Chris

Here’s what’s up in the tech world of late. Lots of interesting stuff. Good and not so good.

Wal-Mart is taking orders for the new Gameboy. Apparently the Nintendo DS will cost $200 and arrives November 30.

There’s another significant security flaw in Windows that could allow a worm to be hidden inside a JPEG image. The bug is in GDI+ so any application written in Visual Studio or using the .net framework is vulnerable.  Microsoft rates this as a critical vulnerability because a hacker could use it to infect your computer without any action on your part. The company has released a fix for Windows via Windows Update, but you’ll have to update Office and other applications individually. In addition there’s a scanner available that will pinpoint other vulnerable applications.

And, another reason to run Windows Update: the new sdbot or spybot worm uses the same flaws as Sasser and MSBlast to sneak a password stealing program on your computer without user intervention. Updated systems and those behind firewalls are not vulnerable.

And this is really comforting I can tell you: A former credit card help desk employee has plead guilty to selling 30,000 credit card numbers, causing $2.7 million in losses. He faces 14 years in prison and a one million dollar fine.

The British Consumers’ Association is complaining to the government that Apple’s iTunes Music Store is a ripoff.  It costs UK customers about 11 pence more to buy songs than their European cousins (79p vs 120 Euro cents). Apple says blame the British music industry. I blame society.

Slashdot notes that Firefox is gaining on Internet Explorer. According to the latest info, only 57% of their users are using IE.Less than 2 years ago, IE had a 95% lock on the market. Where is my favorite browser of choice, Safari? 11.5%. Not bad considering Firefox works on both Mac and Windows. So that means that 11.5% of the visitors are using a Mac and not only that, a Mac running OSX. Cool.

Lastly, the high tech sector lost 403,300 jobs in the past three years, and according to researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago the market remains bleak. Neat. Glad I don’t work in the tech sector. Oh, wait. . . . Crap.

Later.

I just found this. Thought I would share.

So, bad news for me. The thing I was waiting to hear about isn’t going to happen. Too bad, so sad. They couldn’t really give me a reason it just didn’t work out. Well, their loss. Screw ’em.

In other news, my friend Tony has decided to take a two-week trip through New Mexico and Nevada and is leaving tomorrow. I wish I had the time to go as it seems like fun. He will be taking pictures and visiting some old friends that he hasn’t seen in many years. I guess he too is looking back and wanting to re-connect with people. I hope it works out for him.

I have started to watch some of the new TV shows for the fall season and here is my take so far:

“Joey” – Pretty funny. I like Matt LeBlanc and he has the character down. I will watch it again. However, I don’t think Drea De Matteo has very good comic skills. I feel like she is struggling a bit. It was the pilot so we’ll see how it develops. I’m sure it won’t be the monster hit that “Friends” was but it may have legs.

“Medical Investigations” – Pretty good. I like the lead guy, Neil McDonough (also from the short-lived but great “Boomtown”). I don’t really care for Kelli Williams but I think I can get past it. Their is also the supporting cast of characters who all do a fine job. It’s nice to see Anna Belnap on another show. She was on the wife’s old show “The Handler” so it’s nice to see her again.

“LAX” – Not good. I don’t feel like the people who wrote and produced this show have ever spent much time in LAX. I also have a hard time believing that all the things that happened in the pilot in one day would ever happen in a month (or longer) at the real LAX. Plus, as much as I like Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood I would not want their characters running anything for me, least of all LAX. So, I won’t be giving it another chance probably as it was just not good and their are only so many hours in a day.

However, I realize how shows are made and I also realize that pilots are not always an indicator of how the show will go so I may give it one more chance. I don’t know. I really wasn’t very good and doesn’t really seem to take things like airport security as seriously as it should.

I also watched the season premiere of “Las Vegas” and the season finale of “Six Feet Under”. It’s amazing how two shows can be so different in terms of not only content but in quality. “Six Feet Under” is a well-written, well-acted, poignant and provocative show whereas “Las Vegas” is a 40 minute music video with about as much substance as the air in my favorite basketball. It does have pretty girls, which is always a plus. But little else. Oh, and James Cahn. Who always looks like he ate something that didn’t agree with him.

Oh well, I won’t be tuning in again so no harm done. I didn’t watch the premiere of “Apprentice-2” because really, who cares? Nor did I waste my time with most of the other crap that passes for entertainment these days. I think most of these shown like “Big Brother” or “Extreme Makeover” or “Fear Factor” must be targeted at the so-called “undecided” voters. In other words, at those with below-average smarts.

I say that because how can anyone today be undecided about voting. The upcoming election is probably one of the most important in a long time. We are talking about shaping the future of our county here. Stop watching “Wife Swap” or “Extreme Makeover” or whatever the hell, put down the remote, get off your ass and go vote. And, I would prefer it if you voted for someone other than Bush. Like John F. Kerry for example.

One more thing. I have also been watching two great shows that have great humor but are also quite serious and insightful when it comes to politics and the upcoming election. If you haven’t already, go check out “The Daily Show with John Stewart” and “Real Time with Bill Maher”. Good stuff. You will laugh and you might even learn something too. What could be better than that?

Later.

Take a look at this site. Powerful.

Be well, everyone.

This is a first for me, I have to say. Here it is early evening on the day that both the NFL football season and the new Joey show start and I have nothing to say. I am not feeling particularly creative today or for the last day or so. It’s odd, really, usually can’t help myself. I just don’t shut up.

One thing I really like is discussion. Especially with people who can have an intelligent one. Many of my friends are capable. Some, sadly, are not. I don’t judge them or think badly of them that’s just how they are. Our group is chock full of brains and opinions for the most part, though. Or, at least opinions. Sometimes, they are even informed opinions. Sometimes, not so much.

