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May 31, 2007
Here comes the catch
Chris gave you the heads up on iTunes not putting DRM on its new stuff. Here via Glenn and artstechnia is the catch:
We started examining the files this morning and noticed our names and e-mail addresses in the files, and we've found corroboration of the find at TUAW, as well. But there's more to the story: Apple embeds your account information in all songs sold on the store, not just DRM-free songs. Previously it wasn't much of a big deal, since no one could imagine users sharing encrypted, DRMed content. But now that DRM-free music from Apple is on the loose, the hidden data is more significant since it could theoretically be used to trace shared tunes back to the original owner. It must also be kept in mind that this kind of information could be spoofed.
the most interesting parts of the story are two sentences:
The big question, of course, is what might Apple do with this information?...We've contacted Apple for a response but have not heard back from the company.
My feelings on the matter echo Gene Hackman's line to Ned Beatty in Superman:
It's not that I don't trust you Otis...I don't trust you Otis
You don't hide that stuff for no reason.
Posted by Peter at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)
At the risk of repeating myself AGAIN
...let me give some basic laws and the fall back positions to keep your home/home business computer free of nasties:
PLAN A: Teenagers and guests should use different PC's
If the kids are going to wreck a machine let them wreck their own, they can pay us for the PC Restoration that follows themselves and you can blissfully continue with your own work. Guests in the house should be using their own laptops or the kids machines not the primary one. If you are retiring a machine give it to the kids and tell them they are on their own!
Plan B: (to be used if plan A can't be) Kids/Guests use a limited account on your PC and your account is passworded
Do not let kids or guests anywhere near your main account. If you absolutely must let them use your machine then give them limited rights and password your own account to be sure they can't install anything that you don't want on your system.
PLAN C: (to be used if for reasons unknown you refuse to use plan A or B) Install filter software
Get a good piece of site filter software on your PC and don't let the kids know the password to remove it. The best filters will not allow you to uninstall them without said password. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD ANY SUCH MACHINE HAVE ANY BUSINESS OR FINANCIAL STUFF ON IT! If you have a system with financial data on a machine that kids have access to and administrator rights then to quote the Reverend Johnson from Blazing Saddles: Son you're on your own.
Of course you are never on your own as we are here 24/7 for help but do you really want to be paying for the same fix over and over again?
Posted by Peter at 11:46 AM | Comments (0)
A violation of the three laws
As I've said robot Lawn Mowers are cool but what happens when they rebel?
In what is surely the opening salvo of the robot insurrection, a 45-year old Danish municipal worker was tragically killed by a robotic industrial lawnmower this afternoon, after the unit tumbled off a slope and onto his head.
I for one am going to keep a skeptical eye on my Laptops and other mahchines, first they wreck our backs and now this?
Posted by Peter at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
May 30, 2007
iTunes 7.2 available now
Just a quick post on the new update to iTunes that is available no for both Mac and PC platforms. The major update is now an option called iTunes Plus. This is where music that features no DRM (Copyright protection) will be sold. I think Apple has done it again and headed up the forefront in digital music. They state they will have at least 30% DRM free music by Christmas time.
You can download the latest version here
Posted by Chrisk at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)
I have a vision of a million messed up Operating Systems
Drudge is touting the Microsoft touch surface:
The radical new approach starts with the guts of the device itself. Under the impact-resistant plastic top skin on an otherwise nondescript table hide five infrared scanners, a projector, and a wireless modem. The scanners recognize objects and shapes placed on the top and respond to them accordingly. For example, if the scanners recognize fingers, and the fingers have been placed in color circles that appear on the surface, the projector shows colored lines that follow the tracings and movements of your fingers. Meanwhile, an internal modem sends and receives signals from any electronic device placed on it. All of the hardware is run by a special version of Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows Vista.
This might or might not be very cool and the first step toward a Star Trek future, but all I can think of is a million calls from customers saying either their 4 year old hit the screen or they slipped and touched the screen and all the operating system is missing.
