Hadron Collider Approaches Speed of Light

Science: Large Hadron Collider Shatters Energy Record

The world's largest particle accelerator has set a new record in matter-smashing. The Large Hadron Collider shot beams of protons at energies measuring 1.18 teraelectronvolts, beating the previous world record of just under one TeV. The exercise is another step toward taking the LHC to its highest capacity, which researchers say will be around 7 TeV. In English, that means speed approaching .997 the speed of light.

Mozilla Thunderbird 3.0 - At A Glance

Its Web-browsing vulpine sibling may get all the attention, but Mozilla's other product, the Thunderbird open-source e-mail client, has its own devout following, and has now taken flight with a new version. Thunderbird 2 was strictly for power users, but version 3 changes all that. It's as simple as pie, having cut down on the number of toolbar options and simplified mail account setup. It also adds tabs and archiving.

Kindle vs. Nook Review « Kindle Review – Kindle 2 Review, Books

Since the announcement of the Nook, Kindle PDF support has been added, Kindle for PC has been released, and Amazon have made other enhancements. It looks like e-book readers may be one of this year’s hottest gift ideas.

100 Movie Quotes (American Film Institute Top 100 Movies)

Here is a fun 10 minutes of film clips. Watch 100 famous movie quotes from some of the AFI top 100 movies.

Process Explorer - Free

If you've ever tried tracking down a process in Windows Task Manager, you know it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Process Explorer makes the job a lot easier. This freeware utility displays running processes in an intuitive tree format that includes not only process names, but also program icons and other data, such as description, image, and processor time. Excellent for spotting malware running on your computer.

Happy Thanksgiving from Sunny Tucson

What Not to Buy in 2009

Before you whip out that wallet and spit-polish your plastic, you'll want to make certain that you don't get punked by your own holiday shopping missteps.

Google Chrome OS Preview

There is no company that could and likely will damage Microsoft as effectively as Google. Put simply Google Chrome OS is an important platform to watch. Here's what Google revealed this past week.

Amazon Rolls Out Improvements To Kindle 2

Amazon has upgraded its Kindle 2 e-book reader, bringing the device more on par with its Kindle DX. Amazon's improved Kindle 2 features a longer battery life, wide-screen viewing and a software upgrade that supports PDF viewing and rotation.

Our Favorite Blogs 2009 - Reviews by PC Magazine

Blogs—everybody's got one, and most of them are terrible. Thankfully, we've read every single blog on the Internet, so you don't have to—okay, that's not actually entirely true, but we have culled together a list of favorites from our staff, which is really the next best thing, as far as we're concerned.

Automatically disable your touchpad while you type with TouchFreeze

One thing about laptops that drives a lot of my customers nuts is the touchpad. If I had a nickel for every time someone brought a laptop in complaining that their mouse pointer suddenly jumped somewhere else on the screen and messed up their typing, I'd have at least $10.15.

More on Retail Sites that Ripped off Customers

E-tailers snagged in marketing 'scam' blame customers

Priceline, Classmates.com, FTD, Shutterfly, and Orbitz, it will be business as usual. They see nothing wrong with the marketing practices that millions of angry online shoppers and members of the U.S. Senate have called a "scam," "robbery" and "theft."

Feds: Top e-tailers profit from billion-dollar Web scam

At the bottom of this story is a complete list of companies who profited from this scam. Some of the names on this list will surprise you. All of them should be boycotted because they willingly participated and profited from this horrific scam.

ZDNet's Ultimate Black Friday 2009: Deals, steals & specials guide

The Christmas shopping season is now underway. Are you looking to give some tech gifts this Christmas? Here is a huge collection of very special sales on all kinds of high tech goodies.

Video – First look at Office 10

Check out this short video on the features of the new Office 10 (beta)

www.peopleofwalmart.com 

Website of the Day. Photos of some of the interesting folk who shop at Wal-Mart. Don’t miss this one.

More Info on Browser Wars

With IE 9, Microsoft fights back in browser wars

With Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft showed Wednesday it's trying to retake the browser initiative.IE remains the Net's dominant browser. But perversely, it became something of a technology underdog after Microsoft vanquished Netscape in the browser wars of the 1990s and scaled back its browser effort.

Browser security features compared

Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3, Google Chrome 4, Apple's Safari 4, and Opera 10 include features that block sites known to host malware and malicious downloads. All but Opera also let you browse without leaving any tracks. But just as important as these protections is ensuring that whichever browser you use is thoroughly patched.

