Some Background

According to articles, Google Street View vehicle and team has been collecting from unprotected data accidently. Its main aim was to collect Wi-Fi SSID’s and MAC addresses to enhance location based services like Google Maps and Google Buzz. But some how due to wrong programming it has collected data from unprotected/secured Wi-Fi devices. That means they have partially collected whatever sites you have surfed. Interesting and scary eh!

Securing your Wi-Fi

When your computer connects to the wireless device, it sends data through and from the device. If this transfer is not encrypted or password protected, hackers can easily intercept your data packets. Another reason to password protect is stop wardriving. Which is protecting random strangers from connecting to your internet. They could use your internet to cause havoc online like hacking and site vandalism or for some other malicious purposes.

Encrypting these data transfers makes it difficult for the hackers to gather your data unless powerful computers are used.

Types of Security

The are a few encryption technologies, mainly WEP, WPA and WPA2. Recently, WEP has been defeated in like two minutes and security experts do not recommend this anymore. Next best is WPA and WPA2.

In some cases WPA2 will not work as the laptops or portable devices might not support that encryption. In my case, I am using WPA as the WPA2 is not supported in 2 of my family members laptop.

How to?

There is a very high chance that when you purchase your wifi router it will not be preconfigured with any security. Using it right away is stupid and you should avoid it. Get it configured first before getting any wireless devices connected.

Below example shows me using the 2wire 2701 wifi router issues by my ISP Singtel. Though I hate this router I have to use this to make my IP phone and VOIP TV work. It does not work on any other routers. Sucks I know!

Login to your routers configuration page. You should be able to get the correct address from the manual/guide. First of all change the login password from the default to something else.

This is the main configuration page I see. You should see something similar. In your browser key in 192.168.1.254.

Click on Home Network followed by Wireless Settings. You will see these options. Your LinkSys and Dlink routers should have something similar too.

Network name:  This could be your name or some weirdname to your liking.

SSID Broadcast: Enable it if you want everyone to see it. Might be easy when your friends or relatives dropby to use. As an additional security you can disable it. But when you connect from a laptop you will need to manually key in SSID which can be cumbersome.

Enable Wireless Security. Obviously you have to this to secure the network. In my case I selected WPA-PSK and chose a 10 digit password.

MAC Filtering: Every network device has a hardware number tagged to it by the manufacturer. You can this filtering to allow access only to your own computers while it blocks any others from connecting. I find it troublesome and have not enabled it.

Conclusion

The above is just to show you how to quickly protect your wireless network. Each one of you should get it done now, if you don’t have security in place. THIS IS IMPORTANT. It is like leaving your front door unlocked and allowing thieves to steal stuff!

If you dont know how. Call your techie friend or family member to help you out..

You will be able to buy digital copies of the ebook from its book search. Retailer will be able to sell their books through this service.

One great thing about this is it is not proprietary or at least it seems it is not. You will be able to view/read the e-books from any web connected device. This is really going to challenge Amazon Kindle and maybe Apples iPad based e-book readers. With rumours of Google coming out with Slate like device it will be great to see e-book war boiling up.

This is a short review of a new kid on the block. A bookmarking site and more. It is the myhomepage.com. A name that makes sense and easy to remember isn’t it.

Myhomepage.com is a free site where you can gather all your favourite sites and login in place. Yes, a bookmarking site which you can access from any PC and any browser. Forget about Xmarks plug-ins and such similar sites which offers bookmark synchronization.

Sign-Up

Signing-in is done in seconds. Just key in your email address and choose a password. Agree to the terms and you are done. All site logons are VeriSign certified and you are safe from prying eyes stealing your password.

Features

The below are the 3 main tabs you will see. You can view and cofigure your bookmarks within. Simply search for the site you want to bookmark and add it to myhomepage. Categorise them by creating named folders and you are good to go.

Myhomepage

Myhomepage tab is where you keep all your most accessed sites. This could be your internet emails and other social media sites that you often access.

My Bookmarks

This is where you can keep or bookmark all your sites. You might not access these sites often but you could bookmark and organise them according to folders you create like Music, Video, Technology or even News.

For example, below I have searched for PCMech. A set of results will appear. On the link/result you want choose to Add Bookmark to the Main Folder or create a new folder to add. Consider the folder as categories. I would prefer if they are named Categories or Labels instead of folders.

No worries if you don’t create a folder/category in the beginning, you can always edit later.

