On Your Desk
Now this really grinds my gears: Charter Communications, a cable ISP, has sent letters to a few hundred thousand subscribers telling subscribers that Charter will now begin tracking every single site that customers visit, and then selling that information to NebuAd, an advertising company, in order to increase its revenues.
Are you kidding me? At least to Charter Communication's credit, they've got the balls to actually come out and tell their customers what scummy tactics they're going to employ, unlike Comcast who does everything to hide their sleazy practices.
However, their outright honesty doesn't improve the ridiculous intrusion into their subscriber's privacy, and Charter Communication's senior vice president of product management, Ted Schremp, gives an almost point by point regurgitation of the typical PR BS that accompanies wanton destruction of customer's privacy rights:
Charter is taking "for the most part, a high road approach," according to Mr. Schremp. "We have told customers exactly what we are doing," he said. The letter to customers, he added, was "very forthcoming" and "not buried in mouse type and legal disclosures."
The five-paragraph letter positioned the monitoring program as an "an enhanced online experience that is more customized to your interests and activities."
"As a result,'' the letter said, "the advertising you typically see online will better reflect the interests you express through your web-surfing activity. You will not see more ads -- just ads that are more relevant to you."
Yeah, great, because what we all want is even more advertising that is the result of you tracking my every move. W00T! </sarcasm>
Don't get me wrong, I know advertising is the lifeblood of the Internet. Hell, if it wasn't for the advertisers we have Homotron wouldn't exist and I wouldn't be communicating this to you.
BUT, there's a big difference between content makers like us putting advertising on our own website and an ISP tracking your every move and using that to add extra advertising content on top of sites in order to "increase revenue."
Ted Shcremp did tell the NYT that customers would be able to opt-out of the system, but that's hardly a solution. A default of opt-in with an option of opt-out is never a consumer friendly option, and it's a lesson that Facebook learned the hard way when it debuted its Beacon ad service a few months ago and incurred the wrath of privacy advocates everywhere.
For now, the programme is in a trial phase in Fort Worth, Tex.; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Oxford, Mass.; and Newtown, Conn. If the trial goes well, Charter Communications will then roll out the programme to the rest of its 2.8 million subscribers.
If you're a Charter Communications customer, watch your mailbox for their letter and make sure to opt-out of this ridiculous programme.
Charter Will Monitor Customers' Web Surfing to Target Ads [NYT]
Feeling down?
Love drag queens?
Need a little shot of love in the morning?
Daily Drag Queen Affirmations is the site for you! The site features a subscription service that for $20 will provide you a short video every day for a year of a drag queen saying something inspirational and funny to you to lift your spirits.
Taking a look at the samples, the clips are wonderfully funny and cute, and I'm already thinking about gifting a subscription to a few friends of mine.
I'm not really sure where they got such mellow drag queens (Miami drag queens tend to serve up a cold dish of biting tongue and sarcastic wit to whip one into shape instead of inspirational sayings) but the results are great, and the FAQ is a hoot to read as well:
Refunds?
Hell no.
Will they make me feel better guaranteed?
We can't legally guarantee anything. In fact legally we have to say these are for entertainment purposes only. BUT it sure as heck makes us feel better. And we have loads of folks who thank us every day for making their world a bit brighter!
Why $20?
Why indeed? Please feel free to give us more.
If you're interested, head on over to their page and give the samples a look.
Daily Draq Queen Affirmations [DDQA]
[via: Coolest-Gadgets]
It's an interesting look at the new operating system, but I can't help but agree with some of the comments on the video: What is really going to revolutionize Windows is not bells and whistles, but basic interface changes. Menu upon menu upon menu just isn't exciting anymore, regardless of how smooth the transitions are. I see it like Final Fantasy. Up until FFX, the menu-based game play was ok. But after that, we needed something different, something to keep us interested. FFXI tried its hand at something new, but was still stuck in menus, but FFXII really busted out the walls of what it meant to be a Final Fantasy game. Yeah, there were still some menus, but overall the game play was revolutionary.
I see Vista allot like FFXI. It's something a bit new, a solid try at new approach. But I'm hoping Windows 7 will be much more than that. However, from the video, the only exciting thing so far is the web page builder.... and that's just a rehash of a million different programs already available.
What do you think? See anything exciting or interesting here in this video or from any other sources that have got you pumped about Windows 7?
Modern ingenuity never ceases to amaze me. We are always looking for ways to relax and, at the same time, multitask. Just like when you're working late or just playing games on your computer and you really want a head massage. That happens to me allot... not really. Just like once a week. But when the urge does strike, I can't ask my boyfriend to massage my head because then I won't be able to keep playing SimCities Societies. He'll want to talk, then cuddle, then I'll be roped into watching another episode of Brothers and Sisters, meanwhile all I'm thinking about is how cool a half fun/half totalitarian city would be!
