TechTV Geeks make good: Leo Laporte Makes $1.5 Million Per Year from Podcasting

Leo Laporte shares his views on podcasting, the Internet and how the little guy is beating up big mainstream TV media. The talk was given at the Online News Association Conference in San Francisco and it's forty minutes long.

InfoWorld: Snow Leopard beats Windows 7

PC vs. Mac deathmatch: Snow Leopard beats Windows 7

"Windows 7 was built to fix the problems that plagued Vista, and it unquestionably succeeds in doing that. It's a bit less bloated, and it runs a bit faster. The annoying security alerts from User Account Control have been quieted. And the compatibility issues with third-party software and hardware device drivers have largely been ironed away; after all, it's been two and a half years since Vista debuted. Windows 7 even includes a virtual "XP mode" for running legacy programs.

[ Which is better? The Mac OS and Windows 7 UIs face off. | GetInfoWorld's 21-page hands-on look at the next version of Windows, from InfoWorld’s editors and contributors. | Find out what's new, what's wrong, and what's good about Windows 7 in InfoWorld's "Windows 7: The essential guide." ]

Windows 7 goes a few steps beyond merely repairing Vista. It borrows --and improves on -- tricks from the Mac's playbook to make it easier and faster to organize files and launch programs. Like Apple's operating system, Windows 7 not only looks good, but it has tools and shortcuts that help you work more efficiently. If there were ever a Windows that could challenge Mac OS X, Windows 7 is it.

Still, once you've had Mac, can you ever go back?"

Read the full story at InfoWorld

How To: Hackintosh a Dell Mini 10v Into the Ultimate Snow Leopard Netbook

Here's the pitch: a 10-inch, almost-pocketable computer running Snow Leopard, the latest, greatest version of OS X. It costs just $300. Sound good? Here's how to make your own.

Last time we threw together a guide like this, things were different. Snow Leopardwas but a glint in Steve Jobs' eye, and in terms of hardware, the Mini 9 was the best thing going—it was pretty much the only netbook you could guarantee would work perfectly. Not to mention the hackintosh process was much, much more complicated. And riskier! And yet, despite all this, it was easy to recommend loading a Mini up with OS X, because to put it bluntly, the results were fantastic.

But the Mini 9 was a bit too small for regular use, and even if it's still pretty easy to buy one, it's not officially part of Dell's product line anymore. Fast forward to now: the Mini 10v is a (quite similar) replacement for the 9, with a slightly larger screen, 160GB HDD standard, and 1GB or RAM. Most importantly, the keyboard is a bit larger, and the price is wonderfully low: $300 for a netbook that's completely ready for hackintoshing. Or to put it another way, the 10v is a $300 Apple netbook.

Read the full story at Gizmodo

The Apple Powerhouse on Nasdaq

While you may have heard about Apple new 27 inch iMac or their new MacBook or the new Magic Mouse. You may not have heard just how well Apple Stock is doing.

It's no surprise that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) crushed its fourth-quarter earnings estimate. The company delivered earnings of $1.67 billion, up 47% from last year on an earnings-per-share basis. To understand why Apple's crushed earnings predictions were no shock, take a look at the business model that telegraphed the punches behind what Apple called its most profitable quarter ever.

Apple's core competency is innovative design and technology. That's the spirit behind its famous "Think Different" ad campaign. Apple introduces products that truly wow the market. Think back to the Macintosh in 1984 -- the first affordable computer with a graphical user interface (GUI). Today, the iPhone challenges the definition of a phone, by combining a portable digital media player, Internet client, GPS navigator, camera, and ... um ... oh yeah, a phone. Not only does Apple wow consumers, but it changes the way we think about consumer electronics.

Read the full story at fool.com

Sweet Panasonic 3D technology is coming home

Now wait one second before you start on the whole "I'm not wearing any stupid looking glasses," because no matter what you say, there are more people paying extra to go 3D movies than ever and the reason is simple; it's because this isn't like the crappy 3D you saw during the Super Bowl last year -- or that our parents grew up with. No, the 3D that Sony, Panasonic, and others are promising next year is like nothing you've seen. We've come a long way since the old anaglyph red and blue glasses that come in cereal boxes, so before you knock the new technology before it's even out, click through and read about the technologies that might bring us a real 3D revolution.

Read the full story at engadget

Cherkassy, Ukraine War Monument updated

Years ago when a monument was erected in Cherkassy, Ukraine to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice that was made by Russian soldiers during World War II. The huge statue and expansive plaza were capped off by an eternal flame. Unfortunately, when the Soviet Block broke up, the natural gas that had been provided by the government became a luxury so the flame was extinguished.

So the eternal flame sat unlit, a sad commentary to the remembrance of the dead. But how to fix this issue? As cell phone companies came into the area, a need for cell phone towers arose. At some point a solution was reached; a cell phone tower was built in the bowl of the eternal flame and then wrapped with an LED marquee. The marquee now displays the image of a flame in perpetuity.

