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Android finds bug in Skype app.

2011-04-16T17:48:00.001-07:00

Skype might have been caught off guard by the news that their Android app was subject to a data stealing exploit, but the company has made an announcement to calm our nerves. Skype has acknowledged the issue, and is working on a fix. In the meantime, they suggest users be cautious about what apps they install.

The Skype app for Android stores user profile data on the SD card in a standard folder. None of the sqlite3 databases are encrypted, so it is a relatively simple process to extract the data. The information that is accessible to this hack includes contacts, IM logs, and profile data.

Clearly this was a serious failure from Skype, but at least the dedicated Android community noticed it before it was being exploited by the bad guys. Does this issue concern the Skype users out there?

Verizon getting rid of 1 year contract.

2011-04-14T17:31:00.001-07:00

Verizon Wireless has confirmed today that as of April 17th, customers will no longer have the option of signing up for 1-year contracts. According to Big Red, the change is being made to simplify choices and because most people choose the 2-year option with larger phone subsidy anyway. Mont-to-month, prepaid, and 2-year contracts are continuing unchanged.

The 1-year contract option was popular among power users who liked the freedom of getting a new, subsidized phone every year. In many cases, Verizon's 1-year handset prices were only slightly more expensive than the 2-year ones. But no more. Starting on the 17th, new sign-ups and renewing users will either pay full price, or take the 2-year subsidy.

Have you ever used the 1-year contract option on your carrier? Would you do it again (unless you're on Verizon)?

Boy Scouts gets new merit badges

2011-04-14T17:30:00.001-07:00

The Boy Scouts of America program offers over 120 merit badges that kids can earn, everything from archery to camping, from coin collecting to dog care. As time goes on, outdated badges, like blacksmithing, end up being replaced with new versions more relevant to the skills boys need to succeed. In the past five years, only four new badges have been added. Go ahead and add one more to the list, because starting next week, your little scout will be able to earn his robotics merit badge.

"Last century, camping was an essential survival skill. Sometimes, you might have had to live outside in the 1900s to survive. We view STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) as an essential survival skill in the 21st century," said Matt Myers, who oversees the Boy Scouts' STEM initiative. "We're just trying to keep relevant with what kids need to learn."

In order to earn a robotics merit badge, scouts will need to design and build a robot while learning about robot movement, sensors, and programming. It's one of the geekier badges available, others being radio, photography, computers, nuclear science, and geocaching.

"It's a bit strange because most of [the badges] have to do with camping, and robotics doesn't have to do a lo with camping," said Josh Cerniglia, a 10-year-old scout from Atkinson, N.H. "But I think as soon as I'm finished with fishing, I'll try to go for it."

Firefox adds great new extension!

2011-04-14T16:38:00.002-07:00

Are you under the impression that the modern day browser war doesn't amount to a hill of beans? Try telling that to Mozilla, who is in a dogfight with Microsoft (Internet Explorer) and Google (Chrome) for browser dominance. With plenty of ad dollars at stake and control over emerging Web standards, browser makers have vested interest in grabbing as much market share as they can. Mozilla, whose second place Firefox browser is at serious risk of being overrun Chrome, announced a new rapid release development cycle, with an early version of Firefox 5 now up for grabs.

Previously there were three channels with which to test new features in Firefox. These included:

Nightly test builds: Includes features not tested by Mozilla QA
Firefox Beta: Broadly test the stability of new features and improvements in the next version of Firefox
Firefox Final Release: Deliver the polished and stable features in Firefox to hundreds of millions of users

Now there's a fourth channel called "Aurora," which Mozilla says is a place users can go to test the latest features and innovations. The first version of what will end up being Firefox 5 landed in the Aurora channel earlier this week, which is similar to Google's "dev" channel for Chrome. Firefox 5 is expected to go into beta form on or around May 17, with a final release scheduled for June 21.

Comcast gets a 105 MBPS download!

2011-04-14T16:38:00.000-07:00

If you're a Comcast subscriber, go ahead and bust out your old Sammy Hagar cassette and start belting out "I Can't Drive 55." All you need is enough green, and you won't have to drive through cyberspace at a piddly 55Mbps. Comcast has been busy laying cable and now offers its newest and highest-tier Internet speed, "Extreme 105," to more than 40 million homes from coast to coast. What can you do with 105Mbps Internet?

According to Comcast, you can download a 4GB high-definition movie in 5 minutes, a 1.5GB standard definition flick in 2 minutes, a 300MB standard definition TV show in 20 seconds, and 10-song, 40MB music album in just 3 seconds.

"This speed tier continues to expand our portfolio of Internet service offerings and takes them up to a whole new level," said Cathy Avgiris, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Communications and Data Services. "With it, we’re powering the digital home of the future, where entire families using multiple devices – laptops, gaming consoles, tablets, smartphones – can all take advantage of high-bandwidth applications simultaneously ensuring they each have a great online experience."

To enroll in Comcast's Extreme 105 service, you'll have to fork over $105 per month for 12 months as part of the company's Triple Play bundle. The service comes with a wireless home networking gateway, and if you're not down with the Triple Play bundle, you can still order the Extreme 105 tier on a standalone basis, though only if you don't mind parting with $199/month -- yikes!

Pricing bugaboo aside, Comcast's 250GB data cap still applies, which we find a little bogus. After all, if you're forking over a high premium for blistering fast Internet access, it doesn't seem unreasonable to expect a looser fitting cap, or remove it altogether.

What are your thoughts on Comcast's Extreme 105 service?

New Firefox Extension Bypasses Government Domain Seizures

2011-04-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

The seizure of file-sharing domain names by US authorities has been a hot button issue for the last few months, and the practice is not expected to stop any time soon. Taking away site's domain name is a blow to be sure, but many sites just set up shop at another address. A new firefox extension aims to make the process easier, and poke at the copyright police at the same time.

MAFIAA Fire was officially published to the Firefox Add-on gallery today, and will be ported to Chrome soon. This extension will be used to maintain a list of seized domains and automatically reroute users to the new web address if one has been set up. Webmasters are being encouraged to register alternate domains ahead of time in anticipation of eventual seizure.

The developers of the add-on have stated they will be working on additional extensions and plug-ins soon. MAFIAA Fire will be open sourced in the coming days, so expect variants of it to start popping up. The extension is available from the Mozilla site.

Intel and Micron Get NAND Flash Down to 20nm

2011-04-14T16:36:00.001-07:00

The flash memory used in everything from smartphones to SSDs is about to get a lot more efficient in the wake of the latest advance from Intel and Micron. The companies announced today that they have successfully shrunk NAND flash memory so it can be manufactured using a 20-nanometer process. The practical upshot of all this is that future devices are likely to be packing more memory for less money.

Flash memory made using the new process will be denser than the current 25nm NAND. The technology is set to be used in the creation of new 8GB MLC NAND flash chips where the memory itself uses 30-40% less board space. The chips will be produced by IM Flash Technologies (IMFT), a joint venture between Intel and Micron.

Samsung is in the process of building 20nm NAND for use in SD cards and other devices, but none have hit the market yet. Analysts predict 10-nm NAND is a possibility in the next several years. For the time being, we can expect the new 20nm Intel/Micron flash chips to be in mass production in the second half of the year.