Auto Logins

This is nifty feature and I like it. Auto Login allows you to automatically login to sites that require authentication. You might feel skeptical at first as the site will actually store the password for you. I have been assured that together with their patent pending encryption technology, MacAfee and VeriSign technologies our logon information is safe with them.

The trouble some part of this Auto Login is you will need to create a short cut on your browsers bar. Upon clicking on a sites bookmark, you will need to click on the Auto Logon button which will then login for you.

Myhomepage creators have lots of easy to understand videos on Youtube. Below is the demo of myhomepage. View the rest of them here.

Concluding

You have to understand it is beta and the developers are continually improving this site and will be providing new features to enhance our bookmarking choices. Some sites might not auto-logon and other minor issues might pop up.

I find this site to be one of the most useful if not best bookmark site so far. Frankly, I have not really used any other site. I have been using X-marks plug-in to synchronise bookmarks between Firefox/Chrome and Internet Explorer. That is between two of my personal computers only.

With myhomepage.com I can access my bookmarked sites from work or any other PC that is available to me. It will be convenient to access when I am overseas and I suddenly cant remember the site I need to access. Just logon to myhomepage. search your own bookmarks and voila there you have it.

Try it and let me know if it the best online bookmarking website you have used!

Initially when I used Gmail, I saw the Buzz turned on by default and some of my most emailed people being followed automatically. This is where privacy issues cropped. Why add everyone, especially the most contacted in the list? Google was under fire from privacy advocates. It gave apologies after apologies and fixed some issues.

Why Goodbye?

I think I have enough social media sites I am frequenting like Twitter, Friendster and Facebook. It seems to be just another me-too social media site like FriendFeed, except that it is integrated with Gmail. 

I think Buzz is currently over rated. But you cant dismiss it as a passing fad. It definitely will not die like other Google projects but I believe it will take some time before it becomes something significant. Until the Buzz becomes something significant I am not using it. It is currently turned off.

Goodbye Google Buzz!

There is Internet Explorer 7 & 8 available now and you ought upgrade to it. Better yet I would suggest Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari or Opera browsers.

I understand that some companies or enterprises are still using IE6. The IT department most likely feels that it works with most application that they have spent money on and instead of spending money to tweak their application, they leave as it is running on IE6. This is real bad idea. Why dont you do yourself a favor and everyone else at the same time and write to the IT Admin that IE6 needs to die. Update the in-house apps and get rid of lots of head ache.

Here is a proof that people are still using IE6. Of the lot of visitors using IE, about 20% are still using IE 6.This data is extracted from Google Analytics that I use to track visitors to my blog.
I feel like including a script which pops to IE6 users to upgrade their browsers. Should I?

Why must it die?

I am not a coder but I am a blogger. Getting this site to work with IE 6 is like a nightmare. I did not bother to get my designer to get it working with IE 6. Yes, my blog looks bad on IE 6.

I do understand how much coders have to go through just to get the page to look right.

PNG Transparency – It simply doesnt work. Transparent portion of a png image file look gray. Making the site messed and super ugly. View my site in IE 6. It looks horrible

Cascading Style Sheets(CSS) – CSS is heavily used in most sites and blogs nowadays. This is what makes site look and feel right. IE6 does not support the latest incarnation of the CSS so much so that coders have to struggle to tweak and get it working.

Crashing – Over the internet you can find sites providing codes that could crash IE 6. Yes crash it. What more can I say about security.

Security – Its not safe anymore. It is full of holes. Trust me.
Heard of the recent issue where by Google was attacked by Chinese hackers. One of the main culprit was a component of IE6. Read further.

More and more companies are doing away with support for IE6. Facebook has a message to IE6 users. Digg.com and many other sites are doing the same. Now Google will be pulling the support for IE6. Their online apps like the Google Apps will not be supporting IE6 any longer. Which means if you use IE6 and access their Apps, many features would simply stop working or cause errors.

Read further: 
http://davidwalsh.name/6-reasons-why-ie6-must-die
http://mashable.com/2009/07/16/ie6-must-die/

Could you do us all a favour and pass the message to let IE6 die? Simple just provide whoever still uses IE 6 the link to upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 or any of the browsers mentioned.

I do see some performance improvements and memory leak issue after a couple of hours of use seems to fixed. It has been just a day and so far so good. Mind you that many add-ons might not work, so you might want to wait a while before upgrading.

Features

Under the Hood

Faster performace due to improvements in Javascript engine

Plug-in Security

Checks plug-ins for security issue which may potential cause issues to your system

Personas

Skins that just beautifies your browser.

