Earl's Cyber Steals and deals

EverydaySource has the 2.5" SATA HDD Enclosure (POTHSATA2501) in Black for $10 - $5 off with coupon code S0108IAFZ [1000 uses] = $5 with free shipping. Fits 2.5 inch SATA hard drive disks, supports up to 500GB, and plug & play and hot-swapping

Buy.com has the Kingston HyperX Blu 2GB DDR3 1600MHz 240-pin (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (KHX1600C9AD3B1/2G) for $30 - $10 rebate [Exp 1/11] = $20 with free shipping. Features 1600MHz memory speed.

Yugster.com has the refurbished Dell Optiplex GX620 Dual Core 2.8GHz Desktop for $215 - $5 off with coupon code YUGSAVE5/25 + $10 shipping = $220 shipped. Features Intel Dual Core 2.8GHz, 2GB DDR2, 500GB HDD, CD-RW Drive, and Windows XP Professional

SuperBiiz has the Super Talent 16GB Express Duo USB 3.0 Flash Drive for $29 - $4 off with coupon code HELLO2011 [Exp 1/10] = $25 with free shipping. A fully backwards compatible USB 3.0 flash drive with a single storage partition.

Newegg has the PNY Optima 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Laptop Memory (MN8192KD3-1066) for $95 - $20 rebate [Exp 1/31] = $70 with free shipping. Free Sony movie download included.

Newegg has the SIIG JK-WR0212-S1 USB 104 Normal Keys 2.4GHz Wireless Standard Multimedia Keyboard and Mouse for $40 - $20 rebate [Exp 1/10] = $20 with free shipping. Includes a free SIIG AC-LG0012-S1 USB LED Light with purchase. Features water resistant design, 18 hotkeys for shortcuts to programs and multimedia control, and a detachable palm rest

Newegg has the Samsung SH-S223L 22X SATA DVD Burner SATA for $17 with free shipping. Features SATA 1.5Gbps data transfer rate

$50 price drop. Abes of Maine has the ASUS UL20FT-A1 12.1" Core i3 Notebook (Silver) for $600 - $100 rebate [Exp 1/31] = $500 with free shipping. Intel Core i3-330UM 1.20GHz, 2GB DDR3, 320GB HDD 12.1" (1366x768) LED LCD, Windows 7 HP x64, 6-cell Li-ion

TigerDirect offers the 5.5-lb. HP 620 Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz 15.6" Widescreen Notebook, model no. XT964UT#ABA, for $439.99. Coupon code "CDX16765" knocks it to $409.99. With $4.78 for shipping, Intel Core 2 Duo T6670 2GHz dual-core processor, 15.6" 1366x768 widescreen LCD, 2GB RAM, 250GB 5400 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, dual layer DVD burner with LightScribe, 802.11n wireless, webcam, 6-cell battery, memory card reader, and Windows 7 Professional 32-bit

NYT: Amid WikiLeaks threat, Bank of America Builds Defenses

Bank of America has emerged as the most likely target because a year before the latest threat, Mr. Assange said in an interview that his group had the hard drive of a Bank of America executive containing five gigabytes of data — enough to hold more than 200,000 pages of text — and was evaluating how to present it. It was this connection that set the wheels in motion on Nov. 30

Tablet Wars of 2011 loom

The iPad rules the tablet world right now, but an Android army has begun its attack

Putin to put Russian government on Linux by 2015

But if Putin says: 'make it so,' I suspect that a lot of people will jump pretty fast to make sure that it *is* so," he wrote. "And once that happens, other plans to roll out free software might well suddenly look rather more attractive."
The Business Software Alliance, a trade group representing large U.S. software vendors, estimated that 67% of software used in Russia in 2009 was pirated

Skype blames buggy Windows software, swamped servers for outage

The bug in version 5.0.0152 of SKYPE caused old Windows clients to crash when they received a delayed response from "a cluster of support servers responsible for offline instant messaging" that had been overloaded, Rabbe said. About 50% of all Skype users were running the buggy 5.0.0152 version of the Windows client last week.

