Anything and Everything

Another New Look and Some Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 04:47:00 +0000

If you are a common reader for my blog, you've already noticed the change in the appearance. A more simplified, easy to read format that even my grandparents may find appealing. It's not "over the top" or "obnoxious" as some blogs and personal websites, but it still has some personal flavor.

The change is due to Blogger (my free blog hosting site) adding some new features. Blogger is a Google product and it has proven to evolve in the few years my blog has been out there. The update to the layout and look is welcomed by everyone and it shows. I appreciate any comments that you may have.

Now you may be asking what the "changes" are from the title. Well the ads you now see on my site are changes. When I started, I just wanted to get my ideas out there and provide some help to people who wanted technology explained in a more common language. No more mixing of ROM and RAM, multi-core processors, the scary world of Linux or the basic changes happening to cyberspace. Straight forward thoughts and explanations of what common, as well as up and coming, technologies could/should/would do for everyone.

Well now, I've got a reader base and some people actually enjoy what I have to say (LOL???). I'm in the real world. I've got real rent to pay, real insurance payments, real car payments (something I'm going to elaborate on in the future), and overall a much higher budget that is resulting in decent savings, but debt nonetheless. So the ads and search features are there to make your life and my life easier.

For today's lesson, we are going to elaborate on Google Adsense. Adsense is a program that anyone can use to put helpful links to helpful products and websites on their own websites. If someone clicks on the link, everyone involved makes money. Think of it as networking without actually meeting anyone. Google indexes just about every website and every website has a specific set of information included in it. This information is called meta data and Google can use that data to link websites that are common together. This is used in basic web searches, shopping and overall for Google Adsense. I put the word "Apple" and "iPad" as a piece of meta data in one of my posts and Google immediately puts my post in with the millions of other posts and websites about Apple (the company) releasing the iPad recently.

Again, the ads and search features are just there to make your life and my life easier. I'm not saying you need to click on them or search utilizing the features because that's illegal through the bylaws of the Adsense project. I just want you, as readers, to understand why the look has changed and why you now see ads and a search box.

Please let me know if you have any questions and what you think of the new look!

iPad Impressions

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:50:00 +0000

The Apple iPad. Everything you could want in a easy-to-use device with the standard Apple "amazing-ness".

An iPod, e-reader and netbook all rolled into one device that will include apps and have Wi-Fi internet access and, if you want it, the speed of 3G AT&T service (where available). Who honestly could ask for more? That's the question right.

Not exactly.

The question is why did it take so long for Apple to come out with it? I'm a nerd/geek and no one will deny that. I write this blog right? As a nerd, I always want the latest and greatest in technology. I like playing with new technology, utilizing as many features as I can and probably breaking something in the process. It's the breaking things that I enjoy because it lets me learn how the systems work and how to fix them.

With that general idea in mind, I've already got an iPod Touch, a BlackBerry, an Amazon Kindle and a home network that integrates with my Mac, Playstation 3 and my 6 year old Dell laptop. Why do I need a Kindle then? I already have all the features of the iPad spread across several devices and they all work great!

That's the unfortunate part of Apple iPad release. People have already purchased the devices that are combined in the iPad. But it actually makes logical sense.

I think the iPad is now going to be the replacement for when the rest of the devices go to that technology resting place in the sky (more preferably the recycling center). Why not have 1 device that does it all rather than 3 devices that tend to cause clutter both for yourself and the environment? You can just have your iPad and a plain old cell phone. Done.

Consider it for when your Kindle, Blackberry and iPod die.

Thoughts?

More of the Initiative...Proactive versus Reactive

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:40:00 +0000

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative was released by the White House late last week. The initiative is meant to be both proactive and reactive in nature.

Proactively, the government would like to have the most up-to-date anti-cyber terrorist actions in place to prevent a malicious group of users from accessing information or shutting down a grid of the internal infrastructure of the U.S. This basic goal is a large scheme project that is going to require a massive overhaul of several systems. Possible: yes! Probable: most likely. Expensive: you can bet on those $45 dollar hammers being part of that bill.

The Reactive aspect of the government is going to incorporate something known as counterintelligence (I know, government/military = counterintelligence, but that's not the point here). Counterintelligence in the cyber world is basically acknowledging a threat as soon as possible along with all of the affects of the threat and then finding a way to neutralize it. We would be "countering" an intelligent attack on the nation, hence counterintelligence. This is being spearheaded by a number of nerds, geeks, crackers, hackers and all around interesting people. As anyone that has worked in a specific area long enough with a keen sense of observation and a solid deductive skills can tell you, you start seeing trends. You see the results before they happen and you do what you can to react to those conditions.

Play any game, sport or puzzle long enough and you learn how the rules work and where they can be bent or broken. The same applies to a single computer, a network of computers or an entire infrastructure. The Internet follows the same rules and the malicious code that affects it tends to do the same. There is always an origination point. There are always a number of workstations that are used to deploy a code. The code tends to stay dormant in the recesses of a registry or folder on a workstation. The switch is activated and bam...a few million PC's start smoking, flashing red lights and spitting out bank account numbers. The Reactive people are meant to sniff this sequence of events out before the smoking, flashing and spitting happen.

My thoughts: might as well cover everything to prevent and stop all attacks. What are your thoughts?

Too Much...Too Late?

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:15:00 +0000

Forewarning: The following topic may become a hot topic on this blog over the next few months.

On Thursday, the White House released a brief overview of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative. Translation: this is what we plan to do to prevent the recent cyber attacks against Google, Intel and multiple other major corporations.

The initiative is meant to be a protection plan for government agencies as well as the general population. Education may be the crucial point in the initiative. The amount of security that is and will be implemented behind the scenes will be near that "unfathomable" level, but the issue is that there is always a flaw. What the flaw is has yet to be determined.

