Hardware and Software Forum

My "[URL="http://www.daniweb.com/news/story229382.html"]10 Best Linux Distributions of 2009[/URL]" list drew a bit of disdain from some of my readers, so I thought I'd make it up to them by posting a list of Linux distributions that [I]they[/I] like to use. Since I have no way of knowing which of these distributions …

[ATTACH=RIGHT]21884[/ATTACH]Users of the iPhone have stood accused of many things, from being more interested in form than function through to having more money than sense. However, the iPhone bashing has taken an unexpected turn as new research suggests that smartphone users are becoming increasingly rude both at home and in …

[ATTACH=RIGHT]21767[/ATTACH]An unnamed Asian company operating within what has been described as a 'high risk e-commerce industry' has been targeted by a botnet which launched a DDoS attack of unprecedented magnitude. According to Distributed Denial of Service mitigation experts Prolexic, which claims to have successfully combated the attack, the volume of …

With the release of iOS 5 to developers, Apple has signalled the arrival of the much awaited iPhone 5. But when can we expect to see it, and how will it be different to the iPhone? As usual, the Apple rumor mill has been churning out specs for many months …

[ATTACH=RIGHT]21548[/ATTACH]Earlier this week a hacker group called Dev-Team launched a revamped website service that enables owners of the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 (amongst a myriad other iOS-powered devices) to jailbreak them in next to no time, for free, online. The [URL="http://blog.iphone-dev.org/post/890709355/the-return-of-jailbreakme-com"]JailBreakMe site exploits a vulnerability[/URL] with the way that …

What does your Android, BlackBerry or iPhone say about you? That's what newly published research by YouGov on behalf of Intelligent Environments aimed to find out, but the results were a little surprising to say the least. [attach]20446[/attach] The research analysed the financial profiles of each smartphone to paint a …

IT Week [URL="http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/2214006/firms-left-behind-criminals"]reports[/URL] that business is just too slow to respond to cyber-criminals, and as a result the hackers are simply worried about their ability to prevent them breaking in. The article quotes Dan Hubbard, the Vice President of Security Research at Websense as saying that from a purely technological …

On the 11th September a customer of the [URL="http://www.pcworld.co.uk"]PC World[/URL] computer superstore in Colliers Wood, London took his laptop back for an under warranty repair. The computer was only a few months old, and a crack had appeared near the left hinge which is indicative of an internal joint failing. …

According to reports, the [URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8578704/CIA-website-hacked-by-Lulz-Security.html"]LulzSec hacking group has claimed responsibility[/URL] for a denial of service hack attack on the cia.gov website resulting in it being inaccessible for a while late yesterday. [attach]21307[/attach] LulzSec appears to have taken up the baton of high profile hacking from the Anonymous group in recent …

[ATTACH=RIGHT]20689[/ATTACH]This week [URL="http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/04/apple-location-tracking.html"]on Oreilly.com, Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden[/URL] revealed their discovery that Apple tracks and saves your location via iOS4 through your iPhone or iPad. This has sent a wripple of concern across the country and many people are demanding to know why Apple stores this info and how …

Another day, another IE flaw! Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the Internet Explorer water (mainly as Microsoft told you it was after [URL="http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS10-002.mspx"]releasing[/URL] yet another [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/24364/1231/"]patch[/URL] to fix yet another vulnerability) comes the news that actually, would you believe it, but Internet Explorer still …

A specialist mobile software management company, [URL="http://www.redbend.com"]Red Bend Software[/URL], has today announced what it claims to be the first Linux based mobile phone complete with fully over the air customizable software. The breakthrough has been made possible by partnerships with companies such as Digital Airways, Opera, Synchronica, Trolltech and Zi, …

I stumbled across an interesting interview with Linus Torvalds over at [URL="http://apcmag.com/7012/linus_torvalds_talks_about"]apcmag.com[/URL] in which the man himself would appear to be confirming that there will be no Linux kernel 3.0 The first hints are given when he responds to a question concerning why the 2.6 kernel has been around for …