Why Chrome OS will fail -- big time

The Chrome OS is here -- sort of. This week, Google was kind of enough to give the world a sneak peek at its nascent desktop operating system. And after months of speculation (and more than a few bogus screenshot galleries), I can finally say that I've seen the future ... and it's not Chrome OS.

8 Ways to Watch TV and Movies Without Cable 

It seems like only yesterday that we were all watching 550 cable channels and trying to decide between cable and satellite. Now we have all those channels, plus a wide variety of TV and movie consumption options, many of which will deliver high-quality content directly from the Internet to your TV. Don't try and figure them all out by yourself. Instead, do as I do and read though this concise report on the 8 best know options for cutting that cable cord.

Install Windows 7 Themes on your XP or Windows Vista Computer

Microsoft paid close attention to personalization in Windows 7, and shipped it with a gorgeous collection of desktop backgrounds and themes. Windows 7 also makes it easy for users to create their own personalized themes and then share it with other Windows 7 users. If you are still using an older version of Windows (like Windows XP or Vista), you don’t have to feel left behind because, with some simple tricks, you can enjoy all or part of what these Windows 7 themes have to offer

Editor’s Note: New blog posts are going to be spotty for the next week.  I am currently in Blythe, CA helping my son move to his new home in Yuma. Internet access is limited and I won’t be back in Tucson for about a week.  Will write when I can. JRC

Update on The Verizon vs. AT&T War

Verizon to AT&T: "Our ads are true and the truth hurts"

Verizon Wireless responded today to a lawsuit filed by AT&T earlier this month that accused Verizon’s “There’s a map for that” marketing campaign of misleading consumers about AT&T’s 3G coverage in the United States.

Microsoft patching zero-day Windows 7 SMB hole

Microsoft said it is working on a fix for a vulnerability in the Server Message Block file-sharing protocol in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 Release 2 that could be used to remotely crash a computer.

Security in Windows 7: Getting Started

According to Microsoft, "Windows 7 improves security, reliability, and performance while helping to optimize PC management." Concepts like Kernel Patch Protection, Data Execution Prevention, Address Space Layout Randomization, and Mandatory Integrity Levels sound good, but the early propaganda about Vista hyped security too, and much of its promise failed to materialize. Will Windows 7 do better at living up to the hype?

Modern Warfare 2 tops entertainment industry, not just games

In the first five days of availability, Modern Warfare 2 has eclipsed the largest worldwide box-office opening, held by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," which tallied $394 million over its first five days. It also beat "The Dark Knight," which holds the U.S. box-office record with $203.8 million in first five-day sales.

Get a cool background for your Twitter profile

Twitter might be a great way to communicate, but the default options for the profile background aren't all that nice. That said, the Twitter background is a fine way to promote your company, tell the world a little something about yourself, or to enhance the beauty of your profile.

This Must Be Scary Tuesday

Feds: Top e-tailers profiting from billion-dollar Web scam

Three companies have generated more than $1.4 billion by "misleading" Web shoppers into signing up for so-called loyalty program memberships, according to a Senate report issued Tuesday. Out of that money, the report charges, Webloyalty, Vertrue, and Affinion paid online retailers $792 million, and in exchange the retailers handed over access to their customers' credit cards.

Thousands of web sites compromised, redirect to scareware

Security researchers have detected a massive blackhat SEO (search engine optimization) campaign consisting of over 200,000 compromised web sites, all redirecting to fake security software (Inst_58s6.exe), commonly referred to as scareware.

FAQ: Recognizing phishing e-mails

If you have received an e-mail from the Internal Revenue Service or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, chances are it was a phishing attempt. If you received e-mail from your bank, PayPal, or Facebook urging you to immediately verify information or risk having your account suspended, it was undoubtedly phishing.

Why I hate Microsoft Office 2010

The combination of bad UI decisions and sluggish performance has turned the author off from Microsoft's latest and greatest

You're Backing Up Your Data the Wrong Way

Time and time again, people tell me that they've bought an external hard drive to back up their pictures, music, and documents. Great, right? Sadly, that's not always the case. There's one simple rule about backups that everybody needs to fully understand: Your files should exist in at least Two places, or it's no longer a backup—and your data is at risk. Too often people delete the files from their primary PC, assuming they are backed up.

Explanations of Interesting Subjects

Bing getting a fall refresh

Unlike when you stand over your coworker's desk, Microsoft's Bing search engine actually works better when you hover. One of the key features of the would-be rival to Google is that when you hover to the right of a result, you can get a preview of what to expect. As part of an update this week, Bing's hover result will now feature more information including a thumbnail preview of the site in question.

