How To Use Internet Explorer 10 in Windows 8

Internet Explorer 10 provides an “add-on free” experience. It supports HTML 5 for video content, but you can’t install toolbars and add-ons inInternet Explorer 10.

If you are viewing a webpage that requires an add-on or uses Flash, you can view the content by opening the website in Internet Explorer for the desktop. To do this, swipe in from the right edge of the screen (if you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen), tap or click Settings, and then tap or click Use the desktop.

How to Find Your Favorites

Internet Explorer 10 doesn’t use the traditional Favorites from previous versions. Instead, you can pin websites to the Start screen or open a list of pinned sites and frequently visited sites using New tab. If you open Internet Explorer for the desktop, you can use the traditional Favorites, but you can’t access the pinned sites from the Start screen.

How to view a website in Compatibility View

To view a website in Compatibility View, open Internet Explorer for the desktop, and then click the Compatibility view button in the address bar.

How to Set Your Default Web Browser

On the Start screen, swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.

(If you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, and then click Search.)

Enter Default programs, and then tap or click Apps.

In the search results, tap or click Default Programs.

Tap or click Set your Default Programs.

Choose the browser you want from the list.

Select Set this program as default, and then tap or click OK.

How to get back the Internet Explorer 10 Tile on the Start Screen

Internet Explorer 10 might have accidentally become unpinned. To pin it back to your Start screen, follow these steps:

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.

(If you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, and then click Search.)

Enter Internet Explorer , and then tap or click Apps.

In the search results, swipe down on the Internet Explorer icon, and then tap Pin to Start.

(If you’re using a mouse, right-click Internet Explorer , and then click Pin to Start.)

Making trends transparent across languages

There’s a data revolution afoot, and both business and government are in the thick of it. In corporate IT, hardly a day goes by where you don’t hear about analytics. For the first time ever, executives can make decisions based on trends that are backed up by millions of data sources. Analytics take the guesswork out of business, and that’s a big deal.

The government uses analytics in a similar way. Agencies collect and analyze global information to study trends that affect intelligence, economics and health policies, among others. Analytics, it turns out, are just as important in the public sector as they are in the enterprise.

Analytics and Assimilation

So far, analytics have played a relatively limited role in the dissemination of information—though this will likely change quickly. But information assimilationby the public sector is a different story (please see further explanation of dissemination and assimilation in my last post). Just like businesses, the government uses analytics to find out more about what people are saying about choice topics that can then inform action and policy. Analyzing information from social media sites, online forums, videos and other sources is a key way to gather intelligence and conduct research. With analytics being used to track things like trending social media communications and news reactions by government today, there is an important push towards analyzing trending information in languages other than English, which can provide important clues to international movements and sentiment. Without this, there is less ability to make use of the social media analytics and data coming in from abroad.

A Lesson from the Arab Spring

The recent string of revolutions in the Middle East really impressed the importance of monitoring and understanding online content, especially that from unstructured sources like video and social media. Tunisian fruit vendorMohamed Bouazizi committed suicide in 2010, lighting the powder keg that set off the entire Middle East. The citizens of Tunisia quickly reacted, and using social media, launched a resistance movement protesting political and social issues of their country. Tunisians were discussing the Bouazizi protest online, circulating footage of demonstrations and organizing future protests. A similar trend happened when the citizens of Egypt overthrew President Hosni Mubarak. One of the largest Egyptian protests had a Facebook page with more than 90,000 people signed up, according to the New York Times.

According to the Washington Post, after a Senate hearing in February of last year, Senator Dianne Feinstein indicated a need to focus more on “open-source intelligence.” In the intelligence community, this refers to publicly available sources of information which can include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media, but also radio, TV, newspapers, and the Internet (the term is unrelated to open-source software). Although protests were already taking place online, the West was less aware of the revolutions in progress until they were actually physically taking place. The U.S. government understands the importance of tuning into trending social media and continues to focus a great deal on analyzing all data, including unstructured sources like social media posts. 

Trends Tie Everything Together

Analysis is easy to talk about, but harder to execute. There are thousands of languages in the world and millions of sources of data. In the world of social media, people tend to use colloquialisms and linguistic shorthand, adding a translation challenge. Simply capturing data isn’t enough. It has to be translated, understood, and presented in a way that provides value.

By understanding trending information or any topic that starts to be hot the government can have its finger on the pulse of global movements and trends in many areas. We can better understand how people are being impacted by economic and foreign policies and in general better comprehend how policy affects people. We can better grasp the spread of disease and global health trends, as when people tweet about “having the sniffles today” or being affected by more major health epidemics. Disaster relief efforts can be significantly enhanced by a better understanding of what is happening, where, through an analysis of trending social media data. We can even measure varying responses across the globe to major events like the U.S. election.

