Wireless router with 4 port switch
CompUSA is offering the above nice little toy for only $30. That’s right, $30. It’s incredible. You get a 4 port switch, which alone is $25, then a firewall AND wireless internet access – all for just $30??
I went out and bought two the other day – one for my folks, another for my in-laws. Now I have wireless almost everywhere I go, and the fun just continues….
Sexy Gifts for your Valentine – Under $25!
I wonder what kind of stuff people are buying via my affiliate link to drugstore.com…..
I know that over on child-birth.com people like the “Gerber Seal n’ Go Breast Milk Storage Bags” that we used back when :abby: was a baby, but apparently they’re also buying stuff to NOT have babies.
What kind of stuff? Well, I won’t go into details, but…
Durex Love Condoms
Chocolate Covered Fortune Cookies
Chocolate body painting
Astroglide Lubricant (5 oz)
Kama Sutra Weekender Kit
It sounds like some people are having quite a fun time out there….
(and yes, I’m selling out a little bit by including the links, but hey – people are already apparently using this site to buy the stuff, so why not advertise the most popular stuff?)
Yahoo! News – Mos Def, Deschanel Hitch Ride to ‘Galaxy’
Mos Def will play Ford Prefect
I’m not really sure if I approve of any of the casting choices, except for Marvin – but since that’s the same voice as in the tv and radio series, I guess I’m a bit biased.
Having said that, I’m pretty excited by the fact that the movie finally seems to be going forward, so I’m open to pretty much anything at this point – I just want to see it made!
How I PC’d an Apple G5
I got a shiny new Apple G5 for Christmas. I loved the case, but I’m no Mac user. So I….
Turns out he really just took the case from a G5 and stuck his PC stuff in there. Scary, but true…
Is it just me or is he no longer “President Bush” when discussed in the news? It’s always “Mr. Bush” – I think a lot of that has to do with Clinton and his impeachment – that’s when they started calling him “Mr. Clinton,” and it’s just continued on to the boy wonder.
Interesting.
Can someone explain to me how, exactly, it is that in the year 2004, we still have people who just open up ANY and EVERY attachment that is emailed to them?
If you haven’t noticed already, Microsoft’s operating system and mail program have flaws. People have figured that out, and have repeatedly created virii/worms/trojan horses and other Really Bad Things ™ that they send out to the world.
And all it takes is some schmoe who doesn’t watch the news to open his email to spread it even further.
For $30 I upgraded the McAfee Security software that came pre-installed on my Dell laptop – it came with a 90 day free trial, then all I had to do was part with some money to keep being “protected” from the worst that the internet has to offer. Granted, considering what I do for a living, I might have a bit more understanding of what’s involved and how to protect myself – but that would be an argument in favor or me NOT signing up for a service like this. I did it anyway.
Why? Because, as I mentioned before, Microsoft’s software and OS is full of holes. Some of them are known and documented and even fixed – and others are just waiting for someone to exploit them. It’s this second group that convinced me that it would be worth a little money once a year to save myself some aggravation.
Since I’ve been using the Dell almost full-time (aka since my youngest dumped water on my Apple laptop), I’ve noticed a lot more virus activity on the internet – and the McAfee software seems to be keeping step. A new virus is announced, and I get an alert that the virus defs have been updated. A new trojan/whatever is announced, and just as my inbox is about to start geting flooded, McAfee has released some other definition and I don’t have to worry about it – it even removes the offending attachments so even if I managed to get hit in the head and become stupid, I still can’t infect myself – or others – with some new waste of time.
So considering all of this, why don’t more consumers sign up for this? More importantly, why don’t the big ISP’s do more to block them?
SecurityFocus HOME Columnists: A Visit from the FBI
Well, it finally happened. Right before Christmas, I had a little visit from the FBI. That’s right: an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation came to see me. He had some things he wanted to talk about. He stayed a couple of hours, and then went on his way. Hopefully he got what he wanted. I know I did.
An interesting read – especially considering the FBI’s apparent stance on the Mac platform…. Looks like I need to start boning up on my Mac forensics!
USATODAY.com – Pepsi ads wink at music downloading
I’m looking forward to winning at least one free download with this new contest – but it sure would be nice to have an iPod to go with it!
I don’t know why or how, but the Bush/Cheney ’04 campaign has decided send me stuff. Repeatedly. Before it was just things to try to get me to give them my hard earned cash. Most recently it was a “personalized” photo of Bush and spouse, as seen to the right. Their most recent attempt also includes a letter from the chairman of the comittee or whatever they are.
Some highlights:
We believe this election will be very close. We believe it will be difficult. The Democrats will be relentless in attacking the President, distorting his record and trying to mislead the voters
- Yeah, like Bush hasn’t tried to mislead the country himself <cough>weapons of mass destruction</cough>
The 2000 and 2002 elections revealed that our national political contests are extremely competitive but, if we work together, we can prevail.
– You mean like working together with your brother, Governor of Florida, to make sure you win the election in that key state? And then make sure that a panel of judges that owe you, your family or your party favors is in charge of the case?
