Easy Learning with Laketta

Quick note

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:12:00 +0000

Blogging will resume tomorrow. I am okay but extremely busy. A good busy as I have started fufilling work orders. Yay. We have a lot of catching up to do!

In the meantime on the website, there is a new tutorial explaining system restore. Check it out.

This is a Problems Post. Not me, but other people.

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 03:03:00 +0000

Heads up. The Droid X is experiencing problems of their own, specifically with their screens. There have been complaints about flickering and bands of light on their LCD screen to Verizon wireless. Motorola has said that they have resolved the problem. I will look into this and post an update. The HTC Evo also had screen issues. It’s kind of unfair that this is not being widely reported as Apple’s issues. (Yeah I said it. I am an equal opportunity critic.)

Ugh, this pains me to report but a small number of Dell servers now have an issue with malware. I deal with servers everyday so this sounds like a nightmare. Apparently a few Poweredge 410 motherboards that were sent in for service somehow came in contact with malware, perhaps through repairs which can happen.

"The potential issue involves a small number of PowerEdge server motherboards sent out through service dispatches that may contain malware," according to post on a Dell support forum. "This malware code has been detected on the embedded server management firmware."

This only reinforces the importance of having anti-malware/spyware software on your machine. I explain the differences on the website. The firmware could have originated on another dell machine that was unprotected before being flashed onto the motherboard. Malware has the ability to mask itself in many different programs, even legit ones and can effect the basic operation of even the most sophisticated machines.

TMobile may get the iphone. Honestly, I don’t see this happening. I am aware that there are reports that it is coming but since TMobile is in trouble, do you think Steve Jobs will invest his favorite child into something like this? If anything I would think that Jobs would choose Verizon as an option. I am a TMobile customer so I am not just saying this. I only joined TMobile because of their data plan offer and plus they had the HTC HD2 (which I adore very much.) Perhaps he is still so vested in his increasingly failing marriage with AT&T that he won’t go with the more obvious choice. If this keeps TMobile in business then I am all for it. I do think it is odd that this has occurred since Apple was itching to sue HTC to keep the HD2 out of the states for patent infringement. Maybe Jobs wants to knock them out all together by invading their turf which isn’t a bad idea.

Some dude is saying that Mark Zuckerberg, one of the creators of Facebook signed over a rather large percentage of Facebook to him. About 84%!

You know what, as much as I stan for Mark, I can see this happening. I am not saying that random guy is right but I have a "scenario." Perhaps in the early stages of Facebook development, Mark may have had people help him build the company. He may have made some "verbal" or "napkin" deals with people to attain funding or offered a stake in the company in exchange for other services. Napkin deals are just another name for a contract that was quickly and randomly drawn up and signed. The most notable ones were done on napkins which in those cases actually made its way to court. In this case, it could have been a regular 8 1/2 x 11 piece of white paper. If this is true, then my heart goes out to Mark. I would not want to share my empire with some random guy either. If he needs comforting, Mark can come over here. I am on your side. <3

This is why I have done everything regarding easylearncomputers.com myself. It took forever to do it but this is all me. I really do not want some random guy that I end up marrying saying that since he was around when I started and that he is owed part of whatever I build. I may love him but I am not opposed to killing him if necessary. (That is only a joke. I would never actually kill anyone. That job belongs to nature. I would just make sure to send him outside during a lightening storm and hope for the best.)

It's Monday and I am still trying to stay cool!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:28:00 +0000

Its been a long weekend so no posting from me (as you already know by now.) I took a day off plus I am still in the process of gathering more information for the website update on August 1st. I am also promoting the site. So far, everything is going well.

I did say that I was going to do a response to Apple's fix to their iphone4 reception problem. Well I am not, only because everything I thought he (Steve Jobs) was going to do, he did and I have already discussed it in detail. He is just going to give you a bumper and hope to have the problem fixed by the time iphone5 arrives. So its just more of the same. The only negative comment I do have is that after the free bumper cutoff, they are going to charge anyone who buys it 30 dollars. I call bs on this. They should provide a bumper with ALL new iphone4 devices no matter when you bought it. The hardware problem is their fault. So if you got one early enough, your device would have essentially been 30 dollars cheaper f you are a left-hander.

While I may not update to an iphone anytime soon, the same can be said for the new Windows 7 Mobile OS. I hear it leaves a lot to be desired. There have been a lot of improvements especially with the touch mechanism. However, their apps selections and download option sites still suck. I guess it is Microsoft's turn to get negatve media attention. The only positive thing out of the Microsoft mess is that the flaws are being found before they go on sale to the general public. The downside to this is that I personally do not see Microsoft putting anymore effort into improving their apps stores. I know they have Windows marketplace but frankly, even that is terribly limited and this is what will keep them from ever surpassing Apple in that particular area. Sure the phone has to work but many of the people who spend money on smartphones use it for many other things and this is where the apps become important. I own a windows 6 smartphone and I love it. That is because I am used to it. I will wait a year or so to see what they do before I ever think of updating. I took this same approach to their regular desktop OS.

I do have a product reccomendation.