I'm sure they are working on ways to keep this from happening but I can't get that out of my mind, I see this keeping me working till retirement.
Posted by Peter at 12:35 PM | Comments (0)
May 29, 2007
A new gaming audience
It looks like another audience has discovered what I already talked about the Wii is good for you. Not only for those who are sedentary by choice but for those who have no choice:
Who says that all video games are bad? Certainly not the individuals flocking to the Time Warner Center this coming weekend, June 2-3, for the World Cyber Games U.S. Open; and certainly not the senior citizens at the Sedgebrook retirement community in Lincolnshire, Ill., where the average age is 77. They've discovered the fun of the Nintendo Wii, as have many new gamers including myself. We're getting off the couch and bowling, playing golf, swinging the bat — all in our living room and best of all, we're losing weight
It adds up to action for those who were inactive:
Senior citizens are getting out of their armchairs to swing bowling balls, golf clubs, or bats with their remote controllers that drive the targets on their TV screen. The harder you swing the more power you wield. The wireless controller translates the player's action onto the screen. You twist your hand, your ball will curve. It's positively addicting.
Watch for more of this as the generation that grew of age in the video game age matures.
Posted by Peter at 11:53 AM | Comments (1)
Lessons from a Cyberwar?
History buffs might know that the Spanish Civil War of the mid 30's provided lessons on warfare that the Germans applied in World War II.
Well it looks like Nato and the west took notes of the Cyberattack on Estonia that we wrote about and have decided to learn from it.
What followed was what some here describe as the first war in cyberspace, a three-week battle that forced the Estonian authorities to defend their small country from a data flood they say was set off by orders from Russia or ethnic Russian sources in retaliation for the removal of the statue. There are still minor disruptions."This may well turn out to be a watershed in terms of widespread awareness of the vulnerability of modern society," said Linton Wells 2nd, the principal U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration at the Pentagon. "It has gotten the attention of a lot of people."
Countries that depend on the net didn't waste much time
Computer security experts from NATO, the European Union, the United States and Israel have since converged on Tallinn to offer help and to learn what they can about cyberwar in the digital age.
This is a question of both economic and military significance since particularly when a military is high tech.
For NATO, the attack may lead to a discussion of whether it needs to modify its commitment to collective defense. Aarelaid said NATO's Internet security experts said little but took copious notes during their visit.
Countries that ignore this do so at their peril.
Posted by Peter at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)
May 28, 2007
Some things never change
Sam Rayburn was one of the most powerful speakers of the House of Representatives that ever lived. In Tip O'Neil's Autobiography A Man of the House he tells the story of how Mr. Rayburn would sometimes handle reporters who would ask him questions about what was news:
Do you remember yesterday?Yes:
We its the same today.
You might recall last years Memorial Day post (unless you are Technorati and think we don't exist) concerning Google.
Well Mr Sam answer is still correct, the news is the same today. Memorial Day still doesn't rate.
Posted by Peter at 08:58 AM | Comments (0)
But its such good copy!
Boing Boing via Glenn teases the BBC for its recent Wi-Fi Scaremongering.
Cripes didn't George Ou knock this myth out of the park last year?
I mean I understand why they didn't see it here, after all we haven't updated this blog in 391 days.
Posted by Peter at 08:25 AM | Comments (0)
Memorial Day
Today is Memorial Day a National Holiday in the United States.
Although our clientèle is world wide (and we do appreciate that clientèle very much) we are an American company based in Massachusetts. We honor and remember those Americas who have fallen in service to their country to the first who fell not 30 miles from here on Lexington Green to those now risking their lives in Afghanistan ,Iraq and around the world.
As HiWired is here 24/7 we will be open all day for any of your computer needs.
For a personal note see below.
