Monday, August 2, 2010

Quick note

Blogging will resume tomorrow.  I am okay but extremely busy.  A good busy as I have started fufilling work orders. Yay.  We have a lot of catching up to do!


In the meantime on the website, there is a new tutorial explaining system restore.  Check it out.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

This is a Problems Post. Not me, but other people.

Heads up. The Droid X is experiencing problems of their own, specifically with their screens. There have been complaints about flickering and bands of light on their LCD screen to Verizon wireless. Motorola has said that they have resolved the problem. I will look into this and post an update. The HTC Evo also had screen issues. It’s kind of unfair that this is not being widely reported as Apple’s issues. (Yeah I said it. I am an equal opportunity critic.)



Ugh, this pains me to report but a small number of Dell servers now have an issue with malware. I deal with servers everyday so this sounds like a nightmare. Apparently a few Poweredge 410 motherboards that were sent in for service somehow came in contact with malware, perhaps through repairs which can happen.

"The potential issue involves a small number of PowerEdge server motherboards sent out through service dispatches that may contain malware," according to post on a Dell support forum. "This malware code has been detected on the embedded server management firmware."

This only reinforces the importance of having anti-malware/spyware software on your machine. I explain the differences on the website.  The firmware could have originated on another dell machine that was unprotected before being flashed onto the motherboard. Malware has the ability to mask itself in many different programs, even legit ones and can effect the basic operation of even the most sophisticated machines.




TMobile may get the iphone. Honestly, I don’t see this happening. I am aware that there are reports that it is coming but since TMobile is in trouble, do you think Steve Jobs will invest his favorite child into something like this? If anything I would think that Jobs would choose Verizon as an option. I am a TMobile customer so I am not just saying this. I only joined TMobile because of their data plan offer and plus they had the HTC HD2 (which I adore very much.) Perhaps he is still so vested in his increasingly failing marriage with AT&T that he won’t go with the more obvious choice. If this keeps TMobile in business then I am all for it. I do think it is odd that this has occurred since Apple was itching to sue HTC to keep the HD2 out of the states for patent infringement. Maybe Jobs wants to knock them out all together by invading their turf which isn’t a bad idea.

Some dude is saying that Mark Zuckerberg, one of the creators of Facebook signed over a rather large percentage of Facebook to him.  About 84%! 



You know what, as much as I stan for Mark,  I can see this happening.  I am not saying that random guy is right but I have a "scenario." Perhaps in the early stages of Facebook development, Mark may have had people help him build the company.  He may have made some "verbal" or "napkin"  deals with people to attain funding or offered a stake in the company in exchange for other services.  Napkin deals are just another name for a contract that was quickly and randomly drawn up and signed. The most notable ones were done on napkins which in those cases actually made its way to court.  In this case, it could have been a regular 8 1/2 x 11 piece of white paper. If this is true, then my heart goes out to Mark.  I would not want to share my empire with some random guy either.  If he needs comforting, Mark can come over here. I am on your side. <3
 
This is why I have done everything regarding easylearncomputers.com myself.  It took forever to do it but this is all me.  I really do not want some random guy that I end up marrying saying that since he was around when I started and that he is owed part of whatever I build.  I may love him but I am not opposed to killing him if necessary. (That is only a  joke.  I would never actually kill anyone. That job belongs to nature.  I would just make sure to send him outside during a lightening storm and hope for the best.)

Monday, July 19, 2010

It's Monday and I am still trying to stay cool!!!!

Its been a long weekend so no posting from me (as you already know by now.)  I took a day off plus I am still in the process of gathering more information for the website update on August 1st.  I am also promoting the site.  So far, everything is going well. 

I did say that I was going to do a response to Apple's fix to their iphone4 reception problem.  Well I am not, only because everything I thought he (Steve Jobs) was going to do, he did and I have already discussed it in detail.  He is just going to give you a bumper and hope to have the problem fixed by the time iphone5 arrives.  So its just more of the same. The only negative comment I do have is that after the free bumper cutoff, they are going to charge anyone who buys it 30 dollars.  I call bs on this.  They should provide a bumper with ALL new iphone4 devices no matter when you bought it. The hardware problem is their fault.  So if you got one early enough, your device would have essentially been 30 dollars cheaper f you are a left-hander. 






