A $2,000 iPhone: It's coming. It's inevitable

A $2,000 iPhone: It's coming. It's inevitable

Now that Samsung has introduced a new Galaxy Note 9 starting at $1250, the experts say a $2000 iPhone is around the corner.  Hell, I can't sell a $499 desktop but people will spend a thousand plus for a phone...

The new Galaxy Note 9 has beaten Apple at their own game with the $1249 price for a phone with more RAM, storage and screen real estate, 6.4 inches.  There is a 512GB model for an extra $250 plus you can add a 512GB micro SD card for 1TB of storage.

Apple currently offers a base model 64GB iPhone X for $999 and a 256GB model for $1249.  According to rumors, Apple is preparing to release 3 new models.

Now you have to admit Apple is genius at making money.  The recent earnings announcement highlighted how services revenue had grown for Apple.  They offer a 64GB and 256GB model and give you 5GB iCloud storage to back up your phone with.  Wow, how generous of Tim Cook and company.

iCloud storage plans and pricing
When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage. If you need more space in iCloud, you can upgrade to a larger storage plan.

Read all about it at;

https://www.zdnet.com/article/a-2000-iphone-its-inevitable/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=2219791

Intel Generation 8 workstations 

Intel 8th Gen vs 7th Gen CPUs: Kaby Lake Refresh Is a Lot Faster

The introduction of the new Gen 8 Intel Core series processors has significantly increased the performance of computers.  The number of cores (processors) for all lines has been increased,

the Core i3 has increased from 2 to 4 cores, the Core i5 and Core i7 chips have gone from 4 cores to 6 cores and the enhancements are noticeable in Microsoft Office applications.

Spreadsheets

If you're crunching large spreadsheets with Excel, you want 8th Gen Core. When we ran a macro that matches 65,000 names with their addresses, the 7th Gen-powered Swift 3 finished in 2 minutes and 36 seconds while the new model completed the same task in just 1:32, a 70 percent improvement. The 8th Gen-powered XPS 13 was even quicker, finishing the macro in 1:08, compared to the 7th Gen-powered model's 2:30., a 55 percent jump.

to read about all the improvements and benchmark tests visit:

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/kaby-lake-refresh-8th-gen-vs-7th-gen

Apple's iPhone turns 10. Where does it go from here?

Apple's iPhone turns 10. Where does it go from here?

It's been 10 years (actually June 29th) since Apple went into the phone business with it's revolutionary iPhone, destroying Blackberry's dominance and changing the way we watch entertainment, surf the web, socialize and do business.

Lots of competitors have jumped into the fray and introduced their own phones on an assortment of platforms, notably Android.  However the iPhone remains the standard that most strive to achieve.

https://www.cnet.com/news/apples-iphone-turns-10-where-does-it-go-from-here/?ftag=CAD1acfa04&bhid=21042726186831923270015874178287


Not everyone was a fan however.  This review from the AJC Business section, June 2007.  (previously published 11/17/15, dforceatl.blogspot.com 

iPhone, a crappy device?

The iPhone was introduced in the U.S. on June 29, 2007 to much fanfare but not everyone was impressed.  An article in the AJC Atlanta Journal Constitution opined that it was too trendy and consumer would not shell out the dough for the pricey novelty.  LOL, see below.

Another article that questioned if the iPhone was a crappy device quote Jon Stewart of Comedy Central fame who said on his show, “Why? That’s my question. You just end up with a crappy phone and a crappy camera.”

http://ries.typepad.com/ries_blog/2007/06/is_the_iphone_t.html

Intel's new 7th Generation Core processors deliver up to 12 percent faster productivity performance and up to 19 percent faster web performance over our previous generation from just a year ago.

https://newsroom.intel.com/editorials/new-7th-gen-intel-core-processor-built-immersive-internet/

Security Update: New malware and threats to PC security

Destroying your hard drive is the only way to stop this super-advanced malware

"Kaspersky published a detailed report Monday about Equation, which it considers the most advanced group of attackers to date and whose activity spans back to 2001 and possibly even to 1996. Even though the company stopped short of directly linking the group to the U.S. National Security Agency, there are significant details that point to such links."  PCWorld

A couple of years ago I published a blog post about the Stuxnet worm which infected and wreaked havoc to the Iranian centrifuges that were attempting to develop nuclear fissionable material for Iran's nuclear program.  Groups studying the code for the worm attributed the code writers to clandestine players, the CIA or NSA.  The problem was the code escaped and was utilized by crime groups to infiltrate the general PC population. Today there is a new threat that delivers it's threat by modifying the firmware of your hard drive.  Firmware is the low level code that acts as the interface between the software and hardware.  It is contained in the chips solder into the hard drive's interface board.  Once installed it is impossible to remove.  Formatting and re-installing the operating system has no affect and the malware remains in the chip ready to deliver it's payload.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2884952/equation-cyberspies-use-unrivaled-nsastyle-techniques-to-hit-iran-russia.html?null

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2885192/fanny-superworm-likely-the-precursor-to-stuxnet.html

Help for the Cryptolocker (FBI) virus

The Cryptolocker virus made the news last year.  It is a particularly destructive malware program that encrypts, Word, Excel, PDFs and JPEG files to name a few and tries to force you to pay a ransom for the key to unlock your files.  Without the encryption key there is no way to recover your files without a good backup.

