Gaming News: Intel is shipping a new Core i7 chip…

IDG News Service - Intel is shipping a new Core i7 chip for gamers that runs at 4.4GHz -- and can be overclocked to 5GHz.

The Core i7-4790K is a quad-core chip based on the Haswell microarchitecture. It draws 88 watts of power and has 8MB of cache, integrated graphics, memory controllers and support for the latest I/O technologies. It also supports multithreading and allow cores to process two tasks at one time.

The chip, now Intel's flagship PC processor, is mainly for gaming and enthusiast desktops.

It's Intel's first chip capable of running at over 4GHz under normal conditions. It can be overclocked to 5GHz in air-cooled systems, said Renee James, president of Intel, during a keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei.

Intel's not the first chip company to reach 5GHz though: Advanced Micro Devices offers FX chips for gamers with clock speeds of up to 5GHz.

Chip makers moved away from cranking up chip clock speeds in favor of adding cores as a way to boost performance about a decade ago. Bumping up clock speeds generated more heat and consumed more electricity. Performance improvements over time have also come by shrinking chips and integrating more components such as graphics cores.

But AMD and Intel haven't given up on clock speed altogether: They continue the battle on their flagship chips with the aim of capturing the performance crown.

Home Automation

With so many vendors wanting to grab you as a customer for home automation functions if you want to add these kinds of features to your home you’ll want someone to give you all of the options. PAConnect has always been a systems solution provider and we offer the perfect options for you to take advantage of automating your home in so many interesting ways.

In a couple of weeks we should have completed the initial setup of our new showroom experience that will give you an opportunity to see all of the different controls that you will want. Talk to our system integrators to help you decide what will be best for your situation and needs.

The combination of home security and and home control all under one application control is what we are all looking for. You want to have this information available on your phone, as well as control different functions remotely from the same app on your phone. You want as many options as possible, including receiving your alerts via text, push notification, email or a phone call. And you want a complete history of events so that you can go back and research a problem after you have become aware of it. You want a system that is simple to use but sophisticated enough to provide all of the features that you want. Then you want PAConnect! Make an appointment now with our home security and automation specialists  to design a personalized system just for you!

Update: Adobe Login Outage

One of the biggest worries about using online applications or connections is losing access to them for a time.

This is a message I received this afternoon from Adobe, at least they are being upfront about the issue:

Google jumps into the Home Automation Pool

Google with all that cash in their pocket is letting some of it go to acquire Nest for $3.2 billion. Nest makes smart thermostats and smoke alarms for the home and with all the focus at CES 2014 on Home Automation devices it isn’t surprising the Google grabbing someone like Nest.

Look at the ZDNet article by Larry Dignan for more detail on the acquisition and what it means for Google and the industry at large. He shows some interesting insight on how Google may use this acquisition and what it means for us consumers.

https://nest.com/

Nest Announcemant:   https://nest.com/blog/2014/01/13/welcome-home/

I’m back!

Sorry that I have so quiet for the past month. I had been using my early morning  hours to do my research and writing but lately I have taken to the small screens and either catching up on some old TV shows and/or working on our service board and email to get an early start on the day’s work. Also, a couple of games have become part of my morning and evening rituals and I have had to delete them because they had become so addicting. So, hopefully I am back and will be writing about some of my new additions of hardware that I have acquired and am exploring.

The DOJ is poised to really slap Apple for its eBook price fixing case

The terms of the proposed settlement in the Apple e-book price fixing case were published on Friday by the Justice Department. An article by Neil Hughes posted at www.appleinsider.com stated that:

The DOJ said the change would allow consumers on the iPad and iPhone to "easily compare Apple's prices with those of its competitors." Currently, Apple takes a 30 percent cut of all in-app purchases made through App Store software, and does not allow developers to circumvent this rule by linking to a website for purchases.

