TechLounge » General Information

Data is still on your deleted disc drive

techlounge — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:29:39 +0000

If you are considering disposing of your old computer you should be aware that the hard drive disc will still contain valuable information even though you may have thought it had been deleted by pressing the delete button. Recently the watchdog or UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) purchased a number of devices from auction sites such as eBay and computer fairs. Of the 200 hard disks collected, 11% contained personal information. According to the watchdog, two of the drives had enough information to enable someone to steal the former owners’ identities.

In another operation carried out by the ICO, it found that one in ten people who had disposed of a mobile phone, computer or laptop had not wiped the device. 21% of users now choose to sell their old mobile phones, computers and laptops rather than get rid of them, it suggested. It added that the trend was even more common among 18-24 year-olds among whom the figure rose to 31%. It is vital that if you dispose of an item such as this, steps are taken to completely remove data for the disc drives; the ICO has published guidance for individuals on how to securely delete information.

Bug hits new Nokia Lumia 900 Smartphone

techlounge — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:17:30 +0000

Reports are coming in that a bug has affected one of the Nokia Smartphones, the newest which, although not yet released here has just been seen in the tech shops in the US. The ‘phone is the Lumia 900 and is seen as Nokia’s strongest attempt to take on Apple and Google.

According to reports, the software bug in the Smartphone is causing some handsets to occasionally lose their data connection. This is not good news for Nokia who are making a strong comeback and this problem is likely to hit Nokia’s hopes of regaining market share from rivals Apple and Google. Although Nokia is still the world’s largest mobile manufacturer, it is losing out significantly in the Smartphone market.

The Finnish manufacturer said a fix for the Lumia 900′s “memory management issue” would be issued on 16 April. Released in the US on Sunday the 8th April the new Smartphone is due to be seen here in the UK by the end of the month.

BT and TalkTalk lose internet piracy appeal

techlounge — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:33:45 +0000

BT and TalkTalk have lost their High Court appeal against legislation designed to curb online piracy, preparing the ground for unlawful down loaders to be cut off from the internet. The two major UK broadband providers were challenging an earlier decision on the Digital Economy Act that said the legislation’s enforcement regime was in line with European law. This was an act that was passed in the last days of the previous Labour government, but the complicated system of warning letters and sanctions for unlawful down loaders has not yet been introduced. What this all meant was that persistent people who infringed would receive a number of warnings, and then they would be subject to restriction on their account which could end up with suspension of access to the net.

The move means that copyright holders, who had lobbied for the Digital Economy Act to be introduced and welcomed the ruling. This is just one of a series of victories that have included the closure of Megaupload.com and a High Court ruling that makes it very likely that broadband providers will be forced to block access to the Pirate Bay.

Google and Facebook does not tell all

techlounge — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:23:30 +0000

When you log into Facebook or to Google to ask for information your enquiry may and most likely will, yield totally different results to your brother, husband or mum. Did you know that? We all have our own personal “filter bubble” which is unique to you and the world that you live in. Of course this means that your filter bubble is your own personal, unique universe of information that you live in online. What’s in your filter bubble depends on who you are, your interests and it depends on what you do.

Now you may think that you control your own bubble, but you don’t decide what gets in and more importantly, you don’t see what gets edited out! But is this a bad thing? Let’s face it can be really useful to have some personalisation of some content, if you support a particular football team, naturally you would want to see the latest news about your side first via a search engine or news feed. However, it could be that the majority of the information you don’t know can often the most interesting and mind-opening. Keep using the internet and Facebook you are after all widening your horizons!

The Advantages of Mobile Phone Review Sites

techlounge — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:39:36 +0000

There are a wide range of sites offering mobile phone reviews. Review websites not only provide you with information on the specifications of handsets, but also detailed reviews from the editors and visitors of the sites. By browsing through reviews of specific handsets you can increase your chances of finding a mobile phone that suits your needs.

Mobile phone review sites enable you to locate specific handsets that you are interested in and browse through the latest reviews. Ratings are provided with reviews to help you see which handsets are the most popular. You can also filter reviews so that you can locate handsets by a specific manufacturer.

Review websites also enable you to get an idea of how a specific handset performs as well as the look and feel of the handset. Some websites include video reviews with demonstrations of how the phone works to help you get an idea of the phone’s appearance, its weight and how it functions. Some sites also offer a price comparison feature, allowing you to find your ideal phone at a price that suits you.

