http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how_to/4294038.html?page=1
This article explains how to recover files from a hard drive that has failed. There are two different ways that can ruin your files. You can have a logical failure or you can have a mechanical failure. The article explains that usually a hardware failure will result in a clicking sound when it is trying to access your files. The logical error can usually be fixed by just putting the drive in another computer as the slave drive, and downloading some recovery software. You can demo some recovery software on the internet before you buy so it shows how much data can be saved. The mechanical problem can be saved usually by taking it in to a specialist (anywhere from $500 to $2500). The article also has a funny "Worst case scenario page" about how they had a homemade "earthquake/flood doomsday scenario".
In general this was a great article, but they failed to mention the freezer trick. This will save you so much money. Instead of directly taking your hard drive to the specialist, try freezing it first. Just wrap it in some bubble wrap, freeze it overnight, and slave it on a working PC. http://geeksaresexy.blogspot.com/2006/01/freeze-your-hard-drive-to-recover-data.html
This could be some secret information that you can hold over your friends head for a free lunch. It works most of the time, and doesn't make things worse.
This article just goes to show how easy the computer really is to fix. Download some software, and let it run. Anyone can access computer information. It's not like you have to be an expert to do any of these "software fixes". Operating on a computer is like operating on a car, if you don't know how to do it already, someone else does that can tell you (not do it for you), or you can Google it. Usually it's an easy fix.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Journal #14, November 30
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/1208/052.html?feed=rss_news
Most of the airport's wireless internet is unsecured. This is mostly not a big deal. If it cost over 20 thousand dollars to secure an airport I really don't think that the investment will be made by airports. They have other things they have to spend their money on, even though they do charge an arm and a leg for anything you buy. This is a good article that explains all the problems that airports are facing. They are stuck because they need wireless internet so they can run their business, but they don't want to secure it because it cost so much money. Now they might get hacked into and all sorts of information goodies could be taken. Seems like some sort of pickle. What would you do if you were the CEO of an airport. You either have to cut some spending on salaries or risk getting all your employees information stolen, and then you could be sued for who knows how much.
This is a great article. It seems like something you would find in "Ethics for the Information Age". I can already see the question "Is it wrong for David King to send hackers out for unsolicited security assessments?" Well my answer would be no. This seems like something that will help out airports. In the end David is just trying to make money by getting airports to buy his security. The byproduct of this, which turns the economy, is having the airports not waste their money, but protect themselves, and spend money. This will protect the people who work at the airport, and the customers, basically a win win unless you are the CEO of the airport.
You can't say that it's up to customers and employees to protect themselves, because most customers and employees expect that their e-mails sent at a wireless access point to be secure. If they get their information stolen, and find how it was because of the wireless security at an airport, I guarantee there will be a court date between customer and airport.
http://video.forbes.com/fvn/tech/tb_airhack111908
Most of the airport's wireless internet is unsecured. This is mostly not a big deal. If it cost over 20 thousand dollars to secure an airport I really don't think that the investment will be made by airports. They have other things they have to spend their money on, even though they do charge an arm and a leg for anything you buy. This is a good article that explains all the problems that airports are facing. They are stuck because they need wireless internet so they can run their business, but they don't want to secure it because it cost so much money. Now they might get hacked into and all sorts of information goodies could be taken. Seems like some sort of pickle. What would you do if you were the CEO of an airport. You either have to cut some spending on salaries or risk getting all your employees information stolen, and then you could be sued for who knows how much.
This is a great article. It seems like something you would find in "Ethics for the Information Age". I can already see the question "Is it wrong for David King to send hackers out for unsolicited security assessments?" Well my answer would be no. This seems like something that will help out airports. In the end David is just trying to make money by getting airports to buy his security. The byproduct of this, which turns the economy, is having the airports not waste their money, but protect themselves, and spend money. This will protect the people who work at the airport, and the customers, basically a win win unless you are the CEO of the airport.
You can't say that it's up to customers and employees to protect themselves, because most customers and employees expect that their e-mails sent at a wireless access point to be secure. If they get their information stolen, and find how it was because of the wireless security at an airport, I guarantee there will be a court date between customer and airport.
http://video.forbes.com/fvn/tech/tb_airhack111908
Monday, November 24, 2008
Journal #13, November 23
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,453125,00.html?sPage=fnc/scitech/cybersecurity
Basically a woman gave 400k dollars over the course of two years to a horrible e-mail scam. Follow the link at the bottom to see how ridiculous this scam really is.
