Your Logitech G500 Gamer Mouse Got Hammered with Static? Here's a Possible Fix


Logitech G500 gamer mouse defect problem + fix (review/video credit: Gene Angel.

Update Note from Gene Angel: "After experimenting for a time I have concluded that it's better to use aluminum foil than plastic wrap. The reason is the hammers over time will wear the plastic wrap out. Just make sure you unplug your mouse before repair. Secondly, the aluminum foil rectangle should NOT reach the very bottom of the switch or make contact with ANY other part of the mouse. Aluminum foil contact can cause a short and kill the mouse, so USE those rubber bands or just use plastic/tape! UNPLUG your mouse! Just cut the aluminum foil into the switch-sized rectangles. Put them on with the rubber band without slack but not so tight it will tear when pressed. Other material (static bag) may work as well? Feel free to post your results."


Weatherscan Available on Comcast Infinity Cable Boxes and DVR Boxes But Not Digital Adapters

Weatherscan -- a spinoff of The Weather Channel -- features uninterrupted local weather information in graphical format on a continuous loop that is generated by an IntelliStar unit installed at the cable provider's headend.

Weatherscan does not feature on-air talent of any kind or any reality television programming. LocalWeather Radar is constantly on display, and regional weather radar occasionally rotates on the large frame with a graphical local forecast, weather almanac and record display, ultraviolet index, health weathe forecast.

Weatherscan is available in many major markets throughout the United States, but its availability is not geographically as prevalent as The Weather Channel.  Weatherscan is also not as prevalent on all tiers of services, for example on some cable providers. Comcast xfinity received many complaints when they seemingly removed WeatherScan from their channel lineup. In fact, WeatherScan is available on full-fledged cable boxes that include the on-screen programming guide. WeatherScan is not available on the smaller digital adapter boxes.

Many cable providers offer Weatherscan on their digital tiers only, although a few providers carry Weatherscan on their basic tier (where The Weather Channel is also offered).

Many viewers believe Weatherscan should be part of all basic cable service and higher service tiers because it involves life safety issues.

Weatherscan promotion from The Weather Channel.

The Weatherscan Advantage, according to The Weather Channel -- weather.com

Superior weather forecasting powered by proprietary forecast on demand technology

Provides viewers with hyper-local experience 24/7/365

Current weather conditions and forecasts always available

Vital resource during sevre weather with localized real-time alerts

Localized emergency preparedness information during severe weather from local emergency management

Unrivaled access to detailed radar information

City ticker with current conditions and forecasts for surrounding cities, area of interest and airport delays


Some comments about missing Weatherscan ...
  1. uhh comcast canceled weatherscan apparently?! this is bulls*%t. where do i get my weather and my smooth tunes now????
  2. Why have they been making Weatherscan so much harder to get? Stupid cable companies have added it to their "expanded basic" cable and you have to pay extra. WHY? And why is the weather channel more about TV shows than the actual weather? BRING BACK THE OLD WEATHER CHANNEL PLEASE!!! I'm a self proclaimed addict lol.
  3. I began watching the weather channel and loved (a frequently needed) the "local on the 8's" feature. I am SO disappointed that often there is no "local on the 8's" to be seen because of boring and repetitive shows. I really wish local on the 8's with radar could at least be shown in a pip format. Streaming the info on the bottom of the screen is worthless when there is severe weather in the area. Please fix this at once or risk loosing increasing numbers of your audiance.
  4. What happened to weatherscan channel 49 verizon fios for the philadelphia area. Now channel 49 is The Weather Channel. Most of us do not care about the weather. Across the country. Local on the 8's is a joke. The most local it gets for us is the Northeast portion of the country!!!! This is no good bring back local weatherscan !!!!!
  5. Why can we no longer see the local forecast for our area running along the bottom of the screen of the TV. We see weather conditions all over the country but none for our local area any more. When Local on the 8 comes on it shows weather nationwide not locally. Can't get a local forecast anymore. What's going on?
  6. Same problem here.....all of a sudden we are getting weather for Indiana, Oak Lawn, Homewood.....what happened to the local weather for Joliet and Romeoville areal......Please correct this ASAP....this is really not helpful at all......a 30 mile difference is huge in what actually happens.....weather channel and weather scan are now BOTH completely useless to get actual local weather from.
  7. Don't watch the weather channel anymore. The local weather is not local, just a rehash of radar blips over the whole USA. To many "war stories" and not enough weather. Get with it WC or lose more of your viewers.
  8. Kill all the non-weather garbage please, it's becoming ridiculous
  9. Just a few days ago, one of the mostly needed channels is gone from the channel line-up, Weatherscan channel # 101 in nw suburburbs, it was on the non-hd channels section, but was a 24 hour weather channel themed weather radar for current weather radar, but now its gone, lots of people not to happy, and of course the very tallented people at comcast could have programmed something on that channel to inform everyone of the change, if its re-located to another ch number, they could have left ch 101 there with detailed info for a few days, nope, it was totally deleted, and no extra info for anyone......  All I can say, it's Scamtastic !!!
  10. Why would you get rid of the weather scan on channel 101?  It is one of the most used channels on our system, and apparently on many others' systems as well.

Frozen Mouse: How Do You Shut Down a Mac Without a Mouse?

If your mouse freezes, but you still have control of the keyboard, and it is functioning (hint: see if COMMAND - TAB allows you to toggle among applications), you should be able to shut down you Mac with the following keyboard simultaneous commands ...


Command-Option-Control-Media Eject


The command should Quit all applications after giving you a chance to save changes to open documents, and then shut down the computer.

How to Unhide a Previously Hidden Post in a in a Facebook Page; the Command Is in the Activity Log

If you ever hid a post on the timeline of a page, you might have found it difficult to find out how to unhide the post.

