Technology & Computers

Use Yahoo for search

Mon, 05 May 2008 02:29:22 PDT

What with Yahoo holding off Microsoft taking them over I have been choosing to use Yahoo for all my searching needs.
I don't want Microsoft taking over more of the world -- this is the least that I can do...
PS: I love Yahoo's 'Search Assist'! Try it -- it's free!

Got Windows XP Pro SP2 Install Disc?

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 04:50:09 PDT

I've got a license code for Windows XP Pro, but no working install DVD. Anyone in the Campbell area have a installer disc that I can borrow?
I own my copy of Windows XP by way of a VirtualPC license for my Mac, but the install DVD for that only works if you're installing it onto a G5 Mac. I've since upgraded to an Intel based Mac machine and want to get Windows installed on a separate partition. Unfortunately, my XP install DVD is now a $200 coaster.

Problem Sending Email Thru Yahoo DSL Servers?

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:51:04 PDT

If you're a Yahoo/AT&T DSL subscriber and you use a desktop mail client, you might be suffering from an issue I've been suffering from the past few days. I have several different email addresses that I switch between when handling correspondence for different things. Sometime in the past week, I stopped being able to send email under some of those identities.
It turns out that you now need to have your identities verified in your Yahoo Mail web mail account before you can send using that identity in your mail...more

Yahoo's Search Assist

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:44:45 PST

I have been quite amazed with Yahoo's Search Assist the last few weeks.
I don't know how long Yahoo has had this -- but since I noticed it I have been testing it and have been amazed!
Most any search -- assuming the first word in the search query is rather unique -- will usually bring up an accurate suggestion after just three or four letters are entered!
Just now I wanted to...more

Zipidee -- a online marketplace for digital goods

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:44:55 PDT

I read about this today in the Mercury News and I thought it interesting.
If one wanted to sell a 'book' or anything kind of digital wares one would use this site.
Here is a blurb about it copied from mercurynews.com:
Zipidee The San Francisco company that lets you sell digital information through an online marketplace launched its public beta service Monday.
The...more

Bluetooth Headsets: Cool or Dorky?

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 05:32:24 PDT

Haha, I guess we're in a cell phone state of mind here. I saw a poll on C-Net that I just had to repost here. They're asking their visitors if they think Bluetooth Headsets are cool or not so cool.
Personally speaking, there is something really distressing about them to me. Yeah, I know they're super convenient and sometimes I wish I had one when I have to fumble around for my wired earpiece for my cell phone, but on a purely fashion level, I don't think I could do...more

Social Wave Probs with Google Listings - Need an Expert

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 05:26:30 PDT

This year has been one big tech issue headache after another. First it was AOL's mail, then it was Yahoo's Mail. Now that AOL and Yahoo are being cool, it's Google's turn. Only this time it's not a mail issue. Socialwave.net seems to have almost disappeared from Google's search index. This one by far hurts the worst. It's completely killing our site traffic, which has dropped dramatically in the last two months.
I'm trying to get some answers from Google, but their non-existent support makes all the other support deptartments...more

A Low Tech Way to Outsmart Phishing Attacks?

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 04:11:51 PDT

I've been trying to give pointers to some less technically sophisticated email users about how to figure out if a request for information is real or if it's a phishing attack designed to steal your identity when you comply with a request to update your information. It used to be very easy to spot a phishing attack, but now there are some that even make me pause for a minute before I start getting suspicious.
Something finally hit me. I don't know how solid of an approach this is, but...more

Major YahooDSL Outage Yesterday

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 03:35:36 PDT

Well, it's good to see that the Internet still exists. Like a lot of people, I couldn't get on from my Yahoo DSL connection yesterday. I heard lots of varying rumors as to what the problem was and when it'd be fixed. I finally called their customer support myself around 11pm and some very helpful guy at a call center probably overseas read off the names of all cities that were affected in my area. It was basically a roll call of Silicon Valley.
It was a very strange feeling...more

SBC Global/Yahoo DSL Customers, How's Service Lately?

