Free Republic 4th Qtr 2025 Fundraising Target: $81,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $33,052
40%  
Woo hoo!! And now only $158 to reach 41%!! Thank you all very much!! God bless.

Computers/Internet (General/Chat)

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • Microsoft ends support for Windows 8, Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 (time to upgrade to 8.1)

    01/12/2016 6:19:23 AM PST · by dayglored · 29 replies
    CBC News ^ | Jan 12, 2016 | (none)
    Users need to upgrade to Windows 8.1, Internet Explorer 11 Microsoft is ending support for Windows 8 and older versions of Internet Explorer today. Windows 8 users who haven't upgraded to Windows 8.1 and Internet Explorer users who aren't running the latest version of the web browser -- IE 11, in most cases -- will no longer have access to patches and updates to keep their software secure from malware and hackers when new vulnerabilities are discovered. While Windows 8 was released in 2012, and Microsoft typically supports an operating system for a minimum of 10 years after its release,...
  • Banishing 'Get Windows 10' nagware isn't as easy as you think

    01/11/2016 7:02:41 PM PST · by Utilizer · 48 replies
    InfoWorld ^ | Jan 8, 2016 | Woody Leonhard
    If you're running Windows 7 or 8.1 on a computer that isn't attached to a domain, you're no doubt familiar with the "Get Windows 10" ads that try to convince you -- sometimes subtly, sometimes forcefully -- to install Windows 10. Microsoft's intrusive campaign has drawn much well-deserved ire among Windows customers. I think it represents a new low in Microsoft marketing -- right down there in the Scroogled end of the gene pool. Back in August, Microsoft posted KB 3080351, a discussion of new Group Policy settings and two obscure registry entries -- DisableOSUpgrade and ReservationsAllowed -- that, taken...
  • vanity / computer question

    01/11/2016 1:15:14 PM PST · by Arthur McGowan · 45 replies
    vanity | feb 11, 2016 | self
    i am using a borrowed laptop, an hp pavilion g7-1310us Notebook PC, running Windows 7. Last night the screen went black. i have no idea why. powering off and rebooting did nothing. i am thinking there must be some button or command that will turn the screen on. thanks in advance for help. p.s., HELPFUL comments welcome.
  • Who really owns your Internet of Things data?

    01/11/2016 1:06:11 PM PST · by BenLurkin · 24 replies
    znet ^ | 01/11/2016 | Jo Best
    In an Internet of Things future, everything from your toothbrush to your car could be collecting data on you -- about your personal habits as well as the way your business works. But with 50 billion objects set to come online by 2020, who will really own that goldmine of information? Data gathered by IoT sensors and systems can pass through any number of hands -- those of the end-user that creates it, or of the company whose hardware collects it, even the software business the processes it, and the app maker that shares it, and all of them may...
  • Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 out of support this week

    01/10/2016 8:20:13 PM PST · by Utilizer · 32 replies
    iTnews ^ | Jan 11 2016 9:26AM (AUS) | Juha Saarinen
    January 13 is the last day for business and individual users to move off older versions of the Internet Explorer web browser, before Microsoft pulls the plug on support including security patches. The deadline this week comes 18 months after Microsoft warned that it would cease to support Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10, giving users time to upgrade. Microsoft suggests users upgrade to Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7 and 8.1, or use the new Edge browser if they're on Windows 10. Edge is able to launch Internet Explorer 11 when needed, for backwards compatibility.
  • Apple's competition is going to have a tough year in 2016

    01/10/2016 7:41:05 PM PST · by Swordmaker · 70 replies
    Apple Insider ^ | Saturday, January 09, 2016 | By Daniel Eran Dilger
    In 2015 Apple grabbed a 94 percent share of the world's global smartphone profits, sold the only profitable tablets and smartwatch, increased its Mac unit sales,, launched a successful NFC payment platform, took a huge slice of the music streaming market and introduced a new platform for the living room. How can it possibly beat that performance in 2016? That's the premise set out by clickbait legend Jay Yarow of Business Insider, who penned a compendium of worries of potential scenarios of doom for the world's largest and most successful tech company, bravely entitled "Apple is going to have a...
  • Juniper to replace software containing suspected NSA back door

