Category Archives: Technology

Twitter, Facebook under attack

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The Twitter service went down today for several hours due to a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack.  What exactly is a DDOS attack, you ask?  Let CNET’s Elinor Mills explain:

In the distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack on the sites, computers that have been compromised by viruses or other malware are instructed by the attacker’s computer to visit the specific Web sites all at the same time and repeatedly. The barrage of connection requests overwhelms the target sites, making it so that legitimate Web traffic can’t get through.  Such coordinated attacks require the efforts of tens of thousands or more of hijacked computers, which together form a botnet. Spammers send e-mails with malicious attachments or URLs to millions of people to create botnets.

Basically, computer hackers are putting heavy pressure the servers that run websites and making them fall to their knees.  The end result is users not being able to access the service’s main portal to log in.  Why did this happen today to Twitter and other related social media sites, though?  According to the latest reports, a Georgian blogger who goes by the name “Cyxymu” was targeted by a group of hackers.  Cyxymu had accounts on the sites Twitter, Facebook, Live Journal, and Google’s Blogger and YouTube.  These sites were affected by a DDOS attack because the group of hackers did not want Cyxymu to voice his opinions on these social websites.  Immature, huh?  Max Kelly, chief security officer at Facebook: “You have to ask who would benefit the most from doing this and think about what those people are doing and the disregard for the rest of the users and the Internet.”

Kelly had this to say about the culprit(s): “We’re actively investigating the source of the attacks and we hope to be able to find out the individuals involved in the back end and to take action against them if we can.”  A Google spokesman: “We are aware that a handful of non-Google sites were impacted by a DOS attack this morning, and are in contact with some affected companies to help investigate this attack. Google systems prevented substantive impact to our services.”  Twitter and Live Journal have yet to comment on the matter.

[Via CNET]

Offical Windows 7 upgrade chart, are you kidding?

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This is unbelievable.  It’s actually quite obnoxious.  It is the official Windows 7 upgrade chart from Microsoft.  Moving or upgrading from one OS to another is supposed to be an easy task.  One company that gets this right is Apple.  When a new version of OS X comes out, a Mac customer simply goes to a store, picks up a single copy of the new OS, and downloads it to his or her computer, hastle-free.  One company that gets it completely wrong is Microsoft.  To start things off on a bad note, Microsoft stocks the shelves with more than one copy of a new OS (usually more than 4 versions).  To make things more confusing, they create a chart like the one posted above.  An upgrade chart is supposed to be helpful and aid a PC customer in the upgrade process.  What this chart does is make things so much more confusing and aggrevating; it presses the fact that there is more than 1 single version of Windows 7 and Windows Vista and it makes things less clear with terms like “custom install” and “in-place upgrade.”  This chart contains 66 different senarios to choose from; also, it “includes an entire row dedicated to a product that doesn’t exist: Windows Vista Starter 64-bit edition (Vista Starter is available in 32-bit only)”–that’s blasphemy!

So, what is there to do?  Leave it to ZDNet’s Ed Bott to clean up the chart and make it readable.  He completed a revised and more sensible chart in about an hour.  If you are thinking about upgrading from XP or Vista to Windows 7 this October, take a look after the break for Bott’s chart.  Microsoft, get your act together!  You attempted to “wow” us with Vista, and that was a disaster (initially).  Now you are trying to pick yourself back up with the positively reviewed Windows 7.  Releasing more than one version of an OS and creating an upgrade chart that makes matters worse is bad, very bad.  A confused customer is not the end goal.  Shake it off, and let’s look forward to Windows 7 releasing without a hitch this October.

[Via Engadget; ZDNet] Continue reading Offical Windows 7 upgrade chart, are you kidding? →

Radio Shack to officially become ‘The Shack’

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And that’s wack!  The rumors are true, people.  Radio Shack is officially undergoing a branding make-over to become The Shack.  “Hey bro, I’m heading to The Shack.”  I know, it sounds like the name of a whore house, right?  Anyway, the change is happening during a massive celebration taking place in New York and San Fransisco at the same time.  The “Shack Summer Netogether” runs from August 6th-8th and will feature two 17-foot laptops that will be live streaming from each other across the country.  I’ll be damned if this rebranding actually helps the sinking ship that is Radio Shack.  With Best Buy eating away at the competition (RIP Comp USA), The Shack has little chance at surviving this game for much longer.

[Via Gizmodo]

Xbox Dashboard update–new details

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A bundle of details have emerged concerning the new Xbox Dashboard update.

(1) The first ‘Games on Demand’ game titles have been revealed

The initial 24 games to be made available for download over the Internet via Xbox Live have been announced today.  Some include: Assasin’s Creed, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Call of Duty 2, Fight Night Round 3, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  Look after the break for the entire list of games and a quick video glipse of the ‘Games on Demand’ dashboard in action.

(2) The Netflix update is…disappointing

It was previously announced that the Netflix update will allow Xbox Live Gold members and Netflix subscribers to edit their personal Netflix queues right on the Xbox, without the need for a PC.  While that is nice and dandy, Microsoft has lowered the notch of functionality.  Users are restricted to browsing only the Top 50 videos for each video category, so there is no searching by title and no browsing alphabetically.  Microsoft’s Ben Smith, Director of Program Management for Xbox Live, on the matter: “I think when people come to Xbox they’re not really looking so much for functional, they really want to have fun, they want to be wowed.”  Uhh..I don’t think so.  People want to be able to browse the ENTIRE Netflix database, with capable search features built-in.  It is worthy to mention that Microsoft says it will listen to their user-base, and if the people call for a true Netflix experience on their Xbox, they will provide it in a future update.  *Cue a sigh of relief.