This is what gives me energy. I love reading articles like this. It's funny because fox news tries to be impartial. I bet the entire time they were typing this article they were chuckling and the entire floor talked about it all day. This lady just takes the cake. Basically the internet is boiling down to cyberdarwinism. This is when *only* the people have an IQ greater than five will survive the web. This lady gives a whole new meaning to sucker. She would be clarified as a sucker if she would have given the whole 400k right away. But wait, there's more! She paid over two years. How can someone do this? I don't even get her reasoning at the end. She says "The hope is [other people] are not going to fall as hard as I fell,". Listen lady, if you didn't stop when not only your family, but your bank said it was a scam, then how would an article on the news stop you? Personally, it seems to me like a failed attempt to get insurance money. She was probably sending this to a bank account that was being cleaned out by a relative and they were splitting the money, then hoping for reimbursement. Although this would be dumb as well, I can't logically see how someone would give 400 thousand dollars to an unknown source for two years. What's funny is how this e-mail scam is sent out in all caps. "An e-mail in all caps, of course it's legit". I wonder how her husband didn't stop this madness. It's not like $100 was being spent on frivolous things every now and then, but thousands of dollars were leaving.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/nigeria.asp
Basically a woman gave 400k dollars over the course of two years to a horrible e-mail scam. Follow the link at the bottom to see how ridiculous this scam really is.
This is what gives me energy. I love reading articles like this. It's funny because fox news tries to be impartial. I bet the entire time they were typing this article they were chuckling and the entire floor talked about it all day. This lady just takes the cake. Basically the internet is boiling down to cyberdarwinism. This is when *only* the people have an IQ greater than five will survive the web. This lady gives a whole new meaning to sucker. She would be clarified as a sucker if she would have given the whole 400k right away. But wait, there's more! She paid over two years. How can someone do this? I don't even get her reasoning at the end. She says "The hope is [other people] are not going to fall as hard as I fell,". Listen lady, if you didn't stop when not only your family, but your bank said it was a scam, then how would an article on the news stop you? Personally, it seems to me like a failed attempt to get insurance money. She was probably sending this to a bank account that was being cleaned out by a relative and they were splitting the money, then hoping for reimbursement. Although this would be dumb as well, I can't logically see how someone would give 400 thousand dollars to an unknown source for two years. What's funny is how this e-mail scam is sent out in all caps. "An e-mail in all caps, of course it's legit". I wonder how her husband didn't stop this madness. It's not like $100 was being spent on frivolous things every now and then, but thousands of dollars were leaving.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/nigeria.asp
Monday, November 17, 2008
Journal #12, November 16
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/11/superspeed-us-1.html
There was some big news last week. USB is now going to be over 10 times faster than it already is! I love USB and now 10 times faster, this is insane. We have already been able to install graphic intensive games onto a USB and play them on pretty much any computer. This new USB is version 3.0. Right now we have 2.0 and I guess some people can't handle transferring 25 GB in 13.9 minutes. Well with this update solves that problem so that transfer drops to 70 seconds.
http://thefutureofthings.com/news/5739/25gb-in-70-seconds-with-usb-3-0.html
With this speed boost comes other great add-ons as well. Now there is a power boost from 100 milliamps to 900 milliamps. Basically, this will be a tiny, tiny amount more for a power bill (overall you bill will be lowered due to the better organization), but charge your phone a whole lot faster. Also with this new 3.0 there is better power efficiency. This basically helps out the optimization of USB. One of the big drawbacks of USB 2.0 was the power consumption. In 2.0 the computer had to check constantly if a USB was connected. Now with 3.0 the computer doesn't have to check, the USB will send a signal, which will significantly lower power consumption.
Now don't get all crazy excited just yet. You won't be able to plug in 3.0 in your computer and experience the speed. You will only see this speed boost when going from a 3.0 device to a 3.0 device. Even when you get a shiny new computer (that supports USB 3.0) and shiny new operating system (that supports USB 3.0) your hard drive will still not be able to transfer 25 GB of data in 70 seconds. This is why I was going nuts in the beginning, because that is fast!
