Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Google Starts Country Specific Censorship for Blogger Blogs

Blogger, Google's blogging service, will begin redirecting your blogs domain name to country specific ones.

If you don't have a personal domain name which you purchased and are using Google's default domain it may be redirected to a country specific one.

For example if a domain was located in Australia the domain would be changed:

ex. unknownware.blogspot.com ----> unknownware.blogspot.com.au

The domain will be changed by your IP address.

“Over the coming weeks you might notice that the URL of a blog you’re reading has been redirected to a country-code top level domain, or “ccTLD.” For example, if you’re in Australia and viewing [blogname].blogspot.com, you might be redirected [blogname].blogspot.com.au. A ccTLD, when it appears, corresponds with the country of the reader’s current location.” Google explains.

Google is doing this to have specific censorship in certain countries.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Twitter's New Recruiting Video Goes Viral

Twitter's new recruiting video has gone viral on the weekend hitting nearly 500 000 visitors.


The recruiting video was uploaded on January 27, 2012 and since then has reached nearly 500 000 visitors. The video has received great feedback as even the director of Justin Bieber's videos wants to apply for Twitter.

Twitter explained that an employee used their old camera for the low quality scenes. The video was created during Hack Week.

Supposedly the video costed absolutely nothing. So technically it was free promotion for Twitter. The video is pretty entertaining to watch. Make sure you watch it!


Saturday, January 28, 2012

Angry Birds Launching to Facebook on Valentine's Day

Angry Birds is coming to Facebook on Valentine's Day. The Facebook version of Angry Birds will possibly have a twist.

The Facebook version of Angry Birds won't be exactly the same as the mobile version. Rovio, the studio who created the game, say the Facebook version of Angry Birds will have new aspects as well as a collaborative feel. It will also focus on the pigs.

Nothing is certain for what the difference will be with this version. But it will still focus on the core of the game.

 

Friday, January 27, 2012

Android Malware Infects 5 Million Users Worldwide

A malware campaign aimed at Android smartphones has infected nearly 5 million users worldwide.

Symantec called the malware'Android.Counterclank.' The malware was embedded in 13 different apps from 3 different publishers.  The 13 apps were all free.

The malware didn't use a rebundled tactic. This tactic involves repackaging a legitimate app with malware and posting it on the Android Marketplace. The attacker then hopes customers will mistake the app as the real one.

The malware was suspected to be downloaded by nearly 5 million users. The malware collects information such as the Android ID, IMEI, IMSI, MAC address, and the SIM serial number. The malware also changes the browser so the homepage is different.

The malware apps were shut down on Friday, 27th 2012.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Lego Project Space - Lego 'Astronaut' Reaches Space

A Lego figurine was launched into space using a helium weather balloon.

Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad of Agincourt, Toronto created this project on free weekends. The craft was made of a helium weather balloon, a point-and-shoot camera, a wide-angle camera, and a GPS enabled cellphone. A parachute was also included for the landing.

The craft was launched on a Saturday afternoon. The craft was calculated where it was going to land before lift off. It took 32 minutes to descend and 2 hours to return to Earth. The Lego craft look 1 500 pictures as well as video clips.



Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Google Changes Privacy Policy in March

Google has announced it will be changing its privacy policy. This new privacy policy will merge most of the Google products into one privacy policy.

The new privacy policy will treat the user as one instead of separate on all products. There are 70 individual privacy polices for all of Google's products. That will be cut down to just one privacy policy.

The new privacy policy has sparked concerns for privacy. The new privacy policy will allow Google to track all of your moves when using Google products such as Gmail, Calendar, Docs, and Youtube. However, this tracking will help Google help you when searching and advertising. Google also claims that it may be able to remind you if you are late for an appointment since Google tracks your Calendar and Gmail.

Certain Google products won't be merged such as Google Wallet, Google Books, and Google's web browser.

The new privacy policy will be released on March 1st 2012.


Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Facebook App Says Your Last Words When You Die

A brand new Facebook app called "If I Die" is out. This app lets users create a final message which will be posted when they die.

The message is posted when three friends agree that the person is dead. You pick people to do this when you create your final message. The message is posted on the users Facebook profile once the three friends confirm. This message can either be text or a video message.

Apps have covered topics you usually wouldn't suspect. Will you use this app?

