technology filter: Computers and Internet

DIY Online Poster Maker

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:52:37 GMT

I think someone else was selling software to do this earlier last year, but this is an online service that doesn't require any software purchasing. Just upload the photo you'd like to poster-ize to BlockPosters, then decide how many 8.5-11" sheets of paper you want to spread it across (the site has guidelines). Click enter and BlockPosters converts your image into an Adobe Acrobat file (.PDF) which has the photo cut up into the required number of pages. Open the PDF in Acrobat and hit 'print'. Your poster gets printed page by page. Taping it together is your problem, tho.

(via Digg)

Posted by Oliver

Vista Wallpapers That Didn't Make It

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 04:48:15 GMT

Turns out that the photographer who took those cool wallpapers that come with Windows Vista took more photos than Microsoft let on. Fortunately, some enterprise soul leaked all the pictures he took that weren't considered Vista-worthy and posted them up on Flickr. Some neat samples here in case you want to do a little DIY wallpapering.

(via Digg)

Posted by Oliver

Need Vista drivers, this is the site

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:00:26 GMT

I've installed Windows Vista on a six machines since last August and haven't had much of a driver issue, but that's not to say there arent' any. Especially with homemade desktop systems where you're using different brands of video, sound and networking cards than you'd normally find in a system straight from the manufacturer.

The best course when you're looking for a rare driver is to make sure your driver exists BEFORE you start installing Vista. Kinda nasty if you run out of driver juice in the middle of an installation. To help with that, check out the driver list on this site: RadarSync. Has a great list of third-party drivers that goes way above and beyond what Microsoft has listed on their site. Worth checking if you're thinking of upgrading.

via Slashdot

Posted by Oliver

Do Graffiti Online

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 23:46:58 GMT

This is fun--something to do tomorrow during hump day. The site is called Drawball, and it boils down to a large drawing space, a few drawing tools that combine to form a huge graffiti-style collage from all sorts of users. It's a little crowded now that it got posted on Digg so you may have to wait for your turn a bit, but it's worth it. They've also got a Hall of Fame that has some truly fine images in case you don't feel like dooding. Oh and make sure that you've got the Flash plug-in installed on your browser. Check it out.

Via Digg

Posted by Oliver

PCs Get New Energy Star Ratings

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 22:48:03 GMT

It's not exactly the same as choosing between a Hummer and a Prius, but choosing energy efficient PCs can make a difference in your contribution to global warming, and even save you a few bucks. For the first time in 10 years, the folks responsible for setting efficiency status will revise the Energy Star ratings for personal computers. The new standards will be measured according to a PC's power supply efficiency, and its use of energy while idle.

Chances are energy efficiency is not your first consideration when you walk into a computer retail store. Yet, government agencies are required to use energy efficient systems and corporations can earn tax breaks for using them. The Energy Star program is a joint project of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. The more energy consuming systems and servers that site idel in an office, for instance, the higher the cost of feeding them with electricity.

The new standards are the result of an increasing number of efficiency in PC hardware over the years that have made some systems far cheaper to run than others. Energy Star officials say the new ratings were delayed until it could establish a standard against which to measure PCs and laptops.

In addition to basic energy consumption these days, there are other considerations for even the single computer home. How much energy do you waste by running that aquarium when your system is idle? Do you leave your system on all day and night, or do you switch it on and off when it's idle? Be sure to leave your answers to these questions below.

Posted by Barbara.

World’s Oldest Newspaper Now Online Only

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 22:29:01 GMT

Old journalists never die, the saying goes, they just get de-pressed. Post-och Inrikes Tidningar, the world's oldest newspaper, has adopted the common wisdom and is now totally an online publication. The Swedish publication founded in 1645 by Queen Kristina made many transitions over the years. It has survived from the age of town crier, and couriers to hot type, cold type . Now, there will be no more printed copies. According to the World Association of Newspapers, the paper publishes primarily government legal advertising today and had a print circulation around 1,500. Journalists have become

Newspapers are increasingly concerned about the future of the printed page. A Pew Research poll last year found that only 34 percent of Americans get their newspaper from a printed publication. Another six percent read a newspaper online. The greatest concern for newspaper publishers is that younger readers are trending towards getting their news online, not in print. Most US newspapers now have a Web edition, and there are rumblings that some big city newspapers in the US are destined for online publication only in the near future.

Posted by Barbara.

Wikipedia: To Pay or Not to Pay

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 18:50:27 GMT

To pay or not to pay: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous bloviation,
Or to take arms against a sea of bloggeers,
And by opposing purify ourselves?

