Archive for July, 2007
Microsoft Works to become free ad-funded software
I’ve taught a lot of classes using one version or the other of the Microsoft Works program. Back in the days of DOS, I even used it as my primary word processor and spreadsheet program. However, in many ways Works became an orphan program, overshadowed by the more powerful Office suite. The great virtue of [...]
Free access to certain subscription sites
Some publications like the Wall Street Journal charge a subscription fee for their Web version. Now, however, there is a way to get free access to a number of subscription sites by using something called the Congoo Netpass. You have to create an account but it’s free. The catch is that you only get a [...]
What search engines store about you
You may not be as anonymous as you think when you send a query to a surf engine. If you allow the search engines to put cookies on your computer, they may have collected a lot of personal information. Even without the cookie, your IP will be noted. I’ve posted about this before but it [...]
Browser problems
Surfing the Web is harder than it could be because of all the differences among browsers. Internet Explorer (IE) often renders CSS differently from other browsers. IE also uses proprietary ActiveX components. Then there are differences in the way Web pages behave among the various versions of IE itself. IE7 is different from [...]
Book search and price comparison
I read a lot and I am always interested in ways to search the Internet for books. There are a number of sites that specialize in some sort of book search. One that will find books for sale and show price comparisons is isbn.nu. Here is how the site describes itself:
This site provides unbiased price [...]
Detecting faces in image search
As I have noted before, searching images is much more of a challenge than searching text. Recently, search engines have been adding some ways to limit image searches to faces.
At Google, advanced image search now includes an option to look for faces only. A search using the name of a particular person may show [...]
Site for computer advice
Over at CNET, Michael Horowitz recommends a place to go for answers to your computer questions. The site is from Leo Notenboom and is called ask-leo.com. Horowitz writes:
Most of us have personal computer questions and it’s not too hard to get answers. What is hard though, is getting an answer from someone qualified, thoughtful and [...]
Easier way to get certain Windows hot fixes
Not all Windows hot fixes are part of the monthly update. Some are deemed by Microsoft to apply to a limited group of users and are available only by request. Until recently, that meant a phone call to Microsoft and time spent explaining why you wanted the hot fix. The company has now instituted an [...]
Windows Vista box conundrum
Several weeks ago I received a copy of Vista that my colleague Sol Libes had obtained from a generous Microsoft rep. When I went to open it, I discovered that Microsoft has some new-fangled packaging that had me baffled. Fortunately, I had seen Mary Jo Foley’s piece about how even Microsoft employees were having trouble [...]
Free rootkit detector
Rootkits are an insidious form of malware that can often hide from conventional methods of detection. The security firm McAfee has released a free program called McAfee Rootkit Detective 1.0 that is described:
McAfee Rootkit Detective 1.0 is a program designed and developed by McAfee Avert Labs to proactively detect and clean rootkits that are running [...]
Another salvo in the Internet ad war
Microsoft has loosed its purse again and spent some of its huge bankroll in a move in its struggle with Google for Web advertising. This time it’s social search site Digg that is the recipient of a Microsoft deal. Bits reports:
Digg, the where users vote for which news articles to display, has voted itself [...]
