Apple throws down the gauntlet with overhauled privacy policy

Apple throws down the gauntlet with overhauled privacy policy

Apple is making it very clear how it uses your data with a revamp of its privacy policy, posted in full on the company�s website. In the process, Cupertino is also making it plain just how different it is from other tech companies.

Apple affirmed its commitment to customer privacy a year ago, and Tuesday�s update covers everything new in iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan. The company isn�t just issuing platitudes about how great its privacy protections are�it dives into real detail about how its various services use and protect your data.

Here are the highlights.

Beefed-up encryption: iOS 9 makes six-digit passcodes the new default on Touch ID-enabled iPhones. That significantly reduces the chances of someone cracking your passcode by just guessing it.

 Apple

Six-digit passcodes are harder to crack.

�We�ve been protecting your data for over a decade with SSL and TLS in Safari, FileVault on Mac, and encryption that�s built into iOS,� Apple�s privacy policy reads. �We also refuse to add a backdoor into any of our products because that undermines the protections we�ve built in. And we can�t unlock your device for anyone because you hold the key�your unique password.�

If you don�t use a passcode to secure your device, you might want to think twice. Apple encrypts the data on your device�like the information collected and stored in the iOS Health app�with encryption keys protected by your passcode. iMessages and FaceTime calls are also protected with end-to-end encryption, so it�s impossible for someone else to access your iMessages without your passcode.

Proactive Siri: In iOS 9, Siri is more helpful, providing you with suggestions for apps to use based on your habits and time of day. Apple says those predictive capabilities are stored on your device, not the cloud, which means the same encryption applies.

If Apple needs to pull information from its servers to offer you suggestions, like what time you should leave the house to make it to an appointment on your calendar, then the company will use anonymized rotating identifiers so that locations and searches won�t be traced to you. (You can also turn off proactive features� access to your location altogether.)

Maps: This is where Apple really goes after Google (without naming names, of course). Google pulls all of your location data when you�re signed in to Google Maps to create a complete picture of who you are and where you go. That information is really useful to advertisers. Apple�s Maps app only knows you as a random number that frequently resets, scrubbing your data altogether.

�Maps is also engineered to separate the data about your trips�including public transit directions�into segments, to keep Apple or anyone else from putting together a complete picture of your travels,� the policy says. �Helping you get from Point A to Point B matters a great deal to us, but knowing the history of all your Point A�s and Point B�s doesn�t.�

Safari content blockers: iOS 9 brings Safari�s content-blocking capabilities to your iPhone, so you can install apps that block ads while you�re browsing the web. Apple says Safari supports content blockers in a way that prevents the content blocker from sending information to developers about your browsing habits.

Apple Music: Apple doesn�t use your streaming picks to advertise to you on any other service.

Apple

News app: The articles you read in iOS 9�s News app aren�t linked to you specifically, but to an anonymous News-specific identifier that you can reset at any time. News does use iCloud to offer you recommendations across all the devices you read News on, but those are stored on the device and not seen by Apple.

Apple does put ads in the News app and uses your reading activity to determine which ads to show you, but that information cannot be used outside of News to show you ads in any other app�not by Apple, and not by the publishers you read in News. You can also turn on Limit Ad Tracking so Apple can�t target ads to you based on your activity in News.

 Apple

The bulk of government information requests Apple gets are about stolen devices.

Government requests: Governments around the world ask Apple for information on a regular basis, usually because someone has reported a stolen device and needs help tracking it down. But 6 percent of government requests are looking for personal user information. Apple can only divulge information about your iCloud account. If a device is protected by a passcode (which it should be, on devices running iOS 8 and iOS 9), Apple can�t comply with search warrants because files on those devices are protected by an encryption key tied to your passcode. That means Apple complied with just 27 percent of the 6 percent of account information requests in the U.S. from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015. Apple didn�t say how many total requests it received, but said less than 0.00673 percent of its customers were affected by requests.

�Apple has never worked with any government agency from any country to create a �backdoor� in any of our products or services,� its government information request policy states. �We have also never allowed any government access to our servers. And we never will.�

Now if you want to dive deep into the details of Apple�s security, grab an adult beverage and sink into your sofa for some quality time with the 60-page iOS 9 security white paper.

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Apply DNS to all the Linux servers minions using SaltStack

Apply DNS to all the Linux servers minions using SaltStack

Okey, lets say you want to change nameserver preferences of about 25 Linux servers. You can do it one by one or take a breath and try SaltStack.

1. In your salt master, create a folder name dns (/srv/salt/dns)

2. In /srv/salt/dns/ create:

* init.sls:

/etc/resolv.conf:
  file.managed:
    - source: salt://dns/resolv.conf
    - user: root
    - group: root
    - mode: 644
    - template: jinja

/etc/resolvconf/resolv.conf.d/original:
  file.managed:
    - source: salt://dns/original
    - user: root
    - group: root
    - mode: 644
    - template: jinja

* resolv.conf:

# Dynamic resolv.conf(5) file for glibc resolver(3) generated by resolvconf(8)
#     DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE BY HAND -- YOUR CHANGES WILL BE OVERWRITTEN
nameserver my.dns.server1
nameserver my.dns.server2
search my.domain.com

* original:

search my.domain.com
nameserver my.dns.server1
nameserver my.dns.server2

3. Run this salt command:

# salt * state.sls dns

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Annoucing the blogger app for ios

Annoucing the blogger app for ios

Today we�re excited to announce the new Blogger app for iOS. With the Blogger app, you can write a new blog post and publish it immediately or save it as a draft right from your iOS device. You can also open a blog post youve been working on from your computer and continue editing it while youre on-the-go. Your blog posts are automatically synced across devices, so you�ll always have access to the latest version.....