Read the full story at hackaday

The Engadget Show - 002: Steve Ballmer, Droid, Nook, and new Macs

Comedy Evil Genius Bar

New Apple ads

Top 15 Terminal Commands for Hidden Settings in Snow Leopard

"Every time Apple brings out a new version of OS X, we compile a list of our favourite Terminal commands for enabling hidden features and changing hidden settings (here are the lists for Tigerand Leopard).

For those who are new to Terminal Commands, here's a quick run down of how to use them. Don't worry, it's really easy. Start by opening up Terminal, located in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder. In the window that appears, paste in one of the lines provided below, and then hit return. For the changes to take effect, you need to restart the application concerned. For applications like the Dock or Finder, it is easiest to just type killall Dock or killall Finder into the Terminal to restart them. To reverse the changes, you just need to change the last word of the command and run it again. If the last word is YES, change it to NO, change 1 to 0, and change TRUE to FALSE and vice versa for all."

Read the full Story at Mac OSX Tips

Performance showdown: Windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard

"In time-based tests, Snow Leopard consistently outdid Windows 7. It took only 36.4 seconds to boot up, while Windows took 42.7 seconds. In a shutdown test, Snow Leopard took only 6.6 seconds, while Windows needed twice the amount of time: 12.6 seconds."

Read the full Story by Dong Ngo

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity

Кен Робинсон рассуждает о том, как школы подавляют творчество

Why don't we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. It's a message with deep resonance. Robinson's TEDTalk has been distributed widely around the Web since its release in June 2006. The most popular words framing blog posts on his talk? "Everyone should watch this."

A visionary cultural leader, Sir Ken led the British government's 1998 advisory committee on creative and cultural education, a massive inquiry into the significance of creativity in the educational system and the economy, and was knighted in 2003 for his achievements. His latest book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, a deep look at human creativity and education, was published in January 2009.

Сэр Кен Робинсон предлагает создавать образовательные системы, нацеленные на развитие, а не подавление творческих способностей

The pocket spy: Will your smartphone rat you out?

"THERE are certain things you do not want to share with strangers. In my case it was a stream of highly personal text messages from my husband, sent during the early days of our relationship. Etched on my phone's SIM card - but invisible on my current handset and thus forgotten - here they now are, displayed in all their brazen glory on a stranger's computer screen.

I've just walked into a windowless room on an industrial estate in Tamworth, UK, where three cellphone analysts in blue shirts sit at their terminals, scrutinising the contents of my phone and smirking. "If it's any consolation, we would have found them even if you had deleted them," says one.

Worse, it seems embarrassing text messages aren't the only thing I have to worry about: "Is this a photo of your office?" another asks (the answer is yes). "And did you enjoy your pizza on Monday night? And why did you divert from your normal route to work to visit this address in Camberwell, London, on Saturday?"

I'm at DiskLabs, a company that handles cellphone forensic analysis for UK police forces, but also for private companies and individuals snooping on suspect employees or wayward spouses. Armed with four cellphones, which I have begged, borrowed and bought off friends and strangers, I'm curious to know just how much personal information can be gleaned from our used handsets and SIM cards."

Read the full New Scientist by Linda Geddes

$1.5M Russian SUV Features Diamonds, Whale Penis Leather

Whale penis leather interior. That's all you really need to know about the $1.5 million Dartz Prombron Monaco Red Diamond Edition. Yes, the diamond-encrusted white gold gauges and gold-plated bulletproof windows are impressive, but seriously, whale penis leather interior.

The already bulletproof and wildly over-the-top 8.1 liter GM V8-powered Dartz Kombat T98 is getting a name change to Prombron and along with it will come a complete and brain-maimingly bourgeoisie upgrade with the Monaco Red Diamond Edition. The world's most expensive ultra-luxury SUV will debut at the 2010 Top Marques Monaco show.

Read the full story by Ben Wojdyla

Women Are Unhappy? And You're Surprised?

Marcus Buckingham tells us that women are accomplishing more and more and becoming increasingly less happy in the process. As surprising as this might seem to some, my response is more along the lines of, "of course!"

A couple of months ago, as I began this series about aspiration and inspiration, I wrote an article entitled, What Do You Want Out Of Life, Really? For some, the answers would seem to lie in measures the "real world" would understand: money, cars, jobs, houses and other kinds of physical world accomplishments or acquisitions. However, many of us have gone through that cycle, acquired like crazy, and still wound up feeling unfulfilled. Sound familiar?

My experience in working with thousands of individuals over the past 30+ years leads me to believe there is very little correlation between material world success and happiness or fulfillment.