I will admit, I am too cheap to buy an air conditioner. I will explain this. I got my bill from Con Edison a few months ago. (Notice their name has con in it because they are) My bill was very high considering I did not run major appliances. They are doing their best to shake the pockets of the residents in the tri-state area. You can imagine with all of the 90+ degree weather the NY area in the past month that if I bought an AC unit how much higher the bill will become. I am not busted however I would rather not give all my extra money to utility companies. I would rather have that to myself. o instead of just sitting and baking in the heat or hanging out in the grocery store. (Yeah yeah I know) I bought a Handy Cooler. You can find these at amazon.com. It is a handheld air conditioner. I will tell you that it works. All you have to do is just wet the sponge it comes with a let the air blow in your face. It works better than my fan. I've been running it non-stop all weekend which came in handy because the heat was oppressive. It does look funny and it could use a wall charger and not just the usb and battery option but I will take it. It could also use a stand or some kind of shoulder holster so it could be hands free. Sure it will look goofy but we are trying to stay cool here.

Microsoft has officially freaked me out. Meet Milo the first real-like virtual human.

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:58:00 +0000

Remember when I had the discussion about the upcoming Windows 8 and its ability to know whether or not you were in the room? Well, meet Milo, the world's first virtual person is able to communicate with you fully and considered to be human. No kidding. The virtual human takeover has begun.

"The player’s voice commands and physical movements are picked up by an infra-red sensor which works with artificial intelligence to interpret the player’s intonation and meaning, and respond accordingly. Milo works with the soon-to-be released Xbox 360 Kinect controller - as series of sensors, microphones and cameras interpret the player’s actions movements. It has the same reactions, facial movements as a human and after 45 minutes, he recognizes you."

Oh boy, can you imagine how many virtual marriages this will result in? You thought pillows were the hot thing? All this is missing is his nice-looking late 30's to late 40's hot dad with detachable penis. It would fly off the shelves. (I want credit for that if anyone sells it.)

Milo has a story too. "Milo is a story-telling game about a little boy who's unhappy because his family has moved from London to New England in America and his parents are too busy to listen to what's on his mind." So wait, not only does it talk to you and fully communicate, it has an attitude about the US already. His dad must work for BP.

What if Milo and I had a disagreement? Will Microsoft add a chip that gives him a Mel Gibson type of meltdown in which he will call you a cunt,whore, bitch when you piss him off?

Milo is supposed to be 4 years old but I think he is lying about his age. Perhaps four is his Hollywood age. (See, he fits right in to America already.) This has so many possibilities. Just think, deadbeat parents would leave their kids with Milo as a babysitter. (Dont look at me like that, a lot of them let cartoons and reality shows baby sit their kids anyway.)

Now that I think about it, I want one.

source

Bad Apples, Bad Windows.

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:34:00 +0000

Microsoft executive Kevin Turner compares Apple's Iphone4 to Windows Vista which means he is calling it crap. Source Don't worry Apple, he could have said that the Iphone4 was like Windows Millennium. *shudders* As a matter of fact, let's revisit the pile of crap that was Windows Me. I was one of the few unfortunate to have owned a machine with this OS on it and to this day I still have nightmares about it. No joke. If people were angry enough about it, this could have single-handedly put Microsoft out of business. Yes it was worse than Windows Vista. Microsoft has made sure to never mention this OS when they talk about their corporation. Windows Me is like the problem kid you keep up in the attic and not tell anyone he exists.

Right before our sentimental Microsoft favorite Windows XP and right after Windows 98, was the short-lived (and never should have been born) Windows Me. It was supposed to be the operating system to usher in the new millennium. The only thing it did was become the nightmare of many people who upgraded from Windows 98. You could not get anything done on this machine because when it wasn't crashing, it was taking large amounts of time to complete tasks. Then when you did get a program to run, it would freeze. When you got it to unfreeze itself and tried to turn the machine off, it wouldn't turn off! I will not even go into the system restore part of it, it was like some sort of exorcist machine if you ran it. I could go on and on with the issues.

I guess the iphone4 fiasco gives Microsoft and Apple something in common. Both corporations now have their attic children. I guess you can add Apple's retarded circle mouse (and their current one for that matter), Pippin (I don't remember anyone actually owning one of those things) or anything that they have ever produced that was not a flat screen desktop, laptop or music player. Remember the TV, the printers, the cameras? Yeah Steve Jobs wants you to not remember those either.

The 20th Anniversary Mac (which costs 9 grand , yes you read it right 9 grand and it came delivered in a limo but looked like a shiny $200.00 Dell) will not be included in this discussion because then this blog would be about 5 pages longer in the bad products/highway robbery and this is bullshit discussion.

I will have plenty to write about tomorrow when Apple and Steve Jobs have their press conference about the Iphone4 situation. I can just see it now. The first 15 minutes will be him informing everyone about how much of a valued customer they are, but saying it in the most condescending way possible.

Wednesday Tidbits. July 14, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:52:00 +0000

I was awake early this morning because insomnia is a bitch. I saw something on the news that mentioned an invisible mouse has been invented. At first I thought I was hallucinating and felt that perhaps I should take my behind back to sleep. Because my curiosity was killing me, I decided I keep watching the report. They say that the invisible mouse uses an infrared beam and camera to capture hand movements and transfer them into computer commands.

Holy shit! You know, I thought things like this were only on the Jetsons, right along with flying cars. We have a flying car that was just introduced however I just don't think we are ready for flying under the influence accidents just yet. Even though we have come a long way in technology, we are still light years away from the Jetsons era of technology. We just barely made it to the Jeffersons era. I am just pissed that I did not invent this first. Instead I have to hustle like everyone else because Google Adsense is pissed at me. Oh well, eff Adsense.

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The chicken or egg mystery has been solved. MSNBC says that British scientists have concluded that the chicken came first. source. Well duh! Anyone who has made it past 5th grade science should have already known that the chicken came first. You cannot grow an egg out of nothing and for all of the religious, I don't recall any bible verses saying that God hatched eggs. If you can I will gladly retract that statement. source KFC, Popeyes, McDonalds etc. gladly appreciates the research.

