153 Topics

Member Avatar for John A

Alright, here is where I give a little rant against [URL="http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,129676/article.html"]PC World[/URL]. I totally do not think that JPEG will be replaced anytime soon. It's a laugh. Let me get this straight first: I am not bashing Microsoft. I simply find it hilarious that PC World thinks that Microsoft will …

0
82
Member Avatar for John A

The hoopla is over, Vista has been released, and now Microsoft is waiting for everyone to switch. Users are switching fairly quickly, especially those who buy new PCs. It's quite likely in a few years that the percentage of Vista users will be similar to the one that Windows XP …

0
73
Member Avatar for John A

Google is being charged with content copying by none other than... Microsoft. They are complaining that Google is copying far too much information, information that many people make a living on. Google's been trying to make the whole web searchable, everything from books to news to magazines. Although Google has …

Member Avatar for Chaky
0
188
Member Avatar for John A

If you've been keeping up to the news, you'll likely be aware of the fact that [URL="http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37941"]Vista's activation code scheme for anti-piracy has been cracked[/URL] by using a brute-force method, allowing any pirates to download Vista and just let the cracking program do its work. I find this insanely ironic. …

Member Avatar for jwenting
0
162
Member Avatar for John A

YouTube (now owned by Google) and BBC struck a deal that would soon allow the former to provide clips from the latter. Special channels will be created on YouTube that you can watch the content through, providing many popular BBC shows such as Top Gear and Doctor Who. But this …

Member Avatar for John A
0
247
Member Avatar for John A

When we think of "open source", many things come to mind: free, created by volunteers, open to everyone, no profits, etc. That's the steriotype that the media paints mostly, and that when open source programs are created, they are done for the passion of it, and not at all for …

Member Avatar for John A
0
124
Member Avatar for John A

I groan when I hear repeated security reports of "[URL="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9011939&intsrc=hm_list"]bugs in xxx browser allowing URL spoofing[/URL]", etc, etc. Most of the reports are real, live vulnerabilities that can endanger you and threaten your security as an internet user. However, I think a lot of this is misunderstood by some. You …

0
68
Member Avatar for John A

$500 is a lot of money for a cell phone. True, the iPhone is a lot more than just a cell phone, but the price is steep nevertheless. And the results seem to prove it when you read articles like [URL="http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/89B5D6ED1CD4A132CC25728E0013778A"]this[/URL] one, which showed that people are simply not willing …

Member Avatar for dasithds
0
147
Member Avatar for John A

Probably the last thing you would expect to hear is that Microsoft is trying to restrict the machines that their new operating system can run on. After all, don't they want as many computers running Vista as possible (legally)? Well, Microsoft is actually forcing anyone who wants to emulate Vista …

Member Avatar for jbennet
0
147
Member Avatar for John A

The internet gives us a wealth of information, and programming is no exception. You can literally find learn about any language just through a broadband internet connection. And since 90% of the tutorials out there are free, what better way to learn programming than if it doesn't cost us a …

0
53
Member Avatar for John A

You've likely heard of the whole commotion that was caused over Apple's usage of the iPhone name, which was a trademark of Cisco. Well, the funny thing is that the whole deal is over, and Cisco has really lost. Well, not officially, as a statement from the 2 companies was …

Member Avatar for RwCC
0
244
Member Avatar for John A

Since the launch of Vista, articles have been [URL="http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128737-c,vistalonghorn/article.html"]fairly negative[/URL] about Microsoft's next-gen operating system. Which can be expected, since it's "Microsoft", is prone to bugs and viruses, and is a slow monster, right? It couldn't be farther from the truth. This "bug" which we speak of - how can …

Member Avatar for deostroll
0
132
Member Avatar for John A

OK - I know this subject has been beated to death: Microsoft's Vista, which has been years in the making. Well, they've has finally released it, so now we all get to see how well it sells. My thoughts on it? I'll try to say some stuff which I haven't …

Member Avatar for gajmp
0
152
Member Avatar for John A

Google has [URL="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2007/01/quick-word-about-googlebombs.html"]announced[/URL] that they have put an end to Googlebombs - for the moment. Previoulsy a search for "failure" would bring up George Bush's White House page, but [URL="http://www.google.ca/search?q=failure"]as you can see[/URL], they've fixed it. Specifically Google bombs are created by linking to some unused phrase that brings up …

