Geekly Update - 13 February 2013

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

Too many Facebook “likes” can make you fat, according to researchers at two universities. The self-esteem boost that comes with lots of approval leads to a loss of self-control and discipline, they say. You think you’re great, so it’s OK to hit the ice cream, or something like that.

Adobe announced a critical flaw in Flash on February 7 and issued patches for it. Hackers have already exploited the flaw to crash and take over Apple and Windows computers, so update your Flash software ASAP.

Creepy or cool? New York artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg creates 3D-printed facial images using DNA found on cigarette butts, soda containers, etc. While her technique is crude and produces only a “family resemblance” to the unwitting DNA donor, it might put police sketch artists out of business some day.

"C4n y0u h3@r m3 n*w?" Unbreakable encryption for voice phone calls, text messages, and all types of data files is what “Silent Circle” promises in its easy-to-use apps. Phil Zimmerman, creator of Pretty Good Privacy, is part of the Silent Circle team. This could be law enforcement’s worst nightmare.

#No_Refunds: Twitter has forged a partnership with American Express that allows social media fans to make a purchase by tweeting a hashtag. What could possibky go wrong?

The AutoMee S is a pint-sized Roomba that automatically cleans tablets and smartphones. The battery-powered $17 device weighs 82 gms and measures 67mm x 73mm x 38mm. Unfortunately, it’s only available in Japan. Until it reaches a global market, we'll have to continue using our shirt sleeves.

Apple’s iTunes delivered its 25 billionth song on February 6. It went to a man in Germany, who downloaded a remix of “Monkey Man” by Chase Busch. He will receive a $13,000 iTunes gift certificate and honorary membership in the hi-fidelity first class traveling set. (Google it.)

"Shooting the messenger." An Egyptian court ordered the government to block access to YouTube for 30 days as punishment for the airing of a video that “offended the Prophet” and led to riots. So far, YouTube is still available in Egypt; the government communications ministry has not enforced similar rulings in the past.

Blackberry OS lost its third-place market share ranking to Microsoft Windows Phone in the fourth quarter of 2012. Of course, Blackberry buyers might have been waiting for the January release of Blackberry 10, but things still don’t look good for the Canadian smartphone maker.

The music industry filed its 10 millionth DMCA takedown notice against Google last week, forcing the search giant to remove links to allegedly infringing Web sites from its search results. Copyright owners are targeting Google links to file-sharing search engines.

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