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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 15 Issue 31
Volume 15, Issue 31 Atari Online News, Etc. August 9, 2013
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2013
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Fred Horvat
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1531 08/09/13
~ Biz, Pleasure Don't Mix ~ People Are Talking! ~ ACEC 2013 Swap Meet!
~ Wii U Still Losing $$$! ~ Amazon Tablet "Puzzle" ~ SOPA Revival News?
~ Latvia Extradition Hold ~ FF VII Web Series Woes ~ Amazon Console Soon!
~ 3-D Printing Mainstream ~ AOL Raises Its Prices! ~ Facebook Confession!
-* German E-mail Gets Encrypted *-
-* Obama, Tech Execs Talk Surveillance *-
-* Lavabit Shutting Down As Snowden Protest! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I'll make this very quick this week. Internet access this week has been
sporadic to nil all week due to issues with my cable provider; and it
was finally resolved (hopefully!) earlier this evening. This week's
issue has been put together hastily in order to get it out to our readers
in a reasonable amount of time. So, without further delay, let's get to
it!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - ACEC 2013 Vintage Computer and Video Game Swap Meet
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Amazon Prepping Video Game Console for 2013 Launch?
Nintendo Still Losing Money on Every Wii U It Sells!
And more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
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Amazon Reportedly Prepping Video Game Console for 2013 Launch
Amazon is reportedly working to launch an own-brand video game console
powered by Android that will launch by the end of the year, possibly
before Black Friday. The rumor comes from Game Informer, which cites
multiple unnamed sources. The sites report states that Amazons upcoming
console will play games already available in the Kindle Fires Amazon
Appstore to ensure that a wide range of titles is available at launch.
The company is also said to be developing its own dedicated gaming
controller for the console, though no details about the controller were
provided. Such a device would be the fourth piece of hardware Amazon
plans to launch this year the online retail giant is also prepping
three new Kindle Fire tablets, all of which have been exclusively
detailed by BGR.
Nintendo Is Still Losing Money on Every Wii U It Sells
Its safe to say that Nintendo has made some mistakes with the Wii U over
the last year. GamesIndustry reports that Nintendo is still selling its
newest console at a loss nearly nine months after its launch. The company
said last year that it would be selling the Wii U at a loss only
initially and that increased manufacturing efficiencies and lower
component prices would shortly make the console profitable. That Nintendo
still hasnt managed to turn any profit from Wii U sales is especially
discouraging because the consoles sales have been disastrously low so
far this year and they have little hope of getting better now that Sony
and Microsoft are both gearing up to launch their own next-generation
consoles by the end of the year.
Final Fantasy VII Web Series Threatened With Legal Action
Last week, we brought to your attention a Final Fantasy VII miniseries
being Kickstarted. The team behind the unofficial project was asking for
$400,000 to create a web series based on Square Enixs most famous game.
Well, Square Enix caught wind of it, and not surprisingly, it wants to
protect its intellectual property.
Kickstarter backers received the following message:
This is a message from Kickstarter Support. We're writing to inform
you that a project you backed, Final Fantasy VII: The Web Series
(Unofficial Fan Project), is the subject of an intellectual property
dispute.
The project has been removed from public view until the dispute is
resolved, which can take up to 30 days. The projects funding and the
countdown to its deadline have been stopped. If the project becomes
available again, the countdown will continue and the new deadline will
extend past the original deadline for as much time as the project was
unavailable. You can find out more by reading our Copyright and DMCA
Policy and our Trademark Policy.
Additionally, Square Enixs claim, distributed by the companys North
American office in California, notes that Square Enix is the owner of all
intellectual property rights to the Final Fantasy franchise under which
videogames, online services, and motion pictures have been published
The
project itself is in infringement of our copyrights and should be removed
entirely from Kickstarter.
While its unclear why the creators of the Kickstarter ever thought they
would be able to create a web series based on another companys extremely
valuable property, it remains to be seen whether Square Enix and the
group behind the Kickstarter could come to some sort of agreement. But
it's extremely unlikely.
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
"""""""""""""""""""
ACEC 2013 VINTAGE COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAME SWAP MEET
GREAT NEWS ATARI FANS!!!
The Atari Computer Enthusiasts of Columbus will be holding the annual
vintage computer and video game swap meet on Saturday August 24th 2013.
This year we are going to include all vintage and classic computers and
video games, systems, accessories, games, and software.
Maynard Ave. United Methodist Church?
