Geekly Update - 04 March 2015

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

The National Vulnerability Database is a government research resource that details reported security flaws in operating systems and applications. Surprisingly, it shows Microsoft Windows is more secure than Mac OS X, Linux, or iOS.

Speaking of operating system vulnerabilities... Windows XP's market share is growing, despite Microsoft dropping all support for the antiquated OS in April 2014.

Get anything by texting… it's magic! Mike Chen is a serial entrepreneur who wondered what would happen if he created a service where anyone could send a text, and get whatever they wanted. He created Magic, and found out. Now he just wants to sleep.

LinkedIn has settled a lawsuit that claimed its substandard security allowed the passwords of 800,000 U.S. “premium” subscribers to be stolen and posted on a Russian hacker site. The career network will shell out only about a dollar per affected subscriber, and agree to beef up its security “for at least five years.” No doubt, Russian hackers have already circled the date on their 2020 calendars.

When Uber meets UPS you get… waffles? Roadie.com is another “sharing economy” mobile platform that connects people who need things delivered with people who are coming their way, for fees starting at $8. The iconic restaurant chain, Waffle House, is offering Roadie drivers free food and meeting places in 2 States.

"A dish served cold..." Craig Brittain, former proprietor of a “revenge p**n” website, filed a DMCA takedown notice with Google demanding that certain traces of his repulsive past be expunged. Google is ignoring him.

“Android for Work” is Google’s new toolkit for corporate IT that enables secure deployment of corporate apps on users’ personal Android devices. It includes contacts, mail, calendar, and browsing functions too.

Facebook wants you to call 911 if you suspect someone you know is contemplating suicide. Then Facebook wants you to notify its team of trained experts who will refer the person to suicide hotlines and (most likely) insert ads for antidepressant drugs into his/her newsfeed.

A Russian billionaire has automated the payday loan scam, deploying ATMs that can issue micro-loans with 730% annual interest rates in 15 minutes or less.

"Yo, soy!" Google has paid $25 million to be the exclusive registrar of the top-level domain .app, which makes more sense than some of its other acquisitions, such as the .how, .foo, .minna, and .soy domains.

Last year, New Hampshire became the first State to outlaw ballot selfies, photos taken of oneself holding a completed election ballot. Now three people are suing in federal court to overturn that law, citing free speech issues.