What is Active X?

Active X is a software technology that was released by Microsoft; basically this technology allows content or programmed capabilities to be sent from the web to a Microsoft Window's computer.Active X in its earlier form was OLE and COM technologies. OLE stands for Object Linking and Embedding and COM stands for Component Object Model. Active X was primarily developed so that end users on MS Windows computers can interact with content and link files such as MS Word Documents or Excel spreadsheet documents from a computer to the web with ease.In this case, an internet browser visiting a website with Active X would be able to view a Word or Excel document directly in their web browser. Unfortunately Active X was created with poor security features and lacked even basic security controls. For this reason many computer security experts discouraged its use.OLE (Object Linking and Embedding)OLE allows an object from one application; let's say a MS Excel table to be embedded into another application- a MS Word Document. In this specific situation, the MS Excel table becomes an object, it is then cut or copied and pasted directly into the MS Word document and saved. OLE allows a user or group of users to work on separate parts of a master file and then quickly compound it or put it all together.Microsoft renamed OLE, calling it Active X in 1996. In 2005, Microsoft has dropped its support for Active X primarily due to a loss in a patent lawsuit. This means that in newer editions of IE web browser, end users will no longer be able to interact with Active X without first activating it. For instance, many media files such as Flash, QuickTime, etc must first be activated. Before, you can usually roll over a media item with your mouse or open a page in your web browser to start active X, now you must first directly interact with the media object and for instance click the item to start a file or to interact with its properties.

Ringtones and Copyright - What is the Status?

Right from the start ring tones were distinctive, melodious sounds that were played by a mobile phone when it rang to distinguish it from other cell phones ringing in the same environment. Little did cellular phone manufacturers realize what an impact these ring tones would make on the cell phone market. From a humble beginning of about 10 different tinny tunes, today the ringtone market is exploding with customization. Ring tones can now be personalized, customized, mixed and matched to create a completely distinctive sound. Love them or hate them, in today's mass market, uniqueness is starting to become a very important asset. Cool kids want to stand out with cool ring tones. Cellular phone manufacturers were quick to cotton on and the capabilities to individualize ring tones is becoming an important differentiator in the cell phone market.The rise of customizable ring tones obviously was facilitated by the technology that can be provided through the Internet. Websites that allow people to download ring tones are common. Going hand in hand with this is the fact that lots of recording companies also got in on the deal by making some of their music available to be used for ring tones and therefore boosting the bottom line of their royalty earnings. The fact is though that piracy does abound and with the use of torrent sites or pirate MP3 download sites it has actually become possible for many people to download practically any type of song and use it as a ring tone. There are also plenty of tools available on the Internet to allow cell phone owners to do exactly this. Examples of this are so called 'MP3 to Ring tone converters' that can be downloaded from many popular download sites. There are normally disclaimers attached to these utilities ('we do not condone piracy or copyright violations') although whether this will be something that the users of the product will take note of is a different story. Theoretically if you already own the music on CD and just take a snippet of 30 seconds and make your own ring tone, it is not illegal – according to an article written by Engadget.com written in September 2007 (/know-your-rights-is-it-illegal-to-make-my-own-ringtones/). This is due to the latest copyright ruling in Dec 2006 which rules that a mastertone ringtone of less than 30 seconds is not a derivative work and therefore not infringing on the copyright of the original artist. Also, few people (theoretically) have ring tones that are longer than 30 seconds – and frankly, if they have, they should be taken out and shot, or hit over the head by their own cell phone in a sock.. If you want to make a ringtone for your Iphone, you have to pay twice for the song – once to download, and once to use as a ring tone. This has probably more to do with Apple's contract with the music label owners than the actual copyright infringement laws. You can bet your bottom dollar that the music label owners would do anything to wring the last cent out of a company like Apple and there are probably huge swaths of forests sacrificed to the fine print in the Apple Itunes contract with regards to ring tones.But one could also argue that music label owners are shortsighted in not allowing their music to be used freely as ring tones. There is an argument that allowing the music to be freely used in a 10 second or even 30 second clip allows for greater distribution and awareness of the music itself and could actually be viewed as a free marketing tool. If one looks at the explosion of certain sections of the music industry just because more people got to listen to music that they would otherwise not have been exposed to, once cannot help but think that there is some truth in this statement. .Be that as it may, if you really are keen to have your own ring tone for your phone, the options today are either to download music and make your own ring tone, which could potentially be illegal if you do not own the music in the first place, or use Apple to make ringtones for your iPhone from the limited database of tunes that are available as ring tones, or if you still have a normal cell phone, to go directly to a ring tone site and just download the latest hits already set up as ring tones directly to your phone, without the hassle.

