System Explorer and System Security Guard – A Review

Depending on which version of Windows Task Manager you use, you may find that it provides you with usable information – or not. Windows Task Manager is most commonly used to display information on all processes running on your computer, as well as advising you of the CPU and memory usage stats for a given process. Additional selective information on running applications, performance, local area connection and information on users, is also available.

But, back to running processes for a moment. What if you need additional information on a running process – or, processes? How, for example, would you determine which processes are safe if you rely on Windows Task Manager?

Running Windows Task Manager in Windows 8 (a major improvement over previous versions), as I’ve done for the following example, is not particularly useful since the only option is a raw online search. Which, in a real sense, is a hit and miss affair. Give it a try with your version of Windows Task Manager – you might be surprised to see just how cumbersome it is.

Instead, taking advantage of one of the built-in features in the freeware application, System Explorer, is a much more appropriate solution. In the following example, the selected process can easily be checked at VirusTotal, and at VirusScan, directly from within System Explorer.

It’s unlikely however, that you’ll have to take this extra step – since System Explorer has been designed to automatically rate, and provide details on processes that are listed in the developer’s extensive database.

Further information can be obtained by clicking on the “See More Details” link which will open the database reference at the developer’s site, as shown below.

System Explorer is not a one-trick pony since it has the capacity to provide detailed information on Tasks, Processes, Modules, Startups, IE Add-ons, Uninstallers, Windows, Services, Drivers, Connections and Opened Files. For this review I’ve focused on the security aspect and next up is System Explorer’s “Security Scan” which is easily launched from the GUI.

As you can see in the following screen capture – running processes are checked online against the developer’s extensive database.

The following screen capture shows a small portion of the 808 processes compared against the developer’s database.

Additional information on any specific process can easily be obtained by clicking on the “Details” link, as illustrated below.

One aspect of this application which I found intriguing is the “History” function. Running this function allows the user to view and develop information on currently running processes as well as those process running earlier but which are no longer running.

System requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Win 7.

Download at: System Explorer Net

Note: also available in a portable version that is just right for geeks on the go.

System Security Guard

System Security Guard, in a broad sense, is very much like the “Security Scan” built into System Explorer. System Security Guard however, as a stand alone small security utility, is designed to run at system startup and automatically scan running processes. As well, all new processes, as they are launched, are scanned.

The results of the initial run with System Security Guard shown below.

For this review I set the application to run at startup, and the following graphic represents the results following a week or so of automatic running. You’ll note that the application has identified 4 “Threat Files” – which, in reality, is the same file which has been flagged 4 times (each time the application was launched).

The application (CurrPorts), was flagged for good reason since it behaves in a way similar to that of a remote access Trojan. That is – it connects to the Internet in a peculiar way.

For illustrative purposes only, I ran the file against the developer’s database. However, since I use this application frequently throughout the day, I’m aware that this is a safe program.

System requirements: Windows XP, Vista and Win 7.

Download at: the developer’s site.

A big “Thank You” to regular reader Charlie L. for referring me to these applications.

Tech Thoughts Daily Net News – May 16, 2012

Browser-Based Games You Can Win Without Losing Your Job – A bit of distraction is a good way to become unstuck or gain new perspective on a work problem. Here are a few great games you can play for free, from the comfort of your browser, without installing anything (except Flash, which you probably already have). They’re safe in terms of content, and you can step away if needed. After a few minutes, you’ll be refreshed and ready to work again.

Avira Antivirus update wreaks havoc on millions of PCs – If you are a user of any of the paid versions of Avira’s various antivirus and security software and you have tried to update it/them in the last 24 hours, chances are that you’re now sitting before a crippled PC, wondering what happened. So what did happen? Well, it seems that the new update makes the AntiVirProActiv component – not present only in the company’s free offering – erroneously detect critical Windows processes as malware and automatically terminate them.

From Saucy Pics to Passwords: How to Share Sensitive Information Over the Internet – Here, we’ll walk through the easiest and most secure ways to share files, passwords, and other data with people you trust. There are countless other methods out there, but these are our favorites. The method you use to share data should depend on what you’re sending, how secure you want that material to be, and how willing you are to take proper security methods.

Firefox 13 Gets a Triple Shot of Speed Through Mozilla’s ‘Project Snappy’ – Improvements in three key areas promise to make Mozilla’s browser considerably faster.

How to Quit Facebook Without Losing the Best Facebook Features – Here are a few free and easy-to-use alternative services that can help you stay social after quitting Facebook.

Pinterest scam toolkits widen the pool of potential scammers – Seemingly overnight, Pinterest gained massive momentum, making cyber scammers sit up and take notice, then jump right in. But the opportunities the site gives to those looking to make a quick buck are not open only to experienced scammers, but to novices as well, as Pinterest scam toolkits have been made available for sale.

Sophisticated bogus PayPal emails lead to phishing – PayPal users are currently being targeted with emails purportedly coming from the e-payment giant and asking for their help. The email contains a link that will supposedly take the users to PayPal’s login page, but unfortunately lands them on a spoofed one.

The 10 Best Wireless Routers – Networking Analyst Samara Lynn calls routers “the unsung heroes of the Internet.” Just think of where you’d be without one (no wireless access!). These ten routers offer the best balance of performance, ease of setup, manageability, feature set, and pricing.

Google Picasa 3.9 – As a standalone photo editing and organizing app, Picasa remains one of the best free options you can choose. Its face recognition, geo-tagging, effects, and text overlay tools are class-leading, as is the ease of using these them. Some have called into question Google’s continuation of Picasa as a desktop app, though, so you may have to get it while you can. One piece of evidence for this is the new Creative Kit, an online photo editor that bears a family resemblance to Picnik.

Wikipedia Warns Users About Malware Injecting Ads Into Its Pages – Visitors to Wikipedia who see advertisements on the site have most likely fallen victim to a browser-based malware infection, Wikimedia Foundation, the organization operating the website, said on Monday.

Company News:

Intel strengthens security of its Core vPro platform – Intel announced the availability of its 3rd Generation Intel Core vPro processor-based platforms for business and intelligent systems. New capabilities embed security at every layer, including the silicon, without compromising performance.

AMD Promises Performance Boost – Yesterday, AMD launched Trinity, its second-generation 32nm A-Series APU. The company claims that the new chip doubles the previous generation chip’s performance while maintaining the same level of power.