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Has anyone else seen this?

Its pretty cool but the standout about this poster is that Vin Diesel has 9 million Facebook fans. Which means his Facebook page would probably be worth 1.2 billion. Yes this guy.

He is number 5 in the amount of total fans on the site. How in the hell did that happen? source He has only about a million more than Starbucks which is proof that Starbucks drinkers are not to be trusted. Anyone who can spend ten dollars a day on a coffee in this economy automatically gets the side-eye from me. Clearly those dedicated and smart action movie fans got stuck on Vin Diesel's page when they were clearly looking for Jay Leno.

Collision Course IMDB

Say hello to Father Ted. Blockbuster Video.

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:47:00 +0000

This is the first of my series of posts that will salute the passing or pending death of a technology entity. It could be in computer or entertainment form. Either way, it has changed how we view or use things.

The title of this post refers to Father Ted. Father Ted was a television show about three priests living on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. The show was friggin hillarious. I do encourage you to check it out. Here you can find a lot of clips on Youtube from the show. If you can just find a DVD set if it's available and watch it. Father Ted was a priest who wanted to be famous and used to lie a lot to get himself out of a bad situation. (A lying priest. Go figure!)

Father Ted was played by Dermot Morgan who died unexpectedly and so did the show after only three seasons. Therefore when we send off a technology legend, we will ask them to say "Hi" to Father Ted for us. (That show deserved at least another 4 seasons.)

Today's post honors Blockbuster Video. They are in ICU right now and will likely meet Father Ted in late 2011.

One can say that Blockbuster video is another casualty of the advancement of technology or the laziness of America. Depends on how you look at it. Blockbuster Video is dying a sad death. The one video store that had every movie that you missed and ever wanted to see and spawned more copycats than Britney Spears. The only thing that kept you away was that you had to actually get up and return the video before they charged you out the ass. I want to feel bad for this franchise that has been a part of America and beyond for twenty years but the fact is, they did not update itself to keep up with the increases of people who turned to the internet for entertainment. A sure sign should have been the amount of people who embraced and used Napster to get music and movies. Unfortunately, Netflix beat them to the punch and offered a product that could be accessed 24/7 and in some cases cheaper. What is even worse is that this whole situation with Blockbuster is sudden. Blockbuster sank just as fast as the Titanic since it was still a big competitor as late as 3 years ago. Instead the latest attempt to save itself is to offer the same services as Netflix with online movies as well as video on demand on your smartphone (my HTC HD2 has this installed). It's too late really. As far as the online video business is concerned, Blockbuster is Christina Aguilera and Netflix is Lady Gaga. Yes you are talented but we need something that is a bit more exciting and new and not currently making a sad attempt to keep up.

No matter what, it is another part of my childhood that is disappearing, which gives me sadface.

One last look:

As a very notable line from Father Ted would say:

"*Shaking fist at the sky* You bastard!"

Everyone is bothered with somebody today. Google, Consumer Reports (Total opinion piece)

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:39:00 +0000

Clearly some things I say may have rubbed a few fanboys/girls and Google the wrong way.

I cannot apologize for this because the blog is meant to be an opinion piece about me, life and technology. The real information is on the mainsite. The things on there are facts and things that are generally known to be accurate. This part (blog) are the opinions and other things mixed in there. I am critical with some of my opinions but I do not feel that it is anymore critical than every other person. Mine is just in blog form. Besides, I do my best to provide backup for my arguments. Consumer Reports does something similar. Will we be upset with them too?

Consumer Reports says that it cannot reccomend iphone4

The blog in general isnt bad i've heard more foul thngs come from people who are half my age and they dare not me to correct them, even in an enviroment that they know they are not supposed to do it. However, because of my language and blatant honesty what I say may offend some. That is the great part about freedom of speech/expression. It also proves that I am not a robot typing all of these blogs. The blog in general is just a gateway into my thoughts about things. It was never meant to be Shakespeare. If you want that then you should go here. (Don't miss the sarcasm.)

So to sum it up, it is just tech news and life mixed together because that's what it is when you read it or even meet me. I have a passion for gadgets even when everyone else doesn't so when I talk about it, its not just me babbling. I actually care.

That's right Apple and Google, I am hard on you because I care. I care more than this guy. Don't feel left out Microsoft, you are still getting the side-eye from me about Windows 8 already being leaked when Windows 7 just came out.

I am quite proud of this little blog, even when it is only 4 week's old (such a sweet baby) because there are really cool people viewing it and it will continue to grow.

Happy Sunday. Your new iphone might burn your ass.

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 22:44:00 +0000

It's been 4 days since I wrote a blog. It''s okay to curse me out for this. I have been updating the main website and since my company consists of one person (me) I have to do all of the work myself. I also have to go to my other 2 jobs. (NY is expensive!) Make sure you check it out.

Congrats to Spain for winning the world cup. That damn octopus was right again. You know Paul, the one that has been all over the news predicting the winners of the world cup matches. Too bad he cant pick lottery numbers or find me a husband. source

There has been a report from AT&T that an iphone4 has caught fire because of overheating. The user tried to hook it to a computer using the Apple USB cable. The user of the fourth generation iPhone sustained minor burn injuries in his hand and the USB port of the phone also melted slightly. This happened due to a faulty USB port. (Oh boy lets hope it was not his left hand because that is two lawsuits in one!)

