Flights canceled as British Airways hit by computer problem

LONDON — British Airways (BA) canceled almost 100 flights to and from London airports on Wednesday after its check-in systems were hit by computer problems.

The airline said a “systems issue” was causing delays and cancellations for short-haul flights from Heathrow, Gatwick, and London City airports.

British Airways said it was relying on back-up and manual systems, and canceled 81 flights due to operate to, or from Heathrow, and 10 Gatwick flights, stranding some 15,000 passengers. More than 200 other flights were delayed.

“A number of flights continue to operate but we are advising customers to check ba.com for the latest flight information before coming to the airport,” the airline said in a statement.

BA said short-haul passengers due to travel Wednesday could re-book for another day.

In May 2017, tens of thousands of passengers were stranded when a global computer failure grounded hundreds of British Airways flights over three days. BA passengers were also hit with severe delays in July and September 2016 because of problems with the airline’s online check-in systems.


The airline is also set to be fined 183 million pounds ($222 million) over a cyberattack on its security systems last year in which the personal data of up to 500,000 customers were stolen. /kga

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

An Apple-1 goes up for auction on Sept. 25

Calling all Apple fanboys and collectors: an Apple-1 is set to be sold at an auction in Boston on Sept. 25, 2018, and potential buyers will be able to bid online. The computer is estimated to fetch between $300,000 and $400,000 (about P15.9 million to P21.3 million).

The computer, which was built in 1976, was recently restored and is billed as being perfectly operational. It comes with the owner’s manual, a new period-style power supply with original Apple-1 power cable and connector, as well as a keyboard and a period Sanyo 4205 video monitor.

The Apple-1 will be auctioned with a starting bid of $50,000 (P2.6 million) with live bidding set to begin Sept. 25. Hopefuls can sign up to bid via Invaluable.com.



The Apple-1 was the first personal computer sold by the Californian tech firm. It is a relatively rudimentary device, requiring a keyboard and a monitor or TV to function. It is now a collector’s item that can fetch impressive sums when remaining machines come up for sale. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak produced around 200 models in 1976, almost all of which sold within a few months.

The computer is being sold as part of the “Remarkable Rarities” auction, which features rare items from Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” sheet music signed by the three band members to a letter signed by George Washington.

Other Apple-related lots in the sale include a Macintosh computer signed by Steve Jobs and nine team members (estimated to fetch $25,000 to $30,000, or about P1.3 million to P1.59 million) and a Betamax videotape of the firm’s “1984” commercial for the launch of Macintosh (estimated to fetch $10,000 to $15,000, or about P533,000 to almost P800,000).

You can bid on the Apple-1 through this link. JB

source: technology.inquirer.net

Virgin America computer systems hacked

SEATTLE — Alaska Airlines said it is taking precautions including requiring employees to change their passwords after Virgin America’s computer systems were hacked.

An Alaska Airlines spokeswoman said Monday that the company noticed unusual activity in Virgin’s systems in March and notified law enforcement and hired cybersecurity experts. She said customer information wasn’t affected but employees and contractors will be required to change passwords every 90 days.

About 3,100 employees may have had their login information stolen, the airline said. Another 110 also had personal information compromised, including addresses, Social Security numbers and health-related information. The airline is paying for credit-monitoring services for those 110 employees and contractors.

Alaska bought California-based Virgin America last year.

A letter to Virgin America employees from Kyle Levine, general counsel of Seattle-based Alaska Air Group Inc., was posted on the California attorney general’s website last week.

Levine said the hacker or hackers gained employees’ login information and passwords to Virgin America’s network. He offered advice for employees who think they might be victims of identity theft.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

New Google Drive app allows users to back up entire computer

After amping up its Gmail file transfer services last March, Google is turning its Drive feature into the ultimate backup tool.

According to The Verge, the famed file storage and synchronization service will undergo an immense upgrade called the Backup and Sync feature.

Starting June 28, Google Drive users will no longer have to rely on files being simply stored on the Drive folder. Instead, Google will now be able to  monitor and back up files inside any folder including the desktop and even the entire Documents folder.

Theoretically, the app can back up an entire computer, but users must still be wary of their file sizes as the free Drive storage space is capped at 15GB. Those who wish to exceed beyond that must pay for extended storage, the report said.

The Backup and Sync app, meanwhile, is expected to eventually replace both the Google Drive app and the Google Photos Backup app. However, Google has recommended that business users stick with the existing Drive app for the meantime.

The new feature rolls out in less than two weeks and will be available on Google Drive for both Mac and PC.  Khristian Ibarrola /ra

source: technology.inquirer.net

New HP Stream products easy on the pocket

When productivity and speed are the prime criteria required of a laptop, HP’s latest Stream devices should fit the bill.

