It's not the first time RealPlayer has been accused of underhanded privacy invading practices, and it may not be the last. In my opinion there's really no reason to have the application on your system. Opt instead for standards compliant media players that won't deliver ads or spy on your Internet usage patterns.
We find that RealPlayer 10.5 is badware because it fails to accurately and completely disclose the fact that it installs advertising software on the user's computer. We additionally find that RealPlayer 11 is badware because it does not disclose the fact that it installs Rhapsody Player Engine software, and fails to remove this software when RealPlayer is uninstalled.
For video I really like VLC media player . . . a free cross platform format agnostic player that can just about do it all.
For audio I suggest the bare-bones system resource friendly FooBar2000. It's footprint on your system is so low that you can generally use it to play your music in the background even when playing resource heavy games without glitching or causing any performance degradation. It will decode almost all of the current music formats, including my current favorite high definition FLAC file sound files -- a non-lossy open source compression method that lets complex music be heard without the distortion inherent in MP3's.
FooBar2000's UI is not terribly pretty looking, but it does what it's supposed to do very well, including the somewhat unique option to channel your music digitally directly to high end sound cards -- bypassing the Windows API's -- thus preserving the signal path and enhancing performance for those with golden ears. It's also one of the best mass tagger editors for MP3's in existence, so you can fix the labels on entire albums with one broad stroke instead of having to repeat and rinse for every track.
Links pop in new tabs or windows . . .
Monday, February 4, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
This old house
Last year our heating bill averaged $320 per month during winter.
We installed a new furnace this summer -- prices on furnaces are amazingly good during the off season. It's one of those new-fangled high efficiency dual mode modals. It replaced a dinosaur three times it's size in the basement - a brand our installer did not recognize.
This winter has been every bit as cold outside as last, but the house feels warm (it didn't last year) and our average bill for this winter -- so far -- has been hovering around $110 per month.
This makes me a happy camper. At this rate the new furnace will pay for itself in five years.
We installed a new furnace this summer -- prices on furnaces are amazingly good during the off season. It's one of those new-fangled high efficiency dual mode modals. It replaced a dinosaur three times it's size in the basement - a brand our installer did not recognize.
This winter has been every bit as cold outside as last, but the house feels warm (it didn't last year) and our average bill for this winter -- so far -- has been hovering around $110 per month.
This makes me a happy camper. At this rate the new furnace will pay for itself in five years.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Welcome to our Imperial Big Brother (Your ISP)
First it will be to catch copyright pirates. Then it will be to identify your marketing tastes -- think adware on the pipe, instead of your client, with no way to clean it out! And finally they will use it to mistakenly identify you as an enemy of the state because you clicked an middle-eastern pr0n banner.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/att-and-other-isps-may-be-getting-ready-to-filter/
More coverage on the issue:
http://news.google.com/news?tab=wn&ned=us&hl=en&ned=us&q=Network-level+filtering+&btnG=Search+News
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/att-and-other-isps-may-be-getting-ready-to-filter/
More coverage on the issue:
http://news.google.com/news?tab=wn&ned=us&hl=en&ned=us&q=Network-level+filtering+&btnG=Search+News
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Friday, December 28, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
OnStar and General Motors: Analog service ending Jan 1st 2008
For a full explanation of what's happening, see the Edmonds article:
Telematics Digital Transition Hits Speed Bump
All links pop . . .
Summary:
Thanks to an FCC ruling in 2002 made with their endorsement, cellular-communications carriers no longer will be required to support their old analog-technology cellular networks beginning in early 2008. Any analog subscriber who still wants their telematics service to work has to get with the program and obtain the new technology somehow.
OnStar was launched in 1996 using proven analog technology and mainly Verizon Wireless networks, which had the broadest geographic coverage of the cellular-network alternatives at the time. But because Verizon is disabling its analog networks on January 1, 2008, OnStar can't ensure coverage to its subscribers who have analog systems after that date.
If you own a 2002~2005 GM vehicle with analog OnStar, you may or may not be able to get an upgrade to continue OnStar service. Most vehicles older than 2002 cannot be upgraded! Most newer than 2006 are already equipped with digital OnStar service.
If you use analog Onstar your service will stop on January 1, 2008 - worse it will devalue your used vehicle even if you don't personally subscribe to OnStar.
Details, helpful links to determine if your vehicle can be upgraded, and the dirt on the fine print.
1) Analog OnStar service will stop January 1st, 2008.
