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March 31, 2006
Close the Jaws of Oblivion
A bit of a landmark month for March, as one of the most hotly anticipated games, after being delayed for months on end, has finally arrived for both the PC and the XBOX 360: Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion. One look at the PC requirements tells you that the machine needs to have a fair deal of power to run the game.
2.0GHz Pentium IV or Equivalent
512MB System RAM
128MB Direct3D Compatible Video Card
Recommendations require a beast of a machine, one that has a great deal of power in processing, RAM, and graphics rendering.
3.0GHz Pentium IV or Equivalent
1GB System RAM
ATI X800 / NVIDIA GeForce 6800 or higher
With the XBOX 360, it's likely that you'll have everything you'll need. Granted, since I don't have an XBOX 360, I'll have to take things from the PC Perspective for now, and even there, it's extremely impressive.
The graphics, the incredible detail in just about everything you see (even in only 1024x728), is just mouth-watering. The buildings, the effects, the monsters, the varying ambience of each portion of the game, the game has eye-candy galore.
Soundwise, the music is similiar to that of Morrowind, the prequel of Oblivion, which in and of itself is very impressive, as the varied nuances of the weather, scenery, battle, and location seem to have a life of their own.
Then there's the gameplay. As for the gameplay, you will either love it, or hate it. There is no inbetween, and it's due to the leveling system. It's the same system many Morrowind players are similiar to for leveling up, and it can either give you joy or drive you crazy.
I'll only give away the beginning of the game, where you, the character (whom has only chosen the race and appearance thus far) are in the Imperial Prison of Cyrodill, where a Dark Elf heckler jeers at you from across the way. Then there are visitors to your cell, one of them is the Emperor, Uriel Septim. Patrick Stewart gives life to the voice of Uriel Septim and from there, the tone of the main quest is set.
Yet, once you are upon the main quest, there is nothing, and I mean nothing stopping you from taking a few sidetrips, even to the point where you may forget about the main quest altogether. Elder Scroll games have been about open-ended adventures, and this is no different. In fact there may be more side trips possible in Oblivion than in Morrowind.
From solving mysteries, to finding lost people, bringing down corruption, and the challenge of just going out into the world to battle the neverending forces of darkness, saving the world sometimes takes a back seat.
Just about every single character in the game has a voice, and the game comes on just one disk, one DVD for the PC, and the special format for the XBOX 360 version.
The harshest review I've seen for the game has been from GameSpy with a 4 star review. It did not get an Editor's choice award. I think this is the gamestyle that might not be for everyone, and the fact that there are spots in the game where it's not all perfect. I've seen a couple of speeches which were not accompanied by voice speech, but that's all I've seen so far myself.
Gamespot has given two reviews for the two different versions, the PC Version, which receieved a 9.3 and the XBox version , which received a stunning 9.6, and both were Editor's choice awards.
For people who enjoy the single-player RPG experience, this is a godsend for you, if you have a PC powerful enough, or are lucky enough to have an XBox 360. You'll have a wonderful experience in Cyrodill. But just remember, you have a life too.
Posted by at 09:41 PM | Comments (0)
March 30, 2006
Apple Computer May Loose Their Logo!
Here at HiWired we provide a lot of support for the iPod, so I thought this was an interesting court case. There are two companies fighting over the Apple logo, Apple Computer and Apple Corps.
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We all know who Apple Computer is, but do you know Apple Corps? Apple Corps is a record label owned by former Beatles stars Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, was founded in 1968.
So what’s the problem? Well George Harrison noticed that the Apple Computer logo was similar to their record label’s logo and thought there might be a trademark conflict. So an agreement was made between the two companies that they could share the trademark because Apple Computer was just in the computer business and Apple Corps was just in the entertainment business.
Now that Apple Computer has moved into the entertainment business with iPod and iTunes, Apple Corps believes that Apple Computer is in violation of their original trademark sharing agreement. Apple Corps is seeking to receive millions in financial damages.
This will be an interesting case to watch!
Posted by Andrew at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)
March 29, 2006
Iran doesn't like bloggers
You know it always seems to be the most repressive governments that can't stand internet free speech:
Dozens of Iranian bloggers have faced harassment by the government, been arrested for voicing opposing views, and fled the country in fear of prosecution over the past two years.
This doesn't bode well when even non-political speech is censored:
Dokouhaki doesn't directly write about politics. She sticks mostly to social issues, but in Iran, that is also a taboo subject."I write about the social consequences of government decisions and they don't like it, because they can't control it," said Dokouhaki.
If they were blocking my jokes that would be one thing as there's a general worldwide agreement about that but this type of thing only keep a people down.
Posted by Peter at 06:50 PM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2006
Some other visa opinions
We've talked about what the New York Times, Microsoft Employees and Rahul Sood think about the Vista delay, lets see some other general thoughts in the world of blogs:
Eric Boyd at Digital Crusader is not surprised:
I wrote Trouble At Microsoft six months ago, and this most recent delay just proves that the trouble has not been fixed.
AH at Methodshop sees an opportunity for Apple:
The question is does Apple recognize this announcement for what it is, an opening, and will they choose to act on it. If so, how?A furious push to get OS X 10.5, Leopard, out the door well before the year is out, offering customers looking to pick up a new computer for the holidays a brand new, even more polished, alternative to MS?
Blah has a rather blunt (but well reasoned) assessment:
Here is something I believe to be true: Vista is going to suck, probably more than any other version of Windows before it.
8bit online takes the opposite view linking to this article at Extreme Tech:
We're not saying Windows Vista will be the greatest OS ever—it's too early for that. But we're excited about its promise, and we think once you know about all the cool stuff going into it, you will be too.
Mc1 at Phoenix Tech sounds fatalistic:
...people have known for a long time Vista was going to be a piece of crap, with nothing more than fancy 3d interfaces to show for billions of dollars invested.
For my money the post that should frighten the folks in Redmond the most is this one at Live Journal by uber_munchkin:
Come on, does anyone really care? I so don't. Windows XP Pro has absolutely everything I need for a home PC, I have no plans to upgrade to Vista until I build myself a new PC and even then the only reason I will be upgrading is because MS will discontinue Windows XP Support.
I think that one is on the money.
