HideIPVPN

HideIPVPN is a personal VPN service that is easy to use, hides your online activity from eavesdroppers, and allows you to spoof your IP address to view content that is restricted to certain geographic areas. VPN technology encrypts all traffic leaving the computer online and ensures data remains hidden from third parties even when on an open wireless network. It has a nice balance of basic features and advanced capabilities, and most users will find the pricing plan that fits their needs.

I downloaded the Windows installer appropriate for my operating system from the website and was up and running within minutes. HideIPVPN supports Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android, and iOS devices, which is still unusual in this space. Users can also use the VPN credentials to set up proxy servers within the Web browser and other applications, such as Skype.

Like Private Internet Access, the service also has custom instructions for users interested in installing the service on non-standard hardware, but at the moment the list includes only the Nokia N900 and a network router running the popular (and hackable) DD-WRT firmware. All in all, it is a solid VPN service to consider, so long as you don't need servers outside Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, and United Kingdom. There is also a "Canada-only" plan.

A Refresher on How VPN Services Work
Your Internet service provider assigns your computer an IP address. A geo-location lookup reveals the geographic location of the ISP or the data center containing the server assigning the address. Anyone can perform this lookup and estimate your location. There have also been recent cases when the courts forced Internet companies and ISPs to hand over user information when presented with the IP address.

With a VPN service, users hide in plain sight, as the assigned IP address comes from a server stored in a data center somewhere else.

The service creates an encrypted tunnel between the computer and the destination website or network, and all data flows through that tunnel. Even if you are using a coffee-shop hotspot, you can log into your email or access other accounts without worrying about someone eavesdropping or intercepting data. It's important to remember that the data is only protected while in transit; if the destination site is not using HTTPS, that part of the connection is unencrypted. Anyone who is sitting at that point of exit can see and harvest that information, and there are fairly complicated timing algorithms out there to identify user activity.

Pricing Plans
Similar to many of its competitors, HideIPVPN uses OpenVPN SSL technology to create its encrypted tunnel, although SSTP and PPTP connections are also possible. Users can buy packages giving them access to a pool of IP addresses only in one specific country (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, or Germany) for just $5.99 a month, or buy a bundled plan to access servers in up to four countries, the US, UK, the Netherlands, and Germany, for $9.99.? The most comprehensive plan, including all four countries, is $14.99, which puts it slightly on the pricier end among other VPN services.

Most VPN services block users from using peer-to-peer services or accessing files via BitTorrent while connected. Offenders usually get blocked from the service. HideIPVPN treats the problem slightly differently. Instead of blocking the users entirely, the company offers a dedicated P2P/BitTorrent plan for $7.99, where users connect to Dutch and German servers and start downloading. Users can easily upgrade or downgrade the plan each month.

Users interested in trying out the service before buying can download the trial, which is capped at three hours of usage. It would have been nice to see a more full-fledged trial version, especially since three hours online (that's three hours after creating the account, not three hours of usage) is pretty limiting. The free trial version does allow users to connect to any of the servers in US, UK, Netherlands and Germany, although all P2P and BitTorrent activity remains restricted to Dutch and German networks. It appears there are eight servers available in each region.

Getting Started
I tried out HideIPVPN on a trip, as well as from a local coffeeshop and on our testing network. Performance and the available features are on par with similar offerings, even though some of its advanced features nudge HideIPVPN into the top tier of VPN services.

HideIPVPN sent me a VPN username and password after I registered my email address with the site. The step-by-step instructions for HideIPVPN clearly lay out the process for the newest users. Since HideIPVPN supports the OpenVPN protocol, the installer also adds the TAP-WIN32 adapter, in the same way as VPN Direct and ProXPN installed the adapter?Next: Using HideIPVPN, Performance

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/YTvWUsIfi7Q/0,2817,2415695,00.asp

Washington Election Results drudge report Presidential Election 2012 Incumbent politico Tammy Baldwin house of representatives

HP announces $169 Slate 7

 

 

HP has announced a super-affordable tablet called the Slate 7 at Mobile World Congress today. It's 7 inches, runs Android 4.1, and will cost a scant $169 when it hits shelves in the U.S. in April. Here's a link to their landing page, where you can sign up for availability notifications. 