On a personal note you might remember I've talked about Romano's Market more than once around here. Mike has sons who have their own jobs but work at the butcher shop once a week on Saturdays since that is the busy day. The oldest of those boys is a high school history teacher during the week and I've known him since he was a little kid.
His school year will be ending a little early next month as he hangs up his lesson book and picks up his rifle to serve in Iraq. God willing he will be back sometime next year or early the following one.
He joins the oldest son of a member of our table top baseball league who was deployed last month.
Both of these men are volunteers both are giving up their lives here in the states to serve. Both are fine young men of good character and I've known them for more years than my own children have been alive.
To me they are extraordinary men, yet our country has produced hundreds of thousands of men and women just like them.
Our country is very lucky to produce people like this. Thank you seems hardly adequate, but it is the proper word.
Posted by Peter at 07:33 AM | Comments (0)
May 27, 2007
In Honor of the day
As it is Memorial day tomorrow one website worth visiting is the site of Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place of thousands of American Military and statesmen from the early 1860's to the present day.
What is often not known is that this is only one of many Military Cemeteries where American soldiers are interned. The American Battle Monuments Commission which operates Cemeteries around the world where that Americans have given their lives for their fellow man.
As you might guess this weekend the traffic on the site is pretty high but check this sub-link for some of the places that the commission maintains.
Posted by Peter at 05:52 PM | Comments (0)
May 26, 2007
Backwards Planning
Had a little more laptop problem had the pleasure of dealing with Jeromy again to fix it. If you are in Central Mass he can help you too.
You might think , hey he's a tech why doesn't he fix it himself? Well frankly I hate doing hardware work, always have. No point in doing something I don't like.
More interesting was the conversation we had about Vista. Apparently he has been making good money downgrading people from vista back to XP. If what he's told me is any indication Microsoft has a real White Elephant there.
If you disagree just let me know in comments and tell me why.
Posted by Peter at 11:08 PM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2007
Star Wars 30th Anniversary
Lucas Online a division of Lucasfilm Ltd. has relaunched www.starwars.com on Star Wars 30th Anniversary.
May the Force be with you ...
Posted by Scott at 08:12 AM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2007
Dell: Coming to a store near you ...
Dell is coming to your local big-box. Starting June 10th you should be seeing Dell computers in Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores throughout the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. While this will increase profit for Dell, what will it do for their image? Will partnering with Wal-Mart increase or decrease Dell's image as "cheap"?
Posted by Scott at 08:15 PM | Comments (0)
Wii will; Wii will rock you!
The replacement Wii showed up at the house a few days ago and the broken one is on its way back to the land of Nintendo.
Last night my wife and I decided to watch the movie The Public Eye (Joe Pesci Barbara Hershey great but unknown movie)s o he had to go upstairs to use the Wii
When he came down after the movie he was sweating bullets. I asked what was going on, turned out he was playing the boxing game on the wii boxing dozens of rounds.
This is EXACTLY the kind of result a parent wants to see from an overweight kid, he is exercising without thinking about it at the time.
As far as I'm concerned that makes the Wii worth every penny.
Posted by Peter at 02:27 PM | Comments (0)
May 23, 2007
Linux is it getting better for the average user?
I was at one of my favorite sites Slashdot and found this interesting article on Linux. I am not ashamed to admit I am not a big fan of Linux.There are too many flavors of it and installing a driver can make even the most technical of people (like me)go insane. You can read the article here
Posted by Chrisk at 11:14 AM | Comments (0)
Features? ve don't need no stinking features
In tech republic Ramon Padilla gets to the heart of what a software update is supposed to be, specifically Office 2007:
I have been spending time with Office 2007 lately and I am not overly excited about it. I think it goes against the whole Windows tenet: If you know how to use one application, then your knowledge is directly transferable to another application because the interface is set up in the same way. It has some new features, but the interface you have spent your whole career learning is now different again. My feelings about Vista are the same.
