Practical Technology

for practical people.

July 1, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

All about Prism, Internet privacy and — wait! — squirrel!

As the saga surrounding the revelations about the National Security Agency’s Prism program unfolded, I half expected a public figure to arise and declaim, a la Howard Beale in the movie Network, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

I’m still waiting.

The story is getting plenty of attention from the media. Reporters are playing “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?” with the elusive whistleblower/spy Edward Snowden (take your pick). But do you care?

On June 10, the day that Britain’s Guardian newspaper revealed Snowden’s identity, the 10 most searched terms, according to Google Trends, were: iOS7, PS4, Tim Tebow, Mac Pro, Kingdom Hearts, Miami Heat, IGN, Chad Johnson, NBA Playoffs, and the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

All about Prism, Internet privacy and — wait! — squirrel! More >

July 1, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

Microsoft’s Yammer integrates Klout social networking scores

Many people think Klout, the social network reputation measuring service, scores are nonsense. They’re not. People get hired because of their Klout scores, and now your next promotion may be determined by your Klout score since Microsoft will be integrating Klout into its Yammer enterprise social network software.

Microsoft’s Yammer integrates Klout social networking scores. More >

July 1, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

Ready to run desktop Linux PC: MintBox 2

Linux Mint is my favorite desktop Linux. Thanks to Microsoft’s Secure Boot implementation, however, installing Mint, or any other operating system, on a new Windows 8 PC is a royal pain in the rump. If you’d like to avoid this annoyance, you might consider buying CompuLab’s forthcoming MintBox 2 with Linux Mint 15 pre-installed.

Ready to run desktop Linux PC: MintBox 2. More >

June 27, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

Microsoft’s mobile strategy: Where Android, iOS and Windows 8.1 fit in

This is not your dad’s Microsoft. In the last few months Microsoft has been refocusing on Web services and devices instead of its mobile operating systems, Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 (WP8). Neither OS have been cutting the mustard in the market. Moving forward, I see Microsoft addressing its mobile OS issues in two ways.

First, in the long run, 2014 and beyond, I see Microsoft replacing RT and WP8 with Windows 8.1. As Ed Bott said, with Windows 8.1, Microsoft is aiming squarely at mobile devices. How can Microsoft do this with ARM dominating tablets and smartphones? By eventually  replacing its ARM-powered RT devices with Intel Silvermont/Bay Trail tablets running Windows 8.1.

It makes sense. This new Atom-based, long-battery life processor family can give Microsoft a low-end tablet that can run “real” Windows instead of crippleware RT or the unpopular WP8. This would also save developers time. They can just focus on Windows 8.1 without worrying about the underlying chip architecture. They would be working once more with the familiar x86 architecture.

Microsoft’s mobile strategy: Where Android, iOS and Windows 8.1 fit in. More >

June 25, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

Integrate Dropbox into your Windows network with Active Directory

There may be better personal cloud storage services than Dropbox, but few are as popular. Dropbox wants more though. It wants Dropbox to be your first choice for business cloud storage as well.

Integrate Dropbox into your Windows network with Active Directory. More >