Prepaid Carrier Voyager Mobile Suffers Launch Day Attack – Prepaid wireless carrier Voyager Mobile is off to a rather inauspicious start. Its planned Tuesday launch was delayed thanks to a hack of its website.

Apple’s iCloud crash response only dents customer confidence – Apple’s iCloud has recovered from a 90 minute email outage. The outage wasn’t the primary concern: it was that Apple didn’t tell anyone of the problem until after it had been fixed.

Facebook Buys Lightbox Android Photo App – Facebook moved quickly – again – to address concerns that it wasn’t doing enough to satisfy mobile users, buying the developers of the Lightbox Android photo app.

Get ready for Microsoft’s coming UK price increase – Starting July 1, Microsoft’s raising substantially the prices it will be charging its UK business customers for software and services. Here’s what you need to know.

Webopedia Daily:

Monitoring Software – Software for monitoring the desktop and online activities of employees, family members, roommates or other users of a computer. Sometimes referred to as parental control software, monitoring software can quietly monitor and log PC and online activities or more actively filter content and block offensive websites from being accessed. It isn’t always easy to distinguish monitoring software from spyware, which is why at least one of the following criteria must be met in order for the installation of monitoring software to be considered legal:

     The owner of the software must also be the owner of the computer it is going to be installed on.

     The owner of the software must be the parent of a minor child.

     The owner of the software must have the consent of all users of the monitored computer.

Off Topic (Sort of):

Internet Hall of Fame, Part II: Honoring the Builders of World Wide Web – The Internet Society named 33 Hall of Fame inductees last month, grouped as Pioneers, Innovators and Global Connectors, who helped make the Internet what it is today. In Part I of this series, we took a look at the Pioneers and some Innovators. Here, we list Innovators and Global Connectors, including founder Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the basic infrastructure of the World Wide Web while at CERN.

Psystar Appeal Against Apple Denied by Supreme Court – The Supreme Court has denied the appeal of Psystar, the company that tried, and failed, to sell Apple’s Macintosh OS running on top of hardware it built itself.

Using Facebook’s Like button does not fall under ‘protected speech’ – Just when you thought the legal ramifications of Facebook usage couldn’t get more exhausting, here comes another bizarre twist. A judge rules that Facebook’s Like button is not “protected speech.”

Why Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is a schmuck – In order to avoid paying taxes on his multi-billion dollar IPO windfall, Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook, is renouncing his United States citizenship.

Today’s Quote:

“If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other cause for prejudice by noon.”

-      George Aiken

Today’s Free Downloads:

Any Video Converter – You have to be careful what you name something. Free program Any Video Converter is a name that makes a bold promise. And darned if it doesn’t deliver. My rather large array of video files presented no problems for Any Video Converter, even the rarer types.

Freemake Video Converter – Freemake Video Converter’s specialties are converting to many formats, including AVI, MKV, and mobile formats like 3GP and MP4. It can also make files suitable for burning to a DVD or Blu-Ray, and even burn the files itself.

Tech Thoughts Daily Net News – May 15, 2012

5 Hidden Gmail Tricks for Power Users – Whether you use Google’s Gmail service at work or for personal purposes, you probably have a good handle on the basics: organizing your contacts, sending emails, setting up folders and more. But if you’ve mastered the basics and are looking to increase your Gmail prowess and productivity, here’s a look at five tips and tricks that will take you to the next level.

Fake “Account blocked!” email targets Hotmail users – With “E-mail account alert!” in the Subject line, the fake email ostensibly comes from Microsoft. “This e-mail has been sent to you by Hotmail to inform you that your account has been blocked,” says the message. “Why are you seeing this? Someone may have used your account to send out a lot of junk messages (or something else that violates the Windows Live Terms of Service). We’re here to help you get your account back. What do you need to do? We’ll ask you to login to our secured activation page by following the link below and re-activate your account.”

How to Make Android Faster, More Productive and More Secure Than iPhone - Speed up your Android phone, make it more secure, and learn how to boost battery life with these 10 tips.

Windows malware: are you safer today than you were 10 years ago? – In 2002, after a series of widespread, high-profile, and highly embarrassing Windows-related security incidents, Bill Gates wrote his now famous “Trustworthy Computing” memo. So what’s happened in the intervening 10 years? Plenty.

Let WiFi Finder help you locate wireless connections – If you depend upon your tablet for mobile work, and Wi-Fi hotspots are a necessity, Jack Wallen says that WiFi Finder is a must-have app.

Make a Website Without Coding Knowledge, Thanks to Free Beta of Breezi – Just because Microsoft no longer makes FrontPage doesn’t mean people no longer need a visual way to create websites. On the contrary: Breezi (currently in free Beta) joins the ranks of visual website creation tools alongside Wix, Weebly, Jimdo, and many other tools. Breezi may not be unique, but it sure has style.

Facebook censors members after unjustly labeling them spammers – Facebook temporarily suspended one of its users from commenting on public posts. The “punishment” was supposed to last a week. It has now been two weeks. This can happen to any Facebook user.

“Diablo 3 free download” scams target impatient users – Impatient gamers searching for the third installation of the popular Diablo role-playing game, hoping that has somehow been leaked ahead of its scheduled release on Tuesday, are finding survey scams instead.

Five admin tools that bridge the platform gap – Cross-platform tools make life easier for admins who have to deal with mixed environments. Here are a few tools to help out with a variety of tasks.

Breach at Bitcoinica Exchange Nets $87,000 In Online Currency – Unknown hackers penetrated production servers and compromised databases belonging to the Bitcoin exchange, Bitcoinica, making off with some $87,000 worth of the digital currency, according to a statement published on the Bitcoinica Web site.

Company News:

Adobe backs down, will patch old software for free – Following Adobe’s recent release of Creative Suite 6 and its statement that it will not be patching critical security vulnerabilities in previous versions of the popular software the suite includes, security experts and users have voiced their indignation. But a day later, they changed their tune. Faced with a backlash from angry customers, Adobe bowed to the pressure and backpedalled on its original decision, deciding to patch the eight vulnerabilities in question free of charge.

VMware Takes Aim at Software Defined Networking and OpenFlow – VMware doesn’t just want your servers virtualized, they want software define your network but they are taking a different approach than Cisco, HP and others that have embraced OpenFlow.

HP Betting on Win8 Tablets – HP CEO Meg Whitman said HP is planning to jump into the lucrative tablet market with Windows 8 tablets later this year. The key question, of course, is whether the Windows 8 tablet would do better than the much-mocked TouchPad.