With the entire world networked online, the public sector can’t afford to ignore any information in any location. Moving forward we will continue to see government use of more advanced analytics of real time information in order to inform policy. Analytics won’t just be a perk going forwards. They’re going to become an essential asset.

Skype's gaping security hole - and how you could have been safe

It's one of the most glaring security holes I've ever seen from a major online service provider: Anyone could have hijacked your Skype account if they knew the email address you used to set up your account.

Just your email address. That's it.

No last four digits of your credit card. No password. No associated Microsoft ID. No actual access to your email account.

All they needed to know is your email address.

How scary is that? Especially for people who have purchased Skype credits or other services and have auto-recharge enabled? Someone could have made thousands of dollars of calls from a hijacked account.

Even more alarming, this may have been a problem for at least 2 months, yet it was just addressed today.

Yet if you think there's nothing you could have done to protect yourself from this kind of unanticipated security lapse by a provider many expect should be trustworthy, you're wrong. Sorry to say I told you so (OK, maybe not all that sorry), but Kaspersky's suggested workaround is something I advised in my60-minute security makeover: Don't use a publicly known email address for account login and password-reset contact info on other accounts.

Instead, use one or more separate addresses that you reserve only for this use and not for any other type of communication. This makes it harder for someone who knows your personal or business email address to use that information to gain access to other accounts.

Kaspersky advised this morning: "To protect yourself against this exploit, we recommend changing the e-mail address associated with the Skype account to a new, never-before-used address. This should prevent hackers from guessing your e-mail associated with Skype and hijacking it."

Heeding that advice for all your accounts -- or at least the ones without two-factor authentication enabled -- seems a lot less like security paranoia and a lot more like a sensible approach today.

Google's Nexus 4: Understanding your carrier options

Can you believe it? After months of waiting and anticipation, Google's new Nexus 4 phone is finally here.

The Nexus 4 is available now (when it's in stock, at least) at $299 for an 8GB version or $349 for a 16GB model. For those of us in the U.S., that setup is a bit different from what we're used to with smartphone sales: Rather than being sold through a carrier, subsidized and on contract, Google is focusing on direct and unlocked sales with its Nexus 4 phone.

That means you buy the device outright from Google -- no contracts, no subsidies, and no commitments to anyone. You can buy the Nexus in a more traditional manner, if you want -- T-Mobile is selling the phone for $200 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a new two-year contract -- but for most people, the unlocked route will be the better option.

 

Why? Simple: By going unlocked, you can opt to use the device with any compatible service provider you want. That includes prepaid providers, which offer the same basic service as the big boys at a fraction of the cost. And since you aren't signing a contract, you're under no obligations; if you decide you aren't satisfied with your service or find someone else offering a better rate, you're free to jump ship at any point with no penalties, fees, or hassles.

(By using an unlocked phone, you can also easily utilize native Android features like Wi-Fi hotspot or USB tethering without having to pay more. Your phone is a Google phone, not a carrier phone -- and it has true pure Google software without any carrier crippling or unnecessary meddling.)

So who should you use for service -- and how do you sign up? There are several possible options, but two carriers in particular stand out for their excellent plans and solid reputations:

1. T-Mobile Monthly 4G

If you can manage with a low pool of monthly minutes (and with free Google services, it's more feasible than you'd think), T-Mobile Monthly 4G is about as cheap as you can get for smartphone service. The company's marquee prepaid plan -- which I use myself -- is $30 a month for 100 anytime minutes, unlimited texting, and unlimited data (with the first 5GB per month at 4G HSPA+ speeds).

You pay up front each month, and the total cost is literally $30 plus basic tax -- no 911 fees, no "universal service charges," no "regulatory charges," and no "administrative charges." You can either pay manually at the start of each month or set up an account and have T-Mobile charge you automatically.

Any minutes over your allotment cost 10 cents apiece. Being that this is prepaid service, you'll never get any unexpected bills; instead, additional monthly minutes are available only if you opt to leave an extra balance on your account. (I typically leave about 20 bucks on mine in case I go over.)

You don't have to go for 100 minutes a month, either. T-Mobile has several Monthly 4G plans, including $60- and $70-per month options that include unlimited voice minutes.

To get started, all you need to do is order is a prepaid SIM card activation kit from T-Mo; it costs a whopping 99 cents, shipping included. (The Nexus 4 utilizes a micro-SIM, so make sure you order that type of card.) Once you get the SIM, you'll just pop the card into your phone and follow the included instructions to activate your account. The whole process takes about five minutes.