#1. Look for the Activity Menu (second from left) at the top of the page, just below the blue Facebook bar.

#2. Click on the word "Activity" and you will see the Activity Log on the right two-thirds of the page. If you see you hidden page, click on the little "DO NOT ENTER" simple on the right. When you click on the symbol, you will see a drop down menu. Uncheck "Hidden from Page."

If you don't see the hidden page entry keep scrolling down ...

#3. Scroll down to the bottom of the activity log. When you get to the bottom of the page, you will see two sentences.

"End of notifications. View Activity Log for older activity." The words "Activity Log" are linked text ...

#4. Click on the linked text "Activity Log" and you will see older post activity. When you find you the hidden post, follow the instructions in #2 above.


How Do You Write FileMaker Code When You Want a Quotation Mark? Problems with "Quotation Marks" Fixed in FileMaker Scripts

Here is a very important trip especially if you're trying to include a quotation mark as part of concatenation to write a command that helps you write HTML code. Without this tip, every time you try to place your quotation mark it becomes part of your command structure of the code

To concatenate a quote mark in a calculation formula, type four quote marks.

For example, enter this formula into a calculation field, resulting in text:

FirstName & "^" & """" & Bosco & """" & "^" & LastName

(In this example, the FirstName field is concatenated with a double-quote character, etc. You should type a space where you see a caret (^) in this formula.) You don't actually put the caret in this code example.

The sample output from this formula is as such:
Jonathan "Bosco" Doe

Note: Beginning with FileMaker Pro 7, you can also use "\"" to insert a quote.

SOURCE: 
FileMaker Concatenating a Quote Mark in a Calculation Formula

WireLurker Malware Exploits Mac OS X and iOS Via Trojanized and Re-Packaged Applications

Apple on Thursday announced it is currently taking measures to block apps that contain the so-called "WireLurker" malware, which transmits from a Mac to iOS devices over USB.

Apple confirmed that the malicious software is "available from a download site aimed at users in China." In order to stop the spread of the "WireLurker" malware, Apple has blocked the applications in question, and is preventing the questionable apps from launching on Macs.

A total 467 infected applications have been discovered on the Chinese Maiyadi App Store for Mac OS X systems -- and unofficial third-party store that doesn't meet the security specifications of the official Mac App Store, which controls app approval. Collectively the apps have been downloaded over 356,000 times.

Palo Alto Networks found that WireLurker has been active in China for the past six months, first infecting Macs by inserting trojan software through repackaged OS X apps, then moving on to iOS devices over wired USB when Apple iPads and iPhones are connected to Macs. Palo Alto Networks announced the malware Wednesday. Palo Alto learned that a developer at Tencent Holdings Ltd. first made note of the threat in June, and then threads on Apple forums started disclosing messages about the installation of strange applications and the creation of enterprise provisioning profiles.

Palo Alto threat intelligence team Unit 42 reported WireLurker is the first known malware family that can infect installed iOS applications similar to how a traditional virus would, and it’s only the second-known malware family that can attack iOS devices through OS X — the operating system that powers every Apple Mac.kll

WireLurker can access sensitive data such as viewing user contacts data or iMessages, and it can also ping a remote server for command-and-control operations. Palo Alto Networks estimates that the 467 infected OS X applications could have been downloaded more than 350,000 times in the past six months, potentially affecting "hundreds of thousands of users."

Palo Alto Networks is a network security company which provides advanced firewalls.

See also ...
palo alto networks

How to Remove the Comments Section from WordPress Blog Articles

We recently had to disable our Akismet plug-in, which offered reasonable protection from spam, but not stellar performance.

How they plug their plug-in ...
"Used by millions, Akismet is quite possibly the best way in the world to protect your blog from comment and trackback spam. It keeps your site protected from spam even while you sleep. To get started: 1) Click the "Activate" link to the left of this description, 2) Sign up for an Akismet API key, and 3) Go to your Akismet configuration page, and save your API key."

At a cost of $50 per month for unlimited WordPress commercial websites, some users want alternatives. Several spammy comments got by the protection anyway. We immediately though it would be a good idea to dump the comments section from WordPress.

For years Askismet was provided free with our WordPress host. But a compatibility problem prevented the host service from offering Akismet with a shared API key. Each website publisher was forced to get their own API key. Then came the shocker -- $50 per month for any Akismet spam protection coverage greater than ONE website.

The host provider didn't warn users about the cost. We thought we would just activate a new API key.  Deactiveted to old key and then watched spam increase at a rate of about three spammy comments per minute or 2300 new spammy comments in 12 hours -- without any protection. Instead of paying $50 per month, we removed the COMMENTS SECTION TAG ...

<div id="comment">
<?php comments_template(); ?>
</div>

You'll find yours in your Single Post (single.php) Template. You can search comments in your template to jump to the text illustrated above in bold. Simply remove the text and your comments section is removed.

As soon as we removed the COMMENTS SECTION TAG, the spammy comments stopped, except for about four that trickled in over the next five hours (forgot to uncheck "Allow people to post comments on new articles" in the Discussion Setting).

In summary, it's not very easy to learn how to delete the comment section. It's surprising there isn't a control feature in the discussion section that would complete the operation.

We're wondering how much the lack of a comment section and the lack of processing the pending spammy comments will increase the speed of our website and decrease the load on the host server.

Google Gmail Service Disruption on Thursday, October 22, 2014; Blogger Not Posting Emails Designated to Post Articles

Google reported an issue with Gmail at 2:52 AM on Thursday, October 22, 2014. Google Message: "We will provide more information shortly."

Google reported Gmail service has already been restored for some users at 3:13 AM Thursday, October 22, 2014. Google message: "We expect a resolution for all users within the next 1 hours. Please note this time frame is an estimate and may change."

