http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/computers-chat/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 10:49:21 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418875/posts Steve Jobs and Apple appeared in an extraordinary number of 2009's "Best of" listsOur favorite: "There's an app for that," the Yale Book of Quotations' No. 3 quote of the 2009, right before Rep. Joe Wilson's "You lie" and after Captain Sully Sullenberger's "We're going to be in the Hudson."Some other citations… Steve Jobs: CEO of the Decade. Fortune magazine.Steve Jobs: Best Performing CEO in the World. Harvard Business Review.Steve Jobs: Person of the Decade. Wall Street Journal.Apple: Brand of the Decade. Adweek's Best of the 2000s.Steve Jobs: Marketer of the Decade. Adweek's Best of the 2000s."Get a Mac": Campaign... CNN / Fortune Brainstorm Tech http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418875/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 10:49:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418783/posts Today's Apple tablet rumor has an optimistic zing to it--and maybe that's a great way to close out a dreary 2009. According to a blog post by former Google China president Kai-Fu Lee, Apple plans to produce nearly 10 million tablets in the still-unannounced product's first year. Lee worked for Apple more than ten years ago and left Google earlier this year, according to published reports. That figure--10 million--seems awfully high for a consumer product that's charting unknown territory. The tablet (or iSlate or iPad, if you prefer) would target an untapped market, if rumors of the device's form and... PCworld http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418783/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:45:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418707/posts 31 December 2009 “LIKE DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN” SNIPPET: “There is overlap in space if not in time between NW 253 bomber Abdulmutallab and various unsavory characters and websites. Perhaps it’s just a case of like-minded people moving through similar places at similar times in their lives, but then again, maybe Abdulmutallab came into contact with some of these people, particularly in what appears to be his critical period of radicalization in London circa 2005-2007. At this point all I have are suspicions and some interesting data points to share.” INTERNET HAGANAH.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418707/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 00:35:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418387/posts Apple wins appeal in earbud hearing-loss lawsuit By Sam Diaz, ZDNet Thursday, December 31, 2009 10:15 AM Just because something can benefit from some improvement doesn't mean that it's necessarily bad for you. That's basically what a San Francisco appeals court said when it upheld a previous ruling that Apple iPod earbuds cannot be held responsible for hearing loss, according to a Reuters report. In the ruling, a judge wrote that the plaintiffs didn't offer evidence to show that iPods earbuds were dangerous, only that they believed they could be made safer. The judge wrote: The plaintiffs do not allege... ZDNet Asia http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418387/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:02:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418375/posts theodp writes "The USPTO has granted IBM a patent covering the Resolution of Abbreviated Text in an Electronic Communications System, lawyer-speak for translating "IMHO" to "In My Humble Opinion" and vice versa. From the patent: "One particularly useful application of the invention is to interpret the meaning of shorthand terms...For example, one database may define the shorthand term 'LOL' to mean 'laughing out loud.'" So much for Big Blue's professed aim of stopping "bad behavior" by companies who seek patents for unoriginal work!" techdirt http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418375/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:48:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418146/posts In many worst case scenarios, a hard drive wipe is the final solution to ridding a system of an infection. But the absolute worst case scenario is if a virus attacks the BIOS, making detection and cleaning an incredible challenge. Viruses that target the BIOS arenÂ’t new, but often they are specific to a type of hardware. Researchers have now demonstrated a new type of attack that could install a rootkit on the BIOS of common systems, making it very lethal and effective. Anibal L. Sacco and Alfredo A. Ortego of Core Security Technologies released a presentation detailing the exploit... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418146/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:33:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418116/posts Granddaughter is at my house and wants to use her wireless computer at my house. It ask for my computer password but I have no ideal what it is. Where can I find it?? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418116/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 03:15:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417624/posts I enjoying downloading music and I do not mind paying a buck for mp3 files. I am a capitalist and I agree that the person who produced the product should get paid. However, there are times when I spend hours searching music sites for products and I just cannot find them. However, if I go to google and put in the filename plus mp3 I can find many free downloads. How legal are these downloads? I don't want to go to jail and I am not trying to be a wus about it, but I just don't want to break... