Computer Solutions in the greater brisbane area.
March, 2009
Archive for March, 2009
Internet Explorer 8 is released
Internet Explorer 8 is out and being actively pushed out to users via Windows Update. We are reccomending that all users upgrade to this latest version of IE, espeically those who for whatever reason still have IE6 installed on their PC.
IE8 is a much improved product, so if you are still an IE user (and haven’t switched to Firefox), then this is a must upgrade; Many new features have been incorporated into the browser, but more importantly, it is much safer and more secure than previous versions.
Users inerested in online security might want to read Microsofts safe and secure page that details some of the dangers online and what the new IE8 does to help stop it.
[Download Now!] – Link to Microsofts Download Page.
Secret Censor blacklists are bad!
This is probably how censorship started everywhere in the world, like China; First, you tell your citizens that you are going to protected them for some nasty stuff that will hurt them, like Child Porn. Nobody can argue against getting rid of Child Porn!
Then, you point out that the list of websites you are going to protect us from needs to be kept a secret, after all, if everyone knew where to find the list, they could take steps to get to those sites, and you would in fact be facilitating this illegal behaviour, right? Sure, we say, go ahead and keep the list a secret.
But here’s the problem; Once the list is a secret, nobody knows what else you have put on the list. Now you have a secret censorship tool which you can use to silence anyone you like, not just the porno peddlers.
But what really bugs me about this is the fact that our government seems to think that censorship is the solution to child porn. How about finding and prosecuting the people involved, and shutting down their sites? Shouldn’t that be the solution? How is letting them continue to operate and simply blocking access to their sites at our borders helping?
It’s not.
If you haven’t already, sign the petition on our home page to help stop this madness before it starts stuffing up our internet and our country!
Mobile Carriers – Time to wake up!
With the announcement that the next revision of the iPhone firmware will allow tethering (hooking your phone up to your laptop to give your laptop internet access), it’s time Australian phone companies woke up to the fact that data on the iPhone has the same value as data on a wireless internet plan.
According to Optus’ wireless internet plans, 1 Gig of data is worth about $3 (unless that gig is over your prepaid amount of data in which case, for some reason, it’s worth $150, but that’s another argument)
To be fair, Optus gives it’s iPhone users a reasonable amount of data for free, so I’m happy with that, but now I want to buy some extra data to use this new fangled tethering technology; Oh dear;
Not only does 1 Gig of data cost $20 in this case, but thats ALL I can buy, and if I use more than that, it will cost me $350 to $500 per Gig depending on my deal with Optus.
More grumbling over the fold;
Facebook suffers photo outage
In another blow to “cloud computing”, the popular site facebook as temporarily lost about 15% of the users photos it stores for them. While this doesn’t mean the photo’s are gone, as once Facebook fixes their snafu they will reappear, it does go to show how we cannot yet fully rely on web services for critical services.
It’s a good thing nobody thinks Facebook is a critical service; Or do they? 
New LED lights available soon
I just read that Philips are preparing to release a new LED based light bulb that is a direct replacement for the current type of standard household light fittings.
Available in three different types, MASTER LED offers perfect light quality – in warm and cool white. With no heat, UV or IR in the beam, this light is also ideal for illuminating sensitive objects like food or works of art.
They are going to be expensive at first, perhaps as much as $120 locally, but one hopes the price will quickly lower. Considering their extremely low power draw and long life, and the fact there is no mercury in them, they should replace CFL’s in peoples homes quickly.
Perhaps the Federal Government might take a look at offering a subsidy on them for a year or two to help get them off the ground more quickly?
Google Privacy Blunder Shares Your Docs
In an apparent privacy error that underscores some of the biggest problems surrounding cloud-based services, we’re hearing that Google has sent a notice to a number of users of its Document and Spreadsheets products stating that it may have inadvertently shared some of their documents with contacts who were never granted access to them.
read more | digg story
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