Data storage, why is it so important?

techlounge — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:17:08 +0000

It’s unlikely that you have your own power station at home and you probably keep your money in a bank, not stuffed inside your mattress. But you almost certainly keep your important digital files, such as documents, photos, music and videos, on a hard drive in your house. Many people are well organised and decide to backup all that data, but you probably keep your backups on another hard drive somewhere in your house. In the event of a catastrophe of one sort or another burglary, or a flood for example, you could lose both copies of your data.

There are many external sources that will allow you to back up your data, for example BT Digital Vault online file and photo storage lets you safely store important or large files like photos or videos without the need for expensive hard drives or disks, and can be accessed from any computer. Windows Live SkyDrive offers 25GB of free online storage. Your stuff is stored in the cloud which means you can access it from any web-enabled PC. There are many others and it is well worth considering getting external data storage.

New data protection proposed

techlounge — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:05:51 +0000

A new law promising internet users the “right to be forgotten” will be proposed by the European Commission on Wednesday. It says people will be able to ask for data about them to be deleted and firms will have to comply unless there are “legitimate” grounds to retain it. The move is part of a wide-ranging overhaul of the commission’s 1995 Data Protection Directive.

A spokesman for the commissioner clarified that the action was designed to help teenagers and young adults manage their online reputations. It would seem that the new rules are particularly aimed at young people as they are not always as aware as they could be about the consequence of putting photos and other information on social network websites, or about the various privacy settings available. However, not everyone is happy at the new proposals and some tech firms have expressed concern about the reach of the new bill.

What to Expect From a WordPress Hosting Company

techlounge — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:23:39 +0000

There are so many WordPress hosting companies in the world today that is often very bewildering for the user to know how to select the best company for their purposes.

The Manchester based WordPress hosting company, 34SP.com, in common with most independent industry analysts, suggests that the novice looks at online user forums and, importantly, makes sure that the technical support offered by the web hosting company is 24/7 and 365 days a year. It is no use to have a blog or website running and if there is no-one to turn to when something goes wrong. Another avenue to explore, either for recommendation or general comment, is the host company’s Twitter site.

A company that is confident in its ability to deliver what is promised should offer a trial period so that the new customer can see for themselves that the service provided is what was promised. The Search Engine, Google, offers a huge array of comment on web and WordPress hosting and some short term research may help the novice come to the right decision about what will suit them best.

Most WordPress host companies will be able to look after both blogs and websites and it is vital to ask your chosen host supplier any niggling questions at the outset. Most responsible companies do offer technical telephone support.

WordPress has made online communication so easy that anyone who wishes to can take part in this publishing phenomenon.

Samsung risks following Sony and IBM’s slide

techlounge — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:12:58 +0000

It’s an old saying, but nonetheless often true, that a company cannot stand still, it will go one way or the other; could this be happening to Korean Giant Samsung? The South Korean firm could soon enter a sunset scenario that would see it follow other downturns. Just as the Roman and British empires rose and fell, technology companies too face inevitable phases of evolution and devolution. The rule applies to the likes of Sony, IBM and yes, even Samsung.

Sony, much like Samsung, initially entered the US market with relatively low-priced products such as its TR-72 transistor radio in the 1960s. The Japanese firm followed up its success with a series of blockbuster game-changing products: the Sony Walkman in 1979; the CD music format in 1982, in conjunction with Philips; and the DVD in 1995, to name just a few. Like Samsung televisions today, Sony TVs and electronics in the 1980s were heralded as the industry’s best and most cutting edge. But like IBM, Sony’s peak period was soon followed by a rapid sunset that began the following decade. Could this be happening to Samsung as well?

Top of the Christmas list

techlounge — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:36:41 +0000

The iPhone 4S, which was released in October, made up a quarter of all handset sales in the four weeks before December 9, according to market research firm GfK, closely followed by Samsung’s Galaxy SII which was the second-best selling phone in the week up to December 9th.

However, a big disappointment for Nokia’s new Lumia handset which got off to a poor start, failing to make the top 10 handsets in the four weeks of the survey period. The Lumia, which runs Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 operating system, was released in Britain on November 16. The iPhone 4S is a more powerful version of its predecessor, with an improved camera and a new voice control system called Siri. Last week, there was speculation that Google was working on its own voice control software to be released as part of its Android mobile operating system.

Not such good news for RIM, the Canadian company that makes BlackBerry handsets, it has had a bad year but there was at least some comfort in the GfK data. Sales of BlackBerry handsets increased during the period of the survey, with three variants of the BlackBerry Curve in the top 10.