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Google Drive Available for Some

By Adam Landreneau on April 25, 2012 in ,

Yesterday, Google introduced it’s new cloud solution, Google Drive. Many people have gotten a chance to start using it, but I have yet to be let in. From what I have heard, Google Drive is a good solution. For those of you who are familiar with Apple’s iCloud Service or Dropbox, this is similar. In it’s most simplest forms, it is a place where you can upload your files to back up. However, those of you who are familiar with Google Docs, that has merged with Google Drive. From Google Drive, you can create documents, spreadsheets and presentations and be able to work with other people in real time on those files. It also makes sharing these files publicly as in Dropbox. On top of that, you can also attach anything in your Google Drive to a Google+ post or a Gmail attachment. It also it’s own desktop and smartphone application. One last feature, which I suppose is cool for someone like myself who is working on a college paper. There is a feature where you can look at revisions of a file up to 30 days old. Basically, it’s like a time machine of past saves of a file.

I have been a loyal Dropbox user for a few years now and have also been a loyal iCloud user since it’s inception. However, I am willing to give Google Drive a go once it is available to me. Have you been able to use Google Drive  yet? If so, what are some pros and cons that you have found? Please leave a comment below.

Facebook Buys Instagram

By Adam Landreneau on April 9, 2012 in

Just when you thought Instagram is annoying enough, it just potentially got worse. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Facebook, announced today that Facebook has acquired the social media photo service, Instagram….. for $1 BILLION! Instagram has really grown over the past few years, especially once Hollywood celebrities started using it, so this comes to me as a bit of a shock. The service has over 50 million members and could have easily reached 100 million. I can see why Instagram wouldn’t turn down $1 billion, but why does Facebook want them so badly? Facebook already hosts millions upon millions of their members images, so buying Instagram seems pointless to me. I’m sure if Facebook wanted to have an option to make photos look like they were taken with an old camera, they could do so without spending $1 billion.

Then again, everyone thinks differently. So, why do you think Facebook bought Instagram? Please post your thoughts in the comments below.

Backtrack 5 R2

By John Guillera on March 24, 2012 in ,

Backtrack has always been a favorite Linux distribution for those in the penetration testing field. The people at Offensive Security and those at Backtrack Linux are the creators of this wonderful Linux distribution and they have recently released an update. This update is called Backtrack 5 R2. The update is quite large and includes over 40 more tools than the last update. One of the more notable tools added is a program called Etherapte which is capable of monitoring types of traffic between multiple hosts on a network. All together this distribution is a penetration tester’s dream.

After pressing the power button on any Backtrack 5 machine, an Ubuntu 10.04 boot screen is displayed. This, of course, means that Backtrack 5 was built on a Debian kernel and the GUI (graphical user interface) closely resembles that of Ubuntu. Many of the tools present in Ubuntu, however, are not present here as they are simply not needed. Starting the GUI isn’t something that I normally do because I prefer the command line interface. When I do need the GUI, though, it isn’t a problem. I just enter “startx” into the command line and the GUI is launched in a matter of seconds. Considering that I’m running this on a netbook, a total boot time of 20 seconds isn’t bad at all. Once the X Server is up and running, things are very easy to find and all of the tools are categorized in a way that if you know what you’re looking for, you’re going to find it. Documentation on how to use the software is somewhat scarce and you would be better off finding such information online. The online community is extremely helpful.

Everything has it’s use. I use it for hacking my neighbors WiFi and letting him know that he has a weak network by telling his printer all about it at midnight. What do you use Backtrack for? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Minecraft for Xbox Coming May 9th

By Adam Landreneau on March 22, 2012 in

Today, Microsoft released a promotional video for “Arcade Next” which showcased many games coming to Xbox Live starting in April. One of those games is the highly anticipated Minecraft for XBLA. The game has been under development for quite a while now and it is good to see it finally have a release date. Those of you familiar with the desktop version of Minecraft might find this version a bit different. Not only do you use an Xbox Controller rather than a mouse, but there is also a new crafting which displays the crafting recipes available to you. There will be multiplayer support for up to 8 players and the game itself will cost 1600 MS Points. This version will not exactly be up to par with the current PC versions because a different team is working on it, but it is definitely a start for a bright future.

Will you be getting Minecraft for XBLA? If so, let us know in the comments below.

Diablo III Launches May 15th

By Adam Landreneau on March 15, 2012 in

Activision Blizzard announced today that one of their most anticipated games of the year, Diablo III, will be released on May 15th. It has been in beta for the past few months and has been in development for the past few years. For those of you who do not know, Diablo is Blizzard’s highly successful action RPG series. For those of you who want to be ready for midnight on May 15th, you can go onto Blizzard’s online store and pre-purchase a digital copy of the game for $59.99. However, Blizzard has a limited time offer for those interested in both Diablo and World of Warcraft. Until May 1, you can purchase a one year pass for World of Warcraft and play Diablo III for free. There were rumors of Diablo III being brought to consoles, but as of now, Blizzard is releasing it on the Windows and OS X platform.

So, what are your thoughts on this game? I was hoping to get in on the beta, but never got a chance. Please post your thoughts in the comments below.

