In addition to picking up the Winternals Software team in July, Microsoft has apparently acquired an interesting piece of intellectual property — the Sysinternals “Blue Screen of Death” screensaver.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2055211,00.asp
I bought a new HP Pavilion computer just over six weeks ago. I have spent many hours online searching for fixes to problems, and over six hours on the phone with tech support. Today I got to the top level of support, and basically got a “read the fine print” reminder from them. They obvious don’t put this stuff in their marketing literature.
Unfortunately, the program that won’t run is one of the Windows recovery programs, SFC (system file check). SFC was my last hope for getting this POS PC to work right. The severe problems started after running Windows Update; it blue screened and required starting in Safe Mode and doing a System Restore. I got it mostly working, but when problems started again later, System Restore would no longer work. Because SFC won’t work without a CD, I can’t use Windows’ built in repair utility. What are we left with? Support has to give the one answer we all know and fear (and apparently, the only answer they know): “Format the disc and reinstall the OS.”
Remember that what broke the system beyond repair was doing a standard Windows Update. This makes it is very likely that if I follow their instructions, I will once again have a broken PC.
Okay, what’s the big deal about doing a reinstall? And why did it take six weeks to get to this point? That’s how long I’ve been moving programs from my old system, reconfiguring, updating, etc. Now I get to lose all that work because tech support can only say, (everyone this time): “Format the disc and reinstall the OS.” Of course, before I do it I’ll have to move everything back to the old PC with the hope that most of the data doesn’t get lost.
This isn’t really just an HP computer warning. It really applies to any PC where you don’t get the Widows disc, which unfortunately is most. Just a reminder that even though you think your PC should work with standard programs, your computer’s manufacturer may not feel the same way.
Days of hell moving things over, settings scattered everywhere. New versions to download. Upgrades to perform after installing. Incompatibilites. And I haven’t even started moving the hardware.
And I get to learn all about licenses for downloaded music and why it won’t play on the new machine. I love DRM.
All these years, and nobody ever told me that I was just making a slip knot. You can learn how to tie your shoes, too, at Ian’s Shoelace Site.
Do your shoelaces always come undone? Do your shoelace bows sit vertically instead of across the shoe? If so, you’re probably tying a “Slip Knot”, and one simple change to your technique will result in a balanced knot that sits straight and stays secure.
Shoelace knots are usually tied in two stages: A Starting Knot followed by a Finishing Bow. Each of these stages “twists” the shoelaces slightly, so it’s important that the two stages be tied in opposite directions in order to cancel out each other’s twists.
This balances the knot both visually (the bow sits straight) and functionally (the knot stays tied) and is the right way to tie shoelaces.
Wrong way results in a “Slip Knot” If both stages are tied in the same direction, those twists compound each other, resulting in an un-balanced knot that sits crooked and comes undone more easily. This is the wrong way to tie shoelaces, and is commonly known as a “Slip Knot”.
There are pictures to help, including 17 ways to tie your laces.
A survey found that only 48% of Americans know the Earth revolves around the Sun. Wow. Links are few, but a couple are Herald-Leader and Boston Globe.
What Carlin said:
“Think about how stupid the average person is, then remember half of them are stupider than that!” — George Carlin
Scary.
Many people already do much of what is listed in this article but sometimes a reminder is helpful. Some is more applicable for business use, but Use a Great Title should be used by all.
The only one I don’t agree with is use plain text. There are too many times a picture might be included and it’s easier to separate sections (like a signature) with the aid of color.
Yeah, I know, strong words — but I plan on making them stick, at least for a while. So what’s the deal this time? Sony went way over the edge with their latest DRM (copy protected) CDs. Short story: they install hidden software on your PC that is susceptible to hackers, and hacks have already been done. Sony has “temporarily” stopped shipping the CDs, but haven’t taken them off the shelf. You have to email Sony to get a removal tool, but there are warnings that using it will damage your PC as well.
It’s not just me. Here’s the last paragraph from one of the many articles on this subject:
Don’t Buy Sony
Accidents happen, but this was clearly a considered action. My view is that any company that actively attacks or exposes its customers to attack should not be in business. This is the holiday buying season, and I agree with my friend Dan Gillmor: There is no better way to showcase your dissatisfaction with this behavior than by simply not buying Sony. Given that a large number of media companies appear to be considering similar behavior, this would remind these companies that messing with consumers in this way is something they should avoid like the plague.
As one article stated, this is the type of thing that will make companies create rules that will not allow their employees to play CDs at work. So if you want to listen to at work, use an mp3. But that’s what Sony is trying to stop.