Google reported the problem with Gmail should be resolved at 3:19 AM on Thursday, October 22, 2014. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support. Please rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better.

Emails to blogger are not posting to blogs at 11:15 AM Thursday, October 22, 2014.

Service Disruption Reported with Google Drive on October 22, 2014

Google was  investigating reports of an issue with Google Drive. Google message: "We will provide more information shortly at about 2:52 AM on Thursday October 22, 2014."

Google Drive service was reported restored for some users at  3:13 AM on Thursday, October 22, 2014., and we expect a resolution for all users within the next 1 hours. Google Message: "Please note this time frame is an estimate and may change.

The problem with Google Drive was reported resolved at 3:19 AM on 10/22/14. Google message: "We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support. Please rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better."


Times in Central Daylight Time.

AT&T Expanding 1000 Mbps Speed Internet to the City of Chicago

AT&T said Tuesday it is expanding its fiber network to Chicago. AT&T reported its fiber network can deliver speeds of up to one gigabit per second, about 100 times the national average. At that rate, a user can download 25 songs in one second.

AT&T announced in April that Chicago and the Illinois suburbs of  Des Plaines, Glenview, Lombard, Mount Prospect, Naperville, Park Ridge, Skokie and Wheaton were among 100 cities nationwide it was considering for the expansion of its fiber network.

AT&T did not provide information Tuesday about whether the suburbs would be included with the City of Chicago expansion.

In Austin, Texas, where AT&T has already installed its fiber network, the one-gigabit-per-second service, is available for $70 a month.

Google Fiber offers speeds up to 1,000 Mbps (1 Gigabit per second) for $70 per month in Austin, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Provo, Utah.

In February 2014, Google announced it was considering rolling out Google Fiber service to the Georgia cities of Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, College Park, Decatur, East Point, Hapeville, Sandy Springs and Smyrna. The cities are part of a broader rollout that involves eight other metropolitan area, including Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Nashville.

Comcast fastest speed is 505 Mbps, but is about $300 per month and requires special commercial equipment.

Website Cookies Explained with Animation by UK Guardian Animations


What are cookies? Our animated guide to website cookies, the many functions they have, and how you can control them.

A cookie, also known as an HTTP cookie, is a small piece of data sent from a visited website and stored in a user's web browser while the user is browsing that website. Every time the user loads the website, the browser sends the cookie back to the server to notify the website of the web visitor's previous activity.

Security vulnerabilities may allow a cookie's data to be read by a hacker, used to gain access to user data, or used to gain access (with the user's credentials) to the website to which the cookie belongs.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a type of computer security vulnerability typically found in Web applications. XSS enables attackers to inject client-side script into Web pages viewed by other users. A cross-site scripting vulnerability may be used by attackers to bypass access controls such as the same origin policy. Cross-site scripting carried out on websites accounted for roughly 84% of all security vulnerabilities documented by Symantec as of 2007.  The vulnerabilities effect may range from a minor nuisance to a significant security risk, depending on the sensitivity of the data handled by the vulnerable site and the nature of any security mitigation implemented by the site's owner.

While finding ways of injecting malicious scripts into web pages, an attacker can gain elevated access-privileges to sensitive page content, session cookies, and a variety of other information maintained by the browser on behalf of the user. Using this method, offenders can impersonate users and their sessions.

Cross-site request forgery (CSRF, sometimes pronounced sea-surf) is also known as a one-click attack or session riding or XSRF. The forgery is a type of malicious exploit of a website whereby unauthorized commands are transmitted from a user that the website trusts. Unlike cross-site scripting (XSS), which exploits the trust a user has for a particular site, CSRF exploits the trust that a site has in a user's browser.

The attack works by including a link or script in a page that accesses a site to which the user is known (or is supposed) to have been authenticated.

The Self Destructing Cookies extension for Firefox does not directly protect from CSRF, but can reduce the attack window, by deleting cookies as soon as they are no longer associated with an open tab.

Facebook Down Again on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 -- Third Time this Summer


Facebook suffered the third outage this summer for many desktop and mobile users Wednesday afternoon with the outage lasting about 20 minutes for many people. The social media website also suffered significant outages in early August and mid-June.

Facebook officials said they were investigating the problem, while the status page for Facebook developers did not show any anomalies, though the data appeared to have been last updated prior to the outage.

Bublcam for 360-Degree Video


Bublcam's 360 Degree Spherical Camera.

Bublcam's CEO Sean Ramsay stopped by the office to show off the current version of the device, available for preorder for $579. The camera’s price makes it more of a “prosumer” device than something like a GoPro. That means that Bublcam has to find markets willing to pay more for the advantages that come with being able to capture a complete 360 degree sphere of video.

National Weather Service Website Down

The National Weather Service official website was slow to respond Monday August 25, 2014 for most of the day. Services, such as the hourly forecast graphs, and text forecast discussions were inaccessible. Several internal links from forecast.weather.gov were inaccessible and produced an error page with the following messages ...

(1)

An error occurred while processing your request.

Reference #97.6fee32b8.1409001160.1d0386c2

(2)

An error occurred while processing your request.

Reference #97.6fee32b8.1409001298.1d03ea79

Access time average about 14 to 15 ms according to isitdownrightnow.com on August 25, 2014 at about 4:20 p.m. CDT.

Apparently a rogue or misconfigured app caused the interference with the National Weather Service website.  The National Weather Service did not release any information about the the specific app that was causing the problem or any other details.

A message on Monday, August 25, 2014 read ...

