KOPN Tech Radio

Links to news stories we discussed on last night’s show (9/19/2011):

• Windows 8!  Tablets previewed hands-on by Engadget, others (link).
• Microsoft presents at Build 2011 (link).
• Windows 8 has two web browsers (link).  Windows 8 will have an ‘app store’ selling both Metro-style and conventional Win32 applications (link).
• Windows 8 can reportedly run on an Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM (link).  It’s been run on Macs via Bootcamp (link).  But there will be no Windows 8 ARM support for x86 apps (link).
• Microsoft says Windows 8 browsers will be plug-in free (link).  Is this the death of Flash?  Some say yes (link), some say no (link).  Adobe says Flash is an exception to Windows 8′s ‘no plug-ins’ (link).
• Bitcasa plans to offer unlimited cloud storage for $10/month (link); CEO explains its encryption (link).
• Facebook adds a new ‘subscription’ feature (link)
• Missouri State Teachers’ Association (MSTA) secures a win in Missouri state Senate repealing Facebook law (link).
• New patent reform law doesn’t really affect the serious problems with software patent law (link).
• Netflix to spin off its DVD service and call it Qwikster; will keep Netflix streaming separate and start charging you two separate fees for the services (link).  But they forgot to secure the Qwikster Twitter account first (link).

Links to news stories we discussed on last night’s show (9/12/2011):

• Abbie loves Spotify (link)
• DigiNotar hacker says he stole huge GlobalSign cache (link).  Second firm pulls digital certificates (link).  Mozilla asks all CAs to audit their security systems (link).  Google says SSL alternative won’t be added to Chrome (link).  Apple releases Security update for OS X to block hacked web certificates (link).
• Google buys Zagat (link)
• Judge for National Labor Relations Board rules that employees can’t be fired for making complaints on Facebook (link)
• In Mexico, ‘Twitter terrorists’ face 30 years in prison for inciting panic (link)
• Nike will auction off 150 pairs of shoes that look like Marty McFly’s futuristic pair from Back to the Future 2; will raise money for Parkinson’s research (link).  Shoes are already fetching $2500 on eBay (link)
• GameStop to bring Android-based gaming tablet to market (link)
• Amazon considering an e-book rental system similar to Netflix (link)
• ICANN .XXX domain names have arrived (link)
• New ‘super-Earth’ planets found, some might be habitable (link)

Links to news stories we discussed on this week’s show (9/5/2011):

• A limited supply of HP TouchPads will be manufactured, presumably to meet existing backorders (link).  Why would HP make more TouchPads to sell at a loss? (link)
• Amazon has made a tablet and reports suggest that it is large, color, and runs a forked OS that replaces the Google Marketplace (link).  Here’s a first-person account from TechCrunch: link.
• Wikileaks loses control over diplomatic cables, exposes sources (link) (link).  They blame it on the UK Guardian (link).
• Apple employee loses an iPhone 5 prototype in a San Francisco bar.  Just like last year! (link)  Police escorted Apple investigators to do a search of a house, but the phone was not found. (link)
• During Apple’s Q3 Financials, Peter Oppenheimer mentioned an upcoming product transition.  What could it be?  (link)
• The US Justice Department blocks AT&T’s $39 billion deal to buy T-Mobile, saying it would reduce competition and raise prices for consumers (link).  AT&T is willing to make concessions to save the merger (link).
• Last Tuesday (8/30/11), Vasco Data Security subsidiary DigiNotar detected a security breach that forced it to issue improper certificates, including one for Google.com (link) (link).  Firefox 6.0.1 update does nothing except revoke root cert for DigiNotar.
• Couple can sue laptop-tracking company for recording sexually-explicit communications in an effort to identify laptop thieves (link).

Links to news stories we discussed on this week’s show (8/29/2011):

• Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple Computers; will now be Chairman of the Board.  (link) (link)  Meet Tim Cook, Apple’s new CEO. (link)
• Wall Street Journal reports that the iPhone 5 will be coming to Sprint in October. (link).  Sprint employees were instructed earlier this week to answer “no comment” to any requests for information about the iPhone release.  (link)
• Apple hires iPhone hacker & creator of JailBreakMe website (link)
• Missouri teachers union MSTA wins injunction against section of Senate Bill due to go into effect this week that would ban student-teacher connections on social media sites. (link)
• NASA turns to Kickstarter to raise funds to finish its MMO (link)
• LinkedIn “pulls a Facebook”; changes default privacy settings without notifying users (link)
• Twitter is rolling out HTTPS as default (link)
• San Francisco Transit Board is developing a cellphone policy (link)
• “Within a minute of [last week]‘s earthquake, there were more than 40,000 earthquake-related Tweets.” (link)
• MP3tunes verdict: music lockers are legal (link)
• Apache warns web server admins of DoS attack tool (link)
• Samsung cites 2001: A Space Odyssey as prior art in iPad patent battle (link)

Links to news stories we discussed on this week’s show (8/15/2011):

• Google bought Motorola for $12.5 billion (link). Possible reasons for this surprise acquisition: Motorola’s 24,000 patents (link) or its set-top box market (link).  But this definitely probably affects Android OEMs (link).
• San Francisco BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system shut down cell service in downtown stations to interfere with a protest (link).  The FCC is investigating (link).
• Fraudster jailed after pillaging Facebook accounts for personal information (link)
• Citrix Receiver app opens Windows for Chromebook owners (link)
• Chinese authorities find 22 more fake Apple stores (link)
• Britain proposes a social-media ban for those who foment unrest (link)
• New study suggests that broadband internet access makes us more socially active (link).

Links to the news stories we discussed on last night’s show (8/8/2011):

• Solar storms may cause disruptions to satellite, telecommunications, and electric equipment.  (link)
• Black Hat Conference/Defcon are two conferences that run back to back (as a caller was kind enough to clarify for us last night).  They were held in Las Vegas over last week.  Several stories about the conference: Square card skimmer used to collect stolen credit card numbers (link); OS X network security condemned (link); Chrome OS hacks expose vulnerabilities (link); DIY aerial drone monitors Wi-Fi, GSM networks (link); 10-year-old presents on iOS and Android game exploits as part of the new Defcon Kids offshoot (link).
• Amazon is bringing the Virtual Private Cloud out of beta and calling it Amazon Direct Connect.  It allows a dedicated network connection from the customer’s worksite to AWS without passing through the public internet.  (link)

Links to the news stories we discussed on last night’s show (8/1/2011):

• New Missouri Law says teachers and students cannot be friends on Facebook or other social media (link)
• University of Missouri announced Wednesday that it is joining the Gig-U Project, an effort to build ultra-high-speed data networks in the local communities of top colleges.  (link)
• Scientists discover ‘tipping point for spread of ideas’ (link)
• Foxconn (manufacturer of the iPhone and other Apple products) has announced that it is planning to ‘hire’ 1 million robots (link)
• MS-DOS turns 30 (link); MTV turns 30 (link).  And the IBM Selectric Typewriter turns 50 (link).
• Akamai released its State of the Internet Report for 2011 (link).