There are a lot of articles out there about this, and I waited to let things settle a little. But reading the history can be interesting, too. A new addition: Microsoft decided this is spyware and will remove it with their next release of their monthly malicious software removal tool. And even the government told them to stop it. Consumers in California filed a class action lawsuit on Nov. 1 to stop Sony from distributing the CDs. It goes on…
Devaluing the Product Part II – Sony Music CDs Threaten PCs
Microsoft deals with Sony DRM ‘Rootkit’
Trojan Exploits Sony’s DRM Flaw
Sony Will Suspend Use Of Controversial CD Software
Bush Administration to Sony: It’s your intellectual property — it’s not your computer.
Sony Suspends ‘Rootkit’ DRM Technology
Sony’s DRM: It Just Keeps Getting Worse:
Someone in the Netherlands did a decompile on the XCP rootkit that has gotten most of the attention lately. It seems that parts of the rootkit use the LAME mp3 encoder, which is licensed under the Lesser GPL. That means by delivering only an executable (the rootkit) without source or crediting, XCP violates the GPL Violating the GPL puts Sony at massive legal risk for—wait for it—copyright infringement.
As an extra twist, removing the software yourself is also illegal because the Digital Millennium Copyright Act bans the “circumvention” of anticopying technology. I suppose that also makes it illegal for Microsoft to do it. What a mess.
Quick fun that shows you can’t believe what you see: www.patmedia.net/marklevinson/cool/cool_illusion.html
Haven’t had the time or inclination to post anything here for a while, but these two sites deserve a look because of the great artwork:
Nikon’s Small World Gallery has has the 2005 winners of it annual photomicrograph contest.
The Worth1000 contest Monster ModRen 3 (Frankenstein meets DaVinci) asks a simple question: If the renaissance took place in more recent times, and the models were famous movie monsters/aliens, what would the artwork have looked like?
If the girl gets stuck, just move her with your mouse! Link
Today I learned that google can be searched with a fill in the blank mode. The example they gave was: the parachute was invented by *
So I clicked it and learned that the parachute was invented by: da Vinci in 1515, Garnerin, French balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard in 1785, André Jacques Garnerin (1769-1823), and/or Coldplay.
Always trust internet facts.
The Blurbs shows how the advertising copy for a movie can be completely misleading. Well, I think most of us figured that out. Still, seeing the extremes they take it to is a bit more than expected.
They did a bunch on Fantastic Four. Here’s one of the shorter ones:
Here’s another on The Beat That My Heart Skipped:
Fun!
Paramedics will turn to a victim’s cell phone for clues to that person’s identity. You can make their job much easier with a simple idea that they are trying to get everyone to adopt: ICE.
ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. If you add an entry in the contacts list in your cell phone under ICE, with the name and phone no. of the person that the emergency services should call on your behalf, you can save them a lot of time and have your loved ones contacted quickly. It only takes a few moments of your time to do.
No, I didn’t do it yet, but verified it’s not a hoax.
I’ve always liked wordplay, and liked the sound of backronym. The rest of this is stolen from Wiwipedia.
Backronym
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A backronym or bacronym is a reverse acronym, that is, the words of the expanded term were chosen to fit the letters of the acronym. The word “backronym” is a portmanteau of back and acronym and was coined in 1983. There are both official (and generally serious), as well as unofficial (and often humorous) backronyms.
Some backronyms are back-formed from an existing acronym by creating a new expanded term for the initials when the original term becomes inaccurate. “DVD“, for example, was originally an acronym for “digital video disc”; when it was realised that a DVD could be used for non-video applications, the term “digital versatile disc” was invented (although it did not become official).
Other backronyms are back-formed from an existing word that was not previously an acronym. Generally these backronyms are apronyms, as the word used as the backronym is relevant to the expanded term it stands for. The relevance may be either serious or ironic. Most apronyms are examples of backronyms. Many jocular (and often also derogatory) apronyms are created as a form of wordplay.
Some backronyms are recursive acronyms.
Noticed this at BoingBoing, it eventually led to these great mammatus cloud pictures. I’ve never seen anything like them.
State Senate Bill 840, the California Health Insurance Reliability Act (CHIRA) passed in the State Senate by a vote of 24 to 14.
The bill would insure every Californian with comprehensive health benefits while preserving each consumer’s right to choose his or her own doctor.
Even if you’re covered now at work (think that will go on forever?) consider this: Half of the personal bankruptcies in this country are the result of medical expenses, and the majority of the people bankrupted for that reason had insurance at the time they became sick or injured.
Press release should soon be posted at Health Care for All — California website.
Always using sunscreen may actually contribute to far more cancer deaths than it prevents. In the last three months alone, four separate studies found vitamin D helped protect against lymphoma and cancers of the prostate, lung and, ironically, the skin. The strongest evidence is for colon cancer.
I wonder why we aren’t hearing anything about this one? Since it involves kids I would think this would be all over the news.
One of the “stars” in a early 60’s film promoting growth and funding for Florida’s college system is a pre-Doors Jim Morrison. The archived clip mercifully shows mostly the Morrison part, saving us from having to view the entire film to find him.
http://www.floridamemory.com/photographiccollection/videofilm2/