Deep in the cauldrons of the Wikipedia brew that is salted, pureed and tasted thousands of times a day,a single ingredient has stood out over the years.

Freedom.

Freedom means anyone is free to add and edit over the Wiki pot. Freedom also means that contributors are free of financial, if not loyalty obligations.

Now, the very thought that the cooks at one end of the kitchen would hire a professional chef has set off some stomach ulcers at the Tampa Bay offices of the upstart GNU project. To Wikipedians, the idea that Microsoft would pay a blogger to maintain its entries was more blasphemous than politicians taking aim at their opponent's Wikipedia entries.

A Wikipedia executive compares the idea of allowing professionally written paid entries into Wikipedia to allowing people to litter city streets because cities have cleanup crews available. Comparing professional writing to littering demonstrates some measure of how Wikipedia values its content.

Posted by Barbara

My Space Cleans Up

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 19:04:05 GMT

The mosh pit around the MySpace Generation is about to get a little more sanitized. The fast-growing social network for rock-star wannabes is cleaning up its image by moving out an accused spammer, and moving in some law enforcement alerts.

In between bulletins announcing concert dates for the local Flying Spaghetti Monsters, teens (and the performing artists who treasure them) will find their local Amber alerts prominently displayed. The Amber Alerts that are currently broadcast on other media — including highway signs — will alert MySpace members to missing youngsters.

Meanwhile, MySpace lawyers have been dispatched to evict an operation run by one of the world’s reputed major spammers that spoofed the identities of MySpace members to send special “bulletins” to other “friends.” In a lawsuit last week in a Los Angeles federal court, MySpace wants the spammer eternally banned from its membership, and seeks punitive and actual damages.

This all comes on the heels of a parental advisory option announced a week ago. There is reportedly, no truth to the rumor that MySpace is now considering uniforms for its members.

Posted by Barbara.

Intel Adds Solaris to Operating System Stable

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 19:11:33 GMT

The last four numbers of the main Microsoft switchboard in Redmond are “8088,” an homage to the Intel processor that created an industry for MS-DOS and Windows. An Intel processor without a Microsoft operating system would be — as one wag put it —“like a fish without a bicycle.”

Yet in the past two years, Intel has expanded its net into the Apple world, creating a Macintosh that can run Windows. Now, MSNBC reports Sun Microsystems will join the Intel tide for a new series of servers. At the same time, Intel will offer its support for Sun’s Solaris operating system. Sun had primarily used chips from Intel’s largest competitor, Advanced Micro Devices for its servers. Just a year ago, Intel introduced a new high performance processor that generates less heat, opening the door for Sun to employ the new technology.

In recent years, competitors like Hewlett-Packard, have moved on to Intel x86 processor, pushed by customer demand. The agreement with Sun represents a major milestone for the enterprise server manufacturer. It is also symbolic of the competitive nature of the chip world that continues to generate breathless advances year after year.

Who knows, AMD may now be working on a next-generation chip that runs Windows Vista, Solaris and OSX and powers a new generation of vehicles that eliminates the need for Middle Eastern oil.

Or is that too much to expect?

Posted by Barbara.

More Than News in "Storm" Virus

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 22:15:36 GMT

The folks who sit around creating ways to maliciously invade your computer are adding a new wrinkle to their distribution system. Instead of being invited to look at a resume, an “interesting” photo, or a special resume, the makers of Worms, spy ware, and things that make your computer go “thud” now bring you “the latest news.”

Some of the subject lines used to send the virus in an email are credible, such as “230 dead as storm batters Europe." Others may invoke curiosity, such as “U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has kicked German Chancellor Angela Merkel.” Experts say, this is the first time spammers have used current news headlines in subject lines as a means to reach users. The virus began in Europe, and apparently entered the US market in just the past two days. No matter what the subject line, this so-called “Storm Virus” comes with one of four executable files that take control of your computer for Spam purposes, or it directs some of your personal information to another database.

Not all virus protection software has detected the virus as of yet, according to a PC Magazine story, but a large number have. Since the attachments are all executable files (ending in *.exe) users should remember that it is dangerous to open ANY file, not to mention an email attachment, ending in .exe. Then again, you could be the lucky winner of $50 million from the Nigerian treasury.

Posted by Barbara.

My Space Offers Parental Comfort Software

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:34:37 GMT

Anyone who has ever had kids knows that teenagers have always grown up too fast. Long before there was Homeland Security, there was the battleground of parental security. We do not want our children to see, hear, or access the world in adult terms.

