Daily Bits

noemi

Get Your Groceries From Amazon

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If you live in the United States, you’re probably thinking: “What the heck is she talking about?” Yes, indeed, Amazon has already been selling groceries and other food and drink items on their site for a while. What started out as an online bookstore has branched out a lot in the past years.

In the United Kingdom, however, the idea of Amazon selling groceries is quite a novel one. As a matter of fact, the online store just launched their groceries section in the UK this week. Watch out Asda, Sainsbury, and Tesco! Amazon seems to have been successful in most of their ventures, so there’s no saying what might happen to the grocery market in the UK with this launch.

The selection that Amazon is offering is quite impressive. They are carrying labels such as Ariel, Dolmio, Kraft, Carte Noir, Oreo, Purina One, and more. They also have an international section, as well as kosher, organic, and vegan items. It looks like they just might give the competition a run for their money – if not right now, in the near future.

Regarding deliveries, consumers may opt for the regular delivery options or pay ?49 for an annual membership. Paying for this membership gives unlimited one-day delivery.

This kind of service is definitely going to be more popular in the near future, and it is just another indication of how technology is becoming a staple part of our lives. I wouldn’t mind doing my grocery and book shopping in one go, would you?

Amazon Launches Kindle DX

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So you thought the wars were limited to computers, gaming consoles, and mobile phones only. If so, you are wrong. It looks like there is a war between e-book readers going on, and it is getting exciting.

Three years ago, this wouldn’t have been happening. With the onslaught of various e-book readers in the market, it is not surprising that manufacturers are trying to outdo one another now. Amazon just announced that it’s souped up Kindle is going to be available on the 7th of this month – that’s today!

The new Kindle is called Kindle DX and it is supposed to be the high end version of the original. What can the Kindle DX offer avid e-book readers out there?

One, it has a lower price. It’s still several hundred dollars at $379, but that’s a considerable drop from the original. Then again, that’s still almost $200 more than the standard version.

Two, it has better screen contrast. Figures say that this has been upped by 50 percent.

Three, documents in PDF may now be zoomed in and out.

Four, users can now share selections from books and periodicals via 3G. This comes free with the unit.

Five, the software that comes with the Kindle DX has also been improved, allowing for better organization of one’s collection.

Is all that worth it for the relatively high price of the new Kindle? Perhaps. In any case, head on over to Amazon to check it out.

Twitter To Make Money With Earlybird?

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There is no doubt about the phenomenal rise of Twitter. The recent infographic we posted is but one testament to that. For many Twitter users, it has been somewhat of a blessing that the service has been free for four years now. While it doesn’t seem likely that they will start charging everyone to use Twitter, it is but time for the service to start generating considerable revenue for itself.

And, it looks like that’s exactly where they are headed. If you noticed about two weeks, a new account called Earlybird was launched. Yesterday, it was opened up to followers. No one knows much about it, but speculation is rife that this is the beginnings of Twitter’s campaign to make money. To matters more mysterious, Earlybird’s tweets are private, leading people to think that it is going to be a channel for good deals and exclusive stuff from outside retailers.

Twitter has not made a formal announcement as to what Earlybird is really all about, but the guys at ReadWriteWeb were able to get tidbits of information from Twitter:

Carolyn Penner, friendly communication contact at Twitter Inc., said to us by email after publication: “There are interesting things in store for @earlybird. Keep waking up early and you might be the first to find out what they are.”

So what do we know? It’s gonna be interesting. We need to wake up early. We’re being led by a carrot on the proverbial stick. We’ll keep watch and wait anyway.

3 Internet Pet Peeves and Their Fixes

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Considering the time that you probably spend online, you would know that there are a lot of things that can happen out there that get your goat. We all have our pet peeves; some of them we can find fixes for, some we just can’t do anything. And, speaking of these Internet problems and fixes, I read a very interesting and useful list at PC World.

There are too many too mention here, but let me give you the three that are my pet peeves.

Facebook game and apps overload

I love Facebook games – a couple of them, at least; but I know how irritating it can be to see all those feeds when you are NOT interested in them. Hence, I try to limit the things that I publish. If you have friends who can’t help but flood your feed with their Facebook games and apps, though, PC World suggests Facebook Purity, which is part of Firefox’s GreaseMonkey add-on.

Useless search bars in web sites

What use is a search bar embedded in a web site if you can’t get relevant results? This has happened to me countless of times that I have simply stopped using them most of the time. What I have been doing is what PC World suggests: go to your usual search engine and key in site:nameofsite.com “what you’re looking for” instead.

Flash ads automatically blaring out some audio

Imagine browsing the net while at Starbucks or some other place when suddenly, this loud audio emanates from your speakers. Forget that – imagine working late into the night, you’re alone at home, and the same thing happens. I have jumped out of my skin so many times because of this! Here’s the fix from PC World: use FlashMute, which blocks Flash access to your audio. They do have a disclaimer: your anti-virus software might see it as an attack when you download the software. Ignore it.

For the complete list, visit PC World.

Security Tips When Using Public Wi-Fi

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It’s a dream coming true, isn’t it? Most places you go nowadays, you can access the Internet via Wi-Fi. Most cafes are following the trend – even Starbucks, which has been resistant for quite some time. In some cities, the coverage is especially wide.

While this is pretty convenient for all of us, we should realize that using public Wi-Fi isn’t exactly the safest thing to do. Still, as long as you don’t access and transmit sensitive information, right? You might be wrong there – you cannot deny that there are many ways by which you can be prone to security issues when using Wi-Fi. With a little vigilance, though, you can make your access a little more secure.

Always use SSL, if possible.

That is, use HTTPS instead of HTTP. For example, when accessing Google, key in https://www.google.com/ instead of http://www.google.com/. The good news is that this is where Google is headed anyway. If you take a closer look, Gmail already uses HTTPS as a default. To make it even easier, check out HTTPS Everywhere, an add-on for Firefox.

Make sure your sharing settings are secure.

In other words, turn off all sharing! If you’re like me, you have certain files and folders that are shared for use at home. When you go out and use public Wi-Fi, however, it is better of you turn sharing off. How to do this? Go to Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center, then click Choose Homegroup and Sharing Options -> Change Advanced Sharing Settings.

Double check your firewall.

Sometimes, for one reason or another, I turn off my firewall at home. I don’t exactly remember the reasons, but I am pretty sure they were convincing at that time. Don’t take it for granted – operating systems come with basic firewall setups, but they can be your very first line of defense.

FIFA: Goal-Line Technology Just Might Be Needed

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You think? That’s how most football (or soccer, if you want) fans are reacting to FIFA’s new stand on using video technology to assist in officiating World Cup games. This change of heart is really not surprising given the recent turn of events in several matches during this year’s World Cup.

Who can forget Saturday’s match between England and Mexico? Both teams were victims of mistakes made by the referees. Not to mention another England match, this time against Germany. The point is moot now, as the games have gone on, and teams have been eliminated. While we cannot put all the blame on the referees for the demise of some teams (yeah, I am thinking about England as I write), we also cannot deny the fact that if FIFA were using video technology as part of the rules of the game, then the outcome might just be a tad different.

It is not a revolutionary thing, really. The NBA is already using it. The NFL has provisions for video review as well. So what’s holding FIFA up?

With public pressure mounting, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for this technology not to be implemented in the near future. FIFA president Sepp Blatter has already issued public apologies to England and Mexico for the blatant mistakes. In his statement, he also mentioned something about considering goal-line technology for FIFA matches. Take note – that doesn’t cover everything, but at least it is a good start, isn’t it?

Here’s my question: do you think the solution is technology or, simply, better officiating?