Gmail flaw shows value of strong passwords

This article made a true believer out of me. I just beefed up my Gmail password. After reading it you may want to, too. I think some of her suggestions carry things to extremes, but I also think that putting a stronger password in Gmail is a good thing to do.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 08-02-09

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 08-02-09. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific that's 1PM to 4PM Eastern. Join us for the live show and chat. If you prefer, you can download the same MP3 file here via ftp.

Earl's Cyber Steals and Deals

Dell Small Business offers the Dell Vostro 220 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz Mini Tower Desktop PC bundled with a Dell E2210H 21.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor for $409 plus $35 for shipping 3GB RAM

WalMart and Staples are slashing laptop prices and expanding their selections for the back-to-school shopping season

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred for PC for $50
after rebate + $7 s&h, more TigerDirect.com offers the OEM Dragon NaturallySpeaking v.10.0 Preferred with Headset, model no. A109A-K07-10.0, for $99.99. This $50 mail-in rebate knocks it to $49.99.

Buy.com offers the Kingston 4GB PC2-5300 DDR2-667 SO-DIMM 200-Pin Dual Channel Notebook Memory Kit with two
2GB SO-DIMMs, model no. KVR667D2K2SO/4GETR, for $48.54. With free shipping,

newegg.com offers the Kingston 2GB
PC2-6400 DDR2 Dual Channel Desktop Memory, model no. KVR800D2/2GR, for $23.99 with free shipping. That's the lowest total price we could find by a buck. Deal ends August 3.

Refurbished HP Pavilion Intel Dual Core 2.4GHz Desktop for $370 + $21 s&h Tiger Direct Presario Desktop $300 with dual core AMD CPU & 3gb RAM AMD Athlon X2 4450e 2.3GHz with 3GB of pre-installed system memory. The Compaq Presario SR5710y Refurbished Desktop, Vista Home Premium. 250GB (7200rpm) HD

Dell Home offers the Dell Inspiron 15 Pentium Dual-Core 2GHz 15.6" Widescreen Notebook in Jet
Black for $399 with free shipping. Intel Dual Core T4200 2GHz
processor, 15.6" 1366x768 widescreen, 3GB RAM, 250GB HD, dual-layer DVD burner, 802.11g wifi, 6-cell battery, and Windows Vista Home Basic. Ends August 6.

J&R offers the Lexar Media 8GB
Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) Class 2 Flash Card, model no. SD8GB711, for $11.99 plus $2.95 for shipping

ZipZoomfly.com offers the ASUS 23" 1080p Widescreen LCD Monitor, model no. VH236H, for $174.99 with free shipping. This $20 mail-in rebate cuts it to $154.99. 1920x1080
(1080p) resolution, 20,000 :1 contrast ratio, 2ms response time, 300 cd/m² brightness, built-in speakers, one HDMI input, and both VGA and DVI inputs. Rebate expires August 31

Zipzoomfly.com offers the OEM Western Digital Caviar GP 1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Internal Hard Drive model no. WD10EADS, for $87.99 with free shipping. This $15 mail-in rebate chops it to $72.99 ($0.07/GB). 32MB cache. Rebate ends August 20.

Links from the Gregg Zone

1) Well last week we were talking electric bicycles, this week I’m offering a link to a very nice electric motorcycle. Top speeds of 65 mph, 100 mile range, operating cost $0.003 per mile, the batteries last 2000 recharges or/for about seven years. That sounds pretty good to me. The link opens on the home page click on products I’ve been looking at the X-Rider, click on the details page. I followed the buy links to learn the price, the full price is $8,000.00, they are asking for a $3,000.00 deposit, so it may not be readily available. Need to check into it, but it does demonstrate the direction of the market. http://www.xtremegreenproducts.com
2) I have been into this project of severing myself from Cox Cable, to save myself a dime, and because they have been doing their best to make me hate them. Anyway, because of this I have been looking at online video stuff. Looking around for more content I remembered was looking for X-Conference Disclosure Press Conference video, it was back in April I looked for a week or two after it came out, and then forgot about it. Well I found the complete video yesterday. If you are curious about U.F.O.’s you should check it out full video here http://www.vimeo.com/4267335
3) This whole business of cloaking or invisibility seems to really be taking off. I have a lot of trouble wrapping my mind around the whole concept. The idea of something being in front of me in plain sight, and then disappearing somehow just does not compute. I have seen several articles on this, I am afraid this is just one more, but interesting. http://news.softpedia.com
4) Always interested in new products, and concepts coming out, some times I wonder why, and sometimes I am just totally wowed. Here is a slide show with captions of New Scientist’s favorites from the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) just released. Very cool I especially like the Braille converter for printed text, I also like the cheese grater, really makes me wonder what took this one so long to come out. http://www.newscientist.com
5) For my Geek link, after reading this I was left wondering how big the threat is to life on line as we know it, and how we may be affected by this. Skype has been so ingrained into my world I am not sure what I would do without it. I am not sure what to think about the risk to me, us, the show, who knows how this will shake down in the end, it sounds pretty scary to me. http://www.theage.com.

