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From 1 March, Microsoft will ask millions of Europeans if they want to use a web browser other than its own.
Windows users will be offered the choice as part of a deal Microsoft struck with the European Commission.
The agreement resolves a long running case in which the software giant was accused of abusing its market position.
A pop-up window will prompt people to choose and install one of 12 different browsers or let them stick with Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
More here:Browser choices
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tracing our family tree
This is a new area for us. A week or so ago, I was contacted by 'John Durham', who lives in New Plymouth. He has been doing research into our family name and history since settlers first arrived in New Zealand. He is gradually building a family tree to help us find our ancestral roots. So far he has identified several people we did not know about.
It seems our involvement in this land has been more extensive than anyone suspected. We may have a considerable number of relatives we never met. So far it is incomplete, but there is potential to learn more as they are contacted for information about their memories and relatives. Interesting that he should contact his namesake isn't it?
It seems our involvement in this land has been more extensive than anyone suspected. We may have a considerable number of relatives we never met. So far it is incomplete, but there is potential to learn more as they are contacted for information about their memories and relatives. Interesting that he should contact his namesake isn't it?
Friday, February 26, 2010
Botnet foiled!
Microsoft's foiling of botnet gets mixed response Were you wondering if anyone could do something about the botnet and spam problems? Now someone has. For the first time (in my experience) such a system has been brought down, resulting in shut down for the nasty system.
It was achieved in part by removing the domains they operated from.
It may be only a portion of those out there, but at least it is a good start. Wouldn't you do it given the chance?
It was achieved in part by removing the domains they operated from.
It may be only a portion of those out there, but at least it is a good start. Wouldn't you do it given the chance?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
News:Google bosses convicted in Italy
An Italian court has convicted three Google executives in a trial over a
video showing an autistic teenager being bullied.
The Google employees were accused of breaking Italian law by allowing the video to be posted online. Judge Oscar Magi absolved the three of defamation but convicted them of privacy violations.
The UK's former Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said the case gave privacy laws a "bad name".
The three employees, Peter Fleischer, David Drummond and George De Los Reyes, received suspended six-month sentences, while a fourth defendant, product manager Arvind Desikan, was acquitted.
David Drummond, chief legal officer at Google and one of those
convicted, said he was "outraged" by the decision.
More here
video showing an autistic teenager being bullied.
The Google employees were accused of breaking Italian law by allowing the video to be posted online. Judge Oscar Magi absolved the three of defamation but convicted them of privacy violations.
The UK's former Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said the case gave privacy laws a "bad name".
The three employees, Peter Fleischer, David Drummond and George De Los Reyes, received suspended six-month sentences, while a fourth defendant, product manager Arvind Desikan, was acquitted.
David Drummond, chief legal officer at Google and one of those
convicted, said he was "outraged" by the decision.
More here
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Article:Consumers 'confused by copyright'
Consumers are confused by copyright laws that mean it is still illegal to copy a CD onto their computer, a watchdog says.
Consumer Focus said that copyright law was outdated and millions of people were unaware they were breaking laws.
But a legal expert has said that there was no danger of individual consumers being prosecuted for copying music and films for their own use.
Instead commercial operations are the focus of law enforcement.
More here:Confused by copyright
Consumer Focus said that copyright law was outdated and millions of people were unaware they were breaking laws.
But a legal expert has said that there was no danger of individual consumers being prosecuted for copying music and films for their own use.
Instead commercial operations are the focus of law enforcement.
More here:Confused by copyright
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Cannot search messages in Thunderbird Mail
About 1 month ago I reported a bug in Thunderbird Mail which prevented searches from working. Shortly after that a new version came out, in which the problem seemed to be fixed. Unfortunately, a short time later, it returned. Mail searching has not worked since!
Do our highly skilled developers have an answer for this conundrum? Meanwhile, as frustration increases, users endeavor to continue on with faulty email software. You can find the issue at this link: Thunderbird search bug
I just discovered that downloading and installing the latest Thunderbird issue seems to fix the search problem. At this stage there is no guarantee that the bug won't return in time. I will be watching for it.
Since then I have downloaded a new version over the old copy. So far the problem has not resurfaced, but I'll be watching.
