Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Windows 8.1 May Include a 'Boot to Desktop' Option

Windows-8-silouhettePete Pachal2013-04-15 15:02:55 UTC

The most recent numbers show PC sales dropping like a rock, with many blaming the radical changes in Windows 8 for scaring away customers. A new rumor suggests the drop has prompted Microsoft to consider reversing course on at least one aspect of the new user interface.

Microsoft may introduce a "Boot to Desktop" mode in the next major update to Windows, called either Windows 8.1 or Windows Blue, according to a post on WinBeta. A version of the update leaked out last month, and someone who examined the code discovered that it includes a line of code for suppressing the Start screen.

Even before Windows 8 launched last October, many felt that throwing users into the new Windows UI at startup might not be the best solution for all customers, particularly those focused on productivity (i.e. office workers). Also, since the number of apps created for the new environment was relatively few (even the new Microsoft Office runs as a Desktop app), the benefits of always starting in the new UI were questionable.

Microsoft told Mashable it wouldn't comment on the rumor, but its position has generally been that the new UI and the traditional desktop work in conjunction with each other; they're not walled-off environments. The Charms menu, for example, is still accessible from the Desktop, and the two versions of Internet Explorer in fact share a lot of functionality on the back end, even thouhg they appear to be completely different apps.

Nonetheless, surveys suggest an option to suppress the Start screen could alleviate some users' fears of upgrading. However, the less time those users spend in the "proper" Windows 8 environment, the less developers will be interested in creating apps for that environment — the most likely reason Microsoft has been reluctant to include the Boot to Desktop option.

But if users are rejecting Windows 8 outright (as the PC sales numbers suggest), then Microsoft obviously needs to re-examine its approach. Will that include Boot to Desktop in Windows 8.1? We should find out for sure at the Microsoft BUILD developer conference in June.

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Photo by Nina Frazier, Mashable

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EA to Shutter 'SimCity Social,' 'The Sims Social,' 'Pet Society'

Sad-simcityChelsea Stark2013-04-15 15:18:11 UTC

EA is shuttering three of its Facebook games on June 14: Sim City Social, The Sims Social and Pet Society.

Those games' players are being notified by the Playfish forums and the Facebook fan pages. Players are encouraged to spend all their in-game currency before June 14.

Sim City Social was announced last year and released on June 25, meaning it will have survived for only a year. The game was developed by Playfish and Maxis, and allowed players to collaborate on cities.

The Sims Social was the Facebook spinoff of EA's dominant simulation game. It was released in 2011 and rose to the top of Facebook's app charts, becoming second only to Farmville in popularity. In the past six months, however, it had seen a decline in users.

Pet Society was developed and released by Playfish Games before it was acquired by EA for $300 million in 2009. It allowed players to create and customize their own pets, and then interact with other friends across the game. Pet Society had an immense following and had been on Facebook since 2008.

This announcement comes after EA decided to shutter other Facebook games; EA Sports NFL Madden Superstars and EA Sports NHL Superstars are both being shuttered May 14. EA could be re-evaluating its position in the social games market with these closures, but the games represent most of the titles Playfish supported. Another of the developer's games, a hidden object game called JetSet Secrets released in September, is being retired later this month.

For devoted players of those social games, these closures might represent another reason to be bitter at EA, which was voted Worst Company in America by Consumerist readers just last week.

Did you play SimCity Social, The Sims Social or Pet Society? Share your memories of those games with us in the comments.

Image courtesy SimCity Social Facebook

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Is It Still Possible to Disappear From Society?

Unabomber-fbifor Discovery News 2013-04-15 19:17:29 UTC

Two of the country's most notorious survivalists — the Hermit of North Pond in Maine, and The Mountain Man of Utah, were found and arrested in the last few weeks. And a case of a missing family, the McStay family of southern California, was effectively closed when investigators said the family appears to have gone to Mexico voluntarily.

So is it still possible to "disappear" in 2013?

"Is it more difficult? Yes," said Jim Biesterfeld, a former U.S. army counter-intelligence special agent who teaches private investigations at California State University-Fullerton Jim Biesterfeld. "Impossible? Not even."

For someone to hide away from society, he said, at least two things are essential: self-sufficiency, and desire.

"There are not that many people who want to stay hidden for that long" in solitude," Biesterfeld said. "Most people try to establish new identities."

That's why it's unusual for two cases of solitary survivalists to have been solved in such close succession.