Member Avatar for Stockmysite
0
222
Member Avatar for John A

Since the recent announcement of Ubuntu's Windows-based installer, Debian has responded by releasing a [URL="http://goodbye-microsoft.com/"]similar installer[/URL] for itself. The nice thing about this is that you obviously don't need to mess with CDs, but what about some other things? I think Debian's been lacking some innovation lately - they've been …

0
94
Member Avatar for John A

When asked if Vista is going to be a success, most people answer "yes" for various reasons: good interface, XP is getting old, it's going to be sold with new PCs anyway. Wait... really? Dell's new [URL="http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/e510_nseries?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs"]Dimension n-Series[/URL] might be aiming to change that a little bit. The website even …

Member Avatar for Mushy-pea
0
200
Member Avatar for John A

Google looks like the next thing it's going to do is take over the world. Or at least, Microsoft. I'm sure you've all heard the rumors about Google creating an operating system, but is it really happening? I just found this [URL="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nono/369373656/"]screenshot[/URL] of a supposedly-leaked upcoming version of GooOS. Kind …

Member Avatar for pty
0
222
Member Avatar for John A

Many people complain that Java is far too slow to use in most applications that are traditionally written with C/C++. Well, this is probably never going to change unless Java allows itself to be completely compiled instead of bytecode, but IBM is trying to make the state that Java's in …

Member Avatar for jwenting
0
227
Member Avatar for John A

I find it pretty hilarious what's happening now. [URL="http://news.com.com/Wal-Mart+eyes+Microsoft+for+Web+build-out/2100-1017_3-6152247.html?tag=nefd.top"]Wal-Mart is now planning[/URL] to buy SuSE support vouchers from Microsoft. to build a web project. The fact that Wal-Mart is going to use SuSE is not so surpising, but that Microsoft is selling the vouchers is what makes it funny. Microsoft …

0
81
Member Avatar for John A

Microsoft's now planning to make [URL="http://www.informationweek.com/internet/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196902603"]Windows Vista and Office[/URL] downloadable via their website - a good choice, likely spurred on by the vast number of other software distributable via the internet. It's a good idea, but I think that it's quite probably piracy will become even worse if it's distributed …

Member Avatar for jwenting
0
174
Member Avatar for John A

The big moment is set. Microsoft has announced the release date of Vista to consumers, which happens to be January 30. So now, all Microsoft has to do is convince users that XP is dead and that Vista is the "new" OS now. Is Vista next-gen? I would say definitely …

Member Avatar for jbennet
0
411
Member Avatar for John A

Ah... [URL="http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS4611592451.html"]innovation[/URL]. Ubuntu is now creating a new installer that can complete the whole installation from a Windows application installer. Although I generally don't like Ubuntu because I find it too oversimplified, I do have to admit they're doing a very good job breaking Windows users into the world of …

0
92
Member Avatar for John A

I know this is a little bit late, but here's my rant on what Apple has done. They have quitely shipped the latest MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops (except the 17" 1.83 Ghz MacBook Pro) [URL="http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/ontheradar/0,39050980,61983220,00.htm"]with test versions of 802.11n cards[/URL], the latest and fastest Wi-Fi technology coming out soon. …

0
79
Member Avatar for John A

With the release of the Apple iPhone, threatening to shake up the cell phone industry, it's inevitable that companies will try to use ideas similar to Apple's. The latest "cause of concern" is [URL="http://www.smh.com.au/news/mobiles--handhelds/lgs-iphone-copycat/2007/01/19/1169095944823.html"]LG's Prada KE850[/URL] cell phone, which uses a touchscreen interface, and similar features such as web browser, …

Member Avatar for j.singh
0
205
Member Avatar for John A

It's the one thing that we never thought would happen - Apple opening up FairPlay, the system that governs the DRM for music bought from the iTunes store. And if [URL="http://www.tech.co.uk/home-entertainment/hi-fi-and-audio/hi-fi-amps-and-receivers/news/apple-to-open-up-fairplay-drm?articleid=394429162"]Tech.co.uk[/URL] is correct, it could very well happen. I can barely believe it; after all, Apple is not known for …