The initiative seems comprehensive because it does call on the population to start taking up an active role in their technological security. Antivirus, anti-malware and anti-spyware should be standard on your computer, regardless of if it's PC, Mac or Linux. Yes, even Mac and Linux users are and will become as frequently targeted as PC users. Market share has been increasing with each of these operating systems which has allowed crackers and hackers to start coding malicious code for all operating systems that are used.

All of that in mind, a self-awareness of what passwords are used across your online sites, where your accounts are in place and what information about you is on the Internet. I have been guilty of this until recently. The same set of passwords used across all sites and networks and that was it. I started testing out programs like KeePass and it's proven to be amazing. That comes highly recommended from me. Have a look and let me know if you have suggestions or questions.

As mentioned previously, I hope to be your source for the education mentioned in the initiative put out by the government. Not because the government says so, but because it's becoming a necessity for everyone quickly.

This was very brief opening to a complex topic so please let me know what you would like to hear about.

Have a great weekend!

Refresher

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:56:00 +0000

So I've been in corporate life for 18 months and to be honest, I'm really enjoying it. There is a dynamic that a person can thrive on and it's exciting as a young person in the business world. With that in mind, I've realized my thoughts on so many concepts over the past year and a half have gone unpublished.

For one, Microsoft doesn't seem like the big bad wolf anymore (respectfully disregarding Dick Brass's opinion). The release of Windows 7 has turned a debacle of a product that was Vista into something worth enjoying. The environment works well with old and new programs, what more could an IT person ask for? How about an easily adaptable virtual environment with networking that actually works? Excellent!

Secondly, e-readers have taken off. Books have held a special place in my life since I picked up my first picture book as a younger child. In college, the passion continued right into my major, but the cost to keep up with my literary fetish was unreal. Along came Christmas and a wonderful addition to my life: an Amazon Kindle! Double digits in the number of books read, the addition of books and a very handy syncing feature between the Kindle, my Blackberry and my Apple iPod Touch (1st generation Mr. Jobs). Regardless of where I am, I can always access my books and everything stays in sync. Nice work Amazon.

The final piece for this entry: I need to stay focused with this blog and bring back my readers. To my current readers, spread the news and let me know what you would like me to elaborate on and explore more. To my future readers, I hope I can keep you interested in what I have to say without coming across like a preaching IT know it all. There are already enough of those blogs on the web. My thought is that people need to know and understand technology if they plan to stay safe and be educated in an ever-changing environment. That is my intention with this site.

Have a great day and, as always, let me know what you think.

In the Real World

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:07:00 +0000

So it's been a long time since I last wrote, but it's about time to start back up and re-establish myself online.

Update #1: I now work for a software company as a developer/QA/first assist. I thought I had a running knowledge of basic technologies, but I was completely wrong. I've learned more in the past 7 months than I could have guessed. Basic programming, full administration, complete hardware and software integration. Basic Windows troubleshooting is now just an after thought.

Update #2: The real world is definitely not the same as the idealistic world that college portrays. Hard work does pay, but does not result in instant gratification. It is nice to have an expandable income, but with the current economy, it's still restricted.

Update #3: Trying to establish yourself in a new area is not an instant solution either. Even with social networking websites, nothing beats actual face to face communication. A resume only shows so much. Sometimes it takes a little extra initiative to stand out.

I plan to start writing more. Please let me know if there is any area you would like to see developed more and I will dive into it.

Have a great day!

Fresh Start

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:21:00 +0000

So it's official. I've graduated from college and now I can start writing in my blog again. I must apologize to all of my readers and subscribers for not updating in several weeks, but I will begin to do so on more regular basis now.

I've taken the summer to enjoy a little downtime and search for a job. My passion for IT is pushing me towards that field, but my major seems to be something of a dilemma. With an English degree, it appears as though my credibility is questioned quite frequently.

Who would have guessed???

It does not matter if I have two years of paid, well trained experience. The degree is key and with the economy in the current state, a recent college grad is left to search, call on connections and be willing to work. I AM ALL OF THESE!

This all is due to the fact that the majority of what I know is self taught and the simple idea that my IT skill is not only justified by my technological knowledge, but by the simple fact that I can communicate the most complex systems to individuals of varying technological knowledge. My English degree assists me well in this category.

If anyone has any recommendations, leads or connections for a recent college grad trying to get into IT, let me know. I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks and have a great day!

Dropbox Invites...

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:42:00 +0000

It's official: Dropbox is a hit.

I am a fortunate beta user and I love the product. The cross platform compatibility is priceless and my productivity level have gone up as I work to research several papers due the next month.

To all of the users that have so politely requested invitations: I've dispersed all of my invites on a completely random basis as of right now.

I must apologize to everyone that did not get an invite as well as thank all of those users that have subscribed to my blog.

I'm delighted to know that you all enjoy what I have to say and I've been informed that Dropbox beta users will be getting more invites in the upcoming weeks. When this occurs, I will post and provide all of these invites to whoever wants them.

Stay tuned, tell your friends about my blog and have a great day!

5 Questions about Digg dynamics

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:34:00 +0000

The big news on Digg several weeks ago revolved around the fact that algorithm changed. Whether this was due to people finding out the original algorithm or simply for Digg to ensure that actual user-driven and approved content was hitting the main page is completely up to whoever is speculating.

Over the past weekend, I was watching stories in Upcoming events (pretty lame I know but I was recovering from a nasty cold) as well as checking which stories made it to the Digg Recently Popular (main) page. Of course, the ones with the highest hit count made the page and those with low hit counts ( mine included) traveled into Digg oblivion and later to the back end of some 31,000,000+ hit Google search. (Try Lindsey Lohan)

While making this observation, I also noticed that there were a ton of stories hitting the Digg main page that had never once touched the Upcoming page. Stories from the major news sites, big-hit blogs and the like were flying up the charts.

These stories were getting 1000+ hit counts and they had never once touched the Upcoming page!

5 Questions:

How is this possible?