Photos courtesy of AT&T

To Apple's defense, this can happen to any faulty USB connection. However this type of event is so rare that it is basically never reported unless it is a high profile device such as the iphone/ipod etc. The cause if faulty manufacturing. According to the Boy Genius Report "The fire started in the space between the lead and the phone, and resulted in a couple of pins fusing together." "Although the main functions of the phone are apparently unaffected, the device won't connect to the PC which means I can neither charge it nor transfer data. Result: one dead iPhone." source

Steve Jobs probable response: "You're charging it wrong!"

I have caused many of my gadgets to catch fire (in my early computing days.) I've had motherboards burn because putting the wrong items in them, hubs burn because I lost the plug and tried to put one of my many other plugs that used to go with other things into it. This was how I learned computers. I am not a person who likes to learn electronics by the book. Anyone can read out of a book (especially the people who work the help desks at many companies, the lot of them don't know anything about the products they sell.) I learned by touching it and making mistakes because that is really the best way to know what truly works and what doesn't. This person with the phone now has the same philosophy. Find other ways to charge your phone.

Don't worry apple junkies, 2 more generations before they get it right. When they do, I just may get one (if I get it free.)

In other news, Google has invested in Zynga to expand their market on online gaming. Zynga are the makers of ~~Crackfarm~~ Farmville. Farmville is an online game that has a player build their own farm and plant/harvest/fertilize crops. I started this game one day because a friend of mine was already playing it. I was bored to death so I started playing it and haven't stopped since. It's a step up from doodling on a piece of paper really, but it is a great way to waste time if you have absolutely nothing else to do. (That happens to me a lot, that is why my farm looks fantastic!)

If you are looking for a job they are hiring for this merger. source

me on Farmville

Someone emailed me this site called Instant Oil Spill. You can have an oil spill happen on any website. Here is the funny thing about this site, whenever I tried to do a BP site, it gives me an error. It wont display the page's contents. I seriously think BP made this instant oil spill site just to fuck with people. That's probably not the case but I find it so ironic that it won't work there properly but works everywhere else.

Dearly Be-lov-ed, The Internet is Ovah. Owwww wa

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 01:11:00 +0000

So I am sitting here reading the news and checking the internet and I see an article about my beloved Prince Rogers Nelson, the artist currently known as Prince.

I had to investigate further to see what his royal highness has to say.

The headline said "Prince: 'The Internet's Completely Over' "
My first reaction was total shock. I did not quite understand why he would make such a statement. That would mean bad news for me since I just started my business, what, last week? :(

Well my panic subsided when he explained the reasons why he doesnt have to give his music to people like Itunes or anyone else since they won't pay him an advance. He believes in finding different ways to distribute music. He also said: "Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you." My concern returned after this quote.

I love Prince, I think he is a brilliant and still underrated musician but I have to disagree. First, those numbers are called binary code and either you understand it or you don't. Those 1's and 0's are partly responsible for his success whether he wants to acknowledge it or not. Without the luxury of technology, his music may not have been able to reach a wide audience. Second the things that are filling billions of people's heads is good for you, its information. The computers and internet have made the the world much smaller. The only time that its not good for you is when you abuse it and get yourself in trouble. There are just a few things that I would disagree with Prince over and this is one of them. Sorry sweetheart. I also believe that he is one of those people who will always stick to the old way of doing things. He will never be like the regular people and use one of those cell phone thingamagiggers or you know read the gossip blogs like us mere mortals. He will get his news via pony express thank you very much.

Still love you Prince.

Take a look at these websites. Not your typical daily eyesex.

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:32:00 +0000

First I would like to say that eyesex is something that I just made up (okay I did not invent the phrase) because I could not use the word p**n in the title. Bad things happen when you put that in a blog title. Eyesex is PG13 and you know the word p**n is just bad. You know, rated R bad. (I would say rated X but who the hell am I fooling at this point.)

Anyway, I've decided to dedicate today's post to my favorite websites. No I am not speaking of the basic stops like Facebook, Twitter, CDAN, Radar, Tmz etc. I am speaking of the other websites that are not mainstream but ever so popular.

The first I would like to introduce is Failblog. You can't help but to laugh at everything there. I was bored one day and happen to stumble upon this site. It has been a favorite ever since. They post nothing but life fails like these classics:

or this one

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The next one is: Yahoo Answers. You have to wonder if 60% of the people who post questions on there are inbreed. (Wait I should not say that because comparing them to yahoo answers submitters is insulting the inbreeds.) Some of the stuff there is so off the wall you have to wonder if they are making this up or are they actually serious. Here are a couple of examples:

Or this one...

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Last but certainly number one in my book, you MUST read this classic comedic online literature. It is the reviews of the Three Wolf Moon short sleeve tee at Amazon.com This beautiful and sexy shirt

It has over 1,600 reviews and just about 80% are just classic. You can read them here, (Click to read Three Wolf Moon Tee Shirt Reviews.)

I highly recommend it. Here are just two examples of reviews:

Here is a 5 star review:
"This item has wolves on it which makes it intrinsically sweet and worth 5 stars by itself, but once I tried it on, that's when the magic happened. After checking to ensure that the shirt would properly cover my girth, I walked from my trailer to Wal-mart with the shirt on and was immediately approached by women. The women knew from the wolves on my shirt that I, like a wolf, am a mysterious loner who knows how to 'howl at the moon' from time to time (if you catch my drift!). The women that approached me wanted to know if I would be their boyfriend and/or give them money for something they called mehth. I told them no, because they didn't have enough teeth, and frankly a man with a wolf-shirt shouldn't settle for the first thing that comes to him.