The display clocks in at 1024 x 600, a 1.6 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 processor 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage plus a microSD slot. There's a 3 megapixel camera on the back, VGA camera on the front, Beats Audio, and weighs a scant 13 oz. Hit the jump for the full press release!

What do you guys think? Anyone remotely surprised to see HP getting out of the webOS game? Does this baby stand a chance of swinging with the Nexus 7 in the world of affordable Android tablets? Leave a comment to pay your consolations to our beloved Derek Kessler. 

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/xfLAW1Qw3OI/story01.htm

brett ratner stevie nicks anchorman capybara duggars peter facinelli bobby rush

Falcon Pro Hits 100K User Token Limit - Another Twitter Client Bites The Dust

In case you hadn't heard, back in August of last year Twitter changed the rules for their API, limiting developers to 100,000 individual user tokens for outside apps (or 200% of then-totals, if the app already had more than 100,000 users). To say the change was controversial would be an understatement. Falcon Pro, a favorite among Android Twitter users, has hit the limit. New users cannot log into Twitter via Falcon Pro. That includes those who have already paid for the app and are reinstalling for a new device or ROM.

Falcon Pro was, and technically still is, one of the most popular paid Twitter clients on the platform. According to the Falcon Pro Twitter account, only 40,000 users have actually paid for the app, with the remainder presumably made up by pirated users. Apps in excess of 100,000 user tokens or 200% of their original users require additional permissions from Twitter to exceed the limit - so far, Twitter has not deemed any third-party clients on any platform worthy, with the possible exception of first-party clients and acquisitions like TweetDeck.

The developer has started a petition to extend Falcon Pro's token limit, but its success would depend upon Twitter's generosity. Since they haven't changed the policy in the last six months, it's unlikely that even an impassioned cry from users will do much good. It's generally believed that Twitter's new token policy is specifically designed to steer users towards the web interface and Twitter's own apps, which some see as a betrayal of the client culture that helped the service thrive in the first place. While other, older apps like Plume seem to be surviving, it's only a matter of time before growing pools of Android and Twitter users stretch their limits as well. The API token issue has already affected popular new clients on other platforms, like Tweetro for Windows 8.

The separate Falcon widget uses a different set of tokens, and appears to be operational. If you previously used Falcon Pro and switched to another app, you can release your personal token and open it up for one more user by going into your Twitter settings and removing Falcon Pro from your Apps list.

Update: Commenters have noted that users who have stopped using Falcon Pro, or returned it within Google Play's 15-minute refund window, may be artificially inflating the number of active user tokens.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AndroidPolice/~3/4o_Y2xDVWcY/story01.htm

marysville tornados dr. seuss dr seuss the temptations rush limbaugh sandra fluke green book

Oscars expand social media outreach for 85th show

The Twitter Mirror that is going to be used during the Oscars is set up backstage at the 85th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. The Academy Awards will be held Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. As part of its push to attract younger viewers to the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is working to make the show a two-screen experience by offering new camera perspectives and interactive features on its website. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

The Twitter Mirror that is going to be used during the Oscars is set up backstage at the 85th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. The Academy Awards will be held Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. As part of its push to attract younger viewers to the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is working to make the show a two-screen experience by offering new camera perspectives and interactive features on its website. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

The Twitter Mirror that is going to be used during the Oscars is seen backstage at the 85th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. The Academy Awards will be held Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. As part of its push to attract younger viewers to the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is working to make the show a two-screen experience by offering new camera perspectives and interactive features on its website. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is encouraging celebrities to tweet during the Oscars.

The film organization has expanded its digital outreach for the 85th Academy Awards with a new feature that lets stars to snap photos of themselves backstage during Sunday's ceremony and instantly post them online.

What Twitter calls a "Magic Mirror" will take photo-booth-style pictures of participating stars in the green room and send them out on the academy's official Twitter account. Organizers expect multiple celebrity mash-ups.

The backstage green room is a private place for stars to hang out before taking the stage and is typically closed to press and photographers.

