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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 16 Issue 08
Volume 16, Issue 08 Atari Online News, Etc. February 21, 2014
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2014
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Fred Horvat
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1608 02/21/14
~ LinkedIn Member Block! ~ People Are Talking! ~ How To Get Hacked!
~ Google Grabs Spider.io ~ Secret Adds New Options ~ Plants vs. Zombies!
~ Surface 2 Release Close ~ Steve Jobs To Get Stamp ~ Facebook & Deceased!
-* FCC Plans To Issue New Rules *-
-* Google To Create A Much Faster Web! *-
-* Internet A Crucial Venezuela Battleground! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It's been a long week, made worse by a couple of more nasty snowstorms
here in the Northeast (and elsewhere throughout the country). I have to
admit, I'm spent this week! So, in essence of time - to get some rest
and get this issue out, I'll let this week go by quietly as far as some
commentary goes.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare Won't Have Microtransactions
Good news for those who despise the premise of paying for things inside a
game after purchasing the game, PopCap Games has announced that Plants vs.
Zombies: Garden Warfare will launch without microtransactions.
This was confirmed by studio producer Brian Lindley while speaking with
Gamespot.
Lindley, however, wouldnt confirm that microtransactions wouldnt be a
part of the games future. He simply stated that the studio will look at
the in-game metrics and feedback from players to determine how best to
move forward with the game.
In terms of the games resolution, Lindley told Gamespot the game will
run at 1080p.
On next-gen consoles, players can experience all EA games at 1080p, he
said. Some are rendered natively, others are up-scaled by the next-gen
hardware systems. Either way, the visuals are stunning and the gameplay
is impeccable, regardless of platform.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare launches on February 25 for Xbox One,
Xbox 360 and PC. It will cost users $40 on Xbox One, and $30 for the
other two platforms.
There are no plans in place to bring the game to PlayStation consoles.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
FCC Plans To Issue New 'Net Neutrality' Rules
The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday it will write new
rules to prevent Internet service providers from charging companies such
as Netflix Inc. or Google Inc. a toll to reach consumers at the highest
speeds.
What does a Netflix streaming traffic jam look like from the inside?
Cogent Communications CEO Dave Schaeffer discusses the heated battle
between cable companies and content providers. Photo: Getty Images.
The guidelines are expected to ban broadband Internet providers from
blocking or slowing down access to websites. The rule making will be the
FCC's third attempt in recent years at enforcing a concept known as "net
neutrality."
Supporters say net neutrality is crucial to keeping the Internet open and
allowing smaller companies to compete with the biggest content providers.
But the courts have ruled against the FCC's previous attempts to enforce
net neutrality on companies like Comcast Corp. and Verizon Communications
Inc. that provide Internet connections to households and businesses.
The FCC will rely on different legal arguments than in past efforts and
believes it is on firmer legal footing this time around.
"The FCC must stand strongly behind its responsibility to oversee the
public interest standard and ensure that the Internet remains open and
fair," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a written statement. "The
Internet is and must remain the greatest engine of free expression,
innovation, economic growth, and opportunity the world has ever known."
Last month the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
threw out FCC rules barring providers from blocking or slowing down
websites, but acknowledged the commission has some authority to regulate
broadband company practices. The FCC on Wednesday said it won't appeal
the D.C. Circuit's ruling.
The FCC said it would likely propose new rules in the late spring or early
summer, after soliciting initial public comment.
At least one Republican FCC commissioner voiced dissent. "I am deeply
concerned by the announcement that the FCC will begin considering new ways
to regulate the Internet," FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, a
Republican, said. "Instead of fostering investment and innovation through
deregulation, the FCC will be devoting its resources to adopting new
rules without any evidence that consumers are unable to access the
content of their choice."
Any rules would have to be approved by a vote of the five-member
Commission, which includes three Democrats and two Republicans.
The announcement means the FCC has thus far resisted calls from Democrats
and public interest groups to reclassify broadband Internet as a public
utility, which would subject the industry to much greater regulation. Net
neutrality supporters argue reclassifying broadband is the only way to
make the rules stand up in court, but doing so would likely provoke
additional political backlash from Republicans.