TO - ALL CUSTOMERS SUBJECT - POINT FORECAST ISSUES . WE ARE PROVIDING NOTICE TO ALL THAT NIDS HAS IDENTIFIED AN ABUSING ANDROID APP THAT IS IMPACTING FORECAST.WEATHER.GOV. WE HAVE FORCED ALL SITES TO ZONES WHILE WE WORK WITH THE DEVELOPER. AKAMAI IS BEING ENGAGED TO BLOCK THE APPLICATION. WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THIS ISSUE AND APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE AS WE WORK TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. . NIDS - KM

Then Tuesday, August 26, 2014 a message read ...

Last Update: Tue Aug 26 19:05:01 2014 GMT
NWS TOC Operational Status Message

Tue Aug 26 02:42:58 2014 GMT

NOXX01 KWBC 260240
TO - ALL CUSTOMERS
SUBJECT - POINT FORECAST ISSUES
.
AKAMAI HAS INSTALLED FILTERS WHICH BLOCK
THE OFFENDING TRAFFIC.  NIDS HAS VERIFIED THAT
THE TRAFFIC IS BEING BLOCKED.  ALL SYSTEM ARE
NORMALIZED.  WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE.
PLEASE NOTIFY THE TOC AT TOC.NWSTG-AT-NOAA.GOV
IF ANY FURTHER ISSUES ARE IDENTIFIED.
THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
NIDS - KM

There were no messages regarding the problem on the official Twitter or official Facebook for the National Weather Service as of 4:20 pm. CDT.

The NWS has suffered a series of telecommunications problems during the past two years. In April, several important local NWS websites went down during spring's first major tornado outbreak. In May 2014, warnings were not broadcast via the website and via automated channels when an EF-3 tornado touched down near Albany, New York.

On some occasions, the National Weather Service has turned to Facebook and Twitter to make announcements when the website is not working properly.


See also ...
http://www.isitdownrightnow.com/weather.gov.html

http://weather.gov

forecast.weather.gov

TouchPico Android Projector


Kyle Russell talks to TouchJet about their new Android based pico projector that allows you to turn any smooth surface into a touch screen interface.

Deloitte: British Smartphone Users Downloading Few Apps


A Deloitte survey shows that 31% of British smartphone users do not download apps. What's next for the app economy?

Deloitte found that 90 percent of people never spend money on apps in Great Britain.

Nearly one in three people in the U.K. do not download any apps in a typical month, according to a report released by research firm Deloitte. Researchers at Deloitte report that people had found their ideal number of apps, which includes a few social media and music streaming apps.

Deloitte points out that the app market is not shrinking, but the app stats are falling because most smartphone users now are over 50 and have less interest in using apps.

Don't Call Police 9-1-1 for Facebook Outage: Yes it Happened When Facebook Was Down at 11:05 CDT on Friday, August 1, 2014

Facebook experienced an outage about 11:00 a.m. Friday, August 1, 2014. Facebook was sluggish and also put out a message that said ...

Sorry, something went wrong.

We're working on getting this fixed as soon as we can.

Go Back

Facebook © 2014 · Help



Before the "Sorry" message, the displayed web page said "Service Unavailable"

Sgt. Burton Brink, PIO CV Station (La Crescenta), an officer from Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department used Facebook's social media competitor Twitter on Friday to remind people that 9-1-1 is for law enforcement issues. Facebook users called 9-1-1 for help to report that the social media website was down.


A message posted by a Facebook developer said the site "is currently experiencing an issue that is affecting all API and web surfaces. Our engineers detected the issue quickly and are working to resolve it ASAP. We'll update shortly."

Facebook gradually returned to 100 percent by about 12:00 p.m. CDT Friday.

Facebook also recently experienced an outage on Friday, July 4, 2014. People could see the Facebook page, but couldn't update their status.


You can always check the Status of common Internet services here ...

Digital-Lifestyle STATUSES ...

Facebook Cover Photo Suddenly Repositions to the Wrong Position; Won't Crop or Position Properly

On Wednesday, July 30 2014 a Facebook cover photo for a Fan Page suddenly moved without any notice or editing of the page. The photo was "pushed down" so the cropping was in the improper position. Instead of showing police cars on the street, the cover photo showed the tree canopy above the police cars.

Using the repositioning command did not work. Even though in editing mode the directional cursor would allow re-positioning of the photo in a manner that appeared as though the positioning was fixed.

Re-uploading the photo did not correct the problem.

The only correction was to re-size and/or crop the photo in Photoshop, and upload the new version.

The bug was only occurring on one Facebook Page (http://www.Facebook.com/ArlingtonHeightsCrime)

The bug was not occurring on any other pages.

Twitter Stock Surge Sparked by Earnings; Uptick in Growth Rate of Users



Twitter’s user base is growing at a steady pace as its second-quarter revenue topped analysts’ estimates, sending its shares soaring more than 20 percent. Estimize CEO Leigh Drogan and Bloomberg's Cory Johnson take a look at the numbers on "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)

Sequentially, Twitter's users continue to grow (124% increase). There are about 211 million users on mobile -- the app-installed mobile market.

The effect of media is happening in Twitter, according to Bloomberg's Cory Johnson.

Comparing Methods of OKCupid and Facebook Profile Manipulation


OKCupid, the dating site owned by billionaire Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp, is the latest Internet company to say it conducts psychological experiments on users. Cory Johnson reports on “Bloomberg West.” 

Cory John explains that OKCupid manipulated profiles to attempt to get more business and interaction. Edits included removing photos or removing certain text. OKCupid's messing with the profile, such as removing a photo caused a 44 percent higher initial response, caused conversations to go deeper, and caused contact details to be exchanged faster.

