With any security system, the weakest link will be what is attacked first and most often. The first area of security is the level of settings that you, as a user, enable or disable on the personal privacy setting. Go to Tools –> Options. Select the privacy tab to set the current privacy settings. I would recommend that you change the settings to only allow people on your contact list to contact you. In fact, Skype encourages users to only accept calls from people already in their contact lists. You have the ability to change these settings for calls, video, and IM independently.

The second area of personal security is your online ID, password and viewable information. If you supply too much viewable information to the Skype world, it may be used against you to get your guard down. Also, keep your Skype ID and password different than other IDs and passwords that you might use. And, use strong passwords. There are plenty of sites available to check the strength of your password.  Also, DO NOT let Skype remember your session password on the platform that you are using. In general, this is a bad habit to do on any online based application.  Skype’s website has some great recommendations for passwords.  They are;

1. Use a sentence as your password
2. Include upper and lower case (I would also add strange and special characters)
3. Make the password personal to you perhaps in combination with idea #1
4. Have a unique password for each site.  (Or at least a unique one for Skype)

The next level of security is what Skype does with your data on the network. The good news here is that Skype does a great deal to give a strong, yes to the question of, Is Skype safe? Skype uses a number of methods to ensure data security.

First, Skype makes wide use of cryptography to authenticate user and server identities, and to protect the content transmitted across the P2P network from disclosure by parties other than the peers. The cryptographic systems engineered for these purposes are well- designed and correctly implemented. The goals of providing verified user identity and content confidentiality across the P2P cloud are achieved. Skype uses only standard cryptographic primitives to meet its ends, which is a sound engineering approach. These primitives include the AES block cipher, the RSA public key cryptosystem, the ISO 9796-2 signature padding scheme, the SHA-1 hash function, ALR-2005-031 Skype Security Evaluation 18 October 2005 and the RC4 stream cipher.

Second, Skype operates a certificate authority for user names and authorizations. Digital signatures created by this authority are the basis for identity in Skype. Skype nodes entering into a session correctly verify the identity of their peer. It is infeasible for an attacker to spoof a Skype identity at or below the session layer.

Third, Skype uses a proprietary session-establishment protocol. The cryptographic purposes of this protocol are to protect against replay, to verify peer identity, and to allow the communicating peers to agree on a secret session key. The communicating peers then use their session key to achieve confidential communication during the lifetime of the
session.

So, what does all of this mean? From Skype’s website: “Skype uses well-known standards-based encryption algorithms to protect Skype users’ communications from falling into the hands of hackers and criminals. In so doing, Skype helps ensure user’s privacy as well as the integrity of the data being sent from one user to another.” Do they succeed? Skype uses cryptographic techniques widely and well done. As a result, a Skype session is confidential to the extent that the user also employees common sense techniques using the system. In fact, it provides far greater security than using a wired or wireless telephone call or using email for communication. So, is Skype safe? The answer is yes. I will be comfortably using it to talk with my son this summer.

However, no system is full proof.  Locks are, for all practical purposes, for honest people.  In fact as I was looking over this article and references, I came across a vulnerability issue related to an IP address exposure to users of Skype.  I have added the related article to this post for reference.

Related articles

• Skype Investigating Vulnerability Which Reveals Users’ IP Addresses [Skype] (gizmodo.com)

Post from: StayGoLinks

Is Skype Safe?

Technorati Tags: Cryptography, security, Skype

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First, it is a good idea to define surge protection and describe an appropriate means to present surge protector reviews in a fair and clear manner. A surge protector is not a plug extender or outlet extender. Just because it has an on/off switch does not make it a surge protector.  Many cheap outlet extenders may advertise surge protections, but they may only have an inline fuse as a protection source.

A surge protector is designed to limit (or clamp) the voltage supplied to a device by either absorbing or shorting to ground the unwanted current(energy) above the desired safe threshold. There are many design techniques used to design a surge protector that are beyond the scope of this article and are easily found online.

Let’s take a look at what causes power surges and when to use a surge protector:  First, a surge protector will not defend against a direct lightning strike. The electrical energy induced by a lightning strike is millions of volts and will

overpower almost any surge protector. In a lightning storm, never rely on a surge protector by itself. You should either unplug the computer or have it behind a battery based UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). A surge protector is really a means to protect against voltage spikes due to inductive motors in and around your house or at work. Examples of devices with inductive motors are: air conditioner compressors, refrigerator/freezer compressors, hair dryers, air compressors, drills, blenders, elevators, etc… When these are turned on or experience a heavy load, an instantaneous surge can occur in the electrical system of the building. It is in these cases that surge protectors are useful.  You can see this when the lights dim or flicker in your house when an air conditioner turns powers on.