This update will not be available right away. It is still in production and should be available around the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010. Oh, P.S. say goodbye to firewire. This makes me sad because firewire had such a cool ring to the name.
There was some big news last week. USB is now going to be over 10 times faster than it already is! I love USB and now 10 times faster, this is insane. We have already been able to install graphic intensive games onto a USB and play them on pretty much any computer. This new USB is version 3.0. Right now we have 2.0 and I guess some people can't handle transferring 25 GB in 13.9 minutes. Well with this update solves that problem so that transfer drops to 70 seconds.
http://thefutureofthings.com/news/5739/25gb-in-70-seconds-with-usb-3-0.html
With this speed boost comes other great add-ons as well. Now there is a power boost from 100 milliamps to 900 milliamps. Basically, this will be a tiny, tiny amount more for a power bill (overall you bill will be lowered due to the better organization), but charge your phone a whole lot faster. Also with this new 3.0 there is better power efficiency. This basically helps out the optimization of USB. One of the big drawbacks of USB 2.0 was the power consumption. In 2.0 the computer had to check constantly if a USB was connected. Now with 3.0 the computer doesn't have to check, the USB will send a signal, which will significantly lower power consumption.
Now don't get all crazy excited just yet. You won't be able to plug in 3.0 in your computer and experience the speed. You will only see this speed boost when going from a 3.0 device to a 3.0 device. Even when you get a shiny new computer (that supports USB 3.0) and shiny new operating system (that supports USB 3.0) your hard drive will still not be able to transfer 25 GB of data in 70 seconds. This is why I was going nuts in the beginning, because that is fast!
This update will not be available right away. It is still in production and should be available around the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010. Oh, P.S. say goodbye to firewire. This makes me sad because firewire had such a cool ring to the name.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Journal #11, November 9
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/40085/128/
The big question: How many of these promises will he follow through on?
I have a problem with "Net neutrality". How can Obama say "a key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history." and then want to regulate it through the Federal government. This seems to me like an excuse to exercise control on just one more aspect of our lives from the government. It's like people can't do anything without having to worry about the government. I agree with "McCain who wanted to let the private sector sort this out". This seems like it will spark innovation. Putting limits and laws on the internet will definitely hinder innovation.
On the next subject of "Broadband penetration" I agree to disagree. I think the broadband speed is good, but could be better. Do we really want to take tax dollars away from something else that is necessary and put it into something that doesn't matter nearly as much. I thought this would be one of the programs that Obama would "scalpel". I guess since he's president he gets to pick. Seriously, I don't think he's going to scalpel all too much. He's pretty much going to spend more money in hopes that this will spur growth and that the government will get the money back later.
With the third paragraph about the "Wireless Spectrum" I totally agree with. There really isn't that much competition. Sure there is a little bit, but who can beat DSL and other the other big companies. It's not like wireless internet is an easy business to get into, it's a lot harder than starting your own diner.
On "H-1B visas and offshoring" I agree with as well. This is a smart idea to take away tax breaks for companies that are going offshore with their jobs. If a company is going over seas for their jobs then most likely their company is big enough that they shouldn't need those tax breaks. Few big companies is always worse than a lot of smaller companies.
On the last paragraph about privacy I agree with as well. It was great too see how all of the internet junkies and kids out their voted for him. Later they will see those mail envelope that say they must pay a fine or appear in court because that same president they voted for also put in stricter laws against all these illegal downloaded songs.
Of course Obama was more technologically sound than McCain. There is evidence all over http://obamafortechnology.com/
The big question: How many of these promises will he follow through on?
I have a problem with "Net neutrality". How can Obama say "a key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history." and then want to regulate it through the Federal government. This seems to me like an excuse to exercise control on just one more aspect of our lives from the government. It's like people can't do anything without having to worry about the government. I agree with "McCain who wanted to let the private sector sort this out". This seems like it will spark innovation. Putting limits and laws on the internet will definitely hinder innovation.
On the next subject of "Broadband penetration" I agree to disagree. I think the broadband speed is good, but could be better. Do we really want to take tax dollars away from something else that is necessary and put it into something that doesn't matter nearly as much. I thought this would be one of the programs that Obama would "scalpel". I guess since he's president he gets to pick. Seriously, I don't think he's going to scalpel all too much. He's pretty much going to spend more money in hopes that this will spur growth and that the government will get the money back later.
