Category: Tech

A short while ago, WordPress.com suffered a major DDoS attack. According to TechCrunch, this made it almost impossible for them to cover the story as they could barely get the post up. According to the Automattic status site:

WordPress.com is currently being targeted by an extremely large Distributed Denial of Service attack which is affecting connectivity in some cases. The size of the attack is multiple Gigabits per second and tens of millions of packets per second.

We are working to mitigate the attack, but because of the extreme size, it is proving rather difficult.

At this time, the attack seems to have stopped, but WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg says they are taking every precaution against a recurrence of the attack. He also says the attack might be politically motivated.

“There’s an ongoing DDoS attack that was large enough to impact all three of our datacenters in Chicago, San Antonio, and Dallas — it’s currently been neutralized but it’s possible it could flare up again later, which we’re taking proactive steps to implement.

This is the largest and most sustained attack we’ve seen in our 6 year history. We suspect it may have been politically motivated against one of our non-English blogs but we’re still investigating and have no definitive evidence yet.”

Of course, Anonymous, the group who has used similar attacks on numerous targets recently is the first to come to mind. At this time, there is no evidence they have anything to do with it.

via TechCrunch

The LeBron James Family Foundation and Hewlett-Packard have joined forces to donate 1,000 new computers to 59 different Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide. The money comes from the $3 million LeBron raised for charity during his one-hour “The Decision” special, where he announced he would join the Miami Heat. First stop? The Miami Boys & Girls Club.

The side door to the newly refurbished gym opened, a blast of sunlight splashed into the darkened corner, and 100 children began shrieking in unison.

“It never gets old,” James said. “I know a lot comes with being a professional athlete. That’s also being a role model to a lot of kids that look up to me. This automatically comes with it. And I have nothing but time for kids. I could easily be at home and just relaxing. … But the opportunity to be here and giving back to these kids, I’m happy to do it.”

Boys & Girls Clubs Vice President Frank Sanchez says what James is providing will impact “hundreds of thousands of kids” nationwide, giving them a chance to stand on equal footing with kids in other communities. The northwest Miami neighborhood that hosted Wednesday’s event has a high school graduation rate between 50 and 60 percent. Providing computers to this community should help raise that graduation rate and provide a bridge across the digital divide.

“We don’t do celebrity sponsorships,” said Satjiv Chahil, HP’s Strategic Advisor for Global Market Development. “We celebrate achievers from society who have multifaceted lives, who have an appreciation for technology and who have a human cause. … We celebrate LeBron.”

via The Associated Press

The iPad 2 brings updates to the device’s hardware, as well as major improvements to the software. In addition to being powered by a dual-core processor, iOS 4.3 ups the ante with feature additions and software upgrades. Safari now uses the Nitro JavaScript engine. There have also been updates to the AirPlay feature, addition of iTunes home sharing, and iPhone 4 now does personal hotspot.

Photo Booth / Facetime

The iPad 2′s powerful new processor allows you to view real-time previews of various effects in Photo Booth. Manipulate the effects simply by touching the screen. Facetime, definitely one of the primary features many have been looking for, lets you video conference between two iPads, between an iPad and an iPhone, or between an iPad and a Mac.

Photo Booth and Facetime are both built into iOS 4.3, but there are a couple of other apps of note.

iMovie

With the added power of the iPad, iMovie shines as a precision video editor. Features include:

• Multitrack audio recording
• New themes
• AirPlay to AppleTV
• Share videos in HD
• 50 sound effects included
• Easy sharing with YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo and more

GarageBand

Exciting for the musicians out there, GarageBand includes touch instruments (grand piano, organ, guitars, drums, bass.) So is perfect for the people that play instruments such as a portable keyboard piano, of course, you can still plug in a guitar to get at the amps and effects. You also get 250+ loops and 8 track recording and mixing. Because of the built-in accelerometer, you can play with dynamics. This mean the iPad can tell how hard you press a key on the touch keyboard, for instance, and change the sound accordingly.

The iPad 2 will practically play the instruments for you, if you like. The feature is called Smart Play and makes sure you don’t hit an incorrect note. It will also literally play the instrument for you. The price for this advanced piece of music software on the iPad 2 is $4.99. I’m Android all day long, but I might consider an iPad for GarageBand alone.

