SB 126

Folks, for this weekend’s “Sunday Beauty” feature I have gone with an image that is more “interesting” than “beautiful”.

And – never done before – I posted two of them. First up, there’s just something about this one I liked..

Click on image to see more by this artist (if you like trains, planes, and automobiles -> reco’d.)

“55 009 (D9009) Alycidon (BR Green)” by iantherev, courtesy of Flickr Commons

.. and while browsing his collection, I was was struck by the two different “faces” of these trains.. (which are different than the “face” on the train above..)

again.. click on image to see more..

(One seems more “smiley” to me…)

Have a great weekend everybody! (And yes, you heard right. It was 106 in the shade here yesterday. I dare not look today..)

Pssst! Hey, WordPress! Quit messing with the Dashboard already.

Today’s quote: “There are two things that one must get used to or one will find life unendurable: the damages of time and injustices of men.” ~ Nicolas Chamfort

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Friday Fun #37 (or so)

Folks, here’s a music video I hope will help you make it through to quittin’ time (TGIF!)

Hope life is treating you well.

Today’s quote: “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.” ~ Winston Churchill

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

“Shadow Profiles” and “zombie apocolypse” — business as usual?

There have been several tech news headlines of late that everyone should be aware of, so you may want to “forward” (some of) these to friends and family..

You probably already know about Verizon (a cellular provider [a big one]) and the gov’t, but did you hear about Facebook’s “shadow profiles”? (if you didn’t think the Internet companies were doing this ‘profiles’ stuff, you must’ve had your head in the sand like the ostrich. It’s why it’s called “The Information Age”!)

* Anger mounts after Facebook’s ‘shadow profiles’ leak in bug

“Facebook said Friday it fixed a bug that exposed contact info for over six million accounts. The admission revealed its ‘shadow profile’ data collection activities, and users are furious.

The personal information leaked by the bug is information that had not been given to Facebook by the users – it is data Facebook has been compiling on its users behind closed doors, without their consent.” UPDATED. Read more..

[note: If you only read one of these, read this one; and, the Comments are a good read in themselves, too .. if you’ve time. (Even better today..[Thurs]).]

* New plan to stop leaks: Squeal on your cubicle mate who may or may not be a whistleblower

“An investigative report shows the Obama administration’s insider threat program is far more expansive, and troubling, than even critics had thought.” Read more..

*  The approaching datacenter zombie apocalypse

 “If IBM’s recent workforce rebalancing act is any indication of future trends, then we’re going to see an awful lot of vacant datacenter space and vacant datacenter jobs.” Read more..

* More users than ever experiencing phishing attack attempts (87% increase..)

* and last but not least.. Dangerous waters..

*     *     *

Today’s quote: “I am glad I’ve never used a Facebook app or allowed Facebook access to my contacts in any way whatsoever. (Yay paranoia.)” ~ Violet Blue

[note: it’s the “yay paranoia” part I liked best.]

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Yippee yahoo.

Sunday Beauty #125

Another interesting image for your Sunday..

Click on image to see more by this artist (reco’d)

“Ballenberg, SE, Switzerland” by teepi, courtesy of Flickr Commons.

Today’s quote: “I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”
~ Dr. Seuss

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

New! A Practical Use For Your Xbox

Great News For Couch Potatos!

The feature article in this week’s Windows Secrets caught my eye, and I’m very glad it did, as what seemed frivolous at first pointed to a glimpse of our (soon to be) future. And it seems everything in our future assumes we’re sitting in front of a big screen on our couch..

The article is: Pizza and tech: An app creates the perfect combo

See? Frivolous, right? But what it means is you can now order a pizza from your Xbox (no need to interrupt that game).

But wait! There’s more (scarier) stuff thanks to the coming Xbox One (and the second generation of Kinect). The (article’s) ‘blurb’ reads…

“There’s an app for that! We’re now well into an era of mini-apps — created for smartphones, adopted by Windows 8, and now rapidly making their way onto entertainment systems and other digital devices. In a preview of things to come, a Pizza Hut app lets you order your favorite pie right from your Xbox 360 gaming/entertainment system.“

.. and frankly, I almost didn’t read the article (I mean, I have a life). But I read all the way through, and that’s where it got interesting.

“Xbox One will include a dramatically improved Kinect built in. It can track heartbeats, muscular movement, and even your facial expressions — which is already generating discussions about personal privacy, as reported in a June 13 Rolling Stone article. It’ll even know when you’re bored, frustrated, or scared while playing a game.“

What? A box will be watching my face? And monitoring my emotions???

“The new Xbox includes a built-in, 1080p camera that can “see” you more accurately — whether good or bad, your Xbox persona might actually look like you. The system’s facial recognition automatically signs you in to a specific controller. It’s said that the Xbox One/Kinect combination can even track your movements in a completely dark room (for what purpose remains to be seen).“

Holy jumpin’ Jehoshaphat. Does that sound good to you? If not, this should sell you on the new Xbox One..

“Xbox One’s enhanced Kinect has new voice commands, enabling such real-world tasks as calling others on Skype and ordering movie tickets. You can also open multiple screens, letting you play a game or watch a movie and chat with friends or family at the same time.“

Wow. Yes. That’s what we want. No need to interrupt the Amusements.. for any one or any thing. Insane. Scratch that. Let me just leave you with this idea: 

To read the entire article yourself, click here.; and for the “privacy concerns” article, click here. (Both are Reco’d)

Today’s quote: “Open the pod bay doors, Hal.”

source: sodahead.com

(I am reminded of the “Chucky” movies. I mean, all you do is bring a toy (a doll, in this case) into your house… and the nightmare begins.)

* Facial recognition (and analysis).
* Listens for patterns.
* Voice recognition.
* Sees in the dark.
* Always on.
* Reporting back to the mothership (Microsoft).

No potential for problems there.
No sir.
None.

So here’s yet another Microsoft product I wouldn’t touch with a 10′ pole. (Did I mention? I’ve been a Microsoft user since Windows 3.11?) Things are indeed changing..
Read the articles. Find out about the Xbox One.

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories. Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Uh… No? (Plus Java in the news – again)

Thanks, guys, but I’ll get back to you on that.

(And monkeys might fly out of my butt..)(Seriously? Toxic Belly-bug Fix???)

Of Note:

* Oracle releases Java update to close 37 high-risk vulnerabilities

“Oracle on Tuesday released its latest update for Java with the release of version SE 7 Update 25.

The update addresses 40 vulnerabilities in the software, which include 37 flaws that can be remotely exploited without authentication. In addition, 11 of the bugs received the highest common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) rating of 10.0 due to their significant threat level to users.” Read more..

Wonder how many more “vulnerabilities” there are in that *wonderful* piece of software? (Maybe you just want to uninstall Java altogether?)

* Flaw in BlackBerry Protect app addressed, impacts Z10 smartphone users

“A bug has been fixed in the BlackBerry Protect application – which was designed to help users find their lost mobile devices – lowering the chance that a skilled attacker could access data belonging to Z10 smartphone users.” Read more..

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Today’s quote: “Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting, it may not be logical but it is often true.” ~ Mr. Spock

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Are you shopping for a tablet, notebook, or desktop?

Folks, I don’t usually ‘plug’ a particular store, but this sale has some deals worth considering.. if you’re in the market.

Click on image if interested..

The store is TigerDirect (who I use rather frequently) and to see this “100” items, click here. While you’re there, you might want to check their other clearance sale as well …

Note: There are Windows 7 units in there..

(And did you see the 23″ monitor deal?)

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.