Links from the Gregg Zone

1) Not very green, but what can I say. Anyhow, this is another of those world changing techy things that sets off my ‘I don’t know if I like that meter’. In the article I fall on the yes this will change the world, but I don’t like that idea. I put up a link to a T.E.D. lecture about this coming out of India a while back, I just see to many social problems with this, but I have been told I worry to much, so I will just watch and see. http://www.readwriteweb.com

2) Now for something a little more to my liking. This is an article about communicating with aliens, that is of the off planet variety. I think this is a very good approach to what seems to me, short of discovering the existence of babble fish a monumental task. Especially when you consider the possible problems needed to be overcome, due to the complexity of language multiplied by the differences in environment and development. Learning to develop a two way conversation with dolphins seems to be a good start. http://www.wired.com/

3) The idea of a very big advancement in radio broadcast technology sort of seems to be a so what story, that is until you dig a little deeper. This might have some rather large implications for the future in more areas than meet the eye. http://www.engadget.com

4) I almost went right by this article because when I saw the title I was thinking more military defense stuff, but when I started reading I realized they were talking computer switching and more to do with advancing computer technology. I am not to sure where all of this is heading, I am beginning to think I will need one of those reincarnation type reboots to understand very much more, luckily so far none of this is necessary for me yet. http://www.physorg.com

5) Geek link this week short and easy, an interactive broadband map of the United States, making it easier to plan your next move. http://www.broadbandmap.gov

Earl's Cyber Steals and Deals

BuyDig.com offers the LG 32" 1080p Widescreen LCD HD Television, model no. 32LD450, for $358. (You may need to scroll down and click through to BuyDig.com.) Coupon code "FEBREWARDS15" cuts it to $343. With free shipping,. Features include a native resolution of 1920x1080 (1080p), 100,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, USB 2.0 connectivity, two HDMI inputs, and VGA, component, and other video inputs

Staples offers the HP Pavilion Slimline p6710f Athlon II 3GHz Desktop PC (no monitor), model no. BV530AA#ABA, for $399.98 with free shipping. It features an AMD Athlon II 260 3GHz dual-core processor, 4GB RAM, 1TB hard drive, dual layer DVD burner with LightScribe, memory card reader, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Tanga has the Solar Mobile Charger w/ Built-In Battery & 6 Power Tips for $14 + $5 shipping = $19 shipped. Features built-in 2600mAh li-polymer battery, charges battery via the sun, AC adapter or USB port, green charging indicator light, and includes 6 different tips.

Newegg has the Hitachi Deskstar 5K3000 2TB HDS5C3020ALA632 (0F12117) SATA 6.0Gb/s 32MB Internal Hard Drive for $100 - $20 off with coupon code HITACHI5K3 [Exp 2/20] - $10 rebate [Exp 2/20] = $70 with free shipping. Features a 32MB cache, SATA III interface, and and 3.5" form factor

Newegg has the Auria 26" EQ266A LCD Monitor for $190 with free shipping. Features a 16:9 1920 x 1080 resolution, 5ms response time, 1000:1 native contrast ratio, 300 cd/m2 brightness, and 170/160 H/V viewing angles Ends Sunday

eBay with Unique Squared has the iPad Tablet Wi-Fi 16GB (MB292LL/A) for $459 with free shipping. Features a custom 1GHz Apple A4 processor and 9.7" multi-touch display with up to 10 hours of battery life.

Microsoft Store has the Toshiba Satellite L675-S7110 PSK3AU-08902T Core i3 17.3" Notebook for $549 with free shipping. tel Core i3-380M 2.53GHz CPU, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB HDD Intel HD Graphics, DVD+/-RW, Win 7 HP x64, 802.11b/g/n, 6-Cell

Newegg has the Rosewill RX-DUS100 SATA to USB/eSATA HDD Docking Station for $30 - $6 off with coupon code EMCKHJB49 [Exp 2/24] = $24 with free shipping. Can be used with 2.5" and 3.5" SATA hard drives

Newegg has the Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (Bare Drive) for $65 - $10 off with coupon code EMCKHJB26 [Exp 2/21] = $55 with free shipping. These drives use less power and operate at lower temperatures and acoustics than standard desktop drives.

Newegg has the ASUS VH236H Black 23" 2ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor for $180 - $10 off with coupon code EMCKHJB52 [Exp 2/21] - $20 rebate [Exp 2/28] = $150 with free shipping. Resolution at 1920 x 1080 pixels, 300 cd/m2 brightness, 2000:1 contrast ratio, 2ms response time

Motorola Xoom pre-sale 'confirmed' for Feb. 20, Atrix 4G on Feb. 22

Yesterday, Motorola came clean with the $799 price tag for the 3G/4G Xoom tablet. Today, we have the February 22 date as being valid for he Motorola Atrix 4G. AT&T’s Seth Bloom tweeted that “Atrix 4G in-store sales begin 2/22. Existing pre-orders will be shipped for delivery on 2/21.”

