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A loophole in Audible's security is making it easy to get unlimited free audiobooks, as long as you have no moral qualms about using a fake name and credit card.

It turns out that Audible, which is owned by Amazon, doesn't verify credit cards and user information before it allows people to start downloading audiobooks, so you can fill your iPhone with audiobooks even if you sign up for an account using an obviously fake credit card.

A teenager in India recently told Business Insider about the flaw. After seeing BI's experiment, Gizmodo used the same technique to confirm that the loophole is still there.

Using a fake name, email address, and credit card number, you can sign up for any membership plan, so we chose the most expensive plan, which gives you 24 free book credits. It's easy to buy expensive shit when you're using completely fake information.

Audible noticed right away that the card information was shady (maybe it was the Simpsons reference or the address of "Fake Avenue" that gave it away). But it didn't lock "Rory B. Bellows" out.

Even though a warning pops up, Amazon doesn't check credit card information until the credits run out. Even then, once Amazon figures out a card is faulty, someone trying to rip Audible off can just renew the membership instead of updating the card information. That refills the credits, basically letting people download Audible's entire catalog without paying.

I tested what happened when you try to buy stuff using the (fake) credit card instead of the 24 credits at first, and received a notice that Amazon had to verify my information before they'd let my audio book download start... but then renewed my membership and was able to get the same audiobooks for free.

Obviously you should not do this! It's stealing, even though it might feel less so because it's online. It's notable, though, that Amazon has left Audbile's system so insecure for so long.

"This is a fraud issue, not a security issue. The fraudulent activity described in the Business Insider article did not put any customer data at risk of exposure, nor did it affect customer experience in use of Audible.com; no honest Audible customer has been or will be injured by this," Audible's Senior Director of Communications told Gizmodo.

"While we are constantly working to improve ease of use by customers, any momentary breach is closed quickly through our process when invalid credit cards are used. We take the act of fraud very seriously and always have and always will."

Business Insider claims Amazon has known about this since 2013. It seems like an odd thing not to fix, because it gives people a very easy way to snag free audiobooks. [Business Insider]

For several months Rightscorp has been sending DMCA subpoenas to smaller local ISPs in the United States.

Unlike regular subpoenas, these are not reviewed by a judge and only require a signature from the Court clerk. This practice raised questions because DMCA subpoenas are not applicable to file-sharing cases, which is something courts determined more than a decade ago.

Perhaps unaware of the legal precedent, most ISPs have complied with the requests. Until last week, when small Texas provider Grande Communications stood up in court after it was asked to reveal the account details connected to 30,000 IP-addresses/timestamp combinations.

Soon after Grande filed its objections Rightscorp decided to drop the request entirely. While ISP is pleased that its customers no longer have to be exposed, the company is not letting Rightscorp off the hook.

In an advisory to the court (pdf) the ISP notes that Rightscorp’s actions suggest that it’s merely trying to avoid having a judge look at their dubious efforts.

“The abrupt withdrawal of the Subpoena is consistent with the apparent desire of Rightscorp and its counsel to avoid judicial review of their serial misuse of the subpoena power of the federal courts,” Grande’s attorneys write.

The ISP still wants Rightscorp to pay for the costs run up thus far. In addition, Grande also believes that sanctions for misusing the federal court’s subpoena powers may be in order.

“The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California may consider ordering Rightscorp and its counsel to show cause why they should not be sanctioned for misusing the federal court’s subpoena powers,” the advisory reads.

The ISP points out that if it hadn’t challenged the subpoena, the personal details of hundreds or thousands of subscribers would have been shared based on a faulty procedure. Since similar requests are being sent to other ISPs, the matter warrants further investigation.

“It appears clear that Rightscorp and its counsel are playing a game without regard for the rules, and they are playing that game in a manner calculated to avoid judicial review. Hopefully, they will not be permitted to continue much longer,” Grande’s attorneys conclude.