I arrived at Wal-mart, mounted my courtesy-scooter (walking is such a drag!) sitting side saddle so that my wolves would show. While I was browsing tube socks, I could hear aroused asthmatic breathing behind me. I turned around to see a slightly sweaty dream in sweatpants and flip-flops standing there. She told me she liked the wolves on my shirt, I told her I wanted to howl at her moon. She offered me a swig from her mountain dew, and I drove my scooter, with her shuffling along side out the door and into the rest of our lives. Thank you wolf shirt. "

Here is a 1 star review:
"So I got this wolf shirt because of, you know, the sweet wolves on it.
However, having owned this shirt for three weeks now and having tried it out in a variety of situations, both formal and informal, I'm beginning to believe that some of the benefits ---- as described by other reviewers ---- are exaggerated. For example, not ONE supermodel has approached..."

Trust me, you will not be disappointed if anything a lot of this is more entertaining than what is happening on television.

Download our toolbar!

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:12:00 +0000

Our free toolbar is here. We have something very cool called teacher tech which helps teaches with tech lessons and tips. The links come from different teacher contributors. We also have search, email notifier, facebook and twitter button and net lingo dictionary. Download it because it's safe and free!! Just go to the tutorials section, click on the bottom right hand corner to open the downloads page and install from there!

http://www.easylearncomputers.com/Main

Anyone who likes Twilight (or if you are just nosey) listen up.

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:35:00 +0000

I have not seen Twilight yet (none of the installments) and really have no plans to do so. Sorry twihards. I dont get the fascination with vampires as of late. I kinda blame this on the bad economy. No one is in a good mood and all of a sudden sexy shirtless dudes drinking blood from a homely girl and fangs seem like a cool thing. When times were great no one gave a crap about vampires except the goth kids. Now everyone is a wannabe goth kid.

You can hate me if you want for saying that but I will advise you to not look up anything on the internet regarding the movie, the book or anything. Its not because I am a hater but it has been discovered that searches on the subject bring up scareware/malware viruses. Twilight is popular the cyber criminals feel that their stupid viruses can reach a broader audience. I explain this subject on the main website. The PC Tools Malware Research Center has discovered a brand new version of the rougue anti-virus software that invades your machine like cooties. Once you get this virus on your machine its is just about impossible to remove it if you already do not have malware/spyware removal software installed and updated on your machine. If you don't, and attempt to install it after the fact, the rogue software may prevent it from working properly and the virus may reappear shortly after. I had to deal with this stupid virus a number of times at my regular job. You do not have to go on any specific sites to get it. This virus has become so sophisticated that it can now show up in just about any type of website. Even legit ones. The makers seem to target what is the hottest topic at the time. This kind of attack is no longer just a porn site thing. Everyone is now at risk. So when you tell your boss that you were not looking at porn sites, you maybe actually telling them the truth. Just have them refer to this blog for clarification. *wink* Just tell him or her that you were looking up Twilight which may get you a different kind of "WTF!?!?" look.

Just in case you do not know what it looks like, take a peek here at the photos. If any of your popups look like this, first I will say "you've been duped" and second I would reccomend that you back up your important files asap (granted you can take getting around all the popup windows.) If left alone, the problem will get worse and the popups will keep reappearing with shorter break times, like labor.

The purpose of the software is to get you to spend money so the "fake viruses" can be removed. Its just a code you buy to stop the program from popping up on your machine. There may not be anything wrong with your machine (except this of course) but the point is to scare you to think that there is. Their setup looks just like windows so to the untrained eye, it seems to be legit.

My message is to be careful. If you do not have a spyware/malware/scareware remover I reccomend Spybot Search and Destroy (just click on the link to go and download.) There are other programs out there but I highly suggest that you protect yourself against this. It's a bitch to remove.

What would ordinary people want with computers?

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 00:52:00 +0000

Things that disappear. Like yesterday's post.

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 21:30:00 +0000

It's Saturday and I know that you have been waiting on a new post since Thursday. Sorry about that. I wrote a post and it did not publish. I didn't save it either. See, right there is a tech blunder and a lesson on why it is important to save your work as you go. Shit happens. I will try to remember as much as I can about what I wrote and put it in the bottom of this post. It was about GPS Navigation.

The July 4th weekend festivities have kept me busy (the partying also) but I had a lot of things to fix. My phone was one of them. My beloved HTC HD2 was being such a bitch to me I spent the entire afternoon not being able to call people, especially when I had a minor emergency in my car. You should have saw me.

The phone's touch features (which I suspect that it is run by the HTC Sense mechanism that is built into the phone) would not respond. I was unable to call anyone. It continued to not respond even after a hard reset (me pulling out the battery and resetting it.) If this continues, I will have to pay a visit to our lovely friends at T-Mobile. Speaking of T-Mobile, aren't they in trouble? I am hearing rumors that T-Mobile may not be with us for much longer, especially if they cannot get a buyer for the company.

President Obama has ordered that everyone gets broadband internet. Its no longer just for people who have very expensive cable packages (or just steal the neighbors unlocked wireless signal.) Most Americans already have access to the internet by these methods (and the public library should be added to the list) but only about 2/3 of us have access to it from home. This law wants to increase that number. According to the memorandum, FCC is “to make available a total of 500 MHz of Federal and non-federal spectrum over the next 10 years, suitable for both mobile and fixed wireless broadband use.” I don't see the harm. There are already more televisions than people in the US so having the internet available is just one more avenue for us to sit on our butts. More options are wonderful.

So this means you get the internet and you get the internet, everyone gets the internet.