2) If your GM vehicle is newer than 2002 and is not already fitted with Digital OnStar service you might be eligible for an upgrade. Some vehicles were made up through 2004 that are not upgradable. Go write down your VIN and enter it on this secured (https) site to find out if your car can be upgraded:
https://www.myonstar.com/adt.os
3) Onstar Upgrade Information:
- OnStar Analog to Digital Transition and Upgrade Offer Among other things, you may have to subscribe for one additional year at $199/year plus a $15 fee for the upgrade. If you did not subscribe to OnStar in the last year and you get this upgrade, you will also be charged a $100 activation fee in addition to the subscription and upgrade fee.
- GM and OnStar FAQ.
4) However -- GM may be requiring upgraders to subscribe to three more years! I can't find confirmation beyond this leaked internal article: HTML Version, PDF Original. They may also be refusing to upgrade some cars that OnStar states are eligible . . .
5) Your OnStar phone number WILL change when you upgrade from analog to digital service.
6) This is for US only, Canada is not yet switching.
7) The upgrade may only be done at a GM dealership. You must pay your dealership all related fee's at the time of service.
8) The new digital service has a shorter effective range from any given cell tower to your car than the older analog service. It also has a smaller overall service area. This means that if your car breaks down, or you have an accident, in urban or remote areas that your OnStar service might not work. Subscribers within most metro areas and along most interstates should be okay.
9) Owners of older GM OnStar equipped cars may be out of luck both in terms of receiving service and because their used vehicle will be further devalued. GM's offer to give OnStar subscribers with older cars small credits towards newer vehicles is laughable. There is a lawsuit that is attempting to achieve class-action status. No idea of what that might accomplish, if anything . . . time will tell. The GM offers may well be better than the individual rewards from the lawsuit. Trouble is, there is no set guideline from GM to it's dealers on what offer to make - it will depend largely on your dealer and perhaps on what new car you buy.
Telematics Digital Transition Hits Speed Bump
All links pop . . .
Summary:
Thanks to an FCC ruling in 2002 made with their endorsement, cellular-communications carriers no longer will be required to support their old analog-technology cellular networks beginning in early 2008. Any analog subscriber who still wants their telematics service to work has to get with the program and obtain the new technology somehow.
OnStar was launched in 1996 using proven analog technology and mainly Verizon Wireless networks, which had the broadest geographic coverage of the cellular-network alternatives at the time. But because Verizon is disabling its analog networks on January 1, 2008, OnStar can't ensure coverage to its subscribers who have analog systems after that date.
If you own a 2002~2005 GM vehicle with analog OnStar, you may or may not be able to get an upgrade to continue OnStar service. Most vehicles older than 2002 cannot be upgraded! Most newer than 2006 are already equipped with digital OnStar service.
If you use analog Onstar your service will stop on January 1, 2008 - worse it will devalue your used vehicle even if you don't personally subscribe to OnStar.
Details, helpful links to determine if your vehicle can be upgraded, and the dirt on the fine print.
1) Analog OnStar service will stop January 1st, 2008.
2) If your GM vehicle is newer than 2002 and is not already fitted with Digital OnStar service you might be eligible for an upgrade. Some vehicles were made up through 2004 that are not upgradable. Go write down your VIN and enter it on this secured (https) site to find out if your car can be upgraded:
https://www.myonstar.com/adt.os
3) Onstar Upgrade Information:
- OnStar Analog to Digital Transition and Upgrade Offer Among other things, you may have to subscribe for one additional year at $199/year plus a $15 fee for the upgrade. If you did not subscribe to OnStar in the last year and you get this upgrade, you will also be charged a $100 activation fee in addition to the subscription and upgrade fee.
- GM and OnStar FAQ.
4) However -- GM may be requiring upgraders to subscribe to three more years! I can't find confirmation beyond this leaked internal article: HTML Version, PDF Original. They may also be refusing to upgrade some cars that OnStar states are eligible . . .
5) Your OnStar phone number WILL change when you upgrade from analog to digital service.
6) This is for US only, Canada is not yet switching.
7) The upgrade may only be done at a GM dealership. You must pay your dealership all related fee's at the time of service.
8) The new digital service has a shorter effective range from any given cell tower to your car than the older analog service. It also has a smaller overall service area. This means that if your car breaks down, or you have an accident, in urban or remote areas that your OnStar service might not work. Subscribers within most metro areas and along most interstates should be okay.