Rightscorp’s withdrawal of the subpoena also contradicts earlier comments the company’s CEO Christopher Sabec made to TorrentFreak.

Sabec told us that the company believes that earlier decisions on the legitimacy of DMCA subpoenas in file-sharing cases were wrong, and will be overturned should the issue reach the Supreme Court.

Apparently, this was a veiled threat, perhaps to discourage Internet providers from starting a battle that could get very expensive. Instead, with possible sanctions pending, things may now get expensive for Rightscorp.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

 In an effort to promote young artists using its service, Flickr has put together a collection of 20 artists under the age of 20 who have shown exceptional talent in their early work. Users can choose their favorite photographers from the group and nominate their work in three different categories: creativity, technical skills, and strength of overall portfolio. Read More

So what's going on in Light in the Darkness? The Totems are (apparently) a race of little gumdrop-shaped creatures that emit light. No need to judge, though. Their offspring have gone missing, and you have to use their luminous powers to spot the youngsters.

  

Simply move the Totems around the level to shine the light on all the baby Totems to complete the level. Sometimes you'll have to combine different colors of light to make the right shade to illuminate the youngsters, but also keep in mind the stars have to be lit up to unlock more levels.

Light In The Dark Is A Clever Color-Based Puzzler was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

 As part of its ongoing Spyfiles series of posts, Wikileaks has released the back and front-end systems used by multiple governments to spy on journalists, dissidents, and others. The files appear to be weaponized Windows malware although the software, called FinFisher, also works on OS X. From the post: FinFisher (formerly part of the UK based Gamma Group International until late 2013) is… Read More

 Meet the Panasonic DMC-CM1 cameraphone. Inside is a massive image sensor on par with top-tier pocket cameras, yet the whole package is still rather svelte. With the DMC-CM1 Panasonic is returning to the smartphone market in an important way. Two years ago Panasonic pulled the plug on its smartphones following disappointing sales of the Eluga handsets. Quite frankly, those handsets were not… Read More

Knowledge is a game changer. I’ve long been inspired by the Internet and how it opens the doors to opportunity. It provides access to knowledge, no matter who you are or where you are. For instance, it doesn’t matter if you’re a Nobel Laureate at a world-class research center or a young student at a rural school in Indonesia, with Google Search, you have the same information at your fingertips as anyone else.

If we look at how people are getting online and accessing information today, increasingly it’s through a smartphone. While 1.75 billion people around the world already have a smartphone, the vast majority of the world’s population—over five billion more—do not. That means most people are only able to make simple voice calls, rather than connect with family through a live video chat, use mapping apps to find the closest hospital, or simply search the web. We want to bring these experiences to more people.

That’s where Android One comes in. At I/O, we first talked about this initiative to make high-quality smartphones accessible to as many people as possible. And today we’re introducing the first family of Android One phones in India.
Addressing key barriers—hardware, software and connectivity
There are three big reasons why it’s hard for people in countries such as India, Indonesia or the Philippines to get their hands on a high-quality smartphone. First, is the hardware itself. Even entry-level smartphones still remain out of reach for many (bear in mind that in some of these countries the average monthly income is around $250). Second, many people in these markets do not have access to the latest Android software and popular applications. Finally, even where 3G and 4G networks are available, not enough people have phones that can support data and the plans can be expensive.

Android One aims to help tackle these challenges. By working closely with phone and silicon chip makers to share reference designs and select components, we’re making it easier for our partners to build phones that are not just great to use, but also affordable. They have lots of processing power, so you can get information quickly. They have high-quality front- and rear-facing cameras. And for all those pictures, along with your apps and videos, Android One phones will have expandable storage. We also added features that people in India will find particularly useful, like dual SIM cards, a replaceable battery and built-in FM radio.
To help ensure a consistent experience, Android One devices will receive the latest versions of Android directly from Google. So you’ll get all the latest features, up-to-date security patches, and peace of mind knowing your stuff is always backed up. It also means Android One devices will be some of the first to be updated to the Android L release later this year. For our hardware partners, they’ll be able to create customized experiences and differentiate their devices without having to change the core software.

