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5 kinds of programs you should install on a new Windows PC

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So you’ve unpacked your new desktop or laptop, or just finished a reformat. What programs should you install on your brand new Windows installation? Here are 10 suggested application categories, listed in the order they should be installed.

Keep in mind that the following suggestions are meant for a new Windows installation. As a long-time user of Microsoft’s operating system, I’m aware that even Windows 7 has many disadvantages compared to Linux and Mac OS X. Yet in terms of versatility and availability of programs, Microsoft’s OS remains supreme. [Read more…] about 5 kinds of programs you should install on a new Windows PC

Last Night Never Happened: An App to Delete Your Boo-boos

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Last Night Never Happened

Upon waking up today, I saw a friend’s status on Facebook: “To the 2 strangers I called last night, and have no recollection of what we talked about, I am very sorry.” Now I don’t know what that was about, but it reminded me of so many incidents wherein people got so wasted that they had no recollection of the events of the previous night. I am sure that you are no stranger to such events as well, and that, in the morning, you wished that there was a way to undo things.

But wait – there is an app for that! At least for deleting written evidence. Developed by So Soho Holdings Limited and 22seeds, the iPhone app is being dubbed as “the world’s first morning-after app” and seems to hold some potential. The idea is rather simple: once you wake up from your drunken stupor and realize that you have posted some things on Facebook and Twitter that you would rather not have posted, you can launch the app and delete those posts. Oh, and you can delete photos as well.

The graphical interface is simple – specially designed for people still suffering from a pounding head and blurry vision. There are also idiot-proof measures so that you don’t end up deleting more than you actually want to. (You never know – in your earnest desire to get rid of humiliating evidence, you might accidentally delete “legitimate” data.)

If you are ALWAYS in control when it comes to your social network accounts, then forget the app. Then again, I have a strong feeling that you will find this app very handy. Get it from the iTunes store for $1.99.

Google Person Finder for Those in Japan

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People Finder
The whole world is watching the events unfold in the east following the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan earlier today. Though the country is the most prepared country in the world for this kind of natural disaster, today’s event is another reminder of how helpless us humans can be when the forces of nature are unleashed.

While many of our readers may not be directly affected by the earthquake and the following tsunamis, let us collectively show our support to our fellowmen in whatever way we can.

If you know anyone who is affected by the earthquake and tsunamis, or you have any information related to the disaster, here is a tool that you can use. Google has come up with a People Finder site, which is both in English and Japanese.

Let’s say a prayer for everyone out there.

Facebook Killing the Christmas Card

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christmascard
We have to face it – the popularity of the traditional way of greeting people during Christmas has slowly been declining over the years. You may say I am stating the obvious, but if you think about it, Facebook might not be the main thing to blame. Some guys at Mintel International actually points out that the decline in Christmas card sales started way back in 2005. Today, though, experts are pointing fingers at social media sites – not just Facebook, mind you.

One of the purposes of Christmas cards is to do some catching up, and with people being more connected on a daily basis these days, the need for the former is fast become non-existent. Think Facebook status updates – at least once a day for most people. Think tweets – definitely more than once a day for those who are on Twitter. Then there’s e-mail, instant messenger, text messaging, e-cards, and so on. All of these things are so accessible and do not take up much time. Compare that to having to purchase Christmas cards, writing notes (manually!), and posting them.

With the mindset and fast-paced lifestyle that people have these days, it is not such a surprise that Christmas card sales are way down, is it?

Enter Facebook card app Fun Cards. To be honest, I haven’t used this app even though they have been up since 2007. Christmas 2010 is not here yet, but 8 million cards have been sent so far.

Things do seem ominous for the Christmas card, don’t they? How about you? Are you going the Facebook card route or are you going to try for something more tangible?

Photo via SMU

e-Lending on Kindle Soon Available

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Well, it is not really called e-Lending – I just made that up.  Think about it this way, though – when you buy “real” books, you may end up lending them to your friends.  If you are the kind of person who does not let other people touch their precious books, then forget about it.  However, if you are like me, and you have borrowed or lost many a book along the way, then you’ll get the implications of this development.

Last week, Amazon made two announcements:

  1. Kindle newspapers and magazines can be read on Kindle apps.  This means that even if you do not own a Kindle, you can read these materials on your device that has a Kindle app (which can be acquired for free).
  2. Kindle e-books can be lent to others who have a Kindle or who have access to Kindle apps.

Here is a snippet of that announcement:

“…we will be introducing lending for Kindle, a new feature that lets you loan your Kindle books to other Kindle device or Kindle app users. Each book can be lent once for a loan period of 14-days and the lender cannot read the book during the loan period. Additionally, not all e-books will be lendable – this is solely up to the publisher or rights holder, who determines which titles are enabled for lending.”

Interesting concept, isn’t it?  I know that there are individuals who freely share their e-books (which are acquired via other means), and this development probably does not concern them.  For those who take copyright seriously, though, the lending feature will certainly be welcome.  I don’t know what to think about the idea of not having access to your e-book while it is on loan, though.  True, if we’re talking about physical books then there is no question about it, but why does this have to apply to e-books?  Another thing – we already know that many publishers just might provide lending rights.

Nothing is set in stone, though.  Amazon says they will let us know more when the features are available.  Till then, we just have to wait.

Beware of Scareware!

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I’ve heard of malware, but scareware?  Apparently, scammers are now playing on the fears of Windows users – fear of viruses and other malware.  In order to make money, they dupe people into thinking that their system is suffering from a relentless malware attack, hence the term scareware.  As the scammers prey upon those fears, they prompt users to download security updates that can “keep users safe.”

Obviously, they will charge for these updates.  The problem is that, one, the threat is almost always fake; and two, the security updates are just as fake.  The user who falls for this trick will end up being at least $50 poorer, without having anything to show for it!

This tactic was exposed earlier this week by Parveen Vashishtha from Symantec.  In a blog post, he outlined the modus operandi of this new breed of scammers. The trick is in knowing that browsers DO NOT ask you to download security updates via malware threat warnings.  If you do see something like the image below, chances are you are the target of a scareware scam.

If you’re thinking that people who are dumb enough to fall for this trick deserve it, think again.  The truth of the matter is that the trick seems to work so well – even some experienced users fall for it.  In fact, the scareware business has already made more than $100 million, according to the FBI.  Don’t laugh just yet.

Your safest bet is NOT to click the download button, obviously.  Of course, you also ought to make sure that your OS, security software, and browser/s are updated on a regular basis.