Riding a bike is my relief, my medicine, in this crazy world…
Bikes:
Husqvarna Nuda 900R
BMW S1000Rs
KTM 1290 Super Duke R
Husqvarna SMR511
Honda MSX 125 (Grom)
Yamaha DT 400 (75)
Yamaha DT360 (74)
Yamaha DT250 (77)
30 September 2016
Introducing G Suite (Google Apps for Work - rebranded)
We created Google Apps for Work ten years ago (back when it was Google Apps for Your Domain) to do just that—to help people everywhere work and innovate together, so businesses can move faster and go bigger.
And today, we’re introducing a new name that better reflects this mission: G Suite.
G Suite is a set of intelligent apps—Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, Hangouts, and more—designed to bring people together, with real-time collaboration built in from the start. And there’s a lot more on the way. Because we believe that when organisations break down silos, connect people and empower them to work together, we get the speed, agility and impact needed to compete in today’s market. So in the spirit of teamwork, we partnered with some of our favourite illustrators from around the world to bring our ideas to life with their iconic creativity.
Like the sound of this?
Contact Donline for a 20% discount code - off your 1st year on G Suite!
29 September 2016
Yahoo could have reset all user passwords two years ago, but chose not to...
...Ms. Mayer also rejected the most basic security measure of all: an automatic reset of all user passwords, a step security experts consider standard after a breach. Employees say the move was rejected by Ms. Mayer’s team for fear that even something as simple as a password change would drive Yahoo’s shrinking email users to other services...
75% motorists want tax disc revival
This Saturday (October 1) marks the second anniversary of the loss of the tax disc. The move was meant to save the DVLA £10 million a year but instead revenue from vehicle excise duty fell £93 million.
In a research study conducted by uSwitch, three quarters of the 6,018 respondents called for the tax disc to be brought back.
Kasey Cassells, insurance expert at uSwitch.com, said: “A gap has clearly been left by the paper disc, but the move towards modernisation doesn’t go far enough.
“Despite receiving reminders by post, motorists with the best intentions are getting caught out by forgetting their renewal date. The DVLA should consider more relevant notifications, like text alerts which have proved successful for the NHS.”
28 September 2016
BlackBerry stops making hardware
BlackBerry will no longer manufacture its own smartphones, choosing instead to focus on its software expertise. The move ends its 20 year history in hardware production, which started in 1996 with a two-way pager.
Its announcement comes one year after CEO John Chen said he would close the handset division if it could not become profitable by September 2016. In BlackBerry’s Q2 2017 earnings report, released today, Chen confirmed the decision to stop making handsets.
Happy 6th Birthday, LibreOffice!
On 28th September 2010, LibreOffice was announced!
"The community of volunteers who develop and promote OpenOffice.org, the leading free office software, announce a major change in the project’s structure. After ten years’ successful growth with Sun Microsystems as founding and principal sponsor, the project launches an independent foundation called “The Document Foundation”, to fulfill the promise of independence written in the original charter."
27 September 2016
Dog microchips: Outdated contact details leave animals unclaimed
More than 4,700 stray dogs in the UK couldn't be reunited with their owners last year due to outdated microchips, animal charity Dogs Trust has said.
The charity found 37,283 dogs were left unclaimed in local authority kennels between April 2015 and March 2016.
One in eight were pets that could not be returned as their microchips had not been updated by their owners, it said.
In April, it became a legal requirement for all pet dogs to be microchipped with current contact details.
Deal of the day (today only!)
SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC 64Gb Flash Memory Card
RRP: £32.99
Amazon Deal of the Day: £24.99
Breaking Bad - remixes NSFW
26 September 2016
When is a Yahoo account not a Yahoo account? When it's a BT/Sky/etc... one!
The fallout continues from the huge Yahoo data breach affecting 500 million accounts - various other companies provide email using Yahoo's services.
For example BT and Sky. So if your email account is from BT or Sky, your security may well have been compromised.
It is time to leave Yahoo mail behind. I strongly recommend moving to Gmail.
If you have a Yahoo account, as a minimum:
Change your Yahoo password.
Make sure that you haven't used the same password anywhere else.
Yahoo has admitted that security questions and answers have also been grabbed by the hackers, you should be careful to ensure that they don't also come back to haunt you.