Pictures are worth a thousand words, and the Blogger app makes it easy to add photos either by choosing from the gallery or taking a new photo right within the app. You can also add labels and location to provide more details about the post.

 Download the Blogger app today for iOS versions 3.2 and above in the App Store. Although the user interface is only available in English at this time, the app supports blog posts written in all languages. If you�re using an Android-powered device, you can download the Blogger app for Android from the Android Market.

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Apa Sebenarnya The Hum Itu

Apa Sebenarnya The Hum Itu

The Hum, Suara Misterius di Perut Bumi

       Manusia mendengkur itu ialah hal biasa. Namun, pernah mendengar bagaimana bumi mendengkur? Fenomena itu menjadi misteri yang belum terpecahkan. Keluarnya suara-suara �aneh� dari dalam bumi tersebut juga menjadi pertanyaan besar bagi manusia. Sebenarnya darimana dan bagaimana dengungan yang disebut �The Hum� itu?

       Bebagai macam tipikal suara ada di sekitar manusia. Mulai infrasonik, audiosonik, dan ultasonik. Di antara ketiga suara tersebut ada suara yang bisa di dengar dan ada suara yang terlalu keras dan terlalu kecil untuk didengar manusia. The Hum termasuk kategori suara infrasonik, yaitu sekitar 17 hertz hingga 0,001 hertz.

       Sebenarnya manusia sulit mendengar suara pada frekuensi tersebut, namun beberapa orang pernah dikabarkan mendengar suara The Hum tersebut. Biasanya orang yang mendengar The Hum berada di tempat dengan kesunyian tingkat tinggi. Fenomena yang tenar terjadi pada tahun 1990 tersebut memang terasa sejak 1970-an. Hanya pada tahun 1970 dan 1980, fenomena tersebut belum bisa disimpulkan sebagai The Hum. penelitian seputar fenomena itu pun belum dimulai. Pada tahun 1990 di Amerika Utara fenomena serupa terjadi. Hal tersebut mulai jadi wacana publik. Itu berawal dari dari sebuah penelitian University of New Mexico atas komplain warga yang berada di daerah Taos, New Mexico. Mereka sering mendengar suara-suara aneh. Tak hanya itu, suara dengungan bumi juga terdengar di daerah Inggris,yang dikenal dengan Bristol Hum.

       Berdasarkan keterangan saksi, suara tersebut memang lemah. Namun, cukup mengganggu kenyamanan saat tidur. Sejak adanya suara-suara itu, beberapa warga tidak dapat tidur dengan nyenyak. Pertanyaannya, mengapa terdengarnya hanya di kala tidur? Frekuensi rendah memang tidak bisa terdengar di kala manusia melakukan aktivitas sehari-hari. Namun, pemecahan suara itu bisa terdengar manusia dipengaruhi faktor lokasi. Pada tahun 2006, tepatnya 15 November, Dr. Tom Moir dari University of Auckland, Selandia Baru, meneliti Auckland Hum. Dari penelitian tersebut,frekuensi dengungan bumi bisa mencapai 56 hertz, bergantung lokasi. Faktor kedekatan dengan sumber bunyi juga berpengaruh.

       Dr. Davin Baguley, kepala audiologi rumah sakit Addenbrooke Cambridge, punya pendapat sendiri. Dia menyebutkan, bahwa orang yang memiliki masalah dengan dengungan bumi disebabkan fisik masing-masing. Perlu diketahui, 2/3 waktu orang yang biasa mendengar The Hum dihabiskan di sekitar suara-suara The Hum. Secara tidak langsung, pendengaran manusia telah terbiasa. Misalkan, suara diesel yang bisa terbawa sampai dalam keadaan tenang.

       Peristiwa Taos Hum tercatat dalam sepuluh misteri bumi yang kerap dimuat dalam media ilmiah. Hal tersebut dipengaruhi karakter Taos Hum cukup besar dan sering terjadi di daerah tersebut. Taos Hum menjadi sorotan media. Salah satunya adalah program televisi Unsolved Mysteries. Taos Hum juga merupakan salah satu hal yang disebutkan dalam film seri yang penuh misteri the �X-Files�. Pengaruh sumber suara The Hum bergantung kegiatan yang mendominasi di area tersebut. Misalnya kota Kokomo dan Bristol yang didominasi industri. Sedangkan The Hum di Hawaii lebih disebabkan aktivitas Vulkanis.