0
83
Member Avatar for John A

Microsoft has now hit 100 million users for Internet Explorer 7. But, says analysts, this isn't an impact on competing web browsers. This is simply internal growth. Sure, maybe. But it's saying something that people are quickly switching to Microsoft's latest browser. I think that the interface looks very cool; …

Member Avatar for teatea
0
288
Member Avatar for John A

Some people have been writing about the iPhone, and there are complaints as expected with any new device (or old for that matter). So I decided to write about them, and show what's really behind all this. Price is the thing that hits you first when getting a new tech …

Member Avatar for thewizard397
0
188
Member Avatar for John A

Red Hat last month [URL="http://www.linux.com/article.pl?sid=07/01/11/1841241"]released[/URL] the Fedora Core 6 LiveCD. The tools used to create it can also be used to create your own custom LiveCDs. It's designed to look identitical to the full release of Fedora Core 6, having Gnome 2.16 and X.org 7.16. Very nice. But how come …

0
89
Member Avatar for John A

In response to this article, which claims that Java could soon become an important programming language in Linux due to the recent open-sourcing of Java: [URL="http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS6939729453.html"] http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS6939729453.html[/URL] It's actually very unlikely that it will happen. This article is stating that the main reasoning is that other popular Linux programming languages …

0
89
Member Avatar for John A

Although some analysts predicted that Vista may be a flop, it's already quite successful in the business world. It's already outpacing sales of Windows 2000, and catching up quickly to the sales of Windows XP. Previous blog entries I've written have been predicting the failure of Vista due to a …

0
70
Member Avatar for John A

[URL="http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-caught-uploading-fake-torrents/"]TorrentFreak has reported[/URL] that the anti-piracy watchdog group MPAA has been uploading false torrents in the hopes of logging IP addresses of pirates to bring them to court. They do claim to have methods of detecting the fake torrents, but don't give away all the hints, saying, "we wont reveal …

Member Avatar for Chaky
0
200
Member Avatar for John A

Codeweavers has released a final version of CrossOver Office 6 - the software that provides Windows-application compatilibity - to both Linux and Mac OS X, marking the first-ever release of CrossOver Office for Mac. CrossOver Office is built upon the open source Wine framework, but provides additional features, such as …

0
198
Member Avatar for John A

With the Macworld Keynote, it was inevitable that Apple would release some fancy new product. Among other things, the iPhone turned out the be the most significant, turning the iPod into a device which can make phone calls, and much, much more. All for only $499. The idea of merging …

Member Avatar for jbennet
1
232
Member Avatar for John A

According to an article made by [URL="http://news.com.com/Study+Majority+of+teens+stay+private+online/2100-1038_3-6148192.html"]News.com[/URL], teens are not revealing nearly as much information to the public as we thought. It says that "66 percent [of teens on MySpace] say that their information is not visible to all Internet users." It further goes on to say that most teens …

0
58
Member Avatar for John A

Google Earth gives users the ability to fly around the earth - so why not allow people to fly through space? That's exactly what Google's trying to do now, and they've joined [URL="http://www.lsst.org/lsst_home.shtml"]the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope project[/URL] to make it happen. The telescope is a "proposed ground-based 8.4-meter, 10 …

0
162
Member Avatar for John A

According to [URL="http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/05/the-second-xbox-360-revealed-codename-zephyr/"]Engadget[/URL], the second version of the Xbox 360, code-named "Zephyr" has had a photo leaked from a Xbox insider. It looks quite interesting; the only picture provided was a backside of the console. It's still white, but has some extra ports on the back. It seems like Microsoft …

0
233
Member Avatar for John A

In response to [URL="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,241557,00.html"]this article[/URL], claiming that the DVD format war may soon be over, I highly doubt it. In the article: [quote]The high-definition DVD format war, which has slowed consumer acceptance of the new players, may soon be over.[/quote] They go on further to state that hybrid players coming …