When looking at surge protector reviews, and a surge protector for purchase, look for the following:

1) Get a protector with an indicator light that tells you if the voltage protection circuit is functional. Many surge protectors will protect for 1 or a few instances and no longer be good. Since, they are designed to allow normal voltage/current through, you will not know that the surge protector is faulty without the indicator.  I’m sure there are many devices hooked up to already blown surge protectors.

2) Make sure it meets the UL 1449 standard (Underwriters Laboratories) and that it is labeled as a transient voltage surge suppressor.  If it does not have this rating, don’t buy it.  Note, this is a minimum standard.

3) Price does have some correlation to performance. An $8 surge protector may be nothing more than an inline fuse. Look for a clamping voltage of 330V don’t go with higher ratings. Also, look for an energy absorption and/or dissipation rating of 400-600 Joules as a minimum. Pricier surge protectors will also carry an insurance policy on the equipment that it is protecting. Make sure you register for this and follow the instructions carefully to make sure your are covered.

Here are in order from best to worst the ways to protect against lightning strike surges.  Remember, there is no 100% protection for lightning strikes so even if a surge protector review says that it protects against lightning, it is not correct.

1) Unplug the AC power cord and the Ethernet, cable TV, telephone cables (pretty much any cable attached to the computer going outside of the room).  This is the best protection but also the most impractical.
2) Unplug the AC power cord only.
3) Plug the device into a battery backed up Uninterruptible Power Supply. (This is generally what I do for my most expense/fragile equipment).
4) Install a whole house surge protector.  Again, make sure it has a light indicator to show that it is still protecting the house/AC panel.  You may find that buying a whole house protector is more cost effective than multiple surge protectors around the house or office.  I recently installed computers and HDTVs in a couple of dozen class rooms and this was the more economical way to go.
5) Plug the device into a UL rated, well designed, local surge protector
6) Plug the device into a cheap surge protector
7) Plug the device into an outlet extender
Plug the device into the wall

You will eventually lose data and equipment with items 6-8 since you have zero protection.

In general item number #3, the battery backed up UPS,  should be done on your main computer, HDTV, $500 receiver, etc… You can often place a battery backed up supply in a location that protects multiple devices. Unplugging is really impractical. You must unplug every important device whenever a storm is on its way or when you are leaving home/office. Item (3) takes care of things whether you are home or away. It also allows you to continue working when the power is blipping due to storm, motor induced voltage drop, etc…

Here are some things that I’ve seen with lightning strike surges.

I’ve had Ethernet switches blown not on the power side but on the Ethernet input/output side due to induced currents on long run Ethernet wiring caused by close lightning strikes.

I’ve had computer motherboards blown that were turned off due to the same Ethernet input/output induced current.

I’ve had computers blown due to AC power spikes caused by lightning. These spikes also have blown surge protectors attached to the computers. I’ve often heard it said that the computer is a great fuse for the surge protector during a lighting storm.

I’ve had printers blown from both Ethernet lines and AC power.

You’ll note that in many instances the surge came through other wiring attached to the device.  If you have cable TV, phone lines, long run Ethernet wires, or other long wiring attached to a device, it is susceptible to induced current surges due to lightning so keep that in mind.  You should look into a battery backed up UPS that also includes phone, Ethernet, and cable protection in these cases.

Post from: StayGoLinks

Surge Protector Reviews

Technorati Tags: Ethernet, Surge protector, Underwriters Laboratories, Uninterruptible Power Supply

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Remote Desktop Connection technology allows you to sit at a computer (usually referred to as the client computer or remote desktop client) and connect to a remote computer (usual referred to as the host computer) in a different location. For example, you can connect to your work computer from your home computer (or your home computer from your work computer) and have access to all of your programs, files, and network resources as though you were in front of your computer

at work or at home.. You can leave programs running on the host and then, when you get to the client, you can see your host computer’s desktop displayed on your client computer, with the same programs running. It is also extremely useful when you are traveling and need access to your programs, files, or media on the host computer. Of course, the host computer must remain on and available for a remote desktop connection to work at all. It is also good practice to put the host computer on a battery backed up UPS (uninterruptible power supply) to ensure 100% uptime with respect to power. Believe me, do this and you will not be sorry.  The one time that you really need to access your host files is the one time that an electrical glitch will shut down your host desktop.  The battery backup UPS will prevent this from happening.  The host should also be connected to a reliable Internet connection.

What to look for in an Android Remote Desktop Application

1) Multimedia auto redirection so that video and audio can be played on the host and heard on the client.

