Archive October 2005
Comedy Central: Motherload is Nothing to Laugh At
Via today's Broadband Reports comes word of an atomic bomb: “Comedy Central unveiled details on its new broadband network Motherload on Tuesday in New York. Motherload, which goes live on Nov. 1, will consist of five video-based channels featuring a mix of clips from Comedy Central's programming as well as original content produced specifically for [...]
Skype: World's Next Virus Vector
Go ahead and read Skype flaws open computers to attack: Skype Technologies updated its popular Skype Internet telephony software on Tuesday to fix a pair of security bugs. The most serious flaw could allow an attacker to commandeer a user's PC. That flaw, which is similar to a bug Skype fixed last year, affects only [...]
VideoEgg on Face
I'm happy that VideoEgg and TypePad are getting along now. My question to VideoEgg is simple: have you truly talked with other vendors about easy integration with their services? According to the PC World article (with its obligatory links to Engadget and Slashdot in the sidebar), “…[VideoEgg] says it's working on making it available elsewhere, [...]
Microsoft Takes On Publishing Industry
I love Microsoft as much as the next guy, but I don't think many folks realize that they're much more than a search engine these days. In taking on publishers and authors, circumventing control, they're foisting tremendous responsibilities upon a traditional ecosystem that's just not ready to move forward. Let's just say that Microsoft wins [...]
Insert "All Your Base" Reference Here
Is it okay to be scared now? There's a new Google app that's set to be unleashed soon. Google Base? “Google Base is Google's database into which you can add all types of content. We'll host your content and make it searchable online for free.” This is either really good, or really bad – depending [...]
"Web 2.0" Doesn't Mean Anything Yet
I promised myself I wasn't going to jump into this silly debate, but I just can't help it anymore. Is “Web 2.0″ real or not? That argument is endless, mindless, and pointless. The name, in and of itself, is quite contrived. Someone needed to put a label on what was happening (or about to happen) [...]
Hey Google – Take These Guys Down?
A friend of mine just sent me this message… and it looks like one of those places that needs to stop existing. Here is one of the “tools” being used to create a hell of a mess out there. Can they do this legally, I think they can. They are providing a “gun” it's up [...]
Wicket and Pixie Need Middle Names
When they're in trouble, Mommy calls 'em by their full name – which apparently includes *MY* last name and not hers. When you hear “Wicket Pirillo,” you know he's in trouble. I think each of them has gone on long enough without middle names, so we're hunting for suitable ones. Passively, however – not actively. [...]
Blogspot, Windows Media Center and Ed Bott
Chris and several other well known bloggers found themselves inundated with spam in search feeds for terms like ‘Lockergnome’ and ‘Pirillo’ over the weekend of October 15-16, 2005. Each afflicted person independently blogged about their frustration, pointing to the source of blog spam as Google’s Blogspot. Chris talks about the issue and Google’s quick response [...]
Microsoft Windows Vista Build 5231
Bent User? Every part of his (or her) review of Microsoft Windows Vista Build 5231 was spot on. Scary, because I had noted many of the same things in my experience – though I'm waiting to give Vista another shake when Beta 2 is out. As Pat notes: Windows Vista Build 5231 is not even [...]
World's Coolest Desktop Wallpapers
Okay, this isn't really a secret, but man – Ponzi stumbled into an amazing place for wallpapers the other week without even knowing it. It's that Threadless place she's been raving about. Take a look at any of the individual t-shirt pages on Threadless.com and scroll to the bottom. On most of 'em, you'll find [...]
DOJ Screws Over iPod Competition
OH MY GOD… has anybody in the DOJ ever tried to use software created by a hardware vendor?! Microsoft has been trying to find ways to make portable music players that run its software compete better in a market dominated by Apple Computer's iPod player and companion iTunes software. Under the program Microsoft had proposed, [...]
Mike Arrington of TechCrunch on Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is a term bandied about by every company with an elevator pitch hoping to score venture funds. Depending on who you ask, the definition is a moving target. Tim O’Reilly does a great job of clarifying what his vision of the term means in a recent post on Web 2.0. One place where [...]
IconWorkshop 6.0: Slicker than Snot
Don't ask me where I picked up that phrase – I can't remember. The new version of IconWorkshop is out, and it's just as good as it always has been – replacing Microangelo as my default icon editor several years ago. Naturally, this new release sports a handful of bug fixes and assorted whatnots. In [...]
Birds of a Feather do… what?
According to TechCrunch, Flock is launching today – apparently at BarCamp (happily sponsored by gada.be). What I find most interesting about Flock is that the default search options (a) do not include gada.be yet; and (b) are all included on the default results page of gada.be (save the Google search). It's relatively easy to add [...]
