TechByter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) with Bill Blinn

Text editors aren't just for programmers and website designers. Writers can benefit from the uncluttered interface. Live streaming feeds, the ones that provide unauthorized access to live events, may also provide a pathway to your computer for malware. In Short Circuits ... Net neutrality scores a win in federal appeals court, but the battle won't be over until it gets to the Supreme Court. Microsoft plans to acquire LinkedIn. In Spare Parts (only on the website): The biggest growth industry for crooks these days is ransomware and spam has progressed from being just annoying to being extremely dangerous.

Don't fall victim to a doxer. Besides explaining what doxers are, I'll have some suggestions for avoiding the creeps. There's a very good chance that just about any website you visit has some security vulnerabilities. In Short Circuits ... Adobe released new Lightroom and Camera Raw versions this week. An article in the New York Times outlines the distressing reality of governments planning for cyber-warfare. Some of Mark Zuckerberg's accounts were hacked this week. Are you smarter than he is? In Spare Parts (only on the website): A utility that claims to be able to fix broken Microsoft Office files comes with a hefty price tag. Verizon sounds like it wants to buy Yahoo's internet assets. And Fujitsu offers some scanners that can store your files in the cloud without involving a computer.

Xara's latest edition of Photo and Graphic Designer has enough new features and improved functions to earn a "WOW!" from me. It's time for a little show and tell. In Short Circuits ... The National Football League's Washington Redskins waited a month and a half to let players know that one of their trainers had fumbled a computer into the hands of a thief. Ohio State University makes it 3 in a row for victories in the EcoCAR competition. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Is "Facebook privacy" just an oxymoron or is there something you can do to improve your odds? The latest batch of CPUs from Intel bring astounding performance, but also astounding prices. And following the acquisition of SanDisk by Western Digital, jobs start to disappear.

Flash is all but dead. Apple stopped supporting it six years ago and browser manufacturers, citing security concerns, are also dropping support. Fraudsters seem to be winning the technology battle according to accounting firm KPMG. In Short Circuits ... Microsoft turns a $7.2 billion investment in Nokia into a $7.6 billion loss. The internet loses its capital letter. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Kaspersky warns about a new variant of an ATM skimmer that leaves no physical evidence. Adding a battery to a wall-wart charger makes it a 3-in-one device. And Microsoft has a plan to make affordable internet access more common.

After 7 months with a Surface Pro tablet, I can recommend it, but perhaps not as enthusiastically as Microsoft would like. If you're a reader who likes to read books on a tablet and you also like to save money and read work by new authors, I have a suggestion. In Short Circuits ... Why can't girls write code? Actually, they can and Girls Who Code has just released several YouTube videos aimed at destroying myths and stereotypes. GoDaddy is acquiring FreedomVoice and will soon be in the telephone business. Will Microsoft's evil never end? The company clarifies its Windows 10 policies and is immediately accused of being sneaky. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A new app lets you turn your smart phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot, LinkedIn says the breach that occurred 4 years ago allowed crooks to harvest 100 million more user names and hashed passwords than previously thought, and how big should a flat-panel display be in a classroom -- or should schools be using something else entirely?

Xara Web Designer adds site development features that will delight visually oriented designers. You may think that you know who invented e-mail, but the story is probably a bit more complicated than you expect. In Short Circuits ... If you want to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, now is the time to do it. The offer ends this summer. Watson will take on cyber crime. Marketers who talk AT people instead of WITH them may soon find themselves with declining market shares. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A new top-level domain name for your mom, Western Digital finalizes its acquisition of SanDisk, and the market for wearable electronics is big, growing fast, and will be huge.

How to create a high-quality video using just your smart phone. The New York Public Library opens a treasure trove of high-resolution historical images on its website, usable by anyone without cost. In Short Circuits, Opera builds an ad-blocker into its browser, what follows Moore's law might have something to do with Schrodinger's cat, mobile devices get smarter, and "Unplugged" could be coming to YouTube in 2017. In Spare Parts, only on the website: Spreadsheets are useful, but they're not always the best choice; ShareIt, a Chinese sharing app, claims 500 million users; and InformationWeek names the 100 companies it says make the best use of technology.

Don't underestimate the importance of backing up your important files more than once. Let's consider the on-line CrashPlan backup system. Not all tablets run Windows or OSX; now there's one that comes with Ubuntu Linux. In Short Circuits, You need a password manager and then you need to be careful not to divulge your master password to the bad guys and a new e-mail program for smart phones could be worth downloading even though it's not exactly perfect. In Spare Parts, only on the website: The FBI says it isn't going to share the Iphone hack it bought from hackers for more than $1 million with anyone and particularly not with Apple. Software used to rescue children from sex trafficking. Maybe a decent swipable keyboard is coming to Microsoft devices. Activist investors are named to Yahoo's board of directors. And this week, a bonus track following the program close. Be sure to wait for it.

I've been looking at a low priced, but uncommonly robust, video editor that unfortunately crashes a bit too often. Still, it might be a good choice for some. In Short Circuits, Maybe Microsoft has finally convinced Intel to fix the video device driver crashes that have plagued Surface users. It appears that Amazon has just challenged Netflix to a duel. Western Digital and Veritas have a private cloud backup system and some high-performing disk drives in a new Gold line. Listening to FM radio on your smart phone is about to get better. In Spare Parts, only on the website: If you're hungry and you're in one of 24 cities served by DoorDash, you can have food delivered from many local restaurants. Scotch maker Johnnie Walker wants us to learn more about the carbon footprint Web surfing creates (yeah, I'll have to explain that). And a couple of acquisitions caught my attention this week.

Microsoft is preparing for Windows 10's first anniversary by incorporating the Linux command line. Google may be dropping its "free" fiber in Kansas City, but its paid offerings go far beyond what traditional cable companies provide and for far less. In Short Circuits, Tips for protecting yourself from ransomware, Microsoft sues the feds in the ongoing battle over privacy versus security, and the BBC says that streaming audio can lead to the purchase of vinyl records. In Spare Parts, only on the website: Toshiba has a new processor that promises better video in your automobile, IBM is working with Box to provide on-line storage in Europe and Asia, and updates to StorageCraft's Image Manager to make backups more robust.