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February News & Tips:

6 February 2016
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Categories: News, Technology

Virtual Reality –
Way Beyond Games!

Nike 360 clipIf you thought Virtual Reality was for gamers, you‘d be right.  And sure, games will become more awesome and engaging, but good money says the immersive experience of VR may well represent what will become a universal, transformative technology in medicine, sports, film, business and all aspects of our lives  . . . Read more and see some clips!

Will Solar-Powered Drones Deliver 5G Wi-Fi?

Google 5K DroneWith two-thirds of the world still without internet access, have cell towers reached the end of their technological lifespan?  Google is working to find a better way.  Project SkyBender, a Google Project testing high flying drones, wants to provide universal Wi-Fi access at 5G speeds.

If successful, Skybender would use millimeter-wave transmission, a technology that can provide gigabytes of data per second, or 40 times more data per second than 4G Lite.  High altitude drones would make cell towers obsolete and deliver internet access around the world.  Project Loon, another Google endeavor, would utilize a Wi-Fi balloon network traveling at the edge of space. Read more at The Guardian, ArsTechnica, Google (Loon)

 

new google logo

 Sanmay Ved Bought
Google.com Last Year for a Measly $12

For about one skinny minute, Ved made history; well sort of.  But, alas, it was not to be for long.  Read more

MarkZMark Zuckerberg Now the Sixth
Richest Person in the World

At 31, Mark Zuckerberg has a lot to smile about.  He’s worth about $47 billion,  according to Bloomberg.

 

kissHistoric Blizzard Sent Singles to Dating Apps

Stuck inside and looking for love?  It seems singles found a way to pass the time by visiting online dating sites. Visits saw huge spikes — for instance, 139% in NYC and an increase of 342% in Philadelphia for Happn the popular dating site.  CNN has the scoop  

hand cloudIs It Time to Think
About the Cloud?

By 2020, it’s predicted that 78% of U.S. small business will have fully adopted cloud computing –
double the rate today. About 81% of U.S. Companies with 100-plus employees are using cloud based applications.  About 18% of companies with up to 99 employees are adopting a hybrid cloud environment – one that uses both a private and a public cloud.  More at Forbes and ChannelPro Network

gartner researchTop Technology
Trends for 2016

Among top trends, according to Gartner is “digital mesh.”  As our lives become increasingly connected to various devices we’ll see greater cooperative interaction and significant development in wearables, and virtual reality. Information preservation across devices, time and space will become more synchronized. Other trends include advances in 3D printing, dedicated information analytics, and “intelligent” machines that alter behavior.  See the entire list here

security-1163108_640

SecurityNews

 

Cisco Patches Serious
Network Security Flaws

Cisco has released software updates to address several critical and high severity vulnerabilities identified in various networking and security products. More at Security Week

Word Press 4.4.2 Patches

WordPess 4.4.2 patches security issues and many functionality bugs.  Details

CNET Offers Tips for
Staying Safe Online

Passwords, email protection, online shopping safety, mobile device protection and more is covered in this helpful primer.

Oracle Pulls Plug on
Java Browser Plug-In.

A frequent target of hackers, the plug-in won’t be included in the next Java Developers Kit.  Native HTML5 development technology is one alternative.More at TechNewsWorld

Virtual Reality. Will It Change Ours?

4 February 2016
1 Comment
Categories: News, Technology

Virtual Reality – Will It Change Ours?

If you thought Virtual Reality was for gamers, you ‘d be right. Sort of.  Sales of both VR and AR devices are predicted to be some 24 million by 2018, and a 5.4-billion-dollar industry by 2015. After all, Google, alone, just sold some five million cardboards. The more sophisticated Oculus Rift, a Facebook acquisition in 2014, is expected to ship in late March, with nearly all the other major players placing their own bets.

So, sure, games will become more awesome and engaging.  But good money says the immersive experience of VR may well represent what will become a universal, transformative technology. In recent studies Augmented (AR) and Virtual reality (VR) show a strong enterprise future, with AR having the greatest potential for business-oriented applications according to TechPro Research

How To Talk About VR In A One Dimensional Environment

The problem, of course, in talking about VR is that illustrating it in a one dimensional space is, well, a fool’s errand.  So if your interest is peaked, but you’re not ready for the outlay of, say, an Oculus, just buy (or make) a cardboard, pair it up with your smartphone and have a go at it.

