Google Maps Recording Your MAC Address, too

April 26, 2010 — Mrs. Mecomber

Wow. Unbelievable. Unbelievable that Google would do this, and even more unbelievable that so little is done to stop them.

Google Street View logs WiFi networks, Mac addresses

Google’s roving Street View spycam may blur your face, but it’s got your number. The Street View service is under fire in Germany for scanning private WLAN networks, and recording users’ unique Mac (Media Access Control) addresses, as the car trundles along.

Germany’s Federal Commissioner for Data Protection Peter Schaar says he’s “horrified” by the discovery.

“I am appalled… I call upon Google to delete previously unlawfully collected personal data on the wireless network immediately and stop the rides for Street View,” according to German broadcaster ARD.

Spooks have long desired the ability to cross reference the Mac address of a user’s connection with their real identity and virtual identity, such as their Gmail or Facebook account.

If this was a clan of teenagers, they’d be arrested for voyeurism or something. But nooooo, Google can do it!

And this is all the more reason to ditch the wireless and get wired. You bet.

Google’s uniquely cavalier approach to privacy, and its potential ability to cross reference the information raises additional concerns. Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently said internet users shouldn’t worry about privacy unless they have something to hide.

Eric Schmidt is a schmuck. I don’t have to answer to that jerk. Who the heck does he think he is?! As if HE can monitor anyone he wants, and scold us for chafing against Google’s imposed “morality,” that we should be grateful or something?! Unbelievable.

This is scary. Not only are they hell bent on monitoring us, they believe that it’s their moral duty to monitor us.

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]
Posted in crime, Google, surveillance. Tags: . 1 Comment »

A Money Box for the Little Tech in the Family

April 22, 2010 — Mrs. Mecomber

Have you got a little tech tyke in the family? I’ve got some neat news for you: there’s a new product out to encourage your kids to save their money: the Ekomini interactive money box. This is really nifty! Ekomini is a unique little gadget that connects to your computer via USB. The child creates an account at the Ekomini website (registration is free, and the website directs the child to register with the assistance of the parent) where he can monitor his money that is placed into the Ekomini money box. It’s very, very cute, and incredibly useful! Here’s a video about the Ekomini money box:

The concept is extremely impressive. Through the cartoon characters at Ekominiville, your child learns how to save money, spend money wisely, invest, and give to charity. The website allows parents to follow and customize their child’s progress– it’s really a terrific tool for parents and children. Plus, Ekomini has special partnerships with various charities, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada and the Children’s Miracle Network.

The Ekomini money box is being launched in North America, and is available at the Ekomini website. Cost is very affordable: $40 and it includes free shipping. This is a great way to teach children about saving, and since children love to play games on the computer, it’s enjoyable for the child, as well. Check out the website, there’s a lot to see about Ekomini and how it was developed. This is just perfect for homeschools, schools, and even as thoughtful gifts for the holiday. I hope this toy really takes off in the United States; I wish the company success for creating such a terrific and helpful tool. Great job!

This post is sponsored by the wonderful folks at Ekomini, who asked me to review their website and product. All opinions are completely mine! See my About Page for more information about my blog policy.

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]
Posted in educational programs. Tags: , , . Comments Off »

A Great Resource for New Computers

April 21, 2010 — Mrs. Mecomber
ninte

Getting a new computer is so much fun! And I do reformats regularly here. Unfortunately, I am the IT person in the family…. as we have a whopping total of EIGHT computers to manage. And that doesn’t count the ones in temporary storage. I do a lot of tech help stuff, and so I have a lot of computers, new and old, with various operating systems on them. The kids use them for their schoolwork and etc, so they serve a dual purpose. But WOW it’s tough to reformat them all, it takes up a lot of time- time I;d rather spend snapping pics with a shiny new Nikon or time out in the garden.

The biggest time sucker is Windows Updates. Zzzzzzz those take about 24 hours to complete. YUK. And after that, it’s locating, downloading, and installing all the various programs I use.

Oooo but I have found a gem, ladies and gentlemen, a real gem! It’s Ninite! Yay! It’s free to use. They have a listing of the most common software applications–such as Firefox, Skype, Opera, Digsby, Irfanview, Flash, Silverlight, Google Earth, 7-zip, Filezila, and more– to download quickly and easily. I love the site. Whew, it’s easy, and the list is pretty good. These are the basic, most popular software programs, mind you. There are no drivers, no special firmware or software to run your Nikon camera software application… it’s just the basic stuff. However, if you think something should be included that isn’t listed, you can suggest an app from the home page (just scroll down to submit an app).

By the way, Ninite will NOT nag you to download a toolbar (as so many software programs do), and the applications come in 32-bit and 64-bit.

Nice one, guys!!! Maybe now I can finally have enough time to peel myself away from all this IT work, and go outside, snap photos of hummingbirds on my Nikon, and have a life again!

