Archive for the ‘Networking’ Category

Report: URL shorteners suck, Google’s sucks the least

Download Squad readers haven’t been shy about voicing their general distaste for the bazillion different short URL services out there. As if you needed another reason, a new report shows — in USA Today style graphical goodness — just how much they suck.
Over at WatchMouse, you’ll find a rundown comparing 14 popular options including goo.gl, [...]

Digg 2.0 almost ready for prime time: faster, less draconian

Late last night in Texas — at the infamous and indefatigable SXSWi convention — Digg’s CEO Jay Adelson showed the world a new and revamped version of Digg. This overhaul, which has been five years in the making and the primary focus of the Digg team, will elicit a dramatic change in the slow, unwieldy [...]

Google might really pull out of China

So Google implicated the Chinese government of cyber warfare (an accusation which was then backed up by the White House). Google then went into talks with the Chinese government about said attacks and the Chinese requirement to censor search results. The talks apparently went quite badly, and have now come to a standstill.
And now, [...]

8000 iPhone and Android devices hacked to form a botnet

It was only a matter of time. First, jailbroken iPhones were humorously Rickrolled by a worm, and now both iPhones and Android phones have been exploited to form a botnet that is over 9,000 devices strong!
Fortunately, like the Rickroll, the botnet was a benign experiment by two researchers at TippingPoint Digital Vaccine Labs; a proof [...]

Goodbye, privacy: The entire UK set to go on Google Street View tomorrow

The UK is already one of the most-monitored Western countries. It has a record number of security cameras on the streets and public transport stations (one camera for every 14 people!); its authorities are installing chips in garbage cans to monitor the amount of trash, and now Google is “helping out” by bringing Streetview to [...]

We fair humans of Earth believe Internet access to be a fundamental human right

Today seems to be ‘rights for all!’ day, or something. It’s quite easy to get rights and privileges mixed up, which is the only explanation for the results of the BBC World Service survey: four in five people believe that Internet access is a fundamental right. Like the right to marry, or freedom of speech, [...]

Within a year, 90% of Microsoft employees will be working on cloud-related projects

I hinted that, with Office 2010, Microsoft would be moving the focus of its development towards the cloud, but I had no idea they were quite so involved! As of today, around 75% of its employees are working on cloud-related projects. “A year from now that will be 90 percent,” says CEO Steve Ballmer. According [...]

Firefox Friday — your weekly dose of FOXINESS

Good afternoon! As I write this the sun is shining, the birds (and ‘SEO specialists’) are tweeting, and the sky is a brilliant and pure baby blue. It’s spring, ladies and gentlemen, it’s frickin’ spring – here in England, at least. My apologies if you live in Canada, or somewhere else barren and inhospitable; I’m [...]

Mozilla crash proofs latest Firefox 3.7 alpha with out-of-process plugins

Hot on the heels of news that Flash is the most insecure and unstable element of the modern web browsing experience, the just-released Firefox 3.7 alpha 2 now loads plugins — like Shockwave Flash — into separate processes! Security and stability nerds rejoice!
It’s not quite per-tab processes, nor have Firefox add-ons been shifted into their [...]

Paper Rater analyzes your writing surprisngly well

As Paper Rater so eloquently states in HUGE type, it’s a free grammar and spelling check, with plagiarism detection thrown in for good measure.
It’s actually an interesting study in graphic design: Look at that screenshot. Would you rely on such a website for editing an important academic paper, a newspaper article, or any other important [...]