Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Hollywood’s Attempt to Control the Internet

News stories about Hollywood interests trying to control our lives through their bought-and-sold lackeys in Congress always pushes my buttons. As always, Hollywood wants to change our fundamental rights to suite their purposes.  This bill is so controversial (the Electronic Frontier Foundation calls it "disastrous") because it would force changes to the Domain Name System and effectively create a blacklist of Internet domains suspected of intellectual property violations. Read the story and you decide.

Another interesting article in this edition is on the history of Microsoft’s major mistakes and how they have changed how the giant corporation operates. It is one of the most read articles on ZDNET in quite a while and was written by a man who knows all about the Redmond giant, Ed Bott. When he writes, I read.

There are also some helpful tools in this edition so read on and enjoy. JRC

Copyright bill controversy grows as rhetoric sharpens

The Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, introduced last week in the House of Representatives to the applause of lobbyists for Hollywood and other large content holders, is designed to make allegedly copyright-infringing Web sites, sometimes called "rogue" Web sites, virtually disappear from the Internet.

Google Presents Gmail, Redesigned

Gmail is getting a makeover. On Tuesday, Google announced updates to its popular e-mail service, which will be rolled out to all users but can be optionally chosen now. The changes include streamlined conversations, displays that adapt better to the screen size and type, new high-definition themes, and better navigation and search. A link in the bottom right of Gmail allows users to "switch to the new

iPhone 4S owners report dramatic battery drain

Apple's new iPhone 4S is running through its battery at a prodigious rate, according to reports on the company's own support forum. A long thread dedicated to the problem now has more than 2,300 messages, runs 160 pages and has been accessed more than 160,000 times, all huge numbers for an Apple support discussion.

A decade's worth of Windows mistakes that changed Microsoft (for better and worse)

As a longtime Microsoft-watcher, I’m as fascinated by the company’s missteps as I am by its successes. Anyone who worked at Microsoft in the first decade of the 21st Century knows the impact that those wrong turns had on the company and its culture. How the company responded to those mistakes had an indelible impact on products that are on the market today and those that are planned for the future. (A Great Article!)

How to Find Help at Microsoft for Your Computer Problems

f you want help with a Windows problem, the ultimate source is Microsoft. There is a vast accumulation of information on the Microsoft website. Unfortunately, the site is huge and keeps changing. Finding anything can be like the proverbial hunt for a needle in a haystack. To help find things on Microsoft, I have put together a short list of some Microsoft links that may make it easier to get answers when help is wanted.

Run Check Disk from Windows Explorer

Run Check Disk from Windows Explorer to Check for and fix Disk Errors. Data Corruption, no matter how up to date your OS or your hard drive is, can still occur. So you should not be one to believe that data corruption is a thing of the past. It isn’t. To address that you should use the Check Disk tool periodically to check the integrity of disks.

The 10 Best Digital Cameras

The problem with buying a digital camera is not only that there are hundreds of models for sale at any given point in time, but you also need to figure out which type of camera is right for you. The good news is that we review lots of cameras—and these 10 are among the best we've tested.

7stacks - A Free Grouping App for Your Taskbar

7stacks is an easy to use, free app that lets Windows 7 (and Vista and XP) users have “stacks” of icons in their Taskbar (in 7) or QuickLaunch Toolbar (in Vista and XP). By using stacks, users can reduce icon clutter, and combine a group of related icons into a single icon.

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