Nov 13, 2008 | 7:15 AM
Category:
News
What is Andy Reid's approval rating? Let's find out by taking a sample of you all. Simply reply with "Approve" or "Disapprove". Is he under 50%? We'll sson see...
Vote now!
Oct 25, 2008 | 9:48 PM
Category:
Political
Finally!!! Questions that the media till now refused to ask. Awwww....didn't expect to be under real questions now did you?
Click here
Oct 21, 2008 | 9:16 PM
Category:
Political
Right here at home...interesting story and downright scary.
Click for story
Oct 14, 2008 | 10:25 PM
Category:
News
Microsoft is acknowledging that Vista was a flop. No big surprise there. This comes as they lose customers, mainly corporate based. Many companies rejected the upgrade to Vista, where MS makes their revenue. Bad news for MS. What went wrong with Vista? Why did it not meet expectations? Here are a few reasons from what I can come up with.
1) Changes from XP were to complex around security for ordinary users.
2) The "good enough" attitude. Vista was deemed "good enough" to ship.
3) Bad design by too many managers. Let the users tell you what they want, not management!
4) Terrible timing. XP is still going strong. What is the point of a new operating system?
5) Disaster in marketing. The Vista campaign dropped from the face of the Earth once Vista was released.
The next operating system will be labeled "Windows 7". Microsoft says it will be available soon in 2009. We'll see what they come up with next. You can bet they are scrambling marketing and engineering resources to counter Apple's slick campaigns. I'm not sure how much MS is hurting over Vista, but you can guess it must be severe since "Windows 7" is already in the making.
Oct 14, 2008 | 12:06 PM
Category:
News
It amazes me how many people have an HDTV, yet do not get the picture quality they could be getting. Stretching the picture to fill the screen does not make it high definition (I've seen this way too many times and annoys me). I am going to first talk a little about HD, then I'll tell you how to get FREE HD signals to your HDTV. We all like free stuff huh?
To experience high definition video you need the source of the video in HD. This means subscribing to an HD cable or satellite package. Each of these have downfalls:
Cable companies "compress" the video in order to get it to your home. This compromises picture quality as you will see artifacts. Satellite companies do less compression however they need to install a second dish. Who wants 2 dishes hogging up the look of your home?
What cable and satellite companies do not want you to know is local HD signals are FREE over the air. What are the advantages? All of the above!
So how do you take advantage of off-air HD? Your local Lowe's or Home Depot carries several antenna's. Some are very small. The one I use is about the size of my forearm. Depending on your location, you can get over 20 digital stations. To view stations for your zip code enter your zip code in this web site: http://www.antennaweb.org/
Over-the-air HD is superior quality over cable and satellite. Many have no idea it exists. Give it a shot, you'll be surprised at the picture quality. The best of all, it is free.
Over-the-air reception provides the best picture quality, far better than satellite and cable HD. How is this so? It is because there is no compression over-the-air and result is the highest quality HDTV programming for only the low cost of a small outdoor antenna. If you've never experienced true HD, the picture is stunning. Take the local news for example, you can see a remnant of lint on a shirt, an individual stray hair. In sports you can read the writing on shirts in the audience. Off-air antenna reception is the best way to view HD programming at the full resolution the TV network. I subscribe to DirecTV, however I refuse to pay them for HD programming. I enjoy the many channels I get with my package, however when I want to see a game, the news or a network prime time show in high definition, I turn off my direcTV that I pay for and switch over to my free antenna. Sounds odd doesn't it? It is like switching from night to day. The brilliance of the color and the sharpness is amazing.
Sep 20, 2008 | 9:22 PM
Category:
News
It is sad to think of it. The last space shuttle will launch will happen in 2 years. In 2010, shuttle Endeavour will be the last shuttle to fly to space for the last time for the United States.
In 1981, the first shuttle sent a message to the world how skilled our scientists and engineers are. As an engineer, I look up to NASA as a role model. They've done what no other nation has done, that is building, developing and utilizing the worlds only space "pickup truck". Engineers solve problems. NASA is my role model for the many problems they've solved. When smart people think together, great results are made. Sure, other countries have manned rockets, but when you look at the shuttle, it is the most complex vehicle man has ever made. So much has to go right, yet they make it look so easy. The shuttle is a backbone for the USA in regard to placing satellites, repair of satellites, spacewalks and the vehicle responsible for the construction of ISS (International Space Station). The shuttle is also our vehicle for our military and it's forces.
So what happens after 2010? The shuttle program will no longer be able to support itself and will be retired. In short, the USA will be unable to put man in orbit for 5 years until the Orion replacement vehicle is complete. Even at this point in 2015, we still cannot launch hardware as we've done. The "space pickup truck" is forever going to be gone.
