Technically Speaking
April 28, 2005

With a deluge of new A-list games coming out lately and the excitement building over the new consoles from Sony and Microsoft it is indeed a great time to be a gamer. Both the console and PC gaming world is growing by leaps and bounds and the quality of the games is amazing.

Microsoft and Sony continue to battle over who will show and release their new consoles first. The hype machine is in full gear and Microsoft has even started a website. http://www.ourcolony.net/, that if you play their online game offers sneak peeks at parts of the console. Microsoft will be showing the new console on MTV on May 12th. Both consoles will be on display in mid May at this years’ Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. While the one-upmanship continues between Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo is being very quiet about their new console and seems to want to avoid fighting in the hype wars.

God of War (PlayStation 2) shows how much life there is still left in the Playstation 2. It is a fabulous game and technical achievement. It is one of the few games where you really feel in control of the character, it is that intuitive. While there are some puzzles they do not get in the way of the action. The fixed camera works well, and presents a cinematic view of the action. While the game is a bit short, it is well worth it. God of War is an outstanding action game that delights in a visceral way. Reviews of the game are very complimentary and it garners an average score of 98%.

Last week, for the Xbox, Unreal Championship: The Liandri Conflict came out. This is a great game that puts a whole new spin on the Unreal Universe. Much better than the UC1, the graphics are very crisp, and the play is fluid and intuitive. The online play is satisfying also. Garnering an average score in the 90% range it is defiantly a must buy. I don’t just say that because a personal friend of mine Ryan Brucks is one of the level designers.This edition’s question regards you next Personal Computer purchase. Are you brave enough to build your own, will you buy it from a store, or buy it online? Send your answers to mat@muw.edu.

As always send your tech questions or comments to mat@muw.edu. They will be answered in a future column or with a personal reply.

Mark Taylor, a senior in communication at MUW, was previously an information systems trainer for the US Air Force and a technical support technician for an internet service provider. A game and consumer electronics reporter during the Dot Com boom, he now owns Fanfare Media Services in Columbus.

Howdy, just a quick note about a new music program that one of you guys pointed out to me (Thanks Matt).

It is called Quintessential Player and I find it to be great! It can play all kinds of music formats, and I am using instead of WinAmp now. I really like to built in stream recorder..yea, you can stream from ShoutCast or similar and have it record the stream to your HD!

Give it a try, it has a lot of extras you can install too. Oh, it is Free too!

QCD is all about the music. It aches to play great songs and visually entertain. If a feature wasn't about the music or enjoyment, we didn't add it.

QCD is all about you. With its freeform skinning and plentiful choices of plugins QCD can be as simple or feature rich as you like. It knows its place and won't try to take over your system. QCD is as user friendly as we can make it, but still hardcore enough for the pros.

This is the GREAT 80's station I listen to at work! They play in several formats so no one is left behind!



Check them out! If you like them ... Donate!

Oh and I found this little Union Jack (British Flag).. I like it so I shall fly it here!

Technically Speaking
21 April 2005

The Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) was released on 24 March 2005. Essentially a Playstation 2 in a handheld unit, Sony hopes to compete with Nintendo DS released last fall. The powerful PSP has a gorgeous screen, the ability to play movies and MP3s, has WiFi , and of course plays games. The $249 “Value” package contains a 32MB memory card, all the cords needed, the movie Spiderman 2, a disc that shows off many of the features, and ear buds.

I had the opportunity to play with a unit for about a week and fell in love with it. The screen is so clear that watching Spiderman 2 was enjoyable. I also played Wipeout Pure (racing game), Lumines (puzzle game), and Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade (action rpg). All three are very well made and have great graphics, Wipeout Pure and Lumines have garnered great reviews but Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade has not faired so well. I tend to agree with other reviewers but feel they have been a bit harsh on Untold Legends.

The games, like the movies, come on tiny UMD disks that are loaded into the back of the unit. These mini DVDs mean that load time for games is longer than the cartridge based Nintendo DS, but they are not unbearable. The great graphics and game play are worth the wait. The battery life, from a rechargeable battery, is shorter than the Nintendo DS but it still allows for plenty of game play time.

The unit feels sold and well made, but the screen is a bit too hard to see, due to reflection, in direct sunlight. Many companies are making a thin film anti glare cover for the screen. With all of the options available and Logitech releasing a keyboard that doubles as a “case” there seems to be a lot of focus on making it more than just a game machine. With the WiFi and the potential for web surfing and Palm like functions it could become a nice multi use device.

Overall the PSP is a unit with a big future. I personally think that there is enough room for it and the Nintendo DS. The PSP and the DS have different strengths and weaknesses and the type of games on each seem to differ greatly. Sales figures suggest that Sony sold between 500,000 to 600,000 of the million units available at launch. As more uses for the system become evident and Grand Theft Auto comes out, on July 15th, sales should increase. As of this writing Gamestop in Starkville is out of the unit but Wal-Mart in Columbus has about ten in stock. Is it worth the $249, I think so.

Taking up my gaming time for the last week or so has been Doom 3 for the Xbox. It is a great port of the PC version that came out last year. The graphics are top notch and the programmers have managed to wring out a yet more spectacular game on the now ageing Xbox. They have mad a game that really scares and excites, my one gripe: why can’t I have the gun and the flashlight equipped at the same time? I now it is to keep it extra scary but still.

For PC Doom 3 Players two weeks ago saw the release of the Doom 3 Expansion Pack Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil. It seems a bit expensive for an expansion at $34.99 but the reviews for it are quite good garnering an average of 84%.

A couple of interesting purchase this week; game and console retailer Gamestop has bough its former rival EB Games. Gamestop says that this will help them compete internationally. There are EB Games locations in Tupelo and Tuscaloosa, and the nearest Gamestop is in Starkville. How will this affect gamers? It may end some of the price wars between the two and lead to less discounts and special deals.

This editions’ question is about your video game, PC and Console, buying habits. How many console/pc games do you purchase a month? Do you base your purchase on reviews, word of mouth, or commercials/ads? Where do you buy most of your games from online or a bricks and mortar store? Send your answers to me at mat@muw.edu

In order to find the Luxor Casino in Las Vegas, it is the one that is Egyptian themed and has a huge pyramid, type the following address into http://maps.google.com 3925 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, 89119. Zoom in all the way and slide to the left a bit, to see this amazing building. You can tell that the satellite was not directly above the pyramid because the point is not quite in the center. If you slide down and slightly to the right, you will find the airport, and the satellite captured a plane landing, you can tell by the shadow.

As always send your tech questions or comments to mat@muw.edu. They will be answered in a future column or with a personal reply.

