How to bypass the phone menus

Some of these posts are more for me than anyone else. If you ever just wanted to speak to a human being at one of these companies, here's how.

Makes me want a new camera...

Nikhil Kothari is an architect on Microsoft's Web Platform and Tools team but he also likes photography. He has a bunch of beautiful pictures on his website. He shot them using a Canon Digital Rebel digital camera with a Quantaray lens which seems to work pretty darn great. I think I need one on these when I can get one for about $200.

Iiiiiiii think this is funny

http://www.iiiiiiii.com/

Bare Naked Ladies on 128MB USB Drive

The Bare Naked Ladies (a music group, if you are getting confused) have released their latest album on a reusable 128MB USB Drive in MP3 format for $30. It contains 29 songs (about 2 CDs worth) and at least one video. People are debating it's value. Some love the idea and some don't want compressed music. *shrug* Either way on SlashDot reader had a really cool thought:


Bring your own container!(Score:4, Interesting)
by Leomania (137289) on Tuesday November 22, @06:24PM (#14096139) (http://slashdot.org/)
Hey, while travelling in France I was taken to a small wine shop that sold wine in bulk; bring your container, they'd fill it up from what looked like a gas hose. Wouldn't it be nice to do the same with music and your flash drive? As long as there will be physical buildings where people go to buy their music, it would be great to avoid all the shipping of the physical media.Plus I'm sure the music publishers would pass the savings on to us consumers.

How cool would that be!?!? Wait... why not just download them to your container! What? That's already being done? Oh. Ok. Maybe it's not such a great new idea.

Texas sues Sony BMG for spyware violations

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a civil lawsuit on Monday against Sony BMG Music Entertainment for hiding "spyware" software on its compact discs in a bid to thwart music copying.

Being Smart for Dummies

If can't be smart, you can at least sound smart. Here's your first lesson:

Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur. - Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.

New Gene Increases Lifespan 6 Times

A genetic experiment to unlock the secrets of the ageing process has created organisms that live six times their usual lifespan, raising hopes that it might be possible to slow ageing in humans. It does this by making the organism think it's starving, mimicking the effect of extreme low calorie diets. Believing, as I do, that man was created to live forever and that sin and death are inherited, this makes perfect sense to me.

Hover Chair!

Now we are one step closer to my dream chair. Announcing (drum roll) the HOVER CHAIR!
I'll add a built in laptop, restroom facilities, and the ability to drive it to the store (maybe the gym?) and it will be perfect!

Cool Business Card

Robert Scoble, Microsoft Guru, has a cool new business card.

Gene turn-off makes meek mice fearless

The implications and applications are... um... fear inspiring? Soldiers of the future fearless? Read all about it.

One More Reason to Watch Sports on TV

So, I can pay for gas to get there, parking, lots of money for small hard torture devic... err... seats, so that I can be out in the heat, surrounded by loud drunks, eating $6 hot dogs and drinking $8 beer, to watch some little blobs chasing around a white dot way off in the distance? Sure, it all sounds like fun, until...

Nobody Loves Sony (Part Deux)

Alegations have surfaced that in Sony's rush to secure their copyrights, they have trampled on the copyrights of others. Some of the code in Sony's now infamous root kit was apprently illegally lifted from GPL and LGPL sourcecode written by other programmers. Tsk Tsk Tsk. Shame on you Sony. You've been a baaaaad widdle boy and now nobody loves you. In fact, as I predicted, the techie community is out to get you. You made the wrong guys mad. *evil grin*

Essential Technologies

Here's my list of technolgies every nerd... err... computer savy user should have at least tried:

1. Blogs
2. News Agregators/Syndication (RSS/Atom)
3. Wiki
4. AJAX

Blogs

You are reading a blog. It probably only took me 5 minutes to write this post and the whole world can read it instantly or rather, the 2 people in the whole world who actually do read it. Lots of people out there have interests like yours or know stuff you want to know and they just might be blogging it. Google even has a special search just for blogs. Create your own blog here.

News Agregators and Syndication

You get email. You might read newsgroups postings. Now, get updates on all your favorite websites, blogs, netflix account, newspapers and more. It's all syndicated and when it changes you will be notified in your news agregator. Download and install RSS Bandit. Now right click the link on the right side of this page that says "site feed." Now select "Subscribe in default RSS reader." You've just subscribed to my blog. When I make another post it will show up in RSS Bandit like an email does.

Wiki

A Wiki is a web site that anyone can edit and therefor contribute to. The best known example is Wikipedia, a online encylopedia created by people like you and me. Hey, we're all experts in something, right? I used the same software to create a Wiki for Peachtree Corners, Georgia. Everyone can contribute and the changes appear instantly.

AJAX

AJAX is the technology that makes Google Maps and the Google Personalized Home so slick. It lets the web page communicate with the server without posting the whole web page. Only the little chunks that matter get sent and recieved. Makes web pages more like Windows forms. Microsoft is working on an "enhanced version" called Atlas, but it seems half baked to me. Compare http://www.start.com to the Google personalized home page.

Who Remembers the Atari 800... Laptop?