OkCupid is a free friendship, dating and social networking website that features member-created quizzes and multiple-choice questions. OKCupid supports multiple modes of communication, including instant messages and emails. In 2007 OkCupid was listed in Time magazine's "Top 10" dating websites

Remote Doesn't Work on Comcast MOTOROLA DCT6416? Check These Tips Before Returning Your cable Box

Your Comcast Motorola DCT6416 needs to be connected to a television that is powered on if there is an HDMI cable connecting your TV to the DVR/cable box.

If you are using component video connection for one TV and an HDMI output for another TV, you might have trouble if you only have the component video connection powered on. The remote will not work when the composite cable-connected TV is on and the HDMI-connected TV is off.

Also, the remote will not work properly when both televisions are power off.

Occasionally the TV will need to be powered on before the remote will work. Some users have reported a time delay of about 10 minutes before the remote works for the TV.

Other users have reported the opposite problem. The cable box (without DVR) changes channels when the TV is off, but does not work when the TV is on. This situation might be caused by the backlight in the TV display, which dilutes or 'washes out' the IR signals. Some people have reported success by placing clear or transparent Scotch tape piece over the IR sensor on the cable box to "filter" out the TV light. You might also try placing the front face of the box in forward relative to front face of the TV.

Bank of America July 4, 2014 Outage

Bank of America  website was unavailable Friday, July 4, 2014 just before 6:30 a.m.  The website front page was accessible again at about 6:30 a.m. CDT.

Facebook 4th of July Outage: There was a problem updating your status. Please try again in a few minutes

Some Facebook users met the following message on Friday morning, July 4, 2014 at about 6:00 a.m. CDT ...

"There was a problem updating your status. Please try again in a few minutes."

System outages are rare, but social media companies like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter experience disruptions from time to time, often because some servers, routers or other service are knocked offline, or an upgrade or scheduled maintenance has run into a snag.

Apple Want to Be Comcast's X1 Replacement Box for TV, Huawei


Dan Costa and Sascha Segan chat about the day's top tech news, including reports that Apple is in talks with Comcast about a streaming TV service, the NSA hacking into Huawei servers and spying on execs, and the Microsoft/Nokia acquisition being pushed to April. PCMAG.COM also takes a look at the Roccat Ryos MK Pro keyboard.


Dan Costa and Sascha Segan talk about backroom deals so Apple and Netflix, for example, can have priority "pipes" to deliver movies to consumers. Apple wants to develop a set top box that would replace Comcast's latest X1 box.

In the US, Huawei has been challenged due to concerns of United States security officials that Huawei-made telecommunications equipment is designed to allow unauthorized access by the Chinese government and the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Ren Zhengfei, the founder of the Huawei, served as an engineer in the army in the early 1980s.


Twitter Delay in Resolving Host -- Embedded TImelines Delayed

Embedded timelines from Twitter are delayed on Sunday morning June 1, 2014 from about 8:00 a.m. to at least 9:30 a.m.  The message in browser status bars reports "Resolving host ..."

During the delay, no tweets are displayed. The delays are lasting about 10 to 20 seconds.

Embedded individual tweets are also experiencing a delay -- showing the "resolving host" message.

Internet Service Provider: Comcast

No mention of any trouble reported at status.twitter.com.


After Upgrade No Drop Down Menu: Facebook Can Only Share Posts and Albums to Your Own Timeline

Not ready for prime time
A Facebook bug may be related to an upgrade of the Facebook page layout that is rolling out in May 2014.  Page administrators that try to share a photo album or a post do not see the drop down menu that allows the page administrator to share the album or post to another administered page. The only option available is to share on the timeline where the album already exists.

There is a work around ...
At the top of the page that you administer, you will see the following sentence:

You are posting, commenting, and liking as [YOUR PAGE NAME] — Change to [YOUR PERSONAL NAME]

Make the change so that you are operating as your PERSONAL NAME. Go ahead and share your album, photo, or post (update). You will once again see the drop down menu.

If you go back to administering as your page name, the drop down menu might disappear again (unless Facebook fixes this issue).

Reminder ...
You might want to change back to your page name, so you don't post to your timeline with your personal name. You will just have to change back and forth every time you want to share something to one of your other pages or groups, etc.

Worthy Tech Choices from C|NET: Body Dryer and Kapersky Cybermap


This week on c/net's Crave, we check out a 3D printer modified to draw tattoos -- and it looks terrifying. We check out the tiniest sandcastle ever printed onto a grain of sand. And we blow-dry our body with the prototype Body Dryer, which circulates air and lets you ditch the towel.

Checkout the global map of online malware threats from Kapersky at cybermap.kaspersky.com.

HTC One M8 Features and TV App


HTC One M8: a quick look.

The original HTC One smartphone received widespread rave reviews. But can the Taiwanese firm attract similar critical acclaim with the M8? The Guardian takes a lightning look at the new device, touching on its sleek design and build, the modified news app BlinkFeed, its Boom Sound speakers, a cute new dot matrix case, the five-megapixel front facing 'selfie' camera and the nifty new depth sensor on the main camera.


Top 5 features.

1. 4 ultra pixel camera with a hardware solution for selective focus like a DLR.

2. Build quality: Made with aluminum that does not interfere with antenna, and screen bumped up to 5 inches with a curved back that has a nice feel.

3. Speakers with a 25 percent volume boost.

4. Sixth sense BlinkFeed ... BlinkFeed is a Flipboard-like tile interface that is set permanently on the main home page. Created in collaboration with Mobiles Republic, BlinkField pulls in content from various publications and social networks (Twitter, Plurk, LinkedIn, Flickr, Zoe Share and more), as well as your calendar and TV shows from the TV app. The feed can be customized, but the first version doesn't allow custom RSS feeds.

5. Longer battery life.


A demo showing the TV remote app on the new HTC One M8 and it works.

