database

Free LibreOffice office suite beefs up with version 4.0

Fans of LibreOffice will discover a new and improved version with several features typically found only in Microsoft Office.

For those unfamiliar with the product, LibreOffice is an open-source desktop suite, one of several free alternatives to Microsoft Office. The suite includes applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, and drawings.

Released today by the Document Foundation, LibreOffice 4.0 builds on its foundations with a host of new features and fixes.

As just a few examples, users of the Writer word processor can now add comments to entire blocks of text, more easily create different headers and footers for … Read more

Citizen scientists map 1,400 defibrillators in Philly contest

After researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine called on the general public to find as many of Philadelphia's estimated 5,000 automated external defibrillators as possible, more than 300 "citizen scientists" stepped up and located 1,429 of them in more than 525 buildings across the city.

The eight-week crowdsourcing contest, called MyHeartMap Challenge, is part of what the researchers hope will be a national effort to catalog as many AEDs as possible and develop an interactive app of the registry so that laypeople can act quickly in the event someone nearby … Read more

IMDb on the go

More than just a tool for reading up on celebs and movies, the IMDb mobile app lets you access an enormous entertainment database, view movie trailers, read reviews, track shows, and even get notifications for updates on your favorite celebs. What's more, the Android tablet version is optimized for the larger screen, as it breaks up IMDb's sections into two functional panels.

IMDb opens up directly to a Home screen displaying new trailers, popular movies and shows, upcoming titles, and top news. If you log into your IMDb account, it also shows you recommendations for shows and movies, … Read more

Database corruption causing woes for some Office 2011 SP2 users

Recently Microsoft released the Service Pack 2 upgrade for its Office 2011 for Mac productivity suite, which primarily addresses issues and functions with Outlook for Mac, but also addresses problems with other aspects of the Office suite. After applying this update, a few people have had problems in which the Office identity database has become corrupted and when launching Office programs have received messages stating "Please upgrade the Office database."

Yesterday Microsoft acknowledged in a blog posting that some users have been experiencing this error, and has provided a couple of options for getting around it.

If you … Read more

Mobile carriers partner with FCC to battle cell phone theft

Almost everyone knows someone who has had their cell phone stolen. And most likely, there wasn't much that person could do about it. Some mobile carriers and the U.S. government are now trying to change that.

The Federal Communications Commission announced today that it is partnering with four major carriers to work toward curbing rampant cell phone theft, according to The New York Times. The plan is to jointly create a centralized database of lost or stolen cell phone information that will make it easy to track the devices and cutoff voice and data service.

"It's … Read more

Apple iOS users can get the new FileMaker Go app for free

FileMaker Pro users can download the latest iOS version of the program for free starting today.

FileMaker Go 12 lets iOS users access databases created by the full desktop edition of FileMaker Pro 12. Dedicated versions are available for the iPhone/iPod Touch and the iPad.

The new iOS apps coincide with new editions for the PC and Mac. Customers who want to try before they buy can download trial versions for both desktop platforms.

The latest iOS upgrade offers a variety of enhancements.

You can now multitask FileMaker Pro with other apps, letting you pick up where you left … Read more

Anti-abortion Anonymous hacker arrested in U.K.

Shortly after hacking into Britain's biggest abortion provider's Web site and stealing 10,000 database records of women registered with the service, self-proclaimed member of Anonymous James Jeffery proudly touted his triumph on Twitter.

It was this misstep that quickly led to his arrest, court hearing, admission of guilt, and impending sentence, according to the Guardian.

It all started on Thursday when the British Pregnancy Advisory Service reported that there were 26,000 attempted break-ins to its Web site over a six-hour period. According to the Guardian, the site was also defaced with the Anonymous logo and a … Read more

Philly challenge to map thousands of AEDs could go national

In an effort to quickly and efficiently map the roughly 5,000 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public areas of Philadelphia, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine recently launched a contest to award $10,000 to the team or person who finds the most.

With the six-week contest, which kicked off in late January, nearing its March 13 deadline, researchers are already planning to conduct a similar, nationwide challenge.

AEDs can save the lives of those suffering cardiac arrests via electric shocks, particularly if used in the first minutes following the onset of the attack. … Read more

Oracle squashes 78 software bugs in latest patch

Oracle yesterday deployed 78 different security fixes aimed at patching holes throughout its various database products.

As part of the company's January critical patch update, 16 of the 78 fixes were considered critical, meaning they could be exploited remotely. The fixes stretched across much of Oracle's product lineup, including Oracle Database Server, Fusion Middleware, E-Business Suite, Oracle Sun products, MySQL, VirtualBox, and PeopleSoft.

One of the patches addresses a major flaw that could compromise the security of Oracle database systems. Initially researched by InfoWorld, the flaw was shared with Oracle before the tech publication went live with the … Read more