In a feeble attempt to appear cool like Firefox, Google has released a variety of themes for Google Chrome. Unfortunately, the themes only work for the beta version of Chrome, so unless you feel like using experimental software you’re out of luck.
I guess if you like dog-ugly stuff, these 29 themes will suit you well. Or, you can get a real browser with hundreds of themes to choose from (it’s called Firefox).
Skype, as we know it, may soon cease to exist.
Joltid (a company run by Skype’s founders) claims Ebay (Skype’s parent company) violated unspecified contractual terms regarding Skype’s core code. If Ebay loses in court, Skype may die.
Weird. Ebay buys Skype, but fails to buy the core code that runs it? I don’t get it. Oh, Joltid’s leasing the code to Ebay. And Ebay modified the code. Bad Ebay! Now Joltid has become very angry. The horrid Ebay people have violated the contract by modifying the code. Now Joltid must sue Ebay and claim a violation of contract and halt global communication.
Hm. O.K. Thanks, Joltid.
Some people say, “Skype is free. Quit expecting something for nothing.” I’d have to disagree. Skype offers free services, but they also offer commercial services.
Will Skype die? No. Joltid’s just trying to recover a piece of the pie. They may succeed, and we may see changes to Skype’s free services, but Skype will live on, in some form or another.
So, if you haven’t downloaded it by now, you’re probably:
As far as I can see, none of the above reasons are very good ones. So download Firefox and get a real browser.
Posted in Quality Freeware, Tech News
Tagged chrome, firefox, one billion, opera, spyware
Great. Now you can buy an even faster 160GB SSD for about $440 instead of the original $945. And the 80GB version will run you about $225, compared to its opening price of $525. That’s good news, I suppose, but for the average Joe, an SSD (Solid State Drive) still seems a bit nonsensical. If you really want a super-fast drive, buy the 10,000 rpm 300GB Velociraptor (about the fastest traditional hard drive around) for about $200. Or if you want speed, capacity and energy savings, try the 1TB WD RE4-GP.
SSDs might be the wave of the future, but the future is, well, not here yet. 160GB for $440? Sorry. I don’t care how fast or quiet it is.
If capacity had increased on these drives, say, to 320GB, it might be a bit more interesting.
But if you’ve been on the lookout for price drops on solid state drives, your prayers have been answered.
Tagged capacity, Intel SSD, prices drop, solid state drives
Don’t freak out or anything. Just be aware that an outsider may hack into your system and destroy it from the inside out.
Really, a vulnerability in Firefox 3.5.1 has been found. Don’t be afraid though. A way to protect yourself exists (and I’m sure people are working on it).
NoScript, a small, free, open source add-on for Firefox “allows JavaScript, Java and Flash and other plugins to be executed only by trusted web sites of your choice (e.g. your online bank), and provides the most powerful Anti-XSS protection available in a browser” (straight from the NoScript download page).
Good luck avoiding the work of the world’s nasty people.
Posted in Quality Freeware, Security, Tech News
Tagged 3.5.1, firefox, NoScript, Security, vulnerability
Even though the smaller players (Puget Systems, Cyberpower, Falcon Northwest, etc.) have to shell out $20 to $30 per system to offer free Windows 7 upgrades, they’re doing it. Why? Because they’re impressed with the OS. They believe in it. These companies need their systems to be stable. They won’t back software or hardware that might cause instability in their systems. And they’re all backing Windows 7.
I, for one, can’t wait to get my free upgrade from Puget. They were the first small computer maker (that I found) offering a free upgrade to Windows 7. That’s just one (of the many) reasons I decided to buy my custom system from them.
If the custom computer builders out there want Windows 7 on their machines, that gives me confidence that I’ll enjoy having it on mine.
Posted in Tech News
Do you feel like getting ripped off today? Broke, out of work, homeless and playing on Twitter, you see a tweet that promises you hundreds of dollars for doing practically nothing. You visit EasyTweetProfits.com and your eyes sparkle with anticipation. You’re about to get rich lounging on your beanbag, and it’s risk-free. It even says so on their website (more than once). You can make $250 to $873 just by filling out online forms. All you have to to is pay $1.95 for shipping.
Sound too good to be true?
Check out some key elements of their terms.
The registration data that you must supply on the Site in order to obtain the Easy Tweet Money CD-Rom, Member Services and/or other Easy Tweet Profits™ sponsored products and/or services includes, without limitation: (a) full name; (b) e-mail address; (c) telephone number; (d) home address; (e) credit card number and associated information; and (f) any and all other information requested on the applicable registration form (collectively, “Registration Data”).
You have to give them your credit card information? To order a free CD? Why? Hmmmm. Read on.
We will use commercially reasonable efforts to ship the Easy Tweet Money CD-Rom within seven (7) days to the shipping address that you provided during registration. On the date that your Easy Tweet Money CD-Rom is shipped, your initial seven (7) day trial offer (“Trial Membership”) shall begin, and you will be automatically enrolled in our Member Services program. If you do not cancel your Trial Membership during the applicable seven (7) day period, you agree to pay the monthly Membership fee of Forty-Seven Dollars ($47.00) (“Monthly Fees” and together with CD-Rom Fees, the “Fees”). Your Active Credit Card will be charged the applicable amount for all Fees, including the shipping and handling charges, for the Easy Tweet Money CD-Rom, upon registration and/or renewal. All charges are payable in United States currency, and such Fees will appear on your Active Credit Card bill as “CpiPay.com.”
Are things becoming clearer?
This company, located in Surrey, England will ship you a wonderful money-making CD for only $1.95. From the date of shipment, your trial membership (7 days long!) begins. If you do not cancel your “trial membership” before the 7 days is up, your active credit card gets charged $47. Will you even get your CD before the 7 days is up? I guess it depends on where in the world you are.
Risk-free? Not even close. These people will never get my credit card information, and they should never get yours. Watch out for money-making schemes that seem too good to be true on Twitter (or any other social networking site). They probably are.
For more information, check out this article at the Better Business Bureau’s website.
Tagged bbb, credit card, easytweetprofits.com, scams, twitter
So, Bing includes tweets in search results. Wow. I’m not impressed. Sorry, Microsoft. I think it’s great you beat Google to the punch and all, but why in the world do you think Al Gore’s tweets are any more important than mine? Al Gore? Come on. My middle school students’ tweets are more significant than Al Gore’s tweets.
Bing has hand-picked a few thousand “prominent” twitterers, and are including only their tweets in the search results. According to Sean Suchter, G.M. of Microsoft’s Silicon Valley Search Technology Center,
We’re not indexing all of Twitter at this time…. We picked a few thousand people to start, based primarily on their follower count and volume of tweets.
Last Tuesday Microsoft announced a free anti-virus program. It’s called Microsoft Security Essentials. Right now it’s in beta, and since it was only available to the first 75,000 downloaders, you can’t currently get it. But don’t worry, if you’re in the market for a free Microsoft anti-virus program, you’ll be able to get it soon. Microsoft has said it doesn’t plan on charging for the software. They’re being magnanimous. Kind, if you will.
If you want more details, read this article.
Custom Made Computers 