2350 Indianola Ave.
Columbus, OH
Right now the time for the swap meet is from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Admission is FREE! FREE! FREE!
That is right, it is free for both vendors and shoppers! Vendors, please
contact us to reserve tables. As it will be first come first serve. We
may have to limit the number of tables for each vendor. We have a new
feature this year that will allow dealers to pick out what particular
tables they want. Please check out our web site for further information
and updates.
http://www.angelfire.com/oh4/acec/acec.html
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Obama, Tech Executives Meet To Discuss Surveillance
U.S. President Barack Obama met with the CEOs of Apple Inc., AT&T Inc. as
well as other top technology and privacy representatives on Thursday to
discuss government surveillance in the wake of revelations about the
programs, the White House confirmed on Friday.
Google Inc. computer scientist Vint Cerf and transparency advocates also
participated in the meeting, along with Apple's Tim Cook and AT&T's
Randall Stephenson, according to the White House.
"The meeting was part of the ongoing dialogue the president has called
for on how to respect privacy while protecting national security in a
digital era," a White House official said in confirming a report by
Politico, which broke the news of the meeting.
The closed-door session was not Inc.luded on Obama's daily public
schedule for Thursday. It followed another private session on Tuesday of
Obama administration officials, industry lobbyists and privacy advocates.
The meetings follow disclosures about the U.S. government's secret
surveillance tactics over emails and telephone data detailed in various
media reports from information released by fugitive former U.S. spy
agency contractor Edward Snowden.
Obama is likely to face questions about the National Security Agency and
the government's phone and electronic monitoring at his news conference
later on Friday.
Groups invited to Thursday's meeting Inc.luded Gigi Sohn, the head of the
privacy and transparency group Public Knowledge, as well as
representatives from other similar organizations such as the Center for
Democracy and Technology, the White House said.
Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said the company considers protecting
customer data a priority, adding, "we strongly advocate greater
transparency around the demands we get from government agencies."
AT&T declined to comment as did Public Knowledge, which advocates open
access to the Internet. Other participants also had no comment or did not
return requests for comment on the discussions at the meeting.
SInc.e the NSA's vast data-gathering programs were revealed in June, the
president has repeatedly said he would encourage a national conversation
on the need for U.S. surveillance while respecting people's right to
privacy.
Critics have blasted the administration for the scope of the surveillance
and blamed Congress for not carrying out proper oversight. Some lawmakers
have vowed to push legislation calling for more accountability for the
programs.
Tuesday's session with Obama's chief of staff Denis McDonough, and top
Obama lawyer Kathy Ruemmler Inc.luded representatives from tech lobbying
groups Information Technology Industry Council, TechNet and TechAmerica as
well as civil liberties groups, the White House confirmed.
"There was broad concern among privacy advocates and the private sector
about the impact of the NSA's surveillance efforts. Several of the
private sector representatives worried that the international backlash
against NSA collection of foreign data would harm American global
competitiveness," American Civil Liberties Union President Susan Herman
said.
Herman added that despite such meetings, "It's not clear yet that the
White House appreciates the need to scale back these surveillance programs
substantially instead of just rationalizing or tinkering with them."
Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center,
said his group also attended on Tuesday and wants Obama to reform
surveillance law, enact a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, and establish
an international framework for privacy protection.
An industry source familiar the earlier meeting also said the talks
"reflected the reality of the world in which we live - a digital world in
which the economy is driven by data and information crossing borders and
oceans almost instantly."
"That reality carries with it challenges that, working collaboratively, we
can address," the source added.
Email Service Linked to Edward Snowden Shuts Down
A Texas-based email service reportedly used by National Security Agency
systems analyst Edward Snowden said it was shutting down Thursday,
explaining in a cryptic message that it would rather go out of business
than "become complicit in crimes against the American people."
The statement posted online by Lavabit owner Ladar Levison hinted that the
Dallas-based company had been forbidden from revealing what was going on.
"I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my
decision," Levison's statement said. "As things currently stand, I cannot
share my experiences over the last six weeks, even though I have twice
made the appropriate requests."
The post didn't name Snowden or refer to any particular investigation, but
the statement's timing and other material in the public domain suggest
that Lavabit shut down in protest at the U.S. government's pursuit of the
30-year-old leaker, whose disclosures have blown the lid off the NSA's
secret domestic surveillance.
For example, Russian human rights campaigner Tanya Lokshina said in a
Facebook post hours before she met Snowden at a Moscow airport last month
that the leaker had contacted her using a Lavabit email address. And an
online database hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
showed that someone going by the name of "Ed Snowden" registered three
addresses with Lavabit over the past four years.