Whatever the origin or basis in fact (if any), my friends are perfectly capable of arguing their points well past the time it takes for your average iced grande soy two-pump mocha. But, I just gotta love ’em anyway. They keep slugging away. Nothing like passion.

It’s probably because a vast majority of my friends work in the entertainment industry and are all pretty darn creative. They also like attention and to hear themselves talk so that plays into it as well. Either way, it makes for some entertaining afternoons at the local (the local Starbucks I mean. We really don’t go to the pub much, sadly).

What does all this mean in a world where we are at war and terrorists kill children at a school and husbands murder their wives and children go to bed hungry or where people live in the streets without medical care or shelter and a giant corporate culture takes more and more and gives less and less?

I don’t know, I was just trying not to be so dark today. Almost there too. Crap.

Later.

As usual, I forgot some things during my rant from last night. President Bill Clinton’s surgery went well and he is recovering nicely. Good luck Bill. I wish you well.

Also, the Genesis Spacecraft has returned to earth. Sadly, it crashed and did not get snatched out of the air as they were hoping to do. I wonder what info it will give us? We will see.

Later.

However you slice it, I have returned. Back from the wild that is the hometown of Encinitas, CA. It’s a great place and a great place to have grown up (as much as I did grow up). It has all the small town charm combined with great weather and pristine beaches. All in all, one of the best.

Although I have not officially lived in Encinitas since 1989, I still have a soft spot for the little beach town where I first learned to swim in the ocean, kiss a girl, drink a beer, smoke a joint, drive a car and get in a fight. Not necessarily in that order or all at the same time, however. I’m sure we all think back fondly on the places where we learned the important early lessons of life like don’t try to mix rum, beer and tequila or that those street vendors selling hot dogs on Aveneda De La Revolution in downtown Tijuana are to be avoided at all costs.

The proximity of Encinitas to Mexico (only about on hour drive) was another reason it was such as great place to grow up. When you are only eighteen or nineteen and want to go to a bar, you need to head south of the border. I still remember a little place called The Long Bar where you could get a 24 oz giant Corona for only a buck. Such a deal.

That’s not to say that all we did was drink. Although, it did occupy much of our weekends. Every weekend it seemed that we would pile into the car looking for that elusive party with three kegs and two bands on streets with named like Alga or Mozart. Once in awhile, we actually found it too. And a few times, we threw one ourselves. We even made a few bucks in the process.

As we could not actually sell beer, we gave the beer away for free and charged five bucks for a plastic cup to put it in. Capitalism at its best. How come none of us have ever gone into politics I wonder? Those juvenile records are sealed after all.

I could go on as I am feeling particularly nostalgic of late. I like to remember the times when everything seemed possible and we had all the time in the world. When it seemed summer lasted forever, even if it was only three months. A good time was had by all.

In other news, we reached a milestone in the War. Our 1000th U.S. casualty. I find it a little odd that we refer to the people who did this as “insurgents”. After all, they live there, we don’t. If you think about it, are we really the “insurgents”? Dictionary.com defines “Insurgent” as:

in·sur·gent     P   Pronunciation Key  (n-sûrjnt)
adj.
1. Rising in revolt against established authority, especially a government.
2. Rebelling against the leadership of a political party.

Mmm. I guess we are the established authority now (Sorry, I mean the Government of Iraq is) so the people that do the attacking are the insurgents. Although, when we first went to war, we were in revolt against the established authority, or at least helping the process along by destroying the established authority, so I am still confused. Oh well, I don’t really have to understand it do I? After all, I voted for the other guy.

Please don’t send email or post comments about how I don’t support our troops or that I hate America or that I love Saddam Hussein. That’s bullshit. He was an evil man who tortured and killed thousands. He deserves the same in return. And, I fully support our troops who go out and do their jobs under extreme conditions. Willing to fight and die as ordered. They are to be commended. I don’t think I would want to be there. I’m sure our President and VP sure would not want to be there. They did everything to avoid it, didn’t they?

To be honest, when I first saw evidence presented that Saddam had WMD’s and that he had a clear link to Al Queda I didn’t have a problem with us going over there and taking care of business. Now that we know that their were no WMD’s or any link to Al Queda and that it was all a “mistake”, I feel like we were duped. I’m just disappointed that they had to drag Colin Powell out to paint the picture. I’m sure he feels bad about it. At least I hope he does.

Maybe its because I don’t like President Bush or the VP or Rumsfeld or any of those other people. I just don’t feel like they are honest people and I don’t feel like we went to war for the right reason. I do think we need to finish the job and move on. As soon as possible. I don’t want to see us with a permanent base in Iraq. I don’t think that will go very far towards President Bush’s plan of “peace in the greater Middle East”. Or any peace for that matter.

At some point Iraq will have to be able to govern itself and we will need to get the hell out. No other countries in the “Greater Middle East”, at least the Arab ones, are going to give us the time of day until that happens. Luckily, their aren’t too many of those. Or, could I be mistaken? I wonder?

Lastly, I would like to suggest something radical. Or a couple things. What the hell? Here goes. What if we gave the Palestinians their own country? We did it for Israel, why not Palestine? Give it a minute.

Also, I think its time for Russia to let Chechnya go. Give it up already. I know that may seem like giving in to terrorism or whatever but someone, somewhere has finally got to say “enough of this bullshit” and make the first step. Life is full of compromises, get used to it.

Try doing something for the greater good for a change. You might like it and it might just work. Ok, sermon and lecture over. I am officially off the soapbox. We now return you to our program of dance music.

I promise, more upbeat posts about butterflies and puppies soon. I’m not dark, dammit. It just turns out that way.

Later.

Happy LD everyone. I for one will not be laboring at all on this day. I think I will spend my time deciding between beer, wine or rum. Well, I guess that could be considered work too.

Have a good one.

Later.