Apple Announces New iPad and Apple TV

By Adam Landreneau on March 7, 2012 in ,

Today is one of those days that us geeks geeks who like Apple look forward too. As announced last week, Apple held an press event at the Yerba Buena Center of the Arts today. As expected, we were introduced to the latest revision of the iPad. There were a few other announcements in there, so here is what we found out today:

 

Apple TV: We were introduced to a new Apple TV today. It looks exactly the same as the last revision and is still the size of a hockey puck, but it has a few new features. Firstly, it streams in 720p AND 1080p resolution. Secondly, it is running on a single core A5 chip rather than the A4 processor. Lastly, it has a brand new UI that is much more intuitive than the current revision. It has more of a “iOS-esque” look and feel to it. It still has the $99 price point and is available for pre-order. It will be available with the iPad on March 16th.

 

The New iPad: Next up is the star of the show, the 3rd generation iPad. A lot of people have been complaining about the simplicity of the name, which to be honest is quite astounding. Anyways, the first new feature of the new iPad is a retina display at 2048 x 1536 resolution. It features the Apple A5X processor which has quad core graphics capabilities. Next up, the back camera of the iPad is now equivalent to the iPhone 4S, except it is 5MP rather than 8MP. The front camera is still VGA, but has improved quality. Another big feature is 4G LTE support. All of the non-WiFi models are 3G ready, but will also support AT&T and Verizon’s 4G LTE network. Unfortunately, due to the different antenna bands, there are separate models for the AT&T and Verizon iPads. All that aside, the only other news left is that it has Voice Dictation (Note: It’s just voice dictation from the keyboard, not full blown Siri). It is slightly thicker at 9.4mm and less than an ounce heavier at 1.4 lbs. The price points and capacities remain the same and are available for pre-order now. It will be available on March 16th.

 

iOS 5.1: Available today, iOS 5 has released a major updated containing some bug fixes, but also some new features. Firstly, Siri now supports Japanese. Photos can now be deleted from Photo Stream (finally). The camera app icon is now always visible on the lock screen. Re-designed camera app for the iPad. There are some AT&T users who are reporting that their 3G indicator changed to 4G after the update, which we all know can’t happen that easily. You can get the update right now for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch for free. More patch notes are included with the update.

After the event was over, Apple also released iTunes 10.6. Those are the three big announcements from today’s event. They did show off some apps that take advantage of the new retina display and quad-core graphics, one of them being Infinity Blade: Dungeons. They also talked extensively about updates to the iWork and iLife suites which are also available today.

All in all, it was a pretty good event and I am personally happy with the news we received. One thing I do have to acknowledge is the response some of the people after the event. I don’t usually link to other blogs, but MG Siegler’s post on Tech Crunch is so true. Speculation about what could come before an event is fine, everyone does it. However, it is getting to a point where people “think” they know everything about what is going to happen and once the event comes, they are disappointed because they didn’t see what they were “knew” they were going to see. A new trend I’m seeing now is people complaining about the name. So, Apple didn’t give the iPad a special name this time around. Does it really matter?

Anyway, enough of my ranting. What are your thoughts on Apple’s announcement today? Will you be pre-ordering an Apple TV and iPad? Please post in the comments below.

 

 

Apple Sends Out Invites for March 7th Media Event

By Adam Landreneau on February 28, 2012 in ,

Today, Apple sent out invites for a media event being hosted at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco next Wednesday (March 7th). As shown in the invite, we can see that this will be the announcement of the iPad 3. The tagline for this event is: “We have something you really have to see. And touch.” This is around the typical time where Apple announces the new iPad lineup. What can we see from this event? No one knows for sure, but we already have a ton of rumors that seem possible. First off, we could see a Retina Display, just like on the iPhone 4-4S except the resolution would probably be 2048 x 1536. Another big rumor is one universal 3G iPad to work across AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. Aside from working on the 3 main carries, there are reports that it could possible support 4G LTE. Lastly, we could possibly see an improved CPU/GPU under the name “A5X.”

What are your predictions for the iPad 3? Please post them in the comments below.

Apple Introduces OS X Mountain Lion

By Adam Landreneau on February 16, 2012 in ,

Late last night into early this morning, Apple introduced the next version of their desktop operating system, Mac OS X Mountain Lion (10.8). Yes, you read that right, they dropped the word ‘Mac’ out of the name. This update continues paving the way for the integration of iOS features into the desktop OS. A few of the features include Messages, which allows you to communicate with other Macs as well as iOS devices with iMessage (iOS 5 or higher). It looks like Messages will be putting iChat to rest. Next we have Reminders, Notes and Game Center. all of these features from iOS are making their way onto the desktop starting in OS X Mountain Lion. For all you users of Growl, Apple finally has their own solution, Notification Center. Just as you know it from iOS, it will be available in 10.8. There is also more Twitter integration and AirPlay Mirroring. As you know, with the use of an Apple TV, you can throw what is on your iOS device onto the TV with AirPlay. Now, with OS X Mountain Lion, you will be able to do the same thing with your Mac. One notable feature in Mountain Lion is called Gatekeeper. This feature allows you to filter which apps can be installed on the system. So, any application that is not in the Mac App Store or an officially signed Apple developer will not be able to be loaded on your computer. Now, this feature can be easily disabled but it is nice for anyone who is tight on security. Apple has already come out and said that they are not trying to do away with all apps outside of the Mac App Store.

So, with this deep iOS integration with OS X, what are your thoughts? Do you prefer that Apple continues to go this route? Please post your thoughts in the comments below.