Both apps are $4.99 and available March 11th.

via Engadget

The iPad 2 is here and, while it doesn’t have a high-resolution retina screen, Adobe Flash support, it will definitely be a big seller this year. Here are some of the specs:

• Dual-core processor
• Front and rear-facing cameras
• Gyroscope like iPod and iPhone
• Thinner than original iPad and iPhone 4 (8.8 millimeters vs. 13.4 millimeters). Jobs says “It is not a little bit thinner, but a third thinner.”
• Lighter (1.3 pounds vs. 1.5 pounds for the original)
• Comes in black and white (available from Day 1)
• HDMI mirrored video output
• AT&T and Verizon both supported
• Same 10 hr battery life
• Price will remain the same

What most interesting to me is that, on top of getting a faster and thinner device in multiple colors, you get to pay the same thing the original iPad costs. A price which is very competitive with devices like the Motorola Xoom ($800). The iPad 2 also comes with a “magical” magnetic “smart case.” It’s basically a flap that magnetically attaches to the front of the iPad. When you close the flap, the iPad goes to sleep and the microfiber cloth cleans the screen. In the open position, the flap also serves as a stand for the device.

Of course, the iPad will run iOS 4.3, which comes with a few familiar apps and a couple of new ones. Dual cameras mean Facetime with iPhone 4, iPod, and Mac owners. There have also been enhancements to iPhoto, iMovie, and Garageband.

Are you getting an iPad 2?

via Engadget

As we all know, Facebook is notorious for acquiring companies simply for the talented folks that created them. This time, they’ve gone after the white whale of chat, Beluga. Since I heard about it, I’ve been using Beluga more and more for group messaging, so news of a Facebook acquisition concerned me. However, it seems that Facebook is doing things a bit differently this go-round.

Here’s what we know: Facebook has acquired both the product and the team, and the plan is apparently to keep the service open for now. With past acquisitions, Facebook has only acquired companies for their talent. But this time it’s apparently a bit different, as they’re interested in both the talent and the technology behind Beluga.

SMS and MMS are becoming old news. Group chat is becoming more and more popular and Beluga is one of the top players in that space. Facebook wants a piece and what better way to get ahead than buy a star player. Deeper Facebook integration with Beluga would be nice, but if they try to stuff Beluga into their existing Facebook app or otherwise limit it’s ability to spread, the results would be disastrous.

For now, Beluga will continue to function as it does today. Beluga accounts and data will not be lost. We’ll be providing more details on future plans for Beluga in the coming weeks.

Are you on Beluga? What do you think about the service? Will Facebook make it more awesome?

via TechCrunch

Commenting services like Echo and Disqus should look out. Facebook is stomping all over their lawn with their latest comment system roll out. Even if you’re not a Facebook fan, this is serious news for publishers.

One of the biggest drawbacks to commenting on a site is logging in or providing credentials. Facebook completely does away with that. If you’re logged in on Facebook, just add your comment and move on with life.

Because the system is based on Facebook, commenters are forced to use real names. All those trolls, troublemakers, spammers, and straight up cowards can no longer have their way with your comments area.

Besides making it easier for people to engage and comment on your site, there is one major feature Facebook brings to the table that no other system can. When you leave a comment, you can optionally post that comment on your Facebook feed. When people respond to that comment on Facebook, the replies are copied back to the site you commented on.

This deep integration with Facebook is just not possible for anyone but Facebook to do and could be very beneficial for publishers. On the flip side, there are many people who would never comment on your site if Facebook was the only option. Also, commenters who are also publishers now lose that link back to their own sites, instead getting a link back to their Facebook profile.

What do you think about Facebook comments? Awesome or not?

via TechCrunch

The web has been on fire with rumors about Apple will announce at their event tomorrow. Everything from iPhone Nano’s to iPad 2′s and MobileMe redesigns. As Techradar points out, the rumors may overshadow whatever Apple really has up their sleeve.

Apple watchers have been playing a game of “my dad’s bigger than your dad”, with iPads instead of dads. “My iPad 2 will have a retina display!” “Well, my iPad 2 will have an eight-core processor!” “That’s nothing! my iPad 2 will be made of carbon fibre and angel skin, and it will have an attachment that gets stones out of horses’ hooves!”