Read more details from PCWorld.com

Firefox is a free downloads for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. Get it at firefox.com

The much anticipated phone from Google has been released.

Will it be a iphone killer? I dont think so. But it will definitely challenge it with features and the Android Market Place apps. See in depth reviews in Engadget. See details on Google Phone site

Specifications

(From the Press Release)

Nexus One Hardware Features

• Display: 3.7? AMOLED 480×800 WVGA display
• Thinness: 11.5mm; Weight: 130g
• Processor/Speed: Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 3G QSD8250 chipset, delivering speeds up to 1GHz
• Camera: 5 megapixel auto focus with flash and geo tagging
• Onboard memory: 512MB Flash, 512MB RAM
• Expandable memory: 4GB removable SD Card (expandable to 32GB)
• Noise Suppression: Dynamic noise suppression from Audience, Inc.
• Ports: 3.5mm stereo headphone jack with four contacts for inline voice and remote control
• Battery: Removable 1400 mAh
• Personalized laser engraving: Up to 50 characters on the back of the phone
• Trackball: Tri-color notification LED, alerts when new emails, chats, text messages arrive

“The Nexus One represents the unique combination of design and innovation two companies like Google and HTC can have when they collaborate,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “The Nexus One continues HTC’s strategy of offering people a portfolio of phones that meet their diverse needs.”

Nexus One Software Innovation

The Nexus One runs on Android 2.1, a version of the platform’s Eclair software, which offers advanced applications and features including:

• Google Maps Navigation: offering turn-by-turn driving directions with voice output.
• Email: multiple Gmail accounts; universal inbox and Exchange support.
• Phone book: aggregate contacts from multiple sources, including Facebook®.
• Quick Contacts: easily switch between communication and social applications.
• Android Market: access to more than 18,000 applications.

In addition, the Nexus One introduces new functionality and software enhancements:

• Enter text without typing.
• Use a voice-enabled keyboard for all text fields: speak a text message, instant message, tweet, Facebook update, or complete an email.
• Tell your phone what you want it to do.
• Search Google, call contacts, or get driving directions by just speaking into your phone.
• Take personalization to the next level.
• Dynamic, interactive, live wallpapers react to the touch of a finger.
• More widgets and five home screen panels allow for further device customization.
• Capture camera-quality pictures and video with your device.
• 5 megapixel camera includes LED flash, auto focus, zoom, white balance and color effects.
• View pictures and Picasa Web Albums in the new 3D Gallery.
• Record Hi-Res MPEG4 video, and then upload to YouTube with one click.
• Read your voicemail messages.
• Get transcribed voicemail with Google Voice integration, without changing your number.

Pricing, Availability, and Future Plans

Nexus One is initially available from the Google web store in the US without service for $529 or starting at $179 with a two-year contract from T-Mobile USA. In the near future, Verizon Wireless in the US and Vodafone in Europe plan to offer services to customers in their respective geographies. Today, consumers can go to www.google.com/phone to learn about the Nexus One and place an order. We will initially take orders from consumers in the US and three other markets – the UK, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

In the coming months Google plans on partnering with additional operators, offering consumers access to a broad set of service plans. In the future we expect to launch more phones with Android handset partners and to expand the web store to more countries.

Google and its OSes

Android based mobile devices will make major in roads in 2010. More and more handset makers will take interest in this platform. I am seriously interested in this platform and am thinking of getting the Motorola Droid when it hits our stores. Maybe I should wait for the Google Nexus One. Oh wait, I doubt it will be released in this part of the world. Whatever it may be Google will challenge the iphone.

The Android marketplace will be great place to get your apps. It will definitely challenge the iphone Apps Store but will not take over. I notice some frustration with developers towards Apple App Store. Apps are not being approved easily or they have to wait for a couple of weeks for it to be approved and available in the App Store. I am thinking these developers might be pulled towards Android Marketplace instead to release their apps.

Next is the Google Chrome OS. It will likely move into the netbook market challenging Windows OS, be it Windows XP or 7. It will bring the price lower and attractive to people like me. I heavily use Google’s products and with an OS which integrates everything seamlessly definitely seems a good idea. But will it just entirely take over that market? I have doubts of it. Look at what happened when Eee PC was first released with Xandros? Everyone wanted a familiar OS which was Windows XP.