Having read the articles Marcus has written so far, my response is more toward "of course" than "surprise" that women might be experiencing less happiness over the past two decades. To be clear, there's no such thing as "women" in the sense that if you are a woman, then you are necessarily one of these women who, statistically speaking, are less happy. That's an individual experience, and, in my world view, an individual choice. Or more accurately stated, a consequence of individual choices made or avoided - more on this in another article downstream.

In my work on the difference between symbols vs. experience, I have found that many people seem to suffer from the illusion that happiness, satisfaction or fulfillment (experience) are a result of accomplishing some goal or, more to the point, of acquiring something in the material world (symbol).

As Marcus addresses the rhetorical question of "what's going on here," he offers several tips in his article about What the Happiest Women Seem to Have in Common. His first two tips resonate strongly with what I have learned over the years and provide a foundation on which to build a more fulfilled and successful life. Marcus calls them: Focus on moments, more than goals, plans or dreams and Accept what (you) find.

Read the full story by Russell Bishop

What's grosser than gross? Sea mucus!

Fake antivirus attacks PCs with ransom demand

The Fake antivirus phenomenon has taken an unpleasant turn with the discovery of a Windows program that not only cons users into buying an unnecessary license but appears to lock files and applications on the victim's PC.

According to security company Panda Security, rogueware program Total Security 2009 starts out in conventional fashion with the 'discovery' of a non-existent malware infection for which it demands an unusually ambitious $79.95 (£50), and even has the cheek to ask a further $19.95 for 'premium' technical support.

Read the full story by John E. Dunn , TechWorld

Russian Girl Hot for Words

Marina Orlova is a philologist (one who studies linguistics and etymology). She loves to discuss the origins of words.

Sneaky Microsoft plug-in puts Firefox users at risk

"Computerworld - An add-on that Microsoft silently slipped into Mozilla's Firefox last February leaves the browser open to attack, Microsoft's security engineers acknowledged earlier this week.

One of the 13 security bulletins Microsoft released Tuesday affects not only Internet Explorer (IE), but also Firefox, thanks to a Microsoft-made plug-in pushed to Firefox users eight months ago in an update delivered via Windows Update.

"While the vulnerability is in an IE component, there is an attack vector for Firefox users as well," admitted Microsoft engineers in a post to the company's Security Research & Defense blog on Tuesday. "The reason is that .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 installs a 'Windows Presentation Foundation' plug-in in Firefox."

The Microsoft engineers described the possible threat as a "browse-and-get-owned" situation that only requires attackers to lure Firefox users to a rigged Web site."

Read the full story by Gregg Keizer

Облако над Москвой Cloud over Moscow city

Eyewitnesses made a curious video of a very strange cloud hovering above Moscow. The video, which was posted on the Mobile Reporter website, shows a cloud which looks like a huge white-rimmed whirlpool.

The video was made on October 7, on the Moscow Ring Road.

The phenomenon, which many Muscovites could observe in the western part of the city, is an optical effect, meteorologists said.

Read the full story at PRAVDA

Apple Solves iPhone 5.6 Carrier Update Mystery

"After three separate calls to Apple Support, I was able to reach a representative this morning that finally answered the infamous 5.6 carrier update mystery that quickly followed after iPhone OS 3.1.2was released last week.

The Apple rep indicated that the 5.6 carrier file update addresses a specific issue that some iPhone users were experiencing after the 5.5 update enabling MMS was rolled out on Friday, September 25th.

When sending photos or videos in an MMS message, the progress bar would stall at about 90% then result in an error ending with a (!) red exclamation point next to the MMS message. The associated message failed to be properly sent, though standard text messages worked as normal. The 5.6 patch addressed that particular MMS issue. "

Read the full story by Ray Basile

BMW’s Hybrid Trike Gets 120 MPG

BMW’s Simple concept–which kinda looks like a Stealth Bomber with training wheels–is a hybrid trike that gets around 120 mpg.

The Simple (which stands for Sustainable and Innovative Mobility Product for Low Energy consumption) does 60 mph in just under ten seconds and has a top speed of 125 mph. The car weighs just over 900 lbs and has a super low drag coefficient of 0.18.

BMW’s target for the concept is the professional commuter. Specifically, those professionals who travel a lot and often alone.

Continue Reading

Orange Wine Edges Toward the Mainstream, Slightly

Not long ago I wrote about a wonderful tasting of orange wines. Well, not strictly orange.

The phrase is useful as it pulls together wines with colors actually ranging from pink to vivid orange. They are linked by a technique of leaving freshly crushed juice in contact with grape skins for several days or more. While producers of conventional white wines quickly remove the pigment-laden skins to keep the wine pale, this method of prolonged maceration darkens the juice, while contributing a pleasing tannic structure and a richer texture.