Why are sites that already getting millions of hit in a day from the sole fact that they are not only running a professionally maintained site but they also have televised news?

Why are sites like MSNBC, CNN, Fox News (this should never make the main page unless it's completely ludicrous!) implementing Digg into their websites?

Have minor bloggers such as myself made that much of impact that we are now trying to be blocked out by the giants?

Is what we say as influential and quality as what they say?
____________________________________________________________________

I'm viewing this as inspirational and something to keep me blogging. News sites feel like they losing a battle that never really was meant to happen. The stories that are climbing through Upcoming page and bringing in hits the "real" way are earning my respect. I have been made friends with a lot of these Diggers and I Digg them!

To my Digg friends: I will Digg you to the top if your material is good! You are all the reason why Digg was started! You have earned my respect and I will Digg you to the end!

To the network news sites: Is it really necessary to infiltrate Digg to boost your "all knowing egos?" I enjoy what you have to write and I read it on your sites. I don't need to read it on Digg as well!

To the major blogs: I'm not criticizing you in the least. You have worked you @sses off and you have reached a level that every blogger wishes to reach. Keep up the great work and, again, I'll Digg you to the end!

To all other Digg submitters: Digg original material. Don't copy crap and call it your own. I don't need to hear from Joe Blow in Peidmont, ND that Apple released SDK when it's been on every major news site, tech site and reputable blogger for the past 4 hours.

Be Creative!

Have a great day!

Are Hackers Good or Evil?

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:04:00 +0000

As always, news seems to filter in a little more slowly on the weekends when it comes to sites like Digg and Reddit. The majority of the news stories are from the major classic news sites like CNN and MSNBC. It makes sense right? People are enjoying time with their families, working out, watching a sporting event, reading a book, anything. They are simply decompressing from the previous week and re-energizing for the upcoming week that seems to move in too fast!

Well one of the major news site stories yesterday caught my eye. The reason it did so was the due to the way it was written and what it was written about. The story came from CNN.com and it was about a small group of hackers from China (also known as "crackers" for their ability to crack programming languages and code) who were making a bold statement by supposedly infiltrating several very secure mainframes and databases in the U.S., Germany, Britain and France.

Reports keep filing in that the a surprising amount of information has been lost or corrupt since several hits on the Pentagon last year. Now we come find that these hits aren't coming from one single hacker or a massive group of hackers, but rather a couple of young guys sitting in their apartment in China or any number of smaller hacking "units."

But the real question is: IS THIS A BAD THING?

This group of hackers has found "backdoors" and "loopholes" in government and private company firewalls and have been able to access this with little to no formal training. They simply know how a website works, how to do some simple coding for a vast number of program languages and that's it.

This should be the number one indicator for Fortune 500 companies and governments alike; YOUR SECURITY ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!

So why not use this information and start working with the issue. If these guys can break what you spend millions of dollars on to sleep at night, you better start losing some sleep because they will keep breaking it until you fix. They are handing you opportunities left and right and you better be grabbing them now.

My suggestions:

#1. Take sensitive data offline. The last time I checked, I can't say that I've ever heard of anyone walking about the "TOP SECRET" basement at Langley or the White House with a cart full of files and never returning. (This is similar to the Windows notice this week about not putting a password on your machine to ensure no one hacks you.)

#2. You thought you had the "best" working for you; well you just found out you DON'T! These guys are doing this from their apartment for enjoyment and to make a name for themselves. Why not? I'm pretty if anyone could do it and get away with like they are, everyone would do it! I would!

#3. Take advantage and use common sense. These guys are doing that. They are thinking and behaving like anyone with some basic logical thinking capabilities would do.

I didn't view this article as something to be scared off, but rather as a great warning to the governments of the world, Fortune 500 companies and anyone with a website or blog.

Secure yourself online. Take the appropriate measures to make sure you aren't embarrassed. Be smart. Use common sense. No one is completely anonymous.

Think about it!

Have a great day!

Why Do You Blog?

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:43:00 +0000

Why do you blog?

Do you do it because you love writing and have a lot of stuff you think someone else in this world of 6+ billion people might want to actually read what you are saying?

Do you do it because you are pretty damn smart when it comes to a topic?

Do you blog because sometimes you just need to let it all out?

Do you blog because someone has asked you to put your thoughts down someplace?

Do you blog because you are just too lazy to write a book?

If you said yes to any of these: CONGRATULATIONS! You are doing exactly what millions of other people are doing and you are doing it for the right reason!

Next question(s).

Have you ever:

Written a blog entry with pretty much the same material as something you've read somewhere else recently?

Written about something you know nothing about just because it was the "hot topic of the day" on Digg/Fark/Reddit or any other user-driven news site?

Wrote a blog entry for the sole purpose of gaining attention, "fame" or just because you are a selfish prick?

If you answered yes to any or all of these, stop what you are doing and re-evaluate why you blog. The blogosphere is full of people who enjoy writing and are good at what they do. They know their "stuff" and there is a reason they are riding high on Digg!

It's amazing how many times I read something yesterday in the Digg Upcoming section about the Apple SDK, iPhone 2.0 and Spore release coming in June and September. I'm sorry but if the technology blogs from websites like Lifehacker, Ars Technica, Wired and Macworld, to name a few, are covering this and providing all the information, why do I need to read it from 32 other bloggers that are just repeating everything that has already been said.

Broken record news reports don't suck people into your blog or website people.

Be creative! Use some ingenuity!

I'll "Digg" you and "Shout" it to all my friends if you come up with something worth reading!

Please return the favor if you agree!

Have a great day!

Pricetag on Apps on Apple App Store

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:56:00 +0000

Yesterday, the world of the Internet (Digg especially) was filled with all the glorious news that Apple has released an SDK beta system for developers to create third party applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The main sales pitch was directed towards businesses and the ability to have a solid all in one device with the iPhone.

