They interviewed an exec from a popular security company who, not surprisingly, explained the need for his companies products.  The 60 Minutes crew completely fails to explain the best and cheapest way to avoid the danger: don’t use Microsoft Windows.  The media never seems to grasp there are alternatives, like Linux, that will protect you from 99% of the malware without the need for special security software.  Are these media outfits on the Microsoft and Symantec payroll or are they just not doing a thorough reporting job?  The answer is yes to both.

Media ignores Linux because Microsoft is a major advertiser and they don’t want to lose millions of dollars in ad revenue.  Another reason is most people producing these stories are ignorant of Linux and the technical issues involved.  The OS (operating system) is never even mentioned.  Wake up and smell the conspiracy, folks.  You can and should ditch Microsoft Windows and use Linux – it’s faster, more secure, and free.

Video links:
The Internet is Infected
Sabotaging the System

Related Stories:
The Conficker worm on 60 Minutes
60 Minutes Missed the Elephant in the Room

In an effort to make clear my more objective reasons, I’m putting together a chart comparing Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems.  It is a work in progress.  I will add points of comparison and update the data as necessary.  If you find any errors or have suggestions, please let me know.  Obviously, I have a bias in favor of Linux, but I want the chart to be fair and accurate.

I hope this will save me from explaining my preference repeatedly.  I also hope this will make it clear to all why Linux is a superior system, demonstrated by a simple comparison of specifications.  Of course, as always, I support your right to pay too much money for an inferior product if that makes you happy.

Today, we celebrate our hard won freedom from an oppressive, tyrannical government which held little regard for the rights of the individual. The many were heavily burdened so a privileged few could benefit. Sound familiar? We won this precious independence by taking up arms and saying, “We’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take this anymore.”

Just remember that, if we again feel the heavy boot of such would-be kings on our necks, we must be willing to fight again. Enjoy your ball games, your BBQ, your family reunions… and exercise your right to bear arms. Come the revolution brother, you’re on one side or the other.

Change in Relationship Status

I’m becoming single again.  I know it is the right thing for both of us, but I’ve never been good at dealing with breakups.  I realize I’m hurting her more by extending a relationship that isn’t (and will never be) what she wants, than by ending it.  I hope she can see that.  I hope we can remain friends.  She is a wonderful, loving woman with a bright future and a big heart.

Change in Financial Status

My financial situation is a mess.  At my age, with by background, I have little hope of becoming employed again.  Perhaps it’s a blessing.  I have no patience left and do not suffer fools gladly, even when I’m working for them.  I will be exercising my sales muscles, despite my fear and loathing of sales.  It’s the only way I can build my online revenue into something livable.  Fortunately, it’s something I can do anywhere I have an Internet connection.  Which leads me to the scariest part.

Change of Scenery

It’s time to go.  I’ve lived in this house (in a state I detest) for five years.  That’s twice as long as anywhere else I’ve lived since I was sixteen years old.  Wanderlust?  No, believe me, I’d much rather settle in somewhere.  But where?  ”LA’s fine but it ain’t home.  New York’s home but it ain’t mine no more.”  Time has come for a road trip.  I have no money, but I can’t delay it any longer.  A quarter of a century ago, I left New Jersey with my last (damn small) paycheck in my pocket and the clothes on my back.  Put my thumb out on I-95 and I was gone.  If I have to, I’ll do the same thing now.  It will be hard, no doubt.  But staying here is killing me.

Change of Faces

Since the death of my brother in ’06, I’ve been trying to look after my mom.  She’s eighty-one now and still manages to push my buttons.  My best friend, more like a sister to me, lives here and I will miss her more than words can express.  I just can’t stay any longer.  There are people and places I want to see before I die.  That event isn’t as distant as it once seemed.  The time to act is now.  Change can be scary.  But never changing is death.

I blame much of this on the use of spell-check utilities as an alternative to proofreading.  On a domain name auction site I was viewing this morning, the word ‘capitol’ was incorrectly used in place of  ’capital’.  Clearly, spell-check is useless here, as the word is spelled correctly but it is the wrong word.  What is needed here is a context-sensitive homonym checker. In other words, a human being.  This occurred on a page trying to persuade me to list my domains with this company.  I found it less than convincing.

My previous sentence reminds me of another common mistake of this same type.  It seems many folks don’t know the difference between ‘then’ and ‘than’.  The former is used to indicate a position in time while the latter compares two items.  For example:

I read six blogs today, five of which were rife with errors, then I became ill.

I would rather be publicly flogged than write with such carelessness.

Again, spell-check will not help in this case.  Some may think I’m being too fussy or trivial.  Ask yourself two simple questions.

1. Why do I publish on the Internet? The most common reasons include sharing experiences, communicating with friends and family, and conducting business.  Much of this communication will be publicly visible for a very long time.
2. Do I want to project the image of a lazy, careless person or even an idiot? Most will answer no, I hope.  Your message is important, but clear, concise communication is the best means of conveying your message.  Can you imagine someone offering to manage your marketing or public relations campaign when they can’t manage their own?