Read the full story by Eric Aismov

Will airports screen for body signals? Researchers hope so

The USA has invested a healthy amount of money into combating the terrorist threat -- certainly a bit more than $100. According to a CNN report, one of a few experimental methods being used to identify suspicious dudes at the airport uses Nintendo's Wii Balance Board (Wii Fit Plus).

Scientists part of the Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) program have taken the Wii Fit peripheral and adjusted it to measure how a person shifts their weight. Scientists hope to find "a level of fidgeting that would suggest the need for secondary screening."

BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- The days of being able to walk through airport security checkpoints while wearing shoes and a jacket could return if an experimental program proves successful, some Department of Homeland Security officials say.

Getty Images

The Homeland Security-funded project is Future Attribute Screening Technology, or FAST. Instead of focusing on whether you have hidden explosives or whether you're carrying a weapon, sensors and cameras located at security checkpoints would measure the natural signals coming from your body -- your heart rate, breathing, eye movement, body temperature and fidgeting.

Those physiological signs, measured together, will indicate whether you might have the desire or intent to do harm, project manager Robert Burns said.

"There's been a large field of research that ties your physical reactions to your mental state, your emotional state. We're looking for those signals that your body gives off naturally," Burns said.

Read the full story

The Guild

http://www.watchtheguild.com

Snow Leopard Critical Bug Found -- Guest Login Can Delete Account Data

A "critical flaw has been found in Snow Leopard. Reportedly, Snow Leopard users have been making the unpleasant discovery that logging into a guest account and then logging out can delete user information on all accounts. Apple computers store user info such as pictures, documents, and downloads in a common location, much like Windows "My Documents".

Describes user "parshallnet" to Apple, "When I logged into my MacBook Pro this morning, it was as if I had logged into my Guest Account and not my standard user profile. No icons on the desktop, the desktop wallpaper was the default 'space' photo and not the one I had assigned, no documents in the docs folder, apps behaved as if I'd never opened them before.”

Continue reading the full story by Jason Mick

Data losses in Snow Leopard bug

Users of the new Apple operating system Snow Leopard are experiencing massive data losses when logging into their machines under a guest account.

The problem appears to affect those who had a guest account enabled before upgrading to Snow Leopard.

The problem appears to affect those who had a guest account enabled before upgrading to Snow Leopard.

Users have in some cases lost their entire main profile, including sites, pictures, videos and documents.

The problem, reported by more than 100 users on discussion forums, surfaced shortly after the OS's August release.

Indications are that the Snow Leopard bug simply treats the principal account like a guest account - meaning that the account profile is wiped clean when logging out.

Users who first log into a guest account and then into their normal account have found it to be completely reset to factory default settings, with none of their personal data or files visible.

Continue reading the BBC story

Snow Leopard data-munching bug predates Snow Leopard

Howls of Jobsian distress date to November 2007!

Fanboi complaints of a mystery data-munching Mac OS bug began well before the arrival of Snow Leopard, Apple's latest desktop operating system. Similar tales of woe date back to at least November of 2007, when Jobsian cultists were still using the previous Mac OS version, just plain Leopard.

"Nooooo!!! This morning I had access to Guest Account and than all my data were lost!!!" wrote one user over the weekend. "I had 250GB of data without backup and I lost everything: years and years of documents, pictures, video, music!!! Is it possible to recover something? Please help me!!!!"

But it appears the same bug predates Snow Leopard (aka Mac OS X 10.6). Sebastian Mondial, a Hamburg-based journalist with the German News Service, reported what would appear to be an identical problem with a postto the Apple support forum on November 13, 2007. Mondial was hit after a clean install of just plain Leopard (version 10.5.1).

See the full story by Cade Metz in San Francisco

Dr Horrible takes over the Emmys

Visit Dr Horrible

Results of the International Type Design Competition “Modern Cyrillic 2009″ announced

The results of the International Type Design Competition “Modern Cyrillic 2009″ were announced last week. The competition took place in Moscow and was held by ParaType with support by the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications of Russia. It was dedicated to the 300th anniversary of Peter the Great’s reform of Russian typography. This event follows the success of “Kirillitsa‘99” which took place ten years ago. The competition judges included well-known Russian designers and font specialists representing leading Russian type foundries and schools of type design. Cyrillic typeface projects and completed typefaces created and/or released after January 1, 2006 were eligible.

Read the full story

Is the iPhone Ready for Law Firms?

"It used to be that the only thing lawyers tried to recruit was new clients. But these days, seemingly every firm has a group of attorneys pushing to bring aboard something else entirely: iPhones. And they want them badly.
"I have probably 15 people who continue to e-mail me about it," says the IT director at an Am Law 100 firm who asked not to be identified. "This one attorney, he goes out and finds someone who says he can solve any iPhone problem for $175," he says. "These attorneys, they want this thing so much, they are off trying to solve my problems."

Read the full story by Alan Cohen