Weekend Amusements…

I hope everyone has a pleasant-enough weekend.

Click on image to see more by this artist.

“Wild Quail sits on a fence in the morning light” by Charles Knowles, courtesy of Flickr Commons.

Today’s Fun Video:

Um.. er.. I guess that wasn’t so “fun”, so here’s another:

Today’s quote: “The Paradoxical Commandments

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.” ~ Kent M. Keith

Copyright 2007-2015 © “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.

Most Important News of the Year?

Of course no one will notice, or take alarm… or change what they do in any way… but since practically everything’s built in China, maybe we’d better.

* China sets new regulations for foreign tech companies

“The Chinese government has introduced new rules that require foreign tech companies to turn over source code, submit to audits, and build back doors into hardware and software.” Read more..

Turn over source code… back doors…
Hello?
Anyone see a problem here?

Today’s quote: ““Never explain―your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.” ~ Elbert Hubbard

Copyright 2007-2015 © “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.

Tuesday tidbits

A few items for your consideration.

Uh oh: Air-gapped computers are no longer secure

“To insure security, the thought was to pull the computer off of the network. That is not always the case according to three Georgia Tech researchers who exploit side-channel signals.” Read more..

*  ‘Sexy Girls’ wallpaper app in Google Play store accessed account info

“The “Sexy Girls Wallpaper Gallery” app that was previously available in the Google Play store did in fact offer background photos of women, but it also asked for a permission that granted it access to information from popular accounts, according to Malwarebytes.” Read more..

* Internet of Things: A security threat to business by the backdoor?

“Tech chiefs are worried by the threat posed by IoT devices, which could provide a new way of attacking corporate networks.” Read more..

Other bits:

* Windows 10: You’ve got questions, I’ve got answers

“[Updated] There’s more to Windows 10 than just the revamped Start menu. I’ve been keeping this FAQ up to date with each new build. Here are the latest details after Microsoft’s big January 2015 release of build 9926.” Read more..

* Microsoft: The open-source company

“Microsoft loves Linux, is adopting Docker for its servers, and just bought Revolution Analytics, the biggest open-source R statistical language company. This is not your dad’s Microsoft.” Read more..

Today’s quote: “If ignorance is bliss, there should be more happy people.” ~ Victor Cousin

Copyright 2007-2015 © “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.

SB #184 and a Reading Reco

Two items for you today, Dear Reader.

First up, an interesting image.

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

“One-eyed Jacks Wild” by Dawn Huczek, courtesy of Flickr Commons.

Today’s reading reco: Bluster, bravado and breaches: Today’s ‘terrorist’ players in cybersecurity

“An emailed threat can send companies to their knees and propel individuals without so much as a parking ticket straight to a holding cell. The problem is, today’s puffed-up chest hacktivists know it, and Sony has borne the brunt.” [Analysis] Read more..

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Today’s Blast from the Past:

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Today’s quote: “People tend to be generous when sharing their nonsense, fear, and ignorance. And while they seem quite eager to feed you their negativity, please remember that sometimes the diet we need to be on is a spiritual and emotional one. Be cautious with what you feed your mind and soul. Fuel yourself with positivity and let that fuel propel you into positive action.” ~ Steve Maraboli

Copyright 2007-2015 © “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.

How about a FF a day early?

I feel a need to counteract the effect on my psyche of the headlines reporting the state of our world. So I felt a call for a dose of Patsy.
And the soothing balm of retreat into a classic. Care to join me?

Be well.

Today’s quote: “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” ~ Isaac Asimov

Copyright 2007-2015 © “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.

Just in – Windows 10 will be free

Breaking news:

* Microsoft to make Windows 10 free to Windows 7, 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 users

“Microsoft shared a bit of its pricing strategy for Windows 10, and provided he first public demonstration of Windows 10 mobile.” Read more..

.. can’t tell you why, but that makes my spidey sense twitch ..

Related:

* Windows 10: The big questions ahead

“Microsoft highlighted the features in Windows 10 and outlined how it plans to connect the economic, developer and customer dots. Will it work?” Read more..

Windows 10 screenshot

Copyright 2007-2015 © “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.

Play Minecraft? Change Your Password.

While I do not understand the appeal, I do understand Minecraft is an extremely popular online game, with millions of members. If you’re one of them, be aware:

* Minecraft hacked! More than 1800 Minecraft account Credentials Leaked

“A sad reality for gamers all around the world who enjoy playing the very popular game Minecraft on their PCs. If you are one of them, you’ll want to pay attention here. A plain text file containing over 1,800 Minecraft account usernames and passwords has just been leaked online, German media reports. The details available in the leak has been posted to Pastebin, which would allow anyone to … ” Read more..

It does no good to warn them..? (note the company’s response.)
* Two Million Cars Using Wireless Insurance Dongle Vulnerable to Hacking

“2015 will be a year more smarter than 2014 with smarter mobile devices, smarter home appliances, and yes Smarter Automobiles. Nowadays, there are a number of automobiles companies offering vehicles that run on a mostly drive-by-wire system, meaning that a majority of the controls are electronically controlled, from instrument cluster to steering, brakes, and accelerator as well. No doubt these ..” Read more…

I wonder if the people using this have even once considered the Big Brother vileness of this ‘monitoring device’? (I also wonder if law enforcement doesn’t have similar tools..) Oh, well. It’ll save them some money, and that’s the only consideration worth considering… right?

Sometimes, I think the Ostrich Method really is the only way to stay sane on this planet..

Source: amyrouse.net

Of course there’s plenty of other discouraging tech headlines, (such as Oracle issues critical patch update: 169 new security fixes) but.. read those two (above), and consider the implications. That’ll be enough for today.

Dumb:

Uh. Okay! I’ll get right on it!

Today’s quote: “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” ~ Mark Twain

Copyright 2007-2015 © “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.