He then talks about the type of things that would actually make a difference some smart decisions:
How about this? "Ramon, I notice that the following message appears to be a task. Would you like me to add it to your task list with the due date listed in the message?" Or this? "You always delete messages that indicate that you have inherited money from someone in Nigeria. Would you like me to automatically consider this spam, no matter who the message comes from?"
Now that would be something very useful (unless you are a Nigerian e-mail scammer or looking to put a a sequel to this book) His conclusion?
Frankly, I believe we have hit a point where software vendors continue to add features without truly making their products more useful. While I lament this, there is a lesson to be learned here for IT managers.The lesson is in regards to application development. When we are working on upgrading or replacing existing applications, we should — if at all possible — concentrate on building or acquiring only those apps that eliminate tasks or make them easier to perform. This should be one of the metrics in our evaluations of new products over older products and in any software development projects.
Some words of wisdom as we have said before whenever you are thinking of any kind of upgrade/new software etc, you need to decide:
A: Does this upgrade aid in meeting your needs and solving your problems?B: Will the benefits of the change overrun the costs of the learning curve and changes necessary to implement it?
If you can't answer yes to both of those questions with confidence then you shouldn't be spending your money.
UPDATE: It might not be clear but that last "quoted" part isn't from the Techrepublic article.
Posted by Peter at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)
Why Youtube is one of the best sites on the net Pt2
Fresh off of this post about YouTube and about NZ Bear's use of the net to talk about the immigration bill, National Review links to this:
It is simply the best use of the internet as an educational tool that I've ever seen particularly when you consider that it only takes 4:30
UPDATE: Apparently this video didn't belong on the net, First the poster pulled it from embedding and now the site states that it will soon be pulled due to unspecified legal issues (my guess is for not paying royalties for the use of Ashokan Farewell)?
I'm sorry to see it go but the rules are the rules.
P.S. You might ask why royalties are due on a Civil War era song. What you might not know if that Ashokan farewell was NOT a Civil War era song but was actually written in 1982. Burns heard the song and licenced it for his Civil War series. It was the only piece of music in the series that was not from the 19th century.
Posted by Peter at 08:32 AM | Comments (0)
May 22, 2007
To buy or not to buy? That is the question.
For those of you that like the cosmetic changes of Vista but do not want to purchase a new operating system and a new computer to run it here is hope. Microsoft is saying that they expect the next version of Windows to be released late 2009, giving them two and a half years to perfect it. Vista was in the making for five years. The question you must ask yourself is: Do I wait for a better operating system? Or will the next operating system be the same? Well, this is Microsoft we are talking about. My suggestion: Buy a Mac ...
Posted by Scott at 01:29 PM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2007
Spyware where the real money from the download is made
Via Slashdot we see this story on how spyware makers are still trying to put lipstick on the pig:
Spyware vendors are trying to clean up their images. For example, Zango settled a FTC investigation, then last week sued PC Tools for detecting and removing Zango software. Meanwhile, Integrated Search Technologies (makers of a variety of software previously widely installed without consent) introduced a new "Vomba" client that even received "provisional" TRUSTe Trusted Download certification.But these programs' core designs are unchanged: They still track user behavior, still send browsing to their central servers, and still show pop-up ads -- behaviors users rightly disfavor due to serious effects on privacy and productivity.
Read the whole thing. When it comes down to the meat and potatoes of it these guys are not going to stop because there is money to be made, as long as the money is there it will coming.
Posted by Peter at 03:36 PM | Comments (0)
What the internet is best at
I have often written that one of the great things about blogs, the net and technology is it allows people to quickly get and share useful information (and fun stuff) with a wide audience in a way that was not possible in the past.
This is been used for good or ill by many different people or groups. Here is a great example of something done for good:
Late Friday night, an electronic version of the "immigration reform" bill was finally published, ...
The published bill is larger than the bible a big download and a lot to print so what is a blogger to do?