Posted by Peter at 01:13 PM | Comments (0)
Speaking of High end gaming PC's....
Andrew who on occasion sits next to me cringed a few days ago when I mentioned Dell's purchase of Alienware. This reaction apparently is not an isolated case, but TGDaily doesn't see reason to panic. In the first place it is a good business decision:
Alienware, being the volume and branded leader in the high-end gaming field, is the obvious choice for Dell to acquire. Alienware has provided the most robust competition to Dell's own XPS range; the company has a cool image and plenty of mindshare. They're also of the same mind as Dell where selling is concerned, and Alienware follows much the same model as Dell; not selling in shops for example.The cost of buying this makeover lock, stock and barrel is hardly more than pocket change for Dell - something they've outright said since the deal was announced, though exact figures haven't been revealed. In all the figures we can look at however Dell is like the Red Army compared to Alienware's merry band of partisans - the consumer end makes up 15% of Dell's business, and the company had sales of $55.9 billion last year, compared to Alienware's measly $200 million. Dell wants that end of the pool as a growth and image area, not because it needs it to survive.
In the second place they aren't out to alienate the product's target market:
The audience that Alienware and its peers sell to, and which Dell has largely failed to conquer with its XPS range, is the tech-literate audience who are constantly reading sites such as Tom's Hardware.They pay attention to the tech world, and nine out of ten people who have or will buy an Alienware, or similar, machine in the future knew within hours that Dell had bought Alienware because they always have one eye on the industry. Similarly if Dell gobbles up Alienware whole they will know perfectly well what they'll be buying into and make purchasing decisions appropriately.
It remains to be seen if this opinion is correct and how this will affect companies like Voodoo and Falcon Northwest. If you want that perspective I'd suggest checking out this entry at Rahul Sood's blog.
Posted by Peter at 12:34 PM | Comments (0)
Vista and Pc Polygamy
Rahul Sood the president and CTO of VoodooPC (custom gaming systems, stuff I don't buy: see multiple Peter is really cheap posts) has some interesting reflections about the Microsoft Vista issue on his blog to wit:
A highly respected person in this industry once told me that you cannot create a baby in one month with nine wives. I wrote that saying down and I now keep it in my wallet. No matter how big you are and no matter how many resources you have you simply cannot force a product launch by throwing more resources at it.For Microsoft it seems no matter how much money, engineers, resources, or computers they throw at a problem they cannot get Windows Vista to launch on time.
He doesn't think this will hurt sales much (and remember it's his job to sell high end PC's) and further believes it will be a boon in some respects:
I think the delay is great for the enthusiasts because they are not going to hold their breath waiting for Vista. We are seeing customer purchasing Vista ready PCs now with plans to upgrade their OS later.The Vista delay will give Intel and AMD an opportunity to launch their new hardware in the fall without worrying about nuisance software bugs - and when they launch their new hardware we will see a larger spike in sales regardless of Vista's delay.
And Apple? Smart Marketing or no he doesn't see a bounce:
Some are speculating that the Vista delay means more business for Apple. Sorry guys, but Vista being delayed won't increase Apple's sales - Apple will increase Apple's sales with the help of Intel. If people want an Apple they will buy one - but those who understand the built-in entertainment and gaming experience that Vista offers may decide that Apple is not for them.
Of course one must remember that the systems he sells are windows based and the Apple customer is not his target market but I think he raises a lot of good points and he is certainly more forgiving than Microsoft's own people. Read the whole thing.
Posted by Peter at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
And now the Times on Vista
Slashdot links to this article from the New York Times on Microsoft's Vista delay and points to an interesting problem for the company:
...a crucial reason Microsoft holds more than 90 percent of the PC operating system market is that the company strains to make sure software and hardware that ran on previous versions of Windows will also work on the new one — compatibility, in computing terms.As a result, each new version of Windows carries the baggage of its past. As Windows has grown, the technical challenge has become increasingly daunting. Several thousand engineers have labored to build and test Windows Vista, a sprawling, complex software construction project with 50 million lines of code, or more than 40 percent larger than Windows XP.
"Windows is now so big and onerous because of the size of its code base, the size of its ecosystem and its insistence on compatibility with the legacy hardware and software, that it just slows everything down," observed David B. Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard Business School. "That's why a company like Apple has such an easier time of innovation."
The times article contrasts this to Apple's method:
It took Mr. Jobs and his team years to retool and tailor the Next operating system into what became Macintosh OS X. When it arrived in 2001, the new system essentially walked away from Apple's previous operating system, OS 9. Software applications written for OS 9 would run on an OS X machine, but only by firing up the old operating system separately.The approach was somewhat ungainly, but it allowed Apple to move to a new technology, a more stable, elegantly designed operating system. The one sacrifice was that OS X would not be compatible with old Macintosh programs, a step Microsoft has always refused to take with Windows.
This really gets to the meat and potatoes matter of the whole issue. The market for Apple has always been heavy in the computer geek side (in fact I learned on an Apple IIc, wrote my first program on one back in 1980). If you know anybody who is a tech geek the idea of buying new software, new hardware and the lot is a source of joy and excitement not of angst.
However if you are the average person who uses their pc for various things but are not anxious to throw away what you already have then this is not for you. If you are a business large or small you are not anxious to invent in an operating system that forces you to buy all new software. This is why in my opinion Microsoft for all it's troubles is unlikely to lose much of market share to Apple.
Posted by Peter at 09:37 AM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2006
I guess I'm not alone
A few days ago we mentioned the delay in the release in Windows Vista. I mentioned that the timing is pretty bad from a marketing point of view. Glenn Reports that some Microsoft employess second that in spades:
"...I imagined all the L68+ partners from the Windows division gathered together and told, 'You are our leadership. When we succeed, it is directly because of how you lead and manage your teams. When we fail, it is directly because of how you lead and manage your teams. We've had enough of failure and we've had enough of you. Drop off your badge on the way out. Your personal belongings will be dropped off at your house. Now get out of my sight.'"
Further quotes were just as nasty at the blog here.
I can see being angry about the failure but the delay itself might not be bad, better a March release (say timed for people tax refund checks next year) than a December release if the product is junk. Then again a January release is the worst of all worlds.