But,  if you just want to get a sense of it all, we’ve included some clips at the end of this article; some of which you navigate with your mouse or a touch screen (360-degree video).

A Transformative Technology

Nike 360 clip

 

VR enables us, or will, to experience products, locations, sports, travel, education, architecture, medicine and communication in an immersive environment.   For instance, rather than a screen shot of your new car, how about going for a virtual drive?  Step in, look around, tinker with the controls and go for a drive.  Or attend your next sporting event as part of the play.

Consider how much fun it would be to virtually travel to an exotic island, take a walk on the beach. snorkel, then do a walk-through of your accommodations and visit the Tiki bar – all before you fork out hard-earned cash.  Alternatively, if you’re down to PB & Jelly, pour a thirst quencher and kick the sand without the outlay.

Educational applications become truly exciting.  Traditional textbooks are unusually dry, but how about actually walking around an important archaeology dig to carefully see how its excavated and explored.  As a budding marine biologist you and your fellow students could dive and explore an ailing coral reef just as though you were there.  Students of all ages will likely be the beneficiaries of a maturing technology that enhances not only what we learn, but how deeply and memorably we experience it.

Filmmaking, medicine, in fact almost every facet of our daily existence whether for business or pleasure has exciting VR/AR potential or expansion.

VR.  AR.  What’s the Difference?

Virtual reality, augmented reality, full featured communications, volumetric VR, and the like all have individual interpretations and methodology.  The ultimate goal, however, is to create either:

  • A fully dimensional alternate reality or combined as in games, film
  • A fully dimensional replication of a true environment as in climbing Mount Everest
  • A fully articulated live environment transmitted nearly simultaneously as in a Sports event
  • A fully articulated, interactive live environment transmitted in near real time such as a medical conference

Obstacles?

Samsung Gear VR

Concerns, of course, include the delivery method. While gaming with rather bulky headgear isn’t that much of a stretch, business use will likely require customized solutions such as specially equipped media rooms or refined versions of something like Google Glass (Google has actually produced a business version).  Another huge concern for universal adoption is VR’s need for hefty processing power.

But the potential is huge.  As Forbes notes . . . “Combining high-capacity networks with ultra-high resolution cameras, microphones and full-wall displays, all kinds of people, for all kinds of reasons, can capture and project remote communications and activities in real time. This is the future of full field communication in which all of the light and sound of a remote environment is transported in real time and recreated in full, life-size and life-like fidelity.

This kind of visual and auditory detail will create, disrupt and revolutionize many businesses and professional activities.”

Perhaps in the not-too-distant-future, we will have fully immersive media rooms where we view and interact with media and others in a three-dimensional environment!

Video Clips

Video clips for your amusement:  For those that have mouse or touch control, look for the navigation icon in the top left corner.  Thumbnails are clickable and plus text links.
Nike 360 clipA Nike Clip that you  control on your touchscreen phone, tablet or PC. with finger or mouse.  Requires Chrome Browser or YouTube app

 

 

A Preview Oculus animation of Valkyrie

 

 

Samsung Gear VR TahitiTahiti Surf – Use Chrome for best viewing and toggle with your finger or mouse!

 

 

Occulus Wingsuit Jump3A wingsuit base jump video for Oculus, or just watch in 360 and look around with your mouse or finger!

 

 

Qantas Cliphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJype_TafRk A Qantas Video of Hamilton Island in 360.

SiteVision News & Tips January 2016

11 January 2016
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Categories: News, Technology

Man Versus Machine
Top Technology Trend
For 2016 & Beyond

robotics

According to the top tier research company, Gartner Research –  2016 and beyond is all about the emerging and dramatically different relationship of man and machine
.
As machines and autonomous devices get smarter (surely you’ve noticed) they acquire the ability to compete with and surpass the ability of humans to effectively replicate tasks previously assigned to humans.

One example?  Robowriters create content previously produced by humans. In fact, they shine at creating data driven content like finance and sports using algorithms and natural language generators.

The implementation of robotics will affect nearly all areas of human endeavor from manufacturing to analytics, to life-like receptionists and assistants similar to the new humanoid introduced in Singapore.

The concept has dramatic implications for how interaction of workers, machines, management and consumers will play out in the years ahead . . .Read More! 

