Dr. Bill | The Computer Curmudgeon
Join Dr. Bill as he examines the wild and wacky world of the web, computers, and all things geeky! Hot Tech Tips, Tech News, and Geek Culture are examined… with plenty of good humor as well!
Dr. Bill pontificates on all things technical!
A better question? Are you an idiot? No? Prove it! Don’t open an attachment that claims to be a Paris Hilton video, or link/download tool to receive it! Also, if the “FBI” sends you an e-mail that says that they have evidence that you have been visiting “naughty sites”, well… do you REALLY think they would TELL you?!?
So… I ask again, are YOU an idiot? I hope not. Bottom line, don’t EVER click ANY e-mail attachment!
Bill Gates and his evil minions would like you to believe that Open Source software like Linux, Firefox, and OpenOffice are all EVIL because they are open and free. Riiiight! And he (and they) wouldn’t have any reason to “paint” Open Source as a “commie-plot” now would they… no, surely not!
In point of fact, I am a HUGE Open Source supporter, and I am also anti-commie, serious right wing Christian extremist. (Yes, I say “extremist,” because as a Christian, I am EXTREMELY blessed!) So… I could never support anything that was commie in nature. However, if there are folks that love to code and develop software and share it to the world for free… then, dewd, I am there! So, why support Uncle Bill Gates and company when you can use free and Open Source software? Good question!
Spyware illegal?! NOW we’re talkin’!
I hope that they actually get this passed! After all, installing something on my PC is like violating my property rights. Hummmmm… but then, the Supreme Court recently shot our property rights in the foot, didn’t they? Sigh. We can only hope that they will protect us in “cyberspace” better than in “real space!”
Methuselah lived to be 969 years old. He is the oldest recorded man ever to have lived. (I am assuming here, that like me, you simply believe the Bible is true.) Now, science is near to restoring us to nearly that long a lifespan, potentially. The Bible says that the normal lifespan of man is 120 years. Today, it is VERY reasonable to have people live to 100 without that much fanfare. I heard a statistic that there are over 60,000 people over 100 alive today, just in the United States. Check out this article:
So, if you take the “6 times longer” figure mentioned in this article and multiply that out for the Bible’s 120 years of lifespan standard, you have 720 years! If you go with just the “lower end” 100 year range, that would be 600! So, suddenly Methuselah sounds somewhat “more normal!” Whoa! (By the way, I am NOT recommending, or endorsing, gene manipulation! That would be BAD for a natural health guy, huh?)
There has been a lot of talk recently that “it is Linux’s turn” to start getting more attacks and worms now that it is “becoming more accepted.” Well, this article is an excellent refresher on why that is NOT a reasonable speculation!
In that regard, Linux has LONG been the most used Internet server, with more “market share” than Microsoft. No, it isn’t just popularity that drives security vulnerabilities; it is that Windows is weaker by design… or lack thereof!
A scientist has “discovered” (developed?) a new power source that simply shouldn’t work, according to known physical laws, insofar as current scientific understanding says, anyway. So, is it real? Does it work? You decide!
Renewable Energy That Defies Physical Laws!
As the old saying goes, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating!” It will either work, or be a huge flop… but if it does, it could drastically change the world from an energy perspective!
The podcast normally comes out Saturday Morning (that would be today,) however, I am traveling, and will be podcasting later this evening instead. Hang in there! You’ll get your “fix” in just a little late… and we have some great stuff lined up, so be watching for it!
Cookies are fairly benign insofar as web sites go… IF they are used only by the web site that you have gone to, in order to help the site itself know that you have moved from point “A” to point “B” within the same site. However, if a third party site, say one that has an advertisement, or banner ad, on that web site sets a cookie on your browser, THEN that cookie could be used to track you to other sites that they also advertise on, thus tracking your movements! Evil alert! Evil alert!
How can you prevent this? Set your Firefox Browser to accept ONLY cookies from the current website, NOT from third parties! Go into “Tools”, then select “Options”, then click on “Privacy”, now check the box shown in the image below:
And, if you MUST use Microsoft Internet Explorer, then do this: Go to “Tools”, “Internet Options”, “Privacy”, “Advanced”, then check on “Override automatic cookie handling”, and select “Accept” for First-party cookies, and “Block” for Third-party cookies.
You Star Trek “red shirt” wannabes can rejoice! You can now have your very own shoot-through-metal lazer gun!
And this is a good idea… why? Oh well, you do have to sign a hazardous warning release before you buy it! (Yeah, that’ll help!)
For us Linux geeks, we know there is one game to rule them all… one super addictive game that you can use to while away hours and hours of time! That game is, of course, Frozen Bubble! Now, you can play Frozen Bubble anywhere you have a web browser and a Java environment installed!
Enjoy! And, remember, I TOLD you it was addictive!