The Tablet Specs That Matter – Tablets are new and so it’s easy for manufacturers to throw out a blizzard of specs. The ones that really matter, though, are those that determine how quickly a tablet will respond to your input and how well images and text will display on its screen.
Is the Geek Squad the Best Place to Seek Computer Help? – For many users, Best Buy’s repair service is the first option that comes to mind when something goes wrong. But as a former Geek Squad employee reveals, beware the upsell
With BioTrust, Your Face Is Your Password – The future has flying cars, replicators, and computers that recognize your face and let you log in just by looking at them. While we may have to wait a bit longer for the cars and the replicators, we can have face recognition right now, and it’s surprisingly affordable. I took a look at BioTrust ($13), and it took a look right back at me.
Google Chrome 12 – Chrome Instant means your Web page is ready to read before you finish typing the address. This, its speed, minimalist design, and advanced support for HTML5 have been attracting more and more users to the browser. The latest version adds more security options and limited hardware acceleration.
Anonymous takes down Spanish police site – According to El Mundo, the country’s national police site was down for an hour on Saturday–a day after the announcement of the arrest of three alleged hackers in Spain.
Foreign government behind IMF breach and data theft? – The International Monetary Fund’s systems have been breached by cyber attackers believed to be linked to a unnamed foreign government.
Dropbox: Convenient? Absolutely, but is it secure? – A potential security lapse and possibly misleading statements are plaguing Dropbox, a hugely popular file-syncing app. What are the issues and is concern justified?
Web host victims repeatedly exploited by cybercriminals – Some 37 percent of respondents to the wide-ranging study of website vulnerabilities and administrative responses to exploitation reported that their websites had phishing or spoof sites planted on their web servers two or more times before, a telling statistic that reflects both the persistence of phishers and the difficulties of keeping them at bay.
Duke Nukem Finally Ships – The game we thought would never arrive–and a sequel to one of my personal favorites–Duke Nukem Forever, is finally shipping in the UK and just about ready to hit U.S. shores. It has been an incredibly long wait; the game is over a decade in the making. PCMag has more details on Duke’s arrival.
Company News:
Dell Targets HP, EMC in Race to Win Storage Market – The acquisitions of EqualLogic and Compellent were just the beginning. Now Dell is looking to take those technologies to the next level through strong channel relationships as it seeks to beat rivals HP and EMC to dominate the storage market.
AppSec adds blocking, virtual patching to database activity monitoring solution – The new blocking feature stops users when inappropriate activity occurs. Blocking is automatically triggered when database activity, the communication between users or applications and the database, violates a customer’s security policy.
Trend Micro expands risk management portfolio – Trend Micro announced new solutions for protecting enterprises from Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) known to evade conventional perimeter and content security.
Why Google Wallet Will Fail to Cash In – Google Wallet is the search engine’s ambitious play to push mobile payments into the mainstream. But it feels like another beta platform for Google–well-intentioned, but unfinished and raw. We take a look at 10 challenges–from security concerns to consumer apathy and entrenched competition–that Wallet faces as it moves toward a gradual rollout in the United States and abroad.
Off Topic (Sort of):
New Bill Gates interview: “Legacy is a stupid thing! I don’t want a legacy.” – A new interview with Bill Gates has been posted online, and it’s amazingly revealing. You don’t want to miss this one!
European Union plans tougher penalties to deter cybercrime, botnets – European Union countries agreed on tougher penalties for cybercrime including beefed up sentences as well plans for more police cooperation. Among the items, the EU aims to penalize the production and creation of botnets and the interception of computer data. The EU will also form a cybercrime group that includes “an obligation to provide feedback within eight hours to urgent requests.” Meanwhile, the EU will also collect cybercrime statistics.
U.S. Facebook Popularity Wanes as International Growth Booms – Facebook has nearly 700 million users worldwide, but the social network’s U.S. popularity dropped by more than 5 percent in May, according to an online report. The U.S. wasn’t the only North American country to see a slump in Facebook popularity. The social network also dropped 1.52 million Canadian users during the same time, according to IFG. However, nearly 50 percent of Canada’s population is on Facebook and IFG says that countries with that level of Facebook saturation tend to slow down in growth. So Canada’s Facebook slump may not be unusual.
Four Reasons Why You Don’t Really Need a Tablet PC – Tablet PCs are the in thing right now. In fact, you’d be hard put to walk into any sort of electronics store today and not be bombarded with displays for the latest and greatest tablet. But are tablets all they’re cracked up to be?
Today’s Quote:
“I have failed many times, and that’s why I am a success.”
– Michael Jordan
Today’s Free Downloads:
Rainmeter 2.1 r832 Beta – Rainmeter is a desktop customization platform. Through Rainmeter, you can enhance your Windows computer at home or work with skins: handy, compact applets which float freely on your desktop, much like Windows Sidebar gadgets, or dashboard widgets for the Mac.
XBMC Media Center – XBMC Media Center is a free cross-platform media player software and entertainment system application framework for Linux, Mac, and Windows. XBMC is capable of playing back and streaming all popular video, audio, and picture formats out-of-the-box.
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