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Message 1557914 - Posted: 16 Aug 2014, 18:53:24 UTC
Last modified: 16 Aug 2014, 18:54:00 UTC

There is an alternative to search?


Inside DuckDuckGo, Google's Tiniest, Fiercest Competitor

In 2008, launching a search engine seemed like a crazy idea...

... How could DuckDuckGo, a tiny, ... startup, go up against Google? One way, ... was by respecting user privacy. Six years later, we're living in the post-Snowden era, and the idea doesn't seem so crazy...

... Each of these things moved the traffic needle for DuckDuckGo, but none of them came close to sparking anything like the massive spike in queries the company saw last July. That's when Edward Snowden first revealed the NSA's extensive digital surveillance program to the world. The little blue line on the chart hasn't stopped climbing...

... The result was DuckDuckGo, a search engine offering direct answers to people's queries, rather than merely delivering a list of links. Below these so-called "Instant Answers," the site still displays traditional, link-by-link search results ... but, crucially, they're filtered and reorganized to reduce spam...

... "When you do a search, you generally want an answer. You don't necessarily want to click around links," Weinberg says. "It's our job to try to get an answer. Our grand vision is that that happens for 80% of queries, even for very niche things." To deliver these answers, DuckDuckGo relies on a mixture of third-party data sources and the deep--sometimes bizarrely arcane--knowledge of its growing community of users and developers...

... It quickly became clear that taking a no-holds-barred approach to privacy would give DuckDuckGo a unique selling point as Google gobbled up more private user data. So the company positioned itself accordingly and started amassing attention as the issue of online privacy slowly ballooned in the public's consciousness.

"It was extreme at the time," Weinberg says. "And it still may be considered extreme by some people, but I think it's becoming less extreme nowadays. In the last year, it's become obvious why [innocent] people don't want to be tracked."...




IT is what we make it and allow it to be...
Martin
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Message 1557931 - Posted: 16 Aug 2014, 19:39:16 UTC - in response to Message 1557914.  

Great link Martin. After reading the article, went to ddg.gg(redirected to duckduckgo.com pretty quickly).

Fantastic! As a test, searched for Seti. The number of links that came back & the type of links was awesome. Tried the same with Google...

...Google's results compared to DuckDuckGo is answered in one word...

CRAP

DDG.GG is now my homepage :-)
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Message 1559061 - Posted: 19 Aug 2014, 7:37:23 UTC

The end of operating systems & applications as we currently know them?

XP upgrade proves tricky

""Most applications now are not written for an operating system, they are written for a browser," he says."
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Message 1559117 - Posted: 19 Aug 2014, 12:03:37 UTC - in response to Message 1559061.  
Last modified: 19 Aug 2014, 12:04:43 UTC

The end of operating systems & applications as we currently know them?

XP upgrade proves tricky

""Most applications now are not written for an operating system, they are written for a browser," he says."

Good example...

I'm sure you've seen the various use cycles whereby we started off with terminals connected to a central mainframe, to then have that usurped by "workstations" and then desktop PCs, to then a plethora of portables and now back to "mobiles" that depend on an always-on connection back to a "mainframe" (euphemistically called "The Cloud" by Marketing...).


The one thing to note is where physically is your data and applications and who directly controls that.

The Cloud is a wonderful way for Marketing to gain control of your online life and everything that touches...


Perhaps we all need to be very much more aware of a GNU...

Brief comment from GNU/Linux World Domination for the Wrong Reasons:

... At its most basic, free software is about helping users gain control of their computers so that they can participate unhindered in the digital conversations of the networks and the Internet. It's about installing software freely, rather than being dictated to by the manufacturer. It's about using your computer the way that you want, instead of ceding control to lock-down devices installed by software vendors...

... "The goal of the free software movement is to put you in control of the software you use. Then, if you want to make it more powerful, you can work at making it more powerful."...



If that is, there's any public interest for that...


IT is what we allow it to be...
Martin
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Message 1559118 - Posted: 19 Aug 2014, 12:10:27 UTC - in response to Message 1559117.  