(If you want to port in an existing cell phone number, you should be able to find an option to do so within the online activation process. If you have trouble, you can always call T-Mobile's customer support after you initialize your new account to get things squared away. Either way, just be sure not to cancel your old cell phone service until after that procedure has taken place.)

2. Straight Talk

Straight Talk is a Wal-Mart-affiliated provider that offers service on your choice of AT&T's or T-Mobile's network. Its best plan is $45 a month for unlimited minutes, unlimited texting, and unlimited data.

There is an asterisk, though: While Straight Talk labels its data as "unlimited," some users have reported being throttled down to slower-than-4G-level speeds after hitting the 2GB mark. Straight Talk doesn't have a clear policy about this, so it's somewhat of a gray area. The vast majority of people don't come close to hitting 2GB of data in a single month, but if you do, that's something to consider.

To get service with Straight Talk, just order a SIM from the company; they're currently 10 bucks, shipping included. With the Nexus 4, you need to make sure you get a micro-SIM, which leads us to one last footnote:

Straight Talk currently offers micro-SIMs only for AT&T. If you want to use Straight Talk with AT&T's network, you're golden. If you want to use it with T-Mobile service, though, you'll have to order the regular-sized T-Mobile SIM and then take matters into your own hands.

The standard carrier plan options

Not keen on the whole prepaid concept? You can use the Nexus 4 with a standard carrier smartphone plan -- even without signing a contract. Since the Nexus 4 is a GSM/HSPA+ phone, it'll work with either T-Mobile or AT&T in the U.S. All you'll have to do is get a micro-SIM from the carrier you prefer and then contact them to activate an account.

(If you already have an account with one of them, you should be able to simply move the SIM card from your current phone into the Nexus 4 and be good to go. If your current SIM card is a regular-sized SIM instead of a micro-SIM, you'll just need to go to one of the carrier's stores to swap it out; most carrier retail locations will do that at no cost if you're a current customer.)

AT&T's individual plans start at 70 bucks a month for 450 minutes and 3GB of data. That doesn't include texting and does include the usual smattering of shady surcharges; realistically, you're probably looking at a minimum of 80 bucks a month. If you want 5GB of data per month instead of 3GB, the cost goes up by $20 -- giving you a grand total of at least $100 a month with all the various fees.

This is precisely why I say most people will do better by going prepaid.

(T-Mobile's standard plans are a bit less painful but still generally less beneficial to most customers than the prepaid alternatives.)

More resources

Want more food for thought? You can get a detailed look at the prepaid experience as well as the Nexus 4 in these in-depth reports:

• Android off-contract: My prepaid journey, 3 months later

• How free Google services can help shrink your phone bill

• Nexus 4 vs. Galaxy Nexus: Worth the upgrade?

• Google's Nexus 4: To buy or not to buy?a

One Simple Trick Could Disable a City’s 4G Phone Network

High-speed LTE networks could be felled by a $650 piece of gear, says a new study.

By David Talbot on November 14, 2012

Why It Matters

LTE networks can have 10 times the bandwidth of 3G, and are eyed as the basis for a new wave of data-rich applications worldwide. So any loss of LTE availability could be highly disruptive.

High-speed wireless data networks are vulnerable to a simple jamming technique that could block service across much of a city, according to research findings provided to a federal agency last week.

The high-bandwidth mobile network technology LTE (long-term evolution) is rapidly spreading around the world. But researchers show that just one cheap, battery-operated transmitter aimed at tiny portions of the LTE signal could knock out a large LTE base station serving thousands of people. “Picture a jammer that fits in a small briefcase that takes out miles of LTE signals—whether commercial or public safety,” says Jeff Reed, director of the wirelessresearch group at Virginia Tech.

“This can be relatively easy to do,” and it would not be easy to defend against, Reed adds. If a hacker added an inexpensive power amplifier to his malicious rig, he could take down an LTE network in an even larger region.

If LTE networks were to be compromised, existing 3G and 2G networks would still operate—but those older networks are gradually being phased out.

Reed and a research assistant, Marc Lichtman, described the vulnerabilities in a filing made last Thursday with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which advises the White House on telecom and information policy. There was no immediate reaction from the NTIA, which had sought comments from experts on the feasibility of using LTE for emergency responder communications.

Any radio frequency can be blocked, or “jammed,” if a transmitter sends a signal at the same frequency, with enough power. But LTE turns out to be especially vulnerable, Reed’s group says. That is because the whole LTE signal depends on control instructions that make up less than 1 percent of the overall signal.

Some of these instructions govern the crucial time synchronization and frequency synchronization that underpin LTE transmissions. “Your phone is constantly syncing with the base station” in order to effectively carry and assemble bits of information that make up, say, a photo or a video, says Lichtman, a graduate research assistant who cowrote the study. “If you can disrupt that synchronization, you will not be able to send or receive data.”