How to Root Your Droid

An easy How To on how to root a Droid.
http://www.brighthub.com/mobile/motorola/articles/94682.aspx

Video of Motorola Atrix 4G - Fastest Android Ever Coming March 6th

The phone is $200 but if you get the laptop dock that is another $500. See the video.

Apple's subscription plan: Time for an app work stoppage | ZDNet

In my opinion, Apple has gone too far. It is one thing to offer an in-app subscription as an option with the 30% terms. It is quite another thing to force anyone selling subs outside of the app to also offer them inside of the app and at the same price. If publishers raise prices to give Apple its cut, it will then raise prices on everyone, some who are not even using an iOS device. I think that this is the most arrogant, outrageous thing Apple has ever done. I love my iOS devices and I love the products Apple has developed, but forcing this is just plain wrong and totally greedy.

Apple, get a clue before the big guys get together and pull their apps. Apple, you will lose hardware sales. Apple certainly will lose my loyalty if I lose Kindle, Netflix and Zinio on the iPad.

AllGo figures out how to build a $15 (screenless) Android device

A company called AllGo is showing off a platform that lets you build an Android powered device for just about $15. Raw cost add $15 screen and $5 battery for $35 total.

Kill rogue processes with taskkill in Microsoft Windows

There are times when taskbar/stop doesn’t seem to have the ability to kill a rogue process. When this happens, you have to employ a more powerful tool, taskkill, which is used from the command line

Windows Home Server 2011 RC is ready - Download

An evaluation copy of Windows Home Server 2011 Release Candidate is now available for download from Microsoft. You will have to agree to participate in the Windows Home Server Connect program to get your copy.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 02-13-11

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 02-13-11. You can listen live every Sunday from 11AM to 12PM Pacific that's 2PM to 3PM Eastern. Join us for the live show and chat.

Links from the Gregg Zone

1) Well to start off, when I ran across this article I liked the idea of the bridge as soon as I saw it, but what I liked more was the reference to the need for creative applications to energy production, in order to create enough. I think they made a right on statement in that it will be necessary in the future to be very creative in the application of just how and where we generate the energy of the future, due to increased need coupled with the replacement of fossil fuels. http://news.discovery.com

2) While I am not a fan of cell phones, I am very much a fan of getting rid of telephone poles, unfortunately this has just brought on the proliferation of cell towers, sorry but the attempt to turn them into fake trees is not cutting it for me. When I read this I thought ‘here is something I can get behind’ if this turns out to be the future I think it may be a step in the right direction. http://www.google.com

3) The unrest in Egypt the last week or two has had me glued to Aljeezera Live English since the beginning. I have been thinking about how someone in the position of being a dictator comes to the conclusions and actions they do. Somehow to me the strong armed tactics seem to be counterintuitive to long term success. Then I suppose short term gain is a better definition of the goals of most dictators. At any rate, the thought of whether or not I would wind up in the same place given the same circumstances has been an interesting contemplation for me. http://news.yahoo.com

4) I was totally blown away by the giga-pixel camera shots of Prague a while ago, now they have applied the technique to the great paintings. Not sure why other than for a limited number of hard core art enthusiasts, heck I guess that’s reason enough. I still think there are many more applications for this technology, and I am looking forward to seeing just how far they can take it. http://www.engadget.com/

5) I almost used this last week as a sort of geek self-defense mechanism for relatives, it seems Google has set up a site to teach tech to your older relatives. I suppose it is also aimed at me, but I am not to sure how much. http://mashable.com

Earl's Cyber Steals and Deals

TigerDirect.com offers the HP 505B Athlon II X2 3GHz Desktop PC (no monitor), model no. XZ777UT, for $399.99. Coupon code "VGR19276" cuts it to $369.99. With $12.88 for shipping, that ties a deal from two weeks ago and the lowest total price we could find by $30. It features an AMD Athlon II X2 250 3GHz dual-core processor, 3GB RAM, 250GB 7200 rpm hard drive, DVD burner, 802.11n wireless, and Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.

Lenovo has the Logitech S120 2.0 Multimedia Speakers for $9.50 with free shipping. Features integrated power and volume control, 3.5mm jack for connecting headphones, 50 - 20000 Hz frequency response, and comes with a 3-year warranty.