A client of mine was attacked last year, it occurred over a weekend so by Monday all of her documents, spreadsheets and pictures were locked and unusable.  I was able to remove the malware but it was too late for her files.  At that time I noticed that she had Carbonite and it was in the process of backing up the encrypted (changed) files.  I stopped Carbonite and she was able to contact Carbonite tech support and recover her files by restoring a back up that occurred prior to the date of infection.

The good news about Cryptolocker is that a group has somehow acquired the ransom keys used to unlock the files.  If you are attacked, submit to them a file that is encrypted and they will provide you with the key needed to unlock your files.  Be alert and please have a good backup.

http://www.wehatemalware.com/attacked-by-cryptolocker-help-is-here/

Google Chrome browser targeted

Recently I have seen an uptick in malware targeting Google's Chrome browser.  In each case the malware was delivered while the user was attempting to download a program they had Googled searched for. The delivery method for a lot of the new malware is distribution via junk email attachments, malicious torrents and particularly free applications. When searching for software using a search engine, the first listings in the search will be ads or sites that purport to be a download site for the desired software.  In most cases the listings are either scam sites which attempt to direct trick you to download alternative software/malware, or they deliver malware in addition to the desired program. Always carefully check the link provided if you click the link to ensure that the address is the website of the developer or manufacturer of the download you desire.

2 new Intel K CPUs, Gamer Desktops, high end components, DF Core i5-4690K, 3.5 GHz and Core i7, 4790K 4.0 GHZ

Tech News: Microsoft announces Window 10

Microsoft yesterday 09/30/14, announced the newest version of it's desktop operating system, Windows 10. Now for those of you counting, Windows 9 should have been the next occurrence.  The rumored OS was code named "Threshhold" during the Microsoft planning and early development process.  That code name, like a number of recent Microsoft ones, came from Microsoft's Halo franchise.

Microsoft went instead with Windows 10 because they wanted to signify that the coming Windows release would be the last "major" Windows update. Going forward, Microsoft is planning to make regular, smaller updates to the Windows 10 code base, rather than pushing out new major updates years apart. Windows 10 will have a common code base across multiple screen sizes, with the UI, (user interface) tailored to work on those devices.

The new operating system, which will see the return of the Start Menu and feature multi-tasking functionality by way of multiple desktops, was announced in a press event held by Microsoft. Later today 10/01/14, the Windows 10 Technical Preview will be available to download from the Windows Insider Program website.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview-coming-soon

It appears that Microsoft is taking a cue from Apple.  

People don't like change!

You have to give Apple credit for maintaining a standard Graphical interface.  Aqua is the GUI and primary visual theme of Apple's OS X operating system. It is based around the theme of water, as its name suggests, with droplet-like elements and liberal use of translucency and reflection effects.  It made it's first appearance in July 2000.  Since then Apple has announced many new OS's but all maintained the Aqua primary theme.  I have always argued that these were not new OS's but rather bug fixes and enhancements.


Windows 7 was a smooth transition from previous versions and it's 64 bit architecture offered improved performance and capabilities over Windows XP and Vista.  However it didn't energize business to upgrade and move from Windows XP.  Maybe because of Windows XP's success Redmond thought they needed to make a radical departure from previous versions of Windows.  BAM!!!  Windows 8.  Windows 8 is not a bad OS however, enterprise users (Windows base) were frustrated by it's radical departure from previous Windows versions.  Users had to learn to navigate a new operating system before being able to accomplish their work load and tasks.  Lot's of complaining, thanks a lot Microsoft!

Microsoft is expected to release a preview test build of Windows 10 sometime in the next few days. The company is expected to finalize Windows 10 by the spring of 2015, according to sources.


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New Computer? - Pay attention to processor

If you have not heard, both Intel and AMD have new processor families available.  Intel's new architecture has been around for 6 months now and AMD has just introduced their AMD Phenom II, 6 core processors.  Intel's family is differentiated into 3 segments, Core i3, Core i5 and top tier Core i7.

Intel specifications click here ->     Desktop     Notebook

Not only do the new Intel processors have a different footprint than the older Core 2 Duo family, they also take advantage of the newest chip sets 55 & 58 introduced by Intel to advance new capabilities that will make all the new features in Windows 7 run cooler and faster.

I wanted to bring this to your attention, I know a lot of people are looking at moving up to Windows 7 and I see a lot of last year's technology being sold at discounted prices with Windows 7 installed, be it an upgraded Vista or Windows XP notebook/desktop.

If you watch the sales you should be able to pick up a new Core i3 or Core i5 notebook at a low premium over the older Core 2 Duo based systems.  Notebooks purchasers will want to get the most power possible for their buck to extend the life of their purchase.  Some notebook users make a new purchase every year, it was so fast when it was new.  A notebook's processor is actually a crippled version of the desktop product simply because of design.  Desktop replacement is a catchy phrase but actually a notebook user is trading performance for mobility.

When making that purchase be sure to check or ask about the processor.

BTW:  As of today, I am trying to get my hands on the new AMD Phenom II not available at most outlets yet.  Been trying since Sunday to intercept delivery truck at TigerDirect.

AMD HDT55TFBRBOX Phenom II 1055T Six Core Processor