Digital Zen

Time Warner’s board approves plans to spin off AOL

Bill — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:06:46 +0000

Time Warner’s board approves plans to spin off AOL - washingtonpost.com In a statement, Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes said, “We believe AOL will then have a better opportunity to achieve its full potential as a leading independent Internet company.” Maybe: if they manage to do something about software that’s intrusive, clunky, tempramental, and about [...]

Speed Up Firefox And Fix Glitches With An Easy Clean Install

Bill — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:40:39 +0000

The latest issue of Scott’s Newsletter (and if you don’t read it, why don’t you?) has an interesting segment about cleaning up Firefox profiles and solving some problems that seem recently to have been plaguing the Foxmarks extension. Foxmarks, if you’re not already using it, stores your bookmarks online so that they can be automatically transferred [...]

Windows 7 will allow users to deep-six Internet Explorer

Bill — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:40:13 +0000

The Associated Press: Microsoft to let PC users turn off IE Web browser Windows 7, the successor to the much-maligned Vista, isn’t expected to reach consumers until next year, but more than a million people are already testing early versions. A pair of bloggers tinkering with settings stumbled upon one they hadn’t seen before: The ability [...]

Zoho Writer 2.0 Hits The Streets

Bill — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:48:35 +0000

Zoho, a seriously undermentioned contender in the cloud computing arena, has just completed a serious revamping of their online word processor, Zoho Writer. I’m liking it — seriously liking it. Check it out and let me know what you think. While you’re at it, you can check out some of their other online offerings. These folks [...]

A Comment For Our Buddies Over At The Linux Shoppe

Bill — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:46:38 +0000

The Linux kiddies have the same blind spot as Google: they seem unable to make the jump from geek to user. Linux will never be the lead OS (any version) until the everyday user is led by the hand through every single step, as with most Windows applications. The only reason Google gets away with [...]

Having a cow over Gmail just misses the point

Bill — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:59:48 +0000

Having a cow over Gmail just misses the point | Coop’s Corner - CNET News Truth be told, the walls of Jericho did not crumble, though the outage nonetheless triggered the (now thoroughly predictable) hand-wringing and bloviating from the usual cast of characters. Amusing to watch, but after this incident, there’s also the wider context to [...]

A BlackBerry Secure Enough For Obama?

Bill — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:00:17 +0000

President Barack Obama may be getting a souped-up, super secure version of the BlackBerry called the Sectera Edge, recent speculation suggests. The NSA-certified device could allow Obama to fulfill his wish of staying connected, some suspect, while also addressing the numerous security concerns that come with the territory. [Sectera Edge: A BlackBerry Secure Enough For [...]

Consummate Professional, Yes; Hero, No

Bill — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:03:07 +0000

Hero: a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength; “RAF pilots were the heroes of the Battle of Britain’; (classical mythology) a being of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits; often the offspring of a mortal and a god. Chesley Sullenberger is neither of those. He is a highly-trained professional’s professional, who [...]

Tesla Motors to supply batteries, components for electric Smart Car

Bill — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:42:27 +0000

Tesla will supply about 1,000 powertrains for the Smart ForTwo EV, Elon Musk, the company’s chairman and chief executive, said at a conference held in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The electric Smart cars with Tesla components are due to arrive in late 2009 or early 2010. If the matchup is [...]

Image Metrics’ New Animation Technology Sucks

Bill — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 01:09:11 +0000

………………..Emily…………………

For BlackBerry, Obama’s Devotion Is Priceless

Bill — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:29:42 +0000

This week, Michael Phelps signed a deal worth more than $1 million to advertise Mazda in China. Jerry Seinfeld earned a reported $10 million to appear in Microsoft’s recent television campaign. But the person who may be the biggest celebrity pitchman in the world is not earning a penny for his work. For BlackBerry, Obama’s [...]

Quote of the Week (I Think):

Bill — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:27:56 +0000

“People are too depressed to be sexually active. This is very unhealthy as a nation. Americans can do without cars and such but they cannot do without sex. With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind. It’s time for congress to rejuvenate the sexual [...]

If Books Could Kill - Utne Reader

Bill — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:41:27 +0000

“It requires neither imagination nor acumen to predict that our current conglomerating, lowest-common-denominator, demographically targeted publishing industry will soon achieve its streamlined apotheosis—a single, worldwide, Exxon Mobil–owned literary empire offering up seven books twice per year. …” If Books Could Kill

See how much you’ve failed to repress about the year

Bill — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:01:14 +0000

“Despite all the carping, there’s a lot that is good to say about 2008. The presidential election was great. Britney seems to be improving. George W. Bush is leaving. Eventually. That collider in Switzerland didn’t create a universe-gobbling black hole. So far. Before we move on, one last blast from the past. See how much you’ve [...]

Who The Hell Writes Wikipedia, Anyway?

Bill — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:34:24 +0000

“The bulk of Wikipedia is written by 1400 obsessed freaks who do little else but contribute to the site, says a post racing up the Hacker News charts. The post pulls this number from an essay Aaron Swartz wrote more than two years ago, based on some comments by Jimmy Wales. “Wikipedia’s growth has exploded [...]

How do you get to be in the “international consortium of timekeepers”?

Bill — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 02:41:53 +0000

How do you get to be in the “international consortium of timekeepers”? - By Brian Palmer - Slate Magazine On New Year’s Eve at 6:59:59 p.m. ET, an “international consortium of timekeepers” [added] one second to the world’s clock. How do you get to be an official timekeeper?

Digital hoaxes, fakes and child porn

Bill — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:01:16 +0000

A simple hillside patio at his small Santa Cruz home offers famed digital detective Hany Farid something that the hallowed halls of Dartmouth College cannot: a place to think. With just a laptop and cup of coffee, Farid writes the computer code that reveals tiny flaws hidden in phony photos. His suite of software tools — [...]

And You Call This a BlackBerry?

Bill — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:31:47 +0000

State of the Art - No Keyboard? And You Call This a BlackBerry? - NYTimes.com Here’s a great example of the intelligence that drives R.I.M.: The phones all have simple, memorable, logical names instead of incomprehensible model numbers. There’s the BlackBerry Pearl (with a translucent trackball). The BlackBerry Flip (with a folding design). The BlackBerry Bold [...]

Must Obama Say Goodbye to His BlackBerry?

Bill — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:11:54 +0000

Say Goodbye to BlackBerry? If Obama Has to, Yes He Can - NYTimes.com For years, like legions of other professionals, Mr. Obama has been all but addicted to his BlackBerry. The device has rarely been far from his side — on most days, it was fastened to his belt — to provide a singular conduit to [...]

Major Host of Internet Spam is Shut Down

Bill — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:59:14 +0000

Immediately after McColo was unplugged, security companies charted a precipitous drop in spam volumes worldwide. E-mail security firm IronPort said spam levels fell by roughly 66 percent as of Tuesday evening. Host of Internet Spam Groups Is Cut Off - washingtonpost.com

How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

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VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

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chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

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