Mark Taylor, a senior in communication, was previously an information systems trainer for the US Air Force and a technical support technician for an internet service provider. A game and consumer electronics reporter during the Dot Com boom, he now owns Fanfare Media Services in Columbus.

Technically Speaking
14 April 2004

Since music, in the form of MP3s, is such an important part of the world of personal computing now there is a real need for software that does a good job of not only playing but also organizing users sometimes multi gigabytes of music.

The two most popular free programs are Windows Media Player, http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/default.aspx , and Real Player, http://www.real.com , but there is a third free program for the PC from a somewhat surprising source, Apple.

The Windows Media Player is easy to use and provides some nice features it is also now on version 10 not only does it handle music but it also handles video files and streaming audio. The program integrates well with windows and has some very nice features. In addition to playing both audio and video files it allows the making of play lists, the ripping of music from audio CDs, the burning of CDs, listening to internet radio and TV stations, and supports multiple MP3 and media players. The interface can be a bit confusing, and is not as intuitive as it should be. Often you will find that a menu or feature is hidden and it takes too long to find it or turn it back on. The program will search your hard drive for songs and add them to its library function. I have found it to be hit and miss on occasion. All in all a good program that is free and somewhat easy to read.

Real Player is in many ways identical to Windows Media Player feature wise, the current version is more sleek and streamlined than in the past and it is much easer to use now. You probably have Real Player on your computer because a great many video files, both streaming and downloadable are available only in REAL format. Despite how confusing the download site is you can actually get it for free. I do not sign up for the trial, just dig around a bit and you will find the free version. You also want to pay attention when installing the free version, look closely each time you hit next, there are “other” programs that it will try and install, just uncheck them.

Once the domain of only MAC users now iTunes is available for Windows users. The program, was built to support the iTunes music store where Apple sells songs for 99 cents each but it also supports other music files. ITunes, http://www.itunes.com , is a powerful program that works with one thing and des it well, music. It has the same audio features as Windows Media Player and Real Player, but packaged them in a slick and easy to use package. The interface is intuitive and simple to understand, and the importing of you personal music collection is a snap. There is even an option to disable the iTunes music buying service tab. It is a great free program that while built for the iTunes store will help to organize and play your music collection.

Taking up my gaming time for the last week or so has been Doom 3 for the Xbox. It is a great port of the PC version that came out last year. The graphics are top notch and the programmers have managed to wring out a yet more spectacular game on the now ageing Xbox. They have mad a game that really scares and excites, my one gripe: why can’t I have the gun and the flashlight equipped at the same time? I now it is to keep it extra scary but still.

For PC Doom 3 Players last week saw the release of the Doom 3 Expansion Pack Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil. It seems a bit expensive for an expansion at $34.99 but the reviews for it are quite good garnering an average of 84%.

Scheduled to come out on April 18th for the Xbox is Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict. This should be a great game, the demo was amazing. I don’t just say that because a person friend of mine Ryan Brucks is one of the level designers.

Due to space limitations the PSP vs. DS comparison will be in the next edition.

The deadline for interesting locations/landmarks addresses for Google Maps, http://maps.google.com, has been extended to Monday April 18th. Send them in to mat@muw.edu to try and with the $10 Wal-Mart gift card.

As always send your tech questions or comments to mat@muw.edu. They will be answered in a future column or with a personal reply.

Remember when visiting the Spectator website to find clickable links make sure you go to http://www.muw.edu/spectator not http://muw.edu/spectator without the www you will not find it.

Mark Taylor, a senior in communication, was previously an information systems trainer for the US Air Force and a technical support technician for an internet service provider. A game and consumer electronics reporter during the Dot Com boom, he now owns Fanfare Media Services in Columbus.

Technically Speaking
7 April 2004

In yet another effort to keep us glued to our computer screens there is another new useful and interesting service offered by Google. I used to use Yahoo Maps, http://maps.yahoo.com , for all of my driving directions needs now along comes Google with their own solution. Google Maps, http://www.maps.google.com , works in relatively the same way as the Yahoo solution, but the maps are much clearer and with less clutter. In addition to the clearer maps, there is also a link that can be clicked on for every stage of the journey that will zoom into the map for a better reading of the directions.

By far the most exciting feature is the satellite images accessible from the same page. The opening page to Google Maps allows you to look up a specific address while along the top is the option to get driving directions and do a local search. There is one more option for your mapping needs and it is accessed by clicking on the Satellite link to the right of the screen. Clicking the link brings up a satellite image of your chosen “place” to be displayed and on the right side of the map are zoom sliders. The images load very fast and are amazingly and detailed. You can switch back to the regular map view by clicking on the Map link.

While the whole US has been mapped there are areas when the amount of zoom is limited; this depends on how much mapping has been done. I was able to zoom in far enough in Columbus to be able to see my apartment building and even make out my parking space and my neighbors’ car parked next to me. For a peek at the university type in 1100 College St, Columbus, MS 39701 that will take you to the front gate, zoom in all the way, then click on the map and drag down a bit, the Gazebo is easy to pick up it is the circle in the middle of the “W” with the three paths leading up to it.

I have had a chance to play with the new Playstation Portable(PSP), $249.99 and it is a very nice machine. The games look great, the screen is amazingly clear, and watching Spiderman 2 on it was very cool. Due to limited space this week look for a comparison between it and the Nintendo DS $149.99 in the next edition.

This edition’s question is a simple one, see if you can find some of the nation’s landmarks in Google Maps and send me the address to post in a future edition. The person that sends the best address, to be determined by me, wins a $10 gift certificate to Wal-Mart. Deadline is Sunday April 10. Good Luck.

While you may be worried that such a service may be a risk to your privacy, Google says that the maps are six to twelve months old and are not updated daily.

As always send your tech questions or comments to mat@muw.edu. They will be
answered in a future column or with a personal reply.

Remember when visiting the Spectator website to find clickable links make sure
you go to http://www.muw.edu/spectator not http://muw.edu/spectator without the
www you will not find it. Be sure to check out the Spectator online for stories that did not make it into the paper and videos of “W” events.

Mark Taylor, a senior in communication, was previously an information systems
trainer for the US Air Force and a technical support technician for an internet
service provider. A game and consumer electronics reporter during the Dot Com
boom, he now owns Fanfare Media Services in Columbus.

Technically Speaking03/31/2005

One of the most frustrating things about computer is misplacing files. A past edition discussed how to find content in files with Google Desktop Search. While it is a fantastic program it is of little use unless the files have some identifying text in them or at least a good filename. Probably the hardest type of file to find are photos and graphics. If you are like me you probably stay with the naming scheme that your digital camera uses so your pictures are called something cryptic like 033105abc.jpg.