32 bit and 64 bit explained

Here's a short tutorial which attempts to answer these questions and helps us understand the concepts of 64 bit and 32 bit hardware, operating system and applications.

7 Cloud Computing Myths Busted

Amazon, Google, Microsoft and others are investing aggressively in the cloud, even as critics point to security, reliability, and compatibility issues. We cut through the fog.

25 Places to Become A Photoshop Expert

The Internet is the perfect place to learn pretty much anything, Photoshop is no exception. The popular image-editing software gets quite a few evangelists ready to spend their time to teach their techniques. In this collection you’ll find some of the best websites to become a Photoshop expert.

Celestia Brings Interstellar Exploration to Your Desktop - Free

With Celestia you can zoom through the known universe, flying through star clusters and swooping in to examine far off galaxies. On its own Celestia is a really fun tool to play with but on top of the expansive star map included in Celestia there is a bustling community of astronomy hobbyists creating hundreds of add-ons for the application.

Double Freebie Friday

Your top Windows 7 questions, answered

Since Windows 7 launched on October 22, my e-mail inbox has been deluged with questions, comments, and pleas for help. I can’t possibly reply to them all personally, so I thought I would answer some of the most common/interesting/provocative questions here.

Verizon tests sending RIAA copyright notices

Customers of Verizon Communications who pirate music files may soon receive an unwelcome letter from the company. Verizon, the second-largest phone company in the United States, is expected to begin issuing "copyright notices" on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America to those accused of illegally downloading songs from the Web, according to sources with knowledge of the agreement. Told you...music and movie companies rule the U.S.

Google digital book ambitions hinge on settlement

Google Inc.'s plans to add millions of copyright-protected books to its digital library are riding on a new legal settlement addressing the objections of government regulators who don't want Google to gain too much power over a new market.

Print2PDF 8.0.09

Free Software - Print2PDF uses print output for conversion into an Adobe Acrobat compatible PDF file. Choose from multiple page sizes, orientations, watermark / stamp insertion, metadata access and file resolutions (up to 2400 DPI).

DVD Knife Quickly Extracts Any Clip from DVDs - DVDs

Free Software - Trying to extract clips from a DVD is usually a roundabout process that involves a lot of waiting. Free utility DVD Knife makes it easy to extract clips from any part of your DVD.

Chip Legal War Over…For Now

Intel to pay AMD $1.25 billion as companies end litigation war

Intel and AMD on Thursday said they will settle all legal disputes, including antitrust litigation, for $1.25 billion. AMD CEO Dirk Meyer said the settlement ushers in a “new era” in the chip industry. But Intel CEO Paul Otellini was a bit defiant in a conference call this morning, saying that there would be no changes to the company’s business practices because the company has not acted illegally.

AMD Unveils Two-Year Processor Road Map

AMD has laid out its road map for processors through 2011, with an emphasis on a complete computing experience featuring stunning graphics and video. AMD also is on track to deliver a new line of Fusion processors to lower power consumption. For next year, AMD will release multi-core processors for notebook graphics.

Microsoft Insists Windows 7 Not Copied from Mac OS

Microsoft is denying comments by partner manager Simon Aldous that Windows 7 copies the "Mac look and feel" in graphics. Not so, Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc quickly wrote in the Windows Blog. Aldous also called Vista "far more stable" than Mac OS X. An analyst noted the irony of Windows 7 arguments, since it was supposed to just refresh Vista.

Google's SPDY protocol will speed up the web - and Chrome OS, too

Over at the Chromium blog, Google has announced a project they've been working on called 'SPeeDY.' It's an updated transport protocol for the web which improves upon HTTP, reducing latency through network-fu like multiplexed streams, request prioritization, and header compression.

Find and Get Rid of Old Files with an Advanced Explorer Search

It's easy to visualize your hard drive usage by file size to get rid of big files you don't need, but if you want to hunt down the files you haven't used in ages, this quick search query can help.

Free WiFi at Airports

Hundreds of Facebook groups hijacked

Facebook groups are under attack. But the attackers say they come in peace and insist they want only to highlight a flaw in the way Facebook handles group administration.

Crazy tech support stories

An IT support specialist remembers the calls that made him push the mute button while he pulled himself together. A fun read.