In today’s world, MySpace is a scary back alley where dangerous strangers — not to mention the occasional musician or comedian — lurks under an IP Address. At the same time, so do the teenager's friends.

After several rounds of concern from parents, MySpace has developed a new weapon of questionable reliability to mark the boundaries between innocence and the Predator Down the Street. MySpace Zephyr will automatically notify parental or authority figures the age, MySpace ID and location entered by anyone who uses a particular computer. The user who is reported by Zephyr will also be notified of the report. The authority figure can not access the reported MySpace account.

Teenagers living with authority figures who are still looking for the “Start” menu on their computer will probably not worry. Nor will teenagers who have friends who live in a household with computer illiterate authority figures.

Even MySpace officials say the best use of the program is to generate a discussion between parent and child about trust.

Posted by Barbara.

A Tree Grows in a Computer Box

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 18:36:12 GMT

It’s not easy being green — especially when selling stuff that could put green, glowing hair on the chests of our great-great-great grandchildren.

But Michael Dell is doing the best he can.

The CEO of Dell Computers continues to put together an environmental pedigree for both his company and the industry as a whole. Dell made history last year by accepting its own cast-off computers and printers through its retailers for recycling — without charge. It also accepts electronics from other manufacturers for a $10 recycling fee.

Now, Dell himself has put out a challenge to other manufacturers. At a CES press conference , he asked other manufacturers to reclaim their customer’s wasted systems and consequently keep them out of landfills.

To underscore his mission to save the planet, Dell announced a program that would plant a tree for every system Dell sells. Since Dell is one of the biggest players in the industry, that’s enough trees to re-forest the entire city of Round Rock, Texas where Dell makes its home. Or enough trees to keep Dell in owner’s manuals for centuries to come.

Posted by Barbara.

CES Quick Post #2

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:35:26 GMT

And we're still roaming CES--one of the most crowded trade shows I've been to in a long time. This presents a problem for blogging, BTW, because you can't get a steady WiFi signal in this place. It's even crowded on the RF spectrum. Yeah, and there are press rooms with hard wired PCs, but you might as well call them gladiator pits. They were giving away free lunches to the press folks at the LVCC yesterday--there was almost a riot. Fortunately, they ran out of lunches so fast that only two or three journalists got trampled.

Meanwhile, since I've posted on the two dorkiest things I've seen thus far, here's some info on CES coolness--there's way more than this, but it's a good place to start.

First, as promised, a closer look at the Flybook. First off, a few corrections: For one, this isn't an Asian-made notebook, it comes from an Italian company, called Holbe Dialogue Europe--accounts for the great looks. Second, it's got all the full-featured, Vista-capable specs I mentioned previously but it's more than just 3.5G-capable. 3.5G broadband wireless is probably as advanced as it gets on cellular data plans--so advanced that we don't have it in the US. Only the Europeans and Asians have it because they have their phone companies under control. Ours are running rampant--but I digress. So the Flybook has 3.5G wireless innards, which means it should be able to surf the Web at cable modem-type speeds anywhere in Europe. But Holbe has gone one step further and actually implemented the 3.5G feature as a phone--that's right the Flybook is the first full-size laptop and cell phone combination. All you need to do is insert your GPRS-capable SIM card and you're good to go. That's really cool. But they didn't stop there. It's also got a Bluetooth GPS antenna built-in. Yup, it's a full-scale GPS right in the notebook. So flip the lid over, turn it into a tablet and you can roam around city streets with the Flybook on your passenger seat handing out directions.

Bad news? Price is probably going to bite--no word on that at the show or off the Web site. But the thing is being sold in the US through Barneys--yeah, that department store where a button down shirt costs $900. I'll dig into pricing some more today and see if I'm just too pessimistic, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Next, due to its small size, the Flybook also has a small battery--and a lot of electronic extras to suck it dry, so don't expect battery life to be too good. There's a review from the New York Times on the box which goes into more detail. Enjoy.

Okay, next coolest thing: Novint's Falcon. This is going to change gaming once it's more refined. It'll be a shipping product this year with a small clique of compatible games, but until they mess with the form factor a little bit more it's not going to reach its full potential. Even in it's current state, however, it's a trippy thing to play with.

