Ok, ladies and gentlemen, here it is! The contest was over at midnight last night – we still had a few entries after midnight so I decided to count them anyway, because what the heck, right? Well, it was an interesting morning today to say the least. I’ve been trying to contact winners for the…
Hack the Planet, Ethically, and Get Paid
It used to be an internet dream job that was somewhat mythical in nature. Black- or gray-hat hackers would tool around on computer systems finding their inner workings and exploiting them, until one day they either got caught, or got bored trying to break in for fun or profit. Either way, these talented hackers somehow…
The Pirate Bay Loses in Court, Pays Fine and Jailtime
Popular Bittorrent agrigating site ThePirateBay.org has been caught up in a legal battle over the status of their web site. Millions and millions of software, music, movies, TV shows, ebooks, and more have been downloaded through torrents listed on the site. Though the Pirate Bay hosts none of the copyrighted materials, Hollywood and Sweden’s officials…
Online Music Stores Amazon & Wal-Mart follow Suit After Apple in Pricing Schemes
According to PC Magazine, corporate giants Amazon and Wal-mart have likewise changed up their pricing schemes to include tiered pricing, much like Apple’s new pricing scheme for DRM-free music. This is a loss for the consumer, because Amazon at least already offered DRM-free tracks usually between 79 and 99 cents and often offered deep discounts…
Microsoft to Offer Downgrade to XP Rights for Windows 7 Users
Rumors have been circulating that computer maker HP would be offering customers the ability to downgrade to Windows XP later this year when Windows 7 ships out. Now that rumor has been confirmed with an announcement by software giant Microsoft, confirming that users will not only have rights to downgrade to Windows Vista, but also…
Got an Itch for HDTV? Scratch it With Charter
If you’re only recently aware that the 21st century has brought people into current technologies like HDTV, high-speed internet and internet-based phone service (VOIP, or voice-over-internet-protocol), you probably have been wondering what all the fuss is about. Perhaps you’ve just been confused, and not really been sure what you want, but you know that you…
OS Wars V: Microsoft Strikes Back
Apparently sick and tired of Apple’s pretentious “I’m a Mac. And I’m a PC,” ads, Microsoft has recently struck back with a series of “Joe the Plumber”-esque ads where different everyday people proclaim what they use their computers for and say proudly “I’m a PC.” The most recent ad has taken a new stab at…
Certifications Update
I forgot to mention that I went home to visit my family in my hometown last weekend. One of the particular purposes of that trip was to take my Apple OS X 10.5 Support Essentials exam. I am now successfully an Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP, formerly ACHDST)! Now I can check that off of…
Google and Sony Partner for 500k eBooks Deal
In an effort to squash competition from Kindle 2: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation), Google and Sony have struck up a deal to put over 500,000 eBooks on Sony Connect eBook store for FREE. Granted, all of these books are public domain, but they’ve been specially formatted for Sony Reader. Ars Technica weighs…
Protect Your E-mail Privacy for Free
There are a lot of e-mail options out there to choose from! Whew! If you don’t believe me, just go to Google and type in “Free E-mail Service” and you’ll get more results than you’ll know what to do with. The big names will come up first, G-Mail, Hotmail / Windows Live Mail, Yahoo!, AOL,…