Embedding Google Maps with Traffic Layer Included -- HTML and JavaScript

The following code can be used to create a web page with an embedded Google map with the traffic layer activated. The example shows the latitude-longitude for Los Angeles. Simply find the desired latitude-longitude coordinate for your desired location, and replace the coordinates in the code below.

++++++

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no">
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <title>Traffic layer</title>
    <style>
      html, body, #map-canvas {
        height: 100%;
        margin: 0px;
        padding: 0px
      }
    </style>
    <script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?v=3.exp&sensor=false"></script>
    <script>
function initialize() {
  var myLatlng = new google.maps.LatLng(34.04924594193164, -118.24104309082031);
  var mapOptions = {
    zoom: 13,
    center: myLatlng
  }

  var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById('map-canvas'), mapOptions);

  var trafficLayer = new google.maps.TrafficLayer();
  trafficLayer.setMap(map);
}

google.maps.event.addDomListener(window, 'load', initialize);

    </script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div id="map-canvas"></div>
  </body>

</html>

+++++

Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. 

SOURCE:

Virtual Desktop on Mac, iPad, Google tablet, or Kindle: Amazon Workspaces Available Starting at $35 per Month


Amazon WorkSpaces: Desktop Computing in the Cloud (ENT104) | AWS re:Invent 2013.

Amazon WorkSpaces is a fully managed desktop computing service in the cloud, which allows customers to easily provision cloud-based desktops that allow end-users to access the documents, applications and resources they need with the device of their choice. Amazon WorkSpaces uses Teradici’s cloud-optimized PCoIP technology, which easily scales to meet customer requirements, and provides best-in-class security and a superior user experience over a range of networks.

Desktop virtualization has long held the promise of productivity and security benefits, but has been held back by large CapEx requirements and complicated installation and management. In this session, Gene Farrell, General Manager, AWS, and Deepak Suryanarayanan, Sr. Product Manager, AWS, provide a detailed introduction to Amazon WorkSpaces, a new AWS service that combines the benefits of desktop virtualization and a cloud-based, pay-as-you-go model. You learn about the key steps for setting up and delivering a secure cloud-based workspace accessed through purpose-built client applications.

Amazon Workspaces uses PCoIP software clients -- software implementation of the PCoIP protocol for flexible client device support. Select OEM's include this in their products for x86 and ARM based thin clients, which is also the basis for the VMware and AWS Amazon Workspaces software clients for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android which use Teradici-developed core PCoIP protocol and decoding technology.

PC-over-IP (PCoIP) is a proprietary remote display protocol developed by Teradici, which is available in hardware silicon and in software. Images rendered on the server are captured as pixels, compressed and encoded and then sent to the client for decryption and decompression. Depending on the image, different codecs are used to encode the pixels sent. There are different techniques to compress video images compared to those for text.  The PCoIP protocol transmits ‘pixels only’ across any standard IP network, so that data never leaves the data center or the AWS cloud.

The service is available on multiple devices, including laptop computers (Mac OS or Windows), iPads, Kindle or Android tablets. Amazon Workspaces will also be available on secure, high-performance PCoIP zero clients, and PCoIP Optimized™ thin clients from Teradici’s broad partner ecosystem.

Some early reviews have reported that the service is laggy in its early implementation. There are currently no trial programs for the service, which costs a minimum of $35 per month for 50GB storage, 3.75 GB RAM and no additional software, except Internet Explorer, Adobe Reader and Mozilla Firefox.

TrakDot Luggage GPS Tracking Technology: Could a Luggage Tracker Help Locate Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370?

When you are the president of a highly service-oriented telecommunications sales company and you enjoy finding technical solutions for people and businesses, you're always considering new and better solutions. That's what Michael Ginsberg, President of 3GStore, was doing this morning in the shower. The missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was on his mind, and like what often happens in Ginsberg's mind, he linked a problem and possible solutions. He thought of TrakDot, a product that his company sells.

TrakDot is a wireless device that is designed to track an airline passenger's luggage. TrakDot is powered on and placed inside a passenger's luggage. TrakDot has a built in cellular modem that connects to a local cellular network, and has the capability of sending an email and text alert to its owner(s), letting them know their luggage has safely arrived with them at the airport. When the TrakDot and its built in accelerometer sense the takeoff of a plane, it goes into a sleep mode, so it doesn't congest the airwaves, and since at high altitudes it's not going to connect with a cellular tower anyway. However, as soon as the built-in accelerometer senses the plane has slowed down under 100 knots, the TrakDot finds a local cellular carrier if available, connects to the network, and sends out the appropriate text and email alert and reports its airport location.


Is Google Quality Control Slipping? Stray Parenthesis Character in YouTube Embed Code

In error, a close parenthesis character has been visible as a stray character in the YouTube embed code at least all day Tuesday, March 11, 2014 and part of the day Wednesday, March 12, 2014.

There should be no parenthesis character after the closing "greater than" character

<iframe width="300" height="169" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-YCeIgt7hMs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>)


Notice the parenthesis at the lower right of the video ...

)

It is easy to fix. Just remove the parenthesis manually from the code.

Tech Radar: Best Smartphone 2014, Spring Top 10, HTC One, LG G2, and More

TechRadar's top 10 list of the best smartphones of Spring 2014.

 01 HTC One

 02 LG G2

 03 Sony Xperia Z1 Compact

 04 Google Nexus 5

 05 Samsung Galaxy S4

 06 Apple iPhone

 07 Moto G

 08 HTC One Mini

 09 Samsung Galaxy Note 3

 10 Nokia Lumina 520

What's Up? RedFoo -- WhatsApp Outage is Screwing My Biz

WhatsApp has been down all day and RedFoo, and the singer says it's totally messing with his business -- so he's taking his patronage elsewhere.