       Getaran suara yang dihasilkan tower pendingin di pabrik Daimler Chrysler mencapai 36 hertz. Sedangkan daerah pabrik Haynes International menghasilkan getaran 10 hertz. Sebuah fenomena The Hum di kota yang sama mampu terdengar dengan frekuensi yang berbeda. Dengungan bumi atau The Hum di Inggris, yang dinamakan Bristol Hum, bahkan telah menyebabkan satu orang tewas.

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Apps and reading on the Kindle Fire HD 8� Part 2

Apps and reading on the Kindle Fire HD 8� Part 2

Continued from Apps and reading on the Kindle Fire HD 8 Part 1

3. OneDrive - If you prefer not to access your servers over a LAN and abhor using the micro USB cable, then you can move files to your Kindle Fire HD 8 using OneDrive instead. The OneDrive version available on the Amazon Appstore is the same as the version on Google Play, so its certainly an option if you own a Windows PC or an Android tablet and want to exchange files with your Fire.

4. Xodo PDF Reader and Editor / Adobe Acrobat Reader - Xodo PDF Reader is a reliable and lightweight PDF viewer, and a good alternative to the long in the tooth Adobe Acrobat Reader for Android. Both can handle large file PDFs on the Fire HD 8.

5. OneNote - If youre the type to take notes while reading, then OneNote is good for collecting screenshots and taking text snippets when needed.

6. Flipboard

7. IMDb

8. Perfect Viewer ($2.99) / Comics Manga Reader - Perfect Viewer is an excellent Android app for reading scanned out-of-print comic books and 70s-80s Spidey titles (not the absolute crap Marvel Comics has been publishing the last decade). Perfect Viewer costs $2.99 on the Amazon Appstore, but once installed, you can also install the separate PDF plugin and File Source plugin.

If youre stingy and have minimal needs, you can opt for the modestly designed, but perfectly usable and free Comics Manga Reader.

9. Text editor(Notepad) - There are several text editors available on the Kindle Appstore, but the creatively named Text editor(Notepad) is more than adequate when you need to jot down plain text.

Note: OneNote is fine, but adds extra markup and isnt the best if you plan to use unformatted UTF-8 characters for an e-mail, web page, or document.

Reading .mobi files on the Kindle Fire HD 8

There are thousands of articles online regarding how to read .mobi and .epub files on the Kidle Fire HD 8. Amazon restricts .epub support for obvious reasons, despite the companys already strong hold on the ebook market. However, there are workarounds to reading .epubs on Fire tablets, though the following are the most common methods:

• Sideloading EPUB reader apps
• Installing Google Play and installing EPUB reader apps
• Converting EPUBs to .mobi or .azw using an application like Calibre

Note: Publishers are so aware of this Amazon limitation that many of them actually provide instructions on their website on how to support EPUBs on Amazon devices. For my part, I actually use a Kobo Glo for my EPUB files and use the Kindle Fire HD 8 for the occasional .mobi file, which is a file format option when downloading books from Gutenberg.org.

Arguably the simplest way to open a .mobi file on the Kindle Fire HD 8 is to copy the .mobi file to the Books folder in the internal memory. You can then use a file manager to open the .mobi file, which automatically uses the Kindle app to display the contents of the file.

You can copy .mobi files to the Books folder in the Fires Internal storage. The Kindle app creates temporary folders when you open the .mobi file however.

Note, however, that copying the .mobi file to the Books folder will not list the book in the Kindle app, which is the reason why you would use an app like File Commander to open it.  Also, this method creates an extra folder in the Books directory for the .mobi file, which the Kindle app uses to read the compressed contents.

A .mobi file opened in the Kindle app.

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Announcement from the Unix kitchen staff

Announcement from the Unix kitchen staff

A restaurant called fork() has recently been opened in our office building. The name was suggested and chosen by engineers. I imagine what kind of e-mail announcements they would be sending if the kitchen was run by Unix engineers.

fork() will be close()d this week, but it will not be shutdown(), well open() it again, but you have to wait() a couple of days. In the meantime, our hard-working and prof()essional kitchen staff is not idle(): they are learning new Asian recipes. Please read() the signs before coming to check if fork() is open(). We hope youll have a great time() eating Peking duck, a broad select()ion of sandwiches, and ricEAGAIN with nice(), un-break()able chopsticks, 5 times() a week. We have installed a new smoke extinguisher, which is splice()d to the oven, so it wont signal() the fire alarm() anymore unnecessarily. If you have feedback, please write() to us. Or fill our poll() from (see the new link() on the home page) to help us keep in sync() with the employees taste. Your creat()ive ideas are also welcome to improve the furniture decoration – it can also be a clone() of a restaurant in popular culture, with some geek flavor added. Please note you dont have access() to the building from the exit() on the 3rd floor, so enter at the reception, but lock() your bike first outside, to one of the pipe()s. There is no need to pause() in break() 3 for coffee, there is a grinder in fork() now.

**environ-mentalist disclaimer: No silkworms were kill()ed for the outfit of our cooks.

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Apps to help you get ready for the ACT exam

Apps to help you get ready for the ACT exam

While the ACT is a challenging exam, the Tech Leaders found a few apps that will help you improve your scores and make studying for it a little bit easier.

