This post originally appeared at the Pen & Links blog
Macworld 2011 registration is open now and if you hit the site today, you can register for a free expo pass. The offer is only good through July 26.
Archive for the 'Pen & Links' category
TV news has too much time on its hands
This post originally appeared at the Pen & Links blog
Your children may be doing drugs in their ears and you don’t even know it.
Yeah I can’t seem to muster the proper level of feigned outrage over iDosing. The concept is you listen to sounds or music and they’re supposed to duplicate the effects of drugs. As usual, to 11 o’clock news will play it’s “ARE YOUR CHILDREN DOING THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT ARE DANGEROUS AND WE’LL TELL YOU ABOUT 30 MINUTES AFTER THE HOUR” freakout and this will be blown out of proportion.
I’m just thrilled teens have an alternative to choking each other to get high.
Oh what the hell, this gives me the opportunity to throw in one of my favorite bad news videos to start your day.
It comes complete with random exploding vans, terrible dramatic music, anonymous sources and hyperbole all around
ATT leeches off your home connection with femtocells
This post originally appeared at the Pen & Links blog
There are times when I wonder if I’m cut out for the business world. Not because I lack the skill, resolve or majestically good looks, but because I don’t think I sling crap as well as some of these things I read.
I’ve avoided the AT&T microcell/femtocell story for a few months just because it felt like something that was going to fade away. The concept goes something like this:
- AT&T’s network sucked in some areas.
- AT&T noticed people have home Internet connections.
- AT&T said “Hey can we borrow a cup of internet with this device”
- AT&T’s magical device sells you cell service from your internet connection in the form of a $150 device.
- AT&T still charges you for using their network when you’re providing the bandwidth. More interestingly, AT&T essentially charges you twice for the same data if they’re your home ISP too.
- AT&T realizes most people aren’t stupid enough to pay $150 for a device, so it begins sending them out for free. People like free things.
- AT&T hopes people get used to the devices so they can kick back and not have to build out their network as much and count the money.
It’s enough to make my head spin.
STOP USING IE6: A public service announcement
This post originally appeared at the Pen & Links blog
While many businesses were happy to hear that Windows XP recently got a reprieve from Microsoft, I was less than thrilled. It means that Internet Explorer 6 – the default browser with XP – is still alive.
And not only is it alive, it’s growing according to research firm Net Applications. While I don’t agree with the way that Net Applications tallies its data from visits to a certain number of sites, these numbers worry me. It means someone, somewhere is still using IE6.
Not only does IE6 not follow most conventional web standards, It’s also loaded with vulnerabilities, including 24 unpatched ones according to security firm Secunia.
Take a little time out of your day to make sure you’re not using Internet Explorer 6
Maybe upgrade to Internet Explorer 8.
Or try something different like Mozilla’s Firefox.
Or Apple’s Safari.
Seriously, there is no excuse for you to keep using that festering piece of garbage known as IE6. You’re just bringing down the rest of the Internet.
China’s Green Dam software ready to burst
This post originally appeared at the Pen & Links blog
As you could probably tell from the majority of my posts, I’m a fan of an open and free Internet. Not just because it theoretically puts me on equal footing with larger businesses and publications, but because it brings a wealth of information to people who may not have found it otherwise.
That’s why I’m thrilled to see that China’s experiment in Internet censorship is starting to show some cracks. A lack of funding could eventually shut down it’s Green Dam program. The country had tried to require PC makers to install filtering software on any computer sold in China.
What did this software filter? Why pornography of course. Dirty filthy terrible pornography. A scourge on society. Oh and any references to democracy and other things the Chinese government was offended by. But by golly, they knocked out all that pornography.
A rule of thumb I always go by: If someone is making a stink about blocking pornography or going after child predators, take a closer look at what they’re proposing. Nobody would ever dare risk being labeled as a defender of child molesters, so it’s the perfect cover to sneak in something controversial without it being debated.