I've taken the copy published by NRO and parsed it into a format that allows for easy browsing online. Features of this version include:
* A table of contents on the left side that allows you to jump directly to a section of your choice. I've also included a "Highlights" index at the top --- which should really be "lowlights" -- where I'll collect links to the most interesting sections and commentary on the bill.
* The ability to add comments to any page of the bill, including links back to a blog post or other web commentary. Just go to the section you're discussing, and click on the 'add a comment' link in the right sidebar. You can also, of course, read the comments that everyone else has provided.
So consider this a very long law that is being considered that will affect the entire country for good or ill (usually for both that's the way most laws are) can now be viewed and commented on by the public in a way that doesn't force a single individual to try to grab the lot. People can make points and counter points on the individual parts and be able to understand what their congressmen/senators are voting on.
The implications are rather large:
If those who forged this "compromise" have their way, this bill will be voted on as early as Tuesday. That's a crazily short amount of time for Senators --- let alone the American public --- to review, understand, and have a voice on the substance of such a complex bill.My hope, however, is that by presenting the bill in this form, I will help make the bill more accessible to all, and provide a central spot where commentary, criticism, and suggested improvements can be assembled. Who knows --- maybe our erstwhile leaders on Capitol Hill will take notice, and take some of our comments to heart.
As this is not a political blog and HiWired is a tech support company not an advocacy group we have no position on the bill one way or another.
What IS cool and relevant to us is the power of the net. Now even with a bill such as this, people in a republic like ours are given the chance to understand proposed laws before they are passed and make more informed (and hopefully wiser) decisions on them.
It is a power that was unheard of just a few years ago and all the work involved is being done by regular folks. It is a light shined on what goes on, the more light on a subject the better now its up to us to decide if we want to bother to look.
UPDATE: Welcome blog talk radio listeners, feel free to poke around a bit, if you want to hear our podcast interview with Capt. Ed from December it is here.
Posted by Peter at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)
May 20, 2007
Classic
It's stuff like this that makes YouTube one of the best sites on the net.
Posted by Peter at 09:54 PM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2007
Will Microsoft see Google over their shoulder?
Google continues to develop application and products (such as mail) to grab a bit of the Microsoft market share. Their development of online apps give people another alternative and the fact that they are rolling in cash makes the attempts possible.
At tech republic Jason Hiner suggests that they might be thinking OS as well.
Since this is all conjecture anyway, let’s go even further out on the limb. What if Google did release a simple OS that runs on standard Intel and AMD hardware and Apple decided to get involve by using its newly-gained experience in running an OS on Intel hardware to provide the Google OS on a Mac Mini? That’s two really powerful brands in one upstart PC.Such a move would seem unlikely because Apple would likely fear a negative impact on its OS X, but Steve Jobs likes making unlikely moves. It’s no secret that he believes Apple should have won the OS wars of the 80’s and 90’s and then turned into the kind of software juggernaut that Microsoft has become, primarily because of Windows. So, if Jobs saw a big opportunity to help make a significant dent in the market share of Windows, it’s hard believe that he wouldn’t seize the moment. And don’t forget that Eric Raymond also sits on the Board of Directors at Apple.
might not be happening at all but nothing these guys do would surprise me anymore.
Posted by Peter at 09:30 PM | Comments (0)
May 18, 2007
Fair Use win for Google
Well fair use gets another boost:
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals undid a preliminary injunction, issued last year by a Los Angeles District Court, that had kept the Web search giant from displaying thumbnail-size photographs of images owned by Perfect 10 Inc. that other sites had improperly posted.Saying the District Court erred, the San Francisco-based appeals court ruled that Google could legally display those images under the fair use doctrine of copyright law. The doctrine allows use of copyrighted work under some conditions, such as for parody or education.
It would seem to me that a search engine shouldn't be held liable if a site that appears in the search is illegally grabbing images from another site. It would be impractical for such an engine to verify something of that nature.
