002009-07-18T23:11:32.491+07:00Apple And The Palm Pre: It Was Sync Or SwimApple's decision to ban the Palm Pre from accessing the iTunes store is a move by the <a href="http://www.crn.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=iPod&x=&y=">iPod</a> maker to ensure that it continues to siphon consumer dollars into its own pockets at every end of the spectrum. <p> Earlier this week an Apple spokesperson confirmed that <a href="http://www.crn.com/mobile/218500864">Apple iTunes update 8.2.1</a> would make a concerted effort to ban non-iPod and non-iPhone hardware, including the Palm Pre, from syncing with the iTunes store. </p><p> The update appears to be a retaliation against Palm, which announced <a href="http://www.crn.com/mobile/217700763">iTunes syncing abilities in May</a>, before the hardware was launched. </p><p>It shouldn't be too surprising to anyone that Apple has made the move to cut the Palm Pre off at the pass. After all, Apple makes no bones about the fact that it is a business designed to make money. Mac and Apple devotees understand that they are <a href="http://www.crn.com/software/218501057">paying a premium for the hardware</a> they purchase because it is completely different from anything else on the market. </p><p> In many cases, Apple's hardware drives its software sales. But Apple's <a href="http://www.crn.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=software&x=&y=">software</a> also drives hardware sales. And Apple makes money at both ends. The iPod and iPhone maker makes a margin on every device it sells. Apple also gets a cut of sales through the iTunes store. The company even takes a percentage of each app sold through the App Store. </p><p>Living in Apple's ecosystem means playing by Apple's rules, and ultimately that means lining the pockets of Steve Jobs and cohorts. That's no surprise and, for many, that's perfectly acceptable. </p><p>Jon Rubinstein, chairman and CEO of Palm, was once an Apple executive and one of Jobs' advisers. In fact, Rubinstein was in charge of the iPod division at Apple before he left the company. It seems fair to say that Rubinstein is in a unique position to know exactly how the gears turn at Apple. </p><p>Yet Palm still made the decision to publicly announce that the Pre would sync with the iTunes store, essentially throwing down a gauntlet. Maybe Rubinstein thought his past relationship with Apple and Jobs would give him a pass. If that's the case, he obviously thought wrong. </p><p>Apple refreshes or tweaks its iPod lineup on almost a yearly basis to entice loyal customers into upgrading to the latest and greatest. While the <a href="http://www.crn.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=refresh&x=&y=">refresh</a> cycle may in part be due to new technology, it would be naive to think it wasn't also an attempt to line its own coffers. </p> And Rubinstein and Palm should have known better than to try and dip its hand into one of Apple's profitable <a href="http://www.crn.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=cookie&x=&y=">cookie</a> jars.divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-38940300442008115252009-07-18T23:07:00.000+07:002009-07-18T23:09:33.847+07:00Firefox 3.5 Makes Browsing Better<span id="articleBody">Internet users are partying like it's the 90s, when the browser wars were roaring and Microsoft (NSDQ: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.techweb.com/financialCenter/index.jhtml?Account=techweb&Page=QUOTE&Ticker=MSFT" class="stockLink">MSFT</a>) and Netscape were fighting to become the dominant window on the Web. These days, Microsoft Internet Explorer is in the lead -- just like then -- but we're also seeing an efflorescence of alternatives: <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=Mozilla&x=&y=">Mozilla</a> <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=Firefox&x=&y=">Firefox</a> (which counts Netscape as an ancestor), <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=Google&x=&y=">Google</a> Chrome, Apple <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=Safari&x=&y=">Safari</a> and Mobile Safari, and the venerable Opera. </span>Into the fray comes a new version: Firefox 3.5. This build offers significant improvements, including upgraded Web technology, geolocation, <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=privacy&x=&y=">privacy</a> tools, and tab management. The browser also improves performance over previous versions. <p> <b>Private Browsing</b> </p><p> Firefox 3.5 implements private browsing, catching up with features already available in Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome, and Opera. When you're in private browsing mode, the browser switches off logging your history, cookies, user names, and passwords. </p><p>Even in private browsing, your Web traffic isn't guaranteed private. If your network manager is tracking your browsing on the server, private browsing does nothing to block that. Also, the servers you visit may be