Apple Renames New iPad ‘Wi-Fi + Cellular’ in Some Markets – Apple has dropped the “4G” moniker from its new iPad in countries where the tablet does not actually run on 4G networks.

Webopedia Daily:

Duplicate Content – SEO – In SEO (search engine optimization) terminology, it is content (or text) that has been copied or reused from other Web pages. Duplicate content is often used to help boost keyword density, however some search engines, including Google, filters duplicate text and may penalize your site, resulting in a lower keyphrase position, when you use duplicate content. An example of duplicate content would be a Web page that offers a “printer friendly” version of content, or a news aggregation Web page that copies news headlines and content from stories from other sources online without making changes to the text.

Off Topic (Sort of):

Iran Prohibits Use of Foreign Email Addresses – The closely watched crackdown on Iran’s Internet access experienced another major development this week involving email access to the rest of the world. According to a new report from AFP, an order from the country’s telecommunications minister dictates that all telephone companies, banks, and insurance firms are prohibited from using foreign email services such as Google’s Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Microsoft’s Hotmail.

Welcome to Life: the singularity, ruined by lawyers – Forget life after death. Welcome to the tiered services existence after death. Brilliantly extrapolating on current policy trends. (short video recommended by Michael F.)

What We Can Learn From Facebook’s IPO - There is still a chance that something weird could happen and the Facebook IPO could be pulled. If the offering isn’t pulled, then the floodgates of bored money will pour into every idea that can put together an offering of any sort. It is 1999 again, 12 years later.

Blogger Asserts Copyright, Newspaper Editor Gets Irate – In this video, blogger Duane Lester confronts the editor of a newspaper which plagiarized something he wrote. The best part is when the editor tries to physically intimidate him, a moment so inexplicable and hilarious I created a YouTube Infinite Loop of it for you. There’s a happy ending, though. (short video recommended by Michael F.)

Internet Hall of Fame: The Pioneers of the Wild Web – The Internet, despite some claims to the contrary, was not invented by a single person. Instead, a number of people helped shape the Internet as we know it today. And now 33 of those individuals are being inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame. Here we look at the pioneers–those individuals who were instrumental in the early design and development of the Internet.

Tricks for Photographing Flowers – More often than not, flowers look their best when you get in close, which often calls for using a macro lens or dialing in the macro setting on your camera. Macro mode lets you get very close to your subject, filling the frame with small details. If you have a point-and-shoot camera, the macro setting is generally marked with a tulip. Digital SLR owners have the option of adding a macro lens to their camera.

Today’s Quote:

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”

-      Bertha Calloway

Today’s Free Downloads:

Ommwriter Dana I – The distractions of a modern operating system can be maddening. Ommwriter Dana tries to offer an alternative: A full-screen writing environment with zero distractions. Ommwriter is truly beautiful to look at and listen to. If your writing style exactly matches the artistic vision of its creators, you’re in luck.

WriteMonkey – While WriteMonkey is not the first full-screen text editor to emerge in recent years, it is one of the best executed ones I have seen so far. WriteMonkey is extremely lightweight, and feels very fast. While the editor is meant to run in full-screen mode, hitting Esc makes it switch to windowed mode.

Tech Thoughts Daily Net News – May 14, 2012

12 Tips to Cut Your Cell Phone Bill – Why pay more than you have to every month? These tips, tricks, and services can help you save plenty of dough on that monster cell phone bill.

The Best Email Tool You’re Not Using – The best-kept secret of the business world? Email reminder services, which can help turn overloaded inboxes into productivity powerhouses. No, really. I’ve been using these services for the past couple years, and I’m constantly amazed at how helpful they are–and how few people know they exist.

SSD vs HDD: What’s the Difference? – A hard drive is a hard drive, right? Wrong. We lay out the differences between SSD and HDD storage and which one works for you.

How to Partition Your Hard Drive to Optimize Performance – We explain how to speed up your PC with an advanced technique known as “short stroking,” which involves finding the optimal partition size and the fastest parts of your hard drive’s platters.

9 Smart Gadgets We Can’t Do Without – Digital brains have made their way into everything from toasters to picture frames to toilets–reinventing, reinvigorating, or revolutionizing some devices for good.

Set up a free and secure Terminal Server with Linux – Jack Wallen suggests ditching the Windows Terminal Server and migrating to using a Linux box. Learn how to set up and use NX Free, a tool that can help with this task.

10 new HTML5 tags you need to know about – HTML5 offers new tags and attributes that provide more power, efficiency, and flexibility for your Web development. Here are 10 tags you’ll want to check out.

A newbie’s guide to Android development – William J. Francis covers Android development basics, such as the necessary tools to get started and a typical project hierarchy.

Company News:

Scott Thompson out as Yahoo CEO – Embattled Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson has left the company, Yahoo announced Sunday, after more than a week of controversy over questions about his resume.

Yahoo Mess: More Proof That Media Companies Don’t Know Anything About Dealing with the Media – Why didn’t Yahoo understand how to communicate with the outside world about the crisis over its CEO Scott Thompson’s false computer-science degree?

Citrix Rolls Out HDX System-On-Chip With HP, LG, Fujitsu, Others – Citrix has announced the technology partners that will support its HDX-Ready system-on-chip that enables high-definition thin-client applications that run on Power-over-Ethernet networks at a lower cost than virtual desktop infrastructure deployments.

As IPO looms, Facebook changes privacy policy again – Facebook’s updating its data use policy yet again, in an attempt to satisfy the Irish data protection authority – and potential shareholders.

iOS 6 to Include In-House, 3D Maps App – Apple will drop Google Maps and incorporate its own 3D-mapping technology in iOS 6, according to a new report.

Adobe Ships Creative Cloud, Muse and More - Adobe Systems announced the availability of its Adobe Creative Cloud subscription service for its creative tools, the Adobe Muse HTML5 tool for designers, new Adobe Touch Apps and Lightroom 4 on the Mac App Store.

Foxconn Gearing Up to Build Apple TV Set – Foxconn, Apple’s leading Asian manufacturing partner, is gearing up to make the much talked-about high-definition Apple television set, according to a new report.

