Computers, personal electronics and all other tech items
OK, so if I updated this blog constantly I might know whether my website is working or not. But since I don’t I have to trust that my website is online. After my experience hosting the site with VizaWeb, I don’t trust webhosts’ uptime guarantee anymore. So I’ve enlisted the services of SiteUpTime.com.
They monitor your site and e-mail you if it goes down. They have packages ranging from free to $10/month.
The Joy of Tech is a very funny online comic about technology. I just recently started reading it, but noticed this in their archive. Sadly, I think this won’t just be a joke someday!
I’ve long been a proponent of Mozilla Firefox. If you use the Internet, Firefox is the browser you should be using. (Check out Michael’s Guide to Spyware and Virus Prevention & Removal for more details).
Last week the new Firefox v2.0 was released. I haven’t had to much time to play with it, but it looks great. In celebration of this event, the Internet Explorer Team at Microsoft sent Mozilla a congratulatory cake. I don’t know what to make of this one. Was it a nice gesture, or does the black and white theme imply something else.
Well, either way, Firefox 2 seems to be kicking IE 7’s ass.
Some of you may know that my beloved 600 MHz iBook G3 died last week.
After a trip to see the Apple Genius and a determination that the logic board is dead, I decided to buy a new MacBook instead of paying to get it replaced.
This is my first blog post from my brand new dual core 2 GHz MacBook. (i got the white one, because I cant see paying more for some black paint.)
So far, I love it. I was nervous about getting an Intel Mac because most of my software will have to run using Roseta. After using Classic mode for years after upgrading to OS X I had a sour taste in my mouth when it comes to emulation. However, it has worked beautifully so far and it’s been seemless.
As usual, another great job by Apple.
I’ve long talked about the Michael’s Guide section of my site. It includes some instructions and tips on how to help you fix your own computer including an extensive section on viruses and spyware.
While I still believe that a lot of systems can be cleaned by end users, I’ve recently come upon a few systems that were so badly infected that there is no way that the average user could fix them short of reformatting the hard disk (which would result in data loss.)
If you feel you are in this situation, please contact me and I’d be glad to quote you a price on fixing your system. I’ll remove any spyware and viruses, install software to prevent future infections, update Windows with all current patches and updates and more. My prices are reasonable because I consider this a service to the computing community as a whole since infected computers on the internet hurt everyone.
You already know I’m a fan of Apple computers so it won’t come to surprise that I think their 30th anniversary is a cool thing. Despite many woes over the years the company is going stronger than ever. Surprisingly, it isn’t their computers that put them in the great shape they’re in today, but instead it was their iPod. Of course, I never leave home these days without my iPod so maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Read the article at CNN.com.
You already know I’m a fan of Apple computers so it won’t come to surprise that I think their 30th anniversary is a cool thing. Despite many woes over the years the company is going stronger than ever. Surprisingly, it isn’t their computers that put them in the great shape they’re in today, but instead it was their iPod. Of course, I never leave home these days without my iPod so maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Read the article at CNN.com.
If you haven’t been living in a cave for the past year or so you’ve probably heard of MySpace.com. Unfortunately, unless you are someone who uses it, the only way you’ve heard about it is probably through the media in the form of stories about how it is evil.
Just in case you aren’t familiar with it, MySpace is a website that allows you to create a profile and share it with the world. This profile is basically a mini-website which can include a photo gallery, personal facts, work and school information, a blog and more.
One of the things that has helped it grow in popularity is the fact thatit offers some useful networking features. You can link to a network of friends. This network allows links to your friends’ pages to be displayed on your homepage and it also allows you to broadcast alerts to all of your friends to keep them up to date on your life. Your friends are also able to leave comments on your homepage.
MySpace was originally created for the purpose of sharing and exposing new independent music groups and artists. However, the general public took a liking to it and it’s now one of the most visited sites on the web. While a lot of children use the site, a lot of adults do as well. Personally I have no real use for the site since I run and maintain my own website. However, if I were someone who did not know how to create my own site without using a tool such as MySpace, then I would most definately use it. Anything that allows people to easily express themselves online is a good thing, in my opinion.
Here’s where the rant begins… Like I said earlier, MySpace gets a bad rap in the media constantly. It’s blamed for people publishing too much personal information on it. It’s blamed for criminals using it to find victims. It’s blamed for kids posting threatening or other inappropriate messages. Are you seeing a pattern here? The website and it’s owners are blamed for everything that people do on it. In other words, the site gives people a forum and people use it in improper and negative ways so naturally it’s the website’s fault. It couldn’t possibly be the fault of these people who are posting on the site. Why get mad at your kids or teach them about personal responsibility when you can get mad at a total stranger who created and maintains a useful website?
The riduculous thing is that MySpace is not the first website that allows people to easily create websites. Geocities, Tripod and Bravenet have been around for years, and newer ones like Face Book and Friendster are extremely similar to MySpace. But because MySpace is so popular it’s the new popular target for anyone who wants an easy way to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions or the actions of their kids.
Oh well, I’m sure if you’re someone who really believes that a website is responsible for the actions of its users, you’re probably not reading this. You’re probably way too busy trying to find a way to sue the owner of the wall you spraypainted last night.
The TWiT network of podacasts has expanded yet again. Leo now has a daily podcast with Dick DeBartolo who calls himself “The Giz Wiz”, thus the name of the podcast.
It’s a short (5 minutes or so) podcast that talk about a new and unique tech gadget each day.
They don’t have an actual website yet, but you can visit Dick’s site at www.gizwizbiz.com. Subscribe to the feed at http://leo.am/podcasts/dgw.
OK, this is brand new. As new as it gets, actually. I haven’t even had time to watch the first episode yet, but I sure I’m going to like it so I’m including it here. It’s a production of the This Week in Tech (TWiT) folks with Amber MacArthur, Leo Laporte and others. In case you didn’t guess, it’s about Macintosh issues and news.
Their site is www.macbreak.com.
You can subscribe at http://www.macbreak.com/macbreak_rss.php.