The Kogan Agora 7 inch Android tablet has been kicking up something of a storm even before it has actually shipped. Not least because of the pricing. The Australian company is attempting to break into the UK market and is marketing the device as [URL="http://www.kogan.co.uk/shop/7-inch-tablet-pc-android/"]the best value Android tablet[/URL] in …

Time to enter the Wayback ([URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WABAC_machine"]WABAC[/URL]) Machine to an experience I had with a new Linux user and compare it to today's more tech savvy audience. The year was 1997 and I had settled in for the evening with my [URL="http://www.guinness.com/"]favorite beverage[/URL] and a bit of channel flipping, when I …

[ATTACH=RIGHT]20573[/ATTACH][URL="http://www.daniweb.com/hardware-and-software/apple/apple-hardware-and-devices/interviews/323685"]Super engineer and friend of DaniWeb, Steve Wozniak[/URL], told Reuters on Friday that he would consider returning to Apple, or more accurately returning to an active role at Apple if asked. With Steve Jobs on an indefinite medical leave (his third since 2004), the possibility of the other founding "Steve" …

Sony has confirmed that it will stop manufacturing and supporting floppy disks from next year. That's it, there will be no more. This tells the technology community a number of things. First, if anyone actually cares about this then the end user community, and particulary the home worker, are further …

Apple and Microsoft have not had a lot of good press lately, but in spite of the issues both companies have faced, their quarterly reports released this week showed two companies that are still extremely profitable. [B]Microsoft Comes Through [/B] In spite of [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/news/story295211.html"]giving up on the Kin[/URL] and a …

In a press release issued today, a new website and service is introduced that moves us one step closer to human-device equality. Yes, now you can marry your iPhone, iPod or iPad. Although it may seem like an April fools joke, the website [url]www.MarryYouriPhone.com[/url] is actually a clever way to …

[ATTACH=RIGHT]20636[/ATTACH]Last year [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/hardware-and-software/pc-hardware/cases-fans-and-power-supplies/reviews/330679"]we reviewed Eaton’s 5130 UPS[/URL] and it was almost perfect. Today Eaton announced the new 5PX UPS to replace the 5130, and hopefully improve it. One of the key new features of the 5PX line is energy consumption metering down to the outlet group level; this is an …

When Google announced Android and Chrome, it was easy to think that they were going after Apple's core business, and when news of [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/news/story246307.html"]Google's own phone [/URL]leaked last weekend, that seemed to only reinforce the idea, but I see the two companies with very different goals. Yes, they are both …

[URL="http://www.mozilla.com"]FireFox[/URL] 3.5 is due out by the end of June and includes some pretty interesting new features--and not a moment too soon. Some of these new features include the ability to play videos in the browser without the need to download and install a third-party plugin. It also includes [URL="https://wiki.mozilla.org/JavaScript:TraceMonkey"]TraceMonkey[/URL], …

[URL="http://aws.amazon.com"]Amazon Web Services[/URL] (AWS) uses it. [URL="http://www.elastichosts.com"]Elastichosts[/URL] uses it. [URL="http://www.google.com"]Google[/URL] uses it. Yahoo uses it. [URL="http://www.engineyard.com"]Engine Yard[/URL] uses it. [URL="http://www.facebook.com"]Facebook[/URL] uses it. "It" is Linux, of course. But what else do all these companies have in common? If you said "cloud technology," you're correct. Perhaps the best known of all …

It's not just [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/news/story231517.html"]phishing scams[/URL] that Facebook users have to worry about right now, According to Roger Thompson, the Chief Research Officer with security vendor AVG, hacked Facebook applications are increasingly reaching out to exploit sites based in Russia. As Thompson says, this is different to the normal run of …