With the third paragraph about the "Wireless Spectrum" I totally agree with. There really isn't that much competition. Sure there is a little bit, but who can beat DSL and other the other big companies. It's not like wireless internet is an easy business to get into, it's a lot harder than starting your own diner.
On "H-1B visas and offshoring" I agree with as well. This is a smart idea to take away tax breaks for companies that are going offshore with their jobs. If a company is going over seas for their jobs then most likely their company is big enough that they shouldn't need those tax breaks. Few big companies is always worse than a lot of smaller companies.
On the last paragraph about privacy I agree with as well. It was great too see how all of the internet junkies and kids out their voted for him. Later they will see those mail envelope that say they must pay a fine or appear in court because that same president they voted for also put in stricter laws against all these illegal downloaded songs.
Of course Obama was more technologically sound than McCain. There is evidence all over http://obamafortechnology.com/
Monday, November 3, 2008
Journal #10, November 2
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081028-first-look-at-windows-7.html
So windows is coming up with another operating system. Well this one looks pretty, but it is going to be more accepted than Vista? It does look like Microsoft really has improved the user interface. These new features look like it would actually be easier to navigate through the operating system.
http://gizmodo.com/5070219/giz-explains-why-windows-7-will-smash-vista
The above is also a good article about Windows 7. My main question's were answered.
"• If an application or device runs on Vista, it should run on Win 7.
• If a system runs Windows Vista, should run Windows 7 even faster.
• Notebooks should get better battery life in Windows 7.
• Windows 7 will be more reliable than Vista SP1 from Day 1."
So you can actually run Windows 7 with less than 1GB of ram! That's amazingly better than Vista. I never supported Vista from the beginning, if on the last principle alone. Vista was just too slow and clunky. Now there's a new streamline operating system out there that will look shiny and still be fast. I'm really enjoying the whole "smarter background management" which helps out speed, battery life, and memory use. This is the step that Microsoft needs to bump them up into the new generation.
I might go buy a new computer now with this new operating system. My computer is now over a year old, which means, basically it's obsolete. I hope I am not disappointed. To sum it all up, windows 7 should make your computer run cleaner, faster, longer, more user-friendly, and all-around better. I wish it was out now. This will really give apple some stress about upgrading their operating system, to be back ahead of Microsoft. We know that Apple has better security, and functionality now, but what about after Windows 7? Things are looking a little bit closer.
So windows is coming up with another operating system. Well this one looks pretty, but it is going to be more accepted than Vista? It does look like Microsoft really has improved the user interface. These new features look like it would actually be easier to navigate through the operating system.
http://gizmodo.com/5070219/giz-explains-why-windows-7-will-smash-vista
The above is also a good article about Windows 7. My main question's were answered.
"• If an application or device runs on Vista, it should run on Win 7.
• If a system runs Windows Vista, should run Windows 7 even faster.
• Notebooks should get better battery life in Windows 7.
• Windows 7 will be more reliable than Vista SP1 from Day 1."
So you can actually run Windows 7 with less than 1GB of ram! That's amazingly better than Vista. I never supported Vista from the beginning, if on the last principle alone. Vista was just too slow and clunky. Now there's a new streamline operating system out there that will look shiny and still be fast. I'm really enjoying the whole "smarter background management" which helps out speed, battery life, and memory use. This is the step that Microsoft needs to bump them up into the new generation.
I might go buy a new computer now with this new operating system. My computer is now over a year old, which means, basically it's obsolete. I hope I am not disappointed. To sum it all up, windows 7 should make your computer run cleaner, faster, longer, more user-friendly, and all-around better. I wish it was out now. This will really give apple some stress about upgrading their operating system, to be back ahead of Microsoft. We know that Apple has better security, and functionality now, but what about after Windows 7? Things are looking a little bit closer.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Journal #9, October 26
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=732745
So basically to give you a summary of the article, a boy "hacks" or walks through his school's "excellent" security system, and then e-mails the principal telling him that the security system was terrible. His principal then got the police to arrest the kid for "trespassing” unlawful possession of personal identification information and identity theft, all felonies.
What is going on here? The kid might as well have taken all of the information and sold it online. Both would end him up facing felonies in court. There is excellent teaching going on at this school. If a 15 year old kid breaks down your horrible security system, wouldn't you want to know? Don't shoot the messenger. It sounds like to me that the principal of that school is a hot head and it boggles my mind how someone could get in position to teach people when they are so ignorant themselves. The kid deserves a reward, not a jail sentence. I thought honesty was the best policy? Well that's thrown out the window.
