Now You Can Try Out Google Docs Without A Google Account (http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/04/now-you-can-try-out-google-docs-without-a-go... by Jason Kincaid (http://techcrunch.com/author/tcjason/) - TechCrunch If you’ve ever tried explaining Google Docs to a long-time Microsoft Office user who isn’t familiar with buzzwords like “cloud computing†and “real-time collaborationâ€, you probably know that it can be a trying task. Sure, Docs offers a visual tour and an introductory video walkthrough (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_hJ3R8jEZM), but sometimes the lightbulb doesn’t really turn on for people until they’ve tried it for themselves. Today, Google has made that a bit easier: it just launched a new site at docs.google.com/demo (http://docs.google.com/demo), which allows users to try full-fledged versions of its word processor, spreadsheet, and drawing (http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/12/google-docs-realtime-google-drawings/) tool without a Google account. The site is linked to from the Google Docs homepage with a prominent button that says “Try Google Docs Nowâ€.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Facebook users get, 'like', infected
Facebook users get, 'like', infected (http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/060410-facebook-users-get-like.html?sou...) By Darren Pauli, Computerworld Australia Thousands of PCs have reportedly been infected with a Trojan delivered through a Facebook exploit, according to a security firm. The clickjacking attack exploits Facebook's 'like' function and spreads using fake status updates. Sophos chief technical officer, Graham Cluely, wrote on his blog (http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/%20http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/201... that the worm had spread quickly over the social networking site last weekend. "Visiting users are tricked into 'liking' a page without necessarily realising they are recommending it to all of their Facebook friends," Cluely wrote. "If you believe you may have been hit by this attack, view the recent activity on your news feed and delete entries related to the above links. Furthermore, you should view your profile, click on your Info tab and remove any of the pages from your 'likes and interests' section."
We Could Be Lovers: AOL Courts Google & Microsoft
We Could Be Lovers: AOL Courts Google & Microsoft (http://searchengineland.com/we-could-be-lovers-aol-courts-google-microsoft-43... by Greg Sterling - Search Engine Land (http://searchengineland.com/author/greg-sterling/) Coy AOL is trying to get as much as it can for its flat to declining search volume (http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/5/comScore_Releases_... from either current partner Google (AOL CEO Time Armstrong’s corporate Alma Mater) or Microsoft, still hungry for more search wins and share. In an article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704025304575284943022614302.html) recapping the D8 interview of Armstrong this week, he asserts there are “more than two potential partners†for AOL. The current Google search deal expires in December of this year. Sure, there are scores of search engines out there but only two that are able to genuinely compete for AOL’s business: Google and Microsoft. Yahoo’s not on the list because its index is going to be Bing/Microsoft before too long and the companies are in that transition process now. What Armstrong is negotiating for is an index and ad revenue share (and possibly revenue guarantees). On the ad-related side the choice is clear: Google. The volume of advertisers and Google’s capacity to monetize search queries are unmatched, even in the new combined MicroHoo universe. But Microsoft, depending on how aggressive it wants to be, could potentially compensate with revenue guarantees.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Facebook's Zuckerberg reignites privacy brouhaha
Facebook's Zuckerberg reignites privacy brouhaha (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9177645/Facebook_s_Zuckerberg_reignite...) CEO of Facebook CEO pokes the bear with comments about privacy at All Things Digital confab By Sharon Gaudin Computerworld - The folks at Facebook just might be wishing today that CEO Mark Zuckerberg just hadn't ... well, said anything about privacy yesterday at the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital conference. Facebook users and critics seemed to be fairly appeased last week after the popular social networking firm released new, simplified privacy controls (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9177399/Amid_backlash_Facebook_unveils.... After a Q&A onstage at the conference yesterday, however, Zuckerberg appears to have stirred up the privacy pot once again.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Here come the Apple iPad "killers" at Computex
Here come the Apple iPad "killers" at Computex (http://blogs.computerworld.com/16227/here_come_the_apple_ipad_killers_at_comp... By Richi Jennings (http://blogs.computerworld.com/user/it_blogwatch). - ComputerWorld It's Computex time again, and much of the talk is of tablets -- or "iPad killers" as we are now obliged to call them. Taipei is hosting a raft of tablet and slate announcements from Asus, Nvidia, MSI, ICD, and Amtek. In IT Blogwatch (http://blogs.computerworld.com/blogwatch), bloggers wonder if Apple should be worried. Your humble blogwatcher selected these bloggy morsels for your enjoyment. Not to mention PowerPoint prank...
Monday, May 31, 2010
Surprise! Young Users Protect Their Privacy Online
Surprise! Young Users Protect Their Privacy Online (http://www.pcworld.com/article/197441/surprise_young_users_protect_their_priv... Sharon Gaudin, Computerworld (http://www.computerworld.com/) When adults talk about personal privacy on sites like Facebook (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9176408/Q_A_Facebook_exec_defends_site..., someone is bound to contend that that young people are too self-absorbed, or too naive to care about securing personal information (http://www.pcworld.com/article/171515/too_much_online_sharing_may_haunt_you_s...)that's stored in various places stored online. Well, according to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, that person is likely wrong. The Pew survey of 2,253 Americans found that people aged 18 to 29 are more likely than older adults to take steps to limit others from accessing their personal information (http://www.pcworld.com/article/164250/cybercrooks_target_digitally_active.htm...)online. The study results, released Wednesday, noted that 44% of younger adults try to protect their information, compared to 33% of users between 30 and 49, and 25% of those between 50 and 64.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Where Are the Robots Taking Us? Part 2
Where Are the Robots Taking Us? Part 2 (http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/69871.html) By Richard Adhikari -TechNewsWorld If you look to the movies for answers regarding the Western world's attitude toward robots, the results may be confusing. Sometimes they're pudgy, bleeping sidekicks to the hero; other times their high-tech, cybernetic sociopaths. Robots in the real world aren't nearly so sophisticated, but their advancement has already raised a number of ethical questions. Is it abnormal to love robots? Do people who love robots, adopt them as friends or members of the family, give then names and bring them along on family vacations have an unnatural fixation on robots? What about soldiers who are prepared to give their lives for their units' bomb detector robots? Is that a symptom of battle fatigue? Of loneliness? Of traumatic stress disorder? Or are all these people just being human? If babies can anthropomorphize stuffed toys, why can't adults anthropomorphize robots, especially those that seem intelligent or resemble us physically? Remember how everyone loved R2D2 because he was so cute and made humanoid sounds? Do people who feel affectionate towards their robots demonstrate what sociologists call "transference?"