Posted by Peter at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2007
The future of warfare Cyberwar
From Drudge we see two stories of what appears to be a Cyberwar by one state (Russia) against another (Estonia). The UK Guardian Reports as follows:
A three-week wave of massive cyber-attacks on the small Baltic country of Estonia, the first known incidence of such an assault on a state, is causing alarm across the western alliance, with Nato urgently examining the offensive and its implications.
The triggering of event seems to be a statue as the BBC reports:
Estonians say the memorial symbolised Soviet occupation of the Baltic state. Russians say it is a tribute to those who fought the Nazis.
Since the then Soviets gobbled up Estonia along with Lithuania and Latvia in July 1940 and held it till 1991 (losing them only while the Germans attacked Russia) it is not surprising that the Estonians have no love for the Russians, for myself its a wonder that the statue stayed up as long as it did.
The Russian response if indeed it is a state response is a real warning that the net is a weak link when a society is very net dependent.
Posted by Peter at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2007
Well this could be big
I'm rather sick today but found this story big enough to blog from bed:
A Web site that matches roommates may be liable for what its users say about their preferences, a fractured three-judge panel of the federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled yesterday.
As a general rule sites haven't been liable for what users have said, this could change things quite a bit
Though their rationales varied, all three judges in the decision yesterday agreed that the site could be held liable for soliciting information from users through a series of menus about themselves and their preferred roommates and for posting and distributing profiles created from the menus. The choices on the menus included gender, sexual orientation and whether children were involved.Because Roomate.com created the menus, the court ruled, it cannot claim immunity under the 1996 law, the Communications Decency Act.
This is a very different ruling than what we've seen before, but then again it is from the 9th circuit which leads the league in being overturned by the Supreme Court so we will have to see if it is appealed all the way to the top.
Posted by Peter at 08:47 AM | Comments (0)
May 15, 2007
Wii are not amused
Well the punishment period is over and the grand day arrived! My son set up the Wii (I wouldn't let him set up the wireless etc) and prepared to play. The moment he'd been waiting for. He smiled as the disk went in......
.......and came right back out. He tried again and again and again nope wouldn't read, kept ejecting.
They called Nintendo and a new Wii is due to arrive in the next couple of days, we are to ship the old one back in the box the new one comes with.
I'm still concerned about having it on the network, the more like a PC these devices become the more likely they will become a security hole, but time will tell.
Posted by Peter at 07:37 AM | Comments (1)
May 13, 2007
Wii Wii monsieur
Well the Wii Shortage must be a little less as I was able to grab one of three available Wii's at the local Walmart.
Due to some punishments the kids haven't had a chance to fiddle with it but I'll give you a report once they've played with it a bit.
Posted by Peter at 01:11 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2007
Will google keep you safe?
Slashdot report that Google is trying a novel way to help protect you online:
Google is now promising to identify all web pages on the internet that could be malicious - with its powerful crawling abilities & data centers, the company is in an excellent position to do this.
I really think it will be hard to get this done, but when it is things will get quite interesting.
Posted by Peter at 09:41 PM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2007
Ou finds retail security Uh Ohs
Our old friend George Ou in light of issues that TJX's billion dollar security hole decided to check out several other retail networks, he wasn't impressed:
So here we have a list of major retailers where most of them haven't learned a single thing since the TJX incident. Is it going to take another billion dollars of damage before stores realize that they must tan WEP?
Nothing produces inertia more than a potential up front cost to upgrade.
Posted by Peter at 04:40 PM | Comments (0)
May 09, 2007
Speed Speed that's what we need
If I'm right then this is going to make a big difference for a lot of people:
Chief Executive Brian Roberts dazzled a cable industry audience Tuesday, showing off for the first time in public new technology that enabled a data download speed of 150 megabits per second, or roughly 25 times faster than today's standard cable modems.The cost of modems that would support the technology, called "channel bonding," is "not that dissimilar to modems today," he told The Associated Press after a demonstration at The Cable Show. It could be available "within less than a couple years," he said.