keeping records of your visit, especially if you <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=log%20on&x=&y=">log on</a> to access the server. </p><p> Firefox's implementation of private browsing has a different user <a href="http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=interface&x=&y=">interface</a> than competing browsers. The chief difference: When you switch to private browsing, Firefox shuts down all your existing browser windows and tabs, leaving only the private browser window open. Other browsers leave existing windows and tabs open and open a new window for private browsing. </p><p>I like the way Firefox closes non-private windows when in private browsing; I'm less likely to accidentally enter private information in a non-private window. However, other people might find it time consuming to switch back to non-private browsing, especially if they have a lot of open tabs and windows that need to be reloaded. It's a matter of personal preference. </p><p>If you forget to switch to private browsing before you visit a site, Firefox 3.5 lets you erase your tracks -- just go to the history menu, open "show all history," find the page you want to hide, and click "forget about this site." That's handy for those of us who are paranoid <i>and</i> absent-minded ("My enemies are conspiring against me -- but I can't remember who.")</p>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-82651852126655487292009-07-18T22:55:00.000+07:002009-07-18T23:05:53.949+07:00Informative Websites For iPhone Users<div id="body"><p>As we all know, iPhone is in vogue at home and abroad for its advanced and incomparable features. With the advent of iPhone, a lot of affiliated-industries are coming into existence. There, we can notice that iPhone-related websites are as popular as iPhone. Through them, we can get the latest iPhone news and share our opinions as well as communicate with other iPhone users. Here I picked out several prominent websites for reader's reference. To tell you the truth, each of them are extremely helpful, your horizon will be broadened a lot after viewing these well-organized and informative websites.</p><p>1. Apple.com</p><p>This is iPhone's official website which garners every detailed information about Apple Inc's products including iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, iPhone, iPod Touch, Mac OS, iPod Nano. From hardware to software, basic steps to thorny problems, Apple.com is just like a versatile expert provides users effective measures to deal with advanced iPhone. The information is comprehensive in content and easy to understand. It is indeed a good place for newbie to learn the overall information about his new iPhone.</p><p>But there are some cons in this site, it tells readers all things that is positive to Apple's products. So after viewing Apple.com, you will find that everything it described is very good, it makes you feels the devices it has are magic. But actually, they are not. They still have a lot of problems to be exposed.</p><p>2. MacRumors</p><p>From the name, we can have a guess about what this website do about iPhone. In earlier days, MacRumors is an aggregator of Mac-related rumors and reports around the Mac web. Later, it started to include everything about Apple's. Users can find support for many Apple-related issues, as well as talk to other Mac users about their encountered problems. Their tagline is "News and Rumors You Care About."In this site, you can find some news both positive and negative. Furthermore, everyone can express his idea and experience freely and openly.</p><p>In my humble opinion, there is only one disadvantage in Macrumors. That is some news are created without any evident. It is easy to confuse readers with those false information.</p><p>3. AppleInsider</p><p>AppleInsider is a semi-renowned news and rumor website which focuses on Apple Inc. It includes a forum for discussion of news stories and other community news. The most impressive thing is the content in Appleinsider is very rounded and new. The update is also very quick. People can exchange thoughts in its forum part.</p><p>AppleInsider is less popular than other big websites. The style is a little simple.</p><p>4. iPhonemofo.net</p><p>This is a little new blogsite which is only oriented to iPhone. If Appleinsider is a semi-renowned website, then iPhonemofo may be the quarter-renowned one. It categorizes the content into different sections including Accessories, Apps, Games, Shop, Top Stories, Tips and Tricks, videos. It is very convenient for readers to look for the exact information he wants. I especially like the Video section. The interesting and magical videos are very spellbinding. It is a visual feast for iPhone fans in Videos section at iPhonemofo.</p><p>This websites is not influential and the update is not done in time.</p><p>Still, there are other websites related to iPhone. For instance, The iPhone Blog, The iPhone Alley, Engadget, and the like. They are also excellent in providing information and exchanging ideas. All of them have their own special characteristics to attract readers.