57-year-old grandmother suspected Terrorist?
DES MOINES - Cecilia Beaman is a 57-year-old grandmother, a principal at Pacific Middle School in Des Moines, and as of Sunday is also a suspected terrorist...Story Here
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Windows Worm Uses BitTorrent to Propagate
A worm that infects Windows XP and, possibly, Vista is said to spread itself over IM applications, like AIM and Windows Live Messenger, and… BitTorrent. Security research firm Sophos says the worm uses “a social engineering scheme” to get people to unknowingly infect their computers with it...Story Here
Man With Headache Finds Bullet In Head
(AP) A woman was arrested Tuesday after her husband woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible headache and later learned he had a bullet lodged in his head.
St. Lucie County Sheriff's deputies initially thought Michael Eugene Moylan had been hit by a stray bullet, but later realized the couple's story did not match up, Sheriff Ken Mascara said...Story Here
Desktop search tools for GNU/Linux: the competition hots up - Tracker, Recoll Strigi and Deskbar
In Part One and Part Two of this blog, I looked at Beagle and its alternative interfaces (Peagle, Yabi and Peagle). In this last part, I want to take a look at three other search engines as viable replacements for Beagle: Tracker, Recoll, Strigi, and Deskbar, an applet written in Python, which has some very handy scripts written for it and, which can extend its functionality well beyond the immediate desktop itself...Story Here
NASA publishes spectacular images of the recent mission
Today, with new NASA imagery in (not copyrighted), plus
a few photos from a Russian source, you can get a closer look
at science and maintenance work in orbit, including several
fascinating spacewalks....Here
Explanation of the Recent "Strange Craft" Sightings
I'm using the alias Isaac, and used to work in what was called the CARET program in the 80's. During my time there, I worked with a lot of the technology that is clearly at work in the recent drone/strange craft sightings, most notably the "language" and diagrams seen on the underside of each craft. What follows is a lengthy letter about who I am, what I know, and what these sightings are (probably) all about...Story Here
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
My 700th post: "My Love, My Baby!" Ohhh! Ahhhh!
"She touches me in so many ways. I feel a oneness
with her as I caress her Body."
Panasonic's latest addition to its Lumix "super zoom" line
is the six-megapixel DMC-FZ7. This compact and lightweight
camera features a high-quality Leica DC VARIO-ELMARIT
12x optical zoom (equivalent to 35mm to 430mm on a
35mm film camera) with Panasonic's MEGA Optical Image Stabilizer.
"She has so many ways to communicate her feelings to me!"
The DMC-FZ7 packs a wealth of advanced technology
and easy-to-use features in a sleek, compact package.
It is equipped with both automatic and manual controls
that meet the needs of advanced users and beginners alike.
The auto focus settings include a wide area 9-point,
3-point high speed, 1-point normal speed, Spot autofocus and
a 1-point high-speed autofocus. The latter nearly eliminates
the time lag that often occurs with high-magnification zoom shots,
letting you capture those great, spontaneous moments.
An AF-assist Lamp provides extra lighting as a focusing aid for
slightly dark situations where AF focusing would ordinarily be difficult.
"She Helps Me See the World in a new light!"
The DMC-FZ7 is Panasonic's most "anti-blur" camera ever,
addressing the two major causes of blurred images: hand
movement and subject movement.
It incorporates Panasonic's acclaimed MEGA Optical Image
Stabilization technology, which uses a gyrosensor to detect
and compensate for hand movement by shifting internal lens elements.
It is a true optical system; the image is not electronically processed
so there is minimal degradation and exceptional picture quality.
MEGA OIS is especially important when utilizing the 12x optical zoom
as even the smallest hand movement could ruin the shot.
With MEGA OIS, the image remains steady. And a high-quality
Leica DC VARIO-ELMARIT12x optical zoom
(equivalent to 35mm to 430mm on a 35mm film camera)
"She is Well Known and Well Liked!"
Review Here
"Oh my baby! Never Leave Me!"
"Stay with me and share the world thru both
of our Eyes!"
"Ok! Ok! I got carried away!"
But it is a great camera after all.
TestDisk
TestDisk is a powerful free data recovery software! It was primarily designed to help recover lost partitions and/or make non-booting disks bootable again when these symptoms are caused by faulty software, certain types of viruses or human error (such as accidentally
deleting your Partition Table). Partition table recovery using TestDisk is really easy...For Linux,Windows,Mac...Here
U.S. Net access not all that speedy
The median U.S. download speed now is 1.97 megabits per second — a fraction of the 61 megabits per second enjoyed by consumers in Japan, Other speedy countries include South Korea (median 45 megabits), France (17 megabits) and Canada (7 megabits)...Story Here
Why Google is right to complain about Microsoft Vista’s search functionality
Google and Microsoft have been trading antitrust complaints over the past few months. Most recently, Google filed a confidential complaint with the Justice Department asking that Microsoft be forced to alter the desktop search functionality in Vista to better accommodate third-party search applications...Story Here
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Dispel the Myth's of Linux
From kebes at the Ubuntu Forums
I agree with what others have said about just sitting back and letting the OS speak for itself. Wait awhile and you can compare notes with these people about viruses, security, system crashes, etc. Linux has its own quirks and bugs, but frankly they are nothing compared to the frustration that can frequently occur when Windows does not do what you want. I use Linux because no matter what, I am in control of the computer and can get it to do what I need it to do.
