Fight Typhoon Interference on Your Phone

5 things mobile phone owners should do to ensure uninterrupted service during typhoon
‘PLDT Manila said it is prepositioning restoration equipment and personnel in the Visayas, Southern Luzon and Northern Mindanao regions — all of which are on the path of the super typhoon.

‘The equipment includes generator sets and batteries that will support capacities of telecommunications equipment in the region, as well as equipment for free call and charging services. These will enable Smart and Sun Cellular to respond quickly to failures and community needs as they occur.

‘”Rest assured that Smart and Sun are exerting all efforts to minimize, if not prevent, interruptions to vital telecommunications services that may be caused by typhoon ‘Hagupit,” PLDT said.

‘With the approach of the typhoon, all mobile phone users are encouraged to:…’
5 things

Why More Solar Panels Should Be Facing West, Not South
‘…A new study of 110,000 California houses with rooftop solar systems confirmed that a vast majority of the panels were pointed south because most of the panel owners were paid by the number of kilowatt-hours the panels produced. Pointing them southward maximizes production over all, but peak production comes at midday, not in late afternoon, when it would be more helpful.

‘Pointing panels to the west means that in the hour beginning at 5 p.m., they produce 55 percent of their peak output. So a 10-kilowatt system would make 5.5 kilowatts. But point them to the south to maximize total output, and when the electric grid needs it most, they are producing only 15 percent of peak, or 1.5 kilowatts…’
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The Secure Competitor to Skype: Tox, a tool developed by Hackers!
‘Who ever said Hackers could only do bad things? Pretty much everyone on the planet but not only is it a misconception that disregards the existence of White Hats, benign hackers, but is also blind to the fact that people behind some of the best online safety tools are or were hackers at some point. They understand the reality of online security or the lack thereof to be more precise and it’s because of this that most of their community strive to help others.

‘You might be wondering what my point in all of this is. It’s Tox, a new hacker-developed video chat service, and one that is not only security-focused but is quickly becoming Skype’s greatest competitor (or threat).

‘The desire for its creation came right after Wikileaks reports revealed just how much the NSA was involved in obtaining private information from online users. For its creators, it became an almost immediate goal to find a safer alternative to Skype, so people wouldn’t run the risk of having their private conversations read or seen by others…’
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