Some news set the Internet ablaze with intractable fronts facing off. When recently the news broke that, as of now, all newly released European cars would have to include the "eCall" emergency system, that was one of those days. While some saw clear signs of an imminent Orwellian future as depicted in "1984", others made a case for faster help and fewer accident victims. And while we're still debating, Dubai has abandoned data privacy altogether. But where does expediency end and mass surveillance begin? Will future cars be traceable with pin-point accuracy in mere seconds?
As Windows advances, one important part of it remains as imperfect as ever: Windows Explorer. It may be enough to navigate around your files but if you value a little comfort or miss the old split-view (present up to Windows 95), you're out of luck. Why Microsoft doesn't offer a decent alternative is beyond me! Luckily, there are better, more feature rich and often free file managers out there - and one piece of software that has been painfully missed for over a decade is making a return!
Sometimes, you develop an almost personal relationship with a program. You know its quirks, follow its development over the years and appreciate the little features that make it unique. When the downfall of Netscape was on the horizon, I sorrowfully began looking for a new browser - and found an alternative that was just a little different: quirky but fast, customizable, and with various features other browsers only slowly adopted a few versions later. And despite all temptations and marketing buzz from rivals with more marketing power, Opera still remains my browser of choice to this day.
I always feel uneasy when my computer performance becomes laggy. In most cases, Windows is performing maintenance work in the background, an update is being prepared or the antivirus software is running a scan. If the process takes longer and the fan spins up, I'll usually get a little suspicious and look into the task manager. And when I see the browser gobbling up all of my CPU resources, something's likely awry: maybe someone else is making money off my PC
Almost a year ago, I wrote that Chrome will soon block several types of ads, purely for the sake of its users, naturally. The ad blocker has recently been enabled and the feedback is as divided as was to be expected. Because what Google initially announced with the promise of salvation can also be considered an attack on their rivals in the ad industry. As reasonable as it is to rid the Internet of the most annoying ads, one fear remains and that is the notion that, from now on, the fox will be guarding the henhouse. Read on to learn more about Google's plans and the types of ads that will soon disappear forever.
