commentary

E3 has lost its game

LOS ANGELES--As E3 2012 shuts its doors, we're not entirely sure we ever want them to open up again. Scott and Jeff spent a day going to press conferences and two full days on the show floor. It wasn't pretty and what follows is a brutally honest take on the show.… Read more

Use Bible Seeker and ye shall find

Walk into a biblical scholar's study and you'll be greeted by walls full of books: versions, concordances, commentaries, textual analysis, and whole sets of volumes. That's sort of what you get for free with Bible Seeker. It's a free biblical reference tool that includes the King James Version of the Holy Bible, Easton's Bible Dictionary, Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, and Notes from the KJV Translators, with many add-on components available. You can open each reference tool independently within Bible Seeker's interface, which makes it easy to search, print, and use these time-tested resources. … Read more

Instant iPad reactions: Whoa, awkward name

Who needs opinion columnists when you have Twitter? Once the hub of micro-punditry recovered from a molasses-like slowdown amid chatter surrounding the launch of Apple's iPad, it became clear that the Twittering masses had a thing or two to say to Steve Jobs about his pretty new gadget. And it wasn't all nice.

In general, people seemed optimistic about the pricing, since some rumors had pegged it as north of $1,000, and the iBooks store was getting reactions of eager anticipation--but many other tweets were underwhelmed or downright disappointed. No Flash, no camera, no multitasking, and too … Read more

MLB taps Twitter for live commentary

Major League Baseball is now using Twitter in two of its online properties: MLB.tv, and MLB.com. Fans can chime in themselves, or view the 140-character insights of "insiders," which are tweets from each team's official Twitter account or fan blog.

Along with being able to post new messages directly from the box, users can get their tweets filtered into the stream using hash tags. These show up alongside the happenings of the game and serve as an alternate commentary to the streaming radio feeds. This is a really neat approach, since it does not require … Read more

Column: Finally, ID fraud protection that works

Jay Foley, co-founder of the Identity Theft Resource Center, told me recently that 57 percent of all identity fraud involves opening new accounts "for short-term gain." The ITRC should know: it has been surveying ID fraud victims for several years and has amassed some impressive real-world statistics.

Foley also said 13 percent of the identity theft victims found out about the attacks only after criminals had established utility or cable service in their names. "So your credit record is more theirs than yours, making it harder to fight them in court," he said.

Clearly the best … Read more

A real simple answer to password protection

It's a question I get asked a lot: what's a good way to remember passwords for a computer?

Here's how Christopher Horn over at Real Simple chose to answer it:

Writing down random log-in user names and passwords is unsafe and leaves them vulnerable to getting lost. Use a spreadsheet or a word-processing document to keep track of all the information safely. List the link for each website you have an account with and the specific user-name and password information that goes with that account. Click the Save As option under the File tab and name the … Read more

Adding risk to our homes

Gaining the ability to remotely control your HVAC might seem like an energy-responsible thing to do, but it might also pose hidden security risks.

In a recent blog titled Security implications in HVAC equipment SANS handler Swa Frantzen wrote of his concerns regarding one energy-saving program in Texas. The utility, TXU, uses what's called an iThermostat, which allows you to program your thermostat remotely over the Internet from any laptop or desktop.

In California, PG&E offers a similar program, SmartAC. PG&E also uses an Internet addressable, programmable thermostat, however, the user guide (PDF) mentions only … Read more

Could the end of the format war end Blu-ray?

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Toshiba may be considering dropping HD DVD in the next few weeks. The HD DVD deathwatch has been on since they canceled their CES event after Warner announced its switch to Blu-ray exclusively.

This news got me thinking. Consumers have been waiting on the sideline for one format to win. But what if you end a war and nobody cares? I don't expect the coronation of Blu-ray as the high-definition king will cause consumers to stampede to buy Blu-ray players.

Another thing to consider is the "war" has kept folks talking about … Read more

Getting back on track

Eeeesssshhhh. So, umm, it's been a while since my last post and for that, I offer you my sincerest apologies. You see, it's been a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs for me these past several months. For those of you who don't know, I also cover smartphones for CNET, and with the holiday shopping season fast approaching, the cell phone manufacturers are unleashing a storm of new products--all at once. Guh. Seriously, my cube is a fire hazard with all the phones I have plugged into the power strip. Anyway, amid the rush to get through all … Read more