Microsoft launchers hackers Blog

Microsoft’s MSDN network, the network for developers has just launched a new Blog just for hackers.

What the.. Does Microsoft hire hackers?

According to the Blog “Microsoft employs some of the best hackers in the world and actively recruits them and develops them. They work on all kinds of projects, whether it be in development, research, testing, management and of course security.” and for this reason a Blog has now been made

The Blog goes on to say that “Microsoft does have hackers, and its time to introduce you to some of them and show you what it is, exactly that they do.”

There are generally two type’s of hackers White Hat and Black hat

Microsoft only uses “white hats” but they say that “At his or her core, a true hacker is someone who is curious and wants to learn how systems work.” I wonder if this applies to both White and Black Hats.

Anyway its going to be fun watching how the hackers of the world take to this new Blog.

fring password retrieval

fring just made it easier to access your lost fring password.
Lost passwords can now be retrieved via email or SMS.

You may like to save this link to your favorites: http://www.fringcall.com/password/

Xbox 360 ‘heats’ the streets

Thats right guys the Xbox 360 Elite is now available in South Africa. Retailing at around R4600.00 locally, this device will leave your bank balance sweating.

If you think thats hot news think again, things are heating up with the Xbox 360’s Wireless Racing Wheel (an optional extra) which is said to be overheating. According to Microsoft more than 230 000 of these faulty units have been sold internationally. The solution, “use the peripheral with battery power” until you have received a free “retrofit” from Microsoft. News 24

Owners of the racing wheel should visit http://www.xbox.com/en-ZA/ to get further help. Alternatively try calling the customer support line 0800 991 550

fringOUT function?

While cruising Youtube I came across this interview with Avi Shechter, CEO of fring. He mentions something interesting near the end of the interview and it got me thinking.

Will fringOUT change the way cellphones work forever?

I am looking forward to this great new feature, coming one day soon to a fring handset near you.

How to take screen shots on your cellphone?

Ever wonder how fring makes those amazing little screen shots?
Well wonder no more, terramobilis is here with the ScreenSnapS60 application, so now you can also take great screen shots from your cellphone.

The software is free and works brilliantly.

There are also a couple of not so free aps that I also found just as handy, like the ScreenCamS60 application that turns your cellphone into a handy phonecam, which can be nicely used as a security feature.

So if like me you think these applications may come in handy pop over to terramobilis.com and start downloading.

Home Schooling

“Homeschooling – also called home education or home school – is the education of children at home, typically by parents or guardians, rather than in a public or private school.” Wikipedia

World wide home schooling is becoming more and more popular.
The same is true in South Africa. Being a semi home schooled chap myself I happen to like the concept, many folk I found however do not share my enthusiasm.

Luckily the new South African government legalized home schooling shortly after taking over the reins so now anyone who wishes to educate their own children can do so without prejudice.

Home schooling your children is not an easy task though and anyone who takes on this very daunting challenge should be commended.

The nice thing about home schooling these days is that good quality educational information is becoming more and more freely available thanks to websites like Wikipedia, Google and many many more, in fact from personal experience I would even go as far as saying that some home schooled pupils are streets ahead of students learning in regular schools.

I recently came across this interesting website documenting one families home schooling journey. It’s a nice sample of the typical home schooled outfit, if you ever plan to home school your kids or you are already doing it, pop over to their website and get a few tips

Nokia recalls 46 million defective batteries

Nokia is recalling defective batteries; model no. BL-5C. Over 46 million of these batteries have overheating issues caused by a short circuit while charging. The batteries have been manufactured by Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co. Ltd. Between December 2005 and November 2006. News 24

In a statement Nokia said, “(The batteries) could potentially experience overheating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge”.

Here are a list of Nokia handsets fitted with the “BL-5C” battery :-
Nokia 1100, Nokia 1100c, Nokia 1101, Nokia 1108, Nokia 1110, Nokia 1112, Nokia 1255, Nokia 1315, Nokia 1600, Nokia 2112, Nokia 2118, Nokia 2255, Nokia 2272, Nokia 2275, Nokia 2300, Nokia 2300c, Nokia 2310, Nokia 2355, Nokia 2600, Nokia 2610, Nokia 2610b, Nokia 2626, Nokia 3100, Nokia 3105, Nokia 3120, Nokia 3125, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6085, Nokia 6086, Nokia 6108, Nokia 6175i, Nokia 6178i, Nokia 6230, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6631, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681, Nokia 6682, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 7610, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia N72, Nokia N91, Nokia E50, Nokia E60

To get help replacing your battery freely head over to this link and submit the code outlined in the picture.

Skype Down!

South African users of Skype have reported intermittent use over the last couple of days and News24 has an article today confirming that Skype is having issues with their service. The downtime is affecting millions of users worldwide even our Australian friends felt it down under.

“Skype urged users to allow the program to continue running and said they would automatically be logged on when the problem is resolved. It also temporarily disabled new downloads for the program.” News 24

Official Skype Bloggers had the following to say “we’d like to dispel a couple of theories that we are still hearing. Neither Wednesday’s planned maintenance of our web-based payment services nor any form of attack was related to the current sign-on issues in any way.” Skype heartbeat

Graph showing Skype usage during the downtime: Skype Numerology

The good news is that fring2fring calls still work 100%

fring now supports your Sony Ericsson P1i

Yes, fring now supports your P1i! With fring supporting the P990i, it seemed only a matter of time that the newly launched P1i would join the list of supported handsets. Well it has; I’m sure you will be happy to fring from your newly purchased Sony Ericsson P1i handset.

There are 2 ways to see for yourself:
1. Go to www.fring.com, click on ‘download’, select Sony Ericsson P1i and we’ll send you an SMS so you can start fringing in less than a minute!
2. Click here for pictures and screenshots.

fring on the P1i works just like it does on any supported Symbian or Windows Mobile device. You will be able to chat with your buddies in fring, Skype, MSN, ICQ, Google Talk, and Twitter. Also make regular phone calls using Skype or the many other SIP providers. Get fringing on your P1i!!!

Neotel to land SEACOM cable in South Africa

Neotel, South Africa’s second national operator has signed a contract with SEACOM to land a new sea cable in South Africa by 2009.

The cable which will connect South Africa to Europe and India, will also land in Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya and UAE. Construction is planned to start later this year.

With a capacity of 1.28 Tbps it is hoped the cable will support the expected exponential growth in Africa.

Looks like 2009/2010 is going to be a great year for low cost bandwidth in South Africa. Neotel