Open Source Subnet: An independent Open Source community

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  Google Reed-er

  Google to users: "Hey dummies! Don't root your Android phone and expect Google Wallet to be safe!" by Brad Reed

  So website categorization company zvelo caused a wee bit of a stir today when it exposed a potential security vulnerability in Google's near field communications (NFC)-enabled Google Wallet mobile payment platform.  You can see a video of their efforts below:To sum up: zvelo created an applciation that's capable of retrieving your Google Wallet PIN from your device, meaning that if someone were to steal your phone and use the application, they could use Google Wallet to go on a spending...

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  Google Reed-er

  My favorite Android browser is... something you may not have heard of! by Brad Reed

  So as you've likely seen, Google is finally releasing a mobile version of Chrome for Android, albeit on a very limited basis.  This is good news for a lot of reasons, the chief being that the default Android browser is pretty boring and nowhere near up to Chrome's standards.  The folks at Opera have predictably been all like, "Uh-UH!  You don't need no Chrome browser to have a first-rate browsing experience on Android!  We've been there for years!"But I've actually found a...

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  Open Source Matters

  Controlling Liquor Loss with Linux by Rikki Endsley

  The Replay Lounge in Lawrence, Kansas, ranked number 64 on Esquire's Best Bars in America 2011 list and landed spot number 31 on Complex Magazine's 2010 list of the 50 best college bars in America. Since opening back in 1993, this popular local bar has been best known for its pinball machines, ice cold PBR, mix of colorful characters, and some of the best live music you'll find anywhere. Few people know that inside this dark little bar, Linux servers and some open source-based scripts are...

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  Open Source Fact and Fiction

  Without It's Own Horse HTC Could Be On The Sidelines by Alan Shimel

  The mobile device market is a brutal place where only the very strongest survive. If you don't have your own horse in the race, you can easily go from first to back in the pack pretty quickly. Now it looks like one time industry darling, HTC may be one of the first casualties of the Google-Motorola Mobility merger. HTC rode the Android wave and was one of the leading Android headset makers, even producing a Google Nexus phone. But with Google's own Motorola rising rapidly and Samsung becoming...

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  Open Source Fact and Fiction

  DataBase As A Service With Support by Alan Shimel

  It seems like everything IT is being consumed as-a-Service (aaS) these days. So it should not be shocking that DBaaS, Database-as-a-Service is now available too.  EnterpriseDB, the company that has built a business supporting the PostgreSQL database announced last week that is now offering DBaaS through the Amazon Cloud. The idea is to offer almost "instant on" easy database to anyone who desires it. From the announcement: Postgres Plus Cloud Database combines the advantages of cloud...

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  Open Source Matters

  Google Summer of Code 2012 Announced by Rikki Endsley

  Google Summer of Code (GSoC) is an international program that pairs students with mentors and mentoring organizations. Students receive a stipend to write code and contribute to open source projects during their participation in the program.In 2011, 175 organizations participated in the Summer of Code. On February 27, 2012, mentoring organizations can start submitting applications for this year's event. The deadline for applications is March 9, and accepted organizations will be announced on...

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  Google Reed-er

  Tech's original Great Satan calls out Google for being evil by Brad Reed

  My, how the tables have turned!  Microsoft is apparently placing ads in major newspapers this week (I say "apparently" because no one reads newspapers anymore and I thus have no way of fact-checking) that call out Google for being too evil and not "putting people first."  Yes, it's pretty amusing that Google, which has long branded itself as the good-guy tech company, is now under fire from Microsoft, which happens to be tech's original Great Satan.  Let's take a look at the post...

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  Google Reed-er

  The Internet: It ain't designed to protect your privacy by Brad Reed

  Over at Forbes, Scott Cleland has a pretty good column examining why there aren't more social networks and email services that fully protect user privacy, despite the fact that users always get up in arms whenever companies such as Google and Facebook make changes to their services that could harm our ability to keep our data to ourselves.  Cleland uses a lot of econospeak in his column (which I'll do my best to translate for people without econ degrees), but his argument basically boils...

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  Google Reed-er

  "We ain't backin' down," says defiant Google by Brad Reed

  Google is pushing back on some of the criticism many in the press have tossed its way over the past few days.  Google policy manager Betsy Masiello has taken to Google's public policy blog to clear some of the air about what the company's new unified privacy policy means for its users.  Let's take a look:A lot has been said about our new privacy policy. Some have praised us for making our privacy policy easier to understand. Others have asked questions, including members of...

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  Google Reed-er

  Google's new privacy policy attracting attention from Congress by Brad Reed

  This isn't entirely surprising, but Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) is calling for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google's sweeping new privacy policy that will extend to most of its major services:"All consumers should have the right to say no to sharing of their personal information, particularly when young people are involved," Markey said. "Google's new privacy policy should enable consumers to opt-out if they don’t want their use of YouTube to morph into YouTrack.  Consumers...

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