So, what can we really expect? The iPad 2 will more than likely be faster and thinner. It will bring dual cameras for some Facetime action. While some speculate it could have a high-resolution Retina display like the iPhone 4, John Gruber points out that including such a display would significantly raise the cost of the iPad 2.

Other tidbits we might see launched include iOS 4.3. The most exciting feature here seems to be multitouch gestures, but Apple has already made it clear that this feature won’t go live any time soon.

There has also been talk of a MobileMe redesign. Retail boxes of MobileMe are disappearing and it seems to be moving to an online-only service. It’s doubtful we will see any type of announcement around MobileMe as the service needs a lot of work and Apple’s new data center for managing cloud services will not be open until spring to support MobileMe and iTunes.

One important point to note is how Apple’s new subscription plan will affect the iPad. Originally, the iPad was a savior for publishers, taking only 30% royalties compared to 70% at Amazon. This forced Amazon to make changes in how they did business. Now, things are different.

Then Apple unleashed its in-app subscription service. Far from a savior, the service makes Apple look like a bully kicking a guy when he’s down. “We believe that your new policy smacks of greed,” wrote Rich Ziade of Readability, whose iPad app that aggregates news was recently rejected by Apple. via CIO

What do you think Apple will announce tomorrow?

via iPadDiscounts

How awesome would it be if your phone alerted you when you were near a store running a sale or special offer? This is exactly what AT&T has launched Monday.

The service, called ShopAlert, is launching with the backing of Hewlett-Packard, Kmart, JetBlue, SC Johnson, Kibbles ‘n Bits and others. AT&T claims this is the first time a major operator in the U.S. is introducing such a program on a large scale.

Now available in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, the service was developed with Placecast and is implemented using what they call a “geo-fence.” This puts “a virtual-perimeter” around any geographic area. Once inside the fence, consumers receive location-specific marketing messages, which are “enhanced with information such as weather, traffic, and local shopping area details to more effectively engage consumers.”

“We are proud to take mobile marketing into the future with this unique offering that is being embraced by consumers and brands alike,” said Greg McCastle, senior vice president of AT&T Advanced Ad Solutions. “ShopAlerts by AT&T enables brands/advertisers to help link consumer engagement with activation and ultimately to the point of sale.”

Customers in participating markets can sign up for ShopAlerts online. Deals aren’t new. Location-based services aren’t new. The combination of the two, however, hasn’t really been done yet. It’s interesting to see AT&T moving into this space and I wonder effect it will have on existing players like Groupon, Foursquare, and Facebook.

via Mashable, AT&T

Someone I’ve known for quite a while now, our very own Amani Roberts, has been featured in this month’s 28 Days of Diversity series.

Amani is the Founder of Woodside Media Group, a Digital PR Firm specializing in Emerging Media and Technology. The company is most active in training people and Fortune 500 organizations on the numerous tools available on the web and within social media. Award winning authors, musicians, restaurants and hotels are a few of the clients that Woodside Media Group continues to support. Amani has also used his expertise to cover many social media topics for Black Web 2.0.

Check out the site for his take on closing the digital divide using technology. His answer might surprise you.

Even better is the donation of time and energy. Spending time with two main age groups – the youth (21 years old and younger) and the Baby Boomers are most important in my opinion.

via 28 Days of Diversity

You know that seemingly unlimited supply of storage that Gmail has provided? Years of correspondence with friends, family, and colleagues all store in one easily accessible and searchable interface. Now, what if you logged into your Gmail account and everything was gone? That’s what “less than 0.08%” of Gmail users have been experiencing over the weekend.

That amounts to about 150,000 Gmail users. Some Google Apps and Google Apps for Education users are also effected. Reports indicate that these long-time Google Mail users are being greeted as new users. All mail and custom settings are gone.

As of 8am EST, the last update on the Google Mail Status Dashboard states:

Our team is continuing to investigate this issue. We will provide an update by February 28, 2011 10:00:00 AM UTC-5 with more information about this problem. Thank you for your patience.

For many, this re-ignites concerns about using cloud storage. Many are advocating backing up your data, which could be a serious chore for the most avid Gmail users and almost defeats the purpose of cloud storage.