Andy Schwartzman, a telecom lawyer and adviser to the anti-media
consolidation group Free Press, said not doing so in the latest rule
making effort "would be repeating the biggest mistake" made during prior
efforts by former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.
Republicans on Capitol Hill remain unhappy with the FCC net neutrality
effort. "The Obama administration refuses to abandon its furious pursuit
of these harmful policies to put government in charge of the web," House
Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R., Mich.) and Rep. Greg Walden
R., Ore.) said in a joint statement.
Sen. Edward Markey (D., Mass), said he is "pleased to see the chairman
moving forward to reinstate rules on strong legal footing that preserve
the open nature of the Internet."
Broadband providers have argued reclassification would be disastrous for
the industry because it would subject them to regulations designed for
the landline phone system.
"We think reclassification would probably be the ultimate death of the
broadband market," Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen said in
an interview last week. "We think it would dry up private investment and
destroy all the gains made in the broadband market in the U.S."
Mr. Wheeler has left the option open for now, which could serve as a
deterrent for broadband providers seeking to challenge the rules in court
again.
A Verizon spokesman said it was too early to determine whether the
company would challenge any new rules crafted by the FCC. The company
won't further appeal last month's court ruling and will continue to abide
by its previous net neutrality pledge.
"Verizon remains committed to an open Internet that provides consumers
with competitive choices and unblocked access to lawful websites and
content," spokesman Ed McFadden said.
Comcast suggested last week it would be supportive of net neutrality
rules that don't involve reclassification. The company agreed to abide by
the FCC's net neutrality rules until 2018 to gain approval for its
acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011.
A senior FCC official said the agency expects broadband providers to
uphold their commitments to net neutrality while the rule making process
unfolds.
"The cable industry has always embraced the principles of an open
Internet," said former FCC Chairman Michael Powell, now the CEO of the
National Cable and Telecommunications Association. "We continue to
believe that the values of an open Internet can be preserved, while
avoiding a damaging move to heavier regulation."
As part of the process, the FCC will also examine ways to encourage
competition in the broadband market. That could include removing legal
restrictions that prevent cities and towns from building their own
broadband or Wi-Fi networks.
Internet A Crucial Venezuela Battleground
The battle for Venezuela is being fought as vigorously online as in the
streets, with authorities cutting off Internet service to a strife-torn
university city and blocking selected websites and a "walkie-talkie"
service widely used by protesters.
Internet connectivity was gradually restored to San Cristobal, capital of
the western border state of Tachira, on Friday morning after an outage of
more than 30 hours that also affected smartphones.
Soldiers patrolled the streets after another night in which police firing
tear gas broke up protests just as they had the night before, when
Internet service was cut. A local TV journalist, Beatriz Font, reported
hearing gunshots.
"It's an abuse!" Jeffrey Guerrero, a flour wholesaler, complained just
before service was restored. "We've had to find out what's happening in
our city from others." He held up his iPhone to show how his Twitter
service had halted.
The current wave of anti-government demonstrations, the fiercest unrest
since President Hugo Chavez died last March, began in early February in
San Cristobal, home to one private and three public universities.
On Thursday night, the U.S. company Zello told The Associated Press that
Venezuela's state-run telecoms company, CANTV, had just blocked access to
the push-to-talk "walkie-talkie" app for smartphones and computers that
has been a hugely popular organizing tool for protesters from Egypt to
Ukraine.
Zello supports up to 600 users on a single channel, and company CEO Bill
Moore said it became the No. 1 app in Ukraine on Thursday for both the
iOS and Android operating systems. In just one day this week, Zello
reported more than 150,000 downloads in Venezuela.
Venezuela's information war escalated last week as the government blocked
images on Twitter after violence in Caracas claimed three lives amid
protests over woes including rampant inflation, food shortages and one of
the world's highest murder rates.
The socialist government cemented its near-monopoly on broadcast media
during Chavez's 14-year rule, and social media have been crucial for
young opposition activists as they organize and exchange information on
deaths, injuries and arrests.
Net-savvy activists also reported a serious nationwide degradation
Thursday in Internet service provided by CANTV, which handles about 90
percent of the country's traffic.
They said websites including NTN24.com, run by the eponymous
Colombia-based regional news network, and online pastebin.com bulletin
boards that cyberactivists use to anonymously share information were
being blocked.