Loc8tor - Mobile Phone and Keyfinder

The Loc8tor Plus – Mobile Phone & Key Finder makes looking after your precious possessions effortless! Loc8tor is the essential invention for modern hectic lives – tired of losing everything that’s precious and valuable? Get locked into the Loc8tor craze and get smug security for life! http://www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk/loc8tor-mobile-phone-and-key-finder.htmlBy tagging your possessions with the devices included, you’ll be instantly alerted when you’re straying out of reach! With the three fabulous Loc8tor Mini Homing Tags included, you’ll be able to tag even more items to recover them or simply stop them getting mislaid in the first place! http://www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk/loc8tor-mobile-phone-and-key-finder.htmlWith a crucial red PANIC alert button, the Loc8tor Plus – Mobile Phone & Key Finder is by far the safest gadget around! Tag your wallet, tag your keys, tag your friends, tag your other half! Get ultimate reassurance with the Loc8tor – Mobile Phone & Key Finder!Imagine having the peace-of-mind to be able to know exactly where every item you truly love and can’t live without is – forever! Your keys, wallet, mobile phone, cat, child and remote control can all be tagged using the wonderfully helpful Loc8tor – Mobile Phone & Key Finder! We’ve all had that nauseous feeling when we think we’ve left a set of keys, wallet or small child behind in the supermarket – no matter how many times you check under the sofa or in your shirt pocket, sometimes we just have to acceptingly send items off to the mysterious land of disappearance! http://www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk/additional-loc8tor-panic-homing-tags-twin-pack.htmlThe Loc8tor – Mobile Phone & Key Finder includes two Mini Homing Tags; you’d think you could only tag two items right? Wrong! On each convenient Loc8tor Homing Tag you can tag up to 24 items! Now that’s 24 reasons already why you need to purchase! The terrific thing about Loc8tors are that you can literally tag anything – whether you’ve a dog who likes to wander, an important briefcase that bizarrely vanishes at crucial times or simply want to stop the search party you put out for your keys each morning, simply tag, relax then track those missing items when they go a’ wandering! So no more searching round in circles for the remote, checking every nook and cranny for your keys or worrying about the whereabouts of your little one, the Loc8tor – Mobile Phone & Key Finder is here to save the day! Purchase today and never go spare or lose your sanity worrying again! For any additional information on these fantastic Loc8tors, please email info@findmeagift.com or call 01926 640710RegardsJessieFind-Me-A-Gift

BT Calls For Action And Honesty About Internet Speeds

The BBC is reporting that BT have called for action about Internet speeds and what ISP's offer users. Over the last few years service providers have been offering great speeds and super fast Internet and BT wants companies to offer more honesty about what users can expect to receive.BT supplies over eight million people and have come out and said that many customers are disappointed with the speeds they get compared to what was advertised. In a survey it found that only 15% of people paying for eight megabit per second broadband actually receive those speeds.BT have said that regulators need to agree a set of rules about how broadband speeds are sold to potential customers stating -"The reality is we are all trying to push the technology,""The industry needs to join together with Ofcom to agree a set of principles as to how these messages should be communicated and advertised so that the understanding with the consumer is as accurate as it can be."Whilst BT offers DSL max products with a variety of different speeds up to eight megabites per second, it does tell customers (the isps) that actual speeds will vary from user to user.Cameron Rejali, Managing Director of Products at BT Wholesale, said it is up to the ISPs how they market broadband, "but if they are marketing it badly, the market will punish them."BT said users need to know about the process and that there is a difference between the line speed - what the line between their home and the exchange can support - and what it describes as "throughput", a measure of the data coming down the line during an activity such as the downloading of a video.Only 35% of BT's DSL Max customers are achieving an eight mbps line speed - the rest will see their speed cut by factors such as distance from the exchange, poor equipment, and interference from electrical appliances.But none of these five million users will achieve eight mbps "throughput" because of internet congestion and other network issues that can affect the speed of the internet connection."The reality is if you are very far from an exchange or there are environmental factors then your speed will come down and there is not much we can do in the short-term to address that problem," said Mr Bradshaw.Ofcom is now currently reviewing the way broadband is marketed to consumers.%0