From the press kit:

Novint Falcon is the first controller that makes high-fidelity interactive three dimensional touch possible and practical for consumer computing applications. Being introduced initially as a PC game controller, the Falcon is, in essence, a small robot which lets users feel weight, shape, texture, dimension, dynamics and force effects when playing enabled games. Using the Falcon, players experience a full range of realistic touch sensations that allow them to control a game more naturally and intuitively. Instead of using mouse clicks and meters, players feel the weight of a basketball as they shoot it towards a hoop -- the momentum and impact as they swing a virtual golf club and strike a ball -- the recoil of a weapon -- and the characteristics of virtual objects and environments. The Novint Falcon is also the only consumer game controller that provides players with both three dimensional input and high-fidelity force feedback.

Obviously, the current form factor isn't going to let you feel the weight of a golf club--that's the part they need to work on. But the demo they put us through let us use the robot you see in the picture to push up against various textures--rubber, a corrugated surface and even ice. Each texture had a highly realistic feel to it--very cool. They then let us use the 'bot to control a baseball glove as it caught fly balls. You could feel the ball impact with the glove, and fly balls felt different from fast balls. Give this a couple of years and video games are going to get a whole new renaissance.

More CES later.

Posted by Oliver

CES Quick-Post #1

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 01:43:01 GMT

It's been a long day scouring the Sands Convention Center here at CES. I haven't even made it to the big Las Vegas conventions center. The Sands has loads of gadgets, but is also the main concentration of foreign electronic components -- think China, Russia and Taiwan. I'll post on the full day later, but here's a couple of starter items covering the extremes: most over-the-top useless and maybe the coolest thing I've seen today.

First, there's KZLIdea's LED Shower Head. Potentially the most useless thing today, though it is good for a giggle. The company builds shower heads with built-in LED lighting filters. So not only does your shower head glow in different colors, the water spraying out does, too. No word on costs because I just didn't care.

Second most useless thing, and this thing really startled me. It's from a company called TV2Art. The advert says it combines the power of art, light and music. You choose the music, the light and TV2Art supplies the art. But what it REALLY is goes like this: The music is your stereo or iPod--unconnected to anything. The light comes from your flat screen TV that can be playing anything as long as the sound is turned off. The "art" comes from a thin rubber overlay with little designs cut out that TV2Art wants you to stick on your TV screens. Turn the lights off in the room. Turn your music and TV on. Mute the TV. And whatever programming playing behind the rubber overlay comes out as a random light show through the cutouts on the overlay.

'Course you could get the same effect for $2.50 in posterboard and a pair of scissors. But the fairy godmother was friendly and that's really what we're all looking for.

Coolest thing is a super-cute little notebook from an Asian company, called Flybook. These things are pretty small as you can see from the photo. But they can run a full copy of Vista, they can turn into tablets, and they have 3.5G broadband wireless options built-in. Very sweet and they look good, too. I'll do a deeper post with a photo on those guys later.

Posted by Oliver

An Apple Bug a Day?

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 22:19:47 GMT

Some folks may have noticed over the years that Apple users tend to be smug every time another security hole is discovered in Microsoft Windows. Relax, PC users, today is not only the start of the business year, it is the first day of the “month of Apple bugs!”

Yes, the people that brought you the month of kernel bugs last November now bring you the "month of Apple bugs." The month begins with a true flaw within an OS-X application, Apple’s own QuickTime. Well, actually, the security hole is present in both Apple and Windows versions of the movie player. According to Secunia and the French Security Incidence Response Team, (FrSIRT) the flaw can be “highly critical” in systems running either OS-X or Windows. The problem is focused within the Real Time Streaming Protocol, a way of showing movies on a PC or Macintosh. Experts have already developed a means for diminishing the impact of the flaw.

Apple says it welcomes the project that helps the company detect security flaws. A spokesman says, however, it would be more helpful if all the security flaws the project plans to uncover in the next month were announced at once.

Apple apparently has never been involved in politics.

Posted by Barbara.

Pina Coladas Do Not a Resume Make

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 18:54:27 GMT

Happy New Year…

Perhaps you’ve joined the stampede and made a resolution to be more private this year. It has come to your attention that posting information like you “like Pina Coladas. and getting caught in the rain, spend all of my money, on the best cocaine,” might not be the best cover for your curriculum vitae.

That seems to be the consensus of the Internet generation that has been displaying its privacy online since they moved from diapers to training pants. Some have discovered that putting intimate information on a popular site like “Facebook” could actually keep them from getting a job. In fact, a survey of employers by the University of Dayton reports that 42 percent of employers surveyed would consider information reported on a social networking site as a factor in employment decisions.

Most employers say they consider the information on a public Web site to be in the public domain. There are no protections against third party use of the information.