</p><p>It is amazing to surf those webs from which you can timely master the new dynamics in iPhone walks, know how to make app by yourself and make the most of your iPhone by following their tips. Moreover, your problems can be solved by many professional and amateur iPhone users. I highly appreciate those websites' contribution to readers and strongly recommend readers to find valuable things in these websites.</p></div>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-10223698934787618932009-07-15T23:38:00.002+07:002009-07-15T23:39:46.190+07:00The SIM card and My Curiosity's Satisfaction<p>Have you ever thought what’s the deal with that golden-colored plate, inserted to your mobile phone? I did, so I looked for the information and now I can share with you what I found out.</p><p>When I was a little girl, I was always interested to know what is inside of the different devices and tools my dad was keeping in his garage. I wanted to know what he stores in his different sizes boxes, what is in his furniture. My dad used to spend a lot of time in his garage, the thing which often made my mom be mad at him.</p><p>Being a kid, I was thinking: “As my dad, an adult, is interested to spend so much time with his spare parts for his cars, for the radio and for his tools, there is something interesting about them, my mom doesn’t know about”.</p><p>So, whenever I had a chance, I was spending my time alone in my father’s garage, trying to find out his secret. I wasn’t able to understand what was keeping him there, but I got curious and interested to get to know about all the staff, which was kept in garage.</p><p>My curiosity had so much place to get satisfaction. Sometimes this curiosity led me to disclose the radio, my father was listening to all the time, being in the garage. For sure, I even tried to repair it several times until it stopped working. Even now my father has in his garage 5 broken radios , which I tried to repair!</p><p>This curiosity is still with me and I am glad for that. For sure, it affected my computer, as when I purchased it I didn’t have any knowledge in hardware and software. I didn’t even know the difference between them. But I wanted to know what computer is. This made me try different programs, go to different setups and learn to manage them. There were several times, when my good friends had to come and repair my computer, but the good news is that I learned so many new things!</p><p>Guess what is my next curiosity technical obsession? I can tell you. This is my mobile phone. In my country I had to buy a phone and the number for it separately. I was curious to understand how they get connected. And I got to know that there is a golden-colored plate, which should be inserted in the mobile phone, which contains my number. Looking carefully on that plate, I didn’t find out anything. So, I gave up for a while with the only understanding that that plate is called SIM card.</p><p>For a not long time ago I started to work for a company which provides different software, including the mobile phones software. There again I heard about this golden colored plate. Studying this company‘s products, I found out that this plate contains a chip, which has information stored on it. I saw this chip inserted on smart cards and tokens, they provide software for too.</p><p>First I found out that my card’s memory is partially filled with the wireless connection provider’s information and that there is a free space available for the data about my contacts, I can add and manage. Provider inserted my phone number on the card, its name and other data, which can not be deleted or replaced by myself. The other part of the memory can be used for data storage, like my phone numbers or SMSs. Some of the information, which I may insert, can be stored on this card, another one - on the phone’s memory.</p><p>Now I wanted to get access to my personal data on the card. I was thinking for a longer time about the opportunity to do it with the card management software on my computer, which could help me easily make order in my phone entries (like editing some numbers, deleting other and adding new once).</p><p>The company I work for provided me with the opportunity to test a easy-to-use software, called Dekart SIM Manager. This software helped me easily get inside my SIM card. You can imagine how happy I was that I finally was getting a chance to access my phone data by using personal computer instead of phone’s keypad! I was anticipating my long time wish accomplishment. It was so exciting!</p><p>Thanks to Dekart SIM Manager I got to know that my card has protection tools, like PIN codes. I heard of them and was always confuse about using them. Now with this friendly designed software I was able easily to manage these codes too.