Computers

What The Heck Do The Function Keys on Computers Do?

Computers, Technology

From some website called Wikipedia:

In the Mac OS up to Mac OS 9, the function keys could be configured by the user, with the Function Keys control panel, to start a program or run an AppleScript. Mac OS X assigns default functionality to F9, F10, and F11 (Exposé); F12 (Dashboard); and F14/F15 (decrease/increase contrast). On newer Apple laptops, all the function keys are assigned basic actions such as volume control, brightness control, NumLock (since the laptops lack a keypad), and ejection of disks. Software functions can be used by holding down the Fn key while pressing the appropriate function key, and this scheme can be reversed by changing the Mac OS X system preferences.

Under MS-DOS, individual programs could decide what each function key meant to them, and the command line had its own actions (e.g., F3 copied to the current command prompt words from the previous command). Following the IBM Common User Access guidelines, the F1 key gradually became universally associated with Help in most early Windows programs. To this day, Microsoft Office programs running in Windows list F1 as the key for Help in the Help menu. Internet Explorer in Windows does not list this keystroke in the help menu, but still responds with a help window. F3 is commonly used to activate a search function in applications, often cycling through results on successive presses of the key. ⇧ Shift+F3 is often used to search backwards. Some applications such as Visual Studio support Control+F3 as a means of searching for the currently highlighted text elsewhere in a document. F5 is also commonly used as a refresh key in many web browsers and other applications, while F11 activates the full screen/kiosk mode on most browsers. Under the Windows environment, Alt+F4 is commonly used to quit an application; Ctrl+F4 will often close a portion of the application, such as a document or tab. F10 generally activates the menu bar, while ⇧ Shift+F10 activates a context menu. F2 is used in Windows Explorer, Visual Studio and other programs to rename files or other items.

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Yahoo to Shorten Logs of User Activity to Three Months

Computers, Internet, Tech, web 2.0, Yahoo

what-a-dayWASHINGTON (AP) – Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) (YHOO) said Wednesday that it will shorten the amount of time that it retains data about its users’ online behavior – including Internet search records – to three months from 13 months and expand the range of data that it “anonymizes” after that period.

The company’s new privacy policy comes amid mounting concerns among regulators and lawmakers from Washington to Europe about how much data big Internet companies are collecting on their users and how that information is being used. Yahoo’s announcement also ratchets up the pressure on rivals Google Inc. (GOOG) (GOOG) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) (MSFT) to follow its lead.

In September, Google said it would “anonymize,” or mask, the numeric Internet Protocol (IP) addresses on its server logs after nine months, down from a previous retention period of 18 months. And Microsoft, which currently keeps user data for 18 months, said last week it would support an industry standard of six months.

Under Yahoo’s new policy, the company will strip out portions of users’ IP addresses, alter small tracking files known as “cookies” and delete other potential personally identifiable information after 90 days in most cases. In cases involving fraud and data security, the company will anonymize the data after six months.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo also said it will expand the scope of data that it anonymizes to encompass not only search engine logs, but also page views, page clicks, ad views and ad clicks. That information is used to personalize online content and advertising.

Yahoo will begin implementing the new policy next month and says it will be effective across all the company’s services by mid-2010.

Anne Toth, vice president of policy and head of privacy for Yahoo, said the company is adopting the new policy to build trust with users and differentiate it from its competitors. Yahoo also hopes to take the issue of data retention “off the table” by showing that Internet companies can regulate themselves, Toth said.

European Union regulators have pressured Yahoo, Google and Microsoft over the past year to shorten the amount of time that they hold onto user data. And Congress has begun asking questions about the extent to which Internet and telecommunications companies track where their users go online and use that information to target personalized advertising.

Edward Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, praised Yahoo for setting a new standard on privacy protection and said Google, Microsoft and other companies will now be compared against that standard.

Ari Schwartz, vice president of the Center for Democracy & Technology, a civil liberties group, agreed that Yahoo’s new policy is “step in the right direction.” He added, however, that he would like to see more clarity – and more standardization – from the industry about what it does with Internet users’ data. He noted, for instance, that while some companies delete full IP addresses, other delete only parts of IP addresses or simply encrypt them.