Do our highly skilled developers have an answer for this conundrum? Meanwhile, as frustration increases, users endeavor to continue on with faulty email software. You can find the issue at this link: Thunderbird search bug
I just discovered that downloading and installing the latest Thunderbird issue seems to fix the search problem. At this stage there is no guarantee that the bug won't return in time. I will be watching for it.
Since then I have downloaded a new version over the old copy. So far the problem has not resurfaced, but I'll be watching.
Are our email filters too efficient?
This morning I discovered that a local person who had been trying to email me needed to try 3 times before one got through. Normally this could not have happened because my ISP is not in the habit of blocking normal web traffic.
Unfortunately, many internet service providers have had to upgrade security on regular email accounts to prevent unsolicited junk messages which have annoyed most of us for a long time.
Could it be that some of the innocent words in those emails (properly used) could have been seen by the filters as being commercial junk mail?
The fact is that from time to time most of us either communicate with businesses or order items from them on line.
Are we to take this as an inevitable consequence of that legacy, or start looking for a new bug in the system?
Unfortunately, many internet service providers have had to upgrade security on regular email accounts to prevent unsolicited junk messages which have annoyed most of us for a long time.
Could it be that some of the innocent words in those emails (properly used) could have been seen by the filters as being commercial junk mail?
The fact is that from time to time most of us either communicate with businesses or order items from them on line.
Are we to take this as an inevitable consequence of that legacy, or start looking for a new bug in the system?
News:Kenya scandal splits political elite
As a bitter power struggle rumbles on among Kenya's elite after the suspension of two ministers amid corruption scandals, the BBC's Will Ross in Nairobi assesses the impact of the graft on the country's young.
In a primary school in a Nairobi slum more than 80 students are squeezed into one classroom.
As the teacher tests their science knowledge, the wide-eyed children raise their hands in unison. There is a real hunger to learn here.
But these students and others across the country are the victims of just one of the high-level corruption scams eating away at the public coffers.
More here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8526824.stm
In a primary school in a Nairobi slum more than 80 students are squeezed into one classroom.
As the teacher tests their science knowledge, the wide-eyed children raise their hands in unison. There is a real hunger to learn here.
But these students and others across the country are the victims of just one of the high-level corruption scams eating away at the public coffers.
More here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8526824.stm
Friday, February 19, 2010
Bad neighbours?
Earlier this week I was asked to help relocate 2 people to a new address. This would normally not be a problem, however this time they were forced out by new neighbors who threatened to kill them if they didn't stop complaining about the excessive noise.
Most of us would understand the situation and the potential risk in such a case.
Are you aware of such cases in your neighborhood?
What would have been your reaction to people in need as these were?
Most of us would understand the situation and the potential risk in such a case.
Are you aware of such cases in your neighborhood?
What would have been your reaction to people in need as these were?
News:WordPress network bug throws millions of blogs offline
Network problems knocked more than 10 million WordPress blogs offline in a two hour outage on 18 February.
WordPress.com said the problem was caused by a core router change at one of its data centre providers which "broke the site".
The company estimated that during the outage, the blogosphere lost about 5.5 million pageviews.
WordPress.com founder Matt Mullenweg said it was the firm's "worst downtime in four years".
More here
WordPress.com said the problem was caused by a core router change at one of its data centre providers which "broke the site".
The company estimated that during the outage, the blogosphere lost about 5.5 million pageviews.
WordPress.com founder Matt Mullenweg said it was the firm's "worst downtime in four years".
More here
Monday, February 15, 2010
News:Internet fraud targeted by new team
A new team is being created to tackle online fraudsters operating in Britain amid a failure to secure any conviction under existing measures.
The "cyber enforcement team" will be set up as part of a £4.3m investment by the government over three years to tackle internet and e-mail cons.
So far nobody has been convicted by UK authorities tackling these crimes, but many websites have been closed.
An estimated £3.5bn is lost to all types of scams in the UK each year.
Recent research by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) found that 73% of adults had received a scam e-mail in the past year.
More here:more here
The "cyber enforcement team" will be set up as part of a £4.3m investment by the government over three years to tackle internet and e-mail cons.