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417624/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:58:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417515/posts I am getting a neighbor / friend's computer running. It's a Dell (4100 I believe) running XP home. According to her, she has never been on the internet or e-mail. I can verify the latter because I set up her Outlook Express. (I know someone was using it, because of the shortcuts on the desktop.) Nevertheless, she had the computer hooked to the internet, but powered off. I removed McAfee and am installing Charter's Security Suite. Began a scan last evening and it's finding a ton of virii. My question is, can a computer be infected w/o active participation of... Little House on Unaka http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417515/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:17:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417505/posts CNBC's presentation of "Welcome to Macintosh" will premiere on Monday, January 4th at 9:30pm ET and "Macheads" will premiere on Tuesday, January 5th at 10pm ET. Welcome to Macintosh Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, two friends united by their interest in technology and dissatisfied with personal computers made by others, set out to make what they called the world’s first good personal computer. The first Apple computer became the cornerstone of a company that would change the world. In 1984, Apple introduced Macintosh and thrust the industry forward into a new era. The style and ease of a Mac led... Mac Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417505/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:55:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417435/posts Chalk up one for the defenders. Here’s how a trio of security researchers used a three-step attack to defeat a 250,000-pronged botnet.For two years as a researcher with security company FireEye, Atif Mushtaq worked to keep Mega-D bot malware from infecting clients' networks. In the process, he learned how its controllers operated it. Last June, he began publishing his findings online. In November, he suddenly switched from de fense to offense. And Mega-D--a powerful, resilient botnet that had forced 250,000 PCs to do its bidding--went down. Mushtaq and two FireEye colleagues went after Mega-D's command infrastructure. A botnet's first wave... PC World http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417435/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 04:58:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417413/posts One of the unusual aspects of open source is the fact that the software development philosophy spills over into the way that the project is run. This means that how and why things are done, and by whom, is plain for all to see. Contrast that with Microsoft's approach, which mimics the black box of its software: mostly, all we ever get to view are the results, and rarely the cogs and gears behind those results. Sometimes, though, some apparently obscure document grants us a rare insight into what is happening deep in the bowels of the Microsoft machine. Here's... Computerworld http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417413/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 04:11:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417246/posts Charlie Sheen's wife told police the actor pinned her on a bed, put a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her in a Christmas Day fight in Aspen that began when she said she wanted a divorce.Charlie Sheen told police he "became very upset with this threat (of divorce) because of prior experiences." He went through a bitter divorce and custody battle with his previous wife, actress Denise Richards.Police say Charlie Sheen surrendered a folding knife with a 4-inch blade. Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417246/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:14:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417224/posts Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-original-classification-authority Home • Briefing Room • Presidential Actions • Executive Orders The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release December 29, 2009 Executive Order - Original Classification Authority Pursuant to the provisions of section 1.3 of the Executive Order issued today, entitled "Classified National Security Information" (Executive Order), I hereby designate the following officials to classify information originally as "Top Secret" or "Secret": TOP SECRET Executive Office of the President: The Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (National Security... WHITEHOUSE.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417224/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:35:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417071/posts Google's Chrome OS does not run local applications or store local data. Everything is handled inside the browser. But when the much-hyped operating system debuts on netbooks at the end of next year, you can bet it will execute native code on behalf of online Google applications such as Gmail or Docs and Spreadsheets. In other words, Google apps will tap directly into the netbook's processor in an effort to close the performance gap that separates them from the local software offered by its bête noire, Steve Ballmer's Microsoft. And this being Google, they won't use Java, Flash, or Silverlight.... The Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417071/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:29:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417023/posts PC Live Guard is a fake spyware removal tool. My sister called and said she has this on her computer. Anybody know of a free program to remove it?? