name

When you share files and other services from your Mac on the local network, the systems on the network will use your computer's name to distinguish it from others that are available. In general, computers usually have unique names, but if the system detects the name is already in use then it will dynamically assign a sequential number to itself so network services may still be used. For example, if you purchase a new computer and call it "My Mac" similar to your old one, then it will rename itself "My Mac (2)" and appear … Read more

Emoticons have become some of the most commonly used symbols when communicating using computers and cell phones. Starting with combinations of text characters, smilies evolved into emoticons with the development of Unicode fonts that include complementary images for common smilies. For instance, applications like iMessage and iChat in OS X will make use of emoticons, automatically substituting an image of a smiling face from an emoticon font if you enter the ":)" text for a standard smile.

If there are other emoticons you often use, then you can use the system preferences to set up your own global text … Read more

You can no more choose your neighbors than you can choose your family members.

Sometimes they are people for whom you have contempt -- or even worse. However, it's not always easy to explain to them just how much you dislike them.

There are protocols to go through. And then there's the problem of having to look them in the face and say what you really think.

So an increasing trend seems to be to give your Wi-Fi network a name that carries a message.

In a breathtakingly revelatory piece, the BBC unveils some of the Wi-Fi names … Read more

An outage that broke hyperlinks on Twitter yesterday evening originated with a simple human error at a Melbourne, Australia-based hosting firm that was responding to an abuse complaint, CNET has learned.

Twitter last year began to abbreviate all hyperlinks using its t.co domain name -- which had the side effect of introducing a central point of failure where none existed before. That failure happened last night around 11:30 p.m. PT when t.co went offline, meaning millions of Twitter users received "non-existent domain" errors when trying to follow links.

A spokesman for Melbourne IT, a … Read more

When Apple released the latest iPad earlier this year, Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said that naming the device iPad 3 would have been so predictable. "We've had many products where we've never used numbers," Schiller said. "Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't."

Some people don't care what the next iPhone will be called, but some people do. If you're in the latter camp, the big question is whether Apple will follow the more predictable route and go with iPhone 5, the name just about everybody has been calling the upcoming device, or once again throw us a curve.… Read more

YouTube is now encouraging video uploaders to use their real names. Is this the first sign of what's to come? Will our anonymity on YouTube become a thing of the past?

For now, users still have the option to opt out of disclosing their true identity, but a world in which YouTube videos are no longer anonymously uploaded appears much closer to reality than ever before. Of course we've seen things like this before. Most of us seem to have no problem giving away our personal information to Facebook, right? … Read more

YouTube thinks that maybe all those cutepuppies99 and origamiboys1981 might be ready to grow up. Google's online video platform is now giving users the option to start using their real names on its service, along with hooking up their Google Plus profile up with their YouTube channel.

"One Google-wide identity was something that proved popular with new YouTube users when we began offering it in March, so we are now extending it to existing users," YouTube software engineer John Fisher wrote in a recent blog post.

Here's more on how Fisher describes how it works:

ICANN, the organization in charge of basic Internet name and addressing technology, today announced a new chief executive, Fadi Chehade.

The move was expected since last August when outgoing CEO Rod Beckstrom announced his eventual departure (PDF) from the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

But ICANN also announced that the leader of a controversial change, the expansion of generic top-level domains (GTLD) to include everything from .google to .sucks, also is stepping down. Hundreds have applied to operate the new GTLDs, and ICANN now is evaluating the applications.

Chehade, a 50-year-old citizen of Lebanon, Egypt, and the United … Read more

You ready to play the tech name game?

For starters, it's a juicy day for iPhone 5 rumors. The next iPhone could have a smaller dock connector with 19 pins, instead of Apple's typical 30-pin port. TechCrunch is reporting that three manufacturing sources say Apple will be using a port that's roughly the size of a micro USB. If there's truth to this, get ready to dish out money for new accessories. It won't fit that pretty little iHome charging dock anymore. (But hey, Apple fans always dish out money for new accessories. So no … Read more