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]
Posted in computers, desktop utilities, free programs. Tags: , , . Comments Off »

Library of Congress to Archive Tweets

April 17, 2010 — Mrs. Mecomber

I’ve seen the government do a lot of stupid things; this is way up on the list.

Library of Congress to House Entire Twitter Archive

The U.S. Library of Congress, which archives many forms of media for their cultural and historical significance, has announced it will keep a digital archive of every public tweet that has been broadcast on Twitter since its inception in March 2006.

It’s only appropriate that the initial announcement of this project was given on the Library of Congress’ Twitter account (@librarycongress) and was followed up by a Facebook message before the official press release is issued.

Even though tweets, as messages on Twitter are called, can only be 140 characters long, the amount of information to archive is significant. There are 50 million tweets per day and the total number of tweets already number well into the billions.

Hmmm I don’t remember them asking me if I wanted my tweets archived by them… and what about non-Americans? Is the LOG only archiving Americans’ tweets, or all, everywhere, ever?

The comments on the story were mainly along the same vein:

Oh god, that is a stupid idea. Somehow, endless streams of, “OMG”, “u rock”, and “<3", doesn't really strike me as something worth saving.

Ah, but the LOG has a fix for that. They are going to archive ALL tweets, but only highlight tweets from the *important* people:

Recognizing that the inane tweets will certainly outnumber the significant ones, the Library of Congress plans to highlight the culturally and historically important tweets, such as the first-ever tweet sent by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, President Obama’s tweet announcing his win in the 2008 election and a set of tweets that helped a photojournalist get released from prison in Egypt.

This Twitter archive isn’t evidence of a new focus for the Library of Congress; it has been collecting and archiving websites and online media for a decade now. The Library of Congress currently houses 167 terabytes (or 167,000 gigabytes – the largest iPod storage is only 64 gigabytes) of information pulled from the Internet during that time.

So the Library of Congress has been storing everything, anyway.

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]
Posted in computers, crime, Internet, surveillance, Twitter. Tags: , . 4 Comments »

Good Deal on Unlimited Hosting

April 15, 2010 — Mrs. Mecomber

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Nexx Inc. All opinions are 100% mine.

Wow. This deal sounds really, really good. I’m going to think of a new domain name and give this a whirl. It’s a great deal on Unlimited Web Hosting by Nexx. They are having a special promotion on their newly rebranded Nexx web hosting platform. And guess what the promotion is?! $10 for a year of hosting! It includes one domain. So if you’re happy with having just one website, or you want to stretch your wings and check out a new host (which is what I like to do), then this is for you.

Nexx web hosting is usually about $6 a month, so even the paid version is a good price. If you pay three years in advance, the cost is as low as $4 per month. The caveat is that it’s just for one domain. Still, it’s a terrific deal. I’m going to buy it (as soon as I can think of a domain name!) and give a review when Ive checked it out a little. Here’s the scoop on the promotion:

  • Unlimited diskspace
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Unlimited email
  • 1 free domain with WHOIS privacy protection included
  • 24/7 customer support
  • 1-click WordPress and blog installations

Nexx is based in North America, and are committed to providing superior uptime, service, and reliability. They also have a money-back guarantee to all new customers.

Sounds good to me! I’ll be writing a review on them. The promotion is SO good! Stay tuned.

Nexxbannernoflash
Visit my sponsor: Unlimited Web Hosting + Domain Name for $10 @ Nexx

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]
Posted in blogs, Internet, web hosting. Tags: , , . 1 Comment »

Employers Spying on Employees

April 12, 2010 — Mrs. Mecomber

This is very interesting news from Clark Howard today:


Employers monitor your social networking profile

Are the Facebook posts and Twitter tweets you make while away from the job immune from the prying eyes of your employer? The New York Times reports that new software called Social Sentry is ensuring everything you do online is being scrutinized.

Employers pay between $2 and $8 per employee (depending on company size) to have Social Sentry’s proprietary software automatically track employees in the social media sphere. The Social Sentry service is only available for Facebook and Twitter at this point, but it will soon expand to cover YouTube, MySpace and LinkedIn.

Six out of 10 companies now say they have a social media monitoring policy. Employers are considering anything that’s publicly accessible as something that you waive your right to privacy on.

So those racy jokes posted on your “wall” can lead to dismissal, no matter how good a job you’re doing at work. Remember, you serve at your employer’s pleasure.

This is just WEIRD. I’m all for employers cracking the whip on the job. Employees should not be using their work time for fooling around.

BUT employers spying on employees’ personal lives?? No, employees do NOT “serve” at the employer’s pleasure. Not people in a free country, that is. :-p Government, bureaucrats, and big business have too much control over our lives.

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]
Posted in crime, Internet, news. 2 Comments »
« Older posts «
»