In an effort to reduce data costs, if you have an Airtel SIM card, you’ll get these software updates for free for the first six months. As part of this same Airtel offer, you’ll also be able to download up to 200MB per month worth of your favorite apps (that’s about 50 apps overall) from Google Play—all without counting toward your mobile data usage.

More to come
This is just the beginning of the Android One journey. The first phones, from our hardware partners Micromax, Karbonn, Spice and chipmaker MediaTek, are available starting today in India from leading retailers starting at Rs 6,399. We’re also excited to welcome more partners to the program, including phone manufacturers Acer, Alcatel Onetouch, ASUS, HTC, Intex, Lava, Lenovo, Panasonic, Xolo, and chipmaker Qualcomm. We expect to see even more high-quality, affordable devices with different screen sizes, colors, hardware configurations and customized software experiences. Finally, we plan to expand the Android One program to Indonesia, the Philippines and South Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) by the end of the year, with more countries to follow in 2015.

Access for access’s sake is not enough. With Android One, we not only want to help people get online, we want to make sure that when they get there, they can tap into the wealth of information and knowledge the web holds for everyone.

Posted by Sundar Pichai, SVP, Android, Chrome & Apps

Google has unveiled the first smartphones to run on its Android One platform, a standard designed to help push affordable smartphones in the developing world. The initiative kicks off in India, where Micromax, Spice, and Karbonn are all selling phones with 4.5-inch screens, 1GB of RAM, 5-megapixel main and 2-megapixel front cameras, 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek processors, dual-SIM slots, microSD expandable storage, and FM radios.

Android One devices will ship with support for more languages, including Hindi, and feature more local publications in Google Play Newsstand. Google is also making a special version of YouTube available which will allow Indian users to download videos and re-watch them multiple times without incurring excessive...

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62,000 US drivers have been pulled over and had their cash seized by small-town American cops in the past 13 years, under civil forfeiture laws that let them declare anyone to be a probable terrorist and/or drug dealer and take their money without charge or evidence; the only way to get it back is to hire a lawyer and return, over and over again, to the tiny town you were passing through when you were robbed at badgepoint. Read the rest

 Places is a privacy-centric startup that’s building a secure Dropbox-style platform for file sharing and messaging — but one that has end-to-end, client-side encryption built in. It’s currently launched in early alpha and is inviting people to sign up for a forthcoming beta at Joinplaces.com. Read More

Under the terms of the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, approved by PM Harper on Friday, China can sue Canada in secret tribunals to repeal national and provincial laws that interfere with Chinese investments, including laws limiting construction of the Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline. Read the rest

 In the vast panoply of potential home networking protocols, there are only a few worth worrying about. Wi-Fi works well but it can go down and ZigBee and the like are sparsely supported. But Bluetooth Smart is local, secure, and easy to use. And that’s what Seed Labs is using to connect our lamps, our blinds, and even our tea kettles. This Polish startup has built a small chip –… Read More

There’s a good case to argue that the UK’s Federation Against Copyright (FACT) Theft is the most aggressive anti-piracy group operating in the West today.

While the MPAA softens its approach and becomes friendly on its home turf, FACT – a unit funded by Hollywood – is acting as a proxy overseas in the United Kingdom.

Later this year FACT will take another private prosecution to a criminal court in the UK. According to a press release issued yesterday, five men will face charges that they coordinated to action the unauthorized online distribution of recently released films.

Other than noting that the men were arrested in 2013, FACT provided no other details and due to legal reasons declined further comment. However, TorrentFreak has been able to confirm the following.

Following an investigation into the “sourcing and supply” of pirated films on the Internet, February last year FACT and police from the economic crime unit targeted four addresses in the West Midlands.