A new botnet has been discovered which is not only targeting users of UK banks, but doing so in a new and worrying manner. Said to comprise of in excess of 100,000 infected machines, the Zeus 2 botnet is operated and controlled from Eastern Europe according to [URL="http://www.trusteer.com/company-overview"]secure browsing security …

The Maine State Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection reported today that it has received a query from an unnamed out-of-state finance company about placing Global Positioning System units into vehicles it finances or that its customers used as collateral, according to an [URL="http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Statewide/GPS-data-intruding-on-privacy,151289"]article [/URL]in the [I]Bangor Daily News[/I]. Such GPSes …

The Nintendo Wii has introduced many families to the joy of gaming and has also introduced others to the fragility of modern television screens. Today’s flat panel TV’s are thin, sexy and unfortunately rather fragile, a fact we have been forced to live with, until now. Corning Inc. claims to …

Yesterday, after the [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/news/story255860.html"]iPad announcement[/URL], many folks Tweeted that it's the end of the line for the Amazon Kindle as if it were a fait accomplis. I'm not convinced that's true, but it does raise questions about the utility of the single-purpose device, and whether you want your eBook Reader …

I saw a report that read, "Video game sales plunge in April." Software sales dropped by 22 percent and hardware sales dropped by 37 percent. What's the story, folks? Do you have all the gaming miscellanea that you can afford? Are you satisfied with your current array of video games? …

The cost of an Xbox 360 is dropping like a brick, which is just as well considering [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/21179/532/"]so many things can go wrong[/URL] with the Microsoft games console. In fact the whole Red Rings of Death thing has led to some frustrated users [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/21290/532/"]taking Microsoft to court[/URL]. Jesse Maiman, a …

[ATTACH=RIGHT]19662[/ATTACH]In an [URL="http://www.wdc.com/en/company/pressroom/releases.aspx?release=ba433e4b-bff8-4d99-b60f-7f02aa42f444"]announcement made today, Western Digital (WD) agreed to acquire Hitachi[/URL]’s Global Storage Technologies division for roughly $4.3 billion. With this acquisition, WD, an industry leader in consumer and entertainment-class storage solutions that recently ventured into the solid-state drive market, no-doubt aims to become a major player in the …

22 Year old, Jon Lech Johansen who previously hacked DVD encryption in his teens has now hacked through the iPod copy protection. This copy protection stops iPod users from playing downloaded music from online music stores other than iTunes. This "copy protection" also stops music that has been bought off …

Steve Ballmer dropped a bomb shell in a speech the other day at the University of Washington, letting it be known that the desktop software company was basically betting it all on the cloud. In a report on the speech [URL="http://paidcontent.org/article/419-ballmer-microsoft-betting-our-company-on-the-cloud/"]on PaidContent.org[/URL], Ballmer reportedly said the company was committing as …

The trouble with being a mobile kind of guy is that the proliferation of mobile gadgets that I tend to carry around with me demand a small suitcase to bring the power supplies along if I am to be away from home for longer than a day or so. Sure, …

In February, 2008 I wrote a blog post called [URL="http://byronmiller.typepad.com/byronmiller/2008/02/is-apple-workin.html"]Is Apple Working on an eBook Reader: Does It Matter?[/URL] Today, I would answer my own question with "Hell yes it maters." If Apple enters the eBook market, you know it would be expensive, but it would be a desirable device, …

Two groups are working to set up a .gay top-level Internet domain, with plans for using some of the proceeds for registering sites in that domain to support gay causes, according to an [URL="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/competing-groups-press-for-a-gay-internet-suffix/"]article[/URL] in the [I]New York Times[/I]. While it can cost up to $400,000 to set up a …

Microsoft [URL="http://www.zdnet.co.uk/blogs/davey-winder-10015443/microsoft-staying-silent-over-security-patching-10015776/"]recently admitted[/URL], via the Director of it's Security Response Centre, that it doesn't report every Windows security vulnerability discovered and subsequently fixed via patches and updates. No big deal you might think, as long as the holes get fixed that's all that matter. I happen to agree, however that …

