December 2007
42 posts
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Australian government announces mandatory internet... →
Ah yes, the dear children…so much freedom-robbing government censorship can be made to sound like a blessing when it’s done in the interest of the poor darlings. If it goes into effect without a fuss in Australia, you can bet that they will pander to “family values” again when they try it here.
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A Sad Milestone: AOL To Discontinue Netscape... →
I remember downloading Netscape 2.0 back in 1995. If I remember correctly, it took about three hours. Ah, the good old days…
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Believer bitter over 'prosperity' preachings →
Looks like I quoted Jerome a day early…
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3 down, 1 to go: Warner Music Group drops DRM →
Once Sony finally completes the quartet, I just might think about starting to pay for major label music again. Of course, I’m not particularly interested in listening to any that I don’t already have, so they will also have to step up the quality to get me back.
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“Avoid, as you would the plague, a clergyman who is also a man of business.”
– Jerome (347-420)
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2007: The Year The Music Industry Broke →
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A beginner's guide to BitTorrent →
I get lots of questions about how to set up BitTorrent (usually after I tell people not to use LimeWire). This guide covers all the basics, except one thing: if you have a router on your network, you may have to do a little bit of network configuration. Start here by selecting the make and model of your router, and then select the bittorrent client that you are using (I recommend uTorrent for...
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Email in the 18th century →
Before the days of the electric telegraph, several optical telegraph lines were constructed. Towers were placed every 5 to 20 kilometers apart. An operator in each tower would look through a telescope at the previous station and copy its signal using semaphores, which would then be copied by the next tower. Messages could be transmitted at over 1000 kilometers per hour, which was a huge...
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Virtual Cable nav system superimposes route... →
Actually, I think this may be a bit too good. This thing looks so convincing that people would probably obey the line instead of the “One Way” signs if they were to conflict.
Germs Can Travel the World by "Hitchhiking" on... →
RIAA writes its own "news" for local TV stations →
My favorite part: “Watch for compilation CDs that could only exist in the dreams of a music fan.” Because, you know, the real record label wouldn’t release anything like that…
Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale →
Deep red-orange with a nice thick creamy head. Piney aroma, slight sweet malt flavor that quickly fades to a hoppy punch. Bitter aftertaste is very slight. Overall, the flavor is well-balenced. The 7.2% alcohol is apparent once it starts to get warm. This is one of my favorites, but I actually prefer Stone’s IPAs.
Lifehacker's 2007 Guide to Free Software and... →
There’s some really good stuff on this list. I probably use about 25-30% of them myself (e.g. Launchy, uTorrent, del.icio.us, WinDirStat, VLC, AVG).
Microsoft in Denial: Google Threat is Classic... →
This article gives a great summary of the concept of disruptive technologies and the way they can topple even the most entrenched incumbents.
Access Linux Files from Windows with Linux Reader →
Why can’t Windows just include a freaking ext3 driver?
The Disappearing Car Door! →
Top 50 Opensource Applications For Design And... →
You Are Self-Employed →
Even if you don’t think so…
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Spiceworks →
Spiceworks is a free IT management package. It will discover and inventory the devices on your network, track your helpdesk calls, alert you to problem conditions (Full drives, low ink, etc.), and much more. The backend only runs on Windows (boo), but the frontend is a Ruby on Rails application, and the program will discover Mac, Unix, and Linux machines. The product is ad-supported, but I have...
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Dutch government threatens to sideline Microsoft →
The Dutch government is looking to require the use of the Open Document Format (ODF) for all of their documents. This would allow anyone to read and edit them without requiring expensive pieces of proprietary software. Needless to say, Microsoft isn’t so hot on the idea. As more governments around the world wise up to this issue, I’m a bit afraid that the U.S. will lag behind just...
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Blue Moon Full Moon Winter Ale →
Move along, nothing to see here. Dark amber color, almost no aroma. Tastes OK if compared to garden variety macroswill, and as such is rather drinkable. The finish is a bit metallic. In a word, meh.
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Are You Proud of Your Code? →
This guy gets it. Full discussion available here.
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Commodore 64 still loved after all these years →
I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the amount of coverage, even in the mainstream, of the 25th anniversary of the Commodore 64. That little beige computer was the best money my folks ever spent (at least for me). If only I could have convinced them to keep it after we bought our first Windows PC a decade later. Oh well…at least an emulator doesn’t need its own desk.
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Linux Tip: Open Folders Quickly Using Forward... →
Apparently, in GNOME, you can bring up an auto-completing prompt that opens a file browser window by simply typing the ‘/’ key at the desktop. How did I not know this? Thanks again, Lifehacker!
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AT&T Does Nothing, Convinces Reporter It Has Now... →
I guess they fooled me…
The Programmer Dress Code →
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Comments!
OK, I finally got around to it…I added comments to the blog, so now you can yell at me when I waste your time with stupid crap. The comments are powered by Disqus. I’m guessing you’ll need an account there to post. I’m leaving anonymous posts turned on for the time being. Google Analytics tells me that I actually have a few regular readers that aren’t my local...
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Samuel Adams Honey Porter →
This is another from the Brewmaster’s Collection. It pours dark brown, not quite black. Mild roasty aroma, good malty flavor with a nice bitter finish. This is a nice drinkable beer, but not as interesting as the Black Lager.
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Samuel Adams Black Lager →
Got this Schwarzbier in the Brewmaster’s Collection 12-pack. It’s tasty! Pours black with a frothy head (deep red if held up to the light). Aroma is of roasty malty chocolate and even a bit of licorice. Chocolate and coffee malts dominate the flavor. Not much hops, but that’s OK. This is one I will get again if I can find it.
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Microsoft feeling heat from Linux in budget flash... →
Budget subnotebooks like the Asus Eee PC and the OLPC were originally designed to run Linux, as it is much easier to strip it down to run on limited hardware. Now that they are starting to catch on, Microsoft is scrambling to get XP on those devices. What happens after Microsoft ends sales for XP next year is unclear. I would seem that when they developed Vista, they were assuming that the...
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AT&T flings cellphone network wide open →
This is what’s great about actual competition (something that we can’t get on landlines and cable, sadly). Just one week ago, Verizon did the unthinkable by opening up their network in the same way, and now it’s AT&T’s turn. With these two out of the way, I would expect to hear similar announcements from all the other major carriers within months, if not weeks. None...
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Top 10 Free Windows File Wranglers →
WinDirStat comes in super handy when you just can’t figure out where that last 10GB of free space went (oh yeah, I forgot about those movies I downloaded last month…).
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Aristo-crunk? →
White-boy crunk rappers in big English wigs…wow.
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'Kill switch' dropped from Vista →
Microsoft will be dropping its controversial shutdown feature from Vista with the SP1 release after many users reported that their legal copies were rendered unusable. The kill switch will be replaced with shareware-like nag screens. Oh joy…
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Michigan leaders suggest regional presidential... →
This plan would split up the country into six regions, each drawing at random for the order in which to hold their primaries. This is a great idea…what’s so special about Iowa and New Hampshire, anyway?
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The 20 Best iPod Utilities →
Oh, how I love my iPod…oh, how I hate iTunes…
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English Pronunciation Search with Instant Sound →
Just search for an English word and howjsay.com will immediately play it for you, including British and American versions where the two differ.
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In Japan Half The Top Selling Books Are Written On... →
I wonder how many books you could write with your thumbs before your wrists give out…
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Uncovered: Evidence that Mac OS X could run... →
As if Microsoft needed one more reason for users to ditch Vista…