It's times like those that I thank Ceiling Cat for bringing other people with the same dilemma as me together to solve problems. This particular problem was solved by a USB Brain Massager from our friends in Japan. The little gizmo can plug right into a USB slot on your PC and start massaging your brain with 8 little vibrators right away. Want to do it while watching TV? Pop 2 AA batteries in and your good to go. Hell, you can even flip it over and have eight vibrating tentacles to use for... wait a minute.... that just seems a bit... oh, my!
*cough* Well, ugh, now that I've found my newest housewarming gift for whatever lesbian couple just made it to their third week of dating, I think I'll go talk to my boyfriend and catching up on my Grey's Anatomy story lines...
Product Page [Rare Mono Shop - Translated]
[via: Gearlog]
I gotta give it to Viacom and their assortment of TV channels. However much I may not like MTV, I love Comedy Central and I love LOGO. Comedy Central has seen an explosion lately of show offerings on line, like the complete back catalogue of The Daily Show, Colbert Report and even flagship South Park. But LOGO, Viacom's channel dedicated to the LGBT community, has yet to offer any of its shows online. That is, until today.
LOGO announced they would be placing new video content on their website today. Everything from full episodes of Noah's Arc and Big Gay Sketch Show (both good shows, if you ask me) to clips and behind the scenes footage of their other shows, will be available online for you to view at your leisure.
I took a look at the selection, and while I have to admit that it's pretty limited, I'm also optimistic about what Viacom will do to expand the current offerings. Many places still aren't able to get LOGO, or even in places where you can get it *couch*Chicago*cough*, you have to pay extra to get it, so it would be nice to be able to access this content online. One down shot is that it does not appear that you can embed the videos as of yet. If you haven't experience LOGO yet, I would definitely encourage you to check out the shows they have up now. Like I said above, Noah's Arc is a great show (and currently has the most episodes available online) and the Rosie O'Donell produced Big Gay Sketch Show can be hilarious (most of the time).
[via: CNet]
While we've seem some pretty cool laptop art lately, I have to say that Dell's new Inspiron 1525 - Mike Ming Edition lappys are pretty sexy too! These hot machines come with some pretty standard laptop gear inside, so I wouldn't expect a gaming machine, but a solid windows rig. But the best part isn't the innards, it's most definitely the artsy outside designed by artist Mike Ming. You can choose from this design and one other, as well as your typical Dell customization options.
If you're a die hard Windows fan and a coffee shop-anista (yeah, i just made a word), then you've probably been shunned by all the "cool" and "artsy" kids sporting the same exact Mac Books, that ironically shows exactly how unique they are. Now you can show them all up those hipsters with your very own artistic laptop! That is, until someone busts out their custom designed MacBoook Air... but at least you'll have the sleekest Windows machine in the shop! And you'll have an extra $1000 in your pocket, as these fellas start at just $699.
[via: Gearlog]
Laptop mods are super-duper hot and so are sleeve tattoos. To me, this engraved laptop from Engrave Your Tech looks like a combination of hotness to create ultimate hot.
Check out their laser-engraved black and white Macbook. Be sure to have napkins ready to contain the drool.
[via: Apartment Therapy Unplugged]
Do you feel that? It's a disturbance in the force... like a million voices cried out and then were silenced...
... Or at least that's what I think it sounded like in Steve Ballmer's office as Microsoft reached the decision to withdraw its bid for Yahoo! and end our favourite tech telenovela of the year.
Ballmer said this in a letter to Jerry Yang (the CEO of Yahoo!) announcing the cessation of assimilation procedures:
Our discussions with you have led us to conclude that, in the interim, you would take steps that would make Yahoo undesirable as an acquisition for Microsoft
You mean like doubling employee's severance packages in the event of a company take-over to encourage a mass exodus of talent, making the company worthless? You didn't think Yahoo! was going to play nice, did you Ballmer?
Somehow, the news seems disappointing to me. Almost anticlimactic. I expected more fireworks to accompany someone as outspoken as Ballmer backing down from hostile threats. His new nickname should be "all bark and no bite," in my opinion.
As for Yahoo!, the jury is still out on whether this is good news or not, but I can tell you this: Wall Street doesn't like it. As of this writing, Yahoo! stock had tumbled down 15%
to 24.41 on the news.
However, we all know how twitchy stock brokers can be, and I think in the end Yahoo! will come out the better for it. Their new partnership with Google for search ads as well as a rumoured merger with AOL to expand its content holdings, one of its core competencies, will most likely be much more beneficial to Yahoo! as a company than being assimilated into the Microsoft collective.
No matter what, Jerry Yang has his work cut out for him to prove to investors that fighting off Microsoft was the right thing to do.
