Jim Hamm found some fascinating photos from India, Russia, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Hungary. The headline reads "37 incredible drone photos from across the glove that would be totally illegal today." You'll want to see it here: http://uk.businessinsider.com/illegal-drone-photos-of-the-most-beautiful-places-on-earth-2015-3?op=1
The photographer Chapple took advantage of the drones during the 18 months when it was legal to fly drones anywhere. In 2014 the FAA made it illegal to fly drones for commercial purposes, including photography. Other countries followed suit.
Thanks to the Internet we can see amazing views and learning interesting facts.
Broadband Controversy
We've been seeing some info and opinions on the broadband controversy. Here's some food for thought from David Passell. "This sounds like a good idea. I just took action to urge Congress to pass the Community Broadband Act and stop cable companies from blocking fast and affordable Internet access. "I think you should too, Click here. "I don't know if AZ has such laws blocking municipal broadband. In any case cities or even neighborhoods should have full access to the bandwidth speed they are paying for. "In this web page, Finland gave its citizens the right to a 1Mb connection. "P.S. 1MB isn't fast, but it is adequate for email and news."
More on Comparing Browsers
Jim Hamm has found more info to pass along here. "If deciding on which browser to use is important to you, here is an article comparing the various browsers.
"I tend to rotate among all the browsers (except Internet Explorer, which I don't use) and find that it doesn't matter much to me which I use. They all do a decent job, and are just different enough to make it interesting just to try a different browser from time to time. Vivaldi is a browser I've been recently trying, and it's fine, though perhaps a bit slower rendering web pages than the other browsers."
Here's something to consider from Jim, "One item the article doesn't mention is Adobe's Flash Player, and which is declining in use on the web, due in part to malware vulnerabilities in past years.
"However, I do occasionally run across a website that requires Flash Player. Pandora Radio is one.
"The Chrome browser comes with Flash pre-installed, and sandboxed, which is good. Sometimes it is difficult to get Flash installed in Safari, so switching to Chrome, for example, solves that problem."
And Jim sums it up with, "If you'd enjoy the author's comments on browsers, then read on. If it doesn't matter, tap delete and get to something interesting...(grin)...Jim "
An Old Mac
"Here is an article that will be of interest to computer Geeks," declares Jim Hamm. " A guy took an old, really old, Mac, and tried to connect it to the internet. Was he successful? Sorta. Talk about a labor of love, and what he did was well above my level of understanding.
"If you're a Geek, or just curious, take a read. Interesting, I thought," Jim said.
Are You at Risk From This?
A very serious warning comes from John Carter. "GIGAOAM, CNN Money, BBC News, and others have released a notice that there is a bug called 'Freak' that was found in software used to encrypt data passing between web servers and web users.
"Browsers so far noted to be affected are Safari, Google Chrome, and Windows Internet Explorer. Initially, the flaw was thought only to affect some users of Android and Blackberry phones and Apple’s web browser. For sure, every version of Internet Explorer is at risk.
"What is at risk is personal and financial data open to attackers. This bug only allows attackers to capture data, but that includes passwords which then opens up the possibility of the attacker stealing all your money and your identity.
"The horror part of the story is that this bug is the result of the government insisting on 'weak' encryption so that it could break in wherever it wanted."
John closes with these final remarks, "It might be wise to limit Internet browsing using only Firefox until things settle down. The news broke as early as March 4, 2015."
Internet Controversy
Keeping us informed is David Passell's goal here. He writes, "I think our members might want to add comments." He refers to a government bill that would censor the Internet as part of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). For details look here. Apparently, the bill would make it a felony to merely stream copyrighted content online like a video of someone singing karaoke, singing happy birthday, or even playing a video game.
Testing Your Internet Connection
Here's some food for thought from Jim Hamm: "Do you occasionally like to test your internet connection to see if you're getting close to the download speed you're paying for? I do, too. One test you might try using is: http://speedof.me/ .
"This one relies strictly on HTML 5 and no Flash or Java is needed. It will work on just about any smartphone, tablet or computing device. You might give it a try."
Protest Net Slowdown
Here is information David Passell wants to share with us. He says it's "gathering momentum to prevent large telecom companies from slowing down the Internet for their benefit and our loss. Anyone with a website can do something here." Today's the day: see here.
Internet Controversy
Here's something to look into: the possible merger of Comcast and Time Warner. David Passell passes on this link. Check out this info and see what you think.
Temporary Price Cut for Password App
"In security presentations at PMUG meetings, we’ve often mentioned 1Password as one of the apps to use for password security," Past Prez Art Gorski reminds us. He then gives the good news. Read on!
