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(Source: EverythingUSB.com)
Personal femtocell for travelers to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress
The argument that technology is making our world smaller has been bandied around for years. Thanks to the femtocell company Ubiquisys, proponents of that statement now have even more firepower. The British company has developed the world's first base station for international travelers, allowing them to make mobile phone calls without the added international roaming rates.
In a press release, Ubiquisys calls it an attocell -- a personal femtocell -- that was developed specifically for the iPhone, but works with any 3G-enabled device. It's been tested on BlackBerry, Nokia, and Android smartphones.
Here's how the attocell works: The device, slightly larger than a smartphone itself, connects to an internet-enabled laptop or PC via USB cable. It analyzes the IP and radio environment to determine what country it is in, and then sets its 3G radio power to just below the licensed level. It continuously monitors the radio environment to ensure that there is no impact on the mobile network.
There is one downside, though. In some countries, the attocell's range will only be about 5mm. A smartphone would have to be laid directly on top of the attocell -- it connects automatically, like a femtocell -- and the user would have to either use a Bluetooth or wired headset, or speakerphone to make calls. But it sure beats paying upwards of $2 per minute to make the same call otherwise. And the range limit will not exist in other countries, where it could broadcast to cover an entire room.
According to Reuters, Ubiquisys already has the backing of Google, as well as Accel Partners, Advent Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, T-Mobile's venture fund, SerComm Corp., and UMC Capital Corporation. Despite slow adoption, industry analysts predict the market for femtocells to top $1 billion in the next few years.
If you're looking for high-quality free software, here are some of 2010's best-reviewed and most-popular programs from our Downloads library. Avast Free Antivirus
The top product in our hottest Downloads category, the speedy and simple-to-use Avast Free Antivirus provides good all-around malware protection. Black Jack
No, not the card game. This stylish font with a Mad Men-era feel is perfect for party invitations. Calibre
If you're overwhelmed by all the titles you've acquired for your e-reader, turn to this full-featured e-book organizer. Cloudmark DesktopOne
Even if you have a spam filter set up in your e-mail program, you'll find this antispam tool useful for stopping junk before it clutters your inbox. FlashCookiesView
Flash cookies, unlike ordinary cookies, are not normally viewable or deletable--but this tool helps you find and delete any Flash cookies that might be threatening your privacy. Freemake Video Downloader
Want to grab an online video for offline viewing? This utility downloads and converts Flash video from assorted Web sources. Hotspot Shield
A longtime favorite for guarding against snoops on public Wi-Fi networks, this utility entered the limelight as an option for fending off Firesheep session hijacking. JonDo
Using JonDo, you can anonymize your Web surfing via a proxy, keeping your online trail hidden. Kodak EasyShare Software
Though designed to complement Kodak products, this simple-to-use photo organizer and editor will work with any camera or printer. Process Tamer
Want to speed up a sluggish PC? For starters, try this utility, which limits CPU-resource hogs and prioritizes processes. Right-Click Extender
This convenient utility makes Windows' right-click context menus far more useful. Soluto
Currently in beta, Soluto reduces Windows' boot time by analyzing which applications should load at startup. 3D Desktop
This Windows 7 themepack of 63 wallpapers offers gorgeous images ranging from interesting abstract works to stunning landscapes.
Insurers are scouring social media for evidence of fraud
If someone receiving disability benefits for a bad back brags on Facebook or Twitter about finishing a marathon, chances are their insurance company will find out and stop the checks.
By Shan Li
5:13 PM PST, January 24, 2011
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Now there's another reason to be careful about what you post on Facebook: Your insurance company may be watching.
Nathalie Blanchard found out the hard way.
Struggling with depression, the 30-year-old from Quebec, Canada, took a medical leave in early 2008 from her job as an IBM technician. Soon after, she began receiving monthly disability benefits from her insurer, Manulife Financial Corp.
A year later and without warning, the payments stopped.
A representative of the Toronto insurance company told Blanchard that Manulife used photos of her on Facebook — showing her frolicking at a beach and hanging out at a pub — to determine she was depression-free and able to work, said Tom Lavin, Blanchard's attorney.
"They just assumed from the pictures that she was a fraud," Lavin said, "without investigating further before terminating Nathalie's benefits."
Blanchard sued Manulife, accusing Manulife of failing to talk to her doctor and neglecting to inform her before cutting off payments. The case is scheduled for trial next January.