This particular move is in response to Blackberry's growing popularity among business people as well as Google's introduction to the mobile world of development with the release of their Android platform a couple months ago.

The release date for the App Store, as well as iPhone update 2.0 (required for use of the App Store), is scheduled for sometime in June.

Now my question: what are apps from the App Store going to cost?

I've used JailBreakMe on my iPod Touch and found that it works great up to a certain point. The point being the fact that it just stops working after awhile and programs begin to crash unexpectedly.

Everything through a "jail broken" iPhone or iPod Touch is being developed at the price of donations by the users. I donate when I feel that an application is great and deserves to evolve through even further development. This is where the problem is. Developers aren't getting paid for their service and therefore the best possible product doesn't hit the market.

Now the App Store is the solution. We pay for the products we want and work with them. Judging from the ridiculous package price of $19.95 for 4 applications on the iPod Touch, I'm going to place the average cost of an app from the App Store at $5.

$5 is decent for a great application that works! Obviously games from EA (like Spore) are going to cost more as well as anything that enables the iPod Touch or iPhone to do something absolutely brilliant (as if they haven't already done so) will cost more as well. But a standard application like a news aggregate or anything that increases productivity will be around $5.

I can handle $5.

I could be wrong though! What do you think?

Have a great day!

The Idiot IT Guy in Everyone

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:35:00 +0000

Everyone that has been reading my blog for the past year already knows that I have a passion for IT, technology and life in general. I work for the university that I will be graduating from in May and love my IT position.

Knowing that my position needs a replacement in the upcoming months, my supervisor has asked that if I know of anyone that has some potential as a social IT person that I mention that the position is opening up. Well today, I thought I found someone! And then I realized I was COMPLETELY WRONG!

I was working with some corrupt files for a professor and one of the professor's students was sitting in the office working out some test questions. I began my work and came to realize that only a small percentage of the files were corrupt and that it would be nearly impossible to undo the corruption farther than I had already done. The kid in the room chimes in asking if I've tried this procedure and that procedure and I've informed him that I have. I was impressed that he knew the correct procedure and began to inquire into if he was interested in the position that would be opening up. He seemed interested and then he hit me with a load of information that told me he was either way "overqualified" or a complete dumb @ss!!! (I'm going with option 2. Alex)

He mentioned that he was kicked out of two other schools for hacking (I'm going to call B.S. on this one). He also made the offer to "provide" several expensive applications at the cost of...wait for it...free! Hmm...I wonder where and how he was going to do that? Anyone?

This brings me to my point: This kid has learned nothing while in college. If he had been kicked out of school TWICE for hacking, then he shouldn't be at my university in the first place. He should be sitting on a black hat list. Just because you know how to run a BitTorrent to download programs files does not qualify you as a hacker or even a great computer user.

It seems as though there are individuals who know what they are doing and then there are individuals who think they know what they are doing. You either are or are not someone that truly has a passion for IT.

It's not for everyone.

I have a passion the runs deep and I truly want to be able to fix, learn and teach/translate everything to do with computers to everyone that is willing to learn and adapt.

Everyone functions on different skill levels. It's the people, like this kid, that think they know everything there is to know, in a field where the knowledge base grows at an exponential rate, that basically screw up how the IT world works.

Learn and keep learning! Don't brag! The majority of people simply use the computer and expect it to work. Then there is the small percentage of IT people, like me, who work IT and try to make sure that we can understand and fix Anything and Everything that becomes a problem on a computer.

True wisdom comes from the person that can admit that they do not know EVERYTHING!

To the moron I met today: I work as an internal computer consultant and ensure that all network and computer systems are functioning at the level that my clients need. Don't play devil's advocate and bad/dumb @ss to make yourself look good!

You turned into a fool in my book.

Have a great day and let me know what you think.

The Real Reason for the Multi-Touch Switch

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:11:00 +0000

Steve Jobs and Apple have had me baffled in recent weeks with the release of the MacBook Air and "redesigned" MacBook and MacBook Pro series notebooks. The "redesigned" aspect includes higher minimum standards to ensure that OS 10.5 Leopard can run seemlessly no matter what machine you have.

The other aspect of design change is the inclusion of the multi-touch touchpad for mouse maneuvering. This is something I never understood. I have the iPod Touch and I am completely in love the multi-touch component of the screen. It allows me to scroll and modify the size and shape of windows and programs. It's an intuitive interface that anyone can pick and use (I truly mean anyone knowing that my grandparents could probably use it and they don't even know what an MP3 is!).

Now, tell me what exactly is the purpose of this on a notebook Mac? Why would I need to be able to use two or more fingers to scroll through documents and websites when I can just as easily click the down arrow with "clicking aspect" of a notebook touchpad or even more simply hitting the down arrow key on my keyboard? Anyone? Answers?

I literally found nothing in terms of definitive answers on this move for Apple and most definitely did not find a decent speculation.

Apple is doing this for a reason but what is it?

Then it hit me: this is for a future purpose and they are simply training all new Mac users for this future upgrade. My speculation is that Apple will be releasing a model of notebook and/or desktop Mac that will have an enabled multi-touch screen/monitor. This is the next step in terms of computing.

Doesn't it seem logical for notebooks? Notebook "mousing" has been an ever evolving entity. Moving from the original IBM "blue ball thingy" between the G and H keys to the classic touchpad to serial and USB mice and now the multi-touch mousepad. The only thing left is the multi-touch screen.

For the skeptics out there. I understand that there have been multi-touch screen tablet PC's and monitors for a couple of years now but they have been plagued with a series of issues and incompatibility problems that no one seems to be able to answer.

Apple is notorious for producing solid products from the beginning and I believe this is the next step for notebooks.

Prove me wrong!

Have a great day!

PS3 Movie Rentals???

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:24:00 +0000

In my last post, I mentioned something about Netflix coming to PS3. I just got done reading an article from the Digg Recently Popular page comparing the Apple TV, Vudu and Xbox 360 downloadable movie services.