Image from the raid

Four men, then aged 20, 22, 23 and 31, were arrested on suspicion of offenses committed under the Copyright Act, but exactly who they were was never made public.

However, TF discovered that the men were members of a pair of P2P movie release groups known as 26K and RemixHD, a former admin of UnleashTheNet (the site run by busted US-based release group IMAGiNE) and an individual from torrent site The Resistance.

The image below shows the final movie releases of RemixHD, the last taking place on January 29, 2013. The raids took place on February 1, 2013.

FACT now report that five men, one more than originally reported, will face charges at Wolverhampton Crown Court later this year. While men from the two release groups are set to appear, it is unclear whether the former torrent site admins are still in the frame, although it is possible that FACT are referring to them collectively as a release group.

Aside from the fact that this will be the first time that a release group case has ever gone to court in the UK, the case is notable in two other respects.

Firstly, FACT – not the police – are prosecuting the case. Second, nowhere does FACT mention that the five will face charges of copyright infringement – it appears that the main charge now is conspiracy to defraud.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

Check out some of the stunning images photographer Trey Ratcliff captured at Burning Man this year.

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Nature is an amazing thing. This week I share with you some images of wildlife, animals in nature. Some may have been taken on nature preserves or even in a zoo, but if the image is well done and we can’t tell kudos to the photographer.

If you do any wildlife photography you’ll appreciate how difficult it is to get the perfect shot. So enjoy these and be inspired.

The post A Walk on the Wild Side: A Collection of Wildlife Photography by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Sure, Chrome's New Tab page is useful enough, and forged from the analysis of millions of user experience clicks, but why stick with what Google wants to serve up to you? There are several impressive extensions that can transform your New Tab page and provide some handy extra functionality.

Currently

Currently keeps things simple with a minimal layout that shows the time and weather forecast for your current location. Information you can easily get elsewhere, of course, but having it on your New Tab page is hugely convenient and can act as a useful reminder that your lunchtime is fast approaching or that you need to rearrange this weekend's outdoor picnic.

The extension comes with some helpful layout and design options so you can modify the time and weather display to suit your own preferences. You can set a manual location if you don't want to use your current one, while Wunderground is the site powering the weather forecasts.

Quick Start

Install Quick Start to get speedy access to the sites you use the most. It works and looks a lot like the default New Tab page, but there are some nice extra touches, such as the option to set your own wallpaper image and quick access to all of the extensions installed in your browser. The settings page lets you choose from a number of different layouts.

Multiple screens let you access your bookmarks and most visited sites, and there's an integrated weather widget as well. Search is featured prominently too, with the news stories currently trending on Google already listed for you, should you want to jump straight to today's topics of note.

OneFeed

OneFeed turns the New Tab page into what it calls "the ultimate social dashboard"—that means the latest updates from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Gmail and other services right there as soon as you open up a new tab in your browser. You can get notifications from each service and search through your various accounts from the same interface too.

Elsewhere, there are links to the sites you visit the most, like the traditional New Tab page, and plenty of customization options—you can sort your links into separate folders if you want to. OneFeed also includes a handy news reader, a lightweight RSS-style tool that lets you keep up with the headlines from your choice of news sites.

Ultimate New Tab

The Ultimate New Tab extension puts everything on one scrollable page—frequently visited sites, Web apps, extension settings, bookmarks, browsing history and more. The tool also works with the Smooth Gestures Plus add-on from the same developer, so you can control Chrome using the movements of your mouse.

You can change the wallpaper and the theme of the New Tab page with Ultimate New Tab as well as quickly jump to any of the tabs that are currently active in your browser. The SpeedDial section lets you customize which sites are reachable with a single mouse click, while each of the page sections can be shown or hidden as required.

Home New Tab Page

You'll find a nice blend of shortcuts, information and notifications available in the Home New Tab Page extension. You can get updates from Facebook, Google Calendar, Gmail and a number of other services to save you having to open each site in turn, and there's the option to load in a wallpaper of your own if the wood panelling effect isn't doing much for you.