    01/10/2016 5:45:20 PM PST · by Utilizer · 16 replies
    iTnews ^ | Jan 10 2016 9:55PM | Staff Writer
    Juniper has confirmed it will stop using a piece of security code that analysts believe was developed by the National Security Agency in order to eavesdrop through technology products. The Silicon Valley maker of networking gear said it would ship new versions of security software in the first half of this year to replace those that rely on numbers generated by Dual Elliptic Curve technology. The statement on a blog post came a day after the presentation at a Stanford University conference of research by a team of cryptographers who found that Juniper's code had been changed in multiple ways...
  • Why So Much Apple Commentary Is So Clueless

    01/10/2016 4:04:43 PM PST · by Swordmaker · 35 replies
    Fortune ^ | JANUARY 10, 2016, 11:49 AM EST | by Philip Elmer-DeWitt
    It’s painful to read much of what passes for business reporting about Apple these days. The combination of high page-click value and low barrier-to-entry has reduced online journalism to headlines like this: Apple Chips ImplodeApple Gets PeeledThe iPhone slowdown spells doom for Apple That last piece, from Dow Jones’ MarketWatch, refers to Apple CEO Tim Cook as a “bozo” and advises readers, whatever they do, not to buy the company when its shares are near a 52-week low.“Apple’s stock fell hard in the second half of 2015, and is now down about 25% from its July high,” wrote MarketWatch’s...
  • Apple Registers 'Apple.car' and Other Auto-Related Domains

    01/09/2016 10:35:37 PM PST · by Swordmaker · 12 replies
    Mac Rumors ^ | January 8, 2016 | by Joe Rossignol
    Apple Registers 'Apple.car' and Other Auto-Related Domains Apple has registered a trio of auto-related top-level domain names, including apple.car, apple.cars and apple.auto. Whois records updated on January 8 show that Apple registered the domains through sponsoring registrar MarkMonitor Inc. in December 2015, although the addresses are not yet active. The domains could be related to CarPlay, but there will naturally be speculation about their possible relation to Apple's much-rumored electric vehicle plans. Multiple reports over the past year said Apple has a secretive team of hundreds working on an electric vehicle with a prospective 2019 or 2020 shipping date....
  • Need Mac Expert Help

    01/09/2016 4:31:59 PM PST · by MeshugeMikey · 101 replies
    MeshugeMikey | January 9, 2015 | Self
    My copy of google chrome is not running as it dont fully finish launching on my launch attempt . I can not force quit it from the force quit applications window.. because its nt running. I can not launch it as the Icon in my dock seems inert. there are a couple of forums I NEED my password for and they were available immediately using chrome. At Wits End, M.M.
  • Udall: Apple's Cash Flow Undervaluation Is 'BLANK'ing Absurd'

    01/09/2016 2:13:04 PM PST · by Swordmaker · 15 replies
    BenZinga ^ | January 8, 2016 | Jayson Derrick, Benzinga Staff Writer
    AAPL 0.53%'s stock is undervalued based on its cash position, Sean Udall, a tech stock expert recently argued. But just how undervalued is Apple's stock? According to Udall, it is "f'ing absurd." Udall noted the only factor that really matters when evaluating a company from a balance sheet perspective is its net cash position. That is, total cash minus total debt. Apple's net cash position is approximately $150 billion to $160 billion. Udall continued that Apple's net cash would be "well north" of $250 billion when factoring in all the money the company spent on stock repurchases and other shareholder...
  • Hickok45 restored. Again.

    01/09/2016 12:59:52 PM PST · by pa_dweller · 27 replies
    Youtube ^ | 1/9/2016 | Self
    He's baaaack. At least, as of 4:00 p.m. eastern. Gotta be frustrating. Bill Frady (Lock n Load) discusses this on his 1/8/2016 show.
  • Confirmed: How to stop Windows 10 forcing itself onto PCs – your essential guide

    01/09/2016 11:50:01 AM PST · by ConservativeMind · 100 replies
    The Register - UK ^ | January 8, 2016 | Iain Thomson
    If you're using a PC running Windows 7 or 8, you may be getting a little sick of endless popup screens telling you to upgrade to version 10. And you may be worried about inadvertently installing the upgrade as part of a security update. Microsoft will start pushing out a Windows 10 upgrade as a recommended, virtually mandatory, update very soon (it's right now only an optional download). Some people are tempted to turn off Windows Update completely to avoid getting the new operating system – don't. It'll leave your computer vulnerable to attack as you'll no longer get security...
  • Error 10061

