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Computers/Internet (General/Chat)

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  • Fitbit health trackers can be hacked in just 10 seconds

    10/21/2015 11:39:38 PM PDT · by Swordmaker · 16 replies
    Business Insider ^ | October 21, 2015 09:00 am | by Max Slater-Robins
    FitbitFitbit offer a range of fitness wearables.Fitbit wearables can be hacked in 10 seconds, allowing the intruder to infect any PC connected to it, The Register reports. Fitbit make a series of wearable devices that measure health statistics, such as blood pressure and heart rate. All of the information is then passed onto an online hub. The hack, which Fitbit was made aware of in March, uses the open Bluetooth connection of a Fitbit wearable. Through this, a hacker could dump malware onto the wearable which would then be transferred to any computer the Fitbit came into contact with.The ease of delivery —...
  • Mossberg: The Steve Jobs I knew isn't in this movie

    10/21/2015 10:40:25 PM PDT · by Swordmaker · 12 replies
    The Verge ^ | October 21, 2015 09:00 am | By Walt Mossberg
    Aaron Sorkin made an entertaining movie, but it’s not about Steve Jobs In 1941, the brilliant writer and director Orson Welles made a movie loosely based on a famous, powerful, contemporary American business figure — the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst — that showed him in a bad light. He took artistic liberties with the character. But he didn't call the movie Citizen Hearst. He called it Citizen Kane, and it's now regarded by many as the best film ever made. In 2015, the brilliant writer Aaron Sorkin made a movie loosely based on a famous, powerful, contemporary American business...
  • Apple just banned some versions of Adobe Flash from its computers

    10/21/2015 8:31:36 PM PDT · by Swordmaker · 11 replies
    BGR (Boy Genius Report) ^ | October 21, 2015 | By Zach Epstein
    With his “Thoughts on Flash” letter back in early 2010, late Apple CEO Steve Jobs waged a war on Adobe that the media couldn’t get enough of. Beyond the hype, however, Adobe’s Flash platform really had become a resource hog that was a terrible burden on developers, and that wreaked havoc on PC performance. Thanks to the war Jobs waged, two things have happened in recent years: Flash has become far less popular as better technologies moved in to replace it, and the Flash platform has improved.Improved though it may be, Flash still has some serious issues. We got...
  • The Benghazi Hearings.What Will Be The "Hillary Excuses" And Answers This Time?

    10/21/2015 4:00:39 PM PDT · by Cruz_West_Paul2016 · 43 replies
    Is it fair to say that:"I Don't Recall" is Hillary's most infamous catch phrase? And then about 20 years later it was something like, "What Difference Does It Make"?. So what can we expect from Hillary this week?, The Infamous and Sophomoric,"Well At The Time I Wasn't Aware" or, "I Didn't Know It Was Top Secret". Who knows, we may hear up to 20 or so new excuses coming from Hillary this week. What will they be? "Huma Ate My Deleted Emails"?, "Much Of This Started Under The Bush Administration"?
  • Apple releases OS X 10.11.1

    10/21/2015 2:57:48 PM PDT · by Swordmaker · 11 replies
    MacDailyNews ^ | Wednesday, October 21, 2015
    Apple today released OS X 10.11.1 which: – Improves installer reliability when upgrading to OS X El Capitan – Improves compatibility with Microsoft Office 2016 – Fixes an issue where outgoing server information may be missing from Mail – Resolves an issue that prevented display of messages and mailboxes in Mail – Resolves an issue that prevents certain Audio Unit plug-ins from functioning properly – Improves VoiceOver reliability – Adds over 150 new emoji characters with full Unicode 7.0 and 8.0 supportOS X 10.11.1 also introduces support for Unicode 7 and 8, including new emoji that include taco, burrito, middle...
  • Tech Support Scammers Impersonate Apple Technicians

    10/21/2015 11:34:13 AM PDT · by Swordmaker · 40 replies
    Malwarebyes ^ | October 20, 2015 | BY JÉRÔME SEGURA
    Remote assistance is becoming more and more popular to troubleshoot computer issues without the hassle of bringing the problematic machine to a store. Indeed, from the comfort of your own home you can let a Certified Technician remotely log into your PC and have them fix the issues you are facing.Apple offers a screen sharing service part of its support center that puts you in touch with a remote advisor. The process is secure and requires a unique session key to authenticate into the system that the customer needs to enter at the following URL: https://ara.apple.comIn today’s post we will talk...
  • Apple Releases iOS 9.1

