"The Galaxy S4 is one of the most impressive phones on the planet, but a
troubling trend has emerged and it calls Samsung's long-term strategy
into question. This sleek Samsung smartphone will definitely get
customers in the door, but is the company doing enough to ensure that
they keep coming back?"
From the New York Times (I highlighted the last few words - the red highlighted section):
"With Windows 8, Microsoft
made bold changes to the look of the software that powers most personal
computers. But those moves may have been too aggressive for some
customers, the company now concedes.
Microsoft revealed Thursday that it had sold 100 million licenses for
its flagship software since it was released six months ago. That was
roughly the same number of licenses it sold for the well-received,
previous version of the system, Windows 7, in about the same time
period.
Yet Windows 8 has struck a sour note with parts of the computer-buying
public. With Windows 8, Microsoft replaced the operating system’s
traditional appearance with an interface that looks like a screen of
tiles. The change left some customers cold, and though they could switch
between the old and te new look, it apparently was not clear enough to
some of them how to do it."
"Did you know that computer viruses can now take pictures of you or
worse yet, live video? Well they can, and I’ve witnessed it! It’s a
pretty scary thing; who knows what kind of information we are
unknowingly giving these people. The question is this…is someone really
recording the video or is it in the virus programmed to scare you?
Either way, don’t take the risk! Here are a few things you can do to
protect yourself.
1.) Tape your webcam if you’re not using it or face it towards the ceiling.
2.) Unplug your microphone when you’re not using it.
3.) Check your add-ons in Chrome, FireFox and Internet Explorer.
4.) Hang up on anyone calling you to tell you that your computer is infected.
5.) When adding new software, beware of the new software they will
load on your computer, such as the “Ask Toolbar,” “Mcafee Security
Scan,” etc.
6.) If you suspect you may have a virus, have your computer looked at by a professional (like Call That Girl!) ASAP."
I should add, with all due respect to Lisa, you might also consider calling me!
I was in on the ground floor of marketing this "luggable" Portable Computer. My recollection was that it weighed 48 pounds, and I lugged it all over downtown Boston, up to Salem and then on to NH and even Maine! That was my sales territory. I tried to sell it as a portfolio manager in downtown Boston, to chicken farmers in Maine to optimize feed grain mixtures at the lowest cost through linear programming, to a commodities house in Boston, to engineers in Salem, MA, and on and on. We had to be very creative because there were NO "apps" as they are called today, so any prospect was faced with programming the machine on their own using BASIC or APL, the 2 languages available on the 5100.
Our team of 5 was housed in an IBM Branch Office on Wyman Street in Waltham, MA, and I commuted daily from Hampstead, NH to Waltham, although I tried to make sales calls without having to go to the office. My recollection is that during the one year before the program began falling apart I had sold 5 machines. They ranged in price from a few thousand dollars up to maybe fifteen thousand. We sold auxiliary tape drives (it had one built in) for tape to tape operations, and a very heavy dot matrix, continuous forms printer.
I am glad to see that the product has not been completely forgotten. It was a necessary program by IBM in its first attempt to market computers at the retail level using a dedicated sales force.
I think if I search some boxes full of photo albums I could come up with a picture of our sons using it as it sat on our kitchen counter up there in NH. Our kids were clearly way ahead of their peers in those days having access to a home computer!
I found this article on wired.com: I thank them for remembering, if not us, the product!
"IBM sparked a revolution in personal computing when it unveiled the
IBM PC in 1981. But the IBM PC wasn’t IBM’s first personal computer.
Six years earlier, Big Blue unleashed a machine called the IBM 5100.
It wasn’t just personal. It was portable — at least by the standards of
the day. It weighed a mere 50 pounds.
In the video below — an IBM ad circa 1977 — you can see the 5100 in
all its glory, from the VHS-like magnetic tape drive to the five-inch
monochrome display. But the machine is only part of the fun. You also
get late-’70s business types telling you why they need the thing.
“Managing real estate investments involves many difficult decisions. Do I
paint now or later? What about the landscaping? Can we afford it? What
about taxes?” says one woman. “It’s really nice having a computer to
help.”
