RipTunes converts YouTube videos to MP3s
YouTube is a great source of music videos and with the large number of privately filmed videos it is a great resource for tracking down live performances by your favorite band or artist. When you are at your computer, there is nothing to stop you from visiting YouTube whenever you want so you can listen to your favorite songs whenever you want, but RipTunes is a free utility that enables you to convert videos into MP3 files that you can add to your offline music library. It's legit software, too, unlike scammers' video-to-mp3 converter security researcher Cameron Camp wrote about earlier today.
In many regards this is not out of the ordinary, but the way things have been implemented here make RipTunes more than worthy of mentioning. The app itself can be used to search YouTube without the need to visit the site itself, and as you search for artists and bands, you can start a musically tour of discovery as related or similar artists are suggested to you.
Simply set up Parental Controls with Kurupira Web Filter
If you’ve tried setting up parental controls before, you’ll know this can often involve a lot of work. You may need to create accounts for each one of your children, for instance, before defining in very precise detail exactly what sort of content they can access, and what they really shouldn’t.
And so we were very surprised to see how straightforward the free Kurupira Web Filter was, by comparison. No “per user” settings, no lists of content types, no real need to set up any web filtering options at all: the program automatically blocks “inappropriate” websites just as soon as it’s installed, without you having to take any additional actions.
Scam sites lure victims with fake YouTube-to-mp3 converters
Want to access the music tracks of YouTube.com videos on your iPod but don’t want to pay? You’re not alone. Recently, a crop of websites have popped up offering to convert the audio from videos to .mp3 files that you can then download at no charge. Sounds great, right? The catch: scammers are trying to capture the popular click traffic and redirect users to scam websites, where you might get more than you bargained for, in the form of free malware and other unpleasantness as a bonus.
Recently, we hosted a “cyber boot camp”, teaching high school students to attack and defend networks. One of our presenters, John Moffat, who often delivers security awareness seminars to teenagers and stresses the dangers of the “free” Internet, referenced this scam in his presentation. While Mr. Moffat doesn’t claim to be a malware expert, he knows a scam when he sees one, and does his best to help others avoid falling prey.
IDC Appcelerator survey reveals what app developers love and hate the most
International Data Corporation (IDC), in partnership with mobile platform company Appcelerator, announced results of a global survey of Appcelerator developers on Tuesday, The survey created a detailed profile of developers' outlook on the market, with a particular focus on development for enterprise.
At a high level, the survey showed that developers believe Apple is leading the charge in the enterprise mobile deployment; see Android only as a consumer opportunity; are excited about remote cloud service integration; and are cautiously optimistic about Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets; but see Windows Phone as disappointing.
Apple Q3 2012 by the Numbers: $35B revenue, $9.32 EPS
Uncertainty hung over Apple's fiscal third quarter coming into today's earnings announcement. Gulfs widened among analysts for overall revenue estimates and about how many iPads or iPhones were sold. No one expected poor performance, there was just more uncertainty about what and where than more recent quarters. Fiscal Q3 will be remembered as sea change coming, as Apple missed Street consensus for the first time in years and iPad sales surged against iPhone.
For fiscal third quarter, Apple reported $35 billion revenue and net profits of $8.8 billion, or $9.32 a share. A year earlier, the company reported revenue of $28.57 billion and $7.31 billion net quarterly profit, or $7.79 per share. Apple announced fiscal Q3 results after the market closed today.
Vizio's new Google TV box goes up for pre-order, we line up for the swap
Vizio's Co-Star is one of the first new set top boxes in the second generation of Google TV. It's small, it's powerful, it's the cheapest Google TV yet, and it went up for pre-order today directly from Vizio.
In addition to the Google TV feature package, the Vizio Co-Star includes the OnLive gaming service, making it equal parts connected set-top box, and streaming video game console.
Beware tech-support scammers asking to remotely fix your PC
I received a sad report on the subject of PC support scams.
Yes, those same old scams where the perpetrator tells you that you have malware infections or system problems and tries to scare you into letting him or her connect to your PC so that he can install some software and fix it. For a price, of course, though that may not be immediately clear.
4G connectivity will be available in the UK starting in 2013
After a long wait, there’s good news for United Kingdom residents as local regulator Ofcom has unveiled its plans to auction off the 4G wireless spectrum to UK carriers by the end of 2012. Ofcom states that mobile broadband will cover at least 98 percent of the United Kingdom with a spectrum sale 80 percent larger than 3G while promoting a competitive market environment. As most smartphone manufacturers are offering LTE-compatible devices, that is the most likely wireless technology to be implemented, but WiMAX is not out of the question.
