This symbol first showed up in the 1770s, appearing in documents of English-Americans who had business dealings with Spanish-Americans. However, it wasn’t until the very early 1800s that it became popularized, around the same time as the first official U.S. dollars were being minted. Previous to this, the symbol had already been in use as an abbreviation for names of Spanish currency, namely as an abbreviation for the Spanish peso “p”. Read more…
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Where the Dollar Sign Comes From
Money is just tinted paper printed with different numbers on it. So what gives the ol’ greenbacks its value? The bills used to be tied to the gold standard but now, it’s up to The Fed to control how many bills there are. So why can’t they just decide to print out ridiculous amounts of bill to make everyone rich? Read more…
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What gives paper money its actual value?
The team behind Linux Mint unveiled its latest update this week—Mint 17 using kernel 3.13.0-24, nicknamed “Qiana.” The new release indicates a major change in direction for what has quickly become one of the most popular Linux distros available today. Mint 17 is based on Ubuntu 14.04, and this decision appears to have one major driver. Consistency. Like the recently released Ubuntu 14.04, Mint 17 is a Long Term Support Release. That means users can expect support to continue until 2019. But even better, this release marks a change in Mint’s relationship with Ubuntu. Starting with Mint 17 and continuing until 2016, every release of Linux Mint will be built on the same package base—Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. With this stability, instead of working to keep up with whatever changes Ubuntu makes in the next two years, Mint can focus on those things that make it Mint. With major changes on the way for Ubuntu in the next two years, Mint’s decision makes a lot of sense. Not only does it free up the Mint team to focus on its two homegrown desktops (Cinnamon and MATE), but it also spares Mint users the potential bumpy road that is Ubuntu’s future. Read 53 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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Mint 17 is the perfect place for Linux-ers to wait out Ubuntu uncertainty
The most popular brands in America are not always the largest companies making the most revenue. Brands that you know, stores that you go to and places that you associate with some states get replaced by faceless monoliths who basically repurpose oil, energy, technology, other people’s money, etc. into more money. Read more…
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What the biggest companies are from each state in the US
An anonymous reader writes Oracle is buying hospitality and retail technology vendor Micros Systems for $5.3 billion, in a deal that will be its largest since the purchase of Sun Microsystems in 2010. “Oracle said the acquisition will extend its offerings by combining Micros’ industry-specific applications with its business applications, technologies and cloud portfolio. Oracle expects the deal to immediately add to its adjusted earnings. Its stock climbed 18 cents to $41 before the market opened. Micros’ board unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of the year.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Oracle Buying Micros Systems For $5.3 Billion
iOS 8 is just around the corner (and potentially unjailbreakable), but for folks who have found themselves stuck on the more recent 7.1.1 update and unable to jailbreak, there’s finally an option . Thrown together by as-yet untested Chinese developers Pangu, the untethered jailbreak is windows only, but works for all devices that can run 7.1.1. Read more…
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There’s Finally a Jailbreak for iOS 7.1.1
Ready to kick your MacBook Air to the curb (and wonder how much exactly in in-store credit it’s worth)? Your friendly neighborhood Microsoft Store is ready to help. Peter Bright This weekend, Microsoft Stores launched a trade-in program to encourage sales of the new Surface Pro 3 , but the trade-in promotion named only a single device : the MacBook Air, at a value of “up to $650” toward any Surface Pro 3 purchase. At the lowest specification, that trade-in amount would let buyers walk out of a Microsoft Store with an Intel i3 Surface Pro 3 for as little as $150. Though Microsoft Stores maintain a trade-in program that accepts video games, consoles, Apple iDevices, and PC laptops, this is the first promotion from Microsoft Stores that has actively sought Apple laptops—or, in this case, laptop singular. Seeing as how Microsoft has attempted to position the Surface Pro 3 as the best of both tablet and laptop worlds, the capable, paper-thin MacBook Air is the obvious recipient of Microsoft’s promotional crosshairs. We called the flagship Microsoft Store in Seattle with trade-in value questions, and while the representative said that any Macbook Air could be traded in at stores in the United States and Canada, he insisted that Microsoft won’t break down the exact trade-in value of a given Macbook Air or any other Apple hardware (iPhones, iPads, etc.) without seeing the product in person. The response came even after we tried listing off our MacBook Air’s processor, hard drive, and other specs. This stays in line with Microsoft Store policy through their own website to not disclose trade-in values. Read on Ars Technica | Comments
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Microsoft wants you to trade in your MacBook Air for a Surface Pro 3
a_codepoet Microsoft developers have fortified Internet Explorer with new protections designed to prevent a type of attack commonly used to surreptitiously install malware on end-user computers. The “isolated heap for DOM objects” made its debut with last week’s Patch Tuesday . Just as airbags lower the chance of critical injuries in automobile accidents, the new IE protection is designed to significantly lessen the damage attackers can do when exploiting so-called use-after-free flaws in the browser code. As the name suggests, use-after-free bugs are the result of code errors that reference computer memory objects after they have already been purged, or freed, from the operating system heap. Attackers can exploit them by refilling the improperly freed space with malicious code that logs passwords, makes computers part of a botnet, or carries out other nefarious behavior. Use-after-free flaws are among the most commonly exploited, often at great expense to end users. Recent in-the-wild attacks that targeted IE versions 9, 10, and 11 capitalized on a use-after-free bug. The bug class has been at the heart of many other real-world attacks on IE that are too numerous to count . (They have also been known to bring down Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.) Wei Chen, an exploit developer with Rapid 7’s Metasploit vulnerability framework, likens use-after-free exploits to sneaking tainted cookies into an already-opened bag of Oreos. Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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IE users get new protection against potent form of malware attack
Right now, it’s possible to buy a domain name using Google services. You can start the process on Google’s own pages, process the transaction through Google Wallet and manage that domain through Google Apps — but you didn’t actually buy that domain from Google. That’s about to change. Today the search giant announced that it’s testing Google Domains, a registration service that will shift the company away from its dependence on companies like GoDaddy and eNom. Google says it wants to enable a simple and transparent experience, but it’s not quite ready for a full launch just yet — at present the service is only available to a limited group. When it does launch, however, Google says it will have partnerships with several website building partners, including Shopify , Weebly, Squarespace and Wix. Have an idea for a new website? Check out Google Domains at the source link below and request a registration code. Filed under: Internet , Google Comments Via: 9to5 Google Source: Google Domains
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Google wants to sell you your next domain name
Globalstar , the company behind the affordable Spot satellite phone , has a new device on the market that can turn any smartphone into a globally connected handset. Sat-Fi is not a WiFi hotspot in the traditional sense — you can’t simply connect and expect limitless web browsing and media streaming — but it can support email, SMS and voice calls for up to eight connected devices simultaneously. Transfer rates are capped at a paltry 9.6 Kbps, so you’re really limited to text applications, and data is billed by the minute, just like a voice call. Like other satellite devices, you also need a line-of-sight connection between Sat-Fi’s external antenna and the big bird hundreds of miles above in order to make and receive calls, but assuming you’re able to meet that requirement you should be good to go in remote areas all around the world. The device is reasonably priced, at $999, and per-minute rates top out at $1. There are plenty of monthly plans to choose from, too, ranging from $40 for 40 minutes to $150 for unlimited service. Sat-Fi is available now. Filed under: Cellphones , Wireless Comments Source: Globalstar
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Globalstar Sat-Fi satellite hotspot available now for $999