Facebook will let you promote if you are willing to pay

Posted by Jim Bernstein

Just like most websites out there, Facebook is apparently looking for a way to make a buck to keep its investors happy. And many Facebook users are looking for ways to make sure everyone sees their super important and exciting posts. Now there is a way to satisfy both parties.

Facebook is rolling out a new feature that will allow users to promote to their friends for the right price, similar to how advertisers promote their businesses. This feature can be used to promote big events that you don’t want your friends to miss. Facebook has not released pricing on this new feature at the moment but it’s rumored to be around $7 for the promotion.

Normally your posts are shown in others feeds based on things such as how interesting or relevant it is to other users. But if you pay to promote a post it will get bumped up higher in your friends news feeds so they will be more likely to notice it. Facebook has been testing this feature in 20 countries so far and is bringing it to the U.S.

Iran shutting off Google and Gmail

Posted by David Bernstein

Apparently not everyone can enjoy the freedom of the internet when it comes to searching for news and other types of information. Most of us can look up whatever we want without having to worry about it being blocked or censored by big brother aka the government. Or at least we think that’s the way it is.

If you live in Iran then you are already being censored and filtered and there isn’t much you can do about it unless you are tech savvy and know the few ways to get around it. Now the Iranian government wants to block Google and Gmail most likely because they are upset about them allowing the mocking of Muhammad in a YouTube video among other videos they deem inappropriate.

Iran is pushing towards a "national Internet" which is meant to keep them separate from the rest of the world when it comes to what can and can’t be found online. Another reason for it may be to help them track dissent and take care of it when they find it. The official Islamic Republic News Agency stated earlier this year that "The Internet must not be given the authority to challenge national and ethical principles". Reporters Without Borders found that the Google blockage was effective in some parts of Iran while not in others. An interesting twist on the story is that Gmail is used by all local state run news agencies and Iranian universities so it will be interesting to see how this change affects the way they operate.

PCs no longer the top user of DRAM chips

Posted by David Bernstein

DRAM chips are used store short term information in personal computers, tablets and smartphones to help shorten the time it takes to process information. Until recently these chips were mostly used in PCs since they dominated the computing market.

Market research firm IHS iSuppli has just reported that only 49% of all new DRAM chips were used to make PCs in the second quarter. This is because of the rapid growth of smartphones and tablets taking over for many peoples computing needs. By the end of 2013, PCs are rumored to need around 42.8% of DRAM chip production with this number continuing to decline as these other devices take over market share.

DRAM chip manufacturers are focusing more of their energy making chips for smartphones and tablets to keep their production and sales levels high. But with Windows 8 coming out any day now we may see a rise in chips made for PCs again.

Oracle’s Java patch reveals new security hole

Posted by David Bernstein

Last week there was a security hole discovered in the latest Java update 1.7 that installed the Poison Ivy Remote Access Trojan on various computer systems. Many people were worried that Java wasn’t going to put out a fix any time soon and that the infection would begin to spread.

But now that Java finally came out with a patch for their previous update it seems as though the patch has revealed a new security hole that was not known about until now. Oracle was urging users to apply the update but a security expert from Security Explorations in Poland claims that all the issues were not fixed and that there are some new flaws that can be exploited thanks to this latest update.

Even though the patch offers many fixes that are necessary to make Java secure, it still needs more work. Hackers were able to use Java to send phishing emails to Amazon and Microsoft users. The emails looked legitimate but contained a hyperlink with a virus. Oracle has been alerted to this new issue and now we will have to wait again for the next patch and hope this time is complete.

Java flaw opens computers for attacks

Posted by Jim Bernstein

Oracle’s latest Java update 1.7 for Java 7 has a security hole that can be exploited from various operating systems and web browsers. These attacks install the Poison Ivy Remote Access Trojan and Windows, Linux and Mac computers running Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera and Chrome are at risk. These attacks are supposedly coming from China and will install a remote administration Trojan that connects to a command and control server located in Singapore. The Trojan will allow the execution of arbitrary code on vulnerable systems without user interaction.

So far the attacks have not been too widespread and Oracle has not come up with a fix and there may not be one soon enough. Oracle releases its patches quarterly and the next one is not due until October. Many security analysts are recommending turning of Java until the problems is resolved and only using it in must have cases on sites you trust. You can also go to Java’s website and click the Do I have Java? link to see what version you have. If you have an older version be sure not to update until the next version is out.

19 million people still don’t have broadband Internet

 Posted by Jim Bernstein

There has been a new report released that states that 19 million people, or 6% of the population live in areas where broadband internet access is still not available. This is an improvement over last year’s estimate of 26 million people.

Out of the 19 million, 14.5 million people live in rural areas where high speed internet access and cable internet access isn’t available yet because the technology hasn’t been put in place. In fact, the FCC is trying to speed up the process to get high speed internet to these places sooner than later. They also raised their definition of high speed internet to 4 Mbps.

There are also millions of people who have access to broadband internet but choose not to subscribe to it. In 2010 the FCC estimated this number at 100 million Americans.

“Metro” out, “Windows 8” in

Posted by David Bernstein

If you have been following the development of Microsoft’s new operating system called Windows 8 or even tried out the developer preview then I’m sure you have heard the term “Metro” used to describe its new interface. Metro is what Microsoft used to describe the tile based interface that is geared more towards tablets and touchscreens than PCs. Some people liked the name while others didn’t.

It turns out that it may not matter since apparently Microsoft is dropping the Metro name altogether and just sticking with Windows 8 to describe the new look. Some say they will be using terms such as “Windows 8 Interface”, “Windows 8 design” and “Windows 8 apps” in place of Metro. These new names will apply to the PC and smartphone\tablet versions of the new operating system. This change is most likely because of an apparent dispute with a German company called Metro Group which owns the term Metro. Microsoft is trying to play it down that the Metro term was only used for development purposes but we doubt that.