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Sam Adams is a city commissioner in Portland Oregon, and he’s running for mayor. Unfortunately no one told the Boston Beer Company, brewers of Sam Adams beer. When they heard about Adams’ campaign site, samadamsformayor.com, they promptly served the mayoral candidate with a cease and desist letter claiming copyright infringement. The company claims they didn’t realize there was an actual person named Sam Adams running for mayor until after the letter was sent, and they have since backed off. The candidate hasn’t let the minor skirmish get to him, pointing out that even though the company claims to have held the copyright since 1984, he’s owned it since he was born. In case you were wondering, the Sam Adams of beer fame was a Revolutionary War patriot and brewer.

This case illustrates one of the problems with domain names and websites these days.
If a company names it’s service or product after someone, does that mean anyone with that name is out of luck when it comes to domain names? If companies like Sam Adams have their way, you bet!

Domain names are big business, spawning groups of folks called “Internet Squatters”. These folks snap up domains and then try to sell them for big bucks back to the people who really want them. For example, let’s say Pepsi has announced it’s coming out with a new lemon vanilla flavor. Squatters will snap up LemonVanilla.com, PepsiLemonVanilla.com, VanillaLemonPepsi.com, etc, and turn around and offer them to Pepsi for huge fees. There have been court cases against many of these squatters.

Another group is even more nefarious. They register misspellings of popular domains like Amazon and Yahoo and fill the sites with tons of ads in an attempt to take advantage of the misdirected traffic and Google’s AdSense program.

We’ll be talking more about domain names in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

websites, beer, Sam Adams, Portland Oregon, campaign sites

Vista has been out now for 9 months, but it’s still dealing with many software incompatibilities. For example, Photoshop CS2 isn’t compatible. If you have Vista and want to run Photoshop, you’ll have to upgrade to CS3. At $649, that’s a pretty painful price to pay! Going to buy a new printer? If it’s an all in one machine, beware of that “Certified for Vista” label. The machine may print just fine, but it’s fax and OCR software could very well be incompatible with Vista. That’s the story with the Brother MFC-5860CN and other printers as well. The sad facts are that Vista shipped before most software developers and hardware manufacturers had come up with drivers for it, and now, 9 months later many still haven’t released them. With so many devices being replaced quickly by upgraded versions, the industry can’t keep up. It’s the price we pay for our thirst for only the latest and greatest.

I upgraded from Windows ME (yeah I know, I know!) to Vista and fortunately had no problems. All my programs and devices worked perfectly. Unfortunately I appear to be the exception rather than the rule. If you’re one of the many who’ve experienced compatibility problems, you may want to consider going back to XP. If you haven’t upgraded yet but want to, do your homework! Note the manufacturer and model number of all your hardware devices (printer, usb drives, external hard drives, scanners, mp3 players, digital cameras, etc) and software, and check the manufacturers websites to see if they are compatible or have patches available to make them so. Be prepared! Finally, if you need a new computer but don’t want Vista, don’t worry. Several manufacturers, including Dell and HP, offer XP systems.

windows vista, microsoft, photoshop, vista incompatibility

On Wednesday Home Depot confirmed that a laptop containing the personal information of around 10,000 employees was stolen recently. The laptop contained the names, addresses, and social security numbers of the employees. The data was password protected but not encrypted. Home Depot says the theft occurred when a human resources representive in Massachusetts took the computer home to get some work done and left it in his vehicle, which was parked in front of his home. The vehicle was broken into and the laptop taken. Home Depot has notified the affected workers and offered to pay for a years worth of credit monitoring. The company is working with Law Enforcement to investigate the theft.

Now maybe it’s me, but leaving a laptop in your car, especially one with sensitive data on it, has to be the height of stupidity. Leaving any kind of expensive electronic device in a car in plain view is like putting a sign up that says “Cool stuff inside-help yourself!”. Putting it in a bag doesn’t help as laptop bags are easy to identify. Not only was putting the laptop in the bag foolish from a security standpoint, but the temps in a car can get extremely high, even in these cooler fall months, and that can damage the sensitive electronics inside a laptop. Laptops should never be kept in unattended vehicles!

Hopefully whoever stole the laptop doesn’t know or care about the sensitive data it holds. Otherwise, those employees could face some very serious issues. Anyone who gets ahold of your social security number can easily get credit, open bank accounts, even get a drivers license, all in your name. They then go on a spending spree and disappear, leaving you to sort through the mess and prove who you are-and who you aren’t. Let’s hope Home Depot will implement a new security policy concerning the taking home of laptops with sensitive data on them!

home depot, laptop security, identity theft, computers

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE), announced that it provides coverage for the nine security vulnerabilities disclosed by Microsoft Corporation today. These vulnerabilities have been reviewed by McAfee(R) Avert(R) Labs, and based on their findings, McAfee recommends that users confirm the Microsoft product versioning outlined in the bulletins and update as recommended by Microsoft and McAfee. This includes deploying solutions to ensure protection against the vulnerabilities outlined in this advisory.

