service

Since Facebook released its new "Camera" mobile app yesterday, there's been speculation as to why the social network would buy Instagram and then release its own very similar app. There's been even more curiosity about why the new app has such an interest in where you are while using it.

As users have noticed, the Camera app requires iOS' Location Services to be turned on so it can access your locally stored photos, and the app won't let you upload a shot if you simply deny it location access from the get-go.

According to software … Read more

Strange things sometimes happen when you're in Best Buy.

Not so long ago, some people were shocked, others awed, when a Best Buy in Greenville, S.C. displayed porn on many of its largest screens.

Now comes the troubling complaint of a man in Denver who says he left his cell phone at Best Buy for repair, only to discover shortly afterward that his Facebook status had suddenly outed him as gay, which he happens not to be.

"It just put a bad taste in mouth," Rich Dewberry told ABC affiliate KMGH.

His Facebook status update read: &… Read more

Things I didn't know existed until just recently: the Obihai OBiTalk, a gizmo that plugs into your router and pairs with SIP-based voice-over-IP services like Google Voice; and GVJack App, a Windows utility that links a MagicJack to your Google Voice account.

Why are these products significant? Simple: Google Voice offers free local and long-distance calling -- through the end of 2012, at least. After that, it's anybody's guess. Google might continue the free-phone goodness, or it might start charging for service. (If the latter happens, it's a good bet it'll be cheap.)

Whatever the … Read more

Apple's iCloud will soon have a new contender to take on in the sky.

LG announced today that its new Cloud offering will launch in beta tomorrow. LG Cloud is designed to work on "three screens" -- smartphones, PCs, and televisions -- and streams everything from video to photos.

In order to access LG Cloud, users must first download the associated app from Google Play on Android-based devices or the LG Smartworld store from LG Smart TVs. A new LG Cloud Web site has been set up for users to access the service from PCs. After downloading … Read more

Yesterday I wrote about the Ooma Telo phone system, which for $109.99 allowed you to ditch your landline and make nearly free phone calls for life. (Your only obligation: a few bucks' worth of monthly taxes and fees.) Alas, it sold out quickly.

More than a few commenters suggested an alternative: the Obihai OBi100, which can pair with Google Voice (among other services) for totally free calls. And talk about a cosmic coincidence: today the sucker's on sale.

Specifically, Amazon has the Obihai OBi100 VoIP phone adapter for $39.99 shipped. That's $20 off the regular price … Read more

This is an update of a deal I posted last year.

I haven't used a landline for as long as I can remember. It's probably been five or six years since I switched to voice-over-IP service, and although there have been bumps along the way (anyone remember SunRocket?), I can't complain about the thousands (!) of dollars I've saved.

If you're ready to do likewise, I highly recommend the Ooma Telo. This sexy black box plugs into your router and provides unlimited local- and long-distance calling.

It normally sells for $199.99, but for a limited … Read more

Developers who use Amazon's Web Services now have a new way to bring search into their applications.

Launched today in beta mode, CloudSearch offers a full-blown search service in the cloud that developers can build into their apps. Using the AWS Management Console, developers create a search domain, upload the data that they want searchable, and then CloudSearch indexes the content, according to Amazon.

Like other cloud-based services, CloudSearch is also scalable, so it can expand as the amount of data increases. Developers can also tweak key settings and parameters without having to upload the data again.

Amazon's … Read more

Often when managing collections of files in the OS X Finder, you may find that giving the files unique or patterned names may help in your organization. For instance, if you have a set of image files it may help to quickly append a date or sequential number to the file name; to do so manually might take a while.

At other times, you might wish to quickly append a time stamp or other similar attribute to a file name without having to manually edit the name. As an example of this, if you use the OS X compress feature (… Read more

The recent Flashback malware for OS X has caused a bit of a stir in the Mac community, and while it has only affected a fraction of the OS X install base, it still has had people who have indeed found the malware on their systems writing in to CNET and on the Apple Discussion boards.

For the most part, people have been finding the malware on their systems by having an antivirus scanner or reverse firewall such as Little Snitch installed, and have either been given an alert that the malware was either found or a program file with … Read more