Imagine what the world would be like if sites like Facebook and My Space had been around a few generations ago when our current political leadership was experiencing youthful indiscretions. Oh, to be a fly on the wall, or a member of the audio-visual “YouTube” club at Yale University in the 70’s…

Posted by Barbara.

Spam Gate Declares Victory and Goes Home

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 18:19:15 GMT

When 2006 ends and the numbers “2007” shine brightly on Times Square Sunday night, a relic of an earlier age of computing will fall to its timely death as well. The Open Relay Database, a symbol of “auld acquaintances” in a saner era of spam, is scheduled to die a natural death.

The database grew up at a time when relay systems — which allow mail from anywhere to be sent anywhere — could be traced. For a while, it was a major force in blocking large amounts of spam. Alas, spammers no longer play nicely and have developed other ways of getting around the system, such as Trojan or “zombie” computers that create their own chameleonic identities.

The number of relay servers has declined over the years, and very few still exist. The fight against spam has gone into a different direction, yet there is still no successful approach. Recent studies show spam is now at record numbers.

There is no word if an obituary notice for the Open Relay Database will be sent to all email users.

Posted by Barbara.

Phishing for Suckers

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 20:19:42 GMT

Give a hacker a security hole , and he’ll annoy you for a day. Teach a hacker how to phish and he’ll annoy you for a lifetime. – apologies to Chinese proverbs.

The phishers of personal information on the Internet have had a record year in 2006. “Phishing” scams earned more than $2 billion in the year now fading, and chances are that number will shoot even higher in 2007, according to an Israeli Internet security expert.

The income is good enough, says Gadi Evron, that Internet scams are becoming a full-time scam for those learning the tools of the trade. Scamming the typical Internet user is not just for Nigeria anymore. Once upon a time the scams were typically delivered only on weekends, indicating that the threats were created as a means of raising extra income for those who couldn’t find other part-time occupations. Now, Evron says, the scams are aimed at a work-a-day world of nine to 5 pm , Monday through Friday.

The growth industry has become almost a game between software companies like Microsoft which has shipped a record 97 security hole fixes this year, and the forces of Internet evil which creates its own counterbalance to the fixes. In 2005, Microsoft shipped only 37 security whole fixes.

Perhaps someday software companies will find it cheaper to create some sort of entitlement or job creation program for unemployed scammers. Or they could ship a case of rotten fish to every Internet user who clicks directly on a link found in an email and consequently enters personal information.

Posted by Barbara.

Internet Offers Soldier Front Row Seat to Birth

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 21:38:05 GMT

There was a time when the best the Department of Defense could offer a soldier suffering holiday family separation anxiety in a war zone was a few minutes with Bob Hope. Thanks to modern technology, now soldiers thousands of miles from their pregnant spouses can actually participate in a child’s birth.

At least that was the experience of U.S. Air Force Major Kevin Seeley, stationed in Kuwait. Seeley was able to practice lessons learned in La Maze class from an Internet café as he coached his wife in a San Diego hospital through eight hours of labor.

Major Seeley was surrounded by a cheering crowd as his new son, Treston took his first breath. While he was unable to actually hold the baby, he was able to watch the delivery and closely observe the child’s birth moment.

The officer apparently is not sure when he can actually hold his son for the first time. Technology has not advanced to that point.

Neither has man’s need to fight wars.

Posted by Barbara.

Happy Holiday Hacking

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 19:57:22 GMT

Before I take off for the holidays, I ran across this news story: Seems Santa's Web site got hacked. A man from Incline Village, NV (yeah, that's a real name) who legally changed his name to Santa Claus, just petitioned the consumer advocacy group Stopbadware.org for help in figuring out why his Web site had been flagged by Google's Web filters as a bad place to go. They did a little investigating for the Nevadan St. Nick and found out that the site had been infected by some illicit code that was downloading malware that took advantage of an old Internet Explorer hack. That's why Google had flagged it. Fortunately, Stopbadware soon rectified the situation and Santa's site is back up and running.

Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, don't it?

Posted by Oliver

Singapore Teen "Guilty" of Internet Access Theft

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 18:27:45 GMT

By now, we all have heard the stories of boys raising Cain in Singapore. Spitting and littering and other evidence of anti-social behavior in public can cause government executioners raise a cane that is unfashionable in the rest of the world. The laws far, far East of the Pecos can be harsh indeed.

Meet Garyl Tan Jia Luo, a 17-year-old boy, a resident of this famed city-state. Tan faces up to three years in jail and a maximum fine of more than $6,000 for his crime. He is the first person in Singapore ever charged with the crime of stealing a Wireless Internet signal.