My question is when is this going to happen for the PS3? The machine is more than capable of running a third party service, if necessary. The hard drive on all models is big enough to support several movies with the possibility for even more storage through the USB connection port. The online capability is there through both wired and wireless connectivity. So Sony, Netflix, TiVo, whoever...where is the service?

With the addition of Sony's Home coming to the interface in May, I'm getting even more excited that this may include a new update to allow for movie rentals and purchasable downloads. One can only hope.

Has anyone heard any news in regards to this? If so, let me know. I would love to read up on this!

For now, WTF Sony?

Have a great day!

Watch-Movies.net...a great replacement for VideoHybrid and Stage6

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:11:00 +0000

I'm a college student on a budget. What student isn't (besides those with trust funds...congratulations!)? So when a new movie comes out on DVD that I've been waiting to see because: A) I didn't have the money to spend $9 in a theatre or B) The movie didn't look like it was worthy of my $9 but ended up being pretty good, I usually want to buy it but then I don't have the cash to buy it.

With new release DVD's starting at $20 and Blu-Ray at $30, it's pretty hard to justify spending that kind of cash on movie that I may end up detesting with a passion and never watch again. I could do this and when I happen to purchase a movie that I don't enjoy or that I know I will never watch again, I would just go to my local Video/Game trading place and get $2. Great deal huh? Spend $20, get $2 back. If every company ran on 10%, good bye corporate America!

My solution: I use free online services like VideoHybrid or Stage6 to select the first part of a movie and watch it. This way, I get a feel for the movie at less than perfect quality and if I like it then I can go out and purchase it. If I don't, I don't buy it. (Yes, I realize this goes against everything corporate America stands for.) With the recent news that VideoHybrid is being sued and Stage6 being shutdown for an increasing amount of work, I had to find a new site.

Well I have! Watch-Movies.net is a great site that offers several different directories for each movie they list and most are divided into sections for easy, better quality viewing than a full film version. This is a great film site and has a rating system. I've never viewed an entire film at this location, but it has definitely led me to purchase several DVD's and Blu-ray's.

I'm looking forward to the day when Netflix is available on PS3 as the people over at Kotaku are speculating! One can only hope!

Let me know your thoughts through links, subscribing and leaving comments.

Thanks and have a great day!

New Year. New Look.

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:36:00 +0000

So it's 2008 and this is my first blog post of the year! That is pretty ridiculous on my part and I apologize to all my readers that have been "eagerly" awaiting something new. I've been trying to accommodate my new schedule, organize my life a little and if you didn't notice, trying to find a more up to date template for my blog. What do you think?

I was thinking about what to write about in this post and I was reading through Digg for the 10th time yesterday and I found that a lot of what I said last year in terms of predictions came true. Blue-ray won the high-definition movie format war. I got a PS3 to compliment that. Apple continued being a steady force in the world of computing. Linux, more specifically Ubuntu with Dell, has grown into a headline news company for the ease of use behind their distribution of Linux. Google continues to drive the Internet as if it were they were a Ferrari Enzo on the Autobahn and Microsoft has been trying to just keep up in their Ford Mustang.

It seems as though everything remains the same in the dynamic world of technology now (that was intentional irony). If a company begins to boom and create great products, they get a choice. Either they market themselves to the Big Guys (Google, Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo!) and hope someone buys them or they better brace themselves for one heck of a fight against the Big Guys!

Each of the Big Guy companies has products that are great and products that make an IT guy go "What the f@*%!" Google's concept of free has helped me in numerous ways, this blog for example. But their new Google site builder project has me a bit baffled at the moment. Don't get me started on Microsoft. Yahoo has released some great, easy to use "refurbishments" of their original products but the innovative nature is beginning to lack. And then we have Apple, who's products I'm beginning to love more and more everyday. But what is going on with their new binge on the multi touch pad or the MacBook Air? The multi touch works great on my iPod Touch, but why would I need it if I were to buy a MacBook?

I'm beginning to rant which is a good indicator that I need to stop. I'm planning to work this blog more so on a several day basis rather than everyday. This is only due to the fact that my final undergrad semester is becoming even more time consuming. So link up, subscribe, let me know what you think of the new look and leave a comment if you want me to write on something in particular!

Thanks and have a great day!

Holiday Guide 2007: Day Three: MP3 Players

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 02:20:00 +0000

The MP3 player has become the next cassette player or Walkman for the 21st century. Everyone, young and old, is realizing the potential of having a digital media player the size of a deck of cards that holds hundreds and sometimes thousands of songs!

The problem arises from the fact that there are so many different MP3 players on the market that it is mind boggling to figure out what is best for the person that you intend to buy a gift for. That's why I'm here; to simplify the world of MP3 players and allow you to make an easier decision this season.

The easiest way to divide this category up is: Apple's iPod lines vs. everyone else.

This is for good reason. Apple has been specializing in MP3 players since their creation and has gone through multiple versions (known as generations) to create a near perfect player. All the other competitors have been going through several versions but to no where near the extent of innovation that Apple has done.

Nonetheless, here is the buyer's guide for MP3 Players:

Apple: Price: $79-299 Availability: The closer we get to Christmas, the harder it is to get one.