One solution is to give every picture a specific and unique name like markandpatsummerinfrontofBigBen05a.jpg but that is very long, and it takes a lot of work. Plus, you know that after the first couple of times you will stop naming them just like I do, the same goes for labeling CDs and Floppy Disks. Even when you find the pictures it takes many steps to open them and edit them, to remove red eye and touching them up.

The software that comes with most digital cameras is normally as stripped down version of a commercial program, and of limited usefulness. It is normally a teaser to buy the full version since some of the best features are not available. In fact many of the programs gray out the 'advanced' option just to tease you more.

Windows is no help either, since the built in photo editor is virtually useless. There are many very good image processing programs on the market, perhaps the best consumer level is Adobe Image Ready, but it carries a hefty $99+ price tag. ImageReady CS is a full featured package that is a great value when compared to the industry standard Adobe Photoshop CS, a $699 professional program that is used by graphic artists and photographers. Both programs have a somewhat steep learning curve and have far too many options for the average user.

To the rescue comes yet another program from the folks at Google, and it is free. Picasa2, http://www.picasa.com/, is a very nice basic graphic cataloging and manipulation tool. Picasa is very easy to use with a well thought out and intuitive interface, you will be using it in no time.

The program runs in the background and when you load new photos onto your computer or create new graphic files it creates a nice visual catalog of all the folders and pictures. It does this automatically and is very fast. When it is first run it will scan your computer and create a catalog of graphic files it finds, even the ones you have lost or never knew you had.

Clicking on the programs Icon brings up a well organized screen with your catalog on the right and folder list on the left. The top and bottom of the widow offers a multitude of helpful options such as Import, Slideshow, Make a gift Cd, Backup, Print, Email, Blogger, Collage and more. Two of the most interesting are the Blogger option and the SlideShow option. If you have a blog set up on Blogger this option allows you to upload your pictures to your blog. Slideshow is very nice with many great functions including the ability to have the slideshow run while a MP3 file is playing.

Once you click on a picture in your Gallery/Catalog you are given a lot of image manipulation tools: Basic Fixes, Tuning, and Effects. These include everything from Basic cropping, red eye reduction to an effect I like called Focal Black and White. There are many other options to play with that allow to to tweak your photos and graphics.

For advanced image manipulation you need a more fully featured program, but as a gallery/catalog program to fix pictures for display or printing Picasa2 can't be beat.

Remember, before you start working on a picture, use Save As and save it as another name just in case you mess up your picture. That way you will still have the original to start over with.

This edition's question is: The record companies are continuing their hunt for illegal music downloaders levying hefty fines and using heavy handed scare tactics. They say it is outright theft and blame it for declining record sales and lost profits. Downloaders say it is not theft and that they buy more music now and that file sharing promotes sales. What do you agree with? Would/Has downloading songs change(d) your buying habits?

As always send your tech questions or comments to mat@muw.edu. They will be answered in a future column or with a personal reply.
Remember when visiting the Spectator website to find clickable links make sure you goto http://www.muw.edu/spectator not http://muw.edu/spectator without the www you will not find it.
Mark Taylor, a senior in communication, was previously an information systems trainer for the US Air Force and a technical support technician for an internet service provider. A game and consumer electronics reporter during the Dot Com boom, he now owns Fanfare Media Services in Columbus.

Looking for a great site with stock news, views and opinions?

Check out Wall Street News Alert. They also have a great set of Investing and Research tools. They also have streaming quotes, portfolio, and other great tools, They have a great book store. I get their emails and also use their great tools for research on stocks I buy.

PLUS, even when you sign up for their newsletter, they don't SPAM you! Check them out! The tools are free!

Technically Speaking
March 17, 2005


This edition we look at a piece of software to help you make sweet music. Audacity, http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ is a free and easy to use audio recording, mixing, and manipulation tool that is both useful and fun to play with. I have been using Audacity since it first came out and am still impressed by how easy it is to use, and that it is free. Audacity is available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and GNU/Linux.

Audacity allows you to:
- Record live audio from either a microphone or line in on your soundcard
- Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs
- Edit MP3 and WAV sound files
- Cut, copy, splice, and mix sounds together
- Apply a multitude of effects to your recording
- Eliminate background noise and filter pops and hiss from converted records or tapes
- Change the speed or pitch of a recording
- Allows for multiple tracks for multi-track composing and editing
- And more

This is another one of those programs that while also useful will have you playing with effects on your favorite music as well as your voice. It is great for making long mix MP3s and recording voice. You could for example use your microphone to record a talking email to friends and family, just record save as MP3 and send as an attachment in your email. Another great use is to take recorded lectures and import and convert them to MP3’s so you can listen to them on the computer or transfer them to an MP3 player or CD.

Audacity is easy to use with a very detailed help function; the buttons are large and intuitive. Two things are not the easiest to figure out however:

First, in order to apply an effect and that includes noise reduction, you have to select all of the song in the editing window, until you do this the effects options are grayed out. There is a ‘Select All’ option in the ‘EDIT’ menu. Applying effects to small sections is as easy as selecting just that section with the mouse and the left mouse button.

Second, converting to MP3s requires and additional download with slightly confusing installation directions. When you go to the Audacity download page there is a link for Optional Downloads, in addition to Audacity also get ‘LAME MP3 encoder’ enable Audacity to make MP3 files. Read the directions on how to ‘install’ it and it will work fine. Some of the other optional downloads are great also with additional effects and other helpful plug-ins.

Sometimes finding a paper, image, or file on a computer is a hit and miss exercise in futility. This edition we look at a way to find almost anything on your computer, Google Desktop Search http://desktop.google.com. Google Desktop Search is a fast install on your computer that will fully index all your files and allow you to search you computer with an interface much like the Google search page. This program indexes even inside of files, so that you can search by word in a Word document, PDF, visited webpage, Excel, PowerPoint, Emails and more. It will even index music, images, videos and AOL Instant Messenger chats. The list of features are too many to list, you will just have to try it.

This edition’s question is what service do you use for your legal, paid for, music MP3 downloads? The new Napster, Apple iTunes, Wal-Mart (yes Wal-Mart), or another site. Send your answers to mat@muw.edu.

Taking up far too much of my time are two amazing games World of Warcraft (PC) a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) and Gran Turismo 4 (PS2) more a driving simulator than a game.

Five adjectives for each:

World of Warcraft (PC): Amusing, Immersive, Socializing, Inspiring, and Life-Stealing
Gran Turismo 4 (PS2): Exhilarating, Amazing, Stunning, Visceral, and Exciting

As always send your tech questions or comments to mat@muw.edu. They will be answered in a future column or with a personal reply.

