Ken Garen, CPA, Co-Founder and President, UBCC

Net providers begin warning of illegal downloads Posted: Feb 25, 2013 4:10 PM PST Updated: Feb 25, 2013 4:12 PM PST ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Internet users who illegally share music, movies or television shows online could soon receive warning notices from the nation's five major Internet service providers. The Copyright Alert System, organized by the recording and film industry, is being activated this week to target consumers using peer-to-peer software. Under the new system, complaints will prompt an Internet service provider — such as Verizon or AT&T — to notify a customer whose Internet address has been detected sharing files illegally. A person will be given up to six opportunities to stop before the Internet provider will take more drastic steps, such as temporarily slowing their connection, or redirecting Internet traffic until they acknowledge they received a notice or review educational materials about copyright law. ...

Desperate Postal Service tries to find its "cool" factor By Elvina Nawaguna WASHINGTON | Wed Feb 20, 2013 5:03pm EST (Reuters) - The U.S. Postal Service, desperate and almost broke, is looking to the wallets of younger Americans for some relief. The federal government's mail transport and delivery agency this week said it will roll out a line of apparel and accessories it plans to sell in department and specialty stores. The "Rain Heat & Snow" brand of clothing, named after the Postal Service's motto trumpeting its carriers' determination to overcome whatever Mother Nature can throw at them, would put USPS in the "cutting edge of functional fashion," it said. "The idea is to blend in with the younger audiences as well as the more educated consumer," said Roy Betts, a spokesman for the Postal Service. The fashion line is not the cash-strapped Postal Service's first attempt to woo younger shoppers. In...

Google's electronic eyewear gets 'OK Glass' voice commands Hoping to carve out a new type of personal computing, Google shows off how to use its computerized eyewear to search, navigate, chat, and take photos. by Stephen Shankland  February 20, 2013 4:27 AM PST Those are the two words that Google showed today will initiate a variety of commands for its Glass computerized eyewear. In the Google Glass "How it Feels" video, people speak the words "OK Glass" and then pick from a list of featured voice commands to send a message, record a video, take a photo, launch a video-chat hangout, conduct a search, check the weather, or get driving directions. The demo is a concrete illustration of how Google is evolving its technology from a mere search engine to a constant personal companion that augments your mind. When Microsoft introduced Windows 95, its Start menu became the gateway for just about anything you could do with the operating...

Major Digital Copier Privacy & Security Issue...... Digital copiers have a hard drive that automatically stores images of all documents copied & faxed? When the copier is returned at the end of its lease or sold these images go with the machine. CBS news link............ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150199305532761

EU to act against Google over privacy: French agency 18 FEBRUARY 2013 AFP - European data protection agencies intend to take action against the US Internet giant Google after it failed to follow their orders to comply with EU privacy laws, the French data protection authority said on Monday. In October the data protection agencies warned Google that its new privacy policy did not comply with EU laws and gave it four months to comply or face legal action. "At the end of a four-month delay accorded to Google to conform and promise to implement recommendations, no response has been forthcoming by the company" said France's CNIL data protection agency. CNIL said that European data protection agencies planned to set up a working group to "coordinate their coercive actions which should be implemented before the summer." European data agencies are to meet next week to approve the action plan, said CNIL, which said it is leading the effort. ...

Google Play Store 'flaw' puts users' details on display by: By Claire Porter, technology editor From: news.com.au February 15, 2013 5:15AM Millions of Google customers have had their personal details exposed after massive security hole was discovered in the Google Play store EVERY time you purchase an app on Google Play, your name, address and email is passed on to the developer, it has been revealed. The "flaw" - which appears to be by design - was discovered by Sydney app developer, Dan Nolan who told news.com.au that he was uncomfortable being the custodian of this information and that there was no reason for any developer to have this information at their finger tips. You may remember Mr Nolan as the creator of the Paul Keating insult generator all that hit number one in the Aussie App Store last month." "Let me make this crystal clear, every App purchase you make on Google Play gives the developer your name, suburb and em...

Magazine sales suffer from the hard cell - Shift to digital... February 7, 2013 8:46 pm Magazine sales suffer from the hard cell By Emily Steel in New York It is a scene playing out in supermarkets across the world: a consumer waits to pay and, instead of browsing the magazines and chewing gum displayed alongside, she pulls out her mobile phone for a quick digital distraction. US magazine executives call the habit the “mobile blinder” after the vision-narrowing headgear worn by racehorses, and say the trend is wreaking havoc on the industry. Data released on Thursday show a big decline in single-copy sales of US magazines at newsstands and retail outlets, amid increased digital competition and reduced retail space. Single-copy sales fell 9.5 per cent to about 26.7m in 2012 from the previous year, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. That is about half the 52.9m magazines sold on newsstands a decade ago. The trend is even more pronounced for the women...

Postal Service to Cut Saturday Mail ABC OTUS News – 7 hrs ago The financially struggling U.S. Postal Service said Wednesday it will stop delivering mail on Saturdays but continue to disburse packages six days a week, an apparent end-run around an unaccommodating Congress. The service expects the Saturday mail cutback to begin the week of Aug. 5 and to save about $2 billion annually, said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe. "Our financial condition is urgent," Donahoe told a press conference. The move accentuates one of the agency's strong points — package delivery has increased by 14 percent since 2010, officials say, while the delivery of letters and other mail has declined with the increasing use of email and other Internet services. Under the new plan, mail would be delivered to homes and businesses only from Monday through Friday, but would still be delivered to post office boxes on Saturdays. Post offices now open on Saturdays would...

Will retailers add a new fee for paying with credit or debit? ISAAC M. O'BANNON, EDITOR - CPA PRACTICE ADVISOR CREATED: JANUARY 31, 2013 A cup of coffee at your local cafe might cost you 2-5 percent more if you pay by plastic instead of cash. So could anything else you buy with a credit or debit card. Tools from Lowes? A computer from Best Buy? A book from Amazon? The rules apply to both in-store purchases and those made online. That's the result of a recent court settlement that had many of the nation's retailers, from single location burger joints to the largest national chains, pitted against the banks that issue cards. At issue were the fees that the small businesses have to pay the banks, and the banks' merchant agreements. Until the settlement, merchants were contractually prohibited from adding a surcharge to plastic purchases, even though they had to pay a percentage-based fee themselves. There are also often additional per-charge fees rang...

Oracle Issues Emergency Java Security Update Oracle's Java update addresses 50 bugs, including flaws that can be used to remotely compromise a desktop or server. Mathew J. Schwartz |   February 04, 2013 11:15 AM Oracle has released a new version of Java, ahead of schedule, to help defend users against active attacks. Oracle's Friday   critical patch update   (CPU) addresses 50 bugs in Java, over half of which can be remotely exploited by attackers. At least one of those bugs was disclosed to the company only a week ago Sunday. "Due to the threat posed by a successful attack, Oracle strongly recommends that customers apply CPU fixes as soon as possible," according to Oracle's security advisory. The newly released versions of Java include Java 7 Update 13, Java 6 Update 39, and JavaFX 2.2.5. (Oracle has said it plans to stop posting new updates for Java 6 after the end of this month.) According to Oracle, its new Java software addresses f...