Lavabit might have been attractive to Snowden because the company
advertised itself as a secure, privacy-conscious alternative to webmail
services operated by Yahoo and Google. The company's promotional material
it has since been pulled from the Internet said Lavabit's system was
specifically designed to resist secret requests from U.S. law
enforcement.
Levison's statement said the firm had launched a legal defense fund and
was preparing to go to court to "resurrect Lavabit as an American
company."
Attempts to reach Levison weren't immediately successful.
German Companies To Automatically Encrypt Emails
Two of Germany's biggest Internet service providers said Friday they will
start encrypting customers' emails by default in response to user
concerns about online snooping after reports that the U.S. National
Security Agency monitors international electronic communications.
The plan by Deutsche Telekom AG and United Internet AG is the digital
equivalent of putting an envelope around a postcard. Currently most emails
are sent across the web in plain view of anyone standing between the
sender and the recipient.
Initially the encryption will only be secure between customers of Deutsche
Telekom's T-Online service and United Internet's GMX and WEB.DE services
which together account for two-thirds of primary email addresses in
Germany the companies said.
"Germans are deeply unsettled by the latest reports on the potential
interception of communication data," Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann
said in a statement. "Our initiative is designed to counteract this
concern and make email communication throughout Germany more secure in
general."
But Computer security specialists said the plan appeared to be little more
than a publicity stunt, because the technology being used to encrypt the
emails while in transit was outdated and didn't guarantee they were safe
from prying eyes while on the companies' servers.
"The technology employed doesn't prevent 'listening posts' from being
established on the system," said Germany's Chaos Computer Club, which
bills itself as Europe's largest association of hackers.
NSA leaker Edward Snowden has alleged that the U.S. intelligence agency
and some of its foreign partners routinely sift through online traffic as
part of an effort to prevent terrorism.
A spokesman for Deutsche Telekom, Philipp Blank, told The Associated Press
that the company doesn't grant foreign intelligence agencies access to its
traffic in Germany. But he added that "of course we are bound by German
law."
German law grants domestic security services broad powers to intercept
communications and demand access to emails and phone data stored by
commercial providers. It also allows them to pass information on to
foreign intelligence agencies under certain circumstances.
In one indication that German security services won't find their work
hindered, the country's interior minister issued a statement welcoming
the encryption move.
Latvia Puts Extradition of Suspected Hacker to U.S. on Hold
Latvia said on Thursday it had shelved the extradition to the United
States of a man suspected of spreading the Gozi computer virus after the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said it would take on the case.
The Latvian government had agreed on Tuesday to extradite Deniss Calovskis
to the U.S. where he and two other men are charged with creating and
releasing the virus that infected more than a million computers, while
Calovskis's attorney said he was taking the case to the ECHR.
The Latvian foreign ministry said in a statement that Latvian officials
had received a letter from the ECHR saying Calovskis should not be
extradited for the duration of the proceedings before the court.
"The government will comply with this ruling," Latvian Prime Minister
Valdis Dombrovskis told a news conference.
Kristine Lice, Latvia's representative in contacts with the ECHR, told
Reuters it was not yet known when the court would hear the case.
Calovskis's attorney, Lauris Liepa, told Latvian news website diena.lv
that attorneys had asked the ECHR to review whether Latvia's court and
government had respected Calovskis' human rights in deciding to extradite
him.
Calovskis, 27, was detained in Riga in December 2012. He denies the
charges.
The virus infected at least 40,000 computers in the United States,
including more than 160 NASA computers. It was used to access personal
bank account information from computer users and steal millions of
dollars from customer accounts globally, according to papers filed in
U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
SOPA Died in 2012, But Obama Administration Wants To Revive Part of It
You probably remember the online outrage over the Stop Online Piracy Act
(SOPA) copyright enforcement proposal. Last week, the Department of
Commerces Internet Policy Task Force released a report on digital
copyright policy that endorsed one piece of the controversial proposal:
making the streaming of copyrighted works a felony.
As it stands now, streaming a copyrighted work over the Internet is
considered a violation of the public performance right. The violation is
only punishable as a misdemeanor, rather than the felony charges that
accompany the reproduction and distribution of copyrighted material.
SOPA attempted to change that in Section 201, aptly titled Streaming of
copyrighted works in violation of criminal law. Some have suggested that
the SOPA version and an earlier stand-alone piece of legislation from
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) would have criminalized covers of songs
shared on Youtube.