2000 ACT Flashcards

PrepFactory SAT + ACT Prep

SAT and ACT Vocabulary Game by Vocabking

Good Luck!

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Andy At the Apple Store

Andy At the Apple Store

Yesterday afternoon, my colleague, Andy Forgrave and I set out from the OTF 21st Century Skills Conference, to visit a brick and mortar Apple Store. Our goal, was to write a childrens book to document our trip. I think this is a nice model for how a slidedeck can be used to turn photos and blocks of text into an e-book.

Andy At the Apple Store

View more presentations from Rodd Lucier.

After sharing the original slidedeck, I thought it would be interesting to invite text submissions for new versions. Almost immediately, this fresh take was contributed by Karen Littlewood

One day Andy went to the mall

There was an apple on the wall

Andy wondered what�s inside

It was unlike any apple he�d ever spied

he felt like he was being led

then the glowing apple was on his head!

He thought and thought and thought some more

Then took a step inside the store

The store was like a tekkie fair

On the wall, a Macbook Air

Andy saw an iPhone 4

And a wall of programs in that store

Cords and cables far and near

Beautiful headphones so he could hear

Little shuffles in colours bold and bright

And free Internet, time to check some sites

Andy sat and played a while

That Mighty Mouse sure has some style!

The pics in the game made him stare

Then he got a sticker for playing fair

Andy looked at the man in blue

He knew he had one last thing to do

He could help the customers too!!

One last pic in the Apple store

We all know Andy will be back for MORE!!

The set of photos that were used to create this book, are now available for download. If you or your students would like to remix Andy At the Apple Store, or if you take this idea and create an entirely new product, Id love to learn about it...

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Angela Young 2 Escape the Dreamscap

Angela Young 2 Escape the Dreamscap

Angela fell asleep and found herself and her cat Felix in a dreamscape where she met a mysterious wizard. Somehow Felix got scared of him and ran away. Travelling through the realm of dreams, Angela was set on finding her cat Felix and getting back home, but the journey turned out to be more unpredictable than she expected. Help Angela navigate her way through a maze of puzzles to escape the eerie dreamscape!

OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

Memory: 512 MB

DirectX: 8.0 or better

CPU: 1 GHz

Download

Size 62.51 MB

Crack

Size 3.02 MB

1) Install the game

2) Copy The Crack from Crack folder to the games directory

3) Play!

pconly.wordpress.com

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App Android Free Download CUT THE ROPE HD v 1 4 Apk

App Android Free Download CUT THE ROPE HD v 1 4 Apk

DESCRIPTION :

Cut the Rope, catch a star, and feed Om Nom candy in this award-winning game!
The
long-awaited hit game has finally arrived at Android! Join MORE THAN
100 MILLION PEOPLE who have already played this game and gave it an
average rating of 4.81 (out of 5)!

The
little monster Om Nom is hungry and the only thing standing between him
and a full belly is you � that is your help

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Apple iPhone 5 The Huge Release Awaits In Spring Of 2012

Apple iPhone 5 The Huge Release Awaits In Spring Of 2012

Apple iPhone 5 : The Huge Release Awaits In Spring Of 2012

The iPhone5 isn�t out in the market as yet, however buyers are finding it better than any other Android Phone. The iPhone 5 obtains some specific reasons for its wait from consumers and critics alike. Customers and critics have delivered some reasons why this impressive invention from Apple is said to be the most active phone for the user. They emphasize some of the major technical dispute with android devices and the difficulty in obtaining requests appropriate for the android. Upgrading the application is a serious malware that most android users have faced in the recent past, however with iPhone 5 it is stated to be much better when it comes to performance and upgrading. Various iPhone malware can be solved easily by using the benefits of iPhone Repairs Sydney to repair and upgrade their systems.

The latest news reports are that ahead of the enormous iPhone 5 launches there has been an growth in Mac computer sales. The data claims that the sales are surging due to the regard of the Mac computers like the quad-core iMacs, MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro all having been first appeared this year. Recently with the launch to be held soon, the sales in iPod have experienced some sort of decline. This is majorly due to the versatility of the iPhone device due to which consumers now are inclined to ignore the iPod. Macbook Repairs Sydney is an eminent specialist in the field which allows you to maintain and upgrade your systems. Now get the benefit of using iPad Repairs Sydney for suitable iPad services at all times.

Apple is stated to start distributing the latest entrant in the retail stores from next month. The new iPhone 5 is rumored to include an 8-megapixel camera, dual core processor and a new iOS operating system that includes better notification and the iCloud online storage. For more information visit Apple Repairs Sydney. Apple helpdesk Australia is also excellent to acquire your iPhone details from.