While I may not update to an iphone anytime soon, the same can be said for the new Windows 7 Mobile OS.  I hear it leaves a lot to be desired.  There have been a lot of improvements especially with the touch mechanism. However, their apps selections and download option sites still suck.  I guess it is Microsoft's turn to get negatve media attention.  The only positive thing out of the Microsoft mess is that the flaws are being found before they go on sale to the general public.  The downside to this is that I personally do not see Microsoft putting anymore effort into improving their apps stores.  I know they have Windows marketplace but frankly, even that is terribly limited and this is what will keep them from ever surpassing Apple in that particular area. Sure the phone has to work but many of the people who spend money on smartphones use it for many other things and this is where the apps become important.   I own a windows 6  smartphone and I love it. That is because I am used to it.  I will wait a year or so to see what they do before I ever think of updating.  I took this same approach to their regular desktop OS.

I do have a product reccomendation. 

I will admit, I am too cheap to buy an air conditioner.  I will explain this.  I got my bill from Con Edison a few months ago. (Notice their name has con in it because they are) My bill was very high considering I did not run major appliances.  They are doing their best to shake the pockets of the residents in the tri-state area.  You can imagine with all of the 90+ degree weather the NY area in the past month that if I bought an AC unit how much higher the bill will become.  I am not busted however I would rather not give all my extra money to utility companies.  I would rather have that to myself.  o instead of just sitting and baking in the heat or hanging out in the grocery store.  (Yeah yeah I know) I bought a Handy Cooler.  You can find these at amazon.com.   It is a handheld air conditioner.  I will tell you that it works.  All you have to do is just wet the sponge it comes with a let the air blow in your face.  It works better than my fan. I've been running it non-stop all weekend which came in handy because the heat was oppressive.  It does look funny and it could use a wall charger and not just the usb and battery option but I will take it.  It could also use a stand or some kind of shoulder holster so it could be hands free.  Sure it will look goofy but we are trying to stay cool here.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Microsoft has officially freaked me out. Meet Milo the first real-like virtual human.

Remember when I had the discussion about the upcoming Windows 8 and its ability to know whether or not you were in the room? Well, meet Milo, the world's first virtual person is able to communicate with you fully and considered to be human.  No kidding.  The virtual human takeover has begun.

"The player’s voice commands and physical movements are picked up by an infra-red sensor which works with artificial intelligence to interpret the player’s intonation and meaning, and respond accordingly. Milo works with the soon-to-be released Xbox 360 Kinect controller - as series of sensors, microphones and cameras interpret the player’s actions movements. It has the same reactions, facial movements as a human and after 45 minutes, he recognizes you."



Oh boy, can you imagine how many virtual marriages this will result in? You thought pillows were the hot thing?   All this is missing is his nice-looking late 30's to late 40's hot dad with detachable penis.  It would fly off the shelves. (I want credit for that if anyone sells it.)



Milo has a story too.  "Milo is a story-telling game about a little boy who's unhappy because his family has moved from London to New England in America and his parents are too busy to listen to what's on his mind."  So wait, not only does it talk to you and fully communicate, it has an attitude about the US already.  His dad must work for BP.

What if Milo and I had a disagreement? Will Microsoft add a chip that gives him a Mel Gibson type of meltdown in which he will call you a cunt,whore, bitch when you piss him off?

Milo is supposed to be 4 years old but I think he is lying about his age.  Perhaps four is his Hollywood age. (See, he fits right in to America already.)   This has so many possibilities.  Just think, deadbeat parents would leave their kids with Milo as a babysitter.  (Dont look at me like that, a lot of them let cartoons and reality shows baby sit their kids anyway.)

 Now that I think about it, I want one. 

source

Bad Apples, Bad Windows.