Posted by Peter at 10:49 PM | Comments (0)
Apple in the crosshairs
If the French gov has their way Apple is going to be very unhappy.
France's draft law essentially says that anyone who legally purchases a song (or, by extension, a video, TV show or movie) via the Net has a right to be able to enjoy that material on the gadget of his or her choice and not to be beholden to a single maker's product.
Sounds reasonable but the end result would be a big kick to Itunes:
What the law would do is require Apple and other companies to share details of copyright-protection software with one another so the same content could run on all players.
One can understand the worry:
"The incumbent with the largest market share will always try to hold on for as long as it can," he observed. "It has the most to lose. But the best thing for consumers is to create a fair and open marketplace."
In the long run I doubt this kind of stuff can be stopped, it will mean more work for us since we might get a more diverse group of players to support but that's the way it goes.
Posted by Peter at 07:41 PM | Comments (0)
Now THIS is something
I know the trend in computers is smaller and smaller but this is just amazing:
The first computer circuit to be built on a single molecule has been unveiled by researchers in the US.
The details are rather astounding:
The finished circuit is just 18 micrometres (millionths of a metre) long and sits across the tube, which is substantially narrower.
This kind of thing is likely to keep getting better and better.
Posted by Peter at 06:25 PM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2006
What a difference a year makes. Happy Birthday to Us.
One year ago today the LightFrog blog posted its first entry. It was quickly followed by our first link and tip (which unfortunately STILL hasn't kept people from the risks of LimeWire). We were starting something fairly new: A blog by a business written by it's employees, management and ownership all with posting rights talking directly to the customer base.
A lot has happened in that year, a name change to HiWired, the making of the cool design we enjoy today, the arrival of babies, an impending wedding and shared postings by many different people about many different things. (While many other still don't post you know who you are!)
We had our first instalance, we reported on technology, gave tips for your PC, talked about internet free speech, learned some things, and watched people vent about Dell computers and xbox 360's and put up an online help wanted sign.
To my knowledge we are still the only business out there with a blog that every employee has the right to post to. I think this is way ahead of the curve and we hope to stay ahead of the curve as our second year starts.
To all of you who have posted, thanks, we hope to read more of your insights in the year ahead. To all how have linked, thanks it's nice to be noticed, To all who have commented; thanks we value your opinion but most of all to all who have read us; thank you very much for listening to what we have to say. We hope to bring you a quality blog supporting our quality tech support products.
And finally thanks to all of you who have used our services, it is your faith in us that allowed us to provide tech support from New England rather than New Delhi.
Posted by Peter at 09:02 AM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2006
Keeping in touch
One of the most irritating things I find with keeping in touch with your buddies on chat software is they seem to prefer different instant messengers. For this there are several clients out there that address this issue quite well but the most popular is Trillian.
Trillian is a messenger that supports the top 4 messengers (Yahoo, MSN, AIM (AOL), ICQ) and also supports IRC (Internet Relay Chat) which is also great.
On first install Trillian is pretty intuitive on getting your messenger services setup. After the install one only needs to click on Trillian then Connections then Manage Connections if you wish to edit/add/or remove any services.
There are also Gaim which is a work in progress at the moment and is a open source solution. Gaim is the most popular messenger in Linux land. =)
There is also some services which do a bit more like have a virtual phone interface and allow to Chat as well as Call. The newest of these is Gizmo which has been improving quite a bit and holds some serious potential in the near future against Skype which is another VoIP client able to dial out to landlines.
Posted by Hector at 07:21 PM | Comments (0)
Website Photo Sharing
So I have all these pictures from my digital camera and cell phone, now what? Well now you want to share them with your friends, right? The best way to do this is to upload them onto a photo site. The reason for this is because they are too large to email all of them. So you can upload them to a website and then just send the webpage link to your friends. All they have to do is click on the link and now they are viewing your pictures. Another reason for you to do this is it creates redundancy. So your photos are stored on your PC and the website's servers (and if we are backing up your hard drive that would be a 3rd place they are saved). Here a couple good sites you can use:
SnapFish, Fotki, Shutterfly and Flickr.
So go out and start sharing your photos with your friends. If you need assistance setting this up, give us a call.
Posted by Andrew at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
One Era ends another begins
A few of you might have noted this story as Western Union sent its last telegram in Feburary.
Well a new era has begun as Paypal has anounced a mobile product where you can text money online via mobile phone.
via slashdot
Posted by Peter at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)
A Near Vista
When you are in this business it is almost never too soon to start to look at things on their way that you will need to support.
I am looking at a beta copy of Windows Vista these days, when I've played with it a bit more I'll give you my impressions but a few quick thoughts:
The install time was pretty long (did a full clean install over a xp pro system)
The interface isn't all that pretty.
My Computer is now Computer
Haven't taken it for a spin on the net yet but that will come soon. I'll give you more when I've really eaten it but remember it is a beta and all this could change in the blink of an eye.
Posted by Peter at 09:47 AM | Comments (0)
March 22, 2006
A far Vista
Microsoft has delayed Windows Vista until Jan 2007:
Windows Vista was hit by quality issues that caused the release to be pushed back "a few weeks". But this prompted manufacturers to ask Microsoft to delay the consumer version until 2007 because they had insufficient time to test and prepare their systems for availability this year.
Getting it right is a good move over getting it fast.
"Quality is the top-line message, and we needed just a few more weeks," said Allchin. "We will release to manufacturing and sit on the disk for the consumer launch."
Considering sales January is the worst time to release a new product as we are all paying off our credit cards from December. Me, I'd time the release for March or April. If you are going to delay it you might as well delay it till people have the dough to blow.
If I were Apple I would use this for my Christmas promotions next year. The ad writes itself.
Posted by Peter at 08:21 AM | Comments (0)
March 21, 2006
HiWired wants you!
HiWired is looking for true technologists that are passionate about technology AND helping customers of all levels. Please visit our Careers page on our site to learn more about the position and how to apply. http://www.hiwired.com/web/info/careers.aspx
HiWired is not only a fun place to work, but also a place that challenges the norm and encourages creative thinking every day. If you're looking for a 'job', HiWired is not the place for you. If you're looking for more than a 'job', HiWired may be the place for you.