“Today’s Microsoft patches emphasize the need for proactive browser protection and the risk of surfing the Web unprotected,” said Dave Marcus, security research and communications manager at McAfee Avert Labs. “Many of the vulnerabilities addressed by the fixes could be exploited if a Windows user simply clicks a malicious Web link, a favorite attack method among cybercriminals. Users need to be more careful than ever when surfing the Internet.”

Microsoft Vulnerabilities Overview:
— MS07-055 - Vulnerability in Kodak Image Viewer could allow remote code
execution
— MS07-056 - Security update for Outlook Express and Windows Mail
— MS07-057 - Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer
— MS07-058 - Vulnerability in RPC could allow denial of service
— MS07-059 - Vulnerability in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Office
SharePoint Server 2007 could result in elevation of privilege within
the SharePoint Site
— MS07-060 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Word could allow remote code
execution

Scope of Potential Compromise

Today’s six security bulletins cover a total of nine vulnerabilities. Four of the bulletins are rated critical by Microsoft due to their potential for remote code execution. Two bulletins are deemed important.

For additional information on today’s vulnerabilities as well as information on current threats, visit McAfee’s Threat Center at http://www.mcafee.com/us/threat_center/default.asp. McAfee recommends users sign up to receive the McAfee Avert Labs Security Advisory, describing detailed McAfee product coverage on the set of vulnerabilities described in this document, as well as McAfee product coverage for other threats. To sign-up visit: http://www.mcafee.com/us/threat_center/securityadvisory/signup.aspx. More information on the vulnerabilities can also be found at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.aspx

computers, Microsoft, McAfee, security bulletins, Microsoft patches

PC World.com has a great article about the ugliest products in tech history. Among them are:

Acoustic Coupler Modems- How many of you are old enough to remember these(or willing to admit it)? These devices are how our 1970’s counterparts got online-although going online back them was a completely different experience-ASCII, BBS’s, USENET…oh yeah, those were the days!

Motorola DynaTAC 8000X- The very first cellphone. Unlike today’s sleek and tiny cellphones, this one was about the size, shape,and weight of a brick-oh and did I mention it cost nearly $4,000?

Windows 1.0- I remember this very fondly. While Vista has an absolutely gorgeous interface, Window’s 1.0 was truly hideous. The file names were in all caps and the graphics rough and blocky, but it was in color and a huge upgrade from the dull, monochrome world of DOS. It’s amazing how far it’s come!

Microsoft Zune- Yes, this relatively recent release has a place on PC World’s list, due to the players cheap looking plastic casing and yucky brown color. Although it was meant to be an “iPod Killer” I don’t think Apple is worried.

To find out what else made the ugliest products list check out PC World.com. Let me know what you think? Are there products you’d add? Remove? I personally would add any of the Nextel cell phones (they are as unstylish as you can get and pretty hefty too!) and the original Macintosh computer-the computer was great, but that square beige box was hideous! Let’s hear what you think!

computers, PC Word, Microsoft Zune, ugly tech products

Do you remember your first computer? Mine was an Apple IIe with 128K of RAM. It had a monochrome screen (green on black) and took those huge old 5.25 floppies. I had the matching daisy wheel printer. Wow, those were the days. I got that system for Christmas in 1979 when I was only 9. It lasted until 1992! I wrote my high school and college papers using Bank Street Writer, a word processing program made by Broderbund, and also used Appleworks. I logged onto local BBS’s and later my college’s VAX system using my speedy 1200 baud modem and had a blast.( This was long before Windows and the World Wide Web. Instead of blogs and mailing lists, people used USENET as their community. There were groups for every interest.) I loved writing little programs in BASIC and playing Zork. Zork has to be the BEST game of all time. No fancy graphics back then-you simply typed in commands and the computer would
If , like me, you remember what computing was like in the 70’s and 80’s, check out this gallery I found. It’ll send you down memory lane for sure with all its photos of what used to be cutting edge technology. My old friend the Apple IIe is there, along with a TSR-80 from Radio Shack and a lot more. Hopefully it won’t make you feel too old!

