CNET prizefight: AMD vs. Intel dual-core CPUs

"To answer the question once and for all, we circled up a bunch of cars in an abandoned parking garage and set ourselves to a no-holds-barred dual-core desktop CPU fistfight. AMD submitted its five dual-core CPUs, and Intel matched with its lineup of four. We built two test beds as nearly identical as we could for the two platforms and ran each chip through a battery of tests. We then ran those results through our price-vs.-performance calculator to find out not only which is the best overall dual-core CPU in terms of raw performance but also which one offers the most bang for your buck. Skip ahead to the official ruling if you want, but the match itself is interesting."

Who won????? The article has a shortcut to the results. ;)

--MissM
(Thanks to Bill42 for helping us scour the reviews, for you)

What is IDN ?

Well, it is "Internationalized Domain Name"
And I learned a bit about it in this blog article: "Scripts and Barriers"

Why should you know and why should you care ? This really is where our webbrowsing is going in the future! Though the opinions seem to vary, it appears that much of this will be implemented, in the name of protecting us from phishers and scammers.

You should at least be aware that it is coming soon, to a browser near you!

Premature Victory Declaration [over Sony rootkits]?

As Mark writes, "I declared my victory a few hours after Sony announced that it would withdraw the somewhere between 2 and 5 million (the number varies depending on the source) infected CDs that are on store shelves. However, even close to two weeks later it’s obvious that Sony has done little to advertise to store owners, even larger chains, that a recall is in place. They were present in stores in the Austin, Philadelphia and Chicago areas And as of last week Eliot Spitzer, the Attorney General of New York State, reports that his investigators found them in the New York City area. Many store clerks were unaware that a withdrawal had even been ordered."

He also [here's my post on that] refers to Ben Edelmen's post on how Sony could communicate with EVERY customer infected.

--MissM
Scouring the blogs for you ;)


Update: Boing Boing: Sony Rootkit Roundup IV. An amazing list of links regarding Sony and the rootkit issue. When its done better, post it, is what I say ;)

Further update: I never want to violate any sort of creative commons license or offend people who's blogs I borrow from. So I was looking around more at boingboing, and found this link.

That said, if you believe in linking policies -- that is, if you believe that people who make websites should be able to control who links to those sites and how -- then have we got a policy for you:

No site with a linking policy (other than a policy such as this one, created to deride and undermine the idea of linking policies) may link to Boing Boing. Ever.

Conclusion, you ask? I'm ok with Cory Doctorow lol
Do WE have or need a linking policy? lol

This weekends email winner is:

Congratulation to this weeks email winner:
From Verbatim, 10 packs of VideoGard DVDR media
Larry Swanson,
Edmonton, Alberta
Thank you Verbatim and Andy Marken from www.markencom.com

Video of "IE or Firefox?"

12/2/05 video asks people in front of New York University if they use IE or firefox. Some of the responses were hysterical (you'll just have to watch :P). People in the comments are voting for opera and safari too. I was surprised and pleased at the result (other comments asked for different locations for the survey, which I think is probably true) The guy at the end of the video may have the major reason why. But, see for yourself.

--MissM
scouring the vlogs for you, too! ;)

IVR Cheat Sheet(tm) by Paul English You want to talk to a human?

The next time you call a major corporation and need to talk to a human you will need this cheat sheet to tell you what to say or what numbers to punch to get out of the automated jungle.
Thank you Terry Blout

Wired 13.12: Don't Call It Spyware

"Three years ago the company was considered a parasite and a scourge. Today it's a rising star - selling virtually the same product. How a pop-up pariah won the adware wars." All I can say is: If it walks like a duck........
Joe

BitTorrent servers under attack | CNET

Hmmm, I have to wonder if this is why I've been getting bombarded (port 32459, so fast it scrolls off the log window, looks like about 20 times, in one minute) ... by a port that appears to be used by a bittorrent client.

'update Unknown attackers have downed file-sharing networks based on a common peer-to-peer technology, according to the administrator of LokiTorrent, one of the networks affected.

The distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the BitTorrent infrastructure prevented some users from downloading files for up to 10 hours on Wednesday, said the administrator, who asked to be identified only by his online handle, "Lowkee." The target was the central BitTorrent directories, or trackers, which are used by people to find movies, music and other content on the file-swapping network, he said.

"It maxed out our 100-megabit connection," Lowkee said Thursday in an online interview with CNET News.com. "I can't say how many systems were attacking, because our Web server took a dive at the time." '

Scouring the news, so you don't have to ;)
--MissM

Holiday gift guides

Just in case the geeks and non geeks, need tips for gifts to give or receive, here's a list of some that I've run across...
All good blogs on their own, and I'm thinking this may be just the nudge y'all need to check out this other kewl sites.
Makezine is really for people who like to re-engineer things, in case you haven't heard of it.

GPS For Your Holiday Shopping - Gizmodo
Gawker Gift Guide
Wired News: The Ultimate Geek Gift Guide
MAKE: Blog: MAKE's Mostly Under $100 Gift Guide 2005!