When visiting the Spectator website to find clickable links make sure you go to http://www.muw.edu/spectator not http://muw.edu/spectator without the www you will not find it.
Mark Taylor, a senior in communication, was previously an information systems trainer for the US Air Force and a technical support technician for an internet service provider. A game and consumer electronics reporter during the Dot Com boom, he now owns Fanfare Media Services in Columbus

You guys know how much I like FARK.com, it is irreverent and crazy, choose the stories and comments to read carefully. YOU have been warned!

Time for a sample of some past FARK.com headlines:


* Shocked and a little aroused: Pot-smoking, topless dominatrix runs for office
* Photoshop this Mr. T lookalike and his pet rock
* Pretty brunette with pleasant posterior (not safe for work)
* Utah man wins $500K+ on Jeopardy
* Internet-enabled surfboards. Your Big Kahuna wants email
* City dump manager has decorated his whole house in "Early Trashpile"
* Would you care for some Moose Cheese to go with your Cristal and Caviar?
* Classic video games make a comeback
* "No one steals from God." Priest puts robber in half-nelson to keep...
* Undercover police sting discovers mass orgy of 100, yes, 100 people on cruise ship
* Genetic mutation turns tot into superboy, strangely susceptible to kryptonite
* Scrubbed NASA program has potential to beam solar power to earth
* New molecules discovered in Milky Way, universe Snickers
* Playgirl Magazine, showing that it has a sense of humor, asks its readers if Andy Rooney is sexy
* Naturally decaffinated coffee plant discovered. Cure for cancer delayed while scientists try to wake up in the morning

Technically Speaking
March 10, 2005

I am continually amazed at how fast technology is advancing. Things that used to be only for use by big business are now common place items for the regular populace. The past couple of years have seen yet another use for your internet connection; you can use it as a telephone with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Sounds technical doesn’t it well all it involves is the transmission of telephone calls over a data network like the Internet. In other words, VoIP can send voice, fax and other information over the Internet, rather than through the (PSTN) or regular telephone network. Once the realm of big business, the technology is now refined and affordable enough for home and small business users. VoIP offers potentially significant cost savings over tradition carriers. Several companies offer VoIP service, the most visible is Vonage http://www.Vonage.com.

I use Vonage at home since I gave up my home phone line and went exclusively cell phone a few years ago. The person on the other end of your call does not need to have a computer, the service calls their home phone or cell. For $14.99 a month you can get 500 minutes of calls to anywhere in the US and Canada, and for $24.95 you can move up to the unlimited plan. Vonage also offers great rates for overseas calls with the UK being only 5 cents a minute. In the package from Vonage you receive a small box that you add to your broadband internet connection and you then plug a regular phone into the back of the box. There is a second phone-in port in the back that can be used for additional lines or a fax machine for an additional monthly charge. After a painless and quick set-up you have a fully functioning telephone that even has a dial tone.

Vonage includes voicemail, call forwarding and more. One nice function is the ability to record different answering machine messages for different times of the day and it will play them based on the schedule you program them to. The phone number is assigned to the ‘Vonage box’ not the location, so where the box is so is your number. To test this I took my ‘Vonage box’ home over Christmas and plugged it into my parents’ broadband connection and was able to make and receive my calls at their house.

For a better understanding of how the technology works, and how it can be a great benefit to you visit the company at http://www.vonage.com. The service is great and very flexible; the only problem is the long wait times for ‘real-person’ technical support and somewhat confusing automated support.

If you are looking for a free way to talk to your friends, Skype http://www.skype.com is for you. This free spyware and adware program allows you to ‘call’ and talk to friends all over the world, as long as they have a computer and an internet connection. Skype even works with dial-up. All you and your friends need are speakers and a microphone, I recommend a headset for the best quality.

MSN and other messaging programs offer a voice chat option but they pale in comparison to the quality and versatility of Skype. The interface is easy to understand and the clarity is amazing. Skype also allows for text chat while talking, will include cell phone text messaging support, and other cool features.

Skype also has a VoIP called SkypeOut that can call traditional phones worldwide, and while not as fancy as Vonage, it is a great choice to try out the technology. Rates to withing the US and to Europe are 1.7 Euro Cents (0.017) a minute or about 2.23 cents at the current exchange rate. The rates to other areas are slightly higher. Again the quality is great, and well worth a try. Skype works with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Pocket PC operating systems.

If you want to check out currency exchange rates check out X-Rates http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html that is how I figured out what 1,7 eurocents (0.017) are in US cents. The site may make you think twice about a trip to Europe right now with the Euro so high.

The cool link for this edition is another somewhat hidden Google goodie; Google Zeitgeist http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html. Zeitgiest, as defined by Dictionary.com, http://www.dictionary.com, is “The spirit of the time; the taste and outlook characteristic of a period or generation” which sounds like an appropriate name for the site. From the Google Zeitgiest site:

“Google Zeitgeist: Search patterns, trends, and surprises according to Google. For both breaking news and obscure information alike, people around the world search Google. This flurry of searches often exposes interesting trends, patterns, and surprises. The Google Zeitgeist page is regularly updated to reflect tidbits of information related to the search behavior of Google users.”

With listings of most popular searches, declining searches, news, names and more the site is a great slice of what the world wants to know. There are also yearly archives going all the way back to 2001. Well worth a look and a bookmark, like Google Video http://video.google.com it is another semi-hidden Google link.

In other news: Apple has realigned their iPod line of portable music playerswith the introduction of new capacity iPod Photo and new iPod Mini. iPod photois now available in 30GB and 60GB sizes, the standard iPod is now only in 20GB,and the iPod Mini is available in 4GB and 6GB size, the iPod Shuffle isavailable in 512MB and 1GB. Prices for the iPod line are from $99 for the 512MBMini to $449 for the 60GB Photo.

The question of the week for this edition is: Do you find these articles interesting and have you used any of the programs, or visited any of the links mentioned in them? and Do you have any interesting links or programs you would like to share with the campus?

As always send your tech questions or comments to mat@muw.edu and they will be answered in a future column or with a personal reply.

Mark Taylor, a senior in communication, was previously an information systems
trainer for the US Air Force and a technical support technician for an internet
service provider. A game and consumer electronics reporter during the Dot Com
boom, he now owns Fanfare Media Services in Columbus.

Technically Speaking 03/01/2005

A recall, and update, a new contender, and more, this is Technically Speaking.

Microsoft is recalling power cords for their Xbox console. There has been a very small incidence of problems but in order to avoid any harm (Read: Lawsuits) they are replacing the power cords for free. It seems that there has been some scorching of carpets and a few people have gotten minor burns similar to touching an iron.