Newegg has the Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB Hard Drive for $65 - $10 off with coupon code EMCKHJJ25 [Exp 2/17] = $55 with free shipping. Sports a 7200RPM rotational speed, 32MB buffer, and 7.7W average power consumption at idle

Newegg has the D-Link DGS-1008G 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch for $45 - $5 off with coupon code EMCKHJJ53 [Exp 2/17] = $40 with free shipping. Features CSMA/CD protocols, QoS prioritization, and jumbo frame support of up to 9000 bytes

FREE - TradePub has The GNU/Linux Basic eBook for Free. This 255-page guide introduces GNU/Linux operating systems including the philosophy of free software, how to approach and solve problems you may encounter, and supplies the tools required to move easily in the world of GNU/Linux.

Ends 2/14. Wirefly has the Motorola DROID X Android Smartphone on sale for Free with activation of a new Verizon Wireless account. Free shipping, free activation, free lifetime Wirefly Mobile Backup Service. Features a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot, aka 3G Mobile Hotspot


Newegg has the A-DATA ASDH32GCL10-R 32GB SDHC Class 10 Flash Memory Card for $47 - $7 rebate [Exp 2/17] = $40 with free shipping. Rated at class 10 speeds, which means up to 23MB/s transfer speeds.

Best Buy has the Logitech ClearChat Style Headset on sale for $15 with free shipping. Features noise-canceling microphone, flexible boom and in-line volume and mute controls round out this premium headset.

Ends 2/19. Office Depot has the Lenovo G560 (0679-99U) 15.6" Intel Pentium 2.0GHz Dual-Core P6100 Laptop on sale for $400 with free shipping. Intel Pentium P6100 Dual-Core 2.0GHz, 320GB HDD, 4GB DDR3 Intel Graphics with Shared Memory, DVD±RW, Win 7 HP 64-bit

PennyWise has the Kensington K38056US 1200 mAh Lithium Polymer USB Pocket Battery for $10 + $0.01 shipping = $10 shipped. Adds 3.5 hours of additional talk time and includes mini and micro USB charging cables

Newegg has the Auria 26" EQ266A LCD Monitor for $190 with free shipping. Features a 16:9 1920 x 1080 resolution, 5ms response time, 1000:1 native contrast ratio, 300 cd/m2 brightness, and 170/160 H/V viewing angles.

Net 10 Wireless has the refurbished LG 300 Phone with a 750 minute card for $25 - $5 off with coupon code 44477 = $20 with free shipping (shown at final checkout

6ave.com has the Toshiba 40E200U 40" 1080p LCD HDTV for $439 - 3% off with coupon code AFL3 = $426 with free shipping. 1080p 1920x1080 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, 4 HDMI inputs DynaLight backlight control, Gaming mode, photo frame capability

T-Mobile: all phones free this weekend, including smartphones

T-Mobile USA has announced that it will offer every single phone in its lineup—smartphones included—for free this coming weekend. The catch is that customers must sign onto a new two-year contract, but since that's required anyway for most phone discounts, it's hard to argue with completely free.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 02-06-11

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 02-06-11. You can listen live every Sunday from 11AM to 12PM Pacific that's 2PM to 3PM Eastern. Join us for the live show and chat.

Links from the Gregg Zone

1) To start off the week another of those nano-solar promises for the future, I have seen so many of these breakthrough concepts, supposedly with a proven new process, it makes me wonder when demand will out-weigh supply enough to encourage development of these new products into the solar energy market. It seems to me venture that capitol is being held back due to a fear of becoming obsolete during the introductory period. It just might be technology is moving to fast to be efficient, but that seems to be a difficult idea to argue either way. http://www.techeye.net

2) Well once again it is that time of year when super bowl madness takes over Las Vegas; while I do not follow any sports, including football. I thought I should at least find something related. I literally hate commercials, dislike television in general, and have very little interest in football, I have actually taken interest in super ball commercials. Here is a link to over 30 of the old ones in case you might like to trip down memory lane before the game. http://mashable.com

3) For those who use Chrome, it seems there is a new version out Chrome 9. Seems we don’t have to do anything, according to the article it updated without any interaction on my part. I checked as the article said, and lo and behold I am running 9.0.597.84. Of course I have no idea what I was running before, so I have to take their word for it. Now I need to do a little research to see what has been introduced in the new version. http://blogs.sitepoint.com

4) This is a link to an interesting article talking about the comparison of the Silicone Valley geek set with the Roman Legion. It is an intriguing take on venture capital, development of world trade, the fear of rip-off products, and several other considerations. There are defiantly a few different takes on several subjects, just a good read in my quest to get a grip on where we might be heading in our planet development project. After all in an interesting way we are busy terraforming the planet in many different ways, for better or worse. http://gigaom.com