According to the DOJ statement:

"Under the department’s proposed order, Apple's illegal conduct will cease and Apple and its senior executives will be prevented from conspiring to thwart competition in the future." - Bill Baer, assistant attorney general in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division”

The result of this would be that Apple would be required to terminate its existing e-book agreements with the (5) major publishers that were originally cited for conspiring to fix prices. Those publishers were Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group,  Macmillan, Penguin Group, and HarperCollins Publishers. This settlement may also include other digital media products that Apple sells as well including music, movies, television, etc…

It will interesting if the proposal made public on Friday will be approved by the court but if it is, there could be some serious ramifications to Apple in the near future hitting them directly on the bottom line.

Local News Station Reports warning about ‘Microsoft’ protection plan scam

This newscast discusses one of the new ways that people are being tricked into sharing their personal information with scammers and tricksters. In this case the individual was called by someone claiming that they were from Microsoft and that he wanted to sell her a protection plan for her computer.

Rule #1: You are not going to get unsolicited calls from a real company. They may send you an email as advertising but nothing so in your face.

Rule #2: Anything having to do with connecting to your computer, again unsolicited by you should automatically flag an alert to you. Don’t trust this call.

Rule #3: Anything having to do with credit cards, banks or any other financial payment system that is again unsolicited by you should be flag as well. Tell the people thank you and hang up. Call your financial institution using a number that you know is right and ask them about whatever was proposed to you.

The key here is, if you haven’t noticed, don’t trust anyone that is trying to get information from your or access anything that you own that you have not asked specifically for them to do so.

Is Java really bad for your computer’s health?

I had a couple of clients ask me about whether they should be turning off Java in their computers as has been suggested they do by the Homeland Security announcements this past week. At first the only articles that I saw was the NPR posting and no one else seemed to be talking about it. This weekend shows a torrent of opinions out there suggesting that if you don’t need Java access online business functions you should probably consider turning off Java Scripting in your browsers. If you feel that you could be a target and have critical information that could be compromised then by all means turn this off. Be aware though that this kind of issue is not just associated with Java.

Hackers also use other popular programs for their exploits as well. This is one of the reasons we suggest our CCI Security Suite Software product to insure that your system is always up to date with the latest patches and multiple anti-malware products. The response from Oracle is that the problem only exists with people that have installed the Java Development Kit and that leaves most of us out. But if you are concerned take a look below on how to turn off this feature in your favorite browser.

Chrome

Type "chrome://plugins" into your address bar. This will bring up a new tab. Find the item on the list that reads just plain "Java" and click below it where it says "Disable" in blue. Restart your browser.

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Safari

Choose "Safari" and then "Preferences" on the taskbar or hit control and comma simultaneously (⌘-,). Click "Security" on the top row of the new window. Uncheck the box that reads "Enable Java" if checked. Restart your browser.

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Internet Explorer 8,9, and 10

Go to the "Tools" menu and select "Manage Add-ons." Go to the left of the window that pops up and in the drop-down box below the heading "Show:" select "All Add-ons." Scroll down the list on the right of the window until you find a subheading under the category "Group" that reads "Oracle America, Inc." Select each item and disable it with the "Disable" button in the bottom right-hand corner of the window. Restart your browser.

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Firefox

Go to the "Tools" menu and select "Add-ons" or hit ctrl, shift, and the letter 'a' simultaneously. Select "Plug-ins" on the left-hand side of the new tab that shows up. Scroll the list on the right-hand side of the screen until you find an item that reads "Java (TM) Platform [somethingsomethingsomething]." Click the "Disable" button on the right. Restart your browser.

---

And there you go. If you really, really want to, you can uninstall Java entirely as well, though that's not necessary. You can find the official instructions for how to do so on OS X here, on Windows Vista, 7, and XP here, and on Linux (!) here.

Special promo pricing on Snagit by TechSmith

Starting 9/1/2012, TechSmith will be running a special promotion on our 25 and 50 user packs of Snagit. Details are included below.
MSRP Costs

Quantity	Commercial	Government	Education
Snagit 25 Pack	$499	$449	$349
Snagit 50 Pack	$949	$849	$549

Valid Dates:
9/1/2012-10/15/2012
Please Note

• These are not stockable
• Maintenance is not being discounted, and should be purchased with the standard part/price
• Please contact your Distributor for setup costs

New Microsoft Logo conforming to Metro Style Look

Microsoft is changing its corporate logo for the first time in 25 years. Microsoft is making many changes to incorporate the new Windows 9 Style in all of its product logos.