There are seven other such weak points, the researchers say, any one of which could be used to jam an LTE signal with a low-power transmitter. “There are multiple weak spots—about eight different attacks are possible. The LTE signal is very complex, made up of many subsystems, and in each case, if you take out one subsystem, you take out the entire base station.”

All that would be required is a laptop and an inexpensive software-defined radio unit (which can cost as little as $650). Battery power, including from a car battery, would then be enough to jam an LTE base station. Doing so would require technical knowledge of the complexity of the LTE standard, but those standards—unlike military ones—are openly published. “Any communications engineer would be able to figure this stuff out,” Lichtman says.

Lichtman offered an analogy of stopping all cars, taxis, and trucks from operating in Manhattan by silencing the traffic signaling system. “Imagine blocking all traffic lights so nobody can see if they are red and green, and see what happens to the traffic. Cars hit each other and nobody gets through,” he says.

All of the latest smartphones and major carriers are heavily promoting a transition to LTE networks. Around the world, nearly 500 million people have access to the signals from more than 100 LTE operators in 94 countries. The technology can be 10 times faster at delivering data, such as video, than 3G networks. Reed’s group did not identify whether anything could be done to fix the newly identified problem. “You have to put the problems out on the table first. Although we’ve identified the problem, we don’t necessarily have solutions,” he says. “It’s virtually impossible to bring in mitigation strategies that are also backward-compatible and cover it all.”

But LTE is also being proposed as the basis for next-generation communications systems for emergency response—a proposal called FirstNet, conceived after police and fire communications glitches added to the death toll after the September 11 terrorist attacks. In his brief to the NTIA, Reed said it was conceivable that terrorists could compromise an LTE network to confuse the response to an attack.

No jamming of LTE networks is known to have happened as a result of the vulnerabilities, Reed says. Qualcomm, which sells LTE chipsets and is one of the companies that developed the LTE standard, declined yesterday to comment on the matter. Ericsson, the Swedish telecom that supplies much of the world’s LTE infrastructure, including to Verizon in the United States, did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

The impact of any LTE vulnerabilities could be enormous. By Ericsson’s estimate, half the world’s population will have LTE coverage by 2017. And many consumer devices—including medical monitors, cameras, and even vehicles—may adopt LTE technology for a new wave of applications (see “Verizon Envisions 4G Wireless in Just About Anything”).

Digital cellular communications were engineered to address another security concern. “Back in the old days, our students used to listen in on cell-phone conversations for entertainment. It was extremely easy to do. And that was actually one of the key motivators behind digital cellular systems,” Reed says. “LTE does a good job of covering those aspects. But unconventional security aspects, such as preventing signal jamming, have been largely overlooked.”

Video Shows Why You Shouldn't Rob Internet Cafes

You'd think that internet cafes would be an easy target for thieves, but that's not always the case, as this surveillance video shows. Let's just say that the two robbers got much more than they bargained for, and probably will spend the rest of their days in some place worse than prison. Continue reading to see why.

18 More Bizarre Wi-Fi Network Names

Everyone is looking for a bargain these days, and that includes leeching off any unprotected Wi-Fi network they can find. Sometimes, people leave their networks open on purpose to insult moochers who refuse to pay for their own service. Continue reading to see more.

5 Interesting Wi-Fi facts:

Prior to 1999, there were several different wireless technologies used to connect devices. The different technologies were incompatible so the benefits were limited.

The development of an industry recognized technical standard (IEEE 802.11), along with an industry-wide alliance organization (the Wi-Fi Alliance), created a technology platform and business market the same way the development of Ethernet wired networking did in 1985.

Almost immediately following ratification of IEEE 802.11 and the founding of the Wi-Fi Alliance, every major networking company and computer hardware manufacturer developed and brought to market Wi-Fi products.

The first generation of Wi-Fi products (802.11b) have a maximum data rate of 11 Mbit/s and operate in the 2.4 GHz band. They reached the market in 2000. This is comparable to the speed most computers at the time were connected over wired networks.

Besides creating a common, compatible, interoperable standard, each new generation of products are compatible with previous generations. According to research from the Dell'Oro Group, the market is growing from 20% to 40% per quarter thanks to standards and compatibility.

Google House View Might Be Craziest Service Yet

First there was Google Earth, then Maps, and last, but not least, Street View. However, Google might have something else up their sleeves: "House View". Let's just say you may never feel safe in the privacy of your own home again after seeing how it works. Continue reading for the video.