 

Best Phones, Laptops and PCs of 2015

Surface Pro

 

 

 

 

 

Best Laptops of 2015
Microsoft Surface Pro Gets a Top Nod . . .

MacPro2013_35781456_Monitor_01

 

 

 

 

 

Best Desktops of 2015
No surprise that Apple iMac Pro takes media pro top spot. Dell’s XPS all-in-one also takes a top spot . . .

samsung galaxy s6

Best Phones of 2015
Samsung Galaxy S6 gives the iPhone a run for the money!

Top “O” The Litter Gadget and
Gizmos from Wired

From drones to dryers, cameras or Chromes, and VR, Wired gives it take on the best of the best.

 

 

CES 2016

ces-2016

Each January, thousands gather in Las Vegas for the annual International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to check out the latest and greatest in tech innovations. Fortune gives you a heads up, but expect Smart TVs, auto-autos, drones, and virtual reality tech to lead the way . .  . .

 

 

Bits & Bytes

Microsoft launches new OneDrive for Business sync client, developer kit

Microsoft reneges on unlimited cloud storage for some business users

Passwords have a decade of life left in them, survey shows

Here’s what Apple’s planning for 2016

4 reasons you just can’t seem to quit Facebook

The Biggest Security Threats We’ll Face in 2016

Man Versus Machine: The New Paradigm

5 January 2016
No comments
Categories: News, Technology

Top Technology Trend for 2016 And Beyond

The competition between man and machine

robotics

 

According to the top tier research company, Gartner Research –  2016 and beyond is all about the emerging and dramatically different relationship of man and machine.

As machines and autonomous devices get smarter (surely you’ve noticed) they acquire the ability to compete with and surpass the ability of humans to effectively replicate tasks previously assigned to humans.

One example?  Robowriters create content previously produced by humans. In fact, they shine at creating data driven content like finance and sports using algorithms and natural language generators.

Dramatic Implications

The implementation of robotics will affect nearly all areas of human endeavor from manufacturing to analytics, to life-like receptionists and assistants similar to the new humanoid introduced in Singapore.

The concept has dramatic implications for how interaction of workers, machines, management and consumers will play out in the years ahead

For instance, Gartner predicts among other planning assumptions that

  • By 2018, 20% of all business content will be authored by machines.
  • By 2018, 6 billion connected things will be requesting support.
  • By 2020, autonomous software agents outside of human control will participate in 5% of all economic transactions.

AIA bit thought provoking?  Indeed!  And Gartner suggests harmonizing the interactions of autonomous devices and technologies with humans will be among the business community’s (if not humankind’s) most dramatic challenges.

For example, by 2016 spending on new Internet of things (IoT) hardware will exceed $2.5 million a minute. Plus, as digital “smarts” are increasingly incorporated into hardware and other platforms, so does the likelihood of malevolent intrusion.

 

Security Challenges Will Proliferate

Perhaps most importantly, this march into the future, increasingly demands that business carefully plans for the multi-faceted IT and security challenges  they will face.  Cloud participation, machine to human harmony, software, hardware all must work in unison.  On demand technology will become centric to most business paradigms.

Digital Transformation A Must

In an article by ZDNet discussing top CIO priorities for the year ahead, front and center was the need to continue work on company digital transformation. For those selling direct to the end user, digital revenues are expected to more than double in the next five years.

In all, small business, particularly retail, that has relied on a brick and mortar mentality will be increasingly at risk unless they incorporate digital technologies appropriate to their business model.  Larger concerns already grappling with the reality of a digital future must continue to create agile IT business models that can incorporate and react quickly to emerging technologies and trends.

Go here to obtain a detailed link

 

December 2015 News & Tips

6 December 2015
No comments
Categories: News, Technology

 

Holiday Scam Alert

grinchWe’re confident you know a distant uncle in Nigeria never left you a million bucks. But, better watch out! It’s the year’s most active time for consumer scams. And forgo using debit cards online for the time being. It’s easier to deal with a protected credit card provider than to deal with your fraudulent bank transactions.

While you might be entirely scam-savvy, perhaps take heed and warn family members!

Bogus Storefronts. It’s no big deal to set up a quickie website and scammers know it. Order from one of these sites and you’ll never get the items you wanted, and you’ve likely compromised the credit card you used. It’s particularly important to use trusted websites for the next few weeks. Many of these have Chinese origin, complete with happy buyer reviews.

