Have an iPhone? Time for a little paranoia

Just recently, an exploit was found for iPhones. It is pretty simple to pull off and it can kill your phone. The exploit involves getting in the way of your phone attaching to some public WiFi signal, like that of Starbucks. Basically, they send a signal back down to your phone telling it the wrong date. Once this is done, your phone is basically a high priced brick.

To protect yourself, do two things. One, make sure to keep your phone updated. Apple is pretty good about patching issues...mostly. Second, use a little caution about which WiFi you connect to. Use your friend's but maybe not one from McDonald's or anything public unless you're phone is current with updates..

And since we are on the subject of Apple issues, go ahead and delete the software QuickTime from your computer if it is a Windows machine. Apple has basically disowned that software and it already has exploitable holes. So, be proactive and head to control Panels>Programs and Features>remove QuickTime.

Via Gizmodo

"Jetson! What are You Doing?!! Goofing Off! Sir!!!" Mr.Spacely and George

Many Years ago my sister and I were in an electronics store playing with the latest invention the video phone. It allowed the caller to see the person on the other end. The picture was no bigger than a postage stamp and would refresh with a new image every 5-10 seconds. We spent most of the time making faces into it and then running to each other’s machine. At that moment I thought this is the future. This is it! Little did I know that is would fail as a product. Years and years later Google has made it very easy for anyone to have not just the same experience but a better one. Google has an add-on that makes your chat window into a video phone. Now before I go further I must say Google is not the first to do this. In fact Apple has had the iChat system for years but it is not always easy and it does require a bit of a setup. The Google version does need to be installed but it is simple. Once the application is downloaded it adds itself to your browser then when you open up Gmail it is another choice you have just like whether to email or chat with the person. You will of course need a webcam to make this happen and a PC. The apple addition will follow eventually. Many soldiers use this now so they can not only communicate with their families but seen as well. A video is far more comforting than just a voice. I recommend if you have a webcam and a PC you might as well give it a try.

“Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.” Robert Heinlein

On the way in to work I was listening to a podcast that was talking about the Zune. The talk was about discontinuing the product. The reason was simple that other companies have done it better like Apple and Sandisk. They had one other point. They said that Microsoft is not cool. Now I know I am a Mac guy so take it for what it’s worth but they are an enterprise software company. Just because something isn’t cool doesn’t mean it isn’t good. They produce some very good work software (pre-2007) but it isn’t sexy and music tends to be. Work stuff is supposed to be functional and efficient and Microsoft can come close to this mark. You may be asking yourself why am I writing about this I mean the Zune is not on anyone’s radar at this point. Well Microsoft has tried again to be cool with a new product. I am sorry to say it has failed, at least the coolness factor. The product is OK (it works). It is called Songsmith. Essentially you sing into the microphone of your computer and Songsmith will record “cool” beats and rhythms behind it. You can adjust tempo and all that other stuff that I frankly don’t understand about music. I personally cannot play a note but I do know I what I like. This product does not make it on my top ten. Now I may be biased so what I would like is others to watch the promo video and tell me what you think. Please leave a comment or email. You can also download and test the software out yourself.

Note: I used a quote from Robert Heinlein. As a geek he is required reading but if you have not ever tried his books you are missing out. Try his book Starship Troopers. It is nothing like the movie meaning it is really good.

“To paint comic books as childish and illiterate is lazy. A lot of comic books are very literate - unlike most films.” Alan Moore

So you have been taking all these digital photos of everything you can get your lens pointed at. Now what? They just sit on your computer not being displayed. Yes of course you could print them out and frame them but is there a more interesting way of displaying them. Enter Comic Life, a piece of software for Mac/PC that can create a comic book look for your photo. This program is just so easy to use. All you do is slide your photos into the provided panels and then create speech bubbles so you can create a story. Now you could do this in Microsoft Word as well but nowhere as easy. Also the templates and other extras make this program a lot of fun. I am using this to create a comic book themed cook book for home. Much of the program is automated so I can just start working versus having to set everything up, get frustrated, and then quit the project. The program offers a 30 day trial period so you can get a feel for it. The price is at the most $30 bucks. If you need a new way of making an invitation or would like a cool project to do with kids then give it a try. It is a lot of fun.

“Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time.” Maya Angelou

A long time ago I setup a list of all the free software I recommended for students that was free. One of those programs was Avast which is a free antivirus program for PCs. Many people scoff at a free antivirus program because there has always been a sentiment that if it is free how good can it be? However this nice program in test after test has shown that it does a great job even when compared to any of the store bought ones. PC World magazine chose it as their top antivirus program. Avast is available for both XP and Vista. Also from many reviews I have found they talk about the fact that it does not try to take over the entire system and slow it down. This is always a big problem for some of them. Many make the computer so slow it feels unusable. I guess the thought is to make it so slow that you cannot use your computer and get into trouble. I will take Avast until there is something better. Give it a try.

Note: I am also a fan of AVG antivirus as well.

“Those who write clearly have readers, those who write obscurely have commentators.” Albert Camus

I have had a lot of posts using Blogger but I have never once written about Blogger the application. If you are looking to create a blog that is easy to manage you can’t beat Blogger. Many times I have a new idea and I want a website to go with it I will turn to Blogger to do a blog. The reason to do a blog in the first place is that it allows you to make a type of website easily. If you can email you can blog as well. Now there are many types of blogs from the person documenting their lives so their family can see what is going on to people writing how they feel on all sorts of subjects. There are blogs on political, cooking, funny, subjects plus any other thing you can think of. To create a blog go to Blogger and signup. Then just follow the instructions. They really are easy. When I teach the Blogger class students have a blog in just under 15 minutes. Think of it as your own personal soapbox. For those looking for a printout before they start you can use the sheet I use in class. If you have something to say either come to the next blogging class or head to Blogger and give it a try.

“You really can't beat that. Having some good friends and going out to eat some good barbecue.” Andrew Ray

So I am home and I am with a bunch of friends trying to decide where to eat. Nobody can remember all the places and we are just waiting for someone to make a decision. Enter Dine-o-Matic, my favorite widget. Widgets are small programs devoted to one specific action. Unfortunately they are only for the Mac operating system. Windows has something similar in the Vista OS. Dine-O-Matic is my personal favorite widget. You type in all the restaurants that you frequent and then choose the type of cuisine it is like Italian or Chinese. Once setup it is just a matter of clicking and it will randomly choose a place to go and show you with an accompanying picture specific to the cuisine. It is a beautiful design and simple and best of all it works. So if you have a hunger, indecision, and a Mac give it a try.