Calif. woman sues Microsoft over XP downgrades -- again

Prior to permitting the consumer to 'downgrade' to Windows XP Professional, Microsoft first mandates that the consumer 'upgrade' from the Home versions of its operating systems to either Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate -- thereby forcing the consumer to incur an unnecessary expense and creating revenue for Microsoft by virtue of the End User consumer purchasing two operating systems for one PC," Alvarado's complaint alleged

Helpdesk help gets more complicated in 2011

One factor is the variation among consumer devices that run the same operating system,while some Android smartphones can connect to Exchange through ActiveSync, others require third-party software, while still others don't enforce automated security rules such as password policies,

McAfee Labs Predicts Geolocation, Mobile Devices and Apple Will Top the List of Targets for Emerging Threats in 2011

There are significant advancements in device and social network adoption, placing a bulls-eye on the platforms and services users are embracing the most including Google’s Android, Apple’s iPhone, foursquare, Google TV and the Mac OS X platform

Chinese Trojan discovered in Android games | Security News -

The Trojan is capable of sending personal information to remote servers and exhibits botnet-like behavior, the security company Lookout says.

Data breach affects 4.9 million Honda customers - Security - News

The compromised list contained names, login names, e-mail addresses and 17-character Vehicle Identification Number--an automotive industry standard--which was used to send welcome e-mail messages to customers that had registered for an Owner Link account

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 01-02-11

Happy New Year to you all from the OnComputers crew.

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 01-02-11. 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 it is a new year, and the beginning of a new decade, so why not start off with something that may indicate a rather extreme path to lowering foods world ecological impact. Well maybe, I first noted this subject a year or two back, and now it seems to be coming back. Here is another twist to ink jet printing, how about printing up dinner? Sorry think I will pass, but this looks like it will come sooner or later. http://www.dailymail.co.uk

2) Keeping with the New Year theme here is a link to 95+ predictions for the web to be coming next year, we will have to see. This year has a pretty low bar to top in order to be an improvement over the events of last year. http://mashable.com/

3) This is just one of those sites I am putting up that I have not had time to look into but it looked promising so I thought I would toss it in here, I am always looking for better searching tips. http://lifehacker.com

4) This is another subject that has always fascinated me; the understanding of the human brain has got to be the most important line of research. After all what line of study can be more basic than understanding our method of interfacing with our reality? If that interface is through the human brain it seems to me that everything else starts right here. The savants seem to connect in a much more direct way, even if it is limited in scope. http://www.degreescout.com

5) And for my first geek link of the year, how about 150 of the best Windows App’s from 2010, there should be a tasty tidbit of something here for just about everyone. http://www.addictivetips.com

Earl's Cyber Steals and Deals

Dell Business has the Dell Vostro 230 Mini Tower plus Dell E1709W 17" LCD Monitor for $339 + $8 shipping = $347 shipped. Included monitor is listed under System Details on the right. Intel Pentium Dual Core E5700 3.0GHz, 2GB DDR3, 320GB HDD Intel GMA X4500, 1-yr warranty/on-site service, Windows 7 HP

HP has the Macbook Pro-inspired HP G72t Core i5 17.3" LED Notebook (charcoal) for $580 - $25 off with coupon code SVP1583 = $555 with free shipping. Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit installed. Intel Core i3-370M 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Intel HD
17.3" 1600 x 900 LED, SuperMulti 8x DVD+/-RW DL, 6-cell

Mwave has the 10-Pack Metal Thumbscrews for $2 + $0 shipping = $2 shipped with free "M" Club membership. Switch out your old screws for these thumbscrews so you can open and close your computer case without the need for a screwdriver.

MWave has the PremierTek PT-H9D-ROC-1W Rocket High Power 1000mW 802.11g High-Gain Adapter for $18 + $0 shipping = $18 shipped with free "M" Club membership. Uses a waterproof 9dBi antenna to help you find more wireless networks over more longer distances.