Please see the instructions located at the bottom of the page regarding how to apply. Many folks don't realize that the interview process starts with the submission of your resume. If the instructions are not followed, you will not likely receive a response.
Good Luck!
Posted by Lorie at 04:48 PM | Comments (0)
March 20, 2006
China seizes blogger
Blogger Hao Wu has been seized by the Chinese government.
So far 2006 hasn't been a good year for internet speech.
Via Glenn
Posted by Peter at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)
The sound of silence
I've been pretty hard on Wikipedia in the past, but it has its uses. Where else can you find a fast link to Harpo Marx's voice?
He sounds like such a normal person too, it's eerie.
Posted by Peter at 07:30 PM | Comments (0)
The best phone in the world not coming to a store near you
As one of the holdouts from the wire phone age I found this MSNBC story very interesting:
Motorola’s nifty little C116 just might be the best cell phone I’ve ever had the chance to play with. That said — you can’t get one. Not here. Not yet.
The author, Gary Krakow was very impressed with this device:
Overall, this is one of the best cell phones I’ve ever had the pleasure of using. No, it doesn’t do e-mail or play MP3s or receive TV programs from Mars. It just does its job well. What else can you ask of a phone?
This would appear to be the last bastion of people who want to use a phone as, well a phone, but all hope is not lost for single use users:
The color model, the C155, is available in the United States, sold by the prepaid wireless company TracFone online and through retail outlets such as Wal-Mart. For $29.98, you get the phone and the right to buy pay-as-you-go phone services.
This is not for the business user who wants his e-mail but sounds like a good low risk solution for your kid, although they might shout over the lack of a camera and you might if they run up huge bills on a pay as you go phone.
Slashdot has it's own opinion on the situation:
The phone is targeted for emerging markets, where people don't like to tie themselves into monthly contracts, and with little value proposition presents little interest to US wireless operators."
It's sort of like many new PCs. They come with a ton of software that is cool but unneeded by most people. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with bells and whistles as long as you are willing and able to pay for them.
It's an interesting situation. Assuming most US cell phones are purchased through wireless providers can those providers, due to their purchasing power keep a product off the market if it threatened sales? Who knows?
For myself the big gripe with cell phones comes from my innate ability to misplace almost anything in the shortest possible period of time. It's one thing if it is a piece of paper or a pocket knife, an expensive phone is another. (This is also the reason I don't own an IPOD). This phone might just be cheap enough for me to take that risk.
Posted by Peter at 09:18 AM | Comments (0)
March 19, 2006
Now excuse me while I go mope
Let me offer my congratulations to Mike Kennedy (Cleveland) who has eliminated me (Montreal) in the semi-finals of our Dynasty table top baseball league 4 games to 3. He will Meet the victor of the Yankees-Red Sox series next week.
Now excuse me while I go mope till next season.
Update: Yankees beat the Red Sox in 6 taking 3 in a row after being down 2-1. Sherwood makes his first trip to the World series in his 19 years of league play (with time off for military serivce)!
BTW if you live in central Mass and have an interest in face to face tabletop baseball are are willing to pledge yourself to a once a week 26 week league post your e-mail here and I'll pass it on to the fellow who runs our league (entering it's 20th year!)
Posted by Peter at 08:15 PM | Comments (0)
Public infomation is public knowledge
This story at the New York Daily News is a good reminder that info on the net is public info:
Just ask 27-year-old Colleen Kluttz. Type the freelance television producer's name into Google and the second item that comes up is her popular My Space profile. This online social network has become an outpost for photographic and written self-expression, but it's not always an asset in landing a job. "A friend of mine posted a picture of me on My Space with my eyes half closed and a caption that suggests I've smoked something illegal," says Kluttz.While the caption was a joke, Kluttz now wonders whether the past two employers she interviewed with thought it was so funny. Both expressed interest in hiring Kluttz, but at the 11th hour went with someone else. "As a freelancer, I'm constantly on the lookout for the next best opportunity, but I haven't been having much luck recently," Kluttz explains. "I really haven't been concerned that people are Googling me, but now that I'm doing the math, it seems like this is definitely going to be a constant concern from this day forward."
This can be a concern, the solution is of course to google yourself and keep an eye on what is out there.
Of course if you post a lot of reviews or opinions as I do you are bound to have somebody disagree. I suspect that my employment prospects in China and Arabia or even at Google are not very good, but that is the price of free speech and it's a price worth paying.
Posted by Peter at 07:40 PM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2006
An Army of Davids (Review)
Glenn Reynolds new book An Army of Davids is an excellent perspective on how technology has changed society and how he thinks it will change it in the future, but for my money it is really a book about human nature and how people armed with technology and desire can achieve anything.
Make no mistake this book isn't a rehash of his blog (although many subjects he has written about are touched there) nor is it only a story of blogging (although it is a topic of discussion). It's really a book about people and dreams (good and bad ones).
I tend to like any book that talks about my Avalon Hill Gaming Hobby (p143) and it gets 6 pages in the center of the book, but the thing that rings my chimes about it is the history and how good we have it these days (I've written on this a bit myself) and how much better it is likely to get in the future. Consider this from page 122:
Things are different today. I'm writing this in a bar right now and I have most of human knowledge at my fingertips...(describes the bar/pizza place and the beer, beer figures quite a bit in this book)...and most importantly, a free wireless internet hookup. With that and Google, there's not much that I can't find out.If I'm curious about the Hephthalite Huns or the rocket equation or how much money Joe Biden has gotten from the entertainment industry, I can have it in less time that it takes the barmaid to draw me a beer.
I'll go farther than that: A kid from the slums who has access to a public library or even a cheap home computer has more information at his fingertips and faster than not only the kings of old, but more than FDR, JFK or even Ronald Reagan. Think about it.
It is the celebration of not only that ability but of what people are making of it that makes this book a pleasure. It doesn't sugarcoat the dangers that might come, but notes that the changes within empowers the good and the evil, but optimist that he is he trusts that the positive will overwhelm the negative.
The book slowed down a bit near the end, but the interviews, particularly of Michael Yon (who you should be reading anyway) are wonderful. Best of all his homemade beer story reminded me of this quote from Roger Aldrich beermaker extraordinaire on light beer:
We tried to make a light beer that tasted as good as regular and we just couldn't do it. If you want a 1/3 less calories, drink a 1/3 less beer.