Monday, January 23, 2012

Tumblr Reaches 15 Billion Monthly Visitors - With a "B"

Tumblr has reached 15 billion monthly visitors. Tumblr has officially exploded with visitors!

Yes, that is a "B" and not just a typo. Tumblr has grown very popular and has proven itself with the huge amount of traffic. Tumblr also receives 120 million unique visitors monthly.

The last time Tumblr announced its numbers was in September of last year when it got 13 billion monthly visitors.  That is 2 billion more visitors in a short amount of time.


Tumblr continues to grow and is very popular in the teen market. Tumblr just needs to get the future teens on it earlier to ensure continuous traffic.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

SOPA and PIPA on Hold

SOPA and PIPA have been put on hold due to the massive protests on the web and in cities.

Protect IP was originally scheduled for January 24 but has been pushed back. The uprising has grown greatly since Wednesday. Popular sites like Wikipedia and Reddit blacked out their websites for the day to protest against SOPA and PIPA.

These two bills are probably not going to pass since the Wednesday protests. This is good to hear but this isn't for sure. These two bills cannot be passed! They will alter how the Internet is used.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Google+ Reaches Ninety Million Users

Google+ has finally reached ninety million users. Google+ continues to climb the user count.

Google+ doubled its user count compared to last quarter. Over sixty percent of users are active daily and over eighty percent of users are active weekly.

Some sources are complaining about Google+'s personnel search. Twitter and other social networks say it is unfair that Google promotes its social network using its popular search engine.


Google+ has grown steadily but will need time to get anywhere near Facebook. Like I've said in another post Facebook has a lot of fake accounts so the numbers are closer than they appear.


Thursday, January 19, 2012

Barrack Obama Supports Anti-SOPA

Barrack Obama declared that he does not support SOPA.

Earlier this week popular sites such as Wikipedia and Reddit shut down for the day to protest against SOPA. Now Barrack Obama has declared he doesn't support it either. This will definitely help fight against SOPA.

But there is another bill to worry about, Protect IP. This bill is also a threat to Internet users and should be a concern. This bill is to pass before the Senate by January 24th.

These bills pose a huge threat to Internet users. These bills need to be taken care of to protect the Internet as we know it.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

IBM's Vision of Future Technology

It's IBM's sixth annual "Next 5 in 5" where IBM displays its vision of future technology.


There were five sections discussed.
  • Energy
  • Security
  • Mind Reading
  • Mobile
  • Analytics
Energy
Energy could come from new areas such as running water, bicycles and walking.

Security
Passwords won't be needed. Eyes and speech will be the new password.

Mind Reading
Scientists could test brain patterns to help understand autism.

Mobile
Mobile phones will help countries communicate more.

Analytics
Spam will be controlled more effectively and your devices will know what you want to see.



Personally I don't think all of these ideas will happen. Having cell phones accesible to third world countries isn't something you would expect. They may need proper electricity before that will happen. I have to agree with the new security more than anything else listed. We are already starting to see that in some places. I liked the idea about energy. Using everything that moves as a generator would be a neat idea. It is a little hard to accomplish but it is a neat idea. Overall there could have been other interesting ideas added but nonetheless this was interesting to read.



Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Wikipedia Plans to Black Out Against SOPA

Wikipedia will be blacking out the English-language Wikipedia in the matter of hours. This is Wikipedia's way of protesting against SOPA.

The black out will begin at 05:00 UTC on Wednesday, January 18th. The blackout will last for 24 hours and then Wikipedia will resume back to normal.

A public statement signed by User:NuclearWarfare, User:Risker and User:Billinghurst said:

"Over the course of the past 72 hours, over 1800 Wikipedians have joined together to discuss proposed actions that the community might wish to take against SOPA and PIPA. This is by far the largest level of participation in a community discussion ever seen on Wikipedia, which illustrates the level of concern that Wikipedians feel about this proposed legislation."


This type of protesting is very interesting. It is a great method to get the word out to everyone who uses the English version of Wikipedia. Just hope no one needs to use Wikipedia tomorrow!

Monday, January 16, 2012

The Revolutionary PowerTrekk System - Power Your Gadgets With Water

Hiking in the woods with electronics can be tricky. Signa Chemistry has created a mini charger which charges your devices with only one tablespoon of water.