Did you lose your email? What’s your backup plan? I know of at least one service up for the task.

via Engadget, ZDNet, Gmail Help Forum, Google Mail Status Dashboard

Amazon Prime Subscribers Get Unlimited Streaming Videos

It’s been in the works for a while and Amazon has officially launched online streaming videos for subscribers of its Prime service. The service is currently available to paid Prime subscribers in the US only at no additional charge.

If you’ve already been taking advantage of subscription-based two-day shipping so that your impulse buys get to your door a little quicker you can now enjoy streaming of 5,000 pieces of “prime eligible” content, including some recent movies and a lot of TV shows, much of which will look awfully familiar if you’re also a Netflix subscriber.

Check out the hands-on review at Engadget. What does this mean for Netflix? Too early to tell, but Amazon has the infrastructure to be a serious challenger.

Windows Phone 7 Update Bricks Phones

One would think that a company with years of experience updating operating systems over a network would have no problem keeping their mobile devices up-to-date. One would also think that, with the battle against Android and iOS in full swing, Microsoft would take every precaution to make sure things go smoothly with Windows Phone 7. Unfortunately, one would be wrong. The first patch for Windows Phone 7 devices, which became available Monday, has been a nightmare for many. More specifically, it’s been turning phones into bricks.

Those unfortunates with apparent firmware corruption can try forcing the phone into download mode (turn off the handset, then turn it on while holding the camera button and the volume down button) or firmware reset mode (turn off the handset, then turn it on while holding the camera button and volume up button; then choose the “format” option) or perhaps even a different download mode (turn on while holding camera, volume up and volume down). If this is successful, it should allow the handset to recover its original firmware and resume operation. But not everyone can get this to work, indicating that the devices are truly bricked, with the only option being to return them to the network operator and have them replaced under warranty.

via ars technica

Google Pushes Gingerbread. Enhances NFC. Kills Facebook.

Lucky Nexus One owners are getting an update to the latest version of Google’s Android Operating system. Gingerbread is rolling out to a Nexus One handset near you. This probably means the carriers can begin dragging their feet about officially updating devices like the HTC Evo and Droid X. The Nexus S gets its own special update to the Near Field Communications feature, which now allows it to write data as well as read data with a single bump/tap. You can also use your device to write data to the NFC stickers from Google. This should make it easier for users to play with the feature since there aren’t many physical places supporting NFC yet.

On another note, Google has completely disabled phone book directory sync with Facebook on the Nexus S. Previously, you could set it up so that your Facebook contacts showed up in your Nexus S contacts list. Now, that feature is being removed. This is part of an ongoing battle between Facebook and Google over data portability. Here is Google’s statement:

“We believe it is very important that users are able to control their data. So in the over-the-air update for Nexus S, we have a small change to how Facebook contacts appear on the device. For Nexus S users who downloaded the Facebook app from Android Market, Facebook contacts will no longer appear to be integrated with the Android Contacts app. Since Facebook contacts cannot be exported from the device, the appearance of integration created a false sense of data portability. Facebook contact data will continue to appear within the Facebook app. Like all developers on Android, Facebook is free to use the Android contacts API to truly integrate contacts on the device, which would allow users to have more control over their data. We are removing the special-case handling of Facebook contacts on Nexus S and future lead devices. We continue to believe that reciprocity (the expectation that if information can be imported into a service it should be able to be exported) is an important step toward creating a world of true data liberation — and encourage other websites and app developers to allow users to export their contacts as well.”

via TechCrunch

According to someone at an Apple retail store, MobileMe and previous generation MacBook Pros will no longer be available in the stores. While Apple has updated the MacBook Pro with “next generation processors, graphics, and Thunderbolt I/O Technology,” MobileMe will only be available online. You can’t simply log on and purchase MobileMe, though. It looks like you must sign up for a 60-day free trial and then decide to pay later on.

It would probably be a bad idea to sign up for or purchase MobileMe right now as the service appears to be in transition. When iOS 4.2 was launched, iPhone/Pod/Pad owners gained the ability to sign up for a free MobileMe account using their Apple ID in order to use the Find My iPhone (or iPod, or iPad) service.

Now, with the retail packaging being removed from the stores, there is no telling what is coming. There is also speculation that MobileMe is due for a complete overhaul and this could be the beginning.

via 9 to 5 Mac