Made to be both portable and budget-friendly, HP’s devices focus more on efficiency and reliability over raw power. Three iterations will be made available—an 11-inch version, a 14-incher, and an 11-inch Stream x360, Tech Radar reports.

These new models claim to have improved batteries over their predecessors. They will also have USB 3.0 ports, thinner form factors and lighter chassis. Dual-antenna WiFi receivers will also be included for faster wireless connectivity.

The best thing about these productivity-centric laptops is the prices, which start at $199 for the HP Stream 11, available starting Aug. 24. The Stream 14, priced at $219, will be out on Sept. 7. Finally the Stream x360 is planned to be made available in select regions later in September, for $249.

With such affordable devices, these will be perfect for many people on the go and on limited budgets, particularly students who need to type out reports and do online research without getting distracted by the prospect of gaming while they take a “short” break.  Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net

Google unveils ‘stick’ computer with Asus

WASHINGTON, United States - Google and Taiwan's Asus are launching a "computer on a stick" which can plug into a display to turn it into a PC.

Google said in a blog post that the Asus Chromebit would be arriving mid-year with a low price tag.

"Smaller than a candy bar, the Chromebit is a full computer that will be available for less than $100," Google said.

"By simply plugging this device into any display, you can turn it into a computer. It’s the perfect upgrade for an existing desktop and will be really useful for schools and businesses."

The statement offered no other details on the device, but Google also announced its lowest-cost Chromebook laptop computers at $149 in partnership with Chinese electronic groups Haier and Hisense.

With a display of 11.6 inches, the Haier computer is being sold through Amazon and the Hisense PC through Walmart.

Google has produced Chrome devices with other manufacturers including Acer, Lenovo, Dell and LG. — Agence Franc-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Pope Francis urges youth to use information technology wisely

 

Pope Francis on Sunday urged the youth to judiciously use information technology (IT) lest "the psychology of the computer let us think that we know it all."

 

Speaking at an encounter with the youth at the University of Santo Tomas, the pope said having many modern means of communication can help but there is a danger of accumulating information.

 

"Today with so many means of communication, we are overloaded with information. Is that bad? Not necessarily ... It is good and it can help, but there is a real danger of living in a way of accumulating information. We have so much information but maybe we dont know what to do with that information," he said through an interpreter.

 

 

 

He warned of the risk of becoming museums of young people who he said have everything but may not know what they want to do with them.

 

The Pope said the challenge is to learn how to love and "through that love, that information bear fruit."

 

"We dont need youth museum but we do need holy young people," he said.

 

Also, he said the youths should learn to use their hearts, minds and hands - "to think, to feel, to do, and all that harmoniously."

 

The Pope also warned against having the psychology of a computer to "think we know it all."

 

"Let us not have the psychology of a computer to think we know it all," he said. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

 

source: gmanetwork.com

Kaspersky AV inadvertently cuts off WinXP users' Internet access

Many users of computers running Microsoft's Windows XP and Kaspersky's antivirus software found themselves cut off from the Internet this week, a tech site reported.

A report on The Next Web cited Twitter posts and forum posts by unhappy users whose Internet access was blocked by Kaspersky's update (version 8.1.0.831).




"Kaspersky Lab has fixed the issue that was causing the Web Anti-Virus component in some products to block Internet access. The error was caused by a database update that was released on Monday, February 4th, at 11:52 a.m., EST," The Next Web quoted Kaspersky as saying in a statement.

It also said the problem was limited to x86 systems with the following Kaspersky Lab products installed:


    Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Windows Workstations 6.04 MP4
    Kaspersky Endpoint Security 8 for Windows
    Kaspersky Endpoint Security 10 for Windows
    Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 and 2013
    Kaspersky Pure 2.0


"Kaspersky Lab would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused by this database update error. Actions have been taken to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future," Kaspersky said in its statement to The Next Web.

Before the fix was issued, The Next Web noted users complained they could not access internal (company networks) or external (on the Internet) websites, even as many noted Windows 7 did not appear to be affected.

Some users tried rolling back the update while others disabled Kaspersky's Web protection for the moment.

Others manually unblocked the ports 80, 443, and any ports they may have been using for a proxy.

But as of Tuesday morning (in the US), Kaspersky has since issued an update to address the problem.

"The bad news is that in many cases it will require user intervention: the update should install automatically but some users will have to disable the Web protection component first," The Next Web said.

The Next Web noted this was not the first occasional problem caused by faulty updates.