2) A secure connection using encryption so that you can use the remote desktop connection in public Wi-Fi hotspots such as hotels, coffee shops, libraries, airports, etc…

3) Screen size that is adequate for the job. Although it may be possible to use a phone sized screen as a remote desktop, it is not really practical. I would suggest that remote desktop protocol (RDP) would be best served on a tablet device. This is not really an RDP app requirement but more of a client requirement.  If you want to use a phone sized screen, make sure you find an RDP app that support screen zooming and panning.

4) Graphics capability that provides a good experience from the host to the client.  Try out a few different applications on the host and view them on the client: video playback on the host, a flash application, a graphics intensive application such as a game, an Adobe pdf file, etc…

5) Automatic keyboard activation so that the keyboard appears anytime a text field is selected as opposed to a manual keyboard that the user must activate every time text is needed.  If it uses a manual keyboard, it should be easy to activate and put away.

6) Screen resolution synchronization done automatically so that the remote desktop of the host fits on the screen of the client. If auto resolution synchronization is not supported, then it should be easy to choose the correct size or the app should support fluid panning and zooming.

7) Cost should be fair and include support commensurate with the cost of the app. If it is free, not much. If it cost real $$, then the support should be real and available.  I believe you will find that you will probably end up choosing the paid version once you are comfortable that the app will support your needs.

Remote Desktop for Android

As you might expect with technology, the available choices today for an Android remote desktop will not be the same 3 months from now as today, but we will take a look at the most popular RDP apps and use it as a starting point. What you will find is that many of these apps have a free version and a paid version. Although the free versions work and will suffice for many situations, the paid version will most often add the key features or features that you need including support, encryption, auto keyboard, etc…

Here are a list of current RDP apps (this is in no way all inclusive):

• Teamviewer for Remote Control (free and paid)
• Remote RDP Lite (free)
• Remote RDP (paid)
• PocketCloud Remote RDP/VNC (free and paid)
• 2XClient RDP/Remote Desktop (free)
• LogMeIn Ignition (paid)
• Remote Desktop, RDP (free)
• Remote Desktop, RDP-Pro (paid)
• PhoneMyPC (Paid)
• Splashtop Remote Desktop HD (free and paid)
• And, there are many more apps available, but these are enough for now…

In order to choose a “best” remote desktop for Android, the usage model needs to be taken into account. You will find that there is not a “one app fits all” solution. Consider which of these three scenarios best fits your needs and choose accordingly. You may find that you need to use more than one remote desktop application to cover all requirements. Note, that some of these applications also require that you load host software on the main desktop.

For users on the same network environment (in the office, at home with the client on the couch and the host in the closet, in a school, etc…) encryption is not so important and many of the free apps will work. However, the nod would go to Splashtop or PocketCloud. Start with the free versions. However, Splashtop does not include an automatic keyboard so if you will be using a lot of text entry, then lean towards PocketCloud.

For users on public Wi-Fi networks (you are traveling, the library, public coffee shop, restaurant, etc…) then you really need encryption. In this case PocketCloud Remote Desktop Pro (the paid version) adds encryption to the free version and is probably the correct choice.

For users that provide support or need to control another computer using RDP, the application should support more protocols for viewing and controlling the host physical computer. For this usage model, take a look at Splashtop’s paid version, LogMeIn, or TeamViewer.

When you are ready to decide on an Android remote desktop application, first try the free version to get a look and feel for the software; next, read up on the upgrades from free to the paid version and see if you should pay up (for encryption it is worth it on public networks); finally, review the latest reviews for that particular app to see if it is still providing a good service compared to the competition.

Post from: StayGoLinks

Android Remote Desktop

Technorati Tags: client, RDP, Remote Desktop Protocol, Remote Desktop Services, Remote desktop software

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Voice Search Applications

Suppose you want to do a voice search on Google with your cell phone? Well, if you have and Android phone, Google will be happy to support you; however, if you own a mobile using another operating system, you may be out of luck. What may have been known as Google Speak a few years ago is now referred to as “voice search” by Google. Under the Google Mobile category, according to Google’s website:

“Voice Search is a feature of Google Search app for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Nokia S60 V3 phones.
If you have an Android phone, search for the “Voice Search” app in Google Play. Voice Search for Android supports Voice Actions on Android 2.2 (Froyo) and above. The Android operating system also enables you to speak instead of typing in any app where you launch the keyboard.
Voice Search is not available in all languages and all mobile phones.”

I’m sure over time, Google will add this support to all platforms.  If Google wants to own search on all devices, it is necessary and inevitable.

If you want the features of Google speak or voice search, the url on your browser is m.google.com

The voice search actions include the following commands:

• Send text messages: “Send text to”
• Listen to Music: “listen to”
• Get directions: “navigate to”
• Call businesses or contacts: “call”
• Send email: “send email to”
• View a map: “map of”
• Visit website: “go to”
• Write a note: “note to self”
• Search Google: “just say what you need” If it is not one of the commands, it will default to search.