The Quick Notes section is useful too if you want to jot down some reminders for yourself that you'll see at various times through the day. There's no space for your Web bookmarks or your frequently visited sites, but the extension does provide easy access to the apps installed in Chrome as well as recently closed tabs.

There are plenty of other alternatives when it comes to New Tab replacements—if you've got your own favorite that you think deserves a mention, leave a comment below.

 Kobo has introduced a new e-reader, and the device offers all your typical generational improvements, including faster page turning and a high-resolution display for crisp text. But it also brings a degree of waterproofing to the device, which means it’s better able to handle a trip to the beach, or a surprise rainstorm. All improvements taken together make the Kobo Aura H2O my… Read More

With all the controversy about the "best" or "right" way to diet for better health or to lose weight, it isn't easy choosing a diet. No worries. They all are variations of the "eat more vegetables" diet.

That's what Charlie Knoles points out on Mind Body Green:

There is so much controversy about the right diet for optimum health and fitness and it seems like the rules are constantly changing. So I've broken each diet down for you to make it easy:

Low carb: Don't eat sugar or bread and eat more vegetables.

Paleo: Eat tons of meat, don't eat grains and eat more vegetables.

Calorie counting: Don't eat too much crap and eat more vegetables.

Mediterranean: Eat more vegetables, olive oil and occasionally fish

Macrobiotic: Eat more vegetables and grains, avoiding animal products and processed foods.

Ayurveda: Eat more vegetables in accordance to your Dosha.

Vegan: Eat more vegetables and then even more vegetables.

I happen to know really healthy and fit people who follow ALL of these diets, based on what works best for them. The truth is that they are all variants of the "eat more vegetables" diet, which in my opinion, is the only diet that has ever been proven to really work.

Don't like vegetables? You can learn to.

More great advice on getting healthier even if you procrastinate about fitness in the post below.

How to Get Fit Even When You Hate Exercise | Mind Body Green

Pre-ordering a new iPhone is never an easy process. You wake up at 3AM if you’re on the East Coast, stay up late on the West Coast, or simply eat your breakfast if you’re in Europe. But this year it has been an especially tricky process for Apple’s most loyal customers in the US. Apple’s online store in the US was down for two hours and 25 minutes, leaving customers who stayed up late rather frustrated. Online Apple Stores outside the US appear to have been unaffected by the troubles.

Some were able to sneak orders onto the US site or via the Apple Store app for iOS, but many have taken to Twitter to vent their frustrations. Most are angry, others have given up, and some used humor to lighten the mood of those desperately refreshing...

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Android: The latest version of 8tracks for Android does more than just play free streaming music and playlists—it's also a great tool to find great music that fits any mood, find a playlist that's perfect for a specific theme (like "night on the town" or "concentration"), or even a specific genre you're dying to dive into.

8Tracks 3.0 was just released last week, and packs in all of the features we saw in the iPhone version earlier this year, but is also optimized for Android devices. It shares the same new, streamlined navigation, focus on finding great mixes easily from the main screen, and gives you the option right away to tap a mood or genre and instantly start hearing music—no need to do a ton of searching, scrolling, or testing our playlists to see if you'll like them first.

As soon as you open the new app you'll see mixes and moods you can choose from, as well as staff picks. Tap play on just about anything, and you're off and listening. Changing the "channel" or swapping genres, moods, or themes, is a quick swipe away in the left sidebar. Also in the sidebar are all the things you'd expect, like your favorite artists, favorite mixes, saved songs, and so on. A persistent player at the bottom makes sure all that swiping around never stops the music. Hit the link below to give the new version a try.

8tracks Playlist Radio | Google Play

Every few months the UK’s Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) reports on a scheme designed to cut down on the instances of camcorded movies appearing on the Internet.

The Take Action initiative, which has been in place since 2006, is funded by UK film distributors via the Film Distributors’ Association (FDA). In addition to funding educational campaigns and school resources on copyright, the project also provides night-vision goggles for catching potential pirates in the act.