</p><p>One new thing I was able to find out from the developer of this software, is that it also supports the Universal SIM cards found in third-generation generation mobile wireless systems, as well as different types of GSM SIM cards, containing more than 250 phonebook entries.</p><p>My needs as an individual user were totally satisfied by this software’s opportunities to manage my contacts and codes. I think it may be for real use for GSM operators, requiring such special features as possibility to view SIM serial number, PIN1 state, technical data of the phonebook, its memory size and the number of free entries.</p>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-60649012160796054542009-07-15T23:38:00.001+07:002009-07-15T23:38:37.403+07:00How DATA is LOST<div id="body"><p>Over 95% of the people and businesses that I speak with have experienced data loss. However the sad fact is that the majority of businesses are woefully unprepared and do not understand the serious risk of data loss.<br />Do you have a disaster recovery plan?</p><p>The data that you store on your computer can be lost in many ways. Many people are not aware of the various ways that their data can be placed in jeopardy.</p><p>First, there are the obvious ways:</p><p>Physical damage to the computer, such as fire or water damage, is one surefire way to lose all the data on your computer. Although insurance may cover the physical damage to your machine(s), and you may be able to replace the actual hardware, no insurance policy can resurrect your data.</p><p>Another common way that individuals lose the data they have worked so hard to build up is THEFT. Much like damage done to your computer via various natural disasters, insurance may cover the physical hardware, but no policy will be able to save the information stored on your hard drive and other physical media.</p><p>Without some form of backup solution, your data is at risk every day.</p><p>There are many other things that can happen that can cause partial or full data loss. Other common occurrences are:</p><p>Data corruption (failed CRC or MD5 checks),</p><p>Hard drive failure (the older a hard disk gets the closer you are getting to the MTBF, or “mean time between failure” that every disk is rated for at the factory),</p><p>OS failure (it is not uncommon for a machine to fail to reboot after having critical system files replaced, such as during the application of a Windows Service Pack or driver update).</p><p>Human error – simply accidentally deleting a file or directory happens more often than you would think. Not to mention the “not so accidental” deletion by a disgruntled employee.</p><p>Viruses and worms – even though protection for these digital pests is readily available and in general use, loss of data associated with them is still widespread.</p><p>These are just a few of the pitfalls that can plague the computer that has not had backups done in a timely manner.</p><p>Right about now, you may be asking yourself: “What can I do?” Actually, there is one simple solution to all your data integrity needs: offsite data backup.</p><p>Unlike backups you may be used to doing with tape drives or other removable media, offsite data backup provides a much more transparent, easy to use solution, as well as having the added security of storing your files in a secure location that is guaranteed to keep them safe (remember, if your office building catches fire, not only does your workstation lose it’s data, but your tape backups will most likely be destroyed as well, barring the use of expensive fireproof storage.</p><p>Offsite data backup is easy to set up and protects your data in the most secure, economical way possible. If you are considering implementing a data backup for your company or personal computers do yourself a favor and consider using an offsite secure backup service. This is the simplest and most effective form of disaster recovery.</p><p>Your DATA is your LIFE. Protect it.</p></div>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-75433534276396111432009-07-15T23:36:00.002+07:002009-07-15T23:37:18.202+07:00Adware, Spyware and Monitoring Software-–What's What?<div id="body"><p>Everybody seems to have heard about spyware now. Media <br />publish loads of surveys, "how to"s, and horror stories <br />about the victims. Readers are supposed to know exactly what <br />terms like "spyware", "adware", "malware" mean. Alas, their <br />meanings may vary from article to article, from author to <br />author-- some of them still use these terms interchangeably. <br />It is not correct. Being an employee of an anti-spyware <br />developing company, I guess I know this matter well enough <br />to point that out.</p><p>The spyware problem is much broader and more complex than we <br />think it to be; it isn't all about unwanted advertising, <br />pop-ups, etc., etc. It isn't all about privacy, either. <br />Adware by no means equals spyware. One needn't be a genius <br />to suspect it. Adware is more annoying than really dangerous <br />-- though it slows down PCs and drives people crazy. <br />Programs used for targeted advertising, such as adware or <br />cookies, make only a tiny part of existing programs which <br />are usually called spyware, and the purposes they are used <br />for are the most innocuous, I should say.