Transparent Cocoon Lets You People Watch Comfortably Anywhere

Always wanted a nice, transparent sphere that lets you people watch comfortably while also protecting from the elements? Then look no further than Cocoon 1, which "measures just under six feet across and comes with three basic models - one that has a 360 foundation to support it resting on the ground and two "pillow 90" modules that can be used for sleeping and storage." Continue reading for more pictures and additional information.

Aside from being clear, the other interesting thing about the Cocoon 1 concept is they come with brightly colored modular furniture that can support anything from sleep to powering Wi-Fi devices, and intriguingly even cooking meals. The Cocoon 1 can handle up to 440 pounds if suspended via a net and 551 pounds on the ground. Switzerland's Micasa Labs will release the Cocoon 1 for purchase in Fall of 2013 for $2990.

The hackers of 2600 and Off The Hook are off the air

After 24 years, the hacker radio show, Off the Hook is going off the air, at least for now. The show, hosted by Emmanuel Goldstein (not his real name) and a revolving group of 2600 members, discusses technology for both a techie and non-techie audience. It has been heard on a listener supported radio station here in New York City since 1988.

They were not done in by the usual suspects, bad ratings or poor fund raising. Instead, it was a combination of Hurricane Sandy and management decisions at the radio station that brought them to a breaking point. 

Although the term "hacker" has come to be synonymous with "bad guy", Mr. Goldstein and his crew are anything but. I've heard a lot of their shows and met some of them. I judge them to be good guys. 

In that light, they wanted to help during and after the hurricane, but they couldn't. Assorted situations at the radio station kept them off the air.

Today, they posted an open letter to their listeners. It begins with: 

When the hurricane hit us, apart from our own immediate survival, our thoughts went out to our listeners and how we could play a part in the recovery process. In times of crisis, radio is incredibly important - a veritable lifeline for those who have lost all other contact with the outside world. On Wednesday, October 31st, there were millions of people in that unfortunate position. All of downtown Manhattan was blacked out, as were massive parts of the surrounding areas ... That Wednesday, our producers raced to the temporary studios ... armed with the latest emergency info plus all kinds of details on how technology was handling the unprecedented conditions. Cell towers everywhere had failed, access to the Internet was a rarity, phone circuits were overloaded. There were ways of bypassing the trouble spots, quick fixes to the lack of access, hacker ingenuity that nobody else was talking about ...

Personally, I would have loved to hear their take on the technology failures and bypasses. 

Getting to the backup studio shortly after the hurricane was no small feat, as Manhattan was all-but isolated at the time. Subways, buses, bridges and tunnels were not functioning within normal parameters.

Yet, when they arrived, they were not allowed on the air because the backup studio the station was using did not allow live broadcasts after business hours.

The next week, they were again off the air for the same reason. Being techies, they were doubly discouraged. They write 

Remote studio links aren't that unusual, after all ... There are so many ways to broadcast a signal to our transmitter or to switch facilities at a predetermined time - or even to have a remote studio without restrictions feed into the one that wouldn't let us in ... We weren't even allowed to broadcast live over a phone line. We were told that we could submit a recorded program that would be aired on or close to our normal timeslot. That wasn't really doable for those of us who still had no electricity or connectivity. 

Their next show should be tomorrow night (Nov. 14th) and there is a chance that the main studios will finally be back in operation. The radio station is in a section of lower Manhattan that flooded, and many buildings in the area are still recovering.

But then, they write, "we received word that, access or not, the decision was made to preempt us this week for another fundraiser." 

Strike three. 

Their frustration is evident in these closing paragraphs from the letter. 

... the biggest natural disaster ever to hit our listening area and we would be silenced for three weeks, even though the station had been up and running the whole time. The storm hit us before Halloween and it would be Thanksgiving before we could utter a single word on air about its effects. And - in case that wasn't enough to thoroughly outrage us - we were informed that we would be expected to take part in an additional fundraiser next month to make up for all of the shortfalls. 

No. Enough already. These awful decisions have cost us our audience and robbed us of the opportunity to significantly serve the community we care about in a true time of disaster. We have always taken these responsibilities extremely seriously and made doing our show a priority above all others. We have donated untold thousands of dollars every year ... But we can't continue doing this ... we believe we would have helped a large number of people with no access to power or Internet regain the communications they lost - or at least know what to expect. There were people all over the world who were willing to help and go on our airwaves to speak as experts. 

Regrettably, we must start looking for another outlet for "Off The Hook." We want to continue broadcasting over the radio, as that is where the true magic is ... We don't ever want to lose the possibility of someone accidentally stumbling upon our show while driving in their car or of non-tech savvy people being fascinated by what they hear. Pulling in listeners who never even knew that they were interested in what we were talking about is what makes all of this worthwhile. 