Reports from trusted sources unveil that the giant phone seller is experiencing security problems. However, iPhone 5 fans will not having waiting a little longer as the deadline for its release seems to be next month. This is primarily due to the immediate installation of the mysterious hardware known as the �Apple fixture� and training for employees. In fact it was revealed that an official glance for Apple insiders was stated to be held on October 21.The time has been chosen cogitated to agree with the previous release of the iPhone 4 last year. iPhone 5 is certainly the most awaited release this season

New rumors on the iPhone 5 launch indicating October release specifically to be on the 1st of October. This has been spilled by a Canadian wireless company indicating the excaudate of the iPhone launch. If the launch is on that day then its time does not fit the company�s tradition to launch products on Thursdays and Friday�s

Apple is working rigidly on the �big release� next month In fact, the training procedures have already started in retail stores on iOS 5, the update software and the storing software iCloud. The launch date counts less however one fact is for sure that the iPhone 5 is remediated to provide noble performance in those areas where iPhone 4 failed. The chassis and the improved storage device might just be the key for the success of Apple�s iPhone 5. Obtain intricate details about this iPhone launch at Apple Support Centre.

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Appears with your website over the Diablo 3 Items internet browser

Appears with your website over the Diablo 3 Items internet browser

A proper Jagex e-mail is usually acquired being a manual marketing most up-to-date in-game up-dates as well as presents, that punches one to Jagex conventional web site that may be SSL kept capable (https), a healthy handle standard sometimes appears with your website over the Diablo 3 Items internet internet browser. Write about at bloggerShare at squidoo as well as myspace and facebook Go over at twitterShare at e-mail Far more Showing you Services0 A short while ago Jagex wished-for to help go over related to their own bot-busting behavior when using the company, it is really expected while next. Just about all makes a purchase usually are performed By hand! Just about all silver precious metal is usually acquired under legal standing merchandise simply by element! That may be one of several reasons involving precisely why we have also been important during this community regarding half a dozen ages currently! Most people likewise really highly recommend everyone not to ever apply almost any robot with your consideration! Youll receive that banned ultimately! You should review Jagexs announcement.

Ordinarily normally the one topic that may members have a shot at seeking within pretty much almost all online games is perhaps enjoyment; across the globe singular bring about with regard to training the action. Members obtain the right enjoyment through training alongside the exercise effortless, moving forward to advance onward through almost every training course effortless. This permits such obtain diablo several platinum products rapid abilities exercise published articles in addition to revel in that ,. Which is without doubt certainly really worth while using the practical knowledge linked to joy usually that snowboarding beginner guitarist might get pursuing training which extremely accurately; this specific suffering from to be able to within nearly all Buy Diablo 3 Items online games.

This AMAZE form web page should become instinctive, and can definitely not sidetrack an individual missing from the focus. Definitely not considering taking on funds to get a guidebook? Even though cost-free books merely requirement time frame, strength of will, as well as research, this advertised books enhance your time frame as well as pursuits, if and also definitely not will be AMAZE yellow metal creating books, AMAZE energy progressing books, AMAZE area books, and also a few other. Choose one of the many buttons inside this sidebar as well as observe freeWarcraft methods upon anything at D3 Items all by any means youll be able to trust regarding.

View more:http://www.d3itemsale.com/

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Another quote of the day

Another quote of the day

"People who are afraid of death, are afraid of life."

~"Hector and the search for happiness"

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Apple continues the devolution of the computer industry with an unabashed Air of confidence a Lion and of course Steve!

Apple continues the devolution of the computer industry with an unabashed Air of confidence a Lion and of course Steve!

Back to the  Mac : New Apple Macbook Air supply for bewildered shareholders and Lions for the  Apple lambs...

I have now recovered from the latest Steve Jobs led sermon , something about getting me Back to the Mac.And I can firmly say that I do have my back to the Mac after listening to 90 minutes of nonsense .And coming as it does after a fall in share prices , I can now fully understand why those shares will continue to slide.

That is if Apple continues ignoring  what its potential customers want.

Its Alive !!!! It seems that the only design policy at Apple is to Frankenstein together gimped versions of ideas and  parts from its range of products, if it is selling  throw it in an Aluminium chasis , and  machine it down to make it thinner , not necessarily in that order of course. The new Mac Airs look like sand papered down versions of their ancestAir , which may explain the CEOs recent sandpaper fixation. Something about having to sand down your fingers to use a 7 inch touch screen , forgetting to mention that Apple`s ipod Nano has a 1.54 inch display,not to mention the iPhones 4 inch [being generous] screen !

Frankly many people find this  design philosophy hilarious , lets take not the fastest cpu ,not the fastest ram , not the nicest screen and pack it in a pretty box and sell it a 5 times what are competitors are charging. And yes 20 % of the customer base is falling for it , but 80% is not ! And with Western economies failing luxury sub optimal products like Apples will be hit hard come 2011.

I wish I could make Steve understand how easy he is making it for the competition in the long run . In the computer industry , in the long term the fastest best cheapest technology ALWAYS wins out , that is why you Apple are using Intel chips in macs now isn`t it .All  this has happened before and will happen again......so say we all...

He likes to tease: As usual this latest iteration of releases from Apple is frustratingly devoid of cutting edge tech  , it is cutting edge fashionista coffee bar impress your potential  future partner tech. In fact what it will cut is  your wallet , dollar for dollar other less fashionable but more functional and powerful  laptops and notebooks are on the market , some of them costing 20% of the asking price of the larger Air . The question is are you a brave enough nerd to break from the herd?