Voice and text Translation

There is a Google speak to translate app available for Android and iPhone users. You can use this app to hear translations by speaking your phrases and listening to the corresponding translations spoken back to you. You can also use it to perform a text to text translation. As of this writing, the support for both voice-to-voice and text-to-text was for more than 60 languages. To find it, just search for Google Translate on the android or iPhone app store.  It’s a pretty cool feature and probably quite useful on trips to foreign countries or maybe talking to the person next to you on the subway, perhaps.

Google Speak to Tweet

Built as a platform to help protesters in Egypt get their messages out, Google and Twitter worked together to provide a service that would send tweets using a voice connection. If a call was placed on the correct phone number, the voice message left at that number would be automatically regenerated as a tweet with the hashtag #egypt.

Can this become a general solution for other users? Yes, of course. I don’t believe the system used for Egypt where fixed line phones acted as the conduit is necessary. It was only necessary for the situation in Egypt where internet service was disrupted; however, I could see Google adding a command to Google voice such as “tweet this”. It’s a natural extension of the service. It just depends on whether or not Google and Twitter want to work collaboratively for the feature being used in the general marketplace.

What’s Next for Google Speak?

A natural evolution for this feature would be for a Google voice based TV or car application.  With a command driven interface, the user could enable the appliance/tv/car/whatever to “wake up” and listen for what the user needs to be done when the appropriate command is heard.  The application would be useful in emergency situations for sure, but I could see it as a natural extension to mapping features in a car navigation application.  On a TV, I could see it much more helpful as a search key word entry means rather than using a remote control to type in text one character at a time.  However, the best initial modes of use are for mobile as already described.

Post from: StayGoLinks

Google Speak

Technorati Tags: Android, Google, Google Voice, iPhone, mobile phone

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ManageFlitter: Easy to clean your closet. Clean up who you follow and who are not following you on twitter. You can even use analytics built into the tool as well to track your followers and know more about their interest.

Twitter Friend Killer: This application lets you unfollow your Twitter friends who don’t follow you back and do it from your Windows desktop. There are no complicated steps involved, and it is a good tool for bulk unfollowing.

Iunfollow  Looks like a good tool, but is facing some growing pains as more people use it.

Justunfollow: Find and Unfollow Twitter users who are not following you back. Just sign in and unfollow your non-followers.

Tweetoid This unfollow Twitter tool has many features:You can choose to unfollow all your followers, or those who don’t follow you back, follow all those who are following you, or filter based on number of tweeps, topics, etc…

Who.unfollowed.me Want to find out who unfollowed you first so that you can then unfollow them?  Check it out.

FriendorFollow: This tool also allows you to check on who is following or not following you.

JustUnfollow Helps you unfollow all those who aren’t following you back. It will allow you to view 50 of the non-following Twitterers (say that 10 times fast) allowing you to decide whether or not to return the favor.

Qwitter If you want to know instantly when someone unfollows you, this app sends you an email whenever any of your Twitter followers stops following you.

Many of these tools offer various other features which may be helpful or may get in the way.  Also, many the tools are in general free to use so the support levels, site accessibility/speed/uptime will vary.  Maybe twitter should add an option on the your preferences to provide an “auto unfollow” or follow for a set time period.  This would make for a very useful unfollow Twitter tool. However, I think this would go against Twitter’s desire to grow the network effect of the Twitter environment.  So, check out which tool works best for your needs.  Just remember, that once you unfollow someone, it may generate a snowball effect of unfollows back to you and may just result in a change to the space-time continuum …. or not.

Post from: StayGoLinks

Unfollow Twitter Tool

Technorati Tags: social media, Social network, Twitter

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Actually, there are many valid ways to record audio from YouTube. First, there are copyright issues with some content, and you should be aware of these and act appropriately with respect to copyright infringement; however, there is a plethora of content available that is freely usable so take care in choosing. With that said, let’s investigate some of the methods to record YouTube audio.

Using Built in Windows ability:

The easiest and cheapest way to do this for a Windows PC user is to use the recording features already built into the operating system. Here are the steps to follow:

1) Setup your computer to record from stereo mix.
If you find that you do not have stereo mix enabled for your computer (Many Dell Laptops have this disabled in the driver.  For whatever reason, Dell decided to handcuff the SoundTek audio drivers.), you will need to google your particular case online. Here is a link for those with a Dell D620.

2) Select Start, Run. Type it “sndrec32” (don’t type in the quotes) and select “OK”. This uses the windows core sound recorder already in the operating system. It will pop up a recording/playback control box. If you play around with it, you’ll see that it comes with a few custom modes that you can play around with.

