Archives

In the past I’ve warned multiple times not to use hardware and software from Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei, and more examples keep piling up showing why that’s a bad idea. Read more ⟶

Private Internet Access blogged about a recent report by Access Now (February 24th 2020) titled “2019 #KeepItOn – Targeted, Cut Off, and Left in the Dark” (PDF) where they look at Internet shutdowns by criminal governments globally for the year 2019. I highly recommend reading the whole report to get an idea of how bad the situation is in various countries and the world in general. Read more ⟶

I read the article “Cybercrime in Suriname Increasingly More Aggressive” (January 23rd 2020) by Mr. Sitaram with great interest. I’ve also noticed that it had some effect based on the publications that followed. However, I think that Mr. Sitaram is still too optimistic about the current state of affairs; I can assure you from my own experience that the situation is far worse than many people suspect. Read more ⟶

According to an article on Computerworld Samsung have been spying on their users and selling their data. It appears that the money they make from selling their phones to people was not enough; they decided to make even more money by collecting as much data as possible from their users and selling or otherwise exploiting that data. Read more ⟶

Some of my friends will be able to confirm this, but I said from the very beginning, years ago, that Google’s Android OS, which runs on many phones today, is pure garbage. Especially when it comes to security and privacy. If you have a phone running Android I feel sorry for you. Read more ⟶

A paper published recently by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace titled “ICT Supply Chain Integrity: Principles for Governmental and Corporate Policies” goes into various threats to security and privacy via supply chain vulnerabilities and attacks. Read more ⟶

Boeing has admitted that the recent two crashes involving their 737 MAX aircraft model was due to a problem with the software running on the aircraft. The problem involves the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that was introduced to compensate for changes in the design of the newer 737 model compared to earlier versions. Read more ⟶

Back in Januari 2019 I had already warned not to use equipment from Huawei if security and privacy are important to you. I warned my friends and colleagues who wanted to buy Huawei phones not to do so, and here on my blog I wrote: If you’re using (networking, computing, and communications) equipment from Huawei, it would be wise for you to assume that the Chinese government can easily gain access to your information via Huawei. Read more ⟶

Harvest One Limited recently announced the new Cactus RQ250 Li-ion battery-powered wireless monolight and currently have a Kickstarter campaign running where you can get one for a reduced price. It’s a really compact flash, roughly as big as a Canon Speedlight 600EXII-RT flash, but has a lot of interesting features and useful accessories. Read more ⟶

The first camera I ever bought was the Sony Cybershot DSC-F717. That’s when I first had enough money to be able to afford my very own digital camera and really take up photography as a hobby. At a price of around 1000 USD it wasn’t exactly cheap either and it was definitely more of a prosumer camera. Soon after that I upgraded to the newer model, the Sony Cybershot DSC-F828, and after that the Sony Cybershot DSC-R1. Read more ⟶

Earlier this year I started to think about alternative options for delivering photos to my clients. As a photographer I also shoot photos of various types of events (including corporate events, birthdays and weddings) and in the past I’ve used CDs and DVDs in custom designed albums and cases to deliver the final photos to my clients. But as I’m sure you’ve noticed, CDs and DVDs are getting old very fast now. Read more ⟶

Canon recently announced their new camera in the 5D line — the 5D Mark IV (5D4). My first reaction to the announcement, after having gone through the specs, was a facepalm. And I’m not the only one, as there’s a lot of disappointment to be found everywhere on the Internet, especially when it comes to the video features. I’m more of a stills person myself, so I focused more on the specs in that area. Read more ⟶

Earlier this week I had a problem when using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Lightroom would freeze every time I went from the Library module into the Develop module, and sometimes when I switched photos in the Develop module. It turns out that this is caused by a bug, either in Lightroom itself or in the videocard drivers from AMD. Read more ⟶

I’ve been following the latest camera gear releases by Canon and love where they are heading. Long time readers of my blog will know that there was a time when I had only criticism when it came to Canon, but things changed starting with the release of the 1DX and later the 5D Mark III. I love how Canon have split the 5D line into the 5Ds for the high megapixel version and the existing 5D for the lower megapixel version. Read more ⟶

A few months ago I was contacted by Expert Shield in the UK about trying out their screen protector for the Canon EOS 5D Mark III (camera review). I had a look at their website and product information, and after seeing the kind of abuse it could withstand in the video below I got interested. Read more ⟶

After having already ruined Microsoft Flight Simulator — one of the biggest franchises in PC gaming history — the Interactive Entertainment Business Division at Microsoft is at it again. This time it seems they are determined to ruin the Xbox after years of efforts to make it one of the best and most popular consoles on the market. Read more ⟶

Having already participated as a beta tester during the final development phase of the Cactus V5 transceiver about 2 years ago, I wasn’t very surprised when I received a request in December 2012 to participate as a beta tester for a new product from Harvest One Limited. Initially I thought the new product would probably be a newer version of the V5 transceiver. Read more ⟶