President Nicolas Maduro ordered NTN24 removed from the air last week
after it broadcast video of a student killed by a gunshot to the head in
Caracas.
U.S.-based company Renesys, a top analyzer of global Internet traffic,
confirmed the website blocking and service degradation, but said it could
not determine if CANTV was decreasing bandwidth.
"I certainly don't know from our data if it is deliberate, although given
the context, it seems plausible," said Renesys researcher Doug Madory.
Venezuela's traffic to its close ally Cuba over the ALBA-1 undersea
cable, meanwhile, appeared unaffected, he said.
Programmer and cyberactivist Jose Luis Rivas, who is from San Cristobal
but did not give his location fearing persecution, said the Internet went
out in most of the city of 600,000 about midnight Wednesday.
Since protests accelerated last week, activists have posted YouTube videos
of riot police and National Guard breaking up demonstrations. Sometimes,
the security forces are accompanied by pistol-packing motorcycle gangs of
Chavista loyalists that the opposition also blames for killings and other
abuses.
Rivas said that on Wednesday night, before the Internet went out in San
Cristobal, people were live-streaming video of a crackdown by security
forces.
Cutting the Internet deprived people of their only access to uncensored
information and Rivas said people told him "they felt fear because they
were no longer informed."
Government officials have not commented on the Internet outage and did
not respond to Associated Press queries on either it or the service
degradation and website blocking.
Spokespeople for Conatel, the government telecommunications regulator, and
the Ministry of Information said they were not authorized to discuss the
matter.
Conatel's director, William Castillo, tweeted Thursday that social
networks were being "invaded by cybercriminals who are attacking accounts
and manipulating information."
Information Minister Delcy Rodriguez used Twitter to complain that the
networks were being used to incite "coup-directed violence and create
anguish."
Hacktivists also have been attacking government websites from abroad,
rendering many unreachable with denial-of-service attacks, or data-packet
floods.
Images, meanwhile, were visible again on Twitter after last week's
outage. Company spokesman Nu Wexler said Thursday that measures which he
did not specify were taken to "ensure continuity of service." Twitter also
continued to tweet a workaround that lets users in Venezuela receive
tweets on their cellphones via text message.
Even before the latest round of protests, Venezuela had been blocking
websites that track the black market rate for the country's currency and
for several weeks knocked out access to the popular Web
address-shortening application Bitly, which was being used to get around
online controls.
Venezuelans who want to reach such sites are increasingly using proxy
services, which have long been employed by people in China and Iran to
circumvent government censors.
The international director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Danny
O'Brien, said he thought Venezuelan net censorship has been "somewhat
haphazard and arbitrary."
Nearly half Venezuela's population relies on government-controlled media
as their sole information source, the rest on the Internet.
But cutting off Internet is not smart political strategy, said O'Brien.
"I think the important lesson people should learn from these Internet
blackouts is that they just throw fuel on the flames of civil unrest."
Google Grabs Spider.io To Combat Ad Fraud
There are typically two ways to solve a technology problem: devise a
solution yourself or find someone who's working on the problem and buy
their expertise.
Looks like Google has taken the second path to advance its fight against
online advertising fraud; it's bought London-based cyber security outfit
Spider.io, which has made a mission out of combating click theft.
The details right now are slender, gleaned mostly by way of a post on
Google's DoubleClick Advertiser Blog that described how the short-term
mission is "to include [Spider.io's] fraud detection technology in our
video and display ads products, where they will complement our existing
efforts."
Based on other wording in the post, Spider.io's tech is intended to
complement other changes Google has made to its ad systems - such as,
Active View, "which lets advertisers buy only those ads that are viewable
on a page," and more aggressively removing bad ads from its system.
"Over the long term," the post says, "our goal is to improve the metrics
that advertisers and publishers use to determine the value of digital
media ... Also, by including spider.io's fraud fighting expertise in our
products, we can scale our efforts to weed out bad actors and improve the
entire digital ecosystem."
The most widespread problem with ad fraud is click spoofing - using bots,
or even human dupes, to generate fraudulent clicks on ads. The end result
is money milked from advertisers' pockets and into Google's, all for ad
impressions that never actually were seen - which ostensibly bothers
Google a lot less than it does advertisers. But Google still has good
reason to worry about ad fraud, since its entire business model depends
on advertising (as ZDNet's Ed Bott has pointed out time and again).
