Ron Schenone

Just when you thought that the problems for Dish Network were about to be over, Dish ends up paying $104 million to TiVo for violating their DVR patent. But does the story end there? Maybe not. According to an article over at ARS Technica the satellite company may still be in hot water. Seems that [...]

I was contacted by Noah Edwardsen of Symantec Corp., who has provided me with a free copy of Norton Internet Security 2009, to be given away to any reader of The Blade. This is a download copy, so a broadband connection is highly recommended. Mr. Edwardsen also stated that this would be a 3 license [...]

Many of us already know that using the Internet can be hazardous to the health of your computer. But over at Consumer Reports, they still are finding people making the same mistakes who should know better. There is something in our DNA that makes is curious about things, so when we are alerted to the [...]

In a recent news article, a survey completed by MSI indicates that Linux laptops are returned more than 4 times  as often compared to Window machines. The problem had been recognized by MSI early on, but they were reluctant to discuss the problem. MSI now states the following:
According to MSI’s U.S. sales director Andy Tung, [...]

If you were not already aware of it, Ubuntu has a Christian Edition of their popular Linux operating system. The Ubuntu CE edition as it is called, is a free download provided at the link at the end of this article. According to the FAQ, the Christian Edition includes the following software:
GnomeSword is a Bible [...]

Make sure your system is up to date and has the latest protections in place.

AVG anti-virus: 10/05/08
Avast: 10/04/08
Norton anti-virus: 10/01/08
McAfee anti-virus: 10/01/08
Lavasoft Ad-Aware: 10/02/08
Spybot Search and Destroy: 10/01/08
Microsoft Windows Defender: 10/01/08
Nod32: 10/03/08

Updates as of October 5.  2008 6:00am CDT.
Stay tuned this week for your chance to win a free copy of Norton Internet Security [...]

In what one could describe as something that a Hollywood writer would think up, a robber held up an armored car and used decoys he hired from Craigslist. The robber posted an advertisement on Craigslist advertising for $28.50 per hour construction workers who were to wear certain clothing, which included a yellow vest, respirator mask [...]

This morning I saw an advertisment on the TV for a company called My Computer Works. The ad stated that the company could fix your computer remotely. So I went to their web site and found the following:

Reduce the time you spend dealing with computer problems
Improve your computer’s performance
Secure your personal information from outside intruders
Eliminate [...]

Google has a patent pending to make social network sites profitable by opening up the sites to advertising.  It seems that Google is working on a system similar to page ranking in which to categorize social networks and their members by popularity and than apply their successful advertising model to the new scheme. Though Google [...]

According to citizen reporter, Johntw: “Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack.” Apple quickly squashed the story, claiming it to be untrue. Did citizen journalism just fail us? You bet it did.
This is the way the story started. A citizen journalist only known [...]

As we are all aware of, the recent bailout package was filled with ‘pork’ and one of the porkers was a tax credit provision for those buying an electric vehicle which includes the GM Volt. The Volt is a electric car that you just plug in at night to recharge. The charge will take you [...]

As our congress struggles with a bailout bill, some are now calling it a rescue bill, it is interesting to note that others around the country are seeking assistance as well. Which makes one wonder. How many of us will get bailed out? If I go down and buy something I can’t afford, I would [...]

Google has finally decided to upgrade their blog search and have added new features that rival Techmeme. Google has a clean blog listing which also includes the number of blog articles as well a listing time of the last blog post. But what makes Google Blog Search even better is the ability to locate older [...]

Over at The Register they are stating that Microsoft is going to extend the ability of consumers to downgrade to XP, another six months. They state that the ability to downgrade will be extended until July 31, 2009. But none of the OEM’s currently involved in the downgrade process have confirmed this rumor. But does [...]

Apple has settled a law suit in which consumers will be paid a cash settlement for failed power supply units which failed prematurely. Apple did not admit fault, but agreed to pay users who paid to have their AC adapters replaced. In addition Apple has setup a website in which to file claims for repayment.
On [...]

I was roaming around and saw a site which recommended a company called Zenni Optical to order your prescription glasses from. I took a look at the website and they offer a wide variety of different frames as well as glasses starting as low as $8.00. I am sure that most of us would opt [...]

The deadline for Google’s Project 10 to the 100th is fast approaching, and the the last submission date is October 20th, 2008. The project is about changing the world and making the most out of new ideas to help people. There is just one minor problem with the program. Your ideas that you submit does [...]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has stated that they are currently developing a new ‘Windows Cloud’ OS, which will be separate from Windows 7. Mr. Ballmer states that the new OS will make it easier for developers to write applications that will be used in future cloud computing, similar to what Google and others are offering. [...]

Microsoft is still struggling trying to beat Google at their search game, so if you can’t beat them, pay them. That seems to be the tactic that Microsoft is clinging onto. The mega giant software company is still in a drawn out battle, trying to gain market search in the Google dominated field. They have [...]

Once again the movie companies are out to stop copying of their DVD movies, this time suing RealNetworks. The studios claim that RealNetworks $30 software program, which allows the copying of movies, violates their rights to protect the movies. RealNetworks claims that their software does not infringe on the studios rights and that they have [...]