Happy Holidays (and More)

Folks, I wish you all the happiest of holiday seasons.

eHow: How the Angel Became the Decoration on the Top of the Tree (click on image)

[Related: About.com’s The History of Christmas Tree Angels.]

A few tech items…

* Six awesome built-in Windows utilities no one knows about

“Windows 8 may not be the easiest operating system to use, but no one can accuse it of being stingy. If you poke deep inside the new OS, you’ll find a generous assortment of software tools, many of which make third-party utilities redundant.” Read more..

[Note: Many (most?) of these are also included in older versions of Windows, too.]

*** No, what Instagram just did to its users is not acceptable

“There is a tendency among tech watchers to think that, when it comes to free services, everyone should accept that they are the product and, as such, exploitable. This is a road we can and should avoid going down.” Read more..

* The 10 Biggest Cloud Outages Of 2012

“Just How Reliable Is The Cloud? In 2012, outages hit cloud hosting companies with regularity, creating a sense that they are no longer extraordinary events, but rather a normal part of the cloud computing business model.” Read more..

* FBI Memo Discloses Industrial Control Hack

“The target was an air conditioner system, but the FBI says that the source of the attack predicts further attacks against industrial systems.” Read more..

* Fake Email From Better Business Bureau Spreads Malware

“Victims receive an email notification suggesting there is a complaint against their business. An attachment that is supposed to carry the details actually carries a Trojan.” Read more..

* Let’s take the Internet back from the ISPs

“The next great American infrastructure investment should be fiber to the home.” Read more..

If you read just one, read the Instagram one..

Still shopping?

* HP Flash Sale Holiday deals and free 2-day shipping

* Holiday Gift Guide 2012: 25 Hot Ideas For Your Techie

“Looking for the perfect high-tech gift? Here are 25 hot suggestions from CRN, sure to complete any techie’s holiday wish list.” Read more..

* Vipre (antivirus) End of Days Sale

“This may be your last chance ever to save on VIPRE Internet Security 2013!” Read more..

Today’s quote: “Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” ~ Norman Vincent Peale

Just me: Many of you will be traveling to be with your loved ones, and I hope your travels will be safe ones. Go forth and spread joy and ease pain, and enjoy the blessings of life during this special time of year.

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Yes, You Can Still Buy/Order Windows 7 Computers

I have been asked if Santa can avoid Windows 8 at least a dozen times this week.. and the answer is, yes. You can still purchase a new computer that has Windows 7. (But be aware, this may not be the case for long.)

See: Tip: You can still buy a Windows 7 PC

“Choices will be more limited, but Windows 7 machines remain available.

Question: Do I have to get a new Windows computer with Windows 8? Can’t I just order up one with Windows 7 instead?” Read more..

*     *      *

Today’s quote: “People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway.” ~ Mother Teresa

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Derailed

Folks,
There have been some things happening here which are proving a major distraction, and my mind (and time) have not been on the tech and the blog. I ask for, and appreciate, your patience until I get things ‘back on track’.

And, please — be conscientious, and use good, healthy, “paranoid common sense” during this prime cybercrime season. (I.e., don’t open emails advertising extreme bargains on online stores you’ve never heard of before.) And, do the same while you’re in the malls, too (don’t leave your purse in the shopping cart, for instance).

It is the time of year to enjoy the best in life, not become crime victim, right?

Thanks.

Little White Xmas Tree

For those of you Windows 8 owners (or, if Santa brings you a new PC..) Two must-have downloads that make Windows 8 more bearable

“Rather than moaning about Windows 8, here are two downloads that make the user interface a lot more usable and bring back features that Microsoft decided to remove.” Read more..

For those seeking techy gift ideas be sure to check out the CNet Editors’ Holiday Gift Guides.

click me

Today’s quote: “Rings and jewels are not gifts but apologies for gifts. The only true gift is a portion of yourself.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Silly little poll (cont.)

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Ah, well, it’s Tuesday..

These past few days, I have been running a “silly little poll”, which asked who is/was the better TV Private Investigator, Rockford or Magnum. I have to say, the results of your voting, so far, has surprised me a bit..

One thing (that surprised me) was, I was expecting at least one “who?”, as both those shows date back to Ancient History.. you know, way back in the dark ages, well before there even was an Internet?

In fact, the older show (The Rockford Files, 1974-1980) dates back to when the pocket calculator and telephone answering machines were the ‘latest greatest tech’. (In later episodes of Magnum P.I. (1980-1988), at least, you can see IBM 286 units getting hooked up to telephone-cradle modems..)
I didn’t think too many would even remember Tom, or Jim.

Another surprise was.. (again, so far) Jim is leading the race.
Now, here’s a couple facts: Jim got beat up, knocked cold by a blow to the head, involved in a car chase, and arrested by the police in every single episode. I think I remember he got shot a couple’a times too.. (In fact, the actor suffered actual physical effects as he did a lot of his own stuntwork..)

Ouch.

Magnum did get shot a couple times, and almost died.. and I think Tanaka arrested him once.. and there were those silly episodes where Tom and the gang would chopper in and fight small armies with Uzis.. But life for Tom was not as rough and tumble, seedy, “gritty”, and error prone as it was Jim.

And Jim drove a Pontiac, while Tom drove a Ferrari.