From the Xbox site:

“Microsoft is providing new power cords at no charge to replace the cords that originally came with some Xbox consoles. “

For more information on this recall and to see if you qualify for a free replacement power cord visit Xbox.com, there is an “Important Safety Notice” link on the right of the main page.

The new plugs appear not to be as easy to deal with as the straight line cords that came with the system; reports indicate that the new cord has a box at the wall plug end and a reset button. It looks like it will be a plug hog, covering a second socket with its sheer bulk.

This edition’s cool link is Google Video http://video.google.com . It is a service that allows you to search an ever increasing database of television shows for your key word. The technology uses the Closed Captioning in shows to locate the word. Once you run the search a still from the show is displayed with a short description of the show and a link. Clicking on the link takes you to a page that has all the stills from that show that the word is said, the accompanying dialog, and when in the show it occurs.

I am a big fan of the show ‘LOST’ on ABC and I typed in ‘Locke’ a character on the show and got 42 hits, not all of that character, in fact I got a hit for the show ‘Matlock’, a news show, and an Arena football show, amongst others. Google Video pulls from a great many channels, all the majors and many affiliates and some obscure ones. It is very interesting and well worth a look.

Another link from Google is a page that gives hints on how to use the search engine more effectively. The Google Cheat sheet http://www.google.com/help/cheatsheet.html is a great resource on how to use some of the more hidden tools Google has. You can use Google as a calculator, a currency converter and more. The Google local search is also very helpful. Well worth a bookmark to help make your searches more effective.


The Browser Firefox has been updated with approximately 250 bug fixes and beefed up security. You can get the update from http://www.getfirefox.com , there is a link on the top right of the page.

The makers of the Browser Firefox, and the email program Thunderbird have released an early version of their now calendar program. Sunbird is a nice standalone program that can be used to keep track of important appointments and dates in addition to providing alarms and over nice features. This is version 0.2 so it does not have all the planned features yet, but I have been using it and have had no problems. You can get Sunbird at http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird.html . Sunbird is another nice and totally free program that is very useful, give it a try.

This month Sonly releases the Playstation Portable (PSP) in the United States. The PSP is the first handheld ion many years to challenge Nintendo’s dominance over the handheld gaming platform. Nintendo came out with their new DS last fall and it has been a success so far despite having only a few good launch titles. The PSP has a large number of launch titles, a larger screen, and better graphics than the DS, but also a higher price tag. Who will win the fight? We will have to wait and see. In my opinion it does not really matter, I think there are enough gamers to make both systems successful and those, like me, that will buy both.

This edition’s question is rather simple, what handheld gaming systems do you own or have owned? The original Gameboy, Atari Lynx, Wonder Swan, Game Gear, Gameboy Color, Gameboy SP, Gameboy Advance, or Nintendo DS or perhaps even the early Mattel football games. Send your answer to mat@muw.edu . The answers to all my questions will be published in the last edition of the column this term.

In other news: Apple has realigned their iPod line of portable music players with the introduction of new capacity iPod Photo and new iPod Mini. iPod photo is now available in 30GB and 60GB sizes, the standard iPod is now only in 20GB, and the iPod Mini is available in 4GB and 6GB size, the iPod Shuffle is available in 512MB and 1GB. Prices for the iPod line are from $99 for the 512MB Mini to $449 for the 60GB Photo.

As always send your tech questions or comments to mat@muw.edu
Mark Taylor, a senior in communication, was previously an information systems trainer for the US Air Force and a technical support technician for an internet service provider. A game and consumer electronics reporter during the Dot Com boom, he now owns Fanfare Media Services in Columbus.

Technically Speaking 02/24/2005

As I write this editions installment, the suicide of journalist Hunter S. Thompson is all over the news, he was 67. The author of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and writer for many mainstream magazines, Thompson was at the forefront of a new kind of personal journalism revolution that went against the stiff established style. His style of writing coined “Gonzo” Journalism, changed the face of journalism.

Another revolution in “journalism” is well underway and it had its’ birth in the late 90’s it is the BLOG, a shortened way of saying “weB LOG.” I call it a revolution in journalism because most of the large news gathering organizations now have teams that monitor BLOGS for breaking news and to get an idea of public opinion. They are also a way for regular people to air their views instantly for the world to see. I am sure that many of my readers have read a BLOG or even have one of their own.

While there are many ways to start your own BLOG, by far the easiest is by using Blogger, http://www.blogger.com . It is a free service that hosts your BLOG and has an easy to use interface that will help you make your first BLOG. Blogger does not require any software to be on your computer, the posting interface is accessed through your web browser, much like web mail, so you can access it anywhere you have internet access.

Your BLOG does not have to have any real focus; it can be your daily musings, commentary on the days’ news, snippets of poetry, or whatever you want to tell the world. Budding artists or photographers can upload pictures to include in their posts. Many people use BLOGs to express strong political or social opinions, others categories include music, life, technology, humor and more. You can even upload pictures to include in your posts.

You only need two things to start BLOGGING, internet access and something to say. Join the revolution today.

If you are looking for some interesting BLOGS to read to get an idea of what you can do with a BLOG then Blog Wise http://www.blogwise.com/ is a great source. The site is an index of thousands of BLOGS on all subject matters. If you start a BLOG you can also register it with Blog Wise and have it listed there. Warning: some of the BLOGS listed on Blog Wise may contain adult language or images, view at your own peril.

Illegal cell phone jammers are popping up for sale on websites; the jammers have a limited range and also block emergency calls and the public airwaves. Some of the jammers are small and portable and can be carried and used while walking down the street. What do you think of this? If you could jam cell phones in a specific area where would that area be? Why? Send your comments to mat@muw.edu

Something a bit different this edition; my game picks and each gets five words:
Mercenaries (Xbox, Ps2) Exciting, immersive, visceral, explosive, and addictive.
Resident Evil 4 (GC) Chilling, beautiful, intense, inspired, and exciting.
Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls (GBA) Classic, engaging, timeless, long, and memorable.
Pirates (Windows PC) Engrossing, intuitive, entertaining, humorous, and fun.

This editions’ cool link: AllMusic http://www.allmusic.com is a great site if you want to know the story behind your favorite musical artists. They have biographies, full listings of albums and singles, and even samples of the songs. The interface is great with many search categories (even search by instrument) and each band has a listing of similar artists. AllMusic has two companion sites AllMovie and AllGame that offer similar content.

As always you can send your tech-related questions to me at mat@muw.edu, and I will post an answer in a future edition.