Google and third-party monitors of click fraud have locked horns over the
extent of the problem and the question of whether Google's or other
parties' methodologies provide more accurate measures of the problem. The
fight has escalated to a legal battle more than once; in 2006, Google
settled a major class-action click-fraud lawsuit to the tune of $90
million, with the terms of the settlement largely in Google's favor.
But one of Google's blackest eyes in online advertising came not from
click fraud but from Google's own amazingly bad judgment in selling ad
space to Canadian pharmacies that were hawking prescription drugs to U.S.
citizens. While Google apparently knew back in 2003 that these
cross-border shipments of pharmaceuticals were illegal, it didn't change
its policies on such ad sales until 2009 - six years later, and only after
it learned the Department of Justice was already on its tail. Small wonder
the DOJ fined Google half a billion dollars.
The tangled web of where online ad money comes from makes it easy for even
the most honest gatekeepers to be duped into funding piracy or cyber
crime. (That last link leads to a discussion of the issue by none other
than Douglas de Jager, CEO of Spider.io.) If Google wants to really do
something about the problem of ad fraud, better technology won't hurt, but
it would be even better to follow more of where its own money comes from
- if it dares.
The Next Data Theft Target: Your Medical Records
If you think Target and Neiman Marcus have done a lousy job of protecting
your personal information, you may want to have a serious talk with your
healthcare provider.
The impact of attacks on major retailers could be tiny compared with
whats likely to happen with even more sensitive data: our electronic
medical records. Thats because healthcare organizations are doing an
even worse job of protecting it than the big stores are, according to a
report to be released tomorrow by cyber-security firm Norse Corp. and the
SANS Institute, a security research and educational organization.
According to the report, millions of healthcare organizations have likely
had their networks exploited by cyber-criminals or infected with
malicious software that can be used to steal patients personal health
information.
Norse obtained this data by setting up honeypots sensors designed to
trap malicious traffic sent across the Internet and then it traced the
data packets back to their sources. Over a 13-month period, Norse
uncovered compromised machines at 375 health care organizations. Nearly
three-quarters of them were doctors offices and hospitals, with the
rest divided among other healthcare-related companies.
In addition to computers and networking equipment, compromised devices
included printers, video conferencing systems, call center software and
X-ray machines. The danger is that attackers could use an edge system,
an off-the-shelf device like a printer, to ultimately gain access to
databases of patient records.
Thieves could then sell your stolen personal health information on the
Internet black market, use your credentials to obtain medical services
and devices for themselves and others, or bill insurance companies for
phantom services in your name.
Medical ID theft is worse than financial identity theft, because there
are fewer legal protections for consumers. Many victims are forced to pay
out of pocket for health services obtained by the thieves, or risk losing
their insurance and/or ruining their credit ratings.
According to a survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute last September,
some 1.84 million Americans were victims of medical identity theft in
2013, costing them an estimated $12 billion in expenses. Two-thirds of
victims said they paid nothing at all; the other third claimed to have
paid an average of more than $18,000 apiece.
(Institute Chairman Larry Ponemon admits that those dollar figures are
estimates and that some of the financial data collected in the survey
defies easy explanation.)
Worse, someone obtaining medical services in your name could result in
inaccurate information being included in your medical records such as
procedures you never had or medications you dont take with potentially
disastrous results.
Are our healthcare records at risk? Absolutely. Do healthcare providers
do a poor job of protecting them? If this survey is any indication, then
the answer is yes.
But its also important to understand what the report did not say.
The report did not uncover any actual breaches of personal health
information or find that attackers were targeting these organizations
specifically to obtain medical records. It found no evidence that the
federal insurance marketplace, HealthCare.gov, has suffered any security
breaches.
The compromised systems uncovered in the survey did not include home
healthcare monitoring systems or physical fitness trackers like the
Jawbone UP, NikeFuel or Fitbit. While connected devices create new
opportunities for hackers, there are no confirmed reports of any
successful attacks on these things.