Webopedia Daily:

Paywall – Paywalls are systems designed to monetize online and other digital information by preventing visitors from accessing web sites and similar content providers without having a paid subscription. Online news and sports web sites are the most frequent users of paywalls, with some sites implementing hard paywalls while others deploy soft paywalls. A hard paywall’s content restrictions are much more stringent than a soft paywall, allowing either no access or minimal access to free content. A soft paywall, on the other hand, provides significant access to free content as a means of encouraging users to subscribe for access to premium content.

Off Topic (Sort of):

Do Humans Dream of Android Prostitutes? – We really like our droids. Just this week a group of Japanese engineers built artificial buttocks with an extraordinary amount of, well, I guess the word is “interactivity.” The signs are all there, robot sex is coming.

Is There a Future for Laptops? – Between powerful all-in-one desktops and highly portable tablets, consumers may soon have no need for a laptop.

Fact-Checking Digitimes, the Taiwanese Apple Rumor Source That Keeps Crying ‘Wolf!’ – This electronics site’s Apple rumors consistently make news — but are wrong far more often than they’re right. Why does everyone continue to take them seriously?

The Most Controversial Moments in Call of Duty History – There was a time when video game violence itself was a controversy. Now that even casual gamers have hacked, slashed, shot, detonated, and decapitated thousands of virtual characters, going for the headshot has become the new normal. In order to create a fuss, you now need to mow down innocent victims or nuke an entire city.

Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs: Does it Work? – Early shots of Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs hit the Web. Jobs purists have mild heart attacks.

This DIY Tesla Gun Must Be The Deadliest Weapon Ever – What happens when you cross Tesla coils, a mad scientist and a dash of steampunk? A weapon you could only image in a video game, brought to life!

Today’s Quote:

“Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.”

-     Rabbinical Saying

Today’s Free Downloads:

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free – Malwarebytes Antimalware Free 1.61 can help bolster your existing security software. The makers of Malwarebytes Antimalware pitch it as a tool for detecting and removing brand-new “zero-day” malware, and it uses a number of different technologies to accomplish this task.

ThreatFire Free - Threatfire doesn’t use traditional signature files; instead, it relies solely on behavioral analysis–that is, it identifies malware based on how the invader acts on your PC. It’s designed to work side by side with most antivirus products, so if you just bought a new PC, installing Threatfire is a good addition to your setup routine.

Ashampoo’s “No Charge” Five App Giveaway – Continues

I first reported on this Ashampoo giveaway in early January, 2012, and while driving around the Internet today, I found that the original free offer is still valid. If you missed out – now is your chance to take advantage of this super offer.

If you’re wondering if you should bother; here’s what regular reader, super user, and good friend, John Bent, had to say following the last free offer.

I can endorse your comments about Ashampoo, particularly Burning Studio. I installed this a couple of years ago and liked it so much I upgraded to the paid-for version. Subsequent upgrades are a bit more than one third the cost. It’s not something I use daily but, when I do want to do some copying, it’s good to know I have something reliable in the locker. Anyone who is not familiar with Ashampoo’s products should certainly grab this offer.

Original post:

Ashampoo, is noted for developing top quality, easy to use applications, and periodically makes available free, current or previous versions of their retail products. This time round, Ashampoo is offering 5 of their applications, gratis (retail value $110, or so). I believe this a limited time offer and, there is no guarantee the offer will not be withdrawn without notice.

Click to expand graphic.

Applications include:

Ashampoo Registry-Cleaner – Update your registry and optimize the performance of your PC.

Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 3 – Click-and-go editing for point-and-shoot photos.

Ashampoo Photo Commander 8 – The only tool you need for organizing, editing, presenting and sharing your digital photos!

Ashampoo Photo Converter – Your powerful tool for photo conversion, size adjustment, watermarking and lots more!

Ashampoo Burning Studio Elements – Get your burning projects done – fast and simple.

If you’ve not used Ashampoo’s applications in the past, then you’re in for a treat. This company develops absolutely first class applications, and I recommend that you give all of these applications a try.

To take advantage of this offer, go here and enter coupon code – merryxmas.

I must point out that registration is required to unlock any application past the original 10 day trial period. You might consider this process a bit of a hassle. But, then again – maybe not.

System requirements (all applications) – XP, Vista, Win 7.

Ashampoo loves to remind you occasionally of the value of their full software lineup, so if you find it bothersome to receive this type of email, you’d be better off passing. Personally, I find it easier to stay in the loop on new software developments.

Tech Thoughts Daily Net News – May 13, 2012

How to Control Your Facebook Privacy Settings – Facebook’s privacy settings are confusing by design, often hiding similar settings in totally different menus and defaulting to unnerving levels of public sharing. Ensuring that you share the right information with the right people can be difficult, and Facebook even has a few specialized settings that will override your other privacy settings if you aren’t careful. Luckily you can take control of your privacy on Facebook fairly quickly once you know what you’re looking for.

How Much Money is Facebook Making Off of You? – Facebook is worth gazillions — or it will be after its IPO. But you may be surprised by your value as a cash cow for the company.

The guide to password security (and why you should care) – Find out how your password security can be compromised, and how to create and manage secure passwords. From password creation to password management, follow this guide to ensure your data is safe, secure, and prepared to withstand a security breach.

Phony Flash Player Plants Malware on Android Phones – The infected web page used to distribute the malware was discovered in a number of Russian domains.

Easily remove unwanted objects from photos on Android, iOS – TouchRetouch is an app for Android and iOS that will allow you to remove unwanted objects from your photos. Those shadows on the ground? Gone. Poor placement of a finger on the camera lens? No problem. Here’s how to get started:

Spotify Update Brings Pandora-Like Radio Stations – As expected, Spotify on Friday began rolling out a new version of its desktop software for Windows and Mac, adding several new features, including Pandora-like radio stations. Spotify version 0.8.3 allows users to create radio stations based on a particular playlist or album. Users can start a new radio channel from any playlist or album to listen to similar songs. The update also brings a new Instant Search feature that immediately displays search results.

Facebook’s Highlighted Posts: A New Tool for Jerks – Facebook’s Highlighted Posts will give Uncle Ted the power to promote his creepy pug pictures for days on end. Please, Facebook, do not do this

Make Search Engines Love Your Site With This SEO Software - It’s not enough to have a great product or service anymore. You also need a great website and to get noticed by search engines. We look at software that shows you the ins and outs of the almighty SEO.