The boy pleaded guilty this week in a Singapore to the charges that he connected to the wireless access point of his neighbor. His lawyer says he is “deeply remorseful” for the theft. Court sources say the boy may agree to enter National Service in lieu of being sent to prison.

In the US, prosecution of theft of Internet is rare, and usually depends on the motivation of the theft. Attorneys say laws remain murky and users should protect themselves against intruders who might compromise personal information.

Posted by Barbara.

You Tube Suspect Turns Himself In

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 21:28:26 GMT

While You Tube has often been accused of being an outlaw force – especially by copyright lawyers – the popular video site has become a police tool that resulted in the capture of a murder suspect.

Police in Hamilton, Ontario ran a clip from the surveillance cameras at a recent hip hop concert on You Tube. Local media participated in making the video public and the alleged killer found himself in front of 30,000 You Tube visitors. Fearing that his 15 minutes of fame might expose his hiding place, the suspect turned himself in to police.

The incident is reportedly the first time ever that You Tube, now a Google subsidiary, has become a successful tool in a police apprehension.

You Tube also recently provided evidence for a suspected police misbehavior in Los Angeles. Next time you commit a crime, you might want to avoid the cameras.

Posted by Barbara.

What a Tangled Web We Weave . . .when we first practice to conceive

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 18:20:13 GMT

If there is any doubt that women are catching up to Internet equality, we can look no further than the iVillage fertility planner and mymonthlycycles.com. In between looking online for a better job, a better partner, and a more fashionable turkey baster, women can now find an online roadmap for the mommy track.

More and more Web sites are aimed at the young professional woman hoping to create a database of facts and figures that lead to the “right moment” of fertility, or to pinpoint the time of month when poor cursive handwriting is the least of her problems. Signing up with mymonthlycycles.com generates a series of very personal emails that document warnings of cycle events such as periods and surrounding symptoms. The alerts also track measurements like basal body temperature, and keeps track of breast self-exams.

The iVillage fertility planner tracks other measurements of fertility and is aimed at young women who refuse to rely on the old wives tales to find their prime moment of fertility. The tool tracks things like ovulation with software that is separate from the online database. Online, women can consult each other for support and confidence boosts.

Still, women are on their own in acquiring the other ingredients for getting pregnant.

Posted by Barbara.

Linking to a Crime Scene?

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 22:36:12 GMT

If I left a note on my door for example, a delivery service driver, that the “key to my neighbor’s house is under his doormat,” would that make me complicit should a burglar read the note?

An Australian appeals court in a technology case says “yes.”

The case actually involved a link from a Web site MP3s4free.net, which linked to a site that gave users access to copyrighted MP3 music. The original site was found guilty of violating Australian copyright law. Stephen Cooper, the owner of the site linking to the MP3s, says he is not at fault for simply pointing users in the right direction. The court found that Cooper’s site was created only for the purpose of directing visitors to the copyright material. Cooper made money on his site by selling advertising.

A similar scheme by a Dutch site several years ago, received the same judgment from a Dutch Court.

Posted by Barbara.

If You Could See Our Page...

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 23:02:16 GMT

Imagine being a new user to the complexity of the World Wide Web. Now imagine being blind.

The sightless experience of the blind user has Web page developers looking at their product in a whole new way – especially now that the lawyers have gotten involved. A current lawsuit is aimed at big box retailer Target Inc. and a practice that blind users say puts them at a disadvantage.

Blind users hear text on every page, using special software that “reads” the page. What they do not hear, often, are graphics that announce navigation or simply create a pretty page for the sighted. The “alt text” tag in HTML is designed to overcome this situation. Government pages and most large retailers already make ample use of these “alt text” labels that describe what can’t be clearly seen.

Target says its pages already make ample use of alt text, but argues that it’s Web site does not have to meet the same Disability Act standards of its brick and mortar store. The case is still in discovery stages and will be argued in a Northern California US District Court. The National Federation for the Blind argues that Target should adhere to the same standards.

Let’s hope that all retailers will eventually see a Web page the way a blind person does.

Posted by Barbara.

Fickle Finger of Input Keeps Laptops Human Size

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 17:45:30 GMT

It was just 25 years ago that some of us lugged our 25-pound Osborne1 “portable computers” from overhead storage compartment to the seat table in front of us. We would stare at that five-inch, black & white screen and marvel at the technicians at the little computer company in Silicon Valley that made it all possible.