computers, vintage computing, apple, Radio shack, TRS-80

I just picked up my second USB flash drive. My first one works fine but its only 128MB. My new one is 4GB, more than enough to back up my important files and music on to. I’m old enough to remember when everything got saved onto huge 5.25-inch floppy disks or cassette tapes. From there we moved on to the smaller but more spacious 3.5 inch disks, CD’s, DVD’s, and now the USB flash or “thumb” drive. These little wonders pack a big punch! Unlike the old 5.25 disks, that held a mere 360 kilobytes, and the 3.5 inch disks that held 1.44 megs, USB drives can hold gigabytes. Models come in 1GB to 16GB versions. Some offer encryption and password protection as well, and they are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Most slip easily on to a keychain and they much more durable and long lasting than floppies or CD’s. Their small size means they are very portable and easy to store. They’re great for transporting documents from the office or school to your home and are great for travelers. You can take your entire music collection or favorite photos with you anywhere and can access them from any computer. They are also a great way to back up your PC data as they fit easily into fire proof storage boxes and safes. Best of all, the price can’t be beat. I got my 4GB drive for a mere $36 and you can get 1 and 2GB drives for even less. USB flash drives are a great gadget to own!

computers, usb, usb flash drives, thumb drives, portable data storage, PC backup

TORONTO, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ - SceneCaster today announced the release of the first immersive 3D Web application for Facebook - where anyone can create, transform and explore interactive 3D scenes and share them with their friends - all within Facebook. The application is available at: http://apps.facebook.com/scenecaster.

SceneCaster extends the rich visual experience of 3D on the Web to all Facebook users including consumers, creative professionals, and social media enthusiasts. Bridging the gap between the virtual and real worlds, SceneCaster also connects the Facebook 3D experience to eCommerce sites such as eBay and Amazon.com, product catalogs from leading manufacturers and retailers and to other rich media social networks such as Flickr.

SceneCaster is breaking new ground in 3D Web applications as the first 3D immersive experience that is built to leverage the “social graph” of Facebook. The Facebook economy is growing every day that could see it achieve 200 million users next year up from over 40 million today. SceneCaster delivers new conversation opportunities to all Facebook users while also providing an innovative revenue model simultaneously with each Facebook profile.

“Facebook facilitates better communication and an easier way to share & discover meaningful content,” said Rodney Rumford, Editor of FaceReviews.com, a leading Facebook application review, rating and consulting service based in Solana Beach, CA. “SceneCaster in Facebook makes communications with my real world friends much richer and efficient. SceneCaster's great 3D immersive experience is revolutionary in concept and execution to sharing and discovering the 3D Web.” Rodney’s review of the SceneCaster Facebook app can be found at http://facereviews.com/2007/10/04/facebook-3d-rooms-with-scenecaster.

SceneCaster was first beta launched on September 25th at DEMOfall 07, the technology industry’s leading conference for innovative and disruptive technologies. Industry media and pundits have praised SceneCaster’s debut with over 250,000 pages of reviews and comments residing on the Web today.

“SceneCaster’s mission is to mainstream the 3D Web by lowering the barriers to adoption for the largest possible audience,” said Mark Zohar, SceneCaster founder. “We’ve built it from the ground up by combining the very best the Web has to offer today - search, eCommerce and Facebook - with a rich, immersive 3D experience that is accessible within a standard Web browser.”

Check out these other great tech blogs on 451:

Gadget Dose
MS Talk

home computing, facebook, 3D web, Scenecaster

Connecting People Through Music
Launching first in beta, Zune Social, a beta online community Web site, gives people a place to share their music tastes, knowledge and experiences with others. Anyone can create a free, customizable Zune Card that automatically updates to reflect the music they are listening to on their Zune or with Zune software on their computer. The Zune Card shows most recently played tracks and highlights that person's all-time music favorites. Other members of Zune Social can play samples of the songs a user has been playing directly from a friend's Zune Card or link to Zune Marketplace, where they can buy or download the music. In a nod to the inherently social nature of music, Zune Social will eventually enable its members to place the Zune Card on today's most popular social networking sites, where it will continue to update automatically and show off what its owners are listening to.

In addition to creating a friends list, members of Zune Social can send song links and messages to each other, post comments on a friend’s profile page or on their favorite artist pages. They can discover new music by seeing what their friends are listening to, receiving recommendations from others in the community or by seeing what the top fans of artists they’re interested in are listening to. Each artist page will list the Zune Cards of the people who listen to that artist the most, making it easy for other Zune Social members to browse their recent playlists and discover new content they can sample, purchase or download with a Zune Pass.