Help! I’m confused about storage on my smartphone – One of the things that many Google Android users like about their devices over the iPhone is the fact that most Android devices allow you to add additional storage capacity. But figuring out how and where to store apps, music, photos, video and games isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Company News:

Headhunting firm denies blame for Yahoo CEO mess, says report - ATD’s Kara Swisher publishes a letter she says is from Heidrick & Struggles CEO Kevin Kelly to his staff. In it, Kelly calls reported allegations by Yahoo’s Scott Thompson “verifiably not true.”

Intel vows to outgun rivals as mobile chip war heats up – 

Intel has vowed to outperform its chip rivals in multiple markets, including in the traditional PC space – which Intel currently dominates – as well as the ARM-controlled mobile sector.

Google eyes Meebo buy – Google is looking to buy social-products company Meebo for about $100 million, according to a report in All Things Digital.

Rumor: Apple iPad mini to launch in October

 – A new report claims Apple is preparing to launch an 8GB iPad “mini” this October for less than $250.

Report: HP Wants Back in the Tablet Game – Has Hewlett-Packard finally licked its wounds from last year’s TouchPad debacle?

Webopedia Daily:

Small Business ERP - In ERP (enterprise resource planning) terminology, the phrase small business ERP is used to describe a lightweight business management software that is designed to meet the needs of a small business. ERP software integrates all facets of an operation, including development, manufacturing, sales and marketing. Small business ERP is typically a SaaS (software as a service) model and includes project management, financials, manufacturing, warehouse management, accounting, sales and business management.

Off Topic (Sort of):

After nine dropped cell phone calls for help, couple dies – An elderly couple desperately tries to use their cell phone to call for help after their car becomes stuck in a ditch just 20 yards from their home. The calls aren’t connected. The lack of help leads to their deaths.

Can You Call A 9-Year-Old A Psychopath? – Nine year old Michael is unlike others. His parents took him to see psychologist Dan Waschbusch. Who diagnosed him as a psychopath. “Even if accurate, it’s a ruinous diagnosis. No one is sympathetic to the mother of a psychopath”

Wallet, Wallet Everywhere: Making Sense of the Mobile Payment Wars – There’s a cold war going on in the technology world. As smartphones become ubiquitous and online shopping grows, tech companies and payment companies are arming themselves for battle over how people pay for things.

Video and Photo Apps Are Ruining Photography – Someone pointed out to me that the New York Times, one of the most respected news operations in the world, is worth less than Instagram, the schlock photo-sharing app. What’s wrong with this picture? Well, for starters, the picture was probably taken with Instagram.

Mitt Romney, Trust-Fund Bully (And Not Just In School) – Enjoyable hatchet job, following bullying revelations. “For all his business success and well-manicured family, Romney is essentially an entitled fopdoodle who divides the world into two classes, Himself and The Help”

Today’s Quote:

“A superstition is a premature explanation that overstays its time.”

-    George Iles

Today’s Free Downloads:

Aomei Partition Assistant Home Edition – It can create, convert, hide, format, delete, wipe, resize, copy, split, merge, and move partitions, including altering existing partitions without data loss or corruption, on hard drives, flash drives, and similar storage devices. It works in Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit editions.

SSuite Office – WordGraph 8.4.1 – WordGraph is a free and very useful alternative to Microsoft Word, OpenOffice’s Writer, or anything else out there claiming to be the latest and greatest. You don’t even have a need for .NET or even JAVA to be installed.

Tech Thoughts Daily Net News – May 12, 2012

Mother’s Day: 10 Apps She Will Adore – Hopefully your Mother’s Day gift is already wrapped and hidden under the bed, but if you’re scrambling for last-minute inspiration, it’s simple (and cheap) to gift one of these apps, assuming she has a smartphone or a tablet. (If she doesn’t, well, you’ve just found the perfect present.)

Ringtone Maker Creates Custom Tones for Nearly Any Phone in Just a Few Clicks – Ringtone Maker is just about as easy as they come: drag a song into the program, select the portion you want to use as a ringtone, and tell it what phone you use. It supports the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and more. In seconds, you’ll have a fully functional ringtone you can put on your device and assign to incoming calls. Ringtone Maker is a free download for Windows only.

The Top 25 Android Games – Looking for the most fun, most addictive games for your Android smartphone? Check out our 25 favorite Android games, only one of which contains the words “Angry” and “Birds.”

FixMeStick: USB device for removing malware – FixMeStick has launched the first ever, consumer-ready USB device for removing viruses from infected PCs. The FixMeStick costs $49.99 for an unlimited number of uses on three PCs per year. Renewals can be purchased for $24.99 annually. The FixMeStick is powered by three of the biggest names in anti-virus software: Kaspersky Lab, Sophos, and GFI.

What the FBI didn’t tell us about the hotel malware threat – Do you use the internet in hotels when travelling abroad? Do you think it’s safe to do so? The FBI thinks you should be careful.. but is being surprisingly coy about the details.

Updated Facebook Policy Seeks to Better Clarify How Your Data Is Used – Facebook is updating its data use policy in an attempt to give people more clarity on how the company uses information they share.

Fake HD repair tool targets Windows users – In the last year, ransomware infections have taken over from scareware as the cybercriminals’ favorite mode of squeezing money out of their victims, but that doesn’t mean that scareware has disappeared altogether. Avast researchers have recently spotted a piece of fake computer diagnostic software that goes by the name of “S.M.A.R.T. Repair”, which supposedly scans the victim’s machine and “detects” critical hard disk errors

Qualcomm’s Tagg: Like ‘Find My iPhone’ for Your Dog – This collar-mounted gizmo uses GPS to help you track down pets who have roamed too far from home.

UNC-Charlotte Data Breaches Expose 350,000 Social Security Numbers and Much More – Confidential data, including bank account and Social Security numbers for some 350,000 University of North Carolina-Charlotte students, staff and faculty, were accidentally exposed — some for almost 15 years — due to a system misconfiguration and incorrect access settings that made electronic data publicly available.

Six Key Features Coming in Mageia Linux 2.0 – Choices will abound for users of this free OS, which is now available as a release candidate.

Company News:

Oracle might only receive $150,000 in damages from Google – In what was once touted as a $6 billion case, Oracle might end up with only $150,000 in statutory damages.

Cook Is Putting Own Stamp on Apple – As CEO, Tim Cook has been putting his own unique stamp on Apple. Here are 10 important decisions Cook has made so far.

Cisco, Huawei Networking Competition Heating Up – Cisco CEO John Chambers said his company is ready for the challenge from Huawei, which is putting significant resources behind its enterprise push.

