Apple Market Share Breakthrough
Bing will use Facebook info to make your searches better. Now there is a feature I do no want. FCC to crack down on cell phone balloon charges. Apple hits 10-percent market share, finally! Sony doing a lot of Internet TV stuff on their big screens. Anti-sexting patent is not what you think. Broadcom getting into 4G hard and fast. Love is a drug according to scientists. New Twitter being pushed hard. Sams Club selling iPhone and iPad shortly. Mew Pew research study says video phone calls growing slowly. Verizon ready for iPhone.
Click to listen: [audio:http://m.podshow.com/media/12115/episodes/253012/tech5-253012-10-13-2010.mp3]
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“Free Public WiFi” Isn’t WiFi, It’s Just A Free Nuisance
If you’re like me you’ve seen “Free Public WiFi” show up on your mobile device, laptop, etc. when looking for wifi connectivity in the wild. Ever wonder why it never works? It doesn’t work because it doesn’t really provide wifi of any kind. In fact it’s not even a wifi hotspot. It’s an “ad hoc” network on an uncountable number of machines.
“Free Public WiFi” must have been the name of a free wifi network at some point but an old (and since patched) Windows XP flaw has caused many computers to identify themselves as “Free Public WiFi”. When an XP machine can’t connect to a hotspot it’s been configured for it will start looking for other hotspots and try to connect with them. This will lead it to attempt to connnect to nearby “ad hoc” networks. “Ad hoc” networks are peer-to-peer networks that are good for tasks such as copying files from one computer to another. But if the host of the “ad hoc” network isn’t actually configured to allow access the XP machine trying to connect to it will create it’s own “ad hoc” network with the same name as the one it couldn’t connect with. The same flaw has caused many other “ad hoc” networks to spread using the name of the network they originated on.
If you’ve been ‘infected’ by “Free Public WiFi” you’re not in any immediate danger. But “Free Public WiFi” may be an attack vector for a hacker.
What can you do to avoid this issue? Update your XP machine to SP3 (this only affects earlier versions). Also don’t try to connect to “Free Public WiFi” or any “ad hoc” networks you don’t know about. As for other devices? There’s probably no issue with infection/hacking vector but I’d avoid connecting to “Free Public WiFi” or any “ad hoc” networks you don’t know about just the same. You can never be too safe.
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Dell to Buy Dell?
Google invests in offshore wind grid project. Verizon going for simultaneous voice and data to new CDMA network. Spy school coughs up $610,000 for peeking in on students. Samsung TAB delayed in Korea. Malaysians have the most social network friends. Twitter wants one billion users. Meanwhile 75-percent of all tweets are ignored. We were almost killed by an asteroid. The Richard Branson rocket joyride expected to be open for business next year. Palm Pre 2 coming any minute. It will run WebOS. Michael Dell may buy back Dell. What? No cut and paste on Phone 7.
Click to listen: [audio:http://m.podshow.com/media/12115/episodes/252884/tech5-252884-10-12-2010.mp3]
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Americans Are Third Rate in Guess what?
Windows Phone 7 rolled out today. Read my column at www.pcmag.com. It’s not a cool factor phone by any means. Google getting ink over driver-free cars. It’s the future they say. Tourist space rocket tested. Read about it here: http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=79212 . Gates Foundation getting into teaching machines. NASA getting money. AT&T going towards pay TV. Dogs get depressed if you not feed them. Wow. Who knew? Cute Russian spy becomes banker. Computerworld says we a behind in the USA regarding social networking. Yeah, right.
Click to listen: [audio:http://m.podshow.com/media/12115/episodes/252794/tech5-252794-10-11-2010.mp3]
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iPads to Sell 11 Million this Year? What?
Facebook changing for no apparent reason. Pulling a Digg? Logitech rolls out the Google TV. I think it is just an extended Harmony Controller. Apple back in the news regarding CDMA. Motorola wants FTC throw the book at Apple, Verizon going LTE sooner than later? Motorola Droid Pro supposed to be a Blackberry killer. Motorola may try Phone 7. Apple TV selling well, but the iPad is even hotter. Galaxy S selling like crazy too.
Click to listen: [audio:http://m.podshow.com/media/12115/episodes/252243/tech5-252243-10-06-2010.mp3]
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