Christopher Knight, 47, also known as The North Pond Hermit, appears to be one of those few who truly wanted to live on his own.

For 27 years, Knight avoided making a campfire for fear of drawing attention to himself. He stole what he needed to survive from campgrounds; in fact, everything he had was stolen except his eyeglasses. If there's not much reason to be found, as in Knight's case, costly police investigations are unlikely. But, eventually, Knight's thefts of food and survival supplies prompted local law enforcement to get involved.

It would take a possible federal criminal violation in addition to a disappearance, such as a fugitive or kidnapping situation, for the FBI to become involved, said FBI special agent Kathy Wright.

"The FBI requires an authorized law enforcement purpose to conduct an investigation," she said. "The mere fact that an adult disappears, is not, on its own, a violation of law."

In the end, a surveillance camera set up specifically to catch Knight triggered an alarm when he entered a campground kitchen looking for food, and Knight was arrested.

While technology — such as thermal imaging that detects people by tracking body heat — is helpful in pinpointing a location once a general area is mapped out, investigators haven't abandoned old-fashioned methods. In the case of Troy James Knapp, also known as The Mountain Man in Utah, it was snowshoe tracks that eventually gave him away.

Biesterfeld relies on the old adage of investigators and journalists: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Find out everything you can about the person.

"What was he like as a kid? Did he have mental health issues? Had he ever talked about it before?" Biesterfeld said. "In most cases, people crave human contact. The rare few who do not are the Maine guy and the unabomber" — and, it appears, Utah's Mountain Man.

"He says, 'I don't hate people. I just don't like living with them,'" the Huffington Post quotes him telling Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Sheriff Curtis.

Knapp had been living off the radar since 2004. He caused more disturbances than Knight, sleeping inside other people's cabins and stealing food, camping equipment and guns. But because searchers knew his habits, they were able to discover the snowshoe tracks that led them to him.

Knapp's trial started this week. There are 29 burglary-related felony and misdemeanor charges filed against him.

Image via JOHN RUTHROFF/AFP/Getty Images

This article originally published at Discovery News here

Topics: crime, digital identity, FBI, identity, identity theft, U.S., US & World, World Discovery News is a Mashable Publishing Partner.

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Google Person Finder Locates Missing at Boston Marathon Explosion

Boston-marathon-people-finderZoe Fox2013-04-15 21:36:08 UTC

Google Person Finder, a tool the company built following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, has been activated for use following the deadly Boston Marathon explosions Monday afternoon.

Shortly after launching, the Person Finder homepage says it's tracking about 800 records.

As the tool is being populated, you can either search for someone or share information about someone's whereabouts. The tool includes a disclaimer stating that Google doesn't review or verify any information, and all submitted details are public to all users.

If you can't find the information you're looking for from Google Person Finder, the Boston Athletic Association shares marathon runners' recent times and locations. The Red Cross has a similar feature to Google's Person Finder called Safe and Well, which is currently being used to share whereabouts as well.

Google Person Finder is a project of Google Crisis Response, part of the tech giant's non-profit arm, Google.org.

For Marathoners stranded in Boston due to flight cancellations or other complications, Boston.com has set up a Google Doc where people can express need or offer their homes to guests.

According to a 4:06 p.m. ET tweet from the Boston Police Department, two deaths are reported and 23 people are injured, though some news organizations are reporting higher numbers.

Image via Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images

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Police Tweet Request for Video From Boston Marathon After Blast

Police-boston-marathonSam Laird2013-04-15 17:07:05 -0400

The Boston Police Department tweeted a plea for video from the finish line of the Boston Marathon after multiple blasts rocked the area Monday afternoon.

At time of writing, police had confirmed 23 injured and two dead as a result of the explosions, although those numbers will change. The explosions were later identified as bombs.

In the minutes after the blasts, the official Boston Police Department Twitter account posted this message asking for video from the finish line:

While self-shot photo, video and social media posts from the site of the Boston Marathon blasts both increased confusion and provided much-needed information Monday afternoon, the widespread presence of digital media could play another important role in figuring out just what happened and how.

The thinking here appears to be that someone may have inadvertently shot video or photos that could help piece together where the explosions came from and who was responsible for them.

While news video of the blasts has circulated online, we'll see what emerges from ordinary citizens at the scene before, during and after the violence. Vine videos, Instagram photos, Facebook and Twitter posts as well as digital keepsakes not shared to social media could play a role in the investigation to come in ways not possible just several years ago.