    10/21/2015 11:24:35 AM PDT · by Swordmaker · 13 replies
    Mac Daily News ^ | October 20, 2015
    Apple today releases iOS 9.1 which includes new features, improvements and bug fixes, including: • Live Photos now intelligently senses when you raise or lower your iPhone, so that Live Photos will automatically not record these movements • Over 150 new emoji characters with full support for Unicode 7.0 and 8.0 emojis • Improved stability including CarPlay, Music, Photos, Safari, and Search • Improved performance while in Multitasking UI • Fixes an issue that could cause Calendar to become unresponsive in Month view • Fixes an issue that prevented Game Center from launching for some users • Resolves an issue...
  • Apple banned these iPhone apps following a security breach

    10/21/2015 10:51:50 AM PDT · by Swordmaker · 3 replies
    Clark Howard ^ | Tuesday, October 20 th 2015
    Apple has removed nearly 300 apps from the iTunes store because they secretly gathered personal information from users. The apps were made in China and allowed a Chinese ad company to display their ads inside the apps. The software was designed to gather people's email addresses and iPhone serial numbers.      Apple says it will no longer accept apps from the developer. Most of the apps are games, including the popular Angry Birds 2. Here's a full list from BGR.com:         air2AmHexinForPadAngry Birds 2babaBiaoQingBaoCamCardCamScannerCamScanner LiteCamScanner ProCard SafeChina Unicom Mobile OfficeChinaUnicom3.xCITIC Bank move card spaceCSMBP-AppStoreCuteCUTDataMonitorDidi ChuxingEyes WideFlappyCircleFlushFreedom...
  • Happy "Back to the Future" Day

    10/21/2015 6:37:28 AM PDT · by GraceG · 28 replies
    Start up your DeLorean, fill your Mr. fusion up with Beer and Banana Peels, then break out your hover board for today because today is Back to the future day! October 21, 2015 is the date that they travel to in Back to the Future part II. I plan on going to the cafe 80's and enjoying a Pepsi Perfect ordered from Ronald Reagan himself, well at least an AI facsimile of him. Too bad we don't have flying cars, well the EPA, the FAA, and the DOT would probably regulate them to death anyway....
  • Frontier Communications Internet service outtage 3 states [Vanity]

    10/21/2015 1:58:17 AM PDT · by WhiskeyX · 2 replies
    Vanity | 2015-10-21 | WhiskeyX
    Frontier tech support says internet service is down for service in WA, ID, CO maybe more midnight Pacific time to maybe as late as 9 to 10AM. Anyone else affected?
  • ‘Yo Dog, That’s Me’ — Man Sees Photo on News Website, Shows Police And Is Promptly Arrested

    10/20/2015 9:27:55 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 17 replies
    KFOR ^ | OCTOBER 19, 2015 | M.DELATORRE
    A Virginia man walked into Richmond Police Headquarters on Monday, held up the WTVR news app and said “Yo dog, that’s me.” Soon after he made that statement, he was arrested. On Monday, Richmond police released photos of a man wanted in connection with a theft at a fire station. Photos released by police showed a man on a bicycle. Officers said he rode up to a South Richmond fire station, walked in through an unlocked door and stole an electronic device on October 12. “At approximately 3:05 p.m., the man in the photos rode his bicycle up to Fire...
  • Infinitely fast light with new zero-index material

    10/20/2015 3:31:03 PM PDT · by LibWhacker · 15 replies
    SCImplified ^ | 10/20/15 | M. Lane
    Photonic devices, which use light to transport large amounts of information quickly, have the potential to enhance or even replace the electronic devices that are ubiquitous in our lives today. But before such optical connections can be integrated into telecommunication systems and computers, researchers need to make it easier to manipulate light at the nanoscale. A new on-chip zero-index metamaterial makes this possible, opening the door for technological innovation and research. This new metamaterial was developed in the lab of Eric Mazur at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and is described in the...
  • 23-year-old Google employee lives in a truck in company's parking lot, saves 90% of his income

    10/20/2015 12:09:31 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 72 replies
    Business Insider ^ | 10/20/2015 | Kathleen Elkins
    When 23-year-old Brandon S. headed from Massachusetts to the Bay Area in mid-May to start work as a software engineer at Google, he opted out of settling into an overpriced San Francisco apartment. Instead, he moved into a 128-square-foot truck. The idea started to formulate while Brandon — who asked to withhold his last name and photo to maintain his privacy on campus — was interning at Google last summer and living in the cheapest corporate housing offered: two bedrooms and four people for about $65 a night (roughly $2,000 a month), he told Business Insider. "I realized I was...
  • Temperature of Hell drops a few degrees – Microsoft emits SSH-for-Windows source code