It said the last major one was in May 2012, when Avira crippled PCs by blocking critical Windows processes and third-party software. That was eventually fixed with an update. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Intel to stop making PC motherboards

In what could be another sign that the world is entering the post-PC era, Intel Corp. is quitting the consumer motherboard business once it introduces its new central processing unit (CPU) product.

The company, which had prided itself on PCs with "Intel inside" since the 1990s, will wind down its Intel Channel Board Division in the next three years, Maximum PC reported.

“We disclosed internally today that Intel’s Desktop Motherboard Business will begin slowly ramping down over the course of the next three years,” Intel spokesman Daniel Snyder told Maximum PC.

He added that as Intel gradually ramps down its motherboard business, it will ramp up "critical areas of the desktop space."



These include the "integration of innovative solutions for the PC ecosystem such as reference design development, NUC (next unit of computing), and other areas to be discussed later."

While Intel has rarely turned heads with its motherboards, it managed to get attention with its Skulltrail motherboard that boasted two Xeon’s rebranded as Core 2 Extreme QX9770 chips.

But Maximum PC said that board became a political football between Nvidia and Intel over Nvidia's license to make  chipsets for the then new Core i7 CPUs.

It added the Skulltrail board was criticized as “ahead of its time” with other board makers emulating the Skulltrail to an extent with their own extreme dual-processor motherboards such as eVGA’s SR-series of boards.

"For the most part Intel boards have long been lauded as being 'Intel reliable' but also utterly forgettable by enthusiasts looking for the next hotness in motherboards," it said.

Maximum PC said the eventual shuttering of the board division will not likely impact Intel’s other board division known as the Customer Reference Board Group.

CRBG develops test motherboards for the companies new CPUs and even issues design guidelines and tips to third-party motherboard vendors.

Intel still values desktops

Snyder also stressed the move does not mean Intel believes that desktops are doomed.

“The Desktop segment continues to be a major focus for Intel with hundreds of products across many sub-segments and applications. Intel expects the broad and capable [desktop] motherboard ecosystem (i.e. Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and many others) to fully support Intel’s growing roadmap and large worldwide customer base,” he said.

He added Intel remains very committed to the desktop business and is making significant investments in the enthusiast platform with its K SKU portfolio and new third-generation Intel Core Extreme Processors.

"In fact, Intel’s roadmap includes 227 desktop SKUs at 34 different price points, offering desktop solutions for a wide range of customers. In addition, Intel is also significantly investing in the growing All-in-One ecosystem, contributing to 30 percent growth over the last few years,” Snyder said.

Top motherboard makers

Maximum PC said Snyder declined to say why Intel decided to shutter the division but speculated the division "wasn’t a huge money maker for the multibillion company."

It noted that as far as motherboard manufacturers are concerned, Asus presently leads with Gigabyte, Asrock, and then MSI next.

"Asus and Gigabyte combined account for roughly 70 percent of all motherboards sold worldwide, according to Taiwan-based news site, DigiTimes.com.  With these numbers, it’s no surprise that most enthusiasts didn’t even know Intel made motherboards.

Yet, Maximum PC said Intel's move is likely to reignite rumors and continual conspiracy theories that it planned to ditch desktop computing entirely.

Last month, it noted Intel was said to be abandoning all sockets for all future desktops once Haswell is released in favor of BGA products that would come soldered into motherboards.

Many had speculated such a move would signal a sea change for the do-it-yourself crowd who like picking and choosing their processor separately from motherboards.

"The rumor mill grew to such a fervor that Intel itself had to step in after AMD pledged that it would support sockets for the next couple of years by saying it would support sockets for the 'foreseeable future' too," it said. — LBG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Scarlett Johansson Could Get $66,000 From Nude Photo Hacker

 Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and Renee Olstead may get settlement from their personal account hacker. Prosecutors said Christopher Chaney, who pleaded guilty to nine counts of computer hacking, should pay the celebrities a total of $150,000 in compensation and serve 71 months in prison.

Chaney hacked into email accounts of around 50 people in the entertainment industry daily. He managed to get the nude pictures of Johansson which were sent to her then-husband Ryan Reynolds. The 35-year-old man forwarded the pictures to another hacker and two celebrity websites which then started the worldwide circulation online.

Prosecutors are asking a judge to order Chaney to pay Johansson $66,179.46, Aguilera $7,500, Osltead $76,767.35 and Aftra Health Fund $10,374.59. "Indeed, it was apparently such a rush that he continued to do it after the FBI had come and searched his home and seized his computer," attorney Lisa Feldman wrote about the 71-month sentence. "At least once, on an occasion after defendant's residence had already been searched by the FBI, the recipient of the email, a secondary victim, complied."

source:  http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00051756.html