The auction process, despite being delayed before, is likely to come to a close at the beginning of next year; and the official rollout of the 4G network is expected to be done by middle of 2013. At least two spectrum bands will be offered for auction, and the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz are the first confirmed bands. The UK regulator wants to make sure the process goes smoothly and that there will be no suspicions of delays, putting to rest any possible rumors over their Twitter account: "4G auction plans on track (reports today of 'delay' are way off the mark)."
Use AirDroid to manage your Android, no cable required
Want to get some photos off your Android phone or tablet but don’t have your USB cable with you? Looking for a way to send SMS messages from your computer? Want to copy and paste text between your Android device and computer? These are just some of the things that AirDroid could help you with.
This free app enables you to use your web browser to connect to and control your Android device on a Mac or a PC running Windows or Linux. Connect your computer to your phone or tablet -- there’s no need for a desktop program to be installed -- and you can do this on both your personal computer and those in public locations. You can establish a connection in a matter of seconds by firing up the app on your mobile device and then visiting the URL you are provided with. After entering the password you’ve been given, you’ll be presented with an online desktop that you can use to browse and manage your Android device.
Hideman cloaks your IP address
VPN clients are a generally a very good way to maintain your anonymity online, and Hideman is no exception: just launch the program, click the Connect button and in a second or two you’ll be allocated an IP address in another country.
Which country? Hideman provides servers in Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Netherlands, Panama, Russia, Singapore, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States.
Is 99 cents too much to pay for an Android game?
Soon after colleague Randall C. Kennedy wrote that "Piracy is killing Android", developer Madfinger Games complained that incredibly high piracy rate on Android devices is why Dead Trigger is free on Google Play, while 99 cents on Apple’s App Store. Is iOS better than Android in this regard?
After an initial price of “as little as buck”, some game developers are going free, due to the piracy rate that plagues the Android world. Madfinger Games hasn’t provided any statistic as to how many of their game installs account for pirated copies, but according to Google Play numbers their installs are in-between 100,000 to 500,000, with an exponential increase at the end of the last 30 days. The game has been free since July 20, so in just four days its popularity skyrocketed. Does this mean a high piracy rate or just the plain “it’s free, I’ll take it” thinking?
IBM’s Indian Global Delivery Centers are anti-education?
The theory of outsourcing and offshoring IT as it is practiced in the second decade of the 21st century comes down to combining two fundamental ideas: 1) that specialist firms, whether here or overseas, can provide quality IT services at lower cost by leveraging economies of scale, and; 2) that offshore labor markets can multiply that price advantage through labor arbitrage using cheaper yet just as talented foreign labor to supplant more expensive domestic workers who are in extremely short supply. While this may be true in the odd case, for the most part I believe it is a lie.
This lie is hurting both American workers and the ability of American enterprise to compete in global markets.
Nexus 7 will lead Android tablets to overtake iPad
Ever since the release of the Nexus 7, analysts have wondered what impact, if any, it would have on Android tablets' market share battle with the iPad. The possible release of the iPad Mini, later this year, could throw another wrench into the works. Fortunately, we have already seen an Android vs. Apple battle in the smartphone market. Let's take a look at the parallels we can draw between the smartphone and tablet market and project the possible market share trends in the tablet market.
Before we begin, we need to understand the global smartphone market share trends over the past couple of years. It is important to understand that ever since the iPhone and Android were launched, the market segmented into legacy smartphone platforms (BlackBerry, Symbian & Windows Mobile) and modern smartphone platforms (iOS, Android & Windows Phone).
Work on more than one screen? Try MultiMonitorTool
Nir Sofer has released his latest creation, MultiMonitorTool, and the name tells you everything: it’s a one-stop tool to handle all your multiple monitor needs. As usual with NirSoft utilities, there’s no installation required, no adware, no unwanted extras at all. Just download and unzip the implausibly small MultiMonitorTool file (under 200KB) and you’re ready to go.
On launch the program displays a two-paned interface. All the monitors it recognises are at the top, and if you click on any one of these then you’ll see the application windows it contains in the lower pane.
You can't do real work on a tablet
Whenever I think about tablets v. PCs, I remember a bold prediction of old: “Son, 10 years from now everyone will drive an electric car!” When was that, 20 years ago? We’ve all read something like that from someone believing to be clairvoyant.
I read similar articles almost every day where the writer plays the same old broken record: tablets are the death of PCs, or some other flamboyant thing that’s bound to get interest -- with the hope that the reader will agree with the author. It's like almost everyone is set on sending the PC down to the gates of Hell. But why should I agree with their assertions when I actually need a PC?
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