Want Your Facbook Status Seen? Pay Up – The social network appears to be testing fees for highlighting status updates, in what could be a sign of charges to come.

Webopedia Daily:

Scale-out Storage – A storage system that uses a scaling methodology to create a dynamic storage environment that will support balanced data growth on an as-needed basis. Scale-out storage architecture uses a number of storage nodes — consisting of multiple low-cost computer servers and storage components — that are configured to create a storage pool or are configured to increase computing power to exceed a traditional storage array.

Off Topic (Sort of):

As the online and physical blur, digital citizenship is now paramount – For good or ill, as what defines us as people warps and no lines remain between physical and digital, what do we need to teach the next generation?

A Bacteria-Based Hard Drive? – Imagine if your computer had a hard drive that simply grew another platter when it approached capacity. In the future, ultra-high-density, non-volatile storage could be grown using magnetic bacteria. Really.

FBI Concerned About Bitcoin Usage Among Cybercriminals – The Federal Bureau of Investigation has become increasingly concerned over the usage of the mostly-anonymous payment network Bitcoin by hackers and cybercriminals, according to an unclassified report obtained by Wired this week.

India investing $3.1 Billion in defense network, to build cyber defense system – A $3.1 Billion investment to give defense forces their own OFC powered communications infrastructure that will let Department of Telecom lease freed spectrum bringing in nearly $17.9 Billion.

The Best Digital SLRs We’ve Tested – If you’ve outgrown your point-and-shoot camera, the next logical step is an interchangeable lens model. But buying one isn’t exactly a no-brainer, since it means committing to a system of lenses and accessories too. Our best-of list is a great place to start your search for the perfect SLR camera/lens combo.

BrewTrackr Lets You Keep a Running Tally of Your Favorite Beers – I’m not big on to-do lists (or lists in general), but I keep one list updated pretty religiously: my favorite – and least favorite – beers.

Today’s Quote:

“The cure for ignorance is knowledge but there is not cure for stupidity.”

-      Unknown

Today’s Free Downloads:

Belarc Advisor 8.2.7.9 – The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server.

Patch My PC 2.1.1.2 – Patch My PC is a portable and reliable utility designed to check your system against the current version of Adobe Reader, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Flash, Mozilla Firefox, Oracle Java, Apple Quicktime, and more!

Tech Thoughts Daily Net News – May 11, 2012

How to prevent Facebook Messenger from sharing your location – Facebook Messenger on your iPhone or Android will send message recipients your location by default. This can be a huge privacy concern for some users. Luckily, you’re only a few taps away from preventing Facebook Messenger from sharing your location.

70% don’t trust Facebook with their personal information – 70 percent of Facebook users do not trust the social networking giant with their personal information. Approximately 60 percent proactively adjusted their privacy settings in 2011. This is puzzling given what we heard late last year: 70 percent of Facebook users are comfortable with what they share.

Device & Conquer: Cutting cable – Everybody wants to tell the cable or satellite TV company what to do with that three-figure monthly bill that pays for a lot of stuff you don’t even want, right? Today, thanks to Internet-delivered TV, you can actually put some teeth behind that. Know that it’s not as simple as throwing a switch and cancelling an account. In this episode of Device & Conquer we show you what we’ve learned about the process and how you can do it.

Find the Best Netflix Streaming Movies with A Better Queue – For a service that has famously worked so hard to help you find movies you might like, Netflix is actually a little weak in the recommendations department. That’s where A Better Queue comes in. This clever site provides a few helpful filtering options for browsing Netflix’s Watch Instantly library. First, you choose one or more movie genres; A Better Queue offers 19 of them, from Action & Adventure to Thrillers.

Extend Your Wireless Network – There are plenty of ways to extend a connection. Some are easier than others. One thing you can try, especially if you’re good with your hands, is to build yourself a better antenna more suited for your needs. For instance, you can build a parabolic reflector that will focus the beam in a particular direction.

Six iPhone apps that can help you in an emergency – Whether it’s a flat tire on the freeway, a fender-bender in a parking lot, or someone who needs medical attention, help is just an app away.

Democrats to employers: Stop asking for Facebook passwords – The Password Protection Act of 2012 would make it illegal for employers to force current or potential employees to hand over access to their social network accounts.

Trojans Make Up 80 Percent Of All New Malware – China has the most infected PCs in the world, and 6 million new pieces of malware appeared in Q1 2012, new PandaLabs report says.

Microsoft up to its old tricks, Mozilla says – Raising the specter of last-gen browser battles, Mozilla launches a publicity campaign to seek a place for browsers besides IE on Windows devices with ARM chips.

Unicorns or the Cloud: What is Real? – Everyone is talking about ‘The Cloud’ but fewer people than you might think have actually adopted it or are willing to take on the migration.

Company News:

ManageEngine IT360 Integrated IT Management Now Available for the iPad – ManageEngine, the real-time IT management company, today announced significant updates to IT360, its integrated IT management solution. Enhancements include the general availability of an iPad extension, providing customers with the ability to monitor their IT infrastructure from an Apple iPad, including alarms, business services and infrastructure snapshots. IT360 also introduces topology maps and self-diagnostic capabilities.

WinOnX 1.3 Makes It Possible to Run Windows Programs on Apple OS X – NES Software has announced the latest release of WinOnX, its easy-to-use application that makes it possible to run Microsoft Windows software on an Apple Macintosh. The newest version, WinOnX 1.3, adds support for many additional Windows applications, and a new program compatibility database that lets users quickly see how likely their program is to work with WinOnX and if there are any known issues. WinOnX 1.3 also offers the ability to launch multiple instances of a Windows program simultaneously and supports native Mac OS X open-file dialog.

How Hewlett-Packard Lost Its Way – For a decade now the company has seemed more like a tawdry reality show than one of the world’s great enterprises. It is in the midst of an existential crisis. Can Meg Whitman, HP’s third CEO in seven years, put it right?

Facebook amends IPO a sixth time, again warns about mobile – In its sixth IPO amendment, Facebook has added new text once again warning that it has not yet figured out how to monetize its mobile users. The company is expected to go public next week.

Webopedia Daily:

Microsoft Small Business Server – The Microsoft Small Business Server (Microsoft SBS) is an all-in-one, single-server solution from Microsoft Corp., which is designed for small businesses with up to 75 users. The current version of Windows Small Business Server 2011 (SBS 2011) is available in two editions.