--MissM

WidowPC claims: World’s first dual core laptop

"The spec sheet for this monster 11.3-pound rig reads like a gamer’s wish list (please excuse us while we catch our breath): AMD 64 X2 Dual Core 4800+ (other options are available as well), 17-inch widescreen 1900 x 1200 WUXGA+ SuperBrite LCD, nVidia 7800 GTX graphics card with PCI-Express, up to 2GB of 400 MHz dual channel DDR RAM, dual SATA drives for as much as 240GB of storage, dual optical drive bays for optional dual-layer DVD burners, 7-in-1 memory card reader, optional TV tuner with remote, front panel LCD with media controls, built-in webcam, 2 FireWire ports, 4 USB 2.0 ports, serial port, infrared port, parallel port, external keyboard/mouse port, DVI, S-Video in and out, audio in/out, digital audio out, and 802.11a/b/g."

Ok, have a paper towel to clean up the drool. ;)
You notice I didn't post the price, eh? Well, you gotta click over and check it out. Availability by the end of the year, is expected, according to Engadget.

--MissM

Podcast Hijacked, Held for Ransom

"In an assault reminiscent of the early days of the Internet, Podcaster Erik Marcus recently found that his RSS feed had been inexplicably redirected.

According to Marcus, rather than fully cooperate to address the situation, the cyber-squatter is demanding payment or permanent agreement to terms, and Marcus is seeking legal redress for this new form of Internet extortion."
Interesting article from Koffeebeanz

--MissM

Tax Scam Preys on Refund-Hungry Public with Real Gov Site

"The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers about a phishing scam that uses promises of tax refunds to steal sensitive financial information. "

Recording Industry vs The People: Oklahoma Woman Fights Back Against RIAA

Jiminy, a woman without a computer is being sued by the RIAA, links to all the documents, at the url in the title. Bottom line: "the defendant has filed counterclaims for a declaratory judgment of non-infringement, and for "prima facie tort" under Oklahoma law. The judge dismissed the counterclaim for "prima facie tort" but has left standing the counterclaim for a declaratory judgment."

--MissM

Mac OS X security under scrutiny

It's no secret Apple's OS X has some security problems and Apple doesn't talk about them much at all. This Security Focus article at The Register points out some of the problems. SANS has listed OS X as a vulnerability in itself, which is probably over-reacting.

What came through loud and clear to me is that no one can feel safe just because of the operating system they use any more. Configuration is more important than choice of OS. Really. And running applications without vulnerabilities.

Jack

OnComputers on Frappr!

We seem to have hit a lull in the frappr map, so I wanted to repost it...
Also... there's a link on the right, yeah.... over there ----->
Just in case, you want to get back to it, and it slips off the map :)
In a related issue, why is the picture with AlaskaJoe on the bottom, not the same that shows up, by his user name? Any idea?

--MissM

InfoWorld | Cyber Monday: pretty much a big fat lie

According to businessweek.com: Cyber Monday is only the 12th busiest online shopping day of the year, and the term was coined just last week by Shop.org, a retailers' association looking to create a little buzz around online buying.

--MissM
P.S. I did a bit of cyber shopping on Monday, myself. :)
Update: Dvorak Uncensored | Online sales take off on ‘Cyber Monday’ "American shoppers, intent on skipping crowded stores and 6 a.m. squabbles over the last bargain laptop, spent 26 percent more money online over the Thanksgiving weekend than they did in 2004, according to market-research figures." The way I read that is sales, continued, on Cyber Monday. There is an hysterical comic at Dvorak's blog, check it out ;)

Can Microsoft kill Python?

I like Python. It is a good first language for a beginner, it's incredibly handy for all programmers and it's open source; free software.

Python's growing acceptance was brought home to me last Monday, when I purchased a new Compaq Pressario desktop box for someone and went to remove all the unwanted software bundled with the machine. To my surprise, it came with Python 2.3 binaries installed! If that doesn't signal arrival into the mainstream, I don't know what does.

The future of Python is now in doubt, despite it's widespread acceptance. I'll be watching this one closely.

Jack

Trojan horse rides on unpatched IE flaw

From the article:

"Customers can visit Windows Live Safety Center and are encouraged to use the Complete Scan option to check for and remove this malicious software and future variants," Microsoft said in its updated security advisory on the issue."

Windows Live Safety Center

Yes, this is the hole we have been talking about. I have all active scripting in IE set to prompt.

Spitzer Asks Retail Outlets for Sony BMG Recall

New development in the Sony Rootkit debacle. As we reported yesterday we knew that Spitzer was looking into it. Today we have the breaking news that:

"Eliot Spitzer is calling for retailers to immediately pull the albums off their shelves. Spitzer also chided stores for not yanking the CDs before the Christmas shopping season began."

Because he is so well known and high-profile, what Spitzer does is big news, and it is definitely not good news for Sony.

Xooglers

This is a blog done by eX-gOOGLERS, aka people who used to work at Google. Its been online for about 2 weeks, and the 2 current members are reminiscing about the beginnings of their careers at google, which was also the beginning of google, back in 99. (Who ever thought 99 would be the good ol days, so soon?)
They discuss the TGIF parties (?), the interaction between the employees, its a fascinating peek into the background of Google. Check it out. The current post talks about the receptionist "emailing notices of lost and found objects in verse. "

Enjoy!
MissM