Practical Technology

for practical people.

March 2, 2011
by sjvn01
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Free antivirus software: The best and the rest

While I have a near-perfect fix for your PC virus problems — switch to Linux — I know most of you aren’t going to take me up on it. Some of you, though, could probably be talked into going Mac, but while Macs are still a good deal safer than Windows, Mac malware, like the BlackHole RAT Trojan horse are beginning to show up. What’s a user to do!?

Well, if you’re not going to switch operating systems, you should take a look at the free antivirus programs that are available. Yes, there are lots of paid antivirus programs out there such as Norton AntiVirus; Kaspersky Anti-Virus, and McAfee AntiVirus Plus, but there are lots of good, free antivirus programs out there as well. So why spend money when you don’t have to?

Now, if you really doesn’t know the first thing about protecting yourself online, then it probably is worth paying the money for a security program. But, I don’t mean just an antivirus program. I mean a full security suite like BitDefender Total Security 2011; Kaspersky Internet Security 2011; or ZoneAlarm Extreme Technology. These days there are endless threats on the Internet, and if you’re not technically adept it’s all too easy for them to mangle your computer and possibly your life as well.

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March 2, 2011
by sjvn01
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Internet Explorer gains Web browser market share from Firefox

Rumor has it that by the time the South by SouthWest (SXSW) conference rolls around in a few weeks, all the major Web browsers-Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer (IE), Opera, and Safari–will have come out with new versions. So, why, is the oldest, and the most insecure of the lot, IE 6, making the single biggest browser version gain according to Net Applications‘ latest Web browser survey?

Well you can blame the CIA. No, seriously.

As Net Applications explained, “All of our global usage share reports are weighted based on C.I.A. data on how many Internet users per country there are. For example, we have more data on the U.S. than China so we weight the Chinese data proportionally higher according to the research provided by the C.I.A.”

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March 1, 2011
by sjvn01
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Splashtop: Linux for Windows users

Ever just want to turn on your laptop and get right to work on the Web without any delay? If that’s you, even if you’d never consider switching from Windows to Linux, you might want to give the new release of Splashtop a try.

Indeed many Windows users, especially those with newer laptops have already been using the Linux-based Splashtop-they just haven’t known it. On Dell laptops, it’s called Latitude ON; on HP laptops, it’s known as QuickWeb; and on Lenovo IdeaPad netbooks, its Quick Start 2. Whatever the name, it’s actually an embedded Splashtop Linux variation designed for quick and easy access to the Web. On each of these laptop lines, and many others, Splashtop is there to make it fast and easy for “Windows” users to check their Web-based e-mail; look up information, write a document in Google Docs, etc., etc. without waiting for Windows to boot up.”

Now, Splashtop has made it possible for almost anyone to give this a try with a downloadable version of its light-weight Linux desktop. Unlike almost all other Linux distributions you don’t need to download an ISO image of the distribution, burn it to a CD, DVD or USB stick, and then install it on a PC to give it a try. Instead you simply download Splashtop as a Windows installation executable, run the install program, and then re-boot. Splashtop will then appear as one of your boot-up choices. From there, you simply select it and in about half the time it takes to boot up Windows, you’re in Splashtop.

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March 1, 2011
by sjvn01
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Shuttleworth on the Ubuntu Banshee controversy: Mistakes were made

The conflict between Banshee and Canonical over what should be done with Banshee’s Amazon Store revenue stream, while it was finally resolved, was not Ubuntu’s most shining moment. At the matter’s conclusion, Banshee developers were not happy with the results. This is not how open-source communities should work together and no one knows that better than Mark Shuttleworth, Canonical, Ubuntu’s parent company, who wrote, “We made some mistakes in our handling of the discussion around revenue share with the Banshee team.”

In his blog, which Shuttleworth often uses to discuss matters of importance to Ubuntu, open-source, and Linux in general, he started, “Money is particularly contentious in a community that mixes volunteer and paid effort, we should have anticipated and been extra careful to have the difficult conversations that were inevitable up front and in public, at UDS [Ubuntu Developer Summit], when we were talking about the possibility of Banshee being the default media player in Ubuntu. We didn’t, and I apologize for the consequential confusion and upset caused.”


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February 28, 2011
by sjvn01
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London Stock Exchange Woes not Linux’s Fault

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has had better times. First, it had reoccurring problems with its integration with large-stock market data players such as Thomson Reuters Eikon, Interactive Data, and Morningstar. Then, adding insult to injury, Google rightfully flagged the Exchange’s site as a malware danger, thanks to a third-party advertiser that was hosting malicious software. None of this had anything to do with the LSE switching to Linux as the basis of its new trading system.

I mention that because I’ve gotten several obnoxious e-mail messages claiming that all of LSE’s troubles are Linux’s fault. Sorry guys, it’s not. Here’s what, as far as can be told, is what’s really going on.

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February 28, 2011
by sjvn01
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BlackBerry’s Android?

In the Mirror, Mirror universe, Research in Motion (RIM) uses Android instead of QNX for its next generation of BlackBerry smartphones and its PlayBook Tablet. Now, there’s a rumor that RIM may well add support for Android applications to its BlackBerry line on top of its forthcoming QNX operating system.

According to BGR, a RIM representative has apparently been caught on video saying “‘We will also support Android apps when we release the Dalvik engine on top of QNX,’ while showing off a PlayBook. Oops. The newly uncovered video was filmed at Mobile World Congress earlier this month and while we can’t quite call it an official confirmation from RIM, it certainly seems to substantiate our report. Though the RIM representative mentioned Dalvik, conflicting reports have stated that RIM won’t end up using the Dalvik engine, but rather a different option.”

It never made a lot of sense to me in the first place that RIM would support QNX Neutrino RTOS, an embedded Unix variation, for its tablets or phones. QNX is an excellent operating system. It has a modular micro-kernel, an excellent Inter-process communication’ (IPC) system, a lightweight user interface, and network-transparent distributed processing. All of which is wonderful, but it still put BlackBerry years behind both Apple with iOS and Google’s Open Handset Alliance Android supporters. Can a mobile vendor really afford to start a new system so far behind its chief competitors? I don’t think so.

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