Daily Archives: January 24, 2022
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38 years ago an Apple was born
Steve Jobs presenting the first Mac in 1984 – YouTube
“Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and their ingenious team at Apple announced on January 24, 1984, the launch of the Macintosh 128K, the original Apple personal computer.”
On This Day: Apple release first Macintosh computer – Press Las Vegas
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Twenty years of trustworthy computing
ISSUE 19.04 • 2022-01-24 ON SECURITY
By Susan Bradley
Are we more secure now?
It’s been 20 years since Bill Gates wrote the “trustworthy computing” memo and had Microsoft’s developers take a coding pause so they could be trained in how better to write secure software.
Twenty years later, are we more secure? Do you feel more secure?
I’m not sure I do. You know I watch this every hour of every day, and it sure feels like we are doing the same updating and patching dance over and over, without feeling more secure. We are promised that the hardware and software we buy will meet the safety promises. We certainly deserve that — period.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.04.0 (2022-01-24).
This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 19.04.F (2022-01-24). -
Inaccessible backups, and a dead laptop
LANGALIST
By Fred Langa
How can you repair what you can’t get at? Today’s column covers two problems caused by very different access issues.
In one case, a subscriber is locked out of her old, obsolete backup files; she can neither access nor delete them and thus cannot recover the huge chunk of disk space they occupy.
In another, a different subscriber needs to data-wipe (“sanitize”) the hard drive of a fatally damaged laptop. But how can he wipe the drive when the laptop won’t even turn on?
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.04.0 (2022-01-24).
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‘Fake’ HDMI 2.1: The standard that isn’t
PUBLIC DEFENDER
By Brian Livingston
If you’re interested in buying new monitors for your business or home that support the latest HDMI 2.1 standard — such as many displays that were demonstrated at CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) earlier this month — you may be surprised to learn that HDMI 2.1–certified monitors may not necessarily support the enhanced features that have been heavily promoted.
The shocking truth is that the HDMI Licensing Administrator (HDMI LA) — an organization in San Jose, California, that has authority over the trademarked term HDMI — is certifying as “HDMI LA compliant” monitors that support as few as one of the at least seven new features that HDMI 2.1 offers over 2.0.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.04.0 (2022-01-24).
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Info-Base – Map your brain
FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT
By Deanna McElveen
Sometimes I can’t remember why I walked into a room. Why should I think I’ll remember my daughters’ mailing addresses if I don’t write them down? Will I remember where I wrote them down? What was I talking about?
Oh yes, Info-Base! What is it? It’s a free program created by Jochanan Agam of Zurich, Switzerland. It’s actually an improved clone of the original DOS program called “Tornado,” which then became “Info-Select” (for DOS) and later “Info-Select” (for Windows). Jochanan renamed it “Info-Base” and added a zillion features.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.04.0 (2022-01-24).
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$68.7 billion? Peanuts.
MICROSOFT NEWS
By Will Fastie
Frenzy around corporate acquisitions is nothing new; but this time, for Microsoft, it seems overstated.
Last week, Microsoft announced its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the well-known maker of such game franchises as Candy Crush, Call of Duty, and World of Warcraft. Part of the frenzy surrounded the price — almost three times more than Microsoft’s previous large acquisition, LinkedIn.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.04.0 (2022-01-24).