One campaign against this particular type of copyright crackdown
highlighted how such a law could have made Justin Bieber into a criminal.
Bieber himself spoke out against Klobuchars bill, saying the senator
should be locked upput away in cuffs while noting he personally thinks
it is awesome when he sees fans uploading their own covers of his
songs.
The Commerce Department report recommends [a]dopting the same range of
penalties for criminal streaming of copyrighted works to the public as now
exists for criminal reproduction and distribution, adding that [s]ince
the most recent updates to the criminal copyright provisions, streaming
(both audio and video) has become a significant if not dominant means for
consumers to enjoy content online.
Its certainly true that as networks have built the capacity to stream
large amounts of data, streaming has become a major way for people to
consume entertainment online and not all of that consumption is
officially sanctioned. But as the quality of legal streaming options has
grown, so has the market for it. Netflix boasts nearly 38 million
members in 40 countries and the music streaming service Spotify claims
over 24 million active users in more than 28 countries.
Alleged Wife Killer Charged After Apparent Facebook Confession
A Miami man who used his Facebook page to post a photograph of what he
said was his wife's dead body, along with a statement that he had killed
her, shot his wife after police said she began punching him.
Derek Medina, 31, was charged with first-degree murder late Thursday after
he spent the evening revealing to police details of what led him to
allegedly fire multiple rounds into his wife, Jennifer Alfonso, 26,
according to an arrest affidavit released today.
He has not entered a plea and a lawyer has not been named.
The couple had a verbal dispute around 10 a.m. Thursday, at which point
police said Medina told them he pointed his firearm at Alfonso. She then
walked away from the argument, the affidavit said, and returned a few
minutes later to tell Medina she was leaving him.
Medina said he followed his wife into the kitchen to confront her, at
which point she began punching him, according to the affidavit. Police
said Medina told them he then went upstairs, grabbed his gun once again,
and held it in his right hand as he walked downstairs toward Alfonso, who
responded by grabbing a knife.
Medina grabbed the knife and put it in a drawer, according to the
affidavit, at which point Alfonso began punching him, prompting Medina to
allegedly fire multiple shots into his wife.
A photo of a woman in a black outfit, slumped over backwards in the
kitchen with blood on her left arm and face was posted on Medina's
Facebook page around the time of the shooting, along with the apparent
confession.
"I'm going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife love you guys
miss you guys take care Facebook people you will see me in the news my
wife was punching me and I am not going to stand anymore with the abuse
so I did what I did I hope u understand me," the post on Medina's
Facebook page said.
Friends replied to the post in disbelief and asked Medina what had
happened.
His Facebook profile was removed about five hours after the shooting,
according to ABC News' Miami affiliate WPLG-TV.
Authorities have declined to discuss the Facebook postings or say whether
Medina made them.
After Medina killed his wife, according to the affidavit, he changed his
clothes and went to his family's home to confess before he went to the
South Miami police station and told the person working the front desk
that he had shot her.
Medina was taken into custody after police found Alfonso's bullet-riddled
body in the kitchen area, according to the affidavit.
Alfonso's 10-year-old daughter from a previous relationship was at the
residence with her mother's body and was unharmed, according to police,
who quickly escorted her out of the home.
Medina's occupation was listed as property manager on the arrest
affidavit, but his Facebook page also listed him as an actor on USA
Network's show "Burn Notice." He reportedly appeared as an extra on one
episode of the show.
Medina seemed to share his life openly online and posted videos to his
YouTube channel of his kicking a punching bag, sailing and singing the
song "Ain't No Sunshine."
He also authored six e-books on spirituality and self-help topics, which
he touted on his YouTube channel and on his website. Among the list of
long-winded titles is, "How I Saved Someone's Life And Marriage And
Family Problems Thru Communication."
A summary on his website said, "this book is a great book to learn how to
make your marriage and relationship with others better by understanding
the meaning of life and the purpose of living and being there for loved
ones."
Final Piece of Amazons Tablet Puzzle
Amazons high-definition Kindle Fire HD tablets stole the spotlight last
fall, but the companys entry-level Kindle Fire might have been the real
star of the show. At just $159, Amazons tiny tablet continued the
companys original tablet strategy and steered clear of Apples iPad in
favor of affordability and mass-market appeal. The second-generation
Kindle Fire was better, faster and cheaper than the original model but
it was still a bit buggy and left plenty of room for improvement.
