Just Blame It On Terrorism
Congress is attempting to pass a bill that would require ISPs to retain all internet records permanently. They go on to mention that the records could not be discarded until at least a year of the customers account being terminated. Essentially, everything you do online will be tracked (which it already is to an extent) but now retained for, oh let’s say…Anyone. err I mean, the police/government to access. Here’s the kicker, they’re saying this bill is necessary to curb the child pornography problems in the US. So you’re telling me that in today’s current society, if the police need to check someone’s online records to see if they are a pedophile, that AOL or SBC would just politely decline? Yes, that would be a great way to boost the company’s public persona.
Micro…hard?
I just read an article saying Microsoft wanted people to test their new beta version of Internet Explorer 7 which gave a direct link to their site. Great, I’ve wanted the chance to check out the new browser but I just haven’t had the opportunity. Once I got the exe downloaded and double clicked on it, it started to install some updates. After a couple of minutes, I got an error message saying that I needed to restart and that a shortcut to a web page would be put on my desktop to troubleshoot. Ok, I need to take a step back. You’re telling me they knew there was problems with the installation, and instead of fixing the problem, they give me a shortcut and tell me to figure it out?? I’m suppose to be beta testing the functionality of the browser and the new great feature-set that is suppose to rival my iron-clad Firefox. All I can say is “Classic Microsoft”. I had high hopes that they were turning over a new leaf (one that didn’t suck) and they give me this.
Opera 9 Beta Review
Opera has released a new beta to their recently “freed” browser. If you haven’t used Opera since they have stopped charging and putting ads all over , they have done some really great things (hey Microsoft, if Opera can get back in the game, why not you??). A couple of the features that I liked in 8.5 was the trash can that let you re-open a web page if you accidentally closed it (c’mon, you know you’ve done it before). Also, do you get up and visit the same set of pages every morning to get your news, sports updates, tech news? Opera offers a sessions function that will allow you to save a set of pages to a “session” and then open all of them at once. Very nice little feature to have.
Tivo Bundles Service With Blockbuster Online
Netflix: 4.2 million customers and 1 lawsuit :: Blockbuster Online: 1 million customers and 1 HUGE possible advantage. Rumor has it that TiVo is going to bundle a one year commitment to Blockbuster Online for around $13-$15 with their normal packages. I first saw this posted on Engadget. This story is interesting to me since I worked for BB for 2 years. I enjoyed my co-workers and most of the customers, but I was extremely disappointed with the way the company was run and how they treated their customers. Frankly, John Antiaco (the worst CEO since, well, Skilling/Lay come to mind) can choke on his multi-million dollar bonus he received when the company was transitioning and losing money left and right. That aside, I am glad to see Blockbuster making a good move and hopefully putting a huge dent in the Netflix armor. Maybe this will wake up the Reed Hastings and he will realize that the patent lawsuit (whole ‘nother post) he is bringing against BB is just another ridiculous lawsuit. So, to all the companies bringing up lawsuits just because the men in ties are bored, please STOP stifling competition and innovation so you can line your pockets…please?
My Favorite Web 2.0 Sites
http://orangoo.com/spell – Orangoo Spell Check is an online spell checker. Big deal right? Well, it can spell check in 28 different languages. The site also gives you the code to put the spell checker on your own site (not really sure how to use this, any ideas please let me know).
http://www.30daytags.com – 30 Day Tags is a site that utilizes “tags” to organize data for what they say is easier searching. Sites are then ranked not by algorithms but by user feedback. The content is refreshed every thirty days (hence…well, I think you can figure it out). On a side note, I do believe that tags are a web 2.0 fad that will be obsolete very soon, but the site is a very good idea.
http://keepvid.com – Found a video that you want on your MySpace account? KeepVid.com will allow you to download video from Google video, YouTube, Break.com, iFilm, PutFile, and a bunch of others. Now that video is here to stay, keep this site in mind.
Good Move ecnarF. You Continue to Prove Everyone Right!
In case you were wondering what ecnarF is, well, just read the article so I don’t have to say anything. Hi, Christine Lagarde? “This should come as no surprise to you;)”, but Apple doesn’t need you. HELLO! They have the rest of the world. So, now that you have pissed off all the iPod users in your country, I am going to try and salvage this post to let people know what is going on. Basically, the French paliment is considering passing a bill that would make it illegal for Apple to continue using its DRM software. This forces people who download music and movies via the popular iTunes software, to only use these downloads on the Apple iPod. Do I completely agree with Apple forcing the issue? Not really, but if you look at it from their perspective, they have to keep the music industry happy to provide users with the cheap .99 downloads. So congratulations France on alienating every iPod user in your country!
Microsoft Gives Pirates Another Black Eye
Microsoft is attempting to put an end to the growing amount of piracy with its popular operating system. In fall of 2004, Microsoft started to test what it called its “Genuine Validation” program. With the soon to be released Windows Vista, you will be forced to run the validation software before you can use all the new graphical features of the OS (known as Aero). Some of these include the glassy look, translucent windows, and live program switching. I would like to congratulate Windows for attempting to put an end to this issue. The biggest problem is, the people who pirate the operating system, turn off all the extra crap anyway. Theses are the tech saavy people who want security not pretty. Aren’t you just doing them a favor Microsoft?…hmmm. But, provided that Microsoft ever decides to release the much anticipated OS, I’ll be waiting and ready…and probably waiting a little bit more.
Chinese Unicom Releases the Redberry
The Chinese Unicom have released a mobile service called the Redberry. Smart move…yes. Ethical…do you expect anything more from the piracy capital of the world? Or maybe Redberry and Blueberry don’t sound as similar as I think… The Chinese are hoping to gain market ground by offering an incredibly cheap price (”Less than $1USD a month for 5 megabytes of data on its new pricing plan versus up to $64USD for an unlimited data plan” -Yahoo News). I commend the Chinese for flexing their technological muscle, but here’s an idea…try flexing your creative muscle just a little bit, ok? If this service is released and is nearly flawless from the get-go, well, lets just say RIM will be seing red in it’s future.
Apple vs… Apple?
Apple Corps is suing Apple Computers over an old lawsuit, which stated that Apple Computers were to stay away from the music game. If you were not aware, Apple Corps is the multimedia corporation founded by the Beatles in 1968. The first settlement took place in 1991 and was basically settled out of court with Apple saying they were a computer company and had no intention of moving into the music service and politely handing over many millions of dollars. Wow, first fo all can I say, who cares! Second, as stated by tuaw.com, there are tons of company names that sound similar, but they seem to find ways not to sue each other. Now please note that this thing has been settled more than once in the past, so can’t we all just get along Apple Corps? …Not to continue beating a dead horse, but is the music industry still living in 1963 when cassestte tapes were changing the way they did business? So all together now, SCREW off RIAA, DMCA, and as much as it hurts…The Beatles.
Microsoft Delays Windows Vista…Again
So Microsoft has delayed their new operating system again. The date has now been moved to sometime around mid-January. I’m not surprised of the delay but I’m not going to sit here and bash windows like everyone else. The way I look at it is, they’ve already waited 5 years to release a new os, why not wait one or two more months to get everything right? Now, this means that the pressure is on them to release a bug-free operating system that addresses all of the security issues that have haunted them in the past. Only time will tell what comes next for Microsoft, but until then I will hope for the best.