Because of the seemingly instant and informal nature of social media communication (email, Twitter, IM, texting, blog comments, etc.), it has become common to use conversational language with less strict usage.  No one wants to labor over the best possible way to craft an instant message.  I sometimes use ‘text speak’ when it seems appropriate.  While I find “Where r u?” acceptable for a text message, it is not acceptable in a blog post (except when used as an example, as it is here).

A comment on a post in today’s reading included this gem: “There is no such thing as Failures-they are only Delays!”  This should read, “There are no such things as failures – there are only delays ” or “There is no such thing as failure – there is only delay.”

Many people on the Internet today do not speak English as a first language.  I can forgive such errors in this case, as I am monolingual and in no position to criticize.  But I have actually asked some folks for their native language (I like to use Google Translate in an effort to communicate in someone’s native tongue), only to have the offended party exclaim, “Why, English, of course!”

Proper attribution of quotations is another pet peeve of mine.  This often comes from a lack of reading of the classics.  If I use the term, ‘Know thyself”, I assume the reader knows this should be attributed to Socrates, not to me.  Although I sometimes use it in the biblical context of  ’to know’ for people of whom I’m less than fond .

I could peruse a few blogs and sites for additional examples, but I leave that to the reader.  I will close here with this request: please proofread your writing before clicking the ‘submit’ button!  And, for the love of all you hold dear, please teach your children to do the same.  Maybe even have them read books that were published years ago, before people became dependent on spell-check.  It was rare to find errors in published material when I was a child.  Now, sadly, it is the rule rather than the exception.

elope.asia
erupt.asia
flee.asia
fling.asia
fondle.asia

hijack.asia
invade.asia
perform.asia
picket.asia
provoke.asia
publicize.asia
pursue.asia
ransack.asia
reconcile.asia
salute.asia
sexguides.asia
smuggle.asia
snatch.asia
sniff.asia
spike.asia
terrorize.asia
threaten.asia
tickle.asia
travelsin.asia
undress.asia

Changing Amazon Associates email is incredibly convoluted and stupid.  At every other site, you change your  email by logging in, changing your email,  and verifying the new address (with a notice sent to the old address).

Not at Amazon!  They are very security-minded.  I had to add another user (me) to my account.  Then click the link in the email sent to the “new user” (me) and register a new account (for myself).  Next, I logged back in as “the old me” and confirmed the new user (the new me), and deleted myself (the old me).

After logging back in as “the new me”, I find “the old me” is gone and my email is changed.  Who’s programming this crap for them, Microsoft?

I had an idea several years ago for a web site that acted as an exchange for real and virtual currencies. I was never an avid gamer but, after discovering Second Life and IMVU, I realized how many people were spending (and earning) money in these 3D virtual worlds. While there are some companies (IGE and others) that facilitate buying and selling of virtual goods and currencies, there didn’t seem to be a true virtual/real currency exchange market yet. One that would provide daily exchange rates for directly changing one currency into another, virtual or real, for a small fee. Like most of my ideas, this was added to a very long “projects” list. I had a good idea, I was sure, but neither the time nor resources to develop it.

Fast forward to 2010. IMVU and myYearbook are the first partners of the new Currency Connect, “a service that allows virtual world and social networking site members to exchange virtual currency among partner websites.”¹ They don’t (as far as I can tell) offer exchange with real currencies, though. That would certainly involve regulatory compliances which would complicate matters. But how long can these virtual currencies, purchased with real money, be unregulated? Over two years ago, “Linden Lab, the company that runs the popular virtual world Second Life, announced… that all in-world “banks” must now be registered with real-world banking regulators.”² Dave Rosenberg noted, in his blog on CNet News last December³, that the door is open for much larger players to bring their huge user bases to the game. Certainly PayPal, Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft could stake a claim in this, as yet, wide open territory.

Where does that leave me? Crossing yet another promising idea off my list? Probably. I still don’t have the resources needed for development. So I’m throwing this idea out into the blogosphere. Maybe someone with capital or connections can make use of it.

What do you think? Thumbs up or down?

¹ http://www.currencyconnect.com/FAQ

² http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/felten/second-life-welcomes-bank-regulators

³ http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10415702-62.html

Image courtesy of Pulsar Media

I tend to keep 40-60 tabs open, on average. I can run the latest Firefox on this box and it will have severe performance problems (the screen turns grey, desktop unresponsive) even with nothing else running. I have to restart Firefox 3 times daily. It takes a long time to reload, so this is a major inconvenience.

I am now running Chrome with 42 tabs, as well as Thunderbird, Gimp, Pidgin, 5 terminals, and 2 virtual machines (Ubuntu 10.4 using QEMU and OpenSuse 11.2 using Virtualbox 3.1) – all this on a fully pimped-out Compiz 3D desktop on a 24″ display – with outstanding performance from Chrome.

I love the Fox, but until it gets its act together, I’m using Chrome.