Microsoft executive Kevin Turner compares Apple's Iphone4 to Windows Vista which means he is calling it crap.  Source   Don't worry Apple, he could have said that the Iphone4 was like Windows Millennium. *shudders*  As a matter of fact, let's revisit the pile of crap that was Windows Me.  I was one of the few unfortunate to have owned a machine with this OS on it and to this day I still have nightmares about it.  No joke.  If people were angry enough about it,  this could have single-handedly put Microsoft out of business. Yes it was worse than Windows Vista.  Microsoft has made sure  to never mention this OS when they talk about their corporation.  Windows Me is like the problem kid you keep up in the attic and not tell anyone he exists.



Right before our sentimental Microsoft favorite Windows XP and right after Windows 98, was the short-lived (and never should have been born) Windows Me.  It was supposed to be the operating system to usher in the new millennium.  The only thing it did was become the nightmare of many people who upgraded from Windows 98. You could not get anything done on this machine because when it wasn't crashing, it was taking large amounts of time to complete tasks.  Then when you did get a program to run, it would freeze.  When you got it to unfreeze itself and tried to turn the machine off, it wouldn't turn off!  I will not even go into the system restore part of it, it was like some sort of exorcist machine if you ran it.    I could go on and on with the issues.

I guess the iphone4 fiasco gives Microsoft and Apple something in common.  Both corporations now have their attic children.    I guess you can add Apple's retarded circle mouse  (and their current one for that matter), Pippin (I don't remember anyone actually owning one of those things)  or anything that they have ever produced that was not a flat screen desktop, laptop or music player.  Remember the TV, the printers, the cameras?  Yeah Steve Jobs wants you to not remember those either.

The 20th Anniversary Mac (which costs 9 grand , yes you read it right 9 grand and it came delivered in a limo but looked like a shiny $200.00 Dell) will not be included in this discussion because then this blog would be about 5 pages longer in the bad products/highway robbery and this is bullshit discussion.

I will have plenty to write about tomorrow when Apple and Steve Jobs have their press conference about the Iphone4 situation.  I can just see it now.  The first 15 minutes will be him informing everyone about how much of a valued customer they are, but saying it in the most condescending way possible.


Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Wednesday Tidbits. July 14, 2010

I was awake early this morning because insomnia is a bitch.  I saw something on the news that mentioned an invisible mouse has been invented.  At first I thought I was hallucinating and felt that perhaps I should take my behind back to sleep.  Because my curiosity was killing me, I decided I keep watching the report. They say that the invisible mouse  uses an infrared beam and camera to capture hand movements and transfer them into computer commands.


Holy shit!  You know, I thought things like this were only on the Jetsons, right along with flying cars. We have a flying car that was just introduced  however I just don't think we are ready for flying under the influence accidents just yet.  Even though we have come a long way in technology, we are still light years away from the Jetsons era of technology.  We just barely made it to the Jeffersons era.  I am just pissed that I did not invent this first.  Instead I have to hustle like everyone else because Google Adsense is pissed at me.  Oh well,  eff Adsense.


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The chicken or egg mystery has been solved.  MSNBC says that British scientists have concluded that the chicken came first. source.  Well duh!  Anyone who has made it past 5th grade science should have already known that the chicken came first.  You cannot grow an egg out of nothing and for all of the religious, I don't recall any bible verses saying that God hatched eggs.  If you can I will gladly retract that statement.  source  KFC, Popeyes, McDonalds etc.  gladly appreciates the research.


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Has anyone else seen this?



Its pretty cool but the standout about this poster is that Vin Diesel has 9 million Facebook fans. Which means his Facebook page would probably be worth 1.2 billion.   Yes this guy.


 He is number 5 in the amount of total fans on the site.  How in the hell did that happen? source  He has only about a million more than Starbucks which is proof that Starbucks drinkers are not to be trusted. Anyone who can spend ten dollars a day on a coffee in this economy automatically gets the side-eye from me. Clearly those dedicated and smart action movie fans got stuck on Vin Diesel's page when they were clearly looking for Jay Leno.





Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Say hello to Father Ted. Blockbuster Video.

This is the first of my series of posts that will salute the passing or pending death of a technology entity.  It could be in computer or entertainment form.  Either way, it has changed how we view or use things. 

The title of this post refers to Father Ted.  Father Ted was a television show about three priests living on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. The show was friggin hillarious. I do encourage you to check it out. Here you can find a lot of clips on Youtube from the show.  If you can just find a DVD set if it's available and watch it.   Father Ted was a priest who wanted to be famous and used to lie a lot to get himself out of a bad situation.  (A lying priest.  Go figure!)

Father Ted was played by Dermot Morgan who died unexpectedly and so did the show after only three seasons.  Therefore when we send off a technology legend, we will ask them to say "Hi" to Father Ted for us. (That show deserved at least another 4 seasons.)

Today's post honors Blockbuster Video.  They are in ICU right now and will likely meet Father Ted in late 2011.



One can say that Blockbuster video is another casualty of the advancement of technology or the laziness of America. Depends on how you look at it.  Blockbuster Video is dying a sad death.  The one video store that had every movie that you missed and ever wanted to see and spawned more copycats than Britney Spears.  The only thing that kept you away was that you had to actually get up and return the video before they charged you out the ass.   I want to feel bad for this franchise that has been a part of America and beyond for twenty years but the fact is, they did not update itself to keep up with the increases of people who turned to the internet for entertainment.  A sure sign should have been the amount of people who embraced and used Napster to get music and movies. Unfortunately, Netflix beat them to the punch and offered a product that could be accessed 24/7 and in some cases cheaper.  What is even worse is that this whole situation with Blockbuster is sudden. Blockbuster sank just as fast as the Titanic since it was still a big competitor as late as 3 years ago.  Instead the latest attempt to save itself is to offer the same services as Netflix with online movies as well as video on demand on your smartphone (my HTC HD2 has this installed).  It's too late really.  As far as the online video business is concerned, Blockbuster is Christina Aguilera and Netflix is Lady Gaga.  Yes you are talented but we need something that is a bit more exciting and new and not currently making a sad attempt to keep up.

No matter what, it is another part of my childhood that is disappearing, which gives me sadface.
One last look:


As a very notable line from Father Ted would say:

"*Shaking fist at the sky* You bastard!"

Monday, July 12, 2010

Everyone is bothered with somebody today. Google, Consumer Reports (Total opinion piece)

Clearly some things I say may have rubbed a few fanboys/girls and Google the wrong way.





 I cannot apologize for this because the blog is meant to be an opinion piece about me, life and technology.  The real information is on the mainsite.  The things on there are facts and things that are generally known to be accurate.  This part (blog) are the opinions and other things mixed in there.  I am critical with some of my opinions but I do not feel that it is anymore critical than every other person.  Mine is just in blog form. Besides, I do my best to provide backup for my arguments.   Consumer Reports does something similar.  Will we be upset with them too?

Consumer Reports says that it cannot reccomend iphone4

The blog in general isnt bad i've heard more foul thngs come from people who are half my age and they dare not me to correct them, even in an enviroment that they know they are not supposed to do it.  However, because of my language and blatant honesty what I say may offend some.  That is the great part about freedom of speech/expression.  It also proves that I am not a robot typing all of these blogs.  The blog in general is just a gateway into my thoughts about things.  It was never meant to be Shakespeare.  If you want that then you should go here. (Don't miss the sarcasm.)

So to sum it up, it is just tech news and life mixed together because that's what it is when you read it or even meet me.  I have a passion for gadgets even when everyone else doesn't so when I talk about it, its not just me babbling.  I actually care. 

That's right Apple and Google, I am hard on you because I care. I care more than this guy.  Don't feel left out Microsoft, you are still getting the side-eye from me about Windows 8 already being leaked when Windows 7 just came out. 



I am quite proud of this little blog, even when it is only 4 week's old (such a sweet baby)   because there are really cool people viewing it and it will continue to grow.