PCDisorder

Denial of Twirvice

2009-08-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

Twitter was down today and so was I. It seemed as though the entire Twitter nation had rushed off to bitch and complain on Facebook, and so that service was slooooooow also. When I saw that Twitter acknowledged being under attack it felt a little like terrorist where attacking....I guess they were.

Pirate Bay Kosher Treasure Found

2009-06-30T02:21:00.000-07:00

TechCrunch is reporting that Swedish based Global Gaming Factory has purchased The Pirate Bay website for almost 8 Million Dollars, and apparently plans to turn it into a kosher endeavor.

Does this mean the end of cutlass wielding file sharing on the high seas for these Swedish buccaneers? Profits from the sale of this extremely popular torrent site might just cover the previous owner’s legal expenses. It remains to be seen how the sale will affect the appeal of the one year prison term, recently imposed on the Pirate Bays founders. All in all, this smells like a serious “belly up” for the once proud site, known for its in-your-face pirate bravado. While I agree that piracy is not a solution, this new twist in the epic battle over media distribution feels like the real issue will be buried on some deserted island beach for some other pirate to dig up.

$10,000 Buried Here

2009-06-18T05:15:00.000-07:00

Microsoft's latest attempt to do something about the fact that competing browsers are catching up fast with IE has a literal truth to it. The $10,000 they "hid" somewhere on the internet is for all intents and purposes dead and gone. The fact that they called Mozilla's Firefox "old", shows just how detached they are.

Browser War Victory Backfires

2009-06-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

The EC's attempt to sever Microsoft's Internet Explorer from its operating system has produced yet another cruel joke. Microsoft has announced that their upcoming OS Windows 7 will be shipped IE free to European destinations - Yippee right? I don't think so.

Imagine you're French and you have just purchased and installed a new browser-less copy of Windows 7. Now you want to download that spanking new version of Opera, how you gonna do it?

Hey wait a minute, the only option you have in the operating system is to download IE??? Yes that means you will need to download IE in order to download Opera. I'm sure the guys at Opera are not pleased with the mess their complaint has instigated. Its no wonder the EC was quick to reject Microsoft's generous offer, problem is what they want is even more ludicrous. Even devout Microsoft haters would concur that forcing the Redmond giant to offer competing browsers alongside their own is a tad much. How many people do you think will agree to buy a machine without pre-installed browsing capabilities?
So what's next, an FTP retro fashion?

Will Oracle Be Burned?

2009-04-22T02:01:00.000-07:00

Here's hoping they don't. This aggressive move in times of such uncertainty will either reshape the entire industry or give Oracle a bad sunburn. In any case the pun was inevitable. At least they'll enjoy good Java until the verdict comes in.

Pirate Bay Walks The Plank

2009-04-19T02:41:00.001-07:00

Friday brought a surprising end to act 37 in the epic battle between the power of the internet and the combined forces of the music and film industry.

The folks representing the copyright holders might have won the round, but there is no doubt in my mind they will loose the battle.

The decision unleashed the wrath of swedish file sharers who took to the streets in a show of support for their favorite pirates. Even ISPs seemed to join the effort when they refused demands by the IFPI to shut down the Pirate Bay website.

Now there is talk that reverberations from this verdict might affect the outcome of upcoming elections in sweden.

I have to say that I find the end of this act rather dissapointing only because it seems to be prolonging a lost battle and delaying new business pardigms from developing. I am left wondering about the fate of the Pirate Bay owners. Will their verdict be overturned, will their sentence be commuted or Will they do the time and become millionaires from some book deal?

Is Your Boot Done?

2009-04-18T21:46:00.001-07:00

You know how an older car gives you an uneasy feeling every time you go to turn the ignition switch? How will it act up today?
These types of fears have mutated my morning routine when it comes to booting my PC. When will the boot be truly over? In my case the process is divided into two parts.

The first is the time it takes my PC to reach the Windows login screen from the moment I hit the power button. The second, and trickier part, is the wait until I actually have a responsive desktop after logging in. It's this second part I have a hard time with. How do I know when my PC is done booting and ready for work? I never know if just going for a cup of coffee will be long enough, or whether I should make myself a sandwich while I'm at it. All this is obviously bad for my diet, but is justified considering what happens if I attempt to launch an application mid-boot. Such foolishness will only throw my PC's awakening into utter chaos and launch my day on a sea of sour notes. Ain't that a bitch?

So, when is a boot over? wouldn't you like to know?