In fact, the biggest source of medical identity theft is not some hacker
half a world away, its the people in the bedroom down the hall. According
to the Ponemon survey, roughly a third of all medical ID theft occurs
between family members often an aging parent without insurance who
borrows a childs card. Another 30 percent is from people deliberately
sharing their medical credentials with someone they know.
Only about 15 percent of medical ID theft is blamed on data breaches or
deliberate attempts to steal credentials via phishing emails or fake
websites, according to the survey. And thats a guess at best, Ponemon
admits.
Still, the potential for cyber-theft of medical records is huge and
growing larger each day. Unfortunately, as with the Target breach,
theres not a whole lot consumers can do to protect their records once
theyre in the providers hands. The best you can do is to keep vigilant
watch over your personal health data and alert your providers if you see
anything that looks wrong.
Youll want to examine the Explanation of Benefits you receive from your
insurance company and request copies of your medical records from every
healthcare provider, and then dispute any charges that look bogus. Youll
want to keep an eye on your credit reports as well, since unpaid doctors
bills can affect your creditworthiness. And then hope that your
healthcare providers learn how to do a better job of dealing with the
dangers of cyberspace before they, too, get hacked.
Its not very tasty medicine, but its what the doctor would order, if
he only knew how.
How To Get Hacked in 5 Exciting Steps
Most people probably dont want to get hacked.
Most people dont want their password stolen by some anonymous Eastern
European teenager. They would not like discovering that they cant get
into their own email, Twitter, or Facebook accounts. They would find it
embarrassing if their friends all started saying, Did you know that Im
getting email spam from your account?
But come on, people. Whats life without a little risk? Doesnt some
danger make everything more exciting? Why do you think so many people
still text and drive? Why do you think people still bike without
helmets, swim right after eating, and cut off the DO NOT REMOVE tags
from their mattresses?
Thats right. Because risk makes everything more fun.
Youve read endless articles about how to protect yourself online. And
thats fine if youre a sheep, or youre a chicken, or you want to
plaster every surface of your life with bubble wrap.
But for those who seek the exhilaration of living dangerously, here it
is at last: the first concise, authoritative guide to making yourself
vulnerable online.
1. Choose an easy password. For years, the No. 1 most commonly chosen
password in the world was the word password.
Of course, thats also the worlds most easily guessed password. And
there really are professional creeps out there whose job it is to guess
passwords and get into accounts. They can actually sell name/password
combinations in online hacker forums.
Fortunately, were making progress. According to SplashDatas annual
Worst Passwords List, password is no longer the No. 1 most used
password. Its been surpassed by 123456. Good work, people.
If youre some kind of risk-averse wussy, its easy enough to invent a
password thats not hard to memorize but that no hacker can guess (and
that no computer program can guess by trying every word in the dictionary,
either). For example, you can compose a password from the initials of a
fun phrase, like the delicious password 29gofiabm. (That, of course,
stands for 29 grams of fat in a Big Mac.)
So, by all means, save yourself the mental strain of coming up with
something hard to guess. Use password, 123456, or another one of the
Top 20 like qwerty, iloveyou, or abc123.
2. Use the same password for all your important online accounts. Thats
right. Use that same, easy-to-memorize password for Yahoo, Facebook,
Twitter, Amazon, your bank, and your credit cards. That way, if the bad
guys manage to get their hands on one of your accounts, they can also get
into all your others. Now you get to live dangerously and youve also
made your life a lot easier. Only one password to memorize!
Its possible to have a different password for every site without having
to be a national memory champion. You could vary the password for each
website tacking on each sites first initial at the end. For Facebook,
29gofiabmf, for example; for Yahoo, 29gofiabmy.
But you, the thrillseeker, would never bother. Nor would you bother
installing a free password-management program like Dashlane or (for Apple
products) iCloud Keychain. Those programs let you have a different,
complex password for every site you visit without your having to
memorize anything at all!
But, hey. Wheres the thrill in that?
3. Dont surrender your cellphone number as a security measure. These
days, websites like Facebook, Gmail and Yahoo often ask you to provide
your cellphone number.
They do that for three security reasons. First, if you forget your
password or try to change it, theyll send a new one to your phone for
security.
Second, if the company gets hacked or your account gets locked for
security reasons, the company has a quick way to alert you by text
message and let you know the next steps.