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 04:13:26 PST

Hey you SBC Global DSL subscribers out there. Has your DSL service been spotty lately? Several years ago, SBC Global DSL was always hit and miss. It seemed to behave more like cable modem broadband. It'd sputter and pause all the time. For most of the past two years, their service for me has been rock solid. I've had almost no downtime and the connection speed is always consistent. Over the past couple of months, I've noticed that my service has been spotty again. It's not as bad as it was a few years ago, but I'm noticing some slow...more

Ham Radio License Class and Exam - San Jose

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:58:58 PST

For anyone interested in getting their basic, no-Morse Code amateur radio license - great for emergencies and technical hobby fun...
A 2-Saturday Codeless Technician Amateur Radio Course is being offered at the San Jose Police Communications Building on
24 and 31 March 2007 From 8:30 a.m. � 5:00 p.m.
The exam will be proctored by ARRL on 31 March at 5:00 pm. The class is open to anyone at $35.00 per person (which...more

Broadband in Willow Glen ?

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 09:28:41 PST

I am moving to Willow Glen this week and was informed by AT&T that they do not offer DSL in my area. I am near Pine and Lincoln.
What is the best broadband service to use in this area?
thanks
eric

AT&T Hits Rewind on the Cingular Name

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 06:03:30 PST

As if the whole AT&T / Cingular takeover, re-takeover ordeal wasn't confusing enough, it appears that AT&T has decided that they're going to phase out the name Cingular in favor of good ol fashioned AT&T.
Link: AT&T ending Cingular name on wireless (CNN/Money)
I don't recall how this whole soap opera unfolded. Maybe someone can help fill in the blanks or correct me.Cingular Buys AT&T Wireless and to my dismay, I turn on my AT&T phone one day and it says "Cingular"...more

Adobe Releases Photoshop CS3 Beta

Sat, 23 Dec 2006 03:38:58 PST

Adobe has just made a beta version of the next major release of Photoshop available to all owners of Adobe Photoshop CS2! If you're a Mac user on an Intel-mac, it might be a particularly enticing offer. Adobe Photoshop CS3 will be the first version of Photoshop to run natively on an Intel Mac, so it should be a lot faster than CS2 is on the Intel Macs.
Download the beta from Adobe:
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/photoshopcs3/
BTW, any Photoshop wizards here?

Say No to Extended Warranties (Consumer Reports)

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 12:03:55 PST

If you're one of those who always feels tempted to buy the extended warranty, check out what Consumer Reports has to say about them. They cite two exceptions, but otherwise recommend that you steer clear of them. i think most of us know not to take the extended warranty, but it's still tempting sometimes when you're pushed.
Consumer Reports: Why you don't need an extended warranty (Nov 06)

Stealing Horses, a New Low in Online Scams

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 02:14:05 PST

This webpage that I ran across the other day is both really funny and sad at the same time. The last time we posted for a roommate on Craigslist, we got almost nothing but replies from scammers looking to pull a quick bank fraud trick on us. I thought that was about as low as it got, but it gets better.
Apparently, the same trick is being pulled on animal sales. I ran into this website called the "Cowboy Way Classifieds" that specializes in Cowboy stuff, especially horses. They have a...more

Etiquette: When to Use Phone vs. Email?

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 11:13:43 PST

QUOTE (stone @ Nov 13 2006, 01:33 PM) Most email is not really mission critical -- often someone will ask me -- or I will ask them -- if they received the email that was sent/received, and if it was not received then the troubleshooting process begins. Usually the email address is wrong, though sometimes it may end up in the spam filter I suppose, but in any case, the email it just resent.
Which brings me to my next RANT! Maybe I am too old -- but I don't get...more

Recent Surge in Spam Traffic - Oct 2006

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 04:37:23 PST

In the past month or so, I've been noticing that I've been getting a massive increase in spam. This is despite upgrading the spam protection that I have set-up. I thought it was just me, but it's been so bad for so long that I checked sources online to see if there's been a pandemic of spam. Yup. Sometime in early October, spam started skyrocketing. By some accounts spam nearly DOUBLED in October.
Image spam has been the most problematic because they sneak past the typical mechanisms used by spam filters...more

Sometimes one needs a good 'Time-Sink'

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 04:02:28 PST

Sometimes things are slow and you need something to waste time -- sometimes things are busy, and you still seem to have the need to waste some time.
This web site fits the bill:
http://jacksonpollock.org/

Satellite TV service - pro's and con's

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 11:17:09 PDT

I am interested in sattelite television. Any good or bad experiences desired. If you liked your service, what price level did you pick and what features did you like the best.