For the first time in its history, Microsoft has a graphical symbol as part of its logo. Four colored squares sit to the left of the company name written in its Segoe typeface. Segoe is the font family of choice for Metro applications.

The new logo is extremely simple. The old logo had some nuance, with the way the 's' takes a notch out of the 'o'. This is now gone, though the connection between the 'f' and 't' is retained.

The design of the newest logo, or specifically its symbol part, is more than a little surprising. Earlier in the year, Microsoft revealed a new Windows logo. Office 2013 also has a new logo. Both of these logos share some design cues, in particular, the use of a perspective effect on their symbols.

                 

The difference in styles between the Windows 8 and Office logos and the new Corporate logos jumps right out at me. Though both are rather simplistic the Corporate logo has more color and doesn’t position the graphic in same show of depth that the other two logos do. Also strange is the use of colors. The company says that the squares are intended to express the company's diverse portfolio of products. The new logo is already being used on the microsoft.com site and three of the company's stores. It will be rolled out more widely over the coming months.

Bitcoin-funded debit/credit cards are on their way, expect them in 6-8 weeks

Honestly, I haven’t run into Bitcoin except to clear it off of servers as a form of Malware. According to TweakTown, Charlie Shrem, BitInstant co-founder revealed in an IRC chat that his company is 6 to 8 weeks away from launching a Bitcoin-funded international debit/credit card. Stating that it will be issued by two unnamed major banks, one international and the other domestic.

The Bitcoin-funded card will act like any normal debit or credit card account, and should be accepted wherever MasterCard is accepted, which is virtually anywhere. The first 1,000 Bitcoin debit/credit cards will be issued for free, but after the first 1,000, the cards will set you back around $10 per card.

Shrem also revealed that each card will sport a QR code on the front that can be scanned to complete transactions that are under $1,000 and a printed address on the rear featuring the user's Bitcoin Address. Future Bitcoin-funded card owners should expect to pay a 1% fee to fund the card, and a $1.50 ATM withdrawal fee.

Thanks Dropbox!

I had a very nice surprise email this morning from Dropbox notifying me that they doubled the sized of my Pro Account storage. It may be a promotion from them to have solicit your friends and family to join up for a Dropbox Pro account but that’s fine with me. So now the Pro Account gives you a base of 100GB’s storage which will help me out quite well.

You can get a 3 month free subscription to a Pro Account as well for up to 3 friends by submitting their email to Dropbox for an invitation for the service. The Pro Account is now available in 100, 200, or 500GB Plans at $9.99, $19.99 or $49.99 respectively. You can also add on their Packrat Plan for $39/year that gives you unlimited undo history. Packrat Safeguards files you delete in case you need to undelete them and Saves old versions of files in case you need to view them later. Dropbox's "Packrat" feature keeps an unlimited number of these deleted files and old versions. So if you are putting things up for long term storage or you are constantly editing documents that you may want to go back to earlier versions, this could be a very important addition to your plan purchase.

The free plan is still available and provides you with 2GB’s of storage and you can increase that up to 18GB’s for each referral you provide them. They allocate 500MB’s for each referral.

Dropbox’s third option is Dropbox for Teams. Get dedicated phone support and as much space as you need for your team, starting at 1000 GB. Manage licenses as your team grows, and monitor activity and storage usage per person. Get a single centralized bill for your team. Your files are accessible from any device (Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, and BlackBerry) and synced to your computer so you can work both online and offline! Share and collaborate instantly with your team or keep certain files private. Send large files to clients and partners with a link — even if they don't use Dropbox! Get more information here.

Dropbox for Teams starts at 5 users with 1TB of storage allocated for the group. It also includes Unlimited version history, phone support and administrative tools.Priced at $795/year each additional user costs just $125/year and adds another 200GB’s to the pool of storage. Compared to an equivalent Dropbox Pro account this is quite a savings.

