April Fools 2010: Google Jail

It is April first and Google, for some time, has been playing prank on its visitors.
A website has claimed that this year's prank is called "Google Jail". The site has a screen-shot of the so-called Google Jail page.

I checked the page, but it showed a 404 Not Found Error message to me.

I hope it is not a prank on prank!

Anyways, that was a nice joke.
Happy April Fool's Day!

Burlington tops Canadian and Seattle tops US cybercrime risk list

Are you more vulnerable to cybercrime than the others?
In an attempt to answer the question, Symantec in conjunction with Sperling's Best
Places released a study, "The Norton Top 10 Riskiest Online Cities Report." The report lists 10 riskiest cities in the US and Canada.
In Canada, topping the list are the cities of Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta. Burlington, Ontario topped the list with major cities like Vancouver (no. 4), Calgary (no. 5), and Toronto (no. 8 ) in the top 10 list.
The complete list:

Burlington
Port Coquitlam
Langley
Vancouver
Calgary
Oakville
Markham
Toronto
Kelowna
Kitchener

In the study of 50 Canadian cities Quebec's Longueuil ranked the lowest.
cybercrime, Internet use, consumer expenditures on computer equipment and Wi-Fi access.
In the United States, Seattle topped the list of cities of highest cybercrime. America's top 10 list:

Seattle
Boston
Washington, D.C.
San Francisco
Raleigh, N.C.
Atlanta
Minneapolis
Denver
Austin, Tex.
Portland, Ore.

While making the list factors considered were :

Number of malicious attacks
Number of potential malware infections

Number of spam zombies
Number of bot infected computers

Level of Internet Access
Expenditures on computer hardware and software
Wireless hotspots
Broadband connectivity
Internet usage
Online purchase

With increase in cybercrime everybody should be aware of safety measures while online. The Cybercrime Exposed Booklet (PDF) says that "Every 3 second an identity is stolen." To safeguard against such threats, Family Online Safety Guide would certainly guide in the right direction. Browse safe and enjoy!
Resource materials:Canada: Executive Summary PDF report
Cybercrime Executive Summary - Canada
USA: Cybercrime Risk Executive Summary PDF report
Cybercrime Executive Summary

Desktop Computer - Google says it is at the end of its life

Google Europe sales chief John Herlihy says that the Desktop computer will reach its end of life in 3 years. Herlihy was speaking at the Digital Landscapes conference at UCD. “In three years time, desktops will be irrelevant. In Japan, most research is done today on smart phones, not PCs.” The view reflects Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s view at the recent GSM Association Mobile World Congress 2010.  Schmidt told that Google is looking everything through mobile lens, centering on the cloud, computing and connectivity. The fear is the next Sergey and Larry will come up with a disruptive technology or service that will eliminate the need for Google… … The digital world is fundamentally different to the traditional business world. Things happen much faster, websites spring up from nowhere, a video could be a YouTube hit in hours. When big names like Google say that some version of computer is going to be extinct in near future one can take it for granted. Even if it does not become obsolete by itself, they have the might and resources to kill it. With rapid development of smart phones, iPads, Microsoft Courier and similar device and operating system like iPhone OS, Crome OS, the future seems to be going mobile for sure. But, will the desktop become extinct in 3 years? We would certainly see signs in near future. sources- 1 | 2 |

Future Laptops - Rolltop

The tablet computer was supposed to replace laptop. Apple's tablet, iPad, unveiled last month however is not a laptop killer. Apple has tried to position the iPad in a totally new category rather than a laptop replacement. It is to be seen weather such an attempt will succeed.
Orkin Design, a design firm in Germany, has designed a concept tablet computer that can be rolled up and carried like a shoulder handbag. The large multi-touch screen can be unrolled and used as laptop and tablet computer. The computer features USB ports, webcam, stylus and everything today’s computers have.

I am not sure if the concept laptop is only a design concept or if some company has already considered it for production. The concept is good but I doubt it can capture the market unless the price is competitive. The Rolltop is more like a fashion accessory than a technology product.



Apple’s attempt to position iPad as a different computing category might be a strategic move to continue profiting from its more lucrative laptop (Macbook and Macbook Pro) business. It might also be a move to capture the Kindle and other ebook reader market. I don’t think Apple can stop the development of similar laptop replacement in near future.
Here is the video of the concept laptop.