In a new bulletin FACT and FDA report that nine members of staff from Cineworld, Odeon and Vue cinemas have become the latest to be commended for disrupting unauthorized movie recording in the UK.

“FDA is delighted to recognize the on-going vigilance of our colleagues in cinema exhibition across the UK,” said FDA Chief Executive Mark Batey.

“They are at the frontline of the fight against film theft, and a vital part of our programme to make the UK as secure a market in which to release movies as possible.”

The cammer catchers

In addition to general recognition, the individuals pictured above were presented with certificates and unspecified cash rewards. Although not quantified by FACT this time around, in the past rewards have varied, from up to £700 per person in 2012 down to £500 per person in 2013.

FACT reports that the nine individuals were involved in seven ‘incidents’, all of which were attended by the police. In five incidents the alleged cammers accepted police cautions, with one incident leading to an arrest.

The latest statistics are down on figures last reported by FACT, both in terms of overall incidents and people being rewarded. During the reporting period April 2013 to December 2013, a dozen alleged cammers of major movies were spotted in UK cinemas resulting in five arrests but no prosecutions. A total of 15 cinema workers picked up rewards.

It’s noteworthy, however, that apprehending those who record movies and then illegally distribute copies online doesn’t have to start and end in the cinema. FACT’s recent private prosecution of a man who recorded Fast and Furious 6 led to a prison sentence of almost three years, even though he managed to record the movie without being spotted. FACT are quick to recount this cautionary tale.

“As the recent sentencing of Philip Danks to a 33 month custodial sentence demonstrates, the illegal recording of films is a serious crime which carries serious consequences, both for the perpetrators and the industry they violate,” said FACT Director General Kieron Sharp.

The latest camming figures reported by FACT vary enormously from events six years ago. Documents previously obtained by TorrentFreak revealed that in 2008 there were 50 camming incidents in UK cinemas, with police attending on just two occasions. One resulted in a couple receiving official cautions but in the majority of cases people observed camming simply left the building.

It’s unclear whether today’s lower figures indicate a growing reluctance to test out the patience of both FACT and the police. However, even for those who do get away with the initial recording, recent events show that subsequently uploading that content to the Internet has the potential to elicit a big response.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

HTC has gotten quite into the habit of updating its built-in apps through the Play Store, and that's a good thing. It means you don't have to wait on full system updates to get new features. Now that extends to the stock HTC lock screen, which has just been added to the Play Store.

 

The features listed on the Play Store page are not very detailed—you can swipe right to BlinkFeed and left to the widget home panels.

HTC Adds The Sense 6 Lock Screen To The Play Store was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Headphones are your smartphone’s best friend. They are the cheese to your phone’s wine, the glass of milk to your phone’s Oreo. They are nearly as ubiquitous as smartphones themselves and you see people wearing headphones almost everywhere you go.

A lot of smartphones come with a basic set of headphones right in the box. But most of these headphones are pretty terrible, with a poor fit, mediocre sound, and a cable that easily turns into knots in your pocket. They are designed to serve the...

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Our pets are a source of joy and companionship. Sadly, though, our furry friends' greatest flaw is their limited life span. More likely than not, you'll outlive them. I recently had to make the difficult decision to euthanize my dog and grappled with many common questions. Here's what I learned from my experience.

Warning: this post is sad. Do not read it if you don't want to be sad. Seriously.

How to Know It's Time: The HHHHHMM Quality of Life Scale

In certain circumstances, you won't have much of a choice. If the dog is a danger to others, your local jurisdiction might order your dog be put to sleep. When the pet is suffering from an unrecoverable injury or medical emergency, the decision to end its life may be obvious.

More commonly, though, pet owners will have to make the decision to euthanize their pet based on the animal's quality of life. Due to changes in technology, animals live longer and survive illness and injury. We can't ask an animal if it's happy or suffering. We have to look at observable criteria. Dr. Alice Villalobos, a veterinarian in California, created a scale to help pet owners and other veterinarians.