The Vista Gag Reflex

2009-04-14T04:25:00.001-07:00

When it strolls down the street windows shut with a snap, doors slam, and noses are held high with a pinch.
Yes, Windows 7 is just around the corner and everyone, is not happy.
Despite Microsoft's huge efforts to market the new OS as, anything but, its forlorn predecessor, new statistics show that the Vista gag reflex has kicked in, big time.
The register reports of a recent Kace poll that shows 84 percent of businesses will not be adopting the the new OS any time soon.
Software and hardware compatibility which were the bane of Vista were the top concern among those polled. Those less afflicted by the Vista gag reflex, who ventured to try the pre-release Windows 7 Beta, got some nasty news this week when Microsoft announced it will not support upgrades from earlier builds of Windows 7. This means that those who dared to try will now have to toil to remove (Here's how).
Microsoft also announced that as of next week the "more" standard compliant IE8 will be "pushed" in with automatic windows updates, and as much as I hate IE7 I am starting to feel my lunch turning tracks on me, excuse me...

The Texas Vista Showdown

2009-04-06T02:40:00.001-07:00

If you live in a country where legislators vote to ban the teaching of evolution in schools (no, not Saudi Arabia), you are probably not flabbergasted by a legislative proposal to prohibit the purchase of an American made operating system, just because someone said it sucks.
Well, hats off to the state of Texas for not understanding the Darwinian process which allows only the fittest to survive. Windows Vista is most definitely not a candidate for long term survival but god damn what a stupid idea. I bet that part of the Lone Star state's budget still funds the search for WMDs in Iraq.

PC Frustration - Evil Vs. Good

2009-04-05T06:40:00.000-07:00

please help me by answering the questions in this short survey, I am sure you will find it fun. Thanks - David

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Trial By Twitter

2009-03-17T04:14:00.000-07:00

"I just gave away 12 MILLION DOLLARS of somebody else's money" This tweet sent during trial by a juror to his online buddies, is at the heart of a mistrial motion. This story illustrates just how deeply Twitter has seeped into the fabric of our lives. New forms of real time communication platforms are threatening to render the impartiality of any jury impossible. The story demonstrates the difficulties of rendering an unbiased decision by a jury in today's age of incessant tweeting, poking & plurking.
Imagine the OJ Simpson trial taking place today. No doubt modern communications are going to have a deep impact on judicial systems, also.

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Gmail Imitates The Economy

2009-03-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

Gmail down again in certain areas, it really feels like things are falling apart. Here is my cartoon from the previous gmail flop followed by today's, get in line!

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Google Leaking Like A Sieve

2009-03-09T06:16:00.001-07:00

Google has been showing signs of weakness lately and I wonder whether I should be worried about it or relieved that it hasn't happened more often. With Gmail's collapse two weeks ago and the most recent blunder involving Google Docs' sharing of users files, I'm afraid to think whats next. Net based applications are the way of the future and the blunders of this era will be largely responsible for how this future looks.

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Windows 7 to Amputate IE8

2009-03-05T04:37:00.000-08:00

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Pretty soon we will be able to uninstall internet explorer from our computer, WTF?
The winds of change have apparently forced Microsoft to amend their ways and allow users of the next generation OS to uninstall Internet Explorer 8. The dramatic about face comes almost a decade to late for the now mythological Netscape Navigator, and right on the heels of a European court's imminent decision that Microsoft will have to make room for their browser software competitors. All in all this seems to be an appropriate decision because it eliminates the problem of how to get your "first" browser after OS installation, but still leaves you with the option to choose which Browser you want to work with. It remains to be seen how simple (or not) it will be to uninstall IE from Windows 7.

Pirate Bay Trial Almost Over Before It Started

2009-03-02T02:31:00.000-08:00

The Pirate Bay trial is winding towards an end mere days after beginning, and after the prosecution drops half of the original charges.
Most people seem to be rooting for PB, what a SHAM!
When will regulators and media companies realize that the times-they-are-a-changin'? They have been changing for the better part of two decades, and still prosecutors take a BiTorrent company to trial without understand how BiTorrent works. Wake up and smell the Humus! File sharing is as simple as breathing, and you just can't fight that. When will these archaic sloths learn to start breathing the new air the interent has given us?
Kudos to the brass ball slinging folks at Pirate Bay, Ahoy, Avast, and will someone please man the Poop Deck.

Google Test Driving Twitter

2009-03-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

Talk of Google's interest in Twitter has been circulating for a while, now Twitter's newest user has just thrown a match into this fiery discussion. Is this a pre-purchase test drive, or just torture for us speculators.

Gmail Down, Is It The End?

2009-02-24T03:40:00.000-08:00

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UPDATE: As of 0700 EST it seems that the world has been given a second chance by the lords of google who control our lives so deftly and totally - Gmail is up.....for now.

Apple Sex - Nanu Nano

2009-02-24T01:41:00.000-08:00

Facebook's Zuckerberg, Unbound!