Third, some websites, including Google, Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo Mail,
offer an optional, super-hyper-secure feature called two-factor
authentication. That user-hostile term means this: The first time you
log into your account from a new gadget, you have to enter a code that
the company sends to you on your cellphone. In other words, hackers
using their own computers can never get into your accounts unless they
also have your phone.
But you know what? All thats for lily-livered pansies. Want to live on
the edge? Keep your cellphone number to yourself!
4. When a bank or another company emails you to report a problem with
your account, click the link and log in!
Most of the time, those are fake emails.
Clicking the link takes you to a fake website, dressed up to look like
your banks (or eBays, or PayPals, or Amazons or whatever).
When you log in with your name and password, the bad guys intercept it.
Now they know your name and password, so they can get into your real
websites.
That particular scam sending phony email that seems to be from your bank
or another big company is known as phishing (because theyre fishing
for your information, get it?). And thousands of people every year get
scammed that way.
If you think that maybe there really is a problem with your bank, or eBay,
or Amazon account, you could open your browser and go log into the
companys website the usual way, not by clicking a link in an email.
If, however, you love the pulse-pounding adrenaline rush that comes from
tempting fate, by all means click the links in those emails and see what
happens!
5. When troubles arise, pay for help. No big-name website Yahoo,
Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon ever charges money to give you
technical support. (Yahoo, in fact, even has a toll-free help number for
I cant get into my account problems: 1-800-318-0612.)
A bunch of bogus help sites do charge you, though. They pose as
tech-support agencies that can solve problems with your account for a
fee, and often if you agree to give them remote control of your computer.
Only a sucker would fall for such a scheme or a thrill-seeker like you!
So there you have it: the five easy steps to getting hacked and scammed.
Why not make life more interesting for yourself? Start right away!
Youll be in good company. Hundreds of thousands of people are already
following exactly these steps today.
Google To Create Internet More Than 1,000 Times Faster
Google envisions an Internet that is 1,000 times faster than what the
average U.S. user currently experiences and it expects that vision to
become a reality within three years.
Thats where the world is going. Its going to happen, Google chief
financial officer Patrick Pichette said during the Goldman Sachs
Technology and Internet conference on Wednesday in San Francisco,
according to USA Today. Why wouldnt we make it available in three years?
Thats what were working on. Theres no need to wait.
Currently, most users experience Google Fiber data transfer speeds of
1 gigabit per second, but the goal is to increase to 10 gigabits as soon
as possible.
Google has had gigabit speeds in Kansas since 2012 and intends to provide
similar services in Texas and Utah.
Though Googles sheer volume of user data already on file is a cause for
concern to some, the plus side is that it has the money to fight
draconian laws that would protect incumbent providers aiming to stymie
competition, Wired magazine points out.
Nevertheless, the companys nationwide plans have already encountered
obstacles. Tech website Ars Technica noted that lobbyists for
corporations such as cable companies are looking for ways to stop Google
through the legislative process.
Google Explores Super-Speed Internet in 9 More Cities
Google may expand its ultra-high-speed internet service into several
other major metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Phoenix, San Jose,
Portland, Salt Lake City, and San Antonio.
This morning, with a blog post, the company revealed that its
considering the possibility of rolling its Google Fiber service into the
regions surrounding these and four other larger American cities. The
service is already up and running in Kansas City, Kansas, and its
slated to move into Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah.
When the company first revealed its Google Fiber project in 2010, it
described the service which provides internet speeds that are about 100
times faster than todays typical connections as a mere experiment, a
way of coaxing others towards faster speeds. But as Google moves to
expand the service, it looks more and more like an effort to provide a
very real alternative to internet connections from traditional
communications giants such as Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T.
Todays news is particularly welcome because it comes on the heels of
Comcasts agreement to purchase Time Warner Cable, a merger that would
combine the countrys two largest cable internet providers. In many ways,
the Comcast deal threatens the evolution of an unfettered internet here
in the U.S., but Google Fiber could provide a counter-balance, not only
by improving internet speeds but by injecting some much needed
competition into the market.
According to the blog post, from Google vice president of access service
Milo Medin, the company is considering expansions into the greater
metropolitan areas surrounding Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North
Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Phoenix, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; San
Jose, California; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Salt Late City, Utah;
and San Antonio, Texas. In these areas, the service could eventually
cover a total of 34 different cities.