Off Topic (Sort of):

The Trouble With Profiling – Security expert Bruce Schneier replies to Sam Harris’s call for targeted profiling of Muslims at airports. “Invasive TSA screening is nothing more than security theatre. It doesn’t make us safer, and it’s not worth the cost”

Publishers Don’t Like Apps – They did at first. They thought apps would be a digital enabler of paid content and single-copy sales. Wrong. Apps are fiendishly difficult to make. Horribly expensive. Readers don’t like walled gardens. And Apple is the boss.

The Future Will Be More Religious And Conservative Than You Think – As world population peaks and begins to decline later in this century, the strongly religious will stand against the tide. In so doing, they will remake societies and wash away many of our certainties about secularization.

The Woman Who Lives In A Shed – Shocking report from London. Priced out of housing market, some are forced to rent garden sheds. One family pay to live in a walk-in freezer. Landlords happy to cash in. What does this say about free markets, capitalism, society?

What Will Become Of The Paper Book? – Will paper books exist in the future? Yes, but they’ll look different. This beautifully illustrated essay argues that as their role as vessels for delivering text is lost to digital, their other qualities will grow in importance

Today’s Quote:

“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.”

-      Aldous Huxley

Today’s Free Downloads:

System Monitor II – System Monitor II is a great gadget for Vista and Windows 7. Mainly because it combines the most important hardware information in one highly configurable interface, and because its option to launch the task manager with a double-click.

MailStore Home – Over the years, emails can become scattered among different computers, programs and mailboxes. With MailStore Home you can bring order into this chaos by creating a single central archive for all emails.

Tech Thoughts Daily Net News – May 10, 2012

DOJ Says Requiring Warrant for Cell Phone Tracking Would ‘Cripple’ Law Enforcement – The Justice Department told a congressional committee that law enforcement and prosecutors would be crippled if they were required to obtain a search warrant for cell phone location tracking information. What happened to probable cause, the Fourth Amendment and a reasonable expectation of privacy?

Ransomware starts targeting US users – Initially, these so-called “police Trojans” targeted mostly European users. But unfortunately for users from the US and Canada, the criminals have finally began targeting them as well. As usual, the users are asked to pay a fine – $100 in this particular case – in order to get their computer unblocked.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2012 And Zemana Antilogger License Giveaway – Here is a chance for all free AV users to get a Bitdefender Antivirus 2012 license free of cost, not only this, they can also get a Zemana Antilogger license with this award winning protection ( Both valid for 1 year ) to enhance their computer security. In total 10 winners will be announced ( 1 Bitdefender license + 1 Zemana license ) on 8th June.

Seven Ways to Open Windows Task Manager – Windows 7′s Task Manager is a valuable tool that is packed with features that can help you use and troubleshoot the operating system. In this tip gallery, I’ll show you seven ways that you can launch Windows Task Manager.

Infographic: How cyber-secure are public companies? – Takeaway: This infographic presents some less-than-stellar numbers illustrating how well public companies are securing their web applications.

Free, Browser-Based ‘Wolfenstein 3D’ Released by Bethesda – Bethesda Softworks on Wednesday released a free, browser-based version of the iconic first-person shooter, Wolfenstein 3D.

$99 Xbox Confirmed: What You Really Need To Know About Microsoft’s Offer – Microsoft confirmed rumors of an $99 Xbox game console, but don’t buy until you understand the fine print.

Twitter Breached, 50K Accounts Posted to Internet – Twitter said Wednesday that it is continuing to investigate an apparent data breach that resulted in more than 50,000 user names and passwords being posted to the Internet.

ExtremeTech’s guide to air cooling your PC - Blowing room-temperature air across heatsinks is an effective way to mitigate heat. This guide aims to help you maximize air flow through your case.

Company News:

MySpace charged for violating user privacy, vows to do better – Charged by the US Federal Trade Commission with violating federal law due to having shared its users’ personal information and Web browsing habits with third parties, MySpace has agreed that from now on, it will obey its privacy policy to the letter and will institute in-depth privacy controls for its users.

Trend Micro releases SecureCloud key management system – Trend Micro announced a product development initiative using Apache CloudStack currently in incubation at the Apache Software Foundation, giving Trend Micro first-mover advantage among those Apache CloudStack users searching for easy-to-deploy encryption solutions tailored to the cloud.

HP Intros New Ultrabooks, Sleekbooks With Intel, AMD Chips – Hewlett-Packard has been busy. At an event at the Shanghai Expo Center in China May 9, the company, which was once on the verge of doing away with its PC unit, introduced more new business and consumer-geared PC models than any single person could reasonably keep track of. Most likely to stand out from the pack are new portfolios of Ultrabooks and what HP is calling “Sleekbooks.”

Cloud Security Alliance Announces Open Certification Framework for Cloud Providers – At the opening of the SecureCloud 2012 conference, the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) today announced the CSA Open Certification Framework, an industry initiative to allow global, trusted certification of cloud providers. The CSA Open Certification Framework is a program for flexible, incremental and multi-layered cloud provider certification according to the Cloud Security Alliance’s industry leading security guidance and control objectives. The program will support popular third-party assessment and attestation statements developed within the public accounting community.

Calxeda Demo of ARM-Based Server Ups Ante in Intel Competition – Calxeda is cranking up the burgeoning competition between Intel and ARM Holdings with a demonstration this week of an ARM-based server running a Linux operating system.

Webopedia Daily:

Opt-in e-mail – A term that refers to promotional e-mails that have been requested by the individual receiving them. Unlike spam promotional e-mails that get sent out to large lists of recipients without regard to whether or not they want the information, opt-in e-mails are only sent to people who specifically request them.

Off Topic (Sort of):

Sprint Guardian Service Apps Keep Your Phone and Family Safe – The new Sprint Guardian service uses a cluster of apps to keep an eye your Android phone–as well as on other family members.

Philips’ new 100W-equivalent LED bulb runs on just 23W – Philips has just unveiled their 100W-equivalent LED bulb, the AmbientLED 23W. It won’t be available until Fall 2012, and pricing has yet to be announced, but it’s a big release for the company and one of the first 100W LED bulb to be available to consumers.

Raspberry Pi: Five ways business can use it – The $40 Linux computer is a tempting replacement for expensive, high-end machines in a number of business tasks.

