Words From Nerds » Microsoft http://www.wordsfromnerds.com Tech talk for your inner geek. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:44:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Words from Nerds #77: One Ping Only http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/09/words-from-nerds-77-one-ping-only/ http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/09/words-from-nerds-77-one-ping-only/#comments Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:44:23 +0000 admin http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/?p=1088 Apple refreshes the iPods, iTunes and Apple TV. A nasty IE8 bug wants to steal your data. And BuckyBall!

Nerd News

Feature Story: Apple’s September Announcements

  • iPod line refreshed
    • Shuffle reverts to n-1 generation
    • Nano looks like a shuffle but gets touch screen
    • iPod Touch catches up to iPhone 4 hw – 2 cams, retina display, etc
  • iTunes 10 gets social w/Ping
  • Apple TV gets smaller, cheaper and 100% rentals

Nerd History

  • September 8, 1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch transparent tape
  • September 8, 1966 – The first Star Trek series premieres on NBC.
  • September 4, 1985 – BuckyBall gets invented
  • September 10, 2008 – The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, described as the biggest scientific experiment in history is powered up in Geneva, Switzerland.
]]> http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/09/words-from-nerds-77-one-ping-only/feed/ 0 Words from Nerds #72: Let ‘Er Rip http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/08/words-from-nerds-72-let-er-rip/ http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/08/words-from-nerds-72-let-er-rip/#comments Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:45:39 +0000 admin http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/?p=1067 We start off the show with a comment from listener Carolyn G about Episode 60 in which she describes a terrible data loss problem on her pc that was saved by Mozy and a program that lets you keep track of all logins and passwords called Steganos Locknote.

Nerd News:

  • Check Windows Update. Microsoft released an out-of-band patch on Monday to fix Windows shortcut hole
  • YouTube videos, now up to 50% longer!
  • End of an era: our local Blockbuster closes its doors. Do kids today care? Where do you get your movie content?
  • Twitter: Now over 20 Billion served. It’s not slowing down. 15 Billion mark passed two months ago. 10 Billion passed 5 months ago. Service is 4 years old.
  • Testing for HTML5 at, of course, www.html5test.com
Feature Story: DMCA Rulings make ripping DVDs legal. Sort of.
DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) adopts 6 new rules that are exempt from prosecution.
  1. Defeating a lawfully obtained DVD’s encryption for the sole purpose of short, fair use in an educational setting or for criticism
  2. Computer programs that allow you to run lawfully obtained software on your phone that you otherwise would not be able to run aka Jailbreaking to use Google Voice on your iPhone
  3. Computer programs that allow you to use your phone on a different network aka Jailbreaking to use your iPhone on T-Mobile
  4. Circumventing video game encryption (DRM) for the purposes of legitimate security testing or investigation
  5. Cracking computer programs protected by dongles when the dongles become obsolete or are no longer being manufactured
  6. Having an ebook be read aloud (ie – for the blind) even if that book has controls built into it to prevent that sort of thing.

Nerd History:

  • August 2, 1870 – first subway opens, in London
  • August 5, 1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.
  • August 6, 1991 – Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web. WWW debuts as a publicly available service on the Internet.
]]> http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/08/words-from-nerds-72-let-er-rip/feed/ 1 Words from Nerds #67: EIEIOS4 http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/06/words-from-nerds-67-eieios4/ http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/06/words-from-nerds-67-eieios4/#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:39:04 +0000 Mike http://www.samethreeguys.com/?p=951 Apple releases iOS4 into the wild prior to iPhone 4 launch day. We’ve got a first look.
Nerd News

Feature Story: iOS 4

  • iOS4 is out. 378MB download. Went live at 1PM ET.
  • What was the Monday rush to download it like?
  • How does it behave on 3GS?
  • New features that they didn’t advertise?
  • Promised features
    • Multi-tasking (if app has been updated)
    • Global Inbox (threaded views, too)
    • Folders (12 apps max/folder)
    • Spell Check in Mail, Notes, other apps
    • Home screen wallpaper
    • Bluetooth keyboard support
  • Sell your old phone
  • iOS 4.0 Gold Master SDK publicly released
  • Windows Live Messenger for iPhone? and Hotmail?

