A lot has happened in the tech world since the holidays. Let me give you a quick wrap up, and then please scroll to the bottom for a big February special offer.
Hacked This Week. The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post each reported that they were were hacked by some person or group based in China. Twitter was hacked right before this weekend and more than 250,000 accounts have been compromised. Change your Twitter username NOW. This is a reminder to all of us that we should be changing our passwords often for all online accounts.
The Consumer Electronics Show, held every year in Las Vegas, was something of a disappointment to those of us who are spoiled by innovation. The biggest things to come out of the show this January was a fork that vibrates if you overeat or eat too fast. Sad, really. Learn more here.
The other development that received lots of buzz was super-high definition television. This generation of high-def TVs are designed for small spaces. Right now, if your small space has you sitting close to a large screen, you can see the pixels; but with Super HD that will not be a problem. Sit as close as you like and view a crisp, clear picture regardless of the short distance. At $10,000, you may want to wait until the price drops before rushing out to get one. Here is a link to Sharp’s Ultra HD.
The Company Formerly Known as RIM is now officially called BlackBerry — the name most casual observers already thought it was. The name change from Research in Motion (RIM) coincides with the introduction of two new phones, the Z10 (pronounced “Zed Ten” in the European way) and the Q10, both of which feature a new operating system that is aimed at putting Blackberry back into the running against iPhone and Andriod phones. One new Blackberry comes with a standard QWERTY keyboard and the other comes with a touch screen keyboard.
Early reviews from the UK, where the phones first launched, are mixed. The camera on the Z10 is getting panned as “one of the worst smart phone cameras” out there. And, it seems the new phones’ apps are mostly recycled Android apps in a Blackberry wrapper. However, this makes sense if you want your new Blackberry to take advantage of existing apps — and who wouldn’t?
Time will tell us more; but initially the outlook for Blackberry — which needs these phones to become popular for its competitive survival — isn’t assured; and there’s a rumor that Lenovo may offer to buy Blackberry as a way to get into the phone business itself. One strategic bright spot for Blackberry is the support they can expect from large companies and governments, as these new phones offer more data security if lost or stolen. We’ll be watching the early sales numbers. More about Blackberry’s Z10 and Q10.
Firefox, the Phone? Not that we need another smartphone on another operating system, but Firefox (the browser used by about 22% of web surfers) has announced that they are also getting into the smart phone business. Learn more here.
The Microsoft Surface Pro Tablet is expected to launch Friday, February 8. This tablet runs the full version of Windows 8 Pro and offers 64 or 128 GB hard drives and 4GB of RAM. Will it replace your laptop or desktop computer? Maybe. If your main use is surfing the web and email, the Surface Pro could be all you need; but at a starting price of $899, plus another $139 for its keyboard cover, I have my doubts that it will fly off the shelf.
However, the screen is nice and clear and the touch is perfectly responsive. The tablet comes with the Surface Pen Pro that worked very well when I tested it. The Surface Pro is a huge improvement over its predecessor, the Surface RT, which behaves more like an iPad than a full computer.
In the pipeline are more hybrid tablets, expected soon from HP and Lenovo.
To JAVA or Not to JAVA? Last week the Department of Homeland Security advised all Americans to disable JAVA in their browser to avoid a nasty JAVA exploit (security vulterability) that was going around. Then JAVA announced a patch and Homeland Security lessened the warning but still advised against using JAVA. But now Apple has blocked the patch saying it is still unsafe. Is it safe to use or not? That, my friends, is the question of the hour.
To be super-safe, disable JAVA for the time being and wait for a fail-safe version. If you don’t want to try a DIY approach, call me and I can do it for you remotely. It takes five minutes and I’m doing these (this week only) at a special rate of just $15 each, per computer, using Team Viewer. Download Team Viewer Here.
Chrome
Type “chrome://plugins” into your address bar. This will bring up a new tab. Find the item on the list that reads just plain “Java” and click below it where it says “Disable” in blue. Restart your browser.
Safari
Choose “Safari” and then “Preferences” on the taskbar or hit control and comma simultaneously (⌘-,). Click “Security” on the top row of the new window. Uncheck the box that reads “Enable Java” if checked. Restart your browser.
Internet Explorer 8,9, and 10
Go to the “Tools” menu and select “Manage Add-ons.” Go to the left of the window that pops up and in the drop-down box below the heading “Show:” select “All Add-ons.” Scroll down the list on the right of the window until you find a subheading under the category “Group” that reads “Oracle America, Inc.” Select each item and disable it with the “Disable” button in the bottom right-hand corner of the window. Restart your browser.
Firefox
Go to the “Tools” menu and select “Add-ons” or hit ctrl, shift, and the letter ‘a’ simultaneously. Select “Plug-ins” on the left-hand side of the new tab that shows up. Scroll the list on the right-hand side of the screen until you find an item that reads “Java (TM) Platform [somethingsomethingsomething].” Click the “Disable” button on the right. Restart your browser
February Special!
“Remote Control Love” in February. This month we are offering a Valentine-themed discount. All of our remote services are 15% off. We’re doing this to bring awareness to our remote capabilities. Did you know that we can solve almost any computer issue remotely, if you have a good internet connection? This makes your life so easy — no need to wait for that nagging problem to get fixed. Give the gift of Remote Service to someone you love.
This promotion cannot be combined with any other discount or special offer. But it won’t matter, because we’re sure you’re going to love the convenience and speed of our remote services. Try it today and see!
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Call or text: (206) 935-9654.