I'm sure hoping they replace the modems of existing customers like me.
Of course there might also be a problem in that once the speeds increase the various sites will load up with more useless background rubbish.
Posted by Peter at 07:15 PM | Comments (0)
May 07, 2007
And the winners continue to not be us
Once again we have entirely neglected to post the winners of a set of blogging awards that we posted about.
Well if you want to find out who the big winners of the 2007 Web blog Awards are simply click here.
The winner in the tech blog category was.....
We at Hiwired are of course insanely jealous of the fact delighted that GIZMODO won and hope to make the list of nominees next year.
Posted by Peter at 10:04 AM | Comments (0)
Windows Live Hotmail debuts! I just can't contain the excitement!
Techcrunch reports that Microsoft has announced the introduction of ....drum roll please; Live Hotmail!:
Microsoft has announced the launch of Windows Live Hotmail globally in 36 languages, complete with AJAX goodness.The new service has been built to be a vast improvement over the previous Hotmail offering, incorporating input from more than 20 million beta testers. However todays offering is only the move from beta to roll out.
The excitement that this rollout has produced is creating a real hazzzzzzzz
zzzzzz
zzzzzz
(wake me when something actually interesting happens)
Posted by Peter at 09:46 AM | Comments (0)
Microsoft & Yahoo a deal made at all?
The NY Post's report of a possible Microsoft Yahoo merger is generating some talk in other circles.
that while the companies did discuss a possible merger or other matchup "that would pair their respective strengths" a year ago, the discussions are not currently active.
Still there are obstacles not the least being yahoo's gains:
One possibility, the Journal says, is a Microsoft/Yahoo team where Microsoft runs the technical end of Yahoo while Yahoo! staff oversees the consumer-oriented/content side. Microsoft, it says, could possibly spin its online unit into Yahoo in return for a Yahoo stake. But with Yahoo's recent signs of increasing momentum, it is likely top staff would resist any substantial form of combination.
Peter Ha at CrunchGear lists a more Letterman like take on what this won't happen:
6. Yahoo had second thoughts when Microsoft’s Hotmail service spit back all the wedding invitations as spam. ...1. Semel refused to run Windows Vista on Yahoo computers until the release of Service Pack 1.
In my mind I don't have an opinion one way or another.
Posted by Peter at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)
Hit that stop button!
When cleaning out peoples systems via our PC Restoration we always find tons of temp files and the sizes of them seem to constantly increase.
Since I tend to use pages with many multiple windows I tend tend to notice as the pages spin, spin and spin as they are loading.
I know I have an old router but it hit me that it was taking much too long for these to be loading, I took a look at the pages and sure enough all the text I wanted had already loaded, the pages were still loading because of a ton of ads of all types, interactive ads, little scripts etc...
Well I've found the solution, when pages load I scroll to the bottom of the page if I see my page loaded I hit the STOP button. I have my page and the loads stop.
Don't forget that most pages have a printer friendly page, or a PDA style page, if you use those links you can also get a more economical load.
If you like me are not a bells and whistle person this is the solution for you.
Posted by Peter at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)
May 06, 2007
Peter your getting lazy
You might have noticed that posting has become a tad more sporadic lately.
This is all because you have been kind enough to give us so much business lately that I really haven't had time for the blog. Customers come first.
Remember that we don't have a dedicated blogging team, the entire company has blogging rights. We just blog as we have time and have the interest to do so.
Rest assured I'll try to keep up more with the blog, but the customer with a problem will have to trump the blog if there is a conflict.
Posted by Peter at 12:03 PM | Comments (0)
Its Jetsons time.
How do you know that the time of the Jetsons is getting closer?
When you see sites like this.
I figure it must be cool to have a robot mowing your lawn but how much do you really save VS a mowing service?
Then again the Jetsons didn't have a lawn did they?
Posted by Peter at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)
Oh That's what they meant!