This guy is my new hero. I loved my Atari 800. It cost me almost $1,000 but it had COLOR! Oooooh! Well now there is a new and improved Atrai 800 Laptop (home-made). You go man!

Forced Upgrade to 64-bit

From a Microsoft Pres Release:

Microsoft® Exchange Server “12,” Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, Windows Server™ “Longhorn” Small Business Server, and Microsoft’s infrastructure solution for midsize businesses, code-named “Centro,” will be exclusively 64-bit and optimized for x64 hardware.

So, if you want these programs I you'll have to buy a 64-bit machine. Start saving your pennies now!

15 Year Old Groom and 37 Year Old Bride

How can you be legally married to a 15 year old without consent? How can you then be arrested for child molesting? Here's a legal problem that will definately make some case history. Not to mention a lot of jokes about the South. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Read all about it.

Nerd Alert: VPN Security Hole Could Allow DOS Attack

From a CNet News.com article:

Finnish researchers at the University of Oulu announced Monday that they have found a vulnerability in the Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol, or ISAKMP. The technology is used in IPsec virtual private network and firewall products from a range of networking companies, including giants Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks.

Since IPSec seems to be the majority of the VPNs, this is a big deal. Denial of Service Attacks (DOS) are a favorite of the naughty nerd community.

Why Apple Computers are Better Than PCs

I never understood why people liked their Macs so much. I've asked and asked but never got a satisfying answer. FINALLY there is a video that has show me the light! Now I know why Macs are better!

Python Bursts Eating Aligator in Florida

From National Geographic comes a story and picture of a python which successfully ate a 6 foot aligator and then burst. Bizzare.

Sony Roots Out the Root Kits

Sony announced they are discontinuing the production of CDs with their rootkit DRM software. I've been following this story since Mark Russinovich first posted it on his blog. Those guys at Sony sure seem like a bunch of weasels to me. If you don't know what I'm talking about allow me to summarize:

1. Sony might have installed secret hidden software on your computer without your knowledge.
2. Mark busted them on it.
3. Sony downplayed it.
4. Some mailcious software was discovered which takes advantage of the huge securty holes opened by Sony's software.
5. Sony doesn't know what all the fuss is about but agree to release an uninstall progam.
6. Turns out it's eaiser to file a tax return than get Sony to cough up access to the uninstall program.
7. Mark busts them on trying to make it hard for users to uninstall.

Read all about it at Mark's blog. His first post about it is a good place to start. Let the lawsuits commence!

Some are now predicting the death of Sony. I'm predicting that some programmer out there will be mad enough to write some really malicious code directed specifically at Sony. Sony? Don't piss off the geeks of the world.

Most viri are written by young programmers power tripping on what they can do with their new skills. I've been developing software since the 1970's and let me tell you, if someone like Mark Russinovich, with his uber skills, wrote a virus (not that he would) that targeted my servers for destruction, I'd be scared. Really. I just bet that somewhere out the in the big wide world... Sony's pissed off the wrong programmer. Sony? Are you listening? A little heartfelt contrision might be a good thing for your survival.

As for me... I won't be that programmer. I came to the same conclusion a long time ago, that former Apple exec Mike Evangelist recently has. "From this day forward I will never spend a another dime on content that I can’t use the way I please." So, no root kits for me. No DRM. Nada. I found that paying for music resulted in nothing but hassle with the purchased product. It's like you could either buy a car that you can only drive during the day and then only on the small two lane roads or get one for free that can go anywhere, anytime. Those that pay are getting a inferior product. A product that companies have spent lots of time and money to purposly cripple for their customers. You know what? I have enough music. I don't need any more. I can live a long happy life without music Nazis.

UPDATE: Sony's Hot Water Gets Hotter

Patent on Consumer Reviews?

Want to have visitors to your website provide consumer reviews? You might have to ask permission from Amazon first. These patents make me sick.

I've Discovered PC Weenies

Ok, I'm probably the last geek on the planet to find this cartoon. I know. I'm behind. In a desperate hope that someone (you) are more behind than me I'm publishing a link to their site. It's the best one I've found.

Fun Things to Do With Your Old Thinkpad

Wanna know how to turn that old thinkpad into a hair dryer? or maybe a juicer? Rich Anderson is an instructor at Dunwoody College and has a warped sense of humor, which is why I think he's funny.

Yoda Never Looked so Cute!

You gotta see the world's cutest dog costume.

That's a Lot of Lube!

Ok. I'm just driving by... I swear! on my way to gnarf down some Krystal's Chilli Pups, when I came across this sight. I mean... come on! A huge lubricant delivery truck visiting the Love Shack? That's a lot of lube! I mean really. Alot. A whole whole lot. Why do they need so much lube? Hmmm... but wait... the truck adveritises their website as http://www.halcoautomotive.com... automotive lubricants? Now that's just wrong! Let me check the web site. Well, well, well... their website proclaims "We're Proud Of What We Do And It Shows!" Well, I know what a certain someone was doing at 3:45 on a work day afternoon today! I guess they're proud of it... and it shows. ;-)

We Feel Your Pain

Somebody has created a
funny video about ways to share your user experience with the developers of your software. As a developer, I'm really glad we haven't implemented this technolugee *ouch!* technoligy *ouch!* technology. *whew!*