Acer store hacked and customer credit card data stolen
The internet seems to be a series of high-profile attacks stealing all sorts of data. We've seen this event carried out across websites and retail locations, Login information, passwords, credit cards, it's all fair game to those who wish to do harm.
The latest is with the Acer store, which is claiming the credit card information, user names and passwords for some 34,500 users has been stolen. The company has sent out emails to customers to notify of the breach.
Chicago man gunned down while live streaming on Facebook
Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have all been pushing live streaming video these days, and many people take advantage of it.
Unfortunately it can sometimes end with a result that nobody wishes to see. That was the case with a Chicago man just recently.
Nest expands views for Farsight on its thermostats
When Nest first launched its thermostat it had very clear views of what people wanted to see. You can view the current temperature in your home as well as the target temperature. Clicking it can show the outside temperature and humidity, among other things.
With the third generation, the company released Farsight. The thermostat lights up when it sees you, basically motion detection. It shows you all the relevant information then goes dark again, presumably to save a bit of power.
Amazon killing off older Versions of Cloud Drive
Cloud storage has become a prominent part of everyone's life these days, with services abounding. But what happens when one either goes out of business or sets an end-of-life date for support for one of its apps?
Amazon is encountering that very situation right now, with older versions of its Cloud Drive app. The company is now sending notifications to customers explaining the situation.
iHome announces new line of outdoor speakers
If you are looking for an outdoor speaker for this summer then you want something proven to withstand the elements. iHome is a premier maker of such devices and is now announcing a new line that it claims is perfect for outdoor use.
The Weather Tough line is being called "military grade" portable Bluetooth speakers. They were announced back in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, but are just hitting the market now.
YouTube star Christina Grimmie shot and killed after concert
The world has lost many greats of late including Prince and Muhammad Ali. Now it loses one more, though perhaps a bit less known to the older generation, but that makes the story no less sad.
Christina Grimmie, who amassed fame on YouTube with over three million followers, and then went on to become a finalist on The Voice working with Adam Levine, was playing a concert last night in Orlando, Florida.
NFL fumbles with laptop that had player data on it
The football season hasn't begun and training camp isn't even here yet. All we've seen so far is OTAs which just give a small glimpse of what to expect. But the NFL is never far from the news cycle, and now that news involves compromised data from a laptop.
The incident occurred back on April 19th, but the league is just now getting around to making this public. The laptop was stolen from a Washington Redskins trainer's car and contained personal data about players.
A Google search could have prevented a Somali terrorist from working security at Dulles airport
Airport security has been a big deal since the September 11, 2001 attacks that took down the World Trade Centers and damaged the Pentagon. But it's often criticized as being a facade of security and not real protection.
How bad is it? A recent investigation uncovered a Somali colonel working as a security guard at Dulles airport right outside the US capitol.
Samsung tells users to just say no to Windows 10 upgrades
A lot has been said about Windows 10, Microsoft's latest operating system. That's both good and bad because, while it's an improvement over the previous 8.x offering, the company is trying hard to foist the new OS upon users. Really hard. To the point that it has led to embarrassing high-profile situations.
Undaunted, the company continues with its strategy, but now one hardware maker is telling its users to say no to the nagging messages.
Alexa gets new features for Amazon Fire TV
Amazon has been actively pursuing improvements to its line of products, be it Echo, Fire TV, Kindle or Fire tablet. Of all of the products, perhaps the most updated one and the one which gets the most attention, is the Echo, often referred to as Alexa.
The latest improvements are to Fire TV, gaining Alexa-like features. This isn't technically an Echo update, but an update to the set-top box.
Microsoft is recycling old gamertags for Xbox customers
Many customers of Microsoft's Xbox gaming platform utilize the company's Live service so that they can play against others from the comfort of their own home. And, like any service, when you set up an account you choose a user ID, in this case, it’s a gamertag, which is what you become known by when online.
Many of these handles have been used up over the years, and some of those early ones have since become inactive for a variety of reasons. Now Microsoft is going to be opening those monikers up again to allow other customers to grab them.
Evernote and Google Drive are coming together
If you're a fan of keeping notes and lists then you really have two main choices -- Evernote and Microsoft's OneNote. Both can be good methods of keeping track of things. For instance, keep a tab open in your browser to add items to a grocery list as you think of them, then arrive at the store and the list is on your phone.
Now Evernote is teaming up with another powerhouse in business, Google. The company is announcing that it will work with the search giant's cloud storage service, Drive.
Alexa gets travel search with new Kayak integration
"Alexa, play Jeopardy". Many phrases uttered around here lately begin with "Alexa". Amazon's Echo can do an ever growing number of things from simply playing music to controlling home automation. Other tricks are always in the works from both Amazon and third-parties.
The latest "skill", as these things are called, is integration with travel giant Kayak. The company is announcing integration with all Amazon Echo devices, including Dot and Tap.
Embark on The Grand Tour with the Top Gear gang
It's been a while since the boys were together on your screen. But Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are reuniting, but this time the offering has a brand new title. And on this go-around they won't be on the BBC, they'll instead be debuting on Amazon Prime.
Now the brand new show, which is currently in production, has finally got a name. It's been decided it will be called The Grand Tour, because of the way it is being made.
Amazon announces Video Direct in an effort to compete with Google's YouTube
Despite competition from the likes of Vimeo, YouTube has remained at the top of the heap for streaming videos, mostly because of content that comes from its users. While it's hard to see it being toppled anytime soon, it will have a new rival trying to do just that.
Amazon, which already runs its Prime Video service filled with TV shows and movies, is expanding its footprint, adding user content.
Alan's Bio
Alan is an avid fan of all things technology, including Microsoft, Android, Google, and more. When not writing about or using gadgets and software, he can be found on the trails hiking or mountain biking. alanbuckingham on twitter
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