Tech Blog

Social Savvy Beats Cold Read for Warming Up to Customers
April 30, 2013

If you're a dedicated skeptic like I am, you probably know the way a psychic's cold read works. Start by asking a broad question that fits almost anyone -- like, "Have you lost someone you love?" Allow the mark to fill in the blanks, and then ask further leading questions based on information fed to you until the mark thinks you're actually communicating with a dead relative.

What Happens When Android Fails?
April 29, 2013

I've just finished doing yet another news program on the increasing risks of using an Android phone, and the discussions have started to drift to the potential for class-action lawsuits, commercial plane crashes, and cyberdisasters that would make 9/11 seem trivial -- all connected to this platform.

FOSS Fact or Fiction? A Tale of Two Surveys
April 29, 2013

It's a well-known fact that statistics can be manipulated to suit virtually every occasion and purpose, but every once in a while an example comes along that illustrates that rule with breathtaking clarity. Case in point? Two recent surveys on the topic of FOSS that came out in the very same week.

India to Get a Smartphone for the Blind
April 25, 2013

A company in India has developed a smartphone for the blind. The device will be equipped to read text messages and emails, and it will then convert the text to Braille. It will utilize shape memory alloy technology, which exploits a metal's ability to "remember" its original shape. The phone's screen is not a screen so much as a grid of pins that move up and down to form Braille characters.

Have Linux Distros Gotten Too Tubby?
April 25, 2013

The size of Linux's waistline has long been the focus of recurring attention here in the Linux blogosphere, even drawing occasional criticism from Linus Torvalds himself. Recently, however, a fresh weight-related complaint was made -- not about the kernel itself, but about today's Linux distros.

Aussie Police Nab Possible Lulzsec Ringleader
April 24, 2013

Police in Australia have arrested a 24-year-old who claims to be a high-level member of the international hacking collective Lulzsec. The IT worker was charged with two counts of unauthorized modification of data and one count of unauthorized access to/modification of restricted data. In other words, he attacked and defaced a government website.

Germany Levies Max Fine Against Google; Max Fine Is Piddly
April 23, 2013

Dramatic rhetoric, tiny fine. German data regulators fined Google less than $190,000 for collecting information from unsecured WiFi networks while it compiled data for Google Street View. The data scoop was, according to Germany's data chief, "one of the biggest known data protection violations in history." The fine? Hardly the biggest in history.

Android: A Second Career in Security?
April 23, 2013

Many of us have a wealth of decommissioned corporate-provisioned mobile devices: We've bought them, handed them out, and seen them used successfully for years. Now they're on their way to the great docking station in the sky. However, because these devices are already off the books adapting them for specific security functions can mean achieving certain goals practically for free.

Schmidt on Google's UK Taxes: This Is How It's Done
April 22, 2013

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt defended the company's tax practices in the United Kingdom, where Google and a handful of other U.S. tech companies have been chastised for not paying enough taxes. Google paid just over $9 million in UK taxes in 2011, despite hundreds of millions in turnover. The company was able to pull this off by operating out of Ireland, which has a much lower tax rate.

Magellan SmartGPS Does the Cloud Right
April 22, 2013

With smartphones and an increasing number of tablets becoming GPS-capable, it is easy to write off dedicated GPS players. So many seem stuck in the past -- days when devices needed a wired connection for updates and didn't seem to be aware of Web services they might be ideal for, like Yelp. I think it is time to revisit the dedicated GPS player, and I'll use the Magellan SmartGPS as an example of the current best of class.

Farewell, Fuduntu: The Untimely Demise of a Winning Linux Distro
April 22, 2013

Last Monday delivered both death and taxes. April 15 was not only the day U.S. taxes were due, but also the day two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon. The magnitude of that tragedy is far beyond the scope of this column, of course, but Monday also brought a casualty -- albeit on a much smaller scale -- to those of us here in the Linux world. It wasn't a human death, fortunately.

Icelandic App Aims to Prevent Accidental Incest
April 18, 2013

Before knocking boots, knock phones. Three software engineers at the University of Iceland have designed an app to alert people if a casual encounter might in fact be casual incest. By bumping their mobile devices together, the app lets users -- and potential partners -- instantly compare their lineage, showing the nearest common ancestors. If a close relative is detected, users are alerted via an alarm and text warning.

Is 'Linux' a Word Better Left Unspoken?
April 18, 2013

It's no secret that brand image is a crucial consideration in most any consumer product's success, and Linux is surely no exception. That's been a hot topic of conversation before, but recently it's popped up again with a fresh new twist. "The Linux Inside Stigma" was the title of the post that started the ball rolling this time, and rolled it has.

Samsung Under the Gun for Alleged Anti-HTC Rumormongering
April 17, 2013

Taiwan authorities have launched a probe into charges that Samsung hired students to post disparaging comments about HTC online. If the false advertising accusations are upheld, Samsung and its local advertising agent could be on the hook for about $835,000. The complaints sprouted earlier this month when Internet users claimed that Samsung had contracted students to write online content attacking HTC and lauding Samsung.

Can Apple's 'Genius' Sprout Far From the Tree?
April 17, 2013

Messianic tendencies are seldom healthy, but they can be doubly destructive in business, where a misstep, missed trend or messy product launch can turn last year's wunderkind into this year's washout. So it's interesting to consider why Silicon Valley -- along with much of the rest of IT -- is so fixated on "rock star" executives. If you think an industry that prides itself on innovation would be immune to self-indulgent behavioral clichés, you'd be wrong.

Google, EU Reach Meeting of the Minds
April 15, 2013

In an effort to appease European regulators, Google for the first time has agreed to make legally binding changes to its search results. The changes stem from a two-year investigation into whether Google abused its online search dominance in Europe. The changes will not force Google to amend its algorithm, but instead will require it to clearly label search results from its own properties.

The Rebirth of PCs, or Telling IT to Frack Off Again
April 15, 2013

I've been watching the horrid numbers surrounding the PC market with double digit declines and folks increasingly talking about the "death of the PC," but I don't think the PC is dying any more than computing was dying when the PC was created. What we are seeing is a rapid evolution of the platform -- a shift to where the calculations are made back to a centralized resource, but the end result is at least as personal as we have always had.

Fairness Is MIA in FairSearch.org
April 15, 2013

It's a good thing the tequila flows so freely here in the Linux blogosphere, or public health officials would have a lot more problems on their hands. After all, between Secure Boot, Canonical's wild moves and the Menace of Mordor -- er, Redmond -- Linux fans have more than their fair share of things to worry about in any given day, week or month.

Konnichi-Whoops! Japanese City Accidentally Tweets About North Korean Attack
April 12, 2013

The official Twitter page for the Japanese city of Yokohama announced that "North Korea has launched a missile." This would be scary if true, but because it didn't actually happen, it's just kind of embarrassing. The tweet, which was sent out to 40,000 followers, had been drafted in case, you know, North Korea actually did attack. It had blank spaces to indicate the time of the rocket launch. The city deleted the tweet and apologized to its followers.

Using Cloud Analytics to Corral Big Data
April 12, 2013

Strategic Big Data and Actionable Analytics are two of the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2013, according to Gartner. Yet only 12 percent have a big data strategy that governs their daily operations, a recent survey of 339 data management professionals by SAS and SourceMedia found. In my view, this gap is the result of years of unfulfilled promises from a previous generation of business intelligence and data integration vendors.