March 31 is World Backup Day 2011

Those benevolent armchair philanthropist Redditors are at it again! Four days ago a 'self' post extolling the potential virtues of a Backup Day exploded with 2500 upvotes and 1000 comments -- and now World Backup Day 2011 is actually happening.

On March 31, as part of the global data-saving initiative, you are encouraged to back up all of your cherished photos and videos, and important documents. If you've ever had a hard disk fail, and not had a backup to fall back on, you'll know that it's a bit like losing a sizable fragment of your soul. If you've never backed up your important files -- or if you only back up sporadically -- do it on World Backup Day!

It's not hard to back up your data, either. A 2TB drive costs only a fistful of dollars, and it takes just a few minutes to set SyncToy for Windows, or Time Machine for Mac, to mirror your data every night. If you prefer a cloud-based solution, there's always SugarSync and Dropbox. Finally, don't forget that Bundlelytic has a charity giveaway for three excellent data-backup-and-recovery tools -- $160 of software for only $25, and 100% of the proceeds to go the Japanese Red Cross.

For even more backup options, for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, check our list of 13 great backup programs.

March 31 is World Backup Day 2011 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/28/march-31-is-world-backup-day-2011/

ACER ADOBE SYSTEMS

Podcastomatic instantly turns your favorite blog into an audio podcast

Podcastomatic is a unique way to catch up on your favorite blogs. Just type in a blog’s URL and you’ll be presented with a list of recent articles. Click play and the desired article will be read to you in one of the best text to speech synthesized voices I’ve heard to date. The male voice can even reproduce the correct inflections for commas and question marks. The website works with your desktop computer and even with your mobile device. At least it worked with the Chrome browser on my Samsung Galaxy S3. Podcastomatic also provides an iTunes podcast subscribe link and a RSS feed link to the blog’s articles so you can subscribe with your favorite feed reader and opt to listen to the articles or read them. Very cool.

Via Lifehacker

Filed in categories: Miscellaneous, News

Tagged: Blogs, Podcast

Podcastomatic instantly turns your favorite blog into an audio podcast originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 29, 2012 at 8:00 am.

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/12/29/podcastomatic-instantly-turns-your-favorite-blog-into-an-audio-podcast/

SES SHAW COMMUNICATIONS

The Biggest Tech Screw-Ups of 2012

What a year for technology, what with all its tiny tablets and overhauled operating systems. But for every Nexus 7 triumph, a Nexus Q disaster reared its gruesome head. Here are the worst screw-ups the tech industry endured in 2012. Advanced warning: They're not for the faint of heart. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/KBKDKbcNkek/

OSI SYSTEMS ORACLE

Classic Shell now makes Internet Explorer 9 look like IE8

If you used Windows XP for a long time (who didn't?), one of the biggest changes when moving to Windows 7 or Vista was the massively-altered Explorer. While the new Explorer introduces some useful new features, it also removed just as many -- which is where Classic Shell comes in!

We've covered Classic Shell before, but here's the crib note: Classic Shell restores almost every Windows XP-era Explorer feature. The best change, in our opinion, is the reemergence of the 'up' arrow, meaning you now navigate without using the Windows Vista/7 'breadcrumbs' address bar. The status bar yet again shows the total size of your selection, and -- praise be! -- the diabolical Windows 7 Copy File 'copy and replace?' dialog has been replaced with a Windows XP lookalike (image after the break).

New to the most recent version of Classic Shell is the ability to make IE9 look like IE8. With Classic Shell the title bar yet again has a caption, so you can see the full title of Web pages. The current security zone and loading progress indicator have been put back into the status bar, too. If you enable 'Show tabs on a separate row,' it's almost like using IE8.

Finally, Classic Shell replaces the omnipotent Windows 7 Start Menu with the age-old 'classic' Windows 2000/XP-style Start Menu. Classic Shell makes the Start Menu skinable, too, if you're into the kind of thing.

As awesome as it sounds, we've only touched on a small section of Classic Shell's feature set. Check the Classic Shell site for a complete list. There's a few more images of Classic Shell in action after the break.