It's easy to imagine how a hacker could - perhaps with a little dab of social engineering - try to use the answers to secret questions to trick other online services into providing them access to accounts.
23 September 2016
Honda's Africa Twin on a wild ride to Moab, Utah
The bike seems like it was made for the riding found in wide open spaces like this, and the photography is as beautiful as past Raiden videos, featuring everything from slow-motion rock flinging to panoramic aerial shots. If you’re not itching to ride a bike in Moab after watching this one, you may want to consider a new hobby.
Yahoo confirms huge data breach affecting 500 million accounts.
A recent investigation by Yahoo! Inc. has confirmed that a copy of certain user account information was stolen from the company’s network in late 2014 by what it believes is a state-sponsored actor. The account information may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (the vast majority with bcrypt) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. The ongoing investigation suggests that stolen information did not include unprotected passwords, payment card data, or bank account information; payment card data and bank account information are not stored in the system that the investigation has found to be affected. Based on the ongoing investigation, Yahoo believes that information associated with at least 500 million user accounts was stolen and the investigation has found no evidence that the state-sponsored actor is currently in Yahoo’s network.
22 September 2016
10 times C.S. Lewis made the case for Christ
In the early hours of 21 September 85 years ago, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were debating the coherence of Christianity in one of the foundational moments that led Lewis to become a Christian.
Lewis, an Oxford professor and author, went on to become one of the great bastions of 20th century Christianity against a growing tide of atheist philosophy. As well as the Narnia series he went on to write and lecture in defence of faith. His most famous apologetic, Mere Christianity, is still widely read today.
On the anniversary of this significant date, here are 10 quotes from Lewis on the case for Christianity.
Got a BT Wi-Fi Extender 300? Time to upgrade the Firmware ASAP!
BT is urging folks to patch the firmware in its Wi-Fi Extender 300 following the discovery of multiple security flaws.
Security researchers at Pen Test Partners discovered vulnerabilities with the consumer-grade kit, including cross-site scripting and the ability to change a password without knowing it.
Pen Test Partners found it was possible to combine these flaws and exploit them to snatch a victim's WPA wireless network passphrase after tricking them into visiting a maliciously constructed webpage while connected to their home network.
Yahoo "expected to confirm massive data breach"
Yahoo is poised to confirm a massive data breach of its service, according to several sources close to the situation, hacking that has exposed several hundred million user accounts.
While sources were unspecific about the extent of the incursion, since there is the likelihood of government investigations and legal action related to the breach, they noted that it is widespread and serious.
Earlier this summer, Yahoo said it was investigating a data breach in which hackers claimed to have access to 200 million user accounts and was selling them online. “It’s as bad as that,” said one source. “Worse, really.”
21 September 2016
Take Five to stop fraud
Received a phone call, text or email asking for your personal or financial information?
If so, what do you do?
Before you act, stop.
Take a moment to assess the situation.
This information below should help you work out whether that request is legitimate.
HP printers reject remanufactured ink cartridges
Investigation by an online printer ink retailer shows that HP has programmed a date in its printer firmware on which unofficial non-HP cartridges would fail. Thousands of HP printers around the world started to show error messages on the same day, the 13th of September 2016.
On that date HP printers with non-HP cartridges started to show the error message, "One or more cartridges appear to be damaged. Remove them and replace them with new cartridges". On HP's support forums numerous complaints were posted and Dutch online retailer 123inkt also received a large amount of complaints on that day and decided to investigate the issue.
After an investigation on their test printers they found a large scale issue with their private label brand cartridges with several HP printers. When they emailed their customers asking them if they wanted to check if their printer also had issues, they received replies from more than 1,000 customers confirming the issue.
Further investigation with many printer models showed the issue resided in the firmware of the printers and 123inkt.nl contacted HP about the issue. HP stated it wasn’t aware of the issue. Consumers who complained to HP were told the error was caused by using non-HP cartridges. A day later HP withdrew that statement and explained the issues were a side effect of an firmware update.
However, the company didn’t release a firmware update at any date near the 13th of September. The printers with issues received a firmware update in March 2016 for the last time, and that firmware was developed in 2015. Also printers with firmware released before March 2016 suffered from the issue and even worse, also printers without any internet access started to reject non-HP cartridges.