What many fans were dreaming of was a touch screen Air and Apple has of course shattered those dreams :

Apple claims multi touch cannot be done on a laptop screen , you know like they claimed Flash or a full OS cannot be done on a slate , or a 7 inch display is unusable on a slate .  They say they confined multitouch to a trackpad because you would have to peck at a vertical screen:

This ignores the vast number of butterfly screened core i3 and core i7 laptops and netbooks that do multitouch , and have been doing so for years . All you had to do was make the screen twist ! how hard is that an idea to come up with?It seems the billion dollar R&D dept has not discovered the hinge yet , well it is a very low tech concept for such genii to waste their very important time on.....

Now why mention multitouch at all ? Because the great danger to Apple share prices comes not from cheaper faster and more functional competition but from it`s own iPad.

Its full of lies :For shareholders bemused and looking at falling share  prices : Consider why despite claims of total world domination [ a ruse  in itself: In real  terms 4 out of 5 computers are Windows/Linux /non  Apple , but the presentation focuses on  the 1 in 5 that are Apple ,  similarly Apple talks about increase in rates of purchase without  considering the saturation of the pc market or the fact that pc owners  have no need to purchase new machines every year , BECAUSE THEY CAN  UPGRADE the software  and the hardware . And frankly to use the tech  that I have in the PC in front of me I would have to wait around 3 years  for Steve to catch up , and pay around 5 times the cost of my very  expensive PC by the time I have purchased a new machine every year to  catch up and crawl back to tech level I was at with my pc 3 years  earlier . By which time the PC tech and software will have moved on !

An unforeseen problem Apple faces is that the initial success of the iPad has taken away the need for any of its other products , the target users the fashionistas, apple core fans ,  technophobes  , and technosheep are all quite satiated in the portable computing needs department.

Jump back to the launch of the iPad , when many people were interviewed outside their local Apple Temple , Apple fans used to at this time say as they had a macbook pro or air they would find it difficult to carry around an additional machine like the iPad .  Now jump back to present day and you will find people saying the opposite , I already have an iPAd ,  why do I need a Macbook  or Mac air?

In the end it is the customer that pays Apple shareholders dividends , and most are content with 2 iOS devices : a phone and iPad , waiting patiently for the iPad 2 .

The Airs are just more skus that create unnecessary  competition for Apples own product line .They add stress to the sales potential of competing Apple products ,

The concept Is always beautiful , the tech always frustratingly lacking ,the price always higher than necessary , and eventually this policy will hit a brick wall .

The 2010 Air should have been a multitouch convertible ,at present it is outdone by its iOS cousin the iPad .  This would have been a good time to retire it sending out the message that the net book is dead and strengthened the iPad at a time when demand is falling in spite of the present lack of viable competition.

The majority of new Mac owners are blissfully unaware whether their device runs on iOS or full blown Leopard and all this  talk of Lions ....well to the new Mac fans its all just  a lot of hot Air  whilst we/they wait for iPad 2.0... which I hope will be evolutionary ..not just thinner with cameras and more Ram ...

So come on Marty sorry Steve take us Back to the Mac/Future ... we know you can !

The Devolution has been quicktimed  : join it  here

check out Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] , and Risky Business [Blu-ray] if you missed the riffs

? Grab this Headline Animator

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Apple has a great idea and All Great Ideas contain the seeds of their own destruction

Apple has a great idea and All Great Ideas contain the seeds of their own destruction

My past few articles concentrated on resurrecting old word-processing files from the glorious Classic OS past. You might think that I live in the past. Hey, I�m turning 61 in three weeks.�

�

Now let me turn my attention to what I think lies in the future for Apple.�

�

I think Apple, at least Apple�s operating system OS X, will be replaced or supplemented by another system.�

�

I have two big reasons to think this way. First, some crucial parts of Apple�s operating system have started to show their age. I�m looking at you, HFS+ file system, in particular.�

�

Can the HFS+ file system, which Apple retained when it switched from Classic OS to OS X, keep up with the demands of the 21st Century? I note that both of Apple�s main competitors, Windows and Linux,� use newer file systems.�

�

Talk has swirled for years about Apple changing the HFS+ file system to something better.� Sun Microsystems developed the ZFS file system which a lot of people thought Apple would use. Now the speculation focuses on btfs, a system used in some Linux distros.�

�

Which brings me to Apple�s next problem. It�s actually a feature, not a bug. Apple�s hardware is incredibly versatile. I have run Windows, Linux, and Classic OS on my current OS X hardware. Sometimes all at once.�

�

So who develops this new operating system and why do they do it? I believe it will come from virtual reality and gaming or pornography.�

�

You may feel sickened to think that the improvement in general computing comes from the morally dodgy fringes. We must remember that Apple itself sprung from the fringes. The mainstream employers in the late 1970�s of Jobs and Wozniak, Hewlett-Packard and Atari, do not stand at the forefront of personal computing any more.

�

Should we be surprised to wake up one day to find out some smart Indian or Chinese or Middle East refugee kids have developed the next generation OS? No, we shouldn�t. When will it happen? I�m predicting, out of my neither orifice, that it will happen in the 2020s or 2030s.�

�

In the meantime, I shall work at my 20th Century technology-based Mac. I�m not interested in virtual reality, as I�m having enough trouble with reality as it is.