It's a great show and should be on the air, somewhere.

The U.S. Government's Growing Appetite for Google Users' Data

Government and law enforcement demands that Google share user data are growing 25 percent every six months

Searching suspects: Data Google holds on its users is increasingly being requested by - and given to - law enforcement and government agencies.

U.S. government and law enforcement agencies are increasingly asking Google to hand over data on its customers to help with investigations.

The search and ads company today released figures revealing that it was asked to hand over user data 7,969 times by US agencies in the first six months of 2012 - an increase of 26 percent over the previous six months. That continues a long established trend in the figures released in Google's twice-yearly transparency report and charted above. The 7,969 requests asked for data from a total of 16,281 user accounts, and ninety percent of the requests were complied with.

Google is unusual amongst Web companies in that it shares information about the number of such requests it receives. Social network Facebook is likely subject to a similarly high volume, for example, but does not disclose any information on their number or origin. Google started reporting the number of requests for its data in 2009, and the number of affected accounts in 2011. Since January 2011, U.S. authorities have requested data pertaining to a total of 39,581 accounts.

Law enforcement and government agencies see Google and other companies as valuable sources of data that can help with criminal and intelligence investigations, such as the one that led to the resignation of CIA director David Petraeus last week. Knowing what a person searched for, who they emailed, and which IP address they logged in from can provide evidence of a person's motivations, movements and much more.

Some privacy activists say that the ease with which U.S. authorities can extract information on users from Google and other companies suggests changes in the law, and company policies are needed to protect innocent users against the risk of unnecessary surveillance. Data can only be handed over by a company if it exists, and some campaigners think companies such as Google should reduce how long they retain some information. For example, Google currently stores search query details for 9 months before anonymizing them, a period some argue is too long. The main target of legal campaigning about data access is against the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which allows government and law enforcement to obtain data from Internet companies without a warrant if it is at least 6 months old.

Google’s New Service: Google Drive

Just a couple days ago, Google released a cloud service called Google Drive. In many ways it is very similar to the all too popular iCloud designed by Apple inc. and works like DropBox which is a service that allows you to keep everything in sync between multiple computers and mobile devices. Google Drive is simply another cloud service dedicated to keeping everything in sync between your devices that you use every day.

What does this mean for Google Docs? Google Drive is simply taking over Google Docs. It works the same way as Google Docs, but it now has the features you will find in most any cloud service. Google Drive come’s with 5GB of free storage to use to store anything from a picture to your next presentation. You can additionally purchase extra storage to fill your needs. It works by simply keeping everything in sync. Once you upload a picture or file, you can be sure that it is already on every other device you have linked to your G-Drive.

In order to use Google Drive you must download a small program that adds a folder to your desktop or where ever you would like to store the folder. Once you drag and drop a file into the folder, it automatically updates all of the other G-Drive folders you have installed on other computers. Optionally you can install the mobile app available for IOS and Android so you can view your files on the go and make changes to them if needed.

If you already have a Google account, simply sign into your Google account and go to your Google Docs. If you have not already accepted, you should get an invite asking you to try out Google Drive. It takes seconds to setup and will make your life much easier.

Root any android device without needing a computer

The app “visionary plus” has been released in the android market as a temporary rooting software. This app roots your device temporarily, which means you can un-root it just by going to the app again and tapping “un-root now”. If you can not find this app in the android market, you can download the app “4sync” then go to 4sync and type in “visionary plus apk” and download it.

click the video below for a visual tutorial of how to root your device:

FIREFOX HACK FOR SUPER SPEED BROWSING

There are many people out there complaining about the Firefox RAM Memory Bug. Lets get it straight. It’s not a bug. It’s part of the cache feature. This ‘feature’ is how the pages are cached in a tabbed environment.

To improve performance when navigating (studies show that 39% of all page navigations are renavigations to pages visited less than 10 pages ago, usually using the back button), Firefox implements a Back-Forward cache that retains the rendered document for the last five session history entries for each tab.

This is a lot of data. If you have a lot of tabs, Firefox’s RAM memory usage can climb dramatically. It’s a trade-off. What you get out of it is faster performance as you navigate the web.

Now a lot of us have found the ’secrets’ on how to manipulate settings in “about:config” to drop the memory usage as long as possible and to increase the speed at which Firefox loads sites. Read on to find out how to do this.

Remember: Firefox (download it here) is the best internet browser available (in my opinion), and these tweaks below will make it even greater and faster. So enjoy!