But, as Google tells it, not all of these areas will necessarily receive
Google Fiber. The company will work with leaders in each city to determine
whether it can viably offer service to each. We aim to provide updates by
the end of the year about which cities will be getting Google Fiber,
Medin writes. Between now and then, well work closely with each citys
leaders on a joint planning process that will not only map out a Google
Fiber network in detail, but also assess what unique local challenges we
might face. Geography, housing density, and the condition of local
infrastructure will all play a role in the decision.
According to Medin, cities will also complete a checklist of items that
will help them get ready for a project of this scale and speed.
The process will take a while, but Google is playing a long game. Even as
it grooms the next batch of cities for its one gigabit connections, the
company is also working on technology capable of boosting speeds to 10
gigabits a second about 1,000 times faster than todays average
connection. Google Fiber is no flash in the pan.
Secret Adds Subscribe/Unsubscribe Options, Post Flagging, Unlinking And More
Hot anonymous social network Secret has just pushed an update for its app
that addresses a number of issues and improves performance. The new
version allows users to subscribe or unsubscribe to any Secret post by
swiping left, adds flagging of content that might be inappropriate,
enables unlinking (more below on what that means), and speeds up the
process of hearting posts.
These updates add a lot of highly requested features to Secret, which has
attracted a lot of attention based on its sometimes scandalous,
titillating and potentially newsmaking content. To date, however, it has
offered only fairly limited functionality, with a basic stream and
notifications when someone in your direct network shares something, plus
updates pushed whenever someone comments or interacts with content youve
shared. The ability to subscribe means you can keep up with threads and
posts you find interesting, even if you dont engage with them directly.
Flagging is another oft-mentioned feature when it comes to Secret
criticism. Some have suggested that Secret might be used for bullying,
and there is definitely some content Ive seen that could be potentially
damaging to the reputation or livelihood of certain individuals. Secret
founders David Byttow and Chrys Bader previously promised to offer more
privacy controls for users, and this is a good example of exactly that
kind of feature.
Another big improvement from a privacy perspective is the new Unlinking
option, which allows you to remove any association between you and all
of your previous posts on our servers. That means you wont be able to
comment on those posts as author, get notifications, or delete them, but
it also means you cant be tied to them at all.
UI improvements include the ability to swipe right to love or heart
posts, and a way to not only delete your own posts, but also remove ones
from others you dont want to see in your stream.
This update also helps progress Secrets efforts to foster communication
between users. Subscriptions give users many more reasons to come back to
the app, and to treat the network as more than just a Twitter-style
stream of content that appears and disappears with a relatively short
lifespan.
One complaint Ive heard about Secret from users who dont necessarily
have large, Silicon Valley-based address books to draw a pool of contacts
from is that the stream doesnt update frequently enough: Letting users
pay closer attention to the discussions going on within posts is a good
way to make even smaller networks seem more active, too.
The update should be appearing shortly for all those with the app
installed.
LinkedIn Gives Users 'Member Blocking'
LinkedIn users who'd rather not receive job inquiries or other messages,
or allow access to their profiles from certain other members, can now
block them.
"Member blocking," was recently released by the professional social
networking site after receiving requests from users. The feature adds an
additional layer to privacy controls by allowing users to block profiles,
direct interactions and network activity from other members with whom
they do not wish to interact.
"We built this feature not only because it was a feature our members
requested, but because we also knew it was the right thing to do," said
Paul Rockwell, who heads trust and safety at the site, in announcing the
tool.
The tool is available in a dropdown menu on the profile page, by clicking
on "block or report." If a user chooses block, then the two members won't
be able to access each other's profiles or send messages to each other.
If the two are already connected, then they won't be connected anymore if
one person blocks the other.
People can view and manage their list of blocked members within a block
list in their privacy and settings page.
In addition to blocking, LinkedIn also provides more granular controls to
let people customize which elements of their profiles are discoverable by
search engines, and who can see updates to their profile, among other
settings.
With the tools, LinkedIn aims to cut down on abuse of its site and give
its members a new method to prevent themselves from being spammed.