WhatsApp was down for more than three hours on Saturday, coincidentally just days after Facebook bought it for $19 billion. However, the outage is supposed to have been caused by a router problem, which cascaded down through a bunch of servers.

WhatsApp Messenger is a proprietary, cross-platform instant messaging subscription service for smartphones, which is available for Google Android, BlackBerry OS, Apple iOS, Symbian,  Microsoft Windows Phone, BlackBerry 10, limited Nokia Series 40, and limited on the Nokia Asha platform.

On Thursday, February 19, 2014, Facebook announced it is acquiring WhatsApp for US$19 billion, and will pay $4 billion in cash, $12 billion in Facebook shares and an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units to be granted to WhatsApp's founders, Jan Koum, Brian Acton, and employees that will vest over four years subsequent to closing. The transaction is the largest purchase of a company backed by venture capitalists ever. Previously venture capital financial analysts valued the business at almost $1.5 billion.


Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg discusses his company's acquisition of mobile messenger WhatsApp at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.


European Business Correspondent Caroline Hyde reports on WhatsApp's plans to allow voice service on iPhones and Android devices. She speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg Surveillance."

Apple Releases iOS 7.0.6 to Fix Flaw That Fails to Check Authenticity in SSL Sent by the Server

Apple rushed the release of iOS 7.0.6 Friday with a patch to attempt to fix a disgracefully overlooked SSL encryption issue that leaves Apple iPhone, iPad and Mac computer users (using Mac OS X 10.9.1) open to a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack. Apparently, the Apple iOS does not check to make sure that the "common name" record in the SSL certificate sent by the server matches the hostname used to connect to the server's IP address, thereby allowing a man-in-the-middle attack to defraud the system.

 A man-in-the-middle attack seamlessly intercepts communication, such as unencrypted passwords -- between yourself and your intended recipient or website, and according to Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), "the attacker acts as a proxy, being able to read, insert and modify the data in the intercepted communication." SSL and TLS are used worldwide to prevent eavesdroppers from snooping on network traffic while communicating with sensitive services, such as banking and shopping websites and email servers.

SSL and TLS only works if the other end of the connection can be verified and trusted. Security experts always instruct users to make sure the sensitive service always presents the https instead of http in the web address. With the middle man intercepting traffic, https is meaningless.

The vulnerability allows anyone with a certificate signed by a "trusted CA" to do a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack.

A new version of Apple's iOS for its tablets and phones was rushed out the door Friday to patch a vulnerability with its mobile, tablet and desktop software, which is not doing SSL/TLS hostname checking. The communications meant to be encrypted, is NOT encrypted. The patch has only been issued for the more recent iPhones (iPhone 4 and later), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad (2). 

Unfortunately, the official Apple.com website front page does not warn users of this serious security flaw, and Apple has not released a statement on when to expect this patch, nor what version range of iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Mac computer is affected by the major flaw. Apple's security page does not offer a simple step plan for user. It is mostly loaded with confusing technical information and disclaimers about security notifications, security disclosures, and third-party. And to make matters worse, Apple's security announcement list (http://rss.lists.apple.com/security-announce.rss) linked from its main security page "Apple Product Security" (https://ssl.apple.com/support/security/) is NOT updated. The latest listing on Saturday, February 22, 2014 at 9:20 a.m. is dated November 14, 2013.
Apple Mailing List APPLE-SA-2013-11-14-1 iOS 7.0.4 Subject: APPLE-SA-2013-11-14-1 iOS 7.0.4 From: Apple Product Security
Security researchers across several communities believe that Mac computers with OS X Mavericks, released October 22, 2013 are even more at risk, as they are currently left operating without a patch. The security flaw involves a different issue, which is also present in the iOS version, but apparently has not been addressed, yet.

BOTTOM LINE: WHAT TO DO ... Update your Apple devices and systems as soon as possible to the latest available versions, unless you're using a Mac OS X system before Maverick (10.9.1). DO NOT use untrusted networks (especially Wi-Fi) while traveling or in public Wi-Fi network. Update the patch, make purchases, or perform other sensitive operations only while operating in a trusted network, To be extra safe, and definitely while operating unpatched mobile devices; TURN OFF the "Ask to Join Networks" setting.

Past Security Flaws with iOS 

Embarrassingly thieves could turn off "Find My iPhone" by turning on Airplane Mode.

In September 2013 Apple released a fix that prevented offenders from using a sequence of actions that could defeat the Lock screen passcode.

 An offender could cause an iOS7 iPhone to restart if the emergency call button was tapped repeatedly, and eventually dial regular non-emergency numbers. While the lock screen was restarting, the call dialer displayed and allowed non-emergency numbers to be dialed.

Internet Explorer Rethink IE: "Rethink What the Web Can Be" Campaign


MICROSOFT: Internet Explorer is creating entirely new web experiences that are fast, beautiful, and perfect for touch.

See also ...

YouTube: An Error Occurred While Loading Data, Please Try Again Later

"An Error Occurred While Loading Data, Please Try Again Later"

You might see the this message when you try to access a YouTube video. It may be intermittent or you may find yourself totally unable to view the YouTube video.

The problem is often caused by a fouled up cookie, and the solution is deleting the cookies from your browser.



CNET: Verizon Buys Intel Internet TV; Windows 7 Is Hanging in There; New Apple iPhones in June


Verizon reaches a deal with the chipmaker, Amazon may ship items before you even order them, and HP brings back Windows 7.

Intel's Internet TV service box has been purchased by Verizon for FiOS.

Windows 8 has a lot of criticism, and that's why Windows 7 is still around, and is even being promoted to increase PC sales market share.

New screen sizes of 4.7 inches and 5.7 inches may be coming in June 2014 for the Apple iPhone.