His opinions on everything from porn to video games to private space flight will make you think, his writing style will make you smile and the fact that he isn't full of himself will much like his blog make you think he is just one of the guys shooting the breeze with you.
This book is worth your time and money buy it.
Posted by Peter at 06:58 PM | Comments (0)
Thank you for your support
We are just plain flat out today, will get something up when I can today.
Posted by Peter at 02:14 PM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2006
Text first format later
During the nightly battle over homework the question came up with my 12 year old about typing up his homework.
Like most people he wanted to type a paragraph, format it then do the next item in his book report protect as all the pages are different.
The best move however is to get ALL the typing done first. Once the data is entered and saved it is quite easy to format and re-format it, plus the tweaks can be done in print preview saving paper.
So don't be tempted to format early when a project is due the next day. Get the data in and worry about the fancy stuff later.
Posted by Peter at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2006
With Liberty and Broadband for all
Last year we blogged about the mayor of San Francisco calling wi-fi a basic right.
This year we might be seeing something similar:
America lags behind other countries that have universal broadband deployment, Pelosi said; but the Democrats' agenda "guarantees" that every American will have affordable access to broadband within five years."We also believe that the nationwide deployment of high speed, always-on broadband and Internet and mobile communications will fuel the development of millions of new jobs in the United States," Pelosi said.
As a rule I take stuff like this with a grain of salt as it is talking about "the agenda" Drudge Headline not withstanding but something did hit me on this:
There was a time say a century ago when the Telephone was only for the big cities and the rich, eventually it went from a luxury to something common to something necessary to the point where teenagers at school have cell phones and can communicate faster with a person around the world than Teddy Roosevelt could.
Likewise Electricity, Radio and TV were in the lifetime of my mother (which is still going on) transformed in the same way.
Such things are now so common that the lack of them are considered by some as oppression. When the lights are out for more than a few hours we wonder why?
I'm not going to debate the wisdom of the government providing this stuff or no but it wouldn't surprise me if before my grandchildren are born Wi-Fi and Broadband connections are thought of the same way as radio , tv and the phone.
Of course by that time we might have something even better!
Posted by Peter at 12:06 PM | Comments (0)
Tipping allowed and encouraged
We at HiWired are of course a for profit operation. You the customer are the reason why we are able to be New England based instead of New Delhi based.
That being said even if you do not choose to use our pay services at this time it is worth your while to sign up for a free membership.
This will give you access to our free tech tips for members here is an example of one:
It is important to remember that even though you can use your cell phone as a modem for a system, you are using it as a dial-up modem. The fact that it is a cell phone doesn't make it a high speed connection. You will expect dial-up connection speeds when it is linked to the PC (If you are using a Bluetooth connection to the PC it will be even slower!). Remember that a hotspot is almost always going to be faster than the dial modem (and it won't cost you minutes.)
If you'd like access to tips like this on all kinds of tech subjects simply click on the Join Now button on the top of this page, fill out the info, and read away. Once in a while we will take tips from the internal site and post them here, but if you want access to them all at once Join Today!
Update: Of course I should have said New Delhi instead of New Deli, I wouldn't mind if we were deli based provided we had good Roast Beef and Cheese and fresh baked bread. Come to think of it with current technology that is possible. Hmmmmmm.
Posted by Peter at 09:31 AM | Comments (2)
March 13, 2006
Can you say oops?
As a general rule you are better having your systems updated than not but on occasion a company gets it wrong big time:
An error in McAfee's virus definition file released Friday morning caused the company's consumer and enterprise antivirus products to flag Microsoft's Excel, as well as other applications on users' PCs, as a virus called W95/CTX, Joe Telafici, director of operations at McAfee's Avert labs, told CNET News.com.
This is the type of nightmare that keeps some people from running automatic update software
The problem occurred with virus definition file 4715, which was released at about 10:45 a.m. on Friday as part of McAfee's daily update cycle. The repaired, emergency-definition file 4716 was pushed out at about 3:30 p.m.
Real tech news is not impressed: comparing it to an issue with MS Anti-spyware and Norton last month:
Of course, as we said then, Microsoft’s product is beta, and McAfee’s is mature and released. False positives aren’t uncommon however, but this is something that should be caught during regression testing. Of course, this is most notable … and somewhat humorous because of the product flagged
Since only manual or scheduled scans run during that 5 hour time period would have been hit odds are you were not affected, but if you have had an issue with Excel lately this could be why.
Via Slashdot
Posted by Peter at 09:37 AM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2006
You'll have to wait
All I had to do is make this post and the Book turns up.
However it is 60 degrees in Massachusetts and my day off so any review is going to wait.
Posted by Peter at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2006
I'm low on the totem pole
There have been quite a few reviews of Glenn's Reynolds Book An Army of Davids.
I haven't written mine because I seem to be the only person who pre-ordered the book that hasn't gotten it yet from Amazon. When it comes in I'll be happy to give my review here.
I did get this from amazon today, but this blog isn't the place to review it.
Posted by Peter at 09:47 PM | Comments (0)
March 09, 2006
Wipe that phone yourself
Just purchased a new cell phone? Traded in the old one for the company to wipe, well maybe you should wipe it yourself to avoid stuff like this:
The freak accident began when she traded in her cell phone for another. The phone book was not erased. Now, let's see who will straighten this out, and catch up with the harasser.After Randi Rasmussen got her new cell phone, suddenly she heard from friends, relatives, and co-workers that they were getting harassing phone calls.
There was a case with Cingular last year that made the news as well.
Andrew Brandt at PC World wrote on this topic this month and suggested wireless recycling.com:
The folks at ReCellular--a cell phone recycling service--have a great solution: The Cell Phone Data Eraser page lets you choose the brand and model number of your cell phone, and then displays the precise commands you need to delete every piece of data from it. (If you don't know your phone's model number, try checking underneath the battery.) If you can't find the instructions on that Web site, you'll have to find your manual. What do you do if you've lost that page-turner? Fortunately, most cell service providers offer downloadable copies of the instruction manuals for the phones they sell.