I just read an article called: [URL="http://www.infoworld.com/d/windows/life-after-windows-what-happens-tech-if-microsoft-dies-551?source=footer"]Life after Windows: What happens to tech if Microsoft dies?[/URL]" The article made me think of what it really would be like without Microsoft. I didn't like it. We need Microsoft over there competing with us. No matter what happens to the economy, to …

Hey Windows fans, would you like to take Linux for a spin to see what everyone's buzzing about? It's easy to do in just five easy steps. You can test Linux for yourself without having to setup multibooting, worry about partitioning or installing over your current Windows system. That's right, …

I have, in the past, argued that the iPhone is more of [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/22077/1168/"]a games console that happens to make phone calls[/URL] than the other way around. I admit that I had my tongue in my cheek when I penned that particular piece, but there is no doubting that the iPhone …

When sysadmin [URL="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/23/sf_admin_stays_jailed/"]Terry Childs went off the rails[/URL] in San Francisco a few weeks ago and deliberately locked down the majority of the city's network, no one should really have been surprised. As most IT professionals will tell you, it was bound to happen sooner or later. [URL="http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/08/18/34FE-it-under-pressure_1.html"]InfoWorld[/URL] took a …

I'm probably a disgrace to my gender for saying this but I think the new study showing women in IT face "significant barriers to advancement" is a bit overblown. According to [URL="http://anitaborg.org/news/archive/new-research-reveals-significant-barriers-to-advancement-for-mid-level-technical-women/"] research conducted by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology[/URL], the situation is so bad that nearly …

[ATTACH=right]14395[/ATTACH]Microsoft [URL="http://www.mobilemag.com/2010/04/13/microsoft-kin-one-and-kin-two-specs-and-perspective/"]released a couple of phones[/URL] on Monday, Kin 1 and Kin 2, supposedly aimed at teens. Kin 1 is shaped like a hockey puck. Kin 2 looks more like a conventional smart phone (but it's not). The only thing these phones appear to have going for them is a …

[ATTACH=RIGHT]16729[/ATTACH]Intel’s latest line of processors, code named “Sandy Bridge”, was designed with intense multimedia demands in mind. Although we won’t likely see a sandy bridge chip on the market until early 2011, we have learned a good deal of information in regards to the architecture of the processor. The greatest …

Have you ever thought about measuring the Internet in terms if malware per minute? Me neither, but someone has and it makes for uncomfortable reading if you are a Microsoft Windows user. [attach]17145[/attach]How fast is the Internet? It depends on the metric being used, of course, but one new report …

[ATTACH=RIGHT]18613[/ATTACH]The term Net Neutrality has been the subject of heavy discussion for the past several years. The freedom to go where and when we want to on the internet is about to slip away. Big telecoms and internet giants like AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner and even Google have met …

Feast or famine (probably famine); 2009 should be another interesting year for the tech sector. After all, any industry that can provide sexual performance drugs (Viagra) for the CIA to give to Afghan warlords is always going to find room on the front pages of every news outlet in the …

Unless you have been living in a cave you cannot have failed to spot that the iPhone 4 is with us, 'don't hold it like that' antenna problems and all. But what about the iPod Touch 4? Traditionally, the new iPod is launched in September and the new feature set …

The state of Oregon is holding a series of informational meetings in 20 areas around the state to identify the barriers to bringing Internet resources to their community. While obviously meetings are being held in urban locations such as Portland and the state capital of Salem, they are also being …

Wouldn't it be nice if you could track Gmail messages about specific features and bugs from within your defect tracking system? You can if you're using the open-source SugarCRM, thanks to a team of Italian developers that today launched [url=http://www.sugarforge.org/projects/dolcegmail/]DolceGmail[/url]. The new plug-in for Firefox links Google's browser-based e-mail system …