Yesterday I wanted to post something about an awesome invention call the GPS navigation system. The purpose is to keep us from getting lost. Many of us have relied on Mapquest for many years in which I will be honest with you is wrong about 30% of the time. I used mapquest to take to the old Giant's Stadium one time and the directions bought me there, but it sent me to the back of the stadium in which the road was a dead end. I was about half a mile away from the entrance I was supposed to be at although I put the directions to the entrance on the search. Those directions haven't been updated in years for that place. Good thing it was not in the middle of the night when I got lost. You may have never seen me again. Well anyway, the GPS has kept most of us from being lost in the wilderness. What happens when the GPS gets confused during the middle of your trip? What I mean is that when you are driving, your navigation system wants to recalculate. A good friend of mine experienced this a few times while driving around Manhattan. I swear signals have a hate affair with the city. If you are not familiar with the street layout of the city of Manhattan especially when you leave the numbered streets, you are screwed. Sure you can always ask for directions from your friendly homeless man (you may have to give him a dollar) but most of us have become spoiled by our little tech backseat driver. The best way to deal with a confused navigation system is to not toss it out the window (you overpaid for that!) No the best way is to stop and ask somebody. Navigation systems in general are great and reliable but on occasion, like all electronics (especially phones) will let you down and you have to rely on the old school way of doing things. In my case with the phone yesterday I just screamed for help. A screaming chick always get attention.

Microsoft is jealous of Apple's sucky phone. Has a sucky phone of their very own.

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:53:00 +0000

Well as I mentioned in a previous post, Apple is being sued because of that left hand issue with their phone. source The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court of Maryland on behalf of pissed of iphone users. They are accusing Apple of defect in design and breach of express warranty.

You can look at this in a few ways, you can say that this whole fiasco with a phone that has been out for only two weeks now, has created something positive. Its job creation! Yes, Apple is hiring antenna engineers! So all of you wire and signal nerds who have been unemployed due to the crap economy, here is your big shot. Steve Jobs will love you long time. Steve has finally taken a hint from Bill Gates. If you make machines that you know are flawed, you will need people to fix those flaws and therefore contribute to the job market by hiring. Broken machines keeps people employed. I am one of those people. You really don't want to see me unemployed, not a pretty sight.

Bill Gates must love this. No one is talking about him anymore. Windows 7 is so boring. He needs to do something to get in the news.... oh wait.... Microsoft has their own crap phone which they decided to yank off the market. You know their social network phone the Kin (yeah, I never heard of it either) well they are taking it off the market after only launching it in April. No one bought that mess. Lets take a look at it.

Okay now I see why, It's ugly. It's an ugly ass phone and it doesn't look functional. I can't imagine pulling that out and showing people when they have their cool iphones, htc phones and droids. It looks like one of those specialty phones that they sell to the elderly and toddlers that is probaby called "My first phone" in Walgreens/CVS during Christmas time for last minute gift ideas or informercials that they run through Saturday night to mid-day Sunday. (I watch those a lot. I've bought a lot of shit from there. Don't act like you haven't. You've bought the Shoe Dini too)

Well I say nice try Microsoft and Apple. I guess these phones qualify as an entry in failblog.

source

Wednesday Tidbits.

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:06:00 +0000

The iphone will finally arrive at Verizon.

According to Bloomberg news, the iphone is slated to arrive at Verizon in January, right on time to miss all of the Christmas holiday sales. Sweet. That means you no longer have to be penalized from AT&T for using all of the cool features and unlimited online time that the iphone has to offer because you were encouraged to do so from Apple. Its the one hand doesn't talk to the other thing, you know how it goes.

Most people who I have surveyed have said that Verizon does have better service. I have had both services at the same time AT&T and Verizon and Verizon wins. I am not going by this graph either.

*****************************
The bait and switch has happened. After HULU got us all hooked on free online television like crackheads,

they decide to charge for the best shows and services now for 10 dollars a month. Because of this HULU will fall like Napster did. Who wants to go from free to paying for the same stuff we got for free? We all know how this will end. The TV shows and companies and unions will want a cut of sales from HULU so at some point the price will go up. bah. source

*****************************
The ipad will have even more competition soon.

vs.

First Google announced their "Ipad Kiler" which will run on Android software.
Then Microsoft, Exo PC,Nokia and HP announced that they also were working on the same kind of device.
Now Cisco is branching out with its own tablet called the Cius. It will launch next year.
The Cius will have 2 cameras, run on Android and WiFi plus Broadband ready. It will also have the ability to use external mice, keyboards and monitors (presumably using USB)

This already sounds like a winner to me. Don't worry Ipad lovers, I am sure that by the time the fourth generation ipad is released, they will have one camera installed and have that pesky wifi issue resolved.

Why moms don't care about processors and other gibberish.

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:45:00 +0000

My mom, who I love dearly asked my advice on what type of netbook to buy. I suggested that she buy an Asus. I've had a great experience with my EeePc since I've had it for a couple of years now. I wrote all of the information down and told her where to go to order it.

Fast forward a couple of weeks...

She tells me that she has her mini-laptop and wanted me to see it and set it up for her. I told her fine, I want to tell her about all of the features. Well, when I arrived and saw what she bought, my mouth dropped. First, it wasn't an Asus but she bought an Acer. I explained to her that she bought the wrong machine and suggested that she return it. This was not meant to be a review but it is looking like one. I had to tell her that the problem with Acer machines (particularly their netbooks) were the fan and the hard drive. She said that hers seem fine (keep in mind she just took it out of the box.) She told me that when I talk tech that she has no clue on what the hell I am talking about so she just says yes to everything I say.

