Thursday, February 16, 2006

Getting rid of common annoyances in Windows Xp

hate little popups in windows xp, this shows you how to get rid of them

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Microsoft says "screw you" to EU

The European Union is about to impose a $2.4m per day fine because they say Microsoft hasn't released technical documents as part of their antitrust settlement.

But Microsoft says they've already handed in the 12,000 pages of technical info the EU asked for, and that the EU is creating problems by not understanding what they were asking for.

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Oracle tries to buy MySQL

Oracle tried to acquire open-source database maker MySQL. I don't believe it, I think Oracle is trying to take out a competitor. The article, however, discusses how this is "an indication of the profound changes the software giant is willing to make as it adapts to the increasingly significant collaborative programming philosophy"

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Last efforts to block Patriot Act fail

Exasperated, Feingold finally gives up saying "[the] White House sees any effort to protect civil liberties as a sign of weakness". Will we continue to accelerate down the slippery slope? How far will our civil liberties get eroded before we say enough?

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'Antigravity' Propulsion System Proposed

An 'antigravity' propulsion system was proposed at the Space Technology and Applications International Forum (STAIF). The new exact solution to Einstein's gravitational field equation might make it possible to accelerate space craft to speeds approaching that of light without crushing the contents of the craft

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OS X "Virus" Updates

Andrew Welch, El Presidente of Mac shareware company Ambrosia Software, has disassembled the supposed Mac virus and is posting updates regularly to the link.

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The Real Reason Microsoft Supports HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray: To Kill Them Both

Microsoft wants both Blu-ray and HD DVD to lose. You see, before Microsoft and Intel backed HD DVD, Toshiba was just about the only major consumer hardware brand backing HD DVD. Now, since Microsoft and Intel have hopped on to the HD DVD bandwagon and at least dragged HP part of the way there, HD DVD has become a much more viable option.

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Dvorak Predicts Apple Will Switch to Windows

In a surprisingly compelling speculative argument, John C. Dvorak makes the case that Apple will drop OSX and become a hardware vendor shipping with Windows systems. I don't quite believe it, but read the full article before criticizing his argument.

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Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Shoddy Journalism: "Nintendo DS Hurting Our Children"

An ABC affiliate in Philadelphia is reporting on how the DS's wireless capabilities put children in harm's way. It's a new low for fearmongering and shoddy journalism.

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HOWTO: Build a Mini-ITX Linux computer

This is a step by step guide to building your own mini-itx Linux computer which boots off of USB! Its so easy that anyone can do it, but follow the guide.

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Sony PS3, Hard Drive Optional

In the neverending speculative battle between the bundled versus non-bundled camps regarding the hard drive for the upcoming PlayStation 3, info straight from the horse's mouth now puts the odds squarely in favor of the non-bundlers.

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Whistleblower says NSA spies on millions...

A former NSA member told the House Government Reform Subcommittee about a "special access" electronic surveillance program that he characterized as far more wide-ranging than the warrentless wiretapping recently exposed by the New York Times but he is forbidden from discussing the program with Congress.

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a PS3 release has been set!! (will contain a xbox live like service)

Next Generation has the hot scoop�the PS3 will probably be hitting the streets on September 21st in the US, September 16th in Japan, and include a new XBox Live-alike system, HUB. According to well-placed industry sources.

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Apple Seeks (Poetic) Justice

This is absolutely hilarious. Apple included a secret poem in OS X 10.4.4 for hackers to find... which Maxxuss obviously did. Also check out the OSx86 Project's response. Good times.

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Digg Adds 'Email This' Feature to all Stories

Cool new feature! I linked to a frontpage story on digg after you click on the "Email This" link. Obviously, you can see this for yourself when clicking on any post, but at least by posting this as a story, people can find out about it thru their feeds (if it makes the frontpage).

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Best PC game I've played in a while... and it's free!

Rumble Box is a fast paced 3D action beat-em-up with a unique premise: all of the characters are made of simple objects which stay around in the level even after the character is defeated. The objects pile up, changing the gameplay landscape and altering your combat tactics. This is the most fun I've had with a PC game in quite a while...

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The History Of 404 Page Not Found

When we visit certain webpage that is misspelled, incomplete or non existent a 404 error is dished out. While You know the meaning of that screen but do you know why the number 404 was chosen? Why not some other number like 303? or 505?�

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Cell phone could crack RFID tags

Cryptographer Adi Shamir, "a cellphone has all the ingredients you need to conduct an attack and compromise all the RFID tags in the vicinity".

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Reinventing The Gaming Addiction with 360 Achievements

This article is a great write-up on how the XBox 360 achievement system is bringing out the addictive qualities of console games by making adding a whole new level of competition.

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Computer Addiction? Nah, Probably Just Modern Life

Millions of people worldwide spend enormous amounts of time online, but are they addicted? Video games and the Internet have been subject to suspicion since the computer became a household fixture. One complaint: People get sucked into spending enormous amounts of time on the computer, to the detriment of other parts of their life.

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