DNS Changer Malware

If you are protected with our CCI Security Service Suite you could breathe a sigh of relief this morning because we would have already known and taken care of anyone that was infected with this malware program. If you don’t have this product on your systems maybe you should consider it. This is the type of incident that protects you company, proactively. If you are interested on what this product can do for you give us a call. 1-800-640-7506 and talk to one of our security specialists.

The FBI has warned that millions could lose internet access on July 9^th 2012 if their machines are infected with the DNS Changer Malware. More information is available at http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/november/malware_110911

Click on the following link to learn more information about DNS Changer Malware.

http://www.dcwg.org/

How can you detect if your computer has been violated and infected with DNS Changer?

http://www.dcwg.org/detect/

We have checked the DNS Server settings across all of the machines with the our support agent. We  If you want to manually run this check please visit http://dns-ok.us/. If the DNS Resolution is Green, your machine is safe. If the DNS Resolution is Red, let us know so that we can help you fix this problem.

Be careful of what you post to the Internet

Judge rules that public Twitter posts can be used against you in court and accessed without a search warrant. This ruling is sure to have far-reaching consequences for how online speech is treated under law. So, what you say publicly online, via a Facebook update, Tweet or other posting services can be accessed and used against you in court without the need for a search warrant.

"The Constitution gives you the right to post, but as numerous people have learned, there are still consequences for your public posts," wrote Sciarrino in his ruling. "What you give to the public belongs to the public. What you keep to yourself belongs only to you."

For most of you, this won't ever be of any concern, at least not in and of itself. However, if you are ever arrested or involved in a legal matter, or your Tweets or Facebook updates ever become of interest to the courts, this ruling means that law enforcement can gain access to them without a search warrant, even if you have deleted them.

Cisco stumbles with its Cisco Connect Cloud

Owners of E2700, E3500 and E4500 models recently discovered that their router login credentials stopped working following an automatic firmware update, and instead they were asked to sign up to the new Cisco Connect Cloud platform to regain access. If they sought to avoid this by rebooting the router, they reportedly lost control over their advanced settings.

To make matters worse, the Connect Cloud service came with a supplemental privacy policy that explicitly allowed Cisco to peek at a user's "internet history," "traffic" and "other related information." If Cisco discovered you had used your router for "pornographic or offensive purposes" or to violate "intellectual property rights," it reserved the right to shut down your cloud account and effectively cut you off from your router. Cisco has deleted this offending paragraph but the initial intent of it is disturbing.

The new Cisco Connect Cloud app helps either manage the router itself (think parental controls) or tap into other devices around the home, including AirPlay sharing and remote camera monitoring. There's even a new SimpleTap hardware integration platform that will pair third-party WiFi gear.

While all of this on the surface sounds great, I can’t help but wonder if this is just another one of those services that doesn’t take off. There is a lot of promise but if they don’t get other vendors onboard it isn’t going to go anywhere.

For more information on this service go to Cisco Cloud Connect.

Microsoft Surface–Is it right for you…

Apple has mad a good case showing that if you control both the software and the hardware design you should come up with a pretty good product. Apple has sold over 55 million units to date and the number seems to be growing rapidly. This is no small reason there are so many manufacturers designing units for both the Android market and now with the release of Windows 8 looming soon we should see a large number of tablets designed to take advantage of us diehard Microsoft Windows users.

Microsoft has relied in the past on its manufacturing partners to come up with innovative designs for their operating systems to run on. With the introduction of Microsoft’s Surface products will this hurt its relationship or will this be the push for these manufacturers to produce something really innovative and exceed what Microsoft is setting up as their tablet’s standard. I truly believe we are going to see some interesting product over the next 6 months.

The entry level or light version of the Windows 8 Tablet line, Will launch at the same time that Windows 8 is released. It will be running Windows RT and will be based on ARM CPU technology at its core. It will only be running the Metro portion of Windows 8 and is Microsoft’s direct competition with the iPad. It should be priced in the $500 range. The Surface Pro will have Intel’s Ivy Bridge technology, have better peripheral support and a larger battery. The RT version’s screen resolution will run at least 1,280x720 pixels (720p HD), while the Surface Pro will boast at least 1,920x1,080 pixels (1080p). The iPad screen sports a 4:3 aspect ration but the surface has a larger 10.6 inch screen in a 16:10 ration. This makes the Surface a better playback product for movies and other video that are made in this format. You get to lose the letterbox affect that you have on the iPad.