Download Classic Shell for Windows

Continue reading Classic Shell now makes Internet Explorer 9 look like IE8

Classic Shell now makes Internet Explorer 9 look like IE8 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/classic-shell-makes-windows-explorer-and-ie9-look-like-their-anc/

SYBASE SUN MICROSYSTEMS

Firefox 4 Mobile officially released for Android and Maemo devices

Moments ago, Mozilla stripped the release candidate moniker from Firefox 4 Mobile and pronounced it fit for public release. If you have a Nokia N900 phone, or a fairly-modern Android 2.0-or-later device, go ahead and install it from the Market, by using scanning the QR code after the break, or by visiting Firefox.com/m.

Accompanying the release is the launch of Spark, a cute social game that's designed to fuel the adoption of Firefox 4 Mobile, much like last week's use of Glow and Twitter Party during Firefox 4 PC's release.

While the browser still feels a little rough around the edges, it's definitely worth trying out if you're still using Android's stock browser. Its JavaScript performance is significantly better than any other Android browser, and if you use Firefox on your PC, its built-in Sync functionality is awesome.

Over the next few days we'll have plenty of tips and tricks for Firefox 4 Mobile, and a list of the best add-ons available for the new browser.

Continue reading Firefox 4 Mobile officially released for Android and Maemo devices

Firefox 4 Mobile officially released for Android and Maemo devices originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/29/firefox-4-mobile-officially-released-for-android-and-maemo-devic/

SYNNEX SYMANTEC

Firefox 4 Friday: 25 million downloads, anti-aliasing, and how to make it look like Firefox 3

If you've had your head under a rock for the last few days, here's this week's Firefox news in brief: Firefox 4 was finally released.

Yes, 13 months after the initial release of Firefox 3.7 alpha 1 and four more alpha builds, a renumbering to 4.0 and 12 beta releases, and finally a release candidate (or two), Firefox 4 has been released into the wild.

Just like every other Firefox release, initial reception for the new browser has been nothing short of insane. 7.1 million downloads were registered in the first 24 hours and the download rate continued to accelerate, clocking in more than 15 million downloads after two days. At the time of writing, three days in, Firefox 4 has been downloaded over 25 million times. In case you're wondering, the United States accounts for 7 million of those downloads, just beating out Germany's Firefox-downloads-per-capita.

But now that you've installed Firefox 4 (you have, right?), what do you do now? Well, obviously, in true Download Squad fashion, it's time to tweak Firefox 4 using add-ons and about:config hacks!

First up is an add-on called Stratiform that lets you change every aspect of the Firefox 4 browser chrome -- including the color of that orange button!

Continue reading Firefox 4 Friday: 25 million downloads, anti-aliasing, and how to make it look like Firefox 3

Firefox 4 Friday: 25 million downloads, anti-aliasing, and how to make it look like Firefox 3 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/25/firefox-4-friday-25-million-downloads-anti-aliasing-and-how-t/

EMULEX EMS TECHNOLOGIES

IE9 and Firefox 4 post top marks in Web browser power use comparison

Over on the Internet Explorer Blog, Microsoft has posted results from an extensive comparison of the top five Web browsers. The goal: to determine whether Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 4, Chrome 10, Safari 5, or Opera 11 is able to squeeze the most life out of your laptop's battery.

A baseline was determined with test systems sitting idle, and then browsers were pointed at about:blank, a news site, the HTML5 Galactic demo, and the IE9 fish tank demo. Perhaps unsurprisingly, IE9 came out on top -- though Firefox 4 was a very close second on nearly every test. As you can see, the other browsers didn't necessarily fare quite as well, with Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera all posting significantly worse scores. In Opera 11's case, a laptop battery would last over one hour more with Internet Explorer 9 installed.

But what we'd really like to know is where did Microsoft find the dilithium crystals required to run a Galactic Total Power Consumption test...