</p><p>In my opinion, these programs should better be called <br />"trackware" or something like that -- they keep track of PC <br />users' activities (to target advertising better) but not <br />actually spy. You disagree? Well, your browsing habits, <br />things you buy online--all this stuff certainly is your <br />private business. If somebody else uses this info to bombard <br />you with ads, you get angry. You are quite right. One more <br />question: what private info you value more--your browsing <br />habits or your credit card number?</p><p>Social security numbers, credit card numbers, your bank <br />accounts, passwords, another valuable (in the direct sense) <br />data--can easily be stolen by means of software programs <br />specially created for stealing data. That's what I usually <br />mean when talking about "spyware." These programs spy--they <br />log every your keystroke or mouse click, make screenshots, <br />compile a neat log-file and send it to the person who <br />installed the program (as a rule, remotely) on your PC.</p><p>Compared with keyloggers, adware seems pretty innocent, doesn't it? Even hijacking a browser looks like petty offence. To <br />visualize difference between adware stuff and keylogging <br />spyware just compare a juvenile delinquent and, say, a <br />terrorist.</p><p>In view of that, software products which make possible <br />unwanted advertising are rather distant relatives of real <br />spyware. Cousins, so to speak. Second cousins twice removed, <br />to be more precise. What about brothers and sisters?</p><p>Spyware has very much in common with monitoring software -- <br />legitimate software products widely used for parental <br />control, workplace surveillance, Internet access control, <br />etc. They pretty often are based on the same technology. <br />They are so similar, that a spy program can sometimes be <br />used for monitoring purposes, and vice versa. So, what is <br />the difference, if there is any?</p><p>There is a vague line between monitoring products and spy <br />products -- this is the line between security management and <br />security violation. However, there are two specific program <br />functions that are typical to spy programs.</p><p>First, it is possible to carry out preliminary configuration <br />of the monitoring module (it is usually called client, agent <br />etc.), getting a compiled executable file as a result. This <br />file, when installed, doesn't display any messages or create <br />windows on the screen. It "hides itself" and "shows no signs <br />of life". It is impossible to notice whether the particular <br />PC is being secretly monitored or not. Of course, the user <br />is not aware of being spied -- until the consequences show <br />up.</p><p>Second, spy software always has built-in means of remote <br />installation; as a rule, the pre-configured module (agent) <br />is installed into the target PC remotely. Then the files <br />with obtained information are sent via local network or <br />emailed to the person who installed the spy program.</p><p>Last, but not least-- spyware is always used illicitly and <br />behind the user's back-- here monitoring is performed by a <br />person who has no right for it. Unlike spyware, legally used <br />monitoring programs are almost never used secretly. Though <br />in many states your boss doesn't break any law when he <br />installs monitoring devices or software without your consent <br />and never tells you about it, it happens not very often. As <br />a rule, people at work are aware of being under <br />surveillance. Managers are very likely to tell a new <br />employee that there are things that he or she had better not <br />do -- because there are means of finding that out. Kids know <br />what websites they had better not visit--for the same <br />reason. <br />Remove these functions -- and you will get a monitoring <br />program instead of spyware. If it is impossible to <br />pre-configure the monitoring module and install it remotely; <br />if you should have administrator privilege to install the <br />program, it is monitoring software, not spyware.</p><p>Though the basic principle is often the same, purposes <br />differ greatly. Monitoring software is most frequently used <br />in large and middle-sized companies to ensure information <br />security and local network accountability. At home more and <br />more parents install it as a "life jacket" for their <br />web-surfing kids. You probably use such a program already, <br />or going to. Use it, but remember about the illegitimate <br />relative of so useful and absolutely legal monitoring <br />program installed on your own PC.