Microsoft sticker shock: Anytime Upgrade, Family Pack details

"The upgrade prices from consumer editions are reasonable; the prices for Ultimate edition are not."

Here's all the info on Windows 7 pricing you've been waiting for from Ed Bott. For those who skipped the Pre-sale in early July in favor of the family pack, it's basically a wash.

P.S. though similar, this article has more information than the article Joe posted a day or so ago.

Jury awards $675K in Boston music downloading case

Boston student who admitted downloading, sharing music ordered to pay $675K to record labels

How to avoid the “500 worst passwords of all time” - SmartPlanet

"A strong password should be two things: easily recalled by its owner and difficult to guess by someone who doesn’t know it. So even non-hackers can guess a few on the worst list."
We have talked about using a secure password on the show. Here is a site that talks about some things to do and some things not to do, in making up a password and or secret question.

AlaskaJoe

Remove the usage restrictions from Adobe PDF files by sending to Gmail account

You can lift the usage restrictions from Adobe PDF files by simply forwarding them as attachments to your Gmail account and opening them in HTML mode right from your inbox. That way, you can copy whatever the ’secured’ PDF contains to a text editing program

GeekDad Parents, Kids and the Stuff We Obsess About 100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About

Very interesting article as to tomorrow's generation.....

CCleaner

"CCleaner (or Crap-Cleaner as it is also known) describes its function in the title of the software. Simply put, CCleaner helps you get rid of junk and unwanted files from your PC. There are three different functions which the software can perform, two of which are very useful indeed:"
I have been using and recommending CCleaner for a while now, I like it and it does work. The new version even has an system restore button.

AlaskaJoe

Windows 7 Family Pack and WAU pricing - SuperSite Blog

"Details confirming both the availability and price of the Windows 7 Family Pack and three Anytime Upgrade products for Windows 7 ... a set of product listings from Expercom includes a WINDOWS 7 FAMILY PACK/ HOME PREMIUM UPGRADE (GFC-00236) with a listed price of $136.95."

This looks like a good deal for someone that needs 3 licenses of Windows 7.

AlaskaJoe

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 07-26-09

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 07-26-09. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific that's 1PM to 4PM Eastern. Join us for the live show and chat. If you prefer, you can download the same MP3 file here via ftp.

“Electric Bicycle Links”

CURRIE Technologies

E-Zip 2008 Mountain Trailz Hybrid Electric Bike $298


Currie Electro-Drive Electric Bicycle Motor Conversion Kits From ElectricScooterParts.com Pictures Specifications and Information

The Electric Commuter Bike – Ezip Trailz

Blogger’s Review - E-Zip Trailz electric bEicycle

New Electric Bike Federal LAW

Electric Bicycles: Best Buys in Add-On Kits – Old Prices

Electric-Bikes.com Electric Bicycles - Older but good INFO

Rise and Fall of EV Global Motors

EV Global Motors Co. Announce Recall of Lithium Batteries in Electric Bikes

Electric Star article on the Rayos Electric Bicycle

Electric Bike Conversion Kits, Crystalyte Phoenix, RoadRunner, Sparrow Hub Motors

EV Deals Motor Replacement Kits and Parts

UK Ebike with stackable Li batteries

Earl's Cyber Steals and Deals

Canon Laser Multifunction ImageClass D480 Copier $299.99 $149.99 after rebate at Fry’s
Kingston 8GB SDHC Card (Class 4) $17.17 Free Shipping, Jul. 23 12 PM Buy.com has the Kingston 8GB Secure Digital High Capacity (Class 4) Memory Card for a low $17.17 Free Shipping.
Dell Inspiron 546 AMD Quad Core 2.4GHz Desktop PC for $429 + free shipping via 1-day
Dell Home offers its new Dell Inspiron 546 AMD Phenom X4 2.4GHz Mini Tower Desktop PC) for $429 with free shipping via overnight delivery. (You must select "Next Business Day Delivery" at checkout.) AMD Phenom X4 9750 2.4GHz quad-core processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB 7200 rpm hard drive, ATI Radeon HD HD 3200 video card, DVD burner, Ethernet, and Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit. Deal ends July 30

Finepix Z200fd 10MP 5x Zoom Digital Camera for $110 + free shipping Best Buy offers the Fujifilm Finepix Z200fd 10-Megapixel Digital Camera in Silver, model no. 15831038, for $109.99 with free shipping.. Features include 5x optical zoom, face detection, trimming mode, image stabilization, video mode, xD-Picture and SDHC card slots, USB connectivity, and more.