It's good advice, the person who is ging to be most interested in your security is always going to be you.
Posted by Peter at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)
March 08, 2006
Speaking of Internet Frauds...
Are you a single guy? Ever joined one of those free online date sites? Yahoo personals, for example? While this can be a great place to meet new people, it is also a gold mine to unscrupulous criminals.
One of the latest forms of fraud on the net is really more of a con game. I call it "please cash my bogus African check"
Not long ago, I and a few friends joined one of these reputable online dating sites. We chose yahoo's personals, as we have yahoo accounts. Being men, good looking or not, we did not get very many responses. Some of us did meet some real live women from our area who were just looking to meet new people like we were.
But we ALL met some real sneaky characters as well.
Before long, each of us had received replies from a "woman" who claimed to be from the St Louis area. Since we all live in or around Boston, we thought it unusual to get a response from someone living so far away. It does happen, and you make a new online friend, but it doesn't happen all that often.
Shortly after we each responded to this individual, they began holding conversations with us in instant messages. The individual claimed to be an arcitect and was nervous about a trip to Africa she was about to make. This trip was supposed to be for a client who wanted an office building designed.
The day of departure to Africa came and went. A couple days later, we each got an alarming instant message from our new friend (who incidentally didn't know my friends and I were in touch with each other, and all knew her story).
Our new friend said that she was afraid her host would not let her leave Africa, the deal had gone sour, and she did not have enough cash to get out of the country. Her host had possession of her return plane ticket, and she had no credit cards to use, just her check book.
The question she asked each of us was basically "If I send you a check, will you cash it and wire me the money?"
Big warning bells went off in my mind. I am certainly no expert on African commerce, but it seemed to me that if there was a Western Union where money could be wired to there, that she would be able to call the bank and have the money wired there herself. We each refused in turn, and were each accused of being filthy men who are only interested in one thing from a woman, where is the chivalry, why won't you help me, etc etc.
We all chaulked it up to just another con running around the internet. But then it became a flood of such responses to our ads. Every day, more and more "women" contacted us with similar stories. The end of each story was basically some sort of impossible situation where we were asked to cash a check sent from Africa (sometimes from somewhere in Russia)and wire the money to them.
This seemed like too much of a coincidence to me, so I contacted the FBI Internet Fraud division. They informed us that this was a newer kind of internet con game, where the con artist sends a bogus check that would take weeks to bounce. Often, no kind of check at all is ever sent. Sadly, tens of thousands of men across the country have fallen for this scheme. Even if they get the check, it never clears and they lose the money they sent.
So if you are online looking for a date, and someone who responded to you wants a financial favor, remember that you don't know this person, have not met them in person, and can never really tell where they actually are. The majority of the time, these "women" are in fact men.
If you think you've been had by an internet fraund, you can file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Posted by Bernie at 08:34 PM | Comments (0)
Fraud e-mail example #2
Yesterday we talked about phishing. Today I want to show you an example of a fraud e-mail that I received myself:
Just in case you have trouble reading the text in the image here it it below as well:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------From: aw-confirm@ebay.com [mailto:aw-confirm@ebay.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 5:51 AM
Subject: FPO Notice: Important information about your eBay account
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dear valued eBay member,
Our IP sentinel has detected a strange IP using you eBay account and it might be used for illegal activities.If you could please take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and update your personal records you will not run into any future problems with the online service. However, failure to update your records will result in account suspension. Please update your records by March 05th.Once you have updated your account records your eBay session will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Failure to update will result in cancellation of service, Terms of Service (TOS) violations or future problems.
To update your eBay records click here:
http://cgi1.ebay.com/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?UPdate
Thank you,
Account Management.As outlined in our User Agreement, eBay will periodically send you information about site changes and enhancements. Visit our Privacy Policy and User Agreement if you have any questions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To the average person it looks quite convincing. The Logo is the eBay logo, there is a "link" to another eBay page and the privacy policy link at the bottom goes to an ebay like page with ebay in the title. There are several clues right off give away the game early on:
1. The IP sentinel stuff: The email says a strange IP account is using your account. Since you can log onto your ebay account from any computer the IP would not be the same every time. For example if you check your ebay account from work (during lunch hours of course) your IP will differ from your home system. I won't go into static vs dynamic IP's here but we'll just say you won't always have the same IP at home either.
2. The threat: The idea that ebay will cancel you if you don't reply is a dead giveaway. They want you on that link very bad.
3. The link format: The link format is in the wrong order, usually the cgi stuff would be later.
4. The path of the User Agreement link. You can't see it here but at the bottom of the page is a supposed link to the user agreement. If you click on that link it takes you to an address that starts as follows: (I won't put the whole thing, I don't want you clicking on it)
http://210.106.185.7/img/main/.ws/eBay_Account_Invest...
The address wouldn't lead with an ip. Also if you checked eBay's address using the ping command today you would get 66.135.208.89. Not to the format of what follows.
eBay itself has a great post on this issue here: Two items worth highlighting:
The key is in knowing that legitimate companies do not ask for personal information via email or pop-up messages. So, a consumer should never provide this information in response to an email or pop-up message that requests this information. Instead, if a consumer is concerned about their account, they should contact the organization in the email using a telephone number that they know to be genuine, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the company’s correct Web address. In any case, a consumer should not cut and paste the link in the message.emphasis mine.
The FTC has info on this as well here.
The bottom line is this, any e-mail that even in one little way doesn't seem right; likely isn't.
Posted by Peter at 12:24 PM | Comments (0)
The Pope pods
Last year we gave you the Pope's E-mail address.
This year the new pope now has his own iPod. Bet this is on it.
Still no Pope Blog but perhaps we will see the podcast to the faithful?
Update: Via Glenn, that's what I get for posting while signing on.
Posted by Peter at 08:50 AM | Comments (0)
Not an good sign for Google
You known when you are trying to sell people on the idea of hosting their backups, accidently leaking your own data is a bad move:.
Google let the cat out of the bag on March 2 when the company accidentally posted internal information to its investor relations website, the company confirmed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing Tuesday.
I guess this answers Time's question, and confirms my opinion.
