Geekly Update - 31 October 2012

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

"It's nice, but you might have to sand down your fingers..." As expected, the $329.00 Apple iPad mini was unveiled this week with a 7.9" display, two cameras, super-fast WiFi connection, 10 hr. battery life and efficient A5 chip. See my review of the iPad Mini for details on finger modification.

Like the Gangnam Style? Then you'll love or hate this parody. Check out this performance as done by a horse in Mexico. (Poke around on Youtube for the original and scores of humorous parodies.)

"A bald-faced lie..." A British woman was shocked when she tried to book a wedding at a hotel, then mistakenly got an email from the wedding coordinator saying she didn't think the bride-to-be "was their type." Oopsie.

Skype's latest app for Windows 8 debuted this week. Running in the background, its Live tile will let users know they have a message or missed call and will pair with Win8's People App to share contacts.

"I'm going to start buying used couches as an investment." A new, free app allows Xbox owners to use their smartphone or tablet as a remote or second screen. Microsoft SmartGlass can also run on iOS and Android and can control games, movies, TV shows and other media.

Samsung must be thrilled that their new Chromebook has sold out from the Google Play Store. The notebook, with a very attractive $249 price tag, has an 11.6" HD display, WiFi, plays video and lasts up to 6.5 hours on a single charge.

In an effort to assist the budget-minded college crowd, Microsoft will be releasing Office 365 University Edition with 20GB of free storage in SkyDrive and 60 Skype world minutes monthly. Available Q1 2013, students get a special $79.99 price, an affordable $1.67 monthly subscription for four years. "Psssst, college kids... Google Docs is free... Don't tell Microsoft!"

A 140 page report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime claims that more can be done to stop terror groups who use the internet to spread propaganda, raise funds and recruit new members.

For all those girly girls, Fujitsu now has the Floral Kiss, an Ultrabook with Windows OS, an Intel Core i5 processor and 500GB disk space. Available beginning Nov. 2, the feminine notebook comes in white, pink or brown and includes the custom-designed apps SCRAPBOOK, DIARY and Horoscope.

The Internet Watch Foundation recently found that out of 12,000 sexually explicit pictures of teens that were posted online, 10,000 (88%) of them were reposted on "parasite" p**n websites without permission. The IWF study used images taken from common sites like Facebook, and underscores the importance of caution when posting anything personal on social media sites.

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