Manulife, citing ongoing legal proceedings, declined to comment on the case but said in a statement: "We would not deny or terminate a valid claim solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook."
Social-networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace have become the go-to places where employers, college admissions officers and divorce lawyers can do background checks. Armed with the information, police have caught fugitives, lawyers have discredited witnesses and companies have discovered perfect-on-paper applicants engaged in illegal or simply embarrassing behavior.
And now insurance companies are exploiting the free, easily accessible websites.
Such sites have become the latest tools in detecting fraud, which the industry says costs the U.S. as much as $80 billion a year and accounts for 3% to 10% of total annual healthcare spending.
Investigators who once followed people with cameras now sit behind desks "mining databases and searching Facebook," said Frank Scapili, spokesman for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a nonprofit that investigates suspect claims for insurance partners such as Allstate and State Farm.
"They look out for things that don't add up," he said, "like someone who claimed they hurt their back too badly to work and then bragged on Facebook about running a marathon."
Social-networking sites have become such "standard tools" that Peter Foley, vice president of claims at American Insurance Assn., said that investigators could be considered negligent if they didn't conduct at least "a quick scan of social media to check for contradictions."
But the evidence gathered on these sites, Foley and other insurance experts caution, should be used only as a launch pad for further investigations and never as final proof of fraud.
More ambitious insurance companies are even exploring the possibility of using online data to help underwrite policies.
Celent, the insurance consulting arm of financial and insurance brokerage firm Marsh & McLennan Cos. recently published a study titled "Leveraging Social Networks: An In-Depth View for Insurers" and suggested that social-networking data could be used to help price policies.
Mike Fitzgerald, a Celent senior analyst, said life insurance companies could find social media especially valuable for comparing what people will admit about lifestyle choices and medical histories in applications, and what they reveal online.
That could range from "liking" a cancer support group online to signs of high-risk behavior. "If someone claims they don't go sky diving often, but it clearly indicates on their online profile that they do it every weekend they can get away," Fitzgerald said, "That would raise a red flag for insurers."
Social media is "part of a new and emerging risk to the insurance sector" that could affect pricing and rating of policies in the future, said Gary Pickering, sales and marketing director for British insurer Legal & General Group. But many insurance lawyers decry such practices and warn of a future when insurance companies could monitor online profiles for reasons to raise premiums or deny claims.
"The situation is coming up more and more in court where lawyers for insurance companies lay traps for the insured based on pictures or postings on Facebook or Twitter," said Vedica Puri, a partner at Pillsbury & Levinson, a San Francisco law firm that specializes in insurance.
"Photos can be years old. People joke or write things in jest, but insurance companies use everything. Even if it's not true, it can be very damning," she said.
Lawyer John Beals of Piering Law Firm in Sacramento requires all his clients to either shut down or tighten privacy settings on their social media profiles as a precaution, he said.
Insurance companies will "bring up anything — photos of you drinking to prove that you have bad character," he said. "Even if it's unrelated, just the impression that you are doing something wrong can sink a case."
Lawyers and industry experts said that one of the dangers for consumers is people's desire to present themselves in the best light, even if it hurts an insurance claim.
Or as Lavin puts it: "No one puts pictures of themselves crying in a dark room, even if that's what they're doing 18 hours a day."
The whole thing is just symptomatic of technology running ahead of the people who are using it," he said. "It's kind of like the early years of flight when planes are crashing all over the place. Society has not come to terms with how to manage social networking."
From dealnews.com, an aggregator of coupons and discounts on products across the Internet — it's slogan is "where every day is Black Friday" — put out a chart listing the dozen electronics items that it predicts will drop in price (and by how much) this year. As its authors point out, when it comes to buying hi-tech gear, waiting is the best policy — if you want a bargain. Oh that the same was true of essentials like gas, electricity, coffee and milk. The prices were taken verified deals previously listed on the dealnews.com website.
Wouldn't you know, I just bought a Blu-ray, Kindle and jumbo TV.
Blu-Ray Player
2009 Lowest: $76
Curtis Mathes Blu-ray Disc Player from Target (NYSE: TGT - News) ($11.83 shipping)
2010 Lowest:$50
Samsung BD-C5500 from HP Home & Office (free shipping)
2011 Prediction:$39
Why?: You'll probably see a lot of Blu-Ray players bundled as extras with TVs, but you'll also see them as doorbusters and priced like crackpots.
