Every weekday, our guide to the Web takes care of business, tackling tech topics that really matter to everybody. From topic definitions to topical rants, Dan Gray\’s pieces inform as much as they entertain.
I don’t have a problem with cheap laptops. But I do have a problem with mangled marketing messages. An email from from Tiger Direct just landed in my inbox with the title, “Hurry… $399 Laptop w/ Vista…They Won’t Last”… uhhh, okay… is that a promise or a threat? Now I don’t want to imply that […]
Want to one up everyone on your block (or hanger)? You need your own private jet … and not just any old plane. You need something brand spanking new! Eclipse is putting one of their very first Eclipse 500 private jets up for auction on eBay this Monday, July 30th. The manufacturer’s listed invoice […]
Given the choice, would a common thief break into a store if they knew their deed would be captured on not just one, not just two, not just three, but on seventeen surveillance cameras? Two rather uncommon thieves chose to break into The Spy Supply Store in North Richland Hills, Texas, ignoring the signs that […]
“The rich are unlike you and I,” my mom used to say. “They buy luxury cars that actually get good gas mileage.” Well, okay… my mom never said it exactly like that. But there’s a certain thrift in old money families that determines what a dollar is worth and how many miles need to wrung […]
There’s something to be said for editorial integrity. And something else to be said about Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that unscrupulously insert their own advertisements into the Web pages that you view.
Hate spyware? Hate adware? Here’s something new to hate…
ISPs and advertisers that don’t know their bounds.
Thankfully, the University of Washington Security and Privacy […]
The lights go out at pre-paid cell phone provider Amp’d Mobile on Tuesday … on the heels of the demise of SunRocket last week. Coincidence? The beginning of the end of the telcom startups? Or just part of an inevitable phase of consolidation? Amp’d, like Sunrocket, had to burn a considerable amount of marketing […]
Ford makes just what might be the coolest minivan in the entire world. It has innovative exterior styling, a roomy interior (for up to seven people - five of normal proportions and two chimps), handles well, and gets great gas mileage for a minivan. Overall, it’s a minivan for people that need a minivan but […]
The NY Times reports that Vienna, VA-based SunRocket has halted operations. SunRocket’s customer base is (or make that was) second only to Vonage among pure Internet VoIP providers. Let the great VoIP consolidation event of 2007 commence. Which VoIP providers stand to benefit most from the demise of the company best known for its $199 […]
What’s up with all of these web advertisements for sleep deprivation? Although it might not keep you awake at night, Sleep-deprivation.com promises articles on sleep derivation causes, effects, and dangers, along with a dictionary of terms and community forums. I must admit, I was quickly intrigued, as I battle with insomnia from time-to-time …
Alas, […]
What do you use to edit Adobe Acrobat PDF files? Over the years, the Acrobat PDF format has become ubiquitous. Unfortunately, editing PDF files is not as clear-cut as it could be … to fully edit a PDF file, you need the right tool(s). But where do you find them? I’ve always used Adobe Illustrator […]
The Opinion-Central Pop Up Ad is about as annoying as it gets… it uses a nasty little piece of code that spawns windows with remarkable frequency (and not in a good way). An immediate investigation is in order, my friends… tracking down the origins of (and clamping down on) the Opinion-Central Pop Up is of […]
What American needs right now is a domestically-built pickup truck that gets fifty miles per gallon (MPG). That’s just crazy talk you say? Fifty mpg in a pickup! But not nearly as insane as the fact that we had a 45 MPG pickup truck built right here in the United States … twenty-five years […]
I’ve been a Simpsons fan since the days when this quirky little cartoon first appeared on the Tracey Ulman show. When I reported on 7-11’s plans to convert a number of franchise stores into faux Kwik E Marts to support the launch of The Simpsons Movie this summer, I went flat out silly.
What dyed […]