Posted by Peter at 08:35 AM | Comments (0)
March 06, 2006
Housekeeping Update Update: Blog spam example
Note this entry exists as an update to this post:
I mentioned in the first post that we were getting spam comments I thought I would share with you what such a comment looks like and its purpose. Since I want the actual spam to get as little airspace as possible it will stay in the extended entry.
Here is the spam comment in question I would suggest not clicking on the links:
Very nice. I hope you'll update very soon. Standard Player is always Tremendous Pair: http://www.fark.com/ , Superb, Memorizing, Astonishing nothing comparative to Faithful Percieve Boy is very good Cards , Lazy Slot Hope or not Girl will Soldier unconditionally
The comment above is an example of a spam comment. Such comments usually use a generic statement such as, "loved your site etc..." and then include a link to whatever site they are trying to promote. The weird random phrases are designed to provide extra search hits but may have other purposes as well. This setup hopes to achieve two things:
1. It provides an extra link to the site on the web providing the illusion that a site is more popular than it is2. It might cause a user to go to that link actually visiting the site in question.
If you are starting a blog as it grows you will get such comments first slowly then in a rush. It is very tempting particularly with a new blog to let it go to have the extra links, but it can quickly turn into a housekeeping nightmare particularly when off color or x-rated sites start doing it. My advice is to nip it in the bud early or set up a registered comments section.
The longer you wait on a solution the more work it will be to clean.
Posted by Peter at 07:43 PM | Comments (0)
Mario go Phish
Today I had a customer who after getting an odd e-mail saved it on her system to show me. It turned out it was yet another attempt to gain information via Phishing.
The Goal of a Phishing scam is to trick you into providing credit card, e-mail or logon info for a location. Sometimes the scams ask for what seems to be minor info, the confirmation of a membership password, however such passwords let them in and allow them to grab the real info they want or simply read your mail to grab what they need all of this can happen without your knowledge.
Most standard phishing scams will hit right away using info to go after bank accounts and credit cards for fraud. Often your passwords are changed at once and you can't access anything. This is a quick tip-off that something nasty has happened.
The more subtle ones will grab say e-mail info, configure outlook on a computer to intercept copies of e-mail (while leaving copies on the server) and then selectively pick though mail to get the info. These scams may make selective charges via several stolen accounts allowing them to pass undetected for quite a bit.
The best weapon against such scams is suspicion. As a rule most companies will not send you e-mail to confirm information. When in doubt call them direct NOT FROM NUMBERS IN THE PHISHING E-MAIL OR FROM LINKS IN IT AS THEY ARE LIKELY FALSE. For example if you got an e-mail from eBay claiming you need to provide info don't click the link in the e-mail, go to www.ebay.com and submit a question there. If it says Verizon, call verizon from the number in your phonebook or check their site.
For myself I say: Always assume that the message is fake. The 15-20 min you spend verifying it may save you a fortune.
If you want more info on Phishing schemes and how to prevent them check out the anti phishing working group and of course you can always ask your friendly HiWired tech.
Posted by Peter at 06:34 PM | Comments (0)
March 05, 2006
Share and Share alike
The New York Times has an interesting story concerning wireless piggybacking:
...they soon began noticing that their high-speed Internet access had become as slow as rush-hour traffic on the 405 freeway.
There are many things that can slow down a system from temp files to internet phone service to spyware and adware but their problem came from a different source
The "what" turned out to be neighbors who had tapped into their system. The additional online traffic nearly choked out the Brodeurs, who pay a $40 monthly fee for their Internet service, slowing their access until it was practically unusable.
As we have written before, good hackers have many ways of getting into a system, but if you leave your system totally unprotected you will eat up your bandwidth real fast, the problem these days is less the hackers as the avg person:
Beth Freeman, who lives in Chicago, has her own Internet access, but it is not wireless. Mostly for the convenience of using the Internet anywhere in her apartment, Ms. Freeman, 58, said that for the last six months she has been using a wireless network a friend showed her how to tap into."I feel sort of bad about it, but I do it anyway," Ms. Freeman said her of Internet indiscretions. "It just seems harmless."
And if she ever gets caught?
"I'm a grandmother," Ms. Freeman said. "They're not going to yell at an old lady. I'll just play the dumb card."
HiWired can help you secure your wireless network. At this time we would suggest WPA-PSK as it is supported by most of the newer equipment out there. Even if you don't choose to secure it to the satisfaction of George Ou and even through any standard you apply eventually will need upgrading as hacking tools improve you are better off with something than nothing. Even the worst method will likely block out the grandmothers for now.
Posted by Peter at 01:24 PM | Comments (0)
March 04, 2006
The tickle me iTunes game!
It has been suggested that the rise of the Ipod and Itunes has led to anti-social behavior. In order to solve this issue this morning by pure chance I have invented the Tickle me iTunes game to be played by married couples. (I make the rash assumption that unmarried couples are not anti-social to each other, over to you Andy on that one, but they can play too).
As you may or may not know if you go to the iTunes store there are clips available of all the music you can purchase running about 30 seconds. In order to play this game you need the following:
An internet connection Your spouse's feet in easy reach but not in view of the computer screen(My wife likes to sit in a recliner which puts her feet in the right spot and she is as blind as a bat which explains our soon to be 19 years together).
The rules:
The person in the chair with the feet in reach (Player 1) names an artist.
The person at the computer (Player 2) does a search in the iTunes store for said artist.
Player 2 then plays a clip and proceeds to massage the feet of player 1.
Player 1 must by the end of the clip name the song, they may ask for the clip to be played a 2nd time.
If they are correct Player 2 continues the massage.
If they are incorrect Player 2 tickles the feet instead.
You can allow a number of passes or make rules concerning unreleased songs.
Posted by Peter at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)
March 03, 2006
My last word on the cartoon wars
One final thought on the Cartoon wars that we have covered here:
As a Catholic I only know Islam from the copy of the Koran I've read but it seems odd to me that this is still generating international violence and protest (and counter protest) but this is not.
Update: Bad link above fixed now, although I must point out that the old wrong link does generate international protest from time to time.
Update 2: Apparently the story about the daughter of one of the cartoonists being stalked is a hoax.