Look out for the new Xbox Dashboard update coming next Tuesday, August 11th.

[Via Engadget, here & here; Joystiq]

Continue reading Xbox Dashboard update–new details →

Get LOST on Hulu, like right now, dude

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Calling all Losties and non-Lost fans!  The ABC hit Lost is now available to stream in high definition on Hulu.  As of right now, Hulu currently offers Season 1 and the last five episodes of Season 5 to stream (for free, duh).  It’s a drag that Seasons 2-4 (and the remainder of 5) are not available to watch yet.  Hulu has issued this statement: “We’ll post additional seasons as they are made available.”  In related news, Netflix currently offers Seasons 1-4 of Lost, and Season 5 will be added in September.  Don’t fret–Lost: The Final Season does not air until January 2010, giving you plently of time to catch-up or re-watch for clues.  Get to it!

[Via IGN]

Netflix ‘Watch Instantly’ coming to the iPhone?

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Rumor alert: According to “an industry executive familiar with Netflix’s plans,” said company is planning on releasing an app for the iPhone and iPod touch that will allow users to bring their Watch Instantly queues on the go.  The feature will most likely be limited to WiFi-use only.  Attemping to stream full length movies or TV shows to your iPhone over an unstable 3G connection could be risky.  Although this rumor feels shaky at best, it is something to cross your fingers and hope for; imagine a world where you could watch your favorite movies and TV shows on your computer, Xbox, and on the go with iPhone/iPod, granted you have a Netflix account!

[Via Engadget (image, too)]

Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigns from Apple’s board

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In a not-so-surprising move, Google CEO Eric Schmidt has resigned from Apple’s Board of Directors.  A conflict of interest has come between the two corporate giants.  In recent news, Google announced their new Chrome OS; they currently run the Android OS on many cell phones, and they are expanding their search and web applications.  What it comes down to is this: Schmidt simply does not belong on the Apple BoD any longer.  With Google services starting to overlap in areas that Apple has lived in for decades, this is a smart decision for Google.  Although Google and Apple can be labeled competing companies, it would be wise for them to maintain a healthy relationship as many of Google’s services (namely, Maps & YouTube) come pre-loaded on all Apple iPhones.  As of late, though, things have become stale between the two; Apple continues to reject Google applications that too closely resemble and function like Apple apps.  The recent Google Voice rejection definitely left a bad taste in Schmidt’s mouth, I bet.  Check out the full PR release after the break.

[Via Engadget; Apple]

Continue reading Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigns from Apple’s board →

Analyst fondles new Apple tablet

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macbooktouch5

Today Barrons is reporting that one lucky analyst has actually seen and handled the hyped and rumored forthcoming Apple tablet device.  From the article…

One veteran analyst who has seen first-hand a prototype slate-style computer from Apple  says the device could be announced in September for release in November.

Whatever the exact dates, the computer industry is so anxious to see what Apple introduces that it has held off on competing designs until Apple CEO Steve Jobs gives the device his final blessing. “It’s close enough now to a final design that in Asia, there’s no other product in the waiting room or in the bullpen,” said the analyst. “There are dozens of ODMs [original device makers] making products for Lenovo and other PC makers that are all waiting to see what the Apple product is.”

The new device, which may retail for $699 to $799, could fulfill a variety of multimedia functions currently taken up by a gaggle of individual consumer electronics devices. It could be a home media center, somewhat like the current Apple TV, and it could be a gaming machine, opines Jon Peddie, head of Jon Peddie Research in Tiburon, Calif. “Gaming will be a big part of what this is about,” he adds.

The machine impresses with its display of hi-def video content, says the veteran analyst, who asked not to be identified. “It’s better than the average movie experience, when you hold this thing in your hands.”

…

A second source confirmed to me that news of the new device “is all over the supply chain in Asia.” The biggest question at this point, and the least understood by anyone outside Apple, is whether the company’s App Store will be the exclusive distribution point for software for this device.

As Steve Jobs says, it’s the software that defines these things.

So, what do we gather from this?  A September announcement, a November release, a $699-$799 price point, media center and gaming capabilities, and computer manufacturers have put production on hold until official specs and other information is released.  More rumors added to the spinning, gigantic rumor mill.  What do you have up your sleeve, Mr. Jobs?  September cannot come any sooner.

[Via 9to5Mac; Barrons]

Radio Shack to become “The Shack?”

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Today Engadget reported that all signs point to a Radio Shack re-branding on the horizon.  They recovered an image that came from an in-store terminal, and a tipster informed them “that in-store signs will reflect the change this week, and storefront signage will begin to be reworked as “The Shack” sometime later this year.”  Additional information was uncovered about this at the Radio Shack Wiki page: the switch will take place “in San Francisco and New York featuring ’14 foot tall laptops’ streaming the images from their webcams from one city to the other, live music in both locations, as well as television coverage of the event.”  Concrete evidence can be found at this new Radio Shack webpagethat sports the new name.  Hmm, Radio Shack to The Shack.  I guess it makes sense they are changing the name; radios are definitely not the hot tech item of the day anymore.  Still, I don’t know if I’d like to refer to a storefront as ‘The Shack;’ It just doesn’t sound right.

[Via Engadget]