Zune Marketplace and Software: Easier Than Ever to Discover New Music
The Zune Marketplace online store has been restocked and redesigned to make it even easier for people to find what they are looking for. The Zune software has also been completely redesigned with a new look and feel and lots of helpful new features. In addition to offering more than 3 million songs, the updated version of Zune Marketplace will launch with thousands of music videos for sale and over 1,000 of the top audio and video podcasts available for free. Consumers will also be able to choose from a selection of more than 1 million digital rights management (DRM)-free MP3s, which can be played with Zune or any other digital media player. A new, streamlined and highly visual layout makes it fun and easy to browse through the store, and a new integrated search feature gives consumers one view across the music, music videos and podcasts categories. By typing in an artist’s name or genre, users will see all relevant content that is either already in their collection or available in Zune Marketplace.

To let music fans try new music, Zune Marketplace continues to offer Zune Pass, which lets consumers download as much music as they want for a flat monthly rate of $14.99. To inspire Zune Pass subscribers, Zune Marketplace genre editors offer a range of playlists and promote new albums each week. Consumers can also choose to purchase music and music videos individually using Microsoft Points.

New Accessories Work Across the Product Line
Zune will also be offering a new line of accessories to help consumers get the most from their Zune content wherever they are — at home, in the car or on the go. To make it easy and affordable for existing Zune customers, original Zune accessories will work on new Zune devices and new accessories will also work with the Zune 30GB device. In addition to a selection of accessories from partners, eight new accessory options are available from Zune this fall:
— Zune Home AV Pack. Home Dock with three faceplates to accommodate each
Zune device, wireless remote, AC adaptor and composite AV output cable
(ERP $99.99)
— Zune Dock Pack. Home Dock with three faceplates to accommodate each
Zune device and AC adapter (ERP $49.99)
— Zune Car Pack. Redesigned FM transmitter/charger and dashboard grip pad
(ERP $79.99)
— Zune Cable Pack. Sync cable, composite AV output cable and audio cable
(ERP $39.99)
— Zune Premium Headphones (ERP $39.99)
— Zune Leather Case (ERP $49.99)
— Zune Sync Cable (ERP $19.99)
— Zune AC Adapter (ERP $29.99)

Check out part 1 of this article here

home computing, mp3 players, Zune, microsoft, online community

SEATTLE, Oct. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Underscoring the company’s vision for helping to advance the digital entertainment industry and deliver great music experiences to its customers, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and Corporate Vice President J Allard yesterday unveiled the next generation of Zune(R) portable media players, software and online store. Gates and Allard also introduced Zune Social, a beta online community Web site built around and powered by people’s passion for music.

The two new models of Zune portable media players feature the new Zune Pad, an innovative touch-sensitive button for navigating on the device, as well as wireless sync, a feature that allows Zune devices to automatically sync over the device owner’s home wireless network when it is connected to an AC adaptor, in a dock or speaker dock accessory. Existing Zune owners will automatically receive new software features, the redesigned PC and device software and access to the new Zune Marketplace when everything is released to the public in mid-November.

“Twenty years ago we bet the company on an integrated productivity suite of word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, and we changed the way people work,” Gates said. “Today we're making big bets on games, music, video and connecting these entertainment experiences to help change the way people play.”

“By tapping into customer’s passion for music with Zune Social, we’re starting to change the game,” Allard said. “This lets us start building a new, more
valuable kind of relationship with consumers that, combined with other Zune innovations, will start to drive the entire music industry forward.”

“The time is right to let go of the older business models and recognize that consumers want something different when it comes to music today,” said Terry McBride, CEO of Nettwerk Music Group. “People are looking for simple ways to find great music and easily take it with them wherever they want to go, and Microsoft is not afraid of doing things differently to deliver on this vision.”

Two New Zune Devices Fill Out the Family
Microsoft announced three new models of Zune portable digital media players: a sleek, black Zune 80GB hard-drive model, which has a bright 3.2-inch screen and comes with premium headphones (ERP $249.99; all prices are U.S.); the ultraportable Zune 4GB (ERP $149.99); and Zune 8GB (ERP $199.99) flash models, both available in pink, green, black and glossy red. The new Zune devices feature the Zune Pad navigation button, with its touch-sensitive surface. Consumers can flick their thumbs over the pad to fly through lists of songs or albums or to fast-forward through picture slide shows or videos. For those who need to pause, advance or adjust the volume on the device without looking, they can also navigate the Zune Pad using physical cues by pressing on the four sides or the center of the button to adjust the volume or choose the next track.