IE9 and Firefox 4 post top marks in Web browser power use comparison originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/30/ie9-and-firefox-4-post-top-marks-in-pc-power-use-comparison/

MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS MICROSOFT

Apple iWatch rumors surface again, this time with Intel attached

The Apple iWatch smartwatch is the subject of renewed rumor and speculation this morning, with Intel of all companies now being attached to the project. Low power Bluetooth 4.0 is along for the ride as well, of course, so it can instantly pair with an iPhone or iPad, as well as a 1.5-inch display, and a supposed release window pegged at the first half of 2013. In other words, soon. All this according to TGBUS (Google Translated):

Supply chain, said Intel is designed for Apple Bluetooth smart watches, this product is RiTdisplay 1.5-inch OLED screen, other aspects of the supply chain, with a rhenium ocean of OGS encore indium tin oxide transparent conductive (ITO) glass.

The Intel angle here is interesting. While Apple's Mac computer lines currently all still have Intel inside, Apple hasn't done anything significant with Intel on their iOS device line. Likewise, the OLED display rumor, as Apple has thus far eschewed that technology for LED.

Rumors of an iWatch, while not as persistent as iTV television rumors, began picking up speed when Apple announced the square, more iOS-looking 2010 iPod nano and Steve Jobs quipped that board members wanted to wear them as watches. Speculation immediately leapt to a future filled with light, wearable iOS devices, piggy-backing off the more powerful devices in our pockets and bags, passing on Siri instructions and getting back our notifications and other data.

Many watchband accessories and flights of fancy later, the iPod nano finally gained a Bluetooth radio in 2012... just as Apple changed its shape back to a far less watch-friendly rectangle. That could be a sign of Apple moving away from wearable iOS devices, or just shifting the nano away from wearability to leave room for something else. (Also, head fake.)

Apple is increasingly seen by financial markets, and the media, as a hit-driven business, and the moment they announce one new product, questions immediately spring up about "what's next?!". The iPad mini has shipped, so TVs, watches, and all manner of other products are ripe for the research notes and rumor mills alike.

Given the popularity of the nano-as-watch, and of other connected watch-style devices, like the television, it's hard to imagine that Apple doesn't have a project or prototype or several in the labs. Also like the television, that's a far cry from going to market with an final, polished product.

But it does raise the question -- do you want an iWatch from Apple?

Source: TGBUS via Tech.163, The Next Web.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/cxRgWv_h28c/story01.htm

EMC ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING

This Crazy Map Has One Dot for Every Person in the United States

The amount of people in the whole world is pretty wildly unfathomable. For that matter, even a subset like just the 300,000,000 or so that live in the United States can be hard to wrap your head around. This interactive map by Brandon M-Anderson helps by showing one dot for each of them. It's pretty wild. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/abEzX-pJPVw/this-crazy-map-has-one-dot-for-every-person-in-the-united-states

LAND SOFTWARE LAM RESEARCH

The Daily Roundup for 12.28.2012

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

Continue reading The Daily Roundup for 12.28.2012

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/28/the-daily-roundup-for-12-28-2012/

INTERSECTIONS INTERNATIONAL RECTIFIER

Tasty Planet is a fun flash game where you eat everything in sight

So this professor comes up with a new toilet cleaner that works by "eating" the dirt; or so he thinks. That's how the plot starts for Tasty Planet. You play the role of the toilet cleaner, but you're not really a toilet cleaner after all -- you're a blob of gray goo that can eat anything that's smaller than yourself.

As you chomp away, you grow -- and as you grow, you can eat bigger and bigger stuff. The first level pits you against microscopic particles; by the time I stopped playing, I got all the way to eating cats and dogs. I know that sounds disturbing, but it's a really cute game, and there's no gore or anything like that.

Supposedly you keep growing and growing until you're able to eat whole planets (hence the name). The challenge factor comes when you realize you can't touch any critter larger than yourself - you'll get "bitten" and become smaller. In the beginning you're so small, that a single touch can kill you. Later on, you're big enough that touching larger animals doesn't kill you on the spot, but it does reduce your size. Each level is timed, so if you're not large enough by the time your clock runs out, you need to start again. As long as you don't touch the larger animals, you should be fine.

All in all, a fun, addictive little game. It's available for iOS, too.