Stop Paying for Windows Security; Microsoft's Security Tools Are Good Enough

Security tips: When it comes to keeping your Windows PC secure, all of the scare tactics and overblown virus stories out there make it hard to feel safe online. The fact of the matter is that you don't need to pay for Windows security.

Google Offers Free Holiday Wi-Fi at Major Airports

On Tuesday, Google announced an early Christmas present for the traveling masses: Free Wi-Fi at major airports across the country. Google is teaming up with scores of airports, as well as Boingo Wireless, Advanced Wireless Group, Airport Marketing Income, and others to offer the holiday gift starting Tuesday and running through Jan. 15.

Paint.NET 3.5 earns Windows 7, stability fixes

Far more robust than Microsoft Paint, but nowhere near as loaded with features as Photoshop, Paint.NET occupies a niche perfect for users who want a free image editor that has more than resizing and inverting. Version 3.5 includes an enormous number of stability tweaks and menu adjustments, as well as a couple of new minor features and some Windows 7 love, too. And its free!!

Microsoft and Google in the News

Patch Tuesday heads-up: Critical MS Office patches coming

Microsoft plans to release six security bulletins next Tuesday November 10 to fix at least 15 serious vulnerabilities that could expose Windows users to malicious hacker attacks.

Windows 7: First Service Pack Details Emerge

It has been just over a week since Microsoft's low-key Windows 7 launch, and rumors are already circulating around the operating systems first service pack (SP).

Windows 7's default UAC bypassed by 8 out of 10 malware samples

A recently conducted test by malware researchers reveals that eight out of ten malware samples used in the test, successfully bypassed Windows 7’s default UAC (user access control) settings. That is a little scary, to be sure.

Google Dashboard: A Closer Look 

Google Dashboard allows you to manage your Google digital life. Here is a closer look at how it works.

9 things we still hate about tech

We all claim to love technology, but there's just as much to loathe about the world of techies

The Friday Roundup

Which antivirus is best at removing malware?

Detecting the presence of malicious code is one thing, successfully eradicating it is entirely another. According to AV-Comparatives.org’s recently released malware removal test evaluating the effectiveness of sixteen antivirus solutions, only a few were able to meet their criteria of not only removing the samples they were tested against, but also getting rid of the potentially dangerous “leftovers” from the infection.

Find safe-browser technologies that really work

The major browsers and security programs all tout their ability to warn you about malware sites before you visit them, but do any of these early-warning systems really work?

Google Maps and the mystery of the non-existent town

A small village in the north of England, Argleton, has been causing confusion with an air of mystery. The simple reason is, is that the village simply doesn’t exist except in the world of Google.

Near-final Thunderbird 3 due next week

Thunderbird 3, an update to the e-mail software that Mozilla hopes will give it some of the advantages its Firefox browser has enjoyed, is due to arrive in near-final form next week. Mozilla Messaging plans to issue release candidate 1 of Thunderbird 3 as soon as Monday, with the final version expected later in November, the e-mail-focused subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation.

Microsoft Learning Snacks

Learning Snacks are short, interactive presentations about popular topics created by Microsoft Learning experts. Each Snack is delivered by using innovative Microsoft Silverlight technology and includes various media, such as animations and recorded demos. At the end of each free presentation, you can view more Snacks, learn more about the topic, or visit a related Web site.

Mostly Browser News Today

Firefox 3.5.5 Update Fixes Critical Security Bug

There's nothing terribly exciting to speak of in today's Firefox 3.5.5 update; from the looks of the tiny changelog, it looks like one critical security fix and a few other minor bug fixes will make their way to your browser.

Mozilla: Firefox 3.6 won't be late

Mozilla may have released the first beta of Firefox 3.6 nearly two months late, but the organization believes the final version still will arrive on schedule before the end of the year.

Microsoft fixes IE patch again

Microsoft has released an out-of-schedule fix for problems introduced by its last patch for Internet Explorer.

Chrome: How Fast? This Fast ...

Tests indicate that Google's latest edition of Chrome may well be the fastest Web browser on the market, beating even Apple's Safari. There are certain things that Chrome does where the score differences are factors of 10. In some rounds of testing, Chrome's results can only be described as virtually obscene.

Flash Cookie Cleaner - The Free Flash Cookie Cleaner

Flash Cookies are small bits of data saved by websites you visit. They can be used to store website settings and info (like Flash game scores), to track website behavior, and to target advertisments.

Lawsuits, Photography Tips, and Two Freebies!!