... At its most basic, free software is about helping users gain control of their computers so that they can participate unhindered in the digital conversations of the networks and the Internet. It's about installing software freely, rather than being dictated to by the manufacturer. It's about using your computer the way that you want, instead of ceding control to lock-down devices installed by software vendors...

... "The goal of the free software movement is to put you in control of the software you use. Then, if you want to make it more powerful, you can work at making it more powerful."...



If that is, there's any public interest for that...


And that's why all computer users regardless whether or not Linux/Apple/Microsoft is being used should be really concerned with "the cloud".

Or else the NSA will be on the LAM with your data!
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Message 1562731 - Posted: 26 Aug 2014, 22:53:02 UTC

Are you the paranoid type?
This article might persuade you to switch off the wifi on your smart phone and tablets.

What are wi-fi connections revealing about you?

When walking through the centre of a busy city it is easy to feel anonymous.

Set against the cacophony of sharing and declaring that happens online, it can be precious to feel that, just for a moment, you are lost in a crowd.

Unidentifiable.

It is, of course, an illusion. You are never alone, especially if you are carrying a smartphone that has ever been used to connect to a wireless network. Which is pretty much all of them.

All of those devices maintain a list of the wi-fi networks they have joined. The way wi-fi works demands that they always seek to rejoin those networks. As a result, smartphones and tablets regularly broadcast the SSIDs (service set identifiers), or names, of those networks.
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Message 1566197 - Posted: 2 Sep 2014, 19:47:19 UTC

http://www.wired.com/2014/09/how-hackers-use-virustotal/
A Google Site Meant to Protect You Is Helping Hackers Attack You

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Message 1566517 - Posted: 3 Sep 2014, 16:30:40 UTC
Last modified: 3 Sep 2014, 16:31:38 UTC

Why pay more for your chips?... An ongoing story...?


Philips, Samsung and Infineon in 138m-euro cartel fine

Philips, Samsung and Infineon have been fined 138m euros (£110m; $182m) by the European Commission (EC) for fixing prices of chips in used in smartphones...

... "As a result, Philips plans to appeal the decision."

In June this year, US chip giant Intel lost its appeal against a 1.1bn euro EC fine for anti-competitive practices.

In 2009, the European Commission found that between 2002 and 2007, Intel gave rebates to PC makers Dell, Hewlett-Packard Co, Japan's NEC and Lenovo to favour its chips over those of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).



We all pay a price...

IT is what we allow it to be...
Martin
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Message 1569715 - Posted: 9 Sep 2014, 21:13:38 UTC

Whatever next? Apple Anklets?

Apple Watch & iPhone 6 unveiled
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Message 1569909 - Posted: 10 Sep 2014, 6:29:29 UTC - in response to Message 1569715.  
Last modified: 10 Sep 2014, 6:31:46 UTC

Whatever next? Apple Anklets?

Apple Watch & iPhone 6 unveiled

Well maybe a penis implant that tells you when you have to take a whizz:)
This is Sari. But my sensors say your bladder is 80% full. If you pass this next rest stop, The next bathroom is 300 miles a way.
[/quote]

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Message 1569937 - Posted: 10 Sep 2014, 9:25:10 UTC
Last modified: 10 Sep 2014, 9:27:01 UTC

The way this is going, by the time i'm middle aged, i'll wake up in the morning to my iAlarm in my iBed, have an iShower with iSoap and iShampoo, dry off with an iTowel, put on my iClothes, have my iBreakfast of iCereal in my iBowl with my iSpoon, then leave my iHouse, lock the iDoor with the iKey and get on the iBus to iWork.
Where will it end?

Edit:
It will cost $349 (£216)
Holy cow, that's over four times what i paid for my phone, let alone any accessories for it!
Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge.
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Message 1570058 - Posted: 10 Sep 2014, 18:12:33 UTC

Social networking One Step Too Far?

Somebody

Imagine the scene...