Mark Taylor, a senior in communication, was previously an information systems trainer for the US Air Force and a technical support technician for an internet service provider. A game and consumer electronics reporter during the Dot Com boom, he now owns Fanfare Media Services in Columbus.

This installment of Technically Speaking comes with a warning: great software does not have to be expensive; in fact sometimes it is free.

I am sure that a good percentage of my readers use Microsoft Office for home and school use. It can be rather expensive, especially if you want the professional version that includes everything. There is an alternative, OpenOffice, and it is free!

Even if you already own Microsoft Office it is worth a look. It is ideal for a second installation on a note book or even as a compliment to Microsoft Office on your primary machine. It is a very nice and compact suit that also has very modest hardware requirements; it is perfect for an older slow system or a not bleeding edge notebook.

The suit contains:

· Writer, a word processor like Microsoft Word and very flexible, can also be used to make web pages.
· Calc, a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel, with some great options.
· Draw, a nice drawing program, very powerful.
· Impress, a great presentation program like Microsoft PowerPoint, with some unique options.

The programs work well together and can open most files created in Microsoft Office. OpenOffice can also save files in Microsoft Office formats making transferring files between the two easy and convenient.

A couple of very nice options that OpenOffice has that Microsoft Office lacks are the ability to save documents as a .PDF (viewable in Adobe Acrobat) and also as a Flash (.swf) file. These are great options and very useful. The ability to save presentations as a Flash file is very interesting, it allows for a self running slide show that will run independent of Impress and making presentations for inclusion in web pages a breeze.

In fact I write all the Technically Speaking columns on OpenOffice. Find out more about this great free program at OpenOffice.org ( http://www.OpenOffice.org ) there are links to download for the Windows, MAC, and Linux versions. A direct link to the download for Windows follows: http://download.openoffice.org/1.1.4/index.html

Life is not all about business, there is the artistic side of the brain needs some stimulation and ArtRage fills that role nicely.

ArtRage is a painting program, but that doesn’t do it justice the description from the site does a better job than I can:

“ArtRage is a painting package designed to provide a realistic and fun simulation of using paint on a canvas, along with pens, pencils, crayons, and other tools. You can run ArtRage on a normal Windows machine with a mouse, but it works particularly well if you have a graphics tablet.
ArtRage is all about playing with paint without the mess, and having fun in the process. You can paint your own image from a blank canvas to completed work, or load in a picture to trace and have the tools pick their colours for you as you paint over it.”

It is a great program that once you get the hang of it will steal a lot of your free time. It is a quick and easy windows download from http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html

If you are not convinced to try it, go to the site and look at the Gallery, it is amazing what people have made. This is a must have for art students, and it can help bring out the inner artist in anyone.

This edition’s cool link: The Wayback Machine, type any website address into the Wayback Machine and take a peek at how it used to look. Type in www.muw.edu (don’t forget the www this time) and look at the MUW site all the way back to 1996. http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

Technically Speaking 02/17/2005

This edition it is my turn to ask you, the readers, a question. Do you own an MP3 player? What kind/brand is it? And how long have you had it? End you answers to me at mat@muw.edu by and I will publish the results of this informal survey in a future edition.

As always you can send your tech-related questions to me at mat@muw.edu, and I will post an answer in a future edition.

For clickable links to the programs mentioned, check out The Spectator online at muw.edu/spectator.
Mark Taylor, a senior in communication, was previously an information systems trainer for the US Air Force and a technical support technician for an internet service provider. A game and consumer electronics reporter during the Dot Com boom, he now owns Fanfare Media Services in Columbus.

Technically Speaking 02/09/2005

This edition of Technically Speaking begins with a warning, be careful. While you may be using Firefox, or just doing safe browsing there are still things to be wary of. There is a lot of ‘free’ software out there and much of it is safe and useful, but there is software that contains spyware or adware. These are little programs that are packaged with the software that either sends data about your browsing habits to companies or that make endless advertising Pop-ups appear. Some even hijack your browser; change your homepage, and more. Without being too technical, these are generally bad news. They are however the way that the ‘free’ software makers earn an income.

Even more sinister is that some of these programs carry a ‘payload’ that allows others to control you computer remotely; this will allow them to view your files and personal information. Some will even use your computer and connection to send unsolicited email (Spam).

One of the most common are the sites that offer to let you use their free search bar in your browser, they are almost impossible to remove and almost certainly contain some form of either spyware or adware. Most of the software that is offered in Pop-ups is also suspect.

My suggestion is to only use search toolbars from the major sites like Google, MSN, Yahoo, and others. I can assure you that all of the software mentioned in this column is really free and spyware and adware free.

In order to protect yourself you need to use a spyware and adware scanner and remover for your system. By far the easiest free program is Ad-aware, made by Lavasoft. Not only is it free but it is highly effective. You can download it at http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/#free , I recommend the Download.com button for the download. When you download it run the Update so you will have the latest version. Lavasoft is adding the most recent spyware and adware information to keep it effective. It is best to run the check at least weekly, and run the update just before running the scan. After the scan is finished all you do is check the boxes next to what it has found.

All the safe surfing is useless if you decide to download MP3s and pirated software. Cleaver hackers now are propagating the file sharing networks like Kazaa with MP3s that have a surprise, a virus or other harmful extra. This does not apply to legitimate sites like iTunes, the new Napster, and others. This has been a problem with pirated programs for years, but the ever creative hackers now have figured out a way to infect music files.


Regardless of your surfing habits you need an Anti-Virus program. The most popular is Norton Antivirus it is expensive and requires an annual subscription. It also suffers from a rather big problem, since it is so popular some viruses can disable it. There is a free alternative AVG Anti-Virus from Grigsoft, a free and safe download from http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/ .

This is a great program that can be set to run automatically nightly. Remember you have to run the updates for this program just like Ad-aware, your software is only as effective if it is updated.

Our email question for the week regards WebCT not working right since a user updated their Windows XP with Service Pack 2. The most common reason is the pop-up blocker that SP2 adds to Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), you may need to turn it off while using WebCT. To turn it of temporarily choose Tools from the menu bar, then Pop-up Blocker and choose Turn Off Pop-up blocker. Don’t forget to turn it back on when you are finished.

The last program for the day is not essential or security related. This little program, Tiny Spell, has become must have tool for me. All it is a tiny program that monitors what you type in practically all programs you use, be it in Microsoft Word or AOL Instant Messenger and alerts you when you make a spelling mistake. Install it, use it and you will be impressed and perhaps avoid embarrassing spelling errors in papers and chat, like typing ‘a lot’ instead of ‘a lot’. When you install it make sure you click on it in the task bar and enable Open Spelling Window, you can move it anywhere on you’re desktop.