Mwave has the A-DATA ASDH8GCL4-R SDHC 8GB Class 4 Secure Digital Card for $11 + $0 shipping = $11 shipped with free "M" Club membership. Features 14~17 MB/s read and 4~5 MB/s write speeds

Newegg has the Asus EAH5450 SILENT/DI/1GD3(LP) Radeon HD 5450 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card for $50 - $15 rebate [Exp 1/7] = $35 with free shipping. Features HDMI, D-SUB, and DVI. [

Newegg has the Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD6400BPVT 640GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive - Bare Drive for $50 + $1 shipping = $51 shipped

Dell has the Caviar Green Western Digital WD20EARS 2TB SATA Hard Drive for $90 - $20 rebate [Exp 1/16/2011] = $70 with free shipping. Features 64 MB cache and SATA 3.0 interface in a 3.5" form factor

Sears rolls out online movie download service

Sears Holdings Corp. is rolling out an online video service that will allow customers to buy or rent movies from its collection. While the service is only supported on PCs, the Xbox 360, and certain Blu-ray players, the company plans to add mobile phone support eventually.

Apple facing class action suit over iOS data collection

Apple is facing the prospect of a class action lawsuit targeting the data collection practices of app developers and mobile ad networks. Makers of other platforms could become targets as well

The 20 Best How-To Geek Linux Articles of 2010

I dont know a lot about Linux but these appear interesting.....

Recover Data Like a Forensics Expert Using an Ubuntu Live CD
Move Window Buttons Back to the Right in Ubuntu 10.04 / 10.10
How to Create Your Own Customized Ubuntu Live CD
HTG Explains: Which Linux File System Should You Choose?
plus 16 more...

Perfect Xmas gift: Computer Engineer Barbie

I'm not sure if this is too good to be true or too weird to be false. Yes after some 50 plus years of worrying what she's going to wear to the prom, and exclaiming how hard math is, Barbie is now a computer engineer! She comes complete with a pink laptop.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 12-19-10

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 12-19-10. 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.

There will be no show next week 12/26/10 Merry Christmas Everyone!
We will see you all on 01/02/11

Today's App Corner

We have two apps appropriate to the holiday season from the US Government today for shipping and travel.

One is a very useful app from the US Postal Service.  It uses location services to find your nearest post office, and once you have found it, the hours and services offered there.  It also shows all the collection boxes in your area and the pick up times. You can also track a package and look up zip codes. One thing that would be nice would be a postage calculator.  Maybe in a future version.  At least they give you a link to usps.com so you could look up postage rates there.

http://www.usps.com/mobile/info.htm

The other app is from the TSA.  It falls short on the wait time feature, since it relies on users to report the wait times.  Other than that, it is a nice handy interface with a "Can I Bring" look up, and a handy travel guide.  It also includes a US Aiport status map.  So while there is room for improvement, if you fly it is nice to keep this one on the phone.

http://apps.usa.gov/tsa-app/

Links from the Gregg Zone

1) This article reminds us just how intensely complex the movement toward replacing destructive planetary processes to soften our effect on the planet can be. I like the idea of using nature to produce the basic materials we need, but at what point do we cross the danger line? Anyway the idea of ‘training bacteria’ to make our plastics from vegetation as opposed to drilling oil wells for plastics. http://green.blorge.com

2) Speaking about environmental disasters just what is up with this; seems that they are going to turn Chernobyl into a sort of Disneyland. There are just so many questions that come to mind about this, I am just going to have to wait and see, and somehow I think the idea of buying stock in the company is not going to be on my investment list. http://www.aolnews.com

3) One of the things I like about this blog I am doing is how it continues to challenge my belief systems, one of the things I have learned over the years is that just because it seems to me to be a sure thing, it isn’t necessarily so. According to this article Einstein was right even though he was convinced he was mistaken, seems you can be in two places at the same. time http://www.independent.co.uk

4) Now to muddy the waters just a little, here is an article about the scientific achievement award of the year goes to the discovery and demonstration of teleportation. Question does that mean I can stay home and transport myself to work? That would mean I can watch the game and still keep the boss happy. http://www.foxnews.com

5) Now for something techy, once again I hope I am not treading on the App Corner’s thunder, but the warning in this article is a little worrying, privacy is a thing of the past, caqn the hive mind be very far off. http://online.wsj.com