The only way this would be different is if the kid sent an e-mail saying "Hey, I can hack into all your goodies, how much money are you going to give me for me not to say anything?" The story doesn’t say what his e-mail said. I'm sure it wasn't something harsh. If you’re smart enough to hack into a computer security system, you’re smart enough not to send an e-mail (from your e-mail address, or home ip, saying you want money). "The student charged has a history of computer mischief but likely was not interested in stealing personal information"
http://www.shenet.org/ is the website of the school and says "Posted 10/23/08
About
In the meantime, the district's Information Services Department (IMS) began to investigate and discovered that two high school students had accessed the file from an internal computer using their student password. Due to a configuration error, this file was not completely secured from student password access after being moved to a new server. IMS was able to determine that this was the only district "data” file that was impacted from this configuration error and accessed by these individuals.
The district takes great measures to secure our data and this breach is extremely troublesome. Once the investigation is complete those responsible will be punished according to our code of conduct and subject to possible criminal charges.
We will have reviewed our procedures and IMS has written an application that proactively reviews folder security permissions on all system folders. This will be run as part of the current IMS protocols for the routine system security and integrity process." This doesn’t even inform the website readers how the kid e-mailed the principal instead of proceeding to steal the information. This is horrible.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn15/thetruthtellerwithdangeleyes/HONESTY/honesty-3.jpg
Monday, October 20, 2008
Journal #8, October 19
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/14/apples-all-new-macbook-pro-packs-new-nvidia-gpu-glass-trackpad/
So Apple comes out with new laptops. Well not really, they came out with the exact same thing and said it was new. Well what I was expecting was for Apple to make an 800 dollar Mac and at least try to compete with the PC price range. They are not going to keep up with the economy with new 1,999 dollar laptops. You can get a very good computer off eBay for way less. I got my desktop that runs at lightning speeds for 600 dollars. It has better specs than apples best laptop starting at 2,700 dollars! I assure you that you will not be taking that portable sun with you everywhere you go either so it's not that great. Basically right now it’s the same Mac with better stuff inside. They always do that. I guess I had my hopes up.
What did they really do on this update? They got rid of the touch pad button. They took away half the I/O ports (note there is no more IEEE1394A). Then finally they "upgraded" to glossy look only. Seriously? Not a good choice in my book. First, I need the touch pad button. That button is the only thing from making me destroy every laptop ever made. I hate just wanting to scroll or move my mouse when as soon as i touch the touch pad it automatically clicks whatever the pointer is on. I always disable the touch pad internal click so it never does this. No fire wire (IEEE1394A) means no hookup for DV cameras and other software. The whole update boils down into they took the old laptop, put a better graphics card in it, cleaned it up, and shipped it out. Doesn't every other company do this? By the way, every tried playing a game with a touch pad?
http://www.apple.com/macbook/
http://www.macworld.com/article/133150/2008/05/macbuying.html
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Journal #7, October 12
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/youtube-adds-read-comment-aloud-feature-from-xkcd/
I think this is a very neat, innovative idea. This proves that google is always one step ahead of the game. YouTube was already great and now I can ready my comments directly from the posting section? Amazing! This article is true though. I immediately went and looked at YouTube and pretty much one of the first comments I saw was "Some one can give me the name of the song? =/" Does posting a YouTube comment give you the ability to speak like Yoda? People just ignore grammar totally when writing YouTube comments for some reason. Also people say the dumbest things. I think that it will actually lead to better, meaningful discussion http://blag.xkcd.com/2008/10/08/youtube-audio-preview Now it won't help a lot, but it will help every now and then when someone does click on the audio preview. At first people will click it just to see what it sounds like, and then realize that what they are saying is not as good as what it could be. People who have things to input maybe won't say comments like "awesome" or "terrible" and now give reasons and facts backing up their claim. All in all I like the idea.
Google does a great job with everything. They are the number one search engine. People use their website as a verb in common language. They basically have a monopoly, but better for the consumer. This is how a company should run. They come up with innovative new technology all the time, and always comes at little or no cost. Look how innovative google, YouTube, and Apple have worked recently together. The Ipod touch, which I got recently based on a previous article I wrote, is just amazing. It's worth every penny.