Microsoft Withdraws Its Bid for Yahoo [NYT]
This weekend I spent a lot of time surfing through and playing with various Adobe AIR applications. What can I say, I was a bit bored, and there's been lots of buzz around this whole Web App/Desktop hybrid lately, so I figured I'd take a gander at what's available and try some stuff out. And while I can't hide the fact that I love Twhirl for my Twitter Application, I have to admit, I didn't see too much else that I was excited about just yet.
If you're not familiar with Adobe AIR, it's essentially an environment that allows you to run web-based applications like desktop apps. You may have heard of Google Gears, which is a similar idea, or Microsoft Silverlight, which is pretty much a direct rip. The idea is that things like Twitter are great, but with open API's abounding lately, why not create more innovative ways to interact with those web apps? Like I said, I love me some Twhirl. It's rich, well-developed, easy to use and make Twitter easier to be involved with on my computer. That's the essence of what AIR is suppose to accomplish, but to be honest, aside from Twhirl, I wasn't much impressed.
So I put the question to my dear readers: What AIR apps do you use, if any? Screw that, expand this to what Silverlight or Gears apps are you using? I'm really excited about the possibilities of this web and desktop integration, but is this something that we need to wait to mature more to see the usefulness of it, or are there other, truly exciting things out there now to sink our teeth into?
Leave a comment here on the thread and let us know what you think.
While I'm enough of a Physics geek that I actually enjoy reading theoretical physics books for fun, I know that such a quality borders on the "rare" side of the commonality scale. This is why when Physics powers a simple but awesome toy like the NeoCube, I revel in showing my friends how cool Physics can be in a way they'll appreciate.
Comprised of a bunch of small spherical neodymium magnets, the NeoCube is sure to keep you busier than that lame stress ball you have currently sitting on your desk:
At $30 a pop, it's more expensive than your average little toy, but for 216 neodymium magnets, it's a pretty good deal. Just keep it away from your hard drives, OK? Those suckers will wipe your data clean if you're not careful.
Product Page [NeoCube]
It seems the first few PsyStar Open Computers are actually starting to show up in the wild (colour me surprised!)
An intrepid reader over at Gizmodo has sent in both videos and photos of his new Open Computer, along with some interesting tidbits:
- You cannot reinstall Leopard yourself (so if you ever need to reinstall the OS, you're SOL - no word on "reinstallation service" from PsyStar.)
- The case is roomy and pretty expandable.
- The do include a brand new shrink-wrapped CD of Leopard (again - you can't install it yourself.)
- Reports are that it runs quite fast.
- Software Update does not work. No system patches for you!
That last point is very critical. Without Software Update, your system will languish with no software fixes, and most importantly, no security fixes.
Again folks, I would not recommend buying this computer if you're anything but a hobbyist.
For a closer look at the Open Computer, hit the first link for a gallery of images, including the unboxing, and hit the second link to for a video of the Open Computer in action in the wild.
Exclusive Photos: Psystar's Case, Shipping Contents [Gizmodo]
Exclusive Video: Psystar in the Wild [Gizmodo]
That's right folks, the newest version of Ubuntu, the consumer friendly and easy to use Linux distro, "Hary Heron" is out and ready for download!
The most notable new feature for those of you Windows users who have yet to try Ubuntu is the addition of a cool new Windows based installer that lets you install Ubuntu inside Windows and run Ubuntu as a virtual device without having to mess with crazy partitions or boot managers.
But this isn't the only new feature, of course, as Hardy Heron brings many more new features to the excellent Ubuntu:
- New versions of GNOME, Linux kernel and Xorg graphics handler.
- File transfer speed improvements.
- Ability to cancel, undo or even pause multiple file operations.
- Firefox 3 beta 4 included, already customized to fit into GNOME.
- Transmission is now the default BitTorrent client.
- Built-in GUI VNC client (Vinagre.)
- PulseAudio default sound driver (thank the gods!)
- Improved memory security.
... and that's only a small sampling of the new features.
I love Ubuntu and run it on my PS3 as a secondary operating system that lets me do all kinds of neat and powerful media centre functions. I'm really looking forward to playing with the new PulseAudio sound driver, which should solve a lot of the audio output headaches I have when playing back some different types of media with obscure file types (that is, once Sony gets my PS3 back to me from repair.)
If you're looking to upgrade or give Ubuntu a try (and you really should!) go ahead and grab your copy from the Ubuntu site. The site is running very slowly at the moment due to the large load from the release, so I would recommend turning to your favourite BitTorrent tracker and grabbing a copy from there.
Don't worry, it's legal for you to do so.
Get Ubuntu [Ubuntu]
And girls who like girls who like fembots!
Gadget of the Week
Show-stopping "half-VGA" screen and HSDPA/UMTS support, gorgeous video playback: Bold, Bold, Bold!
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