Police ask the public to call 1-800-494-TIPS with any information.

Image via Alex Trautwig/Getty Images

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Outgoing FCC Chair Genachowski Takes Think Tank Job

Julius-genachowskiAlex Fitzpatrick2013-04-15 15:49:10 UTC

Outgoing FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will become a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute advising it on telecommunications policy, the group announced Monday.

Genachowski follows several previous FCC chairmen in his move to the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan research group dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues."

"I'm enthusiastic about helping the Aspen Institute advance its important mission," said Genachowski in a statement. "The Internet and mobile are having a transformative impact on our economy and society. The Institute has an unparalleled ability to convene business, government, and non-profit leaders to address the effect of digital technologies on many of the world’s most vexing problems, and I'm looking forward to being involved in that effort."

Genachowski announced in March he was leaving the FCC "in the coming weeks." He still has yet to say exactly when he would be stepping down, but the Aspen Institute's announcement is a signal his departure is likely imminent. President Barack Obama has not yet named his choice for Genachowski's successor at the FCC, though several names have been cycling through the rumor mill.

Chairman of the FCC since 2009, Genachowski oversaw the Commission during a period of rapid change for the telecommunications industry. His commission sided with consumer groups when blocking AT&T's takeover attempt of T-Mobile, but angered them after allowing the Comcast-NBC merger.

Perhaps Genachowski's signature achievement at the FCC is the commission's handing down of net neutrality rules, which prohibit telecom companies from favoring certain kinds of Internet traffic over others. Net neutrality is typically championed by liberals as a protection against media consolidation and monopolization, while shunned by conservatives as undue government regulation that stifles innovation.

Was Genachowski's term as FCC Chairman a success? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Facebook Partners With States to Promote Teen Privacy

Facebookbutton5Andrea Smith2013-04-15 17:11:18 UTC

Facebook and privacy sometimes seems like an oxymoron — words or ideas that contradict one other. Users complain about Facebook's privacy settings being too difficult to understand and properly implement.

Now, Facebook and the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) want to change that through a consumer education program.

They're partnering on a program "designed to provide teens and their parents with tools and tips to manage their privacy and visibility" on Facebook and online.

NAAG President and Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler kicked off the campaign during a "Privacy in the Digital Age" summit Monday morning.

"Teenagers and adults should know there are tools to help protect their online privacy when they go on Facebook and other digital platforms,” Gansler said.

The alliance will consist of a few different approaches, beginning with an NAAG "Safety and Privacy on Facebook" page. There, users will find basic info on how to set privacy settings and controls — think of it as Facebook 101.

There's also an "Ask the Safety Team Video" series, where users can get answers to privacy questions directly from Facebook's safety team.

"At Facebook, we work hard to make sure people understand how to control their information and stay safe online," Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said in a statement.

Public service announcements (PSAs) with attorneys general in 19 states will be distributed starting Tuesday, with topics such as "What you Can Do to Control Your Information?" as well as answers to questions about online bullying.

Facebook says it will continue to work with attorneys general around the country, though they're not revealing the other states just yet.

Though Facebook use among teens appears to be declining, as kids move the conversation to social networks such as Instagram and Snapchat, it's important for Facebook to provide these educational tools.

Last summer, Facebook settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), agreeing to make it more clear to users when the social network is sharing their information beyond what their privacy settings mandate. Under that settlement they agreed to initiate a program to protect users' privacy and get their approval before sharing any information.

Do you think Facebook needs to do more to educate users? What questions would you have for Facebook? Let us know in the comments.

Screenshot image via Facebook

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Foursquare's Dennis Crowley Tweets From Scene of Boston Marathon Explosions

CrowleyTodd Wasserman2013-04-15 20:22:52 UTC

Dennis Crowley, the CEO and co-founder of Foursquare, ran in Monday's Boston Marathon, but emerged unhurt after explosions marred the event. Crowley used Twitter to report from the scene of the incident.

Crowley, who also used Foursquare to check in at every mile, sent his first tweet at 3:08 EDT.

Crowley then offered real-time description of the horrible events:

Crowley, who has more than 63,000 followers on Twitter, ran this year's marathon to raise money for Camp Interactive, a program designed to expose underprivileged youth to technology.

Image via ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Images

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