Apple

Apple will lead the smart phone race with more and more consumers purchasing the iphone. I believe Apple is moving away from telecoms carrier exclusivity and this will make more iphone being purchased worldwide. No one wants to get tied to a telco which they hate just to get the iphone. When it first came out in Singapore it was tied to Singtel Telco. Though I use Singtel myself I did not get the iphone. With other telcos carrying it now, the price plan is quite attractive. Makes me want to get one but I am yet to decide between the iphone and the Motorola Droid. With other regions getting the iphone without exclusivity, Iphone sales will just soar. Iphone will stay number one. Period.

We have heard rumours about the Apple tablet pc. No one seems to be sure of the specifications though. Whatever the specs or size, Apple will release a tablet which will bring about a whole new market where other makers will jump in and start making cheap tablets. Ooh so much better for us consumers.

Netbooks /Notebooks

With the netbooks screen becoming bigger each day. The line between the netbook and notebook is just getting blur. I dont really get the idea. 7 or 8 inch screen in my thinking can be defined as a netbook. All I want when I move about is a small light device to surf the net and get the email. But with bigger and bigger screen, I might just get a notebook which is much more powerful. Come on get rid of the term netbook.

Windows 7.

This is obvious. Businesses who has been hesitating to move to Windows Vista will look forward to move to Windows 7. Windows XP is just too old. Let it die. It was one of the most stable Windows OS I have ever tried and it just refuses to die. I actually have it in my mac as a virtual machine. Most new notebooks and PC are coming pre-installed with Windows 7 nowadays. So I believe consumers are forced to use it, you like it or not. Let me tell every one that Windows 7 is much better. It just works and has not created any issues so far.

In my personal opinion and tests, I believe Windows 7 will be easily accepted by businesses. My company will be moving to Windows 7 soon and is currently testing out. My colleagues are testing through its spaces as a regular user to ensure it is running fine and all business functions go on well. I expect it to be rolled out to the entire office mid 2010.

Visualization

You will be hearing more and more about this. Apps become virtualized in such a way that it doesn’t matter what OS or hardware that you use. You can see your browser taking over the job as whatever application you want it to be. We will see improvements in this direction

Our economy will definitely be recovering in 2010. I wont expect major recovery but I.T will be one of the factors making the recovery happen.

With this lets meet up next year with more contents and and news.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

1. Design

2. Speed

3. Battery Life

4. Track pad

5. The Dock

7. Finder and Cover flow

8. Time Machine

Absolutely useful and fool proof method of backing up you system and data. Plug-in you external hard drive and make it time machine compatible. After that your Mac will be regularly backed up.

If you happen to reinstall the OS all your data and applications can be restored from the time machine disk. Cool huh!

Enter the time machine to restore files.

9. Parental Control

You could probably live without it. Basically you can control what a particular user can do on your machine. Even has timer function where it only allows a use to login during a particular time. Useful if you have kids and you want to limit the time they use on the PC. Go and Study Kids!

10. iLife application

iLife applications really saves your life. No frustrations using them. It is so easy to use and powerful. I finished editing 3 DVD worth of movie clips in 6 days. I have waiting to edit the movies when I was using the PC. Moreover absolutely free and comes with the Mac.

- iPhoto to manage your photos
- iMovie to edit movies
- Garageband to make your music. If you are a musician an excellent peice of software. Too bad I am not.
- iWeb to create simple websites.

Concluding

Its money well spent for me. It is portable and powerful enough for my use. Battery life is absolutely a boon as I can use it for long periods without much worry.
Try a mac and you will know what I mean.

To surf the web, I use Opera Mini browser. It is one of the best browser for mobile devices I have ever used. An entire site is properly formatted and compressed before downloading causing low data usage charges

Problem when connecting to Wireless@SG

Here in Singapore the goverment together with some ISPs has provided free Wi-Fi access. It is mostly available in Shopping Centres and other popular public areas. You will need to sign-up for an account or if you are a exisiting ISP subscriber you can log-in using the  user id and password.

In order to save some data charges from my mobile provider, I often use Wireless@SG. But there is a problem using Opera Mini. We will encounter error when connecting to a site.

Why?

In order to access sites, Opera Mini connects to its own servers which will then download the site and compress and reorganise to fit the browser. This is where the problem lies. Instead of redirecting to the Wireless@SG authentication page Opera Mini connects to its servers to request for the site. Since you are actually not authorised to access the internet, this just fails with error.

Work Around

One work around is to use your default browser and authenticate to the Wireless@SG and then open Opera Mini. But it causes issues and the current browser might try to authenticate again.

I am trying to find if there are any other methods than can be used. Preferably from within the Opera Mini browser.