This is a funny comic too. Xkcd always does some good technology articles. They did one recently on google maps it was hilarious. Definitely read that, you will get a kick. http://xkcd.com/461/
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Journal #6, October 5
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/39594/140/
So they are extending windows XP again. I know why, because
Has anyone seen these new ads that Microsoft has put out? They are so bad. Now, I am a Seinfeld lover but this is just ridiculous. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiVMPgCf6YY I almost feel bad giving you that link. It’s like now you’re going to be like what in the world does this have to do with ANYTHING!? Except for maybe a hint that Microsoft has cheaper products, the only thing I got out of that was a couple bad jokes and our computer are going too be made into cake.
By the way I think it’s hilarious that Microsoft calls it a “downgrade” from
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Journal #5, September 28
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080923-study-confirms-users-are-idiots.html
This survey is a bit ridiculous to start off. If this was done on a college campus, usually college students do not care two cents about what happens to a computer on campus. As long as it’s not their computer they are risking then it doesn’t matter. This is why the pop ups that were just randomly clicked through could have been because user’s were just trying to do what was told as fast as possible.
The title is misleading. This doesn’t make them idiots thought. It just says that they are not professionals at computers. Just because someone doesn’t know what a carburetor is doesn’t mean they are dumb. So just because someone doesn’t know what a pop up error means doesn’t mean they are dumb either.
I thought this article was quite interesting. I do believe that what they are trying to get across is true. Most user’s, even on their own computer, will just randomly click through pop up boxes. One of my friends, today, was on a computer at school and just clicking away through some very important boxes. Not only was he clicking away, but he was clicking the top right “X” instead of the “OK” are the “YES”. A lot of the pop ups I recognized and laughed later when his program wouldn’t run because he had not chosen the right choice. A lot of the pop ups are experience though. You have to know when a pop up is real and asks whether you want to upgrade flash for instance or whether you want to “get rid of all your infected spy ware”.
I did think it was hilarious how they made the pop ups switch to a hand which is like screaming “please open up a new Internet window and infect my computer”. Then it was like adding salt to a wound when they put the status bar.
Fake pop up here http://arstechnica.com/news.media/FakeDialog.png
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Journal #4, September 21
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080915-microsoft-tester-fired-after-talking-about-xbox-360-defects.html
This is crazy how Microsoft, although everyone knows that the "red rings of death" happen so much, will still go to Lengths as to firing someone over it. It's also crazy that someone, who willingly knows that he will get fired, talks about inside information from Microsoft. "For Delaware, this likely came as no surprise. He was breaking company policy by dishing the details on the Xbox 360 defects." He was hired through a temp agency, which is not exactly like firing the VP, but still sends a message.
Now you might be thinking after reading the article hey this isn't news, a guy was hired by a temp agency (usually you hire though temp agencies so you can fire at whim), he signed a contract saying he was supposed to spill the beans, he spilled, he got fired, end of story. Well the real message that Delaware was trying to get across, is that Microsoft will release products early just to hit the market before competitors just to capture the extra buck. This could give them a better scope of people to sell too. This product was obviously too early in development. The numbers do not lie http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080214-xbox-360-failure-rates-worse-than-most-consumer-electornics.htmlSo was this a savvy business move or another screw up for Microsoft? Well they are making a lot of money off of the xbox, but did they do it at the customers expense? It's really not that fun having your xbox shipped back to the company because of a defect (assuming it's still under warranty).
I have actually seen this "red rings of death" happen to many of my friends. There are many reasons that the "red rings of death" happen but mostly because the system overheats and melts the metal inside the xbox. This can be fixed by wrapping your xbox in some towels and leaving it on. This will overheat your xobx again, which will allow more things inside your xbox to solder/unsolder themselves.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Journal #3, September 14
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080909-apple-announces-new-products-at-lets-rock-event.html
So the new iPods are coming out! I've never owned an iPod but I can definitely see how many people choose to own them. They are very stylish looking music players. They are great for listening to music, watching movies, and various other things on the go. If they weren't so expensive I would definitely get one. Apple has come out with some serious better technology lately. HD shows for 2.99! A genius play list creator which uses one of your songs to find similar artists/music that you will like. They also came out with the new firmware for the IPhone that my friend says is ridiculously better than the old firmware. I was reading about the iPod nano and it has greatly improved to where someone like me who has never gotten one might fork over some cash.