The two new iPhones are expected to be revealed at Apple's annual annual developer conference, held in San Francisco in June 2014. The iPhones are expected be available shortly after they're introduced.

Chinese analyst Sun Changxu told Chinese-language website QQ Tech that Apple will launch the follow up to its flagship smartphone in two large screen sizes.

Apple Working on Fix for iOS 7 “Black/White Screen of Death” Bug, But No Release Date Yet

The fourth beta of iOS 7.1 has been released to developers, but no time frame has been released for eager iOS7 users who have been experiencing sudden soft unexpected soft restarts on their Apple iPhones. Apple says the fix is coming soon.

TV Summary from CES: Quick Look at TV Progress


UHD TV Overview - CES 2014.

While 4K has been the big thing for a while, there were already 5K and 8K models already on display at CES 2014. 4K can be streamed 15 MB/s or faster.

Bottom line? Displays are beautiful, but manufacturers have not improved the software for controlling televisions. Hopefully, 2015 will be the year of the User Interface for televisions.

Panasonic? Bad user interface.
Samsung? Unintuitive
Sharp? Content is priority.
LG? Good work on the OS and User Interface ... See bottom video (below) ...

Many tech gurus recommend just getting a regular flat panel TV with a beautiful display, and adding Apple TV or ROKU.

All Things Digital (All Things D) Closes Down; Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher Launch New Tech Site "Re/code'

All Things Digital which began on April 2007 is finished. Up to December 31, 2013, AllThingsD.com was an online publication that specialized in technology and startup company news, analysis and coverage. All Things Digital was founded as an extension of the D: All Things Digital conference in 2007 by Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg.

AllThingsD.com focused on news, analysis and opinion on technology, the Internet and media, but considered itself a fusion of diverse media styles, different topics, formats and sources.

A new website Re/Code or recode.net represents a rebirth of Mossberg and Swisher with the expressed goal of smart, fair, and independent tech journalism.


Walt Mossberg, 66, has been a reporter and editor at the Journal since 1970. His Personal Technology column has appeared in that newspaper every Thursday since 1991.

Kara Swisher, 51, (pictured) is joined the paper in 1997, covering Silicon Valley from the Journal's San Francisco bureau, eventually penning the Boomtown section about the region.





See also ...
recode.net

Twitter.com/Recode

Facebook.com/RecodeDotNet

The old AllThingsD url forwards to online.wsj.com/news/technology

FLIR ONE Places a Thermal Image Camera on an Apple iPhone 5 Case, Android Coming


FLIR ONE is the world's first private thermal imager, and slides right onto an Apple iPhone 5 or Apple iPhone 5s.

FLIR ONE(TM), is the first consumer-oriented thermal imaging system, which will be available as an Apple iPhone case for about $350. Introduced today at CES 2014, FLIR ONE places the power of thermal imaging technology into the palm of the consumer via an easy-to-use smartphone accessory case.

FLIR ONE attaches to any Apple iPhone 5 or 5s smartphone and displays a live thermal image on the phone's screen, giving users the unprecedented ability to see the world in a way the naked eye cannot, including in complete darkness. With a targeted MSRP of $349, FLIR ONE senses heat rather than light utilizing FLIR's revolutionary new Lepton(TM) camera core. This camera core incorporates the same FLIR(R) thermal imaging technology that is used in security, public safety, energy efficiency, nighttime navigation, industrial production, preventive maintenance, and the enjoyment of the outdoors.

Users of FLIR ONE (TM) can detect intruders in total darkness, find a lost pet, or see through smoke in an emergency using a FLIR ONE.

Also, homeowners and contractors with a FLIR ONE can easily identify heat or cooling leaks in buildings, find studs in walls, or locate water damage. An outdoor enthusiast can observe wildlife, day or night, navigate in the dark, determine if the day's catch is fully cooked, or make sure a campfire is out by using FLIR ONE.
"FLIR ONE represents a dramatic step in our pursuit of 'infrared everywhere.' As the first truly consumer focused thermal imager, FLIR ONE introduces thermal imaging technology to a completely new group of customers than we currently serve."

-- Andy Teich, President and CEO of FLIR


Think of the possibilities, too. Connecting your FLIR enabled iPhone to a large LED or OLED display.

FLIR took its name from the acronym for forward-looking infrared imaging systems, and is best known for imaging technology in defense, security, and law enforcement. FLIR's largest division, Government Systems, sells products to a variety of government agencies, including police and military, with products ranging from weapon sights to perimeter surveillance systems to low light cameras to laser illuminators. FLIR K-Series fire protection cameras are used to detect combustibles and hotspots, and victims in low visibility areas.

  FLIR: "New FLIR K-Series thermal imaging cameras combine superior visibility, easier operation, and more effective imaging with incredible affordability."

See also ... http://www1.flircs.com/flirone

Yahoo Servers Hit with Malware that May Have Infected Thousands of Users

Fox IT -- an Internet security firm reports that visitors to Yahoo site properties may have been exposed to the risk of malware that might have infected computers. Fox IT reports. About 9% of computers were infected after visiting Yahoo site properties.

The malware attack worked to redirect ad clicks to malicious websites, where malware was then installed on vulnerable computers. The malware included ZeuS, Andromeda, Dorkbot, Tinba, and Necurs.

The simplest defense against the malware is for the user to turn off Java, which is turned off in Internet Explorer by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and selecting "Manage add-ons." Under the "Add-on Types," look for a section titled Oracle America, Inc. Right-click on any entry that starts with the word Java, and choose Disable. dOracle took ownership of Java following its acquisition of Sun Microsystems, which was shut down in 2010. 

The Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free downloadable security tool that provides on-demand scanning and helps remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. It works with existing antivirus software.