Today, the power of that early Osborne is available from a keychain video game that you get the local dollar store. “Portable Computers” are now laptops, and handheld digital assistants weigh just ounces. The next generation of portable computers is likely to become an anorexic, Dick Tracy-style handheld with a one-inch screen. The only technology that is keeping powerful computers from getting any smaller is the fickle finger of input.

Even the skinniest fashion model has trouble letting her fingers do the walking on today’s generation of handheld keyboards. Chances are that human fingers will not be shrunk. As a result, another form of input must be generated for handheld devices to grow smaller.

Already there are some contenders.

Technologies include virtual keyboards that project in normal size on a surface. Other technologies employ voice recognition including an ambitious NASA project that uses electrodes to identify thought waves from the brain to the larynx.

Somewhere, Adam Osborne is looking fondly at his five-inch screen.

Posted by Barbara.

15 Best Time Wasters on the Web

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:56:02 GMT

Hey, it's the holidays; work is gearing down anyway; so why not waste a few moments out there in the cubic jungle? Loads of stuff to do on the Web besides shop for gifts for all the cousins. And in case you don't know where to start looking, PC World just put together this list of the Top 15 Time Wasters on The Web.

All kinds of fun stuff here. From Fark.com and YouTube.com all the way to Pogo.com and What Would Tyler Durden Do? (Think Fight Club.)

Posted by Oliver

Al the World Wide Web is a Stage

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:05:01 GMT

When the World Wide Web was in its infancy, its dark side consisted of a few ambitious ex-boyfriends who discovered that their photography skills could find some appreciation if their subjects were young actresses who had become famous. For a while, it seemed like the original audience for the World Wide Web was just a pack of hard-breathing older men.

Fortunately, the World Wide Web has expanded into a major depository of history, sports, geography and information on the road to grandmother’s house. Still, a bit of tradition seems to remain. The combination of cell phone cameras and the World Wide Web has created a new generation of would-be photojournalists that feed on the notion that all the world is a stage, and everyone should have at least a bit part.

The recent Michael Richards episode — the product of instant video and the World Wide Web — is a glaring example.

Richards’ meltdown is inexcusable. There are, however, other artists who perform things on a given night, that we hope will never see the light of day. As a stand-up comedian myself, I understand that.

Those of us who perform in public may be concerned about how far we can go within a select practice audience without fearing our temporary madness will quickly be transmitted around the world. It’ no wonder comedy club audiences are warned to turn off their cell phones. Here’s hoping my mother never figures out Photoshop. She still has nude pictures she took when I was six weeks old.

Posted by Barbara.

Some Mac Attention

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 22:35:18 GMT

I'm not a Mac user, and yes, those dingbat commercials bug me. But I've got plenty of friends who've succumbed to a Mac attack, and these often ding me for giving short shrift to the Orchard in this space. Fortunately, while I'm definitely Mac lite, there are plenty of writing geeks who aren't at MacWorld.

And those guys just pubbed their annual Editors' Choice Awards for 2006's crop of Mac products, peripherals and software apps. That includes everything from the 24-inch Core 2 Duo iMac to YouTube. Lots of mini-reviews and accolades, too. Read, enjoy and for Pete's sake, kill that damn commercial.

Posted by Oliver

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Online Christmas Tree

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 20:59:40 GMT

Apparently, the White House is not the only place that gets its Christmas tree imported.

While many folks have accepted online shopping for presents this time of year, there is a new round of early adapters who are buying their Christmas trees online from vendors in native evergreen climes.

The National Christmas Tree Associations says only about a half-million of the 33 million Christmas trees sold last year were picked out online. That number is expected to grow significantly this year. Trees are sold from traditional mountain farms that reserve some of the best for shipping across country. Shipping in a special box via FedEx or UPS can add another $20 to $50 to the price of the tree, but for some, that’s no problem.

Folks who have moved to the Sun Belt from snowy climates — people used to a certain kind of tree — are the primary candidates for the online Christmas tree catalogues.

Perhaps those of us who still live in colder climates will soon be able to import the warm sands and palm trees of a tropical beach.

Posted by Barbara.

The Internet Is Down: Do You Know Where Your Children Are?

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 17:21:57 GMT

It sounds like one of those ridiculous government surveys that find that obesity can happen in children raised on a diet of fast food. Fortunately, your tax dollars did not pay for a recent survey that found more than twice the teens use instant messages than adults.

Of course this survey doesn’t include some members of Congress.