"While LastPass is free and does a good job, 1Password has always been pricey. What you get for the money is continuous development and features that you can’t get in free alternatives. For example, the next version for iOS8 will support the TouchID fingerprint sensor and the new extensions that will let it work with many more iOS apps. Currently, 1Password for both Mac and iOS has been reduced in price." Note here that the price cut is temporary, but the upcoming iOS 8 version will be a free update. http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/08/07/1password-for-ios-gets-temporary-price-cut-upcoming-ios-8-version-with-touch-id-support-to-be-free-update
FBI Tracking
"In a recent email I mentioned three browsers which offered more security when browsing the internet. Tor was listed as the most secure browser. Here is an article describing how the FBI got into Tor to track people who were frequenting a child pornography network."
Jim Hamm concludes his remarks with "I'm for keeping government from snooping in our lives, but I fully support the FBI doing something like this. The problem is where does the government draw the line between what is snooping and valid law enforcement? A tough question, and one I don't have a good answer to. What do you think? Does the end justify the means?"
Comparing Three Browsers for Security
"If browsing more safely on the internet is a concern for you, here is an article that compares three browsers that offer additional browsing security. As the article mentions, no browser offers complete protection," Jim Hamm informs us.
He goes on to explain, "After reading the article, I may try the Epic Browser just to see what it's all about. I'm not paranoid about internet security, but I exercise reasonable caution and run a good anti-virus program."
Stay tuned for more info from Jim . . .
Internet Tracking
Maybe you saw this, Jim Hamm did. "The creepiest Internet tracking tool yet is 'virtually impossible' to block, says Yahoo News." http://news.yahoo.com/creepiest-internet-tracking-tool-yet-virtually-impossible-block-170017224.html and see this:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/21/ios_firmware_contains_packet_sniffer_and_host_of_secret_spying_tools/
Learn About iPhone and Its Apps
On August 2 in the Prescott Library Founders Suite starting at 1 PM, John Carter will be talking about the iPhone and the millions of apps that are available. Okay, 1.2 million as of June, 2014. Most of them are probably copycats or lame gadgets, so that pares it down to probably less than a few thousand useful apps.
John will focus on the 24 standard apps and some others that he has found useful with categories in Astronomy, Business, Communication, Education, Entertainment, Finance, Internet, Lifestyle, Music, Navigation, Photography, Productivity, Reading, Social, and Utilities, probably none of which are in the top 100 apps for the iPhone for 2014 (but he will show you the list of 100.) Games will not be talked about, unless you like Sudoku.
He will also cover the upcoming iOS 8 and what features you won’t be able to use if you don’t have a Mac.
This talk follows John's monthly Digital Mac SIG which is in the same room, starting at 10 AM. Please attend and harass John just enough to keep him awake. (Who said that!)
Net Neutrality: Another Look
Thanks to David Passell for the following link. A 5-page article on net neutrality explains what's been happening and asks if the Internet become so vital to national welfare that it should be run for the public good, or is it a business that can be run primarily for profit.
News About Comcast and TWC
"Here's an interesting article about the possible purchase of Time Warner Cable (TWC) by Comcast. I don't use either service, but the author thinks, if the deal goes through, the consolidation will have a significant impact (not necessarily favorable for consumers) not only on TV, but the internet as well," remarks Jim Hamm.
Verizon's Pay-Per-View
Jim Hamm brings an important controversy to our attention. "You may have already read about the lawsuit Verizon filed against the FCC some time ago. Here is an article that provides additional detail about the lawsuit, and what might happen to the free internet if Verizon should win.
"One aspect, which I hadn't considered, is this problem, in theory, should go away if the FCC would declare ISP's are a 'Common Carrier.' Truck lines, for example, are Common Carriers and can't discriminate against customers and have to haul a legal product for anyone, at the same rate."
Now, Jim puts the question to us, "What do you think? Should the internet be equal and free for all, or can some company, such as Verizon or AT&T, be able to charge a fee depending on what you're doing? If, say, you're streaming Netflix, should you pay more than if you're just checking emails or surfing the net?
"When the lawsuit is decided, I guess we'll learn the answer."
Net Neutrality
"Here is an article about net neutrality that doesn't bode well for us if a judge rules the wrong way. The lawsuit was filed by Verizon, and you can bet it wasn't filed in our best interest," Jim Hamm cautions. There's a lot of details to consider.
Limiting Our Internet Access?
"Here is a site with cartoons protesting Verizon's attempt to limit internet access.
http://m.commoncause.org/site/c.aiIOI2NLKhKYF/b.8848547/k.B806/Big_Deal_Big_Money.htm Thanks to David Passell for sending this.
Banish Web Ads?
"Here's an article about a new invention whose function is to banish web ads," declares Jim Hamm. He goes on to elaborate, "Now I don't enjoy obtrusive, flashing web ads either, but I wonder if we use something like this that blocks all web ads do we eventually lose free Internet websites? Web advertising provides financial support for many things we enjoy on the web now for free. For example: Google search, Gmail, etc.
"What do you think? Is this a good or bad idea, all things considered?"