iPhone On The 3 Network?
June 27, 2008
Despite all the rumours and tips we’d received about the iPhone launching on 3, it looks like the mobile network isn’t actually getting the iPhone 3G any time soon.
Yesterday afternoon, 3 sent out a press release for their new online iPhone petition to Apple, where 3 customers can voice their hopes and dreams for an X-series Jesusphone to browse the web from their pocket cheaply.
Read more
The secret of Bill Gates’ success
June 24, 2008
As Bill Gates prepares to end his full-time work at Microsoft, he tells the BBC in an interview that it wasn’t just what Microsoft did, but what his rivals didn’t do that let Microsoft get ahead.
“Most of our competitors were very poorly run,” he tells Fiona Bruce, for The Money Programme.
“They did not understand how to bring in people with business experience and people with engineering experience and put them together. They did not understand how to go around the world.” Read more
Firefox 3 Review - Good or Bad?
June 24, 2008
The people at Mozilla, the organisation behind the open-source Firefox browser, are punching the air and claiming a world record. They reckon there were 8.3 million downloads of Firefox 3 within 24 hours of the launch, and they’ve asked the Guinness Book of Records to put them in the book along with all those strange types who hold their breath underwater for 15 minutes or sit in a tub of baked beans for days.
But not everything went to plan - first the servers just could not cope with the traffic, leaving many potential downloaders fuming, and then a security firm announced that it had discovered a flaw that left the browser open to attack.
So, I suggested to the president of Mozilla Europe, Tristan Nitot, not quite the triumphant launch that you were hoping for?
“Way better than our wildest expectations,” he countered.
What about that security problem?
“No piece of complex software is without a security issue,” he told me, before suggesting that it was a curious coincidence that the flaw, which is also present in Firefox 2, had come to light on the very day of the launch. He was keen to stress that it would be remedied very quickly and that users were not at risk because the firm which discovered the breach in Firefox’s defences was not going public with the details of how it might be exploited.
But seeing as security was one of the big selling-points for Firefox in its battle to break the near monopoly of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, where does this leave the browser wars?
Mozilla says those eight million downloads gave Firefox 3 alone a 4% share of the global browser market - and Tristan Nitot says that by Thursday afternoon that had risen to 6%. Now many of those will be existing Firefox users but it looks as though this latest version has provided the “big push” Mozilla was seeking.
An independent web research institute, Xiti, said in March that Firefox had just under 30% of the European browser market, so this week’s efforts should have taken it above that level. There are big variations though - in Finland and Poland, Firefox has around 45% of the market, in the UK the figure is under 20%.
Tristan Nitot says that, unlike Internet Explorer, Firefox puts a lot of effort into producing local versions - it’s available in Catalan and Basque for instance - and that gives it an edge in smaller countries. There is no Welsh version yet, but Sebastian told me I was welcome to have a go, perhaps not realising my shortcomings in both coding and language.
My experience so far with Firefox 3 has been that it is both stable and fast, though one big disappointment is that two of my favourite add-ons, a TinyUrl creator and Google Browser sync - which enabled me to synchronise bookmarks across different computers - are not yet working on this new version.
Microsoft has responded to the innovations in Firefox, with Internet Explorer 8 coming soon, and Tristan Nitot says he’s happy about that because it means Mozilla has improved the browser experience for everyone. No doubt Opera fans will be rushing to point out that their browser beats all the others into a cocked hat. But whichever browser you use, we now have a far more competitive and innovative market than five years ago. And that has to be good news.
Nortons Antivirus 2008 Review
June 24, 2008
Nortons AntiVirus 2008
- Searches and eliminates viruses and spyware
- Prevents and restricts the spreads of email viruses
- Instantly blocks against spyware and worms
Norton Antivirus 2008
June 24, 2008
Norton AntiVirus 2008
- Searches and eliminates viruses and spyware
- Prevents and restricts the spreads of email viruses
- Instantly blocks against spyware and worms
Where to buy a cheap laptop computer
June 24, 2008
For someone on a tight budget, finding cheap laptop computers is a necessity. Laptop computers have
become extremely important for students and business professionals alike. Some schools require that students buy a laptop computer to be registered in the course. As if going to school wasn’t expensive enough, but now it’s expected that students buy a laptop computer, which can be quite expensive.
When beginning your search for a cheap laptop computer, there’s a few places that you could go. First, going to a big box electronics retailer is a great start. Not only can you see the computers in person, but it will give you an idea of the size, color and weight of a laptop compared side-by-side. Sometimes big box stores have cheap laptop computers, but usually their prices are only really exceptional around Christmas.
Visiting a small local computer store might also be a good idea. Sometimes they are able to find either laptops that have been returned at the end of a lease or refurbished laptops, which are a great option. If you’re buying one of these, pay close attention to the warranty.
The best place to find cheap laptop computers is on the internet. Because the cost to run a business on the internet is so low, many online sellers are able to pass on the savings to the customer. It’s certainly worth your time to do a bit of searching around on the internet to find a great deal. Recently when I was in a big box retail store, I overheard an employee tell a customer that there was no way that they could match a price on an item that was for sale online. In this case the savings was quite significant.
