Hangout+

Another disruptive technology from Google got released today. In Google Plus there is this Hangout feature which enables you to meet others just like you do at church. Now, besides video conferencing you have the option of sharing your desktop. This will be a huge blow to webinar platforms. I will try to use it tomorrow for my peace computer session at the Hythe Community Centre. Helping others has never been this must fun.

Security - Viruses vs Facebook Connect

What is worse? Viruses that have key loggers built-in or Facebook that tracks people's interest and monetizes that information. It seems that doing evil is fine as long as you can't get sued. Virus writers do it by being anonymous and Facebook does it by tracking your habits and selling them to the highest bidder. Virus removal software has been around for a while; and now we have something stops Facebook from abusing cookies. The extension is called On-Demand Cookie Cleaner - and it stops websites from tracking your identity. Maybe having your password stole is worst then being manipulated, but is it really? Both gave out info you really didn't want to give out. Go ahead and install the extension, your future self will thank me.

Open Source versus Libre Linux

Mike and Richard have a great talk posted here. Programmers enjoy manipulating software just as cooks enjoy changing the recipes. In my life I have seen the birth the Android which allows people to modify code, not only the birth, but the growth, There now are more cell phones running Android software then Apple, Nokia/Microsoft or RIM. Hopefully I can get back to the ideals of Libre Linux (GPL) and not buy hardware that uses binary blobs. I want to thank the people who are good rather than mention the bad. Thanks Google and Canonical! I know a lot of people can't tell the difference between Skype or Gtalk, but one is Libre and one tries to lock you in. I would like to quote Richard Staleman here:

Bill Gates's idea of charity is to get school students hooked on Windows, so that he can make more money. That's not charity, I think