Tech Today w/ Ken May

Tech News, Cool Gadgets, Science Fun and Important Info

Archive for July, 2011

AT&T Chokes Unlimited Data Dead. Dead Dead Dead. [At&t]

Posted by kenmay on July - 29 - 2011

If you've still got an unlimited AT&T data plan that you're holding onto for dear life to stream gigs and gigs of Spotify and Netflix and god knows what else, your life is about to suck a lot more . More

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MTV News Coverage from 1995: The Internet

Posted by kenmay on July - 29 - 2011

In this four-minute clip from 1995, the intrepid MTV News team takes on The Internet. Their coverage is wonderfully dated, showing the state of the art at the time: animated GIFs, Netscape, CompuServe, and blurred-out nudie pictures. Yes indeed, the coverage is primarily about online porn (this is MTV, after all), though a few nods are given to sites about Twinkies, Godzilla, Star Wars , music (a teeny tiny QuickTime video), and they guess email is cool too. The whole piece uses a CB radio metaphor to explain the World Wide Web, at one point describing websites as “truck stops.” Enjoy this blast from the not-too-distant past: A partial list of celebrities weighing in on the matter: Billy Corgan, Michael Jackson, Sandra Bullock, Coolio, Ozzy Osbourne, Mike Heidorn (of Son Volt), David Bennahum ( “Cyber Journalist” ), Newt Gingrich, Perry Farrell, Dave Matthews (“It’s gratifying as hell…it’s a little weird”), Moby, and David Bowie (“I got so tired of the rubbish [online] that I dropped out”). (Via Waxy .)

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Another Cell Phone-Cancer Study Emerges

Posted by kenmay on July - 29 - 2011

oxide7 writes “Since the advent of cellular phones, researchers have pondered whether a connection exists between cell phone usage and brain cancer. New evidence always seems to emerge to support or refute such a link. On Wednesday, another study was added to the list. A European study involving nearly 1,000 participants found no link between cell phone use and brain tumors in children and adolescents. This marks the 3rd study this month and the 4th major one this year, all with different conclusions” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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The Rise of Polymorphic Malware

Posted by kenmay on July - 29 - 2011

twoheadedboy writes “The level of aggressive, polymorphic malware intercepted by Symantec doubled in July, when compared to figures from six months ago. This kind of malware has been typically found inside an executable within an attached ZIP file disguised as a PDF file, and is pretty darn good at getting around traditional anti-virus products. ‘There are powerful Darwinian forces acting on the development of malware by criminals,’ said Martin Lee, senior software engineer at Symantec. ‘Those who look to innovate and improve their malware tend to infect more computers and acquire the resources to reinvest in further development and innovation.’” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Nielsen reports on market share for smartphones in the US , with an interesting split between domination for OS and domination by actual device. Google Android is currently the top operating system, at 39 percent, with Apple’s iOS at 28 percent, and the RIM Blackberry at 20 percent. “However, because Apple is the only company manufacturing smartphones with the iOS operating system, it is clearly the top smartphone manufacturer in the United States.” iPhone has 28% of the market. All of this is based on June, 2011 data.

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Cars have already come such a long way since the Model-T days, but if you think Google’s driverless cars were fancy , wait until you hear about Toyota’s heart attack-detecting sensors, that will steer a car if you lose control. More

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Windows: If you want to create a network plan and need an inventory or just want to see all the devices using your Wi-Fi, Wireless Network Watcher from Nirsoft is a free utility that can help. It scans your network for connected devices and lists their network properties. More

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