PC Memoirs

While Facebook is already no stranger to criticism and controversy regarding the privacy of its users, a new series of issues are arising out of the social network’s new attempt to make policy changes.

Just two weeks ago, Facebook had asked users to vote on a proposal that would forfeit the right of users to further vote on privacy measures regarding the network. A vote to give up the right to vote? The proposal has had quite a number of people in the sphere laughing at the idea. But now it is getting a bit more serious.

According to a public statement from Facebook, there was initial value to be found in the comment-based voting system regarding privacy rights. But through the perspective of Facebook, it was found that the system was leading to counterproductive comments, or one’s that were “incentivized”.

The concern of a high number of comments over the quality of them has led Facebook to where it is now – to develop a new voting system that will not involve the input of users. As of last Wednesday, Facebook will not allow users to vote on any further measures. This is just one of three new pillars of change with the new policy, as stated by Kashmir Hill of Forbes.

Read the rest »

For almost all computer users hard drives are the major data storage media, which store all their personal as well as business critical data. Sometimes, with much precious data in it, the hard drive fails and all the data becomes completely inaccessible. The reason behind hard drive failure can be anything from virus attack or operating system crash to file system corruption. However, now there are many hard drive data recovery solutions for such unfortunate instances of data loss or inaccessibility.

Hard drive recovery is the technique to recover lost, deleted, formatted data from any working or unresponsive hard disk of your computer.

Even though it is possible to connect external media and store data there, the default in-built media hard drives are preferred.

Even if there is back up, users store their back-up copies in another hard drive. Whether it is your main system hard drive or the back-up drive, failure or crash results in the loss of valuable data.

Read the rest »

With ultrabooks and Windows 8 forming a formidable relationship, a lot of people are eyeing these sleek gadgets this season. Not only do you get a robust gadget for work and play, you also get an OS that is fresh and a breeze to use.

Two factors that affect a person’s ultrabook shopping are: performance and price. The Acer Aspire V5 Series delivers on both fronts. That means investing in these beauties will give you smooth performance without burning a big hole in your pocket.

Here’s a look at two of the models that you should consider this holiday season. One is for an ultrabook freak, and the other is for a shopper who’s looking for the same features at a much reduced rate.

Acer Aspire V5-571P:

This V5 model is all about decent looks, midrange configuration as well as a touch screen. All this comes to you at a moderate price, thus making it a worthwhile 15.6 inch laptop to check out.

Read the rest »

Most people would want that their iPhone should go on and on before the battery needs a charge. However, you also know that it is just wishful thinking and that the battery needs to be recharged at regular intervals. However, for people on the move constantly with no access to a power source, it can be a real pain. Such people need to learn to stretch iPhone’s battery life to get the maximum out of it in a single charge. The iPhone 4 can go on for 2 full days with continuous usage before it begs to be recharged.

Here are a few tips that you could follow to get maximum mileage from your iPhone battery.

Avoid a bright screen

Most people do not bother to check the brightness of the screen on most devices, like a PC, laptop, tablet, mobile phone and even an iPhone. More often than not, you buy a device and start using it in the same condition that it was in when you got it from the store. Maybe, a friendly store attendant would have taken the trouble to have the basic things activated, and you just started happily using it without checking a single thing. Adjusting the screen brightness is good in two ways. Firstly, your eyes are protected from the harsh glare. More important is that the battery lasts considerably longer when the screen brightness is set less than 45%. It is easy, and you can do it yourself. Just go to settings, and select Brightness and position the slider midway, or more towards the less bright side. Once you turn on the auto-dim feature, it adjusts itself according to the lighting.

Read the rest »

Free wi-fi networks have become much more common as more businesses have started to add this perk for their customers. It’s convenient to be able to check your e-mail or do some research while you’re enjoying a hot coffee and scone. However, while these wi-fi hot spots make it easy for you to log in while you’re out and about, they also pose great security risks for your personal data.

Many public wi-fi spots are not protected, and hackers can easily steal your personal data or try to attack your computer or mobile device with spyware or malware. It is important to learn how to use these networks securely so you can protect your data while also enjoying the convenience of connecting when you are away from home.

Here’s how you can use wi-fi networks without compromising your data:

Activate Your Firewall

Your firewall is your first level of protection whether you are connecting to the Internet at home or on a public network. While your firewall won’t make your computer invincible to attacks (don’t feel too overconfident and start downloading programs from untrusted sources), it will provide a strong barrier between your computer and malicious programs.

Read the rest »