No Privacy Left... RFID - You Won't Hide

RFID solutions allow to control not only certain zones or areas (e.g. border zone, airports), but also enable remote scanning of the embedded and dynamic data, get access to information on the people and their relocations, and can provide control authority (in the sense of access rights to certain zones etc.).Many countries plan to introduce identity cards, passports and car registration plates with RFID tags. By the end of this year, China wants to issue for its citizens about a billion such identity cards. American passports issued after Oct. 6, 2006 are also equipped with RFID tags. The embedded data (including digital photograph) can be read even over a distance of 20m.Civil liberties campaigners have criticized the test of anti-theft system based on tiny RFID chips at Tesco store in Cambridge. Anyone picking up Gillette Mach3 razor blades at the store triggered CCTV camera and had his or her picture taken. The second one was taken at the checkout, to compare the pictures of the customer.Expansion of RFID technology. RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) systems enable data to be transmitted by mobile devices, called tags, that are read by RFID readers. The data is then processed according to the needs of a particular application. There are used several typical frequency ranges: 125 - 134 kHz (LF), 13.56 MHz (HF), and the most popular - 865-952 MHz (UHF) and 2.4 GHz (microwave).The application areas include transport, supply-chain management, identification of people and animals.As mentioned, an RFID system consists of identifiers (tags), reader/s and managing (host) computer. There are used two kinds of tags: active and passive. The first ones have to be powered by a battery etc., the second - take the energy needed for operation directly from the reader (as the part of electromagnetic energy emitted by its antenna).Active tag equipped with battery, mounted on the car license plate, allows to read the data of the car and its owner even over a distance of 500m

Technologies That Improve our Life

There are words and terms that change our lives forever. In November 1963 such a term arose and since then this one term and the concept behind it, database, have improved our way of life significantly. Nowadays, there is no company, corporation or supermarket that does not use a database system to store all the needed information. Since the development of the first database systems in the 1960s, many software companies have tried to sell their product on the market and make a name for themselves. Some have succeeded, whereas others have not. In 1979 Oracle Corporation entered the highly competitive software market introducing the Oracle database. This acerb competition made it very difficult for corporations to establish any product in the market and that much harder to climb to the top and remain there. Oracle database not only made a name for itself but twenty- nine years later, it still remains one of the most used and appreciated relational database management systems. Along with the databases used to store information, a new concept made its way into our lives: software engineering. We can not talk about the Oracle database without talking about software engineering, for any software requires maintenance, operation and of course development in order to meet the established standards. The Oracle database does not target any type of business, this being one of the selling points that have made this software appreciated along the years. Big companies or small businesses can benefit from the use of this database. The many options of the Oracle database make it very flexible and the number of features each option has allow all businesses, large or small, to serve their needs. The introductory price is another selling point that the Oracle database has managed to keep along the years without having to lower its standards. However, not all customer needs can be met and this is where software engineering comes in. The problems that have to be solved by the Oracle database lie not only in the hands of the first people who have created it, but in the hands of software engineers, who manage the entire development process and software maintenance. In the hands of well-trained and experienced software engineers, the Oracle database reaches its true potential. What the program must do[p1] and why are the main concerns involved in software engineering, for there is a great variety of businesses that require the use of database systems and their needs may differ from one to the other. The Oracle database has managed to gain its appreciation due to its flexibility and its competitive prices but without proper software engineering, the Oracle database would have probably had a slower climb to the top of the market. A great software, like Oracle database, in the hands of talented and well- trained engineers can make the difference between a successful business and a failing one. Nowadays, when databases are mandatory for any company to conduct their business properly, choosing the appropriate database and software engineering team is imperative. For more resources about software engineering or even about Oracle database please review this webpage http://www.semantec.de/en

Trojan Horse Dropper.heliosb.i & Trojan.win.32.obfuscated.gx

Trojans find there way to your computer because your downloaded it from a site and it was executed. Trojans usually are small .exe programs. It can also enter your computer by a malicious email attachment. Trojans vary from annoyance to more serious financial loss. Hackers can gain backdoor entry to your computer and access confidential information such as credit card, social security number, or sensitive data you just want to keep private.Examples of common Trojan are:1. Trojan.win.32.obfuscated.gx You may get an error message telling you that your browser was infected by trojan.win.32.obfuscated.gx. and you need to clean your system immediately or it will crash. 2. Trojan Vundo B and variantsThis little bugger will cause pop ups to appear on your Internet Explorer browser everytime you log on to the internet and try to open a new page. If you have IE 6.0 and above with tab browsing feature, you will have multiple advertisements appear as new tabs. The anti virus I had could locate the problem but was unable to solve this trojan. It would say that the trojan was detected but unable to clean this error. 3. Trojan Horse dropper.heliosb.IThis one can be detected and quarantined. It will still lurk in your computer after you move the file to the recycle bin.Because Trojan variants can be found around the web, you can keep your computer safe by installing the best trojan shield. This detects incoming and suspicious files in your email, and can also warn you just before you plan to download a file.