Therefore it’s very unlikely that a firmware update caused the issues and the only other logical explanation is that HP programmed a date in its firmware on which non-HP cartridges would no longer be accepted.
Today's Reading - On God. By C.S.Lewis
As a great Christian writer (George MacDonald) pointed out, every father is pleased at the baby’s first attempt to walk: no father would be satisfied with anything less than a firm, free, manly walk in a grown-up son. In the same way, he said, “God is easy to please, but hard to satisfy.”
I think every one who has some vague belief in God, until he becomes a Christian, has the idea of an exam or of a bargain in his mind. The first result of real Christianity is to blow that idea into bits. When they find it blown into bits, some people think this means that Christianity is a failure and give up. They seem to imagine that God is very simple-minded! In fact, of course, He knows all about this. One of the very things Christianity was designed to do was to blow this idea to bits. God has been waiting for the moment at which you discover that there is no question of earning a pass mark in this exam or putting Him in your debt.
Then comes another discovery. Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already. So that when we talk of a man doing anything for God or giving anything to God, I will tell you what it is really like. It is like a small child going to his father and saying, “Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present.” Of course, the father does, and he is pleased with the child’s present. It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction. When a man has made these two discoveries God can really get to work. It is after this that real life begins.
From Mere Christianity
Compiled in Words to Live By
Uninstall your anti-virus says Amazon, if you want to work for us from h...
Amazon are offering jobs in customer services - working from home.
However you aren't allowed to run any 3rd party AntiVirus applications: only Microsoft Windows Defender is permitted by Amazon.
Sadly Windows Defender only offers "baseline" protection and consistently scores at bottom or close in protection league rankings.
So by making this stipulation, Amazon are putting their employees, and potentially their customer records at risk.
16 September 2016
Full Throttle: The Glory Days of British Motorbikes
Timeshift presents an exploration of the British love of fast, daring and sometimes reckless motorbike riding during a period when home-grown machines were the envy of the world. From TE Lawrence in the 1920s, to the 'ton-up boys' and rockers of the 1950s, motorbikes represented unparalleled style and excitement, as British riders indulged their passion for brands like Brough Superior, Norton and Triumph.
But it wasn't all thrills and spills - the motorbike played a key role during World War II and it was army surplus bikes that introduced many to the joy and freedom of motorcycling in the 50s, a period now regarded as a golden age. With its obsession with speed and the rocker lifestyle, it attracted more than its fair share of social disapproval and conflict.
Narrated by John Hannah.
Someone Is Learning How to Take Down the Internet
Over the past year or two, someone has been probing the defences of the companies that run critical pieces of the Internet. These probes take the form of precisely calibrated attacks designed to determine exactly how well these companies can defend themselves, and what would be required to take them down. We don't know who is doing this, but it feels like a large nation state. China or Russia would be my first guesses.
15 September 2016
Robots will eliminate 6% of all US jobs by 2021, report says
By 2021, robots will have eliminated 6% of all jobs in the US, starting with customer service representatives and eventually truck and taxi drivers. That’s just one cheery takeaway from a report released by market research company Forrester this week.
Well, that's nice...
Samsung Urges Galaxy Note7 Users to Immediately Participate in The Replacement Program
Samsung Electronics announced a global replacement program for the Galaxy Note7 as a precautionary measure due to a battery cell issue. Since then, we have been working hard to expedite product shipments in order to fulfill that exchange program and reduce any inconvenience for our customers. During the past week, we understand that there are concerns from our customers and we wish to emphasize the importance of exchanging the product.
If you have a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 - please read this & get your phone swapped out ASAP!
12 September 2016
"Seagate Central" NAS devices become malware distributors
Sophos researchers say they've uncovered a malware strain that targets Seagate's network-attached storage appliances and turns them into distribution points for cryptocurrency-mining malware.
Attila Marosi, a senior threat researcher, explains the attack in a document titled Cryptomining malware on NAS servers (PDF).
"Attack" is being kind: Marosi notes that the NAS at the heart of the problem - the "Seagate Central" - has a public folder that can be written to by default when remote access is enabled. All you need to do to access that folder is FTP in with publicly-published credentials.
What is God?
God is the only one who can say, “I be that I be.” God is pure existence, self-existent, and the source of everything else that possesses existence. He is the only necessary being, is purposeful/personal, and possesses both unity and diversity.