Member Avatar for trueorfalse9
0
428
Member Avatar for John A

While Apple has displayed a [COLOR=Black][URL="http://www.apple.com/"]new banner[/URL][/COLOR] on its website declaring Happy New Years, "The first 30 years were just the beginning. Welcome to 2007," the [URL="http://projects.info-pull.com/moab/"]Month of Apple Bugs[/URL] has been launched, as if to scorn Apple's website banner. The Month of Apple bugs aims to reveal a new …

0
423
Member Avatar for John A

The open-source [URL="http://fedoralegacy.org/"]Fedora Legacy Project[/URL] is now shutting down. It's no longer supporting Fedora Core 4 and earlier. On the website it says, "The current model for supporting maintenance distributions is being re-examined. In the meantime, we are unable to extend support to older Fedora Core releases as we had …

0
88
Member Avatar for John A

While the iTunes store traffic is at its high point, rising more than 400% this holiday season, Apple is getting faced with several federal lawsuits, according to Associated Press. Among those is one targetting the copy-protection system that content purchased from the iTunes store are encoded in. What the claim …

0
71
Member Avatar for John A

I always like to see technology getting incorporated into everyday items. It's nice when you can find a use for the technology in something other than a desktop PC. The car manufacturer Ford is now going to incorporate Bluetooth technology into its vehicles - something that other higher-end car manufacturers …

Member Avatar for bluedevices
0
117
Member Avatar for John A

If previous reports of iTunes music store sales lulling were worrying analysts, they've got nothing to worry about now –– the iTunes store sales have more than quadrupled during the Christmas season, according to a report made by E-Commerce. People using their iTunes gift cards and new iPod users recieved …

Member Avatar for 'Stein
0
107
Member Avatar for John A

Endless beta testing does still not guarantee a bug-free program, as Microsoft found out a few weeks ago. Recently, a major flaw was discovered by a Russian programmer, in Windows Vista that was released to businesses earlier this month. This particular flaw allows a user with standard user system priviliges …

Member Avatar for Riv3n
0
214
Member Avatar for John A

If you always thought that OpenStep, Cocoa's base, was limited to Mac OS X, you're wrong. A project called [URL="http://www.gnustep.org"]GNUstep[/URL] is dedicated to creating an open-source implementation of the reusable objects that Cocoa uses. Cocoa, which is the framework that the vast majority of Mac OS X software developers use …

0
203
Member Avatar for John A

With the recent release of [URL="http://wesnoth.org/"]Wesnoth 1.2[/URL], the open-source strategy game, the game's developmet never seems to stop. It's so popular, and it's addictive to play. These days, anybody without internet access is considered to be "living in the dark ages". And with the ever-growing popularity of social networking services …

0
117
Member Avatar for John A

According to Linux.com, A few librarians working at the The Georgia Public Library have now created a new Linux-based system for content management and organization for large-scale library operations. Evergreen, the name of the system was written in a mixture of languages, including C, Perl, and Javascript, and is open …

Member Avatar for obamamahma
0
169
Member Avatar for John A

VMWare has finally jumped on the Intel Mac virtualization bandwagon by releasing [URL="http://www.vmware.com/whatsnew/macsignupform.html"]VMWare Fusion[/URL], a program that competes with Parallels' previously released [URL="http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/"]Parallels Workstation for Mac[/URL]. VMWare has previously had virtulization products available for Linux and Windows, but this is the first time that they've released the workstation product for …

0
199
Member Avatar for John A

Spam continues to rise. In November alone, people saw a 35% increase of spam in their online mailboxes, and not only do that but also use new ways to fool spam filters to somehow get into peope's email. 31 billion spam was the average amount sent in October, but that …

Member Avatar for John A
0
625
Member Avatar for John A

Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 7 has a special bar that turns green when visiting "safe" sites, which it determines if it recieves a special strict security certificate from Microsoft. But, small business owners and corporations are worried that users will leave their sites feeling unsafe, as they are not eligable …

Member Avatar for MattEvans
0
415
Member Avatar for John A

Obviously the name of Sony's highly-rumored video download service isn't going to be called SonyTube, but it's true that they are going to compete with YouTube, Google Video (which recently bought YouTube), and most definitely Apple's iTunes Store download service. Similar to Apple's service, this download service will be targeted …

0
72

The End.