Why?: Because $99 is a major inflection point for consumer adoption, it was always the inevitable price for the Kindle. You'll pay just slightly more for newer models.
42" HDTV
2009 Lowest: $490
Panasonic VIERA 42" 600Hz 720p Plasma HDTV from Best Buy ($70 shipping)
2010 Lowest: $370
Insignia 42" 600Hz 720p Widescreen Plasma HDTV from Best Buy (free shipping)
2011 Prediction: $299
Why?: Once they hit $299, 42" LCD HDTVs will destroy the waning market for 32" LCD HDTVs.
55" HDTV
2009 Lowest: $1,115
LG 55" 120Hz 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV from Fry's ($110 shipping)
2010 Lowest: $699
Element 55" 120Hz 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV from Walmart (NYSE: WMT - News) (free shipping)
2011 Prediction: $599
Why?: 55" LCD HDTV prices are now where 46" LCD HDTVs were in 2008. So, for 2011, we're predicting what we saw for 46" in 2009.
Wii System Bundles
2009 Lowest: $170
Console Bundle from Conn's (free shipping)
2010 Lowest: $150
Console Bundle from Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News) ($10 shipping)
2011 Prediction: $99
Why?: Expect more price drops as new models come out and competition drives down prices.
16GB SD Card
2009 Lowest: $20
Lexar 16GB Platinum II SDHC Class 4 Card from Adorama.com (free shipping)
2010 Lowest: $17
Centon 16GB SDHC Secure Digital Class 4 Card from TigerDirect.com ($2 shipping)
2011 Prediction: $12
Why?: Yes, it'll be cheap to pick up a 16MB SD card, but that's because you'll be needing a bigger card before too long for your new, cheap SLR camera.
Full-Size Digital SLR Camera
2009 Lowest: $346
Pentax K2000 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm lens from Meijer ($8 shipping)
2010 Lowest: $319
Canon EOS Rebel XS 10MP Digital SLR Camera w/ lens from Barnes & Noble ($5.49 shipping)
2011 Prediction: $299
Why?: In 2011, these high-powered cameras will start to cost what point-and-shoots cost a few years ago. Why go for ridiculously high megapixel counts in a digital camera, when you can get a great SLR instead?
HP G56-127NR AMD 2.3GHz 16" Widescreen Laptop from Fry's ($8 shipping)
2011 Prediction: $199
Why?: Last year's $300 laptop is today's cheap grab for those who still want Computing power but want to pay what they would for a netbook or a cheap Android tablet.
Why?: $40 appears to be the floor in GPS prices. As people have turned to their smartphones and in-car models, portable GPS manufacturers are desperately adding features, driving up prices for new models.
External 2TB USB Drives
2009 Lowest: $140
Fantom G-Force 2TB eSATA/USB Drive from NewEgg.com (free shipping)
2010 Lowest: $90
Fantom Green Drive Pro 2TB eSATA/USB from Buy.com ($7 shipping)
2011 Prediction: $50
Why?: 2TB is the new 1TB. Upgrade to one of these and you'll never have to delete a file just to clear up room.
iPhone 3GS
2009 Lowest: $199
iPhone 3GS from Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - News) (free shipping)
2010 Lowest: $97
iPhone 3GS from Walmart (in store)
2011 Prediction: $49
Why?: This price drop is already here! For an 8GB 3GS phone in 2011, at least.
Prices will drop for other models, but you'll likely not see the 3GS on sale new for too much longer.
Find out why your documents won’t print, where your downloads disappear to, what a .dat file is, how those infernal toolbars invaded your browser, and much more.
Illustration by Ross MacDonaldModern PCs are certainly marvels of technology--and yet for all their advances, computers still do crazy, inexplicable things. With the average machine, there's enough mystery to keep Sherlock Holmes or Miss Marple hopping for a month--and enough frustration to make the average user want to commit murder most foul.
Computing mysteries tend to be less "Who dunnit?" and more "Why won't it?" For example, you may have puzzled over why Windows obstinately refused to let you delete a stalled print job, or wondered why you couldn't find the file you just downloaded. But worry not: We've rounded up these and other mindbogglers of the PC universe--and solved them for you.
(For explanations and helpful tips, click the links.)
Where did my downloaded files go? Why can't I find them?
What are the .dat files I sometimes receive in e-mail messages, and how do I open them?