God is also love. He invites you to seek Him and discover the love He has for you in His Word and in the life of His Son Jesus Christ, the one who died for your sins and made a way for you to live with Him for eternity.
09 September 2016
Child of Hope Uganda - Farming for the future
A plot of land behind the school has been converted for an ongoing project that will train our pupils in growing certain vegetables, such as potatoes, peas, beans, cabbage, egg plants and tomatoes.
Now, thanks to a generous donation, the children will try various techniques to see which produces the best harvest and then roll up their sleeves to get muddy! They’ll learn which plants help the land and give nutrition back to the soil, how to prevent free-roaming animals spoiling the crops and the problems of waste management (plastics, etc). As a bonus, hopefully the children will be able to eat the end product!
06 September 2016
Street Pastors - faith on the streets
Street pastors are trained volunteers from local churches who care about their community.
They patrol in teams of men and women, usually from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. on a Friday and Saturday night, to care for, listen to and help people who are out on the streets.
Riding a rebuilt Suzuki GSX1100SZ Katana
What a great article this is: a fantastic rebuild, done on a shoestring too!
Surely looks better than new? Oh, for a barn find...
I've always loved the GSX1100 Katana - back in the day (early-mid 80s) it was the most incredible & radical looking bike around with the possible exception of the YamahaV-Max. My two favourite bikes: they looked like something from space!
OK, handling was (& still is) a bit suspect on these bikes, but what a look...
Enjoy the article.
Google Chrome for Windows gets a battery performance boost
Google responds to Microsoft criticism that Chrome is a battery hog by introducing new power consumption enhancements.
Back in June, Microsoft hit out against Google by publishing test results which claimed that its Edge browser had the edge over Chrome when it came to power-saving on portable systems. Google has now responded by introducing new power consumption enhancements to the Windows version of its browser.
05 September 2016
Pirates of Silicon Valley: Jobs Vs Gates...
Pirates of Silicon Valley is an original 1999 TNT American drama film, directed by Martyn Burke and starring Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates. Spanning the years 1971–1997 and based on Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine's book Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer, it explores the impact of the rivalry between Jobs (Apple Computer) and Gates (Microsoft) on the development of the personal computer. Wikipedia
Silicon Cowboys Official Trailer 1 (2016) - Documentary
Directed by Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Jason Cohen, SILICON COWBOYS chronicles the remarkable underdog story of Compaq Computer. Launched in a Houston diner in 1981, Compaq took on IBM—the world’s most powerful computer company—in an all-out tech war that shaped the world as we know it.
FTC Warns Consumers: Don't Sync To Your Rental Car!
What is your phone telling your rental car?
When I rent a car, it’s fun to get all the bells and whistles – like navigation, hands-free calls and texts, streaming music and even web browsing. But did you know that cars with these features might keep your personal information, long after you’ve returned your rental car? Here are some things to keep in mind when renting a connected car.
What happens when you rent a connected car? When you use the car’s infotainment system, it may store personal information. It may keep locations you entered in GPS or visited when travelling in the rental car – like where you work or live.
03 September 2016
Usain Bolt takes his motorcycle test in London
Usain Bolt might have finished off the Olympic triple triple at the Rio Olympics a couple of weeks ago – but the fastest man on Earth hasn’t had enough speedy excitement for the moment.
The track legend has been busy swapping the sprinting shoes for two wheels because he’s been out taking his motorcycle test at a school in London. Yep.
Caught getting to grips with a Honda NC750 recently, the 30-year-old Jamaican history maker took it steady around the cones on the off-road course but looked pretty much at home on the bike straight away.
02 September 2016
Hector The Artist - Compassion
Is this Mexico's next big artist?
Hector brings life and colour to everything he paints. Diagnosed with a condition called synaesthesia, he spent many years feeling lonely and confused. This changed when his project director asked him to paint. “Colours come to my mind in waves. They fill my sight and overflow my senses. I am not okay until I let them out…they only come out through my paintings,” says Hector.
Reading for today - C.S.Lewis
The Christian doctrine of suffering explains, I believe, a very curious fact about the world we live in. The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment, He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose an obstacle to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with our friends, a bathe or a football match, have no such tendency. Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.
Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis
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