Every tech knows that it’s responsible practice to keep your software updated. Many updates add security, new features, and much needed bug fixes. But what else do these same updates add?
They add a learning curve. Every new feature added, and every change made is something new that will take precious time to learn how to use. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for new features, but if you look at the life of many of the software suites used today, they were initially designed to shave off hours of time by simplifying mundane tasks to make workers more productive. Today, many of the new features being released with update v16.4.0.566 are taking hours to learn how to work, and only shave seconds off of your work time WHEN they are used. So are we really getting the bang for the buck out of them, or are they limiting us?
New features also add more bugs. It’s a rule among developers, sometimes to fix one thing, you are going to have to break something else. You can’t get around it. Developers do what they can to find the new bugs and fix those as well, but sometimes it slips through and makes it to release. When this happens, users are excited that they’re not getting one specific error message anymore, but later realize that they can’t do something else because of a new error.
I’m definitely not saying that users shouldn’t update their systems. That would be very irresponsible of me, especially knowing the fact that most problems come from systems that have not been updated. Critical updates tend to close up the holes that many malware writers use to gain control of systems. What I’m really saying though, is that it would be nice if developers would keep separate the critical updates which are required for security purposes, and the other updates. Some people have gotten to a point with their system where they are happy, when suddenly, an update changes everything.
Microsoft has been very good about this lately, as has the Linux community for the most part. I’m not sure about Mac, as I don’t have many opportunities to use one.
My biggest problem is with iOS and mobile apps. I have had to go back to older versions of some apps to keep functionality lost in the updates.
We’ll see how these systems evolve over time, as they’re still relatively new.
So, I’ve had a bit of time to play with the Motorola Xoom, and have come to a few conclusions about the differences between the Xoom and the iPad.
If you’re in the market for a tablet pc, then there are a few things that you will want to consider.
First, what are you going to use it for? Do you plan to use it as an entertainment hub (watch movies, listen to music, etc) or do you plan to use it as more of a business tool (email, document planning, writing, and editing, teleconferencing, etc)?
Both units have their strengths and their weaknesses. I’d like to start out by discussing some of the strengths of each:
Xoom: The Xoom (or anything running Android 3.0) is a very versatile tool. It is integrated well with Google accounts, so if you have any accounts with Google, this will be a big plus for you. Android 3.0 devices are also required to use more powerful hardware (by Google), so you get more bang for your buck. The Xoom comes with a 32gb hard drive, 1gb of RAM, and an impressive 10.1 inch touchscreen. The Xoom also has an expansion slot which will allow you to expand the memory of the system by up to 32gb at a time. For those who want to watch videos on their TV, the Xoom also has a mini HDMI port as well as a Mini-USB port for transferring data. There are two variations of the Xoom right now: one with a 3g connection (later upgradeable to 4g), and one with only WiFi.
Pre-installed software on the Xoom is limited to the package of Google Apps that you would expect to see on any modern handheld device (Gmail, YouTube, etc), so you won’t see any bloatware that is common in new computers, but they do have an impressive app store if you want to expand the operability of the device.
The most impressive part of the software, is Google’s decision to allow flash on the system. This allows you to view any website that views flash (which is very commonly found on the web).
iPad: The iPad is a tablet that is based on the same operating system as the iPhone or the iPod touch. There are 6 variations in the hardware. You can get one with 16gb, 32gb, or 64gb hard drive in either 3g or WiFi models. The iPad 2 comes with 512mb memory and a sleek 9.7 inch screen.
The preloaded software on the iPad is also lacking bloatware. It includes YouTube, maps, calendar, Safari, as well as the iTunes software.
The most impressive feature of the iPad is access to the App Store. This is a very mature store with hundreds of thousands of app, and is closely controlled by Apple, so you know that any app you download will work properly.
iOS is also a very stable operating system, and rarely encounters crashes. It just works.
Commoon Pros: Each tablet sports two cameras, one on the front, and one on the back. They also have an accelerometer.
Xoom Cons: Android 3.0 is a new system, and with any new system, there are bugs to work out. Crashes aren’t uncommon, and sometimes the software from the app market doesn’t work properly (Skype doesn’t include the video option, and it often causes the system to crash). Multitasking is nice and easy, but sometimes switching between apps is slow or causes the system to crash. It was released without flash support (which has since been released) and the expansion slot is still inoperable. Google promises to fix that with an update to the system.
The app store is like the wild west, in that almost anyone can place an app on the market, and few apps are tested before going public. This can cause some malware to get through for a short period of time. The common mantra is, “If you don’t trust the publisher, don’t download the app.”
iPad Cons: The iPad comes without flash support, and will never have it according to Apple. You are also very limited as to what you can do with the system. If you decide to “Jail-Break,” or unlock your hardware from Apple’s death-grip, to download apps that were not accepted in the App Store, you risk voiding your warranty.