Email Holiday Phishing: This type phishing is common throughout the year, but is particularly active during the hectic holiday season. Their quest is to get a credit card or social security number by asking you to click on the included link. You may get immediately infected with malware that compromises your entire system, or you may compromise your credit card or social security number. This type of phishing has become more realistic because they use familiar logos and names you find trustworthy. If in doubt, check the properties tab to make sure they are who they say they are. Fake deals, E-cards, postal delivery and order problem scams are among the most prevalent.

Gift Card Fraud: Gift cards are expected to be a near 20 billion dollar business this year. That’s a lot of coin! If you buy these cards at a local store, make sure you check both the front and the back. Thieves have a variety of tactics both manual and tech. Some use a magstrip scanner to copy the numbers and wait for activation by frequently checking the gift card telephone number on the back of the original card. Sometimes employees get in on the scams. And some simply copy the numbers manually. But a bigger problem and one that’s proliferating are online auction sites that promise discounted cards that are stolen, fraudulent or have an overstated value. Probably the best advice is if you buy from a retail rack, make sure your card is tamper-free and check both the front and the back. As for auctions, we’d say don’t even bother!

Fake Charities: It’s sometimes hard to say no when you’re told there’s a need. But during the holidays, it’s especially important just to say no. In fact, we’d say say it’s unwise to contribute to a charity by phone, mail or email until you have checked credentials by a site such as Charity Navigator a non-profit, excellent site for determining the validity and the value of a charity request.

Stay safe and have a great holiday!

 

Hosting Welcomes
Roanoke Bar Association

rba

rba_resources

 Great Holiday Or Anytime Gifts & Gadgets!

rokuCable Cutter: Roku If you or someone you gift haven’t cut (or diminished) cable TV yet, and are thinking about it, it may be time to go for it. There are other options out there, but ROKU generally comes out in first place in four different flavors: Stick, Streaming, 4D HD streaming and now Roku TVs. Cnet reviews all brands and rates ROKU 2 as Editor’s Choice, calling it, “spectacular.”

HBO: Now Streaming. They’ve teased us with options that included Apple TV and those who subscribed to Cable TV, but, sadly, they shunned dedicated cord cutters who had dumped Cable TV quite some time ago. BUT, HBO has now announced that it’s available on all popular streaming devices, including ROKU. It’s right at $15.00 per month, so you’ll have decide how much you like their programming or the next season of Game of Thrones.

amazon_echo-100529334-primary.idgeAmazon Echo: We’ve mentioned this clever little device before, but it keeps getting smarter and more interesting. Simply plug it in and pair it with your wifi. Alexa, as “she” is called will play your music, give you the current weather, the latest news, set up a shopping list, give you the latest sports scores, and a lot of other cool stuff. It’s a bit pricier than some of our other choices, but a thoroughly enjoyable one with very decent music chops. You can read a recent review at PC Mag.

 
projectorSmartphone Projector. Reminiscent of Google Cardboard, pop in your Smartphone and this clever slide projector mimics the high-priced alternative for about $30.00.  A glass lens mounted in a corrugated cardboard frame magnifies your smartphone up to eight times its original size. A few loved it.  A few found it lacking. Find It: Uncommon Goods

 

cell-phone-lenses-photojojo - CopyPhotojojo’s Magnetic Phone Lens Series gets you pop-on Fisheye, Super Fisheye, Telephoto, Wide Angle, Macro and Polarizing cell phone lenses in various combinations. They also have other fun goodies like iPhone sticky notes for the back of your phone–a mere eight bucks! More at Photojojo

 

google cardboardGoogle Cardboard: Using a DIY Cardboard layout or a ready-made, you, too, can experience virtual reality. Choose an app, hook up your Smartphone to Cardboard, and you’re in go mode.
It’s a creative idea that’s fun for any age. One favorite app is Rollercoaster, a scary ride you won’t soon forget! More about Cardboard. Find apps on Google Play.

 

chromebit_stickChrombit PC On A Stick: Yes, it looks a bit like Chromcast, the Google streaming device, but the $85 Chromebit PC-on-a-stick transforms your TV or monitor into a Chromebook. Mini PCs appear to be a trend, and while some doubt their usefulness, they may point to a future where all that you need is in the cloud. You access that information with a computer no bigger than the palm of your hand — and by an on-screen or projected keyboard.