Send your tech related questions to me at mat@muw.edu and I will post an answer in a future edition.

The Tech Corner 01/31/2005

Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Internet Explorer are vulnerable to security exploits and attacks. There is a legion of hackers working tirelessly day and night to find and exploit security holes in the programs. It is such a hot item that in June 2004 the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team recommended that people use another browser.

Microsoft Windows is safe until you connect it to other computers. This week we will look at how to reduce the chance that your system can be compromised. The most common target, other than email, is your web browser.

The most widely used web browser is Microsoft Internet Explorer. It is also your weakest link in defending against security problems. You do however have a few, safer, alternatives to Internet Explorer, my favorite is a great program that is also free.

FireFox is a free web browser that is fast, safe, feature rich, customizable, and easy to use it is available for Windows, Macintosh and Linux systems. There are no hidden costs, and no spy ware. In addition to the security aspects FireFox has some very nice features that make it a viable and superior alternative.

My particular favorite is Tabbed Browsing, as the Firefox website describes it:

“Tabbed browsing makes surfing the web faster and more convenient. Web pages are loaded in "tabs" within the same browser window, making it easy to switch back and forth among multiple web pages. Tabbed browsing is perfect for reading the news or sifting through search results. “

Tabbed browsing is a great help and makes working with the web much faster and easier. There are also many extensions available for download that extend the usability of the browser, they range from a dictionary search to a status bar media controller.

While the browser is a great free resource there are a few things that need to be understood. There are some websites are coded to use Internet Explorer specifically, when visiting on of those sites they may not display correctly or loose some of their functionality, you will have to use Internet Explorer on those sites.

There is also the issue of Plug-Ins, many websites require programs to be installed on your computer to see their content like: games, streaming music, streaming video, or chat rooms. FireFox handles these fine but may require you to install them, this is an easy process since it will prompt you to install the free applications automatically.

FireFox is a 4.7 MB download that should not tax even the slowest Internet connections. Give it a try, you will be impressed by its features, security, and price.

Send your tech related question to me at mat@muw.edu and we will post an answer next edition.

Next edition we will look at a free alternative to the email program Microsoft Outlook Express, what you are protecting yourself from by making your computer more secure, and answering first tech question from you.

FireFox is availible from http://www.getfirefox.com/ as a free download.

iTunes

Windows Service pack 2: Popup blocker

Free Tax services

Google Video Search

Google Desktop Search

Media Player 10

http://auditmypc.com/

AuditMyPC.com is a Web site that offers a host of free services designed to help you to secure your PC.
Using readily available diagnostic tools and your Internet connection, the AuditMyPC.com site will tell you exactly what security holes you have open, Windows patches that you are missing, spyware that is installed, ports that are open (and which viruses take advantage of which open port), and a host of other useful information.
Tests offered include a firewall test, patch test, open ports test, popup test, spyware detection, and more.
And all for free!
If you're not convinced that you need to visit this site and avail yourself of its services, take a look at its...

SKYPE - google free voice over IP

Gmail

http://davesipaq.com/articles/iPOD_Shuffle_Sandisk_MP3/3.html

http://ostermayer.blogspot.com/2005/01/add-digg-news-to-your-site.html

http://gaim.sourceforge.net/


Blogging

http://www.findsounds.com/types.html

http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=321cd7a2-6a57-4c57-a8bd-dbf62eda9671&DisplayLang=en

http://www.digitalocean.cc/archives/information_management.html

http://www.picasa.com/index.php

http://www.chami.com/html-kit/services/favicon/

http://www.sitepoint.com/article/free-web-design-apps

SWF/FLASH downloader

http://www.devin.com/ieblock_howto.shtml

Thunderbird - email client

http://www.idvinc.com/html/pangaea_main.htm

http://www.salaryclock.com/

http://scopetech.net/

http://www.bugmenot.com/

http://www.bugmenot.com/

http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/article.php/2175271

http://www.neowin.net/forum/lofiversion/index.php/

"filetype : torrent"
http://www.graffe.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26886

DOOM 3 Goes Gold (from http://www.gamedaily.com )

Not a hoax. Not a joke. Not a dream. The game is done and will be in stores on...

Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software, revealed that Doom 3 has gone gold in his latest .plan update today. The title will ship on August 3rd in North America, around August 6th in the UK, and an estimated August 13th for the rest of the world.

Excerpts of Hollenshead's .plan update appear below.

"We literally just hung up with Activision and have confirmed that our latest release candidate has been mutually approved and is finally GOLD. Thanks to everyone for their patience (yeah right! =) and for everyone at id, Activision and our numerous partners for helping us create what I believe is absolutely the best game we have ever made."

"So, the next question is release dates. Retailers in the States will be allowed to pick up games starting at 12:01 AM on August 3rd. The official street date is actually August 5th in the U.S.A., but some of your favorite stores will probably have it early for those of you who have to have it first. Check with your local retailer for that information."

"Internationally, the game will take a few more days to make it to the store shelves. The UK will probably get it first, on or about August 6th. Everywhere else will probably be Friday, August 13th (que Twilight Zone Theme) or close to that date, with just a few exceptions (e.g. Russia and Poland). This isn't because we don't have love for you folks outside the U.S., but the localization and manufacturing process takes a bit longer outside the U.S. where we will have JVC run 24/7 to get the units built. I guess the European manufacturers prefer to give their employees nights and weekends off. Go figure!"

I have compiled a short list of free, programs and resources to help with popups, viruses, ad ware, and firewalls.

All are AD WARE, SPY WARE and VIRUS FREE.

One of the most important things for Windows Operating System users is using the Windows Update function. You can find this in your browser by choosing TOOLS then WINDOWS UPDATE. Microsoft releases undates weekly.

Free Anti Virus program:

AVG Anti-Virus FREE Edition:

http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php

Remember folks, an anti-virus is only as good as the last time you updated it.

Free Firewall Program:
Zone Alarm Free Edition:

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp

This is a great program, and I have linked to the free version. Read the help files to understand it better.

Pop Up Blocker and Toolbar:
GOOGLE Toolbar

http://toolbar.google.com/

This toolbar is a great resource, not only for the built-in popup blocker, but also all the tools included.

AD Ware remover:
Lavasoft Adaware:

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ for information and the download is at http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=506 Install, update, and run this program *and update) weekly. It will scan your computer for spy ware and ad ware. It has an easy to use interface.

There is another program called Spybot Search and Destroy http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html . It is also free, but it is very powerful and not easy to use. Using it without understanding can lead you to remove needed files form your computer. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

There is a great web browser replacement that is also free and fast and not as vulnerable as Internet Explorer. It has tabbed browsing and other nifty features.