    01/09/2016 11:01:19 AM PST · by pabianice · 27 replies
    1/9/16
    Running XP. Trying to log onto a game site I have used for a long time. Won't allow me -- "Error 10061." Multiple sites on the web promise to fix the problem -- if I download their $40-$70 programs. Is there another fix? Thanks.
  • youtube hickok45 account teminated......again today

    01/08/2016 6:43:23 PM PST · by fulltlt · 27 replies
    me | 1/8/2016 | me
    The hickok45 youtube account has once again been terminated for repeated violations of google policies. Calling on all who like his channel to give youtube your feedback.
  • Praying mantises get fitted with 3D glasses, watch bug movies

    01/08/2016 12:18:07 PM PST · by BenLurkin · 22 replies
    CNET ^ | 01/08/2016 | Eric Mack
    Yes, that's right. Scientists actually outfitted the odd insects with tiny 3D glasses to confirm that they actually see and hunt in 3D vision. I've been staring at the below picture for a while now of the green and blue lenses affixed to a praying mantis' head with beeswax and I still can't decide if it's cute or creepy. Researchers have suspected for years that mantises see in 3D, but scientists from Newcastle University in the U.K. finally hit on the right design of glasses for the insects. The idea is the same as the old-school red and blue polarized...
  • Confirmed: How to stop Windows 10 forcing itself onto PCs – your essential guide

    01/07/2016 10:08:43 PM PST · by dayglored · 71 replies
    The Register ^ | Jan 8, 2016 | Iain Thomson
    Official from the Redmond horse's mouth If you're using a PC running Windows 7 or 8 you may be getting a little sick of endless popup screens telling you to upgrade to version 10, and worried about inadvertently installing the upgrade as part of a security update. Microsoft will start pushing out the upgrade as a recommended, virtually mandatory, update very soon (it's right now only an optional download). Some people are tempted to turn off Windows Update completely to avoid getting the new operating system - don't. It'll leave your computer vulnerable to attack as you'll no longer get...
  • Real world iPhone 6s adoption data contradicts Apple supplier channel check rumors

    01/07/2016 9:00:49 PM PST · by Swordmaker · 34 replies
    Apple Insider ^ | Thursday, January 07, 2016, 11:03 am PT | By Daniel Eran Dilger
    The product mix of iPhone models in Apple's real world installed base of users shows smooth adoption of iPhone 6s models and no evidence of a decline in demand that would require unexpected production cuts. This publicly available data severely undercuts the supply chain rumors supporting a narrative of "Peak iPhone" and reactionary order slashing. Data reported by Boston-based mobile marketing firm Fiksu, which tracks usage analytics among the most popular 50 mobile apps including Facebook and Twitter (as noted by reader Jim Neil via Twitter), shows that iPhone 6s and 6s Plus have ramped up to account for more...
  • Linksys to Provide DD-WRT Support for All Current WRT Routers

    01/07/2016 12:29:24 PM PST · by ShadowAce · 17 replies
    Softpedia ^ | 7 January 2016 | Silviu Stahie
    Linksys has just revealed at CES 2016 that all the WRT routers now have DD-WRT support, making this the first company of its type to fully embrace an open source solution.Linksys is one of the most important companies that builds networking hardware, and it's known for its quality hardware. In this case we're talking about routers in the WRT series, which are already very good. The company decided to partner up with DD-WRT in order to provide better support for their products.Many Linksys users were already installing DD-WRT and other similar products on their routers, so the company figured out...
  • The freak out over declining iPhone sales is overblown

    01/06/2016 9:37:03 PM PST · by Swordmaker · 11 replies
    Boy Genius Report ^ | January 6, 2015 | By Yoni Heisler
    Wall Street is having an absolute freak out over reports that Apple recently scaled back its iPhone 6s orders for the first quarter of 2016. During trading on Wednesday, shares of Apple hit a 52 week low and even dipped below $100 for a brief while.As the company’s primary revenue driver, it’s understandable that a dip in iPhone sales is cause for concern. All the more so given that some analysts are predicting that Apple in 2016 will experience an overall drop-off in iPhone sales for the first time in company history.But if we take a step back and look...