Tasty Planet is a fun flash game where you eat everything in sight originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/08/tasty-planet-is-a-fun-flash-game-where-you-eat-everything-in-sight/

SRA INTERNATIONAL SPSS

Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4

When Firefox 4's tab grouping tool, Panorama, had its keyboard shortcut changed to the finger-breaking combo of Ctrl+Shift+E, we thought Panorama would get dropped before FF4's final release -- but, thankfully, it made the cut!

If you've used Firefox 4 and Panorama, you might have noticed that Mozilla's new browser doesn't always save your tab groupings when you close the browser -- a bit of a pain, if you spend a long time setting up the perfect groups! This is tied into the removal of the 'Save and Quit' dialog box -- and enabling Panorama tab group saving is just a matter of re-enabling the Save and Quit dialog.

Open a new tab and head to about:config. Click through the warning and type 'quit' into the filter box. Double click browser.showQuitWarning to change its value to true (see image after the break). That's it -- now you'll have the option of saving your tabs, and thus tab groups, when you close Firefox.

For more tech tips, visit our tips index.

Continue reading Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4

Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/save-your-tabs-and-panorama-tab-groups-in-firefox-4/

HYPERCOM HEWLETT PACKARD CO

Gargantuan SQL injection infects 3.8 million URLs, installs rogue antivirus

Over the last few days, a mass SQL injection attack has been quickly gathering speed. Just three days ago only 28,000 URLs were affected, but at the time of writing, there could be up to 3.8 million infected URLs.

Websense has a complete write up the attack, dubbed 'LizaMoon,' but here's the basic gist: it looks like someone is exploiting a vulnerabilty (or vulnerabilities) in hundreds of thousands of websites running on Microsoft SQL Server 2003 and 2005. It's not yet known whether this is a vulnerability in SQL Server, or simply a case of outdated, unmaintained, and easily-exploitable CMSes.

The attack takes the form of an SQL injection, which then inserts a link to a JavaScript file hosted on the attacker's server. This is repeated over and over until every Web page in the SQL database has been infected -- and considering 3.8 million URLs have been infected, you can see that this is a very easy, and automated, attack.

Fortunately, the JavaScript isn't particularly malicious: it pops up a rogue AV program called Windows Stability Center, but that's it. Better yet, the rogue antivirus is already recognized by a bunch of real antivirus suites, including Avast, Panda and Microsoft Security Essentials.

The real problem with SQL injection attacks is that there's nothing we surfers can do about them. There will always be old and unmaintained websites, and thus SQL injections will remain one of the easiest and most lucrative tools of hackers and spammers alike. All you can do is keep your antivirus and anti-malware software up to date, and pray.

Gargantuan SQL injection infects 3.8 million URLs, installs rogue antivirus originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/massive-sql-injection-infects-3-8-million-urls-installs-rogue-a/

RED HAT RADISYS

Windows 8 now available to OEMs via Microsoft Connect

Select Microsoft Connect partners -- major players like HP -- have been given their first taste of Windows 8. According to various sources, the build string currently sits at 7971.0.110324-1900, which is the third milestone build of the successor to Windows 7.

So far, there haven't been many details revealed about Windows 8. An actual System Restore -- which is being referred to as History Vault -- has been reported, and the feature will allow users and administrators to completely roll back a system to a previous state. A factory reset option is also said to be included.

We've also seen Windows Live integration taking shape on the desktop. It's believed that you'll be able to log in to Windows 8 using your Windows Live credentials, not just a traditional offline Windows username and password.

All that's left now is for a leaked Windows 8 build to show up on a torrent site. Feel free to tip us if you see that happen.

Windows 8 now available to OEMs via Microsoft Connect originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/windows-8-now-available-to-oems-via-microsoft-connect/

TOTAL SYSTEM SERVICES TNS

Adafruit's Circuit Playground show to teach kids about electronics with cute components

Adafruit already welcomes newcomers to do-it-yourself device culture, but it still assumes a certain amount of comfort with coding and soldering. The shop now wants to accommodate the most basic of beginners by starting a children's web series that teaches electronics. Circuit Playground will provide activities, songs and stories that put a friendly face on engineering, in some ways very directly: many of the shows will involve big-eyed characters (and, naturally, corresponding toys) like Cappy the Capacitor. Although the series doesn't start until March, it could be vital to a generation of kids growing up immersed in technology -- and ultimately create a larger customer base for Adafruit in the process.