The Surface is also built around providing a better data input experience. With its specially designed keyboard-cover cases, you have a much better typing experience for email and letter writing. With a track pad you have both the touch screen and fingertip control that a notebook user is use to when composing their writings. This gives you a much more effective experience when using the tablet in a work environment. As a business primarily user, this really appeals to me.

Apple’s lack of interest in integrating a stylus for their product has opened a large add-on market for the iPad. The biggest drawback on the iPad is that the software developers have to build touch blocking technology into their programs to make the use of a stylus a better experience. In Windows 8 and the Surface that Microsoft calls palm block technology. Windows uses two digitizers: one for touch and another for digital ink. As long as the Stylus is in close proximity to the tablet screen, Windows will shut off the touch sensor, so that your hand doesn't accidentally swipe the screen while you're trying to write or draw. Once you're done, the Stylus can then adhere to the side of the tablet, magnetically. So what you get is a built-in at both operating system and a hardware level technology that makes the use of a stylus a much better experience.

Here's a rundown of the official specs as we know them:

Surface (Windows RT) tablet key specs

• Windows RT operating system
• Nvidia ARM CPU
• 9.3mm thick
• 676 grams/23.85 ounces
• 10.6-inch ClearType HD Display
• 31.5 watt hour battery
• Ports: microSD, USB 2.0, Micro-HD video, 2x2 MIMO antennas
• Storage options: 32GB and 64GB for Windows RT
• Front- and rear-facing "HD" cameras

Surface (Windows Pro) tablet key specs

• Windows 8 operating system
• Intel third-generation Core i CPU
• 13.5mm thick
• 903 grams/31.85 ounces
• 10.6-inch ClearType "Full HD" Display
• 42 watt hour battery
• Ports: microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort video
• Storage options: 64GB and 128GB
• Front- and rear-facing "HD" cameras

When you look at the Surface you get the feeling that a great deal of attention went into the design of these tablets. They are solid, light and feel substantial. There is the right mixture of connectivity without overloading the system. Small design additions like the line cut around the outside of the unit to allow 360 degree cooling of the components, the Kickstand, and the magnetic lock of the keyboard covers add to the completeness of the product. If the Microsoft’s App Store begins to build on available applications for its Metro design and with the pro version being able to support general Windows 7 compatible programs I know that for those of us that need to be in the Microsoft Windows world and want a tablet experience this will be a much desired product. The next six months will be exciting for the Windows World.

The FLAME Virus

Wikipedia Entry

Nasty piece of malware that is reported being used at targeted Middle Eastern Countries. It can be spread over LAN links or USB drive. It has the ability to record audio, screenshots, keyboard activity and network traffic. The program records Skype conversations and can turn an infected computer with Bluetooth into a collector of contact information from other Bluetooth enabled devices. The information is sent to one of several receiving servers and the program waits for further instructions from those servers.

According to estimates by Kaspersky in May 2012, Flame had infected approximately 1,000 machines, with victims including governmental organizations, educational institutions and private individuals. At that time the countries most affected were Iran, Israel, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, with a "huge majority of targets" within Iran. Flame has also been reported in Europe and North America.[ Flame supports a "kill" command which wipes all traces of the malware from the computer. Flame stopped operating after its public exposure, and the "kill" command was sent.

Sounds like the making of a movie thriller. Reportedly linked to the Stuxnet malware program, this product’s origins are unknown. Because of what it does and its complexity some nation-state is likely behind it.

Security firms have not been warning of any direct risk to average Internet users. Sophos' Graham Cluley noted that Flame has only been discovered in a few hundred computers. “Certainly, it's pretty insignificant when you compare it to the 600,000 Mac computers which were infected by the Flashback malware earlier this year,” Cluley wrote in a blog post.