�

You are welcome to comment on my prognostications.�

�

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog

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Animal Crossing New Leaf Guide to the Town of Malva

Animal Crossing New Leaf Guide to the Town of Malva

Animal Crossing : New Leaf Data Sheet

Town Name: Malva  

Geographic Region: New Hampshire, United States

Current Date in Malva: Monday 3/10 2014

Current Mayor: Mayor Rocky

Native Fruit: Pear (12 Trees; 36 Fruit).

Non-Native Fruit Available: Lemon (2 Trees; 6 Fruit), Peaches (3 Trees; 9 Fruit ), Lychees (3 Trees; 9 Fruit), Cherries (2 Trees; 6 Fruit), and Bananas (8 Trees; 16 Fruit).  

Other Produce: Bamboo (Average 9-18 Bamboo Shoots)

Main Street Shops Opened are: T&T Emporium, Nooks Homes, Able Sisters, Kicks, Shampoodle, and Gardening Shop.
Custom Museum Exhibit (2nd Floor; Room 1): Art Forgery Exhibit

Other Attractions: Club LOL, Dream Suite, Museum and Gift Shop, Re-Tail, Post Office, Police Station, and Cafe.

Current Ordinance in Effect: Beautiful Town - No Garbage and Fewer Weeds.  

Town�s Dream Address: 5100-3399-9060

"Un-Official" Town Song: K.K. Metal (Sometimes may Play in my House!)

Town Tune: Mononoke Hime from Princess Mononoke

Town Flag: Zone-Tan (by Rocky of Malva)

Town Flower: Black Rose
Official Town Theme: Zen

"Un-Official" Town Motto: "For Everything In Life, Life Takes VISA!"

Current Most Expensive Cataloged Furniture: White Katana - 44,160 Bells.  

Second Most Expensive Cataloged Furniture: Black Katana - 14,400 Bells.

Current Public Works Project: Town Hall Renovation (Zen)

Current Project Donations Goal: 498,000 Bells. Amount Collected: 13,124 Bells.
Bells Left until Goal is Reached: 484,876 Bells.

Notes and Rules:

I allow my Most Trusted Friends to Catalog Furniture, and Anything else that is on display in my Home that they Like. (Just Ask me)   

If I buy an Item and Hold it for You; I charge a �Handling Fee� of  100 Bells, applied to the Price of the Item! (All Items over 2,000 Bells have no Handling Fee!) [Not Really Enforced]

Town Rules:

No Taking any Fruit from the Trees, unless you ask my Permission First!

No Chopping Down Any Trees and/or Bamboo; Or Digging up any Saplings!  

No Running Through My Flower Bed! (You can Ruin all other Flowers tho)

No Burying Pitfall Traps or Tricky Pitfall Traps!

Please, Feel free to Donate Bells to any of my Town Projects; But, this is Highly Optional!

Town of Malva Cultural Museum:
Fossil Wing: 98% Complete
Insect Wing: 20% Complete
Marine Wing: 50% Complete
Art Wing: 85% Complete

Favorite Artwork:
Beautiful Statue
Venus De Milo

I Own Five of Them. (1 Genuine, and 4 Forgeries)

Current Town News:

Today�s Re-Tail �Extra Bell� Items are: (This is no longer Updated; as they Change Daily)

Times Time Traveled: I Actually Lost Count , must be close to 50 by now.

My Best-Friend Mayor List:  

Lyla of Leyawiin

Cat of Lindblum

My Custom Animal Crossing: New Leaf Patterns :
(Some QR Codes Maybe Available!; Hosted on my QRCrossing Account)

McDonalds Logo 1995 (Actual Official Corporate Logo that was used in 1995!)
Zone-Tan (QR Code Currently not Hosted; Private Pattern for Me Only, its my Town Flag)
Zone-Tan ZTV News (QR Code Currently not Hosted; Private Pattern for Now, Coming Soon)

Note: all of my QR Codes are Uploaded to my QRCrossing Account, "Blazing_Malva".
(QR Codes that arent Hosted on this Account can only be Collected by, actually visiting my Town!)

Data Last Updated: Monday, February 24th, 2014

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Another Way of Looking at the Universe

Another Way of Looking at the Universe

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(from ARK by Ronald Johnson)

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(click image to read document)

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(from A Childs Garden and the Serious Sea by Stan Brakhage)

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Apple wants to limit how the new MacBook Pro 2016 Touch Bar can be used

Apple wants to limit how the new MacBook Pro 2016 Touch Bar can be used

 

When Apple unveiled the latest MacBook Pro, it was the Touch Bar that stole the show. But if you were expecting this touchscreen addition to the keyboard to become an all-singing, all-dancing fun parade, you may be disappointed.
 
Apple -- loving, as it does, to remain firmly in control of everything -- has issued developers strict guidelines that restrict how the Touch Bar can (or should...) be used.
 
The company is very keen for the Touch Bar to be seen as an extension of, or addition to, the keyboard, and not the screen. As such, Apple is keen to avoid the Touch Bar being anything other than useful -- and certainly avoiding the risk of it becoming a distraction. TechCrunch shares details of some of the guidelines that have been given to developers:
 
It remains to be seen whether developers choose to abide by these guidelines, or what sort of penalties -- if any -- might exist for those who decide not to. But it is safe to assume that there will be a burgeoning market of third party tools that go against everything Apple has set out.
 