    10/19/2015 8:55:19 PM PDT · by dayglored · 17 replies
    The Register ^ | Oct 19, 2015 | Shaun Nichols
    Microsoft has published early source code for its OpenSSH-for-Windows port for developers to pick apart and improve. In a blog post on Monday, Steve Lee – the PowerShell team's principal software engineer manager – said Redmond has finished early work on a Windows port of OpenSSH 7.1, built in a joint-effort with remote-access developer NoMachine. "We will continue to partner with NoMachine on development in this public repository," Lee said. "Please note that this code is still very early and should be treated as a developer preview and is not supported for use in production." Microsoft said back in June...
  • Now we know why IT support hate Macs

    10/19/2015 8:00:58 PM PDT · by Swordmaker · 53 replies
    Computerworld ^ | October 19, 2015 | By Jonny Evans
    You can’t blame them I suppose. They don’t really know any better, but the latest IBM report is attracting attention because, well, it pretty much tells any open-minded person that Macs are a better deal, even in the enterprise.Mindfulness This shouldn’t surprise anyone who has been watching the digital transformation of the workplace over the last few years. That’s a period in which computers have evolved from being beige boxes on your desk to becoming solutions you carry in your pocket, wear on your wrist or access through the cloud.Not only is technology changing, but workplace habits are being...
  • Apple's Tim Cook to Join Group of Corporate Leaders Tackling Chinese Environmental Problems

    10/19/2015 3:36:39 PM PDT · by Up Yours Marxists · 11 replies
    Apple Insider ^ | October 19, 2015 20:50 UTC | Roger Fingas
    Apple CEO Tim Cook is joining the CEO Council for Sustainable Urbanization, a group formed by the Paulson Institute and the China Center for International Economic Exchanges in order to divert the environmental impact of China's urban growth. "Apple is committed to running our global operations on 100 percent renewable energy and we're working hard to reduce emissions throughout our global supply chain," Cook said in prepared statement from the Paulson Institute. "We look forward to participating in the CEO Council's effort to advance China's green transformation and hope to do our part in helping China reach its climate goals."
  • Windows 10 growth rate slows in October 2015 [110 Million Installations]

    10/19/2015 9:58:03 AM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 25 replies
    Network World ^ | 10/19/2015 | Andy Patrizio
    As the months pass and Windows 10 spends more time on the market, patterns are starting to emerge, and the initial huge growth has suddenly leveled off. At the end of August, Microsoft claimed that Windows 10 was on 75 million devices. At this week's Surface event, Microsoft Windows chief Terry Myerson said that the Windows 10 is now on over 110 million devices. Windows 10 was ready for download on July 29, so in its first month out of the gate, it claimed 75 million devices. Five weeks later, it was up by 35 million. That would indicate quite...
  • First lady aims to get more students to continue education

    10/19/2015 9:43:12 AM PDT · by Olog-hai · 22 replies
    Associated Press ^ | Oct. 19, 2015 11:43 AM EDT | Darlene Superville
    Michelle Obama unveiled a new social media site on Monday where teens can swap practical information and stories about continuing education after high school, an initiative backed by more than 20 media, business and nonprofit groups. […] BetterMakeRoom.org will be a place for students ages 14-19 to get information on such matters as signing up for the SAT and ACT exams, filling out federal financial aid forms and applying to college, aides said. Students will also be able to share stories about their goals, their progress and what’s inspiring them to go to college. …
  • Mac Anti-Virus: Why I Don't Use Any!

    10/18/2015 10:27:26 PM PDT · by Swordmaker · 10 replies
    Low-end Mac ^ | October 18, 2015 | by Simon Royal
    Mac Anti-Virus: Why I Don’t Use Any! Simon Royal - 2015.10.18 I had a short-lived experience using anti-virus on my Mac. Why don’t I use it anymore?Mac anti-virus has always been a talking point amongst Mac users. We sit smug behind our ‘secure’ Apple computers, poking fun at Windows users and their constant battle with anti-virus suites and malware protection.The number of Windows computers I get asked to look at because they are running slow and the culprit are viruses and junk-ware programs that hog system resources and take over their browser is ridiculous.In early 2014, I briefly tried out Sophos Home...
  • Japan's major architecture, engineering firms going "all iPad" supporting Apple iOS enterprise push

    10/18/2015 8:02:56 PM PDT · by Swordmaker · 7 replies
    Appleinsider ^ | Sunday, October 18, 2015 | By Daniel Eran Dilger
    Apple's mobile enterprise ambitions are beginning to shift the market in Japan, where large architecture, engineering, construction and operations firms have already moved to standardize on iOS and iPads for their enterprise tablets. Japan's Daiwa House Industry extensively uses iPad According to a report by Architosh, Graebert—a major German CAD (computer assisted design) software developer—announced its support for iOS after finding that leading Japanese firms have already standardized on iOS in deploying thousands of iPads. That shift is coming largely at the expense of Google's Android, and leaves diminishing hope for Microsoft's efforts to win converts back to the Windows...