FireFox:

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

There is also a goof email client/program from the same people that is also less vulnerable than Outlook Express:

http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

Both programs are highly rated but the internet community.

In regard to email, one of the safest ways to deal with it now is by using webmail, one of the discussion group posters mentioned that they used a ‘spam’ address for unimportant things and surveys.

In my opinion, of all the free webmail services Yahoo is currently the best. It is free and they recently increased their storage limits and attachment limits.

Set up an account at http://mail.yahoo.com and try it. They also gave an online calendar, address boo, to do list and more. In addition, all of their email is scanned for viruses and when you download a file you have the option of having it scanned.

If you have any questions about these or other alternate programs post a comment below.

I hope this is helpful, and I use ALL Of the programs I have listed, with no problems.

CALL HipOldGuy ME ON iTALK2u

Check out this new 'Skype' Beater at:

iTALK2u

iTALK2u is free and simple P2P Software and Telephony Software that will enable you to make free phone calls anywhere in the world in seconds. iTALK2u, uses innovative P2P (peer-to-peer) technology to connect you with other iTALK2u users.

Do you have 2 or more Instant Message systems on your computer? Can you make a voice chat or call to other users? What if you could have your AIM, ICQ, Skype and Kazza all rolled into 1 with new features like video chat and POTS calling as well? iTalk is a P2P File Sharing and VoIP Software.

Hey folks! Just a quick post.. File Planet has the full Ground Control game for download, the new version is out soon so they are giving away thoe olfd one. YOU win!

Link: http://www.fileplanet.com/files/140000/142439.shtml

Link to the game page: http://www.sierra.com/product.do?gamePlatformId=83

Ground Control Full Game

Filename:groundcontrol_gsi.exe
Author:VU GamesSize:457.5 MB

DownloadDescription:

Ground Control is a visually stunning, frenetically paced real-time action strategy game of war, secrets, and distant worlds. VU Games and IGN/GameSpy bring you the full, FREE version of this hit-action RTS title.

Well it looks like the GMAIL BONANZA is over for now.


I checked and there are no more free invites for me to give out today. Do check back however, if I do get some I will post them.

I am actually glad they are gone for now, I can get back to writing my BLOG!


Mark

Howdy!

As a bonus for those of you who still come here I have 2 GMAIL invites to give away to the first two people to email me at taymar @ Gmail.com (take out the spaces)

How cool is that?


HipOldGuy

Howdy,

Just got an email with the subject line "Subject: Your` Yahoo _id_ (taymar@yahoo.com)".

This is yet another scam, that may already be in your yahoo.com mail box. Please don't fall for it!

I have included the full headers and message below. Unlike the PayPal email from a few weeks ago this one is so badly written and done that I am sure that they will have little if any success with it.

Check out a sample of the wording from it: "...after_ 26 days` (@S after autoomateed reegisttration) 1f Y0U wil|_not_ s!gn up on Yahoo... " The odd spelling, spacing and use of other letteres/number/characters in place of others, eg. ones(1s) as I's and L's , is to throw off SPAM filters.

Translation of the above is "after 26 days (as after automated registration) if you will not sign up on yahoo"

I don't think YAHOO is trying to invent a new version of En1ish.

Full email with Headers follows (Headers are not normally seen, they are the routing and other information that helps get your email to you, sort of like the route and other information that allows postal mail to get to you):

X-Apparently-To: taymar@yahoo.com via 216.109.117.224; Sat, 07 Feb 2004 00:20:14 -0800
X-YahooFilteredBulk: 67.171.186.124
Return-Path:
Received: from 67.171.186.124 (HELO c-67-171-186-124.client.comcast.net) (67.171.186.124) by mta270.mail.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; Sat, 07 Feb 2004 00:20:13 -0800
Received: from kichimail.com (kichimail-com-bk.mr.outblaze.com [210.184.92.211]) by c-67-171-186-124.client.comcast.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id A041883370 for ; Sat, 07 Feb 2004 15:17:36 -0500
Message-ID: <6.0.0.22.1.20040207151736.4156e89d@kichimail.com>
X-Sender: miscarry@kichimail-com-bk.mr.outblaze.com
X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 6.0.0.22
Date: Sat, 07 Feb 2004 15:17:36 -0500
To: "Taymar"
From: "YAHOO!" Add to Address Book
Subject: Your` Yahoo _id_ (taymar@yahoo.com)
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/html
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-AntiVirus: OK! AntiVir MailGate Version 2.0.1; AVE: 6.15.0.0; VDF: 6.15.0.6
Content-Length: 584

DEAR Y@HOO _Members_,

This E-mai| _inform_ you That your YAH0O _account_ (taymar@yahoo.com)
_will_ be _blocked_ _after_ 26 days` (@S after autoomateed reegisttration) 1f Y0U wil|
_not_ s!gn up on Yahoo wh1te l1st (_to_ s!gnup - _click_ Here: http://Taymar.yahoo.com/)

That_is done beecause _we_ update now` Y@HOO N0T autoomateed reegistered user_ids.

Wh5LQK8UC6ahh7iNK0K

Howdy,

Well it has been a long time since my last post! WOW!

Things have been hectic and crazy and I have just not been able to pop by and post.

Actualy that is a lame excuse since it only takes a few monutes to post her. I actually lost all interest in the site.

But I am back! After May 13, 2004 I will be back to posting razy pop culture news and views.

I am also going to review and comment on Consumer Electronic, Computers, and Games. I want to get beck into that kind of writing.


See ya soon!

I have moved HOSTS, things are going well so far!

Some of the scripts need some work, expect to be back to full strength again Sunday 22 February 2004!

YAY!

Hip!

UPDATE on the information in the last post!

After some more research I have found that you should not click on the link in the email!

I sends you to a site, that notes your Yahoo Username, then quickly reroutes you to an official Yahoo site. I will go more into what the Yahoo While List site is for in another post.

The main thing is that first link it sends you to, that you don't even see, takes your Yahoo ID and does something. I am not sure what it is (yet) but it may add you to SPAM listings.

As I find out more I will update the page.

Looks like another bad one! Update your virus definitions, run checks!

"Bagle computer virus unleashed Computer users are being warned about a new virus which has spread at 'an alarming rate'.


Internet security firm MessageLabs says it has detected more than 70,000 copies of the W32/Bagle-mm virus in the past 24 hours.
The computer virus, or worm, is contained in infected emails as an attachment.

The aim of the worm is to spread further by looking for new email addresses in the infected computer, such as in the user's list of contacts."