The iPad isn’t a production device. By that, I mean that it’s not a device that has many commercial applications. Because of Apple’s clamps on their devices, it isn’t open enough for companies to install proprietary software on it for their own company. The only place you can “legally” get software for the iPad is at the iTunes App Store.
You also have the problem of no output ports built into the device. You have only one port on the iPad, and that’s the charger port. You can buy separate extension add-ons that will give you HDMI output, or USB, but, as with everything Apple, you have to buy those add-ons at the Apple premium.
Conclusion: If you want something for entertainment purposes that just works, get an iPad. You can spend countless hours watching YouTube and playing any of the thousands of games you’d like to play. If you want something that will offer you nearly unlimited opportunities as a laptop replacement, get something running the Android system. It’s open, and anyone can develop for it. You don’t have to place apps on the market to install them either. You can install them directly by loading it onto the Xoom or through the SD card (when it works). If you do get a Xoom or Android tablet, just remember that it is a new system, and will take time to work all the bugs out.
I have finally had a chance to get a copy of Ubuntu 10.04 installed, and I am extremely impressed. I think this version of Ubuntu has more user upgrades than any single version in the last two years. I’ll take the next few moments to go over some of the more noticeable changes.
The UI got a big upgrade. First of all, they finally got away from that awful Human theme (it was consistent, but very ugly) and began to use the Ambiance theme.
Instead of using a drab brownish gray for the task bars, you now have a darker Steel-Gray that compliments the startup background.
The window decorations are also much different from the Human theme. They have abandoned the Windows-style window decorations to much cleaner Mac-style window decorations.
I think one of the biggest changes is with the addition of the Ubuntu One Music Store within RhythmBox. They have a very respectable selection, and from what I can tell, the prices are pretty good. There were many artists whose songs were 77 cents. It looks like they aren’t going with a one-price-fits-all scheme such as some of the other services.
The second part of this, was the native ability to sync your iPod or iPhone through USB as long as you have the 3.1 firmware installed on your iPhone. Before, all you could see were the images on your iPod or iPhone. Now you can even play music directly from your device without jailbreaking the player.
Some other changes:
By default Canonical removed Gimp from the default installation to save room. That’s fine, because it just takes a second to install it through synaptic, terminal, or the Ubuntu Software Center.
They are continuing to use Empathy instead of Pidgin as the text messenger. I think this is a very good idea.
From what I can tell, Power Management has also been improved. I am getting anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes extra battery life just since the new installation.
Have you ever seen an image online, and want to get to it again, but none of your keywords work?
Both Google and Bing are now offering tools to help you accomplish this.
Google is offering Image Swirl as an easy way to find images. What you do, when you get to the Image Swirl main page, is type the description of the image for which you are searching. It then links your description to different stacks of images. You narrow down your results by selecting the groups that are most like the image you are seeking.
Bing Images is slightly different, but basically works the same way. You enter your search terms, and you are returned a list of images. When you find an image that is like the one for which you are searching, you can hover over the image and select the “Show Similar Images” link.
The primary difference between the two is that Bing is more of an information directory. For results that have been sponsored by partner companies, you will be able to access information on many of the images in the Bing image search, while Google just searches for the images themselves, and links to the website from where the image came.
Results for each are very limited right now as they are still each being tested.
From what I have seen, neither are particularly better. It will all come down to a matter or preference. Personally, I prefer the direction that Google is taking with their image search.
It was only a matter of time before this happened. iPhone owners in Australia who have JailBroken their iPhones and installed the ssh client are now finding that they have been Rickrolled.
The backgrounds on their phones now show the face of a young Rick Astley.
This is bad news for anyone with an iPhone, America’s most prominent phone, because this illustrates that the iPhone is not impenetrable like Apple likes to claim about their OSX. This is also encouragement for others to start developing malware for the iPhone. If other malware developers get their hands on the Rickrolling worm but add a more dangerous payload, there’s no telling what types of things they could end up doing (record texts, phone calls, etc).
If you are a person who hates the ridiculous restrictions that Apple places on their phones, but still want the iPhone, you’re probably going to jailbreak it. If you jailbreak the phone, you’ll probably install the SSH Client. If you do this, make sure you also download MobileTerminal and change that password!
To change the SSH password:
open Terminal
type “passwd” (without the quotes)
It will ask you for your old password. Use “alpine”
Now it will ask you for your new password. The same rules apply to this password as bank passwords. Consider this, you check your bank account with your iPhone? What abour email? Do you ever give out credit card numbers over the phone? That’s why you’ll want a strong password.
Voila, you now have a more secure iPhone.
Did you purchase a new computer running Windows Vista between June 29 and January 2010? You may be eligible for a free Windows 7 Upgrade.
On Site installation packages for eligible computers start at $50.00.
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Windows 7 License and On Site installations start at $150.00 depending on the version of Windows 7 you are upgrading to.
Do you have Windows XP but are ready to move to the next new thing. We can get you cleaned up, backed up, and running on Windows 7 in just a few hours. contact us for a quote.
