Category: geek of technology

  • The web is a distraction engine

    Author Nicholas Carr: The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires Brains | Wired Magazine. This article has forced me to think hard about a couple things: 1) that I should reconsider my notification settings for Twitter and other social media.  As the article says, most of those live, up-to-the-minute updates aren’t actually all that interesting; most of…

  • adobe fights fire with…teddy bears

    Adobe launched a new ad campaign today along with a response to Steve Jobs’ declaration that Flash will never be supported on iPhones, iPads, and iPods last week.  (In fact, they’ve added a whole new Freedom of Choice section on Adobe.com.)  There are a few amusing (and somewhat contradictory) statements in Adobe’s open letter (like this one: “If…

  • facebook privacy: why the new policy kind of sucks

    don’t get me wrong: facebook is — despite everything…or, at least, despite most things — an incredibly useful app and is — right this very second — changing the web.  where, once upon a time, we found links that were designed to be useful to us based on a highly complex algorithm, facebook wants to show us…

  • signs that Adobe Flash is on the way out

    i’ll spare the discussion of how Flash is dead because Steve Jobs says it is. while i agree with him on all of his points, i’m not really into the all bow to the great and mighty Steve camp, even while the rest of the industry bows to the great and mighty Steve.  (i may…

  • web site security

    i was listening to the replay of the teleconference hosted by WPSecurityLock (with special guests from GoDaddy) in light of the recent wave of website hacks that affected hundreds of sites not once, but twice.  it was actually when they were talking to a customer (one who had been hit twice) that a concern was…

  • OpenOffice.org no longer the FREE alternative to Microsoft Office

    it’s finally happened. months after Oracle’s acquisition of  Sun Microsystems — developers of the free Java platform, among other things — the formerly free alternative to Microsoft’s Office suite is now the cheap alternative to Microsoft’s Office suite. anyone who knew about the acquisition wouldn’t be too surprised by this, however it’s still sad to see.   OpenOffice was…

  • Microsoft wants to remember it for you wholesale

    An intelligent personalized agent (e.g., guardian angel) monitors and evaluates a user’s environment to assist in decision-making processes on behalf of the user. The guardian angel can… take automated action on behalf of the user for various purposes (e.g., to compensate for memory loss, to remind a user to take medicine, to assist in social…

  • Caution: Beware of Fireballs

    are there any regular readers out there?  anyone who might know about the whole upstart blogger and twitter/genesis rocket debacle?  a few?  well, good.  if not, check the archives for a refresher. the short story is that over the last year i followed, became entangled with, and then uncovered all sorts of unsavory things about…

  • Scam Alert: “Testers needed to test the Apple iPad” – testitandkeepit.com

    i got an email last night sent from a client we did a website for about a year ago inviting me to become a tester for an Apple iPad.  actually, i got two emails — one sent to each of my main addresses.  The subject line of the email was “Testers needed to test the Apple…

  • In-Place Windows 7 RC downgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium

    a few months ago, i posted a link to a hack that revealed how to do an in-place “upgrade” (although it’s really a downgrade) from Windows 7 RC-1 to a lesser version of Windows 7.  as the nag alerts saying i need to backup my stuff and reinstall have started cropping up, i decided to…