9) Owners of older GM OnStar equipped cars may be out of luck both in terms of receiving service and because their used vehicle will be further devalued. GM's offer to give OnStar subscribers with older cars small credits towards newer vehicles is laughable. There is a lawsuit that is attempting to achieve class-action status. No idea of what that might accomplish, if anything . . . time will tell. The GM offers may well be better than the individual rewards from the lawsuit. Trouble is, there is no set guideline from GM to it's dealers on what offer to make - it will depend largely on your dealer and perhaps on what new car you buy.
Friday, December 7, 2007
If you play Eve Online - an important announcement
If you don't play Eve Online . . .
News today says that a recent update for Eve Online, the so-called Trinity patch, contains a very serious mistake/bug . . . it deletes a system critical file named BOOT.INI in the root directory of your system drive IF your boot drive is NOT on the default drive C: . . . (this is not as uncommon as some might think.)
If you have not yet rebooted since applying the Eve Online patch - DON'T reboot until after you verify that you don't have the issue, or until after you fix the problem! If you reboot without the missing file, and you don't have an alternate boot disk handy, you may be well and truly - using the correct technical jargon - f*cked.
If you meet all three of these criteria:
1) You started downloading the Eve Online upgrade from Trinity Classic Graphics Content to Premium Graphics Content BEFORE 04:00 GMT on Dec 6 2007
2) You do NOT use Vista for Eve Online (only Windows XP, Windows 2000, etc are impacted)
3) You have at least 2 hard disks or logical partitions and the OS into which Eve Online is installed resides on the second drive, NOT on drive C:
. . . Then you might need to repair your system.
Check to see if the file BOOT.INI still exists on your system drive. This is typically Drive C:, and if you meet criteria 3 above I expect you to already understand the difference between the boot drive and the system drive.
If your BOOT.INI file is missing, here are Eve's support recommendations to restore your system. http://www.eve-online.com/updates/bootinifix.asp
Good luck!
News today says that a recent update for Eve Online, the so-called Trinity patch, contains a very serious mistake/bug . . . it deletes a system critical file named BOOT.INI in the root directory of your system drive IF your boot drive is NOT on the default drive C: . . . (this is not as uncommon as some might think.)
If you have not yet rebooted since applying the Eve Online patch - DON'T reboot until after you verify that you don't have the issue, or until after you fix the problem! If you reboot without the missing file, and you don't have an alternate boot disk handy, you may be well and truly - using the correct technical jargon - f*cked.
If you meet all three of these criteria:
1) You started downloading the Eve Online upgrade from Trinity Classic Graphics Content to Premium Graphics Content BEFORE 04:00 GMT on Dec 6 2007
2) You do NOT use Vista for Eve Online (only Windows XP, Windows 2000, etc are impacted)
3) You have at least 2 hard disks or logical partitions and the OS into which Eve Online is installed resides on the second drive, NOT on drive C:
. . . Then you might need to repair your system.
Check to see if the file BOOT.INI still exists on your system drive. This is typically Drive C:, and if you meet criteria 3 above I expect you to already understand the difference between the boot drive and the system drive.
If your BOOT.INI file is missing, here are Eve's support recommendations to restore your system. http://www.eve-online.com/updates/bootinifix.asp
Good luck!
Friday, November 30, 2007
"Master, I have a big head . . . and little arms."
I'm reading much drama and angst over the new flagging feature for LJ. The LJ powers posted an update with some clarifications, but the main problem I see with the system has not been addressed -- more on that in a moment after I rant about some of their other comments.
Some clarification of their clarifications.
- LJ sez: "As additional measures to prevent abuse of the flags, only accounts registered for over a month may use the flagging feature, and use of the flags is limited to five per user every twenty-four hours. Misuse of this sytem [sic] will result in the user's flags not counting towards the threshold for review."
- LJ sez: "Most importantly, logged in users over 18 will not see any of the changes made by the settings of this program unless they choose to. You won't see any of the lj-cuts related to this system and your friends page will appear exactly as it always has. We feel it's important that this doesn't impact adults using LiveJournal."
- LJ sez: "This system will not accept flags on friends-only content. Although a flag icon may be present on the navigational strip, if you click it while viewing friends-only content it will only give you the option to flag the journal. Friends-only content is not affected by or included in any part of this system.