- Apple's iPod lines cover all of the bases in terms of price range and ages.
- The iPod Shuffle is a simple, no display MP3 player that holds several hundred songs. This is great for the beginner iPod user, whether 10 or 70. Simply plug it in into a computer with iTunes installed on it and pick the songs you want on the Shuffle. Unplug it and hit play and it works. Simple, standard and economically priced at $79.
- The iPod Nano is the next step up in the iPod line and offers an easy to use color display that allows the user to select their songs from a simple, categorized menu. This particular model is in a new generation phase and now offers support for video playback as well. By uploading your favorite DVD's to iTunes, the user is able to view them while using their iPod Nano. A great addition for the slightly more technically savvy person, but not the complete music or tech aficionados.
-The iPod Classic is the perfect gift that person that has so many CD's and DVD's that they couldn't listen to or watch all of them if they had all 24 hours of the day for an entire week! This model has a larger storage space that allows for 20,000-40,000 songs or a couple hundred movies. Basically, this is what you buy for the person that is looking for a great gift for the music lover in the family. At $249, it's hard to beat!
- And finally, the iPod Touch, the tech lovers dream and my personal choice. This device serves as the next generation of PDA's. With the ability to view movies, download and play music, add a bunch of applications and surf the web from your iPod! What more could you ask for? At $299, it's the most expensive iPod but the capacity for usage is well above any iPod or other MP3 player for that matter!

The "Others":

-Microsoft Zune: Price: $149-299 Availability: Readily Available
-This is the main competition for the Apple iPod and is currently on the second generation. This is a great MP3 player but because it is still considered new, it has not reached as deep of a following as the iPod. This MP3 player has all the features of iPod Classic which a larger storage space and the ability to play both music and videos. A high quality device worth looking at for the person that loves Microsoft product or just doesn't want to worry about iTunes.

-Creative and SanDisk players: Price: $35-100 Availability: Readily Available
-These particular MP3 players are truly designed for the true beginner that really has no preference. With a lower price tag, a similar design and ease of use ability, these devices are great for the person that seems to break things easily or just the quick pick up for the surprise guest at Christmas.

I'm excluding all MP3 playing cell phones for the sole reason that this is a personal preference and solely dependent on the cell phone provider.

This is the round-up for MP3 players. Enjoy and feel free to make suggestions for next year's guide.

Thursday's Guide: PC's vs. Macs vs. Linux computers.

Have a great day!

Holiday Guide 2007: Day Two: Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:23:00 +0000

So you have someone in the family that is a movie fanatic and you are looking to buy the next generation of movie playback devices because let's face it, the DVD player you've had for 2 years is just "so 2005." So now the question is: "Which kind of player do I buy: Blu-Ray or HD DVD? What's the difference?"

Here's your answer:

Blu-Ray: Price: $300 & up

- Blu-Ray is the offspring of the Sony Corporation and is basically the next step in data storage. In response to developing the next generation of data storage after DVD's, Sony developed a technology that used the reading of data through a blue laser instead of red laser like those on DVD players. By doing this, they were able to put more data in the same size disc because of basic physics revolving around the color spectrum. Enough with the science chat. The Blu-Ray discs hold a lot of information on the same size disc as a DVD or CD but because of an increase in production costs for the technology, the price to develop the discs increased. With this in mind, some of the major film studios have moved away from this technology for financial reasons causing support for the next format.

HD DVD: Price: Cheaper than Blu-Ray

- HD DVD is the offspring of Toshiba in response to Sony's development of the Blu-Ray. Basically, it was created to bring in more money for Toshiba and not allow Sony a monopoly in the next generation of movie playback. The technology is virtually the same as Blue-Ray but the discs themselves do not hold the same amount of data which brings in the controversy similar to that of Beta vs. VHS. Blu-Ray discs hold more data and can theoretically adapt to the ever growing realm of high definition. HD DVD, in comparison, holds less than half of what a Blu-Ray disc holds but it is gaining more support from the major film corporations due to alliances between Toshiba-based companies and the film industry.

Overall approach: This is basically the return of Beta vs VHS. There is no safe purchase this year when it comes to the next generation of movie playback devices because no one knows which format is going to become the standard. Sony's strong backing in the gaming industry mixed with some support in the film industry has kept the Blue-Ray disc alive. However, HD DVD has just gained the support of the majority of major film corporations in the past several months which has caused a greater divide for which will survive: Blu-Ray or HD DVD.

Both players and discs cost more than the standard DVD player and discs and make it hard to justify which will be the dominate format this year. Personally, I'm in support of Blu-Ray due to it's integration into the Playstation 3 (a personal desire for this Christmas) but there is no way of telling.

To prevent relapse of that $400 Beta player people have sitting in their basement (Mom and Dad), my suggestion for Blu-Ray vs HD DVD: DON'T BUY EITHER THIS CHRISTMAS! There are too many variables this Christmas and without a standard, eventually one group will win and the supporters of the losers will be sitting at home with a bunch of useless hardware. Wait a year and see what happens in regards to the battle between the two technologies.

*If you want to read more about the technology, check out Engadget's synopsis of the technology.

Tomorrow's Gift Guide Topic: MP3 players

Have a great day!

Holiday Guide 2007: Day 1: Next Gen Video Game Consoles

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:30:00 +0000

The holiday season is approaching incredibly fast as everyone dives deeper to finish up final projects for the year. I fall into this category as well. Final exams are in two weeks and semester papers and projects are coming due within a week.

In light of all of this, I've been doing my research for Christmas gifts for everyone around and with this, I've been reading a lot of gift guides through many of the major sites. There is one trend that I've noticed in most of the tech guides and that is that somewhere along the lines, the sites are sponsored in one way or another by certain companies and therefore they need to be in support of the companies that are supporting them! Considering I'm not sponsored by any company, I figured I would provide an unabashed tech guide for anyone looking to buy a tech gift for a loved one.

Today's focus is on the next generation of video games consoles. There are three and they each play to a major demographic of the video game playing world.