How digital technology is reinventing cinema – By 2015, it is expected that almost every cinema screen will be digital and that film projection will all but die out — but that’s just the tip of the ice berg, when it comes to digital cinema. There’s a whole framework behind digital cinema, from filming, to digitization, to distribution and projection, with some seriously cool tech along the way — which, of course, we’re going to dig into.

Today’s Quote:

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”

-     Peter Drucker

Today’s Free Downloads:

Passmark Modem Test (Now Freeware) – PassMark ModemTest is an easy-to-use Windows based application that allows users to test their dial up modem. ModemTest performs low level testing that is independent of your Internet Service Provider.

Windows 8 Codecs 1.08 – Windows 8 Codecs is an audio and video codec package for Windows 8. The installer will automatically remove most other popular codec releases from your computer before installing this concise yet comprehensive package.

iSpy – iSpy uses your webcams and microphones to detect and record movement or sound and provides security, surveillance, monitoring and alerting services. Any media that is captured is compressed to flash video and made available, securely over the web. iSpy can be setup to run on multiple computers simultaneously.

Tech Thoughts Daily Net News – May 9, 2012

Patch now! Adobe and Microsoft push out critical security fixes – Multiple vulnerabilities in Adobe and Microsoft products revealed – make sure that your computers are properly patched.

Five apps for video calls and collaboration – These days, it’s easy to add faces and expressions and gestures to your digital conversations with the help of video communications tools. Here are five apps you can use on PC, Mac, and a host of mobile devices.

Ubuntu 12.04 vs. Windows 8: Five points of comparison – The leading Linux desktop and the number one desktop of all, Windows, are both undergoing radical transformations, but which will be the better for it?

The Right Way to Respond to a Nasty Email – Don’t get dragged into a heated exchange that can damage not only feelings, but also your career.

Malware Installed on Travelers’ Laptops Through Software Updates on Hotel Internet Connections – Recent analysis from the FBI and other government agencies demonstrates that malicious actors are targeting travelers abroad through pop-up windows while establishing an Internet connection in their hotel rooms. (recommended by Michael F.)

Which Type of Drive Is Best For My Needs: HDD, SSD, or Hybrid? – The best drive for your money is going to depend on your needs. You essentially have four options, and which one suits you best will depend on how much you’re willing to spend, how much storage space you need, and how much you value speed. Let’s go over these options and see which drives suit you best.

Is Facebook Censoring Your Comments? – This past weekend Robert Scoble had a comment blocked on Facebook. That led him to wonder if there was some sort of censorship going on over at the social networking site. We wondered, too, and did a little digging.

Why You Can’t Dump Java (Even Though You Want To) – So many recent exploits have used Java as their attack vector, you might conclude Java should be shown the exit.

Panda Security: Viruses Are the Least of Your Worries – Based on Panda Security’s first-quarter report for 2012, a literal antivirus program would miss almost 95 percent of new malware threats.

On What Media Should I Backup My Photos? – Nick Golna asked whether he should backup his photos onto a flash drive or DVDs. I discuss other options, as well.

Facebook clickjackers said to make over $1 million a month, agree to stop spam – A firm at the centre of allegations that its affiliates flooded Facebook with spam and clickjacking attacks has agreed to clean up its act – after earning up to $1.2 million per month in gross monthly revenues.

Company News:

Sprint ‘Bullish’ on Windows Phone 8, Coy on Galaxy S III – Windows phone fans on Sprint may only have a few more months to wait. The carrier’s director of consumer acquisition, David Owens, said that he’s “still bullish on Apollo” at the CTIA trade show today, which may point to Windows Phone 8 devices on Sprint.

IBM Building New Research Lab in the Philippines – IBM and the Philippines Department of Science and Technology signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to establish the first Philippine Systems & Technology R&D Laboratory to help spur economic growth in the region.

Microsoft to tweak Visual Studio 11 interface with Release Candidate – Microsoft is readying the Release Candidate of Visual Studio 11, which will include some UI modifications made in response to beta testers’ feedback.

Nokia Beefs Up App Offerings for Lumia Phones – Nokia announced several high-profile apps coming to Windows Phones – from Angry Birds to PayPal – some of which will initially be exclusive to its Lumia devices.

Webopedia Daily:

Amazon Simple Storage Service – Amazon S3 – Amazon’s Simple Storage Service, or Amazon S3 for short, is a personal cloud storage service from Amazon.com. Amazon S3 debuted in 2006 as a cost-effective Web services solution for developers to store and retrieve data at any point in time from anywhere Web access is available. Amazon S3 customers receive up to 5 GB of online data storage for free, with commercial tiered plans available for those with additional storage or more intensive data transfer needs. In addition to its use for personal cloud storage, Amazon S3 has also become increasingly utilized by commercial services for cloud services, with companies like Dropbox, Ubuntu One and SmugMug relying on Amazon S3 for cloud storage and transfer.

Off Topic (Sort of):

Infographic: The tell-tale signs of an overworked employee – This graphic examines the obvious, and invisible, signs that an employee is being overworked, as well as the three most common reactions.

Google Docs Gets Business-Friendlier with New Fonts, Templates – Docs continues to inch closer to Microsoft Word, this time with a wealth of snazzy fonts and some great business templates.

Beyond Smart TV: ‘Surfaces’ Prototype Reveals the Television of Tomorrow – We’ve seen the future of television, and we want it now. NDS, a company that develops DRM security and DVR technology for pay-TV providers like Cox and DirecTV, has developed a proof-of-concept called Surfaces that shows how television could become the center of a much more compelling, immersive living room experience. (recommended by Michael F.)

Should schools use Facebook to spy on students? – In the wake of employers requesting access to job candidates’ Facebook accounts, a new issue bobs to the surface: should schools use Facebook to spy on students?

Google’s Self-Driving Car Licensed to Hit Nevada Streets – Google’s self-driving car is growing up right in front of our eyes: The fledgling autonomous vehicle program recently passed its driver’s license test in Nevada, the first license of its kind in the United States. Obtaining Nevada’s self-driving car license clears the way for Google to test its technology on public roads in the state.

Today’s Quote:

“Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level.”

-      Quentin Crisp

Today’s Free Downloads:

Fotobounce – If your photos are centered around the people in your life, it makes sense that your photo organization tool should be, too. That’s the thinking behind Fotobounce, a free application that helps you organize and securely share your snapshots.

Pictomio – If you’re looking to create slideshows or carousel-style views of your photos you’ll want the free Pictomio. It may be the best slideshow and carousel creator you’ll find.