I asked her if she got a warranty and she told me yes so at least if she was going to take a risk like that, she will have some ways of getting a hardware replacement part if needed. I kept trying to get her to change her mind about returning it. She suggested that I was making a big deal about nothing since both machines are similar looking. She told me that she got the brand names mixed up and they sounded too similar so she figured what was the difference anyway. She said that she will keep the receipt just in case. I gave up at that point. She wasn't trying to hear me. Mom wins again.

Before I left the room. I asked her why she insisted on keeping this one.

She said: "Its red."

You're holding it wrong!

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:33:00 +0000

No, that is not what my ex-boyfriend told me while we were in bed, that is the response from Apple regarding the highly publicized issues with the iphone4

As a tech person I understand the nature of complaining. I work in an environment of complainers. You have users that complain that something isn't working correctly. 65% of the time, its user error and not mechanical.

What happens when user error collides with design flaw?

Steve Jobs in a statement has said that "There is no reception issue. Stayed tuned" when it comes to the Iphone4. He sounds more like a publicist. Publicists are paid liars whose job is to make the client (in this case device) look as good as possible, they block things from their client, prevent other things from happening, all for its image. "Stayed tuned" means that they are frantically behind the scenes trying to find a way to fix it. It is likely that it will be a software update but in my humble opinion a hardware issue needs a hardware update. Plain and simple, its a design flaw in which I am sure when the next model iphone comes out (and you know it will) the antenna that works the signal will be in a different spot.

Apple just may send out free bumper covers for everyone. They don't have much of a choice. They better be free or they risk pissing off a lot of customers. Its either that or refund all the left handed customers. Or just taunt them and tell them to be right-handed like everyone else and hold it in that hand, which is kinda what they have been doing for the past week or so. Sorry but its the truth. The Left-Handers Club does not find this amusing either. He should be more sensitive since he holds his in his left hand also. Just because everyone doesn't hold their phone extra dainty like he does doesn't mean that they are in the wrong.

I think the possible class action lawsuit may make the free bumper proposal stick. source

I don't agree with lawsuits either. Just send it back and go to another phone retailer if you are stuck with AT&T (I am sorry for you if you are.)

Now what makes this interesting is that Nokia has taken this opportunity to showcase how many ways you can use their phones. You can even hold it with your left hand *gasp*

source source2

Windows 8 (This is not a typo)

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:25:00 +0000

I do realize that I am late with today's post. Sorry. My computer and website were acting such an ass yesterday that I finally recovered this afternoon.

Windows 8 preview leaked today. Yes you heard it here! Windows 8. I haven't upgraded to Windows 7 yet. (I will explain that in a later post.)

I certainly hope that Microsoft isnt doing what Mac has become notorious for. You buy a new product of theirs and 40 minutes later, its already old.

According to CNET, some leaked documents about Windows 8 tend to take cues from Apple. Its offering a store (which I thought they had already, it just sucked a little, well okay a whole lot.) They are also in not so many words taking cues from the recent popular iphone/ipads and making their new product more responsive and hands on by using the Kinect motion-sensing accessory. This technology was made popular in the XBOX 360. Windows 8 will also get James Bond on us and have to software to be able to use a webcam to identify users of the machine, and check this out, if the machine is in sleep mode (that dreaded sleep/hibernate mode) it will know if someone is in the room and wake up, you know like you would if some creep walked around a room while you were sleeping. It gets even better, when you leave the room, it goes back to sleep.

Okay just reading this creeps me the hell out. I really am not sure if I want a machine knowing my every move. This kinds makes Apple's tracking software that they have installed on all their machines look basic and old school.

Does Windows 8 question why you did not come home last night? Does it ask who you were hanging with while it waited for you to come back?

So Windows 8 is basically your parents. I am freaked out now... I am going out for fresh air.

This is the only 8 I want to hear about right now...

source source 2

IT people + Alcohol = Unfortunate Circumstances

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:25:00 +0000

It takes a special person to be involved in IT. It involves patience. Lots of it. If you dont have any then you fit into the unfortunate stereotype that many people in IT face which is very mean. (I am not one of those people)

Now when I consume alcohol, all bets are off. I am considered petite and is an infrequent drinker so whenever the occasion I do decide to drink alcohol, the results are embarrising to some, hillarious to others. I just dont hold my drinks well. (Don't get any ideas.)

An IT manager on a United Emerates flight to Manchester (England) returned to court recently for a charge of disorderly conduct after he was arrested after drinking the equivalent of two and a half bottles of wine during the flight, which in a lot of places in England is brunch. Apparently he had insulting remarks towards the passengers who sat in front of him. He called the female passenger an "old ****" I have no idea what the 4 stars in the article mean. In the US we just use the standard insult "bitch." source

As Stephanie Tanner would say:

I bet he did not have access to the internet or phones, otherwise he would have had something to distract him on the flight. It beats the sounds of wild children , old people talking to you about what they did 65 years ago and snoring.

The Internet Kill Switch

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 15:39:00 +0000

Okay so picture this: you are at your desk surfing whatever it is that you are surfing (don't worry I wont tell anyone about the site you visit to look at naked people) and all of a sudden the internet stops working or you are getting that dreaded "Page cannot be displayed." message. No its not the cable company effing with you, it could be that the POTUS (President of the United States - for all of you not familiar with online gibber wibber) disabling the internet because of a national emergency. Yes you heard this correctly.