Samsung 22" 1080p Widescreen LCD Display for $135 + free shipping, more
Dell Home offers the Samsung 21.5" 1080p Widescreen LCD Monitor, model no. 2233SW-Dell, for $134.99. (Add it to your cart to see this price.) With free shipping, that's the lowest total price we could find by $25. Sales tax is added where applicable. Features include a 1920x1080 (1080p) native resolution, 15,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 5ms response time, 300 cd/m² brightness, and DVI (with HDCP) and VGA video inputs. Of note, this $20 mail-in rebate is available that could potentially reduce the price to $114.99. However, the rebate lists the model number as "2233SW", and the Dell product page lists this as the "2233SW-Dell". Rebate expires July 31.
Seagate Barracuda LP 1.5TB SATA 3Gbps Internal Hard Drive for $110 + free shipping
newegg.com offers the OEM Seagate Barracuda LP 1.5TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Internal Hard Drive, model no. ST31500541AS, for $119.99 with free shipping. Coupon code EMCLVNP28" knocks the price to $109.9
.
newegg CPU Roundup: AMD Phenom II X3 2.5GHz for $109 + free shipping, more
newegg.com discounts select retail-boxed Intel and AMD processors, as listed below. Those with coupons are for newsletter subscribers only, and expire July 29. With free shipping, each is at the lowest total price we could find. The deals:
• AMD Phenom II X3 705e Heka 2.5GHz Triple-Core AM3 CPU (pictured) for $109 after code "EMCLVNP39"
• Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz Dual-Core LGA 775 CPU for $119.99
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Yorkfield 2.66GHz Quad-Core LGA 775 CPU for $169.99
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz Quad-Core LGA 775 CPU for $189.99

Links from the Gregg Zone

1) I heard a rumor that Earl may be including some electric bikes in his segment, so when I ran across this article I thought it might be a good fit. With all of the talk about China becoming the next mega auto pollution country, there may be a ray of hope stirring due to a new popularity in E-bikes, and not just China, India is right there. What I like about this is that, with markets that large; and increasing interest in the U.S. we may see an increase in technology, and design, coupled with a lowering price. http://www.cbsnews.com
2) Ever have doubts about the monies spent for space exploration, thinking we do not get much bang for the bucks we spend. Well I was listening to a radio show someone was complaining about just that. Then the interviewed guest started talking about research, and spinoffs that are regularly given away by N.A.S.A., he mentioned N.A.S.A has a yearly publication listing all of them. The publication is free if you request one, they also have a free searchable archive at the site, great item for those interested. http://www.sti.nasa.gov
3) Medical advancements seem to really be taking off these days; I heard a story on N.P.R. last week about the trafficking of human organs from poorer countries to people who do not wish to wait for a donation. Taking advantage of poor people who get $10,000 for a kidney, but the brokers sell them for $100,000. An even scarier story out of China, they are using mobile death vans for capital punishment by using lethal injection, they leave the body intact for the organ trade, story here http://www.usatoday.com All that made this story about growing organs in the lab, look like a very good thing to me. They have already grown hearts for rats, say people coming soon, http://www.newscientist.com
4) Like those printable batteries this is another one of those discoveries leading to wearing your computer like a undershirt, or maybe just packing a lot of electronics for medical purposes in wearable clothing. Amazing what we can learn from observation. http://blogs.zdnet.com
5) This one has been bouncing around in my maybe folder for a while now, so I thought I would use it to day. It is about the Loebner Prize. While I would guess it is not new to most of you, it was to me. I had no idea they had a prize for A.I., but I suppose it makes sense, the x-prizes seem to get results. I would guess with A.I. realistic robo telemarketers are right around the corner. I may have to regulate my land line to the cell phone drawer. http://discovermagazine.com

Skype singled out as threat to Russia's security | U.S. | Reuters

"Russia's most powerful business lobby moved to clamp down on Skype and its peers this week, telling lawmakers that the Internet phone services are a threat to Russian businesses and to national security."

I'm posting this article so you can see how some people controlling the governments can control the internet we need to keep the internet free!

The savetheinternet.com coalition is more than a million everyday people who have banded together with thousands of non-profit organizations, businesses and bloggers to protect Internet freedom. learn more »

AlaskaJoe

L.A. weighs plan to replace computer software with Google service - Los Angeles Times

"Frustrated by a slow and antiquated computer system, the city of Los Angeles is weighing a plan to replace its e-mail and records retention software with a service provided by Google, a move that could allow the Internet giant to retain sensitive records transmitted by the police and other municipal agencies."

My big question is: Do you want your personal info transmitted over the internet when you apply for a business license or get a parking ticket?

Please leave a comment on this BLOG and we will talk about your answers on the show next week.
Thank you JonathanM for this tip.

AlaskaJoe

The Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) : Advance Notification for July 2009 Out-of-Band Releases

"We have just published our advance notification for an out-of-band security bulletin release, with a target of 10:00 AM Pacific Time next Tuesday, July 28, 2009."

This is an Out-of-band Windows update, make sure you get it this coming Tuesday!

AlaskaJoe

RIAA: DRM is Dead - Tom's Guide

"Apparently so according to Jonathan Larry, chief spokesperson for the RIAA."
It looks like the RIAA did something right for a change.
The are admitting that DRM didn't work and is dead! It's about time.

AlaskaJoe

DD-WRT httpd vulnerability (milw0rm.com report)

"Note: The exploit can only be used directly from outside your network over the internet if you have enabled remote Web GUI management in the Administration tab. As immediate action please disable the remote Web GUI management. But that limitation could be easily overridden by a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSFR) where a malicious website could inject the exploit from inside the browser."
If your running DD-WRT on your router get the update!

AlaskaJoe