NASA has stated time and time again that the schedule for shuttles cannot be extended. There are no parts! Mom and Pop shops who specialized in custom parts are closed up. Bringing these people out of retirement would be impossible. Planning stopped years ago. As Michael Griffin said "The horse left the barn 4 years ago".
Todays presidential candidates want to extend the shuttles. NASA says a huge risk would be placed on the flight crew, with a 1 in 12 chance of a disaster. Is the risk of losing a crew of 7 good enough? Another example of how a politician thinks they understand a problem, to demand a simple solution. Politicians need to sometimes step away and let our agencies work on their own.
The USA will be without it's dominance in space for 5 years from 2010 - 2015. Someone really messed up with scheduling with current world events. The Russians and Chinese can get to space with no problems, though using old hardware. What does this mean? We'll be without a way to space for 5 years. Congress is looking into purchasing Russian Soyuz rockets to fill the gap. That is not very American! Again, we solve our own problems.
You can bet that many people are behind closed doors discussing what to do. What do you think about our nation being not able to get to space for 5 years? Will we get rusty? Do we "try" an old 1970's era shuttle and risk another disaster and loss of lives? Is is a threat to national security?
Sep 10, 2008 | 8:40 AM
Category:
News
I've been seeing this scam getting onto more and more computers, so I thought it was important to get the word out. If you have a program installed called XP Antivirus 2008, you are infected with a trojan virus. It looks like a valid antivirus program, but it is not.
XP Antivirus 2008 is one of the latest infections among PC users. XP Antivirus 2008 usually come up after you installed a video codec that come with Trojan, malware and virus. XP Antivirus 2008 normally generates fake and misleading system popup error messages so end-users will be tricked into purchase XP Antivirus 2008.
Screen shots and what it looks like: Click here
More info here Removal may be impossible without nuking the hard disc and reinstalling the operating system.
Aug 28, 2008 | 8:24 AM
Category:
News
After watching this short video, you will quickly realize how far robitcs has come.
Click Here
Aug 19, 2008 | 8:28 AM
Category:
Entertainment
If I hear another commercial for flavored water, vitamin water, skinny water, etc I am going to scream.
What a RIPOFF! This is all about a money making gimmick with smoke and mirrors. The human race has survived for thousands of years with what was given to us naturally as regular water. This water scam today has got to be the biggest ripoff in the food industry.
Save your money folks. Some companies out there are relying you drink their so called "stupid water" to keep them swimming in the cash.
Aug 10, 2008 | 8:22 PM
Category:
News
So back in the day, it was pounded in our heads not to open email attachments from someone we did not know. Well, hackers use new tricks to send email that looks like it is from a legitimate sender in your address book.
So how do you know if an email attachment is really safe and virus free? Do you simply rely on your antivirus program?
Now there is a FREE web site called VirusTotal.com. Simply upload the file you've been sent before opening it. VirusTotal will scan it using 35 varieties of virus scanners. Not bad huh?
Click Here for the web site.
Aug 6, 2008 | 10:13 AM
Category:
News
A very cool invention, but does it work?
Click Here
Jul 30, 2008 | 10:28 PM
Category:
News
With the new PC scare going around among Adobe Reader, I came across a cool web site that describes the threats today.
Glossary of PC Threats
Be sure to keep updates on you web applications, not just antivirus. Hackers are turning to other methods now, like through Adobe Acrobat and other common applications. Rememeber, ones that install trojan horses can record keystrokes and see where you are visting online. Also be sure to run a root-kit scanner located here: at the bottom of the page called "Black Light".
Just tonight, my server is being attacked by many IP addresses, mainly in Turkey and Russia.
Jul 25, 2008 | 8:06 PM
Category:
News
Global warming is over? Yes, it has been for a while.
Click Here
Jul 15, 2008 | 12:53 PM
Category:
News
I was walking through Home Depot and saw a CFL light bulb that claimed "Lasts 10,000 hours". I am a bit skeptical.
I plan to buy a few and put them on a programmable timer I made. It'll switch each bulb on for 1/2 hour, then turn each on off for 5 minutes. It'll cycle the bulbs non-stop with this timing pattern until they burn out. A second batch will run non-stop with no power cycling. We'll see if these bulbs stand up to their claim. Feel free to place your bets.
Jul 12, 2008 | 10:17 PM
Category:
Weather
Free energy? This is an interesting topic. Can we harness the power of a lighting bolt? Some say a lighting bolt can power a city for years. Though I disagree with that statement (power = voltage * current), a discharge is only a few milliseconds (thousandths of a second). Interesting topic though....
Click Here