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417023/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:09:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417018/posts Cell phone industry group calls the research "illegal"; insists that there is little threatFor 21 years, the same encryption algorithm, A5/1, has been employed to protect the privacy of calls under the Global Systems for Mobile communications (GSM) standard. With the GSM standard encompassing 80 percent of calls worldwide (AT&T and T-Mobile use it within the U.S.) -- far more than the leading rival standard CDMA -- this could certainly be considered a pretty good run. However, someone has finally deciphered and published a complete analysis of the standard's encryption techniques in an effort to expose their weaknesses and prompt... Daily Tech http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417018/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:06:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416624/posts I've seen several newbies who just signed up TODAY asking stupid questions/posting stupid articles-- ~"Huera" ~"jankerston" ~"trekdestroyer" ~"indiamoon" Am I just wearing my tin foil hat too much, or are these red flags going off a possible prelude to another DNS attack on FR?? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416624/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:50:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416577/posts Recently purchased a new HP Touchsmart computer with Windows 7 which came with 2 months free Norton Anti-Virus protection . I understand that MS offers free protection via Security Essentials and was wondering how well it worked compared to other AV services which cost $ . I use my PC for basic stuff at home and pretty much visit the same forums/news sites / etc everyday , and never open an email from someone I do not know so am relatively low risk for a virus , etc...Will SE suffice ? Pros and cons ? Any info appreciated . http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416577/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 23:21:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416533/posts Person of the DecadeA full 30% of SmartMoney readers participating in our Person of the Decade poll, part of our weeklong Poll of the Decade series, named Jobs as their favorite person of the decade. Certainly, Jobs accomplished more than probably any other CEO since he returned to Apple (AAPL: 211.61, +2.57, +1.22%) in the late 1990s: Not only did he revive sales at the failing computer company, he led the stock to a more than 700% increase in value, and forever changed the way people buy and listen to music. Second place fell to value investor Warren Buffett, with 17%... Smart Money http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416533/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:56:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416508/posts I just got an iPhone. I was curious if anyone could recommend what are the best games and \ or aps for the iPhone? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416508/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:05:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416403/posts Scientists have discovered how to “read” minds by scanning brain activity and reproducing images of what people are seeing — or even remembering. Researchers have been able to convert into crude video footage the brain activity stimulated by what a person is watching or recalling. The breakthrough raises the prospect of significant benefits, such as allowing people who are unable to move or speak to communicate via visualisation of their thoughts; recording people’s dreams; or allowing police to identify criminals by recalling the memories of a witness. However, it could also herald a new Big Brother era, similar to that... timesonline http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416403/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:29:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416068/posts When I hit browse or forum what pops up are threads with all different post times. Most of the time the first thread is 1-2 hrs old. Usually the following threads aren't in any particular time sequence. Is it my 'puter or is something up on FR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416068/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:16:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416048/posts Mac clone maker defends Rebel EFI, likens it to 'reading a book in the bathroom'Mac clone maker Psystar last week indefinitely suspended sales of its only product, a $50 utility that lets customers install Apple's Snow Leopard operating system on generic Intel-based computers. The company also said it would resume selling systems "in the coming days." Those machines will run Linux rather than Mac OS X. Psystar, which began selling Mac clones in April 2008, has been battling Apple in federal court in California since July 2008, when Apple sued the Doral, Fla. firm, saying it violated copyright laws by... Computerworld http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416048/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:24:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2415956/posts Vinnie Sorce knew something was wrong when he saw a police officer pull into the driveway. He immediately sent his three children, two boys from a previous marriage and a little girl with his fiancee, to their rooms so he could talk to the officer outside. "Time just froze," he said. Sorce's fiancee, Stacey Stubbs, had headed to Phoenix for a doctor's appointment. She never made it. A Ford pickup truck hit Stubbs' rented PT Cruiser head-on on an isolated stretch of road near Lake Pleasant, killing her instantly. The other driver, Ashley Miller, 19, was thrown from the truck... KTAR.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2415956/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:30:09 GMT