3) Go find your YouTube clip and get it to the starting point for recording.  Note, for any recording, it is best if you let the YouTube clip fully buffer before starting the recording.  This will eliminate any pauses in the recording if the clip playback overruns the buffered content.

4) Select record on sndrec32.  That would be the red button.

5) Select play on the YouTube file.

Note, you will lose all microphone input recording when you start recording from sndrec32 with external speakers as the source. This will not work for you in situations where you need to voice over the YouTube recording. To do this, you will need to use a mixer after the fact or use a different solution for the recording from the start.

6) Stop recording on the sndrec32 when done. You don’t lose any quality in the audio using this method.

7) When done, save the file. It will save as a .wav file. If this works for you, you are done. In order to convert this to MP3, you can use audacity (see below) or goldwave.

Here is a YouTube video for the whole process described above.

Using the internet:

Search the internet for “youtube to mp3″. On any day you’ll find a number of alternatives. Personally, I like doing it on my own because I can’t control what the online path might do to the audio, and there may be other issues involved with using online services.  However, these do work and may save you some steps.  It will also work on any platform, so it is independent of PC, Apple, Tablet, etc… This would also work great if you have cloud storage.  You can record audio from YouTube online and then save the result online.  No PC is actually required.

Use Audacity for the complete solution

If you need MP3, you’ll need audacity or another program anyway so you can use one application for the whole process.

1) Download the free Audacity program.

2) Within Audacity click Edit and then Preferences. Within the Preferences window, under the Recording section change the device to your sound card. Do not use “Microsoft Sound Mapper – Input”, or any microphone (this includes webcam mics).

3) While still in Preferences change the channels to 2 (Stereo) if available under channels.

4) Change recording from the default Wave to What U Hear.

5) Get your YouTube source ready.

6) Start Recording in Audacity. Again, it’s the red button.

7) Click Play on the YouTube video.  Once more, let the complete clip buffer fully to prevent any pauses, skips, etc…

When done, click File and choose either “Export as MP3″ or “Export as WAV”.

If you have not done it already, and need mp3, you’ll need to install LAME MP3 file support.  Lame is an open source project and does not provide readily available, user friendly executable files.  These need to be found by folks that support end product uses for the LAME MP3 application.  Here is one that you can try.

If you use the example in the link, once downloaded and installed, click File and then “Export as MP3″, you’ll be prompted to point to the lame_enc.dll file, which if you used the default settings will be at: C:\Program Files\Lame.

Record YouTube audio on a Mac

First, I haven’t tried this on my Mac so I cannot truly attest to the completeness of the solution, but I wanted to add this to the post to help.  Audacity is also the path to use in order to record audio from YouTube on a Mac.  It will need an additional application to enable the solution.  This YouTube video best describes the solution.

Post from: StayGoLinks

Record audio from YouTube

Technorati Tags: audio, MP3, YouTube

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For a look at the top 10 web browsers, I am dividing the ten into two groups of five: the “big 5″ browsers are: Chrome 16, Firefox 9, IE9, Opera 11, and Safari 5; and the “small 5″ will be Maxthon, SeaMonkey, Deepnet, and Avant. I will use “big 5″ or “small 5″ in some descriptions. Yes, there are even more browsers out there (every version of IE is a separate browser, for example), but I’d have to change the name of the review.

Before I start, I’d like to give a nod to Netscape.  From Wikipedia: ”The Netscape Navigator web browser was succeeded by Netscape Communicator. Netscape Communicator’s 4.x source code was the base for the Netscape-developed Mozilla Application Suite, which was later renamed SeaMonkey. Netscape’s Mozilla Suite also served as the base for a browser-only spin-off called Mozilla Firefox and Netscape versions 6 through 9.” So, two of the top 10 browsers are offspring of the Netscape core.

Overall Features:

Your probably using one of the “big 5″ browsers; therefore, we will concentrate on these. The big 5 line up equally well on most major features. I will only note differences. If the browser is not listed, it doesn’t support the feature. If the feature is not listed, like tabs, they all support it.

• Spell Check:        Chrome FireFox Opera Safari
• Open Source:      Chrome FireFox  (not really a feature, but a state of mind)
• Download Mgr:   Chrome Firefox Opera
• Parental Control:  Firefox IE
• Mouse Gestures:  Opera
• Voice Integration: Opera

Many features can be added with add on modules, parental control is an example for Chrome.  However, for base, core browser support, Chrome and Firefox come out on top. But, if you need integrated voice, Opera may be your best way to go.