The Magic Mirror is "giving access to fans at home a part of the show they never got to experience before," Twitter spokeswoman Elaine Filadelfo said Friday.

A new video-on-demand/instant replay feature also being introduced Sunday will allow Oscar fans to view show highlights online moments after they happen and share them with friends on Twitter and Facebook. Dozens of clips from the red carpet and the awards telecast will be available on the official Oscar website beyond Sunday's ceremony.

Oscar.com also offers other behind-the-scenes interactive features, including various backstage camera perspectives and a new live blog that aggregates the show's presence across social media. It will track the traffic on whatever makes a splash, like Angelina Jolie's right leg did last year.

The academy wants to make its second-screen experience just as rich as its primary one.

"Social media is now mainstream," said Christina Kounelias, chief marketing officer for the academy.

"We're not doing social media to reach out to young kids," said the academy's digital media director, Josh Spector. "We're doing it to connect with all Oscar fans."

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/APSandy.

___

Online:

www.oscar.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-23-US-Oscar-Countdown-Social-Media/id-25371b548936454d935dd06367536a2b

haywire dog the bounty hunter tacoma narrows bridge open marriage department of justice doj dept of justice

Beckham on PSG's squad to face Marseille on Sunday

PARIS (AP) ? David Beckham could make his debut Sunday with Paris Saint-Germain when the team faces rival Marseille.

The 37-year-old former England captain has not played since making his last appearance for Los Angeles Galaxy on Dec. 1. He's stepped up his training for the game at Parc des Princes on Sunday.

"Maybe he'll start, because he's fit to start," PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said at a news conference on Saturday. "If he starts, he'll play in central midfield."

PSG leads second-place Lyon by three points and third-place Marseille by five heading into the matches.

Beckham is looking to win championships in four different countries, after titles with Manchester United, Real Madrid and the LA Galaxy.

He also could play in the French Cup game Wednesday at home against Marseille.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-23-SOC-PSG-Beckham/id-4cbb4f22bafc4fc88ec0bc5bafcff34a

end of the world december 21 2012 norad 12/21/12 winter solstice Jabari Parker 2012

New film tells story of unsung civil rights leader

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Just before the March on Washington in 1963, President John F. Kennedy summoned six top civil rights leaders to the White House to talk about his fears that civil rights legislation he was moving through Congress might be undermined if the march turned violent.

Whitney Young Jr. cut through the president's uncertainty with three questions: "President Kennedy, which side are you on? Are you on the side of George Wallace of Alabama? Or are you on the side of justice?"

One of those leaders, John Lewis, later a longtime congressman from Georgia, tells the story of Young's boldness in "The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights," a documentary airing during Black History Month on the PBS series "Independent Lens" and shown in some community theaters.

In the civil rights struggle, Young was overshadowed by his larger-than-life peer, Martin Luther King Jr. But Young's penetration of white-dominated corporate boardrooms and the Oval Office over three administrations was critical to the movement. Working with leaders within the system, including three presidents, made him a target of criticism by those who wanted a more aggressive path to racial equality.

An appreciation for what Young brought to the movement came after his death in Nigeria in 1971 at age 49. But it was not sustained, said Dennis Dickerson, author of "Militant Mediator: Whitney M. Young Jr."

"He should not be diminished," said Dickerson, a Vanderbilt University history professor who also appears in the film.

A number of schools and facilities have been named for Young. First lady Michelle Obama graduated from a Chicago high school named for him. But his role in economic issues surrounding civil rights has not gotten just due, said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, an organization Young led as executive director from 1961 to 1971. During his tenure the organization greatly expanded.

Young influenced a number of anti-poverty programs such as Job Corps, housing counseling and Head Start, Morial said.

"He was one of the earliest voices who said to corporate America ... that business leaders and the business community had a stake in the development and rebuilding of urban America, but also in the success of civil rights," Morial said.

Born July 31, 1921, in Lincoln Ridge, Ky., Young learned to negotiate with whites from his father, an educated man who ran the all-black Lincoln Institute boarding school, said Bonnie Boswell, the filmmaker and Young's niece.