The HHHHHMM Quality of Life Scale asks the owner and the veterinarian to look at the pet's hurt, hunger, hydration, hygiene, happiness, mobility and more good days than bad. You and your vet need to work on the scale independently. Be on the lookout: when I tried the scale for our own dog, I was guilty of manipulating the numbers. I wanted her quality of life to score higher. I answered the questions based on the outcome I wanted, because my heart was trying to trick my head. But changing the numbers won't change the facts.

If you need an simpler criteria for deciding, track the good days vs bad days. If there are more bad days than good, it may be time to end the pet's suffering. Write down three to five things your pet enjoyed doing like chasing squirrels or cuddling. If they can't do these things, that may be a sign that their quality of life has declined.

Ask the Right Questions and Make Arrangements

If you've talked with your vet about the pet's quality of life and suffering, they'll understand your decision to euthanize. The American Veterinary Association of America has clear guidelines on the humane and approved ways of ending an animal's life. You'll need to talk with your vet about a one injection or two injection method (warning, this link is extremely graphic as it details specifically what happens). Some methods cost more, so that may be a factor in your decision.

Speaking of costs, discuss it with your vet before the procedure. Pay in advance if you can. After your pet has passed, you don't want to pay the bill as you leave (though it's their right to ask) and receiving a bill in the mail later is a painful reminder.

The vet's office will need you to tell them what to do with the remains. Some owners opt to receive the cremated ashes. If possible, try to have a friend pick up the remains. You need to tell the vet before the procedure and reconfirm immediately afterwards. Humans make mistakes, so confirm your decision with them many times. If you want to bury your pet, the vet's office should help you find a local pet cemetery and tell you of local ordinances about home burials. These arrangements need to be made beforehand. After discussing it with my Rabbi, I chose cremation but not to keep the ashes.

Some vets will come to your location to perform the procedure, which can be helpful when the pet is too sick to travel. Some people believe it will be a more peaceful transition outside the vet's office. Vets tell me they'v even gone out to the dog's favorite trail or park.

Schedule the procedure as the last appointment of the day on your vet's schedule. Neither you nor your vet wants to go to work after the procedure The office will be quiet and you won't have to talk to other people when you leave. The vet's office will ask if you want to be in the room for the procedure. Some people find it painful while others want to make sure they are there until the last possible moments. Most animals will go peacefully, but occasionally they may twitch.

I chose to be there during the process because I didn't want my dog to be alone. I knew what to expect and I don't regret it—but there's nothing wrong with leaving the room, either. Ask your vet and the staff what they think you should do. They've got good insights into you and your relationship with your pet.

The Day of the Procedure

This is the time many people let the pet be "naughty." If the four-legged friend wasn't allowed on the bed, invite him up. If the rule in the house is no table scraps, consider giving her a few. Check with the vet about fasting or other prep required for the procedure.

Tell your close friends that you're putting the pet to sleep— you'll want support after the procedure. They might want to say goodbye to the pet. If possible, have one of them meet you at your house before you leave and stick around for when you get back. Coming home to an empty home is rough, and having a friend waiting for you there with a shoulder to cry on helps. They'll also make sure you didn't forget anything. This is a time of intense emotional trauma and you may not be thinking clearly. If you have children, you'll need to explain what's happening and assist them in their grief.

You may wish to gather the pet's belongings and put them out of sight before you leave. Afterwards, leashes and kennels are painful reminders of your loss. You don't have to get rid of them, but get them out of site before you leave. If you have pictures of your pet in the house, you might decide to temporarily put them out of sight. Each time you walk by, the images might remind you of the loss. Bring those pictures back into your life when you're ready.

Finally, take the dog for a walk right before heading into the vet's office. Sometimes a pet will evacuate its bowels after it dies, so you reduce those chances by taking them for a walk. Check with the vet about feeding.