5) And now, as usual something geeky that just flies just out of reach of my personal radar due to my lack of interest in the phone, or mobile device market. However this looks like it may have much broader implications. It seems to me that the eventual evolution for internet and phone connectivity will be something like broadcast television, or radio. That is just as free as the air we breathe, the emphasis of money being made by using the media as a vector to sell goods and services increasing, as opposed to the selling of basic connectivity diminishing which only limits the market place in general through a process of monetary selectivity of access to the market. The problem with that is by necessity the process eliminates more and more people, by being more and more restrictive based on affluence. Even the poorest among us spend money on goods and services, but they still need access to the market. http://nextmontreal.com

How to hack the $250 Nook Color into a full Android tablet

If you’re tempted for an Android tablet but don’t want to spend a small fortune, then you may want to try the Barnes & Noble Nook Color and hack it to run a full version of the Android OS. Then you can install your favorite homescreen UI and your favorite Android apps. You can even install the Amazon Kindle app and other e-reader apps and libraries

Smart servers spot and block botnet attacks - tech - 04 February 2011 - New Scientist

Once a server running Sen's software has worked out where the attack is coming from, it can block traffic from the culpable IP addresses until the threat subsides

Earl's Cyber Steals and Deals

SuperBiiz has the Super Talent 8GB Express Duo USB 3.0 Flash Drive for $14 - 15% off with coupon code KICKOFF [Exp 2/7] = $12 with free shipping. A fully backwards compatible USB 3.0 flash drive with a single storage partition.

Microsoft Store has the Asus K50IJ-RNC7 15.6" Dual Core 2.3GHz Laptop on sale for $449 with free shipping. Intel Pentium Dual Core T4500 2.3GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB hard drive 15.6" HD LED, Intel GMA X4500HD, DVDRW SM, Win 7 HP x64, 6-cell

Buy.com has the refurbished Lenovo ThinkCentre M55p Core 2 Duo Desktop for $230 with free shipping. Intel Core 2 Duo E6300, 2GB DDR2, 160GB HDD, Windows XP Pro Intel GMA 3000 graphics, PCI Express x16, 10/100/1000 Ethernet



Newegg has the HP Pavilion dv6-3143us i3 15.6" Notebook for $650 - $50 off with coupon code HPDV13 [Exp 2/6] - $50 rebate [Exp 6/11] = $550 with free shipping. Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit installed. Intel Core i3-370M 2.40GHz CPU, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650, 802.11b/g/n, HDMI/VGA

Lenovo has the Lenovo IdeaPad Z560 - 091446U 15.6" Core i5 Notebook (Black) for $849 - $250 off with coupon code USPIDEAPADZ560 [Exp 2/9] = $599 with free shipping. Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit installed. Intel Core i5-480M 2.66GHz, 4GB DDR3, 500GB 5400RPM HDD 15.6" LED 1366x768, Intel HD, DVD recordable DL, Bluetooth

Newegg has the OCZ Special Ops Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) OCZ3SOE1600LV4GK DDR3 Memory for $40 - $10 rebate [Exp 2/16] = $30 with free shipping. Features 8-8-8-24 timing, CAS latency of 8, and a heat spreaders.

Amazon has the Archos 101 10.1" 16GB Internet Tablet (501594) for $350 with free shipping. Features Android 2.2 OS, HD video playback, HDMI out, 10.1" 1024 x 600 display, Wireless-N, microSD slot, and USB port
SKYPE for Android

Reallocating Unused Server and Storage Hardware - FREE 11 page PDF booklet.

Newegg has the Corsair CMFUSB2.0-16GB Flash Voyager 16GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive for $28 - $10 rebate [Exp 2/11] = $18 with free shipping. Features a 22MB/s read and 7MB/s write speed, durable rubber housing for water and shock resistance, and a 10 year warranty

Surplus Computers has the Sun Microsystems Sun Ray 1 Thin Client Terminal for $19 with free shipping. Stateless device provides a mobile desktop session registered to a SMART card.

February Patch Tuesday: three 0-days fixed

Among the patches are fixes for three different vulnerabilities that have already been publicly disclosed: one in Internet Explorer, one in Windows, and one in Microsoft's IIS Web and FTP server. The Internet Explorer flaw is believed to be the CSS issue discovered by a Google researcher

'Death by GPS' in desert

From the article:

"Danger has long stalked those who venture into California's desert in the heat of summer. But today, with more people pouring into the region, technology and tragedy are mixing in new and unexpected ways.