Girlfriend/Fiancé/Wife texts you a message: - "I love you Darling xxx"

A beautiful stranger intercepts & delivers message just as Girlfriend/Fiancé/Wife arrives on the scene...

...how would That be explained?
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Message 1570397 - Posted: 11 Sep 2014, 9:18:17 UTC
Last modified: 11 Sep 2014, 9:18:51 UTC

What brand of paint thinner was she sniffing when she thought up that idea?

And how does one get a job as messenger? :)
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Message 1570430 - Posted: 11 Sep 2014, 10:57:57 UTC - in response to Message 1570397.  

What brand of paint thinner was she sniffing when she thought up that idea?

And how does one get a job as messenger? :)

I don't know, but it sure would be an interesting job :)
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Message 1570435 - Posted: 11 Sep 2014, 11:09:42 UTC - in response to Message 1570430.  
Last modified: 11 Sep 2014, 11:10:48 UTC

What brand of paint thinner was she sniffing when she thought up that idea?

And how does one get a job as messenger? :)

I don't know, but it sure would be an interesting job :)

Also sounds like a good chance to get a good slap across the face!

Or worse depending on locality...


Good idea as an "ice-breaker" but that doesn't always work in too wide a group...

Also very good for too many pranks...


Still, very good 'fun' business with the fun at everyone else's expense!

Or a good giggle?
Martin
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Message 1571061 - Posted: 12 Sep 2014, 18:00:10 UTC
Last modified: 12 Sep 2014, 18:22:42 UTC

The so called "Cloud" is making storage manufacturers up their game...

Sandisk SD card "Largest ever"

"The thing that is driving cloud storage is multiple devices usage - which solves the, 'Where's my stuff?' problem: if you use cloud storage for everything, whatever device you have with you can be used to access your content."

But he added: "So far there's still a strong preference for local storage.

"People just feel more in control and more able to rely on being able to access the content when they literally know where it is.

"Storing in the cloud means you literally don't know where it is."

Mr Delaney added that recent high-profile security issues around cloud storage - such as the celebrity picture leak last week - would play on the minds of consumers.

Edit:

Some tongue-in-cheek from the BBC
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Message 1573950 - Posted: 18 Sep 2014, 19:51:50 UTC

Technology continues to confuse people...

Frustrated Apple users

...personally had no issues whatsoever updating my iPhone 4S via iTunes.
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Message 1574021 - Posted: 18 Sep 2014, 21:06:15 UTC - in response to Message 1573950.  

Technology continues to confuse people...

Frustrated Apple users

...personally had no issues whatsoever updating my iPhone 4S via iTunes.

Yep no problems here, iPad 2 and iPhone 4s both worked first time, now I can text and make calls on my iPad via my iPhone.

Overall technology works quite well for most people so they don't need to know how it works, but as soon as I saw the update was 895mb, I went straight to iTunes.
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Message 1574185 - Posted: 19 Sep 2014, 5:45:42 UTC - in response to Message 1570435.  

What brand of paint thinner was she sniffing when she thought up that idea?

And how does one get a job as messenger? :)

I don't know, but it sure would be an interesting job :)

Also sounds like a good chance to get a good slap across the face!

Or worse depending on locality...


Good idea as an "ice-breaker" but that doesn't always work in too wide a group...

Also very good for too many pranks...


Still, very good 'fun' business with the fun at everyone else's expense!

Or a good giggle?
Martin


Jimmy Kimmel live did that tonight on his show. They rode around loojking for wifi's and gatherd info. Then had some guy approach them on the street telling them things like a he was a mind reader.
Screw public wifi.
[/quote]

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Message 1574239 - Posted: 19 Sep 2014, 9:40:36 UTC - in response to Message 1573950.  

...personally had no issues whatsoever updating my iPhone 4S via iTunes.

My sister used to have a 4S that she had no end of trouble with.

Especially Siri, it couldn't understand either of us.

She has a Galaxy S3 now and all is well.

Needing 5.8 gig of storage is ridiculous though, what the hell are they installing on there?
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