2009-02-18T10:51:00.000-08:00

Oh, How True It Is

2009-02-16T05:32:00.000-08:00

How little it takes to touch a nerve, It's all a part of PC Disorder.

Click the image for more of these...

Oops, There Goes Our Privacy

2009-02-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

Corporate interests are trying to infiltrate their way into Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package. If one of these attempts succeeds it will spell the end of internet Privacy, and demolish its neutrality.

As part of Obama’s pledge to bring broadband connectivity to rural America, US senator Dianne Feinstein is pushing a proposal that calls for “Network Monitoring” in an effort to curb child pornography and copyright infringement. This proposal would basically allow ISPs to throttle network traffic and rifle through your packets in search of “evil”. The problem is that network monitoring has nothing to do with content filtering, remember the Comcast story? According to Public Knowledge, the Motion Picture Association of America is behind Feinstein's language. And as Cade Metz of The Register puts it, “the ‘network management’ bit sounds like ISP speak”.

This proposal reeks of greed and medieval intents, and reminds me that there was a time when Microsoft was considered an unbeatable monopoly until the smart and innovative guys from Google found a way to compete. Feinstein’s amendment deserves to be monitored and scrutinized until it dies quietly in some US senate hallway. Every netizen knows that privacy and net neutrality are at the heart of the Internet phenomenon. It should also be abundantly clear by now that copyright infringement should be countered by creative business thinking and not pointless litigation. Look no further than South Park Studios or Hulu to catch my drift.

Long live the free market and competition.

Carbonite + Belkin = PCD

2009-01-29T05:21:00.001-08:00

You'd think that following the Belkin Debacle from last week, any suspicion of doctored reviews would have sent companies scrambling to check themselves.

Not so the case with Carbonite, a popular online data backup service. These guys are probably too busy promoting themselves. Allegations of review doctoring arose months ago, but apparently nothing was done about it until David Pogue exposed the story Tuesday. So the question begs itself "How can smart people be so dumb?" While the vast majority of PC users might not notice reviews that look a little fishy, it takes only one sharp tack, and a hungry journalist to humble a company's efforts to establish a solid reputation. Stories like these are like rocket fuel for PC user's suspicions, and PC Frustrations.

You'd expect Belkin to have been a rude wake up call wouldn't you?

IE Free Windows = Dumb

2009-01-26T01:29:00.000-08:00

Let’s say I’m a Norwegian who’s been out all night celebrating the European Commission’s decision to force Microsoft to exclude their Internet Explorer Browser from future editions of Windows OS. Let’s also say that in my reverie I throw my PC out the window, and then run out and buy a new Dolphin Free…Err…IE Free machine.

The following morning I am driven by a pounding headache to search the web for some relief. I plug in my new Quad core hyper spaz PC and connect to the Internet, only to realize I don’t have a browser application to browse with.

Duh…I know, I’ll download my national browser, Opera, Duh…how do I do that without a browser? I seem to recall that in the distant murky past, somewhere before October 1995 there was this way to download a browser application called F-T-P. Is that option still alive?

Anyway I go to the pharmacy to pick up something for my headache only to learn that free Opera versions on CD are being handed out in local pharmacies around Oslo, whew, saved.
I pick up some Advil, and a brand new Opera CD (free), and as I leave the drug store I whip out my iphone to scan the news. As the familiar Safari browser comes on screen this feeling of Déjà Vu comes over me…

Hey, doesn’t Apple have the mobile phone browser market cornered?

Read more about this here, and here, and most recently here.

Belkin Integrity For Sale $0.65

2009-01-19T08:57:00.000-08:00

How can smart people be so dumb?
How can a quarter century old company with an outstanding reputation like Belkin, fail so miserably in their effort to gain customer recognition?

Serious and compelling allegations that Belkin offered people money to write positive reviews for their award winning products are bound to blow a hole the size of New Jersey in their good reputation.
The only good thing about this story is that the price they were apparently offering per review was a measly $0.65! The ridiculous offer leads one to hope that this colossal gaffe was the solitary handiwork of a low level nincompoop.
I’ve been using Belkin equipment for years, in fact I have been using one of their powered KVM switches for over ten years now, and it has always given me little electrical shocks when touched, (so I use the hotkey options). From now on every time I get zapped I will suffer a tinge of PCDisorder from the memory of this sorry affair. Belkin’s response was basically an emphatic begging for forgiveness. Their claim that a single misguided individual was behind these shilling attempts sounded genuine and was a good start to putting this thing behind us.

Update - Since posting this there has been more exposure of wanton wickdness by what is being described as a rogue employee. read more about it here - Thanks to Arlen Parsa of the thedailybackground

Tell Me About Yourself

2009-01-15T08:51:00.000-08:00

Fill out my Wufoo form!