'It's what I'm beginning to call death by GPS,' said Death Valley wilderness coordinator Charlie Callagan. 'People are renting vehicles with GPS and they have no idea how it works and they are willing to trust the GPS to lead them into the middle of nowhere.'"

I've long advocated notifying the mapping company if you find a discrepancy in the GPS map. But that won't save you if you don't exercise some common sense. I never use "shortest route", by the way. I prefer "fastest route" which tends to use more major roads even if it is a longer route.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 01-30-11

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 01-30-11. You can listen live every Sunday from 11AM to 12PM Pacific that's 2PM to 3PM Eastern. Join us for the live show and chat.

Links from the Gregg Zone

1) The green car revolution is really starting to heat up. There is a new Volkswagen coming out soon. The comment in the article says finally a concept car that will be available to every one soon. All I can say is “this ain’t my father's VW bug” http://mashable.com

2) I have some serious concerns about this, but it looks like it might be interesting from a concept point of view, and defiantly something I will regulate in the not sure this a will catch on department, of course that is if it does not start putting people in hospital with lung trouble. http://www.dailymail.co.uk

3) I am very much into reusing stuff that flows through my life. I find it gratifying to my creative juices to find new uses for old things. In that regard I very much liked this site, hope it grows. http://www.instructables.com

4) I have always been a fan of illusions in any form, from optical, to magic. Here is a chance to interact with an illusion site to try and help them figure out why it works. http://www.newscientist.com

5) For my geek link of the week a sort of internet doomsday situation. It appears we will run out of internet addresses some time in September. Not sure just what that means, somehow I would think not much, I remember when California ran out of car licenses a while back, they just changed the system parameters. http://www.bbc.co.uk

Earl's Cyber Steals and Deals

Newegg has the AMD Athlon II X4 645 Propus 3.1GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor (ADX645WFGMBOX) for $109 with free shipping. Features high-bandwidth low-latency integrated memory controller

Mwave has the Kingwin KW-03 3D Optical Mouse with 800 dpi Precise Optical Technology for $3 + $0 shipping = $3 shipped. Just your basic optical mouse with 2 buttons + scroll.

NETGEAR GS605 5-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch $10 rebate $25 w Free Shipping at Buy.com


Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 SDRAM 1600MHz 240-pin Desktop Memory Module $70 w. $30 Rebate and Free Shipping at Buy.com

Office Depot has the Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5136 2.2GHz Dual-Core 15.6" Laptop for $400 with free shipping. AMD Athlon II P340 Dual-Core 2.2GHz CPU, 3GB RAM, 320GB HDD ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250, DVD-R/RW, 802.11b/g/n, Win 7 HP x64

Newegg has the G.SKILL F3-8500CL7D-8GBSQ 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 SO-DIMM Laptop Memory for $80 - 15% off with coupon code EMCKJHB26 [Exp 1/30] = $68 with free shipping. Features timings of 7-7-7-20 with a CAS latency of 7 at 1.5V

Dell Business has the Dell Vostro 230 Mini Tower plus Samsung 2494LW 23.6" Black LCD Monitor for $449 + $8 shipping = $457 shipped. Included monitor is listed at the very bottom of System Details on the right. Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93GHz, 2GB DDR2, 250GB HDD, 16X DVD+/-RW Intel GMA X4500, 1-yr warranty/on-site service, Windows 7 HP

Dell Home offers the Vizio 32" 1080p Widescreen LCD HD Television, model no. VOJ320M, for $319.99 with free shipping. 1920x1080 (1080p) native resolution, 6,500:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 6.5ms response time, 500 cd/m² brightness, three HDMI inputs, and VGA, component, and other video inputs.

Nikon Coolpix L22 Digital Camera (Black) $69 shipped at B&H Photo: •12.0 Megapixels •3.6x Optical Zoom (37-134mm)
•3" High Resolution LCD •3-way VR Image Stabilization System
•Smart Portrait System Limited time offer. Free shipping

Get the HP Photosmart e-All-in-One D110a Wireless Printer $129.99 - $70.00 = $59.99 from J&R. Print, copy & scan / 2.36" LCD w/ TouchSmart Frame / 802.11n / Quick printing from the Web without a PC / Up to 29 ppm black, 23 ppm color / 4800x1200 dpi Offer ends January 30


Sharp 42" class (42" diagonal) LC-42SB48UT 1080 LCD HDTV, $469.99 from Dell Home plus Free Shipping with full HD spec 1080p resolution and an elegant design, produces superb picture quality. The LC-42SB48UT features high contrast, a fast response time and wide viewing angles. The LC-42SB48UT includes built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuners, 4 HDMI inputs, is compatible with 1080p signals and has 2 HD component video inputs. Offer ends February 3. Free Shipping