Good cheap laptop computers are out there, you just have to do your homework. Visit retail stores and also online stores and compare. Don’t buy on a whim and end up buying a laptop computer that you’re not happy with.
How to Improve your WI-FI
June 23, 2008
There’s one almighty reason to have a Wi-Fi network: freedom to roam where you want, laptop or handheld in hand. Everything else—not having to punch holes in your walls for Ethernet cables or hide the cables, for example—is icing. Wi-Fi is not perfect out of the box, however. We’ll reveal how to maximize the network range from your access point, troubleshoot problems, and prevent strangers from usurping your bandwidth—or share it with all comers while keeping your data and computers safe.
Improve Signal Strength and Range
Ground zero for any home network is the router, which manages your Internet traffic. These days, most routers have an integrated access point (AP) for the wireless side. The first step to a solid wireless connection is placing that router where the signal can best reach your wireless devices. That means up high in a central area of the home; there’s a reason some APs have brackets for wall mounting. Just make sure the antennas are pointed the way the manual indicates; don’t assume that horizontal when wall-mounted is the same as vertical when the unit is sitting on a desk. A router in the basement will work—just don’t stick it under a desk or too close to a filing cabinet.
Wi-Fi signal strength depends on several factors. Some (but not all) routers can be set to increase the transmit power of the signal. Upgrading a router with free, third-party firmware like DD-WRT (www.dd-wrt.com) can add this feature, but such firmware doesn’t work on all routers, and installing it voids any warranty.
What’s more, though you may think you have little to lose with an older router now out of warranty, installing firmware incorrectly could “brick” the router, converting it into an inert piece of plastic. DD-WRT’s wiki has some tips for recovery. One note: If you use DD-WRT, don’t set the transmit power (called Xmit Power in the Web-based interface) much above 70mW. Set it too high and the router can double as a hot plate; it won’t survive that kind of heat for long.
Unsurprisingly, there are those who aren’t brave (or foolhardy) enough to muck with firmware. In their case, getting a stronger signal requires spending some money. Purchasing a router from the latest generation of 802.11n Wi-Fi products to get better range and speed is always an option, but even that’s not foolproof. Your other options include:
Buying new antennas. Check first for a removable antenna or a jack for a new antenna on the current router. It’s smart to buy antennas from your router’s manufacturer, unless you’re very sure of the connector type. Antennas can be omnidirectional, but directional units, which serve just a certain section of your property, can provide a stronger signal.
Adding a second AP. Put it in a different area of the house, then connect it to the main router via Ethernet. When moving from the main router/AP to the second AP, a PC will take some time to reassociate to the network. This may take only seconds, but to avoid noticeable interruption, don’t do it in the middle of a download or a Skype call. If you secure your wireless network with WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption, the re-association may take a little longer. Set each AP for different channels, especially if their signals overlap.
Repeating the signal. Repeaters have gone out of fashion in the past few years as new technology such as 802.11n’s MIMO (multiple input multiple output) has increased signal range and throughput. You can still find them, though. For example, the $99 Apple Airport Express (go.pcmag.com/airport_express) is a Wi-Fi router in and of itself, but it can also serve as a range extender when connected back to the main router, using a technology called wireless distribution system. DD-WRT can also convert an old router into a repeater.
Diagnose Problems
Setting up a Wi-Fi network should, by this stage, be brain-dead simple. You’ll feel like the brain-dead one, though, when things just don’t work, whether out of the box or with an existing network. You can retype your passkey only so many times, after all. Knowing how to identify problems on a network is half the battle.
If there’s a specific PC that can’t connect, make sure to turn off any software firewalls (such as Comodo or ZoneAlarm) first—a firewall is a big thorn when you’re trying to set up sharing between PCs or printers, and this goes for wired and wireless networks. Temporarily deactivate the wireless encryption (WEP or WPA) at the router for a while, as well. If everything syncs after these steps, then your problem is a bad security setting. With encryption, for example, some routers might let you create stronger keys than an older device (like an 802.11b Wi-Fi card) can support. And software firewalls sometimes need specific IP addresses listed to allow communication.
Every device on a home network—the router, the PCs and handhelds, even the game consoles—gets an IP address. The router typically uses 192.168.1.1. Other devices generally get an address from the router, which has a built-in DHCP server just for doling them out. Addressing might range from 192.168.1.101 to .110, for example.
If a PC on your network has intermittent connection problems, the first thing to try is ping. You can send a ping command to another PC using its IP address. If the ping goes through, the computers can communicate. You can also ping your router and even Web sites to see if the computer is able to communicate with the Internet. To ping with Windows, open a command line window and type ping 192.168.1.1 (or whatever IP address you want to check). A reply means it worked; a “Request time out” means the devices can’t see each other. Sending a ping to 4.2.2.2, a valid (and easy to type) external IP address, will tell you if you’re on the Internet at all. Some devices, however, including Xbox 360, won’t reply to pings.