So, having said that, it's inevitable that you'll get into these types of conversations, so here's some information to about Linux that you can use:
-- "Linux isn't a reliable or trustworthy Operating System!"
Well, first off, it is a powerful and professional system. It is secure, robust, and stable. That it is amenable to high-performance tasks is shown by its wide deployment in professional settings.
For example:
1. According to top500.org, in 2006, 376 of the top 500 super-computers were using Linux. Yes, 75% of super-computers run Linux.
For instance, the world's most powerful computer is IBM Blue Gene, and it uses Linux for its I/O nodes.
2. Apparently NASA uses lots of Linux. At the JPL, lots of desktops run Linux.
3. The US Military also implements Linux for many of its systems .
4. Professional 3D graphics for special effects in movies, or even feature-length CGI movies, are usually made using Linux workstations and rendered on Linux clusters.
5. Google's gigantic, powerful, and distributed search engine runs using over 60,000 Linux machines (more info here, here, and on Google's Research page).
6. Linux accounts for a significant fraction of the webservers running around the world.
7. The FAA keeps planes in the air using linux.
These are but a few examples. Many companies also deploy Linux to a significant extent (IBM, for instance). Linux has "uptime" (time before failure/crash/etc.) measured in years, and is very well-suited to high-end, demanding applications.
-- "Linux isn't secure or safe!"
Not true. There is much debate about "OS Security". In the real world, however, it's worth noting that there are only a handful of viruses for Linux (and they are all 'theoretical') whereas there are thousands of active viruses for Windows. Linux is built upon a very solid core, and is very secure. A default Linux install is generally agreed to be more secure than a default Windows install. With Linux, you will likely never catch a virus, never be annoyed by adware or malware, and will probably never see the operating system crash.
-- "Linux is too complicated. Linux is only for computer gurus!"
Actually it's just different. Once you get used to the few differences, you will be just as productive (if not more so) as you were before.
Once upon a time, Linux was perhaps "too complicated" for the "average person." However this has long since changed. Modern Linux systems have a pretty GUI, lots of built-in tools, and can do everything that competing operating systems (Windows, Mac) can do. The easiest way to see this is to try it!
The thing to understand about Linux is that it is layered. The core is customizable and "computer gurus" delight in modifying these sub-systems. However if you want a computer that "just works" you can largely ignore these details and just use the higher-level systems. (The difference with Windows is not that these lower-levels don't exist, but that it's nearly impossible to get at them!)
-- "When Linux breaks, you won't know how to fix it!"
Not true. Just head over to ubuntuforums and a solution will likely appear within the hour. Generally the difference between Windows and Linux is that with Windows, it either works or it doesn't. In Linux, if something doesn't work, there is probably a way to fix it... it's just a matter of how much effort will be required. But importantly, at least you are empowered to fix it (or to get someone to fix it for you) if you really want it to work.
-- "There's no software for Linux!"
Actually there is tons of software for Linux. The problem is that Windows software doesn't run on Linux. But in fact there is a huge repository of free, open-source software available for Linux (see http://sourceforge.net/ for instance). For nearly every Windows program you're used to, there is a Linux analogue that will do the trick. Often times (but not always) it is even better than the Windows program, because it was designed by users and for users (rather than made in order to sell).
And if you really want to run Windows software in Linux, there are things you can try, such as using the Wine compatibility layer (http://www.winehq.com/) or running Windows inside a virtual machine (VMWare, QEMU, etc.).
-- "Installing programs in Linux is impossible."
Actually it's just different. It takes some getting used to, but once you understand how to do it, it becomes faster and easier to install programs in Linux! Instead of searching everywhere for software you want, and then installing it with a few clicks, Linux has a built-in "package management" system that lets you just pick what you want off a list, click, and it's installed. All the software in the list has been checked by experts, so it won't have any viruses, adware, malware, etc. Much faster and easier!
-- "Linux doesn't support any hardware!"
Actually Linux has the best "out of the box" hardware support. Almost any hardware configuration will be recognized and supported. Yes, there are times when some device will not work with Linux (as there are with Windows, Macs, etc.). Yes, it's true that hardware vendors typically go to great efforts to make their devices work with Windows, and forget entirely about Linux compatibility. Despite this, a large percentage of devices do work with Linux. As long as you do a bit of research before buying new hardware, you can be confident it will work.
-- "If Linux is just like Windows, then why bother?"
-You can obtain it at no monetary cost. You can give a copy to a friend. You can reinstall it as many times as you want, on as many machines as you want. You will never be hassled with registration screens or piracy checks. The operating system will treat you with respect, as the owner of the machine.
-The system and software are constantly updated and improved. All these updates and security patches are automatically available to you, at no charge and with no hassle.
-You are essentially immune to all viruses, adware, malware, etc.
-You have the freedom to tinker, modify, and change any part of the system you like.
-Once you get used to Linux, you may very well be more productive. The system is designed with productivity and usefullness in mind (as opposed to trying to lock you in to buying more software).
-You have access to a helpful and technical community of volunteers!
-You will be supporting a competitive free market for software, and helping 'the little guy' and intangibly contributing back to a community of people that want to make software free.
Really, there are so many good reasons *to* use Linux that perhaps the best response to "Why are you using Linux?" is simply "Why aren't you using it?"
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SpotTheDifference.com
Fun Game and Puzzle's
Spot The Difference
Can you spot the differences
between these two pictures?
Here
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