Nerd History

  • June 20, 1877 – Alexander Graham Bell installs the world’s first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
  • June 21, 1948 – The Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine, the world’s first stored-program computer, ran its first computer program.
  • June 20, 1963 – The so-called “red telephone” is established between the Soviet Union and the United States following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
  • June 20, 2003 – The WikiMedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida.
  • June 21, 2010 – The Summer Solstice is today. The longest day of the year!
]]> http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/06/words-from-nerds-67-eieios4/feed/ 0 Words from Nerds #66: Home Improvement Tech http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/06/words-from-nerds-66-home-improvement-tech/ http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/06/words-from-nerds-66-home-improvement-tech/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:40:12 +0000 Mike http://www.samethreeguys.com/?p=945 Need tools for your next home project? Tech can make that job easier, naturally. We’ve got you covered this week with tips from gadgets, to planning, to mobile apps.

Nerd News

Feature Story: Home Improvement Tech

Nerd History

]]> http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/06/words-from-nerds-66-home-improvement-tech/feed/ 0 Words from Nerds #63: Feeling Productive http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/05/words-from-nerds-63-feeling-productive/ http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/05/words-from-nerds-63-feeling-productive/#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 02:43:13 +0000 Mike http://www.samethreeguys.com/?p=924 Google and Microsoft make some moves with their popular productivity suites. Do these changes mean good things for us consumers? That’s our feature story this week.

Nerd News

Feature Story: Are you feeling productive?

Nerd History:

]]> http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/05/words-from-nerds-63-feeling-productive/feed/ 0 Words from Nerds #59: PC Load Letter http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/04/words-from-nerds-59-pc-load-letter/ http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/04/words-from-nerds-59-pc-load-letter/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 22:14:58 +0000 Mike http://www.samethreeguys.com/?p=855 John is in the market for a new printer, replacing an old HP LaserJet that was a workhorse for many years. There are tons of options to consider when buying a new printer. We’ll give you some things to think about.

Nerd News

Feature Story: Printers

  • Printer types: all-in-one, photo, laser, ink, etc
  • Ads from Lexmark about ‘Evil Ink’. Some printers with free black ink for life. Power-hungry Laser printers in an EnergyStar world.
  • Multi-function to take media cards and print without a computer
  • Print from iPhone, iPad, Blackberry
  • Duplexing !
  • O/S compatibility. Do some research. We’ve got tips.
  • PCMag’s Buying Guide

Nerd History

]]> http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2010/04/words-from-nerds-59-pc-load-letter/feed/ 1 WFN #39: Nibiru http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2009/11/wfn-39-nibiru/ http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2009/11/wfn-39-nibiru/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:29:18 +0000 Mike http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/?p=375 Help get our podcasted listed on Zune.net !!!

  1. Go to www.zunepodcasts.com
  2. Hit the ‘Submit a Podcast’ in the lower left corner.
  3. In the box that pops up, paste in the following –> http://feeds2.feedburner.com/wordsfromnerds

How are Windows 7 and Snow Leopard doing so far?

Social Media News

  • YouTube now supports 1080p video. iTunes adds for purchase, too.
  • Twitter is gradually rolling our the re-tweet feature to its web site. It’s about time!

Quick News

Birthdays and Anniversaries

]]> http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2009/11/wfn-39-nibiru/feed/ 0 WFN #35: A SideKick In The Pants http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2009/10/wfn-35-a-sidekick-in-the-pants/ http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2009/10/wfn-35-a-sidekick-in-the-pants/#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:49:45 +0000 Mike http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/?p=333
T-Mobile/Microsoft Lose All Data for SideKick Users
  • Last week Microsoft announced the loss of Hotmail passwords. This week, an even bigger problem as what should have been a routine maintenance upgrade caused the loss of data for all of the T-Mobile SideKick users. So just how safe is ‘the cloud’ anyway?

Software Patches

Time to update your software.
  1. Microsoft issues a critical patch for Windows 7 even before it’s official release date.
  2. Adobe patches 28 bugs in Acrobat and Acrobat Reader.
  3. A scary Snow Leopard bug that reportedly affects only a small number of users.
  4. The popular backup application, SuperDuper for Mac, released v2.6.2. It can double backup copy speeds, among other fixes.

DVDs near the end?

  • Others seem to agree with our assertions that DVDs may be near the end.

Nerd App of the Week

  • Red Laser (iTunes link) from Occipital. Very cool. Bar code scanning app with an impressive database of products.

