The MPAA (Music Picture Association of America) is planning to try and push congress to pass a law that would make home users with home theater systems to "register" their theater system and pay a $50 fee. More details here. Totally retarted.
Wathcing movies in the privacy of MY home - TMS
Apparently if you choose to use an alternate OS such as Linux and decline the EULA for Microsoft Windows on a new machine purchased from a major play such as Dell, you should be inclined to get a refund for the cost of the operating system you purchased, but are not going to use. Full article here.
alternately operating - TMS
Microsoft's answer to the iPod is Zune. It not suposed to go on sale in the US until Tuesday 11-21, but a Best Buy did, and a few people took advantage or were taken advantage of!! Read more.
tuning out the world - TMS
A few post ago I talked about a fre free programs to help your computing life, I found another antivirus program that gets great reviews. If you dont have an antivirus solution yet, then check out Clamwin!
It's truely is amazing how fast hackers can hack their way into an OS. Vista has not been released a week yet, and it's activation scheme has already been hacked. Copy of the software is already available for download on torrents.
I understand that this is truely the most advanced operating system Microsoft has released, but with the cost of owning the OS in upwards of 500.00 plus, your average "joe" is not able to buy it. Heck even I cant afford that kind of money for an operating system when Windows XP works just fine for me. I have a feeling more young people will be downloaded pirated copied of Vista due to the cost. If Microsoft had put the cost more in lines with XP (200 and up), people would be more inclined to purchase the OS legally. Instead, they have put it in a price range that most people either cant afford or dont want to afford, the latter being my case.
Wishing I was rich - TMS
It appears that Microsoft is doing something a little out of character. They are playing nice woth a third party vender that directly competes with Microsoft.
Hmmmm..... Interesting. Click here for article.
Cold medicine for Vista - TMS
Awhile back, I discovered the record label Ultimae records. I had found a couple of albums by Solar Fields and Aes Dana that I really enjoyed. After a little research I found Ultimae records and found a plethera of new very cool music. While meandering around the Ultimae website, I read that they have directed music sales to Fake Science. Fake Science is as they put it "Fake Science is something spiritual and unquantifiable - an alchemic equation, like the i-ching or tantric sex. No one knows exactly why it works, but it does." The guys that run the site are members of some of the bands listed on the site so they really have a good feel of the music they sell and the industry in which they work.
If you like downtempo/Chillout/Ambient Trance music, you really need to check out Fake Science. I dont think I have seen anything for sale there for over 5 dollars. All albums are downloadable in .zip format and contain very high quality MP3's.
Chilling out - TMS
Corporate America as I see it..........
Not too long in the future, unemployment in the US will be HUGE. Just you wait and see. I say this not without any underlying basis of proof.
Why will the US be unemployed? Heres why.... Many companies are outsourcing business. This helps the company financially. Outsourcing in itself is not a problem, as long as the outsourced labor is still kept within the US borders. When the outsourced labor is shipped over seas to countries link India, Malaysia, Pakistan, and so forth is when we have problems. Why you ask again? With companies sending work to foreign soil, that is work that could be done by an American citizen. Example: I work in a company that is doing just that. They are outsourcing work to India. When a person leaves the company or is let go for valid reason, we no longer hire an American. We hire an Indian from India, who works remotely from India. They are paid considerably less due to economic reason in their particular country. Cost of living being much less and not having to provide insurance are a couple of reasons. That is not such a bad thing from a financial point of view. The company is saving money and therefore more profitable. But when the company gets greedy, as mine has, they take it to another level. Instead of just replacing jobs with overseas labor, jobs are actually being lost to over seas labor. Meaning American people are being laid off so the company can hire cheaper labor. Not only are these people being laid off, but in many cases they are asked to actually TRAIN their replacement from over seas!!!!
OK most people are thinking, "That sucks" and "OK whatever". I did too until it started to affect my coworkers and me. We are currently facing our jobs being sent overseas. We are even asked to provide assistance to our "replacements" if needed. All while the company is planning on reducing the US based staff of 7 down to 4. There is a problem with this that goes beyond financial savings for the company. First and foremost is quality of service. I work in a service oriented industry. Users call a helpdesk when they have problems on their computer. My area provides the support. What has happened is all software support is now being handled from India. Meaning an end user here in the US may have a problem with Microsoft Office. No longer will they get a "real" human to talk to and relate to, they will get a person on the phone that has trouble with the English language and cannot physically visit that person’s desk to resolve the problem. Second and probably more important is that another person in the US is in the unemployment line looking for a job.
That person may be me in the near future.
standing in line - TMS
I am a music lover. 99% of the music I have is legally purchased, I admit that there may be a song or two that I really dont know where I got it from and probably cant tell you when I received them. But, the RIAA is becoming a laughing stock of the music industry instead of what they want to be. A feared force against illegal music sharing.
Another article here.
Microsoft has released several freebies to help your computing life.
Windows Defender is Microsoft’s answer to spyware/malware. It is one of the best and is free! If you do not already have a solution for removing spyware, or dont even know what spyware is, I highly suggest downloading and installing Windows Defender.
Windows Media PLayer 11 is the latest and greatest of Microsoft’s Windows Media Player. If you are still running the old outdated media player 9, then you should upgrade to 11. Too many new features to list. Those of you on media player 10 probably won’t notice too much different.
SyncToy is a nifty tool for synchronizing folders between your computer and a different computer or external HD or even a network share.
Windows One Care is Microsoft’s answer to the ever popular Norton and McAfee. It's still in beta, but worth the download if you do not have antivirus and spyware protection.
Of course let’s not forget Internet Explorer 7. As mentioned below, IE7 provides a far superior internet experience than any of Microsoft previous browsers. Get it.
Happily downloading new software....TMS