So here we go:

Nintendo Wii: Age range: 2-100 Price: $250 Availability: Scarce

-This is the most innovative game console to come out since the mainstream move to 3D games on the Nintendo 64. This console is great for kids and adults. I'm calling it the game system that "gets people off their butts and moving" because it really does that. In order to successfully play most of the games available for the Wii, the player must be able to use full dexterity of their arms and hands and sometimes their entire bodies! Players are given two "motion sensitive" controllers that they use to manipulate the characters in the game through motions with the controllers. This console does not have nearly the intensely realistic graphics as the next two consoles, but the innovative gameplay lets you have a more complete control of the video game characters. The audience for this game console is anyone from any age group with an experience level of beginner to expert in the world of gaming. The hardcore gamers may laugh at the simplicity of the games, but will be seduced into the intense gameplay and complex moves required in later, more difficult levels. Recommended game for the Wii: Super Mario Galaxy

Microsoft Xbox 360: Age range: 10-35 Price:$279-$399 Availability: Readily available

-This was the first next generation console to hit the market two years ago and has been through several ups and downs during those years. This year marked the "red circle of death" for the machine where a hardware failure caused Microsoft to completely revamp the machine for better components. This machine is intended for the more hardcore gamers that are into great graphics, backwards compatibility with their old Xbox games and a more online gamer based world in what is known as Xbox Live. This is a subscription service ($50 a year) that allows anyone with a broadband connection to play other gamers from across the world. The majority of the games are meant for more experienced gamers and do not play to the younger (or older) inexperienced crowd. The issue with this machine is based around the fact that you can start with a basic product ($279) that does not include anything but the machine and start to add on components like a hard drive ($100), an HD DVD player ($170), a wireless connection ($100) and several other components that total the machine out at more than $500 plus the subscription service for the Xbox Live. This makes for a very pricey machine that Microsoft doesn't advertise at the base level. Granted, you can buy a machine with a hard drive attached ($349-399) but you still will need to buy the HD DVD drive and wireless if you wish to have a machine comparable to the next console. Recommended game for the Xbox 360: Halo 3 (the Xbox 360 lifesaver)

Sony Playstation 3: Age range: 10-35 Price: $399-499 Availability: Readily available

-This machine has become the ultimate gaming machine for anyone that is a die hard gamer or looking to get into gaming. The included DVD/Blu-ray player, wireless connectivity, hard drive and overall processing power makes this machine great! When it was first released, the price and the lack of quality games knocked this system down, but with a recent price cut and the inclusion of some great new exclusive games, the Playstation 3 has become a must have for anyone looking to buy a next generation console. Not only does this system include everything that you will need to buy for the Xbox 360, but the online play is 100% FREE! Beginning in 2008, Sony has announced that they will be opening up an area for each called a Home that will enable people to create an online character and place of residence to interact with other gamers and show off their online accomplishments. The more expensive price tag is outweighed by the simple fact that the gamer is not required to pay subscription fees every year. One year of use makes this machine more cost effective compared to the gamer. The major issue with this machine is a lack of backwards compatibility with some original Playstation and Playstation 2 games. Otherwise, this is a must buy! Recommended games for the Playstation 3: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

This is just my opinion in regards to the next generation consoles but each has a point of interest for person you have in mind. Let me know what you think is the best!

Tomorrow's gift guide: Blu-ray vs. HD DVD

Have a great day!

Tech Fixes for 2007: My Complaints are Answered!

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:36:00 +0000

For the past year, I've been noticing a negative aspect on some of the more popular tech issues of the year. Depending on the company and the way they have been handling things, it seems as though my personal thoughts run along the same lines as the majority of consumers (duh!) as well as the research and development team for the companies and services in questions.

Today, I thought why not provide a synopsis of some of the better improvements from my past entries:

iPod Touch JailBreak: As the weeks pass with JailBreak on my iPod Touch, I'm becoming more and more impressed with this great hack. I've added tons of new features to my main menu and it seems as though the older application are being updated to accommodate the iPod Touch as well as the iPhone. This is slowly becoming one of my favorite computer applications and it's not even on my PC!

PlayStation 3/Xbox 360: Due to capitalism and a bunch of errors over the past year, both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 are creating even better competition throughout. With the price drop by Playstation 3, I'm beginning to swing towards Sony's all in one package rather than Microsoft's buy and add on when you get the money.

Google: The Internet powerhouse is buying more companies and releasing better applications than I could have imagined. I'm digging deeper into the world of Google and finding that the innovation that is coming out of Google is one that will keep redefining the industry again and again. The problem is where is all the money going that this company is making in conjunction with the users that are helping to create the programs we love?

Yahoo: Yahoo is clawing it's way back into the world of the Internet again. The newly innovated search and a complete redo of their original mail that is very Outlook-esque and I love it! Nothing has really caught my eye in this regard and I have found Yahoo Mail to be even easier to use that Gmail. Nice Work Yahoo, now keep it up!

Linux: Not much needs to be said here. Linux is going mainstream and is becoming a non-nerd based operating system. With the addition of Ubuntu that creates an easy to use interface similar to the both Mac's OS X and Microsoft's Windows, Linux is easy on resources and the user as a whole. My suggestion: try Linux everyone!

These are but a few of the upgrades I've seen since originally posting on the companies and products at hand.

In light of the upcoming holiday season, this week is going to be devoted gift giving ideas for the techie in your family. Stay tuned!

Have a great day!

JailBreak Issues on the iPod Touch

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 15:00:00 +0000

As I dive deeper and deeper into the world of technology, my curiosity and comfort with trying/risking new modifications and hacks has grown immensely.

Whether looking into transforming some old PC's into servers or Linux machines or trying to figure out a way to make my old Xbox useful again (I'm still looking for anyone that knows of an easy way to get an Xbox 360), I've pretty much been trying anything and everything that I find to be within or just outside my realm of knowledge.

With the wonderful gift of an iPod Touch, I have really started to gain an affinity for the new jailbreak phenomenon that is occurring around the Web.

For those who don't know, Apple has locked the iPhone and iPod Touch to a point where you can not add any applications to the system. JailBreakMe.com is the simple to use, one touch application that cracks this lock and allows you to add a plethora of applications to either Apple product.

Of course, as soon as I heard about this, I tried it! The problem is that my iPod Touch only runs a few of the applications. There is a green and white star emblem next to all the of applications that I can run successfully on my iPod Touch. In total, I would say 10 applications that could possibly work with only 5 that I find to have any value.