Apple is getting bigger and better. I like their software more and more each day. There is no question about it, they create some genius software and hardware. The iPhone blows every other phone out of the water in design, aesthetics, and speed. The only problem with pretty much all apple software is that it is expensive. Take the apple computers for example. You can find the same hardware in a dell computer for half the price or less than an apple computer. Granted apple runs faster with the same hardware, but apple has its own operating system that is designed to run better and faster. This is also why most software doesn't work for macs, it's harder to program for their computers.
It amazes me how many people in today's generation have apple products. Everyone seems to talk about apple all the time. Whether it's the new iTunes, or the iPhone, or the wonderful operating system they have built, people are always talking about apple. I might check out the new buzz and get one of the cheaper iPods. Then I will have more insight on whether or not it was a giant waste of money, or a greatest thing since sliced bread.
Try the new iTunes out here http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Journal #2, September 7
http://www.google.com/chrome?open
First off I think the Google chrome's icon looks like a poke ball (a toy in a recent kid's card game). I like the way Google chrome is layed out. I didn't think it was going to be that good since it's just a beta version, but I was wrong. It is very fast. It's faster than any other browser. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10030888-92.html?part=rss I feel sorry for all the people still using Internet Explorer. That's like choosing to drive a 95' dodge neon instead of a 09' dodge charger and they are both free. Although they both get you to the same place, one gets you their much faster and in style. I might switch to Google chrome permanently, I'm not sure yet. One thing I like about FireFox that other browsers don't have is built in spell check. Right now I'm typing this I'm going to have to spell check at the end. With FireFox, I wouldn't have to do that. Also there is no "stop" button in Google chrome. This is that red x that you never touch unless you accidental pressed enter in your address bar and it wouldn't let you type in their until it finished loading. Also there is no bottom bar to tell you if your page is loading or not. Right now it's a toss up for me. Although Google chrome is very nice, I can see where down the road it can give me frustrations. This browser has some cool new features. Their are some awesome features of Google chrome though. Besides the fact that this thing is super fast, also it has a really clean look to it (because all the buttons are gone). Their is also a hilarious feature they give you (IE offers it as well, surprising I know) that is called "incognito" mode. You can go in this mode and nothing is stored on your computer. Chrome says you can use this when your trying to hide shopping for a present or something but basically to 99% of evil Internet people its "porn mode". I'll let you decide whether that's right or wrong.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Journal #1, August 31
Intel cuts electric cords with wireless power system
This is a breakthrough that will change our lives! Not only can I steal my neighbors WiFi, but I can now steal their electricity! I don't do that nor would I but there are definitely flaws in this system. I don't see 100% or even 50% of the power getting that is getting transferred being received. I also see this as a hazard for people's safety. The article says that the transmission of power did not affect anyone who stood in the middle of the transmission. How do we know this for sure? Cigarettes were just another way to feel a "buzz" until years later it was discovered that a high percentage of smokers were getting lung cancer. Oh, and remember that whole "It turns out the human body is not affected by magnetic fields; it is affected by elective fields. So what we are doing is transmitting energy using the magnetic field not the electric field." comment? Yea, so if you have a pacemaker, you're going to die. I hate to bag on this article, but none of this is said in the article. This is why when you read this article, you asked yourself, "Why 2050, and not 2010?".
I asked my friend "What would you say if you could charge your laptop with wireless electricity?" and he said "Will this give me cancer?". Well this was after, "Awesome!".
But seriously I would love for this to happen, and who knows, maybe my Computer Engineering degree could take me somewhere into the power industry, even though that's more Electrical Engineering. It's really an interesting topic to me personally. I can't wait to charge my phone by just being a powered room. This would seriously be a great benefit and advancement to society. I don't think I have to tell you all the great reasons why.
Tesla did it first
"In Colorado, Tesla carried out various long distance power transmission experiments. Tesla effect is the application of a type of electrical conduction (that is, the movement of energy through space and matter; not just the production of voltage across a conductor). Through longitudinal waves, Tesla transferred energy to receiving devices. He sent electrostatic forces through natural media across a conductor situated in the changing magnetic flux and transferred power to a conducting receiving device (such as Tesla's wireless bulbs)."
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