- LJ sez: "The date of birth used when you create your account is the way that your age is calculated by LiveJournal. If you did not enter a date of birth when you registered, it will default to the date on your profile (which you can enter but hide on the Edit Profile page). If a user has not entered a date of birth, the first time they click on an lj-cut generated by these systems they will be prompted to enter a date of birth. That will then be the system-recorded age (so they shouldn't have to enter it again)."
Worse, I cannot think of anyway to verify ages that isn't draconian in nature -- and even those methods are easily spoofed. There isn't a foolproof way for websites to gather proof of anyone's age without drastic and privacy threatening measures. Credit cards? Not even. Fax paper records? Steal Dad's or Mom's ID for a few minutes. There. Is. No. Good. Way.
Greater minds than LJ can afford have been struggling with this problem for years. We still don't have a good answer.
I'm just not sure how well this plan was thought through.
Master? Master?
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Have we really become
Biloxi's recovery shows post-Katrina divide
Two years later; Many Katrina victims still have no power, but they can see their wrecked homes and FEMA trailers at night by the glare of nearby -- newly rebuilt -- casino signs.
Yet in the wrecked and darkened working-class neighborhoods just blocks from the waterfront glitter, those lights cast their colorful glare over an apocalyptic vision of empty lots and scattered trailers that is as forlorn as anywhere in Katrina's strike zone.
"At night, you can see the casino lights up in the sky," Shirley Salik, 72, a former housekeeper at one of the casinos, said this month while standing outside her FEMA camper with her two dogs. "But that's another world."
It seems shocking, but the stark realist in me accepts this disparity in our societies priorities. And that saddens me deeply.
I need to rethink MY priorities.
Two years later; Many Katrina victims still have no power, but they can see their wrecked homes and FEMA trailers at night by the glare of nearby -- newly rebuilt -- casino signs.
Yet in the wrecked and darkened working-class neighborhoods just blocks from the waterfront glitter, those lights cast their colorful glare over an apocalyptic vision of empty lots and scattered trailers that is as forlorn as anywhere in Katrina's strike zone.
"At night, you can see the casino lights up in the sky," Shirley Salik, 72, a former housekeeper at one of the casinos, said this month while standing outside her FEMA camper with her two dogs. "But that's another world."
It seems shocking, but the stark realist in me accepts this disparity in our societies priorities. And that saddens me deeply.
I need to rethink MY priorities.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
More phishing - Equifax customers alerted
Dear Equifax Customer,
We’re sorry to inform you about a recent “phishing” attack on Equifax. Phishing" or "spoofing" is an e-mail threat where fraudulent e-mails appear to be from a well-known company and ask you to provide, update or confirm certain confidential information – such as User ID or password.
This week, we detected e-mail phishing activity by fraudsters attempting to solicit sensitive personal information, including user IDs and passwords, from Equifax customers and consumers. For your protection, please know that Equifax never sends out requests for personal information via e-mail or phone.
If you received an e-mail that appears to be from Equifax and requests personal information, please do not respond and delete the e-mail immediately. If you did respond to an e-mail that appears to have been from Equifax, and you provided personal information, such as your user ID and password, please let us know by following the “Contact Us” links from www.equifax.com so we can assist you further.
As a general rule, to help safeguard your identity – we recommend that you never click anywhere within a suspected “phishing” or “spoofing” e-mail, and never hit “reply”.
At Equifax, your privacy is extremely important to us and we wanted you to know about this unfortunate situation. Your continued trust and confidence in Equifax is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Your Equifax Personal Solutions team.
We’re sorry to inform you about a recent “phishing” attack on Equifax. Phishing" or "spoofing" is an e-mail threat where fraudulent e-mails appear to be from a well-known company and ask you to provide, update or confirm certain confidential information – such as User ID or password.
This week, we detected e-mail phishing activity by fraudsters attempting to solicit sensitive personal information, including user IDs and passwords, from Equifax customers and consumers. For your protection, please know that Equifax never sends out requests for personal information via e-mail or phone.
If you received an e-mail that appears to be from Equifax and requests personal information, please do not respond and delete the e-mail immediately. If you did respond to an e-mail that appears to have been from Equifax, and you provided personal information, such as your user ID and password, please let us know by following the “Contact Us” links from www.equifax.com so we can assist you further.
As a general rule, to help safeguard your identity – we recommend that you never click anywhere within a suspected “phishing” or “spoofing” e-mail, and never hit “reply”.
At Equifax, your privacy is extremely important to us and we wanted you to know about this unfortunate situation. Your continued trust and confidence in Equifax is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Your Equifax Personal Solutions team.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)