</p></div>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-16929223305633472172009-07-15T23:36:00.001+07:002009-07-15T23:36:36.004+07:00Have You Ever Wondered About Cookies?<div id="body"><p>Do you remember the first time you was offered a cookie <br />from a web site? If you were new to the Internet it was a <br />surprise. A web site wanted to put a cookie on your <br />computer.</p><p>Maybe your first thoughts were, “What’s a cookie? Should I <br />accept it or reject it?"</p><p>Some sites never asked to give you a cookie... Other sites <br />required your acceptance of cookies to get information, to <br />read articles or look through their products or get their free <br />downloads.</p><p>According to Netscape, "Cookies are a general mechanism <br />which server side connections (such as CGI scripts) can <br />use to both store and retrieve information on the client side <br />of the connection."</p><p>Most cookies are set once and then go away when you turn <br />off your browser. The other type of cookie, the persistent <br />cookie, is set and remains on your hard drive until either <br />your space for cookies is full or the time stamp on it expires.</p><p>A site has access to any information you provide (including <br />information like your IP address, browser type, and the page <br />that referred you to their site, as well as forms you fill out) <br />without using any cookies at all. So, it's more important to <br />know the privacy policies of a site than to worry about <br />whether they use cookies.</p><p>Cookies are small pieces of information gathered from you <br />and/or your computer by a web server and stored in your <br />computer, ready for future access by the server or web site. <br />Cookies are embedded in the HTML information flowing <br />back and forth between your computer and the web sites <br />and servers.</p><p>What’s The Purpose of Cookies? They allow user side <br />customization of web information. For example, cookies are <br />used to personalize web sites. They allow you to participate <br />in surveys, contests... And, making sure you participate only <br />once... And to store shopping lists of items you have <br />selected while browsing through a list of products or a <br />virtual shopping mall.</p><p>Some sites require YOU accept cookies to access their <br />information, tips or articles from their web site. Cookies <br />make use of specific information you prefer. That specific <br />information is transmitted by your web server into your <br />computer cookie file so the information is available for later <br />access by itself and other servers.</p><p>In most cases, not only does the storage of personal <br />information into your cookie file go unnoticed, so does <br />access to it. Web servers automatically gain access to <br />relevant cookies whenever you establish a connection to <br />them.</p><p>Cookies are based on a two-stage process. First, the <br />cookie is stored in your computer sometimes without your <br />consent or knowledge. But... On Netscape browsers you <br />can go to preferences, set your browser to alert you before <br />accepting a cookie. On Internet Explorer follow the <br />Tools/Internet Options/Security menu to set cookie <br />preferences. It's your choice.</p><p>For example... Some web pages are customizable so you <br />can select categories of interest to you from the web page. <br />The web server then creates a cookie that is a string of text <br />containing your preferences, and puts this small cookie text <br />file in your computer.</p><p>If your web browser is set to receive cookies... the cookie <br />text is stored on your computer in a file called a cookie file. <br />This happens without your consent unless your have set <br />your browser to notify you before accepting a cookie and <br />before it is stored on your computer.</p><p>Would you like to see your cookie file?</p><p>On a Macintosh you can do a find for 'magiccookie' on your <br />hard drive...</p><p>On a PC do a find for 'cookies.txt' on your hard drive.</p><p>Each cookie file is a small text file. After you find the file you <br />can open it by double clicking it. Looking at the files doesn’t <br />tell you much unless you get deeper into writing and setting <br />cookies.</p><p>Remember... a site only knows what information you’ve <br />entered and your browser type and ISP. Cookies are neither <br />good nor bad, they can provide convenience for you and do <br />serve useful functions on the web.</p><p>You CAN delete the entire cookies file on your computer if <br />cookies concern you. Just find the file and delete it. Then set <br />your browser preferences to NOT accept cookies.</p><p>"I’ve always accepted cookies and have noticed no bad <br />effects. So my personal preference is to continue accepting <br />them,"... Now It’s Your Choice!