The 5100 wasn’t the first personal computer. The MITS Altair beat it
to market by a few months. But it was the first portable computer —
arguably. Fifty pounds may seem bulky today — and, no you couldn’t use
it unless you plugged it into the wall — but the 5100 arrived at a time
when most machines were still the size of your desk. If not larger.
The 5100 grew out of an IBM project called SCAMP, short for “Special
Computer APL Machine Portable.” Like the 5100, this prototype let you
build software using the APL programming language. According to IBM,
SCAMP was built in 1973, using off-shelf components, and two years
later, it morphed in the 5100, which was priced between $8975 to $19,975
(sans accessories). It could also run BASIC, and it shipped with
several canned application, including a calculator.
The IBM PC was billed as the successor to the 5100. It was known as
the 5150. But it was a completely different machine, and because IBM
eventually licensed the basic design to other manufacturers, it would
remake the computing world in a way the 5100 never did.
Posted for new visitors and regulars who might need a refresher. I continue to use this suite of programs and aids and have no problems on any of our 3 systems, two running Windows 7 and one running Windows XP.
From time to time I refer to my security baseline.
My security baseline is merely a list of programs I use (all free)
and recommend for anyone to use to keep their systems secure. This
applies to YOU if you use Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7. I do not yet have experience with Windows 8.
Remember, all of these products are FREE, but will do as good a job as any fee products you may use. I make that statement and stand by it based on 45 years of experience with computers.
1. Microsoft Security Essentials. This is a very impressive anti-virus program and can replace any you have now. DOWNLOAD HERE
2. Windows Firewall (Standard part of your operating system. Check the Security Center to be sure it is on.)
3. MVPS HOSTS File - download the current month's version and update monthly DOWNLOAD HERE
4. CCleaner - check for newer version than you may already have. Run weekly. DOWNLOAD HERE by clicking on Download Latest Version in the upper right hand corner of the page.
5. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware - run bi-weekly. DOWNLOAD HERE
6. SuperAntiSpyware Free Edition - run bi-weekly in the off week after #5. DOWNLOAD HERE
7. Spybot Search & Destroy - run monthly just before downloading new HOSTS file.I recommend, for now, downloading Version 1.6.2 under "old versions". DOWNLOAD HERE
I will be happy to assist you with any or all of the above installations. This can be done remotely.
Questions? Comment below or write me, pcdoc at brpcdoc dot com
"A data breach investigations report from Verizon(VZ, Fortune 500), released Tuesday, showed that small businesses continue to be the most victimized of all companies.
Of the 621 confirmed data breach incidents Verizon recorded in 2012,
close to half occurred at companies with fewer than 1,000 employees,
including 193 incidents at entities with fewer than 100 workers.
A separate report from cybersecurity firm Symantec(SYMC, Fortune 500)
confirmed that trend. It found cyberattacks on small businesses with
fewer than 250 employees increased 31% in 2012, after growing by 18% in
the prior year.
It's a pattern that Kevin Thompson, senior analyst with Verizon's RISK team, says he has noticed for the past six years."
"Remember HTC? For a long time, this Taiwanese phone maker seemed to
be on a roll. Its Android phones kept making gadget headlines.
Then, all of a sudden, Samsung came along, all technological and
marketing guns blazing, and that was that. It became an
Apple-versus-Samsung world. Everyone sort of forgot about HTC.
Its latest phone, arriving at Sprint and AT&T next week, and
T-Mobile shortly thereafter, will give HTC at least a few more weeks in
the spotlight. The phone will cost $200 with a two-year contract for the
model with 32 gigabytes of memory, $300 for 64 gigs."
Acton, MA: East Boothbay, ME, Middlesex County MA; Lincoln County, ME, United States
Retired and refocused says it all for me. After 5 years as a high school math teacher, I worked in a variety of positions for IBM for 30+ years, then 2 years at Fletcher Allen Health care as Manager of Information Services Security. I have since been doing my best to help friends and family who have PC problems, and have expanded that to anyone who can use my services. See the link to my web site below.