There, Young's father surreptitiously educated black students to become doctors, lawyers and teachers to escape segregation and poverty while tricking white financial backers of the school into believing he was training the black students to be nannies, maids, janitors and mechanics.

The school campus had been something of a shelter for Young from the everyday cruelty of segregation, but he encountered it head-on when he served in a black Army battalion led by white officers in World War II.

After that experience, Young dedicated himself to race relations. Later he borrowed on the postwar rebuilding of Western Europe to push with President Lyndon B. Johnson his proposal for a domestic Marshall Plan providing $145 billion to improve education, employment and welfare for black communities. Johnson folded some of his ideas into his Great Society programs.

Young overcame the broken relationship between blacks and President Richard M. Nixon to persuade him to heavily support social programs that assisted the poor. Nixon lauded Young's work when he spoke at his funeral.

Young's desire "was to help America live up to her ideals," Boswell said, quoting her uncle.

"He would say, 'I could become more popular if I got off the train in Harlem and shouted bad things about white people, but can I be more effective if I go downtown and help get jobs from white people to give to minorities,'" Boswell said in an interview in Washington with The Associated Press.

Young was able to tell people like industrialist Henry Ford II that they needed to step up and do something about the living and working conditions of blacks in ways that captured their respect, said Nancy Weiss Malkiel, author of the 1989 book "Whitney M. Young Jr. and the Struggle for Civil Rights."

Young was not as visible on the front lines of civil rights protests, but he could say with humor and partly in earnest to members of the white establishment that if they didn't deal with him, they would have to deal with Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael, who espoused more radical agendas than King, Malkiel said.

Boswell's film airs as the first black president, Barack Obama, begins his second term in office. Obama, whose mother was white and father was black, has endured a racist backlash in his presidency and criticism from within the black community over whether he is doing enough for black Americans.

Dickerson said Young's ideas are a template that Obama has deployed in his own political rise. "That is inter-racialism and an emphasis on corporate relations," he said. "That was Whitney Young's mantra and that's the president's mantra."

___

Online:

PBS Independent Lens: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/

___

Suzanne Gamboa can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/APsgamboa

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/film-tells-story-unsung-civil-rights-leader-083948361.html

berkshire hathaway ufc 144 james jones james jones aladdin black forest ufc 144 fight card

Skullcandy Hesh 2

Skullcandy headphones keep surprising me. The lineup has definitely kept its sporty, skater-esque stylings, but the internals seem to be improving. The recent Skullcandy Navigator?is a solid, bass-friendly budget option, and the Hesh 2, starting at $69.95 (direct) for models with the inline remote, offers a refined sound signature that is crisp and relatively balanced. Plus, the audio is delivered distortion-free, with an emphasis on mid-range and high frequency clarity.

Design
No Skullcandy product would be complete without multiple style options, paint jobs, and price tiers. The Hesh 2, with no mic and black-on-black design, sells for $59.95 (direct). Add in the inline mic and phone controls, and the lowest pricing is $69.95. Then, of course, you can buy a pair that has your favorite team's logo on it, or one that is covered in hemp. Those range from $79.95 and up.

Given all of the above, it's almost pointless to discuss the overall look of the Hesh 2, since it is basically a chameleon that comes in several styles and flavors. The overall shape doesn't really change, however?a simple, padded headband meets circular ear cups that also protrude outward, taking the shape of globes sliced in half.

The circumaural (around the ear) design of the Hesh 2 can feel a little rigid and awkward, as if the ear cups are a bit too small to fit an entire ear inside them. It's not uncomfortable, really, just awkward?the cups would probably be better served if they were either a bit larger, our more appropriately matched to an ear's shape, and not perfect circles. Regardless, the headphones are quite lightweight and don't grow uncomfortable during longer listening sessions.

The Hesh 2, as previously mentioned, is available with or without the inline remote and microphone. Call clarity through the mic is not astounding, but your call partner will understand you and you'll understand them. In other words, you're dealing with typical low-fi cellular fidelity.