Speed/Performance: (thanks to Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols from zdnet.com for tables representing the data).  Listing is fastest to slowest or best to worst.

• Load/startup Speed:                   Chrome, Safari, IE9, Opera, Firefox
• Javascript Kraken Performance: Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, IE9
• Javascript V8 Benchmark:          Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, IE9
• Javascript Sunspider:                  IE9, Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari
• HTML5, Video Codec, Java:     Opera, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, IE9
• HTML5 Compatibility:               Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, IE9

The winner for performance and compatibility is Chrome followed by Firefox. On a side note, does speed and performance really matter? If I can notice it and can see it in action, it does for me; however, when it comes down to a 1 second difference, perhaps not so much. As long as load times are around 4-5 seconds, you can start blaming your modem, router, computer bandwidth, etc… The browser, itself, becomes secondary at some point to actual browser performance.

Core Browser security:

Mark Twain is attributed to the quote “Lies, damned lies, and statistics”. The same can be said for security reviews on browsers. Many reviews are sponsored by browser companies and should be viewed with that in mind. However, there is a prevalent opinion online that the Chrome browser is the standard bearer at the moment for out of the box security followed closely by Safari and IE9. But, there are Opera and Firefox zealots that would strongly disagree. Personally, I give the nod to Chrome.

Ease of Use and the User Perspective

Much of this is a “qualitative” argument. “I like this. You like that. I’m used to this. I don’t need that.” You get the idea. I’ve used Chrome, IE, Safari, and Firefox. I have not used Opera. Of the 4 that I’ve used, Chrome just has a better “feel” to me. I found Firefox to be a little slower, and I also tend to hunt around for how to do things
more often (this, of course, is the “I’m used to this” problem). Safari is a ‘no brainer” on a Mac due to the integration with all of what is Apple, and it looks great. IE9 finally feels a little peppier than its predecessors. However, on a daily basis on my PC I use Chrome first. I only use IE now on certain “cloud” based applications and web
based admin portals that require IE and do not load with Chrome. So, Chrome it is followed by IE for those annoying compatibility sites.

Annoying issues:

Of course, all is not perfect with any of the browsers including Chrome.  Here are some of the things that annoy me on each browser.

Chrome: The auto updater can be a pain. It is near impossible to disable (you have to go into msconfig or use autoruns) and can cause issues on some shared system applications.

IE9: For all of the HTML5 hype by Microsoft, it is the worst with respect to compatibility. MS allows tends to whipsaw back and forth on what they let the user easily change with respect to security and personal settings. And, no spell check?

Firefox: Not as intuitive with handling add on applications.

Safari: Flash, uh Flash, and how about Flash?

Opera: Compatibility issues, sometimes.

Overall Results for the “big 5″

Chrome scores an overall win for the big 5 browsers. Even if you discount the performance and just say that all of the

browsers have “good enough” performance, I still pick Chrome due to how I interact with it, its clean interface, and the clean connection with other google apps. I pick IE9 as second for two reasons: 1) I need it for certain sites that just will not support anything other than IE, and 2) It is still the overall leader for market share (on most days) so I use it to check out the “look” of websites on it versus Chrome.  If this is not a concern to you, then Firefox may be your second choice.

A look at the “small 5″

Okay, so what about the “small 5″. These are, in my opinion, useful only for specific situations or niches. For example, if you want to customize the skins of your browser for a standalone application, you might look at the Maxthon browser. If you want an alternative browswer for social media security, Rockmelt might be an option. And, for the absolute fastest load time, Deepnet is it. Here are the best use scenarios for each:

• Maxthon: Customizable skin and toolbars
• Rockmelt: Excellent Security for social media
• SeaMonkey: Netscape’s great grandchild, all in one suite with built in email and chat
• Deepnet Explorer: Fast startup speeds, but lacking in security. Great for a closed system.
• Avant: You like using the #10 browser in the review.

As with many things, there is not a clear #1 choice for every user. Browsers, as do people, have unique personalities and just fit better with some than with others. So, how about loading up 5-7 of the browsers and use a different browser each day. You might find yourself surprised by which one you like best for your top 10 web browsers.

I will be discussing more on browser security in another posting. Since this web browser review covered the top 10 browsers, I only wanted to deal with security found in the browser core without looking at what can be done with apps or other alternatives; therefore, it is a topic for another post.

Post from: StayGoLinks

Top 10 web browsers

Technorati Tags: browsers, Google Chrome, website

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So, let’s examine the current status for each of these requirements:

Allow use of Google voice in the license agreement

The wording on the google voice additional terms page is fairly silent on this issue.  However, the use is also covered by the general Google terms of service which has the following wording concerning using Google software:

“Google gives you a personal, worldwide, royalty-free, non-assignable and non-exclusive license to use the software provided to you by Google as part of the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling you to use and enjoy the benefit of the Services as provided by Google, in the manner permitted by these terms. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of our Services or included software, nor may you reverse engineer or attempt to extract the source code of that software, unless laws prohibit those restrictions or you have our written permission.”

