A 21st century thermostat. This has been needed for a while. In fact, I recently complained about the lack of selection when purchasing a new digital thermostat. See Techcrunch’s coverage here and here.
“Facebook does not track users across the web,” – A Facebook spokesperson on September 25, 2011
and
“Generally, unlike other major Internet companies, we have no interest in tracking people.” – Facebook employee on September 25, 2011
v.
“A method is described for tracking information about the activities of users of a social networking system while on another domain.” – Facebook Patent application dated September 22, 2011
Mike Arrington, via his new blog Uncrunched.
I have been thinking more and more lately about ditching Facebook. I rarely get on Facebook, mainly when I get a notification of something important. I most recently used Facebook when I was planning my best friend’s bachelor party, but I could have done that through email. I no longer think Facebook usage is worth the blatant breaches of my privacy. If you have to follow these instructions to keep Facebook from seeing every page you browse, something is wrong.
Now as for Google, I’m still on the fence.
The students, faculty, and staff of the University of Georgia are right to feel outraged and to expect better and — on behalf of all of us responsible for technology at UGA — I apologize.
Timothy M. Chester
Chief Information Officer at the University of Georgia
This is how you apologize for a service delivery issue. You don’t hide it, you don’t pretend it didn’t happen. You tell people what went wrong, how you are going to prevent it from happening again, and you apologize.
Sony Ericsson committed to supporting independent Android developers. This is something that has been needed to happen for a long time, and it shows the vibrancy of the Android community. I actually run CyanogenMod7 (a third-party firmware) on my Android phone, because it works much better than the stock software.
A security researcher has uncovered a slew of vulnerabilities in Siemens industrial control systems, including a hardcoded password, that would let attackers reprogram the systems with malicious commands to sabotage critical infrastructures and even lock out legitimate administrators…
According to the alert, Siemens discovered the password in 2009 and removed it from subsequent systems. But anyone using pre-2009 versions of the S7-300 firmware would likely still have the password installed.
And people are scared of the security of open source software? Siemens hard-coded a generic password onto a piece of automated industrial equipment (used to make cars AND enrich uranium) AND didn’t fix it for two years after finding out about the problem!
Meanwhile, open source software projects like Firefox and WordPress get a bad rap for security when they fix flaws within a matter of days or even hours.
For me, today’s news regarding electronic textbook rentals is revolutionary! Throw in the fact that it is through Amazon and their assortment of supported devices (Kindle, iOS, Android, desktop), this is an incredible advancement in learning.
A recommendation for Amazon: I would buy a Kindle (not for textbooks, but regular reading) today if I could pay a low monthly fee and read/rent all the books I wanted. I see no reason to invest up to $14 a book on an item that might not be supported in 10 years. But if I could rent the books (no ownership on my part, like a library), I would be all in.
A comment I left on Digitizd today:
For me, there is one simple reason as to why I prefer Android over iOS: my ability to customize. Both platforms have downfalls, but with Android I have the ability to make things better. I can’t do that on iOS.
Remember when Twitter was a joke? No one is laughing anymore.
I recall a time a few years ago when Twitter was scoffed at. It was the blogosphere’s punching-bag. It was the stupid little service that no one in their right mind would ever use. It was for people who wanted to share the mundane bits of their lives — that no one else wanted to read. It was for egomaniacs. Or losers. It would never catch on.
And then it did.
This article on Techcrunch blows my mind. I signed up for a Twitter account on January 22, 2007. Four and a half years ago. And this is exactly how everyone treated Twitter. “Who wants to read what I am doing?” And now, Twitter is connecting citizens with our leaders. Incredible.
New Android tablet app TexTab:
TexTab is an SMS app for Android tablets. It allows you to connect your Android 2.1+ tablet to your Android 2.1+ phone over Bluetooth and send/receive SMS messages on your tablet as if you were sending them from your phone.
This is why Android is amazing. Anyone can create incredible apps that make life easier.
In my Android and “Open” post I listed a bunch of examples of ways to customize Android. Android.AppStorm posted a great list of alternatives to the stock apps on Android.