Do You Know the Way to the San Jose Electric Car Plant?

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San Jose wins electric car plant

By Maggie Shiels
Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley

San Jose is aiming to be the capital of clean technology following a $250m (£139m) deal with electric car maker Tesla to base its new factory there.

The city beat other contenders to secure a project that will bring more than 1,000 jobs to the area.

“This is a big step toward being the centre of world cleantech innovation,” said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed.

Tesla boss Ze’ev Drori said that “this is proof the time has come for the electric car.”

The company plans to produce an all-electric luxury sedan, called the Model S, at the plant with a retail price of around $60,000 (£33,000.)

It already manufactures a two seater zero emission Roadster which sells for $109,000 (£61,000) and is built by Lotus in England.

Mr Drori told BBC News Tesla hopes to deliver its first cars by 2010. They will have a range of about 240 miles (390 km) per battery charge. The production run is set for around 15,000 vehicles initially, with half of the line being sold in Europe.

“This car signals an end to dependency on foreign oil. The summer of high gas prices has accelerated demand for such a vehicle.”

San Jose’s mayor Mr Reed agrees. “This is the next step in transportation.

“Shifting from petroleum to electric vehicles will make a huge change to how the world moves and we are excited to be part of that happening.”

Analysts however believe Tesla will face a tough challenge with its five-seater sedan, especially from GM’s Volt, which was unveiled this week.

“Tesla’s electric sedan will be a tough sell alongside the Volt which will cost around $35,000 (£19,500),” said Michael Kanellos of Greentech Media.

“Price will play a big role in this battle.”

‘Vote of confidence’

San Jose along with the State of California devised an incentive programme estimated at around $150m (£84m) to persuade Tesla to site its new plant in the city.

While California came up with a hefty $100m (£56m) financing package, San Jose put land into the deal.

The first 10 years of the 40 year lease on the 90-acre plot will be rent-free. After that a yearly lease payment of $1.5m (£835,000) will be paid over the next ten years with a 2% increase year on year for the last 20.

Mayor Reed told BBC News he believed this part of the package was worth around $50m (£28m) but stressed the land was not being used anyway.

“A lot of investment decisions are based on faith in the future and confidence in the future and this 250 million dollar project is a real stamp for us and a vote of confidence in San Jose.

“Hopefully it will help other companies to make investment decisions and locate their businesses here.”

He said that San Jose, which is said to have America’s highest per-capita concentration of hybrid cars, is aggressively encouraging cleantech companies to the area.

The Mayor claimed the city is the leader in attracting these types of companies with more than 40 already calling San Jose home and providing more than 2,500 jobs.

“San Jose is the capital of Silicon Valley, which offers the best opportunities because it is right here where the innovation is happening.

“It is important for Tesla to be close to that innovation and this is a big boost for us.”

Tesla’s Mr Drori said his business represents the beginning of a burgeoning growth sector.

“Cleantech is a completely new paradigm and what we are doing represents a major seismic shift. That’s the reason we chose San Jose and we will lead this charge.”

Greentech Media’s Mr Kanellos said cleantech is “going through a really exciting time.”

“It’s cool the fact the government of California sees a bit future in this and certainly companies are saying they are getting swamped with applications for people to work in the sector,” he said.

“There is a whole generation of kids who want to work in this area not just for the money but because it’s cool.”

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/technology/7617972.stm

Published: 2008/09/17 08:14:46 GMT

Bloggers Rush To Put Words "IPhone" and "Google Chrome" in Same Headline

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Web 2.0 afficionados and general internet geeks accross the planet staged a history-making rush of blog posts heralding the new Google browser, Chrome and the cavalcade of programs being written to use it on Apple’s I-Phone.

 

 

 

 

 

Today on Twitter, one mashup nerd excitedly wondered what custom API’s were in the works and a Spore programmer claimed on Tumblr that they would run a version of the new game through Mountain View’s Google servers utilizing Chrome’s mobile capabilities.

Consumer Electronics Show News

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