Together with the original Zune 30GB, the new devices round out the player family and lets users choose the size, color or price that suits them best. Every Zune device includes built-in wireless features and an FM tuner, and they all have a bright color display that is perfect for showing off album art, pictures, videos and podcasts. All devices have been given distinctive new menus, and it is easy to customize the background screen with a personal picture. Ensuring that existing Zune owners benefit from the advances in this release, all Zune 30GB devices will be automatically updated with all the new features as well as the new device software design this fall.

New features for fall include the following:

— Wireless sync. Zune devices will automatically sync over consumers’
home wireless networks with this helpful new feature, aimed at ensuring
that Zune owners always have the latest podcasts and other content
ready to go when they’re leaving home. Syncing with the collection on
their PC happens via a home wireless network and will start on its own
when the device is placed in its dock or plugged in to charge.
Alternatively, the sync can be started manually.

— Extended wireless sharing. Share select full-length songs, albums,
playlists, pictures and even audio podcasts from device to device.
Consumers can now listen to any song received up to three times with no
time restrictions, and they can now also pass along songs to other
friends who have a Zune.

– Recorded television content to go. The Zune software will now
automatically import broadcast content recorded on Microsoft(R)
Windows(R) Media Center for Windows Vista(R) Home Premium or Ultimate,
so consumers can sync them onto their Zune media player and watch them
on the bus, in their car or wherever they want when they’re out and
about.

Check out our MP3 blog for the more on all things MP3!

home computing, microsoft, zune, Microsoft Vista, mp3 players, online communities

LEXINGTON, Ky., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Lexmark International today announced a new online rewards program which gives consumers the ability to get free inkjet cartridges both for buying and then again for returning the cartridges(1).

The program is simple: customers buy five ink cartridges from Lexmarkstore.com within a 12-month period, and they get one ink cartridge free. In addition, after they return five empty Lexmark ink cartridges to Lexmark within a 12-month period, they can get a second ink cartridge free. Therefore, customers are eligible for two free cartridges for every five bought online and returned to Lexmark. This program applies to almost all Lexmark branded inkjet cartridges(2).

“Customers told us they wanted a program that was simple and allowed them to get free cartridges. That’s exactly what the Lexmark Rewards program delivers,” said Paul A. Rooke, Lexmark executive vice president and president of its Consumer Printer Division.

Before creating this new program, Lexmark talked to inkjet users and found that the majority surveyed said they would choose free cartridges as a reward over other incentives such as discounts or points that could be redeemed for merchandise. In addition to benefiting customers, the Lexmark Rewards program also makes a positive contribution to the environment. Used Lexmark cartridges returned to Lexmark are recycled through the Lexmark Cartridge Collection Program, resulting in less solid waste in landfills and fewer resources consumed — a win-win situation for consumers and the environment alike.

Enrollment in the program is fast and easy. Customers can sign up online at www.lexmarkrewards.com or automatically during product registration of all new 2007 inkjet products.

Learn more about Lexmark’s reward program at www.lexmarkrewards.com.

home computing, Lexmark, printers, ink cartridges, recycling

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It started in 1981 as a Day of Unity and has become a month long event. As a survivor of DV myself, I feel it is very important to support DV Awareness. Victims of DV are often isolated and made to feel ashamed of what’s happening to them. They are also usually terrified of their abuser. Finding help, support, and ultimately, a way out can be a difficult and dangerous process.

In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I’d like to share some online resources for DV victims. The anonymity of the internet, combined with the ease of finding information, can be very helpful to DV victims, who often refuse to get help out of fear of being discovered by their abusers.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence-this website is full of information for battered women. They offer workshops, support groups, and help to DV victims. They have branches in every state and offer a toll free hotline as well.

The USDA Safety, Health and Welfare Division’s Domestic Violence Awareness Handbook- This site provides a wealth of information about government programs designed to assist DV victims.

The Family Violence Prevention Fund- This site is dedicated to DV education and preventing and/or breaking the cycle of abuse. It has excellent resources for teens and adults.

Yahoogroups.com- This site provides many support groups for victims of DV to share and get support from other DV victims. The groups can be accessed via the web or email, and can be joined using an anonymous email from any free service such as Hotmail, Yahoo, or Gmail, to protect your identity.

If you are a victim of DV, please know you are not alone and that there is hope. Don’t be afraid to reach out and use the resources listed above.

Many of the other blogs in the 451 Press family are honoring Domestic Violence Awareness Month as well. Here are links to a few:

http://www.lifeasachristianwoman.com
http://herdailynews.com
http://www.about-sanjoseca.com
http://www.watchingbionicwoman.com

domestic violence awareness month, online resources for battered women, help for domestic violence victims, domestic violence