The important point covered in the general TOS is personal use is granted; however, distribution, copy, sell, lease etc.. is prohibited without written permission from Google.  ”Written permission from Google” means you need a license agreement with Google based on your commercial applications requirements to use the API.

Google Voice API Support

This is not easily found for the personal user.  I believe this is due to the TOS above.  Anyone needing to use the API would need to contact Google for a written agreement, and upon finalizing an agreement, all support for the API would be available.   However, based on projects that are currently underway, the Google Voice API is real and in use.  Here are some of the projects currently in the open source world.

Google Voice for Python: ”This project aims to bring the power of the Google Voice API to the Python language in a simple, easy-to-use manner. Currently it allows you to place calls, send sms, download voicemails/recorded messages, and search the various folders of your Google Voice Accounts. You can use the Python API or command line script to schedule calls, check for new received calls/sms, or even sync your recorded voicemails/calls. Works for Python 2 and Python 3″

Google Voice Java: “The goal of this project is to bring programmatic control of Google Voice to Java Developers. This includes Placing Calls, Sending SMS messages, and viewing Inbox, Voicemails etc. Developers are welcome to contribute to this Open Source project.”

Android Google Voice Locations: “Google Voice Locations adds location awareness to Google Voice. Google Voice Locations allows phones to be enabled and disabled to ring based on location preferences.It also features a callback dialer to supplement this missing feature in the official Google Voice app for Android.”

I have also found some interesting demos with linux applications using Google Voice API and Siri.

Google Voice API Documentation

If you have permission via a written agreement from Google for the API, you probably have access to the documentation.  The python and java projects listed above both have links to documentation for the API.  On the Java development site, look for the downloads tab for the latest download which includes the documentation for the API.  I, personally, don’t have a license for the Google Voice API, so I can not attest to the detail, user friendliness, or completeness of the documentation and support; however, based on the open source projects described above, along with the wikis and user forums, it appears to be available with a growing user support infrastructure emerging.

Google Supports it as Part of the Future

I believe this is only in the best interest of Google.  The Google Voice API is an obvious need for Android based mobile devices.  Whether Google licenses Siri or offers an alternative application, the voice api is a requirement.  Voice based search for cell phones, android tablets, internet TVs, desktop PCs, and for automobiles is a path for Google today and into the future.  All of this bodes well for future support and for growing, more robust, and strategic support of the voice API by Google.  A natural evolution for the voice api would be a tighter engagement of Google Voice with Google email.  This would allow ability to bridge the email world with the cellular voice world.  All in all, the future looks good for the users and developers with respect to Google Voice and API support for applications and devices.

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Google Voice API

Technorati Tags: Android, Google, Google Voice, Python

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If you do a quick search for “Google Voice Fax“, you’ll see many forums, help listings, and pleas from the masses for how to do something as simple as send a fax using Google Voice. In fact, Google at least seems to understand the need for this support since they have two different links for you to express your desire for this feature. Here are the links:  Link for feature suggestions. Link to voice your opinion.

Okay, so what do you do if you want Google Voice Fax?

I have three alternatives that I’ve found based on different requirement scenarios.

Scenario 1: You only need to receive faxes and don’t need to send faxes, send faxes infrequently or will handle sending faxes another way: (note, none of the suggestions below are paid or affiliate links)

First, get an email account if you don’t already have one.

Next, go to www.k7.net and sign up for an account. This service is free for receiving faxes and voicemail. You will be assigned a free phone number for voice mail and faxes. These are then routed to your email account or you can view and listen to messages on the K7 website.

Scenario 2: You need to both send and receive faxes from anywhere and do so with frequently

If you truly need the flexibility to send faxes from anywhere there are many online services available. One that I’ve found is www.ringcentral.com. For about $8/month you get a dedicated fax number, toll free or local phone number, and 500 pages/month for faxing. As you can see, you need a reason to justify the $8/month expense.  Of course, if you need more features, they will provide them to you at higher rates.

Scenario 3: Sending faxes on the cheap:

The cheapest solution of course, is scan and email. Just scan your documents and email them to the recipient. In fact, many multifuction printers make this a painless process. This, of course, is not a true fax solution in that the receiver is another computer and not a fax machine. But, this method will probably work for you the majority of the time.  If you truly need to use a fax machine and do not have access to one, most hotels, have one available for use for a fee.  In a bind, you can also check with a real estate company or library.