T-Mobile’s Announcement to SideKick Users

Posted on the sidekick.com website…

T-MOBILE AND MICROSOFT/DANGER STATUS UPDATE ON SIDEKICK DATA DISRUPTION

Dear valued T-Mobile Sidekick customers:

T-Mobile and the Sidekick data services provider, Danger, a subsidiary of Microsoft, are reaching out to express our apologies regarding the recent Sidekick data service disruption. We appreciate your patience as Microsoft/Danger continues to work on maintaining platform stability, and restoring all services for our Sidekick customers.

Regrettably, based on Microsoft/Danger’s latest recovery assessment of their systems, we must now inform you that personal information stored on your device – such as contacts, calendar entries, to-do lists or photos – that is no longer on your Sidekick almost certainly has been lost as a result of a server failure at Microsoft/Danger. That said, our teams continue to work around-the-clock in hopes of discovering some way to recover this information. However, the likelihood of a successful outcome is extremely low. As such, we wanted to share this news with you and offer some tips and suggestions to help you rebuild your personal content. You can find these tips at the T-Mobile Sidekick Forums (http://www.t-mobile.com/sidekick ). We encourage you to visit the Forums on a regular basis to access the latest updates as well as FAQs regarding this service disruption.

In addition, we plan to communicate with you on Monday (Oct. 12) the status of the remaining issues caused by the service disruption, including the data recovery efforts and the Download Catalog restoration which we are continuing to resolve. We also will communicate any additional tips or suggestions that may help in restoring your content.

We recognize the magnitude of this inconvenience. Our primary efforts have been focused on restoring our customers’ personal content. We also are considering additional measures for those of you who have lost your content to help reinforce how valuable you are as a T-Mobile customer.

We continue to advise customers to NOT reset their device by removing the battery or letting their battery drain completely, as any personal content that currently resides on your device will be lost.

Once again, T-Mobile and Microsoft/Danger regret any and all inconvenience this matter has caused.

]]> http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2009/10/wfn-35-a-sidekick-in-the-pants/feed/ 0 WFN #34: Change Your Passwords http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2009/10/wfn-34-change-your-passwords/ http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2009/10/wfn-34-change-your-passwords/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:03:23 +0000 Mike http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/?p=324 Windows Live passwords get hacked, the richest Americans are NERDS! And a British Comedy Troupe turns 40. Thanks for listening.

Hotmail passwords compromised
  • Thousands of Windows Live Hotmail passwords were compromised on October 1st. If you have an email account ending with @hotmail.com, @msn.com or @live.com it would be a good idea to change your password just to be safe.
400 Richest Americans
  • Bill Gates lost $7 Billion last year, but he still tops the list of the richest Americans. We’ve got the top 10 list for you. None of us are on it. :-(
Super Fast Boot Time on Laptops

Nerds of the Week

Dave Barry Slept Here

  • Pulitzer Prize winning humor columnist Dave Barry set out to write a American history book that would be accessible to lay people. His approach was to abolish the need to memorize dates. So he picked one day for all of the important events. That day just so happens to be his son’s birthday.
]]> http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2009/10/wfn-34-change-your-passwords/feed/ 0 WFN 33: Apples And Oranges http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2009/09/wfn-33-apples-and-oranges/ http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/2009/09/wfn-33-apples-and-oranges/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:03:43 +0000 Mike http://www.wordsfromnerds.com/?p=318 China gets its iPhone. The rest of us get MMS. YouTube has a slight lead in Internet viewing (sarcasm) and we’ll tell you where to get Windows 7 at huge discounts. Thanks for listening!

iPhones come to China on October 1
  • The iPhone comes to China at the same time their carrier launches their 3G network. The phones won’t be cheap, however. How about $732.50 US for an iPhone? Expect subsidies with long contracts.
YouTube is gi-normous!
  • When it comes to watching videos on the Internet, there’s YouTube. And then there’s everyone else.
MMS comes to the iPhone. It’s about time!
  • Other phones have had this forever. iPhone users finally got it last week? What is it? MMS, of course. So what’s the big deal?

Win7 discounts from NewEgg

  • ComputerWorld details the savings around 55% here.
  • Speaking of Windows 7, did you know you can host your very own launch party? Check out this link. We are not sure if we seen anything this lame. Ever.
Nerd of the Week:
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