It also includes Bush’s “optimistic agenda for America”:
So far, he’s managing item one ok by himself. Item two – new jobs and a stronger economy – is failing. He wanted 150,000 new jobs created in December – and only 1,000 were. FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY. That will make item three moot, since you can’t afford your own home, or even worry about retiring, if you don’t have a job. And last time I checked, health insurance for the unemployed was not cheap.
As far as the “no child left behind” stuff…. I can tell you that in my town, some children are not testing at the level they’re supposed to be at. But overcrowding the schools, then not allocating money so that they can either hire more teachers or assistants is NOT the way to do things.
All in all, I think it’s safe to say that I won’t be sending Bush or Cheney anything but scorn and dismay.
eBay item 2781262650 (Ends Jan-23-04 21:35:03 PST) – Rare Apple Macintosh PowerBook Prototype
I once auctioned off my prototype Apple floppy drive – it was a similar color to this PowerBook. A nice addition to someone’s collection – I know I can’t afford it thought….
I didn’t catch the whole State of the Union address last night, but what I did catch makes me a little sad – and scared.
When did we elect a King? I thought we lived in a Democracy where the people – that would be you and I – choose people that we think will have OUR best interests at heart and act on those interests.
When Bush was “elected” – and remember, Gore won the popular vote, and then lost the whole shebang due to shenanigans in Florida – I was already disappointed. Since then, things have gone downhill.
But the speech last night….. Well, all I can say is that I’m waiting for the Ten Commandments to re-appear in that courthouse down South again, and for the Religious Right to start taking over again. If Bush and his cronies were any more conservative, we’d all be wearing wigs and calling him King Bush, and Cheney would be Lord Cheney. Oh, and there would now be a tax on tea again. Bostonians take note.
I happened to tune in during Bush’s little tirade about abstinence, so we’re wondering how long it will be before condoms are illegal and “safe” sex is a thing of the past.
When he went on about the defense of marriage stuff – and let’s face it, it needs defending from…. well who, exactly? – I almost had to change the channel. The only problem with that, of course, would be that he was on about 20 channels last night. Can anyone explain what, exactly, the problem is with letting gays and lesbians have rights similar to “normal” heterosexuals? Is it really going to be the end of the world? I don’t think so.
(Oh, and if you’re a Republican/conservative/Bible-thumper and you’re gonna comment about how I’m going to rot in hell or am contributing to the end of the world, just move along now before hitting the “submit” button)
The Register
Microsoft lawyers threaten Mike Rowe (17)
In what could easily be mistaken for an Onion story, Microsoft has unleashed the full fury of its lawyers on 17-year-old Canadian high-school student, Mike Rowe, demanding the handover of his Internet domain.
The domain? MikeRoweSoft.com. No, seriously.
Hope the kid wins!
So, Intel, maker of many things in the PC world, have developed “Centrino” mobile technology. At least that’s what they want you to think.
All it really is is a combination of an 802.11b wireless adaptor and some hardware – usually the the processor itself, and maybe one or two other gadgets.
Anyway, I have a Dell laptop that uses all this fun stuff, and it’s nice – but not as nice as the Intel commercials make it seem. There is one commercial that has some guys who are at their Mt. Everest base camp and using wireless internet to download a movie of some kid on the beach.
Here’s the thing: they make it seem like if you’re using Centrino, you can surf wirelessly from anywhere in the world – including Mt. Everest. Leaving aside considerations of actually bringing a laptop with you while climbing a mountain…. And leaving aside the fact that most 802.11b connections only work within about 150 feet of the base station…. Why do they so blatantly make it seem like they’re stuff is so cool and can do things it can’t? Isn’t that false advertising? Shouldn’t someone have stopped them from running the ad?
Domain registrars sued over URL patent
Two Internet entrepreneurs are suing Network Solutions and Register.com for allegedly infringing on their e-mail and domain naming patent.
The example in the C|Net piece sounds familiar…. like my domain name and my email address. Does that mean I have to worry about them coming after me?
Op-Ed Contributor: Life (and Death) on Mars
President Bush’s announcement yesterday that the United States will soon be pointing its rockets toward Mars will doubtless be greeted with delight by space scientists.
Paul Davies, the author, has a controversial suggestion: one way trips to Mars.
If you think about it though, it makes sense. A pretty large portion of the cost of going to Mars is fuel for the return trip. If you take that out of the equation, it’s more cost effective. And if we send supplies and such, as suggested, then…. well, it’s not like they’d be left for dead or anything.
And if the initial group can make it, there’s no reason to not send more people out there – eventually we might be able to get them back home, and at the very least, they might be able to build a thriving, self-sustaining colony over there.
i think we should send people so we can see if you can live on mars so some people can live there other than living in just earth. i think we should do that with every planet. for some people it would be cool.
brittney is discussing.
lee 18:52 on 2004/01/24 Permalink | Log in to Reply
When I get crap from the republicans, which I get a LOT of even though I have never, ever registered as a republican or even remotely implied I ever even agreed with anything spouted by that party, I usually just cram it all into the postage paid envelope and send it back to them. A small measure, to be sure. But if everyone who doesn’t want their crap does that, it’ll add up pretty fast. Then maybe we won’t get any more of their pulpspam. And doesn’t Laura look like a Stepford Wife? Creepy.