Tag Archives: web browser

Browser Plug-in Helps People Balance Their Political News Reading Habits

By Politics, Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As the U.S. presidential election approaches, many voters become voracious consumers of online political news. A tool by a University of Washington researcher tracks whether all those articles really provide a balanced view of the debate – and, if not, suggests some sites that offer opinions from the other side of the political spectrum.

Balancer, a free plug-in for Google’s Chrome browser, was developed this summer by Sean Munson, a new UW assistant professor of Human Centered Design and Engineering. The tool analyzes a person’s online reading habits for a month and calculates the political bias in that behavior. It then suggests sites that represent a different point of view and continues to monitor reading behavior and offer feedback. (more…)

Read More

Introducing Amazon Appstore for Android

By Technology, , , , , , , , , , , ,

*Customers Can Try Apps Before They Buy with New Test Drive Feature*

*Angry Birds Rio for Android Available Exclusively in the Amazon Appstore–Free for a Limited Time*

SEATTLE, Mar 22, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com, Inc. today announced the launch of the Amazon Appstore for Android at www.amazon.com/appstore. Customers can now find, discover – test! – and buy Android apps using the convenient shopping experience that Amazon customers know and love. An innovative new feature called “Test Drive” will enable customers to test apps on a simulated Android phone. Customers control the app through their computer using a mouse. 

“Test Drive lets customers truly experience an app before they commit to buying. It is a unique, new way to shop for apps,” says Paul Ryder, vice president of electronics for Amazon.com. “Our customers have told us that the sheer number of apps available can make it hard to find apps that are high quality and relevant to them. We’ve spent years developing innovative features that help customers discover relevant products. By applying these features – plus new ones like Test Drive – we’re aiming to give customers a refreshing app shopping experience.”  (more…)

Read More

Hardware, Software Advances Help Protect Operating Systems From Attack

By Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The operating system (OS) is the backbone of your computer. If the OS is compromised, attackers can take over your computer – or crash it. Now researchers at North Carolina State University have developed an efficient system that utilizes hardware and software to restore an OS if it is attacked.

At issue are security attacks in which an outside party successfully compromises one computer application (such as a Web browser) and then uses that application to gain access to the OS. For example, the compromised application could submit a “system call” to the OS, effectively asking the OS to perform a specific function. However, instead of a routine function, the attacker would use the system call to attempt to gain control of the OS. (more…)

Read More

Amazon Web Services Launches Amazon Route 53, a New DNS Service in the Cloud Enabling Businesses to Direct Internet Traffic to Web Applications

By Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

*AWS customers can now access a highly available DNS system with pay-as-you-go pricing and no minimum usage commitments*

SEATTLE, Dec 06, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon Web Services LLC (AWS), an Amazon.com company, today announced Amazon Route 53, a Domain Name System (DNS) web service giving developers and businesses a highly available and reliable way to route Internet traffic to web applications by translating human readable names into numeric IP addresses. Amazon Route 53 can be used to route end users to multiple AWS services including Amazon EC2, an Amazon Elastic Load Balancer or an Amazon S3 bucket, and to infrastructure outside of AWS. The Amazon Route 53 global network of DNS servers is designed to automatically respond from the optimal network location, resulting in low DNS query latency for end users. Route 53 features a familiar, self-service design with an affordable pay-as-you-go model where customers pay only for managing domains through the service and the number of queries that the service answers. To get started using Amazon Route 53, visit: https://aws.amazon.com/route53. (more…)

Read More