That's if users know who they should block. LinkedIn already gives members
the option to view others' profiles anonymously. If someone enables this
option, then only anonymous details about them show up, like their job
title or school, when others check to see who visited their profile.
LinkedIn said that at this time, people can't block anonymous viewers of
their profile.
The Surface 2 With AT&T LTE Inches Closer To Release
Last October, Microsoft announced that it would roll out an LTE-enabled
Surface 2 for AT&Ts network. Sometime. The announced time frame was early
2014, and, sure enough, the device has just been found in the public FCC
database, which means its nearing release. This will be the first Surface
tablet that ships with built-in cellular connectivity.
When a device hits the FCC database, it often means that it has passed the
commissions battery of testing to make sure its safe for consumers.
Among other things, the FCC tests devices that transmit wirelessly. Some
of these documents are released while others, often the docs that contain
specific information, are held under confidentiality agreements for
several weeks until the device is officially released or announced.
Around the announcement of the LTE Surface 2, there was talk of a
so-called Surface Mini with a 7- to 8-inch screen hitting the market in
early 2014, as well. Info on this model is still MIA. Chances are, with a
device of that significance, Microsoft isnt going to let it hit the FCC
database and ruin the surprise.
Facebook Turns Into A Public Memorial for Deceased Users
What happens to the Facebook profiles and accounts of users who die? The
most popular social networking site has changed its policies in handling
visibility of Facebook accounts of its deceased members. Thus, the
Website has just allowed itself to become a public memorial for its dead
users.
It should be noted that for many years now, the Website has become an
instrument to memorialize profiles of dead users. Facebook locks down
those members accounts.
Just recently, the Website has adjusted the restrictions on the visibility
of those memorialized accounts. Thus, it is now possible for the deceased
users Facebook friends to still see the profiles. Now, only Facebook
friends of the dead user could see the recent public posts as well as
images on the profiles of that deceased member. The site has agreed to
still make those profiles visible after the death of users.
From now on, Facebook said it would keep the visibility of a dead
persons content as well as account the way it had been set by that user.
The recent public posts and profiles would remain public. Logically, this
is making Facebook a public memorial for the dead user. It would be
instrumental in keeping some memories of a deceased user alive to his
family and friends who are also connected to him via the social
networking site.
In a statement, Facebook said it is respecting the choices a dead user
made in his life. At the same time, the Website is giving a service by
allowing family and friends to still see the profile and content on the
social media.
This move is now part of ways to answer several complicated questions
about who should control the digital legacy of a person if he dies. Many
of the bereaved are requesting access to the Facebook data and accounts
of their deceased loved one. They also usually want to turn those
profiles and accounts into online memorials. This may have prompted
Facebook to change some of its policies.
The Website hints that there would be more to come. It said it continues
to think of more ways on how it could help users pass on and keep their
memories and legacies even after their demise. Last year, Google started
allowing its members to state what they prefer to happen to their
profiles and data if ever they would pass away.
USPS To Commemorate Apple Founder Steve Jobs With His Own Stamp
Need to send a piece of snail mail to an Apple fanatic? Soon, therell
be a stamp for that.
The United States Postal Service will honor the late Apple co-founder
Steve Jobs with his own stamp next year. According to a report from The
Washington Post, which apparently acquired a secret list of future
honorees, the Jobs stamp will be released in 2015 as a collectible.
Other figures who will grace U.S. postage that year include late-night
host Johnny Carson, American architect Robert Robinson Taylor and
as-yet-unnamed science fiction writers. The designs of these stamps have
not yet been made public.
Jobs appearing on a postage stamp is somewhat ironic, of course: As the
comedian BJ Novak noted on Twitter, Few people did more to crush the US
Postal Service than Steve Jobs. By turning Internet-connected personal
computers, smartphones and tablets into everyday devices for millions of
Americans, Jobs and Apple played a large part in making email, SMS and
various other messaging services (worth $19 billion or what have you)
viable alternatives to what is now referred to derisively as snail
mail.
Still, Jobs rose to such prominence as an entrepreneur and businessman
in America that he deserved a stamp, and a stamp he will apparently get.
The Steve Jobs stamp wont be here until 2015; in the meantime, if you
need to find your nearest post office to pick one up well, the USPS
has a free app in iTunes that will do just that.
=~=~=~=
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