Each computer or device can be set to use the IP address from the DHCP server—a dynamic IP address—or use one of its own that will never change, called a static IP. The address will still have to match the format used by the router—a router at 192.168.1.1 can’t talk to a computer using 192.168.2.101. Only the last set of numbers (called the fourth octet) can vary. When the first three octets match, all the devices are on the same “subnet” for the network. If you use a static IP anywhere, be sure to type it correctly.
If you think there’s a speed problem on your network—or just want to determine how much throughput you can get at different distances—use the free Qcheck tool from Ixia (www.ixiacom.com/products/display?skey=qcheck). Install it on more than one Windows computer to run various data tests over the network—it’s like ping on steroids.
Prevent Poachers
When it comes to sharing your broadband connection with strangers, there are two schools of thought: If you don’t mind sharing, the people you share with are piggybackers. If you do mind, they’re poachers.
The cheap way to find poachers is to check the DHCP table in your router settings. This table indicates the devices on the network that have received an IP address. If there’s one listed that you don’t recognize, you could have a problem. It could also be a device you’ve forgotten, like a Wi-Fi phone or game device.
A more advanced method is to use software such as Network Magic. Install this on your Windows and Mac PCs ($64.99 covers a mix of eight computers) to facilitate easier sharing. It will also alert you to wireless newcomers the instant they arrive.
Keeping poachers away boils down to the basics of Wi-Fi security:
1. Change the default router password.
2. Change the default SSID.
3. Turn off SSID broadcasting.
4. Limit the number of users who can get an IP address via DHCP.
5. Use static IP addresses instead of using DHCP at all.
6. Filter by MAC address, the unique identifier on every network node.
7. Turn on encryption, preferably using automatic Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) or at least manual Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2).
For specifics and more, see all our Network Solutions.
There isn’t any one step above that’s completely foolproof, but combined they provide strong security—anyone poaching your connection when you’re using WPA2 and a strong password is probably some kind of futuristic super-cyborg. Or else you’ve got something really worth hacking.
For total assurance, though, you will need to pay for extra security, such as hosted RADIUS service. RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) allows access only to those with an account. Big businesses usually have their own RADIUS servers, but anyone willing to pay, and with the right router hardware, can get RADIUS via WiTopia.net’s SecureMyWiFi service. It’s fully administered through the Web site and costs $99 a year (plus a $99 activation fee).—
Encourage Piggybackers
What if you do want to open up your Wi-Fi to all? That’s easy enough. Just leave the network unsecured and broadcasting its name (the SSID) and they will come. Users who connect that way also get an open pipe to your computers, especially if you’ve got file and printer sharing activated.
The preferred setup is a public subnet for your piggybackers and a private subnet for your PCs. Both subnets will use the same Internet connection, but the traffic won’t cross over. The private subnet stays safe, but you look like a saint for sharing your Wi-Fi.
Dividing your network, public and private, is next to impossible without ponying up cash. Hooking up a second AP to your router but with a different subnet won’t work; the two won’t communicate. Even if one AP is encrypted and the other isn’t, they’re on the same subnet, potentially accessible to a stranger.
A deluge of Wi-Fi sharing services have appeared in the last couple of years. Fon (www.fon.com) is probably the best known. Its $36 La Fonera router supports multiple SSIDs so you can start sharing immediately. Meraki (meraki.com) sells mesh network hardware—it could blanket your house or a whole neighborhood with Wi-Fi. Both are controlled through a Web interface to offer public and private access, and both give you the choice of charging people for access or not.
Software-based WeFi (www.wefi.com) lets you use your own hardware. Just register your location with WeFi and anyone with the software, which includes maps, can find your “hot spot.” In return, you can find new locations to log on to as well.
Microsoft rules out more buys
June 23, 2008
MICROSOFT’S CEO said the company will not seek to make a spate of other internet acquisitions in the wake of its failed bid for Yahoo.
Speculation has emerged that Microsoft could try to buy Facebook, in which it already owns a small stake, the AOL division of Time Warner and a slew of smaller concerns, the Financial Times reported in its online edition. Read more
Del Computers
June 23, 2008
The Del Laptop Inspiron 1420 is a new-to-market 14” Intel Santa Rosa platform-based laptop. It is the successor to the previous Dell Inspiron e1405 laptop, and is the smallest in a new line-up of laptops from Dell. Read more
dell.com.au
June 23, 2008
New offers from Dell Australia: dell.com.au
Boasting a new PhysX card and plenty of other perks for gamers, Dell’s latest rig is fast, fun, and ready for the next generation of eye candy.
Dell goes full-throttle with its latest XPS notebook, the M1730, which packs an Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 processor, dual Nvidia graphics processors in an SLI configuration, and Ageia’s PhysX controller, which theoretically makes games look more realistic than before. Although the whole experience is still a work in progress, at $3,824, the XPS M1730 is ready for whatever you can throw at it, and then some. Read more