This mini charger only uses water to power devices. Just by adding one tablespoon of water the charger acts as four AA batteries. This charger would give approximately ten hours of phone battery life. Only one tablespoon is needed to power a phone for ten hours.

Into the scientific part of this charger is interesting. Basically the metal tin can -- where you put the water -- contains a chemical called sodium silicide. This chemical reacts with the water to produce hydrogen gas. The gas then passes into a membrane where the gas mixes with oxygen which produces electricity. Water vapour is also created but evaporates away. Basically this charger is a hydrogen fuel cell.

The PowerTrekk system as its called is being produced and should be available by May in REI stores. The charger will cost approximately $200.



Saturday, January 14, 2012

iCrossing Predicts Facebook to Reach One Billion Users by August

iCrossing, an online analytics firm, has examined the trends on Facebook and predicts Facebook will reach one billion users by August 12 2012.

Facebook reached 800 million users in September Facebook reported. iCrossing has looked over Facebook trends and came up with a prediction of when Facebook will reach one billion users worldwide. The exact date is August 12 2012.

Personally I don't think these stats are completely true. Any person can simply create multiple accounts on Facebook and they are counted as new users. So even though the number of accounts may reach one billion, not all those accounts are really people.

These large numbers are simply making Facebook look bigger then it truly is. What do you think?

Friday, January 13, 2012

Eggs Thrown at Beijing Apple Store on Friday

On Friday, eggs were thrown at an Apple store in Beijing after customers were told Apple was cancelling iPhone 4S sales.


Customers had been waiting countless hours for the iPhone 4S to come out last Friday but were greeted with nothing. Customers were told Apple was cancelling iPhone 4S sales in Beijing. One customer decided to throw eggs at the store when they were told this bad news. Police arrived shortly after to clear out the disappointed customers.


After this incident occurred Apple said it will be suspending iPhone 4S sales at its five stores in Beijing. 


What most customers didn't know is that the iPhone 4S has been sold in other outlets in China. Nicole Peng, a research director with analyst firm Canalys said "They can get the device from other outlets, rather than go to the main Apple store. What surprised me was many people didn't get the message."


All five Apple stores in Beijing were packed with many people waiting for the iPhone 4S to come out while they could have gone to other outlets. This would reduce these huge line-ups and disappointments.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Microsoft Plans to Create Real-Time Threat Feeds

Microsoft has announced it will be creating a real-time feed that it and its partners can use to evaluate threats and build better defences against threats.

So far Microsoft has begun internal beta tests. Microsoft collects infected nodes with the Kelihos bot and then shares it with partners such as ISPs, private organizations, government agencies, and CERTs.

A report on Kaspersky Labs explains, “Microsoft collects the data by leveraging its huge Internet infrastructure, including a load-balanced, 80gb/second global network, to swallow botnets whole -- pointing botnet infected hosts to addresses that Microsoft controls, capturing their activity and effectively taking them offline.”

Microsoft hasn't said when this threat feed will be released.

This idea Microsoft has is interesting. If all companies were to unite and share this kind of data, threats could be controlled effectively.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Google Introduces Search Plus Your World

Google announced the release of Search Plus Your World yesterday. Search Plus Your World includes personnel results, profiles in search, and profiles and pages when you search.

Search Plus enables personnel content from Google+ to affect your searches. Your personnel results include photos and posts which then end up in your searches. For example if you were to search your favourite dog and you just so happened to have posted a picture of it on your Google+ account it would end up in your search results. This also includes people in your circles. If they also had pictures of your favourite dog they would also end up in your search results.

You do have the option to turn off these personnel searches if you don't want it.

Twitter has raised a concern on Google's new feature. Twitter claims it will be harder to find timely Twitter posts about news from protesters in Egypt and Syria.

The problem with Twitter raising this concern is that it didn't renew its search result agreement with Google in July. So a lot of Twitter's data has been walled off.

This new feature is a neat thing to use but sometimes you just aren't searching for personnel content. Luckily you can simply turn Search Plus off at anytime you want. When you want to use Google Search for personnel searching you can simply turn it on.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Vacation

Hey there everybody, I will be on vacation for the next week. I will begin posting again on January 10th. Happy New Years everyone!

**Been changed to January 11th**