The US Senate just approved a Kill Switch plan that gives the President the power to disable the internet. The POTUS may declare a cybersecurity emergency and order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic to and from any compromised Federal government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network. This does not mean that it will affect you directly unless the emergency is so dire that drastic action will need to be taken. It is still in draft mode in which the final bill that passes with have lots of changes in it. Source

I can imagine that the so called "switch" is nothing more than just a few phone calls to other people to tell then to cut it off. Just like the nuclear bomb button is probably set up the same way. I am sure that these switches are not under his desk somewhere where he could accidentally push it with his knee, like you see in the movies. Can you imagine how many people have been under that desk? i.e. Kennedy and Obama's kids, Monica Lewinski etc.

I would not worry about this being abused. (At least not now.)

Frankly this whole thing sounds like an Austin Powers sequel (I want my credit when they make this into a movie. You know Hollywood is running out of ideas.) I can totally see Dr. Evil saying "Kill Switch" with his quote hands.

A quick lesson on how the universe works: Jason Bateman edition

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 13:06:00 +0000

Hollywood Actor Jason Bateman caused controversy recently when he cut a very long line of people waiting for the iphone4. I hate line cutters just like the next person. Reportedly the crowd booed him. Don’t worry, the universe has a way of dealing with people like that. source

You see, Jason Bateman is left handed so that awesome Iphone4 is useless when he loses a call due to his left hand covering the antenna. (See post dated Thrusday, June 24th)

Why won’t Microsoft and Macintosh invite Linux to the party?

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 11:56:00 +0000

I was on YouTube and watching some tech commercials (yeah go ahead and get the “You are lame ass!” jokes out. I’ve heard it before.) Anyway, I came across the very popular I’m a Mac/I’m a PC commercials. Where are the I’m a Linux or I’m a chubby penguin commercials?

Why weren’t they included? I mean Linux is popular. It has to be. Anything that is free is popular around these parts. IBM supports it. *shrugs* Aren’t both these companies just a little threatened that there is a third OS out there that many users rate high and is gaining popularity?

Not yet. I will tell you why.

Linux is free which those who are not tech savvy and use tech products think: “It’s free, it must be bad, operating systems are supposed to cost hundreds of dollars.” Not necessarily so. As of matter of fact Linux (as you already may know) was developed by developers. You know those people who actually mind how smoothly an OS runs. Go here if you want to see more http://www.linux.org/

Okay so the wavy colorful flag and the shiny gray fruit are not threatened by free and awesome underground products. I wonder in five years will we then have Windows vs. Apple vs. Google? Yes you read this correctly. Google is developing their own OS for netbooks and laptops that run just like their smaller handheld droid counterparts. Dell is also considering putting Google chrome on their netbooks. Toshiba already has the AC1000 which is already running on Android OS. source

It’s not available in the US yet. Don’t worry, I am sure Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are talking to lawmakers to make sure it never gets over here. But wait, Google’s OS would be free and its likely you will pay for just the hardware. So will it fly under the radar like Linux or will it piggyback off the popularity of its baby sibling the Android? Apple already had this concept with the Ipad. They just made the Iphone about 5 times bigger so I am sure that Google’s OS laptop model will be about the same. Windows did the whole thing backwards. Computers first then the tiny partners.

We will see. Considering Apple has dropped their computer comparison commercials for now and focusing on their Ipads and Iphones and Windows 7 now being the most used OS in the world, I am sure nothing will be done until their bottom line if affected.

Workplace lady

noreply@blogger.com (Laketta B.) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:42:00 +0000

I think this is a recurring theme in the tech world office. You have one female tech person and 40 male techs around. Now as a single female you would think my odds of finding a partner match would be phenomenal. Well…no.

I will break it down for you.

Out of those 40 guys:

1. 15 of them are married (unless I am loose with my vagina then this statistic is null)

2. 7 of them are dating someone (see #1 for exception)

4. 5 of them are so unfortunate looking that you just have to look the other way.

5. 5 are old so they probably resentful that they let women in the workplace.

6. 3 of them are divorced with a bunch of kids and probably very bitter right now.

6. 2 of them are gay…but hell to me a dick is a dick right? I’d still hit it under the right circumstances.

5. This leaves me 3 guys to choose from. 2 of them live with mom so if I date them, I am dating mom too in which means I have to sit all day and listen to her tell me about her son’s allergies.

That leaves 1 real datable guy, which there is only a 50 percent chance that I am even compatible with him.

Don’t you love it!

This is just one of the things that some of us deal with on a daily basis. It’s tough being a girl in this industry. No matter how good you are you will always be looked upon less than your male counterparts. That will change one day. When people call for tech support, they ask for the guys first (even though they know that you do the same thing.) The female callers are the worse offenders with this. (Girl-power my ass!) They will come to you when there are no other options. This is not a testament of how good or bad you are, it’s the condition of the climate.

When people think of tech support, they think of :

If he is black then probably this:

Rest assured I look nothing like the female version of the above. I am quite the girly girl in which some may say is a contributor to why people may not choose me first. My boobs are at attention (quite a lot actually but not on purpose) However, this is part of the workplace climate. People have it conditioned in their minds of what tech people should be. I am sure if tech guys looked like this:

people would not doubt them as hard as they do female techs.

Things are changing. Barbie has a new Tech version of herself coming out this winter. Uber feminist may hate it but I love it. Tech women are just as hot and capable as their male counterparts. I can fix your machine in 4-inch heels too. (Trust me I have done it and it is possible.)

I am not a true complainer about it, otherwise I would not be in this business. I find a lot of humor in the whole setup.