October 2006
Browzar |
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A new program has become
available that specializes
in enhancing the privacy of
its users. It is
called Browzar, but is more
of a browser modification to
Internet Explorer than a Web
browser in itself. It
is not uncommon for banking
information, social security
numbers, or private personal
matters to be uncovered from
a person’s browsing history.
Browzar simply stops your
computer from recording a
page history, cookies, and
other data that Internet
Explorer routinely collects
and can be used to trace
your footsteps on the Web. |
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A terrific perk with Browzar
is that it need not be
installed on your computer
to run. The program
can be downloaded from
http://www.browzar.com
in seconds and when closed
leaves no trace that it has
ever been used on your
computer.
People should take care not
to get a false sense of
security from it, as there
still remain privacy issues
to consider outside of your
PC. For instance,
search engines can still
compile data from searches
done through Browzar, and
network administrators can
still obtain data about
pages that are being visited
from the workplace. In
addition, because of the way
it integrates with Internet
Explorer, it may still be
possible, though not as
easy, to piece together
information about what sites
have been visited.
However, many will find
Browzar to be a convenient
tool to preserve their
privacy when they browse the
Web. |
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USBCELL |
In a time when digital cameras, i-pods, wireless keyboards and mice, handheld video game consoles, and other handheld, battery-operated devices are more popular than ever, batteries are in high demand.
But the practice of frequently buying alkaline batteries only to dispose of them a few months later is expensive, inconvenient, wasteful, and even environmentally hazardous. A novel invention by Moxia Energy may help to change all that. USBCELL is a new type of rechargeable battery than can simply be plugged directly into a USB port of any computer to be charged, eliminating the need for bulky charging mechanisms. |
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USBCELL batteries are currently only available as AAs in the United Kingdom, but the sheer usefulness of this technology leaves little doubt that it will soon be distributed worldwide in many formats including AAA, 9-volt, and even cell phone batteries. |
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Combined Format High-Capacity DVDs |
The much hyped format war between two would-be next generation DVD technologies has taken an unexpected turn. A British company called New Medium Enterprises has developed a type of DVD that actually holds the same movie in both HD-DVD and Blu Ray formats, allowing the same disk to be playable on both types of players. This was enabled by the fact that the two different types of DVDs store information at different places on the disk. The end result of this technological breakthrough will probably be a wider public enthusiasm to adopt either of the next generation DVD formats by buying the latest DVD players. |
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The new generation of DVD
formats can deliver a picture
that is five to six times
more detailed than that
provided by traditional DVDs
and is expected to
eventually take their place. |
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Mobile Phones get their own World Wide Web |
A new top-level domain known as .mobi has joined the ranks of .com, .gov, .us, .net, and .org on the Web, this one to be specifically for sites intended to be browsed with cellular phones. It is currently available for registration and is being managed by an organization called Mobile Top Level Domain (MTLD). Many experts are forecasting a massive rush for valuable domain names over the next year, similar to the rush in the mid 1990s when hordes of companies and cyber-squatters charged forward to snag up desirable and easy-to-remember names ending with .com. |
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Almost 13,000 companies have already claimed addresses on the .mobi domain and hundreds of thousands more are expected to be registered in the near future.
Why a domain just for cell
phones? Most people
who have tried employing
their cell phones’ browsing
capabilities to surf the Web
would report a less
fulfilling experience than
they get by using a
computer, and some of the
reasons include less than
compatible interfaces and
long loading times.
Addresses on the .mobi
domain, however, must meet a
strict and formal set of
standards for usability, and
this is expected to draw a
lot more users into mobile
phone browsing. So
even if you never think to
use your phone to look at
Web sites, one day soon you
just might. |
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