So, go click on the feature request links and let Google know that you want Google Voice Fax.  Or, better yet, fax in your suggestion to Google.  What better way to get your point across

Post from: StayGoLinks

Google Voice Fax

Technorati Tags: eFax, Google, Google Voice, Internet fax

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First, lets compare the two primary deliver methods of TV found in the home today:

In the traditional cable TV or satellite network – using broadcast radio frequency (RF) video technology – all available content constantly flows downstream to each customer, and the customer switches the content at the settop box. The customer can select from among as many choices as the cable or satellite company can fit into the “pipe” flowing into the home. The broadcast network is one-way. Therefore, this is a delivery all before the request model. The positives are guaranteed delivery of content at a specific, pre-determined quality level. The access is quick (instantaneous) since all channels are broadcast to the box simultaneously. However, the negative is the number of channels or special services which may be available from the service. Cable and satellite companies have responded to this by providing VOD (Video on Demand) services, pay-per-view, and special channel packages (sports packages, for example).

AT&T’s switched Internet Protocol (IP) video network works differently. Content remains in the network (in the cloud), and only the content the customer requests is sent to the customer’s home. Therefore, this is a deliver nothing until requested model.  The IP network is two-way. Switched video delivery means content choice is not limited by the size of the “pipe” into the home – so the network allows for delivery of more content and functionality. The network creates the potential to provide customers more choices, including niche programming of interest to diverse audiences and more high-definition (HD) programming. The benefit is theoritical unlimited amount of content available to the user. The content is only limited by what ATT has contracted with to be accesible to the user. The negatives are primarily due to bandwidth availability and the IP protocal, itself.  Under high bandwith demand conditions or for customers with poor access to the closest delivery node, channel quality can suffer.  From ATT’s Uverse terms of service: ” IP Network Interruptions. You acknowledge and understand that the Services will not function in the event of an IP network interruption.”  So, like interruptions that you may have experience on downloading a video, you may experience a similar issue from time to time depending on ATT’s IP network viability.  One factor that affects the quality level of service is the distance from the receiver box in the home to the VRAD (Video ready access device) node on the network.  The receiving device must be within 2500 feet of the network node to have reliable, higher quality service.  When this distance is longer than 2500 feet, quality suffers.  Many video, voice, and internet bandwidth quality issues are a direct result of violating this distance requirement. Finally, the switched mode communication method may cause some small delay from selecting a channel to the channel becoming available on the receiver since the customer must relay to the network what channel is required.

What about other factors affecting ATT Uverse Reviews?

The primary factors are cost of the service, technology features of the DVR/TV service, and customer service related to billing and technology issues. The first topic of cost primarily comes down to your comfort level with contracts and your “core” choice of channels. Since channel packages are different based on area of the country, time of year, aggressiveness of marketing, etc… it is beyond the scope of this article to review these in full. Before you choose ATT Uverse vs Dish, DirecTV, or cable, shop around at the time of your decision.

With respect to DVR/TV service, personally, I don’t think anything comes close to Tivo; however, patents prohibit ATT’s box from being a Tivo box. You will also find that patents also prevent ATT’s box from having a Dish DVR “look and feel”. This is true for all comparisons with ATT Uverse’s DVR. So, it will not have the exact features found in the other DVR boxes. You should read carefully reviews on the ATT Uverse DVR. The best thing to do if this really is of concern to you is find a retailer that will allow you to utilise the Uverse DVR in the store so that you can get a feel for what you like and don’t like.

Any discussion on u-verse reviews should also look at customer service.  On customer service issues, it really depends on both your technical, mental, and emotional level as a customer as well as the technical, mental, and emotional level of the customer service representative. I’ve had good and bad experiences with customer service. Most of the good experiences can be attributed to how calm I remained and how much followup detail that I received on what would be the next step and who was responsible for the next step.

To sum up my thoughts on ATT U-verse reviews, it comes down to you, the customer, doing some digging up front before ordering the service. First, make sure that your house is less than 2500 feet from the VRAD Node. Do this by checking online for the compatibility check. Next, call ATT Uverse and have them verify and confirm this. Also, please read the Terms of Service (TOS) for Uverse before committing to a contract. You will often find items in the terms of service that may cause you concern.

One final item is the whole idea of bundling. This may or may not be the biggest concern with ATT Uverse. Do you want one carrier/supplier handling your phone, internet, and TV? If ATTs IP network goes down, all of your communication also goes down. For me, I like trying to choose the best provider for each service and let them compete on quality for what you receive rather than quantity of what you receive. But to each his/her on..

Post from: StayGoLinks

ATT Uverse Reviews

Technorati Tags: AT&T Uverse, High-definition television, Internet Protocol

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