One nice perk: the cable is detachable. This adds value to your purchase; replacing a faulty cable is far cheaper than buying an entire new pair of headphones or sending things in for repair, and cables are the most common culprit when headphones malfunction. Finally, a black drawstring bag is included with the Hesh 2.

Performance
The Hesh 2 does not distort on tracks with deep bass, even at high volumes. Its overall response is limited in the sub-bass realm. It does reproduce truly deep frequencies, but not with the same amount of gusto as, say, the Beats by Dr. Dre. The Knife's "Silent Shout," which has tremendous sub-bass content, can be played at maximum (and unsafe) volume without distorting, and you will get a good sense of the intensity of the bass, but this is not a deep bass lovers dream. However, bass fiends on a budget won't feel ripped off. Like some studio monitor-style headphones, the Hesh 2 provides a clear picture without ignoring or overly boosting the lows.

The focus for the Hesh 2 seems to be more on the mids and highs. It's nice to see a manufacturer focus on this realm when it's clear the drivers could have been tweaked to push out gobs of heavy, deep sub-bass. The end result here is the bass is dutifully represented?the new Atoms for Peace record, Amok, doesn't sound brittle in the slightest, and Flea's bass lines and the deep bass synth parts are delivered with richness and clarity. But the real standout feature of the sound signature is the clarity and crispness of the vocals and the attack of the percussion. Things aren't overly bright, but vocals are delivered with a nice edge to them, snare drums have a pleasing snap, and there's no part of the mix you can't hear. As previously stated, the Hesh 2, whether this was intentional or not, reminds me of a studio monitor pair, like the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro.

Bill Callahan's vocals on "Drover" have a nice treble presence that helps his voice stand out in a mix featuring some heavy backing percussion. The drumming itself has a subtle bass presence, rather than an overly-boosted thunderous sound, which can often occur on budget pairs that boost the low frequencies too much. The Hesh 2 also tames the intense sub-bass synth hits on Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," while highlighting the hi-mid attack of the kick drum loop and helping the vocals take center stage.

On classical tracks, like John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," the Hesh 2 fares less well. Here, it does sound a bit tinny and brittle. The lower register strings are nicely represented, but the higher register instruments seem to have a bit too much edge on them, which more or less cancels out the subtle bass response. It doesn't sound horrible by any stretch of the imagination, especially for this price range, but the Hesh 2 is perhaps better suited for pop, rock, hip hop, and electronic genres, for which it manages to tame the more intense elements of the mix, like throbbing bass, while highlighting aspects that sometimes get lost in busy mixes, like vocal clarity.

The idea of the "bass lover" is a curious thing. I love bass, for instance, when it's accurate, or slightly boosted. I don't want insanely-boosted low frequencies to gobble up the whole mix and vibrate my skull, but I do love when sub-bass frequencies jump out in the mix a bit. The Hesh 2 does a great job of allowing sub-bass elements to exist in a sound signature that is otherwise focused on hi-mids and highs. So, bass fiends may or may not love the Hesh 2, but if your looking for a fairly accurate, affordable headphone pair, especially for modern music mixes, it's a great place to begin your search.

If you have a bit more cash to spend and want to stick with this same overall sound signature, the aforementioned Sennheiser HD 280 Pro is a fantastic option, though it's a bit bulky and intended for studio use. The Logitech UE 4000?also delivers distortion-free performance with sub-bass presence that isn't overly-boosted. It's priced a bit higher, as well, but a worthy step up if you have the budget. If you really do want to hear some seriously boosted bass, of course there are plenty of options, including Skullcandy's own Navigator, which focuses more on the lower frequencies than does the Hesh 2. For the price, however, the Hesh 2 offers a clear, distortion-free experience. It's by no means a masterpiece, but definitely a solid value.

More Headphone Reviews:
??? Polk Audio UltraFocus 6000
??? Skullcandy Hesh 2
??? RHA MA150
??? Audio Technica ATH-ANC9 QuietPoint
??? Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/T8KM4S7yUMk/0,2817,2415715,00.asp

beach boys tony bennett joe walsh the civil wars duggar miscarriage roman holiday belize