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1Password to rule them all

Anyone who uses the Web for a while knows that login information starts to pile up quickly. With online e-mail accounts, login information for online banking, and countless forums, most users start to use the same passwords for everything. It's pretty easy to see how this is a bad security practice.

Fortunately, you can download 1Password, which remembers all your passwords so you don't have to. Simply come up with a secure master password and then train 1Password to log in to sites for you. It integrates seamlessly with Apple's Mac OS X Keychain and generates complex … Read more

Utility pros fret over consumers in smart grid

WASHINGTON--How successful utilities are at motivating consumers to actively manage energy will go a long way toward determining whether many smart-grid investments improve the country's energy efficiency.

At the GridWise Global Forum here this week, consumers, although absent, are playing a starring role, a reflection of how many utilities realize they need to change how they interact with customers.

Several speakers, from IBM CEO Sam Palmisano to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Jon Wellinghoff, voiced concern that residential electric power customers are vital to efficiency gains through smart-grid technology, yet many have not bought into the idea.

"All … Read more

IBM chief: Smarter energy isn't 'futuristic'

WASHINGTON, D.C.--In a rare public-speaking occasion, IBM CEO Sam Palmisano said that the energy infrastructure needs to be further digitized and focused on the consumer.

Palmisano, the keynote speaker today at the GridWise Global Forum conference here, argued that modernizing energy requires a systems engineering approach, rather than the piecemeal upgrades happening now.

Smart meters and sensors on power lines give system operators more information to work with. But the system as a whole needs to become more resilient and efficient. The challenge for industry is to make sense of the enormous amount of data that this "… Read more

Interactive slot machine bets on gambling's future

SAN FRANCISCO--This interactive slot machine with a 46-inch touch screen is one of the more eye-catching displays at this week's Intel Developer Forum here.

In a nutshell, this machine is an electronic gaming machine, a point-of-sale device, a digital sign (the panel above the main screen), and a kiosk all rolled into one. Of course, it comes with the prerequisite handle, a holder for a martini glass, and Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system. No word on when we'll see one of these commercially. So far it is only a proof-of-concept for a "connected" casino. But … Read more

Savage Love on your iPhone

Savage Love is the companion app to the popular syndicated sex-advice column of the same name, providing easy access to Dan Savage's columns, podcasts (aka Lovecasts), video clips, and a regularly updated Question of the Day.

The app has a clean, easy-to-read interface, opening on the current Question of the Day ("QotD") above separate tabs for previous QotDs, a search tool (letting you search through hundreds of old Savage Love columns), a list of Lovecasts (with every Lovecast ever), and a big set of browsable tags--everything from Boobs and Bonobos to Sexual Compatibility and Snowballing. You can … Read more

Verizon defends Net neutrality plan with Google

ASPEN, Colo.--A Verizon Communications executive on Monday lashed out at critics who have savaged the company's recent Net neutrality announcement with Google, calling the complaints misguided and based on mischaracterizations of the joint proposal.

The language announced on August 9 is "much tougher than any nondiscrimination proposal that had ever been put on the table publicly before," Tom Tauke, Verizon's executive vice president of public affairs and policy, said at the Technology Policy Institute's Aspen Forum here.

The actual text of the joint proposal to Washington regulators and politicians calls for "a new, … Read more

Popular Apple Support Discussions going social, becoming Communities

As a long-time Mac troubleshooting researcher and consultant, one of my favorite and perhaps the most valuable Mac knowledge sites online is Apple's own Support Discussions forums. According to an official post on the site, the forums will be receiving a makeover, becoming more socially inclined by adding feature sets like avatars, homepages, and widgets. … Read more

Apple defensive over Consumer Reports findings, deletes forum threads

The seemingly unending saga of the iPhone 4 antenna issues has grown yet again. After a negative report from Consumer Reports, Apple has apparently deleted all threads about the findings from its popular Support Discussions forums. As Kent German reported earlier today, Consumer Reports has issued its official stance on iPhone 4 and it can't recommend the phone.… Read more

Apple defensive over Consumer Reports findings, deletes forum threads

The seemingly unending saga of the iPhone 4 antenna issues has grown yet again. After a negative report from Consumer Reports, Apple has apparently deleted all threads about the findings from its popular Support Discussions forums. As Kent German reported earlier today, Consumer Reports has issued its official stance on iPhone 4 and it can't recommend the phone.

Moderators for Apple's Support Discussions forums quickly deleted growing threads discussing the Consumer Reports articles. Though these threads are no longer viewable, you can read through cached versions via Bing.

Despite the generally positive reputation that Consumer Reports enjoys, many … Read more