So far nobody has been convicted by UK authorities tackling these crimes, but many websites have been closed.
An estimated £3.5bn is lost to all types of scams in the UK each year.
Recent research by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) found that 73% of adults had received a scam e-mail in the past year.
More here:more here
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Hackers threatening, governments responding
In a recent article by Zoe Kleinman "
Cyber attacks against Australia 'will continue",
What do you think of this behavior? How would your respond to these questions?
1) Is this behavior reckless?
2) Do these acts seem justified, or should those involved have tried a better way?
3) Supposing this had been done to YOUR WEBSITE, would your answer be different?
Cyber attacks against Australia 'will continue",
An activist group that temporarily blocked access to key Australian government websites plans to continue its cyber attacks, the BBC has learned.
The group, known as Anonymous, was protesting against the Australian government's proposals to apply filters to the internet in the country.
A man claiming to be a representative of the group said that around 500 people were involved in the attack.
More here
Chinese hacking attacks
What do you think of this behavior? How would your respond to these questions?
1) Is this behavior reckless?
2) Do these acts seem justified, or should those involved have tried a better way?
3) Supposing this had been done to YOUR WEBSITE, would your answer be different?
Monday, February 8, 2010
News:China shuts down training website for hackers
China has closed down what is believed to be the country's biggest training website for hackers, state media has reported.
They say the site, Black Hawk Safety Net, gave lessons in hacking and sold downloads of malicious software.
The reports say three people suspected of running the site were arrested.
Hacking is a sensitive topic for China, especially since the internet giant Google recently threatened to pull out of the country.
Google said China-based hackers had attacked its operations but the Chinese government denied any involvement.
More here: China shuts down training web site for hackers
They say the site, Black Hawk Safety Net, gave lessons in hacking and sold downloads of malicious software.
The reports say three people suspected of running the site were arrested.
Hacking is a sensitive topic for China, especially since the internet giant Google recently threatened to pull out of the country.
Google said China-based hackers had attacked its operations but the Chinese government denied any involvement.
More here: China shuts down training web site for hackers
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Amazon is promoting my novel
I didn't ask them to, but it appears "Return" (by me) is being advertised by amazon.com on their system here:Return by John Durham (review here:Return (reviews)
Rating:94% positive over the past 12 months (2820 ratings.) 3986 lifetime ratings.
Rating:94% positive over the past 12 months (2820 ratings.) 3986 lifetime ratings.
Friday, February 5, 2010
News:Microsoft to patch 17-year-old computer bug
A 17-year-old bug in Windows will be patched by Microsoft in its latest security update.
The February update for Windows will close the loophole that dates from the time of the DOS operating system.
First appearing in Windows NT 3.1, the vulnerability has been carried over into almost every version of Windows that has appeared since.
The monthly security update will also tackle a further 25 holes in Windows, five of which are rated as "critical".
More here: Patching bug
Monday, February 1, 2010
Battery recycling rules in force for stores
New EU rules have come into force that require some stores selling batteries to provide in-store recycling bins.
Anyone selling more than 32kg a year - equivalent to one pack of four AA batteries a day - must comply as part of targets on cutting landfill.
Reported at:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8490175.stm
Bloggers note: This issue is made more urgent by the toxic chemicals in modern batteries including lead, cadmium etc which are poisons that remain in the environment whether they are oxidized or in the form of metals or related compounds. Compounds of Lead and Cadmium are toxic by definition and have a tendency to slowly build up in the body (often found in cases where children have become sick after ingesting flakes of lead based paint from old buildings).Lead poisoning
Anyone selling more than 32kg a year - equivalent to one pack of four AA batteries a day - must comply as part of targets on cutting landfill.
Reported at:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8490175.stm
Bloggers note: This issue is made more urgent by the toxic chemicals in modern batteries including lead, cadmium etc which are poisons that remain in the environment whether they are oxidized or in the form of metals or related compounds. Compounds of Lead and Cadmium are toxic by definition and have a tendency to slowly build up in the body (often found in cases where children have become sick after ingesting flakes of lead based paint from old buildings).Lead poisoning
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
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