</p></div>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132476443291263567.post-20131543465414453322009-07-15T23:35:00.001+07:002009-07-15T23:35:40.763+07:0010 Secrets to a Healthy Computer and a Happier You<div id="body"><p>There comes a time in a person’s life where no matter how much you fight it time takes its toll and we begin to slow down in how we perform our daily activities. However, in order to extend our youthful glow and energy levels it is important to eat right, exercise, and keep a positive outlook on life.</p><p>Now you may ask what has any of that got to do with “Secrets To A Healthy Computer?”</p><p>Well, in a way we’re all just like a computer. If you neglect to take care of yourself you soon will cease to function properly and the many tasks that once were easy to do now take twice as long to accomplish and often require you to rest or “reboot” after a malfunction.</p><p>I can’t tell you what foods to eat or what exercises to perform because I am not a nutritionist. Although, with my experiences in the personal computer field I can share with you some tips of how to keep that rectangle box of circuitry that sits within sights range functioning at maximum performance as long as time will allow.</p><p>Some important steps to follow are….</p><p>Make certain that your computer is located in a well ventilated area and that all air vents are unobstructed to prevent overheating and premature failure to any internal components.</p><p>Clean out the dust build-up at least every 6 months from the inside of the computer case including case vents, power supply vents, and all visible circuitry with a few cans of compressed air that can be purchased from any major computer store or electronics outlet. This will help reduce the chances of overheating and circuitry damage.</p><p>Before cleaning just be certain to always unplug the computer from the wall outlet and never physically contact the circuitry inside the computer case to prevent damage.</p><p>Be prepared for an unsuspected failure by always making backups of any important data that you do not and can not afford to lose.</p><p>I personally keep updated backups of my website and even store the disks at a remote location away from my every day use computers just in case a disaster were to occur and my main computers were destroyed resulting in the need for those lost files.</p><p>Purchase and install a well known anti-virus program that can be regularly updated with the latest virus definitions and ran during boot-up to help protect your computer from being the victim of an unwanted infestation.</p><p>Every few months or so run your computer’s “Scandisk” program followed by the “Defragmenter” program to maximize the efficiency of your hard drive.</p><p>If you are not certain of how to use these utilities and being that the steps to execute these programs varies slightly from one operating system to the other it would be easiest to simply use the “Help” option that can be found by clicking on the START button found on your computers desktop.</p><p>The START menu will open up a drop-down-box that should display the “Help” option. By going here you can enter the keywords that deal with the answers to the subject you are searching for.</p><p>Run your computers “Disk Cleanup” utility every other week or so. If set the “Disk Cleanup” utility will automatically empty the recycling bin and recover some wasted disk space by removing the internet temporary files that seem to always accumulate.</p><p>Again, use the “Help” option if you are uncertain of how to perform this task.</p><p>Never smoke near a computer because the cooling fans will pull the smoke into the case where it can coat the inside parts of the computer with a residue which in turn can damage sensitive components.</p><p>Place the computer case in an area where it will not be accidentally kicked or bumped to prevent the loosening of cables and damage to internal parts.</p><p>Invest in a high quality surge protector to provide your computer and monitor against voltage spikes or “surges” that can dramatically shorten the life of your system. Just like most items in a store, “You get what you pay for”. So don’t skimp out on this important device!</p><p>Its also not a bad idea to invest in a surge protector that includes what is called a “Data Line Protector” which allows you to connect your telephone lines to and serves the same purpose for the telephone line to your modem just like the surge protector does for the electrical household current lines.</p><p>Finally, if you plan on being away from home for more that a few days at a time or if there is a thunderstorm brewing in your area it is a very wise decision to always unplug all electrical lines and modem telephone lines from your system. Even with a surge protector installed it is possible that such a large voltage spike such as one caused by a lightening strike could prove fatal to any computer system.</p><p>If you follow these simple steps the outcome is a healthy computer that will stay by your side and treat you well which also results in a happier you.</p></div>divhaxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04799212852947545973noreply@blogger.com1