.. well, I am going to leave the poll up. (Please, if you want to vote for “other” do so by leaving a Comment.. don’t try to write it into the poll itself.)

What I will tell you about how I voted is, well, I’ll only say, I’d rather watch an old rerun of a detective story (or legal/mystery, like Perry Mason, or Matlock) than I would the *stuff* they’re airing nowadays — Bridezilla? Big Brother? No thanks.

(When rating a TV detective, I don’t think you can use % Cases Solved as a criteria [they seem to solve them all] .. So car “cool factor” is a legit consideration, IMHO.)

For the Holiday Shopper: Top Tech Gifts For Under $10 Includes free shipping.
(Um.. not everything there is ‘tech’, sorry.)

Today’s Tech Reading:

* The Internet transcends borders, at least for a while longer

“Make no mistake, the forces of darkness will be back. We The Internet will be waiting for them. This is our playing field, our rules. Our Internet.” Read more..

* The 2012 iGeneration roundup

“This year’s most popular posts range from porn stars to iPads, as well as copyright infringement and Apple’s status as a religion.” Read more..

Today’s quote: “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.” ~ Alexander Fraser Tytler

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Top Cyber Monday Deals

So. It’s Cyber Monday, and instead of actually working, you want to know where the best deals are.

Here you go. (I’m going to jump on the 2TB Seagate, for one..)

Click on image to see the deals

But as you probably already know.. every single online shopping place has some kind of “super” deal on today… (Be sure to look at Amazon, if you haven’t yet.)

Tis the season of credit card debt, and cybercrime.

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Bigger Is Better

I haven’t been paying hawk-eyed attention, but I haven’t seen too many monitors this big for under $300…

Samsung S27B350H 27″ Widescreen LED Backlit LCD Monitor – Mega DCR, 1920 x 1080, 2ms, HDMI

And, yes. When it comes to viewing screens, bigger is better. A big screen and upgrading your Internet speed are my top two methods for improving your “computing experience”. (Nice specs on that one there..)

Also, if this (next) unit had a SSD, I think I’d jump. (Seriously considering buying my last laptop I ever buy now, before Windows 8 (and cloud OSes) arrive.)

Dell XPS 15z 15.6″ Ultra-thin Core i5 Laptop

What makes this a great deal? This PCMag Editors’ Choice award-winner is described as “every bit as luxurious as the Apple MacBook Pro 15″, but it won’t cost you nearly as much.” At less than an inch thick and stuffed full of the latest technology, like an Intel Core i5 and 1GB NVIDIA graphics, you won’t be wanting for anything with this premium PC. You’ll especially like the finer touches, like the backlit keyboard, aluminum design, and 1 year in-home warranty with premium phone support. Click See It and step into a new premium PC today.

How to redeeem: 1. Start at Dell store 2. Click “Review & Checkout,” then “Add to Cart” 3. Apply coupon code R536ZTX3RS8NL8 for total $300 instant savings applied automatically, proceed to final checkout.

List Price: $999.99 Sale: $699.99 + FREE SHIPPING You save: 30% ($300)

Has specs I like (like USB 3.0, and 2×2 Wireless A/G/N [can “see” 5.0GHz], and HDMI out on discrete graphics card…)(But.. not on sale is a 1080P version, w/2GB’s discrete.. hmmm..)

Hmmm.. a docking station, and the two together.. Santa? You there?

Reading reco: Are you bored? Need to start a good argument? Sending certain people you know this science news item will cure your troubles…

Today’s quote: “Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.” ~ Ann Landers

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Nothing Nice To Say

Sorry for being missing in action, there, folks. Not only have I been busy, but I decided to follow the axiom of “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.

i Dad and i Son with new i Phones
(They camped out overnight and stood in line to be one of the first to own those i Gadgets.)

However, if you care about the new Samsung Galaxy 3S (excuse me, “S III”) 10 things you should know before buying a Galaxy S III smartphone

“If you’re thinking about buying a Galaxy S III, be forewarned. This phone offers some incredibly cool features — but you’ll want to factor in a few gotchas.” Read more..

And/Or, if you care about the new iPhone 5 Why the iPhone 5 launch will be the “biggest upgrade in consumer electronics history”

“The iPhone 5 launch isn’t just going to be big according to Topeka Capital analyst Brian White, it’s going to be the “biggest upgrade in consumer electronics history”. It will be, and here’s why.” Read more..

And/Or if you haven’t yet followed the crowd and bought an iPad.. How to decide: should you buy a big Kindle Fire HD or an iPad?

“This is totally NOT the simple choice you might think it would be. There are a lot of reasons why you might choose either device. If you really want to make an informed decision, read this guide.” Read more..

There are plenty more developments in the “tech news”, but frankly, I don’t care.

Not anymore.

I am tired of HYPE and the FUD. (and Sell! Sell! Sell!)

And the security news just gets worse.

Examples:

• GoDaddy works to restore site service to unknown numbers
• Security firm notes sharp increase in SMS phishing attacks
• Google Aurora attackers continue online crime spree

Biggest upgrade in history?

Now there’s a title that’ll get some “eyeballs” .. (and you want lotsa eyeballs. So you can charge more for your ad space.)

Bonus:

I guess they assume I fly.. but I don’t.

Today’s quote: “A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.” ~ Lana Turner

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.