So, in addition to home use, imagine yourself at a hotel for a sales trip. Instead of carrying around (or losing) an expensive laptop, You just whip out a mini, plug it into the TV and get busy. Interesting potential. More at TechCrunch or PC World

Bits & Bytes

RaspberryPiZeroRaspberry Pi Zero

The totally affordable, totally cool, $5.00 computer. Imagined up by some very smart fellows in the UK, they are designed to inspire an inner fire for programming. They were sold out within the day, but take heart! Kid or adult, these little wonders will charm the techie out of you.

And wait for it, there are more to come. At least so we’ve been told. The Raspberry Pi Foundation is the creator. Adafruit is the US distributor. If they are not back in stock when you visit, you might want to pony up $39 plus change for the Raspberry Pi 2 which makes stuff like this shown on YouTube.

If you find that pretty awesome, there’s also Makey Makey, a kit to do very interesting things with alligator clips and your computer.

The ZuckerbergsFacebook Mark Zuckerberg and Wife, Priscilla, Will Give Away Billions.

To celebrate and honor the birth of their new baby girl, the couple has pledged to give away 99 percent of their Facebook Shares, now worth about 45 billion over the course of their lives. The gifting will go to, “improving this world for the next generation.” Read more . . .

In Other Security News

Dyreza Trojan Hooks Into Microsoft Edge

VTech Toymaker Acknowledges Breach Of 6.4 Million Children Profiles

Second Dangerous Dell Root Certificate Discovered.

Microsoft Yanks November Win10 Upgrade From Download Site

 

 

 

October 2015 News & Tips

8 October 2015
No comments
Categories: Information, News, Technology

Windows 10 Here to Stay! But Do We Love It?

Windows 10With over 75 million installs and counting in just a few months, Windows 10 is here to stay. So what’s the verdict so far? Most say this is the best since Win7. But that begs a question. Win8 was almost universally dismissed as, well, you know, a critter that barks. 8.1 was a step in the right direction and wasn’t hated – even garnering some positive reviews. So how does Win10 stack up? Read More . . .

 

SiteVision Welcomes New Hosting Clients


evision_logoevision® turned to SiteVision for an ESRI ArcGIS Shared Map Hosting Service that would incorporate a Web Mapping Service (WMS) to serve georeferenced map images.  Read More

Tidewater Community CollegeTidewater Community College, also known as “TCC,” is a busy, two-year higher education institution in South Hampton Roads with campuses in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach. . .Read More

 

Botetourt County logo_new

Botetourt County, Virginia, is hosting its Visit Botetourt website, as well as several complimentary sites. They include: Botetourt Wine Trails, Downtowns of Botetourt, Explore Botetourt, and its Upper James River Watertrail site.

Nestled just north of Roanoke, Virginia, Botetourt County offers rolling hills, miles of hiking trails, scenic rivers, streams, and historic towns, all surrounded by a majestic mountain backdrop.

 

Hosting: When Out of the Box Just Doesn’t Fit.

out_of_the_boxHosting is often an off-the-shelf package to fit all. It can feature attractive pricing but frequently comes at a high price in lack of personalized help, annoying downtimes, and slow access . . .

Read More

 

 

The City of Roanoke, VA Chooses SiteVision For GIS Support & Development.

GIS

The City of Roanoke, Virginia has contracted with SiteVision, Inc. for ongoing support and enhancement of the City’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The city’s GIS system is used extensively by the public, as well as by city employees. The firm, together with the city, collaborated to design the original GIS architecture, along with improvements over the years . . .

Read More

 

 

iPhone 6S Blows Past Sales Record But Watch the Numbers.

iphone_linesApple iPhone 6s garnered 13 million in sales in just 3 days, but this time China, the world’s largest economy was included. Market watchers are busy analyzing the results and will look toward upcoming sales figures. In 2014, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were not available in China during Apple’s first release wave. This year, Apple included China in its first wave, along with the U.S. and 11 other markets.

But no matter — Apple enthusiasts cued up, paid up and went away smiling until the phones ran out. For those who weren’t so lucky, the phone is back-ordered in six markets from one to four weeks.