What to Do Immediately After

If you only have one pet, I suggest you donate the pet's leash, kennel, food and other items to your local Humane Society. Most vets I spoke with suggested not using these items with a new animal. If you decide to get another pet in the future, you should give that pet a fresh start. They shouldn't inherit your former companion's gear. A new pet isn't a substitute for your old companion. Humane societies also suggest that some owners see that gear lying around the house and feel the need to adopt a new pet too quickly.

I decided to keep one of the dog's items as a way to remember her, much like teams keep the jersey of a retired player. I kept my dog's favorite toy and put her old collar around it. You can also create an online memorial. A popular choice is the "Rainbow Bridge," which refers to the belief there is a rainbow bridge that connects animals with their owners in heaven. I sponsored a portion of our Torah at the local synagogue in honor of my dog. You may have your own religious traditions (or lack thereof), so do what's right for you.

How to Cope Long-Term

The death of a pet reminds us of our own mortality and that of friends and family we've lost along the way. The grief is real and gets wrapped up with other pain we've faced in our lives. Dont' be surprised if some of your friends and family don't understand the loss of a pet. Many veterinary programs have hotlines that exist specifically for grieving pet owners—traditional therapists may not understand your loss. You'll second guess your timing: you'll probably feel you should have waited longer and, simultaneously, that you waited too long. Pet grief counselors say that is common. Again, pay particular attention to helping your children cope with the loss.

Pet ownership often involves routines. You might clean the litter box right before you go to bed or you're used to coming home during lunch and walking the dog. It's time to change up your routine a bit so you aren't reminded. I was used to working at home and taking out the dog when I needed a break. Now I've got a timer on my computer and I work out of the house more often.

For the first couple months, you might need to tell some friends what happened before they come into your home. You don't want someone to walk in the house and ask where your pet is while you're struggling with your grief. A simple FYI before they enter the house should be enough. If your guests are children, check with their parents on how to explain it.

To fill the hole left by your loss, you might rush out and get another pet. The Humane Society of the United States advises against adopting too soon.:

Rushing into this decision isn't fair to you or your new pet. Each animal has her own unique personality and a new animal cannot replace the one you lost. You'll know when the time is right to adopt a new pet after giving yourself time to grieve, carefully considering the responsibilities of pet ownership, and paying close attention to your feelings.

The decision to end your pet's life is a painful, yet compassionate choice. A detailed plan of action for before and after can help you focus on your feelings rather than the details. While I miss my dog Tova every day, over time it does get better.

Photos by Jaromir Chalabala (Shutterstock), Alan Hadgis, bagsgroove, megan ann, The National Guard and Jodie Wilson.

At Google I/O, the company announced that soon you would be able to run Android apps in Chrome OS. Today, that day has arrived. Sort of. For a couple apps anyway.

The initial set of supported apps is sparse. Duolingo, Evernote, Sight Words, and Vine are all available on the Chrome Web Store and...that's it for now. Google promises it's working with "select developers" to bring Android apps to Chrome OS "in the coming months."

However, if you have a Chrome OS device (sorry Windows/OS X users, you'll have to wait), you can try out this implementation now. Time will tell if this is enough to make Chrome OS a more serious contender for desktop apps, but at the moment it seems promising.

First set of Android apps coming to a Chromebook near you | Google Chrome Blog via Ars Technica

Netflix keeps a history of your viewing activity. If there's something you'd prefer to hide from the others in your household, however, the streaming service will now let you remove it.

Log into your account and go to the activity page to find the new "X" button besides each title. They've also been testing out a new privacy mode that will avoid logging titles to your activity list.

This is a great new feature if you don't want your roommates or significant other to know about your My Little Pony obsession, but it also can help clean up your activity feed.

If you have a child account set up, that account does not have the delete button, so you can still find out what your kid has been up to on Netflix.

You can now remove films/shows from your activity. [META] | Reddit