Benefits to upgrading to Windows 7:
Easy control over your network
Quickly and easily locate your important files
A more natural User Interface
Faster file access and response times
Reduced power consumption (major benefit for laptops)
Check this chart to determine which installation method your system would require:
So, I just got my copy of Windows 7, and started the installation process. They have greatly reduced the installation time of Windows 7. The whole installation from beginning to end took about 20 minutes.
Upon installing Windows 7 on my laptop, it seems like everything is working except for the video. After checking Windows Update, I see that it automatically recognised my video card, and has a driver update ready for me.
Hopefully, Microsoft fixed the driver issues that seemed to have plagued Windows XP and Vista.
More to come
It seems that the technology vendors still continue to own the products that you spend hundreds of dollars to purchase.
A Cal-State student was arrested earlier this week for “modding” video game consoles to play unlicensed games. For those of you who may not know what “modding” is, it consists of adding software or hardware to video game consoles such as the X-Box, Nintendo Wii, and the Play Station 2/3 to allow it to do things it originally wasn’t intended for.
Now, I’m not 100% sure of what Matthew Lloyd Crippen was charged with, but if it anything like what this article says, then this is highly unjust. According to this article, Matthew Lloyd Crippen just “modded” console systems, and when he was arrested, he had many “modded” systems on site. Legally, there shouldn’t be any problems with this, since, traditionally speaking, you own a console once you purchase it, and you make no agreements upon purchase to refrain from modifying said console. In our world, you do with it what you please.
The twist comes in with what “modding” a console allows you to do. A “modded” system allows you to play counterfeited games. This is why they are saying that “modding” the system is illegal. The funny thing is, that it also allows you to play free games that may not have made it into the console manufacturer’s app store. For instance, there are many small software development shops all across the US, and the world. There are even more independent programmers who do little games for fun. If they decide that they want to program a game for a child’s birthday, but don’t necessarily want to push it through all the red tape associated with the app store until it has been tried and tested, then they have to have a “modded” system to play it. If they don’t have a system that can play unlicensed material, then it cannot be played, and it was programmed for nothing.
Now, having said all that, the media has a way of spinning stories to make the big companies like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo sound like the devil incarnate. I bet the boy is actually getting charged with the distribution of copyrighted material. Many times, when a person “mods” a unit, they will also give, for no extra charge, a bundle of software that includes many licensed copyrighted titles.
IF, and only if, the boy was only “modding” the systems to play unlicensed material, then this is tragically unjust, as modifying your own property is not illegal. If he is, in fact, distributing copyrighted material, then he is doing something very illegal, in which our government is spending billions of dollars every year to crack down on.
You decide for yourself.
Read more here:
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/tech/Cal-State-Student-Faces-10-Year-Prison-Term-for-Playing-with-Video-Games-52386872.html
http://www.fox8.com/business/sns-ap-us-socal-video-game-arrest,0,6682770.story
You have probably been hearing news that malicious code dubbed the Conficker-C Worm, also called Downadup or Kido, has been infecting computers over the last few months. Because this is a worm, anyone running a Windows operating system is vulnerable, and you don’t have to take any actions to download this worm (it is able to search for your computer and infect it without you clicking on anything).
What this worm does isn’t entirely clear. Some speculate that it will be used to create a botnet which will link millions of computers with malicious software to send SPAM, steal credit information, or collect other data. This can be very scary if you have private data on your computer, but don’t worry. There are some easy solutions to fixing this problem.
If you have a Mac, then this isn’t something that you need to worry about. This particular virus only targets computers running Windows. If you are running Windows, then there are some things you should check to see if you infected with Conficker:
- Check to see if Automatic Update has been disabled
- Go to your Control Panel ( should be on the right side of your start menu when you click the Start button).
- Select Security Center
- Select Automatic Updates
- Make sure that Automatic Update has been selected. If it hasn’t, then try to select it. If you are able to select Automatic Update successfully, then you may not be infected
- Make sure your Antivirus scanner is up to date, and run an Antivirus scan. Most of the Antivirus scanners on the market should be able to remove Conficker. If you do not have an Antivirus scanner on your computer, then you should definitely consider getting one. There are many scanners on the market. I recommend Norton Antivirus, McAfee Antivirus, or AVG Free Edition (for personal computers only).
- Try going to a security website such as www.symantec.com (the creators of Norton Anti-Virus)
- If you cannot access www.symantec.com, then you may be infected, if not, then you are probably safe.
If you try these, and you feel that you have reason to believe that you may be infected, then you should try to download the Symantec Conficker Removal Utility which will automatically remove the Conficker-C worm from your computer. Keep in mind, that if you have multiple computers running Windows on your network, and you have found one infected computer, then all the computers running Windows are at risk for being infected, and you will need to complete these steps on each PC.
If you are having problems downloading from the link provided, please let me know, and I will send you either an email containing the utility, or offer an alternate link for the file.
If you are not comfortable performing these actions, then please contact me, and we can set up an appointment for Virus Removal.
More info at www.symantec.com