Fortunately, big improvements are exactly what we can expect from
Amazons third-generation Kindle Fire model set to debut this coming
fall.
BGR already published exclusive details on Amazons complete tablet
lineup for 2013, and we followed up our original report with full specs
for both the 7-inch and 8.9-inch versions of the upcoming Kindle Fire HD.
Now, trusted sources have provided us with complete specs for Amazons
next-generation entry-level Kindle Fire tablet.
Where the new HD models have moved on to bigger and better things with
Qualcomms Snapdragon 800 chipset, the new Kindle Fire is apparently
having some trouble letting go of the past.
Our sources say Amazons 2013 Kindle Fire model will utilize a 1.5GHz
dual-core Texas Instruments OMAP4 4470 processor with PowerVR SGX544
graphics the same chipset that currently powers both versions of the
first-generation Kindle Fire HD. This is a nice bump from the old 1.2GHz
OMAP4 4430 chipset in Amazons current Kindle Fire, and benchmark tests
performed on a prototype yielded scores that were about two times better
than the current model.
The new Kindle Fire will likely be the last Amazon device to utilize TI
processors. According to a recent report from Taiwan-based Economic Daily,
next years entry-level Kindle Fire tablet will be powered by a quad-core
MediaTek 8135 chipset.
Back to this years model, were told the third-generation Kindle Fire
will also stick with 1GB of RAM instead of getting a boost to 2GB
alongside the new HD models, but it will be powered by Android 4.2.2
Jelly Bean just like Amazons upcoming high-end tablets. As noted in our
earlier exclusive report, the new entry-level Kindle Fire tablet will
feature a high-definition display with a resolution of 1,280 x 800
pixels.
Essentially, Amazons next-generation base Kindle Fire tablet model will
feature specs that align with the current-generation 7-inch Kindle Fire
HD.
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
In terms of styling, were told that the new design identity of Amazons
next-generation Kindle Fire HD tablets is also found on the new low-end
model, including the sharper angles on the case-back design we described
earlier.
The new entry-level Kindle Fire might not be as impressive as Amazons
next-generation Kindle Fire HD lineup, but it packs significantly more
punch than the current base model and our sources say that Amazon will
likely offer it at the same price point: just $159 for the 8GB version.
Amazon will also offer two new versions of the tablet, were told one
with 16GB of storage and one with 32GB though pricing is unknown at this
point.
Amazons three new tablets are expected to be unveiled this fall, possibly
as soon as late next month.
3-D Printing Going Mainstream
At first glance, Ben Wittbrodt's room looks like any other 23-year-old's
room, but if you ask him where he got his stuff, you'll get an unexpected
answer: a 3-D printer. For those not familiar with the technology, instead
of printing ink on paper, these printers squeeze or spray a material,
commonly plastic, onto a surface in layers to create a three-dimensional
object.
"I've gone through probably around 10 pounds of plastic through my
printer," he said. "I've printed out key chains, scale versions of Lego
figures four times their actual size, trinkets for my girlfriend."
While 3-D printing has picked up steam with scientists, engineers and even
veterinarians, who recently printed a prosthetic leg for a duck, Wittbrodt
is one of many who have started to use the technology to print everyday
items, including a shower head and trinkets.
Wittbrodt was introduced to the idea of 3-D printing a year ago while
doing research as an engineering graduate student at Michigan
Technological University. Since then, he's become an expert in the field,
writing his master's thesis on it, building his own 3-D printer at home
and even running his own 3-D printing business.
"I've been selling iPhone cases like there's no tomorrow," he said. "I've
been printing designs that people can't really find online or go to Apple
or Best Buy and find."
3-D printing has been around for a while. The first working 3-D printer
was created in 1984, mainly used by companies to create prototypes and
architectural models. These industrial grade machines used by
professionals in the engineering, architectural and manufacturing
industries can cost tens of thousands of dollars. They're also
complicated in design, with hundreds of parts in each machine, requiring
some 3-D printer knowledge to operate.
For these reasons, they've mostly stayed inside the lab, but associate
professor at Michigan Technological University Joshua Pearce recently
conducted a study that predicts the three-dimensional printers will be in
every home in just a few years.
The study, published in a July issue of Mechatronics Journal, explains
3-D printing is about to go mainstream, and Pearce says the reason is
financial.
"We're looking at the next stage where 3-D printing costs have gone down
so far that the average family can use it," Pearce said.