That is good news however this report from the AP is not:
Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri criticized the West for its insult to Islam's prophet, complaining in a video broadcast Sunday on Al-Jazeera that the Prophet Mohammed and Jesus "are not sacred anymore."Referring to the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that have been printed in a number of European newspapers, al-Zawahri said: "They did it on purpose and they continue to do it without apologizing,
The Mosque bombing in Iraq linked above is widely believed to be the work of his group Al Qaida. Apparently cartoons are a bigger insult to this person then the Mosque bombing or mass murder. And we are hearing this straight from the horse's mouth. Myself I believe we are hearing it from a different part of the horse.
Posted by Peter at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)
Upgrades vs renewals
I've had two customers this week asking questions about Norton Upgrades/renewals that they had purchased online. Since many systems come with Norton (or McAfee) pre-installed these days it is worth a post to explain the difference between upgrading and renewing.
First thing you should know is that if you choose not upgrade or renew your anti-virus program will still run HOWEVER you will only be protected from virus that existed on or before the renewal date, any new virus or modification will still be able to get through. This is better than nothing, but the amount better than nothing will decrease exponentially every day past the renewal date. In a case like that we would suggest some other alternative (such a HiWired's Worry Free PC plan).
When you renew what you are doing is signing up to continue to receive the virus definition updates from whoever the manufacturer is. This means the software will not change and the protection will still be there. The upsides are cost (lower than upgrades) and consistency. The program will run exactly the same as it did before. The downside is that any improvement to the program itself will not be reflected. In addition after a time the manufacturer may cut off support for the version of the software you are running or not allow you to upgrade.
When you upgrade you are replacing the current version of the software you have (say the 2005 version) with the 2006 version. Usually this will entail running an upgrade program that will remove the old one and install the new one. The disadvantages are cost and perhaps having to learn a new interface. There is also the chance that the new software might conflict with something you are running on the system. The advantage is of course you have the latest and greatest version with any new bells and whistles to make it run better. Usually such upgrades are downloaded. It is my opinion that whenever possible such upgrades (or brand new versions) should be purchased locally so you will have an actual CD. This will come in handy if you have to reinstall and can be an extra tool in fighting virus if they get through your defenses.
Understanding these differences will allow you to make the best choice for your own needs.
Posted by Peter at 09:25 PM | Comments (0)
The downside of wireless
Today wireless everything is the trend. But there are times when it can bite you. Today I had a customer with a wireless mouse and keyboard setup. The mouse was not working and the customer was dead in the water.
We were able eventually able to get the mouse up and running but for those of you in the wireless revolution here are two things to keep in mind:
1. Keep a standard keyboard & mouse handy:Usually people who get wireless devices replace standard wired devices with them. If the devices in question aren't shot consider putting them aside. When/if the wireless devices fail you will have fallbacks to use while you repair/replace them. If you are using wireless devices to replace broken mice or keyboards consider purchasing a cheap (my favorite type) of keyboard/mouse set. Places like Office Max sell them for under $20. They are a good bit of insurance and are worth having even if you aren't backing up a wireless system.
2. Key shortcuts:
Back in the old days before GUI's we used to do all of our work with keyboards. The old key shortcuts still work on the XP system so you can navigate using a combination of the
flying windows key, tab key and the arrow keys. A quick batch of shortcuts are here, but there are quite a few more that are available as needed.
These two simple tips will come in handy when you least expect it.
Posted by Peter at 06:44 PM | Comments (0)
Vista bang for the buck?
On this first Friday in Lent we start with an article about Windows Vista (formally Longhorn not to be confused with this Longhorn) This article echoes a pair of our posts from last year:
Microsoft already has identified what it calls a "good enough" problem among customers that purchase Windows' client version, Wilcox said. That is, customers think their current version of Windows is good enough for what they want to achieve with their computer, so they see little or no reason to upgrade to the latest operating system. Complicating matters with several editions is not the ideal way to inspire customers to upgrade, he said.
I'm a big believer in the good enough theory, and not just because of my rep for being cheap.
It is my experience that the simpler the interface the more complex the code behind it. Put simply when you make something look easy it is harder to fix if it fails.
My advice is always to wait on a new operating system it is not until it hits the users that the bugs are really found and resolved.
Posted by Peter at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)
March 02, 2006
Spell checkers can't solve everything.
When Glenn linked to us last one reader pointed out that I should make liberal use of a spell checker.
Since I do most of my posting between calls I do confess that on occasion I hit the button too fast if a customer comes in.
Today Glenn links to a story of how a spell checker doesn't replace a good eye:
Posted by Peter at 08:57 PM | Comments (0)
Anybody can fall for it
Just a reminder that Nigerian e-mail scams are still out there. And a lot of brains doesn't guarantee you won't take the bait:
A renowned psychiatrist from UC Irvine was duped into squandering at least $1.3 million of his family's fortune on a Nigeria Internet scam, according to a lawsuit recently filed by his son.The son, also an Orange County doctor, said his father — Dr. Louis A. Gottschalk — gave as much as $3 million over a 10-year period in response to an Internet plea that promised the doctor a generous cut of a huge sum of cash trapped in African bank accounts in exchange for money advances.
This is a standard tactic of this type of scam. Just remember this rule: If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
Posted by Peter at 08:43 PM | Comments (0)
March 01, 2006
Housekeeping update
Due to the incredible increase in spam trackbacks and comments lately we instituted a new policy on trackbacks and comments.
With one or two exceptions trackbacks and comments on posts will be open for no more than two weeks on any individual post. After that time they will be locked, so if you have something to say about something we say, don't wait.
UPDATE: The comment below is an example of a spam comment, I am leaving it up as such. Such comments usually use a generic statement such as, "loved your site etc..." and then include a link to whatever site they are trying to promote. This does two things:
1. It provides an extra link to the site on the web providing the illusion that a site is more popular than it is2. It might cause a user to go to that link actually visiting the site in question.
If you are starting a blog as it grows you will get such comments first slowing then in a rush. It is very tempting particularly with a new blog to let it go to have the extra links, but it can quickly turn into a housekeeping nightmare particularly when off color or x-rated sites start doing it. My advice is to nip it in the bud early or set up a registered comments section.
The longer you wait on a solution the more work it will be to clean.
Posted by Peter at 08:17 PM | Comments (1)