MarketWatch
ComputerWorld

 

Bits & Bytes

Patched Android Screen Still A Threat

Amazon Echo Just Got Smarter.

25 Cool Gadgets for Under $50.00

Android “Marshmallow” Coming Soon

Tech Radar Reviews the iPhone 6s

Apple Music Free Subscriptions Expire.Time to Pay Up.

Microsoft Office 2016 and Google Docs. A Comparison.

 

The City of Roanoke, VA Chooses SiteVision For Geographic Information System Support

9 September 2015
No comments
Categories: Geographic Information Systems, News, Technology

Roanoke VA September 9, 2015 — The City of Roanoke, Virginia has contracted with SiteVision, Inc. for ongoing support and enhancement of the roanokecitylogosquareCity’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The city’s GIS system is used extensively by the public, as well as by city employees. The firm, together with the city, collaborated to design the original GIS architecture, along with improvements over the years.

The City (http://www.roanokeva.gov) uses GIS to solve problems and improve business processes while promoting enterprise solutions. GIS is a system of computer software, hardware, data, and personnel to help manipulate, analyze and present information tied to a spatial location.

As a veteran in the geospatial sector, SiteVision has been planning, developing and hosting GIS Internet applications since the mid-1990’s. The firm’s experience ranges from evaluating, recommending, and designing local, regional, and state GIS applications and related infrastructures, to developing national systems designed to store and access multiple petabytes of geospatial Information.

SiteVision (http://www.sitevision.com), among other responsibilities, will provide on-going maintenance to all versions of the Real Estate GIS websites. The firm in concert with the city will also assist in customization and development of future website upgrades, server design and software solutions. SiteVision will collaborate with the city’s GIS staff to provide additional technical expertise and recommendations as requested.
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Currently, the City’s Real Estate GIS system offers desktop, tablet, and mobile versions. A comprehensive selection of search tools allows the user to query the City’s real estate system and access detailed property information directly. Community information provides users with a summary of specific neighborhood information such as school zones, voter precincts, trash collection, greenways, and youth athletic regions. The incentive portal provides a summary of city, state and federal incentive programs available to a specific parcel.

Other GIS functionality includes tools for selecting and drawing spatial queries. Users may access related community and incentive data, create reports, and use links to the city’s permitting center. Google maps and city-owned Pictometry imagery are incorporated. In addition to specific parcel information, the map services include community layering indicating greenways, parks, schools, voter precincts, golf courses, and more.

About SiteVision: SiteVision, Inc. (http://www.sitevision.com) is an Internet application development, consulting, design and hosting firm. The firm provides solutions for a broad spectrum of markets and industries, as well as for state, federal and international entities. Expertise includes custom, dynamic applications, consulting to achieve unique goals, geographic information systems (GIS), and content management systems. Hosting services include shared, custom and dedicated hosting solutions, as well as map and GIS application hosting.

SiteVision, Inc. participates in, or is available through, the following state and federal contracting vehicles, and is an SOC 1 SSAE 16 Type II compliant firm:

The firm’s home office is in Roanoke, VA, with sales offices in Charlottesville, VA and Miami, FL.

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August Newsletter: Windows 10 Will You Get It?

4 August 2015
No comments
Categories: Information, News, Security, Technology

windows-10By the time you read this, Windows 10 will have formally launched.

And remember, until July 28 of next year, it’s available free to non-pirated versions of Windows 7 or 8 devices.

But do you want it? Will you love it? How do you get it? When?

IT departments will have one view, which is sure to be a “wait until the dust settles” mental, and until they feel stability is a known.

Consumers, however, will likely be intrigued by mostly positive reviews thus far, and a pretty heavy nudge by Microsoft with it’s “free for all, almost” approach. The new, leaner Edge browser and Cortana, your personal assistant, are among intriguing inclusions. And, if you’re in the market for a PC, it will come preloaded for most. You can check out online reviews below!

More controversial was a Microsoft decision to make updates mandatory, especially when a recent video driver crashed systems throughout the preview community. To counter the hue and cry, Microsoft has issued package KB3073930, a download which allows you to hide or block Windows and driver updates – last reviewed on July 28. According to ZDnet the package is labeled for use with the Windows 10 Insider Preview, but based on its performance on the final (10240) preview build, ZDNet felt it should work with the final release beginning July 29.