I still love the application and realize that it is a work in progress. This entry was more for all users looking into JailBreak-ing there iPod Touch's.

And for the record, what the heck Apple? You create amazing products for the users but don't want the users helping design some new applications? Steve Jobs announced a few days ago that Apple would be releasing a patch for the iPod Touch to allow editing in Calendar. JailBreak had this several weeks ago.

Open up Apple and let the people that love your products help you to be a better company!

Prove me wrong in this thinking!

Have a great day!

Yahoo Mail Finding A Bigger Following Than Gmail

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 02:26:00 +0000

It's official; Gmail has moved from 1.0 Beta to 2.0. And guess what? Unless you are power user, I bet you didn't even notice anything changed!

I would consider myself to be tech-savvy and a power user (a common saying I seem to be using more often these days) and even I found it hard to find the true upgrade in features focused on in Gmail 2.0.

Honestly, someone please point out the features that could actually be 100% useful for an average user. Anyone? The user interface did not change to be more user friendly. The incorporation of other Google applications like Talk, Blogger or Reader really just remains in links at the top of the page. The contacts feature became a little easier to use but nothing outrageously revolutionary by any means. And the conversations feature is still the only thing that makes Gmail stand out.

Then we have the new Yahoo Mail. A completely new, Outlook-esque user interface. Complete incorporation between contacts and Yahoo Messenger and with this feature comes Yahoo Messenger embedded within the e-mail interface. Add in a decent RSS feeder and you have a more complete and easy to use service than anything Google is offering.

Gmail is defining itself as the online e-mail service meant for geeks, techies and all other power users, myself included. Yahoo, on the other hand, is enabling anyone from beginner to expert to utilize a more complete service. So power users versus the rest of the population. Which service is targeting a larger audience? Yahoo!

I love my Gmail account, but Yahoo is creating a wonderful product that is making me wish Google would just look at the competition and take some notes!

I could be wrong but I doubt it. Prove me wrong!

Have a great day!

Legal Use of Blog Material

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:11:00 +0000

In a quick shot from a friend on Digg, I was quickly drawn to a comment I received last week in one of my posts. The posts can be found here and basically dealt with illegitimate links to my blog from The Wall Street Journal which was probably the result of a programming error. The main concern of the blog post was based on the usage of my blog and the material within in it. I was a bit concerned because I thought someone was claiming some part of my material without provided credit for having me create it.

My friend on Digg just posted this blog post Some Guy In Hong Kong is Stealing My Blog Content which offers a pretty self explanatory title of the content. Please have a look at the post.

There is one issue that underlies all of those presented by the Rosenthal in his post. The issue of the matter is the fact that none of what a blogger posts is technically copyrighted or protected in any way. By posting to a blog, you are openly "throwing your ideas" at the world and hoping they will stick with someone or a lot of "someones"! The unfortunate aspect is the simple fact that anyone can use what you say in any manner they see fit and not give you any credit for it.

A prime example: you write a paper of some kind while attending school. It doesn't matter if it is a film reaction paper or doctoral thesis, if you do not copyright your material and say "THIS IS MINE", anyone anywhere can use the material without giving you any kind of recognition.

The underlying set of "moral laws" that most bloggers, or any web publishers for that matter, follow is that if you use someone else's material in any way, you provide a link back to them to not only help yourself but help them as well. You provide a basic reference point back to the original author. It is common courtesy that seems to jump all borders.

Of course, there are people who do not follow this rule and begin to basically create something of a "mega blog" or "coalition blog" that utilizes a lot of hard working individuals creativity and blog content without provided recognition. The person in Rosenthal's blog is doing just that. Whoever it is found a loophole and started to profit off of other individual's material.

To be 100% honest, I am not sure how this can be stopped or regulated at the moment. I might start a deeper search into the larger blogs to see what kind of copyrighting or protection they use. This is an area that I've been giving more and more attention to in the past several months as I dive deeper into the law school process.

If anyone has any ideas or thoughts on this topic, please let me know! I am quite interested in hearing what has to be said about this.

Digg me, subscribe, leave comments and link up if you like what I have got to say and want to show it!

Have a great day!

Perplexity of Prism

noreply@blogger.com (Mag22) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:53:00 +0000

Yesterday, the big news floating around Digg, Lifehacker, TechCrunch, Mashable and Wired was the Mozilla Labs beta release of Prism.

Of course, reading all of the hype surrounding this program, I downloaded and started to use it. The only issue: what is the purpose of it?

The general rundown of Prism is basically this:

You have a bunch of programs that you use online (ex. Gmail, Google Calendar, Facebook, MySpace, anything with a URL address) and you use them everyday, multiple times a day. Mozilla Labs made the jump to have the ability to access all of these programs from your desktop without opening your internet browser by using Prism. OK?

I understand that this program is meant to bring application from the web to the desktop, but why?

Personally, I never close my internet browser(s) during the entirety of a day. I utilize my multiple tabs feature to the fullest extent and try to keep my taskbar as "uncluttered" as I can make it. Prism defeats that completely.

Each link that you create for your desktop, using Prism, opens up a new window as if you are opening up a new program for each web application. This fills my taskbar quickly and my system resources starts to take a hit. Granted, I'm utilizing a 5 year old laptop that is due for retirement.

So what's the purpose of Prism in reality? You still need internet access to use the web applications. You fill the taskbar and utilize more system resources with each application. Basically, it's a backwards step from Web 2.0 to Web 1.0 right?

I could be wrong in regards to what is being accomplished with Web 2.0. Prove me wrong.

On a side note, Mozilla Labs is worth checking out. They have some great "Experiments" that are in beta phase and definitely cool. I'm using the ChromaTabs add-on in my Flock browser and it's great new look!

Digg me, subscribe and link up!

Have a great day!