~ Mark Wilson

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Apache Drill and the lack of support for nested arrays

Apache Drill and the lack of support for nested arrays

Apache Drill is very efficient and fast, till you try to use it with huge chunk of one file (such as a few GB) or if you attempt to query a complex data structure with nested data. Now, this is what I am trying to do right now - attempting to query large segments of data with a dynamic structure and nested schema.

 

I may construct a parquet data source from a nested array, as below,  

 

create table dfs.tmp.camic as ( select camic.geometry.coordinates[0][0] as geo_coordinates from dfs.`/home/pradeeban/programs/apache-drill-1.6.0/camic.json` camic);
 

Here I am giving the indices of the array. 

 

Then I can query the data efficiently. For example,  

select * from dfs.tmp.camic;

 

However, giving the indices wont work as I need, as I dont just need the first element. Rather I need the entire elements - in a large and dynamic array, representing the coordinates of geojson.

 

 

$ create table dfs.tmp.camic as ( select camic.geometry.coordinates[0] as geo_coordinates from dfs.`/home/pradeeban/programs/apache-drill-1.6.0/camic.json` camic);
Error: SYSTEM ERROR: UnsupportedOperationException: Unsupported type LIST

Fragment 0:0

[Error Id: a6d68a6c-50ea-437b-b1db-f1c8ace0e11d on llovizna:31010]

  (java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException) Unsupported type LIST
    org.apache.drill.exec.store.parquet.ParquetRecordWriter.getType():225
    org.apache.drill.exec.store.parquet.ParquetRecordWriter.newSchema():187
    org.apache.drill.exec.store.parquet.ParquetRecordWriter.updateSchema():172
    org.apache.drill.exec.physical.impl.WriterRecordBatch.setupNewSchema():155
    org.apache.drill.exec.physical.impl.WriterRecordBatch.innerNext():103
    org.apache.drill.exec.record.AbstractRecordBatch.next():162
    org.apache.drill.exec.record.AbstractRecordBatch.next():119
    org.apache.drill.exec.record.AbstractRecordBatch.next():109
    org.apache.drill.exec.record.AbstractSingleRecordBatch.innerNext():51
    org.apache.drill.exec.physical.impl.project.ProjectRecordBatch.innerNext():129
    org.apache.drill.exec.record.AbstractRecordBatch.next():162
    org.apache.drill.exec.physical.impl.BaseRootExec.next():104
    org.apache.drill.exec.physical.impl.ScreenCreator$ScreenRoot.innerNext():81
    org.apache.drill.exec.physical.impl.BaseRootExec.next():94
    org.apache.drill.exec.work.fragment.FragmentExecutor$1.run():257
    org.apache.drill.exec.work.fragment.FragmentExecutor$1.run():251
    java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged():-2
    javax.security.auth.Subject.doAs():422
    org.apache.hadoop.security.UserGroupInformation.doAs():1657
    org.apache.drill.exec.work.fragment.FragmentExecutor.run():251
    org.apache.drill.common.SelfCleaningRunnable.run():38
    java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker():1142
    java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run():617
    java.lang.Thread.run():744 (state=,code=0)
 

 

Here, I am trying to query a multi-dimensional array, which is not straight-forward.

(I set the error messages to be verbose using  SET `exec.errors.verbose` = true;
 above).

 

The commonly suggested options to query multi-dimensional arrays are:

1. Using the array indexes in the select query: This is impractical. I do not know how many elements I would have in this geojson - the coordinates. It may be millions or as low as 3.

2. Flatten keyword: I am using Drill on top of Mongo - and finding an interesting case where Drill outperforms certain queries in a distributed execution than just using Mongo. Using Flatten basically kills all the performance benefits I have with Drill otherwise. Flatten is just plain expensive operation for the scale of my data (around 48 GB. But I can split them into a few GB each).

 

This is a known limitation of Drill. However, this significantly reduces its usability, as the proposed workarounds are either impractical or inefficient.

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Angry Birds Seasons Year of the Dragon 2 02 0 Symbian 3 Nokia Anna Belle Signed Free game Download

Angry Birds Seasons Year of the Dragon 2 02 0 Symbian 3 Nokia Anna Belle Signed Free game Download

According to the Chinese year, 2012 is the year of the dragon and associated with the celebration of Chinese New Year, Rovio, the Finnish company that produces games Angry Birds, launched the latest update of Angry Birds called Angry Birds: Year of the Dragon.

 If observed, only the view alone is changed while for the gameplay, Rovio still rely on old gameplay. In the game illustrated that the green pigs act as the workers as in Chinese puppet shows and at the end of the video, came the king pig in yellow and Chinese-style makeup. Most likely, this game will be released officially on January 20, 2012. To view a demo of Angry Birds: Year of the Dragon

Click below to download :


Angry Birds Seasons Year of the Dragon 2.02(0) Symbian^3 Nokia Anna Belle Signed - Free game Download

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