The military have been giving clarifications to their blog restrictions that we mentioned. That suggests that the decision hasn't gone over very well.
While the regulation hasn't been rescinded, a fact sheet released yesterday effectively says 'never mind.' "In no way will every blog post/update a Soldier makes on his or her blog need to be monitored or first approved by an immediate supervisor," the fact sheet states. It was released a day after Wired News reported the clamp down on online dispatches.
By a strange coincidence a conference of Military Bloggers took place this week, full conference details are at Gateway Pundit's site.
Question: How do you know that the military might be rethinking restrictions on military bloggers?
Answer: When the commander-in-chief gives a message at their conference.
Via glenn
Posted by Peter at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)
May 04, 2007
The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain
With apologies to the now orbiting James Doohan's famous line from Star Trek III, his line is proven correct in this story:
A fire started by a homeless man knocked out service between Boston and New York on the experimental Internet2 network Tuesday night.
The best line concerning this story comes of course from Glenn Reynolds:
INTERNET I; Designed to survive a nuclear war; survived 9/11, Katrina, numerous other disasters.Internet II: Taken out by a homeless man with a cigarette.
It's lines like that which give me a serious case of writers envy.
Posted by Peter at 09:03 AM | Comments (0)
May 03, 2007
Military bloggers made to retreat
One of the interesting things about modern technology has been the ability of troops in the field to not only e-mail family and friends (so you can get daily updates on their well being) but the efforts of Milbloggers to report first hand on what they see. This is unique in the annals of the history of warfare.
A new rule reported by Wired suggests that this might be ending:
Military officials have been wrestling for years with how to handle troops who publish blogs. Officers have weighed the need for wartime discretion against the opportunities for the public to personally connect with some of the most effective advocates for the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the troops themselves. The secret-keepers have generally won the argument, and the once-permissive atmosphere has slowly grown more tightly regulated. Soldier-bloggers have dropped offline as a result.The new rules (.pdf) obtained by Wired News require a commander be consulted before every blog update.
"This is the final nail in the coffin for combat blogging," said retired paratrooper Matthew Burden, editor of The Blog of War anthology. "No more military bloggers writing about their experiences in the combat zone. This is the best PR the military has -- it's most honest voice out of the war zone. And it's being silenced."
The reaction of bloggers in general has been negative particularly from military bloggers. Personally I don't know if this has been a security issue, but brighter minds than me will have to make that decision.
Posted by Peter at 01:06 PM | Comments (0)
May 01, 2007
Net Zero's $120 phone call
For my high speed internet I use Comcast, but before I had comcast I had Netzero dial-up. Since I'm a great believer in having a backup plan I maintained my $9.95 account paying the just under $120 a year just in case and having it charged to my credit card.
Since netzero also sends out a fair amount of spam mail I tend to delete a lot of stuff that came from them.
I never really thought about it until today when I opened my mail and much to my shock saw a letter from a collection agency asking for $19.90 by my birthday or else.
I called up netzero and apparently when my credit card was renewed it stopped working. Unlike us rather than calling me they sent out an e-mail. Since netzero also sends out a fair amount of spam mail I tend to delete a lot of stuff that came from them so I'm assuming that I must have deleted that e-mail sent several months ago. (Net Zero refused to forward me a copy of the request for payment e-mails).
Now If they had given me a phone call I could have given them the new expiration date and they would still be getting their money every month till I got sick of it. The charge is valid so I'll pay the collection bill, but since I didn't appreciate getting a collection agency letter (Valid though the charge is) I will no longer be using the pay Net Zero service.
That lack of a phone call, that good customer service cost Net Zero $119.40 a year, plus the cost of a collection agency plus bad will from me and a less than flattering blog post. I can't be the only person that this has happened to so multiply this by their customer base and it adds up.
Would the cost of a single employee making outbound calls of this nature be so much for it to be avoided? Apparently NetZero thinks so.
Posted by Peter at 06:55 PM | Comments (0)