Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Are We Being Tracked by Our Phones? Of Course We Are!

Its not the fact that most modern cell phones now have GPS built-in, it’s the fact that Google, Apple, and Microsoft are keeping the data that tells exactly where you have been and when. Am I surprised? No? But, that is the troubling part of this story. Will they do anything about it? Time will tell.

In other news, I have signed up to be a Beta tester for Microsoft’s Office 365…if for nothing else to have Exchange services for my Outlook. Will let you know what I think. In the last edition, I told you about a new way to send articles you read directly to your Kindle.  Over the last few day’s I have tried it and much prefer it to Instapaper, which I’ve mentioned here before. If you own a Kindle, give it a try. – JRC.

Big Apple, Big Google, Big Brother

In some ways, all the uproar about Apple saving location data on its iOS device users is old news. Guess what? Big Brother, or Big Google, also collects geo-location information from its mobile, Android-powered devices. It’s like anything else in computing: geo-location can provide great services and resources, but it can also be abused.

Microsoft collects locations of Windows phone users

Like Apple and Google, Microsoft collects records of the physical locations of customers who use its mobile operating system. Windows Phone 7, supported by manufacturers including Dell, HTC, LG, Nokia, and Samsung, transmits to Microsoft a miniature data dump including a unique device ID, details about nearby Wi-Fi networks, and the phone's GPS-derived exact latitude and longitude.

13 cool features of Office 365

Take a look at some of the highlights from the official beta of Microsoft's cloud service, including smartphone access, Exchange services for Outlook and document sharing. I’ve personally signed up for this one.

PC Slowdown: Time for a Spring Cleaning?

When garbage data collects on your once whiz-bang fast PC, slowdowns may occur, indicating that it's time for a spring computer cleaning. The primary culprit for PC slowdowns is software that is installed and then removed again, leaving behind digital traces. The most common junk-data collection spot is the Windows Registry file.

How to clean up your Facebook feed

With just a few tweaks to your Facebook News Feed settings, you can view more activities from friends whom you care about, and hide annoying posts from friends whom you don't.

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