Filed under: Misc, Alt

Comments

Via: The Verge

Source: Wired

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/mLXOHkAj4AA/

INSIGHT ENTERPRISES INGRAM MICRO

Those Spicy Snapchat Vids Don't Self-Destruct

So you thought those photos and videos you sent using Snapchat or Poke -- you know, the embarrassing ones -- were supposed to self-destruct after being viewed by the intended recipient? Not so fast. It turns out that there's a way to save them that doesn't require a lot of skill or expense. When an iPhone on the receiving end of a message is plugged into a PC to sync, it is possible to search the phone's temporary files and find the videos sent via Snapchat or Poke.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/2705eacf/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C769770Bhtml/story01.htm

EMC ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING

Frequency Tunes Out the Noise When Tuning In to Videos

One of the most irritating things about enjoying videos, movies and TV shows online is the sheer number of places you must navigate to in order to get the content. Each of the major television networks has its own channel, some of which serve up some full episodes some of the time, while others just serve up teaser clips and ongoing snippets, like the opening monologues for "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson." Plus, each of these networks and channels and publishing units often have their own apps, too.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/26f9e436/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C769250Bhtml/story01.htm

MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR MOBILE TELESYSTEMS

Heads up: No podcast tonight

A quick heads up that there will be no live show of the Android Central Podcast tonight, or for the rest of the year. Frankly, there's nothing going on this week anyway, and the rest of this egg nog isn't going to drink itself. (For a different sort of concoction, we point you toward Jerry's Double Turkey Triple Sec.)

While you wait for us to reappear next year, we invite you -- nay, we implore you -- to do the following:

• Subscribe to the Android Central Podcast feed with your favorite podcatcher. Pocket Casts. Google Listen. Stitcher. Whatever. Subscribe. You don't want to miss a show.
• If you have missed a show (it happens, we know), catch up with our podcast archive. These are timeless artifacts, folks, and they only get better with age.

And so, with that, we bid you adieu, and we'll be back on the air in 2013. (Which is, after all, next week.)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/hgh_qIHHv7M/story01.htm

MANTECH INTERNATIONAL MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES

How to search Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Wolfram|Alpha using Siri

Complete guide to Siri commands for searching the web with Google and information with Wolfram|Alpha

If you need information, chances are Siri can help you find it. Apple currently enables Siri to search Google (or Yahoo! or Bing) for general information, and Wolfram|Alpha for computational knowledge. You can use Siri to find anything you would normally type into a web search box, only there's no typing needed. Just ask, and you'll get back everything from the latest celebrity gossip to the answers to that nagging math questions to a listing of the best free apps for your iPhone.

• How to search the web with Siri
• How to query Wolfram|Alpha with Siri

How to search the web with Siri

Siri can search the web using whichever search engine you've set as default in Settings, under Safari. Unless you've changed it, that's Google. Yahoo! or Microsoft's Bing are the other options.

1. Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.

2. Tell Siri what you want to search for. For example, "Search for the best free iPhone apps" or "search the web from pasta recipes".

How to check alternate search engines with Siri

If you don't want to change your default search engine, but still want to check a different search engine, Siri can do that too.

1. Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.

2. Tell Siri what you want to search for, and which search engine you want to use. For example, "Search Yahoo! for iMore" or "Search Bing for guitars".

How to query Wolfram|Alpha with Siri

Siri also has Wolfram|Alpha built right in. That means Siri can help you get answers to everything from basic equations to more advanced computations.

1. Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.

2. Tell Siri what you want to know. For example, "What is the square root of 8?" or "What is the value of pi?"

How to get more help with Siri

If you still need help searching for information with Siri, or using any other Siri feature, head on over to our Siri Forum and ask away!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/F4cVQNh3HAE/story01.htm

SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS SILICON LABORATORIES