Archive for April, 2007
Ramblings about the video phenomenon
I have been using computers in one way or the other for 50+ years so I am well qualified as an old fogy. Maybe that’s why I just can’t get interested in posting videos. That doesn’t mean that I don’t recognize video on the Internet as a major development. In fact, it’s a tidal wave [...]
Review of Internet movies
Broadband Internet has made the downloading or even streaming of movies to the computer feasible and more and more people are now using the Internet as an entertainment source. Personally, I’m not much of a movie watcher since movies made these days are rarely worth 2 hours out of my life. However, I’ll pass along [...]
Update hangup
It seems that PCs that have Microsoft Office installed sometimes run into an update problem. The CPU gets stuck at 100% utilization for a long time during an update scan. The problem is described in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 916089. The fix (updated from a previous fix) is at this link.
The irony of Microsoft’s opposition to the Google-DoubleClick deal
Microsoft is huffing and puffing about anti-trust issues in the buyout of DoubleClick by Google. A number of commentators have noted the irony of a convicted monopolist and violator of anti-trust laws complaining about somebody else being anti-competitive. An article at CNET says:
But on the same day, we find Microsoft raising alarms about the [...]
Annoying tech products
PC World seems to have an obsession with making lists and one of their latest is The 20 Most Annoying Tech Products. AOL, Real Player, Microsoft, they all have entries. If you have some time to kill, check it out to see if your candidate for most annoying product is on the list.
Junk programs on new computers
When you buy a new PC from major manufacturers, it comes preloaded with a lot of junk programs and trial versions. So one of the first things that has to be done with a new computer is to get rid of the unwanted stuff. Walter Mossberg has been discussing this problem in two of his [...]
Fretting about the Google-DoubleClick combo
Scarcely had the purchase of DoubleClick by Google been announced than handwringing over the possible monopolistic implications began. The deal is, in fact, a pretty powerful linkup and InfoWorld explains some of the reasons why Google looks even more fearsome now:
Google already scares the pants off many Web site publishers. Yes, the sites love the [...]
Google buys DoubleClick
MarketWatch reports that Google is buying the advertising firm DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. Supposedly, Microsoft had also been interested in buying the company. It looks to me like Google overpaid in order to stick a thumb in Microsoft’s eye. The current owners of DoubleClick paid $1.1 billion in 2005 so they have made out handsomely. [...]
Worm infestation spreads
Another worm attack is going around, spread by email attachments. It pretends to be a security fix. According to ZDNet:
Once executed the new variant worm installs a rootkit on the infected system and communicates over a private peer-to-peer (P2P) network to update itself. This latest variation may be laying the groundwork for even more attacks [...]
Deceptive income tax Web sites
Speaking of deadlines, the time for filing income tax returns is fast approaching. Beware of sites trying to take advantage of your hurry to file. PC World warns:
U.S. taxpayers rushing to meet next Tuesday’s tax-filing deadline should be aware of Web sites with URLs similar to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s IRS.gov site that may [...]
Manners for bloggers
In many ways, the Web with its multitude of discussion sites and blogs is the closest thing to a purely democratic forum that the world has achieved so far. It’s true that many who live in underdeveloped or totalitarian nations or who are very poor are left out but nonetheless hundreds of millions [...]