In the study, Pearce and his team worked with 20 common household items
listed on Thingiverse, a website containing designs of all sorts of things
that can be 3D printed. Ranging from toy figurines of black dragons to
customizable bracelets and rings, the designs are used and contributed by
members of the community.
Pearce's team then used Google Shopping to find out the maximum and
minimum cost of buying those 20 items online and compared the costs to
making the items with a 3D printer. The conclusion? It would cost the
average consumer anywhere from $312 to $1,944 to buy those 20 things
compared to $18 to make them in several hours.
So that's what Wittbrodt did. He has even printed his own showerhead that
he has been using for a couple months now. "It's pretty much whenever I'm
going through day to day life and I find something or if I break
something, and I think I kind of need this, I look online and nine times
out of 10 it's already online."
But for the rest of us who don't know how to build our own 3-D printers,
there are plenty of companies out there who have done the work for us.
One of the cheapest and simplest non-assembled 3-D printers is made by
Printrbot and costs just $299. But Pearce says if you have trouble
hooking up a normal 2-D printer, it's probably best to buy one that has
already been assembled. Printrbot sells those for $399. Their website
provides instructions and video tutorials for assembly.
MakerBot, based in Brooklyn, New York is one of the biggest 3D printer
companies and has been producing 3D printers since 2009. They have sold
22,000 units. Their printers sell from $2,199. One of their biggest
competitors is Type A Machines.
Espen Sivertsen, COO of Type A Machines, says 3D printing technology is
growing very quickly and will become even more affordable and
user-friendly in the next couple of years. His company sells 3D printers
for just under $1,700. The instructions fit on a single 8.5 by 11 sheet
of paper.
"If you work with your hands, using things like power tools, a 3D printer
is fairly easy to pick up," Sivertsen said. "It's like driving a car. A
bit of a learning curve at first but once you get it, it's not hard."
As of now, plastic is the most common material used, but Sivertsen says by
the end of the year, a whole range of materials will likely be available.
He also predicts people will be able to walk into local hardware stores
and get 3D printed parts.
"The thing that makes me really excited about 3D printing is it's an
extension of your imagination," Sivertsen said. "You can get some
interesting developments of objects that weren't possible before."
AOL Cruelly Increases Prices for Dial-up Subscribers
If theres one thing thats worse than being trapped in AOL dial-up hell,
its paying even more money to stay there. Dan Frommer at SplatF notes
that AOLs average monthly revenue per dial-up subscriber is now $20.03,
which is a 12% year-over-year increase from 2012. One reason why the
company might be increasing its prices for users even as its dial-up
subscriber numbers dwindle to 2.6 million because the users it has left
simply have no alternative other than sticking with its slow, tedious
service. AOLs dial-up subscription business is still the companys top
money-maker so its not surprising that it is willing to squeeze
ever-more cash out of the comparatively few customers it has left.
Business and Pleasure Don't Mix on Facebook
When it comes to Facebook, most employees would rather not mix business
with pleasure.
A new study from the staffing service OfficeTeam revealed that more than
three-quarters of workers are uncomfortable being friended by a client or
vendor on the social networking giant.
It's not just those people outside of the office that employees would
prefer to avoid on Facebook. More than 60 percent of those surveyed don't
want to be Facebook friends with a boss or someone they manage, while
nearly half of employees aren't interested in having a personal
relationship with their co-workers on social networks.
Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam, said people have
different comfort levels when it comes to social media, so it's best not
to blanket colleagues with friend requests.
"Although some people are hesitant to reach out to business contacts via
social networks, there can be a benefit to doing so if you approach it
the right way."
OfficeTeam offers five tips to help employees determine if they should
connect with co-workers on Facebook:
Follow the leader: Employees should let their boss or those more
senior than them make the first move. Proactively sending a friend
request could create an awkward situation.
Scope it out: Check out whether colleagues have other employees in
their networks before asking them to connect.If their lists are limited
to favorite work pals, they may not be eager to friend a wider group of
co-workers.
Ask first: When in doubt, ask individuals whether they would be
interested in connecting on social media before sending an invite.
Do a self-check: Employees must review their profile and make sure
there isn't anything posted that could damage their professional image.
They may prefer that colleagues not see spring break photos, game updates
or quiz results.
Don't give in to peer pressure: Employees aren't obligated to share
social media updates with everyone in the office. If they're concerned
about slighting people by turning down invites, they should accept friend
requests but use privacy settings and lists to control who can view
certain content.
The study was based on surveys of 1,000 senior managers are companies
with 20 or more employees.
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