Overall, is the feeling that Microsoft has finally gotten it right, or very nearly so.

You can read more at:

ZDNet (Numerous topics on everything Windows)

TechRadar (Price, News, Features)

Engadget (Review)

Microsoft (All the details they want you to know!)

Two Critical Vulnerabilities Noted
For Windows, Android

Windows
Emergency Patch:

ms windowsMicrosoft has rushed out an emergency update for a critical windows vulnerability that would permit a takeover of your entire system. So, if you don’t engage in automatic Windows updates, take heed.

From PC World To verify if your PC has the critical update on Windows 8.1 (Windows Vista and 7 users will have a similar process), open the Control Panel, search for “Windows Update”, and then choose View update history. Towards the top of the list, you should see a security update with the number KB3079904.

If you don’t see it and want to install this update right away, run Windows Update manually—a restart will be required.

stagefrightAndroid: Nearly one billion phones are at risk with a newly discovered texting flaw.

Called “Stagefright,” NPR says here’s how the attack would work: The bad guy creates a short video, hides the malware inside it and texts it to your number. The bad news is you don’t even need to open it before it begins processing. Once it’s activated the attacker can take complete control of your phone.

Important links with additional info and potential fixes are listed below, and Google has patches and has notified the major carriers and manufacturers. But the process is likely to be slow and uneven.

Whether it gets put into people’s phones is not in Google’s hands.The NPR article notes: “In this case Google is not the actual one to blame,” says Collin Mulliner, a senior research scientist at Northeastern University. It’s ultimately the manufacturer of your phone, in combination possibly with your carrier.”

What To Do Now!

Probably the most immediate thing you should do is disable automatic downloading in your messenger app. If your app is older and doesn’t have this feature, it may be time to get a new app!

More at NPR, Greenbot, Twilio

Bits & Bytes

Cortana Speaks

Cortana Gets Sassy

Lenovo PC Stick: Plug Into Any TV or Monitor And Have a Windows PC

Personal Seismic Gadget Warns You Before The Big One Hits

Google Shows You Everywhere You’ve Been

Amazon’s New Dash Button Ordering

10 Of The Best Gadgets So Far This Year

SiteVision Sponsors The Lucee Project

6 July 2015
No comments
Categories: Custom Web Applications, Development Solutions, News, Technology

The SiteVision sponsorship encourages an open source and community-driven International effort to substantially enhance the ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) — a vital tool in web application and database development.

lucee logo 3Roanoke VA July 6, 2015— SiteVision, Inc. and its development team have elected to sponsor The Lucee Association Switzerland (LAS) in its quest to continue modernization of CFML. Lucee is a public source derivative, or fork, of the Railo CFML open source engine which is backwards compatible with both Railo and Adobe ColdFusion. The Lucee Project is led by the Lucee Association Switzerland, a non-profit Swiss association. It is a growing international project that is committed to the success of its community delivering quality, free, open-source software within a nurturing and supportive developer environment.

SiteVision’s (http://www.sitevision.com) long experience in CFML web application development led to its endorsement of the LAS (http://www.lucee.org) and Project Lucee. The firm’s background in expert level CFML deployments fully embraces disciplines that enhance dynamic Web page creation and database access in a Web server environment. SiteVision’s Lead Technical Architect, Daria Norris, has been an enthusiastic supporter of advanced CFML scripting and is a frequent presenter on the CFML circuit. Steven Neiland, SiteVision Senior Developer, is also actively involved in Lucee Project testing, blogging and documenting.

In its simplest form, CFML like many other web scripting languages augments standard HTML files with database commands, conditional operators, high-level formatting functions, and other elements to produce web applications. According to LAS, Lucee is made for the web; it simplifies common tasks for this environment. It is a light-weight, dynamic scripting language for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that enables the rapid development of simple to highly sophisticated web applications. Currently Lucee may be thought of as an upgrade to Railo which is itself, an open source modernization of CFML. The LAS group currently offers a stable release with Lucee 4.5, and has also recently released a 5.0 beta version, both of which are available to download from the Lucee Website.

