Archive for November, 2008
Make sure Windows patches are up to date
A security vulnerability in Windows that was patched last month in an update that was not part of the regular monthly routine is coming under increasing attack. Be sure you have applied the patches. Computerworld reports:
Security researchers at Microsoft Corp. late yesterday warned of a significant increase in exploits of a Windows bug that the [...]
Avoiding tech jargon
In his New York Times blog David Pogue writes about Tech Terms to Avoid:
Why tech writers use so much jargon, I don’t know. Maybe it’s self-aggrandizement; they want to lord their knowledge over everybody else. Maybe it’s laziness; they can’t be bothered to fish for a plain-English word. Maybe it’s just habit; they spend all [...]
How to buy a Mac
Thinking of possibly buying an Apple Mac? PC World has some help. First, there is The New Mac Buying Guide. Then there is the follow-up article, Apple’s Mac Lineup, with information about individual Mac models.
Foxit PDF reader updated
I have often mentioned the free Foxit reader for PDF files as preferable to Adobe’s bloated software. It has been updated to version 3.0. Some details are given at Lifehacker. You can download it at this link or do an update from the Help menu of a previous version.
Don’t get sick from the power of suggestion
Several years ago I gave a presentation to various groups on using the Internet to obtain health-related information. One thing I warned about was falling into the trap of convincing yourself that you have a certain disease or condition because you seem to have the symptoms that you read about. Now it seems that Microsoft [...]
YouTube goes wide screen
TechCrunch reports:
YouTube has apparently changed all videos on its site to play in widescreen format. Because most videos on the site were originally uploaded in a ratio closer to 4:3 (the standard size used on non-HD televisions), most videos are playing with horizontal black bars on the side.
Here’s the announcement from YouTube:
Over the years [...]
Secunia Personal Software Inspector in final form
I have mentioned the excellent free program called Secunia Personal Software Inspector several times. I previously wrote:
There are so many possible vulnerabilities on a PC that it is hard to keep track. It isn’t just Windows that needs frequent security patches. And it isn’t just the Microsoft applications like Office. There is a whole panoply [...]
Making windows snap
One of the new features that is coming with Windows 7 is the ability to drag a window to the edge of the screen and have it snap to a larger size. But you don’t have to wait until Windows 7 comes out to get a similar effect. Software called AeroSnap is supposed to provide [...]
Quicken online
The financial software Quicken isn’t confined to the desktop. There is also a free online version and it has just been revised. Ars Technica reviews the service and compares it with Mint.com:
After a quick go-around with Quicken Online’s new features and redesign, we’re inclined to call it a more mature product that competes much better [...]
Too many betas
Everything seems to be sold these days before it’s really finished. Too much is in perpetual beta. Over at Gizmodo, Jesus Diaz laments:
I’m tired of this. This sense of permanent discomfort with the technology around me. The bugs. The compromises. The firmware upgrades. The “This will work in the next version.” The “It’s in our [...]
Which Web browser is faster?
Like so many things, the question of which Web browser is faster cannot be answered on the basis of a single criterion. There are many aspects to browser speed but ExtremeTech has done a reasonable job of testing the most common browsers and picks Firefox 3.0. as the fastest overall and comes to this [...]