Microsoft Outlook uses a modified version of Rich Text Format to preserve fonts and the like, but it often causes problems for the recipient. We have three suggestions for coping.
Damn kids these days and their cool tech toys! We know we sound cranky, jealous, and old, but how are we supposed to react to Mattel's new Hot Wheels Video Racer? Yep, just as the headline reveals, everybody's favorite matchbox car is now home to a VGA video camera that can capture 30 to 60 frames per second and a .95-inch LCD that allows you to play back that recorded footage right on the belly of the tiny vehicle. While a short clip of the Video Racer flying off a self-made jump may be pretty awesome, Mattel will also include protective cases so those wild and crazy kids can mount the cam to a skateboard or helmet. Disappointingly, the small car only houses 512MB of storage, which can only hold 12 minutes of video, but at $60, Mattel also includes a rubberized mini USB to USB cord for connecting the cam to a Mac or PC and child-friendly editing software. The Video Racer won't actually peel out until the fall, but we managed to take a few shots of the little thing this week and nab some video of it while at CES. Hit the break for that video and start saving that allowance!
Sam Sheffer contributed to this very serious report.
First Person: How We Cut the Cord and Now Enjoy (Almost) Free TV
Ted Sherman, On Tuesday January 18, 2011, 2:45 pm EST
*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.
We cut the cord after our local cable provider, Time-Warner, raised our rates to over $90 a month for our cable television service alone. We have one HDTV and were subscribed to the basic cable service, with a digital box. We also subscribed to what they called their "Variety" tier, which included A & E, BBC America, Discovery Channel and the other basic cable channels. We did not get HBO or any premium channels and there were many other basic channels not even included in their Variety tier. In addition, we were charged $10 a month for the rental of the DVR unit and another $10 a month for the ten or so HD channels they offered. The package was originally offered at about $50 a month, but promotional discounts were eliminated or expired and the rate climbed to over $90 for that same service level.
After cutting the cord, stopping the service and returning the devices, we needed to initially connect our computer to the TV. We use a PC and bought a converter box called PCtoTV from a company called Kworld as well as a VGA signal splitter. Now we take the VGA signal from the PC into the splitter, with one feed going to our desktop monitor, and the other VGA feed going to the converter. The device converts the signal to S-VIDEO, which we then connect to an input on our TV. Audio comes from the computer speakers, but can also be fed to the TV. Everything looks and sounds great, but we cannot watch in true HD.
Newer TVs have web connections built in, allowing direct hook up of your Ethernet or even wireless connection. Many other devices will also connect the Internet to your TV, such as some blu-ray DVD players and video game systems like Nintendo Wii, Sony PS3 and Microsoft XBox. We just received a Logitech Revue with Google TV set top box as a gift from our son. This allows us to watch Netflix streaming video and any other web content on our TV. The device is more open than other set-top boxes, as it allows you to view any website on your HDTV. NOw we don't need to use our computer, we use this wonderful device.
To get the local channels, we bought a $15. digital TV antenna, as our TV already has a digital converter built in. This allows us to watch the local Los Angeles channels, in HD. These look even better than cable or satellite, as those companies compress the signal for transmission, the HD over the air is not compressed. This is great for sports games, which look amazing. There are also multiple feeds for the new digital TV channels, for example our NBC affiliate has a the regular NBC feed, a second channel carrying only local content and a third channel with static news, weather and traffic graphics.
We watch Hulu.com for many current, network shows, also fox.com and nbc.com stream full episodes. Hulu.com also has a great selection of feature films and documentaries from National Geographic and PBS too. We like pbs.org for their great documentaries and shows like "Antiques Roadshow" and "American Experience".
Hulu.com has a Hulu Plus upgraded plan for $7.99 a month, giving access to even more archived shows and the ability to watch shows in HD. Hulu Plus also grants access to mobile and set-top devices, like ours. They offer a one week free trial, so we may check it out.
All of these methods rely on a good high speed Internet connection as the backbone. We are lucky that AT & T is offering a promotion in our area in Los Angeles for $19.99 a month for their "pro" level U-Verse DSL service rated at 6 megs download speed, the minimum speed you need to really watch video content.
So instead of paying $90 a month to Time-Warner, we are paying $7.99 a month just for Netflix, and all the other programming we watch is free. We also pay for the Internet access, but use that for other things beyond just watching video, and save a lot each and every month.