Reduce the amount of RAM Firefox uses for it’s cache feature

Here’s how to do it:

1. Type “about:config” (no quotes) in the adress bar in the browser.

2. Find “browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewer”

3. Set it’s value to “0“;(Zero)

Increase the Speed in Which Firefox loads pages

1. Type “about:config” into the address bar and hit Enter.

(Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipeliningit will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.)

2. Alter the entries as follows:

Set “network.http.pipelining” to “true”

Set “network.http.proxy.pipelining” to “true”

Set “network.http.pipelining.maxrequests” to some number like 10.

This means it will make 10 requests at once.

3. Lastly, right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it “nglayout.initialpaint.delay” and set its value to “0“;.(Zero)

This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives. If you’re using a broadband connection you’ll load pages faster now.

Optionally (for even faster web browsing) here are some more options for your about:config (you might have to create some of these entries by Right Click –> New– > Interger or String

network.dns.disableIPv6: set “false” 

“content.notify.backoffcount”: set “5“; (Five)

“plugin.expose_full_path”: set “true”.

“ui.submenuDelay”: set “0; (zero)

Reduce RAM usage to 10mb when Firefox is minimized:

This little hack will drop Firefox’s RAM usage down to 10 Mb when minimized:

1. Open Firefox and go to the Address Bar. Type in about:config and then press Enter.

2. Right Click in the page and select New -> Boolean.

3. In the box that pops up enter “config.trim_on_minimize”. Press Enter.

4. Now select True and then press Enter.

5. Restart Firefox.

These simple tweaks will make your web browsing with Mozilla Firefox 2-3 times faster and easier. And I think they are fairly easy to apply. Enjoy!

credits: Beepthegeek

10 PRODUCTIVE WAYS TO USE YOUTUBE BEYOND THE REGULAR STUFF

We watch YouTube almost every day. I mean, even if we didn’t want to there’d be some instances where we need to log in. I’m a bit apprehensive about using YouTube especially at work because most of the times, the things that pop up are NSFW. However, I’m a big fan of YouTube and these tools make sure that we don’t end up in the YouTube loop, but make things a little more useful, effective and fun for all of us.

1. Download Audio from any YouTube videos the easy waySo you like that new Lady Gaga song and the video is out on YouTube, but you want it as a ringtone for your mobile, and you don’t want to go through the messy process of using a video editing program to rip off the music. What do you do ?Use this website, copy paste the URL of the video and let it rip off the music in mp3 format for you. Download it to your cellphone and you’re done. Easy as that.

2. Share particular parts of any YouTube videoSometimes, we’re just interested only in a certain part of a video. Like 12-26th second of a 5 minute vide and while sharing the whole video is what most of us do, the person you’re sharing with might not watch the entire video or he might miss the part you want him to see. So what do you do ? Use Tubechop to select the particular time in the video, slice it up and share the URL is gives with your friends. When your friend clicks on the URL, they see only the selected part in that YouTube video.

3. Add extra controls to YouTube videos other than the default buttonsIf you’re a power YouTube user, you always wanted those extra controls like beyond the play and pause button. This Greasemonkey script will grant your wish. Its got a series of additional buttons for that seamless power user experience.

4. Get sing-along lyrics on any YouTube music videoThis is a nifty utility for singers and music enthusiasts. What it does is, while your favourite music videos are being played on YouTube, it displays a small window next to it, that will search a database of lyrics and popup the right lyrics for that particular song, so you can sing along. Cool huh ? Download

5. Bookmark, Organize and Save YouTube Videos for later viewingThis is a standalone program for you to save, bookmark and share YouTube videos, much like a personal collection. You can search for videos, save them, bookmark them all from the application and open up for later viewing.

6. How not to show the “Related Videos” pane while watching a videoMany of us would’ve encountered the bad experience of other inappropriate videos popping up in the related videos section while watching an interesting video with our friends on YouTube. There is a simple trick that will keep the related videos from popping up.

In the URL of the original video, just add ‘&rel=0? to the end part and you’re done. Or if the parameter is at ‘&rel=1?, change it to ‘&rel=0?.

7. Play YouTube videos inside the browser, without clutter and in a playlistSome people like to use YouTube like winamp sometimes, like while at work listening to a list of songs, side by side. And having your YouTube site open can be a bit annoying, especially when your boss is looking over your shoulders. But there is a solution. Grab this Firefox extension and it lets you add a little sidebar to the browser, where you can queue up an entire list of YouTube videos that will keep playing within the sidebar. Nice !

8. Watch YouTube videos on a slower Internet connection, without breaksIf you’re on a slower internet connection, then watching YouTube videos can be a pain. Frustration and more frustration. In fact, YouTube realizes that this could be a problem, and have alternate methods for you. YouTube has a Feather tool that lets you watch YouTube videos on slower connections. It doesn’t include those items that eat up bandwidth and make YouTube videos slower.