AT&T Sues Verizon To Stop 'Misleading' Map Ads

Verizon Wireless has scored a roundhouse with its ads attacking AT&T's 3G coverage, and AT&T has sued to block the ads. AT&T says the maps featuring coverage maps are misleading, but Verizon insists its message is clear. The ads are part of the struggle between Verizon and AT&T since Apple, Inc.'s iPhone lured away Verizon customers.

New York antitrust suit accuses Intel of bribery

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo filed a federal antitrust lawsuit Wednesday against Intel that accuses it of paying computer makers rebates to illegally maintain its monopoly power, the newest among several such attacks that have dogged the chipmaker in recent years.

How to Develop Your Photography Skills: 11 steps (with pictures)

If you've mastered the basics of framing, shooting, and taking a photograph, try taking it further. Make it a hobby, or maybe even a career, rather than taking the usual holiday, pet, and kid snapshots. It is time to start making stunning, rather than simply passable, photographs.

Golden Rules Organizer 1.5.4 (Windows), from Golden-Rules

Golden Rules Organizer is a free professional organizer and goal system. It provides three planning levels: mission & values, projects, recurring and one-time activities.

Hulu Desktop

Hulu Desktop is a lean-back viewing experience for your personal computer. It offers superior resolution and a large viewing area than watching regular Hulu through your browser. It works with XP and all later versions of Windows and can also be set up to run inside Windows Media Center. Highly recommended by yours truly. Thousands of TV shows and movies are available for free.  

Report on Cybercriminal and Cool Free Desktop Organizer

Report: Malware Makers Are Organized, Sophisticated

Cybercriminals are organized like corporations, and follow regular software release cycles, says principal group program manager for the Microsoft Malware Protection Center.

Windows 7's real killer feature

What gives Windows 7 a strong future is not what you're thinking

E-book reader news and releases round-up

The last two weeks have been especially busy for the e-book reader industry (and probably pretty frightening for Amazon). Here’s a quick round-up of what’s been released and what we have to look forward to this holiday season. (Strangely, they left the excellent Sony readers out this story)

How to capture vibrant fall foliage with your digital camera

Fall (or autumn, for many of you) is my favorite season of the year, particularly because of the crisp weather and beautiful falling leaves. Capturing the vibrancy of the foliage can easily be done with either a pocket camera or digital SLR. Here are five tips to get you started:

Stardock ObjectDock

ObjectDock™ is a free program that enables users to organize their shortcuts, programs and running tasks into an attractive and fun animated dock. By allowing users to have more control over how they organize their desktop, users can take control of their desktop icons and shortcuts to have them be available when where and how they need them. Editor's note: I am using this program and loving it. Take a look. It works in all versions of Windows.

Postcard from Tucson – Apologies

Hi everyone.  I fully intended to write a photo blog today on Bryce Canyon, but the last few photos I have attached to the blog have not been good.  The colors are washed out and nowhere near the originals.  I hate showing my photos when the displayed results are not even close to what I intended.

Am not sure why this is happening but am trying to find a solution.  I will resume the blog as soon as I figure out why this is happening.  My apologies and hope you will stay tuned for some really good photos and stories.

Jim

Two Windows Stories and a Droid

Phishing experiment sneaks through all anti-spam filters

A recently conducted ethical phishing experiment impersonating LinkedIn by mailing invitations coming from Bill Gates, has achieved a 100% success rate in bypassing the anti-spam filters it was tested against. The experiment emphasizes on how small-scale spear phishing campaigns are capable of bypassing anti-spam filters, and once again proves that users continue interacting with phishing emails.

Windows 7 security: Five things you should know

Microsoft says Windows 7 is the most secure version of the Windows OS yet -- but you should be aware of some enhancements

The Master List of New Windows 7 Shortcuts

Windows 7 adds loads of great shortcuts for switching between apps, moving windows around your screen, moving them to another monitor altogether, and much more. Here's a quick-reference master list of the best new Windows 7 shortcuts.

Droid by Motorola (Verizon Wireless)

The Motorola Droid is the first truly lust-worthy smartphone from Verizon Wireless, and it puts all other Google Android phones to shame. Motorola may have stinted on a few of the basics in its quest for mind-blowing smartphone power. But the first Android 2.0 phone is definitely the most advanced and exciting device connecting to Verizon today.

12 cool ways to donate your PC's spare processing power

So you'd like to do more volunteering but can't find the time? Here's an easy way to do it: Donate the spare processing power on your computer via one of the dozens of ongoing volunteer computing projects