So should you worry about infection from this virus on your computer? Probably not. It has been primarily directed towards government systems. Microsoft has issued a fix for this and most security companies have included a fix for it as well. Keep your Microsoft patches up to date and of course your virus/malware definition tables and you should be fine.

New Intel Motherboard Feature Sets

Got a note from one of distributors discussing the features on the new Intel Desktop Boards.

• Intel Smart Response Technology: Maximize Responsiveness with Intel SRT; Rapid Start and Smart connect Technologies.
• Power Supervisor: Ensure System Protection from power supply failure, surge and over current conditions.
• Bios Vault Technology: Virtually incorruptible Bios that provides fault tolerance and secure firmware.
• Fast Boot: speed through system boot times and eliminate unnecessary delays.
• Wifi & Bluetooth Combo: Bluetooth/wifi module and front panel USB 3.0 modules included on select models.
• Intelligent Phase Shedding Technology: Keeps system operating in the most efficient power performance state.

If you want more information on Intel’s new products take a look at this resource:

http://www.intelbettertogether.com/main.aspx

Just loaded the new MSN App on my iPad, very nice

MSN has setup to make a run at the likes of FlipBoard with its MSN App that takes the current day’s news that they have published at the MSN Website in very nice and easy to use format. They have setup groups to provide easy access to the current flow of stories and also provide a search through Bing to access information that isn’t shown in the current view.

The APP is currently free and can be downloaded from iTunes.

The new MSN app is carrying the same UI interface as the popular Pulse newsreader for iPad carries. Microsoft has simply copied the whole user interface of Pulse app, and powered its MSN app for iPad including with its new Metro UI elements. MSN for iPad also supports the Bing search engine built-in.

The MSN APP for iPad provides you an efficient way to take around the MSN published content, and to get updated yourself with all the news, sports entertainment and other articles and videos. The application also allows you to share your favorite liked comment on MSN with your friends and buddies around the other social network’s sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Next Month MS will be pushing silent updates to your IE

Microsoft is auguring that taking the responsibility out of the hands of users will keep the Web safer. This is not a new procedure for browser companies, but is an acknowledgement that Google’s model is proper methodology.

"It's the future ... for all software," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Security. "At this point, at least in the consumer space, people are expecting software to be up to date, and for it to do it itself."

Beginning in January it will roll out automatic upgrades of IE to the newest version suitable for a user's version of Windows. Windows XP users still on IE6 or IE7, for example, will be updated to IE8; Windows Vista or Windows 7 users running IE7 or IE8 will be pushed to IE9.

Previously, Microsoft has asked for user permission before upgrading IE from one version to the next, even if Windows' automatic updates are enabled.

The company will debut the new practice in Australia and Brazil next month, then expand the program gradually to other markets. Microsoft has not set a timetable for U.S. users.

While Chrome is the only browser that currently upgrades to the next version without asking users for permission, Mozilla is working on doing the same with Firefox. Mozilla has pushed back its schedule to release its auto update feature in Firefox 12, which is scheduled for April, 2012.

Microsoft will allow Users to retain control over when they want to update to new versions. So don’t worry about that. Enterprises using WSUS (Windows Server Update Service), or other patch management systems will not be affected. Microsoft is basically saying that if you set group policies through WSUS [to block automatic upgrades] that they are not going to override that.

Companies and individuals can also deploy the blocking toolkits that Microsoft had previously crafted for both IE8 and IE9 to stymie any auto-updating. Those kits can be downloaded from Microsoft's website. In future editions of IE -- meaning IE10 and beyond -- Microsoft will include an opt-out setting that users can select to disable automatic upgrades. While Chrome does not have such a setting, Firefox will when it eventually launches silent updates.

This seems to be a good balance between Microsoft’s desire to get consumers on the newest IE and retain its traditional conservatism where enterprises are concerned.

IE security updates, which are delivered every other month through Windows updates, will not be affected, as they are already silently downloaded and applied if users opt in to automatic updates.

Overall I view this turn of events as positive. Most of the work we do with systems these days are still cleaning systems of Malware, usually caught from visiting websites. So forcing an update to your browser only makes sense in the ongoing battle against the Malware creators. I applaud Microsoft for finally taking this approach.