9. Upload more than one video in bulk to YouTubeSo if you’re the type who have a lot of uploading to do on YouTube, things can get a bit out of hand. There is a lot of waiting to do for one video before you can do the next upload. So batch uploading is the only way out. And is there a tool that lets you do it ? Yes of course – YouTube Universal Uploader.

10. Create ringtones from YouTube videos in one easy stepsCreating ringtones from YouTube videos never was so easy. All you got to do is copy paste the YouTube video URL, mark the portion where the song appears (or the whole video) and click create. The ringtone can be downloaded in various mobile audio formats. Check it out

SKYPE BETA ADDS GROUP VIDEO CHAT

 

Windows: The latest Skype beta—released today—adds support for group video calling, allowing you to video conference with up to five people simultaneously.

 Currently the group video chat feature is only available on the Windows version, and while it's currently free with the beta, there is a catch:

Group video calling is just one in a set of new premium features you'll see us roll out during 2010. We haven't set prices for these premium features yet, but rest assured that we're still absolutely committed to bringing you free voice and two-way video calling.It's too bad that the group video chat probably won't be available for free in the long term, especially since, for example, iChat's had group video chat for a while now, and for free. Either way, it's good to see Skype move in this direction, and we're assuming that a lot of people will be excited to try it out.

If you give it a go, share how you like the new group video chat in the comments.

Skype Beta for Windows [via Skype Blog] lifehacker

GOOGLE OFFERS SEARCH BY VOICE

Google is pushing its voice-recognition technology to Apple's iPhone first, before devices running its own Android mobile platform.

The New York Times offered photographs of Google employees Vic Gundotra and Gummi Hafsteinsoon using an iPhone for a voice search. The free application was expected to be available on Apple's App Store on Friday. Google reportedly will soon offer the technology for other devices, presumably including the T-Mobile G1, which uses Android.

"This is an expansion of types of applications Google has already been developing," said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence. "Google has GOOG411, which is the underlying technical engine. They also have a voice-search client for the BlackBerry which is limited to maps. So this is an evolutionary step."

Inside Google Voice Search

Here's how it works: The iPhone user asks a question, such as "Where's the closest Burger King?" or "How wide is the Grand Canyon?" The user's voice is converted to a digital file and transmitted to Google's servers.

Google Search then serves up the results -- in a matter of seconds if the user has a fast wireless network, the Times reports. The search results always include any local information.

"The question with these types of technologies is how good is the speech recognition? It's getting much better, and that's why Google feels this is the right time to introduce this," Sterling said. "Google has confidence now that voice recognition is good enough to open it up to the full Web search as opposed to the much more structured search on GOOG411."

Google is playing catch-up, in a sense. Yahoo and Microsoft already offer a voice-recognition option for mobile phones. Microsoft's Tellme service offers users information in specific categories, such as movies, maps or directions. Yahoo offers voice services through its oneSearch platform.

"In one sense this is new, but it's not new, because Yahoo and Microsoft have been doing versions of voice recognition -- and so has Google -- for some time," Sterling said. "A company called Dial Directions was the first to formally introduce voice search for the iPhone, but it was limited to selected local sites through the Safari browser."

Building a Killer App

Could voice recognition be the next killer app for mobile? The market is growing at breakneck speed. Voice-recognition technology sales topped $1 billion in 2006 for the first time. Datamonitor expects that number to swell to $2.6 billion by 2009.

The market is heating up -- and going global. Voice-recognition software maker Nuance Communications earlier this month acquired Austria-based Philips Speech Recognition Systems for $96.1 million. Philips develops speech-recognition solutions in 25 languages.

Voice recognition on the mobile phone is still not completely accurate, and may not see mainstream use until it improves. But Sterling said it is ever-improving and thinks Google's voice search will be a popular mobile-phone feature.

Specifically, he sees the new Google application for the iPhone as most useful when a user might need to call directory assistance or do a simple search, but can't do it safely on a keyboard while driving. Another benefit is the ability to enter potentially long search queries that would be difficult to type. But accuracy is still a factor.

"This is an evolutionary step in the whole realm of voice search," Sterling said. "So far it has not proven to be the killer app for mobile, but it's getting there and it's very useful in selective situations."

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EVOLUTION OF TECH LOGOS

These is an interesting researched post about how the present day logos evoved from old days....

Mozilla firefox logo

Google logo

Microsoft logo

Apple logo

Intel logo

Adobe logo

Nokia logo

IBM logo

Xerox logo

Palm one logo

Nortel logo

Motorola logo

Canon logo

Cbs logo

Logos hav their on story to tell.............

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