In a keynote speech delivered at the dev.Objective() conference, 2015 in Minneapolis, MN, Geoff Bowers the acting LAS Secretary stressed that CFML compatibility was an essential goal: “For the sake of clarity, we will never remove something from the Lucee CFML compatibility layer that will decrease our compatibility with Adobe’s latest offering. Even if we choose to “deprecate” something, we mean simply that a better alternative exists . . . If you are a CFML developer you will be right at home with Lucee Language. Its got the same fundamental principles as CFML but with modern best practices, and language improvements built in.”

Daria Norris of SiteVision notes that: “The work LAS is doing with Lucee 4.5 is raising the standard for CFML programming. While it is still a beta, Lucee 5 gives us a glimpse into a future that includes ease of deployment, modern features and rapid language training and development.

About SiteVision: SiteVision, Inc. (www.sitevision.com) is an Internet application development, consulting, design and hosting firm providing solutions for a broad spectrum of markets and industries, as well as for state, federal and international entities. Expertise includes custom, back-end dynamic applications, consulting to achieve unique goals, geographic information systems (GIS), content management systems, hosting services including, map and GIS application hosting, as well as custom and dedicated hosting solutions.

SiteVision, Inc. participates in, or is available through, the following state and federal contracting vehicles, and is a SOC 1 SSAE 16 Type II compliant firm:

The firm has its home office in Roanoke, VA, with sales offices in Charlottesville, VA and Miami, FL.

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June News & Tips

6 June 2015
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Categories: Hosting Solutions, News, Security, Technology

WordPress Users Should Update Once Again.

 WordPress 4.2.2 Critical Update

WordPress LogoYes. Shortly after 4.2 comes yet another update, so take heed.

The Genericons icon font package, which is used in a number of popular themes and plugins, contained an HTML file that is vulnerable to a cross-site scripting attack. To help protect users, WordPress 4.2.2 proactively scans the wp-content directory for this HTML file and removes it.

Read More: WordPress.Org or SC Magazine

**Note that because WordPress has unique security issues, SiteVision offers its customers a comprehensive update service on an as requested basis ($60) or as a monthly maintenance feature ($60 monthly, 1st month free). Just contact us.

Finding Your Best Hosting Option

InternetWe get many questions regarding hosting options! The variety of choices can often be somewhat overwhelming for businesses large and small.

Is a shared solution adequate for your needs, or could you be compromising valuable data? What exactly is a virtual private server (VPS)? Does my growing business dictate a more secure solution? I’m fairly certain our business needs a dedicated server or more, but should we just buy our own?

With that in mind, we’ve developed a brief article that discusses and compares the advantages of three popular hosting options in a simple, straightforward way: shared hosting, virtual private servers, and dedicated servers.

Read More

Are You At Risk?

Hacker WAVSIt seems it’s again all the news. Recent breaches of historic proportions – think Anthem and Target, to name but a few, have confirmed that proactive web security measures are now a must for websites of all sizes and types.

A primary scanning, analysis and reporting tool is that of Website Application Vulnerability Scanning (WAVS). You can visit our website to learn more about this important issue.

Read More

Google I/O 2015 Roundup

Google cardboardSo what was up at Google’s big event? In a nutshell: Android M, new Google Photos, iOS-friendly Google Cardboard, clothes into wearables, ultra-secure Project Vault, and the Project Abacus initiative for better authentications. Google Cardboard got plenty of play for its ability to share a VR experience with a simple viewer anyone can build or buy. Get it, fold it and look inside to enter the world of Cardboard. Tech Radar has a roundup. The Verge also has a recap.

It’s A Wrap. Win 10 To Hit The Streets.

ms windowsWhether you’re ready to take the leap or not, Windows 10 has an official release date and pricing. The release date is now July 29. The price? Well, it depends. At retail it will be $119 for Windows 10 Home, $199 for Windows 10 Professional. But wait. There’s still the free offer out there: If you have a licensed copy of Win 7 or Win 8.1 you still qualify for a free upgrade for a year.

The Verge takes a look at the many faces of Win 10 on their feature page, and, if you want to peek at specifications from Microsoft, go here.

Why SiteVision?

We’re your advocate. SiteVision has been providing web development and hosting services to government agencies and non-profit organizations for over 20 years. We understand how overwhelming it can be to seek out a reliable solution for you website, custom application, and hosting needs.

At SiteVision we are passionate about creating solutions for customers that make their life better. We excel at understanding your business process and developing an application that is easy to learn and operate. We will always be fair, knowledgeable, honest, and professional.

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