by Joseph Forbes | Feb 15, 2013 | DATA, HARDWARE, Technical Support, Technicals
There’s nothing like a fresh install of Windows to clear your mind, but it comes at a cost: you have to set everything up again, just the way you like it. Here’s how to reinstall Windows, migrate your important settings, and leave the clutter behind. You...
by Joseph Forbes | Feb 15, 2013 | Blog Entry, DATA, NERD NEWS, Technical Support, Technicals
from the lords-of-cobol-hear-our-prayers dept. Here’s an old computer science joke: What’s the difference between hardware and software? If you use hardware long enough, it breaks. If you use software long enough, it works. The truth behind that is the...
by Joseph Forbes | Feb 15, 2013 | INTERNET, LAW, NERD NEWS, POLITICAL, SECURITY, Technicals
from the no-more-flash-or-java-in-fighter-jets dept. Last night before the State of the Union speech, President Obama signed an executive order for improving cybersecurity of critical infrastructure (PDF). The highlights of the order are: ‘information sharing...
by Joseph Forbes | Feb 15, 2013 | DATA, NERD NEWS
from the internal-struggle dept. When it comes to RAM, as every geek knows, 1 GB does not mean 1 billion bytes.. it means 2**30 (1,073,741,824) bytes. However, several decades ago “they” decided that GB, MB, and KB would be interpreted differently when it...
by Joseph Forbes | Feb 15, 2013 | Blog Entry, INTERNET, Malware Reports, NERD NEWS, SECURITY
from the but-don’t-worry-they’re-just-1s-and-0s dept. MIT Technology Review reports that efforts by U.S. government agencies and defense contractors to develop malware to attack enemies is driving a black market in zero-day vulnerabilities. Experts warn...
by Joseph Forbes | Feb 14, 2013 | Blog Entry, NERD NEWS
from the So-long-farewell-auf-weidersehen-goodbye dept. “Just as Internet users in general have defected in huge numbers from Microsoft Internet Explorer over the past several years, the business world, as well, is becoming less dependent on the venerable...
by Joseph Forbes | Feb 14, 2013 | Blog Entry, NERD NEWS
Inbox zero is a holy grail that seems unattainable for most, but a wonderful webapp called Mailstrom makes that dream a reality in hardly any time. Through clever sorting methods, it’ll show you your mailboxes in a different light and make it easy to clear out...
by Joseph Forbes | Feb 14, 2013 | Blog Entry, DATA, HARDWARE, NERD NEWS, Technicals
from the breaker-breaker dept. After disasters (or to minimize expensive data use generally, and take advantage of available Wi-Fi), bypassing the cell network is useful. But it’s not something that handset makers bake into their phones. colinneagle writes with...
by Joseph Forbes | Feb 14, 2013 | NERD NEWS, POLITICAL
from the floodgates-in-the-desert dept. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski recently proposed making RF spectrum publicly available, and many in the media (including the Washington Post) have been mistakenly conflating open access to WiFi signal with free Internet access;...
by Joseph Forbes | Feb 14, 2013 | Blog Entry, HACKING, NERD NEWS, SECURITY
from the but-password-stealing-is-wrong dept. An article by some Microsofties in the latest issue of Computing Now magazine claims we have got passwords all wrong. When money is stolen, consumers are reimbursed for stolen funds and it is money mules, not banks or...