The survey conducted by the Associated Press and AOL say 48 percent of teenagers use Instant Messages as their primary communications tool. Less than half of that number of adults communicates primarily by IM. Interestingly, even teenagers say they would not use an IM to deliver serious messages — with the possible exception of Brittany Spears.

Parents may also be interest in knowing that teens tend to multitask — running as many as 15 IMs at the same time. Of course the result of that much conversation might ignite a serious need to have a telephone call, or at least eat some fast food.

Posted by Barbara

Corporate You Tube?

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 20:15:00 GMT

The Chief Executive of the company that provides a majority of the “tubes” in the Internet forecasts a bright future for tubes that are now showing off garage bands and pirated content.

John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems predicts that the YouTube model will soon become a means for corporations to distribute training and teaching content worldwide. He says the current generation of YouTube is a product of “our kids.” Once business has its go at the little engine that Google just bought, “we will change business models on this.”

There are obvious business models already considering YouTube as an instrument of distribution. Telemedicine is at the leading edge, he says. YouTube can bring health information to remote areas that do not have ready access to health care information.

Of course after the corporate world takes over YouTube, someone will have to find a new outlet for garage bands and comedians.

Posted by Barbara

Review: CD Swapping Service via Email

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 21:30:32 GMT

Digital music is definitely the geek's way to listen. But if you're careful about staying on the right side of the laws protecting us from those vicious, evil, dangerous and society-crushing music pirates (because I've never done that before. Nope. Not me; ever. REALLY!), then you've probably stuck mainly to digitizing CDs you purchased yourself. Good move for those who like a peaceful existence, but it does give rise to one thing: Loads of CDs that you don't need any longer.

Fortunately, there's something you can do with these CDs now: Trade 'em for other CDs and keep ripping. Ars Technica just did a review of a new service called Lala.com. Instead of going to all the trouble of selling your CDs second hand, Lala lets you trade your CDs for other CDs from other folks in a similar situation. Lala charges $1.75 for the transaction but lets you put up a wish list of CDs you're looking for as well as a trade list of CDs you're willing to trade. Users hook up via email and the rest is history.

Nice way to maximize your music budget.

Posted by Oliver

How private is your email?

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:44:18 GMT

Can you feel “Big Brother” putting another hand on your shoulder?

Just how private is your email?

Apparently not very private – especially at work.

A pair of government decisions attempt to position government tentacles on email. A ruling by a federal court says the government must get a search warrant to review email stored with online providers such as Hotmail. Government lawyers had argued that once a user had read an email, and stored it on a database – as in the case of Hotmail, there was no expectation of privacy. A read, stored email was compared to a postcard lying openly on a desktop.

Meanwhile, another set of federal rules that go into effect today forbids employers from destroying any stored email of its employees. The rules are said to protect litigants who might require access to stored emails in the discovery process.

It has become apparent that the old rule about never sending an email “you don’t want the boss to see” applies more than ever.

That is why I have so much great respect for the compassionate, wonderful leaders of our federal government…

Did I mention how wonderful it is to work at MSN?

Posted by Barbara

Internet Learning Troubles Parents

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 22:11:17 GMT

It’s the end of “sweep month” on broadcast television.

It’s about time. The “Internets” apparently are getting into a lot of trouble this month, especially among the young and restless.

A new University of Southern California (a school not far from Hollywood) poll says one in five parents fear their children are spending too much time online. Many of these are probably the same folks who fear their children are spending too much time in front of the high definition, plasma babysitter.

Of course, there is a lot more graphic knowledge available on the Internet. Earlier this fall, a government site backed by the CIA reportedly had information on how to make a nuclear bomb. More recently, YouTube is frightening adults who fear their children will learn how to pick a lock.

Fortunately, there is enough sex and violence available online to distract most youngsters from those career paths.

As a public service, however, we at Technology/Filter would like to remind parents there are parental controls available from most Internet providers. There are also family activities such as reading, walking, and chewing gum available to those who want to spend more time away from the Internet.

Posted by Barbara

AMD Quad FX Aims to Regain Some High-Performance Market Share

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 21:17:57 GMT

Intel has been putting boot prints on AMD's behind since the introduction of the Core 2 Duo. Everyone says it's the best all around dual core CPU on the market. AMD cries quietly in the corner. But that doesn't last long, since AMD can't afford that. So if you can't win in the dual core space, go for the quad-core space.

Enter the AMD Quad FX. Technically a quad-core, but really two dual-core CPUs working concert on a specially designed motherboard. The guys at AnandTech have just taken an early look at this approach and how it stacks up against Intel's current stuff. Enjoy.